Ford thinks it has a solution to ongoing car chip shortages: make a deal with one of the world’s largest chipmakers. CNBCreports the badge has unveiled a “strategic collaboration” with GlobalFoundries that will boost chip manufacturing and development in the US to improve supply for Ford and other domestic car producers. The non-binding arrangement will have GlobalFoundries look into solutions for components ranging from advanced driver assistance through to EV battery management.

The exact terms aren’t clear. However, Ford stressed the team-up “does not involve” any joint ownership stakes.

Any results might not come for a while. It takes time just to repurpose factories and ramp up production, let alone to build any new facilities. Regardless, both sides have a strong incentive to work together. Ford has already slashed production and delayed car orders to accommodate chip shortages, for instance. IWhatever costs it pays could be worthwhile if they help the company meet demand.

GlobalFoundries, meanwhile, could use this to land more business from automakers and ride a surge in car demand. It could also help the semiconductor firm diversify its production away from chips for more traditional computing hardware. This deal might last a while, then, if just because it’s mutually beneficial.

Source: Engadget – Ford and GlobalFoundries team up to tackle car chip shortages

Apple announced a 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip a month ago, and some solid deals are already starting to pop up. A model with a 10‑core CPU and 16‑core GPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD is on sale on Amazon for $2,399, which is $100 off the regular price.

Buy 16-inch MacBook Pro at Amazon – $2,450

Granted, that’s not a massive discount, but it’s bigger than a previous drop of $50. Given how new the device is, it’s a decent offer, so if you’ve been waiting for a price drop, this might be enough to sway you.

We reviewed the 16-inch MBP last month and gave it a score of 92. The performance is nothing to sniff at, with the M1 Pro proving more adept at creative tasks like video editing and 3D rendering than last year’s M1 chip. As for battery life, the laptop ran for over 16 and a half hours in our testing.

Apple made sure there were plenty of ports on the latest model, after going several years with minimal connectivity on MacBook Pros. There are three Thunderbolt 4 ports, a MagSafe power port, HDMI connectivity, a 3.5mm headphone jack and an SD card reader, but unfortunately no USB-A port. To accommodate all of those, the laptop is a little bulker than its predecessors. That said, the trade off is likely worth it for most people, given that you might not feel the need to carry around a connector hub to connect all your peripherals anymore.

The MBP has a Liquid Retina XDR display with Mini-LED backlighting that’s capable of outputting 1,600 nits of brightness and support for a 120Hz refresh rate. Apple has at last upgraded the webcam to one with a resolution of 1080p too, which is a significant step up from the 720p version.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Source: Engadget – Apple’s new 16-inch MacBook Pro is discounted by 0 at Amazon

SpaceX’s hopes for a timely Starship orbital flight haven’t gone according to plan, to put it mildly, but there might be hope on the horizon. According to TechCrunch, Elon Musk told a joint meeting of space research boards that his company is aiming for the first Starship orbital flight in January 2022. The chief executive was quick to admit there was a “lot of risk” and that SpaceX might not succeed, but he figured the team would at least make “a lot of progress.”

There could be around a dozen further launches in 2022, Musk added. The timing also hinges on an FAA environmental impact review of SpaceX’s Boca Chica launch facility. The agency intends to finish its review before the end of 2021, but a delay might push back upcoming Starship launches.

Whenever Starship reaches orbit, the vehicle might become economical relatively soon afterward. Musk reckoned SpaceX could start selling Starship launches for less than Falcon 9 in roughly two years. That, in turn, could win valuable business and help SpaceX build more Starships for space tourism and journeys to Mars. Musk told meeting members Earth might need about 1,000 launch systems for truly interplanetary life, and he intended to produce Starships relatively quickly.

The early Black Friday sales we saw on Google smart home devices are back just about a week before we get to Black Friday proper. And there are a few other devices included this time around — like Google’s new Pixel 6 smartphone, which is $100 off at Best Buy if you buy and activate today, or $50 off if you activate later. Regardless of which you choose, those are the best sales we’ve seen on the handset since it debuted last month.

Buy Pixel 6 at Best Buy starting at $499

We gave the Pixel 6 a score of 89 in our review — it can hold its own against flagship competitors from Apple and Samsung, and it has arguably a more fun design than the competition and remarkable cameras. The horizontal camera bar on its back is controversial, but striking nonetheless. It has a 6.4-inch 1080p OLED touchscreen that can reach up to 90Hz refresh rates, and it has an under-screen fingerprint sensor too (although we found this a bit too finicky). Google’s new Tensor chip provides sold performance, and we liked the new Assistant and Android 12 perks such as the voice keyboard that will be popular with those who hate typing on smartphones.

As far as cameras go, you’re getting a 50-megapixel main shooter along with a 12MP wide-angle lens and an 8MP selfie cam, all of which produce sharp, clean and bright photos. We also praised the Pixel 6’s battery, which lasted about 20.5 hours during our testing. The Pixel 6 was already a competitively priced flagship smartphone, but this early Black Friday sale makes it even more tempting for Android users in need of an upgrade.

Buy Chromecast with Google TV at Walmart – $39Buy Nest Hub (2nd gen) at Best Buy – $50Buy Nest Audio at Best Buy – $60

Along with that, a bunch of other Google gadgets have been discounted before the Black Friday frenzy begins. We’ve seen some of these deals before, like the Nest Hub for $50 and the Nest Audio for $60 at Best Buy and B&H Photo. But a new one is the Chromecast with Google TV in white for $10 off, bringing it down to $39. This is a pretty rare discount on the already affordable streaming device that we gave a score of 86 for its solid new remote control, excellent Google Assistant integration and 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support.

Those looking to upgrade their smart home should also consider the various deals in that department. The Nest Thermostat and the upgraded Learning Thermostat are down to $100 and $180, respectively, while the Nest Doorbell Battery has dropped to $130. Also, the outdoor Nest Cam Battery is on sale for $150 while both Nest and Google WiFi systems have been discounted.

Buy Nest Thermostat at Best Buy – $100Buy Nest Learning Thermostat at Best Buy – $180Buy Nest Doorbell Battery at Best Buy – $130Buy Nest Cam Battery at Best Buy – $150Shop Nest and Google WiFi systems at Best Buy

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Source: Engadget – Google’s Pixel 6 is up to 0 off right now