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Notion launched a calendar app Wednesday, built and reskinned from Cron, the calendar startup the company bought in 2022. Tight platform-wide integration will be the appeal for Notion’s “tens of millions” of users. Notion Calendar includes a built-in scheduler and makes it easy to merge content from the productivity ecosystem’s notes, docs and project dates.

Notion Calendar lets you link Notion notes and other documents to meetings, transforming the calendar invite into an all-in-one hub for participants to add or view supporting content. It also integrates with external tools like Google Calendar, Google Meet and Zoom.

Raphael Schaad, Cron’s founder who now heads its next iteration as Notion Calendar, describes the app as “a new way to manage your most precious resource, time.” In the video below, he demonstrates how you can quickly check on a family member’s medical appointment and block it off your planner so your work colleagues won’t double-book you for that hour. Notion Calendar’s scheduler will let your co-workers (or anyone else you’ve shared availability with) know that time is unavailable, but they won’t see the details.

Notion Calendar requires a one-time sign-in with Google Calendar to set it up. However, Schaad wrote on X today that the company was “running into Google Auth rate limits,” preventing sign-ins — something he describes as a “‘good’ launch day problem to have.” If you have trouble logging in, he expects the issue to be resolved within the next day and advises you to check back later.

Notion Calendar supports all the same languages as the entire platform. It’s available today on Windows, Mac and iOS. In a significant absence at launch, Notion says Android support is “coming soon.” It also doesn’t yet support Office 365 or iCloud integration, although Schaad promises that, too, is on the company’s roadmap.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/notion-turns-its-cron-acquisition-into-an-integrated-calendar-app-215644220.html?src=rss

Sony is continuing to mine its back catalog of games for movie adaptations while persistently forgetting that Bloodborne is right there. Its next game that's bound for the big screen is Until Dawn, a 2015 interactive horror title that Supermassive Games developed and Sony published.

David F. Sandberg (Lights Out and the Shazam! movies) will direct the adaptation, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Gary Dauberman, who previously worked on Annabelle: Creation with Sandberg, is taking a fresh stab at a script originally written by Blair Butler (The Invitation).

Until Dawn focuses on a group of eight young people who try to survive the night at a perilous mountain retreat. The spooky game has a branching narrative and, depending on the decisions you make (or if you fail at quick-time events), some of the characters may not make it until the group is rescued the following morning.

Given that any or all of the characters may perish during the night, there are hundreds of possible endings to the game, so it'll be interesting to see which direction Sandberg and Dauberman take with the material. Several notable actors appeared in Until Dawn, including Hayden Panettiere, Jordan Fisher and Oscar winner Rami Malek.

Sony has already adapted several of its games into film and TV properties, with live-action versions of Uncharted (another movie pastiche that itself became a film), Gran Turismo, Twisted Metal and The Last of Us popping up over the last couple of years. Sony also has adaptations of Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon: Zero Dawn, God of War and others in the pipeline.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-is-making-an-until-dawn-movie-211729859.html?src=rss

Today as part of its latest Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung announced a whole host of AI-powered features for the S24 family. However, buried among the news was info that Samsung will also be porting at least some of those tools over to last year's premium phones and tablets.

After asking about specifically which devices were covered, in an email to Engadget, Samsung confirmed that the company is "looking forward to bringing the Galaxy AI experience to the Galaxy S23 series, including the S23FE, ZFold5/ZFlip5 and Tab S9 later this first half."

Samsung's new AI tools include things like Chat Assist which can translate languages in real-time or perform tone correction in texts and emails, Suggested Edits in photos which looks to automatically correct things like shadows and reflections and Circle to Search, which is powered by Google and combines traditional text-based queries with visual search similar to the Google Lens app. 

Currently, it's unclear if the entire suite of Galaxy AI features will be available across every device or if tools will be ported over on a more case-by-case basis. And without the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips used in the S24 line to power them, it remains to be seen how much of a performance hit there might be on older models. That said, it's really nice to see Samsung commit to bringing at least some of its new software to last year's flagship gadgets as it helps avoid people feeling like they need to upgrade after a year or less. 

 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsungs-new-galaxy-ai-features-are-coming-to-the-s23-and-last-years-foldables-210046981.html?src=rss

Samsung’s first major hardware event of the year is here and, as expected, it’s primarily focused on the Galaxy S24 series of flagship smartphones. What you might not know, however, is that these smartphones are available for pre-order and that Amazon is already offering a fairly substantial bonus for early adopters.

You can get a gift card, up to $200, by pre-ordering the S24 via Amazon. All you have to do is enter a code at checkout. Once you complete the order, you’ll get an electronic gift card for use throughout the site. Being as how Amazon sells just about everything under the sun, that’s basically free money.

The gift card amount varies depending on the model. To snag the full $200, you’ll have to pony up for the top-of-the-line Galaxy S24 Ultra. The standard S24 gets you a $50 gift card, while the beefier S24+ allows for a $150 gift card. The Ultra costs $1,300, while the S24+ costs $1,000. The regular S24 will set you back $800. Flagship phones are pretty expensive, so the gift card can help offset that a bit. Samsung’s also offering a storage upgrade with pre-orders and Amazon customers get access to this perk.

What’s new with the S24 line? A whole lot, actually. They boast an ultra-durable titanium frame that should seriously increase the phone’s lifespan. To that end, Samsung has promised seven years of software support for these phones. While the specs feature the usual year-to-year bump, the software is packed with, wait for it, AI algorithms that allow for some new use case scenarios.

For instance, AI allows for a drastic increase in optical quality when using the camera’s zoom functionality. The algorithms can also be used to edit photos, create slow-mo footage and even delete and move items in the frame, with the AI automatically filling in the empty space. There’s also AI-enhanced language translation tools, ChatGPT-esque summarization capabilities and automatic copy-editing.

There’s a reason we previously wrote that Samsung “is taking the transition to the AI era incredibly seriously.” Pre-orders start today and official sales of the S24 line are slated for January 31.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-includes-up-to-a-200-gift-card-when-you-pre-order-the-samsung-galaxy-s24-series-194428875.html?src=rss

Samsung formally unveiled its Galaxy S24 line of smartphones at its latest Samsung Unpacked event on Wednesday, including its newest flagship, the Galaxy S24 Ultra. For a fuller idea of what to expect, you can check out my colleague Sam Rutherford's hands-on impressions. In short, though, the main updates are a new titanium frame with flatter edges, a promised seven years of software updates, an expected processor bump, a slightly tweaked camera setup and a host of new generative AI features. Starting at $1,300, the device is also $100 more expensive than its predecessor, though there are some early pre-order deals to lessen that blow a little.

If you're thinking about taking the plunge, we've broken down how the Galaxy S24 Ultra compares to two other top-end handsets, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Google Pixel 8 Pro, on the spec sheet. As always, specs can't tell the full story, but if you want a reference for what $1,300 (or more) gets you in early 2024, here's how the new phone stacks up. 

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

Google Pixel 8 Pro

Pricing (MSRP)

$1,300 (256GB), $1,420 (512GB), $1,660 (1TB)

$1,199 (256GB), $1,399 (512GB), $1,599 (1TB)

$999 (128GB), $1,059 (256GB), $1,179 (512GB), $1,399 (1TB)

Dimensions

6.4 x 3.11 x 0.34 inches

6.29 x 3.02 x 0.32 inches

6.4 x 3.01 x 0.35 inches

Weight

8.22 ounces

7.8 ounces

7.5 ounces

Screen size

6.8 inches

6.7 inches

6.7 inches

Screen resolution

1,440 x 3,120

1,290 x 2,796

460 ppi

1,344 x 2,992

489 ppi

Screen type

LTPO AMOLED

Up to 120Hz (1-120Hz)

Up to 2,600 nits brightness

Gorilla Armor

LTPO OLED

Up to 120Hz (1-120Hz)

Up to 2,000 nits brightness

Ceramic Shield

LTPO OLED

Up to 120Hz (1-120Hz)

Up to 2,400 nits brightness

Gorilla Glass Victus 2

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy

Octa-core CPU

Apple A17 Pro

Hexa-core CPU (up to 3.78GHz)

6-core Apple GPU

Google Tensor G3

Nona-core CPU (up to 2.91GHz)

Arm Mali-G715 MP7 GPU

RAM

12GB

8GB

12GB

Battery

5,000mAh

Up to 30 hours video playback

"Up to 29 hours video playback"

4,950mAh

"Beyond 24 hours"

Charging

USB Type-C 3.2

Up to 45W wired

Wireless charging up to 15W (with proprietary charger, up to 10W with other Qi chargers)

Reverse wireless charging

USB Type-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2)

"Up to 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes"

MagSafe/Qi2 wireless charging up to 15W

Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W

Reverse wired charging

USB Type-C 3.2

Up to 30W wired

Up to 23W wireless with Google Pixel Stand (2nd gen)

Qi wireless charging up to 12W

Reverse wireless charging

Storage

256GB, 512GB or 1TB

256GB, 512GB or 1TB

128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB

Rear camera

Main: 200 MP, f/1.7

Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2, 120 degree FOV

Telephoto: 50 MP, f/3.4, 5x optical zoom

Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 3x optical zoom

Main: 48 MP, f/1.78

Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2, 120 degree FOV

Telephoto: 12 MP, f/2.8, 5x optical zoom

Main: 50 MP, f/1.68

Ultrawide: 48 MP, f/1.95, 125.5 degree FOV

Telephoto: 48 MP, f/2.8, 5x optical zoom

Front camera

12 MP, f/2.2

12 MP, f/1.9

10.5 MP, f/2.2

Video capture

Rear: 8K at 24/30 fps, 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60/240/960 fps

Front: 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30 fps

Rear: 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p at 25/30/60/120/240 fps

Front: 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p at 25/30/60/120 fps

Rear: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 24/30/60/120/240 fps

Front: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60 fps

Water and dust resistance

IP68

IP68

IP68

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 7

Wi-Fi 6E

Wi-Fi 7

Bluetooth

v5.3

v5.3

v5.3

OS

Android 14, One UI 6.1

"Seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates"

iOS 17

Android 14

"Seven years of OS, security and Feature Drop updates"

Colors and finish

Titanium frame

Titanium Gray, Titanium Black, Titanium Violet, Titanium Yellow, Titanium Green, Titanium Blue, Titanium Orange

Titanium frame

Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium, Black Titanium

Polished aluminum frame

Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-vs-the-competition-a-new-titanium-contender-193434222.html?src=rss

Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event today barely let us catch our breath after last week's CES. As we expected, the company revealed its latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra, which rely more than a little on new AI features. There's Circle to Search, Live Translate and Chat Assist to help you find the right words (and the right tone) of your messages — all of which you can read about in our hands-on report on the new handhelds.  

As for the design and hardware, not much has changed since last year's S23. The rear triple camera array remains the same with a 50MP main, a 12MP wide, and a 10MP telephoto lens. The 6.2-inch Full HD+ screen is 1/10th of an inch bigger and the battery adds 100 mAh to the size of the previous generation. The new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor has been optimized for the new Galaxies — which should help them handle all of those nifty AI-powered tricks. Here's how the Samsung Galaxy S24 stacks up against its two closest rivals, the Apple iPhone 15 and the Google Pixel 8. 

Samsung Galaxy S24

Google Pixel 8

Apple iPhone 15

Pricing (MSRP)

From $800

From $699

From $799

Dimensions

5.79 x 2.78 x 0.3 inches

5.9 x 2.8 x 0.4 inches

5.81 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches

Weight

5.93 ounces

6.6 ounces

6.02 ounces

Screen size

6.2 inches

6.2 inches

6.1 inches

Screen resolution

1,080 x 2,340 

Full HD+

1,080 x 2,400

428 ppi

1,179 x 2,556

460 ppi

Screen type

AMOLED 2x

Up to 120Hz (1-120Hz)

Up to 2,600 nits brightness

Gorilla Glass Victus 2

OLED

Up to 120Hz (60-120Hz)

Up to 2,000 nits brightness

Gorilla Glass Victus

OLED

60Hz

Up to 2,000 nits brightness

Ceramic Shield

SoC

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

Google Tensor G3

Apple A16 Bionic

Hexa-core CPU (up to 3.46GHz)

5-core Apple GPU

RAM

8GB

8GB

6GB

Battery

4,000mAh

4,485mAh

"Beyond 24 hours"

"Up to 20 hours video playback"

Charging

USB Type-C

"Up to 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes"

Fast Wireless Charging 2.0

Wireless PowerShare

USB Type-C 3.2

Up to 27W wired

Up to 18W wireless with Google Pixel Stand (2nd gen)

Qi wireless charging up to 12W

Reverse wireless charging

USB Type-C (USB 2.0)

"Up to 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes"

MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W

Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W

Reverse wired charging

Storage

128GB / 256GB

128GB / 256GB

128GB / 256GB / 512GB

Rear camera(s)

Main: 50 MP, f/1.8

Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2

Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4 3x optical zoom

Main: 50 MP, f/1.68

Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2, 125.8 degree FOV

Main: 48 MP, f/1.6

Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.4, 120 degree FOV

Front camera(s)

12 MP, f/2.2

10.5 MP, f/2.2

12 MP, f/1.9

Video capture

Rear: 8K at 24/30 fps, 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60/240/960 fps

Front: 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30 fps

Rear: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 24/30/60/120/240 fps

Front: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60 fps

Rear: 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p at 25/30/60/120/240 fps

Front: 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p at 25/30/60/120 fps

Water and dust resistance

IP68

IP68

IP68

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 6E

Wi-Fi 7

Wi-Fi 6

Bluetooth

v5.3

v5.3

v5.3

NFC

Yes

Yes

Yes

OS

Android 14

Android 14

iOS 17

Finishes

Sapphire Blue, Sandstone Orange, Jade Green, Cobalt Violet, Marble Gray, Onyx Black, Amber Yellow

Armor Aluminum frame

Obsidian, Hazel, Rose

Matte aluminum frame

Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink

Aluminum frame

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-s24-vs-the-competition-192851794.html?src=rss

Near the end of Samsung's Unpacked event today, the company started talking about its health-focused software, Samsung Health. After touting the Galaxy Watch 6's sleep-tracking features and software tools like medication management and an upcoming update to its health software Samsung gave us a quick tease of an upcoming health-focused piece of hardware, the Galaxy Ring. It... looks like a ring, with a host of sensors clearly visible on the inside of the ring. 

And that is literally all we know. No idea of when it'll come out, what it'll do or how much it'll cost. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether it is actually released, but right now I feel like we're very much in Galaxy Home territory. At least the new Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra are real — you can read our hands-on stories here and here.

Of course, Samsung is hardly the first to attempt a health-focused ring, though they'll probably be the biggest company thus far to do so. Oura has been at it for a while now, releasing its third-generation Ring back in 2022. It can track your sleep, measure your heart rate during exercise and track your daily activity to make sure you're hitting certain goals. Most wearables do this sort of thing already, though certainly not in such a tiny form factor. It's safe to assume that Samsung's Galaxy Ring will cover the same territory and work alongside the new metrics coming to Samsung Health, like the vitality score that the company just announced. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-announces-a-render-of-its-new-fitness-device-the-galaxy-ring-192012919.html?src=rss

Rode, the Australian audio company that enjoyed breakthrough success with the Wireless Go and GO II, has unveiled a dual transmitter version of the more affordable Wireless ME mic. If you can do without onboard recording, the dual transmitter version could save you from buying extra gear for a multi-mic setup.

As wireless clip-on digital mics have exploded in popularity with creators, the (single transmitter) Rode Wireless ME has been a popular budget ($149) alternative to the $299 GO II. This dual-transmitter model is otherwise the same as the single-mic version. So, you’ll get the same Series IV 2.4GHz digital transmission, Rode’s GainAssist tech and “universal compatibility” with cameras, phones and computers.

Rode

Also, like the single-transmitter version of the Wireless ME, the new model’s receiver includes an extra “behind-camera” mic for a bonus audio source. In this case, that theoretically gives you a third mic — as long as your setup allows plugging it directly into your recording device. It works with the Rode Capture app (available for iOS and Android), which is aimed at creators. 

Given that the Wireless ME is on the budget end of Rode’s lineup, the same compromises from the single-transmitter version apply. That includes the lack of a receiver display, onboard recording / storage or an option to record a safety track at a lower gain level. In return for those tradeoffs, you’ll likely save a few bucks vs. the higher-end GO II.

We say “likely” because Rode hasn’t yet said how much the dual-transmitter version will cost. (The single-mic variant costs $150, so you can probably assume it will be more.) The dual Wireless ME arrives this spring, so expect to hear about pricing as its release date approaches. It will be available in black and (for the first time in the ME series) white.

Rode has growing competition in this space. JBL launched a similar budget product — the $100 Quantum Stream — at CES 2024, and DJI just revealed the Mic 2, including a $349 dual-transmitter variant.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rode-reveals-a-dual-transmitter-version-of-the-wireless-me-lapel-mic-181534298.html?src=rss