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06.02.2025 00:40 Reddit briefly banned dozens of subreddits without warning on Wednesday due to a “bug” that affected scores of NSFW communities on the site. Redditors were told the subreddits were banned for being “unmoderated” even though many were heavily moderated, according to numerous posts from confused moderators. Engadget counted more than 90 subreddits that seem to have been caught up in the “unmoderated” ban. The vast majority of these have now been restored after going offline for a few hours Wednesday morning. In a post in r/ModSupport, a Reddit admin blamed the widespread bans on a bug. “There was a bug with one of our tools that caused some subreddits to be banned incorrectly,” they wrote. “We are actively working on a fix and many of your communities are already back up and running. We appreciate that you are already busy moderating in your communities, and we will do our best to prevent this from happening again.” A Reddit spokesperson told Engadget the issue was a "bug related to how we detect unmoderated communities" but didn't provide details or confirm how many subreddits were affected. But it appears the bug was widespread across the site. It affected scores of subreddits followed by millions of people. The banned subreddits included some of the most popular NSFW communities, including r/porn , r/rule34 , r/boobs and r/NSFW_gifs . It also affected some subreddits related to drugs, including r/drugs, r/cocaine and r/NarcoClips. Some subreddits that aren’t tagged as NSFW but allow NSFW content, like r/transgender_surgeries and r/cubancigars, were also caught up in the ban. The nature of the affected subreddits has alarmed some users and moderators who worry the company may be getting ready for a bigger crackdown. In r/transgender_surgeries, where users discuss their medical care, members began to discuss ways to “back up” the content of the subreddit. Elsewhere, concerned users pointed out this is the second time in six months that Reddit has mistakenly banned popular NSFW subreddits for supposedly being unmoderated. Redditors complained about similar bans last year. “Our subreddit automation was a bit overzealous,” a Reddit admin said at the time. They added to the months-old thread today, saying that the recent bans are “different from what happened before,” but didn’t elaborate. Have a tip about Reddit or other information to share? Get in touch by email at karissa.bell engadget.com or message securely on Signal at karissabe.51.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reddit-blames-bug-after-banning-more-than-90-nsfw-subreddits-221908069.html?src=rss

06.02.2025 00:40 Researchers from Kaspersky have identified malware being distributed within apps on both Android and iOS mobile storefronts. Dmitry Kalinin and Sergey Puzan shared their investigation into a malware campaign, which they have dubbed SparkCat, that has likely been active since March 2024. "We cannot confirm with certainty whether the infection was a result of a supply chain attack or deliberate action by the developers," the pair wrote. "Some of the apps, such as food delivery services, appeared to be legitimate, whereas others apparently had been built to lure victims." The Kaspersky duo said SparkCat is a stealthy operation that at a glance appears to be requesting normal or harmless permissions. Some of the apps where the pair uncovered malware are still available to download, including food delivery app ComeCome and AI chat apps AnyGPT and WeTink. The malware in question uses optical character recognition to review a device's photo library, seeking screenshots of recovery phrases for crypto wallets. Based on their assessment, infected Google Play apps have been downloaded more than 242,000 times. Kaspersky says "This is the first known case of an app infected with OCR spyware being found in Apple’s official app marketplace." Apple often promotes the rigorous security of the App Store, and while instances of malware appearing have been rare, this discovery is a reminder that the walled garden is not impervious to attacks.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/kaspersky-researchers-find-screenshot-reading-malware-on-the-app-store-and-google-play-211011103.html?src=rss

06.02.2025 00:40 OpenAI is showing no signs of slowing down its recent pace of updates. On Wednesday, the company announced the expanded availability of ChatGPT Search. After rolling out the tool first to paid subscribers last fall, and then making it available to all logged-in free users at the end of 2024, now anyone can use ChatGPT Search with no account or sign-in necessary. "Like the logged-in experience, ChatGPT can search the web and get you fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources directly in ChatGPT," OpenAI said. In most cases, ChatGPT will automatically search the web to source the most up-to-date information related to your question. Users can also force the chatbot to scour the internet by tapping the "Search" button below the prompt bar. ChatGPT search is now available to everyone on https://t.co/nYW5KO1aIg — no sign up required. pic.twitter.com/VElT7cxxjZ— OpenAI February 5, 2025 Effectively, today's announcement means OpenAI is ready to take on Google's dominance in search, though, if I had to guess, right now it's more concerned about staying ahead of upstarts like DeepSeek. In just the last week, the company announced the availability of its latest AI model, and a new ChatGPT feature called Deep Research. Oh, and it even showed off a new logo. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/chatgpt-search-no-longer-requires-an-openai-account-to-use-205538282.html?src=rss

06.02.2025 00:40 Apple's Invites app is a simple way to throw together an event invitation directly from your iPhone or web browser. The app is free to download from the App Store, and technically you don't even need an iPhone or an Apple Account to RSVP to an event. If you want to create your own invitations you will need to be an iCloud+ subscriber, but the barrier to entry is relatively low. The subscription is bundled into Apple's pricier Apple One plans , and you can also pay for it separately starting at $0.99 per month. iCloud+ subscriptions get you extra cloud storage, a custom domain for your iCloud email, and Apple's Private Relay feature on top of your new invite-creating privileges. What is Apple Invites? Apple Invites is Apple's attempt to offer an event planning and invitation creating service like Partiful or Evite. The app lets you create and RSVP to events, and includes integrations with other Apple services, like collaborative playlists from Apple Music and shared albums from Apple Photos. Invites also supports Image Playground if you want to use AI to create an image for your invite, rather than relying on Apple's built-in options or one of your own photos. How to create an event invite with Apple Invites To create an event invitation with Apple Invites you'll need to head to the iCloud website or have an iPhone running iOS 18 or later with the Invites app installed. To take advantage of Invites' integration with Apple Intelligence you'll also need an iPhone that supports the feature . To create your event, first open the Apple Invites app. Then tap on "Create an Event" if its your first time opening the app or the small "+" in the top right corner of your screen if you already have events you've made or been invited to. You should then see an empty invite screen. Ian Carlos Campbell for Engadget From here, tap on "Add Background" and select from Apple's premade background or a new photo, a picture from your photo library, or an Image Playground creation by tapping on one of the circular icons at the top of the screen. Next, you'll want to title your event by tapping on "Event Title" and typing in whatever you want to call it. Apple also lets you choose from four different font options to add some extra style. Tap on "Date and Time" to choose the day and time the event starts and ends, then tap on "Location" to search and select the location where you'll be hosting your event. You can give the location a name if you want, too. Finally, by tapping on "Add a description" you can add an event description with extra information and enter a separate host name if you'd prefer the invitation to not show your first and last name. Ian Carlos Campbell for Engadget Those are the basics you need to fill out for an invitation, but Invites includes two other features that are specific to Apple software. By tapping on "Create Album" you can create a shared photo album that guests can add to during the event and access after. The album's name will be the name of the event, but you can enter a new name under Album Name and tap "Done" if you want to save your changes. You can also tap on "Add Playlist" to create a shared playlist that guests can add songs to before and during the event. You'll have to select an existing playlist or create a new one from scratch. If you create a playlist, it will have the name of your event by default with the option to edit it if you want. Once you're done creating your invitation, to see what it looks like to guests, tap on "Preview" in the top right hand corner and then "Next" to start inviting guests. How to invite guests to an Apple Invites event Once your event invite is created you can start sending it to your guests a couple of different ways. You can send the invite as a public link or invite individual people from your contact list. Inside your invitation, tap on Invite Guests to start sending your invitation. If you tap on the Messages or Mail icons you can send a link to your invitation through those respective apps. By tapping on "Share Link," you can share a link to the invite through any app in your iOS share sheet. And if you tap on "Copy Link," your invite link will be copied to your clipboard so you can paste it anywhere. Ian Carlos Campbell for Engadget You can also send a one time link to individual guests by tapping on "Choose a Guest." Apple Invites will ask to access your contacts and then display every contact you have saved. Tap on one to share a unique invitation link through Messages, Mail or the iOS share sheet. Unlike public links, these links can only be used once. How to send a note to guests of an Apple Invites event If you want to update your guests on information about your event or remind them of something they might need to bring, you can send anyone who's invited a note directly through the Apple Invites app. From inside your invitation, tap on "Send a Note" and then enter in whatever text you want to send and tap on "Send Note." How to delete an Apple Invites event If you need to cancel your event, you can delete it by tapping on the event, then tapping on the three-dot menu in the top right corner. Tap on "Event Settings," then scroll down and tap on "Delete Event." Confirm you want to delete the event by tapping "Delete Event." This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/how-to-use-apple-invites-to-plan-your-next-event-204503849.html?src=rss

06.02.2025 00:40 The M2 MacBook Air is on sale for just $800 via Amazon. This is a decent discount, as this model has been going for around $1,000 lately. The well-reviewed laptop is actually on sale for $950, but there’s a clippable coupon worth $150. The only caveat to this sale is that the coupon doesn’t work on the midnight black model, but all other colorways are fair game. The laptop easily found a spot on our list of the best MacBooks. It lacks some of the punch of last year’s M3 MacBook Air but the M2 chip is no slouch. This computer is fast and should be able to handle most everything you throw at it. This particular model includes 8GB of RAM and 512GB of solid-state storage. We heaped a whole bunch of praise on Apple’s M2 MacBook Air upon the initial release, calling it a “near-perfect Mac.” The screen is bright and colorful, the battery lasts 18 hours per charge and the computer is both thin and light. As previously mentioned, the performance is speedy, even when using software like Logic Pro X. The only downsides? This isn’t Apple’s latest MacBook Air and it only comes with 8GB of RAM. Most MacBooks come with 16GB nowadays. The webcam is also on the drab side. If you find yourself in a lot of Zoom meetings, look into purchasing a standalone webcam. 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/apples-m2-macbook-air-drops-to-800-195140269.html?src=rss

05.02.2025 19:30 Tubi isn’t the only service touting its Super Bowl LIX presentation prowess ahead of Sunday’s big game. If you have the right setup, the whistles, slamming helmets and quarterback play-calls in this year’s matchup could sound a bit more immersive. Comcast said on Wednesday that it will not only offer Dolby Vision, as it did in 2023, for the big game. This year, the showdown between the Chiefs and Eagles will also add Dolby Atmos for the first time. The pairing is part of Comcast’s Enhanced 4K programming for X1 customers. The feature, which debuted at last year’s Paris Olympics, uses Dolby Vision HDR and Atmos surround sound for “crisp quality, brighter colors and immersive audio.” Enhanced 4K streams in “ultra-low latency” at higher bitrates than traditional 4K. To get in on the jazzy presentation, you’ll need to be an Xfinity X1 subscriber with a checklist of required hardware. That starts with a 4K TV, 4K HDR set-top box and a 4K-capable HDMI cord. In addition, your TV, external speakers or soundbar will need to support Dolby Atmos for the virtual surround sound experience. X1 subscribers can also get Enhanced 4K through the Xfinity Stream app. Fox, which has the broadcast rights to this year’s Super Bowl, will also show the game for free in 4K on Tubi, which it owns. This will be the first time the streaming service has shown the big game — quite the departure from its usual fare of ad-supported Dog the Bounty Hunter and Duck Dynasty reruns.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/the-super-bowl-is-being-broadcast-with-dolby-atmos-audio-for-the-first-time-180035421.html?src=rss

05.02.2025 19:30 Amazon is set to show off some new stuff later this month. The company has scheduled a devices event for February 26 in New York City. The company's hardware chief, Panos Panay, and his devices and services team will be on hand. The event will start at 10AM ET. The event invitation that Amazon sent to the media doesn't give much away. It includes the date, the Amazon smile/arrow logo and a tagline that reads "See what's next." Some swoopy blue lines are in the background. It hasn't been too long since Amazon refreshed the Kindle lineup, so it seems a little unlikely that we'll see new e-readers from the company later this month. Instead, Amazon may finally be ready to spill the beans about the long-gestating next-gen Alexa, which it reportedly planned to reveal last October before a delay. The head of Amazon's artificial general intelligence said in January that the company had been dealing with technical difficulties, such as incorrect or false results that tend to be an issue for generative AIs. If, indeed, the next-gen Alexa is the focal point of the event, Amazon may have new audio gear to show off. As such, new Echo speakers and Echo Buds could be on the agenda. We might also learn just how much Amazon plans to charge for a subscription to this turbocharged version of Alexa.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/amazon-is-holding-a-devices-event-on-february-26-164421400.html?src=rss

05.02.2025 19:30 With Super Bowl LIX only a few days away, it's a decent time to grab a new TV at a discount. If you're hoping to upgrade your living before the Chiefs and Eagles square off , you may need to pay extra to get a new set shipped in time. Nevertheless, we've searched through Amazon, Best Buy and other retailers to find a few Super Bowl 2025 TV deals that might actually be worthwhile. To be candid, many of the deals we've found are the result of TVs naturally falling in price this time of year more than any Super Bowl-specific sales. Most TVs tend to follow a similar pricing timeline: arrive in the spring, drop a bit over the summer, receive a larger price cut around the holidays, then gradually become cheaper until being discontinued the following year. We're in the last step of that pattern now, and with TV makers like Samsung and LG unveiling their 2025 models during CES last month, last year's sets are likely to fall even further in the months ahead. That said, if you must shake things up today, a number of well-reviewed TVs from LG, Sony, Samsung, TCL and Hisense are back down to the prices we saw around Black Friday. A few are even cheaper. We've also found a couple of deals on other living room gadgets from Roku and Sonos. Though we at Engadget do not formally review TVs, we've scoured feedback from other reviewers we trust and checked price histories to ensure the deals below are genuine. LG B4 OLED TV for $600 at Best Buy : 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. Hisense U7N QLED TV for $698 at Amazon : 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 briefly saw around Cyber Monday. Also at Best Buy. If you'd prefer a smaller size, the 55-inch model is also back within $20 of its best-ever price at $498. The Samsung Frame TV.Amy Skorheim Samsung The Frame 2024 QLED TV for $868 at Woot : 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, but we'd expect that to cost more whenever it arrives. TCL Q651G QLED TV for $370 at Amazon : The Q651G is a fairly basic LED TV that might appeal to gamers on a budget, as it can play at a fast 120Hz refresh rate — albeit only when you drop the resolution from 4K to 1440p or 1080p. It's another one without local dimming, so its contrast is limited. Most reviewers suggest that the Hisense U6N provides a brighter and much more dynamic image for not much more. However, while the U6N can also play in 1440p/120Hz, the TCL model has a wider variable refresh rate range in that mode. In simpler terms, that means it'll have an easier time allowing your PS5 or Xbox games to run smoothly. This discount marks a new low for the 65-inch model. Also at Best Buy. The Samsung S90D.Samsung Hisense U8N QLED TV for $898 at Amazon : The U8N's picture quality is a broad step-up from the U7N above, with better contrast, more vibrant colors and supremely high peak brightness. It still has most of the same drawbacks — 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. Samsung S90D QD-OLED TV for $1,198 at Amazon : 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. This deal is the second-best price we've seen and about $150 off this variant's average street price in recent months. Also at Samsung and Best Buy. The Sony Bravia 7.Sony Sony Bravia 7 QLED TV for $1,198 at Amazon : 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. Roku Ultra for $79 at Amazon : 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. Sonos Beam for $399 at Sonos : Yes, the recent overhaul of the Sonos app has been an abject disaster, to the point where the audio brand's CEO and other execs have left the company entirely. However, if you're not already tied up in the Sonos ecosystem and just want a clean-sounding soundbar that won't take up a ton of space in your living room, the Sonos Beam's hardware still does enough right to be worth a look. We call it the best midrange option in our guide to the best soundbars. It only has one HDMI port, and it's too small to deliver truly room-rattling bass, but it still compares favorably to most alternatives in its size range. This deal is $30 above the device's all-time low but still $100 off its typical street price. Other Sonos home theater gadgets are similarly discounted, including the more compact Sonos Ray for $179 and the Sub 4 subwoofer for $679. These offers are also available at Amazon and other retailers. Sonos says they'll run until February 9. TV deals that are no longer available LG C3 OLED TV for $1,197 at Amazon : 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 A95L OLED TV for $2,498 at eBay via BuyDig : 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. 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/best-super-bowl-tv-deals-get-up-to-630-off-sets-from-samsung-lg-sony-and-others-161012987.html?src=rss

05.02.2025 19:30 Update, February 5, 2025, 10:02AM ET: The USPS swiftly backtracked on its suspension of Chinese packages. In an updated statement published Wednesday morning, the agency said, "Effective February 5, 2025, the Postal Service will continue accepting all international inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong Posts. The USPS and Customs and Border Protection are working closely together to implement an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs to ensure the least disruption to package delivery." The original story follows... The United States Postal Service has temporarily stopped accepting inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong, and according to Wired, it's already causing huge problems with e-commerce shipments to the US. USPS posted the notice on its website, announcing that the suspension will be in place "until further notice." As Wired notes, the international parcel suspension is a direct result of the Trump administration's order to end import tax exemption for small packages shipped into the US worth less than $800. The administration also imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on goods imported from China. The "de minimis" import tax exemption rule allows e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu to sell to customers in the US while keeping prices on their platforms low. It was originally intended to make it easier to send gifts stateside, but the US government has been considering removing or altering it in recent years due to the rise of e-commerce shipments. Now, the Trump administration has removed it completely, and so quickly, that shipping companies are apparently scrambling to find a way to get packages into the US. A Canadian trucking company owner told Wired that his trucks were turned away at the border because they contained packages from China. The owner said that border control was "actually going through the trucks and randomly checking the packages." He explained that it won't be easy to sort packages to remove everything coming in from China, so this development would most likely cause delivery delays. According to US Customs, there were over 1.36 billion de minimis shipments to the US within the 2024 fiscal year. If the agency decides to hold all de minimis shipments at the border, that means they may have to process around 3.7 million packages a day to check how much import taxes and other additional fees the receiver or buyer has to pay. That could cause a massive backlog in shipments. A customs and trade management business executive told Wired that the government could choose to keep packages moving instead and to charge people for the fees retroactively. In the future, though, China's e-commerce platforms could start adding those fees, along with the 10 percent tariff now required for Chinese goods, to a customer's total amount, making it more expensive to buy from websites like Shein and Temu.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/usps-backtracks-on-suspending-packages-from-china-140013986.html?src=rss

05.02.2025 19:30 Smart rings have been a niche inside a niche in the wearables world for more than a decade. But in the last few years, they’ve enjoyed a renaissance as more attention and hype brought bigger names to the category. Finnish company Oura has been around longer than most and is now the class leader despite fierce competition. At the end of last year, Oura released the Ring 4 to address the flaws of its predecessor and keep ahead of its now many imitators. It’s easy to say that it remains a technological marvel, but harder to say if it’s worth a decent chunk of your hard-earned to get one. Hardware Daniel Cooper for Engadget Oura put a lot of effort into nipping-and-tucking the Ring 4, like ditching the epoxy resin interior for a full titanium body. The Ring 3, especially once it moved beyond its squared-off side, already looked like a fashion ring, and the Ring 4 continues in that vein. I wear my Oura Ring on my left index finger with a Vitaly Grip ring on the right to balance the look. And nobody can tell the difference between the two, which is just how it should be. Unlike a watch strapped in place, rings have a knack of turning on your finger through the day. To combat this drift, Oura’s previous rings housed their sensors in raised domes on the inside surface to maintain contact with your flesh. I never found them uncomfortable, but it was an issue for some, which is why Oura has worked to re-package the sensors to fit flush. In lieu of that, there’s now an ugly-ass notch on the ring to indicate the side that should be facing your palm at all times. Since it's easy for the sensors to be out of alignment, you’re constantly at risk of poor quality data or, worse, gaps. Oura upped the number of signal pathways from eight on the Ring 3 to 18 here in order to maximize data collection. Plus, a new algorithm hunts for the most efficient way to pull data from those sensors to hopefully ensure gaps are a thing of the past. The Ring 4 is available in a wider number of sizes than its predecessor, fitting fingers from size 4 to 15. With a re-engineered ring comes a re-engineered charging dock that’s a lot nicer, too. Unfortunately, it’s also slightly bigger and heavier, which is a burden when you’re taking the ring on a trip lasting longer than seven days. If you already own an Oura Ring 3, then I’d say that while the Ring 4 is nicer, more comfortable and more useful, it’s not so compelling to make you ditch an existing unit in good working order. In use Daniel Cooper for Engadget One downside of Oura’s iterative update is that much of what I wrote about the Ring 3 remains true about the Ring 4. Once it’s on your finger, it should very quickly fade into the background of your day, and it’s plenty easy to forget. Naturally, you’ll do all of your interacting with the ring via its mobile app, which is one of the best available for a smart ring. You’ll get regular notifications telling you how far through your daily activity goal you are, plus advice on when to get ready for bed. It’ll also send the occasional reminder to get up and move if the ring feels you’ve been sitting for too long. Open the app and you’ll first be presented with a row of numbers showing your Readiness, Sleep, Activity, Heart Rate and Stress scores. Scroll down and you’ll get panes with more information about your activity goals, stress metrics and heart rate. If there’s an issue, you’ll also get additional commentary about the problem and suggestions on how to improve. For instance, my resting heart rate dropped in the late evening because I’d gone to town on a very big bag of Doritos. The ring knew, and told me that if I kept eating close to my bedtime, I’d ruin the quality of my sleep. Keep scrolling and you’ll find your activity timeline, based on what the ring thinks you’ve been up to that day. Sadly, in my experience the system will frequently assume you’re exercising when it sees movement plus an elevated heart rate. It’ll often accuse me of doing some form of rigorous workout when, in reality, I’m just going up and down stairs while I get my kids ready for school. If you’re doing one type of activity, then it’ll pick it up as such but if you’re chopping and changing — for instance by doing circuits — then it’ll be labeled as “other.” If, in fact, it gets labeled at all: I have had instances where walking to and from my gym was recognised, but nothing I was doing when I was actually working out counted. The app has a number of hidden depths, including the Explore section which hosts a small library of meditation content. There’s also Oura Labs, which is where the company shares its not-ready-for-prime-time features before they’re added to the platform proper. At present, the company is testing Oura Advisor, a conversational AI that gives you the same advice the app would anyway, just in a chat box format. It’s also testing an AI-based food-tracking algorithm that’ll discern what you’re eating from a picture of your meal. We’ll get into the economics of this down in the Price section, but Oura paywalls a number of key features behind its Membership program. If you don’t cough up, you won’t get 24/7 heart-rate tracking, temperature monitoring, menstrual cycle insights, SpO2 and VO2 Max analysis. All of these features are essential if you’re looking to get even the basic use out of your Ring 4. As for battery life, I wear a size 10 ring and over the last two months I’ve fairly regularly wrung seven days out of the device before I’m advised to find a charger. Naturally, the bigger rings have a bigger battery, and so your mileage may vary, but the company is promising “up to” eight days. Having lost a significant amount of weight in 2024, I would often find my Ring 3 sliding clean off my finger. Thankfully, if your ring is paired with your smartphone, you’ll now be able to see its last-known location through the app. Unfortunately, this is just using your phone’s GPS, so while you’ll be able to know if it’s in your home , it’s no help finding which couch cushion it fell under. Consequently, it’ll still be worth picking up third-party developer Andreas Assermark’s Find My Ring app, which will use the Bluetooth signal strength to help you pinpoint its location. Tracking activity, sleep and stress Daniel Cooper for Engadget I’ve never believed wearables, or any consumer-grade health device, can or should be held to the same standard as a clinical model. The smarter approach is to trust the trend and look for patterns rather than obsess if you did 10,000 or 10,001 steps in a day. Especially as, for most people, if you’ve had a rough night or you’re feeling like hell, you probably already know. What Oura offers is a lot of data which, if you’re not happy with a single aggregate score, you can drill down into. Thanks to a British Airways snafu, I wasn’t able to get my intended flight out to CES on January 4 and was waitlisted for the following day. That was a pretty stressful time given I’d be letting the Engadget team down on a pretty crucial and busy week. Looking at the data now, I can see my resting heart rate spiked on Saturday and didn’t settle for a few days. Oura also provides a metric for Daytime Stress, which aggregates your heart rate, HRV, motion and body temperature through the day. What’s interesting is that even if the ring is keeping an eye on my heart rate, there are several instances where it stops collecting stress data. For instance, that stressful Saturday, my heart was racing but there’s no Stress metric from 7:45 to 11:15. A few days after I had some distressing personal news and while my heart rate spiked to 158bpm, the stress metric disappeared entirely. I’ve already griped about the issues with automatic activity detection, even if it gets the bulk of its calls correct. I am often vexed, however, that it’ll often have a delay between you starting an activity and it beginning to track it. For instance, one of my regular lunchtime walks is to a local landmark 0.8 miles away from my home and back again. But often, the ring won’t notice that I’m out for a walk until I’m a way down the road, curtailing my stats, even if it has my phone’s GPS to help. These are minor gripes but ones worth knowing if you’re thinking about using the ring for more intensive insights. Nobody in their right mind would think about buying a smart ring in place of a smartwatch, but be aware the data you’ll get is not perfect. There’s one thing that I’m very intrigued by, even if I’m not in a position to test it right now, which is the recent tie-up between Oura and Dexcom. The partnership, announced November 2024, will see the two companies share data between their respective platforms. Plus, Dexcom has put $75 million behind the ring maker, pushing its valuation north of $5 billion. Price and the Competition The Oura Ring 4 is available for $349 if you opt for the default silver or black colorways. Should your taste extend to brushed silver or stealth, then you’ll need to pay $399, while the gold or rose gold paint jobs are $499. Before you buy, you’ll need to order a sizing kit — the existing sizing kits are not compatible with the Oura 4 — and are available in Size 4 through 15. As explained earlier, key features aren’t available for use unless you pay $5.99 a month or $70 a year for Oura Membership. Oura has been charging this fee since the launch of the Ring 3 and is, for now, a key plank of its business model. Now, plenty of companies will sell you their hardware and paywall off additional features for you to subscribe for afterward. I suspect the reason the Membership rankles so many people is that the features held back aren’t just nice to have, they’re essential. On a pragmatic level, small hardware businesses can’t survive without the lifeblood recurring revenue from existing customers brings in. $70 a year is, to be blunt, your insurance ensuring that Oura doesn’t go belly-up, turning your smart ring into a dumb one. Oura has been good at regularly adding more features to its platform, and allowing users to beta test them in Labs on the way. Plus, the company has been working with academics to help refine its data collection and prove its methods are sound. But the approach of charging for what should be basic features is always likely to rankle the users. And it gives Oura’s rivals, which may not be as well-equipped, an easy stick with which to beat the current market leader. Samsung’s Galaxy Ring isn’t as good as Oura, but it retails for $400 without any additional monthly charges. Ultrahuman, Circular and RingConn all boast they won’t charge you extra to use their ring’s hardware and software features. Wrap-up Daniel Cooper for Engadget The Oura Ring 4 is a stellar piece of hardware, an engineering marvel and a useful companion as you go about your day. If I sound like I’ve been nitpicking, it’s because the overall package is so good that it’s hard not to focus on the specs of dirt on the otherwise clean plate. The ring and its companion app are well-developed and muscular, offering a useful way to sum up your day. If you’re looking to buy a smart ring, then there’s little need to explore the wider market unless you are particularly predisposed to buying a Samsung. If there’s a downside, it’s that Oura remains forever constrained by the limitations a smart ring imposes. As I wrote last year, there’s only so much data you can collect reliably from such a small device worn on the finger. Not to mention, they’re designed to fade into the background of your life, keeping an eye on your vitals and offering some post-facto tips. If you want something more comprehensive, then it’s likely a smartwatch is a better option, but for everything else, there’s this.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/oura-ring-4-long-term-review-out-ahead-of-its-rivals-150047874.html?src=rss

05.02.2025 19:30 Uber app users in Austin can now get on an “interest list” for a chance to match with Waymo autonomous cabs, according to The New York Times. The rides aren’t available yet, but they’re coming to a 37 square miles area of the city in "early 2025" according to Bloomberg. Uber once had self-driving ambitions of its own, but sold off its "Advanced Technologies Group" to Aurora in 2020. Since then, it has slowly deepened its relationship with Waymo. Driverless cabs became available through the app to customers in Phoenix starting in 2023, and driverless deliveries spun up there in early 2024. Waymo, on the other hand, has kept some markets — like San Francisco, where driverless rides can only be booked through the Waymo One app — tightly guarded. This makes it somewhat surprising to see Waymo partnering with Uber exclusively in Austin and Atlanta. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-opens-waitlist-for-driverless-waymo-rides-in-austin-144551425.html?src=rss

05.02.2025 19:30 There's a reason I didn't pick up my first pair of over-ear headphones until last year: they're expensive. But, that's where nice sales come in handy. And, there's a very nice sale going on right now, with the Beats Studio Pro down to $180 from $350 — a 49 percent discount. It's not as low as Black Friday's $160 deal, but the sale is available on every model except the Earth color. The Beats Studio Pro came out in mid-2023 and got an 81 in our review. We were impressed with its improved sound quality over its predecessor, good transparency mode and solid voice performance. However, they're not the most comfortable option and don't have automatic pausing. If you want over-ear headphones for even less money then check out the Beats Solo 4. They're currently half off at $100 from $200. We gave them a 79 in our review, as they offer a boost in sound quality and up to 50 hours of battery life . But, they're also not the comfiest fit and again don't offer automatic pausing. 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-beats-studio-pro-headphones-are-back-on-sale-for-180-142729183.html?src=rss

05.02.2025 19:30 Microsoft's annual Build developer conference will take place in Seattle and run from May 19 to May 22, the company announced on X. There are no details on what will be announced, but you can be fairly sure it'll match or beat Build 2024 in terms of AI-related products and services. Artificial intelligence played a large part in last year's conference, featuring in areas ranging from Windows search to Copilot+ to Microsoft Paint. In fact, a day before Build 2024, Microsoft unveiled its new Surface Pro PC powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips, capable of hitting 45TOPS of neural processing power. We’re building a new path forward. Come join us at #MSBuild, May 19 – 22, 2025. https://t.co/MflbdY5UAh pic.twitter.com/YbRLwmepK1— Microsoft Events February 4, 2025 The same sort of thing might happen this year, as rumors say that Microsoft could launch new Surface models later this year, including a laptop and 2-in-1, both using Windows on Arm with Qualcomm's latest PC-oriented chips. In fact, Qualcomm could also unveil a successor to the X Elite, which first arrived in October 2023. It's fair to say that the Windows 11, along with the company's Microsoft 365 suite, will see substantial AI enhancements announced for Build 2025. Microsoft has substantially changed its approach to AI in the intervening year as well. It's no longer wedded as closely to OpenAI and ChatGPT, having recently announced that it's bringing DeepSeek to Copilot+ PCs and Azure cloud. All of that adds up to what will likely be a very AI-intensive developer conference, even if a large chunk of the public isn't sold on it yet. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/microsofts-build-2025-developer-conference-kicks-off-on-may-19th-133025358.html?src=rss

05.02.2025 14:20 In recent years, the push to ban smartphones in schools has picked up, with advocates citing everything from improving focus to creating a safe environment. Now, a new study out of the UK investigates the effectiveness of these policies on social media use and overall well-being with interesting results. The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe journal, included 1,227 individuals aged 12 to 15 from 20 schools with restrictive phone policies and 10 that permitted phone use. Researchers didn't find a link between restrictive school policies and lower phone or social media use and improved well-being. Notably, individuals unable to use their phones at school still used their devices the same amount of time on weekdays as their counterparts. So, they still had the same amount of potentially negative time on their phones per day, just at a different time of the day . These results are significant for advocates of school bans to consider, though primarily demonstrate the benefits of a more holistic plan to reduce adolescents' smartphone and social media use throughout the day. The study's authors note their research didn't look at how restrictive phone policies at school can impact instances of bullying or time engaging in face-to-face interactions. It also doesn't examine the difference between varied types of restriction or how long these policies have been in place. The UK government has been a strong proponent of banning smartphones in schools, announcing guidance in February 2024. The guidance called for schools to create policies that worked best for them, but outlined a few options — including banning any smartphones on school premises. Other suggestions involved students handing in their phones upon arrival or storing them in lockers. The US, France and more countries have also taken steps to ban smartphones in schools. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and California Governor Gavin Newsom are among the proponents of smartphone restrictions in schools. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/uk-study-says-school-phone-bans-dont-affect-students-total-screen-time-130048601.html?src=rss

05.02.2025 14:20 Sonos will start selling a streaming box in the "coming months," according to The Verge. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that the company was working on a streaming device codenamed "Pinewood" back in 2023. He said it was going to cost between $150 and $200, but sources told the publication that it would set buyers back between $200 and $400 instead. To note, the Roku Streambar costs $130, while the Apple TV 4K with Wi-Fi costs $129. During an earnings call last year, Sonos said that it was planning to launch two new products in the fourth quarter of 2024, but it had to push back their release until its app was fixed. Sonos' app broke after the company rolled out a major redesign last April that was supposed to make it easier to find and play different kinds of content. But the app was extremely buggy and was missing basic features, such as sleep timers and alarms. It's not quite clear if one of the delayed products was the streaming box, but the box, The Verge says, is "deep into development." The streaming device will reportedly have an interface that can combine content from multiple services, including Netflix, Max and Disney Plus, in a single unified software experience. It will feature integrated Sonos Voice Control, but it will also come with a physical remote control with shortcuts for popular apps. For those with an expansive home theater setup, the box will apparently have multiple HDMI ports with passthrough capability, allowing users to plug in other devices they want to pair with their TVs, such as gaming consoles. Sonos has also reportedly designed Pinewood to be able to wirelessly transmit TV audio to its own soundbars and other audio devices without lag. Plus, it will allow users to create their own surround system for TV viewing. Users will be able to designate two separate speakers as front left and right channels, for instance. For internet connectivity, The Verge says it will have both a gigabit ethernet port and Wi-Fi 7. After a disastrous few months following its botched app overhaul, Sonos laid out a plan to win back customers' trust. One of the things it promised was to implement "ambitious quality benchmarks" at the beginning of a product development cycle. It also said that it's not going to release products before those standards are met, which presumably means that Pinewood is going through rigorous testing before it becomes available. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/sonos-may-release-its-long-rumored-streaming-box-this-year-130017996.html?src=rss