Panasonic’s S1 II is arguably the company’s best creator camera, if not the best creator camera, period. That’s according to our review from Steve Dent, who really liked a lot of things but especially the 6K RAW video and excellent stabilization. However, at $3,200, it’s expensive compared to the competition.

Engadget

Nikon’s Z6 III has nearly the same video capabilities, is a better camera for photography and costs at least $600 less. Then there’s Panasonic’s own $2,500 S1 IIe, which was announced at the same time as the S1 II. It has mostly the same features but uses a non-stacked sensor more prone to rolling. Make sure to check out the full review.

— Mat Smith

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Meta’s new smartglasses are an Oakley collab

And they look like Oakleys.

Meta

Meta’s already got its low-key Ray-Ban-designed smart glasses. Now it’s coming for our dads. Or me. Or people somewhere between our ages. These are the Oakley Meta HSTN, apparently pronounced: HOW-stuh. They’re made for athletes but will probably be worn by that guy in Costco. (I love Costco, by the way.) Oakleys might seem a jump away from Ray-Ban, but Oakley is owned by EssilorLuxottica, which also owns Ray-Bans.

Despite rumors that the Oakley glasses would have a camera embedded in the frame’s bridge, these first models keep the lens on the side, with an ultra-wide 12MP camera that can capture footage in 3K, compared to the 1080p resolution of the Ray-Ban iterations. Also, the battery is rated for eight hours on a single charge (double that of the Meta Ray-Bans).

Several variants are incoming in lens colorways a little more vivid than typical sunglasses, with red, black, deep-water (blue?) and even some transition lenses. However, the first limited-edition Oakley Meta HSTN has gold accents and black lenses. They cost $499 and go on pre-order July 11.

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Windows kills the Blue Screen of Death

Black is the new blue.

Microsoft has been teasing this for years, but now it’s happening. There needs to be some sort of error screen, so later this summer, Microsoft is transitioning to a Black Screen of Death instead. Slimming, but just as frustrating.

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The best early deals from Amazon Prime Day 2025

It begins.

Prime Day returns July 8 to July 11 this year, marking the first time the shopping event has been more than 48-hours long. Amazon typically has early Prime Day deals in the lead up to the event, and this year we’re already seeing some solid discounts on gadgets we like, including AirPods Pro 2 and an array of Amazon hardware.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-114916031.html?src=rss

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© Steve Dent for Engadget

The third Unpacked of 2025 (following installments in January and May) will be on July 9 at 10AM ET, kicking off in Brooklyn, New York. The company usually debuts its latest foldables in the summer, so we’re expecting to see the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 here. However, there’s an extra wrinkle (don’t say wrinkle with foldables!): It’s looking like the premium Galaxy Z Fold Ultra is joining the family.

What exactly can you expect? We've written all about it. When it comes to foldables, one recent leak suggested Gemini Live will be a core part of the foldables’ presentation — which would make sense with this form factor. You’d be able to chat with the foldables without having to unfurl them. Leaked renders suggest the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will have a slimmer profile than the prior model and even a navy blue option. Escape from the grey! If the renders are accurate, the cover display and inner display will be bigger too. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 will also get a bigger screen, apparently.

Samsung

Then there’s the Galaxy Z Fold Ultra. There are no specs teased yet, but the company insists this will have “industry-leading hardware, cutting-edge performance and seamless AI integration optimized for the foldable format.” This doesn’t appear to be the tri-fold design we’ve heard and seen in various places, however. Maybe that’s a Fold 8 situation.

Typically, Samsung will take the opportunity to update its accessories too, so there’s a good chance we’ll see the Galaxy Watch 8 and/or the Galaxy Buds. Roll on July 9 to see what appears.

— Mat Smith

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Tesla’s quiet robotaxi launch runs into a few bumps

One Tesla briefly drove on the wrong side of the road.

Tesla quietly launched its robotaxi service over the weekend for a small group of very vocal test passengers. The Sunday rollout included only a small number of cars and heavy human supervision. The company’s cautious rollout ultimately seems for the best — at least one robotaxi attempted to drive on the wrong side of the road. The ride video shared by Rob Maurer showed the Tesla’s wheel start jerking back and forth, and the car briefly crosses to the wrong side of the road. (The in-car supervisor didn’t appear to do anything.) Other early riders have shared multiple instances of robotaxis going over the speed limit.

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Apple read your mean tweets about Liquid Glass and Finder

Liquid Glass gets a little liquid.

Apple

Apple has already walked back some of the proposed design revisions it announced during WWDC 2025. 9to5Mac noticed the most recent developer betas included a darker, blurrier level of transparency, making parts of iOS et al easier to read and less of a carcrash, visually.

The other change reversed was the Finder app in macOS Tahoe. The previous developer beta flipped the colors in the icon, putting blue on the right and white on the left. Yeah, that’s it. Aren’t there many, many more things to complain and be worried about in June 2025?

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Xbox’s VR headset with Meta could be released sooner than we thought

A blacked-out, Xbox-branded Meta Quest 3S headset?

According to an image leaked on X and Game Sandwich, Xbox is reportedly teaming up with Meta to release an Xbox-branded Quest 3S headset in the coming days. The rumored specs show a very similar build to the base model Quest 3S with 128GB of storage but will reportedly be bundled with an Xbox wireless controller, a Meta Quest Elite strap and three months of Xbox Game Pass. Specs-wise, it seems largely the same VR headset, just with a moodier paint job. Given we’ve just seen the ASUS handheld collaboration, Xbox is having a busy hardware quarter.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121518786.html?src=rss

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© Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The June 22 launch of Tesla's robotaxis in Austin, Texas, actually occurred. It's a tentative first step for the company, however: a human "Tesla Safety Monitor" is accompanying the first riders. There are also only ten cars and rides are limited to certain Tesla users. Those early riders and influencers have been sharing their experiences on social media, mostly (surprise) on X. 

Most of the early riders appear to be pro-Tesla users, with a company mention in their social media bio or a Tesla cap in their profile picture (or both), so consider these initial reactions within that context. Having said that, an autonomous car ride is... an autonomous car ride. Many livestreams show the safety monitor gripping a handle on the right side of the passenger seat, possibly with emergency controls. However, that hasn't yet been confirmed. Many passengers attempted to talk with their safety monitors, with, er, limited success.

One user, Bearded Tesla Guy called the app “basically Uber.” Others found it challenging to summon a Tesla car from the limited pool of rides, watching multiple driverless Waymos pass them by as they waited. Austin is the place for autonomous ride testing: Waymo is scaling up its service in partnership with Uber, while Amazon’s Zoox is also testing its tech in the area.

After verifying your identity with the human safety monitor, you initiate the journey by pressing the “start ride” button. Tesla has linked the service to users’ existing profiles, allowing you to import your existing music playlists, which is a nice touch. You can also adjust your temperature settings, seat position and more from the companion app. Unlike a typical Tesla, the robotaxi has buttons to ask the car to pull over or stop in lane. There’s also the option to call support if you encounter any issues with your automated ride, although we’d assume that a human safety monitor would likely offer quicker assistance.

As the service kicked off, Tesla revealed a new robotaxi page, with all the guidelines and rules for its Robotaxis. The company also has detailed FAQs for using the service and a sign-up sheet for updates. Early access riders are being charged a flat rate of $4.20 for their journeys.

Parameters are strict, on top of the limited pool of cars. Rides have to go within a geofenced area that excludes airports and run between 6AM and midnight. At this point, we know to take Musk’s claims with a grain of salt, but the Tesla boss says the company plans to grow its taxi fleet to a thousand driverless cars on the road “within a few months.” Tesla has also said it will operate its robotaxi network using an “unsupervised” version of its self-driving software.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/teslas-first-robotaxi-rides-kick-off-in-austin-texas-100015076.html?src=rss

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© Tesla