Engadget

Australia's government may take a strict stance on ensuring younger users cannot access AI chatbots. Reuters reports that Australian regulators may require app storefronts to block AI services that do not implement age verification for restricting mature content by March 9. eSafety will use the full range of our powers where there is non-compliance, a representative for the commissioner said in a statement to the publication. Those paths could include action in respect of gatekeeper services suc

Anthropic is bringing another paid feature to Claude's free tier. The next time you chat with Claude, you'll have the option to have it reference your previous conversation to inform its outputs. Anthropic first made its chatbot capable of remembering past interactions last August , before giving it the ability to compartmentalize memories in the fall . Making memory a free feature is well-timed; earlier today Anthropic made it easier for users to import their past conversations with a competing

Call of Duty is getting a new battle royale mode later this month. The popular first-person shooter will introduce Black Ops Royale as a free game mode on March 13. Black Ops Royale pays homage to Blackout, the series' first foray into a battle royale game mode back in CoD: Black Ops 4 . Matches will have 100 players dropping in as four-person teams. The mode takes place on the massive Avalon map, but there will be no familiar Warzone features like loadouts, the gulag, or buy stations. Instead,

Starlink is getting ready to launch its second generation of satellites, and it's expected to match the speeds of a traditional terrestrial network. During a keynote at Mobile World Congress, Starlink execs detailed the roadmap for the company's upgrade towards the next generation of satellites called V2. The goal of Starlink Mobile ... is to provide a terrestrial-like connectivity when you're connected to the satellite system, Michael Nicolls, SpaceX's senior vice president of Starlink engineer

X is rolling out a built-in Paid Partnership label that creators can apply to sponsored posts, replacing the hashtag workarounds theyve had to rely on until now. The feature, announced by the platforms head of product Nikita Bier, adds a toggle that places a disclosure label directly below a posts content. It can also be applied retroactively. The label is meant to help creators comply with years-old FTC regulations requiring clear disclosure of sponsored content. The agency sent out letters rem

The iPad Air, the middle child in Apples tablet lineup, has been upgraded to the M4 chip with increased RAM and Well, theres not a whole lot else if Im being honest. At the very least, the new iPad Air M4 models remain at the same price as the iPad Air M3 , with the 11-inch version starting at $599 and the 13-inch at $799. I would give Apple more credit if it had increased the starting storage or added literally anything else. If you put them side by side, you might not be able to tell the diffe

The Analogue Pocket handheld retro console has proven to be extremely popular, as initial runs have sold out. The company just announced the system will be back in stock this week , along with the dock accessory. Preorders open up on March 4 at 11AM ET, with shipments going out this June. Analogue Pocket & Analogue Dock - restock. A tribute to portable gaming. Out of the box, Pocket is compatible with the 2,780+ Game Boy, Game Boy Color & Game Boy Advance game cartridge library and more. Availab

As AI-generated artwork becomes more commonplace, it still won't be able to be copyrighted, according to US courts. On Monday, the US Supreme Court declined to hear a case about whether an artwork generated with the help of AI can be copyrighted. The refusal means that a lower court's decision to reject the copyright request will stand. The case dates back to 2018 when Stephen Thaler applied for a copyright of an artwork called A Recent Entrance to Paradise . Unlike using ChatGPT or Midjourney ,

Nintendo has scheduled an Indie World Showcase livestream for tomorrow, March 3, at 9AM ET. The company says this event will include roughly 15 minutes of news and updates on indie games coming to Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch. That's not a whole lot of time, but indie trailers tend to be on the shorter side. We really don't know anything about what Nintendo and its partners could reveal tomorrow. It's entirely possible we'll see something big, like the previously announced Sea of Sorrow

Paramount Skydance plans to combine Paramount+ and HBO Max into a single streaming service following the completion of its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. CEO David Ellison confirmed the plan on an investor call Monday, saying the combined platform would serve over 200 million subscribers and position the company to compete with the biggest players in the streaming space. We think the combined offering, and given the amount of content and what we can do from the tech side, really will put us

Apples most affordable iPhone just got an upgrade, but how does the new iPhone 17e compare to the iPhone 16e ? Well, thankfully the price remains the same at $599, which is good news in our current economic climate. An immediate difference you might notice is that one of them now comes in a third color: pink. Thats at least one win for me because I am all for putting more color into tech. There are a few differences under the hood as well, namely that the iPhone 17e is arriving with the A19 chip

Apple has promised a big week for the company, which includes an in-person event for press and creators on March 4. But it didnt exactly wait until Wednesday to get things started. The news started on Monday with the announcements of the iPhone 17e and M4-powered iPad Air . Well be updating this roundup throughout the week as we learn exactly what Apple has in store for everyone (though we have a decent idea of what to expect , such as new MacBooks). For now, though, heres our recap of everythin

Anthropic has made switching to its Claude AI chatbot easier than ever. The company announced a new memory import tool that can extract all of a competing AI chatbot's memories and context of you into a text prompt that can be fed into Claude. With Anthropic's prompt, you can then copy and paste the output into Claude's memories, and the AI chatbot will pick up where you left off with another AI chatbot, whether it's ChatGPT , Gemini or Copilot. Anthropic said it'll take about 24 hours for Claud

Apple has scheduled a product launch event, dubbed an Apple Experience, for March 4 at 9AM ET . The company is reportedly holding this event in NYC, London and Shanghai . Everyone loves shiny new products, so what can we expect to see at Apple's first launch event of 2026? We don't know anything for certain, but we have plenty of educated guesses that have been sourced from industry reports and speculation from analysts. Editor's Note (on March 2 at 9:45AM ET): Apple has officially announced the

Samsung's newest feature turns your phone into your house keys. The company has created the Digital Home Key , a feature inside of the Samsung Wallet that should let you unlock any compatible smart door with your phone. The Samsung Wallet already offered digital car keys . As we continue to evolve Samsung Wallet, delivering trusted mobile experiences remains at the core of our innovation, Woncheol Chai, EVP and head of Digital Wallet Team, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics,

Apple has just announced the addition of the iPhone 17e to its smartphone lineup. This model is kitted with the same A19 chip that powers the base iPhone 17, and it will support the Apple Intelligence suite of AI tools. As the rumors suggested, the iPhone 17e will indeed be priced at $599, same as last years iPhone 16e . The base model will come with 256GB of storage, and also be available in a new pink color. The iPhone 16e was missing a few elements that are now being added to the 17e, most no

Apple is kicking off multiple days of product announcements this morning with a new iPad Air . Unsurprisingly, its more or less like the iPad Air Apple announced one year ago , except it now has an M4 chip instead of last years M3. Apple is also including its in-house networking chips, the N1 and C1X, which will cover Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread and cellular connectivity. This means the iPad Air supports the Wi-Fi 7 standard for the first time. The Air also now has 12GB of RAM standard, up from 8GB

On its own, at 4.9mm thin, Tecno's modular phone concept barely feels like a smartphone. It has a screen, a basic camera module, four low-profile pogo-pin connectors and that's about it. From there, you can seemingly build your conceptual phone however you want. At its booth at MWC 2026, Tecno had two families of modular components in two different colorways, which is surprising at this concept stage. The chunky telephoto lens and housing must weigh over three times as much as the base phone, ad

Another major antitrust lawsuit has launched in the UK. This time its against Sony, which could be on the hook for almost 2 billion ($2.7 billion) for overcharging PlayStation users. A class action case for about 12.2 million users argues that Sony occupies a dominant position in relation to the digital distribution of PlayStation games and in-game content and that it has been unfairly charging its UK customers too much for digital games and in-game content purchased through the PlayStation Stor

Vivo barely has a presence outside of China but that seems to be changing with the company's next flagship phone. At Mobile World Conference 2026, the company unveiled the X300 Ultra smartphone that comes with a 200MP sensor along with two accessories designed for pro photographers and content creators: a SmallRig video cage and 400mm Zeiss telephoto extender lens. Vivo didn't go into detail about the phone's specs, but you can likely expect a high-end processor, screen, battery and other intern

The Xbox Series X and Series S are built for fast load times, smooth performance and expansive game libraries, but the right accessories can make a noticeable difference in how you play day to day. From storage solutions that help you manage growing installs to headsets that make it easier to catch subtle audio cues, the best Xbox accessories are about removing friction and improving comfort as much as boosting immersion. Whether youre setting up a new console or refining an existing setup, ther

Motorola has unveiled the Edge 70 Fusion , its latest mid-range model with an impressive display and OIS-enabled camera with a Sony sensor. Though other specs are modest, the cameras, display and Pantone-inspired, fabric-like colors make it a good choice for fashion-forward and budget conscious buyers in Europe and other (non-US) territories. The Edge 70 Fusion is a more modestly specced version of last year's Edge 70 that's thicker at 7.2mm compared to 5.9mm but has a better screen. Motorola sa

TCL has been making smartphones and tablets at an impressive clip for years. While most companies have focused on foldable display tech and TCL has dabbled the focus has been on its NXTPAPER screens. Aimed at being friendlier on the eyes, and pitched as a device somewhere between e-ink slates and traditional tablets, NXTPAPER has gradually been upgraded and refined, reaching an apex at CES 2026 earlier this year with the Kindle Scribe-alike, the Note A1 NXTPAPER and its latest smartphone, the

Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite chips are reserved for the best Android phones and laptops , and now the company has introduced the first in the Elite series for wearables. The Snapdragon Wear Elite processor is designed for smartwatches and AI devices like pendants and promises up to a fivefold increase in single-thread CPU performance, Qualcomm announced . The new processor is built on a 3nm process to improve speed and efficiency over previous models, while boosting the number of cores to five (o

After briefly announcing its new foldable at CES, Motorola is now ready to debut its first book-style foldable in full at MWC 2026. There are several features we already knew, including support for Motorolas new Pen Ultra stylus and no fewer than five cameras. However, many specs were still unknown. There are some pleasant surprises. Motorola decided to make both screens brighter than any of its rivals by quite a margin. The main 8.1-inch foldable display of the Razr Fold has a peak brightness o

MWC 2026 officially gets underway on March 2 and will continue through March 5, but the announcements are already pouring in ahead of its start. We can always count on the annual tech event to bring tons of new phones, laptops and tablets, and we're expecting to see some robots and other gadgets too plus plenty of AI news, of course. In addition to the announcements, MWC is our chance to get hands-on time with some of the most interesting new devices, like the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Honor's Robot

Lenovo can make a robot, too. Alongside proof-of-concept foldable gaming PCs and modular laptops, it introduced the AI Workmate Concept at MWC 2026 . With its own Intel Core Ultra processor, 64GB of memory and its own Pico projector, its an AI-laced workmate meant to streamline office tasks and collaboration. And it has an LCD face. For now, its a proof of concept, musing on how to integrate voice commands and LLMs (large language models) into workplace settings. It's meant to sit on your desk,

Lenovo has given the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition a refresh for 2026 and launched the new device at this years Mobile World Congress . The convertible laptop comes with a new Canvas Mode when the Yoga Pen Gen 2 case its bundled with is attached to the A-cover. When you lay the device down on a flat surface with the case attached, youll get a slight elevation on the display, which may make it easier to sketch or draw. The Copilot+ laptop is powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors with inte

Lenovo is updating its business-focused laptop lineup at MWC 2026. The best-selling ThinkPad T-series is getting a full refresh, and there's an updated ThinkBook 2-in-1 and an all-new Android tablet. The ThinkPad T-Series, the backbone of Lenovo's business PC lineup, now (optionally) ships with a 5MP camera that supports computer vision and vHDR. The 2026 versions of the laptops have larger speakers and a new color (cosmic blue) on some models. The ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 and ThinkPad T16 Gen 5 (each

Lenovos buzziest gaming-related MWC announcement is undoubtedly its foldable Legion Go handheld-cum-laptop hybrid, which you can read all about here. But that wasnt all the company showed off. Were also getting an updated Legion Tab, Lenovos powerful gaming tablet. Like the Gen 4 and 3 models before it, the latest Legion Tab features an 8.8-inch LCD display with an 165Hz refresh rate. The 3K panel can get up to 600 nits of brightness. The notable spec boosts come in the form of a jump up to a Sn

The potential of modular laptops has never fully translated to the real world. While companies like Framework have made major strides in recent years, there's still quite a bit of room for improvement. At MWC, Lenovo is looking to address that with its Modular AI PC concept. It features not one but two displays and a detachable keyboard to create something that strains the definition of a laptop, thanks to an innovative and very adaptable design. Compared to Framework's gadgets, which primarily

Lenovo already has a large roster of gaming handhelds . However, it seems there's always room for another because at MWC the company showed off an ambitious concept device based around a flexible OLED display. And while the whole setup looks ungainly, after getting my hands on it, I'm very intrigued by its adaptability. Now I'll be the first to admit that an 11.6-inch display feels oversized on a handheld that, in theory, is meant to be somewhat portable. That said, the beauty of the Legion Go F

A product briefly posted on the Canadian Best Buy website this weekend suggests Sonos may soon announce a new portable speaker called the Sonos Play. The speaker offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, AirPlay 2 support, Trueplay to tune the sound based on wherever you've placed it and voice controls, according to a page that's since been removed. Best Buy Canada had it listed for $399.99 CAD (or a little under 300 US dollars), and put the release date at March 31. The listing may have been tak

Anthropic may have lost out on doing business with the US government , but it's gained enough popularity to earn the number one spot on the App Store's Top Free Apps leaderboard. At the top, Claude beat out both ChatGPT and Google Gemini, which respectively sit at the second and third spots on Apple's free apps charts. The sudden surge in user downloads isn't random. It follows news that President Trump has barred any federal agency from using Anthropic's Claude or other AI tools after the AI co

In a lengthy post on Truth Social on February 27, President Trump ordered all federal agencies to immediately cease all use of Anthropic's technology following strong disagreements between the Department of Defense and the AI company. A few hours later, the US conducted a major air attack on Iran with the help of Anthropic's AI tools, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal . The president noted in his post that there would be a six-month phase-out period for agencies like the Departm

MWC 2026 officially gets underway on March 2 and will continue through March 5, but the announcements are already coming ahead of its start. We can always count on the annual tech event to bring tons of new phones, laptops and tablets, and we're expecting to see some robots and other gadgets too plus plenty of AI news, of course. In addition to the announcements, MWC is our chance to get hands-on time with some of the most interesting new devices, like the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Honor's Robot Phon

While Honor has already made plenty of product announcements, with tablets, foldables and more, its most interesting device at MWC 2026 is the Robot Phone and maybe the humanoid robot that came alongside it. After briefly showing off a model at CES, Honor isn't quite ready to launch its Robot Phone. However, we got more specs, tech demos and a closer look following the company's MWC press event in Barcelona. The Robot Phone is currently set to launch later this year. Image by Mat Smith for Enga

Honor launched the Magic V5 in August 2025 and yet its successor is being announced just seven months later. Speak to Honors representatives, and you can imply that its racing to push the envelope against both its real competition (Samsung) and its anticipated one (Apple). With so little time between launches, youll be unsurprised to learn that little has changed. The only other real reason this device has been pushed out so swiftly is because itll help Honor retain the title of making the world

Apples satellite features are designed for situations where cellular and Wi-Fi coverage are unavailable. In supported regions, compatible iPhone 14 or later models can connect directly to a satellite to send messages, access Emergency SOS and share location data. Location sharing via satellite is particularly useful when traveling in remote areas, hiking or driving through regions with limited network coverage. This guide explains what is required to use location sharing via satellite on an iPho

Who would've guessed we'd get to play the original Banjo-Kazooie on a handheld with just a D-pad in 2026. HyperMegaTech!'s latest release is a collaboration with Rare Ltd. , the legendary game developer known for the Banjo-Kazooie franchise and, more recently, Sea of Thieves , called the Super Pocket Rare Edition . The vertical handheld features 14 classics from the British developer, including two Battletoads titles, Conker's Pocket Tales and many more. While most of the games were released on

Alaska's House of Representatives unanimously passed HB47 , a bill that imposes sweeping limits on when and how minors use social media apps, along with bans on generating or distributing harmful deepfakes of children. The bill's original form was focused on prohibiting the possession and distribution of sexually explicit images of children using AI, but Alaska lawmakers decided to add amendments that would impose social media restrictions. The proposed limitations include a statewide curfew on

Bloodborne fans may not be happy to hear that a remake was reportedly rejected, but that doesn't mean it's completely off the table. Bluepoint Games , Sony's closed-down studio behind many PlayStation remakes, pitched remaking the classic Gothic horror RPG in early 2025, but was blocked by the game's developer, FromSoftware, according to a Bloomberg report. As Bloomberg reported, Bluepoint pitched a Bloodborne remake after several years of working towards a live-service title in the God of War f

MWC 2026 officially gets underway on March 2 and will continue through March 5, but the announcements are already coming ahead of its start. We can always count on the annual tech event to bring tons of new phones, laptops and tablets, and we're expecting to see some robots and other gadgets too plus plenty of AI news, of course. In addition to the announcements, MWC is our chance to get hands-on time with some of the most interesting new devices, like the Xiaomi 17 Ultra . We'll be updating th

Chinas biggest phone makers continue to relentlessly forge ahead with high-spec phones that you may never see in the US. With the Xiaomi 17 Ultra this year, the company has continued its pattern from previous iterations by focusing on powerful camera sensors, huge batteries and being selective about global availability. Xiaomis 17 series is launching across multiple European territories months after its Asia debut, but at the time of writing, no word yet on US availability. Another logistical po

Alongside a global launch for Xiaomi's 17 Ultra (read about that right here), the company announced a further deepening of its relationship with Leica . The CEO of Leica, Mattias Harsch, took to the stage to announce a new Leitzphone, which appears to be an even deeper collaboration than 17 Ultra by Leica, which is a different phone. Confused? That's fair. Design-wise, Leica has shifted back to a single tone body color, which looks more Leica to this camera dilettante's eyes. And if youre thinki

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. It's Steam Next Fest week, with literally thousands of demos for upcoming games for us to dive into. I'm trying to check out as many as I can before the event wraps up on Monday. However, I made a near-critical error in my planning: I opted to try the Raccoin demo first. I could and would have happily played that all week. This is a coin-pushing roguelike deckbuilder that adopts the format of Balatro . To progress, you nee

OpenAI has reached an agreement with the Defense Department to deploy its models in the agencys network, company chief Sam Altman has revealed on X. In his post, he said two of OpenAIs most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems. Altman claimed the company put those principles in its agreement with the agency, which he called by the governments preferred name of Department o

President Donald Trump has ordered all US government agencies to stop using Claude and other Anthropic services, escalating an already volatile feud between the Department of Defense and company over AI safeguards. Taking to Truth Social on Friday afternoon, the president said there would be a six-month phase out period for federal agencies, including the Defense Department, to migrate off of Anthropic's products. The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG

The Federal Communications Commission has given the go ahead for two of the US' biggest cable providers, Charter Communications and Cox Communications, to merge. Charter announced its intention to acquire Cox for $34.5 billion in May 2025, with specific plans to inherit Cox's managed IT, commercial fiber and cloud businesses, while folding the company's residential cable service into a subsidiary. By approving this deal, the FCC ensures big wins for Americans, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a

Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery are officially merging . The studio paid Netflix the $2.8 billion termination fee it was owed for breaking its original deal to buy Warner Bros. earlier today, and the historic film studio has now formally accepted Paramounts offer. Along with the deal, which values Warner Bros. Discovery at $31 per share, Paramount is making several commitments to assuage the fears of regulators and the entertainment community. Those include a guarantee that the new