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Xbox Series X will reportedly cost $499 and arrive November 10th

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Microsoft revealed last month that the Xbox Series X will arrive in November, just in time for this year’s holiday shopping season. Now, Windows Central reports a more specific release date and even a price point for the tech giant’s next-gen console: the Series X will apparently set you back $499 and will be available on November 10th. The publication’s report comes hot on the heels of a leak that shows what the Xbox Series S, which is expected to be Microsoft’s cheaper disc-less console, could look like.

According to Windows Central, Microsoft will offer a $35-per-month Xbox All Access financing option for the Series X. The publication also confirms that the Series S will cost $299. Microsoft will reportedly offer a $25-per-month Xbox All Access financing option for it and will be trying to capture as many markets as possible by having a large global rollout for the cheaper console. The Series S will be available on November 10th as well, the publication says.

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Xbox Series S leak reveals $299 price

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Back in mid-August, the packaging of what appeared to be a controller for the Xbox Series S was leaked online, pretty much confirming the existence of Microsoft’s long—rumored cheaper next-gen console. Now, we may already know what the device looks like, thanks to another leak by Brad Sams. The photo render shows a white console that looks similar to (but not exactly like) the Xbox Series X, along with the controller we saw last month. It doesn’t seem to have a disc drive, but we won’t know for sure until we see more images or hear more about it.

The leak also puts the cheaper console’s price at $299, making it a more appealing option for parents buying gifts for their kids this holiday season — assuming it’s coming out this year, that is. As Sams noted in his report, that means the One X could set buyers back around $599 when it arrives in November. According to the rumors about the Series S that started circulating way back last year, Microsoft is developing the disc-less console under the codename “Lockhart.” It will reportedly be capable of 1080p and 1440p gaming, have 7.5GB of RAM rather than the 13.5GB found on the Series X, as well as an underclocked CPU and a lower performance GPU.



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The Nintendo Switch goes on sale in Brazil on September 18th

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Buying directly from Nintendo is something people in Brazil haven’t been able to do for more than five years. Citing the country’s taxes at the time, Nintendo stopped direct sales in Brazil in 2015. Since then, consumers there have had to either import Nintendo products or buy them from a reseller. Last August, however, Brazillian President Jair Bolsonaro lowered import taxes on gaming hardware.

Provided the cost of the console doesn’t scare consumers away, Brazil offers a significant opportunity for Nintendo. After India, the US and China, the South American country is the fourth largest gaming market globally. That’s something that could help Nintendo build on the 61 million Switch units it has already sold.  

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TikTok is trying to stop a suicide video from spreading

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Since Sunday evening, TikTok has been trying to stop the spread of a graphic video showing a man committing suicide with a gun (via The Verge). The clip opens with an image of a grey-bearded man sitting in front of his desk. The seemingly innocuous nature of the video’s start and its appearance in TikTok’s For You feed, which automatically surfaces content based on a person’s interests, has led to people accidentally exposing themselves to the clip. TikTok has tried to stop the video from circulating by banning the accounts of people who try to re-upload it multiple times.

“Our systems have been automatically detecting and flagging these clips for violating our policies against content that displays, praises, glorifies, or promotes suicide,” a spokesperson for the company said. “We are banning accounts that repeatedly try to upload clips, and we appreciate our community members who’ve reported content and warned others against watching, engaging, or sharing such videos on any platform out of respect for the person and their family.”

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Researchers created a Game Boy that doesn’t need batteries

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Instead, all you need to play this Game Boy, officially called the Engage, for hours on end is some sunlight and frantic button mashing. The solar panels attached to the front of the device provide its primary source of power, with your button presses helping to generate additional power.

It’s not a perfect system and there are some major drawbacks. When it’s not too cloudy outside, you can get about 10 seconds of uninterrupted gameplay from the Engage Game Boy before it needs to shut down for about one second. It also can’t play any sounds. But you can still continuously play games thanks to an innovative framework for storing system state data to memory that allows you to pick up exactly where you left off, even if you lost power while in the middle of trying to land the perfect jump in Super Mario Land. While not ideal, this allows you to play slower-paced games relatively easily. 

More so than being a fun DIY project, the Engage is a proof of concept. When they set out to build their Game Boy, the Engage team wanted to show that it was possible to create an interactive device that doesn’t need batteries. They know what they’ve created is only a first step. It will take a lot more work before your Switch and other electronics don’t need batteries. But it’s still a significant step forward for the field of intermittent computing. 

“This could not have been possible even four or five years ago,” Josiah Hester, one of the computer scientists who worked on the project, told CNET. After presenting their findings at the UbiComp conference on September 15th, the Engage team plans to continue working on their Game Boy. One of the things they want to do is find a way to shorten the power interruptions.    

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Poco’s X3 is the first smartphone with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 732G

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Poco is keeping gamers in mind with this device. The X3 has an Adreno 618 Elite Gaming GPU with liquid cooling. It offers “unique vibration patterns” too, so accelerating, shooting and sprinting should all feel distinct.

The phone has 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage, with expandable storage of up to 256GB using microSD. It also includes a 5160mAh battery with 33W fast charge that should fully charge your device in a little over an hour.

On top of all that, the X3 has dual self-cleaning speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack a USB-C port, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, a face unlock option and Google Pay support. It uses the MIUI 12 for POCO operating system, which is based on Android 10.

Poco is selling the device for an early bird discount through a number of online retailers. On AliExpress, the 64GB model starts at $238.80 and the 128GB version at $298.80.

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Motorola’s budget G9 phone has a 64-megapixel camera and 5,000 mAh battery

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Motorola’s latest leak shows how its budget smartphones are offering pretty decent value. The entry-level Moto G9 Plus (appearing in an Orange Slovakia listing, via Roland Quandt) has four rear cameras including a 64-megapixel main camera, along with a huge 5,000 mAh battery — all for €255, or about $300.

It also comes with a 6.81-inch 1080p display, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of expandable storage and Android 10. On the front left corner, there’s a hole-punch selfie camera, though no mention of its resolution.



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Italy is investigating Apple, Google and Dropbox cloud storage services

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Italy’s competition watchdog is investing Apple, Google and Dropbox, TechCrunch reports. In a press release, the AGCM announced that it opened six investigations into the companies’ cloud storage services: Google Drive, iCloud and Dropbox.

The authority is concerned that the services fail to adequately explain how user data will be collected and used for commercial purposes. It’s also investigating unfair clauses in the services’ contracts, terms that exempt the services from some liability and the prevalence of English versions of contracts over Italian versions.

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August’s fourth-gen WiFi Smart Lock drops to $219 on Amazon

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All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. If you buy something through one of the links on this page, we may earn an affiliate commission. Pricing and availability are accurate as of the time of publication but are subject to change.

August’s fourth-generation WiFi Smart Lock is a cinch to install, works with all the major digital assistants and connects to your home network without the need for a separate bridge. It’s also on sale on Amazon right now. The Smart Lock is down from $249.99 to $218.69, a saving of just over $30. That’s the lowest price it’s dropped to on Amazon to date, and it’s the cheapest we’ve seen the smart lock anywhere so far.

Buy August Smart Lock at Amazon for $219

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Infinity Ward disables all ‘Warzone’ vehicles after game-breaking bug emerges

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If you hop into Call of Duty: Warzone right now, you’ll notice that all of the vehicles are missing. Over the weekend, players discovered a game-breaking glitch. To fix it, Infinity Ward temporarily disabled all vehicles, Eurogamer explains.

The glitch allowed players to drive any vehicle out of bounds at a specific point on the map. A “return to combat area” warning appeared on the screen, but players could keep driving the vehicle, though they couldn’t get out or do much else. After about 30 seconds, the game would end, but not just for the player who drove out of bounds. The game would shut down for the entire lobby, which in Warzone can hold as many as 150 players at once.



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