While established automakers try to come to grips with the electric revolution, fresh EV startups are thinking up innovative ways to cater to a new generation of drivers. And after checking out an early version of its upcoming car at the New York Auto Show, it feels like INDIEV may have created the first electric car made for gamers.
When it comes to general specs and performance, INDIEV’s Indi One seems to be using the Tesla Model Y as a template. The base model is slated to cost around $45,000 and features a 75 kWh battery, all-wheel drive and 230 miles of range. Meanwhile, the $65,000 premium version will sport a 95 kWh battery with 300 miles of range and a 0 to 60 time of 4.2 seconds. Even the shape of the Indi One is somewhat reminiscent of Tesla’s popular electric crossover, sporting a shortish hood, room for five passengers and a sloping rear end.
The Indi One's VIC lives beneath the hood, which means you won't get a frunk.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
However, where INDIEV is changing things up comes on the inside. That's because unlike other cars, the premium version of the Indi One features a VIC, or vehicle integrated computer designed to let occupants play games, edit photos and videos, or even live stream while on the go.
Now other car makers like Tesla have dabbled with in-car gaming, with owners enjoying support for titles like the Witcher 3, Stardew Valley, Cyberpunk 2077, and more on its vehicles. But the few dozen or so games available in Tesla’s Arcade feature are still a far cry from what you can get from PC marketplaces like Steam or the Epic Game Store. Additionally, due to NHTSA regulations, you can’t game on a Tesla’s main screen while the car is in motion, which makes a lot of sense, but is a bummer for any passengers seeking alternative entertainment.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
But on the One, INDIEV gets around that restriction by having two large screens on the car’s dashboard. There’s a main infotainment screen powered by Android Automotive, along with a second screen on the passenger’s side running Windows. Not only does this mean guests can play while moving, it also means you can install pretty much any PC app you want. The car’s gaming credentials aren’t too shabby either. At the show, INDIEV reps told me the car currently features an Intel Core i7 CPU and an Nvidia RTX 2080 GPU. But by the time the One officially goes on sale next year, the company is hoping to upgrade that to an RTX 3080 or better (assuming we’re still not in the midst of a chip crunch).
While it probably won’t be easy, INDIEV says the car’s GPU may even be user-replaceable, so you shouldn’t have to worry about buying a whole new car after a few years when it struggles to play the latest AAA games. And while I didn’t get a chance to game on it myself, I was able to pull up Twitch, get a glance at the standard Windows UI running underneath and see the One’s in-car streaming setup in action. INDIEV even lets users access one of the car’s built-in cameras to capture your face, so there’s no need for an external webcam. That said, because there isn’t a built-in mouse, keyboard or gamepad, you’ll need to figure out a control setup that works for your needs.
The Indi One's VIC will run Windows so you can install games or apps like Streamlabs, which you can see running here.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
INDIEV also teamed up with markers of ARK Park so guests can dive into in VR, with the game set to mimic the motion and turns of the car to reduce motion sickness. Additionally, the VIC will be open-sourced and will have an SDK for developers, so if you’re not afraid of some code, you can create custom apps and routines. And thanks to military-grade vibration reduction surrounding the VIC, the car’s gaming components shouldn’t come loose due to unforeseen bumps in the road. How’s that for geeky?
Finally, INDIEV says the One supports blockchain integration, allowing the car’s computer to function as a node for an unspecific decentralized ledger. This means the car could rake in a bit of passive income when you’re not driving it, which sounds like a nice idea in an alternate world where crypto has overtaken cash and credit, but I don’t think we’re yet. I should also point out that it’s hard to say how much juice gaming or running a node will have on the One’s range, which could render both of these features moot if you’re low on battery.
Of course, EV startups are kind of a dime a dozen these days. And for every Tesla that makes it big, there are sure to be others that crash and burn before reaching critical mass. But as someone who has always wondered why car makers don’t try to get more utility out of the computers inside them, I appreciate the ambition. And as we seen from Tesla and other EV makers have already proven, the tech inside a car matters just as much as how it looks or drives.
Now I admit that the newness of being able to game in your car makes it difficult to say if INDIEV’s endeavor will be a success or even help sell an extra car or two. But as someone who never has enough time to play games as it is, the idea of fitting in a quick round of Apex Legends while recharging or poking away in Civ 6 as a passenger during a road trip sounds fantastic. So if you’ve ever dreamed about an EV that can push pixels just as well as your rig at home, the One provides an interesting glimpse at a next-gen driving machine.
Reservations for the Indi One are available now ahead of its official release date next year in Q2 2023.
You no longer need to bring out an iPad or iPhone just to use Zoom's gesture recognition. Zoom has updated its Mac and Windows apps with visual gesture support. Raise your hand or give a thumbs-up and you'll send the appropriate reaction. As you might imagine, this promises more natural interaction in virtual classrooms and meetings than you'd get from clicking buttons.
The feature requires the latest version of Zoom as of this writing (5.10.3). It's disabled at the individual level by default, but you can enable it per user, per account or entire groups.
Gesture recognition comes alongside multiple updates that include a revamped Zoom Whiteboard collaboration tool that now exists as a full-fledged feature, not just a meeting extension. A chat etiquette tool helps administrators block or warn about rude behavior, and events now have a "Backstage" that lets organizers and panelists talk without facing the audience. Simply speaking, Zoom is adapting to reflect a world where remote and hybrid workplaces are likely here to stay.
Apple Music's spatial audio is now available for those who'd rather spend their nights at the club than the concert hall. The service is now offering DJ mixes in Dolby Atmos that promise a more immersive dance music experience — not quite like sweating through an all-night rave, but considerably closer. The initiative kicks off today with an enhanced One Mix set from Detroit techno legend Jeff Mills (above) as well as 15 Boiler Room sets from stars like Boys Noize and The Blessed Madonna.
You can expect more spatial audio mixes throughout the year, including monthly One Mix episodes and Boiler Room albums. Apple hasn't teased future artists, although it is promising the "finest DJs" from the dance and electronic music realms.
Spatial audio is only automatically enabled for AirPods and some Beats headphones. You can use capable third-party gear, but you'll need to manually enable support and forego head tracking.
It's not surprising to see Apple expand Atmos support to the mix-and-scratch crowd. Spatial audio is a selling point for Apple Music and AirPods, of course, but electronic artists were also some of the first to embrace surround sound — just ask anyone familiar with Amon Tobin's gigs. In theory, you're more likely to keep your Apple Music membership knowing that a favorite DJ might produce an Atmos mix you won't get at rival services.
You've long been able to use a DualSense controller with your PC, but it wasn't quite so appealing when you couldn't update the firmware without access to a PlayStation 5. Thankfully, that's no longer necessary. Sony has released a firmware update tool for Windows that lets you upgrade the DualSense through a USB connection on your PC — no console required. You won't miss out on bug fixes or refinements just because you prefer computer gaming.
The software requires Windows 10 or 11. You'll need to update multiple controllers one at a time.
The tool will be helpful for PC-only gamers who want the same controller functionality as their PS5 counterparts, of course. At the same time, it might also useful for Remote Play. You can keep a DualSense by your computer knowing that you won't have to visit the living room (and partly defeat the purpose of Remote Play) just to bring the gamepad up to date.
PC players can now update their DualSense wireless controller with the latest firmware from Windows 11 and select Windows 10 devices, without connecting to a PS5. Details: https://t.co/PF5E3VnoXMpic.twitter.com/PF2ASo8Fw6
BMW isn't letting Mercedes' EQS go unanswered. The German marque has introduced its first completely electric 7 series, the i7 xDrive60. The long-wheelbase luxury sedan offers solid performance, with a dual-motor setup providing 536HP, a 0-60MPH sprint in 4.5 seconds and a preliminary EPA range of 300 miles. As with the conventional 7 series, though, the focus is on creature comforts — this is designed as much for chauffeured executives as it is for drivers.
That driver will see a curved dual-display interface that includes a 12.3-inch instrument panel and a 14.9-inch infotainment screen. BMW is touting a smartphone-like interface, but you'll also find a new "Interaction Bar" that provides touch-sensitive controls for common features like climate settings and hazard lights. You can even customize the bar's lighting to react to certain events, such as incoming calls or invoking BMW's Intelligent Personal Assistant (including from the rear seats, for the first time).
As we mentioned, though, the best experience is likely in the back. Spring for the optional Theater Screen and you'll get a 31-inch, 32:9 ratio 8K rear display with a Fire TV interface. Rear window shades will even close when you switch the system on. Each rear door has its own 5.5-inch touchscreen for climate, media and seating controls, while a standard panoramic LED roof can produce a light show in addition to showing the sky above. You'll have access to 5G, including a "Personal eSIM" that can migrate between cars.
Other tech upgrades include an optional Highway Assistant (part of a Driving Assistance Professional Package) that provides hands-free driving up to 80MPH, a smarter Parking Assistant Professional with remote control and a Maneuver Assistant that can replicate tricky driving scenarios (such as a tight parking garage). An augmented reality view on the instrument screen merges video with directions and similar info, while the doors will both detect potential hazards and (with another option) automatically open by touching the handles or Interaction Bar. Owners of recent, UWB-equipped iPhones can also use Digital Key Plus to automatically lock and unlock the doors, and eventually open the doors or activate the alarm system.
Unsurprisingly, this excess will cost you. The i7 xDrive60 will start at $120,295 ($119,300 plus a destination fee) when it reaches the US in the fourth quarter of the year, and that's before you add extras like the 36-speaker Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround Sound System. That's not an outlandish price for BMW's target audience, though, and it undercuts the $125,900 of the EQS 580.
Researchers in Japan have developed a set of electric chopsticks they claim enhance the taste of salt. The device is attached to a wristband computer. It uses electrical stimulation to transmit sodium ions from food to the eater's mouth, according to Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita, who developed the chopsticks with food and drink maker Kirin.
Miyashita is also the person behind the lickable TV that was announced a few months ago. Japan was also where I first saw a similarly specced-out electric fork, using the same theories, but with the Western implement. It’s an unusual sensation: like air-fried food compared to actually fried food, it was a different, almost salty, kind of experience.
Audi is reimagining the role of the vehicle’s cabin space — from a rigid, safety-centered, face-forward setup to a more open, communal design. This is the biggest Audi concept vehicle to date. It sits on 24-inch rims and measures a whopping 18 feet in length — the same as GM’s Hummer EV; it's over 6.5 feet wide and 5.8 feet tall. And because the Urbansphere doesn’t have to account for a conventional arrangement of a combustion-powered car's components, “it prioritizes the occupants’ need to experience ample space as a distinctive comfort factor.”
Even if you’re back to taking some of your meetings in the office, chances are back-to-back Zoom calls are now a permanent part of your professional life. Once an afterthought, your computer’s webcam has become one of its most important components — and the fact remains that most built-in cameras are not able to provide consistent high-quality video chat experiences. We tested out a bunch of the latest webcams to see which are worth your money and which you can safely skip.
Why isn't this how all rechargeable batteries work?
Nitecore's UFZ100 has a built-in USB-C port so you don’t need to use a proprietary Sony power adapter to charge it. The battery also includes a handy LED indicator to tell you when it’s below 10 percent charge. With a 2,250mAh capacity, it’s only slightly smaller than Sony’s 2,280mAh NP-FZ100 and works with many of the company’s most recent camera models, including the A6600 and A7 IV. One thing we don’t know about the UFZ100 yet is how much it’ll cost. Third-party battery manufacturers tend to price their offerings lower than Sony, Canon and Nikon, but the added USB-C port on the UFZ100 could make it more expensive.
Brave is putting Google's Accelerate Mobile Pages (AMP) on blast with a new feature called De-AMP, The Verge reported. It's designed to bypass any pages rendered with AMP and take users directly to the original website. "Where possible, De-AMP will rewrite links and URLs to prevent users from visiting AMP pages altogether,” the company wrote in a blog post.
If that's not possible, then "Brave will watch as pages are being fetched and redirect users away from AMP pages before the page is even rendered, preventing AMP/Google code from being loaded and executed," it added.
The new feature was implemented in the name of privacy, security and internet experience, according to Brave. "In practice, AMP is harmful to users and to the Web at large," the article states. "Just as bad, AMP helps Google further monopolize and control the direction of the web." It adds that the next iteration of AMP "will be even worse."
Google originally promoted AMP as a way to improve the mobile web experience by loading pages faster. However, it has recently been a target of critics who see it as a way for Google to increase its hegemony in the internet ad market by hosting content on its own servers. A group of publishers recently announced it was moving away from AMP, and a lawsuit filed by several US states accuses Google of running a monopoly that harmed ad-industry competitors and publishers.
Brave promises "the best privacy online" with its browser, so of course attacking Google is part of its business strategy. Despite its efforts, though, it lags well behind most other browsers in mobile market share, sitting in the "other" category behind Internet Explorer on Statcounter. De-AMP is now available in beta and "will be enabled by default in the upcoming 1.38 Desktop and Android versions, and will be released on iOS soon after," Brave said.
Every year, companies like Canon and Nikon push camera technology forward with new models that add features like 8K video recording and 30 fps shooting speeds. But the batteries powering those cameras haven’t changed nearly as much during the mirrorless era.
Enter Chinese manufacturer Nitecore with its newly announced replacement for Sony’s NP-FZ100. First spotted by Gizmodo, the UFZ100 features a built-in USB-C port so that you don’t need to use a proprietary Sony power adapter to charge it. The battery also includes a handy LED indicator to tell you when it’s below 10 percent charge. That same LED will indicate when the UFZ100 is below half power, above 50 percent and finally fully topped up, with a constant green light indicating the final state. With a 2,250mAh capacity, it’s only slightly smaller than Sony’s 2,280mAh NP-FZ100 and works with many of the company’s most recent camera models, including the A6600 and A7 IV.
USB-C charging has been a standard feature on Sony cameras for a few years now, so it’s not like you couldn’t live without one of the company’s proprietary power adapters before. But having a USB-C port on the battery does make things more convenient since you don’t need access to a wall outlet. With enough cables, you could also more easily charge multiple batteries simultaneously.
One thing we don’t know about the UFZ100 yet is how much it will cost. Third-party battery manufacturers tend to price their offerings lower than Sony, Canon and Nikon to entice consumers to buy their products, but the added USC-C port on the UFZ100 could make it more expensive.
That tiny webcam on your laptop has probably gotten more use in the last few years than it ever has before. Even if you’re back to taking some of your meetings in the office, chances are that back-to-back Zoom calls are now a permanent part of your professional life. Once an afterthought, your computer’s webcam has become one of its most important components — and the fact remains that most built-in cameras are not able to provide consistent, high-quality video chat experiences.
This is where external webcams come in. They can do wonders for those with lackluster built-in webcams, people who spend most of their working hours on video conferences, and those who picked up a new hobby of streaming on Twitch or YouTube over the past couple of years. But as with most PC accessories, it can be tough to sort through the sea of options out there. We tested out a bunch of the latest webcams to see which are worth your money and which you can safely skip.
What to look for in a webcam
Resolution and field of view
While some newer machines have 1080p webcams, most built-in cameras have a resolution of 720p, so you’ll want to look for an external one that’s better than that. FHD webcams will give you a noticeable bump in video quality; ideally, you’re looking for something that can handle 1080p at 60fps or 30fps. If you’re considering a cheap 720p webcam, make sure to get one that supports at least 30fps (most will) or, even better, 60fps. However, if your primary concern is looking better during video calls, 1080p is the way to go.
Some webcams can shoot in 4K, but that’s overkill for most people. Not to mention most video conferencing services like Zoom, Google Meet and Skype don’t even support 4K video. When it comes to streaming, Twitch maxes out at 1080p video, but YouTube added 4K live streaming back in 2016. Ultimately, with 4K webcam shots having such limited use, most people can get by with a solid 1080p camera.
Field of view controls how much can fit in the frame when you’re recording. Most webcams I tested had a default field of view of around 78 degrees, which was enough to capture me and enough of my background to show that I really need to organize my home office. On cheaper webcams you’ll usually see narrower fields of view (around 60 degrees), and those aren’t necessarily bad. They won’t show as much of your background, but that also means you won’t be able to squeeze as many friends or family members into frame when you’re having Zoom birthday parties. On the flip side, more expensive webcams may let you adjust the field of view to be even wider than average.
Valentina Palladino / Engadget
Autofocus and other “auto” features
Webcams with autofocus will keep you looking sharp without much work on your part. You should be able to move around, step back and forth, and remain in focus the whole time. Some models let you manually adjust focus, too, if you have specific needs. Devices with fixed focus are less convenient, but they tend to be more affordable.
In the same vein is auto framing, a feature that some high-end webcams now offer. Similarly to Apple’s Center Stage feature, the camera automatically adjusts to keep you in the center of the frame even as you move around. But you’ll pay a premium for it: The only two webcams I tested that had auto framing were the $200 Dell UltraSharp webcam and the $220 Anker Video Bar, and while that helped those models stand out from the pack, neither were great enough to earn a spot in our best picks list.
You’ll also see other “auto” features listed in webcam specs, most notably auto light correction. This will adjust the camera’s settings to make up for a dimly lit room. If you don’t have a well-lit setup for your video calls, or often take calls in different places where you can’t control the lighting, this feature will be valuable.
Microphones
Most webcams have built-in microphones that, depending on your setup, might end up being closer to you than your computer’s own mics. Check to see if the model you’re considering has mono or stereo mics, as the latter is better. Some even use noise-reduction technology to keep your voice loud and clear. While audiophiles and streamers will want to invest in a standalone microphone, most others can get by using a webcam’s built-in mic.
Design
There aren’t a ton of fascinating breakthroughs when it comes to webcam design. Most are round or rectangular devices that clip onto a monitor or your laptop screen. Some have the ability to screw onto a tripod stand and others can simply sit on your desk beside your computer. But unless you really like having people stare up your nose, the latter isn’t ideal. We recommend clipping your webcam to your monitor and ensuring that it’s at or slightly above eye level.
A few webcams go above and beyond by adding hardware extras like built-in lights and lens covers, too. The former can help you stand out in a dark room, while the latter makes it so hackers can’t view you through your webcam without your knowledge.
Price
Most external webcams that are just good enough to be a step up from your computer’s built-in camera cost between $60 and $150. If the webcam has the same resolution as the internal one on your laptop, you should look out for other specs like auto light correction, a wider field of view or an extra-long connecting cable that can provide a step-up in quality or ease of use.
Spending $150 or more means you might get advanced features like 4K resolution, vertical and horizontal recording options, stereo mics, customizable video settings and more. But unless you’re spending hours on video calls each day or streaming multiple times each week, you can safely skip most of those high-end options.
Engadget picks
Best overall: Logitech C920s Pro HD
Valentina Palladino / Engadget
The Logitech C920s Pro HD webcam seems like a great value on paper, and it proves that to be true, too, once you take it out of the box. For around $60, you’re getting an FHD webcam that can shoot in up to 1080p/30fps, has a 78-degree field-of-view, dual microphones and auto light correction. It’s a fairly average-looking webcam measuring 3.7 inches at its widest point, with the lens in the middle and its two microphones on either side.
The adjustable base is quite sturdy and, while I kept it hooked to my external monitor most of the time, you could easily attach it to your laptop’s screen or sit it on your desk and angle the camera upward. There’s also a hole on the underside if you wish to connect it to a tripod. There’s an optional lens cover in the box that provides protection when you transport the webcam, but also gives you extra privacy.
I immediately saw an improvement in video quality when I took conference calls using the C920s Pro HD. I’m lucky enough to have one lamp and one large window in my small home office, so I’m usually not fighting for good light. But even on cloudy days, the camera’s 1080p video was sharp and produced fairly accurate colors. While cheaper cameras struggled on rainy days with the lamp off, the C920s Pro HD illuminated my whole face and had minimal shadows.
All Logitech webcams can use the company’s Camera Settings app to adjust things like field of view, brightness, color intensity and autofocus, but I kept the default settings on this one. The C920s Pro HD does have autofocus and it was so good that I barely noticed it. I was always in focus during my video chats and I never saw the camera struggling to regain focus even if I moved around.
Runner Up: Anker PowerConf C200
Valentina Palladino / Engadget
Anker’s cube-like PowerConf C200 webcam has a lot of the same perks as Logitech’s C920s Pro HD, along with a few extras and a price tag that’s $10 more. Setup is equally as easy as with the Logitech cam – just plug it into your computer or docking station and start using it. You can download the AnkerWork software to edit things like brightness, sharpness and contrast ratio and, as with Logitech’s, I kept all of those settings at their defaults.
But you’re also able to control the camera’s resolution and field of view with this software, too. The C200 webcam defaults to a 2K resolution, but you can bring it down to 1080p, 720p or even 360p if you wish. Same goes for field of view: The default is 95 degrees, but I bumped mine down to 78 degrees to spare my colleagues a wider view of my messy home office.
I was immediately impressed with the C200’s video quality: 2K is likely more than most people need (1080p should do just fine), but the extra sharpness and clarity is a nice touch. The webcam’s autofocus is quite fast, and its larger f/2.0 aperture captures more light so you stay illuminated even in darker settings.
In addition to a built-in lens cover that you can slide closed for privacy, the C200 has dual stereo mics that actually do a good job of capturing your voice loud and clear. You can also choose directional or omnidirectional vocal pickup in the AnkerWork settings, with the latter being better if you have multiple people speaking on your end.
My biggest complaints about the C200 webcam are that it’s a bit cumbersome to adjust its angle when it’s perched on your monitor or screen. Unlike most other webcams, Anker’s doesn’t have a short neck of sorts that connects the camera to its adjustable base – it’s just one, chunky piece of plastic that I had to use both hands to adjust when necessary. Also, the C200 comes with a USB cable that’s much shorter than others. This won’t be a problem if you’re connecting the webcam directly to your laptop, but it’s not as flexible if you have a standing desk converter or a more complicated setup that requires long cables.
Best for streaming: Logitech Streamcam
Valentina Palladino / Engadget
Of all the webcams I tested, I had the most fun using Logitech’s Streamcam. While it’s a bit weird to say I “had fun” with such an innocuous piece of tech, I found the Streamcam to be remarkable in many ways. First and foremost, the video quality is excellent: It shoots in 1080p/60fps and its video is slightly sharper than that of the Logitech C920s Pro HD. Details in my clothing came through much better and, whether I liked it or not, so did some of the texture on my skin. The Streamcam was also one of the best devices when it came to color reproduction.
All of those perks remain the same even when you’re shooting in low-light conditions. The Streamcam’s auto-exposure feature made up for the darkness in my office on gloomy days. And it has the best kind of autofocus — the kind that you never notice in action.
The dual omnidirectional mics inside the Streamcam delivered my voice loud and clear during video calls. If you stream often and find yourself without an external mic, it’s nice to know that you could get by with the Streamcam’s built-in ones in a pinch. The microphones also have noise reduction to keep your voice font and center.
As far as design goes, the Streamcam is a bit larger than most. It’s a chunky almost-square that can easily be positioned on a monitor or on a tripod, and a unique feature of its design is its ability to shoot either vertically or horizontally. I kept mine in the standard 16:9 format, but some streamers who post to social media often will like the 9:16 format that’s best for Instagram and TikTok. Logitech also made sure the Streamcam was optimized for Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), XSplit and Streamlabs, so you can use it directly out of the box for your next live session.
The Streamcam is the best all-purpose webcam on our list; if you want one device that can do it all, from video conferences to Twitch streams to family video chats, the Streamcam is the best option. However, not everyone will want to drop the $170 on one. Its higher price keeps it from our top spot because those who just want to look better on Zoom calls don’t need to drop $170 to do that.
Best premium: Logitech Brio
Valentina Palladino / Engadget
If you’re willing to spare no expense on a webcam, Logitech’s $200 Brio is the one to get. It has a lot of things going for it, but the best and most important feature is its 4K recording. It’s capable of shooting in 4K/30fps in addition to 1080p and 720p in either 60fps or 30fps. I kept it set at 4K and I never looked better on a video call. My feed was sharp and clear, and the only negative thing about it was the slightly inaccurate colors (they came off more saturated than normal).
Low-light performance was stellar as well. The Brio’s light correcting technology with HDR made up for the cave-like environment in which I was sometimes forced to record. As far as sound goes, the dual microphones inside the Brio were some of the loudest and clearest of any webcam I tested. They also use noise-canceling technology to capture audio from up to one meter away while blocking out background noise.
The Brio also had the most customizable settings of the Logitech cameras I tried. In addition to brightness, contrast, color intensity, white balance and autofocus, you’re able to adjust HDR, field of view and image ratio in the Camera Settings app. While I kept most of the default settings, I changed my field of view from 65 degrees to 78 degrees (the third option of 90 degrees was too wide for my taste), and it captured just enough of my background but still kept me as the focal point.
I also opted to turn off autofocus because I found it to be finicky. Issues with the Brio’s autofocus have been documented online and I’ve reached out to Logitech for troubleshooting tips. An Engadget colleague who uses the Brio as his daily webcam hasn’t experienced the autofocus issues, so there just might not be enough contrast between myself and the background. Since I take most video calls from my home office desk, adjusting the focus manually to fit that environment worked well for me.
It’s hard to get excited about webcam design, but Logitech tried to make the Brio as sleek looking as possible. Instead of a mere rectangle, the Brio is an elongated oval with rounded edges and a standard base that clips securely onto a screen. The front is a glossy black, punctuated only by the camera lens, two tiny slits for the microphones and the IR sensors. The latter makes the Brio compatible with Windows Hello, so you can unlock your system using facial recognition. And when you want more privacy, you can use the included lens shade to cover the camera.
The 2021 MacBook Pros were some of the best laptops we came across last year, but as to be expected, they come with high price tags. Right now, you can pick up the 14-inch MacBook Pro for $250 cheaper than usual at Amazon. The price has already been discounted by $50, but an addition $200 automatically applied coupon brings the machine down to a record low of $1,749.
This particular model comes with Apple's M1 Pro chip, which features an 8‑core CPU and 14‑core GPU, plus 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. The performance gains provided by specs like this was one reason why both the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros earned a score of 92 from us when we reviewed them last year. Not only will they be able to handle anything you throw at them, but they also have the stamina to last most of the day. We clocked a 12.5-hour battery life for the 14-inch model in our testing and a 16.5-hour battery life on the 16-inch laptop.
While the MacBook Pro looks fairly similar to previous models, Apple fixed a few long-standing issues — namely, the lack of ports. The new machines have three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI connector, a headphone jack, an SD card slot and a MagSafe power port. You're also getting a 1080p FaceTime webcam and a Liquid Retina XDR display with a 3,024 x 1,964 resolution, up to 1,600 nits of brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate. The biggest downsides to the MacBook Pro are its non-upgradeable memory and storage, plus its high price tag. This discount addresses one of those issues, and overall, it's a solid laptop that will be best for power users.
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