Rumors have been swirling for what seems like forever, but Apple's new third-generation AirPods are nearly here. Announced at the company's October press event alongside new MacBook Pros, these wireless earbuds offer features like spatial audio and improved battery life.

The new AirPods are now available to preorder from all the usual retailers. They're out October 26 and they cost $179.

Preorder 3rd-Gen Apple AirPods

The headlining new feature of these AirPods is spatial audio, which can make music and other recordings sound like its coming from directions all around you. Another new feature is adaptive EQ, which changes the sound output based on the unique shape of your ear.

On a quality-of-life level, perhaps the biggest improvement is the battery life. These earbuds offer six hours of use on a single charge. And since the case also has a (bigger) battery in it, if you store your AirPods between uses, you'll get four additional charges, for a total listening time of 30 hours. That's pretty impressive.

It also supports quick-charging, giving you an hour's worth of use with just a five-minute charge. The case has wireless charging capabilities. It works with wireless-Qi chargers, including, of course, Apple's MagSafe charger.

You can control music and phone calls using force sensors built into the AirPods. They're water resistant, so you can wear them while working out or walking in the rain.

AirPods 2nd gen are still available, with a new price of $129.

Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

Over the years, fans have managed to port Doom to a number of weird and wonderful places. From popping up in Minecraft to running on an Apple Watch, the game's community constantly seems to be finding new ways to play the game. In perhaps one of the more inventive methods to allow fans access the Doom universe, players are now able to complete the game on Twitter.

The creation of a Tweet2Doom bot on the social media platform now means that users can attempt to complete the game by using various commands in Twitter replies to the account. In doing so, players can control the game's iconic Doom Marine, and are able to see the consequences of their actions in short ten-second clips that the account sends back.

⠀
ROOT node for Doom Shareware 1.9
Read the instructions in the images below.
⠀ pic.twitter.com/YszpiKnXEE

— Tweet2Doom (@tweet2doom) October 2, 2021

A full set of the rules and how to play can be found in the pinned tweet on the Tweet2Doom bot's account. However, gameplay essentially requires players to use a combination of letters and numbers to input commands to the game and then denote the number of frames that they'd like the action to be performed for. In a strange way, this almost gives the game a turn-based feel where players are able to react and plot their next series of moves after the bot responds with footage detailing their last set of actions.

Since the creation of the bot, a number of fans have tried their hand at the game. While various clips generated by the account show players bumping into walls and emptying clips blindly through the air, there are also some videos showing off impressive runs too. In the clip below, you'll find one player's 11-second attempt of the level E1M1 – a run that currently holds the Twitter2Doom speedrun record.

🏆 New Record! 🏆
⠀
Best time for E1M1
Difficulty: Hurt me plenty
Time: 0:11
Commands: 2
⠀
Tweet chain:https://t.co/mhpxzlst6s

Node:https://t.co/zl7DtHYrJc

🎥 #t2d_speedruns pic.twitter.com/7vKQSNFsZT

— Tweet2Doom (@tweet2doom) October 16, 2021

While players continue to try and one-up each other's record speedrun attempts at the game on Twitter, many fans might find they have greater success at completing the game through one of its more mainstream ports. Earlier this year, the Doom Slayers Collection was brought over to Nintendo Switch. Not only does this come with the added bonus of subsequently released Doom titles to play through, but you also won't have to play through the game in ten-second bursts.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Ubisoft has reportedly greenlit development of a new, mainline Splinter Cell game. If the rumour proves true, it will be the first core entry in the Tom Clancy stealth series since 2013's Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

A report from VGC claims multiple "development sources" have revealed that a new Splinter Cell is in an early phase of production, with a small chance of the game being announced in 2022. The project has apparently been greenlit as part of an effort to appease frustrated Tom Clancy and Splinter Cell fans, who have been less than happy with Ubisoft's treatment of the brand over the last decade.

No further details were provided in the report, aside from the suggestion that the new Splinter Cell will be developed outside of Ubisoft's flagship Montreal studio. Ubisoft Montreal developed key Splinter Cell games, including the original, Chaos Theory, and Conviction. The most recent game, Blacklist, was developed at Ubisoft Toronto.

In the years since Blacklist, Splinter Cell's protagonist Sam Fisher has appeared in numerous other games, but never the star of his own show. Appearances in Ghost Recon Wildlands, Breakpoint, and Rainbow Six Siege have frustrated fans, and made it seem as if a new Splinter Cell was never going to happen. In 2020 a new Splinter Cell game was announced, but it is a VR game for Oculus VR, rather than a mainline game in the tradition of the series.

Should the rumour prove to be true, then fans will be cautiously waiting to see exactly what kind of game this new Splinter Cell is. Die-hard Tom Clancy fans have been vocal about their dislike of Ubisoft's direction for the brand, with classic team-based tactical shooters like Ghost Recon having slowly evolved into an action-focused battle royale, and Rainbow Six Siege's move towards more fantastical gadgets and tactics.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

With Netflix's Cowboy Bebop exactly one month away from premiere, the streaming giant has released what might be called a standalone short for the upcoming anime adaptation, giving fans a feel for what to expect in the new live-action show.

Cowboy Bebop: The Lost Session is a two-minute special presentation that's a little bit Tarantino, a little bit Scott Pilgrim. Opening with a 70s-style title card complete with film grain, the trailer features Spike, Jet, and Faye exchanging quips and trading barbs as they battle thugs and jump from one scene to the next.

Official trailer in 1 week.

Until then, may we humbly present… THE LOST SESSION. #cowboybebop #thelostsession pic.twitter.com/EeWxfPjfSP

— Cowboy Bebop (@bebopnetflix) October 19, 2021

While it's presented as a "lost session" with its own story, it functions as more of a sizzle reel that attempts to convey the overall vibe of the show. It features plenty of snippets that should be familiar to fans of the anime: stylish martial arts, Spike sneaking off to grab a bite to eat, and even a quick vision of Vicious — the katana-wielding villain from the anime who plays as Sephiroth by way of The Godfather.

The presentation is intentionally heightened, with various characters leaping from one cel to another, or even using scene dividers to bludgeon foes. The effect is akin to the original opening, which memorably established the series' mood with sharp lines and stylized silhouettes.

Being a "lost session," this trailer is likely to be separate from the full show, functioning more as a promo for the final release. On that note, an official trailer will be released next week.

The Cowboy Bebop live-action adaptation was first announced in 2018, with John Cho taking on the role of its lead character, the bounty hunter Spike Spiegel. Over the past few months, we've seen stills of Cho as Spike, as well as the official opening. It's clear that the live-action adaptation is at pains to capture the flavor of the anime, even as it changes certain elements such as Faye's outfit.

Cowboy Bebop debuts on Netflix on November 19.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

Robot tanks will be tested in a simulated battle initiated by the U.S. Army in 2022, as military leaders take further steps to prepare the wheeled robots for real-life combat.

According to Defense One, an entire company of unmanned combat vehicles will be set up for mock conflict next year, as part of an experiment that is believed to be the first of its kind in terms of scale. The lessons learned from the seemingly unprecedented demo will help to refine the vehicles' hardware and software to enable them to one day take to the field.

General Ross Coffman, who is the director of Army Futures Command's Next Generation Combat Vehicles Cross-Functional team, is said to have noted the significant expansion of the experiment while speaking to reporters at AUSA this week. He reflected on last year’s platoon-sized robot exercise in Colorado and how that instructed their plans moving forward.

"We learned a ton. There were some clear winners in the technology base. There were some that weren't as great," Coffman said of the Army's previous robot tank trial. "Now we're moving it up to company level. The lessons learned here, we can now then apply to a brigade and to a division and see how we want to fight with these things in the future."

Coffman also said he has no knowledge of any other country that has conducted anything above singular vehicle experiments but that hasn't stopped the U.S. Army from forging ahead with its plans in recent months. In August, five firms were hired to design prototypes for unmanned combat vehicles on the condition of operating an open systems architecture.

This system design approach means that the vehicles are able to accommodate third-party software and sensors, as program leaders plan to test autonomy software from different sources and enlist the country's top minds in the field to further enhance its machines and to integrate the latest AI capabilities in an easier and more effective manner.

"We have a system integration lab that's a combination of both software virtual environments as well as the hardware that represents those systems," explained Michael Cadieux, director of ground vehicles for the U.S. Army Development Command. "We'll do it in a virtual world… then apply it to the actual vehicle systems in a fairly relevant train to see how it performs."

Various studies of robotics and artificial intelligence have made the headlines in recent times. The results of a study last year found that people generally prefer androids to have human-like features, much like the Tesla Bot that Elon Musk unveiled at Tesla's AI event in August. This came just before the company delayed its Blade Runner-inspired Cybertruck into 2022.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.