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Roku is expanding its lineup of wireless speakers with a new, more affordable subwoofer. The Roku Wireless Bass, which costs $130, is $50 less than the Roku Wireless Bass Pro. It has one 5.25-inch subwoofer, compared with the Pro’s 10-inch subwoofer, and is front-firing instead of downward-firing. The Wireless Bass has less oomph as well, with 120W of peak power against the Wireless Bass Pro’s 250W.

Still, Roku says the speaker will deliver “deep, dynamic bass” and “rich depth” to movie, TV and music playback. It has a slim design and it can be positioned anywhere within 30 feet of your TV. You’ll need to pair it with a Roku Streambar, Streambar Pro, Smart Soundbar or Roku TV with Wireless Speakers. It’s available for pre-order as a standalone item or as part of a $250 bundle with the Roku Streambar. It will ship on November 7th.

Roku also revealed a new version of its entry-level streaming media player, Roku Express. The latest model comes with dual-band WiFi, which will likely improve streaming performance. The $30 device streams video in 1080p quality, so you’ll need to consider other models if you want to watch TV and movies in 4K. The Roku Express also comes with the company’s simple remote, which doesn’t have a headphone jack. The new Roku Express is up for pre-order and will ship on October 13th.

Meanwhile, Roku previewed the next version of its operating system, which introduces more content discovery features and will roll out to compatible devices in the coming months. Roku OS 11.5 will add a new feature called The Buzz to the home screen. There, you’ll find posts with trailers, interviews and clips from various streaming channels. You can follow channels to keep up to date with news, save content promoted in the posts to watch later or start streaming the show or movie right away.

A Continue Watching feature (found on the What to Watch screen) should make it easier for you to resume something you didn’t finish on Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount+, The Roku Channel and other supported apps. Also on the What to Watch menu and the Roku mobile app, you’ll find a Save List. You’ll be able to save movies and shows to watch later from various apps and access them all from the Save List.

Elsewhere, Roku will bring its private listening mode to the latest Roku Ultra, Roku Streambar and Roku Streambar Pro. You’ll be able to connect Bluetooth headphones to these streaming players directly. Until now, private listening has only been available through the Roku mobile app and by connecting headphones to the company’s higher-end remotes, so this should simplify things a bit. Among other updates, Roku OS 11.5 will rebrand the channel store as The Roku Store and introduce categories to the live TV guide.

 

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the pinnacle of its foldable smartphone lineup, but it’s also the company’s most expensive phone at $1,800. If you’ve been eyeing one but find the price hard to stomach, there’s good news. You can already grab one for $1,600 ($200 off) at Amazon, just a few short weeks after it went on sale. And if it’s the Galaxy Z Flip 4 you’ve been eyeing, that model has a $100 discount as well. 

Buy Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4 at Amazon

Scoring a solid 86 in our Engadget review, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is better than the previous model in almost every way, thanks to a more polished design, sleeker hinge and far better battery life. It also comes with a considerably brighter screen and upgraded main and telephoto cameras. Samsung promises that the display is 45 percent more durable than before, thanks to the Gorilla Glass Victus+ and Samsung’s signature Armor Aluminum alloy body. The screen protector is also attached with stickier adhesive and a new application process to prevent bubbling. 

It has the latest tech as well, including 120Hz refresh rates on both the 7.6-inch main screen 6.2-inch 120Hz cover screen. The latter is pretty bright at 700 nits, but the main display can now hit a peak brightness of 1,000 nits. Other features include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage on the sale model. As mentioned, you can grab it in Phantom Black for $1,600, for a savings of $200 or 11 percent. 

If you’d have the foldable experience in a much smaller device, Samsung’s Galaxy Flip 4 is also on sale for $900, or $100 off the regular price. It’s also more refined than the previous model with a less slippery matt finish, an improved hinge and more. It comes with a 6.7-inch 120Hz panel, along with a 1.9-inch cover display that shows notifications, clock faces and more, along with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. If you’re interested in either model, it’s best to act soon as the sale won’t last forever. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

 

I wasn’t sure Marvel could shoehorn its characters and stories anywhere else, beyond all the movies, TV shows, games and toys, but now it wants you thinking about those heroes wherever you go. It’s teamed up with Pokémon Go developer Niantic to create an augmented reality mobile game launching next year. In Marvel World of Heroes, you can create your own superhero in a Marvel game for the first time, according to Niantic.

You patrol your neighborhood to thwart crimes, take on missions and fend off interdimensional threats and supervillains. You’ll be able to team up with friends, as well as the likes of Spider-Man, Captain America and Wolverine. It seems you can also visit multiple alternate realities — in a virtual sense, anyway.

Niantic hopes to replicate the magic of Pokemon Go, something it’s struggled with so far, across properties like Harry Potter and Pikmin. You can register your interest on the game’s site now.

– Mat Smith

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Watch the first trailer for ‘Assassin’s Creed Mirage’

It’s going back to its roots.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the next entry in Ubisoft’s long-running series, will arrive in 2023. Set two decades before the events of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the game returns to the series’ stealth roots. Ubisoft Bordeaux said protagonist Basim would be one of the fastest free runners in franchise history – all the better to collect collectibles, right? Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Amazon Luna and PC. Oh, and we might finally get a ninja Assassin’s Creed game, too.

Continue reading.

Valve’s Steam Deck repair centers are now open

The service will cover in-warranty fixes.

Steam Deck owners have a new option for repairs if their device breaks. Valve has opened its own Steam Deck repair centers, which should streamline the process for fixes. Valve also points to iFixit’s guides to support people who prefer to go the DIY route. The repair centers will cover in-warranty fixes free of charge as well as repairs for damage beyond the warranty.

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Twitter’s $7 million whistleblower payout may violate purchase deal

According to Elon Musk’s lawyers, that is.

A judge recently ruled that Elon Musk can use the allegations made by Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko as part of the arguments in his countersuit against the company. As it turns out, Musk intends to use not just Zatko’s claims to win his case but also that the former Twitter executive received a settlement to get out of the $44 billion acquisition deal he made with the social network. Twitter and Musk will face off in a five-day trial scheduled to start on October 17th.

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NASA replaces Artemis 1’s leaky fuel seals

The next fueling test could happen later this week.

NASA has completed a critical repair of its next-generation Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. On Friday, engineers replaced the leaky seal that forced the agency to scrub its most recent attempt to launch Artemis 1. With the new gaskets in place, NASA plans to conduct a fueling test to verify they’re working as intended. In the dry run, engineers will attempt to load the SLS with all 736,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen it would need during a regular flight. NASA now hopes to complete the test as early as September 17th.

Continue reading.

 

Meta’s Quest Pro headset is due to arrive next month, but a leaked video appears to show it in full. It was originally posted on Facebook by Ramiro Cardenas, who said that multiple devices (labeled “engineering samples”) were left in a hotel room. 

In the video (tweeted by security expert Kevin Beaumont), Cardenas shows a black headset with three cameras on the front that resembles the minimal glimpses we’ve seen so far of the Project Cambria headset teased by Meta earlier. It also looks like the model seen in a leaked instructional video. He also revealed the new controllers, with a new design (again, much like the one in the leaked instructional video) that replaces the previous looped controllers. 

The packaging shows “Meta Quest Pro,” along with a sticker that says “Not for resale – engineering sample.” It also shows images of the headset and controllers. Cardenas told The Verge that the room’s occupant has since claimed the headsets. 

With the Quest Pro, Mark Zuckerberg promised a “higher-end virtual reality experience,” with a non-wired headset. He hinted that it could have additional sensors that make it useful for activities beyond gaming, along with eye tracking, face tracking and more. “It’s amazing for gaming, but it’s not only for gaming,” he said. Previously, the name “Meta Quest Pro” was spotted in Meta code by Bloomberg, so that appears to be the final name.