GM isn't just leaning on technical prowess to sell you on its EV battery technology — it's hoping eco-friendliness (and frugality) will play a role, too. The automaker has struck a deal with Controlled Thermal Resources to obtain more environmentally responsible lithium. The team-up will source lithium from California made using a process that generates lower CO2 emissions than the usual pit mines or evaporation pods.
CTR's project, Hell's Kitchen, will use a closed-loop system that extracts lithium directly from geothermal brine. GM's arrangement gives it "first rights" to lithium from the first stage of Hell's Kitchen, plus an option for a multi-year partnership.
The approach should not only reduce the overall environmental footprint of GM's EVs, but secure "low-cost" lithium that could lower prices.
The initial Hell's Kitchen stage isn't expected to produce lithium until 2024. However, GM sees this collaboration as important to its goal of dropping combustion engine cars by 2035. If the automaker can both improve the value of its EVs and make a stronger case for their green credentials, it might boost sales and have an easier time transitioning away from gas and diesel.
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Last weekend, Sarah Perkins, the 17-year-old daughter of Twitch streamer Mikey “MikeyPerk” Perkins, went missing. This sparked off a huge community wide effort to find her, led by Mikey himself. Late last night, he was finally able to deliver some good news: Sarah has been found.
Following a viral Twitter thread by Neon Doctrine co-founder Iain Garner, in which he complained about Sony’s attitude towards indie developers, several developers have spoken to outlets like IGN and Kotaku and corroborated Garner’s claims. Most of the complaints revolve around Sony‘s poor communication and inconsistent policies.
“Oh yeah, so there’s Nintendo who supports you, Microsoft who supports you, and there is Sony who supports its own AAA machine and gives a f*** about everyone else,” a developer told Kotaku.
“No platform is ‘great’, but Sony is particularly terrible,” said another developer speaking on condition of anonymity. “They know it too – they’ve had a problem for a long time, and they’ve been telling devs they have a problem for a long time, but they’ve just never fixed anything, so the problem persists.”
Kotaku claims that it contacted Sony for a comment but the company chose not to respond.
One publisher said that despite Xbox’s UI being an apparent “mess,” it makes room for smaller games to be advertised. As a result, they often hear from fans who spotted their game on the Xbox storefront. Over on Switch, developers and publishers don’t have to pay anything to be featured. Their games gain visibility without pulling teeth.
“Without paying for featuring, there are spots on the eShop you will appear without paying,” the aforementioned publisher added. “New releases, great deals, all those kinds of lists. And they will put new releases and decent discounts into the Discover tab too.”
We’ll update our readers if/when Sony chooses to respond.
As the holiday weekend approaches, deals on the latest gadgets have been popping up across the web. Apple's 10.2-inch iPad is $30 off right now and Solo Stove, the maker of compact, stainless steel fire pits, has knocked $120 off most of its devices. We even have a few holdouts from Amazon Prime Day still available, like deals on Anker's Eufy RoboVac 11S and a two-pack Nest WiFi system. Here are the best July 4th tech deals we could find.
10.2-inch iPad
The 10.2-inch iPad remains on sale for $299, or $30 off its normal price. It's arguably the best tablet for new tablet owners and we liked its improved performance, familiar design and support for the first-generation Apple Pencil.
Apple's MacBook Air M1 has dropped to $899, which is the best price we've seen it. If you're looking to upgrade your notebook, this is one of the best options for most people right now. The Air M1 earned a score of 94 from us for its incredibly fast performance, excellent keyboard and trackpad, good battery life and lack of fan noise.
Apple's colorful iMacs with 8-core GPUs are $50 off right now at Amazon, bringing them down to $1,450. We gave this desktop a score of 89 for its remarkable performance thanks to the M1 chip, lovely 24-inch Retina Display and its thin-and-light design.
Solo Stove's Bonfire is $120 off for the company's July 4th sale, bringing it down to $230. That's the best price we've seen, and the other models are also $120 off for a limited time, too. These are smokeless, portable fire pits that we've recommended in the past as an easy way to upgrade your backyard setup.
On the heels of the new Thermapen One announcement, the Thermapen Mk4 has been discounted to $69. It's the best instant-read thermometer we've used so far —the backlit display makes it easy to read in almost any situation and the display rotates depending on how you're holding the pen. Plus, you never have to remember to turn it off because the pen automatically turns on when you pick it up and will shut off after some time of no use.
ThermoWorks is also running an Independence Day sale that knocks up to 20 percent off remote BBQ alarm thermometers.
The GPS + Cellular models of the Apple Watch Series 6 Product Red Edition are $100 off at Amazon. The 40mm is down to $399, or close to a record low, while the 44mm version has hit an all-time low of $429. We gave the Series 6 a score of 89 for its speedier performance, quicker charging and slightly improved battery life.
Through Sunday, July 4, GameStop is running a holiday sale that includes a "buy two, get one free" promo on a number of titles including Marios + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The sale also includes discounts on pre-owned games as well as $30 in extra credit when you trade in a PS4, XB1, Nintendo Switch or another console.
Both Amazon and Microsoft have the Galaxy Buds+ for $100, or $50 off their normal price. We gave them a score of 83 for their improved audio quality, longer battery life, deeper iOS integration and better call quality.
One of our favorite budget robot vacuums, the Anker Eufy RoboVac 11S, has dropped to $140. That's $90 off its normal price and close to its record-low. Not only is this one of the slimmest robo-vacs we've tried, but it cleans hard floors and carpets thoroughly and it comes with a remote that you can use to manually direct the vacuum, set schedules and more.
The Nest WiFi pack with one router and one extension point is down to $189, or $80 off. We gave this mesh system a score of 84 for its unobtrusive design, simple installation process and built-in smart speaker capabilities.
LG's 2021 C1 OLED 4K TVs have dropped in price, so you can grab the 55-inch for $1,497, or about $300 off its normal price. The C1 is the mid-tier lineup that includes the company's latest processor, HDMI 2.1 support and NVIDIA G-SYNC and FreeSync compatibility.
My Best Buy members can get the 48-inch LG CX OLED 4K smart TV for $1,250, or $250 off its normal price. It's free to sign up for My Best Buy and it's worth it to get a bit of extra money off all of the retailer's current sales. This OLED set has LG's a9 Gen 3 processor, support for Dolby Vision, Atmos, HDR10 and HLG plus Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa integration.
The Beats Solo Pro are still discounted to a record-low of $149. We liked these on-ear cans for their excellent sound quality, good ANC and hands-free Siri capabilities.
Omaze is giving away another $20,000 to build your ultimate gaming PC. This sweepstakes is free to enter, but funds donated with purchased entries will benefit Schools on Wheels, an organization that provides free tutoring and mentoring services to children experiencing homelessness across Southern California. Through July 2, you can use the code RADNESS150 at checkout to get an additional 150 bonus entries.
Pricing and availability is subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes.See official rules on Omaze.
New tech deals
55-inch Sony A8H Bravia OLED smart TV
Amazon knocked about $600 off Sony's 55-inch A8H Bravia OLED smart TV. It includes the company's X1 Ultimate processor, Game Mode for a smoother, more responsive experience, the Android TV operating system and support for the Google Assistant, Amazon's Alexa and even Apple's AirPlay 2.
Apple's MagSafe charger is down to $34 at Amazon, or $6 off its normal price. While not a huge discount, it's a good opportunity to get a first-party accessory for less. This thin disk magnetically attaches to the back of the latest iPhones to power them up.
The accessory maker Twelve South is running a 4th of July sale through July 5th that knocks up to 60 percent off of many products. Of note are the AirFly Bluetooth transmitter for as low as $25, the Compass Pro adjustable iPad stand for $50 and the HiRise Lightning Stand for $25.
Casetify's holiday sale gets you 15 percent off most items through July 5th when you use the code 4JULY21 at checkout. The company makes colorful cases and protective gear for numerous mobile devices including iPhones, Galaxy handsets, AirPods and more. They also make great gifts thanks to Casetify's extensive library of customizable accessories.
Through July 4th, you can get 30 percent off sitewide at Speck. In addition to iPhones and Android device cases, Speck has gear for AirPods, MacBooks, Kindles, Chromebooks and others. If you want a case for your smartphone that will both look good and keep your gadget safe, Speck accessories are good options.
Aukey's PowerZeus 500 portable power station is on sale for $367 when you use the code AUKEYPLUS at checkout. This 518Wh station can easily come with you on a camping trip to provide juice to all your devices, or act as a backup battery during power outages.
One of our recommended VPNs is running a good sale on a two-year subscription. You can sign up for NordVPN for only $89 for the first two years, which comes out to $44.50 per year. We like NordVPN for its speed, its no-logs policy, the thousands of servers it has to choose from and that one account supports up to six connected devices.
This week, Cherlynn and Devindra are joined by Gizmodo’s Sam Rutherford to chat about Samsung’s smartwatch updates and the few tidbits of news from Mobile World Congress. Also, they dive into the newly released previews for iOS 15, macOS Monterey and Windows 11. It’s the rare year where both Mac and Windows are getting some major updates.
Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
Credits Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Cherlynn Low Guest: Sam Rutherford Producer: Ben Ellman Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos Graphics artists: Luke Brooks, Brian Oh Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien
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Earlier this week, Sony announced that Returnal developer Housemarque has joined the PlayStation Studios family. While sharing the news on Twitter, PlayStation Japan apparently made a “mistake” and uploaded an image announcing the acquisition of Bluepoint Games.
The tweet was promptly deleted, but as many pointed out, it didn’t seem like a simple mistake because the image used by PlayStation Japan was specifically created with a screenshot of Bluepoint’s Demons Souls Remake. This led many to believe that an acquisition is in the works or has already been completed, and will be announced in due course. However, Bluepoint seems keen to shut these conversations down.
As PlayStation Japan’s tweet made rounds, Bluepoint updated its Twitter bio to emphasize that it’s “a fully independent, self funded studio.”
Folks over at PushSquare noticed that Bluepoint also added similar wording to all of its job advertisements.
“Bluepoint Games is a completely independent and financially stable video game development company comprised of industry veterans who believe that hiring nothing but top talent means better products and a better environment, with less overhead and politics,” reads a job description for Senior Graphics Engineer. “We are looking for a Senior Graphics Engineer with an interest in cutting-edge graphics and visual effects systems join our team on a full time basis developing AAA titles for latest-gen home consoles.”
Whether PlayStation Japan genuinely made a mistake or not remains to be seen. It’s possible that Bluepoint is simply trying to steer attention away from the studio. Whatever the case, we’ll keep our readers posted.
