Rumors circulated today that robotaxi company Waymo might use data from vehicles' interior cameras to train AI and sell targeted ads to riders. However, the company has tried to quell concerns, insisting that it won't be targeting ads to passengers.

The situation arose after researcher and engineer Jane Manchun Wong discovered an unreleased version of Waymo's privacy policy that suggested the robotaxi company could start using data from its vehicles to train generative AI. The draft policy has language allowing customers to opt out of Waymo "using your personal information (including interior camera data associated with your identity) for training GAI." Wong's discovery also suggested that Waymo could use that camera footage to sell personalized ads to riders.

Later in the day, The Verge obtained comments on this unreleased privacy policy from Waymo spokesperson Julia Ilina. "Waymo's [machine learning] systems are not designed to use this data to identify individual people, and there are no plans to use this data for targeted ads," she said. Ilina said the version found by Wong featured "placeholder text that doesn’t accurately reflect the feature’s purpose" and noted that the feature was still in development. It "will not introduce any changes to Waymo’s Privacy Policy, but rather will offer riders an opportunity to opt out of data collection for ML training purposes."

Hopefully Waymo holds to those statements. Privacy and security are huge concerns as AI companies try to feed their models as much information as possible. Waymo is owned by Alphabet and Google is developing its own AI assistant, Gemini, as well as other AI projects with its DeepMind division.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-has-no-plans-to-sell-ads-to-riders-based-on-camera-data-225340265.html?src=rss

Consumer electronics brand Framework announced today on X that it will temporarily suspend US sales of select laptop models as a result of the global tariffs enacted for the country last week. The company said it will remove the Ultra 5 125H and Ryzen 5 7640U versions of its Laptop 13 systems from its website. At the time of publish, that Ultra 5 Intel model is not listed, but the Ryzen 5 one with the AMD chip appears to still be available for purchase.

In a follow-up post, the company said that it originally priced its laptops based on a 0 percent tariff for goods from Taiwan. With the current 10 percent tariff, the products would be sold at a loss. "Other consumer goods makers have performed the same calculations and taken the same actions, though most have not been open about it," Framework said.

Given the language of the initial post, this doesn't seem to be the end of US customers' chances to buy Laptop 13 models. But the sweeping tariffs on imports enacted by President Donald Trump last week have already sparked other industries to rethink their US sales and pricing. UK-based Jaguar Land Rover also paused shipments to the US as a result of the tariffs, while Japan's Nintendo has delayed pre-orders for the Switch 2 gaming console, although the launch date appears unchanged.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/framework-pauses-some-us-laptop-sales-due-to-tariffs-221115971.html?src=rss

After an internal investigation, The White House has come up with a likely explanation for how Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was included in a Signal chat filled with Trump officials planning to bomb the Houthis. The Guardian reports that the issue came down to National Security Advisor Mike Waltz not understanding how his iPhone works.

Apparently, after Goldberg attempted to contact the Trump campaign about a separate issue in 2024, Brian Hughes, a Trump spokesperson, shared Goldberg's contact information and email signature with Waltz. It only took a few wrong taps after that to lay the groundwork for "Signalgate," The Guardian writes:

Waltz did not ultimately call Goldberg, the people said, but in an extraordinary twist, inadvertently ended up saving Goldberg’s number in his iPhone – under the contact card for Hughes, now the spokesperson for the national security council.

So Waltz didn't realize his iPhone was updating a contact rather than creating a new one, and meant to add Hughes to the group chat rather than Goldberg. This explanation doesn't change the fact that the kind of planning happening in the "Houthi PC small group" probably shouldn't have taken place on an encrypted messaging app — and especially without Congress weighing in. But this discovery does add a new flavor of grim stupidity to the whole affair.

Not long after Signalgate, the Pentagon warned against using Signal because it's vulnerable to Russian phishing attacks, but clearly the Trump administration likes the app's security and the instantaneous communication it allows. Having a more secure option reportedly hasn't stopped Waltz from using Gmail, though.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/the-white-house-has-reportedly-settled-on-an-explanation-for-how-signalgate-happened-212107380.html?src=rss

Players are gearing up for the arrival of the Switch 2 this summer, and we've been piecing together details about how game ownership and sharing will work. The picture is coming together, and in true Nintendo fashion, it's a bit odd.

Developers who release projects on the Switch 2 will have the option to sell their work as a "Game-Key card," which looks like a traditional physical game cartridge, but has no game data stored on it. Instead, when slotted into a Switch 2, game-key cards will automatically present instructions on how to download the title in question. The hardware will need an Internet connection and enough space for the game files on its system memory or microSD Express card. Once the download is complete, that Switch 2 can run the game whenever the game-key card is inserted into the system. The Switch no longer needs an Internet connection once the title has been downloaded, unless the game separately requires you to be online to play. We've now learned via GameSpot that game-key cards won't be automatically connected to a single console or to a user's Nintendo account.

It's an unusual hybrid approach, and with many hybrid concepts, you get the best and worst of both worlds. For instance, storage is going to be at a premium in the Switch 2 and game-key card downloads will eat into that limited space. And unfortunately, game-key cards don't future-proof customers against the day when Nintendo might decide to shut down the servers for the Switch 2, as it did with other sunsetted hardware like the Wii U and 3DS in 2024. If and when that happens, the game-key cards will be essentially useless.

But there are some upsides, particularly when it comes to sharing or reselling games. We already knew that Nintendo would have an option called GameShare that supports local multiplayer with only a single purchased copy of the title, while Virtual Game Cards offer digital sharing (if in a convoluted way). The addition of game-key cards that aren't tied to a single person's Nintendo account makes it easier to pass a game off to a friend once you've finished with it, or to resell it and recoup some of the $80 price tag of major releases.

And in case you were wondering: yes, the game cartridges will still taste terrible.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/switch-2-game-key-cards-wont-be-tied-to-your-nintendo-account-204735286.html?src=rss

Jackbox has been making fun party games for well over a decade at this point, but it just held its first-ever direct livestream event. The company had plenty of news to share, including the pending release of both a new minigame collection and a standalone trivia title.

The Jackbox Party Pack 11 includes "five brand-new game concepts to bring the party game experience to the next level." These include an audio-based game in which players compete to make the best sound effects. There’s also a fantasy-themed trivia title and a head-to-head joke-writing game.

The pack is rounded out by a social deduction game that’s centered around a court trial and a "cozy drawing game." That last one tasks players to create designs based on "bizarre prompts." If it’s anything like Drawful, which is a fantastic drawing-based game by Jackbox, we will be extremely pleased. The Jackbox Party Pack 11 will be available this fall for just about every platform.

If you feel like you haven't heard from Jackbox Games in a while, that’s because it didn’t release a party pack last year. The company said it took a year off to "innovate and deliver some long-requested products for fans."

The showcase concluded with the reveal of Trivia Murder Party 3, the next entry in the franchise. This one brings online matchmaking into the mix, though folks can still play locally via the classic Jackbox room code. This installment is set in a summer camp with a serial killer on the loose. Only answering trivia questions can stop the murderous rampage. It will be available as an early access title on Steam later in the year, with a general release date set for 2026.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/jackbox-is-back-with-new-party-games-including-one-based-on-sound-effects-184524066.html?src=rss

With the last Mission: Impossible film, Dead Reckoning, the long-running franchise officially entered science fiction territory by making intelligent AI its villain. We've seen Tom Cruise's Ethan hunt jump off of buildings and hang from the side of planes, but how can he fight a computer program? The latest trailer for the series' next film, and potentially the last to feature Hunt, doesn't answer that question, but clearly it will involve even more death-defying stunts (like hanging on to a flipping bi-plane!), geeky gadgets and Tom Cruise running inhumanly fast.

As I wrote in my review of Deck Reckoning: "As much as I love other action film franchises – like John Wick’s increasingly elaborate choreography, or the sheer ridiculousness of the Fast and the Furious – Mission: Impossible remains uniquely enjoyable. It’s committed to delivering astonishing practical stunt work. It’s self-aware just enough to poke fun at itself. And a part of me hopes that somehow, a team of geeks can also fight back against the excesses of AI."

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning hits theaters on May 23.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/tom-cruise-gears-up-to-save-us-from-ai-in-the-latest-mission-impossible---the-final-reckoning-trailer-181032815.html?src=rss

When the AirPods Max arrived in late 2020, there wasn’t much spatial audio content for Apple’s high-end headphones. What’s more, there wasn’t any support at all for lossless audio. The company hadn’t added Dolby Atmos and lossless tunes to Apple Music yet, but even when those arrived, Apple still hadn’t solved my biggest problem with the $549 headphones. With iOS 18.4 and a firmware update for the AirPods Max with USB-C, Apple has finally put the finishing touches on its only headphones with lossless audio.

Let’s back up a few months. Last September, Apple gave the AirPods Max its only significant update since the original launch: it swapped the Lightning jack for a USB-C port. The headphones are still running on the aging H1 chip when the rest of the current AirPods lineup has moved on to the more recent and more capable H2. I wasn’t upset that the company didn’t take the opportunity to update the AirPods Max design, but the failure to upgrade that chip was a head scratcher.

Now that lossless audio is here on the lightly refreshed AirPods Max, the headphones feel more complete. But that took over four years to finally happen, and if you bought the 2020 model you won’t be able to use this newly added capability. You’ll need the USB-C version of the AirPods Max that arrived last year and either iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 or macOS Sequoia 15.4 to unlock lossless and ultra-low latency audio.

How to get lossless audio on AirPods Max with USB-C

Billy Steele for Engadget

Once you’ve updated one of your Apple devices to iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 or macOS Sequoia 15.4, connect your AirPods Max to it via Bluetooth. You’ll then want to plug the headphones into a power outlet or USB-C port with the included cable. If you keep the two gadgets in close proximity for about 30 minutes, the AirPods Max firmware update should download. To check, hop into the AirPods Max settings and scroll down to the About section. Here, you’ll want to see version 7E101 to confirm you’ve got the goods.

You’ll want to keep that cable handy. Lossless audio on the AirPods Max is only available for wired use. You will still need to establish a Bluetooth connection for all of the smart features like hands-free Siri. Apple also sells a new $39 USB-C-to-3.5mm cord if you want to go that route, but either way, you’ll need a cable due to the limitations of high-res audio over Bluetooth.

Why isn’t lossless audio available on the original AirPods Max?

If you bought Apple’s $549 headphones in 2020, I can understand your frustration that you aren’t privy to this update. However, I wouldn’t assume Apple made this decision just to drive sales. There are hardware limitations with the Lightning port that hinders lossless audio, specifically a data throughput constraint on the previous version. Apple made some changes to the DAC (digital-to-analog converter) inside the AirPods Max to make lossless happen, which wasn’t possible on the older model either.

Does lossless audio make a difference?

I’ve heard some people say they can’t tell the difference between normal songs and lossless tunes. I’d argue it depends on what you’re listening to. If it’s a recent pop tune from Dua Lipa or Sabrina Carpenter, you’re better off with the Dolby Atmos mix and likely won’t pick up any more detail for high-resolution streaming. For bass heavy, chaotic genres like metal, I notice a better balance to the mix. Vocals on Spiritbox’s Tsunami Sea rise above the booming drums and thrashing guitar, and the bass is a little more subdued. Same for Underoath’s The Place After This One, where all the instruments seem to have more separation from the vocals. And overall, the bombastic tracks on this album feel bigger and more immersive.

Lossless audio on the AirPods Max particularly elevates acoustic genres like bluegrass and folk, in addition to other mellow styles like jazz. I might as well have been inside the acoustic guitar on Julien Baker & TORRES’ “Sugar in the Tank” as I felt like I could hear every percussive detail on every string. I can’t imagine the sound would’ve been much better on Jason Isbell’s Foxes in the Snow if I was actually in the room at Electric Lady Studios during the recording. That 1940 Martin 0-17, the only instrument on the album, is so pure and true. Jump to Miles Davis’ Birth of the Blue where the horns, piano, bass and drums all seem a little livelier and a little more energetic, with Davis’ trumpet belting out its verse-like cadence throughout.

Do you have to use Apple Music?

Apple

First, let’s talk about what’s available on Apple Music. Since June 2021, the service has offered lossless audio to subscribers at no additional cost. This starts at CD quality, which is 16 bit at 44.1 kHz, and goes up to 24 bit at 48 kHz. That latter rate is the maximum that AirPods Max can now support via the USB-C connection, and Apple says there are now 100 million songs available on its service in lossless quality. There is also a collection of Hi-Resolution Lossless content on Apple Music, which goes up to 24 bit at 192 kHz. You’ll need extra gear like a USB DAC in order to listen at that level, though.

You aren’t limited to just Apple Music. Anywhere you can stream lossless audio up to 24 bit at 48 kHz you can do so with these headphones. There are other services that offer this (like Tidal), or you can play locally stored files. The only requirement is a USB-C cable; your source isn't limited to Apple.

Wrap-up

It’s always nice when a company directly addresses one of your complaints. It’s not great when it takes over four years to do so. Now that lossless audio is here for the AirPods Max, I can no longer argue that the headphones feel incomplete, which is a big improvement from where they were at launch.

I keep going back and forth over whether or not this update is enough, though. It’s the first time Apple has expanded the capabilities of the AirPods Max in over four years, and it could only do so for the minimally updated 2024 version. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has a solid track record with Apple product scoops, reported in November that the company had “no real plan to meaningfully update AirPods Max.” He said the headphones don’t sell well enough to justify much R&D, but they’re not a big enough failure to be permanently shelved.

With that in mind, this update, which adds ultra-low latency for gamers in addition to lossless audio, is actually a lot bigger than it ordinarily would be. But to continue to demand $549 for what’s essentially 2020 hardware, Apple needs to trot out these types of updates regularly. While you can find these headphones on sale for as low as $449, that's still a steep investment. Even then, the AirPods Max would be tough to recommend to anyone other than iPhone and Mac die-hards with deep pockets.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/how-to-use-lossless-audio-on-the-airpods-max-180026218.html?src=rss

With Nintendo's April 2 Direct showcase over and done, we now know more about the Switch 2 than ever before, including its release date (June 5) and price ($450!).

Thanks to Nintendo's January 16 teaser trailer, we've long known what the Switch 2 will look like, and that it will arrive in 2025 — over eight years after its predecessor. The Nintendo Switch 2 looks very similar to the original system, albeit with a larger display, magnetic Joy-Cons and a sleeker design. The company also reaffirmed that the upcoming console will be backwards compatible with Switch games.

Looking to catch up on everything we know about the Switch 2? Read on.

What are the key new features of the Nintendo Switch 2?

Display and dock

The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 1080p 7.9-inch display with a 120Hz refresh and HDR compatibility. It also supports up to 4K output at 120Hz (with variable refresh rates) when docked.

Joy-Con and Pro Controller

The new Joy-Con 2 for Nintendo Switch 2 attaches magnetically with a button to release them. They have larger SL and SR buttons (the ones hidden when the Joy-Con are attached) to make playing multiplayer games on individual Joy-Cons more feasible. These buttons are also made of steel and attach to the Switch 2's magnets.

The analog sticks are no longer tiny nubs, and are closer in size to the ones you might find on a PS5 or Xbox controller. However, they do not have Hall effect sensors, the use of which can minimize the risk of the "stick drift" issue that plagued the original Joy-Cons.

The Joy-Con 2 have what Nintendo is calling “HD Rumble 2” built in, which seems to be a refinement of the original (and still very good) vibration function. Finally, each Joy-Con 2 has an optical sensor that allows you to use it as a mouse, and a C button, which we’ll get to in a minute.

Nintendo

The new Pro Controller for the Nintendo Switch 2 comes with everything you’d expect based on the refreshed Joy-Con 2: Namely HD Rumble 2 and the C button. There are also remappable GL/GR buttons around the back and a standard audio jack for connecting a headset.

Both options come with Amiibo support built in. The Switch 2 comes with two Joy-Con 2, as you’d expect, and additional pairs are priced at $90. The Pro Controller will cost $80.

The C button stands for “chat”

The new C button is a dedicated way to enter a chat session with friends. As well as the standard features you’d expect from voice chat, Nintendo has built a Discord-like video-sharing feature, which lets you show your gameplay to others and see other people’s screens while you’re playing. 

The GameChat function works with a mic built into the console, though headsets are also supported. Nintendo will also sell a $50 camera that plugs into the USB-C port on the top of the console, which will allow you to stream your face along with your game.

Nintendo

GameCube support

The Switch 2 will work with GameCube games via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. The three titles available at launch will be F-Zero GX, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Soul Calibur II.

Improved specs

Perhaps the biggest feature, though, is one you can’t see: The Switch 2 has an all-new processor and GPU and significantly more storage (256GB vs 64GB in the Switch OLED), along with support for faster and more capacious microSD cards. This will obviously lead to better first-party games and upgraded Switch experiences, but more importantly it will mean multi-platform games that had to skip the original, underpowered Switch will be able to be ported over. With games like Cyberpunk 2077 coming to the Switch 2 at launch, it seems like far more ports will be feasible than on the original console.

Another major improvement comes in the form of networking — the Switch 2 supports Wi-Fi 6, which will improve the original's often glacial download speeds. Similarly, the new dock sports an Ethernet port for a rock-solid connection.

What's it like to play?

Nintendo gave the press a chance to check out the Switch 2 and a few of the games it highlighted. You can read our impressions of Mario Kart World as well as more general thoughts on how the Switch 2 feels in person. Right off the bat, Mario Kart World feels like an outstanding launch title, with more depth and better visuals than we've ever seen from a Mario Kart game. The core formula is intact, but there are a lot of new features and play styles to dig into. 

As for the Switch 2 hardware, it feels like a major step forward from the original Switch — it has grown up a lot and feels far more polished and refined. And while it may not have an OLED screen, the 7.9-inch LED display Nintendo did use is outstanding.

How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost?

The Nintendo Switch 2 will be available for $450 standalone, or for $500 with a bundled digital copy of the new Mario Kart game, Mario Kart World. That’s significantly more expensive than the original Switch, which launched at $300, and has remained at that price ever since. It’s also more expensive than the entry-level current-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft.

The comparison looks a little better up against Valve’s Steam Deck, which costs $400 for the LCD model or $550 for the basic OLED model. The Steam Deck is more affordable than most PC handhelds.

When will the Nintendo Switch 2 come out?

June 5, 2025.

When do pre-orders open for Nintendo Switch 2?

Pre-orders were originally set to begin on April 9, but on April 4 Nintendo announced it was suspending pre-order plans in the US "indefinitely." However, it says that the release date is unchanged.

How long will the Switch 2's battery last?

Nintendo says that the Switch 2 will last between 2 and 6.5 hours on a single charge. This is similar to the original Switch, which was rated for 2.5-6.5 hours, though later revisions upped that figure significantly. The company cautions that "this time is an estimate ... battery life will depend on the games you play and usage conditions."

When can I try the Nintendo Switch 2?

Nintendo is planning a worldwide roadshow to let gamers go hands-on with the console. These events started in New York and Paris on April 4-6, with others taking place throughout the following two months. 

Ticket registration for many of the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience events has closed, but waitlists are available. However, given that Nintendo is taking a first come, first served approach, your chances of attending the roadshow if you don't already have a ticket (or unless you signed up for the waitlist immediately) seem very small at this point.

The full list of Nintendo Switch 2 Experience dates is as follows:

North America:

• New York, April 4-6, 2025

• Los Angeles, April 11-13, 2025

• Dallas, April 25-27, 2025

• Toronto, April 25-27, 2025

Europe:

• Paris, April 4-6, 2025

• London, April 11-13, 2025

• Milan, April 25-27, 2025

• Berlin, April 25-27, 2025

• Madrid, May 9-11, 2025

• Amsterdam, May 9-11, 2025

Oceania:

• Melbourne, May 10-11, 2025

Asia:

• Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26-27, 2025

• Seoul, May 31-June 1, 2025

• Hong Kong, To be announced

• Taipei, To be announced

Is the Nintendo Switch 2 backwards compatible?

Nintendo confirmed in November 2024 that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be backwards compatible. It will also feature access to Nintendo Online, so users will be able to play all of those old retro titles.

In the initial Nintendo Switch 2 press release, Nintendo reiterated that physical and digital Switch games will work on the new system. However, it noted that "certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2." We now have more information on which games are working thanks to a guide Nintendo put together.

Nintendo

As of April 1, the vast majority of Switch 2 games are marked as compatible, but many popular games are said to have some issues. Nintendo has marked most of these as “under investigation,” suggesting a fix may be on the way in time for launch. Nintendo says it is manually testing every Switch game for compatibility.

Only one title is marked as incompatible: Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit. This was part of Nintendo’s Labo range of games that worked with Cardboard accessories, and is incompatible as the Switch 2 doesn’t physically fit in the VR headset.

Will old games be enhanced in any way?

The original Switch has, to put it mildly, struggled to run some of the late-generation software that's come down the pike. Could these games be enhanced to take advantage of the increased horsepower of the Switch 2? That’s unclear. In an “Ask the Developer” page on its site, Nintendo says that old games are working through a real-time translation system, which sounds similar to how Rosetta allows modern Macs to run old software. With that said, the new and old Switch are much closer in hardware than that.

In the same developer interview, it’s said that in its testing of old games for compatibility, there were some occasions “where loading times became faster, or game performance became more stable,” but we don’t have any detail beyond that.

As well as backward compatibility, Nintendo is also offering up premium "Switch 2 Edition" upgrades for a select few games. These have improved resolutions and frame rates, and (in some titles) some bonus features and content. What exactly that means will vary, but Nintendo did confirm that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will have 4K/60 fps and 1080p/120 fps options on the Switch 2.

Games confirmed to have a Switch 2 Edition to date include:

• Super Mario Party Jamboree

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

• Kirby and the Forgotten Land

• Pokémon Legends: Z-A

• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

In the case of the two mainline Zelda games, those upgrades will be included with a Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership or cost $10 each. Upgrades for the other games are also paid, but Nintendo has not said how much those will cost.

What will the cartridges taste like?

You may remember that the original Switch cartridges taste absolutely awful. This was on purpose, to discourage folks from putting the games in their mouth.

Similarly, the Switch 2 carts are also said to taste terrible, in large part to stop children or pets from accidentally ingesting them. It is not yet clear what substance Nintendo has coated the Switch 2 cartridges in to make them taste foul, but Nintendo's Takuhiro Dohta advised against licking them all the same.

"We don't want anybody to be at risk of any unwanted consumption," he told GameSpot. "We have indeed made it so that if it enters your mouth, you'll spit it out."

What are the launch games?

We expect this list to change substantially over the coming weeks and months, but the titles currently confirmed to be available on day one follow:

• Arcade Archives 2 Ridge Racer

• Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster

• Cyberpunk 2077

• Deltarune

• Fast Fusion

• Fortnite

• Hitman: World of Assassination

• Hogwarts Legacy

• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess

• Mario Kart World

• Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

• Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S

• Split Fiction

• Street Fighter 6

• Survival Kids

• Yakuza 0: Director's Cut

---

That's everything we know about the Nintendo Switch 2 today. We'll update this article with any information we can gather directly from sources. Any changes made to the article after its initial publishing will be listed below.

Update, January 24, 2025, 12:36 PM ET: This story has been updated to include speculation about price, potential game enhancements and the taste of cartridges.

Update, February 5, 2025, 9:30AM ET: This story has been updated to note the time when the April 2 Nintendo Direct starts.

Update, February 24, 2025, 12:30 PM ET: This story has been updated to include speculation about storage and information about the new microSD Express standard.

Update, March 6, 2025, 2:30PM ET: This story has been updated to note recent FCC filings to indicate the presence of Wi-Fi 6 and NFC support.

Update, March 14, 2025, 12:15PM ET: This story has been updated to include pricing and sales speculation from analysts.

Update, March 20, 2025, 12:45PM ET: Updated to include a note about the Seattle Mariners new jersey patches featuring Nintendo and the Switch 2.

Update, March 27, 2025, 3:50PM ET: Updated to add details about the C button, Nintendo Today! and Virtual Game Cards.

Update, April 1, 2025, 10:16AM ET: Updated to add link to livestream and details on its length.

Update, April 2, 2025, 4:40PM ET: Added details from the April 2 Nintendo Direct event, including specifications, price, release date and launch titles.

Update, April 4, 2025, 11:17AM ET: Added details about pre-orders being put on hold. 

Update, April 7, 2025, 1:56PM ET: Added details about the Switch 2 cartridges still (reportedly) tasting terrible, the lack of Hall effect sensors in the controllers and game upgrade pricing.

Jeff Dunn contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-release-date-price-new-games-and-everything-else-you-need-to-know-195136723.html?src=rss

The Hugo Awards began honoring video games for the first time back in 2021. This week, the organization revealed the list of six finalists for the 2025 awards ceremony. It’s a cornucopia of critically-acclaimed titles from the past year or so.

Let’s go over the nominations. Two AAA titles are up for the award. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Echoes of Wisdom changes up the franchise formula, casting players as the titular Zelda. The gameplay involves summoning monsters and items to solve puzzles and do battle. It’s pretty awesome.

We especially loved Dragon Age: The Veilguard, calling it "BioWare at its best." The graphics are fantastic and the gameplay is more action-oriented than previous entries in the franchise. It continues the story of the decade-old Dragon Age Inquisition.

The Hugos are also honoring a spate of smaller titles. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes got a nom, and this was one of our favorite games of 2024. It’s a near-perfect puzzle game that subverts the genre at every turn. We said it was the perfect game "for fans of puzzles, narrative twists and David Lynch."

Caves of Qud is an incredibly deep and lore-heavy roguelike set in a fantasy realm. It was actually in early access for a full 15 years before getting an official release last year. 1000xRESIST is a sci-fi adventure game that was praised primarily for its engaging story. Finally, Tactical Breach Wizards is a turn-based RPG starring, you guessed it, wizards. Some reviews have called it the best strategy game since XCOM 2.

The final winner will be announced at the 83rd World Science Fiction Convention in Seattle on August 16. Previous winners include Hades and Baldur’s Gate 3.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/2025-hugo-award-game-finalists-include-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom-and-dragon-age-the-veilguard-171135638.html?src=rss

Google is bringing AI Mode to more people in the US. The company announced on Monday it would make the new search tool, first launched at the start of last month, to millions of more Labs users across the country.

For uninitiated, AI Mode is a new dedicated tab within Search. It's essentially Google's answer to ChatGPT Search. It allows you to ask more complicated questions of Google, with a custom version of Gemini 2.0 doing the legwork to deliver a nuanced AI-generated response. Labs, meanwhile, is a beta program you can enroll your Google account in to gain access to new Search features before the company rolls them out to the public.

In addition to bringing AI Mode to more people, Google is unlocking the tool's multimodal capabilities. Starting today, you can snap and upload images to AI Mode, allowing you to ask questions about what you see. The feature brings together AI Mode with Google's Lens technology.

"With Gemini's multimodal capabilities, AI Mode can understand the entire scene in an image, including the context of how objects relate to one another and their unique materials, colors, shapes and arrangements," Google explains. "Using our query fan-out technique, AI Mode then issues multiple queries about the image as a whole and the objects within the image, accessing more breadth and depth of information than a traditional search on Google."

AI Mode's new Lens integration is available through the Google app on Android and iOS.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-ai-mode-rolls-out-to-more-testers-with-new-image-search-feature-160054334.html?src=rss

HBO’s The Last of Us took a riveting action game bolstered by intimate human moments and made a richly human drama supported by terrifying action. In returning for season two, and now using the sequel game as source material, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann had quite a bit more work cut out for them. The first season greatly expanded the emotional depth and breadth of Joel and Ellie’s cross-country journey while also fleshing out the stories of many others they meet along the way, and the cast (led by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey) was outstanding.

That was over two years ago, and now it’s encore time. Season two premieres on HBO this Sunday, April 13, and I am once again happy to report that the show does a faithful job of capturing the first part of a complex story while also fixing a few of the minor complaints I had about the first season.

[Editor's note: this story discusses season two broadly but avoids specific plot details and spoilers. There are spoilers for season one.]

The show picks up exactly where season one (and the first game) concluded. Joel and Ellie return to the settlement of Jackson, Wyoming, where Joel’s brother Tommy is part of a peaceful, well-fortified commune — a rare oasis of relative safety in a destroyed world. This comes about a year after the Fireflies — a militia group searching for a cure for the zombie infection — tasked Joel with smuggling Ellie across the country. Over the ensuing journey, Joel bonds with Ellie and comes to treat her as a surrogate daughter, replacing the one he lost at the beginning of the outbreak 20 years prior.

Ellie’s immunity to the infection gave the Fireflies hopes she holds the key to finding a cure — but when Joel learns it would kill her, he wipes out a whole platoon of soldiers and the doctor who was trying to carry out the procedure, before fleeing with Ellie back to Jackson. As far as she knows, there was no way to make a cure and Joel rescued her when raiders descended on the Firefly complex.

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

We immediately learn that Joel’s rampage against the Fireflies is going to have major repercussions right from the jump, as we meet Abby (played with furious intensity by Kaitlyn Dever) and her small crew of young Fireflies in Salt Lake City in the days following the massacre. Things then jump forward five years; Ellie and Joel are well-integrated into the Jackson community and living a relatively normal life — though Joel’s therapy sessions with Gail (the wonderful Catherine O’Hara) show that he and Ellie have had some degree of falling out. Whether it’s just her being a 19-year-old or something deeper remains to be seen.

Without spoiling anything, the sequel game, The Last of Us Part II, is a far less linear affair than its predecessor. Events are shown out of order through multiple flashbacks. Perspectives shift. The playable character changes at various points. I’ve spent much of the last year wondering exactly how Mazin and Druckmann would translate that structure to TV — what events would be shown in what order, and what things might get cut or expanded on?

But surprisingly, the show closely mirrors the game’s chronology. The core of the season remains Joel and Ellie, the fallout from season one and how it affects everyone around them. A handful of events, including an infamous town festival in Jackson and the reveal of Abby’s motivations throughout the season, are moved up sooner in the series to give viewers more context for why things are happening. It’s a change the creators said was made to compensate for the change between the interactivity of playing characters like Abby and Ellie versus watching them.

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

The season’s structure worked — the multi-pronged plot didn’t ever feel hard to stick with, and I think the show did a better job this season at balancing out action and drama. As the cast and creators have alluded to, Ramsey and Pascal don’t get as much time together as they did in season one, which is a shame given their absolutely fantastic chemistry. But both actors make the most of Joel and Ellie’s fracturing relationship, and they also do wonderful work with other scene partners. Both Joel and Ellie spend significant time with Dina (Isabela Merced), who ends up being something of another daughter to Joel and a best friend / love interest for Ellie. She brings a completely different attitude to these scenes — like anyone in the world of The Last of Us, you know she’s seen her fair share of horrible things, but she combines a cool confidence with vulnerability in a way that keeps Ellie delightfully off balance.

One of the key new events in the show that didn’t take place in the game is a massive siege of Infected attacking the town of Jackson (something you see in the show’s various trailers). At first, it felt like an on-the-nose response to complaints that the Infected didn’t feel like much of a threat in season one, but the way the large-scale battle is juxtaposed with a much more intimate threat in the same episode plays out perfectly. That episode was followed by one that was far more peaceful and character-driven, a cadence I appreciated after the siege’s intensity. Naturally, things ramp up as the season draws to a close, but the balance feels measured and thoughtful.

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

Overall, the Infected are more present in this season than the last, and they’re as deadly and terrifying as ever. In the game, the player might think nothing of taking on five or six in one go, but in the show even a one-on-one encounter feels fraught with danger. Of course, as in season one, the humans are the more unpredictable and threatening part of the world.

Other new characters and events, like the fate of Gail and her husband Eugene (played by Joe Pantoliano), once again serve to enrich and enhance the world of The Last of Us. And beyond individual characters, the show also delves deeply into bigger warring factions, similar to the Kansas City “liberators” in season one. We get multiple views of how groups band together and try to survive against the Infected, and each other, and the show does a good job of not portraying any one way as right or wrong.

Ellie makes her own judgments as the story progresses, and she starts to lose herself in a cycle that she can’t seem to get out of, even as her friends distance herself from her actions. Ramsey plays this extremely well — though they have a slight and small frame, they play Ellie’s ferocity in a way that’s convincing and frightening. That side of her is flipped on its head in more vulnerable moments when the weight of Elle’s choices start piling up, and it’s fascinating and disturbing to watch. Mazin said that the reasoning behind Ellie’s quiet fascination with violence and being protected would play out in season two, and a lot of small moments definitely start paying off here.

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

Unlike season one, which is a self-contained affair, season two leaves much up in the air. Again, that’s something the creators have told us already; Mazin said that telling the story of the second game would take at least two seasons. There’s a lot of story still to be told here, and thus things end on a very different vibe than season one. I’m hoping that Mazin, Druckmann and the cast can get back to doing season three a little quicker than last time, as another two-plus years will feel like an exceedingly long wait for some resolution.

With only seven episodes, season two has a shorter run time than season one, which already felt a bit rushed to me. The finale in particular blew through some of its script in rapid-fire fashion that felt almost sloppy. It could have easily done with an extra 10 minutes without losing any momentum. And given that Mazin has already said the next season will be “significantly larger,” my hopes for a quick turn-around are probably not realistic.

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

In the end, that might not be a bad thing for most viewers. The Last of Us can be a grueling and emotional watch, season two even more so than the first. There are some moments of extreme violence that are hard to watch. The show does strike a thoughtful balance between implied and graphic violence,, but it can still be harrowing, and a few moments made me feel almost ill (an appropriate emotion, but not the most pleasant one).

It’s a little hard to evaluate season two in a vacuum, given it’s only the first half of some fairly messy, non-linear source material. That’s not a major knock; plenty of shows don’t wrap everything up every year in a tidy package. And given the quality infused in every episode of this show, from the acting to the script to the set design and VFX, I’m confident in saying that anyone who enjoyed season one should get on board for what’s to come here, even if it takes a long time to get any resolution. Just as with the game that it’s based on, the journey of The Last of Us season two is intense and asks a lot from viewers, but it’s still a journey worth taking.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-last-of-us-season-two-review-amplified-action-and-crushing-drama-160007751.html?src=rss

Movies based on video games have become a pretty big deal in recent years. Just look at those box office returns for A Minecraft Movie for proof of that. This means that more films are coming down the pike, including a motion picture based on Hideo Kojima’s delivery simulator Death Stranding. We first learned this was coming back in 2022, but now there’s a writer and director attached to the project.

The production company A24, which is helping to finance the film, just announced that it will be written and directed by Michael Sarnoski. He isn’t a household name, but he did co-write and direct A Quiet Place: Day One. He also co-wrote and directed that delightfully weird Nicolas Cage romp Pig.

A24 says that the movie will explore the "catastrophic series of events that blurred the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead," thus creating the fragmented society of the game. There’s no casting information yet, but one would hope that Norman Reedus would be involved in some capacity. A cameo from Conan O'Brien also wouldn’t hurt.

Kojima Productions is involved with the movie. There’s no release date yet, as filming hasn’t even started.

This wasn’t the only Death Stranding news to drop recently. The video game Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be released on June 26, which will be accompanied by a world-wide concert tour and, inexplicably, a luxury watch.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-death-stranding-movie-now-has-a-writer-and-director-153029985.html?src=rss

Later than expected, Google has begun rolling a pair of new Gemini Live features to Pixel 9 and Samsung Galaxy S25 devices. The company first previewed Gemini live video and screensharing during Mobile World Congress in March. As you might have guessed from their names, the two features allow you to take advantage of Gemini's multi-modal capabilities to ask Google's chatbot questions about what you see in front of your or on your phone's screen. 

If you don't own a Pixel 9 or Galaxy S25, Google says you can still access the new features through the Gemini app on Android. However, you'll need a Google One AI Premium plan, which costs $20 per month.    

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/gemini-live-video-and-screensharing-starts-rolling-out-to-pixel-9-and-galaxy-s25-phones-151032356.html?src=rss

While the Nintendo Switch 2 had its splashy debut last week, including details about the hardware and launch games, there's still lots about the console that Nintendo has yet to clear up. For instance, the company hasn't gone into specifics about the CPU and GPU that are powering the Switch 2, other than to touch on the performance enhancements that they offer over the Switch (NVIDIA separately confirmed that the Switch 2 uses its Deep Learning Super Sampling tech).

However, since last Wednesday's blockbuster Direct, Nintendo has touched on some new Switch 2 details in interviews with the press. For one thing, Nate Bihldorff, Senior Vice President of Product Development & Publishing at Nintendo of America, told Nintendo Life that the console's Joy-Con 2 controllers do not use Hall effect tech. "The Joy-Con 2's controllers have been designed from the ground up," Bihldorff said. "They're not Hall effect sticks, but they feel really good."

Switch 2 producer Kouichi Kawamoto separately said that the Joy-Con 2 joysticks "are quieter and don’t make noise, even when they’re moved quickly to the edge." The company is referring to them as "smooth-gliding sticks."

Engadget has asked Nintendo why the company opted not to use Hall effect tech in the Joy-Con 2. We've also asked whether the Switch 2 Pro Controller foregoes Hall effect sensors as well.

This technology is becoming increasingly common in the thumbsticks of third-party gamepads, but Nintendo has yet to implement it in its own joysticks (nor have Sony or Microsoft, for that matter). The idea behind Hall effect sensors is that they reduce the likelihood of stick drift. This problem was so pervasive on the original Switch's Joy-Cons that Nintendo offered free, unlimited repairs for stick drift in Europe. So it's not clear why Nintendo would opt out of having Hall effect sensors in the Joy-Con 2 to help mitigate such problems.

Meanwhile, Nintendo has confirmed US pricing for a few Switch 2 experiences. The company told IGN that the upgrades for two The Legend of Zelda games — Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom — cost $10 each for those who already own either game. However, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers get access to the upgrades at no extra cost.

The Switch 2 upgrades include visual fidelity and framerate enhancements, along with the inclusion of HDR support and faster loading times. You'll also be able to use the Switch mobile app as a Sheikah Slate of sorts, helping you to find hidden items with voiced directions.

In addition, Nintendo has revealed that Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which seems like a tech demo that will take you through all the features of the console, will cost $10. As for why Nintendo is charging 10 bucks for this as opposed to offering it for free (like Valve did with the fun Steam Deck tech demo, Aperture Desk Job, or Sony did with Astro's Playroom on PS5), Nintendo of America's Vice President of Product and Player Experience Bill Trinen had this to say to IGN:

For some people, I think there are people who are particularly interested in the tech and the specs of the system and things like that, for them I think it's going to be a great product. It's really for people that want more information about the system rather than necessarily a quick intro to everything it does. And for that reason and just the amount of care and work that the team put into it, I think it was decided that, 'Yeah, this feels like $9.99 is not an exorbitant price. It feels like a good value for what you're getting out of the product.'

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-says-the-switch-2-joy-con-controllers-dont-have-hall-effect-thumbsticks-145541771.html?src=rss

I appreciate devices that don’t try to do too much. There are too many products throwing too many features at the consumer in the hope one or two sticks. I’m reminded of the recently revived Pebble, which offers a pared down way to check your phone’s notifications from your wrist, and little else. That’s the best way to describe Even Realities’ G1 smart glasses, which puts a second screen for your smartphone on your face.

G1 is almost aggressively low-tech, putting in your line of sight a dot matrix display that’ll leap into life when required. You’ll be able to see the time, phone notifications, calendar, stock and news updates from a handful of chosen publishers. Tap the temple tips (also known as earpieces) and you’ll be able to speak to an AI to answer questions or dictate a note without touching your phone at all. Open the app to activate heads-up turn-by-turn directions, access real-time translation and use the glasses as a portable teleprompter.

On devices like this, the limited feature set goes hand-in-hand with lowered expectations: If it promises the basics and delivers them, all good, right? Problems arise when it fails to do them well, or if it’s obvious to anyone there are features that would work here but have been omitted. The G1 doesn't stumble on the essentials, but I do find myself flip-flopping about how much praise they should get. They’re useful right now, but I’d love to see how much better they’ll get in a year or two.

Hardware

Daniel Cooper for Engadget

Until the laws of physics change quite dramatically, smart glasses will always be noticeably bigger and heavier than their siblings. But the G1 is hardly an embarrassment in those stakes, and while chunky, they’re not comically oversized. The frame is built from magnesium and titanium alloy and weighs in at 44 grams. That’s more than the 26 grams my regular glasses weigh, but not to such an extent that it’s burdensome. It’s no surprise to learn some of the company’s leadership team came from the glasses industry, including stints at high-end eyewear brand Lindberg and Mykita.

Each lens houses a rectangular waveguide with a 25-degree field of view displaying a 640 x 200 20Hz dot matrix green monochrome screen. It brings to mind the old workstation terminals from the early 1990s. This isn’t shameless hipsterism, since green is more easily seen by the eye, and it also reduces the display’s power consumption, which is useful since the maximum brightness is 1,000 nits, and you’ll need all of it to see your screen on a bright day.

Much of the hardware is housed in the temple tips — the bits sitting behind your ears, if you’re not au fait with glasses terminology. These chunky boxes include the wireless charging gear, 160mAh battery, Bluetooth LE 5.2 radio and the touch control sensors. As for the rest, the projector and microphones are housed in the end pieces (the hinges on the frame), and that’s it. There’s no camera, speakers, headphones, bone conduction audio or any touch surface along the arms themselves, because the makers expect you to have your own camera and audio gear.

In the box, you’ll get the glasses and USB-C charging case, the latter of which has its own 2,000mAh battery which the company says will charge your glasses two and a half times before you need to head back to a socket. You can also get a pair of clip-on sunglass lenses for your specs to ensure you can wear them outdoors. I had initially presumed, given the heft of the original investment, that the clip-on glasses were thrown in but no, they’ll set you back an additional $100 in the US, €100 in Europe or £85 in the UK.

Glasses need to be up to the challenge of withstanding the same conditions the rest of your head is exposed to. Even Realities says the G1 can resist a “splash" or "light rain,” but doesn’t include a specific IP rating, so you may need to baby them a little.

There is only one size of the G1 available, and the company says it’ll suit anyone with a pupillary distance between 54 and 80. The temples can be adjusted to go looser or tighter, depending on the unique topography of your skull. But the frames are fairly stylish, and if you prefer the rounded “Panto” style of glasses, or a squarer one, you can opt for the B1 model instead.

Naturally, glasses aren’t a one-and-done deal, with most folks changing their prescriptions on a bi-annual basis. Even Realities says that you should be able to send your glasses back to HQ when your eyesight changes, along with your updated prescription, for up-to-date lenses. In the EU that’ll cost €230, or if you’re further abroad, €240 ($260).

Random musing about Smart Glasses vs AR

I’ve deliberately not referred to the G1 as a pair of augmented reality glasses because I don’t think they fit the description. The dictionary says AR is anything that puts a digital view in front of the real world, but that’s too broad a definition. After all, if I held a paper map in my line of sight I wouldn’t be augmenting my reality as the map doesn’t engage with its environment. And it’s the same thing here — just because the display in question is transparent doesn’t, for me, move the needle enough for it to be classified as AR.

In-use

Daniel Cooper for Engadget

Charge the glasses, download the app and you’ll walk through the brief setup and tutorial process. Software updates take around five minutes each time, surprisingly long given the low-tech nature of the system. Put the glasses on and you’ll notice the waveguide prisms add a slight tint to whatever you’re looking at. For instance, when staring at a white page on my computer, the prism adds a hint of gold that’s noticeable compared to the white around it.

The glasses are deactivated by default, behaving like any regular pair of specs as you go about your day. If you want to look up at the dashboard, which is your home screen, you’ll need to tilt your head up. This is the first thing you’ll define in the settings: How far you need to move your head up to trigger the dashboard. I found I had to tweak it regularly, given my head naturally drift upwards more often when I'm, say, relaxing against the sofa versus standing at my desk.

Daniel Cooper for Engadget

The dashboard is the first sign the G1 has some limitations. You only have three layout options for what you can see, one of which is the Status Pane, which is always on. Status shows you the time, date, temperature, a notification indicator and (when required) low battery warnings. You can add one widget or two, but if you pick two, one of those widgets will default to your calendar. The other widgets include News, Stocks, QuickNotes or a Map.

News, Stocks and Maps feel like the default options you get with every gadget while its makers work out what its users really want and need. The news feed pulls from a handful of outlets and you can select from which categories (Politics, Science, Sports and the like) you want to see. The map view gives you a little peek at your location to the nearest 25, 50 or 100 meters, which I’m sure is helpful for some folks, like delivery drivers. But I’m not sure there are many folks who want or need to have this information so immediately at hand.

Notifications

You’ll be able to gatekeep which apps you can permit to be put through to your glasses, and when you get a message, a speech bubble will pop up on your blank display. When it appears, you can just flick your head up to see the message, or tap the temple tip while in Dashboard.

It’s the same limited message you would get with any basic wearable connected to your iPhone. The obvious benefit is removing the need for you to get your phone out of your pocket or look at your wrist.

On a Saturday jaunt into the city, several of my group chats sprung into life and I was able to keep abreast of the conversation without having to look at my phone. That was a real benefit, as I’d have been frustrated if I’d have had to check my pocket on the regular for messages that didn’t entirely concern me. The only downside is that you can’t do anything with the messages, like respond to them, unless you do finally succumb to your phone.

Teleprompt, Transcribe and QuickNote

Even Realities

Even if you’re comfortable speaking off the cuff, using the G1 as a teleprompter is a staggeringly good idea. As soon as I started using it, I was thinking they would be great for shooting review videos, as well as giving presentations and acting. Hell, I’ve recited the Gettysburg Address a few too many times in the last week.

The glasses will also offer a way to turn what it’s hearing into text, either with the dedicated Transcription setup, or the QuickNote action. For the latter, all you need to do is touch a temple tip and you can then speak, with the system picking up your words and turning them into text. You’ll then be able to read the note, and play back the audio recording in the app, although you can only share the text of what you’ve said. It’s perhaps a lot more pertinent to journalists than other folks but the ability to have such easy access to a tool like this is exciting.

Translation

The G1s presently support real-time translation of 24 languages, including the major European languages, Arabic, Cantonese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean and Turkish. After you open the app, select the language in question and activate the feature, you’ll get a translation two or three seconds later when someone talks to you. I’ve tested the feature with native French and Turkish speakers and while the translations did at times miss a word, the overall sentiment was well conveyed.

Without a doubt, this is one of the glasses’ most eye-catching and useful features, since it subtitles the real world. But while the idea and implementation is all there, it’s not as sci-fi perfect as it could or should be, and that’s a problem. For a start, there’s the obvious moment you have to wait for while the system translates what your counterpart has said. Then there’s the fact it’ll translate anything it can hear, so when I asked my Turkish friend to speak to me, and then I read out the translation in English, the glasses tried to translate my response back into English.

Everything’s far more reliant on the app than it could be — you can’t activate the feature or swap languages without having the phone in your hand. If you were able to switch the options around with a tap on the touch sensor, you could theoretically have a conversation just with the glasses. But as soon as you need the phone in your hand, it’s easier to just open up Google Translate and harness the power of conversation mode.

Navigation

The ability to project basic information in your line of sight is enormously helpful when it comes to navigation. After all, if you’re wandering around unfamiliar streets, then you probably don’t want to appear to look like you’re lost. Certainly, the spate of phone thefts where well-prepared poachers snatch devices from people’s hands is a sign of that. Much like every other feature, you’ll start by… opening the app, activating the navigation pane and setting your destination.

You can pick walking or cycling directions, and you’ll get a turn-by-turn layout on the phone as well as in the glasses. Once the route has been calculated, which will take a second, you can put the phone in your pocket and start moving around. On the left, you’ll get the road name, an arrow for your direction and the distance in meters before the next move. In the middle, you’ll get the projected journey time and distance, and on the right a mini-map showing you the route. Look up (triggering the Dashboard) and you’ll get a full sized route map showing your progress as well as an indication of your speed. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t adore this feature and would love to test it out while roaming an unfamiliar city, because it’s supremely effortless.

Even AI

Rounding out the spec list is Even AI which, at the tap of the left temple tip, will be available for you to ask questions. Even AI is essentially just an interaction layer for either Perplexity, which is the default AI client, or ChatGPT. Press the button and you’ll be able to ask it questions, the answers of which will then be displayed in your field of view.

If you have a beginner’s knowledge of AI, by which I mean a fundamental distrust of anything it says, then this might be useful. Defining words, answering basic questions like “Who is Florence Nightingale” and looking up facts like the price of Bitcoin are all easily done. But that’s all, I think, I’d trust any AI to do, given how generally incapable of providing useful information it is.

Controls

There are two buttons, one on each temple tip, which will let you engage EvenAI or QuickNotes and scroll through notifications. Two buttons, however, even with the ability to accept multiple taps, is a little too few input mechanisms for a device this sophisticated. I keep thinking about the ways you can control true wireless headphones with all of that rhythmic tapping and that’s just for audio playback.

It means you’ll be relying on your phone a lot more than you may like, and while it’s not a deal breaker, it is an issue. After all, if these glasses offer a way of spending more time engaging with the world around me, then I don’t want to be constantly snatching up my phone. I imagine this is another area that, as the software develops and more commands can be incorporated into the buttons, things will get easier. But it is, for now, a fairly significant frustration.

Battery Life

I’d consider myself a fairly heavy user, and I would regularly get a day and a half’s worth of life from the G1 glasses before needing a recharge. It’s vexing in the extreme that the glasses don’t have an off switch, so they’ll be draining an admittedly small amount of power when not in use. I suspect, if I was living with these full time, I’d get into the habit of keeping them in their charging cradle on the nightstand while in bed to avoid any inadvertent losses of power while out and about.

Price

Even Realities’ G1 is available in two different frame styles: The G1A with the “panto” round-rim style and the G1B, with a rectangular frame. If I’m honest, I’d have preferred to test the G1B, which is more in keeping with my regular glasses preference, but c’est la vie. The glasses on their own cost $599, with corrective lenses costing you an extra $150 and the sunglass clip an additional $100. It puts these glasses in the same sort of territory as the highest-end designer frames you can get at LensCrafters.

I’m not sure there’s a mainstream competitor sitting in exactly the same category as the G1. There are similar headsets, like TCL’s RayNeo, but that has a far higher resolution display since it promises real AR. The Frame by Brilliant Labs, perhaps, but that only has a display in one lens and relies far more upon AI to operate. Captify’s glasses use binocular vision but are only designed to offer real-time captioning for users with hearing loss. Vuzix’s Z100 only has the display in one lens and, as far as I understand it, Meizu’s Myvu glasses are only available in eastern countries. Which means, for now, Even Realities is your one stop for a product like this.

And while they’re not in the same category at all, it feels negligent to not even mention Meta and Ray-Ban’s Wayfarers. The retail price may be cheaper but, once you’ve added prescription lenses they’ll set you back around $600, putting them close to the G1. But they’re obviously a very different product, with no heads-up display and a greater emphasis on AI and photography.

Wrap-Up

Daniel Cooper for Engadget

I really like Even Realities’ G1 for what they can do right now, but I’m also hopeful that it’ll get far more useful in the future. It seems to me there are so many things that could be tweaked, primped and plumped to make these far more appealing.

I’d love to be able to switch the translation mode with a press of the temple tip, so I could get a translation of what’s said, flip it to translate my English to the other language and then say it back to them so we could actually have a(n admittedly stilted) conversation. Adding reminders and other options to the dashboard would make it a lot more desirable to use. Hell, imagine a future dashboard update that pulls your step count from your phone so you can see how well you’re moving. Not to mention the ability to offer some form of real-time captioning for users who may have hearing issues.

I’m not going to judge the G1 on its potential but for what it offers now, and what it offers now is plenty good enough. The biggest obstacle is the price, but what can you expect for a first generation product in a niche category? When speaking to friends about them, many said if the price wasn’t that much more than a regular pair of glasses, they’d struggle to say no to what’s on offer here. And I agree, once you’ve had a taste of the functionality that’s on show here, it’s hard to go back to normal.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/even-realities-g1-review-limited-but-effective-smart-glasses-140059586.html?src=rss

Nothing has enough storage these days. Whether it's a Mac or a PS5, it feels like everyone I know spends far too much time deleting things on their devices to clear up space. That annoyance is what makes SSDs so appealing, especially the Crucial X9 Pro. 

We find the Crucial X9 Pro to be the best portable SSD for most people and, right now, the 1TB model is down to $70 from $101. The 31 percent discount brings this device to only $10 more than its all-time low price. If you need even more storage then pick up the 2TB option for $120, down from $180, or the 4TB one for $210, down from $279.

The Crucial X9 Pro is our favorite portable SSD for a few reasons, including excellent performance for its speed class and its very compact size. It uses a USB-C cord to connect with devices like an Xbox, PC, PS4 or 5, Mac and more. Plus, it offers a five-year warranty. One of our biggest quips with the Crucial X9 Pro is the price, but the sale really takes care of that. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/our-favorite-portable-ssd-is-up-to-33-percent-off-right-now-140645047.html?src=rss

The weather is turning warmer, so it's about time to hang up that winter coat with the big pockets you use to store everything. That also means things might be a bit harder to keep track of now — I lost my phone, alone, multiple times over this sunny weekend. But, now there's a (cheaper) potential solution: The Chipolo One bluetooth tracker.

Right now, a four-pack of Chipolo Ones is down to $50 from $75 — a 33 percent discount. This sale is a record-low price for this set of our favorite Bluetooth tracker for 2025. It also offers two different color sets to choose between and is a great deal if you want multiple trackers (just one is usually $20). 

Beyond the convenient keyhole (sorry Apple), we like the Chipolo One for features like how loud it is when you're searching for something — plus, it never has a delay when you press find. It's also very quick to ask if you've left something behind and works equally well with an iPhone or Android. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/a-four-pack-of-chipolo-one-trackers-drops-to-an-all-time-low-of-50-131257240.html?src=rss

Anker’s lifestyle brand Eufy has already swallowed a big chunk of the robot vacuum market and now it’s got its sights on your yard. The company has been sharing details of its first two robot mowers since the start of the year, and now they’re ready to start selling them. Eufy’s E15 and E18 are designed to automate one of the most tedious jobs around the home — if you’re able to pay. I’ve been testing an E15 for the last few weeks ahead of their retail debut today and I’m fairly impressed.

Early robot mowers needed a boundary wire to tell them where they were allowed to mow. But digging a trench around your lawn is time consuming, costly and less than ideal if you eventually move. It prompted companies to pivot to other methods, such as GPS or RTK (real time kinematics) to navigate. Eufy, however, is harnessing its computer vision know-how to trim your lawn with even less fuss, calling its technology “visual full self-driving,” or vFSD. Yes, I know. Anker says there are plenty of benefits in using cameras over GPS, like more reliable mowing and better obstacle avoidance.

Daniel Cooper for Engadget

The E15 is capable of covering lawns up to 800 square meters while the E18 will conquer lands as broad as 1,200 square meters. If you assumed, like I did, that the difference between the two is battery size, you’ll be mistaken — both have the same 4,200mAh battery, but the E18 has more on-board memory to accommodate a bigger map size. Otherwise, they are the same machine, with an adjustable cutting height between 25 - 75mm, a maximum climb of 18 degrees and a combined GPS / 4G anti-theft system. One feature I’m very partial to is that the garage (the mower’s charging station) comes with a rain cover, meaning fewer worries if you’re out and the weather suddenly gets a bit intense. Not that it’s necessary, since the hardware is rated IPX6 — enough to withstand being cleaned with a hose.

Setting up the E15 is painless so long as your lawn is nicely mown, with the grass no taller than 3.5 inches. All you’ll need to do is fix the garage in place with some hefty ground screws, hook it up to power and connect it to your home’s Wi-Fi. Then all you’ll need to do is send it out for one or two mapping runs in order for it to get a sense of your space.

Daniel Cooper for Engadget

My lawn is cut into a hill, with a sunken pathway and a 1.5 meter drop at one end, which is a problem. Since it maps visually, I opted to babysit the mower during the process to make sure it didn’t hurl itself into the chasm. I also have a small lean-to wood shed with a green roof (at the bottom of the chasm) that I reckoned a computer vision system could easily mistake for grass, so I wanted to keep an eye on it. Once it had made a few too many furtive advances toward that roof, I paused the mapping, sent the E15 back to its garage and set up a keep out zone in the app before finishing the job.

Once that was done, however, the E15 very easily staked out the rest of the space and made sure it could get nicely close to the path without going over. From there, you’re doing everything of note within the app. You can set the cutting height as low as 25mm or as high as 75mm, and can also set the unit’s movement and cutting speed — letting you use more power if you’re pressed for time. Plus, you can schedule mows, and if the device detects rain or too much wet in the grass, it’ll head back to base until things have dried out.

One feature I’m a big fan of is that it’s the first such machine I’ve encountered that lets you set a cutting direction for stripes. It’s not that I have an issue with most robomowers’ chaotic mowing per se, but I’ve always seen striped lawns as desirable. While the unit isn’t going to give you the sort of over-manicured, inch-perfect stripes you’d find at a tennis club, you can at least see the contrast.

Daniel Cooper for Engadget

An additional benefit of remote control is that if it does run into an issue and you’re not at home, you can activate a remote control mode. Not only are you able to access the camera feed, but you can trigger on-screen controls to navigate out of any tricky spots it might have wound up in.

It's funny, but something I didn't notice, but my in-laws did when they visited, was how shockingly quiet the E15 was. When I set the hardware running to satisfy their curiosity, they were baffled that the thing was scuttling around on the lawn making almost no noise whatsoever. It's certainly a perk, especially if you choose to set this thing off for a scheduled trim in the early morning — it's quiet enough that even the ants probably won't complain. 

All in all, I like the package Eufy is offering, and it even handled some of my misgivings about its computer vision system. If I have gripes, it’s not really about the E-series at all and more about this category of product generally. For a start, robot mowers may not get every square inch of your lawn, especially if some of your edges neighbor deep crevasses, like mine. That means you’ll still need to go out there every once in a while with a weed wacker to trim the borders of your turf.

And I’d still love nothing more than to be able to exert more control over the initial mapping phase to eliminate some of the trial and error. I wish for a system that would let me use my phone as a tool to trace the outside edge of a space myself, to set some basic expectations. Sure, the hardware would still have to scuttle around making sure it can get where I need it to go, but it’d save some of the busywork for both of us.

The Eufy E15 (800 sqm) and E18 (1,200 sqm) are available to order today from Eufy and Amazon. The E15 will set you back $1,599, while E18 is priced at $1,999.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/eufys-new-robot-mowers-use-smart-vision-to-trim-your-grass-130008542.html?src=rss

Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds are on sale via Amazon for just $179. This is a record-low price, as they normally cost $229. This deal is available for multiple colorways, including black, pink, beige and green.

These little cuties easily made our list of the best wireless earbuds. We admired the comfortable and secure fit and the addition of the Tensor chip to handle audio and ANC processing. They also offer a hands-free way to initiate Gemini AI.

However, the main reason we recommend these earbuds is that they sound great. They provide a good low-end, which is tough to do with earbuds, and crunchy highs. Google says it redesigned the entire audio system and it shows. We called out the “noticeable improvement” over the original Pixel Buds Pro earbuds in our official review.

There are plenty of nifty features to set these earbuds apart from the competition. They can detect conversations and automatically adjust audio accordingly. Find My Device support is also included. They offer spatial audio with certain apps. The buds get around eight hours of use per charge, but 30 hours when considering the included charging case. 

There are only two downsides here. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds are incredibly small, which is cool, that means making adjustments on their equally tiny touch panels can be difficult. Also, the original asking price of $229 is certainly high. This sale alleviates that particular issue.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/googles-pixel-buds-pro-2-are-on-sale-for-a-record-low-price-164743633.html?src=rss

The iPhone’s lock screen isn’t just the place you check the time or your notifications anymore — it’s a fully customizable space where you can express your personality, highlight your favorite photos and even stay on top of your day with helpful widgets. With iOS 18, Apple has given users even more control, letting you personalize your home screen and adjust lock screen controls..

Whether you want something functional, minimal, photo-heavy or playful, we’ll walk you through exactly how to make your lock screen your own — from changing fonts and adding widgets to switching between screens throughout the day.

How to create a custom lock screen

To start personalizing, you’ll first need to create a new lock screen or modify an existing one.

1. Wake your iPhone, then touch and hold anywhere on the lock screen until you feel a buzz and see the wallpaper editor.

2. You’ll see a carousel of lock screens you’ve created. Tap the “+” (Add New) button to start fresh, or swipe to an existing one and tap Customize.

3. A gallery of wallpaper options will appear. Choose from:

• Photos (pick one from your library)

• People (iOS intelligently finds portraits)

• Photo Shuffle (select multiple images that change)

• Emoji, Weather, or Astronomy

• Suggested themes like color gradients or Live Photos

Once you’ve picked your background, you can dive into the fun part: customizing fonts, colors, widgets and more.

Georgie Peru for Engadget

Photos and People

You can set a favorite picture as your wallpaper and tweak its color or crop to make sure you have the best view of your loved ones. Note that these steps will only allow you to select one picture — if you want a rotating selection of backgrounds, skip to the Photo Shuffle section below.

1. Tap Photos to bring up a list of Photos and Collections. You can search for specific images, or filter by All, Featured, Live Photo, People, Pets, Nature and Cities.

2. Once you’ve selected a photo, you then have more options. You can Pinch to Crop the image, change and customize the filters (Natural, Black & White, Duotone and Color Wash)

3. You also have the option to Add Widgets and remove the Flashlight and/or Camera.

You can also set a photo as your wallpaper directly from the Photos app by tapping the Share icon, and then selecting “Use as Wallpaper.”

Photo Shuffle

With Photo Shuffle, you can select multiple photos that change depending on the frequency you’ve selected.

1. Select the types of photos you want to include, e.g. People, Pets, Nature and Cities, or select an Album.

2. Tap the Shuffle Frequency option and choose between On Tap, On Lock, Hourly or Daily.

3. Select whether you want to “Use Featured Photos” or “Select Photos Manually.”

4. It would be worth going through your selected photos separately to make sure they are cropped correctly (e.g. if you have a mix of landscape and portrait images).

5. You also have the option to Add Widgets and remove the Flashlight and/or Camera.

Emoji and Color

If you don’t want to use a photo, you can select an emoji or color instead.

1. Select Emoji and choose up to six emojis. Alternatively, if you want a single color, you can select the Color option.

2. Choose between Dynamic, Grid, Large, Radial and Spiral to customize how the emoji background will appear.

3. Once you’ve selected an emoji or multiple, you can change the color of the background.

4. You also have the option to Add Widgets and remove the Flashlight and/or Camera.

How to change the clock style

The default iPhone clock gets the job done, but it doesn’t have to be boring. In iOS, you can customize the font, weight and color of the clock to match your aesthetic. This small change can have a big impact on your lock screen’s overall vibe.

1. In the lock screen editor, tap the time. You can do this before or after you’ve personalized your lock screen with photos, weather, etc.

2. Choose from a selection of font styles. Drag the slider to increase the font weight and tap the available fonts to see what they look like.

3. Use the color picker or swipe through presets to find something that fits.

How to add widgets to your lock screen

Widgets are a game changer for lock screen productivity. Whether you want to see your calendar, the weather forecast, activity rings or even battery levels at a glance, widgets can make your lock screen both pretty and practical. Widgets are compact, but you can fit up to four small ones or a mix of two medium and one small on a single lock screen, depending on the layout.

1. While editing the lock screen, tap the field below the time or select Add Widgets if the option appears (sometimes it can be tricky to see).

2. Choose from Apple’s widget library or supported third-party apps.

3. Drag and drop widgets into the space where you’d like them to live.

4. You can also tap the date above the time to change or remove the default calendar widget.

Georgie Peru for Engadget

How to customize controls at the bottom of the lock screen

In iOS 18, Apple lets you personalize the quick access buttons at the bottom of the lock screen — the ones typically reserved for the flashlight and camera. You can set different controls for different lock screens and tie them to specific Focus modes as well.

1. Touch and hold the lock screen, then tap Customize.

2. Tap one of the bottom controls to select it.

3. Tap the Remove icon (-), then tap the Add (+) option to open the controls gallery.

4. You’ll see a gallery of available buttons for tools like Calculator, Translate, Shazam, Notes and more.

5. Pick the one you want, then tap Done.

How to link a Focus mode to your lock screen

One of the smartest features in iOS is the ability to link different lock screens to Focus modes. That means you can have a minimalist screen for work, a bright one for weekends and a sleep-ready design for winding down. If you don’t see Focus options when you edit your lock screen, go to Settings then Focus to set up a new one first.

1. Touch and hold the lock screen, then tap Focus.

2. Choose a Focus mode (e.g., Work, Sleep, Do Not Disturb).

3. That lock screen will now automatically appear when that Focus is active.

How to switch between lock screens

Once you’ve created a few lock screens, you can swap between them on the fly. If you’ve linked a Focus to any of them, switching lock screens will also switch the Focus automatically.

1. Touch and hold the lock screen.

2. Swipe left or right to cycle through your saved designs.

3. Tap the one you want to use.

How to delete a lock screen

If you want to delete a lock screen you no longer want or need, you can do so very easily.

1. Touch and hold the lock screen until the carousel appears.

2. Swipe to the screen you want to delete.

3. Swipe up on the lock screen.

4. Tap the Trash icon, then confirm with “Delete This Wallpaper”.

Don’t worry — this won’t delete any photos from your library. It just removes the layout.

If you’re looking for more iPhone customization tips, you might also enjoy our guide on how to make the most of the iPhone’s Action Button.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-personalize-your-iphone-lock-screen-120015173.html?src=rss

Blackmagic Design has unveiled DaVinci Resolve 20, the latest version of its editing app with free and paid versions that's a popular alternative to Adobe's Premiere Pro. The update offers over 100 new features including many powered by AI, along with improved cloud support and major quality-of-life updates to the cut, edit, color and fusion pages. 

One of the key new features is called AI IntelliScript that can automatically generate a timeline based on the original project script. "AI IntelliScript will match the transcribed audio in media clips to the script and construct a timeline of the best selected takes, with any alternative takes placed on additional tracks for editor review," Blackmagic wrote. That new feature could drastically speed workflow for editors (like myself) who often use standup or voiceover clips. 

Another key feature is the AI Set Extender that can create a scene extension to fill an entire frame based on a text prompt. If you want to reframe a shot or delete something, for instance, you can simply tell DaVinci Resolve what you want and it'll fill in the blanks. "Customers can even create new backgrounds behind foreground objects," the company wrote. 

Other new AI features include AI Animated Subtitles, AI Mulltcam SmartSwitch (which can assemble a timeline based on who is speaking) and AI Audio Assistant. The latter can create a "professional audio mix" with a single click, according to Blackmagic Design. Finally, the AI Detect Music Beats feature does just that, analyzing music and automatically placing beat markers in the timeline.

Along with the AI stuff, DaVinci Resolve has a number of quality-of-life improvements in the cut, edit, color and fusion pages. Davinci Resolve Studio 20 (the paid version) now supports Apple Immersive Video on Apple Vision Pro, allowing creators to edit, color grade, mix audio and deliver Apple Immersive video capture on the company's recently launched URSA Cine Immersive camera. 

Blackmagic Design

Other updates include improved Blackmagic Cloud support with improved collaboration tools, easier editing for vertical video, new voiceover palettes, a dedicated keyframe editor in cut and edit, a new Text+ tool, direct voiceover recording and more. On the color page, there's a new chroma warp function that lets you adjust color and saturation with a single motion. And the Fairlight audio page has a new feature that lets adjust a target clip's audio to match a reference clip, dynamic EQ to match tonality throughout a clip and Level Matcher to ensure that levels remain consistent in a given timeline. 

A full list of features can be found on Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve 20 product page. It's now available to download in a public beta, and as usual, DaVinci Resolve 20 is free to download while DaVinci Resolve 20 Studio costs $295 with no subscription required. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/davinci-resolve-20s-latest-ai-feature-can-create-an-entire-timeline-based-on-a-script-120009351.html?src=rss

I’m a longtime lover of pen and paper, so E Ink tablets have been intriguing to me ever since they started becoming more widely available. After having hundreds of half-filled notebooks over the years, I, at some point, turned to digital tools instead because it was just easier to store everything on my phone or laptop so I always had my most important information at my fingertips.

E Ink tablets seem to provide the best of both worlds: the tactile satisfaction of regular notebooks with many of the conveniences found in digital tools, plus easy-on-the-eyes E Ink screens. These devices have come a long way in recent years — now you can find them in multiple sizes, some have color E Ink screens and others double as full-blow ereaders with access to ebook stores and your local library’s offerings. I’ve tested out close to a dozen E Ink tablets over the past year or two to see how well they work, how convenient they really are and which are the best tablets using E Ink screens available today.

Table of contents

• Best E Ink tablets for 2025

• Are E Ink tablets worth it?

• What to look for in an E Ink tablet

• Other E Ink tablets we've tested

Best E Ink tablets for 2025

Are E Ink tablets worth it?

An E Ink tablet will be a worthwhile purchase to a very select group of people. If you prefer the look and feel of an e paper display to LCD panels found on traditional tablets, it makes a lot of sense. They’re also good options for those who want a more paper-like writing experience (although you can get that kind of functionality on a regular tablet with the right screen protector) or a more distraction-free device overall.

The final note is key here. Most E Ink tablets don’t run on the same operating systems as regular tablets, so you’re automatically going to be limited in what you can do. And even with those that do allow you to download traditional apps like Chrome, Instagram and Facebook, E Ink tablets are not designed to give you the best casual-browsing experience. This is mostly due to the nature of E Ink displays, which have noticeable refreshes, a lack of color and lower quality than the panels you’ll find on even the cheapest iPad.

Arguably the biggest reason why you wouldn’t want to go with an iPad (all models of which support stylus input, a plethora of reading apps, etc) is because it’s much easier to get distracted by email, social media and other Internet-related temptations. An e-reader is also worth considering if this is the case for you, but just know that most standard e-readers do not accept stylus input. If you like to make notes in the margins of books, underline and mark up PDFs and the like, an e-reader won’t cut it.

What to look for in an E Ink tablet

Latency

I discovered four main things that can really make or break your experience with an E Ink tablet during my testing; first is the writing experience. How good it is will depend a lot on the display’s refresh rate (does it refresh after every time you put pen to “paper,” so to speak?) and the stylus’ latency. Most had little to no latency, but there were some that were worse than others. Finally, you should double check before buying that your preferred E Ink tablet comes with a stylus.

Reading

The second thing to consider is the reading experience. How much will you be reading books, documents and other things on this tablet? While you can find E Ink tablets in all different sizes, most of them tend to be larger than your standard e-reader because it makes writing much easier. Having a larger display isn’t a bad thing, but it might make holding it for long periods slightly more uncomfortable. (Most e-readers are roughly the size of a paperback book, giving you a similar feeling to analog reading).

The supported file types will also make a big difference. It’s hard to make a blanket statement here because this varies so much among E Ink tablets. The TL;DR is that you’ll have a much better reading experience if you go with one made by a company that already has a history in e-book sales (i.e. Amazon or Kobo). All of the titles you bought via the Kindle or Kobo store should automatically be available to you on your Kindle or Kobo E Ink tablet. And with Kindle titles, specifically, since they are protected by DRM, it’s not necessarily the best idea to try to bring those titles over to a third-party device. Unless the tablet supports reading apps like Amazon’s Kindle or the Kobo app, you’ll be limited to supported file types, like ePUB, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, PNG and others.

Search functionality

Third, most E Ink tablets have some search features, but they can vary widely between models. You’ll want to consider how important it is to you to be able to search through all your handwritten notes and markups. I noticed that Amazon’s and Kobo’s E Ink tablets made it easy to refer back to notes made in books and files because they automatically save on which pages you took notes, made highlights and more. Searching is less standardized on E Ink tablets that have different supported file types, but their features can be quite powerful in their own right. For example, a few devices I tested supported text search in handwritten notes along with handwriting recognition, the latter of which allows you to translate your scribbles into typed text.

Sharing and connectivity

The final factor to consider is sharing and connectivity. Yes, we established that E Ink tablets can be great distraction-free devices, but most manufacturers understand that your notes and doodles aren’t created in a vacuum. You’ll likely want to access them elsewhere, and that requires some form of connectivity. All of the E Ink tablets I tried were Wi-Fi devices, and some supported cloud syncing, companion mobile apps and the ability to export notes via email so you can access them elsewhere. None of them, however, integrate directly with a digital note taking system like Evernote or OneNote, so these devices will always be somewhat supplementary if you use apps like that, too. Ultimately, you should think about what you will want to do with the documents you’ll interact with on your E Ink tablet after the tablet portion is done.

Other E Ink tablets we've tested

Lenovo Smart Paper

Lenovo made a solid E Ink tablet in the Smart Paper, but it's too pricey and too married to the company's companion cloud service to warrant a spot on our top picks list. The hardware is great, but the software isn't as flexible as those of competitors like the reMarkable 2. It has good Google Drive integration, but you must pair it with Lenovo's cloud service to really get the most use out of it — and in the UK, the service costs £9 per month for three months, which is quite expensive.

Onyx Boox Tab Ultra

The Boox Tab Ultra has a lot of the same features we like in the Note Air 2 Plus, but it’s designed to be a true, all-purpose tablet with an E Ink screen. Running Android 11 and compatible with a magnetic keyboard case, you can use it like a standard 2-in-1 laptop, albeit a low-powered one. You can browse the web, check email and even watch YouTube videos on this thing — but that doesn’t mean you should. A standard 2-in-1 laptop with a more responsive screen and better overall performance would be a better fit for most people who even have the slightest desire to have an all-in-one device. Like the rest of Onyx’s devices, the Tab Ultra is specifically for those who put reading and eye comfort above all else.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/best-e-ink-tablet-130037939.html?src=rss

If you were wondering whether it’d be possible to ferment foods in space, the answer is apparently yes. In a study published in the journal iScience, researchers from the US and Denmark say they were able to make decent-tasting miso on the International Space Station — but the flavor and smell was distinct from that of miso made on Earth. While it still scored well in the taste tests, with similar ratings to Earth miso in qualities like umami and saltiness, the ISS miso was found to taste nuttier and more roasted than the usual stuff.

The team suggests the findings reflect a sort of “space terroir,” playing off the term often used in relation to wine grapes to describe unique, location-specific flavor characteristics. For the study, the researchers sent a package containing the miso paste ingredients (cooked soybeans, rice koji and salt) to the ISS in March 2020, and let it ferment for 30 days. They also started miso batches back at home in Cambridge, MA and Copenhagen, Denmark, and monitored the environmental conditions of each setup. After a month, the space miso was sent back and analyzed in comparison to the Earth batches.

“There are some features of the space environment in low earth orbit — in particular microgravity and increased radiation — that could have impacts on how microbes grow and metabolize and thus how fermentation works,” co-lead author Joshua D. Evans of Technical University of Denmark said in a press release. “We wanted to explore the effects of these conditions.”

Not only were there differences in flavor, including the notable roasted nuttiness of the space miso, but also in the microbial composition of the misos. The team concluded that “overall, the space miso is a miso,” but says the findings “suggest a specific fermentation environment in space.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/researchers-who-made-miso-in-space-say-it-tastes-good-but-different-215410333.html?src=rss

A Minecraft Movie has reportedly surpassed the record previously set by 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie for the biggest ever domestic box office opening of a video game adaptation. The new movie, which was released in theaters on Friday, raked in $157 million in the US in its opening weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A Minecraft Movie is doing well internationally, too; THR reports that it’s earned $301M altogether in its global debut. The Super Mario Bros. Movie pulled in $146 million in its domestic opening and $377 million globally.

A Minecraft Movie stars Jack Black, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks and Jennifer Coolidge. And while the trailers left us with pretty low expectations in the leadup to its release, Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar found that it’s actually a pretty good kids’ movie that “delivers a decent message about championing creativity in a world that wants to beat down free-thinking non-conformists.” You can read the full review here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/a-minecraft-movie-just-set-a-new-record-with-the-biggest-opening-ever-for-a-video-game-adaptation-in-the-us-192934482.html?src=rss

Lexar this week announced what it says is the world’s first 1TB microSD Express card in time for the arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2. Nintendo has said that the Switch 2 will only support microSD Express cards, not the regular microSD you may already have been using in your old Switch. There are three storage capacity options to choose from with Lexar’s new Play Pro microSDXC Express Card: 1TB ($199.99), 512GB ($99.99) and 256GB ($49.99). Buyers have already snatched them up fast, though, so you’ll have to wait until they’re back in stock if you want to grab one.

According to Lexar, the Play Pro microSDXC Express Card offers read speeds of up to 900MB/s and write speeds up to 600MB/s. GameStop also introduced a 1TB microSD Express card alongside a 512GB and a 256GB option, all of which are compatible with Nintendo Switch 2, but those won’t ship until June when the new console arrives.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/lexar-made-a-1tb-microsd-express-card-that-works-with-nintendo-switch-2-175335976.html?src=rss

Meta has released the first two models from its multimodal Llama 4 suite: Llama 4 Scout and Llama 4 Maverick. Maverick is “the workhorse” of the two and excels at image and text understanding for “general assistant and chat use cases,” the company said in a blog post, while the smaller model Scout could tackle things like “multi-document summarization, parsing extensive user activity for personalized tasks, and reasoning over vast codebases.” The company also introduced Llama 4 Behemoth, an upcoming model it says is “among the world’s smartest LLMs” — and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said we’ll be hearing about a fourth model, Llama 4 Reasoning, “in the next month.” 

Both Maverick and Scout are available to download now from the Llama website and Hugging Face, and they’ve been added to Meta AI, including for WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram DMs. 

Meta

Scout has 17 billion active parameters with 16 experts, Meta says. According to Zuckerberg, “It’s extremely fast, natively multimodal, and has an industry leading, nearly infinite 10 million token context length, and it is designed to run on a single GPU.” Maverick on the other hand has 17 billion active parameters with 128 experts. The company says it beats competitors like GPT-4o and Gemini 2.0 on coding, reasoning, multilingual, long-context and image benchmarks, and stacks up against DeepSeek v3.1 on reasoning and coding.

Zuckerberg is already calling the upcoming Behemoth model, which is still training, “the highest performing base model in the world,” with 288 billion active parameters, according to the company. It may not be here yet, but it’s likely we’ll be hearing a lot more about that and the Reasoning model soon; Meta’s big AI developer conference, LlamaCon, is just a few weeks away.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-introduces-llama-4-with-two-new-models-available-now-and-two-more-on-the-way-214524295.html?src=rss

Amazon's new feature could make it easier to get into the latest release in a series, especially if it's been some time since you've read the previous books. The new Recaps feature is part of the latest software update for the Kindle, and the company compares it to "Previously on..." segments you can watch for TV shows. Amazon announced Recaps in a blog post, where it said that you can get access to it once you receive the software update over the air or after you download and install it from Amazon's website. Amazon didn't talk about the technology behind the feature in its post, but a spokesperson has confirmed to TechCrunch that the recaps will be AI generated. 

Shortly after the feature rolled out, users talked about it on social media, wondering if Amazon is using generative AI to write series summaries. They expressed concerns about the use of generative AI, especially about the possibility of the technology hallucinating plot elements that aren't actually in the books. "We use technology, including GenAI and Amazon moderators, to create short recaps of books that accurately reflect book content," Amazon spokesperson Ale Iraheta told the publication. Iraheta assured TechCrunch that Amazon's recaps are accurate, but of course, use it at your own risk. 

At the moment, the Recaps feature is available for best-selling English-language book series on all Kindle devices in the US. To know if your favorite series has one, look for the "View Recaps" button within the series page in your Kindle library. It will soon be available for the Kindle app on iOS, as well. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazon-will-use-ai-to-generate-recaps-for-book-series-on-the-kindle-170018503.html?src=rss

UK-based Jaguar Land Rover says it’s pausing shipments to the US after President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on passenger vehicles and other auto imports. The pause will be in effect this month, the Associated Press reports. While the full impact of the tariffs remains to be seen, analysts have said the move could ultimately drive up the cost of new and even used cars.

“The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands,” Jaguar Land Rover said in a statement to AP. “As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

Trump’s tariffs go well beyond the auto industry, and we’re only seeing the beginning of how the US’ trading partners will respond. The president announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on “all countries” this week, and some will face even higher “reciprocal” tariffs. Among the immediate effects, Nintendo has delayed pre-orders of the new Switch 2 in the US.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/jaguar-land-rover-pauses-us-shipments-while-it-figures-out-a-plan-for-trumps-tariffs-172512506.html?src=rss

Amazon has started testing another AI-powered feature called "Buy for Me," which allows the e-commerce company to make purchases for you from other websites. Specifically, from the actual website of a brand you're looking looking up. The experience is built into the Amazon app. When you search for an item from a particular brand, you may see a section of results labeled "Shop brand sites directly" separate from the results you'll get from Amazon and its third-party sellers. 

If you click on the "Buy for Me" button underneath an item in the separate results section, you'll be taken to a product detail page right inside the Amazon app. The company says the page will provide relevant product information similar to the product details in Amazon's own listings. Amazon will purchase the item for you from the brand's website if you decide to go through with the transaction. It uses agentic AI, a type of AI that doesn't need human intervention, to provide your name, address and payment details for the checkout process. Your details are encrypted, Amazon says, and it will not be able to see your previous and future orders from brands' websites. You'll receive a confirmation email from the brand store itself for your purchase, but you can track your order within the Amazon app through the new Buy for Me Orders tab in the Your Orders page. 

The company told us that it's not getting a commission from your purchases made through the experimental feature, but it didn't say if it was going to get a cut from sales in the future. For now, the feature is still in beta and will only be available to a subset of customers on the US on its iOS and Amazon apps. The test will also only feature a limited number of brand stores and products for now. Just a few days ago, Amazon also released an AI-powered feature called "Interests," which can process prompts in every day language related to your, well, interests. You can, for instance, type in "Brewing tools and gadgets for coffee lovers" to get relevant notifications for Amazon's deals and offerings. 

Amazon

Update, April 05, 2025, 09:25 AM ET: Amazon told us it's not getting a commission from this experimental feature. This story has been updated to reflect that.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazons-buy-for-me-ai-will-purchase-stuff-from-third-party-websites-123036361.html?src=rss

Jamie Siminoff, who founded Ring and started the company in his garage, is back at Amazon after leaving the company as its CEO in 2023. Siminoff joined Amazon when the e-commerce website acquired Ring in 2018, but he left in 2023 and founded another startup that he sold to lock maker Latch Inc. When he left Amazon two years ago, he said that invention was his true passion. Now, he's taking on the role as the vice president in charge of not just Ring, but also Amazon's smart home camera unit Blink, the company's in-garage delivery operations called Key and the Amazon Sidewalk low-bandwith, long-range shared network. 

Siminoff is replacing Elizabeth Hamren, who took over his role two years ago. Hamren used to be the COO of Discord and was also an executive at Microsoft and at Meta. According to Bloomberg, she's still looking for new opportunities from inside and outside the company. 

In a post welcoming him back posted on the Amazon website, Siminoff briefly and broadly talked about his plans for the divisions he's heading. He plans to focus on security, on making people feel their "homes are safe, even when they’re thousands of miles away." Siminoff also wants to make sure Amazon's experiences related to home security "work seamlessly across different types of devices." In addition, he talked about how he's going to explore the use of artificial intelligence in Amazon's products and services in the future. "The AI transformation happening right now is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and I think we’re super well positioned with helpful and practical AI features like Smart Video Search," he said. "It's just the start here — we're just scratching the surface of what we can do with AI — and I look forward to digging into this with the team even more."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/ring-founder-jamie-siminoff-is-back-at-amazon-to-run-its-video-doorbell-unit-130009731.html?src=rss

The official launch of Apple’s iOS 18 brought with it some fresh ways to customize your iPhone’s home screen. Rather than leaving unwanted apps hanging around like a bad smell in places you don’t want them, users can now take full control of app placement and make their home screen their own. Whether you're looking to add useful widgets, reorganize your apps or get rid of the ones you never use, customizing your iPhone home screen can help your device feel a little more unique. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to everything you can do to make your iOS 18 home screen look better and work the way you want.

How to add, edit and remove widgets

Widgets provide a convenient at-a-glance view of an app’s data or functionality, giving you quick access to information and reducing the need to open the app itself. A well-placed widget allows you to check the weather, view your calendar or access music controls, all without opening an app, giving your thumb a well-earned rest. Everybody loves a good shortcut, and with iOS 18, you can add, edit, or remove widgets easily, letting you jump straight to the information that matters.

To add a widget:

1. Touch and hold an empty area on your home screen until the app icons start to jiggle.

2. Tap the Edit button in the top-left corner and select Add Widget.

3. Scroll or search for the widget you want, then tap it.

4. Swipe left or right to choose a size (some offer different layouts).

5. Tap Add Widget to place it on your screen.

6. Drag it to your preferred spot, then tap Done (top right).

To edit a widget:

1. Press and hold the widget you want to change.

2. Tap Edit Widget (if available). If Edit Widget isn’t available, you can cycle through the icons for different placement and layout options.

3. Adjust settings like what calendar it shows, which location for the weather, etc. These options will be unique to each app’s widget.

To remove a widget:

1. Press and hold the widget.

2. Tap Remove Widget, then confirm.

Rob Webb for Engadget

How to move apps and widgets on the home screen

Shuffling your home screen apps and widgets is also a cinch thanks to iOS 18’s customization overhaul. It’s a simple but useful way to personalize your iPhone’s home screen and declutter your wallpaper, so your loved ones' faces don’t become buried underneath a wall of app icons.

1. Tap and hold on any app to reveal a menu.

2. Select Edit Home Screen, where you can move the apps across pages by dragging them to the edge of the screen.

3. Tap Done when you're finished.

You can also stack one app on top of another to automatically create a folder (more on that below).

How to customize apps and widgets on the home screen

Moving your most-used apps into prime position is all well and good, but if you’re going for a particular aesthetic with your home screen, the default appearance of an app icon can sometimes spoil the overall look. Luckily, in iOS 18, you can exert more control over how your apps look, including the option to change app icon colors and how widgets are displayed.

To customize your app icon colors:

1. Press and hold on the home screen and tap Edit at the top.

2. Choose Customize to change background colors (like dark, light or a custom color) or apply a different layout.

However, bear in mind that not all app icons can change color. If these steps don’t work for you, you may be left with the odd rogue app icon, sticking out like a sore thumb. In which case, you can hide the app icon from view, while still being able to access it easily from the app library.

How to lock or hide an app

Security is a top priority, particularly when it comes to your smartphone. You might have certain apps you want to keep private and for your eyes only. If so, you’ll be happy to know that there are two ways in which you can prevent unwanted eyes on your apps. You can hide or lock an app behind a passcode or Face ID; this prevents unauthorized access and keeps your apps in a Hidden folder. Similarly, you can remove apps entirely from the home screen, still allowing you (and others if they have access) to view them in your App Library.

To lock an app:

1. Long-press the icon of the app you want to lock on the home screen.

2. Select Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).

3. Confirm your selection by pressing Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).

To hide an app:

1. Long-press the icon of the app you want to lock on the home screen.

2. Select Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).

3. Confirm your selection by pressing Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode)

4. Tap Hide and Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode), then tap Hide App.

How to organize your apps in folders

Folders are a great way to declutter your home screen and keep similar apps grouped together. If you’re the type of person who likes to keep things tidy and organized, storing your apps in folders is a good way to do it.

To create a folder:

1. Drag one app icon over another, and iOS 18 will automatically create a folder with both.

2. Tap the name to rename the folder (e.g., “Social” or “Work”).

3. Drag in additional apps if you want.

To remove a folder:

1. Move all the apps out of the folder, and it will disappear once it’s empty.

How to remove or delete apps

The struggle is real when it comes to app bloat, and sometimes a bit of a spring clean is needed. If your home screen needs a bit of freshening up, you can kick a seldom-used app to the curb, or at least kick it off your home screen.

To remove an app from the home screen (without deleting it):

1. Tap and hold the app icon.

2. Tap Remove App.

3. Select Remove from Home Screen.

4. When you want to use that app, navigate to the App Library (swipe left past your last home page) or swipe down from the top of your home screen to search for it.

To delete an app completely:

1. Tap and hold the app icon.

2. Tap Remove App.

3. Select Delete App, then confirm.

To re-download a deleted app:

1. Open the App Store, search for the app and tap the download icon.

Rob Webb for Engadget

A few more tips to personalize your home screen space

Widgets Smart Stacks: Using this feature, you can combine multiple widgets into a stack you can swipe through. To do this, just drag one widget on top of another of the same size.

App Library shortcuts: If you want a cleaner home screen, you can remove most apps and rely on the App Library (swipe all the way left) or the search tool to launch what you need.

Focus mode customization: Each Focus mode can have its own custom home screen. This is a useful tool for separating your work life from your personal life.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-customize-your-iphones-home-screen-in-ios-18-120100872.html?src=rss

Mewgenics, the cat-breeding RPG that was originally announced as a follow-up to Super Meat Boy, is coming out in 2025, based on a new trailer shared by IGN and the game's updated Steam page.

A blend of a turned-based RPG and twisted cat simulator, Mewgenics started as the next project from Team Meat, the development duo made up of Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes. Team Meat teased Mewgenics throughout 2013, but ultimately put the game on hold in 2014 to focus on finishing Super Meat Boy Forever, a mobile sequel to Super Meat Boy.

When McMillen ultimately left Team Meat in 2018 to focus on supporting The Binding of Isaac, Mewgenics came with him, and the game has been slowly making its way to release since then. If the trailer is any indication, repeatable, turn-based battles have become a big part of Mewgenics, but McMillen's trademark gross-out animation style remains intact (as does all of the cat furniture).

If you're looking for more information about how the game has changed since it was announced over a decade ago, McMillen and co-developer Tyler Glaiel have kept up a relatively regular cadence of blog posts on Steam covering different aspects of the development process. We should also see a lot more of the game soon: In their latest update, Mewgenics' developers shared that IGN is publishing hands-on coverage of the game in May.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/the-creator-of-binding-of-isaac-will-release-a-new-game-mewgenics-this-year-211049653.html?src=rss

Early this year, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta would be ditching its long-running fact checking program, claiming that it has enabled too much “censorship” on the company’s apps. Now, Meta has set an end date for fact-checking on Facebook, Instagram and Threads (at least for its US users). 

“By Monday afternoon, our fact-checking program in the US will be officially over,” Meta’s recently elevated policy chief Joel Kaplan announced in a post on X. “That means no new fact checks and no fact checkers.”

Instead, Meta has been slowly ramping up Community Notes. Meta began allowing potential contributors to sign up in February. It began testing the system, which will initially be powered by the same algorithm as Community Notes on X, earlier this month. But the crowdsourced fact checks have yet to appear publicly on posts. It sounds like that’s also about to change with the official end of Meta’s existing fact checking partners. “The first Community Notes will start appearing gradually across Facebook, Threads & Instagram, with no penalties attached,” Kaplan said.

Though Meta has said it wants to eventually end fact checking entirely, the company has said relatively little about its plans for Community Notes outside of the US. That may be because officials in other countries, like Brazil and the European Union, have already expressed concern about how the change could affect the flow of disinformation around the world.

Meta’s push to end fact checking in the US came early this year alongside several other policy changes that marked a notable rightward shift for the social network just as President Donals Trump took office. The company also ended corporate DEI programs, rolled back hate speech protections on its services and added a close Trump ally to its board.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-entering-its-post-truth-era-on-monday-202858791.html?src=rss

Microsoft just announced several updates to its Copilot AI assistant, and some sound downright useful. It’s bringing Copilot Vision to mobile, but with some new features. For the uninitiated, this software originally launched for the Edge web browser and gave Copilot the ability to “see” and comment on the contents of websites.

The company is upping its game for the mobile version, adding some multimodal functionality. It’ll be able to integrate with your phone’s camera to “enable an interactive experience with the real world.” Microsoft says it can analyze both real-time video from the camera and photos stored on the device

Microsoft gives an example of Copilot Vision analyzing a video of plants to determine if they are healthy or not and suggesting actions to take. We’ll see if it can actually perform that kind of nuanced reasoning. Modern AI companies love to promise the world and then, well, you know the rest. In any event, the mobile version of Vision is available today in the Copilot app for iOS and Android. The web version is also coming to Windows. 

Microsoft is bringing Copilot Search to Bing to “seamlessly blend the best of traditional and generative search together to help you find what you need.” The company is now calling Bing “your AI-powered search and answer engine.” Like most AI web search tools, this provides summaries to answer queries.

Microsoft says this can take the form of a simple paragraph, like Gemini AI for Google searches, but that it also can provide “images and data from your favorite publishers and content owners.” Copilot Search is rolling out today.

The company also introduced something called Copilot Memory. This is Microsoft’s attempt to bring more personalization to Copilot. After all, it’s tough to have a true AI companion when it doesn’t remember anything about you. With this addition, Copilot will be able to remember specific details about your life, like “your favorite food, the types of films you enjoy and your nephew’s birthday and his interests.”

The company touts that the software will recommend actions based on what it remembers. To that end, Microsoft says Copilot will be able to do stuff like buy tickets to events, order flowers and make dinner reservations. It says the service will “work with most websites across the web.” We’ll see how that works out.

The update brings some other tools to the table, like the ability to auto-generate podcasts based on specific topics and offer shopping advice based on sales history across the web. These updates begin rolling out today, but it may not hit every user for a bit. Microsoft says availability will expand in the coming weeks and months.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsofts-latest-copilot-updates-include-a-mobile-version-of-the-multimodal-vision-tool-182752162.html?src=rss

TikTok is going to get more time to figure out a plan to stay in the US. President Donald Trump is signing another executive order effectively extending the deadline for the company to find US buyers by another 75 days. The president signaled he intended to give the deal more time via a Truth Social post.

"My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress," Trump wrote. "The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days." 

Trump's post suggests that the recently introduced suite of tariffs against US trade partners like China will somehow help close the deal. As part of the TikTok ban signed in to law by former President Biden in April 2024, TikTok's parent company ByteDance is forced to sell TikTok to a US buyer or get kicked out of US app stores and web hosting platforms. 

After a good bit of back and forth over the legality of the ban, the Supreme Court ultimately upheld it, and left the enforcement of the law to the incoming Trump administration. TikTok was briefly unavailable, but Trump ultimately signed an executive order that delayed the enforcement of the ban by 75 days to give TikTok more time to find a buyer and get the app back up and running.

Multiple companies and groups have expressed interest in outright buying or investing in TikTok — reportedly, even Amazon — but no one has come to a deal that satisfies ByteDance or the Chinese government. It's not clear tariffs will change anyone's motivations, but if everyone continues to accept Trump's Justice Department just not enforcing the ban, than the whole ordeal seems like it could last as long as necessary.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/trump-is-extending-the-deadline-for-a-tiktok-deal-by-another-75-days-180526714.html?src=rss

Vimeo is launching a new service that lets content creators run their own subscription service without needing coding experience. Vimeo Streaming removes the technical hurdles of building a monetized video service while avoiding the whack-a-mole game of chasing YouTube's algorithms or the often-meager payouts on TikTok and Instagram.

The company says the product is ideal for media and entertainment creators, performing arts organizations, educators and e-learning companies, sports and event broadcasters and fitness studios. And since Vimeo is pitching less to individuals trying to build an audience from scratch, you'll need to contact the company's sales team for pricing details.

The service provides tools and templates for "a professional 'Netflix-style' streaming experience without any coding needed." Creators can tailor Vimeo Streaming's look and feel with custom branding, colors and logos. The service offers white-label web, mobile and TV apps for all major platforms, so you don't have to convince your audience to download the Vimeo app. Creators can organize and categorize videos, create playlists, include artwork and use custom layouts.

Vimeo

Monetization options include subscriptions (with free trials and payment processing), selling or renting videos on-demand, optional sponsorship ads and video bumpers and audience loyalty perks. It also supports live-streaming (including concurrent, backup and 24/7 streams), piracy protections and AI-powered subtitle translations in 36 languages.

"Vimeo is proud to serve the professional creator," CEO Philip Moyer told The Hollywood Reporter. "We believe creators should be in control of their work and how they are paid, so we're taking the technologies that are usually only afforded by the biggest platforms and putting it in the hands of our customers at a fraction of the cost."

You can learn more on Vimeo's product page.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/vimeo-streaming-lets-creators-roll-their-own-netflix-171220483.html?src=rss

It was Tuesday June 25, 2019. San Francisco became the first US city to (temporarily) ban the sale of vapes, SpaceX successfully launched and deployed 24 satellites and I sat in Nintendo’s UK office on the outskirts of London, playing a demo of a game that still isn’t out. 

However, according to yesterday's Switch 2 presentation, Hollow Knight: Silksong will arrive at some point this year. Nintendo even showed off a couple of seconds of new footage. There are slopes!

Oh Silksong, oh Hollow Knight: Silksong, oh Hollow Knight’s repurposed DLC. The second Hollow Knight game from Team Cherry was initially meant to be a DLC addition to the original, but plans changed, with the developers saying that it had become “too large and too unique." (This many years later, exactly how large and unique will Silksong be?)

Later, as part of the 2022 Xbox and Bethesda Games showcase, a Silksong trailer teased a release date in the next 12 months as part of Xbox’s attempt to deliver a wave of exciting games after a lackluster start to the Series X/S launch.

When the early 2023 release date passed us by, Team Cherry delayed the game into 2024 and now, well, it’s 2025. I played that demo so long ago that it might have just been a dream.

Without rewriting my six-year-old hands-on impressions entirely, the new game features a new playable character named Hornet, who featured as a repeatable boss fight in the original Hollow Knight, with silk-based attacks and faster, more agile gameplay. It also offers a more aggressive play style, with Hornet able to heal herself using silk charges and even repair damage with silk bundles left behind from prior unsuccessful attempts. It's a different gameplay twist from having to beat the Hollow Knight shadow in the original.

I subtitled my hands-on impressions, saying it would be “worth the wait.” Back then, I'd recently finished Hollow Knight on the Switch, putting in a few too many hours and was hungry for more bug-shaped Metroidvania adventures. Silksong felt fresh, more responsive, faster and flashier — and I just wanted to play more Hollow Knight.

Barely six seconds of footage during Nintendo's Switch 2 presentation was enough to re-ignite the Silksong fandom, when it revealed nothing new more than some downhill traversal. It's proof that a lot of people are still excited — and still waiting.

I'm excited, and six years on, it feels like it must be pretty close. 

Right?

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/that-one-time-i-played-hollow-knight-silksong-160022483.html?src=rss

You’re probably thinking of subscribing to a live TV streaming service so you can watch some combination of sports, news and/or local channels. For a long time, cable and broadcast signals were the only way to access that programming, but these days TVs don’t even have built-in digital antennas — and despite decades of consumer irritation, cable still requires impossible-to-cancel contracts. When live TV streaming arrived about a decade ago, it was hailed as a low-cost, contract-free alternative for cord-cutters.

Unfortunately, every major streaming service — YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling, Philo, DirecTV Steam, and Fubo — has raised prices significantly over the past few years. Philo and Sling are the only holdouts you can get for less than $50 monthly. Almost in compensation, however, at the other end of the cost spectrum lies a slew of free live streaming services such as Tubi, Pluto and Plex.

The line between live TV and traditional streaming is getting harder to discern, too, with services like Peacock, Prime Video, Max and other VOD services showing live sporting events and live shows. Taken all together, there’s a lot to consider when you’re trying to pick the best live TV streaming service — so we tested every major option, spelling out the pros, cons and features each gives you to help you out.

Editor’s Note: We’re heading into the final days of the 2025 NCAA Tournaments, aka March Madness. And if you’re looking for a way to watch both the women’s and men’s Final Four and National Championship games, a live TV streaming service such as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo and Sling will work, as they all carry the necessary channels (ESPN and ABC for the women’s final games and CBS for the men’s). However, there are cheaper options. An ESPN+ subscription is $12 per month and it will air all of the final four women’s games as well as the NCAA Women's Championship. If you just want to watch the final men’s games, a $13-per-month Paramount+ with Showtime subscription will cover those events..

Table of contents

• Best live TV streaming services for 2025

• Best free live TV streaming services for 2025

• What to look for in a live TV streaming service

• How we tested

• Live TV Streaming FAQs

• Recent updates

Best live TV streaming services for 2025

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Best free live TV streaming services for 2025

There are plenty of ways to get free TV these days. To start, many standard streaming apps have added live components to their lineups. You’re paying for the service, so it’s not technically “free,” but you can get a dose of live TV without spending more than necessary. Peacock includes some regional NBC stations, and notably access to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Paramount+ subscribers can watch on-air CBS programming. The standard Hulu app has a live ABC news channel and Max now includes a live CNN outlet with its service, along with cable-like linear channels.

The smart TV operating system (OS) you use likely provides free live content too: Amazon’s Fire TV interface has a live tab and Roku’s built-in Roku Channel includes hundreds of live channels at no extra cost. The same goes for Samsung TV Plus, which added a trove of K-dramas to its free live and on-demand lineup in 2024. The PBS app offers local live streams of its channels — even NASA has a free streaming service with live coverage.

But for a full suite of live TV networks, and don’t want to sign up for any paid service, there are a number of free ad-supported TV services that have live TV. Even cable company DirecTV has joined the crowd with MyFree, though we haven’t had a chance to test that one yet. Here's the best of what we tried:

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What to look for in a live TV streaming service

How to stream live TV

Streaming live TV is a lot like using Netflix. You get access through apps on your phone, tablet, smart TV or streaming device and the signal arrives over the internet. A faster and more stable connection tends to give you a better experience. Most live TV apps require you to sign up and pay via a web browser. After that, you can activate the app on all of your devices.

Monthly Price

When I started testing these cord-cutting alternatives, I was struck by the price difference between live TV and a standard video streaming app. Where the latter cost between $5 and $20 per month, most live TV services hit the $80 mark and can go higher than $200 with additional perks, channel packages and premium extras. The higher starting price is mostly due to the cost of providing multiple networks — particularly sports and local stations. And, in the past year or so, every service except Sling has raised base plan prices.

Local channels

Only two of the services I tried don’t include full local channel coverage for subscribers and one of those makes no effort to carry sports at all. That would be Philo and, as you might guess, it’s the cheapest. The next most affordable option, Sling, only carries three local stations — and only in larger markets — but it still manages to include some of the top sports channels.

When you sign up with any provider that handles local TV, you’ll enter your zip code, ensuring you get your area’s broadcast affiliates for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. Of course, you can also get those stations for free. Nearly all modern television sets support a radio frequency (RF) connection, also known as the coaxial port, which means if you buy an HD antenna, you’ll receive locally broadcast stations like ABC, CBS, PBS, FOX and NBC. And since the signal is digital, reception is much improved over the staticky rabbit-ears era.

Live sports coverage

One reality that spun my head was the sheer number and iterations of sports networks in existence. Trying to figure out which network will carry the match-up you want to see can be tricky. I found that Google makes it a little easier for sports fans by listing out upcoming games (just swap in NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and so on in the search bar). When you click an event, the “TV & streaming” button will tell you which network is covering it.

That just leaves figuring out if your chosen service carries the RSNs (regional sports networks) you want. Unfortunately, even with add-ons and extra packages, some providers simply don’t have certain channels in their lineups. It would take a lawyer to understand the ins and outs of streaming rights negotiations, and networks leave and return to live TV carriers all the time. That said, most major sporting events in the US are covered by ESPN, Fox Sports, TNT, USA and local affiliates.

I should also point out that traditional streaming services have started adding live sports to their lineups. Peacock carries live Premier League matches, Sunday Night Football games and aired the 2024 Olympic Games from Paris. Thursday Night Football as well as NBA and WNBA games are on Amazon Prime and Christmas Day Football aired on Netflix. Max (formerly HBO Max) now airs select, regular season games from the NHL, MLB, NCAA and NBA with a $10-per-month add-on. You can watch MLS games with an add-on through the Apple TV app, and Apple TV+ includes some MLB games. Roku users can watch the just-added free sports channel and those who subscribe to Paramount Plus can see many of the matches aired on CBS Sports, including live NFL games. This year, even the Super Bowl was live-streamed for free on Tubi. While all of these alternatives may not cover as much ground as live TV streamers, they could end up being cheaper avenues to the sports you want.

And if sports is all you’re after, there are sports-only plans that are a touch cheaper too. While the promised sports streaming service from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. called Venu was cancelled early this year, shortly after, DirecTV announced a $70-per-month, sports-only streaming package called MySports and Comcast now has a sports and news bundle for the same price (as long as you're an Xfinity customer with auto-pay, otherwise it's more expensive).

Traditional cable networks

Dozens of linear programming networks were once only available with cable TV, like Bravo, BET, Food Network, HGTV, CNN, Lifetime, SYFY and MTV. If you only subscribe to, say, Netflix or Apple TV+, you won’t have access to those. But as with sports, standard streamers are starting to incorporate this content into their offerings. After the Warner Bros. merger, Max incorporated some content from HGTV, Discovery and TLC. Peacock has Bravo and Hallmark shows, and Paramount+ has material from Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central.

Other channels like AMC+ have stand-alone apps. The Discovery+ app gives you 15 channels ad-free for $9 per month (or with ads for $5 monthly). And a service called Frndly TV starts at a mere $7 per month and streams A&E, Lifetime, Game Show Network, Outdoor Channel and about 35 others. Of course, most live TV streaming options will deliver more sizable lists of cable networks, but just note that you may already be paying for some of them — and if all you need is a certain channel, you could get it cheaper by subscribing directly.

On-demand streaming

Most live TV subscriptions include access to a selection of video-on-demand (VOD) content, like you would get with a traditional streaming service. Much of this content is made up of the movies and TV series that have recently aired on your subscribed networks. This typically doesn’t cover live events and news programming, but I was able to watch specific episodes of ongoing shows like Top Chef or BET’s Diarra from Detroit. Just search the on-demand library for the program, pick an episode and hit play.

Partnerships, like Hulu’s relationship with Disney, and add-ons, such as bundling Max with your YouTube TV subscription or Starz with your Sling plan, will let you watch even larger libraries of on-demand content. But again, if VOD is all you’re after, paying for those networks directly instead of through a live TV plan will be far cheaper.

Digital video recordings (DVR) limits

Every option I tried offers some cloud DVR storage without needing a separate physical device. You’ll either get unlimited storage for recordings that expires after nine months or a year, or you’ll get a set number of hours (between 50 and 1,000) that you can keep indefinitely. Typically, all you need to do is designate what ongoing TV series you want to record and the DVR component will do all the hard work of saving subsequent episodes for you to watch later. You can do the same thing with sports events.

Aside from being able to watch whenever it’s most convenient, you can also fast-forward through commercials in recorded content. In contrast, you can’t skip them on live TV or VOD.

Simultaneous streams and profiles per account

Each plan gives you a certain number of simultaneous streams, aka how many screens can play content at the same time. And while most providers will let you travel with your subscription, there are usually location restrictions that require you to sign in from your home IP address periodically. Stream allowances range from one at a time to unlimited screens (or as many as your ISP’s bandwidth can handle). Some plans require add-ons to get more screens.

Most services also let you set up a few profiles so I was able to give different people in my family the ability to build their own watch histories and libraries, set their favorite channels and get individual recommendations.

Picture-in-picture mode and multiview

Picture-in-picture (PiP) usually refers to shrinking a video window on a mobile device or computer browser so you can watch it while using other apps. Sling, YouTube TV, FuboTV, Philo, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV all have PiP modes on computers and mobile devices. Another feature, multiview, lets you view multiple live sports games at once on your TV screen. YouTube TV and FuboTV are the only live TV streamers that let you do this. With YouTube TV, you can select up to four views from a few preset selection of streams. FuboTV offers the same feature, but only if you're using an Apple TV or Roku streaming device.

4K live streams

Right now, just FuboTV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream offer 4K live streams — but with caveats. YouTube TV requires a $20-per-month add-on, after which you’ll only be able to watch certain live content in 4K. DirecTV Stream has three channels that show live 4K content — one with shows and original series, and two with occasional sporting events. You don’t have to pay extra for these but you do need to have either DirecTV’s Gemini receiver, or a device from Fire TV, Apple TV or Roku. You’ll need those same streaming devices to watch the select 4K programming on Sling as well. FuboTV shows certain live events in 4K but access is limited to the Elite and Premier packages, not the base-level Pro plan.

Of course, watching any 4K content also requires equipment that can handle it: a 4K smart TV or 4K streaming device paired with a cord and screen that can handle 4K resolution.

Tiers, packages and add-ons

Comparing price-to-offering ratios is a task for a spreadsheet. I… made three. The base plans range from $28 to $85 per month. From there, you can add packages, which are usually groups of live TV channels bundled by themes like news, sports, entertainment or international content. Premium VOD extras like Max, AMC+ and Starz are also available. Add-ons cost an extra $5 to $20 each per month and simply show up in the guide where you find the rest of your live TV. This is where streaming can quickly get expensive, pushing an $80 subscription to $200 monthly, depending on what you choose.

How to stream live TV for free

I also downloaded and tried out a few apps that offer free ad-supported TV (FAST) including Freevee, Tubi, PlutoTV and Sling Freestream. These let you drop in and watch a more limited selection of live networks at zero cost. Most don’t even require an email address, let alone a credit card. And if you have a Roku device, an Amazon Fire TV or Stick, a Samsung TV, a Chromecast device or a Google TV, you already have access to hundreds of live channels via the Roku Channel, the live tab in Fire TV, through the Samsung TV Plus app or through Google TV.

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How we tested

When I begin testing for a guide, I research the most popular and well-reviewed players in the category and narrow down which are worth trying. For the paid plans, just six services dominate so I tried them all. There are considerably more free live TV contenders so I tested the four most popular. After getting accounts set up using my laptop, I downloaded the apps on a Samsung smart TV running the latest version of Tizen OS. I counted the local stations and regional sports coverage, and noted how many of the top cable networks were available. I then weighed the prices, base packages and available add-ons.

I then looked at how the programming was organized in each app’s UI and judged how easy everything was to navigate, from the top navigation to the settings. To test the search function, I searched for the same few TV shows on BET, Food Network, HGTV and Comedy Central, since all six providers carry those channels. I noted how helpful the searches were and how quickly they got me to season 6, episode 13 of Home Town.

I used DVR to record entire series and single movies and watched VOD shows, making sure to test the pause and scan functions. On each service with sports, I searched for the same four upcoming NHL, NBA, MLS and NCAA basketball matches and used the record option to save the games and play them back a day or two later. Finally, I noted any extra perks or irritating quirks.

All live TV streaming services we’ve tested:

• Philo

• Sling

• YouTube TV

• Hulu + Live TV

• DirecTV Stream

• FuboTV

• Freevee

• Tubi

• PlutoTV

• Sling Freestream

• Plex

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Live TV Streaming FAQs

What is live streaming?

Streaming simply refers to video content that is delivered to your screen over the internet. Live streaming can be split into two categories: linear programming and simultaneous transmission. That first one is similar to what you get with cable or broadcast TV, with channels that play a constant flow of movies and shows (sort of what TV looked like before Netflix). Simultaneous streaming lets you watch live events (like a basketball game) or a program (like the evening news) as they happen.

What is the difference between streaming and live streaming?

Standard streaming, the most popular example being Netflix, lets you pick what you want to watch from a menu of choices. It’s also referred to as “video on demand.” Live streaming refers to sports and news events that you can stream as they happen in real time. It also refers to channels that show a continuous, linear flow of programming.

What streaming service is best for live TV?

FuboTV does the best job of letting you organize live channels to help you find just what you want to watch. The interface is uncluttered and when you search for something, the UI clearly tells you whether something is live now or on-demand. YouTube TV also does a good job making that info clear. Both have just over 100 live channels on offer.

What is the most cost effective TV streaming service?

Free TV streaming services like PlutoTV, Plex, Tubi and FreeVee show plenty of ad-supported TV shows and movies without charging you anything. Of course, they won’t have the same channels or content that more premium subscriptions have. Ultimately it depends on what you want to watch and finding the service that can supply that to you in the most streamlined form so you’re not paying for stuff you don’t need.

Is it cheaper to have cable or streaming?

A basic cable package used to be more expensive than the base-level live TV streaming service. But now that nearly all major providers have raised their prices to over $75 per month, that’s no longer the case. And with add-ons and other premiums, you can easily pay over $200 a month for either cable or a live TV streaming service.

What streaming service has all the TV channels?

No service that we tested had every available channel. Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream carry the the highest number of the top rated channels, according to Neilsen. Hulu’s service also gets you Disney+ fare, which you can’t get elsewhere. FuboTV has the most sports channels and YouTube TV gives you the widest selection of add-ons.

What is the most popular live TV streaming platform?

YouTube TV has the most paying customers. According to 2024's letter from the CEO, the service has over eight million subscribers. Disney’s 2024 third quarter earnings put the Hulu + Live TV viewer count at 4.6 million. Sling’s customer count dipped from two million to about 1.9 million in 2024 and FuboTV grew its subscriber list to 1.6 million.

How safe are free streaming services and websites?

You may have heard certain sites that provide free content can be dangerous, leading to stolen info and/or exposing you to malware. That’s likely in reference to certain peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and file-sharing sites that let people download free movies and series — which can come bundled with malicious code.

But if you’re talking about the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services listed here, from providers like PlutoTV, Tubi and Freevee, they are just as safe as any other streaming service. Since you sometimes don’t even have to provide your email address or credit card info, they can even be more anonymous than apps that require login credentials.

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Recent updates

January 31, 2025: Added information about which streaming service would live-stream the Super Bowl, including Tubi’s free option. Updated Fubo’s pricing. Added details about DirectTV Stream’s sports-only package and Comcast’s sports and news bundle.

January 16, 2025: Included higher prices for Sling’s Orange and Blue plans. Noted the demise of the never-launched Venu sports streaming service and mentioned the inclusion of DirecTV’s new sports package.

December 31, 2024: Noted increased pricing for YouTube TV, Hulu+ Live TV and DirecTV. Updated information for 4K streaming capabilities and requirements for multiple services. Reported on the upcoming shut down of Amazon’s Freevee service and the addition of DirecTV’s free service.

August 6, 2024: Updated with the addition of Plex as a free live TV streaming recommendation and mentioned the additional free channels Philo is now including with the free version of its service. Added pricing information for ESPN's new sports-only streaming service, Venu. 

June 12, 2024: Updated with more information about 4K live streaming, picture-in-picture and multiview modes, as well as video on-demand options. We expanded our recommendations around free live TV streaming services and added a FAQ query about the safety of free streaming services and clarified the difference between standard and live streaming. More traditional streaming services have added live and sports components, so we revised that section accordingly.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/best-live-tv-streaming-service-133000410.html?src=rss

Mario Kart 8 and its Deluxe update have been around so long it's easy to forget that the game actually predates the Switch and can trace its origins way back to the Wii U. But every good run must come to an end, and with the forthcoming arrival of the Switch 2 on June 5, Mario Kart World is looking like the ideal launch partner.

Now there hasn't really ever been a bad Mario Kart game, but World feels like Nintendo has jammed nitrous into every corner and crevice. Even during my demo session where not all the characters were unlocked, I got the sense that its roster is massive. All the big names are there like Peach and Yoshi, but you also have baby versions of many of them alongside Toadette, Pauline, Nabbit and so much more. This feeling extends to a range of vehicles too, which includes standard karts in addition to stuff like jet skis and scooters.

Editor's note: This hands-on focuses on our writer's experience with the game Mario Kart World before its release alongside the Switch 2 in June. If you want his impressions of the gaming console itself, check out his Switch 2 hands-on, which covers the hardware, playing experience and changes from the original model. Since this article was published, Nintendo has announced that US pre-orders for the Switch 2 will be delayed indefinitely so it can "assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions." Those in America can no longer order one on April 9 as previously shared.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

But more importantly, the world feels huge. Not only can you freely roam around tracks as they seamlessly connect from one to another, there are also little details like weather effects and day/night shifts that make things feel more alive. And there's also a seemingly huge range of tracks to choose from, organized into several Grand Prix circuits.

The most fun I had, though, was when I got a chance to play the Knockout Tour mode, which is like Mario Kart meets F-Zero 99. In this setting, you have 24 people in a single race that progresses across multiple tracks. Every few laps, the last four places get eliminated, so it's your job to dodge shells and use every last mushroom boost, shortcut and power slide to stay at the front of the pack. It's a non-stop frenzy that just keeps going and, though I don't have the same reaction speed I did when I was younger, this old-head still got first place. And even after a win, I just wanted more. (For the record, Nintendo's photography policy required me to have a person in the frame, so a friendly staff member stood in my place, but here's my receipt.)

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

I also need to call out that Mario Kart World has a 120 fps mode and it's damn good. Racing has never looked this smooth on any Nintendo console and this game might be the best first-party showcase of the Switch 2's upgraded display and performance.

That said, the best part is that I'm sure I missed some features because I didn't even have a chance to try out the outfit customization Nintendo teased in World's trailer. And I was so focused on winning that I didn't fully explore the expanded list of tricks like grinding on rails and hopping off vertical walls.

Granted, it's a bummer that Nintendo has raised the price of many Switch 2 games, particularly with Mario Kart World coming in at $80 for a digital copy or $90 for a physical cart. But that can be largely avoided by purchasing the Switch 2 bundle that comes with the game, which effectively brings its price back down to $50. So if you are planning on getting a Switch 2 at launch, opting for this combo feels like a no-brainer.

Update, April 4 2025, 11:52AM ET: This story has been updated to include an Editor's Note pointing out where readers can find our hands-on impressions of the Switch 2 itself, as well as the latest news that pre-orders for the device have been delayed following the announcement of widespread tariffs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/mario-kart-world-hands-on-the-perfect-launch-game-for-the-switch-2-130003924.html?src=rss

Americans who were ready and willing to pay up for a Switch 2 on April 9 will now have to wait even longer (and possibly pay more) for that new console. Switch 2 pre-orders will not begin on April 9 in the U.S. any longer. In response to new tariffs announced by President Donald Trump, Nintendo has delayed Switch 2 pre-orders in the U.S. indefinitely. According a statement Nintendo provided to Engadget: "Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions. Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged."

Previously, as part of its most recent Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo announced the April 9 pre-order date for North America, along with the June 5 date for wider availability. The starting price was to be $450, but it's unclear if that will change now in response to these proposed tariffs. Participating retailers will also be selling the Switch 2 when it eventually makes its way to the U.S. We expect those to include Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart and others.

There's some fine-print attached to pre-ordering directly from Nintendo. According to the pre-order page on Nintendo's site, you must be 18 years or older, sign in with your Nintendo account and register your interest in pre-ordering. Then, you'll be sent an invitation email when it's time to play your pre-order, and the invitation will be valid for 72 hours. And then there's this bit of info: "Invitation emails will be prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis to registrants who have purchased a Nintendo Switch Online membership with a minimum of 12 months of paid membership and a minimum of 50 total gameplay hours, as of April 2, 2025."

That seems to mean those who have paid for Switch Online in the recent past and those who have spent a good amount of time playing Switch games as of late will get first pick at buying a Switch 2. There's no telling if these same restrictions will apply if you want to pre-order from third-party retailers.

We knew from the teaser trailer for the Switch 2 that Nintendo's new hardware would be bigger and would have a new approach to the detachable Joy-Cons. The new Joy-Con 2 have a new C button, mouse controls and a built in gyroscope for tilt control. The console has a built-in mic to support a new feature called Game Chat that will let you communicate with friends in-game. The device is indeed a bit larger, with a 7.9-inch LCD screen that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR and a 1080p resolution.

When docked, you'll be able to play at up to 4K on your TV, and Nintendo says it improved the consoles internal speakers as well. The new dock also has a built-in fan to keep the console cool and help maintain performance during long play sessions. The Switch 2 has dual USB-C ports for charging, and the base storage amount has increased to 256GB. The Switch 2's storage can be expanded like the previous model, but it will only work with newer microSD Express cards.

The Switch 2 has a number of accessories that you'll be able to purchase separately as well, including the new Switch 2 camera for $50, a new Switch 2 Pro controller for $80, an extra pair of Joy-Con 2 controllers for $90, a Joy-Con 2 charging grip for $35 and more.

Pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2 from:

• Nintendo

• Amazon

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/how-to-pre-order-the-nintendo-switch-2-140931639.html?src=rss

A four-pack of Samsung’s SmartTag 2 trackers is on sale for $58 via Woot. That’s a massive discount of 42 percent, as the regular price is $100. This combo pack ships with two black trackers and two white trackers.

They easily made our list of the best Bluetooth trackers. We appreciated the vast finding network, as there are a lot of Samsung phones out there contributing to it. We said the network is “larger than anything out there for Android.” The trackers offer a decent battery life of 16 months, and the batteries are replaceable.

There’s also a large hole for keychains, which is something Apple AirTags lack. The ring volume is also louder than both AirTags and Tile Pro trackers. These trackers are fairly hearty, with IP67 water and dust-resistance. Setup is simple, as the companion app walks users through just about everything.

There’s only one downside, but it’s a doozy. SmartTag trackers only work with Samsung tablets and phones. This doesn’t really impact the finding network, as there are millions of Samsung devices out there, but does limit who should make this purchase.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/a-four-pack-of-samsung-smarttag-2-trackers-is-on-sale-for-58-right-now-152356230.html?src=rss

Nintendo has delayed US Switch 2 pre-orders in response to the new set of tariffs announced by President Donald Trump earlier this week, as first reported by Polygon. Following Nintendo's announcement of the console on Wednesday, pre-orders in the United States were slated to open on April 9. They're now delayed indefinitely.   

"Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the US will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions," the company told Engadget. "Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged."

As mentioned earlier, Nintendo officially announced the Switch 2 on April 2. Hours later, the Trump administration said it would impose a sweeping set of new tariffs targeted against a broad swath of countries, including Japan, China and Vietnam. Products from the latter two countries, where Nintendo manufactures much of its hardware, will be subject to import duties of 54 percent and 46 percent, respectively.  

In the US, Nintendo said the Switch 2 would cost $450. As Polygon notes, sticker shock was already dominating the conversation around Nintendo's new handheld, with many fans begging the company to "drop the price!" of console during its recent livestreams. It's unclear what could happen following Nintendo's assessment of the situation, but one possibility is that the company could allocate less stock for the US market.              

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-delays-switch-2-us-pre-orders-following-trump-tariffs-150747208.html?src=rss

Midjourney has released the alpha version of V7, which it says is an "entirely new" AI image generation model and is much smarter at processing your text prompts. The image quality of its output is noticeably higher, the Midjourney team says, and can create better textures, bodies and hands. AI image generators typically struggle with creating accurate depictions of hands, but based on photos posted by some users on their socials, V7 is capable of spitting out some photorealistic images of human hands. 

The new model comes with a feature called "Draft Mode," which can render images at half the speed the program usually takes. Its results are rougher and less detailed, but it will cost half of what a standard generation costs. Midjourney says Draft Mode is the best way to iterate on ideas. You can use it, say, if you're collaborating with someone and just spitballing ideas with them — it works with voice, so you don't even have to type out each other's suggestions — or if you're unsure what kind of vibe you're going for. If you like an image Midjourney creates in Draft Mode, you can click "enhance" or "vary" on it to re-render it at full quality. 

At launch, V7 will have Turbo and Relax modes for standard rendering, with the former costing twice as much as a normal speed job on the V6 model. Midjourney needs more time to optimize its standard speed mode for V7, but it will make the option available in the future. The new mode is missing more capabilities, as well, including upscaling, editing and retexturing, which will fall back to the program's V6 model for now. Midjourney promises to roll out new updates for the model every week or two over the next two months.

To be able to test the alpha version of V7, you'll have to unlock your personalization profile first. Midjourney describes personalization as "a style assistant for your image creations," since it teaches the AI your visual preferences. You'll have to rank at least 200 pairs of images to create a V7 Global Personalization Profile and test the model. Personalization is switched on by default for the V7, but you'll be able to switch it off if you want. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/midjourney-launches-its-new-v7-ai-image-model-that-can-process-text-prompts-better-134546883.html?src=rss

By now, your brackets were likely busted a long time ago. The 2025 NCAA Tournaments, affectionately known to many as March Madness, are coming to a close. Both the men's and women's Final Four — the semifinal games — are happening this weekend, with the championship to follow in subsequent days. Different broadcasters own the rights to each tournament, so streaming both installments of the Final Four can be confusing. I’ve broken down the best, most affordable way to access each one so that you'll be ready when the games begin on Friday.

When is the Final Four?

The women's NCAA basketball Final Four is Friday, April 4. 1-seed Texas takes on fellow 1-seed South Carolina at 7:00PM ET, then 2-seed UConn will battle 1-seed UCLA in the other semifinal match up at 9:30PM ET. The winners to play for the national championship on Sunday, April 6 at 3:00PM ET. All three of these games will be on ESPN and ESPN+.

The men's NCAA basketball Final Four is Saturday, April 5. The 1-seed Auburn takes on familiar SEC foe and fellow 1-seed Florida at 6:09PM ET. Following that game at 8:49PM ET, 1-seed Houston will face 1-seed Duke. The winners will play for the national championship on Monday, April 7 at 8:50PM ET. All three of these games will be on CBS.

How to watch the Final Four and championship games

All of the women's games will be available on ESPN and ESPN+, which means you can watch via a live TV streaming service or in the ESPN app (with a TV log-in or ESPN+ subscription). The most affordable way to watch these games is with a $12/month ESPN+ plan. All men's games will air on CBS, where you have the option of streaming on a live TV service or via Paramount+. The most affordable way to watch these games is with a $13/month Paramount+ with Showtime plan. 

You could also try a streaming trial this weekend if one is available. Hulu + Live TV, for example, gives you three days to test its service, while DirecTV Stream gives five — both of them have both CBS and ESPN. The Hulu plan is available to both new and returning customers, so it might be an option to watch most of the action from both tournaments. Since all of the games are spread over four days, you won't get everything, but if you're only watching one or the other, this is a viable way to save some money. 

The rest of this story includes a more complete March Madness overview, including content that was originally published prior to the start of the tournaments.

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When does March Madness start?

The men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament begins on Tuesday, March 18 with two of the so-called First Four matchups. These are the four games that are used to determine the final four teams in the main 64-team bracket. To some, they’re known as the “play-in games” although they’ve officially been part of the men's tournament since 2011. The first game on March 18 begins at 6:40PM ET with another to follow at 9:10PM ET. The same schedule is expected for the second slate of games on Wednesday, March 19.

On the women’s side, March Madness is offset from the men’s tournament by a day. The first two of the First Four games are Wednesday, March 19 at 7PM ET and 9PM ET. The second pair of matchups follows on Thursday, March 20 in the same two time slots.

The 64-team bracket kicks off in earnest for the men at 12:15PM ET on Thursday, March 20. For the women, the main action begins at 11:30AM ET on Friday, March 21st. Here’s the full schedule for each tournament:

2025 Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament

• First Four: March 18-19

• First round: March 20-21

• Second round: March 22-23

• Sweet 16: March 27-28

• Elite Eight: March 29-30

• Final Four: April 5

• Championship game: April 7

2025 Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament

• First Four: March 19-20

• First round: March 21-22

• Second round: March 23-24

• Sweet 16: March 28-29

• Elite Eight: March 30-31

• Final Four: April 4

• Championship game: April 6

How to stream the 2025 Men’s NCAA Tournament

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery share the broadcast rights to the men’s tournament, and as they have in years past, TV coverage will be spread across four networks. During the course of March Madness, games will air on CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV, with the final rounds and championship game landing on CBS.

If you already have a paid TV plan (such as traditional cable), a good way to watch the men’s tournament is with the March Madness Live app or website. There's a big catch though: CBS games aren't available in the app. That means this is really only a good option through the Elite Eight. Once you log in with your TV provider credentials, you can watch games on the other networks in one spot with features like multiview (up to four games at once), “excitement alerts” that let you know when there’s a close game and a Fast Break stream that covers of all the in-progress games in one spot. 

The app also offers ways to follow your bracket, if you filled it out on MarchMadness.com. And when you’re watching on desktop, the crucial Boss Button will throw up a fake work screen when you need it. March Madness Live is also available on Amazon, Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, macOS, Google Play, LG smart TVs, Roku and Xbox devices.

Your most affordable option to watch every game is to actually use two services. It’s not ideal, I know, but it will save you a lot of money. Max’s Basic plan is $10/month and gives you access to live games from TNT, TBS and truTV with three-game multiview. B/R Sports, which powers all of the live coverage on Max, will only be available on the pricier Standard and Premium levels starting March 30. That's not a problem since games after that date will only air on CBS. For the CBS games, you’ll need a Paramount+ with Showtime subscription that costs $13/month. So, in total, your best option to stream all of the men’s tournament is $23 spread across two apps. 

A live TV service like YouTube TV or Hulu plus Live TV is over $50 more per month at full price, but they would offer you “one-stop shopping” for all the games in the men’s tournament. YouTube TV is currently on sale for $70/month for the first six months you use it. 

How to stream the 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament

ASSOCIATED PRESS

While Warner Brothers Discovery owns the rights to the men’s NCAA Tournament, ESPN has the women’s bracket locked down. Every game of the women’s tournament will be spread across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNEWS, including the First Four matchups. The Final Four will be on ESPN, but the championship game will air on ABC. All three of those culminating games will stream on ESPN+.

Since ESPN+ won’t get every game, it’s not an option if you want to watch the entire tournament. You will be able to watch “select matchups” on both ESPN+ and Disney+, but ESPN hasn’t announced what those will be. So, unfortunately, your best bet is a live-TV streaming service like Sling, YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV for a comprehensive experience. Sling is the cheapest avenue here, with the requisite Orange and Sports Extra plans costing $34 (Sling is currently offering a discount on the first month of Orange). YouTube and Hulu live TV options are both the same price at $83/month (YouTube TV currently discounted to $70 for the first six months), so it’s a matter of which set of content and features you like best. YouTube TV offers a handy multiview tool so you can watch up to four games at once, but Hulu + Live TV comes with Disney+ and ESPN+ (both with ads) for that cost. (Opting for Hulu + Live TV only saves you one whole dollar per month if you don’t include the Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu bundling.)

If you’re a more casual fan who can afford to roll the dice on the “select” options on ESPN+, you can save some money. That service only costs $12/month. And if you already have a TV plan that includes the ESPN family of networks, the ESPN app is the best place to watch the tournament. The mix of scores and info, along with multiview streaming for up to four games at a time on Apple TV and Xbox, make the app a well-equipped conduit for the women’s tournament.

The March Madness website only shows scores and news for the women’s tournament. There are no live games available on the website.

What if I want to stream both the men’s and women’s tournaments?

ASSOCIATED PRESS

If you’re hoping to stream all of both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments, I hope you ordered Samsung’s eight-TV bundle. In terms of streaming services, just jump straight to a live-TV option like YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV. I prefer the former because of its multiview feature – a tool that Hulu doesn’t offer. At times when there are multiple games that you want to watch, especially during the first two rounds, you’ll want multiview in order to keep tabs on all of the action.

Are any of the March Madness games available to stream for free?

You can watch all of the games broadcast on CBS on the March Madness website and mobile apps without a TV provider. Sure, it’s a small sample of the tournament, but it’s completely free and a good option for casual fans who don’t have a paid TV plan they can exploit for more of the action. It’s also a good option for watching the first round at work, if your company hasn’t blocked streaming sites, or if you can discreetly watch on your phone.

For the women’s tournament, there aren’t any games available for free. Unless you have an old-school OTA antenna, in which case you can watch men’s games on CBS and women’s games on ABC without any kind of streaming plan. Of course, this is a streaming guide so I’d consider an antenna an extraordinary move in 2025.

If you were hoping to use a free trial period to watch March Madness, I’ve got bad news. None of them will be long enough to watch an entire tournament. Some of them don’t offer them at all, but the longest is YouTube TV at 10 days which wouldn’t get you through the second weekend.

Update, March 20, 2025 12:19PM ET: This guide has been updated to clarify the games available on March Madness Live and to update game availability and pricing for Max.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/how-to-stream-march-madness-2025-watch-the-final-four-games-on-april-4-and-5-181552477.html?src=rss

You have to go all the way back to the Nintendo 64 to play the most recent 3D Donkey Kong game. But without a new mainline Zelda or Mario title (Mario Kart World doesn't quite count) queued up for the Switch 2's launch in June, Nintendo's favorite ape is getting some time to shine in Donkey Kong Bananza. And after getting a chance to play a demo of the game prior to its release on July 17, I have to say I'm loving this glowed-up gorilla.

Now, I'm not entirely sure how DK went from the jungle to being stuck in the banana mines because the demo just kind of dropped me in without a ton of context. Regardless, there's no doubt that this is the best the gorilla has ever looked. He's got a fresh, almost cell-shaded look not entirely dissimilar to the art style seen in recent Zelda games, along with a more youthful and expressive appearance. And it seems his time spent digging has garnered him some new skills as well, which include the ability to punch, dig and butt stomp his way below, into and through all sorts of terrain, with dirt flying everywhere as you do it.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

This opens up a world (cave?) of exploration because now DK can tunnel through to new locations or shape his surroundings with a ground pound, though there's also the usual assortment of actions like running and jumping. This type of freedom immediately changes the way you tackle obstacles compared to a standard platformer. Nearly everything is destructible in some way, and between digging, rolling or simply chucking giant rocks at foes, it feels like there are multiple ways to get where you need to go.

Granted, you still have familiar tropes like collecting jeweled bananas and of course, a companion in the form of a friendly purple rock monster that rides on DK's shoulder. But make no mistake, this ain't the same country DK has swung through before. Thanks to all of its new traversal mechanics, in a lot of ways, Bananza reminds me more of Mario Galaxy than Odyssey. It's just swapped out the gravity-bending physics for bombastic spelunking.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

That said, while the game looks great and handles well, I do have some initial concerns. After a while, the constant digging and rock smashing felt a bit button-mashy. Plus, all the ricks and detritus that gets kicked up becomes a distraction, as I would kind of like to actually see where I'm going. There really is a ton of earth that needs moving. This makes me wonder if the game is aimed at a slightly younger audience similar to a lot of Kirby games rather than something meant to appeal to older players.

But even though I only had a brief time with the game, I saw more than enough to make me want to come back. And alongside Mario Kart World, it's exceedingly clear that Donkey Kong Bananza is part of Nintendo's giant punch that will carry the Switch 2 through its launch window.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/donkey-kong-bananza-hands-on-a-funky-fresh-take-on-nintendos-favorite-ape-130057272.html?src=rss

The trailer for M3GAN 2.0 is here and if you were expecting a copy-paste of the original's horror vibe, you may be surprised. Instead, the sequel is embracing a turn towards action in vein of Terminator 2 complete with upgrades to the original doll, a robot showdown and... a wing suit? 

Set to arrive in theaters only on June 27, the film is once again directed by Gerard Johnstone and features returning cast members Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps, along with newcomer Ivanna Sakhno (Pacific Rim: Uprising) as Amelia. 

It's two years after the original M3GAN doll went on a murderous rampage (including that wild dance sequence) and was eventually destroyed. Since then, its designer Gemma has become an author and voice for more robust AI oversight, while Gemma's niece Cady (who M3GAN 1.0 swore to protect) is now a teenager.

Meanwhile, M3GAN's AI tech was stolen by a defense contractor to build super robot solidier Amelia. However, the experiment went awry and Amelia seeks murderous revenge against the AI's creators, particularly Gemma and Cady. Despite misgivings (mostly over the fact that M3GAN tried to murder her), Gemma decides to resurrect the OG doll to combat Amelia, and even adds updates to make her faster, stronger and, well, taller. 

That sets up a showdown between M3GAN and Amelia, complete with guns, a Teletubby version of M3GAN, catchphrases ("hold on to your vagina") and the aforementioned wingsuit sequence. It has strong shades of Terminator 2 with the original robot doll protecting a key character from a new upgraded model. That's married with a camp aesthetic, lots of blood and even a creepy usage of Britney Spears' Oops I did it Again. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/watch-m3gan-switch-from-horror-to-action-in-the-new-sequel-trailer-125749110.html?src=rss

Following the release of rival Anthropic's Claude for Education, OpenAI has announced that its $20 ChatGPT Plus tier will be free for college students until the end of May. The offer comes just in time for final exams and will provide features like OpenAI's most advanced LLM, GPT-4o and an all-new image generation tool. 

"We are offering a Plus discount for students on a limited-time basis in the US and Canada," the company wrote in a FAQ. "This is an experimental consumer program and we may or may not expand this to more schools and countries over time."

On top of the aforementioned features, ChatGPT Plus will offer students benefits like priority access during peak usage times and higher message limits. It'll also grant them access to OpenAI's Deep Research, a tool that can create reports from hundreds of online sources. 

AI tools have been widely adopted by students for research and other uses, with open AI recently saying that a third of young adults aged 18-24 already use ChatGPT, with much of that directed toward studies. Anthropic is going even farther than OpenAI to tap into that market with Claude for Education, by introducing a Learning mode specifically designed to guide students to a solution, rather than providing answers outright. 

Where Anthropic is positioning itself more as a tutor to students, OpenAI is simply giving them access to its most powerful research tools. That brings up the subject of academic integrity and whether AI tools are doing work that students should be doing themselves. Anthropic's approach may be more palatable to institutions — along with its Claude for Education launch, the company announced that it partnered with several universities and colleges to make the new product free for students. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-20-chatgpt-plus-is-now-free-for-college-students-until-the-end-of-may-120037778.html?src=rss

After Nintendo revealed the full details around the Switch 2 this week, Engadget's Sam Rutherford got some hands-on time with the new console. In this episode, he talks about the major improvements in the new hardware (especially that 1080p, 120 fps screen) and why he doesn't really miss the older Switch OLED. Also, Sam discusses his time with Mario Kart World, the new semi-open world version of Nintendo's classic racer.

In other news, we dive into the latest updates around the TIkTok ban, and we discuss how the Trump administration's tariff push will affect everything in the technology world and beyond. Stay tuned to the end of the show for our chat with Shinichiro Watanabe, the creator of Cowboy Bebop, about his new anime series Lazarus.

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Topics

• Switch 2 details are finally here, Sam Rutherford got hands-on time with it – 1:47

• U.S.’s broad new tariffs on China and beyond could make everything from keyboards to cars more expensive – 49:32

• TikTok’s divest-or-ban deadline is April 5, here are the possible buyers – 54:57

• xAI buys X, but how much does that matter? – 58:24

• Working on – 1:00:59

• Pop culture picks – 1:02:31

Credits 

Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Sam Rutherford
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/engadget-podcast-nintendo-switch-2-hands-on-and-the-cowboy-bebop-creator-chats-about-lazarus-113005280.html?src=rss

Nintendo’s new console has finally been revealed in full, with magnetically attaching Joy-Cons, a new chat function and a bigger higher-res 7.9-inch screen that supports 120Hz and HDR.

Then there are the new Joy-Cons. Alongside larger SL and SR buttons made of metal, the controllers can be disconnected by pressing a more pronounced release button on the back. The big upgrade, though, is using either Joy-Con like a mouse. (And even use them on your pants, if you want to.)

The Switch 2 also uses DLSS, so it’s easier for developers to port games across to the hybrid console. In a very Nintendo way, it didn’t actually talk up the hardware specifics, so NVIDIA had to fill in the gaps. 

Engadget

According to NVIDIA, responsible for the chip inside, the Switch 2 has “ten times” the graphical performance of the original. DLSS tech means games can be rendered at a lower resolution, and trained AI models and dedicated Tensor Cores can be used to fill in extra details.

With that extra power, the Switch 2 supports up to 60 fps at 4K resolution and 120 fps at 1440p or 1080p resolutions, docked. The 1080p screen can handle variable refresh rates up to 120Hz in handheld mode, too.

Yes, catching up with the last two decades, the Switch 2 can also do video chat (and voice chat, but yawn). However, it demands a sold-separately camera, costing $50. Boo.

I think that strikes at the issue of price. The original Switch was $300 at launch, the PS5 starts at $399 now. The Switch 2 is $450. Sure, that includes the screen and (technically) two controllers, but it’s a bit of a jump.

Is Nintendo factoring in tariffs? Possibly. While some of us think $450 is an appropriate price for the console itself, the costs are creeping up in every direction. Want the new must-have Mario Kart World? That’s $80 now. Meanwhile, older games re-released on the Switch 2 also won't be cheap. Cyberpunk 2077 rings in at $70. Oof.

If you want to expand storage, well, you’d need a microSD express card, the faster, pricier version of the tiny storage card. Need another pair of Joy-Cons? That will be $90, please.

Want to pre-order a Switch 2 ahead of the June 5 launch? We’ve got all the details, but it’s worth noting Nintendo is trying to get ahead of scalpers by offering a dedicated pre-order system for existing heavy Switch users with a Switch Online subscription.

In Nintendo’s words: “Invitation emails will be prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis to registrants who have purchased a Nintendo Switch Online membership with a minimum of 12 months of paid membership and a minimum of 50 total gameplay hours, as of April 2, 2025.”

Read on for our hands-on impressions of the Switch 2.

— Mat Smith

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Even more Switch 2 stuff

• Nintendo Switch 2: Everything you need to know

• The Switch 2’s Joy-Cons can double as mouse-like controllers

• Mario Kart World hands-on: The perfect launch game for the Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 has built-in voice chat and screensharing

GameChat will be free until March 31, 2026.

Nintendo

While we didn’t get to try it at the early hands-on event, voice chat is an integral part of the new Nintendo console. By pressing the new C button on the right Joy-Con, players can jump into a GameChat with friends and family. Nintendo demoed the feature during its recent Switch 2 Direct, alongside a new Switch 2 Camera, enabling video chat too, with a cut-out profile. It looks a lot like a stream on Discord, with windows along the bottom of the screen for every chat participant. Up to four friends can share their screen and join with video chat if they own the Switch 2 Camera.

Continue reading.

• Want a less ugly Switch 2 camera?

National Security Council adds Gmail to its list of bad decisions

Signalgate was just the start.

It’s not long since that Signal messaging app disaster, but US politicians continue showing off their minimal national security expertise. The Washington Post reports that members of the White House’s National Security Council have used personal Gmail accounts for official government business. National security advisor Michael Waltz and a senior aide of his both used their own accounts to discuss sensitive information with colleagues. Government departments typically use business-grade email services, while the federal government also has its own internal communications systems with additional layers of security.

Continue reading.

• How to add someone to a Signal group chat

Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 are back on sale

You can pick up a pair for $179.

Google’s latest wireless earbuds are on sale via Amazon for just $179. This is a record-low price, down from $229. As per our review, they sound great. They provide a good low end, which is tough to do with earbuds, and crunchy highs. Google says it redesigned the entire audio system, and it shows. We called out the “noticeable improvement” over the original Pixel Buds Pro earbuds.

Continue reading.

'Careless People' author will testify on Meta at Senate hearing

This will be Wynn-Williams’ first remarks since Meta took legal action against her.

Sarah Wynn-Williams, the former Facebook policy director who wrote a best-selling memoir about her time at the company, will testify at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing next week. In her book, Careless People, Wynn-Williams recounts Meta executives’ interactions with world leaders and government officials as Facebook’s influence expanded globally in the early 2010s. Her account has resurfaced information about Facebook’s attempts to operate in China and revealed new details about its overtures to Chinese government officials.

Prior to her book’s publication, Wynn-Williams also filed whistleblower complaints about alleged misconduct at the company.

Meta’s attempts to curtail sales of the memoir spectacularly backfired, with the book seeing explosive sales after reports suggested Meta took legal action against the author. Now there’s a senate hearing too.

Continue reading.

The world’s smallest pacemaker is injectable and powered by light

And it dissolves when no longer needed.

Northwestern University

Engineers at Northwestern University have developed the world’s smallest pacemaker. It’s so small that it fits in the tip of a syringe. It safely dissolves into the bloodstream after a time, so it’s a temporary solution. It’s designed for folks who need heart help short-term, like newborn babies with congenital defects. The pacemaker pairs with a wireless device mounted to a patient’s chest. When it detects an irregular heartbeat, it shines a light that activates the pacemaker.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111500071.html?src=rss

Managing your finances doesn’t have to be a headache — especially with the right budgeting app at your fingertips. Whether you’re trying to track everyday spending, save for a big purchase or just keep a closer eye on your subscriptions, there’s an app that can help. With Mint shutting down, plenty of users have been looking for the best budget apps to replace it, and luckily there are plenty of solid alternatives.

From AI-powered spending trackers to apps that break down your expenses into easy-to-follow categories, the best budgeting tools help you take control of your money without the hassle of spreadsheets. Some focus on automating savings, while others give you a deep dive into your finances with powerful analytics and custom reporting. If you’re still searching for the right Mint alternative, check out our guide to the best budgeting apps to replace Mint to find the best fit for your needs.

If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve rounded up the top budgeting apps to help you track spending, save smarter, and stick to your financial goals.

Best budget apps of 2025

How we test budgeting apps

Before I dove in and started testing out budgeting apps, I had to do some research. To find a list of apps to try out, I consulted trusty ol’ Google (and even trustier Reddit); read reviews of popular apps on the App Store; and also asked friends and colleagues what budget tracking apps (or other budgeting methods) they might be using for money management. Some of the apps I found were free and these, of course, show loads of ads (excuse me, “offers”) to stay in business. But most of the available apps require paid subscriptions, with prices typically topping out around $100 a year, or $15 a month. (Spoiler: My top pick is cheaper than that.)

All of the services I chose to test needed to do several things: import all of your account data into one place; offer budgeting tools; and track your spending, net worth and credit score. Except where noted, all of these apps are available for iOS, Android and on the web.

Once I had my shortlist of six apps, I got to work setting them up. For the sake of thoroughly testing these apps, I made a point of adding every account to every budgeting app, no matter how small or immaterial the balance. What ensued was a veritable Groundhog Day of two-factor authentication. Just hours of entering passwords and one-time passcodes, for the same banks half a dozen times over. Hopefully, you only have to do this once.

Budgeting app FAQs

What is Plaid and how does it work?

Each of the apps I tested uses the same underlying network, called Plaid, to pull in financial data, so it’s worth explaining what it is and how it works. Plaid was founded as a fintech startup in 2013 and is today the industry standard in connecting banks with third-party apps. Plaid works with over 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada and Europe. Additionally, more than 8,000 third-party apps and services rely on Plaid, the company claims.

To be clear, you don’t need a dedicated Plaid app to use it; the technology is baked into a wide array of apps, including all of the budgeting apps listed in this guide. Once you find the “add an account” option in whichever one you’re using, you’ll see a menu of commonly used banks. There’s also a search field you can use to look yours up directly. Once you find yours, you’ll be prompted to enter your login credentials. If you have two-factor authentication set up, you’ll need to enter a one-time passcode as well.

As the middleman, Plaid is a passthrough for information that may include your account balances, transaction history, account type and routing or account number. Plaid uses encryption, and says it has a policy of not selling or renting customer data to other companies. However, I would not be doing my job if I didn’t note that in 2022 Plaid was forced to pay $58 million to consumers in a class action suit for collecting “more financial data than was needed.” As part of the settlement, Plaid was compelled to change some of its business practices.

In a statement provided to Engadget, a Plaid spokesperson said the company continues to deny the allegations underpinning the lawsuit and that “the crux of the non-financial terms in the settlement are focused on us accelerating workstreams already underway related to giving people more transparency into Plaid’s role in connecting their accounts, and ensuring that our workstreams around data minimization remain on track.”

Why did Mint shut down?

When parent company Intuit announced in December 2023 that it would shut down Mint, it did not provide a reason why it made the decision to do so. It did say that Mint's millions of users would be funneled over to its other finance app, Credit Karma. "Credit Karma is thrilled to invite all Minters to continue their financial journey on Credit Karma, where they will have access to Credit Karma’s suite of features, products, tools and services, including some of Mint’s most popular features," Mint wrote on its product blog. In our testing, we found that Credit Karma isn't an exact replacement for Mint — so if you're still looking for a Mint alternative, you have some decent options.

What about Rocket Money?

Rocket Money is another free financial app that tracks spending and supports things like balance alerts and account linking. If you pay for the premium tier, the service can also help you cancel unwanted subscriptions. We did not test it for this guide, but we'll consider it in future updates.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/best-budgeting-apps-120036303.html?src=rss