Following reports last week that GM might have to extend the shutdown of its Bolt EV production until at least mid-October, the company announced on Monday that it has "outlined a comprehensive action plan to ensure that customers can safely and confidently drive, charge, and park the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV," according to a GM press release. Both LG plants at Holland and Hazel Park, Michigan have resumed production and dealer deliveries are expected to begin by mid-October.
The battery fault that led to a model-wide recall of the electric vehicles beginning in August turned out to be a pair of issues. Manufacturing defects caused both for anodes to tear and cathode-anode separators to fold. Should both of these defects manifest within the same battery cell, it would have a higher chance of catching fire.
"LG has implemented new manufacturing processes and has worked with GM to review and enhance its quality assurance programs to provide confidence in its batteries moving forward," the GM statement read. "LG will institute these new processes in other facilities that will provide cells to GM in the future."
GM has established a notification process to inform impacted customers as to when their replacement battery modules will be available. The company has also developed a diagnostic software suite designed to "detect specific abnormalities that might indicate a damaged battery in Bolt EVs and EUVs by monitoring the battery performance," per the release. The software has to be installed at the dealership but will enable Bolt EV owners to exceed the current GM-enacted 90-percent charge limit should their batteries pass muster.
Late last year, Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei sold its budget mobile brand Honor to “ensure” it would survive the sanctions the US had issued against its own business. The move allowed the brand to work with firms like Qualcomm and Intel to source chips and other critical components for its phones, laptops and wearables. But now Honor could be in trouble as well.
According to The Washington Post, officials at four federal agencies voted last week whether to place the company on the Commerce Department’s entity list. Landing there would prevent Honor from working with US companies. The Post reports the vote went evenly down the middle. Officials from the Pentagon and Energy Department were reportedly in favor of putting the company on the list, while their counterparts at the Commerce Department and State Department were not.
With the deadlock, it’s now up to the political appointees at those agencies to decide what to do. If they can’t make a decision, the issue could eventually make its way to the desk of President Joe Biden.
The Commerce Department declined to comment on the vote when The Post reached out to the agency about it. Instead, it spoke to the subject of the entity list more broadly, noting it continually reviews the risk of a nominated company illegally sharing US technology. “We remain committed to using a full range of tools, including . . . export controls, to deter efforts by the [People’s Republic of China] and other countries … that seek to leverage technology in ways that risk harming US national security and foreign policy interests,” Brittany Caplin, a spokesperson the agency, told the outlet.
Ultimately, those making the case that Honor should land on the entity list may have difficulty convincing their counterparts that the company is a national security threat to the US. Unlike its one-time parent, Honor doesn’t sell telecommunications equipment to carriers. That means it’s not involved in the 5G network buildouts that were ostensibly at the center of the decision to place Huawei there. What’s more, its products aren’t even available in the US.
Amazon will host a hardware event on September 28th at 12PM ET, the company announced today. The retailer promised to share news about its latest “devices, features and services” in an invite it shared with Engadget. Beyond that, the company didn’t provide other details on what to expect from it next week. But if we had to take a guess, we should see many of the same types of products we saw last year.
In 2020, Amazon announced new Echo speakers, its Luna gaming service, WiFi 6-enabled Eero mesh routers and Fire TV devices. Oh, it also showed off an indoor security drone from Ring that we haven't seen since that event. Amazon won’t livestream the proceedings, but we’ll have you covered with articles on all of the company’s most notable announcements from that day.
Fortnite is taking a step closer to creating the broadest metaverse around with its latest crossover. Instead of a partnership with the likes of other games or Ariana Grande, Epic Games' freshest collab is with a high-fashion brand.
Balenciaga is now selling limited-edition Fortnite-themed clothes at typically high prices. A white Fortnite x Balenciaga hoodie costs $725 while a baseball cap will set you back $395. A t-shirt is $495 while a denim jacket will leave your wallet $1,290 lighter.
This crossover goes both ways. Four Balenciaga outfits (including a dog wearing the hoodie) are coming to the game. The Balenciaga Fit Set comprises the first high-fashion skins in Fortnite.
Starting at 8PM ET on Monday, you can unlock Balenciaga backpacks as your back bling, as well as a themed pickaxe shaped like a sneaker, a purse glider, wrap and emote. There are also a pair of free sprays to earn through quests that start on September 21st and run for a week. You can check out a Strange Times Featured Hub that includes a virtual Balenciaga store, as well as a themed photography campaign.
This could open the floodgates for all kinds of Fortnite fashion collaborations in the future. We might see Agent Jones wearing a pair of Air Jordan 1s or the Battle Bus decked out in Gucci logos. Meanwhile, Epic released a video showing how its team and Balenciaga used Unreal Engine to add the new looks.
Apple may have only announced its iPhone 13 lineup last week, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is already looking ahead to the company’s 2022 lineup. According to an investor note seen by MacRumors, Kuo claims Apple will release three new iPhones in the second half of the year. The two high-end models will reportedly feature punch-hole display cutouts and a 48-megapixel primary camera. In other words, the expectation is that Apple will start moving away from the notch design that has defined its phones since the release of the iPhone X in 2017.
Moving to a 48-megapixel camera would also represent a significant change for the company. Recent iPhones have exclusively shipped with 12-megapixel primary cameras. By moving to a denser sensor, the company could use pixel binning technology to allow people to take high-resolution shots during the day and less noisy ones when the sun starts to set.
Looking further ahead, Kuo said Apple plans to add an in-display fingerprint sensor to the iPhone in 2023. Previously, the analyst had predicted that would happen next year, but now notes a slower than expected development process has delayed Apple’s rollout of the feature. That’s a significant delay when you consider early reports on the iPhone 13 lineup had suggested those phones would include in-display fingerprint sensors. Similarly, he expects the company will release a foldable iPhone in 2024, where he had previously predicted we would see the device sometime in 2023. As always, take these reports with a grain of salt. Kuo has a decent but not flawless track record when predicting Apple releases.
Apple is now rolling out iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15 to iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV devices. You might not see the updates right away, but when they're available, you'll have access to a bunch more features.
Facetime and Messages have been upgraded on both iPhone and iPad. Facetime supports spatial audio and reduces background noise, while people can join Facetime calls through shareable links on the web and Android. It'll be easier to keep track of things your friends and family share with you in Messages thanks to dedicated tabs in the News, Music, TV and Podcasts apps.
Notifications have also been overhauled. You'll have more control over push alerts and you can let only notifications from select apps and people through when you activate one of the new Focus modes. There are profiles for activities including sleeping and working, and the OS can automatically rearrange your home screen apps to bring the ones you're most likely to use at a certain time to the forefront.
Screenshots of the iOS 15 beta
Also new in iOS 15 is the Live Text function, which works in a similar way to Google Lens. The feature can extract written text from photos, screenshots and the world around you. You can edit, translate and share the text. The feature can also identify things like art, landmarks, plants and pets.
Elsewhere, there are new features for the Maps, Photos and Weather apps on iOS. Spotlight searches will have richer results, including your own photos, with Apple using machine learning to figure out what's in each image.
On iPad, Quick Notes are now a system-wide feature — just swipe in from the lower right corner to jot down some thoughts using the keyboard or Apple Pencil. Expect some multitasking and Safari changes too.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
One thing that iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 don't have at launch is the SharePlay feature. It lets you enjoy movies, shows and music together with friends over Facetime, and you can share your screen with them. Apple will release the feature on those operating systems, tvOS 15 and macOS Monterey later. Apple also put the child safety features it planned to release as part of iOS 15 on the back burner while it makes improvements.
The watchOS 8 update perhaps isn't quite as extensive. There's a bigger focus on mindfulness and health, including some new workout categories. Apple Watch now has deeper integration with iPhone, with features including Focus mode support and a Contacts app. You can also expect portrait watch faces and multiple timers.
Apple TV now has spatial audio support, including for AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, following the tvOS 15 update. You can also connect multiple HomePod minis to an Apple TV 4K and use those as the default speakers.
If you have an iPhone 6s or later, iPhone SE (either generation) or seventh-gen iPod touch, you'll be able to install iOS 15. Those with Apple tablets can run iPadOS 15 on fifth-gen and later iPads, iPad mini 4 and later, iPad Air 2 and later and all iPad Pro devices. Meanwhile, watchOS 8 is supported by Apple Watch Series 3 and later devices.
As for macOS Monterey, Apple has yet to announce a firm release date for the next version of its Mac operating system. Monterey should be available sometime this fall.
Following OnePlus' integration into Oppo in June, co-founder Pete Lau — who has been appointed Chief Product Officer for both brands since May 2020 — is ready to share more on what to expect from his expanded team, aka "OnePlus 2.0."
We already knew about the upcoming unified OS, which will apparently bring the best of both worlds — the smoothness and lightness (no ads!) of OnePlus' OxygenOS, combined with the reliability and smartness of Oppo's ColorOS. In a recent group interview, Lau added that this yet-to-be-named system will be based on Google's upcoming Android 13, and it'll be featured on OnePlus' 2022 flagship device — likely dubbed "OnePlus 10" — due out first half of the year. Some existing devices will also receive this update, though no specific models were mentioned. (Lau said the Nord 2 already features an early version of the integrated codebase, so there's a good chance that it'll get the full upgrade.)
Given that the shared OS would reduce differentiation between Lau's two brands, one might wonder which would more likely produce the "perfect" flagship smartphone? Never one to give a direct answer, Lau implied that he doesn't believe such a device would ever exist. He referred to an internal demographic map featuring 20 user categories, each of which tied to a combination of different needs — down to the level of product size, specific photography features, charging modes, weight and more.
Lau's basic definition of OnePlus users is "tech enthusiasts," but he added that based on this mapping, it's still impossible to satisfy everyone's needs with a single device. As such, the exec thinks the market is big enough for his two brands to avoid friendly fire. For the same reason, OnePlus' Nord line will continue to co-exist with the Oppo Reno series (and Realme, for that matter), though the similarity of their designs is still questionable. (Lau insisted that each brand has a dedicated design team, even after the merger.)
OnePlus
Another area which OnePlus may benefit from the integration is photography. Lau pointed out that what used to be a camera team of around 100 people is now some 700, which may allow OnePlus to take better advantage of its relationship with Hasselblad, especially with their ongoing work on color science this year. The exec added that he can't say OnePlus currently has the best camera performance, but he's certain that it's "definitely" among the top in the industry.
Lau admitted that with his expanded role, even if he had 48-hour days, it'd still be impossible for him to personally pick on every single detail on every product like he did before (let's just say it'd be unlikely that he'd throw a fit over a minor design issue on a logic board, as he once famously did back in his Oppo Blu-ray player days). Instead, Lau had been spending a lot of time teaching his "never settle" philosophy to his new Oppo teammates over the past year or so, in the hopes of changing what used to be a leader-driven mission to true team work. It'll be a while before we get a real taste of this fruition, but Lau is "confident that this new unified OS won't disappoint."
Apple offered a brief glimpse of the Tom Hanks-led Finch at its recent iPhone 13 launch event, and now you can watch the first full trailer for the upcoming sci-fi film. The clip sets the stage for the story that follows. A solar flare knocked out most of the technology on Earth and left much of the US a desolate wasteland. Hanks’ character, the titular Finch, survives in an underground shelter with his only companion, a dog named Goodyear, until he builds a new Android companion. The three of them eventually leave their home when it becomes threatened by the sandstorms that dominate the world of the movie.
Like Greyhound, Apple acquired Finch for Apple TV+ when the film got lost in pandemic-related delays. It’s only one part of a strong fall lineup that is surprisingly heavy on sci-fi stories. Before Finch comes out on November 5th, genre fans can look forward to the company’s adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundationnovels on September 24th and then Invasion, which stars Jurassic Park’s Sam Neill, on October 22nd.
Google Meet will soon make it easier for you to see all of your co-workers or friends properly on video calls. The web version of the app can detect when someone is underexposed due to bad lighting. Meet will then increase the brightness so it's easier to see your cohorts and perhaps make your feed clearer if you have a terrible webcam.
The low-light mode hit the Google Meet iOS and Android mobile apps last year. It uses AI to examine light levels and tweak the brightness. There's no admin control for the feature, though users will be able to switch it off — Google says having it enabled might slow down your device.
The feature is coming to all Workspace and G Suite basic and business users. Google is rolling it out to Rapid Release domains starting today and Scheduled Release domains on October 4th. The rollout will take up to 15 days in both cases, so by mid-October, bad webcam feeds could be a thing of the past on Meet calls.
ZTE’s family of devices is a little confusing at the moment. The Axon 30 is a direct sequel to the Axon 20, which was the first phone to feature an in-screen camera. However, the company has subsequently released the Axon 30 Pro and Ultra in some territories. So, weirdly, the vanilla Axon 30 is the last of the Axon 30 family to appear.
At $500, it’s also the cheapest — another attempt by ZTE to slide underneath the priciest smartphones around and offer a mixture of compelling features, albeit tempered by some compromises. The Axon 30’s headline feature is a much-improved under-display camera (UDC), which is almost invisible. It’s also a ZTE smartphone that’s launching in the US, which doesn’t always happen.
But with increasingly strong midrange phone competition from the likes of Samsung, OnePlus and Google, does ZTE’s Axon 30 offer more than just a hidden selfie camera?
So what’s all the fuss about that camera anyway? Well, the under-screen 16-megapixel selfie shooter on the $500 Axon 30 puts the one on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 to shame. ZTE’s implementation is imperceptible unless you really, really look for it. No punch hole, no notch, no pop-up camera.
In comparison, the Fold 3’s selfie cam has a pixelated effect that signposts where the camera is and ruins the whole effect. (Yes, in Samsung’s defense, there’s another front-facing camera on the Fold 3 when it’s closed and you’re using the smaller screen.)
The difference seems to be pixel density, or according to ZTE, the composition of them, with a “special pixel matrix” that ensures the screen appears at 400 PPI — double that found on the Axon 20. If the light catches the unit just right, then yes, you can see it. You’ll probably never notice it again.
There’s also a dedicated UDC chip that apparently works to keep the camera area looking consistent with the rest of the screen. To get a closer look, I used Oppo’s Find X3 Pro, which has a microscope phone camera — perfect for visually explaining what could otherwise get very technical.
Engadget, Mat Smith
As you can see, some pixels seem slightly smaller, or dimmer, than those surrounding them. In this close up you can see the outline of the UDC area, but at this magnification, it’s impressive that it doesn’t look more out of place. I’ll touch on the camera’s performance later, but spoiler: While it might look the part, it’s not quite capable enough.
The hidden sensor also complements the expansive 6.92-inch AMOLED screen, uninterrupted by the presence of any camera notches or holes. With a 2,460 x 1,080 resolution panel and 120Hz refresh rate, the Axon 30 is offering a flagship screen for mid-range prices. You can switch between 120 and 60Hz modes, with an automatic option letting the Axon 30 decide when to increase the frequency. On more expensive phones, like the OnePlus 9 Pro and the recently-announced iPhone Pro 13, there are more refresh rate options that dip even lower, but at this price, this seems like a fair compromise.
Leaving it on auto is probably the best fit for most folks, but the manual options are nice — especially as there seems to be a tangible battery life benefit to the lower setting.
The phone itself is pretty big but feels solid despite its plastic back. ZTE added a translucent reflective effect across the rear of the Axon 30, which I like. I’m less enamored with the giant camera unit, however, which protrudes a few millimeters from the phone, and is likely to be more easily dinged and scratched. Sadly, this design is now everywhere.
The screen might be comparable to a high-end phone, but there are some features that didn’t make the cut at this price, like wireless charging and certified resistance against dust and water.
Performance and software
Engadget, Mat Smith
There are further compromises. The Axon 30 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 processor — which is a little underpowered compared to the Snapdragon 880 and 880 Plus we’re seeing in flagship Android smartphones now.
But at $500, phones like the Pixel 5a (and its Snapdragon 765G chip) are a better comparison to make. The Axon 30 has a more powerful chip than Google’s latest device, though it’s hard to notice a difference in performance between the two.
The Axon 30 handled everything I threw at it, whether that was video streaming, Stadia or playing games on the phone itself. (The Stadia app did flag that the phone wasn’t officially supported, although it worked fine for me.) There was some visible slowdown when recording video at full 4K resolution, and hopping into the gallery, but otherwise, I didn’t have many complaints.
I also have to mention that the Axon 30 isn’t exactly great for 5G support in the US. It only works on T-Mobile’s midband 5G. If you’re on Verizon or AT&T, you’ll be relegated to 4G.
ZTE does know what it’s doing with smartphone power, though. The phone has a 4,200mAh battery that, when I turned the 120Hz refresh rate off, lasted a good two days of typical use before I needed to recharge. And when I did need to, it took hardly any time.
The Axon 30 supports incredibly fast charging speeds of up to 65W with the appropriate charger, which (thankfully) the phone comes with. ZTE estimates it can charge the phone to 100 percent in under an hour, but getting to 50 percent takes proportionately less time — around 20 minutes.
Software is pretty innocuous, which is generally a good thing. ZTE keeps pretty close to the stock Google experience. Its new MyOS 11 skin, based on Android 11, is pretty close to what you’d find on a Pixel. There are a few gesture quirks (shake the Axon 30 for the flashlight!) and a floating shortcut widget that can be minimized to the edges of the screen. It’s similar to Samsung’s Edge panel on its bigger phones. ZTE’s version is called Z-Pop and you can tweak the four shortcuts for system commands and app switching. That said, it’s not something that makes you think “Mmm what a memorable experience this is.”
Cameras
Engadget, Mat Smith
While the front-facing 16-megapixel camera is technically impressive, it doesn’t take great selfies. Don’t get me wrong, it shoots far better pics than the UDC on both Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Axon 20. The work done to pixel-bin for low light performance, as well as algorithms to help the camera ‘see’ through the AMOLED panel make this the best UDC so far. But it still offers up middling to poor photos. It’s a bit of a time warp, to be honest, giving me the kind of pictures I used to get on smartphones years ago. Details are fuzzy, and any strong backlighting leads to lens flares and washout.
There’s also an AI assist mode that doesn’t seem to help much — if anything, modes like brightness seem to wash out skin tones even further, and they’re a little gray to begin with. Even if you turn this off, images seem pretty unnatural.
I couldn't mask how disappointed I was in these selfies.
Engadget, Mat Smith
It does still capture enough detail to offer face unlock functionality if you prefer that method to fingerprint unlock. And yes, there’s also a fingerprint reader built into the screen. Face unlock worked fine for me nine times out of ten, and was plenty fast enough, but I used a combination of the two. Fingerprint unlock seemed more reliable in darker environments.
But what about the rest of the cameras? On the back, the Axon 30 has a four-camera array, led by a 64-megapixel Sony sensor. While you’ll mostly be taking pictures that fuse a lot of these pixels together for less noise and better performance in low-light, ZTE has kept the ability to take full-resolution stills if you want to. There’s also an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 5-megapixel macro camera and finally, a 2-megapixel depth sensor to aid your bokeh photography efforts and help with focus. You get up to 2x optical zoom, which is what you’d generally expect at this price point.
While shooting pictures with the Axon 30 during a family event, images of friends and family seemed particularly good. There is a softness to some shots, likely due to the photos being shrunk down from the 64-megapixel original, but the phone was able to handle most things I threw at it.
There’s a night mode — of course — but the Axon 30 takes pretty functional shots in low light without having to resort to using it. It did help further reduce noise and improve detail a little, but I’d also advise testing shots with AI mode on and off, as sometimes I found it meddled a little too heavily, especially with people as subjects.
And the macro camera isn’t worth your time. I suggest using the primary camera with zoom for generally better results in most situations. The problem with the macro camera seems to be that the phone has to be so close to the subject that it blocks a lot of light. That’s not great for detail-oriented photography.
Video camera modes are generally the same across most mid-range phones in recent years, and the Axon 30 isn’t hugely different. It can handle up to 4K at 60fps and a multi-camera mode lets you record from both the wide-angle and the primary camera at the same time, which is a nice trick we’ve occasionally seen on flagship phones. Due to sluggish autofocus, however, the recording quality isn’t great. If you’ve got a stable subject and good light, videos will generally come out nicely. At other times, you’ll struggle to record anything functional. Just because a phone can record 4K, it doesn’t mean you should.
Summary
Engadget, Mat Smith
With the Axon 30, ZTE has proved it can successfully camouflage its under-display camera. But that doesn’t mean it’s up to the task. Image quality from the secretive selfie lens really isn’t good enough, even if the implementation is impressive. Aside from that, the Axon 30 has a gorgeous, fluid screen and a decent rear camera setup. The lack of wider 5G support in the US is frustrating in a 2021 phone, but there is still a lot here for $500. The bigger challenge is that competition is tough in the middleweight phone arena. Google’s latest Pixel, the 5a, rings in at $450, and offers better-performing cameras, front and back. If you’re struggling to pick between the two, the decision loosely boils down to a bigger screen or better selfies.
