CES 2023 usually features some pretty eccentric gadgets, and Lenovo is kicking off that trend with the Go Desk Station with Webcam. It's designed for those of us with limited desk space, serving as a webcam, adjustable desk light, Qi wireless charger and expansion hub all in one. It doesn't compromise on any of those things, but is priced accordingly.

The primary feature is the Lenovo Go 4K Pro Webcam (also available as a standalone camera) designed for video conferencing and high-res streaming. It can stream 4K at up to 30 fps and includes autofocus and auto-framing with an adjustable field of view, along with auto ambient light adjustment, via the built-in desk light.

Lenovo

That desk light rides on a height-adjustable and rotating arm, and can be positioned in almost any direction to illuminate your face or objects on your desk. You can choose from three color temperature options to match your environment, including 3,000K (yellow white), 4,500K (cool white) and 6,500K (daylight), with brightness up to 1600 lux at 0.5 meters (1.5 feet). 

It's a versatile hub, as well. It has a 135-watt USB-C power input with a full-function 65-watt USB-C port for laptop power, to start with. It also includes 15-watt Qi compliant charging pad for mobile devices, a 20W USB Type-C port, two USB Type-A 3.1 ports and an HDMI 2.0 output for external displays up to 4K at 60fps.  

If you're already looking for a desk lamp, wireless charger and USB hub, this could fit the bill in just a single purchase. You'll pay for it though. The Go Desk Station with Webcam arrives in March 2023 starting at $329, or you can grab the Lenovo Go 4K Pro webcam by itself for $150, also in March next year. 

Lenovo has launched the IdeaPad Flex 3i 2-in-1 Chromebook with improved features over last year's Flex 3i Chromebook, along with a higher price tag. The 16:10 12.2-inch display is an inch larger than before, and it can be used as a laptop, tablet or made to stand in tent-mode for entertainment. It also comes with thinner bezels and looks a fair bit less chunky than the previous model. Performance-wise, it offers the latest N-series Intel processors (the N100 or N200), up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

Other features include an optional Full HD webcam with a physical shutter and designated mute key, along with faster connectivity via WiFi 6E. It offers up to 12 hours of battery life, an optional backlit keyboard, tuned speakers and a drop-hinge feature that lifts the keyboard for a more ergonomic typing experience. It's shipping in May 2023 starting at $350, a fair chunk more than the $190 price on the current Flex 3i.

Lenovo

If it's an Android tablet you're after, Lenovo also took the wraps off the Tab M9 ahead CES 2023. It's essentially designed as an entertainment unit, with a 9-inch "Netflix HD-supported" 1,920 x 1,200 display, Dolby Atmos spatial audio support and dual stereo speakers. If you're more into books, it also offers an immersive reading mode that simulates the color of real book pages, lets you soften the tone for your eyes, and choose from various ambient background sounds. 

It comes with a MediaTek Helio G80 Octa-Core processor, Android 12 OS, up to 128GB of storage, 13 hours of battery life, face unlocking and WiFi 5 connectivity. It arrives in Q2 2023 for $140, though it'll cost more with the optional folio case shown above. 

While acknowledging that 2022 was "harder than we expected" for its metaverse plans, Meta remains committed to the technology, Reality Labs CTO Andrew Bosworth wrote in a blog post. To that end, the company is planning to put 20 percent of its total spending toward Reality Labs in 2023, with half of that going directly toward augmented reality (AR) initiatives — around the same amount as last year. 

Meta was criticized this year for putting billions toward metaverse projects and seeing a loss of $9.4 billion from Reality Labs through the first three-quarters of 2022. "Economic challenges across the world, combined with pressures on Meta’s core business, created a perfect storm of skepticism about the investments we’re making," Bosworth acknowledged.

However, reversing course now could produce "disastrous consequences," he added. Noting that daily active Facebook users (DAUs) were at an all-time high, the 20 percent investment in Reality Labs "makes sense for a company committed to staying at the leading edge" of AR tech. 

While Reality Labs is losing money, the spending enabled Meta to develop "foundational pieces of technology" for the future, Bosworth said. Specifically, Meta shipped the Quest Pro headset with mixed reality and eye and face tracking that have been adopted by developers, creators and builders. "We’ll be living with the benefits of this work for decades to come."

It looks like Meta and its investors will need to stay patient, though, as the company's vision for immersive AR glasses is years off. "Our vision for true AR glasses will require years of progress making our devices slimmer, lighter, faster, and more powerful, all while consuming way less battery power and generating much less heat," according to Bosworth.

In the shorter term, Reality Labs is working to improve its incredibly basic avatar system, with more news coming in 2023. It's also planning to help Horizon Worlds "flourish," will introduce a Meta Question Gaming Showcase in the spring and reveal the "successor to the Meta Quest 2" sometime next year. 

Virtual reality pioneer John Carmack recently left Meta, while criticizing the company's lack of efficiency. Bosworth also acknowledged the likely arrival of Apple's AR headset and HTC's Meta Quest rival likely coming in 2023 Given all that, Meta likely wanted to assure users and investors alike that the company is staying the course on AR, despite the challenges.

Nearly 200 countries have agreed to protect 30 percent of Earth's lands and oceans by 2030. The deal was reached early this morning at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal following two weeks of negotiations. The only holdouts to the deal were the US and the Vatican, though the Biden administration has a domestic plan to conserve 30 percent of US land and water by 2030. 

With the agreement, each participating country agrees to hitting over 20 environmental targets by the end of the decade. A key condition is the so-called 30x30 plan to protect at least 30 percent of land, inland water and coastal areas by 2030. That forms the basis of an international agreement similar to the 2015 Paris climate accord. 

Along with the protection of habitats, nations have pledged to reduce pesticide risks by 50 percent, reduce nutrient runoff from farms and the rate at which invasive species are introduced to ecosystems.

Nations now have eight years to stop the loss of biodiversity being driven by humans due rainforest destruction, species exploitation, pollution and more. Previous agreements, like the biodiversity targets set at Aichi, Japan in 2010, saw nations fail to achieve the goals set. This time, though, there's a monitoring framework to keep track of progress. 

In addition to protecting species, the draft COP15 agreement urges nations to recognize and respect "the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, including over their traditional territories." However, Amnesty International wrote that the deal was a "missed opportunity to protect indigenous peoples' rights," as it didn't explicitly recognize their lands and territories as a separate category of conserved area.

Another point of disagreement was between wealthy and poor countries over funds. Nations in South America and Africa that house the world's largest rainforests wanted assurances from rich countries that they'll receive money to battle poaching, illegal deforestation and other issues, according to The Washington Post. 

At one point in negotiations, delegates from developing countries walked out of on talks over funding issues. The agreement must "align the resources and the ambitions," said Columbia's environmental minister Susana Muhamad. The Democratic Republic of Congo's environment minister, Ève Bazaiba, added that "when it comes to fauna, we need to have the means to achieve this objective." 

The COP15 agreement follows a breakthrough deal at the COP27 climate conference, approving a climate damage fund for developing nations. How well the plan will be implemented remains to be seen, though. "While agreements are great, if we’re going to save life on Earth, now we have to roll up our sleeves and do it," the Center for Biological Diversity's Tanya Sanerib wrote. "The planet faces an extinction crisis like none ever before witnessed by humankind, with 28 percent of species across the global facing extinction."

Europe has hit Facebook owner Meta with a complaint that its Marketplace classified service is unfair to competitors. By tying its main social media site to Marketplace, it has a "substantial distribution advantage" over rivals, the EU Commission wrote in a press release. 

"With its Facebook social network, Meta reaches globally billions of monthly users and millions active advertisers," EU Antitrust Commissioner said in a statement. "Our preliminary concern is that Meta ties its dominant social network Facebook to its online classified ad services called Facebook Marketplace. This means that users of Facebook automatically have access to Facebook Marketplace, whether they want it or not."

In addition, the Commission found that Meta imposes imposes unfair trading conditions on competitors that advertise on Facebook or Instagram. That essentially allows it to use "ads-related data derived from competitors for the benefit of Facebook Marketplace," it said. The practices, if confirmed, would infringe on EU rules that prohibit the abuse of a dominant market position. The EU has the power to impose a fine of up to 10 percent of Meta's annual revenue and prohibit the behavior. 

In a statement, Meta's head of EMEA competition said the "claims made by the European Commission are without foundation" and that the company "will continue to work with regulatory authorities to demonstrate that our product innovation is pro-consumer and pro-competitive." 

Last year, the EU Commission launched an antitrust probe into Facebook's classified advertising practices to determine if it broke competition rules by using advertiser data to its own benefit. The so-called Statement of Objects released today is a formal step in EU antitrust investigations, informing parties of complaints raised against them. Meta can now examine the documents, reply in writing and request an oral hearing to present their comments, according to the Commission. 

Yesterday Elon Musk launched another one of his famous Twitter policy polls, this time putting his own leadership on the line. "Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll," he tweeted. The poll just ended and 57.5 percent of users voted "Yes," compared to 42.5 percent who voted no (with 17,502,391 votes) — a decisive 15-point margin.

It remains to be seen if (and how, and when) Musk will abide by his poll, as he has yet to issue any comment about the results. Shortly after publishing the vote (and when it was already tilting toward "Yes"), he tweeted "as the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it." During the poll, Musk was seen at the World Cup in Qatar with former White House adviser Jared Kushner, live-tweeting the final between France and Argentina.

The vote follows a flurry of activity on Twitter. Yesterday, the social media site announced a rule change prohibiting users from linking to competing platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter rival Mastodon. That resulted in the ban of multiple users including Y Combinator founder Paul Graham, an early supporter of Musk's Twitter acquisition.  

A massive backlash ensued, and shortly afterwards, Twitter deleted a blog post that had outlined the new policy. In yet another poll yesterday, @TwitterSafety asked users whether it should "have a policy preventing the creation of or use of existing accounts for the main purpose of advertising other social media platforms." The "No" votes currently command a 87 percent share from 224,365 users with 14 hours remaining.

Google Search recorded the highest traffic in its 25-year history during the FIFA World Cup yesterday, CEO Sundar Pichai tweeted. Google effectively became an information hub for the final, a strong contender for the best in FIFA men's history. With records already smashed for group stage and Round of 16 matches, it's also likely to be the most watched final in history once figures are released. 

With updated Search features released ahead of the World Cup, Google made it easier for users to keep up with the action. Searching "World Cup" showed a dedicated section at the top with a list of upcoming matches, for instance, including dates and local times. You could also set up notifications on mobile for specific teams by tapping the bell icon and choosing the squad you wanted to follow.

It was also aided by the nail-biting action and strong storylines. Those include Lionel Messi finally getting his World Cup, Kylian Mbappe's legendary performance, France's late second-half comeback, an incredible extra time with two goals scored and a nerve-wracking shootout. All of that was capped by the celebrations and outpouring of emotions by players and fans alike. 

Sonos has never used WiFi 6 in its products, but a speaker with that feature has just passed through the FCC, Zatz Not Funny! has reported. Dubbed S39, it also offers full Bluetooth that could be used for audio streaming on top of Bluetooth LE normally used for WiFi pairing. Another product, the S41, reportedly appeared on a regulatory filing in Canada. 

The S39 model could be a successor to the Sonos One second-generation speaker released back in 2019. Both may also be the first products in a rumored "Optimo" lineup of high-end speakers reported by The Verge earlier this year. The Optimo 2 speaker (possibly a replacement for the Sonos Five) is supposed to support both WiFi and Bluetooth streaming, so that report lines up with the FCC filing. It could also have a USB-C wired line-in port, making it one of the few Sonos speakers with that feature. 

WiFi 6 and 6E could allow for more dependable streaming, particularly when using multiple speakers. Bluetooth, meanwhile, let you play music directly from a smartphone or other device. So far, Bluetooth streaming has only been present on Sonos' portable speakers. It's all still speculation until the products arrive, but given the FCC approvals, they should be coming soon. 

YouTube has removed PornHub's official channel over what it called "multiple violations" of its community guidelines, Variety has reported. Pornhub's YouTube channel first launched in 2014 and had 900,000 subscribers, but it no longer appears in YouTube search and its URL now shows a 404 error. 

YouTube said that Pornhub violated its policy against linking to sites that host content not allowed on YouTube. "Upon review, we terminated the channel Pornhub Official following multiple violations of our community guidelines," a spokesperson said. "We enforce our policies equally for everyone, and channels that repeatedly violate or are dedicated to violative content are terminated."

Pornhub's parent MindGeek said that it "vehemently denied" YouTubes claims that it linked out to porn sites. "Pornhub maintains the absolute best trust and safety measures on the internet and takes special care to ensure it does not violate any of YouTube’s Community Guidelines," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Unfortunately, this is just the latest example of discrimination against those in the adult industry."

On Friday, the anti-pornography group National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) wrote on its blog that it had flagged content that it believed violated YouTube policies. "After review, YouTube alerted NCOSE that they had terminated the channel for violations of their Community Guidelines." MindGeek, meanwhile, said that performers and sex workers are marginalized groups and called YouTube's "haphazard and arbitrary enforcement... dangerous and harmful." 

Mastercard and Visa cut off payments to Pornhub in 2020, with Mastercard saying at the time that it found illegal content on the site. A federal judge refused to remove Visa from a lawsuit alleging that it aided MindGeek in monetizing child pornography. In September, Instagram banned Pornhub permanently, also citing violations of community guidelines. 

Fujifilm recently launched the best, albeit most-expensive, APS-C camera yet – the X-H2S. But it wasn’t done. Today, we’re looking at its stablemate, the 40-megapixel X-H2. It’s the highest-resolution APS-C camera ever released and boasts impressive video powers.

You can shoot 15 fps RAW photos at full resolution, and it’s the first APS-C mirrorless camera with 8K video. It also offers improved in-body stabilization, an upgraded autofocus system with new AI subject recognition, and more.

At $2,000, it’s a full $500 less than the X-H2S, but that’s still a lot for an APS-C camera. With that in mind, I wanted to see if it’s that much better than rivals like Canon’s $1,500 32.5-megapixel EOS R7, and even how it stacks up against full-frame cameras like the Sony A7 IV or original Canon EOS R6 that cost just a bit more.

Body and handling

Other than the fact that the X-H2S has an “S” logo painted on the front, the X-H2 looks identical. It even weighs the same at 660 grams, or slightly more than the X-T4. That’s up there in full-frame territory, so it’s not exactly a pocketable street camera like other Fuji models.

Most Fujifilm cameras also have multiple dials for shutter speed, ISO and exposure compensation, but not the X-H2. Instead, it’s more like Canon, Sony and Nikon models, with front and rear dials, a mode selector, a joystick and a D-pad control. As a nod to street photographers who shoot from the hip, it does have a top screen that displays aperture, shutter speeds and other key info.

I was never a huge fan of the classic Fujifilm layout because it’s not ideal for video, so I like the X-H2 layout – but I know that many Fuji fans don’t.

I also love the fully articulating 3-inch, 1.5 million dot display, which makes it easier to shoot low and high-angle photos or selfies. The new X-T5, which packs the same 40-megapixel sensor, has a display that’s limited to tilting. Meanwhile, the 5.76-million dot, 120Hz EVF is nice and sharp and offers blackout-free shooting in silent electronic shutter mode.

Like its namesake, the X-H2 has a high-speed USB-C port with power delivery, along with microphone and headphone ports. You also get a full-sized HDMI port, which should be more robust than the fiddly micro-HDMI inputs found on rival cameras. That was a smart decision by Fujifilm, because external RAW video is a key feature on this camera.

Battery life is slightly reduced compared to the X-H2S, with 680 shots per charge instead of 720 – not surprising considering the extra resolution. And it has both UHS-II and high-speed CFexpress memory card slots. The latter is required for high-resolution ProRes video and to reduce buffering when shooting 15 fps, 40-megapixel bursts.

Performance

Steve Dent/Engadget

Normally, high-resolution cameras are among the most expensive models. However, the 26.2-megapixel X-H2S actually costs more than the 40-megapixel X-H2. That’s because it has a stacked sensor that delivers extra speeds and reduces rolling shutter in silent shooting mode.

Rolling shutter isn’t a huge issue on the X-H2 for photos, though. It’s actually faster in mechanical than electronic shutter mode, with full-resolution RAW bursts up to 15 fps compared to 13 fps. That’s impressive, considering it’s designed more for detail than speed.

What’s more, you won’t need silent mode often because the mechanical shutter is among the quietest I’ve ever heard. And if you really do need the electronic shutter, rolling shutter is present for fast moving subjects, but surprisingly well controlled. It’s considerably better than other APS-C cameras like Sony’s A6600 or the Canon EOS R7.

The autofocus system can keep up with the burst speeds as well. It sticks tenaciously to subjects, giving a decent hit rate even if they’re moving quickly. It’s not quite as accurate as Sony’s AF, though, particularly when light levels drop.

Steve Dent/Engadget

Like the S model, the X-H2 has new AI smarts, with the ability to track birds and animals, along with cars, motorcycles, bikes, airplanes and trains. Face and eye detection is much improved over past models like the X-T4 too, tracking subjects smoothly and reliably.

I’d certainly choose the X-H2S over the X-H2 for sports and wildlife, as the stacked sensor lets you shoot at an awesome 40 fps. Sony and Canon’s latest cameras beat them both, though, as they have superior AI and the autofocus is smoother and more reliable. Still, the X-H2 offers good autofocus and burst performance considering the high resolution.

The 7-stop in-body stabilization also worked well, letting me capture sharp shots handheld down to about a quarter second. And if 40 megapixels isn’t enough, you can take 160-megapixel photos with a tripod using Fuijfilm’s Pixel Shift Combiner feature.

Image quality

The X-H2’s 40-megapixel X-Trans backside-illuminated sensor may not be stacked, but it’s a new state-of-the-art sensor. And it really delivers where it counts in terms of image quality.

To start with, the extra pixels give you more detail that’s useful if you need to crop in or make large prints. And yet, the extra resolution doesn’t hurt image quality in low light at higher ISO settings. Noise is well controlled at ISO 6400, and images are usable at up to ISO 12800 if exposure is set correctly.

In-camera processing of JPEG and 10-bit HEIF files is impeccable, with pleasant, accurate colors and a nice balance of noise reduction and detail. If I wanted to share photos right away, I could often do it with no need for any processing.

The X-H2 can take uncompressed, lossless or compressed RAW photos with 14 bits of color. That gives plenty of room for fine-tuning, even in bright or dark areas. However, if you underexpose shots and try to boost levels, noise can get out of hand. That’s one of the main drawbacks of APS-C compared to full-frame sensors, of course.

And of course, the X-H2 offers Fujifilm’s full array of film simulation modes. You can experiment with popular looks like Velvia, Eterna or Acros black and white, and still have a full-color RAW backup. They’re not for everyone, but I love them.

Video

The X-H2S is still the best APS-C camera for video, mostly because of the extra speed and reduced rolling shutter. But the X-H2 is superior in a couple of ways. It gives you more resolution, up to 8K at up to 30 fps, along with supersampled 6.2K 16:9 (no 3:2) and supersampled 4K HQ at up to 30 fps. Subsampled 4K can also be shot at up to 60 fps with some loss of detail, while 240 fps super slow-mo is available at 1080p.

All of these resolutions can be saved in three 10-bit ProRes codecs, HQ, standard and LT. These offer more quality and are easier to edit than the 8-bit H.264 and 10-bit H.265 codecs. And the choice of three gives users the choice between quality and smaller, more manageable file sizes. They use high data rates that peak at an enormous 3,520 MBps, though, so you must record them to high-speed CFexpress cards.

F-Log and F-Log2 picture modes are also on tap, though processing is done at 12-bit rather than 14-bit as with the X-H2S – so the latter offers a bit more dynamic range. And you can save either ProRes or Blackmagic RAW video to Atomos or Blackmagic external recorders at up to 8K for more robust files that are easier to adjust later on.

Steve Dent/Engadget

Even with regular ProRes or H.265, I had plenty of room for creative color correction and shot adjustments. Color reproduction favors accuracy on the X-H2, with pleasant and accurate skin tones. Shooting at ISOs down to 6400 is feasible, with noise becoming an issue beyond that.

As with the S model, autofocus is much improved over other Fujifilm cameras, though still not up to par with Canon and Sony. It generally tracked subjects well, but could occasionally lose focus. While bird and animal tracking tended to be erratic, eye and face tracking was reliable.

Rolling shutter for video is more of an issue on the X-H2 than the X-H2s due to the lack of a stacked sensor. It’s especially pronounced with full shutter readouts at 8K, 6.2K and 4K HQ. You’ll want to be careful to avoid fast pans, and you’ll see a fair amount of skew when shooting objects that move rapidly across the frame. Still, it’s not actually not nearly as bad as I expected, and far better than on Sony’s A6600 and other APS-C cameras.

Overheating can be an issue at 8K with the X-H2, though Fujifilm hasn’t said exactly how long you can shoot at that resolution. If you’re planning to do that, though, you can buy a small fan that screws to the back to allow 8K filming for extended periods.

Finally, as with most cameras, the in-body stabilization is really only good for stationary handheld video. Video can jolt while vlogging or doing other rapid actions, even with the electronic assist turned on.

Wrap-up

Steve Dent/Engadget

After testing both of Fujifilm’s latest cameras, I think the X-H2 is a better option for most people simply because it’s a better value. While not as fast as the X-H2S, it offers an ideal balance between image quality and speed. And for video, it’s better if you need the highest resolution and sharpest video possible.

$2,000 is a lot for a crop-sensor camera, though. For that, you could get a full-frame camera like Canon’s $2,100 EOS R6 or spend $500 less on the EOS R7 APS-C camera. It’s also a tough sell against Fujifilm’s own $1,700 X-T5, which uses the same 40-megapixel sensor but has manual dials that many fans of the brand prefer.

Still, it’s a better video camera than either the A7 IV, EOS R6 and X-T5, thanks to the 8K, RAW output, fully-articulating screen and more. And with Fujifilm’s deep lens lineup that’s considerably cheaper than full-frame glass, the X-H2 will likely cost you less than any full-frame camera in the long run.