You won't have to invite friends over to share an ESPN sports stream. The network has added SharePlay support to the ESPN app for iOS and iPadOS, letting US viewers watch live and on-demand programming with up to 31 other people. Everyone watching will need either ESPN (via TV Everywhere) or ESPN+ access, but it might be worthwhile to share an exciting shot or questionable referee call in the heat of the moment.
As with SharePlay in other apps, the functionality requires at least iOS 15.1 or iPad OS 15.1. You'll have to wait until an Apple TV update sometime later in March to use the feature on the big screen in tandem with an iPhone or iPad.
ESPN is relatively late to SharePlay when some services have had the feature since late 2021. Its sibling service Disney+ has had group viewing (albeit using a custom approach) since 2020. This may be one of the more important implementations, however. Live sports are a huge draw for co-viewing features like this, and ESPN's large audience might introduce SharePlay to many people who otherwise wouldn't realize it existed.
Just a few days before Apple announced the 2022 iPad Air, rumors started swirling that it wouldn’t be powered by the expected A15 Bionic processor that’s in the iPad mini and iPhone 13 lineup. No, it would get an M1, the same chip found in a host of Macs and the iPad Pro, devices that cost a lot more than the iPad Air. At the time, I didn’t put much stock into this rumor; the iPad Air and 11-inch iPad Pro were already extremely similar devices. This would make the gap between them even smaller.
I’ll have to eat crow on this one, as Apple went ahead and put the M1 in the new iPad Air. There are a handful of other little changes here, including a much-improved front-facing camera and 5G connectivity, but the M1 is the real upgrade of note. And while the basic experience of using the Air is mostly the same as it was when we last tested one, having the power of an M1 means this is one of the most future-proof iPads you can buy.
What's the same?
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
The 2020 Air was a total redesign; not so this time. From the outside, the only way anyone will know you’re using the 2022 model is if you have one of the new color options introduced this year. (Apple loaned me a device in a lovely new shade of blue.) Otherwise, it’s exactly the same size and effectively the same weight; Apple’s specs page says it is two hundredths of a pound heavier than the old model, not something anyone would notice. Touch ID is still built into the top button, and it works just fine although I definitely prefer Face ID.
The display is also the same as the last-gen edition, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s a 10.9-inch “liquid Retina” LCD display with Apple’s True Tone feature for optimizing the screen’s color temperature based on ambient light. It’s just perceptibly smaller than the 11-inch screen on my iPad Pro, and the bezel looks a bit chunky, but it doesn’t change the way I use the tablet. It’s clearly not as nice as the mini-LED display on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, but it’s a far better screen than the one on the basic iPad. The main difference between this display and the one on the 11-inch Pro is the latter has the ability to refresh at up to 120Hz, while the iPad Air is stuck at 60Hz. Although I definitely enjoy using Apple’s “ProMotion” screens, I can’t say I noticed much of a difference once I sat down and started using the Air.
Other things that remain unchanged include the price and storage options. $599 gets you 64GB, and you’ll have to pay another $150 to quadruple that storage to 256GB. I wish that the base model came with 128GB, but Apple has to differentiate the iPad Pro somehow. Sixty-four gigs is enough for most people, but if you want to store a lot of videos and games or plan on doing a lot of creative work with it, you’re probably better off just getting 256GB from the jump. As usual, Apple provided us with a top-of-the-line model, with 256GB of storage and built-in 5G.
The back camera, too, is identical to the one from the 2020 Air. It’s a 12-megapixel shooter with a wide-angle lens and no flash. It produces perfectly fine images, but as usual the camera on your phone is probably better in almost any circumstance. Back cameras on tablets have pretty niche use cases, like scanning documents and trying things in AR, and the Air’s camera is just fine for that, but I wouldn’t let it influence your purchase decision.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
Finally, the new Air uses the same accessories as the old model. That means the two first-party keyboard cases Apple offered for the 2020 Air work fine here. Unsurprisingly, the second-generation Apple Pencil that magnetically snaps to the top of the iPad is supported here, too. Meanwhile, the $299 Magic Keyboard remains jaw-droppingly expensive, but it provides a high-quality typing experience for such a compact keyboard. I’ve been happily using it to draft this review and have used it to write plenty of other things in the past. In fact, with the comfortable keyboard and trackpad this accessory offers, I was able to do just about all of my job using the Air. If you’re someone who makes a living writing, it’s a must-have accessory.
The $129 Apple Pencil is an excellent stylus, but I think you really need to know what you’re going to do with it for it to be worthwhile. It’s comfortable to use and extremely responsive, but unless you really want to take handwritten notes with your iPad or have serious visual arts chops, it’s inessential. But there are loads of wonderful drawing and note-taking apps available for the iPad, so if you are an artist, it’s an excellent tool.
The M1 comes to the Air
Enough about what’s old, though. Let’s get into what’s new here: Apple had the audacity to throw the M1 into the humble iPad Air, a year after putting it in the iPad Pro. This chip also powers machines like the MacBook Air, iMac, Mac mini and 13-inch MacBook Pro. So on the one hand, Apple probably has the manufacturing process down such that getting the chip into the iPad Air wasn’t a major stretch.
On the other hand, this is the kind of flex Apple likes to make with the iPad from time to time. The iPad has very little real competition, and yet Apple just significantly increased the Air’s processing power to an even more impressive level, particularly for this price range.
To drive it home: I ran Geekbench 5 on my iPad Pro, a model that was released about two years ago. It has an A12Z Bionic chip, one that’s only slightly different from the A12X chip used in the 2018 iPad Pro. The M1 in the new Air is significantly faster at both single- and multi-core tasks. The new iPad Air scored 1,706 on the single-core test and 6,966 on the multi-core test. My iPad Pro, meanwhile, only scored 1,113 and 4,149, respectively. This is a testament to how fast Apple has been improving its own chips, because even the A14 in the 2020 Air was a little faster than the chip in my iPad Pro.
What does this mean in practice? The answer depends on what you plan to do with the device. Personally, I use my iPad for writing, web browsing, email and to-do lists, chatting in apps like Messages and Slack, modest photo editing in Adobe Lightroom, playing music and video, and a bit of gaming. None of this taxed the M1 chip in the least — but while the Air beats my iPad Pro in benchmarks, the actual experience of using it isn’t really that different.
That’s more a reflection of my workflow than the power of the iPad Air. The M1 is an incredibly powerful chip for a $599 tablet, and it means that the Air should remain responsive and run whatever apps you want to throw at it for years to come. Or, if you’re the kind of person who plans to do more advanced tasks like editing and exporting video or making music, the Air should more than stand up to your ambitions.
Even with my moderately intense workflow, using an iPad with the M1 chip was a great experience. The Air made short work of any app I tried, including recent Apple Arcade games like NBA 2K22 and Shadow Blade+. I edited a host of RAW photos in Lightroom, and changes were applied almost instantly. I also noticed speedy improvements in more basic tasks where I didn’t necessarily expect it. The Apple Mail app was much faster at deleting all the junk email I get than it is on my iPad Pro, and Safari was quicker to render sites and switch between tabs. Loading different apps into multitasking views like Split View and Slide Over was similarly speedy.
Battery life on the Air is just as good with the M1 chip as it was before. Apple typically always claims any iPad will last about 10 hours, and in this case I think the company undersold the Air’s longevity. In my normal routine, I got close to 12 hours of use before needing to charge the Air, though your mileage will vary depending on what you’re doing. Games took a bigger toll on the battery, but the Air lasted a long time while watching movies. I looped a downloaded movie in the Apple TV app for four hours and the battery only dropped to 75 percent.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
What else is new?
While the M1 chip is the major update here, there are a few other new things to consider. Unsurprisingly, the iPad Air’s front camera has been upgraded to match the one found in the rest of the iPad lineup. It’s a 12-megapixel ultra wide angle camera that isn’t really designed to be used at its full resolution. Instead, it enables Apple’s “Center Stage” feature, which lets the camera zoom in around the subject and continuously move to keep that person (or people) in the middle of the screen. I feel like most people don’t move around a ton when they’re on video calls, but it’s a handy feature nonetheless.
While the camera is definitely better than on the prior iPad Air, it’s still on the left side of the screen when you use the iPad in landscape mode. Having it up top is fine when you’re holding the iPad in portrait orientation, but it’s definitely awkward if you are doing a video call with the tablet attached to the keyboard.
Optional 5G is another unsurprising addition, given that last fall’s iPad mini and the iPad Pro all have it as well. (The entry-level iPad remains stuck with LTE.) This is a logical update that doesn’t change the experience of using the iPad very much. Most people will probably opt to save the $150 and simply get a WiFi-only iPad Air.
Those who get the upgrade, will surely appreciate having 5G as time goes by. Depending on what network you choose and where you live, 5G coverage can still be pretty hit or miss. And I ran a few different speed tests on the iPad Air while running it on Verizon’s network and actually got faster speeds from LTE than 5G. It’s also worth noting that the Air doesn’t support the mmWave 5G networks, like Verizon’s Ultra Wideband network. Those faster networks are only supported on the iPad Pro.
Those caveats aside, there’s no doubt that wireless carriers will increase the availability of 5G networks, so having it on board here is another good piece of future-proofing, much like the M1 chip. That said, it’s not a reason to upgrade your iPad now.
Finally, the iPad Air has USB-C connectivity that Apple says is twice as fast as its predecessor, with data transfer speeds up to 10Gbps supported. The old USB-C connector was already fast, but faster is always better, right? I didn’t do any precision testing, but the iPad Air pulled RAW photos off my SD card extremely quickly.
Should you buy it?
By now, you probably have the gist of this review: The new iPad Air is a modest upgrade over the previous generation. That’s true, but it’s also damning the Air with faint praise. To be clear, it’s an excellent tablet. It’s extremely fast, has a lovely screen, runs a massive ecosystem of quality apps and will be a capable device for years to come. If I sound unenthusiastic, it’s because this was always true.
It was definitely time for Apple to update the iPad Air, but the company got so much right with the 2020 edition that this new device is a logical improvement to a formula that was already working. As such, anyone who bought the 2020 Air or one of the last few iPad Pros won’t find a ton new or different here. But compared to the 2019 Air, or any base-level iPad from the last few years, the new model is a massive upgrade.
Overall, I think the iPad Air is the best iPad for most people: It’s significantly better than the basic $329 iPad and is nearly identical to the 11-inch iPad Pro that costs $200 more than the Air. If you want a bigger or smaller screen, the iPad mini and 12.9-inch iPad Pro are still great options. But for anyone who wants a premium tablet that’s about as future proof as it gets, the iPad Air is the way to go.
When Audio-Technica introduced its latest true wireless earbuds last month, the company only shared UK and EU pricing and availability. Starting today though, you can purchase the lost-lasting ATH-CKS50TW model in the US. For $149, you can expect up to 20 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation (ANC) disabled, and up to 15 hours with it on. That's well beyond what most of the competition offers — with or without noise canceling abilities.
The IPX4-rated ATH-CKS50TW supports multipoint Bluetooth pairing, so you can be connected to two devices at once and easily switch between the two. On-board controls give you quick access to music, volume, calls and enabling ANC or transparency mode. A handy sidetone feature will allow you to hear yourself during calls so you don't feel the need to shout.
Inside Audio-Technica's app, you can turn on a low-latency mode for streaming or games, adjust the EQ, locate lost earbuds and change audio codecs. For that last item, aptX, aptX Adaptive, AAC and Sony 360 Reality Audio are all supported. Google Fast Pair is available for Android devices and a quick-charge feature will give you 90 minutes of use with a 10-minute rest inside the included case.
Since last June, Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service has been broadly available on iOS devices, but for many iPhone and iPad owners, the experience wasn’t up to what the company offered on other platforms. On Monday, however, Microsoft announced it had implemented a series of enhancements that would improve performance on all iPhone and iPad devices. At the time, it didn’t provide details on the work it had done, noting only they would lead to a “smoother and more responsive gameplay experience.”
But following an email from Engadget, Microsoft has shared more details on the update. The company says it optimized video output and network data transmission on iOS devices. It also found a way to reduce overall input lag. Since input lag is something that can easily take you out of a game, the work Microsoft did there should be easily noticeable.
One of the tricky things about Xbox Cloud Gaming on iOS is that Microsoft is forced to offer it through Safari, as opposed to a dedicated app, due to Apple’s policies on game streaming apps. Browser APIs have come a long way in the past few years, but a web experience still isn’t a substitute for a native app.
Seven long, long years ago, Google started offering users a way to buy a domain without having to deal with a host provider. Now, Google Domains is at last out of beta as a full-fledged product.
Google says, to date, millions of people have used the service to manage a domain. It has added more features and tools to Domains over the years. Folks in 26 countries can now use the full version of the service.
Of course, Domains ties in with other Google services. Customers can, of course, use their domain in their email address. You can build a website or store with Google Sites and use it on a business profile on Maps and in Search. Google's DNS and security tools are available too. There's also the option to build a site or store for a domain purchased through Google via platforms like Wix, Shopify, Squarespace, Weebly and Bluehost.
To mark the occasion of Domains becoming a fully formed entity, Google's offering new and returning users a discount until April 15th. You can get 20 percent off a single domain registration or transfer-in of a domain from another registrar with the code DOMAINS20.
For a bunch of reasons, it feels like a lifetime has passed since 2015, so I wouldn't blame anyone for forgetting the existence of Google Domains. Still, it has finally emerged from incubation without being scuttled off to the long list of products Google has killed.
No modern smartphone is completely carbon neutral. Even the most eco-conscious phones are only partially made out of recyclable materials. But you can help cut back on plastic usage by at least purchasing an eco-friendly case to protect your phone from dings and scratches. There are plenty of them, from those that are completely compostable to ones made from ocean-based plastic. Best of all, eco-friendly cases are often just stylish and durable as their mainstream counterparts. Here are our favorites.
Pela
Nicole Lee / Engadget
Without a doubt, our favorite eco-friendly phone cases are those made by Pela. We absolutely love their colors and designs, plus the fact that the entire line is 100 percent plant-based and compostable. The case material is called “Flaxstic,” which the company says is made from flax straw and compostable bioplastic elastomer. Importantly, it's also free of BPA, phthalates, cadmium and lead. If you ever decide to get rid of it, you can indeed just chuck in a compost bin and it’ll be completely biodegradable.
What’s more, Pela cases are available for a wide array of handsets. They can accommodate iPhones (from iPhone 5 onwards), Samsung Galaxies (Galaxy S8 and newer), Google Pixels (from the Pixel 3a on), the Huawei P50 and P50 Pro and the OnePlus 9.
For iPhone users, we should note that Pela cases are not MagSafe-compatible by default. Strangely, too, you can only purchase an additional $6 MagSafe module for the iPhone 13, and not the iPhone 12. Applying it to my phone was pretty straightforward, so that’s not a big concern, but it’s something to keep in mind. And, obviously, the MagSafe module with all its magnets is not compostable; you’ll have to take it off and dispose of it separately.
LifeProof is a phone case brand that specializes in recycled materials. Each of its products is at least partially made out of recycled materials. But the most eco-friendly option is the LifeProof Wake, which is made from 85 percent ocean-based recycled plastic. According to the company, a lot of that comes from discarded fishing gear, which would otherwise be a fatal hazard for marine life like sharks and turtles.
In addition, we’re big fans of the Wake’s design. It comes in four different colors, and features an attractive sculpted wave pattern. It feels sturdy and durable, and LifeProof says it’s drop proof from two meters (roughly six and half feet). Plus, it’s MagSafe-compatible by default. The LifeProof Wake is available for iPhones (iPhone 11 onward), Samsung Galaxies (Galaxy S20 and newer) and Google Pixels (Pixel 4a and up).
LifeProof’s other cases aren’t too bad either. If you want a clear see-through case instead, LifeProof’s SEE series is a good option (those cases are made out of 50 percent recycled plastic), as is the NEXT series (they’re made out of 55 percent plastic and blocks out dirt, dust and snow). The FRE series (50 percent recycled plastic) doesn’t have a clear case option, but it’s also the sturdiest of the bunch: It’s the only one that’s waterproof from two meters for an hour.
Casetify is mostly known for making durable yet stylish phone cases, but it has several eco-friendly options, too. The latest is its new Compostable line, which is made with a 100 percent compostable and plant-based material called “Ecotify.” Basically, it’s a blend of bamboo, biopolymers and starch.
The regular Compostable line has a drop-protection of around four feet, while the Ultra Compostable line, with its extra corner bumpers, has a drop-protection of about 6.6 feet. My recommendation would be to go with the more durable Ultra Compostable option, even if it does cost about $5 more.
Unfortunately, Casetify’s Compostable line is only available for iPhones the (iPhone 7 and up). Casetify does make other kinds of sustainable cases for both the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy handsets (Galaxy S20 and newer), but they’re not compostable. Instead, they’re made from 65 percent recycled materials. Plus, Casetify offers the option to return your old case, which they’ll then reuse or up-cycle to create a new one, thus reducing waste.
The biggest perk of Casetify’s cases is that they’re very customizable. Not only can you pick out your favorite bumper colors and designs (Casetify regularly partners with brands and illustrators to come up with unique styles), but you can actually add engravings to them too. You can also choose to add even more protection with thicker bumpers (Casetify says the “Bounce Case” offers a 13-foot drop protection).
You don't have to use Google Assistant if you're wearing a Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch. As promised in January, Gen 6 smartwatches now officially support the new Alexa watch app. Set it up and you can launch Amazon's assistant either from the screen (including through a tile) or by configuring one of the pushers. This will be helpful if your smart home revolves around Alexa, of course, but it also provides some choice if you don't want to be tied to one AI helper.
This is the first Amazon-made Alexa app for a Wear OS device, Fossil said. It's available for Fossil, Michael Kors and Skagen models, and Fossil promises to improve it over time.
Alexa won't be quite as convenient as using Google Assistant. You'll still have to tap the screen to invoke Amazon's assistant where Google will be available just by holding the home button. This is a start, though, and it may make Fossil Gen 6 alluring if you like Alexa but don't want to buy a Fitbit smartwatch to put it on your wrist.
If you're lucky enough to have gotten your hands on a PS5, you may be looking for a drive with which to expand your console's storage. We have a whole guide that explains how to do that and which SSDs are our favorites, and one of those drives is down to a new record low right now. Samsung's 980 Pro SSD in 2TB is on sale for $250, which is 42 percent off and $30 cheaper than its previous best price.
The 980 Pro is one of Samsung's best SSDs with PCIe 4 connectivity and an M.2 2280 form factor. You can plug it into laptops and desktops if you're more of a PC gamer, but you'll need to provide a heatsink if you want to hook this drive up to the PS5. You can buy one separately, or grab the 980 Pro with one bundled for $300. We also like the 980 Pro's fast performance, supporting speeds up to 7,000 MB/s, and its nickel coating which should help control temperature levels.
A couple of other drives that made it into our PS5 storage guide are discounted as well. The Patriot Viper VP4300 in 2TB is on sale for $330 — just clip the on-page coupon for $50 off to get the lower final price. This is actually our favorite drive for the PS5 thanks to its sequential read speeds of up to 7,400 MB/s and two included heatsink options (aluminum and graphene). Also on sale is the Seagate FireCuda 530 in 1TB, which you can get for $190. This drive supports speeds up to 7,300 MB/s and also comes with a heatsink.
You won't need a Galaxy S22 to use some of Samsung's latest software tricks. Samsung is promising to bring One UI 4.1 to many of its Galaxy phones and tablets from recent years, including its more advanced camera features. You'll have access to the Expert RAW editing app, more advanced object removal and simpler photo sharing. You can expect Google Duo live sharing and a Grammarly-equipped keyboard, too.
The One UI 4.1 update will first come to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3. However, it will also come to the Galaxy S21, S20 and S10 families, the Galaxy Note line (from the Note 10+ onward), unnamed Galaxy A handsets and all previous foldable phones. Galaxy Tab S7 FE and further unspecified Tab S models will also receive the new software.
Samsung didn't provide a specific timeline for the rollout, although that's likely to vary by device, country and carrier. The plan also suggests you might be out of luck if you use a Galaxy Tab A or other affordable tablets. Nonetheless, it's welcome news for many users who'd rather not buy new hardware just to catch up on One UI features.
After kicking off the year with a bunch of new laptops back at CES 2022 followed by more recentupdates at MWC, Lenovo is finally capping off its refresh cycle this spring with improved components for the ThinkPad X13 and L-series lines.
The focus of Lenovo's latest updates is to provide faster performance featuring new processors (both Intel and AMD, depending on the specific model), improved video conferencing thanks to Dolby Voice and better connectivity via Wi-Fi 6E. Also, every new ThinkPad X13 and L-series notebook is getting a 15 percent larger touchpad and can be configured with 4G LTE, with the ThinkPad X13 getting an upgrade to sub-6Ghz 5G as well. And to reduce the company's impact on the environment, Lenovo is switching to new packaging made from 90 percent recycled material along with more components like speaker housings and AC adapters being made from post-consumer recycled plastics.
Lenovo
The new ThinkPad X13 Yoga 2-in-1 supports up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 CPU, with the more mainstream clamshell X13 getting additional support for AMD Ryzen Pro 6000 chips with Radeon 600M graphics. Lenovo is also introducing optional FHD IR cameras to the mix, which work with Windows Hello facial recognition while including a dedicated camera shutter for increased privacy. The standard X13 offers two different batteries: a default 41Whr power pack, and a larger 54.7 Whr cell that Lenovo says boosts longevity by up to 40 percent.
One the ThinkPad L line, all three sizes (13-, 14-, and 15-inch models) can be equipped with up to 12th-gen Intel i7 processors or AMD Ryzen 5000 Pro CPUs, up to 32GB of RAM, and 1TB PCIe SSDs. The smallest ThinkPad L13 and L13 Yoga will also be available in either Thunder Black or a new Storm Grey paint job, with Lenovo updating both L13s with slightly taller and brighter 16:10 500-nit displays. And for people worried about people peeping over their shoulder, the L13 even supports an optional Privacy Guard screen.
Lenovo
As for the ThinkPad L14 and L15 Gen 3, the company has redesigned their chassis with thinner bezels, which reduces weight and increases the system's overall screen-to-body ratio. And unlike their smaller siblings, you get a total of three battery sizes: 42 Whr, 57 Whr, and 63 Whr.
So while it's not a complete overhaul, both the ThinkPad X13 and ThinkPad L lines are getting some very handy boosts for 2022, especially for people looking for better mobile productivity. The ThinkPad L-series is slated to go on sale beginning in April with prices starting as low as $799 for the L13, with the X13 following later in June starting at $1,119.
