More recently, there was a Deadpool crossover and a tie-in with the beta for Marvel’s Avengers. Completing that on PS4 or Xbox One would net you a couple of cosmetic items. With that game scheduled for an early September release, the timing makes sense for a more extensive Marvel crossover, even if it does seem strange for Epic to potentially promote an entirely separate game inside Fortnite. In any case, we’ll surely learn more details about the next season before it starts next week.
Facebook does share info about viral news articles with its fact-checking partners, but CAP suggests that Facebook’s own team take a look at especially viral content. That makes a lot of sense, and you might wonder why Facebook hasn’t had a virality circuit breaker all along.
The pandemic and misinformation around COVID-19 have highlighted Facebook’s struggle against bogus content. The platform has already removed seven million posts for coronavirus misinformation, including a post from President Trump’s account. Facebook labeled another 98 million posts as false, but not worthy of outright removal.
Facebook has tried to fight against COVID-19 “myths” with a “Facts About COVID-19” info center, but curbing its algorithms could be a more effective approach. Last year alone, health misinformation networks generated an estimated 3.8 billion views on Facebook, and a new report by Avaaz found that Facebook’s algorithms were largely to blame.
None of these details are very surprising — of course the flagship would have the best features that the midrange Pixel 4a debuted, like the all-screen face. A fingerprint sensor also makes sense given Face Unlock is less convenient these days, and dual cameras already appeared on the Pixel 4. We still don’t know if Google is using a telephoto secondary lens on the Pixel 5 like the last flagship, or if it will come with a wide-angle version instead, though. According to Pricebaba, which shared more details on the Onleaks render, the new phone would also come with a screen that measures between 5.7 and 5.8 inches.
Other recent rumors have suggested that the Pixel 5 will sport a Snapdragon 765G processor and that it could cost hundreds less than the likes of a Samsung or Apple flagship. While none of the information we have can be confirmed till Google officially unveils the device (which should happen in October based on previous years), we may see the company acknowledge the leaks before then. Google appears to have adopted a go-with-the-flow approach when it comes to addressing leaks, teasing the public with tidbits like an official Pixel 4 render after a Pricebaba leak in June last year.
Transparent displays have long been a concept shown off at trade shows. Samsung brought its smart OLED windows to CES way back in 2012. That same year, Samsung teased a transparent showcase at IFA. But this latest see-through tech from LG shows a real-world application, and one that actually has some utility.
There’s a good chance we’ll soon see more practical uses of transparent display tech beyond the trade show walls. LG has also put transparent OLED TVs in Harrods’ storefront windows, and Xiaomi recently showed off its $7,200 see-through TV.
“The application of transparent displays will become more diverse,” said Dr. Chang-ho Oh, a senior vice president at LG Display. His division “aims to supply products to a wide range of industries in line with its vision as the leading display solution provider.”
Last year the OnePlus 7 Pro impressed reviewer Richard Lai with a bright AMOLED screen, Dolby Atmos stereo speakers and in-display fingerprint reader. He gave the flagship handset a noteworthy score of 91. Naturally, we wanted to hear what you thought about the model so we asked you to weigh in. Readers called it a killer deal, gorgeous and their “favorite phone that [they] have ever owned.” It earned an average user score of 85.
This year’s model, the OnePlus 8 Pro, has a higher price point and adds wireless charging, an IP68 waterproof rating and 5G support. Reviewer Chris Velazco called it sleek, powerful and his “favorite Android phone of 2020 so far.” He gave it a score of 88. Once again, we want to know how you, our readers, feel about this device: What score would you give it and why? How well does Oxygen OS work for your daily tasks? How long does your battery last? And would you recommend it to others? Tell us all of this and more in your own user review on the OnePlus 8 Pro product page — and remember, the very best reviews will get included in future user review roundup articles!
Yes, even on sale, these are expensive TVs. However, the 8-series has most of the newest technology you’d expect in a smart TV. It uses quantum-dot LED to achieve better color performance and mini LED technology to create brighter, more uniform backlighting. These TVs also have most premium features you’d expect, including support for Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, HDR10 and Hybrid Log Gamma. Not only will all the TV shows and movies you watch look and sound great, but you can also turn on Auto Game Mode to get smooth, low-latency gameplay.
Since these are Roku TVs, you’ll also get the smart features like voice control with Amazon’s Alexa and the Google Assistant. We also appreciate that both of the discounted TV sets have four HDMI ports, making it much easier to connect multiple devices. While there are plenty of more affordable TCL Roku TVs out there, the 8-series sets can be good investments for those that spend a lot of time binge-watching shows, having movie nights and the like and want the newest possible technology with which to do so.
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The legal drama began last year when California’s legislature signed Assembly Bill 5 (also known as AB5) into law. The intent of the law was to force gig economy companies such as Uber, Lyft and Doordash to reclassify their workers as employees so that they can get benefits like minimum wage, overtime, paid leave and healthcare — the latter of which has become even more important during the pandemic.
The reason this law affects companies like Uber and Lyft is that they are reliant on independent contractors, but AB5 has pushed to explicitly define what that term means. It’s a result of a landmark 2018 California Supreme Court ruling which required the so-called “ABC test’ (which is already used by the US Department of Labor and over 30 states) to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor. Someone can only be considered an independent contractor if they meet three criteria: they have control over how the work is done, they’re doing work that’s not in the usual course of the hiring entity’s business and they’re running the same type of business on their own.
Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
“Uber and Lyft can’t possibly pass this test,” Tia Koonse, Legal and Policy Research Manager for the UCLA Labor Center told Engadget. For one thing, most drivers would not operate a cab service independently on their own; that would actually be illegal in most areas. Plus, while drivers might have control over their schedules, they don’t decide which riders to pick up. “[The companies], through their algorithms, pressure drivers into taking rides without discrimination. So, arguably, the drivers aren’t in control over how they do their business.”
The criteria that they definitely fail, according to Koonse, is that drivers are absolutely doing work that’s in “the usual course of business” for Uber and Lyft. “Lyft and Uber don’t provide any other service! All they provide is this taxi company type service,” she said. Uber, for its part, has argued that it isn’t a transportation provider and that drivers aren’t core to its business, stating that it’s a “technology platform for several different types of digital marketplaces.”
“Be that as it may, the only thing they’re providing technology-wise is a ride with a person who has a car,” said Koonse. “Transportation is definitely their business.” Even if Uber does offer other services like food delivery, drivers are still a key part of its workforce; it’s just that instead of transporting people, they’re transporting food.
And even if Uber and Lyft don’t think of their drivers as employees, many drivers sure do. Uber and Lyft often claim that their drivers are mostly part-timers, looking for extra money on the side. But according to a 2018 survey of over 300 drivers in Los Angeles County, two out of three drivers depend on rides as their main source of income. One in two said it’s their only job and three in five drive more than five days a week. It also shows that most drivers want reimbursement for car maintenance as well as access to worker’s compensation and health insurance.
Brian Snyder / reuters
The law has so far been on the drivers’ side. After Uber and Lyft refused to comply with the AB5 law that went into effect in January 2020, State Attorney General Xavier Becerra and City Attorneys for Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco sued both companies in May. On August 10th, Judge Ethan Schulman of San Francisco’s Superior Court ruled in favor of the injunction that would block Uber and Lyft from classifying drivers as independent contractors.
In response, Uber and Lyft have cried foul, claiming that they’re simply unable to abide by the law. It would have a “catastrophic impact” on their businesses, would force them to raise fares and hire fewer people. They said they would suspend their operations rather than comply. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi even said that his company can’t employ all of its drivers in California. “We can’t go out and hire 50,000 people overnight,” he said in an interview with the Pivot School podcast.
Except, of course, they had more than 24 hours. “Uber and Lyft had two freaking years to change their business practices, but they’re acting like they’re so shocked,” said Koonse.
“The companies have had years and multiple invitations to obey the law and grant workers the employee status and benefits they are legally owed,” said Edan Alva, a driver and organizer with Gig Workers Rising, a collective of ride-hailing drivers and gig workers fighting for employee recognition and worker rights.
“In spite of multiple court rulings and a deadly pandemic, multimillionaire CEOs at Uber and Lyft are choosing to continue to break the law,” he said in a statement. Alva added that shutting down operations in the middle of a pandemic casts the companies in an even worse light. “Eliminating thousands of drivers’ income during a pandemic to avoid following labor law is cruel.”
Brian Snyder / reuters
Khosrowshahi did come up with a possible solution, which calls on governments to create a third kind of classification for gig workers. “Our current system is binary,” he wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times. “[Each] time a company provides additional benefits to independent workers, the less independent they become.” He said that “we need new laws” and that they couldn’t act on their own. He also proposed a general benefits fund that workers can draw on for specific things like paid time off or health care, while still maintaining their independence.
But coming up with this proposal now, almost a year after the passing of AB5, is really far too late. And as Koonse points out, Uber could have implemented such a benefits fund on their own without government assistance. “I don’t know why they’re not already providing these benefits,” she said. “I don’t know why they haven’t already classified people as employees. They had two years. They should already be providing benefits as required under the Affordable Care Act. Period.”
Another alternative that Uber and Lyft floated is to implement a franchise-like model, where they would license their brands to operators of vehicle fleets in California so that they would not be entirely responsible for hiring employees or paying benefits. But that’s not entirely the case either. “That’s not going to get them out of liability in California,” said Koonse. “In California, the franchisor is liable for wage and hour law just as much as the franchisee. We have very strong joint liability and joint employer laws here.”
Instead of complying with the law, Uber and Lyft have decided to partner with DoorDash to raise nearly $100 million to fund Proposition 22, a ballot initiative that would essentially roll back AB5 and permanently classify ride-hailing drivers as independent contractors. In response to the temporary reprieve yesterday, Lyft sent the following statement in support of it:
“While we won’t have to suspend operations tonight, we do need to continue fighting for independence plus benefits for drivers. That’s the solution on the ballot in November, and it’s the solution drivers want because it preserves their ability to earn and to use the platform as they do now — whenever they want — while also getting historic new benefits. Without it, 80-90% of Californians who earn on app-based platforms will lose that opportunity.”
Lucy Nicholson / reuters
But while Proposition 22 does promise certain healthcare benefits plus paid time off, they fall far short of those of traditional employment. According to Koonse, Proposition 22 would walk back the ABC test mentioned earlier so that they wouldn’t have to provide proper employee benefits like paid sick leave, workers compensation or unemployment benefits.
“They wouldn’t have to provide all of these hard-won rights that employees are entitled to,” she said. “It’ll even amend the state Constitution to make it such that the legislature and local governments can’t undo it. It’s super creepy.”
Alva of Gig Workers Rising believes that by threatening to shut down, companies are attempting to frighten politicians and workers into voting for Proposition 22. He said in a statement:
“The shutdown is an attempt to scare politicians away from regulating abusive companies and scare workers and other voters into supporting the companies’ undemocratic ballot initiative, Prop 22. This childish behavior is unacceptable and we demand that Uber and Lyft obey the law and grant workers the employee status and benefits we are owed. Doing so will save lives during this pandemic. We also ask that voters vote no on Prop 22, which has been entirely financed by gig companies hoping to legalize their exploitation of workers.”
Meanwhile, if Uber and Lyft aren’t able to appeal their case in court, they’ll be back to square one. John Cote, a spokesman for the San Francisco city attorney, told the New York Times: “These companies may have bought themselves a little more time, but the price is that they have to demonstrate — under oath — that they have an implementation plan that complies with the law […] The court of appeal is calling Uber and Lyft’s bluff.”
As for Uber and Lyft’s claim that it simply isn’t possible to operate in California without independent contractors, Koonse said that, yes, they would likely have to raise prices and change the way they work, but that’s part of their responsibility.
“If their business model is entirely contingent upon not paying minimum wage, overtime, providing required meal and rest breaks, reimbursements for expenses, [is] predicated on wage theft and they can’t turn a profit by treating their staff as employees, then that’s their problem,” she said. “It’s on them to figure it out.”
IKEA Taiwan has recreated parts of its catalog on Facebook using the iconic characters and in-game furnishings from Animal Crossing (via The Verge). The adorable alternate world pages are shown next to the real catalog, with occasionally accurate product substitutes and humorous alternatives for things that don’t exist in the game.
The models are switched out with Animal Crossing characters, complete with similar garb and lifestyle catalog poses. IKEA occasionally substituted humor for accuracy, like when it replaced a dinosaur toy with a skull and bone. Another page (above) shows a ball-shaped ceiling lamp and checked throw pillow replaced by a character with a bowl-like hairdo and similar checked shirt.
This week, Cherlynn and Devindra chat about what it’s like to live with the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Samsung’s biggest new phone. Plus, they dive into Epic’s war with Apple over the App Store, as well as how Facebook is still trying (and failing) to make Instagram a Tiktok killer.
Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
The technology has other potential uses, as well. It could enable optimized airbag deployment in a crash, thanks to its capability to assess body size. It could also lead to more accurate seatbelt reminders, since it can tell if there’s an actual person (and not an object) in the seat. Finally, while the technology will focus on the vehicle’s interior, it can also scan up to six feet outside of a car. That would give it the capability needed to provide a more advanced theft prevention system that can detect broken windows and vehicle intrusion.
Based on the public notice the FCC has released (PDF), Tesla filed the waiver back on July 31st. The agency is now seeking comments about the automaker’s request until September 21st, 2020.
