TerraPower, a nuclear energy startup founded by Bill Gates, struck a deal this week with one of the largest data center developers in the US to deploy advanced nuclear reactors. TerraPower and Sabey Data Centers (SDC) are working together on a plan to run existing and future facilities on nuclear energy from small reactors.

Tech companies are scrambling to determine where to get all the electricity they’ll need for energy-hungry AI data centers that are putting growing pressure on power grids. They’re increasingly turning to nuclear energy, including next-generation reactors that startups like TerraPower are developing.

“The energy sector is transforming at an unprecedented pace after decades of business as usual, and meaningful progress will require strategic collaboration across industries,” TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said in a press release.

A memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies establishes a “strategic collaboration” that’ll initially look into the potential for new nuclear power plants in Texas and the Rocky Mountain region that would power SDC’s data centers.

There’s still a long road ahead before that can become a reality. The technology TerraPower and similar nuclear energy startups are developing still have to make it through regulatory hurdles and prove that they can be commercially viable.

Compared to older, larger nuclear power plants, the next generation of reactors are supposed to be smaller and easier to site. Nuclear energy is seen as an alternative to fossil fuels that are causing climate change. But it still faces opposition from some advocates concerned about the impact of uranium mining and storing radioactive waste near communities.

“I’m a big believer that nuclear energy can help us solve the climate problem, which is very, very important. There are designs that, in terms of their safety or fuel use or how they handle waste, I think, minimize those problems,” Gates told The Verge last year.

TerraPower’s reactor design for this collaboration, Natrium, is the only advanced technology of its kind with a construction permit application for a commercial reactor pending with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to the company. The company just broke ground on a demonstration project in Wyoming last year, and expects it to come online in 2030.

Electricity demand from data centers has tripled over the past decade, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). That demand is only expected to grow with the rise of AI, a trend that could prolong the lives of aging fossil fuel power plants and revive retired nuclear plants.

Microsoft made a deal in September to help restart a retired reactor at Three Mile Island. Both Google and Amazon, meanwhile, announced plans last year to support the development of advanced reactors to power their data centers.

Perplexity has turned its AI “answer engine” into a mobile assistant on Android. The new assistant can answer general questions and perform tasks on your behalf, such as writing an email, setting a reminder, booking dinners, and more.

It’s also multimodal, meaning you can ask it questions about what’s on your screen as well as have it open your camera and “see” what’s in front of you. In an example shared by Perplexity, a user asks the assistant to “get me a ride.” Once it learns where the user wants to go, the assistant automatically opens Uber with available rides to that destination.

I tried it out for myself, and it is kind of neat. When I asked it to “open up a good podcast,” my phone started playing the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience on YouTube. It worked rather quickly, even though its taste may be questionable.

Screenshots: The Verge

Using my phone’s camera, Perplexity’s assistant successfully identified the promotional Pokémon pack I got in a McDonald’s Happy Meal (don’t judge), which I found impressive since the promotion only started a couple of days ago. It also helped me write and send a text to a family member using the information in my contacts.

Alongside Samsung’s announcement of the Gemini-equipped Galaxy S25, Google revealed that its AI assistant can now complete tasks across multiple apps, as well as complete multimodal requests.

But Perplexity’s assistant doesn’t work across every app and with every feature. It’s not able to access Slack or Reddit, for example, and I also couldn’t use it to leave a comment on a YouTube video. Right now, the assistant supports Spotify, YouTube, and Uber, along with email, messaging, and clock apps, according to Perplexity spokesperson Sara Platick. “We’re continuing to add support for more apps and more functionality though, so this is just the starting point,” Platnick adds.

You can enable the assistant through the Perplexity app, which prompts you to replace your phone’s default assistant with Perplexity. From there, you can swipe up on the left corner of your screen or hold down your home button to access the assistant.

It’s currently not available on the iPhone, however. “If Apple gives us the right permissions, we’ll make it happen,” Platnick says.

Meta and YouTube aren’t the only platforms looking to benefit from TikTok potentially disappearing — Substack wants in on the action, too.

The company announced Thursday it’s launching a $20 million “creator accelerator fund,” promising content creators they won’t lose revenue by jumping ship to Substack. Creators in the program also get “strategic and business support” from Substack, and early access to new features.

“We established this fund because we’ve seen creators who specialize in video, audio, and text expand their audience, revenue, and influence on Substack, where the platform’s network effects amplify the quality and impact of the work they’re doing,” the company said in a blog post.

This pivot on Substack’s part has been in the works for a while — for months, the company has been marketing itself not as a newsletter delivery service but as a creator platform similar to Patreon.

“On Substack, [creators] can build their own home on the internet: one where creators, not platform executives or advertisers, own their work and their audience,” the blog post reads. The post also cites “bans, backlash, and policies that change with the political winds” as a reason creators can’t depend on traditional social media services.

That’s all fine (we at The Verge have been saying this for a while). But creators focusing on Substack are also subject to ebbs and flows depending on what the company is prioritizing: first, it was newsletters, then it was tweet-like micro blogs, followed by full-on websites and livestreaming. For some, Substack’s initial stated mission of giving more freedom to independent writers is fading. And TikTok creators looking to move to Substack will need to rebuild their following all over again — you obviously can’t export your TikTok followers.

Substack’s business is not immune from “political winds,” either. Just a year ago the company found itself in hot water over Nazi newsletters that were being monetized on the platform. Substack eventually banned some of the newsletters, but only after sustained and public pressure from high-profile writers. In 2022, when Substack’s promise was to be a better version of a newsroom, the company abruptly fired an editor who had worked on a newsletter critical of Substack.

The $20 million fund isn’t the first time Substack has offered a pool of money meant to entice creators. Under a program called Substack Pro, the company poached top media talent from traditional newsrooms with higher pay, health insurance, and other perks. That program ended in 2022, with Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie saying the deals weren’t employment arrangements but “seed funding deals to remove the financial risk for a writer in starting their own business.” In other words, welcome to Substack. Now that you’re here, you’re on your own — which is more or less the deal other platforms offer.

Though Nintendo can technically claim it had the first big gaming news event of the year, at least Xbox’s Developer Direct actually showed off some games and let us know when we can play them. The showcase was anchored by deep dives into the biggest games coming down the green pipe like Doom: The Dark Ages and Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight, with a couple of surprises to fill out the nearly one-hour-long runtime. Here are the highlights from the show.

Ninja Gaiden 4

Xbox kicked off the Direct with the surprise reveal of Ninja Gaiden 4. The game is being codeveloped by Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja and Bayonetta studio PlatinumGames. Ninja Gaiden 4 revives the series’ bloody, fast-paced combat and high-stakes (but often frustrating) platforming with a new face, the ninja Yakumo. Yakumo will use his unique fighting styles to defeat the Divine Dragon Order that’s turned Tokyo into a dystopian, crumbling mess. Gaiden’s former protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa, will also make an appearance as a playable character and Yakumo’s rival.

Ninja Gaiden 4 will launch in the fall of this year, but if you don’t want to wait for your bloody ninja action, you don’t have to. Xbox stealth dropped Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, a remake of Ninja Gaiden II, and it’s available right now on Xbox and Game Pass.

South of Midnight

The developers at Compulsion Games went into detail about South of Midnight’s gameplay and story. You play as Hazel who must use her powers as a Weaver, fighting monsters and traversing the haunted landscape, to rescue her mother who gets swept away in a hurricane. With this, everything I’ve seen about South of Midnight makes it seem like it’ll be one of my games of the year. It’s got a Black protagonist, features characters and tropes that harken to Southern gothic folklore, and its stop-motion art style makes it immediately stand out. I cannot wait to get my hands on this game when it releases on April 8th.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Sandfall Interactive was founded in Montpellier, France, in 2020 with a team led by former Ubisoft developers. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the studio’s first game — a turn-based RPG with a compelling narrative hook. The world has been ravaged by a being known as the Paintress. Every year, she writes down a number, and everyone older than that number disappears. Expeditions are sent out to stop the Paintress, and the game will follow Expedition 33 in their attempt to save humanity. In addition to an interesting Persona 5-style take on turn-based combat, Expedition 33 features some serious voice acting talent, starring Charlie Cox, Jennifer English, Ben Starr, and Andy Serkis. Can’t wait to hear them perform when Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launches on April 24th.

Doom: The Dark Ages

To close out the Direct, Xbox gave us another look at Doom: The Dark Ages, the prequel to id Software’s 2016 Doom reboot and Doom Eternal. It will, of course, feature all the ripping and tearing a Doom enjoyer could want, along with an interesting focus on narrative — something the series isn’t really known for. But I suspect folks are far more interested in piloting a 30-story Doomguy-shaped mech suit when the game releases on May 15th.

Fitbit is paying a $12.25 million fine over its Ionic smartwatches, which the company recalled in 2022 after reports that the watches’ lithium-ion batteries overheated and, in some cases, burned customers.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has provisionally accepted the settlement. The commission worked with Fitbit to recall 1.7 million Ionic watches in 2022 after receiving 115 reports of overheating batteries. Of those reports, 78 mentioned burn injuries, including two instances in which consumers received third-degree burns from their watches and four instances of second-degree burns. Despite complaints throughout 2018, 2019, and 2020 — that continued after a firmware update to address the issue in 2020 — the government agency says “Fitbit did not immediately report to the Commission as required.”

The recall only affected Fitbit’s Ionic watches, but some consumers say other Fitbit devices have similar issues. In 2023, consumers sued Google — which owns Fitbit — claiming that all its devices had battery issues that led to overheating, creating fire hazards and even burning customers. The complaint claims that Fitbit tried to blame the watches’ issues on “consumer hygiene” and included multiple accounts of Fitbit customer support ghosting customers who asked about issues with their watches.

Per the settlement, Fitbit will now be required to maintain internal controls to ensure all its devices are compliant with the Consumer Product Safety Act.

Google is officially launching a new Android security feature for Pixel devices with Android 15 to prevent phone thieves from accessing your digital accounts. The feature, called Identity Check, requires biometric authentication to access some account and device settings when you’re not at a trusted location (such as your home or your workplace).

“A stolen device in the wrong hands can expose sensitive data, leaving you vulnerable to identity theft, financial fraud and privacy breaches,” Google says in its blog post about the launch. Apple introduced a similar feature to Identity Check, called Stolen Device Protection, following reports of thieves watching people input their iPhone passcodes, stealing the phones, and using the passcodes to access private information and lock users out of their Apple accounts.

Settings protected by Android’s Identity Check include changing your device’s PIN, disabling theft protection, turning off Find My Device, factory reseting your device, and changing biometrics, according to a support document.

Image: Google

Identity Check initially launched in beta late last year as part of the December Pixel Drop. The feature is also coming to Samsung Galaxy devices that can get One UI 7 “in the coming weeks” and to devices from other manufacturers “later this year,” Google says.

Android 16’s first public beta will start rolling out later today, bringing with it dynamic lockscreen notifications for ride-sharing and food delivery, following yesterday’s reveal of a similar feature in Samsung’s Galaxy S25 phones. The new beta also forces apps to be resizable, a move to make sure they run full-screen on tablets and foldables. This is expected to be the first of four public beta releases before Android 16’s full release in Q2.

Live Updates are dynamic notifications that “help users monitor and quickly access important ongoing activities” and are updated in real time. They’re Android’s take on the Live Activities that Apple added to its iPhones in 2022.

Samsung also added a similar feature in One UI 7, shown off in its Galaxy S25 phones at yesterday’s Unpacked event, which it calls the Now Bar. However, while Apple and Samsung’s versions support a range of app and notification types, including live sports scores, the Android 16 implementation is so far limited to progress trackers, and Google suggests it should only be used for ride-sharing, food delivery, and navigation apps.

While Samsung’s Now Bar appears as a floating notification at the bottom of the lockscreen, and Apple’s are designed around its Dynamic Island camera cutout, Android 16’s Live Updates seem to instead be pinned to the top of the regular notification stack.

Image: Google

The other major change in the public beta release is a restriction on developers’ ability to lock the size and orientation of their app windows. The change is intended to make sure that apps “work seamlessly” on devices “regardless of display size and form factor.” In short: this is to make sure apps open full-screen on larger devices like tablets and foldables, and can be resized freely for multi-tasking. Games are exempt, and app developers are able to opt out for this release, but won’t have that option by the time Android 17 rolls around in 2026.

Other additions to the public beta include support for the Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec, scene detection to enable night mode in camera apps, and better support for vertical text rendering. These join features already revealed in Android 16’s two developer betas including improvements to Android’s photo picker menu, richer haptic controls, and a Health Connect app for sharing medical information.

Google has also confirmed that it’s working on adding more Gemini Extensions, after yesterday launching the ability for its AI assistant to act across multiple apps in a single prompt. So far Gemini only works with Google’s own apps, a few of Samsung’s, and a handful of third-party options including Spotify and WhatsApp, but Google promises support for “more apps with more OEMs on more devices across more form factors.”

The Android 16 beta is rolling out today to any Google Pixel phone since the Pixel 6, plus the Pixel Tablet. This is the wider public’s first chance to try out the new Android version, but you won’t have long to wait if you’d rather not risk beta software. Google is changing its update cadence this year, with Android 16 expected to be released fully sometime in Q2, following a final beta release in April, much earlier than its usual Q3 release window.

After revealing its next Doom game last summer, id Software is almost ready to release it: the studio announced that Doom: The Dark Ages is launching on May 15th.

The news came as part of Xbox’s most recent Developer Direct livestream, which provided the best look yet at the prequel. As the name implies, The Dark Ages is set in a medieval fantasy realm and takes place long before the events of Doom Eternal and the franchise’s 2016 reboot. The developers say that the new game features a much bigger world with a larger emphasis on story — including plenty of cutscenes — but the most important changes appear to be with how The Dark Ages will play.

A big focus this time around is on melee combat. Since this is a Doom set in medieval times, that means players will get access to brutal new melee weapons like a spiked mace and iron flail. The scale of battles also seems to have ramped up. We already knew that players would get a mount in the form of a cybernetic dragon, but today’s reveal also showed off a skyscraper-sized mech suit so that the Doomslayer can fight enemies the size of kaiju.

Another big change is a greater emphasis on accessibility through a series of gameplay sliders. These let you adjust things like the game speed or parry timing, either ramping them up or down. Essentially, these options should give players the ability to really customize the experience, either making it more approachable or a whole lot harder. There are standard difficulty options as well.

Doom: The Dark Ages is coming to the PS5, Xbox, and PC when it launches in May.

Microsoft promised a new game announcement at its Xbox Developer Direct event, and that game turned out to be Ninja Gaiden 4. The new entry in the long-running franchise is being co-developed by Team Ninja along with Platinum Games, the team behind action games like Bayonetta and Nier: Automata. The game is launching in Fall 2025, and will be coming to Xbox, PC, and PS5 (it will also be available via Game Pass).

While the Ninja Gaiden franchise has been around since the late ‘80s, it entered into a new era on the Xbox with the bloody, and tough-as-nails Ninja Gaiden on Xbox in 2004. That version, developed by Team Ninja, was ported to a handful of other consoles and also received a number of sequels. Based on the debut trailer, the new game looks to continue the dark action started with the 2004 release, but with even faster gameplay.

In addition to the brand-new release, a remake of Ninja Gaiden II was also announced called Ninja Gaiden II Black. In a nice surprise: the game is available now on console, PC, and Game Pass.

These aren’t the only returns to Ninja Gaiden in the works, however. Retro experts Dotemu are also developing a new throwback release called Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound.

It’s been less than a year since Microsoft launched its first Qualcomm Snapdragon X-powered Surface devices, and now a new rumor says followups could debut as soon as this spring. A report from Windows Central updates rumors that have circled since 2023, citing sources who say that new versions of the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro 2-in-1 are in the works, with 11- to 12-inch size screens, Windows on Arm, and lighter but still “premium” designs.

Microsoft has already scheduled a “major” Surface for Business event next week. There, we’re anticipating variants of the current Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11 CoPilot Plus PCs that have Intel’s Lunar Lake chips inside and are aimed at business customers.

According to Windows Central, it’s unclear where these smaller devices might launch, but they will have cheaper chipsets, like the Snapdragon X Plus or possibly the Snapdragon X that launched earlier this month at CES, to keep prices in the $800 - $900 range. When Microsoft last updated its Surface Laptop Go lineup with a third-generation in 2023, we thought it no longer made sense at the asking price, but the battery life and performance supported by Qualcomm’s hardware might change things for a new replacement.

The smaller Surface Pro is described as a competitor for Apple’s 11-inch iPad Pro. However, Windows Central reports it’s unclear if it is positioned to replace the old Surface Go series, which was last updated with the business-focused Surface Go 4.

OpenAI is releasing a “research preview” of an AI agent called Operator that can “go to the web to perform tasks for you,” according to a blog post. “Using its own browser, it can look at a webpage and interact with it by typing, clicking, and scrolling,” OpenAI says. It’s launching first in the US for subscribers of OpenAI’s $200 per month ChatGPT Pro tier.

Operator relies a “Computer-Using Agent” model that combines GPT-4o’s vision capabilities with “advanced reasoning through reinforcement learning” to be able to interact with GUIs, OpenAI says. “Operator can ‘see’ (through screenshots) and ‘interact’ (using all the actions a mouse and keyboard allow) with a browser, enabling it to take action on the web without requiring custom API integrations,” according to OpenAI.

Operator can use reasoning to “self-correct,” and if it gets stuck, it will give the user control. It will also ask the user to take over when a website asks for sensitive information like login credentials and “should” ask for a user to approve actions like sending an email. OpenAI also says that Operator has been designed to “refuse harmful requests and block disallowed content.”

OpenAI says that it’s collaborating with companies such as DoorDash, Instacart, OpenTable, Priceline, StubHub, Thumbtack, Uber so that Operator “addresses real-world needs while respecting established norms.” But the company cautions that not everything might work as you expect just yet; the tool currently has problems with “complex interfaces like creating slideshows or managing calendars.”

Down the line, OpenAI says it plans to bring Operator to Plus, Team, and Enterprise users and “integrate these capabilities into ChatGPT.”

Epic Games plans to add nearly 20 third-party games onto its mobile app store worldwide on Android and in the European Union on iOS and launching its free games program on mobile beginning with Bloons TD 6 and Dungeon of the Endless: Apogee. It’s also promising to pay some iOS fees for developers that are part of the program to overcome what Epic calls a major hurdle to moving outside the App Store.

“Our aim here isn’t just to launch a bunch of different stores in different places, but to build a single, cross-platform store in which, within the era of multi-platform games, if you buy a game or digital items in one place, you have the ability to own them everywhere,” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney told reporters during a press briefing. Under the program, Epic will offer new free games in the store each month before eventually switching to a weekly schedule.

However, the games aren’t actually in the store yet — Epic said on Thursday that it “ran into a few bugs that we’re working through now” and “we’ll provide an update once the games are live and ready to play!”

To sweeten the deal for developers that participate in the free games program on iOS, Epic will help defray the cost of using third-party marketplaces. For one year, it will pay these developers’ Core Technology Fee (CTF): a 50 euro cent fee levied on every install of an iOS app that uses third-party stores after it exceeds 1 million annual downloads. (Apple gives developers with less than €10 million in global revenue a three-year on-ramp.)

Epic has been an outspoken critic of the CTF. In a blog post shared with The Verge, it laments that “even if a developer decides to list just one game on the Epic Games Store, they have to pay the fee every time any of their games are downloaded on iPhones or iPads, whether it’s from the Apple App Store or an alternative store.” The fee is “ruinous for any hopes of a competing store getting a foothold,” Sweeney says. And while Epic will lose money by paying the CTF for these developers, he says, “we feel like we have to be the ones breaking the logjam there.”

The company hopes the EU will take action on what it alleges is a violation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which governs digital competition. Epic writes in its blog post that covering the fee “is not financially viable for every third party app store or for Epic long term, but we’ll do it while the European Commission investigates Apple’s non-compliance with the law.”

It’s the latest maneuver in a long-running fight between Epic and the mobile operating system developers Apple and Google. The game maker has challenged both companies over their practices in the US with mixed success, and it’s hoping that the European Union will take up its cause. The iOS Epic Games Store is EU-only because Apple has been forced to open up its ecosystem there under the DMA; it continues to say its restrictions elsewhere are meant to protect the security of its system.

Epic argues many mobile game developers aren’t on its store because Apple and Google discourage them with restrictions and fees. The company quotes anonymous game developers — their identities withheld to avoid retaliation from Apple, it says — citing the CTF as a deterrent.

Epic had far fewer installs of its mobile store since its launch than it anticipated: just 29 million at the end of 2024, it says in its blog post, compared to its goal of 100 million. It attributes this partly to friction like mobile “scare screens,” which it says drive away users from installing the Epic Games Store more than 50 percent of the time.

With a doubled install base plus any network effects where users got their friends to join, “I think it would have been easy for us to get to 100 million users,” Sweeney claims. Ultimately, he adds, “We won’t really have app store freedom, even in Europe, and actual user choice and competition, unless the DMA is robustly enforced.”

Epic has been fighting this battle for a long time, with its flashy 2020 lawsuit against Apple marking a key turning point. But Sweeney is prepared for the fight to continue for the better part of this decade. Even with a new US president who looks fairly cozy with big tech, Sweeney says he’s still optimistic Donald Trump’s appointees are prepared to take on the industry.

“The ridiculous irony is that Epic Games is able to fully compete with the App Store on equal terms only in Europe,” Sweeney says. “In America, we are blocked from it. And in America, a US citizen cannot obtain Fortnite [on iOS] — it is blocked from you by Apple. I think that’s ridiculous, and that needs to change, and it will change.”

Updates, January 23rd: After we published this article, which was scheduled to publish at an Epic-provided embargo time, Epic spokesperson Natalie Munoz told The Verge that the “launch of third party games on the Epic Games Store is slightly delayed.” We’ve made small adjustments to the piece to reflect that. We’ve also added a tweet from Epic about the delay.

Pocketpair is getting into the games publishing business. The company has announced that it’s taking the gobs of money it made after launching Palworld, the Steam-record busting, 15-million-copies-sold-in-its-first-month, monster-catching adventure game, to establish Pocketpair Publishing.

“Pocketpair Publishing provides comprehensive support for game development through funding, development assistance, and publishing for indie game developers and small studios,” Pocketpair wrote in its press release.

We don’t even have to wait long for the company’s first game. Pocketpair Publishing has teamed up with Tales of Kenzera: Zau developer Surgent Studios to produce its next title, a horror game slated for release later this year. Surgent Studios was founded by video game voice performer and on-screen actor Abubakar Salim. After launching Tales of Kenzera, an afro-futuristic metroidvania, the company was forced to furlough its games division due to lack of funding — a common occurrence that’s become endemic over the last two years.

The indie game space has not been insulated from the effects of the layoff crisis that’s plagued the game industry. The big publishers, from which smaller indie outfits typically receive funding, are tightening their belts, choosing to either keep their cash or only dole it out to projects they believe are sure to make money. And even the publishers known for supporting quality indie games, like Annapurna Games, are having a hard time staying in operation.

However, Pocketpair Publishing joins a group of new companies that have entered the indie games space via non-traditional means. In 2022, YouTube video game critic and content creator videogamedunkey, created his own publishing company Bigmode which published its first game, Animal Well, to critical acclaim last year. Also last year, Innersloth, developers of the wildly-popular murder mystery multiplayer game Among Us, established Outersloth, which is an indie game fund rather than a traditional publisher. Like Outersloth and Bigmode, Pocketpair Publishing is seeking to parlay its commercial success into an avenue for more indie games like Palworld to get made.

“Game development comes with many challenges,” said Pocketpair Publishing head John Buckley. “But we want to ease that process as much as possible and provide an environment where creators can pursue their dreams.”

If you’re looking for a way to beef up your sound system ahead of the Super Bowl, it’s worth investing in a good soundbar. And right now, the Sonos Arc is matching its all-time low of around $649 ($250 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo.

Before Sonos released the Sonos Arc Ultra last year, the Sonos Arc was the company’s highest-end soundbar. Along with eight woofers and three tweeters, the Arc boasts two upward-firing Dolby Atmos speakers. Combined with eARC support, the soundbar delivers impressive and immersive sound, especially when paired with a large 4K TV that supports Atmos over HDMI ARC. Even more conveniently, the Arc features built-in mics and support for Apple’s AirPlay 2, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant for hands-free voice control.

Of course, there are some trade-offs you’ll have to make if you opt for the Arc over the more powerful $999 Arc Ultra. Only the Ultra supports Bluetooth audio and Trueplay EQ tuning, for example. The Arc also lacks support for Sonos’ new “Sound Motion” tech, which, combined with some additional drivers, allows the Ultra to provide more immersive sound. But if you’re okay going without those features, the Arc is a terrific option at this price.

Read our Sonos Arc review.

A few more ways to save

• The Anker Nano 75W Car Charger is now available from Amazon and Anker (with promo code WS7DV2T6M4PE) for $25.49 (about $5 off), which is the first discount we’ve seen on the recently released gadget. The convenient charger plugs into your car’s auxiliary power outlet and offers up to 45W of power through its retractable 29.5-inch USB-C cable, along with an additional 30W through a standalone USB-C port.
• Now through 12:59AM ET on February 1st, Woot is offering first-time Woot customers an additional $10 off on a selection of already discounted Keychron mechanical keyboards. Right now, for example, you can buy the Keychron Q7 for an all-time low of $69.99 ($130 off) with either linear red, tactile brown, or clicky blue switches when you use offer code KEYCHRONTEN at checkout. The hot-swappable wired keyboard features RGB lighting and a 70 percent layout, which you can remap using the excellent Via app.
• You can pick up a refurbished pair of Bowers & Wilkins’ PX7 S2 directly from Bowers & Wilkins for $149, which is $250 less than buying them in new condition. Along with a luxurious design, the PX7 S2 boast good noise cancellation and a solid 30 hours of battery life. They also deliver warm, detailed sound, even if it’s not as rich as the newer Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2e. Read our review.

Google is changing the way visible URLs show up on mobile search results worldwide. Search results since 2009 have shown “breadcrumbs” or the hierarchy of a webpage’s URL using “>” after the domain name, but starting today, it will only show the domain on your smartphone or tablet.

Web developers have had some control over how results show up according to Google’s structured data guidelines that also control how info shows up in its snippets and other areas, and the breadcrumbs will still show up in searches from your desktop.

Image: Google

Google says it’s making this change because “the breadcrumb element isn’t as useful to people who are searching on mobile devices, as it gets cut off on smaller screens.”

It’s certainly true on much smaller screens, like on the discontinued iPhone 13 Mini, which can only show part of the first section of the URL.

Screenshot: The Verge

Screenshot: The Verge

But the changes Google is making also affect much larger mobile device screens that would otherwise have no issue displaying the breadcrumbs, which are useful for seeing at a glance what section of a site you’re browsing.

Google has announced some new business features that can help IT admins better manage Chrome browser extensions, a popular attack vector for cybercriminals. A curated Chrome Web Store experience is launching today for any organization using Chrome Enterprise (including the free Chrome Enterprise Core package) that allows pre-approved extensions to be displayed on the landing page, making them easier for employees to find and install.

Companies can also promote other trusted add-ons that they have vetted, create groups for specific extensions, and customize the Chrome Web Store UI with company logos, imagery, and announcements.

Image: Google

The aim is to prevent employees from installing potentially harmful browser extensions that pose a security risk — as seen in the phishing campaign reported in December that inserted malicious code into multiple Chrome extensions, including the Cyberhaven data security add-on.

More controls will be added for IT admins later this year, including a new setting that will enable extensions to be removed from users’ systems remotely and automatically block future downloads. Another feature, coming “early this year,” will let admins place custom messages on extension detail pages to provide more information about their compliance with workspace usage policies.

Update, January 23rd: Clarified tools are available to admins on both free Chrome Enterprise Core and Chrome Enterprise Premium.

Dasung has announced a new compact E Ink monitor that’s the company’s first to offer a 60Hz refresh rate. The Paperlike 103 features a 10.3-inch e-paper panel making it similar in size to E Ink-based electronic notepads like the Boox Go 10.3 or the Amazon Kindle Scribe. Those devices typically have limited refresh rates, but by boosting the Paperlike 103’s refresh to 60Hz, the portable monitor will offer the advantages of E Ink (less eye strain and low power usage) while making tasks like scrolling documents and websites, and even watching videos, appear smoother and closer to how they do on LCD and OLED screens.

The Paperlike 103 is priced at 1,999 yuan, or around $274, according to Good e-Reader, and is available to order through the Chinese retailer, Jing Dong. It’s not available globally yet, but Dasung typically releases all of its products outside China, eventually. The company currently sells a similar version of the Paperlike 103 that starts at $699 with a larger 13.3-inch E Ink panel. Its refresh rate is limited to 40Hz, but watching a side-by-side comparison of its performance versus an LCD gives a good idea of how well the Paperlike 103 will perform, with potentially even less ghosting.

Image: Dasung

With a resolution of 1,872 x 1,404 pixels in a 4:3 aspect ratio, the Paperlike 103’s 227ppi is slightly behind the 300ppi E Ink screens on the Kindle Paperwhite, Scribe, and other e-readers released over the past few years. But it offers similar lighting options with LEDs along the edge of the screen that aren’t blasting directly into your eyes, and color temperature adjustments from cool to warm to further reduce eye strain if you’ll be staring at it for a while.

The monitor’s body is made from aluminum alloy that’s just five millimeters thick so it’s both lightweight and strong enough to survive getting accidentally squished in your bag. There’s also no battery to add bulk and weight. The Paperlike 103 relies on USB-C for both power and to connect to source devices like computers and mobile devices. There’s also a set of six physical buttons on the left bezel used to turn the monitor on and off, adjust the brightness and color temperature of its lighting, and to switch between different display modes optimized for text, video, or imagery.

CNN is developing a new streaming service — and it sounds a lot like the one it shut down nearly three years ago. In an internal memo shared with The Verge, CNN CEO Mark Thompson says the service will give viewers the ability “to stream news programming from us on any device they choose” as part of a broader restructuring plan.

CNN jumped on the streaming bandwagon in 2022 with the launch of CNN Plus, a short-lived service that shut down after just one month. Thompson doesn’t say whether the new service will mirror the content on its linear channel, or if it will stick to original programming, similar to CNN Plus.

“It’s early days but we’ve already established that there’s immense demand for it not just in America but across much of the world,” Thompson wrote. “We’ll have more to say about this new digital product in the coming months, including content plans and how we will work with our existing and future distribution partners to bring this to market.”

Along with the new streaming service, Thompson’s memo also said Alex MacCallum, CNN’s executive vice president for digital products and services, will announce the company’s “first lifestyle-oriented digital product” and a “major pivot to digital video.”

As part of these changes, CNN will lay off six percent of jobs, making up around 200 employees. Thompson says the company “doesn’t expect total headcount to fall much this year” because of a $70 million investment from CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, The Hollywood Reporter says.

The news of a revived CNN streaming service comes as linear TV networks grapple with a growing shift toward streaming. CNN, which airs a 24/7 news broadcast on Max, recently announced that it’s locking some of its articles behind a paywall. Along with CNN, CNBC also launched a $14.99 / month CNBC Plus subscription.

The CSA, Thread Group, and Wi-Fi Alliance say they’re working together to fix the problems that have plagued the smart home standard in its first two years. In this exclusive interview, I ask them how and when.

Read the full story at The Verge.

“If the Galaxy Ring cost $250, I’d say Samsung was a diabolical genius company. But at $400, it’s asking a lot for what amounts to a secondary device for your smartwatch,” is how Victoria ultimately felt about the Samsung Galaxy Ring in her review. Well, it’s not exactly $250, but a deal on the health-tracking wearable that brings it down to $279.99 ($120 off) at Amazon is close enough.

You’ll find that price across all three of its colors (black, gold, and silver) in several sizes, some of which you’ll have to sign in and add to your cart in order to see. Available ring sizes range from 5 to 15, and while a blind purchase might be safe if you already know your ring size, we recommend using the $10 sizing kit to help you dial it in.

Sadly, that kit is temporarily out of stock at Amazon as of this writing, otherwise you’d be able to recoup the full cost as a credit usable toward the ring. The kit is in stock at Best Buy, however, which bundles a $10 gift card to offset the cost and also currently offers $120 off the Galaxy Ring with a My Best Buy Plus ($49.99 a year) and My Best Buy Total ($179.99 a year) membership.

The Galaxy Ring’s normal $400 price is $50 more expensive than the base Oura Ring 4, but unlike the latter, it doesn’t require a subscription, which makes this deal a bit sweeter. You’ll need a Galaxy smartphone for the best experience, though, as the IP68 water-resistant wearable offers rather basic but standard activity and sleep tracking features without it. It can measure your blood oxygen level, skin temperature, heart rate, and tracks your steps and workouts. But a phone with Galaxy AI can use the metrics to generate insights about your quality of sleep, workout results, and even an Energy Score that attempts to quantify your fatigue levels.

We found these features sufficiently accurate and in line with the competition, but the tips aren’t always the most helpful, and you can get better accuracy from a Galaxy Watch. Using the ring and watch in tandem would result in 30 percent longer battery life for the Galaxy Ring’s six to seven-hour runtime, we’ve found, as the ecosystem prefers the Watch’s readings where possible.

Other features require a Galaxy smartphone, too, such as pinch gestures for smartphone actions and the ability to trigger the ring’s lights with Samsung Find. That means you should probably go with another ring if you don’t use a Samsung phone.