Category: Technology

Apple has partnered with brain-computer interface maker Synchron to develop tech that lets consumers control devices like iPhones with their thoughts, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. This is primarily intended to help people with medical conditions that limit hand use, such as spinal cord injuries or diseases like ALS.

Here’s the gist. Synchron has been developing a stent-like implant that’s placed in a vein on top of the brain’s motor cortex. It’s called the Stentrode and it reads brain signals before translating them into the selection of icons on a screen. People can use the implant to select icons on Apple devices thanks to software called switch control, which is a feature in Apple’s OS that allows for the addition of new input devices.

Human trials of Stentrode have been successful and now the two companies are working to develop a new standard for the technology specifically for Apple devices. These implants are typically called brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and Apple looks forward to a day when this type of technology receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

That day, however, is likely years away, even if recent tests have shown a lot of promise. Apple does plan on releasing the new software standard for Synchron implants to third-party developers later this year.

An early tester used Apple’s new software along with a Stentrode implant to control the Apple Vision Pro and other devices. The ALS patient was able to peer over a mountain in the Swiss Alps in VR and communicate with his iPhone and iPad. It’s worth noting that the current tech has its limits. The tester couldn’t use the implant to mimic navigating a touch screen with fingers or moving a cursor with a mouse. Still, there are over 150,000 people in the US who suffer from serious upper-limb impairments that could be candidates for a BCI.

Apple has long been at the forefront of accessibility tech. It launched similar connectivity software for hearing aids all the way back in 2014 that has since become an industry standard. More recently, the company brought its accessibility-focused Magnifier reader to Macs and enhanced its Braille Access toolset.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-has-teamed-up-with-synchron-to-develop-tech-that-lets-people-control-its-devices-with-thoughts-154018858.html?src=rss 

As first reported by CNBC, Microsoft will be laying off 3 percent of its global workforce in an aim to streamline its operations and thin out its management structure. The layoffs will be felt across all teams, levels and regions within the company and are not performance-based.

In a statement to CNBC, a Microsoft spokesperson said, “We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.” This latest round of layoffs follows deep cuts in 2023, when Microsoft laid off over 10,000 employees.

Microsoft and other large tech companies are doing all they can lately to weather a shaky economic environment, made more challenging by on-and-off-again tariffs, a bevy of FTC anti-trust activity, and the demand to burn billions in cash vying for pole position in the AI race.

Huge layoffs have become a regular occurrence over the last few years as giant companies seek to right-size from pandemic-era overhiring. Microsoft also recently raised prices on its Xbox consoles and removed entry-level Surface laptops to drive more profits.

Last quarter, Microsoft reported earnings that outperformed expectations for both revenue and profit.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/microsoft-is-laying-off-3-percent-of-its-global-workforce-154755787.html?src=rss 

We finally have some actual footage of the upcoming Spider-Noir series, thanks to a teaser trailer. This is a real boon for fans of the original Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, as the show brings back Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man: Noir.

It’s also live action, so we get to see a real-life Nic Cage kicking butt as a down-on-his-luck private detective that’s bitten by a magical spider. You can likely guess what happens to him after that. Amazon says that the character will be “forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero.”

This is a short trailer, but it’s positively soaked in retro vibes. After all, the show’s called Spider-Noir. The teaser is in black-and-white, but it’s worth noting that the actual series will be available in both black-and-white and color. It’s all up to personal preference, but I’m digging the black-and-white.

Spider-Noir will first air on MGM+ before heading to Prime Video the next day. We don’t have a release date yet. In addition to Cage, the show stars Lamorne Morris, Brendan Gleeson, Li Jun Li and Karen Rodriguez, among others. Harry Bradbeer, who helmed most episodes of Fleabag, is directing the first two installments.

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the pair behind the Spiderverse franchise, are on-hand as executive producers. The show’s based on the comic book Spider-Man: Noir, which was first released back in 2009.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/watch-nicolas-cage-kick-black-and-white-butt-in-this-trailer-for-spider-noir-163332837.html?src=rss 

Nothing says “please, leave me alone” while you’re in public like a good pair of over-ear, noise-canceling headphones. The Beats Studio Pro — which are, coincidentally, a good pair of over-ear, noise-canceling headphones — are on sale right now. You can snap up a pair for $170. That’s a discount of 51 percent (or $180) and only $10 more than the lowest price we’ve seen to date for them.

The Beats Studio Pro arrived in 2023 and we gave them a score of 81 in our review. While they aren’t among our top picks for the best wireless headphones or the best noise-canceling headphones, they’re still a decent option — especially at this price.

Thanks in large part to Beats’ second-gen chipset, the Beats Studio Pro deliver notably better audio quality than the brand’s earlier over-ear headphones. Beats upgraded the active noise cancellation (ANC), while the addition of spatial audio with dynamic head tracking is welcome. So too is the USB-C wired mode if you’d like to listen to high-resolution and lossless audio.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds are also on sale. They can be yours for $200, which is $50 off and a record low price. We gave these a score of 79 in our review.

These are Apple’s first earbuds with built-in sensors that can track your heart rate, making them an intriguing option for fitness enthusiasts. The Powerbeats Pro 2 have Apple’s H2 chip, which enables them to offer many of the same features that you’d find on the AirPods Pro 2, such as Hearing Protection — but not the hearing aid or hearing test options. The earbuds are comfortable to wear (though the hook design may not be for everyone) and deliver generally solid audio including powerful, balanced performance on the low end. However, we felt the ANC performance was so-so.

Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-beats-studio-pro-headphones-are-half-off-right-now-144737501.html?src=rss 

The second season of the Fallout TV series doesn’t even have a concrete release date in December yet, but Amazon has already renewed the show for a third season. Amazon has announced that it has greenlit the new season at its annual presentation in New York City. The company said Fallout has had more than 100 million viewers since it dropped on Prime Video in April 2024 and remains one of its top-three most watched titles ever. 

If you’ll recall, the live adaptation was so well-received, Fallout 4 enjoyed a resurgence in sales nearly a decade after its release. Amazon also renewed the series for a second season just a few days after the first season debuted on its streaming service. Based on the video game franchise of the same name, Fallout is set 200 years into the future after an apocalyptic event. In the story, the humans who survived the apocalypse hid in luxury fallout shelters where their descendants remained for hundreds of years. The show follows Lucy as she leaves her shelter after an attack by outsiders to find her father who’d been kidnapped. Along the way, she meets more characters, including a squire from the Brotherhood of Steel and a ghoul bounty hunter.

Amazon has yet to reveal season 3’s story, which doesn’t come as a surprise, seeing as the second season has yet to drop. But season 2 will pick up from where the first one had left off and will take viewers from the Mojave wastelands to New Vegas.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/amazon-renews-fallout-months-before-season-2s-premiere-143028657.html?src=rss 

Spotify’s AI DJ is taking requests. Starting on Tuesday, Premium subscribers can ask it to play something that fits the mood. Although the company added a Spanish-speaking version last year, requests are only available in English at launch.

The AI DJ will respond to verbal requests for a specific artist, genre, mood or something that fits an activity. Spotify suggests phrases like “DJ, morning motivation needed ASAP,” “Surprise me with some indie tracks” or “Play me something with a Y2K vibe.”

You can find it by heading to the search tab and entering “DJ.” After it starts spinning, press and hold the DJ button in the lower right-hand corner. Once you hear a beep, you can tell your synthetic disc jockey about your insatiable thirst for A Flock of Seagulls deep cuts.

Spotify’s AI DJ launched in 2023, aiming to strike a balance between today’s ultra-personalized streaming algorithms and old-school radio. The company says none of its dialog is pre-recorded. It’s all generated on the fly via OpenAI.

Whether you love or hate the DJ, it can make for unintentional comedy as it butchers names and falls prey to AI’s inevitable awkwardness. When I tried it with a classic blues mix, it consistently pronounced Howlin’ Wolf as “Hole-in’ Wolf.” Some gems from a 2024 Reddit thread include “Blink One Hundred Eighty-Two” and “Here are some of your typical Sunday morning vibes, starting off with Shitfucker.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/spotifys-ai-dj-now-takes-requests-130005706.html?src=rss 

Sony’s smartphones probably haven’t made much money in a long time, but they do provide a showcase for the company’s latest camera and AV tech. A case in point is the new Xperia 1 VII flagship, a model that borrows Sony’s Alpha camera and Bravia TV tricks and now features Walkman audio technology for the first time as well. 

On the camera side, Sony introduced a new 48-megapixel ultrawide camera (16mm full-frame equivalent) with a good-sized 1/1.56-inch sensor, significantly improving the specs of the Xperia 1 VI’s ultrawide. That’s on top of the main 48MP 1/1.35-inch 24mm camera and 12MP 85-170mm telephoto zoom. 

Another new camera feature is AI-powered Auto Framing. It lets you capture an entire scene with a wide angle, while automatically creating a closeup crop (vertical or horizontal) of a subject within the frame. That matches technology already available on Sony’s Alpha camera lineup. Other key camera features include an improved Bokeh mode, real-time tracking and real-time eye autofocus, “telemacro” photography via the 120mm equivalent lens (with focus as close as 4cm), pro controls, a dedicated shutter button, live streaming and “low-light capability in line with full-frame cameras,” Sony claims. 

As for audio, Sony has upgraded the Xperia 1 VII considerably from the previous model. It now uses the high-end Walkman components in key areas like sound resistors. Unlike other smartphone makers, Sony has kept its headphone jack and improved wired sound via a premium-grade integrated circuit, while also improving its LDAC wireless audio quality. Plus, the Xperia 1 VII supports Sony’s DSEE Ultimate AI sound upscaling technology, along with 360 Reality audio or Dolby Atmos formats. 

The Xperia 1 VII is also taking a cue from Sony’s Bravia displays with a new adaptive brightness feature for the 6.5-inch OLED display. It now has light sensors both front and back to better gauge environmental light levels and adjust brightness, contrast and color accordingly. 

Other key features include a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage (expandable to 2TB with microSD), WiFi 7, FPS gaming optimizer, two days of battery life via the new 5,000mAh battery, a vapour chamber cooler and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for environmental protection. Sony is even throwing in a free set of its top-end WH-1000XM5 headphones worth around $300.

Unfortunately there’s no sign that the Xperia 1 VII is coming to the United States. It’s now available to order in Europe and the UK for €1,499 and £1,399 respectively, or around $1,700. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/sonys-new-xperia-1-vii-borrows-hi-fi-sound-tech-from-its-walkman-133017552.html?src=rss 

xMEMS has launched the Sycamore-W, which it claims is the “world’s thinnest speaker designed specifically for wrist-worn wearables.” The Sycamore-W is only 1 mm thin and weighs only 150 mg, making it approximately 70 percent smaller than the speakers typically used for smart watches. xMEMS took the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology used in cell phones’ microphones and developed drivers based on it for use in earphones instead. Last year, it launched the Sycamore speakers, based on the same platform as its original product, for open-fit earbuds, smart glasses and smart watches. 

While the original Sycamore could already be used in smartwatches, the Sycamore-W was engineered specifically for wrist-based wearables. Since it’s very thin, companies can fit larger batteries or more biometric sensors into their products. The speakers are also water, dust and shock-resistant. “Sycamore-W redefines audio for smart watches, combining compact design with robust performance to meet the demands of next-generation wearables,” said Mike Housholder, xMEMS VP of Marketing and Business Development. “As the wrist becomes a key interface for ears-free, hands-free AI interactions, Sycamore-W empowers manufacturers to deliver premium audio in smaller, lighter, more durable devices.”

The company is planning to start volume production for the Sycamore-W in the second quarter of 2026, so we won’t be seeing products that use the component until sometime next year. xMEMS will continue producing the original Sycamore speakers for smart glasses, open-fit earbuds and laptops, but it will announce more models for more specific applications in the coming months.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/xmems-launches-a-tiny-speaker-for-smartwatches-130026711.html?src=rss