Based in China's electronic hub of Shenzhen, Huawei has long aimed to be a global brand, and over the last few years has worked hard to shake off first impressions from its early budget phones.

The company started off as a telecoms equipment provider, as well as a maker of Wi-Fi dongles, before entering the phone market with cheap handsets. But the last few years have seen Huawei impress with premium flagship devices like the dual-camera Huawei P9 and the Nexus 6P, which it collaborated with Google on.

And it's found great success, toppling foes like Xiaomi and Lenovo to claim the number one position in China, as well as clinching the number three spot in global rankings, according to a report by IDC Research this year.

"We don't want the consumers to just love our price tag, we want our consumers to love our product," Clement Wong, Huawei's VP for global product marketing, said of the company's move into the premium space. "We're quite solid, we may not take a rocket to the moon, but we're focused on making the product good."

The company certainly has made strides to differentiate itself in a competitive market. For instance, it partnered with Leica, a prestigious photography brand out of Germany, on the aforementioned P9. Huawei had to battle accusations it was just licensing the Leica brand name -- both companies issued statements denying this -- and had to deal with botched social marketing efforts, but the result is undeniable. The dual-camera device takes some of the best photos CNET has seen a smartphone take.

"One of the keys to the company's revival has been a big change in Chinese consumer perception -- Huawei's phones are no longer viewed as embarrassing cheap low-end products, but instead as higher-end devices," said IDC's Bryan Ma.

Big in the world

Huawei employs a large amount of staff -- over 176,000 globally, with 40,000 foreign employees located around the world. The company invests plenty of cash, to the tune of about $6.4 billion, in research and development centers, although many of these are devoted to its telecoms business.

These international investments seem to have paid off, with Huawei finding a second home in Europe. According to IDC's Ma, the bulk of Huawei's shipments are in China, accounting for around 60 percent, but the next biggest region is the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), where the company ships 20 percent of its phones.

Huawei currently has a market share of around 18 percent in Spain and 19 percent in Finland, and the company is looking towards the growing Asia Pacific market as the next battleground.

"The Asia Pacific is critical for us to be successful, the top markets there to grow are Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines," said Colin Giles, vice president of Huawei's consumer group. "We've done well in Myanmar, too."

The former Nokia and Motorola exec told CNET that besides Southeast Asia, India was another market that the company is looking at. That's no surprise, as India is the biggest market for Chinese companies after China, and Huawei isn't shy about trying to take on current leader Samsung and homegrown champion Micromax.

Unfortunately for the company, the US remains a tough nut to crack. Huawei doesn't have the best relationship with the US government, with lawmakers in the country banning the company from selling smartphones in 2012 due to its background in Chinese telecommunications. But Huawei is confident it can overcome this, and leverage its carrier relationships to help move devices. Alternatively, it's not afraid to offer smartphones without contract. The company wants to make it as easy as possible for US consumers to see the proof in the proverbial pudding.

As Huawei continues its new path of global dominance, pushing aside favourites such as Xiaomi, the next big thing may not be a $60 billion startup, but an almost 30-year old telecoms company that seems to have finally found its groove.

There are quite a few theories floating around out there as to why Microsoft decided to name the latest version of its flagship operating system Windows 10 , skipping over Windows 9. On Tuesday, the company unveiled the name and showed off a brief demo of the OS at a press event in San Francisco. The leap from Windows 8 to Windows 10 easily stole the spotlight from any visual design and developmental changes Microsoft has baked in to the product.

So what's the deal? On the surface, it appears to be smart marketing. The Windows 8 brand has been mired in controversy for the last two years stemming from Microsoft's bold yet unfamiliar design language and functionality decisions. So why not scrap any association with an entire numeric leap?

Other theories are that there are 10 major consumer releases of Windows, making this a celebration of that progress, while some feel it should have been called Windows 11 in that case. Some think Microsoft may make future Windows releases incremental, and thus free, after Windows 10 -- the same strategy Apple employed when it switched from numerals to feral cats after the release of Mac OS X. That theory has been bolstered by reports earlier this week stating that Andreas Diantoro, the president of Microsoft Indonesia, reportedly said the company was planning on making its next version of Windows free to current Windows 8 users. (The company declined to talk Windows 10 business models yesterday.)

Yet no explanation seems to come close to matching that of a self-described Microsoft developer who goes by the name cranbourne on the social news site Reddit. The user points the finger at Microsoft's almost 20-year-old releases that helped make the software maker a household name during the rise of the PC:

Microsoft dev here, the internal rumours are that early testing revealed just how many third party products that had code of the form

if(version.StartsWith("Windows 9")) { /* 95 and 98 */ } else {

and that this was the pragmatic solution to avoid that.

"Having worked on the Windows compatibility team before, I have no difficulty believing this," wrote user richkzad in response. There are in fact examples of this on publicly available code repositories.

Essentially, many software programs that have been updated to be compatible with each and every Windows upgrade since 1995 may have recycled a version of this code snippet to allow them to work with both Windows 95 and Windows 98. If Microsoft's next OS had been named Windows 9, such software would have seen that the name starts with "Windows 9" and could have confused the new operating system with Win 95 and 98. That could have created compatibility issues and caused the programs to stop working, or it could have led to version-check errors or other unknown problems.

Examples might include outdated but still-in-use versions of software from Apple, such as QuickTime; scores of word processing apps and plugins; and even large-scale enterprise software from companies like SAP and Oracle that's used to do resource planning, customer and supply chain management and database development. Obviously, this could have been a disaster, one Microsoft would rather sidestep.

Not only does this theory seem to be more probable than other explanations -- countless troves of third-party software were built on the backbone of Windows 95 and Windows 98 -- it also seems to be sprouting up independently among other Microsoft watchers and tech industry pontificators. Here's blogger and technologist Anil Dash with the very same conclusion:

There is no way of knowing what Microsoft executives were really thinking for now. Terry Myerson, Microsoft's executive VP of operating systems, took a great deal of time at the beginning of yesterday's event to toy with the audience. He first explained why Windows 9 would make logical sense, only to wipe the PowerPoint screen. He went on to say that Windows One was a better choice as it jibed with the company's nonsequential naming scheme for its Xbox gaming console (the company released the "Xbox" and then the "Xbox 360," only to go with "Xbox One" for the gadget's latest iteration). But Myerson joked yet again, saying the Windows One name was already taken and showing a slide of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who oversaw the original Windows 1.0 release.

When Myerson landed on Windows 10, he had to reassure the crowd that he was indeed serious this time. They were skipping 9 -- for real. "It's a name that resonated best with what we'll deliver," Myerson said.

When reached for comment, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "Windows 10 carries Windows forward into a new way of doing things. It is not an incremental change, but a new Windows that will empower the next billion users."

Japanese automaker Honda released the first sketch of its upcoming Honda Prologue battery electric SUV teased in a sketch unveiled this week and -- so far, so good -- it looks like it'll be a handsome ride when it arrives in 2024.

The lead up to the Prologue has been a long one, its development no doubt complicated somewhat by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Honda first announced the Prologue in June 2021 as the first of what will eventually be 30 new EVs introduced globally by 2030 and the opening step towards its goal to sell 500,000 EVs in North America within a similar term.

The Prologue will be built in partnership with General Motors and will use the American automaker's Ultium electric vehicle platform and battery packs. Honda will design and build the Prologue's body and interior atop that architecture, which we're getting our first peek at today in the released sketch.

I'm told to look for hints of the cute, compact Honda E electric hatchback in the Prologue's design, but I'm not picking any of that up from the sketch. What I am seeing is more than a little of the 11th-gen Civic's design DNA -- particularly in the front fascia and strong horizontal headlamps. Scale is difficult to tell with just a rendering to go on, however Honda tells us that the Prologue will join the Passport and the Pilot in the midsize-class. With its long wheelbase, wide stance and low roofline, I can't help but be reminded of the new Mazda CX-50's proportions. The Prologue's chunky wheels and tires and "adventure-ready neo rugged" design only reinforce the resemblance.

Penned at the Honda Design Studio in Los Angeles, the Prologue's designers used virtual reality technology to collaborate with each other during the pandemic and remotely with the vehicle development team across the Pacific in Japan. Honda says that its designers paid particular attention to the Prologue's minimalist surface shaping and reducing the number of body and panel lines, not only to lend the Prologue a "modern and fresh design" but also to improve aerodynamics, range and cabin noise -- an acute challenge in the absence of combustion engine sounds.

Beyond the Prologue, Honda plans a diverse portfolio of electric vehicle and EV platforms leading up to its 2030 goal. The Prologue will be joined by an Acura-branded electric SUV when it hits the road in 2024. In  2026, Honda will begin producing the first new models based on its internally-developed e:Architecture starting in 2026 alongside a series of affordable EVs based on yet another architecture co-developed with GM going on sale in 2027.

To support this upcoming electric wave, Honda is working to train its dealers  to sell, service and educate customers about electric vehicles. The automaker also previewed a new flexible, modular dealership facility design, new requirements for the number and type of EV charging stations at each dealership based the location's expected EV sales volume and new guidelines for the special tools and equipment service centers will need to maintain Honda electric vehicles.

After years of trouble and delay, Intel's chipmaking business finally has some good news to report. The most advanced manufacturing process the company has committed to will arrive in the second half of 2024, six months earlier than planned.

Intel fell behind rivals Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung because of problems modernizing its manufacturing, and it convinced chip designer Pat Gelsinger to return to the company as chief executive in 2021. Shortly afterward, Intel laid out a road map that meant five improvements to its manufacturing processes in four years, with manufacturing processes named Intel 7, Intel 4, Intel 8, Intel 20A and Intel 18A. Each step improves a chip's performance relative to its power consumption.

Those steps are the foundation of a plan to catch up to rivals in 2024 and surpass them in 2025. If successful, Gelsinger's plan will help Windows PCs keep up with ever more powerful Macs, return Intel to its glory days at the vanguard of the semiconductor business, justify its tens of billions of dollars of expenditures and slow the shift of chip manufacturing from the US to Asia.

"Intel must have good confidence in the [schedule] pull in," said Tirias analyst Kevin Krewell. "Otherwise, why announce it this early?"

Intel detailed the advancement along with the announcement that it's opened its latest chip fabrication facility, or fab, devoted to developing its next-gen manufacturing processes. It performs such work at its newly named Gordon Moore Park in Oregon, where it's investing $3 billion in the new Mod3 wing of its D1X fab. Intel replicates its D1X processes across fabs all around the world.

The manufacturing progress news bodes well not just for Intel's 2024 chips, but also for Intel's business using the steps on the way.

Those steps are important for Intel's own processors and for another part of Gelsinger's recovery plan, Intel Foundry Services, a separate business unit set up to build others' chips the way TSMC and Samsung do. IFS customers will get access to Intel 3 and Intel 18A processes, the company said.

Gelsinger had hinted earlier that its chip manufacturing improvements were on or ahead of schedule, and he showed off an 18A wafer with test chips in February. Intel didn't offer specifics on what went well. 

The new 270,000-square-foot Mod3 building has high enough ceilings and strong enough floors to accommodate the latest machines used to etch circuitry onto the silicon crystal wafers that after months of processing steps become microchips, said Ryan Russell, corporate vice president of logic technology development.

Intel was slower than rivals to move to chipmaking equipment that uses extreme ultraviolet light to inscribe smaller circuitry elements on chips, a technology called photolithography that's a key part of processor miniaturization. Under Gelsinger, Intel is trying to play nicer with chip fabrication equipment makers like Dutch ASML. Indeed, Intel will receive ASML's first model of a second generation of EUV machines using an approach called high numeric aperture that inscribes finer lines than conventional EUV.

Intel has taken several measures to ensure it doesn't repeat mistakes made adopting its last two manufacturing processes, called Intel 10 and Intel 7. For one thing, it's spending more money on test wafers to try different options.

"Having more silicon that you can run in parallel really lets you speed up your development process because you can afford to run more innovative experiments," Russell said.

For another, Intel has decoupled improvements and developed contingency plans so it can keep moving ahead even if all its ideas don't pan out.

Two big developments coming with Intel 20A are backside power delivery, branded PowerVia, which moves electrical power supply circuitry to the opposite side of the processor instead of blending it with millions of communication channels. Another is the new "gate all around" design for transistors, the core circuitry element that processes data, which Intel brands as RibbonFET.

They're both dramatic changes, but Intel is developing PowerVia with conventional transistors, too, in case the RibbonFET approach has problems, said Sanjay Natarajan, senior vice president of logic technology development.

Intel also is adopting high numeric aperture lithography more flexibly. That's scheduled to arrive in Intel's 2025 chipmaking process, but the company can change course.

"We're prepared for a 2025 intercept," Natarajan said. "If high NA is really mature later, let's say 2026, we're prepared for the right intercepts there."

Motorola will be hosting a virtual event April 22 to launch its latest flagship phone, the company said in a Monday tweet. The event kicks off at 9 a.m. PT. 

An accompanying teaser video shows footage of what appears to be the rumored Edge phone. No further details were shared. 

The company has joined a handful of other companies, including Samsung and Huawei, that have debuted foldable phones with the release of its new Razr device earlier this year. Motorola is also launching its new budget-friendly Moto G Stylus and Moto G Power smartphones later this week in the US. Those phones are now available for preorder on the company's website. 

Samsung announced its Galaxy S22 phone lineup and Galaxy Tab S8 tablet at an Unpacked event on Wednesday, and the high-end Galaxy S22 Ultra was the star of the show. The S22 Ultra's size, design and stylus position it as a successor to the now-discontinued Galaxy Note.

"Galaxy S22 Ultra takes the beloved functionality of the Galaxy Note and the most celebrated aspects of the S series and merges them for a truly unique mobile experience," said TM Roh, president and head of Samsung Electronics Mobile Experience in a press release.

Here's everything we know about the Galaxy S22 Ultra. For a broader overview of the entire Galaxy lineup, check out our Galaxy S22 roundup. And here's how to preorder the Galaxy S22 phones.

The S22 Ultra will be released Feb. 25 for $1,200

There's good news for fans. In spite of rumors of possible delay, the Galaxy S22 Ultra will be available to purchase on Feb. 25. Preorders for the high-end Galaxy model start immediately. 

As for pricing, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is the most expensive phone in Samsung's new lineup. The Galaxy S22 Ultra starts at $1,200 (£1,149, AU$1,849) without a device trade-in, similar to the base price for the Galaxy S21 Ultra. The price, however, increases as storage capacity gets larger. 

Here's the prices for the Galaxy S22 line, for reference. 

Galaxy S22 prices

	128GB	256GB	512GB	1TB
Galaxy S22	$799	$849	N/A	N/A
Galaxy S22 Plus	$999	$1,049	N/A	N/A
Galaxy S22 Ultra	$1,199	$1,299	$1,399

Read more: How to buy a new iPhone or Android phone in 2022: CNET's top shopping tips

How the S22 Ultra compares to the Galaxy Note

Samsung seems to have looked to its past for the Galaxy S22 Ultra. For the first time since the Galaxy Note 20, Samsung's latest high-end phone features a physical slot on the smartphone for the S Pen stylus. Samsung also made improvements to the S Pens functionality by offering lower latency and the ability to transcribe handwritten notes to text in 88 languages. Last year's Galaxy S21 Ultra was the first Galaxy S phone to support the S Pen, but there's no place to store the stylus, and you need to buy it separately. 

The Galaxy S22 Ultra also sports a Note-like angular design with sharper edges, which is significantly different from the standard Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus's softer look. The Galaxy S22 Ultra's large 6.8-inch display is reminiscent of the Note, as well. 

For comparison's sake, here's a photo of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra's cameras

At a quick glance, the Galaxy S22 Ultra's camera specs look fairly similar to last year's Galaxy S21 Ultra. But, Samsung claims to have made some important improvements under-the-hood to boost overall camera quality. 

The Galaxy S22 Ultra features a 108-megapixel wide, 12-megapixel ultrawide and two 10-megapixel telephoto lenses, similar to the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Both Ultra models sport a 40-megapixel selfie camera, as well. But, this year, Samsung's Galaxy S line comes with internal camera upgrades that should make taking pictures in the dark (Samsung calls it Nightography) and framing subjects better. We'll know more when we test the new S22 Ultra for ourselves, but our first impression of the S22 Ultra's cameras is... not inspiring.

Read more: Best camera phones for 2022

How many colors does the S22 Ultra come in? 

The Galaxy S22 Ultra comes in four different colors: black, white, green and burgundy. The base Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus come in black, white, pink gold and green. 

Processor, battery life and other key details

Samsung usually uses both its own Exynos chips and Qualcomm's processors in its phones, depending on the region, and it has done the same this year. That means the US version of the S22 series runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which the chipmaker says should bring improvements such as the ability to capture 8K video at 30 frames per second and 30% faster graphics rendering. 

Samsung's new Exynos 2200 processor was unveiled last month. The new chip is said to be a gaming powerhouse, and includes a brand-new graphics processing unit that it built in collaboration with AMD, which the company claims will bring a big boost to gaming and overall graphics performance. However, it's unclear if the Galaxy S22 has this chip.

When it comes to battery life, the S22 Ultra has a lot in common with its predecessor. The S22 Ultra has a 5,000-mAh battery, just like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, but comes with 45-watt fast wired charging. 

Samsung's Ultra phones also typically include more memory and storage than their less expensive siblings, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra has followed that trend. The base version of the S22 Ultra comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Other options include a model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB, 512GB and 1TB of storage.

All told, the Galaxy S22 Ultra seems like it could be a viable successor to Samsung's popular Galaxy Note. That also makes it easier for Samsung to distinguish the Ultra from the regular Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus. For more, here's how the three Galaxy S22 phones compare to each other, the Galaxy S22 vs. S21 (and S22 Ultra vs. S21 Ultra), Galaxy S22 vs. S21 FE, and how the Galaxy S22 compares to the iPhone 13 Pro and the Pixel 6 Pro.

The electrification of classic cars is always kind of a sticky subject. On the one hand, there is something to be said for originality and preserving the driving experience that the factory intended. Conversely, if the car's original drivetrain was only OK and not something extraordinary like a small-displacement V12 or a high-revving flat-six, then conversion to electric power could make a massive difference in how pleasant the car is to drive in modern traffic.

That's why we're super excited about Mini's announcement on Tuesday that it would offer reversible, factory-quality EV conversions for original Minis called Mini Recharged. The Mini experience is all about the chassis and suspension and less about the buzzy little four-cylinder engine making double-digit power. The fact that Mini's conversion procedure doesn't involve any cutting or other irreversible modifications means that owners worried about their car's future value can swap it back at any time.

The process involves fitting a modern electric motor and a 6.6-kilowatt-hour battery, which, combined, are good for around 99 miles of range on the WLTP cycle and a continuous output of around 120 horsepower. That, plus the instant torque of an electric powertrain means that a Mini thusly converted will likely be thrilling to drive, maybe even borderline terrifying. 

Also included in the conversion is a new center instrument display -- a classic feature of Minis back to their introduction in the 1950s and carried through all the way to today. The new display features drive temperature, selected gear, range and speed but looks period-appropriate.

It's not clear if Mini is using components from the modern Mini SE electric vehicle or if they're using off-the-shelf components from some other supplier. Either way, the work being done by the Mini factory in the UK means the quality of the conversion should be high. Each converted vehicle also gets a unique number, which the new owner can show off.

Mini isn't saying how much each conversion costs, but considering the need to get your car to the factory in the UK, plus all the parts and labor, we're guessing it will be somewhere between "a lot" and "eye-watering."

Facebook parent company Meta is betting big on the metaverse, the virtual worlds it wants people to work, play and socialize in. But a series of reported product cancellations suggests it will take some time before the wager pays off.

Meta scrapped plans for a 2024 release of its first version of augmented reality glasses and will instead focus on a second version of the glasses, according to The Information, which cited both a note to employees and people familiar with the matter. Meta is also pausing the development of a dual-camera smartwatch, opting to work on other wrist devices, Bloomberg reported. Additionally, the company plans to market its Portal video chat devices to businesses with remote workers rather than to consumers, the reports said.

The delays mean consumers will likely have to wait longer than expected for Meta's homegrown wearables, and it highlights the challenges the company faces as it focuses more on consumer devices. Wearables such as smartwatches and AR glasses, which have yet to become as ubiquitous as smartphones, are key to how Meta expects people to enter the metaverse. Though Meta has created a multibillion dollar ad business and the world's largest social network, it doesn't have the reputation for developing hardware that Apple or Samsung has. 

"A lot of it is going to be dependent on not just the technology that [Meta brings] to market, but overall the consumer adoption is going to be driven by other companies as well," said Jeremy Goldman, director of marketing and retail briefings at Insider Intelligence. Apple is rumored to be working on an AR/VR headset, though analysts don't expect the company will release the product this year.

Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who oversees the company's hardware projects, tweeted on Thursday that Meta still plans to release hardware, such as wrist wearables and AR glasses.

"The path to groundbreaking products is not a straight line," he said in the tweet. "As is common in our industry, we iterate on multiple prototypes in parallel & shift resources as we learn." 

Meta didn't respond to a request for comment. 

Here's what you need to know about Meta's consumer hardware efforts.

What do glasses, smartwatches and video chat devices have to do with the metaverse?

Years before Facebook renamed itself Meta, the company had already set its sights on what could come after the mobile internet. 

In 2014, the social media giant spent at least $2 billion to purchase virtual reality headset maker Oculus and talked about a future in which people will be able to experience major life events, such as a baby's first steps, without being there in person. 

The creation of the metaverse involves more than just strapping on a VR headset, however, and encompasses multiple ways for people to enter and exit virtual worlds. 

"You'll move across these experiences on different devices -- augmented reality glasses to stay present in the physical world, virtual reality to be fully immersed, and phones and computers to jump in from existing platforms," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a founder's letter published when the company announced its name change in October 2021.

What devices has Meta released?

Outside of releasing VR headsets, Meta also has a line of video chat devices called Portal.

In 2021, the company released its first smart glasses, a collaboration with Ray-Ban. The glasses allow people to take photos and videos, as well as listen to music. At the time, Zuckerberg said the smartglasses are "an important step towards the future when phones are no longer a central part of our lives." They don't, however, include augmented reality. 

Meta hasn't publicly confirmed it planned to release a smartwatch in 2024, but Bloomberg reported the product included activity tracking, music playback, messaging and a camera so users could snap photos.

Last year, Meta showcased some of the wrist-based technology that could sense your neural signals and track your intentions. And Meta also opened its first physical store in May to showcase its VR headset, smartglasses and Portal video chat devices.

Are consumers buying these devices?

Meta hasn't revealed how many people use its VR headsets, smartglasses and video chat devices, but the company is losing money on its metaverse ambitions. In the first three months of this year, Meta's metaverse business Reality Labs lost $2.96 billion, Meta said in an earnings report.

The Information reported that research firm IDC estimates Meta's Portal video chat devices made up less than 1% of the world market, trailing Amazon Echo and Google Home products. Consumers started buying more Portal video chat devices during the pandemic but not enough for the gadgets to become mainstream. IDC estimates the company shipped 600,000 Portal devices in 2020 and 800,000 in 2021, a roughly 30% year-over-year increase.

In April, Zuckerberg told investors that he doesn't think the company's metaverse business will be profitable for a long time. He sees Meta's investments in building these devices as part of laying the groundwork for the 2030s, when Zuckerberg expects that VR and AR will be "more established as the primary computing platform." 

Why is Meta delaying the release of some of these gadgets now?

Bloomberg reported that the delays are likely because of Meta's efforts to cut back on costs. In May, Meta confirmed to Reuters that Bosworth told employees the company couldn't afford to do some projects anymore and planned to postpone others.

Social media companies are anticipating challenges when it comes to roping in advertising dollars, which make up the bulk of their revenue. The war in Ukraine, for example, prompted some advertisers to pause ad campaigns, and Apple's privacy changes meant advertisers have to do more to gauge the effectiveness of their marketing, with less data about consumers. Last year, Apple released a new feature that requires people to opt in to apps collecting their data, a move heavily criticized by Facebook, which alleged the change would harm small businesses. Apple said the change gave users more control over their data. 

There are other challenges Meta is grappling with. The social network has been encouraging people to post more videos as it competes with rival TikTok, but Meta doesn't make as much ad money from short-form video as it does on other products.

"Meta has been clear about the fact that its focus is now on two primary objectives: Growing and monetizing short-form video and building its slice of the metaverse," said Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester. "The company's moves around Portal is just one more signal that Meta is divesting anything that'll take resources away from its north star."

Meta isn't the only social media company looking at cutting costs. Snap, which has also released consumer gadgets, such as smart glasses and a selfie drone, lowered expectations for second-quarter revenue and earnings. Outside of Apple's privacy feature, Snap said it was facing rising inflation and interest rates, supply chain shortages and other challenges. Meta, like Snap, is also reportedly slowing down hiring.

Most smart TVs aren't compatible with virtual private networks right out of the box, but pretty much any smart TV can be hooked up to a VPN. Even if your TV isn't of the smart variety, you may still be able to use a VPN on it -- as long as you have the right equipment.

One of the two big reasons why you may want to hook a VPN up to your smart TV is if you want to stream geographically restricted content. The other is if you want to keep your TV watching activities private and effectively hidden from your internet service provider.   

There are a couple of different ways you can go about setting up your VPN to work with your TV. But which route you choose to take will depend on your personal preference, technical know-how, budget and what equipment you have on hand. We'll show you some of the ways you can set a VPN up on a TV and highlight why you would want to do so.

Why use a VPN on a TV?

Today's TVs aren't just for watching local network programming or cable TV. They're also for streaming video on demand from your go-to streaming providers. 

The amount of streaming content available today might seem limitless already, but some content is regionally locked. If you're itching for more, or if the programming you want to watch isn't available in your country, you can use a VPN on your smart TV to spoof your location to access virtually any of the content you may want. 

If, say, you're in the UK but you want to stream programming that's only available in the US, then you can hook your VPN up to your smart TV and connect to a server in the US. Since the VPN changes your IP address to a US IP address in the process, the streaming service you're visiting will assume you're in the US and serve up American programming, even if you're across the Atlantic. Just make sure to check with your streaming service of choice to confirm that using a VPN doesn't violate its terms of service. You don't want to risk losing access to your streaming account for any reason. 

Even if unblocking geo-restricted video content on your smart TV isn't of particular interest to you, you may want to use a VPN on your TV as a way of preventing your ISP from being able to monitor your viewing habits or keep track of the internet activity being generated by your smart TV. 

When you connect to a VPN, you establish an encrypted connection between your device and the internet via a VPN server in a remote location. This means that all of the internet traffic you're transmitting through that encrypted VPN connection is hidden from any entity with an intent to monitor your activity, including your ISP. When you hook up a VPN to your TV and connect to a VPN server, your ISP won't be able to see what you're watching or otherwise decipher any of the internet activity transmitted or received by your TV.

How to set up a VPN on a smart TV

Like any software or service, your first step here is to work backward from what's available for your operating system. The most VPN-friendly smart TV OSes are Amazon Fire TV and Google's Android TV and Google TV platforms. That said, if you use Roku, Apple TV or the built-in operating systems for Samsung, Vizio, LG or any other platform, you still have options. 

Here are a few of the most practical ways you can go about hooking up a VPN to your smart TV. 

If you have Fire TV

If you have one of Amazon's new Fire TVs, you'll be able to download your VPN directly to your TV, provided your VPN offers a Fire TV app. Not all VPNs offer compatibility with Amazon Fire devices, so you'll need to pick one that does if you decide to go this route. The VPNs we recommend that are compatible with Amazon Fire devices include Surfshark, NordVPN and ExpressVPN. If you don't already subscribe to one of those VPN providers, then go ahead and sign up and download the provider's app from the Amazon Appstore. (All three offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try each one risk-free to see which one works best for you).

Once you've downloaded the app and signed into your VPN account through your Amazon Fire TV, you can connect to a VPN server. As long as you're connected to the VPN on your Fire TV, you can unblock streaming content and hide your viewing habits from your ISP.

If you have an Android/Google TV

Similarly, if your smart TV runs on Google's Android operating system, then you can set up a VPN on your TV by simply downloading your VPN's app from the Play Store directly onto your TV. And even though Google is in the midst of rebranding Android TV as it transitions to a slicker, more user-friendly platform in Google TV, you'll still be able to access Android apps in the Play Store after you've upgraded to Google TV since it still runs Android under the hood.  

What you'll need to do first is to get a VPN that works on Android, if you don't have one already. Then, navigate over to the Play Store on your Google TV, search for your VPN provider's app and download it. Once you've downloaded the VPN app to your TV, sign in and connect to a VPN server. 

If you want to unblock US-only content, then you'll need to connect to a VPN server in the US, or to a server in the UK for UK-only content, and so on. If all you want to do is protect your TV watching privacy and prevent your ISP or other entities from monitoring your viewing activity, then we'd recommend connecting to a VPN server closest to your physical location, in order to achieve optimal connection speeds through your VPN. 

The potentially more difficult (and more expensive) way

If your TV doesn't run on the Android operating system, then one of the ways you can set up a VPN on your smart TV is by running a VPN connection through a router. But proceed with caution. Not all routers support VPN connections, so if you don't already have one, you'll need to purchase a compatible router -- which can get pricey if you want a router that can handle the VPN connection and deliver a smooth streaming experience. Also, installing a VPN on your router (even if it is compatible) won't necessarily be plug-and-play, and you risk ruining your router or voiding its warranty if you botch the installation process. 

Fortunately, the best VPN providers on the market do offer step-by-step instructions for router installations for a variety of VPN-compatible router models in their help sections and have support staff on hand to help you. So you don't have to go it alone completely, but the process still isn't entirely risk-free. If you don't want to complete the install yourself, some VPNs, through a company called FlashRouters, are happy to sell you routers with VPN compatibility already preinstalled on them. This could be the way to go if you don't want to risk installing it yourself, but keep in mind that you'll be paying a premium of probably about $100 to $150 over and above retail for your preconfigured VPN router.

So, once you've got your VPN successfully installed on your router and configured it with the servers you intend to use, you can go ahead and connect to a VPN server through your router firmware's dashboard. You'll want to make sure your TV is connected to your VPN router to ensure it's using the VPN connection and you're able to unblock the content you want and keep your TV viewing activity private.

See also: The Pros and Cons of Using a VPN on a Router

The resourceful way

If you don't have a Google TV or a VPN-compatible router, and don't intend to purchase either, you can use the equipment you have on hand to share your VPN connection with your smart TV. 

You could accomplish this by running an ethernet cable from your computer to your smart TV. But on top of stringing a long wire from computer to TV, this method may require additional adapters, depending on what kinds of devices you have. Once you've got the connection between your TV and computer established, then connect to a VPN server on your computer and you're all set. The wired connection may not be the most practical solution, but it's an option. 

The simplest and most practical way to go about this would be to use your laptop or desktop as a Wi-Fi hotspot and connect your TV to your computer wirelessly. 

Note that if you're using MacOS, you'll need to manually set up the VPN on your Mac using either the L2TP or IKEv2 VPN protocol and connect your Mac to your router via an ethernet cable to share your VPN connection over Wi-Fi. Your VPN provider will have specific instructions on how to manually set up its service on your Mac.  

On Windows:

• Go to Settings -> Network & Internet -> Mobile hotspot 
• Click on Edit to set a network name and password for your hotspot
• Select Wi-Fi under Share my internet connection over
• Toggle the Mobile hotspot to the On position under Share my internet connection with other devices
• Connect your smart TV to the hotspot you just created as you would any other Wi-Fi network and connect to your VPN on your PC

On Mac:

• Connect your Mac to your Wi-Fi router using an ethernet cable (use an adapter if your Mac doesn't have an ethernet port)
• Go to System Preferences -> Sharing 
• Click on Internet Sharing in the left panel
• Select your VPN connection from the Share your connection from dropdown
• In the To computers using box, check Wi-Fi
• Click on Wi-Fi Options in the bottom-right corner
• Set a network name and password for your hotspot, select WPA2 Personal in the Security field and click OK
• Click on the box next to Internet Sharing in the left panel and click Start in the dialogue box that pops up
• Connect your TV to the Wi-Fi hotspot you just created as you would any other Wi-Fi network and connect to your VPN on your Mac

The 'I don't have a smart TV' way  

Even if you don't have a smart TV, you're in luck because you can set a VPN up on it if you're able to connect a streaming device like a Roku, Amazon Firestick or Google Chromecast to the TV. These ingenious little devices essentially turn any TV with an HDMI port into a smart TV, at a much lower cost than an actual smart TV. 

Basically, you can use the methods listed above to connect a VPN to your TV -- and if you go with Chromecast with Google TV or Amazon Firestick then you can download the VPN directly via the Play Store or the Amazon Appstore, respectively. The only difference is that you'll use your streaming device's interface to connect to the VPN instead of directly via your TV interface. You'll still get all the privacy and unblocking benefits that a VPN offers if you decide to take this route, but only for content you watch through your streaming device.     

Next steps

When you're thinking about setting up a VPN on your smart TV, there are a few things to consider. First of all, you'll want a VPN that provides fast speeds that are sufficient in supplying a smooth streaming experience free of buffering. You'll also want to make sure the VPN you select has servers located in the countries you want to unblock content from. 

If you have a Google TV and intend to download the VPN app to your TV from the Play Store, then the VPN you go with will need to be Android-compatible. And your VPN will need to be Amazon Fire TV-compatible if you want to run the VPN directly on your Amazon Fire TV. 

If you'd rather run the VPN through your router and connect your TV that way, then it's important to make sure your VPN supports router connections and has router setup guides that include your router of choice. It doesn't hurt for your VPN to have helpful, knowledgeable technical support, either, in case you need assistance with your setup. 

You'll also want your VPN to provide the privacy protections necessary to keep your viewing habits private and safe from prying eyes. 

The VPNs we recommend that fit the bill and check all those boxes include ExpressVPN, Surfshark, and NordVPN. Any of those options will get the job done for your unblocking and privacy needs on your smart TV.

A variety of notable mortgage rates inched up today. There's been a big growth in 30-year fixed mortgage rates, and 15-year fixed rates climbed higher as well. The average rate of the most common type of variable-rate mortgage, the 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage, also trended upward.

Though mortgage rates have been rather consistently going up since the start of this year, what happens next depends on whether inflation continues to climb or begins to retreat. Interest rates are dynamic and unpredictable -- at least on a daily or weekly basis -- and they respond to a wide variety of economic factors. Right now, they're particularly sensitive to inflation and the prospect of a US recession. With so much uncertainty in the market, if you're looking to buy a home, trying to time the market may not play to your favor. If inflation rises and rates climb, this could translate to higher interest rates and steeper monthly mortgage payments. For this reason, you may have better luck locking in a lower mortgage interest rate sooner rather than later. No matter when you decide to shop for a home, it's always a good idea to seek out multiple lenders to compare rates and fees to find the best mortgage for your specific situation.

30-year fixed-rate mortgages

The average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate is 5.87%, which is a growth of 33 basis points from one week ago. (A basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.) Thirty-year fixed mortgages are the most frequently used loan term. A 30-year fixed rate mortgage will usually have a smaller monthly payment than a 15-year one -- but often a higher interest rate. Although you'll pay more interest over time -- you're paying off your loan over a longer timeframe -- if you're looking for a lower monthly payment, a 30-year fixed mortgage may be a good option.

15-year fixed-rate mortgages

The average rate for a 15-year, fixed mortgage is 5.08%, which is an increase of 19 basis points compared to a week ago. You'll definitely have a bigger monthly payment with a 15-year fixed mortgage compared to a 30-year fixed mortgage, even if the interest rate and loan amount are the same. But a 15-year loan will usually be the better deal, as long as you're able to afford the monthly payments. You'll most likely get a lower interest rate, and you'll pay less interest in total because you're paying off your mortgage much quicker.

5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages

A 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage has an average rate of 4.33%, a climb of 12 basis points compared to a week ago. For the first five years, you'll typically get a lower interest rate with a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage compared to a 30-year fixed mortgage. But since the rate adjusts with the market rate, you could end up paying more after that time, as described in the terms of your loan. Because of this, an ARM may be a good option if you plan to sell or refinance your house before the rate changes. Otherwise, changes in the market means your interest rate could be much higher once the rate adjusts.

Mortgage rate trends

Though mortgage rates were historically low at the beginning of 2022, they have been increasing somewhat steadily since then. The Federal Reserve recently raised interest rates by another 0.75 percentage points in an attempt to curb record-high inflation. The Fed has raised rates a total of four times this year, but inflation still remains high. As a general rule, when inflation is low, mortgage rates tend to be lower. When inflation is high, rates tend to be higher.

Though the Fed does not directly set mortgage rates, the central bank's policy actions influence how much you pay to finance your home loan. If you're looking to buy a house in 2022, keep in mind that the Fed has signaled it will continue to raise rates, and mortgage rates could increase as the year goes on. Whether rates follow their upward projection or begin to level out hinges on if inflation actually slows.

We use rates collected by Bankrate, which is owned by the same parent company as CNET, to track rate changes over time. This table summarizes the average rates offered by lenders nationwide:

Average mortgage interest rates

Product	Rate	Last week	Change
30-year fixed	5.87%	5.54%	+0.33
15-year fixed	5.08%	4.89%	+0.19
30-year jumbo mortgage rate	5.87%	5.53%	+0.34
30-year mortgage refinance rate	5.82%	5.50%	+0.32

Rates as of Aug. 24, 2022.

How to find personalized mortgage rates

To find a personalized mortgage rate, meet with your local mortgage broker or use an online mortgage service. Make sure to think about your current finances and your goals when searching for a mortgage. A range of factors -- including your down payment, credit score, loan-to-value ratio and debt-to-income ratio -- will all affect the interest rate on your mortgage. Generally, you want a higher credit score, a higher down payment, a lower DTI and a lower LTV to get a lower interest rate. Aside from the interest rate, additional costs including closing costs, fees, discount points and taxes might also affect the cost of your home. Make sure you talk to a variety of lenders -- for example, local and national banks, credit unions and online lenders -- and comparison shop to find the best mortgage for you.

How does the loan term impact my mortgage?

When picking a mortgage, you should consider the loan term, or payment schedule. The most common loan terms are 15 years and 30 years, although 10-, 20- and 40-year mortgages also exist. Mortgages are further divided into fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages. For fixed-rate mortgages, interest rates are fixed for the life of the loan. Unlike a fixed-rate mortgage, the interest rates for an adjustable-rate mortgage are only set for a certain amount of time (typically five, seven or 10 years). After that, the rate adjusts annually based on the current interest rate in the market.

One important factor to consider when deciding between a fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage is the length of time you plan on living in your home. If you plan on living long-term in a new house, fixed-rate mortgages may be the better option. While adjustable-rate mortgages might offer lower interest rates upfront, fixed-rate mortgages are more stable in the long term. However, you might get a better deal with an adjustable-rate mortgage if you only intend to keep your home for a couple years. The best loan term is entirely dependent on your personal situation and goals, so make sure to think about what's important to you when choosing a mortgage.