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Robosen announced a new auto-converting Transformer today. After launching its self-transforming Optimus Prime in 2021, the company set its sights on Grimlock, the Autobot-allied leader of the Dinobots who changes from a robot into a mechanical T-Rex. However, its $1,699 sticker price (a mere $1,499 for pre-orders) also allows it to transform your finances for the worse.

The Grimlock collectible stands 15 inches tall in robot mode and 15.4 inches in dinosaur mode. Robosen describes its auto-transforming as “the epitome of auto-conversion” while calling the product “the world’s first dual-form, bipedal walking robot.” (The Optimus Prime version walks as a robot but drives in truck form.) The manufacturer says Grimlock includes 85 microchips, 34 high-precision intelligent servos while running on “advanced SOC chip technology” and “a comprehensive robot operating system.” In addition, it has six-axis IMU sensors for balance monitoring.

This Grimlock is based on the Transformers G1 version, which debuted in 1985. The collectible includes the original toy’s Energon sword, galaxial rocket launcher, and crown accessories. Robosen and Hasbro even brought back the original voice actor from the G1 animated series, the now 72-year-old Gregg Berger, to record “150+ original Generation 1 Transformers audio lines” for the expensive toy. For the uninitiated, the character is known for a simplistic speaking style, including the well-trodden phrase, “Me Grimlock!”

In addition to hearing Grimlock’s classic voice (synchronized with “robotic actions”), you can also control it by speaking to it. The product recognizes 42 voice commands, letting you tell it to transform, walk and perform various “stunning stunts.” You can also create new poses and actions for the Dinobot using four programming modes (block-based, manual, voice and computer-based). And if money truly is no object, you can pair it with the $699 Optimus Prime robot to watch them reenact your favorite classic Transformers battle scenes. This would be wonderful for children, but its pricing mostly limits it to nostalgia-stricken adults with more money than meets the eye.

The Grimlock auto-converting robot is available for pre-order now from Robosen and Hasbro. It’s expected to ship in late fall. Although its pricing may be a tough sell, at least they’re throwing in a limited edition collector’s coin so you can demonstrate that you spent the equivalent of a month’s rent on a robotic T-Rex that speaks about itself in the third person.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/robosens-auto-transforming-grimlock-will-set-you-back-about-a-mortgage-payment-182443528.html?src=rss 

Being a smartphone startup is hard, particularly when you’re up against tech giants like Apple, Google and Samsung. But after selling more than 500,000Phone 1s last year, Nothing has returned with a sequel: the Phone 2. And while it looks similar to the previous model, it feels like Nothing is finally figuring out its groove. Not only does it have a significantly faster CPU, its cameras have been improved, and we’re finally seeing Nothing’s vision of a more thoughtful and deliberate UI. Even the phone’s most distinctive feature – its Glyph interface – offers enhanced customization and added functionality. But perhaps most importantly, the Phone 2 will officially be available in the US. And while this added sophistication comes at an increased cost, it’s still very affordable at $600. In a sea of Android phones that often blend together, getting an eye-catching device for a reasonable price is definitely something notable.

Design

Compared to most phones that are clad in a blank sheet of glass, the Phone 2 (which is available in white or a new gray color) is a stunner. Its transparent Gorilla Glass back reveals a monotone assortment of components, allowing you to see things like its magnetic charging coil, power cables and more. It’s not messy, though. Everything is buttoned up just enough, and there are human touches like arranging some of the components to look like an elephant. I’ve been told there are other creatures hiding as well, but I haven’t spotted them yet. It’s like having a cyberpunk art installation in your pocket.

Of course, there’s also the Glyph interface which consists of a number of LED strips that pulse, strobe and glow. For this model, Nothing more than doubled the number of lights from five to 11, while also adding support for addressable zones, which allows for gradient effects. Unfortunately, there’s still only one color to choose from: white.

As for the rest of the device, it’s very similar to the Phone 1 including a metal frame with flat boxy sides and an iPhone-like button layout for power and volume. The one big change is that Nothing used 2.5D glass with rounded edges in back which sports curves that sit more naturally in your hand without digging in.

Meanwhile, its 6.7-inch OLED display delivers excellent brightness (with peaks of well over 1,000 nits in my testing), rich colors and a speedy 120Hz refresh rate. You also get an in-screen fingerprint reader for simple and secure biometrics which is both fast and accurate.

Performance

The Phone 2 packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, 8GB or 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. Sure, its chip is a year old, but it handled games and editing photos without a hint of lag. When combined with speedy UI animations and a lightweight Android skin, the Phone 2 feels incredibly responsive and snappier than some flagship phones that cost a whole lot more. Additionally, while the phone is only available as an unlocked model, it has been certified to work on both T-Mobile and AT&T’s networks (sorry Verizon folk), so it’s pretty flexible when it comes to bringing it over to your carrier.

Cameras

Tuning a phone’s cameras and image processing can be extremely difficult when you don’t have the same level of resources as a trillion-dollar megacorp. And while the Phone 2’s 50MP main cam and 50MP ultra-wide cams are decent, they’re still a tier or two below what you get from a Pixel 7. During the day, the Phone 2 captures images with bright, rich colors and good sharpness. It’s only when you zoom to 100 percent that you notice things like color fringing and worse dynamic range. Nothing has a hard time keeping up with Google’s Night Sight mode in low light too, sometimes struggling when trying to nail white balance while also preserving detail. Still, coming from the Phone 1, it’s a big improvement and if you aren’t an avid photographer, the Phone 2 is still serviceable.

Software

Compared to the previous model, the Phone 2’s software may have the biggest number of improvements. This time instead of a barebones version of stock Android, Nothing has included its Monochrome UI which consists of new widgets, wallpapers, icon packs and more that create a distinctive experience that ties into the phone’s exterior design. Not only does it look great, you can also make all the app icons grayscale and even remove the name of the app entirely. The idea is that, by making apps a touch harder to find, you’re forced to be more deliberate about how and when you use your phone. That’s a refreshing change from just reflexively doom scrolling through social media every time you have a spare minute.

Nothing also added a new tab in the settings menu for its Glyph interface so you can get more granular control over all those LEDs. Features range from simple things like using its rear lights to show battery status or volume to more sophisticated things like what Nothing calls “Essential notifications.” That allows you to set specific apps to activate LEDs on the back of the phone. This way, you can put the phone facedown on a table and really pay attention to the people you’re with. This was convenient for me because since my wife and I seem to be the only people we know that use Google Chat, I set that as my essential notification so I never miss her messages.

And while it’s limited to a single app for now, Nothing is even integrating its Glyph interface with a third-party app in Uber, so you can see a real-time arrival estimate for a car just by looking at the back of the phone. It’s a neat trick that could have a ton of potential. Instead of using a special API, the LEDs are simply getting info from your notifications to update the lights. That makes it easier to develop more custom Glyph integrations without needing to partner with every single app developer. So while third-party app integration is still a work in development, it’s off to an interesting start.

Finally, while it’s not quite as long as what you get from Google or Samsung, Nothing is promising three years of OS updates along with four years of regular security patches.

Battery Life

I wasn’t sure what kind of endurance I was going to get from the Phone 2 between its 4,700 mAh battery and slightly older, less power-efficient chip. But on our video rundown test, Nothing crushed it with a time of 24 hours and 25 minutes. That’s the second longest time we’ve seen in recent history, only behind the Samsung’s Galaxy S23+ (25:02). On top of that you get 15-watt wireless charging, 45-watt wired charging and 5-watt reverse wireless charging.

Wrap-up

In a time when new generations of phones never seem quite as exciting as the last, Nothing has still managed to make the Phone 2 stand out. Its eye-catching design captures some of the best qualities of clear plastic gadgets from the ‘90s, like Gameboys and Nintendo 64’s, but in a much more sophisticated way. Meanwhile, Nothing’s Monochrome UI asks users to be more thoughtful about how they use their device while giving them tools like the Glyph interface that can surface info and notifications in novel ways. And even though its specs don’t jump out at you, it never felt slow and it’s well-equipped with handy features like reverse wireless charging.

That said, for $600, the Pixel 7 is still the better value. It’s got a newer chip along with a much more sophisticated software package which includes features like Call Screener and robust language detection, and its cameras are in a class of their own. But its screen is smaller and its battery life isn’t quite as long. And you know what, that’s totally fine because the Phone 2 isn’t for everyone. It’s a phone that wants you to think differently about how you use your device while giving you the tools to do so. It’s the offbeat choice, and for people who want to be excited by their phone again, it’s definitely an interesting mainstream alternative.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nothing-phone-2-review-an-offbeat-alternative-to-boring-midrange-phones-specs-price-160002218.html?src=rss 

Amid the pending takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, the former has laid off around 50 employees from its esports division. The company is also preparing for some potential huge changes to the Overwatch League (OWL), which may bring an end to its city-based franchise format.

Employees were informed of the layoffs on Tuesday, according to The Verge. One now-former member of the team told the publication that the layoffs came out of nowhere and suggested that a skeleton crew could close out the OWL and World Series of Warzone seasons. However, they added that “in my eyes, they are completely unequipped to internally support anything esports after that.” Activision Blizzard also laid off around 50 people from its esports teams in March 2021.

The company noted in an earnings report released today that it modified its agreements with Overwatch League team owners last quarter. “According to the amended terms, following the conclusion of the current Overwatch League season, the teams will vote on an updated operating agreement,” the report reads. “If the teams do not vote to continue under an updated operating agreement, a termination fee of $6 million will be payable to each participating team entity.” The company added that OWL’s total revenue accounts for under one percent of its consolidated net revenues. 

Reports recently suggested that the Overwatch League waived its remaining franchise fees, with teams still owning between $6 million and $7.5 million after payments were deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A spot in the league was originally said to cost $20 million, and that reportedly jumped to over $30 million for expansion teams that joined in the second season in 2019.

Although it got off to a strong start, OWL has been on shaky ground for some time. In its first two seasons, many matches aired on ESPN and other networks and the season-ending Grand Finals were shown on ABC. After two seasons of OWL hosting almost every match from a television studio, the third season was supposed to be when the ambitious grand vision of OWL came together, with players competing in each team’s city every week.

However, that was in 2020 and the format only lasted a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down. The forced change to an online-only format in 2020 closed off a key and long-promised revenue stream to OWL team owners, as they were unable to generate income from live events. Live events gradually started returning in 2021.

There have been many other hiccups. When OWL moved from Twitch to YouTube in 2020, viewership dropped substantially. While there have been some significant peaks in viewership over the last few years, the league still appears to be struggling to attract eyeballs. Sponsors such as Coca-Cola, T-Mobile and Kellogg’s fled the ship in 2021 following a lawsuit that included allegations of widespread sexual harassment and discrimination at Activision Blizzard.

China has been one of the strongest markets for OWL viewership over the last few years. However, Overwatch 2 and most other Blizzard games are not currently available in the country after a partnership with NetEase, which published the games there, came to an end. That could have impacted interest in the Overwatch ecosystem in the country overall. (In its earnings statement, Activision Blizzard noted that “engagement and player investment in Overwatch 2 declined sequentially” in the second quarter of the year, but hopes a soft relaunch with a major update next month will bring players back.)

Blizzard tried to bolster excitement around OWL this year by opening a pathway for teams from the second-tier Contenders division to compete in the highest level of Overwatch esports for the first time. In June, after failing to field a team in the first half of the season, it emerged that the Chengdu Hunters became the first franchise to leave the Overwatch League for good.

OWL team owners have long claimed that they’re not making enough money from the league. Earlier this year, esports journalist Jacob Wolf reported that OWL teams brought in a law firm to negotiate with Activision Blizzard for some kind of economic relief “after years of high operating costs and continually missed promises on revenue.” Sports Business Journalnoted that teams receive around $1 million from OWL but it costs between $3 million and $5 million a year to run a competitive team, meaning that most are running at a loss.

Given the financial implications, it would not be surprising if OWL teams vote to end their agreement with the league. While that would certainly end the Overwatch League in its current format, Activision Blizzard is still planning to support Overwatch esports.

“I want to be clear on one thing in particular, that Overwatch remains committed to a competitive ecosystem in 2024 and beyond,” OWL commissioner Sean Miller told The Verge. “And we’re building toward a revitalized global scene that prioritizes players and fans.” Miller noted that Blizzard was looking at various options for the future of Overwatch esports and added he was very optimistic: “We are doing all we can to make the player experience and the fan experience one that people want to return to, want to be a part of and get excited about to turn on.”

All the same, the Overwatch esports ecosystem could look very different next year. This year’s Grand Finals in Toronto could be the end of OWL as we know it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/activision-blizzard-lays-off-around-50-esports-staff-amid-a-potential-overwatch-league-overhaul-152039688.html?src=rss