Startup OpenAI debuted ChatGPT in November, and within a few days more than a million people had begun prompting it with an enormous range of questions and requests. The artificial intelligence system has been trained on vast quantities of text on the internet and can answer questions, compose essays, write computer programs and generate all kinds of information.
ChatGPT can sound authoritative, but it isn’t always right, and you can’t tell where it’s drawing its answers from. It’s impressive enough to be a viral hit on the internet, though, and it’s useful enough that Google reportedly declared a “code red” response to ChatGPT.
Now, at the behest of Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google parent company Alphabet, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are looking into the issue, the Times reported. They’d largely stepped out of day-to-day operating roles in 2019.
Google has a rival AI technology called PaLM, but it hasn’t made that AI system available for public use. And it’s an AI pioneer, inventing the “transformer” technology that’s at the heart of large language models like PaLM and OpenAI’s ChatGPT foundation, GPT-3. In a blog post this week the company summarized several areas where Google is using AI, for everything from suggesting email replies to placing ads.
Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster sees ChatGPT, GPT-3 and large language models as a competitive threat.
“One possible future is that these LLMs could be built into the backend of many of the tech services we use,” Munster said in a Friday report. “This is the outcome that could hurt Google in the long-term.”
Ultimately, though, Google should be able to withstand the threat, he predicted. With four services that each have more than a billion users, and $60 billion in annual operating income from search, Google has “more than enough money to fund investments that will yield a ChatGPT competitor.”
Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.
Who among us is willing to leave the house in the dead of winter? If you can, I applaud you. But for many of us who live closer to the Arctic Circle than the Tropic of Cancer, late fall to early spring is designated the “indoor part of the year.”
Not only is it dark and cold, but it often makes us miserable too. I live in Edinburgh and I adore this spooky, gothic city, but winters in Scotland are not for the faint-hearted.
In late December, there are less than seven hours of sunlight a day, and even then it’s often so dreary that I eat my lunch by lamplight. As winter plods on into the murky months of January and February, I sense the cold creeping into my bones and setting up shop. It takes all my energy to resist the fatigue and listlessness that I can feel cajoling me into powering down my body and mind, persuading me I can afford to operate on standby mode until April.
The older I get, the more sensitive I seem to become to every seasonal fluctuation in my environment. I do all that’s within my power to combat this — I exercise, take the strongest vitamin D supplements I can get my hands on, fine-tune my diet and turn my face toward the sun at every opportunity. It’s enough to keep me functioning, if not exactly thriving.
But this year, I have a new weapon at my disposal: an awareness that the aesthetic experience of playing cozy games really helps take the edge off my winter blues. This increasingly popular gaming subgenre for the most part combines cute characters with open-world, aesthetically pleasing environments and various gathering, growing, nurturing, exploration or creative tasks to create a utopian gaming experience that’s perfect for pacifists.
Like millions of others locked down during the pandemic, I first discovered the comfort of cozy games in 2020. I sank all my nonworking hours into playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch.
I’m not alone in finding serenity in the placid, peril-free worlds of cozy games, but it took me more time than you might expect to realize that I was using them as what the internet (and probably a therapist) might dub as a coping mechanism. During lockdown they were a convenient substitute for socializing and being outside. Now, when lockdown is over but SAD season is upon us, it replaces daylight and… being outside.
There’s no sweeter gaming experience than A Short Hike.
A Short Hike
I only understood the full extent of the impact of cozy games on my mental wellbeing after sinking several months at the tail end of 2022 into Disney’s Dreamlight Valley, a life sim that — in spite of the endless fetch quests, frequent bugs, lack of updates and uncanny similarities to Animal Crossing — I persist in playing.
My misgivings about the game and how I’m choosing to spend my precious hours left on this Earth aside, time spent in sunny, jolly Dreamlight Valley genuinely buoys my mood. And I’m not even a “Disney adult.” I have noticed, though, that whenever the weather in the game shifts and the sky darkens, I immediately become indignant and morose.
“Why is it raining?” I complained to my husband on more than one occasion. “I play this game to escape the rain, not to endure more of it.”
As the Christmas break approached, I felt an overwhelming desire to spend my time off replaying the game Lake, which I first played last summer on Xbox Game Pass. I’m familiar with the seasonal tug toward specific cultural phenomena, primarily from my annual fall rewatch of Gilmore Girls, but this one was new for me.
In Lake, you play as a young woman who returns from her big city corporate job to her small hometown in the Pacific Northwest for a couple of weeks to cover her father’s mail delivery job while her parents take a trip. Every day, you wake up, collect your mail from the post office and drive around the lake where the town is situated making sure people get their letters and parcels.
What a beautiful day to deliver some mail.
WhiteThorn Games
At the end of the two weeks, as you’ve begun to connect (or in some cases reconnect) with the townsfolk, you have to decide between staying on in your dad’s job and returning to the rat race, effectively giving you the option to join the Great Resignation in game form. A romantic subplot may also sway your decision, as well as giving it the feel of a Netflix Christmas rom-com.
This most gentle of gaming experiences isn’t for everyone, but the way the game forced me to slow down and spend time pootling through the forest in my van, watching the changing light over the eponymous lake, felt deeply meditative. In fact, it mirrored the feelings of contentment and tranquility I get when I head out into the forests and glens of Scotland almost every single weekend.
As the winter draws in, these expeditions into the wilderness tend to fall by the wayside in favor of staying inside under a blanket. But the pull of the emotions I experience by standing quietly underneath a big sky doesn’t just vanish. In this regard, it makes perfect sense to me that while I was curled up on my sofa feeling melancholy about the weather, the thing I wanted to do most of all was to tumble back into the world of Lake.
But as it had since left Game Pass, I felt compelled to resort to other options. I plumped for A Short Hike, a charming open-world exploration game on Nintendo Switch where you play as a little bird who hikes up a mountain before soaring back down on the wind. I played it through one early January weekend, soaking up the sweetness of the story and joy of exploring the landscape, before feeling it carry me through the following week.
Since then, I’ve become immersed in the world of Stardew Valley. Even though I was rather put out to find myself equipped with a sword for swatting bugs — not exactly in the spirit of cozy games — I’ve been swept up in watching the seasons change throughout my bucolic farming life.
I know as the seasons change for real and I emerge from the fog of winter, these games will probably fall by the wayside in favor of genuine outdoor pursuits. But I’m also comforted by the knowledge they’ll be waiting for me the next time the clocks go back in October. When the world seems depressing and grim, they’ll be there to provide me with a little solace, making those dark, cold months feel a little less scary and a little more bearable.
It’s difficult to think of earbuds that can beat out AirPods, but that’s exactly what we found when we tried out the Jabra Elite Active 65t. When the earbuds first came to market in 2018, they fared better in sound quality than AirPods.
The sporty earbuds came to the market at $100 and have dropped down to $67 on markets like Amazon. But now you can get it at an even lower price on Woot, where the earbuds are just $50. That means you’ll save $50 while sporting some quality earbuds.
The earbuds offer up to 15 hours of use with up to 5 hours of battery on a single charge. They fit into a pocket-friendly charging case that you can carry with you. With four built-in microphones, these earbuds offer great in-class call performance.
You can personalize your sound by using the Jabra Sound plus app. There are no audio dropouts, so you won’t have to worry about audio dropouts and there won’t be wires getting in the way of workouts. Plus, they have an IP56 sweat-resistance rating.
Apple’s first-ever VR-AR or “mixed reality” device is expected this year, and already its follow-up product seems to be on hold. According to Bloomberg’s reliable Mark Gurman, a planned set of AR glasses isn’t coming from Apple anytime soon. That’s OK: AR glasses don’t seem like they’re imminent from anyone.
After a trip to Las Vegas to try out some of the emerging technologies around future VR and AR headsets, one thing is increasingly clear: Everyone’s trying to figure out AR glasses, but everyone’s trying to perfectVR headsets. The difference between those two scenarios is bigger than you think.
All-day AR glasses that are useful, work convincingly, have long enough battery life, work with your phone and function as actually legit prescription glasses haven’t materialized, although the pieces are coming into place. Companies like Meta have promised a decade-long path to these glasses. It turns out, maybe, that’s going to be the case for everyone else, too. I’ve seen smart glasses that look real but don’t do much, or glasses with AR that feel chunky and do some things, but don’t quite work with my vision and can’t figure out how to work with my phone yet. Chipmaker Qualcomm is working on this; Google, Apple and Samsung need to solve it someday, too.
In the meantime, VR already has a very real and reasonably popular product that most families I know in the everyday world are familiar with: the Meta (formerly Oculus) Quest 2.
That recognition is no small thing. I think of the Quest’s place in everyday life like the Amazon Echo was years ago: something odd that over time became familiar, normalized. Something reasonably priced, and good enough to do a few things actually well. The Quest 2 is basically a game console. Where Meta has struggled is figuring out how to expand that base beyond gamers.
The Quest 2: recognizable, and an existing product category already.
James Martin/CNET
Following Meta’s playbook is something I expected Apple would do. Heck, I expect most companies are going to do it. The Quest 2 works just like most people imagine it will, or better. It’s a bit of instant magic that’s totally wire-free.
The Quest 2 does have downsides. In fact, those problems emerge the more you use it. I find connecting with friends and social spaces gets weird and buggy, prone to lag, disconnects and way-too-basic avatars. The battery life is bad. For fitness apps, which the Quest 2 can do surprisingly well, it’s still not good at really managing sweat or keeping my glasses from fogging.
Even though Meta wants the Quest 2 and higher-end, work-focused Quest Pro to open up new ways to work by creating virtual monitors around my laptop, the connections and display quality aren’t good enough to be more than a clever experiment most of the time. I can see my laptop keyboard with the Quest Pro’s passthrough cameras, but typing feels awkward and nowhere near as good as when I’m just on my laptop… and I can’t see my phone screen to check messages, either. The Quest can show me phone notifications like a basic smartwatch from a decade ago, but I can’t interact with them.
These VR headsets can even do some basic AR, using passthrough cameras that “mix reality” to show the real world in fuzzier video, with VR layered on top. The effect is sometimes pretty amazing, and could even approach feelings I’ve had with early AR headsets like the Microsoft HoloLens 2.
So where does that put Apple? Clearly, there’s a headset coming soon. And according to Bloomberg’s Gurman, the next goal after this first expensive headset is to work on a more affordable model. It’s like Meta’s approach to the Quest and Quest Pro, in reverse. And there are plenty of things Apple could focus on to make its entry into VR (and AR) worth the effort.
Razer’s upcoming improved head straps for the Quest 2 show that comfort is still a needed work in progress for VR.
James Martin/CNET
Better comfort, better fitness
The Quest 2 is already an affordable fitness device, and pairs with watches to show heart rate and fitness stats. Apple clearly has an advantage on time spent developing the Apple Watch, fitness and health tracking, and its Fitness Plus subscription video workouts, which also have overlaid fitness stats.
Apple could emphasize workouts and fitness on its headset, with comfortable, breathable straps and face pieces that could feel better for exercise. Meta is starting to realize it needs to improve comfort for VR: A recent Razer partnership using head straps made by CPAP-maker ResMed shows a need for better materials. I’d expect Apple to make this aspect a key part of the headset’s advantages. There are other advantages, too. Apps like Beat Saber and Supernatural use music for fitness, and Apple already has all of Apple Music at its disposal.
Connect better with laptops, iPads, phones, watches
VR headsets right now have an extremely hard time working well with all the other things we have lying around us. I can’t get a Quest to connect nicely with my phone all the time. To work with my laptop, I need a specialized third-party app with its own thing I have to install on my laptop and turn on.
Meanwhile, Apple has been focusing on handoffs and continuity across AirPods, HomePods, iPhones, Apple Watches, MacBooks, Apple TVs… all over the place. That’s what’s needed to make a VR headset seem seamless and integrated into other stuff. I want to check my watch in VR, or use it to control apps. Or use my phone, and also see the phone. Suddenly grab my laptop, and the headset connects. Incoming calls? No problem. Send myself things back and forth from my phone or laptop and get all the files and things I want, and not feel like I’m on a vacation from them. That’s what Apple’s headset could set out to achieve.
That’s a best-case scenario. Much like the first Apple Watch and iPhone, the actual Day 1 functions of this headset might end up disappointing.
Better social
Even though the metaverse is on everyone’s minds, there aren’t many big social spaces in VR that work well. Microsoft’s Altspace is nice, but often feels empty. VRChat is wild, experimental, full of big features and ideas, and feels like a messy explosion that’s hard to jump into. Meta can’t get enough people into Horizon Worlds. Even when these platforms do work, for concerts or events, the limits on people who can attend at once, the lag and drop-off, not to mention the avatar limits, make it a trade-off versus any other way you could connect on a phone or laptop.
Apple may not be able to solve this any better for larger-scale experiences, but for more intimate and several-person FaceTime-like moments, Apple could make shared experiences in VR work a lot better. Meta hasn’t perfected social VR yet, and someone needs to.
The Meta Quest Pro controller, like most VR controllers, has buttons and analog sticks. Is this the only answer?
Scott Stein/CNET
Can Apple make a better controller?
The Quest 2 controllers are fine, but all of VR leans on the same game controller-like inputs for headsets. Apple’s headset could lean more on hand tracking, or wearable inputs like the Apple Watch. I’m curious if a more work-oriented controller or accessory can be created that makes the headset feel better for taking on apps beyond games. Meta’s working on a long-term, game-changing shift to neural input wristbands eventually, but it’s unclear whether this approach will end up succeeding.
I’ve been trying out experimental haptic technology recently, trying to imagine how VR could think its way to new inputs. This headset feels like the biggest opportunity Apple’s ever faced to create a brand-new type of input device that could make a big impact on the landscape. If it’s done right, maybe it’ll be the input accessory that makes its future AR glasses, whenever they arrive, seem feasible.
This is a capture of me in a Varjo XR-3 mixed reality, in a virtual kitchen, looking at myself through a window into the real room. Mixed reality can, in theory, be wild.
Varjo
Build out more interesting mixed reality
For all the Meta Quest Pro promises to blend AR and VR with its mixed-reality capabilities, not many apps tap into its extras yet. I’ve seen some mind-blowing demos of mixed reality in VR with the ultra-high-end Varjo XR-3 connected to a PC, which at least showed me ways that a VR headset could begin to feel like a portal interconnected to my own home reality. Apple could start experimenting with more engaging AR moments in a high-end VR headset, and at least get the ball rolling on things that work in advance of whenever its AR glasses are ready, years from now.
Smaller sessions in VR may make more sense right now
VR is a thing I don’t use all the time, and that’s true for most people. Maybe that’s exactly where Apple should start. It’s not a given we’ll want to wear AR glasses everywhere, or even what those glasses would be good for. In the meantime, a VR headset at home that’s meant to be worn sometimes, but not all the time, is the place most of us feel safest to start. It’s why the Quest is something people actually use.
It’s also a way to avoid dealing with questions of accommodating true prescription vision needs in everyday glasses, something no one’s succeeded in tackling, either. VR headsets sometimes need prescription inserts, but many just fit right over the glasses we already have. I prefer the easy-fit solution: I don’t need to make VR a thing I spend a whole day in. I’ll settle for a truly useful hour or two, and if Apple can make that hour or two even better than what we have now, that’s a big enough step forward for me.
If you’re holding onto a laptop that’s on its last legs and you know it’s time to get a new one, now is a great time to do so. Lenovo is extending its holiday deals with deep discounts on many of its laptops and two-in-one convertibles, including some that are less than half-price right now.
You’ll find the latest flagship ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 and the new ThinkPad X13 Gen 3 on sale, but the best of the bunch might be the new ThinkPad T16 if you want a big-screen laptop that supplies a spacious 16-inch display with a tall 16:10 aspect ratio that gives you plenty of room to work. It also includes a CPU from Intel’s new 12th-gen (Alder Lake) processors. And for the gamer on your shopping list, check out the Legion 5 Gen 7 gaming laptop with RTX 3070 Ti graphics.
You’ll need discount codes for these Lenovo deals, which we’ve listed below, but the codes should appear on Lenovo’s website, too. We’ll keep this page updated with all the latest Lenovo deals.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad T series is second only to the company’s flagship X1 Carbon line in the ThinkPad pecking order. The ThinkPad T14s is a slimmer version of the ThinkPad T14, though not quite as thin as the flagship ThinkPad X1 Carbon. This AMD-based model is more than half off with code TPW2CLEAR2023 and features the new Ryzen 7 Pro 6850U CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The 14-inch screen has 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution, a roomy 16:10 aspect ratio and 300 nits of brightness.
This ThinkPad X13 is another ultraportable option for those who can’t afford the X1 Carbon. The newest addition to the line is discounted with code THINKJANand features a new 12th-gen Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The 13.3-inch display has a 16:10 aspect ratio to provide more vertical space (so less scrolling) with a 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution and 300 nits of brightness. The webcam gets a bump from 720p to a 1080p resolution for improved video calls.
Our favorite two-in-one laptop for the business set, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga boasts an abundance of hardware options and security features wrapped up in a thin, light aluminum frame. This model is more than half off with code TPW2CLEAR2023and features a 12th-gen Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. It also features a 1080p webcam and includes the ThinkPad Pen Pro stylus. The 14-inch screen features a 16:10 aspect ratio for more vertical space than wider 16:9 screens and is rated for 400 nits of brightness.
This Legion gaming laptop boasts a roomy 15.6-inch display powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H CPU and RTX 3070 Ti graphics. The display features a full HD resolution, a speedy 165Hz refresh rate and is rated for a sufficient 300 nits of brightness. You also get an acceptable 16GB of RAM and a spacious 1TB SSD. It’s $650 off with codeGAMECYBER17.
This 13.3-inch two-in-one convertible features a roomy 16:10 display wrapped in a compact, all-aluminum enclosure powered by AMD’s stellar eight-core Ryzen 7 5700U CPU along with 16GB of RAM and a spacious 1TB SSD. With the 360-degree hinge, you can use the Yoga 6 as a laptop and tablet. The CPU is a generation behind AMD’s current Ryzen 6000 series, but it should provide ample oomph for general tasks. The resolution of the 720p webcam lags behind that of the newer 1080p cameras we’ve been seeing this year.
Two rungs down from the flagship X1 Carbon and one rung below the ThinkPad T14S on the ThinkPad ladder is the ThinkPad T14. A slightly bulkier body nets you a well-rounded configuration for a lower price. This new Gen 3 model was just introduced and is discounted with code THINKJAN. It features AMD’s new octa-core Ryzen 7 Pro 6850U CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. The 14-inch, 16:10 display has a 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution and is rated for a reasonable 300 nits of brightness.
You can get Lenovo’s latest flagship ThinkPad at a steep discount with code THINKJAN. This model features a new 12th-gen Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB solid-state drive. The 14-inch display has a 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution along with a tall 16:10 aspect ratio, and it’s rated for a more than adequate 400 nits of brightness. One important upgrade the 10th-gen X1 Carbon received was a 1080p webcam for clearer Zoom calls and video conferences. Weighing roughly 2.5 pounds, the X1 Carbon makes for an easy travel companion. And having passed a series of MIL-SPEC tests, it’s rugged enough to stand up to the rigors of business travel.
The first 16-inch model in Lenovo’s ThinkPad T series, the ThinkPad T16 is heavily discounted with code THINKJANand boasts a roomy 16-inch display with a tall 16:10 aspect ratio and a 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution. It features touch support and is rated for a sufficient 300 nits of brightness. It’s also one of the first ThinkPads with a CPU from Intel’s new 12th generation of Core chips. This model features the midrange Core i5-1240P CPU along with 16GB of RAM and a roomy 1TB SSD.
While the iPhone 14 is the latest and greatest in Apple’s flagship lineup, it’s not the only iPhone worthy of attention. Last year, Apple also released the third generation of its budget-friendly iPhone SE series starting at just $429 — nearly half the price of the $829 iPhone 14.
Even with its affordable price, the iPhone SE (2022) offers the same user-friendly interface and smooth performance you’ve come to expect from any product in Apple’s lineup. And with so many offers and deals from both carriers and retailers, you’ll have no trouble getting your hands on one at a discount. Some sellers are even offering a chance to grab the iPhone SE for free, though you’ll jump through a hoop or two to get those deals.
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One of the biggest upgrades to the newest version of the iPhone SE is that it supports 5G, so you’ll be able to get faster data speeds while out and about (if you’re in a 5G-compatible area). Apple upgraded the processor to its A15 Bionic chip, and it has the same tough glass that’s used on the iPhone 14 series. It has the same overall size and design as the previous model, which means there’s a Touch ID sensor on the front. A 12-megapixel camera on the back is even more powerful thanks to the A15 processor.
Base pricing for the iPhone SE (2022) starts at $429 ( 419, AU$719) for the base model with 64GB of storage. You can bump that up to 128GB for $479 or 256GB for $579.
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What colors does the iPhone SE come in?
The iPhone SE is available in midnight (black), starlight (white) and Product Red.
Best iPhone SE deals
While the newest version of the iPhone SE isn’t getting quite the same amount of attention as the iPhone 14, there are still plenty of great deals to take advantage of. Below, you’ll find our roundup of the best offers out there to help you snag the iPhone SE for less.
Somewhat surprisingly, Best Buy doesn’t seem to be carrying any unlocked models of the iPhone SE. But if you’re a T-Mobile customer, there is an offer you can take advantage of. Customers who use T-Mobile as their carrier can save up to $215 in monthly bill credits on their new iPhone SE. Just note that you’ll have to add a new line of service, and choose the 24-month installment plan to get the discount. T-Mobile customers will also get an extra $100 in savings, on top of the usual value, when they trade in a used device.
If you prefer to buy your new iPhone right from the source, you can do that with the iPhone SE. Apple has all the carrier models along with the unlocked one. And if you’re looking to ditch your old phone to switch to the new SE, Apple is offering up to $579 off with an eligible trade-in. With a base price of $429, that means that you could theoretically get the new SE totally free. If your trade-in value exceeds the cost of your new phone, you’ll receive an Apple Gift Card for the remainder. If your trade-in doesn’t cover the full cost, you can pay the remaining cost in full, or or split it into 24 months of interest-free payments when you use an Apple Card during checkout.
While Verizon deals on upgrading existing lines are pretty slim right now, there is a great offer available if you’re looking to add a new line of service. When you buy an iPhone SE on a new line with any unlimited plan, you can save $430, which gets you the 64GB model for free. Just note that the discount will be applied in the form of monthly credits over a three-month period, even if you buy the phone outright.
And as a bonus, Verizon is also offering a chance to get a free Apple Watch Series 7 and $50 off a pair of Beats Fit Pro with your purchase.
T-Mobile is offering deals to both new and existing customers at the moment. If you’re already a T-Mobile customer, you can save up to $400 on the new iPhone SE when you trade in your old phone, as long as you have or switch to an eligible service plan.
Spectrum is another carrier that has the 2022 iPhone SE available for purchase, though the deals are pretty slim. The only offer available is an extra $100 on top of the estimated value of your device with a qualifying trade-in and a new line of service.
Metro has the best prepaid offer of any retailer or carrier out there at the moment. When you purchase an iPhone SE at full retail price and switch your existing number over to Metro’s $40-per-month unlimited data plan, you’ll get an instant $330 rebate. Meaning you’re getting the iPhone SE for a single $100 purchase, rather than discounted via monthly credits. Those who don’t have a number to switch over can still save $100 with the activation of a new line on a qualifying Metro plan. If you’re looking to purchase your phone outright, this is the best offer you’ll find, though you’ll have to actually go to the store in person to claim it.
Note: Because Metro is owned by T-Mobile, this offer is not available to those switching their number from an existing T-Mobile plan.
Buy your new iPhone SE at Visible, port in your number and receive $150 back as a gift card to spend wherever Mastercard is accepted. The deal requires you to transfer your number within 30 days and after completing three full months of service payments you’ll receive a code to claim your virtual gift card. You can also snag a pair of AirPods Pro 2 with your purchase.
An additional 13 games will work with Sony’s PlayStation VR 2 between its February launch and the end March, Sony said Thursday. Some of the titles included in the announcement are Rez Infinite and Tetris Effect: Connected.
The additional 13 titles brings the total number of games available at or around the launch to 37. Many of the games are ports from other consoles, including the first PlayStation VR, like Resident Evil Village and Pavlov VR.
A free PS VR2 update for Gran Turismo 7 is also expected to be available on launch day. People who previously bought Gran Turismo 7 will also be able to upgrade their game for free to make it PS VR 2 compatible.
So far, here are the titles that will be available on the PS VR 2 by the end of March.
If you’ve ever used the Street View feature in Google Maps, you know that you can enter pretty much any address and check out a recent image of that location, whether it’s a business, government building or residence. It’s useful for knowing what building or landmark to look for when you arrive, but Street View also makes it easier for stalkers or criminals to plan their way inside your home.
Street View gives anyone a free ticket to examine your home over the internet — maybe they want to look for any cameras or even find a side window to pry open. And sure, anyone can walk or drive by your home and do this in person, but Google Maps makes this process much simpler. Anyone with a phone or computer can do it.
Fortunately, there is an easy way to blur your home on Google Maps and help prevent others from seeing too many details of where you live. Here’s how to do it.
You’ll need to do this on your computer, as the blurring feature isn’t available in the Google Maps application on iOS or Android, and while it is accessible through the web browser on your mobile device, it’s rather difficult to use, so use a trusted web browser on your Mac or PC instead.
At maps.google.com, enter your home address in the search bar at the top-right, hit return, then click the photo of your home that appears.
Click on the photo of your home, right above your address, on the top-left part of the page.
Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNET
Next, you’ll see the Street View of your location. Click Report a Problem at the bottom-right. The text is super tiny, but it’s there.
This is the Street View of your location.
Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNET
Now, it’s up to you to choose what you want Google to blur. Using your mouse, adjust the view of the image so that your home and anything else you want to blur is all contained within the red and black box. Use your cursor to move around and the plus and minus buttons to zoom in and out, respectively.
If you want to blur more than what’s in the black/red box, use the + button to zoom in.
Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNET
Once you’re finished adjusting the image, choose what you’re requesting to blur underneath:
A face
Your home
Your car/license plate
A different object
You’ll be asked to give a bit more detail as to what exactly you want blurred, in case the image is busy with several cars, people and other objects.
Also, be completely sure that what you select is exactly what you want blurred. Google mentions that once you blur something on Street View, it’s blurred permanently.
Finally, enter your email (this is required), verify the captcha (if needed) and click Submit.
You’re required to provide additional information about what you want to blur, so be thorough.
Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNET
You should then receive an email from Google that says it’ll review your report and get back to you once the request is either denied or approved. You may receive more emails from Google asking for more information regarding your request. Google doesn’t offer any information on how long your request will take to process, so just keep an eye out for any further emails.
If you love to write notes by hand, an E Ink tablet could be a good fit. Not only do they provide an excellent reading and writing experience, they also boast a long battery life, while letting you save paper. An E Ink tablet combines the distraction-free and easy-reading environment of a Kindle-style e-reader with the digital handwriting and note-taking ability of a traditional tablet. They eschew the bright LCD displays and superfast processors of Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and Amazon tablets, favoring the efficient gray scale tech.
These devices aren’t going to replace an iPad, though, as they’re mostly just meant for reading and writing. While you won’t be able to stream your favorite show or watch the latest TikTok video on these tablets, you will be able to take them into the classroom without disturbing the professor or your classmates.
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I’ve recently spent time with the newest E Ink tablet on the market, the Amazon Kindle Scribe. Like other E Ink tablets on this list, the Kindle Scribe comes with a stylus and offers note-taking and annotation support for PDFs. Additionally, you can take handwritten notes on Kindle titles via a sticky-note application that pins your note to the text. In keeping with Amazon tradition, the Scribe will not directly support ePub files, which means you’ll need to send them to your Kindle via Amazon’s Whispersync service for conversion. The Scribe features a 300-dpi touchscreen and starts at $340 for the 16GB model, though it also comes in 32GB and 64GB versions and is available now.
So how does the new Kindle Scribe compare to other E Ink tablets? Let’s break it down.
The ReMarkable 2 is the best E Ink tablet for students who love to take lots of handwritten notes. It is only 0.19 inch thick and 0.88 pound, which makes it light and easy to carry in your backpack.This 10.3-inch tablet uses a monochrome digital display with a resolution of 226 DPI. The writing and text looks clear and sharp, and you can choose from over 40 different page templates for notes, including seven options just for musical notation. The software is easy to use, with clear buttons at the top for you to add notebooks and folders. It has 8GB of internal storage and now includes handwriting conversion and Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive integration. Those services used to be part of ReMarkable’s Connect subscription, but are now included for free with every device. The Connect subscription itself still exists, but now costs $3 a month instead of $8. It offers a ReMarkable 2 protection plan, along with unlimited cloud storage and the ability to add notes in your notebooks when you’re on mobile and desktop devices.
The included stylus doesn’t require pairing or charging but supports tilt detection and a standard 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. Practically speaking, it offers the most realistic writing experience of any tablet I’ve ever used. The screen has a paper-like feel, which gives the pen a level of friction that feels incredibly true to life.
The ReMarkable 2 also shines with PDFs. Highlights automatically straighten themselves and turn a legible shade of gray without any needed adjustment. You can add pages to PDFs for extra notes or write in the margins with ease. The ReMarkable’s thinness, two-week battery life, pen input and PDF management capabilities made this E Ink tablet my favorites.
That being said, the ReMarkable 2 isn’t without faults. The biggest issue is that it lacks any kind of backlight, which could be a deal breaker. Much like an actual book or notebook, this device requires an external light source to use in the dark. Even the cheapest Kindle now has front light illumination for night time use. It also doesn’t function particularly well as an e-reader, as the only formats it supports are PDF and unprotected epub. That means that you won’t be able to access your Kindle content or any other epub books with digital rights management software, which includes almost all legally purchasable ebooks on the market.
Ultimately, I found this tablet to be incredibly useful. This is the cheapest E Ink tablet on our list, but it’s still essentially just a PDF and note-taking device.
The Boox Note Air 2 is the most tablet-like E Ink device I tested. This 10.3-inch tablet features a resolution of 227 DPI, runs on a customized version of the Android 11 operating system and even has its own app store, where you can download third-party apps that have been optimized for the device. And yes, while it doesn’t come pre-baked into the system, there is a way to access the full Google Play store – though I wouldn’t recommend it for anything other than downloading an e-reading app, as the Boox still has an E Ink display and isn’t made for games or video. A step-by-step on how to get the Google Play store installed is in this hands-on review of a previous model.
Also, the Boox comes with only 64GB of nonexpandable storage, so you don’t want apps filling up your system. The company does offer 5GB of cloud storage from its own service for free to help transfer documents to the device, though you can also use Dropbox, Evernote and OneNote.
The biggest benefit of the apps store is that you’ll have access to your entire collection of books from your Kindle, Nook and Kobo library. You can also download the Libby app for library books, and Marvel Unlimited users can download the app and read comics, though not in color. The Note Air 2 includes speakers and a microphone, allowing you to listen to audiobooks from Audible or other audiobook apps.
This is a great selling point of the device, but I found the in-app experience to be less than ideal. Many of the features that make the Note Air 2 unique are disabled in third-party apps. For example, you won’t be able to use the pen to take notes or highlights in books on the Kindle app. Instead, you’ll have to type in notes you want to take, like using the app on any other tablet. To write directly onto books, you’ll need to have them in DRM-free ebook format. Luckily, the Boox supports a wide range of formats including PDF, epub, DOC and Mobi.
Note-taking and PDF management are strong on the Note Air 2 but not as seamless as on the ReMarkable 2. Highlights aren’t automatically straightened, and users have to choose the color and width of the marker. The Note Air 2 provides 16 options of grayscale color, but they all look the same on the device, leaving highlights looking dark and messy. The included stylus also features 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity but lags ever so slightly when writing across the page. On the plus side, you can include audio recordings for more accurate retention. The Note Air 2 also lets you open a PDF and notebook at the same time in a split-screen view, giving you the ability to read and take notes all at once.
Like the Kindle Paperwhite and Oasis, the Boox Note Air 2 comes with a warm and cold front light to help make the screen easier on the eyes and give it a more paper-like look. You can easily adjust both lights with a swipe-down menu. Plus, it also measures its battery life in weeks, not days.
While this tablet is by far the most expensive on our list, it’s also the most versatile of the E Ink tablets and does a lot well but nothing great.
You might see that the company has recently announced a Note Air 2 Plus. I haven’t tried that one, but it’s almost identical to the original Air 2 — just with a bigger battery, which also makes it very slightly heavier.
Kobo might be a smaller company than Amazon, but it’s been making e-readers for just about as long. While Amazon once made a 9.7-inch Kindle, the product never offered natural input with a touchscreen or stylus and was discontinued in 2014. More recently, Kobo was first with a waterproof e-reader, and it’s the first of the major e-reading players to make a 10.3-inch device with a stylus.
Like most Kobos, the Elipsa is an excellent e-reader and offers battery life measured in weeks, depending on use. Unlike Kindles, Kobos have a seemingly limitless ability to customize the reading experience. You can play continuously with margins, line spacing, fonts and font size to get a page that looks exactly how you want to, no matter the size of the screen. The included stylus can be used on any PDF or Kobo ePub, so it works just as well on library books as it does on books from the Kobo store.
Speaking of the library, Kobo is known for its deep integration with the ebook library service OverDrive. You can easily access, browse and download library books directly from your device, so long as your local library uses OverDrive. Borrowing an ebook from the New York Public Library was a seamless experience and one that makes all Kobos a must-have for library lovers.
Unfortunately, the Elipsa’s note-taking capabilities are lacking. There is a noticeable lag when writing with the stylus for any length of time, and the notebook features are fairly basic. Only four templates are available in the basic notebooks and only a single lined template in the advanced notebooks. Advanced notebooks do let you insert drawings, diagrams, math equations and a free-form section, while also offering the ability to convert your handwriting to text. There are only a few pen types to choose from and only five pen brush sizes.
I wasn’t able to use the notebook feature for anything other than the most basic scribbles and wouldn’t recommend it for anything more than that.
The Kobo Elipsa has 32GB of storage, a resolution of 227 DPI and a blue front light, but it lacks the warm light of the Boox. While this E Ink tablet misses the mark on long-from writing, it excels as a large-screen, library-friendly e-reader with the ability to scribble in the margins.
The Kindle Scribe comes with a fantastic 300 ppi, 10.2-inch display that is evenly lit and perfect for large-format reading. The writing experience is also very pleasant and natural, but the Scribe’s software limitations keep this device from soaring.
The Scribe looks and feels like an extra large Kindle Paperwhite or Oasis, though it lacks the physical page-turning buttons of Amazon’s premium e-reader. Words look crisp and clear, while the device itself is fast and responsive.
The Scribe’s notebooks are easy to use, but lacking in features compared to other E Ink Tablets. You can export your notebooks via email, but there’s no Dropbox or any other third-party support. There are 18 notebook templates available, including six lined options, graphing paper, musical notation and to-do lists. All of that is great, but these notebooks lack any smart features. For example, there’s no way to insert equations or convert your handwriting to text.
Similarly, writing in books and documents is too limited to be useful to serious highlighters and doodlers. That’s because Amazon doesn’t actually let you write directly on the page in anything other than a PDF. Instead, you’ll need to write on “sticky notes” if you want to handwrite a note in a book or even a Word Doc. Not only does this prevent you from scribbling in the margins of books, it also means you’ll need to take a separate action to start writing at all.
The sticky notes are then collected automatically in your Notes and Highlights section, where they are presented without any of the context in which you wrote them. It does allow you to jump to the page on which a note was written by tapping on your markings. This is great in theory, but is confusing if you have more than one note on each page, as it doesn’t pinpoint the exact location where the note was created. The Scribe also doesn’t let you write any kind of notes at all on manga, comics, graphic novels, magazines or newspapers.
Currently, you are allowed to write directly on the page in PDFs, but the experience isn’t great. The pen itself works well, but dealing with documents is more difficult than it should be. When you’re in a PDF, you aren’t able to adjust the font size or layout, so instead you have to pinch to zoom in order to enlarge or reposition the document. That part works well, and it’s not too hard to find a level that works best for you. However, once you’re positioned in your PDF, you can’t stay there. The Scribe makes it impossible to maintain your current zoom levels from one page to the next. Instead, you have to zoom all the way out again in order to swipe to the next page, just to reposition it all over again. This is a huge pain and makes reading long PDFs cumbersome and frustrating.
Ultimately, the Scribe is great if you want a large-screen e-reader or are eager to handwrite sticky notes in Amazon books. But it just isn’t quite good enough at either PDFs or in-line note-taking to recommend it as anything other than a gigantic, but excellent, Kindle.
Every E Ink tablet undergoes extensive hands-on testing. In this case, each tablet was used for one week of rehearsal in a professional theatrical production. This involved evaluating the set-up process, loading PDFs and books onto the devices, and using both the device and included stylus as a script during full six-hour days of rehearsal. Tasks included highlighting, taking notes in the margins, and creating and taking detailed notes in notebooks. We also downloaded ebooks onto the device and used it as a recreational e-reader.
Anecdotally, we considered the hardware design and features, stylus capabilities, overall ease of use, effective UI layouts, notebook settings, E Ink settings, PDF markup capabilities, e-reading settings and format compatibility, app support and performance, and the overall speed and reliability of the system.
E Ink tablet FAQ
How is an E Ink tablet different from an e-reader?
Both e-readers and E Ink tablets use E Ink technology to render words and images on the page. They both offer a distraction-free experience that’s easier on the eyes than a traditional LCD color screen.
E-readers tend to be smaller than size and focus only on the experience of reading a book or PDF. E Ink tablets offer e-reading features but also include the ability to use a stylus to write notes in a digital notebook and/or in the margins of PDFs and ebooks. Since handwriting is integral to the E Ink tablet experience, the devices themselves tend to be bigger in order to more closely approximate the size of a sheet of paper.
Who are E Ink tablets for?
E Ink tablets are best suited for people who enjoy writing notes or sketching by hand and who need to read and markup lots of PDF or DRM-free ebooks. They could be a particularly good fit for students, lawyers or any other professional in need of a digital, distraction-free note-taking device.
They aren’t for people who want constant notifications, fast processing speeds, to watch videos or play games.
An iPhone that provides almost the same performance as the iPhone 14 for roughly half the price sounds like a great idea, right? Apparently not. If analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is to be believed, Apple may scrap the next version of its wallet-friendly iPhone SE, which was expected to arrive next year.
“The supply chain has received instructions from Apple indicating that the production and shipment plans for the 2024 iPhone SE 4 have been canceled rather than delayed,” Kuo wrote in a Medium post on Jan. 6.
If Kuo’s predictions are correct, only Apple knows the reasoning behind the cancellation. But research and media reports suggest there may be a very simple answer. More expensive iPhone models tend to be more popular, possibly leaving little incentive for Apple to continue pursuing cheaper phones like the iPhone SE.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.
The third-gen iPhone SE, which debuted in March, starts at $429 and is essentially an iPhone 8 stuffed with the guts of an iPhone 13. CNET’s Patrick Holland called it a “mind-blowing value” in his iPhone SE (2022) review, but he also highlighted missing elements that make it feel dated, like its lack of a full-screen design or night mode for the camera.
Previous generations of the iPhone SE took a similar approach; the 2020 version essentially had the same design but had the iPhone 11’s chip. The 2016 model had the body of an iPhone 5S with the processor of an iPhone 6S. A rumored fourth-gen iPhone SE was expected to adopt a new design similar to the iPhone XR, according to YouTube personality and gadget leaker Jon Prosser.
To understand why Apple may have canceled its next iPhone SE, consider the changes Apple recently made in its iPhone 14 lineup. In a departure from the prior two years, Apple did not release a cheaper “Mini” version of its new flagship iPhone in 2022. Instead, it released a larger version of the regular iPhone 14 called the iPhone 14 Plus, which is $100 more expensive than the regular $799 iPhone 14, raising the barrier to entry for shoppers.
This change followed reports from Nikkei Asian Review and Kuo (via MacRumors) that Apple would scrap the iPhone Mini in 2022, with the former adding that the Mini model didn’t resonate with consumers. Taken together, the elimination of the Mini and reports that next year’s rumored iPhone SE may have been axed could indicate that Apple is pivoting away from releasing smaller, cheaper iPhones.
But Gene Munster, managing partner for tech investment firm Loup and a longtime Apple analyst, doesn’t see it that way. He believes the iPhone SE still plays an important role in Apple’s lineup because of its low price.
“It’s still, I think, the best bang for your buck when it comes to an iPhone,” he said.
Apple is rumored to scrap next year’s iPhone SE as it experiences high demand for more expensive phones like the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max (pictured)
James Martin/CNET
Evidence suggests that more expensive iPhones tend to be top sellers, which might help explain the shift. The average selling price of an iPhone rose 7% year over ear in the third quarter of 2022, according to Counterpoint Research. The market research firm also reported in June that Apple dominated the global market for premium phones with a 62% share in the first quarter of 2022. It’s important to note that Counterpoint defines premium phones as devices that cost $400 and higher, meaning the third-gen iPhone SE would fall into that category since it starts at $429. The report, however, did say that Apple’s growth in the premium category largely came from the iPhone 13 lineup.
The pricier iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max also appear to be the stars of Apple’s new smartphone lineup so far. The Information reported that Apple cut production of the iPhone 14 Plus within two weeks of its launch, while research firm Trendforce says Apple boosted production of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. Kuo also said on Twitter in September that the iPhone 14 Pro Max was responsible for about 60% of Apple’s order increase for the Pro lineup, hinting that Apple’s most expensive new iPhone is also its most popular. A November 2022 report from Wave7 Research also said 38 out of 39 surveyed carrier service representatives said they didn’t have in-store inventory of the iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max.
The iPhone SE, meanwhile, has only accounted for roughly 5% to 8% of quarterly US iPhone sales over the past two years, said Josh Lowitz of Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. When looking at total volumes for the newest iPhone models in a given year, the Pro versions typically account for 35% to 40% of sales, while the iPhone SE makes up about 20%, according to Munster.
Carrier discounts have also made it easier to snag high-end phones at cheaper prices, especially when trading in an old device, as my colleague Eli Blumenthal pointed out following the iPhone 13’s launch. Many US shoppers also pay for their phones in monthly installment plans through carriers, which can make higher prices easier to swallow. Both of those factors can make the case for buying a less expensive iPhone with fewer features all the more challenging.
“Because you’re paying over such a long period of time … the $100 price difference, or even a $200 price difference, isn’t that much per month,” said Lowitz.
At the same time, Samsung has seen success in the market for lower-priced phones. Its Galaxy A phones, which typically cost hundreds of dollars less than its flagship Galaxy S phones, accounted for 58% of Samsung’s smartphone unit sales in 2021, according to Counterpoint Research data previously provided to CNET. Samsung’s Galaxy A phones have modern features not found on the iPhone SE, such as a camera with multiple lenses and larger screens, although they often run on less powerful processors than Samsung’s pricier phones.
The notion that Apple may have canceled the 2024 iPhone SE raises questions about the future of the SE line in general. Apple extended the SE branding to the Apple Watch in 2020 for the first time and launched a sequel to that product in September.
iPhone SE (2022): Apple’s Cheaper Phone Brings 5G to a Classic Design
The fact that Apple had brought the SE line to another product had made it seem like a more permanent fixture in Apple’s lineup. But if Kuo’s insight turns out to be accurate, the iPhone SE’s days may be numbered. And once you take a closer look at how Apple’s smartphone lineup has changed and the data around phone shipments, it’s easy to understand why.
But Munster isn’t convinced that cheaper iPhones like the SE are going away for good. Having a more affordable option makes it easier for Apple to achieve its broader goal of bringing more customers into its web of products and services.
“I think that plays an important role,” he said. “I don’t think Apple’s giving up on that price point.”
