Engadget News + Next

-DoorDash is bringing its robot delivery service to Miami, following an initial rollout in Los Angeles and Chicago earlier this year with over 600 participating merchants. The company continues to work with Coco Robotics as part of its push towards a "multi-modal system" that allows it to make human, robot and drone deliveries at scale. -Google has announced a trio of new AI-powered shopping features. The tech company is rolling out more conversational search capabilities for shopping in AI Mode, so that buyers can make more specific and descriptive queries to find exactly what they're looking for. -In August, Google announced that it will implement a new safety feature that would require developers to verify their identities if they want Android users to be able to sideload their apps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple is reportedly looking to expand its iPhone's satellite capabilities beyond emergency assistance and texting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Coda Music used the recent backlash around Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek as a way to differentiate itself from the number one streamer, calling out Ek’s controversial funding of defense technology firm Helsing earlier in the year. Coda Music announced a new feature that feels designed to answer another of the recent Spotify controversies: AI slop music flooding the platform. In response, Coda Music is launching AI identification tools with the purpose of finding and labeling songs that weren’t composed by actual humans. -WhatsApp is following in the footsteps of fellow Meta-owned companies, Instagram and Facebook. Bloomberg reported that the European Commission will give WhatsApp's open channels the designation of Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act. -Threads is rolling out some new features for sharing podcasts and podcast episodes. Creators have the option to add the link to their show to their bio page; after that, their posts with show and episode links will appear with an audio preview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"I feel like we're competing with what Instagram should have and could have become, but did not," Patreon CEO Jack Conte said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Broadcom and a company called CAMB.AI are teaming up to bring on-device audio translation to a chipset. This would allow devices that use the SoC to complete translation, dubbing and audio description tasks without having to dip into the cloud. -Next year will see the end arrive for two of Facebook's external social plugins. The platform's Like button and Share button for third-party websites will be discontinued on February 10, 2026. -Ford may be on the verge of sunsetting the F-150 Lightning truck. The model is an electric pick-up truck, and the best-selling one in the US, but the publication cited Ford execs who said the company would consider halting production completely on the F-150 Lightning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple is reportedly looking to expand its iPhone's satellite capabilities beyond emergency assistance and texting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance have taken another hit in China, with Apple removing two of the countries biggest LGBTQ+ dating apps. Wired reports that Blued and Finka are no longer available on the iOS App Store or certain Android App Stores following orders from the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's internet regulator and censor. Apple told Wired that it must "follow the laws in the countries where we operate." -The government of Denmark said on Friday that lawmakers from its political right, left and center have reached an agreement to ban social media for anyone under 15. -Ahead of its 21st anniversary, World of Warcraft is dealing with some controversy around its latest update. Developer Blizzard has confirmed that WoW is introducing a new "Hearthsteel" housing-related virtual currency with its upcoming Midnight expansion, and users are worried that it could become a microtransaction trap on a game that already costs $15 a month to play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The company estimated that scams could account for 10 percent of its 2024 revenue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Rockstar Games has announced that Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed once again to November 19, 2026. The open world game was previously delayed from its 2025 launch window to a May 2026 release earlier this year. -SpaceX is acquiring more spectrum licenses from EchoStar in exchange for about $2.6 billion worth of shares in Elon Musk's aerospace company. The transaction is an expansion of the $17 billion deal struck between the companies in September. -Amazon just introduced an AI tool that will automatically translate books into other languages. The appropriately-named Kindle Translate is being advertised as a resource for authors that self publish on the platform. The company says the tool can translate entire books between English and Spanish and German to English. Amazon promises that more languages are coming down the pike. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta was slapped with a cease-an-desist letter warning it off comparing its content restrictions to the movie-ratings system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Heineken is teaming with a battery and electric company on a new solution at its Lisbon, Portugal brewery. They're building a 100MWh grid- and solar-powered heat battery that will generate the steam while reducing carbon emissions. -Next year is seemingly going to be the year that Netflix gets aggressive with podcasting. We already knew that the streamer will start licensing video podcasts from Spotify Studios and The Ringer in the new year. -Sony AI released a dataset that tests the fairness and bias of AI models. It's called the Fair Human-Centric Image Benchmark. The company describes it as the "first publicly available, globally diverse, consent-based human image dataset for evaluating bias across a wide variety of computer vision tasks." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Call notifications, full messages, voice message support and other features are included in the app, which is available today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Putting AI in space may sound like a sci-fi nightmare, but Google is thinking about the idea with a research endeavor called Project Suncatcher. The idea is to put power-hungry data centers into orbit on solar-powered satellites, so they can be powered by unlimited, clean energy available 24 hours a day. -Since being placed on a Department of Commerce entity list in 2020 over national security fears, China’s DJI has faced the threat of a US ban on its hyper-popular drones. -Stability AI has partially succeeded in defending itself against accusations of copyright infringement. As reported by The Guardian, Stability AI prevailed in a high-profile UK High Court case, following Getty first suing the company in 2023 for allegedly using its copyright images to train its Stable Diffusion AI art tool without permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

San Diego, Detroit and Las Vegas are next for the Google subsidiary's driverless taxis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-On Monday, Amazon announced a new multi-year, $38 billion cloud partnership with OpenAI. Amazon expects to deploy all the capacity OpenAI has agreed to buy by the end of 2026, with the option to purchase additional capacity in 2027 and beyond. Amazon says the partnership “will help millions of users continue to get value from ChatGPT.” -Google has pulled the AI model Gemma from its Studio platform after a Republican senator said it "fabricated serious criminal allegations" against her, as reported by The Verge. Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, sent a letter to CEO Sundar Pichai to accuse the company of defamation after the model allegedly created a story about her committing sexual assault. -TikTok just announced that it will be hosting its first-ever awards show in the US. The appropriately-named TikTok Awards will take place on December 18, starting at 9PM ET. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SpaceX could build up to 600 satellites that will be used for a high-tech aerial defense system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Elon Musk has told Joe Rogan that he hopes to unveil a flying car "before the end of the year." As Gizmodo has reported, Rogan asked Musk about the long-delayed second-gen Tesla Roadster in his show, when the Tesla CEO suddenly started talking about wanting the vehicle to fly. -The Republican-led FCC has voted on and approved a proposal that would make it harder for consumers to receive itemized bills with accurate information from their ISPs, as originally spotted by CNET. This proposal revises previous "unnecessary" requirements on the grounds that a fact-based list of charges "may confuse customers." -After teasing its dual-screen gaming handheld last month, Anbernic has already put its RG DS up for preorder on its website. When the Anbernic RG DS was revealed for the first time, the handheld maker only hinted at a price range of less than $100. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Pinterest Assistant can make recommendations based on the items you've saved and the boards you've made. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-A number of US government agencies are backing a potential move by the Commerce Department to ban TP-Link routers, according to The Washington Post. Multiple sources familiar with internal deliberations spoke with the publication on the condition of anonymity, including a former senior Defense Department official. -Donald Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, have agreed to a one-year pause on the punitive Trump-instated tariffs that are at the heart of the ongoing trade war between the two superpowers. -Immersive productivity for Windows 11 is now available on the Meta Quest 3 and 3S with the latest release of Meta's Horizon OS. The feature, called Mixed Reality Link, was available on a limited basis after public previews began last year. The Windows virtual desktop experience is now rolling out to all users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It starred an AI-generated, crypto-hawking Jensen Huang. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-As part of an AI-focused reorganization, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan told employees that it will offer voluntary buyouts, according to an internal company memo. At the same time, he emphasized that there would be no specific role eliminations as part of the new structure. -It looks like Meta's Vibes feed is just the start of the company's pivot toward AI slop. In an earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that "we're going to add yet another huge corpus of content" to Meta's recommendation system, via AI's ability to create and remix content — so you're likely to see even more AI generated posts on Facebook and Instagram. -Proton, the company behind Proton VPN and other encrypted apps like Proton Mail and Proton Drive, just launched a new web page called the Data Breach Observatory that aims to make accurate cybercrime data more widely accessible. The Observatory is intended to be a continually updated report that records any data leak detected on the dark web, with information sourced from the underground data marketplaces themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's also introducing new AI tools for Illustrator, Premiere Pro and Lightroom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-When OpenAI launched its TikTok-like Sora app, a key feature was "Cameo" that allows people to add any likeness to videos they generate. Now the maker of Cameo, an app that allows you to buy short videos from celebrities, has filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of violating its trademark by using the same name. -Google has been forced to reassure its users that it has not suffered a large-scale data breach that could affect their Gmail accounts. A few months ago the company released an unusual statement intended to put to bed allegations that its email service had been hit with a serious security issue. And it did so again this week, after numerous news outlets published stories suggesting that 183 million passwords may have been compromised in a new breach. -It’s been nearly three years since Withings first showed off U-Scan to a bemused world, and now it’s finally on sale. U-Scan is the company’s at-home urinalysis gizmo which sits in your toilet bowl and tests your first splash of the day. The device runs a tiny sample through a microfluidic to test, depending on what cartridge you use, either your nutritional or kidney health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the next iPad Pro to come with a new M6 chip and a vapor chamber for better cooling performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Some Tesla vehicles with FSD engaged are said to have run red lights and driven against the flow of traffic. Tesla initially offered a Mad Max mode in 2018, before FSD was available. The company revived Mad Max this month and it didn’t take long before there were reports of Tesla vehicles that were using the mode rolling stop signs and driving above speed limits. -Google’s long-awaited AI health coach is nearly upon us, as a preview version is launching tomorrow for some Fitbit Premium users in the US. This will only be for Android devices at first, but the company promises an iOS version is in the works. -It's no secret that YouTube has been taking every step it can to make Shorts compete with TikTok and Instagram Reels. Now, YouTube creators will be able to access Premiere mobile in Shorts by clicking on "Edit in Adobe Premiere." It will include Adobe's editing tools, generative sound effects and, of course, a range of AI features powered by Firefly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Noetix Robotic's Bumi is an affordable, lightweight robot that's designed for consumer use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-The US Customs and Border Protection submitted a new measure that allows it to photograph any non-US citizen who enters or exits the country for facial recognition purposes. According to a filing with the government's Federal Register, CBP and the Department of Homeland Security are looking to crack down on threats of terrorism, fraudulent use of travel documents and anyone who overstays their authorized stay. -Google is rolling out a new feature for Gemini's Canvas, the free interactive workspace inside the AI chatbot's app, meant for students and employees who need to create presentations. Gemini is now capable of generating slides with just a prompt, though users can also upload files like documents, spreadsheets and research papers if they want a presentation based on a specific source. -The Commodore 64 is back in black, sort of. Retro Games and Plaion Replai released a limited edition redesign of the best-selling computer, called THEC64 - Black Edition. The latest blacked-out version is now available on Amazon or Retro Games' website for $119.99. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A watchdog group says millions of tons of discarded US electronics is being shipped overseas every month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-When fully stretched out on a sunny day, Nissan's solar panel system can add about 1,864 miles of driving distance a year and power multiple accessories. The panel works whether you're driving or parked. -The Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled that the iPhone maker abused its dominant market position to inflate developer fees. The tribunal found that the company has "near absolute market power" for iOS app distribution and in-app payments. The decision declared that Apple has been "abusing its dominant position by charging excessive and unfair prices." -Strava's big attack on Garmin didn't last long. On Tuesday, the former filed paperwork to dismiss its patent infringement lawsuit against the latter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The vehicle company says it'll be able to suss out maintenance concerns and offer route suggestions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Amazon has revealed that it's currently working on smart glasses designed for delivery drivers, confirming previous reports about the project. The company said that glasses use AI-powered sensing capabilities and computer vision to detect what their cameras are seeing. Drivers then get guidance through the glasses' heads-up display embedded right into the lens. -YouTube is adding a timer to Shorts to help curb all of that incessant doomscrolling, according to a report by TechCrunch. This feature is rolling out to all users after being spotted in an Android APK file earlier this year. Here's how it works. Users set a daily time limit for Shorts via the app's settings. Once reached, they'll see a pop-up reminding them to take a break. This pop-up is easily dismissed with a tap, but it's the thought that counts. -The Spotify app has been freezing and crashing on some Android devices, according to multiple users and a report by 9to5Google. This is happening only when a phone or tablet is connected to Wi-Fi, so keep on listening to Spotify while out and about. Users first took note of the problem around two weeks ago, taking to Spotify forums to address their concerns. Many folks say that the app becomes essentially unusable on Wi-Fi due to the constant crashes and freezing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The company reportedly believes it could avoid more than half a million future hires. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Users can skip the command-line tools and start vibe coding faster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The hardware giant marked a major milestone by manufacturing one of its next-gen AI chip parts in TSMC's Arizona facility. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's like Cortana resurrected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-The difference in emissions between plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and gas cars is merely 19 percent and not 75 percent as lab tests show, according to a report by a group of European transport and environment NGOs. -OpenAI has paused video generations of Martin Luther King Jr. on Sora at the request of King Inc., the estate that manages his legacy. The company said in an announcement on X that it worked with the estate to address how his "likeness is represented in Sora generations" after people used the app to create disrespectful depictions of the American civil rights leader. -CNN has unveiled its new All Access subscription streaming service that will cost $6.99 per month or $69.99 annually. The new tier will include a "selection" of CNN's live programming along with originals and more — but it doesn't appear to offer a live CNN feed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s due to arrive next year, along with an indoor security camera. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Apple has introduced a new M-series chip on updated versions of the iPad Pro, MacBook Pro and for the first time, Apple Vision Pro. The new M5 chip shares plenty of similarities with the M4 chip Apple introduced in 2024, but the biggest seems to be a focus on improving graphics and AI performance. -Google has released a new update to its Veo AI video generation model that should make it do a better job of sticking to prompts and converting images into videos. - Meta has started rolling out group chats for the app, which lets you add up to 50 of your followers to a single conversation. Just start a new message and add anybody who follows you on Threads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new section provides details on when an account was created and where the person running it is based. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-In order to avoid paying billions of dollars in fines for violating the European Union's Digital Markets Act, Google is considering changing how search results are displayed, Reuters reports. -Customer service support company 5CA contradicted claims by Discord that it was the victim of a hack last month. -OpenAI plans to open the floodgates to more adult uses of ChatGPT starting in December, according to a new post from CEO Sam Altman. The company announced that it would add parental controls and automatic age detection features in September, and it seems like a benefit of sorting out children from adults is an ability to offer more freedom in what ChatGPT can show users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Governor Gavin Newsom also signed bills concerning social media warning labels, chatbots and deepfake pornography. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-NVIDIA revealed its DGX Spark AI computer earlier this year and today is officially on for $3,999. Though relatively tiny, it hosts the company's entire AI platform including GPUs and CPUs, along with NVIDIA's AI software stack "into a system small enough for a lab or an office.” -Ofcom has slapped 4chan with a £20,000 fine, that’s the equivalent of $26,700 here in the states, for failing to comply with the internet and telecommunications regulator's request for information under the UK's Online Safety Act of 2023. -Slack's new Slackbot is basically an AI chatbot like all the rest, but this one has been purpose-built to help with common work tasks. Folks can use natural language to converse with the bot and it can do stuff like whip up project plans, flag daily priorities and analyze reports. It can also help people find information when they only remember a few scant details. The company says it will "give every employee AI superpowers" so they can "drive productivity at AI speed." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A recent report on the Klopatra malware operation shows hackers taking advantage of a surge in VPN use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Just about a month after being accused of using pirated books to train its AI, Apple is facing another similar proposed class action lawsuit. As first reported by Bloomberg Law, two neuroscience professors from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn claimed that Apple used their "registered works without authorization." The neuroscientists said Apple trained its AI models using "shadow libraries" and "web-crawling software" that provide access to pirated, copyrighted books, including two of their own. -The controversial preservation order requiring OpenAI to indefinitely keep records of its ChatGPT data has been terminated. A federal judge filed a new order on October 9 that frees OpenAI of an obligation to "preserve and segregate all output log data that would otherwise be deleted on a going forward basis." -One of the most affordable EVs in America, the Chevrolet Bolt, has made its long-awaited comeback. After discontinuing the Bolt in 2023, the American automaker has refreshed the popular EV with a 2027 model that has some key upgrades. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lyft has committed to buy 'hundreds' of the AVs for its own fleet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Apple is updating its Security Bounty program this November to offer some of the highest rewards in the industry. It has doubled its top award from $1 million to $2 million for the discovery of "exploit chains that can achieve similar goals as sophisticated mercenary spyware attacks" and which requires no user interaction. -China's antitrust regulator has opened an investigation into Qualcomm's acquisition of Israeli connected-vehicle chip company Autotalks. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) alleges that Qualcomm is suspected of violating China's anti-monopoly laws by not disclosing certain details of the deal. -The Programmed Data Processor-1 is perhaps most recognizable as the home of Spacewar!, one of the world's first video games, but it also works as an enormous and very slow iPod, too. In the video, Boards of Canada's "Olson" plays off of paper tape that's carefully fed and programmed into the PDP-1 by engineer and Computer History Museum docent Peter Samson. Here's a link to the video. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Developers will have to change how their apps work in the state too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-California has passed three new bills designed to boost privacy for internet users, governor Gavin Newsom's office announced. The biggest one, AB 566, builds on a 2018 law by requiring web browsers to let users universally opt-out of allowing third parties to sell their data. -Apple has removed Eyes Up, an app that collects and archives videos of Immigration Customs and Enforcement arrests, 404 Media reports. The app's removal follows similar action taken against ICEBlock last week, an app that tracks ICE activity in an attempt to offer real-time alerts of when and where arrests are happening. Unlike ICEBlock, though, Eyes Up's main purpose is to serve as an archive, not a tool for eluding government agents. -Verizon is buying the smaller broadband carrier Starry for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is expected to close by the first quarter of 2026, but is subject to FCC approval. Verizon has already done some work to appease the US government by ending DEI initiatives, so the FCC is likely to give this merger its stamp of approval. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It now has to allow non-Play Store payments and external download links by October 22nd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded Google's Chief Scientist of Quantum Hardware, Michel Devoret, the Nobel Prize in Physics. alongside former Google employee John Martinis, and University of California, Berkeley professor John Clarke. The award recognizes "the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantization in an electric circuit." -Mastodon, the federated social network built on ActivityPub, is taking cues from Bluesky and introducing its own version of the social platform's "Starter Packs." The hope is that Mastodon's "Packs" will make it easier to find people to follow when you first join a server, a sometimes daunting task given the distributed nature of decentralized social networks. -California has passed a law to ban loud commercials on streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu. Governor Gavin Newsom just signed the law and the ban goes into effect on July 1, 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices