After years of hybrids, Karma is finally ready to make the leap to pure EVs. The automaker has unveiled an all-electric Revero GTE sedan that will represent the “high-range” of its lineup. Karma didn’t reveal the motors, but the machine will be built on the E-Flex platform and deliver 60MPH in under 3.9 seconds with electronic torque vectoring. You can also expect meaningful range. While the base model with a 75kW battery will manage just 200 miles on a charge, a 100kW version arriving at the same time should push 300 miles. A “hyper-range” version arriving months later will push 400 miles — if you have the money, long city-to-city jaunts should be relatively easy.
The brand is also promising 150kW fast charging that brings the GTE to 80 percent in less than 30 minutes. That’s not nearly as powerful as Tesla’s 250kW or Porsche’s 350kW, but you won’t have to take an extended lunch break to make it home.
Over the past few days, some Valorant players have raised concerns about the fact that the game’s anti-cheat driver (vgk.sys) runs as soon as you turn on your computer. Now, Riot Games, the new first-person shooter’s developer, has published a post explaining why its anti-cheat system works that way along with an assurance that it doesn’t collect any personal information.
Riot’s anti-cheat technology loads at start-up to counter advanced cheats that run before you even fire up the game. You can uninstall the vgk.sys driver anytime, but the game won’t run without it — Riot’s client won’t recognize your PC as a trusted machine if you do. The company says it only collects data for the operation of the game, though. And, in an earlier response to a Reddit thread discussing the issue, it explained that the driver doesn’t scan anything unless the game is running.
CD Projekt Red’s next game isn’t due until September 17th — and multiplayer will arrive well after that — but Microsoft has revealed aCyberpunk 2077 Xbox One X that will go on sale in June. It’s odd timing, with the Xbox Series X (and accompanying free upgrade for the game) also just around the corner, but for one of the best ways to play the game as soon as it’s released, this console is enough to do it.
Congratulations Choombas, you worked together to #breakthecode!
After fans spent a day breaking down a coded message, the Xbox team revealed this system. There are custom panels, a glow in the dark ‘No Future’ decal, laser etchings and a blue LED embedded in the system.
The trick was to develop “mechanically robust” light-absorbing materials that achieve some of the highest power conversion efficiency of any organic cell, at 13 percent. That’s lower than many conventional solar cells (over 20 percent), but should be enough for wristwear. They’re relatively easy to make thanks to continuous printing tech.
Be sure to temper your expectations. The research team is planning to commercialize the new solar cell tech, but inventions like this can take years to refine and implement. The advantages are clear, at least. This could lead to more wearables that only need small batteries, or none at all. That could keep them running for much longer and slim them down compared to the relatively bulky devices you see today.
Beats president Luke Wood is leaving the company at the end of this month, with Apple Music and international content vice president Oliver Schusser set to take over. Wood’s departure, which was first reported by CNET and confirmed to Engadget by Beats, means the trio that led the audio brand when Apple bought it in 2014 are all out of the company. Co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine left some time ago.
Wood wasn’t at Beats from the beginning, but he played a key role in its success after joining in 2011. For one thing, he played a significant part in the launch of Beats Music, a precursor to Apple Music. Schusser, a longtime Apple executive, will add Beats to his existing duties.
Every time I write about a convertible Chromebook, I have to preface things by saying that I find very little utility in flipping a relatively large and heavy device around into tablet mode, so how well that works has little bearing on my evaluation. That said, the Chromebook Flip C436 has a strong and smooth hinge, whether you flip the screen all the way around or just use it as a laptop. And the recent release of Chrome OS 81 actually makes that tablet experience better with some new gestures and UI tweaks. Tablet mode has long been a sore spot for Chrome OS, with plenty of lag switching apps and moving through the UI, but it’s actually pretty smooth on the C436.
More important is how the C436 performs as a laptop — and with the powerful hardware on board here, this was one of the best Chrome OS experiences I’ve ever had. The $799 base C436 comes with a 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. That’s more than enough Chromebook for most people, but the $999 model I’m testing steps up to a Core i5 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. In both cases, ASUS is using Intel’s more powerful U-series processors rather than the low-power Y series chips found in the previous Flip. That means better performance, but also the fans kicked in regularly, even if I wasn’t pushing things too hard.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
Even that base model represents a big upgrade over the 2019 Flip, which had an m3 processor and a relatively paltry 4GB of RAM. Unsurprisingly, the $999 Flip C436 I used had no problem keeping up with my workflow, which isn’t terribly processor-intensive.. I usually have a couple Chrome windows going with six to 10 tabs in each, and then a host of Chrome apps in their own windows. Those include Todoist, Keep, Hangouts, Telegram, Trello, Tweetdeck and Slack; I also usually stream music with the Spotify or YouTube Music Android apps. The C436 has the same processor as the Galaxy Chromebook, but double the RAM. This meant I basically never hit any slowdowns or hiccups.
Last year’s Flip was a computer I could throw in my bag if it was charged and not have to worry about the battery running out, but unfortunately I can’t say the same for the Flip C436. I got a good nine hours of work time on the older Flip with its m3 processor, but this year’s model only lasted about six hours in my testing. That’s not terrible, but far from the exceptional performance I got out of the older Flip or Google’s Pixelbook Go. When running a playback test of an HD movie downloaded to the Flip’s local storage, it lasted seven hours and 55 minutes before shutting down. That’s not bad, but overall the laptop falls far short of ASUS’s estimates.
The competition
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
Throughout this review I’ve been comparing the Chromebook Flip C436 to the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook. As of this writing, the Flip C436 configuration that I reviewed is priced the same as the Galaxy Chromebook and has the same processor and a 360-degree hinge. Samsung’s offering has less storage and RAM, but it’s smaller in every dimension and lighter, as well. But probably the biggest differences are the 4K screen and stowable stylus, two things you can’t get on ASUS’s model. There’s a lot to like about the Galaxy Chromebook, but its terrible battery life means it’s hard to recommend.
Naturally, Google has a few models worth considering. 2017’s Pixelbook was a great computer when it launched, but it still costs $999; it’s a bit difficult to recommend a laptop that’s well over two years old at this point. It’s very well designed and can run Chrome OS well, but unless you really want a convertible form factor, Google’s Pixelbook Go is probably a better choice.
The Go doesn’t have a 360-degree hinge, but it does have a newer processor than the original Pixelbook. The Go is an all-around great Chromebook, with an excellent keyboard and long battery life. The base $649 model only has Intel’s m3 processor and 64GB of storage, but that’s probably enough for most people; spending $849 steps things up to an eighth-generation Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. That’s still less than the $999 Flip C436 I tested but again, it should be more than enough for most.
If these models are all too pricy, consider the ASUS Chromebook Flip C434 from 2019. The company says it’ll still be selling it, though it’s been out of stock in my recent searches. The processor isn’t as powerful, and it has less RAM and storage, but it still offers a great screen, keyboard and better battery life than the C436. With a price point just over $500, it’s a solid option.
At this point, it’s safe to say most people know hand washing is one the most effective ways to stop the spread of the coronavirus, but in case you need a reminder, and you happen to own a Tizen wearable like the Galaxy Watch Active 2, Samsung’s latest app is here to help. The company has released an app for its smartwatches that will remind you to wash your hands every couple of hours. Once you make your way to the washbasin, it will also ensure you spend enough time scrubbing your hands with a 25-second timer (WHO guidelines recommend spending at least 20 seconds).
The app also comes with a watch face (pictured above) that allows you to see how long it has been since you last washed your hands. And like a diligent mom, it will let you know when you’ve missed a scheduled visit to the faucet. The software was developed over two weeks by a team from the Samsung Research Institute-Bangalore — and not to worry, they made the app while working from home.
My big takeaway from the Minecraft RTX beta? Realistic lighting goes a long way. Everything feels more immersive when light comes from where it should, when shadows respond realistically, and reflections appear as you expect. It’s the difference between feeling like you’re playing a game, and feeling as if you’re entering an actual virtual world.
Unfortunately, ray tracing is still incredibly power hungry, and inaccessible to most gamers. On my test rig, which is powered by a Core i7 8700K CPU and an RTX 2080 Ti, Minecraft slows down to around 53FPS in 1080p when ray tracing is turned on. And the hit is even bigger on the more affordable RTX 2060, which falls to around 30 FPS according to NVIDIA’s benchmarks. That’s where the company’s DLSS technology comes in. It uses AI powered rendering to deliver higher quality results from lower-resolution images. Once I flipped that on, Minecraft jumped to around 93FPS in 1080p on my system. And NVIDIA says it’ll give that struggling RTX 2060 GPU a bump to around 53FPS.
Performance is even worse on RTX laptops, which aren’t nearly as powerful as their desktop siblings. NVIDIA claims an RTX 2080 Max-Q machine, like Acer’s Triton 500, will hit 57 FPS in Minecraft with ray tracing and DLSS enabled. Given that’s the company’s top of the line mobile GPU, you can expect things to be considerably slower for RTX 2060 and 2070 machines.
In a response to TechCrunch, a Google spokeperson didn’t directly acknowledge plans for the card and instead repeated the statement it issued on the banking leak in November, when it confirmed it was “exploring” partnerships for smart checking accounts in Google Pay. At the time, it mentioned that its “lead partners” were Citi and Stanford Federal Credit Union, both of whom are expected to cooperate with Google on the debit card.
There are plenty of incentives for Google to dive into debit cards. Like Apple and other tech giants, it can use services like this to generate a steady stream of revenue on top of its existing businesses. And remember, Google is an advertising giant — it could use data to improve its ad measurement and even target ads, at least for those customers who opt to share more info.
Whether or not people bite isn’t certain. The COVID-19 pandemic clearly puts a damper on adoption as people are largely staying inside. And yes, privacy could easily be a concern. Many are already concerned that Google is too eager to track users and otherwise pervade every aspect of their lives. Whether that worry is merited or not, would-be customers may be reluctant to sign up and give Google a potential peek at their financial status. Still, this could be ideal for people who are already fully invested in Google’s ecosystem and want a relatively frictionless way to shop.
Electric scooter company Lime is buying the designs, software, parts and test equipment of Boosted, according to The Verge. While neither Lime nor the electric skateboard company has made an announcement, some Reddit posts and patent files seemingly have confirmed the news. Additionally, two former Boosted employees have also told The Verge that Lime has been working on buying Boosted’s IP since late last year. It’s unclear whether Lime is interested in continuing to manufacture electric skateboards or if the company simply wants to leverage the insights and engineering behind Boosted’s technology.
Originally, Boosted had planned to be acquired by Yamaha, but the deal fell through. Sanjay Dastoor, Boosted co-founder and ex-CEO, said in a Reddit post that ““Lime has purchased all the assets and IP of the company. As far as I can tell, this includes design files, software and code, diagnostics, parts and test equipment.” According to Dastoor, “Lime also appears to be in possession of everything at Boosted’s headquarters in Mountain View, including access to the building.”
