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Terraforms Labs CEO Do Kwon spent the last day of 2024 getting extradited to the US, Reuters reports. Kwon faces charges in the US for "orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud involving an algorithmic stablecoin and other crypto asset securities." The Terraforms co-founder has been held in Montenegro since March 2023, when he tried to board a flight with a forged passport - six months after Interpol put out a "red notice" warrant for his arrest.South Korean-based Terraforms Labs wiped out $40 billion from the crypto market when its TerraUSD and Luna stable coins turned out to not be so stable and collapsed in May 2022. Kwon had already fled South Korea the month before.The US announced its charges in February 2023, with the SEC chair Gary Gensler stating, "We allege that Terraform and Do Kwon failed to provide the public with full, fair, and truthful disclosure as required for a host of crypto asset securities, most notably for Luna and TerraUSD. We also allege that they committed fraud by repeating false and misleading statements to build trust before causing devastating losses for investors." South Korea has issued similar charges.Montenegro doesn't have extradition treaties with the US or South Korea. The request played out in court over the last year and a half, with Montenegro's Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic ordering Kwon's extradition last week. Terraform Labs filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US last January.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/terraform-labs-co-founder-do-kwon-will-face-securities-fraud-charges-in-the-us-142734704.html?src=rss

The tricky thing about naming the year's biggest losers in tech is that in 2024, it once again felt like everyone lost. Amid the depressing spiral that is social media, the will-they-or-won't-they dance of banning TikTok in the US and the neverending edited and deepfaked content that has everyone questioning what's real, the world lost. And it is lost.But a few areas this year stood out as particularly troubling. Specifically, AI and dedicated AI gadgets proliferated more than ever, spreading not only to our digital assistants and search engines but to our wearables as well. We also saw more deterioration in Intel's standing and bid farewell to a robot maker, as well as Lightning cables. I'm pretty happy about that last one, though.Our annual collection of the worst tech developments each year is shorter than usual, but that might be because we're all exhausted. And also because most of the bad things can be attributed to AI, social media or misinformation. Still, we journey down this nightmarish memory lane, hopefully so we can avoid similar pitfalls in future.Generative AI in every possible crevice2024 was a year in which consumer-facing AI tools became harder and harder to ignore. That's thanks to the tech giants Google, Meta and finally Apple baking AI tools into some of the most-used software on the planet. And in this push to get AI in front of everyone, I cannot help but stop and wonder who exactly is asking for this, and is anyone actually using it?In the past few months, I've been testing a Samsung Chromebook with a host of AI tools built-in as well as trying the various Apple Intelligence features that have rolled out through the autumn. It all came to a head in one of Engadget's Slack channels in early December, just after Apple launched its generative emoji and Image Playground features. Getting Image Playground to spit out AI-created pictures was easy enough, and Genmoji does feel like the logical next step after Apple introduced its personalized Memoji back in 2018. But across the board, the results felt uninspired, off-putting and - perhaps worst of all - extremely lame.Since I take so many pictures on my iPhone, there are tons of images categorized under my name in the Photos app (it will group together similar faces for years, if you let it). With hundreds of images to pick from, Image Playground should have no problem making a convincing facsimile of me... playing the guitar on the moon, right? Well, yes and no.In this image, as well as ones created of my colleagues Cherlynn Low, Valentina Palladino and Sam Rutherford, there are a few facial characteristics that made me feel that the AI-generated cartoon I was looking at was at the very least inspired by these people. But they all gave off serious uncanny valley vibes; rather than being a cute digital cartoon like we all built with Bitmoji back in the day, these results are soulless representations with no charm and mangled fingers.In a totally different vein, I just had occasion to try out Google's "help me read" summarization features on a 250-page government report. I knew I did not have time to read the entire document and was just curious what AI could do for me here. Turns out, not much. The summary was so brief that it was essentially meaningless - not unreasonable, as it tried to parse 250 pages into about 100 words. I tried this trick on a review I was writing recently, and it did a much better job of capturing the gist of the article, and it also accurately answered follow-up questions. But given that the final product amounted to maybe four pages, my impression is that AI does a decent job of summarizing things that most people can probably read themselves in the span of five minutes. If you have something more complex, forget it.I could go on - I've been having a blast laughing at the ridiculous notification summaries I get from Apple Intelligence with my co-workers - but I think I've made my point. We're in the middle of an AI arms race, where massive companies are desperate to get out ahead of the curve with these products well before they're ready for primetime or even all that useful. And to what end? I don't think any AI company is meaningfully answering a consumer need or finding a way to make people's lives better or easier. They're releasing this stuff because AI is the buzzword of the decade, and to ignore it is to disappoint shareholders. - Nathan Ingraham, deputy editorPhoto by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetHumane AI Pin and other AI gadgetsThis year, no two devices arrived with more manufactured hype than the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1. And no two devices were more disappointing either. Both Humane and Rabbit made the argument that people were ready to drop their phones for something smarter and more personal, but neither of their devices were actually good or useful.Of the two, Humane was easily the biggest loser of 2024. The company achieved the ignominious honor of reaching net negative sales because former buyers began returning the AI Pin faster than new units could be sold. I wish I could say its troubles stopped there, but they didn't. After Humane first warned customers that the AI Pin's charging case was a fire risk, it issued a formal recall in October. In the intervening months, the company has reportedly tried to find a buyer without success.Rabbit has certainly faced its own share of troubles, too. After being roundly panned by reviewers in May, a hacker group announced in June that the R1 had huge security holes. In July, it came to light that user chats with the R1 were logged with no option for deleting.Last I checked, Humane has since pivoted to making an operating system that it expects other companies will want to add to their devices, but here's the thing: poor software was a big part of what made the AI Pin bad in the first place. You have to give the company points for trying, but at this point, I would be surprised if Humane is still in business by this time next year. - Igor Bonifacic, senior reporterGoogle Search and AI OverviewsThis observation has been making the rounds all year long, but if you compare Google from 10 years ago to what it is now, the difference is stark. With the introduction of AI Overviews this year, it felt like Google finally made search results utterly impossible to use without scrolling. Forget sponsored results, newsboxes and discovery panels and all the different modules taking up the top half of the results page for any given query - in 2024, Google decided to add yet another section above everything, pushing the actual list of websites even further down.Since its initial release in the US in March, AI Overviews told people it was okay to put glue on pizzas or to eat rocks. In spite of the general tendency for AI to get facts wrong, Google continued to expand the feature to more countries, while admitting that the overviews could be "odd, inaccurate or unhelpful."Not only that, it also began to add ads to Overviews, meaning that in addition to the unreliable AI-generated results at the top, people could pay to put what they want to promote in that precious real estate, too. Throw in the fact that the actual results boxes and rankings are all susceptible to SEO gaming by websites trying everything they can to garner a higher spot on the list, and you'll find that Google's search results are basically pay-for-play at this point. And while that will continue to earn the company billions of dollars, it makes finding actually good, high-quality results much more arduous for the discerning user.It gets worse when you consider the priority Google's search engine has on iPhones and Android devices. This year, the US government declared Google a search monopoly, saying the company paid the likes of Apple, Samsung and Mozilla billions of dollars a year to be the default search engine on their devices and browsers. Then there's Chrome, which is the world's most popular browser with its own dubious history around tracking users in Incognito mode. Can we even trust what we see on Google Search any more?People have begun to quit using Google Search altogether, with the rise of alternatives like DuckDuckGo and Kagi, a search engine you'd pay $10 a month to use, as well as OpenAI's SearchGPT, which launched this year. But I'm not convinced that the vast majority of users will switch to these options, especially since one of them costs money and another involves more AI. I can understand that it's hard to make a product that adapts to your users' needs while also keeping your shareholders happy. If only Google (or any big company, really) could re-rank its priorities and bring back a search engine that simply connects people to the best that the internet has to offer. - Cherlynn Low, deputy editorIntelThe road to every great tragedy is paved with people making the most self-serving decisions at the worst possible times. Which brings us neatly to Intel as it burns through its last remaining chances to avoid becoming a business school case study in failure.Earlier this month, it fired CEO Pat Gelsinger halfway through his ambitious plan to save the chip giant from its own worst instincts. Gelsinger was an engineer, brought in to fix a culture too beholdened to finance types who can't see beyond the next quarter.Sadly, despite telling everyone that fixing two decades' worth of corporate fuck-ups would take a while and cost money, it came as a surprise to Intel's board. It ditched Gelsinger, likely because he was trying to take a longer-term view on how to restore the storied manufacturer's success.It's likely the accursed MBA-types will now get their way, flogging off the company's foundry arm, kneecapping its design team in the process. It'll take Intel a decade or more to actually feel the consequences of ignoring Gelsinger's Cassandra-like warnings. But when TSMC reigns alone and we're all paying more for chips, it'll be easy to point to this moment and say this was Intel's last chance to steer out of its own skid. - Daniel Cooper, senior editorPhoto by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetFans of Apple's Lightning connectorsWe knew the writing was on the wall when the iPhone 15 debuted with USB-C in 2023, but this year put Lightning's shambling corpse in the grave. The Apple-only connector was a revelation when it debuted in 2012's iPhone 5, replacing the gigantic iPod-era 30-pin connector. Unlike the then-ascendant micro-USB port that dominated Android phones and other small devices in the early 2010s, Lightning was thinner and - this was key - reversible, so there was no wrong way to plug it in.It eventually made its way to a large swath of devices in the Apple universe, including AirPods, iPads, Mac accessories and even a Beats product or two. But even Apple relented and started flipping new products to the similarly sized (and likewise reversible) USB-C, albeit years after it had become the dominant standard for data and power connections worldwide. With even holdouts like the AirPods Max and the Mac input devices getting USB-C retrofits in 2024, only a handful of legacy Lightning devices - the iPhone SE, iPhone 14 and old Apple Pencil - are left on Apple's virtual shelves, and all will doubtless be gone by this time next year. That's OK: Lightning served us well, but its time has passed. All hail our universal Type-C overlords.So while the death of Lightning is a flat-out win for cross-device charging for the whole world going forward, anyone whose home is still bristling with soon-to-be-replaced Lightning charging stations can be forgiven for feeling a pang of nostalgia in the meantime. - John Falcone, executive editorMoxie the robot diesWhen I wrote about Moxie, the child-friendly robot from Embodied, I was charmed by its adorable design and chatty demeanor. It was meant to serve as a companion to children, something that could help them read or simply have conversations. I was less charmed by its $1,499 to $1,699 price, alongside an eventual $60 a month subscription. And now Moxie is officially dead, as Embodied announced it's shutting down operations due to financial challenges" after a failed funding round.Dead home robots aren't exactly a new phenomenon (remember Jibo?), but Moxie's demise feels particularly rough, since it was a device mainly meant to help kids. Imagine having to tell your child that their robot friend had to shut down because of financial challenges." Embodied said it would offer customers age appropriate guidance to help discuss the shutdown, but no matter how you spin it, it'll be a tough (and possibly traumatizing) conversation for your youngin. Perhaps it's good to learn early though that all of your smart devices will die. (Not our pets though, they are immortal.) - Devindra Hardawar, senior editorThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/techs-biggest-losers-in-2024-140039822.html?src=rss

We're wrapping up 2024, so why not do it with some frivolous CES announcements? Like this premium (it has to be premium!) microwave from LG, with a touchscreen bigger than your iPad. I'm not sure what you'll watch in the three-and-a-half minutes it takes to heat that butter chicken curry, but you can do it in glorious full HD resolution.LGThe touchscreen integrates with LG's ThinQ Smart Home Dashboard if you think it's the right time to change channels on your TV or tinker with compatible Matter and Thread devices, like smart lights and er, and other things. It can also pair with the company's induction range oven to display cooking progress if you struggle to crane your neck from your microwave to your kitchen burners. It's no washing machine inside a washing machine, but still, you gotta love CES.LG is on a trip this year.- Mat SmithGet this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest tech stories you missed

LG's Gram laptops are back for another round of updates ahead of CES 2025. A decade into the thin and light lineup's existence in LG's portfolio, the latest models load up on AI (surprise!) and boost performance while maintaining their trademark portability.Four new models are launching at CES: two variants of the Gram Pro, a new Gram Pro 2-in-1 and the entry-level Gram Book. The first version of the Gram Pro has an Intel Core H-series (Arrow Lake) processor under the hood for more traditional laptop tasks (including some gaming). A second model uses an Intel Core Ultra V-series (Lunar Lake) chip for AI tasks. The latter is a Microsoft Copilot+ PC with all the AI goodies expected from that line, including Recall, Live Captions, Cocreator and Windows Studio Effects.Even if you don't opt for the Copilot+ variant, you'll still get LG's AI features in most of the new models (all but the Gram Book). These are split into two camps: on-device and cloud-processed AI tasks. On-device features include a scaled-down chatbot derived from LG's EXAONE large language model. It also adds LG's Time Travel, a feature similar to Microsoft's Recall that can call up web pages, documents, videos and audio files you've visited or used. It's unclear if or how LG's version will avoid the privacy pitfalls Microsoft ran into with Recall.The cloud-based AI features include Gram Chat Cloud, a more robust chatbot (powered by GPT-4o) that can integrate with your calendar and email services.The Gram Pro has a 17-inch (Arrow Lake) or 16-inch (Lunar Lake) screen with a 2,560 x 1,600 LCD screen. Its variable refresh rate maxes out at 144Hz. Both variants have up to 32GB (LPDDR5X Max 8,400MHz, Dual Channel) of RAM and 2TB of storage.The Arrow Lake model should make for a solid gaming laptop with RTX 4050 graphics. The AI / Lunar Lake model only has integrated Intel graphics. But at least the latter is lighter and thinner, weighing 2.73 pounds. compared to the Arrow Lake model's 3.26 pounds.LGLG snagged a CES 2025 Innovation Award for the latest Gram Pro 2-in-1. The top-line configuration has a 16-inch screen with a 2,880 x 1,800 OLED display (120Hz variable refresh rate); cheaper variants are limited to a 2,560 x 1,600 LCD (144Hz VRR). The 2-in-1 ships with a wirelessly rechargeable stylus and - as its name suggests - can be folded back into tablet mode.Finally, the Gram Book is an entry-level model LG is launching to expand its US market presence." Its screen is a more compromised 1,920 x 1,080 15.6-inch LCD at a mere 60Hz. Its Intel Core i5 CPU with integrated Intel graphics and a maximum of 16GB of RAM combine to make it the most underpowered of the bunch. It's also the heaviest at 3.75 pounds.Unfortunately, we don't know how entry-level" it is: LG hasn't yet announced pricing information (or release dates) for any of the new laptops.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/lg-updates-its-gram-laptop-line-ahead-of-ces-2025-090049429.html?src=rss

Documents and workstations at the US Treasury Department were accessed during a cyberattack, The New York Timesreports. The attack was linked to a "China state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat actor" and has been characterized as "a major cybersecurity incident."According to a letter the Treasury Department shared with lawmakers (via TechCrunch), US officials were made aware of the issue on December 8, when BeyondTrust, a third-party software company, shared that a security key used to provide technical support was used to access workstations and unclassified documents.The Treasury Department said that it has worked with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI to understand the full scope of the breach, but hasn't shared how long files and workstations were accessible or what was actually accessed. Engadget has contacted the US Treasury Department and will update this article once we know more.The cyberattack follows a similarly concerning, but separate breach of US telecom carriers that came to light in October 2024. That cyberattack was perpetrated by a Chinese hacking group referred to as "Salt Typhoon." Attackers gained access to unencrypted SMS messages and call logs of politicians, government officials and others for months before the breach was discovered.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/the-us-treasury-department-says-it-was-hacked-in-a-china-linked-cyberattack-230114104.html?src=rss

Owning a Playdate comes with the perk of already having access to 24 games at no additional cost from the bundled-in Season One - and some pretty good ones to boot. But there are a ton of great games outside the Season One offerings too, for when you've finished the whole batch or, for newer players, while you're waiting for new games between the weekly drops. Here, I'll highlight some of the best games I've played so far from the Playdate Catalog. It'll mainly be split two ways: games that use the crank and games that don't. There are also a couple of titles that aren't quite games, but are worth checking out all the same. Games that use the crank Games that don't use the crank Comics, visual novels and more Check out our entire Best Games series including the best Nintendo Switch games, the best PS5 games, the best Xbox games, the best PC games and the best free games you can play today. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/best-playdate-games-190049201.html?src=rss

A Volkswagen software subsidiary called Cariad experienced a massive data leak that left 800,000 EV owners exposed, according to reporting by the German publication Spiegel Netzwelt. The leak allowed personal information to be left online for months, including movement data and contact information.This included precise location data for 460,000 vehicles made by VW, Seat and Audi. According to reports, the information was accessible via the Amazon cloud storage platform. There's a silver lining here. Cariad says that, despite being available, no bad actors accessed the exposed data. The good-faith hacking association Chaos Computer Club (CCC) spotted the leak on November 26 and brought it to the company's attention.VW said in a statement reviewed by the German press agency DPA that the error has since been rectified, so that the information is no longer accessible. Additionally, the company noted that the leak only pertained to location and contact info, as passwords and payment data weren't impacted. It added that only select vehicles registered for online services were initially at risk, stating that "the data was accessed in a very complex, multi-stage process."According to Volkswagen, the CCC hackers group was only able to access pseudonymized vehicle data that didn't allow for any conclusions to be reached regarding specific customers. This was done only by bypassing several security mechanisms, which required a high level of expertise and a considerable investment of time."In other words, the impacted customers shouldn't be too worried about their location data being harvested by dark web ne'er-do-wells. The company has started an investigation into the matter and will make a decision regarding further steps when that is concluded.As modern vehicles get more and more online, it opens them up to a myriad of new risks. It was just last year when a viral TikTok challenge taught Hyundai users how to hack their vehicles, resulting in more than a dozen crashes and eight deaths.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/huge-volkswagen-data-leak-exposed-the-locations-of-460000-ev-drivers-194000006.html?src=rss

You'll be able to stream as much of The Morning Show as your body can physically handle this weekend, thanks to a new Apple TV+ promotion. After teasing some kind of Apple TV+ news on social media, Apple has confirmed that from January 3 to 5 you'll be able to watch the company's original shows and movies without a paid subscription, provided you have an Apple ID.Apple calls out shows like Silo, which is in the back half of its current season, and Severance, which will premiere its long-awaited second season on Jan 17 (you can watch the first eight minutes of the premiere now) but there's a solid catalog of tv shows and movies beyond the well-known hits. Why not stream the three-hour director's cut of Napoleon? Or the tragically slept on cult baby horror series Servant? All of it is theoretically on the menu.While this kind of promotional experiment is new for Apple, Netflix has offered free weekends in the past as a way to gin up interest in subscriptions. One way to look at Apple's streaming strategy is that it's speedrunning lessons streamers like Netflix and Hulu spent years learning, from the risks of spending serious money on auteurist passion products, to now withdrawing from theatrical distribution, one of the few things that made Apple unique from its competitors. Maybe a free weekend picks up the company a few more subscribers, but at the very least it's a good opportunity to binge some solid shows.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/you-can-stream-apple-tv-for-free-this-weekend-191702667.html?src=rss

Aside from the global shutter on Sony's A9 III and some cool mirrorless options - the Fujifilm X100 VI, Panasonic S9 and Canon EOS R5 II come to mind - 2024 was a dull year for cameras full of small tweaks and minor improvements. Except for DJI's Neo. For $200, aerial photography is now finally in reach for just about anyone.DJI's very good, not-so-great yearDJI released its product lineup this year with a sword of Damocles hanging over its head: the US government was planning to ban sales of the company's products by the end of 2024 over potential fears of spying. It was only at the last minute that DJI gained a reprieve, thanks in large part to lobbying by public safety groups that heavily rely on its drones. It now has until the end of 2025 to prove that its products don't pose a risk.The company's list of 2024 camera gear started with the Avata 2, an FPV drone that improved nearly everything from the popular original at a reduced price. DJI then announced it the $299 Mini 4K. We also saw the Action 5 Pro, DJI's best action cam to date, along with the Air 3S, a highly capable drone with a relatively large 1-inch sensor camera and the Mic Mini, an affordable wireless mic system.Its biggest launch, though, was the Neo drone, announced in September. It took the idea of a simple drone for creators, first pioneered (then dropped) by Snap with the Pixy, while lowering the price and adding AI technology.Steve Dent for EngadgetThe Neo is a very lightweight drone that can be piloted without a license and is people-safe thanks to its shrouded propellers. It's ready to use for beginners straight out of the box without any training - simply place it in your hand and press a button, then it'll fly off and capture cool programmed shots like dronies".Just because the Neo is approachable doesn't mean it's basic, though. If you want to pilot the Neo manually, it supports DJI's controllers, FPV goggles and can even be flown using a smartphone. It can hit speeds up to 18 MPH or even faster in manual mode, and is highly maneuverable. Thanks to the built-in AI features, it can track you while you walk or bike, making it a vlogger's best friend. Finally, it can capture all your footage at 4K 30p, with surprisingly good quality considering the price point.My main sore point with the Neo is the banshee-like noise it generates, which can be tricky in public places. Overall, though, it's a highly useful product at a great price point and managed to capture the zeitgeist like no other camera product this year.Canon and Fujifilm were the best of the restMy favorite mirrorless camera this year was Canon's EOS R5 II. That's not because of any spectacular new tech, but the fact that it's nearly a perfect hybrid camera.Steve Dent for EngadgetThat starts with the new 45-megapixel stacked sensor that offers a blend of speed and resolution we've only ever seen on the Sony's A1 or the Nikon Z9 - both considerably more expensive. It also has the company's most advanced AI autofocus system. All that allows ultra-fast shooting speeds up to 30fps in RAW mode. Its advanced AF system makes blurry photos a rarity even at those speeds. At the same time, the 45-megapixel photos deliver exceptional detail and relatively high dynamic range, with accurate, pleasing colors.At the same time, it offers incredible video powers, with 8K RAW shooting at up to 60fps and 4K 120p. As with photos, video quality is exceptional thanks to the new CLog 2 capture that allows for higher dynamic range. Beyond all that, the EOS R5 II is just a great camera to use, with near-perfect ergonomics.The other camera I really enjoyed using was Fujifilm's X100 VI compact. The camera deserved the large amount of press it received this year, because its stripped down nature, vintage looks, film simulations and great handling really bring fun back to photography. At the same time, it's a technological marvel with a higher-resolution 40-megapixel sensor, decently fast shooting speeds, stabilization and solid video specs.Finally, I think Panasonic's S9 deserves a shoutout for trying something new. It's one of the smallest full-frame cameras I've ever seen, yet offers features like 6K video and in-body stabilization. But the primary new trick is built-in LUT simulations- kind of like Fujifilm's X100 VI, but for video. That, combined with the large sensor, makes it an interesting camera.What to expect in the camera world for 2025Steve Dent for EngadgetDespite a potential US ban, DJI is likely to continue its ambitious product release schedule in 2025. According to rumors, it's working on a foldable model called the DJI Flip and is also likely to release a successor to the Mavic 3 Pro sometime next year, according to recent FCC filings. Apart from that, it tends to have rapid upgrade cadence for most of its drones and cameras, so expect to see successors for its Action 5 Pro cam, Mini 4 Pro drone and other models.Elsewhere, one intriguing rumor has Fujifilm releasing a one-inch, half-sensor compact that would be like a digital version of the popular Pentax 17 film camera and may even allow for diptych (side-by-side) photos.Otherwise, Sony is due to release an update for its popular A7 IV launched in 2021 with higher shooting speeds and other specs to better line up with the competition. Canon is very likely to release a new camera in that same price category, the R6 III, also with improved specs. We could see a new Nikon Z5 III model with improved performance. And Panasonic is due to refresh its S1 and S1R models. Manufacturers may jump on the compact train, now that Fujifilm has proved its a viable category - something that would be good news for all photographers.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/in-2024-the-camera-of-the-year-was-a-drone-185108008.html?src=rss

The Apple Watch Series 10 is down to its Black Friday price. You can pick one up for $329 via Amazon, which is a discount of $70 and nearly 20 percent off. Even better? This deal is available for multiple band colors, including jet black, rose gold and more. This is the company's latest and greatest smartwatch and it easily topped our list of the best Apple wearables. It's thinner and lighter than the Series 9, which is something that we were impressed by in our official review. We also appreciated the larger wide-angle OLED display, which makes some things easier to read. This is particularly useful when trying to navigate via Maps. There's a brand-new depth gauge, for snorkeling and swimming, and sensors that support sleep apnea detection. The speakers are even much-improved over previous generations, so the Apple Watch Series 10 is a decent option for checking out a podcast. It's just a watch, however, so we can't recommend using the speakers for extended listening. Other people will hear you and music will sound tinny and dull. The battery life still maxes out at 18 hours. This is somewhat annoying, but the Series 10 can get to 80 percent in just 90 minutes by using a fast-charge-certified charger. That means you just have to find an hour or so to plug it in toward the end of the day if you want to track sleep. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-apple-watch-series-10-is-back-down-to-its-black-friday-price-173850202.html?src=rss

LG just unveiled its latest microwave ahead of CES 2025. The LG Signature model features a 27-inch FHD display. We can finally watch stuff during the 90 seconds it takes popcorn to pop. Let us never be without screens!This is a touchscreen display that's being described as an immersive entertainment experience right in the kitchen." The microwave also connects to Wi-Fi, for streaming content, and has built-in speakers. We don't know what OS it runs on or if it can access every streaming platform out there. Traditional LG smart TVs run webOS, so maybe the same is true here.The company has also remained mum as to whether this screen is ad-supported or not. Putting a bunch of ads right in the kitchen sure sounds like something a boardroom of execs would salivate over. LG already shows full-screen ads on many of its televisions when they are idle.The touchscreen does integrate with LG's ThinQ Smart Home Dashboard, which allows control over compatible Matter and Thread devices. It can also pair with the company's induction range oven to display cooking progress metrics, thus eliminating the need to bend down and check the oven manually." What a scourge, all of that bending down.LG hasn't revealed pricing or availability for this snazzy new appliance. It's likely we'll learn more when CES 2025 starts in earnest on January 7. We'll be there and will report back as to what it feels like to watch Arcane while standing in front a microwave.LGThe company is in love with screens right now. It also announced a new refrigerator with an OLED display and a washer/dryer with an LCD. I'm all for increased entertainment options but, uh, what happens when those displays break? It seems like buttons and knobs would be easier to repair or replace than a giant touchscreen.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/lg-slapped-a-27-inch-touchscreen-on-its-latest-microwave-162736550.html?src=rss

Meta is reportedly working on an issue with a software update that bricked some Quest 2, Quest 3 and Quest 3S headsets, the company announced. The company originally upset customers by not only releasing a faulty update, but then telling buyers affected that they wouldn't address the problem because the headsets were out of warranty, as The Verge reported.Now, Meta appears to be making good on the issue, saying it's working on a fix "for all users" and said customer support has "new directions on how to support users." Some buyers said on Reddit that they received an email confirmation that the company would provide out-of-warranty service for its mistake."We've discovered a software update issue that caused some Quest 2/3/3S headsets to be unresponsive and unable to start up correctly" Meta wrote in its help center. "We are actively working on resolving the issue for all users, but in most cases, you are now able to use your device normally. If you have a device that is still unresponsive, we're here to help. If you have a Quest 3S, click the button below for next steps. Quest 2 or 3 users, please reach out to us to get support."The problem date back to December 6th, when Meta said software updates were effecting Quest 3S devices at the time. The update includes features like a virtual desktop, faster hand tracking, easier pairing with Windows 11 PCs and more.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/meta-is-working-on-a-fix-for-a-software-update-that-bricked-quest-headsets-140025378.html?src=rss

YouTube is testing a new "Play Something" floating action button, borrowing a now-defunct Netflix feature of the same name. It works in much the same way, playing a random video that's likely based on your previous selections, 9to5Google reported.Hitting the button starts a video in the Shorts player, but content isn't limited to Shorts, as it will also play regular videos in a vertical format with black bars at the top and bottom. As with any Shorts video, there are buttons to the right for like, dislike, comments and sharing. You can only play one video using the button, as the interface closes when a Shorts video opens.The new feature looks like a way for YouTube to keep viewers engaged, particularly in the Shorts platform. The platform has previously tested similar features including a "Play Something" banner. Netflix retired the feature (later called "Surprise Me") two years after launching it due to low usage.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/youtube-copies-netflixs-old-play-something-button-in-new-test-130017283.html?src=rss

As 2025 approaches, we're reviewing all our... reviews. Yes, everything we poked, prodded, and critiqued this year. Alongside inevitable smartphone and laptop upgrades (it was a particularly strong year for Pixel phones, while Apple continues to offer a premium phone experience on its pro iPhones), it was also a year of impressive drones and cameras, keeping Steve Dent very busy.Unfortunately, we can't test everything, so we try to balance devices from companies with a track record for making things folks buy and the weird, fascinating, doing-something-different products and services. We've included the best gaming laptop of 2024 and Apple's continued strong form with its Apple Silicon-powered MacBooks.Oh, and we included the other side of the coin: two of the worst products we tested. Surprise! They heavily feature AI.- Mat SmithGet this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest tech stories you missed

What qualifies a video game as depressing?" The most obvious answer is that game you simply cannot beat no matter how hard you try, but that's not what we're talking about here. Instead, we're looking at games that just have a pall over them, whether it's directly from story beats or a more subtle vibe given off by the visuals, music or activities the player has to participate in.

As is tradition, LG is announcing several of its new OLED monitors before CES 2025 kickoffs in earnest. The new UltraGear GX9 series all feature curved WOLED panels, webOS and an anti-glare, low reflection coating that should make them pleasant to look at wherever your desk is stationed.LG is positioning the 45GX990A or LG UltraGear OLED Bendable Gaming Monitor as the star of this new lineup. It's a 45-inch, 5K2K bendable screen that can move "from completely flat to a 900R curvature within seconds," according to LG. Like the 32-inch UltraGear OLED LG introduced in 2023, this new model has the company's Dual Mode feature for quickly toggling between resolutions and refresh rates with the push of a button, along with a 0.03ms GtG response time for smoother visuals when you do decide to play games.LGIf you'd prefer a screen that doesn't move, the LG UltraGear OLED Gaming Monitor (45GX950A) gives you the same 45-inches of screen real estate along with a 21:9 format, 5K2K resolution, and ultra slim bezels. LG says the monitor also supports DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI2.1 and USB-C with 90W power delivery, and certified to work with AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync.For a smaller (and likely more affordable) option, the LG UltraGear 39GX90SA still gets you a curved display, but in a 39-inch size with a 21:9 aspect ratio. The monitors OLED panel means you'll get "nuanced colors and deep, dark blacks," according to LG, and the multiple USB-C ports means you'll actually be able to connect the 39GX90SA to multiple devices at once. Having a smaller option might be a good thing too - finding extra desk space for last year's LG 49 UltraGear gaming monitor was one of the biggest problems with it.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/lgs-new-ultragear-lineup-includes-a-bendable-5k-oled-010028431.html?src=rss

Hackers were reportedly able to modify several Chrome extensions with malicious code this month after gaining access to admin accounts through a phishing campaign. The cybersecurity company Cyberhaven shared in a blog post this weekend that its Chrome extension was compromised on December 24 in an attack that appeared to be targeting logins to specific social media advertising and AI platforms." A few other extensions were hit as well, going back to mid-December, Reuters reported. According to Nudge Security's Jaime Blasco, that includes ParrotTalks, Uvoice and VPNCity.Cyberhaven notified its customers on December 26 in an email seen by TechCrunch, which advised them to revoke and rotate their passwords and other credentials. The company's initial investigation of the incident found that the malicious extension targeted Facebook Ads users, with a goal of stealing data such as access tokens, user IDs and other account information, along with cookies. The code also added a mouse click listener. After successfully sending all the data to the [Command & Control] server, the Facebook user ID is saved to browser storage," Cyberhaven said in its analysis. That user ID is then used in mouse click events to help attackers with 2FA on their side if that was needed."Cyberhaven said it first detected the breach on December 25 and was able to remove the malicious version of the extension within an hour. It's since pushed out a clean version.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/hackers-injected-malicious-code-into-several-chrome-extensions-in-recent-attack-220648155.html?src=rss

Marvel just dropped the first trailer for its upcoming animated series, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which will bring us back to Peter Parker's early days as a high school superhero. The art leans into a classic comic book style, and it looks like the story itself will be a departure from the MCU version of things, in contrast to how the show was initially described back in 2021 when it was first announced. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will have 10 episodes, and debuts on Disney+ on January 29.Peter Parker is voiced by Hudson Thames. The cast also includes Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn, who we see in the trailer stepping in as Spider-Man's mentor, along with Zeno Robinson (Harry Osborn), Grace Song (Nico Minoru) and Charlie Cox (Daredevil). Hugh Dancy voices Otto Octavius aka Doctor Octopus. The animated series was first teased at Disney+ Day three years ago under a different name, Spider-Man: Freshman Year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/check-out-the-first-full-trailer-for-your-friendly-neighborhood-spider-man-190300960.html?src=rss

A set of new requirements proposed by the US Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office for Civil Rights could bring healthcare organizations up to par with modern cybersecurity practices. The proposal, posted to the Federal Register on Friday, includes requirements for multifactor authentication, data encryption and routine scans for vulnerabilities and breaches. It would also make the use of anti-malware protection mandatory for systems handling sensitive information, along with network segmentation, the implementation of separate controls for data backup and recovery, and yearly audits to check for compliance.HHS also shared a fact sheet outlining the proposal, which would update the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule. A 60-day public comment period is expected to open soon. In a press briefing, US deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology Anne Neuberger said the plan would cost $9 billion in the first year to execute, and $6 billion over the subsequent four years, Reuters reports. The proposal comes in light of a marked increase in large-scale breaches over the past few years. Just this year, the healthcare industry was hit by multiple major cyberattacks, including hacks into Ascension and UnitedHealth systems that caused disruptions at hospitals, doctors' offices and pharmacies.From 2018-2023, reports of large breaches increased by 102 percent, and the number of individuals affected by such breaches increased by 1002 percent, primarily because of increases in hacking and ransomware attacks," according to the Office for Civil Rights. In 2023, over 167 million individuals were affected by large breaches - a new record."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/healthcare-organizations-in-the-us-may-soon-get-a-cybersecurity-overhaul-220933165.html?src=rss

NASA said on Friday that it received a signal from the Parker Solar Probe confirming that the spacecraft had survived its closest ever flyby of the sun. The approach took it just 3.8 million miles from the surface, passing within the sun's corona and allowing for unprecedented data collection in the vicinity of a star. A few million miles might seem like a pretty great distance, but to put things in perspective, NASA explains, If the solar system was scaled down with the distance between the sun and Earth the length of a football field, Parker Solar Probe would be just four yards from the end zone."The probe's current orbit takes it closest to the sun about every three months. It'll swing back around for two more close flybys in 2025, on March 22 and June 19. The probe is expected to transmit the data from its latest close approach soon, once it's in a better location to do so. The data that will come down from the spacecraft will be fresh information about a place that we, as humanity, have never been," said Joe Westlake, the director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. It's an amazing accomplishment."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/parker-solar-probe-survived-its-close-approach-to-the-sun-and-will-make-two-more-in-2025-180350510.html?src=rss

Blue Origin's New Glenn heavy-lift launch vehicle is now ready for its first flight. The company has conducted - and successfully completed - a wet dress rehearsal or a full run-through of the rocket's launch countdown. As The New York Times reports, Blue Origin had to attempt the countdown several times over a few hours, but the company managed to ignite and fire New Glenn's seven engines for 24 seconds in the end.New Glenn's tanks were filled with fuel and the rocket was fitted with a 45,000-pound payload mass simulator as if it truly was heading to space. Blue Origin says this is the first time it operated the vehicle as an integrated system, with New Glenn SVP Jarrett Jones calling the test's completion a "monumental milestone." The Federal Aviation Administration has also granted the company a launch license for New Glenn, which means it's now truly ready to go.The company describes New Glenn as a "giant, reusable rocket built for bigger things." It also said that it was "engineered with the safety and redundancy required to fly humans," though its inaugural flight will be uncrewed. Its first flight was supposed to take place in October carrying two NASA satellites heading to Mars, but it had to be scrapped because the rocket wasn't ready by then. New Glenn will now fly for the first time with the company's Blue Ring Pathfinder, part of its Blue Ring platform that will offer spacecraft services to clients like the Pentagon, instead. While Blue Origin didn't announce a new launch date for the rocket, it's expected to be the company's first flight for 2025 and could take place as early as January 6.

President-elect Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to delay the law that could ban TikTok until after his inauguration. In an amicus brief, Trump's attorney D. John Sauer wrote that the future president wants the opportunity to find a solution to the problem through political means."The law requiring a ban or sale of TikTok is set to take effect on January 19, 2025, just one day before Trump's inauguration. The brief calls the ban date unfortunately timed"and argues the incoming president should have more time to work on a deal with TikTok. TikTok's legal team cited a similar concern in its requests for a delay of the ban. The brief also cites Trump's dealmaking" experience and his social media platform Truth Social.President Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the Government-concerns which President Trump himself has acknowledged," Sauer writes.Trump's stance on a TikTok is much different from the one he took in his first term, when he pursued a ban of the app in 2020. He also floated the idea that Microsoft could work out a deal, an appropriate deal, so the Treasury of the United States gets a lot of money" without explaining exactly how such a deal would work.President Trump reversed his opinion on a TikTok ban during his second campaign. He told CNBC's Squawk Box in March that banning TikTok would make Facebook bigger and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with a lot of the media."The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on the ban on January 10.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/donald-trump-asks-the-supreme-court-to-delay-the-tiktok-ban-235703094.html?src=rss

2023 was the hottest year on record. This past year is on track to beating it and it caused more problems this past year than just spiking thermometers.The World Weather Attribution (WWA) released its annual Extreme Weather" report showing how the record-breaking 34.34 Fahrenheit increase in man-made warming from the past year caused unrelenting heatwaves, drought, wildfire, storms and floods." The WWA estimates that climate change was responsible for at least 3,700 deaths and 26 weather events in 2024 that led to the displacement of millions."The report recorded a total of 219 events from 2024 that met its trigger criteria" for identifying impactful weather events. Many of the events were influenced by the natural climate pattern known as El Nino (which has only become stronger under the effects of climate change) but the WWA studies found that climate change played a bigger role than El Nino in fueling these events, including the historic drought in the Amazon."Climate change added on an average 41 additional dangerous heat days and fueled record-breaking rain and flooding across the globe. A study of 16 floods found all but one of them were caused by warming atmospheres that retained more moisture leading to heavier rainfall. These climate conditions can also fuel bigger and deadlier hurricanes and typhoons such as the Helene, the Category 4 Hurricane that hit America in September. North Carolina's Office of State Budget and Management estimates that Helene caused $53.8 billion in damage in its state alone.Two of the world's most important ecosystems were also hit hard by climate change in 2024," according to the WWA report. The Amazon rainforest and the Pantanal Wetland, the largest tropical wetland in the world, experienced severe droughts and wildfires that created huge biodiversity loss" in the past year.Both areas are critical for maintaining the strength of the Earth's ecosystems, climate and economies. The Amazon's plant life removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and releases water into the atmosphere that helps control the climate and circulate ocean currents. The Pantanal Wetland houses tens of thousands of species of wildlife and provides much needed flood control for the region and creates global economic activity for cattle ranching and soy production, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).The WWA's report set some critical resolutions for 2025 to combat the rising influence of climate change. The report calls for a faster shift" away from fossil fuel usage, improvements in early warning systems for extreme weather events, a greater focus on reporting of heat related deaths and financing for developing countries and regions hit hardest by the effects of climate change.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/2024-is-on-its-way-to-being-the-hottest-year-ever-211524257.html?src=rss

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly investigating Microsoft like it's 1998. In the waning days of the Biden administration, outgoing chair Lina Khan's probe is said to be picking up steam, according to ProPublica. The FTC is particularly concerned with Microsoft's bundling of ubiquitous Office products with cybersecurity and cloud computing services. That includes a deal to upgrade government bundles for a limited time, which essentially had the effect of using a government cybersecurity crisis to sell more licenses.It adds more detail to reports from Bloomberg and the Financial Times in November about an FTC probe into the Windows maker. The publications said Microsoft's competitors complained that its bundling of its popular software with cloud services made it harder to compete. ProPublica says FTC attorneys have recently interviewed and scheduled meetings with Microsoft's competitors.Microsoft confirmed to ProPublica that the FTC issued a civil investigative demand (essentially a subpoena), forcing the company to hand over information related to the case. A Microsoft spokesperson told the publication - without providing on-the-record examples - that the FTC document is broad, wide ranging, and requests things that are out of the realm of possibility to even be logical."The investigation follows a separate ProPublica report from November about how Microsoft appeared to exploit a series of cyberattacks to sell more licenses to the US government. Following a meeting with President Biden in the summer of 2021, the company was said to have offered to upgrade the government's existing bundles (including Windows and its Office suite) to a more expensive version that added its advanced cybersecurity products. Microsoft also sent consultants to install the upgrades and train employees to use them.Many divisions of the US government accepted - including all of the Defense Department's military services - and then began paying for the more expensive bundles after the trial ended. (The hassle of switching to a different cybersecurity product after the trial ended practically guaranteed that would be the case.) ProPublica's account essentially paints Microsoft as exploiting a cybersecurity crisis to expand sales and pad its bottom line. Just late-stage capitalism things, y'all.MicrosoftIronically, the sales tactic resulted from security lapses from - you guessed it - Microsoft. Biden's request from Big Tech leaders to boost government cybersecurity followed the SolarWinds attack that exploited a vulnerability in a Microsoft identity service. The company reportedly knew the app contained a security nightmare" that let hackers spoof legitimate employees and probe sensitive information without raising suspicion. But patching the flaw would add friction to government logins when the company was competing for US contracts. Microsoft reportedly opted to stay mum instead of risk losing business.According to experts who spoke to ProPublica, the government trial sales scheme could have violated regulations on contracting and competition. The publication reported that even Microsoft's attorneys worried the deal would spark antitrust concerns.If this sounds familiar, it echoes the government's 1998 antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft. Bundling was also a star of that show, with the FTC accusing the company of engaging in anticompetitive practices by including Internet Explorer with Windows, a move viewed in those early days of the internet as stifling rivals like Netscape.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-ftcs-microsoft-antitrust-probe-reportedly-focuses-on-software-bundling-193545163.html?src=rss

If you've tried to use Xbox Cloud Streaming and experienced issues loading games or unexpected disconnects, you're not alone. Microsoft's game streaming services has been experiencing issues since Thursday and is still not totally back online 24 hours later.Users on r/xcloud, the subreddit devoted to Xbox Cloud Gaming, have reported unusually long wait times to get a game to load, stretching a process that's supposed to be instantaneous into a 50 minute or longer wait. On Microsoft's status page, the company says "you may have trouble starting cloud games or be unexpectedly disconnected from a game after it begins."

The second season of the smash hit sci-fi drama Severance finally premieres on January 17. However, Apple just threw us a bone by dropping the first eight minutes of the season. It's been nearly three years since season one completed its run, so this is a nice little holiday gift.You can find the exclusive preview on the Apple TV+ app under the Bonus Content section of the Severance page. There will be no spoilers here, but the snippet does get into the fallout of the events of season one and may even touch on that surprising cliffhanger.For the uninitiated, Severance is a sci-fi take on work/life balance in which certain employees at a shadowy corporation sever" their work selves from their regular selves. This results in a harrowing, and occasionally hilarious, treatise about human identity and the lengths our corporate overlords will go to make a buck. It's very good. Best of all? Newbies won't have to wait three full years to watch season two.Apple TV+ also just posted a bunch of images to social media that heavily imply its planning on a free weekend of sorts for non-subscribers, scheduled for January 4 and 5. The images are all tagged with slogans like see for yourself" and save the date."

I've lost count of the number of things we reviewed this year at Engadget. In 2024, the types of products we tested ranged from the typical phones, laptops and headphones to AI wearables, robotic lawnmowers and handheld gaming consoles, alongside games and shows. It can feel hard to keep track of it all, but thankfully, our scoring system helps us highlight the best (and the worst) devices each year. Our team of reviewers and editors evaluate products based on their performance, value and how they hold up against the competition, and at least two people weigh in on every score before it's published. If something gets a result of 80 and up, it's considered a "Recommended" product, while those scoring 90 and more are awarded "Editors' Choice." The latter means they're the best in their class, beating out most of the competition. Since we have to be very judicious about what we review (there's only so much time in the world), most of the gadgets we call in are from established companies with a track record of making things people will actually consider buying. That's the main reason most of our scores sit between 80 and 90, though we still test the occasional device that ends up getting a number below 70. As we look back on the year in gadgets, here are the 12 highest-scored reviews we published. Unsurprisingly, they're mostly of Apple and Google products, with a smattering of cameras and drones. I'm also including some honorable mentions for good measure, as well as a pair of the lowest-rated devices all year. May we have only excellent gadgets to review next year, and may there be less e-waste all around. Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL I'm honestly shocked. For the first time in years, we've given a Google phone a higher score than an iPhone in the same year. Maybe it has something to do with Gemini AI launching earlier than Apple Intelligence, or the fun colors and solid build of the Pixel 9 Pro series. But as I discussed the scores with our reviewer Mat Smith, a few things added up. Arguably the biggest advantage Google has over Apple this year is battery life - the Pixel 9 Pros generally last about two days on a charge, while the iPhone 16 Pro series typically clocks just around 20 hours. We also love Google's cameras and the bright, smooth displays. The gorgeous palette of pastel color options is just icing on a satisfying cake, with Gemini AI bringing a tasty side treat. DJI Avata 2 Though there is looming concern over DJI's longevity in the US, the company has otherwise had a relatively successful 2024. This year saw many DJI products scoring more than 90 in our database, which makes sense as they are arguably the best drone maker around. Steve was most impressed by the Avata 2, though, thanks to its great video quality and maneuverability for a lower price than its predecessor. It even has better battery life, to boot. iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max Apple Intelligence wasn't available when the iPhone 16 series launched and only recently rolled out, so our review score might still change, But as it is, and after months of using the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max in my daily life, I stand by my evaluation. Though there's a lot to like about Apple's latest flagships, I was just so disappointed by the relatively poor battery life that I could not score it higher than the Pixel 9 Pro series. This is more noticeable on the iPhone 16 Pro, though, as the Pro Max generally lasts a few more hours than its smaller counterpart. I also wish the generative-AI features were ready for the public at the time of my review, but now that I've spent more time with Genmoji, Image Playground and notification summaries, I'm pretty sure my verdict remains the same. These Apple Intelligence features are fun, but not game-changing, and with or without them the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are still the best options for anyone on iOS. Canon EOS R5 II We've got a slew of reviews by Steve on this list, mostly for products in cameras and drones that ranked well in their categories. As a Canon girl myself, I was happy to see the EOS R5 II get such a good rating, especially since competition has been heating up. Sadly, the EOS R5 II also heats up when shooting high-res video, but on pretty much every other aspect, it performs respectably. According to Steve, this camera "puts Sony on notice," and I'm glad to see it. Sony A9 III Reviewed much earlier in the year, the Sony A9 III caught Steve's attention for its speedy global shutter, which brought fast and accurate autofocus. It also delivered smooth, high-quality video in a body with excellent handling thanks to Sony's comfortable new grip. Steve also loved the viewfinder, and though it's very expensive at $6,000, the A9 III is a solid product that holds the title of "fastest full-frame camera" - at least, until something faster comes along. DJI Air 3S and DJI Neo What lightweight $200 drone shoots good 1080p video but also screams like a banshee? That would be the DJI Neo, which, despite Steve's evocative description, is something I'm considering buying for myself. Not only is it reasonably priced, but it also promises to capture smooth aerial footage at a respectable resolution. Steve also found it beginner-friendly, which is important for a lousy pilot like me. And sure, maybe I'll scare some wildlife or neighbors with its loud screeching, but maybe that's part of the fun? If you want something that can avoid people or obstacles and deliver cinematic shots, the DJI Air 3S is a solid option thanks to its LiDAR and larger camera sensor, both of which improve performance and obstacle-detection in low light. You'll have to pay about five times the Neo's cost, of course, but aspiring Spielbergs might find that price worthwhile. MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2024) and MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024) I'm not surprised that the only laptops to make it to this list are this year's M4 MacBook Pros. Apple has demonstrated over the last few years that its M-series processors deliver excellent performance and battery life, and it's continued to prove its point in 2024. This year's model features brighter screens and improved webcams, as well as slight bumps in RAM and storage. I'm a Windows user, but even I have to admit that what Apple is doing with the MacBooks is something that Microsoft and all its partners on the PC side have struggled to fully replicate. ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) What PC makers do excel at is power and creativity. When it's not experimenting with dual-screen laptops, ASUS is pushing out capable gaming laptops in its Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand. This year, our reviewer Sam Rutherford's top-scored product is the ROG Zephyrus G14, which he declared "the 14-inch gaming laptop to beat." Sam hasn't given out a higher score at all this year, so it stands to reason we have yet to see a gaming notebook steal that crown. The Zephyrus G14 won Sam over with its beautiful OLED screen, attractive yet subtle design and generous array of ports. Though he's not a fan of its soldered-in RAM and ASUS' Armoury Crate app, Sam still found plenty to like, calling it "both pound for pound and dollar for dollar the best choice around." Honorable mention: reMarkable Paper Pro There are plenty of products that might have received the same score as the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and iPhone 16 Pro, but we have to cut the list somewhere. It's worth mentioning that other devices we awarded a score of 91 include the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, the Analogue Duo, the Fujifilm X100 VI and the iPad Air (2024). And when it comes to things that got 90 points, we've got the base iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, the Apple Watch Series 10, NVIDIA's RTX 4070 Super graphics card, the Meta Quest 3S headset, as well as appliances like Ninja's Creami ice-cream maker. But I wanted to shout out Daniel Cooper's review of the reMarkable Paper Pro. It's a gadget that's brought back waves of nostalgia and sentimentality in a time when we're all tired of constantly being wired in. It's one of the highest-rated products of its kind, not only because it's a capable writing tablet, but also because it is a color e-paper tablet that has a bigger screen and faster performance than its monochrome predecessor. At $580 to start, it's certainly a significant investment, but one that might free us from feeling chained to our laptops and phones. Worst products we reviewed this year: Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 In all my 8-plus years at Engadget, I can only remember one other time we've awarded anything a sub-60 score, and that was when Fisher-Price's Sproutling wearable baby monitor gave our editor's baby an eczema outbreak. The Sproutling got an appropriately all-time low score of 41, and this year, the Rabbit R1 broke that bottom when Devindra decided it deserved only 40 points. The Rabbit R1 first made waves at CES 2024, when it showed up out of nowhere and enticed many of us with its cute looks and bright orange color. Its Teenage Engineering heritage was even more alluring, and we all wanted to try out the Playdate-esque scroll wheel for ourselves. The square device also came with an onboard camera, two microphones, rotating camera and a 2.88-inch display. But its biggest promise was, as with everything in 2024, all about AI. And with many things in 2024, the AI promise fell flat. Rabbit made bold claims about its "large action model," but in actuality, at the time of our review, the R1 could barely execute tasks to completion. Instead of letting you easily make orders via DoorDash, for example, it would "often deliver the weather when I asked for traffic," according to Devindra's review. Worse, "sometimes it would hear my request and simply do nothing." Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget I had a similarly frustrating experience when testing the much-hyped Humane AI Pin. It was a shiny chrome square that you could attach to your clothes and interact with either by voice, touch or via a futuristic-looking projector that beamed a display onto your palm. You were supposed to be able to simply talk to the Humane AI assistant to get it to remember things for and about you, eventually coming to rely on it like a second brain. Instead, we got a hot mess. Quite literally. The Humane AI Pin would frequently run so hot that it would stop working, with the device saying it needed to cool down for a bit before you could use it again. When it did work, it was barely smart enough to answer questions, and though the projector was cool visually, using it to do anything was frustrating and just led to sore arms and crossed eyes. Not only did it not do enough to justify the effort involved in using it, the Humane AI Pin also cost $700 - way too much for a product this finicky. It gets worse (or better, depending on how you're reading this). Shortly after it was widely criticized by reviewers in April, leaked internal documents showed that people appeared to be returning the AI Pins faster than the company was selling them. In October, Humane had to issue a recall for its charging case due to overheating, with the Consumer Product Safety Commission saying it posed "a fire hazard." I gave the Humane AI Pin a score of 50 in my review, in large part due to the intriguing projector display. Right now, though, it seems these AI gadgets are, at best, struggling to take hold. At worst, they're on fire.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-12-best-gadgets-we-reviewed-this-year-173024990.html?src=rss

Beats updated its high-end flagship wireless headphones last year, bringing a slew of upgrades over the Studio 3 Wireless, the model it replaced. The Beats Studio Pro has better sound, active noise cancellation (ANC), Spatial Audio and more. But at $350, it didn't necessarily stand out among stiff competition from Sony and Bose. Well, today at Amazon, the premium headphones have a new draw that those rivals don't: They're on sale for a mere $170. That's 51 percent off and only $10 more than the record low. Although the Beats Studio Pro doesn't look starkly different from the Studio 3 Wireless it replaced, it adds subtle aesthetic touches like new colors, a tone-on-tone finish and UltraPlush memory foam (wrapped in leather) earpads. Of course, you still get the brand's iconic lower-case b" logo on each earpiece. But the biggest changes are on the inside. Using Beats' second-gen audio chip and new 40mm drivers with a two-layer diaphragm, micro vents and acoustic mesh, they have improved clarity and a more balanced profile than the Studio 3 Wireless. Although Beats was once known for overpowering bass at the expense of mids, highs and clarity, that's no longer the case. Engadget's audio guru, Billy Steele, found that the cans produced even-handed tuning and attention to precision once unheard of in the brand's pre-Apple days. The Studio Pro also has Spatial Audio, familiar to anyone who's used Apple's recent AirPods. (Bose also added its equivalent in its Ultra line.) The technology simulates 64 speakers around you, creating a more distinct separation between instruments and voices. You can choose between head-tracked and fixed modes, too. However, the digital trickery's effectiveness can vary depending on the track, ranging from breathing new life into old tracks to hardly providing a noticeable difference in some other genres. The headphones also let you listen to high-resolution and lossless music via USB-C wired listening - up to 24-bit / 48kHz. They also have a transparency mode, up to 40 hours of listening with ANC off (or around 24 hours with ANC or transparency mode on) and a fast-fuel feature that gives you four hours of playback after just a 10-minute charge. If ANC isn't your priority, you may want to look at the cheaper Beats Solo 4, also on sale. Offering better sound quality and longer battery life over the Solo 3, this 2024 model is on sale at Amazon for $100 - half off. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-beats-studio-pro-headphones-are-half-off-right-now-172541818.html?src=rss

It's never been more exhausting to be online than in 2024. While it's been clear for some time that monetization has shifted social media into a different beast, this year in particular felt like a tipping point. Faced with the endless streams of content that's formulated to trap viewers' gazes, shoppable ads at every turn, AI and the unrelenting opinions of strangers, it struck me recently that despite my habitual use of these apps, I'm not actually having fun on any of them anymore.Take Instagram. I open the app and I'm greeted by an ad for bidets. I start scrolling. Between each of the first three posts at the top of my feed is a different ad: lingerie, squat-friendly jorts, shoes from a brand selling items that appear to be dropshipped from AliExpress at a markup. Then, thankfully, two memes back to back. I fire off the funny one to five of my friends in a way that feels obligatory. After that, another ad, then a bunch of seemingly off-target Reels from accounts I don't even follow. Minutes pass before I encounter a post by someone I know in real life. Oh yeah, it's time to turn off suggested posts again, something I have to do every 30 days or my feed will be filled with random crap.But before I get a chance to do that, I'm distracted by a Reel of a cat watching The Grinch. Then by a Reel of a guy with a tiny chihuahua in his coat pocket. Curiosity gets the better of me and I open the comments, where people are angrily writing that the dog must be suffocating. Oh no. I scroll to the next Reel, a video I've seen several times before of a rooster marching around in a pair of pants. Below, everyone's fighting about whether it's cruel to put pants on a chicken. Is it? Next, a video of a girl doing her makeup, where men are commenting that this should be considered catfishing. Deep sigh. I realize 30 minutes have somehow passed and I close Instagram, now in a worse mood than when I opened it. I'll compulsively return in an hour or so, rinse and repeat.It's not just an Instagram problem. On TikTok (which may or may not get shut down in the US very soon), the For You page has me figured out pretty well contentwise and the presence of toxic commenters is minimal, but every other post is either sponsored or hawking a product from the TikTok Shop. And it's too easy to get sucked into the perpetual scroll. I often avoid opening the app at all just because I know I'll end up getting trapped there for longer than I want to, watching videos about nothing made by people I don't know and never will. But it still happens more frequently than I'd like to admit.These days, it feels like every gathering place on the internet is so crowded with content that's competing for - and successfully grabbing - our attention or trying to sell us something that there's barely any room for the social" element of social media. Instead, we're pushed into separate corners to stare at the glowing boxes in our hands alone.Fittingly, Oxford announced at the end of November that its Word of the Year for 2024 is brain rot," a term that expresses the supposed consequence of countless hours spent on the internet consuming stupid stuff. Just as fitting, Australia's Macquarie Dictionary chose enshittification," which describes how the platforms and products we love get ruined over time as the companies behind them chase profits. (It was also The American Dialect Society's 2023 Word of the Year). Social media platforms were in theory designed around ideas of friendship and connection, but what's playing out on them today couldn't feel further from genuine human interaction.Facebook - if you even have an account still - might be where you'd go if you really wanted to see updates from family and other people you know IRL, but its UI has become so cluttered with recommended Reels and products that it feels unusable. Twitter, where it was once fun to keep up with live discourse around major events or fandom happenings, no longer exists, and X, its new form under Elon Musk, is filled with bots and political propaganda.On the other hand, Threads, an offshoot of Instagram and Meta's answer to Twitter/X, took off this year and it quickly became a hotspot for copy-paste engagement bait, a problem so bad that Adam Mosseri has publicly acknowledged it. The Threads team has apparently been working to get it under control," but I still can't scroll through my For You feed without seeing a dozen posts that are either just regurgitated memes being passed off as original thoughts, or questions to the masses that are crafted with the intention of stirring the pot. The same feed is otherwise dominated by viral videos that are ripped off from other creators without credit and pop culture commentary that almost always devolves into sex- and genderism. I often step away from Threads feeling the need to go scream in a field.Threads doesn't have DMs, meaning all conversations take place in public. It finally gave users the ability to create custom feeds around searchable topics in November, but those topic pages are generally still riddled with bait-style posts, just more subject-specific versions. That's meant so far that it's been pretty hard to find communities to authentically connect with. It all feels so impersonal.It doesn't help that Threads' Following feed currently isn't the default view and there's no way to change that (though Threads recently began testing the option). And at the end of the day, its 275 million or so monthly active users doesn't include all that many people I actually know, especially outside of the media industry. The same goes for fediverse social networks like Mastodon and Bluesky, which are far less populated but have a cliquier feel. Visiting those platforms feels like walking into a room full of people who all know each other really well, and realizing you're the odd one out. But at least Bluesky nor Mastodon aren't poorly veiled shopping experiences. (Threads isn't at the moment, either, but ads are reportedly coming).Maybe it all comes down to burnout in the era of excessive consumption, but lately I've found myself wishing for a place on the internet that feels both inviting and human. I'm sure I'm not alone. In recent years, we've seen alternative social apps pop up like BeReal, Hive and the Myspace-reminiscent entrants SpaceHey and noplace, all aiming to bring character and interpersonal connection back into social media. But none have quite cracked the code for lasting mainstream adoption. Discord and even Reddit to some extent address the same person-to-person need, yet they share more in common with proto social media chatrooms and forums than with the sites that sprung up during the social heyday.Meanwhile, Meta is increasingly pushing AI across its apps. Just this summer we got the chatbot-maker, AI Studio, which Meta touted not only as a way for users to create AI characters, but for creators to build an AI as an extension of themselves to reach more fans." Rather than talk to your real friends or make new ones around a common interest, you can deepen your parasocial relationship with celebrities, influencers and fictional characters by chatting with the AI versions of them. Or, pick from several AI girlfriends you can now find in the menu of your DMs. We've completely lost the plot, I fear.I've started dipping back into Tumblr here and there, if only to see a less chaotic, more curated feed and relish in the reminder of how fun customization can be. A few friends have mentioned that they've been doing the same. But given the platform's past policy upheavals and its current AI partnerships, it's not exactly an online oasis either. As if on cue, I was recently served a mock Tumblr poster during my evening scroll that felt uncannily apt: we didn't get better. the rest of the internet just got worse."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/in-2024-using-social-media-felt-worse-than-ever-170047895.html?src=rss

Following months of speculation, OpenAI has finally shared how it plans to become a for-profit company. In a blog post penned by its board of directors, OpenAI said Thursday it plans to transform its for-profit arm into a Public Benefit Corporation sometime in 2025. PBCs or B Corps are for-profit organizations that attempt to balance the interests of their stakeholders while making a positive impact on society.As we enter 2025, we will have to become more than a lab and a startup - we have to become an enduring company," OpenAI said, adding that many of its competitors are registered as PBCs, including Anthropic and even Elon Musk's own xAI. [The move] would enable us to raise the necessary capital with conventional terms like others in this space."As part of the transformation, OpenAI's nonprofit division would retain a stake in the for-profit unit in the form of shares at a fair valuation determined by independent financial advisors," but would lose direct oversight of the company. Our plan would result in one of the best resourced non-profits in history," claims OpenAI.Following the reorganization, the for-profit division would be responsible for overseeing OpenAI's operations and business," while the nonprofit arm would operate separately with its own leadership team and a focus on charitable efforts in health care, education and science.OpenAI did not state whether CEO Sam Altman would receive an equity stake as part of the restructuring. Last year, OpenAI's board of directors briefly fired Altman before bringing him back, in the process sparking the institutional crisis that led to this week's announcement. According to some estimates, OpenAI's for-profit arm could be worth as much as $150 billion. In 2019, OpenAI estimated it would need to raise at least $10 billion to build artificial general intelligence. In October, the company secured $6 billion in new funding.The hundreds of billions of dollars that major companies are now investing into AI development show what it will really take for OpenAI to continue pursuing the mission," OpenAI said. We once again need to raise more capital than we'd imagined. Investors want to back us but, at this scale of capital, need conventional equity and less structural bespokeness."Despite this week's announcement, OpenAI is likely to face multiple roadblocks in implementing its plan. In addition to its ongoing legal feud with Elon Musk, Meta recently sent a letter to California's attorney general urging him to stop OpenAI from converting to a for-profit company, saying the move would be wrong" and could lead to a proliferation of similar start-up ventures that are notionally charitable until they are potentially profitable."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-for-profit-plan-includes-a-public-benefit-corporation-163634265.html?src=rss

If you're constantly losing your stuff, or know someone who is, now's a great time to invest in a few AirTags. A four-pack of Apple's Bluetooth trackers are on sale for $70 at the moment, which is a record-low price and a bit cheaper than they were during the Black Friday shopping period. You're getting a $30 discount on the pack, and it breaks down to only $17.50 per tracker. Apple AirTags easily made our list of the best Bluetooth trackers, and this is especially true if you're already tied into the company's ecosystem. The finding network is vast and comprehensive, which really helps when it comes time to actually find one of these tags. Just think of all of those AirTags, iPhones and other devices out there in the world helping to create this network. These trackers can also tap into the ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless protocol, which creates a sort of game out of finding a lost item in the home. As long as the object is within 25 feet of your smartphone, the screen will display directional arrows and a distance meter. This lets you zero in on the object without having to constantly ring the AirTag. Now onto the caveats. AirTags really only work with iPhones and other Apple devices, so Android users should keep shopping for something else. Also, the ringer only pings for seven seconds at a time, which can make finding something feel like a mad dash. Finally, there's no attachment point for connecting to a keychain or a related accessory. Luckily, there are all kinds of amazing AirTag accessories to get that job done. One recent case even comes with batteries that will power the tag for a full decade. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/a-four-pack-of-apple-airtags-is-on-sale-for-a-record-low-of-70-161406138.html?src=rss

The recent rollout of iOS 18.2 finally brings many of the promised Apple Intelligence features, like Genmoji and Image Playground. One such long-awaited tool is Visual Intelligence, a feature currently reserved for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max that was first introduced at the company's September event.What is Visual Intelligence?Visual Intelligence is Apple's answer to Google Lens. It leverages the camera system and AI to analyze images in real-time and provide useful information. This can help people learn more about the world around them and is particularly handy for shopping, looking up details about a restaurant or business, translating written text, summarizing text or having something read aloud. It can also integrate with Google Image Search and ChatGPT.Are there any caveats?There are two caveats. The Apple Intelligence rollout has been something of a convoluted mess, and this trend continues with Visual Intelligence. For now, the tools only work with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, which are the beefiest of the company's recent handsets. Apple has indicated that the feature could eventually become available for older models. Google Lens, after all, has been around since 2017, which was when the Pixel 2 was the hottest handset on the block.There's also a wait list, which is true of all Apple Intelligence features. To join the list, head to settings and look for Apple Intelligence & Siri." Then click on Join Waitlist." Once approved, the software will be ready to use.How to use Visual IntelligenceAs of this writing, the only way to launch Visual Intelligence is to long-press the Camera Control button. That's the new control interface on the bottom right side of the handset. Once pressed, the Visual Intelligence interface will open up.AppleNow the fun begins. Just point your phone at something and select ChatGPT, via the bottom left icon, or Google Image Search, via the bottom right icon. Alternatively, if the visual field includes text, tap the circle at the bottom of the screen. The phone can also be pointed at a business to obtain useful information.How to interact with textHover the phone in front of the text, activate Visual Intelligence and tap the circle at the bottom of the screen. This will analyze the text. Once analyzed, there are a few options. Tap Translate" at the bottom of the screen to translate the text into another language. Tap Read Aloud" if you want the text to be read aloud by Siri. Tap Summarize" for a quick summary of the copy.The tool will also identify contact information in the text, like phone numbers, email addresses and websites. Users can take action depending on the type of text. For instance, tap on the phone number to give it a ring. Other actions include starting an email, creating a calendar event or heading to a website. Tap the More" button to see all of the available options. Tap Close" or swipe up to end the session.How to interact with a businessVisual Intelligence can provide details about a business that's directly in front of you. Just open up the tool and point the camera in front of the signage. The name of the business should appear at the top of the screen. Tap Schedule" to see the hours of operation or tap Order" to buy something. View the menu or available services by tapping Menu" and make a reservation by touching Reservation." To call the business, read reviews or view the website, tap More."Swipe up or tap Close" to end the session. This feature is currently only available to US customers.What to do with ChatGPTStart by pointing the camera at an object. Activate Visual Intelligence and tap the ChatGPT icon on the bottom left side of the screen. Tap the Ask" button for information about the object. We used it on a bottle of hand cream, which it properly identified. After that, a text field will appear for follow-up questions. Users can ask whatever they want, but results may vary. We asked ChatGPT where to buy the hand cream and how much it costs. It performed admirably at this task. Yay shopping.Engadget/Cherlynn LowTap the "Close" button or swipe up to remove all fields, which will also shut down Visual Intelligence.What to do with Google Image SearchChoosing Google Image Search will bring up a Safari dialog box that contains similar photos pulled from the web. A good use case here is finding deals. We took a photo of a bottle of hand cream and the Safari results had plenty of different price points to choose from. However, users have to find the best deal and complete a purchase on their own.Engadget/Cherlynn LowTap the "Close" button to eliminate these results and then swipe up from the bottom of the screen to shut down the tool.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-use-visual-intelligence-apples-take-on-google-lens-150039141.html?src=rss

Gather round and let me tell you a story about the dark sky that makes mid-afternoon feel like midnight, and the light source that makes it at all bearable. Once a year, winter appears with a quick chill of the ears and sudden craving for a vat of hot chocolate. It brings all things beautiful: holiday lights, white blankets of snow in the park and thoughtful gifts. But it also invites in the cold and heaping amounts of darkness. I came of age in upstate New York, where sunlight is gone by half past four in the afternoon the entirety of December and January. That's to say this isn't a new phenomenon for me, but that hasn't made it any less painful. In fact, it has caused a feeling of dread that starts popping up come late September. But when I moved to Scotland, 4:30PM became nearly 3PM and the sun didn't fully rise until well after I'd woken up. Even in London where I'm now based, it's easily dark by 4PM on the shortest days. Like most people, the darkness leaves me exhausted while taking a serious toll on my mental health. Now to the hero of this story: my SAD lamp. SAD stands for seasonal affective disorder, a depressive disorder triggered by the change of seasons (usually the darker days, though some people experience it in the summer). You by no means need to receive a SAD diagnosis to use a SAD lamp, bright light therapy lamp or wake-up lamp - all names for the same thing. I bought Lumie's Vitamin L bright light therapy lamp a few years ago ahead of my first Scottish winter and have used it every year since. The Vitamin L lamp is a slim rectangle that provides 5,000 lux at a foot away or 2,500 lux at about an arm's length. The latter is the recommended distance for use and more or less how far it sits from me. It's just shy of eight inches wide with a length of 11 inches and a depth of just over three inches. It can stand in portrait or landscape orientation, too, though I find it doesn't balance very well in the latter. The light makes up the entire front panel and has a simple power button on the back. The lamp lives on the floor next to my kitchen table, where I'll prop it up nearly every morning while having breakfast or starting work. As a big fan of sleeping in, I rarely use it on the weekends unless I'm getting up early to run somewhere and I typically forget or get busy in the morning at least one workday. But when I do have it on, I'll keep it shining at me from an angle for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how much time I have. Sarah Fielding / Engadget This light is far from an extra table lamp to add a little glow. It's a very - I repeat for good measure - very bright light. And yet, despite it practically being imitation sunlight, there's no UV rays to worry about. It really does wake me up just from how bright it is and the daily routine adds a nice structure to busy, cold mornings. I've never received a SAD diagnosis but I do have a panic disorder that causes anxiety and bouts of depression, the latter of which is more prominent during these cold, dark days. I don't know how much of it is the lamp and how much is a placebo, but it really does help keep my negative feelings at bay and makes the dark days - a bit - more bearable. Overall, if you dread the darkness of the winter months as much as I do, I highly recommend trying this Lumie lamp or exploring one of the other options on the market. Just the habit of turning it on most days makes me feel like I'm doing something to combat the dreariness. Plus, it really is hard to be tired when there's a bright light shining near you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/this-sad-lamp-makes-the-winter-almost-bearable-130037310.html?src=rss

It's that quiet, end-of-December period for tech news. Still, alongside our usual retrospectives on tech in 2024, the Russian government is cracking down crypto, and final seasons of hit Netflix phenomena are on their way.First, according to reports by the state-owned news agency Tass, the Russian government banned crypto mining in ten regions for six years. Russia has cited the industry's high power consumption rates as the primary reason behind the ban. Crypto mining operations already account for nearly 2.5 percent of US energy use. The Russian ban takes effect on January 1 and lasts until March 15, 2031. The currency has only been fully legal in Russia since November.- Mat SmithGet this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest tech stories you missed

It looks like we won't have to wait long to find out what happens in the next installment of Netflix's addictive and deadly drama Squid Game. The Netflix-owned blog Tudum announced the South Korean drama will return next year for its third and final season.The first season ended with winner Seong Gi-hun, played by Emmy winner Lee Jung-Jae, leaving his newfound wealth to dismantle the titular game. Since then, we've learned in sneak previews and the Season 2 trailer that Seong's plan is to rejoin the deadly competition and convince the players to vote for the games to stop. Something tells me it's not going to be that simple.The second season of Squid Game just landed today on Netflix after a three-year wait.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/squid-game-will-have-a-third-and-final-season-in-2025-192216881.html?src=rss

Since the release of iOS 18.2 on December 11, ChatGPT integration has been an integral part of Apple Intelligence. Provided you own a recent iPhone, iPad or Mac, you can access OpenAI's chatbot directly from your device, with no need to go through the ChatGPT app or web client.What is ChatGPT?ChatGPT is a generative AI chatbot created by OpenAI and powered by a large language machine-learning model. In addition to the capability to interact with people using natural language, ChatGPT can search the web, solve complex math and coding problems, as well as generate text, images and audio. As of the writing of this article, the current version of ChatGPT is based on OpenAI's GPT-4o and 4o mini models.In June 2024, Apple announced it was partnering with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence. While some of ChatGPT's signature features are available directly within iOS, iPadOS and macOS, many, such as Advanced Voice Mode, can only be accessed through the ChatGPT app or the OpenAI website.Where can you use ChatGPT on your iPhone?Igor Bonifacic for EngadgetOn iPhone, ChatGPT is primarily available through three surfaces. First, Siri can turn to ChatGPT to answer your questions. In instances where Apple's digital assistant determines ChatGPT can help it assist you better, it will ask you for your permission to share your request with OpenAI. You can also use ChatGPT to identify places and objects through the iPhone 16's Camera Control menu.Lastly, you can get ChatGPT's help when using Apple's new Writing Tools." Essentially, anytime you're typing with the iPhone's built-in keyboard, including in first-party apps like Notes, Mail and Messages, ChatGPT can help you compose text. Finding this feature can be a bit tricky, so here's how to access it:

In recent years, reflecting on the past 12 months has seemed to bring back nothing but woe. Surprisingly, though, 2024 saw a higher number of candidates for good things in tech than bad. In spite of the continued AI onslaught, widespread dissatisfaction and worldwide political conflict, there were some bright spots this year that put smiles on faces and took minds off things. As we get ready to start saying "2025" when making plans, here's hoping that reminiscing about the best things in tech in 2024 can help us remember joyful times. LocalThunk You likely don't know the name LocalThunk, which is the handle of a Canadian game developer who has yet to share his real identity. You do, however, know his handywork. LocalThunk made a little game called Balatro, which has been the indie success story of the year. The massive cultural footprint of this game instantly put him on the Mount Rushmore of solo developers, alongside Daisuke Amaya (Cave Story), Markus Persson (Minecraft), Lucas Pope (Papers, Please) and Eric Barone (Stardew Valley), among others. Balatro - which can justly be described as a wacky full-fledged sequel to poker -came out back in February, and has since sold millions of copies across multiple platforms. It has popped up on numerous 2024 best-of lists and even nabbed a nomination for GOTY at The Game Awards. To call it a hit is something of an understatement. Balatro has become so popular that it has crossed over with other gaming franchises and inspired a physical deck of cards. LocalThunk is now, very likely, worth a whole lot of money. Good for him. He created something new that everyone wanted, a venture that took three years. Despite the similarities to poker, the developer is extremely committed to keeping Balatro pure and out of the hands of gambling platforms. He recently revealed that he created a will that stipulated that the IP never be sold or licensed to any gambling company or casino. I highly recommend checking out the game, which is available for both consoles and mobile devices. It will likely burn into your brain, leaving you unable to think or talk about anything else. Actually, wait until you have some time off work before giving it a download. - Lawrence Bonk, contributing writer Bluesky After several months in an invitation-only beta, Bluesky finally ditched its waitlist and opened to everyone at the start of 2024. At the time, it had just over 3 million users, a handful of employees and a lot of ideas about how to build a better space for public conversations. Since then, the service has grown to more than 25 million users, including a number of celebrities, politicians and other prominent figures who were once active on X. Bluesky is still very much an underdog. Meta's Threads has more than 10 times as many total users and far more resources. Even so, Bluesky has notched some significant wins. The open source service nearly tripled in size in the last few months of the year, thanks to a surge in new users following the election. The platform has also had an outsized influence when it comes to features, with Meta already copying unique ideas like starter packs and custom feeds. Bluesky isn't without issues - it needs to come up with a better approach to verification for example - but it's still our best hope for an open, decentralized platform not controlled by a multibillion dollar advertising company. While Meta is reportedly preparing to point its ad machine at Threads and has already throttled the reach of political content, Bluesky's leaders have made it clear they want to take a different approach. And while it's hard to imagine Bluesky's growth eclipsing Threads anytime soon, Bluesky feels more relevant than ever. - Karissa Bell, senior reporter Sam Rutherford for Engadget Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold We've seen so many competing designs on foldable phones over the years. Samsung started out with an inward folding hinge on the original Galaxy Fold and stuck with it as the Z Fold line has morphed into the long, skinny baton-like devices we have today. Then there were others like the Huawei Mate X which featured outward folding builds. More recently, companies have teased the first generation of gadgets with tri-folding displays. But after testing out Google's Pixel 9 Pro Fold this year, it feels like keeping things simple was the winning formula all along. That's because instead of trying to create a foldable with a unique aspect ratio or screen size, Google basically took the exterior display from the standard Pixel 9 and then installed a flexible display almost exactly twice the size on the inside. So when it's closed, you have a phone that looks, feels and operates just like a typical glass-brick but when opened can also expand to become a mini tablet. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold also has the best cameras on any foldable on sale today while not being much thicker or heavier than its more traditional siblings. But perhaps the biggest victory is just seeing how much of a jump in build quality and usability the Pro Fold offers over its predecessor without making any major sacrifices. I just wish it was a bit more affordable so more people could experience the magic of a big foldable phone. - Sam Rutherford, senior reviewer AR Glasses For years, companies like Meta and Snap have hyped up the promise of augmented reality - not just the animated selfie lenses and other effects we can see on our phones, but standalone hardware capable of overlaying information onto the world around us. But despite these promises, actual AR glasses felt just out of reach. This year, that finally started to change. Snap released its second pair of AR Spectacles, and Meta finally showed off its Orion AR glasses prototype. After trying out both, it's easy to see why these companies have invested so much time and money on these projects. To be clear, both companies still have a lot of work ahead of them if they want their AR glasses to turn into a product their users will want to actually buy. Right now, the components are still too expensive, and the glasses are way too bulky (this is especially true for Snap, if the social media reactions to my selfies are any indication). But after years of hearing little more than lofty promises and sporadic research updates, we finally saw real progress. Snap has lined up dozens of developers, including Niantic, Lego and Industrial Light and Magic who are already building apps for AR. Meta is, for now, keeping its AR work internal, but its neural wristband - which may be coming to a future pair of its RayBan-branded glasses - feels like a game-changer for next-gen controllers. So while AR glasses aren't ready to replace our phones just yet, it's getting a lot easier to imagine a world in which they might. - K.B. ASUS Zenbook Duo The classic clamshell with a screen up top and a physical keyboard down below isn't going away anytime soon. But this year, the Zenbook Duo showed that laptops still have plenty of room for improvement. That's because after multiple attempts by various manufacturers to refine and streamline dual-screen laptops, ASUS finally put everything together into a single cohesive package with the Zenbook Duo. It packs not one but two 14-inch OLED displays with 120Hz refresh rates, solid performance, a surprisingly good selection of ports (including full-size HDMI) and a built-in kickstand. And weighing 3.6 pounds and measuring 0.78 inches at its thickest, it's not much bigger or heftier than more traditional rivals. You also get a physical keyboard, except this one connects wirelessly via Bluetooth and can be either placed on top of the lower screen like a normal laptop or moved practically anywhere you want. This allows the Zenbook Duo to transform into something like a portable all-in-one complete with two stacked displays, which are truly excellent for multitasking. And because the keyboard also charges wirelessly, you never have to worry about keeping it topped off. But the best part is that starting at $1,500, it doesn't cost that much more than a typical premium notebook either, so even when you're traveling you never have to be limited to a single, tiny display. - S.R. DJI Neo DJI's tiny $200 Neo drone blew into the content creator market like a tornado. It was relatively cheap and simple to use, allowing beginners to create stunning aerial video at the touch of a button, while taking off and landing on their palms. At the same time, the Neo offered advanced features like manual piloting with a phone or controller, subject tracking and even impressive acrobatics. Weighing just 156 grams and equipped with people-safe propeller guards, DJI's smallest drone can be piloted nearly anywhere with no permit needed. And unlike Snap's Pixy drone, it's far more than a toy.. It can fly at speeds up to 36 mph and perform tricks like flips and slides. It also offers reasonably high-quality 4K 30p video. All of that allows creators to track themselves when walking, biking or vlogging, adding high-quality aerial video that was previously inaccessible for most. There are some negative points. The Neo lacks any obstacle detection sensors, so you need to be careful when flying it to avoid crashes. Video quality isn't quite as good as slightly more expensive drones like the DJI Mini 3. And the propeller noise is pretty offensive if you plan to operate it around a lot of people. Perhaps the biggest problem is that DJI's products might be banned in the US by 2026, even though it escaped that fate this year. For $200, though, it offers excellent value and opens up new creative possibilities for content creators. Much like the company's incredibly popular Osmo Pocket 3, the Neo shows how DJI is innovating in the creator space to a higher level than rivals like Sony or Canon. - Steve Dent, contributing writer reMarkable Paper Pro reMarkable's distraction-free writing slates have always offered an elegant alternative to other tablets. The second generation model is great, but the advent of the Paper Pro has highlighted where that device was lacking. It's certainly one of the best pieces of hardware I've tested this year and, if I owned one, I'd likely make it a key part of my daily workflow. The bigger display, faster internals and the fact it can now render colors elevates it above the competition. It's gone from a useful tool to an essential one, especially if you need to wrench yourself away from the distractions of the internet. It's still far too expensive for what it is, and qualifies as a luxury purchase in these straightened times. It won't stack up in a spec-for-spec comparison to an iPad, even if they're clearly catering for two very different audiences. But, judging it on its merits as a piece of technology, it does the job it was built to do far better than anything else on the market. What can I say, I just think it's neat. - Daniel Cooper, senior reporter NotebookLM Maybe my AI dalliances are far too mundane - I spend more time trying to get worthwhile shopping advice from Claude and ChatGPT, for instance, rather than playing around with music generators like Suno or even image creators like Dall-E. But for this podcast fan, it's Google's NotebookLM that was the big AI revelation of 2024. The audio offshoot of Google's Project Tailwind, an AI-infused notebook application, NotebookLM synthesizes a full-on podcast that summarizes the documents, videos or links you feed it. Delivered as a dialogue between male and female co-hosts, it feels like a next-gen two-person version of the Duplex software agent that Google unveiled in 2018. The resulting audio stories (just a few minutes in length) wouldn't sound terribly out of place on your local NPR station, right down to copious use of ums," ahs," pauses and co-hosts talking over each other with a relevant detail or two. Yes, it doesn't have any more depth than the chatter on the average TV morning show, occasionally botches pronunciation - sometimes spelling out common acronyms letter by letter, for instance - and it's just as prone to hallucinations as any other current AI model. And I certainly don't think real podcast hosts have anything to fear here (at least, not yet.) But to me, NotebookLM doesn't feel like the rest of the AI slop that's invading the web these days. It's a win on three fronts: The baseline version is free, it's dead simple to use (just feed it one or more links, or a blob of text) - and it can be downright fun. This was the system's take when I fed it the full text of Moby Dick, for example - and that's small potatoes compared to, say, the hosts discovering" they're not human. Thankfully, unlike the plethora of projects that Google summarily kills off, NotebookLM seems to be flourishing. I haven't tried the new phone in" feature or the paid Plus subscription, but both suggest that we'll be hearing more from Audio Overviews in 2025. - John Falcone, executive editor PC CPU competition heats up For the past decade, the story around laptop and desktop CPUs has basically been a back and forth between Intel and AMD. At times, AMD's sheer ambition and aggressive pricing would make its chips the PC enthusiast choice, but then Intel would also hit back with innovations like its 12th-gen hybrid processors. When Apple decided to move away from Intel's chips in 2020, and proved that its own mobile Arm architecture could dramatically outpace x86 and x64 designs, it was clear that the industry was ready to shift beyond the AMD and Intel rivalry. So it really was only a matter of time until Qualcomm followed in Apple's footsteps and released its Snapdragon X Elite chips, which powered the new Surface Pro, Surface Laptop and other Copilot+ PCs. Those mobile chips were faster than ever before, far more efficient than Intel and AMD's best, and they were aided by some timely Windows on Arm improvements. While you may still run into some older Windows apps that don't run on Arm machines, the experience today is dramatically better than it was just a few years ago. And sure, the race to equip CPUs with better neural processing units (NPUs) for AI work is a major reason chipmakers were eager to make a huge splash in 2024. Intel's Lunar Lake hardware and AMD's Ryzen AI 300 chips were laser-focused on delivering powerful AI capabilities. But it turns out we're still waiting to see what those NPUs can really do. Microsoft's Recall AI feature has only just begun rolling out to willing testers, and it still can't effectively filter out credit card and social security numbers.- Devindra Hardawar, senior reviewerThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/techs-biggest-winners-in-2024-180015837.html?src=rss

LG is bringing a lamp that doubles as a small garden to CES 2025. The "indoor gardening appliance" is designed for apartment dwellers or anyone whose otherwise backyard-challenged to enjoy the benefits of homegrown produce.During the day, LG says the lamp with a circular lampshade shines LEDs in five different intensities on whichever plants you want to grow. Then, at night, the lights fire upwards to create cozy mood lighting in whatever room you put the lamp in. If you'd prefer something that's more compact and armchair-height, LG also has a version that the size of a side table.LGThe taller, standing lamp can hold up to 20 plants at a time, according to LG, and the whole setup is height adjustable so that you can accommodate larger leafy greens or small herbs and flowers. The real beauty of LG's design, though, is that you don't need to worry about watering. There's a 1.5 gallon tank built in to the base of the lamp that can disperse the appropriate amount of liquid for whatever you have planted. Both lamps are also connected to LG's ThinQ app so you can adjust lighting and watering schedules remotely.LG introduced its previous take on an indoor gardening tool, the LG Tiiun, at CES 2022. That larger, fridge-shaped appliance could also automatically grow and water plants, but was far less aesthetically-pleasing than the company's new lamp. With all of the features it has on board, LG's new lamp is really just one Sonos speaker away from being the ultimate living room appliance. At least until tech companies find another use for lamps.LG's new indoor gardening appliance doesn't have a release date or an official price, but expect the company to share more details once CES 2025 officially starts.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/lg-found-a-new-job-for-your-standing-lamp-173446654.html?src=rss

Some consider gift cards not the most personal of gifts, but I say that's not the case. They allow you to get exactly what you want with no confusion, and (typically) both gifter and giftee walk away happy. But maybe you received a few gift cards for the holidays and are stumped on what to buy with them - Engadget can help. Here, we've gathered some of our favorite gadgets and services of the year that are all worthy ways to spend your gift card money, from wireless mice to coffee gear to gaming controllers. Check out the rest of our gift ideas here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-spend-your-100-gift-card-after-christmas-130036223.html?src=rss

Social media platform Bluesky has launched Trending Topics into beta, the company announced in a post on its platform. The new feature is one of the most-requested by users and matches a function that has been on rival Threads for around nine months, and on X (Twitter at the time) since at least 2017.The Trending section shows the top viral content on the platform, with topics like "Christmas," "Nosferatu" and "Wikipedia" (thanks to Elon Musk) currently on top. It can be found by clicking on search in both the desktop version and mobile apps, or you can disable it altogether in the settings, TechCrunch noted. Any words that you have muted won't appear in Trending topics either.Bluesky recently hit a big milestone with 25 million users, many of whom recently fled X following the US elections. Though still relatively small compared to Threads and X, users have remarked on the high levels of engagement along with the lack of bots and harassment compared to Elon Musk's platform. Other highly requested features still not implemented include bookmarks, editing, verification badges and private posts.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky-launches-a-trending-topics-feature-in-search-140049208.html?src=rss

Spoilers follow for Joy to the World."If there's one thing Steven Moffatt loves to do with Doctor Who, it's to find a monster buried in the mundane. He's made statues, shadows, lost children and even the idea of silence into some of the show's most terrifying villains. Sadly, the mysterious extra door you often find in older hotel rooms isn't as universal a concern, but it's still a rich seam for him to mine. That's the inspiration for Joy to the World," Doctor Who's 2024 Christmas Special. Which is light, fun and a little bit scattershot, much like Christmas is meant to be, right?When Doctor Who returned, the show was woven back into the UK's cultural firmament in a way it never had been before. Part of that process was adding the show to the BBC One Christmas Day schedule, making it a universal cultural touchstone. For most of its post-2005 run, it has aired an episode next to the Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders' festive specials. Imagine the British equivalent to those everyone-gathered-around-the-TV events like the Super Bowl or the Macy's Day Parade, but on Christmas Day. Even if you don't like any of the fare on offer, you're still expected to sit with the family and consume it.With these specials, the prestige timeslot, longer runtime and bigger budget are burdens as much as they are benefits. The show has to play to a far broader audience than normal, with diehard fans sitting elbow-to-elbow with elderly relatives filling every silence with gossip about their neighbor's garden project. Consequently, the story needs to be a little looser, with less need for the audience to be paying undivided attention to what's going on. And it needs to be an oasis of fun in the melodramatic drudgery that is the BBC One Christmas Day schedule.Normally, the festive special would be the sole province of the showrunner but Russell T. Davies handed the reins to Steven Moffatt. Moffatt succeeded Davies as showrunner the first time around, co-created Sherlock and is widely-regarded as the best Who writer of the 21st century. With a pedigree as impeccable as that, and having already written "Boom" for the Ncuti Gatwa's first season in the title road, expectations are high.Bad Wolf / BBC StudiosMoffatt is an arch farce writer and has a strong grasp of structure, so it's no surprise we open in medias res. The Doctor is offering room service to a variety of people in different time periods including Edmund Hilary's base camp at Everest and the Orient express before stumbling in on Joy in a miserable London hotel room in 2024. After the credits, we spool back to the Doctor arriving in the Time Hotel, which allows guests to vacation throughout history. Don't worry about causality or any A Sound of Thundershenanigans, the Hotel is somehow built to protect its guests from screwing up the timeline.The Doctor is looking to steal some milk for his coffee from the hotel buffet, but his eye is caught on something sinister: A person carrying a briefcase with a handcuff chain is trying to check into a room. The Doctor recruits Trev, one of the employees, to keep watch while he scouts ahead to work out what scheme could be afoot. As it turns out, the case is sentient and evil, leaping from host to host and possessing each one in turn. Once it's leapt to the next host, the last one disintegrates.Bad Wolf / BBC StudiosIt's here the Doctor bumps into Joy who, through hijinks, winds up handcuffed to the case in place of the hotel manager. When the Doctor opens the case to try and find a solution, the case threatens to kill whoever it's connected to unless it gets a four digit code. Who shall provide the code? The Doctor, emerging from his own future, taking Joy with him while leaving our" Doctor trapped in 2024 without the TARDIS. As the hotel door closes, the Doctor hurls abuse at his future self, about why he's always alone and people are always leaving him. He's doubly upset as he never normally has to travel the long way around," one day after the other.And so, the episode essentially stops to give us an extended sequence of the Doctor making friends with Anita, the hotel manager. The Doctor gets a job as the hotel's handyperson, and slowly lets his guard down, spending more time with Anita until they're a platonic couple. It's a sequence you'd never see in a regular episode, with snatches of the Doctor and Anita's life. He makes the microwave bigger on the inside, repaints Anita's car TARDIS blue and they even sit and talk to one another on chairs - a key visual given the lack of chairs on the TARDIS. But as the year elapses and it's time for the Doctor to return to his own show, he waves goodbye to Anita.Bad Wolf / BBC StudiosReturning to the time hotel, the Doctor bursts back in on the events of a year ago, sharing the code and yanking Joy off to new adventures. The Doctor works out the briefcase holds the embryonic form of an artificially-created star that would offer a source of imaginable power to whoever owned it. But unless you own the Hand of Omega, stars take a long time to develop, far longer than anyone would be able to wait and test their experiment. Unless, of course, you hijack a time hotel and send it back to dinosaur times, waiting for when human history begins to see if it works.Joy, still possessed by the case, heads to the hotel's dinosaur room while the Doctor tries to break its hold over her. To do that, he provokes an emotion strong enough to poison the link between the case and its host before it obliterates them. He bullies her, goading her into disclosing why she's staying at a downmarket London hotel. Turns out she's grieving the loss of her mother who died of COVID-19 in an isolation ward and Joy was unable to say goodbye to her in person. Sadly, before the Doctor can deactivate the star seed, it's eaten by a (brilliant-looking) dinosaur, putting it out of his reach.Bad Wolf / BBC StudiosThe Doctor and Joy head back to the hotel and, 65 million years later, find the star is now ready to detonate. It's been locked inside a stone structure with a heavy stone door that neither of them can move, and time is running out. So, the Doctor, who boasts that he's good with rope," steals a rope from the Everest base camp, hanging it off the back of the Orient Express to haul the stone away.. It's an impressive and kinetic sequence let down only by the dreadful CGI when Gatwa's standing on the train. Typical Doctor Who: It can now do convincing dinosaurs, but now can't do a convincing train.It's here things lose their coherence, since Joy's eyes flash with possession energy, but by the time the Doctor returns, Joy has... eaten the star? Absorbed it somehow? Made friends with and bonded with it? He finds her standing on a cliff edge, where Joy says she'll merge with the star and take it to the heavens, where it will do nobody any harm at all. At this point in my notes, I wrote Don't let this be Bethlehem," when the camera pulls out to reveal that's exactly where they are, complete with three camels parked outside a stable. Oy.Bad Wolf / BBC StudiosJoy reunites with her mother and the Doctor goes back to traveling, but not before he gets Anita a job running the Time Hotel. We also get a little shot of Ruby Sunday, who will return to the show for its second season proper.As I said at the top, you can't judge Joy to the World" on the merits of a regular episode since it's serving multiple masters. But I don't think we could call it the strongest episode of either Steven Moffatt's oeuvre or the show's various Christmas Specials. Like all of the Disney-era episodes, it has a slightly incoherent quality where the pacing sags and zips in all the wrong places. I'm for the lengthy aside where we see a normal" year in the life of the Doctor, but the story framing it should have been tighter to balance out the slowness. It's a fun enough way to pass an hour with a stomach full of holiday turkey (or your preferred equivalent) with enough mawkishness to make you think you've seen something quite profound. But I don't think I'll be coming back to watch this one again and again like I would for, say, The Christmas Invasion."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/doctor-who-joy-to-the-world-review-what-a-star-190018215.html?src=rss

If you received a bunch of gift cards for the holidays, consider it a blessing. Whoever gave them to you likely wanted to give you a gift you'd actually use, and rather assume (incorrectly), they wanted to ensure you'd get their money's worth on something you actually like. Maybe there's nothing on your wish list at the moment, but you're keen to spend that gift card on something that will make your commute easier or your home feel more cozy. Below are some of our favorite items that are well worth that $50 gift card you're eager to use up, from power banks to streaming sticks to smart lights. Check out the rest of our gift ideas here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-ways-to-spend-your-50-gift-card-130021816.html?src=rss

Android phones have been the first to feature a bunch of notable standards. They were the first to support 4G, 5G, USB-C (way back in 2015 no less) and in-screen fingerprint sensors. And when it comes to wireless charging, you can trace that lineage all the way back to the Samsung Galaxy S3 from 2012 (though the webOS-poweered Palm Pre and its Touchstone charger is the true OG). Unfortunately, when it came to adding support for the Qi2 wireless charging standard to devices in 2024, it feels like Android phone makers were stuck on outdated patch notes.The Qi2 standard was officially announced in early 2023 during CES. We even gave it an award, as the spec looked to bring 15-watt wireless charging (and possibly more in future revisions), improved safety and critically the introduction of Magnetic Power Profiles that make it a cinch to align and attach compatible charging pads. In essence, Qi2 was set to bring the simplicity and ease of use iPhone owners enjoy with MagSafe products to the Android ecosystem.Not a single phone from any of the top three Android phone makers in the US (Samsung, Google and Motorola) offered support for Qi2 in 2024. Photo by Sam RutherfordEven more surprising is that in a rare move for a company that likes keeping its tech siloed neatly inside the walls of its ecosystem, Apple shared core parts of the MagSafe spec with other members of the Wireless Power Consortium (which is the governing body that oversees the Qi and Qi2 standards) to speed up development and interoperability. So you'd think after seeing the convenience and popularity of MagSafe accessories among iPhone users, Android phone makers would have rushed out to add Qi2 to as many devices as possible. But nearly two full years after the spec was finalized, the grand total of Android handsets that support Qi2 stands at one: the HMD Skyline.At this point, you might be saying that product development cycles are multi-year processes that are difficult to change prior to launch. And in most cases, you'd probably be right. But let's be honest, it's not like Samsung, Google, Lenovo and others didn't see this coming. Like Apple, practically all of the big Android phone makers are also members of the WPC, so they would have known about the development of Qi2 long before it was officially announced. On top of that, the first iPhone with MagSafe was the iPhone 12, which came out four years ago. So even if we assume that the first time Samsung, Google et al were presented with the idea of a magnetic wireless charging system was during Apple's keynote in the fall of 2020, you'd imagine that's still more than enough time to engineer similar technology for use on today's Galaxy and Pixel handsets.The HMD Skyline was the only Android phone to feature Qi2 this year. Photo by Sam RutherfordFor manufacturers, another concern when adopting a new standard is that there may not be enough accessories and other compatible peripherals on sale to make implementation of new tech worth it. We've seen this in the past with modular phones like the LG G5 and Moto Z Force line and the funky palm-reading tech on the LG G8. However, because Qi2 and MagSafe gadgets are largely interchangeable, there's already a huge market of options like Anker's MagGo line of power banks, which are some of my current favorite portable battery packs.Another annoyance is that some phones like the Razr Plus and Pixel 9 Pro Fold will even stick magnetically to some Qi2 accessories and may even suck down a tiny bit of juice. Unfortunately, this is more of a coincidence caused by the magnets used to help keep foldables open or closed, rather than an intentional use case. This means that even though these devices may appear to support Qi2 at first glance, accessories don't maintain a firm grip and often slide off even in what appear to be ideal circumstances. Even cases that claim to add support for Qi2 are hit or miss, resulting in a poor experience for Android phone owners hoping to recreate the magic of MagSafe on their own. It's really a shame, because it almost feels like with a few small tweaks Google, Moto and others could unlocked Qi2 support on a wider range of devices without a ton of extra effort or cost.The lack of Qi2 support on Android phones is preventing users from enjoying a huge range of handy charging accessories. Photo by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetUnfortunately, while many Chinese phone makers have avoided Qi2 up until this point, that's sort of to be expected with manufacturers like Oppo often favoring proprietary tech like its 65-watt AirVOOC wireless charging instead of more widely accessible industry standard. And because the Galaxy S24 family came out at the very beginning of 2024, Samsung didn't have quite as much time to add Qi2 to its current flagship lineup as Google, which launched the Pixel 9 series just a few months ago. Regardless, this still doesn't explain the general reluctance of OEMs to adopt what I'd argue is one of the most meaningful upgrades in accessibility and general usability you can add to a smartphone today.But the most frustrating thing is that six months ago, our friends at CNET pondered why we had yet to see any Qi2 Android phones. And as we're nearing the end of the year, there's still only a single model trying to spark hope that 2025 will be different. So kudos to HMD for doing what Samsung, Google et al. couldn't be bothered to figure out. Now I'm just worried that if things don't change next year, one of the most promising standards could end up in the graveyard (at least for Android phones) before ever getting a chance to thrive.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/android-phone-makers-dropped-the-ball-on-qi2-in-2024-191029769.html?src=rss

The Russian government has banned crypto mining in ten regions for a period of six years, according to reporting by the state-owned news agency Tass. Russia has cited the industry's high power consumption rates as the primary reason behind the ban. Crypto is particularly power-hungry, as mining operations already account for nearly 2.5 percent of US energy use.This ban takes effect on January 1 and lasts until March 15, 2031. The country's Council of Ministers has also stated that additional bans may be required in other regions during periods of peak energy demand. It could also go the other way. The ban could be temporarily lifted or altered in certain regions if a government commission examines changes in energy demand and deems it necessary.Cryptocurrency mining has only been fully legal in Russia since November 1, as the country has had a rocky relationship with the practice. Miners must register with the Ministry of Digital Development and energy consumption limits are continually monitored.The country banned the use of cryptocurrencies as legal tender back in 2022, but does allow cross-border payments. The latter is largely seen as an attempt by Russia to avoid sanctions in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.Russia isn't the only country to put the kibosh on crypto mining due to the industry's obscene energy demands. Kosovo outlawed the practice back in 2022 to conserve electricity during an energy crisis. Angola did the same in April of 2024. That country's law goes a step further and criminalizes crypto mining. Several European countries, like Iceland and Norway, have started to strictly regulate the industry due to energy shortages.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/russia-bans-crypto-mining-in-multiple-regions-citing-energy-concerns-163102174.html?src=rss

Lilium, a company working on flying taxis that can take off and land vertically, has ceased operations. As TechCrunch notes, German media Grunderszene was the first publication to report that it laid off 1,000 workers a few days ago after it failed to secure more financing to continue its technology's development. Patrick Nathen, the company's co-founder, has announced that the company has stopped all operations on LinkedIn. Tagging his co-founders, he said that they can no longer continue working on their "shared belief in greener aviation," at least under Lilium.The German company has been testing its VTOL electric air taxis for a while now. Its vehicle took off for the first time for its maiden flight back in 2017, and it completed its first phase of flight tests in 2019. Lilium was able to prove that its VTOL air taxis are capable of flying at speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour, though the Lilium Jet prototype it unveiled in 2019 was supposed to be able go as fast as 300 kmh and to have a range of 300 kilometers.Lilium has been struggling financially over the past year, but its CEO reportedly remained optimistic about being able to secure enough funding as recently as last month. Grunderszene said that a small number of people will remain employed to help with liquidation. The company has yet to announce what will happen to its technology and the rest of its assets, but its patent attorney, Fabien Muller, wrote in a post that he's managing the transition of Lilium's intellectual property.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/flying-taxi-maker-lillium-lays-off-1000-workers-and-ceases-operations-160025593.html?src=rss