Sonic Rumble is coming out November 5

Sonic Rumble has a new worldwide launch date: November 5. The game, which we’ve previously likened to Fall Guys, was supposed to come out last winter before its release was rescheduled for May 8 this year. By the end of April, however, Sega announced that its global launch had been postponed yet again because its developers needed more time to “build the kind of high-quality, long-lasting Sonic game [their] players deserve.” At the time, the company said it had blasted past its goal of 1.4 million pre-registrations and that it had received “amazing positive response” from players in pre-launch regions. Players who pre-register will receive bonuses when the game launches globally. 

Similar to Fall Guys, Sonic Rumble is a battle royale-style game that can accommodate up to 32 players at once. Players will race against each other in worlds inspired by the Sonic franchise while collecting Rings they can use to buy new skins and stickers. It has several different modes, including Run wherein players compete for the top spot and Survival wherein they compete to stay in the game. Players can choose between various Sonic characters, including Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow and Dr. Eggman, and form a team of four to race against other teams around the world. 

Sega developed Sonic Rumble for mobile devices and PC, and it will be available to play on iOS and Android, as well as on Google Play Games on PC and Steam.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/sonic-rumble-is-coming-out-november-5-160031039.html?src=rss 

Spotify is freezing and crashing on some Android devices

The Spotify app has been freezing and crashing on some Android devices, according to multiple users and a report by 9to5Google. This is happening only when a phone or tablet is connected to Wi-Fi, so keep on listening to Spotify while out and about.

Users first took note of the problem around two weeks ago, taking to Spotify forums to address their concerns. Many folks say that the app becomes essentially unusable on Wi-Fi due to the constant crashes and freezing.

@Spotify please fix you app!! Crashes every 30 sec!!!

— StrictlySportS (@Strictly3Sports) October 17, 2025

The company has acknowledged the issue and says its engineers are working on a fix. However, we don’t have a timetable for a patch or anything like that. For the time being, some Android users will just have to avoid using the Spotify app while on Wi-Fi.

To that end, error reports have mostly come in from people on Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones. The problem doesn’t appear to be universal, which has led some to speculate that may be related to Chromecast-ready devices. This would explain why the issue only persists on Wi-Fi, but we’ll have to wait to hear from Spotify for a cause.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/spotify-is-freezing-and-crashing-on-some-android-devices-163020556.html?src=rss 

Remedy’s CEO is out amid the struggles of FBC: Firebreak

After nine years as CEO of the studio behind Control and Alan Wake, Tero Virtala has departed the role. Remedy cofounder Markus Mäki is taking over on an interim basis (and stepping down as chairman of the board) while the company looks for a permanent CEO. Henri Österlund, a board member since 2017, is Remedy’s new chairman.

“I want to thank Tero Virtala for his substantial contribution to the management of Remedy since 2016,” Mäki said in a statement. “I personally thank Tero for good cooperation and wish him all the best for the future.” Virtala will remain at Remedy for a transition period to help with the handover of CEO duties.

Remedy didn’t spell out the reasons as to why Virtala is leaving as CEO, but said it was by mutual consent. However, it’s been a rough year for Remedy after its latest game, FBC: Firebreak, failed to meet sales expectations. Earlier this month, the company issued a profit warning to investors and lowered “its long-term sales forecast for the game.” Remedy now expects its operating profit for the year to be in the red after recognizing a “non-cash impairment” of €14.9 million ($17.3 million) related to FBC: Firebreak development costs as well as publishing and distribution rights.

FBC: Firebreak (a co-op Control spinoff) arrived in June and while the game reached half a million players in its first 10 days, most were on consoles, where it was available via PlayStation Plus and Game Pass Ultimate. Remedy said in August the game had underperformed on Steam, which the company had intended as its “primary consumer sales channel on PC.”

After feedback from players, Remedy swiftly rolled out multiple patches for FBC: Firebreak — its first multiplayer title — to try to improve the game. It released the first major update for FBC: Firebreak last month to revamp the core gameplay and overhaul the onboarding experience. However, that didn’t fully turn the tide. “Despite improved player and sales metrics after the update, sales have not reached Remedy’s internal targets,” the company said in its profit warning.

Another major FBC: Firebreak update is planned for November, which will add a new game mode as well as cross-platform voice chat. Remedy also has Control 2 in the oven, as well as remakes of the first two Max Payne games.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/remedys-ceo-is-out-amid-the-struggles-of-fbc-firebreak-151023995.html?src=rss 

Uber will pay drivers $4,000 to switch to an EV

Uber Green is rebranding to Uber Electric, and to coincide with the name switch — a move designed to make it clearer for Uber users preferring to hail zero-emissions rides — the company will incentivise its drivers to swap their current vehicle for an EV by way of a $4,000 grant. According to Uber’s numbers, there are currently more than 200,000 EVs on its global network, and drivers are switching to electric up to 5x faster than regular motorists in the US, Canada and Europe.

Uber’s carrot for drivers is particularly timely given that President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” recently wiped out the federal tax credit on used EVs, which was worth (at its maximum value) the same amount as its new “Go Electric” EV grant. The grant automatically qualifies drivers in New York City, California, Colorado, and Massachusetts to receive $4,000 when they switch to an EV. Grants are available for both new and used electric vehicles, and Uber drivers nationwide can also get $1,000 when they purchase any new or used EV through TrueCar.

Uber has also announced that it’s rolling out its battery-aware matching (BAM) feature to EVs made by Kia, Hyundai, Ford, Nissan, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz in 25 countries including the US and Canada. This allows drivers to connect their vehicle to the Driver app, and will subsequently only receive ride requests that they are able to fulfill with their remaining range at the time. Uber said that 49 percent of non-EV drivers on its platform are put off switching to an EV due to battery-related concerns, which the expansion of BAM should help alleviate.

The Uber Electric rebrand follows Uber transitioning Uber Green to fully electric in the US earlier this year, where previously it has consisted of a mix of hybrids and all-electric vehicles. Riders are also being enticed to seek EV drivers, with Uber offering them 20 percent off (up to $8) their next electric ride with code GOELECTRIC20, which is valid for a week.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/uber-will-pay-drivers-4000-to-switch-to-an-ev-144704532.html?src=rss 

Our favorite MagSafe power bank is $57 right now

The Anker MagGo Power Bank (10K) is on sale via Amazon for just $57. This is a discount of 37 percent, which is nothing to sneeze at. The sale applies to multiple colorways.

This model topped our list of the best power banks, and with very good reason. It’s a workhorse that gets the job done. It includes Qi2 tech for fast wireless charging and ships with a sturdy kickstand to prop up smartphones during use. The integrated LED display makes it easy to see the battery percentage, which is always nice.

The 10,000mAh battery should charge a modern iPhone nearly two times before requiring a trip to the outlet. For those not keen on wireless charging, there’s a USB-C port.

As for compatibility, this power bank has been optimized for Apple iPhones. It’ll work with Android handsets, but the wireless charging will be disabled. That’s basically the only downside here.

That’s not the only Anker product on sale right now. A nifty Anker laptop power bank with a built-in cable is on sale for $92, which is a discount of 32 percent. This one also made our list of the best power banks and won the award for most premium product.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/our-favorite-magsafe-power-bank-is-57-right-now-152128238.html?src=rss 

Toyota’s new all-hybrid RAV4 has software you might actually want to use

If I had a dollar for every time a vehicle manufacturer launched a new in-car software experience designed to achieve the same levels of user experience as your average tablet or smartphone, I’d probably have about enough cash for a decent lunch at a middling restaurant. It’s a common refrain, and yet after years of hearing that same story over and over, I still find myself firing up Android Auto or Apple CarPlay as soon as I get into just about every new car I evaluate. 

At the launch of the 2026 Toyota RAV4, I heard that story yet again, about how they’d rewritten their in-car software to deliver an experience like that found in modern mobile devices. And I have to say, for once, they might have actually delivered. Toyota’s latest SUV has voice and touch capabilities that are not only quick and responsive but genuinely pleasant to use. And thankfully, the rest of the SUV has been upgraded to match.

The RAV4 has been in production for over 30 years now. This, the sixth generation, comes hot on the heels of its predecessor becoming the world’s best-selling car in 2024. Over 1.1 million were sold last year, which goes a long way towards explaining why you can’t kick a pebble in a grocery store parking lot without hitting a RAV4.

The overall changes for the 2026 RAV4 aren’t radical, but they are appreciated. For starters, every trim of this SUV is a hybrid, with base models powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that drives the front wheels, offering 226 horsepower. Those wanting all-wheel drive can add another electric motor at the back, adding a little more power (10 hp) and a good bit more drive for low-grip situations. 

For 2026, every trim of the RAV4 is a hybrid.

Tim Stevens for Engadget

From there, buyers can step up to a revised plug-in hybrid model, which now makes 324 horsepower, up 22 from before. Fuel economy is up too, up to 48 mpg depending on what trim you choose, and you can now get up to 52 miles of range from a 22.7 kWh battery pack in the plug-in.

And that’s usable range. I took a RAV4 XSE plug-in edition out for a morning drive and covered nearly 20 miles without spinning up the engine. Even at highway speeds the RAV4 was slow but perfectly manageable. With that much range and even reasonably quick DC charging (50 kW maximum), it’s easy to see this as the introduction to EVs for many.

For better or worse, that DC charging is handled on a CCS port, not the newer NACS ports that most manufacturers (even Toyota) are using on their EVs. The lack of any kind of vehicle-to-load functionality is a bummer, too, especially on the rugged-ish Wilderness edition, which would seemingly be a perfect machine for powering a campsite. 

Regardless of which trim you go with, you’ll get that new software system running on either a 10.5-inch touchscreen on the lower trims or a 12.9-inch display on higher-end machines. The overall experience is the same, looking bright and crisp either way, just with more finger-friendly controls on the bigger panel.

Toyota’s revamped software is quick and responsive, especially the voice assistant.

Tim Stevens for Engadget

Toyota’s software layout is familiar, with a vertical column of icons on the left for toggling between major sections like media or navigation, and then a row of controls along the bottom for controlling the car’s heating, ventilation and cooling system. The rest of the display is taken up by a customizable series of panels. As you swipe from left to right, you swing through different pages, which you can move around and rearrange as you like. None of this is particularly revolutionary, but is pleasantly responsive. Swiping from page to page was quick and easy, without any annoying lag waiting for content to load.

That responsiveness continued through to the voice assistant, which is the quickest I’ve ever used in a car. Just say “Hey, Toyota” and ask for whatever you want. When asked for pizza, the voice assistant listed nearby joints, even quoted their star rating and offered navigation, all without the annoying round-trip processing lag that’s common in these systems. Some of that speed might be thanks to the addition of 5G connectivity (provided by AT&T), but there’s surely some quicker hardware running beneath the skin powering the Linux-based software.

The car’s integrated navigation was also easy to use, quick to route and re-route and features all the points of interest you could ever want. There’s even an integrated dashcam feature that will record any incidents on the road, or whatever else you feel like highlighting, while also storing the footage from the SUV’s other cameras. 

Despite the quality experience through the touchscreen, Toyota didn’t take this as an opportunity to delete all the car’s buttons. You’ll still find physical controls for all the major features, including (praise be) a volume knob. It was all good enough to make me not feel compelled to reach for my phone, but of course, I did in the interest of testing. Both wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are supported, not only in the main touchscreen but also able to feed navigation details into the 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster. That, too, is customizable, with a series of panels of information that hover over your phone’s map view.

The meaner, sportier GR Sport edition.

Tim Stevens for Engadget

So, even if you still prefer your phone, you’re covered, and powered, too. The RAV4 has a pair of Qi wireless chargers, conveniently situated in the center stack just below the HVAC controls. You’ll also find two 45-watt USB-C ports up front, plus a pair of 15-watt ports in the back for rear-seat passengers.

The new RAV4 has  a roomy, comfortable cabin with some fun touches, like a neoprene-like insert in the dash that’s pleasant to touch. The overall interior design won’t win any awards for dramatic styling or eye-catching flair, but it’s comfortable and seems like the kind of thing that’ll stand up to whatever you or your kids throw at it. 

In terms of driving dynamics, the extra power offered by the RAV4 doesn’t turn it into a rocket ship, but the PHEV trim in particular feels more than quick enough. There’s also a new GR Sport edition for those who aspire to something even more engaging, but despite a more aggressive grille up front and a big wing hanging off the back, it still feels like a RAV4 from behind the wheel. That is to say: It’s not the most exciting thing on the road.

But people don’t buy RAV4s to be wowed, they buy them because they’re practical and comfortable and priced right. Price, unfortunately, is one thing we don’t know about the new model, with Toyota only saying that it’ll start somewhere in the low $30,000 range. But all the SUV’s other virtues carry forward into 2026 with upgrades. Add to that a massively improved software experience, and you have an SUV that doesn’t disappoint.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/toyotas-new-all-hybrid-rav4-has-software-you-might-actually-want-to-use-140000442.html?src=rss 

How to improve your smartphone photography

These days, thanks to smartphones, almost everyone has a camera with them and that’s mostly a good thing. At any time, you can capture memories with family and friends, painterly sunsets and crazy spontaneous moments. The problem is most of us have endless bland photos in our camera rolls because we simply don’t know how to take great shots.

When you’re on vacation or gathering with friends and family, a good photo will provide memories you can proudly share and go back to time and again. And if you’re active on social media, they’re crucial. In this article, I’ll show you how to set yourself up for photo success with the optimal settings and simple but effective composition tips from myself and a pro photographer. And if you’re interested in going further, I’ll highlight several third-party apps that provide even greater manual control. Note that this is focused only on taking photos — I’ll cover video in a future article.

Take advantage of your smartphone’s camera setup

Rhonda Dent for Engadget

Most smartphones have two or more cameras, each with different lenses, sensors and resolution. They’re usually called the wide (or main), telephoto and ultrawide cameras. These work seamlessly together: You can simply pinch to zoom on the viewfinder to fit your subject into the scene and your phone will switch between the lenses automatically.

Most smartphones offer shortcuts on their viewfinders for you to quickly jump between these, and you’ll usually see numbers like 0.5x, 1x, 2x and 5x to denote the levels of zoom. Ideally, you should use each camera at its optimal setting and avoid in-between digital zooms (like 2.7x) that reduce quality.

You should also know which camera is best for a given subject. People shots are best done with the main or telephoto cameras as those focal lengths flatter the subject and reduce distortion. They also allow for naturally blurred backgrounds and “bokeh” that helps your subject stand out. Since it creates weird warping around the edges of photos, the ultrawide camera is best reserved for landscape shots. Lastly, the telephoto lens is best for distant scenes, but avoid the most extreme settings (above 10x on most cameras) as your photos may become blurry or pixelated.

When it comes to your phone’s portrait mode, there are caveats. While it does create a soft blurred background and “bokeh,” it does so using computational tricks. That can create issues like pixelation around your subject or an overly artificial look. To get natural blur, switch to the main or the telephoto camera, increase the zoom level and move farther away from your subject to frame them.

Finally, this should go without saying, but clean your lens. Whenever you set your phone down, the camera can pick up grease or dirt that will ruin your photos. If you don’t have a microfiber cloth, clean it with any soft cotton fabric — just avoid tissue as it’s rougher than it looks and can mar your lens.

Nail your settings

Exposure is the only adjustment you need

Steve Dent for Engadget

One big plus with smartphones over dedicated cameras is that they have bigger, sharper displays. To start, boost your screen brightness when taking photos so you can easily see your subject and compose your shot.

Take a few extra seconds to decide whether to snap a vertical (portrait) or horizontal (landscape) photo, depending on the subject. Get in the habit of holding your phone in a way that keeps your fingers away from the lenses, as that’s another great way to ruin a shot.

Most recent iPhone and Android models automatically focus on a subject quickly and accurately. However, if multiple people are in a shot, the AI may focus on the wrong person, so be sure to tap on the correct one.

Exposure, or the brightness or dimness of a subject, is typically selected automatically by your phone. Most devices will automatically average the levels across multiple faces so all the people in a shot are well-exposed.

Steve Dent for Engadget

One thing that smartphones are nearly as good at as cameras is macro or closeup photography. Most iPhones and Android devices let you focus very close to subjects from the main (1x) or ultra wide (0.5x) cameras. This can help you produce cool shots of insects, leaves, seashells and other things in nature. 

Selecting a new subject automatically changes both focus and exposure. If you tap on a dark part of the image, the camera will automatically brighten it and vice versa, but you can manually change that. On iPhones, tap a subject to bring up the sunshine icon, then move the slider to change brightness. You can also open up extra settings with the down arrow on iPhone and then select the +/- symbol. On a Pixel, open the settings (gear) icon, select brightness and move the slider.

Sometimes, you might want to lock the focus and exposure when taking multiple photos of the same scene. That’s done on both iPhone or Android by clicking and holding for a couple of seconds on the desired subject. Then, the exposure and focus will stay locked until you tap again. You may need to enable this feature in your phone’s settings before it can be used.

What about using the flash? It’s best to use it only when you truly don’t have enough light to capture a moment, as it can make shots look overly bright and unnatural. Below is a good example of a shot taken with and without a flash at night when there was barely enough natural light. 

iPhone 16 photo taken with flash (left) and without flash (right)

Steve Dent for Engadget

Most smartphones let you take photos nearly instantly from the lockscreen so you can easily capture when something unexpected occurs. It’s a good idea to learn how so you can snap a shot without too much delay.

Recent iPhone models have a dedicated camera button on the right side. First, ensure the settings are configured so that you can activate it without unlocking the phone. Then, push the button once to open the camera app and then again to take a shot (the main 1x camera is selected automatically). On earlier models, simply swipe left from the lockscreen to instantly access the camera. For Pixel and other Android devices, double pressing the power or volume button will usually bring up the camera app from the lockscreen.

Some iPhone and Android phones have a setting that allows you to take RAW photos. That gives you image data straight off the sensor without any sharpening or other adjustments, so it can provide a more natural look. However, editing RAW photos requires practice and the photos take up a lot of extra space on your camera roll.

Most smartphones allow you to tweak settings like saturation, brightness and contrast, but it’s best not to get too in the weeds. Even the experts, like my pro photographer friend Nathanael Charpentier, stick to the basics, “No complex settings, no artificial portrait mode. I just occasionally adjust the brightness when necessary,” he told me (one exception for him is black & white photos). This then frees him to “focus entirely on what matters to me: composition.”

Composition

Nathanael Charpentier for Engadget

Smartphones don’t have the same quality as dedicated cameras, but that forces you to think about lighting and composition. Pro photographers like Charpentier will tell you that, whether you’re using a phone or $8,000 camera, the most important part of capturing a shot is the framing.

Many photographers use the “rule of thirds.” This stipulates that key elements like people and geographical features should be placed in thirds across a photo because it’s pleasing to the eye. Simply cutting a landscape in half between the sky and the ground should often be avoided to keep the framing interesting.

To help with this, many smartphone cameras include a grid that divides the screen into thirds (turn on the “Grid” setting on iPhone or “Grid Type” on a Pixel device and choose 3×3). When that’s enabled, you can place your primary subject and other elements near where those lines intersect. These grids can also help you keep shots level.

Sometimes, though, a symmetric composition is best. If you want to shoot down a dock, for example, you can center it to take advantage of the converging lines. Then, you can slightly break that symmetry with other objects like a mountain, tree or bird.

Rule of thirds used to divide a photo’s elements

Steve Dent for Engadget

Other composition tips include the use of diagonal rather than horizontal or vertical lines to break up a composition, or curved roads or paths that guide the viewer’s eye. Another popular technique is to use converging lines in architecture when shooting up at buildings. You can also try using foreground objects close to the camera (tree leaves, a pole or a person) to frame a scene. To create dramatic shots using the wide or ultrawide cameras, hold your phone as low as possible — you can even turn it upside down to get it right next to the ground.

Interesting photos also come from strong lighting contrast, particularly shadows. To emphasize that, you can use the exposure compensation (brightness) settings mentioned earlier to make the shadows even darker while keeping your subject well exposed. To find the ideal subject or environment, look for patterns and punchy colors. Don’t be afraid to shoot straight into the light source to create dramatic, backlit silhouettes.

“Smartphones do almost everything well except scene exposure; usually the photos are too bright,” Charpentier says. “And that’s why I very often correct the exposure of my photos. It’s a basic setting and done very simply on iPhone and most Android devices.”

Many smartphone cameras also take great macro photos. You can use that to get close-up shots of subjects ranging from insects in nature to food. Finally, try using the black and white settings on your camera to create a nostalgic mood or emphasize forms and lines.

Take your photography further with apps

Taken with Lightroom Mobile

Nathanael Charpentier for Engadget

If you want to play with settings like shutter speed and ISO, reduce automatic or AI settings, take RAW photos or change noise reduction settings, you’ll usually need a third-party app. Here are three I’d recommend.

VSCO

VSCO is a popular editing and camera app for both iOS and Android that had a moment on TikTok several years ago. It gives you control of basic settings like exposure (via a nice slider), shutter speed, ISO and white balance. It also lets you separate focus and exposure points, so you can keep one subject in focus but change the lighting in another area of the scene. It offers RAW support and filters, though many of the latter require a subscription.

Lightroom Mobile

To focus on lighting and exposure, check out Lightroom Mobile. It automatically highlights overexposed areas of an image and then lets you easily dial brightness up and down, change settings like ISO and shutter speed and even apply filters. Once you’re done shooting, you can continue editing your photos afterwards using many of the tools offered in the desktop version. Though no subscription is required, a paid plan is needed for some of the content.

If you’re on iPhone, Adobe has an impressive new experimental app called Indigo that you can try for free. It uses computational photography to improve things like exposure and detail to make photos look more natural.

Halide Mark II (iOS only)

For control over just about every aspect of your smartphone camera, Halide is the best choice. Unfortunately, it’s only available on iOS. For those in Apple’s ecosystem, it lets you shoot RAW photos with minimal processing (sharpening, etc.) and, according to the developer, has “zero AI right out of the camera.” At the same time, its “Depth Mode” lets you capture portrait shots (ie, artificial depth of field) with any subject. It also comes with a manual mode and tools like color zebras and waveforms to aid with exposure. Halide Mark II isn’t free, though, as it’s $60 for a one-time purchase or $20 yearly.

Before you dive into using an app, I’d recommend that you practice the basics until you feel confident taking photos in any situation. That means making the best use of your smartphone’s camera setup for a given situation, nailing your settings each time and mastering composition. Then, apps like Lightroom Mobile will let you take your photos to another level — like an artist graduating from water colors to oil paint.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/how-to-improve-your-smartphone-photography-010037588.html?src=rss 

After 10 years, the iPad Pro has finally carved out its own identity

The iPad Pro is about to turn 10, so hopefully you’ll forgive me for pulling out this well-worn Apple truism one more time. No, it’s not Steve Jobs saying “if you see a stylus, they blew it” (a quote continually used out of context.) It’s the tale of how since day one, the iPad Pro’s hardware often felt far more powerful and capable than the software it runs. If you recall, iPadOS was initially a scaled-up version of iOS, with most of the limitations inherent in software designed first for a phone. Apps could take great advantage of the larger screen, but working across multiple apps was just nowhere near as simple as doing the same thing on a Mac. Yes, the iPad has always been more portable, and accessories like the Apple Pencil make it better-suited for some tasks than a Mac, but the knock is always that the iPad — even the Pro — isn’t ideal for getting “real work” done.

The combination of the just-launched iPad Pro’s M5 processor and the massive iPadOS update might finally quiet that debate. Sure, some people will never want to replace their laptop with an iPad, but it’s more feasible than ever thanks to iPadOS 26. It brings a totally revamped windowing and multitasking system, a background tasks API that lets you run heavy processes like rendering video while working in other apps, more robust audio input support and a far better Files app, making the iPad Pro closer in its feature set to a Mac than ever before. 

As Apple’s premium tablet enters its second decade, I spoke with the company’s Ted Merendino (from the iPad Product Marketing team) and Ty Jordan (Product Manager for System Experiences) to learn more about the evolution of the iPad Pro and iPadOS.

Given how many Mac-like features came to iPadOS 26 this year, I was curious to hear how the company approached putting all that Mac DNA into the iPad while still keeping it distinct, as well as the engineering challenges it presented. “One of the things that makes iPad such a unique device is it’s extremely versatile, right?” Jordan said. “You can use it with touch, you can use it with a trackpad or a keyboard or the Apple Pencil, and that’s really powerful. But it also actually makes an extremely challenging engineering and design problem to try and solve when you’re thinking about something like the new windowing experience.”

Jordan went on to describe a “multi-year effort” to reconfigure the underlying iPadOS architecture. Apple worked to “maintain the immediacy that you’ve come to expect with a touch device, while still allowing users to have this freedom and flexibility to work across so many more windows at once,” he said. From there, the company had to figure out how to bring a bunch of familiar tools from the Mac together and make sure they work across touchscreens, trackpads and keyboards.

An iPad running multiple windows in iPadOS 26

Nathan Ingraham for Engadget

Jordan pointed to Expose (a tool in macOS that shows you all your open windows by swiping up on the trackpad with three fingers) as a good example of something they wanted to bring to iPadOS in a way that felt native. “We leveraged the home gesture that people have been familiar with on iPad for a long time,” he said, “so you can easily see a bird’s eye view of all your windows.”

Swiping up on the iPad’s screen with one finger has brought you home for years, but now swiping up and holding for a second drops you into Expose, the same way it invokes open apps on an iPhone. And you can use the same three-finger swipe up on an iPad with a trackpad as you can on a Mac. “All these pieces have to be reconsidered over and over again in order to make sure that they do feel distinct to iPad,” Jordan said.

While iPadOS 26 is a major revision that was just released less than a month ago, the iPad Pro M5 is more of an iterative update, at least on the outside. That’s not a big surprise given that the M4 model released in May 2024 was a complete redesign. The iPad Pro M4 is more capable thanks to the big software update, but this year’s M5 update pushes the tablet even further into a world where AI performance is paramount. 

“M5 has a faster Neural Engine, which continues to be the most power efficient location on the chip to run on-device AI,” Merendino said, citing features like Live Text and Subject Lift that have been in iOS and iPadOS for a while now. He also noted that the faster CPU in the M5 has had neural accelerators for a few generations, things that help with low-latency AI tasks like speech recognition. 

But the M5’s redesigned GPU is where the big changes can be found. “Within each GPU core is the new Neural Accelerator that dramatically speeds up GPU-based AI tasks,” Merendino continued. “So if you are segmenting super high-resolution video, this is much, much faster. For on-device image generation, this is much faster.”  Benchmarks I took while reviewing the iPad Pro M5 back this up — all the GPU-based measurements showed huge improvements over the M4.

Merendino noted that Apple invited the developer for image generation app Draw Things into its labs to test the app with the M5’s GPU neural accelerators and it provided about double the performance of the M4 chip and four times the performance of the M1. My testing with Draw Things backed this up. I ran four different image generation prompts on both the M4 and M5 iPad Pro, and the M5 was more than twice as fast. It typically finished the default prompts I tried in the app in about 50 seconds, while the M4 took about 2 minutes and 25 seconds. Other tasks, like large language model token generation, are six times faster on the M5 compared to the (much older) M1. 

Impressive, for sure, but it’s also fair to say that most iPad Pro users are likely not going to be pushing to the edge of the M5’s computational powers. The flip side of this, though, is that the iPad Pro will likely remain fast enough for all but the most demanding tasks for years. Apple knows this, and it’s evident in the way it’s positioning this new iPad Pro — it’s for demanding customers who’ve been using an M1- or M2-powered iPad Pro for years now and are ready for an upgrade. 

One of the main hardware differences between the redesigned M4 and M5 iPad Pros and their predecessors is that Apple made the tablet even thinner and lighter than ever, while packing in the company’s latest silicon. It’s a wild engineering feat, one that impressed me from the very first time I picked up the iPad Pro M4 last year. There is one somewhat humorous thing about the iPad Pro, which is that it’s thinner and lighter than the iPad Air — despite the Air name having historically been used for Apple’s most portable products. Just look at the iPhone Air for the latest example.

That made me ponder if a more “pro” iPad should be a little thicker and heavier to accommodate a bigger battery, like what you’ll find in the MacBook Pro. The iPad Pro’s 10-hour battery life for basic tasks like web browsing and watching video isn’t short, but if you push it harder it’ll drain a lot quicker. Merendino said that the ongoing thought process behind balancing battery life, performance and size comes down to a focus on portability and versatility.

“One of the things that has defined iPad since the very beginning is portability. For creative pros, the iPad Pro is untethering them from a workstation,” he said. “It’s letting them create and be productive wherever they may be. And what’s unique is that over the years we’ve made iPad more and more portable.” That’s undeniable; the first iPad was about 1.5 pounds with its 9.7-inch screen and the 13-inch iPad Pro is a quarter of a pound lighter. “But we have also made it vastly more powerful,” Merendino continued, “even though it’s a more portable device, a vastly faster device. We have still maintained that all day battery life that we know users depend on.” So while we’re probably not getting an iPad Pro with 15- or 20-hour battery life any time soon, I can respect the trade-off of making the tablet as portable as possible. It’s one of its main differentiating features compared to a Mac, after all.

A rumor that started making the rounds just after the iPad Pro M5 was released puts the “Mac versus iPad” debate into a new territory, though. A few reliable sources including Mark Gurman at Bloomberg and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo both say that the M6 refresh of the MacBook Pro will usher in touchscreens for the first time on a Mac. If this happens, it’ll likely upend the debate yet again. But in the same way an iPad doesn’t really replace the Mac, I don’t think a touchscreen MacBook will necessarily be better than an iPad for some things. The iPad is still the most versatile device Apple sells, and the company believes that versatility is something people recognize and want. 

“With the windowing system that we built, it [still] starts with every app being fullscreen,” Jordan says. “And the idea behind that philosophy is making sure you can be the person who has iPad and is just using it on the couch to watch a show, and then can seamlessly transition to being a professional who’s connected to an external display with a Magic Keyboard and a bunch of windows open. And that versatility is really interesting, and I think customers who gravitate towards iPad are looking for that device that can go across those worlds.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/after-10-years-the-ipad-pro-has-finally-carved-out-its-own-identity-130108169.html?src=rss 

Luigi’s Mansion will soon be playable on Nintendo Switch 2

You’ll be able to play the first game in the Luigi’s Mansion series on the Nintendo Switch 2 starting on October 30, just in time for Halloween. The gaming company is adding the title to its GameCube library for the Nintendo Switch Online streaming service. Take note that that service’s GameCube titles are exclusively available on the Switch 2 and require a subscription to the $50-a-year Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier. A basic Switch Online subscription with no access to GameCube, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Advance classics costs $20 a year. 

Since both Luigi’s Mansion 2 (HD version) and Luigi’s Mansion 3 are compatible with the new console, the whole series is now playable on the Switch 2. Nintendo released the first Luigi’s Mansion in 2001 as a launch title for GameCube. It was also the first title in the Mario franchise for the system. The story revolves around Luigi, who wins a mansion in a contest he never joined and finds out that it’s located in a dark, mysterious forest. Inside, he has to fight and capture ghosts and solve puzzles in order to unlock doors and explore the entirety of the mansion. 

Luigi’s Mansion sold 257,000 units in its first week and was the top-selling GameCube launch title. It was remade for the Nintendo 3DS in 2018, but if you’re a fan, we’ll bet you would love to be able to play it again on a newer console. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/luigis-mansion-will-soon-be-playable-on-nintendo-switch-2-132045389.html?src=rss 

Steve Wozniak, Prince Harry and 800 others want a ban on AI ‘superintelligence’

More than 800 public figures including Steve Wozniak and Prince Harry, along with AI scientists, former military leaders and CEOs signed a statement demanding a ban on AI work that could lead to superintelligence, The Financial Times reported. “We call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence, not lifted before there is broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably, and strong public buy-in,” it reads.

The signers include a wide mix of people across sectors and political spectrums, including AI researcher and Nobel prize winner Geoffrey Hinton, former Trump aide Steve Bannon, one time Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen and rapper Will.i.am. The statement comes from the Future of Life Institute, which said that AI developments are occurring faster than the public can comprehend. 

“We’ve, at some level, had this path chosen for us by the AI companies and founders and the economic system that’s driving them, but no one’s really asked almost anybody else, ‘Is this what we want?'” the institute’s executive director, Anthony Aguirre, told NBC News

Artificial general intelligence (AGI) refers to the ability of machines to reason and perform tasks as well as a human can, while superintelligence would enable AI to do things better than even human experts. That potential ability has been cited by critics (and the culture in general) as a grave risk to humanity. So far, though, AI has proven itself to be useful only for a narrow range of tasks and consistently fails to handle complex tasks like self-driving. 

Despite the lack of recent breakthroughs, companies like OpenAI are pouring billions into new AI models and the data centers needed to run them. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said that superintelligence was “in sight,” while X CEO Elon Musk said superintelligence “is happening in real time” (Musk has also famously warned about the potential dangers of AI). OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he expects superintelligence to happen by 2030 at the latest. None of those leaders, nor anyone notable from their companies, signed the statement. 

It’s far from the only call for a slowdown in AI developement. Last month, more than 200 researchers and public officials, including 10 Nobel Prize winners and multiple artificial intelligence experts, released an urgent call for a “red line” against the risks of AI. However, that letter referred not to superintelligence, but dangers already starting to materialize like mass unemployment, climate change and human rights abuses. Other critics are sounding alarms around a potential AI bubble that could eventually pop and take the economy down with it. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/steve-wozniak-prince-harry-and-800-others-want-a-ban-on-ai-superintelligence-123040020.html?src=rss 

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