I didn’t set out to play jump rope STAR! when I picked up my Playdate this weekend. I was actually looking for something else, but lazily searched only half of the correct title and found myself staring at jump rope STAR! at the top of the results instead. Curious — in part because “Hot Rope Jump” was one of my favorite minigames in Mario Party 2 back in the day — I clicked on it, and was greeted by pictures that look like something I’d tape to my refrigerator if given by a 5-year-old. It was kind of a “say no more” moment; I purchased it immediately.

As you’d expect from the title, jump rope STAR! is a jump rope game for Playdate. It offers a few different modes for solo and co-op play, the latter involving two players sharing one device. I haven’t run into many multiplayer games for Playdate, so that alone is pretty cool. The game was made by Chris Corciega (Soinksters Games), but the art was “designed by a talented 5-year old,” Maya. And it is adorable. As you try to set new high scores, you use the crank to control the swing of a jump rope held by a bipedal bunny and a… striped pig (?). Okay I’m not entirely sure what the second character is, but those two are swinging the rope, and the goal is to do so in time with the little stick-figure girl’s jumps so you don’t trip her up.

Her timing isn’t always consistent and she speeds up as you progress, so it starts to get pretty tricky after a minute or so. But, achieving perfect swings will earn you points in the Star Meter that’s on the side of the screen, and once it’s filled, you can use that power to temporarily slow down time and get more swings in while the girl is in the air. In the other modes, things get a little more complicated. Playing with a friend in the two-player catch mode, for example, one of you will have to press buttons to move the girl around so she can catch falling stars while the other person swings the rope. (Very hard to do on your own, I discovered).

It’s a simple but fun little game, made even better by the fact that you can involve someone else in the silliness. Both adults and children would be able to enjoy it, and there is a kid mode for a more forgiving style of play if you don’t want family game night to get too competitive. This strikes me as another one of those perfectly Playdate games — the kind that just seems like a natural fit for the device, and that you’d show your friends to try to get them to understand its charm.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/i-think-i-found-the-most-wholesome-game-in-the-playdate-catalog-222138394.html?src=rss

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© Soinksters Games

The Hubble Space Telescope is still trucking along more than 30 years after its launch, observing the universe and sending home images for us to marvel at. This week, NASA and ESA highlighted an image captured by Hubble of the highly productive Tarantula Nebula (officially named 30 Doradus) in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and it’s a sight to behold.

The Tarantula Nebula is “the largest and most productive star-forming region in the local universe,” with stars roughly 200 times as massive as the sun at its center, according to NASA. This Hubble view gives us a look at the outskirts of the nebula, revealing layers of colorful gas and stars. The Tarantula Nebula sits within the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby dwarf galaxy.

While the final result we see is filled with brilliant colors, Hubble’s images initially come back in grayscale. As NASA has explained, “scientists can create a composite color image by taking exposures using different color filters on the telescope, assigning a color to each filter that corresponds to the wavelength of that filter, and combining the images.” The new image of the Tarantula Nebula doesn’t just represent visible light, but ultraviolet and infrared too. In such a case, colors are assigned to those wavelengths we can’t normally see.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-and-esa-share-a-breathtaking-hubble-image-of-the-tarantula-nebulas-outer-edge-202349788.html?src=rss

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© ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Murray

An obscure horror game from the late ‘80s that gained a cult following by way of shareware is coming back from the grave. Last Half of Darkness, a point and click horror adventure created by developer Bill Fisher, has been completely remade with modern graphics, along with a new soundtrack and updates to the story and puzzles, according to Eurogamer. Fisher’s WRF Studios shared a teaser for the remake on Friday, and the game is due to be released on Steam on February 7.

In the game, you’re tasked with exploring the creepy property of the player character’s dead aunt, solving puzzles and making choices that hopefully won’t get you killed. The description explains:

Your aunt sure was a strange one. She was some sort of witch or something. A good witch though, practicing only good spells and magic. In fact, she was working on a potion just before she was killed. Now the secret will go to the grave with her... unless you can find the missing ingredients.

The original Last Half of Darkness is available to play for free from the official website, too. In a playthrough a few years ago, one streamer (and some commenters) remembered it as “the first game to ever scare me.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-1989-point-and-click-horror-game-last-half-of-darkness-has-been-remade-for-2025-184458750.html?src=rss

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© WRF Studios

Following a report by NPR that said the Trump administration is working on a deal with Oracle and other investors to take over TikTok in the US, Trump has denied any talks with Oracle but says he has “spoken to many people about TikTok” and may make a decision in the next month, according to Reuters. Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking office on Monday that delays the enforcement of the TikTok ban by 75 days, giving the app’s parent company ByteDance more time to figure out a deal that would allow it to continue US operations.

NPR, citing sources “with direct knowledge of the talks,” originally reported that Oracle met with White House officials on Friday to discuss a deal in which Oracle and other American investors would end up with a majority stake in TikTok and oversee things like data collection. Microsoft has also been involved with the talks, according to NPR. “The goal is for Oracle to effectively monitor and provide oversight with what is going on with TikTok,” an unnamed source told NPR. “ByteDance wouldn't completely go away, but it would minimize Chinese ownership.”

When asked about a potential deal with Oracle by reporters during an Air Force One flight Saturday night, though, Trump said, per Reuters, “No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days.”

Prior to the ban going into effect on January 19, ByteDance pushed back against the idea of selling TikTok to appease US lawmakers. But it changed its tune on Sunday after Trump stepped in to temporarily bring the app back online, issuing a statement on TikTok’s X account saying that the company “will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”

It came a few hours after Trump wrote in a Truth Social post during the short-lived TikTok blackout that he “would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture.” Still, his exact plan remains unclear. According to one of the sources that spoke with NPR, “Nobody seems to know what he means with the 50 percent equity comments.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/trump-denies-talks-with-oracle-about-a-tiktok-deal-but-says-a-decision-will-likely-be-made-within-30-days-163755199.html?src=rss

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© TikTok

I don't know if you can believe it, but we're fast approaching the end of January. And I want to kick off the first review recap of 2025 by acknowledging how busy it's already been. CES 2025, which to me seemed to go on for a year, now feels like it happened months ago. We've witnessed TikTok disappear and return, a new president get sworn in and Samsung launch new phones. Even with all that's been happening, our reviewers have been hard at work, with Devindra testing the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and Billy on a number of headphones and grills. So much for easing into 2025. 

Before I give you the full recap, I also wanted to shout out some reviews we published in the later half of December, as well as others we recently updated. This article typically goes out every two weeks, but with the holidays, CES and Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked, we had to skip a few editions. In that time, I didn't get the chance to tell you all about our re-reviews of gaming consoles that were launched years ago, like the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. We wanted to revisit our evaluations of these systems and their respective game libraries, to see how well they stack up today. 

The team also published and updated reviews of colorful Kindles, an Intel processor, a Samsung Chromebook and more. Here's a quick list, but you can always go to our Reviews page to scroll on your own time, if you prefer:

• Kindle Colorsoft review: The missing link in Amazon’s ereader lineup by Valentina Palladino

• Kindle Scribe 2 review in progress: Is slightly useful AI worth the extra cash? by Cherlynn Low

• Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus review: Quirky in ways both good and bad by Nathan Ingraham

• Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: An impressive headphone debut by Billy Steele

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: Great movie, good game by Jessica Conditt

• Bose Smart Soundbar review: Using earbuds as surround sound speakers by Billy Steele

• Formovie Cinema Edge review: A midrange UST projector that lags behind its rivals by Steve Dent

• Intel Arc B580 review: The new king of $250 GPUs (for now) by Devindra Hardawar

• Echo: The Oracle’s Scroll is a must-play combatless metroidvania for Playdate by Cheyenne MacDonald

• CRKD's Nitro Deck+ keeps its best features and adds typical stick layout by Mat Smith

ICYMI: The 12 best gadgets we reviewed in 2024

In case you missed it, in lieu of a typical review recap, we published a list of the 12 highest-rated products we reviewed last year. Spoiler alert: there were a lot of flagship phones, cameras and drones on the list. I also included the two worst gadgets we ever tested, and you'll just have to guess what they are. Or read the article, I guess. 

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 review

by Devindra Hardawar

If you're the sort of person that's in the market for a $2,000 GPU, then the GeForce RTX 5090 is something you might consider. It's fast, powerful and NVIDIA's frame generation was very impressive, according to Devindra. But for the rest of us with actual, reasonably sized budgets, the company's highest-end offering is probably out of reach. We're most likely setting our sights on the $550 RTX 5070, and I await our review to see how different a product that costs about $1,500 less will be.

Traeger Woodridge and ThermoWorks RFX reviews

by Billy Steele

Grills and cooking accessories continue to get more and more high-tech. And Billy continues to expand his expertise in the space, all while delighting his editors with tantalizing descriptions of smoked and barbecued foods. Believe me, I always have to feed myself before starting an edit, and I remain slightly jealous that I don't have the space for a dedicated grill like the Traeger Woodridge. But as I read Billy's pieces, I am quietly making notes on what I'd like to get for myself one day. 

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review

by Billy Steele

Billy's been busy, that's for sure. As our resident audio guru, he pretty much spends most of his days with the latest set of headphones in his ears, seeing how they fare not just in daily use but also against the competition. Bowers & Wilkin's Pi8 may deliver excellent audio, but according to Billy they don't offer enough special features for the money. In fact, as he says, "$399 should get you a lot more than superb audio."

On the horizon: Upcoming reviews

Our reviewers already have units of the latest Samsung Galaxy S25 phones and are testing them in the real world as I write this. Devices that were announced at CES 2025, like some headphones, laptops, smart glasses and even LED masks are also making their way to our team members, so stay tuned for our evaluations. We're also planning on some longer-term reviews of popular products, and welcome your feedback on things you'd like to see us take on! Moving forward, Billy Steele will be taking over this roundup, so I leave you with this extremely appropriate and relevant image to remember me by.

Engadget

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-review-recap-all-eyes-on-nvidia-and-samsung-150022570.html?src=rss

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© Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

The latest WhatsApp beta update for iOS gives users the ability to add and switch between multiple accounts on a single device, according to WABetaInfo. It comes over a year after the feature became available for Android. With version 25.2.10.70 for iOS, users are given a choice when adding a second account to the app, WABetaInfo reports: they can set it up as a standalone primary account or “scan a QR code to link the new account as a companion.” The update is available now for beta testers through Apple’s TestFlight program.

On Android, running two accounts simultaneously on WhatsApp requires a dual-SIM situation, as each account must have its own phone number. WhatsApp does offer another app, WhatsApp Business, that users can set up a second account on using a different phone number, but that still means jumping between two apps. The Android update and what’s currently being tested for iOS allow users with two phone numbers to keep all their conversations in one app.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/whatsapp-could-soon-let-ios-users-have-multiple-accounts-on-one-device-224908618.html?src=rss

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© WhatsApp

These are the new releases that we picked up this week.

 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-an-immersive-new-work-of-africanfuturism-210001195.html?src=rss

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A new Resident Evil reboot from Barbarian writer and director Zach Cregger is in the works, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The publication reports that Cregger is on board to write and direct the movie, which will be produced by Constantin Film and PlayStation Productions, with Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 4 ) as co-writer. I’m probably not the only one questioning whether we really need another Resident Evil movie after half a dozen titles in the Milla Jovovich-led series and 2021’s Welcome to Raccoon City, but as someone who loved Barbarian, I can’t say I’m not intrigued.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, “Cregger’s take is described by sources as a revamp that will take the title to its horror roots and be more faithful to the initial games.” There aren’t any details about the upcoming movie beyond that, but Warner Bros., Netflix and two other studios are reportedly in a bidding war for it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-filmmaker-behind-barbarian-is-leading-a-new-resident-evil-reboot-173415349.html?src=rss

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© Capcom

Marvel Snap was one of the unexpected casualties of the TikTok shutdown that briefly went into effect last weekend, and as a way of making things right with users, its developers at Second Dinner are now offering huge rewards packages to everyone directly and indirectly affected. As detailed in an article on X, US users will get the most substantial compensation, but even players outside the country will get a “Global Gratitude Package” for dealing with the disruptions. Second Dinner was able to bring Marvel Snap back online earlier this week, and it expects the app to be restored in the Google Play Store and App Store in the coming days.

In addition to the bonuses, Second Dinner said it’s “working to bring more services in-house and partner with a new publisher” to prevent this type of scenario from arising again. Marvel Snap’s current publisher, Nuverse, has ties to TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, which is what got it swept up in the ban. “This is the beginning of a new era in MARVEL SNAP,” Second Dinner said in the post. The bonus packages will be issued to users “sometime next week.”

The “US Downtime Package” for users who have reached Collection Level 500 or over includes 2 Spotlight Keys; 5000 Season Pass XP; 4150 Credits; 6200 Collector’s Tokens; 1000 Gold; 5 Gold Conquest Ticket; 3 Infinite Conquest Ticket; 4000 Conquest Medals; 1 Mystery Variant; 6 Premium Mystery Variants; 1 Cosmic Red Border (Super Rare); 3 Cosmic Gold Border (Super Rare); and 155 x5 Random Boosters. For those under Collection Level 500, it’ll be 6 Mystery Series 3 Cards; 5000 Season Pass XP; 7150 Credits; 1000 Gold; 1 Mystery Variant; 6 Premium Mystery Variant; 1 Cosmic Red Border (Super Rare); 3 Cosmic Gold Border (Super Rare); and 155 x5 Random Boosters

Users outside of the US and over Collection Level 500 will get 2 Spotlight Keys; 3000 Collector’s Tokens; 1500 Credits; 1 Mystery Variant; 1 Premium Mystery Variant; 1 Cosmic Gold Border (Super Rare); 1 Cosmic Red Border (Super Rare); and 155 x3 Random Boosters. Those under Collection Level 500 will get 6 Mystery Series 3 Cards; 3000 Credits; 1 Mystery Variant; 1 Premium Mystery Variant; 1 Cosmic Gold Border (Super Rare); 1 Cosmic Red Border (Super Rare) and 155 x3 Random Boosters.

Importantly, Second Dinner also notes, “A players’ usage of a VPN will not affect their eligibility. This includes players from outside the US VPN-ing into the US to try and receive the ‘US Downtime Package.’”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/marvel-snap-users-are-getting-a-welcome-back-rewards-package-to-make-up-for-the-tiktok-ban-outage-160134470.html?src=rss

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© Marvel/Second Dinner

Apple posted iOS 18 adoption rates on Friday, which are only slightly different from the numbers for iOS 17 a year ago. The company says iOS 18 has been installed on 68 percent of all iPhones (as of January 21) and 76 percent of models from the last four years.

A year ago, 66 percent of all iPhones ran iOS 17, so there’s a two-percent uptick for iOS 18 this year. The other stat was identical to today’s data: 76 percent of iPhones from the previous four years were running iOS 17 in January 2024.

iPad owners aren’t moving any needles dramatically, either. Apple says 53 percent of all iPads are running iPadOS 18 (the same as iPadOS 17 a year ago). And 63 percent of the tablets from the last four years run iPadOS 18. That’s a notch above the 61 percent of devices from the previous four years running iPadOS 17 early last year.

Does the minor boost come from Apple Intelligence wooing a few extra curious adopters? Unfortunately, the company is mum about how many people have opted into its suite of generative AI features.

Regardless, we can speculate that Apple wants Apple Intelligence adoption to grow: In the latest iOS 18.3 beta, Apple is enabling its AI features by default during onboarding. (You can still opt out after that, but you have to dig into settings to do so.) In previous versions, it was an opt-in feature you had to explicitly agree to during setup. That software could arrive as early as next week.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/apple-says-68-percent-of-all-iphones-are-running-ios-18-195956904.html?src=rss

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© Mat Smith for Engadget

The extremely popular strategy game Endless Legend is finally getting a sequel, ten whole years after the original game began blowing up sales charts. Developer Amplitude Studios, who made the first one, just dropped a trailer for Endless Legend 2 and it looks pretty darned cool.

This game and its sequel fall under the “4X” sub-genre of strategy games, meaning the crux of the gameplay involves building an empire of some kind. The Civilization titles are a great example of 4X strategy. 4X actually stands for eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate. I guess “4E” just didn’t have the same vibe.

In any event, Endless Legend 2 is set in a new location, the oceanic world of Saiadha. The trailer hints at the mysterious nature of this world and showcases the refined gameplay mechanics. It also looks like players could stumble upon an imprisoned god during campaigns. Good times. 

Players can adopt the role of various factions in the game, many of which are shown off in the trailer. There’s a human-like race, an insectoid race and a centaur-like race, among others.

Here's more good news for fans of the original. While Amplitude hasn’t announced a release date yet, it did say that it will enter early access in “early 2025.” Using my advanced math skills I have deduced that it’s early 2025 right now. The early access build will let players take control of four of the aforementioned factions, with two more coming with the full release.

If that nebulous release date has got you down, there's a way to try the game out even earlier. The company has reopened applications for its insider program. Not everyone will be selected for the initial testing phase, but it’s worth a shot.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/endless-legend-2-is-real-and-theres-a-mysterious-trailer-to-prove-it-191206441.html?src=rss

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© Amplitude Studios

In its year-and-a-half of existence, one of the things that’s set Threads apart from Meta’s other apps is that the service has been entirely free of the advertising that fills up just about every corner of Facebook and Instagram. That’s now about to change. Meta is beginning its first “small test” of ads on Threads, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced, as the company looks to finally start making money off the service.

The ads will appear as image posts in between content in users’ feeds and will show up only for “a small percentage of people” in the US and Japan. According to Mosseri, Meta plans to begin with “a handful of brands” in the two countries. “We know there will be plenty of feedback about how we should approach ads, and we are making sure they feel like Threads posts you’d find relevant and interesting,” he wrote. “We’ll closely monitoring this test before scaling it more broadly, with the goal of getting ads on Threads to a place where they are as interesting as organic content.”

It seems that Meta is using its existing advertising infrastructure to bring ads to the app. In a blog post, the company explains that brands can “extend their existing Meta ad campaigns to Threads—without the need for bespoke creative or additional resourcing—by simply checking a box in Ads Manager.” The company will also test its “inventory filter” on Threads, which “allows advertisers to control the sensitivity level of the organic content their ads appear next to.” That will likely be an important feature for marketers as Meta loosens its content moderation guidelines and once again allows more political content to appear in users’ recommendations.

Though the initial test is small, using its existing ad tools would enable Meta to scale Threads ads to many more advertisers, and its 300 million users, very quickly in the future. Mark Zuckerberg has previously indicated that he preferred a slow approach to building Threads’ ad business. “All these new products, we ship them, and then there's a multi-year time horizon between scaling them and then scaling them into not just consumer experiences but very large businesses,” the CEO said last year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-begins-a-small-test-of-ads-on-threads-174523673.html?src=rss

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© Meta

It's Friday, which means it's once again time for us to venture into the discount mines and dig out a few tech deals worth your attention. This week's roundup includes the lowest price in a year for Crucial's X9 Pro, which we consider the best portable SSD for those who want a travel-friendly way to back up their data. Apple's 11-inch iPad Air and Google's Pixel 8a phone are each $100 off, while the Meta Quest 3S and OLED TVs from LG and Sony are cheaper than usual too. We're also seeing a few price drops on video games and gaming accessories we recommend. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still buy today. 

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

• Crucial X9 Pro (1TB) for $70 at Amazon ($31 off MSRP): The X9 Pro is our pick for the best portable SSD, as it combines steady performance for most needs with a rugged, super-compact design that's easy to take on the go. We saw this deal earlier this month, but it matches the largest discount for the 1TB model since late 2023. Also at B&H and Best Buy.

• Meta Quest 3S (256GB) + $15 Newegg gift card for $350 at Newegg ($65 off): The Quest 3S is the budget recommendation in our guide to the best VR headsets. While its older fresnel lenses aren't as crisp or clear as the pancake lenses in the superior Quest 3, they're good enough for most people just getting started with VR, and the headset as a whole is just as fast as the pricier model. More importantly, it supports all the same apps and games. The 256GB model has been $50 off at several retailers for a little over a week, but at Newegg you can now get a $15 gift card thrown in for no extra cost. Also at Amazon, Meta and others without the gift card. Meta says the price drop will end on February 8.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

• Apple iPad Air (11-inch, M2) for $500 at Amazon ($99 off): We consider the latest iPad Air to be the best iPad for most people, as it's significantly cheaper than the iPad Pro but gets you a more futureproof chip, a better display, more RAM, twice as much storage and better accessory support than the standard 10th-gen iPad. We gave it a score of 91 in our review. This deal was available for much of the holiday season, and it's $30 above the tablet's all-time low, but it's still $50 off the slate's usual street price. Clip the on-page coupon to see the full discount at checkout.

• Google Pixel 8a (128GB) for $399 at Amazon ($100 off): Samsung's new Galaxy S25 devices may have taken the spotlight earlier this week, but we still consider Google's Pixel 8a to be the best Android phone for those on a tighter budget. It gets you most of the headline features from a flagship Pixel phone — excellent cameras, a crisp 120Hz OLED display, clean software with updates through 2031, solid performance and battery life — only it uses a slightly cheaper plastic frame with slower charging speeds. This $100 discount has been off and on for much of the past few months, but it still comes within $20 of the lowest price we've tracked for an unlocked 128GB model. Also at Best Buy and the Google Store. Google says this offer will end on January 25.

Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget

• Astro A40 TR gaming headset for $100 at Amazon ($30 off): The Astro A40 TR is the top wired choice in our guide to the best gaming headsets. Its open-back design helps it sound wider and more spacious than most options in this market, which makes it better for picking out enemies in online shooters or just feeling more immersed in a big action game. Being open-back means it leaks and lets in a good chunk of outside noise, so you shouldn't buy it if you often play in a noisy environment. The built-in mic isn't the best, either. Still, the enveloping sound makes it worthwhile. This deal is only $10 more than the all-time low we saw around Black Friday. Also at Logitech and Newegg.

• SanDisk Ultra (1TB) microSD card for $70 at Amazon ($15 off): The SanDisk Ultra is slower than the top recommendations in our microSD card buying guide, especially when it comes to write speeds, so you wouldn't want to stress it with large file transfers. If you can afford one of our main picks, get that instead. But if all you want is a big chunk of storage for as little cash as possible, it should be fine enough in a cheap tablet or gaming handheld. This ties the lowest price we've seen for the 1TB model. Also at SanDisk and B&H. At the former, you can grab two cards for $119 — that discount will apply automatically in your cart.

Rockstar Games

• Red Dead Redemption 2 (PC) for $15 at Steam ($45 off): Its mission structure is dated, the movement is clunky and some of the writing can be, let's say, less than graceful. But Rockstar's Old West epic remains an achievement in maximalist world design: painstakingly detailed (literally), filled with stories and shot with unusually cinematic flair. You may not finish it until 2026, but if you've been waiting to take the plunge, this is a new low for the Steam copy and only $2 more than the lowest price we've seen overall. Other Rockstar games are also on sale.

• Halo: The Master Chief Collection (PC) for $10 at Steam ($30 off): We've seen this deal multiple times over the past year, but it ties the all-time low for Microsoft's Halo compilation, which gathers six of the iconic FPS series' essential games in one package. (Well, five essentials, plus Halo 4.) We include this one in our list of the best couch co-op games, but note that the PC version here only supports online co-op, not local play. 

• Super Mario RPG for $30 at Target: Super NES classic Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars didn't necessarily need a remake, but this Switch version thankfully adheres the original's oddball spirit while sprucing up the visuals for true 3D. If you're in the market for a breezier, lower-stress RPG, it should fit the bill. This deal matches its all-time low.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

• ASUS ROG Ally (Z1 Extreme) gaming handheld for $450 at Best Buy ($200 off): The original ROG Ally isn't as powerful or long-lasting as the newer ROG Ally X, and all Windows gaming handhelds are saddled with less optimized software than Valve's Steam Deck, which remains the top pick in our buying guide. However, when it's discounted to this extent, the older Ally is worth considering if you really want a handheld PC that can play games from any client, be it Steam, the Epic Games Store or the Xbox app. It's still a touch more powerful than the Deck, too, and its 120Hz VRR display does wonders to keep games looking smooth. And for as slipshod as Windows can be, ASUS has made its Armoury Crate app at least a little easier to navigate over time. Just don't expect more than a couple hours of battery life, and don't bother using the microSD slot. This deal ties the all-time low for the model with a Z1 Extreme chip. 

• LG B4 OLED TV (48") for $600 at Best Buy ($200 off): This ties the lowest price we've seen for the 48-inch LG B4, which is the entry-level model in LG's 2024 OLED lineup. While it's not as bright or color-rich as some higher-end alternatives, it still offers the essential perks of any good OLED TV: superb contrast with deep black tones, clear motion, wide viewing angles and so on. It's also a nice value for gaming, as it has four HDMI 2.1 ports that support refresh rates up to 120Hz. It's just better off in a darker room, and this particular model is relatively small. If you want something a little bigger, the 55-inch model is also on sale for an all-time low of $798 at Amazon. That's roughly $250 off.

• Sony A95L OLED TV (65") for $2,498 at eBay via BuyDig ($500 off): The A95L is wildly expensive even with this discount, but many reviewers agree that it's the best TV on the market if money is no object. It uses a QD-OLED panel, which mixes the typical benefits of an OLED display with quantum dots to boost color performance. Compared to a lower-cost QD-OLED TV like the Samsung S90D, it should be more color-accurate out of the box and better at preserving details in shows that aren't presented in 4K. It also supports Dolby Vision HDR. The only serious drawback is that it's limited to two HDMI 2.1 ports, which may be annoying for those who own a soundbar and multiple game consoles. This discount from ties the lowest price to date for the 65-inch model; just use the code SAVEBIG20 at checkout. It comes from eBay via BuyDig, which Sony lists as an authorized seller.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/our-favorite-portable-ssd-falls-to-70-plus-the-rest-of-the-weeks-best-tech-deals-173250767.html?src=rss

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© Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget

Super Bowl LIX is just a couple of weeks away, which means it's a decent time to be in the market for a new TV. If you're looking to make a living room upgrade, we've picked through Amazon, Best Buy and other retailers to find a few Super Bowl 2025 TV deals that are actually worth your time.

To be candid, most of the discounts below are the result of TVs naturally falling in price around this time of year rather than any Super Bowl-specific sales. Most sets tend to arrive in the spring, drop a little over the summer, get a larger price cut for the holiday season, then gradually become cheaper until they're discontinued the following year. This pattern is starting to take shape again now, and with the likes of Samsung and LG unveiling their latest TVs for 2025 during CES last month, last year's models will probably fall even further in the months ahead.

Still, if you want to upgrade today, a handful of well-reviewed TVs from LG, Sony, Samsung and Hisense are back down to the prices we saw around Black Friday — and in some cases, even cheaper. While we at Engadget do not formally review TVs, we've scoured reviews from other sites we trust to find the good stuff and picked through price histories to ensure the discounts below are actual deals.  

• LG B4 OLED TV (48") for $600 at Best Buy ($200 off MSRP): This ties the lowest price we've seen for the 48-inch LG B4, which is the entry-level model in LG's 2024 OLED lineup. While it's not as bright or color-rich as some higher-end alternatives, it still offers the essential perks of any good OLED TV: superb contrast with deep black tones, clear motion, wide viewing angles and the like. It's also a nice value for gaming, as it has four HDMI 2.1 ports that support refresh rates up to 120Hz. It's just better off in a darker room, and this particular model is relatively small. If you want something a little bigger, the 55-inch model is also on sale for an all-time low of $798 at Amazon. That's roughly $250 off.

• Hisense U7N QLED TV (65") for $698 at Amazon ($300 off): Several reviewers we trust say that the U7N delivers better brightness, contrast and HDR performance than most TVs in its price range. It's built with most of the features expected from pricier LED sets, including quantum-dot color, mini-LED backlighting and a 144Hz refresh rate. It also runs on the handy Google TV platform. Its viewing angles are poor, so it's not great for watching shows with a large group, and you may need to tinker with settings to get an optimal image. But the 65-inch model should be a strong value at this price, which is only about $20 more than the all-time low we saw briefly around Cyber Monday. Also at Walmart and Best Buy.

Amy Skorheim

• Samsung The Frame 2024 QLED TV (55") for $868 at Woot ($630 off): This deal from Amazon subsidiary Woot has been live for a few weeks, but it ties the best price to date for the 55-inch version of Samsung's stylish Frame TV outside of a one-off eBay coupon deal. You'd buy this set for its design above all else: It can't match the contrast and color volume of other TVs in its price range, as it lacks local dimming altogether, but it's convincingly built like a framed piece of wall art that can blend in with your home decor. Its matte panel helps it fend off glare in a bright room, and you can display actual artwork onscreen when you're not watching something. It's worth noting that Samsung unveiled a new and improved "Frame Pro" TV at CES earlier this month, but we'd expect that to cost more whenever it arrives.

• Hisense U8N QLED TV (65") for $900 at Amazon ($600 off): The U8N's picture quality is a broad step-up from the U7N, with better contrast, more vibrant colors and supremely high peak brightness. It still has most of the same drawbacks as the U7N — mediocre viewing angles, minor blooming in a dark room, just decent upscaling of lower-res content — but it should be a worthy upgrade if you have more cash to burn. This is another discount we saw for much of November and December, but it ties the all-time low for the 65-inch variant. Also at Best Buy.

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• Samsung S90D QD-OLED TV (55") for $1,198 at Amazon ($600 off): The S90D stands out for its QD-OLED panel, which mixes the benefits of an OLED display with quantum dots to boost color performance. Most reviews say that it can put out a wider gamut of more vibrant colors and brighter HDR highlights than more traditional OLED TVs like the LG C4. It also has four HDMI 2.1 ports that can play up to 144Hz. It doesn't support Dolby Vision HDR, however, and Samsung's Tizen interface can be clunky. The company has also made the aggravating step of using both QD-OLED and more standard WOLED panels within the same product line, but this 55-inch version comes with the superior display in North America. (The 65- and 75-inch models do as well.) This deal is the second-best price we've ever seen and about $150 off this variant's average street price in recent months. Also at Samsung and Best Buy. 

• LG C3 OLED TV (65") for $1,197 at Amazon ($303 off): The LG C3 was released in 2023, but it's not a huge downgrade from last year's LG C4, so it's still worth considering when it's available for less. The C4 should be slightly better in terms of brightness and color volume, plus it supports refresh rates up to 144Hz rather than 120Hz, though the latter is only really useful for PC gaming. Neither model can quite match the QD-OLED panel on the Samsung S90D, but the C3 will still look excellent if you're not comparing the two side-by-side and just want to save some cash on a larger premium display. This discount ties the lowest price we've tracked outside of a handful of in-store-only and eBay coupon deals. 

Sony

• Sony Bravia 7 QLED TV (55") for $1,198 at Amazon ($100 off): The Bravia 7 isn't as strong of a value as the Hisense U8N, but some reviews suggest that it's a decent alternative if you're willing to trade some contrast and peak brightness for a more accurate picture out of the box. Like the Hisense TV, its image washes out when viewed from an angle and it only has two HDMI 2.1 ports for gaming. In general, most people will be happier with a good OLED TV around this price. But if you want a brighter LED TV that looks great right away, this one might be worth a look. This is a new low for the 55-inch model. Also at B&H and Best Buy.

• Sony A95L OLED TV (65") for $2,498 at eBay via BuyDig ($500 off): The A95L is wildly expensive even with this discount, but many reviewers agree that it's the best TV on the market if money is no object. It's another QD-OLED TV like the Samsung S90D, but it's more color-accurate out of the box and should be better at preserving details in shows that aren't presented in 4K. It also supports Dolby Vision, unlike Samsung's TVs, and its Google TV software is generally easier to navigate than Tizen. The only serious drawback is that it's limited to two HDMI 2.1 ports, which may be annoying for those who own a soundbar and multiple game consoles. This discount from ties the lowest price to date for the 65-inch model; just use the code SAVEBIG20 at checkout. It comes from eBay via BuyDig, which Sony lists as an authorized seller.

• Roku Ultra (2024) for $79 at Amazon ($21 off): Roku's Ultra set-top box is overkill for most, but it might be worthwhile if you prefer the simplicity of Roku's interface and need built-in Ethernet and USB ports. It supports just about all the major apps and HDR formats, plus it lets iPhone owners cast video from their phone via AirPlay. Unlike the cheaper Roku Streaming Stick 4K, it also comes with a rechargeable remote that has backlit buttons, built-in voice controls and a lost remote finder. We call it the best Roku player in our guide to the best streaming devices. This deal was available for much of the holiday season, but it ties the latest model's all-time low. Also at Roku, Walmart and Best Buy.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-super-bowl-2025-tv-deals-we-could-find-161012455.html?src=rss

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If you've been waiting for a good deal on an iPad with one of Apple's M-series chips, now seems like a good time to take the plunge. The M2-powered 11-inch iPad Air has dropped back down to $500. That's $100 off the regular price and just a hair above the record low of $498.

Every colorway has dropped to either $549 or $559, but you'll get the full discount when you activate the clippable coupon.

This deal is for the base model with 128GB of storage (double the base storage from the previous gen) and no cellular connectivity, though there is Wi-Fi 6E support. You'll get 8GB of RAM as well.

We gave the M2 iPad Air, which debuted less than a year ago, a score of 91 in our review. It's our pick for the best iPad for most people. It hits the sweet spot between performance, features and price — even more so considering this deal. It offers better future proofing compared with the entry-level iPad, as many features and apps only run on M-series chips and newer A-series ones.

For basic tasks like web browsing and streaming video, performance shouldn't be an issue at all. The M2 iPad Air supports Apple Intelligence features, as well as demanding games like Death Stranding and the Resident Evil 4 remake.

You should get about 10 hours of battery life on a single charge. There's no Face ID here, but a Touch ID fingerprint scanner is built into the power button. One other major positive is that Apple has shunted the front-facing camera to th longer side of the tablet, making FaceTime calls in landscape mode an easier proposition. The M2 iPad Air is compatible with the Apple Pencil Pro, but not the second-gen Pencil.

One of our main complaints about the M2 iPad Air is that it has an LCD display with a 60Hz refresh rate. It's not as smooth or vibrant as the 120Hz OLED you'll find on the most recent iPad Pro. Still, it's a bright, sharp screen. However you slice it, the M2 iPad Air is a pretty great tablet.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-11-inch-ipad-air-m2-is-back-on-sale-for-500-153619990.html?src=rss

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© Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

The Switch 2 is a big boy. That was my main takeaway from Nintendo’s long-awaited reveal of its next portable. How could you have watched that trailer and left with any other impression? It’s not like Nintendo showed much else. Sure, there was the slide about backward compatibility, but the difference in size between the two systems stood out even there. It got me thinking: How big is too big? And did Nintendo prioritize the wrong design choices?

If you had been following along with all the pre-release leaks, you knew this was coming. I certainly did, but I had still hoped that the rumors of an 8-inch display were wrong. I’m a relative newcomer to the Switch. My girlfriend and I split the cost of an OLED model during Black Friday 2024. Since then, it’s become one of my favorite ways to play games, in big part because of its portability.

Nintendo/Engadget

The Switch OLED is not as powerful as my gaming PC, but I can curl up to play games on the couch with it. It’s also small enough to fit in my 15L backpack, making it great for travel. I also love the OLED screen. It makes every game look better, to the point where I can forgive some for performing poorly on the system.

On paper, the Switch 2 should retain at least some of the OLED model’s portability, but I wonder how easy it will be to transport. Consider that if the Switch 2 ships with an 8-inch display, it will feature a bigger screen than the Steam Deck OLED. The Steam Deck is, like the Switch, a handheld, but I would argue it’s not portable in any true sense of the word.

I once tried to pack the Steam Deck for a trip, but I gave up after I found it impossible to fit it in my duffle alongside everything else I needed to bring with me. I haven’t tried to travel with the Steam Deck since. It’s too early to tell if the Switch 2 will suffer from the same problem and it looks relatively thin, but depending on how much it weighs, I suspect a lot of people will use it almost exclusively in their homes.

That’s not inherently a bad thing, but the genius of the Switch is how it promotes co-op play. I’m almost certainly in the minority here, but tablet mode is one of my favorite ways to play the Switch. On a recent flight my girlfriend and I took to Europe, the Switch was a godsend on a plane with no in-flight entertainment.

I know the Switch 2 will feature a tablet mode just like its predecessor, but I wonder how many people will take advantage of that capability with a larger, heavier device? I can see it going two ways. Either the bigger screen makes that feature more attractive, or more people leave their Switch 2 at home because it’s cumbersome to carry around.

The other big unknown here is battery life. If the Switch 2 features an 8nm chip paired with 1080p LCD as has been rumored, it’s very likely its battery won’t last nearly as long as the Switch OLED’s. Before Nintendo released the “Mariko” revision of the original model and later the Switch OLED, battery life wasn’t the console’s strong suit, and I suspect it won’t be the Switch 2’s either.

There are still so many unknowns about the Switch 2, but the thing that struck me about the console’s recent reveal was that I wasn’t fully convinced it would be a clear upgrade over the Switch OLED. Obviously, the Switch 2 will offer far greater performance and what looks like a much more solid set of Joy-Cons, but I’m not too excited about a system that could be bigger, and feature a worse screen and battery life. If those predictions turn out to be true, I’m probably sticking with my Switch OLED until Nintendo announces a Switch 2 Lite or Switch 2 OLED.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/what-if-the-nintendo-switch-2-is-too-big-150002921.html?src=rss

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Netflix's co-chief executive officer Gregory Peters said that the company has made some "good early progress" since it launched games during a call for the streaming service's Q4 2024 earnings. He also mentioned the company's plans for the future of gaming on the service, including rolling out party and couch co-op games that you can stream online. As The Verge notes, Netflix started testing its game streaming technology last year, but it was very limited, and it wasn't clear how it fared. Turns out the company intends to continue investing into the technology and expanding its reach. 

"We think of this as a successor to family board game night or an evolution of what the game show on TV used to be," Peters added when he talked about rolling out party and couch co-op games. He also said that the company will continue adding mainstream titles like GTA, which got tens of millions of downloads, to its offerings. Netflix will continue releasing games based on its shows, as well, because they tend to become fan favorites. Squid Game: Unleashed apparently reached the top spot in app stores' lists for action games in 107 countries. It's on pace to become Netflix's most downloaded game yet. 

Peters said that Netflix is already seeing "positive impacts in acquisition and retention from [its] game-playing members." He admitted that the positive effects brought about by gaming on the platform are still "relatively small," but Netflix's budget for games is also smaller than its budget for shows and movies. As a result, the company will continue "scaling that investment" as it sees its benefits to acquiring new and retaining old subscribers. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/netflixs-push-into-gaming-will-add-party-and-couch-co-op-150050223.html?src=rss

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Sony is ending production of recordable Blu-ray, MiniDisc and MD Data disc media, along with MiniDV cassettes, the company announced. Last year, Sony said that it would gradually end manufacturing of recordable optical media at its Tagajo City plant due to poor sales. Now, production will definitively halt next month and "there will be no successor models," according to the Japanese web page. 

In the announcement, Sony referred to "Blu-ray Disc media," by which it means recordable media only, not Blu-ray discs used to distribute movies (Engadget asked Sony to confirm that it's only halting recordable optical disc production). Sony currently offers 11 products in the recordable category, ranging from 25GB to 128GB, in both R (write once) and RE (write multiple times).

While Sony is ceasing production of recordable Blu-ray discs, they're still available from Verbatim and possibly others. However, MiniDiscs may be hard to come by as Sony was one of the few remaining manufacturers — so you may want to stock up while they're still for sale. 

MiniDisc, mostly used for audio recording, has seen a bit of a resurgence among audiophiles due in part to the tactile experience compared to streaming. It was widely used by professionals as it supports live recording and still has a presence in studios because a lot of content has been archived to that format. (Fun fact: the character Neo in The Matrix stores his ill-begotten wares, whatever they are, on MiniDiscs.)

Once popular for movie collection and file archiving, recordable Blu-ray and other optical media were effectively killed by streaming services, cheap memory, and cloud storage. All of the formats Sony killed have been around for decades, with BD-RE arriving 2002, MiniDisc in 1992, MD Data in 1993 and MiniDV cassettes, primarily used for video production, first appearing in 1995.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/sony-is-halting-production-of-recordable-blu-ray-minidiscs-and-minidv-cassettes-140030225.html?src=rss

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This year, Samsung unified the design language of its S-series flagships, making the S25, S25+ and the S25 Ultra look and feel the same (barring the camera). The curving sides of the S24 Ultra are finally gone, replaced with the solid, squared-off lines seen on the cheaper Galaxy S handsets. Flatter sides make the device easier to grip, slide into your pocket, or prop up when you’re trying to photograph them for a tech website.

I’ll be honest, they look like iPhones. And older Galaxy S phones. And, well, even older iPhones. Smartphones have hopped from flat to curves for as long as smartphones have existed.

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With Samsung, we’ve gripped onto rounded sides from the debut of Galaxy S (2010) through to 2015. Then, the Galaxy S6 (2015) had more flattened sides before the series returned to curves for the S8 (2017). It stayed that way until the more recent S24, with recent years gradually hammering out those curves. The S25 series, now, has flat sides for every model. 

Are flatter sides actually easier to grip? I don’t know. I’m a hypocrite. I’ve found multiple reviews and impressions pieces where I love flat sides. I’ve found the same number of stories where I loved curved devices. Why should you ever believe me again? I’m sure there are tech journalists who have stuck with one form factor being better, but I couldn’t find them.

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Each time it happens and the company explains its change, the designers say this lack of curves/ introduction of curves is better than whatever it was last year. In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2024, Jony Ive said that Apple chose rounded edges for the iPhone 6 series because they made larger phones feel less clunky. That was when the iPhone 6 Plus had a heady 5.5-inch screen, which seems… quaint in 2025.

My theory is that our hands get used to whatever phone form factor we’ve used for the last couple of years. That means when the design gets shaken up (or you swap to a different manufacturer), one has to pay more attention to holding it. But that effect fades.

If the two most significant, most influential phone makers have settled on flat sides, then there are reasons for it. Until there’s an even bigger reason to return, once again, to curves.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/curvy-sides-flat-edges-the-galaxy-s25-and-the-arbitrary-shape-of-smartphones-130047461.html?src=rss

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Welcome to a new newsletter, with a bit of a new direction. While our mid-week edition tackles news specifics, this end-of-the-week missive combines the biggest news with more context, more things to read and watch, recommendations, easter eggs, inside baseball and stuff that interests our readers, alongside the breaking news, reviews and features you expect from Engadget.

We’d love your feedback on what you’d like to see covered in these meatier editions — hit me up at tma(at)engadget.com.

Luckily for me, we kick things off with Samsung’s big Unpacked event, launching three new phones and teasing two — yes, two! — more coming soon.

Everything Samsung announced, including prices and launch dates (February 8 — I’ll save you a click), we collated here, but it was largely a fallow year for Galaxy S hardware, barring a substantially more powerful chip.

While the Galaxy S25 Ultra et al. might not thrill, Samsung managed to breadcrumb several devices with no launch date. First, at its San Jose event, the company revealed its mixed reality headset in person, finally — even if it was just a functionless headset for photos and gawping at.

Then there was the Galaxy S25 Edge — a device I didn’t think existed. (And something that wasn’t shown at my satellite event in London — we got a not-great projection mapping brand activation across London’s Thames river. Boo.)

Like Samsung did a year ago with its Galaxy Ring teaser, we got a fleeting glimpse of the rumored slim Galaxy phone, actually called the Galaxy S25 Edge. It’s slim, has two cameras and... that’s about all we know. Bloomberg reports it will cost less than the S25 Ultra when it arrives later this year.

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And then there’s the mysterious teaser for some possible bifold device — see the screengrab above. This would be a foldable concertina, like devices we’ve seen from Huawei. Samsung teased the display tech back at CES 2022 and subsequent trade events. Is it now ready?

Will the company’s foldables become the new home for Samsung hardware innovation? Is the Galaxy Fold series now truly the new Galaxy Note?

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 review: Pure AI excess for $2,000

• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on: Faster and way more... AI-ier

• Star Trek: Section 31 review: An embarrassment from start to end

Today, in 1984

The first Mac(intosh).

BBC

Apple demonstrated its first Macintosh computer in front of 3,000 people. Graphical computing on the Macintosh wasn’t as commercially successful as Microsoft’s DOS and Windows, but this was the first successful mass-market desktop personal computer with a graphical user interface, built-in screen and mouse. Yes, a mouse! The epic Ridley Scott-directed ad, 1984, also teased it. 

Time to watch that ad again.

President Trump and tech

The new leader got straight to work.

It was a busy first week for President Trump.

• The Trump Administration no longer lets asylum seekers make appointments with app

• Donald Trump pardons Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht

• Trump executive order rescinds Biden’s AI framework

• Trump delays TikTok ban for at least 75 days via executive order

• President Trump withdraws the US from the Paris climate agreement (again)

Reintroducing: Ask Engadget!

AMA or AEA.

Engadget

What can we answer for you that a hallucinating AI can’t? When is the best time to buy a new iPhone? Do I need a high-res screen on my gaming laptop? My smart home is trying to kill me. While Google/ ChatGPT/ social media can often help, we’re bringing back Ask Engadget. Whatever it is, I made my boss create an entirely new email address: askmat(at)engadget.com. So help me help you. (Keep me gainfully employed in an era of bots and AI.)

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-123633309.html?src=rss

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