For months there have been rumors that ASUS has been working on the stuff of nerd dreams: an RTX 3070 GPU with built-in Noctua fans. This week, an ASUS employee in Vietnam prematurely posted images and information about the collaboration on Facebook. Wccftech first spotted the listing, and managed to download images of the GPU before ASUS took them down, giving us a good look at the chunky 3D card.
Wccftech
If you're not familiar with Noctua, the company consistently makes some of the most efficient and quiet fans you can buy for a PC build. It's also known for its signature brown and beige color scheme, which, as you can see, is on full display here. Oh, and the card looks like Noctua's owl mascot. Good stuff.
The same employee who posted images of the GPU also said it would cost about 26 million đồng (approximately $1,100). In other words, it will very likely have a higher MSRP than the RTX 3070 Founders Edition, which ostensibly sells for $499 — but good luck getting at that price with the current global chip shortages. And that's the GPU market in a nutshell at the moment. OEMs like ASUS know they can charge extra for RTX 30 series cards because the demand for NVIDIA's latest GPUs is so high.
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Razer is looking to lower the barrier to entry for live streaming with a budget webcam and capture card. Streaming newbies can add a video feed of themselves to their broadcast with the Kiyo X USB webcam.
As with a lot of current games, you can choose between optimizing your webcam feed for fidelity or framerate with 1080p 30 fps and 720p 60 fps options. The auto focus feature should keep the image sharp and you can adjust settings on the fly. With the Razer Virtual Ring Light app, you'll be able to use the glare from your monitor as a lighting source.
Razer
Also new is the Ripsaw X capture card. It can capture footage at up to 30 frames per second in 4K. Razer says the device delivers "near-zero latency" through its HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.0 connectivity. You can hook it up to a camera with HDMI output to use it as a high-end webcam, or capture gameplay from a console.
These are more budget-friendly versions of other Razer devices, such as the Kiyo webcam, which has a built-in light ring, and the 60 fps-capable Ripsaw HD capture card. Kiyo X costs $80, while Ripsaw X will run you $140. Both are available now from Razer's website and they'll ship on the next business day.
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This year's edition of The Game Awards will take place on December 9th. As always, you'll be able to stream it live in up to 4K on dozens of platforms. After last year's online-only event, Geoff Keighley's show will once again have an in-person audience. The ceremony is returning to its old haunt of the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
As always, The Game Awards will feature world premieres and new title announcements, as well as some musical performances. In addition to looking toward the future, the ceremony will reward the talent behind the best games of 2021 with awards across a bunch of categories. The Game Awards will also offer fans free playable game content and a way to interact with the show on some streaming services.
“We are very excited to return to the Microsoft Theater for a special night to celebrate the past, present and future of video games,” said Keighley, who is creator, host and executive producer of The Game Awards. “Our goal is to bring the entire community together to celebrate the most powerful form of entertainment in the world, and recognize emerging voices that represent the future of the medium.”
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Sony has acquired Bluepoint Games, the Austin-based studio best known for remaking Demon’s Souls and Shadow of the Colossus. Financial terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed. Rumors that Sony was buying Bluepoint started to spread online right around the time the company acquired Returnal developer Housemarque in late June. Sony didn’t say whether Bluepoint will continue to focus its efforts on remastering past titles or if it will work on an entirely new IP now that it’s part of the PlayStation Studios family.
“PlayStation has such an iconic gaming catalog and for us there’s been nothing better than to bring some of gaming’s masterpieces to new players,” said Marco Thrush, the president of Bluepoint Games. “Becoming a part of PlayStation Studios empowers our team to raise the quality-bar even further and create even more impactful experiences for the PlayStation community.”
With the announcement of today’s deal, Sony has acquired three studios in the past year. That number increases to four over more than two years if you include its 2019 purchase of Spider-Man developer Insomniac Games. That’s a significant change of pace for a company that was previously much slower to buy up external developers to bolster its first-party lineup. But then a lot has changed in just the last year. Microsoft’s recent $7.5 billion deal to buy Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media means many highly anticipated games like Starfield aren’t coming to PlayStation anymore. Sony needs the kind of talent that’s at Bluepoint to keep pace.
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If you've wanted to add to your Google Assistant home setup without spending too much money, Best Buy has a new way that you could do that. The retailer has the original Nest Hub smart display for $40, or $50 off its normal price. This gadget came out in 2018 and has since been replaced by the sleep-tracking, second-generation Nest Hub — but if you're willing to skip a few new features, you can get a largely similar device for one of the best prices we've seen.
We gave the original Nest Hub, formerly known as the Google Home Hub, a score of 87 when it first came out for its lovely 7-inch display, charming minimalist design and extra privacy thanks to a lack of a camera. It makes a good smart alarm clock, even if it is slightly larger than something like the Echo Show 5, but it also won't look out of place on your kitchen countertop. It can even act as a digital photo frame if you use Google's Live Albums feature. Plus, you can control smart home devices from its touchscreen, and it'll show feeds from Nest security cameras so you can check in on any area of your home more easily.
So what will you miss out on if you opt for the previous-generation device instead of the new, $100 Nest Hub? It comes down to three main things: the Soli motion sensor, improved audio and a speedier Google Assistant. The Soli sensor enables gesture controls as well as sleep tracking, so you could position the new Nest Hub on your nightstand and it will track things like time asleep, sleep quality and snoring. We weren't super impressed by the device's nighttime tracking abilities, but we expect improvements to be made in future software updates.
As for sound and the Assistant, the new Nest Hub has the same audio system as the Nest Audio speaker, so it's a big improvement over the original. Plus, the onboard machine-learning chip allows the Assistant to respond more quickly to queries and commands. Overall, the latest Nest Hub is an improvement on the original, but the first-generation device remains a solid option if you're on a strict budget or if you feel you can safely skip the latest upgrades.
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In the last year alone, almost 1.5 million podcasts have been added to Spotify. Fishing out something good from that ocean of content might not be easy, but Spotify wants to help you find a keeper. To mark International Podcast Day, it created a quiz to help listeners discover a show that matches their taste.
Users in the US, UK, Germany and Australia can now check out the Find The One tool. It asks questions such how a podcast can win you over — perhaps you prefer a conversational show or a narrative-driven murder mystery one — and how serious you like things to be. Spotify will then make a recommendation that's partly based on your listening habits.
The company says it found correlations between some artists and podcasts. Lil Nas X, for instance, has a lot of gamer fans who also listen to the likes of the TommyInnit Podcast, while Olivia Rodrigo and Call Her Daddy have a shared audience. Spotify also discovered that many BTS and Queen fans listen to podcasts about... BTS and Queen.
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In the same week it began public tests of Xbox Cloud Gaming on consoles, Microsoft is expanding the project formerly known as xCloud in other ways. Cloud Gaming is going live in Brazil and Mexico today, and in Australia and Japan on October 1st.
The company started testing xCloud in those four nations last November. It seems the preview proved popular, as players in Brazil packed out the Cloud Gaming servers even before Microsoft formally announced the test.
The expansion means that more than a billion people in 26 countries now have access to Xbox Cloud Gaming. All they need is a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, a compatible device (like a computer, smartphone or tablet) and a strong-enough internet connection. Folks don't necessarily need a controller, as there are a bunch of games that have touch controls.
Microsoft made the announcement at Tokyo Game Show, where it had some other news up its sleeve. Action JRPG Scarlet Nexus just landed on Game Pass, for one thing. You can play it on consoles, PC and Cloud Gaming with touch controls.
The company is also localizing Starfield and Redfall, two major upcoming first-party games, for Japan. The Starfield localization is the biggest translation project Bethesda has ever tackled, as it involves more than 300 actors and north of 150,000 lines of dialogue.
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The following contains minor spoilers for season two, episode eight of 'Star Trek: Lower Decks.'
The subject of “canon” has come up a lot recently. Marvel’s What If…? is a show that plays around but still mostly adheres to it, while Star Wars Visions disregards it almost completely. Meanwhile, Star Trek: Lower Decks is a humorous show that wasn’t expected to follow canon and yet, the writers seem to have made it their mission to fill out the gaps in Star Trek continuity. And this might be the cartoon’s greatest strength.
CBS
The show’s willingness to reference past adventures is on full display this week, as the USS Cerritos is tasked with running drills to test crew efficiency. Seeing a Starfleet crew put through its paces is something we’ve seen many times before, though this time around it’s for a particularly non-Starfleet-like reason: Captain Freeman accidentally leaves our core four cast members behind when jetting off on a rescue mission. To be fair, the quartet of ensigns did forget to sign their magnet boots out, which would have let their senior officers know they weren’t on the ship. But still, it’s a screw-up we don’t often see on Star Trek.
In response, the entire crew is gathered in a cargo bay to be tested by a Pandronian instructor — a species never seen in any live-action Star Trek productions, but familiar to anyone who’s watched the 1973 animated series. Pandronians are colony creatures that can split into three pieces, something that was harder to create when special effects were far less sophisticated. Animation has fewer limitations, and Lower Decks has taken advantage of that plenty in its two seasons to showcase species like the Caitians, Ariolo and Kzinti.
CBS
Though it utilized many of the cast and crew of the original series, the canonized status of the animated Star Trek was always a nebulous thing, with some writers saying that episodes like “Yesteryear” were in continuity, but no real on-screen confirmation of the show’s place in the timeline. One of show creator Mike McMahan’s stipulations for Lower Decks was that it take place in-canon, and he’s used that status to cement the 1973 cartoon in as well.
However, Lower Decks also has plenty to offer live-action fans, and this week’s episode is heavy on the references, with the Cerritos crew taking on simulations with names like “Natural Selection,” “Chain of Command'' and “Naked Time.” These aren’t just generic descriptions but also the names of episodes, and long-time fans will delight in seeing Mariner take on the Mirror Universe or Boimler face off against the Borg. We might be familiar with the scenarios, but seeing how these particular characters handle them adds a new twist.
CBS
While the whole drill plot might seem like a cheap way to pander to old-school fans, it’s also similar to how the military works in real life, with students often asked to study historical tactics and run tests based on real events. We’ve seen the holosuites used to recreate battles at the Alamo, Thermopylae and the Battle of Britain on Deep Space Nine, while Riker even used the holodeck to observe the Enterprise NX-01’s final mission. (And let’s not forget the time Troi had to kill Geordi to earn a promotion to commander.) From the beginning, Lower Decks has been a show that embraces Starfleet’s naval trappings more fully than we’ve ever seen, and putting the crew to the test here seems to be the logical endpoint of that.
But where Lower Decks shines brightest of all is when it chooses to glue the disparate parts of the Star Trek franchise together. The Star Trek universe is extremely weird and complex but, instead of rebooting the entire franchise (DC Comics) or throwing out huge swathes of past story (Star Wars), Star Trek has embraced the mess. The universe is weird, so it’s okay if everything doesn’t neatly fit together. It’s just funnier this way.
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Chinese company Nreal has launched a new model of augmented reality glasses called Air, which was designed with streaming shows and playing mobile games in mind. Nreal released its first model, the Light mixed reality glasses, to consumers a year ago after fending off Magic Leap's accusation that its founder stole trade secrets to build his own company. Air still needs to be tethered to a phone like the Light, but it it's a lot lighter (77 grams to Light's 106 grams) and looks more like an ordinary pair of sunglasses than its predecessor does. Nreal says it also has a better display, which has the capability to project a massive virtual screen up to 201 inches in size.
The device's display has a 46-degree Field of View and is powered by a micro-OLED chip for AR devices. It has a high density of colors, with up to 49 Pixels Per Degree, and a refresh rate of up to 90Hz. In comparison, the Light has a 52-degree FOV and a 60Hz refresh rate. One significant feature the Light has and the Air doesn't is inside-out tracking. The new model has no motion tracking at all, and a company spokesperson told us that based on Light's usage, Nreal expects most owners to use the Air simply to watch shows on Youtube. They said:
"People we know will use Nreal Air (a large number of them) for simply watching shows on YouTube, streaming content on local streaming platforms (like Magenta by Deutsche Telekom) based on Nreal Light's usage, which is why the tradeoff makes sense. The other bulk of users are using it for actual development. With that said, one of the biggest demands we saw was for using Nreal Light for a longer period of time (meaning lighter weight), and a more brilliant display. Those two would be the key features that were of paramount importance and the basis for how Nreal decided to strike a balance."
A feature the Light doesn't have, however, is Air's "Adjustable 3-Step Rake System" that allows users to adjust the viewing angle by tilting the lens and the elastic temples. In addition, the Nreal Air can pair with Apple's iPhones and iPads and not just with Android devices. That could increase the possibility of users finding others with the model, so they could take advantage of its new shared digital space that allows multiple people to watch shows at the same time on a single AR screen.
Nreal Air will initially be available in Japan, China and South Korea in December 2021 in partnership with leading carriers. It will roll out to other markets in 2022, though the company didn't specify the additional regions where the device will be available. The firm recently raised $100 million to fund its international expansion, though, so the new model will likely be easier to purchase than the Light, which is only shipping in a handful of countries. Those interested will have to wait for the company to reveal how much the device will cost, though it did say that the Air will "retail at a fraction of the price of Nreal Light."
Nreal
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Spotify's quest to make podcasts more interactive is expanding. Today, the streaming service announced the polls and Q&A features that it has been testing will be available to all creators through Anchor, the podcast production service it also owns. Though the tools are open to everyone, Spotify explains podcast producers and listeners will see them in 160 countries.
On the listener side, questions will appear at the bottom of episode pages in the Spotify app on both Android and iOS. From there, you'll be able to respond directly in the app to any prompts related to the show. As you might expect, you'll see on-going results of polls, but Q&A responses will only be seen by the show's creator. Producers and hosts will have the option of pinning certain responses below the question alongside the corresponding username in a stories-like format.
Spotify has been testing polls for a year and it added a Q&A option to the trial in January. At the time, the company said 90 percent of users would see polls even though the number of shows on which they appeared was very limited.
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After introducing cross-messaging between Messenger and Instagram last year, Facebook has made it more useful with the addition of cross-app group chats. With the new feature, you'll be able to start a group chats and loop in both Messenger and Instagram contacts. In addition, you'll be able to run Messenger-style polls in both Instagram DMs and cross-app group chats if your group needs to decide whether to get pizza, tacos or both, for instance (both, obviously).
Meanwhile, Instagram gets an exclusive new feature called "Watch Together." To use it, you just start a video chat within Instagram, scroll to the post you want to share then click on the share button and "Watch Together." Instagram has added some new content from Steve Aoki, Travis Barker and Cardi B.
Other new additions include group typing indicators available in cross-app group chats for both Messenger and in Instagram DMs. Facebook also brought in new chat themes for Messenger and Instagram DMs, including "Cottagecore" and a theme centered around Columbian singer J Balvin. There's also a new Astrology art suite, with an Astrology group chat theme, AR effect and sticker pack. The new features roll out for Messenger and Instagram today.
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Cadillac has dropped quite an important feature from the 2022 Cadillac Escalade. According to Motor1 and Roadshow, the model won't come with Super Cruise, GM's hands-free driver-assistance technology. A spokesperson from the brand has confirmed to the publications that the Super Cruise would be "temporarily unavailable at the start of regular production," though they expressed the possibility that it would be available for vehicles manufactured later on. The spokesperson also revealed that the reason for this change is none other than the global chip shortage born out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cadillac's whole statement reads:
"Super Cruise is an important feature for the Cadillac Escalade program. Although it's temporarily unavailable at the start of regular production due to the industry-wide shortage of semiconductors, we're confident in our team's ability to find creative solutions to mitigate the supply chain situation and resume offering the feature for our customers as soon as possible."
The company also told Roadshow that it was only able to build "a few" CT4 and CT5 sedans scheduled for release this year with the capability to use Super Cruise. It had to postpone the full launch of its driver assistance system in the sedans until model year 2022, which will start shipping next year.
The global semiconductor shortage has had an extensive effect on the tech and auto industries. GM, Cadillac's manufacturer, had to suspend production at all but four of its North American factories due to supply constraints. Nissan, Ford, BMW and Honda had to cut vehicle production, as well. In Ford's case, it led to the delay in shipments of the Mach-E electric vehicle.
GM has big plans for Super Cruise and previously announced its plans to bring the technology to 22 vehicles by 2023. It's unclear if these delays and adjustments caused by the chip shortage would affect the timeline it set for itself.
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Swiss company ABB, which supplies EV chargers to Ionity and Electrify America, has unveiled what it calls the "world's fastest electric car charger," Reuters has reported. As its name suggests, the Terra 360 has a 360 kW capacity, meaning it could fully charge a (theoretical) EV in 15 minutes. More realistically, it can charge four vehicles simultaneously, saving space at charging stations.
The Terra 360 isn't the most powerful charger by much, as companies like Electrify America, Ionity and EVGo have been using 350 kW chargers manufactured by ABB and others since at least 2018. However, it's the "only charger designed explicitly to charge up to four vehicles at once," the company said. "This gives owners the flexibility to charge up to four vehicles overnight or to give a quick refill to their EVs in the day." They also have a relatively small footprint, allowing installation in small depots or parking lots.
There aren't a lot of EVs that can handle that kind of charge. The fastest-charging EV available is Hyundai's Ioniq 5, which supports DC fast-charging at up to 350 kW, in theory. The only two approaching that are Porsche's Taycan, with 270 kW of charging capacity and the new Lucid Air, which allows for up to 300 kW fast-charging. Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y EVs can charge at up to 250 kW.
Such high charging levels aren't necessarily great for an EV's battery. Porsche, for instance, has a battery preservation setting on its Plug & Charge Taycan feature that lowers voltage to 200 kW from the maximum 270 kW allowed — so it's essentially acknowledging that faster charging degrades the battery. On top of that, extreme charging levels don't necessarily save you much time, as Car and Driver found. Tesla recently promised to upgrade its own Supercharger V3 network from 250kW to 300kW.
ABB's new chargers will be able to add 100 km (62 miles) of range in less than three minutes. They'll arrive in Europe by the end of the year and start rolling out in the US and elsewhere in 2022.
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This post contains spoilers for episode eight of Marvel's'What If…?'
In physics there’s what’s known as the “observer effect,” wherein an object or system is changed merely by observing it. On Marvel’s What If…? each episode has been witnessed by an apparently omniscient narrator known as The Watcher, who seemingly believes himself to be above this simple rule. He’s seen the Avengers murdered, zombies overrun the galaxy and Steven Strange completely destroying his own universe, but the Watcher has always refrained from doing anything that would change the outcome — until now.
The twist in this episode is that in Age of Ultron, the titular villain managed to get control of the Vision body before it awakened as the hero we all know and love, taking it over and then, the world and even gaining the Infinity Stones. Somewhere in all this the Avengers are killed, with the exception of Natasha and Clint, finally giving us that Black Widow and Hawkeye adventure we should have had years ago. I haven’t been the biggest fan of either character, but here they’re a lot of fun despite the grim circumstances.
Marvel Studios
The real star here, however, is Jeffrey Wright’s Watcher character. We still know little about him, or the faction he serves. The Watchers, as a group, have only appeared in live-action during a brief scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. What If…? has been our first proper introduction to the concept and, after eight episodes, we’re still mostly in the dark about them.
But this week’s installment did shed some light, at least. We know that our Watcher has taken an oath to never interfere with the things he sees, though to whom we still don’t know, nor are we made aware of possible consequences of breaking that vow. And we now know he’s emotionally invested in the universes he observes, if only based on his reaction to Clint not finding the folder they need in the KGB archives (luckily, Natasha is there to save the day).
Marvel Studios
However, that observer effect comes into play regardless of the Watcher’s intentions, as his omniscient narration is overheard by the powered-up Ultron, who seeks him out and attacks. In the process Ultron becomes aware of the multiverse, which explains his sudden appearance at the end of last week’s episode. Previews for the finale hint at some sort of multiversal team-up, one involving Captain Carter, Party Thor and the other altered characters we’ve met over the first eight episodes.
While it’s certainly a fun concept — there’s an entire comic series called Exiles about a multi-reality team such as this — it raises questions about what, exactly, season two will be about. It’s already been confirmed, but Marvel has shown it’s not really interested in running What If…? as an anthology series like the comic it’s based on. The instance on making it part of the larger canon has led to the show having its own internal continuity, though it’s unlikely it will be needed to understand the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel Studios
At least we hope it remains a side-story of the MCU: the power levels in the battle between The Watcher and Infinity Ultron puts even the massive conflicts shown in the last two Avengers films to shame. (Especially after Thanos is offed rather unceremoniously.) It’s a weird escalation in scale given that the teased villain of Phase IV, Kang the Conqueror, hasn’t even made a proper appearance yet.
Marvel Comics has a deep, expansive mythology and it’s nice to see the MCU finally explore some of those outer reaches. But right now the current approach to continuity feels a little cramped, and in danger of getting in its own way. Hopefully, next week’s finale will see the Watcher fully break free of his oath, and maybe help What If…? shed its remaining ties to its live-action counterparts to do something truly new.
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The drama, litigation and tweets continue between Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and all those space-faring companies. As reported by CNET, Musk told Code conference attendees Bezos should put more effort into "getting into orbit than lawsuits," and that you couldn't "sue your way to the Moon" as Blue Origin allegedly tried when it lost its lunar lander bid.
NASA legal documents have revealed the space agency felt Blue Origin "gambled" with its originally proposed $5.9 billion lunar lander price. Bezos' company allegedly set the price far higher than necessary, expecting (hoping?) NASA to award the contract and negotiate a lower cost. Further, it assumed NASA would get the full funding from Congress needed for that initial price. That didn’t happen.
Blue Origin’s VP Megan Mitchell told The Verge the company rejected NASA's views. She felt it made a "great offer" and that it disagreed with how NASA had framed its bid.
An Amazon representative also got in touch with Engadget to remind us that SpaceX has a "long track record" of suing the US government over contracts and other decisions. Yes, we’re aware.
In the end, SpaceX’s lower bid of $2.9 billion was picked by NASA, despite Blue Origin’s subsequent challenges and a last-minute $2 billion bid — almost a third of its original proposal.
Valentina Palladino puts the latest Fitbit through its paces. Don’t expect any major shakeups, but we do get a more modern fitness tracker. Not only is it thinner, lighter and less bulky than the Charge 4 but it now has some features previously reserved for Fitbit’s full-fledged smartwatches, the Versa and Sense. At $180, you will pay a premium for those updates.
Disney vowed The Book of Boba Fett would premiere this December, and it's making good on its promise — barely. It’s revealed the Mandalorian spin-off will debut December 29th on Disney+, replete with a little bit of teaser art you can see above. We’d explain more, but spoilers abound. For everyone already caught up with The Mandalorian, click on.
If you were following along with all the Amazon product announcements yesterday, you might have experienced a dose of tech deja vu. Cherlynn Low felt exactly that. With products that borrowed heavily from the likes of Fitbit, Nest (both Google properties now), as she put it, Amazon's biggest innovation increasingly seems to be: being cheap. Aside from that robot.
The company also revealed $250 ANC headphones promising 30-hour battery life.
Sony's flagship noise-canceling headphones and tech-filled true wireless earbuds have both been updated for 2021. Now, the company's more affordable options are getting the same treatment. With the WF-C500, you can pick up a solid set of true wireless earbuds capable of handling immersive 360 Reality Audio for $100. And if over-ear noise-canceling headphones are more your vibe, the WF-XB910N pairs ANC (active noise cancellation) with 30-hour battery life for $250.
Ever since its first “ethical” smartphone hit the market, Fairphone reviews have always been haunted by the wary acknowledgement that the devil always has the best toys. But times have changed, and Fairphone can at least be confident that it has won both the moral and the economic argument. Right to Repair laws are currently being kicked around in several US states and Framework is now building Fairphone-esque laptops. If there’s one word I can use to describe the new Fairphone 4, it’s mature. As much as the previous generations of this handset have been good, none deserve as much attention as this one likely does.
First, a caveat: Various global crises have pushed back the launch date for the Fairphone 4. I didn’t receive a unit until a few days before the announcement, so I’ve only had a limited amount of time to give this thing a thorough going over.
Daniel Cooper
Pick up the Fairphone 4 and you’ll first notice how solid this thing feels in your hand compared to its predecessor. This is not the flimsy plastic concoction we saw in previous generations but a monument, wrought from metal and glass. It may weigh a gram less than the iPhone 11 Pro Max I was holding in my other hand, but this one just feels more substantial. The new metal chassis and thick plastic backplate gives it, to quote Auric Goldfinger, a divine heaviness. I have no qualms about how sturdy and durable this thing is, even knowing that I can pick up replacement parts for very little cash up front.
The design language has changed from the awkwardly long slab of the 3 and 3+ to something that looks a lot more like a current-generation (or at least previous-generation) Android handset. Fairphone has also taken the courageous decision to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack here in favor of just USB-C. The only things breaking up the outside of the frame, beyond the antenna lines, are a power button with a built-in fingerprint sensor and a pair of sturdy volume buttons. Gone, too, is the conspicuous branding of the previous editions in favor of the company logo edged into the base of the backplate.
Daniel Cooper
A 6.3-inch Full HD+ display coated with Gorilla Glass 5 takes up most of the room up front, although this is no slim-bezel chin-free edge-to-edge number. The only interruption is the teardrop in the middle of the screen, which houses the 25-megapixel selfie camera. There’s nothing of note to say about the screen, which has a decent backlight, good viewing angles and solid black levels. I think I said a year ago that it’s now hard to mess up a phone display and Fairphone hasn’t fixed what didn’t need mending. Sadly, as good as the vision is, the sound that accompanies it is tinny, thin and reedy with non-existent bass.
Now, Fairphone hasn’t strayed too far from its goal of producing an affordable and reliable modular smartphone. But while it’s splashed out on some specs, others remain firmly in the “nothing to write home about” league. The system-on-chip, for instance, is a Snapdragon 750G, which you’ll find in a number of non-premium 5G handsets like the Moto G 5G and Galaxy A52 5G. It’s worth saying that the 750G offers very respectable performance and tests well in benchmarks but it’s certainly not a screamingly-fast flagship unit.
Daniel Cooper
Unlike previous models, Fairphone is actually offering two versions of the Fairphone 4, one with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, the other with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Both can be bolstered with the internal microSD slot that’ll take up to 2TB cards. The Fairphone 4 can support both a physical nano-SIM as well as an eSIM, both of which support 5G (although not simultaneously.)
Fairphone opted for a double-camera setup here with an f/1.6 48-megapixel primary camera packing Sony’s half-inch Exmor IMX582 sensor with OIS. You’ll get 8x digital zoom, and can shoot 4K video at 30fps, or HD slow-motion at 240fps. The second camera is a 48-megapixel f/2.2 120-degree wide-angle lens for landscape photography. Joining those two on the back of the phone is a time-of-flight sensor for better autofocus, which also makes it look like you’re rocking a triple-camera phone.
Daniel Cooper
Nestled up front in the teardrop is a 25-megapixel, f/2.2 forward-facing camera which uses a Sony IMX576 sensor. You’ll get support for HDR, 8x digital zoom and the ability to record video in HD at up to 30 fps. The images you get out of that selfie lens are respectable, although even when you shoot 25-megapixel images, you’ll get very little detail when you zoom in and things get muddy pretty quickly.
The company said that I shouldn’t do too many photography tests with the Fairphone 4 until a yet-to-be-distributed software update pushes the final tweaks. That said, the standard camera is perfectly reasonable and the live filters produce pretty lovely images.
Repairing this phone should, again, be relatively easy given how little a challenge it was to upgrade the previous model. Simply pop off the back cover and extract that replaceable 3,905mAh battery and a Phillips 00 screwdriver is all you need to get working. Again, I’ve not had any time to delve yet, but even a quick poke inside makes me think that it’s not more difficult to do any repair job than it was on the older models. One thing to bear in mind, however, is that Fairphone is no longer shipping a screwdriver in the box, assuming instead that you already own a tool suitable for the job.
Daniel Cooper
Fairphone has said that it has learned a number of valuable lessons from the launches of its last few handsets. That’s why this new model has a five-year warranty and guarantees software support until 2025 at the earliest, but pledges to keep that going to 2027 at best. (Fairphone has previous here: Earlier this year it managed to get Android 9 running on the Fairphone 2, five years after it was first released.) It also has pledged to ensure that spare parts for the phone remain available until that same 2027 deadline.
Whereas before Fairphone talked about a “fair” supply chain both looking for ethically-clean raw materials and paying workers a fair wage, it also describes the 4 as “e-waste neutral.” This is a neat way of summing up the idea that the company will recycle one device for every Fairphone 4 it sells. In addition, Fairphone can boast that it now uses 70 percent “fair” material inside the handset, including FairTrade Gold and Silver, aluminum from ASI-certified vendors and a backplate made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled polycarbonate.
And while some of the spare parts are a little more expensive than on the previous edition, the prices are more or less affordable. The company supplied me with a parts and price list (in GBP, at least) and the most expensive components are a replacement display and rear camera, which both retail for £69.95 (around $78 before sales tax). The forward-facing camera and battery pack replacements, meanwhile, are £25.95 (around $29), while components like the loudspeaker, USB-C port, earpiece and so on all cost less than £20 (around $22).
Daniel Cooper
Interestingly, as part of this launch, Fairphone is also launching a pair of true wireless headphones. These are, naturally, one of the most notoriously hard-to-repair and recycle devices currently littering the market. At this point, Fairphone hasn't tried to re-design these things to be more repairable, but did say that the units were made with “fair and recycled materials” including at least 30 percent recycled plastic and FairTrade Gold.
The Fairphone 4 will be available to pre-order on September 30th, with the first handsets due to arrive on October 25th. Unlike previous years, however, there will be the two previously-outlined variants depending on storage and RAM options. The 6GB RAM / 128GB model will retail for €579 / £499, while the 8GB / 256GB model will set you back €649 / £569.
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Subaru has showed the first video of its first EV, the 4x4 Solterra crossover, essentially confirming that it's a slightly reworked version of Toyota's upcoming bZ4X EV, according to Autoblog. Both electric cars are the fruit of Toyota and Subaru's collaboration on the e-TNGA platform designed for multiple EVs, first announced in 2019.
Design cues visible in the teaser video, particularly the odd dual roof spoiler, are similar to those on Toyota's upcoming bZ4X (the "bZ" stands for "beyond zero"). The side profile in a longer shot also looks nigh-on identical, making us wonder why Subaru doesn't just reveal it in full and be done with it.
It also showed a dim shot of the interior, with the centerpiece being a giant mid-mounted display. Again, that looks mighty similar to what Toyota has shown us with its own EV crossover, though Autoblog pointed out that Subaru appears to have some extra features below the rotary knob. Another notable difference is Subaru's bolstered seats that might allow for more sporty 4x4 activities.
Other key details, like price and battery capacity, have yet to be released. However, the price could be somewhere in the high $30,000 to low $40,000 range. Like Toyota's offering, it's set to arrive in the US and other markets next summer.
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Amazon was supposed to defend its decision in court to let Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa go last year. The former Amazon employees were outspoken critics of the company, and both were, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) previously decided, illegally fired. The e-commerce giant didn't have to defend itself, however, because it has settled with the affected parties shortly before the hearing could take place.
Cunningham and Costa, who worked on user experience design, openly criticized Amazon's climate policies and workplace practices. They previously slammed the company's climate policies in a video that gained national attention. And before they were let go in April 2020, both of them tweeted that they'd match donations up to $500 to support their warehouse worker colleagues. Cunningham said the "lack of safe and sanitary working conditions" puts the workers and the public at risk, while Costa tweeted that the workers "struggle to get consistent, sufficient protections and procedures" from their employer.
Amazon said when the news broke that they were let go for violating internal policies, namely for discussing the company without prior approval, and not for speaking out about working conditions specifically. The NLRB looked into accusations that Amazon retaliated against its employees for organizing or participating in protests, however, and determined that Cunningham and Costa were illegally fired.
According to The Washington Post, the settlement still needs to be approved by the NLRB regional director in Seattle, though Cunningham and Costa are already considering the settlement a victory. In a joint statement, they said the development is a "win for protecting workers rights" and that Amazon will be required to pay them lost wages. The whole statement reads:
"We are thrilled to announce that we have reached an agreement to settle the charge against Amazon at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging that the company illegally fired us for speaking up about warehouse workers' conditions during COVID. This is a win for protecting workers rights, and shows that we were right to stand up for each other, for justice, and for our world. Amazon will be required to pay us our lost wages and post a notice to all of its tech and warehouse workers nationwide that Amazon can't fire workers for organizing and exercising their rights.
It’s also not lost on us that we are two women who were targeted for firing. Inequality, racism, and sexism are at the heart of both the climate crisis and the pandemic.
Tech workers standing up together have immense power to move the biggest corporations in the world. Everything we love is threatened by climate chaos. Workers at every company need to be standing up for each other and the world, together. Now is the time to be our best, bravest selves. We can only do this together. We hope you’ll join us."
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Honda builds much more than cars and trucks — power equipment, solar cells, industrial robotics, alternative fuel engines and even aircraft are all part of the company's production capacity. On Thursday, Honda announced that it is working to further expand its manufacturing portfolio to include Avatar-style remote telepresence robots and electric VTOLs for inter- and intracity commutes before turning its ambitions to building a fuel-cell driven power generation system for the lunar surface.
For its eVTOL, Honda plans to leverage not only the lithium battery technology it's developed for its EV and PHEV vehicles but also a gas turbine hybrid power unit to give the future aircraft enough range to handle regional inter-city flights as well. Honda foresees air taxis as a ubiquitous part of tomorrow's transportation landscape, seamlessly integrating with both autonomous ground vehicles and traditional airliners (though they could soon be flown by robots as well). Obviously, the program is still very much in the early research phase and will likely remain so until at least the second half of this decade. The company anticipates having prototype units available for testing and certification by the 2030s and a full commercial rollout sometime around 2040.
Honda will have plenty of competition if and when it does get its eVTOLs off the ground. Cadillac showed off its single-seater aircar earlier this year, while Joby (in partnership with NASA) already has full-scale mockups flying. In June, Slovakian transportation startup, Klein Vision, flew from Nitra and to the Bratislava airport in its inaugural inter-city flight — and then drove home after the event. But building a fleet of flying taxis is no easy feat — just ask Bell helicopters — and we're sure to see more companies drop out of the sector before eVTOLs become commonplace.
Carlo Allegri / reuters
Honda reps also discussed the company's future robotics aspirations during a media briefing on Wednesday. The company envisions a future where people are unencumbered by space and time, where telepresence robots have visual and tactile acuity rivalling that of humans. Rather than hopping on a plane to inspect remote factory floors or attend product demonstrations in person, tomorrow's workers may simply don VR headsets and step into the body of an on-site humanoid robot.
The company announced that it wants its Avatar Robot — a newly refined iteration of the Asimo (above) — put into practical use in the 2030s and will conduct technology demonstration testing by the end of Q1, 2024 in order to meet that goal. But before that happens Honda reps noted that the company has work to do downsizing the robot's hand hardware and improving its grasping dexterity.
JAXA/Honda
Honda also has big plans for its space ventures including working on ways to adapt its existing fuel cell and high differential pressure water electrolysis technologies to work on the lunar surface as part of a circulative renewable energy system.
This system would use electricity gathered from renewable energy sources (like solar) to break the molecular bonds of liquid water, resulting hydrogen and oxygen. Those two elements would then be run through Honda's fuel cell to generate both electricity and supply the lunar habitats with oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for rocket fuel.
The company also hopes to utilize the more-nimble Avatar hands its developing as manipulators on a fleet of remote controlled lunar rovers which will perform tasks on the lunar surface rather than subject astronauts to the moon's many dangers. Honda has partnered with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and began joint research into both of these systems in June.
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Virgin Galactic has been cleared to fly again by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) following an anomaly on its previous flight, the WSJ has reported. The agency launched a probe into the space company's first crewed flight after it dropped below its approved trajectory.
The FAA determined that the SpaceShip Two Unity craft, with founder Richard Branson and five others aboard, had deviated from its assigned airspace for a minute and 41 seconds and failed to report the error as required. However, it accepted Virgin Galactic's proposal to expand the protected airspace for a wider array of possible trajectories and to communicate with air traffic control in real time during flights.
"The updates to our airspace and real-time mission notification protocols will strengthen our preparations as we move closer to the commercial launch of our spaceflight experience," said Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier in a statement.
According to a report in the New Yorker, pilots saw a "red light" warning near the end of the powered flight indicating that the spacecraft had veered outside its entry glide cone, putting it at risk of an emergency landing. Virgin Galactic said that the deviation was due to high altitude winds and that the craft didn't fly outside the lateral confines of its protected airspace. "At no time did the ship travel above any population centers or cause a hazard to the public," a spokesperson said.
With a flight clearance in hand again, Virgin Galactic may fly its next mission in mid-October, potentially with members of the Italian Air Force. After that, both the current SpaceShipTwo and its WhiteKnightTwo host aircraft would spend four months receiving upgrades, the company previously said.
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A Bloomberg report claims that Nintendo provided at least 11 developers with a toolkit to create games for the Switch that support 4K graphics. Shortly after it was published, though, the gaming giant has issued a statement firmly denying that it's supplying tools to drive the development of titles for a 4K console. "[T]his report is not true," the company tweeted. Further, it reiterated that it has no plans for a new Switch model other than the OLED variant that's coming out on October 8th.
We also want to restate that, as we announced in July, we have no plans for any new model other than Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, which will launch on October 8, 2021. (2/2)
Bloomberg said Nintendo had already handed out 4K toolkits and had already asked developers to create games with 4K resolution by the time it announced the OLED model. The publication also said that the 11 companies it talked to are made up of large publishers and small studios, including Zynga.
Nintendo's upcoming OLED Switch doesn't support 4K graphics, though its screen does offer better colors and contrast than its predecessors. In the past, Bloomberg reported that the company was working on a Switch with OLED screen and an NVIDIA chip that would enable it to generate 4K graphics when connected to a TV. A source told the publication, however, that Nintendo struggled with component shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic and had to drop its 4K plans.
Releasing a 4K Switch seems like the logical next step for Nintendo to take, seeing as its competitors already have consoles that support the resolution. Based on the company's statement, though, that won't be happening anytime soon.
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Compared to what we were driving just a decade ago, today's connected cars and trucks are practically computers on wheels. From content streaming infotainment systems to the background processes that interpret sensor data and power the advanced driver assist features, software has become a fundamental component in modern vehicles. To better manage those countless lines of code, GM announced on Wednesday that it has developed an end-to-end software platform, dubbed Ulfiti (rhymes with "multiply").
GM's latest vehicles already enjoy features like OTA software updates and on-board internet connectivity thanks to the company's Vehicle Intelligence Platform (VIP). the Linux-based Ulfiti is designed to sit on top of that existing architecture and serve as a central hub for select software systems, separating them from the vehicle's core operations.
"In all of the embedded controllers, we refactored them and extracted the software from the hardware out of them, making them available to our SOA layer," Scott Miller, Vice President of Software Defined Vehicle. at General Motors, said during a recent teleconference. "Basically we're abstracting them and making them available for a powerful hub for all the vehicle's systems."
"Then we're adding this service oriented layer on our high performance computing that we have in the vehicle for infotainment and safety," he continued. "And we're going to organize those abstractions as services."
This will enable GM to more quickly develop and deploy updates, new features and apps to customers. In essence, Ultifi will serve a similar function as Android does on smartphones — an API layer sitting between the underlying hardware and the end user. GM did note that Ultifi will run in conjunction with existing automotive OSes, such as Android Automotive, which GM announced in 2019 it would begin supporting.
"Android Automotive is a certain subset of functionality in the car," Darryl Harrison, GM's Director of Global Product Development, explained. "Ultifi is more of an umbrella overall strategy. Some vehicles will have Android Automotive and some will have other infotainment apps and services."
In essence, GM wants to treat your vehicle like a rolling smartphone, offering users continuous OTA updates, cloud-based personalization options that drivers can transfer between GM vehicles, and smart home connectivity. The company is also considering pushing out various safety and comfort upgrades through via OTA, such as using the vehicle's onboard cameras to automatically engage the child locks when they detect children in the back seat or remotely closing the vehicle's sunroof if you parked outdoors and the weather forecast calls for rain.
GM is also considering using Ultifi to offer subscription services to users, such as on-demand Supercruise that drivers can enable on long road trips but cancel once they reach their destination. Ulfiti could also allow for improved V2V (vehicle to vehicle) and V2X (vehicle to everything) applications including near-real time traffic and road hazard updates. Expect to see Ulfiti in select GM vehicles — both internal combustion and EV — starting in 2023.
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You no longer have to point your phone at your computer screen if you want to use Google Lens on your computer. As part of a string of updates, Google has revealed that Lens will be available for Chrome on the desktop in the "coming months." You just have to right-click on a website, choose to search with Lens and select the part of the page you want to examine. After that, you'll get results relating to the content you highlighted. Needless to say, that could be helpful if you're trying to identify an animal or a hot new jacket.
There are some upgrades coming to Lens on your phone. An update in early 2022 will let you ask a question after snapping a photo. If you need to know how to repair a part on your bike, for instance, you'll get results even if you don't know what that part is. The Google app for iPhones, meanwhile, will let you search for products within images.
This is a not-so-subtle effort to boost Google Shopping. You might be more likely to buy apparel or bike parts if you can identify them, after all. Even so, the expansion could make Lens more useful as a general search tool, not just for special circumstances.
Inspiration can strike at any time. ⚡ Soon you'll be able to use #GoogleLens to instantly search for products within images while browsing on the Google app on iPhone. And psst… Lens is coming to Chrome on desktop too 👀 #SearchOnpic.twitter.com/HTQCz7sjoO
MUM, our advanced AI model, is coming to #GoogleLens early next year. You’ll be able to snap a photo AND ask a question, which can be helpful in those moments you need to fix a broken part and have no idea what it is 🤷🔧 #SearchOnpic.twitter.com/cmedce3dB2
There are many places in the world that don't have an address system, which can restrict the opportunities available for people who live and work in those areas. Without an address, you can't get mail or packages, nor can you vote or sign up for bank accounts, for example. Emergency responders can't even find you easily if you don't have an address. Google's open-source Plus Codes system has been around since 2015 to help assign addresses to places, matching a series of letters and numbers to a set of latitude and longitude coordinates.
But, according to Google, "previously, creating addresses for an entire town or village could take years." The company is releasing a new tool today called Address Maker that would make mass generation of these codes easier for governments and organizations. Google said that governments and non-government organizations (NGOs) in Kenya, India, South African and the US are already using Address Maker, "with more partners on the way."
Anyone can enter one of these codes, which look like "P2J5+7C," into Google Maps and see where that place is or get directions. For people who already have existing addresses that are long or complicated, these could be helpful in making sure your contacts find you at the correct spot. If you've ever tried to send a package to an industrial area in a country you're not familiar with, you'll probably find Plus Codes helpful, too.
Google
Address Maker is a free Android app and shorted the previously years-long process to a few weeks, Google said. Based on an animated render, it appears you can outline segments on a map and add addresses for multiple structures within the area at once. You can check out Google's page for more help, especially if you're part of a local government or NGO.
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At the start of the year, Google added a feature to its search engine called About This Result. By tapping on the three dots icon located next to most results, the tool allows you to find out more about a website before you navigate to it. With the initial rollout of About This Result, Google displayed information from Wikipedia, and, if that wasn’t available, it pulled what it could from one of its services. The panels also included details about the website like when it was first indexed by the company, and if you could expect a secure connection.
Today, Google is making those panels more robust by adding to the diversity of information they display. To start, in addition to a description from Wikipedia, you’ll see what each website has to say about itself in its own words. You will also see what others have had to say about them — be that through reviews or a simple news article. In the “about the topic” section, Google will include other coverage or results from different sources.
As before, the idea behind the About This Result feature is to save you an extra search when you want to find out more about a website you’re about to visit. Google also sees it as a way to help people make more informed decisions about how they use the internet and provide peace of mind if you’re looking for important information related to important topics.
Aside from these "Information Literacy features," the company also announced new features coming to its results pages during its Search On event today. They're called Things to Know, Refine This Search, Broaden This Search and Related Topics to its results to make it easier to learn more about different topics. Things To Know, for example, will pull up the basics you'll need to understand a new subject, while refining and broadening your search can help you explore related issues.
Google Search users in the US will see today's expansion roll out over the coming weeks and months.
Cherlynn Low contributed to this post.
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Google has introduced a wildfire layer for Maps, allowing users around the world to keep a close eye on multiple fires at once. The tech giant says this new feature builds on the wildfire boundary map it rolled out in the US last year and it's meant to help people "make quick, informed decisions during times of emergency." With the layer enabled, users will be able to see the wildfires raging in their location — tapping on any of them will bring up links to emergency websites, helpline numbers and evacuation details provided by local government.
If available, the tool will also show details about the fire, including its containment, the acres it has already burned and the time that information was last reported. The wildfire layer will start its global rollout to Android devices this week and to iOS devices and PCs in October. While it will display most major fires — the kind that necessitates evacuations — around the world, it'll have the capability to display smaller incidents in the US, thanks to data provided by the National Interagency Fire Center. Google is planning to offer that level of detail in more locations, starting with Australia in the coming months.
Google
In addition, Google is expanding the information available through its Tree Canopy tool. At the moment, it can only provide data for 15 cities in the US, but it'll be able to show information for 100 cities around the world in 2022. Google's Tree Canopy Insights combines AI capabilities with aerial data to determine the parts of a city with the greatest risk of rapidly rising temperatures. It could help local governments figure out where to plant trees and where to focus any project they may have to fight climate change. Los Angeles authorities, for instance, are already using the tool to help them increase the city's tree canopy by 50 percent by 2028. While Google didn't say which cities are getting access to the tool by next year, it said Guadalajara, London, Sydney and Toronto are in the list.
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Folks in the UK looking for a show or movie to stream have even more options at their disposal. IMDb TV is now available in the country.
The free, ad-supported service offers a mix of originals and popular movies and shows from elsewhere, as Variety notes. Alongside IMDB TV's own projects such as Luke Bryan: My Dirt Road Diary, Moment of Truth and Top Class: The Life and Times of the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers, you can watch the likes of Pulp Fiction, Anger Management, The English Patient, Person of Interest, Community and 2 Broke Girls.
You can access IMDb TV through the Prime Video app, even if you aren't an Amazon Prime member. A Fire TV app is on the way in the coming weeks. Standalone IMDb TV apps for Android and iOS hit the US last month, so perhaps they'll be available in the UK later as well.
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Disney said The Book of Boba Fett would premiere this December, and it's making good on its promise — if only just. The media giant has revealed that the Mandalorian spin-off will debut December 29th on Disney+. The art accompanying the release date doesn't show much, but you can assume Boba Fett won't suffer fools lightly. (Caution: mild Mandalorian spoliers ahead.)
The series follows Boba Fett and his mercenary ally Fennec Shand shortly after the end of Mandalorian season two, as the pair return to Tatooine and lay claim to Jabba the Hutt's former territory. Temeura Morrison and Ming-Na Wen will reprise their respective roles. Producers from the earlier show are helming this latest project, including Jon Favreau, Robert Rodriguez and Kathleen Kennedy.
This won't satisfy fans looking for Mandalorian season three, which will only arrive afterBoba Fett. It does give fans another Star Wars fix before the end of 2021, at least, and it ensures you'll have another major Disney+ show to watch once you've finished with Hawkeye.
Quibi tried and failed to create much of a buzz last year with its mobile video streaming service. But there was at least one thing from the ill-fated platform that went viral: a scene from a show where Rachel Brosnahan, of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel fame, plays a woman with a golden arm. You'll soon be able to relive that moment of pop culture history thanks to Roku.
Losing my fucking MIND at this Quibi show where actual Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan plays a woman obsessed with her golden arm pic.twitter.com/rSfqCv75SG
When Quibi closed shop, Roku bought the company's content and rebranded the shows as Roku Originals. It didn't re-release all of those series right away though, and it's marking Halloween season with three horror-themed Originals. First up as part of the Freak Out Friday season is When the Streetlights Go On, which hits The Roku Channel on October 15th. The '90s-set show centers on a double homicide that took place in a midwestern suburb.
The following Friday, you'll be able to watch anthology series 50 States of Fright. The first episode of that show is where you can hear a doctor tell a woman with a metallic arm that she has "pulmonary gold disease.” Quibi, in case you need a reminder, shut up shop less than eight months after it debuted.
Lastly, on October 29th, you'll be able to catch The Expecting, a sci-fi thriller that tells the story of a strange pregnancy. As well as on Roku devices, The Roku Channel is available on the web, Amazon Fire TV, mobile devices and some Samsung TVs.
In August, Roku added another 23 Quibi shows to its streaming library. The company is also working on its first original film, Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas, which continues the story of the canceled NBC show Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.
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Elon Musk isn't fond of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, and he just made that patently clear. CNETreports that Musk told Code conference attendees Bezos should put more effort into "getting into orbit than lawsuits," and that you couldn't "sue your way to the Moon" as Blue Origin allegedly tried when it lost its lunar lander bid. He was also less-than-flattering to Virgin Galactic, describing its first passenger flight and Blue Origin's as "a step in the direction of orbit" that fell short of SpaceX's efforts.
While Musk is known for being harsh, he might have some support in this case. The Verge has obtained NASA legal documents showing that the space agency felt Blue Origin "gambled" with its originally proposed $5.9 billion lunar lander price. Bezos' company allegedly set the price far higher than necessary as it expected NASA to award the contract and negotiate for a lower cost. Blue Origin also reportedly assumed NASA would get the full funding from Congress needed for that initial price, even as the Senate made clear NASA wouldn't get the necessary amount.
In an interview, Blue Origin VP Megan Mitchell told The Verge the company rejected NASA's views. She felt Blue Origin made a "great offer" and that it disagreed with NASA's gambling characterization. The GAO separately said NASA partly botched its safety review requirements for the proposal, although it still sided with SpaceX on grounds that Blue Origin didn't explain how the move provided an unfair edge.
This isn't to say Musk and SpaceX are innocent. SpaceX sued the US in 2019 after it lost an Air Force rocket contract to Blue Origin and other competitors, for example. It's just that Musk's trash talking appears to carry some weight in this modern Moon race.
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