Amazon’s Prime subscription is getting more expensive across Europe

After hiking US Prime prices earlier this year, Amazon is doing the same across Europe. According to emails received by Engadget staffers and a Reuters report, it’s raising the cost of Prime in the UK from £79 to £95, in France from €49 to €69.90, in Spain and Italy from €36 to €49.90, and Germany from €69 to €89.90. 

Those increases are the first in several years and quite significant, ranging from 20 percent in the UK to 43 percent in France. Amazon cited “increased inflation and operating costs” along with faster delivery and more streaming content to justify the rises. “We will continue to focus on making Prime even more valuable for members” via faster deliveries, more streaming content and more, the company’s UK branch wrote in an email. 

Last quarter, Amazon lost money for the first time since 2015 due to slowing growth and higher costs, following a huge boom during the pandemic. The company also took a hit due to its investment in electric pickup truck maker Rivian. It vowed to increase productivity during its last earnings report, but is facing a federal probe over the required pace of work and other potential warehouse hazards. 

Logitech’s new Aurora gaming accessories are ‘inclusive’ but expensive

Logitech has launched the Aurora Collection, a line of “gender-inclusive” gaming accessories including a mouse, keyboard and headset. The devices are built around “comfort, approachability and playfulness” based on “feedback from women gamers across the community,” the company said. They have all-new designs and some interesting features, but also carry high prices suggestive of a “pink tax” on products designed for women.

The G735 wireless headset is a good example of that. It’s Logitech’s first G gaming headset with Blue VO!CE microphone tech that helps modulate your voice, while letting you save preferred settings directly on the headset. It also promises comfort for gamers with smaller heads, 2.4Ghz wireless connectivity and up to 56 hours of battery life with the side LEDs turned off. However, it’s very expensive for a gaming headset at $230, compared to say Logitech’s high-end $200 Pro X headset with similar features. 

The wireless and wired $200 G715 and $170 G713 tenkeyless keyboards offer per-key and perimeter RGB lighting and a choice of GX mechanical switches (tactile, linear or clicky), along with a cloud-soft palm rest. The G715 can connect via Bluetooth or a 2.4Ghz dongle, and offers around 25 hours of battery life on a charge. 

Finally, the $100 G705 lightweight (85 gram) wireless mouse is specifically designed for players with small hands. It comes with an 8,200 DPI “gaming-grade” sensor, offers battery life up to 40 hours with the LEDs enabled, and can connect to the G715 keyboard to avoid clutter. 

On top of the devices, Logitech is offering accessories we don’t see with many of its other gaming products. Those include pink or neon boom mics with earpads for $20, keyboard top plates ($20) and colored keycaps ($40). It’s also offering $30 mousepads and a $40 case for the G735 headset and G705 mouse. 

Logitech said that when it looked at its gaming products, “we realized we could be doing more” in terms of delivering solutions for all gamers. In one way, it has certainly achieved that considering the $500 price tag for the entire collection. If it really wants to expand its offerings for more players, though, it may need to expand its Aurora lineup with more budget-oriented products that match the quality and prices of its standard offerings. 

Update 7/26/2022 10:46 AM ET: The article originally stated the new accessories were “gender-exclusive” rather than “gender-inclusive.” The article has been corrected with right term. 

Faraday Future delays the launch of its first electric vehicle yet again

Back in February, Faraday Future presented the production version of its FF91 electric SUV at its California plant and said it would start manufacturing its long-delayed vehicle in the third quarter of 2022. Now, according to Bloomberg, the embattled company has revealed in a filing for investors that it has to push back the EV’s production yet again and that it needs more cash for its commercial launch. 

Apparently, the company said it has to delay FF91’s deliveries to the “third or fourth quarter of 2022.” Seeing as the third quarter has already started, it’s now likely aiming for late Q3 — that said, the fourth quarter seems more likely, and that is if Faraday Future’s plans finally go as intended. Especially since it also has to find the money needed to keep running: The company also told investors that it needs additional cash to launch the FF91 and that it’s looking to raise around $325 million to fund its operations until December 31st, 2022. 

Faraday Future was founded in 2014 and planned to launch its first electric vehicle way back in 2018. It’s had to postpone launching its EV several times over the past years as it grappled with a litany of financial issues. The company almost ran out of cash in 2017 until a company called Season Smart, which was later acquired by Chinese company Evergrande, agreed to invest $2 billion in it. Faraday Future quickly burned through Season Smart’s $800 million initial cash injection, though, and it spent 2018 feuding with its main investor. 

While it reached a restructuring deal with Evergrande by the end of 2018, it wasn’t able to secure enough money to bring back the employees it put on unpaid leave. The company also had to give up on its plans to build a factory in Las Vegas and put up the 900-acre plot for sale for $40 million. Faraday went public in a merger with a blank-check company back in 2021, but it looks like that wasn’t enough to solve its financial woes.

As Bloomberg notes, the delay comes in the midst of an issue between the company and its founder, Jia Yueting, who stepped down as CEO in 2019 as part of the company’ restructuring deal. Apparently, a shareholder group associated with Yueting offering Faraday Future “at least $100 million” to remove an unnamed director from the startup’s board. The company reportedly pushed back, and the group accused it of not treating the offer “with the gravity, urgency and fairness it deserves” considering Faraday’s financial condition. 

Apple and Koss settle dispute over wireless headphone patents

Apple and Koss have ended their feud over wireless headphone patents shortly before trial. As Reutersnotes, the two told a Waco, Texas-based federal court on Saturday that they had reached a settlement over Koss’ claims Apple had infringed on patents for wireless audio technology. The terms of the settlement haven’t been disclosed, but the two firms said they made peace on “all matters in controversy.” The trial was supposed to have started today.

Koss sued Apple, Bose, JLab, Plantronics and Skullcandy in 2020 over allegations wireless earbuds and headphones like AirPods were copying technology from the Striva line of WiFi audio devices. In filing the lawsuit, Koss argued that rivals were “catching up” to its early work and needed to pay compensation. Apple countersued, arguing that Koss’ patents were invalid.

Lawsuits against Bose, Skullcandy and others are still pending. While it’s unclear if those cases will move forward in light of this settlement, there’s little doubt that Apple and Koss were eager to avoid a courtroom fight.

We’ve asked Apple and Koss for comment and will update if we hear back.

GM secures $2.5 billion government loan to build EV battery factories

The Energy Department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program (ATVMP) hasn’t offered a loan to an electric car maker since 2010, but it’s ready to offer money once again. As Reutersreports, the Energy Department is providing a $2.5 billion loan to the GM and LG joint venture Ultium Cells for the sake of constructing EV battery cell factories. This is the government agency’s first loan for battery production under the program.

The money will be used for manufacturing plants in Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. It will come with conditions (unspecified as of this writing), and is expected to close sometime in the months ahead. Production starts at the Ohio plant in August, and should be followed by Tennessee in late 2023 and Michigan in 2024. Ultium in a statement characterized the deal as beneficial for the country, and expected it to create 5,000 US jobs.

All previous loans under ATVMP went to car manufacturers in the early days of EVs, including Tesla, Ford and Nissan. The efforts have so far been fruitful. Tesla, for instance, grew quickly with help from the loan during its early days. It finished repaying the Energy Department in 2013, nine years ahead of schedule.

The GM loan isn’t surprising. While the brand has extensive car manufacturing capacity, it’s racing to establish battery factories that will help it both clear an order backlog and produce relatively mainstream models like the upcoming Blazer and Equinox EVs. Extra funding may help GM cope with demand. President Biden, meanwhile, wants zero-emissions vehicles to represent half of all new sales by 2030 — that won’t happen unless GM and others can ramp up production to meet demand.

Funko moves into video games with former Traveller’s Tales developers

Funko, which is best known for its Pop vinyl figurines, is about to venture into new territory. It’s making video games with the help of developer 10:10 Games. The studio is led by Jon Burton, the founder of Traveller’s Tales and TT Games. “By partnering with 10:10 Games and utilizing the best creators in the business, we will have the talent to deliver games that reflect Funko’s unique look and feel across its lines and varied products,” Funko CEO Andrew Perlmutter said in a statement.

The first game under the partnership is an action platformer that’s coming to PC and consoles in 2023. Funko says the untitled game will have “major third-party studio integration,” which probably shouldn’t be a big shock given the high-profilelicensing deals Funko has for collectibles and Burton’s experience with the various Lego games. Meanwhile, Funko expects the game to have a “T” for teen rating. The first teaser shows a Pop-style character called Freddie Funko, but offers few other details.

Leaked documents show the hoops Roblox jumped through to do business in China

In late June, Blizzard delayed Diablo Immortal’s Chinese launch mere days before the game was set to debut in the country after co-developer NetEase seemingly drew the ire of government censors over an ill-advised social media post. The episode was a reminder of the tightrope act foreign game developers often have to pull off to release their games in China.

Now, newly published documents by Motherboard offer a rare insight into the steps some companies will take to comply with China’s censorship laws. The publication obtained an internal presentation created by Roblox in 2017 as the company was working toward entering the Chinese market.

In addition to highlighting the lengths Roblox was prepared to go to appease Chinese censors, the documents reveal the risks the company was willing to shoulder. One of the presentation’s more interesting insights is that Roblox expected its game would be hacked, likely by whatever firm it partnered with to bring Roblox to China. “Expect that hacking has already started,” states one bullet point. “Expect it to ramp up after a deal is signed, possibly even by partner.”

There’s no evidence Tencent, the company Roblox eventually partnered with, ever targeted the game, but the company clearly had reservations about working with the tech giant. The slides warn a relationship with Tencent would require Roblox to “keep our guard up.” Additionally, they show Roblox also considered working with NetEase and even had a favorable assessment of the company. “Direct, down-to-Earth, flexible problem solvers, acting in the interests of a joint venture,” one slide states. It’s unclear why Roblox ultimately went with Tencent over NetEase, but the fact the former promised the “fastest way to mega acquisition” probably played a part in the decision.

Roblox did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment, but the company did share a statement with Motherboard.

“The slide you reference was from 2017, before we had a formal joint venture relationship in place,” a Roblox spokesperson told the outlet. “As normal for a company entering into a new market, we consider risks and opportunities and plan for them.” The spokesperson added the company’s policy is to comply with the laws of the regions where it operates.

In the end, whatever plans Roblox made to ensure a smooth entry into the Chinese market were not enough. Five months after Roblox launched within the country, the company temporarily shut down the Chinese client to take “important transitory actions.” If you want to read more about the factors Roblox considered before entering China, make sure to read Motherboard’s full report.