The iPhone 14 delivers a 49 percent improvement in low-light performance and it's all thanks to a tweak Apple made to its Deep Fusion image pipeline. During its Far Out event on Wednesday, Apple detailed all the camera enhancements coming to its 2022 iPhone lineup, with its new "Photonic Engine" leading the list of improvements.
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Apple has officially unveiled the iPhone 14 at its "Far Out" event today and it seems mostly like an iterative upgrade over last year's models. We do have a new Plus model this year by way of the iPhone 14 Plus, which features a 6.7-inch display, in addition to the 6.1-inch iPhone 14. And unlike what the rumor mill was speculating, the front camera notch is still there.
Both the iPhone 14 models have the same Super Retina display that goes up to 1,200 nits, and feature ceramic shield covering for protection from scratches. The devices are available in five colors this year, including new blue and purple shades.
In addition to bigger screens, the iPhone 14s have longer battery lives, with Apple saying the Plus has the best battery life ever in an iPhone. They're also powered by the same A15 Bionic processor as last year's iPhones. The most significant updates appear to be in cameras so far, with a new 12-megapixel main camera that has a larger sensor and bigger pixels at 1.9 microns. Video recording is also getting a new feature called Action Mode, which stabilizes shaky footage as you're recording.
Another notable change this year is the removal of the physical SIM card tray. With US carriers more widely supporting eSIMs, Apple is getting rid of the slot on the edge of the iPhone so users no longer have to fiddle with the tiny bits of plastic and can get their phones remotely provisioned.
The company also introduced a new service called Emergency SOS via satellite. Apple "designed and built custom components and specific software so that iPhone 14 antennas can connect to satellites' unique frequencies." A new app will show you where to point your phone to establish a connection when you're out in the wilderness, so you can get a satellite link and send your emergency message. The app also reduces the number of keystrokes you'll need to enter, by offering templates and asking questions about your situation (like the terrain you're in), so you can get help in the quickest way.
You can also use some of the new Emergency SOS features while you're hiking using Find My, so you don't need to be in a crisis situation to use it. The service launches in November and will be free for two years with the iPhone 14 in the US and Canada. No word yet on how much Apple intends to charge after that time.
The iPhone 14 starts at $799 while the Plus starts at $899 and they'll be available for pre-order on September 9th. The base model will be available on September 16th, while the Plus rolls out on October 7th.
Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.
Three years after Apple released the AirPods Pro, the company is at long last ready to talk about the second incarnation of the earbuds at its big September hardware event. Previous reports indicated that AirPods Pro 2 wouldn't have significant design changes, with most of the changes reserved for the interior. But there's one big update to the exterior: touch controls. You'll be able to control audio playback with swipe gestures on the AirPods Pro's stems.
The earbuds are powered by a new chip, the H2. Apple claims this will help AirPods Pro cancel out up to twice as much noise. There's a new driver that could help to improve the audio quality, and there's spatial audio support. You'll be able to use your iPhone's camera to set up a custom spatial audio profile.
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In addition to the debut of the Watch Series 8, Apple had another wearable on deck for today’s iPhone 14 event. True to the rumors, the company has built a Ultra version of its wrist-worn device that’s larger and more durable with longer battery life than the “regular” models. Aimed solely at folks who are either very active or spend loads of time outdoors, the Apple Watch Ultra offers a host of premium upgrades over the rest of series 8. But all of those extras come with a much higher price tag.
The most obvious difference between the new Ultra model and the rest of the Series 8 lineup is size. The Watch Ultra is noticeably larger with a bigger screen, which means it might not be ideal for people with smaller wrists. That extra display real estate is meant to enable users to view more health and activity data than the smaller versions of the wearable. And of course, the Ultra will have its own watch faces specifically designed for the larger screen, like the new wayfinder option.
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Microsoft is rolling out an Xbox update that includes handy consoles and cloud gaming features. There's a new way to hop into a game. When a friend shares a screenshot or game clip that catches your eye, you'll be able to tap the play button on a computer or mobile device and fire up the game in a browser.
For instance, if you're on your phone and see a cool Forza Horizon 5 clip that your friend posted, you can start playing the game just by clicking the button. Given that this is a cloud gaming function, you'll need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership to use it.
Xbox's take on the feature doesn't seem quite as advanced as Stadia's State Share, however. The latter allows you to join a game at the same point as someone else and experience a world exactly as they left it just by clicking a link.
There's another welcome feature that's available on Xbox Series X/S starting today: noise suppression for party chats. Microsoft says it can keep sounds like controller clicks, your breathing and background noise out of your friends' ears.
Noise suppression, which Xbox started publicly testing back in May, will be enabled by default. If you want your pals to hear music you're playing in the background, you can switch it off from the Parties and Chats options in the guide. Microsoft plans to bring the feature to more devices in the near future.
It's time once again for Apple to show off a bunch of new gear. The company's "Far Out" iPhone event starts today at 1PM ET and, as ever, you'll be able to watch it live. The stream will be available on Apple's website and YouTube channel, as well as the Apple TV app. Alternatively, you can simply hit the play button on the video below.
Barring a major surprise, we'll get our first official look at the iPhone 14 lineup, which is expected to once again include four models (even if we may have seen the last of the Mini). Reports suggest Apple has a "complete redesign" in store, with Pro models having hole-punch cutouts for the front-facing camera and Face ID sensor. Pro models may also have always-on screens.
It's also likely that Apple will reveal the next Watch models. Rumors indicate we'll hear word of the first Apple Watch Pro, with a larger screen and a new button. AirPods Pro are due for a refresh, three years after Apple released the first model, and the company is expected to show off the next-gen version today. As for iPad, there could be some news on that front, but we might have to wait until later this fall for the company's next tablets.
With other virtual reality headset makers expected to bring face- and eye-tracking functions to their upcoming models, HTC is looking to keep pace with new accessories for its Vive Focus 3. The company says the add-ons will offer “more natural and immersive VR experiences” and enable accessibility functions such as gaze control.
The $99 Facial Tracker uses a mono camera to capture expressions from the wearer's lips, jaw, cheeks, chin, teeth and tongue. The idea is to replicate “lifelike facial expressions and mouth movements” from the user on avatars in real-time.
HTC says the Facial Tracker has a 60Hz tracking rate and can "synchronize lips to voice with minimal latency" — the system has a response time of under 10 milliseconds. The device plugs into the headset's USB-C port and weighs around 11.6 grams, so it shouldn't weigh your head down.
As for the $249 Eye Tracker, it has a dual camera system that can capture gaze direction and origin, blinks and your pupil size and position. It weighs around 54 grams and it attaches to the headset magnetically. HTC notes that "realistic" eye activity can improve non-verbal interactions in VR. What's more, the eye-tracking module can be used for research purposes.
The company suggests that presentation coaching, training and customer service management are good use cases. HTC, which released a wrist tracker accessory for the headset earlier this year, adds that eye and facial tracking could be helpful for fostering better engagement in virtual social settings, such as events, remote meetings and hanging out.
The attachments might even be employed for motion capture to help animate characters' faces in TV, film and games. HTC says developers can integrate users' biometric data into applications with the help of the Vive Wave SDK and upcoming OpenXR support. There's also Unity, Unreal Game Engine and Native integration.
HTC isn't the only VR company that's embracing face and eye tracking. Meta's next headset, which the company will reveal in October, will have eye and face tracking as well. Accessibility functions like gaze control are definitely welcome, but whether most users are comfortable with headsets monitoring their eyes and facial expressions remains to be seen.
Ring is expanding its end-to-end encryption (E2EE) offering to battery-powered cameras and doorbells, which the Amazon-owned company says are its best-selling products. It brought E2EE to several wired models last year.
"We believe we should offer a full range of privacy options to as many customers as possible," a Ring blog post reads. "And we know that different devices make sense for different living situations. That's why we've worked hard to bring this industry-leading privacy feature to as many of our camera and doorbell products as possible."
With E2EE enabled, only you will be able to access videos captured by your Ring camera. Ring and Amazon won't be able to see them. It recently emerged that Amazon has given US law enforcement footage from Ring cameras on several occasions without a court order or user consent. E2EE should prevent that from happening.
Recordings will only be accessible from a single mobile device. According to Ring's white paper, a direct connection is made between the Ring device and the phone over WiFi, with cryptographic keys and identity certificates used to establish trust between the two, and to encrypt and decrypt videos.
There are some tradeoffs for those who use E2EE. You won't be able to access Ring footage on other devices, such as Echo Show. Other features will be disabled, including the Event Timeline, Quick Replies, Alexa Greetings and Bird’s Eye View, which debuted on the Video Doorbell Pro 2 last year.
Elsewhere, Ring is making it easier to save videos when you get rid of one of its devices. Via the Deactivated Device State feature, subscribers will be able to save recordings from the doorbell or camera to their Ring account. Until now, the only officially supported way to retain the videos was by downloading them to a computer. If you cancel your subscription, Ring will delete all the videos and events from your account, but you'll be able to download the recordings first.
Microsoft Xbox has launched a new Elite Series 2 controller with a white cover plate, and it's now available for pre-order. Like its black counterpart, the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – Core in white was designed with competitive gamers in mind, with its wrap-around rubberized grip, shorter hair trigger locks and 40 hours of battery life. It's now available for pre-order from the Xbox website and select retailers for $130. That's much cheaper than the black version that has a standard retail price of $180, because it doesn't come with a case and other spare parts needed for customization.
Instead, Xbox is selling a separate Complete Component Pack, which is also available for pre-order, for $60. The pack includes a carrying case, a thumbstick-adjustment tool, a charging dock, two classic thumbsticks, one tall thumbstick, one dome thumbstick, one cross-shaped D-pad, two medium and two mini paddles, as well as a USB-C cable. By selling the pack separately, that means those who already have all those components from the black Elite Series 2 will be able to buy the new controller on its own at a cheaper price. However, that's $10 more than the black version for those who want to get both the white controller and the component pack.
In addition to announcing its new products, Xbox has also revealed that it's adding the Elite Series 2 Controllers to the Xbox Design Lab this holiday season. That means players will be able purchase personalized controllers designed with various colors and patterns of their choosing, so they can go beyond these current black and white options.
Last week Twitter announced that it would finally be introducing an edit button that users had been requesting pretty much since the app came out. While we knew that it would let you make changes for up to 30 minutes after posting, we're now learning that you'll only be able to make up to five edits too, TechCrunch has reported.
A legitimate concern about editing is that users could alter the contents of a tweet after it's disseminated widely, significantly altering the meaning. That could then potentially be abused to spread misinformation, scams and more, experts told The Washington Post. As such, the five-edit limit might be a way to prevent such abuse, though Twitter told TechCrunch that the number of edits could change based on user data it's currently collecting.
We already knew that the feature would be coming to Twitter Blue subscribers first "in a single country," Twitter said earlier. Now it confirmed that it'll launch in New Zealand later this month, and once the company learns more about how it's being used, it'll roll out to Twitter Blue users in Australia, Canada and the US. So far, the paid service is only available in those four countries.