Engadget News + Next
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The Samsung Wallet can now hold your house keys
The Digital Home Key can unlock smart doors through your phone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OpenAI will amend its deal with the DoD to prevent mass surveillance in the US, the Supreme Court doesn't care if you want to copyright your AI-generated art, and Starlink's next-gen satellite network could broadband speed
-OpenAI’s Sam Altman said the company will amend its deal with the Defense Department to explicitly prohibit the use of its AI system on mass surveillance against Americans. -On Monday, the US Supreme Court declined to hear a case about whether an artwork generated with the help of AI can be copyrighted. The refusal means that a lower court's decision to reject the copyright request will stand. -Starlink is getting ready to launch its second generation of satellites, and it's expected to match the speeds of a traditional terrestrial network. During a keynote at Mobile World Congress, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A closer look at Honor’s Robot Phone
Look, but don’t touch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Anthropic's Claude tops in App Store after Trump's ban, the US reportedly used Anthropic's AI for its attack on Iran, and Lenovo's robot concept can help you digitally sign documents (and maybe annoy coworkers)'
-Anthropic may have lost out on doing business with the US government, but it's gained enough popularity to earn the number one spot on the App Store's Top Free Apps leaderboard. -A few hours after Trump ordered all federal agencies to "immediately cease all use of Anthropic's technology", the US conducted a major air attack on Iran with the help of Anthropic's AI tools, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. -Lenovo can make a robot, too. Alongside proof-of-concept foldable gaming PCs and modular laptops, it introduced the AI Workmate Concept at MWC 2026. With its own Intel Core Ultra processor, 64GB of memory and its own Pico projector, it’s an AI-laced “workmate” meant to streamline office tasks and collaboration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Canadian government demands safety changes from OpenAI
A “big week" that starts on Monday includes a March 4 event for press and creators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Anthropic refuses to bow to the Pentagon despite threats, Block is laying off nearly half its workforce, and Burger King will use AI to monitor employee 'friendliness'
-Despite an ultimatum from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei said that it can't "in good conscience" comply with a Pentagon edict to remove guardrails on its AI. -Block, helmed by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, is slashing its current staff of 10,000 to "just under 6,000." -Burger King, the chain that leans into creepy, is at it again. The Verge reported on Thursday that the company is rolling out a new voice-controlled AI chatbot for its workers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Amazon introduces three personality styles for Alexa+
The AI assistant can be Brief, Chill or Sweet in its communications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Anthropic weakened its safety pledge, Kalshi fined a MrBeast, and Instagram will alert parents if teens repeatedly search for suicide or self-harm content
-Will Shanklin reports that with two stories about the Claude maker Anthropic breaking on Tuesday paint a chilling picture. -Ian Carlos Campbell writes about Kalshi suspending a MrBeast video editor for insider trading. -Anna Washenko writes about Instagram adding a new alert for the parents of teen users of its social media platform. The network will alert the adult if their child repeatedly searches for terms about suicide or self-harm in a short time frame. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google claims it's building data centers that barely use any water
The new design uses air cooling and supposedly limits water to on-site kitchens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
xAI's trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI has been dismissed, the Pentagon giving Anthropic until Friday to let it use Claude as it sees fit, and Uber previewed its Dubai air taxi service
-OpenAI has successfully convinced the court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s xAI, accusing the company of stealing its trade secrets. -Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will reportedly give Anthropic until Friday to drop certain guardrails for military use, as reported by Axios. -Uber is one step closer to going airborne. On Wednesday, the company previewed its air taxi booking service ahead of an expected launch in Dubai later this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The creators of Dark Sky have a new weather app
The app shows a range of weather predictions for increased accuracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
US military may use Grok AI in its classified systems, Anthropic accused 3 Chinese AI labs of abusing Claude, and Bungie said 'no second chances'
-The US Department of Defense has reportedly reached a deal to use Elon Musk's Grok in its classified systems. That’s according to a report by Axios. That follows news that the Pentagon is currently in a dispute with another AI company, Anthropic, over limits on its technology for things like mass surveillance. -Anthropic is issuing a call to action against AI "distillation attacks," after accusing three AI companies of misusing its Claude chatbot. On its website, Anthropic claimed that DeepSeek, Moonshot and MiniMax have been conducting "industrial-scale campaigns…to illicitly extract Claude’s capabilities to improve their own models." -Bungie isn't taking any prisoners when it comes to cheating on its upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple's next event to bring at least five products over a 'three-day blitz'
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the multiple product reveals will culminate with an in-person "experience" on March 4th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The US will send Tech Corps members to foreign countries, a Colorado bill would make it illegal to 3D print firearms and gun parts, and the recent 13-hour AWS outage may have been caused by its own AI tools
-Tech Corps volunteers will be placed in Peace Corps countries that are part of the American AI Exports Program, which was created last year from an executive order from President Trump as a way to bolster the US' grip on the AI market abroad. -Colorado's proposed law would "prohibit the use of a three-dimensional printer, or similar technology, to make a firearm or a firearm component." -A recent Amazon Web Services outage that lasted 13 hours was reportedly caused by one of its own AI tools, according to reporting by Financial Times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meta is shuttering Messenger’s standalone website, which is a thing that exists
It goes dark in April, but the app will remain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google Play used AI to help block bad apps last year, Samsung's Bixby is more conversational, and 'Freedom.gov' will allow Europeans to view hate speech
-Google has announced that with the help of AI, it blocked 1.75 million apps that violated its policies in 2025, significantly down from 2.36 million in 2024. -Samsung has launched the latest version of Bixby with the new One UI 8.5 beta -According to Reuters, the US State Department is building a web portal, where Europeans and anyone else can see online content banned by their governments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Federal court rules that OpenAI must stop using the term 'Cameo'
The company's video generator Sora offered a feature bearing the name. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Is Meta planning to release a smartwatch this year?, Nevada is suing Kalshi, and Gemini can now generate a 30-second clip of what real music sounds like
-Meta is reportedly gearing up to enter another segment of the wearables market. According to The Information, the company is planning to release its first smartwatch sometime this year. Meta has revived its smartwatch initiative internally called “Malibu 2." -Nevada's gambling regulators and attorney general sued Kalshi on Tuesday accusing the company of bypassing Nevada law by operating a sports gambling market without proper licenses. In addition, they say Kalshi provides services to individuals under 21, which violates state law. -Google has announced that using its newly incorporated Lyria 3 model, Gemini users will be able to generate 30-second music tracks based on a prompt, or remix an existing track to their liking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
WordPress adds an AI assistant
An expansion of the platform's AI website builder, the tool helps with edits and media creation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Texas AG is suing TP-Link, OpenAI must stop using the term 'Cameo', and Tesla stopped using 'Autopilot' to promote its EVs in California
-Texas is suing Wi-Fi router maker TP-Link for deceptively marketing the security of its products and allowing Chinese hacking groups to access Americans' devices. -Cameo, the platform where celebrities sell short, personalized videos, has scored a preliminary win in a trademark lawsuit against OpenAI. A California judge has ruled that the AI company's video generation tool Sora cannot use the term 'cameo' or any variation likely to cause confusion. -Tesla stopped using the term “Autopilot” to sell its cars in California, thereby avoiding a 30-day sales and manufacturing ban in the state. If you’ll recall, a California administrative law judge ruled in December that the automaker misled consumers by using the terms “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple's next event is set for March 4th
Rumors had suggested the company would reveal new iPads and MacBooks that week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EU launching a second investigation into Grok, the EC is probing Shein's addictive app design and illegal product sales, and Apple's Podcasts app now supports HTTP Live Streaming video technology
-X is facing yet another investigation into Grok's reported creation of nonconsensual sexual images on the platform. Ireland's Data Protection Commission has announced an inquiry into X regarding the harmful, intimate images and processing of EU and EEA individuals' personal data — including children. -The European Commission has opened an investigation into low-cost fast fashion retailer Shein. EC officials are concerned about the sale of illegal products, including child sexual abuse material, as well as the potentially addictive design of its shopping experience. -Apple is planning a major update for its Podcasts app. The app now supports the company's HTTP Live Streaming video technology. Previously, it only streamed video in various formats like MOV, MP4 and M4V. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Airbnb is testing out AI search with a 'small percentage' of users
Beyond improving search, Airbnb wants to lean heavily into artificial intelligence to help users with with booking, managing listings and customer service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
ByteDance will tighten up its new AI video generator, OpenAI hired the developer behind AI agent OpenClaw, and Terminator Zero has been canceled after just one season
-ByteDance is going to curb the new media generator's use of prohibited content. In a statement to the BBC, ByteDance said, "We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property and likeness by users." -Sam Altman has announced that OpenAI has absorbed OpenClaw by hiring developer Peter Steinberger "to drive the next generation of personal agents.” -Responding to a fan on social media, showrunner Mattson Tomlin said this weekend that the show has been canceled. Despite being generally well received, Tomlin noted that "at the end of the day not nearly enough people watched it." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple's Siri relaunch is reportedly behind schedule
The company is going to release its capabilities in portions over future software updates, according to Bloomberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Ring called off its partnership with Flock Safety, the person overseeing the Netflix-Warner merger resigned, and the EU opening another probe into Google's ads pricing
-Ring has canceled its partnership with Flock Safety, after receiving backlash for running a Super Bowl ad touting its Search Party feature. -Gail Slater, a former JD Vance adviser and Fox Corp VP, reportedly clashed with Attorney General Pam Bondi. Their longstanding feud is said to have centered around Slater's skepticism of corporate mergers. -European Union regulators have already fined Google billions for violating the Digital Markets Act, and being found guilty of anticompetitive behavior in online advertising could add to that total. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Uber Eats’ new Cart Assistant feature is an AI hack for your grocery shopping
The feature accepts both image and text prompts, but is still in beta at the moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
WhatsApp is now fully blocked in Russia, Anthropic beefed up Claude's free tier, and Meta turned Threads algorithm complaints into an official feature
-After warnings from lawmakers last year, WhatsApp has been blocked in Russia for as many as 100 million users, the Financial Times reported. Russian authorities removed the app from an online directory, effectively wiping it from Russia's internet. -Anthropic is upgrading Claude's free tier, apparently to capitalize on OpenAI's planned integration of ads into ChatGPT. -Meta is turning those "Dear algorithm" posts into an official feature that it says will allow Threads users to tune their recommendations in real time. With the change, users can write a post that begins with "dear algo" to adjust their preferences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Waymo's vehicles are now fully driverless in Nashville
The company plans to offer rides to the public in Nashville sometime this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Elon Musk's satellite catapult on the Moon, Discord will soon require age verification, and Meta, TikTok and Snap are participating in an online safety ratings system
-In an xAI meeting with employees, Musk said the company needed to build an AI satellite factory on the moon with a gigantic catapult to launch them into space, according to audio heard by The New York Times. -Discord will require all users to have a "teen-appropriate experience" by default by March. -Numerous major social platforms including Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap say they will submit to a new external grading process that scores social platforms on how well they protect adolescent mental health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lyft rolls out teen accounts with enhanced safety protections
This is similar to Uber's toolset. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The DOJ may face an investigation for pressuring Apple and Google, SpaceX pivoting to focus on a moon base, and disabling Ring's creepy Search Party feature
-House Judiciary Committee member Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, has asked the US Department of Justice to turn over all its communications with both Apple and Google regarding the companies' decisions to remove apps that shared information about sightings of US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers. -Elon Musk says SpaceX has shifted its near-term priorities from Mars settlement plans to building what he called a “self-growing city on the Moon,” arguing the lunar target is faster and more achievable. -Ring is advertised as a way to reunite missing dogs with their owners, a noble cause indeed, but Search Party does this by turning individual Ring devices into a surveillance network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
DOJ is investigating if Netflix used anticompetitive tactics as part of its merger probe
A report from The Wall Street Journal said the probe will include looking into Netflix's potentially monopolistic practices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NY lawmakers introduce bill that aims to halt data center development for 3 yrs, Apple's new iPads and MacBooks may be here soon, and Lyft rolls out teen accounts with enhanced safety protections
-On Friday, New York State Senators Liz Krueger and Kristen Gonzales introduced a bill that would stop the issuance of permits for new data centers for at least three years and ninety days to give time for impact assessments and to update regulations. -Apple is gearing up for a slew of hardware announcements that will include upgrades for the entry-level iPad, iPad Air, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, according to Mark Gurman's Power On newsletter. -Lyft has officially introduced teen accounts for ages 13 to 17. This is a rideshare feature in which teenagers can request their own rides, which is similar to Uber's pre-existing platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NVIDIA reportedly won't release new graphics cards this year
Gamers, schmamers. We have AI data centers to power! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
X's Community Notes will allow AI to write the first draft, Meta is giving its AI slop feed an app of its own, and the CIA will stop publishing The World Factbook
-The company started a pilot program last year to allow developers to create dedicated AI note writers. X’s Keith Coleman told Engadget that AI writers are “prolific” and that one has contributed more than 1,000 notes that were rated as helpful by other contributors. -Vibes was introduced as a feature in the Meta AI app in September 2025. Similar to OpenAI's Sora app, Vibes lets users prompt Meta AI to create TikTok-style vertical videos. -The US Central Intelligence Agency is ending one of its popular services, The World Factbook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Anthropic says it won't bring ads to Claude
The company said that integrating advertising would 'work against' the core principles of the chatbot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A new bill would crack down on fraudulent ads, X's 'open source' algorithm isn't a win for transparency, and Valve pushed back its Steam Machine launch
-The backdrop to the SCAM Act is a Reuters report from last November. Meta reportedly estimated that up to 10 percent of its 2024 revenue came from scam ads. The company is said to have calculated that as much as $16 billion of its revenue that year was from scams, including "fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online casinos and the sale of banned medical products." -While it's true that X is the only major social network to make elements of its recommendation algorithm open source, researchers say that what the company has published doesn't offer the kind of transparency that would actually be useful for anyone trying to understand how X works in 2026. -As The Wall Street Journal recently reported, the AI industry has been hoovering up manufacturers’ available memory chips and hard drives for its infrastructure developments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
iPhone Fold rumors: Everything we know so far
We're tracking all of the rumors about Apple's foldable phone, including when it could launch and possible price. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
An AI powered mobile app to integrate your family's health data, the next gen X-Box will arrive in 2027, and Apple just made Xcode better for vibe coding
-he Luffu mobile app "uses AI quietly in the background" to collect and organize family health information. But the definition of family isn't limited to parents raising children. The company sees its tool as especially valuable for caregivers in their 40s and 50s who may be managing the needs of both aging parents and kids. It even tracks pets' health habits. -Microsoft could launch the next-generation Xbox console sometime in 2027. -Apple has just released Xcode 26.3, and it's a big step forward in terms of the company's support of coding agents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple is already thinking about its second foldable iPhone
The latest Power On newsletter from Bloomberg hints at an Apple competitor to Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
X's Paris HQ raided by French prosecutors, Firefox will soon offer a way to block all of its generative AI features, and a developer turned Wikipedia into a social media-style feed
-The searches are part of an investigation that has been ongoing for nearly a year over the functioning of X’s algorithms that are “likely to have distorted the operation of an automated data processing system,” investigators said at the time. -On February 24, or possibly earlier, Mozilla will roll out Firefox 148, which will include an AI controls section in the desktop browser settings. From here, you’ll be able to block current and future generative AI features, or only enable select tools. -Developer Lyra Rebane created Xikipedia, a social media-style feed of Wikipedia entries. The web app algorithmically displays info from Simple Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
SpaceX wants to launch a constellation of a million satellites to power AI needs
In a recent filing, Elon Musk's aerospace company requested to build an "orbital data center" that relies on solar power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NASA used Claude to plot a route for Perseverance on Mars, Apple now lets you build a new Mac exactly the way you want, and Indonesia lifted its ban on Grok
-In December, Perseverance successfully completed a route through a section of the Jezero crater plotted by Anthropic's Claude chatbot, marking the first time NASA has used a large language model to plot a course for the car-sized robot. -You now select each spec of your new Mac device when purchasing through the website. As first spotted by MacWorld, Apple updated its online configuration tool for purchasing a Mac. -Grok is once again available in Indonesia, after the country lifted its ban on the AI chatbot that was seen generating millions of sexualized deepfakes, thousands of which included children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Honda vehicles used to proactively report road safety issues in nation-first pilot
The project covered 3,000 miles of road in Ohio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Amazon discovered a 'high volume' of CSAM in its AI training data but isn't saying where it came from ... and more Tech News
-The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said it received more than 1 million reports of AI-related child sexual abuse material (CSAM) last year. -A few major publications have begun blocking the nonprofit Internet Archives access to their content based on concerns that AI companies' bots are using the Internet Archive's collections to indirectly scrape their articles. -The Chinese government has given DeepSeek its approval to purchase NVIDIA’s H200 AI chips. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google brings its Nano Banana image generator to Chrome
The company is also previewing a new auto browse feature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Tesla killing off its Model S and X cars to make robots, Mark Zuckerberg says Reality Labs will (eventually) stop losing so much money, and Patreon creators have to switch to subscription billing by November
-Tesla will “basically stop the production” of its Model S and X electric vehicles next quarter. So says CEO Elon Musk, who made that announcement at the automaker’s earnings call for the 2025 fiscal year. You can still buy the vehicles as long as there are units to be sold, and Tesla promises to support them for as long as people have them. -Mark Zuckerberg says there's an end in sight to Reality Labs' years of multibillion-dollar losses following the company's layoffs to the metaverse division earlier this year. -Patreon creators will need to make some changes soon, thanks to Apple. On Wednesday, Patreon said Apple has renewed its requirement that all Patreon creators must move to subscription billing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The French government is ditching Zoom and Microsoft Teams for a home-grown alternative
It's part of a strategy to rely less on US services for government use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mark Zuckerberg was initially opposed to parental controls for AI chatbots, Snap spinning off its AR glasses, and LinkedIn will let you show off your vibe coding expertise
-Meta has faced some serious questions about how it allows its underage users to interact with AI-powered chatbots. Most recently, internal communications obtained by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office revealed that although Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was opposed to the chatbots having "explicit" conversations with minors, he also rejected the idea of placing parental controls on the feature. -Snap’s augmented reality glasses business will now be its own entity, with the company establishing Specs Inc. as a wholly owned subsidiary. It will enable Snap to more easily secure investors and partnerships for its wearables, as well as to grow Specs into a distinct brand while running it within Snap Inc. -LinkedIn is leaning into the rise of vibe coding by allowing users to show off their proficiency with various AI coding tools directly on their profiles. The company is partnering with Replit, Lovabl, Descript and Relay.app Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices