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Microsoft has announced its latest batch of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in November. Monthly subscribers have a lot to look forward to, including Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 on day one of its release.Kicking off the release slate is Dead Static Drive on November 5. This indie survival-horror game takes players on a 1980s-style road trip across the country. Dead Static Drive will share its date with Sniper Elite: Resistance, a tactical third-person combat game with rich sniper mechanics that sports a co-op campaign for playing with friends.The very next day will feature the real star of this month's Game Pass releases, and no, I don't mean COD. I'm talking about Egging On, the platformer where you play as a literal egg trying to escape your hen house. You'll have to traverse harrowing obstacles and terrifying heights armed with little more than your fragile shell. Whiskerwood, a strategy and worldbuilding game where mice must build and manage colonies at the behest of a feline overlord, will be available on the same day.The games keep coming over the following days with Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris and Pigeon Simulator available on November 11. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 drops on November 14 and will feature 16 6v6 maps and two 20v20 maps at launch.Microsoft recently raised the price on the highest tier of the Xbox Game Pass subscription to $30 per month from $20 per month. That made Game Pass Ultimate 50 percent more expensive than previously. The tiers also underwent some rebranding as well, but the big thing to note is that you'll need that $30/month Ultimate tier to play games on release day. This came after price increases in 2024 as well.See the full list of Xbox Game Pass additions below, as well as a list of games leaving on November 15. The list also specifies which tier of Game Pass you'll need for each title.November 5

Sora is now available to Android users on the Google Play Store. The iOS version of OpenAI's text-to-video generative AI app is still only available in select markets and requires an invitation, but people are still extremely excited about making slop of their own; the app reportedly reached more than 1 million downloads in less than five days. And it didn't take long for the company to land in hot water over users creating disrespectful clips of Martin Luther King Jr. and drawing censure from the Japanese government over copycats of famous manga and anime.Those aren't the only legal issues Sora has been skirting. OpenAI was sued by Cameo on claims of copyright infringement, and the very next day, the company released a feature called "cameo" for putting existing entities into Sora's gen-AI videos. Whatever it winds up being named, some form of licensing personas looks like it will be part of OpenAI's eventual monetization plans for Sora.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-sora-app-is-now-available-on-android-191722821.html?src=rss

Obsidian Entertainment, the studio behind Fallout: New Vegas and the recently released The Outer Worlds 2, has announced that it's revisiting an RPG it released over a decade ago for a new update. Pillars of Eternity, a throwback isometric RPG, is receiving a turn-based mode as part of a new public beta on PC.The new mode slows the game's "real-time with pause" combat down, building on the optional turn-based mode the developer included with Pillars of Eternity: Deadfire, a sequel from 2018. The game's director Josh Sawyer digs into the thinking behind the update in a trailer Obsidian released alongside the update announcement, but in brief, the mode attempts to faithfully adapt characters' stats for turn-based combat, while making it easy to switch from real-time to turn-based modes on the fly.Obsidian last returned to Eora, the setting of Pillars of Eternity, in the excellent Avowed from earlier this year. That game translated the series' world and combat systems into a first-person RPG in the style of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Besides releasing The Outer Worlds 2, Obsidian is also actively developing Grounded 2 in early access.Pillars of Eternity's turn-based mode will be available in a public beta for PC starting on November 5. Obsidian is looking for feedback on the new mode ahead of a planned update to the game at some point in the future.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pillars-of-eternity-to-receive-surprise-turn-based-mode-in-new-update-191221448.html?src=rss

Samsung just announced the P9 Express series of microSD Express cards, which are primarily intended for use with the Switch 2 console. This is a good thing, as Nintendo's latest console only works with microSD Express cards and, to be honest, there aren't that many options out there for consumers. The company boasts that these new cards feature maximum sequential read speeds up to 800MB/s, which is a mighty fine metric and in league with some of our other favorite cards for the Switch 2. The cards also include the company's Dynamic Thermal Guard (DTG) technology, which was originally developed for SSDs. This should help things stay cool while you're out there catching Pokemon or rampaging around as a cartoon gorilla. Samsung Of course, these cards aren't tied to the Switch 2. That's just the most common use case scenario. They'll work with just about anything, like tablets, drones, cameras and rival portable gaming consoles. Samsung's P9 Express microSD cards are available now, and the price is in line with similar offerings. The 256GB model costs $55 and the 512GB version costs $100. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/samsung-has-a-new-line-of-microsd-express-cards-for-the-switch-2-190933303.html?src=rss

There's a lot more riding on Amazon's latest batch of Echo hardware than usual. After all, these are the first devices arriving alongside Alexa+, the AI-powered revamp of the company's signature voice assistant. And unlike the $220 Echo Studio, the new Echo Dot Max is a more affordable ($100) and compact entry point into using Alexa+. It's also another example of how confusing Amazon's hardware lineup can get: the older Echo Pop ($40) and Echo Dot ($50) are also getting Alexa+. The Echo Dot Max isn't the cheapest Echo, nor is it the best-sounding speaker Amazon sells. So, where does it fit?The best way to think about this new speaker is that it occupies the same spot in Amazon's lineup as the venerable and discontinued device simply named Echo." For years, the Amazon Echo was the company's main speaker, but it no longer sells one with that pleasantly concise name. The Echo Dot Max steps in at the same price point, though. And while my testing has shown that Alexa+ is a solid step forward, the Dot Max hardware itself isn't as good as what it replaces.DesignThe Echo Dot Max feels immediately familiar if you've seen any of Amazon's spherical smart speakers from the last five years or so, but there are numerous design changes here. The 2020 Echo and current Echo Dot have buttons on top for adjusting volume and muting the speaker's microphone. Those buttons are now on a front-facing panel that is surrounded by the Echo's signature light ring. While I liked how the light ring encircled the bottom of the Echo, it's definitely easier to see in this new front-facing position and it's particularly better at displaying the volume now. Overall, it's a fairly refined and subtle device, which is exactly what you want from a smart speaker. I tested the graphite model, but you can also get it in white or a much bolder purple. I prefer the fully spherical, globe-like appearance of the Echo Dot, but there's little to complain about here visually. Amazon's Echo Dot Max speaker. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget I do have some quibbles about the front-facing volume and mute buttons, though. The Echo Dot Max is simply so light that if I press the controls I'll push the speaker around the shelf it's on. This is easily solved by putting your hand around it and pressing the buttons with your thumb, but if you reach out to it with your index finger it probably won't stay in place. I guess you're supposed to primarily interact with the Echo Dot Max with your voice, but top-mounted buttons would've avoided this problem. I imagine this isn't as much of a problem with the similarly-designed Echo Studio, simply because it's much larger and three times heavier.Audio qualityI'm a pretty big music nerd and I've listened to many smart speakers over the years. I've come away impressed with the Echo devices I tested in 2018 as well as the 2020 Echo I spoke about earlier. At $100, that Echo punched well above its weight and sounded notably better than the identically-priced HomePod Mini and Nest Audio.Unfortunately, the Echo Dot Max does not match that older speaker's bonafides. Don't get me wrong, it sounds just fine -better than a standard Echo Dot and in line with what I'd expect from a $100 speaker. It's a good bit louder than my HomePod Mini, with plenty of volume to fill a medium-sized room on its own. If you're looking to really pump music through a bigger room, though, you're better off looking at the Echo Studio or something like the Sonos Era 100. You can also pair two Echo Dot Max speakers together for stereo playback and increased volume, but I didn't get to test this so can't say how it'll perform in a larger space. Side view of Amazon's Echo Dot Max speaker Nathan Ingraham for Engadget My biggest complaint with the Echo Dot Max is that frequencies often felt a bit smushed together, without a solid bass thump separating itself from the clarity in the mid- and high-range frequencies. It doesn't provide the most dynamic listening experience. When you look at the difference in the Echo Dot Max's speaker components compared to the fourth-generation Echo, that's not a surprise. That older speaker paired a 3-inch woofer with dual 0.8-inch tweeters, while the Dot Max makes do with just one tweeter and a smaller 2.5-inch woofer.I want to reiterate that the Echo Dot Max still sounds good! The various beats, electronic glitches and vocals of Lorde's What Was That" came through clearly for the most part, and the modern disco vibes of Jealous" by The Aces had a nice thump and the instruments were plenty punchy. The heavier, guitar-driven fury of albums like the new Deftones release Private Music and the 33-year-old Dirt by Alice In Chains came through loud and clear, while turning up the volume on the rave-esque vibes of As Alive As You Need Me To Be" by Nine Inch Nails had plenty of life. But while the overall sound was pleasant enough, further listening made me realize that details like a good snap of a snare could get lost amidst a storm of guitars.It's a disappointment that Amazon took an undeniable step backwards here. Much like the Echo Studio that we just reviewed, the Echo Dot Max isn't bad - it's just underwhelming. It's a little easier to forgive here, since the Dot Max is more of an all-purpose speaker rather than something designed to provide an exceptional listening experience. Again, it sounds totally fine for a $100 smart speaker, but given Amazon's past success in providing surprisingly excellent audio, I was hoping for a lot more here. Amazon's Echo Dot Max smart speaker. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget Alexa+The other piece of the puzzle is, of course, Alexa+, Amazon's long-awaited update to its digital assistant. Somehow, it's already been two years since Amazon first showed off the improvements it was working on delivering with Alexa+. But with these new devices, early access" to the service is pretty easy to come by now.I'll admit that I'm not much of a voice assistant guy. I think a lot of that comes from not having a very smart home. I've been renting for the last eight months after owning a home for almost a decade, and there just hasn't been much to do with Alexa (or any voice assistant) at the moment.But even without home-based routines to run, lights to control or a smart thermostat to adjust, it was evident how much more conversational and context-aware Alexa+ is now. I did a lot of testing during the World Series and I made it a habit to ask Alexa what was going on in the series. We had several conversations" about what happened in the previous night's game, when the next game was happening, who the starting pitchers were and so forth. It was probably the most natural experience I've ever had using a voice assistant, even though using my natural language with a speaker still feels awkward. (I definitely said please to Alexa more than once.)Once you're set up with Alexa+ Early Access, you can use the same updated assistant in the Alexa app on your smartphone, either with your voice or in a chat interface. The chatbot-style Alexa experience is fine, but I actually prefer using my voice, because I felt like it was easier to have a conversation with it and just ask things as they popped into my head.Another good thing about Alexa+ is that it felt fast and responsive. There are short pauses while it thinks about a response, but it usually got back to me quickly enough that continuing that natural language conversation didn't feel stilted or awkward. Speed is a crucial factor towards making a voice assistant feel responsive, and Alexa+ on the Echo Dot Max hits on that point. Some combo of Amazon's AZ3 chip and whatever is happening up in its cloud is getting the job done here.As with any voice assistant, Alexa+ is, of course, not perfect. Most basic tasks like setting reminders, checking the weather and playing music all work reliably. But asking for specific songs or albums can sometimes go badly. Occasionally, Alexa wouldn't be able to find a specific album I was looking for but it would play other songs by the artist; other times it would come up with completely unrelated music. This is an issue I've had with all assistants, but I was hoping Alexa+ might be smart enough to avoid getting too far off base.I asked it to play the latest release by the band Now, Now." It's an EP entitled 01 so I had a feeling Alexa might struggle with that. Sure enough, it said sure, here's new music from Now, Now" and played one of the songs from that release. Not bad, but not quite right. I then followed up and said can you play this entire album?" That did not work. Instead, I ended up with the song Ain't it Funky Now" performed by legendary jazz guitarist and composer Grant Green. An outstanding recording, sure, but not remotely close to what I was looking for. Even asking play the album 01 EP' by the band Now, Now" got me Drake's Laugh Now Cry Later." Sigh.Worse than that were the times when Alexa+ just made things up. The Alexa app provides you with little suggestions for things to ask about, like iconic music duets." I tapped it, curious to see what it provided, and it pulled up a list of iconic music duets that have left an indelible mark on the music industry."Among those was Smells Like Teen Spirit" performed by the late Kurt Cobain and his wife Courtney Love. This happened? News to me! I followed up and asked for more details and got a response noting that there isn't a formal duet of Smells Like Teen Spirit.'" Best I can tell, it popped up because Love sang some unused lyrics from the legendary song on an episode of the 60 Songs That Explain the 90s podcast, back in 2023. This is a perfect example of the random inferences AI often draws, and it's a good reminder that Alexa+, like all AI assistants, can make things up sometimes. This didn't happen often, but it's still something you'll need to look out for. Amazon's Echo Dot Max smart speaker. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget Wrap-upThe Echo Dot Max more or less delivers on Amazon's promises. It sounds better than smaller speakers like the Echo Dot or Pop, and it's significantly cheaper than the Echo Studio. If you're at all interested in music, it's worth stepping up to the Dot Max over the standard Dot. Beyond just better audio, it's also significantly newer (the Dot was last updated in 2022). Its more modern processor means it should have a longer lifespan than the standard Dot, making it a better option for people who are eager to try out Alexa+.That freshly updated hardware is a reason to consider the Echo Dot Max over similarly priced speakers like the Nest Audio and HomePod Mini, both of which are five years old. And despite Alexa+ dealing with some growing pains, it's a better option at this moment than the unproven Gemini for Home Google that is rolling out or the old, limited Siri that the HomePod Mini is still stuck with.But the Echo Dot Max still feels like a bit of a missed opportunity to me. The old Echo sounded so good, and this speaker is just not as exciting in comparison. It's a fine way to interact with Alexa+ and enjoy some tunes, I just wish it sounded a little bit better.

Nintendo's lawsuit against Palworld just hit a snag. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has ordered a reexamination of a key Nintendo patent expected to be wielded in the case. Games Fray reports that the office is reviewing the Switch maker's patent regarding "summon subcharacter and let it fight in 1 of 2 modes." If we view Nintendo's Palworld lawsuit as a test bed for monopolizing game mechanics, the development can only be seen as a good thing.Several factors make the reexamination unusual. First, Nintendo's patent in question (No. 12,403,397) was just granted in September. The review was personally ordered by newly sworn-in USPTO Director John A. Squires. The Trump appointee has historically sided with patent holders, making it harder to contest them. Stranger still, Games Fray says this may be the USPTO's first patent reexamination in over a decade.PalworldPocketpairThose ingredients suggest widespread blowback may be the driving force. Although Palworld developer Pocketpair is Nintendo's immediate target, it's easy to see the case opening a Pandora's box where developers fear using well-established game mechanics. Indie developers would be particularly vulnerable. The "slippery slope" commentary practically writes itself.If Nintendo's patent is ultimately invalidated, we may be able to thank Konami. A 2002 patent application from the maker of Metal Gear and Castlevania was cited as prior art, casting doubt on Nintendo's claim. A separate Nintendo patent, published in 2020, was also listed as possible prior art. Games Fray's report dives much deeper into the legal weeds.Nintendo now has two months to respond. During that period, third parties can come forward with additional prior art references. As a nervous industry eyes Nintendo's case as a potential test bed for monopolizing game mechanics, don't be shocked if gaming lawyers search far and wide for more examples.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendos-patent-on-summoning-fighting-npcs-is-being-reexamined-180949135.html?src=rss

Stability AI has partially succeeded in defending itself against accusations of copyright infringement. As reported by The Guardian, Stability AI prevailed in a high-profile UK High Court case, following Getty first suing the company in 2023 for allegedly using its copyright images to train its Stable Diffusion AI art tool without permission.Getty's original claim was that Stability AI had unlawfully copied and processed millions of protected images for training purposes, therefore abusing the rights of the original creators. However, the Seattle-based company eventually withdrew its claims of primary copyright infringement as it reportedly could offer no evidence that unauthorized copying for the training of Stable Diffusion had taken place in the UK.Today's ruling concerns claims of secondary infringement, to which the High Court judge, Justice Joanna Smith, ruled that "an AI model such as Stable Diffusion which does not store or reproduce any copyright works (and has never done so) is not an 'infringing copy'" under UK law. This was despite the ruling finding some evidence of Getty's images being used by Stability, as evidenced by the presence of the former's watermark. While the judge sided with Getty on some of its claims, she said that the evidence was "both historic and extremely limited in scope."The High Court ruling likely won't fill companies and creators concerned about AI-related copyright infringement with a huge amount of optimism, but unsurprisingly, both Getty and Stability AI have been quick to celebrate their respective victories. Getty's statement reads, in part:

It seems Apple is preparing to debut a low-cost Mac laptop in the first half of 2026. According to Bloomberg, such a system is in early production at the company's overseas suppliers and Apple is testing the devices internally.Apple's aim with this laptop, per the report, is to draw people away from the likes of Chromebooks and cheap Windows PCs and into its own ecosystem. The company is said to be making the system with casual users, students and businesses in mind - the kinds of folks who use laptops for tasks like web browsing, light media editing and working on documents. Apple is also reportedly planning to aim the system at potential iPad buyers who'd still rather have a traditional laptop.The laptop is said to have a new design with a lower-end LCD display" and it's expected to run on an A-series iPhone processor that's said to deliver better performance than the M1. It's also likely to have a smaller display than the 13.6-inch MacBook Air.Performance is important, but the price point will be crucial if Apple wants to really compete with the proliferation of Chromebooks and entry-level Windows devices. The company is said to be ready to sell this Mac for well under $1,000." Chromebooks and Windows laptops often sell for just a few hundred bucks. Higher-end Chromebooks cost around $600, so Apple would likely have to sell this laptop for $700 or less for it to make a real splash.Apple has traditionally focused on making premium devices, but would be a smart time for the company to enter the lower end of the market. Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10, including on devices that don't support Windows 11 and owners of such systems (including businesses) may need to buy new laptops in the near future to have the latest security updates.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/apple-may-release-its-first-low-cost-mac-laptop-in-early-2026-174143869.html?src=rss

Choosing the best VR headset for you is the first step into some of the most immersive gaming, entertainment and virtual work experiences available today. Whether you're exploring new worlds, working out in virtual gyms or collaborating in 3D environments, a great headset can make all the difference. The latest models offer high-resolution displays, improved FOV (field of view) and ergonomic head strap designs that keep things comfortable during extended sessions. Many also support Bluetooth for connecting external accessories like controllers or earbuds.

Since being placed on a Department of Commerce entity list in 2020 over national security fears, China's DJI has faced the threat of a US ban on its hyper-popular drones. After exhausting its appeals and losing a lawsuit last month, DJI products like the Mini 4 Pro, Avata 2 and Neo may disappear from US shelves starting December 23.The situation could be even worse than initially expected. The FCC just gave itself the power to retroactively cut off products from companies on its covered" list, including DJI. That gives the government the right to not just halt sales of future products, but enact rules preventing people from using drones they've already purchased.DJI dominates the consumer US drone market, so a ban would be terrible news for hobbyists and creators, along with industrial and public safety operators. However, the government's concerns about the company's drones as potential spying tools are very real.A brief history of DJIDJI, or Da-Jiang Innovations, is based in Shenzhen, China and introduced its ready-to-fly, now-iconic Phantom drone in 2013. It was $629 and offered a more user-friendly experience than other drones at the time, opening up aerial photography to creators and cinematographers.DJI Mavic 4 ProSteve Dent for EngadgetThe company followed with increasingly sophisticated products like the Mavic Pro, Mini 3 Pro and Avata, along with larger commercial drones. It continued to expand its range with the small but powerful Air 3, Neo and Flip. As of 2020, DJI had an estimated 77 percent of the US drone market (which accounts for 40 percent of its sales), leaving rivals to fight for scraps.Most observers attribute DJI's dominance to its engineering-first culture. To give an idea of its technical progress, the latest 2025 Mavic 4 Pro can be flown from 25 miles away, compared to just 0.62 miles for the 2015 Phantom 3. Nearly every DJI drone feature, including video quality, battery life, range, tracking and obstacle detection, is superior to rivals.Catching the eye of the US governmentBy 2016, the company had caught the attention of US regulators concerned about Chinese camera-equipped drones flying over sensitive facilities. While no one has uncovered a smoking gun proving that DJI drones spy for China, they undoubtedly pose a potential national security risk. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) laid out the dangers last year in a guidance sheet:

We've seen a whole bunch of Vampire Survivors clones arrive over the last few years in the wake of the roguelite's success. Poncle has released crossover DLC based on the likes of Castlevania and Balatro for its game as well. Now, the studio behind Vampire Survivors and Warhammer parent Games Workshop have given the green light for an officially licensed game that smushes the two together.Warhammer Survivors has a formula that is very similar to Vampire Survivors. Developer Auroch Digital even used Poncle's engine to make it. Warhammer Survivors is a run-based game in which the aim is to take down hordes of enemies using an array of weapons and powerups that you can combine and evolve into more powerful tools. You'll unlock more characters and items as you play and there are lots of secrets to discover.The characters, weapons, powerups, bad guys and level settings are all derived from Warhammer. You'll be able to play as characters from both the 40K and Age of Sigmar universes, such as Malum Caedo, who appeared in Auroch's first-person shooter Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun. Weapons and items such as the Boltgun, Astartes Chainsword, Whirlwind Axes and Citadel Nuln Oil paint will be at your disposal too.There are some neat little touches in the trailer. The gems that you collect to gain experience and level up are pill-shaped in Vampire Survivors. But here, they're shaped like skulls.Auroch has worked on Warhammer projects (including typing game Boltgun - Words of Vengeance) for over a decade. It plans to reveal a whole lot more about its latest endeavor in the coming months. Warhammer Survivors is set to land on Steam sometime in 2026.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/vampire-survivors-and-warhammer-join-forces-in-a-new-roguelite-game-161352281.html?src=rss

Meta has unveiled an overhaul for the WhatsApp experience on Apple Watch. The first official such app for the wearable is rolling out today and it includes support for what the company calls "many requested features." You'll now be able to see everything your friends are saying via your Apple Watch as longer WhatsApp messages won't be truncated. You'll have the option to respond to messages with quick emoji reactions.The Apple Watch app will enable you to record and send voice messages from your wrist. In addition, you'll be able to see call notifications with details on who's trying to get in touch with you without having to look at your iPhone. Other features include the ability to see "clear images and stickers" on the Apple Watch app, as well as more of your chat history. Of course, there's still end-to-end encryption for your messages and calls.The new app is a major upgrade over only being able to reply to WhatsApp messages via mirrored iPhone notifications on Apple Watch. To use it, you'll need an Apple Watch Series 4 or newer that's running at least watchOS 10.It's a little wild that it has taken Meta so long to create a proper Apple Watch app. Even BlackBerry made a BBM app for the wearable, and that was a decade ago. But perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising given how long we had to wait for an Instagram iPad app.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/meta-finally-made-a-proper-whatsapp-app-for-apple-watch-150000781.html?src=rss

Amazon has launched its new and improved AI assistant in the Amazon Music app. From today, anyone signed up to Alexa+ Early Access with the latest version of the app downloaded to their iOS or Android device can start using Amazon's reimagined virtual assistant for music discovery and organizing their libraries.To access the chatbot, you tap the A" button in the lower right corner of the screen when Amazon Music is open. You can then test its knowledge by asking it a range of questions, from something as basic as finding a recently released song by a particular artist, to more complex searches based on a single lyric or the name of the TV show the song you're trying to find is featured in.Alexa+ is designed for more conversational interactions, so you can use natural language prompts and then ask follow-up questions as you would if you were talking to a friend, to narrow down its search results. Amazon says you can search for specific eras, moods and instruments, as well as telling Alexa what you don't want it to serve up.Alexa+ can also be used for playlist creation, allowing you to request something as specific as a high-energy running playlist with songs from a particular decade that starts with a song from a certain artist. You can also be more vague, asking for something that fits your current mood or the time of day.Alexa+ in Amazon Music is being marketed not only as an AI tastemaker and personal DJ, but also a music expert, so you can ask it things like the inspiration for a song's lyrics, where an album charted and questions about upcoming live performances.Alexa+ has been gradually rolling out in Amazon's various smart devices since the beginning of the year, with mixed results. You'll be using it in everything from new Ring devices, to the latest Kindles and Vega, Amazon's new smart TV operating system. It's also built into the new Echo Studio speaker, and Engadget's Billy Steele was impressed by the AI assistant's more human-like conversation skills, even if it's still prone to basic errors right now, such as getting the day of the week wrong in a response.Alexa+ is currently available in Early Access for all tiers of Amazon Music. Eventually it'll be free to all Prime members, and available to non-Prime members for $20 per month (more than an Amazon Prime subscription on its own).This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/alexa-comes-to-the-amazon-music-app-143234227.html?src=rss

Motorola has been consistently offering solid budget smartphone offerings, and the company back with new refreshes to its Moto G and Moto G Play for 2026. The latest versions offer some incremental tech upgrades and a couple lovely new color options for the aesthetic upgrades.These smartphones both sport 6.7-inch displays with 120Hz and peak brightness of 1,000 nits. The Moto G boasts a 50MP camera as well as a 32MP front camera for selfies, while the Moto G Play has 32MP for its main camera and 8MP for the front camera. Both devices' photography is backed by quad pixel technology to provide detailed image capture in a variety of lighting conditions. These two phones have a 5,200mAh battery and adds some quick-charging options: 30W for the Moto G and 18W for the Moto G Play. On the durability front, the Moto G is still using Gorilla Glass 3 and boasts an IP52 water resistance rating, as the 2025 model did, and the same will also be available in the Moto G Play model.Both phones are getting some Pantone color options in leather-inspired finishes. The Moto G will have a gray color called Slipstream or the purple of Cattleya Orchid, while the Moto G Play comes in Pantone Tapestry blue.Moto G will continue to retail starting at $200 and will be available directly from Motorola starting on December 11, followed by Amazon and Best Buy availability on January 15. The Moto G Play will be available online from Motorola, Best Buy and Amazon on November 13 for $170; the model will arrive in stores some time in the coming months.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/motorola-introduces-its-latest-takes-on-the-moto-g-and-moto-g-play-phones-140000620.html?src=rss

Apple dropped the "plus" from its streaming service's name in October, because the company typically uses the plus sign for free services with paid versions, such as iCloud+. Now, the company has released a new intro bumper and soundmark for its TV service. Apple has uploaded a five-second video showing its streaming service's new logo appearing in a hazy multi-colored animation before it shifts into focus at the center of the screen. Playing in the background is a soundmark, or as its composer calls it, a "mnemonic."The soundmark will appear before every show and every episode in a series, according its composer Finneas, whom you may know as Billie Eilish's brother and frequent collaborator. "The things that I think of as real classic mnemonics are NBC - you can hear that in your head - or HBO has its static," he told Variety. Netflix's "tudum" sound is pretty iconic, as well. Only time can tell if Apple's will have the same impact. He explained that the five-second version Apple released as a video will be played before every movie and in between the episodes of a show, so you're bound to hear it multiple times if you're bingeing a series. Apple also made a one-second version of the intro for trailers and a 12-second one for anything released in theaters, such as Killers of the Flower Moon.Finneas said that he was approached by Apple's Head of Music, David Taylor, who apparently told him that the company was "simplifying" the service. Removing the "plus" from its name was just the beginning. In addition, Apple has also debuted a new logo for Apple One, a subscription option that bundles multiple Apple services, including Apple Music, TV and iCloud+, into a lower-priced monthly plan. The new logo uses a textured multi-colored Apple illustration.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/apple-tv-has-a-new-intro-bumper-and-soundmark-140016449.html?src=rss

Nintendo has boosted its Switch 2 sales forecast for the current fiscal year, meaning it could top first year sales of the original Switch. The gaming giant expects to sell 19 million Switch 2s by March 31, 2026, up 26.7 percent from its original forecast of 15 million units. That follows a previous report that Nintendo had asked suppliers to build 25 million Switch 2s by the end of March next year. In its second quarter ending September 30th, Nintendo sold 4.54 million Switch 2s and has moved 10.36 million units since launch. However, the company's Q3 sales through the holiday season can often double Q2 sales, as they did multiple times with the Switch. The original Switch sold 17.79 million units in its first 13 months, so the Switch 2 could exceed that over a shorter time frame. Nintendo reportedly requested a production boost as it believed the console will continue its torrid sales pace through the holiday season. It also expects to sell 4 million Switches for the fiscal year, down a touch from its previous forecast. Nintendo is optimistic about software too, projecting sales of 48 million units for Switch 2 by March 31, up 3 million from its earlier forecast. It also expects to sell 125 million Switch games (which can also be played on the Switch 2) for this fiscal year, rather than 105 million as it previously predicted. This quarter, the company moved 11.95 million Switch 2 games, with Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bonanza among the best sellers. Pokemon Legends: Z-A started shipping on October 16th, which could help lift game sales for Q3. With console and game sales ahead of expectations, Nintendo's earnings looked pretty rosy for its second fiscal quarter ended September 30th. The company saw 527.2 billion yen in revenue ($3.7 billion) and 102.9 billion yen in profit, both considerably higher than expected. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-expects-to-sell-way-more-switch-2s-than-it-thought-130048295.html?src=rss

Elon Musk told Joe Rogan on his podcast he hopes to unveil a flying car before the end of the year." It was an interesting announcement to make, as Rogan also asked Musk about the long-delayed second-gen Tesla Roadster. Tesla unveiled a new Roadster in 2017 and had plans to start deliveries in 2020, but production was delayed several times.Avoiding that conversation, the Tesla CEO suddenly started talking about wanting the vehicle to fly. After vague answers and musing, he eventually said: My friend Peter Thiel once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don't have flying cars."He claimed the vehicle Tesla is supposedly working on contains crazy, crazy technology." Musk said he wasn't sure it's technically a car but that it looks like a car."Musk has been talking about flying cars since 2014. Given his optimistic take on development timelines, that's a good 10 years of talk so far. Give it perhaps another 10?- Mat SmithGet Engadget's newsletter delivered direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The news you might have missed

Turning your home into a smart home is easier than ever. Today's gadgets can do everything from warming the house before you wake up to locking the door behind you at night. You can ask a voice assistant to dim the lights, set a reminder or play music while a robot vacuum takes care of the floors. With more devices working together across platforms, it's never been simpler to make everyday life feel a little more connected.

Logitech is hoping to attract all the keebheads out there with its latest Alto Keys K98M. While this keyboard has been available in Asian markets for a while, Logitech finally brought its customizable work keyboard to the US. It may appeal to a specific demographic, but it's a welcome return to hot-swappable offerings from Logitech. The Alto Keys K98M is now available in US markets through its website for $119.According to Logitech, the Alto Keys K98M comes with hot-swappable Logi Marble linear switches. While Logitech sells several mechanical keyboards, the last notable one with a hot-swappable board was the Logitech G Pro X from 2019. Now, Logitech wants to dive back into the hardcore side of the keyboard world with something that's more tailored for the workspace. Instead of obnoxious RGB lighting, the Alto Keys K98M features a translucent frame that's paired with white backlighting. For long days, the keyboard has a UniCushion design, where the full frame gasket mount absorbs typing vibrations for an improved feel and sound.For customizability beyond switches, Logitech included three action keys that can be programmed for whatever you need. The first three F keys also work as Easy-Switch buttons that let you cycle between up to three devices. The Alto Keys K98M works wirelessly through Bluetooth and is compatible with Windows, macOS, ChromeOS and iPadOS. Logitech said that the keyboard will get up to a year of wireless use if you keep the backlighting off. When the Alto Keys K98M's battery runs low, you can continue using it as you recharge it through the USB-C port.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/logitech-is-going-after-keyboard-snobs-with-the-hot-swappable-alto-keys-k98m-031051209.html?src=rss

For those of us living in the Apple ecosystem, the App Store is second nature. It's a core part of the Apple experience and the go-to spot for any applications you might want for your device. So I was fairly shocked to learn that up until today, the link apps.apple.com would send you to a page with information about the App Store, but not actually take you to said digital storefront.That's right, it took until the year 2025 for Apple to create a browser version of the App Store.Maybe it never seemed necessary since the App Store is pre-loaded on any Apple device. I don't foresee many edge cases where I'd want to look in a browser rather than actually use the App Store on one of my machines, although I'm sure now that I've said so, I'll wind up doing exactly that within a week. But still, the first App Store debuted 17 years ago. Which, particularly in tech years, is a really, really long time.In any case, the browser App Store lets you pick your hardware platform from a dropdown on the far left, so you can peruse software for different platforms wherever you're on the web. There's also a search field as well as a list of app categories that you can sift through. All the stuff you'd expect from the actual App Store, just in a browser. Entries for specific applications will prompt you to open the listing in the device's App Store where the button would normally let you buy the software. Which leaves me once again surprised this took so long to create and also questioning who will actually use it.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apples-app-store-website-is-actually-an-app-store-website-now-233841960.html?src=rss

As expected, iOS 26.1 is out now for all Apple smartphone users today, and it includes what is sure to be a popular feature from the beta. Once installed, this update lets people opt to give the Liquid Glass look a frostier, more opaque appearance. You can find the option to tint the screen behind notifications and tab bars within the Settings menu. It's under Display & Brightness, then the Liquid Glass section. The feature is also present in iPadOS 26.1 and macOS 26.1, both of which also dropped today.Ever since Apple unveiled the Liquid Glass design it had planned for the next versions of iOS, the aesthetic has been divisive. (We at Engadget have been pretty well split down the middle about it from the start.) The tinting of the newest operating systems joins a growing roster of accessibility and visibility options to customize how Liquid Glass looks, from the full-on transparent mode to a higher-contrast and higher-opacity approach.One other standout from the 26.1 OS releases is for the iPad users. Those of you who wanted the return of Slide Over for multitasking can breathe a sigh of relief: after appearing in the beta last month, the feature is back. Many iPad owners appreciated how Slide Over let them control screen real estate without constant rearranging of windows. The feature has been reimagined for the tablet's current capabilities, essentially letting you pin a window to the top of your screen and hide it when you want. This window can also be resized and given your aspect ratio of choice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/ios-ipados-and-macos-now-let-you-frost-apples-liquid-glass-225513425.html?src=rss

Panic is ready to show off some new games for its delightful Playdate. The company will run a Playdate Update showcase on November 6 at 1PM ET on its YouTube channel and website. The stream will include a look at some upcoming games for the system as well as highlights from this year that are included in the Playdate Catalog Fall Sale, which runs until November 13 at 1PM ET.One of the items that's on sale is Playdate Season 2, a run of weekly drops of neat games, including Fulcrum Defender (from Into The Breach developer Subset Games), puzzle platformer Taria & Como and roguelike CatchaDiablos. The wonderfully strange cable TV simulator Blippo+ is part of Season 2 as well. The season is on sale for the first time at $31. It typically costs $39.Panic noted that Season 2 has sold more than 15,000 units, which surpassed the company's expectations. Here's hoping Panic announces Season 3 during the showcase. I have my fingers crossed that the company will reveal a version of the tragicomic adventure Time Flies (which it brought to Steam and PS5 this year) for the Playdate as well.Meanwhile, Panic said the Playdate is in stock and available to buy for the holidays. Anyone in the US who snaps up the $229 console before November 30 will get free shipping, while tariff fees will be waived - the teeny yellow console should arrive in time for Christmas too.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/a-playdate-showcase-is-set-for-november-6-210034162.html?src=rss

TikTok just announced that it will be hosting its first-ever awards show in the US. The appropriately-named TikTok Awards will take place on December 18, starting at 9PM ET. It's a live event that will be held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Of course, it'll be livestreamed on TikTok. The platform Tubi will begin streaming the event on the next day.Awards will include stuff like "Creator of the Year" and "Video of the Year." There will also be awards given for "Breakthrough Artist of the Year" and "Muse of the Year." I'm not sure what that last one means, but Paris Hilton grabbed a nomination for some reason.Most nominees are influencers of some sort. There are no traditional journalists in the mix, likely because the entire event seems to be apolitical. One of the clips nominated for "Video of the Year" features a fashion influencer holding up some unique finds. Another is a recipe for "Homemade Dubai Chocolate" that did make me pretty hungry, so there's that.

Waymo has announced the launch of its robotaxi services in three new cities. San Diego, Las Vegas and Detroit will play home to the driverless cars as the company continues its aggressive expansion.In a series of blog posts, the Alphabet subsidiary said Detroit residents can expect to "soon" see Waymo vehicles on the streets, mapping out the service areas before launching to the public. Timing for San Diego was more vague, with "plans to begin serving the city next year."Waymo's service area in Las Vegas will include the Strip, with plans to expand to the airport "eventually." The company currently operates in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin. It also recently announced expansion to Miami and Washington, DC.Waymo also has its sights set on international expansion with a planned London launch next spring. This comes as the UK's Automated Vehicles Act of 2024 begins to take effect, allowing autonomous vehicles to operate in the country for the first time. The company also recently announced it would be partnering with DoorDash to conduct food deliveries in Phoenix.The autonomous taxi market has been heating up lately with Tesla's Robotaxi expanding in Austin and San Francisco. Uber and Lucid will also be launching an autonomous taxi partnership in the Bay Area next year using the automaker's Lucid Gravity SUV.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-is-launching-in-three-new-cities-next-year-182515034.html?src=rss

One of our favorite power banks is on sale for one of the best prices we've seen, period. The Anker MagGo Power Bank 10K has dropped to only $57, which is 37 percent off its usual price. To put it into perspective, the lowest we've tracked it is $54, and that only happened briefly at the end of 2024. Today's sale applies to multiple colorways. This model topped our list of the best power banks, and with very good reason. It's a workhorse that gets the job done. It includes Qi2 tech for fast wireless charging and ships with a sturdy kickstand to prop up smartphones during use. The integrated LED display makes it easy to see the battery percentage, which is always nice. The 10,000mAh battery should charge a modern iPhone nearly two times before requiring a trip to the outlet. For those not keen on wireless charging, there's a USB-C port. As for compatibility, this power bank has been optimized for Apple iPhones. It'll work with Android handsets, but the wireless charging will be disabled. That's basically the only downside here. That's not the only Anker product on sale right now. A two-pack of Anker Zolo Qi2 wireless chargers is down to only $26, and the tried-and-true Anker 313 wireless charging stand is on sale for only $14. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-37-percent-off-one-of-our-favorite-magsafe-power-banks-ahead-of-black-friday-152128352.html?src=rss

The World Series is headed to a Game 7 after the Los Angeles Dodgers tied up the series against the Toronto Blue Jays last night, 3-3. The Fall Classic remains on Toronto's home turf for Game 7 tonight - Saturday, Nov. 1 - at 8PM ET/5PM PT. The World Series odds still favor the Dodgers. The final 2025 MLB World Series game will air on Fox and Fox Deportes. Of course, Fox is a "free" over-the-air channel, so any affordable digital antenna will pull in the game if you live close enough to a local affiliate. But if that's not an option, here's a full rundown of how to watch the Dodgers vs. Blue Jays World Series, even without cable. How to watch the L.A. Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays, Game 7 You can stream Fox on any live TV streaming service that airs Fox local stations, including DirecTV, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV. MLB World Series games will also be available on Fox's new streaming platform, Fox One. More ways to watch the 2025 World Series How to watch the MLB World Series from Canada: When is the Dodgers vs. Blue Jays game time? Game 7 of the Dodgers vs. Blue Jays World Series is tonight, Nov. 1 at 8PM ET/5PM PT. What channel is playing the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays? The 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays, will air on Fox and Fox Deportes. When is the 2025 World Series? Game 7 of the World Series between the Dodgers and Blue Jays is scheduled for Nov. 1, 2025. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/dodgers-vs-blue-jays-game-7-tonight-how-to-watch-the-2025-mlb-world-series-without-cable-102530975.html?src=rss

SpaceX will reportedly receive a $2 billion contract to develop satellites for the US government, according to the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ's report detailed that SpaceX will be tasked with developing up to 600 satellites that can track missiles and aircraft and will be used for President Trump's proposed "Golden Dome" project.Announced back in May, the president introduced a project to build an anti-missile defense system that would intercept missile attacks before reaching their target. The Golden Dome is reminiscent of Israel's Iron Dome system, but the Pentagon has yet to reveal concrete details about the project. Considering the scale of the project, it's worth noting that SpaceX's reported $2 billion contract could be one of many associated with the Golden Dome. According to the report, companies like Anduril Industries and Palantir Technologies could also be involved with the development, which the Trump administration wants to complete before the end of his presidential term.Beyond the Golden Dome, the WSJ reported that the Pentagon is planning to use SpaceX's extensive satellite network for other purposes, including military communications and vehicle tracking. While the numbers are constantly fluctuating, SpaceX currently has more than 8,000 satellites for its Starlink service.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/pentagon-will-reportedly-award-spacex-a-2-billion-contract-to-help-develop-the-golden-dome-210019325.html?src=rss

Here are some recently released titles to add to your reading list. This week, we read First Contact: The Story of Our Obsession with Aliens, plus James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds' take on Dracula - now in black and white for extra creep-factor. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-a-deep-dive-into-humankinds-search-for-alien-life-201422007.html?src=rss

Ayaneo is breaking into the competitive smartphone market with its latest offering, but it's hoping to attract the mobile gamers out there. In a teaser posted to its YouTube, the gaming handheld maker offered its first look at the Ayaneo Phone. As vague as the trailer is, Ayaneo clearly has a target demographic in mind, describing the smartphone as when a "mobile phone meets the soul of gaming handheld."From the teaser, it looks like the Ayaneo Phone will be built with a standard dual-camera setup. Perhaps more relevant for its gaming-centric design, it looks like the smartphone will have physical shoulder buttons when held horizontally. Ayaneo previously mentioned the Ayaneo Phone during a product sharing session in the summer, where it hinted at a form factor that slides out. This could be another hint that Ayaneo is looking at making a modern-day version of the Sony Xperia Play, particularly since the Ayaneo Phone will fall under the company's Remake branding that features remakes of retro consoles and devices.Considering Ayaneo's price tags for its other products, the Ayaneo Phone likely won't be cheap. However, it could offer serious competition to other gaming smartphones from Asus or Redmagic.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/ayaneos-first-smartphone-could-have-physical-shoulder-buttons-182033773.html?src=rss

Later this month, Italian citizens will have one extra step to go through before getting on porn sites. On Friday, Italy's regulatory agency for communications, known as AGCOM, announced an age verification system that's meant to prevent minors from accessing websites with pornographic content. The initial list of sites covers around 50 sites, including Pornhub, XHamster and OnlyFans.The new rule will require users to get verified through "certified third parties," which could be another company, bank or mobile operator that already has the relevant info. Once the third party verifies the user's age, it will issue a code that grants access to the porn site. While the legislation's stated goal is to prevent harm to minors, the age verification process uses a "double anonymity" system to quell privacy concerns. In order to protect user privacy, porn sites can only see if a user is of age and not their identity, while the third-party verifier can only see the user's identity and not the website they're trying to get on.According to the legislation, users have to do this each time they try to get on affected porn sites. AGCOM said the new rule goes into effect on November 12, and any porn sites that are found non-compliant could be hit with penalties of up to 250,000 euros.Italy is the latest in the European Union to implement age verification rules, after France put a similar system into place in the summer. Just outside the EU, the UK also recently introduced its own age verification process that requires either a selfie or government ID. Since then, Pornhub said that UK visitors to its site have plummeted 77 percent.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/italy-will-be-the-latest-country-to-require-age-verification-for-porn-sites-170913842.html?src=rss

Elon Musk has told Joe Rogan that he hopes to unveil a flying car "before the end of the year." As Gizmodo has reported, Rogan asked Musk about about the long-delayed second-gen Tesla Roadster in his show, when the Tesla CEO suddenly started talking about wanting the vehicle to fly. If you'll recall, Tesla unveiled a new Roadster in 2017 and had plans to start deliveries in 2020, but its production got delayed again and again. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently tweeted that he'd been having difficulties getting a refund on the $50,000 deposit he made for one way back in 2018. But instead of talking in depth about Roadster's status, Musk talked about getting close to an "unforgettable" product demo of a prototype instead.He was giving Rogan vague answers in the interview, but he eventually said: "Well, you know, my friend Peter Thiel, once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don't have flying cars. I mean, I think if Peter wants a flying car, we should be able to buy one" He didn't want to divulge all the details in the show, but he claimed that the vehicle Tesla is supposedly working on contains "crazy, crazy technology." Musk said he wasn't sure it's a car but that "it loos like a car." He didn't answer when Rogan asked if it had "retractable wings" or mentioned if the vehicle would be VTOL, or a Vertical Take-off and Landing, aircraft.Musk has been talking about developing flying cars as early as 2014, as Gizmodo notes. However, take note that the CEO is rather infamous for being overly optimistic and ambitious with his timelines, not just for the automaker but also for his other companies like SpaceX. Take for example, the aforementioned Roadster, which is yet to go into production, and the SpaceX Falcon Heavy whose first launch didn't happen until five years later than he predicted. That said, it's also possible for Tesla to unveil a prototype that would still have to go through massive changes and improvements if and when it becomes ready for production.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/elon-musk-teases-a-flying-car-on-joe-rogans-show-120022824.html?src=rss

Techtober may have come to an end, but our reviews team is still hard at work with this fall's haul of new devices. Over the last two weeks, we've tested two new Apple products, a powerful gaming handheld, some seriously impressive headphones and Meta's sporty smart glasses - and that's just the start. Read on to catch up on all you might've missed, including our picks for the best of 2025.Apple MacBook Pro M5 (14-inch)When it comes to the new M5-powered MacBook Pro, the question isn't whether it's a capable machine or not. The real dilemma is whether to buy now or wait for even more muscle from the upcoming M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. If you absolutely need a workhorse MacBook Pro today, you'll have to settle for the M4 Pro and M4 Max (which are still far faster than the base M5 chip)," senior reviews reporter Devindra Hardawar explained. But for most creatives, the M5 MacBook Pro offers an impressive balance of power and portability."Sennheiser HDB 630Sennheiser uses a USB-C dongle to bridge the gap between wireless convenience and audiophile-grade sound quality with the HDB 630. The problem is they don't really look like a set of high-end headphones and the $500 asking price is steep. As good as the HDB 630 is sound-wise, I can also appreciate that these aren't the best headphones for everyone," I wrote. If you crave the best sound quality that still offers the convenience of wireless headphones - and you're okay with a few extra steps - the HDB 630 is a worthy investment. Just don't leave home without that dongle."Lenovo Legion Go 2Sometimes it's better to have a utility player instead of a specialist. According to senior reviews reporter Sam Rutherford, that's exactly what you get with Lenovo's Legion Go 2. You encounter great performance from a device with a huge 8.8-inch OLED display, but the handheld is expensive and bulky. Just like an SUV that might go off-road once or twice a year, you might not use the Legion Go 2's full capabilities all the time, but when you do and everything comes together, you realize all that utility isn't just for show," he said. While the ROG Xbox Ally X is the better value, I appreciate how Lenovo's handheld was made to handle a variety of battle conditions."Apple iPad Pro M5 (13-inch)The M5 iPad Pro is impressive, but it's also entirely too expensive. While the new chip offers a sizable upgrade, the screen is excellent and fast charging has finally hit the iPad, this model also requires you to spend more on accessories. Unless you are going to use it as your main computer - all day, every day - and know exactly what benefits you'll get from the iPad over a more traditional laptop, you're probably better off buying an iPad Air and saving yourself a lot of money," deputy news editor Nathan Ingraham wrote.Oakley Meta VanguardMeta's sportier collab with Oakley has arrived, with a slew of features that might convince you to replace your action cam with a set of smart glasses. If you're a dedicated cyclist, runner, hiker or [insert outdoor activity of your choice], there's a lot to like," senior reporter Karissa Bell said. The camera makes a lot more sense for action cam-like POV footage, and better video stabilization means you're more likely to get shots you actually want to share."Other recent reviewsIn other reviews, deputy buying advice editor Valentina Palladino put the slightly updated Powerbeats Fit through their paces and senior reporter Igor Bonifacic went on a gaming spree with the Fractal Design Scape. Igor also spent some time with the Galaxy S25 FE and I test drove Amazon's completely rebuilt Echo Studio. Senior writer Sam Chapman compiled a list of the best free VPNs and published an in-depth review of Private Internet Access VPN.Engadget's best of 2025In case you missed it, we announced our best of 2025 earlier this week. We made our picks based solely on the highest review scores in a variety of categories, so there's a range of devices that made the cut. Our editors also explained why each one was the best in its category, so this is a good opportunity to get reacquainted with this year's crop of gadgets and services.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-review-recap-an-apple-duo-sennheiser-hdb-630-lenovo-legion-go-2-and-more-120000983.html?src=rss

Apple continues to refine the look and feel of the iPhone with each major iOS release, and iOS 26 places more emphasis than ever on personalization. The one big change is the introduction of Spatial Scenes, a feature that allows you to create what Apple calls holographic" lock screens. Instead of being a flat image, the wallpaper reacts to the way you move your device, giving it a sense of depth and motion that feels far more dynamic than a standard background. The effect is similar to the parallax wallpapers Apple experimented with years ago, but this time it is more refined, more responsive and built around machine learning that separates the subject from the background in a photo.This effect works exclusively on the lock screen, leaving the home screen static unless you choose to pair wallpapers. It integrates seamlessly with existing customization tools, including widgets, clock styles and color options, giving your lock screen a fresh appearance without limiting your control.What are Spatial Scenes in iOS 26?Spatial Scenes in iOS 26 provides a more immersive and interactive way to personalize the iPhone. Unlike static wallpapers, the holographic lock screen responds to movement, adding depth and visual interest. It gives users more control over their device's appearance, while still preserving usability and readability. By selecting images with clear depth and following the step-by-step setup, anyone can create a lock screen that feels dynamic and engaging.Choosing the right photoThe type of image you select is key to achieving a successful holographic lock screen. Photos with a clear subject in the foreground with sufficient separation from the background process more effectively. Portraits, pets, buildings and landscapes often yield the best results. Images with busy backgrounds, excessive filters or heavy editing can confuse the depth detection, producing a less convincing effect.It is also important to consider the placement of your subject. Avoid placing the main focus near the top of the photo, where it could overlap the clock or widgets, as this may interfere with the visual layering. If you store photos in iCloud with Optimize iPhone Storage" enabled, download the full-resolution version first to ensure the effect works correctly. Choosing the right photo will save time and improve the overall holographic appearance.How to create a holographic lock screenTo create a holographic lock screen, start by waking up your iPhone and holding your finger on the lock screen until the wallpaper gallery appears. Tap Customize on an existing wallpaper or select the plus button to add a new one. If you are adding a new wallpaper, choose Photos and browse your library to select an image that shows a clear depth of field and a distinct foreground subject.Once you've picked your photo, a preview screen appears with a small hexagon icon in the lower right corner. This icon activates the Spatial Scene effect. Tap it to allow iOS to process the image. The system creates a depth map, separating the subject from the background. If the icon does not appear, the photo may not be good for Spatial Scenes, so choosing another image is recommended.After processing, adjust the image using pinch and drag gestures to zoom or reposition the subject. Proper framing ensures the subject does not conflict with the clock or widgets. Once satisfied, tap Add or Done. You will then choose whether to apply the wallpaper as a pair, which sets it for both lock and home screens, or restrict it to the lock screen only. The holographic effect will appear whenever you view your lock screen.Optimizing the effectSpatial Scenes are supported on iPhone 12 models and newer, since the processing relies on more advanced chips. Low Power Mode may interfere with the motion effect, so disabling it can help if the wallpaper appears static. Accessibility settings like Reduce Motion also impact Spatial Scenes, so check these if the effect does not display. Restarting the device or selecting a different image often resolves any issues. Wide landscapes and images with a clear foreground are the most reliable, while selfies or highly filtered photos may not produce the intended depth.It is also worth noting that the clock and widgets remain legible regardless of the effect. iOS adjusts the layering automatically, ensuring important information is not obscured by the animated depth. This balance between motion and readability makes the feature practical as well as visually appealing.Experiencing the holographic lock screenOnce your lock screen is set, tilting your iPhone causes the foreground and background to shift independently, creating a layered, three-dimensional look. The effect is subtle enough to avoid distraction but noticeable enough to make the lock screen feel alive. You can still change clock styles, colors and widget placements without disrupting the 3D effect. If you later decide you prefer a standard wallpaper, simply hold down on the lock screen and tap the hexagon icon to disable Spatial Scenes while keeping the photo intact.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-make-your-lock-screen-background-holographic-in-ios-26-110049999.html?src=rss

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. As always, we have a bunch of new games for you to check out this weekend, along with fresh looks at some upcoming projects and a release date or two.But first, I really enjoyed this week's edition of The Guardian's Pushing Buttons newsletter. The publication's video games editor, Keza MacDonald, wrote about spending a day in a theater playing what sounds like the ultimate pass-the-controller game with dozens of other people.The attendees were there to experience Asses.Masses, which is designed to be played collaboratively. The aim is to help a herd of unemployed donkeys get their jobs back. Audience members take turns to pick up the controller, and everyone else in the room can offer advice. It sounds like a fascinating social experiment.New releases'Tis the season for scares, so of course we have to include some creepy games in this week's roundup. There was some buzz this week around The Seance of Blake Manor from Spooky Doorway and publisher Raw Fury. This is a supernatural detective mystery game in which you investigate a woman's disappearance in 19th century Ireland.To solve the case, you'll have to interrogate suspects and keep track of environmental clues and other evidence. You'll encounter strange goings-on as you conduct the investigation amid a gathering of mystics who are looking to speak to the dead on All Hallow's Eve. The art style is quite fetching, and the vibes remind me of Lorelei and the Laser Eyes and Blue Prince.The Seance of Blake Manor is out now on Steam. The regular price is $20, but there's a 10 percent discount until November 10.The Run is a choose-your-own-adventure-style interactive film from PRM Games, Benacus Entertainment and RNF Productions. It's an FMV experience in which you help a fitness influencer (played by Roxanne McKee, who appeared in Game of Thrones) make decisions and try to survive the masked figures who are hunting her in northern Italy. There are 20 possible deaths and around five endings. Legendary giallo filmmaker Dario Argento makes a cameo appearance too.It's neat to see more FMV games popping up (and we've got another one to highlight momentarily). The Run is out now on iOS for $10. It's coming to Android and Steam soon. You'll also be able to check it out at the Genesis Cinema in London. A two-month residency of The Run just started there. The audience votes on choices using glowsticks.Solo developer Yannick Audeoud (aka Misty Whale) spent a decade making his debut game, Orbyss, and now it's out in the wild. This is a puzzle game that sees you switching between orbs to solve puzzles - bit like in Cocoon. Instead of a beetle that carries such spheres, you technically play as "a firefly of energy" that can bounce between the objects.Orbyss has time-manipulation puzzles and ones that involve drones. Audeoud has included accessibility features as well, such as visual cues to represent sound-based mechanics on screen. This self-published game is on Steam. The regular price is $15 and there's a 15 percent discount until November 12.Death by Scrolling is the latest game from Ron Gilbert's Terrible Toybox and publisher MicroProse Software. The famed director of the first two Monkey Island games (who has had a hand in so many other great games over the years) has now created a vertically scrolling roguelite.The idea here is to stay alive long enough and earn enough gold to pay a ferryman and escape purgatory. I'm probably not going to jump into another roguelite for a minute since I'm still recovering from my time with CloverPit and Ball x Pit, but I definitely want to try out Death by Scrolling at some point. It'll typically run you $8 on Steam, but there's a 10 percent discount until November 11.UpcomingHere's another FMV game for you. This one is all about taking care of a very, very good dog.Golden Retriever Simple Life features Pichu, the pet pooch of developer Pablo Coma (Rablo Games). You'll feed, train and play with the doggo. Going on walks and learning tricks is part of the fun too.There's no release window as yet for Golden Retriever Simple Life, which is coming to Steam. In the meantime, you can stay up to date on the game's progress with developer updates Good Boy Diaries from Pichu.I've seen Egging On pop up from time to time and I've been looking forward to checking it out. I won't have to wait much longer to do that as it's coming to Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC (Xbox app and Steam) on November 6. It'll hit Game Pass on day one.In this precision platformer, you play as an egg (yes, a hen's egg) that tries to escape a farm. Fall too far and... well, you can probably guess what happens. Egobounds developed Egging On, and Alibi Games and IndieArk are the game's publishers.Anchor takes the format of games like Rust and Valheim and plunges you into the depths of the sea in the wake of a nuclear holocaust. The multiplayer survival game is slated to support more than 150 players per server and there are plans to expand that.You and your friends will take charge of genetically engineered beings and build a base that you have to defend from threats such as "failed clone experiments" and raids from other players. Things will change in this world even when you're not playing the game, so you'd better make sure your base is secure.Sharks are a major factor in Anchor as well. They aren't always necessarily hostile. But, as in real life, they're attracted to blood, so any damage you sustain could spell doom.Fearem is the developer of Anchor, which doesn't yet have a release window. It has set course for Steam.

Private Internet Access (PIA) comes with some of the best pricing of any VPN, and often doesn't feel like a budget service. I say "often" because, sadly, it does sometimes feel like you get what you pay for with PIA. While I'm working on seeing what settings iron out the kinks, the fact is that PIA doesn't always leave you with the internet speeds you need for everyday use.If you've found PIA unreliable, you may want to know how to end your subscription, get a refund and trade up to a more stable VPN service. Here, I'll explain how to stop your subscription from renewing, get your money back and delete your account (if you want to go that far).How to turn off auto-renewal for PIALike with most VPNs, the standard way to cancel PIA is to stop your subscription from renewing at the end of the current payment period. Whether you've signed up for one month, one year or three years, you'll get to keep using the VPN until that time expires. Here's the process to follow.

Rockstar Games, developer of Grand Theft Auto VI, has been accused of deliberately laying off employees who were trying to unionize, Bloomberg reports. The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) claims over 30 employees who were eliminated at the developer's offices in the UK and Canada were either already part of a union or attempting to organize."Rockstar has just carried out the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting in the history of the games industry," IWGB President Alex Marshall said in a blog post about the layoffs. "This flagrant contempt for the law and for the lives of the workers who bring in their billions is an insult to their fans and the global industry."Besides the disruption of having to find a new job, the union notes that several employees who were let go are particularly vulnerable. "Amongst the staff dismissed were those with visas sponsored by Rockstar and those with medical conditions who will lose access to essential workplace healthcare schemes," the union says. It adds that "all of those dismissed at Rockstar UK were members of the IWGB Game Workers Union discord channel, and appear to have been targeted for this reason." In response to the IWGB's claims, Rockstar's publisher and owner Take-Two Interactive told Bloomberg that the layoffs had nothing to do with union activity and instead were "for gross misconduct, and for no other reason."Rockstar and Take-Two have come into conflict with employees in the past over their return-to-office policy. Take-Two also laid off staff across multiple studios in 2024 and 2025, potentially motivated by the decision to push back the release of Grand Theft Auto VI to 2026. The game is expected to be a massive hit for the company and the wider industry, which is part of the reason why the IWGB believes the layoffs are motivated by something other than financials.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/rockstar-games-accused-of-union-busting-in-the-uk-221004334.html?src=rss

Bluesky is adding a dislike button as a way to signal the kind of posts you don't want to see in your Discover feed. The experiment is part of several new ideas Bluesky is exploring to a improve conversations on its platform.The new experiments Bluesky is running are primarily built around the notion of "social proximity." The company says it's aiming to build a system that maps your place in a "social neighborhood" of "people you already interact with or would likely enjoy knowing." By prioritizing replies and posts from the people in your general "neighborhood," the company believes it can make conversations "feel more relevant, familiar, and less prone to misunderstandings." Following that logic, the beta test of the dislike button (which sounds private, rather than public-facing) will "help the system understand what kinds of posts you'd prefer to see less of," but could also affect reply rankings in your threads and in the threads of other people in your social neighborhood.The social platform already offers a way to limit replies to only people who follow you, as Bluesky CTO Paul Frazee noted in a recent post, but the company doesn't want to make that the only option." Bluesky is also experimenting with adjusting how the Reply button works by making you see the whole thread first when you tap the button, rather than dumping straight into a new blank post. Combined with a new model for detecting bad replies, the company thinks it'll improve the general social climate.Charitably, these tweaks sound like another way Bluesky is trying to give users more control over what they see on the platform, in the same way it does with things like notifications. Less charitably, you could read the "social neighborhood" concept as a way to entrench users in their "filter bubble" rather than address larger moderation issues.Recently, Bluesky has been criticized by users for failing to remove the accounts of people who allegedly violate the company's community guidelines. Ensconced in a social neighborhood, those critics wouldn't necessarily see offensive posts, nor would a poster see their critics. That might lead to less conflict overall, but it could also impact more productive forms of disagreement in the process.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky-experiments-with-dislikes-and-social-proximity-to-improve-conversations-205226194.html?src=rss

While YouTube TV is Engadget's pick for the best live TV streaming service, it isn't for everyone, especially right now. Google and Disney's ongoing carriage dispute means subscribers don't have access to channels like ABC and ESPN, and recent price hikes means paying for YouTube TV now costs a minimum of $83 a month.Whether you've switched to another service to hold on to your favorite channels or just want to save some money, there's ample reasons to cancel or pause your subscription right now. Here's what you should know about cancelling or pausing your YouTube TV subscription.How to cancel your subscription on mobile and webThe process for canceling your YouTube TV subscription is the same whether you're doing it inside the YouTube TV app or from a web or mobile browser, provided you're paying Google directly for access.

DJI just announced the Neo 2 selfie drone, a follow-up to last year's original. This upgraded model includes a whole lot of new features. Just make sure to set DJI's website to Hong Kong/China to see images and specs.Perhaps the biggest upgrade here is the inclusion of LiDAR sensors for obstacle avoidance. The LiDAR is paired with downward-looking infrared sensors so it should be much safer as the drone follows you during flight. It still has integrated guards to protect the propellers, but the new obstacle avoidance system adds some more peace of mind.The drone also now allows for gesture controls, which is handy when filming quickly-moving selfie videos. Users can adjust position and distance by moving their hands around. It still supports motion controllers and DJI's RC-N3 remote controller.DJIThe max speed has been increased to nearly 27MPH, which is much faster than the original's follow speed. DJI told The Verge that the drone is better at handling difficult weather conditions, as it can maintain a stable hover in winds up to around 24MPH.The battery life is better, with a larger 1606mAh rechargeable battery that gets up to 19 minutes of use per charge. The original got around 14 to 17 minutes per charge. The camera now uses a dual-axis gimbal for improved stability, though has the same half-inch sensor of the original. However, the field of view has been widened and it can capture 4K footage at up to 60FPS. This goes up to 100FPS when the drone is being piloted manually.The internal storage has been boosted all the way up to 49GB, from 22GB. All of these upgrades have made the drone slightly heavier than the original, at 151 grams compared to 135 grams. If the battery life and speed are better, then the added weight doesn't really matter in my eyes.The bad news? The Neo 2 is currently only available in China. We called the original "the best $200 drone ever made" so we hope DJI goes for a wider release as soon as possible. The good news? The price should remain relatively similar, as it costs 1,499 Chinese Yuan. This translates to $211 in US dollars. However, we have no idea how or if tariffs will impact this pricing.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/djis-neo-2-selfie-drone-has-lidar-for-obstacle-avoidance-174700215.html?src=rss

The esports partnership between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Saudi Arabia is no more. On Thursday, the IOC said that it and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) have "mutually agreed" to part ways. The breakup comes weeks after Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and other investors bought EA for $55 billion.The IOC and SOPC agreed on a 12-year esports partnership in 2024. At the time, the IOC was reportedly in talks with publishers of Rocket League, Street Fighter and League of Legends. The two sides discussed holding the Olympic Esports Games every two years. (The first games were initially scheduled for this year, but were pushed back to 2027.) Potential hosts for later installments were said to include South Korea and the US.Instead, the two sides are now "committed to pursuing their own esports ambitions on separate paths," according to the IOC. The organization now plans to "spread the opportunities presented by the Olympic Esports Games more widely." It still wants the inaugural games to happen "as soon as possible."The AP notes that the dissolution comes seven months into Kristy Coventry's IOC presidency. We don't know the details of how the deal came apart. However, the IOC wants to connect with younger fans through esports, but in a way that "Olympic values are respected." Saudi Arabia's Esports World Cup features MOBAs, shooters and fighting games.If the IOC wants to project a squeaky-clean image while connecting with young gamers, it may have an uphill battle. (For the record, games don't lead to violence.)This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-ioc-and-saudi-arabia-call-it-quits-on-their-olympic-esports-partnership-163148341.html?src=rss

Creative Labs, the maker of Sound Blaster audio cards, has launched a Kickstarter for a modular audio hub called Sound Blaster Re:Imagine. The universal hub, which is reminiscent of Elgato's Stream Deck, is meant to allow routing from any input to any output with the press of a button. Users can connect their gaming consoles, PC and musical instruments to the Re:Imagine, as well as speakers, wired headsets and wireless headphones, transitioning seamlessly between them.The system uses magnetic modules including a 3-inch smart screen, four-button pad, rotary knob and dual sliders that can all be rearranged on the base unit. The Horizon base with five slots is the default design for the Kickstarter project, with an expanded six-slot Vertex base listed as a stretch goal.Re:Imagine sports an octa-core ARM processor with a small NPU, 8GB of RAM, 16GB of flash storage and is expandable thanks to a microSD card slot. The hub's audio prowess is powered by a high-resolution 32-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC), and it supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The hub runs on Linux and can be used in a standalone setup, or as a PC-tethered audio hub.The Re:Imagine also comes with an AI DJ that can generate music, a built-in DOS emulator for retro gaming, one-tap audio recording and more. The modular hub is also developer-friendly, with an included SDK and sample source code that encourage users to build their own custom apps and then share them with the Creative Labs community.The Kickstarter campaign will run through December and lists an estimated shipping date of July 2026.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/creative-labs-is-crowdfunding-a-modular-sound-blaster-audio-hub-161957129.html?src=rss

The Republican-led FCC has voted on and approved a proposal that would make it harder for consumers to receive itemized bills with accurate information from their ISPs, as originally spotted by CNET. This proposal revises previous "unnecessary" requirements on the grounds that a fact-based list of charges "may confuse customers."These changes would minimize the benefit of the so-called "nutrition labels" which are otherwise known as Broadband Facts labels. You've likely run into these simple itemized labels when shopping for a broadband plan. They tell consumers exactly what we are paying for, even if it may "confuse" our fragile little minds.The FCC passed a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on October 28 that would significantly scale back the Broadband Facts label. ISPs have been required to publish these labels since April, 2024. All Republican commission members voted to approve the change, while the lone Democrat dissented.As previously noted, this is technically just an NPRM. So it's not a done deal just yet. There will be a final vote in the near future, but it's expected to pass given the political makeup of the commission.Once passed, ISPs will no longer be required to read these labels over the phone to customers, make them available in account portals or give a complete accounting of fees to customers. The FCC previously stated that these transparency requirements are "unduly burdensome and provide minimal benefit to consumers." I happen to think that knowing what I'm shelling $100 out for each month to be of maximal benefit. Maybe that's just me.These labels were initially proposed all the way back in 2016, before being implemented by the Biden administration in 2024. They offer a breakdown of every little thing that goes into a bill for a service plan, including many "hidden fees" that ISPs don't include in advertised plan prices.It's worth noting that the labels will technically still exist, they will just be harder to find and won't be all that useful. Raza Panjwani, senior policy counsel at New America's Open Technology Institute, refers to this as a political "two-step." He told CNET that the modus operandi here is to make the labels "less useful" and then say "Oh, look, it's not that useful. We should get rid of it."Anna Gomez, the only Democrat on the commission, called the proposal "one of the most anti-consumer items I have seen" and expressed extreme displeasure with the results of the vote. What adds insult to injury is that the FCC does not even explain why this proposal is necessary," she said. Make it make sense."Despite claims to the contrary by Brendan Carr and the current FCC, consumers actually like these labels. A 2024 study of nearly 5,000 broadband customers found an 85 percent satisfaction rate.As an aside, Americans pay a lot for internet service when compared to many other countries throughout the world. We pay around twice as much as customers in Europe and most of Asia.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/trumps-fcc-is-officially-moving-to-make-it-easier-for-internet-companies-to-charge-hidden-fees-155004909.html?src=rss

Perplexity AI has agreed to a multi-year licensing partnership with Getty Images that will allow its users to access the latter's extensive library of images. Leveraging Getty's API, Perplexity will integrate the visual media distributor's huge collection of stock and editorial imagery within its AI search and discovery tools, with correct attribution being a key part of the agreement.In a press release, Getty said that Perplexity will be "making improvements on how it displays imagery, including image credit with link to source, to better educate users on how to use licensed imagery legally." As generative AI tools become more widely accessible, thorny issues around copyright and attribution have been the source of a number of lawsuits, no shortage of which have been targeted at Perplexity.In August, the company was sued by two Japanese media groups, Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun, for allegedly copying and storing article content from the pair's servers illicitly, as well as crediting them with inaccurate information Perplexity supplied. It was also one of four companies sued by Reddit earlier this month for allegedly using scraped data without the correct license. Even the dictionary has taken the AI company to court.Getty itself has bumped up against AI many times on the road to its new deal with Perplexity. Back in 2022 the company outright banned AI-generated art on its platform due the legal murkiness around copyright, and it later sued the AI art tool Stable Diffusion over for allegedly copying and processing millions of protected images from its collection.On the Perplexity agreement, Getty Images' Vice President Strategic Development, Nick Unsworth, said that "partnerships such as this support AI platforms to increase the quality and accuracy of information delivered to consumers, ultimately building a more engaging and reliable experience."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/perplexity-signs-deal-to-use-getty-images-152343900.html?src=rss

Some of the most successful creators on Facebook aren't names you'd ever recognize. In fact, many of their pages don't have a face or recognizable persona attached. Instead, they run pages dedicated to memes, animal videos and yes, AI-generated photos and videos.The people behind these pages are experts at creating content that can catch Facebook's algorithm and go viral. Successful pages can generate tens of thousands of dollars a month from performance bonuses, revenue-sharing and other monetization programs that pay Facebook creators for popular content.For years, Meta fostered this industry of viral content on Facebook. As the company transformed Facebook's main feed into a "discovery engine" of recommended posts from random pages and accounts, creators supplied a stream of content crafted for the algorithm. But over the last year, some creators say this dynamic has broken down. Meta has penalized creators for the very same content it once rewarded. Other creators have seen Facebook's payment systems break down due to glitches and other errors.One creator has become so frustrated, he's filed dozens of lawsuits in small claims court against Meta over the last year. Some of those lawsuits are related to missing payments and account issues he's experienced, but he's also brought 23 cases related to other creators' Facebook pages. As several of those cases are now winding their way through small claims court, he hopes his actions will bring attention to what he says is a wider breakdown in Meta's relationship with Facebook creators.The cases shine a light on how Meta's lack of human-centered customer service can impact creators who rely on the platform. But it also offers a glimpse into the volatile dynamics of viral Facebook content.Mel Bouzad is a former photojournalist for Getty Images who for the past eight years has made his living running popular Facebook pages with names like "The Meme Bros" and "FunkiestShitEver." He posts memes, travel content and AI-generated videos. Over the years, he's become an expert at figuring out what type of content is most likely to rack up views and comments on Facebook."It's basically jumping on the trends as they're happening," he explains. "If you can jump on the trending topics right at the beginning, then you get the momentum, it kicks in the algorithm, and it sends your content viral. And if one post goes viral, the algorithm is going to send the next post viral, because it thinks the next post is going to get the same type of engagement." He's also learned little tricks for drawing more Facebook comments: adding a small error in a travel-focused listicle, or asking questions like "what's the most boring state in America?"Example of recent posts from one of Bouzad's travel-themed pages on Facebook.He estimates that at their peak, his pages collectively earned between $10,000 to $20,000 a month - primarily from performance bonuses and in-stream video ads - though they sometimes earned much more than that. Last September, 12 of his pages earned more than $68,0000 combined in performance bonuses, according to documents viewed by Engadget.But last year, five of his meme and travel pages were suddenly demonetized. The pages received a "monetization policy violation," a vague, catch-all term that can describe many supposed infractions. After some digging, he discovered they had been flagged for allegedly operating in a country ineligible for Meta's monetization programs. "To monetize, you must reside in an eligible country where the product or feature is available," a notice in the Facebook app said. "You may lose your ability to monetize if you move to an ineligible location or if Facebook changes product eligibility." Bouzad, who lives in the United States, assumed it was a misunderstanding and would be an easy fix.But, like so many others, he quickly found that getting help from Meta was far from straightforward. "Despite 20+ support tickets and using paid support, I receive only automated replies," he later wrote in his first filing in small claims court last November.Bouzad had heard of people using small claims court to get Meta's attention and decided to try it for himself. "I thought, I'm going to go in and sue for only one page ... something small, just to get in the door [and] speak to somebody." At that point, Meta was withholding $2,498 in payments from the page called "Man Cave USA," according to court documents. He requested Meta pay the outstanding balance, along with $409 to cover court fees and interest.His filing succeeded in getting a response from Meta. Bouzad said that about three weeks later he received a call from a law firm representing the social media company. After an extended back and forth, Meta eventually restored the page's ability to earn money. By February he officially dropped the case, telling the court that the company had "corrected the issue and remitted the payments owed."Meta's conflicting explanationsWhile he was dealing with that case, he tried to resolve the issues related to his other pages. Since he was still in mediation with Meta for his "Man Cave USA" page, he asked Meta's representatives if they could help with his other pages. He says that during a mediation session over Zoom, Meta's legal reps told him they wouldn't help with other pages unless they were tied to a lawsuit.So in February he opened six new small claims court cases against the company. At the time, he said, Meta owed him more than $40,000 in unpaid invoices from accounts that had been wrongfully flagged; $15,000 of which were earnings from a single Facebook page. Because small claims court limits damages to $10,000 per case, he could only sue for a combined $35,000, but hoped that Meta would reinstate the payments if it were to re-examine his accounts.In the meantime, Bouzad continued to try to resolve his account issues through Meta's official support channels and received confusing, and sometimes downright conflicting, information. In one email, Meta support told him he had been flagged for "limited originality of content," but didn't explain. He also, again, received notifications saying that he was in a country that was "ineligible" for Meta's monetization programs.In two separate chats with Meta Verified, the social network's paid subscription service for customer support, he was informed that he was ineligible because his page was linked to a bank account in Malta. The representatives then closed the chats without giving him an opportunity to respond, according to screenshots viewed by Engadget. Bouzad was getting more and more frustrated. "One, I've never been to Malta, two, my bank is Wells Fargo and three, I live in Oregon," he says.A chat with Meta Verified support in which Bouzad was told his accounts were demonetized because his bank was based in Malta. Bouzad says he's only ever banked with Wells Fargo.He now sees his issues as part of a wider pattern from Meta. While the company had once provided him with a partner manager - a Facebook employee who could help sort out issues and provide advice - he hasn't had a dedicated contact at the company since 2020.To him, the problem is twofold: Meta has become overly reliant on artificial intelligence for content moderation, which results in too many errors. At the same time, he claims Meta has largely outsourced the customer service it does offer - like through Meta Verified - and these workers aren't able to handle the types of issues he and other creators increasingly encounter.Some creators who Bouzad has named in his lawsuits claim to have missed out on tens of thousands of dollars in payments for what they describe as glitches in Meta's processes. Brent, a creator who asked to be identified by his first name only, was running a successful Facebook page that posts history-themed AI-generated videos. One recent clip features a group of supposed German prisoners-of-war walking through the snow, accompanied by a caption claiming that some POWs chose to immigrate to Canada following the war after experiencing "humane treatment" from their captors.The page was doing well for a few months until April, when Meta asked Brent to verify his identity in order to keep receiving payments. His account had more than $11,000 in unpaid earnings at the time, according to documents reviewed by Engadget.Several months later, Brent has been unable to complete this seemingly mundane step, despite repeatedly providing Meta a copy of his ID. Brent says that the issue stems from Meta mistakenly classifying his payout account as a "private corporation" rather than a "personal account." He says he has spent thousands of dollars on Meta Verified (the highest tier costs $500 a month) and has opened numerous support cases but has not been able to get the issue resolved.Another creator is stuck after encountering a similar issue that prevented him from confirming the tax information associated with his payout account on Facebook. "My payout earnings were locked due to non editable 'greyed out' details when it came to entering tax information and other fields," the creator explained. "After about a year of trying to get support Meta finally came back with an archaic form to transfer the payout account to a new one associated with my page." But, after filling out the form for the transfer, Meta informed him that the more than $16,000 in unpaid earnings from his page were unable to be transferred to a new account.The creator, who asked to remain anonymous, has spent more than a decade running music-related pages championing independent artists on the platform. "We're collectively sick of how Meta treats everyone, failing to provide adequate support, reasoning, reports and outcomes for content creators," he told Engadget. "There's little to no consistency or confidence in their ability to fairly reward creators." He's also battling stage 4 cancer, and says the missing funds have interfered with his treatment, and added to the stress he's already facing. His doctors recently informed him he likely has only a few months left to live; he's still hoping to recover the missing funds.Gaps in supportSocial media is filled with numerous complaints about the ineffectiveness of Facebook's support tools, including Meta Verified. Daniel Abas, the president and founder of the Creators Guild of America, a nonprofit organization that advocates for creators, says that demonetization is a "chronic issue" affecting creators on many platforms, including Meta's. "What's really difficult is not having consistency in terms of the enforcement and having policies that are opaque, having appeals processes that are inconsistent," he said.Abas says that creators, especially high-earning ones, should have more resources to get support from companies like Meta. "Working with a web chat to get something resolved, or submitting an email to get something resolved, and not having that human touch is a major gap, and contributes to a lot of stress and a lot of uncertainty when you're trying to build a company."Meta has seemingly been changing some of the standards it has for creators on Facebook over the last year. The company in recent months began to crack down on creators sharing spammy and "low quality" content, though it only described a few specific examples of such activity, like pages that share posts with "long, distracting captions." The company does not prohibit creators from monetizing AI-generated content. In fact, Mark Zuckerberg recently said that Meta plans to add a "huge corpus" of AI content to its systems.Meta declined to provide a comment for this story. The company maintains Bouzad has violated its policies, and has argued his court cases involving other Facebook users should be dismissed.Bouzad insists that he has never intentionally violated Facebook's rules, and has grown frustrated with the company's changing explanations for why his pages have been demonetized. In an email with Meta Verified support, a customer service rep told him a recent violation for one of his travel pages was due to "Limited Originality of Contents," but didn't point to a specific post. During mediation, though, Meta's legal team claimed the same page had been generating views via "inauthentic engagement," according to documents reviewed by Engadget. Bouzad pushed back. "This wasn't manipulation - it was performance-based exposure ... we're being punished for the very behavior the system rewarded," he wrote in an email to Meta's legal team.Bouzad says that Facebook consistently rewarded his posts with higher reach before it accused him of manipulating views.In documents reviewed by Engadget, Meta doesn't explain its allegation of inauthentic engagement. But the company did tell Bouzad it would be willing to pay him $5,000 - a fraction of what he claims to be owed - to settle the cases even though it was standing by its decision to demonetize his pages. Bouzad declined. He believes that Meta is unfairly targeting him and other creators who run high-earning Facebook pages.Bouzad says he's heard countless stories from other creators who have also been hit with vague "monetization page violations" that have stalled their payments. Much like he experienced, these account flags don't describe the supposed infraction and don't give an opportunity for an appeal. This, he says, leaves creators with few options outside of the legal system.An unusual legal maneuverAfter filing his second batch of small claims court cases in February, he began to reach out to his network and started filing more cases. Bouzad is not a lawyer and has no legal training; he's relied on ChatGPT and Gemini to guide his legal strategy. Much of that strategy relies on showing that other creators have allowed him to sue on their behalf through a process known as an assignment of claims. He filed 25 such cases in 2025.Becoming a legal assignee is at best an unusual move for small claims court. Multiple legal experts contacted by Engadget said they had never heard of anyone doing so. "Normally, I don't think you see assigned claims in small claims [court]," Richard Slottee, a retired Oregon-based attorney, who has previously advised clients on small claims court cases. He said he was unsure of the legality of the move.Marion County Circuit Court Judge Lindsay Partridge, who is presiding over Bouzad's small claims court case, seems similarly perplexed by the issue. In an October 23 hearing, he said that "there are some type of claims that under Oregon law, an anti-assignment clause would not be enforceable" but that he was unsure if the statute would apply in this particular case. "I tried to do a bunch of research on this," he said "I just can't find an answer to it."Meta, on the other hand, has argued that its terms of service clearly prohibit users from transferring their rights to other parties without its consent. "Based on the No Transfer Clause, this Court should not permit Mr. Bouzad to continue recruiting Facebook users from all over the world and flooding its docket with cases where he claims standing based on an invalid assignment," a Meta project manager wrote in a letter to the judge. During the hearing, Judge Partridge said he was "concerned" that "what I have is essentially a very technical legal issue that's being presented by two non-attorneys." He said he would need "a little bit more time" to make a decision on whether Bouzad could move forward as an assignee.The group Bouzad is helping consists mainly of colleagues, friends and friends-of-friends who had heard about his small claims cases. And though a few of the individuals are people he's partnered with in the past, he says he has no financial stake in the success of their pages. "It's power in numbers, we felt the more people, the more noise we could make, the better the chances of getting issues resolved," Bouzad says. "They gave me their cases to try and get that help [to] force Facebook to fix their pages." But there's also a potentially lucrative payday for him if he succeeds. As an assignee, he has the sole right to collect any judgment that ultimately comes out of the other creator's claims.

Google's AI ambitions are global in scale, so much so that it has just agreed to give Gemini away for free in India to people using the country's biggest mobile provider. Thanks to a deal with Reliance Intelligence, an AI-focused subsidiary of Reliance Industries, people signed up to Jio's Unlimited 5G plan will be offered Google AI Pro at no extra cost for 18 months.That means that qualifying users will have access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google's most advanced AI model. They will also benefit from higher limits for the Nano Banana and Veo 3.1 AI image and video generators, plus expanded access to NotebookLM. The plan also includes 2TB of cloud storage across Google's apps, for a total combined worth of around 35,100 rupees ($396) per user.The offer will initially be exclusive to Jio customers between the age of 18 and 25, but will eventually extend to all people on an eligible plan via the MyJio app. Jio is India's largest mobile network operator, and a company in which Google purchased a 7.7 percent stake worth $4.5 million in 2020.India is fast becoming a key battleground for AI expansion. Back in July, Perplexity AI partnered with Bharti Airtel, Jio's rival carrier, to offer a year-long Perplexity Pro subscription worth $200 to all of Airtel's 360 million customers. OpenAI is also adopting an aggressive strategy in the country, recently debuting its cheapest ChatGPT subscription to date, at 390 rupee ($4.60), in India first. ChatGPT Go offers users 10 times more message limits, image generation and file uploads than the free version.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-brings-free-gemini-access-to-indias-largest-carrier-130627625.html?src=rss

NVIDIA has teamed up with with South Korea's biggest companies and the country itself, as they build out their AI infrastructure. One of those companies is Samsung, which is building a new AI factory that will use 50,000 NVIDIA Blackwell server GPUs and other NVIDIA technologies to make its own chips. This "AI-driven semiconductor manufacturing," as the companies call it, will help Samsung improve its processes, better predict maintenance needs and improve the efficiency of its autonomous operations. NVIDIA will help Samsung adapt its chipmaking lithography platform to work with its GPUs, and it will apparently result in 20 times greater performance for Samsung.Korean carmaker Hyundai will also use 50,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs to develop its AI models for manufacturing and autonomous driving. Meanwhile, the SK Group conglomerate, which includes SK Telecom and DRAM and flash memory chip supplier SK Hynix, will use 50,000 NVIDIA Blackwell server chips to launch an industrial AI cloud. The facility, NVIDIA says, will power the "next generation of memory, robotics, digital twins and intelligent AI agents." As Bloomberg reports, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who's in South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit, was recently photographed with Samsung's Jay Y. Lee and Hyundai's Chung Euisun in a local restaurant.Finally, NVIDIA is working with the South Korean government for its sovereign AI infrastructure, or AI it will have control over. The Korean government will deploy 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs to the National AI Computing Center it's establishing, as well to facilities owned by local companies that include Kakao and Naver.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/samsung-is-using-nvidia-chips-to-build-its-new-ai-chip-factory-130057773.html?src=rss

If you're in the market for a budget-friendly home security camera (or even several), the Blink Mini 2 may be worth considering. A two-pack of the cameras is on sale at Amazon as the bundle has dropped from $70 to $28. That's a discount of 60 percent, which is certainly nothing to shake at. This is also a better price than the $35 we saw for the cameras during Prime Day. Amazon recently revealed a newer version of the Blink Mini that records 2K footage, but the 1080p Blink Mini 2 can still get the job done. The Blink Mini 2 is our pick for the best budget security camera. It's easy to set up and it integrates neatly into the Alexa smart home ecosystem. While you need a Blink Subscription for cloud storage ($3 for one camera, $10 for as many as you like), you can pick up a Sync Module 2 or Sync Module XR to store Blink Mini 2 footage locally. A Blink Subscription also enables specialized detection and alerts (e.g. for people and pets) and features like periodic photo captures. The Blink Mini 2 is weather resistant, though you'll need an adapter to use it outdoors. Additionally, you can use the Mini 2 as a plug-in chime that sounds when someone presses a Blink Video Doorbell. A number of other Blink cameras and bundles are on sale at the moment. If you like the idea of the Mini 2 but want to use it outdoors, you can get two cameras with two weather-resistant adapters for only $48. Elsewhere, the latest Blink Video Doorbell is 50 percent off and down to $30 and Blink Outdoor 4 camera systems are 60 percent off, so you can grab one starting at just $32. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-two-blink-mini-2-cameras-for-only-28-right-now-144258409.html?src=rss

A good VPN is worth paying for. Almost every service I'll recommend as one of the best VPNs is either subscription-only or supported by paid plans. Free VPNs do have their place, though, as not everybody can afford yet another subscription in the software-as-a-service hellscape we live in. Since everyone deserves privacy and flexibility online, I wanted to put together a definitive list of the best free VPNs.

Disney's channels have gone dark on YouTube TV after the companies failed to reach an agreement by their October 30 deadline. The affected channels include ESPN, local ABC stations, ABC News, FX, NatGeo, Disney Channel and Freeform. "Last week Disney used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on our customers," YouTube said in an announcement on its blog. "They're now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV." YouTube added that Disney's decision harms its subscribers while benefiting its own live TV products, such as Hulu+Live TV and Fubo.In a statement sent to the Los Angeles Times, however, Disney accused Google's YouTube TV of choosing to deny "subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for [its] channels, including ESPN and ABC." Disney also accused Google of using its market dominance to "eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms" that other pay-TV distributors have agreed to pay for its content. YouTube TV lost access to Disney channels back in 2021, but they were immediately able to strike a deal that restored the channels the very next day. The companies are most likely still trying to negotiate at the moment, but Google says it will offer subscribers a $20 credit if Disney channels remain offline for an extended period of time.Google has had to make several similar announcements over the past year. In February, YouTube TV almost lost Paramount content, including CBS, CBS Sports and Nickelodeon, before reaching a last-minute deal. The same thing happened in August with Fox. More recently, Google and NBCUniversal also came to an agreement at the eleventh hour, though YouTube TV lost access to Univision, the largest Spanish-language broadcaster in the US.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/youtube-tv-loses-espn-abc-and-other-disney-channels-113026329.html?src=rss

Home robots are moving way beyond Roombas. 1X unveiled its NEO helper bot this week, a terrifying $20,000 machine that can perform basic tasks after you've trained it, and more complex tasks via teleoperation. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's Igor Bonafacic try to figure out why 1X made the Neo look like a murderbot, as well as the future they see for home robots. Also, we discuss last week's AWS outage and our over-reliance on a single cloud provider, as well as Apple's rumored push for OLED devices in 2026.Devindra also what's with John Gearty, a former Apple Vision Pro engineer, about the state of Apple's headset and the world of XR.Subscribe!