Latest news with #TeenageEngineering
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Couldn't preorder a Switch 2? No worries, Playdate has big news coming this week
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. While everyone's scrambling after Switch 2 preorders, Panic's beautiful little Playdate console could be a fun low-fi alternative – and new games are coming! The company says it's sold 70,000 devices since the Playdate console was launched, along with almost 290,000 game units. On Thursday (17 April), it will announce Playdate Season 2, a second series of games for the minimalist device. We can expect to learn pre-order information, price and the release date for the first week of Season Two games (also see our pick of the best retro game consoles). Designed by the app developer and video game publisher Panic in collaboration with Teenage Engineering, Playdate is a very unique-looking handheld games console. Sure, it doesn't have the graphics or interactivity of the Switch 2, or Joy-Cons that work as mice. But it's bright yellow, fits in your pocket and it has a beautiful black and white screen. And it has a crank: a unique flip-out rotating analogue controller. This week's showcase airs one day from the third year anniversary of Playdate's original launch and two years since the launch of Playdate's online store for games, Catalog. Since then, Panic says it's raised over $1m for developers. Indie devs working with Panic have been enthusiastic about the model. 'Making games for Playdate has been an incredible experience — it's taken me places (both digital and physical!) that I honestly never thought I'd reach,' says Rae, Playdate game developer of Rowbot Rally. 'This community is super helpful and always willing to share tips and resources freely so any game turns out the best it can be, and I've received so much support from them not just in problem-solving but also sheer hype. "With the Playdate SDK, it's super easy to iterate on an idea and turn it into a fun game; and the amount of players willing to take a chance on even a small silly game in Catalog is incredible. In fact, earnings from my Playdate titles have very directly resulted in me buying my first car! [insert the funniest car horn noise here] Big thanks to Panic, and the rest of the Playdate community (I know you're reading this!), for all you do.' "Developing Playdate games has been such a perfect starting point for me as a first time game dev!' says ToadleyUnderControl, Playdate game developer of Reel-Istic Fishing.' 'I found it to be a lot less overwhelming than learning a game engine, and the community surrounding Playdate is made of some awesome people who really kept me motivated through their support and excitement! "Everything about developing for this just feels so easy and smooth, and you can very quickly get a prototype running on the handheld itself! I've also been able to put money toward my university tuition / student loans thanks to selling Playdate games!! I owe a lot to this lil cheese handheld, so thank you to everyone involved in Playdate from the bottom of my cold, slimy, amphibious heart." Playdate is available to order for $229 and refurbished units are also now available at for $179. The Playdate Update showcase will air on April 17 at 10am PT/ 1pm ET / 6pm UK time. For more novel consoles, check out the Nex Playground. If you're working on your own game, see our pick of the best game development software.
WIRED
12-04-2025
- WIRED
An Instagram iPad App, a New Motorola Razr, and Gemini's Latest—Here's Your Gear News of the Week
Plus: Nothing teases a new CMF smartphone, Specialized's latest mountain ebike starts at $8,000, and Teenage Engineering revamps its sampler. Photograph: MY24, Teenage Engineering; Getty Images If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more. An iPad Instagram app might be on the horizon. According to The Information, a Meta employee claims the long-asked-for app is finally in development, fueled by Meta's desire to ramp up user activity on Instagram as a whole. Right now, Instagram is available on the iPad, but it's the iPhone version and is designed for smaller, narrower displays—so it doesn't take up the full screen. Images and Reels maintain the same aspect ratio, resulting in an awkward experience. But the terrible user interface hasn't been enough for Instagram chief Adam Mosseri to green-light a version designed for the iPad. Still, Mosseri hasn't been quiet on the topic—despite past pleas, he's taken to posting on X multiple times over the last few years to explain that there's not a big enough group to make an Instagram iPad app a priority. But as TikTok's future remains unclear, Mosseri might have changed his tune. As the report outlines, Instagram is using the looming ban as an opportunity to drive more users to its app. Before the short-lived ban in January, Instagram released an update centered solely on enhancements to Reels—its short-form video feature—to steer users from TikTok to its app. The company extended the maximum length of videos, changed the profile grid to a rectangular format (specifically a 4:5 aspect ratio), and launched a new video app called Edits (similar to CapCut from TikTok's parent company, ByteDance). Instagram hasn't confirmed the iPad app's development, and so we don't have a release window. The TikTok ban has been extended for another 75 days, so keep your eyes peeled on the App Store. —Brenda Stolyar A New Razr Is on the Way This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from. Motorola has given us a date for the launch of the next Razr: April 24. This folding flip phone follows on the success of the Razr and Razr+ from 2024, and while the teaser video shows us a silhouette of a phone that looks identical (in multiple colors), the words 'AI' flash on the screen at the end. Motorola's Moto AI has been in beta since late 2024—it's an AI companion that can remember things about you, summarize notifications, and transcribe and summarize recordings. Maybe it'll finally come out of beta with the Razr 2025? The Razr isn't the only phone Motorola announced this week. There's a new Moto G Stylus 2025, which retains the $399 price of its predecessor. It remains the only smartphone that comes with a stylus under $500, and Motorola is putting a little more emphasis on it this time around. You'll be able to turn basic sketches into AI-generated art, write down math problems and have them convert to text with the solution in tow, and you can even use it with Google's Circle to Search. The Moto G Stylus is also IP68 water resistant now, is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset, and still features a headphone jack, OLED 120-Hz screen, and wireless charging. It launches on April 17 for $399. Nothing's Next CMF Phone Is Almost Here Last year, the CMF Phone 1 blew me away with its stellar performance and design—it outperformed several phones that cost more money, all while looking far more stylish. CMF is Nothing's sub-brand that focuses on affordable tech, and we're about to get a successor to the Phone 1 at the end of the month. A teaser was posted on Nothing's Community forum, with video glimpses of the CMF Phone 2 Pro. The focus seems to be on the phone's build, with Nothing stating, 'Ultra-slim. Ultra-light. Ultra-sleek.' Nothing also highlighted a new finish that's textured. We'll be able to glean more details on April 28 at 9 am ET, where Nothing will also take the wraps off three new wireless earbuds: CMF Buds 2, Buds 2a, and Buds 2 Plus. Google's Gemini Live Gets a Video Upgrade Photograph: Julian Chokkattu Got a Google Pixel 9 or Samsung Galaxy S25? If you're on Google's Gemini Advanced subscription, you now have a new perk: camera sharing with Gemini Live. Rolling out this week, this feature supposedly lets you have a free-flowing conversation with Gemini when it's in Gemini Live mode with your phone camera open. Gemini will be able to see everything you show it. That means you can ask it for a product's name by just pointing the camera at it, or ask for inspiration or ideas on how to redecorate your office. This is powered by Google's Astra technology, which will soon be inside Google's smart glasses. If you don't want to use Gemini Live, you can also attach photos, files, and documents to the standard version of Gemini and ask questions about them. While the new live video function is rolling out to Pixel 9 and Galaxy S25 users now, it'll be broadly available to all Gemini Advanced subscribers on Android devices later on. Specialized Drops the S-Works Levo 4, Its Latest Electric Mountain Bike If you like mountain biking but don't have the free time to get out and get as strong as you used to be, then it's time to get an electric mountain bike. It's been several years since Specialized updated its pedal-assist Levo line, so I'm excited to see the announcement of a full-power electric S-Works Levo 4 this week. The new bike has a 720-watt S-Works motor with 111 Nm of torque, promising 27 percent more power than its predecessor, and the ability to haul you up much steeper, more technical climbs, with a huge 1,120-Wh onboard battery so that you don't find yourself stranded powerless in the middle of nowhere. The bike also purports to offer much more refined power assist, so that you don't accidentally bike yourself into a tree on technical terrain, and there's even downtube storage inside the bike for easy access to the battery and an extra tube for your tires. It weighs about 52 pounds (23.6 kg), which, although not light, is comparable to its competitors like the Trek Slash. We're excited to take it out on some singletrack soon. —Adrienne So Sony's New Speakers Want to Get the Party Started If you've ever felt your portable speaker has let you down in either bass or vibes, Sony's new party speakers are promising to deliver both, with a trio of newcomers joining the ULT Power Sound series—tagline: 'Maximum Bass. Ultimate Vibe.' They are all quite different—starting with size. With its detachable shoulder strap and compact size, the ULT Field 3 is probably the kind of portable speaker you think of when you hear 'portable speaker,' and promises a powerful sound from the two-way active driver design. It'll last 24 hours and is IP67 rated. The ULT Field 5 is a bigger speaker that stands upright and has the ability to access two different kinds of bass boost for more low-end wobble. It has the addition of Sony's 360° Party Lights, and 25 hours of battery life, plus it's IP66 rated for outside play. Both the ULT Field 3 and Field 5 are additionally salt-water resistant, making them a safe option for beach parties. The ULT Tower 9, on the other hand, is the kind of portable speaker I imagine you might own if you really disliked your neighbors. This enormous speaker is officially portable because it comes with wheels and a handle, but that is the beginning and end of its portability. Wheeling it much further than your garden feels unlikely, but it has karaoke and guitar inputs for turning the party up to 11 and more volume than most people will know what to do with. The speakers will cost $200, $320, and $900 respectively, and are available now. —Verity Burns Teenage Engineering's Sampler Gets a Winning Update One thing that's a rarity in the world of portable music-making gear is proper software updates. That changes with Teenage Engineering's K.O. II sampler. The company, a purveyor of gorgeous music-making tools for creative nerds, has dropped a big software update for its sampler that offers owners and new buyers cool new features. You can now resample things for remixing, chop sounds up, and side-chain your beats for more pump-y mixes, among even larger changes to the playback engine. Folks who want to make more use of playing stuff first and putting it together later will enjoy that you can now arrange tracks of up to 9,801 bars, and will enjoy that there is increased polyphony (the number of samples you can play at once) and better MIDI support for live performances with a laptop and DAW. That's … a lot of changes for a $299 sampler and portable recorder that looks like a calculator from the 1980s. If TE supports its affordable products this well after launch, it makes us want to keep buying. —Parker Hall Photograph: Teenage Engineering
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Yahoo
A status update on all the major AI gadgets released in 2024
2024 was a whirlwind year for AI. The initial excitement of ChatGPT had settled, and we wondered how AI would transform the way we interact with technology? Desktop-bound apps and services and mobile-based chat apps offer a great way to interact with LLMs. Still, for AI to be pervasive, it needs to be more accessible. Enter a wave of AI-powered gadgets. Some promise to replace your phone, others aim to be ever-present companions. From handhelds to wearable pins and AI-enhanced smartphones, these products captured our curiosity. However, did they live up to the hype one year later? Rabbit unveiled the R1 at CES 2024. This compact AI-powered device was designed to revolutionize human-computer interaction. With a natural-language interface and a tempting $200 price tag, it made waves, selling nearly 10,000 units on day one. The enthusiasm was real. People were excited about an AI gadget that might simplify everyday tasks. Under the hood, the R1 ran on Rabbit OS, the first operating system built around a Large Action Model (LAM). Instead of relying on apps, the R1 would learn and replicate human interactions across digital interfaces, streamlining common tasks. Its playful design — crafted in collaboration with Teenage Engineering – added to the appeal. The bright colorway, a 2.88-inch touchscreen, a scroll wheel for navigation, and a rotating camera gave it a distinctive look. Early reviews criticized the R1's limited functionality, pointing out that most of its tasks could be done on a smartphone, and often faster and more efficiently. Some argued that Rabbit's software could be replicated on an Android app, making the standalone device redundant. Users quickly realized the R1 was more of a gimmick than a necessity. While it could handle basic commands like playing music, checking the weather, or summarizing information, it lacked deep integrations with the services people used. Without a solid app ecosystem or standout feature, it was hard to justify carrying an extra device when a smartphone did everything and more. Since then, Rabbit has fought back with software updates, introducing a partnership with ElevenLabs for custom voice options. Despite these efforts, the R1 hasn't maintained its early momentum. Recently, the company announced an Android agent that lets you control Android devices. It'll let you add notes to a Google Keep list, play YouTube videos, and more. Regardless, the Rabbit R1 remains on sale, but I'd venture a guess that it hasn't given people a reason to stick with it. Could Rabbit pivot to software-only solutions in the future? It wouldn't be surprising. If the company focuses on perfecting its LAM-based approach as a universal AI assistant that works across all platforms, it might stand a better chance at longevity than being tied to niche hardware. If the Rabbit R1 represented one vision of AI hardware, the Humane AI Pin took a different approach. Created by ex-Apple employees, the AI Pin was meant to be a wearable AI assistant with no screens, just voice commands and a built-in laser projector to display information on your palm. It sounded futuristic. However, as we've seen before, cool concepts don't always translate into practical products. The AI Pin consisted of two parts: a front unit with a camera, speaker, and sensors, and a rear battery, magnetically attached to clothing at chest level. Powered by CosmOS, it relied almost entirely on cloud processing and required a $24 a month subscription. Still, from the start, it struggled. Users reported overheating issues, frequent AI errors, and a lack of useful features. The promise of seamless AI integration wasn't there. Sales plummeted, leading Humane to slash the price from $699 to $499 to gain traction. It didn't work. By early 2025, reports showed that more units were returned than sold. Then came the final blow. HP acquired Humane's assets for $116 million on February 18, 2025. The AI Pin was discontinued, with all remaining units set to stop working by February 28. Humane's ambitious vision now lives on within HP's new AI division, HP IQ. Still, the AI Pin is officially dead. What went wrong? For starters, the AI Pin's reliance on cloud computing made it sluggish, often leading to delayed responses. Unlike a smartphone, which has local processing capabilities, every AI Pin command was transmitted to Humane's servers before returning a response. This added friction, making it feel less responsive than a basic smart assistant like Siri or Google Assistant. Then there was the issue of its form factor. While Humane envisioned a world where people would ditch screens in favor of AI-driven interactions, reality painted a different picture. Consumers weren't ready to abandon visual interfaces, and the AI Pin's laser projection felt more like a party trick than a game-changing innovation. Unlike its more ambitious counterparts, the Plaud NotePin took a practical approach. Launched in August 2024 by this wearable device focused on one thing: helping professionals capture, transcribe, and summarize conversations in real time. Priced at $169, the NotePin was designed for versatility. It could be worn as a necklace, wristband, clip, or pin, making it a discreet tool for meetings, interviews, and lectures. Using OpenAI's GPT-4, it transcribed and summarized recordings, turning spoken words into actionable insights. Unlike the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin, the NotePin didn't try to replace your phone or reinvent how you interacted with AI. Instead, it found a clear, valuable use case, one that professionals needed. Six months in, the NotePin is still gaining traction, with continuing to roll out updates to improve its AI capabilities. The NotePin didn't overpromise or try to redefine human-computer interaction overnight. Instead, it provided a service people were searching for: seamless, high-quality transcription powered by AI. Its success highlights an important shift in AI hardware. Consumers aren't looking for AI to replace existing devices. They want it to enhance and streamline the tools they use. This pragmatic approach could serve as a roadmap for future AI-driven wearables. Looking back, it's clear that AI gadgets are still in their experimental phase. The Rabbit R1 had the hype but struggled to justify its existence beyond a novelty. The Humane AI Pin promised a radical shift in computing but collapsed under the weight of its own ambition. Meanwhile, the Plaud NotePin, by focusing on a specific, practical function, has quietly carved out a niche for itself. AI hardware must deliver genuine value and not flashy promises and futuristic aesthetics. The most successful tech products don't ask users to change their behavior. They integrate seamlessly into daily life. AI-driven hardware must answer a simple yet crucial question: What does it do better than a smartphone's AI features? If the answer isn't compelling enough, consumers will stick with the familiar.
