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Netflix’s attempts to crack down on password sharing is starting to pay off. The company reported substantial growth in subscribers in the months following its push to stop users from sharing accounts with people outside of their household.

The streaming company added nearly 6 million paying subscribers, an increase of 8 percent, during the second quarter of 2023. The results confirm earlier reports from third-party data that suggested the tightened restrictions were working.

In a letter to shareholders, the company said that its push to stop password sharing hasn’t resulted in mass cancellations and has instead encouraged more people to sign up for their own account. “The cancel reaction was low and while we’re still in the early stages of monetization, we’re seeing healthy conversion of borrower households into full paying Netflix memberships as well as the uptake of our extra member feature,” the company wrote.

In addition to restricting account sharing, the company has started offering “paid sharing,” which allows subscribers to pay to add an “extra member” to their account for $8 a month. That option is now available in more than 100 countries, according to Netflix. The company has also been streamlining its plans, confirming that it canceled its $10 “basic” plan in the United States and UK after first axing the plan in Canada.

Now, Netflix says it will continue to restrict password sharing in the few remaining countries where it hasn’t already done so, including India, Indonesia, Kenya and Croatia. The company notes it won’t be offering its “extra member” option in these regions as it’s already slashed prices in many of these countries. Instead, the company says people can use its tool to transfer their profile to a fresh account.

Developing…

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-added-nearly-6-million-new-subscribers-amid-password-sharing-crackdown-204411234.html?src=rss 

Tesla remains the top US EV producer with a new internal record internal record with 479,700 vehicles built and 466,140 of them delivered in Q2, up ~87 percent YoY. During the call, CEO Elon Musk noted that during Q1, the Model Y became the best selling vehicle “of any kind… surpassing the likes of Corolla.”

The company made headlines in Q2 after opening its previously-proprietary charging port design to the rest of the industry. Mercedes, Volvo, Rivian, and GM vehicles will use the design for their North American models beginning in the 2024 model year. Texas went so far as to require its state-funded EV charging stations accommodate the standard. Tesla’s charging network station capacity has grown by a third from this time last year, with 48,082 chargers in total spread across 5,265 stations, globally.

The first production Cybertruck rolled off the assembly line this quarter as well, though you couldn’t see much of the vehicle from its official release photo. The Cybertruck line has entered tooling, according to the company, and is expected to begin steady production sometime next year.

“We are now testing Cybertruck vehicles around the world for final certification and validation,” the company wrote in its Q2 investors deck. “This might be the most unique vehicle product in decades; with that comes trialing and testing new technologies.”

This past quarter has seen a number of scandals at the company including its executives accused of being overpaid by a cool $735 million dollars since 2017 as well as Elon being suspected of misappropriating company funds to build a glass house. Not a fancy aboratorium, not a metaphor for Twitter, a literal “glass house.”

Wednesday’s investor deck specifically noted Tesla’s “commitment to being at the forefront of AI development” with the start of production for its Dojo training computers, which will be used to help Autopilot developers iterate future designs and features. Details were sparse but we do expect company executives to further discuss this initiative during the Q2 investors call which begins at 5:30pm ET.

Stay tuned to Engadget for up to the minute breaking news from that call, as well as whatever wacky and problematic-for-Legal statements Musk shares.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-built-and-delivered-a-nearly-half-a-million-evs-in-q2-205948639.html?src=rss 

Microsoft is taking another turn at testing its HoloLens-based combat goggles with the US military. The company has confirmed to Engadget that it’s delivering improved IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmentation System) 1.2 devices to the Army before the end of July. These updated augmented reality models are “slimmer, lighter and more balanced” than before, Microsoft says. That, in turn, should make them more comfortable and improve soldiers’ performance.

The Army tellsBloomberg two squads will test 20 prototype IVAS goggles in late August. They’ll gauge low-light functionality, reliability and whether or not they make soldiers feel ill. Some testers complained last year of nausea, headaches and eye strain, while others weren’t happy with the bulk, narrow field of view and a display glow that could give away a soldier’s presence at night. Key features also failed relatively frequently.

The HoloLens tech is meant to improve battlefield awareness. Infantry can see each other’s positions, get vital health stats and use night vision that’s less conspicuous. They can better coordinate assaults and warn if there are signs of injury or fatigue. The technology might reach the field within a few years if the August test is successful. The Army would award a contract between July and September 2024 for a second field study, and could move to an operational combat test as soon as April 2025. The Army could deploy IVAS months afterward.

Much is riding on this test, however. While the Army could spend as much as $21.9 billion in ten years for up to 121,000 IVAS units, Congress blocked further orders of the earlier goggles in January following reports of problems. Politicians instead gave Microsoft $40 million to rework the hardware. If there are still issues, the Army could cancel the program. It would not only cost Microsoft a lucrative contract, but would cast further doubt on HoloLens itself. The team lost lead developer Alex Kipman last year following misconduct allegations, and layoffs early this year dealt a serious blow to the mixed reality division.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-will-deliver-improved-hololens-combat-goggles-to-army-testers-this-month-211521914.html?src=rss