Razer has removed any mention of its Zephyr and recently announced Zephyr Pro smart face masks including “N95-grade” filters from its website and other marketing materials. “The wearable by itself is not a medical device nor certified as an N95 mask,” a Razer spokesperson told Engadget. “To avoid any confusion, we are in the process of removing all references to ‘N95 Grade Filter’ from our marketing material.”

The company’s website now says “Razer Zephyr is not a certified N95 mask, medical device, respirator, surgical mask or personal protective equipment (PPE) and is not meant to be used on medical or clinical settings." Following the change, Razer claims the Zephyr’s filters are 95 percent effective at filtering out particles and 99 percent effective against bacteria. The company told Engadget it will also notify Zephyr owners of the tweak.

The change comes after YouTuber Naomi Wu wrote a Twitter thread about the wearable over the weekend and publications like PC Mag drew attention to Razer’s labeling. In November, Wu posted an extensive review and teardown of the Razer Zephyr in which she said the company’s marketing of the smart mask was “deceptive.” Wu reiterated those claims after the company announced its new "Pro" variant of the Zephyr at CES 2022. 

As Wu points out in the video, “N95” is an official certification granted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for respirators that filter out at least 95 percent of airborne particles. It’s a designation that involves an entire mask, not just part of it, and accounts for both fit and filtration. Neither the Zephyr nor the Zephyr Pro is listed on the agency’s website as a NIOSH-approved respirator.

According to Wu, Razer made the change following pressure from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and NIOSH, a claim the company disputes. "The clarification has come from Razer ourselves rather than an outside entity," the company told Engadget.

The timing of the reversal comes as public health officials in the US and other countries have called on the public to wear surgical, N95 and KN95 masks, as opposed to a simple cloth mask, to better protect itself from the highly contagious omicron variant. The new coronavirus strain has sent COVID-19 cases soaring throughout much of the world, putting further strain on hospital systems that are already on the edge of burnout.

Almost a year ago, Spotify announced plans to roll out a higher tier of its streaming service with CD-quality music in some markets in 2021. However, Spotify HiFi is still not available and there's no indication as to when it will actually arrive.

“We know that HiFi quality audio is important to you. We feel the same, and we’re excited to deliver a Spotify HiFi experience to Premium users in the future. But we don’t have timing details to share yet,” a Spotify moderator wrote on the Community forums. “We will of course update you here when we can.”

Engadget has contacted Spotify for more details.

Back in 2017, Spotify tested CD-quality audio by offering some users in the US access to lossless music for an extra $7.50 per month. Since then, other prominent music streaming services have embraced lossless streaming, with Apple Music joining the likes of Tidal and Deezer. French HD streaming service Qobuz arrived in the US in 2019.

Spotify hasn't said how much HiFi will cost when the service rolls out more broadly, but competitors may force its hand into offering lossless music streaming at no extra cost. Apple Music, Amazon Music and Tidal have all rolled CD-quality audio into their standard plans over the last year.

Other details about Spotify HiFi beyond pricing and availability remain unclear. However, the company has confirmed the service will work with Spotify Connect-enabled speakers.

Some players have found it difficult to use the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller, in part due to its size and weight. Although Sony hasn't released an official counterpart to Microsoft's Xbox Adaptive Controller, some folks are trying to make it easier for others to play PS5 games.

YouTuber Akaki Kuumeri designed an adapter that allows players to use the DualSense with one hand. The 3D-printed attachment snaps onto the left thumbstick. When it's placed on a surface (or one's thigh), physically moving the entire controller will move the thumbstick. The L1 and L2 buttons are replicated on the right side of the controller. 

There's a second, optional attachment that offers inputs for the D-pad as well. So, save for the Share button, players would be able to use the entire controller with one hand.

Because the DualSense is symmetrical, Kuumeri says the attachments can be reversed to fit on the other side of the controller. You'd just need to mirror the components before printing them. 

Kuumeri submitted the adapter to a contest for one-handed controller designs. You can download the files and print attachments for personal use.

The adapter could also prove useful for gamers who don't typically have issues using the DualSense with both hands. In a video, Kuumeri demonstrates the ability to play It Takes Two, a co-op-only game, solo by using attachments on two controllers. The attachment could also give players a way to munch on a snack or enjoy a beverage without having to hit the pause button.

Kuumeri's design won't mitigate all players' accessibility issues. Some may tire of moving the controller around physically or they may not have the dexterity to access all four shoulder buttons with one hand. Still, the attachment could afford many more people the chance to play games like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Returnal — as long as they have access to a 3D printer and are actually able to secure a PS5.

Bel-Air, Peacock’s modern-day reinterpretation of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, will debut on February 13th, the streamer announced on Monday and shared a first-look trailer. Announced back in 2020, Bel-Air re-envisions the classic ‘90s sitcom as an hour-long drama series. All the main characters from the original return, including Uncle Phil and Carlton, though they may not be like you remember them. That's most apparent with Carlton who comes off as bashful in the trailer. Thankfully, Will's best friend Jazz looks true to his inspiration.  

The project was inspired by a fan film writer and director Morgan Cooper released in 2019. Both Cooper’s creation and the Peacock series lean into the original premise of The Fresh Prince, using Will’s journey from West Philidelphia to Bel-Air to tell a story about second chances, race and class. Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios produced the series, with Cooper serving as director, co-writer and executive producer. He told Smith in 2019 the idea for Bel-Air came to him while driving down Interstate 71. He was thinking about the original show when he drove an underpass and inspiration hit. "I knew I had a story to tell," he said at the time.

Peacock will release the first three episodes of Bel-Air on Super Bowl Sunday, with subsequent episodes to follow weekly. The series is currently slated to run for two seasons.

After teasing its first foldable smartphone in December, Honor has unveiled the Magic V. Honor is joining the likes of Huawei, which is its former parent company, and Xiaomi by stepping into the foldable marketplace.

Like Samsung's Z Fold devices, this is a dual-screen smartphone. It has a 6.45-inch, 431 PPI external display with a resolution of 2560 x 1080, 120Hz refresh rate and 21:9 aspect ratio. Open it up, and users can access a 7.9-inch, 381 PPI display, which has a 2272 x 1984 resolution, 90Hz refresh rate and 10:9 aspect ratio. 

Both OLED screens are a little larger than the Galaxy Z Fold 3's respective displays and support a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut. Honor claims the Magic V is the first foldable smartphone with IMAX Enhanced certification.

The company says its water-drop hinge helps make the display appear "creaseless." Oppo uses a similar style of hinge in its recently announced Find N foldable.

The Magic V is 72.7mm wide and 14.3mm thick when folded, and when opened, those dimensions shift to 141.1mm wide and 6.7mm thick. Its 160.4mm tall case houses a 4,750mAh battery that supports 66W charging. Honor says you can fully charge the battery in 40 minutes or to 50 percent of its capacity in just 15 minutes.

The phone has five cameras in total. The rear three-camera array has a wide camera, ultra wide camera and what Honor calls a "spectrum enhanced camera." All three are 50MP sensors. There's a 42MP selfie camera for each screen too.

The Magic V runs on Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, which has a 5G modem and Adreno 730 GPU built in. The Magic V has 12GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage, dual-SIM support and stereo speakers. It uses Honor’s new Magic UI 6.0, which is based on Android 12. There's also an independent security chip, which stores passwords and biometric data such as fingerprints.

The device has three color options: black, space silver and burnt orange. At 293g, the silver and black models weigh slightly more than the 288g orange variant. The Magic V will only be available in China at the outset. The 256GB model costs ¥9,999 (approximately $1,568) while the 512GB version is ¥10,999 (around $1,725). The Magic V will go on sale on January 18th.

AirTags are some of the most affordable Apple gadgets you can get, which is probably why deep discounts on them are hard to come by. Last week, we saw one of the trackers drop to $24 and a four-pack fall to $96 on Amazon, but Woot's latest flash sale makes the bundle even cheaper. Today only, you can get a four-pack of AirTags for $94, which is five percent off its normal price. Woot's dropped the price to as low as $88 in the past, but that all-time low happened during the holiday shopping season, making it unlikely to come back around anytime soon.

Much like Tile devices and other Bluetooth trackers, AirTags are designed to help you keep track of your stuff. The coin-sized gadget can slip into your wallet or backpack, or attach to a holder that you can clip to your keys, allowing you to keep track of your things using the Find My app on your iOS device. When you do misplace something, you can force the AirTag to emit a chime or, if you have an ultra-wideband supporting iPhone, the Precision Finding feature can lead you directly to your missing stuff using directions on your phone's screen. And if you're not the in vicinity of your belongings anymore, you can check out the AirTag's last location in the Find My app and even turn on Lost Mode, which will ping you when the AirTag gets detected by the network again.

Keep in mind that you'll have to be an iPhone user to get the most out of AirTags. Apple recently released an app that allows Android users to see if an AirTag is nearby, but its goal is detection, privacy and returning the lost AirTag to its rightful owner. Also, we recommend checking out Woot's return policy before buying because it is much different from that of its parent company, Amazon.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

While we consider Apple's MacBook Air M1 to be the best in the company's lineup for most people, there are some who will want a beefier machine. That's where the MacBook Pro M1 comes in, and Amazon has the 2020 model for a bit less than usual. The 13-inch laptop with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is $150 off right now, bringing it down to $1,150. Only the space gray model has this discount right now, but the silver version is $100 off and down to $1,199.

Keep in mind that this is the 2020 model — not the 2021 MacBook Pro, which features an updated design with more ports and Apple's higher-end M1 Pro or M1 Max chipsets. That's not to say the 2020 model doesn't have its merits. In fact, it earned a score of 84 from us when we first reviewed it thanks to its speedy performance, fast GPU, lovely display, comfortable keyboard and trackpad plus its long, 16.5-hour battery life. And since the Pro is unlike the Air and has a fan inside, it can handle sustained workloads like video encoding better.

There are a few downsides to the Pro M1, namely its support for only one external display and lack of external GPU support all together. And, when compared to the 2021 models, the port selection is lacking. The 2020 laptop only has four Thunderbolt ports, whereas you'll get connectors like an HDMI port, an SD card slot and more on the newer machine. However, those updated MacBook Pros start at $1,999, so this sale on the 2020 MacBook Pro is a good option for those who have a tighter budget but still want an upgraded laptop and feel comfortable skipping the extra ports.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

PC gaming Giant Take-Two has announced that it's making a big move into mobile gaming with the acquisition of Zynga for a total price of approximately $12.7 billion. Take-Two already owns Rockstar Games, Codemasters and 2K, producing games like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Bioshock and others. Zynga, meanwhile, produces well-known mobile titles like CSR Racing, FarmVille, and Words with Friends. 

Take-Two said that the deal will result in $6.1 billion worth of 12-month pro-forma net bookings, meaning it will become one of the largest gaming companies in the world. "This strategic combination brings together our best-in-class console and PC franchises, with a market-leading, diversified mobile publishing platform that has a rich history of innovation and creativity," said Take-Two Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick. The deal will also help Take-Two save about $100 million annually after two years. 

Zynga itself was on an acquisition streak of late, having acquired the studio behind Torchlight 3early last year. Zynga has sometimes relied on acquisitions to find the hottest games in the notoriously fickle mobile gaming market. Still, Take-Two said that the mobile industry booked $136 billion 2021 and is currently growing at over 8 percent, so the money is there to be had. Mobile will now account for half of its net bookings (net amount of products and services sold digitally or sold-in physically), the company said. 

Welcome to your Monday morning! CES is a wrap. While we planned to send a small team of Engadget staff to Las Vegas to cover the show in person, Omicron appeared on the horizon, and, well, our plans changed. 

Engadget

We also decided, under those circumstances, to do our own thing for our annual CES Awards. Our favorites run the gamut from familiar categories like mobile, TV and wearables through to sustainability innovations, wildcards and transport tech. Did we miss anything?

— Mat Smith

Apple may unveil a new iPhone SE this spring

Just don’t expect a radical redesign.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims Apple is expected to introduce a third-generation iPhone SE this spring through a virtual presentation "likely" happening in March or April. As we’ve already heard rumored before, Gurman says the new SE would still cling to the iPhone 8-era design but add 5G and a new processor, bringing it closer in parity to existing iPhones. We last saw the iPhone SE in 2020, running on the A13 Bionic.

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Sponsored by Verizon

5G Ultra Wideband. Now in more and more places.

Bad coding has some Honda cars stuck in the year 2002

It's not the first time a Y2K-style bug has sent Honda and Acura vehicles to the past.

Since the start of the year, Honda’s forums have been flooded with reports of people complaining the clocks and calendars in their vehicles are stuck in 2002. It’s affecting Honda and Acura models with GPS navigation systems manufactured between 2004 and 2012, with reports of people encountering the problem in the US, UK and Canada. What’s more, there doesn’t appear to be a fix at the moment. Each time someone starts their car, the clock resets — even if they manually set it beforehand.

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IKEA and Sonos refresh their Symfonisk bookshelf speakers

Faster processors, updated button layout and longer power cables.

IKEA

IKEA and Sonos have released a second-generation version of their Symfonisk bookshelf speaker. No Earth-shattering changes here, but the update features a faster processor and more memory and draws less power when it’s on standby. It also comes with a longer power cable.

However, looking at the new model next to its first-generation counterpart, the most visible change is an updated button layout that brings the volume controls next to one another. Prices appear similar to the original in the Netherlands, but we’re still waiting to hear if or when the update will make it to the US.

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PayPal confirms it's exploring the launch of its own cryptocurrency

It will reportedly be backed by the US dollar.

PayPal’s VP of crypto and digital currencies has confirmed to Bloomberg that the online payment provider is "exploring a stablecoin." Jose Fernandez da Ponte added the company will work closely with relevant regulators if the project goes forward.

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Ford tries to fight F-150 Lightning scalpers by banning resales

The company is using a strategy sometimes reserved for supercars.

Ford

Ford is giving dealerships the option to ban customers from reselling the Lightning for up to a year after purchase. As the (since-pulled) document on the F-150 Gen 14 forums revealed, the dealer could "seek injunctive relief" to block ownership transfer or even demand payment for "all value" generated from the sale.

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The biggest news stories you might have missed

UK watchdog to grill Meta over child safety in VR

NASA finishes deploying the James Webb Space Telescope

Apple said to have ruled out a metaverse for its mixed reality headset

Breakthrough could help you 3D print OLED screens at home

Mars Perseverance halts rock sample storage due to debris

Samsung may unveil its much anticipated (and leaked) Galaxy S22 at an Unpacked event on February 8th, according to South Korea's Digital Daily. "We have confirmed that the event will be held on February 8 and we are discussing the timing of invitations to be sent out at the end of January," a Samsung Electronics official told the site. Pre-orders are reportedly set to go live the next day, on February 9th, with shipping starting on February 24th.

Samsung will likely debut three phones, the Galaxy S22, S22 Plus and S22 Ultra models. According to some of the many rumors out there, all three devices will have very bright displays. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S22 Ultra's camera will offer what Samsung calls a "Super Clear Lens." 

The primary chip could be Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, reportedly manufactured by Samsung. Devices outside the US may come with Samsung's Exynos 2200 chip that uses a GPU based on AMD's RDNA 2 architecture and could support ray tracing. Numerous images of the device have already surfaced, including a shot of the Galaxy S22 Ultra posted by Evan Blass (above).

The event schedule and release date have yet to be confirmed, but Samsung typically schedules its flagship smartphone events around the same time each year. It'll supposedly be shown at MWC 2022 in Barcelona, by which time it should already be in buyers' hands, if the leak proves accurate. Engadget has reached out to Samsung for confirmation.