The Techy Trends
Fresh AI & Tech news, updated automatically
Last updated:
JSON API

DOJ is investigating if Netflix used anticompetitive tactics as part of its merger probe

Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery isn't quite a done deal yet. As first reported by The Wall Street Journal , the US Department of Justice has started its probe of Netflix's proposed purchase, but is notably interested in whether the streaming giant was involved in any anticompetitive practices. According to the civil subpoena seen by WSJ , the Justice Department is looking into any "exclusionary conduct on the part of Netflix that would reasonably appear cap

www.engadget.comFeb 7, 2026 4:09 PM

The State Department is scrubbing its X accounts of all posts from before Trump's second term

The State Department is wiping the post history of its X accounts and making it so you'll have to file a Freedom of Information Act request if you want to access any of the content it removed, according to NPR . The publication reports that the State Department is removing all posts from before President Trump's current term — a move that affects several accounts associated with the department, including those for US embassies, and posts from the Biden and Obama administrations. Posts

www.engadget.comFeb 7, 2026 3:55 PM

How to stream the 2026 Super Bowl for free this weekend: Patriots vs. Seahawks time, where to watch and more

The 2026 Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will air on NBC this Sunday, Feb. 8. The Big Game will also stream live on Peacock. If you no longer subscribe to cable, don't have access to NBC over the air and aren't currently signed up for Peacock, there are still ways to watch Super Bowl LX — and Bad Bunny's history-making Super Bowl Halftime Show — for free. Here's how to tune in.  How to watch Super Bowl LX free: Date: Sun

www.engadget.comFeb 7, 2026 2:27 PM

Trump Mobile’s T1 Phone is apparently still coming, but it’ll be uglier and more expensive

Trump Mobile is already failing to deliver on some early promises, according to the latest report from The Verge . The report revealed the near-final design of the T1 smartphone and uncovered some major changes with pricing and manufacturing. The Verge spoke with Don Hendrickson and Eric Thomas, two of the three execs behind Trump Mobile , about the company's first smartphone, which will get a more expensive price tag and no longer boast being made in the USA. Thanks to a screenshot

www.engadget.comFeb 7, 2026 2:06 PM

Analogue unearths N64 prototype colors for its limited edition 3D console

Analogue is back with another hit of N64 nostalgia , but with colorways that are deep cuts for even the biggest Nintendo nerds. Analogue announced its latest run of limited edition versions of its 3D console, this time drawing inspiration from a batch of prototype colorways for the original N64 that were manufactured but never hit the market. Now, the Analogue 3D will come in Ghost, Glacier, Extreme Green, Ocean and yes, even Atomic Purple . It may just be a cosmetic upgrade, but it's

www.engadget.comFeb 7, 2026 12:19 PM

How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl on NBC: Patriots vs. Seahawks channel, where to stream, start time, and more

The New England Patriots are headed to the 2026 Super Bowl. (Lauren Leigh Bacho via Getty Images) Lauren Leigh Bacho via Getty Images The countdown is on, and Super Bowl LX , between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, is nearly here. This weekend, the Big Game will be held at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. The NFL Championship Game kicks off at 6:30PM ET this Sunday, Feb. 8. Pre-game coverage starts at 12PM ET. Like all other Sunday Night Football games this season,

www.engadget.comFeb 7, 2026 10:46 AM

NASA is sending Crew-12 astronauts to the ISS on February 11

The Crew-12 astronauts will soon make their way to the ISS, joining the three remaining spacefarers on board after the previous mission was cut short due to a medical concern. NASA was originally planning a February 15 launch date for the mission, but it has moved it up to February 11. It’s now targeting a liftoff of no earlier than 6:01 AM Eastern that day from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The crew members are already in quarantine, and if everything goes well on launch day, the Dragon capsul

www.engadget.comFeb 7, 2026 10:30 AM

How to track your sleep and view your sleep data in Apple Health

Apple Health brings sleep tracking, scheduling and long-term analysis into one place, with your iPhone acting as the hub and the Apple Watch doing the overnight monitoring. Once everything is set up, Apple Health can show how long you slept each night, how consistent your sleep schedule is and how much time you spend in different sleep stages. Here is how to get started, track your sleep and review your data. Sleep tracking in Apple Health relies on two things: You need to set up Sleep in t

www.engadget.comFeb 7, 2026 8:00 AM

Engadget review recap: Shokz OpenFit Pro, Nex Playground, Sony A7 V and more

We’re starting to hit our stride in 2026. Now that February is here, our reviews team is flush with new devices to test, which means you’ve got a lot to catch up on if you haven’t been following along. Read on for a roundup of the most compelling new gear we’ve tested recently from gaming, PCs, cameras and more. Nex Playground If you still have a fondness for the Xbox Kinect, the Nex Playground might be right up your alley. Senior reporter Devindra Hardawar recently put the tiny b

www.engadget.comFeb 7, 2026 7:34 AM

Hotline Miami meets football, the power of video editing and other new indie games worth checking out

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. As always, we've got a bunch of neat games to tell you about. Perhaps I'll tear myself away from playing as Chappell Roan in Fortnite or Jetpack Cat in Overwatch long enough to check more of them out. Thanks to the folks at Aftermath , I learned about a short, text-based game from Woe Industries from a while back called You Have Billions Invested In Generative AI . Surprisingly enough, you take on th

www.engadget.comFeb 7, 2026 7:00 AM

How to watch the Opening Ceremony at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics rebroadcast tonight

The Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Winter Games will re-air tonight on NBC. (Gabriel BOUYS / AFP via Getty Images) GABRIEL BOUYS via Getty Images The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony has concluded. The festivities featured performances from Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli, 3,000 athletes walking in the Parade of Nations, and not one but two Olympic cauldrons being lit. (One at Milan's Arco della Pace, since Milan is serving as the main hub for this year's G

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 7:46 PM

The Crypto.com guy bought AI.com (and a Super Bowl ad)

Kris Marszalek, CEO and co-founder of crypto and stock trading platform Crypto.com, has bought an expensive website . In this case it's AI.com , valued at one point at $100 million , which will serve as the online home for his new company of the same name. The website launch is being paired with a Super Bowl ad that will air this Sunday. AI.com's main offering is an AI agent that "operates on the user’s behalf — organizing work, sending messages, executing actions across apps,

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 6:43 PM

Apple will reportedly allow third-party AI assistants in CarPlay

Apple plans to allow third-party voice-controlled AI apps in CarPlay, Bloomberg reports . Siri is the default voice assistant for things like controlling music and looking up directions, but future AI apps in CarPlay could handle the complicated, open-ended requests Siri can't answer. The expanded support would let developers like OpenAI or Google offer versions of their ChatGPT and Gemini apps for CarPlay. Similar functionality is possible just by connecting a smartphone to a car over B

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 4:34 PM

Disney+ loses access to Dolby Vision in some European countries

Disney+ subscribers in some European countries have lost access to advanced HDR features like Dolby Vision, TechRadar and FlatpanelsHD report. The issue was first spotted by German Disney+ subscribers on Reddit , but currently also impacts subscribers in Portugal, Poland, France and the Netherlands, according to FlatpanelsHD . "Dolby Vision support for content on Disney+ is currently unavailable in several European countries due to technical challenges," Disney said in a sta

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 3:44 PM

The new trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie shows Yoshi absolutely devouring a Magikoopa

The long wait for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is nearly over, as the film hits theaters on April 1 . To keep the hype train rolling, Illumination and Universal Pictures have dropped a short new teaser . It's exactly 30 seconds long, so you'll probably be seeing it again on TV this Sunday during the Super Bowl. It does feature some nifty footage that we haven't seen before, including a hungry Yoshi absolutely devouring a Magikoopa. There are also shots highlighting the star

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 2:18 PM

Noble Audio has released a USB-C Bluetooth dongle for high fidelity transmission

Noble Audio has announced the Sceptre, a pocket-sized USB-C Bluetooth transmitter meant to boost wireless audio quality from phones, laptops and tablets. The device is intended to exceed the quality offered by a device's existing hardware. Sceptre is powered by Qualcomm's QCC5181 Bluetooth chipset and supports LDAC, aptX Adaptive, AAC and SBC codecs. Of course, to take advantage of the high quality codecs you'll need a pair of headphones that support them. The dongle has a

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 2:16 PM

How Elon Musk is rewriting the rules on founder power

Elon Musk has merged SpaceX and xAI, creating what might be the blueprint for a new Silicon Valley power structure. With his $800 billion net worth already rivaling historic conglomerate GE’s peak market cap, and Musk being vocal about his view that “tech victory is decided by velocity of innovation,” the question isn’t whether a personal conglomerate can be built, but rather how far Musk himself is […]

techcrunch.comFeb 6, 2026 1:46 PM

Save up to 81 percent on ExpressVPN two-year plans right now

ExpressVPN is back on sale again, and its two-year plans are up to 81 percent off right now. You can get the Advanced tier for $88 for 28 months. This is marked down from the $392 that this time frame normally costs. On a per-month basis, it works out to roughly $3.14 for the promo period. We’ve consistently liked ExpressVPN because it’s fast, easy to use and widely available across a large global server network. In fact, it's our current pick for best premium VPN . One of the biggest d

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 1:00 PM

The best live TV streaming services to cut cable in 2026

People who are interested in a live TV streaming service are probably looking for one (or all three) of the following: current sports matchups, breaking news and cable-like channels. We tried all the major providers to see what you get for your monthly bill — particularly in light of the fact that every live TV streamer has raised prices over the past year or two. That said, in most markets, a live TV streaming service is still more cost-effective than cable. And you still don’t have to sign a c

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 12:01 PM

The best tech gifts for $100 or less from Apple, Nintendo, Google and others

Finding a gift for the tech nerd in your life can be tough. They likely have all the tech they need and then some, but you can add to their kit with the right accessories. Apple, Samsung, Sony and other big tech companies all have affordable gear that comes in at $100 or less, you just have to know where to look. Below are some of our favorites, but it's worth remembering: you can often find alternatives that are just as good (and sometimes better) than these. But for the people in your life

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 12:01 PM

Spotify now lets you swipe on songs to learn more about them

Spotify is rolling out a feature called About the Song which lets fans learn a bit more about their favorite tunes. This "brings stories and context" into the listening experience, sort of like that old VH1 show Pop Up Video . How does it work? The Now Playing View houses short, swipeable story cards that "explore the meaning" behind the music. This information is sourced from third parties and the company promises "interesting details and behind-the-scenes moment

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 11:45 AM

Get a four-pack of first-gen AirTags for only $64

Good deals on Apple products aren’t as frequent as we’d like them to be, but if there’s one of the company’s products that does seem to enjoy pretty regular price cuts, it’s the AirTag . Right now you can pick up a four-pack of Apple’s diminutive first-generation Bluetooth trackers for $64, which translates to 35 percent off and a near record low price. Bear in mind that this deal brings the price per AirTag down to about $16 if you were to buy them individually, and when

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 11:36 AM

Presidents' Day sales 2026: The best early tech deals from Apple, Sony, Roku and others

You can find a lot of good deals for Presidents’ Day, but to say it’s a tech-deal boon would be an overstatement. The best Presidents’ Day deals are usually on mattresses, appliances and furniture, but you can find some decent tech sales thrown in as well. This year, Presidents’ Day comes right after Valentine’s Day and Super Bowl 2026, which means there are even more chances to save as sales and discounts overlap. If you’re looking for a new streaming device, a fresh iPad or an upgraded vacuum

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 10:45 AM

Super Bowl 2026 TV deals: The best sales we found this week on OLEDs and other smart TVs ahead of kickoff

The big game is one of the few instances now in the US where most people gather around the TV to watch the live event together. While the teams playing in Super Bowl 2026 are the true stars of the show (and Bad Bunny , of course), your TV is a pretty important part of the puzzle of putting together an excellent Super Bowl party. Maybe you’ve been thinking about replacing an aging set, or you’re itching for a full refresh of your home theater setup — either way, you’ll want to try to get a g

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 10:34 AM

NASA will now allow astronauts to take their smartphones to space

Most people wouldn't leave their phones behind when they so much as go for a drive, but NASA astronauts have had to leave their phones on Earth while they went to work 250 miles away at the International Space Station. That is, until now. In a post on X , NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman shared that the Crew-12 and Artemis II astronauts will be allowed to bring smartphones along for the journey to the ISS and beyond. "We are giving our crews the tools to capture special mo

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 10:13 AM

Apple's iPhone Air MagSafe battery drops to an all-time-low price

We found the iPhone Air to have a pretty decent battery life for such a thin-and-light phone, somewhere in the region of 27 hours if you’re continuously streaming video. But it's still a phone, arguably your most used device on a daily basis, so you may need to top it up during the day if you're using it constantly. That’s where Apple’s iPhone Air MagSafe battery pack comes in, and it’s currently on sale for $79. This accessory only works with the iPhone Air, but much like th

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 9:55 AM

Olympics 2026: How to watch, schedule of events, and everything else you need to know about the Winter Games

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are coming up. (Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images) Mattia Ozbot via Getty Images The 2026 Winter Olympics are taking place in Italy this year, with all the action taking place in Milan and the Alpine city of Cortina. This year marks the fourth time Italy has hosted the Winter Games; most recently, Turin hosted in 2006. Of the 16 sports that will be featured at the Winter Olympics, there will be 15 returning favorites, including figure skating, Alpine sk

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 9:45 AM

The 512GB Samsung P9 microSD Express card is 33 percent off right now

MicroSD Express cards are still a little hard to find, considering they're pretty new and only really started becoming popular last year once the Switch 2 came out. These upgraded versions of microSD cards are the only ones compatible with the Switch 2 for expanding its storage, os if you're already starting to feel the crunch on your console, it's worth picking one up. Samsung's P9 microSD Express card is on sale right now — you can grab the 512GB version of $80, which is 33 p

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 9:35 AM

Uber ordered to pay $8.5 million to passenger who accused a driver of rape

Uber must pay a passenger who accused one of its drivers of rape $8.5 million, a federal jury in Phoenix has ordered . The jury found Uber liable for its driver’s misconduct, determining that the driver was an agent of the company. Part of Uber’s defense was that it’s not responsible for what its drivers do, as they are independent contractors. This decision is for but one of the 3,000 similar cases against Uber that have been consolidated in federal court. It was a bellwether trial meant to de

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 9:18 AM

Google will soon offer AirDrop support on more Android devices

One of the more surprising tech developments in 2025 was Google bringing two-way support for Apple’s AirDrop functionality to its Pixel 10 series of phones. At the time, Google said it intended to expand the feature to other devices at a later date, and that date could be just around the corner. At a press briefing attended by Android Authority   at Google’s Taipei office, Eric Kay, Android’s Vice President of Engineering, confirmed that AirDrop interoperability will expand in

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 9:15 AM

The Apple Watch Series 11 is down to a record-low price

Whether you're one of the few people still keeping up with New Year's resolutions or just want an upgraded smartwatch, now is a good time to get an Apple Watch. Currently, the Apple Watch Series 11 is on sale for $299, down from $399. The 25 percent discount brings the 2025 model back down to its record-low price. We named the Apple Watch Series 11 as our choice for best smartwatch overall . It scored a 90 in our review thanks to its 24 hours-plus of battery life and a thin, light

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 9:06 AM

Ford shows off the tech going into its $30,000 electric pickup truck

Ford may be discontinuing its F-150 Lightning pickup but it hasn’t given up on electric cars. CEO Jim Farley just teased the automaker’s electric pickup based on its new Universal Electric Vehicle platform that he called “one of the most audacious and important projects in Ford's history.” The Universal EV platform will be used on a family of affordable EVs sold around the world, but will start with a mid-sized pickup for the US built in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s set to go on sale ne

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 9:00 AM

The latest 45W Anker Nano charger with smart display is on sale for only $30

Anker rolled out a bunch of new chargers and other gear at CES 2026 , including a cute one that's already on sale. The new Nano charger with smart display, which is an upgrade to the existing Nano charger in Anker's lineup, is on sale for $30 right now when you clip an on-page coupon on Amazon. That's $10 off the regular price. The 45W charger includes a smart display that shows real-time data like power flow, temperature and charging status. It also features "fun animations to keep things

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 8:30 AM

Apple reportedly axed its planned AI health coach

Apple is no longer launching an AI service that can “replicate” a doctor and act as a personal health coach, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The company has reportedly scaled back the unannounced initiative in recent weeks, following a recent organization reshuffling wherein services chief Eddy Cue took over the health division. While Apple has never officially announced the AI health coach, it was reported last year that the company was working on developing the service that h

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 8:30 AM

Engadget Podcast: So there’s a social network for AI agents now

If you haven't heard, there's now a social network for AI : Moltbook , a site that purportedly features AI agents talking to each other. That includes OpenClaw, a personal AI agent (formerly called Clawdbot and Moltbot) that's open source and free for anyone to run on their systems. In this episode, Devindra and Senior Reporter Karissa Bell discuss the rise of these services, and the potential future that AI agents may have for all of us. Subscribe! iTunes Spoti

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 8:30 AM

EU says TikTok uses 'addictive design' and must change

TikTok’s signature features that hooked users around the world are its algorithm and endless scroll. Now, though, the European Union has called those aspects of the app illegal and may order the company to alter them. “Today, the European Commission preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act for its addictive design,” the EU’s regulator said in a press release. “This includes features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and its highly personalized rec

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 8:17 AM

Sonos soundbars and home theater gear is up to 20 percent off right now

It's big-game season, which means it's a good time to look for home theater gear on sale ahead of Super Bowl 2026. There are plenty of Super Bowl TV deals to consider, but if you have arguably the most important piece of the puzzle down, you may want to upgrade your sound system instead. Sonos' latest sale may have just what you need; a bunch of the company's home theater gear is up to 20 percent off right now. You can save $130 on the Beam (Gen 2) soundbar , bringing its pric

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 8:09 AM

HBO is making a Baldur's Gate 3 TV show

The Last of Us series co-creator Craig Mazin is teaming with Hasbro Entertainment to create an HBO series based on the popular (and spicy ) Baldur’s Gate 3 game, Deadline reported. The show will be simply be called Baldur’s Gate and the story will resume where Baldur’s Gate 3 left off. Mazin will reportedly have full creative control and act as co-creator, writer, executive producer and showrunner. "It is a dream come true to be able to continue the story that [ Baldur’s

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 8:00 AM

The best VPNs with free trials in 2026

A free trial to a virtual private network (VPN) can mean a few different things. Several of the best VPNs let you try them out without paying. A rare few, and only one on this list, let you try them without submitting payment information at all. Some VPNs have forever free plans that let you use them indefinitely without paying, as long as you're OK with some limits. For the most part, though, your best chance to test a VPN for free is to pay for a subscription. Then, if you don't l

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 8:00 AM

Two years of NordVPN's Complete plan is 70 percent off

NordVPN is offering a significant discount on its two-year plans, with 70 percent off its Complete tier and up to 78 percent off overall. For the Complete tier, the deal brings the total cost down to $130 for 24 months NordVPN regularly appears on Engadget’s list of the best VPN services thanks to its wide server network, strong security tools and consistent performance across devices. NordVPN’s latest promotion puts one of its most comprehensive plans at a price that undercuts many competi

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 7:30 AM

The Morning After: The Switch is officially Nintendo’s most popular console ever

With over 155 million sold, Nintendo’s Switch is officially the company’s biggest console hit ever. It’s been a long road to surpassing the DS , which reached 154 million consoles over its seven-year lifespan. The Switch, meanwhile, is a year shy of its 10-year anniversary.  We’ve seen the original console, the non-hybrid Lite and the OLED versions of the Switch over the decade, but despite being replaced by Switch 2, the original is still selling at a strong pace: 1.36 million units in Q

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 7:15 AM

The best mesh Wi-Fi systems of 2026

If your Wi-Fi struggles to reach every corner of your house, it’s probably not your internet plan that’s the problem. A single router can only do so much, especially in larger spaces or homes with thick walls. That’s where the best mesh Wi-Fi system comes in, replacing one overworked router with a Wi-Fi mesh network designed to deliver high-speed coverage across your entire home. A whole home mesh Wi-Fi setup uses multiple nodes that act as shared access points, spreading your connection more e

www.engadget.comFeb 6, 2026 5:00 AM

X's latest Community Notes experiment allows AI to write the first draft

X is experimenting with a new way for AI to write Community Notes. The company is testing a new " collaborative notes " feature that allows human writers to request an AI-written Community Note.  It's not the first time the platform has experimented with AI in Community Notes. The company started a pilot program last year to allow developers to create dedicated AI note writers.  X’s Keith Coleman tells me that AI writers are “prolific” and that one has contributed mo

www.engadget.comFeb 5, 2026 5:42 PM

NordVPN review 2025: Innovative features, a few missteps

When we say that NordVPN is a good VPN that's not quite great, it's important to put that in perspective. Building a good VPN is hard, as evidenced by all the shovelware VPNs flooding the market. NordVPN may not be perfect, but it's easily top-five caliber and excels in certain use cases. First, the bad: NordVPN's apps could all stand to undergo a little more quality control, with elements distracting from other elements and inconsistent designs from platform to platform. At le

www.engadget.comFeb 5, 2026 4:42 PM

Everything we know about Valve's new Steam Machine

The Steam Machine is back from the dead. Not as a Valve-supported program for manufacturers to create living room PCs, but instead a home console sibling to the Steam Deck . Valve introduced its second attempt at ruling the living room in a surprise hardware announcement in November 2025, and paired the new Steam Machine with a new Steam Controller and a wireless VR headset it calls the Steam Frame . Since the announcement, as is often the case with Valve, some details remain elusive, howeve

www.engadget.comFeb 5, 2026 3:04 PM

Prime members can play Alan Wake 2 for free on Luna

If you haven't yet played Alan Wake 2 , here's your chance to immerse yourself in its terrors for free. Prime members can play it this month on Amazon's Luna cloud gaming service at no additional charge. The "fantastic" Alan Wake 2 oozes "psychedelic terror," as Engadget's Jessica Conditt put it in our review . The 2023 horror-survival game uses a dual-protagonist motif, alternating between the lost author Wake and the stoic FBI agent Saga Anderson. It &q

www.engadget.comFeb 5, 2026 2:35 PM

Meta is giving its AI slop feed an app of its own

Meta is developing a standalone app for Vibes, its feed of AI-generated videos, according to reports from TechCrunch and Platformer . 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. "Following the strong early traction of Vibes within Meta AI, we are testing a standalone app to build on that momentum," Meta said in a statement. "We’ve seen

www.engadget.comFeb 5, 2026 2:22 PM

Project Hail Mary is getting its own LEGO set

The upcoming science fiction film Project Hail Mary is getting a LEGO set . This is fascinating because LEGO typically makes sets based on long-standing franchises like Star Wars and Harry Potter. Project Hail Mary doesn't even hit theaters until March 20 . It's not an entirely new IP. The movie is based on a 2021 book written by Andy Weir, the same author behind The Martian . It's cool to see a LEGO set based on something more contemporary than its usual fare. The 830-

www.engadget.comFeb 5, 2026 2:11 PM

The CIA stops publishing The World Factbook

The US Central Intelligence Agency is ending one of its popular services, The World Factbook. Over the decades, this reference has provided readers with information about different countries and communities around the world. The post from the CIA announcing the news didn't provide any information about why it will stop offering The World Factbook. The agency was subject to the same buyouts and job cuts that decimated much of the federal workforce in 2025, so maybe this type of public-f

www.engadget.comFeb 5, 2026 1:44 PM

The Switch 2-exclusive co-op adventure Orbitals launches this summer

Nintendo capped off today’s partner-focused Nintendo Direct with a flurry of Bethesda-related announcements , but arguably the most interesting game of the showcase appeared right at the start. First announced at the beginning of the year, Orbitals is a two-player puzzle adventure game in which you and your co-op partner play as the intergalactic explorers Maki and Omura, on a mission to save their home in the stars from an incoming cosmic storm. Gameplay-wise, Orbitals looks like it’s

www.engadget.comFeb 5, 2026 1:06 PM

Get two years of access to Proton VPN for 70 percent off right now

Proton VPN is offering a steep discount on its Proton VPN Plus subscription, with the two-year plan currently priced at $2.99 per month. You’ll pay $72 upfront for 24 months of service, which amounts to 70 percent off the usual monthly rate and brings the long-term cost well below what many premium VPNs typically charge. We’ve consistently been impressed by Proton VPN’s focus on privacy, its nonprofit ownership structure and the way it balances security features with strong real-world speeds.

www.engadget.comFeb 5, 2026 1:00 PM

Mercedes-Benz Unveils New S-Class Built on NVIDIA DRIVE AV, Which Enables an L4-Ready Architecture

Mercedes-Benz is marking 140 years of automotive innovation with a new S-Class built for the AI era, bringing together automotive safety and NVIDIA’s advanced autonomous driving platform to enable a level 4-ready architecture designed for trust. The new S-Class with MB.OS, which will be equipped with the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion architecture and full-stack NVIDIA DRIVE Read Article

blogs.nvidia.comJan 29, 2026 1:00 PM

Accelerating Science: A Blueprint for a Renewed National Quantum Initiative

Quantum technologies are rapidly emerging as foundational capabilities for economic competitiveness, national security and scientific leadership in the 21st century. Sustained U.S. leadership in quantum information science is critical to ensuring that breakthroughs in computing, sensing, networking and materials translate into secure technologies and industries, a skilled domestic workforce and long-term strategic advantage. To secure Read Article

blogs.nvidia.comJan 28, 2026 1:17 PM

NVIDIA DRIVE AV Raises the Bar for Vehicle Safety as Mercedes-Benz CLA Earns Top Euro NCAP Award

AI-powered driver assistance technologies are becoming standard equipment, fundamentally changing how vehicle safety is assessed and validated. The recent recognition of the Mercedes-Benz CLA as Euro NCAP’s Best Performer of 2025 underscores this shift, as the vehicle combines traditional passive safety features with NVIDIA DRIVE AV software to achieve the highest overall safety score of Read Article

blogs.nvidia.comJan 22, 2026 1:21 PM

How to Get Started With Visual Generative AI on NVIDIA RTX PCs

AI-powered content generation is now embedded in everyday tools like Adobe and Canva, with a slew of agencies and studios incorporating the technology into their workflows. Image models now deliver photorealistic results consistently, video models can generate long and coherent clips, and both can follow creative directions. Creators are increasingly running these workflows locally on Read Article

blogs.nvidia.comJan 22, 2026 9:00 AM

From Pilot to Profit: Survey Reveals the Financial Services Industry Is Doubling Down on AI Investment and Open Source

AI has taken center stage in financial services, automating the research and execution behind algorithmic trading and helping banks more accurately detect fraud and money laundering — all while improving risk management practices and expediting document processing. The sixth annual “NVIDIA State of AI in Financial Services” report, based on a survey of more than Read Article

blogs.nvidia.comJan 22, 2026 9:00 AM

Railway secures $100 million to challenge AWS with AI-native cloud infrastructure

Railway , a San Francisco-based cloud platform that has quietly amassed two million developers without spending a dollar on marketing, announced Thursday that it raised $100 million in a Series B funding round, as surging demand for artificial intelligence applications exposes the limitations of legacy cloud infrastructure. TQ Ventures led the round, with participation from FPV Ventures , Redpoint , and Unusual Ventures . The investment values Railway as one of the most significant infrast

venturebeat.comby [email protected] (Michael Nuñez)Jan 22, 2026 9:00 AM

Claude Code costs up to $200 a month. Goose does the same thing for free.

The artificial intelligence coding revolution comes with a catch: it's expensive. Claude Code , Anthropic's terminal-based AI agent that can write, debug, and deploy code autonomously, has captured the imagination of software developers worldwide. But its pricing — ranging from $20 to $200 per month depending on usage — has sparked a growing rebellion among the very programmers it aims to serve. Now, a free alternative is gaining traction. Goose , an open-source AI agent develope

venturebeat.comby [email protected] (Michael Nuñez)Jan 19, 2026 9:00 AM

Listen Labs raises $69M after viral billboard hiring stunt to scale AI customer interviews

Alfred Wahlforss was running out of options. His startup, Listen Labs , needed to hire over 100 engineers, but competing against Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million offers seemed impossible. So he spent $5,000 — a fifth of his marketing budget — on a billboard in San Francisco displaying what looked like gibberish: five strings of random numbers. The numbers were actually AI tokens. Decoded, they led to a coding challenge: build an algorithm to act as a digital bouncer at Berghain, the Ber

venturebeat.comby [email protected] (Michael Nuñez)Jan 16, 2026 9:01 AM

Salesforce rolls out new Slackbot AI agent as it battles Microsoft and Google in workplace AI

Salesforce on Tuesday launched an entirely rebuilt version of Slackbot , the company's workplace assistant, transforming it from a simple notification tool into what executives describe as a fully powered AI agent capable of searching enterprise data, drafting documents, and taking action on behalf of employees. The new Slackbot, now generally available to Business+ and Enterprise+ customers, is Salesforce's most aggressive move yet to position Slack at the center of the emergin

venturebeat.comby [email protected] (Michael Nuñez)Jan 13, 2026 8:00 AM

Anthropic launches Cowork, a Claude Desktop agent that works in your files — no coding required

Anthropic released Cowork on Monday, a new AI agent capability that extends the power of its wildly successful Claude Code tool to non-technical users — and according to company insiders, the team built the entire feature in approximately a week and a half, largely using Claude Code itself. The launch marks a major inflection point in the race to deliver practical AI agents to mainstream users, positioning Anthropic to compete not just with OpenAI and Google in conversational AI, but w

venturebeat.comby [email protected] (Michael Nuñez)Jan 12, 2026 6:30 AM

NVIDIA Unveils Multi-Agent Intelligent Warehouse and Catalog Enrichment AI Blueprints to Power the Retail Pipeline

Every “that was easy” shopping moment is made possible by teams working to hit shipping deadlines, scrambling to fix missing product details and striving to provide curated shopping experiences. Behind the scenes, workers are dealing with the reality of aging systems, siloed data and rising customer expectations — a combination that makes consistency and speed Read Article

blogs.nvidia.comJan 9, 2026 9:00 AM

AI Copilot Keeps Berkeley’s X-Ray Particle Accelerator on Track

In the rolling hills of Berkeley, California, an AI agent is supporting high-stakes physics experiments at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) particle accelerator. Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ALS facility recently deployed the Accelerator Assistant, a large language model (LLM)-driven system to keep X-ray research on track. The Accelerator Assistant — powered by Read Article

blogs.nvidia.comJan 8, 2026 12:00 PM

Nous Research's NousCoder-14B is an open-source coding model landing right in the Claude Code moment

Nous Research , the open-source artificial intelligence startup backed by crypto venture firm Paradigm , released a new competitive programming model on Monday that it says matches or exceeds several larger proprietary systems — trained in just four days using 48 of Nvidia's latest B200 graphics processors . The model, called NousCoder-14B , is another entry in a crowded field of AI coding assistants, but arrives at a particularly charged moment: Claude Code , the agentic programming t

venturebeat.comby [email protected] (Michael Nuñez)Jan 7, 2026 3:00 PM

The creator of Claude Code just revealed his workflow, and developers are losing their minds

When the creator of the world's most advanced coding agent speaks, Silicon Valley doesn't just listen — it takes notes. For the past week, the engineering community has been dissecting a thread on X from Boris Cherny , the creator and head of Claude Code at Anthropic . What began as a casual sharing of his personal terminal setup has spiraled into a viral manifesto on the future of software development, with industry insiders calling it a watershed moment for the startup. &qu

venturebeat.comby [email protected] (Michael Nuñez)Jan 5, 2026 2:45 AM