Google is (unsurprisingly) shutting down Stadia in January

Despite claims to the contrary as recently as July, Google is shutting down its Stadia games streaming service after just three years. The company says players will still have access to their games and be able to play them until January 18, 2023. After that, Stadia will join the long, long list of products that have been killed by Google.

Those who have invested money into Stadia will be fully reimbursed. “We will be refunding all Stadia hardware purchases made through the Google Store, and all game and add-on content purchases made through the Stadia store,” Stadia vice president and general manager Phil Harrison wrote in a blog post. “We expect to have the majority of refunds completed by mid-January, 2023. We have more details for players on this process on our Help Center.”

The Stadia store is now closed, so you can’t make any new purchases. In-game transactions have been disabled too. Google says it will handle most refunds automatically, and you won’t have to return most Stadia hardware (so hey, at least some people will get a free Chromecast Ultra out of this mess). Meanwhile, Google won’t reimburse Stadia Pro subscriptions. If you have an active membership as of today, the company won’t charge for access to your library of games or other Pro features until Stadia shuts down.

The reasoning behind the “difficult decision” isn’t surprising. Google said the service “hasn’t gained the traction with users that we expected.” It’s a shame, though, since the streaming tech at the core of Stadia works very well and the service had a passionate, if ultimately small, community. The decision leaves Xbox Game Pass, NVIDIA GeForce Now and Amazon Luna as the vanguards of cloud gaming for now.

It seemed like the writing was on the wall for Stadia when Google closed its internal game development studios early last year. There have been other indications in recent months that Google was shifting resources away from Stadia to focus on licensing the underlying tech to other companies. We’ve seen that in practice over the last year or so, with AT&T offering its subscribers the chance to play Batman: Arkham Knight and Control at no extra cost. Capcom used Stadia tech for a streaming demo of Resident Evil Village as well.

Back in March, Google formally announced Immersive Stream for Games, a version of Stadia that third parties can license. It seems the Stadia tech will live on there and in other Google products. “We see clear opportunities to apply this technology across other parts of Google like YouTube, Google Play and our Augmented Reality (AR) efforts — as well as make it available to our industry partners, which aligns with where we see the future of gaming headed,” Harrison wrote. “We remain deeply committed to gaming, and we will continue to invest in new tools, technologies and platforms that power the success of developers, industry partners, cloud customers and creators.”

Harrison noted that many members of the Stadia team will continue their work in other parts of the company. It’s not clear if there will be any layoffs as a result of the Stadia closure. When asked to comment on the possibility of layoffs, Google directed Engadget to Harrison’s blog post.

Adobe brings guided edits and AI animated photos to Photoshop Elements 2023

Ahead of its annual MAX event next month, Adobe has unveiled the 2023 version of its non-subscription Elements products. As with yearspast, the highlights are new AI features like animation for Photoshop Elements images and AI-applied art styles for Premiere.

For Photoshop Elements 2023, the most dramatic update is the ability to add motion to still photos. To do so, you just need to select the part of the image you want to move and indicate the direction of movement using the arrow tool. The AI will then do the rest, adding appropriate movement to water, fabrics, sand and so on. A bit cheesy, sure, but it could work in some situations. 

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023 introduces guided edits and AI animated photos
Adobe

Another key tool for Photoshop Elements is guided edits. That lets you do things like “peek-throughs” or putting foreground objects in a photo, along with “perfect portrait” that lets you smooth blemishes, whiten teeth, adjust face tilt or make the subjects smile wider (or even change a blink to open their eyes). Another guided lets you replace an ugly background with, say, a sunset. 

The perfect portrait feature adds a touch of uncanny valley to subjects if overused, and the background replacement work can be a bit wonky, depending on how well the AI isolates your subject. Still, it could be fun for certain uses. Other features include new collage and slideshow templates, faster performance, Apple M1 chip support and a new Android companion app to upload mobile photos and videos to Elements on desktop (English-only beta).  

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023 introduces guided edits and AI animated photos
Adobe

The key feature for Premiere Elements also revolves around Adobe’s Sensei AI. The “artistic effects” tool lets you add painterly styles to video including Van Gogh, DaVinci, Monet and so on. The effect takes motion into account for a consistent look, though again, this can get very tacky if overused. 

Adobe also added over 100 new audio tracks to give you some free music for videos, while boosting performance and stability and adding Apple M1 chips support. The Android companion app can also be used with Premiere Elements to make it easier to upload videos from your phone (again, only for the English-only beta). Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements are now available for $100 new or $80 as upgrades, or $150 for both products ($120 as an upgrade). 

Twitter says it inadvertently ran ads on profiles containing CSAM

Twitter is still having trouble curbing the spread of CSAM (child sexual abuse material). Insider has learned (subscription required) that Twitter inadvertently ran ads on profiles either selling or soliciting CSAM. In an email to marketers, the social network said it had suspended all ads on profiles, updated its detection systems, banned accounts that broke its rules and launched an investigation. Reutersnotes Coca-Cola, Disney and NBCUniversal were some of the brands whose ads appeared next to the offending content.

Existing technology had already blocked over 91 percent of accounts like these, Twitter said. In its most recent transparency report, the company said it took action against 31 percent more CSAM-related accounts in the second half of 2021.

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed the incident and investigation in a statement. On top of existing work to catch CSAM, the company said it was ensuring it had the “right models, processes and products” to protect both advertisers and users.

The news is ill-timed for Twitter. It comes just weeks after The Verge reported that Twitter ditched efforts to build an OnlyFans clone over concerns it couldn’t effectively catch CSAM and other forms of sexual abuse. It’s also emerging as the social media continues to fight with Elon Musk over the fate of his potentially cancelled $44 billion acquisition. Musk has focused most of his objections on alleged misreporting of fake account data.

There’s been an immediate financial impact as well. Reuters added that big names like Dyson and Mazda had either frozen their marketing campaigns or pulled ads from some areas on Twitter. More might be coming — Coca-Cola and Disney both said they considered the activity unacceptable, while NBCUniversal told Twitter to remove ads that ran against CSAM.

Amazon built Eero WiFi extenders into its latest Echo Dot speakers

Amazon isn’t done updating its Eero router lineup this year, if not quite in the way you’d expect. To start, the brand’s new Echo Dot speakers will now double as Eero WiFi extenders. Plug one in and you’ll get as much as 1,000 square feet of additional network coverage. That speaker on your nightstand could improve the internet connection in your office, in other words.

The base Echo Dot is available for pre-order today at $50, while the Echo Dot with Clock and colorful Echo Dot Kids will sell for $60. Given that an Eero 6 Extender costs $79, this is an easy choice if you use one of Amazon’s routers — you can pay less to bolster your WiFi network while adding speaker functionality.

There’s also a meaningful update to existing routers. The Eero team is prepping an Internet Backup feature that will automatically switch to an alternate connection if there’s an outage, and switch back when things return to normal. You can lean on your phone’s hotspot while your cable service is down, for instance. The technology will be available in the “coming months,” although you’ll need either a $99 per year Eero Plus subscription (formerly Eero Secure+) or service from a supporting internet provider.

Eero PoE 6 power over Ethernet WiFi router
Amazon

You can expect new dedicated Eero hardware as well, although this time it’s aimed at sophisticated home networks and businesses. As the name suggests, the Eero PoE 6 router (shown above) takes power over Ethernet and is thus easier to mount on the ceiling or wall. The dual-band device tops out at 1.5Gbps and a maximum 2,000 square feet of coverage. It will be available through installers in the US and Canada this October for $300, and will reach Amazon’s store in early 2023. An Eero PoE Gateway ($650) is also due early next year through Amazon’s website and ISPs. It can share up to a 10Gbps internet link through two 10Gbps Ethernet jacks and eight PoE-capable 2.5Gbps jacks.

There are services to match: Anyone who buys Eero PoE hardware will get five years of access to a Pro Installers software suite to help technicians optimize networks for customers. Companies, meanwhile, will have the option of a $299 yearly Eero for Business plan that offers hardware and software for outfits with little to no IT infrastructure of their own. It arrives in early 2023 in the US and UK.

Follow all of the news from Amazon’s event right here!

Logitech refreshes its range of Mac-specific MX keyboards and mice

Logitech is today announcing a quartet of products in its Designed for Mac series of wireless accessories. The first headline item is the MX Mechanical Mini (for Mac), an Apple-favoring variation on the existing MX Mini which launched earlier this year…

The latest iPadOS 16 beta brings Stage Manager to older iPad Pro models

Probably the biggest change Apple announced with iPadOS 16 earlier this year is Stage Manager, a totally new multitasking system that adds overlapping, resizable windows to the iPad. That feature also works on an external display, the first time that iPads could do anything besides mirror their screen on a monitor. Unfortunately, the feature was limited to iPads with the M1 chip — that includes the 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro released in May of 2021 as well as the M1-powered iPad Air which Apple released earlier this year. All other older iPads were left out.

That changes with the latest iPadOS 16 developer beta, which was just released. Now, Apple is making Stage Manager work with a number of older devices: it’ll work on the 11-inch iPad Pro (first generation and later) and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (third generation and later). Specifically, it’ll be available on the 2018 and 2020 models that use the A12X and A12Z chips rather than just the M1. However, there is one notable missing feature for the older iPad Pro models — Stage Manager will only work on the iPad’s build-in display. You won’t be able to extend your display to an external monitor.

Apple also says that developer beta 5 of iPadOS 16. is removing external display support for Stage Manager on M1 iPads, something that has been present since the first iPadOS 16 beta was released a few months ago. It’ll be re-introduced in a software update coming later this year. Given that some of the iPad community has been pretty vocal about issues with Stage Manager, particularly when using it with an external display, it makes sense that Apple is taking some extra time to keep working on it. 

Obviously, we’ll need to try Stage Manager on an older iPad Pro before we can say how well it works, but the A12X and A12Z chips are still plenty powerful, so the experience should hopefully not be any different than on an M1 iPad. It’s a bummer that external monitor support isn’t included, but this should still be welcome news to people who bought Apple’s most expensive iPads in the last few years.

Apple provided Engadget with the following statement about this update:

We introduced Stage Manager as a whole new way to multitask with overlapping, resizable windows on both the iPad display and a separate external display, with the ability to run up to eight live apps on screen at once. Delivering this multi-display support is only possible with the full power of M1-based iPads. Customers with iPad Pro 3rd and 4th generation have expressed strong interest in being able to experience Stage Manager on their iPads. In response, our teams have worked hard to find a way to deliver a single-screen version for these systems, with support for up to four live apps on the iPad screen at once.

External display support for Stage Manager on M1 iPads will be available in a software update later this year.

Alienware’s Aurora R15 offers improved cooling and the latest Intel and NVIDIA components

With the latest GPUs and CPUs from NVIDIA and Intel making their way to consumers, Alienware is updating its Aurora desktop to take advantage of those components. The new Aurora R15 is one of the first pre-built systems to come with a GeForce RTX 4090 …

Intel’s Unison app will let PCs text, call and share files from iPhones and Android devices

New Intel PCs will soon have a feature that Macs have offered for years: the ability to text, take calls and send files to their iPhones. That’s all thanks to Intel’s Unison app, which aims to keep Windows user in their workflow without being distracted by their phones. And yes, it also works with Android devices.

After acquiring the Israeli company Screenovate last year, Intel revamped its phone integration tool to suit more demanding users. With Unison, there’s support for VPNs, firewalls and IT manageability. Intel also paid special attention to battery efficiency, as well as juggling wireless connections across Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cellular. The result is something that could be more useful than Microsoft’s Your Phone app for Windows, which looks very polished but only works with Android phones.

According to Josh Newman, Intel’s VP of mobile innovation, Unison will offer fast file transfers between phones and computers. (We’re still waiting for more details on the actual connection speeds.) For example, you’d be able to quickly take a photo or video on your phone and throw it over to your Windows computer for additional editing. The app will also let you push files from your PC to your phone.

As a lifelong Windows user who can’t help but covet the integration between Macs and iOS devices, Unison could be exactly what many PC users have been waiting for. Still, we’ll need to see it in action before we make any final judgements, and its limited support could be an issue.

To start, Intel will only offer Unison a few 12th-gen Evo PCs from HP, Acer and Lenovo this fall. Newman says it’ll head to future 13th-gen Evo systems next year. When asked if it could ever support earlier Intel hardware, Newman didn’t rule it out, but he noted that the company wanted to see how Unison performed on a select group of systems first. There’s also nothing stopping Unison from supporting AMD chips eventually, he said, but the companies would have to collaborate to make it happen.

Apple Watch SE review (2022): The best smartwatch $250 can buy

I wasn’t expecting Apple, of all companies, to deliver the most competitively priced smartwatch you can buy in 2022. But with Apple shaving $30 off the cost, the new Watch SE is arguably the most compelling wearable on the market. For $150 less than th…

Apple’s 512GB MacBook Air M2 falls to a new all-time low

Apple’s MacBook air is the thin and light notebook to own if you’re looking for the best mix of small size and performance, but the more desirable 512GB version is fairly expensive at $1,499. Fortunately, you can now grab that model Amazon for just $1,349 for a significant savings of $150 (10 percent) — the lowest price we’ve seen to date. And if you don’t need that much space, the 256GB model is also on sale

Buy Apple MacBook Air M2 laptops at Amazon

With a 96 score on our Engadget review, the MacBook Air M2 is one of the best laptops we’ve ever test. For the first time since launch, Apple changed the design from a wedge to a uniformly thin form, making it not only thinner overall but more balanced. In fact, at 11.3 millimeters and 2.7 pounds, it weighs less than an iPad Pro with its smart keyboard. 

The 2,560 x 1,664 Liquid Retina screen is also slightly larger at 13.6 inches, thanks to the bezels and the webcam tucked into the screen notch up top. You also get improved speakers, a Magsafe power adapter and a pair of USB-C ports with support for charging, external monitors and data transfers up to 40Gbps. The M2 processor significantly boosts performance over the Air M1, offering performance nearly comparable to the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2. It starts rapidly, loads apps quickly and offers snappy performance across the board. 

The 512GB version is more desirable not only because of the extra space, but the faster SSD performance than the base model — and the $1,349 price tag is the lowest we’ve seen yet. If that’s still not in your budget, the 256GB model is on sale at $1,099 for a savings of $100 (8 percent) — also an all-time low price.

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