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GoPro’s annual Hero Black update came with a small surprise this year. Instead of just the usual flagship camera, a “Mini” version was also unveiled. Alas, only the regular Hero Black was available when they were announced, so if the diminutive version caught your eye you had to wait until Oct 25th. And then you had to wait just a little bit longer. But finally it’s here and it’s an interesting proposition.

Of course, the pitch is simple: A Hero 11 Black but smaller. The Mini is about 3/4 of an inch narrower than the regular Hero 11 Black when you look at it head on. But it’s also a teensy bit taller and about 5mm deeper. It’s obviously smaller overall, but there’s much less of a difference than there was with the Session cameras and the flagship of the time. As with that camera, though, the main trade off is the lack of viewfinder/displays. That’s a big deal, so that reduction in size really has to appeal to your use case. And I can say right up top here, for most people, it likely doesn’t.

To put things in perspective, at the time of writing, the Mini sells for $299.98 with a GoPro subscription, while the regular Hero 11 Black is listed for $349.98 with the same deal ($449.98 / $549.98 respectively if for some reason you can’t take the subscription offer). That’s either a $50 or $100 difference, depending, for the overall compromises and relatively minor difference in size. And there are additional differences beyond the lack of screen that you’ll want to consider. For example, there’s no photo mode this time around.

To be clear, yes you can get photos out of the camera (there’s one right above this sentence) but you’ll be pulling frames from video. And while that’s pretty easy, it’s definitely not as simple as choosing photo mode and pressing a button (also your photos might end up 16:9 if that’s what the source material is). Taking photos is definitely something you might assume you can do natively and I am obliged therefore to tell you that you cannot.

Of course, as mentioned, there’s no touchscreen which affects how you access the menu. You can navigate the settings via a small display on the top that will send GoPro veterans right back to the Hero 4 (and earlier) days. The options here are slightly limited, with just shooting mode, mode settings and some (but not all) general settings up for grabs. Everything else you’ll be doing through the app.

I personally prefer doing most things on the camera itself, and then use the app when the camera is mounted out of reach, but I didn’t find it hard to transition to doing most everything in Quik. This only really becomes an issue if you’re doing something where your phone isn’t nearby. Surfing, for example, might need a little bit of pre-planning to make sure you’re set up before you get in the water.

Relatedly, I noticed the camera goes into standby very quickly. After just eight seconds of inactivity the Mini will turn itself off (15 if you’re in the settings menu). This is obviously to save battery life, but it also means if you were just pausing for thought, you have to turn the camera back on, and possibly re-connect to the camera over WiFi and then pick up where you left off. It feels like an easy fix to add an option to change the amount of time, but for now, that’s how it is.

If you are used to using GoPro’s video presets, it’s worth knowing there’s only one here on the Mini. Unlike the regular Hero 11 that offers many along with the option to create your own for different shooting scenarios, the Mini has the essentials and not much else. It just means you need to change your video settings on a per-shot basis (like life before GoPro introduced presets) but it was something I found myself missing.

As for battery life, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that the sealed-design means you can’t swap out a new cell should you run out of juice. The better news is that the Mini uses the new longer-lasting Enduro battery. GoPro claims you should get about an hour of continuous recording at the highest quality, or nearer to two hours are less demanding settings. This feels about right based on the short time we’ve had with the camera and also inline with the Hero 11 Black, which uses the same battery.

Since the latest redesign and addition of 5.3K video modes, some people had issues with the camera overheating while recording indoors, with the camera in a fixed position. The company issued a software update in response including a new “stationary/tripod” mode.

When we tested our Hero 9, 10 and 11, we didn’t experience that issue, but with the Mini, it happened pretty quickly (in under 10 minutes) when recording at 5.3K/60fps. In less power-hungry modes the issue disappeared, so anything 1080p, for example, was fine. GoPro’s messaging here is that the Mini is an outdoor camera, designed for mounting on you or your gear. So, if you were looking at this for a potential static/indoor application, it’s not the camera you want, even according to GoPro.

If that seemed like a lot of words about things you can’t or shouldn’t do, then the good news is that, from here on out, it’s all about what the Mini can do. The short version of that is, mostly everything it’s bigger sibling can. But it’s worth calling out some specifics, and even a couple of things that are unique to the smaller camera.

The first thing I wanted to confirm was that the Mini had full 360-degree horizon lock. This was something new to the Hero 11 Black and it was one of the standout features this year. There was no reason why the Mini wouldn’t be able to do this, with it having the same sensor and all, but consider this confirmation of that nonetheless.

The same goes for the new Hyperview mode, which squeezes every pixel from the sensor into a 16:9 video. It’s incredibly immersive and makes even the most mundane of activities seem surprisingly dynamic. And of course, full-frame shooting is also here, so you can grab everything the sensor sees and then punch out different mobile-friendly or desktop videos from the same source file.

Where the Mini excels, unsurprisingly, is with anything body mounted. The smaller form-factor and lighter weight make it a much nice experience for head or helmet mounting. In fact, I’d go as far to say that the Mini is all about being a helmet cam. Not least because of the second pair of mounting fingers on the rear that make it easier to fix in a forward-facing position.

And this really feels like what the Mini is all about. If you don’t want all the bells and whistles and just want an honest-to-goodness action camera with all the Hero 11 Black video credentials, then the Mini is it. It also feels like it would make a good secondary camera for a different angle. Similarly, if you use a full-size GoPro for drone FPV footage (rather than the dedicated “Bones” camera) then the Mini is also a great option for that – plus you get a camera you can use elsewhere, too (unlike Bones).

 

It’s an exciting time to be a fan of space. NASA’s going back to the moon with the Artemis program, more and more companies are flying space tourist missions, and the new JWST observatory has already started changing the way we think of ourselves and the universe around us.

The good news is that all of this ongoing and renewed interest in space means that there’s a ton of merch out there. There’s never been a better time to be into space — or to be buying a gift for someone who loves it. These are some of our favorite things that any space lover will appreciate.

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ

If you’re looking for a beginner telescope, the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a fantastic choice. It’s easy to put together, provides a clear crisp view of night sky objects, and is relatively lightweight and portable. The telescope doesn’t have a motor, but it’s more affordable as a result. Compatibility with the StarSense app makes this telescope brilliantly easy to use and drastically reduces the time and effort it takes to find cool objects to look at in the night sky.

Buy Celestron StarSense Explorer at Amazon – $480

Startorialist JWST Cosmic Cliffs High Top Sneakers

JWST has been fully operational since June 2022, and it’s already sent us stunning images of our universe. One is a star-forming region in the Carina Nebula called the Cosmic Cliffs (fun fact, the tallest peaks are 7 light years high!) and you can get this amazing image on a classy pair of high-top sneakers from Startorialist, a STEM fashion brand. Keep in mind these are a custom order, so they may take a few weeks to ship.

Buy Cosmic Cliffs sneakers at Startorialist – $89

Banllis Decorative Astronaut and Moon Bookends

Want to spruce up someone’s book shelves? These adorable astronaut moon bookends will delight any space lover. They come in two colors, gold and gray – depending on whether you want them to pop or blend in. They aren’t the heaviest bookends, so you probably don’t want to hold up a huge stack of hardcovers with these, but they look good from both far away and close up – the detailing on the moons is an especially nice touch.

Buy bookends at Amazon – $47

The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy

Moiya McTier tells the story of the Milky Way in a unique way: from the point of view of the galaxy. It’s a funny and smart look at our galaxy (and humans’ place within it), and presents scientific information in an approachable and often hilarious way. Whether you’ve read every space book out there and are looking for something new or don’t know where to start, this is a unique perspective for sure.

Buy The Milky Way at Amazon – $14

Four Point Puzzles Moon Puzzle

This 1,000 piece puzzle features an exquisite NASA image of the Moon’s surface. The rich detail here, and the intricate lunar features, will provide a challenge to even experienced puzzle aficionados.

Buy moon puzzle at Four Points – $28

Emily’s Space Craft Jewelry

Want to buy some space jewelry? Emily Lakdawalla, planetary scientist and former Senior Editor of The Planetary Society, has a space-themed jewelry shop on Etsy. And frankly, her designs are stunning. You can find everything from Hertzsprung-Russell star diagram necklaces to solar system bracelets and more.

Shop jewelry at Emily’s Space Craft

Nikon 7245 Action Binoculars

Interested in looking at the night sky on the go? Consider a pair of binoculars instead of a telescope. They’re much more portable and easy to carry, and they don’t require nearly the setup that a telescope does. This Nikon ATB set is widely considered the best for stargazing — they’re lightweight, compact, and the price is equivalent to the most beginner telescopes.

Buy Nikon 7245 Action Binoculars at Amazon – $167

Svaha USA JWST Deep Field Custom Hoodie

Svaha USA is another great brand that’s got some fantastic STEM merch. They’ve even got JWST’s Deep Field image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 on a hoodie! If a pullover hoodie isn’t your thing, you can also find the image on tote bags, dresses, and more. These are custom printed upon ordering, so don’t wait until the last minute or you may not receive yours by the holidays.

Buy at custom hoodie at Svaha – $60

Kennedy Space Center Astronaut Training Experience

If you’re more of an “experience” gift giver than a “things” gift giver, then the Astronaut Training Experience might be just what you’re looking for. Located at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on the Space Coast of Florida, this unique trip allows visitors and guests to train like an astronaut — everything from docking to navigating the Martian surface and even performing a spacewalk in low gravity.

Buy training experience at Kennedy Space Center – $175

Astronomy Activity Book For Kids

If you have five to seven year old kid on your holiday gift list who’s fascinated by galaxies far away, this activity book is a great choice. Written by a former NASA scientist and beautifully illustrated, it contains games and projects about space, information on how to find constellations and big astronomical events such as meteor showers, and more.

Buy Astronomy Activity Book at Amazon – $9

LEGO Space Shuttle Discovery

Buying for someone who loves building things? LEGO’s space models are unparalleled. The Space Shuttle Discovery (complete with a small Hubble Space Telescope — based on the Hubble Servicing missions STS-131 in 1990) is 2,354 pieces and comes with a display stand. Of note is the fact that LEGO is retiring a few of their cool space sets this year — Discovery has been spared, but if you want the Apollo Saturn V or International Space Station, you should snag those while you can still find them.

Buy LEGO Space Shuttle Discovery at Amazon – $200

Super Cool Space Facts

If the kid on your list is more into cool facts and less into hands-on projects, this book is exactly what you think it is from the title: full of hundreds of space facts, along with full-color photos. It’s a great choice for any younger space nerd – but honestly, it’s a good read for the adults in your life who want to know more about space but don’t know where to start.

Buy Super Cool Space Facts at Amazon – $8

The Night Sky Poster by Kurzgesagt

Kurzgesagt has tons of gorgeous educational content and products. The Night Sky poster is definitely a highlight, though. It’s a detailed map of the stars, complete with highlighted constellations, planets and “messier objects” like nebulas and star clusters. Along the bottom is a brief history of astronomy and human kind’s connection to stars. If you’re shopping for someone who seems to constantly be staring off into space (literally as opposed to figuratively), they’ll definitely appreciate this touch of educational decor. — Terrence O’Brien, Managing Editor

Buy Night Sky Poster at Kurzgesagt – $25

NASA JPL Space Tourism posters

Designers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) originally created these “Visions of the Future” posters in 2018. The whimsical posters, which imagine a future space tourism industry, were styled after the vintage National Parks posters that have long been popular with travel buffs. They’ve been adding to the collection ever since. Whether it’s Jupiter’s multicolored auroras, Venus’ peach-toned clouds or imagined nightlife on PSO J318.5-22, each one is also its own mini lesson about a piece of our solar system. NASA has the whole set available to download on its website, or you can buy physical prints (framed or unframed) from allposters.com. — Karissa Bell, Senior Reporter

Shop Space Tourism posters at AllPosters

 

Earlier this year TP-Link launched its Tapo line of smart home devices that revolve around budget 2K security cameras, introducing several models ranging from $30 to $60. Now, the company has launched a pricier but more impressive indoor/outdoor 2K night vision security camera, the Tapo C40S2. 

The new model is battery-powered, weatherproofed and wire-free, offering up to 180 days on a charge in both indoor and outdoor environments. It packs an 850nm IR sensor, along with an f/1.6 aperture lens that allows it to see up to 49 feet in the dark, according to the company. With 2K resolution (2,048 x 1,080) a hair above Full HD, TP-Link promises “pristine images, even in low-light conditions.”

It also comes with AI features that allow it to distinguish between humans, pets, vehicles and packages, providing notifications when someone steps into the property or user-defined activity zones. Other features include a built-in siren and light alarm, microSD and cloud storage with 30 days of video history and motion detection with snapshots and more. The Tapo C420S2 is now available through TP-Link’s website or on Amazon at $200 for a two-pack — a reasonable price for a wireless night-vision camera. 

 

There’s no doubt that air fryers have been having a moment, but they haven’t pushed the humble multicooker completely out of the limelight yet. If you somehow haven’t jumped on the Instant Pot bandwagon yet, you can give it a try for much less right now. Amazon has discounted the six-quart Instant Pot Duo by 50 percent, bringing it down to $50. We’ve seen this model dip slightly cheaper in the past ($48), but this is the best price we’ve seen in many months.

The benefit of a multicooker like this one is that it can do many things, acting as a jack-of-all-trades in your kitchen. The Duo in particular has seven cooking modes: pressure cook, slow cook, rice cooker, steamer, sauté, yogurt maker and warmer. It also has 13 customizable “smart programs” that take a lot of the guesswork out of preparing common foods like soup, beans, rice, poultry and more.

Both kitchen newbies and seasoned home cooks can make use of an Instant Pot like this. For those just getting into cooking, it’ll help you prepare new foods that you may have never tried before, sometimes even more quickly than you could do just with a pot on stove. For those who cook all the time, it’ll make it easier to prepare a lot of food during the holidays by giving you another countertop machine to employ when your other appliances are in use. Plus, it’s a great tool for meal prepping. 

It’s also worth noting that the model on sale has a six-quart capacity, which sits in the middle of the Duo’s lineup. It’s a great size for most families as it’s able to make food for up to six people at once. If you decide to take the plunge into the Instant Pot world, be sure to check out our guide for tips and tricks, recipe inspiration and more.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

 

Tuvalu’s foreign minister, Simon Kofe, told the COP27 climate summit yesterday that Tuvalu would look to the metaverse to preserve its culture and history. With global temperatures expected to rise as much as 2.8 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, the Pacific island nation is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels. At last year’s COP26 summit, Kofe addressed the conference while standing knee-deep in seawater to highlight the climate change threat. Climate scientists anticipate the entire country will be underwater by the end of the 21st century.

Addressing the climate summit, Kofe said: “As our land disappears, we have no choice but to become the world’s first digital nation. Our land, our ocean, our culture are the most precious assets of our people. And to keep them safe from harm, no matter what happens in the physical world, we’ll move them to the cloud.”

To achieve the 1.5C target put forward by the Paris Agreement, the world has eight years to reduce annual global emissions by a further 45 percent, compared with projections based on current policies.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Lucid unveils its less expensive Air EV models

The Pure and Touring bring Air prices closer to Earth.

The Lucid Air is a fantastic first car from a new automaker, but it’s also a very expensive EV out of most people’s reach. At the LA Auto Show, Lucid revealed the Lucid Air Pure and Touring EVs. The Pure is the first and only Air to come in under $100,000, starting at a still pricey $87,400, with a range of around 410 miles. Yes, the Air is still a luxury vehicle. The Touring is slightly more expensive at $107,400 and can drive for an EPA estimated range of 425 miles. While the Pure wasn’t quite ready for testing, we did get behind the wheel of the Touring for a quick jaunt around Lucid’s headquarters.

Continue reading.

MIT solved a century-old differential equation that will help AI

It could help with weather forecasting and autonomous vehicle driving.

Last year, MIT developed an AI algorithm capable of learning and adapting to new information on the job, not just during its training. These “liquid” neural networks are ideal for time-sensitive tasks, like pacemaker monitoring, weather forecasting, investment forecasting or autonomous vehicle navigation. But all that data can create computational bottlenecks, which makes scaling these systems prohibitively expensive. On Tuesday, MIT researchers announced they have a solution, using a differential equation that has stumped mathematicians since 1907. By decoding this equation at the neuron level, the team is hopeful it’ll be able to construct models of the human brain that measure in the millions of neural connections, something not possible today.

Continue reading.

NVIDIA RTX 4080 GPU review

A (slightly) more practical 4K gaming titan.

NVIDIA’s RTX 4080 is a solid upgrade over the 3080 Ti, with faster overall performance and far better ray tracing, thanks to DLSS 3. It’s notably cheaper and less power hungry than the 4090. But it’s still $1,199. If paying more than $1,000 for a video card seems insane to you — and let’s be clear, it should — sit tight to see what NVIDIA’s future cards look like.

Continue reading.

Apple reportedly plans to use US-made chips starting in 2024

It also intends to source chips from Europe in the future.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple hopes to be using US-made chips in a few years’ time. Company CEO Tim Cook reportedly made the revelation during a meeting with local engineering and retail employees in Germany, telling them Apple “already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona.” As Gurman notes, it would lessen Apple’s reliance on factories in Asia, particularly Taiwan, where 60 percent of the world’s processors are produced. Cook also apparently told staff: “I’m sure that we will also source from Europe as those plans become more apparent.”

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Apple lets you practice sending emergency SOS texts via satellite

It’s also bringing the service to France, Germany, Ireland and the UK.

One of the most noteworthy updates Apple brought to the iPhone 14 series this year is Emergency SOS via satellite. It lets you send text messages to emergency services over satellite if you need help and are outside cellular coverage. If you’re unfamiliar with the feature – most of us probably are – Apple is rolling out a demo mode of Emergency SOS via Satellite, so members of the public can see how it works.

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Boston Dynamics sues rival Ghost Robotics for allegedly copying its robot dog

Ghost’s designs are supposedly too much like Spot.

Boston Dynamics is suing Ghost Robotics for allegedly infringing seven patents linked to its Spot quadruped. The Spirit 40 and Vision 60 purportedly borrow key technologies from Spot, including systems for self-righting and climbing stairs. Boston Dynamics says it asked Ghost Robotics to review Spot-related patents in July 2020, five months after the launch of the Spirit 40. After that, Boston claims to have sent two cease-and-desist letters, asking Ghost to stop marketing its robot canines. In a statement, Boston Dynamics claimed it “welcome[s] competition” but would crack down on anyone violating its intellectual property rights. The Hyundai-owned company is seeking unspecified damages as part of the suit. Ghost Robotics hasn’t yet responded to our requests for comment.

Continue reading.

 

Genesis has unveiled the X Convertible concept, showing off its design chops with an EV that builds on the previous Genesis X and X Speedium Coupe vehicles. It shares the architecture and electric powertrain with those cars, but uses a folding hardtop roof and is meant to evoke “design purity” and uses what Genesis calls an “anti-wedge parabolic” design. 

Gone are the extra bulgy fenders and aggressive front end, replaced by a more subtle design and cleaner, longer lines. That length is further accentuated by the short front overhang that gives it a protruding nose. The triangular headlights from the X Speedium are carried over, as are the double taillights. The hardtop roof has an integrated moonroof, offering drivers a view of the stars even when it’s closed up.

The interior is very similar to the previous two concepts, with the dashboard screen curving across and down toward the right armrest. It uses recyclable wool fabrics and leather seats, with the interior Giwa Navy and Dancheong Orange colors “inspired in part by traditional Korean roof architecture,” according to Genesis. 

We still don’t know anything about the battery or drivetrain. It would make sense, though, to use the E-GMP platform found in Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6. Genesis could then dial up the power and battery size so that range and performance would meet the expectations of luxury car buyers. 

Genesis says the X Convertible is a “beacon for the brand” that will presumably inspire future designs. It’ll likely never be built in this form, but the company wants to show buyers what’s possible. “We have to utilize this opportunity to inject more adrenaline in the brand,” it told TechCrunch. “If somebody believes that electric vehicles cannot be sexy, Genesis will demonstrate the exact opposite.”

 

Twitter might lose even more employees following the mass layoffs that halved its workforce and shortly after the company fired engineers who publicly called out its new owner. According to The Washington Post, Elon Musk gave remaining staff members an ultimatum and asked them to commit to an “extremely hardcore” Twitter going forward. “If you are sure that you want to be part of the new Twitter, please click yes on the link below,” he reportedly wrote in an email that links to an online form. 

So what does an “extremely hardcore” Twitter mean? The report didn’t quite delve into the specifics of Musk’s expectations, but the executive apparently said that it means “working long hours at high intensity.” He added: “Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.” It’s not quite clear if the move is legal for workers in countries that have rigorous labor laws. Regardless, the email said that those who don’t sign the form by 5PM Eastern on Thursday, November 17th, would be let go and would receive three months of severance pay. 

In addition to reporting about the Musk’s email, The Post said that Twitter will be doing a postmortem on the launch of its $8 Blue subscription over the next couple of weeks, in an effort to understand why and how it had led to an influx of impersonators. If you’ll recall, things got so bad that Twitter had to suspend its subscription service, which offered instant verification and, hence, gave fake accounts a semblance of legitimacy. Musk had just announced yesterday that the company is pushing back the return of Blue verification to November 29th to make sure that it’s “rock solid.”

The Post also saw internal information and data externally compiled by a software developer that showed Twitter Blue only had around 150,000 users by the time the website paused subscriptions. That’s a tiny fraction of the 238 million daily active users Twitter said it had in the second quarter of 2022 and would only bring in $14.4 million in annual revenue. 

Further, the new Blue subscription could potentially impact the website’s ad revenue. Twitter earned 79 percent of its ad revenue in the US from merely 10 percent of its most valuable users, with the top 1 percent earning the website $40 a month. They’re also the ones most likely to pay for a subscription, however, which means they’re bound to see fewer ads as one of the perks they’re paying for. 

 

NASA’s Artemis 1 mission has finally launched after several delays caused by engine problems, fuel leaks and Mother Nature giving the agency no choice but to reschedule due to tropical storms. This is the first time NASA’s Space Launch System, its most powerful rocket yet, and Orion crew vehicle are flying together — it also officially marks the beginning of the agency’s Artemis program, which aims to take humanity back to the Moon. 

There was a tense moment before this latest (and successful) launch attempt when NASA was unsure if the rocket would lift off. The launch team discovered a leak on the launch tower’s liquid hydrogen replenish valve, and it took some time to tighten the bolts around it. In addition, the US Space Force had to fix the radar that was going to track the rocket’s launch, because it suddenly went offline. In the end, the ground crew managed to fix the hydrogen leak, and Space Force found that the radar issue was caused by a bad Ethernet switch.

NASA had to push back Artemis 1’s launch by around an hour, but that was the last time the mission got delayed. By 1:50AM Eastern, SLS was leaving its launchpad. The Orion capsule successfully deployed its solar arrays a few minutes later, and the core stage’s engines powered down so it could break away and fall into the Atlantic Ocean. The rocket’s second stage will then fire its engine to send Orion on a trajectory to the Moon. It will also ultimately break away, leaving the crew vehicle to go on a four-week journey around the Moon before coming back to Earth. Somewhere along the way, the capsule will deploy 10 CubeSats designed to perform their own science investigations meant to help future deep space missions.

Artemis 1 will give NASA the data it needs to ensure that astronauts can safely fly to the Moon aboard the Orion capsule. It will also give the agency the opportunity to see whether the vehicle’s heat shield can adequately protect the astronauts onboard when it re-enters our atmosphere and splashes down into the Pacific Ocean. If everything checks out, NASA will be able to start planning for Artemis 2, which will be Orion’s first crewed mission and will send astronauts on a lunar flyby.

 

Apple is gearing up to source chips from a factory in the US within the next couple of years, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Company CEO Tim Cook reportedly made the revelation during a meeting with local engineering and retail employees in Germany, telling them that Apple “already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona.” As Gurman notes, it would lessen Apple’s reliance on factories in Asia, particularly Taiwan, where 60 percent of the world’s processor is produced. “Regardless of what you may feel and think, 60 percent coming out of anywhere is probably not a strategic position,” Cook added.

The CEO is most likely talking about Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s Arizona plant, which is currently under construction. TSMC is Apple’s exclusive chip-making partner, though it also counts NVIDIA, MediaTek, AMD and ARM as some of its customers. The Arizona plant is expected to start running in 2024, with an output of 20,000 chips a month and the ability to produce 5-nanometer processors. 

According to previous reports, Apple plans to adopt TSMC’s new 3-nanometer chipmaking process, which is its latest and most advanced yet, for future devices. The Financial Times says the A17 mobile processor Apple is currently developing for its 2023 iPhone lineup will be mass produced using the new technology. It’s unclear if Apple only intends to use the Arizona plant for older and less sophisticated chips or if TSMC has plans to update the factory. TSMC is already thinking of building a second plant next to its $12 billion facility in Arizona, but it told Bloomberg that it hasn’t made a final decision yet. 

As the publication previously reported, TSMC has been expanding to other countries over the past year in an effort to meet the needs of customers in countries encouraging domestic semiconductor production. President Joe Biden, for instance, recently signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law. Under the new law, the US government is offering $52 billion in funding and incentives for firms building chips in the country.

In addition to revealing that Apple will start sourcing US-made processors, Cook also reportedly told staff members: “I’m sure that we will also source from Europe as those plans become more apparent.” While that’s all he shared at the meeting, Bloomberg previously reported that TSMC is in talks with the German government to open facilities in the country. Europe, like the US, also looking to entice semiconductor manufacturers to open plants in the region and introduced the EU Chips Act in April to “bolster [its] competitiveness and resilience in semiconductor technologies and applications.”

 

NASA is once again preparing to launch Artemis 1 after technical issues and hurricanes upended previous attempts. The next launch window for the uncrewed test flight around the Moon will be open for two hours, starting at 1:04AM ET on November 16th. In case NASA has to scrub it once again, the agency has scheduled another backup launch window, which opens at 1:45AM on November 19th.

The agency had penciled in a launch attempt for November 14th, but Hurricane Nicole forced a slight delay to those plans. NASA kept the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft on the launch pad as the hurricane battered the Kennedy Space Center. They sustained minor damage, but not enough to force a lengthier delay.

NASA first tried to send Artemis 1 into space on August 29th, but engine issues and a hydrogen fuel leak forced the agency to scrub the initial launch attempts. The next stab at a launch in late September didn’t work out either. NASA took the SLS and Orion back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to protect them from Hurricane Ian. Here’s hoping NASA can finally send them on their way this time.

You can watch a livestream of the latest launch attempt below. Alternatively, you can watch the launch in virtual reality. If you happen to be in Florida or the south east region of Georgia, you may be able to see the SLS and Orion soar into the skies by going outside, if conditions are favorable enough.