The plan to save TikTok is starting to come into focus. On Tuesday The Wall Street Journal reported more details about a deal between the US and China as the two sides are apparently finalizing specifics of the arrangement. According to the report, TikTok's US business will be owned primarily by a group of US investors, which will have a roughly 80 percent stake in the entity. The group includes longtime TikTok partner Oracle, as well as Silicon Valley VC firm Andreesen Horowitz and the private

LimeWire has announced that it's acquired the rights to Fyre Festival, the disastrous, influencer-fueled 2017 music festival. The newly revived company which now acts as a NFT music marketplace rather than a file-sharing service bought the rights for $245,000 in an eBay auction, The New York Times reports . A separate plan to use the Fyre Festival name to launch a new music streaming service was announced in April 2025 . Fyre became a symbol of hype gone wrong, but it also made history, LimeWi

The free Apple Sports app just added widgets , which has been a long-requested feature. This allows users to build their own custom widgets to follow the teams and organizations of their choosing. Once placed, it'll just take a quick swipe on the device to check out scores, statistics, upcoming matches and more. Widgets are available on iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. This feature will operate in addition to the pre-existing Live Activities tool , which also delivers live sports updates direct

In what's most definitely (not) the biggest Hades news of the week, the acclaimed game is coming to Game Pass. Not the long-awaited sequel, mind you, but the 2020 original. At least subscribers can catch up on the first game while waiting out the sequel's Switch exclusivity window . Hades will be available for Game Pass Ultimate, PC, and Standard tiers. This isn't the roguelike's first Game Pass rodeo. It was on Microsoft's service from August 2021 to 2022 . It returns this September 19, the sam

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

Another family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against popular AI chatbot tool Character AI. This is the third suit of its kind after a 2024 lawsuit , also against Character AI, involving the suicide of a 14-year-old in Florida, and a lawsuit last month alleging OpenAI's ChatGPT helped a teenage boy commit suicide. The family of 13-year-old Juliana Peralta alleges that their daughter turned to a chatbot inside the app Character AI after feeling isolated by her friends, and began confiding in

Annapurna Interactive is hosting a games showcase on September 23, 2025 at 8PM ET / 5PM PT to show off three of its upcoming games. The publisher says the Annapurna Interactive Direct from Tokyo will stream on YouTube and feature new games from Kyoto-based developer Marumittu Games, Iridium Studios and Yarn Owl. Annapurna Interactive held its previous games showcase this past February to show off games like Skin Deep and Wheel World . Marumittu Games' Annapurna project was initially detailed in

The hit survival sim Valheim will be released for the PS5 in 2026 , ending years of speculation. The year is all we got, as developer Iron Gate AB didn't announce an actual release date. Still, it's better than nothing. We do know that the PS5 version will feature full crossplay with all other platforms, so that's good. Piktiv, a company that regularly assists Iron Gate with Valheim stuff, is working on the port so the main development team can focus its efforts on updates and DLC drops. To that

Starting on Wednesday, it'll be much easier to switch between devices with your PlayStation controller. That's when the PS5 update Sony promised in July begins rolling out . Jumping between your console and, say, Windows will be as simple as pressing a button combo. Up to this point, you've had to unpair and repair your DualSense controller each time. After installing tomorrow's system update, it will only take a few steps to set up multi-device switching. With your DualSense controller powered

Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up on the latest blockbuster AI lawsuit , this time against Chinese company MiniMax, owner of Hailuo AI. The three mega-studios, which collectively represent over half of the US box office take , filed suit in California against the AI-powered image and video generation platform alleging that it pirates and plunders Plaintiffs copyrighted works on a massive scale. The lawsuit includes dozens of screenshots of infringing generated images th

It wasn't until your average electric car started managing 200 miles on a charge that the buying populace started getting over their range anxiety. That means electric motorcycles, with ranges often measured in double digits, remain a bit of a tough sell for mass-market buyers. The focus, then, seems to be for a good time, not a long time, and that's very much the case of the Can-Am Origin. This $14,499 battery-powered dual-sport is a fun, flickable, go-anywhere two-wheeled smile factory that I

YouTube held an event today aimed at creators and announced all kinds of new tools, many of which include AI in one way or another. Let's get into some of the more interesting drops. There's an AI tool that can automatically edit raw footage into a compelling first draft. It'll create a video complete with music, transitions and voiceover. It's being tested right now and should roll out in the coming weeks. The platform is also launching software that will automatically create voiceovers in Engl

OpenAI is developing a system designed to automatically identify teen users and restrict their usage of ChatGPT. In a blog post published Tuesday , the company said the new experience would come with age-appropriate policies, including a block of graphic sexual content. In cases of acute distress, the system will also have the capability to contact law enforcement to ensure user safety. In scenarios where ChatGPT can't definitively estimate the age of a user, it will default them to the new gate

KPop Demon Hunters has been the talk of the town since debuting on Netflix in June. Now, the Huntr/X singers might be taking over a new area: gaming. Kpop Demon Hunters is reportedly coming to Fortnite . Two Fortnite leakers, SpushFNBR and Loolo , posted the news on X (formerly Twitter), citing a reliable source. Little to nothing is known about what a crossover would entail but the duo said they would be posting more details in the coming weeks. A film about three k-pop singers who save the wor

Folks in the US can now snap up the first smart projector that's powered by Roku tech. The Aurzen Roku TV Smart Projector D1R Cube is available on Amazon for a regular price of $250. Until October 1, though, there's a coupon that drops the price to $180 (a discount of $70). There was a Roku-branded 3M projector that arrived all the way back in 2012 , but that required a Roku Streaming Stick. The new Aurzen model has Roku's operating system built in. You'll be able to operate this projector using

If there's one thing devices don't have, it's enough memory. No matter how much your phone or console comes with, it's never too long before you need to start deleting stuff. With that in mind, we're always happy to see one of our favorite memory cards go on sale. Right now, you can buy the Samsung Evo Select MicroSD card for $20, down from $27. The 26 percent discount brings it to only $2 more than its all-time low price. This model is a new generation with 256GB and read and write speeds up to

Apple Music has a great deal going on right now for those interested in the Family Plan. New subscribers can get three free months of that plan which, at $17 per month normally, comes out to $51 in savings for the whole period. The Family Plan allows six different users to access the platform. It offers cross-device support and each user is tied to an Apple ID, so their favorite music won't mess with anyone else's algorithm. Apple Music actually topped our list of the best music streaming platf

Hydrow is adding a third model to its lineup of snazzy modern-day rowing machines, and this time its bringing along a dollop of AI. The Hydrow Arc sits on the same footprint as its former Pro machine, but gets a bigger, 24-inch touchscreen display. Its also equipped with what the company is calling premium sound and better workout recommendations. But what the company really wants to talk about is its new HydroMetrics Index, using AI to look at your workout and give you a single score at the end

In 2023, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and a handful of other music labels filed a lawsuit against the Internet Archive over the Great 78 Project, which sought to preserve and digitize 78 rpm shellac records. Now, both parties have announced in a filing that they have reached a settlement and that they're filing to dismiss the lawsuit within 45 days. The plaintiffs said in the filing that they were writ[ing] to advise this court that they have settled this matter. They didn't r

We can all be honest and say that carrying around a bulky power bank almost makes it seem like your phone dying isn't so bad. Between the heaviness and any necessary cords, they can just be a pain. So, we were intrigued when Anker debuted a new, very thin power bank this summer: the Anker Nano 5K MagGo Slim power bank . Now, both Anker and Amazon are running sales on it, dropping the price from $55 to $46. The 16 percent discount a new low for the power bank and available in the black and white

The Apple Watch Series 11 (right) and the SE 3 may be more similar than different. Apple Congratulations to those who can easily afford the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3. But for most of us in the market for a new Apple-friendly smartwatch, the choice is more between the entry-level Apple Watch SE 3 and the mainstay Apple Watch Series 11 , which start at $249 and $399, respectively. That used to be more of a no-brainer default to the current Series model, since the second-gen SE had gone three full y

A potential TikTok deal emerged Monday between the US and China, two days before the Trump administration's latest sell or be banned deadline . Now, attention is shifting to the app's Chinese algorithm, with the Financial Times reporting it will be used in the US version. Wang Jingtao, deputy director of the China's national internet regulator, told reporters that the deal included licensing the algorithm and other intellectual property rights. The Financial Times further reports that US Treasur

The tenth generation of the Apple Watch came and went without much fanfare last year, and the arrival of the Series 11 is similarly subdued. Not much appears to have changed with Apples smartwatch , with no redesign to be seen. Still, that isnt to say the Apple Watch Series 11 is unimpressive or unexciting. It has new health-related features, improved durability, 5G connectivity, support for a wrist-flick gesture and, for the first time in years, the promise of longer battery life. The most note

The latest generation of smartwatches is looking to the skies to expand their connectivity capabilities. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 will be the second mainstream smartwatch (not counting the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro) to support satellite communications, and the new connectivity feature is one of a few changes coming to the device. Other upgrades include the S10 chip, a slightly larger display, bigger battery that lasts up to 42 hours, support for 5G, as well as the hypertension and sleep score features c

Apples third-gen pro earbuds make a very strong case for upgrading. Alongside all those iPhones and Watches, Apple revealed the AirPods Pro 3 , packing in major new features, like live translation and heart-rate sensing, all while tangibly boosting active noise cancellation (ANC). Those ANC upgrades? Ultra-low-noise microphones combine with advanced computational audio to silence even more noise, while new foam-infused ear tips play a major role here too, since they offer increased passive noise

As a former Mint user, I had to find a new budgeting app not too long ago. Intuit, parent company of Mint, shut down the service in March 2024, and prompted users to transition to its other financial app, Credit Karma. However, after testing Credit Karma myself, I found it to be a poor Mint replacement that meant I needed to branch out and look elsewhere for a trusted app to track all of my financial accounts, monitor my credit score, follow a monthly spending plan and set goals like building a

Whether you're all-in on the Apple ecosystem or just want a reliable pair of wireless earbuds, the best AirPods can deliver great sound, seamless pairing and smart features that are hard to beat. Over the years, Apple has expanded its AirPods lineup to suit a variety of users from the minimalist appeal of the standard models to the premium experience of the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max with plush ear cups and active noise cancellation. With rumors of new AirPods on the horizon and the 2nd genera

October Prime Day will be here soon on October 7 and 8, but as to be expected, you can already find some decent sales available now. Amazon always has lead-up sales in the days and weeks before Prime Day, and its wise to shop early if youre on the hunt for something specific and you see that item at a good discount. Prime Day deals are typically reserved for subscribers, but there are always a few that anyone can shop. We expect this year to be no exception, and were already starting to see that

Like clockwork, October Prime Day will be back this year in a few weeks. Amazon announced that its Prime Big Deal Days sale event will take place on October 7 and 8 this year, returning back to a 48-hour duration after extending Prime Day in July to four full days this summer. And that July Prime Day continues to be Amazon's marquee sale event for Prime members, being a big driver of the Black Friday in Summer trend. But ever since its debut in 2022, October Prime Day gives Prime subscribers t

Listen up, iPhone owners! iOS 26 is finally available to download , as well as all of Apple's other new operating systems . The first thing you'll notice after the install is a new clear design language Apple dubs Liquid Glass . The translucent look can be found within apps as well as your lock and home screens. The overhaul is one of several big changes that come with iOS, macOS , iPadOS , watchOS and the rest of Apple's software suite. You'll also see multiple useful additions in the Phone and

A regulator has accused NVIDIA of violating China's antitrust laws over its acquisition of chipmaker Mellanox. In its preliminary findings of an investigation it commenced in December , the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) claimed that the company breached both national regulations and the conditional terms China outlined when it rubberstamped the $6.9 billion takeover. The SAMR hasn't announced any penalties yet, as the investigation will continue. The SAMR is said to have dete

Last year, New York joined the wave of states passing legislation aimed at protecting minors using the Internet, particularly social media. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act and the New York Child Data Protection Act in June 2024. Today, the state's Attorney General Letitia James released more specifics about what the SAFE for Kids Act will entail in practice. Public comment is open until December 1 and the rules must be finalized within a yea

Meta's smart glasses plans were already one of the worst kept secrets, as there have been more than a year of leaks and reports about its work to add a heads-up display to the product. Now, just days before their unveiling at Connect, a promotional video of the new frames seems to have leaked. The video, reported and reposted by UploadVR , shows the new Meta Ray-Ban Display frames as well as a new model of camera-enabled Oakley sunglasses. The clip mainly features the new Ray-Ban glasses, and sh

Valve has apparently updated its Steam Early Access policy to no longer accept games with what the company deems to be mature themes. As first reported by Gamesmarkt earlier this month, gaming studio Dammitbird, which develops the adult adventure game Heavy Hearts , was not allowed to put the title on Steam Early Access because of its content. Payment processors like Mastercard and Visa have been mounting a pressure campaign on video game marketplaces Steam and Itch.io to remove certain adults-o

LG just announced two new earbuds in its xboom line of audio products, following the launch of the xboom Buds in January . The xboom Buds Plus and Buds Lite (which seems like a relatively confusing name to beer drinkers) both hit store shelves sometime this month. The Buds Plus earbuds are filled with high-tech bells and whistles. These premium headphones boast adaptive EQ that continuously adjusts the sound profile in real time. This should ensure optimal audio quality regardless of how the ear

We've been talking about it for months and now it's finally here. You can officially download iOS 26 on your phone iPadOS 26 is also available, as well as Apple's other operating system updates assuming you have an eligible device. If your device is compatible with the latest OS, you'll notice substantial changes when you install the new update. You may have already heard about Liquid Glass , which (intentional or not) is sort of like Apple's take on the old Windows Vista design language. Tha

After a summer of beta updates, iOS 26 is here. As long as you have a compatible iPhone , you can install the new software right now. Head to Settings > General > Software Update , and get ready for a Liquid Glass makeover. iOS 26 offers Apple's biggest visual change to its software since iOS 7. (That was when Jony Ive's flat design replaced Scott Forstall's skeuomorphic one.) This time around, the software adopts a translucent material theme: Liquid Glass. Although it isn't a return to skeuomor

The Apple Mac mini M4 desktop computer is on sale via Amazon right now. This brings the price of the entry-level version, with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, down to $499 . The model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is down to $689 , which is a discount of $110. You can also pick up one with 24GB of RAM for $904 . This is the model that came out at the tail-end of 2024 and represented the first major redesign of the product in ten years. We reviewed a version of this computer and called

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that the United States and China have reached a framework deal on TikTok. Speaking to reporters in Madrid after two days of talks with his Chinese counterparts, Bessent said, Its between two private parties, but the commercial terms have been agreed upon. President Trump said in a Truth Social post that he will be speaking with Xi Jinping this Friday regarding the potential deal, among other things. This breakthrough comes after the Trump administrati

Finding the best wireless earbuds can make a huge difference in how you experience music, podcasts, calls and even daily commutes. Whether you're tuning out distractions on the train or taking work calls on the go, todays wireless earbuds pack impressive audio quality and convenience into tiny, pocket-friendly forms. Many now offer excellent noise cancellation, smart ambient noise modes for staying aware of your surroundings and reliable noise isolation to help keep you focused all without the

Amazon has a press event scheduled for September 30 at 10AM ET. Panos Panay, who leads the company's Devices & Services team, will be on hand. This strongly suggests that Amazon will announce some new hardware. We don't exactly know what the company will reveal, but we do have a giant clue. The press invite also included a composite image of various Amazon devices. These appear to include a Kindle ereader, a Fire TV of some kind and an Echo speaker. Those are three of the company's biggest produ

Sometimes, rising prices for streaming services feels as inevitable as death and taxes. So when a serious discount is available, we tend to sit up and take notice. For a few weeks, you can get a whopping half off an annual subscription to Paramount+ . A year of the Paramount+ Essential plan, which is ad-supported, will cost $30 compared to the usual $60. Paramount+ Premium, which is ad-free except for live tv programming, will cost $60 for a year instead of $120. This is a substantial deal that

If you've been on the fence about getting a new iPad then now might be the time to hop off it. Apple's iPad Air M3 is down from $599 to the record-low price of $450. The 25 percent discount applies to the 11-inch Wi-Fi model. We gave the iPad Air M3 an 89 in our review , thanks, in part, to its new chip. The M3 chip gives this generation's iPad Air a big boost over the M2 model despite coming out less than a year apart. Plus, even without the discount, it's a more affordable option across Apple

Whether you you intend to pick up the new iPhone Air or just need some extra juice for your existing iPhone, a MagSafe power bank is an essential accessory. Luckily, Anker both makes some of our favorites and has great sales going on right now on just this kind of gear. One of the most affordable is the Anker 622 Magnetic Battery , which is 42 percent off and down to $28 right now. This steep discount is also available at Anker's online store with a coupon code that the company provides. This mo

There must be something in the water at Spotify HQ. Less than a week after delivering long-promised lossless audio , the company has another treat. Free listeners can finally listen to any track they want. After enhancing Premium, perhaps Spotify figured it could add a free perk without shedding subscribers. Spotify accounts on the free plan can now choose any track and immediately listen to it. Previously, that was paywalled for Premium subscribers. Non-paying ones had to shuffle through an alb

Snap is upgrading the software that powers its augmented reality glasses as it gets ready for the first non-developer version of its Specs next year. The latest update to Snap OS includes an improved web browser, as well as the ability to browse Spotlight videos in AR. The company has long said that one of its goals for AR glasses is to enable people to spend less time staring at their phones. Snap hasn't quite accomplished that yet, but Snap OS is starting to get more features that could help t

If you want a powerful phone charger in the smallest size possible, Apple has the answer but there is a tradeoff. The company's new 40W Dynamic Power Adapter is the first charger to support the USB PD 3.2 AVS (adjustable voltage supply) protocol so it can hit up to 60W, but only for a limited time. It was designed to work the company's new iPhone 17 models with faster charging speeds than previous iPhones. Lugging heavy chargers is a particularly bugbear of mine so the Dynamic Power Adapter sta

If youre not already wearing a pair of AirPods all day, Apples latest suite of features may convince you to do so. The companys latest model , the AirPods Pro 3 ($249) , is Apples most comprehensive update to its best set of earbuds. Flashy new features like Live Translation and heart-rate sensing will garner the bulk of the attention, but upgrades to active noise cancellation (ANC) and a significant boost in sound quality shouldnt be overlooked. And with a notable improvement in battery life, t

It has been just over a month since 8Bitdo released its Pro 3 controller . While the new model is a great option, its predecessor shouldn't be kicked to the wayside especially when it's on sale. Right now, Prime members can get the 8Bitdo Pro 2 wireless Bluetooth controller and a travel case for $40, down from $60. The 34 percent discount solves our biggest gripe about the device: that it's too big to carry around sans case. Plus, it gives you a cheaper option that's also compatible with the ne

Streaming platforms once again dominated the 2025 Primetime Emmy awards (77th edition), while network TV was shut out of the the major filmed categories. Apple TV+ came out on top with seven total wins including four for The Studio : Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor (Seth Rogen), Outstanding Directing (Rogen and Evan Goldberg) and Outstanding Writing. I've never won anything in my life, Rogen said during his off-the-cuff acceptance speech . When I was a kid I bought a used bowli