ArduinoMania

The following article discusses Star Trek: Picard, Season Three, Episode 9, “Võx”

I’ve always found accusations that I hate Star Trek weird, since I make my love of Trek clear enough every time I write one of these reviews. Every time I watch a nü-Trek episode that I’m fortunate enough to do as part of my day job, I hope that I can genuinely talk about it with a sense of love. And so I am delighted to say “Võx” is the best episode of Star Trek: Picard ever made. It is not by any means perfect, but it’s such a leap from what’s gone before I’ve almost got whiplash.

One of the reasons that “Võx” pops is that Picard’s quality ceiling has been relentlessly low over the last three seasons. The other is that the narrative’s brakes are off, allowing events to move at something faster than a snail’s pace. If I was in a less-generous mood, I’d say a lot of this stuff could have happened earlier in the run to improve the overall pacing. One of the biggest issues I’ve had is the very visible stretching of a thin, mystery-box story over a studio-mandated ten-episode running order.

By comparison, this feels like the first free meal after two 500-calorie-only days on the 5:2 fast diet. You devour a 12-inch pizza and, since you’ve starved yourself for the last 48 hours, you feel you deserve to go out for tacos afterward. In this episode, we learn that Jack is, as Reddit clocked weeks back, the product of a union ‘twixt Dr. Crusher and Picard’s Borgified sperm. We also get a whopping retcon to the plot hole in First Contact, where Picard could hear the Borg and knew the location of the cube’s weak spot despite not being connected to the collective.

Jack decides to go off and tackle the Borg Queen (voiced by Alice Krige!) herself, while Geordi, Data and Beverley start examining the conspiracy. The Queen has already picked a Borgified name for Jack — Võx — to commence his Locutus-like transformation as part of the collective, too. The Borg and Changelings are working together – I’d love to see how that meeting went – to undermine the Federation. They’ve set up every transporter in the fleet to re-write the genetic code of the under ‘25s who pass through it, seeding them with Bio-Borg DNA. When Frontier Day happens, the collective activates its new army of drones, who also turn the newly-connected fleet into an armada.

Fleeing a Titan similarly overrun with Bio-Borgs, the TNG crew get into a shuttle while Seven and Raffi guard Shaw, who takes a phaser to the chest. He even gets a nice valediction, finally using Seven’s chosen name to put a button on his much-discussed arc. Not long after, we get the first laugh-out-loud-on-purpose moment in the series when Geordi asks Data to be more optimistic. There’s a simple, glorious pleasure in letting the endlessly-talented Brent Spiner show off his natural comedic flair in the midst of all this darkness.

The gang race back to the Fleet Museum where, again Reddit called this a month or more back, the Enterprise D has been quietly rebuilt in secret by Geordi. There’s some moments of winking at the camera as the production team head off the obvious questions. How? They pulled the saucer section from Veridian to avoid breaking the Prime Directive and cobbled together other parts from other Galaxy Class ships. Why not the E? Blame Worf, now shut up and watch with a smile plastered on your face as they sit in their old chairs. Hell, they’ve even got Majel Barrett Roddenberry’s voice for the Enterprise D computer.

We need to be careful here, because I’ve slammed this series time and again for its empty, paraphilic use of nostalgia. There are plenty of reasons why this makes no logical sense if you take the time to interrogate things. Maybe it’s because the episode moves at such a clip that there’s no time to overthink things before something else happens. Maybe it’s just the thrill of seeing these actors on this bridge, on this carpet, that the bulk of my critical thinking has been bypassed. 

If I have concerns, it’s still about what Picard is trying to say. Relegating the cyberpunk elements of the Borg to make their assimilation more biological could be seen as an anti-vaccination screed. It’s hard to watch yet another TNG side character brutally die – Ro in “Imposters” and Admiral Elizabeth Shelby, captain of the new Enterprise F, taking two in the chest mere moments later here. There’s an argument that leaving Seven and Raffi on the Titan also sidelines the series’ two queer characters. And this subtextual mistrust of youth which was discussed a few episodes back has now been rendered very much part of Picard’s text.

But I will withhold my judgments about that until next week, when we see how those points are handled. For now, I’m going to bask in the very brief glow of my monitor, and how glorious it was when the lights on the Enterprise D bridge raised to old-school TV levels and we could actually see what was going on. The lights went up and so did the mood, and after all this time, it comes as sweet relief. Now, onward to the finale.

Apple is promising more eco-friendly batteries ahead of Earth Day. The company has committed to using 100 percent recycled cobalt in all Apple-designed batteries by 2025. It also expects to use completely recycled rare earth elements in its magnets by that point, and all in-house circuit board designs will use fully recycled gold plating and tin soldering.

Only 25 percent of the cobalt Apple used last year was recycled. While thats's up from 13 percent in 2021, that makes the new target more ambitious than others. Apple already uses 73 percent recycled rare earth elements and 38 percent recycled tin. Apple has custom battery designs in most of its portable products, including the iPhone, iPad and MacBook lines.

The company eventually hopes to make all products exclusively with recycled and renewable materials. It expects its products to be carbon neutral by 2030. As of 2022, just 20 percent of the material in Apple hardware was recycled or renewed.

Yes, this is partly about burnishing the company's image. You may be more likely to buy an iPhone or Apple Watch if you believe it's relatively gentle on the planet. However, the cobalt goal may be more significant than most. Cobalt is widely used in batteries, including in electric vehicles, but it also has significant environmental and social problems. The mining process contaminates the air, earth and water, and can lead to health issues for both miners and the general population. There are also concerns about miner exploitation in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Companies have been developing cobalt-free batteries that could lessen the environmental impact across the tech industry. For now, though, efforts like Apple's could reduce the demand for additional cobalt and the associated mining.

Most of the time, the best gaming headset isn’t a “gaming headset” at all. Although these devices are often thought of as a distinct niche within the wider headphone market, they're ultimately still headphones. And while it’s certainly not impossible to get a gaming headset that sounds nice, doing so still tends to come at a higher cost than a comparable pair of wired headphones (yes, those still exist).

A good wired headphone remains your best bet if you want the most detailed sound possible at a given price point and don’t need something especially portable, which is usually the case when you’re gaming. If you need to chat with friends, you can always buy an external microphone, whether it’s a USB mic, a cheaper clip-on mic or a standalone headset mic like the Antlion ModMic or V-Moda BoomPro. In many cases, those will make your voice sound clearer and fuller than the ones included with a gaming headset.

But we do recognize that many people just want the convenience of an all-in-one combo, value and aesthetics be damned. So after testing out a few dozen pairs over the past several months, we’ve put together a list of good headphones for gaming and dedicated gaming headsets. We recommend you consider the former first, but all of them should make your play time more enjoyable.

What to look for in good gaming headphones

Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget

Evaluating headphones is a particularly subjective exercise, so calling one pair the absolute “best” is something of a fool’s errand. At a certain point, everything becomes a matter of taste. For most, a headphone with a wide soundstage and strong imaging performance – i.e., the ability to position sounds correctly, so you can more precisely tell where footsteps and other game effects are coming from – will provide the most immersive experience, the kind that makes you feel like your head is within a given scene.

For that, you want a headphone with an open-back design. That is to say, an over-ear pair whose earcups do not completely seal off the ear from air and outside noise. The big trade-off is that these are inherently terrible at isolating you from external sound and preventing others from hearing what you’re playing. So if you often play games in a noisy environment, their benefits will be blunted. But in a quiet room, the best open-back pairs sounds significantly wider and more precise than more common closed-back models.

More up for debate is how a good gaming headphone should sound. If you want something that’ll help you in competitive multiplayer games, you'll likely prefer a headphone with a flatter sound signature, so a game’s mix won’t be overly boosted in one direction and mask the smaller details of what’s happening around you. A slightly brighter sound, one that pushes the upper frequencies a smidge, may also work. Open-back headphones almost never have huge sub-bass, so you rarely have to worry about low-end sounds muddying up the rest of the signature. In this light, the fact that an overwhelming amount of gaming headsets are closed-back and bass-heavy seems counterintuitive.

Lots of people love bass, though. And if you aren’t just worried about competitive play, some extra low-end can add a touch of excitement to heavy action scenes or a rousing soundtrack. You still don’t want a pair that boosts it too hard – which many dedicated gaming headsets do – but the point is that what makes a pair “immersive” to one person may sound dull to another.

Best headphones for gaming: Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X

The Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X should please a wide swath of people willing to pay for a capital-N nice set of headphones for gaming. This pair has great imaging performance and the kind of spacious soundstage expected from an open-back design. Bass is a little more present here than on many open-back headphones as well. There still isn’t much in the way of deep sub-bass, as expected, but there’s enough warmth to give in-game explosions a bit more juice without muddying up the mid-range frequencies. The mids get the most emphasis overall, but they’re clear and that forwardness isn’t a bad thing when you’re trying to listen for enemy players in a competitive FPS like Counter-Strike. The treble isn’t pushed quite as hard, but it’s neither overly recessed nor harsh.

All of this means the DT 900 Pro X sounds detailed but not boring, so it should play nice whether you’re trying to win a multiplayer game or taking in a more cinematic single-player experience. And when you’re not gaming, you get an enjoyable sound for music.

Everything’s built well, too. It’ll clamp down slightly harder than average if you have a large head, but it balances its weight well, and its wonderfully soft velour earpads go a long way toward keeping the pair comfortable over long sessions. It comes with two detachable cables, including a three-meter option that’s convenient if you sit far from your PC. This design can’t fold up, though.

Like all open-back headphones, the DT 900 Pro X leak and let in lots of noise, so it’s not great on the go. Clearly, if you can afford an ultra-premium pair like Sennheiser’s HD 800 S, you’ll get more space and true-to-life detail. But for a relatively attainable $250 to $300, the DT 900 Pro X should satisfy.

Best headphones for gaming under $200: Sennheiser HD 560S

If you’d rather not spend as much, the Sennheiser HD 560S is another excellent open-back headphone that’s typically available for around $150. Like the DT 900 Pro X, it has a wide soundstage that’ll help you feel immersed in a given game. Its sound is slightly more neutral on the whole, so you won’t feel like you’re missing any part of a mix, and it retrieves a lovely amount of detail from the treble and mid-range frequencies. There's less bass power for explosions, though, and the treble, while more present, may sound piercing at times. Imaging isn’t quite as nuanced either, though it’s nowhere near poor.

Design-wise, the HD 560S are plenty comfortable to wear for extended periods. They don’t clamp down too hard on those with big heads (like yours truly), and the velour earpads hug your ears softly. The included cable is removable, too. The plastic frame doesn’t feel as sturdy or premium as the DT 900 Pro X, however, so you won’t want to chuck them around haphazardly. It won’t block much outside noise either, nor will it prevent those around you from hearing what you're playing. Nevertheless, the HD 560S is a pleasure and a great value.

Best headphones for gaming under $50: Koss KSC75

If you can’t spend more than $50, it’s still hard to top the Koss KSC75. It costs $20, but judging purely on audio quality, it’s better than some headphones priced closer to $100. This pair is very obviously devoid of deep bass, so you won’t get that full-bodied oomph from in-game effects. You also won't hear all the intricate details you'd pick up with the pricier headphones above. But it locates sounds accurately and its open design gives it a real sense of width. It’s a superb value for competitive play.

The catch is that it’s built like a set of free airline headphones. The KSC75 has an odd clip-on design that, while lightweight, won’t be comfortable for everyone. It certainly looks like it costs $20, though Koss backs it with a lifetime warranty that essentially lets you get endless replacements for $9 each. Even if the KSC75 are pushing 20 years old, its sound remains relatively well-balanced and particularly well-suited for gaming.

Best gaming headset: Astro A40 TR

If you must have a dedicated gaming headset with a built-in mic, consider the Astro A40 TR. Another open-back pair, it has a more spacious soundstage than usual for the category – though it's not on par with better non-gaming headphones – and it generally localizes sounds correctly. This profile emphasizes the bass, giving explosions a smooth and satisfying thump, but it doesn’t overdo it like many other headsets marketed toward gaming.

The sound here is still a step behind the DT 900 Pro X or HD 560S, especially for online shooters, as the pushed upper-bass and lower-mids can blunt finer details a bit more. Footsteps usually won’t sound as clear. But compared to most gaming headsets, the A40’s profile is better balanced, and it does well to envelop you in the sounds of a busy scene.

Comfort shouldn’t be an issue, either. The A40 is on the bulkier side, but its weight is evenly distributed and doesn’t clamp down overly hard. The fuzzy earpads are soft and breathable, while the earcups are roomy enough to fit larger ears. The headset has the usual open-back shortcomings, though: It leaks a bunch of sound and blocks almost zero outside noise. The design looks “gamer-y," too, and there’s no built-in volume control. The whole thing is mostly made of plastic, though it doesn’t come off as flimsy.

The A40’s mic, meanwhile, is just OK. It picks up background noises while you chat, and voices sound somewhat muffled. It’s serviceable but you’d buy the A40 for its sound quality first. The mic isn’t detachable either, but you can easily flip it up and out of the way.

The A40 has been around for four years now, but its price has come down from $150 to a more reasonable $130 in that time. Astro sells an optional DAC with extra controls for $130, but at that price we’d strongly advise buying a good “normal” headphone and external mic.

Best budget gaming headset: HyperX Cloud Stinger 2

You won’t find a good open-back gaming headset under $50, so if you’re on a tight budget and require a built-in mic, you’ll have to compromise on sound quality. With that in mind, the HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 is a decent buy at its typical street price of $40. Its mic belies that low price, making voices sound relatively clear and accurate. In fact, it’s a clear step-up from the Astro A40. It’s not detachable but it’s flexible and automatically mutes when you slide it out of the way. This pair also gets the comfort part right, as the pleather earcups don’t clamp down hard and have enough soft padding where it counts.

The Cloud Stinger 2 has a V-shaped sound profile, which is to say it exaggerates the bass and treble while recessing the mid-range. It’s not bad for what it is, and it’ll definitely give action scenes a heavy sense of impact. But the upper-bass is pushed to the point where it may get tiring over time, and you lose some of the fine details you’d hear on a more natural-sounding headphone. Since this is a cheap closed-back headset, the Cloud Stinger 2 also doesn’t sound nearly as wide as the pairs above, nor is it as nuanced about positioning sounds accurately. It’s less than ideal for competitive games as a result, though it can still sound “fun” with many other titles.

Beyond that, the plastic design feels cheap-ish, it doesn’t block much outside noise despite being closed-back and its cable isn’t removable. Nevertheless, you have to pick your battles in this price range. The Cloud Stinger 2 is flawed, but it does enough well to make sense for a certain type of person.

A quick PSA on wireless gaming headsets

Most people do not need a wireless gaming headset. The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S have a headphone jack built into their controllers, and it's still readily available on the Switch and most gaming PCs. The cost of an OK wireless headset is usually higher than the cost of a comparable wired model, and for the money you often get worse audio quality and a less clear microphone on the wireless versions. You also risk introducing issues with latency. The latter is why non-gaming Bluetooth headphones are a no-go here.

Best wireless gaming headset: HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless

If you really want a wireless headset – say, if your gaming PC is situated at the far end of your desk – you should look for a pair that makes the “wireless” part of the equation a little less apparent. The HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless does this thanks to its absurdly long battery life. HyperX rates it at 300 hours, but we were able to squeeze out a couple dozen more at moderate volumes. iFixit did a helpful teardown if you’re curious as to how this is possible, but it’s not a stretch to say one charge here could last you months of play time.

The sound here is typical of many gaming headsets: slightly V-shaped, with overemphasized bass that can make game effects sound exciting but often presents footsteps and finer details with less clarity. As a closed-back headphone, it also won’t sound as spacious or natural as the more open pairs above. (Wireless gaming headsets with an open-back design are virtually nonexistent.) It’s not bad by wireless gaming headset standards, and it generally places sounds in the right place; it’s just not tuned or designed as optimally as a pair like the Astro A40.

The headset itself is comfortable to wear for hours at a time, with plush padding that doesn’t feel too tight, though the faux leather material on the earpads may make your ears feel mildly warm. Everything is sturdy, and the headband is nicely flexible. The boom mic is also fine, though that’s relative to other wireless headsets. It cancels out background noise well and keeps voices legible, but they won’t sound as crisp or full-bodied as they could be on wired headphones with good mics. It's better than the A40, though.

A word of warning: Don’t bother with HyperX’s companion software. While you can use the company’s Ngenuity app to customize the headset's EQ and activate a DTS:X surround sound feature, several users have reported that this introduces noticeable latency, and HyperX doesn’t look to be fixing it. If you really want these features, use a third-party EQ app and the spatial audio tools built into Windows and the PS5. By default, the included USB dongle offers a steady wireless connection.

The other caveat is that the Cloud Alpha Wireless only works with PCs and PlayStation consoles, or a Switch while docked. It also can’t connect over a cable or Bluetooth. If you’re looking for a competent alternative for Xbox, we note a few recommendations below.

Best premium wireless gaming headset: Audeze Maxwell

The Audeze Maxwell isn’t an amazing value at $299 (or $329 for the Xbox model), but if you’ve got cash to burn, it’s a wireless headset with genuinely impressive audio and mic quality. Its planar-magnetic drivers do well reproducing smaller intricacies in a given scene, and its default signature is like a more refined version of the common “gaming headset” sound. Bass is smooth and impactful but not bloated, while highs are crisp but not overly sharp. Some effects in the mids can sound thin, and as this is a closed-back headset, it can’t provide the same immersive width and precise imaging as the open-back models above. Ironically, it may be better for music than games. Still, for a wireless headset, it’s unusually pleasant and detailed. Audeze’s app includes several EQ presets as well.

Similarly, the Maxwell’s detachable boom mic is a standout. It does a phenomenal job of muting background noise, and while voices lose some air, they still sound clearer and fuller than on most wireless headsets we’ve tested.

The Maxwell is on the bulky side, and its headband uses an odd suspension mechanism that effectively isn’t adjustable without taking the headset off. The squishy padded ear cups will likely make your ears feel warm, but they keep the headset comfortable and isolate a fair amount of outside noise. The design also feels substantial, with the headband made from steel. The essential controls are built into the left earcup, and the device can connect over Bluetooth or a 3.5mm cable in addition to a USB-C wireless dongle. You can even pair with two devices at once, one over the dongle and another over Bluetooth. The headset needs to be powered on in order to play music over a cable, however.

Audeze rates the Maxwell’s battery life at roughly 80 hours, though you'll get less than that if you play at high volumes or use features like Bluetooth or sidetone heavily. While this can’t touch the Cloud Alpha Wireless, it’s still much better than most wireless headsets.

Other notable gaming headsets

Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is overpriced at $250, and it can make higher frequencies sound harsh, but its bass and mids are good, it’s super comfortable and its retractable mic is noticeably clearer than the Astro A40’s. Its included DAC is also useful, letting you adjust the headset’s EQ and game/chat mix. But while the closed-back design is mildly better at blocking outside noise, it won’t provide the same sense of width as the A40.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless

SteelSeries also sells a wireless version of the Nova Pro, which typically retails between $300 and $350. The Audeze Maxwell will sound better to most, but this is likely its closest competitor and it has useful bonus features like the ability to connect to multiple gaming devices simultaneously (with the Xbox model) and hot-swap battery packs.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro 7X

If you need a wireless alternative to the Cloud Alpha Wireless for Xbox, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X should work. It’s another bass-forward pair, and its mic is comparable to the one on Cloud Alpha Wireless. Like the other Nova models, it offers multiple connectivity options, including Bluetooth and a 3.5mm cable. And while it's marketed for the Xbox, it can also connect to PCs and PS5s. Its 30 or so hours of battery life are well short of the Cloud Alpha Wireless, though, and its sound signature can make the treble sound somewhat wonky.

HyperX Cloud Alpha

The wired HyperX Cloud Alpha is often on sale for $80 or less, and at that price it’s a decent middle ground between the Cloud Stinger 2 and Astro A40 if you absolutely need a closed-back gaming headset. It’s old, but its plush earpads and headband remain comfy, and its detachable mic, while not superb, is still better than Astro’s pair. Its treble is underemphasized, however, and again it sounds more “in your head” than the A40.

Logitech G535

The Logitech G535 is an impressively light (236g) and comfy wireless headset that’s often available for $100. It has a more neutral sound signature than the Cloud Alpha Wireless and Arctis Nova 7X: not flat, but less beholden to big, thumping bass. It can make mid-range details sound thin, and if anything it could use a little more sub-bass, but it’s an agreeable listen overall. It can also connect over Bluetooth. However, its mic gives up some fullness compared to the Cloud Alpha Wireless (which already wasn’t superb), and its 30-ish hours of battery life are a massive drop-off. Plus, it doesn’t work with Xbox, and it strangely forces you to crank the volume to reach a listenable level. But if you don’t want to spend a ton on a wireless headset, it’s the best of the $100-and-under options we tested.

WhatsApp has begun rolling out a handful of new security features. The most notable sees the company doing more to protect users against SIM jacking and other social engineering attacks that could compromise your account. The next time you download WhatsApp on a new device, you may be asked to use your old device to confirm you want to move your account to a new phone.

If you’re worried about the potential of being locked out of your account, a WhatsApp spokesperson told Engadget Account Protect will only activate if the company detects a suspicious registration attempt. Moreover, if you don’t have access to your old device, you can request the company send you a second one-time passcode.

Whether or not you decide to switch devices anytime soon, your WhatsApp account will be safer, thanks to the new introduction of new background checks. You won’t need to directly interact with the verification features WhatsApp is adding. Nonetheless, the company says they will help secure your account against malware, and better protect you if your WhatsApp is ever compromised.

Separately, WhatsApp is also making it easier for users to verify their connection with someone is encrypted. Right now, verifying your connection with someone involves either scanning a QR code or comparing a 60-digit number, both of which you can find by tapping the Encryption tab under a contact’s info sheet. Moving forward, tapping the tab will automatically verify whether your connection is secure.

The new features will roll out to all WhatsApp users in the coming months. In the meantime, if you want to do the most you can to secure your account, WhatsApp parent company Meta recommends you enable two-factor authentication and encrypted backups.

DJI unveiled its latest high-end drone for professional filmmakers today. The Inspire 3 is a full-frame 8K cinema drone in a “highly portable form factor” that can be yours this summer for a mere $16,499.

The DJI Inspire 3 has a Zenmuse X9-8K Air Gimbal Camera with a wide range of dynamic colors and compatibility with various lenses. Its camera system has dual native ISO for clear low-light footage while covering over 14 stops of dynamic range to help capture highlights and shadows in sunrises and sunsets. It has a Tilt Boost and 360-degree Pan structures. Its FPV camera, visual sensors, positioning antennas and storage slot are “seamlessly integrated into the airframe for a minimalist look and modern industrial aesthetics.” It can capture video in various formats, including CinemaDNG and Apple ProRes RAW.

The drone supports RTK-powered Waypoint Pro and omnidirectional sensing for precise flight paths and improved safety. The drone has nine sensors to help detect and avoid obstacles and protect your $16.5K purchase. In addition, you can toggle horizontal, upward and downward obstacle-sensing independently and manually set its obstacle-alert range if the automatic function doesn’t suit your needs. (With active avoidance turned off, the display will still show incoming obstacles and sound an alert if it’s within a set range.) It also has hot-swappable TB51 intelligent dual batteries for up to 28 minutes of flight time and up to 58.4 mph speeds.

DJI

It uses DJI’s O3 Pro transmission and control system with a range of up to around 9.2 miles with one controller and up to 7.5 miles in dual-control mode (where one person pilots the drone and a second pilot controls the gimbal). It includes a first-person view (FPV) camera with an ultra-wide 161-degree field of view and night vision. The pilot’s feed has a latency of 90ms in 1080p / 60 fps mode. Additionally, it supports 4K / 30 fps feeds, although that mode reduces the drone’s range to an estimated 3.1 miles.

The DJI Inspire 3 will be available “by the end of June.” If you’re a pro filmmaker with over $16,000 to spare, you’ll get Zenmuse X9-8K Air Gimbal Camera, RC Plus remote controller and other accessories. The company’s DJI Care Pro accidental protection plans are also available for an additional cost.

The 2023 edition of Coachella gets underway this weekend and, along with having the option to catch livestreams of every stage on YouTube, you can take part in the fun remotely in another way thanks to Fortnite. The festival has once again teamed up with Epic Games to celebrate Coachella.

Features this time around include emotes that have music from headliner Bad Bunny and fellow performer Burna Boy, as well as returning and new Coachella-related outfits that you'll see in the Item Shop starting at 8PM ET this evening. You'll also be able to listen to songs from artists who are performing this weekend on the in-game Icon Radio.

Epic Games/Alliance Studios

You'll be able to experience Coachella in other ways in Fortnite this year. Starting at 3PM ET today, you can dive into Coachella Island from the Epic’s Picks Discover row in the game mode browser or by entering the island code 5449-4207-12803.

The music-reactive island takes inspiration from Coachella's California desert setting, so you can expect to see mountains, polo fields and palm trees. In the Art Park section, you'll be able to check out replicas of art installations found at the real-life version of Coachella. On top of that, you can try some team-based minigames centered around dancing and parkour.

Players will have the chance to scoop up Coachella-inspired outfits and in-game items from a merch tent. There's a music element here as well of course, as you'll be able to hear tracks from Coachella performer Porter Robinson while you're on the island (or by clicking the play button below, because why not).

With last year's ROG Phone 6, ASUS got our attention with the world's first "wireless" clip-on Peltier cooler, in the sense that it didn't require plugging into a power bank. That, along with a handful of dedicated gaming features — especially the customizable ultrasonic "AirTriggers" — already made it a seemingly solid gaming phone. While some of the competition struggled to keep up, ASUS attempts to keep mobile gamers interested with its brand new ROG Phone 7 series which, for the first time, incorporates A.I. for automatic gaming capture. The company also managed to throw in a surprise for the new clip-on cooler: it now doubles as a subwoofer to take full advantage of the ROG Phone's already excellent stereo speakers.

The aforementioned A.I. feature can be found in the phone's "Game Genie" dashboard. Dubbed "X Capture," this tool is based on ASUS' very own A.I. pattern recognition system, and it's supposedly able to detect key events such as a "kill, death, victory moment, etc." in supported games. Another new tool, "X Sense," uses the same algorithm and pop-up notifications to help the player with in-game decision making. The catch is that both A.I. features only support Arena of Valor for now, and only in "tier one" markets like Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. That said, the product team is apparently already working on supporting more titles, which will no doubt come in handy for gamers who like to show off.

You'll also find two more new gaming features: "vibration mapping" lets you add tactile feedback to your desired virtual buttons, and "background mode" — though already introduced to recent models via an update last year — lets games run in the background when you need to perform certain automatic boring tasks.

ASUS

Naturally, the core specs here offer the latest and greatest that the market has to offer right now. The ROG Phone 7 series pack Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage — a more efficient offering than the earlier UFS 3.1, with at least twice the speed. You still get a generous 6,000mAh dual-cell battery with 65W fast-charging, which now offers a slightly shorter charging time of 42 minutes. The 6.78-inch Samsung AMOLED display features the same 2,448 x 1,080 resolution, 165Hz refresh rate and 720Hz touch-sampling rate as before, but its peak brightness has been bumped up from 1,200 nits to 1,500 nits for better viewing.

As with previous generations, the ASUS ROG Phone 7 series comes with improved thermal design. This time it's all about the bigger rapid-cycle vapor chamber design, and it has two nerdy features: the special trident-shaped wick columns on the long edges vastly increase the surface area for better heat dissipation, and the six liquid-return channels act as highways for cooled water to flow back to the processor. ASUS claims this design increases heat dissipation efficiency "by up to 168%." This is complemented with the Boron Nitride thermal compound on the other side of the CPU, as well as bigger graphite sheets covering the mainboard and RF board.

ASUS

Then there's the new AeroActive Cooler 7 which continues to offer Peltier thermoelectric cooling, and without the need of external power. Similar to its predecessor, this attachment can apparently lower the surface temperature by as much as 25 degrees Celsius, as well as the touch panel temperature by as much as eight degrees Celsius. As with last year's Ultimate variant, the more premium ROG Phone 7 Ultimate comes with the "AeroActive Portal" which, when used with the AeroActive Cooler 7, allows cool air to be blown straight into the phone's body. As a bonus, both the regular and Ultimate models are now IP54-certified (so both dust- and splash-resistant), despite the latter's air vent.

According to ASUS' own hour-long tests using Genshin Impact, the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate (in "X Mode+" performance) equipped with the attachment (in "frosty" cooling mode) was at least 6.4 degrees Celsius cooler than the competition — namely the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra — on the back. Keeping the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate cool allowed the game to sustain an impressive frame rate of around 60 fps, which should avoid interruptions in an intense fight.

The AeroActive Cooler 7 also comes with a set of four extra mappable buttons and, for the first time, a subwoofer as well. So yes, together with the enlarged speakers on the ROG Phone 7, you're getting a 2.1-channel audio system tuned by Dirac. You can also stick to your 3.5mm headphones and take advantage of the "Dirac Virtuo For Headphone" spatial sound feature, or go wireless with Snapdragon Sound's super-low-latency Bluetooth.

There's nothing too exciting on the photography side. The rear cameras remain unchanged: you get a 50-megapixel main camera (Sony's IMX766 sensor), a 13-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera (125 degrees) and a not-so-useful 5-megapixel macro camera. That said, ASUS claims that the cameras here will benefit from an improved light trail mode for artistic captures. The selfie camera on the other side, however, has been upgraded with a new 32-megapixel OmniVision OV32C sensor.

ASUS

For those who are in Taiwan and Europe, select models in the ROG Phone 7 series will be available for pre-order starting today. The regular model starts from €999, but if you're going for the Ultimate version for its AeroActive Portal and customizable ROG Vision screen on the back, it starts from €1,399 — you'll get a €110 AeroActive Cooler 7 for free. (All euro prices are inclusive of VAT.)

As for the rest of us, ASUS has confirmed that the ROG Phone 7 series will eventually be launched in the US, but we'll have to wait a bit longer for a date and pricing, so stay tuned.

Twitter is teaming up with eToro, a social trading network, to expand financial information available on the site and make it easier for users to buy stocks and crypto. As CNBC reports, the existing $Cashtag format, which previously allowed finance-inclined users to click a financial hashtag of sorts to see more data on particular stocks, will be expanded to show more real-time data. That data will continue to be provided by TradingView, a market tracker and existing eToro partner.

The updated search also brings an eToro button under the live price charts, taking users away from Twitter to get more information and potentially invest. Anyone can look through the stats, but eToro will prompt visitors to create an account before being able to part with their money. 

Twitter is openly trying to diversify its offerings, with "additional market insights and greater access to investment capabilities," Chris Riedy, VP of Global Sales & Marketing at Twitter, said in a statement. According to Twitter, the first quarter of 2023 saw 498 million tweets revolving around finance or business.

Since Elon Musk took over as CEO, 80 percent of the company's workforce have been let go in a bid to cut costs. An updated subscription model was launched soon after, promising Blue ticks, fewer ads and increased tweet visibility for $8 per month, while developers were forced to begin paying for a basic API or lose access to the company's firehose. This came after over 500 advertisers reportedly paused spending on Twitter.

While eToro isn’t directly integrated into the social media platform, the tie-in could potentially benefit Twitter financially in the form of referral bonuses.

• Read more about Revolutionary Robotic Hand Grasps Objects with Wrist Movement and Skin Sensation
• Log in or register to post comments

The Library of Congress has announced the latest batch of 25 recordings joining the National Recording Registry. Alongside songs like “Like a Virgin,” "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and "Stairway To Heaven," Koji Kondo's Super Mario Bros. theme becomes the first piece of video game music to enter the registry. According to the Library of Congress, the Mario overworld music, officially titled "Ground Theme," is "perhaps the most recognizable video game theme in history."

“The amount of data that we could use for music and sound effects was extremely small, so I really had to be very innovative and make full use of the musical and programming ingenuity that we had at the time,” Kondo told the Library of Congress. He apparently drew from Japanese jazz fusion and Latin music to create the melody on the Nintendo Entertainment System's five-channel sound chip. And now there’s a (second) Hollywood movie featuring his work.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

NVIDIA RTX 4070 review: The new 1440p gaming leader

The best VR headsets for 2023

April's PS Plus Extra and Premium games include 'Doom Eternal' and 'Kena: Bridge of Spirits'

The best wireless earbuds for 2023

Sony investment will put AI chips inside Raspberry Pi boards

Philips' new Ultra Efficient LED bulbs use 40 percent less energy

The bulbs may even outlive you.

Signify

Signify has announced its Philips Ultra Efficient LED bulbs that, as the name implies, use 40 percent less energy than the brand's usual LEDs. The "advanced" LEDs and optics reduce the yearly energy cost to between 55 cents and $1.03 per bulb, and Signify claims the Ultra Efficient line has an average lifespan of 50 years, or more than three times of Philips' standard LED bulbs. The range is available now as a Walmart exclusive, starting at $10 for a 60W-equivalent A19 bulb.

Continue reading.

Intel is working to become an ARM chip manufacturer

Merged companies will tweak Intel's 18A fabrication process for use with ARM designs.

Intel and ARM, arguably two of the most important players in modern chipmaking, are joining forces. The companies announced a “multigeneration” agreement to optimize Intel’s upcoming 18A fabrication process for use with ARM designs and intellectual property. To clarify, the deal won’t mean Intel’s Foundry Services produces chipsets for ARM, but the likes of Qualcomm and MediaTek will be able to tap Intel to make its ARM-based chips in the future.

Continue reading.

Report: Amazon responsible for half of all 'serious' US warehouse injuries last year

The retailer disputes the analysis of federal labor data.

Nearly two years after Jeff Bezos said Amazon would spend $300 million to improve workplace safety, a coalition of labor unions claims the company was responsible for a heady 53 percent of all serious warehouse injuries recorded in the US last year. A report from the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC)t said data from US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) showed Amazon warehouse workers were injured more frequently than their non-Amazon counterparts – and they were often injured worse. Amazon disputes the Strategic Organizing Center’s interpretation of the data – specifically with SOC’s use of “serious injury rate,” noting it’s not an official OSHA metric.

Continue reading.

NPR is ditching Twitter over 'government-funded media' label on its main account

The broadcaster says the label is 'inaccurate and misleading.'

After a week-long tussle with Twitter and owner Elon Musk over labels the company applied to its accounts, NPR said it’ll no longer use the platform at all. The organization criticized Twitter over a "state-affiliated media" label placed on its main account last week. NPR said the latest incarnation of the label is "inaccurate and misleading," pointing out that federal funding accounts for less than one percent of its $300 million annual budget. NPR CEO John Lansing said, as a result of the label, the broadcaster is abandoning Twitter to protect its credibility.

Continue reading.