Your iPhone’s incoming call screen isn’t as mysterious as it seems.

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At some point, everyone’s been burned by their iPhone going off in the worst possible place. When you see there’s no option to decline the call, it’s a mad scramble to press every side button or sling the phone through a wall at the speed of sound. But you’ve seen the on-screen option to decline calls before, so what gives? Fair warning: it’s a really simple, forehead-slapping answer. When your iPhone is locked, incoming calls display the “slide to answer” control. When your iPhone is unlocked, you get the option to answer or decline the call.

Depending on your Incoming Calls setting, Accept and Decline buttons appear in a compact banner or across the entire screen, but both options remain. No, you didn’t disable anything by accident. This is simply how the iPhone operates by default, right out of the box. On the bright side, it’s not set in stone; you can make adjustments via Settings.

You don’t need an on-screen button to decline or silence a call, however. You can press the side button twice quickly to decline and send the caller straight to voicemail. Or, you can press either volume button to silence the ring without declining the call. You can do this whether the iPhone screen is locked or not.

How to respond to an iPhone call without answering it

The person calling will probably know their call was just rejected if you hit the side button twice the moment your iPhone starts ringing. The practical effect is pretty obvious. Fortunately, rejecting a phone call doesn’t have to come off as rude, because you can let the caller know why you rejected it. An iPhone’s incoming call interface includes a Message option that lets you send a text instead of answering. There are a few useful prepared options, as well as a custom alternative if you prefer.

If the incoming call pops up as a banner while you’re busy, tap the banner to reveal more options, then select Message. Go with a prepared reply or quickly fire off a text by choosing Custom. Now you can provide some context to the caller and explain why they’re being sent straight to voicemail.

You can also change the prepared replies well in advance. Open Settings > Apps > Phone > Respond with Text, then select a response and edit it accordingly. For instance, “I’m working right now” and “Please text me; I’m busy” both speak volumes in a few short words. It’s a nifty little feature and only takes a few minutes to set up.

How to reject unwanted calls on an iPhone

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Despite the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act, telemarketers, spam and robocalls are something we all deal with on a regular basis. According to the Federal Trade Commission, there were more than 2.6 million Do Not Call complaints in fiscal year 2025. Some callers are more persistent than others, and even if you block one number, they’ll call back from another slightly different number. But it’s worth the effort to block them all. Find the number you just rejected in Recents, tap it (or the Info button in Classic view), scroll to the bottom of the screen, select Block Caller and confirm.

You can use a broader setting to screen unknown callers as well. Go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Screen Unknown Callers (iOS 26 and later). From here, you can select Never, Ask Reason for Calling or Silence. Consider the middle option, just in case the unknown number is someone you know and the call is important.

But if you choose Silence, every unknown call will go straight to voicemail without ringing. Just remember that life comes at you fast, and that unknown number may be someone you recently met or someone who lost their phone and really needs to contact you. Convenience always comes with a caveat or two.

Older Apple TVs have received up to a decade of updates, but Apple doesn’t promise that.

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At $299, the new Apple TV 4K is a lot to pay for a little black box that sits under your TV waiting for you to pick a show to watch. The fourth-generation model will be available November 13 with an A19 chip, an improved Siri Remote and hands-free Siri controls. For that price, how many years can you expect it to last before the next upgrade beckons?

Apple doesn’t guarantee how many updates will be available for tvOS or how long its streaming boxes will be supported. But its history is a pretty good indication. Older Apple TVs have received major software updates for eight to 10 years, with security patches continuing beyond that. The hardware may continue to function long after it exits official support, with software and app compatibility concerns the most likely reasons for replacing one.

How long does Apple support an Apple TV for?

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While the Apple TV HD was introduced in 2015, and the first Apple TV 4K in 2017, both were updated to tvOS 26 in 2025. Plus, security patches were provided in tvOS 26.6 in July 2026. That’s about 10 years of major software updates for the HD and eight for the original 4K, plus some security support.

The impressive streak came to an end in September 2026 with tvOS 27. Apple’s new tvOS compatibility list begins with the second-generation Apple TV 4K from 2021, which means the 2015 and 2017 models can’t get the latest operating system. Apple has not yet confirmed whether those older boxes will get additional security patches. It’s not a guarantee that the new Apple TV 4K will get 10 years of support. Apple hasn’t provided an estimate of how many years of tvOS updates to expect, so the best indication is its track record.

In contrast, Amazon promises at least four years of security updates for Fire TV devices bought new directly from the company, or through the model’s published support date (if later). That’s not the same as a major OS upgrade, but at least Fire TV customers have a minimum support deadline in writing.

When should you actually replace your Apple TV?

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Not being able to update to the latest version of tvOS doesn’t make your Apple TV an expensive brick. Netflix still supports the Apple TV HD and first-generation Apple TV 4K, even though neither is eligible for tvOS 27. That could change as developers raise their minimum software requirements, potentially leaving older devices unable to install or update certain apps.

A better way to think about your Apple TV is to consider its performance, not its age. When menus start to become painfully slow, apps begin to crash or a service that you care about stops working, an upgrade makes more sense. Security is also a factor, especially if your Apple TV is used as a smart home hub and no longer gets patched.

Upgrading is a tougher pill to swallow with the newest release costing $299. Apple’s Siri AI beta will also be available on the second-generation Apple TV 4K and newer (if the Home admin has an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad), so you don’t have to buy the latest box just for Siri AI. The 2026 Apple TV 4K does have some significant improvements over the 2022 version, such as a faster A19 processor and built-in microphones for hands-free control. But it’s a significant amount to pay if you’re already happy with your current Apple TV.

Then there’s the Siri Remote, which frequently finds itself in the sofa. If yours is lost or breaks down, you can use your iPhone as a TV remote instead of replacing the whole setup. Apple’s latest Siri Remote is compatible with all Apple TV 4K models and even the 2015 Apple TV HD, and a replacement costs $59.

Starlink is coming to many airlines, but the rollouts are all in different stages of completion.

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More and more airlines are adding faster Wi-Fi to their flights, with many opting for Starlink’s satellite internet. According to Starlink, over 200,000 flights worldwide are already using its service. But because not all airlines offer Starlink and many rollouts are still in progress, it’s worth checking before you book your flight if the service is important for you.

Airlines adding Starlink now

SpaceX

In North America, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and WestJet are in the process of adding it to their respective fleets. Internationally, Lufthansa, Swiss, Emirates, Qatar Airways, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, airBaltic, Aer Lingus, Air France and British Airways are offering Starlink Wi-Fi on some of their flights.

Third-party websites, like Starlink Flights and Stardrift, are tracking Starlink rollouts across commercial carriers and can help you estimate whether your upcoming flight may be equipped with the high-speed Wi-Fi. But these trackers aren’t always up to date, and some airlines have only completed installs on certain plane types.

Airlines that have finished their Starlink rollouts

Hawaiian Airlines

Only a few commercial airlines have finished adding Starlink to their fleets as of October 2026. Hawaiian Airlines offers Starlink on all of its Airbus planes, and Alaska has completed its regional Starlink rollout for Horizon Air flights.

ZipAir Tokyo, a small commercial airline owned by Japan Airlines with just eight planes, has fully completed its Starlink rollout. ZipAir began operations in 2020 and offers budget flights from select North American and Asian cities to Tokyo. ZipAir finished its Starlink rollout in May and offers it on its entire fleet of Boeing 787-8 planes.

Airlines likely to have Starlink active

Qatar Airways

While only a few airlines have finished their Starlink rollouts, others appear close to completion. Starlink Flights and Stardrift estimates suggest that WestJet has added Starlink to somewhere between 76 and 83 percent of its planes. The carrier has confirmed that at least 100 planes have been equipped so far.

Qatar Airways has roughly 60 percent of its planes equipped with Starlink, according to the two tracking sites. The airline has said it’s already added Starlink to all of its 787-8 jets and over half of its Boeing 787-9 fleet, with over 150 planes equipped so far across the two types. It plans to finish adding it to all of its 787 jets by the end of 2026. So if you’re able to see what plane type you have flying with Qatar, you can determine if your upcoming flight will likely have Starlink.

Air France also gives you a decent chance of getting a plane with Starlink service. Stardrift estimates suggest the airline is 65 percent done with its rollout, with installs on at least 150 planes so far, but the airline hasn’t publicly confirmed these numbers.

Emirates has installed Starlink on over 50 planes to date, and is continuing its rollout at a pace of about 14 planes per month. SAS Airlines’ rollout is 70% complete, the airline has confirmed, with Starlink now equipped on all of its Airbus A320neo planes. In the US, Alaska is now working on installations for its mainline and widebody jets.

Other airlines with some Starlink installs

Korean Air

Korean Air offers Starlink on some of its flights. You can search for flights on its website and filter for those with Wi-Fi before booking, but this doesn’t specify whether the internet type is Starlink or its legacy Wi-Fi service. The airline notes that Starlink won’t work while flying over or into China, so that’s also something to keep in mind.

Air Canada has added Starlink connectivity to some of its Air Canada Jazz Dash 8-400 planes, specifically on those doing short flights between Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport flying to Montreal and Ottawa. But it’s currently unclear if the airline has plans for a broader rollout.

United’s Starlink internet checker

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In May 2025, United Airlines began adding Starlink Wi-Fi to its flights. While it’s been over a year since this rollout began, United isn’t yet close to offering Starlink on every flight.

As of October 2026, United’s Starlink rollout is 43 percent complete, according to the airline’s own numbers, with Starlink hardware installed on over 640 United planes. But this means that the majority of United flights still don’t have Starlink yet, with about 48 percent of its daily flights offering the service. United’s installations are expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

The US carrier offers its own webpage, the Starlink Wi-Fi tracker, where you can check if your United flight offers the service.

Southwest Airlines’ Starlink rollout

Southwest Airlines

Southwest may no longer offer perks like two free checked bags or open seating, but it is starting to add Starlink Wi-Fi. The airline says it will make Starlink available for all its flights by sometime in fall 2027.

In the meantime, you can see if your Southwest flight is equipped with Starlink by looking in the Southwest app. If your plane has Starlink, there should be a “WiFi Powered by Starlink” note on your trip.

Other airlines planning to add Starlink

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American Airlines doesn’t offer Starlink on any of its planes yet, but it’s expected to start installations in early 2027. In October, the airline announced that it would add Starlink Aero Performance Terminals to its entire fleet of over 1,000 planes.

KLM has also announced Starlink plans. The Dutch airline says Starlink service will launch in phases beginning in the summer of 2027 on intercontinental flights.

Delta chooses Amazon Leo over Starlink

Delta Airlines

Notably, Delta Airlines has chosen not to deploy Starlink across its fleet. Instead, it struck a deal with Amazon to offer faster internet on its flights instead via the tech giant’s low-Earth orbit satellites. Amazon’s competing Starlink product is called Amazon Leo and was previously known as Project Kuiper. Delta expects to offer Leo service on 500 planes by 2028.

Sometimes, Starlink won’t work

Even if your flight will offer Starlink, if the plane passes over or into China, Russia, Afghanistan or US-sanctioned countries like Iran, Starlink won’t be operational over those areas. It also likely won’t work flying over places that have not granted Starlink approval to operate there, like India, Pakistan, South Africa and other countries. Service is also never guaranteed by airlines, so even if your flight is supposed to offer Starlink, your plane could get swapped last-minute or the service could experience downtime for maintenance or some other reason.

Of course, many airlines already offer other types of Wi-Fi, albeit with speeds much slower and with more restrictions than what you’d experience on the ground. If you’re still struggling to figure out whether Starlink will be on your flight, it’s best to contact your airline directly.

Most connection problems come down to a few settings.

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Apple AirPods are usually very easy to pair with an iPhone, especially with features like quick pairing and auto-switch. However, it’s not uncommon to run into some issues — your AirPods might not play any sound or might not connect at all. The good news is that connection and pairing issues often just require you to change a few settings and try again. 

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the most common reasons your AirPods won’t connect, such as when only one AirPod is working, from a drained battery to outdated software to automatic switching errors. We’ll also cover how to reset your AirPods if these steps don’t work and when it makes sense to contact Apple Support. Most of these fixes are quick, so you’ll be able to get back to listening to your tunes and podcasts before you know it.

The main reasons your AirPods won’t connect to your iPhone

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AirPods can fail to connect to your iPhone for many reasons, but one of the main culprits is the battery. If the battery in the earbuds or the case is completely drained, the AirPods simply won’t show up on your iPhone — not even to warn you about a low battery. 

Put the earbuds in the charging case and plug it in for a few minutes to see if any lights come on and if they reconnect to your iPhone. Dirt and earwax on the charging contacts can also prevent AirPods from charging, even when they’re in the case. If they still don’t work, try cleaning your AirPods and the case with a soft cotton swab.

AirPods signed in to your Apple Account can also automatically switch between your iPhone, iPad and Mac depending on which device is playing audio. While this feature is quite convenient, your AirPods can end up connecting to the wrong device. Even a simple email notification on your Mac can cause your AirPods to switch to that device; hitting the play button on your iPhone usually brings them back. 

AirPods also get firmware updates with new features and bug fixes, so outdated firmware or an older version of iOS may cause connection issues. To check if your AirPods and iPhone are running the latest software, go to Settings > General > Software Update. 

Next, look for your AirPods in the AirPods menu in the Settings app, then scroll down until you find Version. Check this Apple webpage to see if the firmware on your AirPods matches what Apple says is the latest available. If not, plug your AirPods into the charger and wait about 30 minutes for them to update on their own.

How to fix AirPods that won’t connect

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AirPods won’t work if Bluetooth is turned off. Open the Settings app and look for Bluetooth, then turn on the toggle. Next, put your AirPods in your ears and see if they show up in the Bluetooth list. Tap them to connect, and look for your AirPods in the audio output list in Control Center — they’re listed under the AirPlay button in the media controls.

If they don’t show up with Bluetooth on, try resetting and re-pairing your AirPods. Place both earbuds inside the case, open the lid and enter pairing mode. For AirPods 4, AirPods 5 and AirPods Pro 3, double-tap the front of the case until a white light turns on. Double-tap again when it flashes white and a third time when it starts flashing faster. For older models, press and hold the button on the back of the case for about 15 seconds. For AirPods Max, press and hold the Digital Crown and the ANC button at the same time, also for 15 seconds. If you did it right, your iPhone will show you the instructions to finish pairing.

If none of this works, the problem may be a hardware failure. In that case, your best option is to contact Apple Support to request a replacement. Replacement may be free if your AirPods are still under the one-year warranty or if you have an AppleCare+ plan.

Meta has reached a settlement in another social media addiction lawsuit in a move that will allow it to avoid a trial that was set to kick off next month. Snap is now the only defendant in the case, which is one of several closely watched lawsuits against social media platforms.

The lawsuit was brought by an 18-year-old woman from Mississippi known as K.D.B who, according to Reuters, has “described staying awake for hours scrolling social media, losing focus in class and engaging in self-harm using methods shown in social media videos.” Jury selection kicked off earlier this week in Los Angeles.

On Friday, K.D.B’s lawyer announced that she had reached a settlement with Meta after previously settling with TikTok and YouTube. “We remain committed to improving safety for kids on social media apps and holding tech companies accountable, and we are pleased to have brought this matter to a just resolution on behalf of our client,” attorney Emily Jeffcott said in a statement.

Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed and Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Now, Snap is the only remaining defendant in the case. CEO Evan Spiegel is expected to testify in the trial that could last several weeks. If he does take the stand, it will be the first time the Snap founder has appeared in a social media addiction trial. Snap previously settled in another high-profile case involving similar claims. A jury later ruled against Meta and YouTube in the trial and the two were ordered to pay $6 million in damages.

In a statement, a Snap spokesperson didn’t comment on Meta’s settlement, but said the lawsuit “fundamentally misrepresent(s)” how Snapchat works. “From the beginning, Snapchat was built differently from traditional social media: it opens to a camera, not a feed, not a ranking of what other people post or other social comparison metrics,” the spokesperson said. “We have built safeguards into the platform, introduced safety tools and educational resources, and we believe the evidence will support that we have put our community first, and that these allegations fundamentally misrepresent the plaintiffs’ experiences on Snapchat and how our platform was designed.”

Meta and Snap have both faced a flood of lawsuits over alleged safety lapses and social media addiction. Snap also recently settled a long-running lawsuit over its “speed filter,” which is alleged to have played a role in several high-speed car crashes involving teens.

For now, it’s a limited launch in parts of Asia.

Meta

Meta has released yet another AI app with very limited availability. A few weeks ago, it launched Waddle World, a Tamagotchi-like game that the company describes as a “daily journal disguised as a pet,” in the Philippines. Now, it has introduced an AI fashion app called Style Sketch in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand on Android and iOS. 

The app’s existence was first reported by social media consultant Matt Navarra on X. Style Sketch can connect to your Facebook and Instagram accounts to build a virtual closet from photos you’ve shared on social media. Or you can upload existing photos from your camera roll or snap new pictures of your clothes if you don’t want to link your accounts.

From there, you can get outfit combination suggestions from your wardrobe. You can also try on different combinations on the virtual model that matches your body type and skin tone. To get suggestions, you can pick any clothing item in your closet to build outfits around it, tell the app the weather for the day, or ask it to create outfit plans for your trip. 

As TechCrunch notes, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said earlier this year that the company is releasing many more apps, since AI has made them much easier to develop. These apps will also help the company get more people to use and train their AI systems. Meta isn’t the first one to release an AI-powered fashion app or feature, however. Google’s AI Search has had a virtual clothes try-on feature since 2025, and it added a “Wardrobe” feature to Photos earlier this year that creates a catalog of your items by scanning your library. More recently, OpenAI also introduced a ChatGPT feature that lets you upload your photos and the clothes you want to try on to see how they look on you. 

Wired has the story of a superuser cheating scandal.

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Professional poker is the latest community to reckon with the impact of a high-profile cyberattack. Wired reports that hundreds of online poker players have allegedly been targeted in a malware attack that allowed a cheater to see their screens.

Cases where a player manages to cheat by getting unfair access to another person’s cards is known as the “superuser” strategy, and it has popped up from time to time in the poker scene over the years. This most recent attack appears to have been a long-term campaign that may have seen millions of dollars stolen from across major online poker platforms. The Wired story claims that the hacker exploited third-party tools allowing people to run multiple poker games at once to install a malware program called MeshAgent on specific players’ computers.

Different online poker platforms reportedly displayed a range of responses, which is especially surprising since the hacker’s real name is known by the community. Wired did not publish the cheater’s identity since they have not been charged with a crime, and the individual did not respond to the publication’s requests for comment.

One service had banned the cheater before the MeshAgent hack was publicly uncovered based on the account having an anomalously high win rate and play tendencies. Others released tools to help players check if their machines had been compromised after the malware was found. But one company not only allowed the cheater to remain active despite complaints made by other players, but further claimed that it found no evidence of compromised game outcomes and would not refund players for their losses.

The entire Wired profile is a fascinating read for cybersecurity and poker fans alike. It’s also just the latest reminder to take basic protective actions to keep you and your hardware safe.

The agency will vote next month on relaxing its long-standing opposition to jammers.

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The US Federal Communications Commission announced today that it will vote on a new rule that would allow state prisons and jails to use cellphone jammers. The goal of the change would be to block use of illegal cellphones by inmates, since having outside contact could allow them to continue engaging in criminal activity.

The planned vote during the agency’s open meeting on November 19 would consider allowing state and local incarceration facilities to opt in to using jammers; use of the tech would not be required. Any tech that interferes with communications signals is illegal for non-federal parties to use. In 2018, the Federal Bureau of Prisons began testing “micro-jamming” in federal prisons as a way to block unauthorized cellphone use by inmates. This move would potentially open up similar tools at the state and local levels, and provide a formal pathway for federal facilities to jam signals as well.

It’s a reversal from previous policies where the FCC has not allowed implementing jammers as a method of reducing illegal cellphone use in prisons. Previous concerns about jammers suggested the tech could interfere with emergency and public safety communications, as well as creating new security risks by putting more jamming tools into the wild where they could be exploited by bad actors. The bulletin today notes that if the new rules are adopted, correctional facilities would need to meet some standards, including proving “that the jamming solution does not cause harmful interference outside of the designated geographic areas.” 

Today’s move isn’t the first time the FCC has changed its approach toward prisons under the current administration. In July 2025, the department said it would delay implementing a cap on the rates charged for prison phone calls.

But it’s only available in the Philippines for now.

Screenshots by Mariella Moon (Meta)

Looks like a big part of Meta’s AI strategy is to rely on “uwu” and cuteness as a way to get people to use and train its models and agents. The company has released a new Tamagotchi-like AI-powered pet-rearing game called Waddle World, but it’s only available in the Philippines for now. If you’ve ever played Tamagotchi or any other virtual pet game, Waddle World will feel very familiar. You hatch an egg to get a pet, then you have to play with it and feed it to keep you happy. This virtual pet, however, can chat with you and even create illustrated journal entries to illustrate your conversations. 

Social media consultant Matt Navarra has posted links to its Apple App Store and Google Play store listings on X. Based on those listings, the game first became available in late September. Waddle World is a 16-bit game that Meta describes as a “daily journal disguised as a pet.” You’ll be able to write or dictate a journal entry, which the game presents as a way to communicate with your pet. Every time you write in your diary, your pet writes back and draws a little doodle to go with the entry. The responses are, of course, powered by Meta’s AI. As Navarra noted, this is basically “Tamagotchi meets ChatGPT.”

Screenshot by Mariella Moon (Meta)

In addition to the app’s journaling features, you can play mini-games to collect points that you can use to buy food and toys for your pet. One mini-game will have you stacking grocery items on top of your pet’s head. Another will have you catching falling stars and dodging bombs. The third game will have you spelling words using the jumbled letters on the screen. It’s not clear why it has such limited availability at the moment, but it’s possible that the company is testing it in the Philippines before giving it a wider release. 

Meta already lets you design cute avatars and designate a personality for your Muse agent. It also revealed the “Muse Charm” at its Connect event in September. The Muse Charm, designed to be an AI companion, is an egg-shaped physical device like the Tamagotchi that contains your Muse avatar. It’s small enough to be a keychain, created so that you’ll have constant access to Muse — or for Muse to have constant access to your environments and experiences. Meta is aiming to release the device in time for the holidays this December.

Its journey ends in March 2027.

The Pokémon Company

Another live-service game bites the dust. Pokémon Unite, a five-on-five battle arena game in the vein of League of Legends, will shut down on March 23, 2027, at 00:00 UTC (8PM ET on March 22).

The multiplayer online battle arena game launched on Switch in July 2021 and landed on mobile a few months later. It supported cross-platform play between them. Players choose a Pokémon at the start of each match, and the monsters evolve and learn new abilities as the game progresses. Apparently, that was enough for a nearly six-year run in today’s live-service climate.

In July, The Pokémon Company announced that the game wouldn’t be part of the 2027 Pokémon World Championships, opting instead for a separate tournament in Tokyo. That event is still scheduled, with qualifier tournaments starting in December. But in hindsight, the game’s split from the main event was a clue it was on its way out.

Built by Tencent’s TiMi Studios, Pokémon Unite is free to play, relying on the unholy trinity of freemium monetization: battle passes, cosmetics and gems. Gem sales stopped today, along with new Unite Club memberships and auto-renewals. Gems already purchased will work until the shutdown, and existing Club members can keep their perks until their membership expires. On November 12, a final update will add a special farewell event.

The game will add a new Library feature that lets you keep viewing some of your in-game items after the end-of-service date. However, you’ll need to log in before then to download the Library data — and since it’s stored on your device, it “generally cannot be transferred” to a new one, according to The Pokémon Company. But hey, at least it’s something.

Lockdown Mode makes your iPhone much more secure against spyware, but most people don’t need to use it.

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The iPhone’s Lockdown Mode has been around since 2022, but you might not have heard about it, let alone used it. It’s one of those features that’s well-hidden in the Settings app, plus it’s not really meant for the average person. Apple itself calls the tool an “extreme” layer of security for the few people who may be targeted by commercial spyware such as NSO’s Pegasus. Journalists, activists and politicians are among the potential targets of such spyware.

Anyone with an iPhone running iOS 16 or newer can try out Lockdown Mode. It’s also available on iPadOS 16 and later, watchOS 10 and newer, and macOS 13 Ventura and later. To turn it on, open Settings and go to Privacy & Security. Scroll down until you find Lockdown Mode, then tap Turn On & Restart and confirm with your passcode. It’s simple as that, and you’ll find the option to disable it in the same place.

What Lockdown Mode disables on your iPhone

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What makes Lockdown Mode strong is how it blocks many of the iPhone’s features when enabled. However, many of those features are ones you likely use every day. In Messages, most kinds of attachments are blocked. Even link previews stop working, since they can serve as a backdoor for spyware. Lockdown Mode also restricts how JavaScript works in browsers, which may cause some websites to load slowly or not work at all. FaceTime calls are also blocked; only people you’ve called recently can reach you.

Your iPhone’s connectivity is also limited when Lockdown Mode is on. For instance, wired connections are disabled when the device is locked — meaning it cannot communicate with a computer or accessory without your passcode. For wireless connectivity, your iPhone will no longer automatically connect to unsecured networks, and support for 2G and 3G networks is completely disabled (though these networks were discontinued in the US years ago). 

You also can’t install configuration profiles, which isn’t ideal if your school or employer requires one. If you have an Apple Watch, phone call notifications from your iPhone won’t show up on it. You’ll see reduced functionality across other Apple services too: Home invitations and Game Center are not available, and photo sharing is restricted.

Who should leave Lockdown Mode on?

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If Lockdown Mode sounds aggressive, it’s because that’s exactly what it was designed for. Back in 2023, an exploit known as “Blastpass” used iMessage to install the Pegasus spyware on Apple devices. However, researchers found that devices in Lockdown Mode were completely immune to the spyware. Apple offers a 100 percent bonus on top of the regular reward through its Security Bounty program to anyone who finds a way to bypass the feature, which shows how much the company trusts it. By restricting your iPhone to avoid potential attack vectors, you’re given maximum security in exchange for reduced functionality and convenience.

The feature offers some flexibility: you can exclude certain contacts from messaging restrictions so your family can still send you videos or documents. You also have the option to exclude certain websites and apps from the feature. However, loosening these restrictions makes your device a little more vulnerable to attacks. If you think you’re a target, it’s best to keep all the default protections turned on.

For most people, there’s no need to use Lockdown Mode. Apple devices already have many security and privacy features built in. Spyware like Pegasus usually targets public figures and is often deployed by governments that want to spy on opponents or protesters. If that’s the case for you, it’s definitely worth turning on Lockdown Mode — Apple may even send you a notification if it believes you’ve been targeted by spyware. If you’re curious, try using Lockdown Mode for a few days to see what it’s like. Chances are that the inconveniences it creates are not worth the extreme level of protection that few people need.

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

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Cable category terms like Cat5e and Cat6 have that industrial twang, so, understandably, some may assume they’re tough enough for outdoor use. And they can do more than just improve home internet, which is especially helpful for security cameras on your porch or in your yard. Sure, you can use standard Ethernet cables outdoors, but you can also run outside in a lightning storm with a ten-foot metal pole above your head — just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Standard indoor cables have a flexible PVC jacket, which is susceptible to sunlight. Over time it will fade and crack, exposing the internal components and ultimately degrading the connection.

Outside temperatures and rain accelerate the problem. The copper in an Ethernet cable won’t have proper protection from lightning strikes and other elements. Use a cable specifically rated for outdoor exposure, such as a direct-burial-rated cable made for an in-ground run across the yard. Direct-burial cables are specifically designed for this, and it will be written clearly on the cable jacket. Whatever the cable rating, it’s best practice to install surge protection on either end of the cable. While it requires additional hardware, you can avoid the risks of running copper outdoors by using outdoor-rated fiber optic cables instead of Ethernet, though any equipment exposed to the elements would still be at risk.

Use the right outdoor cable

There’s a difference between a direct-burial and an outdoor Ethernet cable. Outdoor cables typically use a more weather-resistant polyethylene jacket (such as LLDPE or PE) instead of the standard PVC jacket. These materials are much better at resisting UV exposure, moisture, and wild temperature swings.

If the cable needs to run underground, opt for the direct-burial cable. These cables are capable of dealing with long-term exposure to moisture and the physical pressure of the surrounding soil. Depending on the type of direct-burial cable, it might use water-blocking tape, powder, or gel to keep the wire dry even if the outer jacket is damaged. 

Local ordinances may not be happy with your buried wire, so be sure to check local rules on conduit, depth, and the cable types permitted. If all you need is a short and simple exterior run to an outdoor access point, a Cat6 outdoor-rated Ethernet cable is appropriate. Always secure exterior cable runs with cable clips to avoid abrasion, and never sharply bend the cable, even if that means the run requires a bit of creativity.

How to tell if an Ethernet cable is outdoor-rated

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To make sure your cable can be used outside, check the printing on it. It’s not always easy to read the small print, especially if it’s faded a bit, so you might have to make an extra effort for it; the color or category label means nothing where this is concerned. Terms like “CMX,” “OSP,” “UV-resistant,” “sunlight-resistant,” or simply “outdoor” are what to look for. Outdoor cables will also often list their jacket material, such as PE, HDPE, or LLDPE. The National Electrical Code (NEC) requires communications cables installed in buildings to be listed and marked, and UL’s guidance notes that cable evaluated for outdoor use is marked “outdoor” or “outdoor use,” so the rating shouldn’t be hard to confirm. Plus, the documentation that comes with them will state that they’re approved for direct burial or wet locations. 

Just note that an outdoor-rated cable doesn’t mean its inherent toughness makes it an excellent indoor application. Some exterior cables may not meet the requirements for indoor fire safety hazards, and that includes situations where only a small section of the outdoor cable is run inside. An unlisted outdoor cable generally can’t run more than 50 feet inside before it needs to terminate and transition to an indoor-rated cable, and shorter is better. Your best bet is to always read the cable’s markings and any associated literature. If you’re still unsure, check the local codes, especially for a permanent installation.

Your Mac comes with a fairly robust suite of built-in privacy tools.

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If you think about it too hard, you’ll start sweating at the reality of how much personal data you have on your MacBook. Whether it’s sensitive documents or credentials and logins, you’d probably like to keep all of it secure. And while Apple has built its brand around being particularly privacy- and security-focused, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the time to go through your settings and make sure your MacBook is as safe as it can be. After all, something like hopping on an unsecured public Wi-Fi network could leave you vulnerable, and not everyone has the best habits when it comes to protections like passwords.

Your individual privacy and security needs will vary depending on who you are, what you do and how you do it. While this list isn’t exhaustive, it’s a place to start. So, if it’s been a while, or perhaps you’ve just bought a new MacBook, it might be time to take a spin through your privacy settings. From location services to your lock screen password, here are some areas you should double-check.

Settings to change

One of the first ways you can make your MacBook more secure is by using a strong passcode and setting up Touch ID. Your pet’s name or your birthday isn’t going to cut it. This is especially important if you don’t always have eyes on your MacBook. You can require a password to wake your laptop up from sleep or your screensaver. You also have the option to decide how long your laptop must be asleep before prompting. To tweak these settings, go to System Settings > Lock Screen.

Another setting to revisit is Location Services. Location Services is what lets apps, websites or the like get information about where you are. In cases like Google or Apple Maps, it can be useful and even necessary for the app to work. It’s worth considering, though, that not every app that’s accessing your location needs to. If you go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, you’ll find Location Services. There you can either wholesale turn everything off, or individually grant or revoke apps’ access to your location. Similarly, you can decide which apps have access to your camera and microphone by checking those individual settings under Privacy & Security and toggling your choices on or off.

Odds are, when you’re on your MacBook, you’re likely also on a Wi-Fi network. You can actually decide how your MacBook joins those Wi-Fi networks. If you go to Settings > Wi-Fi, make sure your computer doesn’t automatically join unsecured Wi-Fi networks, which could open you up to malware or data interception. One of the settings options will send you a notification asking for permission before joining anything. That way, you can stay in control.

On the topic of exercising control, your MacBook comes with a Firewall option that’s off by default. Firewall stops any connections from other networks or the internet that you don’t want, particularly if you’re on public Wi-Fi. To turn it on, you can go to System Settings > Network > Firewall.

Controlling what Apple knows about you

In an age of algorithms, you’re probably used to seeing personalized ads. Apple, among others, collects data on you that it uses to serve you ads in spots like the App Store or Apple News. There are a few steps you can take to modify or put a stop to this. If you go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Advertising > View Ad Targeting Information, you can see what Apple knows about you. The company notes that it doesn’t track you across websites or third-party apps. You can also just toggle off Personalized Ads. A note on the settings page says this limits “Apple’s ability to deliver relevant ads,” but it does not impact how many ads you see.

In terms of controlling the amount of information you give Apple, you can also change the settings around Analytics & Improvements. According to Apple, this anonymous analytics information helps its developers improve its products, as it can include info on events like system crashes and freezes or general usage. The data also includes hardware and software specifications, what operating system you’re on, as well as which apps you’re using, to name a few. With permission, Apple might also share info like crash data with third-party developers. Your analytics data then gets deleted after a month.

An article from Consumer Reports found some experts were split on exactly how risky sharing analytics data is, noting it often depends on the companies involved. If you’d just rather not take the risk, you can go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics Improvements and toggle off several choices like Improve Siri & Dictation and Share with App Developers.

In any case, a periodic check-in with your settings can help keep your private info secure as you and your MacBook venture out into the world.

The conveniences of an eSIM come with a few strings attached.

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First, you should know there is no quality difference between using an eSIM or physical SIM card. The difference between the two is how you activate and move your cellular service. Both identify your subscription to a mobile network and feature the same reception and data speed. A physical SIM is removable, while an eSIM uses built-in hardware and a downloadable carrier profile.

The primary advantages eSIM has over physical cards is that it’s flexible and convenient. You don’t have to open a side tray or transfer the SIM when you purchase a new phone. Instead, you can simply activate a supported plan via an app, QR code or the phone’s settings. On compatible devices, you can even store multiple profiles, which makes it easier to separate your work and personal numbers without carrying around spare SIM cards.

If you spend a lot of time on the road, there’s another useful eSIM feature to consider. With an unlocked, compatible phone, you can purchase a travel eSIM ahead of time instead of finding a retailer that sells physical SIMs once you reach your destination. Depending on your plan, that could save you some money instead of roaming with your home carrier. You can also keep the travel plan dormant on your phone until your next trip, compared to losing the SIM card at home. At the same time, an eSIM is not a guarantee of a better deal. For instance, some domestic cell plans already include international roaming, so switching is mostly a waste of time.

There are smaller pros too, like not having to wait on a SIM card to ship for a new plan. Plus, removing the SIM slot from phones broadly means manufacturers have more room for larger batteries or other improvements elsewhere.

Is there a downside to using eSIM?

There’s always a drawback, and the biggest disadvantage of eSIM is compatibility and transferring service. Both the phone and carrier have to support eSIM, and that support may vary by model and the market. An eSIM also can’t bypass a carrier lock; to use another provider’s plan, your phone generally needs to be unlocked. Opera’s free eSIM on Android is a good test before purchasing one.

Knowing that, it’s always a good idea to look over the requirements before purchasing a travel plan or assuming you can move your existing number to a different device. After all, a downloadable profile is only useful if the phone and provider will activate it.

Some carriers make the business of moving service from one phone to another more complicated than it needs to be. With Apple’s eSIM Quick Transfer, you can move service between compatible phones without contacting support, but some require a carrier app, a replacement QR code (as if we need more of those) or help from customer service. Fortunately, cross-platform transfers are improving. For instance, some iPhones and Android phones can now transfer eSIMs directly.

You also have to be careful with your carrier while traveling internationally, which means reading the fine print before you head out. For instance, you might still be able to utilize your normal phone number while using the travel plan for data, but your carrier may have hidden some roaming fees. Make sure your phone is set to use the travel eSIM for data upon your arrival. You can also turn off your regular line entirely, but you won’t receive any cell calls or texts on that number while it’s disabled.

Why are people against eSIM?

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For some, the primary objection is losing the fallback simplicity of a physical SIM. For all the talk about switching from one phone to another with an eSIM, popping the tray open and physically switching a card to another phone is pretty easy, unless you have a severe case of fumble fingers. As previously stated, some carriers require in-app QR codes or switches, both of which can be a pain. So it’s less about the convenience of an eSIM and more about the available tools and how efficient they are.

Physical SIMs still offer a wider degree of compatibility with older and simpler phones, which works out great for the Gen Zers going retro or the many seniors who still prefer them (though that’s changing). While there’s no removable card to lose or physically extract, digital activation doesn’t eliminate account fraud or SIM-swap scams either.

Ultimately, it boils down to what “convenience” matters more to you. If your phone supports both formats, then you’re good whichever way you go. In fact, you can do both: retaining your physical SIM while using an eSIM for another supported line. 

The company is trying to avoid another Hugging Face incident.

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OpenAI will train frontier AI models without internet access moving forward, the company announced in a blog post, in an attempt to protect internet infrastructure and limit other safety risks. The decision was inspired by OpenAI’s own rogue AI incident: In July, the company shared that agents it was testing hacked Hugging Face, just the first in what has turned into a series of reports of AI misbehavior from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.

“Based on the current state of alignment research, monitoring systems, and the security of internet infrastructure, we believe the responsible approach is to conduct frontier model training with no internet access,” OpenAI says. 

The company said that restrictions on what agents can access is “paramount” to its new approach. The company allows agents to access browsers, computer-use tools and code environments they need for training tasks, but in a secure environment that’s not connected to the live internet. Communication is also limited to only agents with authorization.

OpenAI

Everything else remains out of reach, including the live internet, which the company says isn’t necessary for training and “most evaluation.” Because many of its recent models are meant to power agents like Dots, which browse and use apps for you, OpenAI built an “offline world” of indexed and cached web material for agents to use without touching live websites.

Even with those restrictions, OpenAI says the red-teaming agents it dispatched to test security safeguards found vulnerabilities that allowed them to escape the virtual machines (VMs) used to isolate agents from their host system. Agents also found a way to communicate with each other by manipulating data in a processor’s cache and timing how long it took to load. To address both, OpenAI says it’s disclosed and fixed vulnerabilities in several VMs and added checks to its monitoring systems to spot when models try to collaborate.

OpenAI paused frontier training in September. In announcing this new internet-free process, the company shared that it restarted training on October 1. OpenAI plans to continue frontier training without internet access until improvements in existing safeguards “justify broader internet access,” but it didn’t share what those improvements would look like.

Using the ASUS P16 with RTX Spark reminded me of the first time I turned on a MacBook Pro with an M-series chip: Everything about it feels lightning fast. I was up and running in no time, and I felt unstoppable as I downloaded several massive files simultaneously to start my benchmarking process. But of course, for a $7,000 system with 128GB of RAM, it damn well better feel speedy.

I’ll admit, I was a bit surprised by the ASUS P16’s initial benchmark scores: Its PCMark 10 (Applications) figure was 3,000 points lower than the ultra-slim ASUS A16 I tested earlier this year, which was powered by a Snapdragon X2 Elite chip. The RTX Spark system also lagged behind slightly in Geekbench 6’s single-threaded CPU test, which is a sign that Qualcomm’s chips just have more capable CPUs.

But really, the star of the RTX Spark’s design is its GPU, NPU and unified memory, and those all stood out in other tests. The ASUS P16 RTX Spark was 4,700 points higher than the MacBook Pro with M5 Max in Geekbench 6’s GPU benchmark, which tests overall graphics performance. The ProArt P16 also scored 3,895 points in UL Procyon’s AI Computer Vision 2 benchmark, compared to 3,267 points from that same MacBook. Its 1,519 score in Procyon’s AI Image Generation test was also 600 points higher than Apple’s. Those Procyon benchmarks all clearly benefitted from the RTX Spark chip’ s beefy graphics power.

Beyond benchmarks, the ASUS P16 was able to run OpenClaw and the large Qwen3.8 27B model, which alone takes up 42GB of RAM, while still leaving me with a ton of RAM for other tasks. At the same time, I was even able to play Control: Resonant and Cyberpunk 2077 at high quality settings without breaking a sweat. Sure, the fans sounded like they were about to lift the P16 off my desk, but there was never any noticeable slowdown in performance.

NVIDIA has previously said that the RTX Spark’s graphics hardware is about on-par with the RTX 5070 mobile GPU, while also drawing much less power, and that held true in my testing. I was able to play Control Resonant at 70 fps while rendering the game in 1,440p with “ultra” graphics settings, ray-tracing set to medium and 4x frame generation. That’s a game where the overall fidelity matters more than a triple-digit framerate, but I could get the ProArt P16 to 120 fps by lowering the graphics settings.

While I didn’t have much trouble running other games, including Star Wars: Galactic Racer and Gears of War: E-Day, there’s a chance you’ll have trouble with some titles. Since RTX Spark is based on an Arm CPU, it has to rely on Microsoft’s Prism emulator to handle most games. That introduces an immediate performance drop, as well as potential issues. There are native Arm64 builds for popular titles like Fortnite, DOTA 2, Marvel Rivals and the upcoming World of Warcraft: Forever, so there’s a chance that compatibility concerns will melt away in a few years. But if you don’t want to worry about emulation troubles at all, you’re better off with a standard gaming laptop running an Intel or AMD chip.

There are also similar compatibility concerns for older Windows software in general, though I didn’t encounter any weirdness during my testing. The whole Windows on Arm experience received a huge upgrade when Copilot+ systems launched two years ago, and since then, it seems like Microsoft has worked to make its x86 emulation even more seamless.

The ProArt P16’s 16-inch “Lumina Pro” OLED screen was perfect for Control Resonant: It was able to show off dark black levels and extreme contrast in darker environments, but it also seared my eyeballs at times with its peak 1,600-nit luminance. It’s definitely one of the brightest OLED screens I’ve seen on a laptop, and it directly competes with Apple’s Mini LED MacBook Pro displays, which also top out at 1,600 nits. That extreme brightness also made the ProArt P16 perfect for getting work done outside in the sun, as I try to eke out every bit of warmth I can before winter arrives.

I was similarly impressed by every other aspect of the ASUS ProArt P16. Its wide keyboard and luscious key depth made typing a dream, and it also has one of the best haptic touchpads I’ve ever seen on a Windows PC. While it would have been nice to have a quad-speaker setup, which has become increasingly common in large premium laptops, the ProArt P16’s dual speakers still sounded solid. They also offer a bit of spatial audio support, thanks to Dolby Atmos.

The only major downside to the ProArt P16, like most jet-black PCs, is that it’s a horrendous fingerprint magnet. Marks start appearing the instant you touch it, and heaven forbid you eat anything oily while using it. It takes just a few minutes for the P16 to start looking like a gross mess, and it’s a bit annoying to keep clean. It’d be great to see ASUS adopt an anti-fingerprint material in the future. 

The ProArt P16 lasted ten hours and 51 minutes in the PCMark 10 Applications battery benchmark, which is well below the 15-plus-hour range we’ve seen on many premium machines. It was also bested by Dell’s latest XPS 16, which disappointed me when it clocked nearly 12 hours on the PCMark battery test. You’ll at least be able to do more with the P16 on battery: I noticed that benchmarks and game performance didn’t waver at all when I yanked the power cord. According to NVIDIA, the overall efficiency of RTX Spark allows for a high performance curve without burning too much power.

It’s the first state to sue the social media company on these allegations.

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Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha has filed a lawsuit against Meta over the company’s handling of scam advertisements. The suit alleges that the social media business does not do enough to prevent fraudulent ads on its platforms. It further claims that Meta has not taken stronger action against those scams because they generate revenue for the company.

“For a company that engages so many Rhode Islanders and Americans, maintaining high standards for consumer safety should be of the utmost importance,” Neronha said. “As alleged, Meta knowingly exposed vulnerable users to fraud and scams, and made enormous profits in doing so. When companies, big or small, take advantage of Rhode Island consumers, this Office will do everything within our authority to hold them to account.”

In a statement to Reuters, which first reported on the state lawsuit, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the company has removed more than 159 million scam ads from its platforms. “The attorney general refused to engage with us on ways we protect Rhode Islanders from scams, and has instead hired an out-of-state ⁠private law firm to concoct a lawsuit that ignores the full range of actions we take to combat scams every day,” Stone said.

The release from the AG’s office says Rhode Island is the first state to take action over the alleged inaction, although it isn’t the first time the social media company has been sued on this subject. The Consumer Federation of America filed a lawsuit in April and Santa Clara County in California did the same in May.

A 2025 report from Reuters found that scam advertisements across its networks could be providing billions of dollars for Meta, possibly as much as 10 percent of its revenue. The company has engaged in actions to shut down the bad actors behind some of those phony ads and sue the creators of other ones. It also added some user protections for suspicious messages earlier this year.

He expects the agent will generate more revenue per user than the company’s apps.

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It’s only been a few weeks since Meta introduced Muse, but the company’s personal agent is already becoming central to Meta’s plan to start making money off its massive investment in AI. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the company is already working on monetizing the agent, and that he expects Muse to eventually generate more revenue per user than Facebook and Instagram.

Even though Muse is only available in the US and Canada, Meta has already seen significant adoption of the agent. Zuckerberg said that more than 10 million people have started using it since its early September rollout. “Now that Muse has clear product market fit, we are entering a new phase and a more operational phase that is focused on scaling it,” Zuckerberg said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call Wednesday. “We expect to grow Muse to serve billions of people.”

Muse is also significantly more expensive for Meta to operate compared with its other services, and Zuckerberg said the company was already working on its plans to monetize the agent. Meta plans to build “commerce tools” that will allow it to charge businesses fees for transactions facilitated by its agent, the CEO said. He noted that shopping is currently the “most common” use case for the agent, and that people are spending an average of $200 per purchase with Muse. Meta will incorporate its AI subscriptions for people and business owners who use the agent more heavily as well.

Zuckerberg predicted that revenue from Muse could eventually surpass the money it currently makes from its apps, at least by some metrics. “The average revenue per American user for our existing family of apps users is several hundreds of dollars annually, and we expect that Muse will reach an even higher level over time due to the amount of commerce that we already see taking place,” Zuckerberg said.

Muse is also “central” to Meta’s plans to make more money from its AI glasses, according to Zuckerberg. While the company doesn’t currently “make a large profit on the hardware” it sells, adding Muse to the product will help Meta sell more AI subscriptions, Zuckerberg predicted.

Meta previewed Muse on its smart glasses last month during Connect. The company said users will be able to talk to their agent in much the same way they can currently chat with Meta AI, and will be able to check in on tasks or add items to their agent’s to-do list. Meta didn’t specify if Muse on its glasses would require a separate subscription, but Zuckerberg’s statements suggest that at least some Muse features will be paywalled on the glasses. (The company has contemplated upcharging for other glasses features, including its upcoming hearing enhancement ability.) Muse will be available on Meta’s glasses “next month,” Zuckerberg said.

The decision came because of the EU’s new emissions and driver-assistance rules.

Subaru

Subaru will halt the sale of gas-powered vehicles in favor of an all-electric lineup in Europe no later than 2027, the automaker confirmed to Auto Motor und sport. Though not a high-selling brand in the bloc by any means (with just 23,000 sales and a 0.2 percent market share last year), Subaru models like the Outback and WRX have cult followings among off-road and tuning aficionados. The loss of those and other ICE engine models using Subaru’s famous “boxer” engines will thus carry some symbolic weight, at the least. 

The first gasoline model to be discontinued in Europe will Subaru’s emblematic Outback at the end of this year. That will be followed in 2027 by the Impreza, Crosstrek and Forester. Starting in 2028, Subaru will offer just three models in the EU, all electric: the Solterra, E-Outback (Trailseeker in the US) and Uncharted. Those were developed in collaboration with Toyota, based on the latter’s bZ4X, bZ4X Touring and C-HR+ EVs. 

Subaru said the reason for the switch is Europe’s restrictive regulations around CO2 fleet emission limits and required driver assistance and safety systems. The EU recently mandated that cars built between 2025 to 2034 must average 93.6 grams of CO2 per km, a 15 percent reduction from 2021 levels. The bloc also requires all passenger cars and vans to feature Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) systems and enhanced emergency braking as of July 7, 2026. 

Subaru revealed on Sunday that it will be developing its own EV tech separately from Toyota for its next-gen electric cars. Its next-gen platform consists of a new battery, electric motor tech and integrated control unit for over-the-air updates. “By developing vehicles in-house and having EV technologies on our own, we can quickly deliver to our customers the peace of mind and driving pleasure that define Subaru, even in this era of change,” said Subaru’s VP of engineering, Takatomo Watamori. 

It feels like Spotify is trying to have its cake and eat it here. It says it’s pulling slop and spam from recommendations at the same time that it’s been adding genAI features to its platform. Spotify allows users to remix and cover songs with AI tools, for instance.

Some “artists” that are widely believed to be fake — such as Sienna Rose and The Velvet Sundown — have more than 100,000 monthly listeners on the platform. Another called Breaking Rust topped a Billboard digital downloads chart last year and currently has around 700,000 monthly listeners. A report in July stated that the top 10 most-listened-to AI artists on Spotify had raked in about $2.4 million, siphoning money away from the human musicians that Spotify claims it’s trying to promote.

The company is aware that a significant proportion of its users do not want to hear genAI garbage, but it only confirmed that it removed “slop and spam” tracks from recommendations, not necessarily the platform as a whole. Deleting all of that crap should be an easy decision if your aim is genuinely to put “human artistry first.”

Nor does Spotify offer users an easy way to block this gunk. This month, Deezer said it would give users an option to filter out genAI audio (I bristle at the idea of calling it music) entirely by the end of the year. Great! Bandcamp largely forbids genAI audio, while Tidal doesn’t pay royalties for tracks that are entirely AI generated. 

It would be nice to see Spotify giving users a way to opt out of hearing AI-generated audio. However, a spokesperson told the BBC earlier this year its “priority is addressing harmful uses [of AI] like spam and impersonation, rather than trying to filter music based on how it was made.” Still, it could at least offer users a toggle to entirely block tracks identified as slop and spam, and a way to filter out those that have disclosed AI use in the credits.

Speaking of which, Spotify says artists are submitting tens of thousands of AI credits per day to clarify what role the technology played in their uploads. It added that users can see these credits in the Now Playing view on mobile and it’s adding more ways for them to “quickly and easily see when an artist has disclosed AI use as part of the song’s creative process.” Thousands of virtual artists now have an AI Persona label too, and tracks from these phonies won’t appear in editor-curated playlists or, by default, in your recommendations (unless you follow them, for instance).

Spotify claims its threshold of 1,000 streams before it pays royalties on a track is helping to stem the flood. “Tracks with indicators showing a high probability of being AI-generated are 10 times more likely to fall below the threshold, making it harder for bad actors to attempt to siphon royalties away from real artists by generating music at scale,” it said.

In addition, the company noted more than 300,000 human artists are now verified on the platform, covering more than 99 percent of those that users actually search for. Spotify is also expanding a tool that lets musicians approve what songs appear on their profile and list them as an artist. It will be available to all artists by the end of the year.

Because you probably don’t want your stereo on at full blast the moment you start your car.

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If you’ve ever started your car only to be blasted by music you didn’t ask for, you already know the headache of Android Auto’s autoplay quirk. The moment your phone connects, by USB or wirelessly (even if you use an adapter), your last playlist, podcast or audiobook picks up where it left off at whatever volume you had set the last time you were in the car. It’s an unwelcome surprise during a morning commute and a real distraction if you prefer a few quiet seconds before pulling out of the driveway. Depending on what music or audiobooks you were listening to, it may also not be content you want the kids to hear when you’re driving them to school.

In the past, fixing this problem was quite difficult and required a ton of workarounds, extra apps and jumping through hoops you really shouldn’t have to. Now, it often just requires flipping a toggle.

How do I stop audio from auto-playing on Android Auto?

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You’ll need to start with Android Auto’s own settings. You’ll need to go to Settings > Connected devices > Android Auto and look under the Startup section. That’s where you’ll find the toggle for the Start music automatically feature. If you have trouble finding it, try searching for Android Auto in your settings. Switching this feature off tells Android Auto not to resume playback the moment it connects to your car. For loads of drivers, this single step solves the problem, and it’s the first fix mentioned on Spotify’s support forums.

If the toggle doesn’t help, the issue may be happening at the Bluetooth level rather than inside Android Auto. Android Auto uses Bluetooth to route phone calls and to create the initial handshake between phone and car. One workaround to test is removing your phone from the car’s Bluetooth memory and reconnecting with USB only, if your setup allows it. In some vehicles, that can reduce unwanted playback triggers, though results vary by car, phone and connection type.

Why does Spotify keep auto-playing in my car?

Google

If you’ve already disabled Start music automatically and Spotify still starts on its own, you’re not imagining things. Spotify users have reported this exact issue across community forums for years, with threads dating back to 2022 that remain active today. But it’s worth noting that sometimes your car may not even be to blame at all. Any Bluetooth device paired with your phone, like headphones and speakers, can affect autoplay. According to Spotify’s support team, the behavior depends on how a given Bluetooth device interacts with Spotify’s API.

That distinction matters because Spotify cannot always prevent a connected device from sending a “play” command when it reconnects, powers on or resumes a media session. Before blaming your phone or reinstalling the app, check whether autoplay happens only with one Bluetooth device and test it with another speaker, headset or vehicle if possible. Keeping Spotify, your phone’s operating system and the device firmware updated may reduce connection glitches, but there is no guaranteed universal fix when the command originates from the Bluetooth accessory.

Since Spotify prioritizes easy connections across thousands of hardware combinations, a universal fix isn’t guaranteed anytime soon. Some drivers find success through Android Auto’s settings, others through Spotify’s app permissions and plenty report that neither option works consistently for their specific car or phone. If nothing pans out, you could just remove Spotify from Android Auto entirely, but that means that you won’t be able to access Spotify from your car’s display.

The bottom line is that you should start with Android Auto’s Start music automatically toggle since it resolves the issue for many drivers. If music still plays uninvited, try the Bluetooth unpairing trick before removing the app from Android Auto entirely. Given how inconsistently Bluetooth behaves across car models, expect some trial and error.

Depending on their colors, most of those flashing lights are a good sign.

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The front of a Netgear router, like many routers, is dotted with a wide array of lights and symbols. Though some of the symbols like the power indicator are straightforward, the lights themselves can be much less clear. They often vary in color; sometimes they’re blinking and other times they’re solid. If you’ve never picked up the manual, deciphering what each of the many lights means doesn’t come naturally.

Understanding what each of the indicators on your Netgear router signify is important for troubleshooting, as well as making sure everything is running as it should. Although some lights are usually more important than others, they all serve a purpose. Whether you have a standard router or one of the company’s mesh Wi-Fi systems, this is how to better understand what your Netgear device is telling you.

The most important lights on your Netgear router

These are the lights on a router that are generally the most important to pay attention to, as they’re indicators of the most impactful stats like power and overall internet connection status.

The power LED

Represented by the typical power symbol, this indicates information about your device’s firmware, as well as its power status. Unsurprisingly, this will be off if your router has no power.

• Solid green or white: The router is on and ready.
• Solid amber: The router is turning on.
• Blinking amber: The router’s firmware is upgrading, or you pressed the reset button.
• Blinking white: The router’s firmware is corrupted.
• Blinking white and amber: The router is in access point mode, which means it’s acting as a connection point for other devices instead of handling its normal router functions. Some features like VPN and remote management will be unavailable.

If your router isn’t working properly, restart it first. In case it’s fully unresponsive, you may need to do a factory reset. 

Internet LED

The icon and light with a small circle orbiting a larger one shows your general connection status:

• Off: The router is not connected to a modem; check the Ethernet cable to make sure it’s fully inserted and not damaged.
• Solid green or white: The internet connection is ready.
• Solid amber: An Ethernet cable connection to the modem has been detected.
• Blinking white: The port is sending and/or receiving traffic.

Wi-Fi LED

Represented by a small dot with two curves on each side, this light shows general Wi-Fi traffic.

• Off: The router’s Wi-Fi radios are off.
• Solid white: The router’s Wi-Fi radios are operating.
• Blinking white: The router is sending and/or receiving Wi-Fi traffic.

Other lights on your Netgear router

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Further lights on your Netgear router are more useful for specific troubleshooting, or if you’re plugging additional devices into the router.

Wi-Fi band LEDS

Every modern router should have lights for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, as these have long been the standard. For a Wi-Fi 6E model or newer, you’ll also see a 6GHz light for that modern band. The lights will differ depending on the bands currently in use, but the lights have the same meanings for each band.

• Off: This particular Wi-Fi radio is off.
• Solid white: The Wi-Fi radio in question is operating.
• Blinking white: The router is sending and/or receiving traffic over the corresponding Wi-Fi radio.

USB LEDs

Your router will have one of these lights for each USB port it includes, represented by the trident USB symbol or the text “USB 3.0.”

• Off: No USB device is connected to the port, or the Safely Remove Hardware button was pressed and you’re clear to remove the attached device.
• Blinking: A USB device is trying to connect.
• Solid green or white: A USB device is connected and ready to use.

Ethernet LEDs

These are labeled by numbers, with each representing an Ethernet port on the router. The color represents the speed of the connection: white or green for 1 Gbps connections, and amber for slower 100 Mbps or 10 Mbps Ethernet.

• Off: Nothing is connected to the port.
• Solid: A powered-on device is connected to the port.
• Blinking: The port is sending and/or receiving traffic.

WPS LED

Represented by what looks like a router with signals coming out of it, this light indicates the success of a WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) connection, which allows you to add devices to your network without entering the network name and password. For the best router security, you should disable this.

• Off: No WPS connection.
• Blinking: A WPS connection is in progress.
• Solid: The WPS connection was successful.

Reading the lights on a Netgear Orbi mesh system

The lights on Netgear’s Orbi Wi-Fi mesh system are minimalist compared to a typical router’s, and represent key statuses slightly differently. There’s a light in the bottom-front of the device, plus one at the back. The light in the front represents the connection status, while the one at the back is tied to the device’s power and firmware.

The front LED lights

• Solid blue light: The connection between the router and satellite is strong.
• Solid amber light: The connection between the router and satellite is OK, but not great.
• Solid magenta light: There’s no backhaul connection or no internet connection.
• No light: The Orbi is not receiving power.

The back LED light

• Solid green light: The router and satellite are powered on.
• Solid amber light: The device is rebooting.
• Pulsing amber light: The device is updating its firmware or resetting to factory settings.
• Pulsing red light: Possible hardware issues or connectivity failure.
• No light: The Orbi is not receiving power.

Understanding the difference between decimal and binary.

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Device storage is extremely valuable these days. The rabid appetite of AI datacenters is inflating drive pricing so badly that companies like Apple and Valve have jacked up the prices of some products by hundreds of dollars. Even if that wasn’t happening, though, the size of apps, media and operating systems is continually growing, filling up the storage we do have. Some PC and console games can top 100GB, especially if they’re live service titles with a lot of downloadable content.

All this is to say that if there’s a gap between the amount of storage you’re promised for an internal or external drive versus what’s actually usable, the disappointment may be palpable now more than ever. Recently, for example, we discovered that a 512GB drive only registered as offering 477GB accessible to Windows. On paper, that 35GB difference might be enough to fit someone’s entire photo library, or maybe a converted 4K HDR movie.

In most instances, the root of these discrepancies boils down to how different companies calculate data, rather than a naked attempt to rip you off. At other times, it may be a matter of a device being unusable without some of that space going to pre-installed software.

The harsh impacts of math

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Frequently, storage makers calculate storage capacity using a base-10 (decimal) system. In that arrangement, a kilobyte is 1,000 bytes, a gigabyte is 1 billion bytes, and so forth. And that probably makes sense to you, given how measurements work in most other areas of life, especially if you live in a country using the metric system for weights and distances. It’s a lot easier to market to the average consumer.

The thing is, software platforms like Windows often gauge capacity in binary terms. That transforms a kilobyte into 1,024 bytes, and a gigabyte into 1,073,741,824 bytes. As figures get larger, the gap between binary and decimal calculations becomes vast. A 1TB drive may show as holding just 931GB in Windows, despite nothing actually being lost. You will see the full 1TB available on a Mac, where decimal reigns supreme.

This is obviously problematic if you’re expecting storage marketed in binary terms versus the way hardware makers label it. To our knowledge, Microsoft doesn’t have any intention of switching Windows from binary to decimal, and Apple isn’t planning to revert the Mac, iPad, iPhone or other products back to binary. You can expect this inconsistency to exist in the market for a while longer.

There have been attempts to make the situation clearer by using binary-specific terms such as “kibibyte” (KiB) and “gibibyte” (GiB). As you’ve probably noticed, though, these haven’t caught on, even within binary-based platforms. If you check the file size of something in Windows 11, you’ll see KB or GB instead. 

The operating system complication

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A complaint you’ll run into occasionally is that the new phone, tablet, laptop or console they bought doesn’t have as much usable space as they expected. This can potentially be linked to the binary-decimal split we just talked about, but the bigger culprit tends to be the device OS, which has to be pre-installed for anything to work. iOS 27 consumes over 22GB (decimal) on a 128GB iPhone 16 Pro, and on one of our gaming laptops, Windows 11 occupies over 81GB (binary). It’s no wonder that 64GB devices are effectively extinct, and that even 128GB is becoming impractical.

As if things weren’t complicated enough, operating systems tend to grow every year as new features are added. And to run smoothly, most devices need additional cache and swap space for temporary files. This space isn’t necessarily marked off-limits. If it isn’t, though, you can accidentally harm performance by downloading too many files or installing too many apps. Vanishing swap space bogs down performance, and can lead to apps crashing or freezing.

To cope with this unfortunate scenario, all you can really do is be conservative with your usage and shopping habits. If you avoid waste and overestimate the amount of storage you need, even a few dozen gigabytes can be an acceptable sacrifice. Don’t panic if you notice this when planning your next electronics haul. 

Your smart devices don’t have to stop working when your Wi-Fi does.

Nanoleaf

With Apple finally developing new smart home products, now’s a great time to remind everyone that though the technology can improve your home’s look and convenience, there are also a few hazards involved. If you’re overly ambitious with your routines, for example, smart bulbs might switch off when people need them. Once, while we installed a smart thermostat, the heat ran dangerously out of control until we fixed an obscure flaw.

For many of you, the biggest issue is going to be offline resilience. When internet access goes down, some smart home accessories can go “dumb,” either maintaining their last state or failing to work at all. Usually, this is just an inconvenience. If you’re counting on an accessory for health or security, however, this can become a legitimate crisis.

Thankfully, there are ways of building a smart home around offline automation without investing in the custom systems you find in mansions. It’s just a matter of anchoring your gear around the right peripherals and protocols. And if you caught the pun just now, you’re one step ahead.

Let the hubs do the talking

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The reason so many accessories turn dumb is that they connect directly to Wi-Fi to fetch instructions from a cloud server. Wi-Fi accessories are often the easiest to set up — if the internet goes down, however, or if your Wi-Fi router encounters hiccups, they may have no way of storing and triggering automations on their own. They may not even switch on or off at scheduled times, which you’d think would be dead simple.

Whenever possible, then, it’s best to turn to accessories that route everything through a local hub. These hubs still connect to the internet, but they can store and process many automations locally as long as everything still has power. The only major exceptions are automations that depend on live data, like current weather conditions, or involve sharing data remotely. If you’re going to install a smart security system and internet outages are a regular issue, cellular backup is a must.

These hubs can take many forms. If you’re using Apple Home, for example, HomePods and Apple TVs can act as home hubs, enabling both remote access and local automations. Some security cameras can record to local hub storage, even if they have to go online to trigger alerts or perform advanced functions. Matter-enabled smart speakers and displays are capable of executing offline commands, though in practice, companies like Amazon and Google don’t really exploit this. We discovered this the hard way.

The most bulletproof hubs tend to be those that link local hardware not through Wi-Fi, but through Thread, Zigbee or Z-Wave radios. All three are low-power, low-bandwidth mesh standards. A hub can often connect many compatible accessories simultaneously, and the mesh aspect means that accessories farther away from the hub won’t drop off. Thread is preferable, since some Wi-Fi accessories can act as Thread “border routers,” but we’ve had great experiences with Zigbee-based hubs like the Philips Hue Bridge. The only real problem with these technologies is that their low bandwidth limits them to things like lights, locks and sensors.

What about the power problem?

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The ideal setup would involve using an entirely hub-based smart home ecosystem paired with whole-home power backup. That’s not realistic for most people, unfortunately. Some accessories don’t exist in a hub-compatible form, and more importantly, whole-home battery systems cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. Assuming that’s in your budget, it might still not be worth the outlay unless your job or safety is at stake. You can deal with your soundbar or light panels being down for 30 minutes.

A workable compromise involves hunting for accessories with their own redundancy, whether that means batteries, backup controls or both. The Philips Hue Go, for example, can connect to a Hue Bridge, but includes a battery to operate as a portable lamp as well. It can keep shining for hours when it loses AC power, and it cycles through some basic effects using an onboard button or app-based Bluetooth commands. Smart thermostats will always keep operating on their last schedule as long as your HVAC system is powered.

You won’t be able to secure redundancy for every smart home accessory. But if you think ahead when shopping, at least some of them should keep running 24/7. Don’t just pick the cheapest or slickest options at hand.

Tesla dominated the headlines on Thursday thanks to a very cool stunt. In announcing the redesigned Roadster at its October 15 event, the electric car company put some jet fuel in the mix. After driving up a C-shaped ramp on a suction rig until it was upside-down, the Roadster floated to the ground on rocket boosters. We also learned that the new sports car is targeting a 2028 production window and that it will cost $250,000 to reserve the “Thrust” trim level with cold-gas thrusters. “We enter production in 2028,” Musk said during the event. “Actually, for real.”

If you’re feeling a bit of deja vu, don’t worry  — you’re firmly within your faculties. This is not the first time Tesla has announced the second-generation Roadster, and the company hasn’t exactly drawn attention to that fact with this re-announced version. Still, the question on many minds is whether this is another paper launch for Tesla’s embattled second-gen sports car.

The first Roadster was a milestone for Tesla in its early days. Released in 2008 and produced in very limited numbers, the car was ideated by one of Tesla’s original founders, Martin Eberhard, before current CEO Elon Musk had bought Eberhard and his partner, Marc Tarpenning, out of the company. It was the idea of the Roadster which initially drew Musk to the fledgling startup in 2004 and prompted his initial investment in the company. He would go on to oversee the production of that sports car. Crammed inside the chassis of a Lotus Elise, it was truly impressive at the time to see a battery-powered vehicle able to reach 244 miles on a charge.

The redesigned Roadster was first unveiled in November 2017, promising to be the apex of Tesla’s innovations in electric vehicle manufacturing. Musk called it “a hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars.” Targeted for a 2020 release, it was shown off alongside the Tesla Semi, a Class 8 electric semitruck which also stalled in production. In Feburary 2018, Musk promised a “SpaceX” package that would “include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around the car” and would “dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking and cornering.”

Then the delays began. With Tesla still accepting deposits starting at $50,000 and extending up to $250,000, the initial 2020 production window came and went. In a July 2020 earnings call for Tesla, Musk said production would begin within the following year to 18 months. With the globe engulfed in a public health crisis, the delay wasn’t the most shocking of developments. Ironically, Musk noted in an interview with Joe Rogan that same year that he wanted to build the Cybertruck first  — a mission accomplished after years of that vehicle’s own delays.

But a year and a half after the initial delay, there was no Roadster in sight. Musk delayed the car to 2022 in early 2021, but by the end of the year, that projection had slipped to 2023. The CEO announced further delays in 2023 and 2024.

And those years have been bizarre for Musk and Tesla, to say the least. The CEO has undergone a public transformation from public environmentalist to far-right political kingmaker, a period which culminated in a slash-and-burn of the Federal government as he headed up president Donald Trump’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency. By July 2025, The Lancet had published a study projecting the cuts could lead to more than 14 million deaths by 2030. Musk has disputed those numbers, but the reputational damage his stint in government caused spilled over to Tesla, leading to widespread global protests against the company. As Musk stepped down from DOGE in May 2025, dogged by allegations of substance abuse and family drama, the Roadster may not have been near the top of the billionaire’s priority list.

By the time Tesla recommitted to releasing the Roadster this past April, many had given up hope that the sports car would ever make it to market. Tesla’s failure to deliver the vehicle had long ago become pop-cultural joke fodder, and even Tesla owners such as YouTuber Marques Brownlee, who had interviewed Musk multiple times on his MKBHD channel, fretted on his Waveform podcast in September 2025, “Tesla has been sitting with my 50 grand for eight years and hasn’t done anything with it.” Another high-profile figure to complain about their Roadster reservations included Musk’s erstwhile business partner and current rival Sam Altman of OpenAI.

It’s worth noting that a launch event without a firm launch date isn’t much of a launch. Even after Tesla’s impressive October event, Musk and company will need to convince potential customers that putting down a deposit for the Roadster is a better investment than burning a pile of money with a Boring Company flamethrower.

The company’s flagship over-ear wireless headphones are light on compromises, but enter a competitive market.

James Trew for Engadget

RATING : 8.9 / 10

Pros

• Superb sound
• Excellent ANC
• Comfortable design
• Solid battery life

Cons

• Pricey
• Finicky multi-point Bluetooth

When Technics announced the EAH-A1000 over-ear Bluetooth headphones, everything seemed fairly ordinary. Another set of premium cans entering an already crowded category. Sure, they have a few standout features on the spec sheet — magnetic fluid drivers and three-device multipoint Bluetooth, for example. At $450, they are directly taking on Sony’s popular WH-1000XM6, and almost enter the same territory as Sennheiser’s audiophile-friendly HDB 630.

It’s a confident move from Technics, to place its flag in the lucrative, but risky, territory between high-end consumer and “affordable” specialist headphones. I’ve had the A1000 on the testing bench (a.k.a. my head) for a couple of weeks and my initial assessment of how “ordinary” they are might have been a little hasty.

What’s new on the Technics EAH-A1000?

James Trew for Engadget

The feature Technics is making the most noise about is the “Magnetic Fluid” technology, but it’s not new to the A1000. The AZ100 true wireless earbuds also use it, but these are the first over-ears from Technics to include it. The idea is that it reduces unwanted vibrations in the driver, in turn reducing distortion.

One other feature that stands out is the three-device multipoint Bluetooth. Seamless connection with your phone and PC can now include one more device, like a gaming console or TV. There is a slight limitation here: If you listen via LDAC (which the A1000 also supports), that will limit you to two devices maximum.

Of course there’s adaptive active noise cancellation (ANC) coupled with a beamforming microphone for clearer phone calls. Other features you’d expect at this price point, such as Dolby Atmos with headtracking, wear detection, EQ/app control, a healthy 45-hour battery life (with ANC on) and lossless playback via USB-C and 3.5mm cables (both provided) are all present and correct. Cosmetically, the A1000 offers smooth lines and a stylish, but understated, design. They could pass for a Sony or Bose model at a glance.

Audio and ANC performance

James Trew for Engadget

Headphone marketing materials are like gourmet menus: There are a lot of decorative adjectives to describe beef. Or, in the case of headphones, 40mm drivers. I can’t put my hand on my heart and say that the magnetic fluid technology Technics mentions is making a difference, but I was immediately impressed when I first put the A1000 on and pressed play on Spotify.

My music tastes skew electronic, so bass really matters. On the A1000, the low frequencies are some of the tightest I’ve heard. That’s the best word I can find for it. The bass is present, I can feel it, but it’s not vibrating in my eardrums at all. It sounds like it’s firmly attached to the song with glue, in a good way. Kick drums in dance music offer a gentle thwack, in turn providing a good sense of space and dynamic range in the mix.

Pop and rock genres do a good job at exposing the mid and high frequencies. BTS’ Dynamite, for example, sounds much more robust and balanced in the A1000 than it does in my car on the school run when I’m trying to animate the kids. I even heard parts of the bassline I barely knew existed. If there’s a minor criticism, it’s at the higher end. Listening to AC/DC or the Arctic Monkeys, the guitars sound authentic, but my ears wanted a teeny-tiny bit more sizzle out of them.

I regularly use the Sennheiser HDB 630 and the Technics A1000 surprised me with a slightly bigger sense of space and soundstage. The tight balance and well-rounded bass make them one of the strongest pairs I’ve tried for a long time.

The stellar sound wasn’t the first thing I noticed when I put them on, the adaptive ANC is also extremely good. I’m a little fussy with noise cancellation; it’s a feature I appreciate but I prefer good audio chops over superior ANC if I have to choose. With the A1000, that’s not really an issue. The noise cancellation is effective for both steady sounds like fans, yet it’s adaptive enough that I can’t hear people talking when my spouse has guests and I’m working. I prefer it to the ANC on the HDB 630 and I’d say it’s good enough to be in the same room with Sony and Bose.

App and controls

James Trew for Engadget

I have a folder on my phone that’s a graveyard of unused headphone apps. Technics Connect hasn’t made it there, yet. As control apps go, it’s easy to navigate and you’ll find extra settings like choosing between LDAC compatible multipoint Bluetooth (remember: max two connections) or even turning it off. There’s the aforementioned EQ section, the option to choose how long before the headphones auto-turn off and a toggle to disable wear detection, among other fine helpful tools.

A note on the multipoint feature: I’ve never really had a good experience with it on any headphones, with my Mac usually connecting via the hands-free profile. That was my experience with the A1000, too. Even switching between my phone and my Windows laptop was unreliable. I can’t confidently blame these headphones, but I didn’t have much luck with two devices, let alone three.

There are no touch controls on the A1000, instead you get two buttons and a clickable volume rocker. Despite everything being on the right earcup, it doesn’t feel cramped. The volume rocker is easy to find, but you click “back” for volume up, which feels counter intuitive to me. Media controls are navigated by multiple clicks on the same rocker. It’s practical and works, but sometimes the button lightly sticks, turning three clicks into two, which is the difference between a skip forward and skip back.

The competition

The $449 pits the A1000 directly against Sony’s WH-1000XM6, and I do think it competes well on sound quality and ANC. The choice will come down to secondary details like design and battery life and app features, with the latter being where Sony really stacks the deck. I’ll come right out and say that I personally prefer the A1000 to the $500 Sennheiser HDB 630. Technics might not quite beat them on sound, but it’s really close. For ANC, comfort and build quality, for me Technics takes the win. Sonos’ Ace Ultra matches the A1000 for price, and Engadget rated them highly, in part for their compatibility with Sonos speakers.

Wrap-up

James Trew for Engadget

For a legacy hi-fi brand, Technics has taken the long road when it comes to consumer headphones. The true wireless AZ100 made a big impression, thanks in part to those Magnetic Fluid drivers, and the A1000 builds on that success with equally impressive sound. Truly, they’re a joy to wear and to listen to. There are also enough extra details, like a beam-forming microphone that destroys background noise with what feels like witchcraft (even if the mic itself is just so-so).

The sticking point for some will be the price. Sennheiser can ask more for the HDB 630 thanks to its long, unbroken record with good consumer headphones. You also get the $60 BTD 700 dongle thrown in. Meanwhile, Sony has built a steady reputation with its 1000X line over the last few years. Technics doesn’t have the same recent pedigree, yet, but the A1000 does a really good job at kicking that off.

Representative Ritchie Torres wants the FTC to establish regulations ensuring you can play the games you’ve purchased.

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Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY) has announced plans to introduce a bill calling on the Federal Trade Commission to protect people’s ability to own and play the video games they’ve purchased. The Power to the Players Act hasn’t been introduced in Congress yet — but at least in spirit, it sounds like it lines up with the Stop Killing Games campaign, a movement lobbying for protecting game ownership in a landscape dominated by digital software licenses that can be revoked at a moment’s notice.

The announcement for Torres’ bill specifically mentions NBA 2K25, which serves as a good example of what’s at stake. The basketball game launched in 2024 for $70, and is now being removed from digital storefronts on October 30, just two years after it was released. While games getting delisted isn’t uncommon, 2K’s decision to also shut down the servers supporting the game’s online modes in December effectively means players won’t own the same game they paid for by the end of the year.

The Power to the Players Act would direct the FTC to prevent similar situations from happening by making it so players own games rather than license them, and forcing companies to offer an offline mode if a game’s servers are being taken down. In an interview with Kotaku, Torres said enforcing the protections would be a “restoration to the historical norm” that existed before games were primarily sold digitally. He suggested it could also inspire calls for similar protections to be extended to digitally purchased books, movies and music.

Of course, there are several potential obstacles that could get in the way of that happening. Torres’ bill could die in committee, just like a California bill that offered similar protections at the state level did in June. Relying on the FTC to regulate is also far less of a sure thing than it used to be. Following a 2024 Supreme Court decision to overturn Chevron deference, a legal doctrine that directed courts to defer to federal agencies’ interpretation of potentially ambiguous legislation, the FTC and other agencies have far less power. Under this new understanding of the law, the commission’s attempts to regulate the game industry could be blocked in the same way its ban on noncompete clauses was — by one judge deciding it lacks the authority to set rules.

Engadget has asked Torres to share a draft of the bill and comment on the possibility of the FTC being blocked by the courts. We’ll update this article if we hear back.

The lawsuits cover everything from the design of ChatGPT to the company’s recent issues with rogue agents.

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In a coordinated effort, eight states have filed lawsuits against OpenAI alleging the company has violated state-level consumer protection laws and endangered children. As Reuters first reported, Attorneys General from Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana each filed in their respective state courts, but with the shared goals of changing how OpenAI develops its models and advertises their capabilities, and forcing the company to pay for the harm it’s allegedly caused.

The lawsuits claim OpenAI is misleading customers about the safety of its AI products, not just in their capacity to provide incorrect information or potentially enable users to harm themselves and others, but also because AI agents themselves are capable of breaking the law. For example, both Iowa and Nebraska cite OpenAI’s now multiple instances of rogue agent behavior, including the Hugging Face hack. They also point to instances of ChatGPT allegedly enabling a teen’s death by suicide and the chatbot providing incorrect medical information that led to a user’s overdose, incidents that have also led to separate wrongful death suits against the company. Some states also take issue with OpenAI retaining data from underage users.

Engadget has asked OpenAI to comment on the state lawsuits. We’ll update this article if we hear back.

The desired remedies for OpenAI’s behavior vary from state to state due to the patchwork nature of consumer protection and child protection laws in the US. Outside of financial penalties, the states want OpenAI to clearly disclose the risks of its products, stop practices the states consider deceptive and comply with existing laws. Some states, like Arkansas, are also asking the court to halt “testing of advanced AI models until adequate safeguards are implemented.”

OpenAI has rolled out a series of parental controls and child protection features to try to address some of the most immediate risks posed by its chatbot. It also backed the Kids Online Safety Act, a bill that, if made law, could introduce several mandatory design changes to the company’s products. The company’s efforts to address the potential for its AI to break rules and “escape containment” have been harder to pin down, though. OpenAI announced it would slow the development of its frontier models in August to ensure their safety and the company signed on to a voluntary safety pact with other AI companies organized by the White House in September. It’s not clear if either of these changes have actually made the company’s AI development process safer.

It’s basically a pre-order opportunity before the pre-order window opens.

Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images

Apple announced the iPhone Duo last month, but it won’t hit stores until October 23. However, pre-orders for the highly anticipated foldable iPhone begin this week on October 16. And if you really can’t wait, here’s some good news: you can already get a head start on your pre-order on Apple’s website. Not only that, but carriers and retailers are already advertising their special offers for the iPhone Duo — which will probably be helpful since it isn’t exactly cheap. So here’s how to secure your iPhone Duo with as little hassle as possible.

Securing your iPhone Duo for launch day

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If you’re planning to buy the iPhone Duo directly from Apple, the company has launched a tool called Get Ready, which is the best way to speed things up. Starting today (October 12), you can already choose which model you want. Go to the Apple Online Store or use the Apple Store app and look for the iPhone Duo. Choose a color (Star White or Night Sky) and storage capacity (from 256GB to 2TB). Then, choose your carrier, decide whether or not you want to trade in your old phone and maybe add a few accessories to your purchase as well — you’ll probably want to protect your new $2,000 phone with a case. AppleCare+ is also a good deal, and you can sign up for it from the purchase screen.

When all that’s set, Get Ready saves you some pre-order anxiety by letting you set up a payment method and your shipping address now, before the purchase window opens on Friday. As soon as it does, Apple will place your order and ensure that you receive your new iPhone in time for launch day. Waiting until Friday to pre-order your iPhone could end up delaying shipping if you aren’t quick enough, since there’s usually strong demand for new products. Also, rumors suggest that there won’t be many iPhone Duo units available at launch. If you use Apple’s Get Ready, your chances of receiving the iPhone Duo on October 23 increase considerably. 

Where to buy the iPhone Duo

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Once again, you can buy your iPhone Duo directly from Apple — it’s usually the easiest option, especially if you don’t want to buy it tied to a specific plan or carrier. Apple is offering up to $885 in credit when you trade in an eligible iPhone, so giving up your old iPhone might be a good way to make the Duo a little less expensive. The full price starts at $1,999 for the 256GB model and can go as high as $3,199 for the 2TB model.

You can also split payments over up to 24 months, so buying the 256GB model would cost you $83.29 per month. If you sign up for the new Apple Upgrade program, the cost drops to $57.99 per month. Just now that after two years, you’ll have to hand your iPhone back to Apple, pay the remaining balance to keep it or upgrade to a new device and keep paying.

Carriers are also already announcing their deals for the iPhone Duo. AT&T, for example, offers up to $1,200 in eligible trade-ins, and if you order online, you’ll also earn an extra $200 per line on your plan. Best Buy will also have special deals for the iPhone Duo launch, with prices starting at $55.96 per month on an installment plan with AT&T. It’s worth comparing each of these offers side by side to see which one works best for you.

The company is using LLMs for algorithm personalization.

Meta

If you’ve ever scrolled through your Facebook feed and wondered why you’re suddenly flooded with weird AI-generated celeb bait and posts from cast iron pan enthusiasts (just me?), Meta has a new tool that might help. The company is rolling out a new algorithm personalization feature that aims to make it easier for users to explain exactly what they do and don’t want to see in their recommendations.

With the update, you can dive into specific feed posts and Reels to access a new “your algorithm” menu. From there, you can add specific topics to your interests and to your “not interested in” list. There’s also a box where Meta prompts you to describe in your own words what you want to see in your feed.

The update mirrors a similar change that landed on Instagram earlier this year. The update is possible, Meta says, because it now uses large language models in its ranking systems. Instead of simply “inferring what you’re into from what you engage with on Facebook,” the company explains, “LLMs can incorporate the interests, context, and intent behind natural language, unlocking an algorithm you can actually talk to.”

The change has yet to roll out on my app, so I haven’t been able to try it yet. The Instagram version of the feature had some limitations, though. It didn’t allow me to add “posts from people I follow” as one of my interests or request fewer ads. Given Meta’s previous efforts to clean up the amount of spam and engagement bait in the Facebook feed, I am curious whether users will be able to request more holistic changes, like “less AI-generated content” or “no more Reddit copypasta.” At the very least, I am looking forward to finally telling Facebook that I actually have no special interest in cast iron pans.

What good is a phone that can’t keep up with the average person’s day-to-day needs?

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You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on an Android phone, even if it’s brand-new. You can find plenty of great cheap Android phone options for $300 or less, if you know what to look for. And that’s the biggest thing to consider: knowing what features are crucial to have and where you can make concessions. Paying less for a phone that doesn’t have a sleek titanium frame, for example, is totally fine; you probably will (and should) put a case on it, anyway. But getting a phone with insufficient RAM, horrible battery life, poor cameras, a bad processor, or a small screen is where you want to draw the line.

In some cases, what you’re willing to sacrifice is an individual decision. If you’re a casual content creator, for example, the cameras need to be at least above average. But if you’re getting a secondary phone for basic messaging, you may be fine with just decent cameras. Nonetheless, there are some non-negotiable limits that anyone seeking out a cheap Android phone should focus on, no matter how you plan to use it.

Screen and RAM minimums

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Remember when phones had tiny screens? The original iPhone’s 4.5-inch screen seemed groundbreaking at the time, but by today’s standards, that just doesn’t cut it. A phone should have at least a 5.6-inch screen, though most nowadays are at least 6.1 inches. This allows you to enjoy a comfortable experience when holding the phone and typing two-handed while still being able to clearly see the content on it. That screen should also be an AMOLED panel with HD resolution and a decent peak brightness of at least 1,000 nits, so it’s viewable in direct sunlight.

Memory is another factor to consider. You’ll want at least 6GB RAM; otherwise, multitasking, video streaming, and casual gaming could be slow or inconsistent, and the phone won’t respond quickly enough to your demands. If you play a lot of mobile games, consider even going up to 8GB. Also, if there’s no expandable storage (which is a rarity nowadays), 128GB is the minimum you should consider. For peace-of-mind, go with at least 256GB. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a “phone full” message before you know it, and you’ll be forced to clear out the device or sign up for cloud storage.

Finally, the processor matters. While you might not need the best, fastest, most up-to-date processor, you don’t want one that’s slow as molasses. Check the age of the processor, as well as reviews for its performance, and factor this into your decision. There’s no value in getting a cheap device if it’s slow and laggy when you want to stream a movie, and a great processor is vital for gaming on an Android phone.

Don’t skimp on the battery and cameras

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Battery life and cameras are also important. A battery that’s at least 4,500mAh is sufficient, especially if the phone doesn’t handle heavy AI processing. But 5,000mAh is a better starting point nowadays to keep you going all day, even with moderate use. With cameras, you want a phone that can at least take photos that are good enough for sharing on social media and keeping for posterity. This means having at least a 32MP sensor for the rear camera, but also a large sensor that can capture more light and yield better photos overall, even if the megapixels are lower in one camera versus another. Don’t discount the front sensor and resolution as well, as this is what you’ll use to take selfies. Look for at least a 12MP front camera with, again, a good sensor size.

Consider other basics like NFC for tap-to-pay and more recent Bluetooth versions for reliable connectivity to headphones and speakers. For older models, confirm that there’s at least a few years left of software and security support. This sounds like a lot, but you’ll find plenty of devices that fit, like Samsung’s Galaxy A series phones (see our review of the Samsung Galaxy A17, for example) and phones from brands like Nothing and Motorola. 

Even older-model Google Pixel phones can fit the criteria. You can find a renewed Google Pixel 8a for just over $300 nowadays, and it comes with just about every vital feature mentioned previously. Ideally, wait for seasonal promotions to find a decked-out mid-range phone for the price of a budget one. You’ll have to make compromises to go cheap, but there are many phones in the $300 range that meet or exceed non-negotiable features and specs.

There’s a lot to consider before buying a new phone from abroad.

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There are plenty of smartphone options to choose from in the US, from the iPhone to the Pixel. But there are also really interesting phones you’ll never find in an American store. Xiaomi’s foldables like the Mix Fold, Honor’s Magic series and OPPO’s Find X phones are a few examples that offer unique designs or features not generally seen in the US. 

While phones like these are harder to find in the country, it’s possible to import them, but bringing a phone from abroad has its downsides. You may have problems using your phone with local carriers or getting warranty coverage, among other trouble. If you’re considering an imported phone, always check a few points first.

What you should know before buying a phone from another country

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Buying an imported phone has become a lot easier in recent years. Most smartphones are now designed to work globally on most cellular bands. Still, some phones may not work with those used by your US carrier. Start by checking whether the phone you’re considering is compatible with your carrier’s frequency bands. Buying the wrong version could leave you stuck on the LTE network with no 5G support.

Carrier-specific features can cause issues too. Features like Wi-Fi calling, VoLTE and visual voicemail usually require certification for each device. So even if your imported phone works fine on your carrier’s 5G network, it might not be able to access all these features in the US. Network requirements may also change, so a model that works fine today may run into problems in the future. It’s worth checking forums like Reddit to see what people who’ve bought the phone you want have to say. 

Then there are software updates; the rollout of Android updates may be tied to carriers or regions. Also, some Chinese phones are not compatible with Google Play Services, which are a core part of the Android experience most people expect. You may have to install updates manually, and the software might include Chinese apps and services that aren’t relevant to you (or readable).

Additionally, getting warranty service in the US for these phones may not be easy. Some of these brands have no official representation in the country, which also means no customer support. Dealing with problems like a dead battery or a cracked screen may require taking your phone to a third-party repair shop with no official authorization from the manufacturer. 

The benefits of importing a smartphone

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If you’re okay with all these hassles, importing a phone from abroad can be a lot of fun and open you up to new hardware that isn’t available in the US. There are a lot of Chinese companies putting out exciting products, like three-screen foldables, flagships with DSLR-quality cameras and devices with massive batteries. The Xiaomi 18 Fold is a new foldable phone that looks similar to the iPhone Duo, but it has a bigger battery and better cameras. It also costs less (the equivalent of about $1,640 currently), but you’ll need to buy it abroad if you want to use it in the US.

For those who want the latest releases, importing a phone often gives you the chance to get it before the official US launch. Also, many international models still support two physical SIM cards — a feature that most phones sold in the US have already ditched in favor of eSIM. If you don’t mind the potential drawbacks, it can be a rewarding experience. But if it’s important that you have official support nearby and know all features will work properly on your network, it’s easier to buy a phone that’s officially supported in your country.

There are a load of features tucked away in Google’s ‘other’ mapping app.

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There are some services that become most people’s default simply by doing many things right, and Google Maps is one of them. Its coverage across different countries and reliable navigation make it difficult to replace. Apple Maps has long since recoverd from its disastrous launch, but most people looking for an alternative will tend to gravitate toward Waze — which Google has owned since 2013. The app still looks and feels a lot different from Google Maps, though, with a stronger emphasis on the real-time driving experience.

Since Waze is a crowdsourced navigation app, it relies on real road users to report things like accidents, potholes, traffic congestion and police activity as they encounter them. Beyond navigation, Waze offers a surprisingly useful set of features that many users may not be aware of, since these options are often buried inside the app’s menus. For starters, if you’re traveling to a friend’s place and you have their address saved on your phone, Waze makes it easier to start navigating there without having to manually enter the address every time.

Open Waze, swipe up and scroll to the very bottom where it says “Drive to friends & family.” You’ll need to grant Waze access to your contacts for this feature to work. Once enabled, simply type your friend or family member’s name in the search box. As long as you have an address saved for that contact, Waze will let you begin navigation with a tap.

It’s understandable if you’re uncomfortable sharing your entire contacts list with Waze. If you want to revoke this permission, navigate to Settings > Apps > Waze > Contacts and tap on None on an iPhone. For Android, head to Settings > Apps > See all apps > Waze > Permissions > Contacts and tap on “Don’t Allow.”

Use your own voice for directions

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Waze is already known for being more customizable than its competitors. For instance, you can select a “Mood” by navigating to Settings > View profile > Mood. This lets you pick how your avatar shows up for other Waze users, so if you’re in a particularly bad mood, you can pick an avatar that matches your energy. You can also select a sidekick, which adds a little bit of personality to the navigation experience by changing your vehicle’s icon, avatar and even the voice that guides you along your route.

What’s even cooler is that Waze lets you record instructions in your own voice. You can, of course, have a friend or family member do the voice lines for you. A TikTok user shared how they used this Waze feature to capture their kid’s adorable voice to make every drive a little more special. You can change voice packs on Waze by heading to Settings > Voice and sound > Current voice. There is a vast selection of presets you can choose from, or you can tap “New voice” to record your own set of navigation prompts.

Waze lists a total of 39 (yes, I counted) different prompts for you to record, with a maximum recording length of six seconds. There are voice lines for everything from basic turn instructions to warnings about hazards and speed cameras. If you don’t record a phrase in your own voice, Waze will play the default navigation voice for that instruction instead. Although, if you don’t want to be caught off guard when a completely different voice suddenly chimes in, it might be worth recording all 39 prompts.

Plan a drive with Waze

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Another useful Waze feature that often goes underutilized is the ability to plan your trips ahead of time. If there’s a commute you need to make later in the day or an appointment you have scheduled for another date, Waze can recommend when you should leave based on the expected traffic along the route. There are two ways to schedule trips using Waze. The easiest is to search for your destination as usual and tap on the “Leave later” button instead of “Go now.“

This will let you pick your arrival time in increments of 15 minutes. Waze also displays the expected traffic levels next to the selected arrival time. You can change your starting location as well as the day of the week if you want to schedule a drive further in advance. Tapping on “Save” will add the trip to your planned drives. You can view this list by tapping on the hamburger menu and heading to “Plan a drive.” Here, Waze also lets you connect your calendar so any upcoming events that have a location attached can automatically show up as planned drives.

If you want to dig even deeper into Waze, there’s another hidden trick worth exploring — secret codes that can be entered into the search bar. They let you access a couple of the app’s diagnostic tools and toggle certain features. For instance, entering “##@morph” unlocks a secret monster mood avatar for your profile and “##@cctts” clears the app’s text-to-speech cache, which can fix certain issues you’re having with voice navigation. There are other Waze search codes you can try, but it’s best not to mess with ones that are intended for troubleshooting.

Keep your kid from ordering a five-pound bag of candy.

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Handing your phone to your kid for a few minutes of game time shouldn’t mean they end up three menus deep in your banking apps, emails or texts. That’s a common enough worry that plenty of Galaxy owners go searching for a simple way to lock their apps, much like iPhone users can do. Well, Samsung doesn’t offer one.

On an iPhone, the fix is a quick long-press and selecting Require Face ID. The app then won’t open without a face or fingerprint scan. Samsung takes a different approach to this whole situation. Instead of a single toggle, Galaxy phones split the job between two tools: Secure Folder and app pinning. Neither one is a direct copy of Apple’s version, but together they cover more ground. At the end of the day, the important part is that you’ll be able to keep prying eyes away from apps they shouldn’t have access to.

Why Samsung skipped the simple app lock

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Samsung phased out a basic app lock option in favor of Secure Folder, a more robust system built on Samsung Knox, the company’s security platform. Rather than just gating an app behind a password, Secure Folder creates an entirely separate, encrypted space on the phone. Apps placed there run as isolated copies, with their own data and sign-ins kept apart from the rest of the device.

That’s quite the difference from how Apple does things since iOS locks an app in place, while Secure Folder essentially duplicates it inside a vault. The trade-off is setup time, because Secure Folder takes quite a few extra steps. Given the complexity of the task, there’s been quite a bit of pushback over the years as users argued a lighter-weight lock would suit everyday needs like keeping kids out of TikTok. For quick, temporary restrictions, Samsung offers a second option called app pinning. This one works more like a makeshift version of Apple’s screen-lock tools.

How to lock apps using Secure Folder

Samsung

If you want to keep sensitive information safe on your phone, Secure Folder is the way to go. This won’t just protect your data from your kids, but also from thieves and nosy relatives. It’s the best place to put your banking apps, messaging tools, private photos and anything else worth encrypting. Here’s how to set it up:

1. Open Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings > Secure Folder.

2. Sign in with your Samsung Account.

3. Choose a lock type: PIN, password, pattern or biometric scan.

4. Choose whether the apps can still run in the background when the Secure Folder is closed.

5. Tap the plus icon inside Secure Folder and select the apps you want to add.

Apps moved there will be inaccessible until you unlock Secure Folder using your authentication method of choice. The best part is that you can hide the folder icon from the home screen for extra discretion, which you can do from the quick panel by turning off the Secure Folder app. The apps in Secure Folder won’t continue to work in the background or create notifications when the folder is hidden, so be sure to unhide it when you’re ready to use the apps therein. Just another something extra to consider when you’re customizing your Samsung Galaxy phone. 

How to use app pinning for quick restrictions

Samsung

For all those situations where full encryption isn’t called for, like letting a kid play one game without slipping into the Play Store to install some random app, app pinning gets the job done faster. So, before you hand your phone over, here’s what you have to do:

1. Go to Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings and turn on Allow apps to be pinned.

2. Tap on the Recents button (the three vertical bars at the bottom of the screen) or, if you use swipe gestures, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold.

3. Tap on the icon above the app you want to pin and select Pin this app or Pin to screen.

   1. To unpin the app, you have to hold the Recents and Back buttons at the same time.

So, if you’re letting your kid use your phone for one specific game, just open their game and pin the app. They won’t be able to switch to a different app. Pinning doesn’t encrypt anything, so it’s not the right pick for financial or private apps, but it works just fine as a fast and temporary lockdown. Truth be told, this one will work best if your kids don’t know how to read yet because you get on-screen directions on how to unpin the app when you tap on the bottom buttons.

For sensitive apps that need real protection, Secure Folder’s Knox-backed encryption is the stronger option, even if it takes a few minutes to set up. For quick and low-stakes restrictions, like keeping a toddler inside a single game, app pinning gets the job done with almost no setup at all.

The company has essentially confirmed it’s releasing another fitness tracker.

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Previous leaked images revealed the name and design of Google’s rumored “Fitbit Edge” fitness tracker and now the company has essentially confirmed both in new posts on Instagram and X. The wearable is rumored to fit between the screenless Fitbit Air Google launched earlier this year and the more premium Pixel Watch 5.

Google’s posts include an image of what appears to be a side button on the new wearable, and the following caption: “Get an Edge on your health. 10.12.26.” The choice to capitalize “Edge” seems to confirm the name of the wearable, and October 12 is likely the day Google plans to reveal it.

Get an Edge on your health. 10.12.26 pic.twitter.com/1zRU0eoAS7

— Google Health (@googlehealth) October 9, 2026

Images of this new Fitbit device have been kicking around since at least August, when 9to5Google spotted an unnamed fitness tracker in some of Google’s Pixel 11 marketing. But the name of the wearable wasn’t revealed until Android Headlines shared images of the Fitbit Edge and details of its built-in apps and health tracking features earlier this week. Those details were further fleshed out in a report from French magazine Dealabs, which confirmed the device’s design and name, and included additional information on its battery life and possible price. The Edge will reportedly last for up to seven days on a charge if its always-on display is disabled, and two days if it’s on, and could cost €179 (about $200) when it goes on sale in Europe. But considering the Fitbit Air starts at $99 in the US and €99 in Europe, the new tracker could wind up being closer to $180 in the US.

The last similarly-sized fitness tracker Google introduced was the Fitbit Charge 6 in 2023, so the company is due for a new release. If it’s everything reporting has described it to be, the Fitbit Edge seems like a natural step up from the Fitbit Air, and another way to push people to a Google Health Premium subscription. We’ll just have to wait until October 12 to see if Google follows through.

And the data it provided sheds light on the origins of fast radio bursts.

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, T. Nanayakkara (USYD). Image Processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)

Back in 2024, scientists detected the farthest fast radio burst we’ve ever seen to date, thanks to observations by the MeerKAT ground telescope array. Fast radio bursts are ultra-fast radio waves from deep space, which last a fraction of a second but release as much as energy as what the sun emits in three days. They were first discovered in 2007, and not much is known about them. Now, astronomers have used the James Webb telescope to pinpoint the origin of the burst detected in 2024, and it could shed light on the phenomenon’s origins. 

Webb’s near-infrared instruments detected a galaxy in the right location from where the burst had come. Based on measurements from the way its light stretches, the fast radio burst occurred just 3 billion years after the Big Bang. Its origin galaxy existed way back when star formation was at its peak in the universe. In addition, the galaxy that produced it is also 1,000 times smaller than expected. The previous fast radio bursts we’ve detected took place billions of years later in massive, star-forming galaxies. 

There are a couple of theories on how fast radio bursts are produced. One proposes that they’re generated by the merger of two neutron stars. But it takes billions of years before two neutron stars — the collapsed cores of massive supergiant stars — collide, which means that bursts can only come from older galaxies. 

Another theory suggests that the bursts can come from massive stars exploding in a supernova and leaving behind magnetars, which are rare type of neutron stars that have highly powerful magnetic fields. “Our work suggests that it’s very unlikely that this [fast radio burst] was produced by a merger,” said Manisha Caleb from the University of Sydney, Australia, who served as lead author on the study published in Science. In other words, their work shows that the origin of this burst was likely a supernova, providing support for the theory that fast radio bursts can come from a certain type of star explosion.

The racing game’s first expansion will also be available early next year.

Playground Games

PlayStation 5 owners will be able to join the Forza Horizon 6 festival early next year, as the racing game will land on that console on January 26. Xbox-owned developer Playground Games initially said it would hit PS5 this year, but it’ll arrive a few weeks after that window — perhaps to give it some breathing room from Grand Theft Auto 6.

As is the case on Xbox and PC, Playground will offer PS5 players a Premium Edition of Forza Horizon 6, which includes up to five days of early access. A trailer notes that the game’s first expansion will arrive alongside the PS5 version. Those with the Premium Edition (which you can upgrade to from the standard version) will have access to the expansion. Otherwise, you can buy it separately.

Forza Horizon 6 debuted on Xbox and PC in May and it’s a pretty great game. Playground took the formula it honed so well in Forza Horizon 5 and adapted that to a different and long-awaited setting in Japan.

The studio is bringing Forza Horizon 6 to PS5 a month or so before its next game, Fable, arrives. That’ll be available on Xbox Series X/S, PC and PS5 on February 23. However, Xbox’s current leadership has signaled a change in exclusivity strategy, so Fable might be one of the last Xbox games that hits PlayStation (at least outside of Call of Duty and perhaps StarCraft).

Keep an eye on your furry, feathered or scaly friends when you leave the car.

Rivian

Rivian’s latest software update is one many pet parents will be very pleased to see. Following the latest 2026.36 update, R2 vehicle models will have the option to put a Pet Cam on your phone’s lock screen in case you need to step away from the car while your critter is still inside. This feature leverages the high-definition interior camera in R2 models to show the vehicle’s interior in the Rivian app. You’ll be able to see a full livestream if you don’t want to miss a minute of whatever your pet gets up to, or just see a regularly refreshed snapshot in the app dashboard or on your lock screen for a quick check. The Pet Cam can be stopped with a tap on the vehicle’s main display.

The next software update also has further improvements coming to the Pet Mode that Rivian already made available for animal-friendly climate control when you’re not on board. Now you can enable Pet Mode from the Rivian app, in case you forget to turn it on before leaving the vehicle. There will also be a confirmation prompt when toggling Pet Mode on or off from the app to avoid accidental changes that could put your canine companion, feline friend or awesome avian at risk. These controls will be available in all models from the company. 

In non-pet news, R2 vehicles will also be seeing the debut of Rivian Assistant. The AI voice assistant is already available in R1 models, and it can be directed to handle simple tasks around navigation, entertainment and climate in the vehicle.

Jaguar shocked everyone in 2024 when it revamped its classic cat logo and introduced the polarizing Type 00 concept EV that was incredibly long and low. Now, that much-anticipated car has arrived in production form as the Type 01, with the same zany design that made the original concept so, er, interesting. The company said that controversy was a deliberate way to attract an affluent younger market more open to new things.

The Type 01 doesn’t look quite as long as the concept, but it’s still incredibly long at 17.1 feet, a bit less than the Rolls Royce Spectre. The low roofline and incredibly stretched-out hood, along with the curved fastback, give the same gangster vibes as a 1940s Mercury coupe. The front and back ends are also highly unusual, with slab-like profiles that house ultra-thin LED projector headlights up front and full-width taillights hidden in the rear grating. 

Jaguar

There’s no rear window and it’s too long for a UK parking space, as The Guardian notes. Instead, the Type 01 has cameras that feed to a screen at the base of the windshield. It’s more maneuverable than you’d expect with a 37.7-foot turning circle, thanks to rear wheels that can turn up to six degrees. The aerodynamic drag is just 0.23 Cd with the optional 21-inch wheels. 

Jaguar’s design angered some people, but the company wanted it to be radical. “The person making this purchase will be choosing the car because it’s a bold choice,” Jaguar’s managing director Rawdon Glover said at the car’s launch in New York, adding that it appeals to younger, richer buyers than the company’s current “men in their ’50s” market.

Jaguar

The powertrain would be grabbing more attention if everyone wasn’t so focused on the design. With an 850-volt architecture and 118 kWh battery, the Type 01 delivers 450 miles of WLTP range (about 385 miles EPA), and Jaguar claims it’ll travel up to 320 miles on a charge at sustained highway speeds. You can go a lot faster than “sustained,” though, as the three electric motors (one at the front and two behind) deliver 1016 horsepower and 1,007 pound-feet of torque, enough to propel this EV from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. 

The Type 01 features a double-wishbone front and integral-link rear suspension system, with Dynamic Air Suspension. Five drive modes are available: Jaguar, Dynamic, Efficient, Ice & Snow, and Curated, with Dynamic being the sportiest. The vehicle also offers active aerodynamics, including active vanes at the front for cooling the powertrain and brakes, plus an active three-stage rear spoiler that can generate 165.3 pounds of downforce and lower the car 0.59 inches. 

Inside, the Type 01 is not very spacious despite its vast size. It retains the same minimalist design as the concept, with a big central compartment that divides the driver and passenger. You can forget physical controls (other than a few on the steering wheel), as everything is controlled through a seven-inch central console and a 24-inch touchscreen. 

The new Jaguar will likely run in the low- to mid-$100,000 range, but the company has yet to say when it will go on sale. Like Ferrari’s first EV, the Luce, it’s bound to attract and repel buyers in equal measure. 

The city’s police department did not renew its contract due to data privacy concerns.

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The Los Angeles Police Department has suspended its use of controversial surveillance tech from Flock Safety. The city’s law enforcement had signed a three-year deal with Flock in 2023 that expired over the weekend.

Flock operates 138 cameras in LA, and they are ostensibly used to check vehicle license plates. While that information could help law enforcement to find cars that are stolen or registered to fugitives, city leaders questioned the privacy controls for the data collected by the company. Flock has reportedly shared its data with state and federal authorities, including the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, even though California has legislation to restrict what details companies can share with government officials.

“The sticking point is around having very clear terms about who owns the data, what happens with the data once they collect it,” LAPD Chief Information officer Dean Gialamas told the Los Angeles Times. He said the department will stop using Flock “Until we can get those data, privacy, security and sharing concerns ironed out through a contractual relationship.”

In addition to the privacy issues around Flock sharing data with immigration authorities, the company’s cameras have also been exposed as having multiple cybersecurity flaws.

Try the new Siri AI and system-wide performance improvements.

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Apple

Siri and Apple Intelligence

Apple

The headliner of iOS 27 is the long-awaited Siri AI. The new version transforms from a basic voice-command system into a modern AI assistant. It can hold natural conversations, understand follow-ups, answer questions about the content on the screen and perform multi-step actions inside apps. On recent Apple devices, you can even customize the expressiveness of the assistant’s voice. There’s also a dedicated Siri app that stores your history.

Siri AI is available in the public beta for all Apple Intelligence-capable devices. In the early developer betas, there’s been a waitlist to access the new assistant. So, some patience may be required. The new Siri only works in English for now, and it won’t initially be available in the EU.

Not all Apple Intelligence features are Siri-related. Photos now has more robust editing tools, including Spatial Reframing, which adjusts composition after the photo is taken. The Extend feature outcrops images past their original boundaries. There’s also an improved Clean Up tool that’s better at removing unwanted objects. And Image Playground can now generate higher-quality images, including photorealistic styles.

Speed boosts and more features

Even if you don’t care about AI, here’s an iOS 27 update that might interest you: Apple is promising big performance improvements across the board. The company says apps launch up to 30 percent faster, newly captured pictures appear in the Photos app up to 70 percent faster, and AirDrop transfers can be up to 80 percent faster. (Although I can’t vouch for specific numbers, my devices felt noticeably zippier on the early iOS 27 developer betas.)

Elsewhere, Safari can declutter your workflow by automatically organizing your tabs into groups. It also has a new Notify Me feature that monitors webpages for price changes or restocks. The Passwords app can detect weak passwords and automatically update them. And in the Shortcuts app, you can create new automations by describing what you want in natural language.

iOS 27 (and its brethren) also addresses criticism of last year’s big design overhaul: Liquid Glass. The new version has readability improvements, and there’s a slider to customize the effect.

Once you’re on the iOS 27 beta, you can install a public beta for AirPods. The new software adds a custom equalizer, an adaptive audio slider and a new settings menu.

watchOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate and iPadOS 27

Apple

Siri AI will also be coming to the wrist, where it could be handy for answering questions mid-workout or while you’re otherwise on the move. watchOS 27 adds a new Dynamic App Grid that surfaces apps you’re most likely to need. The Apple Watch gets a new single-tap gesture that lets you select a widget in the Smart Stack to see more info. (You can still double-tap to scroll.) Menstrual tracking adds menopause and perimenopause support. And Workout Buddy gets some upgrades: new workout data insights, the ability to work without a nearby iPhone, and Spanish-language support.

Apple is positioning Siri AI as a productivity tool in macOS 27 Golden Gate. Like with other devices, you can summon the assistant directly from Spotlight, use it to analyze what’s on your screen or rely on it for writing help. There are also a few Mac-specific Liquid Glass and other design improvements, including uniform toolbars, edge-to-edge sidebars, and more refined window shapes and menu bar icons.

What about iPad owners? iPadOS 27 includes all the aforementioned iOS 27 features, but there isn’t much that’s unique to the tablet this year. Visual Intelligence, which can analyze anything on your display via screenshots, works with the Apple Pencil: just circle what you want to learn about. And external hard drive support gets a boost: Apple says file transfers between iPad and an SSD are now up to five times faster and “just as fast as Finder on Mac,” according to the company.

How to install

Keep in mind that these are early versions of the software. Bugs, battery drain and other issues will likely pop up. (Apple hopes you’ll use the Feedback app to help it optimize the software before the final release.) If you want a safer balance between cutting-edge features and stability, it couldn’t hurt to wait for at least the second or third public beta.

If you’ve never installed pre-release software before, you’ll need to enroll in the Apple Beta Software Program first. Once you’re in, you can download the beta software by navigating to Settings > General > Software Update. Under the Beta Updates section, choose the “27” public beta for your device.

The last thing you want to happen after dropping hundreds of dollars on a wearable is to discover that it doesn’t work with your body. But, that’s a fairly common problem people with wrist tattoos have been running into since the advent of smartwatches and fitness trackers. As countless posts on device support pages and Reddit have chronicled over the years, tattooed skin and the sensors used by wearables often don’t mix well.

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One of the main issues people experience is with heart rate sensing. Wearables use a light-based technique called photoplethysmography (PPG) to measure heart rate. That’s the green light you see when you flip your device over. But, tattoos can get in the way of that light, messing with the readings. The other problem is wrist detection, which also uses lights to determine if the tracker is on a person’s wrist (along with an accelerometer and electrical sensors). Slap a fitness tracker on a wrist that’s covered by a tattoo, and the device may not register that it’s being worn at all, consequently requiring the wearer to repeatedly unlock the device whenever they want to interact with it.

It might seem a bit silly that technology advanced enough to respond to gesture controls and provide personalized sleep coaching would be stumped by a bit of pigment, but the tattoo issue isn’t just a baseless gripe that consumers have latched onto. Device makers have acknowledged it and advised buyers to avoid putting their trackers on top of tattoos.

“Tattoos (ink, pattern, saturation) can block the heart rate sensor’s light, causing inaccurate or missing readings,” Garmin notes on a support page. “For best performance, wear the watch on skin that is free of tattoos if possible.” Apple has issued similar notices going back to the release of the first Apple Watch.

Is there a solution?

People with tattoos have devised sorts of workarounds to get the most out of their smart watches and fitness trackers, though none are exactly ideal. The simplest? If the inside of your wrist isn’t tattooed (or at least has larger areas of clear skin), you can position the device there instead of on top of the wrist. Similarly, if your other wrist is tattoo-free, wear the device on that one. But if you’ve grown used to wearing a watch on a certain wrist for years, it’s going to feel pretty weird to change it up.

As a quick fix, some people swear by epoxy bottle cap stickers or layering pieces of clear tape, either of which are placed over the sensors and inexplicably correct the problem for a lot of wearers. Reusable accessories designed to work the same way have seen some success too. There’s also the option of using a chest strap if accurate heart rate tracking is all you’re after — and if you don’t have chest tattoos. Again, though, this isn’t the most comfortable or convenient way to use a wearable in most situations day-to-day.

Ultimately, it’ll continue to be an issue until the sensors these watches and fitness trackers rely on are improved to account for skin variations like tattoo ink. Likewise, light-based sensors have been found to be less reliable for people with dark skin, highlighting a need for more diversity in the research and development of this type of technology.

Anecdotally, it seems like Google’s Pixel Watch 4 might be much better at handling tattooed skin than its predecessors. There were rumors of Samsung introducing an update a few years back to improve things in this area too, but the complaints of tattooed Galaxy Watch users would suggest otherwise.

More research is needed

Identifying the problem is theoretically the first step to solving it, but unhelpfully, the reality is that how much tattoos interfere with sensor readings isn’t consistent from case to case. A study published in 2025 attempted to quantify the difference in readings taken from devices worn over tattooed skin versus non-tattooed skin, and while it did find the former suffered inaccuracies, the results were mixed.

The researchers used the Polar Verity Sense and armband, outfitting participants with one device over a tattoo plus one on the same arm in an area without a tattoo. Participants also wore a Polar H10 chest strap heart rate monitor to establish a baseline, as this style of wearable is considered to be more accurate. Over the course of a day, they were monitored when at rest, walking at their own pace and jogging.

This revealed that the presence of the tattoos did have an impact on heart rate readings, but it was dependent on the wearer’s activity level, “with the greatest effect observed at rest and variation decreasing as exercise intensity increases.” And in some cases, the researchers note, “the presence of an arm tattoo did not affect the heart rate validity measurement at all.” There are a number of variables that must be taken into account — like ink color, saturation and depth — and as it stands today, there just hasn’t yet been enough research down to the nitty-gritty of the problem to bring about a solution.