Virgin Orbit has announced plans to go public on the Nasdaq stock exchange through a special purpose acquisitions company (SPAC) merger. The deal with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II values Virgin Orbit at $3.2 billion.

The combined company is expected to pull in up to $483 million in cash when the deal closes, which Virgin Orbit believes will happen by the end of this year. Around $383 million of that is expected to come from funds NextGen holds in trust, and the other $100 million from a common stock PIPE (private investment in public equity) offering at $10 per share. Virgin Orbit's existing stakeholders will own around 85 percent of the combined company, with NextGen shareholders owning about 10 percent, PIPE investors (which will include Boeing) holding roughly three percent and the SPAC sponsor owning the remaining two percent or so.

Virgin Orbit will use the funds to scale up its rocket manufacturing endeavors and bolster the company's space solutions business and Virgin Orbit’s ongoing product development initiatives. An SPAC merger with a company (usually a shell corporation) that's already listed on a stock exchange allows a business to go public without going through the usual initial public offering process.

The first spaceflight company to go public through an SPAC, and the company that really kicked off the SPAC trend, was Virgin Galactic back in 2019, which sought to fund its tourist trips to space. Virgin Galactic spun out Virgin Orbit as a separate company in 2017 so they could respectively focus on space tourism and small satellite launches. Virgin Galactic held its first fully crewed flight in July (with founder Richard Branson on board), while Virgin Orbit had its first successful satellite deployment in January.

Virgin Orbit launches its satellites from a custom Boeing 747, with the LauncherOne rocket taking payloads into space. The company says this approach offers a "significant performance advantage" over traditional ground launches (an approach adopted by the likes of SpaceX) while lowering "local carbon emissions and acoustic impacts" at launch sites.

A rather unusual vulnerability in Razer mice has been identified and the company is currently working on a fix. Over the weekend, security researcher Jon Hat posted on Twitter that after plugging in a Razer mouse or dongle, Windows Update will download the Razer installer executable and run it with SYSTEM privileges. It also lets you access the Windows file explorer and Powershell with "elevated" privileges — which essentially means someone with physical access to the computer could install harmful software.

Since this vulnerability requires direct, physical access to a computer, it's not nearly as dangerous as a security issue that can be carried out remotely, but it's still a troubling find. Hat said on Twitter that Razer eventually reached out and told him that the company's security team was working on a fix. We've reached out to Razer as well to verify these details and will update this story if we hear anything, including when users might expect the issue to be fixed. We're also hoping to find out what specific Razer mice can cause the issue.

Lumen is a crowdfunded metabolism-tracking device which purports to analyze your breath to determine what state your digestive system is in. Now, the company behind it is launching an app for the Apple Watch to make it easier for you to use the hardware when you’re on the go. Users will be able to use the device and then see the results on their wrist, in a way that CTO and co-founder Avi Smila says “seamlessly integrated into daily life.”

The pitch for Lumen is, essentially, to enable you to learn as and when you should be eating and in what quantities. The system can tell you when you should eat, based on your metabolism, and suggests carb servings, meal plans and macros for the day. Should it be a lack of a smartwatch app has held you back from buying a Lumen thus far, you can pick up a unit for as little as $199, plus a monthly subscription of $19 a month.

It's not exactly a secret that OnePlus has been working on new earbuds. In July, it sought fans to test an upcoming model without disclosing too many details. Fast forward a few weeks, and the company has formally revealed the OnePlus Buds Pro.

OnePlus has adopted a different design from the original Buds, which it released last year. The Buds Pro boast adaptive noise cancellation (ANC), which filters out background sound levels of up to 40dB. You can lower that to a maximum of 25dB to keep closer tabs on your surroundings. There's a scene detection feature too.

Each earbud has a trio of microphones. OnePlus says the mics work in concert with its noise reduction algorithms and a mechanical design intended to tamp down wind noise. All of those features are included with the aim of delivering clearer audio. 

There's also a feature called OnePlus Audio ID, a sound profile that customizes each song based on the wearer's sensitivity to different sounds, as established by a listening test. You can expect Dolby Atmos support too.

OnePlus

You'll get up to seven hours of use on a single charge, and five hours if ANC is enabled, OnePlus says. The charging case can add up to 31 hours of playback time, and an extra 23 hours if you use ANC. Fast charging adds 10 hours of playback after 10 minutes of charging time via a USB-C cable. The case is also Qi-certified for wireless charging.

The earbuds are IP55-rated for water and sweat resistance, while the charging case is IPX4-rated. Other features include low latency for gaming on certain OnePlus phones (around 94ms), fast pairing, voice assistant support, automatic pausing when you take the buds out of your ears and a Zen mode that can play white noise.

The original $79 OnePlus Buds didn't exactly blow us away. Engadget Senior News Editor Billy Steele found the AirPods-style earbuds delivered muddy audio and were uncomfortable to wear. Here's hoping OnePlus has upped its game this time around.

The OnePlus Buds Pro will go on sale in the US and Canada on September 1st in two colors: Matte Black and Glossy White. They cost $150.

WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption requirements demand a “main device,” which seemed to halt the kind of seamless messaging you’d get with Apple’s messaging app and other third-party options. In July, WhatsApp said it was working on next-generation encryption that would enable a true multi-device connection without requiring a connection to a smartphone. Part of that might include a dedicated tablet app, according to tweets from WABetaInfo, an account that often reveals incoming WhatsApp features ahead of time.

Dado Ruvic / reuters

The update will apparently be part of a multi-device beta, with both iPads and Android tablets usable as "linked devices" to a WhatsApp account, with a native app in tow.

I’m a WhatsApp user. Apple’s iOS Messages never caught my attention, and let’s just ignore Android’s equivalent. I know I should be using the more secure, less ‘Facebook’ Telegram app, too,but I always come back to WhatsApp, probably because it took so long to coax my family and international friends across from SMS and email years earlier.

Along with the web app, meaning I can use WhatsApp from my work laptop (sorry, boss), it’s another bid to keep WhatsApp seamlessly working across my life. And make it harder to leave the Facebook-owned messaging app, even if I want to.

-Mat Smith

The best SSD for your PlayStation 5

And how to install one.

Aaron Souppouris/Engadget

If you’re eager to expand the storage on your PS5, you’ll need access to the early beta — easy enough to do — and the confidence to open up your new console and install a speedy SSD yourself.

Fortunately for you (and me) Executive Editor Aaron Souppouris, who knows a little too much about hard drives, has done the research and even installed a new SSD, sharing the process with the rest of us.

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Four new games land on... the Atari Lynx

What you got, Game Gear?

James Trew / Engadget

If you’re a retro gamer, it’s hard not to ignore the Atari Lynx. While it was the first color hand-held console, its small library of games (under 100 official titles) and general mishandling by Atari itself earned it little more than a walk-on role in gaming history. A few dedicated folks still hold a candle for it, however, with new titles now more common than they were a decade ago. Here are four new games you can play on original hardware, complete with cartridge and box. 

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The best study-from-home essentials for students

These tools may actually make you want to hit the books.

It’s time to upgrade your study-at-home setup so you’re not crushing essays from a corner of a couch and giving yourself neck pain. Yep, we’ve got several ergonomic posture savers alongside decent wireless keyboards, mice and more.

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Google has already discontinued the Pixel 5

The Pixel 6 should be here soon.

Chris Velazco / Engadget

Google just released the excellent and relatively inexpensive Pixel 5a, and the company has taken the opportunity to clean house, shedding the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G from its online store. On Google's store in the US, both phones are out of stock currently, which means the only Pixel phones currently available are the Pixel 5a (which doesn't arrive until August 26th) and the Pixel 4a, which doesn't have 5G.

Google announced the Pixel 5 on September 30th last year, so it seems likely that we'll get an official release date (and price) for the Pixel 6 sometime in the next month. 

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Apple is reportedly releasing a redesigned, more powerful Mac mini this fall

It might run on the same "M1X" processor rumored to come to the MacBook Pro.

A redesigned Mac mini with an "M1X" chip could arrive in "the next several months." The M1X hasn't been announced, but it's been the shorthand over the last year or so for a chip that can outperform the M1 that Apple currently offers. This timeline comes from the reliable Mark Gurman at Bloomberg.

Apple is also expected to redesign the Mac mini and add more ports to the small desktop computer. This Mac mini might be more focused on power users and will also likely cost more than the current models Apple offers. The company may keep the M1 model around as a more basic and affordable option.

In addition to the Mac mini, Apple is also expected to introduce redesigned MacBook Pro models this fall. 

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The biggest stories you might have missed

ICYMI: We open (and close) the Galaxy Z Flip 3

Facebook releases Q1 'widely viewed content' report following criticism

Apple is reportedly releasing a redesigned, more powerful Mac mini this fall

Hitting the Books: How Tesla engineers solved the problem of exploding EV batteries

Cadillac’s luxury EV debut seems like a winner

Google is shutting down the Android Auto phone app

Bethesda is releasing a 10th anniversary edition of 'Skyrim'

PayPal is bringing the ability to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies across to the other side of the pond, the better part of a year after it launched in the US. In a statement, the company said that UK-based users would be able to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash via their PayPal account. In addition, the PayPal app will enable users to view real-time cryptocurrency prices and access information about the opportunities and risks that buying such currencies entail.

Buying and selling cryptocurrencies was introduced to all users of the app in the US back in November 2020. Since then, users have been able to check out with crypto, and the feature has also been rolled out to Venmo. The company adds that users can buy as little as £1 of cryptocurrency, and while there are no fees to hold the currency, users will have to pay transaction and currency conversion fees. It’s not clear, yet, if the total limit on how much you can buy is capped at the equivalent of $100,000 (£73,000), as it currently is in the US.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory released a breathtaking panorama of the inside of the Gale Crater, as snapped by the Curiosity Rover. To celebrate the Rover’s ninth — ninth! — year surveying the red planet, the clip shows off where the Rover has been, where it’s going, and what we’ve learned in the last decade. This includes the breathtaking fact that, on a clear winter’s day when there’s no dust in the air, you can see close to 20 miles.

The panorama, as reported by Gizmodo, shows Curiosity’s journey up the side of Mount Sharp, and the detour it had to take in order to avoid a large sheet of Martian sand. As the rover has journeyed up the side, the composition of the rocks had changed from a clay-rich base to one full of sulphide. As Deputy Project Scientist Abigail Fraeman explains, researchers are hoping to learn a little more about how Mars lost its water (the Gale Crater used to be a lake, after all) and how long it took before it became the dry desert planet we see before us.

Part of WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption scheme is a requirement for users to set up the service with a phone as the "main" device for an account. The company announced in July that it was working on next-generation encryption that would enable a true multi-device connection without requiring a connection to a smartphone. As part of that, it sounds like WhatsApp is planning a fully native iPad app fro the first time.

AppleInsider noticed a few tweets this weekend from the WABetaInfo account, an unofficial source of details about upcoming WhatsApp features. The account says that as part of the upcoming multi-device beta, both the iPad and Android tablets would be able to be used as "linked devices" to a WhatsApp account for the first time. A follow-up tweet claims that it'll be a native app (rather than a web app) and that it'll work "independently" (as in it'll run if your smartphone is offline). 

There's no word on when this app and integration will arrive; the WABetaInfo account says it's under development and will be released in a "future update." But if you already have the WhatsApp for iOS beta, you'll get access to the iPad version as well. On the one hand, plenty of people who've been using WhatsApp for years have likely gotten used to the app not being available on tablets — but multi-device support seems like the perfect time to make WhatsApp work on more devices.

When Apple launched the first Macs with its own M1 silicon inside (the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini), they were essentially identical to the Intel models they replaced, aside from the new processor of course. But numerous rumors have indicted that Apple is working on major redesigns for its laptops soon, and the company already released an all-new iMac with Apple silicon inside. Now, it sounds like the Mac mini will get a big refresh soon, as well.

Both 9to5Mac and MacRumors are citing a newsletter from Bloomberg's reliable Mark Gurman that says a redesigned Mac mini with an "M1X" chip in it should arrive in "the next several months." The M1X hasn't been announced, but it's been the shorthand over the last year or so for a chip that can outperform the M1 that Apple currently offers. 

In addition to the new internals, Apple is also expected to redesign the Mac mini and add more ports to the small desktop computer. This Mac mini might be more focused on power users and will also likely cost more than the current models Apple offers, so it seems likely that the company will keep the M1 model around as a more basic and affordable option.

In addition to the Mac mini, Apple is also expected to introduce totally redesigned MacBook Pro models this fall, also sporting the more powerful M1X chip. It also sounds like Apple might take the multi-colored approach that it brought to the iMac earlier this year, as well.

Last week, Facebook released its first "widely viewed content" report, a document that essentially was the company's response to numerous reports that the most engaging content on the platform usually comes from polarizing and potentially misleading conservative figures and outlets, including Newsmax, Fox News, Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino. The report last week contradicted that, saying that in Q2 of 2021, top domains included more innocuous content coming from YouTube, Amazon, TikTok and a cat GIF from Tumblr. 

But on Friday, the New York Times published a report saying that it had seen a "widely viewed content" report for Q1 of 2021 and that it showed different trends. For example, the most-viewed link was a story claiming a Florida doctor died from the coronovirus vaccine. Facebook has now confirmed the document's accuracy and released it directly.

Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone took to Twitter to get into the details of the report and said that Facebook withheld the report because "there were key fixes to the system we wanted to make," but he didn't elaborate on what those fixes are.

Stone also did a deep dive into the misleading story that came out of Florida, trying to explain Facebook's decisions around it. “News outlets wrote about the south Florida doctor that died. When the coroner released a cause of death, the Chicago Tribune appended an update to its original story; NYTimes did not," he wrote on Twitter. "Would it have been right to remove the Times story because it was COVID misinfo? Of course not. No one is actually suggesting this and neither am I. But it does illustrate just how difficult it is to define misinformation."

As noted by the New York Times, Facebook has been trying to counter pressure around the things shared on its platform, specifically regarding misinformation around COVID-19 and its vaccine. Much of that pressure is coming directly from the US government. President Biden memorably said last month that Facebook was "killing people" with vaccine misinformation on its site, though he walked back his statements slightly later.