Hasta La Gadget!

Apple is already working on a more affordable version of its yet-to-be-announced mixed reality headset, according to Bloomberg and The Information. Based on previous reports about the long-rumored mixed reality device, it will cost around $3,000, which is double the price of the Quest Pro headset Meta released last year. Apple’s engineers are reportedly working to develop a more budget-friendly version that’s closer to the price of the Quest Pro and are already discussing strategies to achieve that goal, such as using cheaper components. 

While the flagship device will have 4K internal displays for each eye, its more affordable counterpart will likely use ones with lower resolution. The company’s engineers are also considering the use of fewer cameras and slower processors, which would, in turn, eliminate the need for internal fans. Apple might ask users to manually adjust their field of view for the cheaper headset instead of equipping it with a motor that can automatically do that. It might choose not to equip the device with its custom H2 wireless chip that would allow it to work better with AirPods, as well. A Bloomberg report earlier this month claimed the tech giant is developing its own Bluetooth and WiFi chip to replace Broadcom’s by 2025. The Information said Apple could also choose to use that in-house chip to prevent a third-party company from affecting the device’s pricing.

The cheaper mixed reality headset is in its very early stages, the sources reported, and Apple has yet to build a working prototype. According to Bloomberg, though, the majority of Apple’s 1,000-person Technology Development Group is working on the two headsets and that the company could release it next year or in 2025. As a result of this dual-device strategy, though, Apple has reportedly put its plans to launch lightweight augmented reality glasses on hold. The company’s original vision was to create AR glasses that could one day replace the iPhone, but it has now scaled back work on the project. It’s now apparently unclear if the AR glasses will ever launch. 

As for Apple’s flagship mixed reality headset, Bloomberg previously said that the company plans to formally announce it this spring ahead of WWDC in June. 

It may surprise you what the average motorist will likely pay to make a Tesla Model Y into a daily driver.

As rumored, Apple has unveiled its new M2 Pro and M2 Max chips that will arrive very soon in new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini computers. The new models will be up to 40 percent faster and offer superior battery life — and if you’re keen to get one, they’re now available to order with shipping set to start next week.

The new entry level processor is the M2 Pro, which offers 10- or 12-core core CPUs including eight high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, boosting performance by up to 20 percent over the 10-core M1 Pro CPU. The GPU, meanwhile, goes up from 16 to 19 cores, promising faster processing for content creation apps like Photoshop or compiling in Xcode.

Apple

Meanwhile, Apple calls the M2 Max “the world’s most powerful and efficient chip for a pro laptop.” It has 67 billion transistors (10 billion more than the M1 Max) and 12 cores like the M2 Pro, but boosts the GPU cores from 34 to 38 compared to the M1 Max. More impressively, it supports up to 96GB of fast unified memory. With all that, Apple is processing graphic speeds up to 30 percent higher than the M1 Max chip, for chores like visual effects, machine learning and more. 

Along with the extra cores and efficiency, the new chips features Apple’s next-generation 16-core Neural Engine that’s up to 40 percent faster. The M2 Pro offers a new media engine with hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC and ProRes video encode and decode modes, and playback of multiple 4K and 8K ProRes video streams while using very little power. The M2 Max doubles the video encode and ProRes engines, allowing for double the encoding and playback speeds of the M2 Pro. 

The new MacBook Pro 14- and 16-inch models have the same designs as before, but offer considerably more performance, plus up to an incredible 96GB of unified memory in the M2 Max model. As such, the MacBook Pro with M2 Pro will deliver up to 20 percent better CPU and 30 percent graphics performance. The M2 Max versions offers a similar boost over the 2021 MacBook Pros with M1 Max CPUs. 

One of the main benefits, though, is battery life. The MacBook Pro models can now run up to 22 hours — the longest ever on a Mac, Apple claims. And as rumored, it now supports WiFi 6E, which delivers up to twice the connection speeds of the previous generation. Another new feature is an HDMI port that supports 8K up to 60Hz for the first time and 4K displays up to 240Hz. As before, it comes with three Thunderbolt 4 ports for high-speed connection to peripherals, an SDXC card slot and MagSafe 3 charging.

They use the same Liquid Retina XDR displays as the 2021 models — not the rumored touchscreens, which aren’t expected until 2025. All told, the new models look to be what content creators and other power users have been waiting for since the launch of the last models in late 2021. The new MacBook Pro models are now available to preorder at Apple and other retailers starting at $1,999 for the MacBook Pro with M2 Pro, and $2,499 for the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro. Shipping will start on January 24th. 

Apple

These chips will also appear in Apple’s new Mac mini, which comes with either an M2 or M2 Pro chip, giving potential buyers a budget option. Apple is promising considerably faster graphics processing and AI speeds for content creation, gaming, music and more. 

The M2 version comes with up to 24GB of unified memory and 100GB/s of bandwidth, boosting image editing speeds in Photoshop by up to 50 percent, for example. It can also “simultaneously play up to two streams of 8K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps, or up to 12 streams of 4K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps,” Apple says.

The faster M2 Pro version, meanwhile, supports up to 32GB of unified memory and offers 200GB/s of memory bandwidth. That delivers up to 2.5x faster graphics performance in Affinity Photo, 4.2 faster ProRes transcode in Final Cut Pro and 2.8x faster gameplay in Resident Evil Village, the company claims.

Apple

As before, it offers two Thunderbolt 4 ports with support for up to two displays, and can support a single 8K display — a first for a Mac. It also comes with two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, A gigabit ethernet port with a 10GB option and an upgraded headphone jack that supports high-impedance headphones. As with the MacBook Pro, they also offer WiFi 6E connectivity, along with Bluetooth 5.3. The new Mac mini starts at $599 with the M2 chip or $1,299 with the M2 Pro, and is now on preorder with shipping set to start on January 24th.

There are two points I want you to take away from this article. The first: An overwhelming majority of people do not need to pay $300 for a keyboard. Easy enough. But I’m about to wax poetic about one particular $300 keyboard that has made my life better, and I don’t want it to be mistaken for a universal endorsement. There are several perfectly competent keyboards available for a tenth of this price, and many excellent models – some would even say “premium” – are available for as little as $100. You have to be a particularly warped kind of consumer, one who has invested too much time in forums populated by eternally unsatisfied keyboard enthusiasts, to take this sort of plunge.

And yet!

I am incredibly privileged to be able to test and write about tech products for a living, but it’s exactly those two things – using a bunch of products, and doing a bunch of writing – that led me to buy Topre’s Realforce R2 PFU keyboard a few years back. I’ve tested several keyboards for work over the years, from compact and mobile-focused options to all sorts of mechanical models. Many of these were great for the right person, but none of them totally fit my needs as someone who has to spend most of the week typing and editing. Some had keys that didn’t travel enough, some were too fast, some were too loud – either in noise and RGB-addled design – some felt too slick to the touch.

Taste in keyboard feel is fully subjective, but, as with food or art, the more you obsess over it, the more in tune with your preferences you become. Topre keyboards have had something of a cult following for a long time now, so after not totally meshing with the various mechanical (Cherry, Kailh, Razer, Logitech, et al.) and non-mechanical keyboards I had used over the years, I dipped into my savings and talked myself into believing I’d be converted as well. There are various Realforce models – plus a handful of keyboards that use Topre switches but aren’t sold by the Japanese firm itself – but, as someone who uses the number pad, I decided to go all the way with the full-size R2 PFU.

You don’t have to know how a Topre keyboard works to enjoy one, but I’ll try to explain. For most, mechanical keyboards sit at the top of the keyboard pleasure food chain, with membrane or rubber dome keyboards all the way at the bottom. Topre’s electrostatic capacitive switches exist kind of between the two, but really in their own realm off to the side. They do use a rubber dome, but not in the same, simple way as many cheaper/laptop keyboards. They also don’t work like mechanical switches, which slide particularly-shaped pieces of plastic and metal against each other to create a distinct feel with each keypress.

Topre

Instead, a Topre switch has a conical spring inside its rubber dome and a special capacitive sensor underneath the spring. At a certain point as the spring is compressed, the sensor recognizes that the switch has been actuated electrically and registers the keypress. The rubber dome component provides most of the key’s tactile feel and resistance, but there’s more going on under the hood in a Topre switch than there is in a simpler rubber dome switch, which must be physically “bottomed out” for a keypress to register.

What does all of that actually mean? That’d be my second point: Topre switches are a joy.

Touch typing on the Realforce R2 PFU is consistently smooth and satisfying. It’s fast enough but not too fast. Each press requires just enough force and returns just enough even resistance to give my fingers a distinct, bouncy response but not fatigue them over hours of work. Fully pressing a key here has a noticeably softer “landing” than you’d get on a typical mechanical keyboard. (My particular model has 45g switches, but there are also options with heavier 55g switches or switches with varying weights for different keys.)

This Realforce uses Topre’s “silenced” switches, which aren’t dead silent, but have a pleasingly muffled sound that doesn’t call attention to itself and is still far quieter than most mechanical keyboards. With my wife and I working out of the same one-bedroom apartment for the past three years, being able to keep the noise down has been a necessity. With this, I don’t need to sacrifice a richer typing feel in the process. That said, many Topre owners enjoy the more pronounced but still mellow thock sound of the non-silenced versions of these switches.

The Realforce is also just a well-made piece of hardware. The keycaps have a matte PBT finish that feels durable and avoids virtually all finger grease. The lettering is cleanly legible, and after years of use the dye has shown zero sign of smudging. The keys at the bottom of the board are gently sloped upward in a way that makes them easier to locate without looking. None of the keys feel loose, and there’s no “pinging” sound that you might get if you slam down on a cheaper mechanical board.

Jeff Dunn / Engadget

The outer casing is made of plastic, but it’s thick and smooth, and it doesn’t creak as you press down. (It can flex a little if you go out of your way to squeeze the sides of the board, but there’s no real reason to do that in the first place.) The kickstands on the back are tightly wound in place, and the whole board has a robust sense of heft that keeps it firmly in place. Topre says each switch can survive 50 million keystrokes, which is lower than the ratings for some mechanical switches but still enough to last decades. And while the ivory-and-gray finish of my model won’t fly with everyone, I dig the more professional, ‘80s IBM-style aesthetic. I don’t need showy RGB lighting to signify to myself that I enjoy video games.

On the feature side, this model can also swap between three different actuation points – the idea being that a shorter actuation distance will result in faster key presses for tasks like gaming. I’ve barely messed with that, though, as the default setting has given the right balance between speed and accuracy. All of this is still perfectly serviceable for casual gaming, and it comes with n-key rollover, meaning it’ll recognize any new keypress regardless of how many keys you may already be holding down at once.

There are still many reasons to not get a Topre keyboard. This particular model has nothing in the form of backlighting, for one. Its USB-A cable isn’t detachable, and it only has one kickstand setting. Realforce keyboards generally aren’t compatible with most third-party keycaps, either, so your customizations are far more limited than most mechanical keyboards. And, hello, they usually cost between $220 and $300. The fact that these switches are relatively complex, not in super-high demand and manufactured (and tested) by one company in Japan almost guarantees a high premium.

I also have to note that the Realforce R2 family of keyboards I’m talking about here is technically outdated, as Topre introduced a newer R3 series several months ago. As of this writing, however, those are still not easily available in the US. For now, the R2 models carry all the same general benefits and downsides but are more readily in stock. Broadly recommended third-party models like the Happy Hacking Keyboard are still around as well.

Regardless, any Topre keyboard is a niche device, best suited for enthusiasts who regularly spend long stretches typing and are willing to pay a premium for it to feel consistently pleasant. For better or worse (for my bank account), that’s me. I can’t say it was the most responsible purchase, but the Realforce has made years of work a little more soothing and subtly luxurious, one keypress at a time. If you find yourself in a similarly wanting state, it’s worth finding a way to try one out.

If you enjoyed HBO’s take on The Last of Us, you’re far from alone. WarnerMedia has revealed that the video game adaptation racked up 4.7 million viewers on conventional and streaming TV for its January 15th premiere, making it HBO’s third largest debut of the streaming era. Only the Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon rated higher with a crowd topping 9.9 million, and Boardwalk Empire‘s 4.81 million-viewer launch from 2010 (when HBO Go arrived) was only slightly stronger.

The Last of Us “nearly doubled” the audience for Euphoria‘s season two opener, WarnerMedia says. While it’s not yet clear how well the game series will fare in the long term, the company notes that Sunday night viewing for an HBO show tends to account for 20 to 40 percent of the total gross viewership per episode.

The strong initial performance isn’t surprising. On top of the long hype campaign, The Last of Us has well-known names (including Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey and Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin) as well as the benefit of an established fan base from Naughty Dog’s game franchise. Include HBO Max availability and a good early critical response and there were many people willing to tune in.

It’s too soon to say if The Last of Us will be the most popular game-based TV series to date. It has to compete with successes like Netflix’s League of Legends series Arcane, among others. However, the initial viewing data suggests this bet on a lavish production has paid off for everyone involved. In that light, it’s easy to see why Sony was willing to commit to TV shows for God of War and Horizon. As with rival shows like Halo, this is a chance to expand interest in a franchise to many more people.