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The long-awaited Rainbow Six Mobile comes out on February 23 for iOS and Android devices. This is a global release and follows years of testing and some significant delays. This is basically a smartphone version of the popular tactical shooter Rainbow Six Siege. It was "developed exclusively" for mobile devices and features a trio of 5v5 multiplayer modes. There's a team deathmatch, of course, and a pair of bomb-defusing games that are riffs on a pre-existing mode from Siege. Rainbow Six Mobile offers access to a bunch of maps, including some that will be familiar to fans of the franchise. There are more than 20 operators to choose from and Ubisoft promises it'll be adding more content with each new season. The company is rolling the game out early in some parts of the world. It's already playable in Poland, France, Canada and parts of Latin America. Everyone else has to wait until February.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/rainbow-six-mobile-will-finally-be-available-in-february-after-years-of-testing-174001081.html?src=rss
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Hinge has launched Convo Starters, a generative AI tool designed to eliminate the pressure of a first message to a potential match.The hardest part of using a dating app isn't matching it's figuring out what to say. Hinge's new feature targets that moment of hesitation directly. By analyzing a match's photos and prompts, it surfaces three personalized inspiration points users can turn into their own opening message.Unlike automated scripts, the tool acts as a creative nudge, encouraging users to use their own voice to ask specific questions about a match's interests or experiences. Hinge's research found that a like paired with a comment is twice as likely to lead to a date, yet many users default to a generic "hey." Early testing indicates Convo Starters work: over a third of daters reported increased confidence reaching out, leading to more personalized interactions.TREND BITEBy reducing the cognitive load of initiating a conversation, Hinge reframes dating from performance to participation. For a Gen Z audience navigating social anxiety and choice paralysis, tools that build confidence not just connection are becoming table stakes. In this shift, Hinge looks less like a matchmaker and more like a social coach, intervening precisely where users feel friction, and where friction causes drop-off.
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The company which popularized robot vacuum cleaners around the world has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. iRobot, makers of the Roomba, has been synonymous with the category since its inception, but its star had dulled in recent years. The company plans to sell its assets to its primary supplier, Chinas Picea Robotics, in the hope of maintaining its business.Everyones got a strident opinion as to why iRobot fell from grace. The rugged individualists blame limp regulators on both sides of the pond (and their hatred for big tech) for blocking Amazons attempted purchase in 2023. Those on the hardware side of the fence say iRobots refusal to embrace LiDAR for navigation until this year left it behind rivals.Then theres the geopolitical experts, who can point at Chinas industrial policy, subsidies and favorable regulatory environment compared to the US approach. After all, iRobots US gear is made in Vietnam, which is now subject to a 46 percent import levy. As BBC News reported, that added around $23 million to iRobots costs and increased the price of its hardware.The real answer is that iRobots demise was caused by a perfect storm of all these factors piling on to the company. More importantly, iRobots situation isnt any way unique, and should serve as a warning to every major American technology brand. Its also a lesson in why companies need to deal with existential threats when they have the time and cash to do so. For instance, once iRobot perfected the concept for the Roomba, it wasnt long before the first copies burst onto the scene. iRobot had the brand and the know-how, but that only goes so far against well-motivated copycats. Think about the first Samsung Android handsets, and how quickly they went from iPhone imitations to class-defining devices of their own and how hard Apple fought in court to prevent it.Even before this years tariffs, iRobot struggled to compete on price in a manner weve seen in other fields. Remember Fitbit before Google purchased it, happily selling $80 fitness trackers for years until Xiaomi swiped the low-end part of its business for itself. Even if the early MiBands werent very good, you could buy three for the price of a single Fitbit Charge. Yes, the argument around quality and reliability is important, but its often not as loud or compelling as a competing product sold for a fraction of the price.iRobot should have either made more of an effort to offer a dirt-cheap model to undercut its rivals, or more likely pull out of the low end altogether. Earlier today, I checked out local retail listings for Roombas and its nearest competitors. Next to one another were the Roomba 405 Combo with Dock and the Roborock Q7 L5+ both capable of vacuuming and mopping your floor. The former is currently on sale for $400 direct from iRobot, while the latter is currently selling for $220. Im sure plenty of buyers would have seen the price difference and opted for the cheaper model.Im not going to throw too many Told You Sos over iRobots fence for not embracing LiDAR sooner. Its omission was a mistake, but you could see why it was shy about abandoning its existing setup. But the company had forgotten one key mantra about the tech world, Andy Groves maxim that only the paranoid survive. Even the fanciest, highest-end Roombas of the last five years felt a generation behind rival products.And, at the risk of sounding like a marketing guru, it was never clear what iRobot, or Roomba, stood for. When companies flooded the market with cheaper models, iRobot needed to make it clear what it meant when you bought a Roomba over a generic model. What did, and could, it offer beyond the name and history that made it stand out against cheaper competitors? Companies like Apple and Dyson command a premium, but you almost always know what youre getting for your money.All I can say is that its good that there isnt another American company presently in a similar position. I certainly cant think of a controversial US company that builds things with wheels that has historically rejected LiDAR for its autonomous services. One that has a brand that doesnt stand for much, or has its identity tied too closely to the identity of its CEO. One that is staring down the barrel at a raft of better equipped and often cheaper Chinese alternatives. Because that company could surely be looking at a similar fate a decade or so down the road.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/what-happened-to-irobot-can-happen-to-anyone-164500625.html?src=rss
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