Technology

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 was released last year, yet Samsung’s promised heart-tracking EKG feature is still not available to help it compete with the Apple Watch in the US. Instead, Samsung has just released a new update to the watch that adds features that debuted in the newly released Galaxy Watch 3 to the less expensive Active 2 — including the long-rumored fall detection feature which could help if you trip and get seriously injured. When the Galaxy Watch 3 released last month with the expensive starting price of $399 compared to the Galaxy Watch Active 2’s $250 price, it added some fitness features that turned out to be hit or miss, as my colleague Dan Siefert pointed out in his review (it’s a recurring problem in Samsung wearables). Now, you’re getting some metrics like “asy...

Google has sometimes gotten in trouble for the phrases that automatically appear when you’re trying to type in a new search. Even if some of them make for amusing celebrity interviews, others have sometimes steered users toward problematic concepts and fake news in addition to harmless things like movie and video game spoilers. The suggestions are based on what other people are searching for, after all. But in the buildup to the 2020 US presidential election, Google is changing its autocomplete policies to theoretically weed out one particular category of suggestion: “Election related predictions” that could be interpreted as favoring a particular candidate or political party. The new policy is extremely short, so I’ll just give you the whole thing right here: Elections related predictions...

Android 11 just launched this week for Pixel devices and phones from OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Realme, and now Google has detailed its counterpart designed for low-powered devices: Android 11 (Go edition). One of the biggest new features is that Android 11 (Go edition) is supposed to work on devices with 2GB of RAM or less — a bump up from Android 10 (Go edition), which was made for devices with less than 1.5GB of RAM. But don’t necessarily expect to upgrade your existing 2GB phone: Android 11 Go is only going to come out with new phones with that much memory, not earlier ones, Google tells The Verge. Also, Google says it’s up to OEMs whether they want to put Android 11 Go on a device instead of Android 10 Go, contradicting what was suggested in a document obtained by XDA Developers back ...

To say 2020 is a wild year is an understatement — aside from the obvious thing that’s defined 2020, in July, some people across the US received an unsolicited parcel from China containing seeds. Motherboard’s editor-in-chief went to great lengths to find out what people did with those seeds, and you should read his report. As you’d expect, the strange packages caught the USDA’s attention, urging people to mail the seeds to the agency or to their state’s plant regulator. Some people listened to the government and others, not so much. Here are some interesting details from Motherboard’s report on how overwhelmed agricultural authorities were and what likely happened to people who kept the seeds: A woman from New Mexico thought a seed company sent them to her, so she decided to plant the seed...

Ubisoft is bringing back one of its most legendary games with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, a modern version of the classic action-adventure game set for release on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on January 21st, 2021. The company says that the new version of The Sands of Time is emphatically Ubisoft’s first full-fledged remake, not a remaster or reboot. Ubisoft Pune & Ubisoft Mumbai rebuilt the original game from the ground up using Ubisoft’s modern AnvilNext Engine, complete with new motion capture animation, new assets, and some adjustments to the gameplay for modern audiences. The Sands of Time Remake still strongly resembles the original, though, with the same storyline and gameplay. Don’t expect a full-scale reimagining like the recent Final Fantasy 7 Remake. T...

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game was an incredible adaptation of the iconic comic series, with an unforgettable chiptune soundtrack by Anamanaguchi. Unfortunately, it was also lost to time. After launching on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2013, it was delisted about a year later. Now, after years of fan outcry, Ubisoft is bringing the pixelated beat ‘em up back to modern platforms. A “complete edition” — which will include all of the DLC — is coming to the PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and Google Stadia. Ubisoft says it’ll be available “holiday 2020.” Huge thank you to the fans who never shut up about the Scott Pilgrim game, not once, ever, even for one second to let me sleep. This game belongs to you. Now please get out of my house — Bryan Lee O’Malley (@bryanleeomalley) September 10, 2...

When Ubisoft first announced the game formerly known as Gods & Monsters back at E3 2019, comparisons to Nintendo’s highly acclaimed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild were quick to follow. Ubisoft’s formal gameplay reveal of the newly renamed Immortals Fenyx Rising — set for release on December 3rd — does nothing to dispel those comparisons. In fact, after a two-hour gameplay demo of Immortals Fenyx Rising, it was hard to shake the feeling that I had just spent an afternoon playing a Greek-themed version of Nintendo’s instant classic with the serial numbers filed off. There are so many aspects of Immortals Fenyx Rising that feel like they were ripped right out of Breath of the Wild that it’s almost easier to list things that don’t feel like direct clones. Fenyx is a warrior who wa...

Episodic gaming has always felt like an idea that was ahead of its time. For many players, it’s a compelling concept: story-driven games broken up into digestible chunks that you can play over the course of weeks or months. But the realities of game development and release schedules proved problematic. Telltale Games, the studio behind episodic hits like The Walking Dead and Batman, infamously collapsed as it struggled with the demands of releasing new episodes every month. Meanwhile, last year’s Life is Strange 2 was excellent but difficult to keep up with as chapters launched at an erratic pace, releasing every few months. But with the advent of subscription services like Xbox Game Pass, episodic games may have finally found their moment. I came to this realization while playing Tell Me ...

Nintendo is offering a closer look at the new Game & Watch hardware coming on November 13th that will come preloaded with the original Super Mario Bros. game. In case you missed out on the announcement last week, it’s a $49.99 device that’s being released in limited quantities for Mario’s 35th anniversary celebration — and it’s likely going to be very difficult to get your hands on one. In addition to the original Mario title, it comes loaded with Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (released as Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan) and a Mario-themed version of Ball, a new twist on a classic Game & Watch game that first released decades ago. The display appears to be backlit, which would be great.Image: Nintendo This video clip mostly shows the ins and outs of the modernized Game & Wat...

Annapurna Interactive is celebrating five years of stellar game releases with a box set. Donut County, Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition, Outer Wilds, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Wattam, What Remains of Edith Finch, Telling Lies, and Gorogoa will be available as a physical collection for the PlayStation 4 with iam8bit, the company announced today. Interested buyers have two options: an Ultimate PS4 Collection for $179.99 or a Deluxe PS4 Limited Edition for $199.99 that includes a custom-designed folio package and exclusive statements from the game’s creators and Annapurna Interactive’s founder. The Ultimate Collection will be available for a limited time, while the Deluxe is part of a set of 2,000. “Since we launched almost five years ago, Annapurna Interactive’s goal has always been to create uni...

There’s never been a better time to buy a new game console or PC. While consoles have typically been held back by weaker CPUs, spinning hard drives, and average GPU performance, the next-generation PS5 and Xbox Series S / X are promising some big leaps in performance that will put them beyond even average gaming PCs. Nvidia, meanwhile, is claiming it will deliver the “biggest breakthrough in PC gaming since 1999” with its new RTX 3000 series of graphics cards. The stage is set for a next generation of games that can take advantage of powerful CPUs, GPUs, and SSD storage across consoles and PCs. We’re now starting to get a good idea of what this next generation will cost and when it will arrive. Microsoft is launching its Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles on November 10th, priced at ...

Democrats will commit today to a wide-ranging new progressive agenda that simultaneously tackles pandemic recovery, climate change, and systemic injustice. They’re calling the agenda THRIVE, which stands for “Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy.” Signers range from party leaders like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to progressives like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who will introduce the resolution in Congress later today. Activists are also well-represented, with over 150 advocacy groups — including unions, environmental groups like Sunrise Movement, Indigenous Environmental Network, and the Movement for Black Lives — throwing their weight behind the agenda. “We have an opportunity to not just recover from these interlocking crises, but to thrive.” The new agenda isn’t ...