Category: Technology

You might not be stuck inside watching shows like you were at the height of the pandemic, but there were clearly some favorite online titles last year. Nielsen has shared its top streaming shows of 2022 in the US, and the most-streamed by far was Stranger Things — the fourth season helped Netflix’s signature show rack up 52 billion viewing minutes. For context, the second-place crime drama NCIS managed ‘just’ 38.1 billion minutes.

Netflix otherwise dominated the charts, though not completely. It was responsible for 10 out of the top 15 overall shows, and 13 of the 15 most popular originals. However, there was some competition. The vast back catalog at Disney+ helped it claim three places on the overall chart (including Encanto in fifth place), and its kid-friendly library gave it 10 spots in the movie rankings. Amazon Prime Video only had two titles break into the top 15 originals, The Boys and The Rings of Power.

Stranger Things didn’t manage an all-time high. That honor goes to The Office, which managed 57.1 billion minutes thanks to many more episodes (192 versus 34) and 2020 pandemic lockdowns. It’s still a significant feat, though, and Nielsen points out that some shows took much less time to climb the ranks than others. Encanto had all year, while the Addams Family spinoff Wednesday managed a similar achievement (12th overall) in 36 days.

Nielsen also found that streaming was up as a whole. Americans streamed over 19.4 million years of content in 2022, a 27 percent jump versus the year before. That was largely due to both the wider range of services and, crucially, a wider range of originals. Audiences were more likely to stream internet-only shows than dive into licensed TV material, and that boosted the industry as a whole.

 

When Bowers & Wilkins announced its Px7 S2 headphones last year, the company made it clear that it already had a more premium offering nearly ready for prime time. Three months later, the Px8 arrived. While the Px8 carries a similar look to its predecessor, Bowers & Wilkins crafted this set of headphones out of more luxurious materials and managed to improve what was already great sound quality. However, the upgrades come at a steep price: the $699 Px8 is $300 more than the Px7 S2.

Design

At a glance, the Px8 looks nearly identical to the Px7 S2 Bowers & Wilkins debuted last year. Upon close inspection though, the differences become apparent. The Px8 has a slightly more refined aesthetic, with soft leather replacing the woven fabric on the outside of the headband and ear cups. The outermost panels of the earcups, where the company’s wordmark resides, is now metal instead of plastic. And the arms and headband slider are cast aluminum, further complementing the more premium design.

The Px8 weighs 13 grams more than the Px7 S2, which is probably (at least partially) due to the change in materials. Memory foam ear cushions keep things comfy, but you can feel the extra load if you’re doing a side-by-side comparison. For that reason, I give a slight edge to the S2 if you need something to wear for several hours at a time. After a Vegas to Atlanta flight this month, I was starting to feel the added weight – and also the rings around the ear cups.

On-board controls are still physical buttons on the Px8, and they’re in the exact same locations as the Px7 S2. On the right, a power/pairing slider sits above a trio of buttons for volume, playback and calls. Over on the left side, a single control toggles between active noise cancellation (ANC), transparency mode and both off. While some companies have nixed buttons in favor of touch panels, those aren’t always reliable, but what Bowers & Wilkins offers here certainly gets the job done.

Software

The Bowers & Wilkins Music app gives you access to all of the settings on the Px8, just like it has for the company’s previous headphones. On the main screen, there’s up-to-date battery status with noise mode selection just below (ANC, Pass-through and off). You can also manage connections here as the Px8 supports multipoint Bluetooth with two devices. Lastly, the company has put media controls (if you link compatible services), tone settings, a quick start guide and product support right on that first panel.

Once you dive deeper into the settings section, battery life percentage and noise mode (or Environmental Control as the company calls it) are prominently displayed once more. Treble and bass sliders are there as well, allowing for very basic EQ tweaks. The company hasn’t provided any presets here, so you’re left with those two variables to adjust. The ability to manage connections is repeated here as well, just above the option to reassign the Quick Action button on the left earcup. By default, it cycles between sound modes. However, if you prefer, you can make it summon a voice assistant.

The last two notable items have to do with power management. First, Bowers & WIlkins offers an automatic standby feature that activates a low power state after 15 minutes of inactivity. You can switch it off if you’d like. The second tool is the ability to activate or disable the wear sensor for automatic pausing. The company says this should pause music when you lift one earcup, but that isn’t always the case. Bowers & Wilkins gives you three sensitivity options to help fine-tune it (low, medium and high), but none of those remedy the fact that the Px8 – like the Px7 S2 – is slow to pause when you lift an ear cup or take them off your head. This could still use some work so that at the very least audio resumes quicker after a break.

Sound quality

One key area the Px8 differs from the Px7 S2 is sound quality. Where the latter packs in a pair of 40mm bio cellulose drivers, the former is equipped with two carbon units of the same size. I’ll admit I don’t know enough about headphone construction to tell you if one is technically better than the other, but what I do know is that the Px8 sounds incredible. The Px7 S2 already had great audio quality, but Bowers & Wilkins somehow manages to take things a step further with this model.

There’s a warmth to the sound profile that invites you to sit and listen a while, no matter the genre. An almost extreme clarity to the audio keeps the most chaotic metal perfectly organized, allowing you to pick out individual instruments. And in the case of Underoath’s Voyuerist, it’s easy to distinguish the backing synth even when it’s very subtle or laid underneath the full band going flat out. The amount of detail the Px8 exudes from bluegrass and jazz tracks is staggering, making it seem like you’re in the room with Béla Fleck as he recorded My Bluegrass Heart. It’s not just banjo, guitar, bass, mandolin and fiddle. You can hear the nuance in the sound of each one as they envelope you.

And it’s more than the clarity and detail. The Px8 is a well-tuned powerhouse for bass-heavy electronic music and hip-hop too. When a track demands it, these headphones tap into a stash of low-end that rivals some of the best. And like everything else, you can hear the subtlety in the kick drum, drum machine and bass line. That’s true across the board, whether it’s bombastic beats of RTJ4 or the intricate synth work on Sylvan Esso’s No Rules Sandy.

In terms of active noise cancellation, the Px8 does an admirable job. It’s not miles better than the Px7 S2, but in nearly every circumstance – including on an airplane – these headphones are up to the task. Bose and Sony manage to block out more on the QuietComfort 45 and the WH-1000XM5 respectively, but Bowers & Wilkins didn’t phone it in here. There’s some solid ANC performance, it’s just not the absolute best.

Call quality

Bowers & Wilkins says it moved two of the six on-board microphones closer together and re-angled them to improve voice quality. The company explained that these tweaks should also reduce wind noise. Call audio for the person on the other end was already good on the Px7 S2, but the lack of a natural-sounding transparency mode made me feel a bit shouty during voice and video chats. On the Px8, that pass-through audio is still good, but not great, and not as natural sounding as the AirPods Max.

The Px8 does a great job of cutting down on background noise, though, so the headphones will help whoever is on the other end focus on your voice. However, overall voice quality isn’t great as you’ll still sound like you’re on speaker phone rather than having a decent mic near your face. Are they fine for most video and voice calls? Sure. If you’re doing those things often should you consider these as your primary tool? Probably not.

Battery life

Bowers & Wilkins has a track record of under promising and over delivering when it comes to battery life on its headphones. The company consistently outperforms the stated figure by a mile and the same is true on the Px8. Much like the Px7 S2, this model still had 40 percent left in the tank at the 30-hour mark – the company’s official rating. And yes, that’s with active noise cancellation turned on over the course of a few days, plus the occasional use of transparency mode for calls. After 30 hours on the Px7 S2, there was 33 percent left, so the Px8 seems to be slightly more efficient than its more affordable sibling – or perhaps has a slightly bigger battery.

The company has included a quick-charge feature that gives you seven hours of listening time in 15 minutes. That’s nice if you find yourself in a pinch, but with well over 30 hours of ANC use available, I’m only charging once a week after using the Px8 a few hours each day. The battery life here stacks up well against the best you can get in noise-canceling headphones right now.

The competition

At $699, the Px8 is the most expensive set of wireless noise-canceling headphones I’ve reviewed. Even Master & Dynamic’s priciest model is $100 cheaper (the MW75). You have to really dig what Bowers & Wilkins is putting down to dive in here. Simply put, there are great alternatives available for less – some of which offer more features. Heck, I’d argue the company’s own Px7 S2 is a better value at $399.

The Px7 S2 may not have the high-end look of the Px8, but it does have excellent sound quality, solid ANC performance and better-than-advertised battery life. The company’s warm, crisp and clear audio is on display on the more affordable model and it’s more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Aside from the boost in overall sound quality and that refined design, the Px7 S2 has every other feature you get on the Px8 – for a lot less.

At this point, Sony’s WH-1000XM5 is still the best you can buy, mostly for the mix of audio and noise-canceling performance, with a long list of handy features on the side. The two most notable are the M5’s ability to automatically change sound modes based on your location or activity and the Speak-to-Chat tool that pauses the audio when you begin to speak. Simply put, no other company comes close to packing in as much as Sony.

Wrap-up

When a pair of headphones costs $699, I start to expect things. Mainly that they need to be damn near perfect for me to recommend them. The Px8 nearly is when it comes to sound quality, but there are other areas where they fall short of the company’s previous model and some of the competition. Automatic pausing is still in need of refinement, even with the sensitivity settings. And overall, the Px7 S2 is much more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Bowers & Wilkins impresses with this most premium offering, but there are still some rough edges to smooth out.

 

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has filed an unfair labor practice charge against eBay-owned TCGplayer on behalf of workers at the trading card marketplace. The organization says TCGplayer supervisors and managers, including founder and CEO Chedy Hampson, illegally surveilled union activity in recent weeks.

Workers at TCGplayer are trying to unionze and this week, a supermajority filed for a union representation election. If they’re successful, they’ll form TCG Union/CWA, which will be the first union within eBay.

The CWA claims that TCGplayer higher-ups have walked the floors of the company’s authentication center in Syracuse, New York. It says the supervisors and managers were taking note of employees who wore clothing or badges that identified them as supporters of the union drive. “This conduct constitutes unlawful surveillance of union activity and further created an impression of surveillance designed to interfere with, restrain and coerce employees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed by Section 7 of the National Relations Labor Act,” the CWA said in a statement.

The workers renewed their attempts to form a union after eBay bought TCGplayer late last year in a deal worth up to $295 million. They previously tried to organize in 2020, but withdrew their union election petition a few days before the vote. The CWA says that TCGplayer thwarted those efforts by bringing in a union-busting firm and running “an intense anti-union campaign where workers were regularly ordered to attend captive audience meetings and disparaged by management in company communications.”

Engadget has contacted TCGplayer and eBay for comment.

 

Right around the Super Bowl is typically a good time for TV deals, as the major brands often lower prices on their older models in order to clear out inventory for their newer (and subsequently more expensive) sets arriving later in the year. In many cases, though, those older TVs can still represent good value. We’re seeing this trend again this week, with well-reviewed options from LG, Samsung, TCL and others all available for all-time lows. We’ve noted a few highlights below, including a 48-inch LG C2 OLED TV for $947 and a 55-inch TCL 5-Series Roku TV for $370. Besides TVs, our weekly deal roundup includes Amazon’s Fire HD 10 for $85, plus discounts on a handful of Anker chargers and Samsung storage devices, among others. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

The 48-inch version of LG’s C2 OLED TV is down to a new all-time low of $947. While LG is promising improved brightness with its 2023 lineup, last year’s C2 should still offer an excellent image in darker or moderately-lit rooms, with the kind of high contrast, deep black tones and wide viewing angles that are expected from a premium OLED panel.

If you want a larger step up, Samsung’s S95B is generallyregarded as a superior TV overall, one that can get bright and saturated enough to look good in well-lit rooms but doesn’t sacrifice the typical benefits of an OLED display. It’s back down to $1,448 for a 55-inch panel and $1,798 for 65-inch panel; neither of those are cheap, but both deals match the lowest prices we’ve seen.

If you’re looking to pay less than $500 on a new TV, reviewers we trust at Rtings, Wirecutter and elsewhere have praised TCL’s latest 5-Series TVs for delivering impressive contrast and color performance at an affordable price. The panel tops out at a standard 60Hz refresh rate, but it has full-array local dimming and supports all the major HDR formats. Both the 55- and 65-inch 5-Series TVs are down to new lows at Amazon and Best Buy this week, coming in at $370 and $500, respectively.

Just note that these are Roku TVs. If you prefer the Google TV interface, Hisense’s U6H is a good alternative that’s available for the same prices, but it doesn’t get as bright as TCL’s model.

Amazon’s entry-level Fire HD 10 is on sale for $85, which is $10 more than the 10.1-tablet’s previous low at the retailer but still about $30 below its typical street price in recent months. This is the slate to get if you just want something competent for less than $100: Its hardware is nowhere near as nice as an iPad, but its 1920×1200 display is perfectly serviceable, it gets 12-ish hours of battery life, and it’s performant enough for basic streaming and web browsing. Just remember that, like all Amazon tablets, it it comes with lockscreen ads unless you pay extra and lacks (official) access to Google’s Play Store.

Anker’s Nano II 65W is an ultracompact GaN charger with enough power to charge most phones, tablets and even some laptops at full speed. Right now it’s on sale for $35, which is $3 above the lowest price we’ve seen but $15 off its usual going rate. This deal comes as part of a wider range of discounts on Anker charging gear going on this week; other standouts include a multi-port variant of this charger for $46 (with an on-page coupon), and a MagSafe-compatible wireless charging pad for $45.

The 512GB version of Samsung’s Evo Select microSD card is currently on sale for $47, which is only about $2 more than the lowest price we’ve tracked. Typically, it retails closer to $55. The U3- and V30-rated Evo Select isn’t the absolute fastest microSD card in a vacuum, but it’s still more than capable of handling 4K video or storing games with minimal fuss. At this price, it’s a good value if you just want to dump a bunch of storage into a GoPro, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck or the like.

Along those lines, the 2TB version of Samsung’s 980 Pro SSD is on sale for $180, which is roughly $25 below the NVMe drive’s average street price over the last few months. If you don’t need that much space, the 500GB model is also on sale for $75, which matches an all-time low. A PCIe 4.0 drive like this isn’t essential for most, and the 980 Pro is technically an older model now, but we note it here because it meets Sony’s requirements for expanding the PlayStation 5’s storage. You’ll just need to add a cheap heatsink along with it. (Samsung sells a variant with an integrated heatsink, but it costs more.)

If the 980 Pro runs out of stock, note that the WD Black SN850X is also on sale for $10 more at Best Buy. That one is a bit faster than the 980 Pro, though its gains aren’t as noticeable in the context of a PS5. If you’re looking to upgrade an old computer’s HDD to a cheap SSD, meanwhile, Crucial’s MX500 is a dependable SATA drive, and it’s currently down to an all-time low of $62.

The bird-themed board game Wingspan is down to $39 at Amazon, which matches the lowest price we’ve tracked. We’ve previously recommended this one in past gift guides; apart from being gorgeous to look at it, it’s a thoughtful engine-building game that is welcoming to less experienced players. Games typically last between 40 minutes to just over an hour, and up to five players can join in, so it should be a worthy addition to any family game night rotations you put together.

There always seems to be at least one PC game sale going on at any given time, but if you’re looking for something new to play, that’s not a bad thing. This week it’s Humble’s turn, as the digital storefront has kicked off a “Winter Sale” that’s scheduled to run until February 7. 

There are too many games included in the sale for us to list them all here, but some personal picks include the open-world Western Red Dead Redemption 2 for $20, the tricky 2D platformer Celeste for $5, the classic JRPG Persona 4 Golden for $14, the relaxing puzzle game Unpacking for $14 and the charming 3D platformer Psychonauts 2 for $20. 

All of those are deals we’ve seen before, but all match or are close to the lowest prices we’ve seen. If you prefer to buy on Steam, a number of the sale’s discounts are also available there. Steam has a few others of note, too, such as the co-op friendlyHalo: The Master Chief Collection for $16 and the wild FPS Titanfall 2 for $3.

We gave LG’s latest CineBeam ultra short-throw projector, the HU915QE, a review score of 87 earlier this week, praising its contrast and color performance, decent built-in speakers and classy design. Our main complaint was that its asking price is too high, but a new deal at Wellbots alleviates that concern a bit, as you can now grab the projector for $4,297 if you use the code ENGTV700 at checkout. 

Clearly, that’s still not cheap, but it at least brings the HU915QE closer to other UST projectors we like such as the Formovie Theater. For reference, this device has typically retailed closer to $5,000 in recent months. If you do take the plunge, just be aware that we found the CineBeam’s input lag to be a bit too high for gaming and that there’s no support for Dolby Vision HDR.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

 

Apple’s rumored mixed reality headset may help you create apps even if you don’t know how to code. The Informationsources claim Apple is working on a tool that would let anyone create augmented reality apps with Siri. You’d only have to tell the voice assistant what you want — you could have digital animals scurrying around the room without the need for modelling, animation or conventional programming software.

The AR creation tool is said to be based on technology from Fabric Software, a Canadian company Apple quietly bought in 2017. The acquired startup’s Fabric Engine let developers automatically create environments and objects using procedural generation, a technique used in games like No Man’s Sky. A Fabric co-founder, Peter Zion, is believed to be running the development tool project. Apple also bought DigitalRune, which sought to make 3D game development easier, in 2016.

Apple might also save you the trouble of creating unique objects for headset apps. You could scan and import objects that, if all goes well, would look and behave realistically. You wouldn’t have to rely on Apple-made stock models. Existing like Object Capture (which creates 3D models from iPhone photos) and RoomPlan (for virtual floor plans) are apparently part of these efforts.

The company has already declined comment. The state of the Siri-based development tool isn’t known, but the sources say Apple’s original plan was to release the suite at the same time as the headset. Current rumors have the wearable arriving as soon as this spring. 

According to past rumors, the initial mixed reality headset (possibly named Reality Pro) may be very expensive and aimed more at professionals than everyday users. However, leaks suggest Apple is still building features that would appeal to a mainstream audience, such as FaceTime calls with avatars as well as health and fitness apps that could include a meditation experience. Combined with the easy development tool, Apple may be setting the stage for a lower-priced wearable by fostering the app ecosystem — there could be plenty of apps by the time there’s a headset you can afford.

 

Get ready for more clickers, quips from Ellie and perhaps a trip to a decaying Seattle: HBO has renewed The Last of Us for a second season. That’s not exactly a surprise, as the adaptation of Naughty Dog’s games is already a huge hit for the network. Some 22 million people have now watched the first episode, five times the number of people who tuned in on the premiere night 12 days ago. The show also saw the largest second-week jump in audience figures of any original HBO drama series.

If you haven’t caught The Last of Us yet and are curious what all the hullabaloo is about, there’s some good news. You can now watch the first episode for free on HBO Max.

The streaming service often offers free tasters of certain shows in the hopes of getting viewers hooked and prompting them to subscribe. The first episode of Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon, another major success for the platform, is free to watch on both HBO Max and YouTube.

For the uninitiated, The Last of Us is based on a PlayStation 3 (and PS4 and PS5) game of the same name. It’s often held up as one of the finest examples of storytelling in video games. It tales the tale of a smuggler who reluctantly escorts a teenage girl across the US after the world has been ravaged by a fungus that turns people into terrifying, mutated creatures.

So far, HBO’s terrific adaptation has largely followed the same story with some smart deviations and changes. Critics have hailed the third episode, which airs this Sunday, as the best installment of the season. It focuses on a side story that’s primarily told through a note players find in the game. 

 

Samsung is holding its first Unpacked event of 2023 on February 1st, and many expect the Galaxy S23 family to be the centerpiece. The company has even teased a few details, such as camera and performance upgrades. But will this phone lineup be a major revision, or a modest yearly refresh? Let’s take a look at what you’re likely to see when Samsung takes to the stage in San Francisco.

Galaxy S23 Ultra

If the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s main appeal was its Note-style pen functionality, the S23 Ultra may revolve around its camera system. Rumors from leaker Ice Universe and others have long pointed to the highest-end S23 model sporting a 200-megapixel main camera, and Samsung added fuel to the discussion by unveiling a sensor that could fit the bill. The ISOCELL HP2 promises extremely detailed photos and 8K video at 30 frames per second while still offering solid low-light capabilities. It might also capture more accurate colors in brightly-lit scenarios. The front camera may get a slight bump to 12MP as well.

It won’t surprise you to hear that Samsung is poised to give the S23 family a speed boost with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It’s supposedly over 25 percent faster than Gen 1 while offering hardware-accelerated ray tracing for more realistic lighting in games. You may see up to a fourfold improvement in AI processing, too. Qualcomm claims Gen 2 is up to 40 percent more energy efficient, and you might get emergency satellite communication in addition to WiFi 7 networking.

However, the biggest shock may be where you find that chip. Well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims Samsung will use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 to power the Galaxy S23 in every country, rather than using its in-house Exynos chips in regions like Asia and Europe. Critics have routinely knocked Exynos-based Galaxy phones for having worse performance and battery life than their Snapdragon counterparts, but that might not be an issue this time around.

You may not see other sweeping changes, but that’s not necessarily a problem. If leaked images at Nieuwe Mobiel are accurate, the Galaxy S23 Ultra will have a slightly flatter design than its predecessor, addressing complaints about the 6.8-inch screen’s curved edges. You’d still find a 12MP ultra-wide camera, dual 10MP telephoto lenses, an S-Pen and up to 12GB of RAM. You may get a 1TB storage option, though, so you might not have to worry as much about that 8K footage chewing up all your free space.

Galaxy S23 and S23+

Samsung’s more mainstream smartphones aren’t expected to receive as dramatic an update, but there could still be meaningful improvements. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and the rumored 12MP front camera might arrive alongside an ever-so-slightly larger battery. The phones could also ship with 256GB of storage as the baseline — important if you’d rather not spend extra just to hold a sizable media collection.

Otherwise we’ll probably get the familiar 6.1- and 6.6-inch displays of the Galaxy S22 line, not to mention a 50MP main rear camera, a 12MP ultra-wide and a lone 10MP telephoto. Leaked pictures at Nieuwe Mobiel suggest Samsung is redesigning the camera array to look more like that of the Ultra family, so the conspicuous camera hump of the S21 and S22 may vanish.

Galaxy Book 3 Ultra

Samsung rarely sticks to phone introductions at Unpacked events, and there are signs a high-end laptop may be the other star of the show. Samsung’s reservation page hints at a new Galaxy Book range, while the company’s mobile experience president TM Roh makes clear in a blog post that there will be Ultra products in “more device categories” besides phones. Expect an Ultra laptop, then.

Provided a leak at The Tech Outlook is authentic, that new model would be the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra. It’s not entirely clear what that laptop might deliver, but Samsung Display said the high-end Galaxy Book line will feature OLED screens with built-in touch, much like smartphones. The Ultra is also expected to arrive in tandem with a more conventional Galaxy Book 3 Pro and a Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 convertible with pen support. We’d expect improved performance, and possibly extras like pen input and advanced display technology (this is Samsung, after all).

Wildcards: New Galaxy Tabs and Galaxy Buds

There hasn’t been much talk of other product unveilings at Unpacked, and there are even rumors casting doubt on potential releases. The Elecsources claim Samsung has pushed out the launch of a Galaxy Tab S9 family, possibly due to economic uncertainty and poor sales of the Tab S8 series. As it is, the company tends to wait longer between tablet revisions than it does phones — the Tab S8 arrived in early 2022 where its S7 predecessor arrived in summer 2020.

We also wouldn’t count on new earbuds. Samsung introduced the regular Galaxy Buds 2 in summer 2021, and the Buds 2 Pro a year later. Short of a revamp of the so-so Galaxy Buds Live, there’s no pressure on the company to update its in-ear audio roster.

Other products are only likely to appear at Samsung’s later events. Don’t brace yourself for new Galaxy Z foldables, Galaxy A budget phones or Galaxy Watch timepieces this early in the year.

 

Pro surfers will soon start using an Apple Watch during competitions. The World Surf League (WSL) has designated the wearable as official wearable equipment. The organization says it’s the first time that Apple Watch is being “used as official competitor equipment in a professional sports environment.”

Before each heat, every surfer on the Championship Tour will receive an Apple Watch that’s preloaded with the new WSL Surfer app. They can use it to keep track of scores, wave priority and times. The app, which works on Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra, syncs with the WSL’s scoring system in real time. The WSL says Apple Watch fits the bill thanks to its durability, cellular data connectivity and large, bright screen.

“The noise of the wind and the waves can sometimes make it impossible to hear the announcers while competing, and that means you miss crucial information,” Ítalo Ferreira, the 2019 WSL champion and an Olympic gold medalist, said in a statement. “Challenging conditions can make it hard to see the beach and a priority penalty could cost you the heat, so not needing to rely on seeing the beach or hearing the announcers makes a huge difference and prevents guesswork.”

The WSL didn’t say which Apple Watch model competitors will use, but the Ultra makes the most sense. It has the largest screen of any Apple Watch to date and it’s the most rugged version the company has built. Apple says the Ultra has more accurate GPS and water resistance than its other models.

The 2023 WSL Championship Tour starts this weekend in Oahu, Hawaii. If you’re interested to see how the Apple Watch is used in pro sports, you can watch the event on YouTube, the WSL’s app or the organization’s website. Meanwhile, the second season of docuseries Make or Break, which follows competitors on the Championship Tour, will hit Apple TV+ in February.

 

When I look back, many of my favorite games supply a distinct sense of movement, a kind of reworked physics that directly connects my hands to the physicality of the thing I’m controlling onscreen. This thrill is the main reason I particularly enjoy driving games. In a good racing game like Gran Turismo, for instance, each car tells a different story with each track, whether I’m threading a luxury sports car through the curves of the Nurburgring or lugging a Sambabus down the Tokyo Expressway.

That said, exactly how much detail the digital cars in these games can convey can feel limited by a standard gamepad. But with a good racing wheel and pedals, those finer sensations – bumping over a curb, transitioning from concrete to dirt, fighting through a tight corner as your car resists – are more intimate. The way a wheel forces me to put my whole body into steering the car only makes me more connected and engaged. And in competitive games, its granularity can be a great benefit. Recently, I’ve been reminded of these pleasures after picking up Thrustmaster’s T300RS GT Edition.

This is not my first wheel. Previously, I used Logitech’s G29, a popular entry-level model. It helped my lap times for many years, and I’d still consider it a decent buy if you can find it, or its mildly upgraded successor, the G923, on deep discount. But as I continued to sink more time into different kinds of simulators and racing games, I felt I could do better. Logitech’s brake pedal could feel stiff and inconsistent – even preventing me from braking 100 percent in a sim like Assetto Corsa unless I effectively stood on it – and its gear-driven force feedback could come off a bit clunky and imprecise.

After spending several hours combing through reviews and game forums, I settled on the belt-driven T300RS GT as my upgrade. It’s a clear step behind the direct drive wheels that exist at the top end of this market, but I’m more of an enthusiast than a high-level sim racer. And at $450, it’s about as much as I can consciously invest in a game controller, especially a niche one. After roughly six months of use, however, I can confidently recommend it to others upgrading from an entry-level wheel, or those who are looking to buy their first wheel and know they’ll make use of the extra investment.

The T300RS gives a favorable impression out of the box. Though the wheel is coated in rubber (rather than the G29’s leather), it’s grippy, sturdy and pleasingly smooth. The three metal pedals feel cool and solid, and their base stays in place regardless of how much force I put down. The full set of gamepad buttons built into the wheel are easy enough to reach, and the metallic paddle shifters on the back of the wheel have a tight click when changing gears. The wheel is also completely detachable from its base, on the off chance I ever want to pop on a different one instead.

This is a Gran Turismo-branded wheel, and since Gran Turismo is a PlayStation franchise, all the buttons follow PlayStation’s iconography. Thrustmaster launched this wheel back in 2016, so it’s plug-and-play with the PS5, PS4 and PS3 (which I appreciate as someone who enjoys revisiting older games). The device also works on PC, but, unsurprisingly, Xbox and Nintendo consoles aren’t supported.

The wheel’s multi-piece mounting setup requires more work to attach to a desk than the Logitech wheel’s built-in clamps, but it’s not arduous enough to be a serious hindrance. The wheelbase is on the heavy side, though and, as with any wheel, you’ll want to have ample space to hook everything up.

Once it’s locked in, the T300RS GT Edition gives me little to complain about. The point of a racing wheel is to effectively communicate what your virtual car is doing. This does that. When I start to lose grip after taking a corner too hot, I feel it, and I can tell what subtle corrections I need to make to regain control. It’s not as true-to-life as a direct drive wheel, but its belt-driven force feedback is powerful and strikingly smooth, unlike the stepped sensation I’d get with the G29. It’s also noticeably less noisy than the Logitech wheel, which is great when I want to get in a few races later at night.

Likewise, it didn’t take me long to get used to the pedals, and within a few races I had a good sense of how much force was needed to properly feather the accelerator or fully brake. In general, the pedals don’t require significant pressure, which I like. Still, you can adjust the pedal sensitivity, among other bits, through the wheel’s settings on a PC.

One consequence of this motorized setup is that it needs internal fans and heatsinks to keep itself cool. When you’re pushing it, a fan at the top of the wheelbase will blow out hot air. It’s quiet, but you can sometimes smell it. Cranking the feedback effects isn’t the wisest idea for this kind of wheel’s long-term durability, either, so it’s worth keeping the force feedback at a moderate level more generally.

The GT Edition here is a variant of Thrustmaster’s standard T300RS, which is usually $50 or so cheaper. (Both wheels look to be having stock issues as of this writing.) The main difference, besides the GT branding, is that the former has a nicer-feeling three-pedal set with a built-in clutch pedal. The latter just has gas and brake pedals. The GT Edition also includes a spongy “conical brake mod” that you can stick behind the brake to provide a more realistic sense of resistance, though I prefer the looser feel of driving without it. The pedal upgrade of the GT Edition was worth the extra change for me, but, to be clear, the two wheels are otherwise the same, and it’s always possible to upgrade either model’s pedals down the line.

You should view all of my praise here on a curve. Hardcore racers who only play sims like iRacing or rFactor 2 can do better, and they already know that. A racing wheel isn’t some magic cheat code, either: A gamepad user will be faster than wheel user if they’ve spent more time perfecting their lines and braking points on a given track. If anything, using a wheel for the first time can feel like learning to drive again.

Still, the T300RS GT Edition should be an ideal performer for new converts and moderate enthusiasts looking to upgrade. Even if it’s been around for a while, there still aren’t that many belt-driven alternatives that are truly competing with it in its price range.

 

Google has agreed to provide clearer information to users browsing Google Store, Google Play Store, Google Hotels and Google Flights in Europe, the EU Commission announced in a press release. It will soon show whether it’s acting as an intermediary or selling products directly, and better inform consumers about deliveries, returns and repairs and more. It’s making the moves to comply with EU regulations following a dialogue with the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC) that started in 2021. 

“EU consumers are entitled to clear, complete information so that they can make informed choices,” said commissioner for justice Didier Reynders in a statement. “The commitments made by Google are a step forward in this direction.”

Google Flights and Google Hotels will soon make clear to consumers whether they’re selling directly or merely acting as an intermediary for other companies. They must also state what was used as a reference price for discounts, and clarify that Google Hotels reviews aren’t verified. Finally, they must conform to the same transparency rules followed by other platforms like Expedia.com. 

Meanwhile, Google Store and Google Play Store must provide “clear pre-contractual information” on delivery prices, right of withdrawal and repair or replacement options. They must also make it easy to find information on vendors including their legal name and address, along with “direct and effective” methods of contact, like live telephone agents. 

Finally, it must show users how to provide different country versions of the Google Play Store to conform to EU geo-blocking regulations, while allowing them to use payment from any EU country. As it stands now, Google restricts changes to country of residence to once a year, which can cause users to lose content or any credit. The change is designed to let consumers “enjoy the same rights and access the same content, wherever they are in the EU.” Neither Google nor the EU Commission have yet to say when the changes will go into effect.