With major phone manufacturers like Apple, Google and (in some regions, at least) Samsung building their own processors, Qualcomm's premium Snapdragon CPUs are facing stiffer competition than ever. But there are still some companies that still need those chipsets — ASUS being a notable example. The Taiwanese electronics giant's ROG phones have high-end components aimed at the most demanding users and mobile gamers.

That's exactly the audience for the new "Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders," a phone that Qualcomm built with help from ASUS "for its fans". It boasts features like a 6.8-inch screen with a 144Hz refresh rate, comprehensive 5G support, fast charging and special audio enhancements. Clearly, this $1,499 device is a showcase for Qualcomm’s strengths, and though its name says it’s for Snapdragon Insiders, anyone can buy it. But should you?

Design

That depends on a few things, one of which being your preference on phone sizes. This is a big phone. At 210 grams (or 0.46 pounds), the Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders (which I’m going to call SSI from now on) is one of the heavier phones I’ve used recently. Many devices with such large screens tend to weigh about the same — the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is lighter, but the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Galaxy S21 Ultra are actually even heavier.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

The SSI also looks notably different from the iPhones and Galaxies which, depending on your taste, could be a good or bad thing. Its rounded rectangle body has a matte blue finish with shiny red accents on the camera bump and volume button. And you know how bezels for selfie cameras went away over the last two years on most flagships? That’s not the case here — there’s still a thin border above the screen where the sensor sits. That, combined with the silhouette and finish, make the SSI look pretty outdated.

Another polarizing feature on the SSI is an illuminated Qualcomm Snapdragon fireball icon on the rear, below the fingerprint sensor. You can set the light to “breathe” (i.e., glow on and off), turn it off altogether, or have it stay on all day. Even when it’s not lit, though, the logo is pretty obvious. It adds clutter to the phone, and made feeling for the fingerprint scanner confusing whenever I wanted to unlock the device without looking at its back.

One last note on design: The bump for the SSI’s triple-camera array on the back is a surprisingly compact horizontal row that’s neatly tucked away in the top left. It’s smaller and thinner than those on the Galaxy and iPhones, though it still protrudes enough that the handset doesn’t lie flat when you put it on a table.

Display

Topping the list of the SSI’s premium specs is its display. The AMOLED panel is from Samsung, and it runs at 2,448 x 1,080. It also refreshes at 144Hz, which is one of the fastest on modern smartphones, beating the Galaxy S21 and Note series, not to mention the iPhone family. To ensure that you’re shooting at your enemies as quickly as you can tap on them, the display also offers a 1ms response time.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

I furiously scrolled up and down on the Engadget homepage, as well as my Instagram feed, and the display kept pace with my finger. Shooting at my enemies on League of Legends Wild Rift was similarly responsive, and a first-person shooter like Call Of Duty was also satisfyingly speedy.

Since it’s an AMOLED panel, it also delivers vibrant colors and deep blacks on videos and photos. Its peak brightness of 1,200 nits also makes for easy viewing under sunlight. It’s worth noting, though, that the 20.4:9 aspect ratio causes some content to be cut off — the ends of long messages in Telegram, for example, disappear into the edges of the screen. Qualcomm doesn’t appear to have optimized its display to accommodate all apps.

Audio

The Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders is one of the first to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound technology, which promises low Bluetooth latency, multiple listening profiles and smart amplifier software. It also has four mics and Qualcomm’s “High Dynamic Range Audio Record,” which the company says is capable of delivering studio-quality recording. The SSI comes with a pair of wireless Master and Dynamic earbuds, too, but most of the audio enhancements will work through the phone’s speakers too.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

The Master & Dynamic headphones were built using Qualcomm’s Bluetooth Audio SoC and will support high-res 24-bit 96kHz audio with active noise cancellation. Qualcomm also said these should stay connected to your phone even if there are lots of other RF devices around, so audio drop-outs should be minimal.

I haven’t visited many busy places during my testing, so I can’t vouch for how well these headphones stay connected in those situations. Plus, the headphones that Qualcomm sent reviewers were pre-production and do “not reflect commercial-ready Snapdragon sound quality.” The company said that when the devices do ship later this month, they’ll have features like high-res audio and super wide band voice for greater call clarity. For now, though, all I can say is the earbuds perform fine. Songs like “Say So” by Doja Cat and “Next Level” by aespa also sounded richer than on the Pixel Buds 2.

The SSI itself also delivered loud and clear audio, though I don’t usually expect great quality from phone speakers since I rarely play music through them. Sound effects and background tracks on games and YouTube videos rang out nicely, and that’s pretty much all I need from a phone’s sound system.

Cameras

Like many modern flagships, the SSI has a trio of cameras on its rear. The 64-megapixel main sensor with f/1.8 aperture is accompanied by a 12-megapixel ultrawide option and an 8-megapixel telephoto. That’s a pretty typical setup, though the main camera here is sharper than those you’ll find on iPhones and Pixels.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Qualcomm said an over-the-air update is coming later this month that will enable, among other things, a full resolution mode for better “snapshot performance.”

Other enhancements that the update is supposed to bring include “better texture/noise performance,” “improved night shot quality,” “Video Super Resolution,” “upgraded camera tuning” and “best autofocus experience.” The company said it will also “fully optimize” HDR via the ultra-wide and telephoto cameras and multi-frame noise reduction. That’s far too many things coming that could sway how I feel about the camera, and I wish they were available to test before the phone hits shelves later this month. For now, I’m supposed to take Qualcomm’s word for it and that’s not how reviews work.

Without the updated software, the SSI delivered lackluster photos that paled in comparison to the Note 20 Ultra and Pixel 5’s. The Qualcomm phone’s images had a blue (sometimes green) cast and weren’t significantly sharper or clearer than the Pixel’s, which costs hundreds less. Google’s portrait mode is also superior, and it never failed to keep the lantern fly I was taking pictures of in focus. Meanwhile, the insect came out blurry in 90 percent of the shots on the SSI.

Screenshot (Cherlynn Low / Engadget)

One thing I was able to test is a unique Auto Tracking mode. Qualcomm re-architected its AI engine to run machine-learning-based tasks better, and one of these features is an Auto Zoom tool in the camera. When you use the Auto Tracking mode, you can tap on the viewfinder to designate a subject, and the camera will automatically adjust framing to make sure your pet or loved one is always in the scene.

And by the way, this isn’t an autofocus tool that makes sure your kids or fur babies always look clear. Qualcomm’s method will actually zoom in and out to give your selected subject the spotlight. When this worked, like when I shot a clip of our video producer, Brian Oh’s adorable dog Zen as she ambled around the room, it was lovely. The camera zoomed in till Zen’s face took up half the screen and we were staring into her soulful eyes, and zoomed out when she moved out of frame so we always saw her.

But in my testing, the system was not always good at identifying people’s faces and separating them from the background. That would be fine if it simply didn’t do anything in those cases, but the resulting footage was nauseatingly jerky and looked like the camera was searching for the subject. This is a nice tool in theory, but even if it worked perfectly I’m not convinced I’d use it much.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Another thing I’m not sure I like is the 24-megapixel front camera. Sharper sensors are nice in general, but the better clarity here didn’t make a big difference over selfies shot on other phones. Again, I don’t know if the coming OTA update will be effective so I can only evaluate the selfie camera as I’ve experienced it.

Performance and battery life

With a Snapdragon 888 CPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, the SSI has plenty of muscle and ran smoothly for most of my time with it. I encountered occasional hiccups when shooting portrait mode pictures in rapid succession and when trying to shift focus in auto-tracking mode, but those are pretty specific to the camera. When I played League of Legends Wild Rift with screen recording on, the phone never lagged.

It’s worth noting that the SSI often ran hot, though. After a couple of minutes of concurrent gaming and screen-recording, or a few attempts at capturing video in auto-tracking mode, or even just a round of Settlers of Catan, the area below the fingerprint sensor got noticeably warm.

The 4,000mAh battery here typically got me through a day and a half, and sometimes more, which is impressive given its screen size and refresh rate. That’s also in line with most devices in this class, like the Note 20 Ultra and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and better than the S21 Ultra.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

I didn’t go out a lot so I wasn’t using 5G much — if you’re a heavy data user or you set the logo on the back to stay lit all day, the runtime will likely drop. Speaking of, the SSI supports both mmWave and sub-6 5G, though your experience of the speed improvements this brings will depend largely on your carrier and service area.

When you do run out of juice, it won’t take too long to get recharged. Qualcomm includes a Quick Charge 5 adaptor in the box that it says will get you up to 70 percent in 30 minutes or a full charge in 52 minutes. I did get the phone fully charged in under an hour, which is impressive given the generous battery size.

Wrap-up

On paper, the Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders seems like a spec chaser’s dream. But headline features like Snapdragon Sound aren’t ready yet, 5G performance is reliant on your carrier and coverage, while the camera is still pending a major update that may improve performance. Not only does this phone seem like it’s not ready for review, it also feels far too niche. Even demanding users who might like a smartphone like this will get more out of a Galaxy Ultra or the OnePlus 9 Pro. Unless you’re a rabid Qualcomm fan or need a beefy, long-lasting honker of a phone with a 144Hz screen, few people should get the Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders.

Regardless of if you're personally heading back to school in a few weeks, Amazon's latest sale is a good opportunity for anyone to grab a new Echo device. In addition to Fire tablets and Fire TV devices, both the Echo Dot and the regular Echo smart speakers have been discounted — the Echo Dot is down to $35 while the Echo is on sale for $80. The sale also includes kids' devices, so you can grab an Echo Dot Kids Edition for $45, or 25 percent off its normal price. These are not record low prices, but they are the best deals we've seen since Prime Day in June.

Buy Echo Dot at Amazon - $35Buy Echo Dot Kids Edition at Amazon - $45Buy Echo at Amazon - $80

The Echo Dot is a good pick for dorm-room dwellers and others short on space. We included it in our back-to-school gift guide because it's a handy little speaker to have for impromptu dance parties, plus it it takes up very little space on a desk and it's quite cheap even when not on sale. Alexa can also answer basic questions that could help students in the middle of a study session, although we wouldn't recommend relying on the personal assistant for homework answers. Overall, we gave the Dot a score of 88 from us for its solid audio quality for the price, tap-to-snooze alarm and attractive orb-like design.

if you have more space to spare, the Echo is one of our favorite smart speakers as of late. It combines a three-inch woofer with two 0.8-inch tweeters to produce louder sound than both Google's Nest Audio and the HomePod mini. The audio quality is great, and if you have two in your home, you can use them as a stereo pair for an even better experience. We also appreciate that, like the Echo Dot, the standard Echo has a 3.5mm audio jack, letting you connect the speaker to another playback device like a turntable.

Ultimately, though, an Echo device is best if Alexa is your virtual assistant of choice. Alexa has gotten more useful over the years and there are thousands of Skills that you can install and use to make your experience more personalized. If you've been meaning to add to your smart home system, or you've wanted to build one from the ground up, an Echo device is a good place to start — especially when you can grab a few at a discount.

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

Amazon is known for making affordable tablets that get the basics right. As of now, the retailer is offering discounts on a range of its own-brand slates that cut up to 33 percent off its biggest and best devices. You can grab last year's 8-inch Fire HD 8 with 32GB expandable storage for just $60, down from $90. If you want something larger and more powerful, the latest 10-inch Fire HD 10 (also with 32GB storage) is available for $100, $50 off its typical price. You should note that barring the Kids tablets (see below) these are all ad-supported versions of the devices and opting-out of lockscreen adverts comes at a cost.

Buy Fire HD 8 at Amazon - $60Buy Fire HD 10 at Amazon - $100

Buy Fire HD 10 Productivity Bundle at Amazon - $170

If you're looking for an affordable tablet for work, you should check out Amazon's Productivity Bundle, which is currently discounted by $100. With it, you get the Fire HD 10 along with a Bluetooth keyboard and a 12-month subscription to Microsoft 365 for $170. The latter gives you access to Office apps and 1 terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage for up to five devices. Though it's far from a true laptop replacement, Amazon's biggest tablet should be fine for creating and editing Work or Excel documents.

Overall, both the Fire HD 8 and HD 10 are suitable for browsing the web and social media, watching Netflix in HD and accessing Amazon's ecosystem of shopping, music, reading and video streaming services. On the downside, they come with a paltry selection of apps compared to iOS or Android tablets, including a lack of Google services like YouTube. 

Buy Fire 7 Kids Pro at Amazon - $60Buy Fire HD 8 Kids Pro at Amazon - $90

Alongside the regular Fire tablets, Amazon is also offering all-time low deals on some of its Kids range. The cheapest of the lot is the Fire 7 Kids Pro, down to $60 from $100, which makes up for its non-HD screen and lack of USB-C (micro-USB instead) with a bevy of parental controls and age-appropriate web and app content for kids. You get all of those pros, plus HD resolution and USB-C, for $30 more on the Fire HD 8 Kids Pro, which is on sale for $50 off. The last time we saw Amazon's children's tablets drop this low was in July.

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

Beyond its ownaccessibility apps, Google offers a powerful API that lets developers create tools for people with disabilities. The beta version of the Android Accessibility Suite — which was part of the fourth Android 12 beta that recently arrived on Pixel handsets — includes a neat new way to control your phone. "Camera Switches" essentially lets you use face gestures to complete a number of actions. For instance, you can set the app to detect when you smile or raise an eyebrow in order to open your notifications panel or quick settings. You can also open your mouth to scroll forward or backward. As spotted by XDA Developers, the update lets you map around six face gestures to over a dozen phone controls. These can also be tweaked based on gesture size to prevent the app from constantly initiating actions.

Camera Switches builds upon the Switch Access feature in Android Accessibility Suite, which lets you interact with your device without using the touchscreen. Depending on the context, this can be done using an external device, such as a keyboard, via a USB or Bluetooth connection, or by pressing the built-in buttons on your phone. In that sense, Camera Switches takes the feature up a notch by introducing gestures to the mix. Seeing as most people are already accustomed to unlocking their phones with their face, the new additions shouldn't seem completely foreign.

While using Camera Switches, you'll see a persistent notification icon that indicates your camera is being used. However, as Android 12's privacy dashboard already includes a status indicator for both the camera and mic, this feature may be unnecessary. XDA was also able to sideload the app's APK to get the new feature on Android 11.

We knew Google was readying another phone ahead of its new own-chip Pixel 6 flagships, but the company’s cheaper A series might reappear earlier than we thought. The Pixel 5a could appear any day now, according to the latest reports from, of all places, repair shops. The latest rumors include a larger battery (4,680mAh battery up from 3,800mAh) and an August 17th release date — which would be tomorrow.

Cherlynn Low/Engadget

We’re already expecting the Pixel 5a to land with a dual-camera system and a headphone jack, the latter of which is rare in 2021. Older rumors suggested the 5a might cost $450, a hair less than the Pixel 4a 5G but well above the $350 of last year’s Pixel 4a.

I’ve said it before, but Google’s Pixel A series is often a more compelling device than its highest-priced phones, striking a good balance between specs and performance — especially when it comes to camera performance. Similarly priced phones may look the same on paper, but the Pixel’s imaging capabilities, which lean hard on AI and software, typically produce great images in most situations. I’m sure the Pixel 5a is likely to continue this winning formula — even if it lacks that homemade Google chip.

— Mat Smith

NASA sends a 3D printing system for lunar soil to its space station

It could help plan for future Moon and Mars habitats.

NASA

NASA's latest International Space Station resupply mission included a machine meant to demonstrate 3D printing regolith (loose soil or rock) on the Moon and similar extraterrestrial surfaces.

The Redwire Regolith Print (RRP) project will work in tandem with an existing printer system (ManD) to try 3D printing simulated regolith. If that succeeds, the ISS crew will gauge the strength of the resulting material to see if it can handle the harsh conditions beyond Earth and work as a possible building material for future habitats. 

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Warner Bros. 'Reminiscence' promo puts you in the trailerYou can watch yourself on screen with Hugh Jackman, kind of.

Warner Bros.

The promo for Warner Bros.’ upcoming Reminiscence movie uses deepfake technology to embed you into a short video sequence with its star, Hugh Jackman. You can upload the photo of anybody you want, and the experience will conjure an animation for the face in it. You might have to wait your turn, however. When I tried it out, I got stuck at the waiting screen for a while. Test it for yourself here.

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Matter smart home networking standard delayed to 2022

The one smart home standard to rule them all.

The Connectivity Standards Alliance has delayed Matter's rollout from late 2021 to the first half of 2022. Smart home standards (and a lot of smart home news) can be a snoozy affair, but Matter could be what we need to get anything with WiFi and/or Bluetooth to speak to each other in our homes. Amazon, Apple, Google and many smart home device makers (such as Nanoleaf and Signify) are already committed to it, so you can see why a smart home standard like this might… matter.

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The Switch sweeps Japan's game sales chart

The first time this has happened in 33 years.

Every game on Famitsu's August 8th weekly Top 30 chart was a Switch title, ranging from Super Mario Maker 2 in 30th place to Minecraft at the top. It's reportedly the first time a platform has swept the chart since November 1988, when Nintendo's own Famicom (the NES for the rest of us) dominated the list.

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Engadget Deals: Apple's AirPods Pro fall back to $180

Huawei accused of pressuring US firm to install a data backdoor

Apple's AirPods Pro are back down to $180, their best deal barring Black Friday lows. That's $70 off the normal price of the popular wireless earbuds, which remain our top pick for iOS users. The Amazon deal currently lists the Pro for $190, but an extra $10 discount is automatically applied at checkout. We gave Apple's high-end earbuds an excellent 87 review score with praise for their improved audio, comfortable fit and IPX4 water resistance.

Buy AirPods Pro at Amazon - $180

They essentially offer several upgrades over the standard $150 AirPods, hence the higher price tag. Chiefly, the Pro deliver superior sound thanks to their active noise cancelation and support for spatial audio. Apple even claims the buds can customize your listening experience by using Adaptive EQ to tune music to the shape of your ear. 

They look different to the AirPods, too. The Pro have shorter stems and are a bit wider, making for a more crowdpleasing design. While the addition of silicone ear tips in different sizes results in a more comfortable fit compared to the regular AirPods. They're also better gym buddies courtesy of their sweat and water resistance.

Seeing as the Pro dropped in 2019, you may be wondering about new upgrades. Rumors indicate that new AirPods could be imminent this holiday season. Reports also claim that the next AirPods Pro will focus on fitness tracking. Of course, none of that matters if you want to upgrade right away. In which case, you can't go wrong with the current Pros, especially if you're an iPhone owner. The lower price is the icing on the cake.

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

The Nintendo Switch isn't struggling to compete against the PlayStation 5 on its home turf in Japan... far from it. Game Data Library, Axios and IGN report that every game on Famitsu's August 8th weekly Top 30 chart was a Switch title, ranging from Super Mario Maker 2 in 30th place to Minecraft at the top. It's reportedly the first time a platform has swept that chart since November 1988, when Nintendo's own Famicom (the basis for the NES) dominated the list.

Nintendo has controlled the Japanese games chart with multiple platforms before. In the early 1990s, the Famicom, Super Famicom (aka Super NES) and Game Boy cemented its position. It's much harder for a single system to rule the rankings, though.

There's also a sharp contrast with the US. While the Switch has outsold rival consoles in the country and frequently thrives in game sales (Skyward Sword HD was July's best-selling game), it typically faces stiffer competition from the PlayStation and Xbox ecosystems.

There wasn't a direct explanation for the sweep, although the titles reflect both Nintendo's influence and local tastes. Most of the games are either Nintendo's (including Skyward Sword and Mario Kart 8) or come from franchises that have long been popular in Japan, such as Monster Hunter, Taiko no Tatsujin and Dragon Quest. It also helps that Japan is in the grips of its largest-ever COVID-19 pandemic wave — people may be buying Switch games to keep them and their kids entertained at home.

Whatever the reason, the feat suggests why Nintendo isn't in a rush to upgrade the Switch beyond modest revisions. Its hybrid console is still one of the hottest game systems four years after launch, even in the face of technically superior alternatives.

More evidence has surfaced that the Google Pixel 5a might be right around the corner. Android Police has obtained what it says are repair shop photos (pictured below) of Pixel 5a parts that appear to confirm rumors swirling around the budget phone, including its release date. The device really would be a spruced-up Pixel 4a 5G (above), according to the leak. You'd get a similar dual rear camera setup and size, just with a much larger 4,680mAh battery (up from 3,800mAh) and a grippier plastic shell.

The scoop also supports talk of a headphone jack. The mainboard and other components are missing, although Google is expected to rely on a Snapdragon (possibly the 765G from the Pixel 4a 5G) rather than a variant of the custom Tensor chip coming to the Pixel 6.

The source claims Google will unveil the Pixel 5a on August 17th. Past rumors have suggested the 5a might reach stores on August 26th at a $450 price, $50 lower than the Pixel 4a 5G but well above the $350 of the base 4a. If accurate, you won't have to wait long to learn full details for this mid-range phone — even if you'll have to wait a short while to get one in your hands.

Android Police

T-Mobile is grappling with yet another reported data breach. The carrier told Motherboard in a statement that it's investigating an "underground forum" member's claims that they're selling data for over 100 million customers, including social security numbers and device IMEI numbers. While the scale of the breach hasn't yet been verified, Motherboard has confirmed the authenticity of at least some of the data.

The intruder is selling data for about 30 million customers for the equivalent of $270,000 in Bitcoin. The rest of the data is reportedly being sold through private channels.

It's not certain how the perpetrator obtained the info. T-Mobile supposedly booted the attacker out of the servers, but not before they downloaded and purportedly backed up the content.

The network has a less-than-stellar history of breaches in recent years. Hackers compromised sensitive customer info in late 2019, while a late 2020 attack scraped limited data for about 200,000 users. If the forum claims are accurate, though, this is much more serious. T-Mobile had over 104.7 million customers as of the second quarter of 2021 — this breach might affect virtually every user. While it's not certain just how much real damage has been done, you might want to watch out for suspicious activity if you're a magenta subscriber.

Huawei is once again facing claims that it's placing backdoors in networks. The Wall Street Journalreports that American contractor Business Efficiency Solutions (BES) has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Huawei of not only stealing technology, but pressuring the firm into installing a data backdoor for a law enforcement safer-cities project in Lahore, Pakistan. The system supposedly gave Huawei access to a database that helped it collect sensitive citizen and government data "important to Pakistan's national security."

BES alleged that Huawei insisted on creating a duplicate version of the Lahore network in Suzhou, China, that would provide direct access to the Pakistan data. While BES wanted permission from Pakistani officials before going forward, Huawei reportedly claimed it didn't need permission and initially threatened to cut off the deal if BES didn't move forward. The Chinese company later said it obtained permission, but apparently refused to provide evidence of this when asked.

The situation may not be clear-cut. Huawei told the WSJ there was "no evidence" it had installed backdoors in any products. In a statement from earlier in the dispute, the company acknowledged the duplicate system in China but maintained that it was strictly a test version "physically isolated" from the real network, making it impossible to extract data. An overseer for the Lahore effort, Muhammad Kamran Khan, said an investigation was underway but that there wasn't any evidence of data theft "so far."

Whoever is telling the truth, the lawsuit highlights the ongoing concerns that Huawei might be aiding China's surveillance goals. The company has long denied the allegations, and there isn't yet "smoking gun" evidence that it has used backdoors to snoop on other countries. However, that hasn't allayed suspicions that have led the US, UK and others to blacklist its technology. This case might only exacerbate Huawei's situation, even if BES' assertions don't hold up in court.