Boss is certainly no stranger to the world of guitar synths. In fact, Roland and Boss have been at the forefront of guitar synths and MIDI controllers since the '70s. After launching the absolutely epic SY-1000 in 2019, then cramming a bunch of synth sounds into an actual guitar Eurus earlier this year, Boss is going a little more traditional with the SY-200. 

The SY-200 isn't quite as big as the 1000, which is basically a pedalboard in and of itself. But it's definitely larger and more comprehensive than the compact Boss pedals you're probably familiar with, like the SY-1 synth. The 200 has 171 different sounds spread across 12 different categories and can be played without the need for a special pickup. 

Each voice has three parameters that you can customize, which pales in comparison to the full on programable synth inside the SY-1000, but it's definitely a lot more approachable and pedalboard-friendly. You've everything from ripping leads, to warm pads, to delicate bell tones at your disposal. (Though, the Boss demo video above is real heavy on traditional guitar shredding.) Oh, and it's fully polyphonic, which we've come to expect from Boss synth pedals, but it's still worth calling out.

There's two foot switches for giving you some control over live variation while playing, but you can also connect an expression pedal, or control parameters and program changes via MIDI. You've got 128 preset slots for saving and recalling your favorite sounds. And last, but definitely not least, there are send and return jacks for blending in other effects in parallel with your synth sounds. 

The Boss SY-200 will be available for $300 in January alongside Boss' new IR-based amp and cab simulator, the IR-200, which will retail for $400. 

Cadillac is preparing to leap into the electric vehicle market with the Lyriq, and now the automaker has revealed when you'll be able to lock in your reservation. You'll get your first chance to lay claim to a 2023 Lyriq this Saturday (September 18th) at 4PM ET. Cadillac will host a two-hour livestream on the YouTube masthead in the lead-up to reservations opening.

The Lyriq starts at $58,795 and has a range of over 300 miles. It has a giant, 33-inch wraparound display and it's built on parent company GM's Ultium battery platform. Cadillac plans to release its first EV in the first half of 2022.

WhatsApp already allows you to chat with businesses, but you may soon also have the ability to find them through the app as well. This week, the company started testing a directory feature that allows users to scan through local shops and services that have a presence on WhatsApp and contact them. The tool is currently only available in São Paulo, Brazil, but a screenshot shared by Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, shows that you can use the feature to sort businesses by category and how close they are to you.

Matt Idema, vice president of business messaging at Facebook, told Reuters the test involves “thousands” of shops and services. He added the company is likely to make the feature available in India and Indonesia next. “Based on feedback from the people who try it over the next few months, we’ll look at expanding this service to other cities and other types of businesses available on WhatsApp,” Cathcart said separately on Twitter.

While it’s best known as an app you use to chat with your friends and family, WhatsApp has increasingly pushed into the e-commerce space. Since 2018, it has offered a separate app for businesses to use to communicate with their customers. More recently, it’s gone out of its way to make it easier for people to shop directly from WhatsApp. At times, that hasn’t always worked out for the company, as was the case when it changed its privacy policy earlier in the year. On that note, Cathcart said WhatsApp won’t log the location of a user or the businesses they browse when using the directory feature.

In-store repairs are becoming increasingly commonplace, and T-Mobile is finally ready to catch up on that trend. The carrier now plans to offer in-store repairs to Protection subscribers in 500 stores starting November 1st. Pay $7 or more per month and you can get your device fixed the same day thanks to "highly-credentialed" Assurant technicians using approved parts. More stores will provide the option in the future, T-Mobile said.

The provider is also expanding Protection to handle five claims per year instead of the more conventional three. The service already covers accidental damage and theft, Jump upgrades and AppleCare.

This isn't a novel concept for carriers. However, it makes sure T-Mobile is at least competitive with heavyweight networks that already offer some in-shop repairs. And unless right-to-repair measures become commonplace, you'll likely be reliant on outside repair facilities for a while to come — in that light, more choices can't hurt.

It's been a few years since the last Wipeout game, so fans may be pleased to hear there's a new title on the way. However, Wipeout Rush is quite different from what long-term fans might expect. It's a card-based mobile game in which you'll manage a team of competitors instead of controlling any anti-gravity ships directly.

“If I want that visceral, immersive, intense racing experience, I’ll find it waiting on PlayStation," Matt Casamassina, CEO of developer Rogue Games told IGN. "But at the same time, we’re delighted that we could rethink Wipeout for mobile with some fun new play mechanics and gorgeous visuals."

Wipeout Rush features more than 60 ships from across the Wipeout series. The single-player campaign contains 12 championship cups that take place across five environments with unique tracks, as well as a story told through comic book-style visuals. There's also an electronica soundtrack from long-standing Sony composer Alastair Lyndsay, while Rogue says you'll be able to play at up to 60 frames per second.

It might not be the full-on Wipeout experience that veteran players might have been hoping for on, say, PS5, but it could kickstart the revival of a series that's been part of PlayStation's DNA for over a quarter of a century. Wipeout Rush will hit iOS and Android in early 2022.

Well, well, well. We meet again, Razer Huntsman. The company's first opto-mechanical keyboard was an interesting experiment, one I wasn’t too fond of thanks to its unpleasant key feel and noise. After three years (and a mini edition) later Razer is back with a new $190 version, and it does seem the designers finally nailed it.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

First, a refresher: opto-mechanical keys have a small laser beam under each switch. When you press a key, it blocks the light path, sending a signal to the computer of what you just pressed. Because it doesn’t need to fully actuate (go up and down) on a physical level, it’s supposedly faster than traditional mechanical keyboards. In practice I didn’t really notice the difference and even now I can’t really distinguish the nanoseconds shaved off with each key press on the Huntsman V2. 

Razer

However, what I can feel and hear is the layer of foam padding under the keys that mutes each stroke, which makes it a much more agreeable auditory experience — the first version had this annoying metallic echo that I could pick up even with my admittedly poor hearing. Granted, if you’re wearing a headset and listening to gunshots or music you probably won’t notice, but if you work in an office as I do, or share a small space with others, the comfort of those around you matters.

Razer

Now the keystrokes are still crisp but instead of hearing a metallic scratching sound it’s more a muffled thud. (You can choose clickier keys at checkout.) And the switches aren’t the only improvement Razer made toward comfort. There’s a larger, squishier wrist rest available at extra cost for those who like having one, which connects to the Huntsman v2 magnetically so you can easily pull it off when it gets in the way — the spacious rest adds another four inches to the 5.5-inch keyboard’s depth.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

However, if you find yourself really crunched for space, Razer is also releasing a $130 tenkeyless version of the Huntsman V2. Same opto-mechanical switches, but no number pad or media buttons on the right side. It’s similar in feel to the 60-percent Huntsman Mini I used earlier this year, but the keys on the V2 feel slightly looser and require just a bit less effort to press. For most use cases the difference is negligible, but for people who take their gaming seriously, the effort you save — and the nanoseconds you shave off — matter.

You'll now have a better choice of microphones if you're eager to start livestreaming or record your first podcast. AKG has quietly released the Ara, a $99 USB condenser mic clearly aimed at streamers and others just upgrading from their earbuds and headsets. You only have two capture patterns (front-only and omnidirectional) versus the $155 Lyra's four, and you're limited to a 96kHz sample rate instead of the pricier model's 192kHz. However, those might not be major issues if you're compressing audio for streams and downloads.

You'll still get some common perks like mounting options and a headphone output for monitoring. The mic works with any computer or mobile device that supports USB audio.

The Ara is available now. Whether or not it's a better buy over its most obvious rival, Blue's Yeti Nano, is a tougher call. You won't have the Yeti Nano's software effects or flashier design (an important consideration as a streamer), but you'll also get a higher sampling rate than Blue's 48kHz offering. It may just be a matter of priorities.

You won't have to stick to Bitcoin if you're determined to pay for your movie ticket with cryptocurrency. AMC chief Adam Aron has revealed his theater chain will also accept Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash when crypto payments are available. He didn't have a narrower timeframe for digital currency payments beyond "year-end 2021."

Aron made the decision to accept cryptocurrency after the combination of the meme stock frenzy from earlier in 2021 as well as a turn on the board of a blockchain contractor. As you might guess, the CEO is betting tech fans will translate their enthusiasm for AMC stock to business at theaters.

The prospect of using cryptocurrency is improving when companies like PayPal make it relatively easy to hold and use virtual money. The expanded options won't change some of the practical challenges, however. Transaction fees can still be high, and numerous crypto formats tend to be volatile. The issue isn't so much the risk to AMC as the potentially low demand — even committed crypto fans might find it too expensive.

Almost exactly 10 years go, we reviewed the GoPro HD Hero 2. It wasn’t the first flagship camera from the company, but I’d argue it was instrumental in bringing the GoPro to the attention of the general public. Back then, the maximum resolution was 1080p, photos topped out at 5-megapixel and it came shrouded in that iconic waterproof housing.

A decade later, the Hero 10 Black (revealed today) offers a whopping 5.3K max video resolution, 23-megapixel photos, no longer needs a waterproof housing (for most uses) and has a slew of fancy shooting modes that we couldn’t even have imagined three presidents ago.

Before we get to the review part, though, you likely want to know what else has changed. The headline feature is clearly the new GP2 processor. GoPro started using its homegrown chip, the GP1, a few years ago. Now, the second iteration is here and brings with it a boost in frame-rates across the board (5.3K at 60; 4K at 120 and 2.7K at 240 to name a few).

Even the front-facing display benefits from an increased frame rate, which should make your previews smoother. GoPro also states that the GP2 brings with it an image processor (ISP) that promises improved quality photos and videos. We’ll be the judge of that, of course.

James Trew / Engadget

You may have noticed that the max resolution for video is now a shade higher than last year at 5.3K (up from 5). We’re told the sensor is actually the same as before, but that the new chip running the show can eke out more use of it.

The camera itself is, thankfully, the same dimensions as the Hero 9 which means if you have a media mod or Hero 9-specific accessory it’ll likely work with the new model just fine. In fact, the only visible differences between last year’s model and the Hero 10 is… the number 10 and the color of the text branding — it’s now GoPro blue rather than gray.

GP2 times the power

The GP1, GoPro’s first custom processor, made its debut with the Hero 6 Black. It allowed the company to tightly integrate the brains of the camera with the rest of the hardware and yield more control over key features. With the GP2, the promise is “twice the performance.” The company hasn’t shared specifics about the chip itself, but the rewards are evidenced in the increased frame rates across the board. I already mentioned that the upper-most resolution is now .3 megapixels higher than last time and available at 60fps. Twice the frames of the equivalent on the Hero 9 Black.

There are other benefits to the new chip beyond FPS, though. Not least, it’s paired with that ISP which we’ll go into in more detail next. The GP2 also powers the updated HyperSmooth 4.0, and promises a slicker user interface and faster offloading of media (again, each of these will get its own section).

Image quality

While GoPro is touting the new framerate modes as one of the key upgrades this time around, I feel the image quality is worth tackling first — this is a camera after all. The good news is that it’s markedly better than the Hero 9. It’s tempting to assume that the higher resolution for both video and photos is to thank here, but there’s some other processing grunt going on in the background.

James Trew / Engadget

According to GoPro, new algorithms for tone mapping and noise reduction are also responsible for the bump in quality. All I know is that both videos and photos look better, and in a meaningful way. When I was reviewing my comparison footage, color reproduction was a lot more faithful without looking flat. Somehow natural and inorganic tones (say, buildings and trees) look deeper. On top of that is the fidelity. When I viewed images at 100-percent crop, the difference in detail was instantly obvious. Where some textures, like road surface or leaves, on the Hero 9 can smooth out when they’re not the primary subject of the video, on the Hero 10 you can spot features that aren’t present in last year’s camera.

Higher resolutions

On top of the general improvement in image quality is the added flexibility that comes with the new resolution and framerate combinations. The Hero 9 topped out at either 5K/30fps in 16:9 or 4K/30 at 4:3. Not bad. But the Hero 10 offers a pretty substantial increase with 5.3K/30fps or 4K/60 at 4:3 and 5.3K/60 when shooting in 16:9. That’s a lot of jargon, but essentially it means you have a lot more headroom for both 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios. And given that 4:3 is great for POV shots, a staple of the action world, that’s good news for your videos.

It’s easy to wonder why you might even want 5.3K video, given there’s not a lot you can natively play it back on. But more pixels is never a bad thing and you can scale something down to a more “conventional” resolution later or crop to 4K without losing quality. You now even have something close to slow-mo at 4K (60fps) in the 4:3 aspect ratio which is a first for a GoPro.

James Trew / Engadget

Then, of course, there’s that increase in photo resolution that we already mentioned. Three whole megapixels is a decent improvement from last time around and if you pull stills from video on the regular you’ll enjoy higher resolution there, too (the change varies depending on your video settings, but it’s an increase across the board).

More frames

Finally we can get to one of the marquee upgrades: Frame rates. With GP2 onboard, 4K video is now available at 120fps, giving the Hero 10 a respectable slow-mo mode for the first time at UHD. Last year’s camera could eke out 60fps at 4K, but 2X isn’t really enough to show off your laser flips in all their mind-boggling glory. The new 4X slow-mo at this high resolution is going to really show off your best moves. The new 120fps mode is available with almost all the field-of-view options, which GoPro calls “lenses,” bar SuperView which tops out at 60fps. 2.7K also gets a boost from 120fps to 240 — the max the camera can do, making this a great balance of resolution and framerate for action.

Of course, a high frame rate isn’t only about slow-mo, that’s just a common application for it on an action camera. A higher FPS also helps keep your videos looking smooth at normal speed, especially if there’s a lot of activity going on — which, again, seems quite likely with a GoPro. For example, I shot some videos on a bike ride at 4K/30fps and then some more later at 60fps and the sense of motion at the higher frame rate is noticeably much smoother even when played back at normal speed.

In short, frame rate is another tool in the box when it comes to lining up your shot so it’s great to see far more options here. It also means you don’t have to make a choice between FPS or high resolution nearly as much as you did in the past.

HyperSmooth 4.0

In a darker age, GoPros had no onboard stabilization. It meant handheld footage had to be shot with extreme care, and every twitch, pothole or wobble was recorded in great clarity. That was fine for some activities, but often it just meant you ended up with unusable footage or a spell in post to try and salvage things.

Since the Hero 7, we’ve lived in a lighter, brighter world where HyperSmooth would work its magic and make even the most jarring pursuit look slick and smooth on video without having to use a pricey, fragile gimbal. With the Hero 10 we’re now on the fourth revision of GoPro’s onboard stabilizing and it continues to work wonders.

James Trew / Engadget

Perhaps the most notable change here is the increased power of horizon levelling. Before, it would keep videos “flat” to the skyline up to about 27 degrees. After that, it’d gently tilt your video to match the angle of the camera. Now, you can hit a curve or ride a corner at 45-degrees and your video will steadfastly lock to the horizon.

As with all things, just because you can, doesn’t mean you (always) should. I like using horizon levelling with mounts, selfie sticks or anything that can easily go off-level while holding. In contrast, you could use it while mounted to handlebars, for example, but any tight turns or dramatic leans will get neatly ironed out. You’ll have a smooth video for sure, but it loses a little of the action dynamic. Fortunately, you can decouple horizon levelling from HyperSmooth right on the home screen of the camera so it’s right there when you need it (or don’t).

Front screen

All new on the Hero 9 was the addition of a front screen for framing yourself when looking at the camera. DJI came out of the gate with one on its Osmo Action, beating GoPro to market by weeks. Nonetheless, it’s now a mainstay feature and thus, subject to upgrades, too.

The one on the Hero 10 is the same size as last year, but with a small increase in frame rate — from 20fps to 30. It’s nice to see the company updating all aspects of the camera, but I personally don’t notice much difference, certainly not at arm's length, which is most of the time I find myself needing that second display. Either way, if you found the screen a little lacking in this regard, just know that there’s likely a better experience for you this time around.

James Trew / Engadget

Not so much a feature of the front screen, but it relates to the front, so here is the time to mention it: The Hero 10 now has an “hydrophobic” coating on the lens. If you’ve ever taken a GoPro into the water, you’ll know that drops on the lens are the fastest way to ruin your footage. They normally sit just where the action is taking place, too.

I haven’t been able to give this camera the full water test yet, but simply getting it wet, you can tell that water doesn’t gather in the large, subject-blurring drips as it did before. It’s not entirely water repellant, but big drops are a thing of the past, instead the worst you get is a collection of smaller droplets. These are still undesirable, but they seem to have less impact on what you’re shooting, so I’ll take it.

Faster navigation

Another light improvement is in the user interface and menu navigation. GoPro claims the touch screen is now more responsive and most tasks should be quicker. This definitely does appear to be the case. Older cameras sometimes need two (or even three) attempts for a press to be registered, but with the Hero 10 there were far fewer occasions where I found myself needing to tap more than once.

An even clearer example of the software side of things being more rapid is the amount of time it takes to process an HDR photo. While the exposure is instant, GoPro owners will be familiar with the swirling circles after an image is taken while the camera develops the photo. It’s not long, usually a couple of seconds, but with the Hero 10 that time is about cut in half. Between that and the general nippiness of the menus, the latest flagship definitely feels a little breezier to use.

One other small usability change that doesn’t technically fit here, but adds to the user experience is that the Hero 10 now allows for good old fashioned wired transfer. That is, simply connect the camera to your computer and it’ll show up as removable storage with direct access to your media. It’s kinda hard to believe that this wasn’t a thing before, but I double checked with my Hero 9 and, nope, nothing — you have to get handsy with the memory card and an adapter. Small graces, but we love to see it.

Battery life

Everything has been quite positive so far, so it’s time for a small spanner in the works. Battery life has never really been GoPro's strong suit, although it has generally improved over time. Alas, the Hero 10 feels like a small step backward. It’s not deal-breaking levels, but on a straight “click record and leave the camera” shoot out, the Hero 9 outlasted the Hero 10 by almost half an hour — clocking in at 1hr40 at 4K/30fps. When I did the same test (with the same actual battery) on the new camera, it only managed 1hr15.

James Trew / Engadget

GoPro, for its part, claims that most users are only shooting short videos and it’s optimized the camera (and its battery usage) for that scenario. That might be true, but one must presume that that hasn’t changed since the last camera. And regardless of your shooting habits, the physics of higher processing will always diminish your overall shooting time.

Things get even worse once you start flirting with those new higher frame rates. On my first day out testing I thought I might have a duff cell as it sunk to about 50-percent battery unusually quickly. It was only later that I confirmed that this is just the price to pay for smoother videos.

There’s not a lot more to add here, as this is somewhat to be expected: You’re asking a battery of the same capacity to do a lot more work. Let’s hope that future revisions and maybe even some software updates can claim back some of those precious lost minutes.

Price

Last year, GoPro tried something… different, when it came to pricing. If you bought the camera on its own, it cost $450. That was a little higher than the flagship it replaced (the Hero 8 sold for $399 at launch). BUT, and it was a big but, if you were willing to sign up for a GoPro subscription at the same time, the total price you paid was $350 — which suddenly felt like a solid deal.

The same deal is in place this time around, just it’s $50 more expensive. The camera and subscription bundle now costs $399 and the camera on its own is $499. Given how easy the company is making it for you to get that subscription though — if you have an active subscription already, you’ll get the subscription price — it’s fairly easy to get the lower price. In short, make sure you snag a subscription or already have one when you order.

Ultimately, the Hero 10 isn’t the cheapest flagship at launch, but neither is it the most expensive — that honor goes to the Hero 6 which cost $499 with no route to pay less. GoPro reduced that price to $400 though soon after launch. It might sting a little that it’s more cost than last year’s, especially if you’d been hoping to get the latest and greatest for the same price, but with general improvements the whole way round it’s likely not something you will dwell on for long — especially as the Hero 9 will retain that $350 price tag along side the Hero 10 as the now “mid-tier” option.

Wrap up

James Trew / Engadget

For a spell, it looked like DJI was going to maintain the pressure on GoPro with its Osmo Action line. But so far it seems like it’s taking its time when it comes to new models — although you can pick up the original for $200 now, which makes it attractive if price is your main concern. Likewise, Sony seems to have taken its foot off the gas when it comes to refreshing its own, quite popular, line of action cameras. There is, of course, also Insta360, which has gained a solid fan base thanks to its unique form-factors and modular model.

It’s a familiar ending here, then. The new camera takes everything that’s working and builds on it. Especially in the areas that matter: Image quality and shooting modes. That’s all we can really ask for. The fact that there are many other usability tweaks is just an added bonus. The apparent dip in battery life, while not ideal, will only really be an issue if you use those new frame rates as standard. As for the price, we’d love for it to have stayed the same as last year’s launch, but the increase isn’t into unrealistic territory.

This post contains light spoilers for season two, episode six of ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks.’

In last week’s episode, Lower Decks wrapped up the first half of its second season by addressing some leftover plot threads from season one, namely Rutherford’s memory loss and the fallout between Mariner and Boimler. With those issues out of the way the series is free to move forward. But first, this week’s “The Spy Humongous” takes some time to look at an average day onboard the USS Cerritos. It’s not quite the TNG classic “Data's Day,” but it’s close enough for fans of smaller, more intimate Trek stories.

There’s no strict division between A-plot and B-plot this time, with both upper and lower decks crew starring in four loosely connected stories. The bridge crew is attempting to negotiate a ceasefire with the Pakleds, while the ensigns have been assigned to “artifact reclamation duty,” which is a fancy way of saying “clearing out weird space junk.” Boimler is thrilled, but he gets pulled away by a group of career-driven “redshirts” who think his time on the USS Titan makes him prime command material. And Ransom ends up babysitting a Pakled defector/tourist/spy. It’s a grab bag of jokes and Star Trek lore, sure to please any long-time Trekkie.

CBS

However, it’s still remarkably newcomer friendly, in that it doesn’t require too much background to understand the basic plot, while also illustrating the show’s core concept as a show about the nuts and bolts of Starfleet. If this were a live-action show it would be what’s called a “bottle episode,” one shot on a limited budget using pre-built sets and the regular cast. Even on the one exotic locale we’re shown — Pakled Planet — we never actually go inside any buildings. It’s an interesting contrast to last week’s expansive tour of Starbase 25.

In live action programming, bottle episodes exist because a show blew through its guest star or special effects budget on a big important story, and “An Embarrassment of Dooplers” would fit that bill. But as I pointed out last week, Lower Decks is not limited by what a set designer can build or how much makeup an actor will wear or how long would it take to render a sentient gaseous anomaly on a green screen. The animators can draw whatever needs to be drawn. So there’s no reason to follow the trope of a bottle episode except that… they want to.

CBS

Lower Decks has made no secret that it’s essentially a giant love letter to Star Trek. What was initially predicted to be “Family Guy in space,” ended up treating the franchise with a lot of respect, and was packed full of jokes for the fandom to discuss and catalog in places like Reddit and Trek wiki Memory Alpha. But this week’s adventure illustrates that attention to Star Trek tropes and backstory can go beyond showcasing little-seen alien species or getting justice for murdered characters.

It’s also about the love of how Star Trek tells its stories, with a strong emphasis on the personal aspect. Here we get to see Freeman, Mariner and the others simply do their jobs. We know they’re not going to die, especially not mid-season, so it’s really about seeing how they handle adversity and ultimately, what made them Starfleet material in the first place.