Latest News from Engadget
Engadget
an hour ago
- Business
- Engadget
Years after acquiring Tile, Life360 has integrated the trackers into its app
Life360, a family locator app, said today that it has fully integrated the object-tracking features of Tile into its own platform. The Life360 app can now set up and manage Tile trackers, deliver notifications when an item gets left behind and provide real-time location updates for the trackers in addition to its usual features for managing family members' safety. Life360 announced its acquisition of Tile for $205 million way back in 2021. At the time of the purchase, Life360 said Tile would continue to operate independently, but it has still been a long time coming for the two businesses to fully integrate with each other's offerings. In that time, Tile has faced challenges from competitors that have more resources at their back, such as Apple and AirTags. It was also subject to a cyberattack last year where hackers obtained customers' names, addresses, email addresses and other personal information.
Engadget
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Roll7's 'OlliOlli World' and 'Rollerdrome' are back on Steam
Their creators might be gone, but OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome are finally back on Steam, based on listings spotted by Eurogamer . Both games were delisted from storefronts like Steam and the Xbox Games Store following publisher Take-Two's decision to shutdown developer Roll7, Intercept Games and publishing label Private Division a little over a year ago. OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome represent diverging, but equally great examples of what made Roll7 special. They're thoughtful, visually stylish games about skateboarding and rollerblading that capture the zen-like state you can enter pulling off multiple tricks in a row (plus or minus a mascot costume and a shotgun). Eurogamer notes that Take-Two always planned to put both games back on sale when it originally delisted them, it just took a lot longer to bring them back than expected. 2K, another Take-Two subsidiary, is now serving as the publisher. When the company closed Private Division, not every game stayed at Take-Two. The publisher continues to back games like No Rest for the Wicked from the developer of Ori and the Blind Forest , but a collection of other in-development projects were sold to Haveli Investments, Bloomberg reports. The investment firm brought on former Annapurna Interactive staff to manage the slate following the implosion of that indie-focused publisher and developer in September 2024.
Engadget
2 hours ago
- Engadget
Apple may switch its OS numbering system to match the release year, turning iOS 19 into iOS 26
It seems that Apple is giving its operating systems a significant overhaul this year, and not just on the visual and usability fronts. It was expected that the next major versions of iOS and iPadOS would be followed by the number 19, Macs would move onto macOS 15 and so on. That would continue the numbering system Apple has used for many years. That could be about to change, according to Bloomberg . The next versions of the operating systems may be earmarked by the year, according to the publication's sources. That means we could soon see the debut of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26. The numbers would align with the year after each major OS release, since Apple typically rolls out the first public versions of those each fall. So the versions of iOS, iPadOS and so on that arrive this September or October may be named after 2026. We'll know for sure whether this shift is happening on June 9, when the keynote of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference takes place. It's widely expected that Apple will be giving its operating systems a major user interface overhaul to deliver a more unified experience across various devices. It seems like a wise move to align the branding of all of the various operating systems. The software powering Apple Watch devices is currently up to watchOS 11. Apple Vision Pro is running visionOS 2. It's a little messy as is. Applying the same numbering to all of the operating systems and aligning it with the release year should make things easier for everyone to keep up with.
Engadget
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is getting a new mode to coincide with the Switch 2 launch
Capcom just announced that Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is getting a new mode to coincide with its launch-day release for the Switch 2, which is June 5 . It's called Otherworldly Ventures and introduces some roguelike mechanics to the action/strategy game. In other words, it's essentially an endless mode. You start off with limited abilities and choose from various upgrades when defeating waves of enemies. Lots of games do something like this, including titles like Vampire Survivors and Downwell . It will also introduce a scoring element, for those who want to ascend a leaderboard. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. To make the roguelike-inspired mechanics work, the developers have simplified other aspects of the gameplay. Protagonist Soh won't have to rescue villagers and crystals will accumulate more quickly than in the standard game. Also, Yoshiro will make her own way to the gate, instead of having to be guided. The whole thing looks pretty fun. Despite launching alongside the Switch 2, Otherworldly Ventures will be available for every version of the game on June 5. This includes PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows and Steam. It's also free, which is always nice. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. For the uninitiated, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a fun hybrid of third-person combat and tower-defense. We heaped praise on the game in our official review , calling it "perfectly balanced, lovingly crafted and metal as hell."
Engadget
3 hours ago
- Engadget
Google Photos gets new AI features for its 10-year anniversary
Google Photos is 10 years old. To honor the anniversary, the company revamped the app's editor. Naturally, AI plays a leading role. The redesigned Photos adds AI-powered editors previously exclusive to the Pixel 9's Magic Editor. That includes Auto Frame, which suggests crops for your pics. If that requires new parts, it will use AI to generate them. Also moving over from the Pixel is Reimagine. That's where you can add elements like fall leaves or green grass that weren't there. It can be equal parts neat and unsettling. We described it as "blurring the line between which of your memories are real and which are not." The results are convincing enough that Google recently began watermarking them as AI-generated. The Google Photos update also adds a new AI Enhance feature. As The Verge notes, selecting it produces three edits. (It generates them with existing tweaks like sharpening and object removal.) Then, you pick the result you like best. The new AI Enhance feature sits in the Edit menu, alongside the app's existing Enhance and Dynamic buttons. Google also made it easier to share albums. You can now generate a QR code linking to your album. Let a friend scan it directly, or print it out in a group setting. The redesigned editor arrives on Android devices in June. Google says the iOS version will follow "later this year."
