Roku OS 11 adds new audio options, photo screensavers and more

Roku has just detailed its first major platform update since it came out with OS 10.5 late last year, and it’s a big one. To start, Roku OS 11 adds an automatic speech clarity setting that Roku promises will make it easier to understand dialogue. At th…

SteelSeries made small but welcome improvements to its Android gamepad

Mobile gaming has been a huge thing for a decade now but it’s only recently that accessory makers like Razer and Logitech have taken it seriously, offering gaming headsets made especially for phones. On the controller front, however, SteelSeries has b…

Anker charging accessories are up to 35 percent off today only

A bunch of Anker charging gadgets have been discounted in a new Amazon one-day sale. If you’re in need of a new power adapter or battery pack, now’s the time to grab one while they’re up to 35 percent off. Key among the items on sale are the 40W Nano Pro charger, which is 25 percent off and down to $27, the PowerCore III Elite 26K bundle, which is $50 off and down to $110, and a pack of three Powerline+ II Lightning to USB-A charging cables for $26.

Shop Anker sale at AmazonBuy 40W Nano Pro at Amazon – $27Buy PowerCore III Elite 26K bundle at Amazon – $110Buy Powerline+ II cables (3 pack) at Amazon – $26

While the 40W Nano Pro adapter isn’t the latest model from Anker, it remains a good option if you want a small charger with enough power to fast-charge most mobile devices. This model has two USB-C ports on it, so you can simultaneously charge two devices at once. It can power up a MacBook Air at full speed and quickly juice up both an iPhone and an iPad at the same time. And while it’s doing so, the device’s ActiveShield safety system monitors temperature and controls output to avoid overheating.

If you want a device that can power more than two gadgets at the same time, Anker’s PowerCore III Elite 26K bundle could do the trick. You get the 25,600 mAh battery pack, the 64W wall charger and a USB-C to USB-C cable in this pack, giving you everything you need to power a number of devices and quickly recharge the battery pack when it runs out of juice. The brick has two USB-A ports (with an 18W shared output) and one 60W USB-C port that can all be used simultaneously to charge things like your laptop, smartphone and earbuds. Plus, the 65W wall charger has enough power to recharge the brick in only 2.5 hours.

And if you’re set with power adapters and chargers, the pack of Powerline+ II cables is a handy one to pick up. It includes two three-foot and one six-foot Lightning to USB-A cables that are MFi-certified, so they’ll work properly with all iPhones. We especially like these braided nylon cables as they tend to be more durable than others and can bend easily in whichever direction you need them to.

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

Tesla delivers the first vehicles from its German Gigafactory

Tesla has delivered the first 30 Model Y cars manufactured at its $5.5 billion Grenheide, Germany Gigafactory that officially opened today, Reuters has reported. “Excited to hand over the first production cars made by Giga Berlin-Brandenburg tomorrow!” tweeted Tesla CEO Elon Musk yesterday. 

The event, delayed from last year due to environmental and other complaints, is being attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz. “Some people didn’t trust Germany could do this,” regional finance minister Joerg Steinbach told RBB radio yesterday. “We showed the world.”

Tesla came close to losing its water supply contracts following a complaint by local environmental groups. It addressed them by promising to minimize water usage, and also said it would plant more trees than it removed during construction. 

The company received final approval to start production on March 4th. Steinbach said that there was currently enough water for the plant, but added that Tesla will have to tap additional sources a longer distance away for any expansion. 

Tesla plans to produce 5,000 to 10,000 vehicles per week by the end of 2022, and the plant will eventually have a production capacity of 500,000 vehicles per year and 50 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery power, more than any other German factory. Volkswagen produced around 450,000 EVs globally last year, and is planning a €2 billion EV plant in Wolfsburg that’s set to open in 2026.

Chosen buyers will receive the €63,990 ($70,370) Model Y Performance EV with 320 miles of range. Tesla has released several stories marking the occasion, showing several shots of the Gigafactory’s interior and exterior. 

Microsoft and Okta are investigating potential attacks by the Lapsus$ hacking group

Microsoft and identity authentication company Okta are both investigating potential attacks that may have been carried out by the South American hacking group Lapsus$. The collective claims to have stolen source code for Bing, Cortana and internal Microsoft projects from a server.

Lapsus$ released a torrent on Monday that’s said to contain 37GB of source code for around 250 projects, according to BleepingComputer. The group claims the data includes 90 percent of Bing’s source code and 45 percent of Cortana and Bing Maps code. Other affected projects seem to include websites, mobile apps and web-based infrastructure.

The leaks reportedly contain internal emails and documentation related to published mobile apps. The torrent is not believed to include code for desktop software such as Windows or Microsoft Office. 

““We are aware of the claims and are investigating,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Engadget.

The same group has also targeted Okta, though the company says it has not yet found evidence of a new breach following an incident in January.

“In late January 2022, Okta detected an attempt to compromise the account of a third party customer support engineer working for one of our subprocessors,” an Okta spokesperson told Engadget. “The matter was investigated and contained by the subprocessor. We believe the screenshots shared online are connected to this January event. Based on our investigation to date, there is no evidence of ongoing malicious activity beyond the activity detected in January.”

Lapsus$ posted screenshots of what it claimed was Okta’s internal systems. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the hackers claimed not to have accessed or obtained data on Okta itself and were focused on the company’s customers, which include Cloudflare, Grubhub, Peloton, Sonos, T-Mobile and Engadget parent Yahoo.

The hacking group has attacked other high-profile targets in recent weeks, including NVIDIA, Samsung and Ubisoft. NVIDIA confirmed that hackers obtained company data in February, while Lapsus$ claimed to have leaked 190GB of Samsung data.

Update 3/22 8:45AM ET: Added Microsoft’s statement.

Apple’s AirTag 4-pack falls to $89

Apple’s AirTags don’t go on sale often, but we’re now seeing a solid deal from two separate retailers. You can pick up a four-pack at Amazon and Best Buy for $89, just a dollar higher than the best deal we’ve seen so far. The offer helps if you have multiple items you want to track, and unlike with the previous Woot deal, both companies have generous return policies.

Buy Apple AirTag 4-pack at Amazon – $89Buy Apple AirTag 4-pack at Best Buy – $89

If you’re in Apple’s ecosystem, AirTags give you some big advantages over rival trackers from Tile and others. The ultra-wideband functionality offers precise tracking with iPhone 11 (and up) devices when you get close, so you can tell whether your missing object is under a couch cushion or behind a chair, for example. Meanwhile, the AirTag network enabled by al Apple device users allows you to find a missing bag that might be a longer distance away. 

The coin-sized design is nice and simple and you’ll get a seamless experience thanks to the Find My App. You can also force the AirTag to emit a chime to help you more easily locate your item if you’re close to it. However, it doesn’t have a built-in keyring like rival devices, so you’ll need to buy additional accessories like the $35 leather keyring. 

The main drawback is that it only works with Apple devices, so Android users will have to look elsewhere, and battery life is also limited. Still, if you’re in Apple’s ecosystem, you can now pick one up for an extra discount with no worries about returns or the warranty. 

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

The Morning After: Fortnite’s new season ditches building (for a moment)

Epic continues to shake things up for the biggest battle royale game. This is a big change, however. It’s temporarily ditched one of the game’s core mechanics — building — for Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 2. You can still destroy objects, but you won’t receive any wood, stone or metal to create a temporary wall or other fortifications — lest we forget, the game’s called Fortnite. In a suitably meta twist, the loss of the building ability seems to be a key part of this season’s storyline.

If you live to build, the feature will still be available in competitive, creative and Save the World modes — it’s only gone in casual game queues for now. Fortnite’s creators are also supporting Ukraine relief efforts, with all proceeds from V-Bucks sales, Battle Passes and Fortnite Crew subscriptions are being donated through April 3rd.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Windows 11 will add a watermark if you use unsupported hardware

It’s trying to stop workarounds to run Windows 11 on older PCs.

The Verge has learned that the most recent Windows 11 Release Preview build applies a watermark to the desktop if you use a workaround to run the operating system on unsupported hardware. Windows 11 officially requires either an 8th-generation Intel Core CPU or an AMD chip based on a Zen+ or Zen 2 architecture. Many believe the cutoff is arbitrary. You just need to add a Microsoft-sanctioned registry tweak to bypass a CPU check to install the OS without a rejection message. Microsoft has warned it might not provide updates to these PCs, however.

Continue reading.

The best tablets you can buy

We’ve got picks for every ecosystem and some affordable options.

TMA
Engadget

While tablets don’t always get the same level of attention as smartphones or laptops — landing right in the middle in size and specs — they’ve become an increasingly important category of devices for many, particularly with the recent shift to working and learning from home. Their straightforward designs make them easy to use, while improvements to Windows 11 and iPadOS allow many tablets to pull double-duty as part-time productivity devices.

However, there are a lot of options out there, so it can be difficult to pick the right one. We’ve done a bunch of the hard work for you, and we’ve got our top picks across a range of categories and prices, smartly timed after the release of the latest slates from both Apple and Samsung.

Continue reading.

CD Projekt Red is developing a new Witcher game

And it will run on Unreal Engine 5.

TMA
CDPR

Now the developer has run out of platforms to port The Witcher 3 to (it made it, somehow, to the Switch), it’s time for a new game. CD Projekt Red announced the project today with a teaser it shared on Twitter. “A new saga begins,” the teaser states, with what looks like a lynx-like Witcher medallion image. The teaser suggests this new game will star a Witcher from the School of the Cat — the last protagonist, Geralt, was from the School of the Wolf. This could mean a different style of game, as these Witchers don’t have a policy that stops them from involving themselves in the politics of the Continent. Intrigue abounds!

Continue reading.

DJI’s $10k work drone can fly autonomously in harsh weather

This isn’t for glossy wedding drone videography.

DJI has unveiled the Matrice 30, an enterprise-class drone with IP55 dust and water resistance that lets it fly in heavy rain, strong wind and even icy situations. It can fly to altitudes as high as 22,965ft above sea level (with the right propellers) and survive temperatures between -4F and 122F. DJI is taking orders for the M30 today, and M300 RTK drone owners can also buy a new Zenmuse H20N sensor with “starlight-grade” night vision. The base M30 starts at $9,999.

Continue reading.

Citizen may test an on-demand private security service in Chicago

Citizen will reportedly test an on-demand private security service in Chicago as part of a partnership with Securitas. The crime alert app and security company may offer a check-in service (in which agents could follow up with the victim of a crime to make sure they’re OK) and scheduled private security, according to Motherboard.

The app previously tested a rapid-response security service (not unlike a private police force) in Los Angeles with Citizen-branded cars. Security agents responded to calls from Citizen employees. Motherboard‘s sources suggested the response time was fairly slow, which may have led to the company taking a different approach in Chicago.

Citizen provides push alerts to users based on incident reports it puts together from police scanners. It also runs a $20 per month subscription service that connects users with agents who can direct emergency services to their location and notify contacts if it’s not safe for them to call 911 directly.

The move suggests Citizen is still interested in offering private security despite its questionable history and stating it wouldn’t run its own on-demand force (though it didn’t rule out partnerships). Apple and Google removed a previous version of the app, which was called Vigilante, from their stores for encouraging vigilantism. 

Last year, it was reported that Citizen’s CEO offered users a $30,000 bounty for tracking down an alleged arson suspect, but the app identified the wrong person as the culprit. Police apprehended the man but quickly released him for a lack of evidence. They later arrested another suspect in connection with the wildfires.