Google was all too excited to unveil Tensor, its first system-on-a-chip, in August. We knew it would be powering the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, and much like Apple's A-series mobile chips, it was an attempt at tying together Google's software with some custom-tuned hardware. In particular, Google positioned Tensor as something of an AI powerhouse, giving its new phones better hardware for image processing and voice recognition. Now, we know exactly what makes Tensor tick.

Google's SoC is a 5nm eight-core design broken down into big, medium and small cores. Leading the way is two ARM Cortex-X1 cores running at 2.8GHz. That's notable since Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 888 chip, which powers Samsung's Galaxy S21 and many other high-end phones, only has a single X1 core. It'll be interesting to see just how much faster Tensor is in comparison. 

Below that, the SoC also features two Cortex A76 cores running at 2.25GHz, as well as four 1.8GHz A55 cores as the "small" bits. Thankfully, Google didn't skimp on graphics: the Tensor also has a Mali-G78 graphics core, which you'll also find on other flagship Android phones. 

All of the talk of custom hardware may bring to mind the ill-fated (but gloriously inventive) Moto X, Google's 2013-era attempt at building a smarter smartphone. It wasn't the most powerful mobile around, but its always-on voice commands were a decent step towards ambient computing, something Google is still focused on today with the Tensor chip. 

The new SoC allow the Pixel 6 to translate videos and messages quickly with its Live Translate feature, and it'll be smarter about recognizing your voice as well. That should be particularly helpful when it comes to using your voice to type, edit and send messages. Overall, the Tensor chip will perform around 80 percent faster than the Pixel 5, according to Google. That's a lofty figure, so we'll definitely be testing the Pixel 6 heavily to confirm those numbers.

Additionally, Google says Tensor also gives the Pixel 6 an extra layer of security. It'll work together with the Titan M2 chip in the phone to protect against malware and other potential attacks. That's a good step forward for Google, and we're hoping to see more security hardware in other Android phones down the line.

At this point, Tensor appears to offer everything we'd want in a new mobile chip: Fast speeds, and plenty of forward-thinking AI features. It could eventually make the Pixel phones Google's true iPhone equivalent: Flagship hardware that dances in concert with a custom mobile chip. (And if Google is truly successful, maybe Tensor could make its way over to devices from other companies.)

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Catch up on all the latest news from Google's Pixel 6 event!

Just as Google kicks off its big Pixel 6 event, the company has finally started rolling out Android 12 on Pixel 3 and above. The company released the first public beta of the OS during the I/O developer conference in May, and it's been priming Android 12 for prime time since with several other betas.

Along with a major visual overhaul, Android 12 packs in a bunch of new features, including privacy and security upgrades. A Privacy Dashboard shows which sensors (such as GPS, camera or microphone) apps have accessed in a chart and displays an activity timeline. You'll be able to find out why apps needed access to data from those sensors.

An indicator will appear at the top of the screen when an app is using the camera and/or microphone, and you can shut off those sensors completely for all apps in Quick Settings. There's an option to only allow apps to see your approximate location rather than precisely where you are too. On top of that, Android 12 will handle the processing for more language and audio features on-device, including Live Caption and the Now Playing song recognition tool.

Elsewhere, you can expect redesigned emoji, scrolling screenshots (which capture information from apps or web pages beyond what's on the screen), games you can play while they download, a new one-handed mode and an accessibility option that lets people control the device using face gestures.

Although the Android 12 rollout is underway on Pixel, owners of compatible Samsung, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Tecno, Vivo and Xiaomi devices will need to wait a little longer. The OS will hit those phones and tablets, and ones from other companies, later this year. Google released Android 12 on the Android Open Source Project earlier this month.

There's another important thing to note about the Android 12 rollout. The dynamic color experience powered by the Material You design language is only available on Pixel devices for the time being. The color scheme will match the wallpaper you choose across the system and apps, and that look will be mirrored across other Google products, including smart displays, wearables, Chrome OS and the web. Google says other Android devices will get access to the experience later.

Catch up on all the latest news from Google's Pixel 6 event!

When Artiphon launched its $99 Orba musical instrument, we found it to be an "idiotproof" device that lets creative in your spare time, while offering more depth for those willing to explore. The main thing missing was social and sharing functions, that has now been rectified with the Orbacam iOS app that "expands the Orba instrument into a creative multimedia studio," the company said. 

The idea is that you can use the app to lay down multilayer loops, then create a music video around the track with "musically reactive" visual effects. Those include color augmentation, pixelation, pulsing effects and more. You can add those effects to images or video, with the result being shareable musical "selfies" or videos that sync with whatever loops or music you're playing on Orba. 

You can jump between Drum, Bass, Chord and Lead Modes, and the sounds and visual effects are built into the video export, "no audio routing or post-production required." You can also sing or rap into your phone's microphone, shoot video while you play live, or important camera roll videos or photos. 

The company notes that the app makes it possible to marry sound and video, but rather than just "pasting someone else's song on your video... people can create musical videos that are entirely their own." The app is now available as a free download for Orba users.

Sony has tweeted that it's testing a beta that will let PS5 players share screenshots and clips via smartphone using the PlayStation app. That will match functionality the Xbox has offered for a while now, though so far, Sony is only testing it in a limited release. 

One you turn it on, the new feature will automatically upload captures to the cloud. You'll then be able to access them on the PlayStation app for 14 days to save on your camera roll, share on social media, or send to PSN friends and parties. It should be less clunky than the current system of direct sharing from the console. 

On top of screenshots taken from the Create Menu or Create button shortcuts, you can share gameplay videos under three minutes in length up to 1080p (not 4K). For screenshots and videos to be auto-uploaded, make sure you've linked your PS5 console to the PlayStation app. It also needs to be left in rest mode and have the "Stay Connected to the Internet" setting enabled. For more details, check Sony's (region-locked) article.  

The update is now available in Canada and Japan only, and as with other beta features, "may not make it into the final version or may see significant changes," Sony notes. However, it seems as likely as any new feature to come out of beta, so hopefully it will be released to everyone soon. 

Apple made much ado of its redesigned MacBook Pro's creative prowess during its "Unleashed" event, and it's updating its flagship media editing software to take full advantage of the improved hardware. The company has released new versions of Final Cut Pro (10.6) and Logic Pro (10.7) that make the most of the M1 Pro and M1 Max, particularly in video processing and machine learning. FCP editors can play up to seven streams of 8K ProRes at once, and export in the format over five times faster — no mean feat for a laptop, as Apple was keen to point out. You can even color-grade 8K HDR footage using only the MacBook Pro's built-in screen.

There's also a new Object Tracker you can use to link animated effects to faces and objects. You can easily edit Cinematic Mode video from the iPhone 13 series, too. Motion now renders visual effects work up to two times faster, and can play two 8K video streams at five times the previous frame rate. Compressor, meanwhile, transcodes HEVC video up to twice as fast, and ProRes up to ten times as quickly. And if you live in Canon's world, you can transcode Cinema RAW Light videos to other formats for the first time. There's even a Watch Folders feature that will automatically encode content when it reaches a given folder — helpful for streamlining a workflow, particularly among teams.

The Logic Pro update, meanwhile, is focused on spatial audio creation — just in time for the new AirPods, of course. New mixers, panners and plugins let you author Dolby Atmos tracks, and the new MacBook Pros can use their added performance to create particularly advanced mixes. The music editing tool now comes bundled with the Producer Packs you saw in GarageBand, too, so you can integrate royalty-free beats and samples from the likes of Boys Noize, Mark Ronson and Trakgirl.

Both updates are free for existing users. Final Cut Pro normally costs $300 for new users, with Motion and Compressor costing $50 each. Logic Pro is priced at $200. The upgrades make the most sense if you're deeply invested in ProRes or intend to publish on Apple Music. Still, it's easy to see the appeal, at least for FCP. You could quickly turn around certain video projects using only your MacBook Pro, even if you're working primarily with 8K footage.

Follow all of the news from Apple’s Mac event right here.

The next version of macOS will be available to download beginning October 25th. Apple shared the release date alongside the new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips and a redesigned MacBook Pro.

The macOS Monterey update comes with notable improvements to FaceTime, including support for Spatial Audio, and the ability to use SharePlay to listen to music and watch videos with your friends. One of the biggest changes is the addition of Universal Control, which allows users to seamlessly move back and forth between an iPad and a Mac. The feature, which builds one earlier Continuity updates, allows users to drag and drop files between multiple devices and type on an iPad from a MacBook keyboard. 

But both SharePlay and Universal Control, which wasn’t available in initial betas of macOS Monterey, will be arriving after the initial update "later this fall," according to Apple.

The release also comes with a major update to Safari that’s at times been controversial due to significant changes to the tab bar and other key features. (The most recent beta brought back the tab bar by default after earlier versions of the update removed it.)

Developing...

Follow all of the news from Apple’s Mac event right here.

Rode has unveiled the Central Mobile app for the $299 Wireless Go II lavalier-type microphone, allowing users to unlock advanced features, control settings and more. It also announced that the Wireless Go II is now compatible with its Rode Connect software designed for multi-host podcasting and streaming on a single PC. 

Rode Central initially arrived as a desktop app, but a mobile version will be a lot more convenient for location and field work. As with the PC version, it'll let users switch between "merged" and "split" recording modes when interviewing two subjects, adjust the gain settings, unlock fine gain control, activate safety channels and more. Users will also be able to update the Wireless Go II with the latest firmware updates. 

Rode originally launched the Connect PC app to simplify recording of multi-host podcasts, but it only supported desktop-style USB microphones to start with. Now, you can connect the Wireless Go II system as well, marking one of the first times "that a compact wireless microphone system has been fully integrated with podcasting or streaming software," Rode said. 

Rode Central for mobile is now available to download for free, and you can find Rode Connect here. 

Some Snapchat users are having problems with the app this morning, with several noting on Twitter that they're unable to send snaps. The company acknowledged the outage and said it was looking into the matter. 

Outage reports from users skyrocketed on Down Detector just before 7AM ET before tapering off somewhat at around 9:30AM. A heat map indicated that reports were coming in from across the US and, at the time of writing, users are still grousing about the outage on Twitter. Engadget has contacted Snap for more details, and we'll update this post when things look like they're getting back to normal.

This is the latest big outage to affect a major social media service over the last week or so. Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were down for more than six hours on October 4th. Facebook blamed the outage on a "faulty configuration change" that caused havoc with the DNS servers. Facebook's apps went down yet again for a couple of hours last Friday. Twitter, meanwhile, briefly had issues of its own on Tuesday evening, with tweets not loading for some users for a spell.

As part of its usual raft of hardware updates, Acer is adding new ConceptD machines with new displays and different chassis options. But the most notable product on the docket for late-2021 is the new ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition, which packs a stereoscopic display. It’s the first time that such a product is available for everyone to buy after the company first teased the project earlier this year.

Back then, Acer and SpatialLabs teamed up to put one of the latter’s stereoscopic displays on the former’s machines. The idea is to enable 3D artists to preview their work in a form closer to the finished article long before it had reached the lengthy rendering pipeline. But while that initial concept was only available to developers who applied (and promised to share their work with Acer), this is a retail product.

The ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition is packing an 11th-generation Core i7, with the option of a GeForce RTX 3080, up to 64GB RAM and up to a 2TB SSD. And users are going to be staring into a Pantone-validated 4K display with a Delta E<2 color accuracy for those who need it. Of course, this is only a sideshow to the eye-tracking cameras sited on the top bezel to match the 3D images to your gaze.

Acer added that, on the software side, it has updated the AI underpinning the system that enables users to view 3D content from any 2D image (or video) shown on screen. The company has also launched a new developer site to allow users to download all of the various plugins and tools (including a hand-tracking app and add-ons for Unreal Engine) to make everything work.

Of course, it’s not simply designers who may find the D 7 (don’t make me type it all out again) a useful proposition. The company says that it already has examples of companies using this as a car configurator for showroom use, architects using this to show off home designs and researchers examining high-resolution images from satellites.

If you want one of these, bear in mind that you’ll need to wait until December (if you’re in EMEA) or 2022 (if you’re in the US). Plus, you know, it’s going to cost: The starting price on that side of the pond will be €3,599 (roughly $4,158).

At the same time, the company is launching a new 16-inch ConceptD 3 model with a 16:10-ratio display and a 15.6-inch convertible edition. These, too, will be reaching the US at some point early next year, with base prices running from $1,700 through to $2,000, depending on your size preferences.

Ahead of its Max conference on October 26th, Adobe has shared a preview of a feature that’s coming to Photoshop on the iPad, and it’s a big one. You'll soon be able to use its Camera Raw tool to import RAW files from your camera to the iPad. 

You can use the tool to import any file format Camera Raw currently supports. That includes the ProRAW files that Apple iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro can output. Once you’ve loaded an image, you have access to all the usual adjustments you’ll find on the desktop version of Camera Raw, allowing you to tweaks things like the exposure and color of your photo.

One nifty new feature is that it’s possible to import your RAW file as a Smart Object into Photoshop. That means you can add your image to a PSD, open the resulting file in Photoshop desktop and still have access to the embedded file and adjustments. Adobe says Camera Raw is coming to Photoshop on the iPad soon. In the meantime, we’ll likely see the company preview more upcoming features for its various apps at Adobe Max later this month.