Category: Tutorials

Reddit has teamed up with Adobe as part of its push into original content. Its first live show is an comedy competition series called PsBattles Live, which will stream on the r/PsBattlesLive subreddit every day this week. 

Shrill star Patti Harrison hosts PsBattles Live, which will stream at 3PM ET every day. Moderators will challenge the community to edit images in creative ways using Photoshop. The broadcast will highlight some of the entries and encourage members of the community to vote for their favorites. A panel of comedians will provide commentary on the creations. 

There don't seem to be any major real-world prizes up for grabs. According to Reddit, those who take part will earn "points, community awards and internet glory" — so pretty much what they'd get for sharing weird, wild and funny photoshopped images on Reddit anyway. Still, this is a neat way to shine a spotlight on the creativity of Reddit users. Reddit and Adobe are launching the series to mark the 10th anniversary of the the r/photoshopbattles subreddit, which has more than 17.4 million members. 

“Reddit users contribute more than 110k original artworks on the platform every month and r/photoshop battles is one of our most vibrant examples of a community coming together to create and collaborate over a shared passion, which is what our platform is all about,” Reddit chief marketing officer Roxy Young said. “PsBattles Live is not only a celebration of one of our most beloved Reddit communities, it is the latest immersive experience from our longstanding partners at Adobe."

For the first time in nearly three years, the Nintendo Switch wasn’t the best-selling console in the US. In September, that distinction went to Sony’s PlayStation 5 instead. In a tweet spotted by GamesRadar, NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said the PS5 outsold Nintendo’s portable last month both in terms of unit volume and dollar amount, thereby ending the Switch’s impressive 33-month streak as the best-selling console in the US. The last time the Nintendo Switch wasn’t at the top of the sales charts was back in November 2018 when the PS4 held that position.

Piscatella didn’t say what helped push the PS5 past the Switch, but a variety of factors likely contributed to the shift. With 10 million units sold in only eight months, demand for Sony’s console has always been there, but ongoing global chip shortages have made it difficult for the company to maintain a steady supply of consoles. On Nintendo’s side, the announcement of the OLED Switch, which only became available at the start of October, likely meant some consumers decided to wait on buying the portable. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if the Switch can reclaim the top spot. Demand for the PS5 isn’t likely to cool down anytime soon, but the chip shortage isn’t expected to resolve anytime soon either.

Apple's second event of the fall is about to begin, and like before you can tune in to see it unfold. The company will offer a live stream of its "Unleashed" event starting at 1PM Eastern. It's available below, but you can also watch through Apple's website, the Apple TV app or the company's YouTube channel. Engadget will also have an after-event stream on YouTube with insightful commentary and a dash of witty banter.

Many expect the event to have one main star: a redesigned MacBook Pro lineup with 14- and 16-inch mini-LED screens, new Apple Silicon and the return of favorite connectors like MagSafe, HDMI and an SD slot. You can expect to hear more about macOS Monterey's release date, too. There's also a chance Apple will introduce third-generation AirPods, other Mac upgrades (such as a high-spec Mac mini) and new or expanded services. No matter what, you'll probably get a surprise or two.

Follow all of the news from Apple’s Mac event right here.

Toyota plans to spend approximately $3.4 billion to scale its battery production capabilities in the US, the automaker announced on Monday. As part of the investment, Toyota says it will establish a new company that will, with help from its Toyota Tsusho subsidiary, build a battery manufacturing plant somewhere in the US. The company expects to invest $1.29 billion into the facility by the end of 2031.

Toyota said it would share details on the project, including where it plans to build the plant, in the future. However, the facility will initially focus on making batteries for hybrid electric vehicles, with production expected to start sometime in 2025. Toyota expects to create about 1,750 jobs through the project.

If nothing else, the investment is an acknowledgment by Toyota that it needs to diversify its electrification strategy. More so than almost any other automaker, it has invested significantly into fuel cell technology, with not a lot to show for its efforts, at least not in the US. Outside of California, you can’t buy its Mirai fuel-cell sedan. But as part of its Beyond Zero push, Toyota hopes to change that, with it currently planning to offer 70 different electric models, including 15 battery electric vehicles, by 2025.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, the second-largest TV station operator in the US, said a ransomware attack has locked up some servers, workstations and networks. The company detected the issue on Saturday and it has been trying to restore operations. It said the incident still was affecting systems as of Monday morning. For one thing, the attack has disrupted ads on local broadcast stations. Sinclair hasn't yet determined the impact on its business.

In addition, the company confirmed the attacker(s) stole data from its network. It's unclear as yet exactly what the data included. An investigation into the incident is underway after Sinclair brought in a cybersecurity forensic firm and an incident response team. It informed law enforcement and relevant government agencies about the matter.

The Biden administration has made fighting ransomware and bolstering cybersecurity a priority, and it planned to bring together representatives of 30 countries this month to discuss the threat. Earlier this year, a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline disrupted fuel supplies across the US for several days. Other prominent companies and organizations that have fallen victim to ransomware this year include meat supplier JBS, Bose, Acer and health services in Ireland and the US.

Just like pretty much every other major game over the last year or so, Elden Ring has been delayed. FromSoftware has postponed the release of its massively anticipated action RPG by five weeks, from January 22nd to February 25th, saying in a tweet that "the depth and strategic freedom of the game exceeded initial expectations." The studio apologized for the delay and added that "your patience and understanding mean a great deal to us.”

However, there was some good news for fans who might now be scrambling to reschedule paid time off they planned to take in January. A closed network test of Elden Ring will take place in November, giving a lucky few players a chance to play a chunk of the game three months in advance. Publisher Bandai Namco said the goal is to stress test "various technical verifications of online systems." 

You have until November 1st to sign up for a chance to take part in the test, which will be open for five three-hour sessions between November 12th and 14th on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, but not PC. You don't need to be a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscriber to take part.

Even more so than the Z Fold 3, Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G is a foldable that could be your daily driver if you can deal with a few compromises. It's arguably the best and most practical version of a Samsung foldable yet, and now it's been discounted by $150 on Amazon as part of the deals-focused event dubbed Samsung Week. That brings the final price down to $850, which is a record low.

Buy Galaxy Z Flip 3 at Amazon – $850Shop Samsung Week deals

We gave the Z Flip 3 a score of 82 in part because Samsung fixed a few things about its predecessor with this smartphone. First off, it seems to be more durable than the last — it doesn't scratch as easily and now is IPX8 water resistant. The main 6.7-inch AMOLED display runs at a 2,640 x 1,080 resolution and supports 120Hz refresh rates. Yes, you will notice its crease, but it doesn't hinder readability — you'll notice is more so because you're probably not used to a screen that folds in this way. When closed, you can use the 1.9-inch external screen to get small bits of information like the weather and calendar events, as well as quickly access features like Samsung Pay and media controls.

The new Flex Mode kicks in when you half-fold the device, and it'll split the screen in half when in certain apps. When watching a YouTube video, for example, the video player will be on the top half of the screen while the video's details and comments section will be on the bottom. It's a clever way to ensure that the entirety of the main screen is useful even when the device is partially folded, although we'd like to see a greater variety of apps support Flex Mode sooner rather than later.

The Z Flip 3 runs on a Snapdragon 888 processor and 8GB of RAM, and it has a dual camera setup on the back along with a 10-megapixel selfie camera. The two 12MP rear cameras took colorful, detailed shots, and even nighttime photos looks very similar to those taken by competing phones from Apple and Google.

The biggest sacrifices you'll have to make with the Z Flip 3 are in durability and battery life. The former is a bit of a toss up — we only used the Z Flip 3 for a short period of time when we reviewed it, so it's unclear how well its foldable screen will hold up after months and years of use. As for battery life, it will depend on how much you use the external display. The Z Flip 3 lasted more than a day in our testing, but that figure dropped to around 11.5 hours when the external display was in always-on mode. If those sound like acceptable trade-offs to you, Amazon's sale on the Z Flip 3 is the best way we've seen so far to get the foldable at a more affordable price.

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

Members of Congress have accused Amazon executives of misleading or lying to an antitrust committee about its business practices, following recent reports that the company uses third-party seller data to copy products and promotes those versions in search results. The representatives, all members of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, are considering whether to ask the Department of Justice to undertake a criminal investigation.

In the letter to chief executive Andy Jassy, Reps. David Cicilline, Ken Buck, Pramila Jayapal, Jerrold Nadler and Matt Gaetz asked Amazon to provide "exculpatory evidence” to back up testimony from executives )(including former CEO Jeff Bezos) to the subcommittee in 2019 and 2020, according to The Wall Street Journal. Bezos told the committee last year that the company doesn't allow employees to use data from individual sellers to bolster its own product lines, though "couldn't guarantee" that the company hasn't misused such data. The company's associate general counsel, Nate Sutton, said in a 2019 testimony that Amazon doesn't “use individual seller data directly to compete” with third-party sellers.

An investigation published by Reuters last week suggested Amazon India "ran a systematic campaign" of copying other companies' products and manipulating search results to promote them. The Markup also reported that Amazon places its own products above competitors' goods in search results, including ones with higher customer ratings. The representatives said the reporting directly contradicts sworn testimony from Bezos, from whom Jassy took over in July, and other executives.

“We strongly encourage you to make use of this opportunity to correct the record and provide the Committee with sworn, truthful, and accurate responses to this request as we consider whether a referral of this matter to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation is appropriate,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. "At best, this reporting confirms that Amazon's representatives misled the Committee. At worst, it demonstrates that they may have lied to Congress in possible violation of federal criminal law."

The House Judiciary Committee has been looking into this issue since 2019 as part of a broader investigation of competition in digital markets. The representatives gave Jassy until November 1st to respond to the letter. "We’re giving Amazon one last chance to come clean about how they abuse other seller’s data and unfairly advantage their own products," subcommittee chair Cicilline wrote on Twitter. "We cannot continue to allow Big Tech to destroy small businesses." 

"Like other retailers, we look at sales and store data to provide our customers with the best possible experience," Amazon told The Wall Street Journal. "However, we strictly prohibit our employees from using non-public, seller-specific data to determine which private label products to launch. While we don’t believe these claims are accurate, we take these allegations very seriously and have launched an internal investigation."

An Amazon spokesperson provided the following statement to Engadget:

Amazon and its executives did not mislead the committee, and we have denied and sought to correct the record on the inaccurate media articles in question. As we have previously stated, we have an internal policy, which goes beyond that of any other retailer’s policy that we’re aware of, that prohibits the use of individual seller data to develop Amazon private label products. We investigate any allegations that this policy may have been violated and take appropriate action. In addition, we design our search experience to feature the items customers will want to purchase, regardless of whether they are offered by Amazon or one of our selling partners.

If you're on the market for a new TV, it's not too early to check out the sales already available online ahead of Black Friday next month. We'll only see more pop up as the day gets closer, but those who want to jump on an opportunity now need look no further than Amazon's one-day Sony sale. The online retailer has discounted a bunch of Sony tech today — including some of our favorite headphones — and a couple of Sony 4K smart TVs are on sale, too. Key among them are the 65-inch Sony A9G Master Series Bravia OLED smart TV, which is 43 percent off and down to a record low of $1,700. Sony's X950H LED 4K smart TVs are also up to 25 percent off, so you can get one for as low as $950.

Buy 65-inch Sony A9G OLED at Amazon – $1,700Buy 55-inch Sony X950H LED at Amazon – $950Buy 65-inch Sony X950H LED at Amazon – $1,200

While the Bravia set is from 2019, it remains a solid OLED TV with a lot of high-end perks. First and foremost, you're getting all of the benefits of OLED, which means better colors, great contrast and deep blacks. It plays 4K HDR content, supports Dolby Vision and it includes the company's Acoustic Surface Audio+ speaker built-in, giving you more immersive sound quality. The set runs on Android TV, which means you can call upon the Google Assistant to play content and otherwise control the system — but it also supports Alexa voice commands too, if you prefer to use that. On top of all that, it has a dedicated Game Mode for smoother gaming sessions and it supports AirPlay 2 and HomeKit.

Those not set on OLED for their next TV should consider the 2020 Sony X950H sets on sale — the 55-inch model is down to $950 while the 65-inch set is on sale for $1,200. While the picture quality won't be the same as the OLED set, these TVs do have local dimming LED backlighting as well as many of the advanced features present in the A9G. You'll get the Android TV operating system, Google Assistant and Alexa support, Game Mode, plus AirPlay 2 and HomeKit compatibility.

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

As November inches closer, we're starting to see even more early Black Friday deals on gadgets crop up across the web. Roku products are the latest to be discounted: the Roku Streambar is down to $100 at both Amazon and Best Buy, and both retailers also have the Roku Ultra for only $69. Those are all-time low prices that are worth jumping on if you have streaming devices on your gift list this year.

Buy Roku Streambar at Amazon – $100Buy Roku Streambar at Best Buy – $100Buy Roku Ultra at Amazon – $69Buy Roku Ultra at Best Buy – $69

The Roku Streambar would make a great gift for anyone who wants to up their living-room sound game. The compact soundbar will blow most built-in TV speakers out of the water, and it supports Dolby Audio, too. It also doubles as a Bluetooth speaker, so you could use it to pump out tunes during your next gathering.

While you could just use the Streambar for its sound chops, it also includes the same streaming tech as the Roku Ultra. That means it plays 4K HDR content, gives you access to all major streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video and others, and it comes with Roku's voice remote. Whether you're eyeing the Streambar for someone on your list or for yourself, it's a solid, affordable way to upgrade your home theater system.

For those that already have a capable soundbar, the Roku Ultra focuses on the streaming aspect of things by playing 4K HDR10+ content along with Dolby Vision content. It has the best WiFi capabilities of any Roku streaming device and it has an Ethernet port so you can hardwire it into your setup if you wish. Its voice remote also supports private listening if you connect a pair of headphones as well. 

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