Epic Games released RealityScan for iOS today. The free app, previously available in a closed beta, lets anyone scan real-world objects with their phone and turn them into high-fidelity 3D models.

The app is the fruit of Epic’s purchase of Capturing Reality, a company specializing in photogrammetry software. Like the company’s desktop software, RealityScan combines 2D images to make seamless 3D assets for games and other virtual environments. The idea is to enable game developers and other creatives to scan real-world objects at any time and any place for their projects. (If the metaverse ever takes off, you can imagine tools like this becoming essential.)

The scanning process begins with signing into your Epic Games account and taking at least 20 photos of an object from all sides. As you move your phone around, a real-time quality map shows how well you’ve covered it: green denotes well-covered areas, yellow could use more attention and red needs the most additional photos. It visualizes the places from which you’ve snapped each picture as something akin to little Polaroids floating around your item.

Epic Games

The app uploads and automatically aligns the images in the cloud as you take the photos. You can preview the model through the camera view and switch between the quality map and an in-progress, full-color render. When you want to crop it, it pops up 3D handles for you to drag around, ensuring it captures only the item, not the floor beneath it or background objects.

The process works best with simple items captured in even, indirect lighting (reflective or wet surfaces won’t capture well). It also appears to work best with larger objects, as my attempt to capture a small Mr. T action figure resulted in something that looks more like a pointillistic painting than a usable model.

Once you’re happy with the capture, you can export it to Sketchfab (a 3D asset platform Epic bought last year), where you can use it for 3D, virtual reality and augmented reality projects. Optionally, if you’ve captured something unique, you could try to sell your 3D model. Game developers needing a specific item for a virtual environment are the most logical audience here.

RealityScan is available today as a free download for iOS and iPadOS on the App Store. Earlier this year, Epic said an Android version would arrive later in the year, although the company is running short on time to meet that deadline.

Apple’s iPad lineup is both more interesting and more complicated than it’s been in years. After October’s launch of the 10th-generation iPad and the M2-powered iPad Pro, Apple now sells three tablets in the 11-inch range that pack broadly similar designs but have key differences when it comes to internal components and accessory support. Last year’s 10.2-inch iPad remains on sale, but seemingly targets a different market than its “next-generation” successor of the same name. The iPad mini is still doing its thing, too.

If you’re confused about which to buy, you’re not alone. The decision isn’t as cut-and-dry as it has been in the past, so we’re here to break down the pros and cons, detail how they compare to each other and help make your decision a bit easier.

Engadget's picks

• Best for most: iPad Air

• Best budget: iPad (9th gen)

• Best for one-handed use: iPad mini

• Best for power users: iPad Pro 12.9-inch

Best for most: iPad Air

Of the six iPad models currently on sale, the iPad Air is the closest to being universally appealing. We gave it a review score of 90 earlier this year: It has the same elegant and comfortable design language as the iPad Pro while costing less, with a bright, sharp and accurate 10.9-inch display surrounded by thin bezels and flat edges. It comes with a USB-C port, similar to what you’d find on a MacBook and many other non-iPhone devices, and while it’s not a Thunderbolt connection as on theiPad Pro, simply being able to charge the Air with the same cable you use with your other gadgets is a plus.

Apple refreshed the Air earlier this year with its M1 system-on-a-chip, which is the same silicon found in the entry-level MacBook Air. This isn’t Apple’s newest SoC, but it’s still more than powerful enough for virtually any task you can throw at it, and an increasing number of iPadOS features are exclusive to M-series chips.

The iPad Air is also compatible with Apple’s best accessories, including the second-generation Pencil stylus and the (excellent) Magic Keyboard, just like the 11-inch iPad Pro. These add a good bit of cost to the bottom line, but for digital artists or frequent typers, they’re there.

The middle of Apple’s iPad lineup is a bit congested. If you need more than the Air’s default 64GB of storage, you might as well step up to the 11-inch iPad Pro, which starts at 128GB and packs a better 120 Hz display and M2 chip for not much more than a higher-capacity Air. (The display on the 2021 iPad Pro is better, too.) The new 10.9-inch iPad isn’t bad, either, but with its non-laminated display and lacking accessory support, it’s a harder sell unless you see it on deep discount. Still, while it’s not cheap, the iPad Air is Apple’s best blend of price and performance for most.

Best budget: iPad (9th generation)

If you can’t afford the Air, or if you just don’t use your tablet heavily enough to warrant spending that much, it’s perfectly safe to get the 9th-gen iPad instead. Starting at $329 for a 64GB model — and regularly available for less than $300 — it’s by far the most wallet-friendly way into iPadOS. While its hardware is an obvious step down from the models above, it’s still more than capable for the essentials.

We gave the 9th-gen iPad a review score of 86 last year. This is the only “current” iPad to follow Apple’s older design language: It’s just a tiny bit thicker and heavier than the 10th-gen iPad and iPad Air, but its wider bezels mean there’s only enough room for a 10.2-inch display. Like the 10th-gen iPad, that screen isn't laminated and more susceptible to glare, though it’s just as sharp. There’s a Home button located on the bottom bezel that also houses a Touch ID fingerprint scanner, and the device charges via Lightning port rather than USB-C. Its speakers don’t sound as nice, either, but it’s the only iPad to still have a headphone jack, and its 12MP front camera is fine (though, it’s not landscape-oriented as on the 10th-gen iPad).

The 9th-gen iPad runs on Apple’s A13 Bionic, which is the same SoC used in 2019’s iPhone 11 series. It won’t be as fluid or futureproof as the M1, but it’s plenty quick for casual tasks. In terms of first-party accessories, the tablet supports Apple's Smart Keyboard and first-gen Pencil stylus. Those are less convenient than the company’s newer options, but they’re at least there.

In the end, it’s all about the price. The 9th-gen iPad is the most affordable model in Apple’s lineup, and those savings go a long way toward papering over its issues.

Best for one-handed use: iPad mini 

The iPad mini is exactly what it sounds like: the small iPad. It’s easily the shortest (7.69x5.3x0.25 inches) and lightest (0.65 pounds for the WiFi model) of every current iPad, with an 8.3-inch display that’s more comfortable to operate with one hand.

We gave the iPad mini a review score of 89 last year. Its design follows closely after that of the iPad Air: squared-off edges, thin bezels, no Home button, a Touch ID sensor in the power button, stereo speakers, solid cameras and a USB-C port. Its display is technically sharper, but otherwise gives you the same max brightness, lamination, anti-reflective coating and wide color gamut. It doesn’t have a “Smart Connector” to hook up Apple-made keyboards, but it does support the second-gen Apple Pencil.

The mini runs on Apple’s A15 Bionic SoC, the same as the one in 2021’s iPhone 13 phones. This is technically faster than the chip inside the 10th-gen iPad and, again, more than powerful enough for most tasks, though it’s a step behind the laptop-grade M1 or M2.

The mini has an MSRP of $499 for the 64GB model and $649 for the 256GB model. That’s a lot, though in recent months we’ve seen both SKUs available online for up to $100 less. If you specifically want a smaller tablet — whether it’s to easily stuff in a bag, use with one hand or treat like a high-end e-reader — this is the only option Apple sells, and the best tablet in its size range, period.

Best for power users: iPad Pro 12.9-inch

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro exists in something of its own realm within Apple’s tablet lineup. It starts at $1,099 for 128GB of storage, which is $100 more than the M1 MacBook Air. That’s well beyond what anyone needs to pay to do the vast majority of iPad things, and quite a chunk of change for a platform that still has issues with laptop-style productivity. But the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is the best pure piece of tablet hardware that Apple makes.

We gave the latest iPad Pro a review score of 87 in November. The display here can get brighter than the Air’s, and it has a 120 Hz refresh rate (the Air is limited to 60 Hz). The 12.9-inch Pro’s display is more of an upgrade than the 11-inch model, though, as it’s the only iPad to use mini-LED backlighting, which can deliver higher peak brightness, improved contrast and a generally more realistic image. Beyond that, the Pro runs on Apple’s new M2 SoC, which isn’t a huge upgrade over the M1 in real-world use but offers more performance overhead going forward. The iPad Pro has the same 12MP rear camera as the Air, but adds a 10MP ultrawide lens and an LED flash (plus a LIDAR scanner for AR apps). The 12MP front cameras, meanwhile, can take shots in portrait mode.

Beyond that, the Pro has a faster Thunderbolt USB-C port, more robust speakers and Face ID support. With its latest refresh, it can now recognize when an Apple Pencil is hovering above the display and preview would-be inputs. There are more storage options, going all the way up to 2TB, with the 1TB and 2TB models doubling the RAM from 8GB to 16GB (at a super high cost). And it works with all of Apple’s best accessories.

It’s a powerhouse, and if you do want to use an iPad more heavily for work, the roomier display on the 12.9-inch Pro should make it the most amenable option for all-day, laptop-style use. You’ll want to add a keyboard to get the most out of that, but if you’re spending this much on an iPad to begin with, that may not be as big of a deal.

Like the iPad mini, this is very much a niche device. It’s prohibitively expensive, and its hulking size makes it less portable than other iPads. Certain creatives have made it work as a laptop replacement, but for most, iPadOS still makes multitasking and other computer-y tasks more convoluted than they’d be on a similarly priced MacBook. It’s only a minor upgrade over last year’s model, too. Still, as a tablet, the 12.9-inch Pro is deeply powerful.

Google is quickly joining Apple in recognizing the top apps of the year. The company has announced the Google Play Best of 2022 awards, and this year's biggest winners clearly reflect the cultural zeitgeist. The best Android app of the year is Wombo's Dream, an AI art generator — yes, one of the trendiest technologies of the year took top honors. The user's choice winner, meanwhile, is the social media phenomenon BeReal.

Respawn swept the top game awards. Apex Legends Mobile won both Google's nod as well as the user's choice pick. Todoist is Google's favorite app for Wear OS smartwatches, while Pocket's reading tool is the top tablet-friendly app. The best software for good was The Stigma App, a community platform dor discussing mental health.

Notably, Google significantly expanded the categories this year — if partly to promote its own platforms. There's now awards for Chromebook-friendly apps, including best app (the music maker BandLab) and best game (the metaverse-like Roblox). Very Little Nightmares is Google's favorite Play Pass game. The game list has expanded, too. The Android port of Papers, Please won the best story award, while the gacha game Genshin Impact took the distinction of the best ongoing game.

As with Apple, Google's year-end list is as much about driving downloads as anything else. The internet giant's Best of 2022 section on the Play Store is effectively a one-stop shop for Android and Chromebook newcomers looking to expand their app libraries. However, it does give a feel for the cultural pulse of a mobile world where AI, the metaverse and online gaming dominate.

Whether you know someone who just got an iPad Pro or you want to experiment with using the premium tablet as a laptop in the new year, Apple's Magic Keyboard is one of the best typing solutions out there. However, like most first-party Apple accessories, it'll cost you. But now you can get the 12.9-inch model for $100 less than usual from Amazon — the online retailer has the white keyboard for $250, which is the lowest price we've seen it.

There are a number of other keyboard options out there for all iPad models, but the Magic Keyboard is, without a doubt, the most luxurious. The 12.9-inch model on sale attaches magnetically to the back of the iPad Pro, keeping the tablet "hovering" above and slightly behind the keys and trackpad. The accessory feeds data to the iPad via the rear smart connector, and that also means that you don't have to worry about charging it separately or pairing it via Bluetooth to the tablet like you would with many other third-party keyboards. We found the Magic Keyboard to be pretty sturdy, and it provides an excellent typing experience. Somewhat surprisingly, the trackpad wasn't as cumbersome to scroll with as we thought it might be (since it's much wider than it is tall) and it provides much more precise control than you'd ever get with the iPad's touchscreen alone.

Overall, the Magic Keyboard is one of the best iPad accessories if you really want to get work done on your iPad Pro. With the advancements Apple has made in recent years with iPadOS, it is feasible to use the company's tablets (especially the iPad Pros) as laptop replacements, and the Magic Keyboard will go a long way to making the tablet feel even more like a traditional laptop.

But we'd be remiss if we didn't point out a few of the accessory's flaws. The Magic Keyboard provides limited range of motion for the iPad — roughly 90 to 130 degrees — which is much less than you'd get from a standard laptop. It's also not the slimmest solution and, while it gets close to replicating the feeling of working on a laptop, it's not exactly the same. Plus, the Magic Keyboard adds a lot to the cost of an already expensive gadget. In this case, you probably already spent $1,000 or more on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro — adding another $350 to that is a big ask. But it's at least a bit easier to stomach when you can get the Magic Keyboard at a discount.

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If you weren't able to grab Apple's 2022 iPad on Black Friday, don't worry: It's on sale right now for an even cheaper price. You can get the blue and the silver variants of the 64GB WiFi-only iPad right now for only $419 on Amazon, which is $30 less than retail. The yellow version of the tablet isn't quite that cheap, but you can still get it for the device's Black Friday price of $426. Those aren't quite all-time lows for the 10th-gen iPad, but you're not constricted by a time limit or by the need for a Prime subscription this time. 

Apple gave the 2022 iPad a redesign to set it apart from its previous base tablets and bring its looks closer to the iPad Air and the iPad Pro. The tech giant removed the Home button and moved its Touch ID to the lock button. Its bezels are thinner, its display is bigger and its front-facing camera has been moved to the landscape border. Another big change is that the device now comes with a USB-C charging port instead of a Lightning port like previous models. 

The tablet is powered by an A14 Bionic chip, and while it's a modest upgrade from last year's A13, it does improve the device's performance. When we reviewed the device, we also found that its battery life met or exceeded the 10-hour estimate Apple provides for every iPad: It lasted 11 hours and 45 minutes when we used it to play movies purchased from the iTunes Store. 

It's unclear when the tablet's price will go back to retail, but this is a great chance to purchase one for the coming holiday season either for yourself or as a gift. 

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We’ve talked a few times about the appeal of capable digital styluses and e-ink note-taking. Surely, it’s the perfect study tool? This time, Amazon tries it out. The Kindle Scribe, at $340, is costlier than a basic e-ink reader, but it has stylus input, high latency and a few more tricks.

This is Amazon’s first Kindle that supports stylus input, and according to Engadget’s Cherlynn Low, it offers an excellent reading and writing experience. There’s definitely room for improvement, though: Don’t expect handwriting-to-text conversion or sophisticated note-taking and syncing tools, like we’ve seen on other (usually more expensive) devices with stylus input.

Engadget

This isn’t a Galaxy S22 Ultra or an iPad Pro, but it’s e-ink, sensitive to your chicken scratches and a different Kindle for Amazon. We’ve only really seen niche e-ink tablets until now. If you’re intrigued, check out our full review.

– 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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Spotify's 2022 Wrapped is a music-focused personality test

Myers-Briggs, but music.

Spotify

It’s December, so all your streaming services are very eager to tell you which artists, songs and albums you listened to most in 2022, (it’s probably Beyoncé.) While Apple and YouTube Music already rolled out their annual nostalgia wrap-ups, Spotify's 2022 installment of Wrapped debuts today. The company likes to put a new spin on its personalized top lists each year, and this one is no different. A new feature called Your Listening Personality offers some insight into what the music you stream says about your taste. Spotify’s invented 16 listening personality types, including The Replayer, The Specialist, The Adventurer and The Fanclubber. Why yes, we are all insufferable.

Continue reading.

Starlink nearly doubles satellite internet terminal prices in Ukraine

The hikes come as cell networks struggle under the Russian assault.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

The price of a Starlink satellite terminal has almost doubled in Ukraine, jumping from the equivalent of $385 to about $700, according to The Financial Times. The monthly rate isn't as expensive as it once was (as high as $100), but it's crept up from $60 to $75. It's not known if prices have also jumped for the Ukrainian government, which gets Starlink from a variety of sources that include SpaceX itself, foreign governments and even crowdsourcing. Ukraine's cellular networks are apparently buckling under the strain of Russian attacks on the country's electrical grid. In some cases, Starlink is the only way for locals to reach the internet.

Continue reading.

Samsung may debut its Galaxy S23 flagship phone in early February

Its Unpacked event is expected to take place in San Francisco.

Samsung will unveil its Galaxy S23 devices in the US in the first week of February 2023, according to news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily, which cites an anonymous company executive. And we’ve heard other corroborating reports. While Samsung has yet to formally announce an Unpacked event for the Galaxy S23, the timeline reported by the publications is consistent with the previous flagships' launch dates. Samsung revealed its Galaxy S22 phones on February 9th earlier this year.

What can you expect? Maybe the next Galaxy S series ditches Samsung’s in-house Exynos chips and goes all in on Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips. Some unofficial renders also suggest Samsung may get rid of the camera bump.

Continue reading.

South Dakota bans TikTok from government-owned devices

Its governor said the Chinese government is using TikTok to 'manipulate the American people.'

Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, has signed an executive order prohibiting government employees, agencies and contractors from downloading and using TikTok on state-owned devices. In her office's announcement, Noem said she issued the order due to growing security concerns the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been using the social media app to gather information from American users and leveraging it to manipulate them. The order also prohibits government personnel from visiting the TikTok website on browsers.

US officials have long been raising security concerns about TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. In 2020, then-President Trump attempted to block TikTok and WeChat in the US – which didn't quite go anywhere.

Continue reading.

Elon Musk and Tim Cook have apparently made up following a dustup over the status of Twitter’s iOS app. Musk, who earlier this week, claimed that Apple had “threatened to withhold’ Twitter from the App Store,” said he and Cook had a “good conversation” during a meeting at Apple’s headquarters.

“Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store,” Musk wrote. “Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so.” Musk never said what the original source of Apple’s issue with Twitter’s app was. But Twitter's former head of trust and safety has stated that Apple had flagged various issues during the app review process in the past.

Of note, Musk’s latest tweets don't mention if Cook addressed any of Musk’s other recent complaints. In addition to the App Store issue, Musk had also joined the growing ranks of developers to criticize the App Store’s 30 percent “secret tax” on in-app purchases. Musk reportedly delayed the re-launch of Twitter Blue subscriptions in order to avoid the fees, according to the newsletter Platformer.

Musk had also called out Cook for halting much of Apple’s advertising on Twitter, claiming that the iPhone maker had “mostly stopped” ad campaigns on the platform. The company is currently trying to reassure brands amid a broader pullback in advertising from the platform.

So much for giggling at robots falling down. Researchers at the University of Lorraine have developed a "Damage Reflex" system (aka D-Reflex) that has a humanoid TALOS robot prop itself against a wall when one of its legs is broken, much like a human who just lost their balance. The neural network-based system uses its experience (in this case, 882,000 training simulations) to quickly find a point on the wall most likely to provide stability. The robot doesn't need to know how it was damaged, and can reach out roughly as quickly as a person.

The result, as IEEE Spectrumnotes, is the anti-comedy you'd expect. Instead of a tumble to the ground, the robot braces itself against the wall like someone who just sprained their ankle. It's not particularly graceful and requires that the robot stops its hand the moment it makes contact, but it's effective in three out of four tests.

D-Reflex isn't guaranteed to prevent a fall, if partly because it can't account for every possible position or surface. It also doesn't help the robot recover once it averts catastrophe — you won't see the automaton limping along a wall until it finds help. The current approach is also based around a stationary bot, and won't help if an actuator fails mid-stride.

Researchers hope to make a system that's useful on the move, however, and envision robots that can grab chairs and other complex objects when a fall is imminent. This could save the cost of replacing worker robots that would otherwise plunge to their doom, and might lead to more 'natural' bots that learn to use their environments to their advantage. One thing's for sure: if the robopocalypse happens, tripping the machines won't stop them for long.

Google is working to fix an issue that is causing the YouTube mobile app to repeatedly crash for some iOS users. “Hi, we’re aware that many of you using the YouTube app on iOS devices may be experiencing crashes,” the company said in a tweet caught by The Verge. “We’re so sorry about this & have begun working on a fix! Updates soon.”

As of the writing of this article, YouTube has yet to share more information on the situation. Google did not immediately respond to a comment request from Engadget. We’ll update this article once there’s more information to share. It’s unclear how widespread the problem is among iOS users. On my iPhone, I was able to watch this incredible video of the Artemis 1 launch synced to “Free Bird” without issue during my lunch break. However, Downdetector indicates there have been more than 7,500 reports in the US of the app not working.

Cyber Monday has come and gone, but if you're still looking to pick up a new smart display or two ahead of the holidays, a newer deal on Amazon's Echo Shows may be of interest: The retailer is currently offering a bundle that pairs its Echo Show 8 with the Kids edition of its Echo Show 5 for $70. 

We've seen the Echo Show 8 alone go for $70 for much of the last two months, but that still equals the lowest price we've tracked. Normally, it retails closer to $100. With this deal, you're effectively getting an Echo Show 5 Kids thrown in at no extra cost. That device is currently available on its own for $40, but its average street price over the last few months has sat closer to $60.

Most people don't need a smart display, but for those who like using a voice assistant to pull up the weather, control smart lights and doorbells, stream podcasts and so on, it can provide more context than a screenless smart speaker. Amazon and Google are really your only options in this market, but if you're already partial to Alexa, the Echo Show 8 is your best bet. 

We gave the 8-inch display a review score of 87 last year and currently recommend it in our guide to the best smart displays: It can't double as a smart home hub like the bigger Echo Show 10, but its display is big and sharp (1,280 x 800) enough to comfortably stream video or display photos around the house, its speakers are powerful enough to fill a room, its processor can keep up with most tasks and its 13-megapixel camera is suitable for video calls. And while no Alexa or Google Assistant device is ideal for the privacy-conscious, there's at least a physical camera shutter and mic mute button built in.

The Echo Show 5 isn't as quick, spacious or loud, and its 2-megapixel camera is a noticeable downgrade. Still, it can do just about everything the larger models can do, and its 5.5-inch screen makes it a better fit for bathrooms or bedside tables. We gave it a score of 85 last year. The Kids version has the same hardware as the normal model, but it comes with a two-year warranty, a year of Amazon's Kids+ content service and a more child-friendly interface. Whether you're okay putting an Amazon mic and camera in your kid's room is up to you, but there is a camera cover and various parental controls for limiting and monitoring how the device is used.

If you're not beholden to Alexa, we'll note that Google's Nest Hub, our top pick among Google displays, is still on sale for $50. We generally find the Google Assistant to be a little smarter than Alexa, particularly for web queries, and it naturally plays nicer with widely-used Google services like Gmail, Google Calendar, YouTube and the like. The Nest Hub also lacks a camera, which may be a positive if you don't care about video calling. That said, if you already own a bunch of Alexa-enabled devices and want a couple new displays for around the house, this is a good deal, regardless of Alexa's broader struggles.

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