If you've ever created or joined a WhatsApp group chat for a single event, then kept forgetting to delete it for years afterwards, there's an upcoming feature you may appreciate. WhatsApp is testing something called "Expiring Groups" that will let you set an expiration date for group chats, according to a new iOS beta spotted by WaBetaInfo. 

According to a screenshot, the Expiring Groups option will appear within a group's settings, letting you choose options like a day, week, or custom date. You'll also have the ability to cancel an expiration if you need to keep the chat intact. Any expiration dates set will only apply to yourself and not other participants, apparently — so the group might continue to exist, just not with you in it. 

It appears that WhatsApp won't just delete a group without telling you, as the description states that "you will be prompted to clean up groups on the expiration date." Still, much like disappearing messages, it should help reduce clutter in your account and save some device storage space

Honda is known for both vehicles and robots, and over the last few years it has tried combining those two things with the Autonomous Work Vehicle (AWV). It just unveiled a new 3rd-generation version designed to transport up to two palettes worth of goods around worksites with no human assistance. This time, though, Honda is keen to find companies willing to try it out. 

The AWV has evolved from what was basically an ATV with the top chopped off, to a glorified autonomous electric wagon to the current model. Compared to the 2nd-generation version, the latest AWV has a larger bed size (two pallets) and higher capacity (2,000 pounds); a higher self-driving speed of up to 10 MPH; a larger battery that offers up to 10 hours and 28 miles of endurance; better avoidance functions; and a lower bed for easier loading. 

It can operate autonomously or via remote control through challenging terrain like construction sites, thanks to a suite of sensors on the mast. Those include GPS, radar, LiDAR and camera technologies, along with cloud connectivity, all controlled by a tablet-based interface. "Previous field tests have also successfully verified that multiple Honda AWVs can transport and deliver construction materials and supplies at precise points along a pre-set route," the company said.

The AWV will allow construction and other companies to address issues like labor shortages and worksite transport, Honda believes. After extensively testing the last model, it said the AWV version 3.0 is now ready for real-life field trials, and is looking for partners at a construction trade show taking place in Las Vegas starting March 14th, 2023. 

"We want to meet with potential business partners and companies at CONEXPO that are interested in field testing the vehicle at their worksite. We believe the Honda AWV can be a valuable solution to supporting construction teams while also enhancing worksite efficiencies and safety," said Honda Motor systems engineering manager Jason VanBuren. 

Anker's charging accessories are of higher quality than most third-party products, but they also tend to be more costly. Now, you can now grab a number of Anker chargers, cables and more at Amazon with discounts up to 48 percent. Some of the more interesting deals include the 24,000 mAh capacity 737 Power Bank (PowerCore 24K) priced at $100 (33 percent off), the 47W Nano 3 charger at $30 (25 percent off), the 20,000mAh PowerCore Essential 20K PD battery charger for $48 (20 percent off) and MFi certified USB-C to Lightning cables at a 39 percent discount. 

The Anker 737 Power Bank (PowerCore 24K) offers a lot of battery power for $100. With 24,000mAh of capacity and 140W of output, it can juice up an iPhone 14 almost 5 times or a 2021 iPad Pro 12.9" 1.3 times. At the same time, it comes with a digital display that shows the output and input power and estimated time for the portable charger to fully recharge. And you can connect multiple devices at once, as it has a pair of USB-C ports along with a USB-A input.

If you don't need that much power, Anker's 525 Power Bank (PowerCore Essential 20K PD) comes with 20,000mAh of capacity and 20W of output, enough to get an iPhone 12 to 50 percent in just a half hour. Plus, it has a second 18W port for another device. In terms of capacity, you can charge an iPhone 13 up to five times and an iPad Mini 2.5 times. 

If it's a small but powerful charger you need, Anker's compact 47W 523 Nano 3 smartphone/tablet charger is on sale for $30 (25 percent off), giving you a quick charger at an excellent price. And if you need a new cable to connect your iPhone, the company's 6-foot Powerline+ MFi certified charging cord is available at just $20 in a two-pack, netting you 39 percent in savings. A number of other products are on sale too, so check them all out here. 

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If you don't need accessories like extra thumbsticks, D-Pads and more, Microsoft's Xbox Elite Series 2 Core controller gives you all the benefits of the regular Elite Series 2 at a significantly lower price. Now, you can get on even cheaper, as it's on sale at Amazon for just $110, or $20 (15 percent) off the regular price.

As mentioned, the Elite Series 2 Core is the same as the Elite Series 2, aside from the white instead of the black color and lack of accessories. It offers a wrap-around rubberized grip, shorter hair trigger locks and 40 hours of battery life. You get an Xbox wireless connection with the Xbox One and Series S/X consoles, reducing latency and letting you use the headphone jack. You can also connect it to a PC via Bluetooth. The Xbox Accessories app provides customization options like button remapping, sensitivity curve adjustments, dead zones, vibration intensity tweaking and LED colors.

If you decide you want the normal Elite Series 2 accessories after all, that's no problem — just purchase the $60 Complete Component Pack separately. That gives you everything missing from the Core model, including a carrying case, a thumbstick-adjustment tool, a charging dock, two classic thumbsticks, one tall thumbstick, one dome thumbstick, one cross-shaped D-pad, two medium and two mini paddles, as well as a USB-C cable. Best of all, with the sale, you could buy the component pack and Elite Series 2 Core controller and still save over purchasing the regular Elite Series 2 model.  

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Tesla has cut the prices of its high-end Model S and Model X electric cars by $5,000 (5.2 percent) and $10,000 (9.1 percent) respectively, according to changes in its website seen by TechCrunch. 

It's the second time this year the company has chopped prices, so the Model X has dropped $21,000 from $120,990 at the beginning of the year to just $99,990 currently. The Model S, meanwhile, has fallen from $104,990 to $89,990 since January 1st — a steep $15,000 reduction. 

Neither car qualifies for Federal Tax rebates set to expire later this month, as those only apply to SUVs priced below $80,000 and cars under $55,000. Still, they're likely to push many fence-sitters over the edge. That tracks with what CEO Elon Musk said on Tesla Investor's Day, that "the desire for people to own a Tesla is extremely high... [but] the limiting factor is their ability to pay for a Tesla."

Most Model 3 and Y vehicles do qualify for the rebates, thanks to Tesla's January price cuts on those EVs. (As a reminder, it's a “nonrefundable” tax credit, so you'll only benefit if you have a federal tax liability of at least $7,500.) After mid-March, however, the rules will change and many EVs that currently qualify may become ineligible.

Hydrogen holds promise for zero-emissions aviation, via either fuel-cell electric motors or jet engines that burn H2 directly. Now, Universal Hydrogen has announced that it completed a 15-minute test flight in a 40-seat Dash-8 commuter plane using a fuel-cell hydrogen engine. The company called the flight "historic" and said it is "committed to being North America’s first zero-emission airline." 

With a fuel cell from Plug Power and electric motor built by magniX, the power plant is the largest ever to take to the sky. However, it was only installed on the left side of the aircraft, while a standard Pratt & Whitney turboprop engine was fitted to the right wing for "safety of flight," the company said. It supplied the engines with emissions-free "green" hydrogen (made via electrolysis from renewable power sources), connected via its own modules that keep the highly volatile gas in liquid form for up to 100 hours.

Universal Hydrogen

The Dash-8 was highly modified to accommodate the engine, 30kg (66 pounds) of liquid hydrogen and two racks of electronics and sensors. While the turbine engine was mainly used for takeoff, pilots were able to cruise mostly on hydrogen power during the second circuit. The flight attained a height of 3,500 feet. 

Though it had some yaw due to the imbalance in power, "the airplane handled beautifully, and the noise and vibrations from the fuel cell powertrain are significantly lower than from the conventional turbine engine," said chief pilot (and former US Air Force test pilot) Alex Kroll. The company received FAA approval for the flight just weeks ago. 

The British/American firm ZeroAvia flew with a similar configuration on its twin-engine, 19-seat Dornier 228 plane earlier this year. Airbus recently announced that it's building a fuel cell that could power a 100-seat aircraft around 1,150 miles, and Rolls-Royce recently completed tests of a jet engine converted to run directly on hydrogen fuel. 

Potential problems still abound, though. Hydrogen has about a quarter the energy density of regular jet A fuel, so it's only good for short hops. And as I've detailed in an explainer, there's very little hydrogen fuel infrastructure, it's tricky to work with and extremely explosive. Still, Universal Hydrogen is confident it can beat the odds. "Our business model resolves the chicken-and-egg problem between hydrogen airplanes and hydrogen infrastructure by developing both in parallel and with a uniquely low-cost approach," said CEO and co-founder Paul Eremenko. 

While popular with vloggers, Panasonic’s mirrorless cameras have been held back from true greatness by the lack of a phase-detect autofocus system. Finally, the company has rectified that problem with the launch of the S5 II. It has a new 24-megapixel sensor with phase-detect pixels that should get rid of the wobble and hunting that have plagued the contrast-detect AF on Panasonic cameras over the years.

To make it even better for content creators, Panasonic also brought over its new, more powerful stabilization system from the GH6. And you still get the powerful video features you’d expect on Panasonic cameras, like video up to 6K, monitoring tools and advanced audio features. The S5 II is also attractively priced at $2,000 – that’s $500 less than the Sony A7 IV and Canon EOS R6 II, its main competitors.

This is Panasonic’s first hybrid phase-detect autofocus system, so I was very curious to see how it stacks up against those cameras. I also wanted to see if it would let you leave your gimbal at home, as the company suggests in its ads. To find out, I took it around Paris and my hometown of Gien, France. 

Body and Handling

The S5 II’s body and control layout is identical to the S5, and that’s generally a good thing. At 740 grams, it is a bit heavier than its main rivals. However, it’s still a reasonably lightweight video camera that’s comfortable enough to shoot for a full day. 

It has a big comfortable grip, along with lots of manual controls that let you change settings without the need to dip into menus. It has all the controls you’d hope for like a joystick, dedicated AF control and more. The record button is placed on top so it’s easy to find when vlogging, but it would be nice to have a record button on front like the GH6.

Should you need to use the menus, Panasonic has nailed that part, with well-organized categories that make important adjustments fairly easy to find. It’s also quite easy to customize things, so as with any camera, I’d recommend doing that for your own workstyle. 

The 3-inch, 1.8 million dot rear display is the same one as before and is bright and sharp for video work. It of course fully articulates, so you can flip it around for vlogging, hold it high or low and more. The only drawback is that it can get tangled up with any cables, particularly the headphone jack.  

Luckily, Panasonic boosted the OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) resolution to 3.68 million dots from 2.34 million dots on the original S5. It's now decently sharp and clear, addressing one of my biggest complaints of the last model. 

Steve Dent/Engadget

Another welcome update is two fast UHS-II card slots, rather than one UHS-II and one UHS-I slot on the S5. That allows for faster transfer speeds and more reliable backups, if you like to shoot video to two cards at once. It also now uses a full-sized, rather than a micro HDMI jack as before, making it far more reliable when using an external recorder. 

There are of course headphone and mic jacks, but the S5 II now offers 4-channel recording via the DMW-XLR1 hotshoe audio adapter, just like the GH6. It also borrows the latter’s audio interface that gives you a central hub for all audio settings. It doesn’t have a dedicated button like the GH6, but you can assign any function button.

Finally, the batteries are borrowed from the S5 II, and deliver up to 470 shots on a charge or a solid two hours of 4K recording.

Video

Panasonic’s mirrorless cameras are primarily designed for video shooters, so let’s get into that first. The centerpiece of this camera is that new phase-detect autofocus, designed to eliminate the wobble or hunting that happened with past Panasonic models that had contrast-detect only autofocus. So how does it work for content creators

Steve Dent/Engadget

As with other recent models, the S5 II’s system includes regular continuous AF modes along with subject tracking, for both humans and animals. However, it’s not as sophisticated as recent rival cameras like the A7 IV and EOS R6II, though, as it can’t track things like cars and airplanes, and doesn’t distinguish between birds and other animals.

Luckily, the capabilities it does have are on par with those models. It smoothly tracks subjects and has very little lag if they move toward the camera, for example. Face and eye detection is good, though it struggles a bit if the subject turns, and can’t track their eyes if they’re not reasonably close to the camera. It’s also not quite as sticky as rival models. 

Still, it generally tracks focus reliably for interviews, vlogging and other situations. More importantly, the pulsing, hunting and wobbling is completely gone, so you can now rely on the S5 II’s autofocus in most situations.

There is one caveat that may be important to some users. As YouTuber CameraOfChoice notes, the phase-detect AF works great at all 4K and 6K resolutions, and 1080 25p. However, the camera switches to contrast-detect AF at 10-bit 1080p 60 fps and 120 fps resolutions, along with 3.3K 422/10L 25p. I’ve reached out to Panasonic for more information, but if you use those resolutions frequently, you may need to look at a different model. 

Steve Dent/Engadget

With autofocus issues mostly gone, the S5 II is a far more attractive vlogging and video camera thanks to its other powerful features.

You can shoot 5.9K video at 30p using the full width of the sensor, or full-width supersampled 4K at up to 30 fps. 60p 4K video is possible as well, but requires an APS-C crop and some loss of sharpness. The S5 II can also handle 4:3 anamorphic video at up to 6K using the full sensor width, or 3:2 “open gate” video that makes it easier to crop or deliver in social media formats.

There are few temperature-related time restrictions in any of these modes, thanks to the inclusion of a clever fan that only kicks in when you need it (below). Namely, there are no time restrictions on any video at 4K and below, including 1080p 120, while 6K is limited to 30 minutes. Panasonic is the only manufacturer to test its cameras at up to about 105 degrees Fahrenheit, so most users will likely never experience any problems. 

As with most Panasonic cameras, you can shoot 10-bit video with V-log to boost dynamic range. And it’s easier than ever to monitor V-Log. You can not only choose a standard Rec.709 output, but display your own custom look-up-table or LUT, too. You can even record those LUTs as your final video output, giving you unlimited “looks” and potentially saving time in post.

Steve Dent/Engadget

The main video drawback is the lowish data rates (200 Mbps and below) and the lack of any ProRes or All-I internal recording modes. There’s also no external RAW capture, though you’ll be able to add that later for a $200 fee. You can, however, capture other ProRes codecs to an Atomos Ninja V/V+ or BlackMagic Video Assist recorder. 

And that brings up Panasonic’s upcoming S5 IIx, announced at the same time as the S5 II. It’s priced at $2,200 and is mostly identical in terms of features. However, the extra $200 gets you not only RAW external video included but also ProRes capture to an external SSD via the USB-C port. With a small price difference to get such a useful feature, a lot of people might want to wait for this model.

Another terrific new capability is the updated in-body stabilization borrowed from the GH6. It’s now much better at smoothing out vertical step motion than the S5, though there’s still some side-to-side sway. It also has a “Boost IS” for handheld video where you don’t need to move, keeping shots locked off like the camera’s on a tripod. Can it replace your gimbal? In some cases, yes, but you'll have to work carefully as it still can't match a gimbal's smoothness.

Steve Dent/Engadget

Video quality is excellent, with extremely sharp 4K 30p and 4K 60p that’s just a touch less so. Colors are accurate and pleasing straight out of the camera, with natural-looking flesh tones. The 10-bit V-log video delivers a very solid 14+ stops of dynamic range, just slightly below Nikon and Sony models. That gave me plenty of room for extra creativity or to correct over- and underexposed shots. 

The S5 is also good in low light, thanks to Panasonic’s Dual Native ISO system. Don’t expect Sony A7S III-level performance, but the Dual ISO system really keeps noise down at ISOs as high as 12,800 or even 25,600. You’ll of course see noise when you boost shadows at those ISOs, but the grain looks quite natural. Anything below ISO 6400 has very little visible noise. One quirk is that it’s best to use ISO 4000 instead of ISO 3200, as the Dual ISO is set for ISO 640 and ISO 4000. 

As for rolling shutter, the S5 II is middling in this regard. It’s most noticeable in 6K or supersampled 4K modes, but not bad at all with an APS-C crop. I’d rate it as better than the higher-resolution A7 IV and about the same as Canon’s R6 II.

Finally, Panasonic offers a lot of ways to monitor video not seen on rival cameras, including waveforms and vectorscopes. Those features are very useful to video pros, helping them nail exposure and color accuracy. And as mentioned, audio is very easy to work with thanks to a dedicated hub to adjust settings, along with both line and mic inputs. 

Photography

Most people likely won’t buy the S5 II for photography, but it’s not bad at all in this department. It can handle bursts at up to 7 fps with the mechanical shutter or 30 fps in electronic mode. The buffer is quite impressive, as it allows for 200 shots in RAW before throttling – a full 6-seconds of uninterrupted 30 fps burst shooting.

At those speeds the autofocus largely keeps up, though it’s not quite as fast or accurate as the R6 II and A7 IV AF systems. As with video, the photo autofocus isn’t quite as smart or tenacious with subjects as Sony's A7 IV. Still, it’s much better than the contrast-detect AF of the last model and up there with recent Nikon and Fujifilm AF systems.

Despite the fast electronic burst speeds, the S5 II has limited usage as a sports camera. The rolling shutter would impact shots with fast moving subjects, unless you use it in APS-C mode. That’s a feasible option, but it reduces the resolution by half.  

Given how well it handles video, photos are a piece of cake for the image stabilization system. It locks things down so well that I was able to shoot down to a quarter-second or even less and still get sharp images

Despite the shift to a sensor with phase-detect pixels, image quality hasn’t suffered, with dynamic range just slightly below Sony and Nikon models. JPEGs offer a good balance between noise reduction and sharpness, while delivering natural colors and pleasing skin tones. If you want more control, the RAW photos dial up the dynamic range so you can claw back highlights or dig into shadows. 

As with video, it also excels in low light, with very little noise up to ISO 6400, nothing too objectionable at ISO 12800 and usable images at ISO 25600 if you don’t try to lift the shadows too much. Beyond that, the color grain in particular can get too harsh.

Wrap-up

Steve Dent/Engadget

With the autofocus finally keeping up with rival cameras, Panasonic’s S5 II is an awesome full-frame vlogging and video camera option. Priced at $2,000, it’s also a very strong value proposition, particularly for video shooters.

Its primary competition is the Sony A7 IV and Canon EOS R6 II. Both of those cameras are better for photography, but the S5 II is much better for video and particularly vlogging, thanks to the built-in monitoring tools and superior stabilization. If you want a better match of photography and video tools, Fujifilm’s 40-megapixel $2,000 X-H2 is the best option – if you don’t mind stepping down to an APS-C sensor.

In fact, the S5 II’s greatest rival might be the upcoming S5 IIx. I’d argue that many people paying $2,000 wouldn’t hesitate to spend an extra $200 to get some pretty valuable features like ProRes SSD recording. Either way, it’s Panasonic’s best vlogging camera since the original GH5 and should rise to the top of many content creators’ shopping lists.

Mac Mini computers with M2 and M2 Pro are the cheapest way to get Apple's latest processors, and now Amazon is sweetening the deal a bit more. The entry-level 256GB Mini M2 is on sale at $580 for a savings of $19 over the regular price, while the 512MB Mini M2 is $770, or $29 off. And if it's the 512 Mini M2 Pro model you're seeking, it can be found at $1,250, netting you a $49 discount. These appear to be Amazon's new normal prices, but they're less than we're seeing at Apple's Store.

The Mac Mini is tiny but mighty, with the M2 model easily powerful enough for productivity chores and multitasking. The M2 Pro, meanwhile, is a low-key content creation demon, beating the Mac Studio's M1 Max version and on par with the MacBook Pro 14-inch with M2 Max.  

On top of that, you get killer connectivity, with two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C connections, HDMI 2.0 (with 4K 240Hz and 8K 60Hz output), two USB-A ports, a headphone jack and gigabit Ethernet (upgradeable to 10 gigabit). The M2 Pro model adds two additional USB-C ports, making it even more useful for creatives with a ton of accessories.

The Mac Mini M2 won't replace your gaming machine, but it can handle nearly everything else you throw at it. We wouldn't recommend the overpriced storage or RAM upgrades either, as the M2 is much more efficient with RAM than typical PCs. Still, if you're looking for a cheap but powerful Mac, this is the way to go. 

There was speculation that Samsung could use smartphone-to-satellite technology in its Galaxy S23 much like Apple has for the iPhone 14, but that didn't happen in the end. Now, the company has unveiled a new standardized 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) modem that will enable two-way communication between smartphones and satellites. The technology will allow users to send and receive calls, text messages and data without the need for a cellular network, and will be integrated into Samsung's future Exynos chips.

The aim is to allow people in mountains, deserts or other remote areas to communication with others in critical situations. 5G NTN conforms to 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP Release 17) standards, meaning it works with traditional communication services from chip manufacturers, smartphone makers and telecoms.

Samsung

However, Samsung indicated that the tech could eventually be used to transmit high-definition photos and even video, on top of texts and calls. It simulated the tech using its Exynos Modem 5300 platform "to accurately predict satellite locations and minimize frequency offsets caused by Doppler shift," the company said. That will help pave the way for hybrid terrestrial-NTN networks "in preparation for the arrival of 6G," said Samsung VP Min Goo Kim. 

At CES 2023, Qualcomm unveiled Snapdragon Satellite, technology that would allow smartphones to send messages when no cellular signal is available. It'll work in smartphones that have both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and X70 modem system, plus some additional radios. Since Samsung's Galaxy S23 has both chips, it was thought the device may offer satellite communication technology to match Apple's iPhone 14. 

However, Samsung mobile experience VP TM Roh said it wasn't the best moment, as satellite functionality is still fairly limited. "When there is the right timing, infrastructure and the technology is ready, then of course for Samsung Galaxy, for our mobile division, we would also actively consider adopting this feature as well," he told CNET in an interview.

Bose's portable Bluetooth speakers have made several of our latest shopping guides, thanks in part to the long battery life and loud, bright sound that carries well outdoors. They're also among the most expensive out there, but several models including the Smart Speaker, Revolve+ and S1 Pro are now on sale at Amazon with savings of up to 30 percent.

While Bluetooth speakers are often commodity items, Bose's SoundLink Revolve ($179 or 18 percent off) and Revolve Plus ($229 or 30 percent off) have premium features. Bose has eschewed typical plastic materials for a fancy "single-piece aluminum enclosure" that's resistant to spills, rain and splashes with an IPX4 rating. And by outputting music from 360 degrees, they sound the same to anyone in the vicinity. The only drawback is bass that lacks some oomph. 

If you want more low end and don't mind spending more, Bose's Portable Smart speaker is also on sale at $319, for a savings of $80 (20 percent). Also a 360-degree speaker, it has a well-rounded low end and bright dynamic sound with plenty of nuance. It's more geared toward home use, offering WiFi, voice and app control, along with support for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Spotify Connect, Amazon Music, Chromecast and more.

Finally, if you really need big sound for outdoor parties, the Bose S1 Pro Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $599, or $100 (14 percent) off. It's designed for rugged use and supports not only wireless Bluetooth, but wired inputs from a guitar, DJ setup and more. You also get Auto EQ and other speakers to maximize sound output, whether you're inside or out. 

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