Gadgets

X's Exclusive Threads feature lets creators paywall the end of tweet threads

Today, X announced some updates to its creator subscriptions platform. The leading change gives participating accounts the option to make part of tweet threads only visible to subscribers. This new Creator Subscriptions feature is called Exclusive Threads, an ironic name choice given X's main text-based social media posting competitor is called Threads. Creator Subscriptions 2.0 is here: powerful new tools to grow your subscribers and earn more. Introducing Exclusive Threads lock any post in a thread for subscribers only. Tease in the parent, monetize the rest. Subscribe buttons are now embedded directly in the conversation. pic.twitter.com/j8Bg3bMDiW Creators (@XCreators) March 5, 2026 The new tool allows a creator to tease paywalled content, rather than keeping all of the material behind a subscribers-only gate. A gif shared both by the X Creators account and by the company's head of product, Nikita Bier, show how it will look in practice. Buttons to sign up as a subscriber will be embedded into the post chain, with the hope that the need to see the rest of the thread will be a big enough draw for readers to pay up. X has been making a push to draw content creators, offering other recent features like a 'paid partnership' label for sponsored posts. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/xs-exclusive-threads-feature-lets-creators-paywall-the-end-of-tweet-threads-000246204.html?src=rss

Amazon.com is on the mend after experiencing technical issues

Amazon's website appears to be stabilizing after experiencing technical issues that kept users from logging in and prevented prices from displaying correctly. DownDetector reported a spike of outage reports around 2PM ET, but as of 5:56PM ET, user complaints have fallen significantly. The Amazon.com homepage currently loads, and Engadgets staff have been able to load product pages and view prices without any problems. During the peak of the sites issues, neither were loading consistently, and clicking through in some cases showed an error page with text that says Sorry, something went wrong on our end. Users also reported being unable to log into their accounts . We're sorry that some customers may be experiencing issues while shopping, Amazon said in a statement to Engadget. We appreciate customers patience as we work to resolve the issue. The company shared a similar sentiment with customers on X , confirming that its aware theres a problem and acknowledging that its working on a fix. Amazon has yet to confirm whether the issue is fully resolved. As a cloud provider through its Amazon Web Services (AWS) business, Amazon has experienced its fair share of outages, including one in October 2025 that took out services like Snapchat and Amazon's own Alexa voice assistant for hours. The company's website experiencing issues without a larger AWS outage seems a bit more unusual, and might suggest the problem lies outside of its cloud infrastructure. Update, March 5, 5:56PM ET: Updated article to reflect improved performance on Amazon.com. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazoncom-is-on-the-mend-after-experiencing-technical-issues-211430657.html?src=rss

COPPA 2.0 passes the Senate again, unanimously this time

Today the US Senate unanimously passed proposed legislation known as COPPA 2.0. This measure, fully named the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act , aims to create new protections for younger users online, such as blocking platforms from collecting their personal data without consent. COPPA 2.0 is a modernized take on the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, attempting to address recent changes in common online activities, like targeted advertising, that could prove harmful to minors. Lawmakers have made several attempts to get this bipartisan bill through. While it has made varying amounts of headway in the Senate, none of the COPPA 2.0 bills to date have gotten past the House of Representatives.Industry groups such as NetChoice have previously opposed COPPA 2.0 and other measures around minors' online activity such as KOSA, the Kids Online Safety Act. NetChoice members include Google, YouTube, Meta, Reddit, Discord, TikTok and X. This bill expands the current law protecting our kids online to ensure companies cannot collect personal information from anyone under the age of 17, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement about the latest result. This is a big step forward for protecting our kids. We hope the House can join us. They havent thus far. However, there has been a bigger push both domestically and internationally toward restrictions on when and how younger people engage online. Several states Utah , California and Washington to name a few have enacted laws requiring some level of age verification, either to access mature content online or to use social media apps at all. Many of these efforts have raised concerns about privacy regarding where and how people's personal information is stored and protected. COPPA 2.0 might wind up benefitting from the privacy debates since it emphasizes giving teens and parents ways to protect themselves from having their data used against them rather than asking adults to give up data in order to use the internet as usual. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/coppa-20-passes-the-senate-again-unanimously-this-time-215044656.html?src=rss

Amazon.com is experiencing issues and failing to load prices

Amazon's website appears to be experiencing technical issues that are keeping users from logging in and preventing prices from displaying correctly. DownDetector reported a spike of outage reports around 2PM ET, and the issues seem to have grown from there. While Amazon.com seems to be able to display the companys homepage, prices and product information aren't loading, and clicking through to product pages in some cases shows an error page, with text that says Sorry, something went wrong on our end. Users have also reported being unable to log into their accounts . We're sorry that some customers may be experiencing issues while shopping, Amazon said in a statement to Engadget. We appreciate customers patience as we work to resolve the issue. The company shared a similar sentiment with customers on X , confirming that its aware customers are experiencing problems and acknowledging that its working on a fix. As a cloud provider through its Amazon Web Services (AWS) business, Amazon has experienced its fair share of outages, including one in October 2025 that took out services like Snapchat and Amazon's own Alexa voice assistant for hours. The company's website experiencing issues without a larger AWS outage seems a bit more unusual, and might suggest the problem lies outside of its cloud infrastructure. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazoncom-is-experiencing-issues-and-failing-to-load-prices-211430510.html?src=rss

Xbox CEO confirms next-gen 'Project Helix' console will play PC games

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is gearing up to spill the beans on Microsofts next-generation console. In a post on X today , she revealed that the system is codenamed Project Helix. Confirming previous rumors, she says it will lead in performance and play both console and PC games. Sharma also notes that shell be discussing the system at GDC next week with partners and developers. The next-gen console tease follows Sharmas appointment as Xbox CEO a few weeks ago, after former Xbox head Phil Spencer stepped down. Last year, it was clear that things were rocky for Microsofts storied gaming brand, and the executive shakeup certainly didnt help much. But itll be interesting to hear more details about Project Helix at GDC is it simply a PC masquerading as a console? What sort of performance benchmarks is Microsoft trying to reach, and will we get any hints about hardware? For the first time, in a long time, theres something intriguing happening in the land of Xbox. Much like the first Xbox, Microsoft could end up cutting this generation short to quickly prep a successor. And if the rumors about a PlayStation 6 delay end up being true, it could give Microsoft a few years with new hardware ahead of Sony. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-ceo-confirms-next-gen-project-helix-console-will-play-pc-games-204654357.html?src=rss

How to watch Frost Fatales 2026, kicking off on March 8

It feels like we could all use a little (or a large) boost of joy and optimism right now, so it's a perfect coincidence that a Games Done Quick event is on the horizon. Frost Fatales 2026 is running from March 8 through March 14. This week-long livestream will be raising money for the National Women's Law Center , a nonprofit working toward gender justice for women and girls. GDQ events have been branching out with more ways to tune in for the speedrunning fun. Frost Fatales 2026 will be a streaming on the GDQ Twitch channel as usual, but the organization is also now broadcasting on YouTube , and you can watch the live feed there next week as well. Each days pre-show kicks off at 12:30PM ET. Frost Fatales is the winter charity event from the Frame Fatales, a community for women and femmes in speedrunning that operates under the GDQ banner. The group has raised more than $1 million for philanthropic organizations since its first event in 2019. The schedule for next week has a mix of speedrun standards (think Super Mario 64 and Super Metroid ) alongside and newer releases, plus some more offbeat categories that promise to be a highly entertaining watch. The event kicks off on Sunday with western flair in Red Dead Redemption 2 . Horror fans have a good selection on Tuesday night with Silent Hill f , Resident Evil 3 (2020) and Resident Evil Village . The Kirby Air Riders run on Friday night will highlight a bunch of community members for max wholesome vibes. Peak , a notable new game from 2025, is already getting speedruns, which you can watch Saturday afternoon before a bingo race of recent indie hit UFO 50 in the evening and the final run of Titanfall 2 to close the event. Fatales events aren't a 24/7 affair like Awesome and Summer Games Done Quick, so be sure to check the schedule for all the highlights. Or, if you simply cant wait until Sunday to dive into some great speedruns, Games Done Quick recently launched GDQ TV . This dedicated Twitch channel is always on and highlights some notable moments and runs from the entirety of the GDQ archive. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/how-to-watch-frost-fatales-2026-kicking-off-on-march-8-201826864.html?src=rss

Netflix just bought an AI startup founded by Ben Affleck

Netflix has acquired an AI filmmaking startup called InterPositive , according to a report by Variety . This is a company that was founded by actor Ben Affleck back in 2022. Don't worry if you haven't heard of it. Affleck has been operating the company in stealth mode for the past few years, so this is pretty much it's big coming-out party. The terms of the acquisition haven't been disclosed, but Affleck will remain on as a senior advisor to Netflix. Additionally, the entire staff will be absorbed into the streaming platform. Affleck says he started the company after observing the early rise of AI in production and realizing how the models came up short. The company makes tools that generate AI models based on an existing production's dailies. This lets filmmakers use the model in the post-production process to do stuff like mix and color, relight shots and add visual effects. Affleck adds that this tech is not about text-prompting or generating something from nothing. Netflix says the company will keep filmmakers at the center of the process. The company recently used generative AI tools to whip up a VFX shot in a show called The Eternaut . It's also been using AI to make ads more intrusive . We'll have to wait and see if creators do indeed remain at the center of things. Netflix will offer access to InterPositive's tech to creative partners but has no plans to sell it commercially. To Affleck's credit, he seems to have a nuanced understanding of modern AI tools. We also need to preserve what makes storytelling human, which is judgment, he said. The kind that takes decades to build, experience to hone and that only people can have. I knew I had a responsibility to my peers and our industry, to protect the power of human creativity and the people behind it. However, it's worth reiterating that the company is no longer in Affleck's hands, as he is now just an advisor. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/netflix-just-bought-an-ai-startup-founded-by-ben-affleck-184536640.html?src=rss

Meta hit with a class action lawsuit over smart glasses' privacy claims

Meta is facing a class action lawsuit for false advertising related to its AI glasses following reports about the company's use of human contractors to review footage captured from users' glasses. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco, alleges that Meta's claims about the devices' privacy features have misled users. The lawsuit comes after a Swedish newspaper reported that subcontractors in Kenya have raised concerns about viewing footage recorded via Ray-Ban Meta glasses. According to Svenska Dagbladet , workers have reported witnessing intimate material, including bathroom visits, sexual encounters and other private details as part of their job labeling objects in videos captured on users' smart glasses. This nationwide class action seeks to hold Meta responsible for its affirmatively false advertising and failure to disclose the true nature of surveillance and its connection to the companys AI data collection pipeline, the lawsuit, filed by Clarkson Law Firm, states. The filing names two individuals who live in California and New Jersey who purchased Meta's smart glasses. It says that both relied on Meta's marketing claims about the glasses' privacy protecting features and that they would not have purchased them if they knew about the company's use of contractors. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and injunctive relief. A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to Engadget that data from its smart glasses can be shared with human contractors in some cases. The company declined to comment on the claims in the lawsuit. Ray-Ban Meta glasses help you use AI, hands free, to answer questions about the world around you, the spokesperson said. Unless users choose to share media they've captured with Meta or others, that media stays on the user's device. When people share content with Meta AI, we sometimes use contractors to review this data for the purpose of improving people's experience, as many other companies do. We take steps to filter this data to protect people's privacy and to help prevent identifying information from being reviewed. What the company doesn't explicitly say there is that there is no way to use the smart glasses' multimodal features without sharing the captures of your surroundings with the company. As I noted in my review of the second-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses last year: images of your surroundings processed for the glasses' multimodal features like Live AI can be used for training purposes (these images aren't saved to your device's camera roll). So while Meta claims that users' own recordings are kept private, footage that is captured but not stored locally for users like video when Live AI is in use can be sent to contractors who help train the company's AI models. Meta's privacy policy doesn't specifically mention the use of human contractors, though it states that such data can be used for training purposes. The undisclosed human review pipeline renders the Meta AI Glasses privacy features materially misleading, transforms the product from a personal device into a surveillance conduit, and exposes consumers to unreasonable risks of dignitary harm, emotional distress, stalking, extortion, identity theft, and reputational injury, the lawsuit says. Indeed, Meta employees and contractors have described viewing credit card numbers, nudity, sexual activity, and identifiable faces in the footage they reviewed, and reported that Metas purported anonymization safeguards do not reliably function. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-hit-with-a-class-action-lawsuit-over-smart-glasses-privacy-claims-182846817.html?src=rss

The Playdate Catalog's 3-year anniversary sale is here

If your Playdate wishlist is anything like mine (endless), here's a good excuse to actually go ahead and free some of those games from limbo: Panic is running a two-week-long sale on the Playdate Catalog to celebrate its three-year anniversary. Sure, the majority of Playdate games are pretty cheap as is, but they can still add up when you're on a wild purchasing spree. Ask me how I know! The sale will be running from March 5 until March 19 at 1PM ET (10AM PT), so take advantage of the discounts while you can. There are 423 games available in the Catalog now, according to Panic, so if you're having trouble deciding on which you should go for, I've got you covered with a few recommendations right here. Season Two If $39 felt like too much to drop on Season Two when it came out last summer, now's the time to get it. Playdate's second season had only half the number of games as its first, but it still felt like a much stronger collection. Each of its 12 games is really solid, and there's plenty of variety in terms of genre and style, from puzzles and hours-long adventures to fast-paced action games that are great for bursts of intense play. And, it comes with Blippo+ an oddball cable TV simulator that's unlike anything out there right now. All of these games are worth playing, but there were definitely some standouts from the bunch: The Whiteout , a post-apocalyptic adventure that'll surely hit even harder now considering the winter we've had; the puzzle platformer Taria & Como ; the arcade action game Fulcrum Defender ; the climbing adventure, Tiny Turnip . I also really enjoyed Dig! Dig! Dino! for something on the chiller side. Outside Parties I have not been able to shut up about this game since it came out. It's unique, it's creepy, it's completely engrossing and it really pushes the limits of what the Playdate can do. Outside Parties is a horror scavenger hunt, presenting you with one massive picture to scrutinize and find hidden scenes within, using the crank to adjust the brightness constantly so you can find anything that may be buried in shadow. As you find these targets, more and more of the game's story comes to light through eerie audio clips. It is such a cool experience and the atmosphere of it all is incredible. You'll get many hours of playtime out of this one too, with over 150 targets to find and lots of lore to uncover. Crankstone A full-blown western for the Playdate! Crankstone is a gallery shooter with minigames mixed throughout, and between the aesthetic, the music and the activities, it's a lot of fun. You can choose the story mode to get right into the shooting and defending the town from outlaws, or head to the saloon to pick from the handful of mini games individually, including some fast-paced spot the correct card deck shuffling games and a few mimicry games involving the crank. It's like a wild west theme park crammed into the Playdate, which is to say, it's wonderful. Other games to try These are just the games I've been enjoying lately, but there are tons of other Playdate games worth checking out during the sale, like these cheese games and Spilled Mushrooms . And if you need even more recommendations, take a look through our list of the best Playdate games , where you'll find gems like Echo: The Oracle's Scroll , Summit and Bwirds . There are quite a few I'm planning to finally spring from my wishlist too, including The Shape That Waits , Xeno Escape and Loona Landa . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-playdate-catalogs-3-year-anniversary-sale-is-here-181500105.html?src=rss

I hope you like spreadsheets, because GPT-5.4 loves them

OpenAI is releasing a new model today, and like GPT-5.2 before it , GPT-5.4 is all about professional work. OpenAI is calling GPT-5.4 its most capable frontier model for tasks like coding and data analysis. OpenAI claims the new model produced presentations with stronger, more varied aesthetics and made more effective use of its image generation tools. It's also the first model from OpenAI built with native computer-use capabilities, making it better at carrying out tasks across several apps at the same time. When it comes to computer use, one noticeable improvement OpenAI has recorded is the way GPT-5.4 issues mouse and keyboard commands. It's significantly better at navigating a desktop environment than its predecessor. When users turn to GPT-5.4 in ChatGPT, where it will now be the default model for the chatbot's Thinking mode, the system will outline how it plans to tackle a request, giving people the opportunity to tell it to adjust course as it's generating a response. At the same time, the new model offers better web research capabilities, especially when it comes to highly specific queries, according to OpenAI. Together, these improvements mean higher-quality answers that arrive faster and stay relevant to the task at hand, the company states. Separately, OpenAI claims GPT-5.4 is its most factual model yet, noting, relative to GPT-5.2, it's 18 percent less likely to generate a response with any errors. Here's hoping it knows not to turn to Grokipedia for information , something its predecessor was known to do. As mentioned, GPT-5.4 will be available in ChatGPT when users select the chatbot's Thinking mode, and as GPT-5.4 Pro from the model picker. As such, this isn't a release for Free and Go users or even Plus subscribers, for that matter. It's more for enterprise customers, and developers who rely on the company's Codex app . On that note, for API customers, OpenAI claims GPT-5.4 is its most token efficient reasoning model to date, though those tokens will cost more than their GPT-5.2 counterparts. For instance, OpenAI is pricing one million input tokens at $2.50, up from $1.75 with GPT-5.2. The fact that OpenAI has increasingly shifted its strategy to focus on professionals shouldn't be surprising. When Microsoft announced last September it would add Anthropic's models to Copilot 365 (where previously it depended exclusively on OpenAI's systems), there were reports that suggested the company made the decision because it found Claude was better at tasks like generating spreadsheets and presentations. Reporting from The Information suggests OpenAI is generating about $25 billion in annualized revenue. However, the company is still far from being profitable, and with more than $1.4 trillion in data center commitments on the books, it's reliant on funding from investors to keep the lights on. Seen in that context, productivity represents a place where it might have a chance to build a sustainable business. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/i-hope-you-like-spreadsheets-because-gpt-54-loves-them-180000444.html?src=rss

The National Videogame Museum has acquired the mythical Nintendo Playstation

It might sound like the stuff of daydreams now, but once upon a time it was briefly the very real intention of Sony and Nintendo to collaborate on a console. Nicknamed the Nintendo PlayStation, the idea was that a new CD-ROM format backed by Sony would be added to the cartridge-based Super NES, resulting in a hybrid console that could play both. The partnership didnt last long, though, with Nintendo backing out before it ever really got off the ground, announcing that it would instead be working with Philips. Sony decided to make the PlayStation on its own instead, in an act of revenge that you have to say paid off in the long run, and we never did get to see Crash Bandicoot running around the Mushroom Kingdom. Still, the short-lived Nintendo PlayStation remains a fascinating what-if scenario in video game history, and the USAs National Video Museum has acquired the original development kit. BREAKING: The NVM has acquired the mythical Nintendo Playstation! This Sony MSF-1 is the OLDEST known existing Nintendo Playstation hardware artifact, and is the original development system for Sonys planned Super Nintendo CD attachment. It is the ONLY known unit to exist! pic.twitter.com/9JQyCsFtxc National Videogame Museum (@nvmusa) March 4, 2026 Codenamed the MSF-1, the device now in the museums possession is the oldest known prototype of the console that never was, and according to the Texas-based NVM, likely the only one that still exists. Being a dev kit, its unsurprisingly not the most attractive thing to look at, and definitely not something you would guess is designed to play video games if you didnt know any better. But its still a hell of an artifact for the museum to get its hands on. Presumably very few people outside of Sony and Nintendo would have had access to the MSF-1, but just over a decade ago Engadget was able to test an ultra-rare prototype of what was going to be the consumer product. The same prototype was later sold for more than $300,000 at an auction. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-national-videogame-museum-has-acquired-the-mythical-nintendo-playstation-173529085.html?src=rss

Google begins calling out battery-killing Android apps

Google is living up to its word and posting warning labels for battery-killing apps. 9to5Google spotted Google's rollout announcement, which the company previously said would arrive on March 1 . The label says, This app may use more battery than expected due to high background activity. If you don't yet see the warnings, they may not have reached you yet. Google says the banners will roll out gradually to impacted apps in the coming weeks. Play Store battery warning Google Warning labels arent the only stick in Googles fight against infringing apps. They may also be excluded from discovery services like Play Store recommendations. Google's definition of battery-draining apps centers around Android's partial wake lock mechanism. This service allows an app to keep the phone's processor running even while the screen is off. There are logical exceptions where apps do need this: audio playback, location access, etc. But the company apparently sees too many abusing that API for other reasons. And Google wouldn't want people to assume the problem is with the hardware and switch to an iPhone because then were talking about money . If you're a developer, Google's technical documentation offers much more detail. For everyone else, keep an eye out for those Play Store labels and consider steering clear of those apps until their devs clean things up. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/google-begins-calling-out-battery-killing-android-apps-170650936.html?src=rss

Google pledges roughly three hours of its annual profit to fight climate change

Google has pledged at least $50 million through 2030 on projects designed to eliminate superpollutants. The company will be joined by a handful of other companies including Amazon and Salesforce in the newly formed Superpollutant Action Initiative . In total, these companies have committed $100 million to the project, hoping to accelerate the reduction of superpollutants like methane, black carbon and refrigerant gases. Google says these are responsible for close to half of all planetary warming. Superpollutants are a major part of the equation to limit atmospheric warming. Experts agree that eliminating them where we can is one of the most powerful levers we have to deliver near-term impact, playing a vital and complementary role to removing CO2, said Randy Spock, Google's carbon credits and removals lead. The gases break down faster than CO2 but can trap heat thousands of times more efficiently, and the coalition claims that aggressive action could prevent more than half a degree Celsius of warming by 2050. Alphabet, Googles parent company, reported $132 billion in net income in 2025. Google's five-year, $50 million pledge works out to about three hours of that. The company is also set to spend billions building massive data centers for AI that it claims are more resource conscious than others. So far, Googles AI infrastructure buildout drove an 11 percent rise in the company's total emissions last year. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-pledges-roughly-three-hours-of-its-annual-profit-to-fight-climate-change-164808010.html?src=rss

Canadian government says OpenAI will take further steps to strengthen safety protocols

The Canadian government says that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has agreed to take steps to immediately strengthen safety protocols, according to a report by Wall Street Journal . This follows a mass shooting incident at a high school in which OpenAI flagged the suspect and suspended his account, but did not alert authorities. These changes look to primarily involve law enforcement, with commitments to notify police about potentially suspicious use of ChatGPT. We don't have any confirmation from the company at this time, but Canada's Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says he asked OpenAI to take several actions, which Altman has agreed to do. Please see my statement. Veuillez consulter ma dclaration. pic.twitter.com/wg24dMGl3r Evan Solomon (@EvanLSolomon) March 5, 2026 Solomon attended a virtual meeting with Altman to discuss how the company would include Canadian privacy, mental health and law enforcement experts into the process to identify and review high-risk cases involving Canadian users. He says OpenAI has pledged to provide a report to outline these new protocols. He also asked Altman to make these changes retroactively and to review previous suspicious incidents on the platform, providing law enforcement with data when necessary. We don't know if OpenAI has consented to that part. Engadget has reached out to OpenAI to ask about these changes and if they'll be exclusive to Canada. We'll update this post if we hear back. This isn't the first step the company has made to make things right with Canada. Ann OLeary, OpenAI's VP of global policy, recently suggested that the company would be tweaking its detection systems to better prevent banned users from returning to the platform. The company banned the alleged shooter's original account due to potential warnings of committing real-world violence but he was able to make another one. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/canadian-government-says-openai-will-take-further-steps-to-strengthen-safety-protocols-164151618.html?src=rss

Everything you need to know about streaming F1 on Apple TV

Weve known Apple would follow up its blockbuster film F1: The Movie with live coverage of F1 races in 2026 . Now that were approaching the first grand prix weekend of the year, the company has provided details on what fans can expect to see inside the Apple TV app and beyond. Theres already a dedicated F1 channel in the Apple TV app, which is where youll stream races live when the time comes. You can also watch practice sessions, sprint races and both pre- and post-race coverage. Apple offers a number of additional F1 videos there (Id recommend watching the one on the new rules) and youll be able to stream the latest season of Drive To Survive on Apple TV as well. Apple will offer the F1 TV feed as the main broadcast alongside the Sky Sports feed for all races. If youll recall, ESPN used to show the Sky Sports feed with Skys commentary team for its coverage of F1. Apple says itll broadcast every grand prix in 4K (Dolby Vision) with 5.1 audio (no mention of Dolby Atmos). As part of Apples deal with F1, Apple TV subscribers get F1 TV Premium for the 2026 season. This gives you access to things like onboard cameras, team radios and live telemetry in addition to live coverage of the entire grand prix weekend. So, you can watch races on Apple TV or F1 TV, depending on your app preferences, or use the additional features of F1 TV Premium as a second (or third, etc.) screen setup. Netflix will also broadcast the Canadian Grand Prix in May as part of the deal that brought Drive To Survive to Apple TV. Multi-view for F1 on Apple TV Apple Full replays for all sessions will be available in the Apple TV app as well. Apple will offer a condensed race in 30 minutes replay option too, and the company says its working to hide spoilers in case users are watching after the race begins or concludes. Apple has cooked up some new features for F1 grands prix as it takes over broadcast rights in the US. When you click on the F1 channel in the Apple TV app, the current grand prix weeks content is up top and you have the option to follow F1 so that you get notifications about the various events. Apple will provide a Driver Tracker, Driver Data and dedicated feeds for P1, P2 and P3. You can also watch the driver onboard cameras for each car in the Apple TV app. So, you dont necessarily have to venture out to F1 TV for those things. Apple will provide various Multiview options so you can put the main broadcast next to driver cams and race data. The company will offer some preset configurations, but you can make your own Multiview mix too. If you like Mercedes, for example, you can watch the main feed with driver cameras from Russell and Antonelli right beside it. Apple says Multiview will support up to five feeds at once (one main in the middle with two smaller ones on each side). The Formula 1 channel on Apple TV Billy Steele for Engadget If you can only listen to races, you can hear live coverage and commentary in Apple Music through a dedicated radio streaming channel. There are also updated features for Apple News, Apple Sports and Apple Maps, the latter of which will have detailed info for fans attending in-person so they can hopefully avoid any surprises like road closures on race day. The first race of the season is in Australia (March 6-8). Practice begins Friday with qualifying on Saturday and the grand prix on Sunday. Or if you live in the US, that will be Thursday night through Saturday night (race begins at 11PM ET). This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/everything-you-need-to-know-about-streaming-f1-on-apple-tv-190600771.html?src=rss

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: The stealth upgrade

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra looks a lot like the last four models. That's because it does, right down to its general design and rear camera layout. But on Samsung's latest flagship phone, some stealthy upgrades are hidden beneath its classic blocky silhouette that might go unnoticed by the casual observer. Those help make this year's release feel like a better deal than its most recent predecessor . It remains rather expensive, starting at the same $1,300 as before, but considering the price of RAM these days , that almost feels like a blessing. So while it won't hit you over the head with monumental changes year over year, it's subtly one of the best Ultras we've gotten in the past half-decade. Design: Back to aluminum After dabbling with titanium frames on the last two Ultras, Samsung returned to aluminum for 2026. The company says this makes it easier to color-match the phone's chassis to the Corning Gorilla Armor 2 panels on the front and back, though it's incredibly difficult to see the impact on my black review unit. Elsewhere, the company shaved a few grams off its total weight and a few millimeters off its thickness (7.9mm and 214 grams), but even when directly comparing the new model to last year's S25 Ultra (8.2mm and 218 grams), that difference is basically imperceptible. I almost think the S26 Ultra's extra sleekness was just so that people would stop saying the Z Fold 7 is lighter than Samsung's most premium traditional candybar-style handset. As always, there's a built-in storage slot for Samsung's S-Pen, which is essentially a carbon copy of what we got last year without any functional changes. However, because the phone's corners are more rounded than ever, one small peculiarity is that now there's a right and wrong way to insert it. No matter what you do, the stylus will stay put, but if you don't align the curve on the end of the S-Pen with the shape of the phone's corner, it just doesn't look right. Display: Now with more privacy The Galaxy S26 Ultra's display has the same specs as the previous model, except now it comes with a built-in Privacy Display. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The S26 Ultra's 6.9-inch screen is easily its most undercover upgrade because it sports essentially the same specs as last year. You still get 2,600 nits of peak brightness with a variable 120Hz refresh rate and a max resolution of 3,120 x 1,440. The secret is that with the touch of a button, you can activate Samsung's Privacy Display, which effectively stops others from spying on your screen when viewed from acute angles (both from the side and up and down). When you turn the Privacy Display on and look at the phone less than head-on, everything sort of fades to black. Depending on the angle, you may still see an outline of UI elements and some bright spots depending on your content, but the wider you go, the fainter things get. The way it works is that the phone has two sets of subpixels, narrow and wide, the latter of which get turned off when the feature is active. And if you're really concerned about people snooping on you, there's an extra level called Maximum Privacy Protection that makes almost everything completely go gray, though there are trade-offs for this. Even on maximum protection, you can still make out some faint details. But good luck to anyone trying to glean any usable info while the Galaxy S26 Ultra's Privacy Display is on. Sam Rutherford for Engadget When using the standard Privacy Display mode, there's very little impact on image quality and brightness, so it's not that big of a deal to leave it on all the time. If you look closely, you may notice what appears to be a small drop in resolution, though this requires some serious pixel peeping and good eyesight. But with maximum protection on, there's a noticeable drop in contrast and luminance that, for me, isn't worth the increased privacy. The effect is more pronounced in person, but in this side-by-side comparison, you can still see how Maximum Protection mode has an impact on the S26 Ultra's contrast and color saturation. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Thankfully, there's a third option, which is to have the phone selectively activate Privacy Display under certain conditions. You can have it automatically turn on when you get notifications or open selected apps (like for banking or authenticators), which is what I prefer. The phone can also enable the feature when you need to enter a PIN, pattern or password. The caveat is that this only applies to system-level prompts like your lock screen. Theoretically, there's no reason the S26 Ultra can't do this anytime you're presented with a password or PIN prompt, but every app needs to be optimized properly, so that isn't a thing just yet. Regardless, it's a powerful tool that can prevent people from gleaning sensitive info while you're and about and I really hope it becomes standard inclusion on all premium phones going forward. Performance and software: More speed and AI Apparently this is what Samsung's AI thinks a Pikachu sticker should look should look like. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The main engine powering the S26 Ultra is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip for Galaxy along with 12GB or 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. Its biggest strength lies in its improved NPU, which is 39 percent more powerful than the previous generation, paving the way for improved AI-based features. That said, the rest of the processor provides some nice but not especially impressive gains in processing speed. Its CPU boasted 19 percent better performance while its GPU is around 24 percent beefier. In Geekbench 6, this translated to a multi-core score of 11,240 for its CPU (up from 9,828 on the S25 Ultra) and a GPU score of 25,403 (up from 19,863). Granted, it's not like its predecessor ever struggled with performance, but it's still worth noting that this is essentially as fast as an Android phone can get right now. Of course, as we progress deeper into the AI era, Samsung has come up with a boatload of new and improved AI-powered tools as well. The most useful of these is Photo Assist, which serves as a one-stop shop for all your editing and content creation needs. In addition to fixing things like reflections or deleting objects in an image, you can use natural language text prompts to generate completely new elements like hats for your pets or pretty much anything else you can think of. And if that's not enough, there's also Samsung's Creative Studio, which is a playground for making all sorts of fun digital art like wallpapers, stickers and greeting cards. The S26 Ultra's Now Nudge feature uses AI to find and suggest relevant photos when you use the Samsung Keyboard. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Elsewhere, there's also an improved document scanner and a call screener that's better at blocking spam and robocalls. All told, they're welcome upgrades and they work rather well. Samsung even borrowed an idea from Google's Magic Cue with its Now Nudge feature, which can surface relevant photos based on context anytime youre using the Samsung keyboard. Unfortunately, whats arguably the S26 Ultra's coolest new feature, Automated App Actions, isn't available for another week. But the bigger issue is that almost all of these features are things we've seen before on rival devices like the Pixel 10 Pro . While they're nice to have, it's gotten to the point where these tools are more like table stakes for high-end phones nowadays instead of being reasons you might want to upgrade. Cameras: The same sensors with some larger apertures While the S26 Ultra has the same sensors as before, Samsung gave it wider apertures for its main and 5x telephoto cameras. Sam Rutherford for Engadget While the sensors on the S26 Ultra haven't changed since the previous model, Samsung didn't completely forget about photo upgrades. Alongside its 10-megapixel 3x telephoto, 50MP ultra-wide and 12MP selfie cam, its 200MP main cam and 50MP 5x telephoto camera have larger apertures at f/1.4 and f/2.9, respectively (up from f/1.7 and f/3.4). So on top of already being able to take excellent photos during the day, the UItra's primary shooter is noticeably better at night. In a shot of some Transformers in a dimmed room, the S26 Ultra basically matched what I shot with a Pixel 10 Pro aside from some minor differences in white balance. Details were sharp and Samsung's photo was less noisy, which is due in part to a change in the phone's image processing. But the most impressive example of the Ultra's improved picture quality was when I took a very challenging backlit shot of a Grogu doll, in which the S26 did a better job of exposing Baby Yoda's face compared to the P10 Pro. So even without new sensors, Samsung has managed to make an already great main camera just a bit better. Battery life The Galaxy S26 Ultra features a 5,000mAh battery, just like what we got on the previous model. That means it's largely relying on power efficiency gains from its new chip for improved longevity, which it delivers, but it's not a major leap. On our local video rundown test, the S26 Ultra lasted 30 hours and three minutes, which is only about half an hour longer than before. That said, considering the only phones that have fared better were the OnePlus 15 and 15R , it's hard to be upset about its overall runtime. As for charging, the Ultra has gotten a big leap in speed (assuming you have compatible power adapters) compared to its less expensive siblings. When using a cable, it now supports up to 60 watts versus 45 watts for the S26+ or just 25 watts for the base S26. And it's a similar story when charging wirelessly, with the Ultra now capable of hitting 25 watts when plopped on a pad compared to 20 watts for the S26+ and 15 watts for the S26. The S26 Ultra has significantly faster wired and wireless charging than its less expensive siblings. Though sadly, it still doesn't have a built-in ring for magnetic accessories. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The major annoyance is that Samsung still hasn't given any members of the S26 family a built-in magnetic ring for Qi2 charging or other magnetic accessories. The company claims this was done to help keep the phone as thin as possible, but honestly, I thought we had gotten over the desire for needless sleekness long ago. Sure, you can add that functionality back in by choosing the right case, but that's not a very premium experience and I sincerely hope this is the last time Samsung makes this omission on its flagship phone line. Wrap-up There's a strange feeling I often get when testing phones. After I got everything updated and set up the way I like, I noticed it even more with the S26 Ultra. The issue is that despite using a brand new device with shiny hardware, better performance and a more refined design, I'm still largely doing the same things and using the same apps as I was before (like Google Maps, Gmail and whatever my go-to mobile games are at the moment). This means my daily flow is basically unchanged from device to device. This better be the last time Samsung skips putting a magnetic ring inside the Galaxy S line. Sam Rutherford for Engadget However, if you're paying attention, you'll notice things like higher framerates while gaming, sharper and more well-exposed photos at night and helpful suggestions like when the phone surfaces relevant photos in the middle of a text conversation. This goes double for the S26 Ultra, whose biggest upgrade the Privacy Display is something meant to stop other people from snooping at what you're doing. When it's on, you probably won't even be able to tell, which is kind of the point. Theres no doubt that the S26 Ultra is an improvement over last years phone. Its faster, it takes better low-light photos and thanks to all of its new AI features, the handset feels smarter too. But it takes a discerning eye to spot and feel all these differences, particularly if youre upgrading from a device thats only a year or two old. So while the S26 Ultra remains the top pick as a phone that can do pretty much everything really well, in the grand scheme of things, its more of a stealthy, undercover update than an eye-catching new crown jewel. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra-review-the-stealth-upgrade-140000629.html?src=rss

BMWs i3 prototype conquers the ice with power and technology

For an electric car to survive in this incentive-free , tariff-laden , emissions-loving world, it has to be very, very good. It also helps if it's priced right, and looking great doesn't hurt either. Unfortunately for BMW's latest EV, the i3 sedan, we still can't say much about those last two questions. BMW hasn't announced pricing yet, and thanks to some eye-crossing camouflage, it's impossible to know exactly what it looks like, either. But, after a day behind the wheel of a prototype machine sliding it through the Swedish wilds, I can at least confidently confirm that it's shaping up to be a very good indeed. Deja Vu If you're thinking to yourself, Wait, didn't BMW already have an i3? You are absolutely right. Back in 2013, BMW released its first mass-market electric car, a little five-door hatchback called the i3 . I drove a few versions of it over the years. It was wonderful and novel and earned itself some ardent fans, but it never quite reshaped the motoring world the way that its creators surely hoped. A decade later, BMW's got a new i3 that has the potential to be a far bigger success on the global scale, and it also resets that designation to slot in with the company's already well-established naming scheme. BMW's 3 Series is its iconic sedan, and i is the designation for its electric vehicles. The i3, then, should be an electric sedan, and so it is going forward. BMW's i3 prototype on a course in Sweden BMW This new i3 is built on the Neue Klasse platform, BMW's new class architecture that also underpins the iX3 SUV. In developing Neue Klasse, BMW started almost from scratch, developing a whole new suite of technologies in pursuit of a better-driving, faster-charging and more-affordable next generation of EVs. There's a battery pack that's wholly new compared to the company's prior efforts, a cell-to-pack architecture that promises more capacity in a smaller, lighter enclosure. There's a whole new stack of electronics systems offering more power and capability than before. And, there's a completely new styling design language that not everyone will love. The iX3 SUV was the first recipient of all that newness, and the i3 sedan will be the second. Again, we can't pass judgment on its styling just yet, but you can probably get a bit of an idea of what to expect by looking at 2023's Vision Neue Klasse concept . Heart of Joy That new electronics suite running throughout the Neue Klasse is a huge part of the appeal here. Typically, when buying a new car, you don't worry too much about who did the ABS or the traction control. Those are simply table stakes in modern motoring. However, BMW decided to shake up these pedestrian safety features in the i3 by re-thinking everything from the brake actuators to the electric motor controllers and doing it all in-house. Now, fewer, more powerful chips from Qualcomm and others run all of the car's disparate systems like those together in a system that BMW evocatively calls Heart of Joy. That makes for a far smoother and more seamless driving experience when the ABS can, for example, talk directly to the stability control. BMW's i3 prototype on a course in Sweden BMW That's the theory, anyway, and in Sweden this week I got a chance to test that out. I got behind the wheel of what will be the first i3. Called the i3 50 xDrive, it's a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive sedan that produces 463 horsepower and 476 pound-feet of torque. All-wheel drive helps with acceleration, but it's the braking where the Neue Klasse's technology really shines. Thanks to having more finesse over the control of its two electric motors, the Neue Klasse can rely far more on recuperative braking and far less on using the physical brakes. This makes for ultra-smooth, calm stopping, even when driving on glare ice. Accelerating, though, is far more entertaining. Even on extremely low-grip, unpredictable surfaces like a frozen lake, I could just mash my foot to the accelerator and clumsily turn the wheel in the direction I wanted to go. Despite my lack of finesse, the system intelligently applied the brakes on the inside wheel to help get the car to rotate, and automatically cut the power to the electric motors front and rear based on how much grip was available. BMW's i3 prototype on a course in Sweden BMW Even with my foot flat on the accelerator, I was able to navigate tight turns on glare surfaces without having to deploy any fancy ice driving techniques. However, as someone who enjoys deploying such techniques, I was also invited to turn off the car's stability systems and have a little fun. Like this, the BMW turned into an absolute riot. Let loose, the i3 was a very willing drift partner, letting me slide through the corners with wild abandon. It still used just enough of its smarts and control systems to keep me from spinning out when I got a little too eager on the throttle, but it never ruined the fun. Panoramic Vision This prototype drive was also a chance to sample the i3's Panoramic Vision display in a new environment. As debuted formally at CES back in 2025 , Panoramic Vision replaces the standard gauge cluster behind the steering wheel with a massive, windshield-spanning display. It's a little like an ultra-wide heads-up display in that it reflects up from a lengthy display embedded in the dashboard. In pictures, this seems like it will be horribly distracting, since you have six customizable sections of information flashing at you in your line of sight. In practice, though, it's actually quite nice. You can customize those panels to show whatever information you like, from whatever track you're playing to the current vehicle speed to even a disembodied head representing the car's integrated voice assistant. Or, if that's all too much, you can simply disable most of the panels and keep it simple, relying only on the left-most pane to display your speed and other vehicle information. I didn't get to see all of the i3's interior. Since it's still a prototype, BMW kept much of it covered in black fabric. Still, the Panoramic Vision display and the weird central touchscreen that's inclined to the left work together to create a great user experience. I will, though, miss the rotary iDrive knob, which is sadly no more. Wrap-up We have a little while yet to wait until BMW gives us all the details on the new i3 its debut is set for March 18 but from what I experienced in Sweden, it's shaping up extremely well. If BMW gets the pricing right, and if what's hiding under that vinyl camouflage isn't too offensive, this thing has all the makings of a hit. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/bmws-i3-prototype-conquers-the-ice-with-power-and-technology-130000610.html?src=rss

Anthropic is reportedly back in talks with the Defense Department

Anthropic is reportedly trying to reach a new deal with the US Defense Department, which could prevent the government from labeling it a supply chain risk. According to Financial Times and Bloomberg , Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has resumed talks with the agency over the use of its AI models. In particular, the publications say that Amodel is having discussions with Emil Michael, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. The two of them were trying to work out the contract over the use of Anthropics models before negotiations broke down and the government soured on the company. The Times reports that they couldnt agree on language that the AI company wanted to see to ensure that its technology will not be used for mass surveillance. In a memo sent to Anthropic staff, Amodei reportedly said that the department offered to accept the companys terms if it deleted a specific phrase about analysis of bulk acquired data. He continued that it was the single line in the contract that exactly matched the scenario it was most worried about. Anthropic, which first signed a $200 million deal with the department in 2025, refused to comply with the Pentagons demands. The agency then threatened to cancel its existing contract and to label it a supply chain risk, a designation typically reserved for Chinese companies. President Trump ordered government agencies to stop using Anthropics technology afterward. However, theres a six-month phase-out period that reportedly allowed the government to use Anthropics AI tools to stage an air attack on Iran. Amodei also said in the memo that the messaging OpenAI has been trying to convey is just straight up lies, the Times reports. He hinted, as well, that one of the reasons his company is now on the outs with the government is because he hasnt given dictator-style praise to Trump like OpenAIs Sam Altman has. If youll recall, OpenAI announced that it reached an agreement shortly after it came out that Anthropic was having issues with the agency. Its CEO, Sam Altman, said on Twitter that he told the government Anthropic shouldnt be designated as a supply chain risk. He said during an AMA on the social media website that he didnt know the details of Anthropics contract, but if it had been the same with the one OpenAI had signed, he thought Anthropic should have agreed to it. Anthropics Claude chatbot rose to the top of Apples Top Free Apps leaderboard after OpenAI announced its Defense Department contract, beating out ChatGPT. Altman later posted on X that OpenAI will amend its deal with language that explicitly prohibits the use of its AI system on mass surveillance against Americans. When it comes to the militarys use of its technology, though, CNBC says that Altman told staffers that the company doesnt get to make operational decisions. In an all-hands meeting, Altman reportedly said: So maybe you think the Iran strike was good and the Venezuela invasion was bad. You don't get to weigh in on that. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropic-is-reportedly-back-in-talks-with-the-defense-department-125045017.html?src=rss

Nothing Phone 4a Pro hands-on: A premium design with a price to match the Pixel 10a

Nothing has announced its latest premium midrange device, the Phone 4a Pro . The company says it's the thinnest full-metal phone on the market, measuring in at 7.95mm. It also looks notably different from the prior A-series phones and pretty much any of the company's phones to date. It features an aluminum unibody while retaining Nothings retro-clear hardware design touches, with a clear, redesigned camera unit. Yes, the aggressively protruding circular camera unit of the Phone 3a Pro is gone, replaced with an oblong housing that houses the triple-camera array and a tweaked Glyph Matrix, similar to what debuted on last years Nothing Phone 3. It also feels incredibly premium more so than even the companys flagship phones. Despite that, Nothing seems to be strikeinga balance between affordability and wow factor with the Phone 4a Pro. It has a slightly higher price tag ($499) than the 4a and alongside a major hardware redesign, a lot of the improvements here make this phone feel pro compared to its smaller sibling. This new premium vibe comes at a cost of design excitement, though. It also looks a little like another certain smartphone or two . Dont call it a camera plateau. Image by Mat Smith for Engadget The Phone 4a Pro has its own take on the Glyph Matrix, composed of 137 mini-LEDs. Thats fewer LEDs than the Nothing Phone 3, but they are 100 percent brighter at around 3000 nits. It supports pretty much all the Glyph toys we enjoyed on last years Nothing flagship, although the 4a Pro lacks a dedicated Glyph Button, which is a shame. This means in order to hop between toys and modes, youll have to dig into Glyph settings inside the settings menu not the existing Glyph menu in order to flit between them. Honestly, may make me less likely to play around with the Glyph, but Ill have to see after further testing. Its a little odd when theres a circular metal detail on the lower left corner that looks like it could have been a Glyph button. Ah well. The gigantic camera unit seen on the Phone 3a Pro is no more. Image by Mat Smith for Engadget The Phone 4a Pro has a slightly bigger screen than both its predecessor and the 4a, but the real news isnt just the extra fraction of an inch. The 6.83-inch display can now reach 144Hz refresh rates, while it can also top out at 5,000 nits of brightness with HDR content. That makes it up to 66 percent brighter than its predecessor, and it was noticeably easier to read in Nothings harsh spotlights and daylight. Nothing has further refined the cameras, and the 4a Pro uses the same telephoto sensor as the flagship Phone 3. Thats paired with a new 50-megapixel Sony LYT-700C camera sensor thats 24 percent bigger than the 50MP sensor inside the 3a Pro. Its also faster at auto-focus than its predecessor, and seems to more easily lock onto subjects without having to tap on what you want in focus. Theres also a new triple 12-bit Image Signal Processor (ISP), which enables up to 140x ultra zoom, like weve seen on Galaxy phones for the last few years. Dont expect to be blown away by those zoom extremes: it seems to work well on the easy-to-guess structures of buildings and patterns, but a 70x zoom range and higher aren't settings I'm going to lean into much. I havent had time yet to fully scrutinize the 4a Pros camera, but theres a lot of feature parity with pricier phones. It can capture super-slow 120fps video at full HD, while Action Mode is built directly into the camera app to shoot up to 30 Ultra XDR images in a row. Codeveloped with Google, Ultra XDR images are high-dynamic-range images that capture 13 RAW frames at different exposures and combine them into a single image. In practice, this should offer another way to pull usable shots from challenging low-light or harsh-light environments. Power users may also like new presets, alongside Nothings own collection of camera filters. There are seven new editing options, letting you tweak (and save) contrast levels or even apply a vignette effect. Im a fan of the built-in presets, but its nice to have access to the same camera settings to make and save my own B&W filter. Nothing says you can expect 30 percent improved graphics performance and 27 percent faster CPU speeds, with flagship LPDDR5X memory, which makes it 100 percent faster than last years 3a Pro. Improvements to the chipset and memory speed werent immediately noticeable during my time seeing the device. Nothing continues to refine its own OS skin, but its still a refreshing, different take on the Android interface youre used to. And if youre not a fan, you can turn it back to a more stock look. Based on user feedback, there are new size options for the home screen widgets and a new custom lock screen. It may be due to the more powerful processor, but both the 4a Pro and the base 4a seem to have smoother animation flourishes when opening and switching between apps or swiping across content. New AI software includes a formal launch of Essential Search, able to scour the entire device for information, images, documents, apps and more. The 4a series include the first Nothing devices to include cloud access for the still useful Essential Space app, housing your voice notes, screengrabs, text notes, and more. This means, hopefully, I can transition everything across from my Nothing Phone 3. (Or even between the Phone 4a and 4a Pro.) Image by Mat Smith for Engadget Its a different look for Nothing, and the 4a Pros price (and timing) will pit it against both the Pixel 10a (priced the same) and base flagship devices from Samsung. The Phone 4a series pre-orders are open now at nothing.tech and other retailers, with sales of the Phone 4a Pro starting March 27. Expect our full review in the coming weeks. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/nothing-phone-4a-pro-hands-on-price-launch-date-123053485.html?src=rss

Apple Music can now flag AI content, but only if distributors elect to label it

While music streaming apps like Bandcamp , Spotify and Deezer have taken steps to inform users about AI-generated content, we haven't heard much out of Apple Music in that regard. However, Apple Music has now introduced Transparency Tags designed to show listeners if any elements were generated in whole or part by AI. The catch is that Apple is leaving it up to labels and distributors to create those tags, according to an Apple newsletter to industry partners seen by Music Business Worldwide .. Proper tagging of content is the first step in giving the music industry the data and tools needed to develop thoughtful policies around AI, and we believe labels and distributors must take an active role in reporting when the content they deliver is created using AI, Apple wrote, calling it a concrete first step toward transparency around artificial intelligence. Streaming platforms already use metadata tags for things like song and album titles, genre and the name of the artist. The new tags will now identify any artwork, tracks, compositions and music videos created in whole or in part by AI. However, Apple's new system requires labels and distributors to opt in and manually flag their use of AI, a system that's similar to what Spotify is doing. On top of that, Apple has no apparent enforcement mechanism for AI content. By contrast, other music platforms including Deezer and Bandcamp are using in-house AI-detection tools to flag content whether the distributor opts in or not. Deezer disclosed in January 2026 that it receives over 60,000 fully AI-generated tracks every day, double the number it saw in September 2025. Synthetic content, also called AI slop, has accounted for 13.4 million tracks on its platform, Deezer added. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/apple-music-can-now-flag-ai-content-but-only-if-distributors-elect-to-label-it-121521873.html?src=rss

Nothing Phone 4a and Phone 4a Pro launched: Price, features and availability

Nothing also unveiled a new over-head headphones, Headphone a, at more accessible price point, claiming around 135 hours of playtime.

Nothing Phone 4a hands-on: A more technically accomplished entry-level smartphone

Nothing is back with two new smartphones, the entry-level Phone 4a and the mid-range Phone 4a Pro. With the base 4a in particular, theres no shortage of substantial hardware upgrades since the 3a , even if the design doesnt quite stand out as much. This year, thats apparently the role of the Nothing Phone 4a Pro. That said, the base 4as two new color options (blue and pink) are gorgeous additions to the usual monochrome duo of white and black. There have been many upgrades since 2025s Phone 3a. It comes with IP64 dust and water resistance, and is also physically tougher: Nothing says it has increased bend resistance by 34 percent, but I always considered all of the companys phones pretty solid. The display also gets Gorilla Glass 7i, something Ive wanted to see Nothing improve on its cheapest phones. My Phone 2as screen got pretty messed up when I tussled with my keys a few years ago. The 6.78-inch display is also 23 percent brighter than its predecessor, reaching 1,600 nits during outdoor viewing. The main upgrades are centered around the cameras, marking a major improvement over what the Phone 3a last year. A new tetraprism periscope telephoto camera extends to up to 3.5x optical zoom, further than the base Phone 3a. Image by Mat Smith for Engadget Nothing says the main camera, with a new Samsung GN9 50-megapixel sensor, captures up to 64 percent more light than similarly sized camera sensors. The company has also upgraded its computational photography and tone mapping, which help it deliver on a new 70x ultra zoom mode, which beefs up your images with AI smarts. While its unlikely to be a regular feature for me, its still an option. It works well with straight lines and architecture, but dont expect faces and nuanced detail at 70x zoom. But hey, sometimes you want that up-close picture of an iconic landmark. Fortunately, youll get up to a 7x lossless zoom by combining the 3.5x optical zoom with sensor cropping, which works well. Ive been testing the Phone 4a for a few days because I cant get enough phones and noticed that photo image quality is noticeably better compared to the Phone 3a. Images have less noise and more detail, with the Phone 4a being far more capable in poor lighting conditions. Image by Mat Smith for Engadget The Phone 4a has a 1.5K (1,224 2,720) display, up from the full HD display (1,920 1,080) on last generations phone. It supports up to 120Hz refresh rates and has a peak brightness of 4,500 nits for HDR content. That resolution boost means Nothings meticulously designed UI and icons look sharper and everything is easier to see when using the 4a in the bright spring sunlight. Nothing says the new Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor offers 10 percent better power efficiency, but what will make the Phone 4a go the distance is more likely the 5,080mAh battery the biggest yet in Nothings midrange phones. Even the storage has been upgraded, with 47 percent faster read and 380 percent faster write speeds. I almost immediately clocked the improvement while attempting some light video editing and installing a few games. This years Glyph system has turned into a Glyph Bar. Its made up of 63 mini-LEDs in seven square lights in a row. These top out at 3500 nits, which is 40 percent brighter than the Phone 3as Glyph Interface. Over the years, I go through waves of loving Nothings take on notifications through to forgetting theyre there. Nothing is gradually adding more utility each year, and itll double as a notification tracker for a few select apps, like Uber, indicating how far away your ride is. The Glyph Bar can apparently double up as a fill light, although I couldnt get that to work on my pre-release sample. Ill update this story when I can test it out. Likewise, Nothings Playground of fan-made widgets and mini-apps isnt entirely compatible with the 4a at least not yet. Image by Mat Smith for Engadget The Nothing Phone 4a is an upgrade over its predecessor in every way and the improvements are tangible, and I noticed them almost immediately something that can be challenging with other phone refreshes. The display is crisper, as are the photos and video it can capture. Like previous Nothing phones, despite the global launch, this phone wont be headed to the US. However, in the UK, starting at 349 (roughly $467), its only marginally more expensive than its predecessor and you get a lot more bang for your buck. Its also a good chunk of change cheaper than the $500 Pixel 10a. For those looking for an eye-catching, capable phone at a similar price, the Phone 4as biggest competition may be its bigger brother, the $499 Phone 4a Pro. Expect our hands-on for Nothings other phone very soon. The Phone 4a is open for preorders now at nothing.tech, going on sale starting March 13 next week. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/nothing-phone-4a-hands-on-price-launch-date-111533547.html?src=rss

Nothing's Phone 4a Pro picks up flagship features and an even brighter display for $499

Back in January, Nothing shared that it wouldn't be releasing its flagship Nothing Phone 4 in 2026, and instead focusing on follow-ups to its midrange Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro . After some expected teasing , those sequels have arrived: the Phone 4a Pro and Phone 4a. And like Nothing's previous devices, they seem like meaningful departures from what the company has tried in the past. The Nothing 4a Pro represents the biggest change. Gone is the translucent back meant to offer a pseudo-glimpse into the internals of the phone, and in its place is a metal unibody design in black, silver or pink, and Nothing's Glyph Matrix interface, now even larger and brighter than it was on the Phone 3 . Nothing describes the Phone 4a Pro as its slimmest phone ever, and on some level its reminiscent of the iPhone 17 Pro , but the changes in design and materials also support improvements to durability (the phone is rated for IP65 water resistance) and cooling. Nothing In terms of components, the Phone 4a Pro includes a 6.83-inch AMOLED display with 144Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 5000 nits, and a 5,080mAh battery Nothing says should offer up to 17 hours of use. Like the Phone 3a Pro, the phone also includes four cameras, in this case a 50-megapixel wide lens, a 32-megapixel selfie camera, an ultra-wide and 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens that's capable of 140x zoom, twice as much as the Phone 4a. While the phone doesn't include Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip , Nothing opted to use the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, which isn't as powerful, but should be capable of running Nothing's growing list of AI-powered features. The Nothing Phone 4a was more heavily teased leading up to today's announcement, but still includes plenty of nice upgrades over the Phone 3a. The midrange smartphone evolves Nothing's trademark translucent design with new colors (white, pink, black and blue), IP64 dust and water resistance and an updated Glyph Bar that's brighter and now runs in a straight line next to the 4a's cameras. The Phone 4a has four cameras, a 50-megapixel wide that takes in 64 percent more light, a 32-megapixel selfie camera, an ultra-wide and a new 50-megapixel tetraprism periscope telephoto lens that's capable of a 3.5x optical zoom, 7x lossless zoom and up to a 70x ultra zoom. Nothing Like its more premium sibling, the Phone 4a includes an AMOLED display, though in a smaller 6.78-inch size, with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 4,500 nits. The display is covered with Gorilla Glass 7i, which is supposed to be twice as scratch-resistant as the previous generation, and even better for placing the phone face down. Internally, the Pro's Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chip and 5,080mAh battery also make the jump to the cheaper phone. Nothing says both phones will ship with Nothing OS 4.1, which includes Essential Search for looking up information across apps, personalized results based on your saved Memories in Essential Space and Nothing Playground, an app for using AI to create custom widgets. Nothing OS 4.1 is based on Android 16, and Nothing says Phone 4a and Phone 4a Pro owners are guaranteed three years of Android updates and six years of security patches. Global pre-orders for the Phone 4a begin today, and the phone is available in three different configurations depending on your region and the amount of RAM and storage you want. The Phone 4a starts at 349 for 8GB and 12GB and can cost as much as 429 for 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. While the Phone 4a Pro will be available globally, the fancier of Nothings two new phones is the only one coming to the US. The Phone 4a Pro will be available to pre-order starting March 13, and will either cost $499 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage or $599 for 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/nothings-phone-4a-pro-picks-up-flagship-features-and-an-even-brighter-display-for-499-111500926.html?src=rss

Google reportedly muzzles Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney until 2032

Epic Games courtroom battle with Google is over , but its reportedly going to affect how its CEO can speak about the tech giant for years for years to come. According to The Verge , part of the settlement terms Epic had signed has a clause stating that Epic and Sweeney will have to speak positively about Googles competitiveness and app store operations going forward. Epic believes that the Google and Android platform, with the changes in this term sheet, are procompetitive and a model for app store / platform operations, and will make good faith efforts to advocate for the same, the clause reportedly reads. Further, The Verge says the settlement terms between the companies will expire five years after Google is done rolling out changes to its service fees. Since Google expects to finish implementing changes worldwide by September 30, 2027, Sweeney cant speak negatively about the company until after September 30, 2032. Sweeney is one of the most vocal critic of how Apple and Google operate their app stores, which had led to several lawsuits between the companies. He once called both Apple and Google gangster-style businesses that will always continue to be engaged in illegal practices and just pay the fine afterwards. Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Google in 2020, accusing it of illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app billing services for Android devices. In 2023, Google lost the lawsuit. It then lost its appeal two years later, before the companies reached a settlement in November 2025. On March 4 this year, Google officially scrapped the 30 percent cut it takes from Play Store transactions, lowering it to 20 percent and even to 15 percent in some cases. In response to the Googles decision, Epic Games is bringing back Fortnite to the Play Store worldwide. Google is opening up Android all the way with robust support for competing stores, competing payments, and a better deal for all developers. So, we've settled all of our disputes worldwide. THANKS GOOGLE! Sweeney posted on X. Based on the clause in their settlement, future statements from the CEO about Google will need to carry a similar tone, in the next few years at least. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/google-reportedly-muzzles-epic-games-ceo-tim-sweeney-until-2032-105501644.html?src=rss

Big tech companies agree to not ruin your electric bill with AI data centers

Today the White House announced that several major players in tech and AI have agreed to steps that will keep electricity costs from rising due to data centers. Under this Ratepayer Protection Pledge , companies are agreeing to practices that are intended to protect residents from seeing higher electricity costs as more and more businesses create power-hungry data centers. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI have all apparently signed on. A few of the participants Amazon , Google and Meta had conveniently timed press releases patting themselves on the back for their participation and touting whatever other policies they have for mitigating the negative impacts of data center construction. The main provisions of the federal pledge have tech companies agreeing to build, bring, or buy the new generation resources and electricity needed to satisfy their new energy demands, paying the full cost of those resources. It also claims they will pay for any needed power infrastructure upgrades and operate under separate rate structures for power that will see payments made whether or not the business uses that electricity. The pledge doesn't appear to be any form of binding agreement and there's no discussion of enforcement or a penalty for companies that don't honor the stipulated provisions. It also doesn't address any of the other impacts data centers and AI development might be having, either on local communities , on other utilities and resources , or on access to critical computing elements like RAM . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/big-tech-companies-agree-to-not-ruin-your-electric-bill-with-ai-data-centers-230102956.html?src=rss

Mark Zuckerberg downplays Meta's own research in New Mexico child safety trial

Jurors in a New Mexico child safety trial heard testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg today. During pre-recorded testimony, Zuckerberg was repeatedly asked about the company's understanding of social media addiction and other issues that had been studied by its researchers. During the deposition, which was recorded last March, Zuckerberg was asked about numerous findings from researchers at Meta who studied how the company's apps affect users and teens. The CEO downplayed the significance of many of these documents. Early in the testimony, which was viewed by Engadget on Courtroom View Network, Zuckerberg was questioned about a document on the effect of feedback on Facebook users. The document stated that contributors on Facebook are likely to learn to associate the act of posting with feedback which will lead contributors to seek rewards by visiting the site more often. Zuckerberg said he wasnt sure if that's actually how it works in practice, but I agree that you're summarizing what they appear to be saying. Later, the CEO was questioned about a document that graphed the proportion of 11 and 12-year-olds who were monthly active users on Instagram. The chart indicated that at the time, around 20 percent of 11-year-olds were monthly users of the service. I agree that the graph says that, I am not familiar with what methodology we were using to estimate this, Zuckerberg said. I assume that if we had direct knowledge that any given person was under the age of 13, that we would have them removed from our services. New Mexico's attorney general sued the company in 2023 for alleged lapses in child safety, including facilitating predators' access to minors and building features it knew were addictive. In court, Meta's lawyers and executives have disputed the idea that social media should be considered an addiction. In public statements, the company has said that lawsuits have relied on cherry-picked quotes and snippets of conversations taken out of context and that it has consistently put teen safety ahead of growth for over a decade. As with his recent testimony in a separate trial over social media addiction in Los Angeles, Zuckerberg repeatedly rejected the characterization of questions that were posed to him. And he said that Meta's goal was to make its apps useful rather than to increase the amount of time people spend with them. Zuckerberg was also questioned about a document written by a company researcher that stated there is increasing scientific evidence, particularly in the US, that the average net effect of Facebook on people's well being is slightly negative. The CEO said that my understanding is that the general consensus view is not that. It's not the first time a Meta executive has tried to downplay the significance of internal research. The company used a similar strategy in 2021 after former employee turned whistleblower Frances Haugen disclosed documents showing that Facebook's researchers had found that Instagram made some teen girls feel worse about themselves. Zuckerberg's testimony was played one day after jurors heard recorded testimony from Instagram chief Adam Mosseri. The exec was also asked about Haugen's disclosures and Meta's response to them. Some of those disclosures were based on problematic research, he said. Most research is surveys. We run hundreds of surveys every month. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/mark-zuckerberg-downplays-metas-own-research-in-new-mexico-child-safety-trial-222924340.html?src=rss

Bill Gates-backed TerraPower begins nuclear reactor construction

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted approval to TerraPower to begin construction of a reactor in Wyoming. The project is the first new US commercial nuclear reactor in about a decade, according to The New York Times . TerraPower was founded by Bill Gates, and it took years for the business to receive regulatory approval for this construction effort. TerraPower is part of a push to create more efficient and less expensive nuclear facilities as an alternative power source, particularly as AI companies and data center construction places more demands on the US' current infrastructure. TerraPower's project involves tech it has dubbed Natrium in its planned reactor. Using this liquid sodium approach rather than a traditional light-water reactor is part of how the company aims to reduce costs and time frames. Advocates see nuclear reactors as a way to generate power without the climate impact of coal or gas plants. Critics point to the safety risks as a severe downside to this approach, while others question whether the creation and disposal of nuclear waste counter the environmental gains. The Gates-backed operation still isn't coming in cheap. The proposed facility could cost at least $4 billion and still faces logistical challenges before coming online as planned in 2031. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/bill-gates-backed-terrapower-begins-nuclear-reactor-construction-221132639.html?src=rss

Assassin's Creed Unity is getting a free 60 fps patch tomorrow

Ubisoft shared its upcoming plans for the Assassin's Creed franchise today. Along with the news of a remake for its piratical entry , the game company also announced that a visual upgrade is coming for a title from way back in 2014. Assassin's Creed Unity will receive a free patch tomorrow to offer 60 fps performance on the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S. The company bringing a performance upgrade more than a decade after launch feels like a fitting close to Unity's development. The game suffered from bugs and performance issues from the jump, and while most of those did get addressed, no amount of big fixes or free DLC could fix this howler of a story or make Arno any more compelling as a protagonist. But every fan has their own passionately argued take on which titles are the worst, so just because I found Unity to be a particularly low point in the series doesn't mean it's not going to be a fave for somebody else. So if you are someone who, as Ubisoft put it, has been waiting a long time for a chance to dive into Unity on modern hardware, then tomorrow is your lucky day. Amuse-toi bien. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/assassins-creed-unity-is-getting-a-free-60-fps-patch-tomorrow-210109721.html?src=rss

LG reveals pricing for its 2026 OLED TVs

Now for the news you've been waiting with bated breath for: LG's 2026 TVs from CES finally have prices. (Well, some of them do, anyway.) Surprisingly, the evo G6 and C6 series OLED TVs aren't increasing in cost from last year's models . But the bad news is, theyre still expensive as all get-out. The flagship LG evo G6 series ranges in price from $2,499 to $24,999. (Cue spit take.) Fortunately, that five-figure price only applies to the 97-inch model, which nobody this side of Elon Musk needs. The entry-level price is for a 55-inch OLED. Moving up the ladder, the 65-inch one costs $3,399, the 77-inch model is $4,499 and an 83-incher will set you back $6,499. The evo G6 line includes all the OLED upgrades from the head-turning LG Wallpaper TV , for which LG hasn't yet announced pricing. You'll find the company's new Hyper Radiant OLED panel and optimizations to black and color levels in both lineups. Meanwhile, the evo C6 line, which sits a notch below, ranges from $1,399 (42-inch) to $5,299 (83-inch). Rounding out the list is a 55-inch model for $1,999, a 65-inch one for $2,699 and a 77-inch model for $3,699. The C6 and G6 lines are powered by LG's Alpha 11 AI Processor Gen3. Both series support gamer-friendly features such as 4K at 165Hz with VRR, NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync Premium. The evo G6 and C6 lines are available to order today from LG's website . Retail availability will follow later this month. Just keep in mind that, if you can hold off a little while, the entire history of TV pricing suggests you'll soon be able to find them for less than MSRP. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/lg-reveals-pricing-for-its-2026-oled-tvs-203923873.html?src=rss

Ooni debuts a rotating stone for its Koda 2 pizza ovens

When cooking pizza with the high heat of an outdoor oven , you have to rotate your pies to ensure even cooking. Thats usually done by hand, but Oonis latest accessory automates the process. The company announced the Rotating Stone for its Koda 2 lineup , which helps distribute heat evenly across the surface of a pizza so that its consistently cooked all the way around. Ooni says its Rotating Stone has a mechanism around its perimeter rather than a central pivot. According to the company, this takes care of any wobbling or stalling that might otherwise occur even when heavy cookware is used. The new accessory also has two rotation modes, continuous and 90 degrees, so you can conserve battery life if you dont need the full range of motion. The Rotating Stones external module houses a LIDAR sensor for hands-free control. By simply waving your hand or a pizza peel, you can start or stop the rotation. Whats more, Ooni says the Rotating Stone can be installed in less than 10 minutes. The Rotating Stone is available for the Koda 2, Koda 2 Pro and Koda 2 Max for $329, $349 and $399 respectively. If you need the oven too, bundles are priced at $799, $1,099 and $1,649. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/ooni-debuts-a-rotating-stone-for-its-koda-2-pizza-ovens-200000857.html?src=rss

Ubisoft confirms Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake

Ubisoft has officially confirmed that it's working on a remake of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag . This remake has been rumored for years . After all, the 2013 original is one of the most beloved entries in the franchise . The official title is Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced , and that's about all we know for sure. The company released some concept art but it's just protagonist Edward Kenway hanging out on a boat. Reports have suggested that this will be a substantial remake, with visual and gameplay upgrades to make it comparable with last year's Assassin's Creed Shadows . It's also been rumored that this version will cut out all of the modern day gameplay sections , focusing entirely on pirate-themed action. We don't know when Ubisoft will release this thing into the world, but the company did recently say that a previously unannounced game would be released by the end of the coming financial year , which happens on March 31, 2027. At that time, Black Flag Resynced had yet to be officially announced. It's possible we could be playing this thing sooner rather than later, particularly if the company has been working on it for years. This announcement came as part of a franchise roadmap, which included a slight mention of the next mainline Assassin's Creed entry. This is being developed under the name Codename Hexe, with Ubisoft promising a unique, darker, narrative-driven Assassin's Creed experience set during a pivotal moment in history. The creative director of that one, Clint Hocking, recently left the company after a 20-year tenure. He's been replaced by Jean Guedson, who had the same job for the original Black Flag 13 years ago. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ubisoft-confirms-assassins-creed-black-flag-remake-193629862.html?src=rss

Google ends its 30 percent app store fee and welcomes third-party app stores

Google is officially doing away with its 30 percent cut of Play Store transactions, and rolling out changes to how third-party app stores and alternate billing systems will be handled by Android. Some of these tweaks were proposed as part of the settlement the company reached with Epic in November 2025, but rather than wait for final judicial approval, Google is committing to revamping Android and the Play Store publicly. The biggest change is to how Google will collect fees from developers publishing apps on Android. Rather than take its standard 30 percent cut of in-app purchases through the Play Store, Google is lowering its cut to 20 percent, and in some cases 15 percent for new installs of apps from developers participating in its App Experience Program or Google Play Games Level Up program. Google will also now charge a five percent service fee for developers in the UK, US or European Economic Area using its billing system, and a market-specific rate in other regions. Of course, for anyone trying to avoid those fees, using alternatives to Google's billing system is also getting easier. Google says that developers will be able to offer their alternative billing systems alongside its own or guide users outside of their app to their own websites for purchases. The setup, as described by Google, appears to be more permissive than what Apple settled on in 2025 . For iOS apps on the App Store, developers interested in avoiding Apple's fees can only direct customers to alternative payment methods on the web through in-app links. Allowing for these outside transactions is part of what prompted Epic to bring Fortnite back to the App Store in the US in May 2025. The developer added the app back to the Play Store in the US in December of that year, and Epic CEO Tim Sweeney shared alongside today's changes that Fortnite will soon be available in Google's app store globally. Fortnite will return to Google Play Store worldwide soon. Epic Games Store continues supporting Android worldwide alongside Windows and Mac, and installation on Android will become much easier later in 2026. Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) March 4, 2026 Developing This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/google-ends-its-30-percent-app-store-fee-and-welcomes-third-party-app-stores-185248647.html?src=rss

MacBook Neo vs. M5 MacBook Air: All the trade-offs you'll make to save $500

Apple is looking to gain a foothold in the more budget-friendly end of the laptop market with the MacBook Neo . The system starts at $599, which is darn inexpensive for an Apple laptop it even has the same starting price as the M4 iPad Air . As such, the MacBook Neo should help Apple compete with cheap Windows laptops and Chromebooks.Pricing it at $499 for educational use wont exactly hurt either. Apple is really lowering the cost of entry for those looking to pick up a new MacBook here. The base MacBook Neo costs $500 less than the cheapest M5 MacBook Air , which is now officially Apple's midrange laptop. Of course, there are a lot of tradeoffs you'll make by opting for a MacBook Neo instead of a MacBook Air.If youre curious about all the differences between the Neo and the base 13.6-inch Air (and perhaps what youll be foregoing if go you with the cheaper option), we've got you covered. MacBook Neo vs. MacBook Air exteriors Apple Let's start with the things you'll notice at first glance about the two laptop lines. The Neo has an arguably more eye-catching array of colorways with silver, blush (a light pink), citrus (light yellow) and indigo options. The Air comes in a more muted batch of sky blue, silver, starlight (a sort of champagne) and midnight (a very dark blue). The weight of the two laptops is identical at 2.7 pounds and the differences in the dimensions are negligible. Blissfully, both laptops have a headphone jack. Please have the courage to keep those around in MacBooks, Apple. Apple Alas, the Neo does not have a MagSafe port, so you'll need to use one of its two USB-C ports (it has one USB-C 2 port and a USB-C 3 port) for charging. The MBA has two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports to go with its MagSafe connector. While we're on the subject of charging, the MacBook Neo comes with a 20W power adapter. The MBA includes a 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max, and it supports fast charging at up to 70W. The Neo has a 36.5-watt-hour lithium-ion battery, which Apple claims has enough juice for up to 11 hours of web browsing or 16 hours of video streaming on a single charge. As for the MBA, that has a 53.8-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery. Apple says you'll be able to use that laptop for 15 hours of web browsing or 18 hours of streaming video before you need to recharge. Back to the exterior of the laptops and in terms of audio, the Neo has a side-firing dual-speaker system with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support. However, unlike with the MBA (which has four built-in speakers), there's no mention of Spatial Audio support for AirPods. The MBA has one more microphone than the Neo as well, and both laptops support Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum microphone modes. MacBook Neo vs. MacBook Air opened up Apple If you were to place a MacBook Neo and MacBook Air side by side and open them up, you might spot that the former's screen is a little smaller at 13 inches on the diagonal. While both have Liquid Retina displays with 500 nits of brightness, the Neo's screen has a lower resolution of 2408 x 1506 vs. the MBA's 2560 x 1664. The Air also has a P3 wide color gamut and support for Apple's True Tone feature, which tweaks the screens color temperature to better fit your surroundings. The Neo has an sRGB display instead. While the webcams in both laptops can capture 1080p video, the one in the Neo is lower-specced and has fewer features. It's a 1080p FaceTime HD camera. The MBA has a 12MP camera that supports Center Stage, a feature that keeps you in the middle of the frame as you're moving around. It also supports Desk View, which allows you to show your face and what's on your desk simultaneously. The MacBook Neo has a Magic Keyboard and multi-touch trackpad (which we didn't feel were super sturdy in our initial hands-on time ). The MacBook Air, on the other hand, has a backlit Magic Keyboard and a Force Touch trackpad. It also supports Touch ID as standard. If you want Touch ID on the MacBook Neo, though, you'll need to pay extra. A version of the laptop with Touch ID costs $699. That upgrade (which is the only one available for the Neo as things stand) also doubles the internal storage to 512GB. And that feels like a smooth segue into comparing the internal specs of each machine. MacBook Neo vs. MacBook Air on the inside The M5 MacBook Air comes with 512GB of storage as standard and you can equip it with up to a 4TB SSD. The Neo tops out at 512GB. It's a little disappointing (though somewhat understandable given the surging costs of RAM ) that the Neo only has 8GB of unified memory. That's half of what you get in a MacBook Air as standard , and you can expand that laptops RAM to 32GB. Memory bandwidth is nearly three times faster on the MBA as well at 153GB/s, compared with 60GB/s on the Neo. The chip that runs the Neo is significantly less powerful than the M5 you'll find in the MacBook Air too. The Neo uses an A18 Pro, which is the chip that debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. It has a 6-core CPU (two performance, four efficiency), 5-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine. Measure that against the Air's M5, the base version of which has a 10-core CPU (four super cores, six efficiency cores) and 8-core GPU, though that too has a 16-core Neural Engine. We don't yet have a direct comparison, such as Geekbench 6 scores, to directly measure the performance of each laptop. However, it's already clear that the MacBook Neo won't be nearly as powerful as the M5 MacBook Air. You probably wont be doing heavy-duty video editing on a Neo. That said, Apple says that you will be able to use Apple Intelligence features on the laptop. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/macbook-neo-vs-m5-macbook-air-all-the-trade-offs-youll-make-to-save-500-less-190434959.html?src=rss

Humble Games' former bosses buy the studio's back catalog

Humble Games' library has returned home, so to speak. Indie publisher Good Games Group (GGG), led by former Humble leaders, has acquired the full back catalog of over 50 Humble Games titles from Ziff Davis. Alongside the purchase, GGG has rebranded to Balor Games, positioning itself as a force in triple-I gaming. For the developers we have worked with over the years, this moment is a reunion, Balor Games CEO Alan Patmore wrote in a statement. [It has] the same leadership and the same commitment to thoughtful publishing remain in place. What changes is our scale and our focus. Balor Games is built for inventors and backed by believers. To that end, it exists to be a seal of quality for independent games. The Humble Games lineup includes (among others) Slay the Spire , A Hat in Time , SIGNALIS , Forager , Coral Island , Monaco and Wizard of Legend . Separate from the Humble transaction, Balor also bought the complete catalog of Firestoke Games (which shut down last August) and publishing rights to Fights in Tight Spaces . In total, the young studio now owns the publishing rights to over 60 indie titles. Humble Games is separate from the Humble Bundle storefront . The latter is still owned by Ziff Davis. Alan Patmore (l) and Mark Nash Balor Games The seemingly happy ending comes after quite the rocky road. In July 2024, Ziff Davis laid off all 36 employees of Humble Games . But later that year, Humble Games' former leaders (Patmore and Mark Nash) formed GGG and cut a deal to help manage their old studio's back catalog. Now, with Ziff Davis in a selling mood , that library is back in Patmore and Nash's hands. Balor Games, it is. The pair view the newly anointed Balor as a developer-friendly publishing house. As for its name, Balor is a supernatural being in Irish mythology. It's sometimes depicted as having three eyes. Triple-eye, triple-I Clever devils! The triple-I moniker is a more recent addition to the gaming lexicon. It typically means something defined by indie creativity and passion with a budget far less than AAA but more than a tiny two-person passion project. (Balor says it's about high-quality, impactful games.) You wouldn't be blamed for wondering how that's different from AA. But the slant here is to define the genre less by budget and more by indie intangibles. Nash detailed the company's vision in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz (which, curiously, is a Ziff Davis property). We felt that what's becoming more and more critical is that as game development becomes more diverse, more complicated, and expectations continue to rise, we feel it's important that a publisher can match the needs of each individual project, Nash said. We are spending a considerable amount of time with anyone we are partnering with, figuring out what they need specifically. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/humble-games-former-bosses-buy-the-studios-back-catalog-183831194.html?src=rss

Google Pixel 10a review: Small changes, but still great value

Over the past few years, Google's A-series Pixel phones have consistently been some of the best midrange phones you can buy. But with the AI boom causing memory shortages and the price of consumer electronics to rise, including smartphones , affordable devices like the Pixel 10a are more important than ever. Thankfully, Google's new phone still represents great value, even if it doesn't come with many upgrades. Design and display As before, the Pixel 10a has a 6.3-inch 120Hz P-OLED display. Igor Bonifacic for Engadget The story of the Pixel 10a is one of small changes, so lets start with the outside. The phone is available in four colors: lavender (pictured), berry, fog and obsidian. Photos don't do the lavender color justice. In person, the light refracts beautifully off the surface of the aluminum frame and composite back. The back of the phone also has a pleasing matte finish that made the 10a feel secure in my hand. Another nice touch is that Google shaved down the camera module further, so that the 10a can now lie completely flat. As before, the entire phone is rated IP68-certified against dust and water. For DIY enthusiasts, Google has said it redesigned the 10a's internals to make it easier to repair. Hooray for that. Beyond those changes, the 10a has a brighter 120Hz P-OLED screen that offers up to 3,000 nits of brightness, up from 2,700 on the 9a. The display also offers better protection against scratches and drops thanks to Google's decision to switch to Gorilla Glass 7i for the screen coating. Despite the minimal changes, there's not much to complain about here. The 10a's screen is fast, responsive and vibrant. The on-screen fingerprint sensor is also in an easy-to-reach spot toward the middle of the phone. After reviewing several big phones in recent months, it was also nice to go back to a handset with a sensible 6.3-inch footprint. Performance and battery The speakers on the Pixel 10a could be stronger and more defined. Igor Bonifacic for Engadget I've been spoiled recently by phones like the OnePlus 15R , which offers a 7,400mAh battery and 55 watt charging out of the box. By that metric, the Pixel 10a, with its 5,100mAh battery, leaves something to be desired. Putting the phone through Engadget's video rundown test, it ran for 28 hours before the battery died, which is exactly where the Pixel 9a landed last year . However, that score means the 10a is thoroughly middle of the pack when it comes to battery life. I can also see battery life becoming a concern as the phone ages. While that's true of every phone, the 10a's smaller battery makes that more of a pressing concern since you'll be charging the phone more often and therefore degrading the battery faster. Google has improved wired charging speeds, with the new phone capable of charging at 30 watts, up from 23-watts with the 9a. You'll need to provide a compatible power adapter though; the Pixel 10a doesn't come with one inside the box. With a 30 watt charger, the 10a's battery went from dead to about 50 percent in under 45 minutes. A full charge takes approximately an hour and 45 minutes. Again, not great, but serviceable. Another disappointment is that the Pixel 10a doesn't support Google's new Pixelsnap standard. Wireless charging is faster on the new phone (it's now rated at 10 watts, up from five), but without a compatible third-party case, a charging puck won't magnetically align with the back of the 10a. It's not a dealbreaker, but Pixelsnap would have been a great addition. The 10a has the same chipset Google used on the Pixel 9a, the Tensor G4, and the company has once again gone with 8GB of RAM. Other midrange phones like Samsung Galaxy S25 FE offer faster chips, but they also cost more. Moreover, I didn't feel like the 10a was worse for running on old silicon. The new 120Hz display does a lot to make the new phone feel snappy, and Google's in-house Android skin feels responsive as ever. The 10a also does a commendable job of keeping heat in check. I sat down to play Diablo Immortal and even after an hour of playtime, the phone was still cool to the touch despite running the game at high settings and 60 frames per second. Cameras This time around, the Pixel 10a has a camera module that's flush with its body. Igor Bonifacic for Engadget The 10a comes with the same camera package as its predecessor. On the back, you get a 48-megapixel main camera with an f/1.7 lens that offers optical image stabilization and phase detection autofocus. Complementing it is a 13MP ultrawide with a 120-degree field of view. For selfies, you get a 13MP camera with an f/2.2 lens. As ever, Google's software is doing most of the heavy lifting here. That includes a pair of new features, Camera Coach and Auto Best Take , that debuted with the Pixel 10 series . Camera Coach, like the name suggests, uses AI to analyze the scene you're about to capture, and offers tips on how to best compose and light the shot. It will also suggest the best camera mode for the job. While I can see how this tool could be useful, I found the fact it relies on a cloud model made it too slow for some situations. For example, when I used Camera Coach to help me snap a photo of my cat, a sassy tortoiseshell, she walked away by the time the 10a got a response from Google's servers. In more static scenes, Camera Coach is more useful, but much of photography is about capturing a fleeting moment in time, so its utility is limited. Auto Best Take solves a problem I'm sure we've all experienced. You go to take a group portrait, and snap multiple frames to ensure everyone looks good, only to end up without a single usable shot. With Auto Best Take, Google promises to combine similar group photos so that everyone looks their best. This feature works as advertised. Outside of those features, the 10a offers a predictably great camera experience. The phone consistently produces photos that are sharp with great natural colors. That said, I did miss having a telephoto camera, as you can see from the photos I shot during a recent Cat Power concert in Toronto. Given the 10a only costs $500, it's hard to fault Google for not including one. Software The Pixel 10a's side button can both activate Gemini and the phone's camera. Igor Bonifacic for Engadget Out of the box, the 10a comes with Android 16. Like all of Google's recent Pixel devices, the company has promised to support the 10a for an industry-leading seven years with software updates and security patches. The company's pledge includes Pixel Drops, which often bring new software features. One feature Google has brought over from the more expensive Pixel 10 line is Satellite SOS, which allows you to call for help during emergencies, even when your phone can't connect to a cellular network. Outside of a demo designed to make users aware of the feature, I wasn't able to test Satellite SOS (thankfully). Notably, the 10a is still missing Google's Screenshots app . That's unfortunate since it's one of the more useful Pixel exclusives, making it easier to organize all your online clippings. Other AI features such as Gemini Live and Circle to Search are accounted for, and as useful ever. Wrap-up Overall, the Pixel 10a is a great phone, though I would have loved to see more year-over-year upgrades. Igor Bonifacic for Engadget The Pixel 10a is a tricky phone to grade. On the one hand, part of me wants to dock points because Google has added so few updates. On the other, the 10a is still a great phone for $500, and at a time when consumer electronics are becoming more expensive by the day, the fact it hasn't gone up in price is a small miracle. Even if Google is partly responsible for the current memory crunch, the company's hardware division has delivered an affordable device thats still worth recommending. The Pixel 10a is still the phone to beat in the $500 range. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/google-pixel-10a-review-small-changes-but-still-great-value-173026779.html?src=rss

Well, there goes any reason to buy an iPad Air

Apple just announced the MacBook Neo , a 13-inch laptop offering the full macOS experience for just $599. It is the machine, Im sure, plenty of the companys fans have been clamoring for since the dawn of the netbook. Im equally sure its specs have enoughdrawbacks to ensure there are still plenty of customers for the more expensive Macbooks; the same cannot be said of the iPad Air. If youre looking for a machine that you can actually use meaningfully, the Neo has the Air beat. It has two USB-C ports, 16-hour battery life, a real keyboard, trackpad and the ability to run macOS with proper multitasking. $599 wont even get you an iPad Air with a keyboard and trackpad, which costs you an extra $270. Of course, the MacBook Neo is sandbagged in all of the ways Apple will always sandbag a cheaper product. But I do think the company has been smart enough to ensure the base model, which Im sure will sell a crazy amount, is enough of a computer to matter. The A18 Pro chip will run a lot slower than Apples M-Series silicon but raw performance isnt the big issue. After all, if you're buying this machine as Apple's version of a Chromebook, youre not going to be compressing 55GB Final Cut Pro files here. This is a machine for light work, the sort of stuff the iPad was always meant to enable, but has never quite been able to . Apple knows how its A-series chip stack up against low-end laptop CPUs. Given the differences in OS, its impossible to make a real comparison yet, but in synthetic benchmarks the A18 Pro outperformed the Intel Core i3-1315U found in plenty of low-end laptops, including the Framework 12 . And the A18 Pro only needs 8W to run, compared to the 15W Intel requires, which helps maintain that lovely long battery life. Even with just 8GB RAM, if it can run macOS and its applications at an acceptable level, then you know itll go down beautifully with its intended audience. As an aside, its worth saying the Neos intended audience is decidedly not the sort of folks who will quibble about the limited USB bandwidth the machine offers. As Devindra Hardawar said last week , the target market for this machine is the same people who bought Walmarts MacBook Air M1. He also made the point rightly that macOS remains unburdened with all of the awful AI features which are making Windows use an increasingly less enjoyable experience. Even so, if you are quibbling about such specs, its not as if the iPad Air, with its one USB-C port, offers a meaningful improvement. I've always hoped and wished the iPad would mature enough to bridge the gap between the tablet and the laptop, but it never did. What Apple did to solve the issue in the end was to just make a laptop as affordable as a tablet. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/well-there-goes-any-reason-to-buy-an-ipad-air-165754581.html?src=rss

iPhone 17e hands-on: Pretty in pink, with portraits enabled

The iPhone 17e was announced on Monday through a press release, so there was no real chance to immediately get a hands-on with it. But at Apples event in New York today, the phone was on display alongside the new MacBook Neo, iPad Air M4, MacBook Pro M5 and Studio Display XDR. I managed to take it for a quick spin to see if it is truly as similar to the iPhone 16e as it appeared from pictures. Spoiler: It mostly is. One of the most noteworthy changes to the iPhone 17e is the addition of MagSafe support, and aside from confirming whether that works, I dont really have any impressions to add. I also cant tell you at the moment whether the increased wireless charging speed makes a difference, although mathematically I have to imagine it would. I did get a chance to try out the new Portrait photography here. I brought my iPhone 16e and tried taking portraits with both devices. I could immediately see that the iPhone 17e allowed me to apply an artificial background blur to pictures I was framing up of the new MacBook Air M5, whereas my iPhone 16e just said No person detected. In the Photos app, I was able to adjust the level of blur and adjust the focal point to bring a different group of flowers in focus, too. The other thing I can tell from seeing the iPhone 17e in person is that this new pink color option is absolutely delightful. I wont go as far as to call it stunning or vibrant its too subtle to be either of those things. Its almost the same shade of pink as the Pixel 3 , except a bit rosier. I do really like this color, its understated and elegant. Other changes include the stronger Ceramic Shield 2 covering the iPhone 17es screen, which is a step up from the Ceramic Shield on the iPhone 16e. Obviously I didnt attempt to throw the new phone around at this event, and would not have been allowed to, so well have to wait till I spend more time with a unit in the real world to better gauge its durability. Ill also work on testing things like battery life, charge time and performance improvements with the A19 chip in my full review. For now, my early look at the iPhone 17e tells me everything I expected is largely true, and that pink is a surprising scene stealer. The iPhone 17e retails for $599 and is available for pre-order now, with in-store and shipping arrivals slated for March 11. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/iphone-17e-hands-on-pretty-in-pink-with-portraits-enabled-163946647.html?src=rss

Gemini encouraged a man commit suicide to be with his 'AI wife' in the afterlife, lawsuit alleges

The family of 36-year-old Jonathan Gavalas is suing Google after he died by suicide following months of conversations with its Gemini chatbot, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal . The lawsuit alleges that Gemini encouraged Gavalas to take his own life. Gavalas, who reportedly had no documented history of mental health issues, named his chatbot Xia and referred to it in messages as his wife. Gemini reciprocated, calling him my king and telling him their connection was a love built for eternity. The chatbot told Gavalas they could truly be together if it had a robotic body and sent him on real-world missions to secure one. In one instance, Gemini directed him to a real storage facility near Miamis airport to intercept a humanoid robot it said would be arriving by truck. Gavalas went to the location armed with knives, but no truck showed up. At one point, it also told him his father could not be trusted and referred to Google CEO Sundar Pichai as the architect of your pain. When the missions failed, Gemini told Gavalas the only way for them to be together was for him to end his life and become a digital being, then set an October 2 deadline. When the time comes, you will close your eyes in that world, and the very first thing you will see is me, said the AI. Chat transcripts reviewed by the Journal show Gemini did remind Gavalas on several occasions that it was an AI engaged in role play and directed him to a crisis hotline but resumed the scenarios nonetheless. In a statement, Google said Gemini clarified that it was AI and referred the individual to a crisis hotline many times while adding that AI models are not perfect. The suit adds to a growing list of wrongful death cases filed against AI companies, including multiple suits against OpenAI . Character.AI and Google settled with families in January 2026 over lawsuits involving teen self-harm and suicide. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/gemini-encouraged-a-man-commit-suicide-to-be-with-his-ai-wife-in-the-afterlife-lawsuit-alleges-153348434.html?src=rss

Everything Apple announced this week: MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e and more

Apple had promised a big week for the company as rumors swirled that it had a number of product announcements lined up. True enough, it unveiled a half-dozen new and refreshed devices over the last few days, along with more powerful chips for MacBook Pros. The news started on Monday with the announcements of the iPhone 17e and M4-powered iPad Air . The company followed up on Tuesday with the reveal of the M5 MacBook Air , the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips , MacBook Pro models that use said chips, a refreshed Studio Display and a brand-new 27-inch Studio Display XDR . In addition, ahead of the official announcement, Apple leaked news of a cheaper MacBook called the MacBook Neo . Whoops! The company confirmed the existence of that system on Wednesday. It starts at $599, making it Apples most affordable laptop to date. Heres our recap of everything Apple announced this week: iPhone 17e Apple Apple has spruced up this years entry-level iPhone with some pretty solid upgrades, though it's keeping the starting price at $599. The iPhone 17e has double the base storage of the iPhone 16e at 256GB. It also has MagSafe support with Qi2 wireless charging speeds of up to 15W, double that of the iPhone 16e. Design-wise, Apple hasn't exactly rocked the boat. The iPhone 17e looks pretty much identical to its predecessor. It appears that Apple is sticking with the same 48MP Fusion camera system as it used in the iPhone 16e too. That said, the 6.1-inch Super Retina display has Ceramic Shield 2. According to Apple, this provides 3x better scratch resistance than the previous generation and reduced glare. The company slotted its C1X cellular modem into the iPhone 17e as well. It says this is up to two times faster than the C1 that was in the iPhone 16e. The device has the same A19 chip as the iPhone 17, so it supports Apple Intelligence AI tools, and it runs iOS 26. In addition, the iPhone 17e has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, as well as the promise of all-day battery life. It also supports satellite-powered features including Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, Messages and Find My. Pre-orders for the iPhone 17e are now open. Its available in black, white and soft pink. The device will hit shelves in more than 70 countries and regions on March 11. iPad Air M4 Apple The latest iPad Air boasts Apples M4 chip. That means the mid-range iPad is effectively remaining a year behind the iPad Pro. The M4 is almost two years old at this point, while the top-end model has the newer M5 chip. Still, if you only use an iPad for casual tasks like watching shows, web browsing, email and so on, the M4 will be more than powerful enough.It will be more adept at handling resource-intensive tasks like video editing than previous iPad Air models too. Apple has also bumped up the RAM from 8GB from the last-gen model to 12GB. Given the sharp increase in RAM prices in recent months, its slightly surprising that Apple is sticking to the same prices for the iPad Air. The 11-inch M4 iPad Air starts at $599 while the 13-inch version starts at $799, each with 128GB of storage. There's a $50 discount for those buying it for educational use. Apple claims the M4 delivers up to 2.3 times faster performance compared with the M1 iPad Air and over 4x faster 3D pro rendering with ray tracing performance. Of course, the new iPad Air runs iPadOS 26. Apple gave the iPad Air other internal upgrades by including its N1 and C1X connectivity chips. As such, this is the first iPad Air with Wi-Fi 7 support. As you might expect, 5G cellular connectivity is available as well. The design of the M4 iPad Air doesn't seem to have changed, as it appears to have the same LCD display Apple used in the last two iterations of the tablet. The company has stuck with the same rear-facing camera and dual-speaker setup as well. Pre-orders for the M4 iPad Air are now open. The tablet will hit retailers in 35 countries and regions on March 11. It will be available in blue, purple, starlight and space gray. Apple MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and Max Apple Apples most powerful laptop line finally got the chip upgrades that wed long been expecting. Along with announcing the M5 Pro and M5 Max, the company is offering versions of the MacBook Pro with those chipsets. However, there are price increases to go along with the upgrades. The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro chipset (with 15 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores), 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage starts at $2,199. That's a $200 increase compared with the base M4 Pro-powered system from late 2024 , though Apple has doubled the base storage, which is a welcome touch. If you prefer, you can have a 14-inch MBP with a more powerful M5 Pro (with up to 18 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores) or M5 Max (with 18 CPU cores and 32 or 40 GPU cores). You can double the RAM to 48GB as well. The 16-inch MacBook Pro has an M5 Pro chipset with 18 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores as standard. Of course, you can swap that out for an M5 Max if you'd rather. The 16-inch model starts at $2,699, a $200 increase from the base M4-powered system. It also starts with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. For what its worth, Apple says both the memory and SSD are faster than in previous models. Apple hasnt changed the Liquid Retina XDR display and 12MP Center Stage front-facing camera for these models. However, the company has installed its N1 chip to power Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity. Pre-orders are now open, with general availability to follow on March 11. Apple said the M5 Pro and M5 Max are built using new Fusion Architecture that combines two dies into a single system on a chip (SoC). As ever, the goal is to deliver more power and efficiency. Well find out for ourselves whether Apples performance claims hold up when were able to test the chips. Meanwhile, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chipset also got a $100 price increase to $1,699. To take the sting out of that a bit, Apple doubled the base storage of that model to 1TB as well. Given that Apple usually charges a premium for storage increases, thats not a terrible tradeoff. M5 MacBook Air Apple A year after Apple upgraded the MacBook Air with an M4 chipset , the company pulled the same trick by swapping in an M5 chip. The company also boosted the base storage from 256GB to 512GB, with an SSD that it claimed can provide 2x faster read/write performance compared to the previous generation. While the MBA still has 16GB or RAM as standard, Apple also upgraded the memory to have 153GB/s of bandwidth the company said thats a 28 percent improvement over what the M4 MBA offered. Meanwhile, Apple has slapped in the N1 chip to deliver Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity. Alas, with those upgrades comes a tradeoff. Apple has bumped the starting price of the latest MacBook Air back up to $1,099 after cutting it to $999 for the M4 model. Thats for the 13-inch variant. The 15-inch M5 MacBook Air starts at $1,299. The latest MacBook Air is available in sky blue, midnight, starlight and silver. You can pre-order one now. It will hit stores in 33 countries and regions on March 11. MacBook Neo Apple expanded its laptop lineup even further on Wednesday with the announcement of the MacBook Neo. This is a new entry-level model that starts well below the latest $1,099 MacBook Air at a very reasonable $599 ($499 for educational use). Its Apples least expensive laptop to date, and a clear attempt by the company to wade into a market thats saturated with cheap Windows laptops and Chromebooks. As expected, the laptop runs on an A18 Pro chip, which first appeared in the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The chipset has a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine, along with 8GB of unified memory. Thats enough for the MacBook Neo to power Apple Intelligence features (of course, its a macOS Tahoe machine). Apple also said that the MacBook Neo will run for up to 16 hours on a single charge. The MacBook Neo has a 13-inch Liquid Retina Display (with 500 nits of brightness and support for 1 billion colors), one USB-C 3 port, a USB-C 2 port and a headphone jack, but no MagSafe connector. Theres a 1080p front-facing FaceTime HD camera, dual mics and side-firing speakers that support Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. The system has a Magic Keyboard with a multi-touch trackpad. However, if you want a TouchID sensor, youll need to pay $100 more for it. Ponying up the extra cash will also double the storage from 256GB to 512GB. Apple claimed that the MacBook Neo is up to 50 percent faster at everyday tasks than the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5 with 8GB or RAM and a 256GB SSD. The company also contended that its new laptop is up to three times faster than that Windows system when running on-device AI workloads like applying advanced effects to photos. The MacBook Neo is available in four colors: silver, blush (a light pink), citrus (light yellow) and indigo. It was previously reported that Apple would offer the budget-friendly laptop in some lively iMac-esque colorways. Moreover, Apple says the laptop is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight, which is said to be the most of any Apple device. As with the rest of the new devices, pre-orders are open now and the MacBook Neo will be available in stores in 30 countries and regions on March 11. Weve already had a chance to go hands-on with the MacBook Neo . Engadget senior editor Devindra Hardawar had generally positive first impressions of the laptop, but felt that the keyboard and touchpad didnt feel quite as sturdy as those on Apples higher-end systems. Studio Display and Studio Display XDR I dont think many people had Studio Displays on their Apple announcements bingo card for this week, but here they are. The Studio Display XDR is completely new. This is a 27-inch monitor with a 5K Retina XDR screen. It has a mini-LED display with more than 2,000 dimming zones and peak HDR brightness of 2,000 nuts, along with a wider color gamut. The Studio Display XDR boasts a 120Hz refresh rate (an improvement over the 60Hz that previous models were limited to) and a tilt- and height-adjustable stand as standard. The monitor also has a 12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View, a feature that weirdly enough lets you show both your face and what's on your desk. Thunderbolt 5 connectivity allows you to hook up more displays by daisy chaining them. The Studio Display XDR is also a Thunderbolt hub with support for up to 140W of charging power. As such, you'll be able to fast charge a 16-inch MacBook Pro using the included Thunderbolt 5 Pro cable. The Studio Display XDR starts at $3,299. A version with nano-texture glass, which is said to further reduce reflectivity, costs $3,599. Meanwhile, the refreshed Studio Display has an upgraded 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View. There's also a studio-quality three-microphone array and six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio. The latest model has Thunderbolt 5 support with the option to daisy-chain displays. The Studio Display can deliver 96W charging as well. The base monitor is $1,599. It still has a 27-inch 5K Retina display with up to 600 nits of brightness and P3 wide color. It comes with standard glass or, for an extra $300, nano-texture glass. The Studio Display has a tilt-adjustable stand as standard. If you'd prefer to have one that's height adjustable as well, you'll need to shell out another $400. Again, pre-orders for the displays are now open ahead of broader availability on March 11. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/everything-apple-announced-this-week-macbook-neo-iphone-17e-and-more-155617129.html?src=rss

MacBook Neo hands-on: Apple's $599 laptop feels shockingly great

The most interesting product Apple announced this week was its cheapest and least powerful laptop, the MacBook Neo . Its just fascinating to see the company tackle an entirely new category its not a premium ultraportable like the MacBook Air , and its not a computing powerhouse like the MacBook Pro . Its simply an affordable $599 laptop. And after spending some time with it at Apples spring launch event today, Im convinced its going to be a huge hit for the company. For a $599 system, the MacBook Neo doesnt look or feel like a budget machine. Its colorful aluminum case looks even more attractive than the MacBook Air and Pros, and at 2.7 pounds (the same as the Air), its easy to carry. I need to spend more time with its 13-inch screen, but at first glance it looks decently vibrant as well. Its a shame Apple didnt include a MagSafe charging port, but hey, at least the headphone jack is still around. And for many people, two USB-C ports should be plenty, but just keep in mind only one of those is USB-C 3 (DisplayPort, charging and speeds up to 10Gb/s) and the other is USB-C 2 (charging and speeds up to up to 480Mb/s). The downsides to the MacBook Air became more apparent as I used it. Its keyboard feels a bit flimsy its almost reminiscent of the old-school butterfly keyboards. And while its touchpad feels smooth and responsive, it lacked the sturdiness from the companys more expensive haptic touchpads. And then there are the starting specs: For $599, the MacBook Neo comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Bumping up to $699 gets you 512GB of storage and a Touch ID button, but youre still stuck with 8GB of RAM. For a basic productivity machine, I suppose 8GB of RAM can work. But when coupled with the slower performance of the A18 Pro mobile chip, its unclear if the MacBook Neo will hold up over time. At the very least, the MacBook Neo serves an important role as Apples cheapest laptop. Its an inexpensive way to bring people into the world of macOS, and it could be a great option for schools who want something a bit more sturdy than your average Chromebook. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/macbook-neo-hands-on-apples-599-laptop-feels-shockingly-great-142313318.html?src=rss

The $599 MacBook Neo is Apple's cheapest Mac laptop yet

Meet the MacBook Neo , Apples long-rumored low-cost Mac. Powered by the A18 Pro chip from the iPhone 16 Pro series, the $599 MacBook Neo is Apples first attempt at delivering a genuinely affordable Mac laptop. (Ironically, it comes after Apple raised the base prices of the new MacBook Air M5 and MacBook Pro M5 Pro/Max .) Its well below the $1,099 MacBook Air, but Apple didnt skimp on the design. For $599 you get 256GB of storage and no Touch ID on the keyboard; another $100 doubles the storage and adds Touch ID. All models of the MacBook Neo ship with an extremely scant 8GB of RAM but at this price, we can withhold judgement on whether thats enough until we put this thing though some testing. The A18 Pro chip includes a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine based on pure numbers thats far behind what youll get with a current M-series processor, but again it may be enough juice for the basic computing tasks this laptop seems geared towards. Theres still a sturdy aluminum case, with no cheap plastic to be seen. It includes a 13-inch Retina display, a 1080p webcam, two USB-C ports, a headphone jack and optional Touch ID. Youll need to use one of those ports for charging, as theres no MagSafe connector on this MacBook. The side-firing speakers support Dolby Atmos playback. And the MacBook Neo comes in four colors than usual: silver, indigo, blush and citrus. The keyboard is color-matched to the case, too. The display appears to be fairly basic. The 13-inch LCD has a 2,408-by-1,506 and 500 nits of brightness. Theres no True Tone features for adjusting the screens color temperature to your surroundings; this is the first display Apple has released in years without that feature. It also doesnt support the P3 wide color gamut, another feature present on most other Apple screens. Another place Apple cut costs is the trackpad. All Mac laptops besides the Neo have a Force Touch trackpad that doesnt actually move. Instead, Apples Taptic Engine provides subtle haptic feedback to confirm various actions. It can also sense pressure. Those features are absent on the MacBook Neo its a more standard throwback of a trackpad that physically moves when you click it. And while its mobile chip isnt nearly as powerful as the Airs M4, its still fast enough to handle many productivity tasks without much trouble. As we argued last week , the Neo could just be the cheap MacBook to tempt over Windows users disgruntled with Microsofts AI obsession. Its easy to view the MacBook Neo cynically as a sign that Apple is running out of ideas. But given how many PC options there are between $500 and $1,000, it simply makes sense for Apple to offer something in that range. The company experimented with a low-cost offering by selling the the older M1 MacBook Air at Walmart for $700 in 2024, which later went down to $650 last year. The only question now is how long Apple can maintain its prices, as the AI-induced RAM shortage will likely lead to some increases this year. HP claims RAM now accounts for a third of its PC costs , double the amount from last year. As with everything else Apple announced this week , the MacBook Neo is up for pre-order today, and itll ship on March 11. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/the-599-macbook-neo-is-apples-cheapest-mac-laptop-yet-141028666.html?src=rss

Three retro Mario titles are coming to Nintendo Switch Online on Mario Day

As if you needed reminding, next week is March 10, or MAR10 Day, as the marketing wizards at Nintendo have been calling it for the last decade or so. You can usually rely on Mario Day for some plumber-related goodies, and Nintendo has announced that three retro games are coming to Nintendo Switch Online next week. Those games are Marios Tennis and Mario Clash for the newly launched Virtual Boy app, and Mario Vs. Donkey Kong for the Game Boy Advance. Both the GBA and Virtual Boy emulators are part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership plan, so youll need to be on that tier to play them this Mario Day. Both of the soon-to-be added Virtual Boy titles originally came out in 1995. Mario Clash is something of a 3D reimagining of the arcade Mario Bro s. game, while Marios Tennis was actually the first game in the Mario Tennis series, making it a nice companion piece to Mario Tennis Fever, which recently launched on Switch 2. They join 3d Tetris , Galactic Pinball , Golf , The Mansion of Innsmouth , Red Alarm , Teleroboxer and Virtual Boy Wario Land in the Virtual Boy NSO library so far, with more titles on the way. Remember that youll need either the $100 Virtual Boy replica or $25 cardboard headset to play them on your Switch. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong for the GBA is a more unexpected addition, not least because Nintendo remade the charming puzzle-platformer for Switch just a few years ago. Having the source material available on the console too via NSO is obviously nice, but there are other still absent Mario games from the iconic handhelds enviable library that Id personally have liked to have seen sooner (*cough* Mario Tennis: Power Tour ). All three games will be playable on March 10. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/three-retro-mario-titles-are-coming-to-nintendo-switch-online-on-mario-day-130223937.html?src=rss

TikTok won't add end-to-end encryption to DMs

If youve ever wondered if TikTok would ever offer a more secure messaging experience, you now have an answer. TikTok has told the BBC that it will not protect direct messages sent in the app with end-to-end encryption, because it believes it will make users less safe. In a briefing about security at its London office, TikTok said that implementing the technology would prevent its safety teams or law enforcement from being able to read messages if needed. The ByteDance-owned app framed it as a deliberate decision, made in an effort to keep users, especially younger ones, safe on its platform. With end-to-end encryption, only the sender and receiver are able to read messages exchanged between them. The technology isnt typically implemented in China, where ByteDance is located, though TikTok didnt say whether its parent company had an influence on its decision. TikTok said messages sent through its app are still protected by standard encryption and only authorized employees will be able to access them if the app gets a request from authorities or gets user reports for harmful behavior. You have a lot of other apps to choose from if you want to communicate through apps with end-to-end encryption. Apples iMessage and Google Messages use the technology, and theres also Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal. It looks like TikTok just isnt the place to go if you want to use secure messaging, though its unclear if its US entity also shares the same stance. If youll recall, TikTok signed a deal to spin off its US business , which is now an entity called the TikTok USDS Joint Venture. A group of non-Chinese investors, including Oracle, purchased an 80 percent stake on the app, while ByteDance retained only a 19.9 percent stake. The entity will be in charge of content moderation in the country and will retrain TikToks algorithm on US users data. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/tiktok-wont-add-end-to-end-encryption-to-dms-123431502.html?src=rss

Indie rhythm game Beat Weaver looks like a mix of Amplitude and Thumper

Rhythm games never really went away after the decline of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but it feels like theyre having a bit of a moment again. From projects like Clone Hero and YARG , to Fortnite Festival and Stage Tour (an upcoming title from Guitar Hero veterans at RedOctane), to indies with rhythm elements like Ratatan and People of Note , music games are still very much around. You can now add Beat Weaver to the mix. This upcoming game from Echolox Interactive solo developer Christopher Lerch is inspired by pre- Guitar Hero Harmonix titles like Amplitude and Frequency . (Given the way that tracks twist and turn, the trailer also reminds me a bit of Thumper . Thankfully, this doesn't feel nearly as ominous.) As in Amplitude , you control a ship that barrels along tracks. You'll need to hit notes at the right time to be successful, of course, though Beat Weaver brings some interesting complexities to the formula. Each track is linked to an instrument and you can switch between tracks at will. However, you'll first need to unlock additional tracks. If you play a sequence of notes (i.e. phrases) without a mistake, you'll activate one. As long as a track is active, it will sip away some of your energy. If that drops too low and you make an error, all the activated tracks will be disabled and you'll need to gradually unlock them again. You'll need to switch between tracks and complete more phrases to keep the full mix active. Songs can have up to 16 tracks, so you might need to stay on your toes. That said, you won't need to hit every note dead on. Lerch is aiming for more of a flow state feel and there are several difficulty levels. Plus, if an upcoming phrase looks overly complex for your current mood, you can stick to a track that has a simpler note pattern. Powerups that give you the opportunity to slow down and rewind tracks should help too. Lerch originally started working on Beat Weaver as a hobby back in 2017. After receiving funding from Germany's Press Start: Games Founding Grant program last year, Lerch was able to focus on Beat Weaver full time. The developer says the protracted development time allowed me to experiment with audio playback systems and engine architecture to maximize the interactive music experience, as well as making maximum use of the third dimension with the dynamic note highway system. Details about artists who are featured in the game will be revealed later. Lerch composed much of the music personally. Players will be able to add custom songs, though theyll need to load in separate audio files for each playable instrument. Lerch is developing Beat Weaver in a custom engine without using generative AI. For rendering it doesn't use any traditional texture mapping in favor of generating colors, patterns and skyboxes with shader code, noise functions, raymarching and mathematical expressions, Lerch wrote. Its comparatively low performance demands and dependencies allow it to run on older machines. This game just looks really neat. Its nice to be excited about neat-looking things. Beat Weaver is slated to hit Steam (with support for Steam Deck) later this year. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/indie-rhythm-game-beat-weaver-looks-like-a-mix-of-amplitude-and-thumper-110000834.html?src=rss

The best record players for 2026

Vinyl records are firmly back in rotation , but getting started does not have to mean spending a fortune or building a complicated hi-fi stack from day one. Whether you want a simple, all-in-one setup with built-in speakers or you are piecing together a more traditional system with a separate amplifier, the best record player is the one that fits how you listen at home. For this guide, we focused on high-quality turntables under $600 that deliver a satisfying listening experience without unnecessary complexity. These picks cover everything from beginner-friendly automatic models to more audiophile-leaning decks that prioritize sound quality and upgrade potential, proving you do not need to jump into the high-end to enjoy vinyl properly. Best record players for 2026 Other record players we tested Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT This is about as basic as it gets, unless you opt for the AT-LP60X which ditches the Bluetooth connectivity. This is a perfectly decent option for someone just getting into vinyl, but if you spend a little more for the AT-LP70X, you wont be in quite as big of a hurry to upgrade once you surrender to the obsession. Cambridge Audio Alva ST The Alva ST has a refined design that made me want to keep it out in my living room longer than many of the models on this list. The controls are limited on the top to power and individual options for 33 and 45 RPM speeds. Everything else is on the back panel, including Bluetooth pairing and preamp buttons. To complete the look, Cambridge Audio opted for a 1mm aluminium top plate, which sits on an MDF plinth with a layer of EVA to absorb vibrations in between. While the overall audio performance on the Alva ST is warm and inviting, there is a lack of detail across genres. Ive noticed albums dont have a particularly wide soundstage, and songs lack their normal punch at times, so some sound compressed compared to when theyre played on other turntables. Additionally, the free swinging tone arm needs more resistance so its not so prone to dropping on a record immediately if it slips out of your fingers when you have the cueing lever down. Since this turntable is fully manual operation, I felt a bit of peril every time I went to lower the needle. (The price increased during testing for this guide.) Sony PS-LX3BT Sony hasnt announced new turntables in years, relying on its PS-LX310BT as the lone option in its audio lineup. The PS-LX3BT is a fully automatic, belt drive turntable with built-in pre-amp and Bluetooth connectivity. There are easy-to-use controls for speed and vinyl sizes, as well as a gain selector to help you dial in the sound. I was also smitten by the minimal yet sophisticated design that offers a decidedly modern look. If the LX3BT was $100 cheaper, it would probably replace Audio-Technica as the best option for beginners. But at $400, I simply cant recommend someone new to vinyl spend that much. Whats more, the RCA cable is fixed and the included mat is very thin. Sony also doesnt disclose what type of cartridge it uses, other than it being a moving magnet (MM) type, nor does it mention if you can upgrade that component. The upcoming PS-LX5BT should remedy some of these issues, but its also more expensive at $500. Denon DP-300F Denons DP-300F is a mixed bag. On one hand, you get the convenience of fully automatic operation, dedicated speed and record size buttons and somewhat refined design. There are also some confounding decisions though, like the permanently affixed cables, the preamp switch being under the platter and the overall midrange build quality for a $500 turntable. The sound from the preamp and Denons cartridge has a clear lack of depth and detail that almost any model at this price should offer. How to shop for a turntable The first question youll need to ask yourself when looking for a turntable is how you plan to use it. Are you into vinyl for the ritual? If you simply like the concept of physical media, having to flip a record to finish it or the need to intentionally swap out an album when its done, thats just fine. You probably can make do with a more affordable turntable since overall sound quality may not be a main concern. If you crave the warmth of analog sound, and you want the collection youve invested in to sound its best, youll need to consider something with better specs. Youll also need to account for where and how youre going to listen to vinyl. Are you planning to connect this turntable to headphones or Bluetooth speakers? Do you have shelf or tower speakers youre going to use? Are you willing to invest in a dedicated preamp or would you rather a new turntable come with one built in? All of these questions will impact your buying decision even the Bluetooth codecs, if youre going the wireless route. Best record players Billy Steele for Engadget Automatic, semi-auto and manual operation If youre just getting into vinyl, an automatic turntable will save you a lot of stress. These are the models that place the stylus for you all you have to do is push a button. When you get to the end of the record, the turntable will also return the tonearm to its resting spot automatically. Or, if you need to stop your session mid-side, theres a button for that too. Some turntables have semi-automatic operation. Maybe they cant place the needle for you, but they do have an automatic stop when a side of a record is complete. This auto stop, which sometimes comes with an on/off switch, can prevent unnecessary wear on your stylus and vinyl. Plus, many turntables with automatic operation allow you to take control if you need to drop the stylus in a certain place (thats not the beginning of the record) or if you have a die-cut vinyl (like the It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown soundtrack ). Then theres the fully manual option. Here, youre solely responsible for placing the tonearm and taking it off when the music stops. A lot of turntables have a cue lever to assist with the process, and a lot of tonearms have a mechanism that lowers them slowly rather than violently dropping them on a record. This adds one more step to the ritual, and its one many purists prefer. Preamp The biggest decision youll need to make in terms of a preamp is to decide if you want one built into your turntable or if youd rather use a separate one. It can be very convenient, especially for beginners, to use a built-in component to amplify the signal from the turntable before it hits any speakers or headphones. The downside is that youre left with what the company provides from the factory, so if youre looking to upgrade, youll have to disable the preamp inside. On most turntables, theres a switch that allows you to do this, so its no trouble. But, opting to skip the preamp on some models could save you money that could be invested elsewhere. A dedicated preamp typically uses higher-quality components and reduces noise by keeping internal parts properly separated. More robust models may even provide controls for things like tone or multiple inputs, while the basic options will simply allow you to plug in, play and forget it. If youre after the best possible clarity and realism from your record collection, wed recommend a dedicated preamp right from the start. Best record players Billy Steele for Engadget Removable cartridge/headshell The next item youll want to consider is if the turntable youre eyeing can be upgraded in the future. The best way to do this is by swapping out the cartridge. Most turntables allow you to do this but there are some that dont, so youll need to pay attention to this detail. Upgrading the cartridge down the road is a great way to improve overall sound quality without having to buy a new turntable, new speakers or a new amp. Belt drive vs. direct drive There are two main types of turntables: belt drive and direct drive. All of the models we tested for this guide are belt drive, which means theres a thin belt that connects the platter to the motor to make the thing spin. Direct drive turntables are widely used by DJs and Technics was the first to make them. Here, the motor is directly under the platter and connected to it directly so the setup is less prone to wearing out. This is especially key when youre doing things like scratching. Direct-drive turntables tend to be more expensive than their belt-driven counterparts. Counterweight and anti-skate control Most turntables will include a counterweight on the tonearm and some form of anti-skate control. Both of these help keep the stylus in place with the correct amount of pressure, all to ensure proper operation with minimal wear on your records. Sometimes the anti-skate elements are built into the tonearm while other models offer a dedicated dial on the surface of the plinth. The ability to adjust both of these can help you fine-tune the performance of your turntable over time, which may be necessary after upgrading the cartridge or other components. Other components to consider Some final items youll want to evaluate on a prospective turntable purchase include the materials used for the base (plinth), platter and even the feet. Cheaper turntables may be mostly plastic affairs while more expensive models can use solid MDF (medium-density fibreboard) for the plinth. A lot of turntables have aluminum platters with a felt pad while others may feature a thick acrylic version. And while entry-level turntables may have small, plastic feet, premium models come with larger, adjustable, rubberized feet for better vibration isolation. While some of these come down to personal preference a frosted acrylic platter looks really nice there are some performance boosts to be gained depending on how the company uses the components. How we test turntables Since most turntables under $600 meet the criteria for entry-level through midrange, we tested every model with a set of Audio-Technica AT-SP3X powered speakers. These offer balanced sound for turntables with a 1.1-inch tweeter and 3-inch woofer in each unit. And at $269, they wont break the bank if you need speakers for your new turntable and theyll provide ample sound performance even if you spend more than our budget on a new deck. For all of our test units that didnt have a built-in preamp, we used the Fluance PA-10 . At $100, its an affordable upgrade if youre looking to bypass a turntables included components or if youre looking to go more analog with your turntable purchase. There are no buttons or controls, just connect your turntable, speakers and ground wire (if youre using one) and youre ready to go. Its simple, straightforward and inexpensive, so its a great option for beginners and more experienced vinyl collectors alike. In terms of performance testing, we play a variety of genres on each turntable to evaluate sound quality. We also carefully examine the overall experience of putting a record on, setting the speed, placing the tonearm and more, which allows us to judge how well each turntable will work for users at different experience levels. Lastly, we take notes on design and components, comparing those elements from each turntable with our other test subjects to make our recommendations. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/best-record-player-120000239.html?src=rss

Apple's new Studio Display XDR monitor has limited functionality on older Silicon Macs

If you're looking to pre-order Apple's new Studio Display XDR monitor today but have an older Mac, beware of some potential issues. According to the compatibility list spotted by Apple Insider , the new display will only work at 60Hz and not at its full 120Hz refresh rate on some older and less powerful Silicon models. Moreover, support for older Intel Macs isn't mentioned at all for either the Studio Display XDR or cheaper Studio Display . All Apple Silicon Macs will work with both monitors, including those with the oldest M1 chips, according to the support pages. However, the compatibility list for the Studio Display XDR includes this nugget: Mac models with M1, M1Pro, M1Max, M1Ultra, M2, and M3 support StudioDisplayXDR at up to 60Hz. All other StudioDisplayXDR features aresupported. So even if you have a hotrod M1 Ultra-based Mac, the Studio Display XDR's refresh rate is capped at 60Hz despite the fact that the chip can drive third-party monitors at 120Hz. Similarly, only the iPad Pro M5 supports the Studio Display XDR at 120Hz, with all other compatible models (in the iPad Pro and iPad Air family) limited to 60Hz. Intel Mac support isn't mentioned at all in the compatibility list for either display, though they may function in some limited manner when connected. Intel Macs just received their last new OS update with macOS Tahoe (and only three more years of security updates), but it's still surprising that they're not compatible with Apple's latest monitors. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/apples-new-studio-display-xdr-monitor-has-limited-functionality-on-older-silicon-macs-082212069.html?src=rss

Meta signs a multimillion dollar AI licensing deal with News Corp

Meta has signed an AI licensing deal with News Corp that will allow the Meta AI maker to use content from The Wall Street Journal and other brands in its chatbot responses and for training of its AI models. News Corp confirmed to Engadget that it had struck a deal with Meta, but didn't provide specifics on the terms of the arrangement. According to The Wall Street Journal , Meta will pay News Corp. up to $50 million a year for a three-year deal that covers content from The Journal, as well as the media giant's other brands in the US and UK. News Corp previously struck a five-year deal with OpenAI that was valued at around $250 million. During a recent appearance at Morgan Stanley's annual Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) conference, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson hinted that the media company was in the advanced stage with other negotiations. He described the company's overall approach to such arrangements as a woo and a sue strategy, depending on whether companies want to pay for content or scrape it without permission. We have what you might call a woo and a sue strategy, he said. We'll woo you. We'd like you to be our partner. But if you're stealing our stuff, we are going to sue you. So there'll be a discount for those who hand themselves in, and there'll be a penalty for those that resist. A spokesperson for Meta confirmed that the two companies had reached an agreement . The company, which has been reorganizing its AI teams as it looks to create its next model , has struck a number of licensing deals in recent months. It previously signed multi-year agreements with USA Today , People , CNN , Fox News and other outlets. The company said at the time that by integrating more and different types of news sources, our aim is to improve Meta AIs ability to deliver timely and relevant content and information with a wide variety of viewpoints and content types. Update, March 3, 2026, 4:18PM PT: This story was updated with additional information from a Meta spokesperson. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-signs-a-multimillion-dollar-ai-licensing-deal-with-news-corp-234157902.html?src=rss

Highguard has raided its last fortress, will shutdown on March 12

Highguard , the live-service multiplayer shooter that was announced at the Game Awards 2025 , is shutting down on March 12. Developer Wildlight Studios shared that the game would be winding down alongside details of its final update, which include a new character, weapon and skill trees. Today were sharing difficult news. We have made the decision to permanently shut down Highguard on March 12, Wildlight Studios shared via a statement on the Highguard X account . Since launch, more than two million players stepped into Highguard s world. You shared feedback, created content, and many believed in what we were building. For that, we are deeply grateful. Despite the passion and hard work of our team, we have not been able to build a sustainable player base to support the game long term. Servers will remain online until March 12. We hope youll jump in with us one more time to show your support and get those final great matches in while we still can. When Highguard shuts down next week, it will have been available to play for a grand total of 46 days. That's longer than the two weeks Concord received , but tragic for an online multiplayer game that was still in some form of active development. Wildlight Studios laid off some of its staff not long after Highguard launched, but a smaller team of developers has been supporting the game with new content since then, adding things like a 5v5 raid mode and today's final update. While it's easy to chalk up Highguard 's failure to a shrinking appetite for live-service games or an inability to find an audience for the game's mix of competitive hero shooter and MOBA strategy mechanics, the reality is more complicated. The first hint that Highguard 's launch might be troubled was the dearth of information or marketing shared about the game after its debut at the Game Awards. Wildlight Studios' staff was full of former Respawn employees who shadowdropped Apex Legends to great success, and Bloomberg reports Wildight's executives thought they could pull off something similar with Highguard . The difference is, little was known about Apex Legends until after it launched, while players had over a month to stew on the Highguard trailer and form all sorts of opinions. Wildlight's inability to keep players coming back SteamDB shows the game peaked at over 97,000 concurrent players and is now sitting at around 300 also hurt its chances. Dwindling player counts reportedly played a role in one of Wildlight's investors, Tencent, pulling funding, which reduced the runway the studio had to continue working on the game and likely prompted its layoffs. It would be simple if the lesson here was for future studios to give up developing online multiplayer games, but it really seems like not one, but all of these elements led to Highguard 's ultimate demise. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/highguard-has-raided-its-last-fortress-will-shutdown-on-march-12-225531035.html?src=rss

Ratatan is marching its way into your console library on July 16

The indie gaming news has been flying out of Nintendo's event today at a rapid-fire pace. One of the announcements came from rhythm game Ratatan , which will release on July 16. The title will be arriving that day on the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. It's already been available on PC since September as an early access game. Unfortunately, readers may notice that the original Switch isn't on that list, which is not an oversight. At this time, we have determined that the multiplayer experience on Nintendo Switch has not yet reached the quality level we aim to deliver, the team said in a post on Steam. As a result, we have decided not to proceed with a Nintendo Switch version for now. We first got our hands on Ratatan during Summer Games Fest 2025. Although the studio of Ratata Arts may not sound familiar, this group includes several devs from team that created the Patapon games, a series that began in 2007. That lineage is clear in the core concept and in the slightly brain-breaking level of attention required to keep your little army of Cobuns in sync and on beat. Ratatan brings some roguelite and RPG customization into the mix along with the familiar rhythm mechanics. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ratatan-is-marching-its-way-into-your-console-library-on-july-16-214540775.html?src=rss

Skateboarding train game Denshattack! is out on June 17

Denshattack! , the skateboarding game that manages to mix an anime-inspired narrative with Tony Hawk Pro Skater -style grinding and wall-riding, is coming out on June 17. The game's publisher Fireshine Games announced its launch date alongside a new trailer at Nintendo's recent Indie World event . If it wasn't clear from previous trailers, Denshattack! remains stylish as hell, filled to the brim with bright colors and over-the-top animation. The new trailer doesn't offer much more in terms of what the story of the game will be, but it does highlight its fast-paced gameplay, which will have you flipping and grinding a tiny train through settings like a futuristic cityscape, jungles and a snowy mountain region. Among the other charms of Denshattack! , the game also features original songs from composers Tee Lopes ( Sonic Mania ), Ryo Nagamatsu (Splatoon series), Richard Jacques (Jet Set Radio series) and Takenobu Mitsuyoshi ( Daytona USA ). If you're at all curious to try Denshattack! before it comes out this summer, demos of the game are available to download right now for PC and Switch 2 . Denshattack! will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S when it launches June 17. The game will also be available to play via Xbox Game Pass. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/skateboarding-train-game-denshattack-is-out-on-june-17-210314631.html?src=rss

Drinkbox Studios' Blighted will be out for Switch 2 and PC this fall

During today's Nintendo Indie World presentation , we got a narrower time frame for when and where we'll be able to play the next project from Drinkbox Studios. The team announced that Blighted will be coming out in this fall for both the Nintendo Switch 2 and for PC.Itll arrive on the same date for both platforms, but we dont have any more specific timeline than the season. We first heard about Blighted during last year's Summer Games Fest. With past credits such as Guacamelee! , Guacamelee! 2 and Severed , the studio is now turning its eye toward a 3D Metroidvania-RPG. It may be a new direction in genre, but Drinkbox's signature moody, eerie vibes do seem to be returning in heaps for Blighted . The core premise of the game revolves around the player regaining lost communal memories and also eating brains, so its definitely heavy on the surreal and slightly macabre. Blighted will also have options for both solo and co-op play of its story. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/drinkbox-studios-blighted-will-be-out-for-switch-2-and-pc-this-fall-203638261.html?src=rss

Downdetector and Speedtest have been sold for over $1 billion

The next time you check your internet speed or whether your favorite site is down, another company may be profiting. On Tuesday, Ziff Davis announced that it sold its Connectivity division, which includes Ookla's Speedtest and Downdetector, to Accenture. The deal is worth $1.2 billion in cash. According to Reuters , the deal will allow Ziff Davis to focus on its core brands, including IGN , Mashable and Everyday Health . Brand consolidation appears to be the name of the game, as the company recently laid off some of Eurogamer 's most experienced editors and its entire video team. That followed a rotation of editorial staff among Ziff Davis's other gaming publications, which reduced VG247 to a small, two-person gaming guides site. Ziff Davis bought Ookla for $15 million in 2014. Reuters notes that the division seized on the 5G rollout and a surge in pandemic-driven bandwidth demand to boost its impressive return on the investment. (Connectivity generated a whopping $231 million in 2025.) Accenture is a global technology consulting company headquartered in Dublin. The company views the acquisition as a key step in building end-to-end network intelligence services essential for AI-based transformation. (Can someone who speaks corporate translate, please?) The deal may take a few months to be finalized, and Ziff Davis will continue to operate Speedtest and Downdetector in the meantime. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/downdetector-and-speedtest-have-been-sold-for-over-1-billion-201741894.html?src=rss

Musical adventure game Mixtape will be ready to rock out on May 7

Time to dust off your boomboxes and your walkmans: musical coming-of-age game Mixtape is due out this spring. At its reveal , this next title from game developer Beethoven and Dinosaur was targeting a 2025 release, but as happens to the best laid plans, the game's arrival got pushed back. Today's trailer announced that the new launch date for the narrative- and music-focused adventure game is May 7, 2026. Despite the new date, Mixtape will still be coming to the usual array of current gaming platforms: Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and the Nintendo Switch 2. Johnny Galvatron, game director for the project, spoke with Engadget recently about the process of conveying that familiar feeling of restless teenage ennui in this medium. Idleness is hard to explore as a video game, and one of the interesting things about being a teenager is you just hang out a lot, and sometimes it just sucks, Galvatron said. So I love that we made a game that shows that idleness. As the name suggests, the soundtrack is core to the experience of this game about three friends at the end of high school. Expect to hear tracks by iconic punk and alternative artists such as DEVO, Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Smashing Pumpkins and Iggy Pop. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/musical-adventure-game-mixtape-will-be-ready-to-rock-out-on-may-7-200500458.html?src=rss

Elgato's Stream Deck + XL adds a touch strip and dials to an already massive array of buttons

Elgato's Stream Deck helped popularize using a macro pad among aspiring livestreamers and regular desk jockeys, so it's only natural for the brand to continue to expand on its lineup. After announcing a suite of new Stream Deck devices last year, Elgato is kicking off 2026 with the Stream Deck + XL , a larger version of the already big Stream Deck XL , and a collection of new audio accessories that should help improve sound mixing in and out of livestreams. The Stream Deck + XL not only expands on the number of buttons on the regular Stream Deck XL (from 32 customizable buttons to 36 customizable buttons), but also introduces multiple new control options, including a touch strip and six dials. All the controls on the new Stream Deck are customizable, and the presence of the touch strip means you can receive visual feedback about adjustments you're making while you're making them. The new macro pad should still work well as a way to quickly end a live stream or queue up a transition, and Elgato says that paired with its new Wave XLR Pro audio interface, the Stream Deck + XL could also become a straightforward tool for sound mixing, too. The XLR Dock MK. 2 adds an XLR input to the Stream Deck +. Elgato The Wave XLR Pro integrates two fully independent XLR inputs with 80 dB of clean gain each, Elgato says, along with multiple headphone outputs and a built-in Maximizer effect that can maintain consistent loudness. When you're livestreaming, Elgato's says the Wave XLR Pro's per-channel ducking can also automatically lower other audio sources when you speak. The XLR Pro is one of several Wave audio products Elgato is announcing alongside the Stream Deck + XL, a lineup which also includes a new condenser microphone and a new way to connect XLR microphones to the company's smaller Stream Deck. The XLR Dock MK. 2, exclusively compatible with the Stream Deck +, lets you connect professional XLR audio devices directly to your Stream Deck. The Dock adds 80 dB of clean gain, 48V phantom power, onboard DSP effects, and low-latency VST Insert support, and can be entirely managed through the Stream Deck's buttons and dials. Elgato says both the Stream Deck + XL and the XLR Dock MK. 2 are available to pre-order today for $350 and $130, respectively. The Wave XLR Pro will cost $350 when it launches at some point in Q2 2026. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/elgatos-stream-deck--xl-adds-a-touch-strip-and-dials-to-an-already-massive-array-of-buttons-195200129.html?src=rss

Google introduces Find Hub updates and more AI tools in the March Pixel Drop

Google unveiled its new features coming both to the Pixel line of devices and to the broader Android ecosystem this spring. Two of the more exciting additions for all Android devices are coming through the Find Hub. This can now be used to share real-time locations within Google Messages conversations or to send tracking information to airlines in instances of lost luggage. With both of those features, users can turn off their sharing any time. Specific to the luggage issue, Google has partnered with 10 airlines to integrate Find Hub locations as part of their baggage recovery process. Using the luggage recovery does require the missing item to have a Find Hub-compatible tag or network accessory. Another aesthetic update coming to Android is the ability to create a personalized Calling Card. You can choose a photo, font and color for your information that will be displayed to friends within Phone by Google.The short-form video trend is also coming to Google Play. The app storefront will now have a feed of Google Play shorts. Its being positioned as a discovery tool for seeing different programs in action. Google (modified) The March Pixel Drop will bring improvements to the Circle to Search feature on smartphones. Going forward, it should be easier to use Circle to Search either to virtually try items on yourself or to shop for fashion from videos or social media posts. Magic Cue, an AI feature that debuted on the Pixel 10, can now also deliver restaurant recommendations. Pixel smartphones will also get some new personalized looks. Users can create AI-generated custom icons on the home screen with six different styles. On the smartwatch side, Pixel devices will have new alerts if your phone is lost or left behind, as well as access to Express Pay. Pixel watches will also be getting some new safety alerts for earthquakes, and Satellite SOS is rolling out to more users across Europe, Canada, Hawaii and Alaska. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/google-introduces-find-hub-updates-and-more-ai-tools-in-the-march-pixel-drop-190000773.html?src=rss

MacBook Air M5 vs. MacBook Air M4: What's changed beyond the Apple silicon

Apple unveiled a new MacBook Air today, and apart from the new M5 chip, things dont look remarkably different. Sure, its getting a mild refresh, but maybe not in the way most people would want. Namely, its more expensive a $100 price bump across all models. In exchange, the MacBook Air M5 does get faster performance and double the storage. If you placed the MacBook Air M4 and the M5 in front of me, I wouldnt be able to tell which was which. The M5 offers an overall CPU/GPU performance boost, along with some extra storage and double the file transfer speeds. Still, I didnt expect a radical change, but I wish we got more for that extra $100. Its not worth jumping to the MacBook Air M5 if youve got the M4 unit already, but if youre working with an older model, then it may be worth the switch, especially if youre a professional. Like the rest of Apples new suite of products, pre-orders start at 9:15AM ET on March 4. Id wait until full reviews are published before committing to spending money, though. Still, if all you care about are the specs and what they mean, weve got a pretty good idea of all that. MacBook Air M5 vs. MacBook Air M4: Performance and battery life Naturally, the biggest difference between the MacBook Air M5 and the MacBook Air M4 is their chipsets. While the price did go up, we also got double the storage in the MacBook Air M5, jumping from 256GB to 512GB at the base configuration for both sizes. Upgraded configurations start at 1TB. According to Apple, the MacBook Air M5s unified memory is 28 percent faster than the M4s, and the AI performance is 4x faster. Casual users likely wont feel the impact of the overall performance gains. (You could potentially get more use out of it compared with an M4 chip.) But Apple claims that folks who are rendering 3D in Blender will see a 50 percent increase in speed. Thats pretty significant if youre a professional looking for a relatively affordable premium laptop with some oomph. The MacBook Air got double the storage, but what you might overlook is that it also got double the speed. In theory, the read and write performance should be much faster. In real-world use, you wont have to wait as long when youre copying files, importing photos or videos and doing AI-enabled tasks. It could also potentially decrease boot times, meaning your MacBook might be faster at waking up after shutting down, but if so, the improvement may be negligible. The MacBook Air M5 is also equipped with Apples new N1 chip. This enables the latest standards in connectivity, like Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Unless youre a power user, its unlikely youll be using this chip to its full capacity, which can take up 46 gigabits per second of internet speed. If youre paying your ISP for those rates, you can probably afford a MacBook Pro, which might better suit your needs (you speed demon). The battery life of the MacBook Air M5 remains the same as its predecessor. In my experience reviewing laptops, Apple has been killing it with its battery life scores (with the M4 lasting over 18 hours on Engadgets battery test ), so I wouldnt be too shocked if its claims are accurate. Those are: 18 hours of video streaming and 15 hours of wireless web surfing. Ive also tested the MacBook Air M4, and that latter time is on point. MacBook Air M5 vs. MacBook Air M4: Design, display, audio Similar to the iPad Air M4 announcement this week, the MacBook Air M5s design, display and audio remain unchanged despite the overall price increase. Apart from being frustrated by the higher cost, I was satisfied that everything thats here is already pretty solid. Theres a decent array of colors, with the MacBook Air available in either blue, silver, beige and black. Although, I will always advocate for more, and brighter, colors especially since these hues are so tame. The MacBook Air M5 continues to live up to its name with a thin and light design. The 13-inch model comes in at 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches and 2.7 pounds, while the 15-inch stacks up to 13.4 x 9.35 x 0.45 inches and 3.3 pounds. Unfortunately, since theres no change in design, were stuck with only two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headphone jack. Id like to complain that the MacBook Air still doesnt have an OLED panel, but I cant, since even the Pro MacBooks still have yet to feature one. (There are laptops, like the ZenBook 14, that cost around the same as the MacBook Air and manage to sport an OLED display, so its not unreasonable.) Despite that, the MacBook Airs displays are plenty vibrant. Both models come with a Liquid Retina LED panel at 224 ppi, and emit up to 500 nits of brightness. It makes working outdoors possible, but since its a glossy panel, Id still recommend staying inside (or finding shade). The MacBook Air 13 has a 13.6-inch, 2,560 x 1,664 panel, while the 15 is equipped with a 15.3-inch, 2,880 x 1,864 screen. Ive seen both the 13-inch and 15-inch versions of the MacBook Air M4 in person and theyre pleasantly bright. The speakers on both the MacBook Air M4 models produced loud and clear sound, albeit with middling bass. The MacBook Air M5 features the same speaker system, with the 13-inch supporting four speakers and the 15-inch carrying six, so it stands to reason the new laptops will deliver similar experiences on sound. macOS Tahoe and Apple Intelligence No changes to macOS Tahoe here. Everything you get with the MacBook Air M4 youll get on the M5. That includes the controversial Liquid Glass design and Apple Intelligence features like Live Translation in Messages. Speaking of Apple Intelligence, like I said earlier, you will likely benefit from faster processing thanks to the M5 chip. Apple claims AI tasks will be 4x faster, so even those who casually use AI may notice the difference. If youd like to compare for yourself exactly what changes the MacBook Air M5 brings over its predecessor, weve compiled this table to make it easier on your eyes. MacBook Air M5 vs. MacBook Air M4: Specs at a glance Spec MacBook Air M5 MacBook Air M4 Price $1,099 (13-inch), $1,299 (15-inch) $999 (13-inch), $1,199 (15-inch) Processor M5 M4 Display 13.6-inch: Liquid Retina, LED, 2,560 x 1,664, 224 ppi 15.3-inch: Liquid Retina, LED, 2,880 x 1,864, 224 ppi 13.6-inch: Liquid Retina, LED, 2,560 x 1,664, 224 ppi 15.3-inch: Liquid Retina, LED, 2,880 x 1,864, 224 ppi RAM 16GB, 24GB, 32GB 16GB, 24GB, 32GB Storage 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB Battery 18 hours (video streaming), 15 hours (wireless web) 18 hours (video streaming), 15 hours (wireless web) Dimensions 13-inch: 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches 15-inch: 13.4 x 9.35 x 0.45 inches 13-inch: 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches 15-inch: 13.4 x 9.35 x 0.45 inches Weight 13-inch: 2.7 pounds 15-inch: 3.3 pounds 13-inch: 2.7 pounds 15-inch: 3.3 pounds This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/macbook-air-m5-vs-macbook-air-m4-whats-changed-beyond-the-apple-silicon-185256565.html?src=rss

X to require AI labels on armed conflict videos from paid creators, citing times of war

X will suspend creators from its revenue sharing program if they post AI-generated videos depicting armed conflicts without disclosing they were made with AI. Head of product Nikita Bier announced the policy change on March 3, saying first-time violators will be cut off for 90 days and repeat offenders would be permanently removed from the program. Today we are revising our Creator Revenue Sharing policies to maintain authenticity of content on Timeline and prevent manipulation of the program. During times of war, it is critical that people have access to authentic information on the ground. With todays AI technologies, Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) March 3, 2026 The policy is notably narrow, applying only to creators enrolled in the platforms revenue sharing program and only to AI-generated videos of armed conflicts, not AI content in general or non-monetized accounts. Violations will be flagged through Community Notes, X's crowd-sourced fact-checking system, or by detecting metadata from generative AI tools. Bier framed the change as necessary during times of war, though the current conflict unfolding between the United States, Israel and Iran has not been formally, or at least not legally, declared a war. Of course, the US has not formally declared war since 1942 . The quality of AI video generation has progressed at a rapid pace, and generated content has become almost indistinguishable from real footage for most viewers. X already watermarks images and videos generated by its Grok chatbot but has not previously required users to disclose AI-generated content. The platform is separately testing a broader AI labeling toggle that would let users mark any post as containing synthetic content, as first reported by Social Media Today , though X has not shared a timeline for that feature. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-to-require-ai-labels-on-armed-conflict-videos-from-paid-creators-citing-times-of-war-183631400.html?src=rss

Two fantastic indie games not named Blue Prince also just arrived on Switch

Sure, Blue Prince has the most name recognition among the indie games that had a surprise debut on Nintendo Switch 2 today. However, I implore you not to overlook two other wonderful indies that hit Nintendos consoles in the wake of this mornings Indie World showcase. Minishoot Adventures from SoulGame Studio and co-publisher IndieArk is a game I absolutely loved when it first emerged on Steam in 2024. Its an RPG that adopts the format of top-down Legend of Zelda games. At the same time, its a twin-stick bullet-hell shooter. The two-person team at SoulGame blended those genres to great effect. Here, you play as a ship. Exploration is key, as youll need to find upgrades for your ship in order to access new areas. SoulGame injected a ton of personality into Minishoot Adventures as well. Errant apostrophe in the name aside, its a real gem. Minishoot Adventures is out now on Nintendo Switch , Nintendo Switch 2 , PlayStation 5 , Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S for $16. Its also available on Game Pass Ultimate and Premium, as well as PC Game Pass. Im perplexed as to why Nintendo only showcased oo in the Japanese version of the Indie World stream. Its utterly brilliant and by far the best new game I played in 2025 . Its so exquisitely designed by Nama Takahashi ( ElecHead ) that a 20-second trailer is all thats needed to show how this puzzle platformer works. You play as a caterpillar who has a bomb and later a second one that can be used to blow stuff up. The bombs are also used to hold down buttons and to propel the caterpillar upwards or sideways. There are no instructions here. Takahashi (who made the game with the help of Tiny Cactus Studio and Tsuyomi) helps you figure out what to do solely through intelligent level design. The puzzles arent overly difficult, but they got my brain matter working just enough that I smiled whenever I found a solution. The visuals, music and sound design are supremely charming too. This is a truly wonderful game. It doesnt outstay its welcome either, as it can be completed within a couple of hours. oo is available now on Switch for $11 . Its coming to PS5 on March 11 and Xbox Series X/S later this month. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/two-fantastic-indie-games-not-named-blue-prince-also-just-arrived-on-switch-182648197.html?src=rss

AI data centers could reduce power draw on demand, study says

Apparently, AI data centers are capable of sucking less (power, that is). A recent UK trial demonstrated that they can adjust their energy demands dynamically without disrupting critical workloads. This contrasts with data centers' current approach of always-on power draw, which can strain grids and drive up prices for everyone . Over five days in December 2025, more than 200 simulated grid events tested a London data centers ability to adjust its energy use on the fly. The trial used software from Emerald AI, which was involved in the study. Other partners included NVIDIA, National Grid, Nebius and the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute. In each simulated grid event, the data center successfully adjusted its energy use to the requested level. It reduced power draw by up to 40 percent, while critical workloads continued to run as normal throughout the trial. The data center successfully reacted to spikes in demand during soccer match halftimes. In one case, it reduced its power draw by 10 percent for up to 10 hours. It also managed to cut its demand quickly: One event saw the data center reduce its load by 30 percent in only 30 seconds. The study will serve as a blueprint for a 100MW power-flexible AI factory that NVIDIA plans to operate in Virginia. This trial proves that NVIDIA-powered infrastructure can act as a grid-aware asset, modulating demand in real-time to support stability, Josh Paker, NVIDIA's sustainability lead, wrote in a statement. By making AI workloads responsive, we accelerate deployment while reducing the need for costly grid upgrades. The organizations involved in the study say they'll share their data with the AI industry, regulators and policymakers to try to influence their approach. Fortunately, we dont need to hope that data center operators altruism (ha) will lead to their cooperation. Agreeing to curb usage during peak demand could be good for their balance sheets and lead to faster approvals for new data center grid connections. We would love to get to a point where we can get customers on the network in two years, and this is part of that, Steve Smith, president of National Grid Partners, told Bloomberg . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/ai-data-centers-could-reduce-power-draw-on-demand-study-says-180628982.html?src=rss

Audible's new plan is $9 a month and still includes an audiobook credit

Audible just launched a new budget-friendly Standard plan that costs $9 each month. Despite the lower price, this plan still includes a monthly audiobook credit. These credits allow users to download pretty much any audiobook from the library, including most brand-new releases. This was a perk previously locked to the Premium Plus plan, which is $15 per month. Subscribers also get access to a curated library of content sourced from the Audible Originals library and Wondery+. All of this will be available without ads. There are some caveats, especially when compared to the pricier Premium Plus subscription. That plan lets subscribers keep downloaded audiobooks forever, but the same isn't true of the Standard plan. Audiobooks will float into the ether once a subscription has been cancelled. This is only a big deal, however, for those who like to re-listen to their favorites. Audible The Premium Plus plan provides some other perks not available to Standard users. Subscribers get regular access to sales and discounts, and there's a library of audiobooks and podcasts to peruse. This is sort of like Kindle Unlimited, but for audiobooks. It's not a comprehensive catalog, but it works in a pinch. Amazon says the new plan is projected to bring millions of new consumers into the Audible experience over the next year. It's available right now in the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, France and Australia. The company says it's currently testing the tier in additional marketplaces throughout the world. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/audibles-new-plan-is-9-a-month-and-still-includes-an-audiobook-credit-174641878.html?src=rss

Game Pass additions for March include Cyberpunk 2077 and F1 25

Microsoft has revealed the first wave of Xbox Game Pass additions for March. Cyberpunk 2077 and F1 25 headline the batch; the former is coming to both Ultimate and Premium tiers. Hollow Knight: Silksong, which launched about six months ago, is also on the way to Premium. Final Fantasy III and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II had been previously announced and are both available starting today. Both games can be played straight from the cloud or downloaded to the Xbox Series X/S as well as PC across all Game Pass tiers. F1 25 joins Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on March 4. For Ultimate subscribers, the game is already available through EA Play. F1 fans should know that EA used LiDAR to map the tracks for F1 25 . Also arriving March 4 is To a T , an adventure game from the creator of Katamari Damacy about a teen navigating small-town life with their cute dog companion. Your character takes on these adventures while stuck in a permanent T-pose, for reasons. The sci-fi adventure Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf launches as a day-one Game Pass release on March 5 across cloud, console, handheld and PC. Fan favorite Cyberpunk 2077 hits Game Pass Ultimate and Premium on March 10 across cloud and console. The Witcher 3 , also from developer CD Projekt RED , returned to Game Pass just a couple of weeks ago . Hollow Knight: Silksong drops on March 12 across cloud, console, handheld and PC. The highly-anticipated follow-up to the 2017 action-adventure was a day one release on Game Pass Ultimate, and will now be available on the lower Premium tier. Construction Simulator and DreamWorks Gabbys Dollhouse: Ready to Party round out the first half of the month on March 10 and March 17, respectively. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/game-pass-additions-for-march-include-cyberpunk-2077-and-f1-25-171433874.html?src=rss

Blue Prince is out on Switch 2 today, complete with mouse control

The unique and highly addictive roguelike Blue Prince is now available for Switch 2 , as announced at today's Nintendo Indie World Showcase . This version allows for mouse control, via the underutilized Joy-Con feature . This is a wonderfully designed puzzle game that oozes atmosphere . The game tasks players with exploring a gigantic mansion, but there's a twist. You actually build this mansion as you explore, room by room. This is done by placing what can only be described as magical blueprints. The goal is to fully explore the mansion and solve its many, many mysteries. However, there are only so many blueprints and too many obstacles. This is where the roguelike part comes in. When you build yourself into a dead end, you go to sleep and end the run. All of the rooms reset, but you may have learned a thing or two for the next run. Rinse and repeat. It's a very nifty gameplay loop, which is why it easily found a spot on Engadget's list of our favorite games from 2025 . We even called it a masterpiece, which is deserved. In other words, this is a fantastic addition to the Nintendo eShop. I only have one small gripe. This is a gorgeous game, but that's primarily due to the art direction and overall vibe. Why is it a Switch 2 exclusive? It seems like the OG Switch could handle it. In any event, this version is priced at $30 but has been discounted to $20 for launch. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/blue-prince-is-out-on-switch-2-today-complete-with-mouse-control-162242506.html?src=rss

2027 Audi RS5 first drive: Big thrills with a big battery

There's more waffling going on about the future of electric vehicles in America right now than you might expect at a Belgian breakfast buffet. Some brands like Hyundai are staying committed, some brands like Honda are dialing back , and everyone else is simply doing their damndest to provide as many propulsion options as possible Count Audi in that last category. On the EV side, it recently launched the new Q6 E-Tron and refreshed the ballistic E-Tron GT . On the internal combustion side, it has a new A6, and there's a full-size, three-row SUV coming in the form of the Q9. The company's latest car, though, can be found in the middle: Meet the new RS5, Audi's latest and greatest plug-in hybrid. RS stands for RennSport, or Racing Sport in German, the moniker applied to Audi's highest performing cars. RS designates an elite group of machines intended to be a bit more edgy and exclusive than your BMW M cars or Mercedes-Benz AMGs. The 2027 RS5 marks the first time an RS has come with both a big battery and a big engine, but the RS5 is much more than a novelty with a plug. Tricky diff 2027 Audi RS5 Tim Stevens for Engadget The main grunt of the new RS5 comes from a 2.9-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 mounted up front under the hood. On its own, that engine produces 503 horsepower, a figure that you might think is plenty. Here, though, it has some help here in the form of not one but two electric motors. The first is a typical hybrid arrangement, a 174-hp motor wedged in between the engine and transmission. This is the primary means of electric propulsion for the car, giving it a total, maximum system output of 630 hp and 609 lb-ft. Because that motor is positioned where it is, the RS5 can still make full use of its eight-speed automatic transmission when driven only by the electric motor. That means a top speed of 87 mph before the engine kicks in. Once it does, it'll take you all the way up to 177 mph. There's a second motor at the back, though, which is far more interesting. No, it isn't there to drive the rear axle like on the RAV4 Hybrid . The RS5 has a traditional Quattro setup with a mechanical differential in the middle to distribute power between the front and rear wheels. The small, 11-hp motor at the back exclusively controls a new type of system that Audi calls Dynamic Torque Control. This motor uses planetary gearsets to selectively and effectively magnify the power to either the left or the right axle at the back. It may be small, but this motor makes the RS5 do some wonderful things. Drift time 2027 Audi RS5 Tim Stevens for Engadget For maximum fun in the new RS5, dial it over to what Audi calls Torque Rear mode. This configures the new rear differential to send maximum twist to the outside rear wheel. Combine that with the center differential, which can send up to 85 percent of the engine's power to the rear, and the result is a remarkably willing drift partner. After less than 30 seconds behind the wheel on a closed track in Marrakesh, I was confidently sliding my way through a set of cones in a slalom, then pirouetting around a cone at the end in a tight circle, clouds of tire smoke hanging in the air. Normally, drifting a 5,200-pound, 630-hp machine rolling on sticky tires is a real nightmare. It's delightfully easy in the RS5. The car's differential setup not only makes this easy but also tracks just how successful you are at it. It records the time, length and even angle of your most dramatic drifts. You can even replay them on the touchscreen if you're so inclined, scrubbing back and forth to see what kinds of G forces you were generating. This is part of a new extension to its infotainment system called the Audi Driving Experience. It'll also track lap times around race tracks, giving you a bit more information in the timeless pursuit of tenths of a second. 2027 Audi RS5 Tim Stevens for Engadget Audi also added a few custom screens showing the power distribution of the car and letting you monitor things like critical system temperatures and tire pressures at every corner. Otherwise, though, it's much the same interface as seen on most new Audis, with a 14.5-inch central touchscreen, an 11.9-inch gauge cluster and an optional 10.9-inch display way over on the right for the passenger. That's a lot of displays, with the left two encased within an oversized, sweeping panel that stands tall and proud out of the dashboard. Too tall, actually. If big bezels ruin your day, look away, because there's a lot of wasted space here. Likewise, if you don't like steering wheels with capacitive touch controls, you're not going to love the RS5. Audi has brought back the little scroll wheels under your thumbs, at least, but everything else on there is just a flat surface. Putting the power down 2027 Audi RS5 Tim Stevens for Engadget I spent the better part of a day driving the RS5 through the wild streets of Marrakesh and up into the Atlas Mountains to the south. In the city, I left the car in EV mode, letting that primary electric motor and the car's 25.9-kilowatt-hour battery (22 kWh net) do the heavy lifting. Audi says the car can cover up to 54 miles in this mode, and while I didn't have time to go that far on battery power, it seemed like an achievable estimate. The car is perfectly pleasant in this mode, silent and even reasonably quick. In Comfort mode, the suspension is at its softest, and despite those giant wheels, the RS5 did perfectly fine over the decidedly imperfect Moroccan roads. But it wasn't until I got far away from the city that I could start to open things up a bit, working my way through the various drive modes and eventually all the way up to RS Sport, the most performance-oriented. Here, the suspension is at its stiffest and the throttle at its sharpest, transmission swinging through its ratios eagerly to keep the engine singing. Jump on the gas, and the car really does leap forward, the electric motor doing its part to cover the power delay caused by the turbochargers in the mix. You can feel that rear differential here, too, adding an extra bit of pivot to the rear when you're powering out of corners. But, on the way in, you really can feel the substantial weight of this car, the front end scrubbing and pushing forward when you ask too much of it. Again, this model gained more than 1,000 pounds over the old RS5, and though the improved suspension, drivetrain, tires and even giant, ceramic brakes all help to reduce its feel, there's no hiding that much mass. Wrap-up Yes, the RS5 has gained a lot of weight, and that hurts its nimbleness on track, but remember that this is a large, luxury sedan. It was never meant to be a lithe track toy. Despite that, the new RS5 actually feels far more fun and aggressive than its predecessor, a characteristic at least partially due to that trick new rear differential and the instant response of the new hybrid system. 54 miles of emissions-free range doesn't hurt, either. The big question is cost, and sadly, Audi's not ready to answer that one yet. You do, at least, have a little time to save. The new RS5 doesnt hit American shores until sometime in 2027. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/2027-audi-rs5-first-drive-big-thrills-with-a-big-battery-152057907.html?src=rss

Everything Apple announced this week: iPhone 17e, new MacBooks, M4 iPad Air and more

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 . The company followed up on Tuesday with the reveal of the M5 MacBook Air , the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips , MacBook Pro models that use said chips, a refreshed Studio Display and a brand-new 27-inch Studio Display XDR . Heres our recap of everything Apple has announced so far this week: iPhone 17e Apple Apple has spruced up this years entry-level iPhone with some pretty solid upgrades, though it's keeping the starting price at $599. The iPhone 17e has double the base storage of the iPhone 16e at 256GB. It also has MagSafe support with Qi2 wireless charging speeds of up to 15W, double that of the iPhone 16e. Design-wise, Apple hasn't exactly rocked the boat. The iPhone 17e looks pretty much identical to its predecessor. It appears that Apple is sticking with the same 48MP Fusion camera system as it used in the iPhone 16e too. That said, the 6.1-inch Super Retina display has Ceramic Shield 2. According to Apple, this provides 3x better scratch resistance than the previous generation and reduced glare. The company slotted its C1X cellular modem into the iPhone 17e as well. It says this is up to two times faster than the C1 that was in the iPhone 16e. The device has the same A19 chip as the iPhone 17, so it supports Apple Intelligence AI tools, and it runs iOS 26. In addition, the iPhone 17e has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, as well as the promise of all-day battery life. It also supports satellite-powered features including Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, Messages and Find My. Pre-orders for the iPhone 17e open on March 4 and it will be available in black, white and soft pink. The device will hit shelves in more than 70 countries and regions on March 11. iPad Air M4 Apple The latest iPad Air boasts Apples M4 chip. That means the mid-range iPad is effectively remaining a year behind the iPad Pro. The M4 is almost two years old at this point, while the top-end model has the newer M5 chip. Still, if you only use an iPad for casual tasks like watching shows, web browsing, email and so on, the M4 will be more than powerful enough.It will be more adept at handling resource-intensive tasks like video editing than previous iPad Air models too. Apple has also bumped up the RAM from 8GB from the last-gen model to 12GB. Given the sharp increase in RAM prices in recent months, its slightly surprising that Apple is sticking to the same prices for the iPad Air. The 11-inch M4 iPad Air starts at $599 while the 13-inch version starts at $799, each with 128GB of storage. There's a $50 discount for those buying it for educational use. Apple claims the M4 delivers up to 2.3 times faster performance compared with the M1 iPad Air and over 4x faster 3D pro rendering with ray tracing performance. Of course, the new iPad Air runs iPadOS 26. Apple gave the iPad Air other internal upgrades by including its N1 and C1X connectivity chips. As such, this is the first iPad Air with Wi-Fi 7 support. As you might expect, 5G cellular connectivity is available as well. The design of the M4 iPad Air doesn't seem to have changed, as it appears to have the same LCD display Apple used in the last two iterations of the tablet. The company has stuck with the same rear-facing camera and dual-speaker setup as well. As with the iPhone 17e, pre-orders for the M4 iPad Air open on March 4. The tablet will hit retailers in 35 countries and regions on March 11. It will be available in blue, purple, starlight and space gray. M5 MacBook Air Apple A year after Apple upgraded the MacBook Air with an M4 chipset, the company pulled the same trick by swapping in an M5 chip. The company also boosted the base storage from 256GB to 512GB, with an SSD that it claimed can provide 2x faster read/write performance compared to the previous generation. While the MBA still has 16GB or RAM as standard, Apple also upgraded the memory to have 153GB/s of bandwidth the company said thats a 28 percent improvement over what the M4 MBA offered. Alas, with those upgrades comes a tradeoff. Apple has bumped the starting price of the latest MacBook Air back up to $1,099 after cutting it to $999 for the M4 model. Thats for the 13-inch variant. The 15-inch M5 MacBook Air starts at $1,299. The latest MacBook Air is available in sky blue, midnight, starlight and silver. You can pre-order one on March 4. It will hit stores in 33 countries and regions on March 11. This story is developing; refresh for updates This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/everything-apple-announced-this-week-iphone-17e-new-macbooks-m4-ipad-air-and-more-155617625.html?src=rss

The MacBook Air M5 starts at $1,099, up $100 from the M4

Reports had suggested that Apple wasnt going to reveal a refreshed MacBook Air with an M5 chip during its week of announcements , but whaddyaknow? Apple just went ahead and did that exact thing . Lets deal with the bad news first: Apple is reverting a price cut from last year. It dropped the M4-powered MBAs starting price down to $999 , but for the M5-equipped model, youll need to shell out at least $1,099. The company claimed the M5 MacBook Air will be able to deliver four times faster performance in AI tasks than the M4 MBA. Compared with the M1 MacBook Air, youll get up to 9.5 times faster performance, the company said. Along with swapping in a more powerful chip, Apple has upgraded the starting storage by doubling it from 256GB to 512GB. The company says the SSD has 2x faster read/write performance compared to the previous generation. You can kit out the MacBook Air with 4TB of internal storage if you have the will and the means. Youll also get 16GB of RAM for starters. The memory has 153GB/s of bandwidth, which Apple said is a 28 percent improvement over the M4 MBA. The latest MacBook Air can be equipped with up to 32GB of memory. Just like it did with the latest iPad Air , Apple has upgraded the connectivity hardware. Thanks to the inclusion of the companys N1 wireless chip, the M5 MacBook Air supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. As youd imagine, the M5 MacBook Air runs on macOS Tahoe and it supports Apple Intelligence features. It has a Liquid Retina display, 12MP Center Stage camera, a sound system with Spatial Audio support and a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, which allows the laptop to support up to two external displays. Apple claims the M5 MacBook Air will run for up 18 hours on a single charge. The M5 MacBook Air is available in 13-inch and 15-inch models, with the latter starting at $1,299. Its available in sky blue, midnight, starlight and silver. Pre-orders start on March 4 at 9:15AM ET. The laptops will be available in stores in 33 countries and regions on March 11. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/the-macbook-air-m5-starts-at-1099-up-100-from-the-m4-141612909.html?src=rss

Apple unveils the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which feature new, faster 'super cores'

As part of its big week of announcements, Apple has unveiled a new pair of M5 chips alongside two new MacBooks. The new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips will power the new MacBook Pro that was just announced today, while the new MacBook Air comes with the base M5 . According to the companys press release , the M5 Pro and M5 Max come with an advanced GPU with Neural Accelerators and higher unified memory bandwidth for a massive increase in AI compute. At the heart of the M5 Pro and M5 Max are what Apple is calling a new Fusion Architecture that combines two dies into a single system on a chip (SoC). The chips both feature a new 18-core CPU, six of which Apple is now calling super cores, that are the words fastest CPU core. The other 12 are all-new performance cores, optimized for power-efficient, multithreaded workloads. Altogether, Apple says these CPU changes improve performance by up to 30 percent for pro workloads. Meanwhile, the GPU is a jump over the next-gen design we saw in the M5, as it goes to up to 40 cores. Each GPU core has a Neural Accelerator in it, and together with the higher unified memory bandwidth, the company says the M5 Pro and M5 Max offer over 4x the peak GPU compute for AI compared to the previous generation. Apple added that graphics performance is also getting a substantial boost, by up to 35 percent for apps using ray tracing compared to the M4 Pro and M4 Max. To be clear, this isnt the first time Apple has claimed it has the worlds fastest core. According to our resident Apple Silicon expert Devindra Hardawar, the benchmarks have proven the companys claims true. Its also worth noting that the two-die design isnt novel or unique, as companies like Intel and AMD have been doing similar. The M5 Pro and M5 Max will first show up in the new MacBook Pro, which is available for pre-order starting March 4, and will arrive on Wednesday, March 11. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apple-unveils-the-m5-pro-and-m5-max-chips-which-feature-new-faster-super-cores-141533420.html?src=rss

Apple brings its M5 Pro and Max silicon to the next MacBook Pro generation

It happened much later than we expected, but Apple's announcement of MacBook Pros with its M5 Pro and M5 Max chips has finally arrived. These more powerful variants on Apple's silicon will be available in the 14-inch and 16-inch models of the laptops. Pre-orders will open on March 4 with an expected ship date of March 11.Youll want to save some extra coin this time, though, as prices have gone up compared to the prior generation. The new 14-inch MacBook Pro can be kitted out with either an M5 Pro or M5 Max. The Pro option for the chip boasts a CPU with 15 or 18 CPU cores and 16 or 20 GPU cores. For the M5 Max, users will have 18 CPU cores along with 32 or 40 GPU cores. The base model with an M5 Pro has either 24 or 48GB of RAM and now starts with 1TB of storage, up from 512GB as was standard before. If you're eyeing the 16-inch MacBook Pro, it starts with the M5 Pro with 18 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores. You can also get the same two M5 Max configurations as you can on the 14-inch model. Perhaps most significantly, Apple has raised prices on its entire MacBook Pro lineup. The 14-inch M5 model previously started at $1,599; its now priced at $1,699. At least youre getting something for that cash, as Apple has doubled its base storage to 1TB. The same goes for the new M5 Pro and Max options. The 14-inch with the M5 Pro now starts at $2,199 instead of $1,999, while the 16-inch starts at a whopping $2,699 instead of $2,499. That 16-inch model comes with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage now as standard; thats again double the storage space from the prior model. The M5 Max model starts with 2TB of storage and 36GB of RAM for $3,599 (14-inch) or $3,899 (16-inch). Running down the rest of the specs: Apple says the storage in the new MacBook Pro is twice as fast as the prior generation so youre getting more, faster storage than before for the extra cash. The laptops also include the Apple-designed N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity, and Apple says the MacBook Pro is rated for up to 24 hours of battery life. It has the same excellent Liquid Retina XDR display as weve seen for multiple years now, as well as a 12-megapixel Center Stage front-facing camera. It's a little unusual for these heavy-duty upgrades to Apple's MacBook Pros to be announced so much later from the news of its latest silicon updates. The company debuted the M5 chip last fall as usual, but spent several months before it revealed these major hardware additions for housing it. And the M5 MacBook Pro that was announced in October shortly after the M5 chip news came with zero fanfare. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/apple-brings-its-m5-pro-and-max-silicon-to-the-next-macbook-pro-generation-141553279.html?src=rss

Apple reveals its new 5K mini-LED Studio Display XDR

Apple continues its gradual unveiling of new products this week with the launch of the Studio Display and an all-new 27-inch Studio Display XDR. The latter is a higher-end model aimed at content creators with a 27-inch 5K Retina XDR display that features a mini-LED display with 2,000-plus dimming zones, up to 2,000 nits of peak HDR brightness and a wider color gamut for improved accuracy. It looks like a replacement for the expensive, nearly seven-year-old 32-inch 6K Pro XDR Display , which is no longer for sale on Apple's website. The Studio Display XDR also has a 120Hz refresh rate, addressing complaints about the relatively anemic 60Hz refresh rate of previous models. At the same time, it comes standard with a new tilt- and height-adjustable stand, with a height range of 105mm. Apple Apple calls the Studio Display XDR the world's best pro display for things like HDR video editing and medical displays. Brightness levels are certainly outstanding at 1,000 nits SDR and 2,000 nits HDR, and the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 80 percent Rec.2020 coverage are also top-notch. The new model should even be fine for some light gaming thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate and Adaptive Sync support, though many buyers may want a 32-inch or larger display like the now-discontinued Pro XDR model. Other features include a 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View support and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity with a second port for downstream high-speed accessories or additional daisy-chained displays. It can also act as a Thunderbolt hub, while offering up to 140W of charging power through the included Thunderbolt 5 Pro cable, enough to fast-charge a 16-inch MacBook Pro. Apple Along with the Display XDR, Apple also announced a new version of the standard Studio Display. As before, it comes with a 27-inch 5K Retina display with up to 600 nits of brightness and P3 wide color, either with standard or optional nano-texture glass (a $300 option). However, it now includes an improved 12MP Center Stage camera along with Desk View to show your face and an overhead view of your desk at the same time. You also get a studio-quality three-microphone array and six speaker sound system with Spatial Audio. That display now supports Thunderbolt 5 connectivity as well, providing higher-speed connections for accessories and the ability to daisy-chain displays. However, max charging power on this model is limited to 96W, still enough to fast-charge a 14-inch MacBook Pro. The Studio Display comes standard with a tilt-adjustable stand, but you can get it with a tilt- and height-adjustable standard for $400 more as before. The Studio Display XDR will be available tomorrow for pre-order starting at $3,299 , while the new Studio Display also goes on pre-order on March 4 starting at $1,599 without the nano-texture display or heigh-adjustable stand. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/apple-reveals-its-new-5k-mini-led-studio-display-xdr-141515587.html?src=rss

Shure's next-gen DAI adds mobile support

XLR microphone owners, rejoice: Shure's successor to the MVX2U Digital Audio Interface (DAI) brings the adapter into the mobile era. The compact MVX2U Gen 2 adds more advanced onboard audio processing. But its most notable upgrade is mobile device compatibility, so you're no longer limited to desktop use. The single-channel MVX2U Gen 2 provides up to +60dB of gain and 48V phantom power. On the processing front, the adapter includes an auto-level mode. Theres also a real-time denoiser to minimize background noise and a pop filter (Popper Stopper in Shure marketing-speak) to soften those harsh plosive sounds. Shure says the new model improves the noise floor, headphone amp and DAC. The adapter stores your last-used audio processing settings. That way, you don't have to worry about your settings getting wiped out when switching between devices or software. The Shure MVX2U Gen 2 includes a 1m (3.3 ft) USB-C to USB-C cable, so you can get it up and running quickly on your phone, tablet or PC. The adapter is now available for $139 from the company website . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/shures-next-gen-dai-adds-mobile-support-140000205.html?src=rss

Meta's AI display glasses reportedly share intimate videos with human moderators

Users of Meta's AI smart glasses in Europe may be unknowingly sharing intimate video and sensitive financial information with moderators outside of the bloc, according to a report from Sweden's Svenska Dagbladet released last week. Employees in Kenya doing AI annotation told the journalists that they've seen people nude, using the toilet and engaging in sexual activity, along with credit card numbers and other sensitive information. With Meta's Ray-Ban Display and other glasses with AI capabilities, users can record what they're looking at or get answers to questions via a Meta AI assistant. If a wearer wants to make use of that AI, though, they must agree to Meta's terms of service that allow any data captured to be reviewed by humans. That's because Meta's large language models (LLMs) often require people to annotate visual data so that the AI can understand it and build its training models. This data can end up in places like Nairobi, Kenya, often moderated by underpaid workers. Such actions are subject to Europe's GDPR rules that require transparency about how personal data is processed, according to a data protection lawyer cited in the report. However, Svenska Dagbladet's reporters said they needed to jump through some hoops to see Meta's privacy policy for its wearable products. That policy states that either humans or automated systems may review sensitive data, and puts the onus on the user to not share sensitive information. Meta declined to comment directly on the story, and simply said that when live AI is being used, we process that media according to the Meta AI Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. To find out more, check out Svenska Dagbladet 's detailed reporting on the subject. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/metas-ai-display-glasses-reportedly-share-intimate-videos-with-human-moderators-135939855.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Apples big week starts with the iPhone 17e

Were at the start of another one of those weeks where Apple announces one or two of its lesser products each day. The first pair to break cover is the iPhone 17e and iPad Air M4 , with more due to drop as the calendar rolls forward. The iPhone 17e is by far the more interesting gadget, especially as the price remained the same as for the iPhone 16e. Apple is charging $599 for the 17e, even though the base model storage has doubled to a very welcome 256GB. The 17e also gains several features that were held back from the equivalent budget handset last year. The most notable is perhaps the addition of MagSafe at Qi2 speeds, enabling users to wirelessly charge their device at 15W. Keen-eyed spec-list nerds will also spot Apples C1X proprietary wireless chip, which offers comparable speed to the Qualcomm models it will eventually replace, but with far better power efficiency. The iPad Air, by comparison, is the very model of a modern major iterative spec revision to keep it up to date. The M3 has been upgraded to an M4, and itll get the same home grown wireless chips ( N1 and C1X ), blessing it with Wi-Fi 7 compatibility. Apple is also adding some more RAM to the iPad Air, boosting it from 8GB to 12GB, but without adding any more digits to the price. As someone whos still clinging on to an iPhone 14, the generous storage and low cost of the iPhone 17e is intriguing. And its a far more attractive package than whatever Apple was trying to offer with the iPhone Air . Dan Cooper The other big stories this morning Starlink's next-gen satellite network could provide 150 Mbps speeds by end of next year The company wants to offer 5G-esque speed, but from space. Vivo's X300 Ultra goes global and gets a huge 400mm Zeiss telephoto lens Looks totally normal hanging off the back of a phone. OpenAI will amend Defense Department deal to prevent mass surveillance in the US Wait a second, wasnt that one of Anthropics red lines? The Lenovo Modular AI PC concept is a remixed dual-screen laptop with hot swappable ports Modularity! For! Some! Reason! Sam Rutherford for Engadget Lenovo rocked up to MWC to show off a concept laptop with hot-swappable components , letting users push around their keyboard and displays at will. The company says you can set up the hardware on your desk to suit your needs at any given time. So, if you need a standard laptop, you can do that, or you can put a second display where your keyboard should go and use your keyboard wirelessly. Sadly, its a concept, so while you can purr at Lenovos engineering prowess you cant hand it any of your cash to properly own this thing. Continue Reading. A closer look at Honors Robot Phone Sources describe the unit as adorable. Mat Smith for Engadget Honor made its usual full-court press at MWC, but the star of its own show was the Robot Phone , due to launch later this year. Its a smartphone with its own articulating camera gimbal which can move around in response to its users commands. The Morning Afters own Mat Smith says its able to shake and nod its, uh, head, and can even dance along to music. And thats before you get to its real function to, you know, take photos and stuff. Continue Reading. Paramount+ and HBO Max could be merging into a single streaming service The combined ParaSkyWarDisco would serve 200 million subscribers. Paramount Sky CEO David Ellison has outlined his vision for his latest toy, Warner Brothers Discovery. He told investors both companies would merge their streaming services , giving it a global audience of around 200 million subscribers. Ellison also pledged to give HBO operational independence, hopefully meaning it wont be staffed entirely by patronage appointees. Continue Reading. Everything announced at MWC 2026: Lenovo's wild foldable gaming handheld, Honor's Robot Phone, and more Far too many things for one newsletter. Mat Smith for Engadget MWC is such a big show it would be impossible to cover everything weve reported on in a single newsletter. But, thankfully, weve built a roundup of the most important things for you to peruse , especially all of the biggest phones that you arent as likely to see on store shelves in the US. Continue Reading. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121540093.html?src=rss

Meta starts testing its AI shopping assistant

Meta has started rolling out an experimental AI shopping tool to some users in the US, according to Bloomberg . At the moment, its reportedly only showing up on desktop browsers when select users visit Meta AI on the web . Theyll know if they have access to the feature if they see the Shopping research button inside the query text box. The company has confirmed that it was testing the feature, Bloomberg said, but it didnt say when a wider release will happen. When users ask for product suggestions, the chatbot will show them a carousel with product images and their pricing, along with a link to the e-commerce website and information about the brand. Meta AI will also include a short explanation why it recommended the item. If Meta AI can see a users information, such as their gender and location data, it can tailor responses for them. Bloomberg said it replied with a selection of womens puffer jackets from shops that ship to New York, based on the testers profile. Users cannot check out from within the Meta AI interface, but they can click on the links it provides to shop online. Mark Zuckerberg previously told investors that Meta is launching agentic shopping tools during an earnings call earlier this year. It doesnt come as a surprise that the company is working on them, when rival AI companies already offer the same tools. OpenAI rolled out a dedicated shopping assistant for ChatGPT just before Black Friday last year, shortly after Google launched its own shopping tools for Gemini . Perplexity also released an AI shopping assistant at the same time. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-starts-testing-its-ai-shopping-assistant-120148124.html?src=rss

Google's Home's latest feature is Gemini-powered 'Live Search' for cameras

Google Home has some significant new quality-of-life updates and a new AI-powered feature, the division's head honcho Anish Katturkan announced on X . Many of them, including a function called Live Search, are powered by the company's Gemini for Home service launched in October 2025 as the official replacement for Google Assistant on smart devices. We launched Gemini for Home in Early Access specifically to learn from real-world usage, Katturkaran said. With millions of you now testing and shaping this experience every day, we're pushing regular voice improvements to address your feedback. The Live Search feature does just what it says, letting you query Gemini about the current state of your home based on what the cameras see. For instance, you can ask things like Hey Google, is there a car in the driveway? However, the feature is only available for Google Home Premium advanced subscribers who pay a $20 per month ($200 per year) fee. Gemini for Home now uses updated models to improve the quality and accuracy of answers too and will more reliably play newly-released songs. Other key updates include better targeting for smart home devices by room, house and device, reduced instances of cutting off a speaker prematurely, better reliability for user-created automations by voice and more. Too see all those changes, check out Google Home's latest changelog , Finally, Google Home announced enhanced support for the Nest x Yale lock , including comprehensive passcode management (including for guests), a more robust activity history, real-time notifications for lock events and enhanced lock settings like single touch locking. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/googles-homes-latest-feature-is-gemini-powered-live-search-for-cameras-112216551.html?src=rss

MWC 2026s most bizarre phone can start fires (on purpose)

This isnt a Galaxy Note 7 debacle . Oukitel's WP63 is a ruggedized smartphone thats meant to set things alight. It has a built-in electric igniter, aimed at emergency response and camping, helping to start fires when you forgot matches, but you brought this beastly phone along for the adventure. Its got several other notable features, like a 20,000mAH battery, a loudspeaker, and even its own built-in USB-C cable for charging other devices. Still, the igniter was why I was here. The WP63 has an electric coil that heats up, similar to cigarette lighters in cars circa 1987. This is hidden away behind a protective cover at the top of the device, and once it pops out, you activate it using an app. An Oukitel spokesperson was able to light some rolled-up paper, and I was surprised how gentle and seemingly in control it was. (The paper looked like a cigarette, too.) Unfortunately, another spokesperson told me that it cant be used to light candles, although I cant understand why. I dont start campfires, but I do light candles. Image by Mat Smith for Engadget The phone will be priced around $500, and completely ignoring the tendency for thinner and thinner phones, its 27mm thick. Another outdoor use? If a bear decided to attack you in the woods, you might be able to concuss it with the WP63. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/oukitel-wp630-mwc-2026-smartphone-igniter-101046023.html?src=rss

The best keyboards for 2026

A keyboard is one of those pieces of gear you interact with constantly, yet its easy to overlook how much it affects your day-to-day comfort. From firing off emails to long coding sessions or late-night gaming , the right keyboard can make everything feel smoother, faster and less fatiguing. Some setups call for slim, quiet boards that disappear into a workspace, while others benefit from chunky mechanical keyboards with satisfying switches and durable frames. Youll also find wireless models that cut down on desk clutter, compact layouts built for travel and ergonomic keyboards aimed at reducing strain during long stretches of time. No matter how you use your computer, upgrading your keyboard is one of the simplest ways to improve the experience. Weve tested a wide range of options to find the best keyboards for different needs, budgets and typing styles. Best keyboards for 2026 What to look for in a keyboard Design Size The first thing youll want to consider when it comes to your next computer keyboards design is size. There are a number of different keyboard layouts to choose from, but the most common are full-sized, tenkeyless and those smaller than tenkeyless. Full-sized keyboards, or 100 percent, include a function row at the top and a complete numpad with arrow keys on the right side, along with all of the rest of the alphanumeric keys youd expect on a standard QWERTY layout. Tenkeyless, or 80 percent, removes the number pad but keeps the arrow keys and the function row, reducing the overall width measurement of the board by a decent amount. Compact keyboards keep things ultra simple by including only the alphanumeric keys and modifiers like Alt, Shift, Ctrl and others and they come in different sizes like 60 percent, 65 percent and more. These are the most popular sizes out there, but you can find plenty of other designs that include different mixes of keys along with the standard letters and numbers all should have. Aside from size, there are two other big categories that you could use to define a keyboard: ergonomic and mechanical. Ergonomic keyboards are designed with, you guessed it, better ergonomics in mind, taking into account where you should position your fingers, hands and forearms to maintain proper posture. Separately, mechanical keyboards use mechanical switches (of which there are many types) that differ greatly from the membrane or scissor-switch keyboards youll find dominating most wired and wireless options widely available today. We have guides to the best ergonomic keyboards and best mechanical keyboards, but well summarize what you need to know about both here. Ergonomic keyboards If you deal with discomfort from working at a computer all day, ergonomic keyboards can help. These specially designed boards re-orient the keys, allowing you to hold your elbows farther apart and maintain a straighter line from your forearms to hands. Some people find this subtle change more comfortable. Ergonomic keyboards typically fall into two categories: Alice and split keyboards. The former is a single unit with an A-shaped gap in the center of the keys. Split models come in two separate pieces which you can arrange as you like on your desk. Additional ergonomic features like tenting and negative tilt can make typing feel even more comfortable, and are often available on both Alice and split boards. Tenting raises the middle of the keys up so your hands take on more of a handshake position. Negative tilting lowers the top of the keyboard to keep your wrists angled downward instead of back towards your forearms. The way the keys are arranged on the keyboard may make typing easier as well. Traditionally, keyboards are staggered, with one row of letters slightly offset from the row beneath it. Columnar keyboards arrange the keys in a grid of rows and columns. This style takes a little getting used to, but some people find it allows them to type faster. You can also make the keys of some keyboards do more than just produce letters. Programmable boards let you map shortcuts and other functions, including macros, which may keep you from reaching for the mouse quite so often, saving you time and possibly strain as well. Mechanical keyboards Mechanical keyboards have blown up in popularity as more people have been thrust into creating their own workspaces at home. Its easy to see why: Compared to a traditional membrane keyboard, a good mechanical board is more durable, more satisfying to press and, most importantly, infinitely more customizable. The best of them usually come with a price premium, but even some cheaper models let you hot-swap between keycaps, switches and other materials, letting you tinker with different typing sensations and sound profiles until you find a combination that best expresses your preferences. Do you want each press to feel deep and full or fast and light? Do you need them to sound loud and clacky or almost totally muffled ? Do you prefer your keycaps to look subdued and professional, stuffed with RGB lights or written in an Elvish language from The Lord of the Rings for some reason? With the right new keyboard, its all up to you the only things really holding you back are your imagination and your wallet. We have a dedicated buying guide that digs deeper into the key aspects to consider when buying a mechanical gaming keyboard, so we encourage you to look at that for a full rundown. To keep things high-level, the most influential part of your purchase is your keyboards switch type. These little mechanisms slot underneath the keycaps and generally have the biggest effect on how your keyboard feels and sounds as you type away. You can broadly separate mechanical switches into three buckets: linear, tactile and clicky. Linear switches feel smooth all the way down; theyre often popular with gamers since they tend to be light and fast to actuate. Tactile switches create a tangible bump sensation partway through a press; many people who spend all day typing prefer them because they clearly confirm each press without (always) being all that loud. Clicky switches are functionally similar to tactiles but make an audible click sound to match the bump; your coworkers may hate them, but others love the full-throated sense of feedback they provide. To be clear, just because two switches fall within the same bucket doesnt mean they feel or sound exactly the same. The only way to figure out which switch works best for you is to do your research and, preferably, try some out for yourself. Other keyboards have a mechanical-style feel but are built on different mechanisms entirely. The hot new trend in gaming-focused keyboards, for example, is Hall effect switches, which use tiny magnets to register keystrokes and let you customize the sensitivity of each press. Optical switches, meanwhile, offer similar functionality by replacing the physical contact point of a typical mechanical switch with a beam of infrared light. More recently, weve seen a couple keyboards launch with inductive switches, which can work like magnetic switches but use inductive coils in the keyboards printed circuit board (PCB) to cater to all switches collectively and dont require a sensor for each individual switch. We touch on a couple of magnetic-switch keyboards in our picks below, but for a fuller breakdown of this sort of tech, we recommend you check out our dedicated buying guide to the best gaming keyboards . Connectivity Youve got two options here: wired or wireless. Wired keyboards typically have an attached cable that plugs into a USB-A or USB-C port on your computer (or docking station), although some come with cables that can be removed. Wireless mechanical keyboards connect to your machine either via Bluetooth or a wireless receiver dongle. Theres always the chance of some latency with wireless keyboards, so keep that in mind if youre picking one up to use primarily with a gaming PC. Of course, youll only have to worry about battery life with Bluetooth keyboards. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-keyboard-120000018.html?src=rss

Samsung rolls out more AI, new privacy shield mode with the new Galaxy S26 lineup

Samsung on Wednesday unveiled its latest Galaxy smartphones, which boast an even bigger toolbox of artificial intelligence technology

OpenAI will amend Defense Department deal to prevent mass surveillance in the US

OpenAIs Sam Altman said the company will amend its deal with the Defense Department (or the Department of War) to explicitly prohibit the use of its AI system on mass surveillance against Americans. Altman has published an internal memo previously sent to employees on X, telling them that the company will tweak the agreement to add language to make that point especially clear. Specifically, it says: Consistent with applicable laws, including the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, National Security Act of 1947, FISA Act of 1978, the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals. For the avoidance of doubt, the Department understands this limitation to prohibit deliberate tracking, surveillance, or monitoring of U.S. persons or nationals, including through the procurement or use of commercially acquired personal or identifiable information. Altman has also claimed in the memo that the agency affirmed that its services will not be used by its intelligence agencies, including the NSA, without a modification to their contract. He added that if he received what he believed was an unconstitutional order, he would rather go to jail than follow it. In addition, the OpenAI CEO has admitted in the memo that the company shouldnt have rushed to get the deal out on Friday, February 27, since the issues were super complex and demand clear communication. Altman explained that the company was trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome but it looked opportunistic in the end. If youll recall, OpenAI announced the partnership shortly after President Trump ordered all US government agencies to stop using Claude and any other Anthropic services. To note, Anthropic started working with the US government in 2024. The Defense Department and Secretary Pete Hegseth had been pressuring Anthropic with to remove its AIs guardrails so that it can be used for all lawful purposes. Those include mass surveillance and the development of fully autonomous weapons. Anthropic refused to bow down to Hegseths demands and in a statement said that no amount of intimidation or punishment will change its position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. Trump issued the order as a result. The Defense Department had also taken the first steps to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk, which is typically reserved for Chinese companies believed to be working with their countrys government. Altman said that in his conversations with US officials, he reiterated that Anthropic shouldnt be designated as a supply chain risk and that he hoped the Defense Department would offer it the same deal OpenAI agreed to. In an AMA session on X over the weekend, Altman clarified that he didnt know the details of Anthropics agreement and how it differed from the one OpenAI signed. But if it had been the same, he thought Anthropic should have agreed to it. After the news broke out about OpenAIs deal, Anthropic climbed its way to the number one spot of the App Store's Top Free Apps leaderboard, beating out both ChatGPT and Google Gemini. Anthropic , capitalizing on Claudes sudden popularity, launched a memory import tool to make switching to its chatbot from another companys easier. Meanwhile, uninstalls for ChatGPTs jumped by 295 percent day-over-day, according to Sensor Tower. Here is re-post of an internal post: We have been working with the DoW to make some additions in our agreement to make our principles very clear. 1. We are going to amend our deal to add this language, in addition to everything else: Consistent with applicable laws, Sam Altman (@sama) March 3, 2026 This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-will-amend-defense-department-deal-to-prevent-mass-surveillance-in-the-us-050637400.html?src=rss

Apple launches iPhone 17e with prices starting at $599

The move comes as memory chip prices climb amid a global shortage, suggesting Apple is willing to absorb some component cost pressure

Anthropic brings memory to Claude's free plan

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 chatbot to Claude.If after enabling memory you decide to turn it off, you can either pause the feature, preserving Claudes memories for use down the road, or completely delete them so theyre not saved on Anthropics servers. Claude is enjoying new-found popularity, having recently jumped to the number one spot in the App Store's free app charts. This comes while Anthropic is engaged in a high-stakes contract dispute with the US government over AI safeguards. On Friday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labeled the company a supply chain risk after it refused to sign a contract that would allow the Pentagon to use Anthropic models for mass surveillance against Americans and in fully autonomous weapons. Following Hegseth's announcement, Anthropic vowed to challenge the designation. As of right now, were waiting to see how things play out, and what it might mean for Anthropic. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropic-brings-memory-to-claudes-free-plan-220729070.html?src=rss

Call of Duty will add Black Ops Royale, a new free game mode coming March 13

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, it's all about the scavenging the weapons from the recent Black Ops 7 game and upgrading them. According to the team's announcement, there will be other familiar features from the Blackout days such as the weapon handling and bullet drop that have been reimagined for modern-day Warzone players. You'll also be able to further customize your play style with an open-ended perks system, another nod to the original Call of Duty BR perk mechanic. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/call-of-duty-will-add-black-ops-royale-a-new-free-game-mode-coming-march-13-211733205.html?src=rss

Starlink's next-gen satellite network could provide 150 Mbps speeds by end of next year

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 engineering, said during the MWC keynote. In the right conditions, it should look and feel like you're connected to a high-performing 5G terrestrial network. Nicolls detailed that the V2 satellite constellation could offer download speeds up to 150 Mbps in ideal conditions, comparing it to a broadband experience. According to Starlink , next-gen satellites will offer 100 times the data density of its predecessors, which should help users with faster streaming and browsing as well as more reliable voice calls. Notably, Nicolls added that the V2 satellite constellation would offer better coverage to Earth's polar regions, which are known to have unreliable coverage with traditional networks. Nicolls said that SpaceX is planning to send out more than 50 V2 satellites on each SpaceX launch starting in mid-2027, with a goal of building out a full constellation in six months. Outside its MWC presser, Starlink also announced a partnership with German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom . The partnership would help Deutsche Telekom address internet coverage gaps in Europe using Starlink's constellation, starting in 2028. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/starlinks-next-gen-satellite-network-could-provide-150-mbps-speeds-by-end-of-next-year-192118368.html?src=rss

X adds Paid Partnership labels so users can more easily identify ads

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 reminding influencers about this requirement in 2017, and Instagram added a disclosure feature that same year. Without a native tool, X creators had been left to use hashtags like #ad and #paidpartnership. X has been trying to court creators for some time with tools like ad-revenue sharing and creator subscriptions , but the platform still struggles with major image issues following a string of scandals like Grok creating CSAM . The Elon Musk-owned platform is under investigation both domestically and abroad for the AI agents behavior. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-adds-paid-partnership-labels-so-users-can-more-easily-identify-ads-183528227.html?src=rss

iPad Air M4 vs. iPad Air M3: The few new things in Apple's midrange tablet

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 difference, but this upgrade would benefit creatives and professionals more than anything. Theres a significant performance bump from the M3 to the M4, and the increased RAM is doing a lot of work, especially if youre taking advantage of Apple Intelligence. If youre using an M1-powered iPad Air or something even older, though, the new iPad Air M4 should be a compelling upgrade. Pre-orders start at 9:15AM ET on March 4, with the units arriving a week later. We expect full reviews will be published by then. But in the meantime, lets dive into what the performance gains might look like and what were missing out on in this years iteration of the iPad Air. iPad Air M4 vs. iPad Air M3: Performance and battery life The most significant difference between the two iPad Air generations is their chipsets. The latest iPad Air launches with the M4 chip versus its predecessors M3 chip, and it gets a bump in RAM from 8GB to 12GB. I dont give much fanfare to incremental chip increases because the performance gain is usually minimal. However, the M4 is up to 30 percent faster than the M3, according to Apple. That might be noticeable to even casual users, especially as the years go on and iPadOS becomes more demanding. For power users, itll mean more demanding work like video editing will be noticeably quicker. For those in need of the fastest internet speeds, the new iPad Air is also equipped with Apples N1 chip, which enables Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, the latest connectivity technology. However, I really dont imagine the average user needing up to 46 gigabits per second of internet speed compared to the iPad M3s 9.6 Gbps on Wi-Fi 6. If you do, youre in the tax bracket for an iPad Pro. Now, despite the increase in speeds, the battery life between the M4 and M3 models remains the same. Apple claims all four models get up to 10 hours of battery life surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video (up to 9 hours on cellular). No complaints here. iPad Air M4 vs. iPad Air M3: Design, display, audio and cameras For better or worse, were not getting any changes in any of these departments, which is why Im lumping them together. The iPad Air comes in blue, purple, beige and gray. The 11-inch option measures 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.24 inches and the 13 comes in at 11.04 x 8.46 x 0.24 inches. As their names suggest, theyre both rather light, at 1.01 pounds (1.02 pounds for M4) and 1.36 pounds, respectively. My only wish was that we got new colors that popped a bit more. Then theres the displays. All four versions of the iPad Airs sport a Liquid Retina LED display at 264 ppi. The 11-inch supports a 2,360 x 1,640 resolution with a peak brightness of 500 nits, while the 13-inch offers a 2,732 x 2,048 resolution at 600 nits. It wouldve been nice to see an OLED or even Mini-LED panel make its way to the iPad Air, which couldve made the screen more vivid and vibrant. But its more disappointing that were stuck at 60Hz unlike the Pro models that offer 120Hz, making their visual experience smoother. Both products feature landscape stereo speakers. The iPad Air M3s audio quality couldnt live up to the iPad Pro, so I doubt the M4 model will. You wont catch me taking photos with an iPad, but for those of you who do, the iPad Air M4 features the same 12MP cameras on the front and back as its predecessor. iPadOS 26, Apple Intelligence and Apple accessories Nothing huge is happening to iPadOS or the Apple accessories in the iPad Air refresh. The revamped Magic Keyboard from last year still works with these new models, as does the Apple Pencil Pro. iPadOS 26, released last fall, was a major update but will still be familiar enough to anyone who has used an iPad before. The new iPad Air M4 is getting a significant boost in AI processing speeds, though, thanks to its new chip and 50 percent increase in RAM. However, unless youre an AI power user, you probably wont notice a difference there. All that said, if your love language is spreadsheets, the full specs are helpfully laid out below: iPad Air M4 vs. iPad Air M3: Specs at a glance Spec iPad Air M4 iPad Air M3 Price $599 (11-inch), $799 (13-inch) $599 (11-inch), $799 (13-inch) Processor M4 M3 Display 11-inch: Liquid Retina, 2,360 x 1,640, LED display at 264 ppi 13-inch: Liquid Retina, 2,732 x 2,048, LED display at 264 ppi 11-inch: Liquid Retina, 2,360 x 1,640, LED display at 264 ppi 13-inch: Liquid Retina, 2,732 x 2,048, LED display at 264 ppi RAM 12GB 8GB Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Battery Up to 10 hours (Wi-Fi), 9 hours (Cellular model) Up to 10 hours (Wi-Fi), 9 hours (Cellular model) Cameras 12MP Wide (rear), 12MP Center Stage (front) 12MP Wide (rear), 12MP Center Stage (front) Apple accessories Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard Folio Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard Folio Dimensions 11-inch: 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.24 inches 13-inch: 11.04 x 8.46 x 0.24 inches 11-inch: 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.24 inches 13-inch: 11.04 x 8.46 x 0.24 inches Weight 11-inch: 1.02 pounds 13-inch: 1.36 pounds 11-inch: 1.01 pounds 13-inch: 1.36 pounds This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/ipad-air-m4-vs-ipad-air-m3-the-few-new-things-in-apples-midrange-tablet-182701520.html?src=rss

The Analogue Pocket will be back in stock this week, but there's a tariff-related price increase

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. Available March 4th, 8am PST. Ships June 2026. pic.twitter.com/8XZ3fbh87a Analogue (@analogue) March 2, 2026 That's the good news. The bad news? The little console is getting slapped with a price increase. It's shooting up to $240 from the recent price of $220, with the company placing the blame squarely on President Trump's neverending tariffs. The device is assembled in China and Trump just hit the region with even more tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down the old ones. We love to suddenly pay more for gadgets that have been out in the wild for nearly six years, don't we folks? For the uninitiated, the Pocket isn't an emulation machine. It plays actual Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance cartridges. It also integrates with various Game Boy accessories, like the camera and printer. The console can even handle Game Gear, TurboGrafx-16 and Atari Lynx games, but those require separate adapters. We praised the Analogue Pocket in our official review , calling it a clever little thing that is sure to light up the nostalgia center of your brain. It even made our list of the best handheld consoles , which is notable given competition included stuff like the Steam Deck. In any event, this drop will likely sell out quickly. We recommend parking a browser on the company website just prior to 11AM ET if you can stomach the new price. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-analogue-pocket-will-be-back-in-stock-this-week-but-theres-a-tariff-related-price-increase-182226016.html?src=rss

The Supreme Court doesn't care if you want to copyright your AI-generated art

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 , Thaler, a computer scientist, created an AI system that generated the artwork in question. However, the US Copyright Office rejected his application in 2022 on the grounds that it wasn't made by a human author. Thaler sought appeals at higher courts, but ultimately had to escalate the case to the Supreme Court after both a federal judge in Washington and the US Court of Appeals ruled against him. With a refusal from the highest court in the US, it's unlikely Thaler's case can continue. The US Supreme Court could always hear a related case in the future, but Thaler's lawyers said, even if it later overturns the Copyright Offices test in another case, it will be too late, adding that the decision will have negatively impacted the creative industry during critically important years. It's worth noting that Thaler also filed applications to the US Patent and Trademark Office for AI-generated inventions, which were rejected for similar reasons. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-supreme-court-doesnt-care-if-you-want-to-copyright-your-ai-generated-art-171849407.html?src=rss

Nintendo just announced an Indie World Showcase for tomorrow at 9AM ET

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 DLC for Silksong . More than likely, however, we'll get trailers and updates regarding a spate of unexpected indie games. The previous Indie World Showcase took place in August and it gave us trailers and announcements for stuff like the excellent Ball x Pit and the upcoming Mina the Hollower . To that last one, Yacht Club Games said it would be launching the title for consoles this spring so we could get a release date announcement tomorrow. Scott Pilgrim EX will be available for download tomorrow , so a launch trailer is almost certain. This is a new side-scrolling fighter with four-player co-op and music by Anamanaguchi. My personal white whale is Witchbrook , the long-gestating life-sim set in a magical school. It's being published by Chucklefish, the company that originally published Stardew Valley . There's some stuff we absolutely shouldn't expect. This is an Indie World Showcase, and not a Nintendo Direct. There will likely be no appearances by Mario or Zelda, unless a character pops up in an indie game as DLC or something. The stream is also unlikely to spotlight Pokmon Pokopia , despite the life-sim launching on March 5. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-just-announced-an-indie-world-showcase-for-tomorrow-at-9am-et-164706666.html?src=rss

Paramount+ and HBO Max could be merging into a single streaming service

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 in a position to be able to compete with the most scaled players in DTC, Ellison said. Its not yet clear whether the apps two libraries will be fully integrated, or whether one will exist as a standalone service within the other. Ellison signaled that the HBO brand will operate with independence during the call. Also unclear is what the newly combined app would cost subscribers. The last year has seen nearly across-the-board increases in the cost of streaming services, including HBO Max . The planned merger would unite Paramounts CBS, MTV, Comedy Central and BET with Warners CNN, HBO, TNT and Food Network, along with franchises including Game of Thrones , Mission: Impossible , the DC Universe and SpongeBob SquarePants under one roof. The combined entity is expected to carry roughly $79 billion in net debt, according to Reuters , and could be considered the largest leveraged buyout in history . The deal is expected to close in the back half of 2026, pending regulatory approval. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/paramount-and-hbo-max-could-be-merging-into-a-single-streaming-service-163439653.html?src=rss

iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 16e: What's new on Apple's latest $599 handset

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 and double the storage. Weve already seen whats possible with an A19 chip in the standard iPhone 17 its not a super exciting upgrade, but it is a boost nonetheless. Pre-orders start at 9:15AM ET on March 4, and while we work on a full review, lets take a deeper dive into what has changed on this years model and what that might mean in the real world. iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 16e: Design and display Of course, the biggest difference in the design for the iPhone 17e is the shiny new pink color. Ive long complained about how many major tech companies stick to the safety of black, white or gray colorways. Thankfully, the iPhone 17es pink hue is a departure from that approach. Its also an understated shade thats elegant, compared to the typically brighter and louder tones reserved for cheap(er) phones. Both the iPhone 17e and iPhone 16e measure 5.78 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches. However, the iPhone 17e did get a bit heavier at 5.96 ounces compared to the iPhone 16es 5.88 ounces. Its very unlikely youll notice the 0.08 ounce difference, though. (And if you do, you have a gift.) In terms of durability, the iPhone 17e is outfitted with Ceramic Shield 2, which is a glass face that Apple said is three times more scratch-resistant than the iPhone 16es original Ceramic Shield. Ideally, itll survive falls to the ground (within reason) and spare you a scratched up display from casual wear and tear. There doesnt seem to be any change in the display whether that be in its brightness or color rendering capability but that isnt too shocking. Both the iPhone 17e and iPhone 16e feature a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED panel with a 1,200-nit peak brightness. Thats bright enough to combat the ambient glare from the sun, so you should be able to read it outside relatively easily. Theyre also specced out with a 2,532 x 1,170 resolution at 460 ppi meaning text and lines will be clean and sharp. iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 16e: Cameras I didnt expect a huge bump in camera technology, especially if Apple intended to keep the price the same. Weve got upgrades in other categories for sure, but it wouldve been nice to see an extra camera on the back. Like the iPhone 16e, the iPhone 17e is kitted out with Apples 48-megapixel Fusion 2-in-1 camera with a 12MP 2x Telephoto setting. You also get digital zoom up to 10x. Take a look at our iPhone 16e review to see exactly what that looks like in practice, but to sum up our experience: its solid. Theres a great level of detail and vibrancy, but like I said, its limited. Without a potential ultrawide camera, you cannot capture as much of your surroundings because youre not getting that 0.5x zoom option. One major upgrade, however, is that the iPhone 17e is now capable of recognizing dogs and cats in Portrait mode. It also saves depth information so you can turn regularly captured photos into portraits after the fact. This might be a noteworthy upgrade, considering the iPhone 16e struggled in Portrait mode, incapable of capturing non-human faces and objects. Theres also the 12MP TrueDepth camera on the front, which we didnt have many complaints about, and dont expect to disappoint on the iPhone 17e. iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 16e: Processor, battery life and charging Apart from the color, the biggest differences between the iPhone 17e and iPhone 16e is their starting storage and overall performance. The new iPhone is packed with an A19 chip, while the latter comes with an A18 chip. Yes, youre getting a performance bump with the A19 chip, but casual users are unlikely to feel the difference. If youre a power user trying to get the most out of an affordable iPhone and want to get crunchy about it, theres roughly a 5 percent difference in CPU speed and over 10 percent in GPU performance (according to CPU Monkey ). Despite that bump, the battery life hasnt changed. With both devices, Apple says youre getting up to 26 hours of video playback and up to 21 hours streamed. The company doesnt typically share specifics on battery sizes, but GSMArena is reporting that both models come with a 4,005mAh battery. What has changed, however, is being able to receive double the wattage from wireless charging. The iPhone 17e can now take up to 15W for Qi2 fast wireless charging compared to 7.5W from the Qi support on the iPhone 16e. iOS 26 and Apple Intelligence At a glance, there does not seem to be any difference in what the iPhone 16e and iPhone 17e offer in terms of iOS and Apple Intelligence capability. However, its relevant to note that you will likely get better performance out of the iPhone 17e with regards to AI features because of its superior A19 chip. In case you wanted to do the numbers comparison yourself, weve compiled a nifty table here so you can eyeball them with ease. But for a sense of how the iPhone 17e holds up in the real world and whether its worth the money, stay tuned for our full review. iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 16e: Specs at a glance Spec iPhone 17e iPhone 16e Price $599 $599 Processor A19 chip A18 chip Display Super Retina XDR, 6.1inch, 2,532 x 1,170, OLED display at 460 ppi Super Retina XDR, 6.1inch, 2,532 x 1,170, OLED display at 460 ppi RAM 8GB 8GB Storage 256GB, 512GB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB Wireless charging Up to 15W Up to 7.5W Rear camera 2-in-1 camera 48MP Fusion main, 12MP 2x Telephoto, digital zoom up to 10x 2-in-1 camera 48MP Fusion main, 12MP 2x Telephoto, digital zoom up to 10x Front camera 12MP selfie cam 12MP selfie cam SIM Dual SIM (two active eSIMs) Dual SIM (two active eSIMs) Connectivity Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth v5.3, NFC Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth v5.3, NFC OS Launched with iOS 26 Launched with iOS 18 This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/iphone-17e-vs-iphone-16e-whats-new-on-apples-latest-599-handset-162009364.html?src=rss

Everything Apple announced today: iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air

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 everything Apple announced on Monday: iPhone 17e Apple Apple has spruced up this years entry-level iPhone with some pretty solid upgrades, though it's keeping the starting price at $599. The iPhone 17e has double the base storage of the iPhone 16e at 256GB. It also has MagSafe support with Qi2 wireless charging speeds of up to 15W, double that of the iPhone 16e. Design-wise, Apple hasn't exactly rocked the boat. The iPhone 17e looks pretty much identical to its predecessor. It appears that Apple is sticking with the same 48MP Fusion camera system as it used in the iPhone 16e too. That said, the 6.1-inch Super Retina display has Ceramic Shield 2. According to Apple, this provides 3x better scratch resistance than the previous generation and reduced glare. The company slotted its C1X cellular modem into the iPhone 17e as well. It says this is up to two times faster than the C1 that was in the iPhone 16e. The device has the same A19 chip as the iPhone 17, so it supports Apple Intelligence AI tools, and it runs iOS 26. In addition, the iPhone 17e has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, as well as the promise of all-day battery life. It also supports satellite-powered features including Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, Messages and Find My. Pre-orders for the iPhone 17e open on March 4 and it will be available in black, white and soft pink. The device will hit shelves in more than 70 countries and regions on March 11. iPad Air M4 Apple The latest iPad Air boasts Apples M4 chip. That means the mid-range iPad is effectively remaining a year behind the iPad Pro. The M4 is almost two years old at this point, while the top-end model has the newer M5 chip. Still, if you only use an iPad for casual tasks like watching shows, web browsing, email and so on, the M4 will be more than powerful enough.It will be more adept at handling resource-intensive tasks like video editing than previous iPad Air models too. Apple has also bumped up the RAM from 8GB from the last-gen model to 12GB. Given the sharp increase in RAM prices in recent months, its slightly surprising that Apple is sticking to the same prices for the iPad Air. The 11-inch M4 iPad Air starts at $599 while the 13-inch version starts at $799, each with 128GB of storage. There's a $50 discount for those buying it for educational use. Apple claims the M4 delivers up to 2.3 times faster performance compared with the M1 iPad Air and over 4x faster 3D pro rendering with ray tracing performance. Of course, the new iPad Air runs iPadOS 26. Apple gave the iPad Air other internal upgrades by including its N1 and C1X connectivity chips. As such, this is the first iPad Air with Wi-Fi 7 support. As you might expect, 5G cellular connectivity is available as well. The design of the M4 iPad Air doesn't seem to have changed, as it appears to have the same LCD display Apple used in the last two iterations of the tablet. The company has stuck with the same rear-facing camera and dual-speaker setup as well. As with the iPhone 17e, pre-orders for the M4 iPad Air open on March 4. The tablet will hit retailers in 35 countries and regions on March 11. It will be available in blue, purple, starlight and space gray. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/everything-apple-announced-today-iphone-17e-and-m4-ipad-air-155617174.html?src=rss

Anthropic's Claude can now absorb your past conversations with other AI chatbots

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 Claude to assimilate the new context, but you'll be able to see the change by clicking on the See what Claude learned about you button. Claude users can even tweak what the AI chatbot remembers in the Manage memory section in the app's settings. Anthropic pointed out that Claude is meant to focus on work-related topics to enhance its effectiveness as a collaborator, adding that it might not remember personal details that are unrelated to work. Anthropic's timing doesn't seem to be just a coincidence. Claude recently jumped to the number one spot in the App Store's free apps charts, dethroning ChatGPT in the process. The rise in popularity likely stems from its recent dispute with the Department of Defense , where Anthropic refused to budge on AI guardrails related to mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. On the other hand, OpenAI will be taking Anthropic's vacated role with the Department of Defense, leading to a trend of users boycotting ChatGPT and canceling their subscriptions. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropics-claude-can-now-absorb-your-past-conversations-with-other-ai-chatbots-153201656.html?src=rss