Logitech already makes some of the best productivity peripherals around, but with a few key upgrades, the company may have just created an almost perfect travel mouse. And after using the new $80 MX Anywhere 3S for the last week and a half (including on a trip of my own), I’m not sure I want to use anything else ever again.

On the outside, the MX Anywhere 3S features the same basic design as its predecessor, including a similar palette of color options (graphite, pale gray, and rose). The differences are on the inside, where the mouse features a new 8K DPI optical sensor that’s more accurate than before and works on practically any surface you can think of (wood, cloth, glass, et cetera). You also get a new set of super quiet mouse buttons similar to what you find on its larger sibling – the MX Master 3S – which might not sound all that important, but it’s very a welcome feature for families where multiple people are studying/working from home. Finally, as part of Logitech’s efforts to increase the sustainability of its products, the MX Anywhere 3S is made from up to 78 percent post-consumer recycled plastic (though that figure is around 61 percent for the gray and pink models).

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engagdet

Between its new features and the already fantastic foundation, the MX Anywhere 3S is simply a delight to use. Weighing just 95 grams, it's lighter than pretty much everything aside from a handful of gaming mice while boasting a rechargeable battery that lasts up to a whopping 70 days. You still get the ability to pair the mouse with up to three different devices (PCs, laptops, tablets and more), and thanks to a very travel-friendly ambidextrous design, it works great in tight situations. And while Logitech’s free-spinning MagSpeed mouse wheel isn’t new, scrolling actually feels a tiny bit smoother than before too.

The one big departure from previous MX Anywhere mice is that the 3S doesn’t come with a dongle. Instead, for this model (and likely going forward), Logitech is relying entirely on Bluetooth. One reason for this change is that Logitech believes modern Bluetooth connectivity has gotten good enough that a dedicated wireless receiver simply isn’t necessary, and after using this thing for more than 10 days, I get it. I haven’t had a single laggy mouse stroke or delayed reaction the entire time I’ve used it and even on Bluetooth you still get support for Logitech’s multi-device Flow software. Besides, for frequent travelers, a dongle is just one more thing to keep track of (or lose entirely).

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

That said, the main reason why the MX Anywhere 3S doesn’t come with a dongle is because Logitech’s Bolt receiver is still only available as a USB Type-A receiver, and with most new laptops these days only having USB-C, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to include something requires an adapter to use. Logitech says that because USB-C ports are so small, there isn’t enough room to fit the electronics without making the whole thing unusually bulky. Meanwhile with USB-A, Logitech is able to build tiny circuit boards that fit inside the connector itself. So while the company is still trying to figure out a solution, we’ll have to wait a little longer for a USB-C version of Logitech’s Bolt receiver. That said, while there are situations where having one would be useful, I haven’t missed having a physical dongle at all when using the MX Anywhere 3S.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Aside from its new mouse, today Logitech also has a couple of other refreshed devices. On the $110 MX Keys S, new features include more control over backlighting brightness and automatic activation settings, an updated function row with additional videoconferencing controls (and that always handy emoji key), and a fresh pale gray model to match the rest of the MX family. Alternatively, for people who need a new suite of office peripherals, Logitech has created a productivity bundle called the MX Keys S Combo which includes the MX Keys S, an MX Master 3S mouse and the MX Palm Rest – all in one box for $200. And while the MX Master 3S and the wrist wrest aren’t new, considering that those three devices would typically cost $230 if purchased separately, this bundle is a nice way to get a discount.

Screenshot by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Lastly, while it’s been in beta for some time, today alongside the MX Keys S, Logitech’s Smart Actions feature is finally getting an official release. Available inside the Logi Options+ app, Smart Actions is a neat tool for automating various repetitive tasks across multiple programs with a single keystroke. That means you can create a silence command that will do stuff like mute zoom, turn off your microphone and pause your favorite music app all with a single tap. By default, there are a number of basic templates you can browse, though they can also be customized as needed. And while I’m still testing out the limits of Smart Actions, so far my favorite way to use it has been creating what I call my “game time” command, which opens apps like Steam, Discord, Battle.net and more all with a single shortcut. And the nice thing is that if you don’t want to create your own Smart Actions, Logitech made them easy to share and import. So if you see someone else with a shortcut you like, you can just ask them to send it to you.

The MX Anywhere 3S, the MX Keys S and the MX Keys S Combo are all available today priced at $80, $110 and $200, respectively.

Microsoft has deployed a critical troubleshooter update for Surface Pro X devices that will give users access to their camera again. On May 23rd, plenty of Surface Pro X owners reported that their cameras had stopped working entirely. Based on stories posted on Reddit, Twitter and the company's own support forums, reinstalling the camera's driver didn't work. Tweaking the device's date and rolling it back to May 22nd did, but it came with its own set of potential issues, such as authentication and scheduling problems. 

In its new patch notes, the tech giant said the affected devices are powered by Qualcomm 8cx Gen 1, Qualcomm 8cx Gen 2, Microsoft SQ1 and Microsoft SQ2 processors. The troubleshooter update will be automatically applied to affected devices, and owners can check if it has been installed by going to their "hardware and devices troubleshooter" history and then looking for an entry that says "[a]utomatically change system settings to fix a problem on your device."

As Ars Technica notes, users are reporting on the Microsoft support forum that the troubleshooter worked sufficiently, save for some posters saying that their cameras were working in slow motion outside of Teams or Zoom. Microsoft admitted in its announcement this workaround isn't perfect — it is, after all, only meant to be a temporary fix. It might "disable some features of the camera or lower the image quality," but it will make the camera functional until Microsoft comes up with a permanent fix. The tech giant is currently working with device manufacturers to release updated camera drivers expected to restore full camera functionality. It doesn't have an ETA for the driver rollout yet, but it promised to share more information when it becomes available. 

What complaints you had about the Pixel Watch's battery life might disappear with its sequel. Sources speaking to 9to5Google claim the Pixel Watch 2 will switch from Samsung's 2018-era Exynos 9110 to one of Qualcomm's much newer Snapdragon W5 models. Although the battery in the new smartwatch isn't supposed to be significantly bigger, the longevity is supposed to be much-improved — reportedly, it can last over a day with the always-on display enabled where that simply wasn't possible before.

The Pixel Watch 2 is also said to use the same health sensors as the Fitbit Sense 2. That could introduce ways to measure stress (that is, electrodermal activity) and skin temperature. Many other details remain a mystery, but it won't be surprising if the new model is one of the first devices to run Wear OS 4. The new platform should boost performance, add backup support and increase accessibility.

A previous rumor hinted the Pixel Watch will debut 2 alongside the Pixel 8 this fall. If the wristwear does use Snapdragon hardware, it'll represent an unusual twist. Google has so far leaned heavily on Samsung-based chips for recent mobile devices, including the Tensor G2 found in phones as recent as the Pixel 7a. This suggests Google is willing to break with recent tradition in the name of a better product.

As AI-generated images and video become more prominent on Twitter, the company is testing out a new feature that could make it easier for people to identify potentially “misleading media.” The company is experimenting with Community Notes for media, which will apply the site’s crowd-sourced fact checks to specific photos and video clips.

The feature allows for Community Notes contributors who have high enough ratings to apply notes to images shared within tweets. Like notes on tweets, the labels could add additional "context" to images, like indicating if a photo was created using generative AI or is otherwise manipulated.

The feature could also address the viral spread of such photos. According to Twitter, the goal is for notes to automatically appear on “recent and future” copies of the same image even if they are shared by separate users in new tweets. However, Twitter notes that it will take some time to perfect its image matching. “It’s currently intended to err on the side of precision when matching images, which means it likely won’t match every image that looks like a match to you,” the company shared. “We will work to tune this to expand coverage while avoiding erroneous matches.”

It’s also worth pointing out that Community Notes’ track record is far from perfect. While the feature can sometimes result in nuanced fact checks or debunks of false claims, Community Note contributors themselves have pointed out that the feature “is not impervious to errors or perpetuating common misconceptions.”

For now, Twitter is testing out notes for media for tweets with a single image only, but the company says it plans to expand the feature to tweets with multiple images and videos in the future. Twitter isn’t the only platform grappling with how the rise of generative and AI and the spread of misinformation. Google also recently introduced features that will help users track an image’s history in search, which could help searchers intuit whether or not a photo was faked.

Apple Music Classical launched on Android today, bringing the company’s dedicated orchestral app to a non-Apple platform for the first time. It follows the iPhone debut of the service in March.

Apple’s classical music app is separate from the mainline Apple Music app, with plenty of similarities but also distinctive navigation, font and metadata handling for easy searching. (Apple Music has been available for Android since 2015.) However, 9to5Macnotes that Apple Music Classical’s Android arrival means the company launched it on a rival platform before fleshing out its own hardware ecosystem, as it still lacks a dedicated iPad or Mac app. Although the Apple faithful are accustomed to the company rewarding their hardware loyalty, it’s an understandable move given that phones are more common streaming sources than computers or tablets. As a result, Apple can likely reel in more subscribers by stepping outside its walled garden before (presumably) expanding availability for its remaining in-house devices.

The app is the fruit of Apple’s 2021 acquisition of Primephonic, a Netherlands-based classical streaming service known for its superior search capabilities. Apple shut down the service soon after buying it.

Apple Music Classical offers over five million tracks, including “thousands of exclusive albums.” The search feature, carrying over from Primephonic, lets you find pieces based on composer, work, conductor or catalog number thanks to the library’s “complete and accurate metadata.” In addition, it streams in up to 192 kHz / 24-bit Hi-Res Lossless while supporting spatial audio and Dolby Atmos for select tracks. Of course, the service requires an Apple Music subscription; supported plans include individual, student, family or Apple One — but not the voice-only plan aimed at HomePod users.

The Android version requires Android 9 or later. It’s available “worldwide where Apple Music is offered,” except in China, Japan, Korea, Russia, and Taiwan. You can download it now from the Play Store.

Wireless earbuds aren't usually your best choice for PC gaming audio between the lag and the lack of Bluetooth on some desktops. Razer thinks it has a simple solution, though: throw in a dongle. The company has introducedHammerhead Pro HyperSpeed buds that include a 2.4GHz RF adapter to plug into the USB-C port (there's an included USB-A adapter) on your computer or console. This expands support to more devices, of course, but it also drops latency to 40ms versus 60ms for the Bluetooth-based Gaming Mode. And yes, you can still connect to your phone over Bluetooth if you need to take a call.

These are otherwise similar to the plain Hammerhead Pro earbuds you saw before. They still offer THX-certified sound with customizable active noise cancellation (ANC) levels. This being Razer, there's Chroma RGB lighting to flaunt your choice of personal audio. How long they last on battery depends on how you're connected and what you're using. You can manage up to 6.5 hours of listening on Bluetooth with ANC and lighting disabled, with 24 hours of extra power from a wireless charging-capable case. That drops to 3.5 hours with ANC and lighting enabled, and using the dongle shrinks that runtime to between three and four hours (plus 11 to 14.5 hours from the case).

The Hammerhead Pro Hyperspeed earbuds are available now for $200. That's a solid price if you're looking for do-it-all earbuds that can work with both your phone and your home gaming PC. With that said, there are options that can sound better or last longer if you're happy to stick to Bluetooth. Razer's latest option is more for those who'd rather not buy a separate gaming headset.

If you’ve been saving up to integrate Shaq’s voice into your Alexa devices, you’ve officially blown it. Amazon is ditching all of its Alexa-enabled celebrity voices, including Shaquille O’Neal, Melissa McCarthy and, say it ain't so, Samuel L. Jackson. The distinct voice options will no longer be available for purchase and will no longer function even if you made a purchase a while back, as reported by The Verge.

That brings us to the topic of refunds, and it looks like there won’t be any. This isn’t earth-shattering news, as the voice options launched for just $1 before moving up to $5 in recent months. Still, buying something and having it vaporize into nothing is never fun for consumers. All is not lost, however, as Amazon told Engadget it'll process refunds upon request. 

"After three years, we’re winding down celebrity voices. Customers will be able to continue using these voices for a limited time, and can contact our customer service team for a refund," wrote a spokesperson for the company. 

Samuel L. Jackson is leaving any day now, with an official announcement on the purchase page indicating the feature will officially stop working next week. Melissa McCarthy and Shaq will function until sometime in September. 

To the uninitiated, this feature was an add-on for Alexa that transformed its usual chirpy tones into that of a celebrity. This was all fairly limited when compared to Alexa’s full feature set, as the celebs won’t do reminders and don’t integrate with many skills. They do, however, tell jokes, answer questions and complete simple voice-assisted tasks. The service started with Jackson in 2019 but extended to include Shaq and McCarthy shortly thereafter.

So why did Amazon shut the feature down? Alexa’s no longer the hottest thing in the universe and the company’s hardware division recently laid off thousands of people involved with designing and manufacturing Echo speakers, so that could be part of it. Again, the feature set with these voices was on the anemic side, so maybe not enough people bought them to offset the licensing costs. Finally, there’s the AI elephant in the room. Reports indicate that Amazon is building its own large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT to radically transform Alexa, and celebrity voices may no longer fit into that vision.

Update, May 30th, 2023, 2:50 PM ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from Amazon. 

If you’ve been saving up to integrate Shaq’s voice into your Alexa devices, you’ve officially blown it. Amazon is ditching all of its Alexa-enabled celebrity voices, including Shaquille O’Neal, Melissa McCarthy and, say it ain't so, Samuel L. Jackson. The distinct voice options will no longer be available for purchase and will no longer function even if you made a purchase a while back, as reported by The Verge.

That brings us to the topic of refunds, and it looks like there won’t be any. This isn’t earth-shattering news, as the voice options launched for just $1 before moving up to $5 in recent months. Still, buying something and having it vaporize into nothing is never fun for consumers. We’ve reached out to Amazon for clarification on these refunds and will update when we hear back.

Samuel L. Jackson has already flown the coop, with an official announcement on the purchase page about his voice avatar’s early retirement. Melissa McCarthy and Shaq still work, but only until September.

To the uninitiated, this feature was an add-on for Alexa that transformed its usual chirpy tones into that of a celebrity. This was all fairly limited when compared to Alexa’s full feature set, as the celebs won’t do reminders and don’t integrate with many skills. They do, however, tell jokes, answer questions and complete simple voice-assisted tasks. The service started with Jackson in 2019 but extended to include Shaq and McCarthy shortly thereafter.

So why did Amazon shut the feature down? Alexa’s no longer the hottest thing in the universe and the company’s hardware division recently laid off thousands of people involved with designing and manufacturing Echo speakers, so that could be part of it. Again, the feature set with these voices was on the anemic side, so maybe not enough people bought them to offset the licensing costs. Finally, there’s the AI elephant in the room. Reports indicate that Amazon is building its own large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT to radically transform Alexa, and celebrity voices may no longer fit into that vision.

Fresh on the heels of an in-depth look at Marvel's Spider-Man 2 gameplay, there's more news from the Insomniac Games camp. The studio's previous title, 2021's Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, is coming to PC on July 26th.

As is often the case with PC versions of PlayStation exclusives, there are some extra bells and whistles here. There are new "ray-traced shadows for natural light in outdoor areas" which allow for "realistic shadows with natural gradients in softness," as Julian Huijbregts, an online community specialist at Nixxes (the Sony studio that's working on the port), notes on the PlayStation Blog. The gameplay and cutscenes have been optimized for ultra-wide displays, including aspect ratios of 21:9, 32:9 and even 48:9 for triple-monitor setups.

Along with unlocked framerates, there's support for upscaling tech including NVIDIA DLSS 3, AMD FSR 2, Intel XeSS and Insomniac's own Temporal Injection, as well as NVIDIA Reflex and NVIDIA DLAA anti-aliasing. You can opt to use a keyboard and mouse with fully customizable controls or a controller. Plug in a DualSense, and you'll be able to experience the same haptic feedback and dynamic trigger effects that you would on PS5.

I finally got around to playing Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart after it hit PlayStation Plus recently and enjoyed it immensely. It's a breathtakingly gorgeous game with strong combat, captivating characters and a smart script. Insomniac also makes better use of the DualSense's capabilities than most studios.

Fingers crossed that Insomniac and Nixxes can avoid the kinds of technical issues that have plagued PC versions of other Sony games. The Last of Us Part 1 (Iron Galaxy worked with Naughty Dog on that port) and Horizon Zero Dawn, which Nixxes helped to fix, both had notable problems at the outset on PC.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart relies on the speedy load times of the PlayStation 5 to make the dimension-hopping feature work seamlessly. With that (and the stellar visuals) in mind, it's likely that you'll need a beefy gaming rig to get the most out of the port. So, it's probably worth waiting for Sony to reveal the PC specs before locking in a pre-order on Steam or the Epic Games Store.

In an interview with The Guardian more than a decade ago, Warren Spector, the director and producer of Deus Ex, said his dream game would take place in one city block. “There are people who are trying to simulate massive worlds at a level of an inch per mile,” Spector told journalist Keith Stuart. “I don’t get it. I really want deep worlds that you can interact with.”

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about those comments while playing Diablo IV. Blizzard’s latest is easily one of the best games the studio has released in about a decade, but I can’t help imagining what Diablo IV could have been if it were a smaller, more focused experience.

The story of Diablo IV opens decades after the end of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, with the world of Sanctuary still reeling from the events of that game. Structurally, the narrative that unfolds is similar to Diablo II. Following a visit to a remote village, your character sets off after the demon Lilith – who is the daughter of Mephisto, one of the Prime Evils you defeated in Diablo II. More often than not, your character finds they’re one step behind Lilith, leading to predictably dire results.

I won’t say much more about Diablo IV’s story other than to note Blizzard smartly grounded it in the tragedy of its human characters. When the narrative calls on elements from past games, it does so in ways that feel natural and earned. Lilith is also a great antagonist. Every time she appeared on-screen, I felt a sense of unease waiting to see what kind of calculated cruelty she’d inflict on those unlucky enough to cross her path. If you only end up playing Diablo IV for its story, I think you will enjoy the experience, but if you decide to veer off its critical path, be prepared to play through a lot of uninspired content.

If you tried Diablo IV during one of the open betas Blizzard held in recent months, you’ve seen most of what the game’s open world has to offer as you’re leveling your character. Did you encounter a world event in the Fractured Peaks that tasked you with protecting a group of villagers hiding under their carts? Guess what – you’ll find another group just like that one again in Scosglen, the game’s second zone, and in other areas, too. I bet you played through a few optional dungeons. Well, there are more than 100 in the full game, and most feature a limited combination of layouts and objectives. World bosses and camps are more fun to complete, but there are far fewer of them than all the other content present in the game. The post-campaign adds more things to do like helltides and nightmare dungeons, but those increase the difficulty of the content, rather than introducing something substantially new.

Sometimes you’ll discover some interesting lore, a nifty bit of environmental storytelling or a named enemy that will drop an item with unique flavor text, but those moments are few and far between. I kept waiting for Diablo IV’s world to surprise me, to do something unexpected. The closest the game came to scratching that itch was when it sent the Butcher, a boss that shows up in nearly every Diablo game, to murder my character in an optional dungeon I was exploring. Even though my barbarian didn’t survive the encounter, I wanted more moments like that. Instead, the game seemed dead set on offering me an endless checklist of samey content if I ever decided to strike off on my own.

Blizzard Entertainment

That frustration is palpable while playing Diablo IV because so much of the game is immediately compelling. Nearly every inch of its open world is striking, with some of the most detailed and creative assets Blizzard has ever produced. Add to that a soundtrack that is haunting and evocative, and you have an experience that’s begging for players to inhabit it.

Maybe it’s my fault for expecting a live service game to offer something more substantive, but everywhere in Diablo IV, you see evidence that the people who spent years of their lives working on this project wanted the same thing. Just look at character creation. Clearly, the intention here was to allow players to make their druid, barbarian, sorcerer, rogue or necromancer look exactly like they’ve always appeared in their imaginations. Diablo IV offers a dizzying amount of visual customization for each class. In addition to all of the items, you can give your character different hairstyles and tattoos, and modify their skin tone, eye color and other attributes. Add in the transmog system, which allows you to transform the appearance of items to make them look like ones you’ve found in the past, and I can guarantee no two characters will look alike.

Blizzard obviously also put a lot of thought into player agency, allowing each class to be played in a variety of ways. The Aspects system is one of Diablo IV’s most compelling features: By completing dungeons and finding legendary items, you will collect item affixes that modify how skills work, and they’re transferable among your inventory. Some of these can completely change how your build functions. After some initial frustration, I found a build that allowed my barbarian to make short work of both hordes of monsters and Diablo IV’s spongy bosses, and I had a lot of fun with the game. I just wish there was more to do in Diablo IV’s world other than kill countless monster hordes. After all, role-playing has always been part of the ARPG genre.

Blizzard Entertainment

One last thing I want to note is that I played a version of Diablo IV that did not include any of the microtransactions the final build will feature. If you haven’t followed that aspect of the game’s development, I wrote about Blizzard’s monetization plans for Diablo IV last year. In short, Diablo IV is a full-priced game that also happens to feature an in-game shop and seasonal passes. Blizzard has promised that none of the cosmetic items you can buy in the shop or earn by completing the paid track of a season pass will grant “direct or indirect” gameplay advantages. The studio was also quick to note the shop and season pass will offer “more diversity of choices, not systematically better choices” for customizing your character. After Diablo Immortal, I’m fine with this setup, but I know some people will be put off by the presence of a season pass.

I don’t want to give you the wrong impression of my time with Diablo IV; I enjoyed nearly every moment of it. In a lot of ways, it’s the Diablo game I’ve been dreaming of ever since I first set foot in the world of Sanctuary back in 1997. But it is also a reminder of all the ways Blizzard has changed since I first encountered its games. There’s no way the company that released Diablo II in 2000 and even Diablo III in 2012 could have created a game of Diablo IV’s scale, but sheer size is not what makes Diablo IV enjoyable. So often, that scale works against the game, resulting in a world that is, as Warren Spector might say, simulated at a level of an inch per mile.

Diablo IV will be available on PC, PlayStation and Xbox on June 6th.