Blizzard has finally shared how hero bans will work in competitive Overwatch 2 . The new step will let teams ban heroes they think are overpowered or annoying to play against, without letting them game out who their opposing team might want to play. The feature is a common part of other competitive games like League of Legends , and is a meta-game in its own right. For Overwatch 2 , Blizzard hopes to use the Ban Phase mostly to let players remove heroes they find frustrating, and gather data to

Under no circumstances should you let AI do your schoolwork for you, but Google has decided to make that option a little bit easier for the next year. The company is offering a free year of it's Google One AI Premium plan, which includes Gemini Advanced, access to the AI assistant in the Google Workspace and things like Gemini Live , to any college student willing to sign up. The offer gives you a sample platter of Google's latest AI features, which normally costs $20 per month, and is primarily

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), and despite concerns over tariffs, there are still a lot of manufacturers here showing off new models including a handful of US and global debuts. So without further ado, here are some of the most intriguing cars on display at the 2025 NYIAS. If you are in the area and want to see some of these for yourself, the event is open to the public from April 18 to April 27 and held at the Javits Center. Tickets cost $

In the latest evidence that indie games are often where you find the boldest creative choices, look no further than Unbeatable . The handdrawn rhythm adventure title announced in 2020 and crowdfunded the following year oozes style and attitude. For example, look no further than its tagline: a game where music is illegal and you do crimes. (Nice.) Developer DCell Games launched a new trailer and a much more robust demo on Thursday, letting you sample a slice of the full game. One part of the an

As part of their ongoing celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope's 35th anniversary , NASA and ESA have shared a new image of the Eagle Nebula , specifically a spire of cosmic gas and dust that's in a region last captured by the telescope two decades ago. The tower in the image is 9.5 light years tall, according to NASA and ESA, and only a portion of the larger Eagle Nebula, which is considered a ursery for young stars. The tower's unique mix of oranges and dark blues is thanks to a combinati

The Apple Sports app just introduced a new feature called Game Card Sharing. This lets users generate digital game cards that carry information about a specific match. The cards can be generated for upcoming, live and completed games. In the latter two cases, the score will be displayed. The cool part about these cards is that they are shareable across iMessage or via social media platforms. I could see this being useful in a group chat with friends, as a handy way to keep track of an ongoing ma

Tesla is facing a proposed class action suit over allegations that it has been speeding up odometers so its vehicles will fall out of warranty faster, according to a report by Reuters . This would make it easier for the company to get out of paying for repairs. Nyree Hinton, the plaintiff in the case , alleges that Tesla odometer readers are designed to change with energy consumption, driver behavior and mysterious predictive algorithms, and not actual mileage driven. He said that the odometer o

The European Commission (EC) reportedly delayed regulatory penalty announcements against Apple and Meta this week as it accelerates its push for a trade deal with the US. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal said the move led to concern from European Parliament lawmakers that political factors are influencing the body's regulatory decisions. The EU is said to have initially planned to announce cease-and-desist orders against Apple and Meta on Tuesday and reportedly told at least one of the compani

Blue Prince is an incredible puzzle game. Set in a lonely mansion with impossible architecture, its layered in mysteries, conspiracies and family drama. The mansion, Mt. Holly, officially has 45 rooms, but in order to collect your inheritance, you have to find the 46th. Every day youre given a set number of steps, and you have to literally build the manor (and the game) as you go, drawing from a pool of floorplans to create a new layout with each run. This is the foundation, but it goes so much

Theres no denying the allure of shiny new tech (I mean, have you seen the smartphone images Engadgets Sam Rutherford takes?). But you don't always have to shell out for the latest model to get a good gadget. Buying refurbished will be much easier on your wallet, sometimes saving you hundreds of dollars over buying new. And with tariffs threatening to increase the costs of all goods tech included going the refurbished route might become the more popular option in the near future. And let's not

If you've been hanging onto an older Apple Watch for a few years or you're an iPhone user who perhaps wants to pick one up for the first time to better track your activity, here's a deal for you. The Apple Watch Series 10 is once again on sale. It has dropped back down to $299, which matches a record low price. The smartwatch usually retails for $399. This deal is for the 42mm GPS version of the Apple Watch Series 10 with a Sport Loop strap in various colorways (there's no LTE connectivity in th

Kia's first all-electric sedan, the 2026 EV4, is making its official debut in the US at the New York International Auto Show , which runs from April 18 to April 27. The automaker first announced the vehicle in Spain back in February, with the promise that it will release the model in the USA, as well. It's built on top of the company's 400V Electric Global Modular Platform, which serves as the basis for all of Kia's electric vehicles. In the US, the EV4 will come with a built-in

It's no secret that Apple devices tend to be in particularly high demand, whether its your nephew who wants an iPad, your sister who needs a set of AirPods or your parent who could really use a new MacBook. Unfortunately, that demand can make finding big discounts on Apple gadgets a bit harder than usual. But make no mistake: Good Apple deals are usually out there, so long as you know where to look. To make things easier for you, we're keeping a running list of the best Apple deals on AirPods, M

With the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct showcase behind us, we now know more about the console than ever before, including its release date (June 5) and price ($450). We're also keeping a close eye on how the recently-announced tariffs in the United States are affecting Nintendo's launch plans . Pre-orders in the US and Canada are now set to start on April 24 . Thanks to Nintendo's January 16 teaser trailer , we've long known what the Switch 2 will look like, and that it will arrive in

This week, we're diving into Engadget's coverage from the 2025 New York Auto Show. There are tons of EVs, as we expected, as well as some surprising disappointments (what the heck did Subaru do to the Outback?!). Also, we once again try to make sense of the Trump administration's tariff mess. Stay tuned to the end of this episode for a chat with Isaiah Saxon, the director of A24s The Legend of Ochi, about his puppet-filled kids adventure. Subscribe! iTunes Spotify Pocket Casts Stitcher Google Po

We finally know when gamers in the US and Canada will be able to pre-order the Switch 2. Nintendo announced that Switch 2 pre-orders will open on April 24 in both regions . The original Switch 2 price will remain the same, $450, as will the original $500 price for the Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle. However, Nintendo announced that some Switch 2 accessories will receive price adjustments due to market conditions. Other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product are also possib

The high-end iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max + Autowash Dock hybrid robot vacuum/mop is on sale for $741 right now via Woot . Just enter the discount code ENGADGET47 at checkout. This is a discount of 47 percent, which is more than $650 off the regular price of $1,400. The Roomba Combo 10 Max is the companys most premium model and filled to the brim with high-tech advancements. This is a hybrid unit, so it vacuums and mops. However, the model goes even further and can actually wash and dry the moppin

A VPN (virtual private network) can come in handy on a regular basis to keep you safe online, and you can save on one of our favorites right now. Our top pick for the best VPN , ProtonVPN , is on sale for just $86.16 for two years of access. That's a 64-percent discount, and it comes out to about $3.59 per month for the whole, two-year period. This deal gives you access to ProtonVPN Plus, which lets you connect up to 10 devices simultaneously that should cover your smartphone, tablet, laptop, s

Earlier this year, reports came out that Ryan Gosling was in talks for the lead role in Shawn Levy's Star Wars movie. Now, Gosling has confirmed that he will star in Levy's film, which the Deadpool & Wolverine director has been working on since 2022, at the Star Wars Celebration event in Tokyo. Levy's movie will be called Star Wars: Starfighter , according to The Hollywood Reporter , and is scheduled for release on May 28, 2027, a few weeks after Avengers: Secret Wars debuts in cinem

Apple TV+ has a ton of popular originals like Ted Lasso , Severance , Slow Horses , For All Mankind , Foundation and Silo . If you've been meaning to check them out, you can do so for less right now. Apple TV+ is on sale right now for $3 per month for the first three months, bringing the total cost to just $9 for the entire period. That saves you a total of $21 off the standard $10 monthly cost of the subscription that we consider to be one of our favorite streaming services . Apple's shows won

After announcing it last month, ILM has revealed more details of its mixed reality playset called Star Wars: Beyond Victory for Meta Quest headsets. At its Star Wars Celebration 2025 in San Francisco, ILM released a new video that shows some gameplay and gives a taste of the other mixed reality experiences. The experience revolves around podracing. It includes three distinct modes, according to ILM's press release: Adventure, Arcade and Playset. The first uses virtual and mixed to reality to fol

Welcome to your Friday edition of TMA. Its a public holiday where Im from, so its a shorter briefing than usual. Barring a barrage of new cars (tariffs? shh!) revealed at the New York International Auto Show, its been a relatively quiet week, but not without a bit of drama. Engadget You know, they say money cant buy happiness. And yeah, OK I guess thats true. God knows Ive tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck, and thats pretty sick, right? Right?? Fuck, Im so alone. Thats what a pretty realistic A

Q : Im traveling soon and plan to bring all the devices I usually use, including my smartphone, tablet and laptop. What should I buy to keep everything charged? A : If youre traveling domestically, one large and one small power bank plus a foldable charging station (in addition to your usual cables and wall adapters) should keep your devices reliably powered. If youre heading to another country, you should also include an outlet adapter. And if youre flying, there are a few TSA rules you should

Think about your digital footprint. How many accounts have you created online since you first started using the internet? How many of those use the same passwords, so you have an easier time logging in? Its a habit weve all fallen into, but it greatly weakens our ability to stay secure online. Just one password leak can compromise dozens of accounts. Password managers can help you break that habit. Itll do the tedious work of creating and storing various passwords to up your security posture wit

If your PlayStation 5 library is starting to burst at the seams, upgrading with one of the best SSDs for your PlayStation 5 can make a huge difference. Modern PS5 games are massive, and while the consoles internal storage is speedy, it fills up fast especially if you're juggling big titles like Call of Duty, Spider-Man 2, or Final Fantasy XVI. A compatible SSD gives you more space without sacrificing load times or performance, so you can spend less time managing your library and more time gamin

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been reduced to a skeleton crew. The department, which was created to oversee banks and financial institutions, has cut about 1,500 jobs , leaving about 200 employees and reducing the agency by about 90 percent. In addition to cutting most of the staff, Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta sent a memo detailing the changed priorities for the CFPB. The bureau has been ordered to deprioritize subjects including consumer data, digital payments, medical debt

A live-action Pacific Rim TV series is in-development at Amazon, according to Variety . News of the project was first shared in 2024, when Variety reported that Arrival screenwriter Eric Heisserer was attached to develop and write the show . The new series will apparently be a prequel to Guillermo Del Toro's original Pacific Rim , a movie about Kaiju-fighting giant mechs and the humans that pilot them. Legendary, which produced Pacific Rim , is also backing the series alongside Amazon MGM. The s

Sonos is offering discounts on its refurbished gear just in time for Earth Day. Select purchases of the audio company's certified refurbished products are currently 25 percent off. That means you can pick up a pre-owned Arc soundbar for $599, or $120 less than the usual sticker price. The deal is running through April 22 or as long as supplies of the refurb items last, so if you're considering one of these revitalized audio products, it's probably best to act quickly. Here's the list of what's c

After testing the major live TV streaming services and comparing what you get for the price, we still think its a better deal than paying for cable but the gulf between the two options is narrowing. Now that many of the major providers go for more than $80 per month, its not the amazing deal it once was. Still, live TV streaming plans have no contract, offer relatively simpler pricing and dont need special equipment beyond a smart TV and an internet connection, which you likely already have. Th

Xbox's Spring Sale is live, with big discounts on old and new classics and plenty of forgotten gems. But the deals aren't limited to Xbox console games; there's plenty on tap for PC, too. (You can filter by platform under the Play with option in the sidebar.) Some of the standouts in the Xbox sale include 75 percent off Red Dead Redemption 2 (a mere $15 for the 2018 masterpiece), Elden Ring ($36) and 20 percent off Baldur's Gate 3 ($56). Also available are Subnautica ($9.89), the feline adventur

New Jersey's Attorney General Matthew Platkin is suing Discord over the chat company's child safety features. The lawsuit claims that Discord has misled parents about the efficacy of its safety controls and obscured the risks children faced when using the application. The Office of the Attorney General and the state's Division of Consumer Affairs concluded that Discord violated New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act after a multiyear investigation into the company. The details of the lawsuit are curren

We already knew that Mario Kart World was being released alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5 for a whopping $80 (or bundled with the Switch 2 hardware at a slight discount). But this morning, the latest Nintendo Direct gave us nearly 17 minutes of Mario Kart World gameplay. There are plenty of callbacks to classic Mario Kart modes (Balloon Battle Mode), mixed in with all-new options (Knockout Tour). Want the full download? Watch the replay below, and read our full summary of the latest Mar

The TV adaptation of the video game Twisted Metal is coming back for a second season on July 31 . Just like the first season, this wont be a weekly release. All of the episodes will be available on Peacock on that date. The first season was surprisingly decent, and occasionally hilarious. One thing we didnt see in that batch of episodes, however, was the titular tournament. The show is rectifying that, as the second season looks to revolve entirely around the Twisted Metal demolition derby . Co-

The long-awaited second season of weekly Playdate game drops commences on May 29. During a showcase on Thursday, Panic revealed that players will get two fresh games on their console every seven days for six weeks. It's also promising a surprise of some kind. Unlike the first season of games that's included with every Playdate , you'll need to pay extra for this one. Playdate Season Two will run you $39. You can pre-order now through the Playdate Catalog. Part of the allure of Playda

There are several meteor showers we can count on seeing every year as Earth passes through the debris trails of known comets and asteroids orbiting the sun, and two of them are about to be in full swing. The Lyrids , which come from comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, will be visible from April 17 to 26, most prominently in the skies over the Northern Hemisphere. And just a couple days later, the bright streaks of the Eta Aquarids stemming from the famous Halleys Comet will make their first appearance a

You might now be out of luck if you've been relying on Apple's AI tools to help you craft a Facebook post or generate a custom emoji to slap on an Instagram Story. As first reported by Sorcererhat Tech (by way of 9to5Mac ), Apple Intelligence features are not currently functional on Meta's iOS apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp or Threads. Engadget has confirmed that Apple Intelligence isn't working in the apps at the time of writing. As things stand, along with writi

A federal judge has ruled that Google is a monopolist in online advertising. The New York Times reported on Thursday that Judge Leonie Brinkema of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said the company broke the law to maintain its ad tech dominance. In addition to depriving rivals of the ability to compete, this exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Googles publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web, the judge

More details about Mario Kart World , the big first-party Nintendo Switch 2 launch title, were shown during a dedicated Direct on Thursday . The 17-minute presentation showcased some of the game's courses, such as the canal-based Salty Salty Speedway and spooky Boo Cinema, and revealed that some classic, reimagined courses will be dotted around the game's open world. Beyond regular races and the new Knockout Tour elimination mode, there are a bunch of other ways to play Mario Kart World

Portable monitors have been around for years, but their importance skyrocketed during the pandemic. And with the continuation of remote and hybrid work positions, theyre going to be staples for the foreseeable future. But picking one isnt as simple as it seems. At this point, almost every major PC maker has its own take on travel-friendly displays, with prices ranging from as little as $100 to nearly $1,000. So to help sort through the confusion, I tested out a bunch of options to put together a

Instagram is adding yet another way to liven up your Reels recommendations. The app is rolling out Blend, a feature that allows you to create a custom feed within a DM that combines your recommendations with a friends. If that sounds familiar, its because Blend has been in the works for some time. It was first spotted in the app more than a year ago, but was only an internal prototype at the time. Now, Meta is finally making it official, describing it as an invite-only Reels feed for you and you

Looking for a good VPN service? ExpressVPN is offering one heck of a deal right now. You can snag a 28-month subscription, which is well over two years, for 61 percent off the typical price . This boils down to $5 per month, but theres one catch. You have to pay up front, which comes out to $140. Thats a hefty initial payout, but having access to a good VPN service into late 2027 sounds pretty dang nice. To that end, ExpressVPN is one of the more reputable companies out there and it easily made

Codemasters' Formula 1 franchise is back for another lap. Publisher EA says the tracks in F1 2025 have a more realistic look and feel, thanks to LiDAR scanning. The new installment arrives on May 30. Although EA initially didn't offer much detail about LiDAR's use, it confirmed on Thursday that it involved high-resolution 3D scans of real-world tracks to make them as close to a 1:1 representation as possible. (After all, it's the same tech autonomous vehicles use for real-time 3D mapping and obj

Wikipedia has been struggling with the impact that AI crawlers bots that are scraping text and multimedia from the encyclopedia to train generative artificial intelligence models have been having on its servers, leading to increased costs and slower load times for human users in some cases. Perhaps in an effort to stop the bots from pummeling the public Wikipedia website and soaking up too much bandwidth, the Wikimedia Foundation (which manages Wikipedia's data) is offering AI developers a

Chinese authorities have banned automakers from using terms such as smart driving and autonomous driving for ads in the country, according to Reuters . The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has tightened its rules for advertising driving assistance features following a fatal crash involving a Xiaomi SUV7 (pictured above), which raised concerns about the technology's safety. Based on Xiaomi's report, the vehicle's driving assistance mode was switched on when the vehicle

Google is now offering Gemini live video and screen sharing to just about every Android user who wants them totally free. The announcement comes just a couple weeks after Google first rolled out the features. They have been available to all Pixel 9 and Samsung Galaxy S25 owners and through a Google One AI Premium plan for other Android users with the Gemini app. Now, Google says that great feedback has motivated the company to bring it to more people. Gemini live video and screen share allows y

Sure, it's getting warmer outside but, if you ask me, there's no reason that should get in the way of watching TV. With that in mind, we're very excited to see that our favorite all-in-one streaming device is now on sale. Right now, you can get the Google TV Streamer 4K for $79, down from $100 a 21 percent discount. This deal is the lowest price we've seen since the device went on sale in October of last year. The low price is (unsurprisingly) available on Amazon, but is also the same if you pu

Strava has exercised its right to expand. A bad pun, yes, but apt considering the exercise tracking app has purchased Runna , a UK-based company that provides its users personalized running plans and coaching. The deal proceeded for an undisclosed sum of money. Strava reports that interest in running has grown significantly, with 43 percent of its members wanting to do a big race or event this year. Running is booming worldwide nearly 1 billion runs were recorded on Strava in 2024. Runnas missi

Nike has teamed up with Hyperice, a company that specializes in products meant for muscle recovery and relaxation in athletes, to launch the Hyperboot. Originally introduced in the summer of 2024, the Hyperboot looks pretty much like a pair of chunky high-top shoes. The companies said it's more than that, however, calling it a heat and dynamic air-compression massage tool that you can walk in. It's equipped with dual-air bladders with heating elements throughout its entire upper. The Hyperboot w

Pellet grills are great for the set it and forget it style of low-and-slow cooking things like brisket, pork shoulders and other barbecue meats require. And most of them will get hot enough to sear a steak, although not all models offer some type of direct-flame grilling. Recteq thinks it has finally cracked the code with its new X-Fire Pro , a smart pellet grill that the company says will replace a gas grill thanks to a 1,250-degree Fahrenheit maximum temperature. The X-Fire Pro has two separat

One of the more serious players in the air taxi game, Archer , has just unveiled routes for a potential service in New York City. Its Midnight aircraft would shuttle passengers from Manhattan to JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airpots in five to 15 minutes, potentially shaving an hour or more from typical driving times. However, Archer didn't provide any dates for the start of the service and all of this could be derailed by regulatory bodies, particularly the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)