Google has shared quite a few details of the Pixel 6 series, but it hasn't revealed everything ahead of its October 19th event. Just how powerful will these phones be? Will they represent a good value? And does Google have any surprises up its sleeve? Here's what you can expect from the presentation, including a few last-minute leaks.

The specs: A return to flagship phones

Unlike with past phone launches, Google has been happy to share basic details of the Pixel 6 family months in advance. Both the base Pixel 6 and the larger, brawnier Pixel 6 Pro will mark Google's return to high-end phones after the Pixel 5 'break,' with premium glass designs. They'll offer upgraded cameras with improved low-light performance (150 percent more light than in the past), and they should tout "all day" battery life despite support for battery-hungry 5G.

The centerpiece, however, will be the Tensor chip inside both Pixel 6 models. Google hasn't officially divulged full specs for Tensor as of this writing, but it's the company's first custom system-on-chip. The design uses its namesake AI processing to achieve things that were "previously impossible" on typical SoCs, such as juggling multiple AI tasks or processing live video.

Google

However, Google hasn't said much about the exact specs of the Pixel 6 line or the range of Tensor-assisted features. Expect the company to share many more gritty technical details for the Pixel 6 at the event, although we wouldn’t count on enough info to make easy comparisons between Tensor and rival mobile chips.

You might not have to wait long to get the full scoop. Well-known leaker Evan Blass spotted Carphone Warehouse promo pages that appear to spoil much of what Google intends to announce. The standard Pixel 6 will likely compete against 'entry' flagships like the Galaxy S21 and iPhone 13 with a 6.4-inch flat 90Hz screen, a 50-megapixel main camera and a 12MP ultra-wide shooter. The Pixel 6 Pro, meanwhile, should be the definitive top-of-the-range model with a 6.7-inch curved 120Hz display and a third 48MP telephoto lens. You may also see 30W wired charging, 23W wireless charging and reverse charging to top up your earbuds or other phones.

As for Tensor? That retail listing claimed up to 80 percent better performance than the Pixel 5 (not difficult given the 5's middling Snapdragon 765G chip), but the real star may be Tensor's photographic prowess. Google reportedly plans multiple AI-driven camera tricks that include a Magic Eraser to get rid of photobombers, Face Unblur to keep people in focus and a Motion Mode for action photography. These aren't completely novel concepts (anti-photobombing has been present in Huawei and Samsung phones for a while), but they're new to Pixels and might perform better with Tensor involved.

A focus on services and support

Google

Google might also break new ground in how it sells the Pixel 6. This is Tech Today's M. Brandon Lee obtained what he says is evidence Google will make the Pixel 6 available as a part of a "Pixel Pass" that combines monthly phone payments with an extended warranty, Google One cloud storage, Play Pass, optional Google Fi service and either YouTube Music or YouTube Premium. Effectively, Google would counter Apple One by including virtually everything you need in a single subscription, not just internet services.

You could also enjoy better software support regardless of what you pay. Those Carphone Warehouse pages echoed longstanding rumors that Google would offer "at least" five years of security updates to Pixel 6 owners. That's more than the three to four years you often find in the Android world, and roughly on par with Apple. It's not clear if you'll get full operating system updates for those five years, but you might not have to worry about patchable vulnerabilities for the practical life of your Pixel.

Price and release date

There's little doubt the Pixel 6 will cost more than its predecessor. Where the Pixel 5 was an upper-mid-range phone, its sequel is an upscale device. Google has even made clear the Pixel 6 Pro will be a "premium-priced product." But how much more will you have to pay?

Google

That's a difficult call. One Reddit user spotted a German listing that mentioned a €649 (about $750) price for the base Pixel 6. A source for This is Tech Today, meanwhile, quoted a price of €899 (roughly $1,050) for the 6 Pro. We'd be cautious about these prices, as they could change and might not convert neatly even if they're accurate. Still, Google is apparently returning to top-tier pricing.

Like it or not, Google will also borrow a cost- and waste-cutting measure from its rivals: it's leaving the charger out of the box. That's not too dire an omission when there's a real chance you'll have a USB-C charger hanging around, but it could be frustrating if you're either new to USB-C devices or saddled with a slow power brick. Factor that into the price before you rush to check out.

The German listing and other leaks have pointed to a Pixel 6 release sometime the week of October 25th. We'd expect a broad international launch, for that matter. Where the Pixel 5a was limited to the US and Japan due to supply constraints, the leaks so far already hint that Google wants to make the Pixel 6 as ubiquitous as possible.

Don't expect many surprises

Google

We wouldn't bet on Google announcing much else besides the Pixel 6 and its accompanying software. Google's marketing for the event has revolved exclusively around its new phones. It's unlikely that you'll see any other gadgets, and they'll definitely be secondary if they do appear.

That's not to completely rule out new hardware. It has been more than a year since Google debuted its higher-end Pixel Buds, and other devices like Nest WiFi haven't been updated in a while. There's just not much need for Google to revamp products beyond the Pixel line — what's there is still relevant and functional.

There's also the possibility of new or upgraded services. If Google really does introduce a Pixel Pass, it might want to sweeten the deal by offering more for the money, whether it's a brand new service or perks like more cloud storage. We haven't seen rumors to this effect so far, but Google also kept unlimited photo uploads for Pixel owners when it capped everyone else in June. The company knows that services sell hardware, and that may be crucial for the Pixel 6.

Amazon's deal of the day includes a bunch of monitors and Chromebooks on sale for up to 26 percent lower than their usual price. Dell's 27-inch QHD curved gaming monitor, for instance, will set you back $270, which is an all-time low for the product on the website. That's a $60 discount from its usual price of $330. The 27-inch monitor has a 2560 x 1440 resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate that enables fast-moving visuals and faster reaction times. 

LG's 27-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) 27GL83A-B IPS display is also on sale for $300, down $80 from its usual price and only $3 more than its all-time low. It's NVIDIA G-SYNC compatible and has an adjustable stand. Likewise, the 27-inch Acer Predator XB273U IPS gaming monitor is now available for $398, or $152 less than its usual price of $550. It's a widescreen 2560 x 1440-pixel resolution display that's also NVIDIA G-SYNC compatible and has a refresh rate of 170Hz. IPS displays have wide viewing angles, exhibiting minimal image distortion when viewed from different positions. They also have great color reproduction and visibility in sunlight. 

If you play competitive video games and need a monitor that can respond rapidly and make sure you don't miss anything onscreen, you can get Dell's 24.5-inch S2522HG full HD monitor instead. It has a refresh rate of 240Hz and can make fast-moving visuals more visible — it also uses IPS display tech for better viewing angles. This option will set you back $225, or $97.50 lower than its full price of $322, which is also an all-time low for the product on Amazon.

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

Those looking for a powerful laptop alternative need look no further than this year's iPad Pros. Outfitted with Apple's M1 chipset, they're the most powerful tablets the company has ever made. Now you can get an 11-inch iPad Pro for less at Amazon thanks to a $100 discount that's dropped the prices of most available models. The base 128GB version is sold out right now, but the 256GB WiFi model is down to $800, which is a record low. The sale also includes the 512GB, 1TB and 2TB iPad Pros, which are on sale for $1,000, $1,400 and $1,799, respectively.

These iPad Pros don't look very different from their predecessors because Apple focused most of the updates on the internals. Inside is the company's M1 processor, which makes the tablets run similarly to the MacBook Air M1 — which is to say, remarkably fast and smooth. When we reviewed the larger of the two Pros, we were impressed by its ability to play laborious games and piece together 4K video without breaking a sweat. The latest iPad Pros also support 5G connectivity, along with a USB-C port for charging and a new ultra-wide camera that enables Center Stage. When paired with the right accessories, these iPads are the closest things Apple has made to laptop replacements or 2-in-1 machines.

The biggest difference between the 11-inch and the 12.9-inch iPad Pros is in the screen. In addition to being larger, the 12.9-inch's display is a Liquid Retina XDR panel, which will make a difference when doing things like watching videos and editing photos. And that comes with a higher price tag — the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,099, but it's been on sale for $999 on Amazon for a few months. You're still getting a lovely display on the 11-inch model, though — it's a 2,388 x 1668 resolution Liquid Retina display with ProMotion and True Tone technology, so don't think you're giving anything up by going with the slightly smaller tablet (and saving some money in the process).

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

This week, Cherlynn and Devindra chat about what to expect from Apple’s upcoming event (new MacBooks, baby!), as well as all of the other launch shindigs from Google, Samsung and Sony. Cherlynn also tells all about her Apple Watch Series 7 review, and why she hates testing sleep tracking gadgets. And to catch up on some big news from last week, Manda Farough from the Virtual Economy Podcast joins to dive into the massive Twitch hack.

Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

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Topics

• There’s a new Apple event on October 18, will there be MacBooks? – 1:25

• Apple Watch Series 7 review – 9:09

• The Apple Watch still doesn’t do sleep tracking well – 13:17

• The Twitch hack: what we know a week later – 29:43

• Too many tech events next week: Apple, Google, and Samsung all in 3 days – 52:29

• What’s expected at the Google Pixel event? – 56:04

• Motorola brought back the Edge for 2021 (review) – 57:48

• Acer announced a glasses-free 3D laptop – 1:00:35

• Someone leaked HTC Vive’s new bug eye VR setup – 1:03:04

• Working on – 1:05:59

• Pop culture picks – 1:07:50

Video livestream

Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar
Guests: Manda Farough
Producer: Ben Ellman
Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos,Luke Brooks
Graphics artists: Luke Brooks, Kyle Maack
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

Rode has unveiled the Central Mobile app for the $299 Wireless Go II lavalier-type microphone, allowing users to unlock advanced features, control settings and more. It also announced that the Wireless Go II is now compatible with its Rode Connect software designed for multi-host podcasting and streaming on a single PC. 

Rode Central initially arrived as a desktop app, but a mobile version will be a lot more convenient for location and field work. As with the PC version, it'll let users switch between "merged" and "split" recording modes when interviewing two subjects, adjust the gain settings, unlock fine gain control, activate safety channels and more. Users will also be able to update the Wireless Go II with the latest firmware updates. 

Rode originally launched the Connect PC app to simplify recording of multi-host podcasts, but it only supported desktop-style USB microphones to start with. Now, you can connect the Wireless Go II system as well, marking one of the first times "that a compact wireless microphone system has been fully integrated with podcasting or streaming software," Rode said. 

Rode Central for mobile is now available to download for free, and you can find Rode Connect here. 

Happy Friday! In yesterday’s newsletter, I explained how Apple was thriving in the world of wearables, but not everyone wants so many notification pings and a watch that needs charging daily. There is still very much a place for simpler wearables, and as we’re approaching holiday season, most of them are also less pricey than the high-end options from Apple, Samsung and Garmin.

Fortunately, we have Valentina Palladino on staff. She’s written about wearables for years, even before joining the Engadget team. She's now laid out what fitness trackers are capable of in 2021 and whether you should go for one or shop around smartwatches instead. Spoiler alert: Our top pick is a Fitbit.

— Mat Smith

Nanoleaf Lines are customizable smart light bars

Create line drawings or pretty patterns along your wall.

Nanoleaf Lines

Nanoleaf’s stylish light-up tiles adorn plenty of modern homes (and YouTuber backdrops), but the company has added an even more customizable shape: lines. The Nanoleaf Line is a backlight LED light bar roughly 11 inches long. It can join to its siblings at either end or at a 60-degree angle. Nanoleaf Lines are available to pre-order today, with the nine-line starter kit setting you back $200, while three-line add-on packs will cost $80.

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Sponsored by CISCO

Your Remote Work Experience. Simplified. Secure.

Planet orbiting a dead star teases our own solar system's fate

Astronomers discovered a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a white dwarf.

Scientists have spotted a Jupiter-like exoplanet orbiting a dead star that was once like our sun. According to a paper in the journal Nature, the white dwarf star and planet around 6,500 light years away provides a preview of what will happen to our own solar system in approximately five billion years. The finding indicates that planets with wide orbits are probably more common than inner planets. It also shows that some of our solar system's worlds may survive the Sun's death. Probably not Earth, however.

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What to expect from Apple’s October 18th Unleashed event

It’s Mac time.

Engadget

On October 18th, Apple will hold its second event of the fall, and judging by the rumors, it’s likely to be a Mac-centric show. Let Igor Bonifacic walk you through our preview, from MacBook Pros to possibly cheaper AirPods.

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Apple extends repair program for crackling AirPods Pro buds

It's now active until October 2022.

Last year, Apple launched a repair/replacement program for AirPods Pro units experiencing sound issues, such as crackling or static. It was only supposed to last for two years after the buds were first sold on October 30th, 2019, which means the program was going to come to a close in a couple of weeks. As first noticed by someone on Reddit, though, Apple has quietly updated its program's information page to extend its availability. "The program covers affected AirPods Pro for three years after the first retail sale of the unit," the updated page reads. Funnily enough, I got my own crackling AirPods Pro fixed just last weekend.

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HTC’s Vive Flow is a lighter VR headset built for entertainment and wellness

It’ll cost $500.

HTC

As the rumors earlier yesterday suggested, HTC has revealed a new kind of VR headset. The HTC Vive Flow is a pair of glasses weighing just 189 grams (6.6 ounces). They pair with a smartphone to let you play VR content or simply watch TV. It’s pitched as both entertainment and a meditative device.

Continue reading.

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Tesla now offers car insurance in Texas, its new home state, a couple of years after launching the product in California. According to Electrek, though, the insurance available to Texans is quite different than the one owners can get in The Golden State: It calculates for a customer's insurance premium using their real-time driving behavior. Their credit, age and gender that are typically used by other insurance providers apparently don't matter to Tesla. The automaker says it won't even look at customers' claim history and driving records.

Instead, Tesla will look at their "safety scores," which is a feature it introduced with the Full Self-Driving Beta version released in September. That could make things quite tricky, since the premium that needs to be paid can change every month based on the conditions the driver encounters on the road. Every forced collision warning and forced Autopilot disengagement will affect their score. Following other vehicles from an unsafe distance, braking too hard and turning corners aggressively could lower their score, as well. Safety score is still a beta feature at this point, and Tesla said it should improve over time.

Owners can now apply for a quote, wherein which the automaker will assume a 90 safety score to start their policy. The price will depend on the client's performance after that, and it could be higher or lower than what a traditional provider charges. During Tesla's shareholder meeting, where its new home state was also revealed, Elon Musk said the company plans to upgrade its offering in California to be based on real-time driving behavior, as well. It's not allowed to implement the change just yet, but it's currently trying to ask permission from regulators.

The popular iOS game Genshin Impact is taking advantage of the iPhone 13 Pro's higher-refresh ProMotion display with a new 120fps mode, 9to5Mac has reported. On top of the higher framerates, developer miHoYo introduced new areas, events, missions, character banners and more. 

Apple previously wrote that all iOS developers must release updates to their apps or games to "unlock" the 120Hz mode by adding .plist file key. As with Android devices, use of the mode will drain your battery quicker, but allow for smoother gaming. 2nd-gen or higher iPad Pros don't necessarily need an update to support 120Hz refresh rates, but any game would likely require one anyway.

At the WWDC 2021 Apple Design Awards, Genshin Impact won the best game in the visual category, thanks to graphics and artwork that "push the frontier for mobile gaming," Apple wrote. While the game is also available on Android, PC and Playstation 5, iOS appears to be the first platform to support the higher framerates, according to the Brazilian site Technoblog. 

Clubhouse has proven to be a big hit with musicians, helping them try out material on an audience and even create viral hits. Now, the site is becoming more useful to bands and singers with a new feature called music mode, the company announced in a blog post. 

The new mode appears in the three-dot menu under "audio quality," with a new selection called "music." Clubhouse didn't reveal any of the audio specs, but said it lets users broadcast with high quality in stereo. "You’ll also be able to use professional audio equipment for your performance, like external USB microphones or mixing boards," it wrote. Users will also be able to add the mode to pre-recorded Clips, "so any snippets you share from performers using music mode will also sound great," according to Clubhouse.

The new feature is the second boost to sound quality over the last couple of months. Late in August, Clubhouse added spatial audio to create more immersive audio chats, making speakers' voices come from different parts of the room.  

Along with the music mode, Clubhouse rolled out a couple of new tweaks, moving the search bar to the top of the feed and allowing users to wave at each other through the search bar, on iOS to start with. The new features will roll out to iOS first, "with Android as a fast follow," the company wrote. 

Roblox wants to make its avatars look less blocky and more realistic, and it has announced a couple of visual updates meant to achieve that goal during its annual developers conference. One of those changes is layered clothing, which it's been working on since at least 2020. It allows any type of character model to be outfitted with layered clothing items. TechCrunch explains that the feature ensures clothing items will fit avatars and will drape around them naturally, whether they're human- or dinosaur-shaped. At the moment, players can only access the feature in the beta version of Roblox Studio's avatar editor, and it's unclear when it'll be more widely available.

Roblox CEO David Baszucki said during the keynote:

"Self-identity is a crucial pillar of the metaverse, and the ability to precisely customize your clothing to your unique avatar is paramount in personal expression"

Roblox has also announced a feature called Dynamic Heads that can provide facial animations for avatars. The animations could link with facial tracking, so the character's mouth can move in time with its words. TechCrunch says the feature was made possible by the company's acquisition of digital avatar startup Loom.ai last year. 

It'll be a long time before facial animations become an official part of the game, though — Roblox has only given developers access to it right now, so they can play around with it and test it out. "These releases represent important stepping stones in a long line of innovations to improve the expressiveness and combinatorics in the metaverse," Daniel Sturman, Chief Technology Officer for Roblox, wrote in his recap for the event.

In addition to the experimental avatar features, Roblox has announced that it's giving creators a new way to earn money, as well. Creators will be able to put up items they designed for sale for a limited time, turning them into collectibles with higher value than the other goods they're selling in-game.