On October 18th, Apple will hold its second event of the fall and likely last event of the year. The invite the company sent out this time doesn’t provide any hints on what announcements we should expect, but thanks to a variety of leaks and reports, we have some good ideas about what it will show off.

MacBook Pro

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

All signs point to new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models headlining the event. Apple will reportedly turn back the clock on its flagship laptop, undoing many of the design features that have defined the line since late 2016. MagSafe may be back on the table, as well as an HDMI port and SD card slot. Oh, and the Touch Bar will apparently get the axe, with a standard set of function keys set to replace the OLED strip.

Beyond those changes, the new MacBook Pro is expected to feature thinner bezels. According to display analyst Ross Young, it could even come with a mini-LED panel capable of refreshing its screen at 120Hz. Ross suggests that’s a feature both models could include, but knowing Apple, it may be something that’s only available on the top-tier 16-inch model or an add-on that costs extra. Additionally, there have been reports of the 14- and 16-inch models supporting maximum resolutions of 3,024 x 1,964 and 3,456 x 2,224, which would be a major upgrade over the current 13- and 16-inch MacBook Pros.

Internally, the MacBook Pro will reportedly include Apple’s latest system-on-a-chip, possibly called the M1X. According to a recent report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, there will be two variants of the M1X, with the main difference between the two coming down to the number of graphics cores they have at their disposal. In addition to delivering faster performance than the M1, the new chip could come with support for up to 32GB of RAM, making it a much better fit for work like coding and video editing.

Speaking of the M1X, it could tie into the other announcements Apple has planned for October 18th. In August, Gurman said Apple was working on a redesigned Mac mini that will include the new processor and add additional ports. At the time, he noted the desktop would launch sometime within the “next several months.” Recent reports suggest that a new Mac mini isn’t a guarantee for next week, but Apple could still surprise us. We know from Gurman and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that Apple is also working on a redesigned MacBook Air, but the company reportedly won’t announce that device until sometime next year.

macOS Monterey

Apple

Given the timing of the event and the likely focus on Mac hardware, Apple will almost certainly announce a release date for macOS Monterey. The company previewed the next version of its desktop operating system at WWDC 2021, showing how features like SharePlay and Universal Control will build on the enhancements it introduced with Big Sur in 2020. We got a chance to preview the update this past summer and found it was a mostly subtle upgrade to Apple’s desktop OS. Still, we wager Mac fans will be excited to find out when they can download the software.

Everything else

We could also see the company announce a new set of AirPods to replace the current second-generation model. Apple hasn’t updated its original wireless earbuds since 2019 when it released a minor update that added support for inductive charging. Taking a page from the AirPods Pro, the new model is expected to feature an updated design with shorter stems, but they won’t include more premium features like ANC. In the lead-up to next week’s event, we’ve seen leaked images of the third-generation AirPods with both silicone ear tips and without. So it’s not clear just how heavily Apple plans to lean into the AirPods Pro design.

We’ll note here AirPods haven’t been a frequent feature of Apple’s hardware events. Outside of when it unveiled the earbuds back in 2016, Apple has announced all subsequent models, including the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, through press releases. We can see the company doing the same here with the new “basic” model. One last thing the company could mention at the event is that Apple Music is coming to the PlayStation 4 and PS5. Given that you can already access Apple TV from Sony’s consoles, it’s not a jump for the streaming service to become available there as well.

So there you have it, that’s everything we see Apple potentially sharing on October 18th. As always, the company could surprise us, so you’ll want to visit Engadget on the day of the event. We’ll have comprehensive coverage of the company’s latest announcements.

Four years after Monument Valley 2 hit iOS and Android, Ustwo Games has added a new chapter. The developer released “The Lost Forest” as its contribution to Playing for the Planet’s Green Game Jam, which promotes tree conservation.

The chapter includes “four intimate scenes” and Ustwo hopes that by playing through them, people will be inspired to sign a Play4Forests petition to show their interest in protecting forests. Play4Forests is an initiative run by the United Nations’ climate and forest partnership and the Playing for the Planet Alliance. The goal is to work with major names in gaming to highlight the “importance of conserving and restoring forests.”

“Our forests, one of our best allies in fighting the climate emergency, are facing mounting threats,” the Play4Forests website reads. “Your voice can help secure a better future for forests and humans.”

It might initially seem unusual to bring extra content to a game like Monument Valley 2 four years later, but there’s an admirable reason in this particular case. Tiny Wings, a popular iOS title from a decade ago, was updated with more levels in 2016, so such a long gap between a mobile game’s release and more content isn’t exactly unheard of.

As for the future of the series, Ustwo announced in 2019 it was working on Monument Valley 3, but there's no word of a release date as yet.

Don't be surprised if your Twitter feed is cluttered with more advertising than usual. The Vergereports that Twitter is testing a format that displays ads in the replies to a given tweet. As Revenue Product Lead Bruce Falk explains, those involved in the test will see ads under the first, third or eighth reply to a tweet. The experiment is worldwide and applies to both Android and iOS users.

Falck said the ad format produces value and "aligns incentives for creators and advertisers." However, he also acknowledged that it wasn't a surefire concept. Twitter would spend the "coming months" testing the frequency, layouts and other aspects of the ads to see how well they perform and affect the community. This could be helpful for advertisers, of course, but it might also lead to more compensation for Twitter users.

This probably isn't the sort of Twitter test you'd want to see, but it's not surprising. Twitter has been eager to find new sources of revenue for both itself and its most prolific users, ranging from Blue subscriptions to Tip Jar donations. Ads in replies could not only improve Twitter's bottom line, but attract creators used to making money from sponsored Instagram and TikTok posts.

It's smart to try to get some of your holiday shopping done early this year and Amazon's making it a bit easier to do so for those looking for solid headphones and earbuds to gift. The online retailer has a big Bose sale going on right now that knocks up to 29 percent off a bunch of the company's audio devices. Key among them are the Bose QuietComfort earbuds, which are down to a record low of $199.

The QuietComfort earbuds give our favorite Sony pairs a run for their money, and we consider them to be the best option if you want to truly block out all surrounding noises. These buds shine in the ANC department with 11 levels of noise cancellation that you can choose from in its companion app, three of which you can assign to onboard controls for easy access. They block out the world better than all other true wireless earbuds we've tested — only Sony's WF-1000XM3 (and the newer XM4) even come close. Sound quality is also great and battery life is good at roughly seven hours. Our biggest complaints about the QuietComfort earbuds are that they are quite large (but not too heavy) and they have limited customizations and touch control options.

A couple of other Bose buds are on sale, too, including the Sport Open earbuds for $179. In many ways, these are the opposite of the QuietComfort earbuds. They have an open, over-ear design that's supposed to let in outside noise so you can be more aware of what's going on around you. They're also comfortable since they don't stick directly inside your ear canal. Since they're quite niche, you probably know already if you, or someone you love, is the type of person who would love these earbuds.

Unfortunately the new Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones are not included in this sale, but the QC 35 II and their gaming-headset equivalent are. The QC 35 II are down to $250, which isn't a record low but still a decent $50 discount. They're Bose's hallmark headphones for noise cancellation that came out in 2017 and they have excellent ANC and sound quality along with a comfortable design. Last year, the company turned the QC 35 II into a gaming headset by essentially giving you a detachable boom mic and PC controller to use with the cans. That one is down to a record low of $279 in this sale.

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

This post contains spoilers for season two, episode 10 of 'Star Trek: Lower Decks.'

Last week I posited that seasons one and two of Lower Decks together would make up one story arc of the show. Given this week’s finale, it looks like we’ll be dealing with the consequences of the Pakled threat for just a bit longer. But when an episode is this good, I’m perfectly fine with being wrong.

Especially when this installment just encompasses so many of my favorite things about Star Trek. It’s not just the delightful appearance by Captain Sonya Gomez — you might remember her as the ensign who spilled hot chocolate on Captain Picard way back in season two of The Next Generation. And it’s not because of the first on-screen appearance of cetacean ops, a concept hinted at in various blueprints but never actually mentioned with any real seriousness.

CBS

It’s the general plot of the episode, where the entire crew must work together to save the day. I’m a real sucker for teamwork scenes, like the final battle in The Undiscovered Country or, more recently, when the crew of the USS Discovery had to disguise themselves as their mirror universe counterpart. Star Trek has been described as “competence porn” by many online, in how it depicts people who are insanely good at their jobs and work together well.

The first two seasons haven’t always showcased the crew at their finest. We’ve seen Boimler and Mariner lose the Klingon diplomat they were supposed to be escorting, Freeman get into a pissing match with the captain of another Starfleet vessel, and the crew fail its (rigged) assessment test spectacularly. At times the show is very much like The Office, more interested in the personal lives and antics of its employees than the actual business at hand.

CBS

However, even The Office would occasionally remind you that the staff of Dunder Mifflin were good at their jobs, particularly Michael Scott. Michael was a terrible manager, but one hell of a salesman. And this episode of Lower Decks put the spotlight on Carol Freeman, whose fine work over the past two years is being rewarded with a promotion to a better ship. The USS Cerritos is a California-class ship, a real workhorse of a vessel that doesn’t get a lot of respect. That the Cerritos even became important at all is completely due to circumstance in encountering and surviving the newly empowered Pakleds. But it’s given Freeman a lot of time in the spotlight, with her tasked a few episodes ago with negotiating a cease-fire with the Pakled government. (It was a ruse, but that’s not her fault.)

Last week I thought this episode would wrap up that storyline, given that we now know the Pakleds were getting help from a Klingon captain, one who is no longer alive thanks to the actions of a lower-decker. Instead, this episode focuses on Freeman’s possible promotion, her senior staff’s reaction to it, and the futures of our lower decks ensigns.

CBS

This is all happening against the backdrop of a first contact mission. The USS Cerritos mostly specializes in second contact missions — we’re told this in the very first episode. That means they come in and handle all the annoying administrative stuff after flagships like the Enterprise come in and establish initial relations. Now, the Cerritos gets to take part in the more important first impression, but only as backup to the USS Archimedes.

Sitting on the bench ends up serving the Cerritos well when a solar flare plus an unstable planetoid ends up disabling the Archimedes and putting it on a crash course with the planet below. Freeman is ready to sacrifice herself in order to save the other ship, but Rutherford and company have a better plan, one that can prevent fatalities on both vessels. But they’ve only got 20 hours, so the whole crew has to chip in. That means Ransom piloting, Billups supervising the hull removal, and Tendi giving Mariner a much-needed pep talk. The latter might not be necessary to the functioning of the ship, but it is important to the show because it pushes the two women toward the emotional resolution they need.

CBS

We also get to meet the crew of cetacean ops, two beluga whale lieutenants named Kimolu and Matt. But it’s Boimler who has to save the day, because the clamp they need to release isn’t made to be turned by flippers. (I really appreciate the accessibility joke here, because Starfleet has often been cited over the decades as an OSHA nightmare.) Needless to say, the crew succeeds (this isn’t a movie, after all, so we’re not losing the ship). After the bravery shown by the entire crew of the Cerritos, particularly Boimler and Rutherford, it’s hard to imagine that season three won’t start off with a few promotions.

But first, there’s the matter of Freeman’s transfer, which she has decided to decline in favor of staying with a crew that has proven itself capable of being truly excellent. Unfortunately, that Pakled storyline comes to bite us all one more time, leading us into the show’s very first cliffhanger, and the very first season-ending cliffhanger in the new Kurtzman-era of Trek programs.

CBS

Star Trek: Lower Decks had a lot to prove when it debuted last year: It was the first animated show since the ‘70s, and the franchise’s first attempt at a primarily comedic series. It also had to overcome the initial impressions of it as being akin to Rick and Morty or Family Guy. The quality of the first season started a bit rough but improved as time went on, ending on the fantastic action-packed episode, “No Small Parts.” Season two’s “First First Contact” ups the game in several ways, not just in its element of danger but also in how the show is willing to use big storylines to push the characters forward as the seasons progress.

One of the obvious goals of almost every computer vision project is to enable a machine to see, and perceive, the world as a human does. Today, Facebook has started talkingabout Ego4D, its own effort in this space, for which it has created a vast new data set to train future models. In a statement, the company said that it had recruited 13 universities across nine countries, who had collected 2,200 hours of footage from 700 participants. This footage was taken from the perspective of the user, which can be used to train these future AI models. Kristen Grauman, Facebook’s lead research scientist, says that this is the largest collection of data explicitly created for this focus.

The footage was centered on a number of common experiences in human life, including social interaction, hand and object manipulation and predicting what’s going to happen. It’s, as far as the social network is concerned, a big step toward better computing experiences which, until now, have always focused on sourcing data from the bystander’s perspective. Facebook has said that the data sets will be released in November, “for researchers who sign Ego4D’s data use agreement.” And, next year, researchers from beyond this community will be challenged to better train machines to understand what exactly humans are doing in their lives.

Naturally, there is the angle that Facebook, which now has a camera glasses partnership with Ray Ban, is looking to improve its own capabilities in future. You probably already know about the perils of what this potential surveillance could entail, and why anyone might feel a little leery about the announcement.

If you missed the chance to grab the new Echo Show 8 during Amazon's Prime Day event in July, you may want to check the smart display's listing on Amazon. It's currently on sale for $100, $30 less than its original retail price of $130. That's only $5 more than what it was listed for during Prime Day, and it's certainly not a bad deal for a relatively new device that was only released in June. 

We gave the Echo Show 8 a score of 87 in our review. Between this device and its smaller 5-inch sibling, it received more upgrades from the previous generation, including a faster octa-core processor. It also has a 13-megapixel wide-angle camera that's a huge improvement over the previous version's one-megapixel sensor. The smart display uses digital panning and zooming to follow you around during calls, and it worked well enough when we tested it out. It even works with every video calling platform the device supports, including Skype and Zoom.

Aside from its faster processor and better camera, we praised the Echo Show 8 for its minimalist design and its 1,280 x 800-pixel resolution display. It lacks the 3.5 mm jack of its predecessor that will let you connect it to a speaker, but it already has a powerful bass and impressive volume. The device's overall sound quality is also better than its smaller sibling's, since it has two speakers instead of one. 

We found the Echo Show 8 a great digital photo frame that's capable of displaying current time and weather conditions during our tests. In addition, we found it helpful in the kitchen, thanks to its large library of recipes with step-by-step instructions from sources that include the Food Network and Allrecipes. And in case you want to use the smart display to watch videos, you can do so, as well, since it supports video streaming from Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hulu.

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Apple still dominates the world of wearables. Over the last year, research company Canalys noted that smartwatch sales have actually overtaken basic bands and now account for 62 percent of all wearable shipments. And Apple’s versions lays claim to just under a third of all smartwatches sold.

Engadget

That’s interesting because you need an iOS device to setup and use an Apple Watch, so the company has discounted all the Android phone users that might be interested in an Apple smartwatch. I’ve played with Fitbits, Samsung Galaxy Watches and the occasional Garmin, even, but nothing quite offers the capabilities and premium build-quality of an Apple Watch. (And this comes from someone who was averse to — and still bought — the first Apple smartwatch.)

So here we are for round 7. Apple’s Watch Series 7 goes on sale this Friday, and there seems to be a lot of interest in the bigger-screened watch, with pre-order screens soon showing early November delivery dates when Apple opened up orders. If you’ve already pre-ordered, well you probably don’t care about reviews! For the rest of us, Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low has put the wearable through its paces for the last week. We’ll take a closer look at her review below.

— Mat Smith

William Shatner becomes the oldest person to reach space

The Star Trek legend's Blue Origin flight went smoothly.

William Shatner has become the oldest person to fly to space. The 90-year-old Star Trek icon was one of four crew members aboard Blue Origin's NS-18 mission as it flew to an altitude of 66 miles. The sci-fi actor and random Engadget nemesis (there was a whole Twitter beef) edged out 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk, who set the previous age record just a few months ago.

It's also some good publicity for Blue Origin. Jeff Bezos' private spaceflight outfit is currently grappling with accusations of a toxic work environment, not to mention the fallout of its legal tussle with SpaceX over NASA's Moon mission contract.

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2021 Security Outcomes Study for Small Businesses

Apple Watch Series 7 review

It’s all about the screen

According to Cherlynn Low, just a little bit more screen makes a huge difference on a device this small. Though it’s otherwise not a huge upgrade over its predecessor, the Apple Watch Series 7’s bigger screen makes it more user-friendly than ever. It’s a solid choice for anyone new to smartwatches or who's upgrading from a much older device. If you’re a Series 6 owner, however, you could probably wait until the next update. And if you’re looking for substantial sleep tracking, the Apple Watch still won’t be the right wearable for you.

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Apple may be exploring ways to use AirPods as health devices

They could potentially take your temperature and even check your posture.

Oh, the other wearable. Wall Street Journal sources claim Apple is exploring multiple ways it can use AirPods as health devices. It might use the buds as hearing aids, but it could also use the motion sensors to correct your posture. A prototype would even include a thermometer to check your core body temperature.

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HTC Vive Flow headset images leak days before reported launch

The device will set you back $499, according to the leaked images.

Evleaks

HTC is expected to launch a new VR headset within the week, but some leaked images have spoiled the party. A collection of Vive Flow images made its way online, courtesy of Evleaks over on Twitter, before the launch event. Looking like a lightweight steampunk VR fantasy, the goggles appear to be more for media viewing and light gaming than more substantial (or business-centric) capabilities. The images suggest the Vive Flow will be available for pre-order starting on October 15th, with shipments going out in early November.

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Facebook’s latest effort to curtail leaks immediately leaked

The social network is trying to lock down access to sensitive info.

Facebook is ramping up its fight against leakers following the disclosures of whistleblower Frances Haugen. According to a report from The New York Times, Facebook is limiting access to some internal groups that deal with “sensitive” issues like safety and elections. The change, which was made to prevent further leaks, immediately leaked. Which is hilarious.

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Bowers & Wilkins' new Zeppelin speaker was built for streaming

It'll come with built-in Alexa and cost $799.

Bowers & Wilkins has launched a new version of its iconic Zeppelin speaker, and the company says it was reimagined for the streaming age. It describes the new Zeppelin as "smarter and more flexible" than its predecessors, with built-in support for Amazon's Alexa.

B&W plans to give it multi-room capability in early 2022 through a software update. Once that arrives, users will be able to link several Zeppelins together or link a Zeppelin with other B&W speakers in a multi-room environment. A chain of Zeppelin speakers isn’t a cheap endeavor, however. Each new speaker will cost $799.

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Fujifilm launches its first wide-format Instax Link smartphone printer

Print Polaroid-like snapshots from your smartphone.

Fujifilm

Fujifilm has revealed a new Instax printer that supports its wider, more Polaroid-like film. The Instax Link Wide Smartphone printer connects to your smartphone and prints out camera roll photos twice as wide as the credit-card-sized images from the original Instax mini Link printer. You can also directly transfer and print images from Fujifilm's X-S10 mirrorless camera.

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The biggest news stories you might have missed

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'Call of Duty: Warzone' and 'Vanguard' anti-cheat updates include a kernel-level driver

Roland SP-404MKII sampler hands-on: Dragging an iconic sampler into the modern age

AMD's Radeon RX 6600 is a $329 GPU for 1080p gaming

Google's Pocket Gallery came along in 2018, allowing users with AR-enabled smartphones to see artworks by the likes of Vermeer and Klimt, even pieces normally not accessible to the public. Now, Google is opening up the exhibitions to everyone on the web, letting you explore them on desktop or mobile devices with or without AR capabilities, it announced in a Keyword post. 

Up until today, Pocket Gallery was essentially an (overly complicated) AR experience inside Google's Arts & Culture app, placing an art gallery on your desktop or another flat surface and allowing you to explore different art pieces. Now, you just need to load up the Arts & Culture website, find the Pocket Gallery section, choose a relevant exhibition in your browser and use your mouse or finger to scroll around, zoom in, etc. 

Otherwise, it works much the same, allowing you to view, pan and zoom right in, down to brushstrokes and flecks of paint on certain pieces. It also provides a written description along with audio narratives for key pieces (complete with a museum-like echo), describing an artwork's history, meaning and more. It's a welcome and much overdue change, opening up the educational possibilities of Pocket Gallery to far more people.

Google Arts & Culture has other virtual experiences, including 360-degree videos and more. Along with the update, Google also unveiled a new exhibition in the collection done in collaboration with Réunion des musées nationaux - Grand Palais in France. It features 40 marine masterpieces from the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre and elsewhere. 

Scientists have spotted a Jupiter-like exoplanet orbiting a dead star that was once like our Sun, The New York Times has reported. 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 5 billion years. 

When a yellow dwarf star like our sun exhausts its helium supply, it expands into a red giant and incinerates its inner planets (bye-bye, Earth, Mars, Venus and Mercury). It then contracts from its own gravity into a white dwarf, a dim Earth-sized star with about half its original mass. Though the fate of inner planets is sealed, scientists aren't exactly sure what happens to planets farther away, like Jupiter and Uranus.

Using the Keck II telescope at the W. M. Keck observatory in Hawai'i, a team of researchers spotted a planet around 1.4 times the size of Jupiter orbiting a dim white dwarf star (about 60 percent the size of the Sun) in a Jupiter-like orbit. They discovered it using a technique called gravitational microlensing (thanks, Einstein), possible when a target and a nearer star align with Earth. The nearer star bends the light from the subject, allowing scientists to observe it with a telescope.

The team tried to find the planet's associated star, but eventually concluded that it must be a white dwarf too faint to directly observe. Scientists previously discovered a different Jupiter-like planet around a white dwarf, but its orbit was much closer — so it wasn't a great analog to our own solar system. 

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. "Earth’s future may not be so rosy because it is much closer to the Sun,” co-author David Bennett said in a statement. "If humankind wanted to move to a moon of Jupiter or Saturn before the Sun fried the Earth during its red supergiant phase, we’d still remain in orbit around the Sun, although we would not be able to rely on heat from the Sun as a white dwarf for very long."