Lucid is hiking the prices of its luxury Air EVs

In its earnings report, Lucid has announced that it’s boosting the prices of its luxury Air EV lineup as much as 13 percent, TechCrunch reported. The Air Grand Touring model will rise $15,000 to $154,000, the Air touring will jump $12,400 to $107,400 and the cheapest Air Pure model will go up $10,000 to $87,400. The new prices will not affect the 30,000 current reservation holders.

“Similar to many companies in our industry, we continue to face global supply chain and logistics challenges, including Covid-related factory shutdowns in China. We are working closely with our suppliers to mitigate the impact of disruptions,” said Lucid CFO Sherry House in a statement. “While any extended disruptions could result in an impact to our production forecast, today we are reiterating our 12,000-14,000 vehicle production forecast for 2022 based on the information we have at this point combined with our mitigation plans.”

Lucid still expects to start deliveries of the $179,000 Air Grand Touring Performance model in June (the price of that model remains the same), with the Air Touring and Air Pure models following later this year. Production on the Project Gravity SUV will commence in Q1 2024, said Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson. 

Rising prices for EVs are an industry-wide issue at the moment due to the Ukraine war, COVID-related factory shutdowns and more. Tesla recently raised prices on all models, with the base Model 3 rising $2,000 to $46,990. Rivian also hiked prices on its electric pickups, with the R1T rising $12,000 — but it backed off on applying them to pre-orders as it had planned, following an outcry. 

Lucid also announced that it made $57.7 million revenue last quarter thanks to deliveries of 360 vehicles, the most it’s made so far. The company expects to keep losing money while it builds out its manufacturing plants in Arizona and Saudi Arabia, but it has $5.4 billion in cash as a buffer. 

WhatsApp’s emoji reactions begin rolling out to everyone

After teasing the feature last month, WhatsApp has starting rolling out emoji reactions to all users around the world, it announced. In the coming days, you’ll be able to react with one of six emojis: Thumbs Up 👍, Red Heart ❤️, Face with Tears of Joy 😂, Face with Open Mouth 😮, Crying Face 😢, and Folded Hands 🙏. The messaging app also introduced two more features — 2GB file sharing and an increase in group members to 512 people. 

On top of the message reactions, WhatsApp will now allow you to send files a whopping 2GB in size, up 20 times from the previous 100MB limitation. That seems designed to support video files in particular “and we think [it] will be helpful for collaboration among small businesses and school groups,” the company said. It also introduced the ability to create group chats with up to 512 people, double the previous limit.  

The features will be rolling out over the next week across iOS, Android, macOS and Windows, so you many not see them tout de suite. That should be just the beginning as well, because WhatsApp has previously said that it plans to support reactions with all emoji and skin tones down the road.

DuoVox Mate Pro: A fun but imperfect night vision camera

Smartphones and cameras are better than ever for night shooting, but there are still a lot of caveats. You have to hold your phone still to get decent photos as multiple exposures are added together, and video is out of the question. However, there’s a…

Google acquires MicroLED startup Raxium to help boost its AR ambitions

Google has purchased a startup called Raxium specializing in MicroLED displays as part of its Devices & Services group, 9to5Google has reported. Raxium is developing what it calls “ultra-compact, low-power, high resolution” displays, so Google may be planning to use it in future augmented or virtual reality devices. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

“Today we’re announcing that Google has acquired Raxium, an innovator in single panel MicroLED display technologies,” wrote Google senior VP of Devices & Services, Rick Osterloh in a short blog post. “The team at Raxium has spent five years creating miniaturized, cost-effective and energy efficient high-resolution displays that have laid the foundation for future display technologies.”

A deal with Raxium was rumored last March in a report from The Information. Google was supposedly interested in owning the company to gain more control over key display components for future AR/VR products, rather than outsourcing as it generally does now. It could also use the tech on future Pixel phones or its Starline immersive videoconferencing product, according to the report. 

To date, MicroLEDs have seen meager commercial production due to high manufacturing costs, apart from some very exotic products. Raxium, by contrast, says its on the “cutting edge of bringing monolithic integration” like that used in silicon computer chips, to MicroLEDs. That could allow them to be mass-produced far more cheaply.

Unlike Meta and other rivals, Google hasn’t said much about its augmented reality plans, but that doesn’t mean the company isn’t working on it. Last year, news of Google’s Augmented Reality OS leaked out late last year through job listings and the company reportedly plans to release an AR headset by 2024. 

Intuit owes customers $141 million after it ‘cheated’ them out of free tax services

TurboTax maker Intuit will pay $141 million “for deceiving millions of low-income Americans into paying for tax services that should have been free,” the NY Attorney General’s office wrote in a press release. It must also suspend its “free, free, free” ad campaign for TurboTax that baited customers with the promise of free tax preparation, then switched them into a paying service.

The company agreed to a settlement with all 50 US states and the District of Columbia, Ars Technica reported. The company must refund nearly 4.4 million consumers who used TurboTax’s Free Edition between 2016 and 2018, then discovered they had to pay to file. Many didn’t realize they had the option of of filing for free using the IRS Free File program available via a separate product. 

“Intuit cheated millions of low-income Americans out of free tax filing services they were entitled to,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “For years, Intuit misled the most vulnerable among us to make a profit. Today, every state in the nation is holding Intuit accountable for scamming millions of taxpayers.”

For years, Intuit misled the most vulnerable among us to make a profit. Today, every state in the nation is holding Intuit accountable for scamming millions of taxpayers.

A multistate investigation found that “Intuit engaged in several deceptive and unfair trade practices that limited consumers’ participation in the IRS Free File Program,” the New York AG wrote. Specifically, Intuit used similar names for both its IRS Free File product and commercial freemium TurboTax product and used search engine ads to steer customers looking for the former to the latter. It also “purposefully blocked its IRS Free File landing page from search engine results during the 2019 tax filing season,” the NY AG wrote. 

The AG office said that it marketed the freemium product through ad campaigns “where ‘free’ is the most prominent or sometimes the only selling point… however, the TurboTax ‘freemium’ product is only free for approximately one-third of US taxpayers.” 

Intuit released a statement expressing no regret and said the required ad changes would have little impact on its business. “As part of the agreement, Intuit admitted no wrongdoing, agreed to pay $141 million to put this matter behind it, and made certain commitments regarding its advertising practices,” the company wrote on its blog.

As part of the agreement, Intuit admitted no wrongdoing, agreed to pay $141 million to put this matter behind it, and made certain commitments regarding its advertising practices.

Intuit dropped out of the the IRS’s Free File Alliance last year, saying an exit would help it focus on “further innovating” without being encumbered by Free File program rules. Eighteen months prior, the IRS introduced new Free File rules that prohibit members from “engaging in any practice” that would prevent their free software from showing up on Google or any other search engine. They were also required to call their apps “IRS Free File program delivered by [product name].”

Senator Elizabeth Warren once called the Free File Alliance “a front for tax prep companies who use it as a gateway to sell expensive products no one would even need if we’d just made it easier for people to pay their taxes.” Other countries including the UK and Japan allow return-free filing for many citizens, but Intuit, H&R Block and other companies have lobbied against such a move in the US. 

The payouts, amounting to about $30 per person for each tax year, are supposed to take place within 30 days of the signing of the agreement. After that, the Attorneys General of each state will “have sole discretion concerning the administration and distribution of the Settlement Fund.” 

‘Elden Ring’ for PlayStation falls to $50 in a good day for gaming deals

Amazon is offering some solid deals on a multitude of games, with many popular titles available at or near their all-time-low prices. The most noteworthy of the bunch is Elden Ring, on sale for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 at $50 for a savings of $10 over the regular price — a solid deal on a relatively fresh release. You’ll also find discounts on a host of other titles including Animal Crossing (Switch), Deathloop (PS5/Xbox One Series X) and Disco Elysium (PS4/Xbox One). 

Buy Elden Ring for PS5 at Amazon – $50Buy Elden Ring for PS4 at Amazon – $50

FromSoftware’s Elden Ring was a hit from the start, despite some early performance and other issues that have mostly been rectified. Critics raved about the perfectly conceived open world, mysterious story and challenging gameplay and users have generally liked it as well. We haven’t seen too many deals on it to date, so if you’re looking for a discount, now is the time to act. 

There are a number of other titles on sale across multiple platforms. Also on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X, you’ll find the fantasy/Tabletop adventure Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Next Level Edition for $55, a savings of $15 over the regular $70 price. The next-gen FPS Deathloop Standard Edition can also be found on PlayStation 5 and PC for $25, a savings of $35 or a hefty 58 percent. Finally, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Standard Edition for PS4 or PS5 is on sale for just $10 at the PlayStation Store, which is a huge 75 percent off the regular price.

Moving to Switch, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a classic and still popular Switch title that you can pick up for $40 instead of $60, or a third off the regular price. Another Switch staple is the adventure/workout game Ring Fit Adventure, on sale at checkout for $55. And finally, Super Mario Party is available for just $40, or $20 off the regular price. 

Finally, if it’s PS4 or Xbox One titles you’re after, there are a couple of bargains there, too. To start with, the RPG detective title Disco Elysium – The Final Cut is available on both PS4 and Xbox One for $20 or 50 percent off. Resident Evil 2 is also on sale for PS4 and Xbox One for just $13, or $8 off the regular $21 price. 

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

AMD teases new ‘Dragon Range’ CPUs for high-end gaming laptops

With the release of its Q1 2022 financial results, AMD also revealed plans for its upcoming Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 series laptop CPUs, as seen in a slide tweeted by former Anandtech editor Dr. Ian Cutress. It’s planning to target “extreme gaming laptops” with the new “Dragon Range” series, promising the “highest core, thread and cache ever for a mobile gaming CPU.” It also unveiled the Phoenix series for thin and light gaming laptops.

The Dragon Range features a >55 watt TDP and is designed for laptops thicker than 20mm that are largely designed to be used while plugged in, The Verge reported. They’ll feature a PCIe 5 architecture and DDR5 RAM, though some models could work with more efficient but lower performing LPDDR5, AMD told Cutress. 

As with the Ryzen 9 4900HS chip, the Dragon Range will use the “HS” suffix. Despite the relatively high 55 watt TDP, they’ll be “notably more power efficient than other laptops in that competing timeframe,” according to AMD’s technical marketing director, Robert Hallock. 

Along with the Dragon Range, AMD will launch the Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 “Phoenix” series APUs designed for thin and light laptops under 20mm thick with 35-45 watt TDPs. Those will also use a PCIe 5 architecture, but come primarily with LPDDR5 RAM. As with the Dragon Range, some models could employ DDR5 memory, too.

Ryzen 7000 will launch first on desktop later this year with the the Raphael series, replacing the Ryzen 5000 lineup. Those will be the first Zen 4, AM5 platform chips using TSMC’s 5-nanometer process node to come to the mainstream market. AMD didn’t reveal other details about the Dragon Range and Phoenix laptop chips, but they’re expected to launch sometime in 2023. 

On the earnings side, AMD beat market expectations with revenue at $5.89 billion, a 71 percent boost in sales year-over-year. It also said that starting next quarter, it will break out gaming into a separate financial segment showing sales of chips for consoles (PS5, Xbox Series X, etc.) plus Radeon graphics for PCs as part of a single gaming business, separate from Ryzen chips. The company will explain all that in more detail next month. 

Apple employees criticize work-from-home policy in open letter

A group of Apple employees have written an open letter to the company’s executive team complaining about its new policy that only allows for two days of working from home, iMore has reported. They said that Apple’s reasons for implementing the policy don’t stand up, and that the policy is wasteful, inflexible and will lead to a “younger, whiter, more male-dominated, more neuro-normative, more able-bodied” workforce. 

“You have characterized the decision for the Hybrid Working Pilot as being about combining the “need to commune in-person” and the value of flexible work,” the letter states. “But in reality, it does not recognize flexible work and is only driven by fear. Fear of the future of work, fear of worker autonomy, fear of losing control.”

We tell all of our customers how great our products are for remote work, yet, we ourselves, cannot use them to work remotely? How can we expect our customers to take that seriously? How can we understand what problems of remote work need solving in our products if we don’t live it?

In March, Apple announced that corporate employees would be returning to the office, and need to be there two days a week at minimum by May 2nd. Starting May 23rd, it’ll shift to a hybrid model with mandatory office days on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. CEO Tim Cook called in-person collaboration benefits “irreplaceable” and in an email, the executive team talked about the importance of “the serendipity that comes from bumping into colleagues” during in-person work. 

However, the letter counters those arguments saying that in-person collaboration is not even needed monthly in some cases. It also disputed the “serendipity” statement, saying that Apple’s siloed office structure makes it difficult to bump into colleagues, adding that remote tools like Slack are better for collaboration. Furthermore, Apple’s open-plan offices limit the concentration “required for creativity and… deep thought,” they said. 

It noted that a daily commute “is a huge waste of time as well as both mental and physical resources.” At the same time, it said that the policy favors people who can afford to live near the office and don’t have to perform care-work. “In short, it will lead to privileges deciding who can work for Apple, not who’d be the best fit.”

Perhaps the most compelling argument was that Apple was being hypocritical in the way it markets its own products. “We tell all of our customers how great our products are for remote work, yet, we ourselves, cannot use them to work remotely?” the letter states. “How can we expect our customers to take that seriously? How can we understand what problems of remote work need solving in our products if we don’t live it?”

The letter is another sign of growing employee discontent at Apple, which often presents itself as progressive and inclusive in its ads. Employees recently started organizing a push for “real change” at the company, citing “a pattern of isolation, degradation and gaslighting,” and even created an #AppleToo movement. The company is also facing a probe by the US National Labor Relations Board, which is looking into complaints over hostile working conditions.  

Splice CoSo enlists AI to help you create music quickly with samples

Splice, the popular music production service with a seemingly bottomless supply of samples, has just unveiled a new way to find inspiration from those sounds. CoSo is what it calls an “intelligent musical sketch pad” that lets you create “using your ear to find what appeals to you,” the company wrote in a press release.  

CoSo allows you to you stack up to eight samples based on genre or instrument type to quickly create loops, with a big assist from AI. Everything stays (more or less) in key and in time, and you can swipe to delete a sample or swap in a new one automatically. You can also solo specific loops (or mute them) by pressing and holding. 

Once you create a loop, it’s easy to share it on TikTok and the ability to export as an Ableton-ready project file is coming soon. We’ve attached an example of what a creation looks like when shared via links, showing the final result and sounds used. 

Splice has countless millions of samples, so dredging through them for good stuff can be tedious, particularly if you’re not sure what you’re looking for or want to avoid overused samples. Still, the app could be a good way of sparking inspiration as a form of musical roulette, or as a musical fidget toy, much like the novice-friendly Orba music device.  

“I believe we will hear a richer and more diverse selection of sounds bubbling up through this technology, that we might surprise creatives with new ideas,” said Ale Koretzy, who heads the ML and Audio Science Innovation Team at Splice. “Some people will use it to discover sounds and others will use it to create music.” CoSo is now available for Android and iOS devices.

Update 5/3 8:55AM ET: The story has been updated to clarify that Ableton exports are not live yet, but “coming soon” according to Splice.

Apple’s AirTag 4-pack falls back to $89

We don’t see deals on Apple’s AirTags very often, but you can now pick up a four-pack at Amazon for $89, or $10 (10 percent) off the regular price. They’ve been slightly cheaper at Woot, but it matches the best Amazon deal we’ve seen so far — so it’s a good time to act if you have multiple items to track. 

By Apple AirTag 4-pack at Amazon – $89

If you’re an Apple user, AirTags offer some large advantages over Tile and other rival trackers. The ultra-wideband functionality offers precise tracking with iPhone 11 or later devices up close, so you can narrow your search between a couch and love seat in the same room. Over larger distances, the AirTag network enabled by all Apple device users lets you track down an object you might have misplaced in a café.

It offers a simple coin-sized design and seamless experience thanks to the Find My app. You can also force an AirTag to emit a chime to help you hone in an object’s location, and Apple recently made that chime louder so the devices are easier to locate. 

It does lack a built-in keyring like rival trackers, so you’ll need to pay an extra $35 for that. And it only works with Apple devices, so Android users will have to buy something else. However, if you’re in Apple’s ecosystem and have been waiting for a discount, now is the time to act.