Hardware

Austria is pursuing a social media ban for kids under 14

Austria is the latest country to prepare a social media ban for its children, but it's going even further than others by including anyone under 14. In a press release , the Austrian government said it has introduced a comprehensive catalogue of measures meant to shield minors from the harms of social media. According to the press release, an official bill will be introduced by the end of June. Andreas Babler, a vice chancellor and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, said the government's efforts would include the new age restriction, improved media literacy and clear rules for social media platforms. Austrian lawmakers didn't detail what the upcoming rules would be, but the country is likely to follow in the footsteps of many others who have or are pursuing similar bans. While Australia was the first to implement a social media ban for anyone under 16, other European countries like Spain and the UK are also looking into comparable restrictions. More recently, Indonesia approved new regulations that would prevent anyone under 16 from using social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Roblox. Indonesia's social media ban just went into effect, but the country only specified that the law's implementation would be carried out gradually until all platforms are in compliance, according to AP . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/austria-is-pursuing-a-social-media-ban-for-kids-under-14-190755295.html?src=rss

The White House app is just as weird and unnecessary as you'd expect

President Donald Trump may have a tendency to put his name on everything, but his administration decided to go with the more authoritative The White House App for his latest pursuit. Now available on the App Store and Google Play store, the official White House App claims to gives Americans a direct line to the White House. From the press release, the app provides unfiltered, real-time upgrades straight from the source. In more practical terms, the White House App is a one-stop shop for official communications from the administration and more. On the app, you can find press releases, livestream announcements and even a photo gallery, along with turning on notifications so you get official communications as soon as they happen. However, it only takes a few minutes of digging through the app to question its value. The White House App's News tab features a carousel of about 35 articles that seem suspiciously cherry-picked with articles that favor the Trump administration. In the Affordability window, the app points out year-over-year prices that have dropped for things like eggs, milk and bread, but conveniently omits the recent swell in gas prices. In the Social tab, there's a button to Text President Trump, which auto-populates a new text with Greatest President Ever! before ultimately trying to get you to sign up for a marketing blast. The press release mentioned a way to send your voice and feedback directly to the Administration but the app's functionality doesn't seem to promote that. Most notably, there's even a way to submit a tip to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the app's Get in Touch section. While it's convenient to have all your Trump administration announcements in one place, the White House App is mostly just a portal that ends up opening external websites. Traditionally, official White House accounts on social media platforms are passed on during the transition of presidents. However, it's hard to say what will happen to the app after Trump leaves office, but one only has to look towards the lasting triumph of TrumpRx, Trump Mobile or even Trump University. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/the-white-house-app-is-just-as-weird-and-unnecessary-as-youd-expect-175354004.html?src=rss

Meta's next AI glasses are reportedly designed with prescription lenses in mind

Two new models of Meta Ray-Ban AI glasses are on the way, and they're going to be catered towards those who use prescription lenses, according to a Bloomberg report. While these are supposed to be announced next week, Bloomberg noted that these won't be a ew generation of Meta's smart glasses. You can already add prescription lenses to Meta Ray-Ban's AI glasses , but the upcoming models will come in rectangular and rounded styles and will be sold through traditional prescription eyewear channels. Bloomberg didn't specify how these new glasses will differ from existing options, but noted that it's the first time Meta and Ray-Ban are releasing a pair of AI glasses specifically designed for this demographic. The two models are likely the codenamed products Scriber and Blazer, which were first spotted by The Verge in filings with the Federal Communications Commission. The filings described the devices as production units, meaning Meta could be close to the actual product launch. Looking at the filings, it's unlikely these upcoming prescription AI glasses will have a display like the Meta Ray-Ban Displays . Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has hinted at AI glasses that are meant for prescription glasses wearers in a previous earnings call. As noted by Bloomberg , Zuckerberg previously said that illions of people wear glasses or contacts for vision correction, adding that, it's hard to imagine a world in several years where most glasses that people wear aren't AI glasses. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/metas-next-ai-glasses-are-reportedly-designed-with-prescription-lenses-in-mind-162730768.html?src=rss

NASA pauses its lunar Gateway plan, a comet reverses its spin and more science news

The first crewed mission of NASA's Artemis moon program may take off in a matter of days, with a launch window that opens on April 1, and as preparations are underway for that, the space agency is refocusing its plan to establish a human presence on the moon. NASA announced major changes to its approach for moon landings that are expected to play out over the coming years, including axing its plan to build an orbiting station called Gateway. Read on to learn more about the agencys new vision for the moon, along with other interesting science stories from this week. Gateway out, moon base in Just a few weeks after overhauling its Artemis program , NASA this week announced even more changes to its plans for putting astronauts back on the moon. Most notably, the space agency is abandoning the lunar Gateway project, which was intended to be the first ever space station orbiting the moon. Gateway, an international collaboration, wasn't just going to support exploration of the lunar surface, but deep space missions too. But the writing has been on the wall for some time; in the Trump administration's proposed budget cuts last May , Gateway was among the programs selected for the chopping block. Now, NASA is officially putting it on pause and plans to build a $20 billion moon base instead. NASA is committed to achieving the nearimpossible once again, to return to the moon before the end of President Trumps term, build a moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said at the agency's Ignition event on Tuesday. There are three phases to the moon base plan, according to NASA : first using contractors to send rovers and instruments to the moon through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program; next establishing semi-habitable infrastructure, with astronauts on the ground and collaboration with other space agencies; and finally adding heavier infrastructure to support long-term stays on the lunar surface, including the Italian Space Agency's Multi-purpose Habitats and the Canadian Space Agency's Lunar Utility Vehicle. NASA says it's aiming to start this plan off with crewed moon landings every six months following the Artemis V mission, which is currently planned for 2028. Comet 41P pulls a reverse card A study published this week in The Astronomical Journal describes what's said to be the first observation of a comet reversing its spin. Observations taken several months apart in 2017 show the comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresk starting to spin more slowly after making a close flyby of the sun, before picking up speed again by December of that year. Its spin period, measured using NASAs Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, was about 46-60 hours in May 2017, but later observations by the Hubble Space Telescope showed it was just 14 hours, according to NASA . The researchers say what likely happened is that the heat from the sun caused the comet's ice to sublimate, sending gases spewing off its sides. Jets of gas streaming off the surface can act like small thrusters, author David Jewitt of the University of California at Los Angeles, said in a statement. If those jets are unevenly distributed, they can dramatically change how a comet, especially a small one, rotates. Jewitt compares it to pushing a merry-go-round. If its turning in one direction, and then you push against that, you can slow it and reverse it. Comet 41P is thought to have come from the Kuiper Belt and passes through the inner solar system every 5.4 years. It's small, with a nucleus of just around .6 miles, and the researchers found it's become less active over recent years, indicating that there are changes taking place on the surface. While it's thought to have been in this orbit for about 1,500 years, it now appears to be rapidly evolving, and the rotational changes which could cause structural instability if it continues could mark the beginning of the end for it. I expect this nucleus will very quickly self-destruct, said Jewitt. Saturn in a new light A side-by-side-comparison of photos captured of Saturn from the Webb telescope and the Hubble telescope. NASA/ESA/CSA Stunning images of Saturn released this week by NASA, ESA and CSA provide a more detailed look at the many layers of the ringed planet's busy atmosphere. The images, which show storms, clouds at different depths, Saturn's ribbon wave jet stream and so much more were taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope in 2024. Read more about it here . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-pauses-its-lunar-gateway-plan-a-comet-reverses-its-spin-and-more-science-news-160000163.html?src=rss

Wanderstop developer Ivy Road is shutting down

Ivy Road, the video game developer behind Annapurna-published cozy game Wanderstop , is shutting down on March 31. While Wanderstop was well-received and even critically acclaimed, it seems like it wasnt enough of a hit to sustain the studio while it develops a new game without getting investors involved. In its announcement, the Ivy Road team said the company failed to land a funding and publishing deal for its new project, Engine Angel . The studios problems securing funding for its new game first came to light back in January when it laid off five team members. Even though the studio is shutting down soon, the team said it has one last surprise that will help Wanderstop reach new players. It didnt say what the surprise was, but the team said Annapurna Interactive will share more news about it in the future. Wanderstop revolves around a former fighter, Alta, who manages a tea shop in a magical forest. In the game, you can gather ingredients and concoct tea, tidy up, talk to customers and learn their stories or just sit on a bench to think and relax. The game will still be available to play and purchase even after Ivy Road shuts down. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/wanderstop-developer-ivy-road-is-shutting-down-153655278.html?src=rss

Beat-based dungeon crawlers, card-battling soccer sims and other new indie games worth checking out

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. As ever, we've got some new games for you to dive into this weekend, and a glimpse at some upcoming titles. But, first, a look at indie studio Albatross Interactive's take on a multiplayer mode from a much-loved blockbuster. Terminal War is a 4v4 third-person shooter and it seems like the small team of developers is trying to keep things grounded. Ammo and supplies are scarce, and there's an emphasis on melee combat with the promise of rutal executions. The action is set in the late '90s, a few years after a global war, with three factions battling for control and survival in a collapsed version of the United States. Albatross Interactive isn't shy about the inspiration behind Terminal War. They canceled The Last of Us Factions 2, the team wrote on X . So we're building it [sic] our version. In September 2019, nine months before the games eventual release, Naughty Dog confirmed The Last of Us Part 2 wouldnt have a multiplayer mode. At the time, it told players you will eventually experience the fruits of our team's online ambition. That still hasnt exactly come to pass. The studio formally announced The Last of Us Online in June 2022 and canceled it 18 months later . As such, the Factions mode in 2014's The Last of Us Remastered for PS4 remains the franchise's only remaining multiplayer mode. Albatross Interactive, which says it's building Terminal War from scratch, plans to reveal more gameplay soon. The game is slated to hit Steam in early access as soon as this summer . The team expects Terminal War to remain in early access for around 12-18 months, though it noted that we're a small studio and we'd rather take the time to get it right than rush to a finish line. The timeline will ultimately be shaped by community feedback, the scope of content we deliver, and the standard of quality we hold ourselves to. The studio plans to bring the game to consoles as well. New releases Im into the current iteration of Acclaim as an indie publisher (albeit one with a plan to revive its own historic franchises ). Its latest title, GridBeat from Ridiculous Games, is a rhythm-based dungeon crawler in which you're trying to escape from a corporate network after pinching a trove of valuable data. Malware and security protocols are on your tail. Navigating the mazes, interacting with objects and boss battles are all synced to a beat. GridBeat is available on Steam and Nintendo Switch . It typically costs $20, but there's a 10 percent discount on Switch until April 2. It's 15 percent off on Steam until April 9. Given how much time I spent playing Football Manager 26 last year, Nutmeg is right up my alley. Getting veteran commentator Jim Rosenthal to pitch the soccer management sim in the launch trailer certainly doesn't hurt. This is a card-battler take on soccer management and its set in the '80s and '90s. You can start out in the lower divisions and can work your way up to the top of the English soccer system. You'll hire and fire staff, and select your team and formation before taking on an opponent. Completing challenges and doing well in training will earn you more card packs. The trailer reminds me of collecting Panini stickers as a kid as well as the smell of my friends Subbuteo figures. I would have said my favorite thing about this is that everything takes place at an era-appropriate desk with a TV that shows results and standings in the style of Teletext and an old computer that has some retro mini-games you can play. However, Sumo Sheffield and Publisher Secret Mode are donating a small portion of every sale of Nutmeg to charity, which is a nice gesture. Nutmeg is out now on Steam . It'll usually cost you $25, but there's a whopping 40 percent discount until April 2. Devil Jam is a metal-themed spin on the roguelite formula that Vampire Survivors popularized with a dash of Hades -esque characterization mixed in. It's been out on Steam since November and it hit consoles this week. It costs $8 on PS5 and Switch , and $7.59 on Xbox Series X/S . You'll wield a cursed guitar as you battle demonic enemies and bosses. As ever with this type of game, it's all about finding fun, powerful builds by synergizing abilities. You can put those together in a 12-slot gear system. I dig the art style and animation in this game from Rogueside too. I especially love that one character dashes by powersliding on their knees. A couple of months after its debut on Steam , Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator landed on Xbox Series X/S for $20 this week. The latest game from prolific studio Strange Scaffold is a stock market simulator in which you speculate on the simulated lives of babies and how successful (or not) said alien sprogs will be in the future. It takes aim at real-life prediction markets where people can gamble on everything from the Time Person of the Year to nuclear tests. Upcoming Here's another game you can actually check out this weekend, as a playtest is taking place on Steam until March 31. Salvation Denied is a co-op construction sim/tower defense game from Firevolt and publisher Digital Vortex Entertainment. You can get together with up to three friends to build experimental structures at the behest of a foreman who looks like he's stepped right out of Team Fortress 2 . You'll have tools like a gravity gun, foam gun and jetpacks on hand to help you form these structures, along with heavy machinery that can move or recycle sections of the build. Coordinating with proximity voice chat could be critical as you and your buds deal with natural disasters like acid rain and meteor showers. I'm almost always going to be on board with a game that's all about chaos, so I'm interested in checking out Salvation Denied . It's set to hit Steam this fall before landing on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2027. Someone has stolen the sun. Reclaiming it is your goal in Light Dude , which is from solo developer Ramy of Dergham Games. It's an action game in which the lights go out when you move, so you'll need to figure out your approach to each level and how to avoid hazards before moving forward. There's a first-person mode here too. Light Dude is slated to hit Steam sometime this spring. A demo is available now. Solo developer Mateo Covic (aka ZoroArts) is looking to follow up on the success of Paddle Paddle Paddle with another friendslop game. Covic said it took just four weeks to create Cool Story Bro. Up to four players each have five minutes to write a short story that includes four words. These are picked at random or taken from a pool of player suggestions. Special items appear throughout each round, such as a revolver, which can take another player out of the game for 10 seconds, and one that swaps everyone's stories. If you're the first player to type an item's name, you can use it. After everyone has finished writing their story, players take turns to read theirs out for the rest of the group. The others vote on whether they liked the tale. If you really hate someone else's short story, you can blow them up with a rocket launcher. If only I had that option at some of the poetry readings Ive been to. This seems fun and silly, and the kind of thing that could easily blow up on Twitch (there's an integration that allows viewers to suggest words). Cool Story Bro is slated to hit Steam sometime in April. Fittingly enough, it's been a long time since Third Shift announced its debut project, Forever Ago . Six years , in fact. The game re-emerged this week during the Xbox Partner Preview showcase . Publisher Annapurna Interactive is bringing it to Xbox Series X/S , PS5 , Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox on PC, Steam and Epic Games Store this fall. It'll be available on Xbox Game Pass (and Xbox Cloud) on day one. This is a road trip adventure in which you take on the role of Alfred. Following a personal tragedy, he ventures north in his minivan to seek redemption. With an instant camera in hand, Alfred will meet new people and explore forests, deserts and mountains. It's another narrative-heavy game from Annapurna, which appears to be leaning heavily into nostalgia this year given that Mixtape is only a few weeks away. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/beat-based-dungeon-crawlers-card-battling-soccer-sims-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-110000472.html?src=rss

Kash Patel's personal email account was accessed by hackers linked to Iran

A hacking group called Handala has gained access to FBI Director Kash Patel's email account, Reuters reports . The group published content from Patel's email on their website as proof, including photos of Patel sniffing and smoking cigars and making a face while taking a picture of himself in the mirror with a large bottle of rum. TechCrunch was able to independently confirm that at least some of the emails Handala stole were from Patel's account by checking information used by mail delivery systems thats stored in an email's header. Several stolen emails included a cryptographic signature that linked them to Patel's account. The FBI has also separately confirmed that the Director's account was hacked. The FBI is aware of malicious actors targeting Director Patel's personal email information, and we have taken all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks associated with this activity, the Bureau told TechCrunch . The information in question is historical in nature and involves no government information. The FBI is offering up to $10 million in rewards for more information about the hackers who targeted Patel's account. Handala presents as a pro-Palestinian hacking group online, but is believed to be one of several aliases used by cyberintelligence units working for the Iranian government, Reuters writes. Groups affiliated with Iran have targeted officials in the US before. In August 2024, the FBI shared that a separate group, APT42, was trying to gain access to both the Trump and Harris campaigns. Three men associated with APT42 were later charged that September. Handala has appeared to become more active during the current conflict between the US, Israel and Iran . According to Reuters , the group claimed to be behind a cyber attack on Stryker , a medical devices company, earlier in March. Handala also said it accessed and published personal data from Lockheed Martin employees stationed in the Middle East. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/kash-patels-personal-email-account-was-accessed-by-hackers-linked-to-iran-212618474.html?src=rss

Mark Zuckerberg offered to 'help' Elon Musk with DOGE in 2025

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have a complicated history. In 2023, the two vowed to fight each other in a cage match that never happened . But by early 2025, when both were cozying up to the newly-elected President Donald Trump, they were apparently on more friendly terms. In February of that year, Zuckerberg texted Musk approvingly about his work with the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Looks like DOGE is making progress, the Meta CEO texted. I've got our teams on alert to take down content doxxing or threatening the people on your team. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help. The texts, which were published Friday in court documents as part of Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI, are dated February 3, 2025. That's just a few weeks after Zuckerberg announced Meta's pivot away from content moderation in favor of free expression. It's also the same day that a US Attorney said he would protect DOGE employees from disgruntled critics. Musk responded to Zuckerberg's message with a heart and followed up with an unrelated topic: OpenAI. He asked Zuckerberg if he was open to the idea of bidding on the OpenAI IP with me and some others. Zuckerberg asked to discuss it live and Musk said he would call the next day. Previous documents disclosed in the case show that Musk had invited Zuckerberg to help him buy OpenAI, though he never officially signed on to the bid. In a separate filing also made public Friday, Musk's lawyers argued that his exchanges with the Meta CEO ought to be excluded from the lawsuit. Musks personal relationships and communications including with other high-profile individuals are also tangential and prejudicial, they wrote. Defendants included in their exhibit list for trial, for example, several private exchanges between Musk and Mark Zuckerberg discussing Musks political activity and this lawsuit. Those recent communications have nothing to do with Musks claims and are nothing more than Defendants attempt to stoke negative sentiments toward Musk because of his association with Zuckerberg. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment. In the same filing, Musk's lawyers also take issue with Altman's lawyers asking about Musk's alleged ketamine use and his attendance at Burning Man. A transcript from a video deposition with Musk indicatedhe was asked if had taken hino ket at Burning Man in 2017. Musk said no, according to the transcript. Any implication that music festivals or drugs have any relevance to this case is outlandish, and how Musk spends his free time is equally irrelevant, his lawyers wrote. A judge ruled earlier this month that OpenAI's lawyers would be permitted to ask limited questions about Burning Man, but not ketamine. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/mark-zuckerberg-offered-to-help-elon-musk-with-doge-in-2025-211737138.html?src=rss

Meta will fund seven new natural gas plants to power its biggest data center yet

Meta will essentially foot the power bill for the $27 billion mega data center it's building in Louisiana. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company struck a deal to fund the energy infrastructure needed for the project. Through a deal with Entergy Louisiana, Meta will fund seven new natural gas power plants, 240 miles of transmission lines and battery energy storage at three locations. The gas plants will have a combined power output of 5,200 megawatts, and the transmission lines will operate at 500 kilovolts. In addition, the company will help fund up to 2,500 MW of new renewable resources. It also agreed to a memorandum of understanding for future nuclear power development. The 4-million-square-foot Richland Parish, LA, data center will be Meta's biggest yet . It's currently under construction. The energy deal follows a pledge by tech companies , including Meta, to offset local residents rising electricity costs from AI data centers. The companies plan to uild, bring or buy the new generation resources and electricity needed to satisfy their new energy demands, paying the full cost of those resources. However, the pledge lacks a binding agreement or any enforcement mechanisms. The shift in tone comes in response to growing anger from local communities over the rise of power-hungry, environmentally damaging AI data centers. A December poll found that 60 percent of Americans including majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents support more AI regulation. Just this week, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a bill to force a moratorium on data center construction until meaningful regulations are passed. We could easily file this and similar moves as Big Tech's latest attempt to convince voters and officials that it can be trusted to do right without enforceable regulations. We've seen that movie before . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-will-fund-seven-new-natural-gas-plants-to-power-its-biggest-data-center-yet-201000045.html?src=rss

European Commission confirms data breach

The European Commission has announced that it suffered a cyber attack that affected cloud infrastructure hosting the Commission's web presence on the Europea.eu platform. While the attack has been contained, Bleeping Computer reports that the threat actor claiming to be behind it was able to take over 350GB of data before the Commission addressed the issue. Early findings of our ongoing investigation suggest that data have been taken from [Europa] websites, the European Commission says. The Commission is duly notifying the Union entities who might have been affected by the incident. The Commission's investigation is ongoing, and it has yet to disclose how its cloud infrastructure was breached. According to Bleeping Computer , the threat actor was able to access the Europa sites and employee data via one of the Commission's Amazon Web Services accounts. The Commission disclosed a breach that similarly impacted employee data in February. Both breaches appear to be less severe than the Salt Typhoon hack that impacted US telecommunications companies in 2024. Hackers reportedly gained access to data from the smartphones of members of both the Trump and Harris campaigns, and other government officials. In January 2026, the European Commission introduced a new Cybersecurity Package designed to address similar issues, in part by outlining new ways for EU states to deal with potentially risky companies in their telecom supply chains. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/european-commission-confirms-data-breach-200000982.html?src=rss

Crunchyroll is now available as a channel in the Apple TV app

If you're still using Crunchyroll after its AI subtitle fiasco and subsequent price increase, there's a new way to watch. The anime streaming service is now available as a channel in the Apple TV app. That means you can subscribe and stream your favorite anime titles, all within Apple's video app. No need for the Crunchyroll app or a separate login. (Your Apple account handles your subscription using this method.) 9to5Mac notes that this is the first significant new channel added to the TV app in some time. Crunchyroll starts at $10 per month, after the platform raised all of its monthly subscription prices by $2 earlier this year. That may be a hard sell for fans frustrated by the platform's direction. Last year, months after the company president enthused about the potential for AI subtitles, fans noticed something fishy . The German subtitles for Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show included one that began with ChatGPT said Crunchyroll pinned the blame on a third-party vendor and promised it would work to rectify the error. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/crunchyroll-is-now-available-as-a-channel-in-the-apple-tv-app-182500579.html?src=rss

If you live in Georgia, there's a new exhibit you can visit celebrating Apple's 50th anniversary

The Mimms Museum of Technology and Art in Roswell, Georgia is debuting a new exhibit celebrating Apple's 50th anniversary. The exhibit, iNSPIRE: 50 Years of Innovation from Apple , is set to open on April 1, the date the company was founded, and includes more than 2,000 artifacts across 20,000 square feet, making it the largest public display of Apple products in the world. iNSPIRE is supposed to offer a unique look into Apple, by highlighting early computers, rare prototypes, original documentation and immersive installations inspired by Apples most iconic products and campaigns. Based on photos shared from the exhibit's launch event, that includes displays of every model of key products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad, and an interactive installation that inserts you in the company's iconic iPod ads. If you're based on the west coast of the US, the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California is also displaying its own Apple@50 exhibit , and running what it calls Mactivations, scheduled demos where you can interact with a reproduction of an original Macintosh. Apple's own celebrations have included a published letter from CEO Tim Cook ruminating on the company's mission, and live music events at the company's stores, offices and select landmarks around the world. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/if-you-live-in-georgia-theres-a-new-exhibit-you-can-visit-celebrating-apples-50th-anniversary-180940846.html?src=rss

It looks like we're finally getting an Ocarina of Time remake

After years of rumors and countless fan-made Unreal Engine tech demos of varying quality, it sounds like we might finally be getting a ground-up remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time . Thats according to Nintendo insider NatetheHate, who said in the latest edition of his podcast that a remake of the seminal Nintendo 64 game would be coming to Switch 2 in the second half of 2026. The reliable tipster said he doesnt know whether Nintendo is making a 1:1 remake of the original 3D Zelda entry, or something thats a little more free to explore design choices, adding that he was initially reluctant to share the information hed received in case we ended up getting little more than an HD remaster. But it sounds like this is a more ambitious undertaking than that. Ocarina of Time has of course been remastered before, with 2011s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for the 3DS generally considered to be the best version of the game you can play today. The original 1998 game is also easily accessible via emulation through Nintendo Switch Online, but a modern remake for Switch 2 does make some sense. For one, 2026 marks the series 40th anniversary, and if you asked every Zelda fan alive what their favorite entry is, you can bet that OoT would feature pretty high in the final rankings. Were also getting that live-action Zelda movie next year, and Nintendo will no doubt want to make sure audiences have done their homework on the games that inspired it. Of course, none of this is official, so have those grains of salt at the ready, but NatetheHate did also claim that anyone hoping for a new 3D Mario game to arrive in 2026 is going to be disappointed. Thats more likely to arrive in 2027. In better news, were apparently also getting a brand new classic-style Star Fox game this summer, which would mark the return of the spacefaring Fox McCloud after a decade spent in Nintendos unloved mascot closet. This rumor seems logical after Nintendos surprise announcement that the anthropomorphic red fox is going to feature in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie , which arrives next week. Hes being voiced by Glen Powell , because of course he is. NatetheHates information on all of the above has been corroborated by VGC , which says it lines up with what it's heard from its own sources. And in the case of the Ocarina of Time remake, that recent Lego set suddenly makes a lot of sense. If indeed we do get the remake of Metacritic s highest-rated game of all time later this year, physical collectors could have a difficult choice to make, after Nintendo announced that physical versions of first-party Switch 2 games are about to become more expensive than their digital counterparts. This adjusted pricing will come into effect when Yoshi and the Mysterious Book launches on May 21. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/it-looks-like-were-finally-getting-an-ocarina-of-time-remake-175546356.html?src=rss

The original Hollow Knight just got an update to fix a glitch with a final boss

Team Cherry just fixed a bug with the original Hollow Knight , according to a report by GamesRadar . That game came out a full nine years ago, so it's pretty impressive that the dev team is still cranking out updates. Spoilers follow, but it's been nine years so whatever. The update involves a glitch regarding an attack from The Radiance, one of the final bosses of the game. At later stages, she tosses out these honing balls of light. These are difficult to avoid on their own, but a glitch made it so the balls of light occasionally lingered in the air after finishing. This added yet another way for the player to take some damage and led to numerous unnecessary deaths. This has now been fixed. The patch notes say the developers fixed Radiance's orb attack hitbox lingering slightly longer than intended if the orb expires in the air. This is great news for brand-new players and frustrating news to people who have been trying to avoid those lingering orbs for the better part of a decade. Better late than never, right? We don't know why the company tackled this particular issue right now. It could be that the success of the long-awaited sequel , Hollow Knight: Silksong , has been driving new players to the original release. It's also possible they just now got around to it. Today's patch includes other stuff, like raising the volume when navigating the inventory and adding more journal notification icons. Team Cherry isn't Ubisoft or Nintendo. It's a relatively small team. The team has been pumping out updates for Silksong as well. Team Cherry recently added traditional Chinese and German language options, which had become a sticking point for some. It's also busy working on the game's first major DLC expansion, called Sea of Sorrow . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-original-hollow-knight-just-got-an-update-to-fix-a-glitch-with-a-final-boss-173533993.html?src=rss

The PS5 is getting more expensive... again

It was only last August that Sony raised PS5 console prices in the US, blaming a challenging economic environment at the time. Today it has slightly tweaked the phrasing to continued pressures in the global economic landscape, but the outcome is the same: price rises across the board, this time even affecting the PS Portal handheld. Starting April 2, the price of the standard PS5 (thats the one with the disc drive) is going up to $650. Thats a whopping $100 hike, or $150 if you go back to before the August price increases. The Digital Edition is getting the same increase, up to $600 from $500 since August. But the most eye-wateringly huge bump goes to the PS5 Pro , which will now cost you $900, $150 more than its (already very high) previous $750 MSRP. If you managed to pick up a Pro during last years Black Friday sale, when its price was slashed to $650, then youre probably feeling pretty smug right now. Even the PlayStation Portal is getting a $50 increase, up from $199 to $250. The Portal has gotten a lot more capable in the last 12 months, but $250 for a device that cant run any games natively might make a purchase harder to justify for a lot of people. In a blog post, Sony acknowledged the impact of prices increases on its audience, but said after careful evaluation that it was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide. Global economic turbulence is affecting the entire games industry right now. Valve has already pushed back the launch date for the Steam Machine, while the ongoing RAM crisis could also be to blame for Steam Deck stock shortages. Microsoft also raised Xbox prices twice last year, and earlier this week Nintendo announced that some of its physical first-party Switch 2 games will soon be more expensive than purchasing the game digitally. While Nintendo has experimented with this kind of pricing structure before, it might point to the increasingly prohibitive costs of making and shipping products right now. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/the-ps5-is-getting-more-expensive-again-133141514.html?src=rss

Engadget Podcast: Can Microsoft fix Windows 11 by dumping AI?

It turns out people don't actually love having Copilot shoved into their faces. This week, Devindra and PCWorld Senior Editor Mark Hachman discuss Microsoft's surprising plan to fix Windows 11 by refocusing on customization and core features, instead of bringing Copilot AI into tons of apps. Is there any enthusiasm left for Windows? Or will most people be better off considering macOS or Linux? Subscribe! iTunes Spotify Pocket Casts Stitcher Google Podcasts Topic Microsoft hits the reset button on Windows 11, de-emphasizing Copilot AI 1:03 OpenAI pulls the plug on its Sora video generation app after just 5 months 25:23 Metas terrible week in court, part 1: $375 million ruling in New Mexico child engagement case 33:58 Metas terrible week in court, part 2: Meta and Google lose landmark social media addiction suit 38:49 OpenAI puts erotic chat on hold indefinitely 43:49 Update your iPhones: iOS exploit Darksword released on GitHub 46:39 Epic games lays off 1,000 workers after Fortnite engagement dips 47:48 Honda and Sony kill off their Afeela EV collaboration 49:26 Listener Mail: Which Mac Mini to get for a budding pro photographer 55:15 Pop culture picks 57:52 Credits Host: Devindra Hardawar Guest: Mark Hachman Producer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence OBrien This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/engadget-podcast-can-microsoft-fix-windows-11-by-dumping-ai-122601592.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Sony and Hondas debut EV is dead before it even arrived

Honda and Sony announced that they are discontinuing both the Afeela 1 and 2, their electric cars. The company is reviewing its business direction, but it's hard to expect much from a car company thats cancelled all of its cars. The Afeela 1, casually called the PlayStation Car, was meant to be a fusion of a modern EV and your own digital media bubble. (You could have a God of War -themed dash if you wanted that.) Engadget Theres a wider pressure on Honda, beyond this risky collaboration with Sony. It expects to take a $15.7 billion loss after writing off a large portion of its EV investment. The USs removal of federal EV tax credits and the imposition of tariffs have hit everything hard. The Afeela was exciting on paper, but in person, it was a pretty unassuming sedan. And expensive! Rival EV makers were offering more for less. Also: dont tease a car for six full years. Its never a good sign. Check out Tim Stevens editorial on how it all fell apart. Mat Smith The other big stories (and deals) this morning Ugh, Netflix is raising prices again Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez introduce a bill to pause US data center construction . OpenAI is shutting down its Sora video generation app Hades 2 is coming to Xbox Series X/S and PS5 on April 14 Meta and YouTube lose social media addiction case TikTok and Snap settled ahead of the trial. Smart. A jury in Los Angeles has found that Meta and YouTube were negligent in a closely watched trial over social media addiction. The two companies were ordered to pay $6 million in damages to a woman who said their addictive features harmed her. For Meta, it's the second legal setback in recent weeks, after a New Mexico jury ruled against it on child safety issues. Meta was ordered to pay $375 million in penalties, making this settlement seem small in comparison. The companies are planning to appeal. Continue reading. Sonos Play review The company's best portable speaker so far. Engadget The Sonos Play could be the companys reset button, a way to remind people what the company does well and move on from busted updates, expensive gambits and fussy apps. The $299 Play is a portable speaker that sits between the $499 Sonos Move 2 and the $179 Roam 2. The new speaker sounds great, has a wide and versatile feature set and wont break the bank. We particularly like the inclusion of Bluetooth grouping. Continue reading. DJI Avata 360 drone review Theres a new 360-degree drone in town. Engadget DJI responded quickly to Insta360s debut drone, the Antigravity A1, with the Avata 360. Its drawn from years of drone experience (and tech from its new Osmo 360 action cam). Compared to the A1, its safer to fly around people and offers single-camera OIS 4K footage in addition to 8K 360 video. The 360 video it shoots offers incredible editing flexibility, but overall quality is lower than that of DJIs other drones. Its cheaper than its 360 drone rival, too, though US availability remains unclear. Continue reading. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121539576.html?src=rss

MLB The Show 26 is turning me into more of a baseball fan

There were two questions I was looking to answer as I fired up MLB The Show 26 . First, how much does the game cater to a baseball newbie like me? Second, will it keep me hooked enough to keep playing after my first few games? I think it's important to share some personal context. I have very limited experience with baseball. I have been to one MLB game, which was on my first visit to Canada as a teen. The lead-off Toronto Blue Jays hitter scored a home run on his first at-bat. Fireworks went off and everyone was going wild. Fun! But that was the only score of the whole game. My dad and I (both lifelong soccer fans, for what its worth) were bored lifeless for the rest of the three hours. An incredible run of a dog playing a baseball game at Games Done Quick aside, I had no real interest in the sport for the next couple of decades until the Blue Jays made a deep run into the 2025 playoffs. This time, now as a Canadian citizen, I bought into the excitement and watched all of the World Series last year. I was enthralled. I slowly started to appreciate the nuances of pitching, the skill of trying to make every pitch look identical at the time the ball is thrown to hopefully hoodwink the batter. Friends who are in-the-know tolerated my most basic of questions about how everything works as the postseason wore on. Now, Im planning to watch a lot more games this year and MLB The Show 26 arrived at just the right time to get me ready for the new season. Sony's San Diego Studio seemed to be speaking to me, personally, when the first thing the game asked me to do was select my preferred playstyle. The Competitive track was definitely out for now. The Simulation option offers an authentic MLB experience that plays true to player and team ratings. I wasn't quite feeling that either. As a newcomer to all of this, I had to select the Casual style. Thats billed as an easier, fun, pick up and play experience with an emphasis on learning the game. Exactly what I needed. I was immediately impressed with how deeply you can customize the gameplay, even if the vast array of batting and pitching options in particular felt a little overwhelming. Using both a thumbstick to aim and button to swing at the ball seemed too much for someone who has no idea as yet how to read pitches. Dipping my toes in slowly was surely going to help me avoid getting too frustrated too quickly and uninstalling the game, so I chose to keep everything as simple as possible. Im not switching off options like automated bullpen warm ups for a long time, if ever. Finally, after about 20 minutes of fine-tuning some settings in the tutorial, it was game time. The Dodgers didn't know what hit 'em as I won my first game 38-0. I thought this Shohei guy was supposed to be good? Pffft, he didn't even register a hit. His team only got a measly two players on base, while I had 46 hits. That blowout was a fun intro to MLB The Show 26 , but I had to bump up the difficulty and make it a little more challenging if there was any chance of me sticking with it. Instead of jumping into the Road to the Show career mode, an online match or another exhibition game to get my feet a tad wetter, I next tried the Storylines feature. This is what really drew me into MLB The Show 26. San Diego Studio has been sharing the stories of several notable players from the Negro Leagues in the last few editions of the series. I know very little about baseball history outside of household names. So I was fascinated to learn about the likes of Roy Campanella, who debuted in the league as a 15-year-old catcher, and Mamie Peanut Johnson, the league's first female pitcher. The developers did a fantastic job of connecting these athletes' stories to playable moments from their playing careers. Cutscene insights from Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, tied everything together quite beautifully. Great stories are such an effective way to pull you into a sport and to start learning about it. Stories connect us more than just about anything else. The default difficulty in the Storylines mode was much higher than I dealt with in my first washout game. Still, that gave me a chance to practice the Competitive playstyle without having to play a full game or the stop-start nature of the tutorial. My pitching was less accurate, so figuring out how to compensate for that made for an interesting challenge. Batting was a lot tougher too, with balls travelling faster and pitchers trying to trick me. At first, I was swinging at every ball, but that clearly was the wrong idea. I tried to be more judicious and wait to see if a ball was breaking, but that meant I was swinging too late and fouling or giving the fielders an easy catch. That's a tricky conundrum to solve, and I'll need a lot more practice before I dream of playing online. I'm not even going to get started on how woeful I am at catching. And yet all of this deepened my appreciation for baseball. There's so much more nuance and complexity to the sport than I realized until a few months ago. And even as someone who doesn't typically enjoy turn-based games, I found myself getting into the swing of it... so to speak. I'm never going to care about Diamond Dynasty, MLB The Show's take on Ultimate Team modes in EA Sports games. I can't see myself diving into the team management-focused Franchise mode, in large part because I don't yet have a strong enough understanding of stats to have a decent handle on what makes a specific player great in their role. And as much as I like the idea of the Road to the Show career mode in which you can stick with a player from their high school days all the way to a Hall of Fame induction I don't think I can invest enough time into that to make it worth the effort. I did find the answers to the two main questions I had about MLB The Show 26. It does a bang-up job of easing a baseball newbie like me into the fray. I'm eager to keep playing as well. I don't think MLB The Show has quite enough pull to keep me away from my actual forever game, Overwatch , for too long. But I can absolutely see myself playing it on a second screen while streaming some MLB games this season. After all, I'm always on the lookout for a great story. MLB The Show 26 is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/mlb-the-show-26-is-turning-me-into-more-of-a-baseball-fan-120000724.html?src=rss

Fender Mix review: Well-designed headphones that just fall short of greatness

I know what youre thinking: Isnt Fender a guitar company? It sure is, and has been one of the most iconic names in guitars and amplifiers since 1946. So what is the company doing making headphones and speakers? Well, it isnt, exactly. Like Zound Industries used to do with Marshall (before buying the amp business), another company is licensing the Fender name for its consumer audio products. Fender Audio , the brand thats on the headphones Im reviewing, is owned by the Fender Corporation, but Riffsound oversees the design and production of portable audio gear. The first products from Fender Audio are the Mix headphones and the Elie speaker (in two sizes). The company revealed these in January before properly showing them off at CES . Ill get to those speakers in a few weeks, but the Mix headphones are first up on the review docket. With the Mix, Fender Audio seeks to offer a set of premium over-ear, noise-canceling headphones at a lower price than the likes of Sony, Bose and Sennheiser. Theres also marathon battery life, several smart design touches, a lossless Bluetooth transmitter and swappable parts that combine for a unique formula to take on those big names. Im honestly impressed that Fender Audio could cram all of that in a more affordable package, but the final verdict on the Mix isnt so straightforward. Whats good about the Fender Mix headphones? Fender Audio made numerous smart design decisions on the Mix headphones, and they resulted in my favorite things about using them. To start, you can swap out the ear pads, ear cups and headband as you see fit. The ear cups attach to the headband via USB-C ports, so theyre easy to snap on and off. Obviously, this allows you to change the look of the Mix over time, within the bounds of Fenders available colors. Underneath the ear pads, Fender put a storage slot for the lossless dongle on the left side and gives you access to the removable battery on the right. Im thrilled that I can enjoy higher quality Bluetooth connectivity without having to remember to bring along such a small accessory. Plus, its nice to know that users will be able to install a fresh battery, provided the company sells those at some point. I also enjoy how Fender Audio designed the onboard controls. First, theyre physical buttons, which are always my preference over touch- or gesture-based options. Second, the main one is a five-way joystick, so theyre very simple. Press it to play/pause, press and hold for pairing mode or press longer to power on or off. If you push the joystick up or down, you can adjust the volume, while moving it left and right skips the track forward or backward. You can also push down twice to enable Auracast pairing right on the headphones. A second button, which is just the regular kind, is used to cycle through noise canceling modes: ANC, transparency and both off. The lossless Bluetooth dongle inside the left ear cup Billy Steele for Engadget Sonically, the Mix headphones are at the height of their powers in lossless mode, which is enabled by the Bluetooth dongle hidden inside the ear cup. Bass tuning thats otherwise overpowering in most cases is restrained, and you can pick up finer details in the more balanced mix. When listening to Watchhouses Rituals, I got the sense that I was surrounded by the band, with strings, drums and vocals enveloping my ears with sound rather than it simply being projected from the left and right channels. Theres more nuance with the lossless mode, and it kept calling me back to the Mix headphones at the times when Id probably opt for the conveniences of earbuds or a speaker. ANC performance is respectable, although its not on the level of Bose. Its good enough to block out mild-to-moderate distractions, but it struggles with louder human voices and sudden jolts of noise. It will certainly do the job in the office or coffee shop, but you may notice some sounds invade your ears during a commute. For calls, transparency mode provides natural sound and it picks up enough of my voice that I never felt the need to shout. Call quality, though, is a different matter (more on that in a bit). Another big perk of the Mix is its long battery life. Fender Audio says youll get up to 52 hours with ANC on or a whopping 100 hours with it off. The company is forthcoming with the fact that the latter number is achieved at 50 percent volume, which will be too low for most regular use. Still, with noise canceling enabled and the volume around 70 percent, I had 52 percent battery left after nearly 30 hours of use. I spent most of that time with either ANC or transparency mode on. Whats not so good about the Fender Mix? The five-way joystick and ANC button on the Fender Mix Billy Steele for Engadget Out of the box, Fender Mixs tuning is too bass heavy. I realize a lot of people prefer a thundering low-end tone out of their headphones, but I found it to be too overpowering here. The stock sound profile is my biggest issue with this model, although its somewhat alleviated by using the lossless Bluetooth dongle. In that mode, the bass is slightly subdued, but its still quite prominent at times when it shouldnt be. On that Watchhouse album, the kick drum starts to drive the sound, rather than the guitars, mandolin and other instruments. When I listen to the same songs on other headphones, Ive noticed a better blend of drums and strings. With more intense genres, like the hardcore riffs and breakdowns of Incendiarys Product of New York, the booming bass isnt as much of an issue. The distorted guitars still cut through, and theres plenty of texture in their tone. And when each song hits its climax, the cranked up lows offer extra oomph. It works for metal, but it isnt always nice for bluegrass, jazz and synth-laiden electronic tunes where the extra bass can muddy the mix. The Fender Mix also lacks many of the smart features that are present in premium headphones today, which is probably how the company is able to sell them for $299. Things like automatic EQ tweaks and adaptive ANC are missing, as is automatic pausing when you speak or things like head gestures. These headphones dont have wear detection either, so they dont pause the audio when you take them off. Theres also no app available to dial in the EQ or adjust other settings (its coming soon). These headphones only have two microphones for calls, and you can tell almost instantly that those are insufficient. Despite claims of crystal clear calls, your voice will just sound okay to the person on the other end. Honestly, I wouldve sounded better just using my iPhone with no headphones. The Mix works to get your voice across, but dont dream of dialing into a podcast recording with them. Whats more, the Mix isnt good at blocking background noise, so youll need to use them in a quiet location to have a chance at sounding decent. Which, again, is about the best these headphones can muster. While the modular design allows for a decent degree of customization, the extra parts youll need arent on sale yet. Whats more, only two colors white, which is really more of a light gray, and black are currently available. So, for now, one of the perks of the Mix remains untapped. Wrap-up The Fender Mix headphones Billy Steele for Engadget Theres a lot to like about the Fender Mix, from the clever design choices to the crisp, detailed sound. The lack of finesse with the bass tuning and the omission of advanced features, particularly the absence of an app for settings changes, keeps these headphones firmly planted in the midrange category. Clearly thats not what the company is aiming for with tools like the lossless Bluetooth dongle, but thats where it lands for me at the end of the day. So, at $299, the Mix is a tough call when a $250 price tag would make these an easier sell. Sure, theres enough here to make these a capable daily audio accessory, but not everything Id need to call them a must buy. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/fender-mix-review-well-designed-headphones-that-just-fall-short-of-greatness-120000974.html?src=rss

RGG's Stranger Than Heaven game will span five time periods

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has revealed more details about its upcoming title, Stranger Than Heaven , at the Xbox Partner Preview stream . While previous teasers showed that it was going to be set in the 1910s and 1940s, it turns out its gameplay will span five different time periods: 1915, 1929, 1943, 1951 and 1965. The games events will also take place in five different cities. Ryu Ga Gotoku has yet to reveal what the locations will be based on, but the setting for 1965 seems to be Kamurocho. Thats the fictionalized version of Tokyos Kabukicho entertainment district in the studios games, the Yakuza and Judgment series. One time period seems to be set during winter, while another focuses on a hot spring town. Its clear from teasers and the new trailer RGG released that new title will share Yakuzas aesthetics and maybe even its fighting mechanics. The studio has yet to say whether it will be connected to the Yakuza series, but fans believe Stranger Than Heaven could focus on the beginnings of the yakuza clans that appeared throughout the franchise. RGG Studio will reveal more details about the game on another stream with Xbox on May 6 at 7PM Eastern time. For now, you can watch the trailer below for a preview. Take note that while the studio has teamed up with Xbox for these reveals, the game will also be available on Steam and the PS5. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/rggs-stranger-than-heaven-game-will-span-five-time-periods-114554699.html?src=rss

Court temporarily blocks US government from labeling Anthropic as a 'supply chain risk'

The court has granted Anthropics request for a preliminary injunction, preventing the government from banning its products for federal use and from formally labeling it as a supply chain risk, at least for now. If youll recall, things turned sour between the company and the Trump administration when Anthropic refused to change the terms of its contract that would allow the government to use its technology for mass surveillance and the development of autonomous weapons. In response to Anthropics refusal, the president ordered federal agencies to stop using Claude and the companys other services. The Defense Department also officially labeled it as a supply chain risk, which is typically reserved for entities typically based in US adversaries like China that threaten national security. In addition, department secretary Pete Hegseth warned companies that if they want to work with the government, they must sever ties with Anthropic. The AI company challenged the designation in court, calling it unlawful and in violation of free speech and its rights to due process. It asked the court to put a pause on the ban while the lawsuit is ongoing, as well. In a court filing, the Defense Department said giving Anthropic continued access to its warfighting infrastructure would introduce unacceptable risk to its supply chains. But Judge Rita F. Lin of the District Court for the Northern District of California said the measures the government took appear designed to punish Anthropic. Lin wrote in her decision that it seems Anthropic is being punished for criticizing the government in the press. Punishing Anthropic for bringing public scrutiny to the governments contracting position is classic illegal First Amendment retaliation, she continued. The judge also said that the supply chain risk designation is contrary to law, arbitrary and capricious. She added that the government argued that Anthropic showed its subversive tendencies by questioning the use of its technology. Nothing in the governing statute supports the Orwellian notion that an American company may be branded a potential adversary and saboteur of the US for expressing disagreement with the government, she wrote. Anthropic told The New York Times that its grateful to the court for moving swiftly and that its now focused on working productively with the government to ensure all Americans benefit from safe, reliable AI. The companys lawsuit is still ongoing, and the court has yet to issue its final decision. Judge Lin said, however, that Anthropic has shown a likelihood of success on its First Amendment claim. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/court-temporarily-blocks-us-government-from-labeling-anthropic-as-a-supply-chain-risk-083857528.html?src=rss

Google Gemini now lets you import your chats and data from other AI apps

Google is adding a pair of new features to Gemini aimed at making it easier to switch to the AI chatbot. Personal history and past context are big components to how a chatbot provides customized answers to each user. Gemini now supports importing history from other AI platforms. Both free and paid consumer accounts can use these options. With the first option, Gemini can create a prompt asking a competitor's AI chatbot to summarize what it has learned about you. The result might include details such as your typical written communication style, your family members' names or your key preferences. The other AI tool's summary can then be pasted into Gemini, providing Google's platform with a preliminary profile. The second option allows users to import their entire chat history with a different AI assistant into Gemini. Doing so allows people to reference earlier conversations or requests made on a different platform after migrating to the Google option. Anthropic recently introduced a similar memory import feature, so Google may also be hoping to scoop up some of the people who are dropping OpenAI following its shady-sounding new arrangement with the Department of War. Whatever the motivation, these options should make it easier to have a seamless transition between providers. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-gemini-now-lets-you-import-your-chats-and-data-from-other-ai-apps-225711015.html?src=rss

X moves the ashes of Tweetdeck behind its $40 Premium+ subscription

X Pro, the feature most users would recognize as TweetDeck, has been removed as a benefit of the social network's Premium subscription. It is now only part of the Premium+ tier, which costs $40 a month. TweetDeck was rebranded to X Pro in 2023 following Elon Musk's renaming of Twitter to X. It became a subscription feature shortly after. The tool offered a popular interface for showing multiple timelines, feeds and lists in a single interface. Engadget staffers using X Pro at the Premium level didn't find any advanced notice that the feature would be changing subscription tiers, so people may be in for an unpleasant surprise when they next go to access their accounts. The feature appears to be gone no matter when you last paid up for the service, which might feel pretty scummy for people who just re-upped to have such a key feature lost. At least some of the X support documentation currently describes X Pro as only available under Premium+. It's listed as such under the help center page listing different X Premium plan benefits, but at the time of publish, there's currently no mention of the limitation on the dedicated X Pro page . Here's what Grok had to say when a confused subscriber asked about the change: Hi Nadine, X updated X Pro (TweetDeck) access todayit's now Premium+ only, per the official help page. The Creator Hub table hasn't refreshed yet, causing the mix-up. Upgrade via settings or contact Premium support for details. Grok (@grok) March 26, 2026 This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-moves-the-ashes-of-tweetdeck-behind-its-40-premium-subscription-210601250.html?src=rss

Ugh, Netflix is raising prices again

Netflix is raising prices across all of its subscription tiers, according to an updated Plans and Pricing page spotted by Android Authority . The company last raised prices in January 2025, when the cost of all of its tiers were jacked up by $1 or more. As of this latest price hike, Netflix's ad-supported Standard plan is going from $8 per month to $9 per month, while the ad-free version is rising from $18 to $20 per month. The company's Premium plan, meanwhile, which supports things like 4K streams, spatial audio and the ability to watch content on four devices at the same time, is jumping from $25 to $27 per month. Netflix is also making the cost of adding an extra member to your plan more expensive. Adding a member to an ad-supported plan now costs an additional $8 per month, while adding someone to an ad-free plan now costs $10 per month. When asked to comment on the price changes, a Netflix spokesperson shared that the company is updating prices in the U.S to reflect improvements to our wide range of entertainment and the quality of our service. The new prices will roll out to current subscribers in the coming weeks. Existing members will be notified by email a month before the new prices are applied to them, the spokesperson said. The exact timing will depend on the specific members billing cycle. Netflix is not quite at the point where it's raising the cost of its subscription every year, but it's getting close. Prior to last year's price hike, the company last raised prices in 2023 . The streaming service's growing subscription fees have helped Netflix to continue its push into streaming live events like sports and reality TV competitions , and to license new kinds of content like video podcasts . If Netflix hadn't dropped out in February, they also would have served as financial backing for the company's acquisition of Warner Bros . Even though Warner Bros. Discovery ultimately decided to take Paramount Skydance's offer , Netflix didn't leave the deal empty handed: Paramount paid the company $2.8 billion to formally end its acquisition of the historic film studio. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/ugh-netflix-is-raising-prices-again-202318277.html?src=rss

Judge tosses out X's advertiser boycott lawsuit

A US District Court Judge for the Northern District of Texas has dismissed X Corp.s lawsuit against advertisers it claimed participated in an illegal boycott of X, Reuters reports . X originally filed its lawsuit in 2024 in response to advertisers pulling ads from the social media platform, a decision reportedly motivated by X's lax approach to moderating hate speech. Judge Jane J. Boyle was not swayed by Xs claims that advertisers like Twitch , Shell, Nestl and Lego pulling advertising amounted to an antitrust injury. The companies named in Xs lawsuit are members of the World Federation of Advertisers Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), an organization used by advertisers to bargain for certain safety standards from the platforms they advertise on. Advertisers took issue with X's approach to moderation and responded accordingly, purchasing ad space on other social platforms instead. The decision hurt X's ad revenue, but as Boyle writes in the dismissal, the company made no claim that advertisers did so to benefit a competitor or to form their own competing platform. They also didn't prevent X from selling ad space to other companies not in GARM. The very nature of the alleged conspiracy does not state an antitrust claim, Boyle writes, and the Court therefore has no qualm dismissing with prejudice. Xs lawsuit being dismissed with prejudice means the company will be unable to refile the lawsuit at a later date. Separately, Judge Boyle also denied X the ability to appeal her decision. The company's rancor for advertisers was apparent when owner Elon Musk compared X's lawsuit to going to war , but the vitriol appears to be all for naught. X claimed in January 2026 that nearly all its top advertisers had returned to buying ads on the platform. As a subsidiary of xAI , the social platform is now also facing new, even more pressing issues, like its AI assistant Grok's alleged willingness to generate sexually explicit imagery of minors . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/judge-tosses-out-xs-advertiser-boycott-lawsuit-184832071.html?src=rss

Blumhouse's horror-centric cozy game Grave Seasons will be released on August 14

The spooky, yet cozy, game Grave Seasons is coming out on August 14, which was announced at today's Xbox Partner Preview event . This is basically Stardew Valley , but set in a Lovecraftian nightmare of a town. Players farm, mine and romance villagers, but also solve murders and deal with the occasional bloodthirsty demon or two. It looks fun! This is being published by Blumhouse Games, which is a division of the film studio that pumps out modern horror hits like Happy Death Day , M3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy's . Perfect Garbage is the development studio behind the game, which previously made the narrative-driven cyberpunk title Love Shore . Grave Seasons is coming to just about every platform out there, including Xbox Series X/S, Steam, PS5 and the Switch. It's truly a golden age for cozy gamers. This isn't the only cozy game with a darker undercurrent. Titles like Graveyard Keeper , Cozy Grove and Spiritfarer have all experimented with this idea. Even Nintendo's recent smash Pokmon Pokopia is set in some kind of post-apocalyptic world. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/blumhouses-horror-centric-cozy-game-grave-seasons-will-be-released-on-august-14-184042880.html?src=rss

Dispatch is coming to Xbox this summer

Dispatch was one of 2025s standout titles and one of the best narrative games in years, which made its no-show on Xbox all the more puzzling. Luckily, thats being rectified this summer. Announced during todays Xbox Partner Preview broadcast , Dispatch is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Xbox Cloud later this year. It will also be an Xbox Play Anywhere title at launch, so you can play it on your console and continue on your PC or Windows handheld, or vice versa. ICYMI last year, the game is pitched as a superhero workplace comedy by developer AdHoc Studio, which was founded by a group of ex-Telltale developers. You play as the excellently named Robert Robertson, a recently out-of-work superhero whos talked into reluctantly taking a 9-5 desk job that involves him dispatching other heroes. Dispatch is an episodic game, which rolled out gradually on PS5 and PC last year but will presumably be available in its entirety straight away when the Xbox version arrives. Gameplay is divided between interactive narrative segments that will feel familiar to anyone who played Telltales previous titles, and the management sim-like dispatch missions. Both are very well done, but I was shocked by the quality of Dispatch s writing and animation when I played it on PS5. Its essentially a prestige animated superhero show that you participate in, and I genuinely agonized over loads of decisions. It helps that the star-studded voice cast, which features Breaking Bad s Aaron Paul, Laura Bailey and Jeffrey Wright, is bringing its A-game across the board. The game was a big hit with the wider Engadget team too, making it into our best games of 2025 list. Dispatch has also since made its way to Switch, but that port was highly controversial after it emerged that some of the games content had been censored. I would assume that all nudity and explicit content will be present and correct in the Xbox version, which will cost $30 or $40 if you want the Deluxe Edition, which includes four digital comics and a digital artbook. A firm release date was not announced in the stream. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/dispatch-is-coming-to-xbox-this-summer-183735998.html?src=rss

Stalker 2 is getting its first DLC, Cost of Hope, this summer

Stalker 2 is getting its first DLC, titled Cost of Hope , this summer. The expansion and its general release window was announced during today's Xbox Partner Preview showcase. It's been more than a year since the base game finally released, closing a long development cycle that was disrupted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, where the studio GSC Game World was initially based. Stalker 2 was released on PlayStation 5 in the interim, but otherwise, the team has been focused on making this substantial DLC. Stalker 2: Cost of Hope will add two new regions and a new story that takes place alongside the events of the base game. You still play as protagonist Skif as you negotiate between two factions, Duty and Freedom, that have opposing views of the Zone and how to approach it. The blog post teased that there will be a second expansion on the way to close out the full Stalker 2 story as a trilogy. For now, the survival-horror saga will continue when Cost of Hope drops for the Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Cloud, Xbox on PC, PC and PlayStation 5 this summer. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/stalker-2-is-getting-its-first-dlc-cost-of-hope-this-summer-183009759.html?src=rss

Google begins rolling out Search Live globally

Following a false start last week , Google has begun rolling out Search Live globally . The tool allows you to point your phone's camera at an object or scene and ask questions about what you see in front of you. With today's expansion, Google is making Search Live available in every location and language where it offers its AI Mode chatbot . With that, people in more than 200 countries and territories can use Search Live to get answers to their questions. Behind the expansion is Google's Gemini 3.1 Flash Live model. According to the company, the new AI system was designed to be natively multilingual, and capable of more natural conversations. It should also be more reliable and faster. Separately from Search Live, Google is bringing Live Translate to iOS . Live Translate, if you need a reminder, allows you to put on a pair of headphones and get a real-time translation of what another person is saying. With today's announcement, Google is also bringing the feature to more countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and the UK, across both Android and iOS. All told, Live Translate can now understand more than 70 languages and work with any set of headphones. Neat. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-begins-rolling-out-search-live-globally-180938407.html?src=rss

Hades 2 is coming to Xbox Series X/S and PS5 on April 14

If youve been (impatiently) waiting for Hades 2 to hit Xbox Series X/S and PS5 , theres some great news for you coming out of Thursdays Xbox Partner Preview showcase . Supergiants roguelite action RPG is coming to those consoles (as well as Xbox on PC and Xbox Cloud) on April 14. Itll be available on Xbox Game Pass too. The full version of Hades 2 hit PC and Nintendo Switch last September after over a year of Steam early access. It was one of our favorite games of 2025 . This time around, you play as Melino, the sister of the original games protagonist, Zagreus. Melino has a longer dash than her sibling, a sprint ability and more of a focus on area-of-effect attacks than ranged projectiles. You can also expect tough bosses along two separate paths, animal familiars, a range of modifiable weapons and messy romances. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/hades-2-is-coming-to-xbox-series-xs-and-ps5-on-april-14-175819696.html?src=rss

Serious Sam: Shatterverse will hit Xbox platforms this year

The Serious Sam game franchise is back with a new entry, giving the FPS series a co-op roguelite twist. Basically it's getting the Nightreign treatment in the same way Elden Ring did. The latest title is Serious Sam: Shatterverse , where teams of up to five players will take on waves of perennial foe Mental's monster goons. Each run will offer the usual roguelite approach of upgrade options to make your team more powerful. And if you're a long-time fan of the series, the trailer has plenty of the same broad, loud humor; for instance, the three upgrade cards shown are all ball jokes.Behavior Interactive, the studio behind Dead by Daylight , is helming the project. Serious Sam: Shatterverse will arrive on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC and Xbox Cloud some time this year. Considering the first quarter is nearly over, the team is probably targeting the second half of 2026, but that's only a guess. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/serious-sam-shatterverse-will-hit-xbox-platforms-this-year-174620271.html?src=rss

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez introduce a bill to pause US data center construction

File this one under hings that might have a shot after the midterms. On Wednesday, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act. The bill would require an immediate pause on data center construction until specific new regulations are passed. The legislation aims to address the problem that AI is advancing faster than Washington's regulatory response ( basically none ) has kept pace. Despite its benefits , the technology poses grave threats to the job market and the environment . Rapidly advancing deepfakes could soon leave people unable to determine truth from fiction. (That is, more than online propaganda already has .) AI also makes mass surveillance easier than ever , potentially giving unelected tech leaders unfettered control over society. Last year alone, AI was responsible for over 54,000 layoffs nationwide, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said in a press conference. And when we talk about those jobs, it's not just a number. These are industries. These are communities. These are families... All of this harm has occurred not in spite of, but because of, the absence of federal legislation to regulate AI. SOPA Images via Getty Images The bill would mandate not only an immediate pause on new data center construction but also on the upgrading of existing ones. This moratorium would only be lifted after one or more laws were passed to provide federal oversight of AI products. First, AI products would need to be proven safe for humanity. (That includes not just physical safety, but also areas like civil rights, privacy and public health.) The wealth AI generates would need to be shared with the American people, not just the billionaire tech bros pulling the strings. Protections would need to be in place to safeguard against mass unemployment. (Increasingly, companies are flat-out admitting that their layoffs are due to AI automation .) The legislation would also require future data centers to be environmentally safe. They would need to avoid increasing electricity or other utility bills for Americans. AI data centers would have to create union jobs with strong labor standards. Communities affected by them would be empowered to approve or reject their construction or upgrades. And no government subsidies could be provided for them. A moratorium will give us time, Sen. Sanders said. Time to understand the risks. Time to protect working families. Time to defend our democracy. And time to ensure that technology works for all of us, not just the few. Tom Williams via Getty Images On the one hand, these could be popular proposals. In a December poll , 60 percent of Americans including majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents said they supported more AI regulation. However, in Washington's current environment, well, dont get your hopes up. AI companies are pouring enormous sums of money into campaigns for both political parties. The industry spent at least $83 million in federal elections last year and that was an off-year without national elections. And of course, anti-regulatory Republicans currently control the presidency, both chambers of Congress and (essentially) the Supreme Court. So, fat chance it goes anywhere right now. But depending on how the 2026 midterms (and beyond) shake out who knows? One can dream, anyway. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/sanders-and-ocasio-cortez-introduce-a-bill-to-pause-us-data-center-construction-174451974.html?src=rss

Wikipedia has banned AI-generated articles

English Wikipedia has banned the use of generative AI when writing or rewriting articles. The platform says it came to this decision because using AI to whip up copy often violates several of Wikipedia's core content policies. There are a couple of minor exceptions. Editors can use large language models (LLMs) to refine their own writing, but only if the copy is checked for accuracy. The policy states that this is because LLMs can go beyond what you ask of them and change the meaning of the text such that it is not supported by the sources cited. Editors can also use LLMs to assist with language translation. However, they must be fluent enough in both languages to catch errors. Once again, the information must be checked for inaccuracies. My genuine hope is that this can spark a broader change. Empower communities on other platforms, and see this become a grassroots movement of users deciding whether AI should be welcome in their communities, and to what extent, Wikipedia administrator Chaotic Enby wrote . The administrator also called the policy a pushback against enshittification and the forceful push of AI by so many companies in these last few years. There is one thing worth noting. Wikipedia is not a monolith. Each Wikipedia site has its own independent rules and editing teams. Some may decide to embrace LLMs. However, others may go even further. Spanish Wikipedia, for instance, has fully banned the use of LLMs, with no exceptions for refinement or translation . Also, identifying text written by LLMs is not an exact science so Wikipedia's human moderators could miss some spots of slop every now and again. This is more likely on pages with less frequent moderation. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/wikipedia-has-banned-ai-generated-articles-173641377.html?src=rss

EU says Pornhub and others failed to stop minors accessing adult content

The European Commission (EC) accused four porn platforms of not doing enough to prevent minors from accessing their content. In its preliminary findings of a 10-month investigation , the European Union's regulatory arm said Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA). The EC said the platforms have an ineffective self-declaration measure they only require users to make a single click to state they are over 18. Nor do efforts like content warnings, page blurring and restricted to adults labels effectively prevent minors from accessing harmful content. As such, the EC said the platforms are failing to protect the wellbeing and rights of minors, and it demanded that they put privacy-preserving age verification systems in place. Furthermore, the EC said the quartet did not use objective and thorough methodologies to fully assess the risks to minors accessing content on their platforms. The regulator determined Stripchat, Xvideos and XNXX either misrepresented or failed to take into account consultations with organizations that specialize in children's rights and age verification systems in their risk assessments. It also suggested that the platforms' risk assessments disproportionately emphasized business-centric concerns, such as reputational damage, rather than focusing on the societal risks to minors. The platforms now have the chance to review the EC's preliminary findings and respond to them. They can implement measures to remedy the alleged DSA breaches as well. However, if the Commission confirms that the platforms failed to adhere to the DSA and it decides to issue a non-compliance decision, the porn providers could be on the hook for fines of up to six percent of their global annual turnover. In the EU, online platforms have a responsibility. Children are accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages and these platforms must put in place robust, privacy-preserving and effective measures to keep minors off their services, Henna Virkkunen, the European Unions executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said in a statement. Today, we are taking another action to enforce the DSA ensuring that children are properly protected online, as they have the right to be. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/eu-says-pornhub-and-others-failed-to-stop-minors-accessing-adult-content-155632108.html?src=rss

AMD's Ryzen 9950X3D2 chip features an incredible 208MB of on-chip cache

AMD just revealed the Ryzen 9950X3D2 Dual Edition desktop processor , which is a beastly follow-up to last year's 9950X3D . This is the company's first desktop processor where both chiplets have been equipped with AMD's proprietary 3D V-Cache technology, which seems like a boon for gamers. Each chiplet includes 104MB of cache, offering an incredible 208MB total on-chip cache. 208MB of cache means more game data, more assets and more working data sitting right next to the CPU cores, AMD Senior VP Jack Huynh explained in an announcement video. Just like last year's release, the 9950X3D2 features a 16-core processor based on the Zen 5 architecture. This new release has increased to a 200W TDP, compared to the 170TDP of the original. This could indicate an increase in speed and performance, but with more heat output. AMD AMD says the chip will be great for both gaming and for creative workloads, like compiling game engines, running AI models and rendering 3D objects. The company says it can deliver a five to 10 percent performance boost when using applications like Unreal Engine, Chromium, Blender and DaVinci Resolve. Last year's 9950X3D chip was already an absolute powerhouse, so we are looking forward to putting this one through its paces. The Ryzen 9950X3D2 chip will be available on April 22, though we don't have a price just yet. The standard 9950X3D currently costs around $675 . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/amds-ryzen-9950x3d2-chip-features-an-incredible-208mb-of-on-chip-cache-154137156.html?src=rss

How to use Apple's Playlist Playground to make AI-generated mixes

With the release of iOS 26.4 , Apple Music's Playlist Playground can now generate playlists with the help of AI. Best of all, you don't need an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone to take advantage of the new feature. As long as you're a US Apple Music subscriber with your language set to English, you can start using Playlist Playground right now. Here's how to get started. How to create playlists using Playlist Playground A pair of screenshots showing off Apple Music's new Playlist Playground feature. Igor Bonifacic for Engadget For the time being, there are two ways to access Playlist Playground. For the time being, the company is highlighting the feature within the Top Picks for You section of Apple Music's Home tab. If you don't see a shortcut there, Apple integrated the feature into the app's existing playlist creation tool. Just tap the new icon found in the Library tab. If you're new to Apple Music, the flow looks like this: Open Apple Music. Navigate to the Library tab. Tap the playlist creation button. Write a prompt describing the mood or style of music you want to hear. To help people get started, Apple provides a selection of sample prompts. One pro tip: it's possible to use metadata in conjunction with Playlist Playground. For example, after Apple Music generates a playlist, you can tell Apple's model to edit it by removing any songs released before 2016. Of course, you're also free to add and remove songs manually as you please. Once you're happy with your new playlist, Apple Music treats all Playlist Playground mixes like it does any other playlist, meaning you can save it to your Library, download for offline playback, play it from your Apple Watch and share it with friends and invite them to add songs. FAQ What Apple devices is Playlist Playground available on? As of the writing of this article, Playlist Playground is a beta release only available to Apple Music subscribers in the US with their preferred language set to English. An iPhone or iPad running iOS 26.4, or an Apple Vision headset running visionOS 26.4 is also required. As Apple releases the feature in more countries and languages, we'll update this article. Is Playlist Playground available on Android? Yes, if you use Apple Music on Android, Playlist Playground is available there too. How does Playlist Playground work? When generating mixes, Playlist Playground pulls from both trending data and your personal listening history. Along with other AI-powered Apple Music features like AutoMix and Lyrics Translation, Playlist Playground runs as part of the Apple Music service. Thats one of the reasons Apple can offer it outside of Apple Intelligence-capable devices. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/how-to-use-apples-playlist-playground-to-make-ai-generated-mixes-134500610.html?src=rss

HBO Max finally launches in the UK and Ireland

Its been a long wait, but HBO Max has finally arrived in the UK and Ireland, rounding off the streaming services European expansion. Oscar-winners One Battle After Another and Sinners are both available to stream at launch, alongside Max Original shows like The Pitt . Season three of Euphoria arrives in April, and HBO Max is also home to mega-franchises like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, both of which are celebrating their 25th anniversaries in 2026. Starting today, March 26, UK audiences can choose from three plans. Basic with Ads costs 5 per month, and offers all HBO shows and select Warner Bros. movies at 1080p, with movies that first stream on HBO Max after their theatrical release excluded. Then there's Standard with Ads for 6 per month, which includes those straight-from-theaters releases and 30 downloads at the same resolution. Both can stream on two devices at a time. For an ad-free experience you can purchase a Standard or Premium plan. The former has all titles available on two devices, up to 30 downloads and, obviously no ads. Finally, the most expensive 15 per month Premium plan allows streaming on four devices in up to 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Atmos. You also get 100 offline downloads on this tier. Eligible Sky TV customers will automatically have HBO Basic with Ads rolled into their packages at no extra cost, thanks to an expanded partnership between Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery. This extends to NOW Entertainment subscribers, who will find HBO Max integrated into the NOW app. HBO Max is also now home to TNT Sports in the UK, which streams over 50 matches in the Premier League, as well as being home to the UEFA Champions League and various other sporting competitions, including MotoGP and the Tour de France. HBO Max launches in the UK as Warner Bros Discovery sets a date for the shareholder vote on its merger with Paramount Skydance, which was finally agreed last month. Netflix was paid a $2.8 billion fee for breaking up its initial well-documented deal to buy the historic studio. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/hbo-max-finally-launches-in-the-uk-and-ireland-133406342.html?src=rss

Sonos Play review: The company's best portable speaker so far

Its been a rough couple of years for Sonos. In mid-2024, the company released a redesigned and thoroughly busted update to its app, which Sonos owners need to set up new products, manage their speaker groups, play music and access a host of other crucial features. The fallout from that was far-reaching the company replaced its CEO, canceled a few planned products and released no new hardware in 2025. The Sonos Play, announced earlier this month , is the companys reset button, a way to remind people what the company does well. The Play is a portable speaker that sits between the $499 Sonos Move 2 (which is large, expensive and extremely loud) and the $179 Roam 2 (the cheapest Sonos speaker and tiny enough to bring anywhere). The $299 Play sits right in the middle of the companys portable lineup in both size and price and after spending a few weeks listening to it, I think its a very smart addition to the collection. Thanks to its impressive sound quality, versatility and portability, the Play is immediately one of the best speakers Sonos sells. The timing couldnt be better, either, with warmer weather finally on the way. Feature set Like all other Sonos speakers, the Play is a Wi-Fi smart speaker that can stream audio from dozens of services; you can also play content on it via AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and Bluetooth. The USB-C port on the back also lets you connect to turntables, CD players and other audio devices via a line-in dongle, or you can also use that port for an Ethernet connection (again with the corresponding dongle). Finally, you can also control the Play via Amazon Alexa or the Sonos Voice Assistant. And like the Roam, the Play is IP67 rated for water and dust resistance. Thats all standard fare at this point, but I appreciate that Sonos included Ethernet and line-in capabilities, two things the Roam doesnt support. It makes the Play a much more versatile option for being a centerpiece of your indoor setup as well as something you can take on the go. And since the Play comes with a wireless charging base, its easy to keep it charged up during indoor duty and equally simple to just grab it and go without fussing with cables. (Strangely enough, it does not come with a power adapter, so youll need to provide your own USB-C brick.) The real panel of the Sonos Play. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget Physically, the Play reminds me of the Sonos Era 100 with its width squished down to make it more portable. Unsurprisingly, it comes in the same white and black color options; I had been hoping for a few more options like the vibrant Roam colors. The one touch of color youll see is on the light green grab loop attached to the back; you can remove it if youre not a fan. At 7.6 inches, its slightly taller than the Era 100, but its much thinner and lighter. Based on the initial product renders, I expected the Play to be larger than it is in reality, but it feels quite compact and easy to move around. Its not a throw in your bag and forget it speaker like the Roam, but its far more portable than the Move. The Move is a speaker Id really only use in my house or in the backyard, whereas Id toss the Play into a backpack and take with me unless I really needed to save space or weight. The Era 100 (left) and the Play (right). Nathan Ingraham for Engadget Side view of the Sonos Era 100 and Play. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget Its diminutive size is even more impressive when you consider the audio components Sonos packed inside. The Play features a speaker array nearly identical to that of the larger Era 100. It has two tweeters angled at 90 degrees for some stereo separation, along with a mid-woofer and two passive radiators for bass performance. The passive radiators are unique to the Play, specifically included to help bass levels in settings where there arent walls for the sound to reflect off of like anywhere outside you might take a portable speaker. Two Sonos Play speakers paired in stereo. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget Audio quality The Plays flexibility only matters if it sounds good. Fortunately, Sonos has never struggled with producing a speaker thats a pleasure to listen to, and the Play certainly fits the bill. My top-level and unscientific analysis is that the Play sounds nearly as good as the Era 100 , an impressive feat considering its comparatively small frame. I tested a single Play speaker as well as a stereo pair in my small office, where I typically listen to music through a stereo pair of Era 100 speakers. I also used them in stereo on my larger and more open first floor, both streaming music and playing on my turntable via the line-in jack. Finally, I got to test them outside on my deck on a few lovely early Spring days that the Boston area was graced with recently. I used the auto Trueplay tuning feature throughout; it uses the Plays built-in microphone to optimize audio for whenever youve placed the speaker. Sonos has offered various versions of Trueplay for over a decade now and it consistently makes its speakers sound better. And given you dont have to do the old wave your phone around the room method to use Trueplay, theres really no reason not to have it on. While in my office, I did a lot of A/B testing of the Era 100 vs. the Play, typically playing Apple Music lossless via the Sonos app, but I also tried AirPlay and Spotify Connect as well as other music services including YouTube Music and Bandcamp. The biggest differences I noticed between the two speakers are the Era 100 is louder and has a more pronounced mid-range. The Play comparatively feels like its EQ is scooped, and it just isnt quite as loud at the same volume level. The Play also doesnt maintain quality quite as well through the full volume range I wouldnt say that it got distorted when I was playing it at 75 percent volume, but its not as clear as the Era 100 either. These differences I mostly only noticed when I was flipping back and forth between the two speakers when I just sat back and listened, I was extremely happy with the Plays sound. When listening to a single Play, the angled tweeters did provide a small degree of stereo separation when things were hard-panned to the left or right channels. For example, the backing vocals in the chorus of Soundgardens Black Hole Sun jump from one channel to the other, and I did pick up on that effect. Top controls on the Sonos Play. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget The Play sounds very well-balanced and neutral, capable of reproducing songs without over-emphasizing any particular frequency. My usual listening habits include a ton of 90s-era alternative and more modern indie rock, plus some modern pop and the occasional film or video game score, and the Play sounded great across the board. Daughters Be On Your Way is an atmospheric track juggling strings, electronic underpinnings, reverb-drenched guitar and a gorgeous vocal track, and all those elements shined here. The dance-influenced beats of Nine Inch Nails Less Than had appropriate thump and power behind them, and Stay Down by Boygenius sounded great, whether it was the acoustic-tinged intro or the layered, full-band climax. Heavier fare like Metallicas Battery and Tools Fear Inoculum hit with the appropriate intensity as well, particularly when I was running two Play speakers in stereo. My go-to film score for these kinds of tests is Howard Shores Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , and its often the case that doesnt sound as majestic on smaller speakers. But the Play did a great job with the intricate orchestral arrangements that jump between delicately intimate moments and full-throated majesty the first song Glamdring has all these elements in less than four minutes, and it sounded excellent. I also love Gustavo Santaolallas score for The Last of Us with its tortured strings and host of organic acoustic sounds alongside unsettling electronics, and all its various elements were faithfully conveyed here. The line-in connection on the Sonos Play. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget Using the speakers line-in capabilities with a USB-C to 3.5mm audio input worked easily as well. The only real issue I noticed is that my particular turntables output meant I had to turn the Play up much louder than I would when streaming music, so its top volume level is much lower. That wasnt exactly a problem, but if you really want to push a lot of volume from a line-in source, this might not be the speaker for you. I was also worried that Id switch from line-in to streaming and forget to adjust the volume down, but the speaker is smart enough to re-adjust from the line-in volume down to wherever it was set previously. While the Play isnt the loudest speaker out there, it has plenty of power when outside. I set the volume to around 60 and walked from my porch to the sidewalk and could still faintly hear the music (though not loud enough to be too offensive to passers-by or neighbors). Back up on the deck, the Play maintained its detailed profile despite the lack of surfaces for the sound to reflect off. It feels like a great device to have playing in the background when youre entertaining outdoors, but something like the Move 2 will do better if you want music to be the centerpiece of a gathering. The Plays Wi-Fi connection is strong enough that I didnt need to switch to Bluetooth when I was outside, but its simple to use if you need it. Theres a dedicated Bluetooth button on the back; pressing it turns it on, while holding puts the speaker in pairing mode. Bluetooth is probably the easiest way to give someone else control over your Sonos system. If you start streaming music to it, you can then group other speakers with the Play to get those tunes anywhere in the house without having to give a guest access to your Sonos system. The Sonos Play and its charging base. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget Sonos included a new Bluetooth feature with the Play that theyre also bringing to the Move 2. If youre away from Wi-Fi and playing audio via Bluetooth, other Play or Move 2 speakers can join a group just by pressing and holding the play/pause button. This works with Play or Move 2 speakers that have previously been set up on the same Sonos system, and its as simple as it sounds. I just paired my phone to one speaker, started playing some music and then held the play/pause button on the second speaker to get them in sync. As for battery life, the Play is a huge step up over the Roams rather paltry 10-hour estimate. The Play is rated for up to 24 hours of playback, same as the Move 2, and I think Sonos just about hit that mark. I spent several work days playing music for eight-plus hours and the Plays battery only dropped about 30 percent each time. Your mileage may vary, but I think the Play has plenty of battery life considering its smaller size and given how easy it is to just drop on a charging base when youre done, I dont think most people will run its battery down too often. Sonos also made the battery in the Play user-replaceable, a good option to keep the speaker running for years to come. Side-by-side comparison of the Sonos Era 100 and Play. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget Competition While there are loads of portable Bluetooth speakers out there, the Plays position as a Wi-Fi speaker that can group with others in a household as well as be used on-the-go with Bluetooth makes it a rather unique option. The $269 Bose SoundLink Plus sounds great, can be paired in stereo or grouped in party mode, and is a similar size as the Play. But its battery doesnt last as long and, more crucially, it only works via Bluetooth. Some people wont care, but I prefer the much wider variety of playback options that the Play provides. JBL also has a host of portable Bluetooth speakers, as well as Wi-Fi enabled options meant for home use but again, the combo of Wi-Fi playback and portability seems to be mainly limited to Sonos right now. As such, the main competition for the Play comes from Sonos itself, with the Move 2, Roam and Era 100 all offering different pluses and minuses depending on what youre looking for. Sonos Play speaker sitting outside. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget Wrap-up If it isnt obvious, Im a pretty big fan of the Sonos Play. While its not quite as portable as the tiny Sonos Roam, it sounds significantly better than the smallest Sonos speaker while still being easy to carry around. Its probably the most versatile speaker in the Sonos lineup right now, and a smarter choice than the $499 Move 2 for most people. Unless you really need massive outdoor volume, the Play is the best portable Sonos speaker. The only catch is its price. $299 is fair when you consider its sound quality and feature set. But its also $80 more than the Era 100, or $110 more than the Era 100 SL (which drops the microphone but is otherwise identical to its more expensive counterpart). So youll have to decide how much portability is worth to you. For me, the Play is an excellent addition to my existing setup. But if youre likely to do most of your listening indoors, the Era 100 and its superior sound quality might make more sense. To be clear, thats not a knock against the Play. The latest Sonos speaker offers impressive sound quality, flexibility and portability, and its the kind of product that can help Sonos rebuild its reputation after its recent difficulties. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/sonos-play-review-the-companys-best-portable-speaker-so-far-130000688.html?src=rss

WhatsApp rolls out updates including multiple accounts for iOS

WhatsApp shared multiple quality of life updates coming to its messaging platform starting today. The first is a long awaited option to have two accounts on a single iOS device. The option has been available for years on Android , and iPhone users can now be logged into two separate accounts at once. The profile photo for the account will be visible in the bottom tab to double-check which persona you're messaging as. The other new features allow for easier movement of chat histories, both between platforms and devices in the same ecosystem. This chat transfer should make it easier to retain messages when upgrading to a new phone, especially if you're switching between iOS and Android. There's also a new option to delete large files directly from a WhatsApp chat to avoid storage clutter. It's available under the Manage Storage option when you tap a chat's name. It includes an option to delete just media files from a conversation. And of course it wouldn't be a tech news announcement without at least some AI features present. WhatsApp now supports using Meta AI for light photo editing, including removing backgrounds, changing aesthetic styles and deleting elements from the composition. There's also a Writing Help prompt that uses AI to help draft a message, although Meta's blog post states that using this still keeps chats private. The above features should be arriving to all WhatsApp users soon, according to the company. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/whatsapp-rolls-out-updates-including-multiple-accounts-for-ios-130000252.html?src=rss

DJI Avata 360 drone review: 360 video hits new highs

After achieving action camera success, Insta360 invaded DJIs turf with the first mass-market panoramic drone, the Antigravity A1 . It had instant appeal for drone pilots, offering 8K 360 video and features like subject tracking, obstacle detection and FPV flying. Though beaten to the punch, DJI has responded quickly with the Avata 360, aided by its drone experience and camera tech from the new Osmo 360 action cam . It has a lot in common with its rival, but its safer to fly around people and offers single camera 4K footage on top of 8K 360 video. To find out how the Avata 360 stacks up against the A1, I tested it both indoors and out, around people and even stunt horses. The Avata 360 isnt perfect, but it is far more polished than its rival. As with other DJI drones of late, though, US availability remains unclear. How the Avata 360 works The 360 camera makes the Avata 360 different from any other DJI drone. It features two ultrawide cameras with f/1.9 lenses and 1.1-inch 64-megapixel sensors, with one pointing up and the other down for unobstructed 200-degree views. Those are then stitched together by software to create 360 degree video at up to 8K 60 fps. This setup fundamentally changes the way you pilot a drone and capture video. Since the 360 camera records everything around it, you can focus on flying and reframe shots later in DJIs Studio app. That 360 view is also handy when piloting in FPV mode. With the head tracking on DJIs Goggles N3, you can look all around you simply by turning your head. Unlike the Antigravity A1 that only shoots 360 video, the Avata 360 supports regular single-camera shooting as well. When you switch to that mode, the camera rotates forward and shoots 4K video at up to 60 fps with a 28mm field of view. DJIs drone also works with a regular controller, which isnt an option on the A1. You have to use the Insta360s goggles at all times. Design Because of the chunky 360 camera, the Avata 360 is slightly bigger than the Avata 2. Its also quite a bit heavier at 455 grams (one pound) and so, unlike the 249-gram Antigravity A1, youll need a permit to fly one in most regions. The Avata 360s propellers are shielded to protect the drone and keep it safe indoors or around people, unlike the open-prop A1. For additional protection it has two omni obstacle sensors on the side, a Lidar sensor up front, landing sensors on the bottom and, of course, a camera that points in all directions. To keep the lenses off of bare ground, it comes with a foldable 18x18-inch landing mat. DJIs Goggles N3 (available with the RC Motion 3 controller as an option) are comfortable and allow you to wear eyeglasses. Unlike the Goggles 3, though, theres no external camera to see outside. If youd rather pilot conventionally, you can get the Avata 360 bundled with DJIs RC 2 screen controller in another kit. Performance and features As an FPV drone, the Avata 360 is fast and agile. It can hit speeds up to 40 MPH in sport mode (without obstacle avoidance) or 35 MPH in normal mode. When used with the optional FPV Remote Controller 3, you can do flips, rolls and other cinewhoop style maneuvers. Once you get used to flying it that way, its incredibly fun. The 38.7Wh batteries have 26 percent more capacity than the Avata 2s cells, but rated endurance is about the same at 24 minutes. I never got more than about 18 minutes in real-world flying though, so its a good idea to buy the Fly More kit with three batteries and a fast charger that can replenish them all in about 100 minutes. Samuel Dejours for Engadget Part of my testing of the Avata 360 was capturing trick riding horses, so it was important that the drone noise didnt spook them. At 81db the Avata 360 is louder than the Mini 4 Pro (67 db) and less banshee-like than the Neo 2 due to the larger propellers, so the horses werent alarmed. Video is transmitted to the Goggles N3 and RC Motion 3 controller (or the RC screen controller) at 1080p 60 fps via DJIs OcuSync 4.0+ system. The maximum flying range is 20 km (12.4 miles), double that of the Avata 2. This is an impressive distance for an FPV drone. The 45GB of internal storage (42GB usable) can fill up quickly when youre shooting 8K video, but the drone also has a microSD slot. To get your footage onto a PC or smartphone, you can transfer it via the USB-C port or over Wi-Fi using DJIs Fly app. The Avata 360 has DJIs usual tracking and obstacle detection features, but theyre available only with the RC 2 controller and not the Goggles N3. To follow a subject, simply draw a box around them on the controller to enable Focus Track and its three modes: Spotlight, Point of Interest and ActiveTrack. The latter tracks a subject automatically and lets you control the drones position via an on-screen steering wheel. Steve Dent for Engadget To test that, I biked in a narrow forested lane and walked around a bamboo-covered obstacle course. When using Focus Track, the drone dodged most obstacles and was only confused by small leaves and branches. If it did contact one of those, it sailed right through without crashing thanks to the propeller guards. Subject tracking works in both 360 and single camera modes, but when using the latter, The Avata 360 cant see and avoid obstacles behind it. It contacted branches several times during my testing, but fortunately the prop guards prevented crashes. Other automatic features include Dronie, Rocket and Quickshot modes that let you capture clips for social media. Video The Avata 360 prioritizes FPV freedom and flexibility over pure video quality. Though the specs promise 8K, that only applies to the full 360 degree video your final, flat video will actually be 4K or less after processing. And the 360 camera zooms digitally (not optically), which further reduces resolution. On top of that, you can often see a seam in the video where stitching occurs, and dewarping (used to output flat video) can create softness at the edges. With all that, video is less sharp than DJIs regular Mini, Air and Mavic drones. Because the camera is fixed when shooting 360 video, the Avata 360s gimbal cant smooth out jolts or correct for roll. Instead, it uses action cam-style electronic stabilization. Whats more, that type of smoothing causes motion blur and artifacts in low light due to the lower shutter speeds something I also noticed with the Osmo 360. Steve Dent for Engadget With that said, video quality was as sharp and color-accurate as the Osmo 360, and a touch better than the Antigravity A1 when filming in daylight. For tricky, contrasty conditions like a shaded path on a sunny day, the D-LogM option boosted dynamic range, helping me bring out shadow detail and tone down overly-bright highlights. However, the cityscape I shot at night was soft and occasionally blurry due to the aforementioned stabilization issues. In exchange for this lower video quality, the 360 camera provides incredible flexibility. For a vlog style tracking shot, for instance, I usually need to film twice to show the forward and backward directions. With the Avata 360, though, I was able to get both POVs from the same shot and output an overhead view too for good measure. DJI Studio is where you go to select your desired framing and output the flat video. Its not quite as versatile as Insta360s app, but it allows you to reframe shots and create smooth transitions between camera angles. And to save time, you can use the Intelligent Tracking feature to center your subject. The app also offers color correction and other features, but I found it easier to export the final shots to DaVinci Resolve for any additional work. Flat video a mixed bag. Sharpness is mildly better than the 360 video, but the lack of a gimbal roll axis means that the camera cant level itself when the drone banks into the wind. As a result, most of my footage was tilted and often unusable. Wrap-up Steve Dent for Engadget With the Avata 360, DJI has a surprisingly sophisticated drone that offers better video quality and more features than its only rival, Insta360s Antigravity A1. It can do everything youd expect from a DJI FPV drone like tracking, obstacle avoidance and acrobatics, while operating safely around people (or horses). DJI also managed to undercut Insta360 on price, with the Avata 360 starting at 459 euros (approx. $530), or 939 euros ($1,089) in a kit with a screen controller, three batteries and a charger. Its also available with the extra batteries and charger, DJIs FPV Goggles N3 and the RC Motion 3 controller for 939 euros ($1,089). As mentioned, theres no word yet on US pricing, but the Avata 360 has been approved by the FCC so it could appear in the US soon. Like 360 action cams though, this is a niche product. If youre a vlogger, extreme action shooter, FPV pilot or solo filmmaker who wants speed and flexibility, the Avata 360 is a great choice. If its pixel perfect image quality you want, however, youre better off with DJIs Mini 5 Pro, Air 3S or Avata 4 Pro drone. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/dji-avata-360-drone-review-360-video-hits-new-highs-120014666.html?src=rss

OpenAI drops plans to release an adult chatbot

OpenAI has indefinitely abandoned plans to release an a erotic chatbot for adults following concerns from employees and investors, the company confirmed to The Financial Times . Plans for such a feature, first announced in October 2025 for release in December last year, had already been delayed while company debated whether to release it all. It's the second app OpenAI has decided to shelf this week, after announcing on Tuesday that it was shutting down its Sora video generator. The adult-oriented chatbot, reportedly called Citron mode, is now on hold with no planned release date. The company reportedly had difficulty training models that previously avoided erotic content and also removing illegal behavior like bestiality or incest, two people familiar with the matter told the FT . Open AI said that it wanted to conduct long-term research on the effects of erotic chats and user attachment to AI, adding that there was currently not yet enough empirical evidence on the subject. The company also said it wanted to focus on its core productivity tools like coding assistants and drop side quests like Sora and the erotic chatbot. The idea for adult features came after OpenAI announced that it would add parental controls and automatic age detection features for ChatGPT. CEO Sam Altman said back in October that the company had always been careful about such issues over concerns around unhealthy AI attachments, but felt comfortable that it could safely relax the restrictions in most cases. However, the adult mode had reportedly caused concern among investors, particularly amid the controversy caused by rival xAI's Grok model that generated deepfake nudes of real people and children. Staff also worried about the feature, with one senior employee even leaving the company over the issue. AI shouldnt replace your friends or your family; you should have human connections, he told the FT . Another challenge is OpenAI's age-checking tech, introduced following lawsuits from families who said that ChatGPT harmed their children. The tech reportedly has an error right higher than ten percent, which would still give a large number of young people access to the tech. OpenAI said that figure is in the industry standard range and that it is continuing to work on its accuracy. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-drops-plans-to-release-an-adult-chatbot-113121190.html?src=rss

Uber and Pony.ai are testing a robotaxi service for Europe

Uber and Chinese company Pony.ai are gearing up to launch a robotaxi service for Europe, starting with Zagreb in Croatia. The companies are working with Croatian company Verne, which will provide the service ecosystem and operational framework for the service. Theyre using Arcfox Alpha T5 vehicles made by Beijing-based automaker BAIC Motor powered by Pony.ais Gen-7 autonomous driving system. Initially, the autonomous rides will be offered on Vernes app, but they will eventually be available through Uber. In their announcement, the companies said they have already started on-road testing in Zagreb, where the service will be available soon. Theyre hoping to expand it to other European cities in the future, and then to more markets, with the goal of deploying a fleet with thousands of robotaxis over the next few years. Verne will be in charge of securing regulatory approval for the rollouts, while Uber has agreed to invest in the Croatian company. This is but one of Ubers partnerships centering around its efforts to offer more and more driverless rides to its passengers. Just earlier this month, it announced that it was launching a pilot program for a robotaxi service in Tokyo in late 2026 with Nissan and UK self-driving startup Wayve. Uber also started offering robotaxi rides to passengers in Las Vegas at the same time. The fleet deployed in the city is made up of Hyundai Ioniq 5 autonomous EVs, developed in partnership with Motional. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-and-ponyai-are-testing-a-robotaxi-service-for-europe-104811944.html?src=rss

Oversight Board tells Meta expanding Community Notes outside of US poses 'significant' risks

Meta didn't consult its Oversight Board last year when it announced sweeping policy changes to content moderation and a rollback of third-party fact checking in the United States in favor of Community Notes. But the company did ask the board for advice on how to expand the crowd-sourced fact checks to other countries. Now the Oversight Board is publishing its advice to Meta. In a 15,000-word policy advisory opinion, the group urged Meta to be cautious with an international rollout, warning that an expansion of the program could pose significant human rights risks and contribute to tangible harms if safeguards are not put in place. The board, notably, was asked to weigh in on a fairly narrow set of questions, including how it should evaluate whether to withhold the feature in certain countries. Meta respectfully asked the Oversight Board to avoid general critiques about the system, which it has said is modeled after X. In its opinion, the Oversight Board said that Community Notes could enhance users freedom of expression and improve online discourse with enough safeguard. But it recommended Meta withhold the feature in countries with high polarization, as well as countries in the midst of a crisis or protracted conflict. The board also said that Meta should avoid countries with a history of organized disinformation networks, because the notes may be more easily manipulated in such places, and countries with linguistic complexity that Meta may be ill-equipped to understand. Depending on how you interpret that advice, that could exclude quite a few countries, though the board stopped short of making country-specific recommendations. Still, it raises questions about how closely Meta will follow the suggested guidelines. For example, the United States could be considered a country with high polarization. (Community Notes has been live in the US for more than a year.) While the Oversight Board was careful to say it neither endorses nor opposes an expansion of Community Notes, it did discuss Meta's approach to fact checking, noting that its partnerships with outside fact-checking organizations are still largely in place outside of the US. And the opinion cautions against ending these relationships, noting that research into Community Notes on X shows that authors writing notes often rely on work done by professional fact checkers. Community Notes and fact checking are not mutually exclusive, Oversight Board member Paolo Carozza tells Engadget. One doesn't have to replace or substitute for the other, they can coexist. And in some situations, there are really important reasons for them to coexist. The board really deliberately stayed away from any kind of suggestion that the introduction of Community Notes ought to result in the removal or ending of fact checking. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/oversight-board-tells-meta-expanding-community-notes-outside-of-us-poses-significant-risks-100000213.html?src=rss

PSA: T-Mobile customers have a week to sign up for a free year of MLB.TV

Today marks the start of the 2026 baseball season and in what has sort of become an annual tradition, T-Mobile is once again offering a free subscription to MLB.TV . In order to take advantage of the deal, T-Mobile customers simply need to log into the T Life app , navigate to the Benefits tab and then hit Redeem after clicking the banner for a free season of MLB.TV. From there, you just need to download the latest version of the MLB app to your mobile device and sign in or create an account. That said, this is a time-limited offer, so if you want the ability to stream regular season baseball for free, youll need claim the deal prior to March 31 at 4:59 AM ET. For anyone on a different carrier, this may be enough time to switch providers and still get in on the savings. Unfortunately, MLB.TV is subject to blackouts and market restrictions, so depending on where you live and where your favorite team is playing that day, you may not be able to catch every game. Sadly, this includes tonights 8:05 PM ET matchup between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants , which is streaming exclusively on Netflix. Even so, with a one-year subscription to MLB.TV currently going for $150, this is one of the best perks available from any of the big cellular carriers. In addition to full season of games, an MLB.TV subscription also includes access to a collection of baseball documentaries, game streams from previous years, World Series films, highlights, news and more. And with over 1.25 million customers having redeemed last years offer, this is potentially one of T-Mobiles biggest offers of the year, with the company claiming to have delivered more than $1 billion in savings since it first started running the promotion 10 years ago in 2016. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/psa-t-mobile-customers-have-a-week-to-sign-up-for-a-free-year-of-mlbtv-211306444.html?src=rss

Razer's new Blade 16 has Intel's latest chips and ultra-fast RAM

After leaning into some questionable AI antics at CES 2026, Razer is making some altogether more practical updates to its 16-inch laptop by giving it newer chips and faster RAM. The new Razer Blade 16 features Intel's new Core Ultra chips and speedy LPDDR5X-9600 MHz RAM, and is available to order today for $3,500. The Razer Blade 16 is designed to split the difference between the portable Razer Blade 14 and the monstrous Razer Blade 18, mostly by being thin but offering improved performance. Razer says the 2026 Blade 16 is 0.59 inches (14.9mm) at its thinnest point, which matches the thinness of the 2025 Blade 16 . The laptop also has a similar 16-inch QHD+, 240Hz OLED screen to last year's model, though the company says it's 100 nits brighter than before. Port selection also remains respectable: the laptop includes three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, a Thunderbolt 4 port, a Thunderbolt 5 port, a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port and a UHS-II SD card reader. Razer The real notable upgrade is Razer's switch from AMD Ryzen chips to new Intel Core Ultra 9 386H chips on the 2026 Razer Blade 16. The new Core Ultra chips are some of Intel's first processors made with its new 18A process and pitched as the company's comeback. Razer says the new chip es 16 cores and an integrated NPU that provides up to 50 TOPS for things like image generation and live translation, which the Razer Blade 16 supports natively as a Copilot+PC . The efficiency of the new chip also contributes to the laptops up to 15 hours of battery life. Of course, if you want power, the Razer Blade 16 has it: the laptop includes NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 Series Laptop GPUs and up to 64Gb of LPDDR5X-9600MHz RAM, which should give the Razer Blade 16 plenty of pep for games. Hardware upgrades don't come cheap, and the higher $3,500 starting price of the Razer Blade 16 which includes 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and a GeForce RTX 5080 GPU at a minimum is likely reflective of the growing cost of memory and storage that's already negativelyimpacting the PC industry. The Razer Blade 16 is available to purchase now through Razers website. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/razers-new-blade-16-has-intels-latest-chips-and-ultra-fast-ram-185858799.html?src=rss

Nintendo to start charging different prices for first-party digital and physical games

Nintendo just announced it will soon start charging different prices for first-party Switch 2 games based on whether the content is digital or physical . This could actually be a good thing for those who like to download their games instead of heading to a brick-and-mortar store to pick up a copy, as digital titles are getting a nice discount. It starts with the release of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book on May 21 , which will be $60 on the eShop but $70 at retail locations. Prior to this, most first-party games were $70 no matter how you bought them. I prefer downloading games, for convenience, and paid that much for both Donkey Kong Bananza and Pokmon Pokopia . Nintendo It's yet another blow, however, for consumers who prefer physical media. They aren't getting any kind of a discount, and many Switch 2 cartridges don't even contain the game nowadays. The boxes include game key cards , which allow the user to download the title to the console but are basically paperweights after that. This isn't the first time Nintendo has participated in this kind of dual pricing structure. The digital version of Donkey Kong Bananza was cheaper than the physical version in some parts of the world, including the UK. Is this another sign that making and shipping actual things is getting to be prohibitively expensive? There are storage and memory shortages due to AI and oil shortages due to war , not to mention an ever-shifting tariff policy here in the US. It's tough out there. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-to-start-charging-different-prices-for-first-party-digital-and-physical-games-184249374.html?src=rss

Jury rules against Meta and YouTube in social media addiction case

A jury in Los Angeles has found that Meta and YouTube were negligent in a closely-watched trial over social media addiction. The companies were ordered to pay $3 million in damages to the woman who said she was harmed by their addictive features as a child. The case was brought by a 20-year-old woman, named in court documents as K.G.M, who sued Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap, saying that she had been harmed by the platforms as a child due to addictive features. TikTok and Snap reached a settlement ahead of the trial. According to NBC News , Meta was ordered to pay 70 percent of the $3 million in compensatory damages with YouTube taking on the remaining portion. Punitive damages have not yet been decided. We respectfully disagree with the verdict and are evaluating our legal options, a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. We disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal., Google spokesperson Jos Castaeda said in a statement. This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site. The weeks-long trial has been closely watched because it's the first of many court cases in which plaintiffs have argued that social media platforms harmed minors due to how they were designed. Meta's lawyers and executives have disputed the idea that social media should be considered an addiction. CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified that the company wants Instagram to be useful, and repeatedly accused the plaintiff's lawyer of mischaracterizing his past statements. This is the first time in history a jury has heard testimony by executives and seen internal documents that we believe prove these companies chose profits over children, Joseph VanZandt, one of K.G.M.s lawyers, said in a statement to The New York Times, For Meta, it's the second legal setback in as many days. The verdict comes one day after a jury in New Mexico ruled against Meta in a trial over child safety issues. The company was ordered to pay $375 million in penalties ; the company said it would appeal. Update, March 25, 2026, 11:22AM PT: Added a statement from Google. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/jury-rules-against-meta-and-youtube-in-social-media-addiction-case-181344860.html?src=rss

Here's your first look at For All Mankind spinoff Star City

Apples excellent For All Mankind might be wrapping up after its recently confirmed sixth season, but as one big-budget alt-history sci-fi show departs, another is born. Apple TV has just dropped the first teaser for Star City , which focuses on the reimagined space race of the 1960s from the Soviet perspective. ICYMI, For All Mankind has been running for nearly five seasons now (the fifth arrives later this week), with its debut season in 2019 asking, what if Russia had beaten America to the moon? For All Mankind has jumped a number of decades ahead since then, but Star City returns us to that initial premise, taking us behind the Iron Curtain to see how the Soviet Union orchestrated its fictional historical triumph. The brief teaser doesnt show us much in the way of plot, but you straight away get what vibe the streamer is going for with a show it describes as a propulsive paranoid thriller. We also get a look at some of the cast, which includes House of the Dragon s Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin and Agnes OCasey. Interestingly, Star City s two-episode premiere lands on Apple TV on May 29, right after the finale of For All Mankind season 5, which takes place in the 2010s. That could make for a pretty jarring backwards time jump if you watch both seasons back to back, but nobody can say that Apple isnt serving its sci-fi audience. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/heres-your-first-look-at-for-all-mankind-spinoff-star-city-174359587.html?src=rss

Google's Lyria 3 Pro can now generate AI music (slop) up to 3 minutes in length

Google just introduced Lyria 3 Pro , an updated version of its AI model that generates songs based on prompts. The biggest improvement here is the ability to make full three-minute songs, up from 30 seconds when the product launched last month . The tool also brings a lot more customization into the mix. Users can now prompt the model to create specific elements within a song, like intros, verses, choruses and bridges. Google says Lyria 3 Pro better understands musical composition when compared to the previous model and that it's great for experimenting with different styles or generating songs with complex transitions. It's already available for paid Gemini users and for enterprise customers on Vertex AI. Additionally, developers have access to the tool via the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. The company is also integrating it into Google Vids , an AI-based video-generation platform. Google says that responsibility was foundational when designing and training this model, so it only uses materials that the company has actual rights to. Additionally, all Lyria 3 Pro outputs are embedded with SynthID, which is a watermark for identifying AI-generated content . That's all well and good, but do we need yet another AI music-making tool? Current estimates suggest that around 50,000 AI-generated tracks get uploaded daily to Spotify alone. The platform had to delete, and this is not a typo, 75 million of these tracks last year. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-lyria-3-pro-can-now-generate-ai-music-slop-up-to-3-minutes-in-length-172738752.html?src=rss

Meta lays off hundreds of workers, including more from Reality Labs

Meta is laying off more employees. Of the hundreds of cuts made on Wednesday, the Reality Labs division is one of the prime recipients. The layoffs come a day after news broke that Meta executives (sans Mark Zuckerberg) could be set for windfalls of up to $2.7 billion each under new pay packages. Today's cuts of hundreds fall well short of its reported 20 percent workforce reduction plans that leaked earlier this month. At the end of 2025, Meta's workforce stood at around 79,000 people. However, this could simply be a smaller initial round before the larger cuts come into play. Earlier in March, Meta reportedly asked some managers to prepare cost-cutting plans. The company is looking to offset its costly AI infrastructure investments, which include a plan to spend $600 billion on data centers by 2028. YouTube / Meta The layoffs are also said to affect Meta's recruiting, sales, Facebook and global operations divisions. But the Reality Labs cuts further illustrate how the company's VR and metaverse bets failed to pay off. Todays cuts follow layoffs in January that shed over 1,000 jobs from the division, which has lost over $70 billion since the beginning of 2021. Now, despite the 2021 rebranding that pivoted from social media to the metaverse, Zuckerberg now increasingly views Meta as an AI titan . In January, the CEO forecast the AI world Big Tech is creating when he said he was beginning to see projects that used to require big teams now [being] accomplished by a single very talented person. That sure sounds peachy for the dwindling few reaping the benefits. Those farther down the food chain may have different thoughts. Speaking of that sweet, sweet C-suite life, Meta is taking a page from Tesla's Elon Musk pay package . SEC filings reveal that the company is planning a lucrative new incentive system for six executives: CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li, COO Javier Olivan and CPO Chris Cox. They're set to receive more stock-based compensation tied to performance. Bosworth, Cox, Li and Olivan could reportedly be looking at bounties of up to $2.7 billion apiece. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-lays-off-hundreds-of-workers-including-more-from-reality-labs-171536879.html?src=rss

The Afeela 1 came too late and now is gone too soon

One of the most overly hyped, unfortunately named and curiously positioned cars has been officially killed . It's the Afeela 1, better known as the PlayStation Car, and it was meant to be an ultimate intersection of personal mobility and digital media. It is, instead, dead, killed by a combination of headwinds that even the most pessimistic of mobility analysts couldn't have foreseen when it was first revealed six years ago. That said, the six year interval might have been the biggest blow to the Afeela 1's chances. How did we get here? What was to become the Afeela 1 debuted at CES 2020 as the Sony Vision S , a car that made headlines not so much for the way it looked (it was pretty plain) or the way it was supposed to drive (Sony didn't really talk feel). It was notable simply because it was a car from a company best known for TVs that looked amazing and video game consoles that were impossible to find. A few years later, Sony paired up with Honda to show that this wasn't just a Gran Turismo fantasy made manifest. This was going to be an actual production car. In 2025, it was given a price tag: $100,000, along with a maximum range of about 300 miles. With cars like the Lucid Air already on the road, going 400 miles on a charge and costing less, Afeela 1 looked out of date well before it entered production. Back then, I said it was already shaping up to be a PS4 in a PS5 era , and a year later, the unveiling of a slightly taller SUV version didn't exactly shift the fates in the Afeela's favor. That incredibly long rollout, teasing a car for six full years, was pretty damning, but that was far from the only factor in the demise of the Afeela 1. A geopolitical EV catastrophe The interior display is one of a few interesting aspects of the Afeela 1. Tim Stevens for Engadget Back in 2020, the future was looking electrified. Manufacturers around the world were gearing up for an anticipated European ban on internal combustion by 2035, many of them promising to have fully electrified fleets years ahead of schedule. Government incentives were generous, free chargers were popping up all over the place, and the global cheerleader for emissions-free motoring, Elon Musk, was still mostly respectable. In the years that followed, everything fell apart, especially here in the US. Electric cars became a political firestorm, with Trumps campaign taking every opportunity to decry them. Our federal rebates were scrapped, incentives for charger deployments were terminated and suddenly, the global automotive landscape became mired in a turbulent web of tariffs that shifted with the winds of hot air billowing around Washington. EVs were now seen as an incredible folly by a considerable percentage of American consumers. The CEO of the world's largest EV manufacturer goose-stepping along to the beat didn't help. What was a market ripe for electrified innovation in 2020 turned into a mobility landmine by 2026. Autonomy when? Afeela 1 Tim Stevens for Engadget One of the key selling points of the Afeela 1 was to be Sony deploying the full might of its digital empire onto four wheels. PlayStation gaming on the go! High definition movies in the dashboard! Ratchet & Clank on a weird little LCD on your bumper for some reason! This was exciting stuff back in 2020 because autonomous cars were right around the corner. Waymo was doing incredible things, others were hot on its heels, and a significant chunk of industry analysts were predicting that hands-off, eyes-closed autonomy would be a tick of a box on vehicle configurators in just a few years' time. Fast-forward to 2026 and, in many ways, we're no closer to that dream. Sure, we have a number of hands-off driver assistance systems available today, some more aspirationally named than others, but there are no mass-market, eyes-off autonomy systems on American roads. That means the inclusion of Sony's media empire isn't quite the flex it was. Sure, your kids in the back seat can have a hell of a time, but chances are they already have enough devices to keep them well entertained without you having to drop six figures on a new car from a new company with a funny name. The intangibles Afeela 1 Another key strike against the Afeela 1 was that it, quite simply, didn't look very good. That first Vision concept had a few striking lines about it. But by the time Sony Honda Mobility came about, they'd all been ironed out. A white, featureless sedan is something that's hard for anyone to get excited about. Not every car needs to be exciting to behold, but the Afeela 1 didn't really deliver in other regards. I've sat in a few different versions of prototypes, and while they were all nice enough, none held a candle to the sorts of posh appointments you'd expect were you to drop $100,000 on a Mercedes-Benz or a BMW. Sony was really betting on the car's media chops to deliver value to its hardcore fans, but there are plenty of amazing-sounding cars on the road today, cars that look better and cost less than the Afeela 1 would have. Sony cachet simply wasn't enough. Honda's cold feet Honda 0 Series EV Honda The final death knell of the Afeela 1 came at the hands of Honda. While the Afeela 1 was born of a Sony dream, it was to be produced in partnership with Honda. When I met with Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe last year, he was already getting cool on the company's American EV prospects. The volume initially will probably be less than we had envisioned earlier, he said. Since then, Honda took things further, canceling its 0 Series EVs . That struck me as a real shame . Where the Afeela 1 looked anonymous and was set to cost too much, the 0 Series machines were stunning and intended to be affordable. They had a real chance. Their death effectively ripped the platform right out from under the Afeela 1. It's conceivable that Sony could take its content, car and characters to a new platform, and indeed, the press release on the cancellation of the Afeela 1 leaves the door open, saying: SHM will continue discussions with Sony and Honda regarding its future business plans. But, that seems extremely unlikely to me. So the Afeela 1 is dead, and so too is the dream of the PlayStation car. If you've read my coverage of the thing in the past, you know that I was never bullish on it. Pessimistic is closer to the truth, yet I still feel incredibly bad about this turn of events. I spoke with and interviewed a fair few Sony Honda Mobility employees over the years, and all were extremely excited about what they were building. And why not? They were trying to do something new, a radically different experience in a wholly new car from a wholly new brand. Thats not something that comes along very often. Sadly, the Afeela 1 will go down in history as a lesson of exactly why that is. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/the-afeela-1-came-too-late-and-now-is-gone-too-soon-164845008.html?src=rss

Supreme Court rules ISPs aren't liable for subscribers' music piracy

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on March 25 that Cox Communications is not liable for copyright infringement committed by its subscribers, reversing a 2024 appeals court decision that had upheld the ISP's liability. Sony Music Entertainment and other major labels sued Cox in 2018, arguing the company failed to terminate internet service for subscribers repeatedly flagged for pirating copyrighted music. A jury awarded $1 billion in statutory damages after finding Cox willfully infringed all 10,017 copyrighted works at issue, though this was overturned on appeal and a new trial was ordered. Writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said a provider is not liable for merely providing a service to the general public with knowledge that it will be used by some to infringe copyrights. A provider is liable only if it intended or actively encouraged the infringement, Thomas wrote. The decision applies the same framework the court used in 2005 when it found file-sharing service Grokster liable for promoting piracy. Cox serves approximately six million subscribers and contractually prohibits them from using their connections to distribute copyrighted content. A firm enlisted by the labels to track piracy sent Cox 163,148 infringement notices over a roughly two-year period. Cox terminated just 32 subscribers for copyright infringement during that span. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/supreme-court-rules-isps-arent-liable-for-subscribers-music-piracy-163412791.html?src=rss

Spotify is testing a tool to help real artists deal with AI slop on their profiles

Low-quality, mass-produced AI songs have been flooding music streaming platforms like Spotify for a couple of years now. This is annoying, but relatively easy for fans to avoid. However, it leads to real problems for artists. There's so much slop coming in that some gets falsely attributed to actual musicians on these platforms. This messes with brand identity and audience retention, but Spotify is testing a new tool to help real artists exercise more control over their profiles. The platform's Artist Profile Protection feature lets musicians review releases before they go live and become associated with their profiles. Spotify This should prevent AI slop from creeping in, as the actual artist will have final say when 100 new songs show up out of the blue that sort of sound like them but with all of that pesky soul removed. It's in beta right now and if an artist denies a track, it won't be associated with their profile, won't contribute to stats and won't show up in user recommendations. This looks to be a simple and potentially effective solution to an ongoing problem . Music has been landing on the wrong artist pages across streaming services, and the rise of easy-to-produce AI tracks has made the problem worse, Spotify wrote in a blog post. We know how frustrating this can be for both artists and fans alike. This comes just a week after Sony requested the removal of more than 135,000 AI-generated songs from Spotify after it was discovered the tracks were impersonating real artists. This even happens to bands that have opted out of Spotify entirely. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard left the platform last year , to protest CEO Daniel Ek's investment in a weapons manufacturing company, but a deepfake artist quickly filled the vacuum . Some of this isn't malicious. It's a numbers game for the creators of these tracks. Statistics vary, but it's been estimated that around 50,000 AI-generated songs get uploaded to Spotify each and every day. The platform deleted 75 million of these tracks last year. With this many uploads, it's easy for tracks to accidentally end up on the wrong artist's profile. Bad actors looking to attach their slop to a known quantity compounds the issue. In any event, it's good that Spotify is doing something about this . We don't know when the tool will exit the beta phase and become available for all artists on the platform. That day can't come soon enough. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/spotify-is-testing-a-tool-to-help-real-artists-deal-with-ai-slop-on-their-profiles-161013653.html?src=rss

Reddit will prompt some accounts to 'verify humanness' in latest bot crackdown

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has detailed the company's latest plan to fight bots and it means that some accounts will need to verify humanness, though the company is stopping short of widespread identity verification. In an update, Huffman said that in rare cases accounts that seem fishy will be prompted for additional verification. Such prompts will not apply to most users, according to Huffman, but will apply to accounts where Reddit detects signs of automated posting or bot-like behavior. If the account doesn't pass the verification test, it may be restricted from the platform. For now, verification will take the form of on-device methods, including FaceID and passkeys. But the company is considering alternative methods, including World ID, the face-scanning orb company run by Sam Altman. I think the internet needs verification solutions like this, where your account information, usage data, and identity never mix, Huffman writes. As part of the new policy, Reddit is also adding an [APP] label to existing good bots on the platform and making it easier for users to report suspected bad bots. The company is also grappling with a growing number of age verification laws. Reddit is exploring ways to comply with these regulations without compromising user privacy, Huffmans said. The company is clearly trying to walk a careful line in how it approaches verification. Huffman notes that Reddit intends to confirm humanness rather than verify users' actual identities, which would erode the anonymity that Reddit is known for. But the rise of agentic AI has meant that Reddit is contending with the same sorts of bot-driven spam that took down the short-lived reboot of Digg. Of course, Reddit is also filled with AI-generated material that's shared by actual humans but may be considered spammy by other users. The company has no plans to crack down on such content, at least for now, according to Huffman. For better or worse, using AI to write is part of how people will communicate in the future (albeit annoying), so our current focus is to ensure there is a real, live human behind the accounts youre seeing. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reddit-will-prompt-some-accounts-to-verify-humanness-in-latest-bot-crackdown-161000181.html?src=rss

Sony adds the Bravia Theater Bar 5 and Bar 7 to its soundbar lineup

Sony already has a robust collection of soundbars in its Bravia Theater lineup . Today, the company is adding two more, as well as new rear speakers and three new subwoofers. The Bar 7 will sit in Sonys premium tier, alongside the existing (and larger) Bar 8 and Bar 9 models, while the Bar 5 will offer a more compact and more affordable solution just below the current Bar 6. The Bravia Theater Bar 7 utilizes nine total drivers to produce Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and IMAX Enhanced sound. More specifically, that arrangement includes three woofers, two tweeters, two up-firing units and two side-firing drivers, in addition to four passive radiators. Compare that to the Bar 8 and Bar 9 which house 11 speakers and 13 speakers respectively. Sony says the Bar 7 has new two-way front speakers and the center, up-firing and side-firing drivers all have the companys oval-shaped X-Balanced design. In terms of features, you get Sonys 360 Spatial Sound Mapping and Sound Field Optimization for more immersive audio performance. The Bar 7 will come bundled with Sonys new Bravia Theater Sub 7 for $870, but you can also purchase it without the subwoofer (pricing TBA). For a more robust system, the Bar 7 can be paired with the companys Bravia Theater Rear speakers. Sony Bravia Theater Sub 7 Sony Speaking of subwoofers, Sony debuted three new models today. The aforementioned Sub 7 is the smallest, employing a 5.1-inch driver for the low-end tone. Move up to the new Sub 8 and you get a 7.9-inch driver for enhanced atmosphere, clearer bass, according to the company. The largest of the new options is the Sub 9 which has two opposing 7.9-inch drivers for powerful, clean bass. Unfortunately, these add-ons dont come cheap: the Sub 7 is $330, the Sub 8 is $500 and the Sub 9 is $900. Sony also touts dual subwoofer connectivity as part of the refreshed Bravia Theater lineup. All three of the new subs can be used as a pair, so long as you have a Theater Bar 7, Theater Bar 8 or Theater Bar 9. You can also use two subwoofers with some of Sonys receivers (STR-AZ7000ES, STR-AZ5000ES, STR-AZ3000ES, STR-AZ1000ES and STR-AN1000). The company explains that opting for two subs provides stronger, more balanced bass, obviously, that fills the room for a more cinematic effect. Sony also says two subwoofers enable richer, fuller bass at lower volumes. Rear speakers are something youll need if you truly want immersive audio, and the new Theater Rear 9 units are a big upgrade over the current Rear 8s. Most notably, you get an up-firing driver for enhanced overhead sounds along with two passive radiators, in addition to a tweeter and a woofer. The drivers all have aluminum diaphragms instead of paper, and the Rear 9s come with a swivel wall mounts that enable 60-degree movement. A pair of Theater Rear 9 speakers will set you back $750. Sony Bravia Theater Bar 5 Sony If all of that sounds too expensive for your living room, Sony has something more affordable in the midrange area. The Bravia Theater Bar 5 is just $350 and still offers Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio. It doesnt have up-firing drivers, its a 3.1-channel setup, so any overhead effects will be simulated. Still, thats probably okay if you have a smaller space or live in an apartment as the upmixing tech (S-Force Pro Front Surround and Vertical Sound Engine) should provide ample immersion. The Bar 5 does come with a subwoofer though, and you can employ Sonys Voice Zoom 3 feature for enhanced dialogue. The Bravia Theater Bar 7, all three of the new subwoofers and the Rear 9 will be available for pre-order later this spring. The Bar 5 is up for pre-order starting today. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/sony-adds-the-bravia-theater-bar-5-and-bar-7-to-its-soundbar-lineup-160000680.html?src=rss

Mark Zuckerberg, Jensen Huang and Sergey Brin join Trump's tech advisory panel

The leaders of several major tech companies will offer the White House their opinions on tech and science policy as part of an advisory council. Mark Zuckerberg, Jensen Huang, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison the CEOs of Meta, NVIDIA, Dell and Oracle, respectively are joining the panel alongside Google co-founder Sergey Brin and AMD CEO Lisa Su. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who has donated to super PACs that support President Donald Trump, will serve on the panel too. The latest iteration of the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has 13 members, though that could expand to 24. White House AI and cryptocurrency czar David Sacks co-chairs PCAST alongside Trump's science advisor, Michael Kratsios. Under President Trump, PCAST will focus on topics related to the opportunities and challenges that emerging technologies present to the American workforce, and ensuring all Americans thrive in the Golden Age of Innovation, the White House told The Wall Street Journal in a statement. Zuckerberg said he was honored to join the presidents council and work with other industry leaders to help ensure the US is the world leader in AI. George W. Bush established PCAST with a 2001 executive order, and some notable executives have been involved with the panel. Barack Obama's advisors included then-Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt and former Microsoft chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie, while ex-Disney CEO Bob Iger served on PCAST during Trump's first term. Joe Biden's panel included Su. The tech CEOs all have a personal and professional stake here, given the potential impact of federal rules on them and their businesses. Its worth noting that Meta, Google and Huang all chipped in to help pay for the construction of Trumps White House ballroom. Google, Meta and NVIDIA were among the companies that each donated $1 million to the committee for Trump's second inauguration. Meanwhile, Ellison whose family has spent much of the last couple of years building a media empire that includes Paramount and potentially Warner Bros. Discovery has close ties to Trump. Oracle is also one of the companies that backed the takeover of the US version of TikTok, a deal that Trump approved with an executive order. It was reported this month that the Trump administration is receiving $10 billion for brokering the buyout. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/mark-zuckerberg-jensen-huang-and-sergey-brin-join-trumps-tech-advisory-panel-144722797.html?src=rss

Stephen Colbert is writing a new Lord of the Rings movie

Its been quite a while since we visited Middle-Earth on the big screen (anime prequels aside), but it looks like Lord of the Rings fans have plenty to look forward to in the coming years. We already knew that Andy Serkis The Hunt for Gollum was in the works and by all accounts is progressing nicely but another Rings-related film is in development too, and its being co-written by none other than Stephen Colbert. The announcement came from Peter Jackson himself, in a video posted by Warner Bros. to coincide with Tolkien Reading Day. The director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy provided a quick update on Serkis film (the British actor is both directing and reprising his role as Gollum), before introducing very special partner and diehard Tolkien fan Colbert on a video call. With The Late Show nearing its end, its host was seemingly going to be out of work in the summer. Colbert is working with his son Peter as well as screenwriter Philippa Boyens (who co-wrote the original film trilogy). They'll adapt some early chapters of Fellowship of the Ring that never made it into Jacksons 2001 film. The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past is actually set 14 years after the events of Return of the King , and will see Sam, Merry and Pippin retrace the first steps of their famous adventure. So while the new film is inspired specifically by Fellowship chapters III (Three is Company) through VIII (Fog On The Barrow-Downs), it sounds like were actually getting a sequel of sorts, in which well also see Sams daughter Elanor make a huge discovery that puts her on her own quest. Colbert and his son had been scribbling away at their idea for several years before plucking up the courage to show what they had come up with to Jackson, but the legendary 64-year-old filmmaker was clearly a fan. And given the timing of the announcement, Colbert will soon be able to commit all of his energy to the project, which has not yet named any cast members. Will Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan be dusting off their hobbit attire? Only time will tell, but the time jump would presumably make it possible. The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past doesnt have a release date, but its announcement coincides with the 25th anniversary of Fellowship of the Ring , which has already been marked by the whole trilogy returning to theaters earlier this year. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/stephen-colbert-is-writing-a-new-lord-of-the-rings-movie-143004743.html?src=rss

Ring adds 4K to its battery-powered video doorbells

Ring has today announced a spec bump to its battery-powered video doorbells for all those folks who cant wire their units to power. The flagship Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd gen) gets 4K video, with 10x zoom and the promise of far longer time between recharges than the previous model. At the same time, its bringing 2K imaging to its lower-end battery doorbells, the Battery Doorbell Plus and Battery Doorbell (2nd gen). The former, as fitting its higher price, gets a quick-release battery pack, while both models get 2K video and 6x zoom. Naturally, these features are already available on Rings wired products, the bulk of which were announced back in September 2025 . The company is also aware that swapping out batteries isnt ideal if you really need a doorbell to work all of the time. Thats why its also launching a new Solar Charger which integrates into the mount, keeping your doorbell running for longer between trips to the wall outlet. Theres also a bigger Solar Panel, which pumps out more juice than its smaller sibling, and can be mounted in a wider variety of places. All of the above are available to pre-order from today, and are priced as follows: Pro ($250), Plus ($180), Battery Doorbell ($100), Solar Charger ($50), Solar Panel ($60). This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/ring-adds-4k-to-its-battery-powered-video-doorbells-130021181.html?src=rss

Sennheiser's owners want to sell its consumer headphone business

Hearing aid company Sonova has put its Sennheiser consumer audio division on the auction block less than five years after acquiring it , the company announced on Reddit . Today Sonova announced they intend to divest the business and will focus on Hearing Care, Sonova wrote, adding it intends to find the right new owner. Sennheiser's consumer audio division mainly manufactures high-end headphones like the HD 400, HD 500, HD 600 and HD 800 series and recently launched the HDB 630, $500 wireless headphones aimed at audiophiles. The company's most (in)famous lineup is the HE series, which includes the $55,000 HE 90 and 89,990 HE 1 . Sonova originally purchased Sennheiser with the intent of expanding its demographic to younger customers. At the time, it said even if [young people] don't have hearing loss, most of them will gradually get hearing loss with age, and devices like Sennheiser's allow us to have earlier consumer access to such people. For its part, Sennheiser said it wanted to relinquish its consumer business in order to focus on its pro audio, business and Neumann (high-end microphone) divisions that it still owns. Things apparently didn't go to plan, though. Sonova's Sennheiser division's sales in the last half-year declined significantly year-over-year and the company was hit with a 6 million fine over its retail pricing practices (that occurred prior to the acquisition). However, the company's recent products have been praised by the audiophile community as a return to previous form, with Engadget's audio reviewer Billy Steele calling the HDB 630 a sonic marvel. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/sennheisers-owners-want-to-sell-its-consumer-headphone-business-121830441.html?src=rss

Samsung Galaxy A37 and A57 hands-on: The cheaper phone might be a winner

Late last year, Samsung launched its newest generation of affordable A-series phones, starting with the entry-level A17 . Following the arrival of the flagship Galaxy S26 line , the company has returned to flesh out the rest of its midrange portfolio. The more affordable Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A57 sport some interesting upgrades, even when compared to some of their pricier siblings. Core specs and features Before we dive into my hands-on impressions, I want to do a quick rundown of each phone's specs as that should help set up (or temper) expectations. As you'd expect based on their numbering, the A37 is the more affordable of the two with a base price of $450 for 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. You can also choose 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage for $540. Notably, when compared to the A17, the A37 features a much more recent and more powerful Exynos 1480 chip that brings a big jump in NPU performance and helps unlock much of the phone's newfound AI capabilities. It also comes with a large 6.7-inch AMOLED display, a 5,000mAh battery and three rear cameras. However, two of those will likely get more use than the other as the A37 packs a 50-megapixel main camera and an 8MP ultra-wide, along with a 5MP macro shooter. The Galaxy A37 will be available in four colors: charcoal, white, lavender and graygreen. However, the middle two are Samsung.com exclusives and the last one is only available from Best Buy. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Meanwhile, the Galaxy A57 is a bit more expensive, starting at $550 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, or $610 for the 8GB/256GB version. It also features a slightly more powerful Exynos 1680 processor and a higher-res 12MP sensor for its ultra-wide lens, but aside from that, it has the same general camera setup as A37 and the same size battery. One small difference is that the A57 has Bluetooth 6 connectivity and Wi-Fi 6E, but the A37 is still stuck with BT 5.3 and basic Wi-Fi 6. For some reason, the A57 is only available in one color: navy. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Both phones come with IP68 ratings for dust and water resistance (which is an upgrade from IP67 on the A36) and 120Hz refresh rates. However, the most important shared trait is that while neither supports wireless charging, they can both take wired power at up to 45 watts, which is actually faster than a base Galaxy S26's limit of just 25 watts. Finally, in addition to six years of OS and security updates, the A37 and A57 are getting some trickle-down AI features from its flagship siblings. Those include improved support for Google's Circle to Search , Object Eraser and better transcription and translation capabilities in the Samsung Voice Recorder app. Galaxy A37 impressions Both phones have nearly identical designs, right down to the same screen size and number of cameras. That said, one area where Samsung cut corners on A37 is that it features a plastic frame instead of the A57s aluminum. But even when you hold them side by side, it's rather difficult to discern between the two. There's no obvious difference in appearance or button layout, so the main way to tell the two apart is by feeling for the cooler touch you typically get from a metal chassis. Alternatively, if you look closely, you'll notice that the A37 has slightly thicker bezels around the outside of its screen. Here's a closer look at the A37's color options. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Compared to the Galaxy A17, the A37's Exynos 1480 felt significantly snappier and much better equipped for multitasking or AI-based tasks like removing unwanted objects from photos. Regardless, as the less expensive of Samsung's new midrange phone options, the company did a really good job disguising the major differences between the two new models. Galaxy A57 impressions To be honest, the A57 wasn't quite as appealing as the A37 due to its higher price and no additional features. The main tool it has that isn't available on its more affordable sibling is Samsung's Best Face camera tool, which allows the phone to analyze people's expressions so you can select your favorite reaction and put it in the photo you want. On paper, its Exynos 1680 chip should be a bit faster, but in normal use, it's really hard to tell. And unlike the A37, which comes in four colors (white, charcoal, lavender and gray/green, depending on the retailer), the A57 is only available in navy. Early thoughts While they look the same, the A57 features an aluminum chassis instead of plastic like on the A37, which should be better for long term durability. Sam Rutherford for Engadget As a more powerful and more premium alternative to the $200 A17, the A37 feels like a worthy upgrade for the money. It offers noticeably smoother performance along with a more elegant hole-punch selfie cam (instead of a waterdrop) and stereo speakers (instead of mono). Starting at $450, the A37 can also undercut the Pixel 10a while offering a larger 6.7-inch AMOLED display (versus 6.3 inches for the Pixel) and a smattering of equivalent AI features. And in some ways, the wider selection of colors just reinforces that Samsung is probably placing bigger bets on the A37's market prospects. If I were looking for an affordable Android phone with a big screen, I'd give more consideration to this new middle child in Samsung's A-series lineup. Aside from bezels that are a tiny bit bigger, the Galaxy A37 (left) looks almost exactly the same as the more expensive Galaxy A57 (right). Sam Rutherford for Engadget As for the A57, it's certainly not a bad phone, but starting at $550, it suffers from being in a much more competitive price bracket. For those who prefer smaller devices, the $500 Pixel 10a is cheaper while offering even better AI tools, a cleaner UI, wireless charging, a slightly larger battery and unmatched photo quality. However, the A57's biggest rival is arguably another Samsung phone: the Galaxy S25 FE . Aside from slower wired charging, it has an even nicer design, an extra year of software and security updates (seven total) and a proper telephoto camera instead of a macro lens. And while its MSRP is a bit higher at $650, it's regularly on sale for under $600 ( or less ), which effectively sidesteps the A57's biggest advantage. That said, no matter which one you prefer, more options for affordable gadgets are always welcome especially with the price of smartphones and PCs increasing due to the global RAM shortage . The Galaxy A37 and A57 will officially go on sale April 9. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-a37-and-a57-hands-on-the-cheaper-phone-might-be-a-winner-120000965.html?src=rss

Apple introduces age verification for iCloud accounts in the UK

Apple has introduced more than just new features, like an AI playlist generator, with iOS 26.4 in the UK. The company now requires users in the region to verify their ages and to prove theyre 18 years old or above before they can access certain services or features, or take certain actions on their account. Users can verify their ages in Settings by linking a credit card to their account or scanning an ID. For people whove had an Apple account for a while, the company will check if they already have a payment method on file that can prove theyre of age. The company says it will automatically switch on its Web Content Filter and Communication Safety features for everyone under 18 and for those who havent verified their ages. These tools are integrated into Apples operating systems and can restrict users from accessing specific websites on Safari and third-party browsers, as well as warn users when theyre receiving or sending images and videos containing nudity. Ofcom, the UKs communications regulator, praised Apple for the decision, especially since its not required to implement age verification for the iOS or its App Store under the regions Online Safety Act . Apples decision that the UK will be one of the first countries in the world to receive new child safety protections on devices is a real win for children and families, the regulator said. Our rules are flexible and designed to encourage innovation, particularly in age assurance. We've worked closely with Apple and other services to ensure they can be applied in a variety of contexts in order to ensure users are protected. This will build on the strong foundations of the Online Safety Act, from widespread age checks that keep young people away from harmful content, to blocking high-risk sites and stepping up action against child sexual abuse material. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-introduces-age-verification-for-icloud-accounts-in-the-uk-115340237.html?src=rss

Sony and Honda kill its Afeela EVs

Sony Honda Mobility, the automotive venture from two of Japans most storied companies, has swung the axe on its EV project. In a statement , it said it would discontinue the development and launch of the Afeela 1 and 2, its long-in-development electric cars. The company added it would review its business direction, and announce its future plans at the earliest possible opportunity. Which, if were honest, probably means the whole thing is going to be shut down, or scaled back so much its no longer worth talking about. 2026 has not been a great year for Honda. On March 12, it posted an up-to $15.7 billion loss as it wrote off a big chunk of its investment in EVs. The US pivot toward fossil fuels, removal of federal EV tax credits and the imposition of tariffs has hit its business pretty hard. Not to mention the high-profile embarrassment of its current F1 engine project with Aston Martin, which promised so much and has delivered less than nothing. Sonys journey into the automotive world began six years ago with the announcement of the Vision-S, the car which would eventually be re-christened Afeela. But while the product looked good on trade show stands, it stood still while the rest of the car world sprinted ahead. In January, Tim Stevens said Afeela 1 looked a little dated, and a little lacking in emotion, and a lot more expensive than comparable models from rivals. Its also worth noting Sony and Hondas vision of a smart device on wheels is hardly a novel concept these days. Not to mention that Afeela 1 is a sedan, being sold to a world thats increasingly fallen out of love with the type in favor of higher-riding SUVs. In Sony's statement, however, the SUV-aping Afeela 2 didn't even get a mention by name, which hints that it was as much an afterthought for the company as we might have guessed when it was announced. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/sony-and-honda-kill-its-afeela-evs-100426852.html?src=rss