Microsoft is continuing to roll out in-house AI models, further decreasing its reliance on long-standing partnership with OpenAI. Today, the company introduced MAI-Image-1, its first internally-developed image-generating AI model. According to the blog post , MAI-Image-1 is particularly good for creating photorealistic results, and can generate natural lighting and landscapes. For now, the model is being tested on LMArena, and Microsoft said it plans to roll out MAI-Image-1 to Copilot and its Bi

Google is tweaking how sponsored results will appear in Search. Going forward, it will group any text ads on the Search page into a Sponsored results section that will appear at the top of the screen. The size of the ads is unchanged and Google says there will never be more than four ads in a grouping. Once you scroll past the section with ads, you can click a button to hide all sponsored results. According to Google, the new design helps people navigate the top of the page more easily. Maybe th

Days ahead of the next Pokmon game release , Centro Leaks is back with another batch of possible leaks about the franchise. The source claims that the same hacker behind last year's so-called Teraleak has released more information they obtained from datamining files owned by Pokmon developer Game Freak that shows the roadmap for all upcoming projects the company has in the works. And there appear to be quite a few of them. This type of hacked information may not be an accurate reflection of Game

Its been an interesting few months in the realm of streaming service branding. Warner Bros. Discovery reverted Max back to HBO Max after a baffling decision to trim the name in the first place. Disney made Hulu the global general entertainment brand on Disney+ when it rebranded the Star hub on the service. Now Apple would like you to know that its changing the name of its streaming service too. Going forward, Apple TV+ is now just Apple TV. The company revealed the news in very lowkey fashion, a

In a bulletin on Friday, GM announced that it will end its HYDROTEC brand's work on hydrogen fuel cell development. Instead, GM will focus its R&D efforts on batteries, charging technologies and electric vehicles. The company said it will continue its Fuel Cell System Manufacturing joint venture with Honda, which creates cells for data centers and power generation . The post from GM said that due to limited infrastructure and high costs, hydrogen cells simply haven't taken off for consumer vehic

Google's Nano Banana AI image editor became something of a viral sensation when it launched last month . Now the tool is being integrated into a bunch of pre-existing Google products , like Search , NotebookLM and Photos. Perhaps the most notable integration here is with NotebookLM. Nano Banana is being used to drastically change up Video Overviews, offering up six new styles like watercolor and anime. It also now generates contextual illustrations based on sources and there's a new option for m

California has become the latest state to age-gate app stores and operating systems . AB 1043 is one of several internet regulation bills that Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on Monday, including ones related to social media warning labels, chatbots and deepfake pornography. The State Assembly passed AB 1043 with a 58-0 vote in September. The legislation received backing from notable tech companies such as Google, OpenAI, Meta, Snap and Pinterest. The companies claimed the bill offered a m

Best Buy is holding a sitewide sale on Microsoft Copilot+ PCs with steep discounts up to $700 off. This is fantastic timing, given that Microsoft ends official support for Windows 10 this week . If you're thinking about upgrading, now is likely the time. One cool deal here is for a souped-up version of the Microsoft Surface 7 laptop . This one ships with a Snapdragon X Plus processor , 32GB of RAM and 1TB of internal storage. It also includes a 13.8-inch touchscreen and a battery that gets 20 ho

I've been using Slack for like a decade and the platform's proprietary chatbot, Slackbot, has always been a bit underwhelming. It can deliver reminders and notifications and, well, that's about it. That could change in the near future, as the platform is testing a redesigned Slackbot that's chock full of AI . The new Slackbot is basically an AI chatbot like all the rest, but this one has been purpose-built to help with common work tasks. Folks can use natural language to converse with the bot an

You'll get access to Windows 10 a little longer by doing this. (Getty Images) Are you still running Windows 10 on your PC? Starting tomorrow, October 14, Microsoft is moving the software to end of life status. What does that mean for you? While Windows 10 PCs will continue to work after that date, they'll stop getting important security updates by default. That leaves you with three choices if you want to make sure your computer remains secure: You can choose to upgrade to Windows 11 for free if

A Broadcom logo and a computer motherboard appear in this illustration taken August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration REUTERS / Reuters OpenAI is hungry for as much compute power as it can get its hands on, and the company has signed another deal with a chipmaker to help make that happen. This time around, it's teaming up with Broadcom to make custom chips and systems for use in both OpenAI's infrastructure and its partners' data centers. OpenAI is designing the AI accelerators and syste

Those on a tight budget and those who prefer open-ear AirPods will want to check out the latest discount on the AirPods 4 . Apple's entry-level wireless earbuds are down to $89 even now after October Prime Day has come and gone. That's 30 percent off their normal rate and the lowest we've seen them. When Apple updated its standard AirPods in 2024, it released two models: one with active noise cancellation (ANC) and one without. We consider the non-ANC models to be the best budget AirPods you can

Amazon's fall edition of Prime Day may have come and gone for the year, but you can still get some great deals on popular products like the Apple AirTag. Right now, a four-pack of Apple AirTags is $65 , or 34 percent off the regular price. If you're an Apple user, then the AirTag is the best Bluetooth tracker on the market for you. You can put these little discs in your wallet, in a backpack or in your luggage while you're traveling. Your AirTag's location will show up in your Find My app, power

Even if you missed Prime Day last week, you can still save on some of our favorite tech today. That, believe it or not, includes some Apple devices. One of the best deals still lingering on the internet is on the iPad A16 , which is down to a record low of $279. This tablet made our list of the best iPads and we particularly recommend it for the budget-conscious. It may lack some of the bells and whistles of its more expensive cousins, but it still gets the job done . It's fast enough for most c

Smart LED light bulbs are one of the easiest ways to get into the IoT space. These smart lighting solutions let you control your homes illumination from your phone and other connected devices, and in addition to that practicality, they also inject some fun into your space. Color-changing bulbs have a plethora of RGB options for you to customize the lighting mood for your next movie night, date night or game day, or you can opt for cozy warm white light when you need to unwind at the end of a lon

SpaceX is gearing up for the 11th flight test of its Starship megarocket, which will launch from its Starbase in Texas as early as Monday. The launch window opens on October 13 at 7:15PM ET. You'll be able to watch live starting 30 minutes before liftoff on the SpaceX website and on X. Starship's latest flight follows a successful test at the end of August, during which it deployed a payload eight dummy Starlink satellites in space for the first time following a failed attempt earlier in the y

We can finally answer the question of who wins in a fight between prime Aang and prime Korra. Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game , which is a working title, was announced at New York Comic Con and already has a release date of summer 2026. The developer, Gameplay Group International, revealed a trailer with some pre-alpha footage that resembles Street Fighter but with our favorite characters from the Avatar franchise . According to the Steam page , the game will offer 12 characters at launch and

Just about a month after being accused of using pirated books to train its AI, Apple is facing another similar proposed class action lawsuit. As first reported by Bloomberg Law , two neuroscience professors from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, NY, claimed that Apple used their registered works without authorization. The neuroscientists, Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik, said Apple trained its AI models using shadow libraries and web-crawling software that provide

We may only be a few days away from the big reveal of Apple's latest chips . According to Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman, Apple is getting ready to release its October lineup of new products powered by the M5 chip as soon as this week. In the latest Power On newsletter, Gurman expects announcements for an upgraded iPad Pro, a refreshed Vision Pro with a revamped strap, and the new base model MacBook Pro, all of which will come with the latest Apple silicon. Previously, the expected launch for the M5 M

It seems to be the end of the road for Apple's Clips app. The company said on a support page that it has stopped updating the video-editing app, and new users can no longer download it from the App Store. Existing users on iOS and iPadOS will continue to have access for the time being, but the company hasn't said how long that will last. If you previously downloaded the Clips app, you can still redownload it from your Apple account in the App Store, the support page notes. Clips was introduced i

The controversial preservation order requiring OpenAI to indefinitely keep records of its ChatGPT data has been terminated. Federal judge Ona T. Wang filed a new order on October 9 that frees OpenAI of an obligation to preserve and segregate all output log data that would otherwise be deleted on a going forward basis. The case kicked off in late 2023, with the New York Times suing OpenAI for copyright infringement, alleging that the AI giant trained its models with the news outlet's intellectual

After remaking every Game Boy model imaginable, Anbernic is ready to take on the next frontier of classic gaming handhelds: the Nintendo DS . In its usual drip-feed fashion, the handheld maker released a teaser video revealing the Anbernic RG DS . The company didn't offer many details for its Nintendo DS clone, but announced that it would cost less than $100. That price tag isn't surprising for anyone who's been following Anbernic's recipe of recreating iconic handhelds at an affordable price po

One of the most affordable EVs in America, the Chevrolet Bolt , has made its long-awaited comeback. After discontinuing the Bolt in 2023, the American automaker has refreshed the popular EV with a 2027 model that has some key upgrades. Chevy said the new Bolt will be available at dealerships in the first quarter of 2026, starting with a comfort trim that goes for at least $29,990. The updated Bolt will get even cheaper in the coming months when Chevy releases an LT base model that starts at $28,

You'll get access to Windows 10 a little longer by doing this. (Getty Images) You've known it for a while: Microsoft has determined that it's moving Windows 10 to end of life status starting on October 14. That means while Windows 10 PCs will continue to work after that date, they'll stop getting important security updates by default. That leaves you with three choices if you want to make sure your computer remains secure: You can choose to upgrade to Windows 11 for free if your computer is comp

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. Some gorgeous new games arrived this week, and we've got some demos and reveals from upcoming projects to take a look at. Later this month, Lorelai and the Laser Eyes studio Simogo is going to celebrate its 15th anniversary with some news and surprises . Perhaps the developer is porting some of its earlier games to more platforms. I'm hoping that we'll learn about Simogo's next game as well. I'm not holding out hope for a

Instagram head Adam Mosseri has announced that as part of a test, some Instagram users will be able to try a new menu bar in the app with a different arrangement of tabs. Notably, the new menu bar has dedicated tabs for both Reels and DMs, two of the app's most popular features. If you opt-in to the test, Instagram's current tabs for your feed, search, creating a new post, Reels and your profile page will be replaced by a new layout that swaps search and Reels, and switches the dedicated tab for

Apple is partnering with Spectrum SportsNet to stream select Los Angeles Lakers games directly to the Apple Vision Pro during the 2025-2026 basketball season. The games will be filmed in the Apple Immersive video format, the same VR-friendly filming style the company used to capture the Metallica concert film it released earlier this year. Beyond giving you a reason to blow the dust off your $3,500 Apple Vision Pro, watching the games in-headset will showcase perspectives impossible to capture i

Proton VPN stands out for two main reasons: it's one of the only virtual private networks (VPNs) to include a free plan with no data limits, and it's one of the few services majority-owned by a nonprofit. It's the best VPN in both of those categories, and it makes a strong case for being the best overall. Even if you don't care about the work of the Proton Foundation, Proton VPN is a service worth using. It's easy to install and manage, runs like the wind and meets high standards for security an

Cybersecurity firm Cleafy just issued a report warning against a rising malware called Klopatra, which infects personal devices by posing as a free VPN app called Mobdro Pro IP + VPN. This is the latest corroboration of a series of warnings delivered by Kaspersky security researchers in 2024 about the increasing number of malware apps pretending to be free VPNs a warning that's more relevant than ever as VPN usage spikes in response to age-restriction laws. Mobdro is the name of a popular IPTV

When Google announced the Pixel Watch 4, it made a point to mention that the smartwatch was designed with serviceability in mind. Now that it's out, the repair experts at iFixit have taken a look and can confirm Google's claims. The how-to specialist site has called the Pixel Watch 4 the most repairable smartwatch you can buy right now. Thats notable, as iFixit points out , because youd probably expect a sustainability-oriented brand such as Fairphone or Framework to be getting this kind of reco

Chrome is getting a new feature aimed at cutting back on notification overload. If enabled, Chrome can now revoke notification permission for websites that the user hasn't interacted with recently. It's a similar option to the automatic actions taken by Chrome's Safety Check for apps such as the camera or location information. The new feature will roll out to Chrome on both Android devices and on desktop. Chrome revoking notifications The browser will, ironically, notify you when a site is no lo

The FCC has submitted a proposal that would make it harder for consumers to receive itemized bills with accurate information from their ISPs, as spotted by The Verge . The draft would revise previous unnecessary requirements on the grounds that a fact-based list of charges may confuse customers. This comes as a response to complaints by ISPs over a Biden-era transparency rule that went into effect back in 2024 . Compliance with this rule mandates that ISPs make it easier for consumers to compare

Ford is cutting the price of the 2026 F-150 Lightning by up to $4,000, as confirmed by the automaker to CarsDirect . The price cuts vary by trim, however, and will only apply to more expensive packages for the electric pickup truck. This comes as the $7,500 EV tax credit expired at the end of September. The 2026 model has a starting price of $63,345 for the STX trim, which is the same price as the previous year's entry-level XLT. The STX replaces the XLT and delivers 536 horsepower, up from the

We generally consider Apples iPads to be the best tablets for most people, but most of them dont come cheap. To help you get the most value possible, were keeping a constant eye on sale prices and rounding up the best iPad deals we can find each week. This week has been a particularly fruitful time to be in the market for an Apple tablet: Amazon held its latest Prime Day sale on October 7-8, while other retailers like Best Buy , Target and Walmart are still running sweeping sales of their own. A

Sonos Ace headphones didnt get off to the best start, but the brands first headphones have come a long way since launch, and for $100 off when purchased directly from Sonos or Amazon , theyre well worth considering. The Ace are down to $299 from both retailers, and for that price youre getting one of the most feature-packed pairs of noise-canceling headphones on the market right now. When the Ace arrived in the summer of 2024, we praised them for their sound quality, premium design and comfy fit

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially designated Google with strategic market status (SMS) under the new digital markets competition regime . Specifically, it found that Google holds substantial and entrenched market power and a position of strategic significance when it comes to general search and search advertising services. The digital markets competition regime came into force on January 1, 2025 and will enable the agency to promote competition in fast-moving digita

After years of trying, a dedicated team has managed to download and archive a fully playable version of the long-lost canceled mobile game, Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home . The story of its search and recovery has been detailed in a new video by YouTuber The Golden Bolt, who helped kick off the search himself back in 2019. Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home has usually been attributed to Handheld Games, which developed a string of mobile titles in 2005 including Spider-Man 2: The Hero Returns and Ratchet

China's antitrust regulator has opened an investigation into Qualcomm's acquisition of Israeli connected-vehicle chip company Autotalks. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) alleges that Qualcomm is suspected of violating China's anti-monopoly laws by not disclosing certain details of the deal. Qualcomm had initially agreed to acquire the fabless chip company in 2023 to expand its Snapdragon portfolio into more automotive applications. Autotalks creates chips, sensors and vehicl

If you prefer open-ear AirPods but still have an older model, this deal could be worth noting. The AirPods 4 are still on sale for $89, or 30 percent off their usual price. That's also the lowest we've seen them and a sale price that's still hanging on after Prime Day earlier this week. When Apple updated its standard AirPods in 2024, it released two models: one with active noise cancellation (ANC) and one without. We consider the non-ANC models to be the best budget AirPods you can get, so they

Control: Ultimate Edition will be available on the iPhone, the iPad and the Apple Vision Pro in early 2026, its developer Remedy has announced. The developer says you can either tap into the action with touch controls, which presumably includes hand tracking and gestures on the mixed reality headset, or use controllers to play the game. Remedy first made it available for the Apple ecosystem when it released Ultimate Edition for Mac back in February this year. Remedy originally released Control i

Truly good Apple deals can be hard to come by, but right now you can save on one of the company's smallest (and arguably one if its most useful) gadgets. A four-pack of Apple AirTags is down to $65 right now, which is 34 percent off its usual price and a sale hanging on after Prime Day ended earlier this week. That brings each AirTag in the bundle down to $16.25 each. If you're an Apple user, then the AirTag is the best Bluetooth tracker on the market for you. You can put these little discs in y

A little after the launch of the rest of the Pixel 10 family, Googles new foldable is here. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a beast which may not be the first thing you want to hear about a foldable. Engadget Its perceptibly thicker than its biggest rival, Samsungs Galaxy Z Fold 7. But avoiding the race for thinness gives Googles new foldable some advantages. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold has the best cameras of any foldable and enhanced hardiness with the top dust resistance rating. And remember: This thing

You dont need to spend a fortune to level up your gaming setup. The right budget-friendly gear can still deliver the comfort, performance and style you need whether youre on Xbox, PlayStation, a gaming PC or a Nintendo handheld. Affordable doesnt have to mean low quality todays peripherals often bring the same features as pricier gear, like RGB lighting, noise cancellation and even USB-C connectivity. From headsets that double as work headphones to keyboards and mice built for fast reactions, t

Smartwatches do more than just track your steps and deliver phone alerts to your wrist. The best smartwatches go even further, giving you the ability to pay for a cup of coffee, take calls and connect to apps like Spotify all without whipping out your smartphone. Chances are, if youre reading this, you already know all of the benefits of a smartwatch. Youre ready to invest, or upgrade from an aging accessory, but we wouldnt blame you if you if you didnt know where to start. There are dozens of s