The Galaxy S22 Ultra might be the star of Samsung's Unpacked event, but the regular models will be the company's bread and butter — and it's good to see they've received substantial upgrades of their own. The 6.1-inch Galaxy S22 and 6.6-inch S22+ may look similar to the S21 family they replace, but they include a 50MP main rear camera with a sensor 23 percent larger than in the 12MP shooter from their predecessors. Your night photos should fare much better, to put it another way. You can also expect a 10MP telephoto camera with 3X optical zoom (no cropping like with the S21's 64MP sensor), although the 12MP ultra-wide and 10MP front cameras will seem familiar.

Both phones sport a handful of new software-based camera tricks, including Auto Framing to keep up to 10 people in focus. Portrait mode photos should look more natural thanks to an AI-based stereo depth map, and pet hair won't inadvertently blend into the background.

You can also expect a more resilient design. The Galaxy S22 and S22+ are Samsung's first S phones with a more durable "Armor Aluminum" frame, and they're the first phones anywhere to use Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ to reduce drop damage. The backing is still plastic, although 20 percent of the "component, key bracket" is made from recycled fishing nets. There's some recycled material in the speakers, too. The design isn't quite as eye-catching as the two-tone look of some S21 models, but it probably won't raise many objections — particularly in the new green colorway that joins black, white and "pink gold" (really, pink) shades.

It won't surprise you to hear that the rest of the improvements are more subtle, but still welcome. You'll find a 4-nanometer processor inside (likely the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in places like North America, and Exynos 2200 elsewhere) paired with 8GB of RAM. They're still using 120Hz adaptive AMOLED displays with an FHD+ resolution, but the improved peak brightnesses of 1,300 nits for the base S22 and 1,750 nits for the S22+ should help with outdoor viewing and HDR. The batteries are smaller than their predecessors at 3,700mAh and 4,500mAh respectively, but you might not mind quite so much when the Galaxy S22+ supports 45W wired charging (the regular S22 stops at 'just' 25W).

Samsung releases both devices on February 25th, starting at $800 for a Galaxy S22 with 128GB of (non-expandable) storage and $999 for the S22+ variant. Both will have 256GB editions in some markets. As is often the case, though, Samsung is offering perks for early adopters. Anyone who pre-orders by February 24th can upgrade to a higher storage tier, and they'll get either $100 or $150 in credit toward the Galaxy Watch 4 or Freestyle projector. You can also receive up to 25 percent off the Galaxy Tab S8 family.

Whatever deal you get, the entry S22 is arguably a better deal in some cases than the Galaxy S21 FE. You're paying $100 more for a slightly smaller screen, but you'll get considerably newer cameras, more processing power, a sturdier body and more RAM. We'd still consider the S21 FE, particularly if you can find a good deal, but the S22 may represent a better long-term value.

Catch up on all of the news from Samsung’s February Unpacked event right here!

Along with announcing the Galaxy S22 lineup, Samsung has refreshed its range of tablets — which some folks already had an inkling about after earlierleaks. For the first time, Samsung is introducing an Ultra tablet, which aligns with the Ultra branding the company slaps on its highest-end phones.

Unsurprisingly, the Tab S8 Ultra has more tricked-out specs than the Tab S8 and S8+. The company says it's the first Android 2-in-1 with an 14.6-inch Super AMOLED screen. The 2,960 x 1,848 display has a 120 Hz refresh rate, which should make writing or drawing with the new S Pen feel more responsive. Samsung says it's employing a prediction algorithm to deliver its "smoothest writing experience yet." The new S Pen is also included with the S8 and S8+. 

The dual 12MP front-facing cameras — one wide, one ultra-wide — on the S8 Ultra will enable you to join conference calls with a 4K video feed, but there's a notch to accommodate them. Auto-framing tech is designed to keep you front and center on video calls, and it will zoom in and out to include other people who join you. On the audio front, there are a trio of precision microphones with noise reduction tech and four Dolby Atmos-compatible speakers. The Tab S8 and S8+ have the same speaker system.

All three devices boast a 4nm octa-core chip (which Samsung says is the fastest processor it has put in a Galaxy tablet to date), Android 12, Bluetooth 5.2, WiFi 6E support and a microSD slot. The S8 and S8+ have 8GB of RAM and come with 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. As for the S8 Ultra, you can have up to 16GB of RAM with 512GB of onboard storage.

The three devices share the same rear camera system with a 13MP autofocus sensor, 6MP ultra-wide camera and a flash. The S8 and S8+ have a sole 12MP ultra-wide front-facing camera.

There's support for 45W fast charging that Samsung claims can fully charge the S8 Ultra battery in 90 minutes and the other two tablets in 80 minutes. You can expect all-day battery life on all three models, according to the company. It says that equates to 15 hours of video playback on Tab S8, 13 hours of video playback on the S8+ and 14 hours of video playback on the S8 Ultra. If one of your other devices (say, a Galaxy S22) is running low on power, you can connect it to the tablet via USB-C to juice it up.

The key difference between the Tab S8 and S8+ is the size. The S8 has a 11-inch LED Full HD, 2,560 x 1,600 display, while the S8+ has a 12.4-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2,800 x 1,752. Both have a refresh rate of 120Hz. A bigger display means the S8+ has a space for a larger battery. It has a capacity of 10,090mAh, compared with the Tab S8's 10,090mAh battery.

The tablets can connect to your Galaxy smartphone or Windows PC as well. You can share photos, files and notes between your phone and tablet, while the Galaxy Buds' Auto Switch function allows you to move between devices without having to pair them again. The DeX mode, which lets users extend their TV, PC or phone display onto a Tab S8 device, can now be used in vertical orientation — which might come in handy for monitoring Slack or Twitter on a second screen.

Meanwhile, Samsung Health will be available on Galaxy tablets for the first time. Users can view workouts and see health and fitness data from a Galaxy Watch on their Tab S8 device. 

As with the Galaxy S22 lineup, Galaxy Tab S8 tablets are partially made with plastic components that are repurposed from discarded fishing nets. Samsung also says the tablets will ship to customers in its slimmest packaging to date, which is made from sustainably sourced paper.

Pre-orders open today for all three models. The Galaxy Tab S8 and S8+ are available in pink gold, graphite and silver. They start at $700 and $900, respectively, and pre-ordering will net you a slim book cover keyboard at no extra cost. The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, which is only available in graphite, starts at $1,100. If you pre-order, Samsung will toss in a backlit book cover keyboard.

Catch up on all of the news from Samsung’s February Unpacked event right here!

Today's Samsung event leaned heavily on new hardware, but Google's bringing some software updates to those new devices that will make it easier to view content with friends. The Galaxy S22 smartphones and the S8 laptops will support the new live sharing feature in Google Duo. Much like how SharePlay works in FaceTime calls on iOS devices, this feature will let you and whomever you're chatting with view the same notes, photos, videos and more at the same time.

According to Google, this will only work in Google Duo calls and will only work with certain apps. YouTube is included, so you'll be able to share and watch a video with friends and family while you're chatting with them. It'll also work with Google Maps with shared and searched-for locations, Samsung Notes and Gallery for documents and photos, and Jamboard, which is Google's interactive whiteboard app.

The catch is that this feature will only be fully supported on Galaxy smartphones and tablets, as well as Pixel smartphones. That means only those with Samsung and Pixel devices will be able to host live-sharing calls — those with other Android devices will only be able to join those calls, rather than host them.

Google

Google's new feature comes a few months after Apple launched SharePlay in iOS 15.1. Similarly, Apple's feature only works on iOS devices but there appears to be more support for it across different apps at the moment. For example, SharePlay lets you watch Apple TV+ shows as a group, take Fitness+ workouts at the same time and play a few games together. But Google currently does have the upper-hand when it comes to YouTube, as the video service is not currently SharePlay-compatible. Google has not yet stated when we could see more apps gain support for Duo live sharing.

In addition to live sharing in Duo, Samsung's latest devices will have access to a couple of other new Android features. YouTube previews are coming to Messages, which basically means that you can share previews of YouTube videos in Messages to help your contacts decide if they want to watch the video immediately or later. If they do want to check it out now, they can watch the full video without leaving the chat. Thankfully, unlike live sharing, the YouTube previews feature will eventually make its way onto all Android smartphones, with the exception of Android Go devices. Also, the Galaxy S22 and Tab S8 series have Voice Access built in, so rather than needing to download a separate app, you can use these prompts to tap, scroll and navigate without using your fingers.

Catch up on all of the news from Samsung’s February Unpacked event right here!

Tonga is still struggling to get back online following the January 15th volcano eruption, and SpaceX might offer some help. According to The Wall Street Journal, Fiji communications minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum understands SpaceX is looking to reconnect Tonga using its Starlink satellite broadband service. The company has a team in Fiji building a station that would serve as an internet bridge, the official said.

We've asked SpaceX for comment. It's not clear just what kind of service Tongans could expect, but connectivity in Fiji or Tonga would be new to the company. Starlink's public beta is only available in 25 countries as of this writing, and the closest neighbors with active service are Australia and New Zealand. There are roughly 1,800 satellites in service, but more are on the way as SpaceX seeks to fill out coverage.

A reconnection effort like this may be more complicated than it seems. Tonga authorized Kacific to provide satellite internet service to the country in late January, ending a long-running dispute. It's not certain how this will affect SpaceX's plans, but it would clearly ramp up competition. At the same time, the Pacific nation is still without access to the undersea cable that usually delivers internet service, and isn't expected to regain that access for weeks. It might not have much choice but to invite additional help if it wants to recover quickly, and SpaceX's involvement could give Tonga a useful backup for any future disruptions.

Samsung is about to hold its first Unpacked event of 2022, and it's easy to catch the event live. You can watch Engadget's livestream with commentary from our own Cherlynn Low and Mat Smith on our YouTube channel (below) starting at 10AM ET. The broadcast is also available through Samsung's YouTube channel and the company's website. It's likely to be a loaded presentation, so you'll want to tune in if you're determined to see everything the tech company has to offer.

The centerpiece of Unpacked is expected to be the Galaxy S22 family, led by the Galaxy S22 Ultra — a no-compromise phone that will effectively replace both the S21 Ultra and the Galaxy Note. Samsung might also introduce the Galaxy Tab S8 series, including a giant 14.6-inch Ultra variant. There haven't been any other big hardware leaks, but Samsung occasionally delivers a surprise or two during its livestreamed events.

Catch up on all of the news from Samsung’s February Unpacked event right here!

The operating system powering Apple's rumored virtual or augmented reality headset may be called realityOS, MacRumors has reported. The term was spotted by multiple sources in recent GitHub open source code and App Store upload logs. "What is Apple's realityOS doing in the App Store upload logs," tweeted iOS developer Rens Verhoeven. "This at least confirms [realityOS] 1) has its own OS & binaries and, 2) has a realityOS simulator," noted another well-known developer, Steve Troughton-Smith. 

The existence of such an OS was first reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman as rOS in 2017, and is reportedly known internally as "Oak" at Apple. The "OS" nomenclature would be logical, given the names of Apple's iOS, macOS, iPadOS, tvOS and watchOS operating systems. 

Apple's development of AR/VR headsets has been rumored for years. Apple purchased VR company VRvana in 2017, suggesting it was pursuing the technology. The Informationreported in 2019 that a mixed AR/VR headset would come in 2022, with AR glasses arriving by 2023. 

However, the most recent rumor from Bloomberg suggests that the headset will be delayed until 2023 due to development issues like overheating. They'll reportedly offer computing power on par with an M1 Mac and could be standalone without the need to tether, according to analyst Ming-chi Kuo.

If the references are real, they could suggest that developers are getting or will be getting access to the OS. As Troughton-Smith warned, however, they "could just be a remnant of somebody's pull request from a fake account," too — so take the leak with an appropriate dose of skepticism. 

One of the stars of the working-out-from-home boom is struggling. Peloton won’t go quietly though and is making some big changes. The company will replace the CEO and co-founder, John Foley, who will become executive chairman, with former Spotify COO Barry McCarthy reportedly set to step into his shoes. While Foley is sticking around, the company is cutting around 2,800 corporate positions — these won’t include Peloton’s instructors who lead its live classes. The company said in a press release about the lay-offs that its “monthly membership will be complimentary for impacted team members for an additional 12 months." I'm not sure how they feel about that.

This all means we're back to speculating whether Peloton might be bought and folded into a bigger entity. Reports have suggested that Amazon and Nike are both looking into the possibilities, while pundits and analysts have long suspected Apple might pick it up as part of its fitness push. It could be a cheap purchase: Peloton reached a market value of $50 billion in January 2021, but it’s currently circling a $8 billion valuation.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Spotify's problems are bigger than Joe Rogan

• NASA picks Lockheed Martin to build a rocket that will return from Mars

• What to expect from Samsung's Unpacked event

• Amazon more than doubles base pay for corporate and tech employees

• Lemondrop and Fireball review: Impossibly small, surprisingly powerful synths

• NVIDIA officially abandons its plans to purchase ARM

Samsung leak reveals some very big Galaxy S8 Tabs

Expect to see an Ultra model with a large 14.6-inch OLED screen.

Engadget

Just ahead of Samsung's Unpacked event set for tomorrow, Evan Blass revealed a press release for Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 lineup in his Substack newsletter. It confirms many key specs from earlier leaks, including the existence of an "Ultra model" — likely to be the most intriguing of the often straightforward, sometimes bland, tablet series. All the finer details will come later today: join us as we livestream everything Samsung reveals at Unpacked later today. It all kicks off at 10 AM ET (7 AM PT).

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Apple scores its first Oscar nomination for Best Picture

Netflix leads the streaming pack with 27 nods.

Apple

Apple’s TV+ films received six Oscar nods overall, up from two last year. Most significantly, Apple has broken through in the Best Picture category. CODA is the first Apple Original movie to receive a nomination for the top prize. Elsewhere, Netflix continued to push hard for plaudits, with a whopping 27 nominations across the board. Climate change satire Don’t Look Up, packed with Oscar winners like Meryl Streep and Leonardo DiCaprio, and Western The Power of the Dog both have nominations for Best Picture.

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Samsung is adding a load of new health features to the Galaxy Watch 4

Because it’s not got a busy enough week.

Today, Samsung is rolling out an update that enhances some of the Galaxy Watch 4's and Watch 4 Classic's health and wellness features. While the watches have long been able to perform body composition scans, the update adds insights about those results powered by Chris Hemsworth's fitness app, Centr. This includes a 30-day free trial to the app, which typically only lasts for seven days — and is pretty pricey after that. Other features include interval training for runners, sleep coaching and a load of new watch face colors and digital watch faces.

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What we bought: A lid that makes the Instant Pot good at slow cooking

The tempered glass and steam hole make a huge difference.

The Instant Pot does a lot of things well, but there are a few upgrades if you’re looking to maximize what the giant kitchen gadget is capable of. For a lot less than the air fryer companion, you can improve the Instant Pot’s slow-cooking potential with a very simple tweak: a fitted glass lid. Editor in Chief Dana Wollman dives a little deeper into the world of Instant Pot recipes.

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Tinder will stop charging older users more for premium features

A new report details just how drastically Tinder+ prices can fluctuate.

Tinder says it"ill no longer charge older users more to use Tinder+, following a new report questioning the dating app’s practice of charging older users “substantially more.”

Tinder+ pricing can vary a lot based on users’ age. The report relied on “mystery shoppers” in six countries — the United States, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Korea, India and Brazil — who signed up for Tinder+. According to the report, Tinder users between the ages of 30 and 49 were charged an average of 65.3 percent more than their younger counterparts in every country except Brazil. Tinder says it plans to abandon its age-based pricing altogether, having already halted it in the US, Australia and UK. (After a class-action lawsuit in California.)

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Apple's Tap to Pay lets iPhones accept contactless payments

Shops won't need dongles or terminals to take your money.

Apple has revealed Tap to Pay on iPhone, an upcoming feature that will let businesses accept payments just by bumping handsets (and the Apple Watch) — no extra hardware needed. The tech requires an iPhone XS or later and will also work with other digital wallets beyond the company’s own Apple Pay. Likewise, it’ll be compatible with contact-free credit and debit cards. Stripe is already planning to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to business customers. 

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Garmin has revealed its latest lineup of smartwatches, including models you might never need to plug in to charge. The Instinct 2 Series includes 45mm Instinct 2 Solar models, which are said to be able to run continuously on smartwatch mode (i.e. with features like heart-rate monitoring, sleep tracking, activity tracking and 24/7 health monitoring turned on). The previous Instinct Solar was only able to meet Garmin's "unlimited" battery life claim while in battery saver mode.

As the name suggests, 45mm Instinct 2 Solar models draw energy from the sun. But it seems you'll need to be outdoors a lot for one of those smartwatches to obtain enough solar energy. 

Garmin says the device needs to be outside in 50,000 lux conditions for an average of three hours a day to maintain the "unlimited" battery life. The company suggests a normal sunny day should satisfy those conditions. For example, one Engadget editor achieved 30,000 lux in about two hours with a Fenix solar pointed directly at the sun for two hours. So, it's likely not unrealistic but will heavily depend on local conditions. Thus the Instinct 2 Solar might need to be outside for longer than three hours on a given day to attain "unlimited" battery life. 

Beyond the Solar and standard models, there are a number of Instinct 2 Series editions. The lineup has a slimmer profile and two sizes, the regular 45mm bezel and the 40mm Instinct 2S format. Surf editions are available in either size and with or without solar. They'll track watersports activities including surfing, windsurfing and kiteboarding, and there's a tide widget to keep users in the know about ocean conditions.

Tactical editions are geared toward military personnel. These watches, which are only available in the solar format, offer features including night vision goggles compatibility, stealth mode, kill switch and dual format position coordinates. They're available in black or coyote tan. In addition, there are Camo editions designed to help the watch blend in or stand out via graphite and mist camo patterns.

Garmin says smartwatches in the lineup come with a new high-res, easy-to-read display with scratch-resistant glass. They're water rated to 100 meters and built to military standard 810 for thermal and shock resistance. Between the bezel and band, you can mix and match your way to one of more than 240 design choices.

You can expect to access Garmin's swathe of wellness and health features, such as sleep score, VO2 max, HIIT workouts and Body Battery. Instinct 2 Series devices can access the Garmin Connect IQTM (CIQ) store, from which you can download apps, widgets, watch faces and more. Some sports apps and activities are pre-installed, including a new Multisport option that'll continue tracking your time and distance when you switch between activities. There's also an incident detection feature that can automatically get in touch with your emergency contacts if the device suspects something's gone wrong and it's paired with a compatible smartphone.

Instinct 2 Solar models include Garmin Pay support as well. As for the battery life in the non-solar models, Garmin says they'll run for up to four weeks with smartwatch mode activated. Instinct 2 Series devices will start at $350.

Almost all of the Starlink internet satellites that a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried beyond the atmosphere on February 3rd won't reach their intended orbit. SpaceX has revealed that a geomagnetic storm that took place a day after the liftoff had a severe impact on the satellites, and up to 40 of them will re-enter or have already entered Earth's atmosphere. United States Geological Survey describes geomagnetic storms as periods of "rapid magnetic field variation" typically caused by a strong surge of solar winds. 

These storms can be damaging to electronics and satellites in orbit. In this particular case, it warmed up the atmosphere and caused atmospheric drag — or the friction acting against the satellites' movement — to increase up to 50 percent higher compared to previous launches. SpaceX explained that its Starlink team tried to save the newly deployed satellites by putting them in safe mode, which adjusts their movement so they'd fly edge on like a sheet of paper, to minimize drag. Unfortunately, the increased drag prevented the satellites from leaving safe mode. 

The deorbiting satellites pose no collision risk, SpaceX said, will completely burn up as they re-enter the atmosphere and will create no orbital debris. No satellite parts are expected to hit the ground. "This unique situation demonstrates the great lengths the Starlink team has gone to ensure the system is on the leading edge of on-orbit debris mitigation," the company wrote in its announcement. 

SpaceX has launched over 2,000 Starlink satellites as of January this year for its first-gen constellation. Launches with Starlink satellites as payload have become a routine for the company, and they'll become even more common if it gets approval to form a second constellation with up to 30,000 satellites meant to provide global internet coverage. 

While Starlink could provide internet connection even to people in far-flung locations, astronomers said megaconstellations have become a worse threat to their studies than urban light pollution. In fact, the International Astronomical Union has just formed the Center for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference. Since the main issue is that telescopes will pick up the light reflected by these satellite constellations, making it difficult to observe the rest of the universe, the center will focus on software and technical mitigation solutions that observatories can implement. SpaceX added "sunshades" to its Starlink satellites in 2020 to make them look less bright. According to Sky & Telescope, they do look fainter now, but they're still visible to telescopes.

Most Twitter users can only create videos up to 140 seconds in length, but even so, some people apparently still don't have time for that. Luckily, Twitter has announced that it's testing playback speeds varying from .25x to 2x on Android or the web, similar to what you can do on YouTube, Netflix and other platforms.

Folks like myself (in France, on Android) with access to the feature will see a gear at the top of a video, next to the closed caption option. Selecting that allowed me to choose from a fairly granular range of speeds with sound pitch adjusted so you don't get the "Chipmunks" effect. It could be useful to folks with short attention spans or if you need to slow down a video to hear a word, to name a couple of potential use cases.

Variable playback speeds will work for "tweet videos, amplify videos, voice tweets, videos in DMs and video live replays, depending on their platform," Twitter spokesperson Joseph Nunez told The Verge. Twitter plans to expand the feature to iOS down the road. It's now in testing for select users, but there's no word on when Twitter might roll it out more widely.