If you’re thinking it’s a little soon for a whole new chip and line refresh, you’d be right. The M3 chip was officially announced just last October at Apple’s Scary Fast event, and we’ve literally only just seen a new M3 MacBook Air model. If the rumor is true, the entire Mac lineup will be receiving a new chip generation together for the first time.
While Gurman is well known for being a reliable leaker, until we get official word from Apple we should take this list with a pinch of salt. That being said, it’s an exciting lineup, starting with brand new MacBook Pros and a refresh of the iMac fitted with the M4 chip. Hopefully, the new iMac is another chance for Apple to finally add more colors to the iMac range.
2025 looks littered with exciting refreshes as well, with Gurman hinting at the M4 Ultra chip being introduced through the Mac Pro – a surprise given that we haven’t even seen an M3 Ultra yet. As we said when the news of the rumored refresh, the move to do a very quick turnaround and have a sweeping hardware update like this seems like a desperate attempt to catch up to the competition in the sphere of AI-focused chips and computers.
Apple is known to ‘watch and wait’ when it comes to diving into new technology, and it seems like the company is ready to introduce its take on AI-focused consumer computing. While the company has been rocking its ‘Neural Engine’ tech for AI workloads all the way back to the A11 Bionic chip in the iPhone 8, the recent AI explosion and the prevalence of neural processing units means that Apple is likely keen to give its AI tech a boost – although it definitely runs the risk of upsetting anyone who recently purchased an M3 Mac product…
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In Unrooted, botanist Erin Zimmerman shares her struggle to balance research and family.Credit: Kenneth Wurdack
Unrooted: Botany, Motherhood, and the Fight to Save An Old ScienceErin Zimmerman Melville House (2024)
Nineteenth-century English suffragist Lydia Ernestine Becker, a lifelong advocate for women’s right to vote, was also an accomplished botanist who discovered a peculiar hermaphrodite flower. She found that the female flowers of red campion, Lychnis diurna (now called Silene dioica), develop stamens — the pollen-producing male part of a flower — when infected with a fungus. She expounded on these ‘curious characteristics’ in correspondence with Charles Darwin, and published a paper on her findings in 1869 (L. Becker J. Bot.7, 291–292; 1869).
“Becker’s research led her to consider that the seemingly fixed categories of male and female might not be as immutable as they first seemed,” notes evolutionary biologist Erin Zimmerman in her moving memoir of botany and motherhood, Unrooted. Becker concluded that girls and women were lagging behind only because they received less education than boys and men. Her ideas caused a backlash, and she was ridiculed by press critics — some even implied that she was a hermaphrodite herself.
Uncertainties in science and in life
In some ways, Becker’s story foreshadows that of Zimmerman. Women in science still struggle to succeed in academia in the face of ingrained sexism. In her book, Zimmerman describes her determination to pursue a career in her beloved field of botany. She travels from Montreal, Canada, to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London, and then to the Guyanese rainforest, in search of a group of tropical trees and shrubs known as Dialiinae (now called Dialioideae) — one of the earliest evolutionary branches of the legume family. In Guyana, she encounters an enormous anaconda and a terrier-size spotted rodent called a labba (Cuniculus paca). She climbs part-way up 60-metre-tall trees, battling her dread of falling as well as angry insects.
Perhaps Zimmerman’s most powerful fear, however, the difficulty of combining her career with motherhood. She tells her boyfriend Eric that she would “certainly not be having children”, and her concerns over parenthood are not unfounded. In the United States, 43% of women with full-time jobs in science leave the sector or take on part-time roles after having their first child (E. A. Cech and M. Blair-Loy Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA116, 4182–4187; 2019). By contrast, only 23% of new fathers leave or reduce their hours.
The author experiences this herself, and she finds parallels between the obstacles faced by women in science and global threats to plants. According to the 2023 State of the World’s Plants and Fungi report (see go.nature.com/3xardd7), 45% of all known flowering plant species are at risk of extinction — a percentage eerily similar to that of women leaving full-time research.
Zimmerman’s botanical sketches, such as this one of Monstera deliciosa, dot the book.Credit: Melville House Publishing
Zimmerman’s field is hardly secure: her PhD project involved carefully dissecting decades-old, dried plant specimens stored in herbaria and extracting DNA from the samples. These collections are important for assessing extinction risks, yet they are themselves under threat. “Old and venerable collections housing many priceless specimens look to some funding bodies like dusty old money pits,” she writes. In February, Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, announced the closure of its 100-year-old herbarium, which houses 825,000 specimens, saying that the collection had become “too expensive to maintain” (see go.nature.com/4cnbyjm).
Nevertheless, Zimmerman persisted. Her plants had become beloved children, absorbing her attention. Lists of specialized terms such as leaf shapes “read like an arcane spell book”: “Ovate. Lanceolate. Cordate. Falcate. Orbicular. Cuneate.” She draws plant specimens in meticulous detail, and these lovely illustrations dot the pages of her book.
But her devotion to her research becomes an obsession, isolating her. And as she plots her path, she realizes how tenuous her dream of tenure is: there are too few faculty positions.
A different future
Despite the pressures, Zimmerman manages to maintain a life outside the laboratory: soon after her doctoral defence — a moment she has dreamed of for years — she and Eric marry in the barn of her childhood home in Ontario. One month later, she discovers she is pregnant. In the middle of her pregnancy, she lands a postdoc position at a Canadian government agricultural facility.
How centuries of sexism excluded women from science — and how to redress the balance
This is where her personal and professional lives collide. Overworked, in pain, accused of having ‘brain fog’, dismissed for her concerns about working in a pesticide-sprayed greenhouse while pregnant and, later, longing for her infant daughter, Zimmerman decides to quit. Her supervisor’s reaction is appalling: “‘I’m never going to hire a pregnant woman, or one who’s going to get pregnant, again,’ he spat. ‘You were a terrible investment’.”
This moment of misogyny leads Zimmerman to reconsider the landscape of science. Women are often derided for their reproductive choices, yet men have children, too. The highly praised Darwin, for example, had ten children with his cousin, Emma Wedgwood. Men who have become scientific heroes often dedicated all their waking hours to their research, while women — including their wives or, in the case of wealthy men, nannies — raised their children.
To slow “the haemorrhage of women” from the hyper-competitive world of research, we need better policies, Zimmerman writes. These should include protected parental leave, flexibility for new mothers to work from home, designated breast-pumping spaces (rather than the mildewed shower stall Zimmerman was forced to use) and childcare facilities at conferences, so that women don’t miss out on networking and hiring opportunities.
After departing from research, Zimmerman switched to science journalism, for which we should be grateful, for she writes beautifully. In some ways, her decision echoes Becker’s, who published her 1864 book Botany for Novices under just her initials (L.E.B.) and then left the field to dedicate herself to women’s activism. Now, 160 years later, Zimmerman can tell her story, under her full name. That’s progress.
Blackmagic Design released its annual NAB 2024 update and announced over a dozen new products, including a new version of its popular DaVinci Resolve editing suite. Other key products include the Micro Color Panel for DaVinci Resolve on iPad, a 17K 65mm camera and the Pyxis 6K cube camera.
Davinci Resolve 19
DaVinci Resolve has become a popular option for editors who don’t want to pay a monthly subscription for Adobe’s Premiere Pro, and is arguably more powerful in some ways. The latest version 19 takes a page from its rival, though, with a bunch of new AI-powered features for effects, color, editing, audio and more.
Starting with the Edit module, a new feature lets you edit clips using text instead of video. Transcribing clips opens a window showing text detected from multiple speakers, letting you remove sections, search through text and more. Other features include a new trim window, fixed play head (reducing zooming and scrolling), a window that makes changing audio attributes faster and more.
The Color tool introduces “Color Slice,” a way to adjust an image based on six vectors (red, green, blue, yellow, cyan and magenta) along with a special skin tone slider. For instance, you can adjust any of those specific colors, easily changing the levels of saturation and hues, while seeing and adjusting the underlying key. The dedicated skin slider will no doubt make it attractive for quick skin tone adjustments.
Another key feature in Color is the “IntelliTrack” powered by a neural engine AI that lets you quickly select points to track to create effects or stabilize an image. Blackmagic also added a new Lightroom-like AI-powered noise reduction system that quickly removes digital noise or film grain from images with no user tweaking required.
“Film Look Creator” is a new module that opens up color grading possibilities with over 60 filmic parameters. It looks fairly easy to use, as you can start with a preset (default 65mm, cinematic, bleach bypass, nostalgic) and then tweak parameters to taste. Another new trick is “Defocus Background,” letting users simulate a shallow depth of focus via masking in a realistic way (unlike smartphones), while Face Refinement tracks faces so editors tweak brightness, colors, detail and more.
The Fusion FX editor adds some new tools that ease 3D object manipulation and on the audio (Fairlight) side, BMD introduced the “Dialogue Separator FX” to separate dialogue, background or ambience. DaVinci Resolve 19 is now in open beta for everyone to try, with no word yet on a date for the full release. As usual, it costs $295 for the the Studio version and the main version is free.
Micro Color Panel
Blackmagic Design
BMD’s DaVinci Resolve for iPad proved to be a popular option for editors on the go, and now the company has introduced a dedicated control surface with the new Micro Color Panel. It’ll offer editors control that goes well beyond the already decent Pencil and multitouch input, while keeping a relatively low profile at 7.18 x 14.33 inches.
A slot at the top front lets you slide in your iPad, and from there you can connect via Bluetooth or USB-C. The company promises a “professional” feel to the controls, which consist of three weighted trackballs, 12 control dials and 27 buttons. With those, you can perform editors, tweak parameters like shadows, hues and highlights, and even do wipes and other effects.
“The old DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel model has been popular with customers wanting a compact grading panel, but we wanted to design an even more portable and affordable solution,” said Blackmagic Design President Grant Petty. It’s now on pre-order for $509.
Pyxis 6K camera
Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design is following rivals like RED, Sony and Panasonic with a new box-style camera, the Pyxis 6K full-frame camera. The idea is that you start with the basic brain (controls, display, CFexpress media, brain and sensor), then use side plates or mounting screws to attach accessories like handles, microphones and SSDs. It’s also available with Blackmagic’s URSA Cine EVF (electronic viewfinder) that adds $1,695 to the price.
Its specs are very similar to the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K I tested late last year. The native resolution is 24-megapixels (6K) on a full 36 x 24mm sensor that allows for up to 13 stops of dynamic range with dual native ISO up to 25,600. It can record 12-bit Blackmagic RAW (BRAW) directly to the CFexpress Type B cards or an SSD.
It also supports direct streaming to YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and others via RTMP and SRT either via Ethernet or using a cellular connection. Since the streaming is built into the camera, customers and csee stream status and data rate directly in the viewfinder or LCD. The Pyxis 6K arrives in June for $2,995 with three mounts (Canon EF, Leica L and Arri PL).
Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K and 17K
Blackmagic Design
Along with the Pyxis, Blackmagic introduced a pair of cinema cameras, the URSA Cine 12K and 17K models. Yes, those numbers represent the resolution of those two cameras, with the first offering a full-frame sensor 36 x 24mm with 12K resolution (12,888 x 6,480 17:9) at up a fairly incredible 100 fps. The second features a 65mm (50.8 x 23.3 sensor) with 17,520 x 8,040 resolution offering up to 16 stops of dynamic range.
Both models will come with features like built-in ND filters, an optical low pass filter and BMD’s latest gen 5.0 color science. The URSA Cine 12K will come with 8TB of internal storage, or you can use your own CFexpress media. Other features include live streaming, a high-resolution EVF, V-battery support, wireless Bluetooth camera control and more. The URSA Cine 12K model is on pre-order for $14,995 or $16,495 with the URSA Cine EVF, with April availability. The URSA Cine 17K is under development, with no pricing or release yet announced.
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For weeks now, unidentified threat actors have been leveraging a critical zero-day vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks’ PAN-OS software, running arbitrary code on vulnerable firewalls, with root privilege.
Multiple security researchers have flagged the campaign, including Palo Alto Networks’ own Unit 42, noting a single threat actor group has been abusing a vulnerability called command injection, since at least March 26 2024.
This vulnerability is now tracked as CVE-2024-3400, and carries a maximum severity score (10.0). The campaign, dubbed MidnightEclipse, targeted PAN-OS 10.2, PAN-OS 11.0, and PAN-OS 11.1 firewall configurations with GlobalProtect gateway and device telemetry enabled, since these are the only vulnerable endpoints.
Highly capable threat actor
The attackers have been using the vulnerability to drop a Python-based backdoor on the firewall which Volexity, a separate threat actor that observed the campaign in the wild, dubbed UPSTYLE. While the motives behind the campaign are subject to speculation, the researchers believe the endgame here is to extract sensitive data. The researchers don’t know exactly how many victims there are, nor who the attackers primarily target. The threat actors have been given the moniker UTA0218 for now.
“The tradecraft and speed employed by the attacker suggests a highly capable threat actor with a clear playbook of what to access to further their objectives,” the researchers said. “UTA0218’s initial objectives were aimed at grabbing the domain backup DPAPI keys and targeting active directory credentials by obtaining the NTDS.DIT file. They further targeted user workstations to steal saved cookies and login data, along with the users’ DPAPI keys.”
In its writeup, The Hacker News reported that the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added this flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, giving federal agencies a deadline of April 19 to apply the patch and otherwise mitigate the threat.
“Targeting edge devices remains a popular vector of attack for capable threat actors who have the time and resources to invest into researching new vulnerabilities,” Volexity said.
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“It is highly likely UTA0218 is a state-backed threat actor based on the resources required to develop and exploit a vulnerability of this nature, the type of victims targeted by this actor, and the capabilities displayed to install the Python backdoor and further access victim networks.”
Figuring out the best iPad for you can feel more complicated than it needs to be. Between the iPad Air, the 10th-generation iPad and the iPad Pro, Apple sells three different tablets with nearly 11-inch displays and mostly similar designs, but important differences in terms of specs and accessory support. The older 10.2-inch iPad and iPad mini are still hanging around as well. If you’re looking to buy a new iPad today, we’ve tested each model and rounded up the best values below in our buying guide.
Editor’s note (4/15/24): Rumors of new iPads have swirled for months, but they may finally become a reality soon. According to reliable Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple is likely to introduce a slew of new tablets during the week of May 6. Expected are two overhauled iPad Pros with OLED displays, a refreshed iPad Air and an all-new iPad Air with a 12.9-inch display. A new Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil are reportedly on tap, too. Gurman says that the new iPad mini and entry-level iPad are also in the works, but those aren’t expected until the end of 2024 “at the earliest.” Still, most people should hold off on buying an iPad until next month. We’ve left our advice for the existing lineup intact below, and all of our picks are still fine tablets in a vacuum. But if you can wait, do so.
Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
Screen size: 10.9 inches | Display resolution: 2360 x 1640 | Storage: Up to 256GB | RAM: 8GB | Weight: 1.02 pounds | Battery life: Up to 10 hours | Front camera: 12MP | Back camera: 12MP
Of the six iPad models currently on sale, the iPad Air is the closest to being universally appealing and the best iPad for most people. We gave the latest Air a review score of 90 in March 2022: It has the same elegant and comfortable design language as the iPad Pro at a lower price, with a bright, sharp and accurate 10.9-inch display surrounded by thin bezels and flat edges. It comes with a USB-C port, just like recent MacBooks and iPhones, and while it’s not a Thunderbolt connection as on the iPad Pro, simply being able to charge the Air with the same cable you use with your other gadgets is a plus.
Apple refreshed the Air in 2022 with its M1 system-on-a-chip, which is the same silicon found in the entry-level MacBook Air. This isn’t Apple’s newest SoC, but it’s still powerful enough for virtually any task you can throw at it, and an increasing number of iPadOS features are exclusive to M-series chips. The Stage Manager multitasking mode isn’t supported on lower-cost iPads, for instance, nor are the ports of demanding games like Death Strandingand Resident Evil Village.
The iPad Air is also compatible with Apple’s best accessories, including the second-generation Pencil stylus and the (excellent) Magic Keyboard, just like the 11-inch iPad Pro. These add a good bit of cost to the bottom line, but for digital artists or frequent typers, they’re there.
The middle of Apple’s iPad lineup is a bit congested. If you need more than the Air’s default 64GB of storage, you might as well step up to the 11-inch iPad Pro, which starts at 128GB and packs a better 120Hz display and faster M2 chip for not much more than a higher-capacity Air. (The display on the 2021 iPad Pro is better, too.) The newer 10.9-inch iPad isn’t bad, either, but with its non-laminated display and lacking accessory support, it’s a harder sell unless you see it on deep discount. Still, while the iPad Air isn’t cheap, it’s the best blend of price and performance for most people.
Pros
Fast, with more futureproof chip than lower-cost iPads
Screen size: 10.2 inches | Display resolution: 2160 x 1620 | Storage: Up to 256GB | RAM: 3GB | Weight: 1.07 pounds | Battery life: Up to 10 hours | Front camera: 12MP | Back camera: 8MP
If you can’t afford the Air, or if you just don’t want to spend that much on a new tablet, get the 9th-gen iPad instead. It’ll reportedly be phased out in the coming months, but at $329 for a 64GB model — and regularly available for less than $300 — it remains by far the most wallet-friendly way into iPadOS right now. And while its hardware is an obvious step down from the iPads mentioned above, it’s still capable for the essentials.
We gave the 9th-gen iPad model a review score of 86 in 2021. It’s the only “current” iPad to follow Apple’s older design language: It’s just a tiny bit thicker and heavier than the 10th-gen iPad and iPad Air, but its wider bezels mean there’s only enough room for a 10.2-inch display. Like the 10th-gen iPad, that screen is more susceptible to glare and not laminated, though it’s just as sharp. There’s a Home button on the bottom bezel with a Touch ID fingerprint scanner, and the device charges via Lightning port rather than USB-C. Its speakers don’t sound as nice, either, but it’s the only iPad to still have a headphone jack. Its 12MP front camera is also fine, though it’s not landscape-oriented as on the 10th-gen iPad.
The 9th-gen iPad runs on Apple’s A13 Bionic chip, which is the same SoC used in 2019’s iPhone 11 series. It’s not as fluid or futureproof as the M1, but it’s still quick enough for casual tasks. In terms of first-party accessories, the tablet supports Apple’s Smart Keyboard and first-gen Pencil stylus. Those aren’t as convenient than the company’s newer options, but they’re serviceable.
In the end, it’s all about the price. The 10th-gen iPad is better in a vacuum, but the 9th-gen model is much more affordable, and those savings go a long way toward papering over its issues.
Pros
Much more affordable than other iPads
Design and performance are solid for the price
Better software experience than other tablets in its price range
Screen size: 8.3 inches | Display resolution: 2266 x 1488 | Storage: Up to 256GB | RAM: 4GB | Weight: 0.65 pounds | Battery life: Up to 10 hours | Front camera: 12MP | Back camera: 12MP
The iPad mini is exactly what it sounds like: the small iPad. It’s easily the shortest (7.69 x 5.3 x 0.25 inches) and lightest (0.65 pounds for the WiFi model) of every current iPad, with an 8.3-inch display that’s more comfortable to operate with one hand.
We gave the iPad mini a review score of 89 in 2021. Its design follows closely after that of the iPad Air: squared-off edges, thin bezels, no Home button, a Touch ID sensor in the power button, stereo speakers, solid cameras and a USB-C port. Its display is technically sharper, but otherwise gives you the same max brightness, lamination, anti-reflective coating and wide color gamut. It doesn’t have a “Smart Connector” to hook up Apple-made keyboards, but it does support the second-generation Apple Pencil.
The mini runs on Apple’s A15 Bionic SoC, the same as the one in 2021’s iPhone 13 phones. This is technically faster than the chip inside the 10th-gen iPad model and, again, more than powerful enough for most tasks, though it’s a step behind the laptop-grade M1 or M2 chip.
The mini has an MSRP of $499 for the 64GB model and $649 for the 256GB model. That’s a lot, though in recent months we’ve seen both SKUs available online for up to $100 less. If you specifically want a smaller tablet — whether it’s to easily stuff in a bag, use with one hand or treat like a high-end e-reader — this is the only one Apple sells, and the best option in its size range altogether.
Screen size: 11 inches or 12.9-inches | Display resolution: 11-inch: 2388 x 1668 / 12.9-inch: 2732 x 2048 | Storage: Up to 2TB | RAM: Up to 16GB | Weight: Starts at 1.03 pounds | Battery life: Up to 10 hours | Front camera: 12MP | Back camera: 12MP + 10MP
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro exists in something of its own realm within the iPad lineup. It starts at $1,099 for 128GB of storage, which is $100 more than the entry-level MacBook Air. That’s well beyond what anyone needs to pay to do the vast majority of iPad things and a huge chunk of change for a platform that still has issues with laptop-style productivity. That said, this is the best tablet Apple makes, period.
We gave the latest iPad Pro a review score of 87 in November 2022. The displays on both the 11- and 12.9-inch Pros can get brighter than the one on the Air, and both feature a 120Hz refresh rate that makes scrolling look more fluid than the Air’s 60Hz panel. The 12.9-inch Pro’s Liquid Retina display is more of an upgrade than the 11-inch model, however, as it’s the only iPad to use mini-LED backlighting, which can deliver higher peak brightness, improved contrast and a generally more realistic image.
The Pro also runs on Apple’s M2 SoC, which isn’t a huge upgrade over the M1 in real-world use but offers more performance overhead going forward. It has the same 12MP rear camera as the Air, but adds a 10MP ultrawide lens and an LED flash (plus a LIDAR scanner for AR apps). The 12MP front cameras, meanwhile, can take shots in portrait mode.
Beyond that, the Pro has a faster Thunderbolt USB-C port, more robust speakers and Face ID support. There are more storage options, going all the way up to 2TB, and the 1TB and 2TB models double the RAM from 8GB to 16GB (albeit at a super high cost). The device still works with all of Apple’s best accessories, and it can recognize when an Apple Pencil is hovering above the display and preview would-be inputs.
It’s a powerhouse of a tablet, and if you do want to use an iPad more heavily for work, the roomier display on the 12.9-inch Pro should make it the most amenable option for all-day, laptop-style use. You’ll want to add a keyboard to get the most out of that, but if you’re spending this much on an iPad to begin with, that may not be as big of a deal.
Like the iPad mini, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is very much a niche device. It’s prohibitively expensive, and its hulking size makes it less portable than other iPads. Certain creative types have made it work as a Mac laptop replacement, but for most, iPadOS still makes multitasking and other computer-y tasks more convoluted than they’d be on a MacBook. This latest iteration is only a minor upgrade over the last-gen model too. Nevertheless, as a tablet, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is deeply powerful.
Pros
Best display of any iPad
Best performance of any iPad
128GB of base storage
Face ID
More advanced camera system than iPad Air
Cons
Expensive, and more iPad than most people need
iPadOS still has issues when used for work
Front-facing camera in awkward location, like most iPads
If history is any indication, expect Apple to update your iPad to the latest version of iPadOS for at least five years, if not longer. The new iPadOS 17 update, for example, is available on iPad Pros dating back to 2017 and other iPads dating back to 2018. How long your iPad’s hardware will last depends on which model you buy and how well you maintain it (if you’re particularly clumsy, consider an iPad case). A more powerful iPad Pro will feel fast for a longer time than an entry-level iPad, but each model should remain at least serviceable until Apple stops updating it, at minimum.
What’s the difference between the iPad and the iPad Air?
Compared to the 10th-gen iPad, the 5th-gen iPad Air runs on a stronger M1 chip (instead of the A14 Bionic) and has twice as much RAM (8GB instead of 4GB). Having an M-series SoC gives the Air access to certain iPadOS features such as Stage Manager. Its display supports a wider P3 color gamut, has an anti-reflective coating and is fully laminated. Being laminated means there’s no “air gap” between the display and the glass covering it, so it feels more like you’re directly touching what’s on screen instead of interacting with an image below the glass.
The Air also works with Apple’s latest Pencil stylus, Magic Keyboard and Smart Keyboard Folio. Its USB-C port supports data transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps (the iPad’s goes up to 480 Mbps). Although the two tablets look very similar, the Air is marginally lighter (1.02 pounds instead of 1.05 pounds) and thinner (0.24 inches instead of 0.28 inches).
The 10th-gen iPad is less expensive than the iPad Air, with an MSRP starting at $449 instead of $599. It’s the only iPad with a front-facing camera along the long edge of the tablet, which can be a more natural position for video calls. It also supports Bluetooth 5.2, whereas the Air uses Bluetooth 5.0. It works with the first-gen and USB-C Apple Pencils – which are more convoluted to charge – and a unique keyboard accessory called the Magic Keyboard Folio.
Apple also sells the 9th-gen iPad, as we detail above. That one uses a more dated design language with larger bezels, a Home button and a Lightning port, but it starts at $329.
How do I take a screenshot on an iPad?
As we note in our screenshot how-to guide, you can take a screenshot on your iPad by pressing the top button and either volume button at the same time. If you have an older iPad with a Home button, simultaneously press the top button and the Home button instead.
That’s not the only Pixel that features the new Exynos modem. Even the Pixel Fold 2 and the Pixel Tablet 2 reportedly use Samsung’s newer modem inside a new Tensor chipset.
While the Pixel Tablet was a Wi-Fi-only device, the Pixel Tablet 2 (codename ‘Clementine’) will reportedly come in a cellular (Wi-Fi + 5G) variant featuring the new Exynos 5400 modem. Apparently, T-Mobile will provide the satellite-based communication feature (using SpaceX collaboration). More service providers could be added later.
This emergency communications feature will be used for text messages in future Pixel devices. A special ‘Satellite Gateway’ app will allow users to communicate with emergency services easily. They must use the Emergency SOS feature to connect to emergency services. Moreover, they need to hold the phone in a specific alignment and direction (to connect to satellite signals), and Google has developed animations to explain that to users.
The app will reportedly ask a few questions about the user’s condition and situation. They are listed below:
What happened?
[Are you/Are they/Is everyone] breathing?
In total, how many people are [missing/trapped]?
What best describes your situation?
What is on fire?
Are there weapons involved?
What type of vehicle or vessel?
Do any of these apply?
Could Galaxy S25 feature satellite connectivity for emergency situations?
However, the Galaxy S25 might have satellite-based two-way communication for Emergency SOS services and text messaging.
Author’s Note:After the launch of the Galaxy S23, Samsung MX CEO TM Roh said that the ecosystem for satellite-based messaging and emergency services isn’t mature yet. He said that the company will wait for the ecosystem to mature before bringing it to Galaxy phones. Since Android 15 has built-in support for the feature, the Galaxy S25 may finally have that feature. It also looks like a possibility as the Galaxy S25 is pegged to be a major launch for the South Korean firm.
Artificial General Intelligence, when it exists, will be able to do many tasks better than humans. For now, the machine learning systems and generative AI solutions available on the market are a stopgap to ease the cognitive load on engineers, until machines which think like people exist.
Generative AI is currently dominating headlines, but its backbone, neural networks, have been in use for decades. These Machine Learning (ML) systems historically acted as cruise control for large systems that would be difficult to constantly maintain by hand. The latest algorithms also proactively respond to errors and threats, alerting teams and recording logs of unusual activity. These systems have developed further and can even predict certain outcomes based on previously observed patterns.
This ability to learn and respond is being adapted to all kinds of technology. One that persists is the use of AI tools in envirotech. Whether it’s enabling new technologies with vast data processing capabilities, or improving the efficiency of existing systems by intelligently adjusting inputs to maximize efficiency, AI at this stage of development is so open ended it could theoretically be applied to any task.
Roman Khavronenko
Co-Founder of VictoriaMetrics.
AI’s undeniable strengths
GenAI isn’t inherently energy intensive. A model or neural network is no more energy inefficient than any other piece of software when it is operating, but the development of these AI tools is what generates the majority of the energy costs. The justification for this energy consumption is that the future benefits of the technology are worth the cost in energy and resources.
Some reports suggest many AI applications are ‘solutions in search of a problem’, and many developers are using vast amounts of energy to develop tools that could produce dubious energy savings at best. One of the biggest benefits of machine learning is its ability to read through large amounts of data, and summarize insights for humans to act on. Reporting is a laborious and frequently manual process, time saved reporting can be shifted to actioning machine learning insights and actively addressing business-related emissions.
Businesses are under increasing pressure to start reporting on Scope 3 emissions, which are the hardest to measure, and the biggest contributor of emissions for most modern companies. Capturing and analyzing these disparate data sources would be a smart use of AI, but would still ultimately require regular human guidance. Monitoring solutions already exist on the market to reduce the demand on engineers, so taking this a step further with AI is an unnecessary and potentially damaging innovation.
Replacing the engineer with an AI agent reduces human labor, but removes a complex interface, just to add equally complex programming in front of it. That isn’t to say innovation should be discouraged. It’s a noble aim, but do not be sold a fairy tale that this will happen without any hiccups. Some engineers will be replaced eventually by this technology, but the industry should approach it carefully.
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Consider self-driving cars. They’re here, they’re doing better than an average human-driver. But in some edge cases they can be dangerous. The difference is that it is very easy to see this danger, compared to the potential risks of AI.
Today’s ‘clever’ machines are like naive humans
AI agents at the present stage of development are comparable to human employees – they need training and supervision, and will gradually become out of date unless re-trained from time to time. Similarly, as has been observed with ChatGPT, models can degrade over time. The mechanics that drive this degradation are not clear, but these systems are delicately calibrated, and this calibration is not a permanent state. The more flexible the model, the more likely it can misfire and function suboptimally. This can manifest as data or concept drift, an issue where a model invalidates itself over time. This is one of many inherent issues with attaching probabilistic models to deterministic tools.
A concerning area of development is the use of AI in natural language inputs, trying to make it easier for less technical employees or decision makers to save on hiring engineers. Natural language outputs are ideal for translating the expert, subject specific outputs from monitoring systems, in a way that makes the data accessible for those who are less data literate. Despite this strength even summarizations can be subject to hallucinations where data is fabricated, this is an issue that persists in LLMs and could create costly errors where AI is used to summarize mission critical reports.
The risk is we create AI overlays for systems that require deterministic inputs. Trying to make the barrier to entry for complex systems lower is admirable, but these systems require precision. AI agents cannot explain their reasoning, or truly understand a natural language input and work out the real request in the way a human can. Moreover, it adds another layer of energy consuming software to a tech stack for minimal gain.
We can’t leave it all to AI
The rush to ‘AI everything’ is producing a tremendous amount of wasted energy, with 14,000 AI startups currently in existence, how many will actually produce tools that will benefit humanity? While AI can improve the efficiency of a data center by managing resources, ultimately that doesn’t manifest into a meaningful energy saving as in most cases that free capacity is then channeled into another application, using any saved resource headroom, plus the cost of yet more AI powered tools.
Can AI help achieve sustainability goals? Probably, but most of the advocates fall down at the ‘how’ part of that question, in some cases suggesting that AI itself will come up with new technologies. Climate change is now an existential threat with so many variables to account for it stretches the comprehension of the human mind. Rather than tackling this problem directly, technophiles defer responsibility to AI in the hope it will provide a solution at some point in future. The future is unknown, and climate change is happening now. Banking on AI to save us is simply crossing our fingers and hoping for the best dressed up as neo-futurism.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
Cybersecurity and compliance training programs are now big business. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the security awareness training market hit $5.6 billion in 2023 and is expected to surpass $10 billion in the next four years. This market boom is no surprise: cyber threats are rampant and large-scale attacks continue making headlines, most recently hitting the British Library, just to name a UK example, and disrupting their ability to function. All of this proves that every organization, no matter its size, is at risk of a breach.
Social engineering techniques, where an attacker targets the people who have access to systems (rather than the systems themselves) and manipulates them into handing over control, were the most popular malicious tactics in 2023. Businesses are therefore correct to recognize that people are a key vulnerability.
Annual cybersecurity awareness training is a regular feature on the calendar for most organizations in an attempt to ensure that every person within every department develops their cyber awareness skills, and is able to spot threats and respond accordingly before they become a major issue. In the face of fast-evolving security threats, this training is often outdated and can take months or even years later to bring that education to help people recognize the tactics used.
Neil Thacker
Chief Information Security Officer EMEA, Netskope.
Should training come around quicker than every year?
Ask any security leader and they wouldn’t be hard pressed to admit that employees find annual cybersecurity training time-consuming and uninspiring. Often viewed as a distraction for an employee, many will click through, skim read, watch videos at double-speed and pursue whatever shortcuts they can find to reach the completion certificate, check the box and carry on with their working day.
What’s more, the often limited interactivity of each annual training course fails to capture and maintain employees’ attention. Retention rates plummet without active engagement, and many training schemes lack any form of connecting the employee to real-world scenarios that could occur in their specific job function.
Even for those outliers who find annual training engaging and insightful, there is still little evidence it truly educates individuals or leads to positive behavior changes. As a result, they serve as little more than compliance checkboxes, as opposed to being a proactive measure to build a culture of vigilance and defend against threats. Ultimately, it’s not an efficient use of both time and resources, and cyber attacks continue their steady momentum.
It’s worth also noting that malicious actors specifically build their campaigns in a way that even the best trained employee forgets their general cybersecurity logic. This includes preying on emotional – rather than logical – behavior, and harnessing a sense of urgency to specifically guide the victim out of their logical and trained approach.
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So, how do we go beyond education? Organizations everywhere need behavioral intervention that helps to point people back toward logical thinking before they take big cyber risks.
Nudging toward greater cyber hygiene
Small, regular and human-centric intervention is an ideal route for effective long-term behavioral shifts. An example of this is nudge theory – a general set of principles aimed to guide human behavior down a more desirable path. It’s a well-established concept that has been hugely successful in the past, steering people toward healthier food choices and pro-environmental behavior, and requires only small changes in decision making at crucial moments when they’re moving through (often automatic) behaviors. Applying this to the world of cybersecurity, therefore, feels like a no brainer.
In the same way that radar speed signs show your current speed – giving you a second to think and adapt your behavior – we should have signals at work letting us know when we’re about to participate in risky cyber behavior and encourage us to slow down and think.
This human-centric route of prevention can be highly effective, and is a tool that should be more widely known and accessible for enterprises. Real time user coaching, for example, harnesses AI detection to instantly flag a high risk behavior to the individual as it happens, and propose alternative actions for the employee.
This is particularly important in the age of Generative AI, where third party AI tools are freely available across many enterprises, and platforms such as ChatGPT and Google Bard are seen as the go-to assistant for many admin tasks. The risk here is that many employees are uploading sensitive data to these platforms (from source code to personally identifiable information) and significantly increasing the risk of a data loss.
In most cases, employees accessing these services are unaware of the risk and are trying to be productive with tools they are familiar with or have stumbled across. Rather than blocking this activity outright, potentially leading to a disgruntled employee who works harder to get around the policy, just-in-time employee coaching provides an opportunity to explain the risk in the moment as it arises – crafted to fit company culture and tone of voice, as well as policy – and recommend safer ways to achieve the same outcome.
Continuous education
This form of continuous education and reinforcement can provide for employees what annual training lacks: an opportunity to contextualize information and prevent it from fading quickly in memory. What’s more, this practical application of consistent reminders in an employee’s everyday working life is the essential ingredient to fully understand and harness greater cyber hygiene.
By coaching employees in real-time to become better cyber citizens and make safer decisions, businesses can prevent cyber incidents the moment the threat occurs, and build genuine learning opportunities into employees’ daily working lives.
Rather than viewing humans as a weak link in our security posture, we should approach them as our last line of defense between an enterprise and the cyber threat landscape. It’s important that we recognize that, and train people in the way that is going to be most effective and empowering.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
Setting the mood with the right music can make working out easier and more enjoyable. Wireless workout headphones give you the freedom to do any kind of exercise you prefer, be it weight-lifting or skateboarding, untethered and in your own little world with your audio of choice. But if you plan on sweating or doing anything more vigorous than a brisk walk with your headphones, there are things to consider like water resistance, battery life and overall comfort. And if you want just one pair that you can use in and out of the gym, the decision can quickly get complicated. At Engadget, we’ve tested a bunch of fitness-ready headphones and earbuds to come up with our top picks, plus some advice to consider before you pick up a pair.
What to look for in workout headphones
Design
Before diving in, it’s worth mentioning that this guide focuses on wireless earbuds. While you could wear over-ear or on-ear headphones during a workout, most of the best headphones available now do not have the same level of durability. Water and dust resistance, particularly the former, is important for any audio gear you plan on sweating with or taking outdoors, and that’s more prevalent in the wireless earbuds world.
Most earbuds have one of three designs: in-ear, in-ear with hook or open-ear. The first two are the most popular. In-ears are arguably the most common, while those with hooks promise better security and fit since they have an appendage that curls around the top of your ear. Open-ear designs don’t stick into your ear canal, but rather sit just outside of it. This makes it easier to hear the world around you while also listening to audio, and could be more comfortable for those who don’t like the intrusiveness of in-ear buds.
Water resistance and dust protection
Even if a pair of buds aren’t marketed specifically as workout headphones, a sturdy, water-resistant design will, by default, make them suitable for exercise. To avoid repetition, here’s a quick primer on durability, or ingression protection (IP) ratings. The first digit you’ll see after the “IP” refers to protection from dust and other potential intrusions, measured on a scale from 1 to 6. The second refers to water resistance or even waterproofing, in the best cases. The ratings for water resistance are ranked on a scale of 1 to 9; higher numbers mean more protection, while the letter “X” means the device is not rated for protection in that regard.
All of the earbuds we tested for this guide have at least an IPX4 rating, which means there’s no dust protection, but the buds can withstand splashes from any direction and are sweat resistant, but probably shouldn’t be submerged. For a detailed breakdown of all the possible permutations, check out this guide published by a supplier called The Enclosure Company.
Active noise cancellation and transparency mode
Active noise cancellation (ANC) is becoming standard on wireless earbuds, at least those above a certain price point. If you’re looking for a pair of buds that can be your workout companion and serve you outside of the gym, too, noise cancelation is a good feature to have. It makes the buds more versatile, allowing you to block out the dull roar of your home or office so you can focus, or give you some solitude during a busy commute.
But an earbud’s ability to block out the world goes hand-in-hand with its ability to open things back up should you need it. Many ANC earbuds also support some sort of “transparency mode,” or various levels of noise reduction. This is important for running headphones because exercising outdoors, alongside busy streets, can be dangerous. You probably don’t want to be totally oblivious to what’s going on around you when you’re running outside; adjusting noise cancelation levels to increase your awareness will help with that. Stronger noise cancelation might be more appealing to those doing more indoor training if they want to block out the dull roar of a gym or the guy exaggeratingly lifting weights next to you.
Battery life
All of the earbuds we tested have a battery life of six to eight hours. In general, that’s what you can expect from this space, with a few outliers that can get up to 15 hours of life on a charge. Even the low end of the spectrum should be good enough for most athletes and gym junkies, but it’ll be handy to keep the buds’ charging case on you if you think you’ll get close to using up all their juice during a single session.
You’ll get an average of 20 to 28 extra hours of battery out of most charging cases and all of the earbuds we tested had holders that provided at least an extra 15 hours. This will dictate how often you actually have to charge the device — as in physically connect the case with earbuds inside to a charging cable, or set it on a wireless charger to power up.
How we test
In testing wireless workout headphones, I wear them during every bit of exercise I do — be it a casual walk around the block, a brisk morning run or a challenging weight-lifting session. I’m looking for comfort arguably most of all, because you should never be fussing with your earbuds when you should be focusing on working out. In the same vein, I’m cognizant of if they get loose during fast movements or slippery when I’m sweating. I also use the earbuds when not exercising to take calls and listen to music throughout the day. Many people will want just one pair of earbuds that they can use while exercising and just doing everyday things, so I evaluate each pair on their ability to be comfortable and provide a good listening experience in multiple different activities.
While I am also evaluating sound quality, I’m admittedly not an audio expert. My colleague Billy Steele holds that title at Engadget, and you’ll find much more detailed information about audio quality for some of our top picks in his reviews and buying guides. Here, however, I will make note of related issues if they stood out (i.e. if a pair of earbuds had noticeably strong bass out of the box, weak highs, etc). Most of the wireless workout headphones we tested work with companion apps that have adjustable EQ settings, so you’ll be able to tweak sound profiles to your liking in most cases.
Beats
Connectivity: Wireless | Style: In-ear with wingtip | Assistant support: Google Assistant, Siri
The Beats Fit Pro came out at the head of the pack thanks to their comfortable, secure design, good sound quality and transparency mode, among other things. As my colleague Billy Steele detailed in his review of the Fit Pro, the buds’ wingtip design sets them apart from other Beats earbuds and makes them particularly good for running and other workouts. The buds are fairly small and light, and the wingtip on each is flexible enough to hug your ear nicely without putting too much pressure on it. This helps them feel more secure when you’re moving around a lot be it during a morning jog or while taking a HIIT class. The buds are also IPX4 rated — not the highest amount of protection I encountered, but enough to keep the buds working well even during my sweatiest sessions.
As it were, the Beats Fit Pro stayed put during every single workout. However, adjusting their position on the fly can lead to one of my few gripes with the buds: accidental presses of the onboard controls. There were a number of times when I went to adjust a bud and I ended up pausing my music in the process because the buttons are so easy to trigger.
Sound quality is solid and particularly great for exercising thanks to its punchy bass and overall balanced profile. Spatial audio support is great to have, and while Adaptive EQ means you can’t adjust the EQ yourself like you can with other buds, it does make for consistently good audio quality. It’s also one less thing to play with out of the box, which I expect many people will appreciate; these earbuds are a true unbox-and-go option. ANC is also strong and transparency mode will come in handy for those who often run, cycle or otherwise exercise outside. It was the most natural-sounding transparency mode of any earbuds I tried, and it’s easy to turn on or off either with onboard controls or from the control panel on your iOS or Android smartphone.
Speaking of, the Beats Fit Pro work particularly well with iPhones thanks to their built-in H1 chip, but Android users can download their companion app to access things like quick pairing, control customizations and a battery status indicator. I didn’t get into detail about the setup process because, well, there isn’t much of one. But I will say that, upon unboxing, I was surprised how cheap the charging case feels. While it provides an extra 21 hours of charging on top of the buds’ promised six hours of life, the build quality feels like a real step down compared to the buds themselves. Aside from that and the touch controls, though, the Beats Fit Pro offer a complete package for athletes, one that can be used all day in addition to training sessions. Plus, their standard $200 price isn’t too cost-prohibitive, and they can often be found on sale for less.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active almost bested the Beats Fit Pro, but ultimately the latter won thanks to their wingtip design and more natural-sounding transparency mode. But aside from those two things, the Elite 8 Active are just as good, if not better, than the Fit Pro.
First and foremost, the Elite 8 Active has one of the highest durability ratings of any earbuds we tested. Rated IP68, it’s protected against all kinds of dust and debris and it’ll survive being submerged in water at high pressure. Jabra also subjected the Elite 8 Active to military-grade testing, protecting them from excessive humidity, high temperature, rain and altitude. This is more protection than most need, but it will likely give some people peace of mind to know that these buds can take a beating.
That extra protection doesn’t make the Elite 8 Active bulky or unattractive as one might assume. These buds are some of the most comfortable I tried, with a lightweight design and a secure fit. The soft-touch finish on the buds and their charging case adds a level of luxury that most othersI tested did not have, too. There are onboard controls as well, and they’re not as easy to accidentally press as those on the Beats Fit Pro.
The Elite 8 Active has a great sound profile out of the box but you can adjust the EQ within the companion mobile app. The app has six preconfigured settings to choose from too, and I found myself using Bass Boost and Energize most of all while exercising (they’re pretty similar with strong bass, but Energize emphasizes highs a bit more). The Elite 8 Active definitely has an advantage over the Beats Fit Pro for anyone who prefers to customize EQ, or wants to have different sound profiles depending on what they’re doing. On top of that, these buds support spatial sound with Dolby Audio.
The Elite 8 Active support adaptive noise cancelation, and they do a good job of analyzing your environment and blocking out interferences. “HearThrough” is Jabra’s version of transparency mode, and it’s the setting to use when running outside in a city or an area with lots of traffic. Sound isn’t drowned out by wind in this mode either since HearThrough is designed to neutralize wind noise while also letting you stay aware of your surroundings. I ran in some particularly windy weather while testing these out, and I had consistently good listening experiences both with HearThrough and ANC activated.
As for battery life, the Elite 8 Active will get eight hours on a charge with ANC turned on, and an additional 24 hours when employing their charging case. You can get up to 56 hours of total use if you’re not using ANC, which is remarkable. The case also supports wireless charging, a feature that the Beats Fit Pro’s lacks, and it also feels more substantial.
Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with either the Beats Fit Pro or the Jabra Elite 8 Active. But Jabra’s buds offer a bit more customization and durability than the Beats Fit Pro, and not everyone will need the latter’s bonus features. However, if you’re an athlete who likes to play around with sound profiles or want some of the most durable wireless earbuds available today, the Jabra Elite 8 Active are the ones to get.
Pros
Comfortable fit
IP68 water and dust protection
Spatial sound with Dolby Audio
Strong ANC
Multipoint connectivity
Solid battery life
Cons
HearThrough doesn’t sound as natural as other transparency modes
The Jabra Elite 4 Active offer the best value for the money of any pick on our list. For $120, you get an IP57-rated design, solid sound quality with adjustable EQ, good ANC, the same HearThrough transparency mode that the Elite 8 Active have, app connectivity and a total of 28 hours of battery life. These were some of the easiest buds for me to “pick up and go” with, whether it was for an impromptu walk around the block, a sweaty HIIT session in my basement or an hour of work in which I really needed to block out distractions and get things done.
Like the Elite 8 Active, the Elite 4 Active is super comfortable and Jabra has really gotten the onboard controls right on this series of buds. The buttons are not so easy to press that you accidentally trigger them whenever you adjust the fit, and they provide satisfying feedback when you actually do intentionally press them. Sound quality and ANC are impressive, and I basically never had to worry about running out of battery.
The main differences between the Elite 4 Active and the more expensive Elite 8 Active are that the latter have a higher IP rating, voice guidance, spatial sound support with Dolby Audio, a longer overall battery life (56 hours with the charging case) and that satisfying soft-touch finish. The IP rating and extended battery life are the two main features that could compel some to spend the extra money on the Elite 8 Active instead. Also, spatial audio is nice to have if you have the buds semi-permanently placed in your ears constantly pumping out tunes, regardless of the activity. Otherwise, though, you’re getting a ton of excellent features with these $120 earbuds.
Pros
Great value for the money
Comfortable IP57-rated design
Good sound quality and ANC
Multipoint connectivity
Good battery life
Cons
No spatial sound with Dolby Audio like the Elite 8 Active has
If you have less than $50 to spend, the $30 JLab Go Air Sport are a great option. I didn’t have high expectations going into testing these buds, but I was quickly impressed by their comfort and sound quality. Lots of headphones designed for workouts have this hook that wraps around the top of your ear, and it does help the Go Air Sport stay securely attached to your head. The hooks here are quite flexible and have a soft-touch finish, which adds to their comfort (I tried a few similarly designed buds with much stiffer hooks that were a pain in more ways than one.) Admittedly, this design will take some getting used to if you’re new to it, but it’s a surefire way to get a little extra stability during high intensity workouts.
Sound quality is pretty good on these buds as well, although not nearly as balanced as that of the Jabra Elite 8 Active or the Beats Fit Pro. I also appreciate that you can cycle through three different EQ modes — Signature, Balanced and Bass Boost — using the buds’ onboard controls. There’s no app to fuss with, and that was a nice change of pace after mostly testing buds with some kind of app connectivity.
You can expect eight hours of playtime on the Go Air Sport, plus another 24 hours of battery life with its charging case. While the USB-A cable built into the bottom of the case is handy, I feel like it should be a USB-C connector instead (it’s the year 2024, after all). The case is also on the bulky side; you can still throw it into a backpack or purse easily, but it’s not as svelte as cases you’ll see on more expensive buds.
I was apprehensive about open-ear headphones, especially during workouts. But the Shokz OpenFit pleasantly surprised me from the first time I put them on. Earbuds with open designs like this allow for more situational awareness, with the goal being to let noise in rather than block it out. The OpenFit buds do a great job of this without skimping on sound quality or comfort.
The buds themselves almost float over your ear cavern and Shokz’s soft-finish “dolphin arc” hook is flexible enough to securely wrap around the top of your ear without putting too much pressure on it. There’s a bud-like portion at the other end of the hook that acts as counterbalance, resulting in a reliable fit that never faltered during all sorts of activities including running, strength training and indoor cycling. Granted, none of those exercises involve shaking your head up or down or side to side too much; maybe don’t wear the OpenFit to listen to head-banging death metal (if you can’t control yourself).
Sound quality is solid considering the design, and the OpenFit gets pretty loud as well. These buds have Shokz’s Direct Pitch technology, which uses reverse sound waves to optimize the distance and angle from the buds to your ear canal. The company claims this helps keep the sound directed towards your ear and reduces audio leakage. In my testing, I found that to be true to a certain extent. The OpenFit had the best sound quality and overall volume out of all of the open-ear devices I tried, but if you crank the volume up to the max (or close), the person next to you will definitely hear what you’re listening to. Overall, these are a great option for anyone who doesn’t find in-ear buds particularly comfortable, or those who just prefer to have more awareness of their surroundings while working out.
Pros
Comfortable open-ear design
Design allows for more situational awareness
Good sound quality and volume
Cons
No ANC
Not as secure when compared to in-ear or hook-toting buds
The Apple AirPods Pro have an IP54 rating, which protects them from brief encounters with dust and splashes. While that’s more dust protection than many other earbuds we tested, it’s the same level of water resistance that most exercise-specific competitors have. We generally like the AirPods Pro, but the Beats Fit Pro offer many of the same features and conveniences (namely good transparency mode and the H1 chip), with a design that’s more appropriate for working out.
Beats Powerbeats Pro
The Powerbeats Pro are a good alternative to the Beats Fit Pro if you’re a stickler for a hook design. However, they cost $50 more than the Fit Pro (although they often hover around $180) and don’t offer any significant upgrades or additional features aside from their design. They’re also quite old at this point (launched in 2019) and it appears Beats is putting more effort into upgrading and updating its newer models rather than this model.
Anker Soundcore AeroFit Pro
The Soundcore AeroFit Pro is Anker’s version of the Shokz OpenFit, but I found it to be less secure and not as comfortable as the latter. The actual earbuds on the AeroFit Pro are noticeably bulkier than those on the OpenFit, which caused them to shift and move much more when I was wearing them during exercise. They never fell off my ears completely, but I spent more time adjusting them than I did enjoying them.
JBL Endurance Peak 3
The most noteworthy thing about the Endurance Peak 3 is that they have the same IP68-rating that the Jabra Elite 8 Active do, but they only cost $100. But, while you get the same protection here, you’ll have to sacrifice in other areas. The Endurance Peak 3 didn’t blow me away when it came to sound quality or comfort (the hook is more rigid than those on my favorite buds of a similar style) and their charging case is massive compared to most competitors.
Samsung sold over 60 million smartphones in Q1 2024
In Q4 2023, Apple became the world’s biggest smartphone brand in terms of unit sales. Samsung was pushed down to second place during that quarter. However, Samsung has returned strongly in Q1 2024, riding the wave of the successful Galaxy S24. According to market research firm IDC, it sold 60.1 million smartphones during the first quarter of this year. That’s slightly lower than Samsung’s 60.5 million sales from last year, marking a 0.7% drop compared to Q1 2023 figures.
Apple sold 50.1 million iPhones in Q1 2024, a 9.6% drop in sales compared to Q1 2023. It was the second-biggest smartphone brand in the first quarter of this year. According to previous reports, most of its sales drop might have come from China.
Xiaomi has also displayed a strong comeback, ranking third in the global smartphone market with sales of over 40.8 million smartphones during Q1 2024. That’s a massive improvement of 33.8% compared to Q1 2023. However, what’s even more impressive is Transsion’s gigantic 84.9% sales jump to 28.5 million units during the same period. OPPO’s sales dropped last quarter by 8.5%, and it sold 25.2 million smartphones globally.
Overall, 289.4 million smartphones were shipped globally in the first quarter of this year. That’s a 7.8% rise in shipments compared to the muted sales figures from 2023’s first quarter. Smartphone sales are increasing globally, and the recovery is underway compared to disastrous market conditions from last year.
Huawei has reportedly seen a strong comeback in China’s domestic market. However, they will likely not be in the top five rankings anytime soon due to the US sanctions on the company.
Nabila Popal, Research Director of IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team, said, “In contrast, while the Top 2 players (Samsung and Apple) both saw negative growth in the first quarter, it seems Samsung is in a stronger position overall than they were in recent quarters.”
