Category: Technologies

The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 now have access to Double Tap, one of the biggest new features on this year’s watches. Double Tap is a gesture that lets you tap your thumb and index finger together twice to control the watch without touching the screen. The update is part of WatchOS 10.1 and is available to download now.

Double Tap relies on the new S9 chip, so it’s only available on the Series 9 and Ultra 2. It uses the accelerometer, gyroscope and heart rate sensor to detect movement and blood flow when the watch’s screen is active. That means you’ll need to raise your wrist to get Double Tap to register. It won’t work if the display is dimmed, or if you’re not actively using the watch. You’ll see a blue icon appear at the top of the screen when the gesture is recognized.

There’s a long list of tasks and apps that Double Tap works with, but some of the key ones include:

• Bringing up the Smart Stack of widgets and scrolling through
• Answering and ending calls
• Playing or pausing music
• Replying to text messages with voice dictation and sending that message
• Starting and stopping timers
• Taking a photo with the iPhone’s Camera app using Camera Remote on the Watch

Double Tap also works in some third-party apps and will perform the default action for that app. Examples include dismissing a notification or responding to a message from a different messaging app.

I’ve been testing a prerelease version in the public beta of WatchOS 10.1, and it’s been accurate and reliable so far. Double Tap is turned on by default, but you can turn it off or customize it from the Settings menu.

Double Tap isn’t compatible with every app, however. You won’t be able to use it during an activity in the Workout app, when navigating in Maps, while taking an ECG or when using the Heart Rate or Blood Oxygen apps.

Double Tap is separate from AssistiveTouch, an accessibility feature that lets you control various aspects of the Apple Watch without touching the display. To download WatchOS 10.1, go to the Watch app on your iPhone, then tap the General option and select Software Update.

Most of the latest phones from big brands start at $800 or more, and it can be tough to find discounts that don’t require a trade-in or activation of a new line. If you’re looking for a more affordable alternative, then we’ve got a deal you won’t want to miss. The 2022 Motorola Edge is a more-than-capable 5G phone, and right now you can snag it for just $250 at Best Buy, which saves you $350 compared to the usual price. Though there’s no set expiration for this deal, so we’d recommend getting your order in sooner rather than later if you don’t want to miss out on these savings.

It’s important to note that the unlocked model has already sold out, so if you want to take advantage of this deal, you’ll need to activate this device on a service plan through either AT&T, Verizon or Google Fi. Plus, AT&T customers will get an extra $100 off if it’s a new line or account. And while it’s not required to get this deal, Best Buy also has its own trade-in program where you can save hundreds in exchange for your old phone from Apple, Google, Samsung and tons of other brands.

Despite its relatively affordable price tag, the 2022 Motorola Edge 5G boasts some pretty competitive specs. It features with a stunning 6.6-inch OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate for fluid performance. Internally, it’s equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 1050 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage and its powered by Android 12 OS. Other impressive features include a staggering battery life of up to two days on a single charge, a 50MP camera system and support for Dolby Atmos audio.

This deal also comes with one free month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. And be sure to check out our full roundup of all the best phone deals available now for more bargains on devices from Apple, Google, Samsung and more.

Smartwatches have become a useful tool in our lives, especially for those who don’t want to be looking at a phone screen constantly. Apple makes some of the best, with its most expensive and feature-rich models being the Apple Watch Ultras. While the latest model is the Watch Ultra 2, you can save yourself a significant amount of money by opting for the still-excellent Watch Ultra instead. Released just last year, the Watch Ultra has been discounted to the lowest price it’s ever been, and you can grab it at Best Buy for $629 instead of $799. Amazon has also discounted it down to $630 if you’d rather go with it instead.

At face value, the rugged looks of the Apple Watch Ultra might seem like it’s mostly made for people who are into athletics and fitness, but it’s much more versatile than that. For example, it has a longer battery life than most Apple Watches, as well as a much brighter screen. If that wasn’t enough, this 49mm version of the app has both cellular and dual-GPS frequencies, the latter of which is great if you like to jog or run and want to keep track of it.

It also has the full suite of tracking sensors and features, including things like VO2 Max, heart-rate detection and the new-ish car crash detection. There’s no built-in app or metric to tie them all together, like the Body Battery from Garmin, but the stats are there in detail to view them when you’d like, and third-party apps can take advantage of them. Also, for those who are into more athletic activities, the Watch Ultra is water resistant down to 100 meters and comes with a titanium body that makes it a lot more hardy in the great outdoors.

There are many more great features to the Watch Ultra that we don’t have space to cover here, but it’s worth taking a look at CNET’s full Apple Watch Ultra review. If you’re on the fence about which watch to pick, it’s also worth looking at our comparison between the Watch Ultra 2 versus the Watch Ultra. If you decide to go for the newer Watch Ultra 2, you should check out these Watch Ultra deals for some great offers.

Netflix, a CNET Editors’ Choice Award pick, is virtually synonymous with streaming TV shows and movies. On top of letting you stream shows like Black Mirror and Stranger Things, your subscription gives you access to a library of mobile games you can play on your iOS or Android device.

Netflix Games is adding two spooky games for you to play in October in time for Halloween. One game is available to play now, and the other will be available to play on Halloween.

Here are the new titles available on Netflix Games in October.

Slayaway Camp 2: Netflix and Kill

Release date: Oct. 24

In this Netflix Games exclusive sequel, you take control of a killer named Skullface — because of course. Skullface is running amok at a summer camp, and like any good killer running amok at a summer camp, he dispatches camp counselors in a variety of ways, such as decapitation and, um, squishing. It’s your job to slide Skullface around the stage to get rid of the camp counselors in as few moves as possible.

Dead Cells: Netflix Edition

Release date: Oct. 31

Dead Cells, the award winning roguelike platformer, is bringing its action to Netflix. You might object that it isn’t really a horror or Halloween-themed game, but it does have “dead” in the title (and you’ll die… a lot). In this game, your character has to fight through creatures and dungeons to slay the king. And if your character dies, no worries, it’s all part of the experience. Death unlocks more powers for your character and allows you to learn the right pattern to defeat your enemies. There’s a reason the game’s tagline is “Kill, die, learn, repeat.”

Here’s how you can access games in Netflix’s library.

1. Download the Netflix app onto your iPhone, iPad or Android device.
2. Open the Netflix app and sign in to your account.
3. Scroll down your homepage until you see the Mobile Games carousel.
4. Tap into a game to learn more about it.
5. Tap Get Game to download a game you’re interested in.

An additional pop-up from either Apple’s App Store or the Google Play store will open, asking if you want to download the game. After you’ve confirmed that action, the game will start downloading on your device, like other apps.

For more, check out other Netflix Games titles, like Oxenfree 2, WrestleQuest and The Queen’s Gambit Chess.

If you’re an iPhone user, then you know your phone’s display brightness can automatically adjust depending on the amount of light in your environment. While it’s a useful feature that is supposed to combat eyestrain and make your screen easier to see, that’s not always the case.

The problem can be that your display automatically dims down even when you’re out in the sun. If you’re partially in the shade, your phone can get tricked into automatically dimming your screen, even if it doesn’t need to. This can make it difficult to see what’s on your screen. If you manually increase the brightness, it’ll just go back down again because of auto-brightness. Unfortunately, fixing this issue isn’t always as easy as toggling off the necessary settings — but that’s a good place to start.

We’ll show you two settings you need to disable to help prevent your iPhone from automatically dimming. But be careful — your iPhone might adjust its brightness, even when those two settings are disabled.

While you’re here, you should also check out everything we know about the iPhone 15, and what you need to know about the iOS 17 Beta.

First, disable auto-brightness

Yes, this may seem a bit obvious, but the first thing you want to do is to make sure that you have automatic brightness disabled in your settings. The feature is pretty self-explanatory — it automatically adjusts your brightness depending on the light in your environment. But if you want to prevent your display from always trying to adjust, you must disable this feature.

In the Settings application, go to Accessibility > Display & Text Size and toggle off Auto-Brightness at the bottom of the page. You would think that this setting would exist in Display & Brightness, so it’s not uncommon that auto-brightness would be enabled without you really knowing, since it’s tucked away in Accessibility.

If your brightness continues to automatically adjust, there’s another setting you need to disable.

You also need to turn off True Tone

If you have an iPhone SE (2nd generation) and later, the True Tone feature has the ability to measure the color temperature and brightness in your environment and then adjust its display to match it. True Tone is useful — it not only helps show more accurate colors across various lighting situations, it’s also easier on the eyes, which you need if you’re constantly reading on your phone.

Again, if you don’t care about the feature, don’t use it or are simply annoyed that your brightness continues to automatically adjust, you need to disable it. In Settings, go to Display & Brightness and toggle off True Tone under the Brightness header. As long as auto-brightness is also disabled, turning True Tone off should prevent your iPhone from automatically adjusting your brightness.

There is one exception though.

Don’t let your iPhone overheat

Your iPhone has several ways of protecting its internal components, and that includes automatically dimming your display. Even if you have both auto-brightness and True Tone turned off, if your iPhone is overheating it will automatically adjust the display intensity.

According to Apple, to help prevent this from happening, you should use your iPhone in temperatures between 32 to 95 degrees F (zero and 35 degrees C) and store it in temperatures between 4 and 113 degrees F (between 20 below zero and 45 degrees C). If you leave your iPhone in your car or on the sidewalk on a hot day, there’s a good chance that it will overheat, thus causing your display to automatically dim.

However, overheating doesn’t occur only because of a sunny day. A faulty battery could cause your iPhone to overheat: Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and check if your battery needs to be replaced. Another reason could be buggy software: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and more sure to always be on the latest update to deal with any software bugs and issues.

We’ve seen Motorola show off rollable phone concepts and raise its game with foldable phones in recent years. But this time around it’s come out with one that bends.

The Lenovo-owned brand has created a concept phone display that can literally wrap around your wrist. The device, which Motorola unveiled on Tuesday and which it refers to as an adaptive display, is designed to showcase future phone possibilities allowed by a flexible screen. The company says the screen can be “bent and shaped into different forms” depending on what you want.

When laid flat, its 6.9-inch screen can be used just like a standard phone with a full Android experience. From there, it can be adjusted to various stand modes. In the upright position, for instance, it offers a “more compact form of full Android” since it’s running on a 4.6-inch display. Motorola envisions people using the device for video calls in the upright position. Alternatively, Motorola says you can wrap the device around your wrist to mimic the experience of the Razr Plus’s cover screen.

Motorola isn’t the first to unveil a bendable or flexible concept phone. In fact, CNET Senior Editors, Andrew Lanxon and David Lumb each got hands-on time with Motorola’s Rizr rollable-screen concept phone as well as Samsung’s foldable display concepts from CES 2023 and CES 2022. The idea of a flexible screen you can wear on your wrist might date as far back as 2016, if not earlier. And the idea of bendable displays has been around since the 1960s, when the first flexible solar cell arrays appeared.

However, perhaps a flexible display makes more sense now than it did several years ago, as major phone companies such as Samsung, OnePlus, Oppo and Motorola prove they can successfully release polished foldable phone products. Even the retro flip phone appears to be staging a comeback into the mainstream.

That said, don’t expect a phone with a bendable display like the one Motorola just showed off to appear in stores anytime soon. This is more of an experiment. Companies tend to go slowly and cautiously with radical new designs. Given some of the hurdles foldable phones are facing, such as durability and price, it might be a while before that happens — if it happens at all.

Apple fans have been bombarded with a slew of new features this fall, from a flurry of Apple hardware and software upgrades to brand-new Apple Watches, iPhones, Apple Pencils and new editions of all of Apple’s flagship software.

And while we were all busy getting lost in a sea of NameDrops, Double Taps and Telephoto Lenses, Mac OS Sonoma brought some interesting, albeit smaller, updates that didn’t get the pomp and circumstance that they deserved this year.

Most excitingly, Mac OS Sonoma’s update brings features that iPhone users have enjoyed for several years (and some that iPhone users first saw in iOS 17).

Here are a few exciting Mac features I was most intrigued by that make my phone and computer work better together. For more, check out how to fix the most annoying iOS 17 features and the Mac keyboard shortcuts you need to know.

Widgets come to your desktop

While widgets aren’t an earth-shattering productivity feature, or even new to Apple fans, having them on your desktop is pretty helpful. For instance, some of my co-workers work on the west coast, while I work on the east coast, so I have a clock widget that displays what the current time is in Pacific Standard Time that makes coordinating with my coworkers a bit simpler.

The widgets are also super simple to use — all you have to do is right-click with your mouse or double-click your trackpad on your desktop, and a menu will pop out. You can select Edit Widgets and a widget menu will appear where you can select small, medium, or large widgets for a variety of applications. If you want to remove a widget, you can either right-click or use two fingers to click your trackpad and select Remove Widget, or you can click the small red button that appears after selecting Edit Widget to remove your widget.

You can also drag and drop widgets from your Notification Center to your desktop. If you want to add widgets to your notification center, all you need to do is scroll to the bottom of your notification center and click Edit Widgets. You remove widgets from your notification center in the same way you would from your desktop.

You can also add your iPhone widgets to your Mac’s desktop, even if you don’t have the widget’s corresponding app downloaded to your computer. To enable this, you will need to go to System Settings, then scroll down to Desktop and Dock,. and from there scroll to the Widgets section. Once in the widgets section, simply toggle the Use iPhone Widgets option on. Your iPhone widgets will be available from the widget browser that appears when selecting Edit Widget on your desktop or notification center.

Auto-sorting grocery lists

I’m a pretty organized person, but to be honest, I’ve never turned to Apple’s Reminders app for help with this. The app didn’t make much sense to me and I traditionally have opted for third-party organization apps. While these new reminders features aren’t enough to sway me away from my preferred organization apps, there are some additions that have gotten me to make use of the app.

The changes to reminders are pretty easy to take advantage of. The most major update is the auto-sorting grocery list feature. To make use of this feature, click the Add List button at the bottom of the reminders page. Give your list a name (and change the color of the list and the icon if you’d like). Then, under the List Type drop-down menu, select Groceries.

Once in the list, create the categories you want for your list. For example, my list had three categories: meats, produce and miscellaneous. After you create your categories, you should be able to start putting your list together, and the items you add should be automatically sorted. Be warned — this feature seems to be a bit buggy. My best advice is to keep trying the feature, and you can always drag and drop your items to their correct category if nothing else works.

Messages that mirror your phone

One of my favorite things about having an Apple family of products is that I can text from my computer. This sounds small, but this has proven super-helpful in my day-to-day life. When I’m working on my computer, I can put my phone completely away so I can focus, but it’s nice to still be able to be reached.

One thing that has always frustrated me about iMessage on my computer is that it feels years behind my phone. For the longest time, I couldn’t use tap-back reactions or even reply to messages like I could when I would text on my phone. Sonoma has changed this for the better — there is finally parity between phone and computer when it comes to the messages experience.

The biggest feature that I had been missing was the reply function. Essentially, this function allows you to swipe across on a message and reply directly to that specific message. I’ve found this feature particularly helpful when making complicated plans or in noisy group chats.

All you have to do to use the reply function is swipe two fingers to the right until you can reply to the message. If you don’t want to swipe, you can click the message you wish to reply to with two fingers and select Reply from the drop-down menu.

For more, here’s the best MacBook of 2023.

Until now, the chips powering your computer have largely come from Intel, AMD or Apple. But Qualcomm, a company whose chips have primarily been for phones, believes its chips will start powering your computers soon too.

The reason is generative AI, which brings new creative clout to tasks like producing text, editing photos and concocting illustrations, and which is the buzz in Silicon Valley thanks to ChatGPT, Bing and other attention-grabbing tools. Generative AI is now being built into Qualcomm’s most powerful chips, starting with the new Oryon CPU. It won’t run enormous AI models like ChatGPT, but other AI models do, and Qualcomm hopes that’ll give your next computer a leg up when accelerating other AI tasks.

To make its ambition a reality, Qualcomm has partnered with HP and other PC makers revealed at Qualcomm’s annual Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. It expects you’ll be able to buy computers running its new chips in the middle of 2024.

The new processors could be a major force in improving personal computing. Apple’s M series of computer processors demonstrated compelling speed and battery life, and Qualcomm could help bring similar advantages to Windows machines. Its processors, like Apple’s, are members of the Arm technology family that has branched out from phones to tablets, cars and even some supercomputers. Qualcomm’s previous Arm-based laptop chips have been lackluster, but the Oryon design is an entirely new design.

Qualcomm is touting big performance upgrades, too, for its Snapdragon X Elite, a new processor that incorporates the Oryon (pronounced like “Orion”) CPU, a graphics processing unit (GPU), and a neural processing unit (NPU) for AI. With dual processing cores that can run at up to 4.3GHz for shorter bursts, and it delivers up to twice the performance of competing Intel i7 10-core and 12-core processor-powered laptops while consuming a third of the power, Qualcomm says. The company also says the Snapdragon X Elite outpaces Intel’s 14-core i7.

On stage, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon showed a graph stating that the Qualcomm Oryon outperformed Apple’s M2 and Intel’s i9-13980HX silicon in single-threaded CPU performance, and matched their peak performance at 30% and 70% less power, respectively. The Oryon is capable of 50% faster peak multithreaded CPU performance over the Apple M2 chip.

“The Oryon CPU is the new CPU leader in mobile computing. It’s been designed by Qualcomm from the ground-up to have an unprecedented level of performance at extremely low power,” Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said on stage here. “There’s a new sheriff in town.”

Including AI accelerators is now tables stakes for processors makers. Apple’s M series of laptop chips already have AI acceleration technology. Intel is touting its Meteor Lake processors, due in laptops shipping in December, are the brains of a new generation of “AI PCs,” Intel says.

The Snapdragon X Elite’s Adreno GPU is capable of up to 4.6 teraflops of graphics processing power, and it supports external displays up to 4K at 120Hz in HDR10 with either three UHD or two 5K external displays.

But Qualcomm’s big swing is for on-device AI, and the Snapdragon X Elite — combining an NPU, CPU and GPU — can reach 75 trillion operations per second in bursts and can run at 45 TOPS for sustained calculations.

The benefit of all this AI hardware depends on support from software makers, too. Adobe software like Lightroom and Photoshop use AI, and Microsoft and Meta are working on their own improvements.

Qualcomm had already announced it’s teaming up with Microsoft and Meta on the Llama 2 generative AI, and the X Elite chip supports 13 billion parameters for Llama 2 at up to 30 tokens per second, as well as support for the more common 7 billion parameter AI. As Qualcomm GM of mobile compute and XR Alex Katouzian pointed out, humans can only read about 200 to 300 words per minute which corresponds to five to seven tokens per second.

“Our on-device AI can write faster than you can read,” Katouzian said.

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post.