It didn’t take long for wireless earbuds to become ubiquitous. Apple’s AirPods launched back in September 2016, joining notable true wireless headphones from Jabra, Sony, Samsung, and others. A few years later, they’re the go-to choice for many of us when listening to music, podcasts and streaming services on our phones and tablets.
However, because we use them so often, wireless earbuds can quickly get dirty. They will come into contact with ear wax, oils and skin cells. Hygiene aside, you should clean your earbuds (and their charging case) because it may result in better-sounding, longer-lasting headphones. Always use the gentlest cleaning equipment before going ham with rubbing alcohol or a metallic tool. Doing so will reduce the chances of damaging your headphones’ often glossy plastic casing and lessen the chances of damaging the delicate membranes that many buds (and some eartips) have. I speak from experience, having perforated two AirPod membranes due to over-enthusiastic cleaning. Even when removing the tips, take care: With Sony’s WF-1000XM4, you need to twist and pull them off. Just follow the manufacturers’ guidance (we list several guides below), along with our best tips below.
How to clean your wireless earbuds
Mat Smith/Engadget
The cleaning process differs depending on what kind of buds you have. First, there are wireless earbuds with removable silicone (or plastic) buds, like the Galaxy Buds, Sony’s WF-1000XM4 buds or most Beats buds, and several models with a single solid body, like Apple’s original AirPods.
The main difference is that the detachable tips are easier to deep clean. They are also replaceable and spare tips often come in-box. You can also use soapy water or other mild cleaning products on particularly messy tips without fear of damaging the electrical parts of your headphones.
Wipe down the earbuds and removable tips with a microfiber cloth. As most wireless buds are stored in a case, you may find that dirt from the tips has shifted to the headphones too. Apple says you can use “70-percent isopropyl alcohol wipe, 75-percent ethyl alcohol wipe or disinfectant wipes” to clean the exterior of its wireless headphones, but advises that you shouldn’t use wet wipes on the speaker mesh parts of the AirPods. Samsung’s guidance sticks to soft dry clothes and cotton swabs.
Remove the tips, and gently trace the inside of each bud with cotton swab, or a toothpick if you need something thinner. If any detritus sticks around, upgrade to a metal loop on the end of an earphone cleaning tool, but just go carefully. Metallic objects are more likely to scratch and pierce things. The cleaning tool also has a brush at the other end to pull out any loose dirt. Once clear, wipe the sides of the tips with a slightly damp cloth.
The AirPods Pro tips each have a delicate mesh membrane, making it easier to clean than membranes on the headphones themselves, but they’re also fragile. Apple itself advises that you can rinse the tips with water, adding you shouldn’t use soap or other cleaning products on them. If you do use a damp cloth or rinse them, make sure to set them on a dry cloth and let them dry completely before reattaching them.
Apple advises using cotton swabs or a dry cloth for the microphone and speaker mesh parts of the AirPods. You can also use a bulb air blower, which should provide a mild amount of force to dislodge dirt without harming electrics. However, while it might be stronger, don’t use canned air. Sony says this can force dust further into the microphone or sound outlet holes.
How to clean your wireless earbuds’ charging case
Mat Smith/Engadget
You might find that your charging case is in a worse state than your buds. With deep crevices to pick up dirt from your buds when they’re charging, the case can also pick up pocket-lint from being in, well, pockets and your bag. These cases typically use metal contacts to connect to and charge the buds, so any build-up of dirt or earwax can actually affect recharging your headphones. It pays to keep those charging contacts clean. A soft cloth, or a cotton swab for more difficult-to-reach locations, should be able to capture anything blocking your buds from charging. You could also use a bit of air from a bulb air blower – I find the ones with a brush attached are perfect for this.
For both the earbuds and the case, you can use a thin toothpick to pull away any grime or wax trapped in the seams of the device. Most earbuds are molded plastic, but some have edges and lines that collect dirt together.
How to keep your wireless earbuds clean
Now your buds are looking pristine, try to keep them looking that way. If you’re using your AirPods or Galaxy Buds during your workouts, wipe them down with a cloth afterward to reduce the chances of moisture getting inside. The more frequently you check on the state of your wireless earbuds, the easier they are to clean.
We’ll finish this guide with a little bit of digital hygiene: make sure any companion TWE apps are up-to-date. These updates can sometimes add notable new features or improve performance. Your smartphone will usually transmit firmware updates to your earbuds automatically after OS and app updates, so make sure you keep them nearby to your phone. This is especially true with iPhones and AirPods, which will not notify you when firmware updates are available. Check that you’ve got the latest version of the firmware in iOS settings (you probably do), and if it’s not up-to-date, make sure both your iPhone and AirPods are plugged into power and (crucially) near each other. The update should be beamed to the AirPods pretty quickly, but you can also leave the devices next to each other overnight to ensure the update happens.
Ukraine is now using Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology for purposes such as identifying Russian soldiers, its CEO claimed. Hoan Ton-That told Reuters the company offered Ukraine’s defense ministry free access to its system following the invasion by Russia.
According to the report, Clearview suggested Ukraine could use the tech to reunite refugees with family members, fight misinformation, assess at checkpoints whether someone is a person of interest and to identify dead bodies. The company hasn’t offered its technology to Russia.
Engadget has contacted the defense ministry for comment. Ukraine officials previously suggested they were considering using the tech.
It’s not clear exactly what Ukraine is using the system for, Ton-That said, while noting it shouldn’t be used as the sole means of identification. He and Clearview advisor Lee Wolosky claimed other Ukraine government agencies plan to start using the tech over the coming days.
Ton-That said Clearview has access to more than 2 billion photos from VKontakte, the Russian social media service, and more than 10 billion images overall in its database.
Clearview’s controversial tech has come under fire from many quarters over the last few years. This month, Italy fined the company €20 million ($27.9 million) and ordered it to delete images of Italian nationals. The UK provisionally fined Clearview £17 million ($22.6 million) in November for breaking data protection laws.
Canada, Australia and France are among the countries that have told Clearview to delete images of its residents and citizens. It’s also facing privacy lawsuits in the US, where lawmakers have urged federal agencies to stop using the tech. Meta, Google, Venmo, Twitter and other platforms have demanded that Clearview stop scraping images from them as well.
Apple’s latest MacBook Pros are some of the most powerful laptops you can get right now, and they have high price tags to match. But if you’ve had your eye on the 16-inch model, you can grab it for $200 less than usual right now thanks to a new Amazon sale. The online retailer has the 512GB model for $2,299 and the 1TB version for $2,499, both of which are record-low prices.
These are the MacBook Pros many have been waiting for, not only for their impressive power but also their equally improved connectivity. We gave the M1 Pro and M1 Max laptops a score of 92 for their excellent performance, lovely Liquid Retina XDR Displays, great speakers and solid battery lives. Both machines blew every Windows machine we reviewed last year out of the water when it came to performance benchmarks, and we didn’t notice a slow down when the laptops ran in battery power. Plus, you’ll get a lot of use out of them before you need to power up — the 14-inch laptop lasted about 12.5 hours in our testing, while the 16-inch model survived for just over 16 hours.
Power alone makes these laptops solid options for videographers, photographers and other creatives, but they’re made even better by the new ports Apple included on both laptops. You’re no longer limited to just a few Thunderbolt ports — both machines now have a full-sized HDMI port, a MagSafe power connector, three USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports and an SD card slot. So while you will still need an adapter if you have USB-A accessories, hooking the machine up to other peripherals is much easier than it was on previous models. They may still be expensive even with this discount, but it’s hard to beat the latest MacBook Pros if you’re looking for a new laptop with as much power as possible, plus all of the latest features from Apple.
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Meta may be walking back a temporary exemption that let Facebook users in Ukraine call for Russian President Putin’s death. Reutersclaims to have seen an internal post from Meta global affairs President Nick Clegg indicating the company was “narrowing” its moderation to make clear that it wouldn’t allow calls for the death of any head of state. While Meta didn’t appear to have changed its mind on Russian soldiers, the firm also wanted to make it “explicitly clear” that hate speech and threats against the general Russian population were also forbidden.
When asked for comment, Meta confirmed the new policy to Engadget but didn’t add details. Clegg said Meta would share the change in policy with the Oversight Board that helps shape the social media giant’s moderation practices.
The rethink comes just as Russia has banned Instagram in response to Meta’s earlier stance on calls for violence. The country had already blocked Facebook, but Interfax and Reutersreported that state prosecutors had called on a court to label Meta as an “extremist organization” with that previous company policy in mind.
We wouldn’t count on Russia lifting any bans following Meta’s revised approach. The state has blocked or limited multiple foreign internet services to stifle political dissent, including Twitter and Zello, and CNBC said prosecutors had opened a criminal investigation of the company in answer to the previous Ukraine policy. Meta doesn’t have much support in the Kremlin, and that opinion is unlikely to change any time soon.
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Russia has followed through on its plan to ban Instagram. The Washington Postreports the country shut down access on March 14th as promised, leaving nearly 60 million users (according to Statista) without easy access. Regulator Roskomnadzor issued the ban in response to Meta ‘temporarily’ letting Ukranian users call for the deaths of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his soldiers invading Ukraine.
Meta has reportedly changed its guidance since. According to Reuters, a leaked internal post from global affairs President Nick Clegg revealed the company was “narrowing the focus” of its policy to once again ban calls for Putin’s death, and to warn that the soldier exemption didn’t let people wish harm against all Russians.
It’s not certain if any Russians can access Instagram through VPNs. At least some users couldn’t use those connection tunnels to circumvent the ban. Major Instagram creators have been telling followers to join them in the secure chat app Telegram, which still operates in the country and has become vital during the Ukraine war as a relatively private and surveillance-resistant communications tool.
There’s no guarantee Russia will reverse its stance on Instagram even if it considers Meta’s revised guidance acceptable. The nation has already blocked Facebook and Twitter, and made it illegal for media to publish content that challenges the government’s official line on Ukraine. Putin’s administration has been determined to silence political dissent, and unknown agents have supposedly aided that goal by paying Russian TikTok stars to spread pro-Kremlin messages despite a ban on new uploads. Russia still considers Western social media a threat, and that’s unlikely to change in the near future.
Since the iPhone 5c, Apple’s approach to making a more affordable iPhone has been to stuff premium processors into cases belonging to older models. With the third generation of the iPhone SE, the company has stuck to that strategy. With its home button, top and bottom bezels and rounded corners, the new iPhone SE is nearly identical to the 2020 model, at least on the outside. Inside, this year’s version packs an A15 Bionic chip and a 5G radio, promising a serious speed boost. Apple is also touting longer battery life and improved durability on this year’s model, which will set you back a modest $429. That’s $30 more than the last iPhone SE, but still cheaper than the $450 Pixel 5a. If you want a simple iPhone that runs like new, and you don’t mind the dated design and single rear camera, the iPhone SE might fit the bill.
Design
At a time when basically all smartphones have done away with home buttons, this year’s iPhone SE feels anachronistic. Its home button sits in a bezel below the screen, while the top bezel hides the device’s front camera. If you’re familiar with the last iPhone SE, then you’ll know what to expect: This year’s model is so similar that I legit have trouble telling them apart. The only way I know which one I’m holding is if I scrutinize the phone’s rear casing under a fluorescent light. The review unit Apple sent this year is a dark blue, while the 2020 iPhone SE in my possession is black. Oh, and, according to the specs sheets, the new SE is a wholefour grams lighter. Considering the earlier model already looked outdated, the latest iPhone feels very much stuck in the past.
Still, in spite of its stodgy design, I like the way the SE feels. It’s very similar to the Pixel 3: slim, slightly curved and solidly built. The iPhone 13 mini is a little smaller and thicker, with flatter edges and a notch at the top of its 5.4-inch screen that houses its front camera. If you hate notches but for some reason don’t mind bezels, the iPhone SE’s retro look is for you.
More importantly, Apple says the iPhone SE is covered in the same hardy glass used on the iPhone 13. While I have yet to drop my review unit, knowing that this will be more scratch resistant offers some peace of mind. I don’t use a case with the iPhone 13, and it’s still pristine, despite having been tossed into bags with keys and other sharp objects. It does pick up fingerprints and smudges very easily, though. It’s also nice that the iPhone SE is rated IP67 for dust and water resistance — something the Galaxy A52 5G and the Pixel 5a also offer.
Display and audio
Like many phones from 2017, this year’s iPhone SE sports a 4.7-inch LCD screen with 1,334 x 750 resolution. Honestly, those specs are downright tragic for 2022 standards, by which OLEDs have become commonplace. Don’t even get me started on the refresh rate. The Galaxy A52 has a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED running at 120Hz, while the Pixel 5a’s OLED panel at least refreshes at 90Hz.
I used four phones – the iPhone SE, its predecessor, the iPhone 13 mini and the Pixel 5a – to watch a recap of the Apple event on YouTube concurrently on each device at max brightness. The iPhone 13 mini was the brightest, followed by the Pixel. The iPhone SEs were indistinguishable from each other and had a reddish tint compared to the other two.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
It’s not going to wow you, but the iPhone SE’s display is serviceable. I watched the beginning of The Problem with Jon Stewart on the TV+ app, and though everything looked somewhat muted compared to the OLEDs I’m used to, the show still looked fine. You’ll definitely want to push the screen to max brightness to watch videos outdoors in the sun, though.
Despite its small size, the iPhone SE’s speakers are surprisingly loud. I enjoyed listening to the tap-dancing sequence in a video of a performance of Anything Goes, as well as Sutton Foster’s ample vocals.
Cameras
The iPhone SE’s biggest disadvantage in the mid-range space is its cameras. It has just one rear 12-megapixel sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, while most of the competition come with at least two, making them more versatile shooting rigs.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
But if you’re content with a solo camera, the iPhone SE 2022 will suffice. It takes surprisingly sharp and colorful photos that are on par with the iPhone 13 mini’s. Ornaments on the red brick facade of a local building looked equally crisp when shot on either phone, even when I zoomed all the way in. It’s clear that with the A15 Bionic and processing upgrades like Smart HDR 4, Apple’s been able to make the iPhone SE’s camera perform as well as the main sensor on its flagship.
The Pixel 5a generally produced darker images with cooler, more neutral tones in its images, and though I’m not a fan of Apple’s default treatment, which has a slightly yellowish tinge, you do have the ability to change that. The company introduced Photographic Styles with the iPhone 13 series, which lets you adjust preset profiles for contrast and tone. Every picture you capture will use those settings (until you pick a different style). Happily, the new iPhone SE also offers Photographic Styles, so you can exercise a bit more control over how your shots turn out.
I was surprised by how similar the iPhone SE’s pictures were to the iPhone 13 mini’s. From landscapes to portraits of my coworkers, there were barely any differences in the shots taken by the two phones. The Pixel 5a was better at isolating our video producer’s spiky hair from the background than either iPhone, but all three devices performed admirably.
Our main complaint about the last iPhone SE’s camera was that there was no Night mode. This year’s model still doesn’t offer one, and though some of the pictures I took of buildings surrounded by mist one night came out muddy, others came out bright and sharp. It’s likely that my shivering hands contributed to the blur, but in general, Google retains an advantage in low light.
Up front, the iPhone SE’s 7-MP camera also falls short of the competition on paper, but in reality it performed just as well as the Pixel 5a and iPhone 13 mini. It struggled to keep up in dim environments, though; I observed a more noticeable difference in the selfies I shot inside a stationary car one night. The iPhone SE’s photos weren’t as clean as the others, but they were still good enough to share.
Performance
Synthetic benchmarks don’t paint the most complete picture of a phone’s performance, but in a pinch they’re a good point of reference. The iPhone SE’s Geekbench 5 scores blew away the Galaxy S22 series, and even came close to matching the iPhone 13 Pro. That makes sense, given Apple equipped its budget phone with the same powerful A15 Bionic chip found in its flagship series.
In everyday use, the A15 Bionic was powerful enough for most of my tasks, including editing and exporting a minute-long video in iMovie and using the camera’s Live Text feature to scan product labels around me. I did notice some delays while setting up the phone, with a noticeable pause from when I tapped “Continue” to when the next page came up. I also couldn’t screen record while using SharePlay on a FaceTime video call to show my home page to my colleague which, according to an alert, was a buffering issue. Apple also doesn’t allow you to record your screen while SharePlaying, which I wish was what the notification explained instead. But everything else ran smoothly.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
The iPhone SE did get a little warm while I ran tests and used the camera’s Live Text feature to scan addresses on a bottle and look them up in Maps. Thankfully, it cooled back down quickly.
As someone who’s grown accustomed to gesture-based navigation, I needed to reacquaint myself with using a home key. It doesn’t physically depress; like on the previous iPhone SE this is a touch sensor that vibrates in response when you push it. That said, as strange as it felt to navigate iOS with a home button, I did welcome the convenience of Touch ID.
Unlocking the phone was a breeze, too, and if you’re familiar with the last iPhone SE’s sensor you’ll be used to this, especially since the hardware is exactly the same. In fact, if you’ve never known life without the button below the screen and don’t want to give it up, this is the only modern phone around with it.
Battery life and connectivity
One area where small devices like the iPhone SE and iPhone 13 mini tend to fall short is battery life. Apple promised that the A15 Bionic would bring better endurance to this year’s iPhone SE, which turned out to be true. While it did outlast its predecessor, the latest iPhone SE made it just about 12 hours on our video rundown battery test. The iPhone 13 mini clocked a few hours more, while the Pixel 5a notched an impressive 22 hours and 56 minutes.
In daily use, the new iPhone SE typically lasted about a day before needing a charge. I spent one morning and afternoon testing its camera and display, and by 6pm it had dropped to 46 percent. At about 9pm it had fallen to 37 percent, and I hadn’t done much besides taking nighttime photos. The iPhone SE definitely won’t survive your after-work nights out.
I do appreciate that, in addition to the Lightning port, the iPhone SE charges wirelessly. It also supports sub-6 5G, and can work with midband networks as well. Those hoping for ultrawideband for more precise AirTag locations will be disappointed; Apple didn’t include it here. mmWave 5G is also a missing feature, though with the lack of widely available reliable coverage, that’s more understandable.
The competition
If you’re considering the iPhone SE, you’ve probably already decided Android isn’t for you. But I feel it’s my duty to tell you that in this price range, non-Apple offerings tend to offer better specs. Sure, the A15 bionic is the most powerful chip you’re going to get at this price, but nowadays most mid-range phones come with competent processors. You probably won’t notice a huge difference in daily performance between the iPhone SE and the Pixel 5a, which uses a Snapdragon 765G.
What you’re likely to miss out on by sticking to Apple is beautiful OLED panels with faster screen refresh rates. The Pixel 5a and Galaxy A52 also come with multi-camera systems that will make shooting landscapes or faraway objects easier. But if you’d rather stick to a familiar ecosystem, or if the person who you’re buying this for doesn’t need those things, the iPhone SE is a safe choice.
Apple currently still sells the iPhone 11 for $500, so if you have about $70 more to spend it’s worth considering while it’s available. You’ll lose 5G and the home button, and get an A13 chip instead of the A15. But the iPhone 11 also offers longer battery life and a second ultra-wide camera.
If you’re in the market for a small, cheaper iPhone, you’ve probably also got your eye on the iPhone 13 mini. For about $270 more, it brings a nicer, fullscreen display, additional rear camera, updated design and slightly longer battery life. You’ll have to finally let go of the home button and Touch ID, sure, and get used to a notch for the selfie camera. But those are fairly minor tradeoffs. I do want to point out that the base model’s 64GB of storage is measly. I’ve barely installed all my apps on my review unit and there’s already about 22GB gone. You’ll definitely want to spend the extra $50 for the 128GB version at least, which is what the entry-level iPhone 13 mini includes.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Wrap-up
For the price, the iPhone SE offers many advanced features, like a premium processor, 5G support and iOS 15. With these, Apple’s mid-range phone is likely to keep running respectably for at least two more years. But some of its other aspects are practically ancient, like its cramped screen and limited camera setup. If you’re hellbent on getting an iPhone for under $500, and don’t want a refurbished version of previous flagships, the iPhone SE is good enough. Plus, this is the only iPhone around that still has Touch ID, which many people prefer over Face ID.
Those who want superior cameras and displays, though, should at least consider the Galaxy A52 or the iPhone 13. If you can wait a little longer and don’t mind Android, there’s also a chance Google’s next mid-range Pixel will be a better deal. For now, it’s nice to see a new iPhone SE that brings modern performance and connectivity in a design that fans of smaller phones will enjoy. It’s basic, but it gets the job done.
Key specs
Spec
iPhone SE (3rd generation)
Display
4.7-inch 1,334 x 750 widescreen Retina HD (LCD), 326ppi,
Dimensions
5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches / 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm; 5.09 oz / 144 grams
Processor and Storage
A15 Bionic; 64GB / 128GB / 256GB storage
Rear cameras
12MP main camera, f/1.8 aperture with up to 5x digital zoom, Smart HDR 4, Deep Fusion and Night Mode Time Lapse
Front camera
7MP, f/2.2, with Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 4 and Night Mode Time Lapse
Battery
Up to 15 hours video playback, Up to 50 percent charge in 30 minutes with separate 20W adapter or higher, Qi-certified wireless charging
Sensors and connectivity
Touch ID fingerprint sensor in home button, NFC, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
