Epic Games Unveils Unreal Engine 5, Coming in 2021 With Mac and iOS Support

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Epic Games today unveiled Unreal Engine 5, the newest iteration of its game engine that's used by game developers for many high-profile games. A demo video running on a developer version of the PS5 hardware shows what Unreal Engine 5 is capable of.


Unreal Engine 5 focuses on photorealism that's on par with movie CG and real life, and it will be released in 2021. Unreal Engine 5 will support current-generation consoles, next-generation consoles, PCs, Macs, iOS, and Android.

Epic Games detailed two new core technologies that will be coming in Unreal Engine 5, including Nanite virtualized geometry for importing film-quality source art directly into Unreal Engine as virtualized textures and Lumen, a fully dynamic global illumination system designed to react to scene and light changes, which will allow for more realistic shadows and rendering of moving light sources.


Unreal Engine 5 has been designed to make it easy for development teams of all sizes to take advantage of content libraries and tools to create games with unprecedented levels of detail and interactivity.

In addition to Unreal Engine 5, Epic today announced a change to how its royalties work. Developers are now able to keep all royalties for the first $1 million in sales generated, and then it will take five percent of sales after that. Previously, Epic collected royalties on all games after the first $3000 in sales.

Epic is also launching Epic Online Services, an online multi-platform game management system that was originally created for Fortnite. Epic Online Services provides developers with tools for cross-platform matchmaking and account management.

Tags: Unreal Engine, Epic Games

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PWAs are getting a big productivity update in Chrome for Android

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Apple to Debut Powerbeats Pro in New Colors That Include Cloud Pink, Glacier Blue, Spring Yellow and Lava Red

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Apple is planning to introduce new Powerbeats Pro models in an array of bright, spring-themed colors that include cloud pink, glacier blue, spring yellow, and lava red, according to a rumor sourced from a Weibo account (via iMore).


The rumor comes from WaveTech, a source without a known track record for sharing accurate info about Apple's plans, but the wide attention the rumor has garnered leads us to believe the information could potentially be correct.

First introduced in April 2019, the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ are currently only available in black, ivory, moss, and navy, all of which are plainer, more subdued colors, so the brighter color options will be a welcome update.

Apple often adds new Beats headphones options in updated colorways, offering a range of seasonal color options for products like the Beats Solo and Studio headphones, so it's no surprise to see new ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ color options being made available.

There were rumors earlier this year that suggested Apple would debut ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 earbuds, but regulatory documents suggest that the "‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2" are just a minor refresh with an internal tweak that changes the model number.

It's likely that the new model numbers will be associated with the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ that are being released in the new spring colors, though there may also be minor internal tweaks to the updated ‌Powerbeats Pro‌.

Tag: Powerbeats Pro

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Apple Inks First-Look Deal With Ridley Scott's Production Company

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Apple has inked a first-look deal with Ridley Scott and his Scott Free Productions company, reports Variety. Under the terms of the deal, Scott Free will create TV shows for Apple TV+.

Image via Variety
The Scott Free production company has produced successful films and TV series that include "Top Gun," "Alien," "Black Hawk Down," "The Martian," "The Good Wife," "Man in the High Castle," and "The Terror." Scott also directed Apple's famous "1984" ad.

Apple has signed similar ‌Apple TV‌+ deals with A24, Sesame Workshops, and Peanuts, and has established multi-year production contracts with high-profile content creators that include Alfonso Cuaron, Jason Katims, Lee Eisenberg, Oprah Winfrey, Justin Lin, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and more.

Tags: Apple TV Shows, Apple TV Plus

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Chrome’s “Live Caption” feature will get customization controls

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Eero Mesh WiFi Products Now Available From Apple's Online Store

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Eero's lineup of mesh WiFi products are now available for purchase, eero announced in a blog post this morning. Eero devices can be bought from Apple in the United States, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.


Apple is selling multiple eero Pro Mesh WiFi setups with one or two beacons and pricing starting at $300, along with the eero Pro Mesh WiFi Router and a Pro Router three pack. The standard Eero Mesh WiFi Router is available alongside the eero Mesh WiFi System and the eero Beacon Mesh WiFi Range Extender. Eero's products are compatible with HomeKit.

This is an exciting step towards delivering our vision to bring eero to more customers and homes around the world, providing them with a safe and reliable network for their smart home. Today's announcement follows eero's support for Apple HomeKit, a key addition to our growing line-up of smart home integrations.

With our TrueMesh technology, your eero network learns and optimizes for your space, devices, and usage. Get fast, reliable wifi to all of the connected devices in your home as you work, game, and stream video in every corner of the house (backyard included).

Apple first began offering router and WiFi options on its website after discontinuing its AirPort products. Apple also sells routers and mesh WiFi systems from Linksys and Netgear, offering both the Velop and the Orbi.

Tags: Apple retail, eero

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Eight Sleep Launches Updated 'Pod Pro' Smart Mattress With iPhone-Connected Temperature Controls

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A little over one year after first launching "The Pod," Eight Sleep today announced the next iteration of its smart mattress, "The Pod Pro." The updated sleep device retains many features of the original, like temperature control via iPhone, and adds a number of improvements.


Similar to the original model, the Pod Pro has an Active Grid that provides dynamic heating and cooling between 55 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit on each side of the bed. The Pod Pro works by connecting to "The Hub," a small tower that houses hydro-engines and uses water to regulate temperature.

Temperature is controlled directly with the connected Eight Sleep app for iOS and Android. The app breaks down your sleep habits with stats like average time asleep, time it takes you to fall asleep, the time at night you tend to get into bed, and more. These metrics all feed into a "sleep coaching" feature that attempts to give you pointers on how to optimize your nighttime routine.

For couples, the Active Grid can essentially be divided down the middle, and each side's temperature can be controlled individually. Eight Sleep also upgraded the Active Grid to incorporate a new Comfort Blend foam topper for enhanced contouring and pressure point relief.


Other new features include new ambient sensors that can measure the temperature and humidity of a bedroom to adjust bed temperature. The Pod Pro takes these measurements into account, as well as local weather, to keep your bed cool or heat it up based on the environment.

The company also updated the Gentle Rise wake up feature, now including a gentle vibration at chest level to wake up each morning without any sound. This feature also gradually cools or warms the bed minutes before the set wake-up time, and it can be set to go off for the entire mattress, or for individual left/right zones.

Thanks to the sensor improvements, the Pod Pro also includes a new Heart Rate Variability metric that lets users track the impact of sleep on their heart health. With this metric, it's possible for owners to track and understand why they may feel more fatigued throughout the day. The Pod Pro also tracks Resting Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, Sleep Stages, and Sleep Time.

All of these metrics are catalogued in the Eight Sleep app for iOS and Android devices. The company adds all of them up into a Daily Health Check and Daily Sleep Fitness reports, allowing owners of the Pod Pro to keep an eye on how their sleep is positively or negatively affecting their daily lives.

Eight Sleep is currently taking $200 off the Pod Pro for a Memorial Day Sale, starting at $2,595 for a Full size mattress.

Tags: The Pod, Eight Sleep, The Pod Pro

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