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Hold on to your Cappy, a Nintendo Direct is coming your way later this week. Nintendo has scheduled an hour-long presentation for September 12 at 9AM ET. You don’t often see Nintendo running Direct streams on Fridays, but hey, we’ll take it. There may be a Mario-shaped reason for this timing, too. You can watch the showcase above, on YouTube or in the Nintendo Today! app. The Direct will include information on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 games. In terms of safe bets, we’ll likely get some more details on Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Kirby Air Riders, both of which have 2025 release dates. Those may very well bolster Switch 2 demand ahead of the holidays (as if Nintendo needed the help). It would be a surprise if Nintendo didn’t announce a release date — or delay — for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond during this Direct as well, since that game is still slated to arrive this year. Otherwise, it’s a bit of a mystery as to what to expect. There’s always a chance that Nintendo might start teasing the next big Zelda game, even if it’s some time away. After all, the company announced The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom four years before it arrived. Plus, this Saturday is the 40th anniversary of the Japanese release of Super Mario Bros. so there surely has to be some kind of Mario-related announcement in store. Elsewhere, perhaps we’ll get some more info on FromSoftware’s Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods. In any case, Nintendo has to start building out the Switch 2 slate for 2026, and we’ll probably get a mix of first- and third-party news here.  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/an-hour-long-nintendo-direct-is-set-for-september-12-135935134.html?src=rss

We knew it was coming, and now it’s here. The iPhone Air, as rumored, is only 5.6mm thick and has fewer features than the base iPhone 17, which is $200 cheaper. Sure, it’s not the first slimline reinterpretation of a major smartphone — Samsung beat Apple to the punch with the Galaxy S25 Edge earlier this year — but the influence of Apple can’t be underestimated. It’s too early to tell if the iPhone Air will shake up smartphones as the MacBook Air did with laptops, but it’s definitely a safer evolution. And hey, perhaps the iPhone Air is merely a pit-stop on the way to the first Apple foldable. Let’s go back to 2008. With the MacBook Air, Apple ditched the optical disc drive and many ports, leading to a device that was so thin Steve Jobs pulled it out of a manila envelope when he first revealed it. The first MBA had some issues; it was underpowered, used a tiny and slow hard drive and battery life was pretty awful. But Apple refined the formula, which led to countless slimmed-down laptops and even a new category, the ultraportable. Sadly, Apple didn’t figure out an equally iconic way to reveal its super slim iPhone. In fact, it dropped it in a carefully prepared marketing video, presumably in a bid to show off how confident it is with the hardiness of the iPhone Air. But it felt like Apple trying to assuage durability fears in a way that doesn’t really work, since this was just part of a carefully-manicured marketing promotion. That’s one of two concerns for thinner phones: durability. Apple’s iPhone Air has a frame made from recycled titanium – previously an iPhone Pro feature. The Air also has the company’s Ceramic Shield, which Apple says is now 3x more scratch-resistant than past versions. It feels like Apple has engineered a phone less likely to get damaged. And of course, the company is happy to offer a super-slim 1mm case for the paranoid among us. The other concern is battery life. A slimmer profile in a smartphone means less space for the battery. Apple claims that the iPhone Air’s internal architecture “maximizes space for the battery,” but the company doesn’t share specific battery capacity figures. Regardless, Apple says the iPhone Air will deliver “all-day battery life,” which remains hugely subjective. Apple also announced a new $99 MagSafe charging pack to ensure the iPhone Air can play back video for up to 40 hours. But that charging puck seems even thicker than the camera unit — with the two devices combined, that’s no longer a superthin smartphone, it’s an iPhone 17 with one camera. The fact that it exists at all should give people pause about the Air’s longevity. Apple Also: that big old camera module. Samsung’s S25 Edge has a 5.8mm thick body, but if you count the camera, it’s closer to 10mm. The iPhone Air is thinner than the S25 Edge, at 5.6mm. But the camera “plateau” adds a significant width on top of that, although Apple hasn’t said just how thick it is. Judging by images, it could be almost twice as thick as the iPhone Air’s body alone. Compared to the MacBook Air, the iPhone Air is unlikely to shake up the world of smartphones. While packed with tech upgrades, there’s nothing revolutionary. For example, the iPhone Air still has a USB-C port – early rumors suggested it might ditch all ports for wireless connections and charging. That single camera will probably take great photos, but the utility may be limited without a dedicated telephoto lens — a point I’ve been emphasizing. Samsung’s S25 Edge attempted to address that with a 200-megapixel camera, allowing for substantial digital zoom by cropping in. Despite these potential pitfalls, I’m intrigued to see how the iPhone Air fares. I’ve often returned to Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, simply because of the lighter, slimmer profile. The weaknesses of slimmer smartphones I’ve outlined here didn’t result in a bad phone. Like Sam Rutherford put in his review, the S25 Edge is arguably a better phone than the S25+. Are people desperate for a thinner smartphone? The $999 iPhone Air is cleverly priced between the base iPhone 17 ($799) and the iPhone 17 Pro ($1,099), and the lack of a plus model just might push people towards the Air. I think there’s a place for the iPhone Air. It’s lighter, it’ll fit in pockets better and it’ll have all the features of iOS 26 at a time when new functionality has shifted from hardware to software. Apple has attempted to address many of the concerns with superslim phones, but the true test of battery longevity and durability will come with a few months of use. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/welcome-to-the-era-of-thin-smartphones-whether-you-want-it-or-not-150729169.html?src=rss

Amazon’s Zoox has announced that its robotaxi service is now available on and around the Las Vegas Strip after months of testing. The autonomous rides are free and can be booked through the Zoox app for iOS and Android devices. This is the company’s first official service launch after Amazon acquired the self-driving startup in 2020. The Las Vegas service will operate at select pickup and drop-off locations along the Strip, and riders will enter and exit the vehicles at each destination’s ride-hail zone. Though the company didn’t provide an exhaustive list of locations, Resorts World Las Vegas and AREA15 are official partner destinations. They will both feature dedicated areas just for Zoox riders, with an on-site concierge service to walk riders through the app and answer questions. The company’s autonomous vehicle is an odd duck, with two bench-like seats facing each other and no steering wheel. (Tesla is working on a similar “Cybercab” with no steering wheel or pedals, which is supposed to go into production before 2027.) Its self-driving tech bears more similarity to existing vehicles though, with cameras, lidar, radar and long-wave infrared sensors. Competition in the robotaxi market has been heating up as existing players continue expanding into new markets and newer players join the space. Waymo now operates in five cities with a goal of 10 by the end of 2025. The launch of self-driving taxis hasn’t been without incident though. Zoox issued a software recall in May after one of its vehicles collided with a passenger vehicle in Las Vegas. In another instance one of its taxis kept moving after a scooter-riding pedestrian ran into it. Waymo has issued a number of recalls, and was the subject of a NHTSA probe. Earlier this summer, a Tesla robotaxi made light contact with the tire of another parked vehicle before stopping. Most famously, one of Cruise’s robotaxis pinned a pedestrian under its wheels, eventually leading to the program being shuttered. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/amazons-zoox-launches-its-autonomous-robotaxi-service-153750246.html?src=rss

Apple Music is running a promo in which new subscribers can get three free months of the Family Plan tier. That’s a savings of $51, which is nothing to sneeze at. After this lengthy free trial is up, it costs $17 per month. The Family Plan allows six different users to access the platform. It offers cross-device support and each user is tied to an Apple ID, so their favorite music won’t mess with anyone else’s algorithm. Apple Music actually topped our list of the best music streaming platforms, and for good reason. It sounds great and it’s easy to use. What else is there? All music is available in CD quality or higher and there are plenty of personalized playlists and the like. The platform also operates a number of live radio stations, which is fun. The service is available for Android devices, but it really shines on Apple products. To that end, the web and Windows PC apps aren’t as polished as the iOS version. It doesn’t pay artists properly, but that’s true of every music streaming platform. Apple Music does pay out more than Spotify, but that’s an incredibly low bar. Offer for new subscribers redeeming on eligible devices. Auto-renews at $16.99/mo until cancelled. Requires Family Sharing. Terms apply. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/new-subscribers-can-get-three-free-months-of-the-apple-music-family-plan-151240882.html?src=rss

Vimeo is set to get a new owner. Bending Spoons — the parent of Evernote, WeTransfer, Meetup and fellow video streaming platform Brightcove — plans to take the company into private ownership in an all-cash, $1.38 billion deal. Stockholders will receive $7.85 per share, quite a bit more than the $4.82 Vimeo closed at on Tuesday (the price jumped significantly after the announcement, of course).  Vimeo’s directors unanimously approved the takeover. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the calendar year, pending shareholder approval, closing conditions and regulatory approval.  Once seen as a competitor to YouTube, Vimeo has shifted focus over the two decades it’s been around. It used to be a go-to hosting option for filmmakers, but these days it’s more oriented toward business users. Vimeo does not permit content scraping or generative AI models to train on any video it hosts without the uploader’s permission, perhaps making it an enticing video-hosting service for enterprise users. More recently, Vimeo started bringing back its TV apps, two years after killing those off in an ill-advised move. Bending Spoons, meanwhile, has a track record of gutting the companies it takes over. It bought Evernote in 2022 and laid off most of the note-taking service’s workers the following year. Bending Spoons bought WeTransfer last year and a few weeks later, it announced plans to fire three-quarters of the file-sharing platform’s staff. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/evernote-and-wetransfer-owner-bending-spoons-is-set-to-buy-vimeo-for-138-billion-155602681.html?src=rss

Apple has offered a few different variations of Center Stage — its photo tracking and enhancement suit — over the years, but with the iPhone 17 line and iPhone Air the company has designed the feature to solve a small (albeit annoying) problem with modern smartphones. Now there’s no need to change how you hold the device to shoot portrait- or landscape-oriented selfies. It’s vintage Apple: a seemingly simply melding of hardware and software in a way few other companies excel at. The reason it can do this is because Apple has paired a square front-facing camera sensor with its latest machine learning-assisted image recognition software. This allows the iPhone 17 and its siblings to capture high-resolution selfies and videos in any orientation. A GIF demonstrating Center Stage in action. Apple I hope it’s also the start of a new trend toward more thoughtful and useful AI features. For years, machine learning algorithms have powered many of the most significant software advancements in our phones and tablets. For instance, Apple’s Photonic Engine technology wouldn’t be possible without machine learning. If you need a refresher, whenever you go to snap a photo with a modern iPhone, the device will capture a burst of stills before and after you press the shutter and fuse these images to reduce noise and improve sharpness.  However, as I wrote following the end of I/O 2025, sometime in the last few years machine learning and AI went from a means to an end to an end in and of themselves. With large language learning models now all the rage, most companies appear to have forgotten these technologies exist to enable new experiences (or reduce friction in existing ones). Apple, perhaps more so than any other company, has had trouble navigating this new era of tech with its usual foresight and vision, with Apple Intelligence among its most disappointing releases in recent memory. Center Stage is an example of the company remembering the best use of AI: A way to solve actual problems. It’s too soon to tell if Apple will be able to build on its work with Center Stage to deliver other similarly useful AI features. After all, we’re still waiting on the new, more personal Siri to arrive. In the meantime, I look forward to every Android manufacturer copying Apple’s camera design. Maybe it will even inspire them to rethink their approach to AI. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/center-stage-is-a-better-vision-of-the-apple-intelligence-era-160428405.html?src=rss

The Rode Wireless Go III wireless microphone is down to $199 via Amazon. This is a record-low price and represents a discount of 30 percent, as it typically costs $285. The deal applies to all 13 colorways. This one made our list of the best mobile microphones. It strikes a good balance between features and value, which is especially true right now. The mic offers great sound, onboard storage, 32-bit float and universal compatibility with iPhones, Android, cameras and PCs. The various colorways are also nice, offering influencers and creators a way to match a channel’s theme or branding. It can store up to 40 hours of footage at one time and it connects wirelessly via 2.4 GHz. It also comes with accessories like a charging hub, various connection cables, a windshield and a carry pouch. The microphone doesn’t connect via Bluetooth, which could be a dealbreaker for some. The affiliated Rode Central app occasionally runs into hiccups, but nothing that will ruin the overall functionality. This is a great mic at a great price. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/rodes-wireless-go-iii-wireless-microphone-is-cheaper-than-ever-162231812.html?src=rss

Beats has launched a new collection of cases to go with Apple’s latest iPhones, including one with a removable lanyard that doubles as a kickstand. Lanyards and cross-body straps for phones are becoming pretty common these days. If you’re someone who travels every now and then, they can help protect you from pickpockets or from accidentally leaving your phone behind while you struggle with your luggage. The lanyard on Beats’ case comes with something extra: It has an adaptor at the end that slides open and attaches to a magnetic part on the side of the case so that it can act as a kickstand for hands-free phone use. The Beats iPhone 17 Kickstand Case with MagSafe & Camera Control is available in Granite Gray, Bedrock Blue, Lime Stone and Pebble Pink. You can get it from Apple’s website for $59.  The new collection also includes a basic case that Beats describes as “thin, light, and precisely crafted.” It’s available in the same colors, with the same matte hard outer shell that prevents fingerprints and an interior microfiber lining. This model will set you back $45 and is the only one in the collection that you can get for the iPhone Air.  Finally, the Beats iPhone 17 Rugged Case with MagSafe & Camera Control will give you some extra protection if you tend to drop your devices. Beats designed it with a rugged polymer backing that’s complemented by impact-absorbing sidewalls. It has an enclosed bottom for enhanced protection and a textured matte exterior to give you a good grip on your phone. The manufacturer said it put the case through repeated drop and scratch tests, as well as multiple thermal, mechanical and chemical tests to simulate real world use. Beats’ rugged case is available in Everest Black, Rocky Blue, Alpine Gray and Sierra Orange for $79. Beats This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/beats-new-iphone-17-case-has-a-lanyard-that-turns-into-a-kickstand-035044992.html?src=rss

We’ve survived Apple’s iPhone 17 event and we’re here to dive into all of the news. In this bonus episode, Devindra and Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham recap all of Apple’s new hardware and try to determine if the iPhone Air has any substance behind all that style. It’s certainly more attractive than we thought, but is that alone worth giving up on multiple cameras and better battery life from the iPhone 17 Pro?   Subscribe! iTunes Spotify Pocket Casts Stitcher Google Podcasts Credits Hosts: Devindra HardawarGuest: Nathan IngrahamProducer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/engadget-podcast-making-sense-of-apples-iphone-17-event-012707428.html?src=rss

Though the Apple Watch announcements may have paled in comparison to the iPhone news at Apple’s event today, there were still some noteworthy updates to the smartwatch lineup to talk about. This year, we’re getting the Watch Series 11, Watch SE 3 and Watch Ultra 3, and each of them have some interesting features. At a hands-on session here at Apple Park, I spent some time with the devices, and believe the most intriguing is the Series 11. At first glance, the Series 11 is no different from the Series 10 I wore to the event. They’re the same thinness and have pretty much the same dimensions, and the main change is that the new smartwatch has an IonX coating that’s two times more scratch resistant. There’s also a new space grey case option that looked nice, though I was a bigger fan of the rose gold band and case pairing. I especially like the loop band that was on the unit I checked out.  I put the Series 11 on my wrist next to my Series 10 and truly could not tell them apart. There might not be much reason to upgrade from last year’s model to this, which isn’t a bad thing. We don’t want to be too wasteful, anyway. The real updates coming to the Series 11 include the new “Possible hypertension” alerts, using data gathered from the existing optical heart rate sensors to study patterns in the constriction and expansion of your blood vessels in relation to your heart rate. This tells the watch whether there are differences in your blood pressure — keyword: differences.  Cherlynn Low for Engadget This tool isn’t meant to give you readings of your blood pressure like “130 / 80,” for example. It’s more meant to tell if there are concerning variations and alert you to see a medical professional if so. This is similar to many other Apple Watch features like sleep apnea detection or high heart rate alerts, and since it requires data trends to work, wasn’t something I could just test here at Apple Park. I also didn’t get to test the sleep score feature that’s coming watchOS 26, but that isn’t exclusive to the Series 11, and any Apple Watch compatible with the latest software will be able to get it. I did like how you’ll get scores once you’ve worn the watch to bed, and don’t have to wait for a required number of nights for the insights to surface. Hypertension and sleep score were among the more interesting updates coming to the Series 11, along with the promise of better battery life. Apple said the wearable should last up to 24 hours on a charge now, with eight of those meant to power through overnight sleep tracking. That’s not something I can really test here at a hands-on event, so we’ll have to wait for a review unit to properly measure. Hands on with the Apple Watch SE 3 I was more intrigued by the Apple Watch SE 3, and will readily admit that I cheered when the company announced its entry-level smartwatch will be getting an Always On Display. When I picked up the Watch SE 3, I immediately noticed its relatively chunky bezels, but by and large it felt quite similar to my Series 10. Sure, the cheaper watch is slightly thicker, heavier and more sluggish, but for $250 it’s a very solid device. It comes with a skin-temperature sensor to support cycle-tracking, and will now charge twice as fast as the last Watch SE. That’s closer to the speeds of the Series 9 and later, which is a huge improvement considering how slow the older Apple Watches used to charge.  Again, like with the Series 11, a lot of the Watch SE’s improvements weren’t things I could check out at a brief preview like today. And most of them are features that already exist on other devices coming down to a smartwatch that costs $249. I think what Apple is offering for the price is very compelling, though, since you’ll really only be missing ECG and blood oxygen features by opting for the SE 3 over the Series 11. The latter is a bit thinner and lighter, but the SE 3 is plenty comfortable and small anyway. This story is developing, please refresh for updates. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/apple-watch-series-11-hands-on-feels-and-looks-the-same-but-real-changes-are-deeper-200438367.html?src=rss