Xiaomi has unveiled its latest lineup of flagship smartphones and wearables. The Xiaomi 12 Series, which is only available in China for now, includes two sizes of phones: Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro.
Both are among the first devices to run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset and they boast LPDDR5 RAM. The Xiaomi 12 has a 4,500mAh battery, while the 12 Pro has what the company claims is the first single-cell 120W, 4,600mAh battery. Xiaomi says it offers an increased capacity of 400mAh over dual-cell batteries without having to increase the size.
The base model's camera array includes Sony's 50MP IMX766 as the main camera, a 13MP ultra-wide angle lens and a 5MP telemacro sensor. The 12 Pro, meanwhile, has the new Sony IMX707 sensor, an ultra-wide camera with a 115-degree field of view and a 2x telephoto camera for portraits. All three sensors are 50MP, while the main camera improves light capture by up to 49 percent over the previous model, according to Xiaomi.
On the front, each device has a 32MP sensor. The front-facing holepunch camera was positioned on the left on the Mi 11 series, but, as with the 11T devices, it's in the center this time.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi noted that Night Mode is available on both devices, each of which is said to have a camera that works well in low-light scenarios. The company says it's introducing a new imaging computing algorithm, which it claims improves capture speed and shutter lag.
The Xiaomi 12 has a 6.28-inch flexible OLED display with a 2,400 × 1,080 resolution, 1,100 nits of brightness and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The 12 Pro offers a 6.73-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 3,200 x 1,440 and 1,500 nits of brightness. Xiaomi says the display uses micro-lens tech, which it claims improves the "viewing experience while increasing smart energy-saving capability." Both devices have HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support.
On the audio side, both handsets have symmetrical dual speakers and Dolby Atmos support. The 12 Pro features a customized mid-woofer and tweeter.
The devices will go on sale on December 31st, starting at RMB 3,699 (around $580) for the Xiaomi 12 and RMB 4,699 (approximately $738) for Xiaomi 12 Pro. The company also said it will release a lower-cost version of the Xiaomi 12 on the same day. The Xiaomi 12X has a Snapdragon 870 chipset and starts at RMB 3,199 ($500).
The phones will use MIUI 13, an OS based on Android 12 that's also coming to Mi 11 series handsets, Xiaomi 11T and other phones and tablets. Xiaomi's smart watches, speakers and TVs will also harness the OS to help unify the ecosystem. A feature called Mi Smart Hub will allow users to share things like their screen, music and apps with multiple nearby devices using a simple gesture.
Xiaomi
In addition, Xiaomi revealed its latest smartwatch. The Xiaomi Watch S1 has a 1.43-inch AMOLED screen with a sapphire glass display and stainless steel frame. It will offer detailed health stats and has support for 117 fitness modes. The device has a 5ATM water resistance rating too. Xiaomi says the device has a 12-day battery life and up to 24 days of standby time.
Like the new phones, the Xiaomi Watch S1 will only be available in China for the time being. It starts at RMB 1,099 ($172).
Xiaomi
Also new are the Xiaomi Buds 3, which have dual-magnetic dynamic drivers. The earbuds offer up to 40dB noise cancellation and three active noise cancellation modes. Xiaomi says owners will get up to seven hours of playback on a single charge and up to 32 hours of total use with the charging case. The Xiaomi Buds 3 will cost RMB 449 ($70).
While these devices are geared toward the Chinese market, they could make their way elsewhere at a later date. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun hinted as much on Twitter.
DJI's Mavic Mini drone is arguably the best model for most people in the company's lineup purely because it's small, easy to take with you and fairly simple to fly. At $500, the Mavic Mini is expensive for a high-tech toy, but much more affordable that full-sized drones. But for today only, you can get the Mini in a combo pack for $200 off, bringing it down to $300. The pack includes the drone, the remote control, three batteries, three pairs of spare propellers, a number of cables and extra control sticks and a carrying bag.
DJI is known for making impressive drones, and the Mavic Mini is no exception. One of the biggest hurdles of flying a drone is deciding to take it with you, and that can be a difficult decision when you have a massive flying machine to consider. But the Mavic Mini is small enough that it can really come with you anywhere without inducing much anxiety. When folded up, it's roughly the size of a soda can and weighs about the same as a large smartphone, making it light and fairly discrete.
It's also pretty easy to fly, and you can do so with either your smartphone or the included remote. It holds up to wind decently, and although it doesn't have obstacle avoidance like DJI's larger drones, it does have GPS and a downward-facing sensor that helps it hold position even when you don't have satellite reception. The Mini shoots video in 2.7K/30fps or 1080p/60fps and it supports Dronie, Rocket, Circule and Helix QuickShots, which are automatic moves that the drone can perform to get some cool footage in a short amount of time. There's no ActiveTrack on the Mini, which is a bummer, but it's to be expected that DJI would save some advanced features for its higher-end models.
Our biggest gripes with the Mavic Mini are the fewer smart modes at its disposal, along with the core camera features it's missing and a slightly flakey video stream over WiFi connectivity. Otherwise, it's a solid, compact drone that's a great options for those eager to get their hands on one of these gadgets without dropping too much money.
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Pinterest will no longer enforce former employees' nondisclosure agreements when it comes to cases of racial and gender-based discrimination, according to NBC News. That's part of the terms the company has agreed to in order to settle the lawsuit filed by its shareholder, the Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island, for allegedly enabling a culture of discrimination. In addition, it has committed $50 million towards increasing diversity and inclusion within the company.
The shareholder sued Pinterest after allegations made by former employees Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks became public. In a series of tweets, Ozoma detailed how she fought for a year to be paid and treated fairly. She said Pinterest responded inadequately when one of her white male colleagues shared her name and phone number to racist/misogynistic parts of the internet. Her colleague reportedly doxxed her after she suggested adding a warning on content from Ben Shapiro, whom she'd described as a "white supremacist."
Meanwhile, Banks said her manager made disparaging comments about her ethnicity (she's Black and Japanese) in front of colleagues. Both Ozoma and Banks said they were paid less than their manager, a white man, despite having similar workloads.
The Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island argued that by allowing those events to take place, executives perpetrated or knowingly ignored "the long-standing and systemic culture of discrimination and retaliation at Pinterest." Thus, they breached their fiduciary duty. Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner said:
"We pushed for these sweeping reforms to support Pinterest's employees with a fair and safe workplace, and to strengthen the company's brand and performance by ensuring that the values of inclusiveness are made central to Pinterest's identity."
As NBC News notes, the fact that Pinterest agreed to release employees from their NDAs reflects the work Ozoma has accomplished since she left the company. She co-sponsored the Silenced No More Act that will make it easier for workers to speak out about racism and harassment in the workplace even if they had previously signed NDAs. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law in October, and it will be enforced starting on January 1st.
Ozoma and Banks aren't the only former employees who spoke out against Pinterest. Former COO Françoise Brougher also said that she was fired after she told CEO Ben Silbermann that she was being given gendered feedback and was being paid less than her male counterparts. She sued the company last year and settled for $22.5 million.
Amazon has released a Prime Video app for Mac, and you can now get it for free from the App Store. You can use the app to download videos for offline viewing on your computer, which sounds especially useful for long business trips and vacations. The Verge reports that the app will let you choose the quality of the video you're streaming or downloading, and it supports native macOS features such as Picture-in-Picture and AirPlay. Within the app, you'll find a dedicated tab where you can rent and purchase content, as well. You'll just have sure you're running macOS Big Sur or later to be able to access the application.
The company has also released a redesigned version of its Photos app for iOS and the web, which now let you search for people, places and years. It shows the faces of people that usually appear in your photos as clickable options, so you can see all the photos they've appeared in. If you want to narrow down the results, you can choose the year and the places where the pictures were taken, as well. The refreshed apps also come with a new interface, which you can get a glimpse of in this video:
Amazon's Photos app gives you unlimited storage for full-resolution images and for up to 5GB of videos if you're a Prime member. If you don't have Prime, you'll still get 5GB of free storage for your media overall.
Qualcomm is betting it can become a cornerstone in the augmented reality world. The chipmaker has unveiled a Snapdragon Spaces platform that helps developers create apps for "next generation" AR glasses. The toolset includes tech to help understand environments and users (including gesture and hand tracking from the newly acquired HINS), software kits for 3D engines like Unreal, OpenXR support and hooks for platforms like Niantic's Lightship and Unity's AR Foundation.
The ultimate aim is to make AR more accessible. Ideally, developers will make apps directly available to you through mobile app stores, using glasses tethered to smartphones. You might not see Snapdragon Spaces used for stand-alone glasses, at least not at first.
The manufacturer support will be there. Spaces won't be widely available until spring 2022, but Qualcomm has lined up partners like Lenovo (including Motorola), Oppo and Xiaomi. Carriers like T-Mobile and NTT DoCoMo will help build "5G experiences" using Spaces. Lenovo will be the first to make use of the technology, pairing its ThinkReality A3 glasses with an unnamed Motorola phone.
It's too soon to know if Snapdragon Spaces will have a meaningful effect on AR. While this should streamline app work, that will only matter if there are both compelling projects and AR glasses people want to buy. This also won't be much help for iPhone owners waiting on possible Apple AR devices. Efforts like this might lower some of the barriers, though, and it's easy to see a flurry of AR software in the near future.
Movie robots are known for helping (or hindering) humans, but in the real world, they have pretty limited social skills. MIT's CSAIL computer science researchers are trying to fix that by teaching robots how to interact with other robots to to further their own goals, according to a new paper. The research could lead to improved human-robot interactions in assisted living facilities, for instance, and even help psychologists better measure social interactions between humans.
To study these interactions, the researchers created a simulated 2D environment that allowed virtual robots to pursue both social and physical goals. For instance, a physical goal might be to navigate to a tree at a certain point on a grid, while a social goal is guessing what another robot is trying to do and then acting based on that, "like helping another robot water the tree," according to CSAIL.
The robot is rewarded for actions that get it closer to its goals, with a matching reward for helping and an opposite reward for hindering it. The team created three types of robots: The first has only physical goals, the second has physical and social goals, but assumes all robots only have physical goals. The third one assumes the others all have social and physical goals, so it can take more advanced actions like joining with others to achieve a goal.
Even young infants seem to understand social interactions like helping and hindering, but we don’t yet have machines that can perform this reasoning at anything like human-level flexibility.
The team created 98 different scenarios with all three types of robots. Twelve humans watched nearly 200 video clips of the robots interacting, and then had to estimate the physical and social goals. "In most instance, their model agreed with what the humans thought about the social interactions that were occurring in each frame," the researchers said.
The researchers hope that the results will act as a "benchmark" that allows others to work on similar social interactions. Next, they plan to create more complex environment with 3D agents that allows more types of interactions. The eventual aim is to not just teach robots how to interact better socially, but "dig deeper into the human aspect of this," said senior author Andrei Barbu. "Can we make an objective test for your ability to recognize social interactions? Maybe there is a way to teach people to recognize these social interactions and improve their abilities."
Let’s be honest, it’s been a rough decade at this point, and things seem to be getting worse rather than better. Online radicalization has seen many of the world’s political systems spin out of control to the point of uselessness. Climate change is a problem facing literally all of us that few in power seem interested in addressing. And our economic situation seems to be predicated on everyone buying lots of stuff all the time, despite the fact that most of the cost of living is swallowed up by housing. It’s a lot, and things can feel generally very bleak right now.
But, as the proverb says, it is always better to light a candle than it is to curse the darkness, so we’ve brought some matches. Today is a good time to try and make a positive impact in the world by backing organizations that can make the world a little better for all of us. That includes helping to better educate future generations, making life easier for kids who need serious medical care, or are in poverty, as well as addressing the climate crisis. This could never be an exhaustive list of good causes to donate to, but we’ve tried to pick out charities and non-profits whose general aims are probably already supported by Engadget readers.
Able Gamers
Able Gamers
Able Gamers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EIN: 30-0533750. It has been given a 97/100 score by Charity Navigator.
Able Gamers was set up in 2004 to help people with disabilities to play video games and to make games more accessible overall. Given that video gaming can often help connect people over long distances, its use to combat isolation has never been more relevant.
As well as working with individuals, it has a large role in advocating for better game and peripheral design to help empower players. Its most notable achievement, arguably, is its involvement in creating Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller.
Bridging Tech is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EIN: 85-1031712. It has not yet been evaluated or given a score by Charity Navigator.
Bridging Tech was founded by a pair of Stanford students concerned that COVID-19 would exacerbate inequalities in the education system. The transition to online learning risked leaving behind a number of children who lacked access to their own computer and internet connection.
That’s where Bridging Tech comes in, receiving donated laptops, refurbishing them for educational use and taking them to children affected by homelessness. The team’s focus is getting devices in the hands of K-12 students living in shelters across many cities in the US.
It’s early days, but so far Bridging Tech has taken in 2,653 devices and has plans to expand in the near future. It works with Computers 2 Kids (C2K) which helps process and refurbish the machines ready to be handed to a child in need.
There are two ways in which you can support Bridging Tech: Either with a financial donation, or by handing over your old machine. If you are in college, meanwhile, you can sign up to help tutor a homeless child, coaching them through subjects and their SAT or ACT examinations.
Child’s Play is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EIN: 20-3584556. It has been given a 100/100 score by Charity Navigator.
Child’s Play is a non-profit that donates toys and games to children’s hospitals and domestic violence shelters around the world. The group also ensures that the titles on offer are relevant and appropriate for the environment and can be used as an educational or therapeutic tool.
Of course, a big part of the group’s mission is to make staying in hospital less of a traumatic experience for children. Being able to play a video game helps kids with long-term care needs to feel like they’re in a comforting, home-like environment.
You can support Child’s Play with a financial donation, as well as buying merchandise from its store. In addition, a number of hospitals have dedicated Amazon wishlists which, should you wish to support a local (or far away) facility.
Clean Air Task Force is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EIN: 04-3512550. It has been given a 93.72/100 score by Charity Navigator.
The Clean Air Task Force is a body that works with lawmakers to push for climate-friendly policies. It was founded in 1996 with the aim of getting old, coal-fired power plants to be held to the same emissions standards as new plants.
Since then, the group has worked to advocate for further reductions in carbon emissions from energy generation. As Vox reported last year, the CATF was lauded both by Founders Pledge and Giving Green for its success at promoting bi-partisan cooperation on emissions laws.
You can support the Clean Air Task Force with an online donation, wire transfer or even by making a gift of stocks or other securities.
Code.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EIN: 46-0858543. It has been given a 100/100 score by Charity Navigator.
Code.org is a non-profit organization which aims to expand access to computer science in schools. Its mission is to give every child the opportunity to study the subject and, in fact, it provides much of the K12-curriculum in a number of US schools. In addition, it offers a wide variety of courses for you to try at home at no cost, which are pitched at pretty much any age group. I’ve been letting my five-year-old have a go at some of the very basic coding tutorials and she loves them so much it’s hard to get my iPad back from her.
If you want to support Code.org, you can make a financial donation, or get involved with your local school’s program. That can be as simple as asking the school to teach computer science (using Code.org’s classroom materials) and there are materials online to teach your own kids how to code. In addition, if you are a software engineer, you can volunteer your time to be a guest speaker in a classroom or teach an “Hour of Code” session. If you can speak a different language, meanwhile, you can contribute to translating educational materials.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EIN: 04-3091431. It has been given a 94.9/100 score by Charity Navigator.
Obviously, any round-up of good causes to support within the tech sector starts with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Founded in 1990, the organization has a mission to protect free expression, privacy and digital security, and uphold the rights of individuals all over the world. The body has worked to improve voting security in the US, battling frivolous lawsuits that threaten free speech and critiquing badly-written, illiberal or generally stupid legislation.
You can support the EFF with a cash donation, as well as gifts of stock, cryptocurrencies and through AmazonSmile purchases. While it has previously accepted donations of hardware, it’s not currently doing so, although you can donate your vehicle to its cause. If you want to support the body with your own skills, you can volunteer to help, with coders, translators, technologists, community organizers, attorneys, researchers and designers all required.
Girls Who Code is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EIN: 30-0728021. It has been given a 100/100 score by Charity Navigator.
Girls Who Code is a non-profit organization with the aim of encouraging girls to study STEM, specifically computer science, subjects. It runs a series of classes for young women as after school clubs, short courses and summer schools.
For instance, newbie coders can sign up to a Girls Who Code Club, and spend one or two hours a week learning the basics of software development. These are run for grades 3-12 in K-12 schools, as well as in 200 colleges across the US. The body says that it has already helped teach computer science to 450,000 girls, with half of that figure coming from “historically underrepresented groups.”
You can support Girls Who Code with a financial donation, via Classy.org, or they can set up a club to help train more coders locally. Would-be club leaders need access to technology and a space at a school, library or other public space for one or two hours a week, and will be required to pass a background check.
More and more tech companies are issuing COVID-19 vaccine mandates to comply with the government's directives. Adobe is one of the latest to require all employees in the US to be inoculated against the virus. According to CNBC, the company has told employees in an email that they have to be vaccinated by December 8th if they don't want to be placed on unpaid leave.
In the letter seen by the publication, the company explained that it's giving its personnel until December 8th to comply with the Biden administration's executive order. The president previously gave all federal contractors a December 8th deadline to require all their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Adobe does a lot of business with the US government. Earlier this year, it teamed up with government agencies in all 50 states to help them modernize their services with Adobe Experience Cloud and Adobe Document Cloud. It even launched the Government Rapid Response Program during the pandemic to help ensure people can smoothly access government services, such as vaccine scheduling websites.
Adobe Chief People Officer Gloria Chen wrote in the email that 93.5 percent of the US employees who responded to an internal survey was already fully vaccinated or in the process of getting both shots. Despite the mandate, the company will consider religious and medical exemptions. The company's move echoes many others in the industry. Google started requiring all employees to be vaccinated against the virus way back in July. Meanwhile, Apple has yet to issue to mandate, but it will start requiring unvaccinated employees to undergo daily rapid testing on November 1st.
It took years, but Instagram will finally let you create posts from the desktop web. The social network is issuing a flurry of updates that will culminate on October 21st, when users worldwide will have the option of posting photos and short videos (under one minute) from their computer browser. That's helpful if you'd rather not reach for your phone, of course, but it could be particularly useful for businesses and enthusiasts that want to make better use of their expensive cameras.
There are plenty of updates for mobile users, too. A Collabs test feature available today (October 19th) lets two people co-author posts and Reels. You just have to invite someone else from the tagging screen to get them involved. Followers for both users will see the post, and it'll even share views, likes and comments. It's safe to say this could be valuable for everything from superstar team-ups to sponsored posts.
Another test coming on October 20th will let you start nonprofit fundraisers right from the new post button, simplifying charity efforts. Everyone will see new music-driven Reels effects on October 21st, including Superbeat (special effects in sync with the beat) and Dynamic Lyrics (3D lyrics that flow with the track). They're not as flashy as the other additions, but they may help you focus on sharing content rather than editing it.
Password sharing in the workplace and at home is a common practice, but doing so securely can be tricky. 1Password aims to address that with its new feature that gives you a way to share log-in credentials in a secure way even with people who don't have an account with the service. It's called Psst!, which is short for Password Secure Sharing Tool, and it's apparently one of the company's most requested features.
Based on a research the company conducted, most workers reuse corporate credentials. Of those people, 36 percent admitted to sharing log-ins with other workers and clients via insecure channels, including emails, chat apps, spreadsheets, documents and texts. In another survey, 1Password found that most families share passwords between members and also use insecure methods, such as writing them down and messaging them to each other.
Psst! allows you to share credentials with anybody by generating a link with the information that other people can access, even if they don't have a 1Password account. You can choose how long the link remains valid, from an hour to 30 days, after which it will automatically expire. You can also choose to share the credentials with anybody who has the link or with specific people only. If you choose the latter, the service will require the recipient to confirm their identity by verifying their email addresses before giving them access.
The service has launched this new feature alongside its announcement that it now has over 100,000 business customers and that it's growing its employee headcount to 500. Jeff Shiner, CEO of 1Password, said in a statement:
"Having the ability to share passwords and other credentials outside of a business or family has been one of our most highly-requested features, and I’m very excited by today’s launch of Psst! as it helps keep everyone, not just 1Password customers, safe online. Crossing the 100,000 business customers mark is a clear indication that businesses understand the need to safeguard their passwords and other sensitive information online."
