Maybe you were finally able to get your hands on a PS5 not too long ago, but now you find yourself quickly running out of space on it. Now's a good time to invest in an SSD that can expand your console's storage because one of our favorites from Samsung is back on sale for an all-time-low price. The Samsung 980 Pro drive in 1TB is 33 percent off and down to $140. A few other drive we recommend from brands like PNY, Patriot and Crucial are also on sale right now, too.

Normally priced at $210, Samsung's drive comes in a compact, M.2 form factor and supports read speeds up to 7,000 MB/s. It uses a special thermal control algorithm and a nickel coating to manage heat levels, plus a heat spreader label to help manage the temperature of the NAND chip. It's also compatible with Samsung Magician, which is management software that lets you monitor its overall health and keep it up to date.

The biggest issue for PS5 owners is that the drive's standard configuration doesn't come with a heatsink, which you'll need to install it in the console. However, you can get the SSD with said heatsink for only $170 right now, which is 26 percent off its normal rate.

Also on sale is our favorite PS5 SSD, the Patriot Viper VP4300: the 1TB version is down to $130 and the 2TB model is on sale for $255. This drive supports sequential read speeds of up to 7,400 MB/s, plus it comes with a heatsink preinstalled so it's ready to use with the PS5. If you've got a tighter budget, a couple of Crucial and PNY drives might be better fits. Crucial's P5 Plus SSD in 1TB is 20 percent off and down to $128, while PNY's XLR8 CS3040 SSD in 1TB is a whopping 42 percent off and down to $105.

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If you've been waiting for Google's highest-end Pixel 6 model to drop below the $800 mark before you buy, you now have your chance. Woot is selling the 128GB Pixel 6 Pro for $780 ($119 off) today only. That's better than an Amazon discount we saw earlier this month, and a good deal if you're looking for a powerful large-screen phone.

Much of what we said about the Pixel 6 Pro at launch remains true today. It mates top-tier (if polarizing) design with superb cameras, a good screen and Google's definitive Android 12 experience, including smart Assistant features. It's also relatively light for a phone this size at 7.4oz, if not quite as featherweight as Samsung's Galaxy S22+ (6.9oz).

Software updates have tackled many of the Pixel 6 Pro's early problems, although the fingerprint reader might still be too finicky for some tastes. The bigger concern simply revolves around timing. Google has already teased the release of the Pixel 7 Pro this fall — you might want to hold off if you're interested in its improved performance and other as yet unannounced upgrades. If you're just looking for a good value, though, the current-generation phone is hard to top.

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Those looking to upgrade their home's WiFi system can save a bunch on Nest WiFi packs right now. Amazon has most of Nest WiFi configurations on sale, with some at new all-time lows. You can pick up one router for $115, a two-pack with one router and one access point for $149, or a three-pack with one router and two access points for $199. While that's a new low on the router by itself, you'll get the deepest discounts on the multi-packs, which are nearly half off their normal prices.

Google's mesh system earned a score of 84 from us when it first came out and there's still a lot to like about it. Each module has an attractive, minimalist design and setting up the system is pretty simple. Each router can cover up to 2,200 square feet and you'll get an additional 1,600 square feet of coverage with each access point you add. That will likely be the biggest factor in deciding which pack you get; those who live in apartments or smaller homes could get away with a single router, while those with multi-story houses should consider springing for a multi-pack.

In addition to supporting Gigabit internet, the Nest WiFi system also has the convenience of built-in Google Assistant support. In fact, each access point acts almost like a Nest Mini smart speaker. You can tap the top of the point to play and pause, and ask the Assistant to do things like read off calendar alerts and set reminders. And if you don't want to use voice commands, or just want a bit more privacy, you can flip the switch on the back of the access points to turn off the microphone. The only caveat to the Nest WiFi is that it's not a WiFi 6 system, and that could be a dealbreaker if you're set on getting a more future-proof device. However, if you're just looking for a new WiFi setup that's fast, reliable and quick to set up, Google's Nest WiFi fits that bill.

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Carl Pei thinks there’s something wrong with the smartphone industry. Like a lot of us, Pei has started feeling like new phones just aren’t as special as the devices of five or 10 years ago.

He thinks the big players are all circling the same ideas in smartphone design. (Something true for at least a decade now.) And that’s where his new company, Nothing, comes in. Pei wants to bring some originality back to mobile tech design. “Maybe we can turn down the brain a little bit and turn up the intuition,” said Pei. Check out our full interview with the former co-founder of OnePlus.

Nothing

While we haven’t properly tested the device yet , the Nothing Phone 1 is already available to pre-order — you just need an invitation. Word of warning: Nothing has already said the Phone 1 won't officially come to North America beyond a closed beta for a handful of private community investors. The device should work but won't have full support.

Me? Well, I live in the UK. Sorry about that.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Hitting the Books: What life on the internet was like at 300 bits per second

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• Someone made a tombstone to mark Internet Explorer's end-of-support date

• Leaked Amazon memo says the company may run out of available labor by 2024

Netflix confirms an ad-supported tier is coming

Contrary to reports, it’s still in its early stages.

Company co-chief Ted Sarandos confirmed at the Cannes Lions festival that Netflix is adding an ad-backed tier with a lower price. He stressed the option wouldn't bring ads to Netflix "as you know it today" — as with rivals like Peacock, you'll still be able to avoid marketing altogether.

Sarandos didn't share further details. However, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google and NBCUniversal are the "top contenders" to help Netflix build the ads-included plan. A Netflix spokesperson told Engadget the company was "still in the early days" of developing the ad-based tier and hadn't nailed down its approach. It's all "speculation" at present, the representative added.

Continue reading.

Apple may be readying a new HomePod

With a new chip and display.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple is readying a new HomePod speaker that will look and sound similar to the original 2018 model. As you may recall, the company discontinued the HomePod in 2021 without announcing a direct replacement. According to Gurman, the new model may feature Apple’s forthcoming S8 chip and an updated display on the top of the speaker that may include multi-touch functionality. While the original had a display of sorts, it didn’t really show information beyond a Siri ‘orb.’

Continue reading.

Juul can temporarily keep selling its vaping products in the US

It has delayed the FDA's ban on its vape pens and pods.

Juul has successfully convinced the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to delay the Food and Drug Administration's ban on its products. The agency recently banned Juul from selling and distributing its e-cigarette pens and pods in the US after a comprehensive two-year review.

Despite Juul's accusation that the administration's ban was "arbitrary and capricious," the FDA said it was banning the company's products because it didn't submit sufficient evidence proving that potentially harmful chemicals don't leach from its proprietary pods into the vapor users inhale.

Continue reading.

The largest bacterium discovered is visible to the naked eye

The Thiomargarita magnifica is as long as a human eyelash.

Jean-Marie Volland/Berkeley Lab

A bacterium classified as the largest ever discovered needs no special tools to be visible to the naked eye. Thiomargarita magnifica, as it's called, has a filament-like appearance and can be as long as a human eyelash. The BBC explained it’s bigger than some more complex organisms, such as tiny flies, mites and worms.

Continue reading.

LG is jumping into the EV charging business with the acquisition of a South Korean EV battery charger developer called AppleMango, it announced. The move will allow it to create "fully-featured" charging stations with a user-friendly interface and real-time control and management, it said. In particular, it will be able to leverage its "sturdy, dust- and water-proof" outdoor digital display tech. 

LG is well-established in electric mobility, developing batteries, screens and sensors for electric cars. It recently joined forces with Magna International to develop e-motors, inverters and onboard chargers for automakers. The acquisition will expand that, allowing it to marry the new charger capabilities with its current in-house EV charging management systems. It'll also allow LG to "create synergy" with its current EV battery business and products like energy storage and energy management systems. 

AppleMango was established three years ago in 2019 and has developed proprietary tech like a slim and fast EV charger. LG will also work with partners GS Energy, which operates EV charging stations and IT provider GS Neotek to develop the necessary infrastructure. LG took a 60 percent stake in AppleMango, GS Energy a 34 percent stake and GS Neotek a 6 percent share, according to TechCrunch. 

LG plans to install an EV charger production line at LG Digital Park in South Korea by the end of 2022. The goal is to supply a variety of customers with custom EV charging solutions, including private residences, shopping malls, hotels and public buildings. 

Apple's 13-inch 256GB MacBook Pro M2 may have worse SSD performance than the equivalent M1 model, according to testing by YouTube sites Max Tech and Created Tech seen by MacRumors. The $1,300 base model showed around 50 percent slower read speeds (1,446 MB/s compared to 2,900 MB/s) with write speeds 30 percent lower. 

Max Tech opened up the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 and found that it only had a single 256GB NAND flash storage chip instead of two 128GB chips like the previous M1 model. That would mean the drive can only use two lanes in parallel, so performance is restricted to the speed of a single lane. 

The higher-end 512GB and 1TB models don't appear to suffer from the issue, and many review units (like our own) shipped in a 1TB configuration. The slower disk speeds on the 256GB model could affect app loading times, file transfers and data fetching. Overall performance could also take a hit as the virtual memory (used when RAM is full) will be slower, and the base model only has 8GB of RAM. 

It's not clear why Apple changed the configuration on this model, though the global chip shortage may be a factor. In any case, it's something to consider if you're looking at buying the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2. 

The latest version of Apple’s long-rumored mixed reality headset features the company’s recently announced M2 system-on-a-chip and 16GB of RAM, according to Mark Gurman. The Bloomberg reporter shared the tidbit of information in his latest Power On newsletter – along with details on a “deluge” of devices Apple plans to release over the next year, including a new HomePod speaker.

As The Verge points out, most recent reports, including those from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and The Information, have suggested the augmented and virtual reality headset would feature two processors. According to Kuo, one of the SoCs would have the same capabilities as the company’s M1 chip, while the other would be a lower-end chip designed to handle data from the device’s sensors.

After years of rumors, there’s been increasing evidence Apple is getting closer to the day when it will finally announce its mixed reality headset. In May, a Twitter user found evidence Apple likely used a shell company to obtain trademarks for “RealityOS.” Earlier in the year, developers also found references to the operating system in App Store upload logs. More recently, Tim Cook told China Daily he “couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities” presented by augmented and virtual reality, and told the publication to “stay tuned and you will see what we have to offer” on that front.

Google is warning of a sophisticated new spyware campaign that has seen malicious actors steal sensitive data from Android and iOS users in Italy and Kazakhstan. On Thursday, the company’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) shared its findings on RCS Labs, a commercial spyware vendor based out of Italy.

On June 16th, security researchers at Lookout linked the firm to Hermit, a spyware program believed to have been first deployed in 2019 by Italian authorities as part of an anti-corruption operation. Lookout describes RCS Labs as an NSO Group-like entity. The firm markets itself as a “lawful intercept” business and claims it only works with government agencies. However, commercial spyware vendors have come under intense scrutiny in recent years, largely thanks to governments using the Pegasus spyware to target activists and journalists.

According to Google, Hermit can infect both Android and iOS devices. In some instances, the company’s researchers observed malicious actors work with their target’s internet service provider to disable their data connection. They would then send the target an SMS message with a prompt to download the linked software to restore their internet connection. If that wasn’t an option, the bad actors attempted to disguise the spyware as a legitimate messaging app like WhatsApp or Instagram.

What makes Hermit particularly dangerous is that it can gain additional capabilities by downloading modules from a command and control server. Some of the addons Lookout observed allowed the program to steal data from the target’s calendar and address book apps, as well as take pictures with their phone’s camera. One module even gave the spyware the capability to root an Android device.

Google believes Hermit never made its way to the Play or App stores. However, the company found evidence that bad actors were able to distribute the spyware on iOS by enrolling in Apple’s Developer Enterprise Program. Apple told The Verge that it has since blocked any accounts or certificates associated with the threat. Meanwhile, Google has notified affected users and rolled out an update to Google Play Protect.

The company ends its post by noting the growth of the commercial spyware industry should concern everyone. “These vendors are enabling the proliferation of dangerous hacking tools and arming governments that would not be able to develop these capabilities in-house,” the company said. “While use of surveillance technologies may be legal under national or international laws, they are often found to be used by governments for purposes antithetical to democratic values: targeting dissidents, journalists, human rights workers and opposition party politicians.”

Apple plans to release a “deluge” of new products this fall and in the first half of 2023, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. And while many of the devices the company is reportedly working on won’t come won’t come as much of a surprise, one is interesting.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman reports Apple is readying a new HomePod speaker that will look and sound similar to the original 2018 model. As you may recall, the company discontinued the HomePod in 2021 without announcing a direct replacement. If you want a smart speaker with Siri built-in, your only option at the moment is the $99 HomePod mini.

According to Gurman, the new model will feature Apple’s forthcoming S8 chip and an updated display on the top of the speaker that may include multi-touch functionality. For context, the HomePod mini features an S5 chip, suggesting the new model will come with more processing power. Presumably, Apple also plans to price the speaker more competitively than it did the 2018 model. At $349, the HomePod was one of the more expensive smart speakers you could buy at the time, and it never felt like it lived up to that price.

Outside of an updated HomePod, Gurman says Apple is working on at least four new Mac models and an AirPods Pro refresh, among other devices. You can find the full details of Apple’s near-term product roadmap, “one of the most ambitious” in the company’s recent history, on Bloomberg.

Abusive Valorant players could soon have their verbal tirades come back to haunt them. In a blog post published on Friday, Riot Games outlined a plan to begin monitoring in-game voice chat as part of a broader effort to combat disruptive behavior within its games.

On July 13th, the studio will begin collecting voice data from Valorant games played in North America. According to Riot, it will use the data to get its AI model “in a good enough place for a beta launch later this year.” During this initial stage, Riot says it won’t use voice evaluation for disruptive behavior reports.

“We know that before we can even think of expanding this tool, we’ll have to be confident it’s effective, and if mistakes happen, we have systems in place to make sure we can correct any false positives (or negatives for that matter),” the studio said.

Some players will likely bristle at the thought of Riot listening in on their voice comms, much like they did when the company introduced Vanguard, its kernel-level anti-cheat software. But Riot says it sees voice evaluation as a way for it to “collect clear evidence” against players who take to comms to abuse and harass their teammates. The tool will also give the studio something it can point to when it provides sanctioned players with feedback.

“This is brand new tech and there will for sure be growing pains,” Riot said. “But the promise of a safer and more inclusive environment for everyone who chooses to play is worth it.”