Humanity took another step towards its Ghost in the Shell future on Tuesday with Microsoft's unveiling of the new Security Copilot AI at its inaugural Microsoft Secure event. The automated enterprise-grade security system is powered by OpenAI's GPT-4, runs on the Azure infrastructure and promises admins the ability "to move at the speed and scale of AI."

Security Copilot is similar to the large language model (LLM) that drives the Bing Copilot feature, but with a training geared heavily towards network security rather than general conversational knowledge and web search optimization. "This security-specific model in turn incorporates a growing set of security-specific skills and is informed by Microsoft’s unique global threat intelligence and more than 65 trillion daily signals," Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Security, Compliance, Identity, and Management, wrote Tuesday. 

“Just since the pandemic, we’ve seen an incredible proliferation [in corporate hacking incidents],"Jakkal told Bloomberg. For example, “it takes one hour and 12 minutes on average for an attacker to get full access to your inbox once a user has clicked on a phishing link. It used to be months or weeks for someone to get access.”

Security Copilot should serve as a force multiplier for overworked and under-supported network admins, a filed which Microsoft estimates has more than 3 million open positions. "Our cyber-trained model adds a learning system to create and tune new skills," Jakkal explained. "Security Copilot then can help catch what other approaches might miss and augment an analyst’s work. In a typical incident, this boost translates into gains in the quality of detection, speed of response and ability to strengthen security posture." 

Jakkal anticipates these new capabilities enabling Copilot-assisted admins to respond within minutes to emerging security threats, rather than days or weeks after the exploit is discovered. Being a brand new, untested AI system, Security Copilot is not meant to operate fully autonomously, a human admin needs to remain in the loop. “This is going to be a learning system,” she said. “It’s also a paradigm shift: Now humans become the verifiers, and AI is giving us the data.”

To more fully protect the sensitive trade secrets and internal business documents Security Copilot is designed to protect, Microsoft has also committed to never use its customers data to train future Copilot iterations. Users will also be able to dictate their privacy settings and decide how much of their data (or the insights gleaned from it) will be shared. The company has not revealed if, or when, such security features will become available for individual users as well.

It took nearly a year, but Apple's no-interest payment system is here. The company has launched Apple Pay Later for US customers in a "prerelease" version that requires an invitation. If you're included, you can split your online Apple Pay purchases (made with an iPhone or iPad) into as many as four payments spread over six weeks. You can't apply for loans larger than $1,000 and have to link a debit card, but there are no fees. This also won't hurt your credit score, and Apple says it won't share data with third-party marketers.

Apple Pay Later is part of the Wallet app in iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4, and includes a calendar to help you track your next instalment. You'll also get app-based and email notifications for looming payments to be sure you're on time.

The feature should reach every eligible user in the "coming months," Apple says. Businesses that use Apple Pay don't need to do anything on their end — if you can use Pay Later, you'll see the option during checkout either on the web or in apps. Apple will report Pay Later loans to American credit bureaus starting in the fall, and hopes they'll "promote responsible lending" for both borrowers and lenders.

Developing...

Now that systems with NVIDIA's 40-series mobile GPUs are finally hitting the market, there's a fresh generation of gaming laptops promising even more bombastic performance. And with the 2023 version of ASUS' ROG Zephyrus M16 packing a 13th-gen Intel CPU and an RTX 4090, we should be in for unmatched gaming prowess. This year, ASUS also upgraded the laptop's display to a stunning new Mini LED panel, and by bringing over the AniMe Matrix lid, the notebook looks better too despite the rest of its chassis being largely unchanged. But the big question is that with our fully loaded review unit costing a whopping $3,500, is this system really delivering the same value back?

Design

Featuring a relatively slim matte black chassis that weighs just over five pounds, the Zephyrus M16 does a great job at retaining a bit of portability alongside all that performance. And while it looks almost exactly the same as last year's model, the AniMe Matrix LED lid (which we first saw on the Zephyrus G14 line) adds a bit of extra style without screaming about your power level. That's because when you prefer to be more discreet, you can easily turn off the lights using ASUS's Armoury Crate app and then just flip them back on when you want to surprise some nosy Saiyans.

Inside, the Zephyrus features RGB backlit keys and stereo speakers on the left and right. Typing feels good, though I wish the actuation felt a tiny bit stiffer, and it would have been nice if the deck was a little better at resisting fingerprints. I would have also liked to see a finger scanner integrated into the power button. It's a feature widely available on non-gaming laptops, including those from ASUS, but for some reason, manufacturers think gamers don't care as much about the convenience and security a built-in sensor provides.

And when it comes to connectivity, the M16 has plenty of ports including multiple USB jacks (both Type-A and Type-C), a full-size HDMI socket and even a microSD card slot. The one port ASUS didn't keep from last year's model is an Ethernet jack, which might be a deal breaker for some, but in 2023, I'm not that bothered.

Display

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

As for visuals, the M16's 2560 x 1600 screen is arguably a more important upgrade than its new CPU and GPU. Not only has the refresh rate been bumped up to 240Hz, because it's a Mini LED panel, you also get way more dimming zones which help cut down on blooming. Its brightness is way better too. In normal use, the display tops out at around 600 nits, but thanks to its VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification, things look even better when you're playing games or watching movies. It's an absolute treat.

My one gripe, and this is something that applies to all laptops with Nvidia's Optimus tech, is that when switching between integrated graphics and the discrete GPU, the screen flashes and blacks out, which is just kind of clunky. On top of that, depending on your specific settings, when it changes modes you may need to reenable things like HDR or specific color profiles. This can get kind of tedious after a while, especially if you have Optimus set to switch automatically depending on if you're plugged in or running on battery. So in the end, I set it to stay connected to the GPU all the time and never touched it again.

Performance and thermals

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

While the M16's performance is anything but slow, ASUS stopped just short of delivering truly top-notch performance. That's because instead of an HX-series chip, you get a slightly slower Intel Core i9-13900H CPU. Meanwhile, ASUS limits the RTX 4090 in the M16 to 145 watts (or 150 watts according to the NVIDIA control panel), which is less than the 175-watt cards you get in some competitors like the Razer Blade 16.

Granted, this may feel a bit nitpicky because it's not like the M16 is sluggish, particularly when you factor in its 32GB of RAM and speedy 2TB SSD. But when you're spending this much on a laptop, it's weird to see ASUS leave a little bit of extra performance on the table. In PCMark 10, the M16 posted a score of 8,624, which is more than 20 percent higher than what we got from last year's Razer Blade 15 (i7-12800H/RTX 3080 Ti). That's a pretty significant jump, though we're still waiting for a wider range of systems to arrive so we can get a more thorough comparison for 2023.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

But more importantly, the M16 solidly beat the Blade 15 in games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider when it hit 144 fps at 1920 x 1080 on highest settings compared to just 124 fps for the Razer. Additionally, in Metro Exodus the M16 exhibited a similar lead when it hit 101 fps on Ultra at full HD versus 86 for the Blade 15. Furthermore, if you want to enjoy the Zephyrus' native 2560 x 1600 resolution, the laptop has more than enough oomph to maintain a rock solid 120 fps with all the graphical bells and whistles turned on in Far Cry 6.

One downside of putting all this power in a relatively thin chassis (0.9 inches) though is that this thing runs hot. Temps don't go into the danger zone, but you're definitely not going to want to be doing any gaming on your lap, even casual titles. Heck, just resting your hands on the deck can make them sweaty after 10 or 15 minutes. Furthermore, the M16's fans are pretty loud, and in performance mode, there's simply no ignoring them. Thankfully, ASUS also gave the Zephyrus some rather beefy speakers so it's pretty easy to drown out the fans, that is if you don't mind making a ruckus for anyone else in the room (or possibly the next room over). And if you're OK with a bit of reduced performance, there's also a silent performance mode in the Armoury Crate app when you want to be less rambunctious.

Battery Life

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

The other con with a system this brawny is very mediocre battery life. When using the less power-hungry integrated graphics (which is what the system defaults to when Nvidia's Optimus tech is set to automatic), the M16 lasted just 5:18 on our local video rundown test. That's a bit better than something like the MSI's Stealth 15m's time of 4:15, but slightly worse than the 2022 Blade 15's mark of 5:42. And to little surprise, things are even worse when you rely entirely on the discrete GPU, with the M16 conking out after less than three hours (2:50).

Wrap-up

All told, while it doesn't look much different from last year's system and its battery life is far from ideal, there's a lot to like about the Zephryus M16 too. It's got a slick and surprisingly understated design with a bit of hidden flash, and its new 240Hz Mini LED display looks awesome. It also has plenty of ports and, in a very welcome upgrade to general quality of life, ASUS even increased the resolution of its webcam to full HD. With the system supporting a 13th-gen Core i9 chip and up to RTX 4090 GPUs, practically anything you do runs super smooth. I just wish ASUS hadn't stopped short of including the most beastly versions of Intel and NVIDIA's top-specced mobile silicon. When you're already paying $3,500 for a fully loaded model, you might as well toss a couple hundred more to ensure there aren't any compromises on performance.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

That said, for my money, I'd rather go with one of the M16's more affordable configs, which starts at $1,950 for an i9 chip and an RTX 4070 card. You still get that brilliant Mini LED screen and AniMe Matrix lid along with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. This way you'll have a system that won't bust your budget or make your back sore if you decide to carry it around, without putting a damper on your ability to game in style either.

One of the biggest criticisms of DJI's otherwise excellent Avata FPV drone was around the Goggles 2, which lacked comfort and forced you to tether to a battery. Now, DJI has unveiled the Goggles Integra, a new model designed for the Avata that offers an integrated battery, improved ergonomics and new flight control features. The company also announced the RC Motion 2 controller with an upgraded joystick and controls.

The Goggles Integra use a new integrated design that merges the headband and battery, eliminating the annoying connecting cable on the last model. At the same time, DJI promises that the headband is "light, balanced and incredibly comfortable," while offering up to two hours of connecting time. It uses DJI's OcuSync O3+, that provides a 50Mbps video feed with up to 6.2 miles of range and 30-millisecond latency. It has a built-in GPS that lets you fly with no need to connect to a smartphone. 

DJI

Unfortunately, the Goggles Integra lack the built-in diopter range found on the Goggles 2, and are too small to accommodate eyeglasses. Instead, they come with interchangeable lenses, meaning they're less flexible for users who need eye correction than the Goggles 2. And as before, when you take them off to see the drone, you'll need to put your glasses back on. With the battery cable gone, though, it's less awkward to put the headset on and take it off.

Another key difference with the Goggles 2 is that there's no Bluetooth or WiFi communication. That means you won't be able to transmit the visuals you see in the goggles to a smartphone, as you can on the previous model. 

Along with the new headset, DJI introduced the RC Motion 2 as an update to the original RC Motion controller. It uses the same motion-sensing tech, but comes with an improved joystick that protrudes (rather than being flush as before) for more traditional operation. 

DJI

It also has an updated accelerator with a reverse function to support multidirectional flight. That includes vertical, backward and sideways motion, "making it easier to adjust the direction or choose a suitable place to land," DJI wrote. On the side is a new Fn dial (replacing the tilt switch) that lets you adjust the camera's ISO, shutter and other parameters without the to interact with the goggles. 

The new products show that DJI is being responsive to users, but it's unfortunate that the Goggles Integra lacks several key features from the $649 Goggles 2 — even though it's $150 cheaper. The Goggles Integra and RC Motion 2 are now available for $499 and $239 respectively. You can also get them in the Avata Explorer Combo that includes the Goggles Integra, DJI RC Motion 2, and DJI Avata for $1,278. If you need the diopter adjustment range and WiFi/Bluetooth features, the Pro-View Combo with the Goggles 2, DJI RC Motion 2, and DJI Avata is available for $1,428. 

Now that Lenovo has introduced its mid-tier LOQ gaming laptops, it's revising its more portable Slim and Yoga lines. The headlining Slim Pro 9i (shown above) has the option of a mini-LED 3K display on both 14.5- and 16-inch models. You'll get improved contrast, of course, but Lenovo also touts 100 percent coverage of the DCI-P3, sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces, a 165Hz refresh rate and a 1,200-nit brightness that helps with HDR visuals and outdoor work. And yes, it's a viable option for gaming and other GPU-heavy tasks — you can use up to GeForce RTX 4070 graphics.

Both Slim Pro 9i sizes support up to a 13th-gen Intel Core i9 H-series processor, 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. You can also expect Dolby Atmos-capable speakers and a healthy port selection that includes Thunderbolt 4, USB-A, a headphone jack and HDMI, although you'll have to spring for the larger machine to get a full-size SD card reader.

Lenovo expects the Slim Pro 9i family to ship in May starting at $1,700 for the 14.5-inch model and $1,800 for the 16-inch equivalent. You won't get mini-LED at that price and will have to 'settle' for RTX 4050 video, but that still makes the base version viable if you want to strike a balance between raw speed and a reasonably portable chassis.

Lenovo

You have options if you don't need as much power. An updated Slim Pro 7 (pictured at middle) includes a larger battery and better cooling while offering the obligatory performance upgrades to Ryzen 7000HS-series CPUs. You won't get more than RTX 4050 graphics, 1TB storage or 16GB of RAM, but the 14.5-inch laptop still offers up to a 3K LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate. There's also a refreshed 14-inch Slim 7i with 13th-gen Intel Core processors. Both ranges arrive in April, beginning at $1,180 for the Slim 7i and $1,200 for the Slim Pro 7.

The new Yoga models are straightforward spec bumps. The Intel-based Yoga 7i now uses 13th-gen Core chips in its 14- and 16-inch guises, while the AMD-powered Yoga 7 relies on Ryzen 7000 CPUs. You can use up to a 2.8K OLED display. Both Yoga updates start at $800 ($850 for the 14-inch 7i). The 7i appears in April, while you'll have to wait until May for the Ryzen edition.

Reliable home WiFi has never been more important. Many of us work from home part-time or full-time now, and others increasingly have more of their home powered by smart devices. Also, we all just have more connected devices in general — phones, tablets, consoles, TVs and more. In setting up and maintaining all of your tech, you might have discovered you get a weaker signal in your garage than the rest of your home, or spotty coverage in your makeshift home office. And depending on the size of your abode, your WiFi’s strength might be abysmal on its outskirts.

This is where WiFi extenders come in. These relatively affordable gadgets, as their name suggests, extend your home network to provide more widespread coverage. These devices can give you connectivity in places you may have never had it before like garages, backyards and the farthest corners of your property. And they won’t cost you a fortune like many of the latest mesh network systems you’ll find today. Let’s break down how these gadgets work, what you should consider before picking one up and the best WiFi extenders we tested.

How do WiFi extenders work?

These handy devices do exactly what their name suggests: extend your WiFi network so it covers more areas of your home. Most WiFi extenders plug into an AC outlet and connect to your existing network so they can then rebroadcast it to spots that your router alone may not cover well. As a rule of thumb, you’ll get the best results by placing the extender half way between your router and the dead zone you’re trying to fix.

One important thing to note about WiFi extenders (also sometimes called “repeaters”) is that most of them actually create a new WiFi network when rebroadcasting your existing one. That network will have a new name (it’ll often be your default network’s name with an EXT appended at the end, unless you change it) and that means you’ll have to connect to different networks when in different parts of your home. While that’s a small tradeoff in return for improved coverage, some will be more inconvenienced than others.

If you’d rather have one, much larger network in your home, you’re better off upgrading to mesh WiFi. Mesh systems come with a main router and access points that, by default, create one large WiFi network that should be accessible throughout your entire home. But that also translates to more expensive, and possibly more complicated, devices. Mesh systems are, by far, more costly than a simple WiFi extender, plus you may have to work with your ISP to get your home’s existing network working on your new router.

What to look for in a WiFi extender

Speed

Extenders today can support single, dual or tri-band WiFi, and they will tell you the maximum speeds they support on all of their available bands. For example, one dual-band device might support 600Mbps speeds over its 2.4GHz band and up to 1300Mbps over its 5GHz band, for a combined maximum speed of 1900Mbps. For the best performance, you’ll want to go with a WiFi extender that has the highest speeds possible (and those, as you might expect, tend to cost more).

However, it’s important to remember that WiFi extenders are not designed to increase speeds across your home. In fact, you may find that the extender’s network is slower than your router’s. Instead, extenders are designed to increase the WiFi coverage throughout your home, making them ideal for filling in dead zones.

Range, and number of supported devices

With the name of the gaming being coverage area, taking note of a device’s range is important. Depending on the size of your home and property, you may only need up to 1,200 square feet of coverage. But those with larger homes will want to spring for an extender that can support upwards of 2,000+ square feet of coverage.

Similarly, those with lots of gadgets will want an extender that can handle them all at once. If you spend most of your time on your phone or laptop and maybe have your smart TV online for a few hours each day, you could get by with a more limited extender. Smart home aficionados and tech lovers should invest in one that won’t buckle under the pressure of a few dozen connected devices. This is especially important if you plan on linking all of the devices in a certain part of your home to your extender’s network, rather than directly to your router.

Design

There isn’t a ton of innovation when it comes to design in the WiFi extender space. Most of the ones you’ll find today are rounded rectangles roughly the size of your hand that plug into a standard AC outlet. They usually have a few indicator lights that will show you when the extender is connected, how strong its signal strength is and when there’s a problem, and some will even have moveable antennas that companies claim provide even better WiFi coverage.

Aside from that, there are the scant few standalone WiFi extenders that sit on an end table or a desk, and those look pretty similar to regular ol’ routers. But make no mistake, anything labeled as an extender or a “repeater” will need an anchor router in order for it to work.

Another convenient feature you’ll find on most WiFi extenders is an extra Ethernet port (or a few). This allows you to use the extender as a WiFi access point if you connect it to your router, or an adapter to provide devices like TVs, smart home hubs or game consoles a hardwired connection to the internet. Unsurprisingly, this wired connection usually provides you with the fastest speeds possible, so you may want to use it for your most crucial devices.

Engadget picks

Best for most: TP-Link AX3000 WiFi 6 extender (RE700X or RE705X)

TP-Link has a bunch of WiFi extenders under its umbrella, but the one that will likely serve most people the best is this AX3000 model, which comes in two variations: the RE700X and the RE705X. Both extenders have the same specs, including WiFi 6 support, but the 705X has a slightly different design with pull-out antennas on either side. I tested the 705X, so I’m basing my recommendation off of my experience with that model, specifically.

Setting up this extender was as easy as plugging it in and following instructions in TP-Link’s Tether mobile app. All of the devices I tried followed the same basic setup process: first, plug the extender in close to your router, follow instructions in a mobile app or on a setup webpage, and once the connection is established, move the extender to your desired location.

It took all of five minutes to pair the 705X with my Verizon FiOS router – probably the most time-consuming bit was deciding what I wanted to name the new 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz networks. I went with the same name for both because I didn’t want to manually choose from two different bands when connecting things like my phone or laptop. The device will automatically pair your device with the appropriate band — for example, connecting most smart home gadgets to the 2.4Ghz network.

The permanent location where I moved all of the extenders I tested was in my basement, since that’s where we can get the spottiest signal. I first ran speed tests on my iPhone and MacBook using Speedtest.net and Speedcheck.org so I could compare them with the standard speeds I got when connected to my router’s main network. Unsurprisingly, the speeds generated by TP-Link’s extender were much slower than those from my router’s network, but that was the case with all of the devices I tested. Only our premium pick (see below) got close to my router’s standard speeds, but I expected this. WiFi extenders aren’t going to make your connection better – they’re just going to give you a wider area of coverage. From a spec perspective, both the 705X and the 700X are rated for speeds up to 2402 Mbps on the 5GHz band and 574 Mbps on 2.4GHz band.

Despite the results of my tests, I was happy to discover that I wasn’t held back by the 705X’s seemingly slower speeds. I worked as normal for hours with my phone and laptop connected to the extenders network, answering emails, messaging in Slack, streaming YouTube videos and otherwise maintaining a few dozen tabs in Chrome, without any hiccups or noticeable slow-downs.

I was not surprised to find TP-Link’s Tether companion app to be easy to use, if a little simple, because that was my experience with TP-Link’s smart home app. Tether is specifically used with the company’s networking devices, and you probably won’t spend a ton of time in it after initial setup. I especially like that you can name devices that are connected to your extenders network like your phone and smart TV. That makes it much easier to know which things in your home are constantly paired with the extender rather than your router’s default network.

One important thing to note with these TP-Link extenders is that they both support OneMesh, which is the company’s feature that allows you to create one seamless mesh network if you have a compatible router. Since I’m still using the router provided to me by my ISP, I wasn’t able to test out this feature, but it works like this: if you have a OneMesh router and OneMesh-compatible extenders, you can link them all together under the same network name. So rather than having a router network and an extender network under the same roof, everything would be linked and filed under your main network’s name.

It’s a small perk that becomes not so small if you have a spotty extender, or even just an awkwardly laid-out home. In my testing, I found my phone disconnecting from some extenders’ networks when I went upstairs to the main floor of the house from my basement. It would then attempt to reconnect to the extender network, when really I would have preferred it to default back to my router’s network. That thankfully didn’t happen with TP-Link’s RE705X, but it’s something to keep in mind when considering buying a WiFi extender at all. If you can get one that has a feature like OneMesh, it’ll make your life much easier.

Coming in at $130 and $120, respectively, the RE705X and RE700X may not be the cheapest WiFi extenders out there, but their coverage range, WiFi 6 support and max speeds make either of them a good pick. If you know exactly where you want to put an extender and it’s not in an awkward or hard-to-reach location, the slightly cheaper, antenna-free RE700X may work just fine for you. But if you want that extra ability to tweak antennas to suit your needs, the RE705X is the way to go.

Best budget: TP-Link AC1200 WiFi extender (RE315)

TP-Link’s RE315 WiFi extender is physically very similar to the RE705X, but with lower specs and that’s what makes it a $50 device. You’ll get up to 867 Mbps speeds on the 5GHz band and 300 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, and it only provides coverage for up to 1,500 square feet. That won’t be as much of an issue for most people as max speeds will, but if you have a particularly large property, you’re better off going with a more expensive extender that can cover more space.

There’s also no WiFi 6 support on the RE315, which may be a dealbreaker for those who recently invested in a WiFi 6 router. This model does support OneMesh, though, which is nice if you already have a OneMesh system in your home.

I’m focusing on specification differences because my experience with the RE315 wasn’t that far off from the RE705X. Setup was just as plain and simple since the RE315 also uses the Tether mobile app, and while speeds were slightly lower in my testing, I didn’t notice too much of a difference in real world use. For $50 normally, and often closer to $30 when on sale, the RE315 is an easy pick for anyone who wants a budget-friendly way to fill WiFi dead zones in their home.

Best premium: Netgear AX6000 WiFi 6 mesh range extender (EAX80)

Having more than one WiFi network in your house is par for the course when it comes to adding an extender into the mix. But that’s not so with the Netgear EAX80 mesh range extender – it has “seamless smart roaming,” which allows you to set it up under your existing SSID name. So instead of disconnecting from your main network and reconnecting to the extender’s network when you move from your living room to your basement, all you have to do is… move from one room to another and let Netgear’s device do the heavy lifting.

That’s one of the premium features included on the EAX80, but its $250 price tag can be attributed more so to some other perks. It’s a dual-band, WiFi 6 mesh range extender that will work with pretty much any router you may have. It supports speeds up to 6 Gbps and can have more than 30 devices connected to it at once. As far as square footage goes, it’ll widen your WiFi’s coverage by up to 2,500 square feet, which should be plenty for small and medium-sized homes. It performed well in our speed tests, coming very close to the upload/download speeds I got when being connected to my main network before installing the extender.

There’s nothing out of the ordinary about the Nighthawk mobile app, which is what you’ll use to initially set up the EAX80 extender. After that, you can use the app to troubleshoot, check WiFi speeds and see which devices are on your network. It’ll likely be a big list since you’ll see everything that’s paired to your router’s network as well. My only gripe is that you can’t edit device names. For example, my den’s TV shows up as “LGwebOSTV” and our soundbar in our basement shows up as “sonyaudio” — but there are a number of connected devices with no name at all, and we’re just stuck with that.

Aside from its fast speeds and reliable connection, two things set this Netgear extender apart from the other devices I tested. First is that seamless smart roaming feature – not having to switch between WiFi networks when going around my home was super convenient. I never had to worry about my laptop losing connection to a dedicated extender network when I moved from my basement to my second floor, which is something I frequently had to deal with when testing other devices.

The second differentiating factor is the EAX80’s design. Unlike other range extenders that are chunky blocks that plug directly into an AC outlet, Netgear’s model looks more like a standalone router. While that does mean it has a larger footprint than other devices I tested, it was actually easier to find good spots for it in my home because it didn’t have to be chained to the wall right above an outlet. Most people, especially those tight on space, will probably prefer the standard extender design, but the EAX80 gave me a bit more flexibility. I also appreciated that the EAX80 has four built-in Ethernet ports for physically connecting things like TVs, consoles and more, plus one USB-A port for hardwiring a printer.

Netgear’s EAX80 range extender is a solid option if you don’t mind dropping a bit of money to get a bunch of convenient features on top of stellar speeds and WiFi 6 support. But it’s worth noting that Netgear has a few options that are similar to the EAX80, but with various differences in speed, coverage and feature set. The most similar is the $130 EAX20 extender, which includes 1,500 square feet of coverage, support for WiFi 6 and up to 1.8Gbps speeds, plus seamless smart roaming capabilities. The wall-plug version of that, the EAX15, is actually a tad more expensive at $140.

I’ve been excited about the prospect of augmented reality on ski goggles since Oakley first tried it more than a decade ago with its short-lived Airwave headset. Unfortunately, its foray into AR left a lot to be desired: the Airwave was comically large and required a wrist-worn controller. Plus, at around $600, they were prohibitively expensive for what felt like an experimental product.

But display tech has evolved a lot since then. And I’ve been patiently waiting for another company to come along with a better version that actually works. So I was excited to discover Rekkie, an independent manufacturer that launched its first pair of goggles with a built-in heads-up display last year.

At $349, Rekkie’s offering is still pricey, but much closer to what you’d pay for high-end, non-smart ski goggles. More importantly, after several days snowboarding with Rekkie’s goggles, I’ve found that AR has advanced enough that headsets like this finally feel useful.

The goggles

At first glance, Rekkies almost look like a pair of standard ski goggles. The most noticeable difference, though, is a box on the right side of the strap that holds the power supply, as well as the Bluetooth and long distance radios. On the outside of the pack is a button for navigating the goggles’ interface.

At about 4 inches long and an inch thick, the pack is extremely bulky, and it’s one of the few drawbacks of using the goggles. Weighing 253 grams, the Rekkies are more than twice as heavy as my usual pair, but didn't feel like much when I wore a helmet. And, if your helmet is black, it may even (sort of) blend in. But if your headgear is white or light colored it will stick out. Practically, this doesn’t matter much, but it does look a bit silly. It also means you can’t wear the goggles under your helmet, if that’s your preference. Neither of these was a dealbreaker for me, though, and I found I could easily hide the battery pack with an over-helmet mask.

Karissa Bell / Engadget

But the aesthetic drawbacks are vastly outweighed by what the Rekkie goggles can do. Their signature feature is a dashboard that shows your current elevation, speed and a compass. If you’re skiing with friends who also have a pair, you can see how far away they are and use the accompanying app to view their location on the mountain. The goggles can also control music and show your notifications and daily stats.

The actual display is a small, roughly 1-inch panel that sits in the middle of the frames near the bridge of your nose. This setup means you can swap out the lenses for varying light conditions (a silver set is included, and the company sells additional colors). But Rekkie’s lenses are slightly different from those made by other goggle companies. The upper third of each lens has a reflective coating on the inside in order to make the display more visible.

This means that if you look up, towards the display, the lenses are darker than when you’re looking straight ahead. The difference didn’t bother me, but some people might find it distracting. Rekkie said it is considering tweaks that would make the effect more subtle.

Karissa Bell / Engadget

More importantly, I found that the screen was easy to see in almost all lighting conditions. The dashboard and menus were clearly visible in bright sunlight and on cloudier days. The display is also positioned in such a way that it’s not directly in your line of sight when you’re cruising down the mountain so the overlays aren't distracting.

All that may sound complicated, but the interface is extremely easy to navigate. Tap and hold the side button on the battery pack to bring up the main menu, then glance up, down, left or right to select a function. Up is your stats, where you can view how many runs you’ve done and how much elevation you’ve covered. Left is “texts,” which is a bit of a misnomer because it shows recent notifications from all apps (on iOS, you need to have notification previews enabled); right is “music” for controlling media playback, and down is the live dashboard. From the latter, you can also tap the button to hide everything but the time.

I tended to switch to this “clock-only” mode often, especially once I gained some speed. It might sound weird, but the clock was one of my favorite features. I don’t wear a watch, and repeatedly checking your phone on a cold day can quickly take a toll on its battery (and your fingers).

Likewise, being able to control my music and podcasts from the goggles was very useful. I usually wear AirPods while I board, and reaching under my helmet or stupidly shouting “Hey Siri” into my ski mask always gives me a bit of anxiety. So I was more than happy to be able to rely on my goggles for those tasks.

As much as I’ve complained about the size of the battery pack, the goggles’ runtime is actually impressive. The company says the device should last about 10 hours, though it could go longer depending on how heavily you’re using it. I never managed to drain the battery during a full day of snowboarding, even in snowy 10-degree (Fahrenheit) conditions. The goggles even lasted two consecutive days without charging.

Karissa Bell / Engadget

I was initially concerned that the uncovered charging port on the underside of the battery pack would leave it exposed to the elements. I boarded in more than one storm with heavy snowfall where no part of the goggles was able to stay perfectly dry, and wondered if I might be inadvertently damaging them. But it turns out the device was more water resistant than I had anticipated.

Rekkie said the goggles aren’t technically waterproof, but were designed to withstand the kind of moisture you’d expect to encounter during a typical day of skiing. I (unintentionally) put this to the test one stormy day in Park City when I managed to fill the Rekkies with snow after I went down in a pile of powder. Snow froze to the display and they were temporarily unusable. But I dried them out at the end of the day and was able to charge them like nothing had happened.

Friend tracking

Rekkie’s googles get even more useful if you ski with a friend who also has them. Once you form a “group” within the app, you’ll be able to see how far away you are from each other. There's no limit to how many people can be in a group, but the dashboard will only show the two who are closest to you (though you can view everyone from the app). You can also compare stats with your group from the stats menu in the goggles.

The system uses your phone’s cellular signal and the goggles’ onboard radios to track each other. That means that if you have service, you can see how far away they are in both the dashboard view and the Rekkie app. If one or both people don’t have service, the device’s radios have an approximately 2,000-foot range, so you should be able to see if someone is on the same run as you, but not if they’re, say, on the other side of the resort.

In practice, I found the friend-tracking feature most useful when my husband, who also was wearing a pair, was on the same trail as me. I tend to race down runs much faster than he does, so we often lose sight of each other. Seeing the number tick down as he approached was both reassuring and good for my impatience.

I could see the feature being even more helpful if you go off-piste or into the backcountry. It’s easier to lose friends in the trees, so having an idea of how far away they are could help make sure no one is left behind.

But while the app is useful for seeing your friends’ locations, it unfortunately doesn’t do much else. For example, there’s no way to use the app to check out the stats your googles tracked while you were on the mountain. As a longtime user of ski-tracking apps like Slopes, which map out all your runs and record your statistics throughout the day, I’m bummed Rekkie doesn’t offer this.

The founders told me that there are plans to incorporate stats into the app, as well as several other capabilities. They’re also working on new safety features, like one that will automatically switch off the live dashboard once you hit speeds of 15mph or faster, as well as ways to communicate with resorts’ ski patrols if you get into trouble.

New features will be available via app and firmware updates, so if you buy a pair now, there’s a good chance you’ll see their capabilities expand over time. That’s a good thing when you’re investing $350 in eyewear you’ll only use a few months of the year.

Overall, I was impressed by just how useful the Rekkies are. While I was initially excited for a pair of goggles that could track my stats and project my real-time speed and location, I underestimated the added convenience of features like friend tracking, media controls and an always-on clock. We’re at a moment when a lot of big tech companies have made ambitious promises about the future of augmented reality. But those promises, like the all-encompassing augmented reality glasses Meta and others have hinted at, are likely still years away. Rekkie’s smart goggles may be a more niche product, but they show that we don’t need to wait years for useful, non-gimmicky applications for AR.

A decade ago, buying a gaming or creative workstation laptop meant sacrificing portability for power. Not anymore. These days machines with top specs can be had in relatively thin and light chassis — and HP just announced its latest laptop for this category: the Omen Transcend 16.

HP calls the Transcend 16 a "hybrid device" designed for lifestyle gamers, but don't let the phrasing confuse you — this laptop is thin and portable at just 19.9mm thick, but it isn't a 2-in-1 convertible. The Transcend 16 may not fold over into a tablet mode, but it still has a pretty impressive screen: HP says the mini-LED 2560 x 1600 HDR1000 display is the brightest of any Omen device. Paired with a 13th generation Intel Core i9-12900HX CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics, the new gaming laptop should offer more than enough power for both gaming and work. The Omen Transcend 16 will launch this Spring, starting at $1670.

If you're looking for a machine focused more on high-end leisure, HP is also rolling out some updates for Omen 16 laptops. Unlike the Transcend 16, this machine offers a choice of processor: buyers can pick between an Intel Core i9-13900HX or an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS — and both models can be paired with GeForce RTX 4080 graphics and up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM and 2TB of SSD storage. Pricing will start at $1300 when the Omen 16 hits stores, also in Spring.

Both the Omen 16 and the Transcend 16 also come with 1-month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and support intuitive audio pairing when bundled with HyperX Cloud II Core Wireless Gaming Headsets.

Finally, HP has announced the new line-up of nine Omen gaming monitors in a variety of sizes. Almost all of the monitors hit a gaming-friendly 165hz refresh rate, but there are a few standouts: The Omen 27s and 27qs both boast a faster 240Hz refresh rate, while the 27K steps down to 144hz in exchange for a higher resolution 4K display. HP is also offering a new 21:9 ultrawide with the Omen 34c. All nine monitors are slated for a Spring launch and are priced between $200 and $480.

Google is making it easier for people with reading challenges, such as dyslexia, to be able to make out articles and text posts online. The tech giant has launched "reader mode" for Chrome, which takes a site's primary content and puts it into the sidebar to reduce clutter and distractions. Users will also be able to change the text's typeface, font size and spacing, as well as its color and background color, to find the combination that works best for them. 

Reader mode is but one of the new features and updates Google has rolled out for education users. Another new feature for Google Classroom gives educators the ability to add interactive questions to YouTube videos. That will allow students to answer them and get immediate feedback, giving teachers an insight on how well they understand the subject matter. 

Google is also giving teachers a way to share practice sets with other verified educators in their domain, so that they can expand the availability of materials their students have access to. For particularly difficult mathematical and scientific concepts, for instance, more examples mean more opportunity to better understand them. The company has released a new web player for Screencast on Chrome OS, as well, allowing users to watch casts in any browser on any platform. Plus, it has expanded language options for Screencast closed captions and for practice sets. 

Classes using Meet for online lectures will also find a new and useful feature: Hand raise gesture detection powered by AI. Apparently, when a student raises a hand in real life, the video conferencing app can now automatically activate its Hand Raise icon. In addition, two teachers can now also manage slides concurrently on Meet and co-present lectures together. Google has been growing and improving its education-related tools for years, though it has perhaps kicked things up a notch after schools shut down during the pandemic. It released a slew of updates to make virtual classrooms more usable since then, and it looks like it hasn't forgotten online-based education even though schools have mostly gone back to in-person learning. 

 Sonos has focused most of its efforts on two categories: portable speakers and home theater products, like its soundbars. The company’s main pair of music-focused speakers, the One and Five, have been getting a little old. The Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 aim to refresh that lineup.

The $250 Era 100 is a complete redesign of the Sonos One, introduced in 2017. It’s a mono speaker, just like the One and the Play:1 before it. But don’t let that simple description deceive you. The improvements over the One are immediately obvious in sound quality and new features, like line-in, Bluetooth and easier Trueplay setup. The Era 100 isn’t the most exciting speaker Engadget editor Nathan Ingraham’s ever listened to, but it provides impressive performance at a reasonable price.

The $450 Era 300 has a slightly strange place in the Sonos portfolio. Its higher price means it won’t be as broadly appealing as the Era 100. It’s closer to the $550 Sonos Five, arguably a superior speaker, but it still sounds notably better than the Era 100.

– Mat Smith

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

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Nintendo will show 10 minutes of 'Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' gameplay today

You'll see how the 'Breath of the Wild' sequel plays.

Nintendo

Nintendo and series producer Eiji Aonuma will showcase 10 minutes of Tears gameplay in a live premiere on YouTube at 10 AM ET or 7 AM PT. It's not clear what you'll see, but it's safe to presume the demo will feature new mechanics and less of a focus on worldbuilding or story.

We’re expecting the same open-world experience that made Breath of the Wild a hit, but with a new airborne environment (the floating islands above Hyrule) and an abundance of new ways to traverse the landscape. You can fly on a giant hoverboard and even grind rails.

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iOS 16.4 is out with bug fixes and a ton of new emoji

Updates for the Mac, iPad and Apple Watch are also live.

Apple has officially released updates for each of its major platforms. The MacOS 13.3, iOS / iPadOS 16.4 and WatchOS 9.4 updates include 21 new emoji, improved voice isolation for calls and a smattering of minor bug fixes. Emoji additions include five new animals, two new hand gestures, three colored hearts and objects, including a folding fan, maracas and a flute.

Cellular calls now have Voice Isolation, designed to block out ambient noise. The Duplicates album in Photos will now cross check with images stored in the iCloud Shared Photo Library to keep your albums clean. There's even a new accessibility feature that helpfully dims the screen when it detects flashing lights or strobe effects in video content.

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Acer Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition review

Sadly, glasses-free 3D is just pointless.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget

Acer's Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition has the company's glasses-free 3D screen in one last bid to make 3D content happen. It's meant to unlock an entirely new dimension of gameplay in titles like God of War and Forza Horizon 5 – and it does, to a degree. But it's also obscenely expensive, starting at $3,499, and the 3D means you miss out on higher refresh rates and a better quality screen.

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Biden administration bans federal agencies from using commercial spyware

The order is likely to affect known government spyware makers like NSO Group.

In an executive order signed Monday, President Biden barred federal agencies from using commercial spyware that threatens US national security or carries a risk of improper use by foreign governments and individuals. The order applies to all departments, including those involved in law enforcement, defense and intelligence. It also prohibits the use of spyware that, in the past, was used to disclose non-public information about the US government.

As TechCrunch reported, security researchers have long warned of the dangers posed by commercial spyware. With NSO Group’s infamous Pegasus spyware, it exploited a vulnerability in iOS that allowed the program to infect an iPhone without the victim needing to tap anything. While many governments claim to use spyware sparingly to investigate serious crimes, that hasn’t stopped some from using the software for domestic surveillance and to target political dissidents.

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Ubisoft has pulled out of E3 2023

The publisher will host its own show instead.

You can add Ubisoft to the list of companies not attending the first in-person E3 in four years. Before this week, it was one of the few major publishers to come out supporting the revamped event. On Monday, however, Ubisoft told VGC it would not be at the tradeshow and would instead host its own event at around the same time: “While we initially intended to have an official E3 presence, we’ve made the subsequent decision to move in a different direction and will be holding a Ubisoft Forward Live event on 12th June in Los Angeles.” You’ll have to wait, then, for your Skull and Bones update…

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