Yahoo Finance Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products.
The Morning After: Audi unveiled the e-tron GT with all-wheel steering
Audi's 522 HP electric gran tourer arrives this summer, and Weber adds smart tech to gas grills.
When are things getting back to normal? When are we going back to school, the office, going on vacation or booking travel and hotels for E3? Those all-important questions. The world’s biggest gaming show, having had to cancel last year, continues to contort and reinvent itself, and its organizers say it’ll be back in 2021 — most likely as an all-digital affair.
Engadget has already covered at least one all-digital trade show, CES, but reporting on the latest gaming news seems altogether more doable than trying to assess TVs, gadgets and startups from hundreds (or thousands) of miles away. Beyond what we saw last year — plenty of YouTube-based trailers and gameplay videos even without an official E3 2020 — with the ability to cloud-stream and play new games remotely, future E3s could offer the same kind of insight into new releases that you’d get at a standard show.
If the companies want us to play them, that is.
— Mat Smith
Audi anoints the e-tron GT as its luxuriously geeky flagship EV
These aren’t sporty SUVs — they’re sports cars.
Two years after the debut of the first e-tron SUV, Audi is expanding its electric lineup with a pair of all-wheel drive, four-wheel steer Grand Touring models — the 637 HP RS e-tron GT and the 522 HP e-tron GT quattro.
The quattro offers 320kW of total power (350kW or 522HP under boost), a zero-to-62 of 4.1 seconds and 465 pounds per foot of torque. The more capable RS muscles in with 440kW (475kW under boost or roughly 637HP), a zero-to-62 in just 3.1 seconds, 612 pounds per foot torque and a 155MPH (governed) top speed.
The e-tron GT will arrive in the US this summer in three trim packages: the e-tron GT quattro Premium Plus for $99,900, the e-tron GT quattro Prestige for $107,000, and the RS e-tron GT for $139,900.
Continue reading.
Alleged Android 12 screenshots tease a new privacy indicator
And what could be a new conversation widget.
We still don’t know when Android 12 will land, either as a developer preview or for us mere mortals. However, an XDA rumor claims to have seen early drafts of the Android update, which includes a new privacy indicator at the top left of the interface showing whether the phone’s camera and mic are in use — a la iOS 14.
Continue reading.
Weber brings wireless smarts to its gas grills
Four upcoming grills include WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity and an LED display.
It’s definitely not quite the season for it, but Weber is making its gas grills more modern. Three new grills will include the Weber Connect platform, which aims to make grilling easy — or, at least, less likely to result in charred remains. Until now, the platform has only been available on the company's smart grilling hub and pellet grills. It can monitor what’s cooking, check temperatures and inform you through Bluetooth and WiFi. All three gas grills, starting from $999 up to $1,299, will launch this spring.
Continue reading.
How Stadia lost one of its most anticipated indie games
'Terraria' was going to hit Stadia this year. Emphasis on 'was.'
Here’s how it went down in public: Terraria co-creator and Re-Logic CEO Andrew Spinks published a Twitter thread early Monday morning accusing Google of suddenly, unjustifiably suspending his studio’s YouTube, Gmail, Drive and Play accounts. He said he had never violated Google’s rules, and the company was refusing to clarify the situation. And so, Spinks canceled the Google Stadia edition of Terraria, a beloved 2011 indie game with an audience of more than 30 million players. Here’s a closer look at what happened.
Continue reading.
Apple will replace 2016/2017 MacBook Pro batteries that refuse to charge past 1 percent
If your older MBP isn’t charging, try the latest macOS software update first.
Apple has launched a battery replacement program for 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models experiencing the issue. The tech giant just rolled out macOS 11.2.1 and a macOS Catalina 10.15.7 supplemental update, both intended to fix a bug preventing the affected computers’ batteries from being charged. But if the patches don’t work, then you can contact Apple or take your laptop to a service center.
Continue reading.
Scientists prove that deepfake detectors can be duped
They tested their method on 'state-of-the-art deepfake detectors.'
Research on detecting deepfake videos has continued at a pace in a bid to limit the spread of misinformation. Deepfake detectors, however, can still be duped, a group of computer scientists from UC San Diego has warned. The scientists used “adversarial examples” (manipulated images that can cause AI systems to make a mistake) inserted into every video frame, which could fool “state-of-the-art deepfake detectors.”
So, how do we improve these detectors so they can’t be duped? The scientists recommend using adversary training, where an adaptive adversary keeps generating deepfakes that can bypass the detector while it’s still being trained.
Continue reading.
But wait, there’s more...
OnePlus co-founder kicks off 'Nothing' brand with a pair of wireless earbuds
Hyundai's TIGER 'ultimate mobility vehicle' concept is the size of a housecat
'Crash Bandicoot 4' is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch in March
DOJ drops lawsuit challenging California's net neutrality law
Novation teases Circuit Rhythm sampler
Amazon is reportedly making a wall-mounted Echo 'command center'
