We’re approaching spring-cleaning season, and tech sometimes needs a refresh, too. True wireless earbuds — and most wearable devices — can accumulate a worrying amount of dirt, oils and, well, detritus. So how do you clean them without breaking, damaging or scratching them? We made a guide for that, synthesizing official guidance from Apple, Samsung, Sony and the rest with real-world tips and cleaning tool recommendations.

The good thing is the more often you clean them, the less disgusting they’ll be. And don’t worry — no pictures of ear wax-caked buds. I know it’s early. No one wants to see that.

This week on the site, we’ve updated our robot vacuum guide, and we’ll be tackling how to recycle your old gadgets, how to clean and care for your displays and how to prep your grills for BBQ season.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Russia bans Instagram

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• How to stream every game of March Madness 2022

• Ford will introduce seven new EVs in Europe by 2024

• PlayStation will stream a 'Hogwarts Legacy' State of Play on March 17th

iPhone SE review (2022)

Small phone, powerful processor.

Engadget

Apple’s approach to making a more affordable iPhone has been to stuff premium processors into older cases. With the new iPhone SE, the company has stuck to that strategy. With a home button, substantial top and bottom bezels and rounded corners, it’s nearly identical to the 2020 model. And at this point, it’s starting to feel borderline retro. When basically all smartphones have done away with home buttons, this year’s iPhone SE feels anachronistic. However, it has Apple’s latest cutting-edge processor, the A15 Bionic, a surprisingly capable camera, and it’s just $429. Tempted? Read on for our full review.

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Apple’s iOS 15.4 comes with mask-friendly Face ID unlock

The company has also released iPadOS 15.4.

Apple has begun rolling out iOS 15.4. One of the most notable upgrades is the option to unlock your device while wearing a mask without needing to enter a passcode or use an Apple Watch. Once you've installed iOS 15.4, you need to activate it manually in the Face ID and Passcode section of the Settings menu.

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Twitter ditches its tabbed timeline mere days after rolling it out

"We heard you."

Just days after introducing a feature that made an algorithmically generated feed the default for iOS users, Twitter is changing things back to the way they were before. “We heard you,” the company said. “Some of you always want to see [the] latest tweets first. We’ve switched the timeline back and removed the tabbed experience for now while we explore other options.”

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CD sales rose for the first time in 17 years

The music industry made almost as much from CDs as digital downloads in 2021.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America's annual sales report, revenue from CDs grew by 21 percent to $584 million in 2021. That marked the first annual increase in CD revenue in the US since 2004. A lot of this may be due to how many record stores reopened and artists sold music at shows again after COVID-19 put everything on hold in 2020. However, CD sales were close to the totals for digital music sales. Sales for digital tunes dropped by 12 percent to $587 million — only $3 million more than CD revenue for 2021.

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'SNL' star Pete Davidson will be on Blue Origin's next spaceflight

Scheduled launch: Later this month.

Blue Origin's next crewed spaceflight is scheduled for March 23rd and, as reports suggested, Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson will be one of the passengers. It will be New Shepard's fourth flight with humans on board and its 20th overall. Davidson seems to be the famous face on this launch, following the likes of William Shatner and Good Morning America host Michael Strahan.

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Discovery will combine HBO Max and Discovery Plus following TimeWarner merger

The unified platform will launch sometime after the $43 billion deal closes.

Months after announcing their proposed $43 billion merger, WarnerMedia and Discovery have answered what will happen to HBO Max and Discovery Plus once they form the imaginatively named Warner Bros. Discovery. Discovery Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels said the company plans to combine the two platforms into one unified streaming service. Wiedenfels said he expects it’ll take a few months for Warner Bros. Discovery to “do it in a way that’s actually a great user experience for our subscribers.” In the meantime, HBO Max and Discovery Plus customers should expect at least some form of bundling.

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Kawasaki made a rideable robotic goat

I won’t be taking questions at this time. Thank you.

Kawasaki

Bex can carry approximately 220 pounds of cargo. Or human.

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It didn’t take long for wireless earbuds to become ubiquitous. Apple’s AirPods launched back in September 2016, joining notable true wireless headphones from Jabra, Sony, Samsung, and others. A few years later, they’re the go-to choice for many of us when listening to music, podcasts and streaming services on our phones and tablets.

However, because we use them so often, wireless earbuds can quickly get dirty. They will come into contact with ear wax, oils and skin cells. Hygiene aside, you should clean your earbuds (and their charging case) because it may result in better-sounding, longer-lasting headphones. Always use the gentlest cleaning equipment before going ham with rubbing alcohol or a metallic tool. Doing so will reduce the chances of damaging your headphones' often glossy plastic casing and lessen the chances of damaging the delicate membranes that many buds (and some eartips) have. I speak from experience, having perforated two AirPod membranes due to over-enthusiastic cleaning. Even when removing the tips, take care: With Sony’s WF-1000XM4, you need to twist and pull them off. Just follow the manufacturers’ guidance (we list several guides below), along with our best tips below.

How to clean your wireless earbuds

Mat Smith/Engadget

The cleaning process differs depending on what kind of buds you have. First, there are wireless earbuds with removable silicone (or plastic) buds, like the Galaxy Buds, Sony’s WF-1000XM4 buds or most Beats buds, and several models with a single solid body, like Apple’s original AirPods.

The main difference is that the detachable tips are easier to deep clean. They are also replaceable and spare tips often come in-box. You can also use soapy water or other mild cleaning products on particularly messy tips without fear of damaging the electrical parts of your headphones.

Wipe down the earbuds and removable tips with a microfiber cloth. As most wireless buds are stored in a case, you may find that dirt from the tips has shifted to the headphones too. Apple says you can use “70-percent isopropyl alcohol wipe, 75-percent ethyl alcohol wipe or disinfectant wipes” to clean the exterior of its wireless headphones, but advises that you shouldn’t use wet wipes on the speaker mesh parts of the AirPods. Samsung’s guidance sticks to soft dry clothes and cotton swabs.

Remove the tips, and gently trace the inside of each bud with cotton swab, or a toothpick if you need something thinner. If any detritus sticks around, upgrade to a metal loop on the end of an earphone cleaning tool, but just go carefully. Metallic objects are more likely to scratch and pierce things. The cleaning tool also has a brush at the other end to pull out any loose dirt. Once clear, wipe the sides of the tips with a slightly damp cloth.

The AirPods Pro tips each have a delicate mesh membrane, making it easier to clean than membranes on the headphones themselves, but they’re also fragile. Apple itself advises that you can rinse the tips with water, adding you shouldn’t use soap or other cleaning products on them. If you do use a damp cloth or rinse them, make sure to set them on a dry cloth and let them dry completely before reattaching them.

Apple advises using cotton swabs or a dry cloth for the microphone and speaker mesh parts of the AirPods. You can also use a bulb air blower, which should provide a mild amount of force to dislodge dirt without harming electrics. However, while it might be stronger, don’t use canned air. Sony says this can force dust further into the microphone or sound outlet holes.

How to clean your wireless earbuds' charging case

Mat Smith/Engadget

You might find that your charging case is in a worse state than your buds. With deep crevices to pick up dirt from your buds when they’re charging, the case can also pick up pocket-lint from being in, well, pockets and your bag. These cases typically use metal contacts to connect to and charge the buds, so any build-up of dirt or earwax can actually affect recharging your headphones. It pays to keep those charging contacts clean. A soft cloth, or a cotton swab for more difficult-to-reach locations, should be able to capture anything blocking your buds from charging. You could also use a bit of air from a bulb air blower – I find the ones with a brush attached are perfect for this.

For both the earbuds and the case, you can use a thin toothpick to pull away any grime or wax trapped in the seams of the device. Most earbuds are molded plastic, but some have edges and lines that collect dirt together.

How to keep your wireless earbuds clean

Now your buds are looking pristine, try to keep them looking that way. If you’re using your AirPods or Galaxy Buds during your workouts, wipe them down with a cloth afterward to reduce the chances of moisture getting inside. The more frequently you check on the state of your wireless earbuds, the easier they are to clean.

We’ll finish this guide with a little bit of digital hygiene: make sure any companion TWE apps are up-to-date. These updates can sometimes add notable new features or improve performance. Your smartphone will usually transmit firmware updates to your earbuds automatically after OS and app updates, so make sure you keep them nearby to your phone. This is especially true with iPhones and AirPods, which will not notify you when firmware updates are available. Check that you’ve got the latest version of the firmware in iOS settings (you probably do), and if it’s not up-to-date, make sure both your iPhone and AirPods are plugged into power and (crucially) near each other. The update should be beamed to the AirPods pretty quickly, but you can also leave the devices next to each other overnight to ensure the update happens.

As Apple’s new powerful mini-desktop, the Mac Studio, arrives, Intel’s very own series of tiny desktop PCs, the humble NUC, has reappeared.

Engadget

The NUC 12 Extreme is basically a slightly upgraded version of last year's NUC 11 Extreme, which was notable for being the first of its kind that could fit a full-sized desktop graphics card. Now it has Intel’s hybrid 12th-gen desktop processors, which promise to be a huge upgrade over last year's CPUs. The NUC 12 Extreme may not be as tiny as previous models, but it can fit in a full-sized desktop GPU. There is some groundwork you’d have to do yourself, like adding your own RAM, SSD and GPU, but it can also be easily upgraded over time. Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar was impressed. Read his full review here.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Feast your eyes on the new green iPhone 13 and 13 Pro | Engadget

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• 'WeCrashed' on AppleTV+ promises the world, but delivers very little

• Google's second-gen Nest Hub falls to just $55

'Chrono Trigger' just got an update for ultrawide PC screens

The game’s almost 30 years old.

Earlier this week, Square Enix updated the Steam version of Chrono Trigger for the first time in four years. It adds support for 21:9 resolutions, “improved” D-pad controls and a handful of other quality of life changes. The addition of ultrawide screen support is particularly notable since it’s pretty rare. For instance, 2022’s Elden Ring doesn’t come with native 21:9 support.

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Samsung's next Galaxy phone event is on March 17th

Think A series, not foldables.

Engadget

Samsung has started sending out invitations to the Galaxy A Event, where it’ll unveil its latest mid-range smartphones. The tech giant introduced the Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72 on the same day last year. Samsung isn’t stopping: This comes just over a month after the company launched its flagship Galaxy S22 series.

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Apple stops selling LG's $1,299 UltraFine 5K Display

Because the company announced its own Studio Display.

Days after discontinuing the 27-inch iMac, Apple has also stopped selling one of LG’s UltraFine displays. If you visit the company’s website, it no longer lists the 27-inch 5K model that retailed for $1,299 before its removal. LG has seemingly stopped selling the monitor as well, with its website indicating it’s “out of stock.”

Unsurprisingly, the 27-inch model’s removal from the Apple Store comes in the same week Apple announced its new Studio Display. Starting at $1,599, the monitor features a 5K retina panel with P3 wide color gamut coverage and 600 nits of brightness. It’s also 27 inches.

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Engadget Podcast: Apple goes Super Ultra

We dive into the iPhone SE, M1 Ultra and Mac Studio.

Engadget

In Friday’s episode, Cherlynn and Devindra dive into all the news from Apple’s first 2022 event. They talk about the iPhone SE, the new iPad Air and discuss who exactly the Mac Studio is aimed at. Not to mention the latest on Android 12L, the Magic Leap 2 and fond memories of illicit filesharing services.

Listen here.

The Nintendo theme park experience is headed to the US. Universal Studios Hollywood announced Super Nintendo World — a ride and interactive area in the style of the Super Mario game series — will debut at the California theme park in 2023.

Nintendo’s debut park in Osaka was delayed by nearly a year due to the pandemic, opening to limited numbers in March 2021.

For the US spin, fans can expect an interactive area, a special themed ride and themed shopping and dining — because the park has to make money, right? Like the Osaka iteration, Super Nintendo World will be an expansion of the current Universal Studios Hollywood, marking the first major expansion of the Hollywood park since the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was added in 2016. If your heart is still set on seeing the Japanese original, it will be getting a Donkey Kong expansion in 2024.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Google's latest Android Messages updates include iOS reactions and YouTube previews

• The best mobile microphones you can buy, plus how to pick one

• Apple's 5K Studio Display should support Windows, including the webcam and speakers

• Android update offers voice pay for parking and offline live transcriptions

• 'Valkyrie Elysium' is an action-RPG sequel to PS1's 'Valkyrie Profile'

'Call of Duty: Warzone' is coming to mobile

Activision is currently hiring for new roles to build the game.

Call of Duty: Warzone, the free-to-play battle royale, will soon have a mobile version. In a tweet, the game’s publisher, Activision, announced it was hiring for a slate of new mobile roles. It’s not the first CoD title adapted for mobile — Activision released the kinda-OK Call of Duty: Mobile in 2019.

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Ford’s 2022 Maverick pickup is perfect for nerds

Low cost, 3D printing and customization.

Engadget

The only problem is that EVs are pricey. So why not embrace a hybrid that also happens to be a small truck with a very impressive starting price? The 2022 Ford Maverick starts at $20,000 and ships with a hybrid powertrain that delivers up to 42 MPG. In addition to being a truck, it has a bed built for customization. Plus, thanks to makers like Robert Trapp, the FITS (Ford Integrated Tether System) already has 3D designs for printing or manipulation. It’s relatively cheap, customizable and a hybrid. Roberto Baldwin gives it a test drive.

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NVIDIA's high-end GeForce Now streaming tier is available on a monthly plan

It costs $20 per month or $100 for six months.

There's finally a month-to-month payment option for GeForce Now RTX 3080. Before, NVIDIA only offered six months of access for $100. Now, it costs $20 per month to try that tier. That lowers the barrier to entry, though you'll save more in the long run with the six-month plan. Expect 1440p resolution gaming with ray-tracing at up to 120 fps on Mac and PC and 4K HDR resolution at 60 fps on NVIDIA Shield.

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Red Rocks Amphitheater will no longer use Amazon's palm-scanning tech

Activists and artists pressured Denver Arts and Venues to stop using the system.

Red Rocks Amphitheater, one of the most recognizable concert venues in the US, no longer plans to use Amazon’s palm scanning technology for ticketless entry. Activists and artists including Fight for the Future, Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) and Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill) pressured Denver Arts and Venues to refrain from using Amazon One at the venues it manages.

Those who signed an open letter cited concerns about Amazon sharing palmprint data with government agencies that seek to track marginalized people and activists.

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Samsung adds performance throttling controls to the Galaxy S22

They're only available in South Korea for now.

Users on Samsung's Korean community forums are receiving an update for the Galaxy S22 series that adds a "Game Performance Management Mode" to Game Booster. The release should let users override the throttling feature and wring more speed out of the flagship phones, at least so long as they're willing to accept reduced battery life.

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DuckDuckGo reverses course, will demote Russian propaganda in search results

The founder said he is “sickened” by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The search engine DuckDuckGo will down-rank sites that spread Russian propaganda and disinformation. Founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg tweeted that the privacy-focused search engine would be releasing updates to ensure Russian disinformation sites rank further down in search results. Earlier this month, DuckDuckGo announced it would pause its relationship with Russian-state-owned search engine Yandex.

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Razer’s Seiren lapel mic works over Bluetooth

It’s made for streamers on the move.

Razer

Razer’s Seiren Bluetooth lapel microphone packs an omnidirectional mic and AI-based noise suppression. The lapel mic includes a 3.5mm jack for monitoring through headphones, and you can customize it through the Razer Streaming App to tweak the noise suppression level, making for a pretty compelling mobile mic experience, at least on paper.

The Seiren Bluetooth is available for $100 and should work with "all" phones as well as common streaming apps like Streamlabs, Twitch and YouTube.

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He’s a little late to the party, but President Biden has detailed the country's first "whole-of-government" strategy for exploring cryptocurrency and other digital assets. Officials at multiple bureaus will explore the risks and potential advantages of crypto.

US regulators have been chasing improved legal clarity on crypto since last year. The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) previously shared a roadmap focused on the legal status of stablecoin releases and crypto being logged on company balance sheets.

According to Biden’s executive order, the Treasury Department will recommend policies to protect people and businesses, as well as regulations to protect against "systemic financial risks." The most intriguing part of the order may be the possibility of a central bank-backed digital currency. It’s still early days for now.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Toddlers have a gamer chair now, thanks VTech

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• It takes two pounds of extra cooling to keep the M1 Ultra Mac Studio from frying

• Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 devices are up to $75 off at Amazon

• 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' trailer teases Pike's stint on the Enterprise

• Amazon is offering Whole Foods jobs to grocery delivery contractors

'Mar10 Day' sales knock up to 83 percent off Nintendo Switch titles

'Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle' is a mere $10.

Nintendo’s favorite day for gaming discounts is back, and Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, one of our recent all-time faves for the Nintendo Switch, is only $40. Also up for grabs at the same price are the must-have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, 2019's Luigi’s Mansion 3, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury and Yoshi's Crafted World. That’s a lot of Mario. Mamma mia. (I regret nothing.)

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Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz EV: The hippie bus reborn

VW's newest electric vehicle will seat five people.

VW

Nearly 75 years since the first Volkswagen Type 2 rolled off its assembly line and into the annals of Americana as an icon of 1960’s counterculture, VW is re-releasing the emblematic vehicle — this time as a full EV.

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LimeWire is back!

…. but as an NFT marketplace.

In May, LimeWire is relaunching as a “mainstream-ready, digital collectibles marketplace for art and entertainment, initially focusing on music.” Its backers believe it’ll be a place for artists and fans to create and sell digital trinkets without the “technical hurdles of the current NFT landscape.” If you remember LimeWire, from the era before Spotify, iTunes and the rest, you’ll know this new direction has nothing to do with what the network once was — an often-not-legal filesharing service.

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Patient dies two months after groundbreaking pig heart transplant

It's unclear if his body rejected the organ.

David Bennett, the first human to successfully undergo a heart transplant involving a genetically modified pig heart, has died, aged 57. It’s unclear if his body rejected the organ doctors implanted in January. “There was no obvious cause identified at the time of his death,” a spokesperson for the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Even if doctors determine the cause of death was organ rejection, it remains a groundbreaking milestone. Stephanie Fae Beauclair, one of the most famous patients to undergo a xenotransplantation procedure, survived 21 days before her body rejected her adopted baboon heart. 

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Finally, watch the 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' teaser trailer

The Disney+ series debuts May 25th.

Disney

Disney+ has released an Obi-Wan Kenobi teaser trailer that documents the Jedi's life on Tatooine as he avoids the Empire and protects a young Luke Skywalker.

Watch here.

Elon Musk wants to reverse his $20 million SEC settlement

The Tesla chief claims the SEC is overstepping.

Musk has asked a federal court to terminate his 2018 $20 million settlement with the SEC over claims the regulator both pressured him into an agreement and overstepped its limits. Musk felt "forced" to sign the consent decree at a time when Tesla's financial health was at risk, according to the memorandum of law sent to the court.

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Apple events can sometimes fizzle out. Besides the ceremony of a new iPhone series each year, it’s a little harder to get excited for Macs and iPads with slightly better chips and minor design tweaks. We saw a splash of color and some redesigns in the last year, but this March event was packed with devices for elements of the Apple audience that aren’t always catered for. For them, this might be an important Apple reveal.

I say this in hushed tones as a phone guy, but the Mac Studio could be the standout. It’s a pro-level desktop built to showcase Apple’s most powerful chip, the new M1 Ultra. The company says its new desktop runs up to 60 percent faster than a Mac Pro with its 28-core Intel processor. Also, counter to some of its laptops, it’s filled with ports. There are four Thunderbolt 4 connections, two USB-A ports, HDMI and 10Gbps Ethernet. Also! There’s an SD card slot and two additional USB-C connectors on the front of the computer. The bad news might be that it starts at $2,000, but it still isn’t quite the Mac Pro beast some creatives are waiting on. That's "for another day," according to Apple. Oh, and there’s a new display to go with it.

At the other end of the scale, the iPhone SE makes a return. And it’s still got a home button. This means it looks like its predecessor, mostly. However, it’s now got 5G (welcome to 2022) and an updated quad-core A15 Bionic processor — the same processor as Apple’s iPhone 13 series, but now in a phone that costs $429. Finally, Apple’s iPad Air also sticks to its 2020 redesign. It has a new front-facing camera sensor and, like the 2021 iPad Pro, features Apple’s M1 chip.

We go into finer detail below, or if you need a swift overview, we’ve pulled all the bullet points together right here.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Itch.io's $10 bundle with almost 1,000 games will benefit charities helping Ukraine

• Google is buying cybersecurity company Mandiant for $5.4 billion

• Apple discontinues the 27-inch iMac

• The new iPhone SE vs. the competition

• Apple's Mac Studio is a tiny pro-level desktop powered by M1 Ultra

• The new iPad Air gets a big performance boost with Apple’s M1 chip

• AMD vows to fix Ryzen chip stuttering issues on Windows with new update

The new iPhone SE adds 5G but keeps the home button

Apple's budget-friendly phone looks exactly like its predecessor.

Apple

As I mentioned in the intro, there are no major design shakeups here. The new iPhone SE is a more affordable version of the flagship range, now packing an A15 Bionic processor, some new camera tricks (despite the single lens) and a familiar home button. With the upgraded internals (including power efficiencies from iOS 15), Apple says we’ll see better battery life performance compared to the last model. The 4.7-inch screen is covered with what Apple calls the "toughest glass in a smartphone on both the front and back."

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Apple unveils its most powerful chip yet, the M1 Ultra

It's basically two M1 Max chips fused together.

Following the M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max, Apple is adding a new member to the family: the M1 Ultra. The M1 Ultra is essentially two M1 Max chips put together, making it even better for intensive creative applications like video editing and 3D rendering. Apple says the M1 Max chips feature a die-to-die interconnect, dubbed UltraFusion, and its specs are basically what happens when you sandwich two M1 Max chips: the Ultra features a 20-core CPU (16 high-performance and 4 high-efficiency cores) and a 64-core GPU. Apple says it should offer up to eight times faster graphics than the original M1 chip.

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Apple announces the 27-inch 5K Studio Display for Mac Studio

It starts at $1,599.

Apple

As expected, Apple is adding a new display to its product lineup. The Apple Studio Display is a standalone monitor with a 5K retina panel with 14.7 million pixels, 600 nits of brightness and P3 wide color gamut coverage. It’s more for work, less for gaming, topping out at a 60Hz refresh rate. We’re sure Apple thinks it’d go really nicely with a new Mac Studio desktop.

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Gogoro unveils the first swappable solid-state EV battery

Electric scooters could deliver more range without bigger batteries.

Some Apple respite. Gogoro, best known for its scooters and charging stations, has announced what it claims is the world's first swappable solid-state EV battery. Using solid-state batteries, the lithium ceramic prototype is compatible with Gogoro's current scooters but should deliver a much higher capacity — the two companies are targeting 2.5kWh versus the 1.7kWh of existing hardware. The end result is greater range and improved safety.

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Eargo 6 review: Tiny hearing aids that don't scrimp on features

It’s closing in on the incumbents.

Engadget

In the world of hearing aids, Eargo stands out. The company operates more like a technology company than a slow, plodding medical-device provider — it has a rapid annual release cycle more similar to Apple, Samsung and the rest. In version 6, it’s added customizable sound profiles, as well as sound adjustment features to help make the Eargo better fit with your own hearing levels and preferences.

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When it announced the Android 12L beta in October, Google promised the software for larger screens would be ready early this year. It’s not here just yet, but the company still expects it to land in 2022. And while we don’t have device specifics, we could see existing devices like the Galaxy Z Fold, Z Flip and Surface Duo pick up the new interface, adding features like home and lock screens optimized for larger displays. 

Engadget

Android has long faced criticism for still being an unintuitive system for tablets, leading to a dearth in real competition for Apple's iPads — Samsung’s efforts aside. But hey, at least with Android 12L, Google is trying to make it better. Are you an unloved Android tablet user who's intrigued? We tested the Android 12L beta here.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• After Apple’s big March event, watch our post-match analysis here!

• What to expect from Apple's Peek Performance event

• AI discovery could advance the treatment of spinal cord injuries

• Google says the latest Chrome on Mac outperforms Safari

• How Telegram found itself at the heart of the Ukrainian conflict

• Ubisoft and Take-Two are the latest game companies to halt sales in Russia

• UAE's Hope probe tracked a massive dust storm across Mars

• Apple TV+ is now available on Comcast Xfinity

• Engadget Deals: Sony's best ANC headphones are up to 46 percent off right now

Samsung confirms hackers compromised its systems and stole Galaxy source code

South American hacking group Lapsus$ previously claimed responsibility.

Samsung confirmed yesterday some of its data was stolen during a cyberattack over the weekend. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company admitted "some source code relating to the operation of Galaxy devices" was taken, but customer and employee credentials were not impacted. Although Samsung has not revealed the actors behind the compromise, South American hacking group Lapsus$ has claimed responsibility. The organization shared a 190GB torrent file that reportedly includes bootloader source code for all of Samsung's recent devices, as well as code related to biometric authentication and on-device encryption for Galaxy devices.

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Kia's 2022 Sorento plug-in is no Telluride

But it's still a posh SUV.

KIA

Kia's 2022 Sorento plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is a capable mid-size SUV with some hybrid pep, three rows of seats and a slightly ho-hum aesthetic. It suffers a little from comparisons to the Telluride, Kia's larger and far more fashionable family SUV. The Sorento is decidedly more basic, but with plenty of charm. Devindra Hardawar test drove it for a bit.

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Cities turn to tech to keep sewers free of fatbergs

These pipe-blocking globs can outweigh an elephant.

It’s a little early to go into too much detail on fatbergs, but once you’ve had your coffee and are fully awake, this is an intriguing insight into how cities are fighting the issue, exacerbated by the boom in wet wipes over the years. Weapons to tackle them include high-pressure water cannons, remote-operated cameras and even sonar tech.

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'God of War' might also get a TV series adaptation

‘The Last of Us’ is already on its way.

SIE

Amazon Studios and Sony’s PlayStation Productions unit are in talks to produce a live-action TV series adaptation of God of War, according to Deadline. The outlet reports that Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, best known for their work on The Expanse and Children of Men, are involved in the project.

In case you’re not keeping count, Sony’s recently established PlayStation Productions unit is already working with HBO to produce a TV series based on Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us. It’s also working on a Ghost of Tsushima movie and a Twisted Metal series that will stream on Peacock. There was also that Uncharted movie. Ahem.

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Apple is holding its first virtual event of the year on March 8th, and to be honest, I’ve heard rumors about this date for weeks. And don’t get me started on the leaky product selection expected to debut tomorrow at 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT / 6 PM GMT.

Engadget

The first major announcement is likely to be a new iPhone SE, Apple’s cheapest iPhone, packing 5G. Will it catch up, design-wise, with the rest of the iPhone family? We’re not sure, but it could still have a home button, if that’s what you’re hoping for. That might be the only throwback — we expect it to have the same A15 Bionic chip as the iPhone 13 lineup.

It’s also time for a new iPad Air, currently the oldest iPad in Apple’s lineup. Although, it’s not that old, really; it was completely redesigned back in 2020.

That’s not all we’re likely to see, however. A report yesterday suggested we could also get a new external display from Apple. Check out our full preview right here.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Engadget Podcast: A not-so Mobile World Congress 2022

• Musk says Starlink won't block Russian media outlets 'unless at gunpoint'

• Keyboard and mouse support is coming to Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming service

• Sony's best ANC headphones are up to 46 percent off right now

• Halo Infinite's campaign co-op won't land with season two

• Audi's RS E-Tron GT makes the case for EVs on ice

• Hitting the Books: How Mildred Dresselhaus' research proved we had graphite all wrong

Netflix stops streaming in Russia

The company had previously halted production on several projects in the country.

Netflix has suspended its streaming service in Russia: “Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia,” a spokesperson for Netflix told CNBC. Over the weekend, even more companies have pulled services or product sales from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Activision Blizzard and Epic have both halted game sales, TikTok has suspended parts of its service in the country and PayPal has frozen payments and services, too. But it’s gone both ways: Before the weekend, Russia cut access to Facebook and Twitter for its citizens.

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Brandon Sanderson's secret novels break Pebble's Kickstarter crowdfunding record

The campaign has already made over $20.4 million.

After half a decade, a new Kickstarter campaign has finally eclipsed Pebble's crowdfunding record. Fantasy auth…well-established fantasy author Brandon Sanderson set up a campaign to raise $1 million in 30 days to fund four secret books he intends to release next year. It didn't take 30 days to blow past that goal, though — it took only 35 minutes. The author told The New York Times that one of his objectives for launching this project is to see what it would be like to challenge Amazon. It dominates the printed book and ebook market and apparently accounts for 80 percent of Sanderson's sales.

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Nintendo's Switch is about to hit its prime

Just maybe not its 'Metroid Prime.'

Nintendo

As the Switch reaches five years old, are its best times behind it? No, quite the opposite. This year is shaping up to be the biggest for Nintendo’s hybrid hit console. The company has new Pokémon, new Zelda and new Bayonetta games inbound, not to mention Switch Sports, a new Xenoblade title and a whole lot more planned for 2022.

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Hackers may have obtained 190GB of sensitive data from Samsung

The company says it's assessing the situation.

Some of Samsung’s confidential data has reportedly leaked due to a suspected cyberattack. On Friday, South American hacking group Lapsus$ uploaded a trove of data it claims came from the smartphone manufacturer. The collective says it obtained code related to highly sensitive features, like biometric authentication and on-device encryption, as well confidential data from Qualcomm. If the contents of the leak are accurate, they could cause significant damage to Samsung.

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As the Switch reaches five years old, are its best times behind it? No, the opposite. This year is shaping up to be the biggest for Nintendo’s hybrid hit. Yes, I mean even bigger than its debut year, which gave us Super Mario Odyssey, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Mario + Rabbids and Splatoon 2.

So far, we’ve seen Pokémon Legends: Arceus in January, but that’s just the start of the Pokémon hype train on Switch. Nintendo also announced that a new generation of mainline Pokémon games, Violet and Scarlet, is coming to the console in “Late 2022.” 

The Pokemon Company

There aren’t many details, but we’re being promised an open-world adventure, which could mean a new Pokémon game that balances the traditional franchise parts of Sword and Shield with some of the more interesting choices made in Arceus. Also, weed cat.

A fresh Pokémon generation rounds off a lineup of major games (both from Nintendo and its partners) that makes 2022 a year packed with hugely anticipated titles. It starts now: Kirby and the Forgotten Land launches in a few weeks on March 25th.

The big one, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, is still set for a 2022 release, according to Nintendo. An outright sequel is a surprise for the Zelda series and will be set in the same open world of the original. Judging from the teaser trailers so far, the game appears to expand gameplay to the skies above Hyrule, with Link plummeting from the sky in one of the latest teaser trailers. (Something he’s done before in Skyward Sword – also now available on Switch.)

There are more sequels to games that set the tone at launch too. Splatoon 3 is coming this summer, offering more of the same family-friendly multiplayer inky shooter fun. There’s also Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope – a sequel to Mario + Rabbids – a game that shouldn’t have worked, but did. It combined the Mushroom Kingdom and Mario with Ubisoft’s (pretty annoying) Rabbids and wrapped the whole proposition in surprisingly tight XCOM turn-based strategy gameplay. Sparks of Hope is likely to give us more of the same, but with extra characters, weapons and whatever else happens when two franchises clash.

The longest-running wait for a sequel has to be the Switch-exclusive Bayonetta 3. It was first announced back in 2017. Then we heard nothing. Then we complained after E3. Then a month later, a Nintendo Direct broadcast confirmed that Bayonetta 3 did indeed still exist and will be released in 2022. It offers a more mature flavor of action for the console, something that Nintendo hardware has often missed out on in the past.

Beyond the Nintendo mainstays and highly anticipated sequels, there’s more to get excited about, too. I’m a huge Advance Wars fan, and I’m still waiting on Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp to arrive this April. No Man’s Sky is also, somehow, being crammed into the Switch, while an Oxenfree sequel, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Nintendo Switch Sports, a new Mario Strikers title, Fall Guys and, I hope at least, Hollow Knight: Silksong ensure there should be something for everyone, along with the inevitable Zelda sequel purchase.

Pessimists will argue that Nintendo has a reputation for pushing back its promised release dates and, well, that’s happened a few times. Nintendo, like many companies, faced production delays during these ‘unprecedented times’, but in its latest financial reports, both the Zelda sequel and Bayonetta 3 are still listed as “primary” launch titles for the Switch this year.

Just… forget about Metroid Prime 4 for this year. Your guess is as good as mine.

Nintendo’s return to form, after the miss that was the Wii U, has been impressive. The Switch, equal parts home console and handheld, has been a huge hit for the company and recently surpassed the Wii to become Nintendo’s best-selling console. The hardware — underpowered in specs compared to the competition — has proved flexible and powerful enough, and Nintendo has crushed it with the games. With Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which landed shortly after the console launched, players got not only the best Zelda game in years but arguably (don't come for me) the best Zelda game. Period.

To celebrate its fifth birthday, we’ve pulled together the best games that have cemented the Switch as the versatile, family-friendly console that’s still going strong. Who needs a Switch Pro?

(Me, I do.)

— Mat Smith

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'Star Trek: Picard' enters the 25th century only to promptly ignore it

This season is for all those time-travel fans.

Paramount

The first season of Picard was controversial, to say the least. Many fans were happy to see old friends again; others weren’t so thrilled at the bleak future of Starfleet and the Federation. So Star Trek did what Star Trek does: time travel! Our early preview contains moderate spoilers for the first three episodes of Star Trek: Picard season two.

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Another Netflix production was robbed, this time on the set of 'Lupin'

Twenty masked thieves reportedly made off with $330,000 worth of equipment.

Netflix has been the victim of two big on-set robberies in two days. On February 24th, $200,000 worth of antique props were reportedly stolen after thieves broke into vehicles used for production of The Crown. And just a day later, 20 thieves with covered faces broke on to the set of Lupin, in a northwest Paris suburb. The thieves apparently set off mortar-style fireworks before making off with the equipment.

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Samsung may be throttling apps to save battery life on Galaxy phones

The company says it’s looking into reports.

Samsung may have limited the performance of a large number of apps on its Galaxy smartphones. There are claims it’s been using something called the Game Optimizing Service (GOS) to throttle up to 10,000 apps (likely to save battery life), including many that have nothing to do with gaming, like Netflix, TikTok and, er, Microsoft Office. However, it isn’t throttling benchmarking apps.

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A 'molecular drinks printer' claims to make anything from iced coffee to cocktails

Thousands of beverages at the press of a touchscreen.

Cana

A company called Cana has revealed what it's calling the planet's first "molecular beverage printer." The idea is that, using a single cartridge of flavorings, the machine can mix one of thousands of beverages, including juice, soft drinks, iced coffee, sports drinks, wine and cocktails. The notion seems to be it can manufacture most drinks from a water base, adding in what differentiates orange juice from, say, a latte. The system uses a "novel microfluidic liquid dispense technology" to mix the beverages. The pricing is unusual, too. After paying for the machine (early adopters can bag one for $499), you have to pay for each drink. Each costs between 29 cents and $3, though Cana claims the average price will be lower than bottled beverages at retailers.

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