Even among 2-in-1 PCs, Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio offers a unique blend of performance and adaptability. But now on the second model, thanks to refreshed specs plus the addition of a USB-A port and a microSD card reader, it feels like Microsoft has given its mobile workstation the finishing touches it needed all along, resulting in what may be the ultimate all-rounder. Unfortunately with a high starting price and costly upgrades for more RAM and a discrete GPU, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 is hard to recommend for everyone.

Design: Funky but functional

Francis Bacon once said “There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion,” which is a sentiment that feels applicable to the Surface Laptop Studio 2. It features a minimalist aluminum chassis (instead of the magnesium frame on the previous model) but in a somewhat unconventional configuration. The laptop’s lid is divided into two halves, which allows the screen to pivot 180 degrees or tilt down into an easel. Meanwhile, its base features a two-tiered design that allows the laptop to keep its vents away from the sides of the system while also providing a hidden magnetic charging spot for a Surface Slim Pen 2 (which sadly, is not included).

The two biggest changes to the Studio 2’s design are the addition of the USB-A port and a microSD card slot. When combined with the existing dual USB-C jacks, you get a solid range of connectivity options. It means you can transfer files from a camera directly to the laptop and you’ll rarely (if ever) have to worry about carrying around extra dongles for peripherals. That said, Surface Laptop Studio 2’s slightly thicker chassis (but only by one or two millimeters) and the change to aluminum does mean an extra third of a pound in weight (4.18 pounds with integrated graphics or 4.37 with a discrete GPU).

Display: Vivid from any angle

The Surface Laptop Studio 2’s screen hasn’t changed much from the previous model, but that’s not a bad thing. Its 14.4-inch panel features the same 2,400 x 1,600 resolution, along with a dynamic refresh rate that can switch between 60Hz and 120Hz depending on what you’re looking at. However, brightness is a touch better at around 500 nits, or 650 nits with HDR turned on. And you still get full Windows Inking support with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Performance: More than enough power, but it’ll cost you

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

For the new model, Microsoft streamlined the Surface Laptop Studio 2’s specs by offering a single processor across every config: an Intel Core i7-13700H. From there you can choose a base model with integrated graphics or upgrade to one with either an RTX 4050 or RTX 4060 GPU. The annoying thing is that, to get that 4060, you also have to get 64GB of RAM, which is overkill for most people. That’s unfortunate because that config costs $3,300. An option with only 32GB of RAM and a lower cost would be appreciated.

That said, it’s hard to complain about its actual performance. The Surface Laptop Studio 2 kept pace with similarly specced gaming laptops including the MSI Stealth 14 Studio and Razer Blade 18 across both benchmarks and real-world tests. While it’s not meant to be a dedicated gaming rig, it also hit 62 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1920 x 1200 with high graphics and ray tracing set to ultra (though that is with NVIDIA’s DLSS turned on).

Battery Life: Surprisingly decent

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Even with a discrete GPU, the Surface Laptop Studio 2’s longevity is closer to a standard ultraportable than more short-lived gaming notebooks. On PCMark 10’s OpenOffice battery rundown test, it lasted eight hours and 40 minutes. That’s three hours more than both the MSI Stealth 14 Studio and the Razer Blade 16, which lasted 5:19 and 5:10, respectively. However, more typical ultraportables like ASUS’ Zenbook S 13 fared even better with a time of 10:39.

Wrap-up

The two major knocks against the Surface Laptop Studio 2 are its price and limited configurations that top out with NVIDIA RTX 4060 graphics, which makes it feel more like a great all-rounder than an all-out mobile powerhouse. While there’s no defending its cost, I’m not as bothered by the latter, because there’s a lot of value in a system that offers unmatched adaptability.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

With its innovative design, brilliant display, above-average battery life and improved connectivity, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 can handle a lot of different assignments with ease. It’s a great system for editing photos and videos, and stylus support makes drawing or taking notes a delight. When you factor in the excellent keyboard, Windows Hello IR cameras and one of best touchpads on a Windows laptop today (courtesy of Sensel), you get an incredibly versatile mobile workstation. And if we revisit that classic line from Shakespeare, “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one,” which is precisely what we have here with the Surface Laptop Studio 2. I just wish it was a bit cheaper.

On Monday at its “Scary Fast” event, Apple announced an updated line of 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros featuring a range of new M3 chips and Space Black chassis.

Compared to a similarly specced M2 model, a base M3 14-inch MacBook Pro will now start at $1,599 ($400 less than its predecessor) with prices going up from there for configurations with M3 Pro or M3 Max processors. Meanwhile, a base 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro chip will have the same $2,499 starting price as its M2 Pro-equipped predecessor.

The fresh Space Black color option–which looks more like a matte charcoal gray in person–will be available on both 14- and 16-inch systems with M3 Pro and M3 Max chips and helps hide fingerprints better than the classic silver models. The rest of the laptops’ hardware will remain largely the same including features such as Apple’s 1080p FaceTime cameras and six-speaker sound systems. The one small change is that the Liquid Retina XDR displays on the new M3 MacBook Pros can now display SDR content 20 percent brighter than before with peaks of 600 nits (up from 500 nits on the previous generation).

Apple

That said, thanks to the new M3 chips, these refreshed MBPs should have some very notable boosts in performance. In general use, Apple claims a 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro is 60 percent faster than a 13-inch M1 model while still offering up to 22 hours of battery life. And if you move up to a laptop with an M3 Pro chip, you’re looking at 40 percent faster performance than an equivalent M1 Pro MBP. Finally, 14- and 16-inch M3 Max systems will support up to a massive 128GB of unified memory for improved workflows in apps like MATLAB, DaVinci Resolve and others. However, the most stunning figure is that when compared to the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pros (which date back to 2021), Apple is touting 11x faster performance for systems equipped with M3 Max chips.

Another important upgrade on the M3 chips is that they support hardware acceleration for both ray tracing and mesh shading. This could prove to be a massive improvement for gamers or people like animators and 3D modelers, who will be able to take advantage of the M3’s more efficient on-chip processing power in supported apps.

Apple

Pre-orders for all the new M3 MacBook Pro models go live today with M3 and M3 Pro systems shipping as soon as next week on November 7, with M3 Max configs slated to arrive slightly later next month. The 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro will start at $1,599 ($1,499 for education) or $1,999 for one with an M3 Pro ($1,849 for education) while the 16-inch M3 Pro MacBook Pro will start at $2,499 ($2,299 for education).

Follow all of the news from Apple’s "Scary Fast" October event right here.

On Tuesday, at its annual Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, Qualcomm announced a major addition to its line of mobile chips with the Snapdragon X Elite, which the company is calling its most powerful processor to date. 

The Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite is the successor to last year's Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 line of laptop chips, which recently got a name change to reflect the huge leap in performance for this upcoming generation. Powered by 12 Oryon cores, Qualcomm claims the X Elite provides up to two times faster CPU performance compared to Intel's 13th-gen Core i7-1360P and i7-1355U processors while also drawing up to 68 percent less power. 

The chip is based on a 4nm design fabricated by TSMC with standard clock speeds of 3.8GHz with a dual-core boost of up to 4.3GHz. Qualcomm also includes 42MB of total cache with an LPDDR5x memory bandwidth of 136 GB/s. When compared to Apple's M2 chip, Qualcomm says the X Elite boasts 50 percent faster peak multithreaded performance. And thanks to its integrated GPU, the X Elite is said to offer twice the graphics performance as the i7-13800H at ISO power. 

Qualcomm

Qualcomm's new AI Engine should also provide a significant boost to machine learning-based tasks. Between its Oryon CPU, Adreno GPU and Hexagon NPU, the X Elite looks to deliver up to 75 TOPs, which Qualcomm claims is 4.5 times more than its competitors. The chip was also designed to run large language models with up to 13 billion parameters locally with Qualcomm saying the chip offers the fastest Stable Diffusion performance of any laptop chip on the market. Other features include support for AV1 4K HDR video encoding/decoding, 5G connectivity (with downloads of up to 10 Gbps), Wi-Fi 7 and the company's built-in Sensing Hub.

The arrival of the Snapdragon X Elite is poised to be a major breakthrough for Qualcomm as it attempts to better compete against rivals like Intel and more specifically Apple, following the latter's transition away from x86-based chips to its custom-designed M-series silicon. The development of the chip's Oryon cores has been a multiyear process following Qualcomm's acquisition of Nuvia back in 2021. 

Roya Kohbodi/Qualcomm

That said, while the X Elite boasts some impressive specs and power numbers, the major challenge for Qualcomm is translating all that oomph into actual performance. That's because unlike Apple, Qualcomm doesn't have the luxury of being able to design both its chips and the software/OS its processors are running. And as we've seen in the past on devices like the Surface Pro 9, systems running Windows on Arm still don't feel as fast or responsive when compared to their more traditional x86-based counterparts. 

Thankfully, with retail PCs powered by the Snapdragon X Elite expected to arrive sometime in mid-2024, it won't be too long until we can see how Qualcomm's latest laptop chip performs in the real world. 

Mario has been stomping Goombas, smashing blocks and running from left to right for damn near 40 years. How is Nintendo supposed to keep its classic side scroller feeling fresh after all this time? First, you shift the location to a brand new kingdom. Next, you introduce a bunch of new enemies and power-ups. But what really pushes things over the top is the introduction of a new mechanic that turns everything you think you know about Mario games on its head. What you get is Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a game that dazzles and delights while living up to its name in a variety of ways.

Warning: This review includes some light spoilers, including the number of worlds and descriptions of some hidden levels.

The game starts simply enough with Mario and crew (Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Nabbit and, for the first time, Daisy) visiting Prince Florian of the Flower Kingdom. But then Bowser barges in and steals a Wonder Flower, which somehow allows him to merge with Prince Florian’s castle to create a floating mecha fortress of doom. From there, your job is to collect Wonder Seeds (this game’s version of stars and shines) as you help the Florians restore order to their troubled land.

Screenshot by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Right away, this has some subtle but important implications for the rest of the game. The first is that you immediately Wonder Flowers have wild and unpredictable effects. The second is that, because you’re not simply recusing a princess trapped in a castle, the whole Flower Kingdom is working with you to take down Bowser. Sometimes that means you might be rescuing some trapped miners. But other times the Florians are the ones helping Mario (who also has a new voice actor for the first time) by rebuilding a bridge or donating a Wonder Seed at the beginning of a new world. The friendly little flowers scattered across each level will even shout words of encouragement or funny quips as you run by. But the impressive part is that, even in a relatively straightforward platformer like this, there’s a sense of community that makes this world feel more lived in than a lot of epic RPGs.

You’ll find a number of familiar baddies along with some new foes across an incredible range of environments and levels. Wonder features six main worlds each with a distinctive theme. But within those, you’ll still run into reimaingined haunted houses, pirate ships, underwater stages and more. One twist for this game is the addition of badges, which are earned by completing specific levels and some may even be required to find secrets or reveal alternate exits. Some allow you to jump farther or float, while others make extra coins appear. There are even protective badges, like the one that automatically saves you if you fall into lava or poison. It’s a mechanic that feels inspired by recent roguelikes, such as Hades, and it does a great job of adding customizability and replayability.

Screenshot by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

However, the biggest twist in the game is the Wonder Flowers themselves. In addition to the one Bowser stole, there’s also one hidden in almost every stage. And if you find it, you better be prepared for the unexpected. Touching them transports you to an alternate dimension where the rules of the Marioverse have been completely rewritten. In one level Super Stars rain down from the sky, while in another you might be transformed into a giant slime. You may also run into Wonder Flowers which converts the game from a side scroller into a top-down 2D maze or suddenly find yourself the target in a shooting gallery.

Almost every flower is different and the possibilities are seemingly endless. In a recent volume of Nintendo’s Ask the Developer, I learned that the team had a wall of sticky notes with over 2,000 ideas, and after playing Wonder, I believe it. Wonder Flowers feel like they add an extra half a level to every stage – they’re a delicious dessert on top of an already bountiful meal.

Screenshot by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Even without the aid of a Wonder Flower, the sheer variety of level types is impressive. Alongside classic stages that are capped off by grabbing a flag, there are also races, badge challenges, puzzle levels and more. There are KO Arenas that let you pick your power-up of choice (Fire Flower, Elephant Suit, Bubble Mushroom or the Drill Hat) before taking down waves of enemies, while Break Time levels provide quick 30-second bursts of excitement. You’ll never be bored, even if you want a change from standard platform jumping.

I also have to say that this might be the best Mario and friends have ever looked, and that includes recent 3D titles like Odyssey. There is just so much detail packed into every level and character. From the determined face Mario makes when he runs around, to the little flames that sprout from your feet every time you jump.

Wonder’s map is also surprinsgly engaging. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if the ability to freely roam around added all that much. But as I progressed, I found a number of secret nooks and crannies that wouldn’t have fit if the game was locked to a handful of paths. And with Wonder Flowers giving Nintendo the freedom to mix and match mechanics and enemies, there’s just so much to see.

Screenshot by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Nintendo even managed to address a gripe I had about the pacing of previous 2D Marios. Since they’re meant for both experienced gamers and children who might be new to the franchise, they often locked more challenging levels behind the story’s completion. This meant the beginning of the game could be a slog as you rushed through easier levels to get to the more challenging bits. But with the addition of difficulty ratings and hidden paths that lead to 5-star levels long before you finish the game, there isn’t the same rush to get to the “good stuff.” And I should say that 4 and particularly 5-star levels are balanced just right. Completing one feels like a rewarding challenge, without crossing over into punishing.

I do have some very minor complaints about things like mummy enemies (pulling their wraps feels a bit tedious) and I fear the Elephant Suit might be a bit overpowered in comparison to the Drill Hat. The 5-star levels and rhythm stages are also so good I wish there were more of them, I just can’t get enough. And I’m slightly disappointed the adorable penguins from the movie didn’t make an appearance somewhere in Wonder’s ice levels.

Screenshot by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

But as a whole, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a marvelous game. Its art and animations have a level of polish that’s practically unmatched by rival titles, and the addition of Wonder Seeds subverts your expectations and keeps this 40-year franchise feeling new and innovative. In a lot of ways, Wonder reminds me of my favorite 2D Mario game ever: Super Mario World. While I wish it didn’t take more than 10 years for Nintendo to create a proper sequel to its last mainline platformer,  if that’s what it takes to get a game like this, I’m happy to sit and wonder what’s next for Mario.

Samsung was the first manufacturer to make a proper foldable phone, but it’s gotten a bit complacent. Now OnePlus is releasing its first phone with a flexible screen and it’s already giving the Galaxy Z Fold 5 a run for its money. Not only does the Open pack larger displays, both inside and out, it's also thinner and lighter. That is, as long as you don’t count its massive camera module. And with its Open Canvas software, OnePlus is taking a novel approach to multitasking that makes it super fast and easy to switch between apps. 

But perhaps the most impressive thing the Open is doing, is putting pressure on the price of big fancy foldables, because starting at $1,700, it costs $100 less than the Z Fold 5 and Google’s Pixel Fold – and that’s before you factor in OnePlus’ deal that knocks another $200 off with the trade-in of any phone. In a year when we’ve already seen Google release its first foldable phone, the arrival of the OnePlus Open is adding even more excitement to the category.

Displays: Super bright

Similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line, the OnePlus Open sports two displays: a skinner 6.3-inch exterior screen along with a 7.8-inch flexible panel on the inside. Both panels are slightly bigger than those on the Z Fold 5 while also featuring 120Hz refresh rates. But the thing the OnePlus has really pushed is brightness, which hits around 1,400 nits during normal use, or up to a mindblowing 2,800 nits in certain situations like when watching HDR content outdoors. And once again, that’s for both displays. However, those numbers are so high, it maxed out my colorimeter, so I can’t fully verify OnePlus’ claims. Regardless, brightness was never an issue.

Design: When every gram matters

OnePlus hasn’t messed around too much with Samsung’s template and stuck with an inward folding design. However, it does feel like the company tried to shave off every extra gram or millimeter. The black model which features a vegan leather back weighs just 239 grams, just one gram lighter than an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Meanwhile, our emerald dusk review unit sports a glass back and only comes in a touch heavier at 245 grams.

The Open is also surprisingly sleek measuring just 11.7mm thick. That’s even thinner than the Pixel Fold (12.1mm). That is, until you factor in its massive camera module which brings the phone’s true thickness to around 18mm. The Open also has a wider exterior display, which makes typing on it much nicer without a ton of added bulk.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Of course, some of the biggest areas of concern on a foldable are its hinge and crease. Thankfully, OnePlus has done a pretty good job with both. There is a faint groove that runs down the middle of its main display, but it’s subtle. You only notice it when viewed from acute angles or if you really go looking for it.

The hinge is also surprisingly smooth and, unlike its rivals, there’s a bit of spring-loaded action to it. So after a certain point it just swings wide open. That’s a nice change coming from the Pixel Fold which always seems to stop right at 179 degrees, no matter what you do. Another detail I appreciate is that the Open closes flush, so you don’t have to worry about keys or other small objects getting inside. Unfortunately, you only get an IPX4 rating for water resistance, which is far short of the IP68 classification on the Pixel Fold and Z Fold 5.

Performance: Mobile multitasking made easy

The OnePlus Open features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip that results in very similar performance to that of the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Samsung’s phone does enjoy about a five to 10 percent lead in tests like Geekbench 6 due to slightly higher clock speeds. But during everyday use, the advantage is basically imperceptible. But the OnePlus does have 16GB of RAM (versus 12GB on the Z Fold) along with 512GB of base storage–which is double what you get from both Samsung and Google.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

However, my favorite thing about the Open is how it handles multitasking. You can obviously do stuff like having two apps open in splitscreen. But if you want more, OnePlus’ Open Canvas software makes it possible to open three apps at once, with little tabs that let you move things around with a single tap. It’s like each app is a little card that slides in and out of view as you need them, and it works surprisingly well. It’s so much faster than sliding up and holding to open recent apps, but without adding too much clutter. And as a tweak on Samsung and Google’s taskbars, OnePlus added a dedicated icon for recent files, so it's super easy to drag and drop docs or photos into email or messages.

That said, as someone who loved older versions of Oxygen OS, I feel like the current design of OnePlus’ UI (following the company’s merger with Oppo) looks a bit cheap. Almost every button aside from in the quick settings is some kind of rounded rectangle, and while it’s functional, it’s also kind of boring.

Cameras: A big bump from Hasselblad

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Ever since OnePlus partnered with Hasselblad to upgrade its cameras, the modules on the backs of its phones have gotten bigger and bigger. And while it’s a bit of an eyesore, the Open’s huge camera bump isn’t without reason as it holds a large 1/1.43-inch 64-MP LYTIA T808 main sensor from Sony with a new pixel architecture designed to increase the amount of light it can capture for even better nighttime photos. OnePlus claims it delivers the best image quality on any foldable available today and, while I won’t go quite that far, its pics are relatively close to what you can capture with a Pixel Fold. Photos are sharp and detailed, the one shortcoming is that OnePlus’ low-light processing isn’t quite as good as Google’s Night Sight. But compared to the Z Fold 5, the Open’s pics often had better dynamic range and less exaggerated sharpening.

You also get a 48-MP ultra-wide cam that can also shoot macros, and a 64-MP telephoto with a 3x optical zoom that goes up to a 6x lossless magnification. Once again, while that 3x zoom is every bit a match for the Z Fold 5’s 3x telephoto cam, it's 6x lossless just isn’t quite as sharp as the 5x optical lens on the Pixel Fold. But that’s not a big surprise because there still isn’t a true replacement for high-quality glass.

Battery life: Great longevity but no wireless charging?!

OnePlus has always had somewhat spotty support for wireless charging. Its first phone to have it was the OnePlus 8 Pro in 2020, which was years after its competitors got on board. That support continued on the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, and the OnePlus 10 Pro. But then OnePlus dropped wireless charging for the 10T and the 11, and unfortunately, we don’t get it here on the Open either.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

The lack of wireless charging on any $1,000 phone is pretty disappointing, let alone a brand new flagship foldable. My suspicion is that OnePlus didn’t include it because charging coils would have added one or two millimeters in thickness, which would have detracted from the phone’s design. And if that’s true, that’s a pretty weak justification.

On the bright side, wired charging is significantly faster than its competition at 67 watts. And it's even faster in Europe at 80 watts due to their 240-volt power standard. However, because of OnePlus’ proprietary charging system, you only get those speeds when you use the included brick, so if you switch to a third-party adapter, speeds drop in half to around 30 watts.

Thankfully battery life is great. With its exterior display, the Open lasted 25 and a half hours on our video rundown test, which is an hour and a half better than the Z Fold 5. And with its main display, it lasted just over 19 hours, which is also quite respectable.

Pricing: An almost unbelievable discount

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

When it comes to pricing, big foldables like this have always been pretty expensive, though at $1,700, the Open costs $100 less than both the Z Fold 5 and the Pixel Fold. But to sweeten the pot even further, OnePlus has an enticing deal that will knock another $200 off the price with the trade-in of any phone. Typically there are some limits or restrictions to promos like this, so I had to confirm the details with OnePlus. But the company really does mean any device, regardless of how old it is or what condition it’s in. That means you can finally get rid of the Nokia brick that’s been living in a drawer for the last 10 or 15 years and get some value out of it. And if you do, you’re looking at an effective price of $1,500, which still ain’t cheap, but it is significantly lower than the competition. The caveat is that this discount is only available directly through OnePlus.

Wrap-up

When I first heard OnePlus was making a foldable phone, I wasn’t sure what their goal was. The company hasn’t been in the business of making flagship killers for a while. But with the Open, OnePlus has crammed some rather impressive hardware into a device with a novel approach to multitasking. The Open’s cameras are as good if not slightly better than what you get on a Z Fold 5, and it has bigger screens too. Honestly, there are a lot of things about the Open’s design that I wish we were getting from Samsung, as opposed to the three years of minor refinements we’ve seen following the release of the Z Fold 3.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

It’s also important to note that the Open has an alter ego, because depending on where you live, this thing will also be known as the Oppo Find N3. The two phones are essentially the same device just with different branding. That said, the Open will still get four years of Android updates and five years of security patches along with support for all the major US carriers. But unlike Google and Samsung’s offerings, the Open will only be available through online retailers and because OnePlus doesn’t have any local US retail partners, the only way to get the Open serviced is to send it in. That’s a bit of concern as pretty much every foldable phone tends to have an issue with its built-in screen protector bubbling after about a year. So even though OnePlus offers free shipping for repairs under warranty, no one wants to be without their phone for a week or more while it’s in the shop.

Still, I’m impressed with what OnePlus is bringing out the gate.

Since the original Pixel, the special sauce for all of Google’s phones has been its software. We’ve seen this throughout the years in its cameras with things like HDR+ processing and Google’s potent Night Sight mode. And more generally with features like Call Screen, Live Translate and the Recorder app. But on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, thanks to the new Tensor G3 chip and focus on machine learning, it feels like Google’s latest flagship phones are taking some of the buzz from the recent AI hype cycle and turning it into tools you’ll actually want to use.

Design and display

The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro don’t look terribly different from last year’s phones, but you’ll notice a number of small tweaks and improvements on closer inspection. Their corners are a touch more rounded and Google deleted the small chin below the screen by making its bezels a uniform size all around. One notable change is that the Pixel 8 has shrunk a bit to a 6.2-inch screen (down from 6.3 inches on the Pixel 7). This is something I can get on board with because the phone is now more compact and easier to hold, without straying too far into tiny handset territory like on the iPhone Mini 13 (which was canceled for its sins – RIP).

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Meanwhile, the 6.7-inch Pixel 8 Pro has received other tweaks including a new matte finish on its back and an almost completely flat display instead of the curvy sides on previous models. The camera bar has also been streamlined to feature a single lens cover for all of its cameras and its new temperature sensor. But regardless of which model you’re looking at, both phones sport a solid build made from Gorilla Glass Victus with IP68 ratings for dust and water resistance and in-screen fingerprint readers.

As for the screens themselves, Google is using Actua and Super Actua branding to describe the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro’s displays and I kind of hate it. Don’t get me wrong, they look great and with peak brightness of 2,000 or 2,400 nits depending on the model, they’re even better looking and more viewable outdoors than before. My issue is that I don’t want to live in a world where every component on a device needs to have a catchy name with nebulous definitions. We have Retina displays on iPhones, PixelSense screens on Surfaces and now Actua panels on Pixels. It’s too much.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

That said, I have noticed that in Google’s quest for precise, realistic colors–which is what its Actua branding is meant to suggest–some hues and tones appear more muted on the Pixel 8 than on rival devices. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just may result in things like food looking a bit more appetizing on competing devices. The Pixel 8 also has a slightly lower resolution (2,400 x 1,080 vs 2,992 x 1,33) than the 8 Pro and a narrower range for its variable refresh rate (60-120Hz vs 1-120Hz).

Performance

Packing a new Tensor G3 chip and either 8GB or 12GB of RAM depending on the model, the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro’s performance feels like it has gotten a noticeable boost compared to the previous generation. Unfortunately, because I’ve been testing devices prior to their official release, apps like Geekbench 6 don’t work yet so I don’t have a ton of numbers to work with. But I have noticed that loading games happens faster and the phone is generally more responsive, though still not quite on the same level as a device with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. The Pixel 8 Pro has also gotten a big boost in the storage department with support for up to 1TB. Sadly, the same can’t be said for the Pixel 8 which still tops about at 256GB.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Of course, horsepower is more than just clock speeds and benchmarks. Google claims the Tensor G3 runs more than twice as many machine learning models on-device compared to the Pixel 6’s G1 processor. Now that figure is difficult to put into perspective, but with the arrival of features like Magic Editor that uses generative AI to manipulate photos, now I actually care about how powerful a chip’s NPU is. Currently, when tweaking a photo or using AI to create a new wallpaper in Android 14, there’s a solid two or three Mississippi before I can see results. That’s understandable considering the novelty of the software, but given how often I've been using the features, I’m already dreaming about making them work faster.

Cameras

Nowhere on the phone is Google’s improved software and AI more evident than when shooting photos and videos. In addition to new sensors that include a 50-MP main camera and a 12-MP ultra-wide (or a 48-MP ultra-wide and 48-MP telephoto with a 5x optical zoom on the 8 Pro), the Pixel 8 delivers a fresh suite of tools for making everything your capture look better.

The most impressive new feature is Magic Editor, which combines lasso and content-aware fill capabilities, similar to Photoshop, in a single place. All you have to do is highlight something with your finger and then you can choose to delete it (like in the case of a distracting element) or move it somewhere else, at which point the Pixel uses AI to fill in any holes. It sounds simple in theory, but anyone who‘s ever tried to crudely cover up a blemish with the clone stamp tool knows it’s not quite that easy. But the Pixel makes it seem like it is and the results are surprisingly good. The caveat is that in order to use Magic Editor, you first need to back your pic up in Google Photos. So if you run out of storage space or don’t have a good data connection, you might be in for a minor headache.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

For example, check out this picture I recently took at a wedding. Even before editing, it looks great, which is a testament to Google’s excellent image processing. Then, thanks to the Magic Editor, I had no trouble removing small distractions like a neon exit sign. This results in a photo that draws your attention back to the bride and groom (where it should be).

And for anyone who’s ever been annoyed by a group pic that was ruined because one person was frowning when it happened, there’s Best Take. Instead of shooting a single group shot and calling it a day, Best Take can look at a series of images, recognize people’s faces and then give you the option of putting whichever reaction you want on each person’s head. Granted, it’s not perfect and, depending on the composition of the photo, you might notice some small bumps around people’s necks and shoulders or some misplaced hair. But it’s good enough that people might not notice unless they’re actively looking for flaws. You just have to remember to shoot more than just one photo, but you already do that anyway right?

Note: The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro use the same 50-MP sensor for their main camera. In this review, I primarily used the Pixel 8 Pro for camera testing. 

However, the Pixel 8 Pro takes things even further with the addition of pro camera controls. This is something I’ve personally been hoping to get for a while and, even though Google certainly took its time making it happen, the results are solid. You can activate Pro controls by tapping the settings icon and switching over to the new Pro tab. Then you can tap the button in the bottom right to adjust things like file type (JPEG or RAW), shutter speed, white balance and more. There’s even a manual focus option that includes focus peaking to show you what’s sharp and what isn’t.

Video is getting some big improvements too. Audio Magic Eraser does an impressive job of eliminating distracting ambient noises from your clips. It’s not as good as having dedicated mics and a full-time sound editor. But if all you want to do is make things easier to hear, this is a big help and it fits in a pocket.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

The downside to a software-first approach is that things take a bit more time. So not only do you have to wait for images or clips to get processed, some of the Pixel 8 Pro’s most promising features like Zoom Enhance and Video Boost with Night Sight won’t be available at launch and aren’t scheduled to arrive until a feature drop sometime in December. Now while it's possible that this a result of a longer pipelines for software development, I hope this doesn't become a trend. It’s a bit of a shame that everything isn’t ready on day one

More generally, Google’s HDR+ and low-light modes are as good as it gets. Shots taken with Night Sight were routinely, sharper, brighter and more detailed than what I got from an S23 Ultra. And while its 5x optical zoom isn’t quite as long as the S23's 10x, it often feels more usable, especially when you’re shooting indoor events. Regardless, between its upgraded sensors, Google’s excellent image processing, the new pro controls and a fresh kit of AI-powered tools, the Pixel 8 Pro feels like the most powerful smartphone camera on the market. And despite having one fewer lens and fewer features, the regular Pixel 8 isn’t far behind.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

My one question is that I’m not sure why Google is restricting pro camera controls solely to the more expensive model. Even without a telephoto camera, having access to advanced settings would be a welcome addition to the base model. Heck, some folks have already figured out a way to hack pro controls onto the Pixel 6, Pixel 7 and the Pixel 8 by messing around with the Google Camera APK. So hey Google, how about just officially porting over Pro controls to as many devices as possible?

Other new features

The AI-powered functions don’t stop there though. If you feel like creating a custom wallpaper, you can simply generate one based on a few adjustable parameters. It’s an interesting way to create a unique backdrop, but as evidenced by the awkward-looking hands on the one I created, it still succumbs to a lot of the pitfalls that often plague AI art.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

When you want to save some time, you can ask the Google Assistant to summarize an article from the web. Or you can ask it to read the story aloud, which creates a new audio popup so you can listen while you multitask. It’s like having the ability to turn every article into an audiobook, which is just really convenient. The entire internet is now a podcast. And if that’s not enough, you can even have the assistant translate stories into another language at the same time too.

Thanks to the Tensor G3 chip, Google also says that Pixel 8 supports more natural voice and text recognition, which powers features like a proofreading tool in Gboard and improved Assistant voice typing across multiple languages (English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish). Unfortunately, the only other language I speak is Mandarin, which isn’t supported yet, so I’ll have to check in again on this when that gets added.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Lastly, Google says that by using a new algorithm alongside upgraded hardware, Face Unlock is significantly faster and more secure than before. In my testing, that increased speed definitely checks out. And a few times when I set the phone down on a wireless charging pad, it automatically unlocked from six feet away when I walked in the room, so facial recognition seems to have been improved as well. The one issue is that during setup, I found you need to be in a rather bright room, otherwise you’ll run into errors and a message asking you to try again.

Lastly, while it doesn’t have anything to do with AI, there’s a new temperature sensor on the Pixel 8 Pro that at launch can be used to measure drinks and whatnot. And in the future, if granted permission by the FDA, Google is hoping you’ll be able to use the sensors as a thermometer for people. It’s a nice but not essential added feature, though I imagine it will come in handy for parents of small children like me who are constantly in fear that their kid is coming down with something.

Battery Life and support

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

While the Tensor G3 has given the Pixel 8 a big boost to its AI capabilities, it’s provided a bump in longevity too. On our standard video rundown test, the Pixel 8 lasted 20 hours and 16 minutes, which is a two-hour increase over last year’s phone. The Pixel 8 Pro fared even better, as it lasted 21 hours and 9 minutes versus 16:42 for the P7 Pro. Additionally, wired charging is now slightly faster at 27 watts for the Pixel 8 and 30 watts for the Pixel 8 Pro. However because you don’t get a power adapter in the box, you’ll need to buy an appropriate charging brick separately.

The biggest upgrade across the entire device, though, might be Google’s pledge to give the Pixel 8 line seven years of software and hardware support. That includes Android updates, monthly security patches and regular feature drops from now until 2030. And while it remains to be seen how these phones are going to hold up after all the time, it’s hard to be salty about having the longest support commitment of any Android phone not named the Fairphone 5.

Wrap-up

Back in 2018 when the Pixel 3 came out, that was the first time it felt like Google’s software-first approach to phone design really came together. And now on the Pixel 8, between the Tensor G3 and compelling new tools that chip is powering, Google is using AI to level up its playbook. More importantly, it’s doing so in a more tangible and practical way than services like ChatGPT or Midjourney. The Pixel 8 delivers AI to the palm of your hand that makes your photos look better, videos sound better, news easier to digest and your drunk texts easier to understand. And with even longer software support, there’s a pathway for the Pixel 8 to get better down the line.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

It is a bit of a shame that both the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro now cost $100 more than before. But just like everything else, phones aren't immune to inflation. And that price is even higher for people on Verizon who want support for mmWave 5G, as Big Red’s version of the Pixel 8 starts at $799 instead of $699. Still, the less expensive new Pixel comes with an upgraded main camera, better battery life and a more refined design, not to mention Magic Editor, Best Take and a bunch of other AI tools. But despite the price hike, the Pixel 8 feels like a great deal and I consider its slightly smaller screen an upgrade in general wieldability. It’s a nearly ideal small Android phone.

Then we come to the Pixel 8 Pro, which is even more impressive. Google’s phones already took some of the best photos you could capture with a pocket-sized device. And with the power of AI and a full suite of upgraded sensors, the Pixel 8 Pro is basically unmatched when it comes to overall photography prowess. For the past three years, I’ve been using some kind of big foldable as my daily driver. But the Pixel 8 Pro is the first handset that has me wanting to go back to a traditional glass brick. The real magic of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro though is that even if you don’t know or care how AI is impacting its software, Google’s latest tricks are too enticing to pass up.

Last year, Sony released its first line of dedicated gaming peripherals with its Inzone brand, which consisted of a couple of monitors and a range of over-the-ear headphones. Now Sony has returned with a new pair of earbuds and an update to its mid-range cans that are worth considering for gamers thinking about upgrading their audio.

Sony’s more portable offerings are simply called the Inzone Buds and they use the same drivers that you get in the highly-regarded WF-1000XM5, so it probably won’t be a surprise when I say they sound great. You also get support for Sony’s excellent active noise cancellation tech and a handy ambient sound mode, but from there the buds’ features were tweaked to better optimize sound quality while gaming.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Aside from an updated design that has clear ties to the PS5, the Inzone Buds’ biggest departure from the WF-1000XM5 is its case. It’s a relatively large trapezoid that opens to reveal the buds themselves and a wireless audio dongle. The inclusion of an adapter is sort of unusual on everyday earbuds, but it’s more common on gaming peripherals as it provides a dedicated low-latency 2.4GHz wireless connection (with a sub-30 millisecond delay) to ensure sounds like footsteps and other audio cues hit your ears in a timely matter. The dongle even includes a switch for PCs or the PS5 / mobile devices to streamline things even further, though you can also rely on a standard Bluetooth connection.

In addition to delivering higher-quality sound when gaming, I found the adapter was just really convenient. When listening to music on my phone where latency isn’t a big concern, I was happy to use Bluetooth. But when I was sitting in front of my PC or PS5, switching audio sources was as simple as plugging the dongle into a free USB-C port. As another bonus for PS5 owners, the buds allow you to see things like battery level or volume directly in the console’s UI, which is typically reserved for PlayStation-branded peripherals. Remember, these buds are made by Sony Electronics (the people who make TVs, speakers and other gadgets), not Sony Interactive Entertainment (the PlayStation folk).

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engdget

You can use Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer app to customize audio based on your ear canals. That said, in my experience the effect was much less pronounced than on Sony’s over-the-ear headphones, which account for the shape of your entire ear. Though you can further adjust the buds’ sound tone personalization in the Inzone Hub app. What I do like is the addition of a new AI-based noise reduction feature that filters out distracting sounds during calls, which is pretty useful especially when you’re gaming on PC while using a loud mechanical keyboard. And thanks to support for spatial audio, you get a 3D soundstage that can help you figure out when enemies might be sneaking up on you in a shooter.

With battery life of up to 24 hours on a charge when connected via Bluetooth (or around 12 hours when using 2.4GHz), Sony claims the Inzone buds have the best longevity of any true-wireless gaming earbuds. And after using them for a weekend, that figure seems about right. When you eventually run low, the charging case can add an hour of juice in just five minutes while holding enough power for a second full recharge.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

That said, while I generally like the Inzone buds, I have a few gripes. The first is that the case doesn’t support wireless charging, which seems like a weird omission on $200 headphones. Also, the case is rather bulky when compared to more typical earbuds, and when you factor in its trapezoidal shape, some people may wonder if you’re hiding a rabbit in your pocket. The other small frustration is that, while you can use the Inzone Hub software on your PC to adjust all sorts of settings, there isn’t an equivalent mobile app. That means if you’re walking around town and you want to adjust the Inzone Buds’ touch controls, you’ll have to wait until you get home.

What’s interesting is that if you’re someone like me, who generally prefers earbuds over larger cans due to their portability, it’s nice to have small headphones that are equally adept at gaming and general audio. And with the Inzone buds priced at $200, or $100 less than the WF-1000XM5s, these are an interesting option for people who care about both.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Aside from its new earbuds, the other update to the Inzone line are the new $150 H5 headphones, which are a new mid-range replacement for the older and more expensive $229 H7 cans. Despite costing $80 less, the H5s have a better mic thanks to the same AI-based noise reduction tech you get on the buds, along with support for both wired and wireless audio (the H7s were wireless-only) and a slightly lighter design. The one trade-off is that overall battery life has declined a touch from 40 to 28 hours.

The Inzone Buds and the Inzone H5 headphones are available today for $200 and $150, respectively.

On Wednesday at its annual hardware event, Google announced its next flagship phone: the Pixel 8 Pro. Starting at $999, it costs $100 more than its predecessor, so to make up for that increased price Google added a number of enhanced photo and video features, a new temperature sensor and seven years of software support.

Available in three colors (Bay, Porcelain and Obsidian), the Pixel 8 Pro sports a very similar design to last year's model with a large camera bar in back and polished metal sides. That said, Google has made some smaller changes like a new matte texture on the phone's Gorilla Glass Victus 2 rear panel and a flatter display with less rounded edges. And just like before, the phone packs an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance so it can withstand submersions of up to 5.5 feet for 30 minutes. 

Google

The Pixel 8 Pro comes with a 6.7-inch Super Actua display based on an LTPO OLED panel with a 120Hz variable refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,400 nits. Google says its Super Actua branding is meant to call attention to the screen's colors and tuning, which have been engineered to be as accurate and realistic as possible. And unlike the standard Pixel 8, the Pro also has a new 10.5-MP selfie camera with dual phase detection autofocus. Additionally, Google claims the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro's face unlock employs a new algorithm alongside upgraded hardware to provide more precise facial recognition. 

However, between its upgraded sensors (50-MP main, 48-MP ultra-wide and 48-MP telephoto with a 5x optical zoom) and a range of improved photo and video features, the Pixel 8 Pro's cameras are making the biggest leap. For the first time on a Pixel phone, users will be able to use Google's Night Sight Mode when recording videos. Meanwhile, the new Best Take feature makes it possible to choose the best reactions among a series of images so that every person in the shot is smiling. Also, by leveraging AI the Pixel's Magic Editor can better tweak things like lighting, the framing of a photo and more, while the new Audio Magic Eraser tool gives you the ability to remove distracting sounds and noise in your clips.

Google

But perhaps the biggest upgrade for photo enthusiasts is the addition of pro camera controls so you can adjust settings like shutter speed, ISO, white balance and more. There are even options for capturing images using the sensor's full 50 megapixels in either JPEG, RAW or RAW+JPEG modes. If you need even more help making clips look good, the new Video Boost feature can send recordings to the cloud so that Google's servers can apply more powerful computational algorithms to your footage. That said, it's important to note that this process can take multiple hours.

On the inside, the Pixel 8 Pro is powered by Google's Tensor G3 chip along with 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. Google claims the G3's improved performance helps support new abilities like enhanced spam filtering for the Pixel's Call Screener feature, Audio Magic Eraser and better image processing. In everyday situations, Google also is trying to improve the Pixel 8's ease of use with new software like the ability to read websites aloud while translating them, a proofreading tool in Gboard, Assistant voice typing in multiple languages and a magnifier app for increased accessibility. 

Google

Finally, the more expensive Pixel 8 Pro is the only one with a temperature sensor located in the camera bar. Initially, you can use it to measure how hot or cold a nearby object is. However, Google says it's in talks with the FDA so that in the future you'll also be able use it as a thermometer for people. And just like the standard Pixel 8, Google is upping the length of the Pixel 8 Pro's software support (which includes both regular security patches and Android updates) to seven years. This is poised to be the longest commitment for any Android smartphone aside from the Fairphone 5. 

The Pixel 8 Pro starts at $999 and goes on sale October 12.

Follow all of the news live from Google’s 2023 Pixel event right here.

I never really understood Samsung’s fan edition branding, and after not making an FE version of the S22 last year, I thought that designation might have been killed off for good. But now in 2023, Samsung is bringing the FE tag back with a bit of a twist. Instead of standing for “fan edition,” the moniker will simply be used to denote devices that share some features and design traits with the company’s flagship devices but with lower prices. Additionally, on Tuesday Samsung expanded the line, announcing four new FE models including the Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Tab S9 FE, Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ and the Galaxy Buds FE.

The S23 FE may be the most straightforward of them all. It features an almost identical design to the regular model, but with a 120Hz 6.4-inch OLED display that fits between the standard S23 (6.1 inches) and the S23+ (6.6) in size. Around back, you still get three rear cameras including a 50-MP main sensor, a 12-MP ultra-wide and a slightly lower-res 8-MP telephoto with a 3x optical zoom. Notably, unlike Samsung’s A-series phones, the S23 FE still features a glass design with metal sides, the difference is that the FE uses Gorilla Glass 5 instead of Gorilla Glass Victus like on the standard S23. However, there is a refreshed range of colors including mint, purple, cream and graphite in addition to a couple of exclusive hues on Samsung.com.

Inside, the other major difference is that the S23 features an older Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip (instead of a Gen 2 processor). So even though that silicon is still relatively speedy, you’re not getting full flagship performance. Battery capacity has also increased slightly to 4,500 mAh. But aside from that, the specs are pretty similar. You can choose from either 128GB or 256GB of storage, with the phone also offering features like an in-screen fingerprint reader and an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

Next, we have the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and S9 FE+, which sport nearly identical specs aside from the latter having an extra camera, a larger battery and a bigger display (10.9 inches vs. 12.3 inches). The biggest departure from the regular Tab S9 is that the FE models feature LCD displays instead of OLED panels. At first, that was a bit of concern as Samsung’s OLED screens are some of the best in the business and have become a signature feature on its mobile devices. But after seeing them in person, even with a slightly lower max refresh rate (90Hz vs. 120Hz), I’m not that worried. The Tab S9 FE’s displays are bright, colorful and even support the company’s Vision Booster tech for increased viewability outdoors.

Photo by Sam Rutheford/Engadget

Similar to the S23 FE, the Tab S9 features less powerful silicon (an Exynos 1380 chip) instead of a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. But even so, Samsung says the Tab S9 FE delivers 38 percent better CPU performance and 73 percent faster GPU performance when compared to the Tab S7 FE from 2021. Granted, comparing the new one to a two-year-old model may not be super convincing, but if you’ll recall, there was no Tab S8 FE. But the thing I really appreciate is that Samsung hasn’t messed with the tablet’s general design. It still features a super sleek aluminum chassis and a bundled S-Pen, just like you get on the normal model.

Finally, there’s the Galaxy Buds FE which are essentially a cheaper version of the standard Galaxy Buds 2 but without wireless charging. The case is identical right down to the USB-C port in back, the only change is on the sides of the buds themselves. Compared to their more expensive counterpart, the Galaxy Buds FE feature a flatter touch panel which Samsung says was altered due to customer feedback that a curvier design makes tap gestures harder to perform.

The buds still come with both active noise cancellation and support for passthrough ambient sound, though interestingly their expected battery is a touch longer at around six hours with ANC on or nine hours with it off. The two new additions are the ability to locate the buds using SmartThings Find and Easy Pair/Auto Switch which makes it faster and easier to control audio when connected to multiple devices.

Of course missing out on some performance or a few features might be worth it in order to get more affordable devices, which is sort of what the FE line is all about. For the type of people who don’t care about wireless charging, at $100 the Galaxy Buds FE could be a great alternative to the $150 Galaxy Buds 2. It’s a similar situation for the Tab S9 FE line which isn’t quite as fast but starts at $450 compared to $800 for the regular model. And then there’s the S23 FE, which $600 presents a $200 savings over the standard S23 despite featuring a larger display and battery. So if you’re OK with devices that aren’t quite as fancy, but come with a more palatable price, the new Galaxy FE family could be worthy alternatives.

The Galaxy Tab S9 FE/FE+ and Galaxy Buds FE will be available on October 10, followed by the Galaxy S23 FE on October 26.

I haven’t posted on Instagram in more than two years and I often find social media to be a bit of a chore. But after checking out its second-gen high-tech sunglasses announced today at Connect, officially called the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, it feels like Meta has transformed this line from a wacky concept for people who are terminally online into something regular folk might actually buy – even if they don’t plan on sharing a ton of your content.

The issue with the original Ray-Ban Stories was their somewhat clunky design and underwhelming specs. Photos topped out at five megapixels while videos were capped at a weird 1,184 x 1,184 resolution and just 30 fps. And to hold all your content, the glasses had just 4GB of onboard storage.

However, with the new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, you get a noticeably improved kit. In addition to a new 12-MP wide-angle camera and 32GB of storage (eight times more than before), you can also record videos at 1080p/60fps, though clips are restricted to just 60 seconds. That said, for people who want to capture longer vids, you can now livestream footage directly from the glasses to Facebook or Instagram with the help of a nearby paired device. And to my surprise, photos and videos both looked surprisingly sharp. Granted image quality isn’t quite as detailed or colorful as what you’d get if you used a phone, but it’s good enough for social media. The one caveat is with livestreaming, Meta’s redesigned View app automatically selects video quality based on the speed of your connection and a few other factors, so clips can sometimes look fuzzy.

As for audio, the smart glasses now feature five built-in mics that can record spatial audio including one receiver hidden in the nose to improve voice quality during calls. But, perhaps my biggest surprise, is simply how good the new speakers are. Meta says that not only are they 50 percent louder than before, they also leak less noise so people around you won’t be able to hear what you’re listening to. Regardless, they sound great with just enough bass to balance out sharper highs, while still letting ambient noises waft in from the outside world. Despite advancements with pass-through audio in recent headphones and earbuds, this is still the closest thing you can get to having a soundtrack for your life. And working in tandem with the mics, the speakers support spatial audio too, so there’s an extra level of immersion when playing back previously recorded material (though it's unclear if the glasses support spatial audio in streaming services like Tidal and Apple Music). 

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

You can also use voice controls to start a livestream or even send content to contacts. At first, you’ll need to explicitly designate who you’re sending things to and what service to use (WhatsApp, FB Messenger, Instagram, et cetera), but after it learns your habits, Meta says the glasses can use AI to streamline and speed up sharing.

I also appreciate their updated design, which despite the glasses’ upgraded specs features thinner arms and a generally sleeker design while also sporting a larger touchpad that’s super easy to use. To control music, you just tap once near your temple to play, tap again to pause, or double-tap to skip to the next track. Meanwhile, adjusting volume is as simple as swiping forward or back. And when you want to record something, you can press down once on the capture button to snap a pic or press and hold to take a video. And to help make its glasses easier to use, Meta says it has completely redesigned the Meta View app with a new UI and features that are more discoverable.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Another major change is the addition of a second frame called the Headliner, which is a nice alternative to the boxier look of the classic Wayfarers. On top of the existing shiny and matte black frames, there are three new semi-transparent color options: jeans, caramel, and a smokey Rebel Black. The whole effect is that Meta’s latest sunglasses kind of just look like sunglasses. That might not seem important, but for people who want their tech to blend in, this goes a long way to prevent these shades from sticking out too much. And with the option to add polarized lenses or even prescription glass, there are way more options for customizing them than before.

On the privacy side, there’s also a new LED indicator on the left that’s brighter than before while also adding some symmetry with the camera on the right. The light turns on every time you record a picture or video, so there’s no hiding when you’re capturing content. But the clever thing is that Meta says that if anyone tries to cover up the light, it will block the glasses from recording altogether.

The last big upgrade is with the smart glasses’ case, which has gotten a makeover so that it looks almost exactly like a classic Ray-Ban protective pouch. The small difference is that there’s a handy LED indicator light in front that tells you when it’s charging and a USB-C port down below for topping it up. In normal use, Meta says its smart glasses should last for around six hours of mixed use (or four if you’re livestreaming), with the case holding around eight additional charges (for a total of 36 hours).

After using the new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, my biggest takeaway is that they finally feel like a complete product. The original Ray-Ban Stories sort of felt like a concept device meant to steal the limelight from Snapchat’s Spectacles than to address a specific desire. Photo quality was mediocre and even though audio was decent, it was a bit quiet.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

But with the new model, you get way better image quality along with big mic and speaker upgrades, which makes them feel like better rivals for devices like Bose’ Frames. Then you factor in the ability to livestream and now it feels like Meta has made a much more well-rounded product. And of course with Ray-Ban in charge of the updated styling, Meta’s smart glasses look better than all of its rivals. So while I’m still not sure I need these in my life, Meta’s second-gen sunnies could make a convincing argument to some.

The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are available for pre-order today starting at $299, $329 with polarized lenses or $379 for transition lenses with official sales slated for October 17.