Hasta La Gadget!

Lego’s Mindstorms robotics kits have been on the market since 1998, born from a collaboration between Lego and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Now, Lego has announced it will be discontinuing Mindstorms at the end of the year and providing support for the mobile app for at least another two years beyond that, Gizmodo has reported. 

Starting as the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System over 24 years ago, the kits used Lego’s advanced Technics pieces with gears and other robotics parts, powered by the basic “Brick” processing unit. They took a big step forward in 2006 with the introduction of the company’s next generation of Mindstorms kits, dubbed NXT.

Another big jump came in 2013 with the EV3 robotics platform. This new lineup was backwards-compatible with the NXT series, offering enhancements to its sensor load and processing power. Lego also launched dedicated mobile apps, turning iOS and Android devices into remote controls for Mindstorms projects. Finally, it set up a Mindstorms community where users could share their creations and collaborate with other builders.

The last official product was the Robot Inventor lineup from 2020, but with nothing seen since, the writing seemed on the wall for Mindstorms — particularly as Lego was focusing on other educational ventures. 

“Now having a number of priorities in LEGO Education and other Build & Code experiences, we have decided to focus our resources and future plans by redirecting our Mindstorms Robot Inventor team and their expertise into different areas of the business,” the company said in a statement to Brick Fanatics. “This means the physical Mindstorms Robot Inventor product (51515) and its related elements (88016 and 88018) are to exit our portfolio from the end of 2022, whilst digital platforms—such as the LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor App—will remain live until at least the end of 2024.”

It was one of the first toys to actively promote STEM learning while getting kids and adults alike interested in robotics. (Engadget collaborated with Lego on a Mindstorms robotics contest in 2014.) While it’s the end of an era in robotics education, there are now plenty of kits on the market, including Lego’s own Boost robotics kit for beginners. And if you happen to own a Mindstorms robot, it might soon become a collector’s item. 

Although the company’s specialty seems to be manufacturing hype, after the Ear (1) and Phone (1), Nothing is back with its third product: another set of wireless earbuds that deliver solid performance (with a side of gimmick) at a very compelling price that makes them hard to ignore, even for iPhone users.

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It’s been a busy year for Nothing. After debuting its Ear 1 wireless headphones last year, it followed up with its first smartphone, the Phone 1, daring to compete in an arena that’s actually shed some more established competitors. Now, it’s tackling wireless buds again with the $99 Ear Stick. It’s not a great name, but it’s at least descriptive. Instead of the slim, squarish case of the Ear 1, Nothing has pulled inspiration from cosmetic product design, creating a charging case for the buds inspired by tubes of lipstick. It’s not the first set of wireless headphones to feature a twisting cylinder, but it ensures the Ear Stick won’t be confused with rival earbuds.

At $99, the Ear Stick is reasonably priced but lacks some of the significant features of Nothing’s first wireless buds – most crucially, active noise cancellation (ANC). There are plenty of improvements here, though, especially concerning connectivity.

The hardware

Mat Smith / Engadget

It’s hard to stop twisting and pawing at the Ear Stick’s eye-catching case. The micro-dotted surface of the charger, exposed when the buds are locked in and charging, feels nice. At the top of the charger, there’s a USB-C charging port and a chrome button for pairing the buds to devices. Given the form factor, there’s no wireless charging this time around, but it also ensures the Ear Stick is cheaper to make. (As it is, Nothing recently raised the price on its Ear One buds.) There is a sliver of space on the case, though, so pocket lint can easily get trapped and rolled into the crevice, which is annoying. Judging by my other transparent gadgets, this might only get worse.

The Ear Stick buds themselves continue that Nothing design language, with transparent casing around the tips and a dot-matrix font labeling each stem. There’s a red dot on the right bud to help users ensure they go in the right ears. However, compared to the Ear 1, they don’t have silicone tips, so they rest loosely inside the ear. This means that, regardless of any noise cancellation technology, a good amount of noise will seep in.

Nothing says the buds went through over 200 rounds of modifications, and I think it was worth it: They’re comfortable. Weighing in at 4.4 grams (0.15 ounces) each, they’re also lighter than the Ear 1 buds. I know that many people (and several Engadget editors) prefer this kind of looser fit, as AirPods Pro, Galaxy Buds and many others put a little too much pressure on their ear canals. The Ear Stick is aimed at those people – but are there enough of them?

In noisy environments – say, when traveling on public transport or working out – I’m forced to crank the volume up to max to compete with all the ambient noise. That said, they are comfortable and, for buds without removable tips, snug enough not to fear losing them when on the move. I still wasn’t completely at ease running or jumping in them, but they didn’t fall out during regular use.

I haven’t extensively tested the battery life yet, but Nothing’s seven-hour rating seems roughly accurate. Expect to get 29 hours of total playback with the case, which is almost a week of intermittent listening for me. There’s a fast-charge function that can juice the buds with two hours of playback with only 10 minutes of charge time, which has already been convenient during long trips across London, where I’m based.

Nothing also made a new custom-designed dynamic driver in this generation of buds. The company claims it’s the most sensitive one found on wireless buds in the market, and while I can’t vouch for that, I did find that the Ear Stick performs best when I’m listening to spoken word or on phone calls; they’re notably clearer and crisper sounding than the Ear 1. Additionally, Nothing says it’s packed in a Bass Lock feature that tries to gauge sound leaking from the half-open design, but I struggle to hear it make enough for all of the sound loss.

However, there’s not much Nothing can do with a half-ear design like this to maintain bass levels in comparison to the competition. There’s a tinniness to music and sounds that I don’t think any algorithm can fix, given the half-open bud design.

The software

You can ameliorate this a little with the customizable equalizer from the companion app, and if you’re already a Nothing Phone 1 user, you’ll get handy shortcuts from the Android drop-down menu. It’s a nice touch, matching the slickness you get when using Samsung buds with a Galaxy phone, etc.

Mat Smith / Engadget

Nothing has also addressed some of the connectivity issues that marred the Ear 1. It’s moved the antenna further down the buds, which it says minimizes signal blockage. In use, the Ear Stick connects and pairs more consistently than Nothing’s other headphones. They’re less likely to drop connection when I move around my apartment and get farther away from my phone. The Stick is also much less fussy about pairing with phones, laptops and other devices. While I was initially impressed with the Ear 1, its inconsistency pairing to iPhones, laptops and even Android phones meant I eventually changed back to my AirPods Pro. Nothing has fortunately learned that lesson with its second pair of wireless buds.

I’d happily take the audio and signal improvements of the Stick, but unfortunately, I’m just not as enamored with the Ear Stick as I was with the Ear 1. I need my noise cancellation and silicone tips. However, I am looking forward to Ear 2, or whatever Nothing decides to call its third attempt, when it hopefully combines the best of both buds.

SpaceX is on track to launch the Falcon Heavy for the first time in three years after it successfully put the heavy-lift launch vehicle through a static fire test. The private space corporation has announced the test’s successful completion on Twitter, along with a photo of the rocket as it breathes out fire and smoke while perched at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A. During a static fire test, a rocket’s engines are ignited to check their performance while remaining on the ground. 

The company conducted this particular test in preparation for USSF-44, the classified mission SpaceX is flying for the US Space Force. USSF-44 will have two payloads, both satellites, that will be deployed into geostationary orbit. It was originally scheduled for liftoff on October 31st, but SpaceX is currently targeting a November 1st launch. The company hasn’t revealed a launch time within the day yet, but according to Space and Next Spaceflight, it will happen around 9:40AM ET.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket first took flight in 2018, carrying a cherry red Tesla Roadster owned by company chief Elon Musk with a dummy dubbed “Starman” in the driver’s seat. The last time it flew was in June 2019, and SpaceX described it at the time as one of the “most challenging” launches in its history — landing the center core proved too tricky that it missed the drone ship waiting for it by a few feet. Since then, it has been certified to carry the Space Force’s secret spy satellites to orbit, and the first of those missions could occur in a few days’ time. 

Over the years, we’ve seen smartphone charging speeds going from the already-impressive 30 minutes down to 15 minutes, but apparently that’s still too slow for Xiaomi. In the new Redmi Note 12 lineup unveiled earlier today, one model dubbed “Redmi Note 12 Discovery Edition” stood out with a whopping 210W HyperCharge capability. This feature is controlled by three 100W fast charging chips, which fully charge the phone’s 4,300mAh battery in just 9 minutes. To put things into perspective, both Xiaomi’s earlier 120W HyperCharge and Oppo’s 150W SuperVOOC need 15 minutes to juice up a 4,500mAh battery.

The Redmi Note 12 Discovery Edition also sees the debut of MediaTek’s mid-range Dimensity 1080 processor, and it’s completed with a 6.67-inch OLED screen (2,400 x 1,080, 120Hz), a 200MP main camera (Samsung’s brand new HPX sensor; with OIS), an 8MP ultra-wide camera, a 2MP macro camera and a 16MP selfie camera. You’ll also find dual-SIM slots, dual speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a side fingerprint sensor, NFC, and an infrared blaster on this Android 12 device. 

As for RAM and storage, this model only comes with one combo: 8GB LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage. Unlike last year’s Redmi Note 11 Pro+, microSD expansion is missing here, which may be a deterrent for those who are considering an upgrade. Still, not bad for 2,399 yuan or $330.

Xiaomi

Despite the name, the Redmi Note 12 Discovery Edition is actually based on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+, with the main difference being the lesser charging power (120W) but bigger battery (5,000mAh) for the latter. This model starts from 2,199 yuan or about $304, which comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage; or you can pay 2,399 yuan or around $331 to bump the RAM up to 12GB.

Then there’s also the lesser but similar-looking Redmi Note 12 Pro, which swaps the 200MP main camera for a 50MP one (using Sony’s IMX766 sensor), and it only uses 67W charging for the same 5,000mAh battery. This starts from 1,699 yuan or about $235, which gets you 6GB of RAM with 128GB of storage; and you can max out at 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage for the price of 2,199 yuan or around $304 — the same as the Pro+’s starting price, interestingly.

Xiaomi

Last but not least, the Redmi Note 12 is positioned as an affordable smartphone, starting at 1,199 yuan or about $166. It packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset, a slightly lesser-grade OLED display of the same size (mainly lower brightness and contrast, as well as the lack of HDR support), less powerful cameras (48MP main, 2MP depth sensor and 8MP front), weaker charging power (33W) and just a mono speaker. In terms of variants, it starts from 4GB of RAM with 128GB of storage, going all the way up to 8GB with 256GB, respectively (1,699 yuan or around $235; same as the Note 12 Pro’s base price).

As with recent Redmi phones, there’s a good chance that these new models will make their way to international markets later, so we’ll be keeping an eye out for further updates.