Urbanista says its solar-powered headphones can basically play endlessly
The Urbanista Los Angeles ANC set can convert all light into power. …read more
Category: Technology
Apple trusts Phobio for its trade-ins, but maybe you should think twice
The Atlanta-based firm is the behind-the-scenes operator of Apple’s trade-in program, and its online reputation raises questions
The Morning After: Both Apple and Samsung have launch events planned for April
Today’s headlines: Both Apple and Samsung announce launch events for April, the first major PS5 update will roll out starting today and Microsoft’s new ‘Modern’ accessories include its first webcam in years. …read more
Rode Connect lets you mix up to four USB mics at once
USB microphones are great for creators starting out in podcasting — until they have to mic more than one person in a room. There hasn’t been an efficient way to simultaneously record multiple USB mics on one computer, so now Rode is introducing an app that starts to offer a solution.
Rode’s new app, Rode Connect, lets you record multitrack or mixed stereo audio when plugging up to four USB microphones into your computer. There’s one big catch, though: for now, you can only do this with one model of USB microphone — Rode’s $99 NT-USB Mini.
You can think of the app as a virtual version of Rode’s $599 hardware mixer, the Rodecaster Pro, which allows you to plug in multiple XLR microphones, play audio clips, and record locally. The Rode…
Urbanista is the latest company to take a swing at solar-powered headphones
Urbanista’s new wireless noise-canceling Los Angeles headphones have a solar panel integrated into the length of the headband, allowing them to draw power from both indoor and outdoor light, Wired reports. Although its built-in 750mAh battery can be charged traditionally via USB-C and offers up to a respectable 50 hours of battery life, the real appeal to these headphones is the solar charging. They’re due to ship in early summer for £169 (around $232), according to Wired.
Although Urbanista’s site promises “infinite playtime” from the headphones, the exact amount of power these headphones can generate while solar charging varies. One hour spent in the sun should generate enough power for three hours of playtime, but on a cloudy day that…
DARPA picks Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin to build nuclear spacecraft
DARPA has picked Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin and General Atomics to build and demonstrate a spacecraft driven by nuclear thermal propulsion. …read more
Sony’s new PS5 update includes surprise improvements to HDR and 120Hz support
Sony’s new PS5 software update is live right now, and includes some surprise improvements to HDR and 120Hz support. While Sony already detailed a big new feature to let players store — but not play — PS5 games on an external hard drive, there’s also a new option to automatically switch video output to non-HDR when you’re using a game or app that doesn’t support HDR.
This is a key improvement for those using HDR on the PS5, as it now means you no longer have to dig into the settings menu to manually disable HDR when you’re viewing SDR content.
Alongside these HDR changes, this update also adds two new HDMI controls in the system part of the PS5 settings menu. You can now toggle one-touch play, which will automatically turn on a connected…
‘Final Fantasy XIV’ PS5 open beta upgrades both graphics and sound
Final Fantasy XIV is now available on the PS5 as an open beta, and Square Enix’s Matt Hilton has detailed the enhancements for the new console on the PlayStation Blog. …read more
Next year’s iPhones will have 48-megapixel cameras and no mini option: Kuo
The 2022 iPhone lineup will feature substantial changes to the camera system, according to analyst Ming-chi Kuo in an investor note reported on by MacRumors and AppleInsider. Kuo says the high-end iPhones — presumably the Pro range — will use a larger 48-megapixel sensor for the primary camera. Separately, the analyst suggests that 2023 iPhones may start to use Face ID sensors under the screen as a way to get rid of the notch.
48-megapixel sensors have been common in Android phones for years, but this component will reportedly be larger than most. It’ll be a 1/1.3-inch sensor with a pixel size of 1.25µm, according to Kuo. That’s smaller than the 1.7µm pixels in the iPhone 12 Pro Max, but Kuo says that the equivalent pixel size will be…
Canon confirms a high-speed EOS R3 mirrorless camera is on the way
Canon has confirmed a rumor that it’s developing the EOS R3, a “high-performance, high-speed” full-frame mirrorless camera designed for news and sports, along with three new lenses. …read more
