Minimalist News

Neo's new Residency program invests $750,000 in an uncapped SAFE for startups and provides a $40,000 no-strings-attached grant for college students.

Gemini 3.1 Pro promises a Google LLM capable of handling more complex forms of work.

Nvidia is working with investors, nonprofits, and venture firms to build earlier ties with India's fast-growing AI founder ecosystem.

The FBI says hacks that trick ATMs into spitting out cash on demand are rising, with hundreds of attacks in the past year alone netting hackers millions in stolen bills.

As Snap readies the public release of its long-awaited VR glasses, one of the key executives on the project has left the company.

Last day to nominate for the 2026 Joseph C. Belden Innovation Award has been extended through February 27. Don't miss your chance to win scaling perks.

Cellebrite, which makes phone unlocking and hacking tools, stopped sales to countries that allegedly abused its tools. But after new allegations in Jordan and Kenya, the company has changed its approach.

Google said it prevented 1.75 million bad apps from going live on Google Play during 2025, a figure that's down from previous years.

Redwood Materials says its new energy storage business is the fastest growing unit within the company.

The CEOs of Read AI and Lucidya told TechCrunch at Web Summit Qatar that they see AI tools replacing tasks, rather than workers.

YouTube is testing conversational AI on smart TVs, allowing viewers to ask the assistant questions related to the video they're watching on the big screen.

The robots will be unloading totes full of auto parts from an automated warehouse tugger.

Reporter Zoë Bernard spent months talking to 51 people (31 of them gay men) to map out a subculture that's been an open secret in Silicon Valley for years: gay men, at the upper echelons of tech, quietly raising up their own networks the way powerful people have always done.

Elon Musk's company town already has a volunteer fire department, and is forming a Starbase Police Department. Now it wants its own court, too.

Split View, PDF annotations, and 'Save to Chrome' features come to the Chrome browser.

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Bixby isn’t typically part of the conversation when it comes to virtual assistants for mobile devices, but Samsung is clearly hoping that you would use it more. The company has launched the latest version of Bixby with the new One UI 8.5 beta, and it has been tweaked to work as a “conversational agent.” Samsung says you’ll now be able to talk to it and give it tasks using natural language, like how you’d talk to other people or, these days, to chatbots. You don’t have to remember exact commands or names for specific settings. You can just describe what you

Google has announced that with the help of AI, it blocked 1.75 million apps that violated its policies in 2025, significantly down from 2.36 million in 2024. The lower numbers this year, it said, are because its "AI-powered, multi-layer protections" are deterring bad actors from even trying to publish bad apps. Google said it now runs more than 10,000 safety checks on every app and continues to recheck them after they're published. Its use of the latest generative AI models helps human reviewers discover malicious patterns more quickly, it added. The company also blocked 160 million spam ratings, preventing an average

Streaming has become the default way most of us watch TV and movies, but the sheer number of services now available can make choosing what to subscribe to feel like a chore. Each platform leans into something different, from original shows and blockbuster films to comfort rewatches and niche libraries, and not all of them earn a permanent spot in your monthly budget. This guide focuses on the on-demand streaming services that are the most worthwhile to live with day to day. Whether you’re lining up a few episodes after work, sharing an account with family or just want a reliable

Getting a solid Android phone doesn’t necessitate spending a small fortune. The best budget models strike a great balance between price and performance, giving you smooth everyday use without cutting too many corners. Whether you’re scrolling social media, streaming your favorite shows or snapping photos of a night out, there’s an affordable Android phone that can handle it all. Cheaper phones have come a long way in recent years. Many now feature bright, fast displays, reliable cameras and battery life that lasts well into the next day. You might miss out on top-tier extras like the latest processor or ultra-high-resolution zoom,

Formula 1 has been receiving star treatment from Apple for awhile, and now the racing series will literally be getting even bigger. Apple is partnering with IMAX to show five races from the 2026 season. The Miami Grand Prix on May 3, the Monaco Grand Prix on June 7, the British Grand Prix on July 5, the Italian Grand Prix on September 6 and the United States Grand Prix on October 25 will be aired live at select IMAX theaters in the US.  Apple landed a five-year deal for the US broadcast rights to Formula 1 last fall and there's already

Meta is formally sectioning off Horizon Worlds, the closest thing it has to a metaverse, from its Quest VR platform, according to a new blog post from Samantha Ryan, Meta's VP of Content, Reality Labs. While the decision runs counter to Meta's original plan to own an immersive virtual world that could serve as the future home for all online interaction, it fits with the recent cuts it made to its costly Reality Labs division, and Mark Zuckerberg's public commitment to focus the company on AI hardware like smart glasses going forward.  "We’re explicitly separating our Quest VR platform from our

Slay the Spire 2 will launch in early access next month. This sequel to the hugely popular 2019 roguelike deckbuilder hits early access on Steam beginning March 5, 2026. Along with releasing the teaser trailer above, developer Mega Crit shared some details about its goals for this phase ahead of the game's official release. "Slay the Spire requires a lot of player feedback so we can balance content, add quality of life features, and make sure the game runs without issues," the developers explained. "Early Access is also a chance for us to test experimental features, try exotic designs, identify niche

Sony is closing Bluepoint Games, the studio behind the Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls remakes, Bloomberg reports. Bluepoint's last major project was God of War: Ragnarok from 2022, which it co-developed with Sony Santa Monica.  According to Bloomberg, Sony decided to shut down the studio following "a recent business review." Around 70 employees will lose their jobs as part of the studio closure, which will officially happen in March. "Bluepoint Games is an incredibly talented team and their technical expertise has delivered exceptional experiences for the PlayStation community," Sony said in a statement to Bloomberg. "We thank them for

Meta is shutting down the standalone Messenger website, according to a company help page. The website will disappear in April, though web users will still be able to send and receive messages within Facebook. "After messenger.com goes away, you will be automatically redirected to use facebook.com/messages for messaging on a computer," the help page reads. "You can continue your conversations there or on the Messenger mobile app." Users will be able to restore their chat history after switching to the app by entering a PIN number. This is the same PIN that was used to initially create a backup on Messenger. It

Toy Fair 2026 just wrapped earlier this week and while I would have liked to spend even more time there, I have my own kids (and all their toys and trinkets) to look after. That said, there were a ton of cool new products on display at the Javits Center in New York City that set the stage for the rest of the year, so here's a quick look at some of the most interesting releases from the largest toy show in the Western Hemisphere.  TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE 40TH ANNIVERSARY FIGURES ($28 TO $60) To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Transformers: The

Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff has indicated that the company's controversial Search Party feature might not always be just for lost dogs, according to emails obtained by 404 Media. A creepy surveillance tool being used to surveil. Who could have predicted that? "I believe that the foundation we created with Search Party, first for finding dogs, will end up becoming one of the most important pieces of tech and innovation to truly unlock the impact of our mission," Siminoff wrote in an email to staffers. "You can now see a future where we are able to zero out crime in neighborhoods. So

YouTube's "Ask" button is making its way to the living room. The Gemini-powered feature is now rolling out as an experiment on smart TVs, gaming consoles and streaming devices. 9to5Google first spotted a Google support page announcing the change. Like on mobile devices and desktop, the feature is essentially a Gemini chatbot trained on each video's content. Selecting that "Ask" button will bring up a series of canned prompts related to the content. Alternatively, you can use your microphone to ask questions about it in your own words. The "Ask about this video" feature on desktop YouTube Google says your TV remote's microphone button

Rivian suggests that vehicle owners can leave their phone at home (or perhaps in a glove box) and instead control some aspects of their EV using a new Apple Watch app. With a tap of your watch, you can unlock and lock the doors, sound the alarm and vent the windows. After the digital key is set up, R1S and R1T Gen 2 owners can unlock their vehicle automatically simply by walking up to it thanks to the passive car key feature. It's possible to set the cabin temperature and a target state of charge by turning the digital crown on

At the start of the month, Elon Musk announced that two of his companies — SpaceX and xAI  — were merging, and would jointly launch a constellation of 1 million satellites to operate as orbital data centers. Musk's reputation might suggest otherwise, but according to experts, such a plan isn't a complete fantasy. However, if executed at the scale suggested, some of them believe it would have devastating effects on the environment and the sustainability of low Earth Earth orbit.      Musk and others argue that putting data centers in space is practical given how much more efficient solar panels are away

The office of the Attorney General for West Virginia announced Thursday that it has filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging that the company had "knowingly" allowed its iCloud platform "to be used as a vehicle for distributing and storing child sexual abuse material." The state alleges this went on for years but drew no action from the tech giant "under the guise of user privacy." In the lawsuit, the state repeatedly cites a text from Apple executive Eric Friedman, in which he calls iCloud "the greatest platform for distributing child porn" in a conversation with another Apple executive. These messages were

Last year’s Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition was significant for a few reasons. It was the final major first-party Switch game ahead of the Switch 2’s arrival in June, and the last doomed Wii U game to be granted a second life on Nintendo’s infinitely more successful console. Nearly a year on, a Switch 2 update for one of the most technically impressive games Nintendo has ever published has finally arrived. Somewhat hilariously titled Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (you get the feeling Nintendo has started a naming convention it may come to regret here), the updated

Proton VPN is running a solid deal right now, dropping its two-year Proton VPN Plus plan to $2.99 per month. That works out to $72 billed upfront for the first 24 months, which represents a 70 percent discount compared to its regular pricing.  We’ve rated Proton VPN highly thanks to its strong privacy credentials, transparent nonprofit backing and consistently fast performance. It’s one of the services we recommend in our guide to the best VPNs, and this deal also shows up alongside other standout offers in our ongoing roundup of the best VPN deals. It’s a good option if you’re looking

We found the iPhone Air to have a pretty decent battery life for such a thin-and-light phone, somewhere in the region of 27 hours if you’re continuously streaming video. But it's still a phone, arguably your most used device on a daily basis, so you may need to top it up during the day if you're using it constantly. That’s where Apple’s iPhone Air MagSafe battery pack comes in, and it’s currently on sale for $79. This accessory only works with the iPhone Air, but much like the phone it attaches to, it’s extremely slim at 7.5mmm, so crucially doesn’t add

Anker rolled out a bunch of new chargers and other gear at CES 2026, including a cute one that's already on sale. The new Nano charger with smart display, which is an upgrade to the existing Nano charger in Anker's lineup, is on sale for $30 right now for Prime members. That's $10 off the regular price. The 45W charger includes a smart display that shows real-time data like power flow, temperature and charging status. It also features "fun animations to keep things cheerful." Anker says it can recognize what's being charged and automatically adjust certain metrics to ensure a longer

A decision to ban Telegram on home soil may have backfired on the Kremlin. Last week, Russia went on a blocking spree, banning a number of Western apps in an effort to push domestic users towards Max, an unencrypted state-owned app. One of the restricted apps was WhatsApp (which was also blocked) rival Telegram, a move that drew rare internal criticism from soldiers and pro-war bloggers, with the army being heavily reliant on the cloud-based messaging service for communications. As reported by Bloomberg, pro-Russian military channels are now complaining that the sudden Telegram blackout — coupled with Elon Musk cutting Russia’s

Good deals on Apple products aren’t as frequent as we’d like them to be, but if there’s one of the company’s products that does seem to enjoy pretty regular price cuts, it’s the AirTag. Right now you can pick up a four-pack of Apple’s diminutive first-generation Bluetooth trackers for $64, which translates to 35 percent off and a near record low price. Bear in mind that this deal brings the price per AirTag down to about $16 if you were to buy them individually, and when not on sale they usually cost $29. If you use Apple devices and consider yourself to

If you're an iPhone user who likes to keep tabs on where your stuff is, you can't go far wrong with an AirTag. The second-gen model that Apple just released outpaces the original in every way (aside from the galling lack of a keyring hole, that is). While it's easy enough to replace the battery in both versions of the AirTag, you might not want to have to worry about the device's battery life for a very long time. Enter Elevation Lab's extended battery case for the AirTag, which is currently on sale at Amazon for $16. The case usually sells

Meta is reportedly gearing up to enter another segment of the wearables market. According to The Information, the company is planning to release its first smartwatch sometime this year. Meta has revived its smartwatch initiative internally called “Malibu 2,” The Information says, which will come with Meta AI and health tracking. The same publication reported back in 2021 that Meta was working on a smartwatch powered by an open-source version of Android. Over the next year, more details of its possible features emerged, including reports that it had a detachable camera and that Meta was developing a model with up to

Portable Bluetooth speakers have become an easy default for listening away from your desk or living room. They’re the kind of tech you grab without thinking, whether you’re heading outside, cleaning the house or packing for a weekend away. The best portable options manage to sound bigger than they look, delivering clear audio without weighing down your bag. Battery life and durability matter just as much as sound quality now. Many modern speakers are built to survive splashes, dust and the occasional drop, while still offering quick pairing and stable connections. Some are designed for solo listening, others are meant to

Mark Zuckerberg took the stand Wednesday in a high-profile jury trial over social media addiction. In an appearance that was described by NBC News as "combative," the Facebook founder reportedly said that Meta's goal was to make Instagram "useful" not increase the time users are spending in the app.  On the stand, Zuckerberg was questioned about a company document that said improving engagement was among "company goals," according to CNBC. But Zuckerberg claimed that the company had "made the conscious decision to move away from those goals, focusing instead on utility," according to The Associated Press. "If something is valuable, people

Last year Dyson introduced the PencilVac, which it immediately declared the "world’s slimmest vacuum cleaner." Presumably, then, the title of world’s slimmest wet floor cleaner goes to the newly unveiled PencilWash. Promising a "lighter, slimmer and smaller solution to wet cleaning without compromising on hygiene," the PencilWash is designed to let you clean everywhere you need to with minimal hassle. Like the vacuum cleaner with which it shares the first part of its name, the handle measures just 1.5 inches in diameter from top to bottom, and the whole thing weighs little more than 2kg. The ultra-thin design allows the cleaner to

Google has announced that using its newly incorporated Lyria 3 model, Gemini users will be able to generate 30-second music tracks based on a prompt, or remix an existing track to their liking. The new model builds on Gemini's pre-existing ability to generate text, images and video, and will also be available in YouTube's "Dream Track" feature, where it can be used to generate detailed backing tracks for Shorts. Like some other music generation tools, prompting Gemini doesn't require a lot of detail to produce serviceable results. Google's example prompt is "a comical R&B slow jam about a sock finding their

The long-awaited cyberpunk platformer Replaced just got hit with a short delay. The pixel-art game was supposed to come out on March 12, but will now be released on April 14. That's just a month, which isn't that big of a deal considering this game has been on our radar for five years. Why the delay? Developer Sad Cat Studios notes that the game is "technically finished" but the team needs a few more weeks for polish. The company says it wants the day-one release to be "polished, stable and true to the vision" of the original concept. This is something

The Winter Olympics have been a blast so far, and there are still four days left. It's the perfect time to get ahold of a virtual private network (VPN) and check out how the games are broadcast in other countries— all while improving your cybersecurity. By connecting to a VPN every time you get online, you can keep your activity hidden from your ISP and anyone to whom it may sell that data, while streaming sports and TV from across the globe. We strongly recommend using a VPN, but shopping for one takes some care. If you jump on the very

Nevada is taking action against the rapidly growing Wild West of prediction markets. The state's gambling regulators and attorney general sued Kalshi on Tuesday. They accuse the company of bypassing Nevada law by operating a sports gambling market without proper licenses. In addition, they say Kalshi provides services to individuals under 21, which violates state law. The lawsuit follows a federal appeals court’s rejection of Kalshi's request to prevent the state from pursuing legal action. And it comes a day after the Trump administration claimed that only the federal government has the right to enforce the industry. Prediction markets, which allow users

Apple has scheduled a product launch event, dubbed an "Apple Experience", for March 4 at 9AM ET. The company is reportedly holding this event in NYC, London and Shanghai. Everyone loves shiny new products, so what can we expect to see at Apple's first launch event of 2026? We don't know anything for certain, but we have plenty of educated guesses that have been sourced from industry reports and speculation from analysts. BUDGET-FRIENDLY MACBOOK There have been rumors swirling that Apple is preparing to launch a cheaper alternative to the MacBook Air. Bloomberg reported on this all the way back in November. Industry

Ticketing marketplace SeatGeek has announced a partnership with Spotify that will direct an artist's fans to its platform from the Spotify app. The integration is currently limited to a few participating venues for which SeatGeek is the primary ticket seller. While SeatGeek is one of the largest online marketplaces for the secondary ticketing market, the company's announcement makes clear that this Spotify integration only applies to venues where it's the primary ticketing company. For now, that's just 15 US partner venues, primarily professional sports arenas like AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Spotify has experimented with direct ticket sales in the past, but

Now that pre-orders are open for the Google Pixel 10a, it’s time to see how it stacks up against last year’s Pixel 9a. At first glance, the two phones look very similar, and that’s not a bad thing. Google hasn’t tried to reinvent its budget-friendly formula this year, sticking to the same compact design, clean software experience and camera-first approach that made the 9a such a good value. Both phones share a lot in common, including 120Hz OLED displays, Google’s Tensor G4 chip, strong computational photography and seven years of OS and security updates. The actual differences are more incremental, including

Google debuted the Pixel 10a phone today. Pre-orders are open now and the smartphone will be available starting March 5. Although it's the new 2026 addition to the A series lineup, the Pixel 10a invites many comparisons with last year's Pixel 9a. For starters, the price is identical at $499. Design-wise, not much as changed. The back of the phone can lay flat, which has become a hallmark of the Pixel A collection, rather than wobbling around on a bulky camera housing. The screen is still 6.3 inches with an Actua display. The phone's insides are also the same; the 10a

Google's A-series phones have offered some of the best value among midrange handsets for years, and after checking out the new Pixel 10a, I don't see that trend stopping anytime soon. Let's start with the specs. Starting at just $499, you get a vivid 6.3-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and 3,000 nits of peak brightness, 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of onboard storage. The phone also features a durable aluminum frame along with a stronger Corning Gorilla Glass 7i panel in front and a composite plastic back with a lovely matte finish. As a nod

Polestar is gearing up to launch three new models in the next two years, including a station wagon (estate or shooting brake) version of the Polestar 4 that harkens back to the company's Volvo roots. The Geely-owned Swedish company sold a record 61,000 EVs in 2025, but hopes that the new models will help it take an even bigger bite out of the market. "We want to get more volume out of a bigger cake," CEO Michael Lohscheller said.  Polestar currently offers two models in the US, the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4, both SUVs. However, the new Polestar 4 will

NordVPN is offering a significant discount on its two-year plans, with 70 percent off its Complete tier and up to 74 percent off overall. For the Complete tier, the deal brings the total cost down to $130 for 24 months. NordVPN regularly appears on Engadget’s list of the best VPN services thanks to its wide server network, strong security tools and consistent performance across devices. NordVPN’s latest promotion puts one of its most comprehensive plans at a price that undercuts many competing premium VPN subscriptions. The Complete tier includes full access to NordVPN’s core VPN service, which encrypts internet traffic and masks

A good budgeting app can make it much easier to see where your money is actually going, and one of our top picks is 50 percent off right now. Monarch Money is running a deal for new users that cuts the price of its annual plan in half. With the code MONARCHVIP, you’ll pay $50 for one year of access instead of the usual $100. We’ve recommended Monarch before for its deep customization options and robust financial planning tools. It supports unlimited account connections, investment tracking and shared budgets, making it a solid option if you want a detailed look at

Cameo, the platform where celebrities sell short, personalized videos, has scored a preliminary win in a trademark lawsuit against OpenAI. A California judge has ruled that the AI company's video generation tool Sora cannot use the term 'cameo' or any variation likely to cause confusion. A temporary restraining order in the case was originally granted in November of last year. The suit was first brought in response to a feature available within the Sora app at launch called 'Cameo' that allowed users to add any likeness to videos they generated. Cameo claimed the use of the term in this setting was

Tesla has stopped using the term “Autopilot” to sell its cars in California, thereby avoiding a 30-day sales and manufacturing ban in the state. If you’ll recall, a California administrative law judge ruled in December that the automaker misled consumers by using the terms “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving.” The judge recommended the suspension, but the California DMV gave Tesla 60 days to remove any untrue and misleading language in its marketing materials. In its announcement, the DMV said Tesla has taken corrective action and has stopped using Autopilot for marketing. Prior to that, the automaker has already clarified that driver

Meta just announced a deal to buy "millions" of NVIDIA Blackwell and Rubin GPUs in a new long-term partnership. As part of that, the social media giant will deploy NVIDIA's Confidential Computing for WhatsApp, "enabling AI-powered capabilities across the messaging platform while ensuring user data confidentiality and integrity." As part of the deal, Meta committed to using NVIDIA's Confidential Computing for WhatsApp messaging to allow AI inside the app while guaranteeing user data confidentiality. That technology will let Meta secure data during computation, not just when it's being shuttled to a server. It also allows software creators like Meta or third-party

Whether you’re lifting, running or squeezing in a quick session between errands, the last thing you want is a cable getting in the way or earbuds that won’t stay put. The best wireless headphones make it easier to focus on your workout, but not every pair is built to handle sweat, motion and long sessions. Fitness-focused headphones put different demands on design and performance. Secure fit, water resistance and dependable battery life matter just as much as sound quality, especially if you plan to use them outside the gym as well. Some are tuned for awareness during outdoor runs, while others

Drones are no longer just niche toys for enthusiasts. Today’s models are compact, increasingly affordable and capable of capturing sharp aerial photos and video with minimal effort. Whether you’re curious about flying for the first time or looking to upgrade to a more advanced camera drone, the options available in 2026 are broader and more approachable than ever. Entry-level drones now offer features like GPS-assisted flight, return-to-home safety systems and automated shooting modes that take much of the stress out of learning to fly. Step up to more advanced models and you’ll find foldable designs that travel easily, longer flight times

YouTube is experiencing an outage across the United States, with users in other countries like Canada, India, the Philippines, Australia and Russia also having problems with accessing the website. The issue seems to have started at around 8 PM Eastern time and reached 338,000 reports on Downdetector before starting to taper down. More users reported having issues accessing the app, but I personally lost access to the web homepage first. As of 9:22 PM, users are still reporting being unable to access YouTube on Reddit. As of 9:33 PM, users are complaining that they still can’t access the service, though others

Anyone who's been paying even a little bit of attention to tech news lately could have made a reasonable guess that AI will be a big topic at Samsung's Unpacked next week. Ahead of the event, Samsung teased some of what's to come for AI in terms of the Galaxy S26 smartphone lineup's photography tools.  The S26 phones will feature a new camera system using Galaxy AI that combines capturing, editing and sharing of photos and videos. "Users will be able to turn a photo from day to night in seconds, restore missing parts of objects in images, capture detailed photos

Brian Boland spent more than a decade figuring out how to build a system that would make Meta money. On Thursday, he told a California jury it incentivized drawing more and more users, including teens, onto Facebook and Instagram - despite the risks. Boland's testimony came a day after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand in a case over whether Meta and YouTube are liable for allegedly harming a young woman's mental health. Zuckerberg framed Meta's mission as balancing safety with free expression, not revenue. Boland's role was to counter this by explaining how Meta makes money, and how that

Each episode of HBO's The Pitt features some degree of medical trauma that almost makes the hospital drama feel like a horror series. Some patients are dealing with gnarly lacerations while others are fighting off vicious blood infections that could rob them of their limbs, and the chaos of working in an emergency room often leaves The Pitt's central characters shaken. But as alarming as many of The Pitt's more gore-forward moments can be, what's even more unsettling is the show's slow-burning subplot about hospitals adopting generative artificial intelligence. In its second season, The Pitt once again chronicles all the events

With Ring facing fierce backlash over its Search Party feature, a new program is challenging developers to move Ring doorbell footage off of Amazon's cloud - and into users' own devices. The Fulu Foundation, the consumer advocacy group cofounded by YouTuber Louis Rossmann, is offering an initial bounty of $10,000 to anyone who can integrate Ring doorbells with a local PC or server, while cutting off access to Amazon's servers. Ring users currently have to pay a subscription fee to store recordings in Amazon's cloud. While the company has a local storage option through Ring Edge, it's only available with the

It’s hard to buy a bad pair of wireless earbuds these days, and with constant discounts and deals wherever you look, now is as good a time as any to splurge on the pair you’ve been eyeing. The market has come a long way since the early era of true wireless earbuds, when we had to deal with mediocre sound quality and unreliable performance, all for the sake of ditching cables. Things are much different now. After several product generations, companies like Sony, Apple, Bose, and others are releasing their most impressive earbuds to date.  You can get phenomenal noise cancellation

Horizon Central, the town square of Meta's metaverse, already runs on the new Meta Horizon game engine. | Image: Horizon Central Meta, after laying off about 10 percent of its Reality Labs division, closing three VR studios, stopping new content for VR fitness app Supernatural, and discontinuing its metaverse for work, is announcing a major change for its Horizon Worlds metaverse platform. Instead of attempting to make the 3D social platform work for both VR and mobile, Meta is "explicitly separating" its "Quest VR platform from our Worlds platform" and "shifting the focus of Worlds to be almost exclusively mobile," Samantha

These edibles made from functional fungi are not your childhood Flintstone vitamins.

Inside Dewar’s cavernous whisky warehouses, man’s best mechanical friend—a Boston Dynamics robot dog with an ethanol sensor for a nose—is on the hunt for leaky barrels.

Presearch’s “Doppelgänger” is trying to help people discover adult creators rather than use nonconsensual deepfakes.

If you have multiple email accounts, your Gmail setup may soon need some reorganizing.

Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are booming, and so is a fight among regulators, lawmakers, and advocates over their legality.

House Democrats are demanding answers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and urging it to halt rumored changes they say could undermine its mission.

The Olympics often provide a moment of unity and celebration during times of geopolitical uncertainty. But blind nationalism didn’t win at the 2026 Winter Games.

When you visit your local H&R Block store, you can save up to $50 when you use one of our (unique) codes.

Documents say customs officers in the US Virgin Islands had friendly relationships with Epstein years after his 2008 conviction, showing how the infamous sex offender tried to cultivate allies.

The Fulu Foundation, a nonprofit that pays out bounties for removing user-hostile features, is hunting for a way to keep Ring cameras from sending data to Amazon—without breaking the hardware.

A staffer of the Incognito dark web market was secretly controlled by the FBI—and still allegedly approved the sale of fentanyl-tainted pills, including those from a dealer linked to a confirmed death.

The Executive Branch has a reported membership list that includes Trumpworld elites like David Sacks. A WIRED review of corporate filings reveals an under-the-radar player: a notorious former DC police officer.

Fallout, Neighbors, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters are just a few of the TV shows we’re swooning over for February.

On TikTok, Chinese manufacturers are advertising signal-blocking weapons with the breezy cadence of consumer lifestyle advertising.

Workers describe a deteriorating culture at Block, the company behind Square and Cash App, where layoffs continue and employees are expected to use AI tools daily.

These compact Edifier speakers may not be the fanciest, but they’ll blow your monitor’s built-in speakers out of the water.

The Boston startup uses AI to translate and verify legacy software for defense contractors, arguing modernization can’t come at the cost of new bugs.

The AI search startup once predicted advertising would be a massive business. Now it's betting on a smaller, more valuable audience.

“If you are interested in helping shape and deliver the next chapter of Palantir’s work across DHS, please reach out,” a Palantir executive wrote to employees about the massive purchasing agreement.

We sifted through the fine print to figure out how to score the best deal on all the major carriers in 2026

The Gear team spends countless hours in front of displays while writing for you. So we reviewed those too (including a portable screen).

Shopping for a phone can be an ordeal. That’s why we’ve tested almost every Android phone, from the smartest to the cheapest—even phones that fold—to find the ones worth your money.

There’s little reason to pay top dollar for a smartphone. These iPhones and Android devices—ranging from $100 to $600—stood up to WIRED’s testing.

Lifting weights can keep you carrying groceries and riding bikes even as you get older. Here’s our guide to a simple home setup.

Gay men have long been rumored to run Silicon Valley. WIRED investigates.

Bowers & Wilkins’ latest Px7 headphones keep sound and style at the forefront, with brilliant results.

Fomi watches you work, then scolds you when your attention wanders. It’s helpful, but there are privacy issues to consider.

From threat modeling to encrypted collaboration apps, we’ve collected experts’ tips and tools for safely and effectively building a group—even while being targeted and tracked by the powerful.

The Meta CEO stuck to a playbook of repetitive answers and buzzwords in a landmark trial in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Bose's fabulous QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 noise-canceling headphones are the best travel headphones and are $50 off.

Scout AI is using technology borrowed from the AI industry to power lethal weapons—and recently demonstrated its explosive potential.

While it may sound unorthodox, these earbuds make a great companion for your Switch 2 or other portable console.

The days of tech giants buying up discrete chips are over. AI companies now need GPUs, CPUs, and everything in between.

A database left accessible to anyone online contained billions of records, including sensitive personal data that criminals appear to have not yet exploited.

The Alexa-enabled smoke detector is Kidde’s second model in collaboration with Ring—no wires required.

Evie is a longtime favorite of the far-right. At its very first live event, the strength of the publication’s politics was in the pretense that it doesn’t have any.

Here’s a guide to all the models—plus Pixel case recommendations and smart software tricks to try.

A new report finds that of 154 specific claims about how AI will benefit the climate, just a quarter cited academic research. A third included no evidence at all.

With specs nearly identical to last year’s Pixel 9a, the new Pixel 10a doesn’t pack as much of a punch as prior A-series smartphones.

Benoît Richaud is working with 16 figure skaters from 13 countries at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games. WIRED spoke to him about how he roots for all of them.

A svelte smart ring can track important activity, sleep, and health metrics. Unlike some smartwatches, a ring doesn’t need to be charged every day.

We spoke with registered dietitians and tested popular formulas to break down the research behind functional fungi.

Sporting a refined design and incredible integrated GPU performance, the Dell XPS 14 is the return to form I hoped it would be.

WIRED spoke with the Zoomer founders of a platform where AI agents hire humans to do real-world tasks. Their pitch: "People would love to have a clanker as their boss."

Lego’s next release is a digital brick loaded with sensors that add new layers of interactivity to its play sets. WIRED got exclusive access to the Lego labs where the Smart Brick was born.