The following article contains spoilers for “The Broken Circle.”

Strange New Worlds’ first season may have stumbled out of the gate, but it outdid itself with every subsequentepisode. On the strength of the back half of its episodes alone, you could easily call it the best live-action Trek of the streaming era. This achievement was staggering, especially since it was saddled with the nightmare brief of serving as a spin-off to Discovery, a prequel to Star Trek and a paean to fans less than enamored with its serialized stablemates. It quickly found a tone that would serve those many masters, offering episodic storytelling with soap opera characterization that quickly teased out Star Trek’s oft-denied goofy side. It quickly found the confidence to be silly, and dramatic, and even made time to show the crew hanging out with each other, and above all else, it was accessible to mainstream audiences.

That confidence is proudly on show here in “The Broken Circle,” the season two opener credited to co-showrunners Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman. Watching this, you get the sense that every person in the production team is pulling in the same direction, with fantastic results. It helps that Myers and Goldsman again write their crew making smart choices pretty much all of the time, sparing us any sludgy plot blocking. In fact, the quickness of its narrative and the sheer brute-force of its charisma helps cover a multitude of sins, turning what is otherwise a fairly light romp into something that will, hopefully, set the tone for the rest of the season.

We open with the Enterprise in spacedock, undergoing a (weirdly testy) inspection while Pike tries to find someone who can help save Number One from her upcoming court martial. He leaves an unusually-flustered Spock in charge of the Enterprise, who isn’t feeling up to the task. That’s because he can’t get his emotions back under control after unleashing his inner rage monster back in “All Those Who Wander,” and seeks help from Dr. M’Benga. He hands him a Lute and tells him to work on his emotions like a human, and when Chapel walks in, the good Doctor can’t help but notice the tension. On the bridge, meanwhile, Uhura receives a coded message from La’an, who has uncovered a plot against the Federation on the edge of Klingon space.

Sadly, April turns down Spock’s plea to investigate, and so enlists the bridge crew to steal the Enterprise. And yes, while this is comedically punctured soon after, I’ll admit to sighing myself inside out as I expected to sit through the second Search for Spock homage in three months. Mercifully, the heist is disrupted by Pelia, the immortal head of the inspection team – Carol Kane playing a stock Carol Kane-type character. Pelia, as a friend of Spock’s mom Amanda, decides to aid in the deception to get the crew underway. They find La’an on a dilithium rich planet which was contested during the Klingon war, and is now under the control of a gang of nefarious types. They’re annoyed that their profit margins have been eroded in peacetime, and would much prefer to restart the Federation - Klingon war to boost profits.

It’s Dr. M’Benga and Chapel who get the meat of the action here, as they are kidnapped and taken to a fake Federation starship being built underground. They correctly surmise that the ship will be used to – another sigh – stage a false flag attack on the Klingons to restart the war. In order to warn the Enterprise, they go heavy on the steroids and punch-fight their way to the ship’s transponder to send them a message. Unfortunately, the ship breaks ground to attack an arriving cruiser, forcing the Enterprise to give chase. But Spock’s reticent to open fire, since the (not so) secret object of his (not so) secret affections is still on board.

Thankfully, M’Benga and Chapel blast their way out into space without any EVA gear and get beamed aboard by the pursuing Enterprise (I know, I know!). Spock is then left to smooth things over with the Klingons, downing a mug or two of blood wine to demonstrate his fortitude to his new friends. April’s happy to give him a slap on the wrist for his heroics, mostly because his focus is on a looming war with the Gorn. And with that, we’re back at the races.

Michael Gibson/Paramount+

What sets “The Broken Circle” apart from many episodes like it from Star Trek’s history is the confidence in its execution and the faith it has in its audience. There are plenty of times that information is conveyed visually rather than with radio-style narration. The silent nod between La’an and M’Benga, when we’re trusted to know what a Starfleet ship looks like by sight alone, and the results of Chapel and M’Benga’s steroid hit. I know this is basic stuff, but it’s right to praise a show that’s able to avoid falling into its own worst habits, and Chris Fisher’s snappy direction deserves plenty of praise.

I could be wrong, but it feels as if the visuals have improved, too, both in scope and execution. The crew seems to have gotten to grips with how best to use its virtual production stage, putting it to effective use in several scenes. We’re still a long way from being able to light big walls of TV screens like the real outdoors, but the effect wasn’t jarring. It was also another episode where savvy use of pre-existing sets was disguised well-enough – at least until you wonder why a criminal crew building a fake starship would bother to equip it with a sickbay, at least.

The one downside to all of this, really, is my usual one, which is that I still can’t shake the feeling some of this stuff is better suited to the other Star franchise. Clandestine meetings with arms dealers where you prove your mettle with how well you hold your drink or a (fake) grenade. A face-punching interrogation scene seconds after being reminded the Federation prohibits torture. A corridor-based punch-fight in which the two people least-qualified to be ass-kickers turn into ass-kicking ninjas for five minutes at a time. Yes, Star Trek of old could be violent, but I don’t think it was ever this cynical or nihilistic, even in the Deep Space Nine days.

For now, let’s welcome Strange New Worlds back for another run, where it’s only got to maintain its reputation as the best live-action Trek. No pressure, then.

Amazon and Disney have partnered to create an interactive experience that combines Alexa’s voice assistant features with Disney’s robust stable of characters. The appropriately-named “Hey Disney!” is now available on any Echo device and represents the very first time Amazon has allowed an assistant other than Alexa on its various speakers and tablets.

Once you purchase an annual subscription to the new voice assistant via the Alexa Skills Store, you’ll have some brand new ways to interact with your Echo gadgets. The wake word changes to “Hey Disney!” which gives you access to something called the “Disney Magical Companion.” This opens up 20 new personalities and voices to interact with across Disney’s entire corporate roster, including Pixar movies and the Star Wars franchise. Additionally, the service is being included as a perk to Amazon Kids+ at no added cost.

Once you call up your favorite character, you’ll get some extra personality when asking for the weather or setting an alarm. Amazon gives examples of Olaf from Frozen reading the weather and a themed soundscape inspired by Return of the Jedi’s moon of Endor. There’s also an emphasis here on storytelling, with Amazon touting “interactive adventures with characters” and “immersive entertainment.” Finally, there’s a new multiplayer Disney trivia game. These modes exist as voice-only experiences for Echo speakers and with visuals for Echo Show tablets.

This is not the first we’ve heard of this unique branding. The voice assistant was first revealed last year, but it was an exclusive release to Disney Resort hotels. Now it’s available to everyone, so long as you pony up for a dedicated subscription or already have a Kids+ plan.

Today Intel is cleaning up its processor branding, hopefully making it easier to understand. Starting with the new Meteor Lake generation of processors, the company is moving from its traditional "i3/i5/i7/i9" branding to a simpler "Core 3/5/7/9" concept. Intel says the rebranding “better aligns to customer requests” to simplify its processor names and that the change will be reflected in text and on the badge. This is significant as Intel has been using the "i" branding for its processor for well over a decade.

Intel’s higher-end processors will include "Ultra" in their branding before the number — in practice that would look like “Intel Core Ultra 9." And for those who want more information, Intel says generational information will continue to be tacked on to the end ("Intel Core 9 processor 1300AB," for example.) The company stated that both the standard Core and Core Ultra processors can be paired with its Intel Arc graphics.

As far as what hasn't changed in Intel's processor branding, the higher number still denotes a faster processor. Naturally, Core Ultra models will come packed with additional speed and power. At the time of writing, Intel has yet to announce a release date or specifics for its new Meteor Lake processors. Though, rumors suggest that they’ll be coming sometime this year.

This year’s Amazon Prime Day is likely right around the corner, so it’s a good time to start thinking about the things you’ll want to look for once the deal wave hits. Everything from gadgets to clothes to household necessities will be on sale during the event, and if you’re a Prime member, you’ll have access to all of the deals on Amazon’s site. Engadget will be surfacing all of the best tech deals we can find – both on Amazon and elsewhere – but there are some important things to know ahead of time so you can get exactly what you want out of this year’s Prime Day.

When is Amazon Prime Day?

It's still unclear when Amazon Prime Day 2023 will take place. If Amazon follows the familiar pattern, Prime Day 2023 could be mid-July: the two-day sale event took place on July 12th and 13th in 2022. Since it's already the middle of June, we expect Amazon to publicly announce the dates for Prime Day 2023 soon and we'll update this post once that information becomes available.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon's annual shopping event surfaces exclusive deals for Prime members, which means you’ll have to be a Prime subscriber on Prime Day to take advantage of any of the savings. Amazon still offers a 30-day free trial to new Prime subscribers, so you can start your free trial now and participate in the event.

If you don’t pay for Prime and have no intention of doing so, you should still check out Amazon on Prime Day for sales that are available to all shoppers. Plus, other retailers like Walmart, Best Buy and Target will have their own competing Prime Day sales during that time frame, too.

Amazon Prime Day deals

There may be official dates for Amazon Prime Day, but for the past few years, the company has started pushing out deals well before the event actually kicks off. We expect to see Amazon Prime Day early access deals this year, too.

Be they early Prime Day deals or day-of sales, Amazon gadgets are almost guaranteed to be discounted for the event. You can safely bet on things like Echo speakers, Kindle e-readers and Fire TV devices to be at record-low prices for Prime Day, so if you’ve had your eye on one of those items, Prime Day is the time to buy. Prime Day is only matched by Black Friday in its discounts, so while that means you will likely have another chance to get that smart speaker for dirt cheap, it probably won’t be until the holiday shopping season.

Make no mistake, Amazon gadgets will not be the only items discounted on Prime Day. You’ll find clothes, shoes, household items, appliances, accessories and more on sale, but here at Engadget, we’ll naturally be focusing on electronics. We expect this year’s Prime Day to be like last year’s, in that it will bring big discounts on headphones, earbuds, gaming accessories, SSDs and microSD cards, robot vacuums and more.

jetcityimage via Getty Images

It’s also worth mentioning the types of deals you can expect to see on Prime Day. Some deals will be live for the entire event, while others will be one-day-only sales. Those are the hardest to predict, since Amazon usually does not give any indication how long a given sale will last. Our recommendation is to buy the things you’re most keen on as soon as you see them drop in price – that will ensure you get it while the discount is available, and while the item is still in stock.

You can also expect to see some “Lightning deals” happen during Prime Day. Thankfully, these are usually clearly labeled with the amount of time remaining to grab the deal noted on the product page. In our experience, only a handful of these flash sales are actually worth your money, but if you see something that’s been on your wishlist drop in price for the next few hours, it’s in your best interest to grab it immediately.

How to prep for Amazon Prime Day

We’ve alluded to this already, but it’s best to go into Amazon Prime Day as prepared as possible. That essentially means knowing exactly what you want to look for so you stay focused and avoid distractions. The whole of Amazon.com will be overwhelming on Prime Day, so the less time you spend aimlessly browsing, the more your wallet will thank you later.

Two simple things you can do ahead of Prime Day are make a list and bookmark a price tracker. For the former, take note of the most important items you want to pick up on Prime Day. You can either do this the old-fashioned way on a sticky note, or you can use Amazon’s wish list feature. For the latter, add the items you want to buy on Prime Day to your wish list (or, even better, make a dedicated wishlist with only your Prime Day desirables) and return to that list during the shopping event. Not only will you have everything you want all in one place, but you’ll also be able to see which of those items are cheaper on Prime Day than they were when you originally added them to your list.

As for the price tracker, sites like CamelCamelCamel let you monitor the price of specific items on Amazon. You can check out price history charts and you can make your own price-drop alerts, receiving emails when something you want gets a discount. CamelCamelCamel also has some browser extensions you can download so you don’t have to navigate away from an Amazon product page to check its price history.

We know that not everyone – not even every Prime member – will be flocking to Amazon during Prime Day. Whether you find such blatant displays of consumerism off putting or you simply don’t want to give Amazon more of your money, there are plenty of reasons why you might be skipping Prime Day all together. But that doesn’t mean you have to skip all of the sales that will be happening during that same time. Retailers like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others will all have competing Prime Day sales and many of them will match the discounted prices you’ll find on Amazon. We recommend checking them out if you want to pick up a couple of things for less without spending money on Amazon.

Engadget will be covering the entirety of Prime Day, so if you have a lot of tech on your to-buy list, be sure to check back here on Prime Day for the best tech sales we could find. We’ll be sure to include gadgets from across the board – from headphones to robot vacuums to gaming gear – plus the best “anti-Prime Day” deals you can find from other retailers. You can also follow the @EngadgetDeals Twitter account and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter to stay up to date on the latest discounts. The volume of deals will be daunting, but we sift through them all and pick out the best ones to make Prime Day a bit easier for you.

MSI's Stealth laptops have long been one of my favorite gaming notebook lines thanks to their blend of performance and portability. But last year's model was a disappointment. After a few years of sticking with the same design, its chassis felt tired and refreshed specs didn't address the system's underlying issues. But for 2023, MSI has given the Stealth a complete makeover including a brand new design, an optional 240Hz display, more powerful components and not one but two sizes to choose from. Heck, there are so many additions MSI even changed the name of the entire series: The Stealth Studio. After using one for the past few weeks, I feel like we might be looking at the most improved gaming laptop of the year.

Design

I've been testing the 14-inch version, but there's also a larger 16-inch model, with both sizes sporting a slick magnesium aluminum exterior that's available in two colors: pure white and star blue. Admittedly, the white model isn't very stealthy, but I don't care because it looks fantastic and it’s super light. It weighs just 3.75 pounds, which is almost a full half pound less than rivals like the Alienware x14 R2.

Despite its small size you still get solid connectivity, including three USB ports (one Type-A and two Type-C) and a full-size HDMI jack. But more importantly, there are a ton of tiny features throughout the system that show MSI's attention to detail. On the vents in back, the grille spells out the name of the system, kind of like you might get on a sports car. And in front, MSI has partnered with SteelSeries to deliver gorgeous RGB lighting on its keyboard. MSI also added some small, up-firing stereo speakers in front, which provide a nice upgrade in audio quality from the previous model. You even get a physical shutter for the webcam. Sure, it's just a little plastic flap, but I'm glad it's there.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

My two small gripes are that the webcam is only 720p – come on MSI, it’s 2023 – and that the chin below the screen looks a bit ungainly. Even if you ignore how big it is, I wish MSI had gone with a hinge that cut down on the gap between the display and deck, because it can be kind of a distraction to see the rear lights shining through while working or gaming.

Display

By default, the Stealth 14 Studio comes with a 1920 x 1200 165Hz IPS display, which is a good place to start. However, our review unit has MSI's upgraded 2560 x 1600 240Hz screen and it's a real treat. In testing, I measured peak brightness just shy of 450 nits which is almost double what we got from last year's machine. That makes it great for playing all sorts of games, and thanks to a color gamut that covers 100 percent of the DCI-P3 spectrum, it can pull double duty as a photo or video editing workstation too.

Performance

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Packing an Intel Core i7-13700H chip, NVIDIA RTX 4060, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, the Stealth 14 Studio has more than enough performance for pretty much any task. In games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Returnal at 1080p and max settings, the Stealth Studio hit 67 and 78 fps respectively, which is actually a touch higher than what I got from a Razer Blade 18 with the same GPU and an i9 chip.

That's pretty impressive when you consider that the MSI's smaller chassis means it has way less room inside to manage thermals. Even on synthetic tests like PCMark 10, the Stealth Studio edged out the Blade 18 with a score of 8,126 versus 7,236, despite the Razer costing over $1,000 more than the MSI. This just goes to show that bigger and more expensive isn’t always better.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Lately, I've been playing a lot of Diablo 4 which really shows off the capabilities of the Stealth 14 Studio. You can turn down the graphics to take advantage of the screen's speedy refresh rate or enable all the game's bells and whistles while still staying well above 60 fps.

The two small downsides to the Stealth 14 Studio's performance are that it runs kind of hot and it tops out with an RTX 4070, which is understandable given its size. I tried to game with it on my lap while watching TV, and trust me when I say that it gets real toasty. So unless you have a lapboard, you're better off sitting at a desk or table.

Battery Life

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Coming from last year’s model that conked out after a little more than four hours, MSI has delivered some notable gains here too. On our video rundown test, the Stealth 14 Studio lasted five hours and 19 minutes, which is up 25 percent over last year's system. But what's even better is that it also beat out larger rivals (with bigger batteries) including both the Blade 16 (5:01) and ASUS' ROG Zephyrus M16 (4:38).

Wrap-up

The Stealth 14 Studio is an almost complete about-face for MSI's thin-and-light gaming line. It's got a striking new design, updated internals and a handful of welcome quality-of-life upgrades – all in a chassis that's easy to carry around; I've already made multiple cross-country trips with it and it hasn't let me down yet. In fact, the Stealth 14 Studio has basically everything I look for in a great all-rounder – well, except for maybe an OLED screen or an SD card slot (though you do get one on the larger 16-inch model).

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

But if those aren’t deal breakers for you, MSI has delivered a system offering a stunning build and solid performance for gaming or anything else you might need. And with our upgraded model currently going for $1,900, you're getting more storage and a faster CPU and GPU than a base Alienware x14 R2 for only $150 more. So, after a down year, MSI has restored the Stealth – ahem the Stealth Studio – back to its former glory as a system that can do a bit of everything while looking great too.

If you regularly use people who regularly use more than one WhatsApp account this new beta update is going to be of interest to you. The messaging app is reportedly working on multi-account support for its Android app, an update that would allow you to switch between profiles on the same device, WABetaInfo reports. The feature appears to work just like changing accounts on fellow Meta-owned app Instagram with a pop-up at the bottom of your app showing current accounts and the option to add new ones. 

Any new accounts will be stored within your device and, of course, can be logged out of at any point. Multi-account support might be advantageous if you have different work and personal numbers or want to try out recent social media-centric WhatsApp features like Channels. This update lets you send broadcasts like photos and polls to followers, with WhatsApp planning to monetize it for creators in the future. Similarly, WhatsApp has reportedly been working on a username feature that would allow you to find people the same as Instagram or Twitter, without having their phone numbers. 

Multi-account support also follows the iOS and Android release of companion mode, an update that allows you to use the same WhatsApp account on up to four phones. Previously, you could only be logged in on a single mobile phone along with your tablet and computer. 

There's no timeline yet for when you'll be able to jump between accounts from one device. We can expect multi-account support will be widespread when it gets fully released, but right now it's only visible through an Android beta update.

Logitech has rolled out new AI-powered tools for its Streamlabs platform that could make editing podcasts go much, much faster. Starting today, Streamlabs Ultra subscribers will get access to Podcast Editor, which provides easy text-based editing capabilities that they could use to auto-generate transcripts and real-time translations. They could also use the editor to add subtitles to their video podcasts in several languages, as well as create clips in different sizes (and with different template designs) for sharing on platforms, such as Facebook and TikTok. 

The screenshot below shows the tool's interface with its text editor where users can highlight parts of the transcript and automatically create short clips featuring those sections of their podcast. That editor is also where users can generate translations, as well as style and insert subtitles. Users can also remove filler words like "ums" and awkward pauses from their podcasts within just a few seconds using the tool. 

Logitech, which purchased the creator of the Streamlabs OBS livestreaming app back in 2019, says Podcast Editor could trim hours off creators' total edit time. Although Streamlabs Ultra subscribers will get the most out of Podcast Editor, seeing as the paid service allows them to manage 40 hours of content, non-paying users will also get limited access to the tool. They can use Podcast Editor through the free version of Streamlabs and edit one hour of content at no cost every month. 

Engadget

Vincent Borel, Head of PC Gaming and Creators at Logitech G, said: "Podcast Editor now enables Streamlabs to provide the most robust suite of offerings for creators to reach their audiences wherever they are while focusing on the elements of content creation they love the most - streaming and engaging with their audience."

Anker, which made its name building device batteries and chargers, is now making gear for all of the devices you own. Or at least all of the devices in your home, since it just unveiled its Solix home energy system, which can be bolted onto existing or new domestic solar setups. Like many other home battery companies out there, Solix is scalable, with the smallest unit sized at 5kWh – enough for a few hours backup power – all the way up to 180kWh. It won’t arrive until 2024 but, when it does, it’ll be paired with an EV charging system Anker is presently cooking up.

The company is no stranger to this world, since it already builds small solar and battery sets for off-road types. But it’s pleasing to see it also entering the home battery market which, Tesla aside, is full of companies that don’t have as big a presence in the consumer space. It’s also heartening to see Anker building gear for smaller setups, like apartments, where sometimes the only thing you can do to clean up your energy is hang a solar panel off your balcony.

– Dan Cooper

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Our Summer Game Fest coverage turns its eye toward Ubisoft, home of several big franchises, including Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed. The last few years, however, have seen the company wobble, releasing half-baked, half-loved titles to middling results. A sharp left turn into freemium gaming and, sigh, NFTs, only helped to accelerate the erosion of its good name. Curious about what behind-the-scenes drama caused the slide? So was I, until I read this.

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Twitter is getting evicted from its Colorado office over unpaid rent

Wait, there are consequences for refusing to pay for things!?

A judge has evicted Twitter from its Colorado offices after the building’s owner sued for three months’ back rent totalling $75,000. The location presently houses around 150 employees, who have until the end of July to pack up their things and move out. This won’t be the only time Twitter lawyers see the inside of a courtroom over their owner’s refusal to pay for things, either. It’s currently being sued by (deep breath) its cleaners, its San Francisco landlord and several of its former employees for sums which are reportedly owed to them.

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Sennheiser SoundProtex Plus review: Concert earplugs that don't kill the vibe

Protect your hearing while you rock out.

Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget

If you’re a big live music fan, you’ve probably been warned about the harm all of those big PA systems can do to your hearing. It’s a problem the audio mavens at Sennheiser are looking to address with a pair of earplugs designed for live music events. Billy Steele has been testing out the SoundProtex Plus by spending his time at noisy gigs to see if they help you enjoy the music without compromising your ability to do so in the future.

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Google Home's new script editor can make smart device automations even more powerful

Some programming knowledge required.

Google

Google’s redesigned Home app is introducing a script editor, enabling users to program their own smart home routines. This includes “if this” style directions, like dimming the living room lights and lowering the blinds when the living room TV is on after dark. It’s designed for folks who have some programming experience, but it should be easy enough that most committed amateurs should feel comfortable at least giving it a try.

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Apple has just released its new 15-inch Macbook Air, and it's already touting a $100 price cut. Amazon had already run a pre-release sale knocking $50 off the price but the retailer has now discounted the 256GB model in Starlight from $1,300 to $1,200 (Space Gray and Midnight are $66 off), and the 512GB option in Midnight from $1,500 to $1,400. Yes, upwards of $1,000 for a laptop is still not chump change, but that $100 savings could go toward a case, AirPods or even some fun non-Apple product. 

The new 15-inch model finally gives MacBook Air fans a chance for nearly as much screen real estate as its more expensive and heavier Pro counterpart. We gave it a 96 in our review and found the 3.3-pound MacBook's light, thin design and sharp 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display especially impressive. It utilizes the same well-performing M2 chip as the 13-inch model, bringing an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU. 

Other features include a 1080p HD camera, a six-speaker sound system and up to 18 hours of battery life. Storage-wise, it can configure up to 2TB of SSD. The device itself has two thunderbolt ports, a headphone jack and a MagSafe charging point. Most of these features mirror those available in last year's 13-inch MacBook Air, which also received a 96 when we reviewed it. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Fujifilm's line of instant cameras has grown again with the launch of the Instax SQ40. The new model borrows retro cues from the Mini 40, while shooting larger-format square film like previous SQ models. 

Unlike the shiny plastic square format models of the past, the SQ40 is wrapped in faux black leather with silver accents. It measures 5.25 inches wide by 4.5 inches tall by 2.25 inches thick, so it's considerably larger than the Mini 40 and other rectangular cameras. For easy carrying, it comes with a shoulder strap with quick release loops.

Fujifilm/Cactus Images Limited

The lens is retractable and has three modes, starting with the fully retracted "off" position that makes the camera relatively flat and closes the protective cap. In the "on" position, it extends and the lens cap opens, giving a field of view equivalent to 65.75 mm (35mm equivalent, presumably) for shooting no closer than 19.7 inches. And finally, there's a "macro" mode for selfies that lets you shoot between 11.8 and 19.7 inches, with a small mirror at the front so you can see yourself and friends. 

It has automatic exposure and shoots on the Instax Square frame to a 2.4- by 2.4-inch image area on a 3.4- by 2.8-inch film size. Unlike some Instax models, there doesn't appear to be any saving to a digital format, so this is about as analog as modern cameras get.

Fujifilm

The SQ40 costs $150 and is expected to be available for purchase by the end of June 2023. The basic white-border version of the square film costs around $19 for 20 exposures, and a new version called Instax Square "Sunset" with pastel shaded borders (above) is $15.75 for a 10-pack. Finally, Fujifilm released a new brown colorway for the Mini Evo priced at $200, also available at the end of June.