Google's Play Store on the web is dated, to put it mildly — the big sidebar and card-like listings wouldn't look out of place on a phone running Android Lollipop. The company appears ready to drag its portal into the modern era, though. Android Police and a tipster said they've discovered a redesigned Play Store that's much more in keeping with the current mobile app.
The rethink appear to scrap the large sidebar and cards in favor of a simple four-button navigation system and big, clean-looking listings with auto-playing trailers for games. You can filter apps by device type. If you need to access your library or redeem a gift card, options like those have moved to the account switcher common to Google web apps.
AP characterized the redesign as a "work-in-progress," and had to switch to the Korean Play Store (the Taiwanese version also worked) to see it. We've asked Google if it can comment on this possible test. If the site does hint at a larger overhaul, though, it could be welcome if you routinely shop for apps and media from your computer.
Google's Pixel 6 is barely weeks old, but that isn't stopping rumors about its budget counterpart. Well-known tipster OnLeaks and 91Mobiles have posted what they say are Pixel 6a design renders, and they might prove polarizing. The future mid-range phone would resemble the upscale Pixel 6, including the signature camera bar, in-screen fingerprint reader and centered hole-punch selfie camera. However, the headphone jack from the Pixel 5a and other "a" models appears to have vanished — you might have to rely on an adapter or wireless audio if the render
Little is known about the specs, although the Pixel 6a will reportedly be smaller than its counterparts with a 6.2-inch OLED screen. You'd get dual cameras, too. Processing power is a larger question. While Google is eager to tout the 6's custom Tensor chip, it's not certain if the company would either create a low-cost Tensor for the 6a or rely on third-party chips.
However accurate the leak might be, it's likely early. Google didn't release the Pixel 5a until August this year, and that was ultimately a tweaked 4a 5G. The 6a might be several months away, and there's a chance the design could change before then. A "lite" Pixel 6 would make sense, at least. Flaws aside, it's a return to form with an eye-catching design. A lower-cost counterpart might spur sales of more affordable Pixels, not to mention reinvigorate the "a" line's historically drab design.
This week we’ve got a wide range of reviews on everything from mobile operating systems to craft cutting machines. First, Mat Smith checked out the new SharePlay feature on iOS 15.1 and determined it has potential. Next, Billy Steele listened to the Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones and found them to be just as comfortable as their predecessors, and with improved noise cancellation, too. Nathan Ingraham put the HP Chromebook X2 to the test and found the lightweight laptop has a stellar screen that’s ideal for travel. Steve Dent turned the dial on ASUS’s ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED laptop, which he says has an exceptionally color accurate screen and thoughtful features for creatives. Finally, Terrence O’Brien made a few stickers and decals with the Cricut Explore 3.
Mat Smith calls iOS 15.1 a relatively minor update when compared to the more drastic changes brought by iOS 14. A good bulk of the additions here come from the release of SharePlay, which allows you to do things like stream TV shows with a friend over FaceTime. Mat said that the shows were lag free in testing, the fitness apps were motivating and the free games were more fun than he expected. However, SharePlay isn’t available for all apps — for instance, YouTube and Netflix are not supported right now.
Mat also tested spatial audio, which gives callers directional sound, but he was more impressed by the new voice isolation and wide modes. He also played around with Focus modes, which help you track and limit your screen time via profiles and the ability to “lock” yourself out of your phone for set periods of time. Mat points out that these features, in addition to the machine learning improvements with Visual Look-up and Live Text, show that Apple is rededicating itself towards sharing.
Nathan Ingraham found the hardware on the HP Chromebook X2 to be well built, sturdy and simple in design. He called the bright 11-inch, 2,160 x 1,440 touchscreen a standout that made work feel less cramped thanks in part to its 3:2 aspect ratio. The keyboard was responsive with good travel, and he liked that the included stylus attached neatly and magnetically to the side. When it came to performance, he found the X2 to do well for watching videos, browsing the web and playing games.
However, he found the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c mobile processor struggled when it came time to push the machine with intensive tasks. Though he was able to run his usual programs, it wasn’t the fastest experience and he said he avoided playing music from the device while running a lot of other apps because it would cause slowdowns. That being said, its stellar battery life, size and lightweight design make the Chromebook X2 a solid secondary or travel device.
Steve Dent says the ASUS ProArt Studiobook is clearly intended to woo artists and creatives with its fast performance, gorgeous 16-inch 4K OLED screen and the “ASUS dial” for video and photo editing. The screen is factory-calibrated to Pantone and Calman color accuracy, and has a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio with inky blacks that make it good for content creation and streaming entertainment. It also features an “IceCool Pro” thermal solution to boost airflow while keeping noise levels minimal. Steve found this to hold true during testing, except for very GPU/CPU intensive tasks, which did bump up the noise levels.
He was also particularly impressed with the dial, which he says feels nice with a textured grip and smooth rotation. The location is convenient and the dial can be used to adjust volume or display brightness as well as to access menu options from four Adobe apps. Steve was also pleased with the number of ports on the machine, including a USB-C with DisplayPort support and an SD Express card slot. In testing, the laptop performed well during both gaming and editing tasks, thanks in part to a RTX 3070 GPU and AMD Ryzen 9 CPU. On top of that, Steve found it had a solid battery life, too, which lead him to declare the Studiobook 16 the best Windows 10 laptop for content creation.
Bose makes minor but appreciated updates with the QuietComfort 45 headphones
Billy Steele/Engadget
Billy Steele isn’t disappointed that Bose didn’t update the design of the QuietComfort 45 headphones. In fact, he was pleased that the company kept so much of what made the previous model popular, from the light weight to the physical buttons and cushiony pads. He reports that the new headphones keep the sound quality that Bose is known for, with crisp highs, robust mids and deep bass. The QC45 sounded good across multiple genres and the updated noise cancelling removed more background sounds than the last model.
New to the QC45 is an ambient sound or aware mode, which allows you to hear what’s happening around you. Billy said it’s serviceable but not the best he’s experienced. While testing, he managed to get 22.5 hours worth of playback before he needed to recharge the headphones. However, he did find the multi-device connectivity a bit frustrating as it required him to reconnect after ending a call. Overall, he still feels that the newest QuietComfort cans offer a lot for folks who travel frequently and need a comfortable set of headphones with exceptional noise cancelling capabilities.
Terrence O’Brien admits he’s not the core audience for a Circuit craft machine. Designed to cut hundreds of different types of materials, the Circuit line can make vinyl transfers for shirts, 3D cardboard masks, stickers, decals, iron-ons and more. However, his beginner crafting level didn’t stop him from thoroughly enjoying the Cricut Explore 3, which he said felt like magic to use. In testing, he created a Spiderman emblem for a Halloween costume, several laptop stickers and (most of) a 3D cardboard fox.
Terrence said he found the companion app easy to use: it also offers access to over 1,000 free images and 250 projects. Even more are available via the $10 a month Cricut Access membership and you can upload your own designs. He appreciated the detailed instructions for the predesigned projects, but points out that projects often required a lot of additional add-ons like a scoring stylus or foil transfer tool. Overall, Terrence says whether or not the $300 Explore 3 (or $400 Maker 3) is worth it to you is going to depend a lot on how often you’ll use it — and what other materials you already have on hand.
Have you been eying Apple's third-generation AirPods, but wishing the price wasn't quite so close to the AirPods Pro? Now might be a good time to buy. Woot is running a one-day-only sale that drops the price of the newest AirPods to $170, or $10 below the official sticker. You'll get an additional $5 off if you're an Amazon Prime member, too. Remember that Woot's return policy is stricter than Amazon's, although you'll thankfully have until January 31st, 2022 to return items bought during the holidays.
The newest AirPods represent a big stride forward for Apple's "default" wireless earbuds. The design is not only more comfortable for many people, but much better-sounding — you should hear crisper highs and improved, consistent bass. The longer battery life, water resistance, spatial audio and MagSafe wireless charging support also help. These are easy picks if you live in the Apple ecosystem (though they technically support other platforms) and just want a pair of solid, easy-to-use earbuds for excursions or video calls.
The catch isn't so much that ecosystem bias as... well, other sales. The AirPods Pro have frequently been discounted (they're $190 as of this writing), and we wouldn't rule out better bargains in the future. That's not much more to pay for active noise cancellation and silicone eartips that can improve stability. We also wouldn't rule out the ANC-equipped and potentially comfier Beats Fit Pro, at least if you can find them at a lower price. With that in mind, these buds last much longer on battery than the AirPods Pro and might be preferable if you like a more open feeling than their isolating counterparts.
Tesla's app server went down a few hours ago, leading to a worldwide app outage that left owners unable to connect to their cars. For those who've been mostly dependent on their phones instead of their keycards, that means being locked out of their vehicles. Electrek first reported the issue after receiving complaints from Tesla owners on Friday night, and for a while it seemed like the problem only affected drivers in North America. But then, an owner from Seoul, South Korea tweeted at Elon Musk about getting a server error on their app, to which the Tesla CEO replied that he's "checking" it out.
Other tweets show owners calling for roadside assistance and delaying their plans for the night. The outage came shortly after the automaker rolled out an update to its application, which Electrek said includes a feature that Tesla had issues implementing. It's unclear if that was connected to the outage, since Musk has yet to follow up on his initial response. Regardless, it looks like the outage is starting to get resolved. Downdetector received as many as 543 reports a few hours ago, but now they're down to less than a hundred.
Being locked out of vehicles could be an ongoing problem as automakers move to cloud services and increase reliance on smartphone apps. As this situation showed, however, it's still wise to carry around a keycard/keyfob as backup just in case.
Amazon announced a new version of its Halo fitness band at its September hardware event, and now you can lock in a pre-order. Halo View, Amazon's first wearable with a display, is $50 during the pre-order period. It'll typically cost $80.
The device, which will ship sometime in December, comes with a year-long Halo membership. The plan includes workouts and nutrition guidance, and it typically costs $4 per month.
Halo View has a similar design to Fitbit's Charge bands. The AMOLED color screen displays details about your live workouts, activity history, blood oxygen and sleep scores, among other things (some of those features are exclusive to the Halo subscription). You can view text notifications too.
The swim-proof device contains a skin temperature sensor, heart rate monitor and an accelerometer. Amazon claims the battery runs for up to seven days on a single charge, and that it will fully recharge in two hours.
Although Halo View doesn't have a built-in microphone, there is integration with Alexa. If you connect to the voice assistant through the Halo app settings, you can ask an Alexa-enabled device to tell you about your health summary, sleep quality and other information.
Amazon says privacy was a key consideration in how it designed Halo. "There are multiple layers of protections in place to keep data safe and in your control," the company claims. It also pledged not to sell health data that's linked directly to you. You'll have the option to download your health data or delete it from the Halo app at any time too.
Apple does not have a good track record in terms of letting customers repair their hardware. The last decade-plus has seen Apple’s computers become essentially impossible for users to service or upgrade, and the iPhone has always been a locked box. Adventurous owners might follow guides from iFixit to try and do repairs themselves, but it’s a dangerous proposition. Remember, it was just earlier this year, when we discovered that replacing the display on an iPhone 13 would disable Face ID (something Apple eventually made an about face on).
So Apple’s announcement earlier this week that it would start selling parts and tools directly to consumers and offer repair guides was a huge surprise, and a move immediately hailed as a victory for right-to-repair activists. “One of the most visible opponents to repair access is reversing course,” said Nathan Proctor, a senior Right to Repair campaign director at Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG). “Apple’s move shows that what repair advocates have been asking for was always possible.” iFixit was similarly pleased, saying that the move is “exactly the right thing for Apple to be doing.”
Both groups caveated their statements by noting a few catches; PIRG says that Apple’s plans weren’t as comprehensive as the right-to-repair legislation being discussed in more than two dozen states, while iFixit wants to “analyze the legal terms and test the program” before it can say just how much credit Apple deserves. But regardless, it’s still a major about-face. So what led Apple to this move?
Proctor told Engadget in an email exchange that he thinks “combined pressure from consumers, regulators and shareholders has shifted Apple's thinking.” But he was also quick to point out that there was pressure coming from inside Apple itself. “We saw from some leaked emails from 2019 that many inside Apple never wanted to be hostile to repair in the ways that Apple has been at times,” he said. You probably saw that [Apple co-founder Steve] Wozniak called [out] the practices, but leaked emails show internal concern they were doing the wrong thing.”
Apple has made some other movies recently that show that potential government scrutiny and oversight could be driving change at the company. In 2020, Apple finally let users set different browser and email apps as default on the iPhone and iPad, and Siri has gotten smarter about learning your preferences for different music apps when you ask it to play tunes.
While it’s likely that Apple is thinking about government pressure, this change might also simply be part of the company listening to its users and correcting some mistakes it made over the last five years or so. Take the new MacBook Pro, perhaps the biggest “mea culpa” Apple has ever offered; the company reversed its trend of pursuing thin and light design at all costs and instead actually made the both the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros thicker and heavier than their predecessors. The company also added back ports it had previously removed, killed the unpopular Touch Bar, and generally made a laptop that made it seem like they were listening to consumer feedback. The same could be said for its new home repair program.
Regis Duvignau / Reuters
Apple’s move this week can also be seen as an extension of a program the company launched last year, when it started providing parts and training to third-party repair shops that met Apple’s qualifications. Obviously, this isn’t the same as making it easy for anyone to do repairs, but opening up access means the repair landscape for Apple products has changed significantly in the last few years.
However big of a change this new plan is, though, Proctor and PIRG see this as a first step, something Apple will need to keep up and expand to really meet what right-to-repair activists think consumers deserve. “I think Right to Repair knows what it wants, and it will be really hard to convince us to settle for anything less than an open market for repair,” Proctor said. “If they had done this step years ago, maybe we would have to settle, but we have the momentum, and we are going to empower repair as much as we can. I think most legislators agree: this is just one company and a limited program. The floor got raised, but we aren't near the ceiling yet.”
iFixit has a similar view on the situation. “[Apple] pioneered glued-in batteries and proprietary screws, and now they are taking the first steps on a path back to long-lasting, repairable products. iFixit believes that a sustainable, repairable world of technology is possible, and hope that Apple follows up on this commitment to improve their repairability.”
As for what’s to come, it sounds like Apple is committed to making this just a first step. The company said that repair options would initially focus on commonly-repaired modules in the iPhone 12 and 13, like the screen, battery and cameras, but it says that more options will come in the following year. We don’t know if Apple will ever give right-to-repair activists everything they want. It seems unlikely that Apple will make an iPhone where you can just pop it open and drop a new battery in, like the phones of old.
Apple can often be a bellwether for the rest of the industry — just look how quickly other phone-makers dropped their headphone jacks. So, it’s possible we’ll see some other big consumer electronics companies make similar moves. “I think other companies will follow,” Proctor said. He also noted that Google had just released software that lets a replacement display on the Pixel 6 be properly calibrated to work with the in-screen fingerprint sensor.” We see a lot of changes in the works, and we are hopeful we can set a new baseline [for] access to repair.” If that happens, we’ll likely remember Apple’s about-face as a major catalyst for these changes — assuming the company follows through with its new stance and makes it easier for owners to repair a wider variety of its products.
If you're looking for an alternative smartphone to an iPhone, Samsung handset or Pixel, you can't go far wrong with the OnePlus 9 Pro. It has many of the bells and whistles you'd expect from a premium smartphone. Just before Black Friday, you can pick up the OnePlus 9 Pro from the OnePlus website, Amazon or Best Buy for $799, $270 less than the regular price.
We gave the OnePlus Pro 9 a score of 88 in our review, calling it the best OnePlus phone to date. The IP68-rated device has a 6.7-inch, 3,216 x 1,440 screen with brightness of up to 1,300 nits and a 120Hz maximum refresh rate. It includes dual speakers, a microSIM slot and a USB-C port that's compatible with the OnePlus Warp Charge adaptor.
The OnePlus 9 Pro features Hasselblad lenses on the rear, including a 48MP main camera, 50MP ultra-wide camera and 8MP telephoto camera. The array can shoot 8K video at 30fps, but we had reservations about the telephoto lens, which sometimes overexposed images in scenarios with a lot of light.
The device is powered by a Snapdragon 888 processor, which is plenty capable. It comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The dual 4,500mAh battery cells should get you a full day of use on a single charge.
The standard OnePlus 9 is on sale too. You can pick it up for $599 at Amazon and Best Buy — $130 off the regular price. It has a slightly smaller 6.5-inch, Full HD display and also runs on a Snapdragon 888 with the same RAM and storage as its larger sibling. Although it too has Hasselblad cameras, the OnePlus 9 has an older 48-megapixel sensor to reduce the cost.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
We're officially one week out from Black Friday and it seems most retailers have launched at least a portion of their deals and sales already. You can find the exhaustive list on our deals homepage, but we've gathered the highlights here. Bose's new QuietComfort 45 headphones remain on sale for $279, while the Mac Mini M1 is still $100 off. A bunch of Amazon and Google devices have been discounted, and you can still get the second-generation Apple Pencil for $100. Here are the best early Black Friday tech deals that you can still get today.
Bose QuietComfort 45
Billy Steele/Engadget
Bose's new QuietComfort 45 headphones are on sale for $279 right now, or $50 off their normal price. We gave them a score of 86 for their clear, balanced audio, improved ANC and long battery life.
Apple's Mac Mini M1 is on sale for $600 thanks to an automatically applied coupon at Amazon. It was already the most affordable M1 machine you could get, but these deal makes it even cheaper. It's the best option if you need a compact desktop that runs macOS and has a newer, more powerful processor.
The new colors of the HomePod mini are $5 cheaper right now at B&H Photo, bringing them down to $95 each. It's not a huge discount, but we rarely see these smart speakers drop below $85 - $90 a piece. We gave the HomePod mini a score of 84 for its solid audio quality, cute and compact design and improved Siri smarts.
The second-generation Apple Pencil is on sale for $100 right now, which is an all-time-low price. It works with all iPads except for the latest 10.2-inch entry-level model, which still supports the first-gen stylus. It's a must-have if you plan on taking notes or creating artwork with your iPad.
Samsung's latest foldables are on sale for Black Friday, and you can get a free pair of Galaxy Buds 2 when you buy. The Z Flip 3 is down to $850 while the Z Fold 3 is on sale for $1,500 — if you buy through Amazon, you just have to apply the free-earbuds promotional offer on the product page before checking out.
A number of Google gadgets have been discounted ahead of Black Friday. Key among them are the Pixel 6 smartphone for up to $100 off, the Nest Hub for half off and the Nest Audio for only $60.
Sony's WH-1000XM4 headphones are on sale for $248, which is a record-low price. These are our current favorite ANC cans and we gave them a score of 94 for their excellent sound quality, good ANC and multi-device connectivity.
Sony's excellent WF-1000XM4 earbuds are still down to $248. We gave them a score of 86 for their great sound quality, powerful ANC and improved battery life.
Jabra's Elite 75 earbuds are on sale for $80, which is $70 off and a record low. While not the latest earbuds from Jabra, they remain some of our favorites thanks to their solid audio quality, comfortable design and new ANC abilities that came through a recent software update.
The 4th-generation August WiFi smart lock is on sale for $179 right now. We gave the smart home gadget a score of 80 for its minimalist design, easy installation process and mandatory two-factor authentication.
Samsung's T7 portable SSD in 1TB has dropped to a record low of $130. You can also grab the 2TB model on sale for $250 right now, too. We like these compact drives for their durable yet sleek design, speedy performance and optional password protection.
Roku's Streambar is on sale for $80 right now, or $50 off its normal price. That's the best price we've seen on the compact soundbar. It earned a score of 86 from us for its solid audio quality, Dolby Atmos support and built-in 4K streaming technology.
Amazon's slashed the prices of most of its Echo devices ahead of Black Friday. Of note are the Echo smart speaker for $60 and the latest Echo Show 5 for $45. The sale includes other items like the Echo Buds and the Echo Frames, and we recommend grabbing Echo devices now while they're at all-time-low prices and before shipping times get too long.
The new Fire TV Stick 4K Max is on sale for $35, or $20 off its normal price. It has all of the same features as the standard 4K streaming stick that Amazon sells, but it also supports WiFi 6 and picture-in-picture live view.
The basic Kindle is on sale for $50, which is a record-low price. While it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Paperwhite, it remains a solid e-reader thanks to its front-lit display, sleek design and improved contrast display.
Most Blink security cameras have been discounted ahead of Black Friday: a one-pack of the Outdoor cam is on sale for $60, the same configuration for the Indoor camera is down to $50 and the tiny, wired Blink Mini is on sale for $20.
Solo Stove's early Black Friday sale knocks up to $200 off its fire pits. The midrange Bonfire is on sale for $225, which is $125 off its normal price. These stainless steel fire pits have made it into some of our outdoor-focused guides, and we like them for their attractive designs and their ability to create a cozy fire that doesn't emit tons of smoke.
New Adobe subscribers can get the All Apps plan for only $30 per month, which is 40 percent off its normal price. That gets you Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro and Acrobat, which are most of Adobe's most popular programs. Students can save even more: the discount is $16 per month for them, or 70 percent off the normal rate.
Arturia's early Black Friday sale knocks 50 percent off software through December 8th. That includes the FX Collection 2 vintage plugin set, which is now $199, the V Collection 8 synth keyboard pack for $299 and the Pigments soft synth with the Spectrum sound pack for $99.
Jabra's 85h wireless headphones are back down to their lowest price yet, only $150. We gave them a score of 84 when they first came out in 2019 for their custom EQ and ANC modes, solid onboard controls and insane battery life.
NordVPN has a promotion going on right now that gets you two years of the service for $89. That's 68 percent off its normal price. We like NordVPN for its speed, its no-logs policy, the thousands of servers it has to choose from and that one account supports up to six connected devices.
Wellbots has the Segway Kickscooter Max for $150 off, bringing it down to $799 when you use the code ENGADGET150 at checkout. This model has the longest driving range of all Ninebot scooters, pneumatic inflatable tires, 6-hour fast charging and more.
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Sony made the best even better with this year's WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones and they're back on sale ahead of Black Friday. You can grab the cans for $248 right now, or more than $100 off their normal price. If you prefer earbuds, the WF-1000XM4 have been discounted for a bit and remain down to $248 as well.
All of the key (and stellar) features of the previous WH-1000XM3 are in the latest headphones, but the new model has a few upgrades, too. The design is slightly sleeker and more comfortable, and you'll get about 30 hours on a single charge so you can wear them for long stretches of time. Sound quality is great with punchy bass, and Sony's 360 Reality Audio provides an immersive experience similar to that of Dolby Atmos. Active noise cancellation is also solid and, with Adaptive Sound Control enabled, the headphones will automatically adjust the level of noise cancellation based on your environment.
We also appreciate the addition of two new features: multi-device connectivity and Speak to Chat. The former allows you to connect the XM4 to a couple of devices at once, switching between them at will. The latter will automatically pause audio coming from the headphones when it detects you speaking. Most people will likely use the former feature more on a regular basis, but the latter is nice to have, too.
For those who prefer earbuds, you'll get many similar features in the WF-1000XM4. These earned a score of 86 from us for their excellent sound quality and ANC, improved battery life and wireless charging case. They also have the same Speak-to-Chat feature that the headphones have, even if it can be a bit finicky sometimes. The ANC on these buds is noticeably better than that of their predecessors, and they also support 360 Reality Audio.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
