Teenage Engineering (TE) has unveiled the successor to its popular OP-1 portable synth sampler, the $2,000 OP-1 Field, which it calls "louder, thinner and 100 times better." That relates to the fact that it has around 100 new features including a new low profile aluminum body, internal FM antenna for both receiving and transmitting and a high-resolution flush display.
The OP-1 Field is the second of TE's "Field" products following the launch of the TX-6 mini mixer. The company notes that with the two working together, "you can get an incredibly powerful and ultra portable sound recording and performance system, all battery powered and rechargeable via USB-C." In terms of connectivity it offers USB-C, line in and out sockets, and a 4-pole audio jack for headset or mic support.
On top of the features mentioned above, the OP-1 Field has 32-bit audio Bluetooth MIDI, stereo throughout the entire signal chain, 24 hours of battery life, eight swappable tapes, four different tape styles, multiple recording formats and a new synth engine. It features a new speaker system with a passive driver promising "detailed, fat and loud sound," TE says.
In a short overview video (above), the company shows how to choose from multiple synth presets and record them to tape, with up to four stereo tracks (and infinite overdubs). You can use sampled or synth drums, adjust audio levels, panning, effects and EQ, then switch the active tape wheel and use multiple tapes to manage your recordings. The final track can be output by USB or using the new FM output module.
The OP-1 Field is a huge update to the original, but as mentioned, it isn't cheap. You can now order it for $2,000 (€2,000/£2,000 in Europe/the UK) on Teenage Engineering's website.
Lots of big announcements from Google's annual developer conference yesterday. It was a mix of intriguing new products coming soon (and some a little later), further AI advances and some more refinements to the myriad services and apps that permeate so many of our lives.
I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, and desperately tried to corral some of the other notable headlines, but, whoa, Google had a lot to get off its chest, hardware-wise: Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel Buds Pro and even a Pixel Tab.
To start with, yes, the Pixel Watch is real and arriving this fall. It features a nearly bezel-less watch face flanked by a “tactile crown.” It runs Wear OS 3 and includes deep integration with Fitbit software for its health and fitness-tracking features. As Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low put it: “It looks a lot like a bezel-less Samsung Galaxy Watch.”
It seems like a major upgrade for the midrange line.
The Pixel 6a is powered by Google's first Tenso AI chip, just like the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro before it. It’ll cost much less — just $449 — when it hits shelves on July 28th. It has the same unique two-tone case (and unique camera framing) as the Pixel 6, something that helps it to stand out from other midrange black slabs.
Google also shrunk the screen to 6.1 inches from the 5a’s 6.34-inch display. Along with smaller enclosure materials, that means it's roughly the size of the Pixel 5. Rejoice for not-huge phones. The biggest sacrifice at this price may be the camera: The 6a has a 12-megapixel sensor compared to the Pixel 6’s 50-megapixel primary camera.
Google teased a preview of the Pixel 7 – 6a, schmix-a. Sadly, there were no concrete specs on cameras or components, but we did get a glimpse of Pixel 7's design, which is retaining the prominent camera bar that debuted on the Pixel 6. For 2022, one improvement for the Pixel 7 is a new frame made of recycled aluminum.
Timing, Sony! Its newest flagship phone features a bunch of innovative, image-oriented features, including what it calls the "world's first true optical 85-125mm zoom lens," along with true 4K at 120 fps, livestreaming and even external monitor capabilities. The key feature may be the new telephoto zoom with an 85-125mm equivalent zoom range, enough for sports, wildlife and more. To build it, Sony appears to have used a 90-degree periscope-style system.
Google’s $199 Pixel Buds Pro are coming much sooner than the rest of its new hardware. They’ll arrive July 28th, with pre-orders opening on July 21st. Key features include support for multipoint connectivity, IPX4-certified waterproofing and active noise cancellation. The most intriguing feature to me is Google’s new tool called Silent Seal. The company says the Pixel Buds Pro will adapt to your ears to maximize the effectiveness of the ANC, and the earbuds also monitor pressure inside your ear canal, relieving it as needed to keep you comfy. I’ve found the Pixel Buds to be not exactly comfortable in the past — let’s see how the Pro version fares.
The company offered a sneak peek of a future wearable.
A decade after Google Glass made its debut at I/O 2012, Google is working on a new set of augmented reality glasses. The company teased the device at I/O 2022, sharing a short clip that showed off some of its capabilities. We saw an "early prototype" of the wearable transcribe a conversation in real-time and, in another demo, translate live from Spanish to English.
Sonos’ home theater speakers are usually premium products, with the $449 Beam being the cheapest soundbar the company made. Now, the company is introducing the Ray, its most compact and inexpensive soundbar, which arrives June 7th. At $279, it’s not competing on price with bargain options like Roku’s $130 Streambar. But in an advance demo, the Ray seems to be a powerful soundbar that will be a massive upgrade over just about any TV’s built-in speakers.
An appeals court judge said social networks are not websites but 'internet providers.'
The Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals has paused the temporary injunction on controversial law HB 20, which another court blocked from taking effect last year. Under the law, users will be able to sue large social media platforms with more than 50 million active monthly users, such as Facebook and Twitter, if they believe they were banned for their political views. HB 20 also prohibits social networks from removing or restricting content based on "the viewpoint of the user or another person."
Warner Bros. Discovery will soon be operating a massive sports programming platform for the UK and Ireland. The merged WarnerMedia and Discovery company already owns the Eurosport network, and now it's also making BT Sport its wholly owned subsidiary. This joint venture will bring together the sports programming of Eurosport and BT, which include the UEFA leagues, the Premier League, Premiership Rugby, UFC, the Olympic Games, tennis Grand Slams such as the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, as well as cycling tours such as Tour de France.
Sports streaming service DAZN was on the cusp of acquiring BT Sport for $800 million back in February, but BT Group ultimately decided on going on a 50:50 joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery. Initially, Eurosport and BT Sport will retain separate brands, but they will be brought together under a single brand in the future. The BT Group will receive £93 million ($113.3 million) within three years following the transaction completion and up to £540 million ($658 million) of additional payment based on how the business performs during the earn-out period.
While the joint sports venture is set to become a massive competition for Sky Sports, it will enter a new agreement with Sky for the distribution of their combined sports programming beyond 2030. BT TV and BT Sport subscribers will also also get access to the discovery+ streaming service, which serves as home to Eurosport's live and on-demand videos in the UK and Ireland.
Polyend’s Tracker is a fascinating piece of gear. It’s not for everyone, but it’s hard to argue with the value and power it delivers. This year the company is taking that same basic format, and going in a slightly more familiar direction. The Polyend Play is a sample-based groovebox, but it does away with confounding tracker (lowercase “t”) workflow.
At its core Play is an eight track sample sequencer, with an additional eight polyphonic tracks specifically for sending MIDI to external gear. That means it can serve as the brains of a full studio or stage setup, while still handling the duties of a drum machine. Like the Tracker, it also has punch-in effects for performance and live remixing, as well as a DJ-style master filter.
Even though the sequencer on the Play was built from the ground up specifically for the device, it still retains many of the convenient features like autofill, randomization and chance that helped make Tracker so powerful. Play can hold 128 patterns, with each of the 16 tracks having 16 variations up to 64 steps long. And tracks can have independent lengths, BPMs, playback modes and swing amounts, allowing you to create really complex interplay. Plus it has a song mode for arranging all your patterns into a finished composition.
While the layout is completely different, Play uses the same anodized aluminum build and appears to use the same delightfully clicky keys. The large click wheel is gone and the screen is smaller, but the grid of pads has been expanded from 48 to 160 (if my math is correct).
It comes loaded with 3,000 samples, though you can easily load your own from a microSD card (a 16GB one is included). There are 35 different playback modes, though Polyend hasn’t revealed a full list of what those are yet. And there are built-in effects like reverb, delay and saturation for coloring your songs. And, just like the Tracker, Play is powered over USB-C so you can plug into a portable battery and make music on the go.
There are still a lot of details we don’t know about the Polyend Play yet, but one of the biggest is the release date. But whenever it does land (and we expect sooner than later) it will set you back $799.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating Elon Musk's belated disclosure of his purchase of more than 5 percent of Twitter's share, The Wall Street Journal reports. The lag allowed him to purchase more stock without alerting other shareholders, something that may have saved him a significant amount of money. Musk is also facing a lawsuit from Twitter shareholders and a separate FTC probe over the same matter.
Musk disclosed his purchase of the shares on April 4th, 10 days later than the law requires. According to the WSJ's expert, he likely saved over $143 million by not reporting the trade, as the share price may have been higher had the market known about his stake. He eventually acquired 9.2 percent of Twitter, which made him the company's largest shareholder.
In his initial filing, Musk said he was a passive shareholder, but the following day he filed a form that showed more involvement, including an offer to join the board of directors. A week later, he submitted an offer to buy Twitter for $44 billion, which has been approved by Twitter's board. Musk has said that he'll unlock the "extraordinary potential" of the site and that the deal will be good for free speech.
Musk has butted heads frequently with the SEC over the past few years. In February, he asked a judge to overturn his agreement with the SEC that required him to get approval for tweets, accusing the Commission of conducting a "harassment campaign." That request was denied, as was Musk's request to block an SEC subpoena related to possible insider trading.
Musk was also hit with a class-action lawsuit over his Twitter investment. The SEC appears to have a good case against Musk for the late disclosure, but it's not yet clear what it plans to do. However, the lawsuit is unlikely to stop Musk's purchase of Twitter, according to the WSJ.
The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals has paused the temporary injunction on controversial law HB 20, which another court blocked from taking effect last year. As Houston Public Media notes, the state introduced HB 20 last year after high-profile conservatives, including Donald Trump, were blocked on social media websites. Under the law, users will be able to sue large social media platforms with more than 50 million active monthly users such as Facebook and Twitter if they believe they were banned for their political views. HB 20 also prohibits social networks from removing or restricting content based on "the viewpoint of the user or another person."
Trade industry groups NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) managed to secure an injunction against the law last year. They argued that HB 20 would lead to the spread of misinformation and hate speech on social networks and that it also violates the websites' First Amendment rights. The federal judge overseeing the case agreed that social networks have the right to moderate content under the First Amendment and also said that parts of the law are "prohibitively vague."
In a hearing for the appeal filed by Texas, the state's lawyers argued that social media platforms are "modern-day public squares." That means they can be required to host content that they deem objectionable and are banned from censoring certain viewpoints. The 5th Circuit judges sided with Texas, with one even telling the trade groups during the hearing that social networks like Twitter are not websites but "internet providers" instead.
NetChoice counsel Chris Marchese called HB 20 "an assault on the First Amendment" and "constitutionally rotten from top to bottom" on Twitter. The trade groups plan to appeal immediately, but for now, HB 20 is fully in effect.
As promised, our full statement. HB 20 is an assault on the First Amendment, and it's constitutionally rotten from top to bottom. So of course we're going to appeal today's unprecedented, unexplained, and unfortunate order by a split 2-1 panel. https://t.co/hChUkISHtOpic.twitter.com/UwdIVIHIn5
A federal court blocked a similar law in Florida last year after the judge ruled that it violates Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that shields online platforms from liability for what their users' post. Florida also appealed that decision, which will be decided by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Facebook’s pivot to the metaverse continues to be messy. Meta’s Reality Labs division, home to its hardware efforts and other metaverse initiatives, will be cutting some of its projects, according to Reuters. It’s not clear which projects will be affected, but Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth reportedly told employees the company is no longer able to afford some of the work it had once planned, and some other projects will be “postponed.”
The news is the latest to blow to Meta’s ambitious plan to re-orient the company around virtual reality and the metaverse rather than its social network. The company lost $10 billion on Reality Labs in 2021, and plans to hire fewer employees in 2022 than in previous years.
At the same time, the company is apparently still plugging away at Project Cambria, the “high-end” VR headset expected this fall. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg teased new details on “color passthrough technology” for the device that would “enable developers to build a whole new level of mixed reality experiences.” The company also just opened its first physical retail store outside of the headquarters for Reality Labs.
OpenSea is putting in place a new system to spot NFT fakes and verify accounts, in an effort to cut down on the industry’s growing fraud problem. In a couple of blog posts, the NFT marketplace detailed what changes users can expect, including opening up verification to more users, automated and human-assisted removal of so-called “copymints” or fake copies of authentic NFTs and changes to how collection badges — which identify NFT collections with high sales volume or interest — are doled out on the marketplace.
First off, OpenSea will use a two-part system to detect fakes that combine both image recognition tech and human reviewers. The company says its new system will continuously scan all NFT collections (including newly minted assets) to spot any potential fakes. Human reviewers will vet any removal recommendations.
“Our new copymint prevention system leverages computer-vision tech to scan all NFTs on OpenSea (including new mints). The system then matches these scans against a set of authentic collections, starting with some of the most copy-minted collections — we’ll look for flips, rotations & other permutations,” wrote OpenSea’s Anne Fauvre-Willis in the post. The company says it has already spotted some fakes with its copymint detection system and plans to scale up the technology in the weeks to follow.
The company has also made some updates to its verification and badging system. OpenSea will open up account verification to any creator who holds at least 100 ETH of collection volume, which currently is equivalent to roughly $205,000 USD. This essentially means sellers will have to already own a significant collection of NFTs to be verified by OpenSea. The marketplace stated that it plans to broaden the eligibility criteria for verification as it continues to learn more. NFT collections will also get a collection badge if they’ve generated more than 100 ETH in trading volume. OpenSea will also require a profile name, username, verified email address and a connected Twitter account for account verification.
All these changes will likely create a number of obstacles for NFT scam artists. Scammers have grown increasingly sophisticated in their tactics — some going as far as to create fake Discord servers and websites or pose as actual employees of NFT companies. Verifying the real-life identity of sellers is a long-standing problem in the world of NFTs, where anonymity is a key part of the culture. NFT artists normally go by aliases instead of their real names, and the same goes for NFT buyers. Unfortunately, it's a culture that has allowed NFT thieves and copycat artists to thrive.
Intel, which is both the biggest semiconductor company by revenue and the largest private employer in Oregon, is facing an apparent bid for unionization among its exhausted engineering workforce. In a press conference Wednesday afternoon led by current engineer and Congressional hopeful Matt West, he described the employment arrangement at Intel as being "expect it to be on call at all times."
"For too long, my fellow engineers have worked 80+ hour weeks, transitioning at a whim between day shift and night shifts as management demanded. We are on call all of the time, to the point where you need a manager's approval to be more than two hours away from the factory," West said standing in front of the aforementioned factory in Hillsboro, Oregon, flanked by colleagues and local labor leaders. "If you were called at 2am on a Saturday, and you're supposed to have off, and if you don't answer that phone within 30 minutes, they call your manager instead. And there are consequences."
According to a spokesperson for West, the organizing efforts have been ongoing for over a year, but have not been public before today. The engineering unit, which covers an estimated 350+ workers, is "the biggest unionization effort Intel has ever faced," the spokesperson wrote.
"I once worked more than 80 hours in a week for three months straight. I only had three days off, total, in that time," West said. "I broke down. Both my mind and my body suffered. And at that point, my doctor mandated that I take a two-week emergency medical leave to recover." Once he returned to work he says he "was placed on formal notice for not having warned my manager in advance about my emergency medical leave."
In addition to working long hours — longer hours than allowed by Oregon law, according to West's office — and being asked to be available at the drop of a hat, West further accused Intel of intentionally hiring from the pool of workers who were fresh out of college or graduate school in order to have leverage over them. All this, he said, was doubly felt by those engineers who were working via H1B Visas. "They feel trapped," West said, paraphrasing conversations he's had with colleagues, "They say they cannot raise these issues themselves out of fear of deportation for them and their families."
Beyond his own experiences, West read out a number of anonymous statements from his colleagues, which recounted similar issues. One claimed that on "most days I work 10 to 16 hours," while another stated they were told to "cover a 14-hour night, shift seven nights in a row." A third wrote that "there is no proper path to promotion for high performing engineers." (Transparency around pay and promotions is another issue the union is organizing around.)
West called on Intel to sign a neutrality agreement (in effect, saying the company would not interfere with organizing efforts, subject workers to anti-union messaging, engage in captive audience meetings or other familiar tactics) and asked the company to voluntarily recognize the union. While it's not clear what union the engineers intend to join — or if, like Amazon workers in Staten Island they intend to form their own from the ground up — West's spokesperson confirmed the Intel cohort have been in touch with the Communications Workers of America.
As mentioned, West is — outside of his job at Intel and organizing activities — on the ballot to run for the House of Representatives for Oregon's 6th district. That election takes place less than a week from today.
Engadget has reached out to Intel for comment and will update if we hear back.
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, Google’s annual I/O developer conference returned to the historic Shoreline Amphitheatre. In an in-person event that saw the company share details on its latest breakthroughs in AI, machine translation and more, Google also found time to outline some of the hardware it plans to release later this year. In case you missed the chance to watch the event live, here are the biggest announcements from I/O 2022.
Pixel 6a
Google may have teased its latest flagship devices at I/O, but the company’s new Pixel 6a stole the show. Available to pre-order on July 21st, the $449 device will feature the search giant’s homegrown Tensor AI chipset and a 12-megapixel camera that shipss with the latest version of Google's Magic Eraser photo editing tool. The company also promised to support the Pixel 6a with five years of security updates.
Pixel 7
Google
Google only shared a brief glimpse of its latest flagship smartphones at I/O, but we did get to see the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro ahead of their formal debut later this year. The company said both devices would feature its next-generation Tensor chip, and come with a refined design made from recycled aluminum. There’s no word on pricing or availability yet. Expect Google to share those details this fall.
Pixel Watch
After months of leaks, Google finally confirmed the Pixel Watch is real. Arriving this fall, the wearable features a nearly bezel-less watch face flanked by a “tactile crown.” It runs Wear OS 3 and includes deep integration with Fitbit software for its health and fitness-tracking features. The Pixel Watch will be available later this year, arriving alongside the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. Google promised to share more details about the wearable in the days and weeks leading up to that point.
Separately, Google said companies like Samsung, Fossil and Montblanc would release new Wear OS devices later this year as well.
Pixel Buds Pro
Google
While you might have to wait a while to get your hands on the Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch, the new $199 Pixel Buds Pro are coming much sooner. Set to arrive on July 28th, with pre-orders opening on July 21st, key features include support for multipoint connectivity, IPX4-certified waterproofing and active noise cancelation. They’ll also support spatial audio when paired with a compatible Pixel phone.
Android 13
With the introduction of Google’s new Material You design language, customization was a big part of the appeal of Android 12. The latest version of Google’s mobile operating system will double down on that focus with new features that allow you to personalize your device even more. For instance, one new tool will allow you to set a different default language for all the disparate apps on your phone. Another new feature lets you color match more of the icons on your home screen, not just ones from Google.
Android 13 will also feature a new Wallet app with the option to store your personal government-issued ID on your phone. Safety and security were another focus for Google, with the company noting that Android 13 will protect your privacy by automatically deleting your clipboard history.
And after years of neglect, Google is about to furnish Android with some tablet-specific functionality. Android 13 will introduce new multitasking capabilities on large screen devices, including an updated taskbar and split view. Additionally, the company said it would update many of its first-party apps to take advantage of the new tablet features it plans to introduce with Android 13.
Beyond a renewed software focus, Google is also developing new tablet hardware. We got a brief glimpse of the Pixel Tablet, which the company plans to release sometime in 2023. As with many of the other devices Google showed off today, we didn’t get many details on the Pixel Tablet. But what we do know is that it looks similar to a Nest Hub. It will also run on of the company’s custom Tensor chips.
Lastly, if you want to try Android 13, Beta 2 is available to download today.
New AR glasses
Google
Just when you thought the keynote was over, Google had one more piece of news to share. The company revealed it was working on a new pair of augmented reality smartglasses designed to "break down communication barriers." The early prototype Google demoed could transcribe spoken language, providing real-time captions for the wearer. Google didn’t share the name of the prototype device, nor did it say when it might release it to consumers.
Everything else
Google
It wouldn’t be I/O without Google sharing news on its latest AI and machine learning breakthroughs, and 2022 was no exception. The company had a lot to share on that front, but highlights include enhancements to Translate (which now supports 24 additional languages) and a new "AI Test Kitchen” app that offers a demo of the company’s LaMDA 2 learning model.
The company also announced new feature updates for Workspace, YouTube and Lens. One of the most interesting allows you to check out a new “Immersive View” in Maps for exploring popular tourist destinations.
Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2022 right here!
