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Some owners of the new Apple Studio Display are having problems updating to the latest firmware, MacRumors has reported. After multiple failed attempts, users are being told by Apple support to bring their display in for repair to an Apple Store or authorized repair facility. 

The issue has affected a growing number of users on Apple's support forum. When attempting the update, users get a message stating "Apple Studio Display firmware could not be updated. Try again in an hour. If the problem persists, contact an authorized Apple service provider." Subsequent attempts then fail, even if connecting via another computer. (Engadget has reached out to Apple for comment on the issue.)

The Studio Display is off to a shaky start, with criticism of its 60Hz refresh rate, relatively high price tag and mediocre webcam. Apple promised to fix the webcam via firmware update, but has yet to provide a timeline. The Studio Display packs an A13 Bionic chip (the same as on the iPhone 11) and runs a full version of iOS 15.4. As such, fixes arrive as part of an iOS update, allowing users to update it through System Preferences on macOS. 

Elon Musk will no longer join Twitter's board of directors, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal revealed in a tweet. Last week, it was reported that Musk would join as a Class II director following his purchase of 9.2 percent of the company's shares, but he has now decided against the move. 

"We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the Board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance," said Agrawal. "Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board. I believe this is for the best. We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our Board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input."

Musk's Twitter stock purchase was worth $2.89 billion when it was revealed by the SEC, but some recent reports questioned whether he revealed his stake early enough. Joining the board would have restricted Musk's purchases to 14.9 percent of common stock during his tenure and for 90 days afterward. 

It's not clear why Musk decided not to join Twitter's board, especially since he seemed to be full of ideas on how to change the social media network. Most recently, he tweeted out the idea of giving verification checkmarks to paid Twitter Blue subscribers and suggested that Twitter convert its San Francisco office to a homeless shelter since "no-one shows up anyway." He also ran a poll asking users if Twitter should add an edit button, and just a day later, the company confirmed it would do just that. 

Musk also recently tweeted a photo of himself smoking cannabis on the Joe Rogan podcast on Spotify in 2018, stating the next board meeting was "going to be lit." When his joining the board appeared imminent, Agrawal offered to address any employee concerns in a Q&A session with Musk. Musk appears to have removed some of his Twitter-related tweets, like the poll and homeless shelter ones, over the last few hours. 

The next major release of Apple’s iOS operating system could include “significant enhancements,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says he anticipates iOS 16 to include an update to notifications and an assortment of new health-tracking features.

However, for those hoping to see a redesign of iOS, that’s apparently not on the table. “I’m not expecting an end-to-end redesign of iOS’s interface, even though it hasn’t changed much since iOS 7 nearly a decade ago,” said Gurman. He notes the extent of any interface changes Apple plans for might end at a tweak to the iPad’s multitasking UI.

Looking to the company’s other operating systems, Gurman notes watchOS 9 may include upgrades to its activity and health tracking features, but stopped short of sharing specifics. Even less clear is what Apple has planned for the next version of macOS. With Big Sur, the company redesigned its desktop operating system to make it look more like iOS. Meanwhile, with the more recent Monterey, Apple introduced features like Universal Control and SharePlay.

Apple will preview the new macOS, alongside iOS 16 and watchOS 9, at WWDC 2022. The company’s annual developer conference kicks off on June 6th this year. It’s possible we could also see Apple introduce new hardware at the event as well, with Gurman reiterating that Apple is working on new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models.

Since February, GM’s Cruise self-driving unit has offered public taxi rides in San Francisco. And for the most part, it seems the service hasn’t run into any notable problems. That is until a strange situation played out last weekend when one of the company’s vehicles left police seemingly confused by its response to a routine traffic stop.

The video you see above was first posted on April 2nd but only began to circulate widely after 9to5 publisher Seth Weintraub shared it on his personal Twitter account on Saturday. It shows San Francisco police attempting to pull over a driverless Cruise vehicle in the city’s Richmond District, only for the car to temporarily take off as a group of onlookers watch the scene in disbelief.

One day after Weintraub shared the video, Cruise commented on the clip, stating its vehicle yielded to police and moved to the nearest safe location for that traffic stop. “An officer contacted Cruise personnel and no citation was issued,” the company said. “We work closely with the SFPD on how to interact with our vehicles, including a dedicated phone number for them to call in situations like this.”

It’s unclear why police stopped the vehicle, but it would appear the car didn’t have its front lights on. It's safe to say we may see more episodes like the one that played out on April 2nd occur as autonomous vehicles become a more common sight on US roads. It should come as no surprise then Cruise produced a video designed to teach first responders how to approach its vehicles. Check it out above.

Sonic has done it again. With a $71 million debut at the domestic box office, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has set a new record for the US film debut of a video game adaptation, beating out the previous high watermark set by its predecessor in 2020. The first movie in what now Paramount plans to expand into a cinematic universe made $57 million during its opening weekend. 

Before the pandemic shut down theaters throughout the US and other parts of the world, the first Sonic film went on to gross $319 million globally. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is currently on track to beat those earnings having grossed approximately $141 million globally.

As with the first movie, timing appears to have been a significant factor in Sonic 2’s early success. Its main competitor at the box office was Sony’s much-maligned Morbius, which saw a drastic 74 percent drop in ticket sales from its opening weekend last Friday. It only earned $10.2 million in additional domestic revenue after a $39 million debut. What we can say, people love Idris Elba. 

For a few days now, Amazon has offered a $50 discount on the 256GB model of Apple's 10.2-inch iPad, allowing you to purchase the tablet for $429. But if all you wanted to do was buy the less expensive base model, you’ve been out of luck until now. As of this weekend, you can purchase the 64GB variant for $309, down from $329, from both Amazon and Walmart. That’s the best discount of the year on Apple’s entry-level tablet. Just note that Amazon is only offering the silver colorway at that price, while you can get both the silver and space gray models for $309 from Walmart.

We gave the ninth generation iPad a score of 86 in 2021. Yes, it features a tired design that Apple hasn’t updated in years, but there’s still a lot to like about the tablet. It’s a solid performer with Apple’s in-house A13 Bionic chip powering everything, including the updated 12-megapixel wide-angle camera that comes with the company’s “Center Stage” feature for improved video calling. Battery life is also solid, with the tablet capable of going 10-plus hours on a single charge.

The main drawbacks of the 10.2-inch iPad are that it doesn’t come with a USB-C port and that you’re stuck using the first-generation Apple Pencil – which you charge by connecting it to the tablet’s Lightning port. That said, if all you need is a device for browsing the web, reading and watching video content, it’s hard to go wrong with the 10.2-inch iPad.

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

Square Enix is developing a new mainline Kingdom Hearts game, the publisher announced on Sunday during an event in Tokyo celebrating the franchise’s 20th anniversary. Kingdom HeartsIV sees series protagonist Sora return after 2019’s Kingdom Hearts III concluded the story arc that began with the original game in 2002.

The trailer Square Enix shared over the weekend opens with Sora waking up in a city called Quadratum. It’s a Tokyo-like metropolis rendered in a realistic graphical style that’s a significant departure for the series. After a new character named Strelitzia introduces herself to Sora, the city is attacked by a towering monster. As Sora runs off to face the threat, the trailer appears to seamlessly transition to gameplay. We see Sora complete an impressive parkour sequence that involves a collapsing building. After the title card, the trailer reintroduces Donald Duck and Goofy, who are searching for their lost friend.

There’s no word on a release date for Kingdom Hearts IV. But at the same event, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link, a new mobile title that fans in select markets will be available to beta test on Android and iOS this August.

Are you completely over the idea of the keyboard in any flattish form and looking for something completely different for inputting your data? Or do you want a mega macropad for 3D design, GIMP or Inkscape work, or to use while relaxing with a nice first-person shooter? Then this ergonomic, double-fistable keyboard/controller mashup named CAT may be what you’re looking for.

Inside each of these slinky felines is pretty much what you’d expect to find — 25 or so switches and an Arduino Pro Micro. Interestingly enough, the switches are all lever-action and not push buttons. There are two breeds of CAT available to build or buy: one has 25 buttons, and the other has a joystick or trackball on the thumb between two upper and two lower buttons. You could have one type for each hand!

More information is available on the Lynx Workshop site, which is where you’ll also find tutorials and instructions for everything from the 3D printing to the electronics to the assembly and coding. There is even a bonus 3D modeling tutorial. Don’t want to invest the time to make your own CAT? These kitties are also available for pre-order. Claw past the break to check them out in action.

Looking for something with regular keyswitches? Oh, we have plenty of those.

Twitter has temporarily walked back a controversial change that made it difficult for people to preserve deleted tweets. On Wednesday, writer Kevin Marks pointed out that the company had recently tweaked its embedded javascript so that the text of deleted tweets was no longer visible in embeds on third-party websites.

By late Friday evening, however, one Twitter user noticed the company had reverted the change, with Twitter confirming the move one day later. “After considering the feedback we heard, we’re rolling back this change for now while we explore different options,” a spokesperson for the company told The Verge. “We appreciate those who shared their points of view — your feedback helps us make Twitter better.”

When the initial change was first spotted, Twitter product manager Eleanor Harding said the company made the tweak to “better respect” people who decide to delete their tweets. Part of what made the move problematic for many was that it simply left a blank space where the embed of a deleted tweet had been previously. Harding said Twitter was planning to roll out additional messaging that would explain why a tweet was no longer visible.

Twitter didn’t elaborate on the “different options” it was exploring following its reversal. For many, the decision to change how embeds work was a strange one. When Twitter first introduced embedding in 2011, it said it intentionally wanted to maintain the text of deleted tweets. And for many years afterward, company executives, including former CEO Jack Dorsey, stressed the role of the platform as a kind of “public record.”

Google Fi is making its unlimited data plans more affordable. In an email the MVNO sent to Engadget, it shared it was reducing the monthly cost of its Simply Unlimited and Unlimited Plus plans by up to $10 and $5 respectively, with the former starting at $50 per month for one line and the latter at $65 every 30 days.

Moreover, both plans now come with additional high-speed data. With a Simply Unlimited package, you can use up to 35GB of data, up from 22GB previously, before Google will begin throttling your connection. As an Unlimited Plus customer, meanwhile, the high-speed cap is now at 50GB. Simply Unlimited subscribers can also look forward to having up to 5GB per month for hotspot tethering. That’s a feature that was previously limited to the more expensive Plus plan.

Lastly, all Fi customers, including those on the MVNO’s Flexible plan, can look forward to complimentary calling within Canada and Mexico. Previously, it was only possible to make calls to Canada and Mexico – while still in the US – for free.

With the price cut and feature tweaks, Google’s Simply Unlimited plan compares favorably with entry-level unlimited plans from other carriers. For instance, T-Mobile’s Essentials package starts at $60 per month for one line and comes with 50GB of high-speed data and unlimited 3G data when tethering devices to your phone, but you’re limited to 480p when streaming videos.