Gear News of the Week: The iPhone Air Is Surprisingly Repairable, and Gemini Comes to Google TV

Thinner, smaller gadgets are usually harder to repair owed to their constrained space, but surprise, surprise, Apple's 5.6 mm-thin iPhone Air has earned a respectable 7/10 repair people from iFixit. A cardinal facet successful this was Apple relocating nan logic committee to create much abstraction for nan battery, making it easier to access. The telephone besides uses electrically debonding adhesive, first debuted connected nan iPhone 16, to make swapping batteries simple.

The iPhone 17 Pro models besides scored a 7/10 repair score, though iFixit notes that nan Air is surely easier to activity with. The screwed-in artillery of nan Pro models is likewise easy to replace; however, owed to nan phone's redesign, these models deficiency dual-entry access. That intends you erstwhile again person to region nan show to entree nan battery. (You can region nan backplate to switch Ceramic Shield 2, but nan entree to nan internals from present only allows you to alteration nan wireless charging coil.)

iFixit besides looked into societal media chatter astir really nan latest Pro models are susceptible to scratches (#scratchgate) and recovered that nan crisp corners of nan Camera Plateau module are nan culprit. The anodization furniture doesn't look to enslaved arsenic powerfully pinch nan crisp edges, meaning you'll apt spot much deterioration and tear astir nan aluminum camera module. Unfortunately, you can't switch that portion of nan telephone either, truthful your champion stake is to use a case.

OnePlus’ Next Smartphone Is Almost Here

It hasn't been a afloat twelvemonth since nan OnePlus 13 launched successful nan US, but nan institution has already moved connected to its follow-up, nan OnePlus 15. (The institution is skipping “14” because nan number is considered unlucky successful China, conscionable for illustration nan number four.) Details are slim, but it'll beryllium 1 of nan first Android phones powered by Qualcomm's recently announced Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, joining nan likes of nan Xiaomi 17 Pro.

OnePlus nary longer has a business pinch high-end camera shaper Hasselblad, but nan institution is hoping to instill assurance successful its smartphone cameras pinch a caller “DetailMax” image-processing engine. This reportedly prioritizes realism complete artificial filters and over-beautification, and should besides thief nan telephone enactment cool nether load. The early announcement whitethorn bespeak nan telephone will motorboat successful nan US earlier 2026, truthful expect to spot much news successful nan coming weeks.

Gemini Arrives connected Google TV

Google has announced that its Gemini AI adjunct is coming to a number of Google TV devices, elevating nan extent of onscreen hunt functionality for each users. Folks who cognize Google TV cognize that it already had beautiful tin sound hunt functionality, but that gets overmuch amended pinch nan summation of Gemini.

Instead of simply giving you results based connected actors aliases directors, you tin now inquire much in-depth queries, specified arsenic for summaries of seasons, aliases for celebrated titles you mightiness not cognize nan sanction of. For example, you mightiness inquire “What’s that infirmary play everyone has been talking about” to get The Pitt. Google claims you tin moreover usage it to find discuss betwixt family members who for illustration different genres of movies, for illustration “Find maine thing to watch pinch my wife. I for illustration dramas, but she likes lighthearted comedies.”

In summation to searching for titles to watch, you tin of people inquire immoderate query you mightiness want an reply to from Google’s Gemini AI—be that really to make a exemplary volcano aliases nan first steps to return successful learning nan guitar. For now Gemini is only disposable connected nan TCL QM9K Series, but it will beryllium disposable connected nan Google TV Streamer, Hisense models, and different devices by nan extremity of 2025. —Parker Hall

Withings Now Offers Advanced Women’s Cycle Tracking, Thanks to Clue

Women’s wellness continues to beryllium a attraction for fitness trackers. Earlier this month, nan smart ringing shaper Ultrahuman collaborated pinch Clue, nan popular women’s menstrual rhythm app. Now Withings is pursuing suit, announcing its Clue business earlier this week alongside nan updated ScanWatch 2. The caller ScanWatch 2 has an updated operating strategy that Withings calls HealthSense 4, which has AI-powered algorithms to foretell wellness events—like, oh, erstwhile your play is coming. It besides has what Withings calls an precocious heat-flux sensor, which reportedly predicts halfway assemblage somesthesia much accurately than nan tegument somesthesia aboveground readings that different trackers use.

To support play and fertility search done perimenopause, nan ScanWatch 2 will harvester continuously tracked data—like sleep, stress, activity, power levels, and somesthesia fluctuations—with information from nan Clue Plus paid subscription.

With women’s wellness investigation going underfunded and under-researched for truthful long, it’s nary astonishment that backstage companies are now rushing to fill nan gap. Right now, Withings is offering nan ScanWatch 2 and Clue Plus arsenic a bundle, discounting nan complaint to $380 for some nan ScanWatch and a twelvemonth subscription to Clue Plus connected Withings.com. —Adrienne So

GoPro Unveils Two Cameras and a Gimbal

Autumn is action camera season, and this twelvemonth nan first retired of nan gross is GoPro, which has released nan Max2, a agelong (long) awaited update to its Max 360 camera. The Max2 is entering a overmuch more competitory world of 360 cameras than its predecessor, pinch Insta360’s X5 and DJI’s Osmo 360 producing fantabulous 360 video successful astir 8K resolution. The GoPro Max2 packs successful an absorbing operation of pro and user features, pinch support for log video (with LUTs), and Timecode syncing astatine nan pro end, but pinch a very accessible, mobile editing workflow for much casual users.

Among nan Max2's standout features are what GoPro calls “True” 8K (10-bit) video. GoPro has been astatine pains to constituent retired that immoderate of nan pixels successful its competitors' cameras are mislaid because you're signaling information video connected a quadrate chip. The Max 2 has 8K worthy of pixels successful nan existent recorded information of nan sensors. How overmuch of a quality does this make? The reply from my preliminary testing is, unfortunately, it depends. There are times erstwhile nan video I sewage from nan GoPro Max2 is unquestionably amended than nan Insta360 X5 shooting nan aforesaid scene. There are different times erstwhile nan 2 are astir indistinguishable. We'll person a afloat reappraisal of nan Max2 retired adjacent week pinch much details.

Alongside nan Max2, GoPro besides announced nan Fluid Pro AI, a three-axis, subject-tracking gimbal designed for GoPro cameras and smartphones (or immoderate different camera nether 400 grams), and nan caller Lit Hero—a compact GoPro Hero tin of 4K astatine 60 frames per second, but only weighing 93 grams.

What GoPro did not denote mightiness beryllium arsenic important arsenic what it did. Namely, for nan first clip successful astir a decade, location is nary caller Hero Black coming this fall. —Scott Gilbertson

IWC Is Planning a New Kind of Space Watch

The allure of a lucrative abstraction relationship to immoderate watch marque is good documented. Omega dines retired connected its NASA connections continuously pinch its Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional—the legendary timepiece of Apollo lunar missions. Seiko’s spacefaring Pogue, worn by astronaut William R. Pogue during nan Skylab 4 ngo successful 1973, gives that marque extraterrestrial credentials. And US astronaut Dave Scott wore a Bulova chronograph during nan Apollo 15 ngo successful 1971.

Now, aft antecedently equipping Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn formation crews pinch its watches, IWC wants a bigger portion of abstraction action. To do this, it is joining forces pinch Vast, nan backstage institution aiming to motorboat a commercialized abstraction station, Haven-2, into debased Earth orbit by 2028, which would let astronauts to enactment successful abstraction aft nan decommissioning of nan International Space Station successful 2030.

IWC CEO Chris Grainger-Herr tells maine that nan resulting watch postulation from this collaboration pinch Vast will consequence successful innovations ne'er seen earlier successful abstraction watches. “Living and spending clip and moving successful microgravity is radically different from moving connected Earth. And I deliberation this is wherever nan ergonomic situation comes in—this is 1 of nan large feedback points we’ve received from our first 11 watches going to space,” says Grainger-Herr. “I deliberation nan wristwatch is not prepared from today’s position [for abstraction walks], some successful position of … operating your watch, which is designed for fingertips, and past you person an utmost situation successful position of radiation, and differences betwixt nan power facing nan sun and nan absolute acold facing away.” —Jeremy White

B&O Announces Excessively Expensive $1,500 Earbuds

Budget isn’t ever a connection that’s understood successful nan world of hi-fi, and it’s surely a connection that’s seldom understood by Bang & Olufsen. Even so, nan value tag connected nan brand’s caller Beo Grace noise-cancelling earbuds still took america a infinitesimal to digest. The $1,500 buds are made from polished aluminum and beryllium successful a pearl-blasted aluminum case, pinch a 4.5-hour artillery life connected a azygous charge, and up to 17 hours full including nan charging case.

Featuring a 12-mm titanium driver, nan Beo Grace person been built astir a caller acoustic architecture that leans connected immoderate of nan things learned from nan likewise pricey $2,200 Beoplay H100. B&O says it has optimized these buds for Dolby Atmos, and is promising “four times” much effective sound canceling than its “previous champion earbud” (the Beoplay Eleven, perhaps?), acknowledgment to six caller studio-grade mics. There’s besides an IP57 standing against particulate and h2o connected board, an improved transparency mode, and touch controls.

Outside nan flashy design, there’s not a full batch present that’s screaming $1,500 to us, but possibly nan impervious will beryllium successful nan playback. Those who clasp that religion alongside a patient disposable income tin prime these up starting November 17. —Verity Burns

There’s a New Balmuda Toaster

Even earlier it arrived connected American shores, WIRED reviewer Joe Ray fell successful emotion pinch a tiny toaster oven from Japanese institution Balmuda that uses steam to make “magic” slices that support their springiness wrong while crisping up beautifully connected nan outside—toast truthful bully he forgot to moreover food his slices. Balmuda nan Toaster has since arrived astatine Williams-Sonoma and gone viral connected TikTok.

So now we get an upgrade. Balmuda nan Toaster Pro, launched Monday, is simply a batch for illustration nan original oven but pinch a fewer caller features. There’s a “Shokupan” mode designed specifically for usage connected delicious Japanese beverage bread, precocious discovered by American denizens of Instagram. There's a Salamander Grill mode that’s fundamentally a high-heat broiler meant to mimic a torch you’d return to nan apical of a crème brûlée. And past location are nan aforesaid pizza, croissant, and “golden toast” modes arsenic before, which Balmuda says person been recently optimized.

The news of an updated Balmuda toaster is surely an announcement we get excited astir astatine nan WIRED offices. “This is bad for my wallet,” 1 commented. “Eeeeeeee shokupan,” exclaimed another. The Balmuda nan Toaster Pro retails for $380, while nan original Balmuda nan Toaster ($310) is still connected sale, but will beryllium phased retired aft supplies are exhausted. —Matthew Korfhage

Shokz Debuts Open-Ear Buds With Dolby Audio

Shokz—known for making bone-conduction headphones that don’t suck—announced nan OpenFit 2+ this week, its first open-ear headphones featuring Dolby Audio, nan suite of audio features that creates a much immersive and move listening experience. The OpenFit 2+ besides has respective different premium features, for illustration wireless charging, upgraded Bluetooth connectivity, and AI-powered sound canceling for calls.

This is simply a caller task for Shokz; the original OpenFit were bulky and fresh insecurely, but they intelligibly signaled a hunger for earbuds that were comfortable capable for all-day deterioration that didn’t person to beryllium screwed into aliases heat-molded into your receptor canal. Open earbuds are now 1 of nan fastest-growing categories successful audio, but sacrifices are usually made for sound quality—nothing sounds cleanable erstwhile ambient sound is truthful difficult to control. These are nan first unfastened earbuds we’ve seen that boast Dolby Audio, truthful we’re willing to trial them. They’re now connected waste for $200. —Adrienne So