Google’s Pixel 6a is finally here. It’s a sub-$500 phone that, this year, includes Google’s own Tensor chip which should bring even more power to the cheapest Pixel option. It also matches the Pixel 6 family with a two-tone color scheme and camera bar.
According to Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low, the $449 Pixel 6a feels less like the budget option and more like a smaller version (if a 6.1-inch screen is small..) of Google’s best phone. You get cutting-edge software tricks from Google, great cameras and a decent battery life. In short, it nails the essentials.
Check out the full review, but as Cherlynn puts it: there is no better Android phone under $500 than the Pixel 6a.
A lot of readers are intrigued by the Nothing Phone 1, with its combination of eye-catching design, well-rounded performance and a reasonable price. The main struggle may be trying to buy one in North America. Is it worth the effort? Even once the device reaches your hands, there are a few challenges you’ll have to overcome.
Amazon’s latest Fire 7 has landed, with a few upgrades including a faster processor, double the RAM, USB-C charging and longer battery life. Unfortunately, it’s still sluggish, has a poor display and you’ll largely be confined to Amazon-approved apps and services. The $60 price point makes these flaws easier to swallow, but we recommend upgrading to the $90 Fire 8 HD, as it at least offers a better display.
You'll see them in places like Chicago, Dallas and San Diego.
Amazon has revealed that Rivian's custom-made EVs are now delivering packages across the US. You'll find them in numerous cities including Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle and St. Louis. The company expects the vans to serve over 100 cities by the end of 2022. This deployment is important to both companies. Amazon had a 20 percent stake in Rivian as of late 2021. At the same time, Rivian has been cutting costs. Amazon stands to benefit when its automotive partner does.
'FIFA 23' launches September 30th on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Stadia.
After revealing Chelsea star Sam Kerr on its cover earlier this week, EA has unveiled the first trailer for FIFA 23 showing that women's soccer will finally be a key part of the game. It will include women's club teams from the top leagues in England and France, along with both the women's and men's competitions in both the 2022 Qatar World Cup and 2023 Australia/New Zealand World Cup. A reminder: FIFA 23 will be EA's last version of the game with the FIFA name, as it failed to come to terms with FIFA over financial and exclusivity issues.
E2EE protection is coming to meeting breakout rooms as well.
Zoom is bolstering its privacy and security protections by expanding end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to more of its services. First up is Zoom Phone, its cloud phone system. Users of that service will be able to switch on E2EE during one-on-one calls. When it's on, E2EE will ensure calls are secure with cryptographic keys that only the calling and receiving devices can access. The security feature will soon be available in breakout rooms — smaller discussions that break off from group meetings.
President Biden is unveiling further measures to combat climate change, and his latest efforts are aimed at addressing incoming environmental crises. The President has outlined a string of executive actions that include the first wind energy areas in the Gulf of Mexico. The 700,000 acres could generate enough offshore wind power to supply over 3 million homes.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has also unveiled $2.3 billion in funding to bolster resilience against heat waves, wildfires and other climate change-related disasters. This will expand the use of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program for air conditioning, community cooling centers and other resources to fight extreme heat.
The company also confirms it's launching new foldables at its next Unpacked event in August.
Samsung says it has shipped "almost 10 million foldable smartphones" worldwide. The company's chief of Mobile Experience (MX) Business, Dr. TM Roh, said that's a 300 percent increase from 2020 and that he expects what he calls "fast-paced growth" to continue. Most of its foldable customers, 70 percent of them apparently, went for the clamshell-like Flip. Roh also confirmed that the company is introducing its next Flip and Fold models at its Unpacked event in two weeks.
I’m a PlayStation gamer. I’m pretty upfront with that knowledge when I write for Engadget – and occasionally even in this newsletter. However, I’m not an idiot. Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is awfully tempting, even when its consoles aren’t. Now, with the launch of Samsung’s Game Hub on its newest TVs (and only its newest models), you can stream Xbox titles from the cloud without needing a console.
On a big TV, playing Flight Simulator turns into a meditative experience. Type in your destination for an exploration flight (or, easier on a controller, set your cursor on the world map), and just fly and fly and fly. That’s what I did, and I started to hate that I’ll never be able to do this on my PS5. The only problem is that requirement of a new Samsung TV…
Ken Pillonel (of USB-C iPhone fame) has created an open source repair kit for first- and second-generation AirPods models. If you're comfortable cracking open the case, you can perform repairs (such as installing a fresh battery) and get back to business using a 3D-printed replacement part. Moreover, the kit will drag your AirPods into the modern era — it switches the charging port from Lightning to a USB-C connection.
There are big changes afoot in Overwatch 2. After weeks of playing the beta, I was relieved that many of my primary characters really haven’t changed at all – at least, not yet. It’s unusual to see Bastion wheeling around as a tank, though…. Some changes seem to skew the sequel towards skilled FPS players, which I’m less happy to see. One of the reasons I got into OW was the ability to contribute in squad fights without needing meticulous headshot talents. It’s still early days in the beta, and I can’t wait to see the third character and what else Blizzard has planned.
I’m not sure what pulled me back into Overwatch. Correction: It was all Jessica Conditt’s fault. Her incisive overview on the Summer Game Fest, which noted the lack of fresh updates on AAA games – those major games we’re all excited about – got me thinking about which games I’m waiting to play.
One of those is Overwatch 2. Which is coming this year, has a release date and is just wrapping up its public beta. Oh, and it's completely rid of loot boxes. Rejoice!
The fact that the original Overwatch will evolve into its sequel, which will be free-to-play, rewired my brain. Before I knew it, I was back in the game's lobby waiting my turn to play as all of the popular characters (now categorized as Damage players).
I was already used to the notion that your team of heroes had to strike a balance between support (healers), Tank (damage sponges) and Damage (your, er, damage dealers). This dynamic makes for more strategic fights, even in casual match-ups. But it means I often don’t get to play with some of my favorite characters.
Blizzard
In casual games, there seems to be a dearth in Support players, sadly. (Luckily for me, Moria is one of my go-to characters.) Hopefully, Overwatch 2 will redistribute characters across those three categories — not to mention new additions and new skills and supers. Of course, these mandatory squad layouts were one of many major changes and shifts in Overwatch since it first arrived back in 2016.
Once upon a time, the dwarfy, Torbjörn had an upgradable turret gun and threw out armor packs, Reaper had to collect little orbs of death to gain health from his kills. Symmetra, one of the relatively late additions to the game, has had her abilities and ultimates reshuffled several times. At one point, she had two ultimate options, while another changed nerfed her sentry turret down from six turrets down to three. Outrageous!
The most controversial change was made to everyone’s go-to healer, Mercy. In the early stages of Overwatch, her ultimate attack would revive all KOed heroes in range. It was… rather overpowered. These days, it’s a more sensible single-person revive that charges faster – but some may never get over some of these shakeups. (They should.) [Ed. note: I won't.]
There are big changes afoot in Overwatch 2, too. After weeks of playing the beta, I was relieved that many of my primary characters really haven’t changed at all – at least, not yet. It’s unusual to see Bastion wheeling around as a tank (and I’m now bad at playing as Bastion?), while I’m still acquainting myself with Orisa’s changes, which completely shake up her playstyle (no shield?!). This will take some time. A few new skill effects are also a little hard to decipher visually. (You can check out my colleague Jessica’s deeper thoughts on the beta right here.)
I maintain, despite (or thanks to) the many, many additions, that Overwatch has the most iconic character roster of a game since Street Fighter 2. Still, I don’t like having to really dig for the lore and character backgrounds outside of the game to understand the motivations — or, at least, the sassy asides they say to each other. It’s funny I mention SF2, because the beta feels a little like Super Street Fighter 2, which gave us four new characters, a few more locales, but didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel.
The beta remains limited to standard versus matches, though you will occasionally get to test out the cute robot-tug-of-war matches every now and then. It’s mostly the same Overwatch experience. The two new characters, Junker Queen and Sojourn, are both compelling additions to the roster so far (even if there are still too many Damage characters). The Junker Queen, in particular, seems to offer some intriguing new moves to shake up the competitive meta.
I’m still hoping for more beyond the base game matchups though, whether that’s more cooperative set-pieces or something entirely new and different. Is that too much to ask from what will be a free-to-play game? Hopefully, Overwatch 2 will also better expand on narrative bits and pieces.
The addictive ebb-and-flow of the fights feel the same, but I wonder if Blizzard can continually evolve and expand the experience to keep me hooked this time, just like Roadhog would have wanted.
It took a bit of time, but you can now stream Xbox games from your TV without a Microsoft console in sight. As long as you have a Samsung TV. The Xbox app is now available on Samsung’s latest smart TVs and monitors, alongside apps for rival gaming services like Stadia and NVIDIA’s GeForce Now. It’s bigger news, however, when a console maker — and its huge catalog of games on Game Pass Ultimate – offers game streaming straight from your TV.
I had an extended play session during a launch showcase at Samsung’s London event space, and it made me, a PlayStation gamer, an offer I can’t refuse: Play Xbox games from the cloud with no additional hardware, aside from a Bluetooth-connected controller. I can even use my DualSense controller because I’m that kind of person.
This will be familiar news to anyone that’s already streamed games with Xbox Cloud or Google’s Stadia, but, all the games I tried were smooth, with incredibly swift load speeds. Some early previews of Samsung’s Gaming Hub kept gaming media to familiar hits, but with Xbox rolling out the entire Game Pass experience, I got to test its limits with Flight Simulator, a game that benefits from speedier load times and avoiding those pesky huge patch files.
On a big TV, even while standing up, playing Flight Simulator turns into a meditative experience. Type in your destination for an exploration flight (or, easier on a controller, set your cursor on the world map), and just fly and fly and fly. That’s what I did, and I started to hate that I’ll never be able to do this on my PS5. I’m sold on the idea already – I just don’t have a 2022 Samsung TV. Damn you, Microsoft.
Xbox
It’s not perfect, of course. Don’t expect 4K or variable refresh rates beyond 60 fps – this is still cloud gaming, although we get 4K streams on Stadia... The bigger question is whether Xbox’s games can stream on Samsung’s Game Hub, stably, for several hours on end, and that’s something that can only be answered after extensive testing. What if your connection hiccups and you lose that major progress made in Red Dead Redemption 2?
For now, the hub is limited to Samsung’s 2022 TVs and monitors, and it’s unclear exactly how Microsoft will deliver Xbox Cloud to other big screens not connected to its consoles. For Samsung’s part, its spokesperson said the company hoped to “extend the device coverage in the near future”.
Microsoft’s own streaming stick, similar to a Chromecast, seemed like the obvious solution, but the company said earlier this year that it was taking a 'new approach' with its game streaming devices, so that’s not happening for a while at least. It hasn’t elaborated further, besides teasing “a new approach that will allow us to deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to more players around the world in the future."
That could mean a dedicated device, or it could be exactly what I’m testing today, the TV app, coming to more TVs. Hopefully some that already exist. Hopefully mine? Buying a new TV to avoid paying $300 for a new console seems more than a little circuitous. For now, I’m left waiting for a way to stream Xbox Cloud to my TV without a console. Barring some particularly laborious workarounds, it seems I’ll be waiting a little longer.
The end is nigh for DSLR cameras. Nikon is reportedly halting the development of new SLR cameras, marking the end of a 63-year run. Canon already confirmed its final flagship DSLR. Sony, which jumped onto the mirrorless train early, moved to selling only mirrorless cameras last year.
Until recently, reflex cameras were regarded as a better option than mirrorless for action photography, so what happened? Mirrorless models improved so dramatically – and so quickly – that they rendered DSLRs moot. Having said that, many pro photographers are holding onto their DSLRs, with the main reason being speed. But in the future, even that might be bested by future mirrorless cameras. Engadget’s Steve Dent explains more.
After you mold some tips to your ears, a custom-made set arrives in 2-4 weeks.
Ultimate Ears, best known for its Bluetooth speakers, is having another attempt at custom-fit buds, only this time the company is making the process more like how you’d order a set of in-ear monitors (IEMs) with the UE Drops.
The main attraction of UE Drops is the custom fit, which is coordinated via the company's FitKit. Once you place your order, Ultimate Ears will ship you a FitKit that the company says includes the "technology and information" to guide you through the process of taking your "earprint."
Atari is marking its 50th anniversary with a Lego collaboration: a piece-by-piece recreation of the Atari 2600, which debuted in 1977. The Lego kit includes a little ‘80s gaming diorama inside the computer case, and is made up of 2,532 pieces. It will be available on August 1st and costs $240/€240. Lego says the movable joystick included even feels like the original.
Apple could soon compensate MacBook owners for their troubles with faulty "butterfly" keyboards. The company has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that it knew about and concealed the unreliable designs of keyboards on MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models released between 2015 and 2019. Apple eventually began reverting to more conventional keyboards starting with the 16-inch MacBook Pro from late 2019. Attorneys said they expected a $395 payout for people that had to replace multiple keyboards, $125 for one full replacement and $50 if you only replaced keycaps.
The campaign that helped pave the way for the "Snyder Cut" version of Justice League was boosted by a large number of bots and fake accounts, according to a report from Rolling Stone. An investigation commissioned by WarnerMedia said that: "At least 13 percent of the accounts that took part in the conversation about the Snyder Cut were deemed fake."
Twitter has scored an early victory in its lawsuit against Elon Musk over his attempted exit from a $44 billion takeover deal. In an initial hearing, Delaware Court of Chancery chancellor Kathaleen McCormick has granted Twitter's request for an expedited, five-day trial beginning in October. The company originally sought a four-day trial in September as part of its effort to make Musk "honor his obligations." Musk's lawyers wanted the court to delay the trial to February 2023.
With the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) now powered up and snapping some spectacular images – some of them huge captures – where does it put them all? On an SSD, of course. It’s a relatively tiny 68GB SSD, according to IEEE Spectrum, which is just enough to handle a day's worth of JWST images ahead of broadcasting them back to Earth.
Why so humble in size? The JWST is a million miles from Earth, getting bombarded by radiation and temperatures of less than 50 degrees above absolute zero (-370 degrees F). So the SSD, like all other parts, must be radiation hardened. Samsung’s latest pro-level SSD might not cut it. Plus, JWST sends data back to Earth much faster than Hubble – up to 57GB in the four hours it’s in range each day. It seems like just about enough storage.
Three-quarters of popular VPNs 'misrepresented their products,' the letter states.
US Democrats have urged the FTC to crack down on deceptive practices in the Virtual Private Network (VPN) industry. In an open letter, Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) cited research indicating that three-quarters of the most popular VPNs "misrepresented their products," leading consumers to have a false sense of security.
We were impressed with the Lucid Air Dream Edition earlier this year, even though it was just a pre-production vehicle. Well, the automaker gave us time behind the wheel of its latest top-of-the-line Grand Touring Performance model with all the proper hardware and software ready to go. The Lucid Air GT models are shaping up to be more than just fast electric sedans. Check out our test-drive.
Stray is a cyberpunk playground where players are rewarded for trusting their instincts, and it offers a beautiful balance of exploration, puzzle solving and soothing cat activities. And somehow manages to tell a heart-wrenching human story without any people at all. Cat people are going to love it, says Engadget’s Jessica Conditt – and she’s one of our resident dog people!
A court orders the antitrust watchdog to review the original decision.
The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has ordered the country’s antitrust watchdog to review its decision to force Meta to sell Giphy. “We have agreed to reconsider our decision in light of this finding,” a spokesperson for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) told the outlet, adding the agency hopes to complete the process within three months. The ruling comes after the tribunal sided with the watchdog on five of the agency's six claims against the company. However, on the one ruling that went in Meta’s favor, the tribunal said the CMA had failed to properly inform the company of Snapchat’s acquisition of Gfycat, undermining its defense.
Annapurna Interactive is selling a branded cat carrier to coincide with its new adventure game Stray. The publisher teamed up with pet accessories brand Travel Cat for the limited-edition carrier, just a few days before the game hits PlayStation and PC on Tuesday. (PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play the game at no extra cost – the first time a third-party title will appear on a higher PS Plus tier on its release date.)
It's a version of a Travel Cat’s Fat Cat bag, with neon and charcoal colors inspired by the cyberpunk setting of Stray. The pet accessory company says the $140 carrier is sturdy and breathable, with space for more than one cat.
In a curious bit of serendipity, this announcement coincided with Engadget’s own guide to the top backpacks. Sadly, we didn’t consider the cat carrier segment. Next time!
Provided component shortages don't get the best of Apple.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that Apple is already working on M2 versions of the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, less than a year since both appeared. The design and features of the two computers are “likely to stay roughly the same” since Apple only redesigned the line last year to add MagSafe charging, more ports and better displays. The primary change will be the addition of M2 versions of the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips the company offers through its current models.
The Nothing Phone 1 is a striking device, but thanks to limited availability, good luck buying one. Enter Dbrand, which you might recall for its PS5 shells and skins that Sony once summarily banned. The accessory maker has announced a new “Something” line of skins that promise to transform your iPhone 13 Pro Max, Pixel 6 Pro or Galaxy S22 Ultra into a faux transparent device. Its “Something” skins are available to buy through Dbrand’s website for $24.95.
Polestar won’t officially debut its next EV until this fall, but the company has shared initial pricing information. The company’s Thomas Ingenlath said the Polestar 3 would start at €75,000 and top out at around €110,000. Judging by current exchange rates, the automaker’s first electric SUV could cost between $75,700 and $111,000 when it arrives in the US. There’s still a lot we don’t know about the Polestar 3’s specs, but the company has said the SUV will feature the same dual-motor powertrain as the Polestar 2 and a 372-mile range.
When the James Webb team was calibrating the telescope, they took photos of Jupiter to see if it can be used to observe nearby celestial objects like moons and asteroids, as well as other elements like planet rings and satellites. The answer, it turns out, is yes.
A photo taken by the telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument’s short-wavelength filter (above) clearly shows the gas giant's distinct bands and its moon Europa. The Great Red Spot is also perfectly visible, even though it looks white due to the way the image was processed.
Remember when Steve Jobs pulled the original MacBook Air out of a Manila envelope? That was 2008. The Air series of laptops kickstarted the era of ultraportables, but Apple’s slimmest PCs were often underpowered compared to the Windows competition that appeared. Now, with Apple’s very own, very powerful silicon, the M2 chip, the 2022 MacBook Air has almost too much power, a new design, (a few) more ports and just… more.
That includes the price. The revamped MacBook Air starts at $1,199, $200 more than the M1 model. Check out Devindra Hardawar’s full review right here.
It’s squashed hundreds of bugs in the early release of ChromeOS Flex.
Earlier this year, Google announced ChromeOS Flex, a tool that lets anyone take an old Windows or Mac laptop and give it new life by installing Chrome OS. After launching ChromeOS Flex in “early access,” Google now says that Flex is ready to “scale broadly” to more Macs and PCs.
The basics remain the same. You can visit the ChromeOS Flex website to make a bootable Chrome OS installation on a USB drive to ensure that your system works properly, and you can then fully replace your old computer’s OS with Chrome OS if everything checks out.
Nothing’s first smartphone certainly looks different. While that will help it stand out, it’s backed up by a solid array of features and clever touches. Sadly, it’s not coming to the US, though.
This is a midrange smartphone with style, so we expected some compromises on performance and cameras. Fortunately, the Phone 1 nails most of the fundamentals, with a surprisingly capable camera setup. Nothing is walking a fine line between gimmick and innovation, but as a new company, it gets to do that. Read our full review on the site, or check out our video right here.
She pulled off one of the largest hoaxes ever seen on the platform.
Chinese Wikipedia had a robust collection of detailed and authoritative articles on medieval Russia, thanks to one user. Zhemao wrote 206 articles for the website since 2019, the longest of which rivals The Great Gatsby for length. It detailed Tartar uprisings in 17th century Russia and was supported by a map of the country during that era. Except it was all faked.
It may be too early for you to think about the upcoming school year, but it can’t hurt to get a jump-start on planning. Once again this year, we’ve curated the best gadgets for studying more efficiently. As always, there are plenty of laptop recommendations for all kinds of students, but also our favorite streaming hardware, dorm room essentials and even free services that will come in clutch for those headed to college.
They can offer subscribers exclusive group chats, Stories and livestreams too.
Instagram has been building out its creator subscription program this year and it’s got some major additions this week. Creators can now share subscriber-only feed posts. Those Reels and photos will have a purple badge with a crown symbol to make them stand out. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said this was the feature he's had the most requests about from creators in the program.
Still playing Wordle? Well now you can go for a “hyper-realistic” version, because the New York Times is teaming up with Hasbro to launch Wordle: The Party Game, in time for the one-year anniversary of the hit word guessing game. It’s multiplayer, too. The “Wordle Host” will write down a secret word and the rest of the players will be given six tries to guess it, much like the online version. Players who take fewer attempts to guess the secret word will earn fewer points, and the player with the least points at the end of the game wins. The board game will cost $19.99, and is available to pre-order today at Amazon.
Facebook's parent company also tried to avoid blame for violence in India.
Meta has released its first yearly human rights report, and you might not be shocked by the angle the company is taking. As CNBC notes, the 83-page document outlines the Facebook parent's handling of human rights issues during 2020 and 2021, with a strong focus on justifying the company's strategies for combating misinformation and harassment. We’re all aware how those have fared.
When I first pulled the Nothing Phone 1 from its slender retail box, I just stared at it, flipped it over in my hand and scrutinized the see-through bits and pieces. Nothing’s attention to detail was noticeable everywhere. I’ll admit it outright: I love how it looks.
The company may be pushing a narrative of epoch-defining design, but its first phone also comes with decent, if not groundbreaking, specifications and, gasp, a competitive price point. While the aesthetics scream flagship device (and there’s definitely some iPhone DNA here), the price tag, around $476 (£399 here in the UK, no availability in the US), puts it in the arguably more competitive midrange weight class. That puts it up against the iPhone SE, Samsung’s Galaxy A series and Google’s Pixel A devices – don’t forget, the Pixel 6a is just around the corner. Can a literally flashy phone steal your attention away from all these heavy hitters?
Hardware
Mat Smith / Engadget
Both colors of the Nothing Phone 1 are eye-catching. And, while the white version looks cooler, the black really emphasizes the unique glyph lights. Gorilla Glass covers the front and back, and Nothing has curated what components you can see and smoothed out some of the lines.
Let’s talk about the Glyph interface, as Nothing has coined it. It uses over 900 LEDS to create four different light-up elements across the back of the phone. Some have extra features, which I’ll come back to, but collectively they light and flash to signify phone calls or notifications… and prompt strangers to ask, “what’s going on with your iPhone?” The only thing it attracts more than onlookers is fingerprints. You’ll buff this phone a lot to ensure the transparent design can be properly shown off.
Yeah, it’s eye-catching to all humans within 10 feet, but fortunately, you can reduce the brightness and, well, the severity of a phone call or text from someone. There’s also a thoughtful warning that the Glyph Interface may not be safe for anyone with epilepsy or other light-sensitivity conditions. As I have a history of seizures myself, it’s a nice consideration, but as someone noted, what about the people around me?
Nothing has made 10 unique ringtones with dedicated Glyph patterns that light up in sync to the lo-fi chippy noises – one of several signs that the Teenage Engineering DNA runs deep here. Most of the ringtones and patterns are somehow... just plain cool? I think it’s something to do with the perfect synchronization or the fact that it’s not the hollow, orchestral stirrings of a corporate audio sting.
A light strip at the bottom of the Phone 1 doubles up as a charging gauge when the device is plugged in. You will have to enable the feature within the phone’s Glyph Interface settings. I wish the battery gauge also worked on the power strip even when it wasn’t plugged in. Perhaps we’ll get more Glyph functionality in the future.
Now, for all those claims of a unique smartphone paradigm, besides the back, the phone looks and feels like an iPhone – especially the edges of the recycled aluminum frame. Unlike Apple’s phone, there’s no mute switch, and that might be an intentional design choice to put some distance between Nothing and OnePlus. (Nothing boss Carl Pei co-founded the latter and I’ve made my feelings on the OnePlus alert slider known for some time.)
Like the iPhone, the power button is on the right side, while the volume buttons are along the left. At the bottom edge, you have a single-firing (but loud!) speaker, SIM card slot and USB-C port.
There’s a red LED on the back of the phone to indicate when Phone 1 is recording video, like a camcorder from the ‘90s. It’s equal parts privacy feature and intentional retro nod. Another cute touch: The SIM card remover handle is resin-tipped, and looks like a little transistor.
The Phone 1 is a big phone. It dwarfs my iPhone 13 Pro. Its 6.55-inch 1080p screen puts it closer to the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the Pixel 6 Pro. Though, at 8.3mm thick, it’s more substantial than Apple’s biggest iPhone.
The midrange spec creep starts at the display, which has a relatively substantial bezel similar to the Galaxy A53 but it’s unlikely to be a dealbreaker for many. There’s a holepunch camera, (16-megapixel) and the display itself is vivid and bright (up to 1200 nits), while refresh rates can reach 120Hz. Adaptive refresh rates are one of the modern touches that help devices feel (and, well, look) premium.
Mat Smith / Engadget
The Phone 1 feels premium then, despite the next compromise: the mid-range Snapdragon processor ticking away inside. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G+ chip has been lightly customized for Nothing, meaning the Phone 1 can offer wireless charging (and reverse wireless charging) capabilities, unlike phones using the standard Snapdragon 778G. The Phone 1 was still able to handle some battles and exploration in Genshin Impact, though it did get rather warm in the process.
Nothing says you can 33-watt fast-charge the Phone 1 to 50 percent battery capacity in 30 minutes, and my testing pretty much replicated this. Wireless charging tops out at 15W, while you can reverse charge at up to 5W from the Phone 1 itself. I wonder if wireless charging is all that desirable? Or was it an issue of having something nice to show off on the transparent back? Something to frame a Glyph around? Perhaps I’m just a cynic. (Ok, definitely.)
In our battery rundown tests, the Phone 1 was able to play a video on loop for just over 16 hours, which is better than several Android phones we’ve tested in the last year, including the OnePlus 10 Pro, although it’s worth noting that Nothing’s has a lower-resolution display.
In typical use, I managed to get a day and half out of a full charge. With more video recording, or gaming or streaming, this would mean I’d be under 10 percent by 9PM. This is ameliorated a little with the fast charging, but a bit more battery life would have been nice.
Software
The dot-matrix ‘Nothing’ font that arrived with the company’s debut earbuds, is peppered around the company’s take on Android 12. There isn’t much different about this “bespoke” interpretation of Google’s mobile OS, though. There are those Glyph-connected ringtones, some monochromatic wallpapers, and unique widgets in the drop-down menu, but otherwise, it’s mostly the Android you know.
A Nothing spokesperson told me that they’re working on expanding features through third-party APIs — one example currently live is the ability to unlock your Tesla from this dropdown menu. You can turn on the AC in advance, flash the lights and a few more lightweight features. But that’s an incredibly tiny slice of Venn diagram overlap: Tesla driver and Nothing Phone 1 owner.
Mat Smith / Engadget
Another obvious display of the company’s partnership with Teenage Engineering, is its voice memo app, which has a minimalist tape deck aesthetic. You can rewind and fast-forward, and there are several noise-canceling options to better isolate voices. It’s not podcast-ready but if you’re recording a meeting or leaving a note for yourself from a loud pub they should at least help.
If there’s one thing I can’t get on board with, it’s Nothing’s addition of a native NFT Gallery. I don’t have any NFTs, but if I did, I’d be able to track their prices and “show them off” in five different sizes on the Phone 1. Let’s move on.
As it’s a new phone from a very new company, I had my reservations about stability. But so far, I’ve had no major issues. Resource-intensive apps may take slightly longer to load compared to flagship phones, but that’s about it. The company has also vowed to bring three years of Android updates to the Phone 1, which should help keep things secure and stable.
Cameras
Mat Smith / Engadget
If you‘ve been checking out many of our phone reviews over recent years, you’ll have noticed that multi-camera setups often include a dud – a monochrome sensor here, a 2-megapixel macro camera there. There’s a reason why the Pixel 6 and iPhone 13 are still capable of decent photography, despite “only” having two cameras – diminishing returns. This phone also has a dual-camera system. At this mid-range price, this is where things often go awry. But, thankfully, that’s not the case with the Nothing Phone 1.
Nothing has gone for Sony’s IMX766 sensor and combined it with f/1.9 lens with optical image stabilization. If you’re a smartphone obsessive, that might sound familiar, because that’s what you got on Oppo’s Find X3 Pro, a flagship Android phone from last year that was double the price of the Phone 1.
The secondary ultrawide camera uses a 50MP Samsung JN1 sensor with an f/2.2 lens. This doubles as a macro camera, but don’t expect incredible macro photography from a phone.
You can expect crisp images in good lighting, though. I’ve been impressed with the still quality from the Phone 1. There seem to be some image software tweaks here, but they’re relatively light. Comparing daylight shots from the Phone 1 against the Pixel 4a, Google’s seemed to offer more contrast, but it’s hard to call a winner between the two. Both offered up 12-megapixel images, so detail levels were generally a match, Nothing just seems to have gone for slightly more muted colors.
With brighter parts of the image, you will notice some chromatic aberrations: a purplish hue around those bright spots. Night-time photography is decent enough, with the usual night shooting mode in attendance. It didn’t best the top smartphones, but it was able to rescue a few lowlight shots that would have otherwise been a dark patchy mess. Despite the algorithms at work, results were a little noisy.
The Glyph Interface can also be used as a sort-of ring light, to illuminate nearby subjects without the oomph of a standard flash. It added a gentle, slightly blueish hue to photos when enabled. It’s a clever idea but the execution is a little lacking. If Nothing could offer finer color temperature controls, like many ring lights do, this could be genuinely useful.
The Nothing Phone 1's camera (L-R): With Glyph ring light, without flash, with flash.
Mat Smith / Engadget
The camera app offers all the usual imaging features of a phone in 2022: HDR, Portrait mode, timelapse and even an expert mode for finer controls over white balance, ISO and more. I found the basic photo mode more than versatile enough. The biggest limitation was the 2x zoom, which crops part of the image sensor. There’s some digital zoom thrown in if you’re desperate. I started to miss the more expansive telephoto options on other – usually more expensive – smartphones.
The Phone 1 can capture 4K video at 30FPS or 1080p at 60FPS. Video quality was smooth and serviceable. There’s a little bit of rolling shutter wobble when you’re panning around, and in lower light I noticed it hunting for focus if I was moving while recording. It also struggles to balance exposure between a pinkish sky at dusk and a darker street.
Wrap-up
Brian Oh / Engadget
At the Nothing Phone 1’s launch event, Carl Pei said that “stability [was] way more important than a ton of flashy features.” It was an odd choice of words when the biggest differentiator of your company’s new phone is literally a flashing feature.
The good news is that all this effort into how the phone looks – and it’s certainly eye-catching when the Glyphs light up – hasn’t been undone by wobbly software, mediocre cameras or disappointing build quality. It’s a competent Android phone.
The price, the style and the attention to detail are all impressive. Nothing is walking a fine line between gimmick and feature at times, but as a new company, it gets to do that. There’s no predecessor phone to replicate, and this goes in Nothing’s favor. Having said that, its biggest rival could be Google’s Pixel 6a, with a similar price point, and its own unique look.
This is a new phone from a new company, so I’ll be keeping an eye on this phone longer term. But, Nothing has made an impressive debut. Don’t believe all the hype, but the Phone makes a compelling argument for mid-range shoppers and anyone that wants a phone that looks different but does things pretty much the same.
The Hasbro Selfie Series is a collaboration between the toy maker and 3D printing specialists Formlabs, can customize an action figure with your own face.
You can scan your face with a smartphone and get a custom-made, look-a-like action figure with opposable limbs: AKA the dream. At launch, options include Star Wars X-Wing pilots, Ghostbusters, Power Rangers, Snake Eyes from GI Joe and a few more. The idea seems to have come from a comic-con competition that offered custom action figures for five winners.
You'll need to download Hasbro Pulse, the company's dedicated mobile app, and wait for the scan feature to open up closer to the expected ship date in the Fall. The six-inch, "collector-grade" figure will cost $60 (plus taxes). Unfortunately, the offering is only available to customers in the US. I wonder if the majority of figures ordered will have childrens’ faces, or their parents’?
The enterprise headset’s price will start at $3,299.
Magic Leap’s second-generation mixed-reality headset finally has a concrete commercial release date. Magic Leap 2 first made its way to a limited number of users last year as part of the company's early adopter program. Starting on September 30th, though, anybody who wants (and can afford) to get the headset in the US can buy one. It’ll launch in three editions, the cheapest of which is the Base headset meant for professionals and developers who just want access to the augmented reality platform. The edition can be used for full commercial deployments and production environments and will cost $3,299 with a one-year warranty.
It's counter-suing Match Group over in-app payments.
Earlier this year, Match sued Google alleging antitrust violations over a decision requiring all Android developers to process "digital goods and services" payments through the Play Store billing system.
Following the initial lawsuit in May, Google and Match reached a temporary agreement allowing Match to remain on the Play Store and use its own payments system. However, Google parent Alphabet claims that Match Group now wants to pay "nothing at all" to Google, including its 15 to 30 percent Play Store fees.
With watchOS 9, the company is bringing a robust slate of Workout updates, alongside new watch faces, redesigned apps and the ability to detect sleep zones. Thanks to the public beta, we’ve been able to take a closer look. We’re fascinated by the addition of cardio zones to the workout features. It might even be worth the risk involved in running beta software.
You'll get access to 'Marvel's Avengers' and a bunch more Assassin's Creed games too.
Sony has announced the first new batch of games for its higher PlayStation Plus tiers since it revamped the service. Extra and Premium subscribers will have access to Stray, a cyberpunk adventure game in which you play as a cat with a drone companion. It's the first time that a third-party title will be available on a higher PS Plus tier on its release date — something that happens on Microsoft's Game Pass a lot.
Sega is bringing the Genesis Mini 2 to North America on October 27th. The company previously said its latest retro console will go on sale in Japan on the same day (though it's correctly called the Mega Drive Mini 2 there). It will come with more than 50 games, including Sega CD titles. At the time of writing, the Amazon listing shows that the console will ship from Japan to the US for $103.80 plus a $22 delivery fee.
