As if it wasn’t already clear enough that streaming is basically just cable by another name at this point (though it's arguably less expensive for now), many of the top services are banding together to create bundles. A package combining Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+ is expected to debut later this month. This StreamSaver bundle will be available to Comcast customers, according to CEO Brian Roberts.
While Roberts didn’t reveal how much the package will cost or what tiers of each service it will include, he said StreamSaver will offer them “at a vastly reduced price to anything available today.” According to Variety, he told attendees at MoffettNathanson’s Media, Internet and Communications Conference that the aim was to “add value to consumers” and take dollars away from competing streaming services.
The StreamSaver announcement comes a few days after it emerged that a bundle of Disney+, Hulu and Max is coming this summer. A super-sized sports bundle featuring ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox services is also slated to arrive later this year, though critics such as FuboTV have claimed that the offering is anti-competitive. No pricing for either package has been announced.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-vastly-reduced-netflix-peacock-and-apple-tv-bundle-is-coming-this-month-135815744.html?src=rss Apple has rolled out iOS 17.5, which includes a bunch of updates, including support for a cross-OS alert system for unwanted Bluetooth trackers that the company worked on with Google. The other headline feature is the introduction of web-based app distribution in the European Union.
This is a function that Apple is introducing in the wake of the bloc's Digital Markets Act coming into force. It won't be a free-for-all, however. Developers who want to let users download iOS apps from their websites will need to opt into new App Store rules that will mean they have to pay a fee for each user after hitting a certain threshold. They'll also need to have a developer account that's in good standing and to have an app that had more than a million iOS installs in the EU in the previous year.
There's another notable update in iOS 17.5 in the form of a new feature called Repair State. In a nutshell, this will mean that iPhone users no longer need to turn off Find My when they send in their iPhone for repair.
Elsewhere, there are some changes on the Apple News+ front. The app now at long last has an offline mode, so you can use it to catch up on some reading while you're on a flight and don't feel like paying for Wi-Fi. The Today feed and News+ tab will work without an internet connection.
Apple is also moving beyond crosswords and deeper into the daily word game trend popularized by the likes of Wordle. Quartiles is a Boggle-style original game for Apple News+ subscribers. You'll connect tiles of various word combinations to create words and score points. You'll be able to share your scores with other players.
Last but not least, Apple has the latest incarnation of its annual Pride collection in honor of the LGBTQ+ community, including a Pride Radiance watch face and iOS and iPadOS wallpapers. You'll be able to customize these with a range of colors.
You'll see the colors trace numerals of the watch face and react as you move your Apple Watch. A matching Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop will be available to order on May 22 for $99. The iPhone and iPad backgrounds spell out "Pride" in bold beams of color and move when you unlock the device.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ios-175-is-here-with-support-for-web-based-app-downloads-in-the-eu-192624433.html?src=rss A group of Amazon workers in Quebec have formed the first union at one of the company's Canadian warehouses. On Friday, the province's labor tribunal granted union accreditation to workers at the DXT4 warehouse in Laval, a Montreal suburb. It determined that a majority had opted to unionize after signing union cards.
A group of some 200 workers are organizing as the Laval Amazon Workers Union under the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), which represents around 330,000 people across a variety of industries in Canada. A general assembly to decide on a constitution, bylaws and representatives will take place in the coming days. A consultation with union members will then take place to agree on a list of demands.
The union says Amazon is legally required to come to the negotiation table to hash out a contract. However, it expects Amazon to appeal the labor tribunal’s decision after allegedly attempting to stop the unionization efforts.
“First and foremost, this is a great victory for the men and women from Latin America, Chad, the Maghreb and Asia who were not afraid to stand up for their rights,” CSN president Caroline Senneville said in a statement. “Over the past few months, Amazon has pulled out all the stops to block our unionization campaign, flooding the workplace with scaremongering messages. DXT4 workers have given us all a lesson in courage. Of course, we hope it spreads.”
Amazon claimed in a letter to the labor tribunal on May 6 that the accreditation would not "respect the interests of its employees." The company argued that some workers signed union cards after being misled and that some aspects of the Quebec labor code run contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"We believe that all people should have the right to inform themselves and to vote according to their situation and convictions at the time," Amazon spokesperson Barbara M. Agrait told the CBC. "If a simple majority of people at an employer have joined a union at any point, then there's no vote and representation is automatic for all employees — including maybe dozens or hundreds of employees who didn't even know it was being considered."
Amazon has long been accused of attempting to upend unionization efforts at warehouses in the US and Europe. In 2022, workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, became the first in the company to form a union. But the Amazon Labor Union does not yet have a contract with Amazon, and reports suggest it's running low on funds ahead of a leadership election.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-workers-become-the-first-to-unionize-at-one-of-the-companys-canadian-warehouses-180447875.html?src=rss A Prince of Persia game from the studio behind Dead Cells was supposed to hit early access on PC on May 14. That’s no longer the case. Evil Empire says The Rogue Prince of Persia’s debut is delayed until later this month, and it’s because of a little game called Hades II.
Soon after a technical test wrapped up, Supergiant Games released Hades II into early access on Monday. It skyrocketed up the Steam charts and quickly reached a peak of 102,000 concurrent players. Evil Empire suggested that “everyone and their mom” is playing Hades II, including its own team, so it’s getting out of that game’s way.
“While we have every confidence in The Rogue Prince of Persia, it’s not every day that a game in the same genre as you, which is one of the most anticipated upcoming games of 2024, will release into early access a week before you plan to do the same,” Evil Empire wrote on X. “We are not prideful enough to ignore the implications of that, and we truly believe that this short delay is the best decision for us and our early access journey.“
So we've got a little bit of news about The Rogue Prince of Persia, it's all in the big yellow box👇https://t.co/S3FiyGFfrY pic.twitter.com/9PXlw4J2MZ
— Evil Empire (@Studio_Evil) May 10, 2024
As it happens, the delay will also give Evil Empire some extra time to polish up The Rogue Prince of Persia. While the whole point of releasing a game in early access is to get feedback from players on a project that’s far from the finished article, developers still want their games to be in as good a shape as possible when the public goes hands on with them for the first time.
Evil Empire says it can “add even more cool things” and try to squish some bugs before the game’s debut. The team also has a bit more time to test and refine the “hefty” day one patch.
The new early access date for The Rogue Prince of Persia, which will cost $20, is May 27. However, Evil Empire somewhat jokingly suggested the release date may shift again if Hollow Knight: Silksong suddenly arrives in the meantime.
Getting out of Hades II’s way is a smart idea given the two games are both roguelikes. It’s nice to see Evil Empire being transparent about the reasons for the delay too. But there are a bunch of other indies that were released this week that reviewed well and have been overshadowed at least to some degree by that blockbuster sequel.
Another Crab’s Treasure (a cute spin on From Software's Soulslike format), PS1-style survival horror Crow Country, sci-fi title 1000xResist and adorable-looking adventure Little Kitty, Big City all debuted to strong reviews this week. So too did Animal Well, a Metroidvania about which the word “masterpiece” has been invoked by some reviewers (though that’s actually the number one best-selling game on Steam at the time of writing, just above Hades II).
The train doesn’t stop there as some other buzzed-about indies are arriving over the next couple of weeks, including Lorelei and The Laser Eyes (we’re very excited about that one) and Paper Trail. There’s another one coming next week that I’ve been playing and is worth checking out, though I can’t talk about it just yet.
Although there might not be too many AAA games from the likes of Sony, Microsoft and EA dropping at the minute, there’s a lot of fascinating stuff going on in the indie scene. So maybe go check some of those games out if you haven't already.
Update 5/13 11:42AM ET: Added pricing and the new early access release date for The Rogue Prince of Persia.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-rogue-prince-of-persia-is-delayed-because-hades-ii-is-a-juggernaut-144229150.html?src=rss Dead by Daylight's next chapter isn't too far away and it's another crossover rather than an original creation. Behaviour Interactive likes to keep fans on their toes with some unexpected partnerships and the latest one is no exception. This time around, Dungeons and Dragons is entering the fog. It's a bit of a surprising turn as D&D isn't normally associated with horror, but there's enough connective tissue for it to make sense.
Behaviour revealed the crossover in a short teaser trailer with no further details about what to expect. It remains to be seen what the chapter will bring in terms of a killer, survivor and/or map. But you won't have to wait too long to find out.
Listen closely to the voice in the darkness... pic.twitter.com/krNbZQnanH
— Dead by Daylight (@DeadbyDaylight) May 9, 2024
The Dead by Daylight anniversary stream will take place on May 14, starting at 11AM ET (for what it's worth, a new player test build will go live that day). You can tune in to find out more details about the Dungeons and Dragons chapter as well as what's ahead for Dead by Daylight as a whole in the coming months. Perhaps we'll find out a bit more about the spinoff games that are in the works. And given Behaviour's track record, it may just have some other surprises in store...
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/dungeons-and-dragons-is-coming-to-dead-by-daylight-161537165.html?src=rss