The Morning After: First impressions of Nothings see-through smartphone

With its transparent back, light-up details and low-fi ringtones, the Nothing Phone 1 is framed as a playful reinterpretation of the smartphone, a category that (beside foldables) has become staid.

Engadget

Its an anticipated addition to the world of smartphones, and Nothing would do well to carve out a place for itself against not only the dominant Apple and Samsung, but an array of Chinese manufacturers with a lot of industrial might and funding.

I wanted to hate Nothings first phone, which has gone hard on detail drip feeding, glamor shots and an awful lot of hyperbole. But my early impressions (Im in the midst of reviewing the Phone 1 right now) are that, behind all that noise, theres a surprisingly decent smartphone here.

And its not prohibitively priced, either. Not competing with flagship cameras, screens and processors has led to prices starting at 399 (roughly $476). Sadly, theres no plan for US availability, but the challenge for Nothing is proving a new smartphone company can even exist in 2022.

Mat Smith

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The best Amazon Prime Day 2022 deals so far

All the tech deals worth your money for the 2-day shopping event.

Oh god, its Prime Day. The Engadget team has been hard at work sorting through the deals worth your time. Were pooling our best finds right here and updating our story throughout Amazons sale season. Weve got deals on many of our favorite wireless earbuds, an array of Apple gear, including iPads and Watches and, of course, loads of Amazon hardware.

My shopping finger is currently hovering over the DJI Mini 2 drone kit.

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Apple and Jony Ive are parting ways

It's the end of an era.

Apple and Jony Ive are breaking up and this time, according to The New York Times, it's for real. Ive left the tech giant in 2019 after over two decades and formed his own company called LoveFrom, with Apple as its first and primary client. The publication said both parties agreed not to extend their contract in the weeks leading up to its renewal. Ive reportedly wanted the freedom to take on new clients without needing to ask Apples permission.

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Stunning images from the James Webb telescope

Far more detail than Hubble.

NASA

NASA has unveiled the first batch of full-color images the James Webb Space Telescope sent back to Earth. The first image was of the Southern Ring nebula, which is around 2,500 light-years away, captured by JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). NASA says the telescope observed gas and dust from a dying star in "unprecedented detail." Weve pulled a bunch of the most jaw-dropping images over on the site.

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The game will remain free to play, and Spotify hopes to use it as a music discovery tool.

Heardle, a music trivia game that popped up following the massive success of Wordle, has a new owner. Spotify has announced it's buying the game but didnt disclose the terms of the deal.

Heardle is simply a game of name that tune. Players get six attempts to guess a popular song and, like Wordle, there's only one game each day to guess.

Peloton stops building its own products after just 3 years

Itll switch to third-party manufacturing for fitness gear like Bike and Tread.

Peloton said in a statement that it's "exiting all owned-manufacturing operations" to simplify its supply chain and cut costs. It added: "We believe that this along with other initiatives will enable us to continue reducing the cash burden on the business and increase our flexibility."

The company is still trying to course correct. In January, then-CEO John Foley said the company was "resetting our production levels for sustainable growth" following reports it was putting all production on hold. The following month, Peloton brought in a new CEO and laid off around 2,800 corporate employees, equivalent to 20 percent of the total workforce.

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Testing out iOS 16 beta

A fun, useful and promising update.

Engadget

With iOS 16, the iPhone will get a whole new lock screen, edit and send options in iMessage, improved dictation, a medication tracker, new sharing features and more. iOS 16 is shaping up to be a beefier update than years past, making the beta more tempting than ever. Our highlight so far is the redesigned, customizable lock screen. Read on for all our impressions and check out our iPad OS 16 beta preview.

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