Technology

You don’t need a set of AirPods to get wireless audio from your iPhone, iPad or Mac, but Apple’s earbuds and headphones offer a lot of convenient integrations with its other products that you won’t find anywhere else. After helping popularize true wireless earbuds with its original AirPods, the company has expanded its lineup to include noise-canceling models and a set of over-ear headphones. Here’s what you need to know about AirPods in general, along with the best overall, budget and over-ear picks from Apple’s current slate of products.

Table of contents

• What you need to know about AirPods

• Best AirPods for 2025

• Best AirPods specs comparison chart

• Other AirPods we tested

What you need to know about AirPods

When it comes to Apple’s earbuds and headphones, there are several things you’ll want to keep in mind before making your final decision. First, the standard AirPods are the open-design earbuds with no tip that allow some environmental noise to come into your ears at all times. The Apple AirPods Pro are the model with the soft ear tips that completely close off your ear canal, which enables features like more powerful noise cancellation and the hearing test. Lastly, the Apple AirPods Max are the company’s over-ear noise-canceling headphones preferred by audiophiles, and currently the company’s only option for wireless headphones at all that aren’t made by Beats.

There are a few features that are available across all models as they’ve become inherent to the AirPods experience. First, you can expect connectivity perks like Automatic Switching between Apple devices that are synced with your iCloud account. This means that a pair of AirPods will automatically change to your phone when you get a call while you’re listening to music on a MacBook, for example. It’s functionally similar to multipoint Bluetooth, but the feature isn’t limited to two devices like most earbuds and headphones. Second, hands-free access to Siri is the default, allowing you to ask the assistant for help without touching your AirPods. And lastly, Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking is available across the entire lineup, even on the most affordable version and the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation.

If you don’t think any of the AirPods options are right for you, consult our recommendations on the best wireless earbuds and best wireless headphones for some alternatives.

Best AirPods for 2025

Best AirPods specs comparison chart

AirPods 4

AirPods Pro 2

AirPods Max

Price

$129

$249

$549

Design

In-ear

In-ear

Over-ear

H2 chip

Yes

Yes

Yes

ANC

No

Yes

Yes

Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking

Yes

Yes

Yes

Hearing test

No

Yes

No

Rated battery life

5 hours

6 hours

20 hours

Durability

Dust, sweat, and water resistant (IP54)

Dust, sweat, and water resistant (IP54)

N/A

Other AirPods we tested AirPods 4 with ANC

The AirPods 4 with ANC represent the first time active noise cancellation has been available on the open-wear, “regular” AirPods. Design-wise, they’re the same as the non-ANC model, so the difference is entirely in the features list. This more expensive version adds Adaptive Audio, Transparency mode, Conversation Awareness and a wireless charging case. The ANC isn’t as powerful as the AirPods Pro 2, partially due to the fact that the AirPods 4 doesn’t completely seal off your ears. The noise-canceling performance is definitely useful though, working best with constant, low-frequency annoyances like fans and white noise machines. Lastly, you won’t get access to Apple’s hearing test and hearing aid features, partially due to the fact that the AirPods 4 with ANC doesn’t seal off your ears, which would affect accuracy and effectiveness.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/best-airpods-100041810.html?src=rss

Rumors circulated today that robotaxi company Waymo might use data from vehicles' interior cameras to train AI and sell targeted ads to riders. However, the company has tried to quell concerns, insisting that it won't be targeting ads to passengers.

The situation arose after researcher and engineer Jane Manchun Wong discovered an unreleased version of Waymo's privacy policy that suggested the robotaxi company could start using data from its vehicles to train generative AI. The draft policy has language allowing customers to opt out of Waymo "using your personal information (including interior camera data associated with your identity) for training GAI." Wong's discovery also suggested that Waymo could use that camera footage to sell personalized ads to riders.

Later in the day, The Verge obtained comments on this unreleased privacy policy from Waymo spokesperson Julia Ilina. "Waymo's [machine learning] systems are not designed to use this data to identify individual people, and there are no plans to use this data for targeted ads," she said. Ilina said the version found by Wong featured "placeholder text that doesn’t accurately reflect the feature’s purpose" and noted that the feature was still in development. It "will not introduce any changes to Waymo’s Privacy Policy, but rather will offer riders an opportunity to opt out of data collection for ML training purposes."

Hopefully Waymo holds to those statements. Privacy and security are huge concerns as AI companies try to feed their models as much information as possible. Waymo is owned by Alphabet and Google is developing its own AI assistant, Gemini, as well as other AI projects with its DeepMind division.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-has-no-plans-to-sell-ads-to-riders-based-on-camera-data-225340265.html?src=rss

Consumer electronics brand Framework announced today on X that it will temporarily suspend US sales of select laptop models as a result of the global tariffs enacted for the country last week. The company said it will remove the Ultra 5 125H and Ryzen 5 7640U versions of its Laptop 13 systems from its website. At the time of publish, that Ultra 5 Intel model is not listed, but the Ryzen 5 one with the AMD chip appears to still be available for purchase.

In a follow-up post, the company said that it originally priced its laptops based on a 0 percent tariff for goods from Taiwan. With the current 10 percent tariff, the products would be sold at a loss. "Other consumer goods makers have performed the same calculations and taken the same actions, though most have not been open about it," Framework said.

Given the language of the initial post, this doesn't seem to be the end of US customers' chances to buy Laptop 13 models. But the sweeping tariffs on imports enacted by President Donald Trump last week have already sparked other industries to rethink their US sales and pricing. UK-based Jaguar Land Rover also paused shipments to the US as a result of the tariffs, while Japan's Nintendo has delayed pre-orders for the Switch 2 gaming console, although the launch date appears unchanged.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/framework-pauses-some-us-laptop-sales-due-to-tariffs-221115971.html?src=rss

After an internal investigation, The White House has come up with a likely explanation for how Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was included in a Signal chat filled with Trump officials planning to bomb the Houthis. The Guardian reports that the issue came down to National Security Advisor Mike Waltz not understanding how his iPhone works.

Apparently, after Goldberg attempted to contact the Trump campaign about a separate issue in 2024, Brian Hughes, a Trump spokesperson, shared Goldberg's contact information and email signature with Waltz. It only took a few wrong taps after that to lay the groundwork for "Signalgate," The Guardian writes:

Waltz did not ultimately call Goldberg, the people said, but in an extraordinary twist, inadvertently ended up saving Goldberg’s number in his iPhone – under the contact card for Hughes, now the spokesperson for the national security council.

So Waltz didn't realize his iPhone was updating a contact rather than creating a new one, and meant to add Hughes to the group chat rather than Goldberg. This explanation doesn't change the fact that the kind of planning happening in the "Houthi PC small group" probably shouldn't have taken place on an encrypted messaging app — and especially without Congress weighing in. But this discovery does add a new flavor of grim stupidity to the whole affair.

Not long after Signalgate, the Pentagon warned against using Signal because it's vulnerable to Russian phishing attacks, but clearly the Trump administration likes the app's security and the instantaneous communication it allows. Having a more secure option reportedly hasn't stopped Waltz from using Gmail, though.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/the-white-house-has-reportedly-settled-on-an-explanation-for-how-signalgate-happened-212107380.html?src=rss

Players are gearing up for the arrival of the Switch 2 this summer, and we've been piecing together details about how game ownership and sharing will work. The picture is coming together, and in true Nintendo fashion, it's a bit odd.

Developers who release projects on the Switch 2 will have the option to sell their work as a "Game-Key card," which looks like a traditional physical game cartridge, but has no game data stored on it. Instead, when slotted into a Switch 2, game-key cards will automatically present instructions on how to download the title in question. The hardware will need an Internet connection and enough space for the game files on its system memory or microSD Express card. Once the download is complete, that Switch 2 can run the game whenever the game-key card is inserted into the system. The Switch no longer needs an Internet connection once the title has been downloaded, unless the game separately requires you to be online to play. We've now learned via GameSpot that game-key cards won't be automatically connected to a single console or to a user's Nintendo account.

It's an unusual hybrid approach, and with many hybrid concepts, you get the best and worst of both worlds. For instance, storage is going to be at a premium in the Switch 2 and game-key card downloads will eat into that limited space. And unfortunately, game-key cards don't future-proof customers against the day when Nintendo might decide to shut down the servers for the Switch 2, as it did with other sunsetted hardware like the Wii U and 3DS in 2024. If and when that happens, the game-key cards will be essentially useless.

But there are some upsides, particularly when it comes to sharing or reselling games. We already knew that Nintendo would have an option called GameShare that supports local multiplayer with only a single purchased copy of the title, while Virtual Game Cards offer digital sharing (if in a convoluted way). The addition of game-key cards that aren't tied to a single person's Nintendo account makes it easier to pass a game off to a friend once you've finished with it, or to resell it and recoup some of the $80 price tag of major releases.

And in case you were wondering: yes, the game cartridges will still taste terrible.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/switch-2-game-key-cards-wont-be-tied-to-your-nintendo-account-204735286.html?src=rss

Jackbox has been making fun party games for well over a decade at this point, but it just held its first-ever direct livestream event. The company had plenty of news to share, including the pending release of both a new minigame collection and a standalone trivia title.

The Jackbox Party Pack 11 includes "five brand-new game concepts to bring the party game experience to the next level." These include an audio-based game in which players compete to make the best sound effects. There’s also a fantasy-themed trivia title and a head-to-head joke-writing game.

The pack is rounded out by a social deduction game that’s centered around a court trial and a "cozy drawing game." That last one tasks players to create designs based on "bizarre prompts." If it’s anything like Drawful, which is a fantastic drawing-based game by Jackbox, we will be extremely pleased. The Jackbox Party Pack 11 will be available this fall for just about every platform.

If you feel like you haven't heard from Jackbox Games in a while, that’s because it didn’t release a party pack last year. The company said it took a year off to "innovate and deliver some long-requested products for fans."

The showcase concluded with the reveal of Trivia Murder Party 3, the next entry in the franchise. This one brings online matchmaking into the mix, though folks can still play locally via the classic Jackbox room code. This installment is set in a summer camp with a serial killer on the loose. Only answering trivia questions can stop the murderous rampage. It will be available as an early access title on Steam later in the year, with a general release date set for 2026.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/jackbox-is-back-with-new-party-games-including-one-based-on-sound-effects-184524066.html?src=rss

With the last Mission: Impossible film, Dead Reckoning, the long-running franchise officially entered science fiction territory by making intelligent AI its villain. We've seen Tom Cruise's Ethan hunt jump off of buildings and hang from the side of planes, but how can he fight a computer program? The latest trailer for the series' next film, and potentially the last to feature Hunt, doesn't answer that question, but clearly it will involve even more death-defying stunts (like hanging on to a flipping bi-plane!), geeky gadgets and Tom Cruise running inhumanly fast.

As I wrote in my review of Deck Reckoning: "As much as I love other action film franchises – like John Wick’s increasingly elaborate choreography, or the sheer ridiculousness of the Fast and the Furious – Mission: Impossible remains uniquely enjoyable. It’s committed to delivering astonishing practical stunt work. It’s self-aware just enough to poke fun at itself. And a part of me hopes that somehow, a team of geeks can also fight back against the excesses of AI."

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning hits theaters on May 23.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/tom-cruise-gears-up-to-save-us-from-ai-in-the-latest-mission-impossible---the-final-reckoning-trailer-181032815.html?src=rss

When the AirPods Max arrived in late 2020, there wasn’t much spatial audio content for Apple’s high-end headphones. What’s more, there wasn’t any support at all for lossless audio. The company hadn’t added Dolby Atmos and lossless tunes to Apple Music yet, but even when those arrived, Apple still hadn’t solved my biggest problem with the $549 headphones. With iOS 18.4 and a firmware update for the AirPods Max with USB-C, Apple has finally put the finishing touches on its only headphones with lossless audio.

Let’s back up a few months. Last September, Apple gave the AirPods Max its only significant update since the original launch: it swapped the Lightning jack for a USB-C port. The headphones are still running on the aging H1 chip when the rest of the current AirPods lineup has moved on to the more recent and more capable H2. I wasn’t upset that the company didn’t take the opportunity to update the AirPods Max design, but the failure to upgrade that chip was a head scratcher.

Now that lossless audio is here on the lightly refreshed AirPods Max, the headphones feel more complete. But that took over four years to finally happen, and if you bought the 2020 model you won’t be able to use this newly added capability. You’ll need the USB-C version of the AirPods Max that arrived last year and either iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 or macOS Sequoia 15.4 to unlock lossless and ultra-low latency audio.

How to get lossless audio on AirPods Max with USB-C Billy Steele for Engadget

Once you’ve updated one of your Apple devices to iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 or macOS Sequoia 15.4, connect your AirPods Max to it via Bluetooth. You’ll then want to plug the headphones into a power outlet or USB-C port with the included cable. If you keep the two gadgets in close proximity for about 30 minutes, the AirPods Max firmware update should download. To check, hop into the AirPods Max settings and scroll down to the About section. Here, you’ll want to see version 7E101 to confirm you’ve got the goods.

You’ll want to keep that cable handy. Lossless audio on the AirPods Max is only available for wired use. You will still need to establish a Bluetooth connection for all of the smart features like hands-free Siri. Apple also sells a new $39 USB-C-to-3.5mm cord if you want to go that route, but either way, you’ll need a cable due to the limitations of high-res audio over Bluetooth.

Why isn’t lossless audio available on the original AirPods Max?

If you bought Apple’s $549 headphones in 2020, I can understand your frustration that you aren’t privy to this update. However, I wouldn’t assume Apple made this decision just to drive sales. There are hardware limitations with the Lightning port that hinders lossless audio, specifically a data throughput constraint on the previous version. Apple made some changes to the DAC (digital-to-analog converter) inside the AirPods Max to make lossless happen, which wasn’t possible on the older model either.

Does lossless audio make a difference?

I’ve heard some people say they can’t tell the difference between normal songs and lossless tunes. I’d argue it depends on what you’re listening to. If it’s a recent pop tune from Dua Lipa or Sabrina Carpenter, you’re better off with the Dolby Atmos mix and likely won’t pick up any more detail for high-resolution streaming. For bass heavy, chaotic genres like metal, I notice a better balance to the mix. Vocals on Spiritbox’s Tsunami Sea rise above the booming drums and thrashing guitar, and the bass is a little more subdued. Same for Underoath’s The Place After This One, where all the instruments seem to have more separation from the vocals. And overall, the bombastic tracks on this album feel bigger and more immersive.

Lossless audio on the AirPods Max particularly elevates acoustic genres like bluegrass and folk, in addition to other mellow styles like jazz. I might as well have been inside the acoustic guitar on Julien Baker & TORRES’ “Sugar in the Tank” as I felt like I could hear every percussive detail on every string. I can’t imagine the sound would’ve been much better on Jason Isbell’s Foxes in the Snow if I was actually in the room at Electric Lady Studios during the recording. That 1940 Martin 0-17, the only instrument on the album, is so pure and true. Jump to Miles Davis’ Birth of the Blue where the horns, piano, bass and drums all seem a little livelier and a little more energetic, with Davis’ trumpet belting out its verse-like cadence throughout.

Do you have to use Apple Music? Apple

First, let’s talk about what’s available on Apple Music. Since June 2021, the service has offered lossless audio to subscribers at no additional cost. This starts at CD quality, which is 16 bit at 44.1 kHz, and goes up to 24 bit at 48 kHz. That latter rate is the maximum that AirPods Max can now support via the USB-C connection, and Apple says there are now 100 million songs available on its service in lossless quality. There is also a collection of Hi-Resolution Lossless content on Apple Music, which goes up to 24 bit at 192 kHz. You’ll need extra gear like a USB DAC in order to listen at that level, though.

You aren’t limited to just Apple Music. Anywhere you can stream lossless audio up to 24 bit at 48 kHz you can do so with these headphones. There are other services that offer this (like Tidal), or you can play locally stored files. The only requirement is a USB-C cable; your source isn't limited to Apple.

Wrap-up

It’s always nice when a company directly addresses one of your complaints. It’s not great when it takes over four years to do so. Now that lossless audio is here for the AirPods Max, I can no longer argue that the headphones feel incomplete, which is a big improvement from where they were at launch.

I keep going back and forth over whether or not this update is enough, though. It’s the first time Apple has expanded the capabilities of the AirPods Max in over four years, and it could only do so for the minimally updated 2024 version. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has a solid track record with Apple product scoops, reported in November that the company had “no real plan to meaningfully update AirPods Max.” He said the headphones don’t sell well enough to justify much R&D, but they’re not a big enough failure to be permanently shelved.

With that in mind, this update, which adds ultra-low latency for gamers in addition to lossless audio, is actually a lot bigger than it ordinarily would be. But to continue to demand $549 for what’s essentially 2020 hardware, Apple needs to trot out these types of updates regularly. While you can find these headphones on sale for as low as $449, that's still a steep investment. Even then, the AirPods Max would be tough to recommend to anyone other than iPhone and Mac die-hards with deep pockets.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/how-to-use-lossless-audio-on-the-airpods-max-180026218.html?src=rss

The Hugo Awards began honoring video games for the first time back in 2021. This week, the organization revealed the list of six finalists for the 2025 awards ceremony. It’s a cornucopia of critically-acclaimed titles from the past year or so.

Let’s go over the nominations. Two AAA titles are up for the award. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Echoes of Wisdom changes up the franchise formula, casting players as the titular Zelda. The gameplay involves summoning monsters and items to solve puzzles and do battle. It’s pretty awesome.

We especially loved Dragon Age: The Veilguard, calling it "BioWare at its best." The graphics are fantastic and the gameplay is more action-oriented than previous entries in the franchise. It continues the story of the decade-old Dragon Age Inquisition.

The Hugos are also honoring a spate of smaller titles. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes got a nom, and this was one of our favorite games of 2024. It’s a near-perfect puzzle game that subverts the genre at every turn. We said it was the perfect game "for fans of puzzles, narrative twists and David Lynch."

Caves of Qud is an incredibly deep and lore-heavy roguelike set in a fantasy realm. It was actually in early access for a full 15 years before getting an official release last year. 1000xRESIST is a sci-fi adventure game that was praised primarily for its engaging story. Finally, Tactical Breach Wizards is a turn-based RPG starring, you guessed it, wizards. Some reviews have called it the best strategy game since XCOM 2.

The final winner will be announced at the 83rd World Science Fiction Convention in Seattle on August 16. Previous winners include Hades and Baldur’s Gate 3.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/2025-hugo-award-game-finalists-include-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom-and-dragon-age-the-veilguard-171135638.html?src=rss

Google is bringing AI Mode to more people in the US. The company announced on Monday it would make the new search tool, first launched at the start of last month, to millions of more Labs users across the country.

For uninitiated, AI Mode is a new dedicated tab within Search. It's essentially Google's answer to ChatGPT Search. It allows you to ask more complicated questions of Google, with a custom version of Gemini 2.0 doing the legwork to deliver a nuanced AI-generated response. Labs, meanwhile, is a beta program you can enroll your Google account in to gain access to new Search features before the company rolls them out to the public.

In addition to bringing AI Mode to more people, Google is unlocking the tool's multimodal capabilities. Starting today, you can snap and upload images to AI Mode, allowing you to ask questions about what you see. The feature brings together AI Mode with Google's Lens technology.

"With Gemini's multimodal capabilities, AI Mode can understand the entire scene in an image, including the context of how objects relate to one another and their unique materials, colors, shapes and arrangements," Google explains. "Using our query fan-out technique, AI Mode then issues multiple queries about the image as a whole and the objects within the image, accessing more breadth and depth of information than a traditional search on Google."

AI Mode's new Lens integration is available through the Google app on Android and iOS.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-ai-mode-rolls-out-to-more-testers-with-new-image-search-feature-160054334.html?src=rss

While the Nintendo Switch 2 had its splashy debut last week, including details about the hardware and launch games, there's still lots about the console that Nintendo has yet to clear up. For instance, the company hasn't gone into specifics about the CPU and GPU that are powering the Switch 2, other than to touch on the performance enhancements that they offer over the Switch (NVIDIA separately confirmed that the Switch 2 uses its Deep Learning Super Sampling tech).

However, since last Wednesday's blockbuster Direct, Nintendo has touched on some new Switch 2 details in interviews with the press. For one thing, Nate Bihldorff, Senior Vice President of Product Development & Publishing at Nintendo of America, told Nintendo Life that the console's Joy-Con 2 controllers do not use Hall effect tech. "The Joy-Con 2's controllers have been designed from the ground up," Bihldorff said. "They're not Hall effect sticks, but they feel really good."

Switch 2 producer Kouichi Kawamoto separately said that the Joy-Con 2 joysticks "are quieter and don’t make noise, even when they’re moved quickly to the edge." The company is referring to them as "smooth-gliding sticks."

Engadget has asked Nintendo why the company opted not to use Hall effect tech in the Joy-Con 2. We've also asked whether the Switch 2 Pro Controller foregoes Hall effect sensors as well.

This technology is becoming increasingly common in the thumbsticks of third-party gamepads, but Nintendo has yet to implement it in its own joysticks (nor have Sony or Microsoft, for that matter). The idea behind Hall effect sensors is that they reduce the likelihood of stick drift. This problem was so pervasive on the original Switch's Joy-Cons that Nintendo offered free, unlimited repairs for stick drift in Europe. So it's not clear why Nintendo would opt out of having Hall effect sensors in the Joy-Con 2 to help mitigate such problems.

Meanwhile, Nintendo has confirmed US pricing for a few Switch 2 experiences. The company told IGN that the upgrades for two The Legend of Zelda games — Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom — cost $10 each for those who already own either game. However, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers get access to the upgrades at no extra cost.

The Switch 2 upgrades include visual fidelity and framerate enhancements, along with the inclusion of HDR support and faster loading times. You'll also be able to use the Switch mobile app as a Sheikah Slate of sorts, helping you to find hidden items with voiced directions.

In addition, Nintendo has revealed that Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which seems like a tech demo that will take you through all the features of the console, will cost $10. As for why Nintendo is charging 10 bucks for this as opposed to offering it for free (like Valve did with the fun Steam Deck tech demo, Aperture Desk Job, or Sony did with Astro's Playroom on PS5), Nintendo of America's Vice President of Product and Player Experience Bill Trinen had this to say to IGN:

For some people, I think there are people who are particularly interested in the tech and the specs of the system and things like that, for them I think it's going to be a great product. It's really for people that want more information about the system rather than necessarily a quick intro to everything it does. And for that reason and just the amount of care and work that the team put into it, I think it was decided that, 'Yeah, this feels like $9.99 is not an exorbitant price. It feels like a good value for what you're getting out of the product.'

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-says-the-switch-2-joy-con-controllers-dont-have-hall-effect-thumbsticks-145541771.html?src=rss

I appreciate devices that don’t try to do too much. There are too many products throwing too many features at the consumer in the hope one or two sticks. I’m reminded of the recently revived Pebble, which offers a pared down way to check your phone’s notifications from your wrist, and little else. That’s the best way to describe Even Realities’ G1 smart glasses, which puts a second screen for your smartphone on your face.

G1 is almost aggressively low-tech, putting in your line of sight a dot matrix display that’ll leap into life when required. You’ll be able to see the time, phone notifications, calendar, stock and news updates from a handful of chosen publishers. Tap the temple tips (also known as earpieces) and you’ll be able to speak to an AI to answer questions or dictate a note without touching your phone at all. Open the app to activate heads-up turn-by-turn directions, access real-time translation and use the glasses as a portable teleprompter.

On devices like this, the limited feature set goes hand-in-hand with lowered expectations: If it promises the basics and delivers them, all good, right? Problems arise when it fails to do them well, or if it’s obvious to anyone there are features that would work here but have been omitted. The G1 doesn't stumble on the essentials, but I do find myself flip-flopping about how much praise they should get. They’re useful right now, but I’d love to see how much better they’ll get in a year or two.

Hardware Daniel Cooper for Engadget

Until the laws of physics change quite dramatically, smart glasses will always be noticeably bigger and heavier than their siblings. But the G1 is hardly an embarrassment in those stakes, and while chunky, they’re not comically oversized. The frame is built from magnesium and titanium alloy and weighs in at 44 grams. That’s more than the 26 grams my regular glasses weigh, but not to such an extent that it’s burdensome. It’s no surprise to learn some of the company’s leadership team came from the glasses industry, including stints at high-end eyewear brand Lindberg and Mykita.

Each lens houses a rectangular waveguide with a 25-degree field of view displaying a 640 x 200 20Hz dot matrix green monochrome screen. It brings to mind the old workstation terminals from the early 1990s. This isn’t shameless hipsterism, since green is more easily seen by the eye, and it also reduces the display’s power consumption, which is useful since the maximum brightness is 1,000 nits, and you’ll need all of it to see your screen on a bright day.

Much of the hardware is housed in the temple tips — the bits sitting behind your ears, if you’re not au fait with glasses terminology. These chunky boxes include the wireless charging gear, 160mAh battery, Bluetooth LE 5.2 radio and the touch control sensors. As for the rest, the projector and microphones are housed in the end pieces (the hinges on the frame), and that’s it. There’s no camera, speakers, headphones, bone conduction audio or any touch surface along the arms themselves, because the makers expect you to have your own camera and audio gear.

In the box, you’ll get the glasses and USB-C charging case, the latter of which has its own 2,000mAh battery which the company says will charge your glasses two and a half times before you need to head back to a socket. You can also get a pair of clip-on sunglass lenses for your specs to ensure you can wear them outdoors. I had initially presumed, given the heft of the original investment, that the clip-on glasses were thrown in but no, they’ll set you back an additional $100 in the US, €100 in Europe or £85 in the UK.

Glasses need to be up to the challenge of withstanding the same conditions the rest of your head is exposed to. Even Realities says the G1 can resist a “splash" or "light rain,” but doesn’t include a specific IP rating, so you may need to baby them a little.

There is only one size of the G1 available, and the company says it’ll suit anyone with a pupillary distance between 54 and 80. The temples can be adjusted to go looser or tighter, depending on the unique topography of your skull. But the frames are fairly stylish, and if you prefer the rounded “Panto” style of glasses, or a squarer one, you can opt for the B1 model instead.

Naturally, glasses aren’t a one-and-done deal, with most folks changing their prescriptions on a bi-annual basis. Even Realities says that you should be able to send your glasses back to HQ when your eyesight changes, along with your updated prescription, for up-to-date lenses. In the EU that’ll cost €230, or if you’re further abroad, €240 ($260).

Random musing about Smart Glasses vs AR

I’ve deliberately not referred to the G1 as a pair of augmented reality glasses because I don’t think they fit the description. The dictionary says AR is anything that puts a digital view in front of the real world, but that’s too broad a definition. After all, if I held a paper map in my line of sight I wouldn’t be augmenting my reality as the map doesn’t engage with its environment. And it’s the same thing here — just because the display in question is transparent doesn’t, for me, move the needle enough for it to be classified as AR.

In-use Daniel Cooper for Engadget

Charge the glasses, download the app and you’ll walk through the brief setup and tutorial process. Software updates take around five minutes each time, surprisingly long given the low-tech nature of the system. Put the glasses on and you’ll notice the waveguide prisms add a slight tint to whatever you’re looking at. For instance, when staring at a white page on my computer, the prism adds a hint of gold that’s noticeable compared to the white around it.

The glasses are deactivated by default, behaving like any regular pair of specs as you go about your day. If you want to look up at the dashboard, which is your home screen, you’ll need to tilt your head up. This is the first thing you’ll define in the settings: How far you need to move your head up to trigger the dashboard. I found I had to tweak it regularly, given my head naturally drift upwards more often when I'm, say, relaxing against the sofa versus standing at my desk.

Daniel Cooper for Engadget

The dashboard is the first sign the G1 has some limitations. You only have three layout options for what you can see, one of which is the Status Pane, which is always on. Status shows you the time, date, temperature, a notification indicator and (when required) low battery warnings. You can add one widget or two, but if you pick two, one of those widgets will default to your calendar. The other widgets include News, Stocks, QuickNotes or a Map.

News, Stocks and Maps feel like the default options you get with every gadget while its makers work out what its users really want and need. The news feed pulls from a handful of outlets and you can select from which categories (Politics, Science, Sports and the like) you want to see. The map view gives you a little peek at your location to the nearest 25, 50 or 100 meters, which I’m sure is helpful for some folks, like delivery drivers. But I’m not sure there are many folks who want or need to have this information so immediately at hand.

Notifications

You’ll be able to gatekeep which apps you can permit to be put through to your glasses, and when you get a message, a speech bubble will pop up on your blank display. When it appears, you can just flick your head up to see the message, or tap the temple tip while in Dashboard.

It’s the same limited message you would get with any basic wearable connected to your iPhone. The obvious benefit is removing the need for you to get your phone out of your pocket or look at your wrist.

On a Saturday jaunt into the city, several of my group chats sprung into life and I was able to keep abreast of the conversation without having to look at my phone. That was a real benefit, as I’d have been frustrated if I’d have had to check my pocket on the regular for messages that didn’t entirely concern me. The only downside is that you can’t do anything with the messages, like respond to them, unless you do finally succumb to your phone.

Teleprompt, Transcribe and QuickNote

Even Realities

Even if you’re comfortable speaking off the cuff, using the G1 as a teleprompter is a staggeringly good idea. As soon as I started using it, I was thinking they would be great for shooting review videos, as well as giving presentations and acting. Hell, I’ve recited the Gettysburg Address a few too many times in the last week.

The glasses will also offer a way to turn what it’s hearing into text, either with the dedicated Transcription setup, or the QuickNote action. For the latter, all you need to do is touch a temple tip and you can then speak, with the system picking up your words and turning them into text. You’ll then be able to read the note, and play back the audio recording in the app, although you can only share the text of what you’ve said. It’s perhaps a lot more pertinent to journalists than other folks but the ability to have such easy access to a tool like this is exciting.

Translation

The G1s presently support real-time translation of 24 languages, including the major European languages, Arabic, Cantonese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean and Turkish. After you open the app, select the language in question and activate the feature, you’ll get a translation two or three seconds later when someone talks to you. I’ve tested the feature with native French and Turkish speakers and while the translations did at times miss a word, the overall sentiment was well conveyed.

Without a doubt, this is one of the glasses’ most eye-catching and useful features, since it subtitles the real world. But while the idea and implementation is all there, it’s not as sci-fi perfect as it could or should be, and that’s a problem. For a start, there’s the obvious moment you have to wait for while the system translates what your counterpart has said. Then there’s the fact it’ll translate anything it can hear, so when I asked my Turkish friend to speak to me, and then I read out the translation in English, the glasses tried to translate my response back into English.

Everything’s far more reliant on the app than it could be — you can’t activate the feature or swap languages without having the phone in your hand. If you were able to switch the options around with a tap on the touch sensor, you could theoretically have a conversation just with the glasses. But as soon as you need the phone in your hand, it’s easier to just open up Google Translate and harness the power of conversation mode.

Navigation

The ability to project basic information in your line of sight is enormously helpful when it comes to navigation. After all, if you’re wandering around unfamiliar streets, then you probably don’t want to appear to look like you’re lost. Certainly, the spate of phone thefts where well-prepared poachers snatch devices from people’s hands is a sign of that. Much like every other feature, you’ll start by… opening the app, activating the navigation pane and setting your destination.

You can pick walking or cycling directions, and you’ll get a turn-by-turn layout on the phone as well as in the glasses. Once the route has been calculated, which will take a second, you can put the phone in your pocket and start moving around. On the left, you’ll get the road name, an arrow for your direction and the distance in meters before the next move. In the middle, you’ll get the projected journey time and distance, and on the right a mini-map showing you the route. Look up (triggering the Dashboard) and you’ll get a full sized route map showing your progress as well as an indication of your speed. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t adore this feature and would love to test it out while roaming an unfamiliar city, because it’s supremely effortless.

Even AI

Rounding out the spec list is Even AI which, at the tap of the left temple tip, will be available for you to ask questions. Even AI is essentially just an interaction layer for either Perplexity, which is the default AI client, or ChatGPT. Press the button and you’ll be able to ask it questions, the answers of which will then be displayed in your field of view.

If you have a beginner’s knowledge of AI, by which I mean a fundamental distrust of anything it says, then this might be useful. Defining words, answering basic questions like “Who is Florence Nightingale” and looking up facts like the price of Bitcoin are all easily done. But that’s all, I think, I’d trust any AI to do, given how generally incapable of providing useful information it is.

Controls

There are two buttons, one on each temple tip, which will let you engage EvenAI or QuickNotes and scroll through notifications. Two buttons, however, even with the ability to accept multiple taps, is a little too few input mechanisms for a device this sophisticated. I keep thinking about the ways you can control true wireless headphones with all of that rhythmic tapping and that’s just for audio playback.

It means you’ll be relying on your phone a lot more than you may like, and while it’s not a deal breaker, it is an issue. After all, if these glasses offer a way of spending more time engaging with the world around me, then I don’t want to be constantly snatching up my phone. I imagine this is another area that, as the software develops and more commands can be incorporated into the buttons, things will get easier. But it is, for now, a fairly significant frustration.

Battery Life

I’d consider myself a fairly heavy user, and I would regularly get a day and a half’s worth of life from the G1 glasses before needing a recharge. It’s vexing in the extreme that the glasses don’t have an off switch, so they’ll be draining an admittedly small amount of power when not in use. I suspect, if I was living with these full time, I’d get into the habit of keeping them in their charging cradle on the nightstand while in bed to avoid any inadvertent losses of power while out and about.

Price

Even Realities’ G1 is available in two different frame styles: The G1A with the “panto” round-rim style and the G1B, with a rectangular frame. If I’m honest, I’d have preferred to test the G1B, which is more in keeping with my regular glasses preference, but c’est la vie. The glasses on their own cost $599, with corrective lenses costing you an extra $150 and the sunglass clip an additional $100. It puts these glasses in the same sort of territory as the highest-end designer frames you can get at LensCrafters.

I’m not sure there’s a mainstream competitor sitting in exactly the same category as the G1. There are similar headsets, like TCL’s RayNeo, but that has a far higher resolution display since it promises real AR. The Frame by Brilliant Labs, perhaps, but that only has a display in one lens and relies far more upon AI to operate. Captify’s glasses use binocular vision but are only designed to offer real-time captioning for users with hearing loss. Vuzix’s Z100 only has the display in one lens and, as far as I understand it, Meizu’s Myvu glasses are only available in eastern countries. Which means, for now, Even Realities is your one stop for a product like this.

And while they’re not in the same category at all, it feels negligent to not even mention Meta and Ray-Ban’s Wayfarers. The retail price may be cheaper but, once you’ve added prescription lenses they’ll set you back around $600, putting them close to the G1. But they’re obviously a very different product, with no heads-up display and a greater emphasis on AI and photography.

Wrap-Up Daniel Cooper for Engadget

I really like Even Realities’ G1 for what they can do right now, but I’m also hopeful that it’ll get far more useful in the future. It seems to me there are so many things that could be tweaked, primped and plumped to make these far more appealing.

I’d love to be able to switch the translation mode with a press of the temple tip, so I could get a translation of what’s said, flip it to translate my English to the other language and then say it back to them so we could actually have a(n admittedly stilted) conversation. Adding reminders and other options to the dashboard would make it a lot more desirable to use. Hell, imagine a future dashboard update that pulls your step count from your phone so you can see how well you’re moving. Not to mention the ability to offer some form of real-time captioning for users who may have hearing issues.

I’m not going to judge the G1 on its potential but for what it offers now, and what it offers now is plenty good enough. The biggest obstacle is the price, but what can you expect for a first generation product in a niche category? When speaking to friends about them, many said if the price wasn’t that much more than a regular pair of glasses, they’d struggle to say no to what’s on offer here. And I agree, once you’ve had a taste of the functionality that’s on show here, it’s hard to go back to normal.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/even-realities-g1-review-limited-but-effective-smart-glasses-140059586.html?src=rss

Nothing has enough storage these days. Whether it's a Mac or a PS5, it feels like everyone I know spends far too much time deleting things on their devices to clear up space. That annoyance is what makes SSDs so appealing, especially the Crucial X9 Pro. 

We find the Crucial X9 Pro to be the best portable SSD for most people and, right now, the 1TB model is down to $70 from $101. The 31 percent discount brings this device to only $10 more than its all-time low price. If you need even more storage then pick up the 2TB option for $120, down from $180, or the 4TB one for $210, down from $279.

The Crucial X9 Pro is our favorite portable SSD for a few reasons, including excellent performance for its speed class and its very compact size. It uses a USB-C cord to connect with devices like an Xbox, PC, PS4 or 5, Mac and more. Plus, it offers a five-year warranty. One of our biggest quips with the Crucial X9 Pro is the price, but the sale really takes care of that. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/our-favorite-portable-ssd-is-up-to-33-percent-off-right-now-140645047.html?src=rss

The weather is turning warmer, so it's about time to hang up that winter coat with the big pockets you use to store everything. That also means things might be a bit harder to keep track of now — I lost my phone, alone, multiple times over this sunny weekend. But, now there's a (cheaper) potential solution: The Chipolo One bluetooth tracker.

Right now, a four-pack of Chipolo Ones is down to $50 from $75 — a 33 percent discount. This sale is a record-low price for this set of our favorite Bluetooth tracker for 2025. It also offers two different color sets to choose between and is a great deal if you want multiple trackers (just one is usually $20). 

Beyond the convenient keyhole (sorry Apple), we like the Chipolo One for features like how loud it is when you're searching for something — plus, it never has a delay when you press find. It's also very quick to ask if you've left something behind and works equally well with an iPhone or Android. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/a-four-pack-of-chipolo-one-trackers-drops-to-an-all-time-low-of-50-131257240.html?src=rss

Anker’s lifestyle brand Eufy has already swallowed a big chunk of the robot vacuum market and now it’s got its sights on your yard. The company has been sharing details of its first two robot mowers since the start of the year, and now they’re ready to start selling them. Eufy’s E15 and E18 are designed to automate one of the most tedious jobs around the home — if you’re able to pay. I’ve been testing an E15 for the last few weeks ahead of their retail debut today and I’m fairly impressed.

Early robot mowers needed a boundary wire to tell them where they were allowed to mow. But digging a trench around your lawn is time consuming, costly and less than ideal if you eventually move. It prompted companies to pivot to other methods, such as GPS or RTK (real time kinematics) to navigate. Eufy, however, is harnessing its computer vision know-how to trim your lawn with even less fuss, calling its technology “visual full self-driving,” or vFSD. Yes, I know. Anker says there are plenty of benefits in using cameras over GPS, like more reliable mowing and better obstacle avoidance.

Daniel Cooper for Engadget

The E15 is capable of covering lawns up to 800 square meters while the E18 will conquer lands as broad as 1,200 square meters. If you assumed, like I did, that the difference between the two is battery size, you’ll be mistaken — both have the same 4,200mAh battery, but the E18 has more on-board memory to accommodate a bigger map size. Otherwise, they are the same machine, with an adjustable cutting height between 25 - 75mm, a maximum climb of 18 degrees and a combined GPS / 4G anti-theft system. One feature I’m very partial to is that the garage (the mower’s charging station) comes with a rain cover, meaning fewer worries if you’re out and the weather suddenly gets a bit intense. Not that it’s necessary, since the hardware is rated IPX6 — enough to withstand being cleaned with a hose.

Setting up the E15 is painless so long as your lawn is nicely mown, with the grass no taller than 3.5 inches. All you’ll need to do is fix the garage in place with some hefty ground screws, hook it up to power and connect it to your home’s Wi-Fi. Then all you’ll need to do is send it out for one or two mapping runs in order for it to get a sense of your space.

Daniel Cooper for Engadget

My lawn is cut into a hill, with a sunken pathway and a 1.5 meter drop at one end, which is a problem. Since it maps visually, I opted to babysit the mower during the process to make sure it didn’t hurl itself into the chasm. I also have a small lean-to wood shed with a green roof (at the bottom of the chasm) that I reckoned a computer vision system could easily mistake for grass, so I wanted to keep an eye on it. Once it had made a few too many furtive advances toward that roof, I paused the mapping, sent the E15 back to its garage and set up a keep out zone in the app before finishing the job.

Once that was done, however, the E15 very easily staked out the rest of the space and made sure it could get nicely close to the path without going over. From there, you’re doing everything of note within the app. You can set the cutting height as low as 25mm or as high as 75mm, and can also set the unit’s movement and cutting speed — letting you use more power if you’re pressed for time. Plus, you can schedule mows, and if the device detects rain or too much wet in the grass, it’ll head back to base until things have dried out.

One feature I’m a big fan of is that it’s the first such machine I’ve encountered that lets you set a cutting direction for stripes. It’s not that I have an issue with most robomowers’ chaotic mowing per se, but I’ve always seen striped lawns as desirable. While the unit isn’t going to give you the sort of over-manicured, inch-perfect stripes you’d find at a tennis club, you can at least see the contrast.

Daniel Cooper for Engadget

An additional benefit of remote control is that if it does run into an issue and you’re not at home, you can activate a remote control mode. Not only are you able to access the camera feed, but you can trigger on-screen controls to navigate out of any tricky spots it might have wound up in.

It's funny, but something I didn't notice, but my in-laws did when they visited, was how shockingly quiet the E15 was. When I set the hardware running to satisfy their curiosity, they were baffled that the thing was scuttling around on the lawn making almost no noise whatsoever. It's certainly a perk, especially if you choose to set this thing off for a scheduled trim in the early morning — it's quiet enough that even the ants probably won't complain. 

All in all, I like the package Eufy is offering, and it even handled some of my misgivings about its computer vision system. If I have gripes, it’s not really about the E-series at all and more about this category of product generally. For a start, robot mowers may not get every square inch of your lawn, especially if some of your edges neighbor deep crevasses, like mine. That means you’ll still need to go out there every once in a while with a weed wacker to trim the borders of your turf.

And I’d still love nothing more than to be able to exert more control over the initial mapping phase to eliminate some of the trial and error. I wish for a system that would let me use my phone as a tool to trace the outside edge of a space myself, to set some basic expectations. Sure, the hardware would still have to scuttle around making sure it can get where I need it to go, but it’d save some of the busywork for both of us.

The Eufy E15 (800 sqm) and E18 (1,200 sqm) are available to order today from Eufy and Amazon. The E15 will set you back $1,599, while E18 is priced at $1,999.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/eufys-new-robot-mowers-use-smart-vision-to-trim-your-grass-130008542.html?src=rss

The iPhone’s lock screen isn’t just the place you check the time or your notifications anymore — it’s a fully customizable space where you can express your personality, highlight your favorite photos and even stay on top of your day with helpful widgets. With iOS 18, Apple has given users even more control, letting you personalize your home screen and adjust lock screen controls..

Whether you want something functional, minimal, photo-heavy or playful, we’ll walk you through exactly how to make your lock screen your own — from changing fonts and adding widgets to switching between screens throughout the day.

How to create a custom lock screen

To start personalizing, you’ll first need to create a new lock screen or modify an existing one.

1. Wake your iPhone, then touch and hold anywhere on the lock screen until you feel a buzz and see the wallpaper editor.

2. You’ll see a carousel of lock screens you’ve created. Tap the “+” (Add New) button to start fresh, or swipe to an existing one and tap Customize.

3. A gallery of wallpaper options will appear. Choose from:

• Photos (pick one from your library)

• People (iOS intelligently finds portraits)

• Photo Shuffle (select multiple images that change)

• Emoji, Weather, or Astronomy

• Suggested themes like color gradients or Live Photos

Once you’ve picked your background, you can dive into the fun part: customizing fonts, colors, widgets and more.

Georgie Peru for Engadget Photos and People

You can set a favorite picture as your wallpaper and tweak its color or crop to make sure you have the best view of your loved ones. Note that these steps will only allow you to select one picture — if you want a rotating selection of backgrounds, skip to the Photo Shuffle section below.

1. Tap Photos to bring up a list of Photos and Collections. You can search for specific images, or filter by All, Featured, Live Photo, People, Pets, Nature and Cities.

2. Once you’ve selected a photo, you then have more options. You can Pinch to Crop the image, change and customize the filters (Natural, Black & White, Duotone and Color Wash)

3. You also have the option to Add Widgets and remove the Flashlight and/or Camera.

You can also set a photo as your wallpaper directly from the Photos app by tapping the Share icon, and then selecting “Use as Wallpaper.”

Photo Shuffle

With Photo Shuffle, you can select multiple photos that change depending on the frequency you’ve selected.

1. Select the types of photos you want to include, e.g. People, Pets, Nature and Cities, or select an Album.

2. Tap the Shuffle Frequency option and choose between On Tap, On Lock, Hourly or Daily.

3. Select whether you want to “Use Featured Photos” or “Select Photos Manually.”

4. It would be worth going through your selected photos separately to make sure they are cropped correctly (e.g. if you have a mix of landscape and portrait images).

5. You also have the option to Add Widgets and remove the Flashlight and/or Camera.

Emoji and Color

If you don’t want to use a photo, you can select an emoji or color instead.

1. Select Emoji and choose up to six emojis. Alternatively, if you want a single color, you can select the Color option.

2. Choose between Dynamic, Grid, Large, Radial and Spiral to customize how the emoji background will appear.

3. Once you’ve selected an emoji or multiple, you can change the color of the background.

4. You also have the option to Add Widgets and remove the Flashlight and/or Camera.

How to change the clock style

The default iPhone clock gets the job done, but it doesn’t have to be boring. In iOS, you can customize the font, weight and color of the clock to match your aesthetic. This small change can have a big impact on your lock screen’s overall vibe.

1. In the lock screen editor, tap the time. You can do this before or after you’ve personalized your lock screen with photos, weather, etc.

2. Choose from a selection of font styles. Drag the slider to increase the font weight and tap the available fonts to see what they look like.

3. Use the color picker or swipe through presets to find something that fits.

How to add widgets to your lock screen

Widgets are a game changer for lock screen productivity. Whether you want to see your calendar, the weather forecast, activity rings or even battery levels at a glance, widgets can make your lock screen both pretty and practical. Widgets are compact, but you can fit up to four small ones or a mix of two medium and one small on a single lock screen, depending on the layout.

1. While editing the lock screen, tap the field below the time or select Add Widgets if the option appears (sometimes it can be tricky to see).

2. Choose from Apple’s widget library or supported third-party apps.

3. Drag and drop widgets into the space where you’d like them to live.

4. You can also tap the date above the time to change or remove the default calendar widget.

Georgie Peru for Engadget How to customize controls at the bottom of the lock screen

In iOS 18, Apple lets you personalize the quick access buttons at the bottom of the lock screen — the ones typically reserved for the flashlight and camera. You can set different controls for different lock screens and tie them to specific Focus modes as well.

1. Touch and hold the lock screen, then tap Customize.

2. Tap one of the bottom controls to select it.

3. Tap the Remove icon (-), then tap the Add (+) option to open the controls gallery.

4. You’ll see a gallery of available buttons for tools like Calculator, Translate, Shazam, Notes and more.

5. Pick the one you want, then tap Done.

How to link a Focus mode to your lock screen

One of the smartest features in iOS is the ability to link different lock screens to Focus modes. That means you can have a minimalist screen for work, a bright one for weekends and a sleep-ready design for winding down. If you don’t see Focus options when you edit your lock screen, go to Settings then Focus to set up a new one first.

1. Touch and hold the lock screen, then tap Focus.

2. Choose a Focus mode (e.g., Work, Sleep, Do Not Disturb).

3. That lock screen will now automatically appear when that Focus is active.

How to switch between lock screens

Once you’ve created a few lock screens, you can swap between them on the fly. If you’ve linked a Focus to any of them, switching lock screens will also switch the Focus automatically.

1. Touch and hold the lock screen.

2. Swipe left or right to cycle through your saved designs.

3. Tap the one you want to use.

How to delete a lock screen

If you want to delete a lock screen you no longer want or need, you can do so very easily.

1. Touch and hold the lock screen until the carousel appears.

2. Swipe to the screen you want to delete.

3. Swipe up on the lock screen.

4. Tap the Trash icon, then confirm with “Delete This Wallpaper”.

Don’t worry — this won’t delete any photos from your library. It just removes the layout.

If you’re looking for more iPhone customization tips, you might also enjoy our guide on how to make the most of the iPhone’s Action Button.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-personalize-your-iphone-lock-screen-120015173.html?src=rss

Blackmagic Design has unveiled DaVinci Resolve 20, the latest version of its editing app with free and paid versions that's a popular alternative to Adobe's Premiere Pro. The update offers over 100 new features including many powered by AI, along with improved cloud support and major quality-of-life updates to the cut, edit, color and fusion pages. 

One of the key new features is called AI IntelliScript that can automatically generate a timeline based on the original project script. "AI IntelliScript will match the transcribed audio in media clips to the script and construct a timeline of the best selected takes, with any alternative takes placed on additional tracks for editor review," Blackmagic wrote. That new feature could drastically speed workflow for editors (like myself) who often use standup or voiceover clips. 

Another key feature is the AI Set Extender that can create a scene extension to fill an entire frame based on a text prompt. If you want to reframe a shot or delete something, for instance, you can simply tell DaVinci Resolve what you want and it'll fill in the blanks. "Customers can even create new backgrounds behind foreground objects," the company wrote. 

Other new AI features include AI Animated Subtitles, AI Mulltcam SmartSwitch (which can assemble a timeline based on who is speaking) and AI Audio Assistant. The latter can create a "professional audio mix" with a single click, according to Blackmagic Design. Finally, the AI Detect Music Beats feature does just that, analyzing music and automatically placing beat markers in the timeline.

Along with the AI stuff, DaVinci Resolve has a number of quality-of-life improvements in the cut, edit, color and fusion pages. Davinci Resolve Studio 20 (the paid version) now supports Apple Immersive Video on Apple Vision Pro, allowing creators to edit, color grade, mix audio and deliver Apple Immersive video capture on the company's recently launched URSA Cine Immersive camera. 

Blackmagic Design

Other updates include improved Blackmagic Cloud support with improved collaboration tools, easier editing for vertical video, new voiceover palettes, a dedicated keyframe editor in cut and edit, a new Text+ tool, direct voiceover recording and more. On the color page, there's a new chroma warp function that lets you adjust color and saturation with a single motion. And the Fairlight audio page has a new feature that lets adjust a target clip's audio to match a reference clip, dynamic EQ to match tonality throughout a clip and Level Matcher to ensure that levels remain consistent in a given timeline. 

A full list of features can be found on Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve 20 product page. It's now available to download in a public beta, and as usual, DaVinci Resolve 20 is free to download while DaVinci Resolve 20 Studio costs $295 with no subscription required. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/davinci-resolve-20s-latest-ai-feature-can-create-an-entire-timeline-based-on-a-script-120009351.html?src=rss

I’m a longtime lover of pen and paper, so E Ink tablets have been intriguing to me ever since they started becoming more widely available. After having hundreds of half-filled notebooks over the years, I, at some point, turned to digital tools instead because it was just easier to store everything on my phone or laptop so I always had my most important information at my fingertips.

E Ink tablets seem to provide the best of both worlds: the tactile satisfaction of regular notebooks with many of the conveniences found in digital tools, plus easy-on-the-eyes E Ink screens. These devices have come a long way in recent years — now you can find them in multiple sizes, some have color E Ink screens and others double as full-blow ereaders with access to ebook stores and your local library’s offerings. I’ve tested out close to a dozen E Ink tablets over the past year or two to see how well they work, how convenient they really are and which are the best tablets using E Ink screens available today.

Table of contents

• Best E Ink tablets for 2025

• Are E Ink tablets worth it?

• What to look for in an E Ink tablet

• Other E Ink tablets we've tested

Best E Ink tablets for 2025

Are E Ink tablets worth it?

An E Ink tablet will be a worthwhile purchase to a very select group of people. If you prefer the look and feel of an e paper display to LCD panels found on traditional tablets, it makes a lot of sense. They’re also good options for those who want a more paper-like writing experience (although you can get that kind of functionality on a regular tablet with the right screen protector) or a more distraction-free device overall.

The final note is key here. Most E Ink tablets don’t run on the same operating systems as regular tablets, so you’re automatically going to be limited in what you can do. And even with those that do allow you to download traditional apps like Chrome, Instagram and Facebook, E Ink tablets are not designed to give you the best casual-browsing experience. This is mostly due to the nature of E Ink displays, which have noticeable refreshes, a lack of color and lower quality than the panels you’ll find on even the cheapest iPad.

Arguably the biggest reason why you wouldn’t want to go with an iPad (all models of which support stylus input, a plethora of reading apps, etc) is because it’s much easier to get distracted by email, social media and other Internet-related temptations. An e-reader is also worth considering if this is the case for you, but just know that most standard e-readers do not accept stylus input. If you like to make notes in the margins of books, underline and mark up PDFs and the like, an e-reader won’t cut it.

What to look for in an E Ink tablet Latency

I discovered four main things that can really make or break your experience with an E Ink tablet during my testing; first is the writing experience. How good it is will depend a lot on the display’s refresh rate (does it refresh after every time you put pen to “paper,” so to speak?) and the stylus’ latency. Most had little to no latency, but there were some that were worse than others. Finally, you should double check before buying that your preferred E Ink tablet comes with a stylus.

Reading

The second thing to consider is the reading experience. How much will you be reading books, documents and other things on this tablet? While you can find E Ink tablets in all different sizes, most of them tend to be larger than your standard e-reader because it makes writing much easier. Having a larger display isn’t a bad thing, but it might make holding it for long periods slightly more uncomfortable. (Most e-readers are roughly the size of a paperback book, giving you a similar feeling to analog reading).

The supported file types will also make a big difference. It’s hard to make a blanket statement here because this varies so much among E Ink tablets. The TL;DR is that you’ll have a much better reading experience if you go with one made by a company that already has a history in e-book sales (i.e. Amazon or Kobo). All of the titles you bought via the Kindle or Kobo store should automatically be available to you on your Kindle or Kobo E Ink tablet. And with Kindle titles, specifically, since they are protected by DRM, it’s not necessarily the best idea to try to bring those titles over to a third-party device. Unless the tablet supports reading apps like Amazon’s Kindle or the Kobo app, you’ll be limited to supported file types, like ePUB, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, PNG and others.

Search functionality

Third, most E Ink tablets have some search features, but they can vary widely between models. You’ll want to consider how important it is to you to be able to search through all your handwritten notes and markups. I noticed that Amazon’s and Kobo’s E Ink tablets made it easy to refer back to notes made in books and files because they automatically save on which pages you took notes, made highlights and more. Searching is less standardized on E Ink tablets that have different supported file types, but their features can be quite powerful in their own right. For example, a few devices I tested supported text search in handwritten notes along with handwriting recognition, the latter of which allows you to translate your scribbles into typed text.

Sharing and connectivity

The final factor to consider is sharing and connectivity. Yes, we established that E Ink tablets can be great distraction-free devices, but most manufacturers understand that your notes and doodles aren’t created in a vacuum. You’ll likely want to access them elsewhere, and that requires some form of connectivity. All of the E Ink tablets I tried were Wi-Fi devices, and some supported cloud syncing, companion mobile apps and the ability to export notes via email so you can access them elsewhere. None of them, however, integrate directly with a digital note taking system like Evernote or OneNote, so these devices will always be somewhat supplementary if you use apps like that, too. Ultimately, you should think about what you will want to do with the documents you’ll interact with on your E Ink tablet after the tablet portion is done.

Other E Ink tablets we've tested Lenovo Smart Paper

Lenovo made a solid E Ink tablet in the Smart Paper, but it's too pricey and too married to the company's companion cloud service to warrant a spot on our top picks list. The hardware is great, but the software isn't as flexible as those of competitors like the reMarkable 2. It has good Google Drive integration, but you must pair it with Lenovo's cloud service to really get the most use out of it — and in the UK, the service costs £9 per month for three months, which is quite expensive.

Onyx Boox Tab Ultra

The Boox Tab Ultra has a lot of the same features we like in the Note Air 2 Plus, but it’s designed to be a true, all-purpose tablet with an E Ink screen. Running Android 11 and compatible with a magnetic keyboard case, you can use it like a standard 2-in-1 laptop, albeit a low-powered one. You can browse the web, check email and even watch YouTube videos on this thing — but that doesn’t mean you should. A standard 2-in-1 laptop with a more responsive screen and better overall performance would be a better fit for most people who even have the slightest desire to have an all-in-one device. Like the rest of Onyx’s devices, the Tab Ultra is specifically for those who put reading and eye comfort above all else.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/best-e-ink-tablet-130037939.html?src=rss

If you were wondering whether it’d be possible to ferment foods in space, the answer is apparently yes. In a study published in the journal iScience, researchers from the US and Denmark say they were able to make decent-tasting miso on the International Space Station — but the flavor and smell was distinct from that of miso made on Earth. While it still scored well in the taste tests, with similar ratings to Earth miso in qualities like umami and saltiness, the ISS miso was found to taste nuttier and more roasted than the usual stuff.

The team suggests the findings reflect a sort of “space terroir,” playing off the term often used in relation to wine grapes to describe unique, location-specific flavor characteristics. For the study, the researchers sent a package containing the miso paste ingredients (cooked soybeans, rice koji and salt) to the ISS in March 2020, and let it ferment for 30 days. They also started miso batches back at home in Cambridge, MA and Copenhagen, Denmark, and monitored the environmental conditions of each setup. After a month, the space miso was sent back and analyzed in comparison to the Earth batches.

“There are some features of the space environment in low earth orbit — in particular microgravity and increased radiation — that could have impacts on how microbes grow and metabolize and thus how fermentation works,” co-lead author Joshua D. Evans of Technical University of Denmark said in a press release. “We wanted to explore the effects of these conditions.”

Not only were there differences in flavor, including the notable roasted nuttiness of the space miso, but also in the microbial composition of the misos. The team concluded that “overall, the space miso is a miso,” but says the findings “suggest a specific fermentation environment in space.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/researchers-who-made-miso-in-space-say-it-tastes-good-but-different-215410333.html?src=rss

A Minecraft Movie has reportedly surpassed the record previously set by 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie for the biggest ever domestic box office opening of a video game adaptation. The new movie, which was released in theaters on Friday, raked in $157 million in the US in its opening weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A Minecraft Movie is doing well internationally, too; THR reports that it’s earned $301M altogether in its global debut. The Super Mario Bros. Movie pulled in $146 million in its domestic opening and $377 million globally.

A Minecraft Movie stars Jack Black, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks and Jennifer Coolidge. And while the trailers left us with pretty low expectations in the leadup to its release, Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar found that it’s actually a pretty good kids’ movie that “delivers a decent message about championing creativity in a world that wants to beat down free-thinking non-conformists.” You can read the full review here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/a-minecraft-movie-just-set-a-new-record-with-the-biggest-opening-ever-for-a-video-game-adaptation-in-the-us-192934482.html?src=rss