Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Friday, December 22, 2017.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

As we prepare for the holiday break, there’s some surprising news from Google’s parent company and our big smartphone camera head-to-head competition.

Interesting.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will step down as executive chairman at Alphabet

Since Google co-founder Larry Page took over for him as CEO in 2011, Eric Schmidt has served as executive chairman of the company and maintained that role through the formation of its parent company Alphabet. On Thursday Schmidt announced he’s transitioning to become a “technical advisor on science and technology issues.” He said, “Larry, Sergey, Sundar and I all believe that the time is right in Alphabet's evolution for this transition.”

Guess which one won.

Tested: the best smartphone cameras compared

So which smartphone has the best camera? We put the iPhone X, Pixel 2, Note 8 and Mate 10 Pro to the test in scenarios that are particularly tricky for smartphone cameras and their small sensors: scenes with high contrast, backlighting or substantial vibration.

Tablet-top gaming.

'Civilization VI' comes to the iPad for $30

If you have a relatively new and powerful iPad, then you can play Civilization -- yes, the full game, mods and all -- on it. Not sure the experience is worth $30? The first 60 turns are free.

Take your chances.

Apple now requires that games disclose odds of 'loot box' rewards

Apple has added a new requirement for games that offer loot boxes with randomized rewards for purchase. If your game has them, you now have to disclose the odds of receiving the prizes promised.

An important upgrade.

Razer gives its phone a major camera update

Our review of the first Razer Phone showed it has plenty of power, a quad HD display and loud front-facing speakers, but the camera doesn't quite measure up. Now Razer has released an update that promises better colors, shadows and low-light performance. The tweaks won’t stop there, either -- Razer says another update is incoming that will put its performance on par with the cameras found in other flagship phones.

But wait, there's more...

1. Now YouTube will play full-size vertical videos on iOS

2. Fat Shark's 101 starter set is a gateway to drone racing

3. MoviePass has over 1 million subscribers

4. In 2017, society started taking AI bias seriously

5. Google's '12 Days of Play' sale has $1 movie rentals, plus cheap games, books and apps

6. Future Apple Watch models could include EKG heart monitoring

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Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Thursday, December 21, 2017.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Good morning! Do you remember Magic Leap? You might remember the hype. Well, we now have a headset to stare at -- even if it’s just a render. Your old iPhone is also slow for a reason and there’s talk of a YouTube rival from Amazon.

It’s real(?)

Meet the Magic Leap One: Creator Edition

After years of hype, Magic Leap is finally showing off CGI renders of its first mixed reality headset. The Magic Leap One: Creator Edition makes virtual objects appear in real life thanks to light field technology, and room-mapping tech makes sure they stay wherever you put them. It ships in 2018 -- just don’t ask about the price.

There’s a reason.

Apple really is making your old iPhone slow down

The software fix that helped out with battery-induced resets on iPhone 6-era phones had an impact you may not have known about. After tests by Geekbench revealed older phones were underclocked, Apple revealed that iOS slows the CPU down when a battery is cold, old or just low on juice. If your phone is running more slowly than it used to, replacing the battery could get it back up to speed right away.

v1.0

As ‘PUBG’ finally exits beta, its creators look to the future

Now that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has been officially released, what’s next? According to its developers, making the game the best it can be, and getting the Xbox version up to par with the PC release with an eye toward cross-platform play.

Big, bright and beautiful.

LG launches an ultrawide 5K HDR monitor

All three of LG’s new monitors are DisplayHDR 600-rated.

Too bad an inconsistent camera holds back an otherwise-solid phone.

BlackBerry Motion review: It's all about the battery life

The second smartphone developed by BlackBerry Mobile is an all-touch affair, and it manages to get more right than wrong. The combination of a mid-range chipset, a 5.5-inch 1080p screen and an enormous battery means the new BlackBerry Motion routinely runs for two days on a single charge. We also appreciated the handful of valuable software features layered on top of Android, something we can't say of every phone maker. Unfortunately, the camera's performance left a lot to be desired, and there are more powerful devices available in the same price range. Ultimately, it's a good phone, but not a very good deal.