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Software engineer Miana Windall has about 25 implants under her skin, ranging from magnets to RFID tech. While that might make your skin crawl if you’re squeamish, “for the most part, they’re not really noticeable,” she told Engadget. At the DEF CON security conference on Thursday, Windall talked about how she became interested in the implants, and her experience programming them for personal use, like scanning into her former office building.

RFID tech powers scannable technology like subway cards or tap to pay. The relatively simple tech was first patented in the 1970s, and body modification dates back millennia. Despite this, RFID implants still haven’t reached their full potential, and they’re still a gimmick for a lot of people, Windall said. But if you want to go clubbing and not bring a bag, you can buy the right style of lock and implant a sensor that you can’t lose to scan in and out of your home.

Still, they’re not magic. “Chip implants don't work like Hollywood movies,” founder of biohacking and implant service Dangerous Things Amal Graafstra told Engadget. “They're not even active or alive or energized when there's no reader that is within a very close proximity”

That means the scope of use for RFID implants is pretty limited and it’s mostly a foundational tech that you’d have to be able to hack yourself for it to be useful. There are limited out-of-the-box use cases, like the Tesla keycard implant that lets you start your car, but usually a user has to be able to copy certain key configurations onto it themself. “When we sell the transponder, we’re selling a key but not the lock,” Graafstra said. The user has to have some technical savvy to make “the lock.”

It’s helpful to know that before going to a body modification artist or piercer to get one put in, or else you might end up with a chip you can’t use. “Do your research and make sure what you want as possible before you have surgery,” Windall said. Although, Windall herself does have some inactive ones that are harmless to keep under the skin.

Companies are now looking for ways to use RFID implants as security tools, too. There’s an inherent vulnerability associated with RFID tech because it requires access credentials to be open to being stolen. But having those credentials as an implant at least prevents someone from easily stealing your access card or information.

“The chances of someone coming along and being able to scan your credential without you knowing about it, it's probably not that high,” Windall said. “You can't have your hand pickpocketed, at least not without a machete.”

Plus as authentication becomes more important to prevent unauthorized account access, these implants could be used to prove your identity. As companies look to replace two-factor authentication with passkeys, putting those credentials under your skin could be possible. Your passkey can be uploaded to a chip implant that can verify your identity, as opposed to a hardware key that could get lost or a text message verification that can be duped, according to Graafstra.

RFID implants don’t require FDA approval because they’re not medical devices. While they appear generally safe and secure, there are risk factors to consider, according to professor in the College of Media at the University of Colorado Boulder Harsha Gangadharbatla, PhD.

“Consumers should be fully aware of the “hidden” costs (privacy, risks, and advertising messages) associated with such tech and not just the cost of getting such implants,” he said in an email to Engadget.

Bose is reportedly preparing to launch some new headphones and earbuds, a refresh in the QuietComfort line, as leaked by MySmartPrice. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds will be a successor to the well-reviewed QuietComfort Earbuds II and the QuietComfort Ultra headphones look to be a more premium-take on the company’s QuietComfort 45 headphones.

One of the highlights of any Bose product, and particularly the QuietComfort II earbuds, is active noise cancellation. The company’s ANC technology is unparalleled and these new products offer it in spades. Both new products offer fully-integrated ANC technology so you can safely ignore the person next to you on your next flight.

Beyond ANC, the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds ship with a variety of soft ear tips, with a similar exterior design to its predecessor. They are available in black or white and should include a built-in microphone, touch controls, Bluetooth v5.3 support, IPX4 water-resistance and more. Bose hasn’t officially announced these yet, so some specs remain under wraps.

MySmartPrice

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones will also be available in black or white, with physical buttons to adjust volume and control music similar to other products in the QuietComfort line. There’s also a USB-C port for both charging and for making wired connections, and a sleek design reminiscent of the beloved Bose 700 line of headphones.

Remember, these are leaks from a reputable third-party, so Bose hasn’t announced pricing or availability. A recent report from Dealabs, however, suggests that the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds will cost around $380, and the QuietComfort Ultra headphones will cost $550. As for availability, Bose tends to release new product lines in September, so look for a launch around then.

Even though it’s very nearly a decade old, Grand Theft Auto V is still one of the biggest games on the planet. More than 151,000 people are playing it on Steam alone at the time of writing and it still makes a major contribution to Rockstar Games owner Take-Two’s bank balance.

Roleplaying has been a major contributor to GTA V’s enduring popularity, with tens of thousands of players using mods to create characters that live, work and play with greater freedom in San Andreas and Los Santos. Now, Rockstar is making moves in that space as Cfx.re, the team behind the biggest GTA V (FiveM) and Red Dead Redemption 2 (RedM) mods and communities, has joined the publisher.

"Over the past few years, we've watched with excitement as Rockstar’s creative community have found new ways to expand the possibilities of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2, particularly through the creation of dedicated roleplay servers," Rockstar wrote in its announcement. "As a way to further support those efforts, we recently expanded our policy on mods to officially include those made by the roleplay creative community. By partnering with the Cfx.re team, we will help them find new ways to support this incredible community and improve the services they provide to their developers and players."

The Cfx.re crew is jazzed about the move as well. "This is a huge step forward in the growth of our community, and an opportunity for us to work with Rockstar Games to advance the FiveM platform and the creative community surrounding it," the team wrote in a forum post. "While our day-to-day operations won’t have any noticeable changes, with Rockstar’s support, we are going to continue to improve our platform and we are truly excited for what this means for our users, community and creators!"

As Polygon notes, more than 170,000 players were using the FiveM on custom servers on Friday morning, according to the mod's website. The popular NoPixel server runs on FiveM and uses custom scripts to enhance the roleplaying experience.

Rockstar and Cfx.re haven't fully detailed their plans for FiveM and RedM. In any case, Rockstar is now in a position to do whatever it wants with the mods. It will absolutely want to keep supporting GTA Online and its communities for the foreseeable future, but there is the small matter of a new Grand Theft Auto game on the horizon.

When Grand Theft Auto VI debuts — perhaps next year — it could have robust roleplaying features baked in thanks to the help of the Cfx.re team. As such, there's a possibility that Rockstar could take full ownership of the GTA VI roleplaying scene by having it already in the game and restricting mods. This is speculation, in fairness, but the impact of this acquisition on the GTA roleplaying community in the years to come is worth considering.

Lionel Messi has hit the ground running in Major League Soccer, and he's boosting Apple's bottom line in the process. Tickets for Inter Miami games have soared in price since Messi, the greatest soccer player of his generation and arguably the best of all time, joined the team several weeks ago. On top of that, subscriptions to Apple TV's MLS Season Pass have more than doubled since the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star started plying his trade in the US in July.

That's according to Jorge Mas, one of Inter Miami's owners. Mas added that "Spanish language viewership on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV has surpassed over 50 percent for Messi matches and continues to rise," underscoring the player's popularity in the Spanish-speaking community. Apple CEO Tim Cook retweeted Mas' comments, indicating that Mas' claims are genuine (Apple's PR team has been drawing attention to the tweet as well).

The company hasn't disclosed how many subscribers the service has, though reports in July suggested the number was nearing 1 million before Messi's arrival. In any case, Apple is evidently pleased by Messi's impact on MLS Season Pass.

"For MLS, we could not be happier with how the partnership is going," Cook said on an Apple earnings call last week. "It's clearly in the early days, but we are beating our expectation in terms of subscribers, and the fact that Messi went to Inter Miami helped us out there a bit. And so we're very excited about it."

Apple, which dropped the price of the subscription from $99 to $49 for the second half of the season, is said to be paying $250 million a year for the MLS broadcast rights. Messi is reportedly taking a cut of revenue from new MLS Season Pass subscribers as part of his Inter Miami contract.

Messi has hit the ground running in Miami. He has scored seven goals and contributed three assists in four games, all of which Miami won. Before he joined the team, Miami was on an 11-game winless streak.

Although he's 36, an age when most soccer players are winding down their careers, Messi is still going strong. He led Argentina to the biggest prize in the game, the World Cup, last December and helped PSG win back-to-back French league championships before moving to the US. As a result, Messi is the overwhelming favorite to win the Ballon d'Or, arguably the most prestigious individual award in soccer, for a record-extending eighth time.

This week, Cherlynn and Sam are joined by noted foldables lover Michael Fisher (aka Mr Mobile) to talk all about their respective reviews of Samsung’s latest products. Why are our hosts more excited for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 than the Z Fold 5? Is Samsung coasting? Then, we discuss the latest happenings in X vs Threads, as well as a bunch of lighthearted news in tech this week.

Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

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Topics

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 reviews with Mr Mobile – 1:22

• Will Elon actually pay for lawsuits related to posts on X? – 41:32

• Threads is getting a website and search – 49:16

• Slack UI changes are coming to your workspace soon – 54:31

• MrBeast is getting countersued for $100m – 1:03:21

• Working on – 1:13:55

• Pop culture picks – 1:19:52

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Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Sam Rutherford
Guest: Michael Fisher (aka TheMrMobile)
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

An international team of scientists has developed a new technology that can help detect (or even treat) cancer in hard-to-reach places, such as the colon. The team has published a paper in Science for the technique dubbed CATCH, or cellular assay for targeted, CRISPR-discriminated horizontal gene transfer. For their lab experiments, the scientists used a species of bacterium called Acinetobacter baylyi. This bacterium has the ability to naturally take up free-floating DNA from its surroundings and then integrate it into its own genome, allowing it to produce new protein for growth.  

What the scientists did was engineer A. baylyi bacteria so that they'd contain long sequences of DNA mirroring the DNA found in human cancer cells. These sequences serve as some sort of one-half of a zipper that locks on to captured cancer DNA. For their tests, the scientists focus on the mutated KRAS gene that's commonly found in colorectal tumors. If an A. baylyi bacterium finds a mutated DNA and integrates it into its genome, a linked antibiotic resistance gene also gets activated. That's what the team used to confirm the presence of cancer cells: After all, only bacteria with active antibiotic resistance could grow on culture plates filled with antibiotics. 

While the scientists were successfully able to detect tumor DNA in mice injected with colorectal cancer cells in the lab, the technology is still not ready to be used for actual diagnosis. The team said it's still working on the next steps, including improving the technique's efficiency and evaluating how it performs compared to other diagnostic tests. "The most exciting aspect of cellular healthcare, however, is not in the mere detection of disease. A laboratory can do that," Dan Worthley, one of the study's authors, wrote in The Conversation. In the future, the technology could also be used for targeted biological therapy that can deploy treatment to specific parts of the body based on the presence of certain DNA sequences. 

We’ve all been in Samsung’s position, promising something before quickly realizing we couldn’t, or didn’t want to, actually follow through. But the Korean giant might get a record for the speed at which it walked back its initial pledge. It had intended to give Galaxy S23 owners the chance to beta test several One UI 6 features ahead of launch. Users in the US, Germany and South Korea would be able to see what tweaks the company had added to Android 14 and see what worked, and what didn’t.

Or that was the plan. Not long after the news dropped, Samsung began to walk back its promise. It told Engadget (and the rest of the media) it would delay the launch of the beta test until further notice, but with no justification. The initial announcement disappeared from Samsung’s press site, and everyone’s left mulling what could have been so problematic as to require this sort of scorched-earth approach.

—Dan Cooper

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Nine thoughts about the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds blockbuster finale

No spoilers here, I promise.

Michael Gibson / Paramount+

Star Trek: Strange New Worldsconcluded its second season yesterday with a blockbuster finale. “Hegemony” pits the Enterprise crew against a formidable foe that requires every bit of their collective cunning for them to triumph. I jotted down nine thoughts both about this episode and also about the shape of the second season more generally. Which, it’s easy to say, has cemented itself as the best run of a live-action Trek in the streaming era.

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Amazon is reportedly cutting most of its in-house clothing brands

A cynic might say this is to fend off antitrust action.

Amazon is closing the majority of its in-house clothing and furniture brands, including Lark & Lo, Goodthreads and Stone & Beam. Reports say it’s canning 27 out of 30 brands, with Amazon saying the marques haven’t resonated with consumers. A cynic might argue this is Amazon getting its house in order ahead of potential antitrust action by the FTC. The US has previously probed Amazon’s ability to spot popular products made by third party sellers on its platform and produce a homegrown, er, variation under one of its own brands.

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Watch Virgin Galactic's first ever space tourist flight at 11am ET

Including the company’s first paying customer.

Virgin Galactic

Yesterday saw Virgin Galactic’s first private passenger flight successfully take three civilians to the edge of space and back. It included its first paying customer, former Olympian Jon Goodwin, who coughed up $250,000 for his ticket all the way back in 2014. He was joined by a mother and daughter team of Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers, who won their seats in a fundraising draw. The stream of the event is available and, I’ll be honest, it’s worth a watch just for the chest-tightening moment when the crew starts floating in zero gravity.

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X CEO confirms video calls are coming to the platform

Because, sure, that’s its priority right now.

Xwitter CEO Linda Yaccrino has announced video chat is coming to the platform as part of its plan to become an “everything” app. The CEO said video calls would bolster work to turn X into a global town square, full of people exercising their right to free expression. Given the sort of free expression the company is currently endorsing, you might want to stick to your free video calling platform of choice — it’s not as if we’re hurting for those right now.

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The long-rumored Quake II remaster is out now on PC and consoles

Tweaks include widescreen support, 120Hz refresh rates and 4K.

Bethesda Softworks

The long-awaited remaster of Quake II wasn’t just announced, it’s already available to play on most platforms. If you own the original on GOG or Steam, you’ll get a free bump to the new edition, with plenty of modern-day quality-of-life upgrades. The remastered edition also includes content cut from some versions and the original expansion packs, as well as a new expansion from MachineGames. Well, that’s your weekend sorted.

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Google has introduced a new tool for Slides that can help you make your presentations more interactive and keep your audience's attention. The new feature, a pen tool, lets you write on a slide in real time, so you can encircle key figures, draw arrows, underline important information and just generally scribble anything you want on the presentation while in the middle of a meeting or a report. While Slides has long had the ability to turn your mouse arrow into a laser pointer, you had to download a third-party tool to be able to actually write annotations in the middle of a presentation. 

Slides' new pen tool is built into the program, and there's no need to download anything extra. To access it, you have to open your file in slideshow mode and then mouse over the bottom left side to see the three-dot menu. From that menu, you'll find an option that reads "Turn on the pen." You can choose the pen color you want to use — black, red, blue or green — from the panel that shows up, and you can also easily switch it off from the same location. If you want to erase what you've written, you just need to switch from the pen to the eraser tool in the bottom left corner. 

Google says the feature will be available to all Workspace customers and users with a personal account, but it may take 15 days before it's done rolling out the pen tool to everyone. 

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