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Reports emerged earlier this year that Meta was working with Oakley on smart glasses and it seems we're about to see the fruits of those labors. A new Instagram account called @oakleymeta has popped up and its first post teased an announcement for this Friday (June 20). Instagram's own official account and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared the clip on their stories, as did Oakley on its social channels, so this is legit.

The end of the video shows the Oakley and Meta logos side by side in a very similar fashion to the branding for the Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Meta’s web store has a banner with the same text used in the teaser — "The next evolution arrives June 20" — and an option to sign up for updates on products, news and innovations.

So, unless this is a bait and switch, we'll probably see Oakley Meta glasses this week. Of course, Oakley and Ray-Ban share a parent company in EssilorLuxottica.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that a set of smart glasses based on Oakley's Sphaera glasses was on the way. The camera in the Ray-Ban Meta glasses is set in one of the sides of the frame, but it's expected to be in the centre of the Oakley Meta glasses. These new smart glasses are said to be aimed at cyclists and other athletes, perhaps to try and challenge GoPro in the action sports market.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/meta-and-oakley-tease-a-smart-glasses-announcement-for-june-20-172532944.html?src=rss

Old smartphones could be reused to support data collection and analysisUniversity researchers built data centers from recycled phones for just 8 euros eachProject shows environmental gains are possible through creative device reuseEach year, more than a billion smartphones are manufactured worldwide, and most are thrown out within a few years, often still in working condition - and with limited recycling and rising demand, the environmental toll continues to grow.A group of researchers at the University of Tartu in Estonia wanted to test whether retired smartphones could serve a second purpose beyond the landfill or recycling bin, and set about turning them into small, local data centers.Huber Flores, Associate Professor of Pervasive Computing, said of the idea behind the project: “Innovation often begins not with something new, but with a new way of thinking about the old, re-imagining its role in shaping the future.”A low-cost solution to e-wasteFlores and his colleagues began by removing the phones' lithium-ion batteries to lower the risk of chemical leaks. Power was instead supplied externally.Next, four phones were mounted together using 3D-printed holders, forming a working prototype. Each phone cost around 8 euros to repurpose into part of a data center.The test model was deployed in multiple environments. Underwater, it helped with marine research by processing video footage directly on-site to count sea life species. Normally, a diver would need to record the data and bring it to the surface for analysis. The repurposed phones handled everything automatically.In another scenario, researchers suggested these phone-based systems could be placed in urban locations like bus stops. There, they could count passengers in real time, helping improve public transportation networks through local data collection and processing.With global e-waste growing fast, the project offers a low-cost way to give old electronics new life. It shows that phones don’t have to be replaced every two years, or tossed once they are.Ulrich Norbisrath, Associate Professor of Software Engineering, summed up the team’s view, saying, “Sustainability is not just about preserving the future, it is about reimagining the present, where yesterday’s devices become tomorrow’s opportunities.”While the project is framed around the idea of micro data centers, the examples, like underwater species tracking and passenger counting, are closer to IoT applications in practice. Still, the concept shows that with a shift in perspective, even outdated consumer tech can take on meaningful new roles in local data processing.More from TechRadar ProThese are the best portable power stations around todayMicrosoft AI finds new material that could replace lithium batteriesSalt-based cell has surprisingly good energy density and charges in seconds

Obsidian Entertainment has been an incredibly versatile game developer over the years, even venturing outside its RPG comfort zone with the original Grounded. As a survival adventure game where you're shrunken down and explore the hidden, vast world of a backyard, it became a well-loved hit, and it evolved even further throughout its early access period. But now, the developers have big plans for Grounded 2, which has new features and a larger scope that was too big for the original to contain.

Shortly after the reveal during the recent Xbox Games Showcase alongside Summer Game Fest 2025, I got to play the opening of the sequel, which sees the familiar crew of teenage scavengers, now a little older and wiser, shrunken down once again to survive a new small world hidden in the town's park. Even as a new iteration of a familiar premise, which is essentially the survival gameplay of Rust by way of the whimsical Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Grounded 2 is already showing some promise as the bigger and better sequel.

Grounded 2, which will also launch in early access, already feels like a bigger game, even from the confines of the tutorial zone. For starters, there's a larger focus on building up the experience of the four teenage scavengers and how they fit into the larger story. It's not quite Yellowjackets when it comes to teen drama, but the crew exploring the small world of the park have colorful language and quips at their disposal. There's a generally stronger sense of personality in Grounded 2, which is bolstered by some more character-driven writing and opportunities to take in the lore of the company responsible for the experiments in town.

The experience of playing Grounded 2, much like the original and other survival games, is all about gathering resources from the land and acquiring knowledge to stay alive. Along with collecting materials to build weapons, armor and structures, you'll also have to keep your characters fed and hydrated. You'll also need to defend yourself against the various critters roaming about, such as the ants and the spiders. Also returning is the arachnophobia accessibility option to make them appear less disturbing for players. Thankfully, you can now use a dodge to avoid attacks – a first for the series – and combat is generally more responsive and fair.

Grounded 2 feels like a more well-rounded and refined take on the original, which is a solid game in its own right. One great addition that I got to play with was the new ant mount, or buggy, as the devs call it. You'll be able to ride on top of a friendly ant that can attack enemies, move faster throughout the world, and even collect material far more quickly than the human scavengers.

Obsidian Entertainment

Shortly after my hands-on experience, I sat in on a roundtable discussion with game director Chris Parker and producer Miles Winzeler from Obsidian Entertainment, who explained how early access feedback from players helped bring the game to its current state. In order to fully implement their vision for Grounded, though, they would need a new game.

"Almost everything in Grounded 2 comes from feedback from the community that we had gathered from the first game," Parker said. "We had to look at what was important to work on with the sequel. People always want more stuff to do. They wanted to have the buggies, which was a huge one and our number one most requested feature from out the gate on Grounded 1. We then had to work on new creatures, armor and weapons, among other things. How can we further develop our progression systems? So those were all the things that we took on from the beginning for Grounded 2."

Grounded 2 felt like a more fully realized game, which leveraged years of work on the original. Along with a more developed story campaign focusing on helping the kids survive the portion of Brookhollow Park they have to explore – which is more than three times the size of the original's map – The game will also launch with creative mode, which was a popular feature that let players focus on exploring and building up structures at their leisure.

Obsidian Entertainment

"We're always trying to challenge scale and how we can create a sense of awe and mystery by having something that's supposed to be normal but is now this gigantic thing," Parker said. "That's always the fun when making this game."

I really took to the added scope of Grounded 2. Not just as a shrunken person trapped on the grounds of a park but also for the new features and ideas at work for the sequel. With the game coming out in July for early access, Grounded 2 has already got me invested in making a return visit to this small world with big ambitions.

Grounded 2 will release in early access on July 29 for Xbox Series X|S and PC, and will be available for Game Pass subscribers.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/obsidian-entertainment-has-big-ambitions-for-grounded-2s-small-world-173027415.html?src=rss

Donald Trump is launching a cellular brand called Trump Mobile. The newly formed company, which was announced today by Donald Trump Jr., will sell a single wireless plan called “The 47 Plan,” which offers unlimited talk and texting, as well as unlimited data that throttles speeds after the first 20GB each month. The Trump Mobile service is a white-label plan built on an existing mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) called Liberty Mobile. The company also plans to sell “The T1 Phone,” a gold-accented smartphone that it says will be manufactured in the United States.

During the announcement event for Trump Mobile held at Trump Tower in New York City, Donald Trump Jr. said they were building something for “people who have been underserved,” and to “make sure that real Americans could get true value from their mobile carriers.” Trump Mobile’s only plan will cost $47.45 per month, which is roughly double that of equivalent offerings at other low-cost carriers like Mint Mobile and Boost Mobile. Liberty Mobile, the MVNO behind Trump Mobile, offers plans starting at $20 per month. Customers will be able to use their own devices with a Trump Mobile SIM card.

The plan will supposedly include a telemedicine service powered by Doctegrity, which will allow subscribers to access medical and behavioral health services through the third-party provider. The plan is also said to include roadside assistance provided by Drive America and mobile device protection by Omega Mobile Care.

Details on The T1 Phone are sparse, though some specs are listed on the website. The phone is said to sport a 6.8” AMOLED screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate, a rear three-camera setup with a 50MP main camera, and 2MP “depth sensor” and macro cameras, a fingerprint sensor and “AI Face Unlock,” and a “5000mAh long life camera,” which we presume was intended to describe the battery. The phone is said to run on Android 15. Oh, and it costs $499, which is both more than what it's likely worth, and casts doubt on its manufacturing claims. Recall that estimates for American-made iPhone were in the ballpark of $1,500. Who knows if it will ever see the light of day, but if it does, maybe this piece of Trump-branded merch will be free of obvious spelling errors.

Donald Trump’s various licensing ventures have proved lucrative for the sitting president. In his latest financial disclosure, Trump disclosed over $50 million in income from token sales related to his crypto venture with World Liberty Financial. The disclosure also listed incomes of $2.8 million from Trump Watches, $2.5 million from Trump Sneakers and Fragrances, $1.3 million from the Greenwood Bible and $1.16 million from his NFTs.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/god-help-us-donald-trump-is-launching-trump-mobile-and-plans-to-sell-a-phone-155830166.html?src=rss

The iPhone 17 might have to share space with an unexpected upstart when it inevitably launches in September: the Trump Mobile T1 Phone. And instead of Rose Gold, the T1 will arrive in, naturally, a pure gold-colored finish.Yes, the Trump Mobile T1 phone is official. The device was launched today, alongside the Trump Mobile carrier service, and we have a million questions.Such as? Well, why do we need a new carrier in the US, offering $47.45 a month unlimited service? There are more affordable plans from Verizon, Mint Mobile, and others already.Then again, perhaps you want this Android phone, which is a curiosity of a device, blending aging and new technology into a $499 package that appears to break no new ground over existing flagships.Here are all the quirks (marketed as benefits) of this very Trumpian phone.It features a port from the pastEven as most modern smartphones, Android and iPhone, have discarded the 3.5mm headphone jack, the 6.7-inch T1 is bringing it back to a 5G phone. No word on if the phone will also ship with a set of wired earbuds.It can be upgraded256GB of storage to start is not bad, but I'm shocked to see that the T1 will also ship with a memory card slot for upgrading. That's unusual and somewhat old-school. It might mean the back pops off, and then that big battery could pop out. It might also just be a memory card slot on the chassis.If that's the case, please tell me more about your IP rating. Can this phone handle a dunk in a golden toilet?It has a mystery processorWhile we do have some details about the T1, like its 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, there's no information about the mobile processor. As of now, few new mobile processors are being made in the USA, but there is a chance that the T1 will source its brains from TSMC's Arizona fab. The company has, according to reports, already been building some A16 chips for Apple.Even so, putting down $100 to secure a preorder on a phone that's making a mystery of performance seems risky at best.It'll only have Android 15There's nothing wrong with Android 15. I'm currently running it on my excellent Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, by September, we'd expect many top phones to be running Android 16 instead.Indeed, Google Pixels have access to Android 16 now, and we'd expect Samsung devices to get access in the next month or two. Other phones, including those from OnePlus and Oppo, can get the Android 16 beta right now.If Trump Mobile wants to play in this game, it can't just arrive with last year's platform. People like their smartphones living on the bleeding edge.It doesn't have (much) AIIn the era of AI Everything, releasing a new smartphone – or really any consumer electronics – that does not have AI at the center is tone-deaf tech marketing.The T1 spec list does list AI Face Unlock – I have no idea what that is – and that's it.Naturally, without knowing the core processor, it's hard to know what the neural processing unit (NPU) might be, if it exists at all. Can you imagine a new smartphone entering this market without generative capabilities?Seriously, being 'Gold' is not a feature.It has a low-resolution macro cameraThe T1 appears to offer a solid main camera (50MP) and a nicely apportioned selfie camera (16MP). But I'm confounded by the 2MP macro. That's something OnePlus tried ages ago, and it results in close-up but incredibly low-resolution and muddy macro photography. It's almost not worth having.And not explained is the inclusion of a 2MP depth camera. Is that for augmented reality (AR)? Probably not, because the resolution is too low to produce a decent 3D map. Perhaps it's focus-assist technology. If so, better to say that.It has a big batteryA $499 smartphone with a 5,000mAh battery is something of an anomaly, and should be good news, assuming it's a high-quality one and not prone to rapid drain or any issues that could cause swelling.The point is, a $499 phone might have cheaper components, but a large battery is one place you can't afford to skimp.I'm also intrigued that it includes 20W "PD" (power delivery) fast charging. This is a plus if the phone also ships with a 20W charge adapter.It has an uncertain designYou can't look at the T1 phone without noticing the camera array and the odd spacing between lenses. First of all, why are there three equally-sized lenses when two of them are just 2MP? Second, why are they spaced so far apart?It's not a good look, and makes me wonder if the T1 image is just a placeholder as they finalize the design.Speaking of design, Trump Mobile lists the T1 as a 6.8-inch phone with a 6.78-inch AMOLED display, but the handset looks very tall and thin, like it might have an odd 21:10 aspect ratio.There are no dimensions listed (I bet they just don't know yet), which means you should take the design with a huge spoonful of golden salt.It will be born in the USA… maybeTrump Mobile claims the T1 is "MADE IN THE USA," but my guess is that this is more of an aspiration than a reality.Let's assume the phone will be assembled here in the US. It's a big assumption, but I'm willing to consider it. The majority of components will still come from outside the US. Even if the CPU does eventually get fabricated in Arizona, cellular radio chips, GPS, AMOLED screen technology, cameras, and more will all come from outside the country.I'll be interested to see just how much transparency we get on that front if and when this phone arrives in September.It's a Trump family thingIt's a Trump Mobile T1 8002 phone, but no one is mentioning President Donald Trump.Instead, the venture was announced in a YouTube video by his sons Don Jr. and Eric, both of whom run many of the Trump ventures, including a crypto business.So, it's a Trump phone but not officially a President Trump device, but with all the essence of the current US President.You might also likeI found the absolute best use for the iPhone 16 Camera, if you don't mind getting it wetApple iPhone 16 Pro Max review: a beautiful, intelligent beastAfter six months with my iPhone 16 Pro, I'm still not convinced by the Action button