Apple has at least one more trick — or possibly a treat — up its sleeve this year. On October 30, the night before Halloween, the company is hosting another event. This one is dubbed “Scary Fast,” which is a strong indicator that Apple will have some speedy new hardware to show off. Unusually, Apple is holding this event in the evening. It starts at 8PM ET.

This year's iPhones and Apple Watches are out in the wild already, but Apple has a bunch of other product categories that it could focus on here. There's always the chance that we might get iPad updates. But, if rumors are to be believed, Apple's focus during the Scary Fast event will be on Macs and a fresh batch of chipsets to power them.

M3 chip

Apple won't be talking about speed advancements without having new hardware to discuss. That could all start with upgraded chipsets. It's been nearly 17 months since Apple's M2 system on a chip (SoC) debuted. With many manufacturers having an annual cadence for their chipsets, it may be time for Apple to move onto the next generation. (No, shoving two M2 Max chips together isn't quite the same thing.) For what it's worth, the M2 series debuted 19 months after the M1. So, if Apple announces the M3 at the Scary Fast event, the latest SoC would be arriving after a similar period of time.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has suggested that "M3 series MacBook Pro" will be the focus of the event, indicating that the company will have more than one new SoC to reveal. As such, there's a chance that we could see an M3 Pro and maybe even an M3 Max during the Scary Fast showcase.

iMac

A new 24-inch iMac could make its debut at the Scary Fast event. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that a fresh model is expected to arrive this month. He noted that the iMac is in short supply at Apple retail stores, which is another sign that an upgrade is imminent.

The 24-inch iMac is well overdue for a refresh, and there have been rumblings for a while that an M3 variant was in the pipeline. The most recent model was an M1-powered machine that arrived in April 2021. Making the leap to M3 — assuming that the new chip lineup is more capable than the M2 series — may make any new iMac worth the upgrade for many users.

MacBook Pro

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

There's a very good chance Apple will have at least one MacBook Pro refresh to show off at the event. Both Kuo and Gurman have indicated that will be the case.

Gurman pointed out that the 13-inch, 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro all currently have extended shipping times on Apple's web store. That's often an indicator that the company is winding down the supply of existing products. Furthermore, Gurman reported that Apple has been testing M3 Max and M3 Pro MacBook Pro models. Those could now be ready for prime time.

However, Kuo doesn't expect Apple to have a huge inventory of new MacBook Pro units to sell this year. He previously didn't anticipate that Apple would start selling M3-powered laptops before the end of the year due to limited supply of between 400,000 and 500,000 units. Unless demand drops, Kuo said supply may remain tight until early 2024.

MacBook sales have waned this year, mainly due to "the limited M2 computing power upgrade," Kuo wrote on X. That might be a reason why Apple is willing to start shipping M3 MacBook Pros now, even if supply is constrained. Announcing new models just a few days before reporting quarterly earnings could help give investors confidence in the company (recent increases of Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and Apple News+ prices could play into that too).

If M3-powered models don't lead to a boost in sales, though, Kuo suggests it's more likely that a MacBook Pro with a new design will arrive in 2025. Furthermore, Apple may try to beef up the division with a more budget-friendly MacBook that has an annual sales target of between 8 million and 10 million.

iPad Pro

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

We can't disregard our hunch that we'll see at least one iPad at Apple's event. With the focus likely to be on M3-powered products, the chances are that any new iPad will be of the Pro variety with one of those chips inside.

It has only been a year since the most recent iPad Pro debuted. Other than a few small tweaks, Apple only really swapped in the M2 in place of the M1. The next iPad Pro will probably need more changes to make it more palatable for anyone who picked up the previous two models, which means Apple might need more time to get it ready. If that's the case, the company might be content to give the iPad Pro a spec bump for the time being.

Other iPads could also get a refresh at the event, just in time for the holidays. We won't have to wait too long to find out either way. We'll have full coverage of everything you need to know from the Scary Fast event at Engadget, so while you're waiting for Halloween trick-or-treaters to show up, slip into your jammies, grab a mug of cocoa and join us on Monday evening.

Threads finally has built-in options for posting GIFs and polls. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the updates on Thursday, replying with his own GIFs and polls to a string of users who’d questioned when these features would come to the platform. Both have begun rolling out for the Threads app and on the web, though polls seems to be taking a bit longer to make its way to the latter.

While users could previously post GIFs using workarounds like third-party keyboards or by copy/pasting them from elsewhere, with mixed results, there was no native button in the app itself. Now, users will see a GIF button in the post creation window next to the image gallery button, which will pull up a searchable GIPHY library to choose from.

For polls, users will be able to add up to four choices for others to vote on, and control who can and can’t respond. Polls will stay open for 24 hours after they’re posted, and only people who responded to the poll will be able to see the results as they come in. The poll button will appear in the post creation toolbar as three horizontal lines.

GIFs and polls have become staple features on Twitter, where they’ve been available for years, and users who have turned to Threads as an alternative have been asking for them since the beginning. Instagram got GIF replies this past spring and polls only last week, so their arrival on Threads was perhaps an obvious next step. Slowly but surely, Threads has been adding more and more to the experience as it finds its footing, and it seems to be working. Just yesterday, Zuckerberg said the platform now has almost 100 million monthly active users.

As the right to repair movement continues to pick up steam, DIY aficionados iFixit just announced a partnership with Microsoft to provide replacement parts for a wide range of Surface devices. These are genuine parts manufactured by Microsoft specifically for the purpose of conducting repairs, so you won’t have to worry about integration issues.

All told, iFixit’s offering parts for 13 Surface models, including the Surface Pro 9 and the Surface Laptop 15. Visit the dedicated Microsoft Repair Hub for a list of compatible devices and parts. These components range from batteries and SSDs to displays and keyboards. As with all iFixit collaborations, you also get access to disassembly videos and step-by-step guides so you don’t accidentally turn your Surface tablet into an expensive paperweight.

You can purchase each component on its own or part of a comprehensive fix kit that includes everything you need to conduct the repairs, including tools and accessories. iFixit is especially proud of this partnership, urging customers to “imagine how different the world would be if repairing every device and having access to original spare parts was this simple.” To that end, it's much less annoying to replace a battery or hard drive on your own than having to take it to a repair center and play the waiting game.

The company recently made similar agreements with other tech giants, as it now offers replacement parts for Google Pixel tablets and for Google Pixel Fold devices. Accessory manufacturer Logitech also got on board, offering repair parts for two of its most popular mouse models.

Apple, however, remains a hold out and iFixit recently dinged the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s repairability score due to the company's software-restricted “parts pairing” requirement. This means that you have to order replacement components directly from Apple and get on the phone with a company tech before iOS devices will accept individual part replacements. 

Chinese gadget manufacturer Honor just teased its forthcoming flagship smartphone, the Magic 6, at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit. While many details of the phone remain mysterious, the company did announce that it would include built-in eye-tracking and an on-board artificial intelligence powered by a large language model (LLM.)

One of the phone’s key features is something called Magic Capsule, an “eye-tracking based multimodal interaction.” Eye-tracking has some potential real world uses when it comes to smartphones, as the sensors and cameras can perform actions based on where you’re looking. So you can open up an app or engage with content on the phone simply by staring at the right spot.

This could be a game-changer for those with disabilities, allowing near-total access to the device via minute eye movements. However, some folks may get a bit queasy with the idea of our phones tracking every single thing we stare at.

While the actual specs of the Magic 6 are still under wraps, Honor did announce the presence of an on-board LLM. This built-in chatbot is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile chipset.

It’s important to note the distinction here. This is an on-board LLM. Typically when you engage with an AI chatbot or service on your phone, you’re fiddling with a cloud-based LLM that exists on a server somewhere. With the Magic 6, every piece of data that the chatbot will access is already on the phone. 

This should drastically increase the speed and reliability of results, potentially turning the phone into one heck of a personal assistant, as it’ll have access to everything on the device, including your photos, contacts, videos and more. Despite this unfettered access, the Magic 6 should actually be more private than competing smartphones, as everything stays on the device and isn't shuffled off to the cloud.

The company showed off some nifty features that take advantage of this technology. The smart assistant, nicknamed YOYO, can create short videos based on footage stored on the phone via a simple chat prompt. You can also adjust templates, themes and music with similar prompts. The bot will also collect images and videos stored on your phone that match a specific search criteria, with more use case scenarios to be revealed at a later date.

Honor’s Magic 6 flagship smartphone was just announced and the company didn’t provide a release date or cost information. However, Qualcomm says that phones featuring its new chipset will begin shipping in the coming weeks, so the Magic 6 could be one of them. In the meantime, Honor has made quite the name for itself in the folding phone space.

We call Samsung's Galaxy Watch 6 the best option for Android users in our smartwatch buying guide, and it's now on sale for $235 at Amazon. There's always a chance we see a better deal on Black Friday, but for now, that's the lowest price we've tracked for the wearable outside of trade-in deals. The discount only applies to the 40mm Graphite model without LTE support, but it's still $65 cheaper than buying from Samsung directly and $25 below the previous low we saw earlier this month. If you have larger wrists or want a bigger display, the 44mm version of the wearable is down to $280, which is $50 off its MSRP. The 40mm Gold model is also on sale for $250.

We gave the Galaxy Watch 6 a review score of 84 back in September. It's not all that different than the Galaxy Watches that preceded it, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Its design is still clean and relatively durable, its interface remains simple enough to navigate and it continues to offer the usual array of health-tracking sensors. New with this model is a slightly brighter and larger OLED display with thinner bezels. There's a bigger battery as well, though you shouldn't expect much more than a day of use out of this 40mm model on average (the 44mm variant should last longer, though). 

Apart from the expected activity- and sleep-tracking insights, the Galaxy Watch 6 can measure your skin temperature overnight, monitor your blood oxygen levels and notify you if it senses an irregular heart rhythm. It's still accurate at automatically detecting and logging workouts as well. All of this runs on Google's Wear OS 4, and Samsung says the device will gain software updates through 2027.

One thing the Galaxy Watch 6 does not have is a rotating bezel for navigating the OS. For that, you have to step up to the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, which is on sale for $350 and also comes with a sturdier stainless steel case. Though we broadly like both devices for Android users, they'll still work best when paired with a Samsung phone. Many of the Galaxy Watch 6's software features will trickle down to older models as well, so there's no need to upgrade if you own a Watch 5. But if you don't use an iPhone and have been looking to grab your first smartwatch, this is a good entry point. 

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Linksys just released its first-ever mesh Wi-Fi 7 router, the Velop Pro 7. It’s powered by the latest Qualcomm Networking Pro 620 platform, which the company says helps it achieve “wire-like stability.” The mesh system can connect up to 200 devices per node and each node offers approximately 3,000 square feet of coverage.

Linksys says these routers use a proprietary technology called Continuous Mesh that continually optimizes the system to match connected devices and increase speed. The company says this makes the Velop Pro 7 particularly useful for gadgets equipped with AR/VR technology, like the recently-released Meta Quest 3 headset.

Mesh router systems can be frustrating to install, particularly when you’re working with multiple nodes, but Linksys claims its newest release can be fully incorporated into your home in just ten minutes. The company says its new setup technology hastens the process by nearly 70 percent when compared to other Linksys router systems.

This is a tri-band system, so it’ll connect to just about anything, which is always nice. It also integrates with the Linksys app, so you can keep an eye on what devices are connected to suss out anything that doesn’t quite belong. This app even lets you pause your wireless connection so you can focus on homework or, cough, writing about routers for the internet.

The Velop Pro 7 is available today straight from the company or via Best Buy. The bare-bones pack, featuring a single node, costs $400, with two nodes costing $750 and three nodes ramping up to $1,000. UK residents will have to wait until mid-November for the launch, with global availability coming at a later date.

This may be the first mesh Wi-Fi 7 system for Linksys, but the industry is adopting this modern wireless standard at a rapid clip. Netgear, for instance, has gone all-in on the concept with the release of its Nighthawk RS700S router and the ultra-expensive flagship Orbi 970 system.

It's only been a month since Xiaomi introduced the 13T series to the international market, and the company is already pushing out more flagship phones back in China. The freshly-announced Xiaomi 14 series is the first device to run the company's supposedly more efficient and more interoperable HyperOS, which aims to bridge the gap between "human, cars, and home." Naturally, these phones also feature Qualcomm's AI-centric Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor launched earlier this week, with the bonus being a faster Leica Summilux lens and a floating telephoto lens for both the 14 and 14 Pro, along with a tough "Xiaomi Ceramic Glass" plus a titanium edition — literally the "one more thing" at the launch event — reserved for the Pro model.

Starting with the Xiaomi 14, its 6.36-inch screen boasts a new C8 AMOLED display panel co-developed by the phone maker and TCL CSOT. This offers an industry-leading peak brightness of 3,000 nits, as well as the common pixel density of 460 ppi and variable refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz. The phone also packs a 4,610mAh battery with 90W wired fast charging and 50W wireless fast charging. Audio-wise, you get a 4-mic array — great on paper when it comes to noise cancellation for phone calls — and stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos. If waterproof (and dustproof) is a must, don't worry, as the phones in this series are all rated with IP68.

Xiaomi

The higher-end Xiaomi 14 Pro looks very similar, except for its larger size — it's a 6.73-inch screen here, and there's a bigger 4,880mAh battery tucked inside (with faster 120W wired charging; same 50W wireless charging though). You won't see it, but it's also worth noting that the 14 Pro's USB 3.2 port offers a whopping 10Gbps data transfer speed, which is twice as fast as the one on the 14.

If you place both models side by side, you'll see how all four sides of both glass panels are curved on the Pro, with the top panel retaining a flat screen look to avoid distortion. The display packs a 2K (WGHD+) resolution, which equates to an impressive pixel density of 522ppi. For the first time, Xiaomi took a page out of Huawei's book and created its own tough glass, which is aptly dubbed "Xiaomi Ceramic Glass." This supposedly features "10 times higher drop resistance and 1.25 times higher scratch resistance." In fact, the 14 Pro's titanium edition even has both sides shielded by this special glass, hence its 7g (0.25oz) of extra weight when compared to the regular model's 223g (7.87oz). 

Xiaomi

Both models come with a set of similar cameras, with the main Summilux lens featuring a new "Light Fusion 900" image sensor (50-megapixel, 1/1.3-inch, 1.2um, OIS) with a supposedly high dynamic range. While the Xiaomi 14's main camera has an f/1.6 aperture, the Pro has a variable aperture ranging from f/1.42 to f/4.0 for more the sake of versatility. For the first time, you get the same floating telephoto lens (3.2x zoom, f/2.0, OIS) on both models (instead of just on the Pro), which lets you easily toggle between telephoto mode and close-up mode. For ultra-wide capture, it's a 50-megapixel f/2.2 camera with a 115-degree viewing angle. For those who are nerdy enough to care, both the telephoto camera and the ultra-wide camera use a Samsung JN1 sensor.

Xiaomi is currently taking pre-orders for both models in China. The 14 Pro starts from 4,999 yuan (around $680) for the 12GB RAM with 256GB storage, and it maxes out at 5,999 yuan (about $820) with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. If you want the titanium edition, it's the same top specs, but it'll cost you 6,499 yuan (around $890). As for the more affordable Xiaomi 14, it starts from 3,999 yuan ($550) with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, then it goes all the way up to 4,999 yuan — matching that of the 14 Pro's base model — with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage. There's no word on when to expect international availability yet, but given the pattern of Xiaomi's recent flagships, it's probably just a matter of time.

As with all things Google of late, AI capabilities are coming to Maps. The company announced a slew of machine learning updates for the popular app Thursday including an "Immersive View" for route planning, deeper Lens integration for local navigation and more accurate real-time information. 

Back in May at its I/O developer conference, Google executives debuted Immersive View for routes, which provides navigation shots of your planned route. Whether you're on foot, bike, taking public transportation or driving, this will allow you to scrub back and forth through street level, turn-by-turn visuals of the path you're taking. The feature arrives on iOS and Android this week for Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paris, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Tokyo and Venice.

Just because you can see the route to get where you're going doesn't guarantee you'll be able to read the signage along the way. Google is revamping its existing AI-based Search with Live View feature in Maps. Simply tap the Lens icon in Maps and wave your phone around, the system will determine your precise street level location and be able to direct you to nearby resources like ATMs, transit stations, restaurants, coffee shops and stores. 

The map itself is set to receive a significant upgrade. Buildings along your route will be more accurately depicted within the app to help you better orient yourself in unfamiliar cities, lane details along tricky highway interchanges will be more clearly defined in-app as well. Those updates will arrive for users in a dozen countries including the US, Canada, France and Germany over the next few months. US users will also start to see better in-app HOV lane designations and European customers should expect a significant expansion of Google's AI speed limit sign reader technology out to 20 nations in total. 

Google

Google Maps also runs natively in a growing number of electric vehicles, as part of the Android Automotive OS ecosystem. That Maps is getting an update too as part of the new Places API. Starting this week, drivers will see increased information about nearby charging stations including whether the plugs work with their EV, the power throughput of the charger, and whether the plug has been used recently — an indirect means of inferring whether or not the station is out of service, which Google helpfully points out, is the case around 25 percent of them. 

Even search is improving with the new update. Users will be soon able to look for nearby destinations that meet more esoteric criteria, such as “animal latte art” or “pumpkin patch with my dog,” results of which are gleaned from the analysis of "billions of photos shared by the Google Maps community," per a Google blog post Thursday.   

Meta’s Threads continues to grow, all while the service it aped, X, continues to splutter and fall apart. Mark Zuckerberg said that Threads currently has “just under” 100 million monthly active users and that the app could reach 1 billion users in the next couple of years.

Threads picked up 100 million sign-ups in its first week, with easy ways to create an account from your existing Instagram profile. However, engagement dropped off amid complaints about limited functionality and feeds flooded with unwanted posts from brands and users with big audience numbers on Instagram. I was not interested in the piecemeal thoughts of startup execs with a podcast. Shocking, I know.

Meta has since steadily added new features, and engagement seems to have rebounded in recent weeks as Elon Musk continues to make unpopular changes to X, like stripping headlines from links and well, all the other things. 

– Mat Smith

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X is rolling out an audio and video calling feature nobody asked for

What did we just say?

X (formerly known as Twitter) has begun rolling out yet another feature nobody asked for. Now, users will have the option to call each other via audio and video calls on the platform. This doesn't come as a total surprise, as CEO Linda Yaccarino previously confirmed that video chat would be coming to the social media site back in August. The best explanation for the addition is Elon Musk’s aim to make X the “everything” app – a one-stop shop for multiple features and services.

Continue reading.

DJI's Osmo Pocket 3 camera features a 1-inch sensor and a rotating display

It also offers 4K 120p video and ActiveTrack 6.0 stabilization.

Engadget

DJI's Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal camera has arrived with major updates over the previous model, adding a much larger 1-inch sensor that should greatly improve image quality. It also packs a new 2-inch display with 4.7 times the area of the last model. That said, It's also significantly more expensive than the Pocket 2 was at launch. It costs $520 in the US, $170 more than the Pocket 2.

Continue reading.

Apple TV+ prices have doubled in just over a year

Apple One, Arcade and News+ plans are now more expensive too.

The price of Apple TV+ is going up by $3 per month to $10. The annual TV+ plan has risen from $69 to $99. Apple Arcade is now $7 per month instead of $5. As for Apple News+, that'll now run you $13 per month for a standalone subscription, up from $10. The cost of an Apple TV+ subscription previously went up from $5 per month to $7 in October 2022, meaning that the price of the service has doubled in just over 12 months.

Continue reading.

TikTok's first live 'global music event' will feature Cardi B and Charlie Puth

In The Mix will take place in Arizona on December 10.

TikTok

TikTok In The Mix will take place in Mesa, Arizona on December 10 – the first global live music event from the video platform. The headliners are Cardi B, Niall Horan, Anitta and Charlie Puth, with surprise guests and performances by emerging artists. Followers of the four headliners will get presale codes to buy In The Mix tickets starting on October 27. The general sale will start on November 2 and TikTok will stream the event live on its app too.

Continue reading.

It's finally happening: X (formerly known as Twitter) has begun rolling out yet another feature nobody asked for. Now, users will have the option to call each other via audio and video calls on the platform. This doesn't come as a total surprise, as CEO Linda Yaccarino previously confirmed that video chat would be coming to the social media site back in August. It's just the latest step in X's evolution to becoming the "everything" app overlord owner Elon Musk wants it to be.

After opening X, some users are greeted with a prompt announcing "Audio and Video calls are here!" The prompt also included instructions on how to review who can call or make other changes to how the feature works. These options can be found in the settings section of your Direct Messages. If you have no interest in allowing people on X to call you, you can go to your DMs and look for the Settings menu, which looks like a tiny gear. From there, you can disable the calling option. However, if you do want to keep it on, you can choose to allow calls from verified users, people in your address book or just people you follow.

X

X doesn't have the best track record of creating a safe space, especially for minority communities, so it's not hard to see why many people would prefer to opt out of using this feature. Additionally, not everyone will receive the prompt about the new calling feature, which is enabled by default. It’s probably smart to see if it's already available on your account then you decide whether you'd like to keep it on.

Perhaps the folks at X will rethink this one, and maybe we can trade this feature to save Circles. But if this is a feature that must exist, it would have been a better move to allow users to turn it on themselves, instead of having it on automatically. Some users may not find out about the feature until a random troll decides to call and antagonize them.