ArduinoMania

Samsung’s Galaxy A52 5G wasn’t the best midrange phone you could buy in 2021, but it did possess some standout features, including a responsive display and versatile camera. It was easy to imagine the company iterating on the A52 5G to make it the top of its class. Sadly, the Galaxy A53 5G is not dramatically different from its predecessor. Samsung has made a handful of tweaks by adding a more efficient processor and a bigger battery. But, at best, they feel like window dressing. Worse, in some ways, the phone feels like a step back.

Display

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

Let’s start with what hasn’t changed. The A53 features a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2,400 by 1,080 resolution, 800 nits of peak brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate. That screen is the main reason to buy the A53 — it’s big, vibrant, fast and makes everything from scrolling through social media to watching videos enjoyable. It doesn’t support HDR or offer a variable refresh rate like some of Samsung’s more expensive phones, but that’s not much of an issue. Even with the display set to 120Hz, I could get nearly two full days of moderate use and light gaming from the 5,000mAh battery.

Cameras

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

The A53 also comes with the same quad-camera system as the A52 5G. The standout here is the 64-megapixel main sensor with an f/1.8 aperture lens and optical image stabilization. On a sunny day, the camera and Samsung’s imaging software consistently capture photos with saturated colors. It’s also surprisingly good at preserving both shadow and highlight detail in high contrast scenes. The main camera struggles when there isn’t a lot of light, producing images with a noticeable amount of noise, but that’s something you see on a lot of midrange phones.

A supporting 5-MP depth sensor helps the A53’s main camera take pleasant portrait shots. The A53 also includes one of the better macro modes I’ve used on a midrange device, thanks to an interface that makes it easy to ensure you’ve nailed the focus on your subject. With ample light, the 32-MP selfie camera is likewise capable of capturing flattering photos. By default, Samsung’s beauty filter applies a moderate amount of smoothing, which you can adjust by tapping the “magic wand” icon at the top.

Then there’s the 12-MP ultra-wide camera that feels like an afterthought. It does a decent job of capturing scenes that are too big for the main lens, but there’s a noticeable drop in quality due to its lower resolution. One quirk I noticed across all of the A53’s cameras is that they’re not great at adjusting for color temperature. Many of the shots I took showed a noticeable green or purple tint. They were easy enough to fix with an editing app like Snapseed, but not everyone has the patience for that.

Overall, the A53 features a capable camera system, but I think it’s a missed opportunity. With the A52 5G, Samsung was already behind the curve. Sure, it offered versatility, but phones like the Pixel 5a could take consistently better photos. The A53 does nothing to better position Samsung against the competition in the midrange market and it’s likely to feel even more outdated when the Pixel 6a comes out.

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

There are things Samsung has changed, though, starting with the phone’s exterior. The company has shaved 0.3 millimeters off the A53 to make it 8.1mm thick. At the same time, it removed the headphone jack. As of this review, Samsung is offering a free set of Galaxy Buds Live when you buy the A53 through its website, so at least the company is helping ease the transition? Still, it’s a shame to see the headphone jack go, because it made the A52 5G somewhat unique.

What makes the external tweaks even more disappointing is that Samsung hasn’t addressed any of the issues we had with the A52 5G’s finish. The matte material on the back of the phone is still a magnet for fingerprints and smudges. Also, in the US, Samsung is again only offering the phone in boring black.

Performance

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

I could overlook Samsung removing the headphone jack and leaving the camera as is, if the A53 was fast. Mediocre performance was one of the main reasons we didn’t recommend the A52 5G, and the one notable update the A53 brings to the table is a new chipset. Samsung has equipped this year’s model with its own Exynos 1280 SoC, and it is by far the most disappointing thing about the phone.

Simply put, it’s not much of an upgrade over the A52 5G’s Snapdragon 750G. In my testing, the A53 frequently stalled when I tried to switch between apps, and there was consistent stuttering in regular use. It was also slow to launch and operate the camera app, with a seconds-long delay between my pressing the shutter button and the camera firing. It was even worse when I tried to play games.

Samsung claims the Exynos 1280 offers up to 33 percent faster graphics than the Snapdragon 750G, but I saw regular frame rate drops in games like League of Legends: Wild Rift and Genshin Impact. I suspect some of the A53’s performance woes boil down to the phone only coming with 6GB of RAM. Unfortunately, Samsung doesn’t offer an 8GB variant in the US.

The A53 comes with Android 12 and the latest version of One UI, along with a promised four years of platform updates and five years of security fixes. That’s among the best support you’ll find on a device at this price and Samsung should be applauded for this. But I doubt you will want to hold on to this phone for that long. I can see myself getting fed up with the slow processor within a year.

Wrap-up

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

At $450, the A53 costs $50 less than the A52 5G. That may seem like a bonus, but Samsung doesn’t ship the phone with a wall charger anymore and it hasn’t added wireless charging. The company’s 25W power adapter costs an extra $20. In addition to the Galaxy Buds Live promotion I mentioned earlier, the company is currently offering up to $100 off the A53 if you trade in your existing device.

The A53 is a good purchase if you want the best display you can find for under $500, but there are better all-around options. For instance, the Pixel 5a features a cleaner version of Android, faster updates, as well as a headphone jack and more consistent camera.

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

If you’re set on a Samsung phone and have an extra $100 to spend, consider the Galaxy S21 FE. At $700, it was overpriced. But nowadays, you can regularly find it for about $550. It offers a much faster processor with WiFi 6 support. Those are things that will make it feasible to keep the S21 FE for longer than you would the A53.

Had Samsung done more to future-proof the A53, it would be easier for me to recommend. But with a middling chipset and a camera that feels stuck in the past, you’re better off spending your money on a phone that you’ll be happy with for years to come.

The day has finally arrived. Following an eleventh-hour delay late last year due to a "critical" battery issue, Panic has begun shipping its long-awaited Playdate portable (spoiler warning: we love it). In an email it sent out on Monday, the company said "Group One" customers will see their handheld shipped out "today and in the coming weeks." If you were among some of the first people to preorder the device back in 2021, Panic says you'll get an email the moment it sends out your unit. 

"We'll ramp up our shipping volume every day to make sure all of our systems are working smoothly," the company said. "We think we can get Group One out the door during the next month." Panic promised to share more information about Group Two orders, including details about delivery estimates, in the future. 

Unfortunately, if you decide to order the handheld today, you're in for a lengthy wait. "We've filled our production capacity for 2022, but we're ramping up to make even more systems," the company says on its website. "The queue for 2023 is quickly growing, so preorder now, and secure your place in line!" 

DICE and Electronic Arts will roll out a major Battlefield 2042 patch on Tuesday, which will bring an important, long-awaited feature to the beleaguered first-person shooter: in-game voice chat.

The VoIP feature won't work across an entire team, however. The only channel options are for parties and squads (which can have a maximum of four members). Given that teams can have up to 64 players, voice chat could get messy fast with that many people talking over each other. A proximity-based option might have been helpful for callouts, though.

While Battlefield 2042 players can use party chat features built-into their console or third-party services such as Discord, they haven't been able to speak with teammates they don't know until now. For a game like this, that's a heck of an omission. It's good to see DICE and EA finally correcting course.

Elsewhere, the 4.0 patch will overhaul weapon attachments to make many of them more distinct. It should be clearer to understand how switching to a different one will affect your weapon. Doing so might mean you'll have slower aim-down-sights speed or more magnification for a scope. In addition, players will see the updated scoreboard on end-of-round screens.

DICE listed many other changes in the patch notes, including progression tweaks, map alterations, bug fixes and modifications to some specialist abilities. The patch will go live at 3AM ET tomorrow.

Looking ahead, the next patch is scheduled to arrive in May. DICE said it will fix more bugs and introduce other quality of life changes. Battlefield 2042's delayed season one, meanwhile, is expected to start this summer.

Playdate shouldn't be able to do the things it does. It’s tiny enough to fit in the too-tight front pockets of my skinny jeans, it’s lighter than a deck of cards and it has a 1-bit black-and-white screen. It feels like a relic of the '90s, at least until you power it on – Playdate supports smooth, densely pixelated animations, it connects to Wi-Fi and it has a library of exclusive games from top-tier indie developers, all available for free. The small crank attached to its side is the icing on the yellow cake, adding a layer of sweet innovation to every experience on the system.

Playdate is my favorite handheld device since the Vita. It’s a love letter to indie games and creativity, and I think it’s exactly what the industry needs right now.

Playdate is the brainchild of Panic, the Mac developer and publisher behind Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game, with hardware crafted by Teenage Engineering. Its specs are appropriately adorable, with 16MB of RAM and 4GB of flash storage, an accelerometer for motion-based input, a 400 x 240 1-bit display, a built-in mono speaker, condenser mic and stereo headphone jack, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities. The Bluetooth function wasn’t available to test for review, but connecting to Wi-Fi was a painless, and even cute, process.

Panic

Admittedly, most things about Playdate are cute: Its size, the crank, the audio cues, the way each game is presented as a little gift to unwrap and how the screen looks like a winky face when you wake it up. There’s so much personality packed into Playdate’s monochromatic screen that even interacting with the Settings page is enjoyable. Of course, playing games on it is even better.

Playdate comes with a lineup of free games, each one made exclusively for the system and most of them taking full advantage of the crank mechanic. These are automatically added to the library in batches – once a Playdate is activated, it’ll receive two fresh games each week for 12 weeks, for a total of 24 titles in the device’s first season. There are plans to offer games for purchase on Playdate down the line.

Some are definitely more replayable than others, but I haven’t found a bad game on Playdate yet. They span genres and lengths, capping out at a few hours, but there’s at least one moment of pure delight in each experience. Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure, for instance, is a sidescroller starring a hopeless romantic who’s just trying to meet his date on time, and his movements are controlled entirely by the crank, steps reversing and accelerating depending on the direction of the rotation. It’s a simple concept with a singular input method, but the crank makes it challenging in a way I’ve never experienced before, and it’s instantly addictive.

Panic

Spellcorked is my favorite game on Playdate so far, largely because it so cleanly captures everything the device has to offer. It’s a potion-making game with a romantic subplot and a sassy cat, and every time I boot it up I’m impressed by the amount of fine detail that fills the screen. It has dialogue, character icons, an email interface, and environments filled with spiderwebs and nicknacks, but nothing gets lost visually. Each frame is crisp and the actual potion-making process involves every input method Playdate offers: pressing buttons while turning the crank to grind ingredients, lining up a blade with the crank and chopping in a back-and-forth motion, and tilting the entire device to the side to pour a finished potion into a vial. Each new mechanic is so delightful, so initially surprising, that it adds an extra layer of magic to an already spell-heavy game.

The Playdate crank isn’t a gimmick. It’s a fundamental aspect of the system, transforming it from a revamped Gameboy into something entirely new, a mobile device with a peculiar and joyful edge. The crank, much like the lo-fi restrictions of the hardware, is an invitation for developers to think deeper about the way they develop games, to try new things and to innovate on old ideas. Playdate’s first season is already filled with fresh concepts; I haven’t felt this spark of intrigue from a handheld since my fingers brushed the back of the Vita for the first time.

Panic

I believe the ideas generated by Playdate games won’t be trapped in a crank-only bubble, either. This kind of creative thinking naturally bleeds into the wider game development cycle, with designers testing out weird mechanics on the handheld and then transferring these concepts to traditional consoles, PCs and phones. The Vita eventually transformed into the DualSense, after all, and developers of all sizes regularly find wells of inspiration in new input mechanics. As ridiculous as it may seem, the Playdate crank can be a boon for the entire industry. All hail the crank. Amen.

There are few downsides to the Playdate. It’s small enough to be unobtrusive but unique enough to be a conversation starter; it’s packed with exclusive games from amazing indie developers; its battery easily lasts two days with intermittent play; it costs a reasonable $180 and it has a crank. My one complaint would be screen brightness – it’s not backlit, but instead uses a super-reflective system that requires light in the room to play, and at times the screen appears dull. It’s not unplayable, but I’ve caught myself squinting a few times, particularly in direct light.

Panic

It’s also very, very small, which works just fine for my hands, but people with large mitts might have issues with the size. But hey, if you can use a Joy-Con, you should be able to handle a Playdate. Plus, with the Playdate mirror app, you're able to stream the device's screen in real-time to a PC or Mac and play with traditional gamepads. This also helps anyone who wants to go live with Playdate games on Twitch or YouTube, and should be useful for developers.

Playdate looks like a cross between a Game Boy and a business card, but it feels like a modern system. Part of that is the speedy-enough processor and feather-light feel, but it’s also the sense of innovation built into the hardware. There are plenty of devices out there promising gorgeous graphics and outrageous processing power, but Playdate is a glaring reminder that there’s more magic to a good game than bleeding-edge performance. This is something indie developers have known for decades, and Playdate distills this philosophy into a cute-as-hell package, complete with a crank.

We're in the middle of an EV revolution and every day it feels like there's a new electric car, truck or SUV hitting the road. But if you want an electric van, your options are a lot more limited, which is precisely what VW is hoping to address with the upcoming ID.Buzz.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the ID.Buzz’s official debut back at SXSW, so when I heard that it would be making another appearance at the New York International Auto Show, I made sure to stop by and check it out. Now technically, VW isn't calling the ID.Buzz a van, so I’ll let you decide where this thing fits among other EVs. But what we do know is that it’s slated to go on sale sometime in 2024, featuring a 77-kWh battery with two rows of seats for the European model (which is what version VW had on display) or a full three rows of seats and slightly longer chassis for the US market. Other specs like its range and price are still to be determined.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

But make no mistake, unlike the countless number of Microbus concepts we've seen over the past 20 years, this is a production-ready car, so it's more or less what you'll see at dealers. And I think it looks absolutely fantastic, which is actually kind of impressive. Normally, when you think about buying a van, it feels like you’re giving up on being hip or cool in favor of practicality.

Just like the original, VW has kept the Microbus' two-toned color scheme. Though if that's a bit much for your taste, there will also be less flashy single-color paint jobs. Meanwhile, to bring the Microbus' design into the 21st century, the company has gone minimalist with a lot of its details, opting for clean lines and a big VW logo in front and back, along with blacked-out pillars that makes the bus look like it's wearing a visor.

Inside, VW continues the new styling by using the same diamond pattern seen on the front grille, and a two-toned interior featuring animal-free upholstery and vegan leather. The infotainment system is similar to what's available in the VW ID.4, with a small display behind the steering wheel and a larger touchscreen in the center sporting icons that can be made to match the Buzz's paint job. There's also a thin lightstrip that runs across the base of the windshield that serves as a heads-up notification system, though I didn't get to see it in action because it's typically only active when the car is in motion.

My favorite thing about the ID.Buzz's interior are all the little usability touches. I spotted no less than four USB-C ports — one in every door — and I'm willing to bet the US version will have at least one or two more for third-row passengers. VW also made it so that you can completely remove the center console between the front seats, giving passengers more room to move about. It even threw in some fun easter eggs like a smiley face behind the front passenger's interior door handle and little ID.Buzz logos on the rear windshield and the base of the rear seats. And while VW didn't have it on hand, there's even an accessory that goes in the trunk to create a flat load shelf. That means you can throw a mattress in back and use the Buzz for stuff like camping, which was one of the best things about the old Microbus.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Perhaps most importantly, when you step back and look at the future van market, VW is leading the way with the ID.Buzz. Sure, Ford is working on an electric version of the Transit, and Mercedes has an EV version of Sprinter. But those are designed to be commercial vehicles, not something that the average person might buy. And that's kind of sad, because hauling kids or animals short distances around town is the perfect use case for an electric vehicle.

So when the ID.Buzz finally arrives sometime in 2024, it'll be well ahead of competitors like the Chrysler Pacifica, which currently only exists as a plug-in hybrid. Not only has VW made what looks to be a great reinterpretation of a classic, the ID.Buzz is a pioneering electric van. Oh, and if you just want to haul stuff around, VW is planning to make a cargo version of the ID.Buzz too.

Famed electronic instrument maker Roland is celebrating its 50th anniversary today by teaming up with boutique publisher Bjooks to announce a coffee table book that tells its story. Inspire The Music: 50 Years of Roland History is a 400-page tome that delves into the tech, people and culture behind the company.

The book includes several chapters that explore Roland products and their impact on certain music scenes. Roland and Bjooks say Inspire the Music explains the context and history of the Jupiter-8 Synthesizer, Boss guitar pedals, TR-808 Rhythm Composer and TB-303 Bass Line. The book will cover other gear, such as keytars, grooveboxes and V-Drums, as well as how the Octapad SPD-30 percussion pad became a staple of modern music in India.

In addition, Inspire the Music features dozens of interviews with artists and Roland designers. You can expect to hear from the likes of Johnny Marr of The Smiths, DJ Jazzy Jeff, guitarist Nita Strauss, Sister Bliss of Faithless, Orbital, Peaches, Swizz Beatz, Jean-Michel Jarre and Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor of Duran Duran.

Bjooks came to prominence through Kickstarter, and has published glossy books on topics such as guitar pedals, modular synthesis and interface design. In 2020, it teamed up with Moog for a book featuring tips and tricks for the semi-modular Mother lineup.

Inspire The Music will be released this summer. Pricing has yet to be revealed.

Roland/Bjooks

Fitness trackers are a good alternative to smartwatches for those that want to keep track of daily activity and workouts, but aren't into the look and feel of digital timepieces. One of the best out there is Fitbit's Charge 5 and you can get it for $130 right now at Amazon. That's 13 percent off its regular price and, while not a record low, it's only $10 more than that.

The Charge 5 earned a score of 82 from us — while Fitbit updated its design, the tracker is quite similar to the Charge 4 that came before it. It has a full color touchscreen with an always-on mode that you can choose to enable, plus a frame that's 10 percent thinner than its predecessor and more comfortable band.

It's definitely more low-profile than a standard smartwatch, which some will appreciate, but just because it's relatively slim doesn't mean it's light on power. The Charge 5 tracks all-day heart rate, activity, sleep and more, plus it has a built-in GPS for mapping outdoor workouts. It also comes standard with Fitbit Pay, the company's contactless payment system, so you can pay for groceries or a coffee on your way back from a run without needing your wallet.

Like other trackers, the Charge 5 has a clear advantage over standard smartwatches when it comes to battery life. The device lasted about two and a half days in our testing with the screen in always-on mode, and a full five days with that feature turned off. If you're looking for an activity monitor that you won't have to worry about charging every night, this is a good option.

If you are more of a smartwatch person, Fitbit's high-end Sense device is also on sale right now for $200, or $100 off its normal price. We gave the timepiece a score of 82 for its bright, sharp display and comprehensive suite of health tracking tools, which includes EDA scanning, skin temperature monitoring, ECG measurements, high and low heart rate alerts and more.

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

You'll want to act quickly if you've been looking for a frill-free tablet. Amazon is selling Apple's latest 10.2-inch iPad (that is, the 2021 model) at an all-time low price of $290 after an instant checkout coupon. This only applies to the 64GB WiFi model in silver, and you'll have to wait until early May for delivery. If those aren't obstacles, however, this is an exceptional deal that beats some of the bargains we've seen for past models.

The 10.2-inch iPad remains alluring thanks to its sheer value for money. It's fast for the price, offers a solid screen and lasts a long time on battery. On this newest model, the wide-angle camera with Center Stage is particularly useful — it's easier to fit more of your household into the frame during a video call, even if they're in the background. Toss in the upgraded base storage, a robust app ecosystem and iPadOS 15's better multitasking and you might not need more than this.

The same issues still apply, of course. This iPad design now feels old compared to newer models like the iPad Air and iPad mini. You won't get those tablets' thinner bezels, faster processors and improved cameras. There's no support for the Magic Keyboard or second-generation Pencil, for that matter. However, there's a real chance you don't need those extras — the 10.2-inch iPad is still a very capable device for gaming, reading, video viewing and many other everyday tasks.

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

If you're looking for a budget-friendly robot vacuum to get for yourself or for mom for Mother's Day, iRobot's Roomba 694 is a great option. It's our current favorite affordable robo-vac, and now you can pick it up for even less than its normal rate of $274. Amazon has the machine for $179, which is $95 off and a return to its record-low price.

Chances are you've heard of iRobot before even if you have never owned a robot vacuum because the brand is, arguably, the most well known in that space. With that recognition comes high price tags, but the Roomba 694 is a solid machine made better by this discount. It has a three-button design and app connectivity, giving you a few ways to control it, and it cleans both hard and carpeted surfaces well. It'll putter around your home, sucking up dirt, debris and even pet hair as it moves from room to room, and it'll automatically return to its charging base when it's finished.

In addition to starting cleaning jobs from the iRobot app, you can also set cleaning schedules, which make the robot even more autonomous. The Roomba 694 is also compatible with Alexa and the Google Assistant, so you can use voice commands to control it as well.

iRobot estimates the Roomba 694 will run for about 90 minutes before it needs a recharge, but we found that it often ran for less time before returning home. That means that those with larger homes may have to wait longer for clean floors as the machine will have to charge up before it completes a job, but otherwise, there aren't many downsides to this robo-vac. It's an especially good pick for novices since iRobot's mobile app is quite easy to use and the machine does the cleaning basics well.

A couple of other iRobot machines are also on sale right now, and they're best for those that want to splurge on an advanced robot vacuum. Both the Roomba j7+ and the Roomba s9+ are $200 off right now, bringing them down to $599 and $799, respectively. The former is one of the company's newest devices with a pet poop detection feature (yes, you read that right), while the latter is the highest-end machine you can get from iRobot. Both also come with clean bases, so the robots will empty their dustbins into the base after every cleaning job.

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

The US Department of State is making it easier for people to explore cultural heritage sites from around the world thanks to a partnership with Google Arts & Culture. Announced as part of World Heritage Day, the dedicated section will let people virtually explore heritage sites from 1,100 Ambassadors Fund projects in over 130 countries around the world.

"Cultural heritage sites, objects, and traditions are a point of pride for people the world over, but they also require care and vigilance," wrote the US Department of State's Lee Satterfield. "That’s why the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center works with governments and organizations to preserve and protect cultural heritage from both natural and man-made threats through the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP)."

Some of the sites on display include the Wat Chaiwatthanaram at Ayutthaya in Thailand, the al-Imam al-Shafi’i Mausoleum in Egypt and the Ancient Nabataean Flash Flood Protection System at Petra. All told, the Cultural Heritage Center added over 100 new images of sites. Along with those, there's a story about cultural heritage preservation, complete with video and images, created by the US Department of State's Cultural Heritage Center.

The Cultural Heritage Center promised to update the site with future stories down the road. And since the biggest threat to heritage sites is climate change, it also pointed folks to Google Arts & Culture's Heritage on the Edge project.