These days, the idea of a camera just for “action” feels like a bit of an anachronism. In 2022 social media is king, and action is a just one subsection thereof. You only need to look at the last few GoPros, and the competition, to see that brands with skin in the game are all too aware of that. Enter the Hero 11 Black, where everything feels a bit grown up, in a skate-dad kinda way.

As for what’s new, if you had “physical design” on your bingo card, you’re out of luck. Substantial redesigns seem to come along every three or four years, but for now the Hero 11 looks exactly the same as the 10 just with a 1 replacing the 0 painted on the side.

As usual, though, there are some extra shooting modes. SuperView is now available right up to 5K60/4K120 (previously 4K/60 was the max). Similarly, still images receive a boost from 23-megapixels up to 27. There’s also 10-bit color across the board. The shrewd among you will have spotted that this means there is a new sensor and it’s core to some of the other new features below. Despite the move up from 1 /2.3 to 1 /1.9 those extra megapixels don’t seem to have really translated to improved low light performance (accordingly there’s no such claim). Instead you have more pixels to play with.

In fact, this new, taller sensor is what enables two of the main new features: First is 360-degree horizon lock in Linear mode (up to 5.3K/30). Horizon-leveling was already pretty good on the Hero 10, but now it’s absolute. If your activities involve a lot of tight corners or literal body spinning this can be used for creative effect. If, like me, you’re just prone to wonkily mounting your camera you can really just forget about all that now. Both DJI’s new Osmo Action 3 and the Insta360 offer similar horizon lock features, but GoPro’s is available in frame rates such as 4K/60 and 2.7K/120, whereas DJI’s, for example, tops out at 2.7K/60.

The second, and probably bigger advantage to the taller sensor is the ability to record in “Full Frame.” This isn’t a camera mode per se – although it can be used as such if you like 8:7, 5.3K video. It’s more of a tool for shooting absolutely everything and then “punching out” the aspect ratio you want (or more than one) after the fact. With Full Frame, you can shoot once and pull a 4K,16:9 video out for YouTube and then a 9:16 version for TikTok, for example. Both with completely different framing if you wish. Alternatively, you can kinda set and forget, and then just frame the shot after the fact.

James Trew / Engadget

This feature has a lot of potential, especially if you’re not really sure what shooting mode to go for. I tried it out by mounting the camera on my bike perpendicular to the frame (turning the bike into a dolly of sorts). I rode past some interesting scenery and then punched out a conventional 16:9 edit and a mobile-friendly 9:16 version. The landscape clip came out pretty good as I was able to cut out a lot of pavement and focus on the subject. The mobile version still turned out better than if I had to crop it out from a 16:9, and of course there was no loss of resolution, but this particular shot didn’t end up being suitable for portrait. Either way, the Full Frame feature improved both videos and the fact I could frame each of them differently definitely got me thinking about other cool things I could do with this.

If there was a negative, you might find yourself having to think backwards. For example, I did a short intro to camera using the front screen to frame myself, but when I was choosing the aspect ratio I wanted to punch out later, I realized that I was filling the screen so had to settle for a weird crop. Something I would have avoided if I was recording in a fixed FOV like 16:9 from the start.

Keeping things frame-related, there is a new “digital lens” (which is GoPro’s marketing language for Field of View) called HyperView. Way back in 2013 the company introduced SuperView which shoehorned everything on the sensor into a 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s a bit intense, but does make first-person shots feel faster and more immersive. Well, HyperView is essentially that but for the new, taller sensor and it’s a bit bonkers.

James Trew / Engadget

You will absolutely not want to use this one for everything, but for certain shots it should be a go-to. I tried it while mounted on my handlebars and it was very noticeable how warped trees and buildings looked as I passed. Worse, those slightly weird angles made the video feel like I was watching a 90s first-person-shooter game.

That said, I did a second shot with the camera hanging low by my board as I skated around town and I can’t stop watching it. The proximity to the floor and the pace and intensity of objects as they passed by made it feel like I was in the cockpit of a tiny FPV drone. Even I felt like I needed to slow down after watching the video, despite knowing in reality I wasn’t going particularly fast.

Now, this might have been a great time to test another flagship feature – automatically generated highlight videos. GoPro has gradually been making it easier to turn the contents of your SD card into an interesting edit for a few years. Now, the company is taking things into its own (AI) hands and will rustle up an edit for you once you get back home and plug the camera in. You’ll need a GoPro subscription to take advantage of this feature, but given it’s effectively cheaper these days to buy the sub with the camera that shouldn’t keep too many people excluded.

Unfortunately, at time of writing this, the feature isn’t available to test.

Something that we can talk about are the new night lapse modes. There are three in total: Star Trails, Light Painting and Vehicle Lights. All three are pretty explanatory and they add some welcome additions to the standard time-lapse options, but I’m going to guess these aren’t really things most folk will be using regularly, though they can make for some good creative B-roll type shots or fun things to share when you’re in a location with low light pollution (or near a crazy motorway intersection at night we presume).

James Trew / Engadget

We've come this far without talking about how the videos and photos actually look. GoPro image quality has come a long way in recent years. Last year there was a noticeable improvement in sharpness. And while there’s no real change this time around, colors do seem to pop a little bit more, without the slightly over-saturated look of older cameras. That’s likely thanks to the new 10-bit color which will be appreciated by pro users having more data to crunch in post.

HyperSmooth, once again gets some love, with the software-stabilization now in its fifth iteration. Honestly, at this point the stabilization is so good that it’s hard to tell how it’s improved. Mentally I’ve written off any GoPro before the Hero 7 as I just can’t go back to pre-stabilization days. Just know that videos look as smooth and steady as you likely ever need.

Perhaps you haven’t used a GoPro before, or since the dark days when there was only a small monochrome display on the front. In which case, using a modern model can be a bit overwhelming as there are a lot of features and shortcuts crammed into the rear display. To help with that, GoPro introduced “Easy” mode which uses a single preset for each of the three main shooting modes (Time Lapse, Video, Photo).

Easy mode doesn’t make it instantly clear what FOV or framerate you’re shooting in, but it’s 5.3K/30 at 16:9 according to a test video and the small text in the “speed” shortcut menu that I’ll get to in a minute. Time Lapse defaults to Time Warp (stabilized videos made from still images), which is probably the most useful of the lot, so that makes sense. Photos default to SuperPhoto which is GoPro’s own “automatic” mode so that also makes sense.

James Trew / Engadget

Despite the lack of menu options, you’ll still find shortcuts to change the “speed” (slow motion) and the amount of Horizon Lock (or not) to use. Likewise, in photo mode you can still change the FOV if you wish and add a self-timer. I’m never going to complain about having a more accessible option for those that don’t want to be bombarded with choice, but regular users probably want to stick to Pro mode.

Whichever option you choose, it’s no good if the battery doesn’t give you time to enjoy it. That cheesy transition is me introducing the regular battery-life section. Last year the company introduced a new extreme weather “Enduro” battery as an additional accessory. Now, that battery is the standard cell for the camera.

Despite the name, the claims are ambiguous, stating a battery life improvement of up to 40 percent. That seems to be specifically tied to the performance under more intense temperatures. The most “extreme” weather I was able to test in was regular 94-degree summer heat. I had a few outings where the camera was on constantly and recording with GPS activated, save a few occasions when I was changing settings and so on. This includes plenty of connecting to the camera with my phone and pulling media wirelessly. On average, the GoPro lasted for about an hour and a half which isn’t quite as long as I’d hoped, but it is a 20 percent increase over last year’s camera in similar testing (minus GPS).

This, of course, is constant use with all the wireless/GPS on. If you’re turning the camera on and off throughout the day, not shooting in maximum resolution and not using the app heavily like I was, you can reasonably expect something decently north of that. Either way, given the new battery comes as standard there’s at least a small saving here over having to buy it as an accessory.

James Trew / Engadget

Which naturally brings us onto the overall value proposition. The good news is, the Hero 11 Black costs the same as last year’s flagship: $399.98 with a subscription or $500 without. There’s literally no reason to buy it without the subscription though as far as I can tell. However, even at the lower price, the Hero 11 Black is more expensive than the Osmo Action 3 ($329) and the Insta360 RS 4K bundle ($300).

One hundred dollars (or two, potentially) is a pretty wide spread for competing products. GoPro has the richest ecosystem of the three cameras mentioned above, but the rivals broadly sidestep this with compatible mounts. When it comes down to features, there’s a lot of overlap, but I have found GoPro’s are the better balance of practical-yet-creative. But as noted above with things like Horizon Lock, the specifics can vary from brand to brand.

What’s less in doubt is the dilemma if you were thinking of upgrading. If you’re coming from the Hero 10, there’s maybe not enough of a step forward to make it worthwhile just yet. If you’re coming from an older model, like the Hero 8 and before, the decision is much easier.

As much as this feels like an iterative update in many ways, we’ve had two years of fairly strong revisions with the Hero 9 and Hero 10. In tandem, the competition from DJI and Insta360 has really started to put some serious pressure on GoPro. The result is that it is possibly the best time in history to be buying what was formerly known as the action camera.

GoPro’s latest Hero Black update is live on the GoPro website and the usual Hero Black is joined by a new Mini model. As expected, there’s the Hero 11 Black but along with it comes the Hero 11 Black Mini. No prizes for guessing that the Mini is a smaller version of the flagship, but how the company has implemented it is a little more interesting than perhaps the “Session” cameras of old (its spiritual predecessor).

First, let’s look at what’s new in the Hero 11 Black. Design-wise there’s no changes at all bar the different number on the side, it even uses the same colors as the 10. Inside there’s only one hardware change, and that’s a new taller sensor. The Hero 11 Black also now comes bundled with the Enduro battery as standard which was previously sold as an accessory.

Intriguingly, the flagship feature GoPro is promoting seems to be the new automatic highlight videos. The idea is, once you get back from your adventure and plug your camera in, it’ll auto upload your new footage and create a spiffy video for you automatically. It’s intriguing because this isn’t a Hero 11 feature at all, it’s something available to owners of any camera back to the Hero 5 as long as you have a GoPro subscription.

There are, of course, some hardware-specific updates that make use of that taller sensor. Not least is the jump from 23 to 27-megapixel photos and the introduction of 10-bit color. There’s also a “Full Frame” shooting mode that captures everything on the 8:7 sensor in 5.3K. The idea here being you can punch out different videos at different aspect ratios – in full resolution – after the fact.

GoPro

The second benefit of the new sensor is the addition of 360-degree horizon lock right up to 5.3K/30. This is either a practical tool to avoid lop-sided video or can be used for creative effect if your activity involves any kind of spinning – you can keep the subject level and just spin the sky, for example.

The maximum resolution stays at 5K/60 or 4K120, but along with Full Frame, you now have “HyperView” which is the whole sensor view squeezed into a 16:9 format. It’s basically the existing SuperView, just with even more pixels. It’s great for first person view shots as it really dials up the sense of action.

Night owls will find some new tools in the Time Lapse section: Vehicle Lights, Star Trails and Light Paint. The names match popular effects we’ve all seen before and now you can do them right from your GoPro straight from a preset.

As for HyperSmooth, the company’s software stabilization, that’s now in its fifth incarnation and comes with Auto Boost for those extra heavy moments. One other new menu option is the ability to switch between Pro and Easy mode. “Pro” is the current standard menu system while Easy strips out everything but the best click-and-go settings for most situations.

Perhaps the most interesting news for hardware fans is that new Mini model. It’s the exact same camera guts, just without either of the video displays. Instead there’s a limited LCD for seeing what settings are active and two buttons. The party-piece here is that the Mini has two sets of built-in mounting fingers, making it a little more versatile than its bigger sibling. The Mini is also powered by a non-removable Enduro battery.

GoPro is sticking with its funky pricing scheme which means you actually pay less if you choose to include a subscription. The Hero 11 Black keeps the $399/$500 (without a sub) price of the camera it replaces while the Mini comes in at $300/$400. The flagship goes on sale today, while the Mini will ship starting October 25.

DJI has done another 180 on its Osmo action cam lineup. The original Osmo Action had a classic GoPro look, but then with the Action 2 (no Osmo), DJI went to an oddball modular design. It had some interesting ideas – it was nice and small, and you could add storage, a front-facing screen and more with the add-on units. But it suffered from overheating, proved to be somewhat fragile and was overly complex.

Now with the Osmo Action 3, DJI has brought back the action-cam form factor. It also made numerous small improvements from the mount to the displays to the battery – but kept the previous model’s 1/1.7-inch, 12-megapixel sensor and maximum 4K 120p video resolution.

The rival Hero 10 is in a class by itself with its HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilization, 5.3K 60p resolution and 240fps 2.7K frame rate – and GoPro has teased a new model (“taking it to 11”) arriving in exactly an hour – quite the interesting coincidence. To see how it stacks up, I tested it on a vehicle, bike and on foot, while getting a face-first look at the improved durability.

Body and handling

Without the battery module, the Action 2 has a fairly weak 60 minutes of battery life. DJI has addressed that with the new “Extreme Battery” on the Osmo Action 3 that lasts up to 160 minutes. It’s also the first action camera with fast-charging (via the Multifunction Battery Case) that allows for an 80 percent charge in just 18 minutes, or a full charge in 50 minutes.

It has a slick new magnetic quick-release mount that lets you connect the camera directly to a GoPro-style mount with or without the case. It also allows for easy vertical mounting, making the Action 3 better for social media.

That lets you detach the camera from a bike, car or other mount without the need to remove it from the case. DJI notes that the mounting system “eliminates loose connections and withstands impact such as a rider falling off their bike,” but recommends not doing that.

Steve Dent/Engadget

So naturally, I executed a perfect face plant on my mountain bike, and can confirm that the camera came away unscathed, unlike my face (yes, there’s video). The camera clearly made some contact with the ground but stayed attached to the mount and suffered no visible damage – so kudos to DJI for that.

You also get a front (1.4-inch, 360x360) and rear (2.25-inch, 640x360) screen that are both touch-enabled, making for easier vlogging or self-shooting. Gorilla Glass on the displays aids in the promised impact resistance. The menu system works in the same way as the Action 2, mainly by swiping. You swipe up to change primary settings like resolution and frame rate, down to access the main menu, left to change the shooting mode and right to play back footage. The menus work in the same way on both the front and rear displays.

It’s not terribly intuitive, but probably the best option for a screen that small. You can also connect the camera to DJI’s Mimo app, which is easier to use and more like what you’ll find on its Fly and Go drone apps. That lets you control video and photo captures remotely, while changing all the key camera settings.The app is also used to update the camera’s firmware.

As before, the Osmo Action 3 can work as a webcam, promising higher-quality video and audio than your typical built-in camera for conference calls and livestreams. This works well, with minimal setup and an easy connection via USB-C, though video is very wide. It also lets you livestream via WiFi at up to 1080/30p.

Video and stabilization

The Action 3 uses the latest version of DJI’s stabilization, Rocksteady 3.0, to eliminate camera shake in all directions up to the maximum 4K/120fps. It's nearly on par with GoPro’s HyperSmooth 4. I tested it on a vehicle over rough gravel roads, riding a bike on trails and roads with the camera mounted on my helmet, and on foot with the included selfie stick. It smoothed out the video perfectly in all those situations, only letting me down once (when I crashed), for some unknown reason.

It also uses DJI’s Horizon features that first arrived on the Osmo Action to keep the image level. HorizonSteady does a combination of shake reduction and horizon leveling, even through heavy bumps and extreme 360 degree rotations. This could be useful for… I’m not sure? Perhaps skydiving, scuba diving or the like. Note that it only works at up to 2.7K resolution and crops the image, no doubt because it requires the surrounding pixels to compensate for rotation.

Steve Dent/Engadget

HorizonBalancing corrects the tilt horizontally within ±45° and allows for steady recording at 4K/60fps. DJI calls it “a good middle ground between RockSteady and HorizonSteady, where a smooth 4K picture in dynamic movement is priority, such as an obstacle course run.” That feature kept my footage both smooth and steady, even through steep banks on a bike through streets.

The Action 3’s camera offers a 155-degree field of view (equivalent to a 12.5mm full-frame lens), considerably wider than the GoPro Hero 10’s 19mm equivalent in linear mode or about 16mm in fisheye mode. It also offers a standard dewarped (linear) view, along with wide and ultra-wide FOVs, with the latter considerably distorted. The zoom function is digital-only and looks pretty poor – you’d be better off zooming in using your video editing app.

As mentioned, DJI is playing up the vertical aspect ratio, with not just a vertical mount and user interface, but vertical shooting capability. The feature allow for 9:16 vertical shooting so you can post social media content at all the available resolutions with no need for cropping. 

Video quality is excellent, at least on par with the Hero 10 at the equivalent resolution (the Action 3 has a 130Mbps max data rate, while Hero 10 tops out at 100Mbps). As mentioned, it can do 120fps at 4K, or 240fps at 1080p. On top of the video modes, you can shoot 12-megapixel photos.

The Hero 10, meanwhile, supports 5.3K at up to 60fps, 4K at 120 fps and 2.7K at 240fps. It’s nice to have the 240fps option at a higher resolution, but the DJI Osmo Action 3 is arguably a touch sharper at the full 4K 120p resolution. 

The Hero 10 is better in low light, though. Despite the larger pixels, the Action 3’s video can get quite noisy, even in daylight in shaded forest, for instance. By contrast (sorry), the Hero 10 delivers clearer footage in similar situations.

With the new model, DJI has added the D-Cinelike color mode from its drones to boost dynamic range and make editing easier with contrasty footage. It also added a new color temperature sensor that automatically adjusts white balance and exposure in a single shot if you’re moving from shadows to bright sunlight or diving into water, for instance. That usually gave me relatively smooth transitions from shaded to sunlit areas, though again, the Hero 10 does a better job in this regard.

The Action 3 is waterproof at depths up to 16 meters (52.5 feet) without any housing and 64 meters with the optional waterproof case. That makes it ideal for snorkeling, light scuba diving, surfing and other watersports without the case, and deeper diving with it. I didn’t get a chance to test that feature other than splashing some water on it, but it certainly looks tight and solid.

Some users complained about overheating on the previous model, but DJI said that a new heat management system allows for continuous 4K 60p recording "until the battery runs out." I ran it at that resolution for 60 minutes with no issues, but at 4K 120p, the camera warns that the maximum recording time is nine minutes. GoPro Hero 10 users have reported recording times around 20-30 minutes at 5.3K 60p or 4K 120p. 

Where the Action 2 required the optional display module for extra microphones, the new model has three built-in mics (two on the bottom front and one on top) with wind-noise reduction that offer reasonably high quality sound. You can also plug DJI’s microphone into the USB-C port or use another external mic via a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter.

It offers voice controls and voice prompts that give you the current settings without the need to stop or unmount the camera. Other features include the “Invisistick” feature to hide a selfie stick while skiing, loop recording and quick switching between five custom modes. Finally, it offers a low-power timelapse feature with presets for crowds, clouds and sunsets, along with dynamic timelapse video stabilization that offers smooth exposure and color temperature changes.

Wrap-up

Steve Dent/Engadget

So what to make of the Osmo Action 3? DJI wisely returned to an action cam form, while addressing the overheating and other complaints of users who purchased the Action 2. It also introduced features that trump the Hero 10, like the magnetic clip mount and long-lasting, fast-charging battery.

However, it still doesn’t beat GoPro where it really counts: the footage. Stabilization is nearly comparable, but the $400 Hero 10 (with subscription) has superior low-light powers, smoother scene transitions and higher resolution. Another option is the $300 Insta360 One RS, but the the linear frame rates (with the 4K Boost Lens) are lower than either the Hero 10 or Action 3 at 4K, 2.7K and 1080p resolutions — though it's a good option if you need 360-degree capture.

The Osmo Action 3 looks like a good option for many folks, though, particularly at the $329 base price. You can also grab it for $439 in the adventure combo, with three Extreme Batteries and the multifunction case, protective frame, a 1.5m extension rod, flat adhesive base, pair of quick-release adapter mounts and more. DJI also offers a large number of accessories including

Logitech has unveiled the Brio 500 series webcams designed to fix things like "unflattering camera angles, poor lighting and field-of-view limitations," it said. The Brio 500 models come with multiple fields of view from 65 to 90 degrees, auto light correction via the RightLight 4 and a magnetic mounting system that makes it easy to get the best angle for your face.

Unlike the original Brio 4K model, the cylindrical Brio 500 supports 1080p at 30 fps or 720 at 60fps, though a new 4-megapixel sensor supposedly offers improved image quality. One nice feature is the new privacy shutter, operated via a dial on the right side of the webcam. Another is the "Show Mode" designed to let others see your desk for a presentation, etc., simply by tilting the camera towards it. 

It includes a pair of beamforming, noise cancelling microphones and "Right Sight" auto-framing that keeps you centered in the view. The mount has a plastic clamp with a magnetic attachment on top that mates to another magnet at the bottom of the webcam, but some testers found the bond a bit weak. 

The Brio 500 is now available in black, rose and off-white starting at $130. Logitech also unveiled the new Zone Vibe 100 (Bluetooth) and 125 headphones (Bluetooth and USB receiver) in the same colors, starting at $100 for the Zone Vibe 100 black model and $130 for the Zone Vibe 125 in black. 

Following an Insider beta test that began in July, Discord voice chats are now available on all Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S consoles. The integration allows Discord users on Xbox, PC and mobile to join the same voice channels. You’ll first need to link your Discord and Xbox accounts together to get started. If you already did that so that your Discord contacts could see your Gamertag, you’ll need to do so again because of the new voice permissions required to make the integration work. And then comes the complicated part.

Discord on Xbox works by transferring you and your voice chat from the platform to your console. As such, you can’t join a call directly from an Xbox. Instead, you’ll need to start your conversations on desktop or mobile and then use the Discord and Xbox apps to transfer the call. Once you’ve linked your accounts, you’ll see a new “Join on Xbox” button in Discord that allows you to begin that process. Tap the button and the Xbox app will open on your phone to ask you on what console you would like to continue your chat.

It’s not the most intuitive implementation, but it could improve over time. “We look forward to continuing our partnership to create even deeper, more meaningful experiences for your friends and communities,” Discord said of the integration. Microsoft echoed the sentiment, noting it was excited “to bring more Discord experiences to Xbox in the future.”

Even though iOS 16 is only just in the hands of most iPhone users, Apple has already revealed some details about what's ahead for the operating system. A feature called Clean Energy Charging, which the company will roll out in the US as part of an update later this year, will optimize charging times to take into account when the power grid is using more sustainable sources of energy. Apple says the aim is to reduce the carbon footprint of iPhones.

The feature complements the Optimizing Battery Charging option Apple introduced a few years ago to maximize battery health. With this setting enabled, your iPhone will figure out your daily charging routine and limit the battery's charge to 80 percent until close to when you're going to start using your iPhone (or Mac, since that has the feature too).

In addition, iCloud Shared Photo Library is coming later this year. That will create a separate iCloud library that up to six people can access. Apple will also introduce support for the Matter smart home standard once that becomes available sometime this fall.

Those with an iOS 16-compatible iPhone now have access to a boatload of new features, primarily to do with personalization. The Live Activities function should make it easier to track certain things in real time, such as the status of a delivery and sports scores. The option to edit and unsend messages in iMessage will be a big deal for many, as will the ability to copy and paste an object from one photo to another.

Despite primarily working from home for years before the pandemic hit, I hadn’t thought too much about my WFH setup before 2020. I went as far as investing in a solid monitor, mostly because I was sick of squinting at a 13-inch laptop screen for eight hours each day. It actually wasn’t until earlier this year that I decided to upgrade my workspace in a meaningful way.

I chalk this up to being someone who constantly talks themselves out of buying things. I’m a fairly frugal person, but I have no problem buying things that I know will make a big impact on my day-to-day life. So, I invested in a good pair of ANC headphones when I could snag them on sale; a full-sized mechanical keyboard for a more comfortable (and more fun) typing experience and the Blue Yeti Nano microphone for increasingly more frequent video calls.

I’ll admit the Yeti Nano was probably the lowest priority item out of those three things, despite being a long-time favorite in the microphone space. However, it’s proven to be a smart investment, mostly because I have more video meetings now than ever. In pre-pandemic times, I had maybe one video conference per week, and that was during the busiest of times. But now, for many reasons ranging from the wide acceptance of remote work and the progression of my own career, I typically have a number of video calls each day. And I believe in putting my best face (and voice) forward as much as possible: I try to turn my Logitech Streamcam on for most every video call I take and I wanted the quality of my voice to match that of my video feed.

Valentina Palladino / Engadget

The Yeti Nano mic delivers on this in a fantastic fashion. In my initial messing around after I unboxed the thing, I could immediately hear the difference in my audio when I recorded a few test samples in Audacity. My voice sounded clearer and stronger and the audio lacked the subtly fuzzy quality that I typically hear when I use my laptop’s microphone.

The Yeti Nano supports cardioid and omnidirectional polar patterns, but I usually keep mine on the former since I’m the only one using it on the daily. However, I like the fact that I have the option to start a roundtable podcast in the future without needing to spend more money on a better mic. I also like that the Yeti Nano will come in handy during the few times a year I get to be a guest on the Engadget podcast. Previously for those occasions, I would use an external mic that I acquired years ago, but it didn’t come with a sturdy base like the Yeti Nano. It would be a struggle to get that mic in the right position on my desk for optimal podcast performance, and I don’t anticipate the same struggle with the Yeti Nano.

I have known for a while how popular Blue microphones are with budding podcasters, game streamers, remote workers and the like, so the brand was the first I turned to when I went looking for an upgrade. Out of the many devices in the company’s lineup, I ultimately decided to buy the Yeti Nano in part because of its design. It’s just compact enough to sit on my standing desk converter next to my monitor without obscuring the screen too much, and it’s still in a great spot for video calls. Initially I waffled between the Nano and the full-sized Yeti, but I ultimately decided that the few extra bells and whistles that come with the latter – namely stereo and bidirectional modes – weren’t necessary for my regular use. I was also able to pick up the Yeti Nano while it was on sale at Amazon, so instead of spending $100, I only dropped $80 on it. That means I can put a few extra dollars toward the next piece of tech that I decide will make my desk setup even more functional.

Sonos has long offered a wireless subwoofer as part of its home theater, a large and powerful product that also costs a whopping $749. For anyone with a smaller room, or a smaller budget, it was a bit of a stretch. Sonos is giving bass-lovers a new option today: the rumored Sub Mini is real — and at $429, it costs a lot less than its bigger sibling. 

The Sub Mini is a cylindrical speaker with a "center tunnel" cutout to move air around. It's a foot tall and about 9 inches in diameter; at 14 pounds, it's not exactly light, but that's more than 20 pounds lighter than the Sonos Sub. It's compatible with any amplified Sonos speaker aside from portable products like the Move and Roam, which means you can pair it with audio speakers like the Sonos One or Five as well as home theater soundbar like the Beam and Ray. (Sonos recommends pairing its high-end Arc soundbar with the full-sized Sub, but there's no technical reason you can't use it alongside the Sub Mini.)

Along with that center tunnel, the Sub Mini includes two 6-inch, force-cancelling woofers and two class-D digital amplifiers, along with a 5GHz wireless connection and a 10/100 ethernet port if you prefer to hardwire your speakers. As with all Sonos products, you set up the Sub Mini through the Sonos mobile app — from there, you'll tell it which room the sub is in and pair it to a soundbar or speaker set. 

As with other Sonos speakers, you can tune the Sub Mini once it's set up to properly balance your system's sound using Trueplay. You'll need a compatible iOS device to use Trueplay, as it uses the device's microphone to listen to the room and optimize audio quality based on the acoustics of your room. My experience with Trueplay has always been positive, so this is a step worth taking if you have an iPhone or iPad. 

The Sonos Sub comes in black or white and is up for preorder today and will be widely available on October 6th. As with any speaker, we'll need to hear this one before we can recommend it, but it's good that Sonos finally has a more affordable option for improving bass from its products. It should also be appreciated by anyone with a smaller room or setup — I've long wanted a little more bass from my pair of Sonos One speakers, for example, but the bigger Sub would be massive overkill. The Sub Mini, on the other hand, could be just right.

It’s been a while since Amazon upgraded the entry-level version of the Kindle, but it seems like good things have come to those who wait. The 2022 edition has so many upgrades that it’ll make anyone who bought a Kindle in the last year (like me) bilious with envy. First up, there’s a new 300 ppi display, up from the 167 ppi found on its predecessors, giving it the same resolution as the last few Paperwhites, boasting “laser-quality” text and graphics.

Amazon’s generosity is matched elsewhere on the spec list, with the on-board storage doubled to 16GB. You’ll also get a longer, six-week battery life, a lighter frame, adjustable front-light and the long overdue addition of a USB-C port for charging. If that wasn’t enough, buyers will also get a four month trial to Kindle Unlimited, although that offer is only available for a limited time.

Amazon

As the Kindle gets an update, so does the junior edition of the e-reader, with the Kindle Kids getting the same specs as its parent. Each unit comes with a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids+, with a library of thousands of age-appropriate books and the usual parental control features.

Amazon is also boasting about the sustainability credentials of the new Kindles, saying that both are built from 90 percent recycled magnesium. Plus, all of the packaging is now 100 percent recyclable, made with material from responsibly-managed forests.

If there’s one downside, it’s that — at least right now — you won’t get a discounted Kindle if you opt for a version with ads. Amazon’s press release says that the new Kindle will start at $99.99 in Black or Denim, while the Kindle Kids will set you back $119.99.

Meta's Quest Pro headset is due to arrive next month, but there are always leaks to spoil the party. In a video from Ramiro Cardenas, you can see a black headset with three cameras on the front that resembles the minimal glimpses we've seen of the Project Cambria headset. Cardenas said multiple devices (labeled "engineering samples") were left in a hotel room. Whoops.

Ramiro Cardenas

We also got a closer look at a pair of new controllers, with a new design that replaces the previous looped ones. The packaging says "Meta Quest Pro" – so that’s probably the name. The hype may have died down, but the tech has continued to advance. Expect better movement tracking, higher-quality displays and more.

Virtual reality should get another boost over the next 12 months. Alongside Meta’s new headset, Sony’s PS VR 2 headset is due to appear next year. Actually, expect to hear more on PlayStation VR titles later today.

– Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• ​​Apple’s watchOS 9 is now available

• The next Nintendo Direct streams on September 13th

• Starbucks thinks you'll want to collect NFTs to earn rewards

• The 2021 Apple TV HD has hit an all-time low of $99

• Meta is spinning off the Pytorch framework into its own AI research foundation

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The Flip 4 is also $100 off.

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iOS 16 is now available

The software introduces a redesigned lock screen.

Apple

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4K and fast shooting speeds for less than $1,000.

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Roku reveals a new subwoofer and a revamped Roku Express

The company also previewed more discovery features.

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Google may be giving up on Pixelbook laptops

A new Pixelbook was reportedly "far along in development."

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