Category: 4. Technology

The Crew Motorfest Season 7 is out now and brings two new Playlists, one on day one, the second on August 6, 17 new vehicles, and new quality-of-life improvements to the game, all for free.

Available immediately, the new Playlist, Ferrari Supercars, adds the Enzo Ferrari Museum to the island of Maui, seven main events, more than 25 challenges, six photo ops, six feats, and the yet-to-be-released Ferrari F80 supercar. Players will be able to explore the museum on a journey through Ferrari’s most legendary models, guided by Michele Pignatti Morano, Director of the Ferrari Museums. 

On August 6, the second new Playlist, Luxury Chronicles: Europe, adds 13 main events (available on a weekly basis), 40 challenges, 13 photo ops, and 13 feats. It will feature vehicles from other European luxury manufacturers such as Porsche, Triumph, and more. 

Season 7 also introduces new quality-of-life features including a redesigned and customizable Fast Fav system, Immersion mode to disable all HUD elements, and an overhaul to Grand Races with new gameplay modifiers, dynamic special event formats, Spectator mode, and split time tracking. 

The Crew Motorfest is available on PC via the Ubisoft Store and Steam, and is included with a
Ubisoft+ Premium subscription. The Crew Motorfest is also available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Summer is here and for many of us, travel is on the mind. But with costs increasing seemingly across the board, stretching our budgets for a vacation is a luxury some of us are reconsidering. Hyatt is here to help make your summer travel aspirations a reality by slashing the cost of your stay during its Americas Summer Sale. 

Right now, World of Hyatt members can save up to 25% off qualifying stays at participating hotels. Not a member? Don’t sweat, it’s free to join.

A couple of caveats to consider: First, you must be a member to take advantage of this promotion. Second, be sure to make your booking between now and July 7 to qualify. Additionally, your stay must fall between July 2 and Sept. 30 at a participating location. Note, too, that the discount applies to room rate only and reservations are subject to availability. 

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.  

Hyatt has hotels in the US, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean, so you should be able to find a destination that works for you. Some popular options worth considering (and that are offering 25% off your booking) include the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, a beachfront getaway in the Bahamas or the Tommie Austin, which is part of JdV by Hyatt in Texas, which sports a rooftop pool and bar. And for families looking to travel to Florida theme parks this summer, consider the Hyatt House Orlando for your stay. 

Why this deal matters

Travel is expensive, so when you can find a deal on lodging it’s usually in the off-season. Hyatt is making it easier to book a vacation this summer by slashing a quarter off the price of your stay. With locations in multiple cities and countries, this is a great chance to get out of the house — whether you’re a global jet-setter or picking a nearby spot. And if you need more travel savings, we’ve found discounted luggage, too.

Amazon’s early Prime Day sale started off slow, but as the event draws closer to its official kickoff on July 8th, it’s beginning to pick up steam. Right now, for example, Prime members can grab an Amazon Echo Hub at Amazon for just $119.99 ($60 off), marking a new low price.

As you might expect, Amazon’s controller makes managing your smart home a breeze. Rather than switching between apps or using voice commands, the Echo Hub allows you to control your smart home from a single, easy-to-use interface. With just a tap of its eight-inch touchscreen, anyone at home can turn on lights, adjust the smart thermostat, or view a live feed from their video doorbell or security camera. If you use Alexa Routines, you can even create personalized shortcuts to automate multiple tasks, meaning you can dim the lights, lock the doors, and adjust the thermostat with just a single tap. And while it works best with other Amazon devices, what makes it a terrific value is that it also supports both Matter and Thread, allowing you to connect it to platforms beyond Alexa.

As an added bonus, the Echo Hub can function like a stripped-down Echo Show, one you can power via a single ethernet cable and place either on your counter or mount on your wall for a cleaner, more streamlined setup. You can also use it to showcase favorite photos, check your to-do list, play music, and even stream videos. The sound quality isn’t as impressive as it is on Amazon’s newer smart displays — and it lacks support for video calls — but it makes up for it by offering a more private, distraction-free experience that’s void of both ads and unwanted cameras.

Apple has filed a patent for a new type of image sensor that could give future iPhones and other Apple devices the ability to capture photos and videos with dynamic range levels approaching that of the human eye.

The patent, titled “Image Sensor With Stacked Pixels Having High Dynamic Range And Low Noise,” was first spotted by Y.M.Cinema Magazine and describes an advanced sensor architecture that combines stacked silicon, multiple levels of light capture, and on-chip noise suppression mechanisms to reach up to 20 stops of dynamic range.

For comparison, the dynamic range of the human eye is estimated to be around 20 to 30 stops, depending on how the pupil adjusts and how light is processed over time. Most smartphone cameras today capture between 10 and 13 stops. If Apple’s proposed sensor reaches its potential, it would not only surpass current iPhones but also outperform many professional cinema cameras, such as the ARRI ALEXA 35.

The patent outlines a stacked sensor design made up of two layers. The top layer, called the sensor die, contains the parts that capture light. The layer underneath, the logic die, handles processing, including noise reduction and exposure control.

Currently, Apple uses sensors made by Sony across the iPhone lineup. Those sensors also use a two-layer design, but Apple’s version includes several original features and takes up less space.

One of the most important parts of the sensor design is a system called a Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor (LOFIC). This allows each pixel in the sensor to store different amounts of light depending on how bright the scene is, all in the same image. With this, the sensor can handle extremely wide lighting differences, such as a person standing in front of a bright window, without losing detail in the shadows or highlights.

Another part of the design focuses on reducing image noise and grain. Each pixel has its own built-in memory circuit that measures and cancels out heat-related electronic noise in real time. This is done on the chip itself, before the image is saved or edited by software.

Patent filings cannot be taken as evidence of Apple’s immediate plans, but they do indicate areas of active research and interest for the company, as well as what it is considering developing for future devices.

Summer is just about here, and I have the perfect Bluetooth accessory that’s worth scooping up before you hit your next destination. Amid the possibility of a new generation of the Apple AirTag, we’re seeing big discounts on the Bluetooth tracker, making this the best time to buy the current generation. The Apple AirTag 4-Pack is on sale for 24% off right now, and the AirTag is one of those products I love so much that I must share it with everyone. 

Also: The best Amazon Prime Day tech deals live

I use AirTags to track wallets, keys, remote controls, and even my young kids. Over the past few years, AirTags have become this iPhone user’s go-to tracking device since they’re easy to use, small enough to slip in a bag or outerwear, and extremely reliable. And because there are so many aftermarket cases and holders made for AirTags, you can use them to track anything, including your bike, luggage, and car. 

Also: How to find out if an AirTag is tracking you – and what to do about it

You can now buy an Apple AirTag 4-pack from Amazon for $75 — which is about $25 for peace of mind. AirTags are nearly $30 each at regular price, so this is a legitimately good deal. Plus, this is a few dollars off from the lowest price we’ve ever seen for the 4-pack. If you’d prefer to only purchase one AirTag, you can for $24, but this value pack is the only way to score an AirTag for $20 right now. 

Thanks to my husband, who always forgets where he puts his wallet, keys, and even his shoes, I’ve gone through several different Bluetooth trackers. While I can easily solve his incessant forgetfulness to lock the doors and close the garage with smart devices, I struggled for years to find a reliable Bluetooth tracker for our smaller items — until I tried the AirTag.

The Apple AirTag is so reliable for iPhone users that you can find out where it is down to a fraction of a foot’s length with your phone. The iPhone’s Find My app tracks the AirTag through Bluetooth, the Find My network, and ultra-wideband (UWB), a connectivity protocol that shows high-accuracy directional data. This results in highly accurate tracking information to help you find your lost devices within minutes.

Also: I finally found Bluetooth trackers for Android users that function better than AirTags

Once I tried the AirTag, I couldn’t consider returning to another Bluetooth tracker. The Apple AirTag is reliable enough to trust blindly with my home’s most frequently lost items. Thanks to how many AirTag holders for different devices, I use AirTags for my husband’s wallet, our car keys, our remote control, and even wristbands for my kids.

I like to keep tabs on our younger kids, so I give them an Apple AirTag on a wristband when we go to crowded places. As much as I try to hold their hands when out and about, I have three kids and only two hands, so it’s easy to find my rowdy toddler trying to escape my grip in search of shiny things or fun places to hide. While I tend to be hypervigilant of said threenager, having my kids wear AirTags gives me an extra piece of mind during fairs and other crowded events.

Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.

How I rated this deal 

AirTags are a popular Bluetooth tracking tool for locating keys, wallets, luggage, and more. But they’re not always available at a discount, especially since they’re Apple products. I’ve been following the price of this AirTag 4-Pack for a year and a half during the busiest sales events, including Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, and more. ZDNET’s rating system grants this 24% offer a 3/5 editor’s deal rating. This certainly isn’t the lowest price I’ve seen for AirTags (a $65 price offered some months ago), but this $75 price is one of the best prices I’ve seen in 2025.

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Most of Earth’s water is in the oceans and too salty to drink. Desalination plants can make seawater drinkable, but they require large amounts of energy. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Energy Letters have developed a sponge-like material with long, microscopic air pockets that uses sunlight and a simple plastic cover to turn saltwater into freshwater. A proof-of-concept test outdoors successfully produced potable water in natural sunlight in a step toward low-energy, sustainable desalination.

This isn’t the first time scientists have created spongy materials that use sunlight as a sustainable energy source for cleaning or desalinating water. For example, a loofah-inspired hydrogel with polymers inside its pores was tested on chromium-contaminated water and, when heated by the sun, the hydrogel quickly released a collectible, clean water vapor through evaporation. But while hydrogels are squishy and liquid-filled, aerogels are more rigid, containing solid pores that can transport liquid water or water vapor. Aerogels have been tested as a means of desalination, but they are limited by their evaporation performance, which declines as the size of the material increases. So, Xi Shen and colleagues wanted to design a porous desalination aerogel that maintained its efficiency at different sizes.

The researchers made a paste containing carbon nanotubes and cellulose nanofibers and then 3D-printed it onto a frozen surface, allowing each layer to solidify before the next was added. This process formed a sponge-like material with evenly distributed tiny vertical holes, each around 20 micrometers wide. They tested square pieces of the material, ranging in size from 0.4 inches wide (1 centimeter) to about 3 inches wide (8 centimeters), and found that the larger pieces released water through evaporation at rates as efficient as the smaller ones.

In an outdoor test, the researchers placed the material in a cup containing seawater, and it was covered by a curved, transparent plastic cover. Sunlight heated the top of the spongy material, evaporating just the water, not the salt, into water vapor. The vapor collected on the plastic cover as liquid, moving the now clean water to the edges, where it dripped into a funnel and container below the cup. After 6 hours in natural sunlight, the system generated about 3 tablespoons of potable water.

“Our aerogel allows full-capacity desalination at any size,” Shen says, “which provides a simple, scalable solution for energy-free desalination to produce clean water.”

Reference: Zhao X, Yang Y, Yin X, Luo Z, Chan KY, Shen X. Size-insensitive vapor diffusion enabled by additive freeze-printed aerogels for scalable desalination. ACS Energy Lett. 2025. doi: 10.1021/acsenergylett.5c01233

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Eevee’s so awesome that July 2025 will mark its third appearance in Pokémon GO Community Day events. July’s Community Day Classic featuring Eevee takes place July 5 and 6, 2025, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. local time, proving once again that Eevee’s magic can’t be contained to a single day. During this time, Eevee will appear more frequently in the wild, and fortunate Trainers might even encounter Shiny Eevee.

As always, event bonuses are hotter than Flareon’s fiery breath, and the following bonuses will be in effect throughout the event.

• Evolve Eevee into Espeon after exploring 1 km with Eevee as your buddy (through July 12, 2025, at 10:00 p.m. local time)

• Evolve Eevee into Umbreon after exploring 1 km with Eevee as your buddy (through July 12, 2025, at 10:00 p.m. local time)

• Evolve Eevee into Sylveon after earning seven hearts with Eevee as your buddy (through July 12, 2025, at 10:00 p.m. local time)

• 1/4 Egg Hatch Distance

• Lure Modules activated during the event will last for three hours

• Incense (excluding Daily Adventure Incense) activated during the event will last for three hours

Trainers who evolve Eevee before July 12, 2025, at 10:00 p.m. local time will get an Evolution that knows a featured attack. Catch or evolve Eevee to get the following attacks.

• Eevee caught or hatched during this time will know the Charged Attack Last Resort

• Vaporeon will know the Charged Attack Scald

• Jolteon will know the Charged Attack Zap Cannon

• Flareon will know the Charged Attack Superpower

• Espeon will know the Charged Attack Shadow Ball

• Umbreon will know the Charged Attack Psychic

• Leafeon will know the Fast Attack Bullet Seed

• Glaceon will know the Charged Attack Water Pulse

• Sylveon will know the Charged Attack Psyshock

It would be a slight exaggeration to say there are as many research opportunities as there are Eevee Evolutions. But between the event’s Special Research, Special Background Timed Research, and Field Research, there are plenty of ways to keep busy and earn useful rewards. July Community Day Classic–themed Field Research tasks are mostly focused on catching Eevee to earn rewards such as Stardust, Great Balls, additional encounters with Eevee, and more.

Tickets for Community Day Classic Special Research are available in the in-game shop for US$1.99 (or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency). Evolve your research game by completing the tasks to earn rewards including one Premium Battle Pass, one Rare Candy XL, additional encounters with Eevee and its Evolutions, and three encounters with Eevee that have a Delightful Days–themed Special Background.

Last but certainly not least, keep the momentum going with Special Background Timed Research. Log in during the event to receive Timed Research leading to an encounter with an Eevee with a Delightful Days–themed Special Background. Trainers will also have an increased chance of encountering Shiny Eevee in these research task rewards. Tasks associated with Timed Research must be completed and rewards claimed by July 12, 2025, at 10:00 p.m. local time.

Have a nice, normal Community Day Classic, Trainers!

Last month at WWDC, Apple announced a major upgrade for Apple TV: TVOS 26. This upgrade introduces a significant visual overhaul and several unprecedented entertainment features. The platform offers a new layout and interface, along with smart features that weren’t available in TVOS 18.

At the heart of the update is a new design language called Liquid Glass, which gives the interface a more vibrant and expressive look. Across iOS 26 devices, Liquid Glass offers floating, three-dimensional menus and windows, translucent UI elements like icons and menus allowing background visibility, and a rounded design with softer edges for a more organic interface look.

Also: The best Apple TV VPNs of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed

For Apple TV, in particular, the redesign will now showcase cinematic poster art for a more immersive browsing experience. The update also streamlines profile switching and app logins, making it easier to access personalized content. Apple’s TVOS 26 is also expected to incorporate new Apple Intelligence features in the coming year.

Additionally, Apple Music Sing will now let users sing along — karaoke style — with friends using their iPhones (as a microphone) with on-screen lyrics. Even better, multiple iPhones can be connected simultaneously, allowing friends and family to join in. They can queue up their favorite tracks and send emoji reactions that appear on the TV screen in real-time.

Other notable updates include a more personalized FaceTime experience with the addition of Contact Posters and an expansion of Live Captions to translate languages like Spanish, French, German, and more.

Also: The 5 biggest MacOS features announced at WWDC 2025

The beloved Aerial screen savers are also enhanced with captivating landscapes, and for the first time, users can choose which categories of screen savers to display. Finally, a key audio upgrade will now allow users to designate any AirPlay-enabled speaker as the permanent, default audio output for their Apple TV.

Lastly, at WWDC 2025, Apple TV+ announced new content options on its streaming app. A short list includes: “Foundation,” “Chief of War,” “Slow Horses,” “The Savant,” and several others.

Get the morning’s top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria developer Free Range Games has reportedly laid off the entire development team of an unannounced game, which totaled around 80 employees.

Via LinkedIn, multiple developers shared the news and announced their job searches over the past week. This includes senior UX/UI designer Quinn Le, senior technical narrative designer James Binns, executive producer Jacob Van Rooyen, quest designer Tracy Runanin-Telle, and senior producers Adrienne Daniel and Joseph Knox.

“On Monday, the project I’ve been working on for the last 4 years was pulled from our hands, and our entire development team was laid off,” Lee wrote. “We are all saddened, off-balance, but most of all, looking to the future.”

Knox said that the project had “its publisher pull funding,” which has affected “80 devs.” Daniel also mentioned this figure in their farewell post. Runanin-Telle’s profile mentions an unannounced project, in which the designer did “content creation for multiple quests in an open-world setting,” amidst a myriad of other tasks.

Free Range Games is yet to make an announcement acknowledging the latest reported layoffs. Two weeks ago, at least five developers wrote a post saying they were now seeking new work opportunities. Four of them used the same messaging, which reads as follows: “Hi everyone! I’m seeking a new role and would appreciate your support. If you hear of any opportunities or just want to catch up, please send me a message or comment below.”

Related:Xbox closes The Initiative and cancels its Perfect Dark reboot

Shortly after, one of them, lead quest designer Adam Alim, wrote, “here we are again with the layoffs,” sharing details about their past experience alongside a portfolio.

Free Range Games previously laid off employees in April 2025

According to the company’s LinkedIn profile, there are at least 117 employees associated with it. The reported layoffs mark the second time the company has let go of workers this year. The first took place three months ago, which the studio announced via social media.

The company didn’t disclose the exact number of employees affected in the earlier layoffs, but it did say that “some of them” had “chosen to share their profiles” along with the announcement. The list included 13 people across multiple departments.

The studio is currently working on an online skateboarding game called Wrekless, which is set to release “soon” on Steam Early Access. It’s unclear if this is the project that was reportedly shut down. The studio has previously served as an external developer on games like The Callisto Protocol and Oddworld: Soulstorm.

Related:Former Ubisoft execs convicted for sexual assault, psychological harassment

Game Developer has reached out to Free Range Games for comment on the matter.