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

Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

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

Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

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.

Dell 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. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

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

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

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.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

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

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

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

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

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. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

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.

How 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

Amy Skorheim for Engadget

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

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

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.

Marshall 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.

Marshall

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).

Senators 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.

The 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 and Bolt team up for European robotaxis

• Samsung Galaxy S26 review: The smartphone status quo

• Firefly is getting rebooted as an animated series

• NVIDIA claims DLSS 5 will deliver 'photoreal' image quality with AI this fall

MacBook Pro M5 Max 16-inch review

Still the pinnacle.

Engadget

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.

Continue reading.

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.

Continue reading.

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.

Continue reading.

Denon'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.

Boox'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. 

Boox

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.

Android 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."

NVIDIA 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.

Sony'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. 

NVIDIA 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.

Judge 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.

Samsung 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.

Apple 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.

Lego 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.

Encyclopedia 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.

OpenAI'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.

How 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

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

Apple

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

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.

Tech 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.

Apple 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.

Apple

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.

Firefly 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. 

How and where to buy refurbished tech online

In good news for our wallets and the environment at large, many electronic devices like phones and tablets last longer now than they once did. That means refurbished gadgets can have more life than ever before. There are no laws governing the terms, but refurbished or renewed devices tend to be a level above just plain “used.” At minimum, refurbished tech should have undergone cleaning and diagnostic testing. Some sellers also replace components like batteries and screens. Once ready for sale, these devices should operate as if they were new, with only minor scuffs indicating their history.

Refurbished devices not only save you a bit of cash, they have a drastically lower carbon footprint since most environmental impact comes from manufacturing. It’s more efficient than recycling and helps keep e-waste out of landfills. But there are better places to shop refurbished tech than others. We’ve gathered /a few recommendations, along with our advice on what to look for when you start shopping for refurbished gear.

What to consider when buying refurbished devices

Refurbished vs used

Refurbished is not the same as used. Used items tend to be sold “as-is,'' which means you’re simply inheriting whatever mileage and quirks a device had when the previous owner said goodbye to it. It’s true that most refurbished items were previously owned, and many are a result of the growing trend of trading in your old device when you upgrade. But others were hardly used at all and are one of the millions of returns generated each year. Either way, a properly refurbished item has undergone testing to verify that it works, along with cleaning, repairs and parts replacement as needed.

Since there are no government regulations for renewed items, it’s up to the sellers to define what steps they take to ready a device for sale. And it’s up to the buyer to find out what those steps are before taking the plunge. The processes for refurbishing devices from Apple, Bose, Microsoft, Google Pixels and Samsung, for example, include cleaning, inspection, parts replacement as needed and shipment in a new box with the originally supplied accessories. They also all provide a one-year warranty.

Warranties and returns

A refurbished device should perform as well as its new counterpart, but the only way to guarantee that’s the case is to make sure it comes with a warranty. All of the sites we recommend below include a warranty with the products they sell. If you see something labeled as refurbished, but doesn’t include some sort of guarantee as to its reliability – shop elsewhere.

Also, a good return policy will let you send the item back (preferably with the same free shipping a new item gets) for any reason — including that you just changed your mind. That way if a refurbished product doesn’t look as good as you thought it would, you can send it back without having to prove there’s something wrong with it.

Sanitation

Most refurbished tech was used before it made its way back on the market. And while renewed items are cleaned, you’ll still need to consider your comfort with sanitation issues when buying things like headphones and earbuds.

Polina Lebed via Getty Images

Where to buy refurbished tech

We recommend going directly to the manufacturer whenever possible, especially for more technical items like smartphones and laptops. If you need a new MacBook, check out Apple’s refurbished stock first; if you want a new Galaxy phone, hit up Samsung before anyone else. Repairs will be handled using genuine parts and you’re far more likely to get items that were properly unpaired from the original owner and all data wiped.

Retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy are decent options if you’re on a tighter budget or if you’re looking for gadgets from a manufacturer that may not have its own refurbished outlet. Refurbished marketplaces like BackMarket can be useful if you’re looking for older, more specific items, or if price is the number one factor for your purchase.

Other retailers

Some smaller manufacturers like Dyson, Vitamix, Nintendo and JBL offer their own refurbished products, but for many other brands, you may need to head to a retailer.

Check out more from our spring cleaning guide.

MacBook Pro M5 Max 16-inch review: Still the pinnacle

We've loved Apple's 2021-era MacBook Pro design from the start, and the M5 Max edition is once again the professional notebook to beat. But it's hard to deny that the star of Apple's recent laptop rollout wasn't its most powerful Pro systems — all eyes were on the $599 MacBook Neo. The MacBook Pro's next time to shine is likely this fall, when Apple is expected to finally deliver OLED models and a dynamic touchscreen interface.  (I’ve argued before that, at this point, Apple has no excuse not to give us touchscreen Macs.)

This generation of MacBook Pro might just be the last gasp of the 2021 remodel. It's still an incredibly powerful machine that's been honed to near-perfection, but if you're looking for something that feels truly new, it may be worth waiting several months. 

It's not too surprising to see the M5 Pro and Max MacBook Pros be relatively low-key efforts. Apple launched the M5 14-inch MacBook last fall with a mere press release. But at least that model delivered a noticeable leap in graphics performance. The new M5 Pro and Max chips are a bit faster than before, but they don't really have any major features to call out. (Unless you're super excited about Neural Accelerators for AI work.)

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining too much, though. The 16-inch M5 Max MacBook Pro I'm reviewing is still a gorgeous laptop, with an overall design that most premium Windows PC makers are still trying to copy. Apple's unibody metal frame design still feels rock solid. There's a generous amount of ports, including three Thunderbolt 5 USB-C connections, HDMI, a headphone jack and a SD card reader. Its 16-inch Liquid RetinaXDR screen also looks incredible, thanks to its bright Mini LED backlighting, and there's once again a nano-texture option to reduce glare. 

What else could you want in a laptop? I suppose there's the lingering feeling that an OLED screen would look better, with sharper contrast and pure black levels. But you'd be hard pressed to find much else to complain about with the MacBook Pro's screen. I'm also intrigued to see how Apple implements a touchscreen interface alongside macOS in upcoming MacBook Pros, but I'll admit, I haven't really been compelled to touch this laptop's display much. 

Touchscreens always seemed like a quixotic effort for laptops — they're nice to have, but Microsoft has been trying to shove them into PCs for 15 years now. The addition of touchscreens really didn't improve the overall Windows experience much. So I wasn't surprised to see Apple take its time bringing the technology to macOS — if you really want to swipe around screens, just get an iPad.

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

But back to this MacBook Pro: I still love everything about Apple's current design. Sure, the keyboard could have a bit more depth, but it withstood my furious typing like a champ. (Unlike Dell's XPS 14, which tried so hard to be a MacBook Pro-killer.) And the MacBook Pro's glass touchpad is still one of the best I've ever seen in a laptop.

Our review unit was also equipped with 32GB of RAM, a 4TB SSD, a 40-core GPU and Apple’s $150 nano-texture display upgrade, bringing the total for this M5 Max system to a whopping $6,149. That may seem excessive to most consumers, but for creative professionals who actually need the power of the M5 Max chip, it’s not that unusual. You can also save over $1,000 by opting for the M5 Pro chip instead. 

So what does the M5 Max bring to the party? Obviously, it's speedier than the M4 Max. Our review unit was 30 percent faster than the M4 Max-equipped MacBook Studio in the Geekbench 6 multi-threaded CPU benchmark. It's only 10 percent faster in Geekbench's single-threaded test, but that still gives Apple room to claim that it has the fastest chip core around. If you've got an M4 Max machine, you certainly don't need to dump it for this lineup. But if you've been hammering on an M1 Max or M2 Max system for years, you'll see some meaningful benefits from upgrading now.

Computer	Geekbench 6	Geekbench 6 GPU	Cinebench 2024
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Max, 2026)	4,338/ 29,261	145,309	192/2,150 | GPU: 22,374
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5, 2025)	4,310/18,003	48,840	197/1,034 | GPU: 6,143
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro, 2026)	3,925/22,456	70,197	178/1,689 GPU 9,295
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max, 2024)	3,202/21,312	92,344	143/1,686 GPU 13,182

Apple says this new line of MacBook Pros also feature its latest SSD technology, which is up to twice as fast as before. Our review unit reached 13.8 GB/s write speeds and 13 GB/s read speeds in the ATTO disk speed test, whereas previous MacBook Pros hovered around 6 GB/s for read/write speeds. If you're working with huge data files every day, you'll likely notice the difference. Another benefit to the new hardware? Apple is now equipping every MacBook Pro with 1TB of storage by default. 

All of the M5 chips feature faster GPUs than before, but that's less noticeable on the M5 Max. I've never had trouble running a high-end game like Lies of P on the M2, M3 or M4 Max hardware, and once again it still runs incredibly well with the M5 Max in its native resolution, and with all of the graphics settings cranked up. All I'm looking for is a smooth 60 fps frame rate, and the MacBook Pros have delivered on that for years. macOS isn't the sort of platform where you'll be playing many high fps games, but the MacBook Pro's 120Hz refresh rate is equipped to handle them.

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

Beyond raw performance, the MacBook Pro continues to be a joy to use. Its screen is gloriously bright, and its smooth refresh rate makes scrolling through documents and websites easy on the eyes. Its six-speaker setup remains the best audio experience I've ever heard on a laptop, allowing for crisp, detailed and surprisingly dynamic bass. When I'm too lazy to cast music to my Sonos speakers, I can still have a decent jam session on the MacBook Pro's built-in setup.

It's hard to improve much on the 30 hours and 16 minutes of battery life we saw on last year's 16-inch MacBook Pro, but the M5 Max model managed to beat that by 30 minutes. Realistically, it means you can likely use the MacBook Pro for a few days without needing to recharge, assuming you're not doing heavy-duty work the entire time.

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

You don't need me to sell you on the MacBook Pro; all you need to know is that the M5 Max actually delivers. Given how well the standard M5 14-inch MacBook Pro performed, I'd also expect a decent speed bump from the M5 Pro model. The only downside to the M5 systems is that they'll feel out of date quickly if the rumored OLED and touchscreen models arrive later this year. But if you need the best performance now, it's hard to go wrong with any MacBook Pro.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/macbook-pro-m5-max-16-inch-review-still-the-pinnacle-120000325.html?src=rss

Warner Bros. dominates Oscars with 11 wins ahead of its acquisition by Paramount

Ahead of its acquisition by Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. dominated the 2026 Oscars with 11 wins primarily for Ryan Coogler's Sinners and Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another. Netflix also put in a strong showing with seven Academy Awards, including two for KPop Demon Hunters and three for Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein. 

All told, dedicated streaming services chalked up eight awards, but were shut out of the major prizes. Frankenstein took the trophies for for Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, while KPop Demon Hunters took Best Animated Feature and Best original Song. Netflix also took prizes for All The Empty Rooms (Best Documentary Short Film) and The Singers (Best Live Action Short Film). Apple TV garnered the other streaming service Oscar for F1 (Best Sound). 

Warner Bros. dominated the more prestigious awards. The studio took its first Oscar for Best Picture (One Battle After Another) since Argo won in 2012, while also winning Anderson the prizes for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, and giving Sean Penn the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Sinners, meanwhile, won for Best Cinematography, giving Autumn Durald Arkapaw the first ever win for a woman and woman of color in that category. Michael B. Jordan took the Best Actor prize for that film, while Director Ryan Coogler won for Best Original Screenplay.  

Other notable acting prizes were won by Jessie Buckley (Best Actress, Hamnet) and Amy Madigan (Best Support Actress, Weapons). 

Host Conan O'Brien joked that it was the "first time in a theater" for Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. It remains to be seen, however, whether Netflix losing out to Paramount Skydance on the Warner Bros. acquisition will be to the film industry's benefit or detriment. One clear loser of late is broadcast television as the 2026 Oscars will be the third-to-last aired by Walt Disney's ABC, with YouTube set to stream the ceremony exclusively starting in 2029. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/warner-bros-dominates-oscars-with-11-wins-ahead-of-its-acquisition-by-paramount-093916527.html?src=rss

Playdate games to check out before the Catalog's 3-year anniversary sale ends

If your Playdate wishlist is anything like mine (endless), here's a good excuse to actually go ahead and free some of those games from limbo: Panic is running a sale across the Playdate Catalog to celebrate its three-year anniversary. Sure, the majority of Playdate games are pretty cheap as is, but they can still add up when you're on a wild purchasing spree. Ask me how I know! The sale started on March 5 and goes until March 19 at 1PM ET (10AM PT), so take advantage of the discounts while you can. 

There are 423 games available in the Catalog now, according to Panic, so if you're having trouble deciding on which you should go for, I've got you covered with a few recommendations right here. 

Season Two

If $39 felt like too much to drop on Season Two when it came out last summer, now's the time to get it. Playdate's second season had only half the number of games as its first, but it still felt like a much stronger collection. Each of its 12 games is really solid, and there's plenty of variety in terms of genre and style, from puzzles and hours-long adventures to fast-paced action games that are great for bursts of intense play. And, it comes with Blippo+ — an oddball cable TV simulator that's unlike anything out there right now. 

All of these games are worth playing, but there were definitely some standouts from the bunch: The Whiteout, a post-apocalyptic adventure that'll surely hit even harder now considering the winter we've had; the puzzle platformer Taria & Como; the arcade action game Fulcrum Defender; the climbing adventure, Tiny Turnip. I also really enjoyed Dig! Dig! Dino! for something on the chiller side. 

Outside Parties

I have not been able to shut up about this game since it came out. It's unique, it's creepy, it's completely engrossing and it really pushes the limits of what the Playdate can do. Outside Parties is a horror scavenger hunt, presenting you with one massive picture to scrutinize and find hidden scenes within, using the crank to adjust the brightness constantly so you can find anything that may be buried in shadow. As you find these targets, more and more of the game's story comes to light through eerie audio clips. It is such a cool experience and the atmosphere of it all is incredible. You'll get many hours of playtime out of this one too, with over 150 targets to find and lots of lore to uncover. 

Crankstone

A full-blown western for the Playdate! Crankstone is a gallery shooter with minigames mixed throughout, and between the aesthetic, the music and the activities, it's a lot of fun. You can choose the story mode to get right into the shooting and defending the town from outlaws, or head to the saloon to pick from the handful of mini games individually, including some fast-paced "spot the correct card" deck shuffling games and a few mimicry games involving the crank. It's like a wild west theme park crammed into the Playdate, which is to say, it's wonderful. 

Echo: The Oracle's Scroll

This is one of my all-time favorite Playdate games. Echo: The Oracle's Scroll is a metroidvania without the usual combat, focusing entirely on exploration and puzzle-solving in a vast network of subterranean kingdoms. In this game, the Blight has forced civilization underground, and you play as a child who has been sent on a mission to deliver a scroll from the bottom-most territory, where the humans live, up to The Archives. 

There are all sorts of treacherous environments underground, including magma lakes and areas filled with hostile vegetation, making for what is at times a challenging platformer that requires lots of creativity to make your way through. The tone is a bit somber, but quirky characters — like a frog prince with a bouncy belly — keep things from getting too dark. 

Carte Blanche

This one's for lovers of classic card games. There are six games in this virtual card game parlor (which is run by a bird named Blanche): Cribbage, Gin Rummy, Spades, Cassino and Spite & Malice. It's great for if you already know what you're doing, but I found Carte Blanche to be a really good introduction to these games for absolute beginners too, thanks to the easy-to-follow tutorials. When you win games, you'll be rewarded with coins that you can spend at Blanche's slot machine, which is stocked with little trinkets she's collected.

Castle Kellmore

Castle Kellmore absolutely rules. This first-person action game puts you in a series of mazes where you have to fight off floating-head-style monsters as you hunt around for keys and try to find the doors and portals to your escape. There are sixteen levels, and upon finishing each one you'll get a little summary of how long it took you to complete that area and what percentage of the level's enemies you killed. I also really get a kick out of the sounds in this game. The enemies slurp and squelch, and your character will let out a hilariously passionless, "Ah" or "Ooeuugh" after picking up a health boost or getting injured. Great for fans of dungeons!

Piña Rollada 

If you've ever played any of the Super Monkey Ball games, the gist of this one should be pretty familiar: roll the ball through the course and collect all of the fruits before reaching the exit. Don't fall off the edge, and do it all in as little time as possible. Piña Rollada makes use of the Playdate's accelerometer, which means you control the ball's movement by tilting the console (there is also the option to use the D-pad instead). The courses start getting tricky pretty much right away, with thin paths that don't have any guardrails, obstacles to avoid and moving platforms. And, just going near the exit will result in the ball getting sucked in, so you have to keep that in mind as you collect any surrounding fruits if you don't want the level to end prematurely. 

This is another one of those games that is both frustrating (in the fun way) and totally addicting. Expect to yell a lot.

Other games to try

These are just the games I've been enjoying lately, but there are tons of other Playdate games worth checking out during the sale, like these cheese games and Spilled Mushrooms. And if you need even more recommendations, take a look through our list of the best Playdate games, where you'll find gems like Summit and Bwirds. There are quite a few I'm planning to finally spring from my wishlist too, including The Shape That Waits.

Update, March 15 2026, 7:15 PM ET: This story has been updated to include additional game recommendations.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playdate-games-to-check-out-before-the-catalogs-3-year-anniversary-sale-ends-181500370.html?src=rss

Arc Raiders replaced some of its AI-generated voice lines, using professional actors instead

In an unexpected twist, humans have taken some jobs back from AI. Embark Studios' CEO Patrick Söderlund recently told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio "re-recorded" some of the AI-generated voice lines in Arc Raiders with human voices, only after its successful launch in October.

"There is a quality difference," Söderlund told GamesIndustry.biz. "A real professional actor is better than AI; that's just how it is."

With Arc Raiders' player count peaking at nearly half a million users on Steam, the game's breakout success was still marred by its use of text-to-speech AI. While there was no generative AI used for the visuals of the extraction shooter, Embark Studios paid its actors for approval to license their voices for text-to-speech AI, according to Söderlund. Even though Söderlund said that the text-to-speech AI was reserved for lines "that aren't as essential to the immersion of the experience," many players weren't happy with this creative decision.

Responding to the criticism, Embark Studios is seemingly reversing course and relying more on its voice actors. Söderlund said that the studio pays its voice actors for their time in the recording booth and will "continue to bring many of them back as we carry on updating the game." However, it's important to note that Söderlund told GamesIndustry.biz that "some" of the AI-generated lines were replaced by voice actors, which could indicate that the studio isn't looking to completely ditch its text-to-speech AI anytime soon.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/arc-raiders-replaced-some-of-its-ai-generated-voice-lines-with-professional-actors-184915627.html?src=rss

Anthropic is doubling Claude's usage limits during off-peak hours for the next two weeks

To capitalize on Claude's recent spike in popularity, Anthropic is offering a limited-time promotion that doubles usage limits for anyone using its AI chatbot during off-peak hours. From March 13 to March 27, users on Free, Pro, Max, and Team plans will get double the usage limits in a five-hour window when using Claude outside weekday hours between 8 AM and 2 PM ET. According to Anthropic, the promotion is automatic, and users don't have to enable anything to get the benefits.

A small thank you to everyone using Claude: We’re doubling usage outside our peak hours for the next two weeks. pic.twitter.com/W7TEBPditq

— Claude (@claudeai) March 14, 2026

Anthropic said that this promotion applies to anyone using Claude on web, desktop or mobile, but also with Cowork, Claude Code, Claude for Excel and Claude for PowerPoint. Previously, Anthropic offered a similar event from December 25 to December 31, doubling usage limits for Pro, Max 5x or Max 20x subscribers. However, Anthropic is targeting an even wider audience with its latest promotion since only Enterprise users are excluded this time around.

Anthropic is marketing the promotion as a "small thank you to everyone using Claude," but it's likely tied to its ongoing battle with the Department of Defense. After refusing to remove certain AI safeguards for the Department of Defense, Anthropic was listed as a supply chain risk and lost its contract with the federal agency. In turn, OpenAI signed a deal with the Department of Defense, leading to many users deciding to boycott ChatGPT in favor of Claude and other AI chatbot options.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropic-is-doubling-claudes-usage-limits-during-off-peak-hours-for-the-next-two-weeks-163645928.html?src=rss

ByteDance has reportedly suspended the global rollout of its new AI video generator

A month after Seedance 2.0's launch in China sparked cease-and-desist letters from Disney and Paramount Skydance over its use of copyrighted materials, its developer ByteDance has reportedly hit pause on the release of the AI video tool in other regions. According to The Information, which spoke to two anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter, ByteDance has suspended Seedance 2.0's global rollout. Engadget has reached out to ByteDance for comment and will update this story if we hear back with more information. 

Seedance 2.0 caught heat from Hollywood studios almost immediately upon its release, after user-generated videos including a viral AI clip of Brad Pitt fighting Tom Cruise sparked concerns that copyrighted works were used in training the model. In February, ByteDance told the BBC that it is "taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property and likeness by users." It's unclear when exactly ByteDance planned to release the tool more widely. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/bytedance-has-reportedly-suspended-the-global-rollout-of-its-new-ai-video-generator-212326112.html?src=rss

Spotify’s new Taste Profile feature lets users fine-tune their algorithm’s recommendations

You're responsible for your own Spotify algorithm now. On stage at SXSW, Spotify's co-CEO, Gustav Söderström, announced the Taste Profile feature, which allows users to personally customize exactly what they want to listen to, whether it's music, audiobooks or podcasts. This AI-powered feature is still in beta, and it will be available to Premium users in New Zealand in the coming weeks.

From its short video demo, Spotify's Taste Profile feature will show you a summary of your listening habits and offer a "Tell us more" prompt at the bottom. With the new prompt, users can inform the AI what they want to see more of or if they want to get rid of a genre that keeps popping up in their algorithm. Spotify said that the Taste Profile will take into consideration more ambiguous prompts, too, like if you're training for a marathon and want upbeat music or want to listen to news podcasts during your commute to work. Spotify added that Taste Profile is an optional feature, and unwilling users can "leave it and enjoy Spotify as usual."

With Taste Profile, Spotify is continuing its momentum of offering AI features, like the Prompted Playlist feature that was made available last month. Unlike the existing AI Playlist feature, Prompted Playlist lets you put in specific requests to generate a playlist, like only including songs from a specific TV show. Like Taste Profile, the Prompted Playlist feature saw beta testing in New Zealand first, before expanding to US and Canadian users a month later.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/spotifys-new-taste-profile-feature-lets-users-fine-tune-their-algorithms-recommendations-191104626.html?src=rss

Trump administration will reportedly get $10 billion for brokering the TikTok deal

There may have been some extra incentive for the Trump administration to get the TikTok US deal done. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is set to receive a total of $10 billion in the deal that allowed TikTok to remain in the US. The new investors who acquired stakes in the US entity of TikTok already paid a $2.5 billion fee to the administration when the deal closed in January, but WSJ's latest report noted that the group of investors would continue to make payments until the total hits $10 billion.

After a group of investors, which includes Oracle along with the Silver Lake and MGX investment firms, acquired stakes in the US-based TikTok entity called TikTok USDS Joint Venture, the WSJ previously reported that the administration would receive a "multibillion-dollar fee" for its work on the deal. To better contextualize the recently-revealed $10 billion fee the Trump administration is receiving, the US entity of TikTok was valued at $14 billion by Vice President JD Vance.

The Trump administration has previously involved itself in major deals with other US corporations. Last year, the administration invested $8.9 billion into Intel and received a nearly 9 percent equity stake. In terms of unprecedented windfalls, the Trump administration also received a Boeing 747-8 as a gift from the Qatari government in May.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/trump-administration-will-reportedly-get-10-billion-for-brokering-the-tiktok-deal-180954979.html?src=rss

What to read this weekend: Locked in with The Iron Garden Sutra

Need something new for your reading list? This week, we recommend A.D. Sui's The Iron Garden Sutra, a meditative horror sci-fi/fantasy and murder mystery.

---

I don't typically gravitate toward locked room mysteries, but the description of this book ticked all the right boxes to win me over: "a death monk and a team of researchers trapped onboard a spaceship of the dead encounter something beyond human understanding." It has all the makings of a compelling murder mystery, which is fine on its own, but thanks to the philosophical musings of its main character, Vessel Iris, and a setting that almost demands existential contemplation, it becomes something much deeper.

Vessel Iris is a monk some time in the far future whose mission is to perform funeral rites for the dead so their souls may reach their ultimate destination, according to the beliefs of his religion, the Starlit Order. "Vessels" like Iris share their mind with an AI companion, which creates a really interesting dynamic for the reader, as there is a constant dialogue going on between the two from the start (carrying a tone that sometimes verges on "old married couple," which I quite enjoyed). Iris shows up to an ancient ship called the Counsel of Nicaea expecting to perform his duties for the long-deceased on board and instead finds himself facing a group of researchers who are very much not dead — and a jumbled mess of bones from the hundreds of bodies they disturbed by moving, which he'll have to sort in order to properly bless. 

Despite being a ghost ship in most respects, it turns out the Nicaea is alive with vegetation and gardens that would have once supported the humans that lived there. And, there's seemingly something else, as Iris' AI begins to pick up strange pings from a presence on the ship, and one by one the team of researchers starts getting picked off. As everything unravels, Iris begins to question his faith and his purpose.

This was such a great read, and I was excited to learn it's the first in a two-book series, The Cosmic Wheel series. Fans of horror sci-fi/sci-fantasy should definitely check this one out. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-locked-in-with-the-iron-garden-sutra-172342019.html?src=rss

Meta is reportedly planning to cut up to 20 percent of its staff in upcoming layoffs

Meta could be preparing for one of the largest layoffs in its history, according to a Reuters report. The tech giant is planning to cut about 20 percent of its workforce, according to the outlet's sources. According to the report, neither a date nor the exact number of layoffs has been finalized yet.

However, Reuters reported that Meta's top executives have told "other senior leaders" to start "planning how to pare back." In its latest financial report, the company's employee headcount was 78,865 as of December 31, 2025, while revenue reached nearly $60 billion for the fourth quarter and more than $200 billion for the entire year. A Meta spokesperson told Reuters that this was "speculative reporting about theoretical approaches."

Meta is no stranger to major layoffs. Earlier this year, Meta targeted about 1,000 employees in its layoffs with the Reality Labs division that's responsible for the company's virtual reality and metaverse efforts. Early last year, Meta laid off about five percent of its workforce, following a smaller round of firings that same month. Meanwhile, the company has been spending heavily to acquire AI startups, like Moltbook, a social network designed for AI agents, and Manus, a startup focused on AI agents for task automation.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-is-reportedly-planning-to-cut-up-to-20-percent-of-its-staff-in-upcoming-layoffs-160812304.html?src=rss