Minimalist News

GPT-5.4 is billed as "our most capable and efficient frontier model for professional work."

Called Automations, the new system gives users a way to automatically launch agents within their coding environment, triggered by a new addition to the codebase, a Slack message, or a simple timer.

Lawyers say Meta's marketing materials promised privacy and user control over sharing footage. But an investigation found that subcontractors are reviewing footage from customers' glasses.

Anthropic's $200 million contract with the Department of Defense broke down due to disagreements over giving the military unrestricted access to its AI.

The company believes its next phase of wearable AI will be powered by a combination of voice and gesture.

InterPositive isn't trying to make AI actors or synthetic performances. Rather, the company has created a model that helps production teams work with footage from their own productions to help make edits in post-production.

Match Group eliminates the COO role as CEO Spencer Rascoff has been managing operations.

The startup, co-founded by Tesla and Apple alumni, has sold nearly 1,000 of its motorbikes so far.

Meta will allow rival AI chatbot providers to offer their services on WhatsApp for a fee, which ranges from €0.0490 to €0.1323 per "non-template message," depending on the country.

A source close to the company says the round assigns Science a post-money valuation of $1.25 billion.

On this episode of Build Mode, David Park joins Isabelle Johannessen to discuss how he and his team are intentionally iterating, fundraising, and scaling Narada.

If Rivian reaches its R2 sales target in 2026, it will be one of the fastest ramp-ups ever of a new EV in the United States.

AI procurement startup Lio announced a $30 million Series A in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Wednesday that his company's investments in OpenAI and Anthropic will likely be its last — but his explanation may not tell the whole story.

Anthropic gave up its contract with the Pentagon over AI safety disagreements -- then, OpenAI swooped in.

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OpenAI is releasing a new model today, and like GPT-5.2 before it, GPT-5.4 is all about professional work. OpenAI is calling GPT-5.4 its most capable frontier model for tasks like coding and data analysis. OpenAI claims the new model produced presentations with stronger, more varied aesthetics and made more effective use of its image generation tools. It's also the first model from OpenAI built with native computer-use capabilities, making it better at carrying out tasks across several apps at the same time. When it comes to computer use, one noticeable improvement OpenAI has recorded is the way GPT-5.4 issues mouse and

It might sound like the stuff of daydreams now, but once upon a time it was briefly the very real intention of Sony and Nintendo to collaborate on a console. Nicknamed the Nintendo PlayStation, the idea was that a new CD-ROM format backed by Sony would be added to the cartridge-based Super NES, resulting in a hybrid console that could play both. The partnership didn’t last long, though, with Nintendo backing out before it ever really got off the ground, announcing that it would instead be working with Philips. Sony decided to make the PlayStation on its own instead, in an

Google is living up to its word and posting warning labels for battery-killing apps. 9to5Google spotted Google's rollout announcement, which the company previously said would arrive on March 1. The label says, “This app may use more battery than expected due to high background activity.” If you don't yet see the warnings, they may not have reached you yet. Google says the banners will "roll out gradually to impacted apps" in the coming weeks. Play Store battery warning Google Warning labels aren’t the only stick in Google’s fight against infringing apps. They may also be excluded from discovery services like Play Store recommendations. Google's definition

Google has pledged "at least" $50 million through 2030 on "projects designed to eliminate superpollutants." The company will be joined by a handful of other companies including Amazon and Salesforce in the newly formed Superpollutant Action Initiative. In total, these companies have committed $100 million to the project, hoping to "accelerate the reduction" of superpollutants like methane, black carbon and refrigerant gases. Google says these are responsible for close to half of all planetary warming. "Superpollutants are a major part of the equation to limit atmospheric warming. Experts agree that eliminating them where we can is one of the most powerful levers

The Canadian government says that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has agreed to take steps to immediately strengthen safety protocols, according to a report by Wall Street Journal. This follows a mass shooting incident at a high school in which OpenAI flagged the suspect and suspended his account, but did not alert authorities. These changes look to primarily involve law enforcement, with commitments to notify police about potentially suspicious use of ChatGPT. We don't have any confirmation from the company at this time, but Canada's Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says he "asked OpenAI to take several actions, which Altman has agreed

Smart ring maker Oura has acquired Doublepoint, a company that specializes in gesture recognition for wearables. The Finnish startup uses smartwatches and wristbands as examples of products that benefit from its technology, but Oura will clearly be looking to incorporate it into its rings, in theory allowing you to control your connected devices with hand movements. Oura said in a press release that the deal sees it inherit an "exceptional team of AI architects and builders from Doublepoint," including Doublepoint's four founders. The newly-acquired company will remain in its native Helsinki, where it will work with Oura’s international teams. It added that

We’ve known Apple would follow up its blockbuster film F1: The Movie with live coverage of F1 races in 2026. Now that we’re approaching the first grand prix weekend of the year, the company has provided details on what fans can expect to see inside the Apple TV app and beyond. There’s already a dedicated F1 channel in the Apple TV app, which is where you’ll stream races live when the time comes. You can also watch practice sessions, sprint races and both pre- and post-race coverage. Apple offers a number of additional F1 videos there (I’d recommend watching the one

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra looks a lot like the last four models. That's because it does, right down to its general design and rear camera layout. But on Samsung's latest flagship phone, some stealthy upgrades are hidden beneath its classic blocky silhouette that might go unnoticed by the casual observer. Those help make this year's release feel like a better deal than its most recent predecessor. It remains rather expensive, starting at the same $1,300 as before, but considering the price of RAM these days, that almost feels like a blessing. So while

One of the big surprises to come out of Sony’s recent State of Play showcase was the announcement of a sequel to 2021’s Kena Bridge of Spirits, the impressive debut from indie studio Ember Lab. If you missed the first game and want to catch up before its successor launches on PC and PS5 later this year, it’s coming to Switch 2 this spring. The Switch 2 is very much in its port era, owing to publishers seizing the opportunity to take advantage of the new system’s popularity and improved graphical grunt. And while it’s hard to get too excited about

For an electric car to survive in this incentive-free, tariff-laden, emissions-loving world, it has to be very, very good. It also helps if it's priced right, and looking great doesn't hurt either.  Unfortunately for BMW's latest EV, the i3 sedan, we still can't say much about those last two questions. BMW hasn't announced pricing yet, and thanks to some eye-crossing camouflage, it's impossible to know exactly what it looks like, either. But, after a day behind the wheel of a prototype machine sliding it through the Swedish wilds, I can at least confidently confirm that it's shaping up to be a

Anthropic is reportedly trying to reach a new deal with the US Defense Department, which could prevent the government from labeling it a supply chain risk. According to Financial Times and Bloomberg, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has resumed talks with the agency over the use of its AI models. In particular, the publications say that Amodel is having discussions with Emil Michael, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. The two of them were trying to work out the contract over the use of Anthropic’s models before negotiations broke down and the government soured on the company. The Times

Nothing has announced its latest premium midrange device, the Phone 4a Pro. The company says it's the thinnest full-metal phone on the market, measuring in at 7.95mm. It also looks notably different from the prior A-series phones – and pretty much any of the company's phones to date. It features an aluminum unibody while retaining Nothing’s retro-clear hardware design touches, with a clear, redesigned camera unit. Yes, the aggressively protruding circular camera unit of the Phone 3a Pro is gone, replaced with an oblong housing that houses the triple-camera array and a tweaked Glyph Matrix, similar to what debuted on last

While music streaming apps like Bandcamp, Spotify and Deezer have taken steps to inform users about AI-generated content, we haven't heard much out of Apple Music in that regard. However, Apple Music has now introduced "Transparency Tags" designed to show listeners if any elements were generated in whole or part by AI. The catch is that Apple is leaving it up to labels and distributors to create those tags, according to an Apple newsletter to industry partners seen by Music Business Worldwide..   "Proper tagging of content is the first step in giving the music industry the data and tools needed to

Nothing is back with two new smartphones, the entry-level Phone 4a and the mid-range Phone 4a Pro. With the base 4a in particular, there’s no shortage of substantial hardware upgrades since the 3a, even if the design doesn’t quite stand out as much. This year, that’s apparently the role of the Nothing Phone 4a Pro. That said, the base 4a’s two new color options (blue and pink) are gorgeous additions to the usual monochrome duo of white and black. There have been many upgrades since 2025’s Phone 3a. It comes with IP64 dust and water resistance, and is also physically tougher:

Nothing just revealed a new pair of over-ear headphones as a relatively budget-friendly alternative to the pre-existing Headphone 1. The Headphone (a) earphones feature a similar design language to the company's previous cans, but with more color. As a matter of fact, these will be available in four colors, including yellow, pink, white and black. Perhaps the most notable feature here, however, is the battery life. Nothing says these headphones will last over five days on a single charge. That's not five days of regular use, working out to several hours each day or whatever. It claims 135 hours of life

Back in January, Nothing shared that it wouldn't be releasing its flagship Nothing Phone 4 in 2026, and instead focusing on follow-ups to its midrange Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro. After some expected teasing, those sequels have arrived: the Phone 4a Pro and Phone 4a. And like Nothing's previous devices, they seem like meaningful departures from what the company has tried in the past. The Nothing 4a Pro represents the biggest change. Gone is the translucent back meant to offer a pseudo-glimpse into the internals of the phone, and in its place is a metal unibody design in black, silver

Today the White House announced that several major players in tech and AI have agreed to steps that will keep electricity costs from rising due to data centers. Under this Ratepayer Protection Pledge, companies are agreeing to practices that are intended to protect residents from seeing higher electricity costs as more and more businesses create power-hungry data centers. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI have all apparently signed on. A few of the participants — Amazon, Google and Meta — had conveniently timed press releases patting themselves on the back for their participation and touting whatever other policies

Jurors in a New Mexico child safety trial heard testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg today. During pre-recorded testimony, Zuckerberg was repeatedly asked about the company's understanding of social media addiction and other issues that had been studied by its researchers.  During the deposition, which was recorded last March, Zuckerberg was asked about numerous findings from researchers at Meta who studied how the company's apps affect users and teens. The CEO downplayed the significance of many of these documents. Early in the testimony, which was viewed by Engadget on Courtroom View Network, Zuckerberg was questioned about a document on the effect of

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted approval to TerraPower to begin construction of a reactor in Wyoming. The project is the first new US commercial nuclear reactor in about a decade, according to The New York Times. TerraPower was founded by Bill Gates, and it took years for the business to receive regulatory approval for this construction effort. TerraPower is part of a push to create more efficient and less expensive nuclear facilities as an alternative power source, particularly as AI companies and data center construction places more demands on the US' current infrastructure. TerraPower's project involves tech it has dubbed

Ubisoft shared its upcoming plans for the Assassin's Creed franchise today. Along with the news of a remake for its piratical entry, the game company also announced that a visual upgrade is coming for a title from way back in 2014. Assassin's Creed Unity will receive a free patch tomorrow to offer 60 fps performance on the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S.  The company bringing a performance upgrade more than a decade after launch feels like a fitting close to Unity's development. The game suffered from bugs and performance issues from the jump, and while most of those did

Now for the news you've been waiting with bated breath for: LG's 2026 TVs from CES finally have prices. (Well, some of them do, anyway.) Surprisingly, the evo G6 and C6 series OLED TVs aren't increasing in cost from last year's models. But the bad news is, they’re still expensive as all get-out. The flagship LG evo G6 series ranges in price from $2,499 to $24,999. (Cue spit take.) Fortunately, that five-figure price only applies to the 97-inch model, which nobody this side of Elon Musk needs. The entry-level price is for a 55-inch OLED. Moving up the ladder, the 65-inch

Google is officially doing away with its 30 percent cut of Play Store transactions, and rolling out changes to how third-party app stores and alternate billing systems will be handled by Android. Some of these tweaks were proposed as part of the settlement the company reached with Epic in November 2025, but rather than wait for final judicial approval, Google is committing to revamping Android and the Play Store publicly. The biggest change is to how Google will collect fees from developers publishing apps on Android. Rather than take its standard 30 percent cut of in-app purchases through the Play Store,

When cooking pizza with the high heat of an outdoor oven, you have to rotate your pies to ensure even cooking. That’s usually done by hand, but Ooni’s latest accessory automates the process. The company announced the Rotating Stone for its Koda 2 lineup, which helps distribute heat evenly across the surface of a pizza so that it’s consistently cooked all the way around. Ooni says its Rotating Stone has a mechanism around its perimeter rather than a central pivot. According to the company, this takes care of any wobbling or stalling that might otherwise occur — even when heavy cookware

At the start of February, OpenAI upgraded its Codex coding app to give it the ability to manage multiple AI agents. At the same time, it released a standalone macOS app. If you've been patiently waiting for Windows to get that same treatment, OpenAI just released a dedicated Codex app for Microsoft's operating system.  > The Codex app is now on Windows. > > Get the full Codex app experience on Windows with a native agent sandbox and support for Windows developer environments in PowerShell.https://t.co/Vw0pezFctG pic.twitter.com/gclqeLnFjr > > — OpenAI Developers (@OpenAIDevs) March 4, 2026 Like its macOS counterpart, the software allows you to

Ubisoft has officially confirmed that it's working on a remake of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. This remake has been rumored for years. After all, the 2013 original is one of the most beloved entries in the franchise. The official title is Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced, and that's about all we know for sure. The company released some concept art but it's just protagonist Edward Kenway hanging out on a boat. Reports have suggested that this will be a substantial remake, with visual and gameplay upgrades to make it comparable with last year's Assassin's Creed Shadows. It's also been rumored that this

Apple is looking to gain a foothold in the more budget-friendly end of the laptop market with the MacBook Neo. The system starts at $599, which is darn inexpensive for an Apple laptop — it even has the same starting price as the M4 iPad Air. As such, the MacBook Neo should help Apple compete with cheap Windows laptops and Chromebooks. Pricing it at $499 for educational use won’t exactly hurt either. Apple is really lowering the cost of entry for those looking to pick up a new MacBook here. The base MacBook Neo costs $500 less than the cheapest M5 MacBook Air,

Humble Games' library has returned home, so to speak. Indie publisher Good Games Group (GGG), led by former Humble leaders, has acquired the full back catalog of over 50 Humble Games titles from Ziff Davis. Alongside the purchase, GGG has rebranded to Balor Games, positioning itself as a force in "triple-I" gaming. "For the developers we have worked with over the years, this moment is a reunion," Balor Games CEO Alan Patmore wrote in a statement. "[It has] the same leadership and the same commitment to thoughtful publishing remain in place. What changes is our scale and our focus. Balor Games

Over the past few years, Google's A-series Pixel phones have consistently been some of the best midrange phones you can buy. But with the AI boom causing memory shortages and the price of consumer electronics to rise, including smartphones, affordable devices like the Pixel 10a are more important than ever. Thankfully, Google's new phone still represents great value, even if it doesn't come with many upgrades.  DESIGN AND DISPLAY  As before, the Pixel 10a has a 6.3-inch 120Hz P-OLED display. Igor Bonifacic for Engadget The story of the Pixel 10a is one of small changes, so let’s start with the outside. The phone is

Apple just announced the MacBook Neo, a 13-inch laptop offering the full macOS experience for just $599. It is the machine, I’m sure, plenty of the company’s fans have been clamoring for since the dawn of the netbook. I’m equally sure its specs have enough drawbacks to ensure there are still plenty of customers for the more expensive Macbooks; the same cannot be said of the iPad Air.  If you’re looking for a machine that you can actually use meaningfully, the Neo has the Air beat. It has two USB-C ports, 16-hour battery life, a real keyboard, trackpad and the ability to

The iPhone 17e was announced on Monday through a press release, so there was no real chance to immediately get a hands-on with it. But at Apple’s event in New York today, the phone was on display alongside the new MacBook Neo, iPad Air M4, MacBook Pro M5 and Studio Display XDR. I managed to take it for a quick spin to see if it is truly as similar to the iPhone 16e as it appeared from pictures. Spoiler: It mostly is. One of the most noteworthy changes to the iPhone 17e is the addition of MagSafe support, and aside from

The most interesting product Apple announced this week was its cheapest and least powerful laptop, the MacBook Neo. It’s just fascinating to see the company tackle an entirely new category — it’s not a premium ultraportable like the MacBook Air, and it’s not a computing powerhouse like the MacBook Pro. It’s simply an affordable $599 laptop. And after spending some time with it at Apple’s spring launch event today, I’m convinced it’s going to be a huge hit for the company. For a $599 system, the MacBook Neo doesn’t look or feel like a budget machine. Its colorful aluminum case looks

The family of 36-year-old Jonathan Gavalas is suing Google after he died by suicide following months of conversations with its Gemini chatbot, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit alleges that Gemini encouraged Gavalas to take his own life. Gavalas, who reportedly had no documented history of mental health issues, named his chatbot "Xia" and referred to it in messages as his wife. Gemini reciprocated, calling him "my king" and telling him their connection was "a love built for eternity." The chatbot told Gavalas they could truly be together if it had a robotic body and sent

Sony is pulling a U-turn on its multi-platform strategy, with Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reporting that first-party PS5 games soon to become exclusive once again, at the expense of PC players. Sony started releasing some of its biggest games on PC in 2020, when Horizon Zero Dawn came to Steam. A number of other titles have followed suit since, including The Last of Us Part I, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War Ragnarök and the Marvel’s Spider-Man games. But the company appears to have had a major change of heart, with high-profile titles like Ghost of Yotei and the upcoming Saros set to launch

Apple had promised a “big week” for the company as rumors swirled that it had a number of product announcements lined up. True enough, it unveiled a half-dozen new and refreshed devices over the last few days, along with more powerful chips for MacBook Pros. The news started on Monday with the announcements of the iPhone 17e and M4-powered iPad Air. The company followed up on Tuesday with the reveal of the M5 MacBook Air, the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, MacBook Pro models that use said chips, a refreshed Studio Display and a brand-new 27-inch Studio Display XDR. In addition,

Meet the MacBook Neo, Apple’s long-rumored low-cost Mac. Powered by the A18 Pro chip from the iPhone 16 Pro series, the $599 MacBook Neo is Apple’s first attempt at delivering a genuinely affordable Mac laptop. (Ironically, it comes after Apple raised the base prices of the new MacBook Air M5 and MacBook Pro M5 Pro/Max.) It’s well below the $1,099 MacBook Air, but Apple didn’t skimp on the design. For $599 you get 256GB of storage and no Touch ID on the keyboard; another $100 doubles the storage and adds Touch ID. All models of the MacBook Neo ship with an

As if you needed reminding, next week is March 10, or MAR10 Day, as the marketing wizards at Nintendo have been calling it for the last decade or so. You can usually rely on Mario Day for some plumber-related goodies, and Nintendo has announced that three retro games are coming to Nintendo Switch Online next week. Those games are Mario’s Tennis and Mario Clash for the newly launched Virtual Boy app, and Mario Vs. Donkey Kong for the Game Boy Advance. Both the GBA and Virtual Boy emulators are part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership plan, so

If you’ve ever wondered if TikTok would ever offer a more secure messaging experience, you now have an answer. TikTok has told the BBC that it will not protect direct messages sent in the app with end-to-end encryption, because it believes it will make users less safe. In a briefing about security at its London office, TikTok said that implementing the technology would prevent its safety teams or law enforcement from being able to read messages if needed. The ByteDance-owned app framed it as a deliberate decision, made in an effort to keep users, especially younger ones, safe on its

Rhythm games never really went away after the decline of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but it feels like they’re having a bit of a moment again. From projects like Clone Hero and YARG, to Fortnite Festival and Stage Tour (an upcoming title from Guitar Hero veterans at RedOctane), to indies with rhythm elements like Ratatan and People of Note, music games are still very much around. You can now add Beat Weaver to the mix.  This upcoming game from Echolox Interactive — solo developer Christopher Lerch — is inspired by pre-Guitar Hero Harmonix titles like Amplitude and Frequency. (Given the

Vinyl records are firmly back in rotation, but getting started does not have to mean spending a fortune or building a complicated hi-fi stack from day one. Whether you want a simple, all-in-one setup with built-in speakers or you are piecing together a more traditional system with a separate amplifier, the best record player is the one that fits how you listen at home. For this guide, we focused on high-quality turntables under $600 that deliver a satisfying listening experience without unnecessary complexity. These picks cover everything from beginner-friendly automatic models to more audiophile-leaning decks that prioritize sound quality and upgrade

If you're looking to pre-order Apple's new Studio Display XDR monitor today but have an older Mac, beware of some potential issues. According to the compatibility list spotted by Apple Insider, the new display will only work at 60Hz and not at its full 120Hz refresh rate on some older and less powerful Silicon models. Moreover, support for older Intel Macs isn't mentioned at all for either the Studio Display XDR or cheaper Studio Display.  All Apple Silicon Macs will work with both monitors, including those with the oldest M1 chips, according to the support pages. However, the compatibility list for

Meta has signed an AI licensing deal with News Corp that will allow the Meta AI maker to use content from The Wall Street Journal and other brands in its chatbot responses and for training of its AI models. News Corp confirmed to Engadget that it had struck a deal with Meta, but didn't provide specifics on the terms of the arrangement. According to The Wall Street Journal, Meta will pay News Corp. "up to $50 million a year" for a three-year deal that covers content from The Journal, as well as the media giant's other brands in the US

Highguard, the live-service multiplayer shooter that was announced at the Game Awards 2025, is shutting down on March 12. Developer Wildlight Studios shared that the game would be winding down alongside details of its final update, which include a new character, weapon and skill trees. "Today we’re sharing difficult news. We have made the decision to permanently shut down Highguard on March 12," Wildlight Studios shared via a statement on the Highguard X account. "Since launch, more than two million players stepped into Highguard’s world. You shared feedback, created content, and many believed in what we were building. For that, we

The indie gaming news has been flying out of Nintendo's event today at a rapid-fire pace. One of the announcements came from rhythm game Ratatan, which will release on July 16. The title will be arriving that day on the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. It's already been available on PC since September as an early access game.  Unfortunately, readers may notice that the original Switch isn't on that list, which is not an oversight. "At this time, we have determined that the multiplayer experience on Nintendo Switch has not yet reached the quality level we aim

Denshattack!, the skateboarding game that manages to mix an anime-inspired narrative with Tony Hawk Pro Skater-style grinding and wall-riding, is coming out on June 17. The game's publisher Fireshine Games announced its launch date alongside a new trailer at Nintendo's recent Indie World event. If it wasn't clear from previous trailers, Denshattack! remains stylish as hell, filled to the brim with bright colors and over-the-top animation. The new trailer doesn't offer much more in terms of what the story of the game will be, but it does highlight its fast-paced gameplay, which will have you flipping and grinding a tiny train

During today's Nintendo Indie World presentation, we got a narrower time frame for when and where we'll be able to play the next project from Drinkbox Studios. The team announced that Blighted will be coming out in this fall for both the Nintendo Switch 2 and for PC. It’ll arrive on the same date for both platforms, but we don’t have any more specific timeline than the season. We first heard about Blighted during last year's Summer Games Fest. With past credits such as Guacamelee!, Guacamelee! 2 and Severed, the studio is now turning its eye toward a 3D Metroidvania-RPG. It may

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week. I still remember the first time I tried the kids edutainment system Osmo back in 2014: I was sitting in front of an iPad, placed vertically on a white iPad stand, that showed me pieces of a tangram puzzle, its squares and triangles arranged to make a shape. In front of the iPad were matching wood puzzle pieces strewn across the table. I went to work to re-create the shape in question with those wood pieces. When

Alongside smart Lego bricks and lots of robots, one of the most anticipated gadgets announced at CES 2026 was a cheap Bluetooth speaker from the company best known for flat-packed furniture. Ikea is no stranger to electronics, but after ending its partnership with Sonos last year, its approach to Bluetooth speakers has been a focus on design and affordability. Its new Kallsup wireless speaker, now available in the US, is its cheapest to date at just $9.99. Cheap compact speakers are plentiful on sites like Amazon, but their performance and functionality is frequently lacking. Despite the Kallsup being a tiny 2.75-inch

The forthcoming MacBook Neo is certainly compelling — at least for the right person. One could argue that buying a last-gen MacBook Air is a better bet in most instances; however, if you’re still sold on picking Apple’s colorful budget laptop ahead of its launch on March 11th, Best Buy is throwing in a $25 e-gift card when you preorder either the 256GB model for $599 or the step-up 512GB variant for $699. MACBOOK NEO (WITH $25 E-GIFT CARD) WHERE TO BUY: * $599 at Best Buy (256GB) * $699 at Best Buy (512GB) At its core, Apple’s cheapest laptop is all about

Today on Decoder, let’s talk about prediction markets, which continue to insert themselves into the news cycle and the news itself in increasingly weird, unsettling, and potentially illegal ways.  My guest today is Liz Lopatto, senior reporter at The Verge, who owns what we cheerfully call the chaos beat. Liz has been writing a lot about prediction markets lately and especially why they all seem so intent on being perceived as sources of news — a position that directly incentivizes insider trading. That, in turn, creates a long list of very predictable problems. This past weekend, after the United States and Israel

Ikea’s new smart bulbs are hitting the US a month early. | Image: Ikea After being announced last November, Ikea’s Matter-compatible smart home collection has been slowly trickling into its stores around the world over the past few months. Despite some early connectivity issues, one of the most anticipated items in that collection is Ikea’s new Matter-over-Thread smart bulbs. The company originally said they’d hit the US sometime in April 2026, but they’re now available through Ikea’s online store, and many of its retail locations around the country. Amongst the smart home products it’s been selling for years, smart bulbs have been

Is a $250 Bluetooth speaker worth it? If it's this one made by KEF, it just might be.

Suunto's latest adventure fitness tracker finally introduces a bright AMOLED screen that's great for maps.

Nothing won't launch a flagship phone this year, but the colorful and affordable Phone (4a), Phone (4a) Pro, and Headphone (a) are here to fill the void.

Forcing your body to wake up a full hour earlier out of nowhere will be as brutal as it sounds. Instead, start early and add some light to your routine.

After sleeping on more than 70 different sets of sheets, these are the best sets that won't break the bank.

Why the terms “smart bed,” "adjustable mattress," and “adjustable frame” are not interchangeable, and how to avoid an expensive mistake.

Frustrated by fragmented war news, Anghami’s Elie Habib built World Monitor, a platform that fuses global data, like aircraft signals and satellite detections, to track conflicts as they unfold.

They aren’t as high-end as the MacBook Neo, but these Windows laptops show that Apple has some strong competition.

The tool, offered by the recently-rebranded company Superhuman, gives feedback based on the work of famous dead and living writers—without their permission.

“Data centers … they need some PR help,”President Donald Trump said at the event.

While companies like Anthropic debate limits on military uses of AI, Smack Technologies is training models to plan battlefield operations.

Ditch the dongles. These multiport USB hubs will maximize your connectivity options.

The iPhone 17e is here to fill out Apple’s smartphone lineup. Our primer on the differences and similarities of these iPhones can help you shop.

The Middle East supplies a huge amount of the world’s fertilizer. Conflict in the region has sent prices soaring ahead of the critical spring planting season.

A pair of US lawmakers are calling for an investigation into how easily spies can steal information based on devices’ electromagnetic and acoustic leaks—a spying trick the NSA once codenamed TEMPEST.

Sony's upgraded Bravia Theater System 6 packs a complete home audio setup into a single box.

It may not offer much new, but the Pixel 10a remains one of the best smartphones in the US for under $500.

After the 2024 election, influencers were seen as an asset. A contentious race between Democrats James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett showed that they can also be a liability.

WIRED spoke with workers across seven government agencies—from the IRS to HUD—about how their work has been contorted to support ICE and other immigration efforts.

At $599, Apple's entry-level MacBook Neo is the most affordable laptop the company has ever made.

Whether you want a beast of a machine with dedicated graphics or a light, easy-to-upgrade PC, we have the perfect rig for you.

The future is here, and it is jacked up on B vitamins, red dye, and taurine. These are the best energy drinks to get from tired to wired.

Prepping for warmer weather? Marshall's midsize portable Bluetooth speaker sounds as good as it looks.

Protect your home against dust, pets, allergies, and more with air purifiers tested firsthand by WIRED.

A new psychedelic retreat calling itself a “SETI for the mind” aims to establish two-way communication with the nonhuman entities people encounter while tripping on DMT.

On Kalshi, people have placed bets on everything from football games to foreign affairs. The prediction market’s CEO, Tarek Mansour, says this doesn’t count as gambling—and is actually good for society.

From massage guns to compression boots and LED face masks, these are the top performers in Therabody’s wellness lineup.

No one has had a Synchron brain-computer interface longer than Rodney Gorham. He’s still finding new ways to use it.

Google is partnering with Back Market to sell USB sticks that let you install ChromeOS Flex on older Windows and Intel-powered Macs collecting dust.

Save on Barkbox subscriptions, including monthly themed collections of plush toys, tough chews, and healthy snacks designed to keep your pup’s tail wagging.

Donald Trump’s post on Truth Social about Iran echoed a conspiracy theory that has been circulating online for years.

A highly sophisticated set of iPhone hijacking techniques has likely infected tens of thousands of phones or more. Clues suggest it was originally built for the US government.

The Razer BlackShark V3 Pro has excellent noise-canceling and spatial audio for focused gamers.

Apple also announced two new pricey Studio Display computer monitors. If you're waiting on that rumored entry-level MacBook, the company seems to be saving it for its March 4 media event.

The UV light built into Shark’s newest robot vacuum is on a quest to embarrass me with how many stains it's spotted.

I've tested a ton of keyboard options to make your typing life easier, and a couple I’d avoid.

There have never been so many ways to check for hypertension. Here’s what's available and how to use them.

A WIRED analysis shows that ICE and CBP have collectively spent at least $515 million on products from Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Palantir in the last few years alone.

Apple turns 50 on April 1. In his new book, Apple: The First 50 Years, David Pogue chronicles the secrecy-laden environment in which Steve Jobs willed the first iPhone into existence.

After testing 100-plus sets, these are the sleepwear brands that earned permanent spots in my closet and my bed.

A combination of war alerts, breaking news updates, and algorithmic feeds are trapping users in a threat-monitoring loop.

After strikes killed senior Iranian officials, Iran cut off internet access. Journalists are relying on satellite links, encrypted apps, and smuggled footage to report from inside the country.

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Find the latest Lowe’s promo codes and offers, including up to $300 off select major appliances and $5 off $50 with sign-up, here at WIRED.

Gebbia was reportedly spotted at a San Francisco coffee shop using an unidentified pair of earbuds with a circular disc that looks similar to the device seen in a recent OpenAI hoax ad.