There aren't many options when it comes to consumer 360 cameras these days, so when Insta360 launched its more powerful One RS modular camera back in March, I was a little disappointed with its 5.7K "360 Lens" option — basically on par with the Sphere, One X2, One R and the One X. Don't get me wrong, they all do well for their form factors (not to mention the computational improvements), but after three years or so, it's about time for a major upgrade. As it turns out, Insta360 was saving its "one more thing" for today: a "1-inch 360 Edition" One RS co-branded with Leica. 

As the name implies, this new kit comes with a chunkier 360 lens module powered by two 1-inch CMOS sensors, and these are capable of capturing at higher resolutions — up to 6K for 360 videos, or up to 21 megapixels for 360 photos. This should guarantee a boost in image quality, especially in low light. This also happens to be the world's first 360 camera to be "co-engineered with Leica," following the two companies' earlier collaboration on the One R's 1-inch Wide Angle Mod.

Richard Lai/Engadget

Unlike the regular One RS kit (with either the new "4K Boost Lens" or the regular "360 Lens"), this "1-inch 360 Edition" uses a vertical assembly to accommodate the bigger lens module. From top to bottom: lens, core (with a touchscreen), then a vertical battery. 

The One RS core benefits from an upgraded processor to support onboard "FlowState Stabilization" (which is faster than the app) as well as "Active HDR" video capture for action sports. As for battery life, this whole kit is apparently good for up to 62 minutes of 6K@30fps video recording. 

The core and battery are inserted into a housing, which then clips to the lens to secure the entire device (thus enabling IPX3 water resistance, which is good enough for rain and snow). You'll still have access to the 1/4-inch standard screw mount at the bottom of the battery.

To disassemble this kit (especially when you need to access the microSD slot), you'll have to first open the USB port flap on the housing, then press the two clips under the lens to detach. It's obviously best to keep the soft protection case (included) on the lens while doing so.

Richard Lai/Engadget

The Insta360 One RS "1-inch 360 Edition" is now available for $800, which is quite a jump from the $549.99 "Twin Edition" (which comes with a "4K Boost Lens" and a "360 Lens" instead). A company rep explained that this new kit is targeting the prosumer market, such as users who want to create virtual tours for museums or real estate properties.

That said, if you already own a One RS, you can buy the same "1-inch 360 Edition" kit sans core for $650, thus saving you $150. This also applies to those who have the older One R, as this lens is backwards compatible.

Amazon's latest sale on Anker accessories presents a good opportunity to pick up a spare charging brick, wireless stand or portable battery for less. A smattering of devices are included in this sale, and some of the deals are one-day-only discounts while others are Prime-exclusive deals. The most urgent of the bunch are deals on the 40W Anker Nano Pro and the 30W Nano II chargers — the former is 32 percent off and down to $27 and the latter is 18 percent off and down to $28 for today only. The best news is that you don't have to be a Prime member to snatch up either of those deals.

The 40W Nano Pro includes two USB-C ports so you can charge two devices simultaneously. It's capable of powering up a MacBook Air at full speed, making it a good choice for those that want a compact charger that can handle both smartphones and other small mobile devices as well as their laptop. The 30W Nano II only has one USB-C port, but it can also charge a MacBook Air at full speed. Plus, it uses GaN technology for more efficient charging and better heat management.

Another one-day deal knocks 23 percent off the Anker 544 wireless charging stand, bringing it down to $90. This 3-in-1 stand can charge up your iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch at the same time, and it comes with its own wall adapter, too. We also like that the Apple Watch pad is built in, so you don't have to weave the charging pad that came with your Watch into the stand for it to work.

As for Prime-exclusive deals, there are a couple worth checking out. Anker's PowerWave Sense 2-in-1 wireless charging stand is 30 percent off and down to $30, while a bundle with a 20W USB-C charger and a USB-C to Lightning cable is also 30 percent off and on sale for $28. The stand is similar to Anker's 533 stand that made it on our list of favorite multi-device wireless chargers in that it can power up your iPhone and your Apple Watch at once. Being a 2-in-1 device, the PowerWave accessory doesn't have a spot for your AirPods and you'll have to use your own Apple Watch charging pad with it to get the full experience. But we like that it comes with a power cable for the stand itself, plus a quick-charge wall adapter.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

HTC has introduced a new phone with metaverse-focused features, like it promised earlier this month. The HTC Desire 22 Pro supports HTC's Viverse ecosystem and will allow users to visit communities even without VR devices using their browsers. It's also compatible with the company's $499 Vive Flow VR headset and can be paired with the device if users want to explore experiences, watch movies and TV or even just access their apps in virtual reality. As Engadget Chinese notes, though, aside from its metaverse-focused offerings, the phone is firmly mid-range.

The HTC Desire 22 Pro has a 6.6-inch display with a 1,080 x 2,412 pixel resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chip, a mid-range SoC, has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The device has a 4,520 mAh battery and offers reverse wireless charging. Plus, it has a three-camera system at the back, with a 65-megapixel main, 13-megapixel ultrawide and 5-megapixel depth-sensing cameras. For selfies, the phone has a 32-megapixel front-facing camera. 

A company executive said at Mobile World Congress this year that the manufacturer is gearing up to launch a new high-end device. It's not clear if the executive was talking about this particular phone, but prices for the Desire 22 Pro begin at NT$11990 or around US$404, which means it has the potential to reach a wider audience than more expensive flagship devices. The Desire 22 Pro is now available for pre-order and will start shipping on July 1st in the company's home country of Taiwan. In the UK, buyers can pre-order a unit for £399 and expect shipping to begin on August 1st. Those who also want to get a Vive Flow headset can order a discounted bundle for NT$23,490 (US$791) in Taiwan or £763 in the UK.  

Since its debut in 2016, Nura has built its whole brand around optimizing audio for your hearing. But that only helps so much, obviously you want the music source to be as high a quality as possible, too. Today, the company is announcing the NuraTrue Pro, a wireless TWS set that supports AptX Lossless – the highest quality Bluetooth codec to date.

AptX Lossless is new enough that barely anything supports it right now. But given it’s part of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound platform, it won’t be long before most Android flagships adopt it. Apple users, on the other hand, might be waiting forever, given that there’s no support for any form of AptX or any other higher resolution audio over Bluetooth beyond the company’s implementation of AAC.

Nonetheless, the NuraTrue Pro is currently in a fairly exclusive club with support for the new codec, which is capable of 16-bit/44.1Khz “CD quality” audio. Something the company hopes, in combination with its proprietary “customized” audio, will make these TWS a reference point for audio quality. This means it also supports all the other flavors of AptX (HD, Adaptive and so on), plus, of course, Apple-friendly codecs too.

James Trew / Engadget

Beyond the higher-fidelity support, there are, of course, some other new features to separate these from the original NuraTrue that the company announced last summer. For starters, there’s support for spatial audio powered by Dirac, improved ANC, an upcoming “ProEQ” tool for fine-tuning audio and a claimed extra two hours of battery life – now eight hours on a single charge, up from the original’s six. The case still offers another 24 hours of charging before you’ll need to reach for that USB-C cable.

Most importantly, the Pro model has a slightly modified design with a new smooth metallic material around the edge and for the logo – just so people don’t mistakenly think you’re still on last year’s model.

Most everything else matches what we’d expect from a Nura headphone. That’s to say, the automatic hearing test for personalized audio is here. Performing this with the app takes about a minute and only needs to be done once. You can even export that profile to other devices if you need it, and it’s stored locally on the headphones so the benefit carries with you over to, say, your desktop PC.

The same goes for “immersion mode.” In the NuraPhone over-ears this was a tactile “bass” feature through haptics, but in all the other models it’s more of a bass-boost mode. It works just fine, but can be a little overbearing at higher volumes (especially for music that’s bass-heavy in the first place). On the pre-release model Nura sent for testing, immersion mode feels a little too aggressive or needs some fine-tuning as almost anything above zero seems to distort.

That’s about the only audio gripe, though. Comparing these side by side with the original NuraTrue, the difference on a standard YouTube Music stream isn’t stark, but if you add in spatial mode you can definitely feel a little more “air” in the mix, as if the sound stage is a little wider, and at no expense of volume as can sometimes be the case.

James Trew / Engadget

Sadly, my iPhone can’t serve up anything in delicious AptX Lossless, but the three-year-old OnePlus 7 Pro I have lying around can manage the next one down (AptX Adaptive). I must say I am generally impressed with the performance of the NuraTrue Pro. I was worried that the combination of spatial and personalization on top of new codec support might risk highlighting unwanted frequencies, especially when adding EQ on top.

Instead, it seems to come together well, producing a sturdy, spacious but not overly “modified” sound. I mean, it is modified, that’s sorta Nura’s whole vibe, but it doesn’t sound so, and that’s the important thing.

If you’re wondering why customized headphones would need an additional “ProEQ” feature, that’s largely down to giving users the choice. Theoretically, Nura’s hearing test should provide all the EQ you need, but of course, maybe you just prefer things a little more pronounced in the mid-range, the tool will be there for those that want it.

All in all, the NuraTrue Pro should be a welcome addition to an already well-rounded line-up from Nura. Despite the company’s established product releases, the NuraTrue Pro will be launching on Kickstarter for delivery later this year. While that might be a sticking point for some, it does mean that you can bag a set for a super early bird price of $199. Regular retail price will be some way north of that at $329 (£299/359€).

Valve loves to warn people about the risks of do-it-yourself Steam Deck maintenance, and this time it’s reminding you that trying to upgrade the built-in storage could lead to problems.

Following a PC Gamer article on modding the Steam Deck, Valve hardware designer Lawrence Yang warned against upgrading the device's NVMe SSD. While it's technically possible, the bigger M.2 2242 drives are hotter and more power-hungry than the 2230 models the handheld was meant to support. Yang added you could "significantly shorten" the longevity of the system. You’ve been told.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• 'Endless Dungeon' is a tense mix of tower defense and twin-stick hero shooter

• Samsung's 1TB 980 Pro SSD returns to an all-time low of $140

• Google's Nest WiFi packs drop to record-low prices at Amazon

• Hummer EV's obstacle-avoiding Extract Mode adds six inches of ride height

Valve ramps up production to 'more than double' Steam Deck shipments

You could get your hands on the device sooner than expected.

And if you don’t yet have a Steam Deck — or you fried yours with an ill-advised upgrade — Valve says it has boosted production and will ship more than twice the number of units each week.

Were you to reserve a Steam Deck now, you likely wouldn't receive it until at least October. However, since Valve is ramping up the volume of shipments, it may bring down that wait time.

Continue reading.

‘GoldenEra’ is a loving, if muddled, tribute to ‘GoldenEye 007’

Covering the whole breadth of a video game’s influence is harder than it looks.

Nintendo

The Nintendo 64’s GoldenEye 007 — the rare Bond game that not only nailed the franchise tie-in but elevated the experience — is one of a handful of games that warrant a feature-length making-of documentary. Drew Roller’s GoldenEra tries to encompass the entire creative route, from its genesis as a small project at Rare’s rural farmland campus to the monster it became.

GoldenEra has been able to get many of the original team on the record, supplemented by a number of journalists and talking heads from across the games industry. But multiple segments — those covering Perfect Dark, Free Radical Design and Timesplitters, GoldenEye fan films and the modding community — feel a little shallow.

Continue reading.

LG buys its way into the EV charging business

It's acquiring a charger manufacturing company.

LG is jumping into the EV charging business with the acquisition of a South Korean EV battery charger developer called AppleMango. This should help it create "fully featured" charging stations with a user-friendly interface and real-time control and management, it said. In particular, it’ll leverage its "sturdy, dust- and water-proof" outdoor digital display tech. LG plans to install an EV charger production line at LG Digital Park in South Korea by the end of 2022.

Continue reading.

Apple's entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 may have slower SSD speeds than the M1 model

That could affect performance for app loading and more.

Apple's 13-inch 256GB MacBook Pro M2 may have worse SSD performance than the equivalent M1 model, according to testing by YouTube sites Max Tech and Created Tech. The $1,300 base model showed around 50 percent slower read speeds and 30 percent slower write speeds. It turns out the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 has a single 256GB NAND flash storage chip instead of two 128GB chips like the previous M1 model. That would mean the driver can only use two lanes in parallel, restricting performance.

Continue reading.

The Supreme Court won't hear the Apple-Qualcomm patent case

Apple claimed Qualcomm might use two patents to sue again.

Apple and Qualcomm may have ended most of their feuding in 2019, but the fight isn't over just yet. The Supreme Court has denied Apple's request for a hearing to possibly invalidate two Qualcomm patents that played key roles in 2017’s attempts to ban Apple Watch, iPad and iPhone sales over alleged modem-technology infringements. The court didn't explain why it rejected the request, but a Justice Department amicus brief from May argued there was no evidence to indicate the patents were harming Apple's business.

Continue reading.

Nintendo Direct on June 28th is all about third-party Switch games

No Zelda, maybe ‘Silksong’?

Engadget

A Nintendo Direct Mini is scheduled for June 28th at 9AM ET. It probably won't feature news on Mario, Zelda, Pokémon or any of Nintendo's other franchises, though. Nintendo says it'll focus on third-party titles on their way to Switch, and it could be a fairly meaty affair. It clocks in at 25 minutes, and Nintendo’s online showcases usually run at a fair clip. One of the more notable third-party games slated for a Switch debut, No Man's Sky, already has a release date of October 7th, so that may not get a heavy focus. There's always the chance of more details on Hollow Knight: Silksong, which is slated to arrive in the next year.

Continue reading.

People with arm paralysis might easily feed themselves in the future. Johns Hopkins University-led researchers have developed a new technique that let a partially paralyzed man feed himself using robotic arms connected through a brain-machine interface. He only had to make small movements with his fists at certain prompts (such as "select cut location") to have the fork- and knife-equipped arms cut food and bring it to his mouth. He could have dessert within 90 seconds, according to the researchers.

The new method centers on a shared control system that minimizes the amount of mental input required to complete a task. He could map his four-degree freedom of movement (two for each hand) to as many as 12 degrees of freedom for controlling the robot arms. The limbs' prompt-based intelligent responses also reduced the workload.

The technology is still young. Scientists want to add touch-like sensory feedback instead of relying exclusively on visuals. They also hope to improve the accuracy and efficiency while reducing the need for visual confirmation. In the long term, though, the team sees robotic arms like these restoring complex movements and providing more independence to people with disabilities.

Hangouts holdouts will have to finally say goodbye to Google’s most resilient chat app later this year. On Monday, the company announced it would start migrating consumer Hangouts users to Chat before the former is no longer available after November 2022. If you still use Hangouts on mobile, you’ll see a prompt starting today to move to either the standalone Chat app or the Chat experience in Gmail. “Hangouts has been replaced by Google Chat,” the company declares in the notification.

Over on Gmail, Google won’t begin prodding Hangouts users to switch over until July. The Hangouts web client will remain available until November, and the company says users will have “at least” one month of warning before the platform’s webpage begins automatically redirecting to the Chat website instead. If you’re still actively using Hangouts, Google promises your conversations will automatically transfer to its newer app. That said, you can also use the company’s Takeout service to download a copy of your data.

Google has been gradually phasing out the Hangouts brand in favor of its newer messaging services for some time now, so it’s not surprising the company has finally decided to sunset the platform. And while it never enjoyed the popularity of some instant messaging apps, Hangouts had its devout fans.

Maybe you were finally able to get your hands on a PS5 not too long ago, but now you find yourself quickly running out of space on it. Now's a good time to invest in an SSD that can expand your console's storage because one of our favorites from Samsung is back on sale for an all-time-low price. The Samsung 980 Pro drive in 1TB is 33 percent off and down to $140. A few other drive we recommend from brands like PNY, Patriot and Crucial are also on sale right now, too.

Normally priced at $210, Samsung's drive comes in a compact, M.2 form factor and supports read speeds up to 7,000 MB/s. It uses a special thermal control algorithm and a nickel coating to manage heat levels, plus a heat spreader label to help manage the temperature of the NAND chip. It's also compatible with Samsung Magician, which is management software that lets you monitor its overall health and keep it up to date.

The biggest issue for PS5 owners is that the drive's standard configuration doesn't come with a heatsink, which you'll need to install it in the console. However, you can get the SSD with said heatsink for only $170 right now, which is 26 percent off its normal rate.

Also on sale is our favorite PS5 SSD, the Patriot Viper VP4300: the 1TB version is down to $130 and the 2TB model is on sale for $255. This drive supports sequential read speeds of up to 7,400 MB/s, plus it comes with a heatsink preinstalled so it's ready to use with the PS5. If you've got a tighter budget, a couple of Crucial and PNY drives might be better fits. Crucial's P5 Plus SSD in 1TB is 20 percent off and down to $128, while PNY's XLR8 CS3040 SSD in 1TB is a whopping 42 percent off and down to $105.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

If you've been waiting for Google's highest-end Pixel 6 model to drop below the $800 mark before you buy, you now have your chance. Woot is selling the 128GB Pixel 6 Pro for $780 ($119 off) today only. That's better than an Amazon discount we saw earlier this month, and a good deal if you're looking for a powerful large-screen phone.

Much of what we said about the Pixel 6 Pro at launch remains true today. It mates top-tier (if polarizing) design with superb cameras, a good screen and Google's definitive Android 12 experience, including smart Assistant features. It's also relatively light for a phone this size at 7.4oz, if not quite as featherweight as Samsung's Galaxy S22+ (6.9oz).

Software updates have tackled many of the Pixel 6 Pro's early problems, although the fingerprint reader might still be too finicky for some tastes. The bigger concern simply revolves around timing. Google has already teased the release of the Pixel 7 Pro this fall — you might want to hold off if you're interested in its improved performance and other as yet unannounced upgrades. If you're just looking for a good value, though, the current-generation phone is hard to top.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Apple's 13-inch 256GB MacBook Pro M2 may have worse SSD performance than the equivalent M1 model, according to testing by YouTube sites Max Tech and Created Tech seen by MacRumors. The $1,300 base model showed around 50 percent slower read speeds (1,446 MB/s compared to 2,900 MB/s) with write speeds 30 percent lower. 

Max Tech opened up the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 and found that it only had a single 256GB NAND flash storage chip instead of two 128GB chips like the previous M1 model. That would mean the drive can only use two lanes in parallel, so performance is restricted to the speed of a single lane. 

The higher-end 512GB and 1TB models don't appear to suffer from the issue, and many review units (like our own) shipped in a 1TB configuration. The slower disk speeds on the 256GB model could affect app loading times, file transfers and data fetching. Overall performance could also take a hit as the virtual memory (used when RAM is full) will be slower, and the base model only has 8GB of RAM. 

It's not clear why Apple changed the configuration on this model, though the global chip shortage may be a factor. In any case, it's something to consider if you're looking at buying the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2.