Apple has rolled out updates for its mobile, tablet and desktop operating systems, and they come with a fix for two zero-day vulnerabilities. As Ars Technica notes, the bugs can give bad actors access to the internals of the operating systems if exploited. Apple said in its patch notes that it's aware "of a report that [the issues] may have been actively exploited," but it didn't expound on whether it has detected instances of the bugs being used to gain entry to customers' devices. The tech giant attributes the vulnerabilities' discovery to "an anonymous researcher."
One of the vulnerabilities called CVE-2022-22675 affects all three operating systems and gives hackers a way to execute malicious code with kernel privileges. That means they can get complete access to their target's system and hardware. The other vulnerability, CVE-2022-22674, affects macOS and could lead to the "disclosure of kernel memory" or the the memory used by an operating system. They're the fourth and fifth zero-days Apple has fixed this year so far, which includes one that can be exploited to track sensitive user information.
In addition to fixing the zero-day vulnerability affecting iPhones, iOS 15.4.1 also remedies an issue caused by the update before it. Apparently, iOS 15.4 went out with a bug that could cause an iPhone's battery to drain more quickly than expected. The update fixes an issue that could render Braille devices unresponsive, as well.
Microsoft realizes it has crammed Your Phone with features as of late, and it's giving the software a rework to help you manage all that content. The company has unveiled a rebranded Windows 11 Your Phone app, now called Phone Link, that includes a redesigned interface. The updated software puts notifications out front to make sure you don't miss an important alert. You'll also have tabbed navigation that should help you better manage apps, calls, messages and photos.
The refresh also brings visuals more in line with Windows 11's look and feel. It will be easier to get started, for that matter. An upcoming Windows 11 update will let you set up Phone Link by scanning a QR code.
The release comes alongside a renaming of the Android app to Link to Windows (formerly Your Phone Companion) to better illustrate its role. Phone Link won't necessarily eliminate the urge to check your device, but it might prevent the flood of information from becoming overwhelming.
Last year’s OnePlus 9 Pro was one of the best phones of 2021 – which surprised some of us. The company substantially improved the cameras and packaged a high-spec phone in a premium body. Now, after several other OnePlus phones have launched with lower prices (and lesser specs), the $899 OnePlus 10 Pro, is finally here. The phone has long been available in China and the company has been teasing its new flagship since January.
With a cheaper price, a 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen, Snapdragon’s latest processor, a bigger battery and a gorgeous new green color option, the OnePlus 10 Pro sounds like it has everything it needs to repeat the success of its predecessor, but I’m left feeling underwhelmed.
Hardware
Mat Smith/Engadget
The camera unit, which includes three sensors and a flash, is surrounded by metal which bleeds over the edge to the frame of the 10 Pro. It’s an understated design touch, but I’m glad it looks different from older OnePlus models, its Oppo stepsiblings and other phones doing the same old camera sensor layout. Different is good.
The rest of the phone’s back is covered in a translucent finish that reminds me of the back of the iPhone 13 Pro. The OnePlus logo seems to be etched into this; I actually thought it was a sticker at first. There’s still some Hasselblad branding, too, along the side of the camera unit, but thankfully it's a little subtler than previous designs.
OnePlus’s Alert Slider has clung on for its eighth year. Once again, it’s located above the power button and switches between silent, vibrate and full volume modes, each of which can be manually adjusted to your preferred levels. There’s a USB-C port, supporting 80W SuperVOOC charging and stereo speaker grilles along the bottom edge. Finally, as usual, there’s a volume rocker on the left edge.
OnePlus has upgraded the selfie camera to a 32-megapixel sensor, but it’s still a pinhole camera set in the top left corner of the display. The front-facing camera works with face unlock, while there’s also an in-screen fingerprint scanner. Both seem faster than OnePlus’ last-gen phone, and the fingerprint sensor has been shifted higher up the phone panel, making it easier to access.
While the OnePlus 10 Pro looks different from last year’s 9 Pro, there’s an awful lot of spec overlap. Both models have the same size screen and run at 1,440 x 3,216 resolution, with adaptive refresh rates of up to 120Hz. This year’s phone does have an upgraded LTPO display, however, which OnePlus says is better optimized for dynamic changes in refresh rates. But you’d be hard-pressed to notice any difference between the 10 Pro and 9 Pro's screens; both are crisp, bright and colorful. While more and more phones are beginning to arrive with adaptive refresh rates, OnePlus does it better than most, dipping as low as 1Hz for static content on your phone screen, meaning less power drain. According to OnePlus, the upgraded screen should translate to 1.5 hours of additional use versus last year’s OnePlus 9 Pro.
Cameras
Comparisons with last year’s OnePlus 9 Pro come up yet again with the cameras. The company heralds this as its second-generation Hasselblad camera, with improvements to the OnePlus Billion Color Solution (which still struggles to sell itself as a compelling feature) and an updated Hasselblad Pro mode, which I’ll explain later.
Glancing at the spec sheet, even if the camera array itself looks notably different, the OnePlus 10 Pro has very similar camera sensors – and in fact there’s actually one less than last year’s OnePlus 9 Pro. Yes, we’ve lost the monochrome sensor, which shouldn’t be a big deal. It was a low two-megapixel sensor and I didn’t miss it at all. Otherwise, all the numbers match: a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a 50-MP ultra-wide lens – this time capturing across 150-degree views, and – like the OnePlus 9 Pro – a middling 8-megapixel telephoto option that tops out at 3.3x optical zoom.
My experience matches what Chris Velazco said last year in his review of the 9 Pro. The primary sensor captures detailed images, especially in well-lit surroundings. OnePlus has further refined the sensor to improve dynamic range and noise reduction in images, and you’ll still get the best shots from the pixel-binned 12-megapixel mode. If you do want to capture all the detail you can, however, there’s a high-res shooting mode that’s easily accessible through most of the camera app’s modes.
The new ultrawide camera gets a few tricks, too, including a new fish-eye capture mode that’s a bit of a gimmick, but it’s fun nonetheless. You can switch between a mild and strong fish-eye effect. I’m not going to win photography awards but the results are clean and it’s a harmless addition.
Mat Smith/Engadget
The telephoto camera remains the weakest part of the OnePlus camera setup. Given the 8MP resolution, shots seem blurry and low on detail. Sometimes my photos just lacked color and vitality, which is a shame because I use the telephoto cameras on phones a lot as it offers some degree of compositional freedom when framing my shots. (I can’t believe I just wrote the phrase “compositional freedom.”)
OnePlus’ flagship held its own against an iPhone 13 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro, but it wasn't the best. The cameras occasionally struggled with scenes with high dynamic range.
When shooting this scene, with a plant in front of an open fire and a bright neon sign in the background, the 10 Pro couldn’t quite tame the aggressive lighting, blowing out the neon light a little too much. The iPhone captured the scene in slightly warmer tones, while the Pixel seemed cooler. When I compared the photos, however, it was the OnePlus 10 Pro, even if it lacked the detail and dynamic range, that had nailed the colors of the room. Perhaps that Hasselblad partnership is actually working? Even then, would I prefer a more accurately colored shot or a wider dynamic range? The latter.
I had to see if anything had truly changed between the two OnePlus flagships, so I compared a few sample photos. While many were indistinguishable from each other, the 10 Pro edged out last year’s 9 Pro when it came to nighttime photography, which could be due to computational improvements and a faster chip – or OnePlus’ own internal calibrations and tweaks. Having said that, OnePlus’ night photography and AI assistance are a little too heavy-handed for my liking; they made some low-light scenes look artificially bright.
Software-wise, the new Hasselblad Pro mode works across all three camera sensors, adding fine control like ISO levels as well as 12-bit RAW capture for those willing to dive deep into image editing. OnePlus’ RAW+ image format is also here, which attempts to combine all the information of a photo, but it’s augmented by the computational image capture we’ve seen in most phones over the last few years. Was I using RAW+ capture over the stripped-down auto mode? Most of the time, no. But it’s more flexible for users willing to push the 10 Pro’s cameras to their limit.
Performance and software
Mat Smith/Engadget
OnePlus has long been able to balance a streamlined Android experience close to stock while adding its own tweaks and features. The OnePlus 10 Pro continues that approach despite the closer collaboration with Oppo and a shared codebase. In fact, the latest version of OnePlus’ OxygenOS, version 12, was apparently one of the reasons that the 10 Pro took so long to arrive after its debut, with more time needed to tweak the software for regions beyond China.
I still appreciate the ability to easily switch off OS additions I don’t need. The OnePlus Shelf is a pop-up menu that can be pulled down from the top right corner of the phone. It groups together several adjustable tiles – like those widgets you’ve been able to add to your homescreen on Android phones for about a decade.
In short, I don’t need it and would get frustrated when it pops up instead of the standard Android drop-down menu containing setting toggles and my notifications. Thankfully, I can just tap the settings cog inside the Shelf, and turn the entire feature off.
One addition I won’t be disabling is a new AI adaptive brightness feature. The OnePlus 10 Pro can learn your display brightness preferences and make adjustments, hopefully before you do. Artificial intelligence features inside smartphones are often hard to notice in day-to-day use (think: battery optimization features that are meant to adapt to how you use your phone and reduce power consumption). But OnePlus’ adaptive brightness soon appeared when I would check the 10 Pro in the early hours of the morning, helping to shield me from an unnecessarily bright screen before I’d even had my coffe
There are also a few gaming improvements to make the most of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. The HyperBoost game engine, courtesy of Oppo, tries to stabilize frame rates during gaming sessions, while also increasing the responsiveness of the touchscreen through a new feature called O-Sync. Both suffer from my issues with behind-the-scenes AI optimizations. It’s also not compatible with streaming games from Xbox Cloud Gaming or Stadia, which is how I game on smartphones most of the time.
The OnePlus 10 Pro wasn’t fazed by anything I threw at it – which has been true for most phones powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. When playing a video on repeat, the 5,000mAh battery took over 14 hours to run down – which isn’t great compared to roughly 17 hours from Samsung’s Galaxy S22+.
Benefiting from Oppo’s R&D, the OnePlus 10 Pro supports 80W SUPERVOOC charging. Yes, fast charging isn’t anything new for OnePlus, but damn, this is genuinely fast. With the appropriate charger (don’t worry, there’s one included with the phone), the 10 Pro can be fully charged in a mere 32 minutes. If you want even faster charging, OnePlus says 80W SUPERVOOC can charge the phone from 0 to 61 percent in just 15 minutes; I got around the same figures when recharging the phone myself. It’s a strong feature, and importantly, something that the OnePlus 9 Pro doesn’t have.
Wrap-up
Mat Smith/Engadget
OnePlus was on a roll. Last year, it proved it could deliver a true high-end smartphone rival to the likes of the iPhone and the Galaxy S series with the OnePlus 9 Pro. But with the OnePlus 10 Pro, the company has struggled to push the envelope further.
The OnePlus 10 Pro has impressive fast-charge capabilities, a gorgeous screen that’s incrementally better than last year’s model, while OxygenOS continues to add more to the Android experience without derailing it. I especially like how the green version looks, but at the same time, the smartphone competition moves fast.
(While I tested the covetable green version, in the US, OnePlus is selling the black model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for $899 in the US. The company says the green version, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, will arrive later. The price is still TBC. )
OnePlus might have nailed its cameras last year, but it’s not at the same level of the best phone cameras in 2022. Its computational photography seems overly aggressive and the telephoto camera, again, disappoints compared to the competition. When the Pixel 6 Pro costs the same, the OnePlus 10 Pro is hard to recommend over Google’s own flagship, even to die-hard OnePlus fans looking to upgrade from the OnePlus 9 Pro. At least it’s slightly cheaper.
Google is starting "origin trials" for the Chrome Privacy Sandbox, its new system for serving targeted ads without using cookies, the company announced. The initial aim is to test ad relevance via its new Topics API, along with FLEDGE and Attribution Reporting that allows remarketing and ad click measurement without tracking behavior across sites.
Origin trials will let Google test experimental Chrome technology with a limited number of people to make sure it's ready for general use. Starting today, developers can begin testing code for Topics, FLEDGE and Attribution Reporting in the Canary Chrome beta "and we'll progress to origin trials with a limited number of Chrome Beta users as soon as possible," it wrote. Eventually, the company will expand trials to a stable version of Chrome to access a larger user subset. All the trials will be available globally, with updates available here.
Google
Google will be testing updated settings that allow you to control your participation in the origin trials. For example, under the "Browser-based ad personalization" section, you'll be able to remove various interests estimated by Chrome, or remove specific sites that "define your interests." You'll also be able to control how ads are measured and choose how to participate in spam and fraud reduction that helps advertisers detect bots.
Privacy Sandbox has met with significant criticism, particularly from EU and UK advertisers that claim removing cookies will hurt their ad businesses. Government also has concern that the new system will only serve to strengthen Google's stranglehold on the online ad marketplace, while putting consumer privacy at risk. Last month, however, Google agreed to a legally binding set of commitments with UK regulators to address those issues.
After 355 days aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Mark Vande Hei returns to Earth both a NASA record holder and a changed man. Though his run was not as long as Peggy Whitson’s 665 cumulative days spent in microgravity, Vande Hei’s accomplishment is still one of the longest single stints in human spaceflight — and makes him the subject of intensive research into the effects of zero-gravity on humans.
Though NASA’s Human Research Program has spent 50 years studying the effects of spaceflight on the human body, the full impact of long-duration space travel has yet to be exhaustively researched. As humanity’s expansion into space accelerates in the coming decades, more people will be going into orbit — and going much farther — and the medical needs obviously increase along with this. Andrew Tarantola outlines where the research is headed.
It’ll demand "at least" 20 percent zero-emissions sales by 2026.
Canada has outlined its Emissions Reduction Plan, which will require all new passenger car sales to be zero-emissions models by 2035. The government will gradually put pressure on automakers, requiring "at least" 20 percent zero-emissions sales by 2026, pushing steeply to 60 percent by 2030. Officials didn't say whether this applied to a make's product mix or simply the volume of cars sold.
A Reddit user wrote to Craig Federighi, Apple's Vice President of Software Engineering, to ask how iOS auto-updates work. Federighi responded, revealing that Apple gradually releases "new iOS updates by first making them available for those that explicitly seek them out in Settings, and then 1-4 weeks later (after we've received feedback on the update) ramp up to rolling out devices with auto-update enabled." Generally, this means it takes a few weeks for iOS auto-updates to reach everyone’s iPhone and, in the case of iPadOS, iPad.
Google has begun rolling out a new update for its iOS YouTube TV app. Now both iPhone and iPad users have picture-in-picture functionality. To watch something in PiP mode, swipe up from the bottom of the screen. The video will automatically resize and move across your device’s display. You’ll need to be running iOS 15 or newer — and make sure your app is up to date.
It’s taken its time: Apple’s mobile operating system has supported picture-in-picture functionality on iPad since iOS 13 and iPhone since iOS 14. The feature has also been available on the company’s main YouTube app since last year.
Intel’s finally offered a glimpse of its Arc A-series Limited Edition video card, which is arriving sometime this summer — yes, that means another delay. There are no specs or prices, unfortunately, but the double-height design and twin-fan cooling make clear this aims directly at gamers. Early Arc desktop GPUs are expected to support a raft of modern features, including hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based supersampling. It's still too soon to say if Arc desktop models will offer truly competitive performance. NVIDIA should deliver its first Ampere Next-based GPUs (likely the RTX 40 series) later this year, and AMD will follow suit with the Radeon RX 7000 series.
Google has begun rolling out a new update to its iOS YouTube TV app that allows both iPhone and iPad users to take advantage of picture-in-picture functionality. To watch something in PiP mode, swipe up from the bottom of the screen. The video will then automatically resize and move across your device’s display.
iPhone & iPad users 🔊
We’re happy to share that picture-in-picture is now rolling out to your iOS 15+ devices. Simply select a video to watch and swipe ⬆️ from the bottom of the screen to return to the device's homepage. The video can scale down and move across your screen.
Today’s update is long overdue, a fact Google acknowledged. “We really appreciate your patience while we worked on enabling this key feature for your iOS 15+ devices,” the company said on Twitter. To put the wait in perspective, Apple’s mobile operating system has supported picture-in-picture functionality on iPad since iOS 13 and iPhone since iOS 14. What’s more, the feature has been available through the company’s main YouTube app since last year.
Setting up an iPhone to automatically install the latest version of iOS doesn't mean you'll get the update right away. Apple typically takes a few weeks to roll out auto-updates to everyone. Craig Federighi, who oversees iOS in his role as senior vice president of software engineering, shed some light on why that's the case.
As spotted by MacRumors, redditor u/Kechoopix wrote to Federighi to ask how iOS auto-updates work. Federighi responded and revealed that Apple gradually rolls out "new iOS updates by first making them available for those that explicitly seek them out in Settings, and then 1-4 weeks later (after we've received feedback on the update) ramp up to rolling out devices with auto-update enabled."
That approach makes sense. If there are critical bugs in an iOS update, Apple may be able to patch them before it's installed on all devices with auto-update switched on. Slowing the rollout of an update until Apple is more certain that version of iOS isn't breaking iPhones is a smart approach (and could help it keep the lid on any negative fallout). A gradual rollout also lessens the strain on Apple's servers.
However, it may not be the best approach if an iOS version includes a fix for a zero-day vulnerability. In that case, Apple could opt to push out auto-updates more quickly and address other issues later.
YouTube's copyright claim system has been repeatedly abused for bogus takedown requests, and Bungie has had enough. TorrentFreakreports the game studio has sued 10 anonymous people for allegedly leveling false Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claims against a host of Destiny 2 creators on YouTube, and even Bungie itself. The company said the culprits took advantage of a "hole" in YouTube's DMCA security that let anyone claim to represent a rights holder, effectively letting "any person, anywhere" misuse the system to suit their own ends.
According to Bungie, the perpetrators created a Gmail account in mid-March that was intended to mimic the developer's copyright partner CSC. They then issued DMCA takedown notices while falsely claiming to represent Bungie, and even tried to fool creators with another account that insisted the first was fraudulent. YouTube didn't notice the fake credentials and slapped video producers with copyright strikes, even forcing users to remove videos if they wanted to avoid bans.
YouTube removed the strikes, suspended the Gmail accounts and otherwise let creators recover, but not before Bungie struggled with what it called a "circular loop" of support. The firm said it only broke the cycle by having its Global Finance Director email key Google personnel, and Google still "would not share" info to identify the fraudsters. Bungie hoped a DMCA subpoena and other measures would help identify the attackers and punish them, including damages that could reach $150,000 for each false takedown notice.
We've asked Google for comment. The lawsuit won't force YouTube to reform its DMCA system, but Bungie is clearly hoping this will add some pressure. As it is, the company believes the fake takedown requests did lasting damage by creating a "chilling effect" for Destiny's YouTube stars (who were afraid to post new videos) and damaging the community at large.
A judge has ordered Activision Blizzard to pay $18 million to settle a federal lawsuit accusing the company of fostering a sexist, discriminatory workplace. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the suit in September and that same afternoon, Activision Blizzard agreed to set up an $18 million fund for employees who experienced sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination at the studio. Today's ruling approves this plan.
The fund will be distributed among people who worked at Activision Blizzard from September 1st, 2016, to today. Eligible employees and former employees have to opt-in to receive a payout, and they can submit claims relating to sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination and retaliation.
Today's ruling isn't the end of the legal issues for Activision Blizzard, and it may even complicate efforts still underway by other agencies. California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing first sued the studio in July 2021 following a two-year investigation into allegations that sexism, gender-based harassment and a "frat boy culture" pervaded the Activision Blizzard offices. That state-level lawsuit is still in progress, while the $18 million ruling today applies only to the federal case filed by the EEOC.
Anyone who signs on as a claimant in the EEOC suit will not be eligible to participate in the state's case, at least when it comes to harassment, retaliation or pregnancy discrimination. If they have additional claims, such as pay inequities, they can bring those to the DFEH lawsuit.
The DFEH and EEOC have been battling for dominance with their lawsuits against Activision Blizzard. Lawyers for the California agency have expressed concern that a federal settlement might prevent them from pursuing additional damages at a state level. The DFEH case is scheduled to go to trial in February 2023.
"The DFEH will continue to vigorously prosecute its action against Activision in California state court,” spokesperson Fahizah Alim said last week.
Additionally, the DFEH, activists and Activision Blizzard employees have argued the $18 million figure is far too low to properly compensate all potential claimants, which could add up to hundreds of people. Communications Workers of America, the labor union backing Activision Blizzard employees during this time, called the sum "woefully inadequate" in a letter to the EEOC in October.
"This would provide the maximum settlement for only 60 workers," the CWA letter reads. "If any significant number of workers received the maximum under federal law, there would be little available for many other workers adversely affected. We are concerned about how the EEOC got to that number and how it believes that number will be fairly distributed. Please explain."
California's DFEH fought against a similar ruling in the case of Riot Games. Following a 2018 class-action lawsuit claiming rampant sexual harassment and discrimination at the studio, Riot was originally ordered to pay $10 million to claimants. The DFEH blocked that payout, arguing it was much too small, and the amount was eventually increased to $100 million.
A spokesperson for the EEOC provided the following statement to Engadget following today's federal ruling: "We are pleased that the judge has indicated her intent to sign the consent decree. The consent decree not only provides monetary relief to potential claimants that were impacted by sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination and related retaliation at Activision Blizzard throughout the United States, but also puts in place significant injunctive relief at Activision Blizzard to prevent and address discrimination, harassment, and retaliation."
8BitDo's Pro 2 was already great value at its regular price of $50, but now the controller has dropped to an all-time low on Amazon. It's on sale for $42.50, which is 15 percent off the usual price.
As with the excellent SN30 Pro+, the Pro 2 is compatible with Nintendo Switch, Windows, macOS, Android and Raspberry Pi. This time around, the controller has two back buttons. Like all of the other inputs, those buttons on the handles (where your ring finger or pinky might rest naturally) are fully customizable through a Windows, Mac, Android and iOS app. The controller has a profile configuration switcher as well, so you can swap between three input configurations without having to fire up the app.
It's a little disappointing that the controller isn't compatible with iOS devices, PlayStation or Xbox. For those who game on pretty much every other major platform, though, the 8BitDo Pro 2 is well worth checking out, particularly if you pick up a cheap smartphone clip so you can more easily play cloud gaming titles just about anywhere.
The Wolverine V2 Chroma is compatible with Xbox consoles and PC. It's a worthy alternative to Microsoft's Elite Wireless Series 2 controller.
It has six more buttons than a standard Xbox controller and they're all remappable. Those could be useful for swiftly building structures in Fortnite (once that becomes a thing again) or executing rapid combos. There's also full RGB support via Razer's Xbox controller app, swappable thumbsticks and a hair-trigger mode that could give you an advantage over your rivals.
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