Mercedes plans to charge $1,200 per year for “Acceleration Increase” in its EVs; Volkswagen, Toyota, and GM have all trialed similar subscription-based features (Luke Plunkett/Kotaku)

Luke Plunkett / Kotaku:
Meta says the segment at Connect announcing the addition of legs to Horizon World avatars “featured animations created from motion capture”  —  A subsequent statement from Meta says ‘the segment featured animations created from motion capture’  —  Earlier this week Meta CEO …

Kenneth Shepard / Kotaku:
Some creators are protesting YouTube’s policy changes to regulate swearing and violence, which demonetize gaming videos and retroactively impact old content  —  YouTube’s policy changes on swearing and violence are being retroactively applied to old gaming content

John Walker / Kotaku:
Adobe apps will no longer support Pantone-owned colors for free due to a licensing change; users would need an Adobe plug-in costing $15/month to access colors  —  Due to a change in how Adobe licenses Pantone colors, old PSD files could start being filled in black

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple plans to add a Clean Energy Charging feature to iOS 16 in 2022, optimizing iPhone charging times for when the power grid is using cleaner energy sources  —  iOS 16 is now available to iPhone users everywhere, but there are still many other new features coming this year.

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
JBL unveils Tour Pro 2 wireless earbuds, with customizable ANC and a charging case with a 1.45″ touchscreen, available for €249 outside the US in January 2023  —  Allegedly the ‘world’s first’ smart charging case for wireless earbuds  —  JBL has just announced the Tour Pro 2 wireless earbuds …

Victoria Song / The Verge:
Apple Watch Series 8 review: watchOS 9, crash detection, and low-power mode are excellent, but needs daily charging and the update is fairly incremental  —  … don’t upgrade … The concept, made famous by Toyota, means continuous improvement. … These updates weren’t much on their own …