The Morning After: Apple unveiled its $549 AirPods Max headphones
Apple has new audio gear, Sonos makes a key upgrade and we reviewed Lenovo's foldable PC.
Despite it being December, Apple just won’t stop launching new devices and services. It blindsided most of us yesterday when it revealed its long-rumored AirPods Max — the company’s first over-ear headphones — along with a concrete launch date for Fitness+. The company’s exercise subscription service will land December 14th, while the AirPods Max (available for pre-order today) will ship on December 15th — as long as you’re willing to stump up $549.
It’s a lot of money for the over-ear headphones, which feature active noise cancellation (ANC), hands-free access to Siri, adaptive EQ and spatial audio in addition to what Apple calls “incredible high-fidelity audio.” The AirPods Pro (which are smaller buds, admittedly) retail for less than half ($249) in Apple’s own stores and sneak under the $200-mark elsewhere.
And if you want to use the AirPods Max as wired headphones, be prepared to pony up $35 for an adapter, which stings our wallets a little more — a lot of wireless headphones at the $500 region include such things as a courtesy.
We’ll withhold further judgment until an Engadget editor has had the chance to test these headphones out. Apple might have the effortless interface and connectivity down, but when it comes to headphones at this price, can the audio quality on the AirPods Max best Sony and Bose’s efforts?
— Mat Smith
CD Projekt Red plans to address Cyberpunk 2077's epilepsy triggers
The team will implement a 'permanent solution' as soon as possible.
Following published reviews on Monday, reports emerged that the game’s strobing effects and rapid blinking lights could trigger epileptic episodes. Developer CD Projekt Red has since responded on Twitter, saying it plans to add a separate warning, alongside the EULA that most games show on-screen when a game is booted up. It added that the devs are looking into implementing “a more permanent solution” as soon as possible.
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ThinkPad X1 Fold review: Lenovo's foldable PC is nowhere near ready
Nearly $3,000 is just too much for a Windows tablet.
Lenovo’s latest ThinkPad is different from the rest as it’s built around a bendable 13.3-inch OLED display. The good news is that the $230 companion keyboard, which lets you use it as a laptop, is surprisingly comfortable, and the X1 Fold ran for over 13 hours in our battery run down test. The bad news is nearly everything else — this first-gen product is an “expensive experiment” with many alternatives that are more reasonably priced.
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Pornhub ends unverified uploads and bans downloads
Its days as a ‘tube site’ are over.
After a New York Times article dug into PornHub’s lackluster efforts to keep videos of children or assaults off of its platform, Visa and Mastercard began to investigate their relationship with its corporate parent. That apparently was enough to spur meaningful changes, as the company announced it will end uploads from unverified users and block downloads of content immediately.
Though the company will still allow users to upload their own videos, beginning next year it will first require people to complete an “identification protocol” to verify their identity.
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Sonos adds support for twin Sub setups
Boom.
The speaker manufacturer has confirmed that Sonos fans will soon be able to use dual Subs in their home theater setup. At least one of the Subs will need to be a Gen 3 model, the company explained in a press release, because of its increased processing power. They’ll need to be paired with another Sonos speaker, plus an updated version of the S2 app.
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The fastest-selling PC game ever is….
... a 'World of Warcraft' expansion
When you think of hot-selling PC games, you probably think Call of Duty or Rockstar’s latest epic, whether that’s GTA or Red Dead Redemption. The new record-holder, however, is an expansion. Blizzard claims that World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, an add-on to its 16-year-old MMORPG, is now the fastest-selling PC game “of all time.” Worldwide, the game sold 3.7 million copies on its first full day of availability, pushing past the 3.5 million of the previous record holder — conveniently, Blizzard’s own Diablo III.
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But wait, there’s more...
Cybersecurity firm FireEye reports state-sponsored hackers stole its offensive tools
'Halo Infinite' will be delayed for a full year and arrive in fall 2021
Anova's Precision smart oven is good at both baking and sous vide
Toyota teases an electric SUV that will launch in 2021
Ajit Pai is stepping down as FCC chairman. What happens next?
Classic Star Wars RPG 'KOTOR II' comes to mobile on December 18th
Apple's on-demand Fitness+ workouts will launch on December 14th
NextMind's brain-computer interface is ready for developers
Google opens up its curious Fuschia OS to contributions from the public
