Google is using I/O 2022 to unveil (and flaunt) a host of privacy and security upgrades, including some significant features for online shopping. The company is introducing virtual payment cards on Android and Chrome that promise extra security by replacing the real card number with a digital counterpart. It should be faster, too, as you won't have to enter the CVV or other details that frequently slow you down.
Virtual cards will be available in the US this summer for American Express, Visa and Capital One holders. Mastercard is due later in the year. This isn't as ambitious a financial project as Google's defunct Plex banking service, but it may be useful if you're worried a hacker might scrape your payment details while you're checking out.
Other additions are subtler, but potentially useful. Google now protects Workspace users against phishing and malware in Docs, Sheets and Slides, not just Gmail. You should also see the safety status in apps to let you know when your Google account is at risk.
Google is also making it easier to control data. On top of plans to let you remove contact details from search results (still in a months-long rollout), you'll also have the option to see more or less of certain brands and categories in ads through My Ad Center. You won't just be limited to blocking or reporting content.
The expansions come alongside ongoing efforts. Google is automatically enrolling users in two-factor authentication to reduce account hijacking. It's also scaling back the volume of sensitive personal info, anonymizing that content and curbing access through technologies like end-to-end encryption and the secure enclaves on modern phones. Yes, Google is partly touting these features to counter long-running accusations of less-than-stellar privacy, but they might be welcome if you're jittery about trusting the company with your data.
Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2022 right here!
The first of which is "Look and Talk." Instead of having to repeatedly start your requests to Assistant with "Hey Google," this new feature relies on computer vision and voice matching to constantly pay attention to the user. As Google's VP of Assistant, Sissie Hsiao, explained on stage, all the user has to do is look at their Nest Hub and state their request. Google is also developing a series of quick commands that users will be able to shout out without having to gaze longingly at their tablet screen or say "hey Google" first— things like "turn on the lights" and "set a ten-minute alarm."
All of the data captured in that interaction — specifically the user's face and voice prints, used to verify the user — are processed locally on the Hub itself, Hsiao continued, and not shared with Google "or anyone else." What's more, you'll have to specifically opt-in to the service before you can use it.
According to Hsiao, the backend of this process relies on a half dozen machine learning models and 100 camera and mic inputs — ie proximity, head orientation and gaze direction — to ensure that the machine knows when you're talking to it versus talking in front of it. The company also reports that it has worked stridently to make sure that this system works for people across the full spectrum of human skin tones.
The wait is over. After a year of regional betas and a delay to the game's initially planned limited launch, Respawn Entertainment announced on Wednesday it will release Apex Legends Mobile on May 17th. At that point, anyone who wants to check out the battle royale can do so on Android and iOS. Fans can pre-register to receive a notification as soon as Apex Legends Mobile is available to download. And by signing up for a download prompt, Respawn says you'll be helping the community unlock special rewards.
So close. Just out of reach. Apex Legends Mobile is launching May 17!
Help the community unlock the pre-registration rewards:
— Apex Legends Mobile (@PlayApexMobile) May 11, 2022
EA first shared it was bringing Apex to mobile in 2019. The Android and iOS release does not feature cross-play support with the PC and console versions of the popular first-person shooter. At launch, Apex Legends Mobile will also include a smaller pool of playable characters, but one will feature one exclusive legend.
Amazon is rolling out some more features for Alexa Together, a service designed to help aging folks and caregivers stay connected using the voice assistant and Echo devices. One of these is called Circle of Support, which is now available to all users. This allows the person receiving support to have up to 10 designated caregivers.
Both that person and their primary caregiver can add or remove trusted people such as siblings, cousins, friends and close neighbors. All caregivers will receive daily alerts and check-ins through the activity feed. Circle of Support could be especially useful if the primary caregiver doesn't live close to the person receiving care. If the person receiving support enables Remote Assist, only the primary caregiver will be able to use it.
Speaking of Remote Assist, Amazon will soon upgrade that feature to let the primary caregiver set up Alexa Routines for their loved one. For instance, to make life a little simpler for the person receiving care, a routine might group together early morning actions like switching off the alarm, playing a news bulletin and turning on the coffee machine, all of which can be triggered with a single voice command.
Amazon says over 25 percent of Alexa Together users communicate across state lines and 65 percent do so between different cities. Adding some extra functions for users who live far apart from each other could make the service a more attractive proposition for some folks. Alexa Together, which is only available in the US for now, costs $20 per month or $200 per year. There's a six-month trial available as well.
It's the end of an era. Apple introduced the first iPod back in October 2001, when the company was highly dependent on its Mac computer sales and still on shaky financial ground. While the Mac requirement limited interest at the start, sales exploded after Windows users joined the fray — back when you needed to tether your iPod to your PC to sync music and, later, podcasts.
Now, in 2022, the company is finally discontinuing the iPod touch, which will only be available in stores "while supplies last." It’s the final death knell for the iconic gadget: Apple dropped the iPod classic in 2014, and both the iPod nano and iPod shuffle were discontinued in 2017.
The iPhone, ironically, was what killed the iPod, combining MP3 (not to mention video) playback with cellular networks, WiFi, apps, cameras and everything else.
Starting in 2023, the soccer series will be ‘EA Sports FC’
Don’t panic. The beautiful game will go on. Electronic Arts is calling it quits with FIFA after nearly 30 years of using the soccer governing body's name in the titles of its games. Starting in 2023, it’s renaming the series EA Sports FC. Which is rather (well, very) janky.
Other than the rebranding, the EA Sports FC games may not be vastly different. EA still holds licenses for more than 300 soccer partners and has exclusive agreements with the likes of the Premier League, MLS, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A.
The DJI Mini 3 Pro is a small, lightweight drone loaded with features found on bigger models, like the Mavic 3. It has some of the best image quality specs on a lightweight drone, including 4K 60p, 1080 120p and 48-megapixel photos, as well as advanced features like ActiveTrack, QuickShots and more. The Mini 3 Pro is a bit expensive at $910 with the new RC remote, though, and image quality might not be good enough for some pros. Check out our gorgeous review video from Steve Dent. And consider whether you’d like a new toy. I am.
Android 13, the Pixel 6a and Pixel Watch could all take the spotlight.
Google's I/O developer conference is finally returning as an in-person keynote for 2022, but that's not the biggest story likely to emerge from the event. This year, in addition to the customary Android update (we’re up to 13, now), it’s probably going to include the debut of the first Pixel smartwatch, and possibly at least one new Pixel phone and more. We break down everything we're expecting to see later today.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller was Microsoft’s first real attempt at making accessible hardware. And while it was very well received, it didn’t really impact non-gamers. Today, the company is launching an Adaptive Mouse kit.
The mouse core is a tiny square, approximately two inches (50mm) wide, and about as thick as a finger. This packs in the usual mousey parts: scroll wheel, left and right buttons, optical sensor and triggers for Bluetooth. The intriguing part comes from the Button, which you can program to perform any task you want. The Button can even handle sequential tasks, so you can have the first push open an app, have the second tap of the same button enter a phrase and a third send an email, for example. We’ve taken a deep dive and even toured Microsoft’s inclusive tech lab.
In an interview with The Financial Times, Elon Musk said he would reinstate Trump when his deal to acquire Twitter closes. “I guess the answer is that I would reverse the permaban,” Musk said in response to a question about whether he would allow the former president back on the platform. “Obviously, I don't own Twitter yet. So this is not a thing that will definitely happen because what if I don't own Twitter.”
Anker's Eufy brand offers some very affordable robot vacuums that just got even cheaper thanks to a sale on at Amazon. The most interesting model is the Eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11S Max that's available for just $160, for a savings of $90 (36 percent) off the regular price. That's very inexpensive for a model that earned a spot in our budget robot vacuum guide thanks to its attractive looks and super solid design.
The RoboVac 11S Max is missing certain features like WiFi connectivity, which isn't surprising given the price. However, it's still easy to control using the physical remote that allows you to set things like cleaning schedules or change the suction power using BoostIQ or Max modes. It cleans both hard and carpeted floors with up to 2,000 Pa of suction power, and is pretty decent at avoiding collisions considering the price. It's only three inches high so it fits under a lot of furniture, and if it does hit something, it's quite sturdy.
If you do want WiFi or other more advanced features, the Eufy G30 Hybrid is on sale for $220, for a savings of 41 percent off — the cheapest price we've seen on it so far. It's effectively an updated version of the 11S with WiFi connectivity, giving you smartphone control via the Eufy app. It can map out your home using the Smart Dynamic Navigation 2.0 system, allowing for more logical route planning instead of random paths. It also offers up to 2,000 Pa suction and boundary strips to block off specific areas. The sale finishes in less than 24 hours, so it's best to act soon.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
Sony has heavily leveraged its camera expertise to create its upcoming flagship smartphone, the Xperia 1 IV, it announced. It offers a slew of innovative, image-oriented features including what it calls the "world's first true optical 85-125mm zoom lens, true 4K at 120fps, livestreaming and external monitor capabilities and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform chip.
The key feature of the Xperia 1 IV is the telephoto zoom that offers an 85-125mm equivalent zoom range, enough for sports, wildlife and more. Sony didn't say how it achieved that, but other companies like Huawei have used 90-degree periscope style systems to create optical zooms on smartphones.
Sony
On top of the telephoto zoom, has 16mm and 24mm lenses (35mm equivalent), along with a time-of-flight sensor, and all cameras use a 12-megapixel Exmor RS sensor with readout speeds of up to 120 fps. That allows the phone to record 4K 120 fps video, or the equivalent of 5x slow-motion at 4K.
Other camera features include real-time Eye AF and real-time tracking with every lens, along with an Optical SteadyShot system. All the lenses use Zeiss optics with a Zeiss T* coating designed to boost contrast and sharpness while reducing reflections. The front camera uses a new 12-megapixel Exmor RS sensor that's larger than on previous models, allowing you to shoot selfies with less light.
Sony also added some apps and software features to add video content makers. Much like on the Xperia 1 Pro, that allows users to manually adjust settings like focus, exposure and white balance, even while recording. It also features 4K HDR multi-frame shooting, allowing for videos with wider dynamic range without any loss of resolution.
Sony is also promising "the ultimate mobile gaming experience" with the Xperia 1 IV, thanks to a 120Hz HDR display with 240Hz motion blur and a 240Hz touch-scanning rate. It's powered by a Snapdragon Gen 1 Mobile Platform and uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite Gaming to improve performance. It also has what Sony calls "Heat Suppression power control" that automatically reduces performance at high temperatures, "even during gameplay when connected to a charger."
It's designed to simplify livestreaming as well, as you'll have access to the Eye AF and object tracking features when using the Videography Pro mode. It can also be used as an external monitor if you're livestreaming from any compatible Alpha camera and when paired with Sony's Vlog Monitor, "users can livestream content by using the rear cameras," Sony said.
Other features include 5G with sub6/mmWave, WiFi 6E, 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage with a microSD card and a 5,000 mAh battery. The price, as you'd expect from all that, will not be cheap. It's arriving on September 1, 2022 for "approximately" $1,600 to Sony dealers around the US, with the purple color available exclusively at Sony's website.
Razer's original Viper was one of the better-known ultra-light gaming mice when it arrived in 2019, and now it's finally getting a sequel to keep up with rivals. The brand has introduced a Viper V2 Pro wireless mouse that trims the weight even further, from 69g to 58g, while improving the fundamentals — this is meant for esports players and enthusiasts who need precise, flick-friendly input to thrive.
The design revolves around an equally new Focus Pro 30K optical sensor that, as the name implies, promises 30,000 dots per inch resolution. It's reportedly 99.8 percent accurate, and uses AI to guide tracking. You even have 26 levels of customization for height (to determine when tracking starts or stops) versus 'just' three for the first Viper.
The Viper V2 Pro also introduces third-generation optical mouse switches that supposedly end accidental double-clicks and debounce delay (the wait to filter out unintended input signals). Their lifecycle is about 25 percent longer, too, so you might not chew through mice quite so quickly if you're a pro gamer. You can recharge through USB-C, and a dedicated DPI button lets you tweak sensitivity without using software.
Razer is now selling black and white versions of the Viper V2 Pro for $150 with grip tape, a charging cable and a USB dongle extender in the box. That puts its price in line with competing ultra-lightweight mice from the likes of Logitech and SteelSeries, and could make it a viable option whether or not you're loyal to the Razer brand.
Apple just marked the end to one of the most important product lines in its history. The company has discontinued the iPod touch, which will only be available in stores "while supplies last." Not surprisingly, the company maintained that the "spirit of iPod" continues in other products, including the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller was Microsoft’s first real attempt at making accessible hardware. And while it was very well-received, it didn’t really impact non-gamers. Today, the company is launching a new product with a much wider audience: a mouse. The Microsoft Adaptive Mouse kit actually consists of a mouse, attachable tail, hub and button. They’re modular and highly customizable, offering a wide variety of ways for people with different needs to interact with their laptops, tablets or phones.
At the heart of the new Adaptive Mouse kit is, well, the mouse. Because you can insert this into different attachments, it’s sometimes referred to as the core. It’s a tiny square, approximately two inches (50mm) wide, and about as thick as my finger. There’s a scroll wheel between the left and right buttons, and on the underside you’ll find an optical sensor and triggers for Bluetooth and ejecting the back bumper.
I’ll get to the removable piece in a bit but at this point in the demo I was already enamored with the mouse, which I found really easy to use. As someone who suffers from shoulder and neck pain due to a home office setup that’s not ergonomically ideal, I loved the idea of a low-profile mouse that I didn’t have to strain to use.
At the conference table in Microsoft’s new Inclusive Tech Lab, I placed the mouse under my palm and dragged it around. Since it’s so small, I could move it more easily than a traditional mouse by pushing it with my fingers, instead of using my upper arm or forearm. Being able to lay my fingers mostly flat also felt less strenuous on my nerves. I barely had to lift a finger to use it.
Of course, I’m not a professionally trained ergonomist, and there are other issues like elbow angle and table height to take into consideration. I’ll also need to spend more time using the Adaptive mouse to see its long term effects. But the best part about the new kit isn’t the shape of the core, it’s that you can easily customize it to suit your needs.
The second part of the Adaptive Mouse kit is the tail. You can insert the core to this piece, after removing the bumper, and get a larger, more traditional-looking mouse with a curved shape. There’s not much to explain here, except the fact that the thumb support on the bottom is reversible for left-handed or right-handed use.
This is important. You won’t have to go and buy a separate device if you’re left-handed, which would create an othering experience that often happens with assistive tech.
The Adaptive kit becomes a lot more useful with the Hub and Button. The Hub is a rectangular block that’s basically a dock with ports and buttons on it. Along the back are five 3.5mm jacks, while three USB-C ports sit in front, next to a sync button. On the top are a round Bluetooth key and a square button for toggling through up to three profiles. These are shaped differently for easy recognition by touch, and don’t require much force to press.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
The Hub serves as a bridge between various switch-input controllers like Braille keyboards and mouth sticks, and devices like your laptop and phone. Your PC, tablet or phone will recognize these input methods as it would a typical mouse or keyboard.
Possibly the most intriguing component of the Adaptive Mouse kit is the new Button, which you’ll also need to connect to your device via the Hub. Like the core, it’s a 50mm square, but it has eight buttons laid out in a circle. Using a PC, you can program these to perform any task you want. There’s a wide variety of possibilities here: You can map them to scroll up or down, open apps, or enter keyboard shortcuts.
The Button can also handle sequential tasks, so you can have the first push open an app, then have the second tap of the same button enter a phrase, and a third send an email, for example.
At the demo, director of accessible accessories Gabi Michel showed me how to record a sequence of actions. We decided that the macro I wanted to program is to enter the words “I agree to the embargo, please share more” and hit send. In the (non-final) Windows software, Michel started a new macro, named it “Embargo agreement” and chose to record an action. She entered the sentence, inserted a pause (which tells the system to wait for a subsequent button push), then hit the Control and Enter keys on her keyboard, which would send the email in Outlook.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Some of the commands you can program require the relevant app to be open first, so in this case I’d have to be on Outlook before starting the macro. You can also set things like Alt-Tab or more complicated Adobe keyboard shortcuts that require several buttons to be pressed at once. As someone who frequently uses Photoshop’s Ctrl-Alt-Shift-S shortcut to save images for the web, I can already see the benefits of mapping this combination to one key.
The beauty of the Adaptive Button, though, lies in its customizability. You can twist off the wheel on the top surface and replace it with a joystick or a setup with two semicircles, which Microsoft calls a dual button. With these, people who have limited mobility can hit bigger targets to trigger their macros. The joystick, for example, can be pushed with an elbow or a head, and the eight buttons underneath can be programmed correspondingly.
With the dual button, for instance, the top four inputs can be mapped to one action, while the bottom four can perform another. This is how lead industrial designer for the Adaptive accessories John Helmes has a Button set up for his daughter, who has cerebral palsy. For her, pushing the top and bottom halves trigger up and down scrolling, which is helpful since she doesn’t have the dexterity for a scroll wheel.
The d-pad, dual button and joystick are toppers that Microsoft will offer at launch, but it’s teamed up with 3D printing service Shapeways to give people additional options. At the demo, I saw various designs, including one that looked like a Dyson bladeless fan.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
The 3D-printed pieces don’t just work with the Button — you can create them for the mouse core, too. Hermes said his daughter, who has involuntary movements and light spasms in her hands, uses one with deeper finger grooves on it and a stiffer, grippier texture. This helps to keep her fingers on the buttons.
Michel also showed me some other pieces, like an extended palm rest for the core, covers for scroll wheels and tails with higher arches. Whatever shape might suit you better, it seems as if there is a way to 3D print an attachment that would make the mouse easier to use.
Microsoft may have created its new Adaptive Mouse kit with the disability community in mind, but as is often the case with inclusive design, products that are made to solve problems for a small community can have benefits for a larger population. The Button can make interacting with a phone or laptop easier for people with limited mobility, but it can also simplify the workflow for so many others. Video editors could map common actions to specific buttons, for example, while I would love to actually have a one-button embargo agreement shortcut.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
I applaud Microsoft’s thoughtfulness here, but I still have lingering questions. The Adaptive Mouse, Hub and Button will be available this fall, but many details – including price – are still unclear. Too often, assistive technology is prohibitively priced, and it would be disappointing if Microsoft charged too much of a premium. With the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which launched for $99, it's more expensive than the Xbox Wireless Controller ($50-$60) but notably cheaper than the premium Elite Controller ($170).
Without knowing the exact price of the Adaptive Mouse kit and the 3D printed pieces, it’s hard to tell how much of an impact it will have. But I do think Microsoft’s continued development of products for people with disabilities is laudable, and will hopefully spur on the rest of the industry. Because fostering more competition and driving prices down will benefit not only the disability community but all of us as well.
