‘Gran Turismo 7’ has been down for over a day (updated)

Gran Turismo 7‘s dependence on an internet connection is coming back to haunt the developers. Eurogamernotes players are review bombing the PlayStation racing sim on Metacritic after Polyphony Digital and Sony extended maintenance beyond 24 hours to deal with the faulty 1.07 patch. As you need online access to play the core GT mode, some gamers are furious — the average Metacritic user review score sat at 3.6 as of this writing.

This isn’t the only gripe. Some players are less than thrilled with the presence of microtransactions in Gran Turismo 7, and have accused the creators of making it harder to obtain new cars and upgrades without spending real money. Other players have asked for full refunds.

It’s not clear when GT7 will go back online. Polyphony said only that it would provide a completion time “as soon as possible.” We’ve asked Sony for comment. It’s safe to presume the producers will want to restore service quickly, though. While the review bombing will only do limited damage to a well-known game that has already been available for weeks, it won’t look good if one of the PlayStation 5’s marquee games isn’t even playable during the weekend.

Update 3/18 12:33PM ET:Gran Turismo 7 is back online after the company released a 1.08 update. Polyphony’s Kazunori Yamauchi explained that a bug in 1.07 prevented the game from starting properly for some PS4 and PS5 users, and that the extended maintenance helped protect users’ save data.

Apple’s latest iPad mini is $40 off at Amazon

Apple’s updated iPad mini may be a niche device because of its size, but it’s got enough power to suit most people’s needs. We gave the small tablet a score of 89 when it came out last year, and now you can pick it up at a discounted price. Amazon has the pink, purple and space gray 64GB models for $459, which is $40 off and a record low.

Buy iPad mini at Amazon – $459

You probably already know if the iPad mini will fill a hole in your life. The e-reader-sized tablet will be best for those who will use it precisely for things like reading and taking notes, as well as anyone who just wants a more compact tablet to take with them on the go. With the 2021 version, Apple finally gave the iPad mini the facelift many had been hoping for, changing its design to look more like a smaller iPad Air with a nearly edge-to-edge, 8.3-inch 2,266 x 1,488 resolution Liquid Retina screen, flat sides and a TouchID-capable power button. It also works with the second-generation Apple Pencil, and that accessory magnetically attaches to the side of the tablet when you’re not using it.

The A15 Bionic chip inside the iPad mini helped it handle everything we threw at it, including light gaming, web browsing, note-taking and more. Plus, FaceTime calls are even better on this tablet since the front-facing camera supports Center Stage, which will keep you in frame while you’re chatting with friends and family. We also appreciate that the iPad mini lasted about 12 hours in our testing before it needed to be recharged, so it can be your main tablet all day long if you’d like it to be.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Engadget Podcast: Samsung’s Galaxy A53 5G and the Mac Studio

Would you believe Samsung has more new phones? This week, Devindra and Senior Writer Sam Rutherford discuss the new Galaxy A53 5G and A33, the company’s new feature-packed mid-range phones. The A53 has a 120Hz screen, four cameras and 5G support for $450! The iPhone SE doesn’t stand a chance against it. Also, Devindra dives into his review of the Mac Studio–finally, Apple has a great desktop for creative professionals.

Listen above, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

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Topics

  • Samsung announces Galaxy A53 5G and A33 – 1:28

  • Mac Studio review – 14:46

  • Disney+ teasers for Ms. Marvel and Obi Wan – 28:20 

  • Working on – 41:18

  • Picks – 45:21

Video livestream

Credits
Hosts: Sam Rutherford and Devindra Hardawar
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien
Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos and Luke Brooks
Graphic artists: Luke Brooks and Brian Oh

Twitter may soon let you add pronouns to your profile

When Twitter reopened its form for verification requests last year, it also teased upcoming changes to its website. Those changes include a space for pronouns in the profile section, along with your other information. It’s been almost a year since we first heard about the project, but now reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi has found proof that the company is indeed developing the feature and may have started testing it. Paluzzi has discovered a yet-to-be rolled out section when you edit your profile that lets you add whatever pronoun you want to use.

It’s high time for Twitter to give its users the ability to do so. The social network is late to the party, after all: Facebook users have been able to choose their pronouns for years, though their options are limited to three. Instagram started allowing people to display up to four pronouns next to their name in their profile last year. LinkedIn also introduced a dedicated space for pronouns in profiles in 2021. And, after work-from-home arrangements took off due to the pandemic, Zoom and Slack followed suit. The video conferencing apps gives users the option to show their pronouns next to their names in meetings, while the business messaging platform made the space for pronouns a default feature last year. Previously, companies have had to add the option as a customized field for their workers.

That said, Twitter has yet to announce a launch date for the pronoun field.

Porsche says 80 percent of its cars will be electric by 2030

Porsche is today updating the world on its financial results and, by extension, its plans to remain relevant in a world that’s clearly not going to survive climate change. The German luxury brand said that it had seen sales leap by €4.4 billion (around $4.8 billion) and plenty of interest in its models. For the third year running, Porsche’s pure-EV Taycan line managed to outsell the iconic 911, with 41,296 units of the electric ride out the door, while the flagship managed 38,464 units. To Mother Nature’s chagrin, however, both were outsold by the Macan and Cayenne SUVs, which sold around 171,433 units between them.

The company has said that it wants 80 percent of its sales to be “all-electric” by 2030, with an additional plan to be carbon-neutral at the same time. Part of that push will be led by a new version of the mid-engine 718, which will be released “exclusively in an all-electric form” at some point around 2025. Of course, it won’t be until we get an entirely electric 911 and Cayenne that we’ll see the real extent of Porsche’s commitment. But hopefully the baby steps so far will translate into much faster action the closer we get to the end of this decade.

Porsche has also announced that it will invest in “premium charging stations” and “its own charging infrastructure.” The company has experience in this area, after launching a high-profile charging station in Leipzig, but this is likely to be a neat euphemism for taking a leaf out of Tesla’s book, launching or franchising a wide network of own-brand EV stops explicitly designed to cater for its own customers. It’s something that (stablemate) Audi has also spoken about doing, and showed off a concept for an Audi-only, premium charging hub last year. The company added that it is looking to get new, high-performance battery cells from Cellforce which are due to begin shipping in 2024.

The Morning After: Our verdict on Apple’s Mac Studio

Capping off a week of Apple reviews (iPhone SE here, iPad Air right here), we’ve got the verdict on the company’s impressive new desktop PC. It looks like a big Mac mini but houses some incredibly powerful components, centered around Apple’s newest M1 chips. According to Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar, the Mac Studio delivers the power and ports creative professionals need. Even though it’s not upgradable, it’s a Mac that can finally compete with high-end PC workstations. The Mac Studio starts at $1,999 with the M1 Max chip and jumps to $3,999 if you want to tame the M1 Ultra. Yes, those prices may seem high, but they’re in line with PC workstations meant for editing 4K and 8K video. This isn’t for the same audience as the Mac mini.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Apple will fix the Studio Display’s underperforming webcam

An update should address complaints about image quality.

On the subject of Mac Studio, its companion Studio Display has some webcam issues. An Apple spokesperson told TechCrunch and The Wall Street Journal the company will update the Studio Display through software to address an issue where the webcam isn’t “behaving as expected.”

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Watch the new trailer for ‘Hogwarts Legacy’

It’ll arrive before the end of 2022.

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Engadget

Hogwarts Legacy will arrive on PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles in time for the holidays. And fortunately, that’s not all — during yesterday’s State of Play livestream dedicated to the open-world RPG, WB Games Avalanche dropped a trailer offering the first real look at how it’ll play. It’s set in the 1800s, so there’s almost an entirely new roster of characters, professors and villains.

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How to clean all the screens in your home

And what not to do.

Our short, snappy guide to cleaning your displays, phones and tablets gets right to the point. You don’t need much to refresh all your screens. Microfiber cloths will get you most of the way, but there are some things we advise against. 

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Roomba robot vac update adds Siri voice support

The iRobot Genius 4.0 Home Intelligence update has started rolling out to all users.

iRobot’s latest software update gives its Roomba robot vacuums and Braava jet robot mops the ability to respond to Siri voice commands. Similar to Google Assistant and Alexa, you can now set up your custom phrases or simply say “Hey Siri, ask Roomba to clean everywhere” to start the vacuum. You’ll also be able to create customizable smart maps for the Roomba i3 and i3+ models and create custom cleaning routines based on your schedule.

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Samsung’s Galaxy A53 offers 5G and a 120Hz screen for $450

It’s cheaper than last year’s Galaxy A52.

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Engadget

Not to be outdone by rival Apple and its iPhone SE, Samsung’s latest affordable smartphone lands with impressive specs (quad-camera setup, 120Hz screen, 5G and a 5nm chip) while mostly keeping the styling of the company’s latest flagships. The Galaxy A53 is $450, roughly half the price of the top smartphones — and it’s cheaper than last year’s A52.

The main 64-megapixel sensor has optical image stabilization and an f/1.8 aperture, which works alongside a 12MP fixed-focus ultra-wide camera and two 5MP sensors: one for depth detection and another for macro shooting. The camera system has a new 5nm Exynos processor which, Samsung says, made its AI-augmented night mode shooting possible. The A53 can draw together 12 frames and create a more stable (hopefully more detailed) single image.

There are two new colors: peach and powder blue. But if you want to keep it all business, there’s white and black, too. This is Samsung, after all.

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片手で装着できるオープンケースデザイン。aptX Adaptive対応完全ワイヤレスイヤホン「X-BOAT PRO」

デザイナーズイヤホンブランドYOBYBO（ヨービーボ）から待望の2022年新機種が登場！ 未来を先取りする革新的なデザイン。 シリーズ過去、最高音質。 YOBYBOシリーズ第五世代モデルがついに登場です。 「AAC」「Apt-X」に加えて、「Apt-X™ Adaptive」コーデックに対応！ 96kHz/24bitのハイレゾ音声信号の伝送を可能にするApt-X™ Adaptiveは、LDACと並び、次世代ハイレゾの主流コーディックの1つです。 圧倒的な高解像度に加え、20khz以上の音場をサポート。…