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BMW's i3 is reborn as a sporty 440 mile range EV sedan
After letting us drive a prototype around in the snow earlier this month, BMW has fully unveiled its all-new i3 electric vehicle. It's a far cry from the original funky hatch launched way back in 2013, offering more of everything including power, range and space. It also looks like you'd hope a 3-series EV would: a sporty sedan, minus the polarizing grille on the gas-powered M3.
The i3 uses BMW's Neue Klasse platform and indeed borrows inspiration from the company's Vision Neue Klasse concept unveiled in 2023. With motors on the front and rear in the 50 xDrive configuration, along with the 800-volt electrical system, it delivers a combined 463 HP and 476 lb-ft of torque, just a touch less than BMW's G80 M3.
That will make the BMW quick (the automaker didn't say how quick yet), but it will also be efficient. BMW estimates that the i3 will go 440 miles on a charge according to EPA guidelines and offer quick energy replenishment as well via DC charging speeds up to 400kW — up to 30 percent faster than its previous Gen5 tech. The battery pack will also be directly integrated into the chassis to reduce weight and increase torsional rigidity, while allowing bidirectional charging so you'll be able to use it as a battery on wheels to power your home in a blackout.
Styling-wise, the i3 is much simpler up front with the grille and headlights incorporated as a single unit. A recess down the center of the hood draws your eye to the badge, while giving the EV muscle car allure. The side intakes add to that impression, as do the bulgy fenders, "Le Catellet Blue" metallic paint and optional lighting animations (Relaxed, Excited and Balanced).
On the tech side, the i3 supports BMW's Digital Key Plus so you can open the doors or trunk with a smartphone or smartwatch. The interior, meanwhile, looks as futuristic as I've seen in any recent EV thanks to the 17.9-inch Panoramic Vision display that's angled toward the driver, along with an optional 3D heads-up display. The system features a self-learning voice assistant with Amazon Alexa+ AI and supports customizable themes, colors and background images. It also includes a wireless charging pad for your smartphone or other devices.
Inside, you can choose between multifunction and M Sport seats trimmed in different themes, including imitation leather in Agave Green, Digital White, Castanea or Black, or an M Design World theme in Black Veganza with M Performtex material. Alternatively, you can go for the BMW Individual scheme with real black Merino leather. For controls, BMW is using a hybrid system with physical buttons for the hazard lights and parking brake and "Shy Tech" buttons on the steering wheel that activate only when required.
BMW will start i3 production in August 2026 and deliveries later in the fall, with pricing set to be revealed around that time. From what we've seen so far it's going to offer outstanding performance and range, but don't expect it to be cheap.
The Defense Department reportedly plans to train AI models on classified military data
The Pentagon is making plans to have AI companies train versions of their models specifically for military use on classified information, according to the MIT Technology Review. If true, it wouldn’t come as a surprise, seeing as the US is aiming to become an “AI-first" warfighting force, based on the statement [PDF] released by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth earlier this year.
The department is already using AI models in the military: For instance, the US reportedly used Anthropic’s Claude to help with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and with its attack on Iran, even after President Trump ordered federal agencies to ban its technology. But models trained on actual classified data could give more accurate and detailed responses, say, for situations similar to what happened in the past that aren’t public information.
MIT Tech Review says the department is looking to conduct the training in a secure data center that’s allowed to host classified government projects. The Pentagon would train copies of AI models, but it would remain the only owner of any data used for training. In rare cases, someone from the AI company could be granted the appropriate security clearance to see classified information.
Aalok Mehta, who previously led AI policy efforts at Google and OpenAI, told the publication that training models on classified data carries certain risks. It’s not that the information could go public, since the the models trained would be versions made specifically for military purposes. However, if the same model is used across the whole Defense Department, for instance, personnel without the correct clearance level could end up getting information that they weren’t supposed to have access to.
If the initiative pushes through, the department would likely be training models from OpenAI and xAI, which recently signed agreements with the agency. Anthropic, which has long worked with the government, might not be part of this project. The company refused to allow its technology to be used for mass surveillance and the development of autonomous weapons, and Trump ordered all federal offices to ban it as a result.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-defense-department-reportedly-plans-to-train-ai-models-on-classified-military-data-120332113.html?src=rssHow to prepare your phone for trade-in
There was once a time in which many people couldn't wait to toss their smartphone aside every two years (and sometimes even more frequently) in order to get the latest model as soon as it hit shelves. But that world has faded for the most part now as shoppers demand devices that last for years so they can hold on to them for longer. And when the time finally comes to upgrade, many are being more conscientious about what happens to their old gadgets.
You may want to trade in your smartphone or sell it when you're ready to upgrade; either option can keep your device out of a landfill in addition to scoring you some extra cash. There are also options to recycle part or all of your phone if it's too old to make a trade-in worthwhile. Whatever path you choose, there are important steps to take to prepare a phone you're about to get rid of. These instructions apply to any model you might have, including both iPhones and Android phones. Here's what you need to know.
Back up your data
Let's start with a very important reminder to do regular backups for all of your gear, not just your phone. It's a task you should keep up with routinely even when you aren't about to recycle or trade-in a device.
Most hardware manufacturers have an automatic cloud backup system, but you'll like your new phone a lot less if it doesn't have your full, up-to-date library of contacts, photos and other information. This is the time to manually back everything up with all of your latest data.
Also, before you get any further into the process, make sure that you know the critical details for your phone and the main accounts associated with it. Halfway through is the worst time to lose access to your device because you can't remember your username or password.
Unpair wireless accessories
Most people connect their phone to many other gadgets via Bluetooth. There are obvious ones, like smartwatches and wireless headphones, but you might also have your phone paired with something like a car stereo or a portable speaker. All of them should be unpaired from the phone you're about to trade in.
If you use your phone in two-factor authentication for sensitive accounts, you'll want to make sure that you disconnect the device from those services, too.
Log out of apps and services
Next, you'll sign out of the device's cloud-based service. For iPhone owners, that's iCloud, and on Android, it's the Google suite. This will avoid any confusion with your new device. You'll also want to turn off Find My on iPhones or Find My Device on Android phones. iPhone users should also deregister iMessage on their old iPhone, particularly if they’re moving to a non-Apple smartphone. These steps might seem unnecessary when you'll end up wiping your device entirely, but you don't want to risk having your personal information accidentally made available to whoever might get your phone next.
Also, if you are under a plan that protects your phone, such as Apple Care or Preferred Care, you can usually cancel that coverage early. You'll get a refund on any unexpired coverage, and given how expensive gadgets can be now, it's worth getting that money back if you can.
Swap to the new device
At this point, your to-do list will vary. If you're planning to trade up to a newer model from the same manufacturer and you already have your new phone, then you'll want to transfer your data before moving on to wiping your old phone. Either in the store or on your own, in most cases you can wirelessly migrate your data from the old device to the new one.
If you're changing lanes between the Apple and Google universes, you can also do most data swapping yourself. There's a Google Play app called Move to iOS and one in the App Store called Android Switch that can walk you through the process. Just be sure that your device meets the requirements to use those programs.
However, if you aren't immediately setting up a new device, then you can skip this and move on to the next phase.
Factory reset your old device
Once you double-check that you have everything backed up (seriously, don't take chances on this), then it's time to perform a factory reset. This will remove all of your data and apps, and bring the phone back to its original state. It’s ideal to do this reset as the final step of trading in, selling or recycling a device.
Whatever phone model you have, the reset option will be in the Settings app. It will commonly be nested under a tab like General or About, or you can search “reset” within Settings to find exactly where it is on your device.
Remove any accessories
This might seem obvious, but right before handing off your phone, make sure that you remove any accessories. Cases, grips and screen protectors should stay with you, not with the phone when it goes to its new home.
Check out more from our spring cleaning guide.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-prepare-your-phone-for-trade-in-120000724.html?src=rssApple Studio Display XDR review: Expensive, but there’s no monitor like it
It’s hard for most people to justify spending $3,299 on a monitor, but creative pros will gladly do so if it makes their jobs easier. Apple’s 27-inch 5K Studio Display XDR is aimed straight at those folks and it costs considerably less than the company’s previous high-end monitor, the 6K Pro Display XDR.
Thanks to the Mini LED IPS panel, the Studio Display XDR has higher brightness and color accuracy than nearly any other monitor on the market. It also has tech that boosts contrast to outperform similar displays. With its unique combination of features, the Studio Display XDR isn’t as overpriced as you might think, and it has high appeal for me as a video editor. I do, however, wish it was bigger.
Design and features
If you’re familiar with Apple’s previous Studio Display, you’ll have a good idea of the Studio Display XDR’s design. The body has a high-quality brushed aluminum finish, with small holes across the top and bottom designed to vent heat from the built-in, nearly silent fan.
It has enough internal hardware to be a standalone computer, as it’s equipped with an A19 Pro processor and 12GB (!) of RAM — more than Apple’s new MacBook Neo laptop. That extra horsepower is required for all of the image processing, dimming algorithms, webcam operation and HDR tone-mapping.
A tilt- and height-adjustable stand was a cool $1,000 option on the more expensive Pro Display XDR, but it’s thankfully included with this new model. The stand’s motion is delightfully smooth, with just a slight amount of pressure required to move it up and down. However, it only offers four inches of height adjustment and no ability to swivel the screen. You can also get this monitor with a VESA mount instead at the same base price, in case you want to mount it on your own stand or a wall.
The Studio Display XDR comes with two high-speed 120Gbps Thunderbolt ports to connect your Mac, storage or another display, along with two 10Gbps USB-C inputs, but there’s no HDMI port in sight. One of the Thunderbolt ports supports 140W charging, which can replenish a 16-inch MacBook Pro at the maximum possible speed. Apple has also thrown in a Thunderbolt 5 cable that is thicker than any USB-C cable I’ve seen. The power cable also looks nice, but is not removable.
Up front, the monitor has surprisingly thick bezels (0.75 inches) that detract from the otherwise sleek design. In comparison, my ASUS ProArt PA32UCX display’s bezels are just a quarter of an inch thin. Built into the top bezel is a 12-megapixel camera with Apple’s Center Stage feature that keeps your face front and center during Zoom calls. Note that if you prefer less glare, you can get nano-texturing on the display for an extra $300.
The Studio Display XDR is designed mainly for use with Macs, and recent ones at that. Mac models with M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, M2 and M3 chips only support this monitor at up to 60Hz — not the maximum 120Hz. Apple doesn’t mention support for Intel Macs or Windows PCs, but I tested the monitor on both and it worked fine at the 60Hz limit.
Image quality
Apple has largely stuck with Mini LED and quantum dot technology for its MacBook Pro laptop screens and monitors because of the higher brightness levels and lack of “burn in” compared to OLED displays. The tradeoff for that is lower contrast, as I explained here. Mini LED displays also show a phenomenon called “blooming” not present in OLED panels, which is caused by light bleed from neighboring pixels.
However, Apple has largely solved those issues on the Studio Display XDR by boosting the number of local dimming zones (individual LED backlights) to 2,304, four times as many as the XDR Display Pro. That allows not only more brightness, but higher contrast and minimal blooming.
This model doesn’t offer 6K like the Pro Display XDR, but its 5K resolution is still higher than most rivals. That’s a big benefit for designers, animators, photographers and others who want the sharpest image possible. The higher 120Hz refresh rate is also easier on the eyes and better for gaming. However, creators used to screens that are 32 inches or larger may be turned off by the Studio Display XDR’s smaller size.
Brightness is where this monitor really shines; XDR stands for “extended dynamic range,” after all. Apple promises a peak level of 1,000 nits in SDR and 2,000 nits in HDR mode. I was able to verify those claims: I measured 1,991 nits on a Calibrite colorimeter in a 25 percent window and 988 nits at full screen — making this the brightest monitor I’ve ever tested. When I watched HDR material on YouTube and Netflix graded for brightness levels over 1,000 nits, I didn’t see any of the highlight clipping that occurs on my 1,400-nit ASUS ProArt display.
What’s more, the Studio Display XDR’s 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio is among the highest of any non-OLED display (though not infinite like OLED displays). On top of that, I saw virtually no blooming with bright light points against black. Finally, this monitor has the best off-axis performance I’ve seen with very little drop in gamma even at fairly sharp viewing angles.
Color accuracy is also a strong point. Apple promises a Delta E of less than one, and my measurements (around 0.8) bore that out. And like the Pro Display XDR, this model has a true 10-bit IPS panel, which means you get one billion colors total. Apple notes that the Studio Display XDR is the first Apple monitor to include both the P3 wide color Adobe RGB primaries, unlocking "deeper greens and cyans than P3 alone," it said in a white paper. For HDR work, it covers 81 percent of the challenging BT.2020 color gamut, which is excellent though a bit below some OLED monitors.
The Studio Display XDR can handle a variety of work thanks to the huge number of color profiles included with the display, which total 16 in all. Those include HDR profiles, P3 Digital Cinema, Photography, HDR photography, Design and Print and even Medical Imaging. To verify that, I tested it with several apps including Lightroom Classic and DaVinci Resolve, and was astounded by the color accuracy and brightness. Unlike some rivals, most notably ASUS, it doesn’t support Dolby Vision, however.
On top of being an excellent content creation monitor, the Studio Display XDR is solid for entertainment and gaming. I watched scenes from movies and TV shows including Spider-Man No Way Home, Game of Thrones and Tenet, and enjoyed the extra brightness, high color accuracy and contrast ratio that allowed me to see what the heck was going on in the Night King battle in GoT. For gaming I tried Cyberpunk 2077 for Mac, and the 120Hz refresh rate (it also supports Adaptive Sync 47-120Hz refresh rates), along with the brightness and color accuracy, makes it Apple’s best display yet for gaming.
Camera and speakers
Though it has the same name, the 12MP Center Stage webcam is much improved from the previous Studio Display. The resolution may be the same, but the new camera provides a much brighter and sharper image in dim conditions. However, to use the Desk View feature I needed to tilt the screen forward more than I’d like.
The built-in six speaker sound system is surprisingly good too, offering what is easily the best sound I’ve ever heard coming from a monitor. It supports Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos sound as before, but now offers deeper bass. It still can’t match a dedicated soundbar or separate speakers, of course, but the audio on this display is clear and surprisingly loud.
Wrap-up
As I said at the outset of this review, Apple’s Studio Display XDR is overpriced, but not by a lot. It’s the brightest monitor I’ve measured and has among the highest number of dimming zones for a Mini LED display for maximum contrast. At the same time, it offers superb color accuracy out of the box, supports up to 5K 120Hz resolution and oozes quality. Few monitors in any category and price range, whether Mini LED or OLED, can boast all of that.
There are cheaper options that can do some of those things. If you prefer OLED, the ASUS ProArt PA27 4K model offers 1,000 nits of max brightness and similar color performance, with better contrast and double the refresh rate for $1,299. And if you want a bigger display that’s nearly as bright as the Studio Display XDR, ASUS also makes the $3,199 PA32UCG-K Mini LED 32-inch monitor with 1,600 nits peak brightness, albeit with half the number of dimming zones.
However, if you require the best image quality possible and don’t mind a 27-inch display, Apple’s Studio Display is the best choice. It will never be a mainstream product, but thanks to its versatility and better value than the Pro Display XDR, I think it will be a surprisingly popular option.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/apple-studio-display-xdr-review-expensive-but-theres-no-monitor-like-it-120018426.html?src=rssIO Interactive splits with MindsEye developer and ends Hitman collab
MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy (BARB) has gone through serious drama recently including layoffs and accusations of sabotage. Now, the company is parting ways with its MindsEye co-publisher IOI Partners (the company behind Hitman publisher IO Interactive) and assuming sole publishing responsibilities going forward. It also means that a planned MindsEye and Hitman collaboration will be cancelled, the companies announced in a press release.
"IOI Partners’ involvement with MindsEye comes to an end, except for any essential transitional functions required to transfer publisher-of-record status to Build A Rocket Boy," the companies stated. "In light of this separation, the Hitman mission announced in June 2025, planned as a crossover event within MindsEye, will no longer be released." They acknowledged that the announcement is likely to spur disappointment among funs and thanked the community for its support.
The publishing deal was a first for IOI partners and looked promising, considering the pedigree of BARB's co-CEO Leslie Benzies as a former Rockstar North president and GTA producer. However, MindsEye was widely criticized upon release due to bugs, a lackluster story and mediocre gameplay.
At the same time, employees penned an open letter accusing Benzies of mismanaging the game and bungling layoffs. In response, Benzies and co-CEO Mark Gerhard said that negative pre-release feedback came about to due internal and external sabotage, a claim that employees reportedly doubted. In any case, BARB is now on its own and has a tall order to save MindsEye, particularly after recent layoffs.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/io-interactive-splits-with-mindseye-developer-and-ends-hitman-collab-110028292.html?src=rssDefense Department says Anthropic poses 'unacceptable risk' to national security
The Department of Defense said giving Anthropic continued access to its warfighting infrastructure would “introduce unacceptable risk” to its supply chains in a court filing submitted in response to the AI company’s lawsuit. If you’ll recall, Anthropic sued the government to challenge the supply chain risk designation it received for refusing to allow its model to be used for mass surveillance and the development of autonomous weapons.
In its filing, the department explained that its secretary, Pete Hegseth, had a provision incorporated into AI service contracts, allowing the agency to use their technologies for any lawful purpose. Anthropic refused its terms and apparently, the company’s behavior caused the Pentagon to question whether it truly was a “trusted partner” that it could work with when it comes to “highly sensitive” initiatives. “After all, AI systems are acutely vulnerable to manipulation, and Anthropic could attempt to disable its technology or preemptively alter the behavior of its model either before or during ongoing warfighting operations, if Anthropic — in its discretion — feels that its corporate “red lines” are being crossed,” the Pentagon wrote in its filing. “DoW deemed that an unacceptable risk to national security,” it added, referring to the agency as the Department of War, which is the Trump administration’s preferred name for it.
It was due to those concerns that President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using its technology, the filing reads. The company is asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction and put a pause on a ban while it’s challenging its supply chain risk designation in court. While Anthropic’s clients could continue working with the company on non-defense-related projects, it says the label could cause it to lose billions of dollars in revenue. It’s not quite clear if Anthropic is still trying to reach a new deal with the government, as was reported before it filed its lawsuit. As The New York Times notes, Microsoft, Google and OpenAI had filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of Anthropic since then.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/defense-department-says-anthropic-poses-unacceptable-risk-to-national-security-094328717.html?src=rssSubnautica 2 might finally be entering early access in May
Subnautica 2 has weathered the storm and has rescheduled its early access release. IGN reported today that the sequel to the underwater survival game will begin early access on PC and Xbox in May, although a more specific date was not provided.
The news comes a day after a judge ruled that former Unknown Worlds Entertainment CEO Ted Gill should be rehired at the game studio. That decision capped off a dramatic year for the team behind Subnautica, which was acquired by Krafton in 2021. The studio and its new owners entered a legal battle because the purchase of Unknown Worlds included a promise of an up to $250 million payout from Krafton if the team met certain performance goals by the end of 2025. In July of that year, however, Krafton fired several studio leaders and then delayed the sequel's early access launch. The court case has raised questions about which side was trying to either secure or avoid making that multi-million payment.
With yesterday's ruling, a rep from Krafton said that "we are evaluating our options as we determine our path forward." It's unclear if that path, or the other litigation still underway over the project, will create further delays to the planned early access date.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/subnautica-2-might-finally-be-entering-early-access-in-may-223747369.html?src=rssMeta will shut down VR Horizon Worlds access in June
Horizon Worlds, Meta's first pass at a metaverse, will be inaccessible via virtual reality headset after June 15, 2026. The company shared plans to separate Horizon Worlds from Quest VR platform and focus exclusively on the smartphone version of the app in February, and now in a new post on its community forums, Meta detailed when the VR version of Horizon Worlds will be deprecated.
By March 31, Meta says individual Horizon Worlds and Events will no longer be listed in the Quest's Store and headset owners will be unable to visit worlds like "Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaiju and Bobber Bay." Then, after June 15, the app will be removed from Quest headsets and worlds will be completely unavailable to visit in VR. From that point on, the easiest place to visit Horizon Worlds will be in the Meta Horizon app for iOS and Android.
Additionally, Hyperscape Capture, a recently added beta feature that allows Quest headset owners to capture, share and visit each other in detailed 3D scans of real-life locations, is also being removed from Horizon Worlds. Meta says users will still be able to capture and view Hyperscapes, "but sharing, inviting, and co-experiencing Hyperscapes with others will no longer be supported."
While Meta's original blog detailing its 2026 VR strategy left open the possibility that a committed Quest owner might still be able to access some part of Meta's original VR metaverse, that apparently was never the company's plan. Meta saw enough "positive momentum" focusing on supporting the mobile version of Horizon Worlds in 2025 that it made sense to completely abandon the VR one in 2026. While that seems to run contrary to Meta’s positioning as a "metaverse company," it does reflect where the company is spending the most money and seeing the most (relative) success: AI and smart glasses.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/meta-will-shut-down-vr-horizon-worlds-access-in-june-222028919.html?src=rssApple releases its first Background Security Improvement for macOS, iOS and iPadOS
Apple has started providing small security updates to iOS, iPadOS and macOS devices. These are dubbed Background Security Improvements that will offer minor system updates between the larger software updates. According to the company, these are meant to "deliver lightweight security releases for components such as the Safari browser, WebKit framework stack, and other system libraries that benefit from smaller, ongoing security patches between software updates."
These updates should download in the background, as the name implies, although the device will need to be restarted to complete the process. In practice, we found that applying a Background Security Improvement was faster than a typical software update from Apple. On an iPhone, the restart was more of a power cycle taking under a minute compared with the 5 to 10 minutes a standard update takes a device out of commission.
The inaugural Background Security Improvement was released today with a patch for WebKit. These updates will be supported and enabled on devices running iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1 and macOS 26.1. Details can be reviewed under the Privacy & Security section of the Settings menu.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apple-releases-its-first-background-security-improvement-for-macos-ios-and-ipados-214052311.html?src=rssRemedy releases its final content update for FBC: Firebreak
What a short, strange journey it's been for FBC: Firebreak; Remedy announced that the final update for the online multiplayer game is available today. But while this Open House update will be the end of new content, the studio said it plans to keep the game available.
"FBC: Firebreak will stay online and continue to be playable for years to come," Remedy said. "We have done engineering work to ensure we can sustain the upkeep of the relay servers when the player volume is lower."
Remedy has won lots of fans for creating the eerie, surreal world where its hits Control and Alan Wake are set. FBC: Firebreak, which was released last year, is also based in that universe. However, this multiplayer game took a beating in reviews, largely due to its poorly received onboarding experience and Remedy shared plans to improve the first few hours of the game. Its CEO also left the company last year and sparked a shakeup in the leadership at the studio.
The Open House update will add some new in-game content, but the more interesting changes seem aimed at making FBC: Firebreak more accessible. The base price has been dropped to $20, and the game has added a feature called Friend's Pass that will allow people who don't own the game to accept match invites from players who do own it.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/remedy-releases-its-final-content-update-for-fbc-firebreak-212000463.html?src=rssSpotify rolls out 'bit-perfect' playback in Windows app
Spotify is introducing a way for subscribers to get bit-perfect playback of songs if they listen on Windows. The company's newly announced "Exclusive Mode" gives the music streaming app complete control of audio processing on your PC so you can listen to songs exactly as they were mastered.
"Without Exclusive Mode turned on, your computer may alter audio before it reaches your DAC by resampling it, mixing other system sounds in, and changing the volume," Spotify writes. With the mode enabled, all other sounds from your computer are disabled so Spotify can deliver the highest quality and most accurate version of a song possible. Exclusive Mode will help maintain fidelity while you’re playing a song, but to make sure you're not losing quality anywhere else in the chain, you'll still want to listen with wired headphones connected to a DAC or digital-to-analog converter, and opt to use Spotify’s lossless streaming option.
Exclusive Mode is only available on Windows for now, but Spotify says it'll come to the macOS version of the Spotify app "in a future release." Provided you're a Spotify Premium subscriber, enabling the feature is fairly simple:
Open Spotify.
Click on Settings.
Scroll down to Playback.
Toggle Exclusive Mode to "On" under the Output section.
Spotify launched its Lossless streaming option as a perk for Premium subscribers in September 2025. The company was rumored to be working on the feature as far back as 2017 and even formally announced it as Spotify HiFi in 2021, opening up the possibility it could be a more expensive add-on to a normal subscription. Now both lossless audio and “bit-perfect” playback are included as part of the same $13 per month you pay for a Premium subscription.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/spotify-rolls-out-bit-perfect-playback-in-windows-app-211036176.html?src=rssThe Dune: Part Three trailer introduces Robert Pattinson's villainous new character
It's only been two years since Dune: Part Two took over multiplexes, but we already have a trailer for the third installment. The appropriately-named Dune: Part Three is an adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah book from 1969.
Just like the book, the latest film takes place a number of years after Dune: Part Two. "If the first movie was contemplation, a boy exploring a new world, and the second one is a war movie, this one is a thriller," according to The Hollywood Reporter. "It is action-packed and tense. More muscular.”
Despite the time jump, most primary actors are returning. This includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Javier Bardem. Anya Taylor-Joy, who briefly appeared in the second film, is also coming back. The same goes for Jason Momoa, despite his Duncan Idaho character dying in the first film. Book readers will likely understand what that means.
The trailer also highlights the antagonist Scytale, as portrayed by Robert Pattinson. He should be a more nuanced villain than Baron Harkonnen, though that's not exactly a high bar.
The release date is coming up fast. Dune: Part Three hits theaters on December 18. That's this year. Villeneuve had intended to take a break after making the second one to focus on a smaller and more personal film, but said that he kept "waking in the middle of the night" with potential images from the third installment.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-dune-part-three-trailer-introduces-robert-pattinsons-villainous-new-character-173758393.html?src=rssArizona attorney general sues Kalshi on illegal gambling charges
Kalshi has been sued by Arizona's attorney general for operating an illegal gambling business in the state and unlawfully allowing people to place bets on elections. "Kalshi may brand itself as a 'prediction market,' but what it's actually doing is running an illegal gambling operation and taking bets on Arizona elections, both of which violate Arizona law," the state's Attorney General Kris Mayes said.
The company defines itself as a prediction markets platform, where users make bets on the outcomes of events ranging from sporting matches to political actions. Kalshi has claimed that it operates under the auspices of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and shouldn't be faced with the state-level charges of running unlicensed gambling.
The case follows a similar action against Kalshi filed in Nevada last month. Kalshi also made headlines this year when an employee of popular YouTuber MrBeast was accused of insider trading on the platform.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/arizona-attorney-general-sues-kalshi-on-illegal-gambling-charges-172006290.html?src=rssYouTube and FIFA partner up for the 2026 World Cup
FIFA is turning to streaming platforms to maximize its return on the 2026 World Cup. Two months after announcing a "Preferred Platform" partnership with TikTok, the organization has now struck a similar deal with YouTube.
Broadcasting rights are FIFA’s largest revenue stream for the tournament — and media companies pay top dollar for that access. So, deals like this with streaming platforms help sweeten the package for broadcasters looking to boost their reach.
What does that look like for those watching from home? FIFA says its media partners will have the option of streaming "a select number of matches in full" on their YouTube channels. They can also live-stream the first 10 minutes of every match, presumably serving as a hook to coax viewers to finish the match on television. In addition, FIFA's media partners will get access to "every angle" of match footage to craft custom content.
"As the world's attention turns to the action in Canada, Mexico and the United States, this collaboration with YouTube reinforces our ambition to maximise the tournament's impact across the ever-evolving media landscape," FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström said. He says the partnership will offer "fans everywhere easy access to an immersive view of the biggest single-sport event in history."
The World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19. Matches will take place in 16 cities across Canada, Mexico, and the US.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/youtube-and-fifa-partner-up-for-the-2026-world-cup-170200470.html?src=rssFortnite will return to Google's Play Store globally on March 19
Now that Epic Games and Google have made up — or at least found a way to resolve their long-running disputes — everyone with a compatible Android device can get back to the business of playing Fortnite. The game will return to the Play Store globally on March 19, the same day that the next Fortnite season goes live. It previously dropped back onto the Play Store in the US in December.
Google pulled Fortnite from the Play Store back in 2020 after Epic tried to bypass the 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases that the storefront too. Apple did the same thing with the App Store version of Fortnite. Epic swiftly sued Google and Apple, kickstarting years-long legal battles with both companies.
No matter where you are, we’ve got you covered. Fortnite is back on Google Play.
— Fortnite (@Fortnite) March 17, 2026
3.19.26: https://t.co/8M0MjZcvDI pic.twitter.com/QWyR1TEJzX
The dispute with Apple ultimately led to the company having to open up the App Store in certain markets, including the US and EU. Fortnite returned to the App Store in the EU in 2024 and in the US last year.
Google and Epic reached a settlement in November. Earlier this month, Google announced that it was lowering the cut it takes of in-app payments from 30 percent to between 10 and 20 percent. At that time, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney (who reportedly agreed not to publicly talk smack about the Play Store until 2032 as part of the settlement) confirmed that Fortnite would return to Google's mobile storefront.
Epic recently announced a price increase for the in-game V-Bucks currency. It also confirmed that Fortnite Save the World — the game's original mode — is going free-to-play in April.
GPT-5.4 mini brings some of the smarts of OpenAI's latest model to ChatGPT Free and Go users
When OpenAI released GPT-5.4 at the start of March, the company said the new model was designed primarily for professional work like programming and data analysis. Now OpenAI is launching GPT-5.4 mini and nano, and while it is once again highlighting the usefulness of these new systems for tasks like coding, one of the new models is available to Free and Go users. What's more, that model, GPT-5.4 mini, even offers performance that approaches GPT-5.4 in a handful of areas.
As a Free or Go user, you can access 5.4 mini by selecting "Thinking" from ChatGPT's plus menu. For paid users, the model is the new fallback for when you've hit your rate limit with 5.4 proper. OpenAI says 5.4 mini offers better performance than GPT-5.0 mini in a few different key areas, including reasoning, multimodal understanding and tool use. That means 5.4 mini is better at parsing non-text inputs such as images and audio, and has a more nuanced understanding of how to do things like search the web. It does all of this while running more than twice as fast as its predecessor.
As for GPT-5.4 nano, OpenAI says it's ideal for tasks such as data classification and extraction where speed and cost-efficiency are top of mind. If you're a ChatGPT user, you won't find the new model in the chatbot. Instead, OpenAI is making it only available through its API service. The company envisions developers using more advanced models to delegate tasks to AI agents running GPT-5.4 nano, and that's reflected in the cost of the new model, which OpenAI has priced starting at $0.20 per million input tokens.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/gpt-54-mini-brings-some-of-the-smarts-of-openais-latest-model-to-chatgpt-free-and-go-users-170000585.html?src=rssSwitch 2 software update adds 'Handheld Mode Boost' for your old games
We might not have had a proper Nintendo Direct in 2026 yet, but there have been plenty of Switch and Switch 2-related announcements in the last few weeks, including a release date for the Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, a surprise port of Kena: Bridge of Spirits and the final trailer for the imminent The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. But if you’re a Switch 2 owner who prefers to play your library of games in handheld mode, Nintendo’s latest announcement might be the one that interests you most.
The company has released the 22.0.0 system update for its latest console, which brings with it a host of tweaks and improvements, the most notable of which being the introduction of "Handheld Mode Boost." If you’ve played any original Switch games that haven’t received next-gen patches in handheld mode on Switch 2, you might have noticed that they look a bit blurry and unappealing. That’s because they’re still rendering at 720p on the Switch 2’s larger 1080p display, so the image is being stretched to fit a screen it wasn’t designed for.
Handheld Mode Boost doesn’t mean that all unpatched Switch games are now natively running at 1080p on Switch 2, but rather that the console is telling them to run in the original Switch’s docked TV mode — which was able to output at 1080p — on the handheld. Since launch this has seemed like the obvious workaround for Switch games, but it has taken nearly a year for Nintendo to implement it. You should see higher resolution visuals and, in some cases, better performance, as a result.
When running original Switch games in Handheld Boost Mode (enabled via a toggle in the system menu) your Switch 2 will treat the attached Joy-Con 2 controllers as if they were a Pro Controller. This disables features like motion controls and touchscreen functionality, meaning some games won't work on the newer hardware with Handheld Boost Mode turned on. Eurogamer names Super Mario Maker 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD as two examples of games that aren't compatible at the moment.
There are a number of other updates in version 22.0.0, including a new animation for loading a virtual game card, new GameChat features and more customization options in flight mode. The full list of patch notes can be found here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/switch-2-software-update-adds-handheld-mode-boost-for-your-old-games-165451808.html?src=rssWhatsApp is now officially available on Garmin smartwatches
There's an official WhatsApp app for select Garmin smartwatches. It's available for free right now in the Garmin Connect IQ Store. WhatsApp is primarily a chat platform, so this new app allows users to read and reply to messages, send emojis and peruse the chat history.
The app also lets users accept or decline incoming calls arriving from the platform, all without having to break out the smartphone. This is WhatsApp, so messages are end-to-end encrypted.
As previously mentioned, it's not available for every Garmin watch. It's compatible with select Forerunner, Venu, Vivoactive and Fenix watches. The Connect IQ Store should be able to say if your particular model can handle the app.
This is just the latest smartwatch platform to get WhatsApp. Meta released an Apple Watch version at the tail-end of last year. Before that, Apple Watch users had to mirror iPhone notifications to reply to WhatsApp messages directly from the device.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/whatsapp-is-now-officially-available-on-garmin-smartwatches-164156538.html?src=rssStarfield is coming to PS5 on April 7
Starfield is officially coming to PS5, with a launch date set for April 7. Preorders are open right now for both the digital and physical versions. It's long been rumored that Bethesda's sci-fi RPG would be going multiplatform and, well, here we are.
The PS5 version will tap into the DualSense controller's capabilities with adaptive triggers that work differently depending on the weapon you're using. The light bar will offer an indication of your character and ship health (if you ever look at it while you're playing, that is). You'll also be able to use the touchpad to switch between points of view and access your map and hand scanner.
There will be a standard edition and a premium edition, matching the versions that originally showed up on Xbox consoles. The premium edition includes the base game, the Shattered Space and Terran Armada story expansions, a skin pack, some virtual currency and a digital artbook/soundtrack. The standard edition is $50, and the premium version will run you $70. If you buy the base game and decide later that you want to upgrade to the premium version to access the DLC, there'll be a $25 upgrade available.
Other notable former Xbox exclusives have gone multiplatform, including Avowed, Forza Horizon 5, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II and Sea of Thieves. The PS5 will even be home to a Halo game in the near future.
It's been rumored that the Switch 2 would be getting its own Starfield port at some point. If Nintendo's new console can handle Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, another Bethesda release, it can likely run Starfield.
As for the Terran Armada DLC, that will be available on April 7 alongside a free update. The latter (which is dubbed Free Lanes) includes an overhaul of the space travel system. You'll be able to fly freely between planets in a star system and enable cruise mode, which enables you to chat with shipmates or decorate your ship while traveling. Points of interest will pop up while you're in cruise mode as well — you can switch your destination to one of those instead if there's something that catches your interest.
There are more space encounters too. If you run into one of these, your ship will exit cruise mode and you'll have to deal with the situation before continuing. These encounters may or may not feature combat. In some cases, you'll have to explore ship wreckages.
The free update also introduces deeper customization for weapons, gear and ships through a collectible item called X-Tech. You'll be able to spend this (and regular credits) on re-rolls for legendary effects for your weapons.
Elsewhere, there's a new database system; more side quests; two higher-level quality tiers (superior and exceptional) for your gear; an optimization terminal you can add to your ship to help customize and upgrade your ride; containers from which you'll be access stored gear at any of your outposts; an outpost pet; and much more. In addition, there'll be a way for you to start a New Game+ run with all of the gear you've previously acquired.
If you don't have the premium edition of Starfield, you can buy the Terran Armada DLC for $10. This includes a new story questline. You'll face the Terrans, "an advanced militant force with their own vision for the Settled Systems." One Terran robot will be available as a new companion.
The DLC introduces an Incursion system. This includes battles that form a key part of the DLC storyline. These range from "small skirmishes to large-scale infiltrations of Terran vessels where the objectives can vary," Bethesda wrote in a blog post. You'll be able to replay incursions to score extra loot. Via the gameplay options, you can limit how often non-story-required incursions pop up.
Terran Armada also adds new gear and ship parts; elite crew members; an outpost pre-build and decorations; and more.
Starfield is a huge sci-fi RPG with elements of Mass Effect and Fallout. We were blown away by its graphical beauty, but were initially underwhelmed by the generic story and gameplay. The game has, however, received a fair number of improvements since launch. It's pretty good now, and hopefully the Free Lanes update and DLC will improve things even further.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/starfield-is-coming-to-ps5-on-april-7-162341201.html?src=rssMore Game Pass additions for March include Disco Elysium and Resident Evil 7
Microsoft has revealed the second wave of Game Pass additions for March. Disco Elysium and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard headline the 12-title batch, and several games previously exclusive to the Ultimate tier are also expanding to Premium.
DreamWorks Gabby's Dollhouse: Ready to Party kicks off the wave on March 17. South of Midnight, the action-adventure from Xbox studio Compulsion Games, and The Alters both arrive on March 18 on the Premium tier after being Ultimate-only. The Alters, from Frostpunk studio 11 Bit Studios, strands you on a hostile planet where your survival plan involves creating alternate versions of yourself based on different life choices and putting them to work.
Disco Elysium arrives on March 19 across all tiers. ZA/UM's detective RPG casts you as an amnesiac cop tasked with solving a murder, though the game is just as happy to let you become "an absolute disaster of a human being." Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, from the series formerly known as Yakuza, hits on March 24. Action packed roguelite Absolum, which we loved, follows on March 25, marking its Xbox debut.
Roman city-builder Nova Roma arrives March 26 as a day-one Game Pass release, and survival game The Long Dark joins on March 30. First-person survival epic Resident Evil 7: Biohazard arrives on March 31.
Barbie Horse Trails and 2025 Game of the Year Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 both land on April 2, with Clair Obscur coming to the Premium tier after launching as a day-one Game Pass Ultimate title. Final Fantasy IV rounds out the wave on April 7. Peppa Pig World Adventures and Mad Streets leave Game Pass on March 31.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/more-game-pass-additions-for-march-include-disco-elysium-and-resident-evil-7-161050028.html?src=rssGoogle makes Gemini personalization available to free users
At the start of the year, Google introduced Personal Intelligence, a Gemini feature that allows the chatbot to pull information from the user's other Google apps and services to generate personalized responses. After making the feature first available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, the company is expanding availability to more users in the US.
Google is kicking off the expansion with AI Mode. Starting today, anyone in the US can enable Personal Intelligence inside of the company's dedicated search chatbot. To enable the feature, tap on your profile, select Search personalization, followed by Connected Content Apps. From there, select Connect Workspace and Google Photos.
In the coming weeks, Google will start rolling out Personal Intelligence to free users of the Gemini app in the US, with international availability to follow thereafter. The company plans to do the same with Gemini in Chrome, where personalization will first roll out to users in the US before becoming available in other countries.
Google suggests a few different use cases for Gemini personalization inside of AI Mode, the Gemini app and Chrome. For instance, say you turn to AI mode for help with planning an upcoming trip. Instead of generating a generic itinerary, the chatbot will pull information from your apps to suggest something more tailored to your interests. It can also help you with troubleshooting in cases where you can’t remember the exact make or model of a device you’re trying to fix, as long as there are some hints to its origin contained inside of your Gmail account.
In each case, Personal Intelligence is disabled by default. Gemini will not personalize its responses unless you enable the new feature. Additionally, personalization is only available to personal accounts and not for Workspace business, enterprise and education users.
March Madness 2026: How to watch every game of the NCAA basketball tournaments
It’s time to lock in those brackets. The 2026 NCAA basketball tournaments, affectionately known as March Madness, begin this week. In fact, some of the action on the men’s side starts tonight. Both the men’s and women’s tournaments are available to stream through various apps and services, but navigating the web of broadcasters and TV channels can be confusing. We’ve broken down when all the games are happening, where to watch and the best options for saving some cash doing so.
What does March Madness start?
The men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament begins on Tuesday, March 17 with two of the First Four matchups. These are the four games that are used to determine the final four teams in the main 64-team bracket. To some, they’re known as the “play-in games” although they’ve officially been part of the men's tournament since 2011. The first game on March 17 begins at 6:40PM ET with another to follow at 9:15PM ET. The same schedule is expected for the second slate of games on Wednesday, March 19.
On the women’s side, everything is offset by a day. The first two of the First Four games take place on Wednesday, March 18 at 7PM ET and 9PM ET. The second pair of matchups follows on Thursday, March 19 in the same two time slots.
The 64-team bracket kicks off in earnest for the men at 12:15PM ET on Thursday, March 19. For the women, the main action begins at 11:30AM ET on Friday, March 20. Here’s the full schedule for each tournament:
2026 Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament
First Four: March 17-18
First round: March 19-20
Second round: March 21-22
Sweet 16: March 26-27
Elite Eight: March 28-29
Final Four: April 4
Championship game: April 6
2026 Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament
First Four: March 18-19
First round: March 20-21
Second round: March 22-23
Sweet 16: March 27-28
Elite Eight: March 29-30
Final Four: April 3
Championship game: April 5
How to stream the 2026 Men’s NCAA Tournament
CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery share the broadcast rights to the men’s tournament, so TV coverage will be spread across four networks. During the course of March Madness, games will air on CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV, with the final rounds and championship game landing on TBS.
If you already have a paid TV plan (such as traditional cable), a good way to watch the men’s tournament is with the March Madness Live app or website. There's a big catch though: CBS games aren't available in the app. That means this is really only a good option through the Elite Eight. Once you log in with your TV provider credentials, you can watch games on the other networks in one spot with features like multiview (up to four games at once) and a Fast Break stream that covers all the in-progress games in one spot.
The app also offers ways to follow your bracket, if you filled it out on MarchMadness.com. And when you’re watching on desktop, the crucial Boss Button will throw up a fake work screen to keep your job safe. In addition to your laptop or phone, March Madness Live is also available on Amazon devices, Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, macOS, Google Play, LG smart TVs, Roku and Xbox consoles.
The most affordable option to watch every game is to actually use two services. It’s not ideal, I know, but it will save you a lot of money. HBO Max’s Basic plan is $11/month and gives you access to live games from TNT, TBS and truTV with three-game multiview (46 games total). That includes the Final Four and National Championship as those three games are on TBS this year. If you splurge for a pricier plan ($23/month), you can stream games in Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos surround sound. For the CBS games, you’ll need a Paramount+ Premium subscription that costs $14/month ($6 for two months for new users). So, with this best price scenario, streaming all of the men’s tournaments will cost $25 across two apps.
A live TV service like YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV is over $80 more per month at full price, but they would offer you all the games in the men’s tournament in one place. YouTube TV is currently on sale for $60/month for the first two months after a free 10-day trial. Hulu + Live TV now includes Disney+ and ESPN Select, hence its higher price.
How to stream the 2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament
While Warner Brothers Discovery owns the rights to the men’s NCAA Tournament, ESPN has the women’s bracket locked down. Every game of the women’s tournament will be spread across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNEWS, including the First Four matchups. The Final Four will be on ESPN, but the championship game will air on ABC. All three of those culminating games will stream on ESPN+ (and in the ESPN app) as MegaCast feeds.
ESPN says the MegaCasts are available in two options. First, Beyond the Rim provides an aerial camera angle with the main commentary and replays, plus the addition of enhanced stats. On the Rail shows you game action the full length of the floor. This feed will offer “natural” sound and replays.
Since ESPN+ won’t get every game, it’s not an option if you want to watch the entire tournament. However, since last year’s March Madness, Disney debuted standalone offerings for ESPN. The most affordable option here is ESPN Select which includes women’s college basketball and costs $13/month.
You could also opt for a live-TV streaming service like Sling, YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV for a comprehensive experience. Sling is the cheapest of these, with the requisite Orange and Sports Extra plan costing $57 (Sling is currently offering a discount on the first month of Orange). YouTube and Hulu live TV options are both more expensive at over $80/month (YouTube TV currently discounted to $60 for the first two months), so it’s a matter of which set of content and features you like best. YouTube TV offers a handy multiview tool so you can watch up to four games at once, but Hulu + Live TV comes with Disney+ and ESPN Select for that cost.
Once you have a TV plan that includes the ESPN family of networks, the ESPN app is the best place to watch the tournament. The mix of scores and info, along with multiview streaming for up to four games at a time on Apple TV and Xbox, make the app a well-equipped conduit for the women’s tournament.
The March Madness website only shows scores and news for the women’s tournament. None of the women’s games will be available for streaming live on the website.
Are any of the March Madness games available to stream for free?
Without a TV provider login, you can watch all of the games broadcast on CBS on the March Madness website and mobile apps. Sure, it’s a small sample of the tournament, but it’s completely free and a good option for casual fans who don’t have a paid TV plan they can exploit for more of the action. It’s also a good way to watch the first round at work, if your company hasn’t blocked streaming sites, or if you can discreetly watch on your phone.
For the women’s tournament, there aren’t any games available for free. Unless you have an old-school OTA antenna, that is, in which case you can watch women’s games on ABC (and men’s games on CBS) without any kind of streaming plan. Of course, as this is a streaming guide published in 2026, I’d consider an antenna an extraordinary move.
If you were hoping to use a free trial period to watch March Madness, I’ve got bad news. None of them will last long enough to cover the entire tournament. Some services don’t offer a free trial at all, but the longest is YouTube TV at 10 days. Sadly, that won’t even get you through the second weekend.
What if I want to stream both the men’s and women’s tournaments?
If you’re hoping to stream all of the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments, I hope you ordered Samsung’s eight-TV bundle. In terms of streaming services, just jump straight to a live-TV option like YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV. I prefer the former because of its multiview feature. At times when there are multiple games that you want to watch, especially during the first two rounds, you’ll want multiview in order to keep tabs on all of the action.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/march-madness-2026-how-to-watch-every-game-of-the-ncaa-basketball-tournaments-154903317.html?src=rssAmazon launches one- and three-hour delivery options in the US
Amazon just launched one-hour and three-hour delivery options in many cities and towns throughout the US. As a matter of fact, the company says three-hour delivery windows are already available in over 2,000 locations, while one-hour windows have launched in "hundreds" of cities. You can check to see if your area is covered by clicking right here.
Just like same-day and next-day delivery, this doesn't cover every available item. Amazon boasts that over 90,000 products are ready for "fast, reliable delivery in just a few clicks." There has been a priority placed on the kinds of items typically needed within 60 to 180 minutes. Users can order "everyday essentials like pantry items, cleaning supplies, health and beauty items and over-the-counter medications."
The new delivery options also cover some fun, but perhaps not essential, items like electronics, toys and clothing. Hey, a Nintendo Switch 2 to play Pokopia could be considered essential to many.
These high-octane delivery methods don't come cheap, even for Prime members. One-hour deliveries cost $10 and three-hour deliveries cost $5. Customers without a Prime membership pay $20 for one-hour deliveries and $10 for three-hour deliveries. The same-day delivery option remains free for Prime members.
This isn't Amazon's first foray into ultra-quick delivery windows. The company has been experimenting with this kind of thing for years. It started a program called Amazon Now in the 2010s that handled that sort of thing, which eventually changed to Prime Now. It was sunsetted in 2021.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/amazon-launches-one--and-three-hour-delivery-options-in-the-us-151536118.html?src=rssGamers are right to be disgusted by NVIDIA's DLSS 5
You can sum up the gamer response to NVIDIA's DLSS 5 announcement with the ever-relevant Fallout 4 meme: "Everyone disliked that." Across social media and Reddit last night, I couldn't find anyone who's genuinely positive about the potential for DLSS 5, which uses AI to add "photorealistic" lighting and materials to in-game models and environments. Instead, it's mostly complaints about the feature being another avenue for AI slop. And you know what? I agree.
It's not unusual to see gamers being reflexively angry about new technology on the internet, especially when it's being pitched by NVIDIA as the “biggest breakthrough in computer graphics” since its RTX 20-series GPUs arrived in 2018 with real-time ray tracing. There was plenty of suspicion around DLSS's original AI upscaling model, as well as the "fake" frames generated by later iterations. But the few demos we've seen of DLSS 5 basically look like "yassified" AI filters for popular games.
Leon and Grace from Resident Evil: Requiem have more distinct facial and hair detail, but they look a bit too slick. There are more wrinkles on an old woman in Hogwarts Legacy. And the face, hair and clothing from a Starfield character gain an uncanny sheen.
None of the demos have the immediate impact of the Star Wars real-time ray tracing short ILMxLab produced with NVIDIA seven years ago. That demonstration showed us glorious reflections and lighting effects we'd never seen before in real-time. The DLSS 5 demos, on the other hand, don't look much different from the AI filters that make you look more presentable for Zoom calls. There's no genuine excitement for DLSS 5, just NVIDIA telling us that it's groundbreaking.
There's also plenty of concern about DLSS 5 straying from an artist's original intent, as well as a potential homogenization of game visuals if every developer starts using the feature. NVIDIA claims developers will have "detailed controls for intensity, color grading and masking," which will help DLSS 5 stay in line with a game's aesthetic. But we don't have any direct developer experience with the feature yet — some artists may want far more control than NVIDIA wants to give.
The difference between DLSS 5 and earlier versions NVIDIA's upscaling is like the difference between generative AI and more traditional machine learning models. NVIDIA relied on the latter to make low-resolution textures and models appear sharper, and later to insert generated frames to smooth out gameplay and raise your fps count. As Wirecutter and former Polygon editor Arthur Gies points out, you could argue those features were in service of delivering what developers originally intended. But DLSS 5's neural model applies its concept of "photorealism" on top of what games are rendering -- it's like watching a Pixar movie that let OpenAI's Sora do a final visual pass.
Part of the negative response towards DLSS 5 may stem from a widespread anti-gen AI sentiment, but that doesn’t devalue the criticisms either. Similar to AI generated text, images and video, there’s a dehumanizing aspect about DLSS 5. It can erase the work of human artists (despite how much control NVIDIA claims they have), and it also feels like a calculated attempt to appeal to gamers who just want shinier graphics. NVIDIA showed off how generative AI could be used to create dialog and voices for NPCs last year at CES, but that was also widely disliked (and I called it a genuine nightmare).
Of course, I can’t fully judge DLSS 5 until I see it in action beyond a short demo. But I think the visceral disgust is an important indicator that many gamers aren’t onboard with the AI-powered future NVIDIA is trying to sell us. And perhaps the idea of chasing “photorealism” may be a bit of a fool’s errand. It may be appropriate for some games, but as Nintendo and indie PC devs have shown, you can also make some of the best games of all time without striving for realism. Tears of the Kingdom could use a better framerate and higher resolution textures, but it certainly doesn’t need DLSS 5.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/gamers-are-right-to-be-disgusted-by-nvidias-dlss-5-151105593.html?src=rssA PlayStation Portal update is adding a 1080p High Quality mode
Sony is rolling out a firmware update for its PlayStation Portal handheld that introduces a new quality option for both Remote Play and Cloud Streaming. Choosing the 1080p High Quality mode means that you’ll be able to stream games at a higher bitrate compared with the 1080p Standard option.
You can switch to this mode by going to Quick Menu > Max Resolution and picking 1080p High Quality while you’re playing a game. You’ll need to restart your game session for the change to take effect. Naturally, 1080p High Quality will use more data than the other resolution options.
Sony says that more than half of all Portal users are now PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers, meaning they can use the Cloud Streaming option on the device. With that in mind, the company is making some Cloud Streaming changes as part of this firmware update.
The company says it has refined the search screen — from now on, whenever you open this up, the on screen keyboard will pop up immediately. That’s a nice little quality-of-life update that streamlines things a bit. When you pick the “stream" option on pages for game bundles (i.e. for any title that includes multiple games), you’ll be able to select a specific game to jump into.
There are notification changes too. If you receive a game invite while playing a supported title, you’ll now see a clear notification on your screen. Trophy notifications should now display properly too, with the trophy name and image showing up. Unlocking a platinum trophy will cause an animated notification to appear.
There’s one more tweak to the system with this Portal update as Sony attempts to make the onboarding experience a bit smoother. Those who pick up a Portal but don’t already have a PlayStation account will be able to create one and then sign in on the handheld by scanning a QR code on their mobile device. Such folks will still need to have access to a PS5 or sign up for PS Plus Premium to actually get any use out of the Portal, of course.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/a-playstation-portal-update-is-adding-a-1080p-high-quality-mode-142216189.html?src=rssApple and Nike team up for a new Powerbeats Pro 2 colorway
Apple and Nike are at it again. But this time, their collaboration doesn't involve Apple Watch bands or a shoe-tracking iPod. Instead, the companies are launching a new color option for Beats' fitness-focused earphones. Meet the Powerbeats Pro 2 - Nike Special Edition.
"This isn't just a new colorway," Beats CMI Chris Thorne wrote in a press release. "It's a collision of two brands that define performance, culture and sports — the attributes of today's athlete."
Okay, cool, but marketing-speak aside, this is, in fact, just a new colorway. However, depending on your taste, it might be one you're into. Nike's "Volt" palette takes center stage, with its love-it-or-hate-it electric yellow-green motif. The two companies share logo duties, with the Beats "b" on the left bud and Nike's swoosh on the right. Meanwhile, the charging case takes you to Speckle City, looking like something Jackson Pollock flung a can of leftover shoe paint onto.
Otherwise, these are the same Powerbeats Pro 2 earphones that launched last year. You get heart-rate tracking, decent ANC and Spatial Audio. You can revisit Billy Steele's review for more details on the earphones.
To help move the product, Beats and Nike called upon an athlete they both sponsor: a little-known hooper named LeBron James. The Lakers vet stars in a new ad, where he uses the Nike Powerbeats to tune out the noise with a little help from Lionel Ritchie.
You can watch the commercial below — and order the new colorway from Apple’s and Nike's respective websites on March 20. The Nike Special Edition Powerbeats Pro costs the same $250 as the standard version. However, this is a limited-edition variant, so there's no guarantee it will be around for long.
Oppo’s Find N6 might be the foldable of your dreams
Oppo is back with another high-spec foldable phone you may never see outside a tech journalist's hands. The Find N6 is its new, sub-9mm device that is headed to Asian markets and, for now, not many other places. That means no US or European availability. So why write about it? With its build quality, hardware specs and camera array, not only is it a very good phone, but it's also proof that another device maker can go toe-to-toe with Samsung’s dominance in flagship foldable phones.
Hardware
Oppo is obsessed with the foldable crease. More than me, more than most of you, more than it should, probably. A focus of its presentation last month in London detailed all the effort put into its “zero-feel crease.” The idea is that you can’t really feel where the device folds, with 3D liquid printing and laser scanning used to fill the hinge's surface precisely. The company says this reduces hinge height variance from 0.2mm to only 0.05mm.
Oppo has improved the glass used on the foldable display, and according to TÜV Rheinland testing (again), the Find N6 reduces long-term crease formation by up to 82 percent compared to last year’s Oppo model. It apparently takes a lot of engineering to make a foldable that looks pristine for longer. It’s definitely still early days, but after a few weeks of use, the crease does seem perceptibly shallower than that of other devices, especially the older Find N5. However, there is still a crease. You might not feel it as much, but you can see it.
Despite that particular obsession, it’s another incredibly thin foldable, measuring 8.93mm (0.35 inches) thick. That means, folded, it seems roughly equivalent to most typical smartphone form factors. For reference, the iPhone 17 Pro is 8.75mm (0.34 inches) thick. Even with its slim profile, it also offers improved protection with IP59 certification against dust and water. The new foldable also picks up a new custom hardware button, like the Find X9, which can be assigned to launch the camera, switch sound profiles and other quick action settings.
The screens are the same size and resolution as its predecessor: a 6.62-inch front display and an 8.12-inch inner screen. There have been notable improvements here, too. Peak brightness has been punched up to 3,500 nits on the front screen and 2,500 nits on the foldable screen, making them brighter than on Oppo’s last foldable, but behind Motorola’s latest, most luminous foldable.
The Find N6 also has another custom 7-core Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor — the flagship processor of the moment. The more impressive spec may be the battery: a huge 6,000mAh Silicon-Carbon power pack. That’s 400mAh more than the Find N5 and 1,600mAh more than the ZFold 7. And it goes and goes: Doing a battery rundown test on the front display playing non-stop video lasted just shy of 30 hours, while using the bigger internal screen still hit 24 hours.
Another area where it bests Samsung is in charge speeds, supporting up to 80W SUPERVOOC wired charging through Oppo’s proprietary adapter and up to 55W with other high-wattage chargers. There’s also 50W AIRVOOC wireless charging — again, only if you have Oppo’s particular flavor of wireless charger, which I do not. Sadly, there are no Qi2/PixelSnap/MagSafe docking magnets.
The cameras
Oppo has made major improvements to the cameras with several features showcased on the Find X9, now making their way to its foldables. There's a new 200-megapixel main camera with an f/1.8 lens and a new 50MP ultrawide camera that lets in 50 percent more light. The telephoto camera captures 50MP images, with 3X periscope optical zoom and telemacro focus up to 10cm away. All three cameras also support 4K 60 fps Dolby Vision video capture, with the main sensor also capable of 120 fps recording.
Oppo’s new foldable has cameras that rival those of Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold series. The addition of the high-resolution 200MP main sensor adds more detail to images and more versatility, too. The company continues to collaborate with Hasselblad on camera hardware and software. A new Hi-Res mode that captures stills using the full pixel count of each sensor, while other shooting modes from previous devices are still here. That includes the Hasselblad Master Mode, with full control over the camera settings and the iconic XPAN mode for 65:24 panoramic stills and video.
While I was already impressed by Oppo’s recent Find X9, the Find N6 still surprised me. It’s versatile, consistent, and it’s almost the best foldable camera phone — if only its telephoto matched the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s 5x zoom.
Software
When it comes to multitasking, the Find N6 really wants to deliver, even if the end result is a little messy. You can run a full-screen app, while three Free-Flow Windows each run a different app or web page, all concurrently. Every window is interactive and it almost immediately gave me a stress headache. Oppo has baked in a system of swipes and pinches to aid navigation, but I’d argue that even an 8.1-inch screen isn’t enough for all those windows. Still, for the true power user, there is a lot to tap into. If you’re the kind of person who bounces between work chats in Slack, your calendar and umpteen Chrome tabs — this phone is aimed at you.
Oppo wasn’t done with the productivity bonafides. It’s added a new stylus to its foldable series, which comes with its own holster/case that attaches to the back of the Find N6. In most instances, this would make a chunky foldable too bulky, but the base phone is so slim that it's passable. The case also serves as a charging cradle that can recharge the stylus via reverse wireless charging. I’m not a huge stylus user, but for those who miss the S Pen, this is an option if you live in a country where it’s being sold.
The stylus, officially called the Oppo AI Pen (hate that name), has a button to summon an onscreen palette of tools and features. Double-pressing the button switches between writing and erasing, which is pretty handy. Screen-off note-taking will apparently arrive in a later software update.
Oppo is also continuing to bridge ecosystems with iPhone Connect, which adds AirDrop-style file sharing to Apple phones. Remote PC control is still a cute feature, making the Find N6 into a tiny pocketable PC, if you’re willing to work on your laptop through a tiny screen.
Wrap-up
It’s another impressive foldable from Oppo, one that sadly most folks will never be able to buy. What’s stopping Oppo from testing the waters outside of Asia? The Find N6 is an incredibly powerful, technically impressive device. What is Oppo afraid of?
The foldable will arrive in both silver and orange, although the latter is a little more muted than I’d hoped. For now, Oppo is launching the Find N6 on March 20 in China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and other Asian territories. The company just announced that prices will start at ¥9999 in China (approximately $1,450), with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/oppos-find-n6-might-be-the-foldable-of-your-dreams-131036055.html?src=rssDell XPS 16 (2026) review: Return of the king
Last year, Dell came this close to abdicating its throne as the maker of the best premium Windows laptops when it announced it was killing off the XPS brand. Thankfully, the company regained its wits, admitted its mistake and doubled down on its flagship notebook line by revealing a full redesign for 2026 with super sleek builds, improved performance and helpful tweaks to nearly everything else we loved about its predecessors. The one blemish to Dell's crown jewel is some keyboard issues on early units. But make no mistake, the king of laptops is back.
Design and display
For this revamp, Dell didn't stray away from the XPS line's typical mix of glass and aluminum. However, this time around, the company streamlined pretty much everything. The XPS 16 now weighs just 3.65 pounds (or 3.85 if you opt for the heavier LCD display), which is almost a full pound lighter than its predecessor (4.56 pounds). That's a massive drop and it makes this system closer in heft to a 15-inch MacBook Air (3.3 pounds) than a 16-inch MacBook Pro (4.7 pounds), despite the latter being XPS's usual rival. It's also noticeably thinner at 0.58 to 0.6 inches (depending on the exact configuration), which is once again a sizable decrease from the previous model (0.75 inches). Honestly, this laptop needs to be held to be truly appreciated. Even after using it for a while, it still feels impossibly sleek every time I pick it up.
Elsewhere, Dell kept important features like the XPS line's up-firing stereo speakers (which sound great), along with a decent mix of ports, including three USB-C jacks that support Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort 2.1 and power delivery. The one thing I wish Dell had included though, is some sort of SD card reader. With the XPS 16 being the largest member of the family, it's often a prime option for people who like to edit photos and videos on the go, so having an easy way to transfer media from a camera to the laptop would be really nice.
As for its display, Dell's optional 3.2K tandem OLED panel like the one on our review unit reinforces the laptop's role as a mobile editing platform. It produces vibrant hues and features a variable refresh rate that can go between 20 and 120Hz depending on what's on the screen. Despite having a nominal peak brightness of 400 nits, it looks much brighter in person, so you're getting an excellent viewing experience.
Keyboard and touchpad
Perhaps the biggest change to the XPS line is its reworked keyboard and touchpad, which brings some ups and downs. Dell kept the glass deck and seamless touchpad used on previous models, except now there's a faint line going around its perimeter, so you never have to guess where it is. The company also replaced the row of capacitive touch function and media controls from its predecessor with regular keys. As a fan of physical buttons, this is just great.
The issue is that for discerning typists, the keyboard seems to be missing anti-ghosting or N-key rollover tech. This means that if you press two keys very quickly one after another, the second press actually gets registered first, which can result in erroneous inputs. We ran into the same problem when testing the XPS 14. Dell claims this issue only impacts the first batch of systems off the line and that units on sale today have had this issue patched already. Furthermore, the company says it will release an update to address the issue on the remaining units, which should be out sometime in March. Though at the time of publication, I haven't received anything yet.
There is another nitpick about the keyboard. While I don't mind that Dell retained its zero-gap layout instead of going with a more traditional chiclet-style design, the more I type on it the more I wish Dell would offer something with a bit more key travel and heavier actuation. For reasons out of my control, my company-assigned work machine is a Dell Precision 5680 from 2023. I don't like it very much aside from its keyboard, which is significantly bouncier and just generally nicer to use than the one on the XPS 16.
Performance
A big reason why Dell was able to make the XPS 16 so thin and light is that the company didn't leave room for discrete graphics. That means you can only choose between a handful of Intel's latest Series 3 Core Ultra chips, ranging from the Ultra 5 325 to the Ultra X7 358H, with the latter being the one I tested here. That's not a bad thing though, as the laptop easily handled all the various productivity tasks I threw at it. And even without a proper GPU, the XPS 16 still pumped out 62 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1920 x 1080, using Ultra settings and Intel's XeSS set to Quality. Those kinds of numbers aren't going to make anyone toss out their dedicated gaming rig, but once again, that's not too shabby for a notebook this easy to carry around.
Battery life
Thanks to a larger 99.5Whr battery, the XPS 16 fared better on our rundown test than its smaller sibling. This could be a deciding factor for anyone trying to choose between the two. In PCMark 10's Modern Office battery benchmark, the XPS 16 lasted just shy of 12 hours (11:53), which is more than an hour and a half longer than what we got from the XPS 14 (10:21). As long as you're not going to be gone for more than a day or you're really pushing it, you should be able to leave its power brick at home.
Wrap-up
When Dell decided to bring back the XPS name, COO Jeff Clake said the company was going to get back to its roots. That's the kind of messaging that's easy to stay on a stage, but after testing out the reborn XPS 16, I can confirm it isn't just flimsy rhetoric.
This laptop is a shining example of a premium ultraportable Windows laptop done well. It features a super sleek aluminum chassis, strong performance, solid battery life and an excellent display, particularly if you upgrade to the 3.2K OLED option. The connection to the iconic award-winning systems isn't just skin deep. This thing is just as much an XPS as the ones we loved a decade ago and Dell is driving that point home by letting the XPS logo sit front and center on its lid instead of the company's usual branding.
My one complaint is that I wish Dell would bring back the chiclet-style keyboards we got on models from the early 2020s. Though as long as the company can release updated software to fix the ghosting issues I've encountered, what's on there now is more than good enough. Granted, at $2,349 for our review unit, the XPS 16 is a bit pricey, but that's the going rate for a high-end notebook these days. If you snag a discount similar to the one Dell is currently running , suddenly, you're looking at an even more enticing package at $1,900.
The biggest reason someone might want to hold off for now is if you do need more powerful graphics, as I'm expecting Dell to release an alternate version of the XPS 16 with room for a discrete GPU (and hopefully an SD card reader) sometime before the end of the year. Despite Dell nearly tossing decades of pedigree in the trash just months ago, the XPS 16 has returned to reclaim its spot at the top.
Aqara's Matter-compatible camera promises easier smart home integration
Smart home company Aqara has launched what it says is the first camera certified for Matter, the open source standard that enables interoperability across brands, like Google and Amazon. The Aqara G350 is an indoor security cam that also functions as a Zigbee and Matter hub in the Aqara Home app, which means the camera will enable you to control various devices across smart home protocols from different brands within one location.
The camera itself comes with a 4K wide-angle and a 2.5K telephoto lens, providing both panoramic and closeup views. It also has 9x hybrid zoom and a pan-tilt mechanism that can give you 360-degree coverage of the room it’s in. The camera uses AI-powered tracking to keep people and pets in frame, as well as to determine which events and sounds are truly meaningful before sending you an alert. The Camera Hub G350 is now available via Aqara’s website, Amazon and other retailers for $140.
Aqara has also introduced the G400 wired doorbell camera that can connect to the internet either via Ethernet or dual-band Wi-Fi 6. It has a lens with 2K resolution and 165-degree ultra-wide field of view, so that it can capture visitors even when they’re standing close. The camera has on-device detection capabilities to recognize people and motion even without being connected to the internet. Connected, its cloud-based AI features enable it to identify faces, packages, vehicles and animals. You can connect the Aqara G400 doorbell camera to major smart home platforms, such as Apple Home with Homekit, Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Samsung SmartThings. It’s now available for sale on Aqara’s website, Amazon and other retails for $100.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/aqaras-matter-compatible-camera-promises-easier-smart-home-integration-124500865.html?src=rssHow to make your smartphone last longer
Replacing a smartphone every two years is partially why billions of phones go into landfills each year. If stacked flat atop one another, that many handsets would reach farther than the ISS. But we’ve become accustomed to that 24-month time frame because wireless carriers often push an upgrade on biennial contracts, and many smaller phone makers only offer software support for two years. But now, with longer software commitments from major manufacturers, along with growing right-to-repair legislation, many newer phones can stay in our pockets for closer to seven trips around the sun. Here’s how you can extend the lifespan of your smartphone and avoid shelling out hundreds before it’s absolutely necessary.
How to make your smartphone last longer
Use a case
It’s a flashy move to carry a naked phone around, but the chances of a handset making it through a tumble go up dramatically when you employ extra protection. We recommend a few in our guide to iPhone cases. In my family, we’ve been happy with Mous cases. Though we’ve never subjected our phones to the brutality seen in the company’s ads, I can say that these cases have seen my partner’s aging Samsung Galaxy through some pretty gnarly spills and I credit the cases for getting my iPhone 11 to 2025 in working condition.
Take care of the built-in battery (or use a power bank)
Since a phone’s battery is often the first thing to show signs of age, it’s worth it to follow recommendations for extending its lifespan. Lithium-ion batteries don’t perform well in heat and you should avoid charging them if it’s hotter than 95 degrees — doing so can degrade the battery quickly and even cause them to malfunction. They’ll tolerate cold weather better, but can get sluggish when things get too chilly.
If you’re storing a phone for a while, it’s best to do so with the battery at half charge, rather than full or empty. In fact, Li-ion cells last longer when they spend less time being either completely discharged or full — that’s why battery optimization features in iPhones and Pixel phones delay overnight charging to 100 percent until about an hour before you typically grab your mobile. And while it’s sometimes necessary to charge a battery quickly, a slower charging method when speed isn’t critical will put less stress on the ionic components and help extend the cell’s life.
But over time, any battery will eventually wear down. And if you’re traveling, relying heavily on navigation or using the phone as a hotspot, you might need more juice to get through a day. We recommend many options in our best power banks guide but the battery I grab most often is the Anker Laptop Power Bank. It’s got built-in USB-C cables and delivers enough charge to give any device (including laptops, extra hours of life). But for something smaller, I like the reliability of Statik’s semi-solid state MagSafe battery.
If you really want to give your phone a new lease on life, a new internal battery could be the ticket. For Pixel phones, you can go through Google’s official channel for either a walk-in or mail-in repair, you can look for an authorized repair partner or you can pick the DIY route with iFixit’s Pixel repair kits and instructions.
For iPhones, you can start with Apple’s official page, go through Best Buy or other authorized third-parties, or try iFixit’s methods. Samsung also has an in-house option but both iFixit and Best Buy ended their repair relationships with Samsung in 2024. Depending where you go and the model of your phone, the price for a new battery and installation will likely run you between $60 and $150 — still far less than ditching your handset for something brand new.
Clean up your phone’s storage
Most advice on how to declutter your phone and make it run faster centers on one thing: freeing up space. Your phone’s OS will likely have suggestions for clearing up storage space, like automatically offloading unused apps or deleting year-old messages. You can also do things manually by deleting any apps you don’t use. Next, consider the photos and videos you’re storing locally and either opt to pay for cloud storage or transfer the files to a computer or an external backup device. You can also consider getting rid of any music and movies you may have downloaded for offline use, and deleting old messages and large attachments. A good rule is to keep your storage at around 80 percent capacity. Once you’ve deleted and transferred what you can, restart your phone to give it a chance to clear up its temporary memory.
Why you can (and should) extend the life of your smartphone
The e-waste stream grows each year and doesn't do great things for human or planetary health. Smartphone companies are offering better and more consistent trade-in deals, but even some electronic recycling has its faults. Simply hanging onto a device instead of opting for a new one is the most efficient way of cutting back on a phone's environmental impact — plus it'll save you money.
While every giant phone maker would like you to believe that upgrading annually is critical, it’s worth noting that new generations of phones often bear strong resemblance to the prior year’s model. Engadget editors see this time and again with the countless smartphones they review — there’s a new button, a few new AI tricks, but the technology generally doesn’t leap forward each year to create something wildly different than what came before.
With only minor hardware upgrades, the more exciting new features come via over-the-air software updates. Starting with the release of the Pixel 8 in 2023, Google promised security and software updates for a full seven years. So those who buy a Pixel 10 in 2026 could still be using the same phone in 2033. Samsung’s Galaxy S26 has the same length of promised support. Apple committed to five years of support to comply with EU regulations, but iPhones were already known for their extended support — when iOS 26 came out, support was cut for the iPhone XR and earlier, but that meant the 2018 models had enjoyed around seven years of updates from launch.
When Apple launched the iPhone 15, the company doubled its estimation for the handset’s battery life saying a handset should retain 80 percent of the original full charge after 1,000 cycles. And Apple said the placement of the larger battery in the iPhone 16 makes replacing it easier. Overall, battery technology has improved in capacity over the years, but longevity hasn’t gone up across the board, as a study by PhoneArena makes clear.
More advancements in battery life spans may be on the horizon particularly as the EV industry grows, which also relies on lithium-ion cells. For now, declining battery health is usually the most noticeable issue affecting older phones. In 2023, the European Council of the European Union adopted new guidelines for battery-powered devices, which includes a mandate to allow consumers to “easily remove and replace” batteries. That won’t go into effect until 2027, and there will be plenty of interpretation as to what “easily” means. But EU mandates are what made Apple finally ditch Lightning ports on iPhones in favor of USB-C, so this could eventually be a step towards (once again) having smartphones with swappable batteries.
Right-to-repair bills have been passed or introduced in all 50 states. Some of these laws have already gone into effect, and will require manufacturers to do things like providing repair tools and documentation, and selling components for a certain number of years after the last new model for higher priced devices.
Currently, a number of phones have decent repairability scores, according to the online repair community iFixit (The FairPhone 6 gets the highest marks.) Until more companies start making it easier to fix things ourselves, authorized repair is an option, while self-repair remains an option for the more industrious.
Check out more from our spring cleaning guide.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-make-your-smartphone-last-longer-120014817.html?src=rssMarshall adds a junior-sized party speaker to its lineup
Marshall is launching a smaller companion for its highly rated Bromley 750 party speaker. The new Bromley 450 retains the larger model’s guitar-amp motif but comes in a petite, less expensive package.
The Bromley 450 carries over its larger sibling’s 360-degree audio trickery. Like equivalents from other companies, Marshall’s “True Stereophonic 360-degree sound” fools your brain into perceiving more directionality than its form factor allows. Lighting effects (“inspired by ‘70s stage shows”) also carry over from the larger model. However, this new speaker lacks the “sound character” control found in the Bromley 750.
Marshall says you can expect over 40 hours of playtime. If your party somehow goes on longer than that, you can swap out its battery on the fly (using the same one found in the Bromley 750). Or, you know, just plug it into a power outlet. And if your event turns into a performance, you’re covered with mic and instrument inputs.
The Bromley 450 measures 360 x 261 x 492mm, making it about 25 percent shorter than its big brother. At just under 27 lbs, it only weighs about half as much. That helps to explain Marshall’s decision not to include wheels on this model. (But don’t worry, it still has a handle.) The speaker has an IP55 rating for dust and water resistance.
The Marshall Bromley 450 may be less expensive than its larger counterpart, but it still costs a pretty penny. It’ll set you back $800 when it goes on sale on March 31. You can order it on Marshall’s website and from select retail partners (including Best Buy, Sweetwater and Crutchfield).
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/marshall-adds-a-junior-sized-party-speaker-to-its-lineup-120000871.html?src=rssSenators tell ByteDance to shut down Seedance 2.0 AI video app 'immediately'
After ByteDance suspended the global rollout of its new Seedance 2.0 AI video generator on the weekend, US senators have now told the company to "immediately shut down" the app. "Seedance 2.0 poses a direct threat to the American intellectual property system and, more broadly, to the constitutional rights and economic livelihoods of our creative community," Senators Marsha Blackburn and Peter Welch wrote in a letter to the company.
The letter reflects an increasing worry in government about AI companies training their apps on copyrighted materials from artists, actors and filmmakers without permission. "Responsible global companies follow the law and respect core economic rights, including intellectual property and personal likeness protections," the senators wrote. They cited Seedance AI examples including an AI generated Thanos and Superman battle, a rewritten Stranger Things ending and that famous (fake) Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt battle.
After pulling Seedance 2.0, ByteDance said on the weekend that it "respects intellectual property rights" and that it is "taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property and likeness by users."
However, Blackburn and Welch called that pledge "a delay tactic to continue to abuse the innovators and profit from their success," adding that its regard for American IP is "part of a larger trend of artificial intelligence companies stealing protected work at the expensive of the creative community."
Filmmakers have also taken action against Seedance 2.0, including the Motion Picture Association with recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance. Yesterday, senators including Blackburn and Welch unveiled a partisan bill to help artists protect their IP by allowing them to access training records used for AI models, among other measures.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/senators-tell-bytedance-to-shut-down-seedance-20-ai-video-app-immediately-112146241.html?src=rssThe Morning After: Apple's surprise AirPods Max refresh
You may have a little Apple fatigue after last week's barrage of Macs, iPhones and iPads. The company wasn't done, however. Surprise! Here is an updated pair of AirPods Max. It's a predictable surprise, perhaps, but one I wasn't expecting after so many other new devices.
It's also the first true update. The AirPods Max 2 look identical to their predecessor, but now have an H2 chip. First, the AirPods Pro 2 improve noise cancellation by 50 percent and add support for Adaptive Audio and Live Translation. It's a much-needed update for headphones that, barring a USB-C option, haven't changed since 2020.
They're still priced at $549. In Apple's recent press images for its cheapest MacBook ever, a child was using AirPods Max while working on their $599 MacBook Neo. Love it.
The new headphones are up for pre-order on March 25 and will ship in early April.
– Mat Smith
The other big stories (and deals) this morning
Samsung ends Galaxy Z TriFold sales three months after launch
NVIDIA claims DLSS 5 will deliver 'photoreal' image quality with AI this fall
MacBook Pro M5 Max 16-inch review
Still the pinnacle.
What did I just say? Wrapping up the barrage of reviews of all that new Apple hardware (besides those new AirPods), we test out Apple's most powerful new MacBook. The new Pro has an M5 Max chip, plenty of memory and is a beast. Thankfully, it still has all the ports you'd want.
xAI is being sued by teens who say Grok created CSAM using their photos
The class action lawsuit says that the lives of three teens have been "shattered."
xAI is facing a class-action lawsuit in California, after its Grok AI reportedly generated sexualized images of children. Three teenagers filed suit, alleging Grok used their photos to create child exploitation material. One teen was alerted in December that AI-generated, sexually explicit images of her and other minors were being shared "in settings with which she was familiar, but morphed into sexually explicit poses." The Center for Countering Digital Hate estimated in January that Grok produced millions of sexualized images, including 23,000 potentially depicting children.
Finally, Android tablets and foldables are getting a Chrome bookmark bar
Hello, power users.
Google is rolling out a new feature for Chrome that will add a bookmark bar to the browser on Android foldables and tablets. Spotted by 9to5Google, this move will make the browsing experience on larger mobile devices more akin to that of laptops and desktops running Chrome. Perfect if you managed to grab Samsung's Galaxy Z TriFold before it disappears forever.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111501781.html?src=rssDenon's DP-500BT turntable combines premium design with Bluetooth streaming for $899
Denon is addressing an omission in its current turntable lineup: Bluetooth streaming. With the new DP-500BT, the company combines refined design, analog sound and high-resolution wireless connectivity. With its semi-automatic operation and switchable phono preamp, this model has the features to suit beginners and experienced vinyl listeners alike.
The DP-500BT has a belt drive system, a balanced S-shaped tonearm and an aluminum die cast platter. There’s also a pre-installed moving magnet (MM) cartridge with a CN-6518 stylus and a built-in preamp that can be disabled in favor of a more robust external unit or powered speakers. Semi-automatic operation combines auto lift with playback stop to simplify the listening process for both novice and advanced vinyl lovers. This feature also protects both the stylus and your records.
In terms of design, Denon says it took inspiration from its DP-3000NE turntable for the DP-500BT. The similarities are clear, but more importantly, this decision gives the new $899 model a much more refined look compared to the company’s more affordable record players. The DP-3000NE is a $2,799 turntable, after all.
Bluetooth streaming is what sets the DP-500BT apart in the Denon lineup. Here, you’ll have the option of aptX, aptX HD and apt Adaptive when you need to streaming wirelessly to speakers or headphones. This turntable also works with the company’s HEOS amplifiers and Home speakers, which allow for multi-room audio while listening to that record collection.
The DP-500BT is available today from Denon and other retailers for $899.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/denons-dp-500bt-turntable-combines-premium-design-with-bluetooth-streaming-for-899-080000144.html?src=rssBoox's new Go E Ink tablet includes a 10-inch display and runs Android 15
There are many E Ink tablets out there, but most of them are basically digital notebooks. They are great for reading and handwriting notes, but not so great for doing all of that regular tablet stuff like checking emails and doomscrolling. Boox, however, has released a number of E Ink tablets that can access the Google Play Store, opening up users to the wide world of traditional smartphone apps.
The company's latest product is a refresh of the Go 10.3 tablet, called the Go 10.3 Lumi. This introduces plenty of new features and, as the name suggests, one is a front light. The tablet has been designed for both natural sunlight and low-light environments. The previous model was great, but it turns into a useless paperweight without access to ambient light.
Despite the front-facing light, the Go 10.3 Lumi is still lighter than its predecessor, at 12.8 ounces. It's also on the thinner side, with a 4.8mm profile.
The basic specs are similar to the Go tablet, with an octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It runs on Android 15, which is a massive improvement for both security and access to apps. The previous iteration ran on Android 12, and Google stopped officially supporting that OS last year. That means no more critical security updates.
In addition to beefed up security, Boox promises the upgrade to Android 15 offers users improved memory management, better multitasking and smoother UI interactions. E Ink devices can be sluggish so I'm all for anything that speeds things up.
It integrates with external keyboards and boasts integrated speakers, which will certainly come in handy when navigating apps downloaded from the Play Store. Despite the screen technology, this is an Android tablet. It should be able to run just about any app available.
However, the E Ink technology will likely run into hiccups with video-based apps and games. It's just not made for that. This could be a great little gadget for emails and text-based social media, but not for something like TikTok. It should be able to handle non-animated games just fine, like crossword puzzles and stuff like that.
Boox says the tablet gets "substantial battery life" and has been "optimized for extended usage cycles." The company hasn't announced detailed battery specs, but did say people "can work all day without looming battery anxiety." E Ink devices tend to last a good while, so I'm not worried about that.
The Boox Go 10.3 Lumi is available to order right now and costs $450. If you want to save a few bucks and have no interest in a front light, there's a stripped down version that also runs Android 15 but costs $420.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/booxs-new-go-e-ink-tablet-includes-a-10-inch-display-and-runs-android-15-020009621.html?src=rssAndroid tablets and foldables are getting a Chrome bookmark bar
Sometimes, it's the little details in a software update that make the biggest improvements. Google is rolling out a new feature for Chrome that will add a bookmark bar to the browser on Android foldables and tablets. Spotted by 9to5Google, this move will make the browsing experience on larger mobile devices more akin to that of laptops and desktops running Chrome. For those people who do like to do more robust computing on their mobile gadgets, this will be a hugely welcome addition. It's rolling out in version 146 of the browser's Android version, which just dropped today.
The mobile version of the bookmarks bar will appear below the Omnibox, displaying Favicons and site names. A chevron will appear to scroll deeper into the list of bookmarks, and a long press on a bookmark will display the entire URL.
If you're excited to take advantage of this new tool, you'll have to manually enable it. By default, devices will be set to "Hidden on narrow screens." Go to Settings, then Appearance and finally select "Show bookmarks bar."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/android-tablets-and-foldables-are-getting-a-chrome-bookmark-bar-222533702.html?src=rssNVIDIA and Bolt team up for European robotaxis
At GTC 2026, NVIDIA and Bolt announced what they hope will be a symbiotic partnership. Bolt gets NVIDIA technology that would be costly and impractical to build on its own. Meanwhile, NVIDIA not only gains a major customer but also access to the European rideshare company’s driving data.
Bolt says its fleet data will build a "learning engine" for autonomous vehicles (AVs) using NVIDIA tech. The rideshare company will use NVIDIA Cosmos to curate and search driving data. It will tap into NVIDIA Omniverse to reconstruct digital twins of real-world driving logs, then use Cosmos again to generate and augment data at scale.
NVIDIA's Alpamayo model, designed specifically for AVs, will help the AI learn how to drive safely and appropriately in European cities. Finally, Bolt will integrate NVIDIA's Drive Hyperion platform into its AVs.
"Autonomous vehicles require a full-stack approach that unifies AI models, high-performance compute, and a robust sensor architecture," NVIDIA EMEA Automotive VP Philippe Van Den Berge said. "By combining Bolt's real-world operational data with the NVIDIA Drive Hyperion platform, AI infrastructure, and open models & libraries across Omniverse, Cosmos, and Alpamayo, we're enabling a scalable foundation for safe, high-performance autonomous mobility services designed for the complexity and diversity of European roads."
Bolt has been busy gearing up for an autonomous future. In late 2025, it announced partnerships with Pony.ai and Stellantis.
The companies haven't announced a timeline for when we can expect to see NVIDIA-powered Bolt robotaxis in European cities. However, they promise that Bolt's fleet data will comply with GDPR standards. They also say they’ll provide open-source access to European universities and small- and medium-sized businesses.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/nvidia-and-bolt-team-up-for-european-robotaxis-220100551.html?src=rssSony's enhanced PSSR upscaling arrives on PS5 Pro today
Sony's upgraded PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) tech is rolling out as part of the PlayStation 5 Pro system update that's available today. The company had teased last month that this update was in the works. These improvements should be a better reflection of why you might pay a premium price for the more powerful console if you value peak image quality in gaming.
For a very surface-level definition, PSSR is Sony's upscaling tech. It uses an AI library for a pixel-by-pixel analysis to display a game with better visuals even while running at a lower resolution. Today's update revamped the algorithm and neural networked in use, which in practice means that "image reconstruction is more precise, motion stability is improved, and developers have greater flexibility to balance performance and fidelity on PS5 Pro," according to the latest blog post from the company. For those who want more technical definition, you'll likely be familiar with the folks at Digital Foundry, who have a more detailed analysis with comparisons between the old and new upscaling on four titles.
The improved PSSR is only available for supported games, but several familiar Sony partners are already on board. PS5 Pro owners can enable the enhanced PSSR image quality for all supported titles via a toggle in the Screen and Video settings menu. The following games are joining Resident Evil Requiem in offering the better upscaling experience:
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill f
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Control
Alan Wake 2
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Nioh 3
Rise of the Ronin
Monster Hunter Wilds
Dragon’s Dogma 2
xAI is being sued by teens who say Grok created CSAM using their photos
xAI, which is already facing multiple investigations around the world over widespread reports that Grok repeatedly created sexualized images of children, is now facing a class action lawsuit. Three teenagers, who allege that photos of them were used by Grok to generate child exploitation material, have filed a class action lawsuit against xAI in California.
According to the lawsuit, one of the teens was alerted last December that someone was sharing AI-generated images and videos of her and other minors "in settings with which she was familiar, but morphed into sexually explicit poses." The images and videos were allegedly shared on Discord, Telegram and other platforms and used "as a bartering tool" for other CSAM imagery. Law enforcement officials who investigated the images told the girls' parents they were created with xAi's Grok, the lawsuit says.
The three teens, all of whom live in Tennessee and are identified as Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3, have "suffered severe emotional distress," the filing says. "Their lives have been shattered by the devastating loss of privacy, dignity, and personal safety that the production and dissemination of this CSAM have caused," lawyers for the teens write in the complaint, which was provided to Engadget. "xAI’s financial gain through the increased use of its image- and video-making product came at their expense and wellbeing. Plaintiffs will have to spend the rest of their lives knowing that their CSAM images and videos may continue to be trafficked and traded online by child sex predators."
Though the lawsuit currently names three individuals, the complaint says that it could cover "at least thousands of minors" who have also had their photos manipulated by Grok into sexualized images. The lawsuit claims xAI has violated multiple laws, including laws barring the production and distribution of child abuse material.
xAI didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. The company is also facing multiple investigations in the US and Europe over Grok's alleged generation of nonconsensual nudity. Researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate estimated in January that Grok had produced millions of sexualized images, including 23,000 that appeared to show children.
xAI CEO Elon Musk, who previously promoted Grok's "spicy" abilities, has claimed that he was "not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok." xAI announced in January it would stop allowing people to use Grok to edit images of real people into bikinis and limit Grok's image-generation feature to paid subscribers.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/xai-is-being-sued-by-teens-who-say-grok-created-csam-using-their-photos-200102733.html?src=rssNVIDIA claims DLSS 5 will deliver 'photoreal' image quality with AI this fall
Just months after announcing DLSS 4.5 at CES, NVIDIA has unveiled its next major upscaling technology, DLSS 5. The company is doubling-down on AI for this next iteration, claiming DLSS 5 “infuses pixels with photoreal lighting and materials” using a real-time neural rendering model when it arrives this fall.
So what does this mean in practice? In an on-stage demo at NVIDIA’s GTC 2026 keynote, CEO Jensen Huang showed off the technology with Resident Evil: Requiem, Hogwarts Legacy and Starfield. DLSS 5 adds a noticeable amount of detail to character’s hair and skin tone, but it also appears it’s being compared to those games without any DLSS features turned on. It’s unclear how much of a difference it makes compared to DLSS 4.5 with path tracing and all of its features turned on.
“DLSS 5 takes a game’s color and motion vectors for each frame as input, and uses an AI model to infuse the scene with photoreal lighting and materials that are anchored to source 3D content and consistent from frame to frame,” NVIDIA said in a blog post. The company also notes that the technology runs in real time, and it works at up to 4K.
Huang showed off DLSS 5 while running a system with two RTX 5090 GPUs. Eventually, it will be able to run on a single video card (though I’d imagine it would have to be almost as powerful as two 5090s). Huang also paints DLSS 5 as a step towards offering Hollywood-like quality for real-time rendering, without the need for the GPU horsepower required by studios. It sounds a bit like a generative AI video model that can be directly controlled by developers, instead of just AI prompts.
NVIDIA, never shy from self-aggrandizing, claims DLSS 5 is also the “biggest breakthrough in computer graphics” since real-time ray tracing arrived in 2018. But given that ray tracing itself hasn’t been mainstream for many gamers, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any interest in NVIDIA’s AI-produced pixels.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/nvidia-claims-dlss-5-will-deliver-photoreal-image-quality-with-ai-this-fall-193452088.html?src=rssJudge rules that Krafton must rehire fired Subnautica director
A judge has ruled that publisher Krafton must reinstate Ted Gill as CEO of Unknown Worlds Entertainment, according to a report by Bloomberg. The company fired Gill and two other co-founders last year as part of a shakeup involving the long-anticipated sequel Subnautica 2.
The Delaware judge said Krafton had violated the terms of its contract with Unknown Worlds when it fired the executives. "To remedy these breaches, Gill is reinstated as CEO of Unknown Worlds with full operational authority over the studio," wrote judge Lori W. Will.
A Krafton spokesperson said in a statement that "we respectfully disagree with today's ruling" and that "we are evaluating our options as we determine our path forward." Further litigation over potential damages is still pending.
This legal battle has been brewing for a while. Krafton bought Unknown Worlds back in 2021 and the contract stipulated that executives and staff would get to share in a $250 million bonus if they hit certain revenue targets by 2025. Those targets were not reached, and could not be reached, because Krafton delayed Subnautica 2.
According to the pre-trial brief, Krafton CEO Changham Kim allegedly nixed the payout because it would be a "professional embarrassment" and make him look like a "pushover." He reportedly consulted ChatGPT to ask about ways to avoid paying the bonus and, oddly, seemed to consider a hostile takeover by a newly-formed entity.
Judge Will dinged the CEO on both counts, saying that Kim regretted committing to the payout and "consulted an artificial intelligence chatbot to contrive a corporate 'takeover' strategy." Engadget reached out to Krafton and the company re-emphasized it was displeased with the ruling but said that it doesn't resolve the ongoing litigation.
As for the game, Krafton says Subnautica 2 is coming sooner rather than later. We've heard that one before.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/judge-rules-that-krafton-must-rehire-fired-subnautica-director-184702823.html?src=rssSamsung ends Galaxy Z TriFold sales three months after launch
Samsung will reportedly end Galaxy Z TriFold sales in South Korea on March 17, three months after the device went on sale, according to South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo. Samsung has not yet confirmed the report, but Engadget has reached out for comment. In the US, where the TriFold arrived in January, the phone will remain available until existing inventory runs out. A unit at retail (if you can find it) will run you almost $3,000.
Samsung seemingly never intended the model for mass production. It sold the device in small batches through its website, with each selling out within minutes. Samsung reportedly moved roughly 3,000 units across the first two allotments and did not send review units to the media.
Industry sources told Dong-A Ilbo that the TriFold was a technology showcase rather than a revenue-generating product. Rising costs of components like DRAM and NAND flash have left virtually no profit margin on the device. In South Korea, the phone briefly traded for nearly three times its retail price on the secondary market.
In Engadget's limited time with the TriFold, the device felt solid, despite not having been built for a true production run. The original Galaxy Fold had to be delayed in 2019 after multiple review units sent to the press broke within days.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-ends-galaxy-z-trifold-sales-three-months-after-launch-182903503.html?src=rssApple acquires popular video editing software company MotionVFX
Apple's latest acquisition could be a hint towards improvements for Final Cut Pro. The tech giant acquired MotionVFX, as seen on the company's website and first reported by MacRumors, which is known for providing plugins, templates, visual effects and more to video editors. MotionVFX currently offers its software for a handful of video-editing apps, like DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere, but is also listed as a trusted Apple partner and found in the Final Cut Pro ecosystem of third-party products.
Apple hasn't revealed an acquisition price nor details of the deal. On its website announcement, MotionVFX wrote that it's "thrilled to embrace" similar values seen with Apple products and that it's the "beginning of something wonderful."
Considering a lot of MotionVFX's tools are designed for Final Cut Pro and Apple's Motion app, we could see native integration of popular visual effects and templates into Apple's app interfaces. It's worth noting that MotionVFX already offers an extension that creates a panel directly in Final Cut Pro for users to browse, download and apply visual effects from its repository. The acquisition could also hint at Apple trying to make its Creator Studio more enticing in the future, since it includes both Final Cut Pro and Motion. However, there hasn't been any clarity on what will happen to MotionVFX's monthly or annual subscription plans, nor its support for competing products.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apple-acquires-popular-video-editing-software-company-motionvfx-175429480.html?src=rssLego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's release date moves up a week
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a game that a whole bunch of people are looking forward to, and they might be pleased to learn Warner Bros. Games is making the wait a bit shorter. The publisher has moved up the game by a week from its previous release date of May 29, meaning it will land on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam and Epic Games Store on May 22. A Nintendo Switch 2 version will be released later this year.
Folks who buy the deluxe edition will still be able to jump in three days early. Everyone who pre-orders the game will get access to a The Dark Knight Returns Batsuit from the jump.
TT Games is the team behind Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. The studio did a fantastic job of folding nine movies worth of material into the fantastic Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Here’s hoping it can pull off a similar trick this time — it has nearly nine decades of Batman history to work with.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/lego-batman-legacy-of-the-dark-knights-release-date-moves-up-a-week-174035977.html?src=rssEncyclopedia Britannica sues OpenAI for copyright and trademark infringement
OpenAI has been hit with another lawsuit. This time, Encyclopedia Britannica took legal action against OpenAI, accusing the company of copyright and trademark infringements, as first reported by Reuters. More specifically, Britannica alleged that OpenAI illegally used its "copyrighted content at a massive scale" when training its AI models. Not just with training, the encyclopedia company claimed that ChatGPT's responses to user queries sometimes contain "full or partial verbatim reproductions of [Britannica's] copyright articles."
Along with claims of copyright violations, Britannica argued that OpenAI was also responsible for trademark infringement. According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT generates "made-up content or 'hallucinations' and falsely attributes them" to Encyclopedia Britannica. The lawsuit doesn't specify an amount for monetary damages, but Britannica is also seeking an injunction to prevent OpenAI from repeating these accusations.
When reached out for comment, a spokesperson for OpenAI told Engadget that, "ChatGPT helps enhance human creativity, advance scientific discovery and medical research, and enable hundreds of millions of people to improve their daily lives. Our models empower innovation, and are trained on publicly available data and grounded in fair use."
It's not the first time that Britannica has filed a lawsuit against an AI company. In September, the company, which owns Merriam-Webster, also sued Perplexity for similar reasons. On the other side, OpenAI is still embroiled in a legal battle with The New York Times, which also sued the AI giant for copyright infringement.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/encyclopedia-britannica-sues-openai-for-copyright-and-trademark-infringement-164747991.html?src=rssOpenAI's adult mode reportedly won't generate pornographic audio, images or video
OpenAI's forthcoming "adult mode" will allow users to engage in lewd conversations with ChatGPT, but not use the chatbot to generate explicit images, audio or video. In response to reporting from The Wall Street Journal, an OpenAI spokesperson characterized the upcoming release as capable of producing smut rather than pornography.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman first floated the idea of allowing people to use ChatGPT for erotica last October, saying the company wanted to "treat adult users like adults." OpenAI originally planned to release adult mode at the start of 2026. Since then, the company has pushed back the feature a handful of times, with the most recent delay coming at the start of March so that OpenAI could "focus on work that is a higher priority for more users."
Through The Journal's reporting, we're learning OpenAI forged ahead with work on adult mode despite reservations from its council on wellbeing and AI. The group of eight researchers and experts were reportedly unanimous in warning the company AI-generated erotica could lead to people developing an unhealthy emotional dependence on ChatGPT, and that underage users would almost certainly find ways to access the feature. According to The Journal, one council member, citing cases where people have taken their own lives after becoming attached to ChatGPT, said the company was at risk of creating a "sexy suicide coach."
Those concerns appear to have been well-founded. At one point, the company's age verification technology was misidentifying underage users as adults about 12 percent of the time, according to The Journal. At OpenAI's scale, with around 100 million teens using ChatGPT every week, that error rate would have translated to millions of minors accessing erotic chats. OpenAI told The Journal its prediction algorithm performs to industry standards, adding no such system will ever be completely foolproof.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-adult-mode-reportedly-wont-generate-pornographic-audio-images-or-video-150744035.html?src=rssHow to find and cancel your unused subscriptions
Subscriptions are out of control. I can remember a time when the monthly payouts were few: just Netflix, a couple of magazines and a mobile plan. Now we have subscriptions for music, security cameras, cloud gaming, AI chatbots, meal kits, LinkedIn, DoorDash, Uber, Photoshop — the list is long. Basically, if there’s an app for something, there’s likely an associated subscription available, too. This guide was put together to help you locate and cancel the subscriptions that are no longer serving you. That way, you won’t end up paying for something you don’t use. Every time I go through this process, I’m always amazed at what random stuff I’ve signed up for — and cancelling always feels good.
It’s true that signing up for something is far easier than canceling — that’s by design. The FTC tried to pass a rule requiring companies to make cancelling a subscription as easy as it was to sign up for it. But that solution died before it ever went into effect.
That means it will still take some effort to get rid of the services you don’t use, but there are a couple of tactics that might make your efforts more effective. Here’s our advice on finding and cancelling your unneeded subscriptions.
First things first: Find out what subscriptions you have
Before putting this post together, I had no idea how many subscriptions I was paying for. Surprises included a coding game for my kid (that he no longer plays) and a British streaming app I’d gotten for one show (that I finished nearly a year ago). You, too, may not know what subscriptions are stealthily subtracting dollars from your accounts. One of the most comprehensive ways to see what you’re paying for is to look at your bank and credit card transactions, generating a search that includes every transaction in the previous full month. It may be a lot to scroll through, but each monthly subscription will appear at least once in that time frame.
Annual subscriptions can be tricker to track down. I was able to find most by searching for introductory emails, since most services send out an initial message confirming a new subscription. You can use the advanced search with the words “welcome” or “thank you” in the subject field, plus variations on the words “annual” “subscribing” and “membership” in the general or keyword search fields. You should get a decent idea of the things you’ve signed up for, but may have to wade through lots of promotional emails before you find the services you actually subscribed to. It could save you some time over searching through a year of bank statements.
Sometimes it’s helpful to simply see a list of common subscriptions people pay for (and often forget about). Here are a few:
Entertainment
• YouTube Premium
• Amazon Prime Video (or Prime in general)
• Netflix
• Disney+
• Pandora Premium
• Twitch Subscriber
• Crunchyroll
• Peacock
Gaming
• PlayStation Plus
• Xbox Game Pass
• Nintendo Switch Online
Work/Productivity
• LinkedIn Premium
• Adobe Creative Cloud
• Microsoft 365
• ToDo
• Evernote
Dating
• Tinder
• Grindr
• Bumble
• Hinge
• Raya
Food
• Hello Fresh
• Green Chef
• Blue Apron
• Doordash DashPass
• Uber Eats Uber One
• Monthly coffee, hot sauce and jerky boxes
How to cancel subscriptions
For the most part, the way you sign up for a subscription is the way you’ll cancel it. If you signed up for Strava or Minecraft Realms from your iOS device, you’ll need to cancel it through your Apple account. If you signed up for Netflix through its website, you’ll cancel there. Sometimes even the device you use matters. For example, if you signed up for Paramount Plus via your Fire TV Stick, you’ll go through your TV to cancel instead of through the Amazon mobile app.
Once you’ve determined where to go, the cancellation processes will nearly always involve logging in to your account and navigating to your profile, then your account settings so you can view and end your subscription.
Here are steps to cancel a few of the most popular subs.
From the Apple App Store or Google Play Store
When you pay for a subscription through an app store, the transaction will likely be listed as a payment to either Apple or Google, so it’s harder to see what you’re paying for using the banking suggestion above. Here’s how to see what you’ve subscribed to using the two major app marketplaces, plus how to cancel.
How to cancel subscriptions through Apple’s App Store
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap your profile box at the top.
3. Tap on Subscriptions. Here, you’ll see your active and inactive subscriptions listed.
4. Tap the one you want to cancel and follow the prompts.
How to cancel subscriptions through Google’s Play Store
1. Open the Google Play app.
2. Tap your profile circle in the upper right.
3. Tap on Payments & Subscriptions.
4. Tap on Subscriptions.
4. You’ll see your active subscriptions and can decide which ones you no longer want.
How to cancel Amazon Prime
Amazon most recently raised the price of a Prime membership in 2022, bringing it to $15 per month or $139 per year. A membership gets you things like free shipping and access to Prime Video — though as of 2024, you’ll pay an additional $3 per month if you want to stream ad-free. If Prime isn’t worth it for you any longer, here’s how to cancel.
Through the Amazon app:
1. Tap the person icon at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap on the Your Account button at the top of the screen.
3. Scroll down to and tap Memberships and Subscriptions.
4. You’ll be taken to a Prime page; tap Manage Membership in the drop-down menu at the top.
5. Select the Update, Cancel and More option, and tap End Membership. Here, you can also opt for a reminder to be sent three days before your next renewal if you don’t want to cancel right away.
Via a web browser:
1. Sign in to Amazon.
2. Hover over Accounts & Lists to the right of the search bar up top.
3. Click on Memberships & Subscriptions under Your Account.
4. Click the Cancel Subscription button.
How to cancel Paramount Plus
Paramount Plus is one of the cheaper video streaming subscriptions out there, going for $9 per month for the ad-supported version or $14 monthly for the ad-free version with Showtime. But if you finished Starfleet Academy and want to cancel, here’s how. Remember, if you signed up for Paramount Plus through Prime Video or through the App Store, you’ll need to cancel through the same platform.
1. Log in to your Paramount Plus account on a web browser.
2. Select the username in the upper right corner.
3. Click on Account and scroll down to Cancel Subscription.
4. Click on Cancel Subscription.
How to cancel Apple TV
Probably the best thing about Apple TV is how lean it is. Sure, you may not want to watch everything on there, but the ratio of really good stuff to so-so fluff is far better than on most other services. But once you’ve gotten through Severance and Pluribus you may decide to save yourself the $13 per month.
Apple TV + requires an Apple ID to sign up, so the easiest way to cancel is through the Settings app on your Apple device. If you didn’t sign up through a Mac, iPad or iPhone or don’t have an Apple TV box, follow the PC instructions.
On an iPhone or iPad:
1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap your profile box at the top.
3. Tap on Subscriptions.
4. Tap either Apple TV+ or Apple One membership, depending on how you first signed up.
5. Select the subscription you want to cancel, then click the Cancel Subscription button.
On a Mac:
1. Open the App Store app.
2. Click on your name and profile image at the bottom left.
3. Click on Account Settings at the top of the screen.
4. In the pop-up window, scroll down to the Manage section and click the Manage link to the right of the word Subscriptions.
5. Select the Edit link next to the subscription you want to cancel, then click the Cancel Subscription button.
On an Apple TV box:
1. Open the Settings app from the home page.
2. Click on Users & Accounts.
3. Click on Subscriptions.
4. Find the subscription you want to cancel and follow the prompts.
On a PC:
1. Go to tv.apple.com and sign in.
2. Click on the account icon at the top of the page.
3. Click on Settings and scroll down to Subscriptions, then click Manage
4. Choose Cancel Subscription.
How to cancel an Audible membership
If you downloaded Audible as part of a free trial or grabbed it for a 12-hour road trip but haven’t used it much since, here’s how to stop paying $15 per month. If you didn’t sign up via Amazon or Audible and instead went through Apple’s App Store or Google Play, follow the instructions for how to cancel subscriptions through Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play store above.
Through Amazon:
1. Sign in to your Amazon account.
2. Hover over Accounts & Lists to the right of the search bar.
3. Click on Memberships & Subscriptions under YourAccount.
4. You’ll see your Audible membership listed; click the Audible Settings button.
5. Scroll down to Membership Options & Help and click on Cancel Membership.
Through Audible (on a browser):
1. Sign in to your Audible account.
2. Hover over the link that says Hi [your name] and select Account Details from the menu.
3. You’ll see a box with your membership details; click on Cancel Membership.
4. Answer the “reason for canceling” question and follow the prompts.
How to cancel Spotify Premium
Spotify only gets more expensive. If you just want to go back to the free version, here's how. You can change which tier you pay for through the app. But to cancel, you’ll need to go through a web browser. You can technically cancel through the app, but that involves deleting your account and all its data. If you want to preserve your playlists and just switch to the free version, do so with a mobile or desktop browser.
1. Head to Spotify on a web browser and log in.
2. If you haven’t logged in via the web before, you’ll see a button for Web Player or Account Overview; select Account Overview.
3. If you’re already in the Web Player, click either the gear icon (mobile browser) or your profile image (desktop browser) in the upper right corner and select Account.
4. Your subscription will appear in a box labeled Your Plan; click that box or scroll down to Manage Your Plan and click.
5. You’ll see your plan details, click the Cancel subscription button.
How to cancel YouTube TV
Pretty much every live TV streaming service has raised its prices over the past couple years. YouTube TV is no different. After starting at $35 per month at launch, it went up nearly every year to finally land at $83 with the latest price hike in December of 2024. If that’s edging too close to cable pricing, you can always cancel (after all, not requiring a contract is still one of streaming’s major advantages). And YouTube TV actually lets you cancel through the app.
On an Android device:
1. Open the YouTube TV app.
2. Tap your profile circle at the top right.
3. Tap on Settings, then tap on Membership.
4. Under your membership details, tap Manage.
5. Click on Cancel Membership and follow the prompts.
Via a web browser:
1. Head to YouTubeTV.
2. Log in and click your profile circle in the top right.
3. Tap on Settings, then tap on Membership.
4. Under your membership details, tap on Manage next to Base Plan.
5. Click on Cancel Membership and follow the prompts.
Apps that can help
Some finance apps will track and manage your subscriptions for you. We looked into the bigger ones to see how they can help. One of our previous recommendations, Mint, shut down, but ones from Experian and Monarch Money have cropped up to take its pace. We tried out Rocket Money to see how the process works and detailed it below.
Just note that these apps cost money to handle subscription cancellation on your behalf — and adding another paid service to your life can feel absurd when you’re trying to do the opposite. You’ll also need to give the apps your banking information and your data may, in turn, be sold or shared with third parties for marketing.
A couple of other apps we tried don’t ask for your banking info. Instead you manually enter your subscription details. That’s certainly more private, but might not be saving you much effort in the long run.
Rocket Money
Owned by the same company as Rocket Mortgages, Rocket Money is a finance app that connects with your bank account and offers to help you budget and track your overall spending, in addition to managing your subscriptions. You’ll pay for the app using a sliding scale from $3 to $14 per month for the premium version, which includes automated cancellation and other features. To access the free version at sign-up, move the slider to the left until you reach $0.
Once you’ve linked your account, navigating to the Recurring tab gives you an overview of your subscriptions. I liked that you can access this using either the mobile or desktop app. After linking my accounts, it reminded me of an upcoming renewal for a magazine I don’t read and hosting fees for a website I no longer need. Canceling both of those would save me nearly $200 in a year. Unfortunately, my monthly Apple One payment and the Max access that I pay for through my Samsung TV didn’t show up as recurring subscriptions. That could be due to how my bank lists the transaction, but I’d like to have seen those on the list, too.
Next to each transaction is a three dot menu, which includes an option to “cancel this for me” for Premium subscribers. Click and you’ll see contact methods to handle it yourself or a button to have Rocket Money do it. After you provide your username and password for the service, you’ll get an email confirmation that tells you the process could take up to ten days to complete. When I had Rocket Money cancel Paramount Plus for me, I got an email later that night saying the cancellation was complete.
While it’s not a magic program that zaps your subscriptions away, Rocket Money could save you a few steps. Seeing (most of) your recurring charges together is also helpful for staying on top of things. It’s up to you whether the Premium charge (and taking on another subscription) is worth the cancellation service.
Reminder apps
There are other apps, like Bobby (iOS) and Tilla (Android), that don’t connect with your bank account. Instead, you enter the details of the subscriptions you already have and add new ones as you go. The apps will remind you about upcoming renewals and let you quickly see what you’re paying for, all in one place. Both are free to use but limit the number of subscriptions you can track until you upgrade, which costs a flat $4 for Bobby and $2 for Tilla. I feel like if you possess the diligence to keep apps like these up to date, you could just as easily use a spreadsheet or native apps like Apple or Google’s Reminders, though these are more colorful.
Check out more from our spring cleaning guide.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/how-to-find-and-cancel-your-unused-subscriptions-130036314.html?src=rssTech companies are teaming up to combat scammers
A coalition of Big Tech companies is working on a more comprehensive solution to combat online scams. As first reported by Axios, Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Meta, Amazon, OpenAI, Adobe and Match Group announced the signing of the Online Services Accord Against Scams. The new agreement is meant to put up a united industry-wide front against online fraud and scams, particularly those from sophisticated criminal networks that use multiple platforms.
According to the Axios report, the measures will include adding fraud detection tools, introducing new user security features, and requiring more robust verification for financial transactions. The agreement will also set up best practices for scam detection, prevention and reporting, while encouraging the sharing of information between companies and law enforcement. On the policy side, the coalition will call on the governments to "declare scam prevention a national priority," according to Axios. While these measures are extensive, the report noted that they're all voluntary since the accord doesn't mention any penalties if the companies don't follow through.
Many of the companies involved in the new accord already have experience in dealing with scams found on their own platforms. Earlier this month, Meta announced several new features across Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp that would alert users about suspicious friend requests or accounts. Last year, LinkedIn introduced a new verification requirement for company recruiters or executives to address scams targeting job seekers on its platform.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/tech-companies-are-teaming-up-to-combat-scammers-144616545.html?src=rssApple announces the AirPods Max 2 with improved noise cancelation and H2 chip
The AirPods Max 2 are almost here. Apple announced this morning that the first true update to its over-hear phones are up for pre-order on March 25 and will be shipping in early April. They look identical to the predecessor, with large, colorful earcups and a matching headband. But inside is the H2 chip that Apple first introduced with the AirPods Pro 2, which enables a host of new features. Chief among those is improved noise cancelation — Apple says with the H2 and improved audio algorithms, the AirPods Max 2 are 1.5 times more effective at reducing noise than the old model.
From an audio perspective, there’s a new amplifier on board here as well for clearer music and improved spatial audio performance. If you want lossless music, you can get that by using the included USB-C cable.
There are also a host of new features for the AirPods Max 2 enabled by the H2. These include an “Adaptive Audio” mode that balances between transparency and ANC modes depending on the environment so you can hear things when you need to while still blocking extraneous noise. Similarly, the conversation awareness features lower the volume of your content and increase transparency when your’e speaking. Live Translation comes to the AirPods Max 2 as well, a feature that uses your AirPods and iPhone to translate incoming speech to and from the language of your choosing.
Essentially, the AirPods Max 2 now have almost all the features you’ll find in the AirPods Pro 3, just in an over-ear design. What hasn’t changed is the price — AirPods Max 2 still cost $549, notably more than most of the competition. Despite the high price, the first AirPods Max did sound exceptional — they’ve just been hard to recommend for years because of the aging feature set and cost.
Given that the first AirPods Max were released in 2020, these new headphones are long overdue and are probably what we should have got in 2024 when Apple added USB-C but otherwise didn’t change anything besides refreshing the colors.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/apple-announces-the-airpods-max-2-with-improved-noise-cancelation-and-h2-chip-133319594.html?src=rssFirefly is getting rebooted as an animated series
Firefly aired for just one season in 2002 before Fox canceled it. In the 24 years since, the sci-fi show has skyrocketed in popularity and now fans are finally getting more. Nathan Fillion has announced that an animated Firefly series is currently in advanced development, Deadline first reported.
Fillion shared the news at AwesomeCon during a live taping of his podcast Once We Were Spacemen with his Firefly co-stars Gina Torres, Morena Baccarin, Summer Glau, Sean Maher, Jewel Staite and Alan Tudyk. Tudyk co-hosts the podcast, in which the duo look back at their careers and interview past coworkers. Each of the actors present at AwesomeCon are expected to voice the animated versions of their characters.
This isn't one of those maybe one day it will happen announcements, with many steps already being taken. The animated reboot is under the direction of showrunners Tara Butters (Agent Carter, Reaper) and Marc Guggenheim (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow) — original creator Joss Whedon is not involved, but has given his blessing. It has early concept art from ShadowMachine, an Oscar- and Emmy-winning animation studio. Fillion is producing the show through Collision33, his production company, and with 20th Television Animation. There's even already a script in place.
According to Fillion, the one thing left is a home for the series. He and his co-stars took to Once We Were Spacemen's Instagram to provide more details and implore FireFly fans to show demand for the reboot.
Firefly took place in 2517, centuries after a universal civil war. It followed a group of people living aboard a transport ship, Serenity, flying through the galaxy. In 2005, the show got a sequel in the form of a movie, Serenity.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/firefly-is-getting-rebooted-as-an-animated-series-120604649.html?src=rss