There are two kinds of Android tablets: Samsung's Galaxy Tab S line and everything else. That's because while most Android slates don't rise above being simple media browsing and casual gaming machines, Samsung is doing more than any other company to transform Android into a true multitasking platform. And even though Samsung is approaching the limits of what Google's mobile OS can do, the combination of Dex mode and high-end hardware makes for a premium tablet that sits in a class of its own.

Hardware and design

Featuring a 12.4-inch OLED display, the $900 Tab S8+ is the middle child of Samsung's new Tab S8 lineup, sitting in between the $700 11-inch Tab S8 and the $1,110 Tab S8 Ultra, which boasts a massive 14.6-inch screen.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Without deviating too much from previous entries, Samsung has trimmed down its latest high-end tablet yet again, leaving the Tab S8+ with the slimmest of bezels. And measuring just 0.22 inches thick and weighing 1.24 pounds, the whole thing is very sleek. Meanwhile, there's a new Armor Aluminum frame that Samsung claims is 33 percent harder than what it used on the Tab S7 line. The Tab S8+ also has quad speakers with Dolby Atmos located on each corner of its chassis, so no matter which way you hold it, audio sounds rich and full.

The Tab S8+'s highlight feature is really its 2,800 x 1,752 screen, which delivers rich, punchy colors and a 120Hz refresh rate that makes scrolling through websites and flipping between apps feel smooth. My one complaint is that I really wish Samsung had opted for a wider 3:2 aspect ratio display instead of sticking with 16:10.

If all you do is watch movies or play games, 16:10 makes a lot of sense. But when it comes to productivity, the extra vertical screen space you get from a 4:3 or 3:2 display makes multitasking or having two windows open side-by-side a lot more usable. With Apple and Microsoft already having long since moved to 4:3 and 3:2 screens on iPads and Surfaces, I question why Samsung hasn't done the same.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

The Tab S8+ also features good performance thanks to the inclusion of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, along with 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. And, unlike Samsung's flagship Galaxy phones, you even get a microSD tray for additional storage. The downside is that there's no headphone jack, which is rather frustrating because it's hard to believe that Samsung really couldn't find room for a 3.5mm port on a device this big.

Finally, Samsung rounded out the Tab S8+'s design with a magnetic strip around back for charging the stylus; a strip of pogo pins on one side for attaching keyboard covers; and a speedy in-screen fingerprint sensor that outperforms side-mounted options.

Dex mode

While Android tablets at large are still waiting for Android 12L to receive a number of much-requested multitasking features, the Galaxy Tab S8 line has a custom solution in Dex. By touching the Dex button in the Tab S8's Quick Settings (or using a CMD + W keyboard shortcut), you can switch from the standard Android UI to a more powerful desktop-like view complete with a taskbar and multi-window support. There's also a system tray for easily accessing features like WiFi and Bluetooth connections, while the Android App Drawer is located behind a handy icon in the bottom left.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

I used the Tab S8+ to write large parts of this review, and after booting into Dex mode, I found myself feeling almost immediately at home. I was able to snap windows to each side of the screen just like on a Windows PC, with the Tab S8+ also supporting a number of familiar keyboard shortcuts. You don't get the full range of commands that you would in Windows or macOS, but a number of the basics like Alt-Tab and Alt-F4 are there.

Now, I wish I didn't need to toggle between Dex and the standard Android layouts. And in less popular apps that haven't been optimized for the Tab S8's big screen, you can run into some clunky and awkward experiences, with apps that can't be maximized or games that don’t run properly in the background.

The biggest thing that stops the Tab S8+ from feeling like a laptop is Samsung's $160 book cover keyboard, which doesn't have a built-in touchpad. Touching icons to open apps is fine in short bursts, but if you're considering serious productivity, you'll want to get the more expensive $230 book cover keyboard, which does have an onboard trackpad.

But for the most part, while it might take a little getting used to, Dex mode on the Tab S8+ does an admirable job of turning a traditional tablet into a much more powerful 2-in-1.

S Pen

The other big selling point for the Tab S8 line is Samsung's included S Pen, which includes an expansive range of first-party drawing and annotation apps. By reducing the Tab S8's input latency from 9ms down to just 2.8ms, Samsung has essentially eliminated any sort of lag, and frankly, it feels fantastic.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Samsung Notes is your default choice for jotting down quick thoughts, while its handwriting-to-text conversion features allow you to save more legible copy for easier viewing later. And if you need more support for translating text, annotating slideshows or PDFs, or simply making funny doodles to send to friends, there are dedicated apps for that too. Samsung has all the basics covered out of the box, though if you're a hardcore artist, you'll find more sophisticated drawing and sketching apps on Apple's App Store.

Cameras

The photography experience on tablets is often an afterthought because let's be honest, who wants to be the person pulling out a 12-inch device to snap pics at a concert or ballgame? So even though the Tab S8's cameras aren't anywhere near as good as what you'd get on a Galaxy S phone, Samsung threw in not one but two rear cameras that are more than serviceable. That includes a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 6MP ultra-wide cam in back, as well as a 12MP selfie shooter up front. In bright light, images are sufficiently sharp and colorful, though you’ll start to notice noise creep in pretty quickly as the conditions get dimmer.

Battery life

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

It's hard for a screen this big to not suck up a lot of juice, especially if you have the brightness turned up. But even so, the Tab S8+ posted a respectable time on our local video rundown test of 9:21, which isn't a far cry from the 10 hours we got from the iPad Pro. However, if you're playing games or multitasking, just be aware that you can drain the Tab S8+'s battery a lot faster than that. In more mixed use cases, I typically got closer to six or six and a half hours on a charge. Oh, and while the Tab S8+ does support 45-watt fast charging, you'll need to buy a power brick that supports those speeds on your own, because Samsung doesn't include a charger in the box.

Wrap-up

The big question I've been asking myself is, compared to something like Lenovo's $630 P12 Pro, is the Galaxy Tab S8+ worth 50 percent more? And you know what, actually yes. That's because while they might have similar designs and screen sizes, the Tab S8+'s display is brighter, it has noticeably faster performance and its quad speakers sound richer and fuller. Little luxuries like its in-screen fingerprint reader make it easier to use on a daily basis. And Samsung's S Pen and stylus apps are more sophisticated than anything you'll find on a rival Android slate. It's just an all-around more premium device.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

But what elevates the Tab S8+ above rival Android tablets is Dex mode. With the touch of a button, the Tab S8+ switches to a more desktop-like UI that makes multitasking and doing work actually a feasible idea, instead of struggling with productivity like you do on so many traditional Android tablets. In fact, the consumer version of the P12 Pro isn't even scheduled to get Android 12 until the end of March, let alone whatever happens to Android 12L.

Even so, despite all the work Samsung has done, the Tab S8 still isn't quite as powerful or accommodating as an iPad Pro or even a Windows-powered detachable like a Surface Pro 8. And with a total price of at least $1,000 once you factor in Samsung's keyboard cover, the Tab S8+ doesn't offer much in the way of savings versus Apple or Microsoft. But both of those devices run on different OSes, and depending on your situation, switching might be a nonstarter. That said, if you need support for Android apps but still want something suited for productivity, a Chromebook is also worth considering. But if you're dead set on a high-end multi-purpose Android tablet, the Tab S8 line should be at the top of your list.

As countries and territories put the financial squeeze on Russia, it’s turned into a major test of cryptocurrencies and their exchanges. Many of the biggest cryptocoins, like bitcoin and Ethereum, have rallied in the past few days. Is this due to an influx of Russian money as the ruble tumbled in value? Or is this due to crypto investors and owners pushing that narrative to bump up values and reignite interest? I don’t know. I’m not an economist.

At the same time, Ukraine had raised over $13 million in cryptocurrency contributions as of February 28th. Reuters reported last week Binance had restricted crypto accounts affected by sanctions against Russia, while Kraken is warning Russians their accounts might be frozen if there's a "legal requirement" to do so.

Despite requests from Ukraine to go further, major crypto exchanges, including Coinbase and Binance, are saying that doing so would harm civilians and be counter to their ideals. "To unilaterally decide to ban people’s access to their crypto would fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists,” a Binance spokesperson told CNBC.

For now, cryptocurrency continues to exist on the fringes of governmental influence.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Ethernet co-inventor David Boggs dies at 71

• Engadget Deals: Apple's Mac Mini M1 drops back down to $570

• Engadget Deals: AMD Ryzen 5000 processors fall to all-time lows at Amazon

• Amazon's Luna cloud gaming service officially launches in the US

• 'Monument Valley 2' and 'Alto's Adventure' are coming to Apple Arcade

• Facebook will demote Russian state media across its entire platform

• Cyberattack forces Toyota to suspend vehicle production in Japan

• Apple halts sales of all products in Russia

• Paramount+ anniversary sale drops plans to $1 for new subscribers

Google wants devices to know when you're paying attention

All in the name of more intuitive experiences.

Google

Google has been working on a "new interaction language" for years, and today it's sharing a peek at what it's developed so far. This new "interaction language" could help machines around us become more intuitive and perceptive of our desire to interact with them. This means reading our body language and movement so devices better know when to remain in the background instead of bombarding us with information. The team used the company's Soli radar sensor — first seen in Google’s Pixel 4 — to detect the proximity, direction and pathways of people around it. Read on for a breakdown of Approach, Pass, Turn and Glance — four of the new interaction terms Google is tackling.

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Jeep's first all-electric SUV arrives in 2023

An electric Ram 1500 is due in 2024.

As part of its new Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, the automaker has unveiled the first all-electric Jeep SUV. Stellantis, the owner of Jeep, didn't provide a name, but its Jeep EV will launch in early 2023 and appears to be relatively compact. Autoblog reports that Jeep might be using the STLA Small platform that supports up to an 82kWh battery and 300 miles of range — but nothing’s confirmed yet. For now, it’s a cautious rollout that leaves Stellantis behind Ford, GM and other car brands that already have multiple EVs either on the road or coming this year.

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What we bought: Echelon's Connect Sport bike

It pairs well with an Apple Fitness+ subscription.

Engadget

Late last year, Engadget’s Jon Fingas resolved to get back in shape and bought a $397 Echelon Connect Sport exercise bike, using it alongside an $80-per-year Apple Fitness+ membership. Yes, that makes it much cheaper than Peloton, whose Bike ($1,495) and full subscription ($39 per month) demand a fair chunk of cash. Using Apple’s fitness platform to program workouts means it doesn't matter if Echelon’s own connected bike isn’t as smart as Peloton’s. And the end result is the same: a sweaty workout in the privacy of your home.

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Sonos' Roam SL is a mic-free version of its portable speaker

It costs $20 less than the original Roam.

It’s been about a year since Sonos released the Roam, its smallest and least expensive speaker yet. As with most modern Sonos speakers, the Roam has a built-in mic, so you can interact with voice assistants. The new Roam SL ditches that mic, meaning no more Alexa or Google Assistant. You also lose the Auto Trueplay feature, which uses the microphone to tune the speaker to sound better wherever you place it.

The $159 SL is otherwise identical to the original Roam. It's a small speaker that can connect to your WiFi network and be part of a Sonos multi-room audio system.

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This smart mosquito repellent system obeys voice commands

And you can control it with an app.

Thermacell has released a smart mosquito repellent system called Liv, which connects multiple repeller units to a smart hub. You can switch the system on and off using the hub or bark voice commands through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. You also have control of the repellers through the Liv+ mobile app. Just in time for sunnier months, it's available to order now. Liv starts at $699 for a pack of three repellers (which the company says will cover up to 945 square feet).

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Liveuamap, a tool journalists and relief organizations have used to follow the conflict in Ukraine, was the target of a DDoS attack earlier today that lasted approximately 18 hours, according to The New York Times. The website was founded in 2014 by Ukrainian journalists and software developers and mainly operates out of the Eastern European country. At 12:48PM ET, Liveuamap said its website was slowly coming back online with help from Cloudflare. The company’s mobile app was still experiencing some issues at the time.

It’s unclear who was behind the attack. In the lead-up to Thursday's invasion, Ukraine blamed Russia for a series of cyberattacks that hobbled dozens of government websites. Since then, the country has called on an “IT Army” of international volunteers to disrupt Russian government websites. That same weekend, Anonymous claimed responsibility for a DDoS attack on the website of Russia’s Ministry of Defence.

Google has been working on a "new interaction language" for years, and today it's sharing a peek at what it's developed so far. The company is showcasing a set of movements it's defined in its new interaction language in the first episode of a new series called In the lab with Google ATAP. That acronym stands for Advanced Technology and Projects, and it's Google's more-experimental division that the company calls its "hardware invention studio."

The idea behind this "interaction language" is that the machines around us could be more intuitive and perceptive of our desire to interact with them by better understanding our nonverbal cues. "The devices that surround us... should feel like a best friend," senior interaction designer at ATAP Lauren Bedal told Engadget. "They should have social grace."

Specifically (so far, anyway), ATAP is analyzing our movements (as opposed to vocal tones or facial expressions) to see if we're ready to engage, so devices know when to remain in the background instead of bombarding us with information. The team used the company's Soli radar sensor to detect the proximity, direction and pathways of people around it. Then, it parsed that data to determine if someone is glancing at, passing, approaching or turning towards the sensor. 

Google formalized this set of four movements, calling them Approach, Glance, Turn and Pass. These actions can be used as triggers for commands or reactions on things like smart displays or other types of ambient computers. If this sounds familiar, it's because some of these gestures already work on existing Soli-enabled devices. The Pixel 4, for example, had a feature called Motion Sense that will snooze alarms when you wave at it, or wake the phone if it detected your hand coming towards it. Google's Nest Hub Max used its camera to see when you've raised your open palm, and will pause your media playback in response.

Approach feels similar to existing implementations. It allows devices to tell when you (or a body part) are getting closer, so they can bring up information you might be near enough to see. Like the Pixel 4, the Nest Hub uses a similar approach when it knows you're close by, pulling up your upcoming appointments or reminders. It'll also show touch commands on a countdown screen if you're near, and switch to larger, easy-to-read font when you're further away.

While Glance may seem like it overlaps with Approach, Bedal explained that it can be for understanding where a person's attention is when they're using multiple devices. "Say you're on a phone call with someone and you happen to glance at another device in the house," she said. "Since we know you may have your attention on another device, we can offer a suggestion to maybe transfer your conversation to a video call." Glance can also be used to quickly display a snippet of information.

Google

What's less familiar are Turn and Pass. "With turning towards and away, we can allow devices to help automate repetitive or mundane tasks," Bedal said. It can be used to determine when you're ready for the next step in a multi-stage process, like following an onscreen recipe, or something repetitive, like starting and stopping a video. Pass, meanwhile, tells the device you're not ready to engage.

It's clear that Approach, Pass, Turn and Glance build on what Google's implemented in bits and pieces into its products over the years. But the ATAP team also played with combining some of these actions, like passing and glancing or approaching and glancing, which is something we've yet to see much of in the real world. 

For all this to work well, Google's sensors and algorithms need to be incredibly adept not only at recognizing when you're making a specific action, but also when you're not. Inaccurate gesture recognition can turn an experience that's meant to be helpful into one that's incredibly frustrating. 

ATAP's head of design Leonardo Giusti said "That's the biggest challenge we have with these signals." He said that with devices that are plugged in, there is more power available to run more complex algorithms than on a mobile device. Part of the effort to make the system more accurate is collecting more data to train machine learning algorithms on, including the correct actions as well as similar but incorrect ones (so they also learn what not to accept). 

Google

"The other approach to mitigate this risk is through UX design," Giusti said. He explained that the system can offer a suggestion rather than trigger a completely automated response, to allow users to confirm the right input rather than act on a potentially inaccurate gesture. 

Still, it's not like we're going to be frustrated by Google devices misinterpreting these four movements of ours in the immediate future. Bedal pointed out "What we're working on is purely research. We're not focusing on product integration." And to be clear, Google is sharing this look at the interaction language as part of a video series it's publishing. Later episodes of In the lab with ATAP will cover other topics beyond this new language, and Giusti said it's meant to "give people an inside look into some of the research that we are exploring."

But it's easy to see how this new language can eventually find its way into the many things Google makes. The company's been talking about its vision for a world of "ambient computing" for years, where it envisions various sensors and devices embedded into the many surfaces around us, ready to anticipate and respond to our every need. For a world like that to not feel intrusive or invasive, there are many issues to sort out (protecting user privacy chief among them). Having machines that know when to stay away and when to help is part of that challenge.

Bedal, who's also a professional choreographer, said "We believe that these movements are really hinting to a future way of interacting with computers that feels invisible by leveraging the natural ways that we move."

She added, "By doing so, we can do less and computers can... operate in the background, only helping us in the right moments." 

It’s been about a year since Sonos released the Roam, the company’s smallest and least expensive speaker yet. As with most modern Sonos speakers, the Roam has a built-in microphone that lets you use the speaker with Amazon’s Alexa or the Google Assistant. Today, Sonos is releasing a variant of the Roam that omits that microphone, the Roam SL.

Aside from removing the microphone, the $159 Roam SL is identical to the original Roam, which costs $20 more. It's a small speaker that can connect to your WiFi network and be part of a Sonos multi-room audio system. But it also has a built-in battery and Bluetooth capabilities, so you can take it with you and use it away from a WiFi connection. It's also waterproof and dust-resistant (IP67 rated), and the battery is rated for about 10 hours. 

Aside from losing voice assistant capability, losing the microphone takes away another feature from the Roam SL. The original Roam features Auto Trueplay, which uses the microphone to tune the speaker to sound better wherever you place it. With no microphone, the Roam SL won't be able to do this, and Sonos confirmed that you won't be able to manually tune the speaker with an iPhone as you can do with most of the company's other speakers. It's not a huge surprise, as the Roam SL is meant to be moved, so a manual tuning process isn't something that'll make sense for most people, but it's still worth knowing if you're choosing between the Roam and the Roam SL. 

The Roam's battery life isn't as good as other speakers in its class, but it sounds great and is a relatively inexpensive way to see how the Sonos experience works. As such, we imagine the Roam SL will also be worth checking out for people who don't want a microphone on their speaker. Sonos has tried this before, with the One SL, a mic-less version of the Sonos One, so it's not a huge surprise to see the company offer the Roam without a mic as well. You can pre-order the Roam SL now on the Sonos website, and it'll be available on March 15th.

If you missed the sale earlier this month, now's your chance to grab Apple's Mac Mini M1 at its best price yet. The compact desktop has returned to a record low of $570, thanks to a discount and a coupon that knocks an additional $80 off the sale price. You'll get the best deal on the 256GB version, but the 512GB model is also cheaper than usual: it's on sale for $799, but an automatically applied coupon will bring the final price down to $750.

The Mac Mini M1 was already the most budget-friendly M1 machine in Apple's lineup, so it's a steal at this sale price. You can expect performance similar to that of the MacBook Air M1, which is to say, speedy and efficient with near instantaneous wake times and even zippy iOS app performance. The Mac Mini M1 has an eight-core CPU, an eight-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine, and both models on sale have 8GB of RAM. If you want to future-proof your machine a bit, consider springing for the extra-storage model. But most people will likely find their needs met by the base, 256GB version.

The small desktop's exterior will look familiar if you've had a Mac Mini in the past. Apple focused its efforts updating the inside, so the outside is mostly unchanged. The compact silver box should be able to fit into even the most cramped desk setups, and it has a number of ports on its back edge, including two Thunderbolt ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI connector, an Ethernet port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. While we're still waiting to hear whether Apple will have a hardware event in March, there's no guarantee an updated Mac Mini will make an appearance at such an event. So if you've been on the hunt for a powerful desktop upgrade, Amazon's latest sale on the Mac Mini M1 is one to consider.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Mobile World Congress, best known for phones, next-gen mobile networks and everything related is having a laptop moment. Sure, Honor revealed its latest high-end phone, with the full-fat Android experience, but a lot of the headline devices have been laptops or hybrids or two-in-ones. That’s true of Samsung (Galaxy Book 2 Pro), Huawei (laptops, tablets and a hybrid) and now, Lenovo. It’s revealed its first ThinkPad running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip — the processor family usually used in smartphones. The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 chip is made for these kinds of devices.

It’s got some exciting specs: 5G support built-in, a heady 28 hours of battery life and… a red ThinkPad tracker nub. We’ll wait on a full review to decide whether it lives up to the full ThinkPadTrackPad experience, but the wait won’t be long: The ThinkPad X13s is slated to go on sale sometime in May, starting at $1,100.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

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Panasonic will start making Tesla's higher-capacity EV batteries by March 2024

ASUS Zephyrus G14 review: Still a solid 14-inch gaming laptop

Lenovo's latest tablets include a Windows 11 detachable

Lenovo's new ThinkPad X1 Extreme runs on 12th-gen Intel chips

Crypto exchanges refuse to freeze all Russian accounts as Ukraine requested

Honor says its Magic 4 Pro is a Galaxy S22 rival

But when can I buy one?

Honor

The once-Huawei subsidiary is, unlike its former owner, able to combine high-specced devices with, thankfully, all the Android and Google features we demand. Its latest flagship family, the Magic 4 and Magic 4 Pro are, once again, stylish, competitively priced phones with some notable tricks. Honor’s Eye of Muse-branded camera setup (don’t ask) features two 50-megapixel cameras on both phones, with the Pro packing a 64-megapixel telephoto camera with a 3.5x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom. (The vanilla Magic 4 gets a more humble 8MP periscope camera.)

The Magic 4 Pro also gets a direct time-of-flight (DTOF) sensor to help with focusing and improving image quality. The Magic 4 Pro will cost €1,099 ($1,230) in Europe when it launches. The Magic 4 will cost €899 ($1,006).

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LG's latest CineBeam 4K projectors promise improved daytime viewing

Both are available now.

LG is once again updating its CineBeam 4K projectors, and the upgrades are good news if you tend to watch during the day. Both the HU715Q Ultra Short Throw laser projector and the HU710P laser-LED hybrid promise better daytime viewing, with a new auto-brightness feature on the HU715Q. The HU710P’s move to a wheel-free hybrid offers brighter overall pictures than its predecessor. LG is already shipping both CineBeam projectors, starting at $2,499 for the HU710P and $2,999 for the HU715Q.

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Russia withdraws from European spaceport in response to sanctions

The country has also dropped US involvement in a Venus probe.

Russia is cutting some of its cooperation with international space programs in response to sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Roscosmos is "suspending" cooperation with European partners on launches from the Guiana Space Centre in retaliation for EU sanctions. The Russian space agency also announced it's pulling staff from the French Guiana-based Spaceport.

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OnePlus 10 Pro is headed to the US, Europe and India in March

The device will also stick with OxygenOS instead of shifting to a unified OS.

While most OnePlus phones had been available globally before "reaching" China, that wasn't the case with the OnePlus 10 Pro, which has so far been China-exclusive since its January launch. That's about to change. The company announced at MWC that its latest flagship phone will finally head to the US, Europe and India "by the end of March."

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Instagram head says iPad 'not big enough' to make app a priority

Adam Mosseri says there aren't enough people using iPads to justify fast-tracking an app.

Godong via Getty Images

It's been more than 11 years since Instagram launched, and there's still no native iPad app. According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri, that's not going to change any time soon. In a series of tweets between Mosseri and prolific tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee, Mosseri said there weren't enough iPad users to justify making a dedicated app.

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Pioneering Xerox PARC computer researcher David Boggs has died at 71, The New York Times has reported. He was best known for co-inventing the Ethernet PC connection standard used to link PCs in close proximity to other computers, printers and the internet — over both wired and wireless connections. 

The Xerox PARC research lab in Palo Alto developed much of the PC tech we tech for granted today like the graphic user interface, mouse and word processor. Boggs joined the team in 1973, and started working with fellow researcher Bob Metcalfe on a system to send information to and from the lab's computer. 

In about two years, they had designed the first version of Ethernet, a link that could transmit data at 2.94 Mbps over a coaxial cable. It borrowed in part from a wireless networking system developed at the University of Hawaii called ALOHAnet, tapping into Boggs' passion for HAM radio. "He was the perfect partner for me," Metcalfe told the NYT. “I was more of a concept artist, and he was a build-the-hardware-in-the-back-room engineer.”

Xerox PARC

At this point, a networking system called Arpanet already existed, but was designed for connections over longer distances. Ethernet beat out competing technologies for near-proximity connections thanks to its clever packet technology. That allowed data to be sent over wires or wirelessly, and it would continue to work even if some packets were lost. 

Metcalfe eventually founded the Ethernet networking giant 3Com, while Boggs stayed at PARC as a researcher. He later moved to mini-computer giant DEC, then started an Ethernet company called LAN Media.

Ethernet became the standard protocol for wired devices in the '80s and is the foundational tech used for WiFi that first proliferated in the 1990s. Nearly 50 years later, it has never been replaced and is ubiquitous in nearly all digital devices. So why did it survive and thrive? "Seems Ethernet does not work in theory, only in practice," Boggs once said, Metcalfe told the NYT.

Uber hopes to accelerate a planned sale of its remaining holdings in Yandex.Taxi, the Russian-owned ride-hailing platform, reportedThe New York Times. Uber owns a 29% stake in the service, which was roughly equivalent to $800 million at the end of 2021. While speeding up the sale is directly in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Uber has been looking to exit the Russian market for a while. Last year Uber announced it would sell its stake of Yandex’s autonomous vehicle and food delivery divisions back to the Russian internet company for a total of $1 billion. In the wake of Monday’s decision, three Uber executives resigned from the board of Yandex.Taxi.

“In light of recent events, we are actively looking for opportunities to accelerate the sale of our remaining holdings and, in the meantime, will remove our executives from the board of the joint venture,” Uber said in a statement to the Times.

The decision aligns with similar moves made by private US companies like Google, Apple, Meta, Netflix and others to cut ties with Russia in light of its invasion of Ukraine. It will also mark the end of what has been a very rocky ride for Uber in Russia, since it first launched in the country in 2014. The ride-hailing and food delivery market in Russia was already dominated by Yandex.Taxi, which is partly owned by Russia’s largest tech company, Yandex. Both companies entered in a $3.7 billion dollar deal in 2017, with Uber owning 37 percent of Yandex.Taxi. Customers in Russia can use either the Yandex or Uber app to hail a ride.

Concerns that Yandex.Taxi is illegally harvesting user data prompted Lithuania’s transport and economy minister on Monday to ask Google and Apple to remove the app from their respective app stores, citing national security concerns. Back in 2018, the head of Lithuania’s cybersecurity center noted that the Yandex.Taxi app requests access to your camera, microphone and local data network, and urged locals not to use the platform. Yandex has denied the allegations and stated that the app complies with EU data regulations.

It's been two years since I reviewed the first ASUS Zephyrus G14, but my fondness for it hasn't waned. It's colored my view of every gaming laptop since: Why can't they all pack in great performance in a compact 3.5-pound case for under $1,500? Now, with its latest edition, ASUS is fixing the G14's major flaw: It's finally adding a webcam. Together with AMD's latest Ryzen 6000 chips and Radeon GPUs, the 2022 G14 sounds like a dream machine on paper. But, thanks to significantly higher configuration prices, it's no longer a value-oriented machine. And that’s a shame.

Aside from the pricing change, though, the new Zephyrus G14 builds on everything we loved about the original. The sturdy magnesium alloy case returns, and select models feature more of ASUS's "AniMe Matrix" LEDs, which can display images and text on the back of the screen. You can choose between 14-inch 144Hz 1080p and 120Hz 1440p screens, which offer 400 and 500 nits of brightness, respectively. That's a huge leap from last year's 300-nit screen, and it makes the displays much better suited for Dolby Vision HDR (another helpful addition).

And then there's the webcam. That's not something we'd usually highlight, but it's notable for the Zephyrus G14. The 2020 model was one of the first modern gaming notebooks that didn't feature any sort of camera, a move that helped ASUS achieve some impressively thin screen bezels. Given that many gamers already have better external cameras for streaming, it didn't seem like a huge deal at the time. But of course, now that many of us need to be ready to hop on a Zoom at the drop of a hat, that calculus has shifted a bit. The G14's IR camera also supports Windows Hello, so it can securely log you in without much fuss.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

With a webcam in tow, the Zephyrus G14 has just about all of the features we'd want in a gaming laptop. And it's bolstered by impressive new hardware under the hood: the Ryzen 9 6900HS, AMD's latest eight-core powerhouse chip, as well as either Radeon RX 6700S or 6800S graphics. Those GPUs aremeant for thin and light notebooks like the G14, with better performance-per-watt ratings than the previous NVIDIA RTX 3060. ASUS also ramped up cooling significantly this time around, thanks to a vapor chamber cooler and liquid metal thermal paste for both the CPU and GPU.

All of this new gear amounts to a bit more heft than the original 3.5-pound G14, unfortunately. It starts at 3.6 pounds without the AniMe Matrix LED display, and it scales up to 3.8 pounds with the LEDs. That's still relatively light compared to the competition, though. The Razer Blade 14 weighs 4.1 pounds, and the Alienware x14 comes in just under four pounds.

Once I saw the Zephyrus G14 in action, I didn't mind that it was slightly heavier. Our review unit was one of the most premium options: a $2,499 configuration with the Ryzen 9 6900HS, Radeon 6800S, 32GB of DDR5 RAM and the AniME Matrix. Not surprisingly, it was a significant upgrade from the 2020-era G14 I tested, though that was also a $1,499 build with an RTX 2060. The new G14 held its own against the Razer Blade 14 and Alienware x14 in PCMark 10, Geekbench and 3DMark's TimeSpy Extreme benchmark. If you're particularly interested in multi-threaded performance, though, it's worth noting that the hybrid 12th-gen Intel CPU in the Alienware x14 practically blew away the G14.

In Halo Infinite, my current multiplayer addiction, the Zephyrus G14 hovered between 80 and 100 fps in 1440p with all of the graphics settings cranked to the max. That's perfectly playable, though it's unfortunate that such an expensive machine can't completely fill the monitor's 120Hz refresh rate. I didn't notice any tearing or stuttering though, thanks to the display's FreeSync Premium support. Older titles like Destiny 2 and Overwatch surpassed 120 fps in 1440p easily, as you'd expect. Still, the cost of our review unit never left my mind. For $2,500, I'd expect something a bit more future-proof.

As for ray tracing performance, I was pleased to see that the G14 was only slightly behind the RTX 3060-equipped Alienware x14 in 3DMark's Port Royal benchmark. Unfortunately, it's still not powerful enough to keep Control above 60 fps in 1440p with medium ray tracing settings. NVIDIA's GPUs can hit that mark by relying on its DLSS AI upscaling technology, but Control doesn't yet support's AMD's alternative, FidelityFX Super Resolution.

Thanks to its improved cooling system, the Zephyrus G14 ran far quieter than the 2020 model, even when I was in a prolonged Halo Infinite Big Team Battle session. The CPU never surpassed 85 celsius, while the GPU typically stayed around 75 celsius under load. Most importantly, the "Silent" fan mode lived up to its name, which is a big deal if you ever need to bring your gaming laptop into a quiet coffee house or meeting room.

While I was gaming, watching videos or just bumming around the web, I genuinely appreciated the G14's revamped "ROG Nebula Display." In addition to the faster refresh rates and Dolby Vision support, it's also a 16-by-10 aspect ratio now, which gives you a bit more vertical space for scrolling documents. Halo Infinite's war-torn maps looked vibrant and detailed on the G14, and I appreciated having Dolby Vision while I watched a few Netflix shows. The computer's HDR support is a bit confounding, though. Windows 11 doesn't detect it as an HDR capable display, and I couldn't view any HDR YouTube videos. And yet somehow, I was still able to watch Netflix with Dolby Vision HDR enabled. I've asked ASUS for clarification on those issues, and will update this review as I learn more.

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As much as I love the idea of 14-inch gaming laptops, their cramped keyboards often leave me underwhelmed. Uncomfortable fingers could easily mean the difference between winning or losing a multiplayer match. Thankfully, the G14's keyboard, while small, handled my fast-moving digits just fine. There's a satisfying amount of travel too, which helps both during gaming and general typing. While I certainly wouldn't mind a larger keyboard, the G14's felt kinder to my gaming-battered digits than the Alienware x14 or Blade 14. But seriously, folks, if these companies can make luxuriously wide keyboards for their 13-inch ultraportables, why can’t they do the same for gaming hardware?

I'm more impressed with the Zephyrus G14's new trackpad, which is 50 percent larger than it was last year. I'm of the mind that you can never really have a trackpad that's too big, so I appreciated having more space to swipe around and use finger gestures. I never once mistakenly hit the wrist pad by accident, which is really all I'm asking for in a notebook these days.

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Unlike other slim machines, the G14 is equipped with all of the ports you'd need: two USB 3.2 Type-C ports, two USB 3.2 Type-A connections, a full-sized HDMI 2.0 socket, a combination audio jack and a microSD card reader. The laptop's 240-watt power supply also pushes more juice than last year's, which means you'll see a faster charge than before. (You can also charge over USB-C in a pinch, but that won't deliver enough power while gaming.)

During our battery test, which involves looping an HD video, the G14 lasted nine hours and 46 minutes. That's almost two hours longer than the Alienware x14 lasted. And during my typical workflow of juggling dozens of browser tabs, editing photos, and hopping on Zoom calls, the G14 usually kept going for over seven hours. That's not impressive when ultraportables are well into double-digit battery life, but that's the price you pay for having a slim-yet-powerful machine.

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Pricing is where things get sticky with the Zephyrus G14. It technically starts at $1,600, according to ASUS. But the cheapest model you can currently snag at Best Buy goes for $1,650 with a quad HD display, Ryzen 9 CPU, 16GB of RAM, 1TB SSD and a Radeon RX 6700 GPU. You can also bump up to a Radeon RX 6800 GPU for $1,900. While those prices aren’t unreasonable when it comes to gaming laptops, they’re significantly more than the $1,050 starting price of the 2020-era model. Our original review unit came in at just $1,450 with an RTX 2060, Ryzen 9 4900HS, and 16GB of RAM.

While it started out as a surprisingly affordable 14-inch gaming laptop, the G14 is now firmly in mid-range or even premium notebook territory. Chalk it up to the global chip crunch, price inflation (which, admittedly, is affecting all PC makers) and all of the other supply chain issues we’re facing in 2022. If you’re looking for pure power, the Blade 14 starts at $2,000 with the Ryzen 9 6900HX, an RTX 3060, and a 144Hz 1080p screen. The Alienware x14, meanwhile, starts at $1,600 with a Core i7-12700H and RTX 3050 GPU (go up to $1,900 and you can add the RTX 3060). ASUS is still your best option if you absolutely need a quad HD display, but if you just care about high frame rates, you’ve got better options.

And when it comes to our review model, you’re basically just paying a huge premium to get decent hardware in a slim case. Personally, I’d opt for the heavier $2,500 Razer Blade 15 Advanced, which has an RTX 3070, Core i7-12800H and a 15-inch 240Hz quad HD screen. But that’s admittedly an unfair comparison – I realize some people don’t mind paying more for portability.

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The Zephyrus G14 is still an incredibly compelling 14-inch notebook, especially if you’re aiming for one of the cheaper models. It’s powerful, slim and it finally has a webcam. But it’s also lost much of what made the 2020 model so special. I suppose that’s progress, though. ASUS kicked off a trend, but now it’s racing to keep up with the competition.