Apple’s iPhones and other devices have become increasingly expensive, and the company may be using alternative sales models to help soften the blow. Bloombergsources claim Apple is developing a subscription service for the iPhone and other hardware. Akin to the iPhone upgrade program, you’d pay a monthly fee rather than an up-front cost or financed instalments. You’d “likely” manage the subscription through your Apple account.
Full details of what would be included weren’t available as of this writing, but the service would include regular upgrades and launch in either late 2022 or early 2023. Pricing is also unknown. Apple’s current upgrade program currently requires $35 or more per month to get both yearly iPhone upgrades and continuous AppleCare+ coverage.
Apple has already declined to comment. The company hasn’t been shy about moving toward subscriptions, mind you. Digital services like Apple Music, TV+ and Fitness+ have accounted for a rapidly growing slice of the firm’s revenue, and have helped soften the ups and downs of seasonal sales cycles as well as a relatively stagnant phone market. A broader hardware subscription offering would expand this strategy — Apple could count on a steadier revenue stream, particularly from customers who’d otherwise wait longer to replace their gadgets.
The Mac Studio’s storage isn’t quite as set in stone as you might think, although you’ll want to keep your expectations in check. iFixit has conducted a teardown of Apple’s pro desktop that suggests you can replace the SSD module in limited circumstances. The company managed to swap the drive with one of the same capacity (from another Mac Studio) by using Apple’s Configurator app to perform a DFU restore.
You can’t add a second module in the base model, and it’s unclear if higher capacities will work. However, this does suggest you could revive the Mac Studio with a spare module, if Apple ever makes them available through its self-repair program.
It’s no surprise you can’t replace the RAM, which is built into the M1 Max or Ultra chip. The Mac Studio is easier to access than you might think, though, with Torx screws (albeit a huge number of them) and removable ports. And yes, the cooling system in the Mac Studio is as massive as you’d heard. The fans are larger than on other Macs, iFixit said, and the aluminum heatsink in the base model is six times heavier than the one in the Mac mini.
The teardown led iFixit to give the Mac Studio a 6/10 score for repairability. The non-upgradeable components are the largest concerns, but the repair shop was also concerned about buried fans and the potential for dust build-up. You’re probably not buying this system expecting to treat it like a Mac Pro or many PC towers, but those limitations are worth noting if you intend to maintain the Studio yourself.
Activision has been served another lawsuit over harassment at the company. As Bloomberg Law and Game Developer report, an anonymous woman still working at Activision Blizzard has sued the game developer in a Los Angeles court for allegedly enabling sexual harassment and discrimination. The company also retaliated against her when she shared her experiences at a December 2021 press conference, according to the complaint.
As with past suits, the woman accused Activision Blizzard of routinely allowing misconduct. The senior administrative assistant in IT was reportedly pressured to join in “cube crawls” where women were harassed and groped, and was told to tolerate unwanted sexual advances and excessive drinking. She was also asked to keep her complaints private, according to the suit, and supposedly faced an increasingly hostile workplace the more she spoke out.
The plaintiff said she applied for positions elsewhere in the company to avoid sexism in IT, and wrote to president Allen Brack (who stepped down in August 2021 as the scandal grew) about the problems. She was offered and took a lower-paying role elsewhere in the company, but noted that her application for an executive assistant job was rejected in December that year, shortly after she’d applied in November.
In the lawsuit, the woman demands damages that include lost earnings and medical expenses. She also asks for functional reforms, including the ouster of CEO Bobby Kotick, a rotating human resources team (to prevent conflicts of interest) and the use of a neutral firm to investigate incidents.
We’ve asked Activision Blizzard for comment. The company has used some measures to address harassment and discrimination complaints, including removing employees, taking disciplinary actions and forming a committee to implement anti-harassment initiatives. It also settled an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit and has been more cooperative with investigations. However, it’s still facing a mounting number of legal challenges that include both more lawsuits and an SEC investigation — the debacle is far from over.
Don’t worry if you’ve wanted a 12.9-inch iPad Pro but have been put off by the official price —the tablet is considerably closer to Earth. Amazon is selling the M1-based WiFi model with 128GB of storage for a new all-time low price of $950 after you attach an instant coupon at checkout, or $149 less than usual. The 512GB version is back to a best-ever $1,299 price (down from $1,399) if you need more storage, and even the 2TB version is on sale for $2,050 (normally $2,199) if you demand the most capacity possible.
If this largest iPad Pro remains beyond your reach, you’ll be glad to know that Amazon is still running sales for the latest iPad Air and iPad mini models at respective starting prices of $570 and $459. They’re both speedy tablets, and they’re better fits if you want something more compact.
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro continues to serve as Apple’s no-compromise tablet. The M1 gives it performance on par with some well-specced laptops, and the 12.9-inch, 120Hz mini-LED screen is a treat whether you’re creating art or catching up on Netflix. A Thunderbolt port helps with expansion, too. The larger display size makes this the best iPad to turn into a pseudo-laptop using peripherals like the Magic Keyboard — it’s about as big as many portable PCs and gives iPadOS plenty of visual headroom.
That size does make this iPad Pro somewhat unwieldy if you plan to use it purely as a tablet, so you might want to consider the 11-inch Pro or Air if you want something easier to hold in your hands. You’ll also need to be content with iPadOS. While the software has come a long way, it doesn’t offer the window-based multitasking or in-depth file management of desktop platforms like macOS or Windows. If the OS fits your needs, though, few rivals can match this iPad’s prowess.
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Twitter is expanding DM searches to help you find the exact conversation you’re looking for. The social media app now lets you use the search bar in the DM inbox to find specific messages. Type in a keyword or name, pick the “Messages” tab and you’ll see any relevant messages, including older ones.
The company didn’t mention which platforms supported the feature (we’ve asked for comment). As of this writing, we could only search for people or groups on the web.
Twitter introduced DM searches in 2019, when they became available to iOS app users. The feature didn’t come to Android until 2021, but Twitter delivered an upgraded version that allowed searches of your full history rather than just recent threads. The firm teased the ability to search message content later that year, but it clearly took longer to deliver the upgrade than anticipated. Still, this might be appreciated if you’re trying to unearth a must-have restaurant or revisit a favorite discussion.
We know you’ve been waiting for the option to search your DMs…
Now you can use the search bar in your inbox to find specific messages using keywords and names. pic.twitter.com/A41G8Y45QI
Much like the Mac Studio, Apple’s new Studio Display is something its devoted fans have been begging for for years. LG’s Ultrafine 5K display was, well, just fine, but it wasn’t Apple-quality hardware. And while the company’s Pro XDR 6K display has practically every feature you’d want, it also costs an eye-watering $6,000. It sure would be nice if Apple just sold the 5K screen from the 27-inch iMac on its own!
Enter the Studio Display. It’s a bit brighter than the 5K iMac, but otherwise it’s pretty much the same 27-inch screen we’ve seen for years. To make up for the lack of modern features — like the faster ProMotion refresh rate and Mini-LED backlighting we saw on the latest MacBook Pros — Apple stuffed in an A13 Bionic chip to drive its webcam and speaker features. It’s not exactly a smart display as we’d define one, but it’s certainly smarter than most screens. Unfortunately, the Studio Display’s high $1,599 starting price makes it out of reach for everyone but the Apple faithful.
What’s truly maddening, though, is that Apple is seemingly oblivious to the display market in 2022. If you want a height adjustable stand, for example, you’ll have to shell out an additional $400 at the time of purchase. (This is the same company that priced the ProDisplay XDR’s stand at $1,000, don’t forget.) That feature is practically standard today, save for some truly budget offerings. Making height adjustment cost extra on such an expensive monitor is simply inexcusable. There’s also a VESA mount option, but you can only opt for that when you’re buying the screen. Heaven forbid your needs change after the fact.
And if you want Apple’s nano-texture glass option, which helps to reduce reflections in bright environments, be prepared to spend an additional $300. Putting that screen technology along with a height adjustable stand brings the total cost of the Studio Display to $2,299. Sigh. That’s just hard to stomach when I also have Alienware’s QD-OLED 34-inch ultrawide monitor on my desk — it’s pretty much the ultimate gaming screen, with a 175Hz refresh rate, 1,000 nits of peak brightness and actual HDR compatibility. And when compared to the Studio Display, the Alienware QD-OLED is practically a bargain at $1,299.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
I get it, the Studio Display isn’t made for me. And really, it’s not meant for anyone who’d consider a non-Apple product. It’s a monitor built expressly for the company’s devotees—the sort of user who demands a 5K screen that can accurately render MacOS, and who scoffs at the cheap plastic frames that plague the competition. I’ve talked to several Mac fanatics who are still running the company’s defunct Thunderbolt monitor, and avoided upgrading to the issue-plagued LG UltraFine 5K, who immediately preordered the Studio Display. For them, there just isn’t another option.
Despite my frustrations with so many aspects of the Studio Display, it’s still a very nice looking 5K LED screen. Its wide P3 gamut support allows colors to pop off the screen, which is particularly noticeable when working with high-resolution photos. The Studio Display isn’t technically an HDR screen, but it can still take advantage of the wider color range from HDR streams. Its 600 nits of brightness was also more than enough for my dimly lit office — that’s a good thing if you’re planning to use one right by a sunny window. And even though it’s an aging LED, at least it’s using an IPS panel, so colors still looked great from extreme viewing angles.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Naturally, the Studio Display also looks and feels like a premium Apple device, with a smooth aluminum case and an attractive design that’s striking from every angle. Around the back, there’s a single Thunderbolt 3 USB-C connection that can charge a MacBook Pro and deliver audio/data at the same time, along with three USB-C ports for accessories. So sure, Mac-heads may be overpaying a ton, but at least they’re getting a very usable monitor that’ll last for years.
Sometimes, though, using the Studio Display sometimes felt like I was trapped in a David Lynch-esque nightmare, where the beautiful veneer was covering subtle horrors. Black levels never looked better than a dim gray, for example, because the screen relies on a single LED backlight. A modern LCD screen in the same price range typically has dozens to hundreds of backlight zones. (The Mini-LED backlights on the new MacBook Pros have thousands of local dimming zones!) OLED displays, meanwhile, don’t even have to deal with backlight since their pixels can turn on and off individually, delivering far better contrast than the Studio Display.
I also couldn’t help but notice that scrolling through text and webpages just never looked as smooth as it does on my iPhone 13 Pro and other Apple ProMotion screens. Once you live with high refresh rates day-to-day, it’s hard to go back to any screen running at a mere 60Hz.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
The Studio Display’s six-speaker sound system is one of the most impressive things I’ve ever heard from a monitor, especially with the faux-surround sound from Dolby Atmos tracks, but it’s also paired with a surprisingly grimy 12-megapixel webcam. Its output consistently looked like it was covered in a layer of Vaseline, no matter if I was using it in a well-lit or dim environment. (And yes, I made sure the lens area wasn’t dirty somehow.) Apple says it’s working on a fix for the Studio Display’s webcam quality, but I’m just shocked they didn’t notice any issues until now.
Having Center Stage built into the Display was useful, especially if I was moving around a lot during a video call, but I can’t fully judge its quality until Apple fixes the camera issues. I’m more intrigued by the potential behind the Studio Display’s A13 chip, though. Twitter user “Khaos Tian” noticed that the monitor actually has 64GB of onboard storage, same as the base model of the A13-equipped iPhone 11.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
It could just be that it was easier for Apple to throw in the same storage, instead of bundling the A13 with a smaller disk. But a part of me can’t help but wonder what Apple could do with that hardware. Imagine transforming the Studio Display into a true smart screen, with the ability to take FaceTime calls and stream media over AirPlay without being physically connected to a Mac. Apple is far too risk averse to throw in major new features down the line, but I’m interested to see if hardware tinkerers can work some sort of magic on the Studio Display.
I don’t blame Mac fans for being excited about the Studio Display. When you’ve been stuck in a figurative desert for years, you’d be grateful for any kind of salvation. I just wish Apple was as devoted to its loyal followers as they are to the brand. Mac users are used to paying a premium, but they still deserve a screen with modern technology and a stand that can reach eye-level without a pile of books underneath.
You no longer have to prune your Google app search history by hand if you’re an Android user. Google confirmed to The Verge that it’s rolling out the option to delete the last 15 minutes of search history in its namesake Android app. Tap your profile icon and you should see a “delete last 15 min” if the feature is available.
The option should reach everyone within the “next few weeks,” according to Google representative Ned Adriance. Esper’s Mishaal Rahman and Twitter user Pan Du first noticed the history control last week.
This has been a long time in coming, to put it mildly. Google first announced the 15-minute feature at I/O 2021, and delivered it first to iOS users in July of that year. Android users were supposed to receive the update later that year. It’s not certain what prompted the delay. Still, you’ll likely appreciate the addition if you need to quickly hide a gift shopping expedition or (ahem) risqué searches.
Eero is relatively late to WiFi 6E, but it’s showing up in style — and making WiFi 6 more practical in the process. The Amazon brand has launched two new mesh routers led by the Eero Pro 6E (pictured below). The hardware takes advantage of the 6GHz band to offer up to a 1.3Gbps wireless connection for as many as 100 devices. Each unit has both 2.5Gbps and 1Gbps Ethernet jacks, and should cover up to 2,000 square feet each. Don’t worry if you don’t have the super-fast internet service to do it justice, though, as we’ve had some hands-on time with a more affordable option.
The equally new Eero 6+ (above) is ‘just’ a dual-band WiFi 6 model with two 1Gbps Ethernet ports, 1,500 square feet of coverage per router and a 75-device cap, but it now has access to a 160MHz radio channel that promises faster wireless data. Eero pitches this as the best choice for anyone with reasonably fast internet up to a gigabit.
We’ve briefly tried the 6+, and it works like much you’d expect if you’re familiar with Eero. It has no trouble wringing the most out of a 500Mbps cable internet plan despite the modem and devices living on different floors of a modestly-sized house. The Amazon tie-ins both simplify setup (including reconnecting if you change the network name or password) and controlling the router with Alexa. You can ask the voice assistant to halt internet access for specific users, for instance. Just be aware that this doesn’t have the tri-band wireless some rivals use to lighten the load on a busy network, so you may want to pass if you have multiple heavy users who can’t afford slowdowns.
Eero Pro 6E
Eero
The pricing is in line with the performance. You can buy the Eero Pro 6E now in a $499 two-pack or $699 three-pack. A single unit is available to pre-order for $299. The Eero 6+ is decidedly easier to justify for most people, based on our experience. It’s selling now at a $239 for a two-pack and $299 for a three-pack, with pre-orders open for a $139 one-device kit. And if you don’t mind using 2020-era hardware, the earlier Eero 6 has dropped to $89 for one router, $139 for two and $199 for three.
Both Microsoft and Okta have admitted that their systems were indeed infiltrated by the Lapsus$ hacking group, but both companies also said that the cyberattack’s impact was limited. In a post on the Microsoft Security blog, the tech giant has revealed that the group gained limited access to its systems using a single compromised account.
When the hacking group released a torrent with stolen data, it said the package included 90 percent of Bing’s source code and 45 percent of Cortana and Bing Maps code. Microsoft didn’t say whether those products’ codes were indeed stolen, but it explained that it “does not rely on the secrecy of code as a security measure and viewing source code does not lead to elevation of risk.” Apparently, the company was already investigating the compromised account even before Lapsus$’s announcement. The group’s move prompted Microsoft to move more quickly, allowing it interrupt the bad actor in the middle of its operation, thereby limiting its impact.
Meanwhile, Okta updated its old post made in response to the hacking claim and revealed that approximately 2.5 percent of its customers may have had their data viewed or acted upon. While the company has tens of thousands of customers, it actually supports “hundreds of millions of users,” according to its website. Okta confirmed it has already contacted the affected customers directly via email.
Okta previously said that it discovered a five-day window in January where an attacker had access to a support engineer’s laptop. However, it said the potential impact to Okta customers is limited, because support engineers only have access to limited data. Lapsus$ claimed that the statement was a lie, because it was able to log into a “superuser portal with the ability to reset the password and MFA” of around 95 percent of the company’s clients.
In addition to announcing the results of its investigation, Microsoft has also detailed how Lapsus$ operates in its post. The group apparently uses various tactics to gain entry into its targets’ systems, such as relying on social engineering and using password stealers. It also purchases logins from underground forums and even pays employees working in target organizations to use their credentials, approve MFA prompts and to install remote management software on a corporate workstation if needed. At times, it also performs SIM-swapping attacks to get access to a user’s phone number in order to receive their two-factor codes.
If it only gains access to account credentials for someone with limited privileges at first, it explores the company’s collaboration channels like Teams and Slack or exploits vulnerabilities to gain logins for users higher up in the organization. Microsoft said the group started by targeting cryptocurrency accounts, stealing wallets and funds. Eventually, it also targeted telecom companies, higher educational institutions and government organizations in South America and then worldwide.
NVIDIA’s move into robotics took another major step. It’s now selling for $1,999 the new Jetson AGX Orin developer kit, a palm-sized computing device up to eight times more powerful than its old Jetson AGX Xavier (275 trillion operations per second, or TOPS). It’s capable of these dizzying speeds thanks to its 12-core ARM CPUs, Ampere-based GPU and upgrades in plenty of other places. NVIDIA is also helping robot creators with a new Isaac Nova Orin platform that includes two Jetson AGX Orin modules and the sensors needed for a robot to detect the world around it. The platform can handle up to six cameras, three LiDAR units and eight ultrasonic sensors.
You might have to wait for NVIDIA’s robot innovations, though. Most of this will come before the end of 2022, with a $399 for a basic Orin NX kit set to debut in Q4. Prospective clients are probably not you and me, but NVIDIA’s past robot brain tech has been used in John Deere’s autonomous tractor and Hyundai Robotics’ projects.
That beachside background isn’t funny anymore. But a cow face?
Zoom has introduced avatars that replace your head with a 3D character that mimics your facial expressions. Effectively, it’s Apple’s Animoji for virtual offices and classrooms. Only animals like cats, dogs and foxes are available for now, but more are incoming. The company stressed this doesn’t use facial recognition. The feature is available now on Zoom 5.10.0 or later on iOS, Mac and Windows devices.
The DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google in 2020.
The US Department of Justice has accused Google of training its employees on how to shield business communications from discovery in cases of legal disputes “by using false requests for legal advice.” The DOJ has told the judge overseeing its antitrust case against the tech giant that Google instructs employees to add in-house lawyers to written communication, apply attorney–client privilege labels to them and make a request for legal advice even when it’s not needed.
Okta is an authentication company, so that’s not good.
South American hacking group Lapsus$ claims to have stolen source code for Bing, Cortana and internal Microsoft projects from a server. Lapsus$ released a torrent on Monday that’s said to contain 37GB of source code for around 250 projects. “We are aware of the claims and are investigating,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Engadget.
The same group has also targeted Okta, though the company says it has not yet found evidence of a breach following an incident in January. Lapsus$ posted screenshots of what it claimed was Okta’s internal systems.
Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite is one of the nicest e-readers out there, benefiting from a bigger screen with 300 pixels-per-inch and a glare-free surface. Now, you can pick one up at an all-time low of just $105 — it’s usually $140. There are also deals on the base Kindle model and Kindle Kids.
The new 4K Boost Lens apparently offers improved image capture.
Insta360
The new Insta360 One RS is yet another modular action cam from the company, but this time it packs an upgraded processor to support onboard FlowState Stabilization (this used to be handled by the app, which took time) as well as Active HDR video capture — one apparently powerful enough to handle action sports without ghosting issues. A new 4K Boost Lens features a larger 1/2-inch 48MP sensor. This can capture 4K 60 fps footage and 1080p clips at up to 200 fps. You can get this One RS 4K Edition kit for $299.99. And if you already own a One R, you’ll be pleased to know this 4K Boost Lens is backward compatible, too.
