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As the first laptop to feature a flexible OLED display, the original ThinkPad X1 Fold was incredibly ambitious. It was also very experimental. While the concept showed potential, its software, performance and design clearly weren’t ready for prime time. But almost two years later, Lenovo is back with a second attempt, sporting some serious generational leaps.

The first major upgrade on the new X1 Fold is a bigger 16.3-inch OLED display from Sharp. Not only does it have a slightly higher 2.5K resolution, but the larger size also means you have significantly more screen space. But more importantly, when folded up, you now get a device that’s closer to a 12-inch laptop instead of a 10-inch system like the previous model. This should make the X1 Fold a lot more practical anytime space is an issue, like when you’re working on an airplane without feeling cramped.

On top of that, Lenovo redesigned the X1 Fold’s Bluetooth keyboard. Now it uses the same keys as the ThinkPad X1 Nano, so you get a longer and cushier actuation, it also has a new fingerprint sensor that works with Windows Hello. And while you can still lay the keyboard on top of the bottom half of the Fold in laptop mode, it also attaches magnetically to the base of the system when it's resting on its included stand, which supports both landscape and portrait orientation.

Another big change is that instead of storing the keyboard inside the Fold, it magnetically attaches to the stand to become a single piece that’s easier to manage. So when you need to pack up, all you have to do is tilt the stand forward until it docks with the keyboard, bend the Fold in half, and then just slam everything together. Lenovo says this change was made in response to feedback from customers who prefer using the system more like a portable all-in-one instead of a convertible laptop. And because there isn’t a space inside the system for the keyboard anymore, Lenovo was able to install a new fold-flat hinge, so everything is sleeker and more compact. It’s almost like the X1 Fold has spent the last two years going to the gym and put on a fresh, custom-tailored suit.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

For the new generation, Lenovo also wanted to improve the Fold’s serviceability, so it's easier to replace things like its SSD, batteries and other components in the field. Unfortunately, the X1 Fold still isn’t water resistant, but it should still be pretty rugged, as the Fold remains subject to the same mil-spec 810G testing required on other ThinkPads. And despite a significantly bigger screen than before, the new X1 Fold only weighs around 2.8 pounds, though you’re looking at a kit that’s closer to 4.2 pounds when you factor in the revamped stand and keyboard.

I also appreciate some of Lenovo’s little touches, like the addition of a third USB-C port (two of which support Thunderbolt 4) and an improved location for the Fold’s 5MP IR webcam, so that it’s more useful. Lenovo even added a third speaker so that regardless of orientation, you still get full stereo audio with support for Dolby Atmos.

As for performance, we’re looking at a serious jump in processing power, with the Fold supporting up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 U-series CPU, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, while still featuring a completely fanless design. For those worried about the short battery life on the previous model, Lenovo has made room for an optional 16 Wh power cell to supplement the standard 48Wh battery. And because Windows 11 has much better support for various layouts and window snapping compared to Windows 10, from my brief time with the new X1 Fold, everything felt significantly smoother and more responsive.

So while I should mention that this is still a pre-production device, I’m really liking what I’ve seen so far from the new X1 Fold. But to get a real sense of how this thing is going to hold up, we’re going to have to wait a bit longer until it goes on sometime in Q4 starting at around $2,800.

Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp could soon have specialized features available only to users willing to pay for them. Meta is forming a new division called New Monetization Experiences that will be solely focused on paid features for the company’s app, according to a memo reported byThe Verge.

Wile Facebook and Instagram already have a number of paid features that cater to creators, like Stars, paid events and various subscription products, it sounds like the new division at Meta will be separate from those initiatives. (Of note, Meta had pledged not to take a cut of creator earnings until 2023.)

It’s not clear what type of paid features might come out of the effort, but Meta’s VP of monetization John Hegeman told The Verge the company is keeping a close eye on its industry peers. Twitter, Snapchat and Telegram have all recently launched monthly subscriptions that unlock exclusive features and other in-app perks for paid subscribers.

Paid features could help Meta find new sources of non-advertising revenue. The company’s multibillion-dollar advertising business has taken a significant hit of late due to iOS privacy changes and an economic downturn that’s also affected its competitors.

Valve wants to help Steam Deck owners and folks interested in picking up the device easily find out what games can actually run on it. Through its verification program, it hopes to let people see at a glance whether a game is compatible. Although it will be a long process to test every game (assuming it goes that far), Valve just passed an important milestone. The company has now certified 5,000 games as Verified or Playable on Steam Deck.

If Valve slaps a Verified label on a game, the Steam Deck should be able to handle it with few, if any, issues. Should Valve determine that a title is Playable, it will work, but there might be a few caveats or niggling issues. On the other hand, Valve has listed nearly 2,000 games as Unsupported, according to SteamDB, meaning they probably (or definitely) won't work on Steam Deck. 

Those numbers suggest Valve has tested at least 7,000 Steam games on the system. There's a long way to go to check all of them, though, since there are well north of 50,000 titles on the platform. It's worth noting that many of the games currently labeled as Unknown work just fine on Steam Deck, even without a Verified or Playable sticker.

Valve uses four criteria to check Steam Deck compatibility. It assesses whether a game has controller support (and an onscreen keyboard when needed) or any compatibility warnings. It also looks for support for the screen's native 1,280 by 800 resolution and if the game has any issues with the Proton compatibility layer Valve employs to run Windows games.

There's now a vast library of games that will work on Steam Deck, more than most people can possibly play in a lifetime — you might have a shot at getting through them if you can tear yourself away from Vampire Survivors for long enough. This should come as more good news for those waiting on a Steam Deck delivery after Valve ramped up production in the last few months. If you reserve one now, you should still be able to get a Steam Deck by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Valve has revealed the top 10 most-played on Steam Deck for August. The list includes Elden Ring, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, MultiVersus and, yes, Vampire Survivors.

Apple has released an iOS 12 update users of older iPhone and iPad devices should download as soon as possible. The new version of the company’s 2018 operating system addresses a major vulnerability that Apple recently patched within iOS 15. According to a support document, the WebKit flaw could have allowed a website to run malicious code on your device. In its usual terse manner, Apple notes it is “aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.”

For that reason, you should download the update as soon as possible if you’re still using an iOS 12 device. That’s a list that includes the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, as well as iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and iPad mini 3. You can download iOS 12.5.6 by opening the Settings app, tapping on “General” and then selecting “Software Update.”

The marriage of Paramount+ and Showtime's streaming offerings is finally complete. Starting today, you'll be able to access all of Showtime's content from within the Paramount+ app, Variety reports. That integration has been in the works since February, and it should make life easier for fans of Star Trek who may also want to catch up on Showtime's Yellowjackets. Previously, Paramount offered both services for a limited-time bundle price, but users had to access the apps separately.

To sweeten the deal, Paramount is offering another bundled discount through October 2nd: $7.99 a month for the "Essential Plan," which includes ad-supported Paramount+ and ad-free Showtime, and $12.99 for the completely ad-free "Premium Plan." After that, they'll cost $11.99 and $14.99 a month, respectively. (The Essential plan doesn't include access to your local CBS station—for that, you'll have to go premium.)

On its own, Paramount+ currently costs $4.99 a month/$49.99 a year for the limited plan, or $9.99 a month/$99.99 a year for the premium offering. If you've stuck with the service to get your Star Trek fix, it's not a huge leap to spend a few more bucks to get Showtime at the discounted rate. And no matter how you look at it, the bundled plans are also a better deal than spending $10.99 a month for Showtime alone.

While it's all a bit confusing at the moment, consolidating its streaming services makes sense for Paramount. It has to compete with the combined forces of HBO Max and Discovery+, which will unify their platforms next year, as well as Netflix's upcoming ad-supported tier. Both Paramount+ and Showtime have dedicated fanbases, but for many consumers, they're also the sort of services that may get cancelled when their favorite shows aren't airing new episodes. Together, though, they may have just enough content to keep subscribers around.

Snap has confirmed reports that it will lay off around 20 percent of its employees — approximately 1,300 people — to reduce costs. The company has also canceled most original Snapchat shows (save for the long-running politics and news series Good Luck America) and shelved other projects. For one thing, Snap said it's putting games and mini-apps into maintenance mode. It will also sunset the standalone Zenly and Voisey apps to focus on Snapchat's Snap Map and Sounds features.

On the hardware front, Snap is "narrowing our investment scope in Spectacles to focus on highly differentiated long-term research and development efforts." In addition, the company has halted further development of its Pixy selfie drone only a few months after it started selling the device.

Snap said in a note to investors that the layoffs, project cancellations and other restructuring will save the company approximately $500 million in the annualized cash cost structure relative to the April-June quarter (for which Snap posted lackluster earnings results). The figure includes a $50 million reduction in content costs. The restructuring costs will be around $110 million to $175 million. Approximately $95 million to $135 million of that will likely be incurred in adjusted operating expenses, mostly in the current quarter.

"Unfortunately, given our current lower rate of revenue growth, it has become clear that we must reduce our cost structure to avoid incurring significant ongoing losses," Snap CEO Evan Spiegel wrote in a letter to staff. "While we have built substantial capital reserves, and have made extensive efforts to avoid reductions in the size of our team by reducing spend in other areas, we must now face the consequences of our lower revenue growth and adapt to the market environment."

Speigel noted that the company is restructuring around three pillars: community growth, revenue growth and augmented reality. "Projects that don’t directly contribute to these areas will be discontinued or receive substantially reduced investment," he added. 

Snap has been feeling the brunt of a broader economic slow down. Its share price has slumped by 80 percent this year (though it rebounded slightly following news of the layoffs and restructuring). So far in 2022, the company's year-over-year revenue growth is eight percent, which Speigel said is "well below what we were expecting earlier this year." However, the Snapchat+ subscription service is off to a positive start, with more than a million users signing up within the first month or so.

Meanwhile, company's leadership team has a fresh look. This week, its two top advertising executives departed for Netflix, which will soon start offering an ad-supported tier. Snap has promoted its former senior vice president of engineering Jerry Hunter to the position of chief operating officer. It will also bring in Ronan Harris, Google's UK and Ireland vice president and managing director, as president of its Europe, Middle East and Africa division.

A serious vulnerability found by Microsoft in the TikTok Android app could have allowed hackers to hijack millions of accounts. On Wednesday, the company’s 365 Defender Research Team detailed a one-click exploit it informed TikTok of in February. The good news is that the social media company promptly patched the vulnerability before today’s disclosure and Microsoft says it has no evidence of someone using it out in the wild.

“We gave them information about the vulnerability and collaborated to help fix this issue,” Microsoft’s Tanmay Ganacharya told The Verge. “TikTok responded quickly, and we commend the efficient and professional resolution from the security team.”

According to Microsoft, the vulnerability involved an oversight with TikTok’s deep linking functionality. On Android, developers can program their apps to handle certain URLs in specific ways. For instance, when you tap on a Twitter embed in Chrome and the Twitter app automatically opens on your phone as a result, that’s an example of the deep linking feature working as intended.

However, Microsoft found a way to bypass the verification process TikTok had in place to restrict deep links from executing certain actions. They then discovered they could use that vulnerability to access all the primary functions of an account, including the ability to post content and message other TikTok users. The flaw was present in both global versions of TikTok’s Android app. The two releases have more than 1.5 billion downloads between them, meaning the potential impact of someone discovering the vulnerability before it was patched could have been massive.

Microsoft recommends all TikTok users on Android download the latest version of the app as soon as they can. More broadly, you can protect yourself in the future from similar exploits by not clicking on sketchy links. It’s also good practice to avoid sideloading apps as you don’t know how someone could have altered the APK.

Three and a half years after Chinese tech conglomerate NetEase snapped up a minority stake in Quantic Dream (of Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human fame), it is gobbling up the rest of the developer. NetEase didn't reveal how much it's spending to buy out the studio, which will be its first in Europe.

After Quantic Dream formally becomes a NetEase subsidiary, it will continue to operate independently as a studio and publisher of first- and third-party titles. Additionally, it will be able to tap into NetEase's game development capabilities.

The studio has a couple of projects in the pipeline. Last December, it provided the first peek of Star Wars Eclipse, which is set in the High Republic era of a certain galaxy that's far, far away. Earlier this month, during Gamescom, it revealed it's publishing a game called Under the Waves. Parallel Studio is developing that title with the help of Quantic Dream's motion-capture, animation and voice-recording knowhow.

In 2018, ex-Quantic Dream employees accused the company of fostering a toxic work environment, where sexism, racism and homophobia were present. Later that year, a French court determined the company unfairly dismissed a former employee who made allegations of workplace harassment, but that ruling was overturned in 2021. Quantic Dream, which won libel suits against publications that reported on accusations against it, has refuted notions that it has a “toxic atmosphere“ or allows "any kind of discrimination in the studio."

This acquisition marks the latest entry in a long, long list of studio buyouts this year. Among others, Sony has boughtDestiny 2 developer Bungie, Haven Studios and, to help set up a mobile gaming division, Savage Game Studio. Along with Tencent, it just acquired a sizable, but minority stake in Elden Ring studio FromSoftware.

Elsewhere, Embracer Group is continuing on its quest to seemingly snap up every developer it possibly can. And then, of course, there's Microsoft's blockbuster acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which is still pending. On that note, NetEase publishes Blizzard games in China, including Diablo Immortal, which it co-developed. 

Earlier this year, the first gaming monitor with a Samsung QD-OLED panel arrived. We called the Alienware AW3423DW an ultrawide marvel, praising it for its bright and beautiful screen. When Samsung showed off QD-OLED at CES 2022, it promised the new panels would be available in more than one monitor, and now the company is making good on that pledge with the announcement of the Odyssey OLED G8.

If you’re familiar with the AW3423DW, you won’t find many surprises on the G8’s spec sheet. It features a 34-inch QD-OLED panel with a 21:9 aspect ratio and 1800R curvature. The 3,440 by 1,440 screen covers 99.3 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut and has a blazing fast 0.1ms response time and 175Hz refresh rate. It’s also DisplayHDR 400 True Black- and FreeSync Premium-certified – though there’s no mention of G-Sync compatibility. 

Samsung

The frame and stand are metal. That’s something you don’t see on many gaming monitors. However, the stand only offers height and tilt adjustment, and as you can see from one of the photos Samsung shared, there’s no option to VESA mount the G85SB due to the built-in RGB lighting at the back of the monitor. That’s not great from a usability standpoint. I’m also not sure what Samsung thought when they decided to include HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 connectivity but went with the Micro and Mini versions of those ports. Here’s hoping the company includes adapters in the box. Naturally, it also comes with Samsung's Gaming Hub and Smart Platform features built in.

The G85SB will go on sale before the end of the year. Samsung didn’t share pricing information, but if the cost of Alienware’s QD-OLED monitor is any indication, expect the Odyssey OLED G8 to fall somewhere in the $1,300 range.

When Australian woman Thevamanogari Manivel put in a Crypto.com refund request last year, she got far more than she bargained for. Manivel asked for a refund of $100 AUD (now worth around $68 USD). Instead, seemingly due to an employee entering her account number into a payment section of a refund form by mistake, the company dropped $10.5 million AUD ($7.2 million at current exchange rates) into her account instead.

According to a report from 7News (by way of The Verge) Crypto.com made the overly generous refund in May last year. However, it apparently did not identify the mistake until it carried out an audit in December, seven entire Gregorian calendar months later.

Manivel kept the money and reportedly transferred it to a bank account. A court granted Crypto.com a freeze on the account in February. The Guardian reports that most of the cash had been moved to other accounts by then, but those accounts were later frozen too. That same month, Manivel is said to have spent $1.35 million AUD (approximately $890,000) on a five-bedroom home and transferred ownership of it to her sister. A court has ordered the sale of the property as soon as possible and for the funds to be returned to Crypto.com with interest. The case will return to court in October.

Perhaps not too long ago, Crypto.com might have been more willing to write off the refund as a deeply unfortunate mistake. But the cryptocurrency market has been tanking this year and the company lost $34 million in a January hack. It also laid off hundreds of employees this summer due to the crypto downturn.

So, it's perhaps not too surprising that Crypto.com is trying to get the money back from Manivel. After all, it has a long-term arena sponsorship deal in Los Angeles, for which it's said to be paying $700 million over 20 years, and a Matt Damon to keep fed.