” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/0x0-Cybertruck_16-1152×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/0x0-Cybertruck_16-1280×800.jpg” />Tesla closed out 2021 with a bumper year, besting Q4 estimates and pushing EV deliveries past 300,000, though Elon Musk tempered hopes for the arrival of the Cybertruck and more affordable models. Revenue in the year as a whole grew 71%, Tesla announced, describing 2021 as “a breakthrough year” for the automaker, but some of the most anticipated electric vehicles … Continue reading
End-to-end encrypted Facebook Messenger chats have long been held back by a lack of features, but that might not be a problem for much longer. Meta is rolling out a large Messenger update that brings many of the service’s features to encrypted conversations. You can use reactions, stickers (including GIFs), message-specific replies and forwarding. You’ll also see typing indicators, verified user badges and screenshot notifications.
The upgrade also lets you save photos and videos, and edit media before you send it. Meta has also finished bringing encrypted group chats and calls to Messenger, so you shouldn’t have to worry that a family discussion might be exposed to snoops.
Meta doesn’t expect end-to-end encryption to be the default for Facebook Messenger and Instagram until 2023. You’ll need to use WhatsApp if you expect that convenience in the meantime. Still, the feature update could go a long way toward fulfilling Mark Zuckerberg’s goal of a more “privacy-focused” social network where fewer people see what you’re doing.
Not that governments are thrilled. Officials from the UK and other countries have railed against end-to-end encryption, arguing that it hurts law enforcement’s ability to fight child exploitation, extremism and other threats. However, Meta isn’t likely to back down — the company has rejected calls to weaken encryption, noting that backdoors would compromise safety and security (by giving hackers easier access) on top of any privacy concerns. Expect the tech firm to continue bolstering encrypted chat features for a while to come.
” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/softwareupdate-1118×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/softwareupdate-1243×800.jpg” />Few things are more frustrating than trying to download the latest version of iOS, only to see your device get stuck on “Preparing to Update.” Minutes turn into hours and your iPhone steadfastly refuses to budge. Fortunately, it’s relatively easy to fix the problem. An issue with an update can happen for any number of reasons and, unfortunately, Apple doesn’t … Continue reading
NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service ended last year with 9 million paid subscriptions. Comcast, the streamer’s parent company, shared the milestone during its Q4 2021 earnings call. The announcement marks the first time either company has disclosed just how many people pay for Peacock.
In a call with analysts, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said the streaming service has approximately 24.5 million monthly active accounts, reports Variety. Of those who pay for Peacock, the majority opt for the platform’s $5 ad-supported tier. When you include ads, Roberts said the company generates close to $10 in average revenue per subscribed account.
In 2022, Comcast CFO Mike Cavanagh said the company plans to spend $3 billion on content for Peacock, doubling its current investment. Moving forward, Comcast could spend as much as $5 billion annually building out Peacock’s media library “over the next couple of years.” Some of that money will come from the company’s linear TV platforms, with Roberts telling analysts Comcast is “committed to reallocating resources and increasing investment” in Peacock due to the platform’s growth.
In practice, Comcast and NBCUniversal are likely to spend at least some of that money on reclaiming content that has ended up on other streaming platforms, including Disney’s Hulu. “Much of our strong NBC content premieres on Hulu, over time we’d like to bring that back to Peacock,” NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said. The company previously paid $500 million to get The Office back from Netflix.
Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to Peacock announcing 24.5 million monthly active users instead of monthly active accounts. The language has been updated for accuracy.
Mid-range headphones are typically an exercise in compromise. In order to reduce prices, companies usually omit a few premium features or opt for cheaper materials. Sometimes there are sacrifices to sound quality or active noise cancellation (ANC) performance. Enter Shure’s Aonic 40: a more affordable wireless model in the company’s noise-canceling lineup and an alternative to the pricier Aonic 50.
At $249, the Aonic 40 is at the top end of what I’d consider mid-range. Thankfully, Shure didn’t cut too many corners when it comes to the feature set. There’s a degree of customization and plenty of tools to worth with. However, the Aonic 40 fails to make an impression in key areas, and needs a bit more polish if it’s going to stand out from the crowd.
Hardware
Billy Steele/Engadget
Like the Aonic 50 that came before it, the Aonic 40 is mostly black, except for some silver accents where the headband connects to the earcups. There’s also a white version that keeps the silver components but adds tan padding to the earcups and the underside of the headband. Like many other wireless headphones, the folding design of the Aonic 40 allows them to be a compact travel companion. The earcups rotate and fold in towards the headband, so even though the case will take up some space in your bag, it’s at least relatively flat.
The Aonic 40 appears to be an entirely plastic design, but that’s not actually the case. The silver areas are made of aluminum alloy, but they have a flat finish that makes them look less like metal. Shure says the black areas are glass-filled nylon, despite the appearance of plastic. Other headphone companies have pulled this trick, including Bose with its popular QuietComfort line. Shure explains that this material makes the Aonic 40 more durable, but it certainly doesn’t add a premium aesthetic. What’s more, after a couple weeks of what I’d consider light use (barely moving them away from my desk), I’m already seeing light scratches.
Shure did make one design change from the Aonic 50 that allows us to tell the older model apart from its newer sibling. Where the 50 had a visible rotating arm with an elbow, the portion of the 40 that spins is hidden up near the headband. The arms themselves on the Aonic 40 are also curved, twisted to connect the headband to the earcups by running alongside the edge of the earcup.
Billy Steele/Engadget
In terms of comfort, these headphones are just average. I have a big head and the fit is tight. Not oppressively so, but after several minutes I can feel the rings of the earcups pressing into my head. It doesn’t become overbearing, but it’s not exactly enjoyable either. Headphones need to form a tight seal for effective ANC performance. They also need to be comfortable when you wear them for long periods of time.
Like the Aonic 50, Shure went with physical buttons for the on-board controls rather than touch-friendly panels. As such, the Aonic 40 offers a full suite of functionality right on the headphones themselves. The lone button on the left side is for power and Bluetooth pairing. Unlike a lot of the competition, Shure gives you the option to get a battery level check without glancing at its app by double tapping the power button. On the right, there’s a traditional multi-button array with volume controls flanking a centered multi-use key.
The middle button handles play/pause (single press), skipping tracks forward (double press), returning to the previous song (triple press) and summoning a virtual assistant (press and hold). A separate, fourth button on the right earcup toggles between ANC and Environment Mode (ambient sound). Each time you press it, the headphones return to your previous setting for both of those options, which is selected in Shure’s app. You can also bypass them both with a long press on the noise control button.
Software
Billy Steele/Engadget
The Shure Play app is one of the better pieces of headphone companion software I’ve used. There’s a lot available here, and it’s all easy to find. Right up top you get a battery percentage and access to noise control (ANC, Environment Mode and None), along with noise canceling presets and a slider for ambient sound level. While you can’t dial in the ANC precisely, Shure does offer Light, Normal and Max settings. It’s adjustable, albeit not fully customizable. Directly underneath is a guide for button controls, options to tweak prompts/tones, the ability to configure USB connectivity for listening or “conferencing,” battery saver settings and an optional busy light when you’re on a call. That last feature flashes a red light so anyone you’ve notified about it beforehand knows not to disturb you.
The software also houses a more robust equalizer than most headphone apps. Per usual, there’s a smattering of presets, but Shure goes beyond the typical three to five with seven options (Bass Boost, Bass Cut, Treble Boost, Treble Cut, De-ess and Loudness). The company gives you the ability to make your own presets as well, saving them in the list after you build them with the manual EQ tools. You can start from scratch or from one of Shure’s presets, adjusting frequency, gain and bandwidth in addition to moving and plotting points on a sonic curve. For my purposes, Loudness was the best overall setting as it increased clarity for listening at lower volumes. It also made the stock tuning sound better at all times.
Sound quality
Billy Steele/Engadget
With that preset enabled, the Aonic 40 is capable of blasting punchy bass that drones or thumps when a song demands it. There’s also more detail with this preset, as the clarity increases no matter the volume level. Overall, the soundstage isn’t as wide open and songs don’t have the immersive depth that pricer sets offer – especially on heavier music styles. The chaotic metal of Underoath’s Voyeurist and Gojira’s Fortitude are subdued and sound slightly flat unless you’re at full volume. On the other hand, with the delicate acoustic strums on Punch Brothers’ bluegrass masterpiece Hell on Church Street, these headphones really shine. Layered instruments properly convey the airyness of being in the room where five aficionados are absolutely shredding. Similarly, the Aonic 40 highlights the finer details of Navy Blue’s J Dilla-esque hip-hop album Songs of Sage: Post Panic! without sounding overly compressed..
When it comes to noise cancellation, the Aonic 40 does a decent job of blocking out background noise. It’s not on the level of Bose or Sony, but for $250 headphones it gets the job done. The three settings offer options for different scenarios, but I mostly kept it locked on Max. As for Environment Mode, the ambient sound function lets in outside noise just fine. It’s serviceable, but it’s nowhere near as natural sounding as the AirPods Max. Honestly, no other company comes close to what Apple offers in that regard.
Battery life
Shure promises up to 25 hours of battery life with ANC turned on. I was pleasantly surprised when the headphones hit the 30-hour mark and the app was still showing 19 percent in the tank. This battery test was done over the course of a few days, so the headphones were powered off multiple times while I was trying to drain them completely. Around 30 hours is about the best you can expect from noise-canceling headphones, including Sony’s best-in-class WH-1000XM4. What the Aonic 40 doesn’t have that much of the competition does is automatic pausing. As I mentioned, you can set the headphones to automatically power off at certain intervals if they’re sitting idle, but if you take them off and step away in a hurry, the music continues. However, if you find yourself in a pinch due to this, a 15-minute quick-charge feature will give you five hours of use.
Call quality is another area where the Aonic 40 holds its own – so long as you’re in a quiet place. The headphones won’t make it sound like you’re on speakerphone like a lot of earbuds or headphones tend to do. To me, it’s pretty close to what you get when you hold the phone up to your face. If you enter a noisy plac,e though, things change quickly. The Aonic 40 picks up environmental rumbles too well, like the roar of a white noise machine. On the flip side, the ambient sound mode allows you to hear your own voice while you’re on a call, keeping you from becoming too shouty because you can’t monitor your volume.
The competition
At $249, I consider the Aonic 40 to be at the top end of mid-range headphones. They’re not super affordable, but they’re also not as pricey as Shure’s own flagship model or more premium options from the likes of Apple, Bose, Master & Dynamic or Sony. The Razer Opus is a more apt competitor, debuting at $200 in the spring of 2020. Great THX-certified audio, solid ANC performance and a comfy fit left an impression during my review. Plus, Razer is currently selling them for $140, which makes them even more compelling.
If you can live without active noise cancellation, I really like Audio-Technica’s M50x series. The most recent model, the ATH-M50xBT2, arrived with updates like multi-point Bluetooth pairing, Alexa built in and wider audio codec support – all while keeping the trademark design. And at $199, these will also save you some money over the Aonic 40.
That being said, the WH-1000XM4 remains the gold standard for noise-canceling headphones. Sony’s mix of audio quality, ANC performance and nifty features like Speak-to-Chat remains the best you can get, although the likes of Bose and others are catching up. Still, they’re $100 more than the Aonic 40 at full price, but we’ve seen them on sale for $248. If you can catch them at the same price as Shure’s latest model, commit to the 1000XM4.
Wrap-up
Shure’s Aonic 40 is a more affordable option in the company’s noise-canceling lineup, offering a host of features and doing some of them well. Impressive battery life, serviceable ANC and a degree of customization are offset by inconsistent audio performance and an overall lack of polish when it comes to finer details like fit and convenience. For those reasons, the Aonic 40 tends to blend into the crowd rather than stand apart.
” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ss-2004558002-1080×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ss-2004558002-1200×800.jpg” />Microsoft has announced the availability of Android apps in Windows 11 — albeit in preview — opening the door for an all-new experience for Windows and Android users alike. One of the flagship features of Microsoft’s latest OS is the ability to run Android apps. It’s estimated there are some 2.56 million Android apps on the Google Play Store (via … Continue reading
Perhaps taking inspiration from blockbuster music experiences in Fortnite, Warner Music Group is creating a performance venue in the metaverse. It’s teaming up with The Sandbox to create a “hybrid of musical theme park and concert venue” on the platform.
Some of WMG’s vast roster of artists (which includes the likes of Ed Sheeran, Green Day and Dua Lipa) are expected to play shows and take part in music experiences on the virtual stage. At a later date, The Sandbox will offer ardent fans the chance to buy virtual property next to WMG’s section of the metaverse.
The deal will result in The Sandbox‘s first music-themed world. The platform has teamed up with artists including Snoop Dogg, Deadmau5 and Steve Aoki on an individual basis, but this is its biggest music partnership to date. WMG and The Sandbox didn’t say when the virtual venue will debut.
Other major music companies have started making moves in the metaverse. Last month, Universal Music Group joined the bandwagon with official metaverse avatars for its artists.
Near the end of TikTok, Boom, content creator and beatboxer Spencer X chokes up. “TikTok has really changed my entire life,” he says while fighting back tears. He’s one of a few influencers profiled in the 90-minute documentary, which premiered at Sundance 2022 this weekend. It also features activist Feroza Aziz, best known for her viral video that slipped criticism of China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims into what initially appeared to be a makeup tutorial. Other subjects include reproductive rights activist Deja Foxx and Douyin content creator Jason Zhang, whose experiences with the app are all fascinating and moving.
Directed by Shalini Kantayya, TikTok, Boom is meant to “[dissect] one of the most influential platforms of the contemporary social media landscape.” The film’s description on the Sundance festival portal says it “examines the algorithmic, sociopolitical, economic and cultural influences and impact of the history-making app.” Unfortunately, if you were hoping to learn anything new about why the For You algorithm is so creepily intuitive, why its parent company ByteDance collects so much data or what exactly are the app’s ties to the Chinese government, you’ll be disappointed.
In general, the documentary tries to cover too much. It jumped from Aziz finding a community of Afghan-Americans on the app, to X defying his parent’s expectations to make a career out of beatboxing, to sexism, racism, child predators, body image issues, TikTok’s creation and ByteDance’s history, all within the first 40 minutes. There’s discussion of the impact on creators’ mental health, Facebook’s interest in buying TikTok, the reinforcement of social disparities, China’s control and censorship, Trump’s rallies in Tulsa, the subsequent ban of the app and more. In the second half, there’s even a random dramatic reenactment of “a statement made by a former ByteDance employee” during the COVID-19 outbreak.
If TikTok, Boom was trying to catalog every time TikTok made the news, it did an admirable job. But in its effort to recap history, the film fails to deliver any insight. I could have easily Googled “TikTok timeline” and gotten all the same information without having to sit in front of my TV for 90 minutes. Had the documentary narrowed its focus, I suspect I would have learned more.
But in its effort to recap history, the film fails to deliver any insight.
I also have a small, but important gripe. The film needs more careful editors. It features B-roll and expert interviews correctly pronouncing and spelling the app Douyin that predated TikTok. Mere seconds later, the narrator and an onscreen graphic both mispronounce and misspell Douyin as “Duoyin.” Another spelling error: a list of so-called “Sensored words” in a graphic as opposed to “censored.”
Maybe I’m nit-picking, but mistakes like this affect the credibility of any documentary, which should be a well-researched piece of video journalism.
That leads me to my biggest problem with TikTok, Boom: It makes some dangerous assumptions. At one point in the film, an animated rendering insinuates that TikTok scans a user’s face while they’re watching videos and determines if they’re smiling or not. The film posits that this information is then fed into the algorithm that lets ByteDance recommend more content on your For You page.
There is no evidence that TikTok does this. In fact, unless Apple and Google’s privacy indicators (which show when your phone’s cameras are being used) are malfunctioning, people would know if an app was watching them. It’s more likely that the TikTok, Boom team misinterpreted terms in the app’s privacy policy that states it’s collecting “faceprints and voiceprints.”
Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
That’s not to say ByteDance is completely in the clear here; it’s never explicitly explained why it’s gathering that data. Other parts of its privacy policy are even more alarming, like the fact that ByteDance collects information about users’ “keystroke patterns or rhythms.” In 2020, the company had to publicly admit wrongdoing and agree to stop accessing users’ clipboard data every few keystrokes. Back then, it claimed this was part of an anti-spam feature. Now, the latest versions of iOS and Android will alert you if an app has accessed or pasted content from your clipboard, so you can be aware of unnecessary data collection.
Look, I get it. The For You algorithm can be so uncanny that people scramble to find nefarious reasons for its effectiveness. It’s just like when we all wondered if Instagram and Facebook were listening to our conversations to serve us eerily timely ads. But it’s one thing for individuals to wonder if your phone is spying on you and a whole other problem if a documentary recklessly claims it’s happening. The filmmakers don’t seem to realize the responsibility it has to its viewers.
In fact, had TikTok, Boom just focused on breaking down the For You algorithm or studying exactly what data the app is collecting (and in that context its ties to China), the film might have unearthed something illuminating. Instead, it ends up being a mostly redundant recap with a catchy title.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
