The messaging app Telegram has said it will hand over users’ IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities who have search warrants or other valid legal requests.

The change to its terms of service and privacy policy “should discourage criminals”, CEO Pavel Durov said in a Telegram post on Monday.

“While 99.999% of Telegram users have nothing to do with crime, the 0.001% involved in illicit activities create a bad image for the entire platform, putting the interests of our almost billion users at risk,” he continued.

The announcement marks a significant reversal for Mr Durov, the platform’s Russian-born co-founder who was detained by French authorities last month at an airport just north of Paris.

Days later, prosecutors there charged him with enabling criminal activity on the platform. Allegations against him include complicity in spreading child abuse images and trafficking of drugs. He was also charged with failing to comply with law enforcement.

Mr Durov, who has denied the charges, lashed out at authorities shortly after his arrest, saying that holding him responsible for crimes committed by third parties on the platform was both “surprising” and “misguided.”

Critics say Telegram has become a hotbed of misinformation, child pornography, and terror-related content partly because of a feature that allows groups to have up to 200,000 members.

Meta-owned WhatsApp, by contrast, limits the size of groups to 1,000.

Telegram was scrutinised last month for hosting far-right channels that contributed to violence in English cities.

Earlier this week, Ukraine banned the app on state-issued devices in a bid to minimise threats posed by Russia.

The arrest of the 39-year old chief executive has sparked debate about the future of free-speech protections on the internet.

After Mr Durov’s detention, many people began to question whether Telegram was actually a safe place for political dissidents, according to John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab.

He says this latest policy change is already being greeted with even more alarm in many communities.

“Telegram’s marketing as a platform that would resist government demands attracted people that wanted to feel safe sharing their political views in places like Russia, Belarus, and the Middle East,” Mr Scott-Railton said.

“Many are now scrutinizing Telegram’s announcement with a basic question in mind: does this mean the platform will start cooperating with authorities in repressive regimes?”

Telegram has not given much clarity on how the company will handle the demands from leaders of such regimes in the future, he added.

Cybersecurity experts say that while Telegram has removed some groups in the past, it has a far weaker system of moderating extremist and illegal content than competing social media companies and messenger apps.

Before the recent policy expansion, Telegram would only supply information on terror suspects, according to 404 Media.

On Monday Mr Durov said the app was now using “a dedicated team of moderators” who were leveraging artificial intelligence to conceal problematic content in search results.

But making that type of material harder to find likely won’t be enough to fulfill requirements under French or European law, according to Daphne Keller at Stanford University’s Center for Internet and Society.

“Anything that Telegram employees look at and can recognize with reasonable certainty is illegal, they should be removing entirely,” Ms Keller said.

In some countries, they also need to notify authorities about particular kinds of seriously illegal content such as child sexual abuse material, she added.

Ms Keller questioned whether the company’s changes would be enough to satisfy authorities seeking information about targets of investigations, including who they are communicating with and the content of those messages.

“It sounds like a commitment that is likely less than what law enforcement wants,” Ms Keller said.

Drivers on a busy US freeway have been controlled by an AI since March, as part of a study that has put a machine-learning system in charge of setting variable speed limits on the road. The impact on efficiency and driver safety is unclear, as researchers are still analysing the results.

Roads with variable speed limits, also known as smart motorways, are common in countries including the US, UK and Germany. Normally, rule-based systems monitor the number of vehicles on one of…

Kyle Chandler is poised to become the next actor to join the DC Universe.

Per Deadline, Chandler is in negotiations to star to play Hal Jordan in Lanterns, an upcoming series based on the DC comic. The series will follow Hal Jordan and John Stewart, two intergalactic cops from the Green Lantern Corps. called to Earth to investigate a murder. Jordan becomes a mentor to the younger Stewart, one of DC’s first Black superheroes.

Josh Brolin was first approached to play Hal, but ultimately passed. The casting search for Stewart is still underway.

Chandler is best known for the Emmy-winning role of Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights. Chandler’s other notable works include Argo, Bloodline, and Manchester by the Sea.

In June, Lanterns officially received a straight-to-series order for eight episodes. The series stems from the creative trio of Chris Mundy (Ozark), Damon Lindelof (Watchmen), and comic book writer Tom King. Mundy is Lanterns’ showrunner and will co-write and co-executive produce the series with Lindelof and King. HBO will produce the series in association with Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy winner Kyle Chandler is in negotiations to star in ‘Lanterns,’ HBO’s high-profile series based on the Green Lantern DC comics, sources tell Deadline.

All the details we know here: https://t.co/Y8kQyn7aUO pic.twitter.com/rqD1d7z5HS

— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 23, 2024

Lanterns was first announced in January 2023 by co-CEOs of DC Studios James Gunn and Peter Safran. The series will fall in Chapter 1 of the DCU, officially known as “Gods and Monsters.” The duo compared the series to True Detective and said it would feel like an “HBO-quality event.”

“Lanterns plays a really big role leading us into the main story that we’re telling across our film and television,” Safran said via Variety. “So this is a very important show for us.”

Over a decade ago, Ryan Reynolds notoriously played Hal in Green Lantern, a film that failed critically and commercially.

Lanterns has no release date. Filming is expected to begin in 2025.

MediaTek was previously confirmed to launch the Dimensity 9400 SoC sometime in October this year. In the latest news, MediaTek has officially set October 9 as the launch date for its flagship Dimensity 9400 chipset.

MediaTek Dimensity 9400 launch date is finally confirmed

The new chip comes with the slogan “AI Chip Leap”. It indicates a significant advancement in AI capabilities for upcoming flagship devices that will also likely debut next month in China. These devices include the Oppo Find X8, Find X8 Pro, vivo X200, Vivo X200+, vivo X200 Pro, and the vivo X200 Pro Satellite Communication Edition. Rumors are rife that Vivo and Oppo will be the first brands to launch Dimensity 9400-powered devices. Vivo has also confirmed that they will launch the vivo X200 series as soon as October 14.

Building on the success of its predecessor, the Dimensity 9400 continues to feature an all-large-core CPU design, utilizing the cutting-edge ARM ‘BlackHawk’ architecture for improved performance. MediaTek is also employing TSMC’s 3nm N3E process, boosting efficiency and power.

The Dimensity 9400 equips a 3.63 GHz Cortex-X925 super core, three 2.80 GHz X4 large cores, and four 2.10 GHz A725 cores. On the graphics side, it features the Mali-G925 Immortalis MC12 GPU, which will significantly enhance gaming performance. Moreover, with 10.7Gbps LPDDR5X memory support, smartphones equipped with the chipset will experience faster loading times for resource-heavy apps and games.

Benchmark Results According to NanoReview, the Dimensity 9400 has scored 2874 (single-core) and 8969 (multi-core) on Geekbench. Graphics performance is equally impressive, reaching 134fps in the GFX Aztec 1440P off-screen Vulkan test. It is a staggering 86% higher than Apple’s A18 Pro, which powers the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

MediaTek Dimensity 9400 offers a significant improvement in performance as compared to its predecessor

In comparison, the Dimensity 9400’s GPU also outperforms Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, delivering 41% better performance in benchmarks. Notably, power consumption is 40% lower than its competitor, making it an energy-efficient option for flagship smartphones.

Ray Tracing and Gaming Performance Ray tracing capabilities have improved by 20% compared to the previous generation. MediaTek is working on a next-gen ray tracing technology for smartphones, reportedly on par with OMM (Optical Mesh Mapping) found in PC GPUs. This could usher in a new era of mobile gaming with graphics quality rivaling console and PC experiences.

Sure, it’s easy enough to weigh yourself using a standard scale, but when you take the leap and switch to smart gadgets like smart scales, you’ll never look back. From basic weight measurements to a detailed look at your BMI, muscle mass, body fat percentage and more, the best smart scale can help you keep track of your weight over time, allowing you to hone in on your health-and-wellness routine safely and accurately. All-in-one smart scales connect to your phone or mobile device using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, allowing you to keep track of those all-important health metrics more easily and securely (no more worrying about losing that piece of paper you jotted on before). We’ve tested and researched the best smart scales to help you on your health journey so you can find one that works best for you.

Smart scale safety

There are valid reasons to weigh yourself, but your self-worth shouldn’t be defined by the number that shows up between your feet. If you’re looking to alter your body shape, that figure could go up as your waistline goes down, since muscle weighs more than fat. Dr. Anne Swift, Director of public health teaching at the University of Cambridge, said that “weighing yourself too often can result in [you] becoming fixated on small fluctuations day-to-day, rather than the overall trend over time.” Swift added that “it’s sometimes better to focus on how clothes fit, or how you feel, rather than your weight.”

(A meta-analysis from 2016 found there may be some negative psychological impact from self weighing. A 2018 study, however, said that there may be a positive correlation between regular weigh-ins and accelerated weight loss. It can be a minefield, and I’d urge you to take real care of yourself and remember that success won’t happen overnight.)

What to look for in a smart scale

Weight

A weighing scale that measures weight is probably the top requirement, right? One thing to bear in mind is that, with all these measurements, weight readings won’t be as accurate as a calibrated, clinical scale. Consequently, it’s better to focus on the overall full body weight trend up or down over time, rather than the figures in isolation.

Connectivity

Most scales will either connect to your phone over Bluetooth, or to your home’s Wi-Fi network, and you should work out your regular weighing routine ahead of time. A lot of lower-end, Bluetooth-only scales will only record your weight when your phone is present and don’t keep local records. That means if you routinely leave your phone outside the bathroom at home, you could lose that day’s stats. Wi-Fi connectivity, on the other hand, allows a scale to post your stats to a server, letting you access them from any compatible device. But you need to be mindful that there’s a small risk to your privacy should that information from your Wi-Fi scale be compromised.

Bone density

The stronger your bones, the less you’re at risk from breaks and osteoporosis, which you should keep in mind as you get older. Clinical bone density tests use low-power x-rays but higher-end scales can offer an approximation from your own bathroom. These bone mass tests pass a small electrical current through your feet, measuring the resistance as it completes its journey. The resistance offered by bones, fat and muscle are all different, and your scale can identify the difference.

Body fat percentage and muscle mass

Fat and muscle are necessary parts of our makeup, but an excessive amount of either can be problematic. Much like bone density, a smart body fat scale can measure body fat and muscle mass percentages using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA). This measurement tests how well your body resists the electrical signal passing through your body. (It’s a rough rule of thumb that you should have a 30/70 percent split between fat and muscle, but please consult a medical professional for figures specific to your own body and medical needs.) For those with specific athletic goals, some smart scales also offer an athlete mode to better tailor readings.

BMI

A lot of scales offer a BMI calculation, and it’s easy to do since you just plot height and weight on a set graph line. Body Mass Index is, however, a problematic measurement that its critics say is both overly simplistic and often greatly misleading. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most common clinical body metrics and medical professionals will use it to make judgements about your care.

Pulse Wave Velocity

French health-tech company Withings has offered Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) on its flagship scale for some time, although regulatory concerns meant it was withdrawn for a period of time. It’s a measurement of arterial stiffness, which acts as a marker both of cardiovascular risk and also other health conditions. I’ve had anecdotal reports that PWV scales have sent people to the doctor, where they’ve found they were close to a cardiac event. It’s worth saying, as with all of these technologies, that there is limited, albeit positive, research into how accurate these systems are.

Display

Less a specification and more a note that smart scales have displays ranging from pre-printed LCDs or digital dot matrix layouts through to color screens. On the high end, your scale display can show you trending charts for your weight and other vital statistics, and can even tell you the day’s weather. If you are short-sighted, and plan on weighing yourself first thing in the morning, before you’ve found your glasses / contacts, opt for a big, clear, high-contrast display.

App and subscriptions

You’ll spend most of your time looking at your health data through its companion scales app, and it’s vital you get a good one. This includes a clear, clean layout with powerful tools to visualize your progress and analyze your data to look for places you can improve. Given that you often don’t need to buy anything before trying the app, it’s worth testing one or two to see if you vibe with it. It’s also important you check app compatibility before making your purchase. Some health apps will only work with iOS or Android — not both. Apple Watch connectivity can also be a bonus for tracking workouts and health metrics seamlessly.

Several companies also offer premium subscriptions, unlocking other features – including insights and coaching – to go along with your hardware. Fitbit and Withings both offer these services, which you may feel is worth the extra investment each month.

Data portability

Using the same scale or app platform for years at a time means you’ll build up a massive trove of personal data. And it is, or should be, your right to take that data to another provider when you choose to move platforms in the future. Data portability is, however, a minefield, with different platforms offering wildly different options, making it easy (or hard) to go elsewhere.

All of the devices in this round-up will allow you to export your data to a .CSV file, which you can then do with as you wish. Importing this information is trickier, with Withings and Garmin allowing it, and Omron, Xiaomi, Eufy and Fitbit not making it that easy. (Apps that engage with Apple Health, meanwhile, can output all of your health data in a .XML file.)

Power

It’s not a huge issue but one worth bearing in mind that each scale will either run disposable batteries (most commonly 4xAAA) or with its own, built-in battery pack. Sadly, all of our crop of smart scales use batteries, adding an environmental and financial cost to your scale life. That’s just about forgivable for scales that cost under $100, but this stretches even to the highest-end models. When you’re spending more than that on a device, the lack of a rechargeable cell feels very, very cheap indeed.

Best smart scales for 2024

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Fitbit

Display type: LCD | Wi-Fi connectivity: Yes | App connectivity: Yes | Length: 11.8 inches | Width: 11.8 inches | Number of profiles: Multiple

It’s very competitive at the low end for the best budget smart scale, and Xiaomi and Fitbit offer dramatically contrasting products for a very low price. Fitbit’s scale has far fewer features, but has better build quality, is faster and more reliable than its cheaper rival. Crucially, it also leverages the Fitbit app, which is refined and easy-to-use, offering clean, easy-to understand visualizations of weight measurements.

Xiaomi, meanwhile, offers weight and some basic body composition measurements, although this extra data is only visualized inside the app. From a data perspective, the Xiaomi has the edge, but its companion app – formerly Mi Fit, now branded as Zepp Life – is terrible. The lag time for each weigh-in, too, leaves a lot to be desired with the Xiaomi, although I had no qualms about its accuracy.

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When I was a kid, and complained about something, my nan would say “look, you can either have a first class walk or a third class ride.” And Fitbit’s scale here is the very definition of a first class ride – polished, snappy and with a world-class app by its side. The Xiaomi, meanwhile, offers more for your money, and charges less, but both hardware and software lack any sort of polish. It’s therefore up to you if you’d rather the first class walk or the third class ride.

Pros

• Good build quality
• Easy to use
• Convenient integration with Fitbit app

Cons

• Fewer features than competitors

$49 at QVC

eufy

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Display type: LCD | Wi-Fi connectivity: Yes | App connectivity: Yes, syncs with Apple Health, Google Fit, or Fitbit | Length: 11.02 inches | Width: 11.02 inches | Number of profiles: Unlimited

Well, this is awkward. Not long before this guide was published, it was revealed that Eufy is in the midst of a massive security issue. Researchers found that its security cameras, which were promised to be secure, allowed internet users to access the stream using VLC player. Consequently the high praise for Eufy’s P2 Pro I have as a scale will need to be moderated by the fact that we don’t yet know how deep the company’s promises around privacy and security really run.

It’s unfortunate, as the all-in-one scale does leap head-and-shoulders above the competition at this level, and it surpassed my expectations by quite a bit. The ease of use was one thing, but the depth of metric data made available in the app, and the way it presents that information, is fantastic. While I don’t think the Eufy Life app is better than, say, Withings’ class-leading Health Mate, it offers exactly what a would-be weight-watcher would need.

The fact you can get plenty of your vital statistics graphed by hitting two buttons helps you visualize your progress, but the stat dashboard laying out everything, including your BMR, is so useful. If you’re going all Quantified Self, you could theoretically calculate your daily calorie intake to the finest of fine margins looking at this thing every morning.

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Pros

• Easy to use
• Provides a lot of data
• Handy in-app dashboard

$80 at Amazon

Garmin

Display type: LCD | Wi-Fi connectivity: Yes | App connectivity: Yes | Length: 12.6 inches | Width: 12.2 inches | Number of profiles: 16

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I’m very partial to Garmin’s Index S2, but I also think it’s the sort of scale that needs to be used by people who know what they’re doing. Almost everything about the hardware is spot-on, and the only fly in its ointment is the low refresh rate on its color screen. I can’t say how upsetting it was to see the display refresh in such a laggy, unpolished manner, especially when you’re spending this much money. But that’s my only complaint, and the rest of the hardware (and software) is otherwise pitch-perfect, offering accurate readings, including body water percentage. If you’re looking to set goals to alter your body shape, this probably isn’t the scale for you – it’s the scale you buy once you already calculate your BMR on a daily basis.

Pros

• Good build quality
• Good integration with Garmin mobile app
• Provides a lot of data

$150 at Backcountry

Withings

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Display type: LCD | Wi-Fi connectivity: Yes | App connectivity: Yes, syncs with Apple Health and Google Fit | Length: 12.7 inches | Width: 12.7 inches | Number of profiles: 8

Naturally, if you’re looking for a machine that’ll cater to your every whim and hypochondriac urge, then Withings’ Body Comp is the way forward. It’s a luxury scale in every sense of the word, and you should appreciate the level of polish and technology on show here. Apart from the batteries, which I’ve already said is a cheap and nasty way to save money given that you’re dropping this much money on a product. I also appreciate its Apple compatibility, which lets you use your iPhone or iPad with the Withings app for iOS to monitor daily health metrics.

The group of people who think it’s reasonable to spend $200 on a scale is, especially with food and energy prices spiking, a fairly small one. But if you’re the sort who already spends hand over fist to keep your body in check, this is probably justifiable as an “investment.” Knowing all of the extras about your nerve health and arteries is a bonus, but let’s be clear and say this isn’t the top pick for everybody. Hell, you might have second thoughts even if you do have a subscription to Good Yachting Magazine.

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Pros

• Good build quality
• Excellent software support with Withings app
• In-depth health tracking, including data on nerve and artery heatlh

Cons

• Runs on disposable batteries

$200 at Amazon

How we tested and which smart scales we tested

For this guide, I tested six scales from major manufacturers:

Mi (Xiaomi) Body Composition Scale 2 ($29.99)

Our cheapest model, Xiaomi / Mi’s Body Composition Scale 2 is as bare-bones as you can get, and it shows. It often takes a long while to lock on to get your body weight, and when it does you’ll have to delve into the Zepp Life-branded scales app in order to look at your extra data. But you can’t fault it for the basics, offering limited (but accurate) weight measurements and body composition for less than the price of a McDonald’s for four.

Fitbit Aira Air ($49.95)

Fitbit, now part of Google, is the household name for fitness trackers and smartwatches in the US, right? If not, then it must be at least halfway synonymous with it. The Aria Air is the company’s stripped-to-the-bare bones scale, offering your weight and a few other health metrics, but you can trust that Fitbit got the basics right. Not to mention that most of the reason for buying a Fitbit product is to leverage its fitness app anyway.

Anker Eufy Smart Scale P2 Pro ($79.99)

Eufy’s Smart Scale P2 Pro has plenty of things to commend it – the price, the overall look and feel (it’s a snazzy piece of kit) and what it offers. It offers a whole host of in-depth functionality, including Body Fat, Muscle Mass, Water Weight, Body Fat Mass and Bone Mass measurements, as well as calculating things like your Heart Rate and Basal Metabolic Rate (the amount of calories you need to eat a day to not change weight at all) all from inside its app. In fact, buried beneath the friendly graphic, the scale offers a big pile of stats and data that should, I think, give you more than a little coaching on how to improve your overall health.

Shortly before publication, Anker – Eufy’s parent company – was identified as having misled users, and the media, about the security of its products. Its Eufy-branded security cameras, which the company says does not broadcast video outside of your local network, was found to be allowing third parties to access streams online. Consequently, while we have praised the Eufy Smart Scale for its own features, we cannot recommend it without a big caveat.

Omron BCM-500 Body Composition and Scale with Bluetooth ($89.99)

Given its role in making actual medical devices, you know what you’re getting with an Omron product. A solid, reliable, sturdy, strong (checks the dictionary for more synonyms) dependable piece of kit. There’s no romance or excitement on show, but you can trust that however joyless it may be, it’ll do the job in question and will be user-friendly. The hardware is limited, the app is limited, but it certainly (checks synonyms again) is steady.

Joking aside, Omron’s Connect app is as bare-bones as you can get, since it acts as an interface for so many of its products. Scroll over to the Weight page, and you’ll get your weight and BMI reading, and if you’ve set a fitness goal, you can see how far you’ve got to go to reach it. You can also switch to seeing a trend graph which, again, offers the most basic visualization of your workouts and progress.

Garmin Index S2 ($149.99)

Garmin’s got a pretty massive fitness ecosystem of its own, so if you’re already part of that world, its smart bathroom scale is a no-brainer. On one hand, the scale is one of the easiest to use, and most luxurious of the bunch, with its color screen and sleek design. I’m also a big fan of the wealth of data and different metrics the scale throws at you – you can see a full color graph charting your weight measurements and goal progress, and the various metrics it tracks in good detail. If there’s a downside, it’s that Garmin’s setup won’t hold your hand, since it’s for serious fitness people, not newbies.

Withings Body Comp ($209.95)

At the highest end, Withings’ flagship Body Comp is luxurious, and luxuriously priced, a figure I’d consider to be “too much” to spend on a bathroom scale. For your money, however, you’ll get a fairly comprehensive rundown of body composition metrics including your weight, body fat percentage, vascular age, pulse wave velocity and electrodermal activity. Its monochrome dot matrix display may not be as swish as the Garmin’s, but it refreshes pretty quickly and feels very in-keeping with the hardware’s overall sleek look. If there’s a downside, it’s that they ditched the rechargeable battery found in the Withings Body Cardio (its former flagship, and an excellent scale I’d recommend if it were within the parameters of this guide) in favor of AAA batteries. Which, when you’re spending this much on a body fat scale, makes me feel very nickel-and-dimed.

Smart Scales FAQs

What’s the difference between a smart scale and a regular scale?

A regular scale is pretty straightforward – it tells you how much you weigh, and that’s usually it. A smart scale, on the other hand, does much more. Not only does it give you your weight measurements, but it can also track things like your body fat percentage, muscle mass, and even your BMI. Some smart scales even monitor more advanced metrics like bone density, depending on the model.

What’s even better is that smart scales sync with scales apps on your phone using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so you can see all your health data in one place. This lets you monitor trends over time, like if your muscle mass is increasing or your body fat percentage decreasing.

How do smart scales work with more than one person using it?

When more than one person in a household uses the smart scale, it usually recognizes each person by their weight range and other body measurements (like body fat percentage). Most smart scales allow you to set up individual profiles in the companion app, and once your profile is linked, the scale can automatically figure out who’s standing on it.

Let’s say you and a family member have fairly different weights – the scale will easily know who’s who based on that. But if you and someone else have similar weights, it might ask you to confirm the profile on your phone after the weigh-in. Some scales even let you assign a profile manually in the scales app if it’s not sure.

Logitech announced the launch of MX Creative Console, which lets digital creators focus on their artistry while it makes chores like visual editing easier with new AI capabilities.

It’s a kind of tool targeted at creators, who have come on strong as digital media commentators in visual media.

With instant access to essential controls and ultimate customization, the MX Creative Console streamlines workflows and automates repetitive tasks.

“Digital creativity is undergoing a massive transformation, constantly evolving the way people create. The MX Creative Console is designed to help people redefine their workflow, enabling them to work smarter and faster,” said Anatoliy Polyanker, general manager of the MX Business Unit at Logitech, in a statement. “With the latest additions to the Logitech MX Ecosystem, the MX Creative Console and recently-announced MX Ink, we are tapping into the key trends of democratizing digital creation, 3D design and spatial computing, and AI-enabled workflows.”

A solution for creative professionals: Logitech MX x Adobe

The collaboration enables deep integration through tailored plugins for popular Adobe applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Audition and Adobe Illustrator.

MX Creative Console enhances the ability to work with AI capabilities such as Adobe Photoshop’s Generative Fill and Adobe Premiere Pro’s Text-Based Editing. To celebrate this collaboration, each console comes with a complimentary three-month Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps membership, providing significant value for both new and existing users.

Maxim Bondar, head of global business and marketing at Logitech MX, said “At MX, our vision is to build an advanced ecosystem for the most demanding users, for the advanced users, such as software developers, creative professionals, engineers — those people who work at the computer daily spend and eight hours a day.”

He added, “These peripheral devices are really the tools of the craft. This is super important to be productive, to stay in the flow and to create, at the speed of thought. We are building an ecosystem.”

Bondar said the MX team is focusing on digital content creation, and he said Adobe believes it has grown five times in the last few years.

“Creative professionals are feeling under pressure because they need to deliver more content faster,” Bondar said. “Something that they have been doing and have been asked to do in weeks now need to be ready in days. And despite all the things that they have available, they are still they’re still under pressure of the deadline.”

Tailored to individual workflows

MX Creative Console offers versatility and a personalized experience for each user. It features a keypad with dynamic display keys to access and trigger the most important actions and a customizable dialpad that serves as a smart analog navigation controller.

With the free Logi Options+ software, the console offers seamless app integration across Windows and Mac, with customizable controls, plugins, profiles, and icons available through the Logi Marketplace. The
software will continue to expand its capabilities with new features and plugins.

Bondar noted Adobe Creative Cloud is a powerful tool, allowing people to create just about anything. You need to remember complex shortcuts to be more productive with it, sometimes pressing four keys simultaneously. Few people mastered this. The MX Creative Console has buttons to deal with those shortcuts.

The console includes the MX Creative Keypad, which is a wired device that has nine LCD keys that dynamically change according to the application of the framework being used. (The LCD keys consume a lot of power and so they need the power cable). Power users can assign functions to those keys as needed so they don’t have to worry about memorizing those shortcuts. Meanwhile, the creative dial pad can also be contextually assigned tasks. It comes with predefined profiles for Adobe applications. It changes its function as you change the application. It’s all aimed at making life easier for the creative community. If you’re in Adobe Premiere, it will show Adobe Premiere tools.

“We really wanted to make sure that the device is easy and straightforward for them to start with,” Bondar said.

Designed for sustainability

The MX Creative Console features plastic parts with 72% post-consumer recycled plastic for Graphite, aluminum produced with renewable energy and FSC-certified paper packaging; and uses micro-textures instead of paint. This ensures users can master their creative workflow while aiming at minimizing the product’s carbon footprint and promoting circularity.

Availability and pricing

MX Creative Console, available in pale grey and graphite, is available for preorder today and
will start shipping on October 14, 2024 for $200 on www.logitech.com and at other global
retailers. The device is compatible for Windows and Mac.

“All these devices can be fine tuned and personalized in the way that you want. And we also develop the software and the way to customize these profiles that you have when you start from in a very easy way so that eventually you can really break down yours,” Bondar said.