After months of rumors, Apple has revealed not one but two new processors, along with a pair of new Macbook Pro laptops. The original M1 processor paired four high-performance and four low-power cores with a 7- or 8-core GPU, and with that set up it delivered impressive results. The M1-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro bested a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an 8-core Intel i9 CPU and dedicated GPU when we tested it last year, and did so while staying impressively cool and quiet.
The new M1 Pro and M1 Max bump the core count to eight high-performance and two low-power cores, and add 16, 24, or 32 GPU cores. With twice the high-performance CPUs, and up to four times the GPU cores as the original M1, these chips should be incredibly fast, but expect it to come at the cost of more heat and noise.
Despite a shortage of compatible games, the original M1 proved to be a remarkably adept processor for gaming, and these new chips should be even better, outpacing most Intel CPUs and maybe even besting a mobile NVIDIA RTX 3080 GPU's performance. The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBooks also come with a 120Hz display with HDR, and improved speakers. Add that all together, and suddenly the new MacBook Pro looks like a pretty capable gaming machine, compatibility issues aside. If only Apple still supported Bootcamp.
For all the details on these new chips, check out the video above.
Never in my life did I think it would be important for me to know when someone else had pooped, but then I became a mom and here we are. The amount of stuff that mom’s need to keep track of is, in a word, immense. Since I brought my twins home from the hospital, I’ve used an app to note every bottle, diaper change, nap, medication, bath time and more. That’s worked well so far, but now that my kids are older, I’ve had a harder time immediately logging their events. That’s partially because our routines were interrupted with a recent move and partially because they really want to play with my phone every time they see it. Regardless, I’m trying to get us all back into an established pattern of meals and nap times so I’ve been wanting to re-establish my habit of logging all their details.
Talli sells a $99 physical gadget for this purpose: a single-touch tracking device that lets busy, sleep-deprived parents push a button to log activities like bottle feeds and bedtimes. The Talli Baby one-touch tracker includes seven pre-assigned buttons and a miscellaneous eighth, and it pairs with an app to provide you the best of both worlds. A single-function device to track kids’ care may not sound like a big deal, but if you’ve ever tried to operate a touchscreen with diaper cream all over your hands, you may be able to see the utility here.
Hardware
Amber Bouman/Engadget
The Talli is a white and faux-woodgrain box with rounded edges, roughly the size of a small but stuffed wallet. It has two rows of four activity buttons with icons to indicate which action the button is assigned to: bottle feeding, solid food, wet diaper, dirty diaper, sleeping, nursing, pumping or “miscellaneous,” which can be customized within the app. Events that happen at the same time — say, a wet and dirty diaper — require simultaneous button presses. There’s also a small WiFi button on the lower right that’s used during setup, and the company says that WiFi is only used when the device is transmitting an event. The rear contains slots to wall-mount the Talli using the included hardware.
Setting up the Talli is fairly uncomplicated and follows the same steps as many other app-connected devices: download the app, create an account, add a device, connect to a WiFi network and you’re done. When I first set up the device, it kept flashing an error message, which the included start-up pamphlet instructed me was a WiFi connection issue likely due to an incorrect network name or password.
Only I hadn’t gotten to that step yet, I was only trying to sync the device. I contacted Talli support and tried again and was able to connect and set up the device without any further issue. It’s worked normally since then so I’m not certain what the issue was, but it did make me realize that adding a hardware device to my tracking process meant there would be another potential point of failure. Since Talli pairs with an app that can be used independently to track what you’re doing with your kids, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if the hardware wasn’t working. However, it would detract from the main advantage of the system: the convenience of pressing a button on the tracker and continuing with your day.
Amber Bouman/Engadget
Taking out my smartphone, opening an app and typing in an entry isn’t exactly heavy lifting, but doing that while two toddlers wind themselves between my legs, grab at my phone, whine, harass the cat, throw everything out of the kitchen drawers and try to climb over child gates is another story. Being able to press a button and be done was an unexpected relief: My kid’s data was logged, so I knew when they were last changed and I could always flesh out the entries with more detail in the app later (though I’ll admit that rarely happened). It was extremely easy to use the Talli instead of my previous app, and it was oddly satisfying, too — not unlike crossing something off a to-do list.
Because Talli runs on four AA batteries, it has a portable design allowing it to be moved anywhere or handed off to any caretakers or babysitters. It can also be mounted on a wall, which has advantages and disadvantages depending on how you’ll use it. I kept my Talli untethered because my changing table area doesn’t have the best WiFi coverage, so I kept it on a nearby shelf where I could touch the buttons on my way in and out of the room.
Talli
Frankly, I would have preferred to mount the thing; when grabbing for the device, I would often accidentally hit a button and register an incorrect event, which I would then have to remember to delete later. But I also often had to move the Talli out of sight, because my son is particularly enamored with pushing buttons and things that light up, so the Talli was like forbidden candy to him. It was hard to find the perfect location where the device was connected to my WiFi network, easily accessible to me and didn’t draw his attention.
Each Talli device gets assigned to one child, that is to say you’ll need one Talli per child. But you can assign multiple devices to the same child if you end up getting more than one for different areas of your home. And Talli works with Alexa, so you can have the assistant log events for you if you say “Alexa tell Talli Baby that Sam had a dirty diaper.” You can also request that Alexa read you the most recent activity reports. I don’t currently have an Alexa-enabled device, so I wasn’t able to test this out yet. The company says Google Home compatibility is coming soon, too.
Software
Much like the device itself, the Talli app is simply designed and straightforward to use. The home screen contains the same icons as the device; when a button is active — it turns green for a pumping session or a nap time, for example. Near each button is a date and time stamp for the last logged event and tapping on the icon brings up an entry page to edit and add details. I sometimes had to tap commands a few times — say, to pause or start a sleep timer — but this otherwise worked fine.
Engadget
The rest of the app is organized into a Daily List, which is exactly what it sounds like: a list of your child’s daily events. There’s also a Details view which provides an hour-by-hour graph of events and can be toggled to show any of your child’s metrics over a time period. My favorites were the Averages view, which shows totals for each event, and the More tab, which has selections for account sharing, reminders and children’s profiles. I’m trying to switch the twins over to all solid foods and being able to track what they’ve eaten, how much and when has helped me establish routines and menus. And because it was easy to press a button on the way in or out of the room, Talli made it possible for me to log how often my son woke in the middle of the night and how long before he went back to sleep.
However, the app frequently (albeit briefly) flashed a “Refreshing your data” screen when I navigated around the options. I had to wait an extra beat or two for the data to refresh when I did almost anything in the app: changed screens, edited data, deleted an event and the like. I’m hoping this is due to my satellite internet connection, because it was one of my biggest pain points with the Talli system. I will say I appreciated that there was no subscription component: Talli offers all its information and your data without any additional fees, whether you purchase the tracker or simply use the free app.
Wrap-up
The Talli device offers something that isn’t otherwise available: a hardware device dedicated to tracking everything you do with your child on a daily basis. It’s nicely designed, easy to use and has an app that charts and graphs the data for you. I liked using it a lot more than I expected to, given that tracking all my kids’ various activities through an app had become a bit of a chore. But using the Talli tracker wasn’t a chore — and having a physical device (even more, a single button) that I could tap and walk away from did indeed help me stay more consistent with tracking habits.
I only wish that I had found a better location for the device in my kids’ room — and I wish that the app didn’t lag so much — but otherwise I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Talli Tracker fit into my lifestyle. I can see it being particularly useful for those who have family or multiple caretakers tending to children or for people who prefer physical logging methods like calendars or notebooks. But it’s also a $99 gadget — and when a free app just requires more work but will ultimately do the job, it makes the Talli a bit of a luxury.
Google’s Pixel 6 family is officially priced and will launch on October 28th, available to pre-order today. While not cheap, both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, costing $599 and $899 respectively, land at tempting price points.
These phones are going toe-to-toe with the iPhone and Galaxy S series. Again. But will Google finally be able to get its phones in people’s hands? The company glimpsed success with its very competitively priced Pixel 3a, briefly edging out OnePlus in phone sales for a hot second. Then the Pixel 4 and Pixel 5 failed to repeat the success at tougher prices. Notably, the $600 Pixel 6 is $100 cheaper than last year's Pixel 5, but it looks to be a far better phone.
Each phone has a thick camera bar stretching across the back. The Pixel 6 has a dual-camera system, with wide and ultrawide lenses, while the Pixel 6 Pro adds a telephoto option. On both devices, the primary camera is a 50-megapixel sensor with a quad-bayer filter, which puts four pixels behind each standard color block — you’re not going to get 50-megapixel photos here, but something more in the realm of 12.5 megapixels. The Pixel 6 Pro’s telephoto camera is a 48-megapixel sensor with 4x optical zoom. There are no invisible front-facing cameras — or notches — but a pin-hole camera on both Pixels. There is also an under-screen thumbprint sensor for the first time in a Pixel phone. You can find the rest of the specs right here.
Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low spent time with both Pixels. We’ll dive deeper into her impressions below.
Spoiler alert: The best thing about the new Pixel phones is the reasonable pricing. But there are a lot of new things to tackle with the Pixel 6 series. This series has the company’s first “pro” phone, some Android 12-exclusive tricks and significant voice recognition enhancements — if you’re in the US.
The two phones differ slightly in design, which marks a departure from previous years. Instead of the matte soft-touch texture of older Pixels, both Pixel 6 phones have glass-covered sides, creating a premium feel. According to Cherlynn Low, they’re a little blockier and feel more like a Samsung device — which may not be a bad thing.
Both phones are also much larger than the Pixel 5, and though their screen sizes differ, they have almost the same footprint. But the main feature improvement in the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro is their cameras, and this is what Cherlynn (and I) are most excited about. For now, she could only gather some impressions while under the supervision of Google reps, but expect her own review to put all the cameras through their paces. As Cherlynn will admit herself, she loves a selfie camera opp.
Google has an answer to the Apple One bundle, and it includes a new phone. The Pixel Pass is a subscription service that includes a Pixel 6 or 6 Pro phone (with an upgrade in two years), an extended warranty, 200GB of Google One storage, Google Play Pass, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium. The Pass starts at $45 per month for the regular Pixel 6, while it’s $55 for the Pixel 6 Pro.
A YouTube data leak has spoiled some of the surprises, however.
Sony has teased the launch of a new Alpha camera on October 21st at 10 AM ET, and judging by the YouTube metadata, it appears to be the long-awaited full-frame A7 IV mirrorless model. A list of now-stripped tags, if accurate, would make the A7 IV a formidable hybrid full-frame camera, on par with Canon's R6 (but hopefully without the overheating issues). Expect a 33-megapixel sensor and 4K 60p video with 10-bit All-I XAVC recording. And that’s probably just the start.
Facebook’s new Portal Go adds portability to the company’s video-chat-focused smart display. Like with previous Portals, it has an AI-powered camera that keeps you in frame during video calls, except this time you can carry it around the house. The Go has other improvements, too, such as a more personalized home screen and a new Household Mode that makes it more family-friendly. However, it lacks a lot of features that other smart displays have, and Facebook’s poor reputation precedes it.
The inspiration for a song can surface whether or not your full studio is available, and Roland has a solution for those spur-of-the-moment sessions. The music pioneer has introduced a free Zentracker app for Android and iOS that serves as a multitrack recorder for impromptu performances. You can add unlimited tracks (it defaults to four in the name of simplicity), draw on 200 audio loops and wield 16 audio effects while using familiar features like beat matching and looping.
You can save tracks to OneDrive, and Google Drive is "coming soon." The app is free as long as you have a Roland account, although Roland nudges you toward a Cloud subscription by limiting some effects, loop bundles, stem exports and other features to paying customers. You'll likely want a mixer like the Go: Mixer Pro-X to make the most of Zentracker, too.
There's an app for more formal productions. Roland is releasing a TR-Editor desktop app (below) that serves as a companion for machines like the TR-6S and TR-8S. You can browse sounds, program beats and tweak parameters from the comfort of your computer screen. While we're waiting on launch details as we write this, the software could be handy if you find the TR-series' on-device interface too cumbersome.
Many electric car drivers are aware of tricks to wring every last drop of range from their cars, but Volvo thinks it can take that load off people's shoulders. It's updating Volvo and Polestar EVs with a Range Assistant app that both helps you make smart choices and, in one case, makes the decisions itself. The app can automatically tweak the climate control system to extend your range at the (slight) expense of comfort.
The update is rolling out now to the XC40 Recharge, and will be coming to the Polestar 2. All compatible EVs should have the update by the end of October. And don't worry if you're eyeing a C40 Recharge — that coupe-like SUV will include the Range Assistant from the start. Future updates should add driver coaching on driving habits and speed, among other tweaks.
You probably won't need this app if you're a seasoned EV driver. You'll know enough to turn the AC off, stick to speed limits and avoid mashing the throttle. However, this could be vital as EVs enter the mainstream. Newcomers might not need to spend as much time learning the ropes (and charging their cars) as their predecessors.
Google may have announced the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro in August, but we had to wait more than three months to get the full story on its latest phones. On Tuesday, the company did just that, detailing nearly every aspect of their design and software.
Pixel 6 and 6 Pro
Engadget
Unsurprisingly, Google spent a lot of time talking about the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro’s hardware. There’s a lot to unpack between the two phones, but the most important thing you need to know about them is that they’ll start at $599 and $899. In the case of the Pixel 6, that means it’s $100 cheaper than last year’s Pixel 5.
Headline features shared by both phones include Google’s eight-core Tensor processor, a fresh new design, a rear camera array that includes a 50-megapixel main sensor and new security features courtesy of Android 12 and the company’s Titan M2 chip. To that package the Pixel 6 Pro adds a 6.7-inch “waterfall” display with a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, 12GB of RAM and a 48-megapixel telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom. With both phones, Google says you can expect more than 24 hours of usage on a single charge.
Both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are available to pre-order today, with general availability to follow on October 28th. For more information on the phones, make sure to check out our hands-on.
Pixel Pass
Google
Alongside the new phones, Google will offer Pixel Pass. The subscription includes a Pixel 6 or 6 Pro, an extended warranty, 200GB of Google One storage, Google Play Pass, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium. It also comes with a device upgrade after two years. If you want a Pixel 6, the Pass costs $45 per month. It increases to $55 per month with the 6 Pro.
AI and other features
Google
Of course, hardware was only part of the story on Tuesday, and Google had just as much, if not more, to say about all the new software it’s built for its latest phones. One such feature is Live Translate. With the help of its Tensor chip, the Pixel 6 can translate text as you type. It can do so almost instantaneously and without help from the cloud.
Google’s Tensor chip will also make Assistant more capable. If you need to contact a call center, it will generate an automated on-screen menu so you don’t have to listen to the assistant on the other side.
On the security front, the Pixel 6 comes with a new dashboard that provides an at-a-glance overview of any issues you may need to address. For instance, it will identify potentially “harmful” apps, and prompt you to set a fingerprint or PIN to unlock your device.
Looking to other software feature, Snap is creating a Pixel 6-first shortcut that affords quick access to Snapchat’s camera mode. When taking photos, the Pixel 6 should also do a better job of capturing darker skin tones thanks to a feature called Real Tone. Google worked with a variety of experts to fine-tune its camera algorithms to ensure its cameras “work for everyone.”
Google is ramping up its security and privacy features with the Pixel 6. The company showed off new security hub and privacy dashboard features that will make it easier to control important settings.
The security hub provides an at-a-glance overview of security settings, such as whether or not your phone has the latest security updates installed or if you’ve set a fingerprint or PIN to unlock your device. Importantly, it can also keep tabs on the apps you’ve installed and can identify ones that are potentially “harmful.” At the top of the security hub is an indicator that will alert users if any settings need attention. A green checkmark indicates all is well, while a yellow exclamation mark will appear if something needs to be addressed.
Google also showed off new indicators to make it easier to tell when an app is using the phone’s camera or microphone feeds. Much like the notifications in iOS, an indicator will light up at the top right corner of the display when the phone’s mic or camera feeds are in use, and users will have the ability to kill access for specific apps.
Google
Likewise, the new privacy dashboard makes it easier to track which data apps have access to and how each app is using its permissions to access information like location data. As with the security hub, Google has previously made much of this information available within Android already, but it was often buried several layers into the settings menu, so having it all in a single dashboard should make it easier for most users to find.
Google also said it’s beefed up its anti-spam and phishing protection features, and Pixel 6 will be able to provide warnings when it detects potential shady phone calls, texts, emails and links.
It’s not yet clear if or when the company plans to bring these features to more devices than just its Pixel lineup. The company said during its event that the privacy dashboard and security hub would be “coming first” to Pixel, so the features could eventually make their way to more Android devices in the future.
In addition to camera features like Magic Eraser, Google's Pixel 6 and 6 Pro phones will have something special for Snapchat users. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel joined the company's Pixel 6 event on Tuesday to announce Quick Tap to Snap. The gesture allows you to access the Snapchat camera by tapping the back of the Pixel 6 or 6 Pro twice. Quick Tap launches the app into camera-only mode directly from the lockscreen. Once you've captured a Snap, you'll need to authenticate your identity to access the rest of the app.
Spiegel said Quick Tap to Snap makes the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro the fastest phones for capturing Snaps. He also said the company is working with Google to bring other Pixel-exclusive features like Live Translate to Snapchat. Once available, it will allow you and your friends to converse in 10 different languages with real-time translations. The two companies are also working together to launch exclusive augmented reality lenses.
Spiegel described Quick Tap to Snap as a "Pixel-first" feature, suggesting it will make its way to other devices at a later date. But securing an exclusive Snapchat feature, even if it's only a timed one, is still a big win for Google. A lot of Snapchat users, many of whom are teens, prefer the iPhone for the simple reason that the app works best on iOS. If this is the start of a better Snapchat Android experience, it could do a lot to change that dynamic.
Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have a lot of AI tricks up their sleeves, and among them is a Live Translate feature. With Google's first mobile chip, Tensor, Pixel 6 can translate text as you type. Translation is handled by the Private Compute Core rather than in the cloud, so the device can convert what you're writing into other languages (including English, French, German, Italian and Japanese) almost instantaneously.
The phones can also translate messages someone sends to you. The Pixel 6 can detect when text in a chat app, such as WhatsApp or Snapchat, is in a different language to your own one and it offers a translation.
The feature should come in handy for chatting with friends from other corners of the world who have a different mother tongue and might not understand all the nuances of your language. Live Translate could also prove useful when you're traveling somewhere with limited data and WiFi connectivity.
Google is placing a big focus on Tensor-powered AI features in Pixel 6 devices. Along with Live Translate, the phones have other language detection features and improved speech recognition. There's a Wait Time feature that shows the expected length of time you'll be on hold for thousands of prominent companies in the US, and Pixel 6 can also convert automated menus into an onscreen interface.
Google finally revealed the long awaited (and much rumored) Pixel 6 smartphones today. The $599 Pixel 6 and the $899 Pixel 6 Pro have revamped designs and run on Google's new Tensor processor, plus they have under-display fingerprint readers as well. The Pixel 6 handset has an OLED display, a dual-camera setup plus support for dual SIM cards, WiFi 6 and USB-C charging, while the Pixel 6 Pro has a 120Hz LTPO OLED screen, a triple rear camera system and 12GB of RAM. Here's how you can pre-order the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones.
Google Pixel 6
Google
The Pixel 6 smartphone is available for pre-order today for $599 and will be widely available starting October 28. Instead of buying the phone outright, you can get it for $45 per month with Pixel Pass, Google's new subscription service that also includes access to Google One, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium, Google Play Pass and Preferred Care.
The Pixel 6 is the smaller of the two new Google handsets, with a 6.4-inch 1,800 x 2,400 OLED display that supports HDR and refresh rates up to 90Hz. One of the smartphone's kicker lies under the screen — fingerprint reader that you can use to unlock the device. The handset also has Google's Titan M2 security chip for enhanced security, along with camera and mic toggles.
When it comes to cameras, the Pixel 6 has a 50MP wide lens and a 12MP ultra wide shoot on the back, plus an 8MP front-facing camera. The rear setup can shoot video in up to 4K/60fps while the front camera tops out at 1080p/30fps. Google added a bunch of new camera features to the smartphone, too, including Magic Eraser, which automatically suggests objects like random people or cars to remove from a shot, Face Unblur and Motion Mode.
Inside the Pixel 6 is Google's Tensor processor, 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. Google claims it has a "beyond 24-hour" battery life and that you can get up to 48 hours of use in Extreme Battery Saver mode. It supports fast charging, so you can get 50 percent of juice in just 30 minutes, and you can power up with wireless chargers, too. It has one USB-C port along with support for 5G, WiFi 6 and dual SIM cards.
Google Pixel 6 Pro
Google
The Pixel 6 Pro smartphone is available for pre-order today for $899 and will be widely available starting October 28. Instead of buying the phone outright, you can get it for $55 per month with Pixel Pass, Google's new subscription service that also includes access to Google One, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium, Google Play Pass and Preferred Care.
The higher-end Pixel 6 Pro has a 6.7-inch 1,440 x 3,120 LTPO OLED display that supports HDR and refresh rates up to 120Hz. It automatically adjusts the refresh rate depending on what you're doing and it can go as low as 10Hz to save battery. The key differences between the Pixel 6 Pro and the regular Pixel 6 are in battery size and cameras. The 6 Pro has a slightly larger battery, but Google gives the same battery life estimations for both handsets. Both also support fast charging and wireless charging.
The Pixel 6 Pro has one extra rear camera: a 48MP telephoto shooter that supports super-res zoom up to 20x. That's on top of the 50MP wide camera and the 12MP ultra wide lenses that also appear on the regular Pixel 6. The 6 Pro also has a slightly better front-facing camera, which is a 11MP shooter with a wider, 94-degree field of view.
The Pixel 6 Pro has all of the same security features that its smaller counterpart does, including the under-display fingerprint sensor. It also runs on the same processor but comes with 12GB of RAM — storage options remain the same, too.
