Category: Technologies

Apple could be putting an Action button on your next iPhone. According to a report from MacRumors Wednesday, code in the fourth iOS 17 developer beta hints at functionality for an Action button on the next-gen iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models.

Apple introduced the Action button on the Apple Watch Ultra, and it allows you to run a preselected function or program when activated. On the Apple Watch Ultra, pressing the Action button can start a stopwatch or begin a workout without unlocking your device or navigating to an app.

The report said the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max could replace the Ring/Silent switch on the side of the iPhone. The Action button could have nine different functions. What each function would do is unclear, but the names of some of the functions, like Camera and Flashlight, indicate the Action button would likely be able to turn these features on and off.

Read more: iPhone 15 Pro Could See Longer Battery Life From New Chip Line

Apple has not announced any information about the next iPhone, but the company will likely unveil details of its next smartphone at the next iPhone event — probably in September.

Apple did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.

For more, check out why the iPhone 15 might need a different charger, the 15 features we really want to see on the iPhone 15 and hidden features in iOS 17 you should know about.

Google is helping robots accomplish tasks quickly and more efficiently, using technology like the systems powering AI chatbots Bard, ChatGPT, the Claude 2 and others, the company said in a blog post Friday.

Google’s Robotics Transformer 2, or RT-2, is a “first-of-its-kind vision-language-action (VLA) model,” Vincent Vanhoucke, the head of robotics for Google DeepMind, said in the post. Similar to the large language models behind AI chatbots, it trains based on text (and image) data found on the web, to “directly output robotic actions.”

Vanhoucke said getting robots to use AI to understand the world around them is more difficult than what goes into chatbots. Whereas an AI chatbot just needs to absorb a bunch of text data about a particular subject and be able to arrange that information in a manner that’s easy for humans to understand, a robot literally needs to understand the world around it. It’s one thing to recognize an apple. It’s another thing to distinguish between a Red Delicious apple and a red ball and pick up the correct object.

With the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT late last year, there’s been a rush of companies bringing AI tech to market. AI chatbots are already seeping into coding, the college application process and dating apps. Google itself is making artificial intelligence a central focus of its business — as evidenced by the fact that company presenters said “AI” more than 140 times during Google’s two-hour keynote event at its I/O developer conference in May.

Robotics is just another field in which AI models could change how quickly technology gets smarter. And for Google’s investors, the company’s advances in robotics could make for good business. The industrial robotics industry is currently valued at $30 billion and is expected to reach $60 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.

In the past, engineers looking to train a robot to, say, throw away a piece of trash would first have to train the ‘bot to identify the trash (which involves a lot of parameters), bend down, pick it up, lift it up, bend back, identify a trash can, move its robotic arm over the can and drop the trash. It was, as you may’ve guessed, a slow and monotonous process. Google says that with RT-2, which pulls from troves of image data found online, robots can quickly be trained to understand what trash is and how to pick it up and throw it away.

A robot can use a small amount of training data to “transfer concepts embedded in its language and vision training data to direct robot actions — even for tasks it’s never been trained to do,” said Vanhoucke. In a demonstration given to The New York Times, a robot was able to identify and lift a toy dinosaur when asked to pick up an extinct animal from among a group of other toys. In another challenge, the ‘bot was able to pick up a toy Volkswagen car and move it toward a German flag.

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

NASA will be launching its own streaming service later this year, the US space agency said Thursday.

The service, called NASA Plus, will feature live streaming of NASA missions, as well as original video series including new series being produced for the streaming service.

“We’re putting space on demand and at your fingertips with NASA’s new streaming platform,” said Marc Etkind, associate administrator of NASA HQ’s Office of Communications. “Transforming our digital presence will help us better tell the stories of how NASA explores the unknown in air and space, inspires through discovery and innovates for the benefit of humanity.”

NASA Plus will be free and have no ads. It’ll be on streaming media players including Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku, as well as on the iOS and Android NASA app and on desktop.

NASA also said an update of its website and app are coming. “This new web experience will serve as an ever-expanding yet consolidated homebase for information about the agency’s missions and research, climate data, Artemis updates and more,” NASA said in a blog post. You can see the beta version of the new website here.

Read more: Best Streaming Device for 2023: We Tested Roku, Amazon, Apple and More

Hello Kitty and her friends are having fun in the sun in the latest Apple Arcade exclusive title, Hello Kitty Island Adventure. If you subscribe to Apple Arcade ($5, 5 or AU$8 a month), you can play this game at no additional charge, and without ads or in-app purchases.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure was developed in a collaboration between Sanrio and Sunblink, and if you’re a South Park fan the title might sound familiar. The show made a joke in a 2006 episode referencing a game titled Hello Kitty Island Adventure, but this turned out to be purely coincidental.

“Sanrio has no affiliation with South Park,” Jill Koch, Sanrio senior vice president of marketing, sales and business development, said during a press preview of the game.

And it would be weird if this game were connected to South Park. While the show is known for its crass and sometimes off-putting humor, Hello Kitty Island Adventure is a cozy title that feels like a snug, warm blanket.

In the game, you, Hello Kitty and the rest of her friends land on a deserted island resort and work to restore it to its former glory. You can help people open and run shops on the island and furnish and decorate visitor cabins, but that’s only part of the game.

Sunblink’s chief product officer, Chelsea Howe, said Hello Kitty Island Adventure also incorporates the open-world adventure gameplay of games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

You can explore and solve puzzles in a number of dungeons strewn around the island, and you can also traverse different environments, like underwater areas and the inside of a volcano.

There are also crafting and friendship mechanics in the game. You can collect materials from around the island and use them for crafts at certain stations, like a workbench or an oven. You can give some of these items to your friends as gifts, which raises your friendship level with those folks.

Each character likes different things, though, so you can’t just go around giving pineapple cakes to all your friends. Hello Kitty, for example, likes baked goods, fruits and fancy things, so giving her these items will increase your friendship with her by a certain amount — and if you give me baked goods, fruits and fancy things, I too will be your friend.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure is a colorful, relaxing and pleasant game that will brighten up your day whether you like pastries, fancy coffee drinks or both.

You can access this game, and many others, in Apple Arcade for $5 a month, or $60 annually. You can also try Apple Arcade for free for one month with your first sign-up, or you can get a three-month free trial when you buy a new Apple device. To access Apple Arcade, open the App Store on your iOS device and tap the joystick in the menu bar.

It’s always a good idea to invest in creating your own personal website or one for your business. After you’ve come up with a name for your new website, you’ll need to decide on the best web-hosting service for you and your needs. Once you’ve found your hosting provider, you’ll then need to pick the plan that fits your setup and budget. And right now, several of our favorite hosting services — including HostGator, NameCheap, and GoDaddy — are offering massive discounts on their plans.

Looking for more discounts on hosting services? CNET has the current best deals from NameCheap, HostGator, GoDaddy and many more, along with promo code offers, updated and verified daily.

Welcome to CNET Coupons, the first stop before you shop, featuring a multitude of deals and discounts from top online retailers. Simply head over to our coupon page and type in your favorite store or brands to find all the deals available for the week.

The iPad Pro is one of the best tablets around and it’s the closest thing to a tablet-shaped laptop replacement in Apple’s ecosystem. But only if you add a keyboard and trackpad and now you can do that for just $58.

The WIWU iPad keyboard case would normally sell for just shy of $100, but if you order now you’ll pay just $58 and save 41%. You don’t need to enter any discount codes or clip any on-screen coupons here, either. Just place that order and wait.

This particular deal relates to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro version, but there’s one that fits the 11-inch model if that’s more your size. The discount isn’t quite as big, but you’ll only pay a couple of dollars more.

Regardless, you’ll be getting a magnetic detachable keyboard that also has a trackpad built in, turning your tablet into a laptop using a process that feels like magic. The case itself provides protection against drops while the 0- to 180-degree tilt makes the stand perfect for watching content or typing essays.

The keyboard itself is backlit for those midnight typing sessions and it’ll run for around 80 hours before it needs charging. Use the keyboard infrequently? It’ll go for up to 150 days before it needs attention.

If adding a keyboard and trackpad to your iPad Pro will boost your productivity make sure to get your order in now while this discount still applies. And make sure that you choose the model that matches your particular tablet.

Have an older Verizon unlimited plan? The carrier would really like you to move to one of its newer (and potentially pricier) options. Starting on Aug. 29 Verizon will be raising the rates for those still on its Go, Beyond, Above and 5G Start unlimited plans by $3 per line, per month.

For Go and Beyond users, this impacts those who were on a later version of these plans dubbed “Go Unlimited 2.0” and “Beyond Unlimited 2.0” by the carrier. The earlier “1.0” versions of these plans saw their own price hikes get revealed back in February.

A support page for the carrier says that the new fee will appear on bills as a “Plan Rate Adjustment.” Those who have basic phones on their account will also see their bills go up by $5 per month, per line.

Verizon says its newer plans aren’t affected by this latest hike. In May it revamped its lineup, distilling its offering to two main unlimited plans while also no longer bundling once-included perks like the Disney Bundle (which includes Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu).

A Verizon spokesperson says in a statement provided to CNET that the move is being done so that the carrier can “continue improving our industry-leading network and services,” adding that anyone affected “will be notified of a new plan rate adjustment by email, direct mail and in their next bill.”

“We encourage customers to move to the new Unlimited Plus or Unlimited Welcome plan at any time to take advantage of even more value and perks of their choice.”

The new increase is the latest from Verizon as it continues to look to maximize revenue from existing accounts. While its consumer division continued to lose customers in its most recent quarter, the carrier said its revenue in that unit was up 3.5% year-over-year thanks to higher average revenue per account.

In its earnings release it outright credited the bump to being “driven primarily by pricing actions implemented in recent quarters, the larger allocation of administrative and telco recovery fees from other revenue into wireless service revenue” as well as an increase in wireless broadband subscribers.

Verizon isn’t the only carrier raising rates on older plans, however. Earlier this week AT&T sent out messages to its users that it will be bumping up the price on its older Unlimited Elite plan next month.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be one of the biggest games of the year when it arrives in October. Sony plans to release a special PlayStation 5 and accessories in September to celebrate the occasion.

The Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Limited Edition PS5 bundle is a uniquely designed console and DualSense wireless controller based on the Venom symbiote featured in the game. Sony revealed the bundle last week along with a new trailer for the upcoming game. Preorders for the bundle, controller and console covers opened on Friday at select retailers.

The limited edition DualSense controller from the bundle can be purchased by itself for those who don’t need a new PS5.

Sony also has console covers with the same limited edition design for the standard and digital PS5.

The Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Limited Edition PS5 bundle, DualSense wireless controller and console covers will be shipped on Sept. 1.

A win for either side in this Group D clash should guarantee their safe passage to the Women’s World Cup knockout stages, as England take on Denmark today at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney.

Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses are one of the tournament favorites, but were made to work for their 1-0 win against outsiders Haiti in their group opener.

Denmark, meanwhile, also notched up a 1-0 win in their first match of the tournament, with Amalie Vangsgaard’s late strike enough to earn them victory over China.

Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch England vs. Denmark, no matter where you are in the world.

England vs. Denmark: When and where?

This Group D clash takes place at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Friday, July 28.

Kick-off is set for 6:30 p.m. AEST local time in Australia, which makes it a 4:30 a.m. ET or 1:30 a.m. PT start in the US and Canada, and a 9:30 a.m. BST kick-off in the UK.

How to watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 online from anywhere using a VPN

If you find yourself unable to view the tournament locally, you may need a different way to watch this match — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.

With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Australia, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.

Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.

Livestream England vs. Denmark in the US

This Women’s World Cup match is being broadcast on FS1 in the US. If you’re already a subscriber, you can livestream games via the Fox website. If you’re not, you’ll need a live TV streaming service that carries Fox, the least expensive being Sling TV Blue.

Numerous other live TV streaming services carry FS1 as well, namely YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, DirecTV Stream and Fubo. They all cost more than Sling TV, but they also carry more channels. Check out our live TV streaming channel guide for details.

NBC-owned Telemundo, meanwhile, offers all the games in Spanish, which can also be viewed via NBC’s streaming platform Peacock Premium.

One further option in the US for watching matches comes with Tubi TV, which is offering full-length replays of the games in English minutes after they end on the free ad-supported streaming service. You’ll have to sign up for a Tubi account in order to get the games, but you won’t need a credit card or subscription.

Watch England vs. Denmark for free in the UK

Football fans in the UK are among the luckiest in the world, as all matches of the FIFA Women’s World Cup being shown live on free-to-air channels, with the BBC and ITV sharing broadcast duties. This game will be shown live on BBC1, which means viewers in the UK will be able to stream the game for free on BBC iPlayer. Coverage starts at 9 a.m. BST on Friday morning.

Stream England vs. Denmark in Canada

Comprehensive live coverage of the 2023 Women’s World Cup will be available in Canada via TSN. Cord cutters can watch via the network’s streaming service TSN Plus.

Stream England vs. Denmark for free in New Zealand

Live coverage of 2023 Women’s World Cup for the co-host nation is with free-to-air channel Prime. Kick-off for this match is at 8:30 p.m. NZST.

Quick tips for streaming the 2023 Women’s World Cup using a VPN

• With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming the Women’s World Cup action live may vary.
• If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
• If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
• All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
• And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.

With the sales of vinyl booming, music fans will tell you there’s nothing that compares to the rich sound of a record player. There’s an intrinsic joy to picking out one of your favorite records, pulling it out of its sleeve and placing it on a turntable. As the needle drops on the vinyl, you’re transported elsewhere. Not only is it a completely different experience, but some folks insist that it makes you feel closer to the artists who made the music.

That’s why CNET has tested and rounded up some of the very best record players on the market right now. If you’re on the lookout for a new system, you have a lot of options. Not only can you find affordable speakers, but there are also plenty of high-quality turntables, including models with Bluetooth connectivity. Superior analog sound often requires spending more money, but it’s not necessary. If you’re a vinyl enthusiast, you could start with something like the $149 Audio-Technica AT-LP60X workhorse — it’s simple and it’s good.

Based on my hours of testing and comparisons between models at every level, the best turntable for most people is the Fluance RT82 ($299). It offers excellent design, killer old-school looks and great sound quality for the money. But, if you’re looking to spend a lot more than that, the best turntable I’ve tested is the U-Turn Orbit Theory. It offers killer sound quality and looks every bit the premium model it is. Need more information? This guide will fill you in on the models CNET has tested and the features you should be looking out for, from $45 and up. If you’re a music lover, dust off your vinyl collection and keep reading.

The best record players compared

Product	Fluance RT82	Audio Technica AT-LP60X	Crosley C10A	Pro-Ject T1	Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO	Pro-Ject Debut Pro	U-Turn Orbit Theory	Rega Planar 3
Price	$300	$149	$290	$399	$499	$999	$999	$1,399
Cartridge	Ortofon OM10	Audio Technica AT3600L	Ortofon OM5E	Ortofon OM5E	Sumiko Rainier	Sumiko Rainier	Ortofon 2M Blue	Ortofon 2M Blue
33/45 speed switch	✔	✔	✘	✘	✔	✔	✔	✘
Onboard preamp	✘	✔	✘	✘	✘	✘	Optional	✘
Adjustable feet	✔	✘	✘	✘	✔	✔	✔	✘
Platter	Metal	Metal	Metal	Glass	Metal	Metal	Acrylic	Glass
Removable headshell	✔	✘	✘	✘	✘	✘	✘	✘
Weight (lbs)	14.1	5.7	12.1	11	12.4	13.2		13.23

Other products we’ve tested

Most of the turntable models I’ve tested for this buyer’s guide have at least something to recommend them — whether it be design, sound quality or both. The following are ranked in order of commendability.

• Music Hall MMF-1.3 ($347): The Music Hall MMF-1.3 is a good turntable at a decent price. It has an even-handed response with all types of music but it wasn’t as engaging as the Fluance RT82. If you’re looking to plug a turntable straight into any receiver without a phono preamp this is the model we’d opt for.
• Fluance RT85 ($500): Unless you have a mellow-sounding system, the Fluance RT85’s combination of an Ortofon 2M Blue and acrylic platter seems like one upgrade too far. The RT85 will be too much for already-bright systems and the Pro-Ject T1 and Debut EVO are a better value at this level.
• Audio-Technica AT-LPW40WN ($379): With its carbon-fiber tonearm and natural wood veneer plinth, the Audio-Technica features excellent design, but it’s a mixed bag in terms of sound quality. The table sounded boomy when plugged into a phono preamplifier, and while it was more neutral with the onboard preamp, it was still a little ho-hum.
• Victrola Stream Carbon ($699): The first turntable to work wirelessly with Sonos, the Victrola Stream Carbon is easy to set up and play on any compatible speaker. The turntable’s a lot of fun and the sound quality was fine enough, but sadly the ergonomics were a little off. Specifically, the two components you use every time — the power-speed switch and the tonearm lift — are almost comically tiny. Read Victrola Stream Carbon first take.

• U-Turn Orbit Plus ($329): While it’s better-sounding than I remember the original being, the U-Turn couldn’t compete with the performance of other players around $300. The turntable sounded truncated with a lack of extended high frequencies, and on the hardware side, the lack of a cue lever felt like a glaring omission.
• Crosley Cruiser Deluxe ($45): The “suitcase-style” turntable is hyper-popular due to its combination of eye-catching design and cheap pricing. The Deluxe has a plethora of features including Bluetooth in/out plus RCA out, but some compromises appear to have been made including a cheaper stylus. It’s a fun toy, but in the end it’s the Crosley’s poor sound quality which disappoints. The Victrola Eastwood (below) sounds better, but it has its own issues.
• Victrola Eastwood ($85): Unlike the competitive Crosley Cruiser Deluxe, the Victrola offers a proper cartridge (no plastic moving parts here) and compact styling. While it also sounds better than its competitor, the Eastwood’s main problem is that the lid gets in the way when you try to change records, which could lead to damaging your vinyl.

Record player FAQs

How I tested

All of these turntables offer a phono-level output — an unamplified signal that needs RIAA equalization. I used a combination of gear including a Rotel RA1592 amplifier, Onkyo TX-NR696, Q Acoustics 3050i tower speakers. and the Cambridge Audio Due preamp.

For receivers and amps that lack phono input, you’ll need a phono preamplifier. CNET contributor Steve Guttenberg recommends the $100 Schiit Mani phono preamp as a quality budget option.

Two of the models offered a switchable line-level output — the Music Hall MMF-1.3 and the Audio-Technica AT-LPW40WN — and this is handy if you don’t have or don’t want an external preamp. You can plug these models into anything that accepts RCA cables. I also plugged these two directly into the amplifier and compared them against each other.

It’s worth noting that some of the models are unavailable outside North America, such as the Crosley C10A, Music Hall MMF-1.3, Fluance RT82 and the U-Turn Orbit Plus. If you’re looking for the best alternative to the Fluance RT82, I would recommend the Pro-Ject T1.

As part of the tests listened to a number of different albums including these four artists: Bob Marley, Slint, LCD Soundsystem and Miles Davis. On each turntable, I listened for bass response (was it boomy or clean?), midrange detail (low-level instruments and echo effects) and high frequencies (were they recessed or too loud?). The best turntables performed well across all genres.

More audio advice and recommendations

• Are You Ready to Upgrade to Your First Really Decent Turntable?

• Best AV Receivers Under $500

• Soundbar vs. Speakers: Which TV Audio System Sounds Best for 2023?

• Best Soundbars for 2023

• The Best Wi-Fi Speakers for 2023: Apple, Sonos, JBL and Polk

• Best Wireless Speakers to Give for 2023