Battle DJs, the turntablists that perfect the art of cutting and scratching music to build new creations on-the-fly are getting some new gear for the mobile digital world. Until now, most devices for this style of mixing have either been the classic turntables and mixer combo, or pricey modular units. Today, Pioneer DJ announces its new DDJ-REV controller series focused on the battle DJ’s style of mixing and aimed at both novices and pros alike. The new entry-level DDJ-REV1 ($259) and the pro-level DDJ-REV7 ($1,899) are both Serato DJ compatible and offer an adjusted layout for fans of the sideways turntable and the Pioneer DJM-S series of mixers.

Newcomers interested in this style of DJing can get a taste of what’s to come, with a few useful flourishes for the livestreaming generation. The 2-channel DDJ-REV1 controller runs Serato DJ Lite and includes a 14-day trial of Serato DJ Pro. It’s bus-powered, has slightly larger jog wheels than prior models in this price range and includes a mic input so you can get chatty during livestreams without extra gear. Along with the mic, the only other input is the USB port, and you only get a single RCA master output.

Although pint-sized, the layout echoes a classic battle DJ’s choice with platters at the bottom and a horizontal pitch slider up top. A sideways turntable allowed easier scratching without the tonearm getting in the way, which resulted in an unusual placement for the pitch control. It seems some have gotten used to that layout and this type of controller layout caters to that familiarity.

Pioneer DJ

The central mixing panel also borrows from the popular Pioneer DJM-S series, with performance pads in the middle and lockable FX toggles. There’s also a Scratch Bank to store your choice of audio clips and the Tracking Scratch feature. This saves you having to get back to a scratchable cue point by doing it for you when you remove your hands from the ridged capacitive jog wheel or spin it back.

If you have more seasoned skills and/or more money to spend, the 2-channel DDJ-REV7 is a better fit. This higher-end model includes 7-inch motorized jog wheels with vinyl-mimicking top plates and adjustable torque for a classic turntable feel. Each side also includes a 3.5-inch on-jog display where you can see waveforms and other data, or switch to a Serato virtual deck view, song artwork or your own logo with easy-to-see omnidirectional viewing.

As with the economy model, the DDJ-REV7 mimics a classic cut and scratch layout with the DJM-S styled central mixer, performance pads and FX toggle. Those jog wheels are along the front edge with the pitch slider on the top. Relevant control buttons live in between those, somewhat reminiscent of the Pioneer CDJ series layout.

Other highlights for the DDJ-REV7 are onboard scratch samples, a Maglev Fader Pro and 22 built-in Beat FX. If you want to flank your controller with turntables or CDJs, you’re in luck since there are line and phono inputs on each channel. Plan to swap with another DJ during live sets? The dual USB ports will make life easier. You'll need a computer for most things, since there's no thumb drive or microSD slot. It seems you can store full tracks in the on-board scratch bank along with clips, but that's no real solution. For outputs you'll get XLR and RCA ports for master out, plus balanced 1/4-inch TRS for the booth.

The entry-level DDJ-REV1 is expected to be available in late January at the retail price of $259 and works with the free Serato DJ Lite (1.5.9) software, although the pro version will also work. Those interested in the high-end DDJ-REV7 ($1,899) will have to wait until February, although no solid availability date has been confirmed. This model includes a license for Serato DJ Pro (2.5.9) and a voucher for the Serato Pitch ‘n’ Time expansion.

Wyze has some of the best budget security cameras around. We recently highlighted the Wyze Cam V3 as our favorite overall home security camera, thanks to its low price and handy selection of features. Although a subscription isn't totally necessary for the company's cameras, it does offer extra utility. With that in mind, Wyze is opening up a new subscription tier to everyone.

The Cam Plus Lite plan includes AI-powered Person Detection (instead of motion detection) and 12-second event recordings. Here's the twist: it's a pay-what-you-want plan, so you'll have access to those features without having to pay a monthly or annual fee.

The existing Cam Plus plan costs $2 per month or $15 per year. It supports back-to-back event recordings (instead of one every five minutes). Other features include full-length video recording for as long as motion is detected, and package, vehicle and pet detection.

Until now, Wyze cameras have captured 12-second clips as often as every five minutes when they detect an event, and those recordings are stored for up to 14 days. Wyze is moving that feature to its subscriptions, though, you'll need to opt in to the Cam Plus or Cam Plus Lite plan to keep using cloud recordings.

Wyze says it's pairing cloud recordings with the AI-powered Person Detection feature in the Cam Plus Lite plan to make them more useful and cut down on unnecessary notifications that might be triggered by a clip of, say, an insect flying in front of the camera. The company believes this approach will improve the overall experience, though it said it will incur significant cloud costs as a result. As such, while it won't make users pay for those features, it's hoping they'll contribute what they can to help cover the costs for everyone.

If you don't opt in to Cam Plus Lite, your cameras will store thumbnails of what they detect, rather than video. You'll still be able to sign up for Cam Plus Lite at any time.

Wyze is making some changes to the local storage options too. It will support microSDXC cards with more than 32GB of storage. That feature's available on Wyze Cam v3 now, and it's coming to the company's other cameras as part of their next firmware update. By the middle of February, Wyze will roll out 30-second rewind and skp forward buttons to help users zip through footage stored on a microSD card faster.

Apple has released iOS 15.2.1, its latest software update for recent iPhone and iPad devices. The patch addresses a vulnerability found within the company’s HomeKit protocol for connecting disparate smart home devices. The bug allowed malicious individuals to force an iPhone or iPad to repeatedly crash and freeze by changing the name of a HomeKit-compatible device to include more than 500,000 characters. Since iOS backs up HomeKit device names to iCloud, it was possible for iOS users to get stuck in an endless loop of crashes.

Security researcher Trevor Spiniolas discovered the vulnerability and publicly disclosed it on January 1st. According to Spiniolas, he informed Apple of the bug back in August. The company had reportedly planned to address the vulnerability before the end of 2022 but later delayed a fix to early 2022. “I believe this bug is being handled inappropriately as it poses a serious risk to users and many months have passed without a comprehensive fix,” Spiniolas said at the time.

Spiniolas found that the vulnerability is present within Apple’s mobile operating system as far back as iOS 14.7, but said he believes it exists in all versions of iOS 14. In other words, if you’ve been holding off on installing iOS 15, now is the time to update your Apple devices.

Printer makers have long used chips to thwart third-party ink cartridge sales and drive you toward their own products, but they're now feeling the sting of those restrictions. The Register and USA Today note Canon has had to ship toner cartridges without copy protection chips due to ongoing shortages. That, in turn, has led to some ImageRunner multifunction printers incorrectly flagging official cartridges as knockoffs — Canon has even told printer owners how to bypass the warnings and deal with broken toner level detection.

We've asked Canon for comment. Some users said they've encountered similar issues with HP printers, but that company wouldn't directly confirm or deny the problems in a statement to The Register. Instead, HP said it was using a "globally diverse" supply network to stay "agile and adaptable" in the midst of chip shortages.

The printer trouble illustrates one of the common complaints about digital rights management (DRM) and other copy protection systems: they create trouble the moment their designers can't offer full support. Just ask people who bought music tied to Microsoft's PlaysForSure, for example. It's doubtful Canon, HP or others will drop their DRM chips any time soon, but this incident won't exactly help their case.

NVIDIA has started rolling out Software Experience Upgrade 9.0 for Shield TV devices, and it will upgrade their operating system to Android 11. The company says Experience 9.0 will bring the new OS to all Shield TVs, including the original 2015 models, and it will also include the September 2021 Android security patch that fixes a vulnerability allowing remote attackers to cause a permanent denial of service.

In addition, the upgrade adds access to a new Google Keyboard with support for voice searches. Users will now be able to look for movies and shows to watch by issuing voice commands through Google Assistant. Those who have aptX compatible Bluetooth headsets will be able to start using it with their streaming box, as well. 

Other updates including the option to automatically disconnect Bluetooth devices on sleep in order to save battery, an Energy saver setting for additional power customization and Stadia button support for Xbox, Playstation and Shield controllers. For GeForce Now members, the update adds support for additional Bluetooth keyboards and mice. Plus, Twitch has been updated to be able to simultaneously support high-quality streaming and gaming for them.

Finally, those living in the US can get six months of Peacock Premium for free when they get a new Shield TV. Peacock is NBCUniversal's streaming service that serves as home to NBC shows like The Office. It has a free ad-supported version with a limited catalogue, and a Premium ad-free one with more content that costs $5 a month. 

Keychron pleasantly surprised mechanical keyboard fans when it announced the Q1. It was the company’s first foray into fully customizable keyboards, and we liked it a lot. Today it’s the turn of the Q2, which is a smaller (65% or no “function key”) version of the Q1. Despite the reduced footprint, it retails for the same price, starting at $149 for the barebone or $169 if you want it fully assembled – cheaper than much of the competition.

When we tested the Q1 we liked it a lot. It offered the same level of configuration as the much-loved GMMK Pro for about $100 less. That said, the selling point of the GMMK Pro (in this author’s opinion) is all about those luxurious “Lubed Panda” switches and the firm, responsive typing experience. The “Panda” is GMMK’s own “switch” which for those that don’t hang out at Drop and/or use a “mech” are the mechanical part of the key – the important bit, really, as that’s mostly what will define how the keyboard “feels.”

As with the Q1, the Q2 is compatible with VIA configuration software (and thus QMK) which easily allows you to remap keys to almost anything, create macros and more. Also like the Q1 (and the GMMK Pro and increasingly others) there’s the option to replace the top-right-most key (Insert) with a clickable rotary for volume and media control.

I’ll admit, after using the GMMK Pro for a while now, I find the Gateron Reds that came with the Q2 a little flacid by comparison, but that’s the joy of a customizable keyboard, you can use whatever switches you like (or change out more or less any other part). You could even load it with the Pandas if you wish, though that would require a (lot of) extra spend.

The Q2 remains USB only (no wireless) but is still compatible with either Windows or Mac and the corresponding OS-specific keycaps are included in the box. It’s also just as rugged and well built as the Q1 with the all-metal casing. You can choose between three colors thereof: Black, gray and navy blue.

Ultimately, the selling point of the Q2 boils down to whether you prefer a compact keyboard or to have access to physical function keys (they’re still accessible here with shortcuts obviously).

The Q2 is also joined by some other relatively new additions. Keychron is prolific if nothing else. In particular, there’s the lightweight/70% K14 which is both wireless and has hot-swappable switches for a more affordable on-the-go option that retails for a modest $59. The company also recently unveiled its first mouse wired the M1. It’s visually quite similar to the Razer Viper ($39) but also bears more than a passing resemblance to the Glorious O (also from the same people behind the GMMK Pro).

Orders for the Keychron Q2 are open as of today.

Samsung's Galaxy S21 FE smartphone is still only available as a pre-order, but it's already available with a discount of sorts. If you pre-order the S21 FE from Amazon, with shipping set to start around January 14th, you'll get a $100 Amazon.com gift card — effectively a 12 percent discount off the $700 price. 

In our CES 2022 hands-on, we called the S21 FE ("Fan Edition") "last year's flagship without the frills." That's because it offers the same 5-nanometer processors, 120Hz refresh rate in a slightly bigger screen and a similar triple camera system. However, the S21 FE actually has a larger battery and comes with Android 12.

Because of the larger screen, it is slightly heavier than the original and features a less shiny finish. Unfortunately it doesn't support the stylus available with the S21+ and S21 Ultra, but that shouldn't be an issue for many folks. The telephoto camera also comes with an 8-megapixel sensor, rather than a 64-megapixel sensor like the S21 Ultra. However, the front camera is actually sharper at 32 megapixels rather than just 10 megapixels on the original. 

If you're okay with last year's phone at a discount, this looks like a solid deal with four colors available (graphite, olive, lavender and white). If you'd rather be on the bleeding edge, however, you might want to wait until the Galaxy S22 arrives. It's reportedly set to launch on February 8th, according to the latest rumor, with pre-orders going live the next day and shipping start on February 24th. 

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

If you’ve spent any time on Twitter in the last week, chances are you’ve seen the grids of emoji boxes taking over your feed. That’s thanks to Wordle, a new puzzle game that’s become somewhat of an obsession for many since The New York Timeswrote about it just over a week ago.

Like other viral games, Wordle is deceptively simple: you have six chances to guess a new five-letter word. And that’s… pretty much it. There’s just one puzzle a day, and it’s free to play with no ads . Its creator, a software developer named Josh Wardle, is apparently “overwhelmed” by his game’s popularity. But the fact that the game doesn’t have an app has allowed developers to create their own knockoff version of the game.

One particularly egregious example comes from developer Zach Shakked who created an app called “Wordle - The App.” At first glance, the app, which is subtitled “Word Game Everyone's Playing!” could easily be mistaken for the original. The word grid looks almost the same, and it even uses the same color scheme. But Shakked’s version also asks players to sign up for a “pro” subscription that costs $29.99 after a three-day “free trial.”

But between naming the app “Wordle” and running search ads against the term in the App Store, Shakked seems to have succeeded in profiting off the popularity of the game originally created by Wardle. “This is absurd. 450 trials at 1am last night, now at 950 and getting a new ones every minute,” he wrote in a tweet that has since been made private. “12K downloads, rank #28 word game, and #4 result for "Wordle" in the App Store. We're going to the fucking moon.”

Screenshot via Twittet

Shakked and Wardle didn’t respond to questions from Engadget. But Shakked isn’t the only developer trying to cash in on the popularity of Wordle. His app is one of at least six Wordle clones launched in the App Store in the eight days since the original New York Times article about Wordle. Another, called “What Word - Wordle” which charges a $0.99 in-app purchase to remove ads, claims to be the “No. 1 Word game” in its App Store screenshots. (It is actually ranked No. 7 in word games, according to its App Store listing.)

Scammy knockoff apps capitalizing on the popularity of a viral game is nothing new, of course. Game developers have been complaining about the practice for years. Apple didn’t immediately respond to questions about Wordle clones in its store. But, thanks to emails released during the Epic v. Apple trial, we do know that copycat apps have long been a source of frustration for Apple executives as well. “Is no one reviewing these apps? Is no one minding the store?" Phil Schiller wrote in a 2012 email. Three years later, he complained that “I can’t believe we still don’t” have automated tools to find scam apps.

As part of its ongoing efforts to stay on the right side of App Store rules, Tumblr is adding a Sensitive Content toggle to its iOS app. The setting is enabled by default, and it keeps posts with sensitive tags out of recommendations, blocks search results with sensitive tags and hides blogs "that are explicit in nature."

Disabling the toggle will allow users to search for tags that might include posts of a sensitive nature and see recommendations that might include suggestive or sensitive content. Switching off the setting will also allow you to tap through an overlay on blogs that have been marked as explicit. However, you still won't be able to view posts that have been flagged as explicit.

It's not entirely clear how Tumblr defines "explicit" in this context (Engadget has asked for clarification). Tumblr banned porn and realistic depictions of human genitals in December 2018 after Apple temporarily removed the app from the App Store.

Tumblr says the sensitive content setting only applies to those using the latest version of the iOS app. For now, users will need visit their settings on the Tumblr website to disable the toggle. They'll then be able to access sensitive content in the iOS app after they quit and relaunch it.

Last month, Tumblr blocked search terms and recommendations featuring potentially sensitive content on the iOS app to comply with App Store rules. The sensitive content toggle should make the platform a bit more open for iOS users, though still less so than on Android or the web.

“These latest updates provide more control to our community on the iOS app to build the experience that fits them best, and to explore the content that they find interesting," Tumblr wrote in a blog post. "While the experience for our community is a top priority, we must also comply with Apple’s App Store guidelines and our own guidelines.”

A couple of months after they debuted in the US, Beats Fit Pro earbuds are on the way to Canada, Europe and Japan. Orders will open in Europe (£200/€230) and Canada ($250 CAD) on January 24th, and in Japan (24,800 yen) the following day. The earbuds will ship on January 28th in all three regions. 

Beats Fit Pro have most of the key features found in Apple’s third-generation AirPods, including hands-free Siri, Adaptive EQ and spatial audio with head tracking. Beats added active noise cancellation (ANC), as well as a flexible wingtip designed to keep the Fit Pro in your ears during workouts. The earbuds are also IPX4-rated for sweat and water resistance.

Although Beats Fit Pro support one-touch pairing on Android with the help of a companion app, as noted in our review, some features are exclusive to iOS. There's no wireless charging option either. Still, Beats says you should get up to six hours of use with ANC or transparency mode active, and the charging case adds another 21 hours of listening time. The earbuds also deliver solid sound quality with punchy bass.