The United Kingdom’s antitrust regulator is concerned that Microsoft’s blockbuster purchase of Activision Blizzard could create a monopoly in the nascent cloud gaming space. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which began investigating the deal back in July, says that it’s not yet reassured by the promises Microsoft has made to get the deal done. It feels that, once Activision is a part of Microsoft, the Xbox maker could use its “control over popular games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft” to “harm rivals” by boxing them out of access to popular titles. Microsoft has already publicly committed not to hoard exclusives, (and said that Actiblizz's library isn't all that anyway) but sweet words haven’t appeased the officials.

In a statement, it said that it was giving Microsoft and Activision five days to submit proposals that would address its concerns. If those did not pass muster, however, then the office will open a lengthy “Phase 2” investigation involving an independent panel to scrutinize the deal in greater depth. That will likely delay any completion of the deal, which would then only be rubber-stamped if regulators were convinced that the deal would not cause a “substantial lessening of competition.” It’s likely that, whatever happens, Microsoft will need to commit to not using its growing clout to hurt other companies in the space by depriving them of key franchises.

Microsoft’s gaming chief Phil Spencer has already responded to the announcement, affirming the previous pledge not to pull Call of Duty from PlayStation, for instance. Spencer pointed to the cross-platform appeal of Minecraft, a title Microsoft purchased in 2014, as evidence of the company’s good faith. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick published an open letter to employees, saying that the company will “fully cooperate” with regulators, which are taking “appropriate” steps to ensure that there are no risks to competition.

Like many other tech companies this week, Lenovo is at IFA Berlin sharing details about what it has in store for the end of the year. The company’s 2022 holiday lineup includes the first-ever 16-inch Chromebook. You can configure the IdeaPad 5i with a 2.5K 16:10 LCD that features a 120Hz refresh rate and a modest 350 nits of brightness. Thanks to its larger size, the IdeaPad 5i also comes with a full-sized keyboard.

Internally, the base model features an Intel Pentium 8505 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage. That said, you can upgrade the IdeaPad with a 12th-gen Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM and a proper SSD with up to 512GB of storage. It also sports plenty of ports, including a MicroSD slot, four total USB-C and USB-A ports, an audio jack, Bluetooth 5.0 and WiFi 6E connectivity. Additionally, the Chromebook comes standard with a 1080p web camera. Lenovo claims it’s possible to get up to 12 hours of use on a single charge from the built-in battery. The company said it would share US pricing and availability at a later date. In Europe, the IdeaPad 5i will start at €549 when it arrives on the continent sometime next month.

Lenovo

Alongside the IdeaPad 5i, Lenovo refreshed the Tab P11 and Tab P11 Pro. Now in their second generation, the two Android tablets feature updated internals and displays. The Pro is the more interesting of the two, boasting an 11.2-inch OLED with 600 nits of brightness, a 120Hz refresh rate, a 360Hz touch response rate and support for both HDR10 and Dolby Vision. With 8GB of RAM and a new MediaTek Kompanio 1300T chipset, Lenovo says the Tab P11 Pro offers 120 percent more processing power than its predecessor. You can pair the tablet with the company’s Precision Pen 3. Like the second-generation Apple Pencil, Lenovo’s stylus magnetically attaches to the tablet, allowing it to charge wirelessly when not in use.

As for the Tab P11, it now comes with an 11.5-inch LCD that features a variable 120Hz refresh rate, 400 nits of brightness and a 2,000 by 1,200 resolution. According to Lenovo, the tablet’s new MediaTek Helio G99 processor is 50 percent faster than the chipset found on its predecessor. The P11 Pro will cost $400 when it arrives next month. Meanwhile, Lenovo expects the $250 P11 to hit store shelves at the start of 2023.

In addition to the above mobile devices, Lenovo showed off a new flagship gaming monitor. The Legion Y32p-30 features a 31.5-inch LCD panel with a 4K resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio, 144Hz refresh rate and claimed 0.2ms response rate. Notably, it also comes with two HDMI 2.1 ports so you can connect it to your PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles. The Y32p-30 will cost $750 when it becomes available at the end of the year.

Lenovo

No Lenovo announcement is complete without at least one offbeat gadget thrown into the mix. At IFA 2022, that came in the form of the Glasses T1, a wearable Lenovo is pitching as a private display for on-the-go professionals. You can connect them to your Windows, Android or macOS device over USB-C to create a virtual monitor. Using them with an iPhone or iPad is also possible, provided you get a separate Lightning adapter. Either way, the Glasses T1 will display content from your device on a pair of micro OLED panels. Lenovo suggests you can use its new wearable to prevent prying eyes from seeing what’s on your screen. The Glasses T1 will arrive in China at the end of 2022 before arriving in other markets in 2023.

As the first laptop to feature a flexible OLED display, the original ThinkPad X1 Fold was incredibly ambitious. It was also very experimental. While the concept showed potential, its software, performance and design clearly weren’t ready for prime time. But almost two years later, Lenovo is back with a second attempt, sporting some serious generational leaps.

The first major upgrade on the new X1 Fold is a bigger 16.3-inch OLED display from Sharp. Not only does it have a slightly higher 2.5K resolution, but the larger size also means you have significantly more screen space. But more importantly, when folded up, you now get a device that’s closer to a 12-inch laptop instead of a 10-inch system like the previous model. This should make the X1 Fold a lot more practical anytime space is an issue, like when you’re working on an airplane without feeling cramped.

On top of that, Lenovo redesigned the X1 Fold’s Bluetooth keyboard. Now it uses the same keys as the ThinkPad X1 Nano, so you get a longer and cushier actuation, it also has a new fingerprint sensor that works with Windows Hello. And while you can still lay the keyboard on top of the bottom half of the Fold in laptop mode, it also attaches magnetically to the base of the system when it's resting on its included stand, which supports both landscape and portrait orientation.

Another big change is that instead of storing the keyboard inside the Fold, it magnetically attaches to the stand to become a single piece that’s easier to manage. So when you need to pack up, all you have to do is tilt the stand forward until it docks with the keyboard, bend the Fold in half, and then just slam everything together. Lenovo says this change was made in response to feedback from customers who prefer using the system more like a portable all-in-one instead of a convertible laptop. And because there isn’t a space inside the system for the keyboard anymore, Lenovo was able to install a new fold-flat hinge, so everything is sleeker and more compact. It’s almost like the X1 Fold has spent the last two years going to the gym and put on a fresh, custom-tailored suit.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

For the new generation, Lenovo also wanted to improve the Fold’s serviceability, so it's easier to replace things like its SSD, batteries and other components in the field. Unfortunately, the X1 Fold still isn’t water resistant, but it should still be pretty rugged, as the Fold remains subject to the same mil-spec 810G testing required on other ThinkPads. And despite a significantly bigger screen than before, the new X1 Fold only weighs around 2.8 pounds, though you’re looking at a kit that’s closer to 4.2 pounds when you factor in the revamped stand and keyboard.

I also appreciate some of Lenovo’s little touches, like the addition of a third USB-C port (two of which support Thunderbolt 4) and an improved location for the Fold’s 5MP IR webcam, so that it’s more useful. Lenovo even added a third speaker so that regardless of orientation, you still get full stereo audio with support for Dolby Atmos.

As for performance, we’re looking at a serious jump in processing power, with the Fold supporting up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 U-series CPU, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, while still featuring a completely fanless design. For those worried about the short battery life on the previous model, Lenovo has made room for an optional 16 Wh power cell to supplement the standard 48Wh battery. And because Windows 11 has much better support for various layouts and window snapping compared to Windows 10, from my brief time with the new X1 Fold, everything felt significantly smoother and more responsive.

So while I should mention that this is still a pre-production device, I’m really liking what I’ve seen so far from the new X1 Fold. But to get a real sense of how this thing is going to hold up, we’re going to have to wait a bit longer until it goes on sometime in Q4 starting at around $2,800.

The marriage of Paramount+ and Showtime's streaming offerings is finally complete. Starting today, you'll be able to access all of Showtime's content from within the Paramount+ app, Variety reports. That integration has been in the works since February, and it should make life easier for fans of Star Trek who may also want to catch up on Showtime's Yellowjackets. Previously, Paramount offered both services for a limited-time bundle price, but users had to access the apps separately.

To sweeten the deal, Paramount is offering another bundled discount through October 2nd: $7.99 a month for the "Essential Plan," which includes ad-supported Paramount+ and ad-free Showtime, and $12.99 for the completely ad-free "Premium Plan." After that, they'll cost $11.99 and $14.99 a month, respectively. (The Essential plan doesn't include access to your local CBS station—for that, you'll have to go premium.)

On its own, Paramount+ currently costs $4.99 a month/$49.99 a year for the limited plan, or $9.99 a month/$99.99 a year for the premium offering. If you've stuck with the service to get your Star Trek fix, it's not a huge leap to spend a few more bucks to get Showtime at the discounted rate. And no matter how you look at it, the bundled plans are also a better deal than spending $10.99 a month for Showtime alone.

While it's all a bit confusing at the moment, consolidating its streaming services makes sense for Paramount. It has to compete with the combined forces of HBO Max and Discovery+, which will unify their platforms next year, as well as Netflix's upcoming ad-supported tier. Both Paramount+ and Showtime have dedicated fanbases, but for many consumers, they're also the sort of services that may get cancelled when their favorite shows aren't airing new episodes. Together, though, they may have just enough content to keep subscribers around.

A serious vulnerability found by Microsoft in the TikTok Android app could have allowed hackers to hijack millions of accounts. On Wednesday, the company’s 365 Defender Research Team detailed a one-click exploit it informed TikTok of in February. The good news is that the social media company promptly patched the vulnerability before today’s disclosure and Microsoft says it has no evidence of someone using it out in the wild.

“We gave them information about the vulnerability and collaborated to help fix this issue,” Microsoft’s Tanmay Ganacharya told The Verge. “TikTok responded quickly, and we commend the efficient and professional resolution from the security team.”

According to Microsoft, the vulnerability involved an oversight with TikTok’s deep linking functionality. On Android, developers can program their apps to handle certain URLs in specific ways. For instance, when you tap on a Twitter embed in Chrome and the Twitter app automatically opens on your phone as a result, that’s an example of the deep linking feature working as intended.

However, Microsoft found a way to bypass the verification process TikTok had in place to restrict deep links from executing certain actions. They then discovered they could use that vulnerability to access all the primary functions of an account, including the ability to post content and message other TikTok users. The flaw was present in both global versions of TikTok’s Android app. The two releases have more than 1.5 billion downloads between them, meaning the potential impact of someone discovering the vulnerability before it was patched could have been massive.

Microsoft recommends all TikTok users on Android download the latest version of the app as soon as they can. More broadly, you can protect yourself in the future from similar exploits by not clicking on sketchy links. It’s also good practice to avoid sideloading apps as you don’t know how someone could have altered the APK.

It only took about two years, but I finally bought an NVIDIA RTX 3070 last month. Along the way, I tried almost everything I could to get my hands on one at the actual retail price. I joined Discord servers dedicated to posting stock alerts. I found Twitter accounts that did the same for Canadian retailers. But no matter how persistent I was, I could never beat everyone else who wanted a 3070 just as much as I did. By the time summer came, I was ready to give up, and I would have if not for the crypto crash.

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

If you haven’t followed the market, Bitcoin and Ethereum's slide has dramatically affected GPU prices, particularly on the NVIDIA side of things. The company’s add-in board partners, firms like ASUS and EVGA that produce the majority of GPUs you can buy, are reportedly struggling with overstock after crypto-miners flooded the used market with cheap 30-series video cards. According to some reports, the issue is so bad that NVIDIA may push back the release of its next-generation Ada Lovelace architecture to the end of the year to give its partners time to sell their existing stock. Either way, you can buy a current-generation GPU without jumping through hoops for the first time in nearly two years.

When I finally pulled the trigger on my ASUS Dual RTX 3070, I paid $740 CAD before tax or about $565 USD. I probably could have found a used model for less, but I decided I was okay with spending more to get a video card with a full warranty that someone hadn’t abused for crypto-mining.

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

What you probably what to know is why I didn’t wait a bit longer for NVIDIA’s next-generation GPUs to arrive. The answer is twofold. Unless the US decides to regulate cryptocurrencies, it’s hard to see a future where the market doesn’t recover and mining becomes lucrative again. Even if that doesn’t happen, by the time NVIDIA’s new GPUs are available to buy, they might not be easy to find.

All signs point to the company opening the Ada Lovelace generation with RTX 4090, 4080 and 4070 models. Not only will those likely be more expensive than their 30-series counterparts, but you can also bet they’ll be in high demand among gamers who want the latest and greatest – particularly the 4070 as the most mainstream model of the trio.

For those reasons, I thought there would be a short window where I could buy a new GPU at a reasonable price. That I was running a GTX 1660 Ti with a QHD monitor made my decision easier. I was starting to see the 1660 Ti sometimes struggle to maintain a consistent rate of 60 frames per second in games like Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order at 1440p. The fact the 1660 Ti doesn’t include NVIDA’s DLSS upscaling technology also meant I was looking at a future where I would have to play some games at reduced quality.

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

I can safely say I won’t regret buying the RTX 3070 with its successor right around the corner. Playing games like God of War with all graphical settings maxed out and without a single hiccup has been delightful. Even more revelatory has been revisiting games like Control and finally being able to experience them with ray tracing. Sometimes I think we get so caught up trying to pull off the perfect purchase that we don’t buy the product that would serve our needs well right now. I’m glad I didn’t fall into that trap.

Apple's flagship AirPods Max wireless headphones have much to offer like excellent audio quality, ANC and spatial audio support — but they're definitely not cheap at $549. Now, you can grab a pair in green, pink, silver and sky blue for just $429. That's 22 percent off and tied with the lowest price we've seen to date.

The AirPods Max scored a solid 84 in our Engadget review and made our latest list of favorite headphones, thanks to their high sound quality, effective noise-cancellation and reliable controls. They offer a uniquely Apple-esque design, and despite being slightly heavier than Sony’s WH-1000XM4 cans, are comfortable to wear. Once you get used to it, the rotating crown makes it easy to adjust sound.

Audio quality is more natural than other headphones we've tried with bass that's accurate and not overpowering. Sony's WH-1000XM4 headphones have more effective ANC, but the AirPods Max come close. Meanwhile, the Transparency Mode lets you quickly disable ANC if you need to hear what's going on. The biggest drawback is the lack of lossless audio support, but they work great with Dolby Atmos surround sound on most Apple devices.

The AirPods Max are ideal if you're in the Apple ecosystem, with the H1 chip letting you quickly switch between an iPhone and a Mac, for example. There's no question that they're very expensive at the regular $549 price, so Amazon's latest discount presents a good buying opportunity if you've been eyeing a pair.

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Earlier this month, Logitech said it was working on a gaming handheld to hook into your cloud gaming service of choice. Now, leaked images of the G Gaming Handheld have danced their way across the internet. Looking like a slimmer Steam Deck (or Switch), the image shows icons for Xbox, GeForce Now and Steam, as well as Chrome and YouTube. On one hand, it looks a lot like so many of those clip-on braces that pair with your existing smartphone, like the Kishi. On the other, if this offers an affordable way to play AAA titles on the road while preserving your smartphone’s battery life, Logitech could sell a bundle. (And while you wait for it to launch, you can always upgrade your mouse situation, as Logitech upgraded those, too.)

– Daniel Cooper

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Tom Hanks created a trivia game, and it's coming to Apple Arcade this Friday

• 8BitDo reveals wireless versions of its Xbox-style Ultimate Controller

• AMD's Ryzen 7000 desktop CPUs will start shipping on September 27th

• Sony's new premium 3.1-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar costs $700

• Elon Musk has a backup plan to kill his Twitter takeover

• Elon Musk is trying to stall his Twitter trial by a month

Sony has cut the PS5's weight after raising its price

The disc model now weighs the same as the digital model did at launch.

The PlayStation 5 was famously swole at launch, which was a problem for the company that made it (and those that deliver it). But the quiet program of corporate weight-shedding Sony has put the console on has started to bear fruit, with an updated model. The new digital version is 200 grams lighter than its predecessor, and the disc version has dropped 300 grams. That means the disc model weighs the same as the digital one did when the console made its debut. We shouldn’t expect a PS5 slim any time soon, but it gives us hope that Sony is working hard to bring one to reality.

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The best budget TVs and streaming gadgets for students

Get the best for your return to school.

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

I get it – the easiest and most convenient thing to do when you’re in a dorm room is to watch TV on your phone. But let’s be honest, your eyes (and ears) deserve better, and there are enough decent, affordable options to improve your home entertainment time. Our Back to School buyer’s guide has a bunch of good TVs, streaming sticks and audio gear to do what you need, without breaking the bank.

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Twitter planned to build an OnlyFans clone, but CSAM issues reportedly derailed the plan

Employees said the company doesn’t do enough to tackle harmful content.

A lengthy report has detailed Twitter’s plans to build its own OnlyFans-style subscription content platform. The project hit the buffers, however, because the company couldn’t implement an effective-enough system to filter out CSAM and other non-consensual image sharing. Twitter insiders said its filtering platform is out of date, inefficient and not up to the task of keeping the platform safe for users at large. The company responded, saying the report is not reflective of where the platform is at right now, and it has stepped up efforts to tackle CSAM on its platform.

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The Sense75 is Drop's play for the premium mechanical keyboard market

It’s presented as an alternative to the Glorious GMMK Pro.

Drop

Don’t believe the haters who keep telling you to stop using them in the library – mechanical keyboards are cool. And Drop is launching its first premium unit, the Sense75. Looking very much like the Glorious GMMK Pro, the 75 is a 75 percent tenkeyless deck with Holy Panda X switches, DCX keycapa and a rotary dial. Be warned, while Drop normally aims for affordability, a pre-built one of these will set you back either $349 or $399, depending on the color you pick.

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Webb and Hubble telescopes join forces to capture multi-spectrum image of Phantom Galaxy

Two telescopes are better than one.

NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope

Look at this! Isn’t it magnificent? This is a new image of the Phantom Galaxy (M74), 32 million light years away from Earth. The image offers an unprecedented look at a spiral galaxy that first bewitched astronomers in 1780. What’s even cooler is the image is a composite, pulling data from both the brand-new James Webb and the positively ancient Hubble space telescopes. It’s a testament to the longevity of Hubble, the improved power of Webb and the value of friendship and teamwork.

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If you need extra storage to help you wrangle and organize all the files overtaking your computers and mobile devices, don't miss out on Amazon's latest one-day sale. The e-commerce website is selling a robust collection of SanDisk and Western Digital storage devices and memory cards at a discount right now, priced at up to 61 percent off. You can get SanDisk's 1TB Extreme Pro, which is currently listed for $160.49 or 48 percent off its regular price, if you're looking to bring a ruggedized storage solution everywhere you go. 

It's encased in a forged aluminum chassis that acts as a heatsink enabling the device to sustain its read/write speeds that go up to 2000MB/s. The device can survive drops from up to 2 meters in height and is IP55 water-and-dust resistant — it even comes with a carabiner loop to prevent you from dropping it in the first place. And to protect the files you save, it also features 256‐bit AES hardware encryption.

Looking for an internal storage for your PC-building needs instead? The 1TB Western Digital SN770 NVMe Solid State Drive that was designed to enable a smoother gaming experience is also on sale for $80, which is $50 less than its usual price. It has a read speed of up to 5,150MB/s and uses an advanced thermal management technology to help it maintain consistent speeds. 

If what you need is a memory card, the one-day sale has a number of them listed, as well. One of the models on sale is SanDisk's 512GB Extreme microSDXC UHS-I Memory Card that's currently being sold for $58. That's $72 less than what the UHS Speed Class 3 and video Speed Class 30 (V30) microSDXC card usually costs. Amazon also has memory cards with smaller capacities on sale, though, if you're looking for something even cheaper.

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Twitter’s feature for tweeting only to close friends is now available to all its users. After nearly four months of testing, Twitter Circle is rolling out for everyone to help people feel “more comfortable tweeting and expressing themselves.”

Twitter Circle is a bit like Instagram’s “close friends” feature.. Meant to be a sort of middle-ground between a public and private account, users can designate some tweets to be viewable only to a smaller “circle” of up to 150 followers. The feature could help address a long-running issue for the company: that many Twitter users simply don’t feel comfortable tweeting that much, either for fear of harassment or simply the pressures associated with public-facing accounts.

Interestingly, Twitter says that its early tests of the feature have shown that users with Circle tweet more overall, and get more likes and replies when tweeting to a smaller group. The company notes that it also reduces the need for users to have a secondary account or switching their accounts back and forth between public and private.

Twitter Circle is the latest way Twitter has tried to create spaces for users to interact with smaller audiences without making their accounts completely private. The company has also experimented with a Facebook Groups-like feature, called Communities, and subscriber-only content for creators with Super Follows. But Twitter Circle, which users can access directly from the tweet composer, is an even more accessible way of controlling the audience for each tweet. That may seem at odds with the “town square” vision of Twitter vaunted by its would-be acquirer, but increased engagement could also help the company’s bottom line.