Yahoo Finance The Morning After: BMW will end production of the i8 soon
And Amazon's checkout-free store is starting to pop up in airports.
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.
E3 is canceled. Due to the extended threat of the coronavirus pandemic, the gaming industry's biggest event of the year isn't happening. Please add it to the canceled event list that includes SXSW and Google I/O.
As we mentioned when the news broke, there were already several question marks hanging over this year's show. Earlier this year, Iam8bit, best known for its video game vinyl releases, resigned as E3 creative directors. The production company didn't give reasons for why it was bowing out, and there were whispers that this would be a very different kind of E3.
Last year, an E3 2020 pitch deck was leaked, outlining a "fan, media and influencer festival" that sounded a little different from the usual hands-on areas and industry meetings. Instead, the show would reportedly retool to pull in more of the general public -- and ticket sales.
Geoff Keighley, the organizer of The Game Awards and host of the E3 Coliseum event space, announced that he would be skipping the show last month, too, following up with a sober tweet about how this year's E3 was shaping up.
Not to mention, Sony was already no-show. Both the team behind PlayStation and Microsoft are planning standalone events to showcase their new consoles. (There will be a digital event for Microsoft's E3 news.)
You could argue, then, that our team dodged a bullet. But those games will still be announced, and still playable -- somewhere, at some point. It'll all be in a more piecemeal fashion.
-- Mat
'Call of Duty: Warzone' is a serious contender to Fortnite's throne
Now that Call of Duty Modern Warfare has a free-to-play battle royale add-on, is it really ready to compete with the champs of the genre? According to Matt Brian, yes.
With innovative tweaks on the formula like its "Gulag" 1v1 challenges, bounties on enemy players and an in-game money system that encourages you to hunt for kills, Warzone already has its own flair. Unsurprisingly, it's already counted six million players in the first 24 hours, and it looks like that number will continue to grow.
BMW will discontinue its iconic i8 hybrid in April
BMW has sold more than 20,000 i8s since 2014 -- no mean feat considering the $147,500 starting price. The company says that the model outsold all competitors in its class, combined. That said, the i8 is getting long in the tooth.
Its core technology is outdated and the company is transitioning to newer designs like the all-electric i4. So after six years of success, the BMW factory in Leipzig, Germany, will halt production of the company's best-selling sports car in April.
Yahoo launches its own unlimited data plan for $40 a month
Alongside Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Finance and all the other random things that Yahoo has attached its name to, say hello to Yahoo Mobile. It's a new mobile carrier that will tout unlimited texts, calls and 4G data, all for the flat fee of $40 a month. The service uses Verizon's network -- Verizon is the parent company of both Yahoo and Engadget -- and comes with the requisite "unlimited" caveats when it comes to usage. Regular download speeds will range between 5-12 Mbps, with upload speeds of around 2-5 Mbps, with slower speeds when carrier traffic is particularly congested. You will be able to tether, which is good news, but that's limited to one device, and download speeds of 5Mbps.
Amazon's checkout-free store tech is coming to airports stores this month
One of the first stores in the US to feature Amazon's Just Walk Out checkout-free technology will open on March 16th, merely a week after the company announced it was licensing the platform to retailers.
The experience is slightly different from Amazon's own stores because you don't need to install the Amazon Go app on your phone before entering. Instead, you insert a credit card into one of the gated turnstiles at the front. Once you're inside, you can go shopping as you usually would. Once you're ready to leave, that's it: you simply leave. The system automatically bills your card as you exit.
The first store will be the CIBO Express Gourmet Market, at Newark Liberty International Airport Terminal C, with more locations to follow.
Apple TV+ posts a full trailer for 'Beastie Boys Story'
With SXSW 2020 canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, Apple is hyping its upcoming Beastie Boys documentary with a nearly three-minute trailer posted on YouTube. The trailer gives some insight into what its "live documentary experience" is like, with Mike D and Ad-Rock telling their stories on a stage in front of pictures and videos of the group's heyday.
But wait, there's more...
Logitech's $130 3-in-1 dock charges your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods
Blue Origin shows off the engine and nose cone of its reusable rocket
Google is working on a native printing and scanning app for Chrome OS
How Riot Games' new team plans to curb trolling before it begins
The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't Subscribe.
Craving even more? Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter.
Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? Send us a note.
