Mat Smith
Engadget
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Recent articles by Mat:
How to pick the best gaming subscription for you
Here's a detailed comparison of the latest game subscription services to help you choose which one is the best for you. → Read More
'Iron Man VR' has moments of brilliance, but shows the limits of PSVR
Iron Man VR is an ambitious game for PSVR. When it works, it's thrilling. But it's a fleeting thrill. → Read More
Stadia-exclusive 'Crayta' feels like Google Docs for game creation
Ready to make your own games on Google's Stadia? → Read More
'Final Fantasy VII Remake' and the curse of remade soundtracks
I listen to game music pretty often — and a large chunk of it is from the Final Fantasy game series, from the original right through to this year’s remaster of a decades-old game. It had some of the major battle themes and catchier background songs but it’s not all the tracks I want. → Read More
Google adds its own address system to Maps location sharing on Android
Google’s Plus Codes are the company’s efforts to reinvent coordinates and addresses so it works better with all things Google. The Plus Code itself is a short alphanumeric code, combined with a city and country, and has been built into Google Maps for years. → Read More
Myzone's virtual fitness classes can tell if you’re slacking
There are plenty of workout-from-home apps, but Myzone's MZ-Remote taps into a heart-rate monitor to keep you sweating. → Read More
Apple's two new Pride-themed Watch straps include one from Nike
There might not be a Pride march for a while, but at least Apple is offering some accessories ready for when it does happen. → Read More
Theragun’s new massage devices have Bluetooth and run quieter
Theragun is now called Therabody, and it has four new upgraded massage guns that are apparently substantially quieter. → Read More
'Final Fantasy 7 Remake' is a gamble that paid off
Decades later, Square Enix has remade Final Fantasy VII for 2020. But is it any good? → Read More
The Morning After: Mobile video service Quibi launches today
Hey, good morning! There is so much money behind Quibi. If you've never heard of it, it's a mobile video service/network hot on the heels of many similar services that have failed. With Hollywood clout and again, so much darn money, Quibi launches today -- for $5 per month with ads! -- with a selection of shows and content with short runtimes and baffling sales pitches. Will it sideline Netflix,… → Read More
'Persona 5 Royal' taps into the joy of replaying your favorite game
Persona 5 was a vibrant, subversive RPG with a relatively traditional turn-based battle system, memorable characters, a plot twist or two and hundreds of persona (monsters) to fuse, fight and discover. Persona 5 Royal keeps all of that but adds a third school term to play through. It also introduces one entirely new character, Kasumi Yoshizawa, to fight with and the return of a divisive former… → Read More
The Morning After: Are classic Mario games coming to the Switch in 2020?
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. For streaming services and games companies, we're all a captive audience at the moment. For Disney+, the newest challenger, it's an opportunity. With lots of kids at home, an almost infinite run of Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars content will save the sanity of many parents. Games, too, are suddenly appearing in stores, in rumors or at your front door as… → Read More
The Morning After: FDA clears five-minute lab-in-a-box COVID-19 test
It's been a long seven days of lockdown for some of us, and it looks like the situation won't change for a while. The US Food and Drug Administration is rushing to get a handle on testing people for the coronavirus, and former events venues are being turned into field hospitals. It's one hell of a year, and it's only the end of March. -Mat → Read More
Huawei made its own Siri rival called Celia
Given there's no Google Assistant on Huawei's latest devices, including the P40 series, the company has revealed its very own voice assistant called Celia. She/it/they will understand commands in English, French and Spanish and will behave an awful lot like Siri did at launch, namely some pretty basic voice interactions with core phone features. Think: weather updates, texts and phone call… → Read More
Huawei's P40 phones have giant imaging sensors and a camera for everything
Huawei's big reveal for its new flagship is entirely online. In the face of the coronavirus, the company had to launch its P40 smartphone series a little differently. Following the imaging prowess of last year's P30 Pro and the Mate 30, the company is still playing to those strengths as it still battles with its app store weaknesses. This year's flagship smartphone series includes the P40 and… → Read More
Lifting weights in a Panasonic exosuit destined for the Tokyo Olympics
Exosuits, exoskeletons and power-assist suits are mostly a thing of science fiction, used for battling alien menaces or lifting extremely heavy obstacles. Mostly. Now companies like Panasonic are making the case for actually using one. The reality is less about batting away threats and more about supporting workers with physically demanding or repetitive jobs and tasks. That was why Panasonic's… → Read More
The Morning After: Siri has a COVID-19 questionnaire
Ahead of the official debut on March 26th, more leaks have surfaced about both the P40 Pro and P40. As expected, the P40 Pro is all about photography. The phone will reportedly feature a 50-megapixel wide camera, 40-megapixel telephoto camera, a time-of-flight depth sensor and one more (likely ultra-wide) 12-megapixel camera. The telephoto camera will be able to zoom in on subjects by a factor… → Read More
The Morning After: What you actually need to play Stadia games in 4K
Moog has made its Minimoog Model D iOS synth app available for free. It wasn't hugely expensive to start, but this could make it easy to recreate the first portable synth and slip some Kraftwerk- or Dr. Dre-inspired sounds into your latest track. Moog didn't say how long the price change would last, but you might want to act quickly. Not to be left out, Korg is doing the same for its Kaossilator… → Read More
The Morning After: A cheaper Google Pixel and a flagship Motorola phone leaked
Google might stick to the basics for its next Android handset. Pixel 4a photo leaks hint at a no-frills budget phone Waiting on a cheaper Pixel phone? Multiple leaks appearing on Twitter and Reddit appear to show Google's upcoming low-cost Pixel 4a phone in the wild -- to be honest, looking a bit worse for wear. Judging by the pictures, the prototype ditches the face recognition and dual cameras… → Read More
The Morning After: Previewing 'Final Fantasy VII Remake'
I've waited decades for the Final Fantasy VII remake. I was here for the PS3 (!) tech demo, the breathless launch announcement at E3 years ago, and now we've re... → Read More