Technology

Indoor cameras are an awkward category. It’s hard to find a way to fit one into your home without feeling like Big Brother is watching you. My family hates having them in the house and only grudgingly lets me set them up to test as long as I take them down as soon as possible. Despite my assurances that the devices are set to not record when we’re home — they just don’t quite believe me. And they’re not alone. Making a camera prettier so it blends in better with your home — as is the case with Google’s newest $100 Nest Cam (indoor) — may feel like a step in the right direction, but it really isn’t. In the end, it’s still a big black eye staring at you — no matter how attractive its exterior casing. Verge Score 6 out of 10 Good Stuff Snappy (and free) smart alerts Nice design Good privacy f...

Samsung’s The Frame doubles as both wall art and an HDR-compatible QLED TV. The television offers a decor-friendly design while also displaying customizable images when somebody’s in the room. When turned on, however, it transforms into a smart 4K TV with Alexa built in that boasts a 120Hz refresh rate to display content smoothly. Right now, you can pick it up for its lowest price yet. For a limited time, you can buy the 65-inch 2021 model for $1,500 instead of $2,000 from Amazon. Samsung The Frame LCD TV (65-Inch, 2021) $1,498 $2,000 26% off Samsung’s The Frame is a smart, 4K TV designed to directly blend in with your home’s decor. The QLED panel can seamlessly switch from displaying whatever content it is you’re watching to idle scenes of decorative art. The Frame also boasts HDR, a 120H...

Nintendo has delayed its upcoming remaster of the first two Advance Wars games. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp had been set to release on December 3rd, but it will now be coming out sometime in spring 2022. “The game just needs a little more time for fine tuning,” Nintendo said in a tweet on Friday. The company announced the remasters of Advance Wars and Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising at E3 2021, and Nintendo says they’re “reimagined and rebuilt from the ground up.” You can check out the board game-inspired aesthetic in the game’s debut trailer and in an E3 gameplay demo. [embedded content] Advance Wars is one of many recent game delays. In September, EA’s Battlefield 2042 was bumped nearly a month from October 22nd to November 19th. Last week, FromSoftware’s Elden Ring was pushed from ...

PUBG: New State, the upcoming free-to-play mobile game, will release on iOS and Android on November 11th, its publisher Krafton announced today. The game is set in the year 2051, and will offer a futuristic take on the multiplayer-focused PUBG formula with new features like weapon customization and in-game drones. New State will be available in over 200 countries and 17 languages at launch. New State is a significant launch for the PUBG series, which popularized the battle royale genre after the launch of its first title in 2017. Although New State isn’t its first mobile entry, following the launch of PUBG Mobile in 2018, it’s the first to have been made by the game’s original developer, PUBG Studios. Development of the original PUBG Mobile was handled primarily by Chinese tech giant Tence...

EpocCam, the app from streaming brand Elgato that lets you repurpose your iPhone as a webcam for your PC or Mac, has been updated with native support for Snap Lenses augmented reality filters, Elgato’s parent company Corsair has announced. The functionality comes thanks to a partnership with Snap, who already offers similar filters natively in the Snapchat app, as well as with its Snap Camera software. Now the functionality is included natively in the EpocCam app. There are a total of 15 Snap Lenses for EpocCam, which include virtual backgrounds, virtual masks, and customizable filters. “Become your digital avatar, colorize your hair, interact with animated characters, and much more,” promises Elgato’s website, which also notes that the Snap Lenses work with the free version of EpocCam as ...

In an effort to compete with Facebook’s continuously growing metaverse, Twitter is now branching out its own range of services by acquiring the London-based group chat app Sphere. Founded by Tomas Halgas and Nick D’Aloisio, who also created the news summary app Summly, Sphere focuses on building communities through chat rooms and spaces designed for people who share the same interests. The startup has previously reportedly raised upwards of $30 million USD across three rounds of funding, although the specific terms and figures of its acquisition by Twitter have not been made public. “It’s been a long and exciting journey to this point,” reads a blog post from Sphere announcing the acquisition. “Like many startups, Sphere started with a very different mission — to help anyone find and share...

Months after we predicted that Stadia would soon become a white-label cloud-gaming service, AT&T appears to be taking Google up on the idea. AT&T is offering a free browser-based version of Batman: Arkham Knight exclusively for wireless customers that makes use of Stadia’s technology. AT&T confirmed that its new game streaming experience runs on Google Stadia’s tech (via 9to5Google). Google announced the shutdown of its internal Stadia game studio in February. While Stadia is still available and supported by Google, the studio shutdown means Google is relying on third parties to provide all the games, and it opens up the potential for Google’s partners to use the tech. AT&T is apparently the first of those partners — it released a browser-based demo of Batman: Arkham Knight...

Elon Musk may seem inseparable from Tesla, but on Wednesday night, the company offered the first real taste of what it might look like without its billionaire CEO. Tesla held a regularly scheduled conference call to discuss its quarterly financial results, but — as he’d previously teased — Musk did not attend. His absence took what’s normally a venue for his rants and ramblings, dismissals of Wall Street, and attacks on the press and turned it into a coherent (if scripted) presentation of the company’s recent progress. There were fewer sideshows and a more measured tone, though the executives who spoke in Musk’s place still made some contradictions. If Musk were to leave his post atop the company, it’s likely that Tesla would look and sound a lot like how the company was presented on Wedne...

With the holiday season just around the corner, Sony is now introducing an entry-level Alpha A7 IV mirrorless camera perfect for both gifting to a budding photographer or snapping family photos at your next gathering. Carrying an all-new back-illuminated Exmor R full-frame sensor from the tech company, the A7 IV packs 33 megapixels in its relatively compact body, offering plenty of definition to your shots. Its ISO sensitivity ranges from 50 all the way to 204,800 to provide ample light detection, while the onboard BIONZ XR processing engine allows the camera to snap at up to 10 frames per second. Its autofocus system has also been reworked, now with 759 phase-detection AF points and real-time tracking. As for videography, the A7 IV supports up to 4K shooting at 60fps and an S-Cinetone pic...

DJI has just unveiled its latest invention for the world of cinematography. Arriving in the form of a new cinema camera, the DJI Ronin 4D adds a new angle to filming by incorporating a built-in 4-axis gimbal. The camera system itself is the Zenmuse X9 which will come in either a 6K version or an 8K model. Its full-frame sensor and interchangeable mounting system also allow for a variety of lenses. Features include three focusing modes, nine internal ND filters, a weight of roughly 10 pounds, and an impressive LiDAR focusing system. The DJI Ronin 4D is priced at $7,199 USD for the 6K and $11,499 USD for the 8K version. Check out the introductory video below from DJI. [embedded content] In other tech news, you can now buy Razer’s futuristic Zephyr face mask for $100 USD Read Full Article

Razer‘s futuristic Zephyr air purifier mask is finally available for purchase after much anticipation. The Singaporean-American gaming software company first teased its intelligent N95 mask — previously named Project Hazel — earlier this year, opening up the product for public beta testing in August. Dubbed the “latest evolution of our wearable air purifier,” the Zephyr offers replaceable N95 Grade filters, air exchange chambers with two-speed dual intake fans, a transparent face display for clear face visibility, a soft silicone face seal and a dual strap design to comfortably fit most head sizes. The device is also outfitted with interior lights to help light up your face in dark environments and offers customizable light settings through its app. The company says in the FAQ section...