Amazon reportedly paid no income tax on $55 billion in European sales in 2021

Although Amazon’s main European business saw an increase in sales to around $55 billion last year, the company avoided paying income tax. It posted a loss of €1.16 billion euros ($1.26 billion) and it even received €1 billion in tax credits. According to filings obtained by Bloomberg, the credit was “mainly due to the use of net losses carried forward in accordance with the tax consolidation system.”

The Amazon EU Sarl unit is based in Luxembourg and reports revenue from its divisions in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden and the Netherlands. Its sales increased by 17 percent in 2021.

“Across Europe, we pay corporate tax amounting to hundreds of millions of euros,” an Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg. They said revenue, profit and tax are reported to local authorities in each country. The company said it posted a loss after opening more than 50 new sites across the continent last year.

Amazon has been the subject of criticism for years for tax breaks it receives and how it reports income. In 2017, the European Union slapped Amazon with a €250 million ($280 million) tax bill over alleged illegal state aid practices dating back to the early 2000s. Amazon successfully appealed the bill last year. The European Commission has filed an appeal against that decision in the European Court of Justice.

Sennheiser says its new Sport earbuds can reduce noise from your own body

Sennheiser has revealed a set of true wireless earbuds geared toward fitness enthusiasts. It says the Sport True Wireless buds include an Aware EQ passthrough setting that can reduce distracting noises from your own body, such as your heartbeat or footsteps, while helping you stay aware of your surroundings. That could be a handy option for runners.

There’s an intriguing system called Adaptable Acoustic that allows you to choose between open and closed ear adapters and tweak equalizer settings to find your ideal sound for workouts. The Focus EQ setting, combined with the closed ear adapter, is designed to block out external audio. 

You’ll be able to adjust how much external sound you hear and create custom EQ presets in the Sennheiser Smart Control app. There are three sizes of ear adapters and four fins to help you find the ideal fit.

Sennheiser says the earbuds have a 7mm dynamic driver that offers “full bass and superior clarity without distortion.” They have touch controls and voice assistant support. The buds are compatible with Bluetooth 5.2 and audio codecs such as SBC, AAC and aptX, which will help users connect them to a wide range of devices.

The earbuds have an IP54 rating, meaning they’re resistant to dust, splashes and sweat. Sennheiser says the battery will run for up to nine hours. The charging case will add up to 18 hours of listening time.

Pre-orders for Sennheiser’s Sport True Wireless earbuds open today. The buds cost $130 and will ship on May 3rd.

Sennheiser Sport True Wireless earbuds
Sennheiser

CNN+ is shutting down just weeks after launching

Just three weeks after the streaming service launched, Warner Bros. Discovery announced it is shutting down CNN+. Variety broke the news. The service will cease operations on April 30th, according to multiple reports, meaning it will close after just 32 days. 

CNBC reported last week that CNN+ was pulling in just 10,000 daily users who were willing to pay $6 per month for exclusive live, on-demand and interactive news-driven programming. New CNN president Chris Licht, who was appointed after WarnerMedia and Discovery merged earlier this month, reportedly made the recommendation to kill CNN+. 

Andrew Morse, the executive vice president who was running CNN+, is expected to leave Warner Bros. Discovery after a transition period. Reports suggest there may be hundreds of related job cuts. 

It seems some CNN+ programming could be bound for HBO Max. CNN itself noted that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav wants to combine the company’s content into a single streaming service. That tracks with the plan to eventually merge HBO Max and Discovery+.

CNN had high hopes for the project. It invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the streaming service and recruited talent from other networks (such as Kasie Hunt from NBC and Chris Wallace from Fox News) to host CNN+ shows. However, Warner Bros. Discovery executives quickly pulled the plug after CNN+ failed to gain much traction. 

For what it’s worth, CNN+ crashed and burned even harder than Quibi. The short-form streaming service launched in April 2020 and shut down that December. Warner Bros. Discovery might take a little solace in the fact that Quibi blew nearly $2 billion instead of a relatively meager nine-figure sum.

Uber Green rides now cost the same as UberX trips

Uber has announced some Earth Week initiatives and while some of the measures won’t be around for the long haul, it’s making a permanent change to Uber Green rides. Those will now cost the same as UberX rides, no matter the level of demand.

Uber Green allows users to request a more environmentally friendly car, such as a hybrid or electric vehicle. When Uber brought the feature to the US and Canada in 2020, it said those requesting an Uber Green ride would need to pay a $1 surcharge. That’s no longer the case.

Elsewhere, Uber is offering a $1-per-journey discount on Uber Green, Lime e-bike and Lime e-scooter trips booked through its app until April 30th. You’ll need to use the promo code GoGreen22. The company says it will change the Uber Green icon and add green routes to the app as well.

In addition, Uber says users in Los Angeles, Miami and Washington DC who request an Uber Green ride on Earth Day (Friday) will have the opportunity to take in an “impromptu adventure” on their journey. “The Uber Green rides will give the illusion of adventuring in some of the planet’s most precious places – from the Arctic to the Serengeti or the Great Barrier Reef,” Uber wrote in a blog post. 

It’s not entirely clear what that means. The company shared an image depicting an underwater scene on the underside of a car’s roof, so these experiences could temporarily make trips slightly more relaxing while offering a reminder of the natural world’s beauty.

Uber Green
Uber

Apple’s AirPods Max are $99 off at Amazon

Apple’s AirPods Max over-ear headphones are once again on sale. The price has dropped by $99 at Amazon, where they’re currently $450. One important thing to note is that you’ll only get the full discount with two of the color options. The silver and space gray versions have a $29 voucher that’s applied at checkout. The other colorways are $479 for the time being.

Buy Apple Airpods Max at Amazon – $450

While this isn’t the lowest price we’ve seen for AirPods Max to date, it’s a good deal on a solid set of premium headphones. The price was one of our biggest sticking points when we reviewed the cans in December 2020 and gave them a score of 84. They deliver excellent audio quality and have good Active Noise Cancellation. We found the battery life to be solid, while features like deep iOS integration are useful.

As with other AirPods, these headphones don’t support Apple Music Lossless due to Bluetooth codec compression. They do, however, support Dolby Atmos spatial audio.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Apple Store workers in Atlanta file for first union election in the US

Workers at an Apple Store in Atlanta have filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. This marks the first time that Apple Store employees in the US have formally requested a union election. They’ll be represented by the Communications Workers of America.

Over 70 percent of more than 100 eligible workers at Apple’s Cumberland Mall store have signed union authorization cards. The group includes sales associates, operations specialists, technicians and creatives. The CWA represents workers from across the telecommunications, media and tech industries.

“A number of us have been here for many years, and we don’t think you stick at a place unless you love it,” Apple Genius worker Derrick Bowles said in a statement. “Apple is a profoundly positive place to work, but we know that the company can better live up to their ideals and so we’re excited to be joining together with our coworkers to bring Apple to the negotiating table and make this an even better place to work.”

Engadget has contacted Apple for comment.

Although this is the first Apple Store union drive to result in an NLRB election filing, workers at other locations in the US are attempting to organize. Last weekend, it emerged that employees at the Grand Central Terminal location in New York City were collecting signatures to form a union. That group, Fruit Stand Workers United, this week called for Apple to offer better benefits and pay a minimum of $30 per hour.

Sonicware’s SmplTrek is a battery-powered groovebox for on-the-go beatmaking

Sonicware has stepped into the portable sampler space with its SmplTrek device. The battery-powered groovebox features a built-in mic that’ll help you create samples wherever you are. The SmplTrek also lets you add samples from your phone via USB. There are dynamic mic, guitar and line-level inputs as well, and you’ll be able to store samples on an SD card.

You can auto-slice samples and assign them to pads. Curiously, the SmplTrek has 15 velocity sensitive pads rather than the standard 16. You’ll be able to edit samples with a waveform display and they can be matched to the key and tempo of a song, Sonicware says.

Each song can have up to 16 scenes. Each of those has 10 sequencer tracks, including ones designed for loops, drums, instruments, one shots and external MIDI. The SmplTrek will allow you to mix down a song using mastering effects before exporting it as a single audio file. What’s more, if you connect the groovebox to your phone or PC, you can livestream your music.

The sampler comes with 30 effects included. That’s a respectable number, though until we’re able to try it for ourselves, it’s unclear how good those effects are. The SmplTrek also offers more than 500 sample sounds and north of 100 drum kits out of the gate, so even beginners will be able to start piecing together songs right away.

Sonicware is running a Kickstarter campaign for the SmplTrek. It has blown past the funding goal of just under $39,000 by taking in over $458,000 in pledges so far. At the time of writing, there are a few units left as part of the Kickstarter Limited pledge, which will allow you to secure a SmplTrek for around $300. Sonicware expects to start shipments in October. The company has a solid track record with delivering on crowdfunding campaigns, following its successful LIVEN 8bit project.

It remains to be seen how well the SmplTrek works in practice. At the retail price of $429, it’ll be in the same range as portable samplers from more established names, such as Novation’s Circuit Rhythm and Roland’s SP-404MKII.

A Ghostbusters VR game is coming to Meta Quest 2

Meta hid a heck of a surprise up the sleeve of its boiler suit for the end of its Quest gaming showcase. A Ghostbusters VR game is in the works for Meta Quest 2. Sony Pictures Virtual Reality (SPVR) will publish the four-player co-op game, which is being developed by Far Cry VR: Dive Into Insanity studio nDreams.

Ghostbusters VR (as the game is called for the time being) shifts the action from the franchise’s home base of New York City to San Francisco. No prizes for guessing that you’ll hunt down and trap ghosts with the help of your proton pack and particle thrower. SPVR says the game will have an “extensive and engrossing campaign” that you can experience solo or with up to three friends. No release window was announced, but SPVR says more will be revealed in the coming months. 

It’s not the only Ghostbusters title in the pipeline either. Friday the 13th: The Game developer Illfonic is making Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, which will pit a team of four players against someone else who controls the ghost. That game is scheduled to arrive on PC, PlayStation and Xbox later this year.

‘Among Us VR’ will arrive later this year with literal finger pointing

Meta just held its latest Quest gaming showcase and it included some fresh looks at previously announced games as well as reveals of new titles. The stream offered a more in-depth look at Among Us VR gameplay for one thing, as well as a release window. It’s coming to Meta Quest 2, Rift and S, Steam VR and PlayStation VR later this year.

This version looks like it’ll completely shake up the dynamics of Among Us. It shifts the perspective to first-person rather than a top-down view. You’ll still be running around the level to complete tasks, but you won’t be able to see if there’s a potential impostor right behind you. Hilariously, during the voting phase, you’ll be able to literally point fingers at sus crewmates. Meanwhile, Schell Games, which worked on the VR version, has teamed up with Meta Quest to develop three unannounced projects.

Meta also showed off the initial gameplay trailer for the first officially licensed NFL VR game, NFL Pro Era. Developer StatusPro is using actual game data in a bid to make the experience feel authentic. You’ll play as a quarterback and you can build up your skills in drills, read the defense and call audibles. If you can avoid getting sacked too many times, you can take your team to the Super Bowl. Alternatively, you can just play catch with friends in a virtual NFL stadium. NFL Pro Era, which features all 32 teams and will also be available on PS VR, will arrive this fall.

Speaking of PS VR, one game that platform initially had as an exclusive will land on Quest 2 this summer: Moss: Book II. Polyarc’s sequel to Moss (which is already available on Quest) is well regarded, and more players will be able to check it out in the coming months. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution will arrive this year too. 

In addition, a Mercenaries horde mode for the VR version of Resident Evil 4 just arrived as a surprise free update. You’ll need to take out as many Ganados as possible before time runs out. There are online leaderboards and challenges. Completing challenges will earn you rewards like a black-and-white classic horror mode and golden skins for weapons. Unlocked features will be available in the main game too.

Elsewhere, an electronic mixtape pack is coming to Beat Saber, including songs by Deadmau5, Marshmello and Pendulum. A release date for Cities: VR (a virtual reality take on Cities: Skylines) was announced as well: it’s coming to Quest on April 28th.

The event included trailers for some other titles, including an impressive-looking follow up to sci-fi puzzle game Red Matter, espionage sequel Espire 2, narrative-driven JRPG Ruinsmagus and action-adventure title Bonelab.

At the end of the show, Meta had one last surprise announcement that won’t have been on many people’s radars (or PKE meters): Ghostbusters VR.