Technologies

Mario Kart World Makes Racing Wilder and More Social Than Ever

The new version of Nintendo’s classic, available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2, introduces massive multiplayer races and new chat features.

The Nintendo Switch 2 has already become Nintendo’s fastest-selling console ever, moving 3.5 million units in its first four days on sale. And while the new Switch makes it easy to upgrade your old games for its bigger screen and better graphics, the real reason everyone is so excited to get their hands on it: a new version of Mario Kart.

You can get the bundle that includes the Nintendo Switch 2 and Mario Kart World now at Best Buy. (If you aren’t able to buy it online, check your local Best Buy store; the retailer limited online stock to prevent scalping.)

A rainbow road that never ends

Mario Kart World’s coolest innovation is Free Roam mode, designed for those hungry to explore the universe outside of lap-based races. Think The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Grand Theft Auto, but with Super Mario characters in cars. Drive a few seconds in any direction and you’ll find a P-switch, which initiates a short mini-game. («Hitch a ride on the train,» for example, when there’s a locomotive in front of you.)

In Knockout Tour and Versus modes, the courses melt into each other like a cinematic one-shot. We’re a long way from the Nintendo 64 days, when you could get stuck at the edge of the map, staring into the digital fog.

More racers, more chaos

But let’s be honest: you’re playing Mario Kart to race friends. Multiplayer mode in Mario Kart World expands the field to up to 24 drivers, which means wide lanes and total chaos.

Purists may think there are just too many characters this go-around; why would you choose the lesser-known Dry Bones or Lakitu when you have all-stars like Mario and Luigi, Toad and Yoshi, Bowser and Peach? (They may be quickly convinced when they start dominating with Cow.) And the classics are still there: Toad, it turns out, is voiced by the original spokesman for Nintendo in the 1990s: Paul Rudd.

Knockout Tour mode adds another (cutthroat) wrinkle to the new stampede-style races: some players are eliminated after each race.

Play together, wherever you are

Nintendo paid attention to the gamers who joined a Discord call or fired up a Zoom room to (trash) talk with friends while playing video games, especially during the pandemic. (Basically, a LAN party that isn’t in your parents’ basement.) For $55 you can buy a Switch 2 camera that connects via a new USB-C port located on the top of the console. The GameChat feature admits 12 audio friends or 4 video friends in a «chatroom.» And for those who want their gaming grounded in some sort of reality, meatspace faces can appear next to a racer’s kart so you can see real-time reactions.

Get your Nintendo Switch 2 with Mario Kart World at Best Buy

Mario Kart World is available now with the Nintendo Switch 2, which you can get today at Best Buy. If you can’t find it online, be sure to check your local Best Buy, where they’ve kept plenty of stock available in person to keep it from being scalped.

Technologies

‘AirTag 2’ vs. ‘AirTag 1’: All the Ways Apple’s New Model Tracks Better

Two AirTag generations enter the ring, only one leaves (but don’t worry, both are easily found later).

When Apple upgrades its hardware, the differences are usually stark: things like better iPhone cameras, more laptop storage or higher-quality screens. But Apple just introduced a new version of its popular AirTag tracker that looks and seems to behave exactly like the ones you likely have in one of your bags right now. However, there are some key differences with this second-generation AirTag (which Apple technically doesn’t call AirTag 2) that we’re here to drill down into.

How much do AirTags cost?

The retail price of an AirTag is $29 or $99 for a pack of four. That has been consistent since the original AirTags were introduced in 2021. However, unless you’re buying directly from Apple, you’re likely to find them at discounted prices, often around $24 for a single AirTag and $75 for a four-pack.

So far, it looks like Apple and retailers will keep the second-generation AirTags at their retail prices. However, first-generation AirTags are being sold for as little as $70 for a pack of four, bringing the per-tag cost down to $17.50.

We don’t know how much existing first-generation AirTag inventory is out there, so that pricing might persist for a while. It’s also likely that once second-generation AirTags hit the market, they too will be discounted by third-party retailers.

Do the new AirTags (2nd generation) look different?

For the most part, a second-gen AirTag looks exactly like the first-gen model, from its white plastic exterior to its shiny aluminum backplate. There is a slight weight difference: 11 grams (original) versus 11.8 grams (2nd-gen).

They’re both powered by a single CR2032 coin cell battery, which is easy to find and affordable. In my experience, the battery lasts about a year before it needs to be replaced.

How can you identify the AirTag generations?

Since both generations of AirTags share the same design, you need to look for other clues to tell them apart. Flip it over and look at the writing inscribed around the edge of the metal disk: if it’s in all capital letters, it’s a new second-generation AirTag. The new models also include «FIND MY» and «NFC» as well as «IP67,» the rating for water and dust-resistance.

The first-gen AirTags text is written in sentence case (initial capital letter and then lowercase) and also has «Designed by Apple in California» and «Assembled in China.»

Precision Finding

The most significant difference between AirTag generations is the presence of a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip in the newest AirTag models. That locator chip is what signals the tag’s location to nearby devices. It’s also what enables Precision Finding, one of the best AirTag features. Both generations have UWB chips — the second-generation AirTag is the only one with the upgraded version.

Instead of just seeing that an AirTag is somewhere in your house, Precision Finding guides you to the exact spot until you’re literally on top of it. Using the Find My app on your iPhone, searching for the tag points you in its direction and estimates its distance.

However, you still need to be fairly close to any AirTag to find it, which is where the second-generation’s advantage comes in: its upgraded UWB chip extends its detection range by 1.5 times compared to the original AirTag. The practical advantage is that you shouldn’t have to wander around as much trying to lock onto the tag’s signal before homing in on it.

Another benefit is Apple Watch compatibility with Precision Finding. The second-gen UWB in the new AirTags enables Apple Watch Series 9 and later, as well as the Ultra 2 model and later, to use the same pinpoint locator that iPhones have been capable of since the iPhone 11. Make sure you update to WatchOS 26.2.1 to turn on this feature.

Longer Bluetooth range

The AirTags (second generation) have what Apple calls an «upgraded Bluetooth chip» that extends the tag’s Bluetooth network range. It’s not clear which Bluetooth version is in use; Apple lists it only as Bluetooth LE (low energy) on the back of the AirTag.

The longer Bluetooth range helps in a couple of ways. It makes it easier for the tag to securely and privately connect to nearby devices to register its location and status, and then share that with Apple’s Find My network.

For example, the reason you can see that your luggage made it to your airport when you land isn’t because the AirTag’s Bluetooth can reach all the way to the gate where the bags are being unloaded (it can’t). It’s that an iPhone belonging to someone on the plane or an airport employee picked up the AirTag’s signal and passed it along to the Find My network.

It also means an AirTag can be more easily picked up by your iPhone (which is good in case someone attempts to track you without your knowledge).

Louder speaker and new chime

Both AirTag generations have a speaker for those times when it’s easier to find the tag by listening for its locator chime after you’ve instructed it to play. It also chirps when the battery is low and when an unidentified AirTag is nearby. The speaker in the second-gen AirTag is louder than the first generation, which Apple says can be heard twice as far away.

The new AirTag also uses a new identifiable chime that is supposed to be easier to hear in noisy environments.

Technologies

Stroke Risk Could Be Flagged Early Using Apple Watch Technology, Studies Show

The latest research shows that wearables could soon be a vital part of tracking your heart health.

For millions at risk of stroke, a simple tap on the wrist could one day save lives. New studies from the Amsterdam University Medical Center and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London showed that wearables, such as the Apple Watch, can improve the detection of atrial fibrillation compared to standard care. Atrial fibrillation, often referred to as A-fib, is a heart arrhythmia, which means an irregular or abnormal heartbeat. The condition can cause blood clots and is one of the leading causes of a stroke.

The Amsterdam study enrolled 437 patients aged 65 or older with elevated stroke risk and required 219 of them to wear an Apple Watch to track their heart rate for 12 hours a day for 6 months. The remaining 218 patients didn’t wear a watch and relied on standard care.

The experiment detected heart arrhythmias four times more frequently in patients wearing an Apple Watch versus those who didn’t. Specific versions of the Apple Watch use photoplethysmography, a heart rate-detecting LED light sensor, and have a built-in single-lead electrocardiogram sensor to read your heart rate.

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Wearables that track heart rate and other health markers aren’t new, and previous studies have shown promise in detecting A-fib. Although wearables are known to track this type of data, no prior research has examined how well they detect potential health risks for A-fib.

«We saw that after six months we diagnosed and treated 21 patients in the group wearing the smartwatch, of whom 57% were asymptomatic,» said Michiel Winter, a cardiologist at Amsterdam UMC, in a statement. «This was against just five diagnoses in the group receiving standard care, all of whom experienced symptoms.»

The second clinical study, conducted by St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, showed that the Apple Watch could also be beneficial for detecting A-fib symptoms earlier and for monitoring patients after a standard treatment, such as a catheter ablation. The hospital found that patients could record clinical-grade ECGs on their Apple Watches at home when experiencing symptoms. Similar to the first study, the hospital found that patients using an Apple Watch detected A-fib earlier and more frequently than those receiving standard care. Catching symptoms earlier also reduces anxiousness and the likelihood that a patient will need to be hospitalized.

The findings from these studies show that wearables such as the Apple Watch could be used for long-term heart screening to detect heart health abnormalities and improve patient care for those in treatment. And it can help diagnose those who don’t know they have the condition.

«Using smartwatches with PPG and ECG functions aids doctors in diagnosing individuals unaware of their arrhythmia, thereby expediting the diagnostic process,» said Winter.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Jan. 29

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 29.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s one of those neat, solid grids with no empty squares. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.