The wait is over. Apple has released iOS 16 to the public. You can download the latest version of the company's mobile operating system by opening the Settings app on your iPhone and tapping on "General," followed by "Software" and then "Update." The software is available on the iPhone 8 and later. 

The theme of iOS 16 is personalization. Apple redesigned the iPhone's lock screen to give you more control over the interface. You can now tweak the typeface and accent color of the on-screen clock and date to more closely match your wallpaper. Additionally, you can add widgets to your home screen and change the information that's displayed toward the top of the screen. It's now also possible to create multiple lock screens and tie them to specific focus modes. Complementing those changes are redesigned notifications that support a feature called Live Activities that makes it easier to track things like scores and Uber rides.         

Other notable new features include the ability to edit and unsend messages in iMessage. You can also mark texts as unread to remind you to read them later. On the iPhone XS and later, you can use the Photos app to copy an object from an image and paste it somewhere else without a background. Apple has also added support for passkeys to add an extra layer of security to your online credentials. Passkeys will work with non-Apple products and they're available through your iCloud Keychain.

One thing to note about today's update is that iPadOS 16 will arrive at a later date to give Apple more time to polish the software's Stage Manager feature. 

After nearly two years of testing, Comcast is one step closer to offering multi-gig symmetrical speeds over cable. This week, the company began a new deployment that will allow more than 50 million US households to access its new 2Gbps service by the end of 2025. In a press release spotted by The Verge, Comcast said it would offer multi-gig internet packages in 34 cities across the country before the end of the year, with initial rollouts already underway in Augusta, Colorado Springs, Panama City Beach and Philadelphia.

Even if you don’t sign up for the new Gigabit 2x service, you’ll see an improvement in upload speeds. For instance, in Colorado Springs, Comcast says some tiers offer upload speeds up to 10 times faster than previously possible. The Gigabit 2x plan will initially limit customers to uploading files at 200Mbps. However, starting in 2023, multi-gig symmetrical speeds will be possible, thanks to a technology called DOCSIS 4.0.

Comcast has been transitioning to the standard for the past few years. Once that work is complete, it will have the network in place to offer 10Gbps download speeds and 6Gbps upload speeds on the same connection. In turn, that would allow it to provide symmetrical speeds across many of its cable packages. That’s an area where cable has historically lagged compared to fiber optic internet. 

NASA has completed a critical repair of its next-generation Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. On Friday, engineers replaced the leaky seal that forced the agency to scrub its most recent attempt to launch Artemis 1. On September 3rd, a fitting on one of the fuel lines to the SLS began leaking hydrogen. Ground crew at Kennedy Space Center tried to troubleshoot the problem three times, only for the leak to persist and force NASA to call off the launch attempt. On Friday, engineers also replaced the seal on a 4-inch hydrogen “bleed line” that was responsible for a smaller leak during an earlier August 29th launch attempt.

With the new gaskets in place, NASA plans to conduct a fueling test to verify they’re working as intended. The dry run will see engineers attempt to load the SLS with all 736,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen it would need during a regular flight. NASA hopes to successfully complete that test as early as September 17th. “This demonstration will allow engineers to check the new seals under cryogenic, or supercold, conditions as expected on launch day and before proceeding to the next launch attempt,” the agency said.

On Thursday, NASA announced it was targeting September 23rd for another go at putting Artemis 1 into space, with September 27th as a backup. Whether it can make those dates will depend on next week’s fueling test and a decision from the US Space Force. Flight regulations require that NASA test the battery of Artemis 1’s flight termination system every 20 days. That’s something it can only do within the Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building. The Space Force previously granted the agency an extension on the 20-day deadline. NASA has now asked for another waiver.

Fans of Disney’s mid-90s output got a surprise treat this week. During its recent gaming showcase, the company revealed it was remastering Gargoyles. Alongside Aladdin and The Lion King, the 1995 Sega Genesis release is one of the highlights of Disney’s gaming catalog.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, it’s based on the animated series of the same name. Gargoyles initially aired between 1994 and 1997. While it was a modest success then, it has since become a cult classic thanks to its compelling story and a stellar voice cast that included Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis.

Empty Clip Studios, best known for its work on Dead Island Retro Revenge, is remastering the game for modern consoles and PC. The 1995 original is known for being one of the best-looking games in the Genesis library. It also featured a soundtrack by Michael Giacchino, who later went on to work on The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Lost and Rogue One – among a lot of other high-profile films and TV shows. The remaster does not have a release date yet.

In addition to being one of the best games of the year, FromSoftware’s Elden Ring features an absolute treat of a soundtrack. Tsukasa Saitoh, Shoi Miyazawa, Yuka Kitamura, Yoshimi Kudo and Tai Tomisawa crafted an orchestral score that pays homage to the studio’s past while offering something new, and now you can listen to their work without booting up the game.

Publisher Bandai Namco has uploaded Elden Ring's entire 67-track score to nearly every streaming service out there. Among other platforms, you can listen to the soundtrack on Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, Tidal and YouTube Music. If you still buy albums, it's also available through iTunes.  

As is so often the case with From’s games, the songs that play during boss battles are among the most memorable. I had to stop myself from gritting my teeth after Malenia’s theme came on. Thankfully, the more ambient tracks, including "Limgrave," are there to balance things out. Bandai Namco also released an all-too-short behind-the-scenes video showcasing the Budapest Film Orchestra recording some of the music you can hear in-game and online. You can watch it below.

The game Assassin’s Creed fans have been asking for years is finally on its way. During its Ubisoft Forward event on Saturday, the publisher revealed Codename Red, a new entry in the series that will be set in feudal Japan. Franchise head Marc-Alexis Côté called Red the “next premium title” in Ubisoft’s open world series and said Ubisoft Quebec was leading work on the project, suggesting it will hew closer to Odyssey than next year’s Mirage.

Côté also shared a teaser for Codename Hexe and called it “a very different type of Assassin’s Creed game.” Ubisoft Montreal, the studio that first created the series is leading development on the project, with Clint Hocking involved as creative director. Hocking may not be a household name, but he’s probably among the most influential designers at Ubisoft, with credits that include Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Far Cry 2. According to a recent report from Bloomberg’s Jason Scheier, the game is set during the latter stages of the Holy Roman Empire.

Neither game has a release date yet, but Ubisoft said they would both integrate with Infinity, a service Côté called “not a game per se, but a single entry point into the series.” Ubisoft was cryptic about what Infinity would involve but Côté said the company was exploring the possibility of creating standalone multiplayer experiences within the hub.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the next entry in Ubisoft’s long-running action-adventure series, will arrive in 2023. The publisher announced the release date today during its Ubisoft Forward event. Set two decades before the events of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the game will reunite fans with a Basim Ibn Ishaq and return the series to its stealth roots.

In a briefing held before today’s presentation, Ubisoft Bordeaux, the studio leading development on the project, described Basim as the most agile assassin in franchise history. He’ll have new abilities to assist him in avoiding detection, some of which you can see on display in the cinematic trailer Ubisoft shared today. An integral part of Basim’s kit is Enkidu, his pet eagle. Like Senu in Origins, Enkidu can scout ahead for you to spot potential threats, but new to Mirage is that there will be archers who can spot and take out your feathery friend. In addition to new gadgets, including smoke bombs and poison mines, Basim will also have the ability to briefly slow down time and plot out multiple assassinations.

With the action returning primarily to a single city – Baghdad circa 861 CE – parkour will play a much bigger role than in more recent games. Ubisoft Bordeaux said Basim would be one of the fastest free runners in franchise history, with a move set that includes both new and returning tricks. The story, meanwhile, will focus on The Hidden Ones, the organization that predates the Assassin Brotherhood and will see Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse, Destiny 2) play Basim’s mentor, Roshan.

When it arrives next year, Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be available on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Amazon Luna and PC. In the meantime, fans can look forward to The Last Chapter. The free DLC will arrive later this year and complete the story of Valhalla. 

With D23 underway this weekend, Disney had a lot to share with Star Wars fans. In all, the company debuted three trailers at the expo. First, there was a final look at Star Wars: Andor ahead of the show’s Disney+ premiere on September 21st. Then, we got to see Tales of the Jedi, a new animated anthology series that will begin streaming on October 23rd. But what you can here to see is the first trailer for season three of The Mandalorian.

The clip is the same one that was shown behind closed doors at Star Wars Celebration. Spoilers for season two of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett follow. 

After he left to train at Luke’s Jedi Temple, Gorgu and Din (Pedro Pascal) are reunited and back to their usual hijinks, but Mando’s decision to take his helmet off at the end of season two has damaged his relationship with the Armorer and what’s left of his clan. The fact he also took the Darksaber from Moth Gideon is also a source of conflict between him and Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff). Based on the trailer, it looks like season three will tell a more focused story with fewer detours for Mando and Gorgu to get into trouble.

The Mandalorian season three will arrive on Disney+ in 2023.

The Federal Communications Commission wants to do something about space junk in low Earth orbit. On Thursday, the agency published a proposal (via Ars Technica) that, if adopted, would put a deadline on how long non-geostationary satellites can stay in space.

As things stand, voluntary NASA guidelines published in the 1990s recommend that dead satellites should be deorbited within 25 years. The FCC wants to adopt a five-year rule that would require domestic satellite operators and companies that want access to the US market to dispose of their non-functioning satellites as soon as they can. “We believe it is no longer sustainable to leave satellites in LEO [low Earth orbit] to deorbit over decades,” the FCC states in its proposal.

Satellites already in space would be exempt from the FCC’s guidelines. The Commission is also proposing there be a two-year grandfathering period that start on September 29th, the day it plans to vote on the regulation. That carveout would give organizations that previously obtained approval for a future satellite launch time to develop a disposal plan for their spacecraft. The FCC said it would also grant waivers case-by-case after NASA expressed concern that the five-year limit would impact its CubeSat missions.

The proposal comes as the number of satellites in low Earth orbit is expected to increase over the next few years dramatically. With contributions from companies like SpaceX, Amazon and OneWeb, as many as 18,000 new satellites could be floating above the planet by 2025. Those satellites will not only make it more challenging to observe the night sky, but the probability of a potential crash will increase too.

If Apple’s announcement of the Series 8 didn’t do much for you but you would still like to buy an Apple Watch, you might be in luck. Amazon has discounted its remaining Series 7 stock. At the moment, you can find a handful of the cellular models for as much as $150 off. For instance, the 41mm variant with graphite stainless steel case and abyss blue sport band is $550 currently, down from $699, while the 45mm model with silver stainless steel case and starlight sports band is $99 off, making it $650 instead of $749.

Engadget deputy reviews editor Cherlynn Low gave the Apple Watch Series 7 a score of 90. Apple’s smartwatch was already one of the best fitness trackers you could buy in 2021, and the Series 7 made it even better with a larger screen, faster charging and overnight respiratory tracking.

With the Series 8 arriving in stores on September 16th, you may not think it’s worth buying the older model. For what it’s worth, the Series 8 is an iterative update on its predecessor. New features are limited to a temperature sensor, crash detection and a low-power mode that can extend the life of the wearable by up to 18 hours. Those are valuable additions, to be sure, but there’s also something to be said about saving a bit of money on some of the more premium Series 7 models still in stock if cellular connectivity and a stainless steel case are important features for you.

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