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Now that AAA video games cost a full $70, console bundles are the way to go to save a few coins. Nintendo is dropping another Switch 2 bundle just in time for the holiday season, and it’s a real treat for Pokémon fanatics. The Nintendo Switch 2 + Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Bundle drops on October 16 and costs $500.

As the name suggests, this bundle includes a shiny new Switch 2 console and a digital copy of the enhanced version of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The game itself will also be available on that same date.

Notice I said “enhanced version.” That’s because Pokémon Legends: Z-A is technically a Switch 1 game, like its predecessor Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The Switch 2 Edition will feature some nice upgrades for the new console, with the company promising “improved performance, enhanced resolution and smoother frame rates.” This is all welcome news, as Arceus struggled to run properly on the now-ancient Switch 1, and who knows how the new one will perform.

For the uninitiated, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is an action role-playing game that differs a bit from the traditional Pokémon formula. The gameplay is a mix of real-time capture mechanics and old-school turn-based battles. It also looks to be set entirely in Lumiose City, making it something of a sequel to Pokémon X and Y.

This news comes from a brand-new Pokémon Presents livestream in which Game Freak unveiled footage from a new TV show by the makers of Wallace and Gromit and released a trailer for a new season of the Netflix hit Pokémon Concierge.

There was also a whole bunch of footage of Pikachu DJing for some reason. Is that electric rodent out here trying to steal thunder from K.K. Slider?

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/theres-a-switch-2-bundle-with-pokemon-legends-z-a-dropping-on-october-16-152613321.html?src=rss 

OpenAI has struck a deal with Oracle to add an astounding 4.5 gigawatts of US data center capacity to power the massive workload required by its large language models. The companies haven’t specified where these new centers will be built, but Bloomberg is reporting that Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin and Wyoming are all under consideration.

The ChatGPT maker says this new capacity is a part of the Stargate Project, and that together with its one GW campus in Abilene, Texas, the company is projecting more than five GW of total capacity running over two million AI chips once the new centers are complete. Oracle began delivering its GB200 racks last month for the Abilene site as it begins operations. OpenAI estimates that the massive undertaking will create over 100,000 jobs, though data centers historically employ few full-time workers, with most of the jobs tied to construction.

While details on budget were not shared, OpenAI says that these new data centers represent significant progress toward its promise of investing $500 billion in the United States to build out 10 GW of AI infrastructure over the next four years. These investments, which are all part of The Stargate Project, are being made alongside SoftBank and Oracle as partners, though SoftBank is not financing this phase.

This announcement comes as big tech companies are pouring billions into new data centers and power agreements to sustain the growth of AI and power future models. Google recently closed a £3 billion deal to secure 3,000 megawatts of hydroelectric power, while Microsoft is planning to restart the nuclear power plants of Three Mile Island.

In a press release announcing the new project, Open AI said ” Stargate is an ambitious undertaking designed to meet the historic opportunity in front of us. That opportunity is now coming to life through strong support from partners, governments, and investors worldwide—including important leadership from the White House, which has recognized the critical role AI infrastructure will play in driving innovation, economic growth, and national competitiveness.”

OpenAI and others are racing to build compute power at an industrial scale, with some US states offering massive tax incentives to land the projects.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-partners-with-oracle-to-built-out-45-gigawatts-in-data-center-capacity-143423570.html?src=rss 

Like any habit, maintaining a meditation practice can be challenging. Having the right tools can make it a bit easier, which is why we’re excited to see a subscription to Headspace is back on sale. Right now, you can get one year of Headspace for $42, down from $70. The 40 percent discount brings the cost to about $3.50 per month. 

Headspace is Engadget’s (and my) pick for best meditation app overall. It’s great for so many reasons, including how easy it is to find different types of meditations. There’s courses for everything from anxiety to grieving. Plus, you can do single sessions or focus on mindfulness and sleep. 

One of the things Headspace does best is make meditation feel doable. It offers a bunch of beginner courses and tools for learning the basics. So, it’s a good option if you’ve wanted to get into meditation but have been unsure how to start. 

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/headspace-annual-subscriptions-are-40-percent-off-right-now-132813881.html?src=rss 

Samsung said the display it used for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 can be folded over twice as many times as the display used for the previous iterations of the model. The foldable OLED panel “remained fully functional” after certification company Bureau Veritas put it through a durability test, wherein it was folded 500,000 times over 13 days. That means if a user folds their phone roughly 100 times a day, the display could last for over 10 years. In its announcement, Samsung said that “durability is no longer a limiting factor in the lifespan of foldable smartphones.”

The company took cues from bulletproof glass to create a shock-proof design for the new foldable OLED panel. It increased the thickness of the display’s outermost glass by 50 percent and applied high-elastic adhesive to every layer of the panel so that it can better absorb external impact. The new display can also distribute shock more evenly across its surface, and Samsung used titanium plate as support for the whole structure to make it stronger than before. In addition, by using more advanced materials and redesigning the panel layer, the company was able to achieve a thinner profile so that the device looks and feels like any regular handset now. 

Previous versions of the Galaxy Z Fold, from the first through the sixth, were only rated for 200,000 folds. And when CNET tested the first Z Fold itself by using a machine that opened and folded it for hours, it only lasted 119,380 folds despite supposedly being able to withstand 200,000. If the Galaxy Z Fold 7 can get anywhere near the 500,000 folds it can supposedly handle, most users don’t have to worry about their screens snapping in two before they change phones. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-z-fold-7s-display-is-rated-to-withstand-500000-folds-120048142.html?src=rss 

As is tradition, Google has already shown off at least one of its new Pixel phones before it’s announced. The front page of the Google Store currently features a short video teasing one of the Pixel 10 smartphones the company is announcing on August 20.

If you take the webpage literally, then Google’s video is showing off the base Pixel 10, which has a similar look to the Pixel 9, with some key differences. Those include a new grayish-blue finish, a tweaked back design that makes the back of the phone looks like it’s rising out of the frame and an additional camera. If you haven’t gotten to try a Pixel 9, last year’s phone only had wide and ultrawide cameras, with the telephoto lens exclusive to the Pixel 9 Pro models. Leaks suggest Google is giving all of its phones telephoto cameras in 2025, though it’s still possible the phone in the video is a Pixel 10 Pro.

There’s not much to glean from the video beyond that. Some of that could be because of the more modest approach Google is rumored to be taking with its new phones, focusing on technical improvements — like a new Tensor chip — rather than radical new designs.

Google runs a leaky ship when it comes to hardware, with most of its new products reported on well in advance of the company actually announcing them. In recent years, Google has seemingly embraced that, teasing the Pixel 9 lineup ahead of launch last year, and revealing the Pixel 7 months before it was announced in October 2022.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/google-shows-off-the-pixel-10-less-than-a-month-before-its-launch-203924194.html?src=rss