The iPhone 14 Pro camera is shaking and rattling when certain third-party apps are used

Apple released its latest iPhone lineup last week. While many folks were excited to get their hands on a new device, their elation may have been tempered by some problems with the camera system. It seems that several prominent third-party apps have compatibility issues with the iPhone 14 Pro’s rear camera unit. Users have reported problems including shaking, rattling and mechanical noises emanating from the device when using apps like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, as 9to5 Mac reports. It seems there are problems with autofocus and focus too.

Along with sharing reports of the problems on the likes of Reddit and Twitter, some have been sharing videos that show the issues. One appears to depict a grinding sound coming from an iPhone 14 Pro when Snapchat is open. Another shows a similar issue while TikTok accesses the rear cameras.

“We’re aware of the issue and a fix will be released next week,” an Apple spokesperson told Engadget, so it’s a software issue rather than a hardware one. That already seemed to be the case, as 9to5 Mac pointed out, given that these issues only seem to be present when third-party apps are in use, rather than Apple’s own Camera app. In particular, the apps may not be playing nicely with the iPhone 14 Pro’s optical image stabilization system, which seems to be the cause of the rattling. 

“We’re working directly with Apple to address reports from our community that the Snapchat Camera shakes for some with iPhone 14 software,” Snap said in a statement. Engadget has also contacted TikTok and Meta for comment.

Update 9/19 3:10PM ET: Added Apple’s statement.

Update 9/19 4:05PM ET: Added Snap’s statement.

Hilton will design suites and sleeping quarters for Voyager’s private Starlab space station

Voyager and Lockheed Martin have found a partner to design astronaut facilities for their space station. Hilton will develop suites and sleeping quarters for Starlab, CNBC reports. Under the partnership, Hilton and Voyager will also look at marketing opportunities related to Starlab and trips to what may be one of the first space hotels.

NASA has granted contracts to four private companies who are building private space stations ahead of the agency’s planned decommissioning of the International Space Station at the end of the decade. Axiom Space, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman are also working on space stations. Voyager’s operating company Nanoracks received the largest contract, which was valued at $160 million.

Voyager and Lockheed Martin hope to have the first Starlab up and running by 2027. I wonder how many Hilton Honors points it will cost for a trip there.

Kiwi Farms says someone hacked its website

Kiwi Farms, a forum that’s long been accused of fostering targeted online and real-world harassment campaigns, says that someone hacked its proxy service and website. As noted by cybersecurity researcher Kevin Beaumont, it told users in a Telegram message that all avatars had been changed to the logo of another website (said to be another purported “free speech” forum) and that “each node on the forum index was deleted one at a time.”

While Kiwi Farms apparently has backups and none of the forum data has been permanently deleted, users’ personal information may have been compromised. Founder Joshua Moon told users to assume that their email and password information has been obtained, as well as the IP address of any device they’ve used to access Kiwi Farms in the last month.

“I do not know for sure if any user information was leaked. In my access logs, they attempted to download all user records at once,” Moon wrote in a statement on the Kiwi Farms website. “This caused an error and no output was returned. I shut everything off soon after. If they scraped information through some other mechanism, I cannot say with any confidence either way.”

The hacker is said to have used an injected script to gather data from users’ systems. Moon said they accessed his admin account as a result of this method. Moon added that he would restore the site from a backup, but noted that the process (as well as reviewing Kiwi Farms’ security procedures) would take some time. However, he noted on Telegram today that he had to leave for a week to deal with a family emergency. Some Kiwi Farms users are turning on Moon over the incident.

Earlier this month, Kiwi Farms was effectively forced off of the open web following an effort to take down the forum. Streamer and political commentator Clara “Keffals” Sorrenti, a prominent target of a harassment campaign that allegedly stemmed from the website, started the movement to bring down Kiwi Farms. While Moon was later able to bring the forum back online through other means.

Cloudflare, a DDoS protection company, kicked Kiwi Farms off its service due to a significant increase in targeted threats originating on the site. That seems to have played a role in this weekend’s hack. “Cloudflare not only provided DDoS protection, they also accounted for many popular exploits like this,” Moon wrote. 

National Drive Electric Week wants to spread the gospel of EVs

National Drive Electric Week is right around the corner. Plug In America, the Electric Vehicle Association, environmental organization Sierra Club and Nissan (one of the main sponsors) are all backing the initiative, which aims to highlight the benefits of having an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid. Between September 23rd and October 2nd, EV owners will show off their rides and chat to folks curious about making the switch at events across the US (some are taking place in Canada and Mexico as well). Many dealers are taking part too. 

The website has a list of dozens of events. You can see which ones are happening in your neck of the woods by punching in your zip code or city. Alternatively, you can see all the events on a map view. With many jurisdictions phasing out sales of new gas-powered cars in the coming years, it may not be a bad idea to have more clarity on EVs and what it’s like to own one sooner rather than later.

Sony says ‘PS VR games are not compatible with PS VR2’

With PS VR2 set to arrive early next year, Sony is starting to accelerate the hype train for its next-gen virtual reality headset. The hardware made its public debut at the Tokyo Game Show this week (early impressions are largelypositive) and the company revealed some more titles that are coming to the platform during Tuesday’s State of Play. Some other important information just emerged, albeit on the negative side: PS VR games will not work on PS VR2.

“PS VR games are not compatible with PS VR2 because PS VR2 is designed to deliver a truly next-generation VR experience,” PlayStation senior vice-president of platform experience Hideaki Nishino said on the latest episode of the Official PlayStation Podcast (as spotted by Nibellion). “PS VR2 has much more advanced features, like [an] all-new controller with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, inside-out tracking, eye tracking, 3D audio is coming together and 4K HDR, of course. This means developing games for PS VR2 requires a whole different approach than the original PS VR.”

Some games that do work on PS VR have been confirmed for PS VR2 (such as No Man’s Sky), but this is still disappointing news. It means players will not be able to access PS VR games from the new headset, so if they want to be able to dip back into older games from time to time, they’ll need to keep the old hardware around. 

It seems that newcomers to PlayStation VR will also not be able to check out games they might have heard good things about, such as Astro Bot Rescue Mission or Moss, unless the developers port their games to PS VR2. A more limited library of games may make the new headset a less appealing purchase.

The decision could have something to do with the fact that the PS VR2 uses different tracking methods. The controllers are completely different. PS VR uses the PlayStation Camera and light-based tracking, while Sony tracks the position of the new Sense controllers using infrared LED. Still, those hoping to bring (almost) their entire PS4-era collection of PlayStation games over to the current generation when PS VR2 arrives may feel discouraged.

‘Hollow Knight: Silksong’ will come to the PS4 and PS5, eventually

Hollow Knight fans who tend to only play games on PlayStation can breathe a sigh of relief. The long-awaited sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, will be coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The game had already been confirmed for Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PC, Mac and Linux. Silksong is also coming to Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming on its release day.

Only trouble is, we still don’t know exactly when that will be. Xbox indicated during its June showcase that Silksong would be out in the following year, so the release date will likely be sometime in the next nine months. Here’s hoping developer and publisher Team Cherry reveals that date very soon.

A ‘Genshin Impact’ anime is on the way

Genshin Impact is one of the biggest gaming success stories of the last few years. Fans will have another way to enjoy the world of Teyvat at some point, as developer miHoYo has teamed up with animation studio Ufotable to create an anime based on the free-to-play action RPG.

Ufotable has worked on several other game-related projects. God Eater and Tales of Zestiria the X are both based on Bandai Namco properties, for instance. A concept trailer (which was spotted by IGN) offers a peek at the art style Ufotable will employ this time around. As you might expect, the studio doesn’t seem to veer too far away from the look of the game.

If anything, it’s a little surprising that it took this long for an official Genshin Impact anime announcement. The developers took inspiration from anime in the first place and the game has long seemed primed for an adaptation.

Several other notable games have been turned into animated series in recent years. Cyberpunk 2077 spinoff Cyberpunk: Edgerunners hit Netflix just this week, while Arcane (which is based on League of Legends), became the first animated streaming series to win an Emmy earlier this month.

It’s not clear when or where fans will be able to watch the Genshin Impact anime. However, given that the trailer is only showing off the concept and it refers to the Ufotable collaboration as a long-term project, it might be quite a while before the first season debuts.

The Genshin Impact anime reveal came as miHoYo offered a look at version 3.1 of the game, which will arrive on September 28th. The update will expand the new region of Sumeru and help to continue the game’s core story. It will introduce King Deshret’s Mausoleum, dungeons, new Archon Quests, more weapons, three playable characters, two fresh bosses and more. Meanwhile, miHoYo will add a permanent card game mode in version 3.3.

Google updates Photos with redesigned Memories and a new collage editor

Google is rolling out some changes to the stories-style Memories feature in Photos. Until now, these automatically generated highlights have been private, but Google is adding some sharing options. Starting today, you’ll have a way to natively share memories with others if you have an Android device. Friends and family will be able to view your memories on any device through Google Photos. The sharing option is coming to iOS and the web soon.

The update is part of broader changes to Memories, which will mostly be available starting today. The redesigned feature will offer up more videos, including what Google believes are your best clips from longer videos that you have captured. Photos will automatically grab what appear to be the most meaningful moments from longer videos and add them to a memory. Starting in October, Google will append instrumental music to some memories as well.

Google says there will be a subtle zoom effect on still photos it includes in memories to make them feel less static. On that note, there’s a new type of memory called Cinematic Memories. This will build on cinematic photos, one of the most-used effects in Memories, which creates moving, 3D representations of still images. Google says that Cinematic Memories, which will be available soon, will turn “multiple still photos into an end-to-end cinematic experience.” Those memories will feature music, too.

When it comes to viewing your memories, there will be a welcome new way to navigate through them. Along with tapping on the left or right of the screen to move between photos in an individual memory, you can switch between memories by swiping up or down. You’ll still be able to omit certain people or time periods from showing up in Memories too.

Elsewhere, there’s a new feature called Styles. This will automatically add graphic art to your memories to perhaps make them more vibrant. Google will offer multiple designs at the outset, including limited-time options from artists Shantell Martin and Lisa Congdon

As of today, Photos users on Android and iOS will gain access to a new collage editor. You’ll be able to choose images, pick a design and rearrange the layout as you wish. There’s the option to tweak photos from the collage editor too — you can adjust the contrast and brightness, add filters and make other changes. If you have a Pixel or a Google One membership, you’ll have access to more editing tools, including Portrait Light and HDR options. You’ll have a broader selection of designs too. These collages will also be sharable.

Google says that Memories is one of the most-loved features in Photos, as users view more than 3.5 billion of them every month. These updates could make it even easier to create more dynamic highlight clips. While the sharing options are still limited, you’d still be able to record a memory with your phone and post it on the likes of Instagram or Snapchat if you desire.