After a months-long legal battle that has engulfed Twitter since Elon Musk first offered to buy the company for $44 billion in April, the deal is done, and Musk is already ringing in the changes. Musk, who has criticized Twitter’s leadership, fired CEO Parag Agrawal and Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, as well as several more top executives. He’s also likely to let more staff go, though he has told employees the cuts won’t be as high as 75 percent.

Musk spent time in Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters this week, where he met with employees. Bloomberg reported that he brought in some Tesla engineers to help “assess” Twitter’s code. The new owner wants to loosen moderation rules and even make the social network “open source” so users can better understand what Twitter is recommending. Longer term, Musk has mentioned turning Twitter into “the everything app” akin to WeChat in China, and even the possibility of charging companies for tweet embeds.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

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Microsoft Surface Pro 9 5G (SQ3 chip) review

Not this one.

The Surface Pro 9 with 5G makes it clear that Microsoft has learned some lessons since its first tablets – the original Surface launched ten years ago. The company’s latest hybrid is impeccably designed and can tap into speedy 5G networks. Unfortunately, it also retreads some errors of the past. These boil down to the custom SQ3 ARM system-on-a-chip, which isn’t as good as the Intel silicon found in the other Surface Pro 9. According to Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar, this custom chip leads to generally slow performance, compatibility issues and disappointment. It’s also more expensive than the faster Intel model.

Continue reading.

Samsung posts a 23 percent profit decline due to weak demand

But its mobile business still had a stellar third quarter.

Samsung has reported a record consolidated revenue of 76.78 trillion Korean won ($54 billion) for the third quarter of 2022, but this included a decline in profit from the previous quarter and year-over-year. The tech giant’s operating profit (KRW 10.85 trillion or $7.6 billion) has declined 23 percent from the second quarter. This was due to less demand for its component business, but the company’s phone and networks arm had a great quarter, attributed to sales of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4, both of which showed stronger growth than their foldable predecessors.

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Apple pulls gambling ads from App Store product pages following backlash

It’s paused the ads for now.

On October 25th, Apple started displaying more ads in the App Store, particularly in the “Today” tab and at the bottom of app listings. Since then, multiple developers have complained about seeingads for gambling under their listings’ “You Might Also Like” section, when they have nothing to do with their applications. Apple told MacRumors that it has “paused ads related to gambling and a few other categories on App Store product pages.”

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NASA’s InSight lander detected a meteoroid impact on Mars

This may be InSight’s last big accomplishment before it shuts down.

Researchers learned that a quake detected by the lander in Mars’ Amazonis Planitia region on December 24th, 2021 was actually a meteoroid impact — the first time any mission has witnessed a crater forming on the planet. The meteoroid is believed to have been somewhere between 16 and 39 feet long. It would have burned up in Earth’s skies, but it was large enough to survive Mars’ extra-thin atmosphere.

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Netflix’s animated Sonic series will arrive on December 15th

And our first look at ‘Sonic Prime’.

Almost two years after Netflix tweeted (and deleted) about an animated Sonic the Hedgehog series that’s coming to the streaming service, the show has a release date. Season one of Sonic Prime will hit the platform on December 15th. The first season will have 24 episodes. Netflix has also tweeted a teaser for the series.

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UN warns there’s currently ‘no credible pathway’ to keep temperature rise under 1.5C

It says societal and infrastructure overhauls are needed.

The United Nations has issued another stark warning that, under current policies, the planet is falling far short of the Paris Agreement goal of keeping the rise in global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius. That’s the threshold scientists say we have to remain under in order to mitigate extreme, life-threatening weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts and tropical storms. The statement added there was “no credible pathway to 1.5C in place.” The 13th edition of the Emissions Gap Report reiterates that major changes are required. It laid out the necessary actions across electricity supply, industry, transport and buildings, along with food and financial systems. The report noted that we’d need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a further 45 percent by 2030.

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Source: Engadget – The Morning After: Elon Musk now owns Twitter

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. 

Source: Engadget – Lego is discontinuing its Mindstorms robotics kits by the end of the year

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

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.

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.

Source: Engadget – Nothing Ear Stick hands-on: Stylish and comfortable, but I miss the noise cancellation

The next-gen iPhone 15 Pro models may swap its physical volume and power buttons for solid state versions that use haptic feedback, analyst Min-Chi Kuo wrote in a tweet spotted by MacRumors. The design would be similar to the non-physical home button on the iPhone 7, which used a Taptic Engine to simulate a button press with vibrations. It could also resemble Mac trackpads, which don’t move but simulate clicks using similar haptic technology. 

Making this work would require additional Taptic Engines on top of the one already in current iPhone models. “There will be Taptic Engines located on the internal left and right sides to provide force feedback to make users feel like they are pressing physical buttons,” said Kuo in a tweet thread. “Due to this design change, the number of Taptic Engines used in each iPhone will increase from the current one to three.”

Apple was reportedly planning a similar change for the Watch to increase water resistance, according to a 2018 rumor, but it never happened. It’s not clear how a buttonless design would benefit an iPhone, though, as it seems like two additional Taptic Engines would add rather than reduce complexity (a large part of the Watch Ultra’s heft is due to the massive Taptic Engine).

Kuo said that the buttonless design and switch to USB-C (which Apple already confirmed) would be two of the major changes for the next iPhone Pro models. Kuo is often right about such things, but the iPhone 15 models are still a year away, so a lot can change in the meantime. 

Source: Engadget – The iPhone 15 Pro may feature haptic solid-state volume and power buttons

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. 

Source: Engadget – SpaceX gears up for Falcon Heavy’s first flight since 2019 with a static fire test