Some owners of the new Apple Studio Display are having problems updating to the latest firmware, MacRumors has reported. After multiple failed attempts, users are being told by Apple support to bring their display in for repair to an Apple Store or authorized repair facility.
The issue has affected a growing number of users on Apple's support forum. When attempting the update, users get a message stating "Apple Studio Display firmware could not be updated. Try again in an hour. If the problem persists, contact an authorized Apple service provider." Subsequent attempts then fail, even if connecting via another computer. (Engadget has reached out to Apple for comment on the issue.)
The Studio Display is off to a shaky start, with criticism of its 60Hz refresh rate, relatively high price tag and mediocre webcam. Apple promised to fix the webcam via firmware update, but has yet to provide a timeline. The Studio Display packs an A13 Bionic chip (the same as on the iPhone 11) and runs a full version of iOS 15.4. As such, fixes arrive as part of an iOS update, allowing users to update it through System Preferences on macOS.
It was a great week for Apple lovers as many of the company's most popular gadgets went on sale. Amazon discounted both the Apple Watch Series 7 and the Apple Watch SE to near record-low prices, plus the AirPods Pro are back on sale for $174. Also, you can save hundreds on 2021 LG OLED smart TVs and pick up one of many Eufy robot vacuums at a discount. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Apple Watch Series 7
Engadget
Many color options of the 41mm Apple Watch Series 7 are down to $330, or $70 off their normal price. If you want the larger model, you can pick up the 45mm version for $360. We gave the wearable a score of 90 for its bigger screen, faster charging and handy watchOS 8 features.
Apple's AirPods Pro are back on sale for $174, which is 30 percent off their normal price. We gave the company's best sounding earbuds a score of 87 for their improved fit, good sound quality and strong ANC.
The original AirPods are 38 percent off and down to only $99. That's not their all-time-low price, but it's close to it. We gave them a score of 84 when they first came out for their improved wireless performance, wireless charging capabilities (if you have the right case) and solid battery life.
The more affordable Apple Watch SE is cheaper than usual right now and down to $229. It's a parred-down version of the Series 7, but it supports all of the standard features you'd expect from an Apple Watch including onboard GPS, Apple Pay, daily activity and workout tracking and more.
The space gray, 256GB iPad is down to a record low of $429. We gave the updated tablet a score of 86 for its improved performance, excellent battery life and Center Stage-capable front cameras.
All of LG's 2021 C1 OLED smart TVs are on sale right now, with most of them down to all-time-low prices. You can pick one up for less than $1,000, but the best deal of the bunch is on the 65-inch model, which is 32 percent of and down to $1,697. And if you go for that one, you can also save $150 on LG's SP9YA soundbar if you're looking to upgrade your sound system along with your TV.
If you buy the Beats Fit Pro earbuds from Amazon, you'll get a free $25 gift card to use on future purchases. We gave these buds a score of 87 for their comfortable fit, punchy bass and solid ANC.
Amazon knocked $70 off Anker's budget-friendly Eufy RoboVac 11S, bringing it down to $160. This is a solid option if you want a robot vacuum without dropping too much money. While this model doesn't have WiFi, you can use the included remote to set schedules and change cleaning modes.
Nintendo's $50 eShop gift card is $5 cheaper than usual on Amazon, so you can get it for $45. It's a good card to pick up if you have a bunch of Switch games on your wish list and plan on stocking up soon.
B&H Photo has a bundle that includes the second-generation Nest Hub and the wired Nest Cam for $150, which is $50 less than usual. These two devices are designed to work together, with the Nest Hub showing you the feed from the Nest Cam, which you can position anywhere around your home.
You can pick up the August WiFi smart lock for $40 less than usual when you use the code EGDTLOCK when checking out at Wellbots. The IoT device earned a score of 80 from us for its easy installation process, WiFi connectivity and extra security with required two-factor authentication.
Native Instrument's latest sale knocks up to $200 off its Maschine hardware and throws in some free expansions on top of that. The best deal is on the Maschine+, which is $200 off and down to $1,199. And if you're an existing customer, you might qualify for a bigger discount. You'll find that out once you log in.
Beats' Studio Buds are back on sale for $120, which isn't an all-time low, but is only $20 more than that. We gave the true wireless earbuds a score of 84 for their balanced sound, comfortable design and quick pairing on both Android and iOS.
All of Zwift's cycling gear is 25 percent off right now, including the Wahoo Kickr smart power trainer, which is down to $900. The Tacx Neo Bike is down to $2,400 in this sale, and you can pick up Wahoo's heart rate arm band for only $60.
PowerA's Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox is 32 percent off and down to only $26. It's a good option if you want another controller for your console but don't want to pay the premium attached to the first-party options. This one has a familiar, ergonomic design, dual rumble motors and mappable buttons.
Xbox Stereo Headset 20th Anniversary Special Edition
You can pick up this special edition Xbox headset for $50, which is 29 percent off its normal price and a record low. This is a wired headset that has green accents and support for Windows Sonic spatial sound.
Google is joining Apple and Samsung in giving you the resources needed to fix phones yourself. The tech firm is partnering with iFixit to provide official parts for Pixel phones later this year. The initiative will cover models ranging from the Pixel 2 through to the Pixel 6 Pro and beyond. You'll have access to a "full range" of components like batteries, cameras and displays, whether you buy them by themselves or alongside tools in iFixit Fix Kits.
The initiative will be available in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and those EU countries where Pixel phones are sold. Google also said it's "expanding" authorized repair shops' access to parts, tools, documentation and training if you'd rather have someone else fix your handset.
The company characterized the move as one step in a broader sustainability push. All Google hardware will include at least some recycled material in 2022, and the firm pointed to other longevity-related features like five years of Pixel security updates and tools to turn old laptops into Chromebooks. Ideally, these efforts will help you use devices for longer and keep them from becoming e-waste.
There's also a likely pragmatic motivation. Like Apple and Samsung, Google is facing pressure from regulators and the public to remove limitations on do-it-yourself repairs. The iFixit partnership isn't guaranteed to help Google fend off criticism, but it might show that the company is willing to bend to avoid or accommodate new Right to Repair rules.
If your co-workers or friends don't show up within the first five minutes of your scheduled video call, you'll soon be able to blame Google for why you left early. The tech giant will start rolling out an update for Google Meet so that it will prompt you to exit meetings when you're the only person in it. Say, you log into a team meeting, but nobody shows up within five minutes: A notification will show up asking if you're still there and if you'd like to keep waiting or to leave the call. If you don't respond within two minutes, you'll automatically get kicked out.
Other services like Discord already implement similar measures to prevent wasting bandwidth. Zoom also has a time limit for idle meetings, but it lasts for up to 40 minutes. Google didn't say whether it introducing the new feature as a way to stop wasting resources, but the company is hoping that it can help prevent you from unintentionally broadcasting your video and audio feed. Regardless, you can easily switch it off if you don't want to be prompted to leave your meetings. The feature will be on by default, but you can go to General under Settings to toggle it off.
Google will gradually roll out the "leave empty calls" feature starting on April 11th, and it will take 15 days to reach all desktop and iOS users. It will also be available for Android users "soon."
Google has unveiled new policies for the Play Store that will effectively bar any existing Android Apps that are significantly out of date. All apps in the Store must target an API level within two years of the latest major Android release, or they won't be available for discovery or installation, it announced on its Android Developer blog. The aim is to "protect users from installing older apps that may not have these protections in place," the company said. The changes will go into effect on November 1st, 2022.
Currently, Google requires new apps and app updates to target an Android API level within just one year of the latest Android OS version release. The new changes, by contrast, target existing apps that may not have been updated in a while. Google notes that if you're running an older device, you'll "continue to be able to discover, re-install, and use the app on any device running any Android OS version that the app supports."
Google said the "vast majority" of apps already follow the incoming standard. While that may be true, the Play Store has around 2.87 million apps in total, so there are a no doubt a huge number that need attention. For those that don't conform, it's notifying developers and giving them any resources needed to update.
Play has seen a lot of new security measures over the last few years. The most significant came in 2017 when Google launched Play Protect designed to scan for rogue apps with help from machine learning. However, some still get through that pose security risks and violate user privacy. The new policy may help stop a good chunk of those, but as we all know by now, it will never catch them all.
TAG Heuer was virtually certain to follow up its Connected Calibre E4 smartwatch with a version for golf enthusiasts, and it's now clear you didn't have to wait long. The watchmaker has introduced a Calibre E4 Golf Edition that melds the updated wristwear with some matching upgrades to your experience on the fairway. Most notably, the brand has overhauled the on-watch map interface to show more of the course and your game, including the distances for the target and tracking shot.
You can also expect automatic shot tracking when you swing at the tee — the feature will eventually come to the Apple Watch app, but it's worth noting if you're determined to perfect your drive. If you pair with an iPhone, you can also use TAG Heuer's iOS app to share 3D videos of your best shots. Like you'd expect, the Golf Edition E4 has its share of game-inspired faces and a strap that not-so-subtly mimics the dimples on your ball.
This is otherwise the titanium 45mm Calibre E4 introduced in February, although that's plenty if you want a reasonably current Wear OS watch. You'll find a Snapdragon Wear 4100+ chip that promises both faster performance and 30 percent more battery life than previous models. An altimeter will help with your hiking trips, and the brighter screen will help on sunny golfing days. TAG Heuer should upgrade the watch to Wear OS 3 when it's available.
The Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition will be available this month for $2,650 with three Titleist balls and a spare marker in the box. That's more than the regular titanium E4 ($2,550) and well above the $1,800 'entry' price for the watch range. But let's be honest: if you're even considering a TAG Heuer smartwatch and already devote your weekends to golf, you can likely afford to pay the premium for this variant.
Google has pulled dozens of apps used by millions of users after finding that they covertly harvested data, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Researchers found weather apps, highway radar apps, QR scanners, prayer apps and others containing code that could harvest a user's precise location, email, phone numbers and more. It was made by Measurement Systems, a company that's reportedly linked to a Virginia defense contractor that does cyber-intelligence and more for US national-security agencies. It has denied the allegations.
The code was discovered by researchers Serge Egelman from UC Berkeley and the University of Calgary's Joel Reardon, who disclosed their findings to federal regulators and Google. It can "without a doubt be described as malware," Egelman told the WSJ.
Measurement Systems reportedly paid developers to add their software development kits (SDKs) to apps. The developers would not only be paid, but receive detailed information about their user base. The SDK was present on apps downloaded to at least 60 million mobile devices. One app developer said it was told that the code was collecting data on behalf of ISPs along with financial service and energy companies. Measurement Systems also said it wanted data mainly from the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe and Asia.
"A database mapping someone’s actual email and phone number to their precise GPS location history is particularly frightening, as it could easily be used to run a service to look up a person’s location history just by knowing their phone number or email, which could be used to target journalists, dissidents, or political rivals," Reardon said in the AppCensus research blog.
Though Google has pulled those apps from the Play Store, the researchers noted that they still exist on millions of devices. At the same time, they found that the SDK stopped collecting user data after their findings were revealed.
The Measurement Systems domain was registered by a company called Volstrom Holdings Inc., which deals with the federal government through a subsidiary called Packet Forensics LLC. A company called Measurement Systems S de R.L. "also listed two holding companies as officers, both of which share a Sterling, Va., address with people affiliated with Volstrom," the WSJ noted.
In a statement, Measurement Systems told the WSJ by email that "the allegations you make about the company’s activities are false. Further, we are not aware of any connections between our company and U.S. defense contractors nor are we aware of… a company called Vostrom. We are also unclear about what Packet Forensics is or how it relates to our company."
Apple debuted a program in March that let it repair Face ID on newer iPhones without replacing the whole device, but it left the iPhone X out of the equation — frustrating if you're determined to use that 'classic' handset for a while longer. This shouldn't be a problem for now on, though. MacRumors has learned that Apple and authorized repair centers can now repair Face ID on the iPhone X without requiring a full-on replacement. Your much-loved handset should otherwise remain intact.
The initial program only offered these more targeted repairs for the iPhone XS and newer models. The update expands support to all iPhones with Face ID.
Block disclosed today that a security breach involving a former employee impacts 8.2 million Cash App users. In an SEC filing, the company reported that an ex-employee on December 10th downloaded a number of reports with information on customer information. The exfiltrated data included full names, brokerage account numbers, brokerage portfolio value, brokerage portfolio holdings and reports of stock trading activity.
According to the filing, only customers that used Cash App’s stock function are potentially included in the breach. While Cash App got its start as a peer-to-peer payment app, its customers can also use it to buy stocks and Bitcoin. No other Cash App features outside of stocks were involved in the breach, nor did it include any customers outside of the US, according to the company.
“The reports did not include usernames or passwords, Social Security numbers, date of birth, payment card information, addresses, bank account information, or any other personally identifiable information. They also did not include any security code, access code, or password used to access Cash App accounts. Other Cash App products and features (other than stock activity) and customers outside of the United States were not impacted,” wrote Block in the filing.
Block has launched a formal investigation into the incident and has contacted law enforcement. It also plans on notifying all 8.2 million customers involved in the breach by email.
According to the filing, the ex-employee once had access to the customer information as an employee at CashApp. But by the time the breach occurred, they had already been gone from the company for several months. It’s unclear how a former employee was still able to retrieve such highly sensitive information. Engadget has reached out to Block for a response, and will update if we hear back.
For today only, you can get $50 off the Xbox Series S through camera retailer Adorama. With the discount, Microsoft’s entry-level ninth-generation console costs $250. That matches one of the best prices we’ve seen for the system to date. To take advantage of the offer, you’ll need to input the code“XBOXS2250” at checkout. Today’s promotion is only available until midnight.
Engadget awarded the Series S a score of 85 when it was first released in November 2020. We liked the console for its compact design and expansive library of Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games accessible through Microsoft’s backward compatibility program. Since then, its library has only grown with the release of first-party exclusives like Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5 and Psychonauts2.
We called the Series S the next-gen starter pack when it came out. That aptly highlights some of its shortcomings. It only comes with 512GB of internal storage. You’ll need to buy one of Seagate’s expensive expansion cards to add additional space, and those start at $139 for the 512GB model. The Series S is also limited to 1440p and doesn’t offer the same backward compatibility experience as its more expensive sibling. We don’t think those are deal-breakers, but if you have the money to buy the Series X, it’s the more capable console.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
