Author: News Room

When I saw iRobot’s latest robot vacuums announced this week, my first thought was, “These don’t look like Roombas; they look like midrange models from Roborock, Ecovacs, and Dreame.” Of course, as the original robot vacuum manufacturer, iRobot’s products likely inspired the design of most of its competitors. But Roombas have always had a uniqueness that sets them apart from the crowd. With these new models, the company is capitulating to the homogeneity of the current crop of vacuums, sacrificing many of its signature features and moving from high-end to middle-of-the-road in a quest to recapture a bigger slice of…

Six to Start, the company behind Zombies, Run! and Marvel Move, has laid off all but two of its staff, The Verge has learned. The news was delivered last week to staffers in a Zoom call, in which they were told that parent company OliveX could no longer afford to keep Six to Start afloat and would shut down the company if they can’t find a buyer. Laid-off staffers were also served redundancy notices, which The Verge has confirmed.The ZRX: Zombies, Run! app is an immersive fitness game that plops walkers and runners into audio-based storytelling. When enemies, be they…

After a season 3 finale that left open plenty of possibilities for a return, it’s now confirmed: Ted Lasso is coming back. The Apple TV Plus sitcom is getting a fourth season, though it appears to be still fairly early in development.In an interview on the New Heights podcast, star Jason Sudeikis confirmed that season 4 is being written now, and that it will follow the eponymous coach as he leads a new women’s soccer team. Aside from Sudeikis, there’s no other word on what characters might be returning, although much of the creative team will be back, including writer…

There’s a lot to explore in Google Maps, but you may not always know where to look. It’s great if you’re trying to drive through a crowded city or find out which local coffee shop has the best-rated bagels, but there are also other, lesser-known features worth investigating. These include historical imagery on Google Street View. Google Maps actually makes it easy to switch between different time periods. On either desktop or mobile, you can go back to when Google’s Street View cars first started patrolling the streets — in some areas, you can go back as far as 2007…

The best phone race is always running. Alongside the Galaxy S25, the iPhone 16’s top competitor is Google’s Pixel 9. Both devices are packed with powerful features, offering improved performance, cameras, and AI capabilities. But how do the two biggest base-level smartphones stack up against each other? Let’s take a closer look at how the iPhone 16 compares to the Google Pixel 9. Design & Display: Brighter vs stronger The iPhone 16 brings a familiar design but with notable improvements. It maintains a 6.1-inch display size, just like the previous iPhone 15 model, but Apple has further toughened the front…

Despite being over two years into its lifespan, it’s still proving maddeningly difficult to actually get hold of a Your gargantuan PlayStation 5 is hogging most of the shelf you’ve allocated as its new home and you’re probably feeling pretty happy with yourself. We’d understand if you want to dive straight into some of the best PS5 games, but remember that no console is complete without accessories, and the PS5 has plenty of those competing for your cash.  From the best gaming headsets and the best PS5 controllers to webcams and additional storage (which you *will* need), read on for…

iPhone and Android users will be able to exchange end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) RCS messages in the near future thanks to newly updated RCS specifications. The GSM Association announced that the latest RCS standard includes E2EE based on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, enabling interoperable encryption between different platform providers for the first time.The GSM Association said it had started working to enable E2EE on messages sent between Android and iPhone in September last year. E2EE is a privacy and security feature that prevents third parties, such as messaging providers or cell carriers, from viewing the content of your texts.…

You’ve only just got used to hearing about 4K TV and now some people are talking about 8K. But what the hell is it? What makes 8K different to 4K? And do you need it? Or is it worth waiting a while before you invest in an 8K TV? Read on to find out more about the 4K vs 8K standoff… What is HD and what is 4K? Let’s start at the beginning and get our heads around High Definition (HD) first. The most important thing to know about Full HD screens is that they pack a resolution of 1,920…

Introduction Cupra makes it no secret that the Tavascan sits on the same MEB platform as several Volkswagen group stablemates, including the Skoda Enyaq, Audi Q4 Sportback, and the ID.5. Even the Ford Explorer has gotten in on the action. So this is a car on an already well-used platform with lots of comparable rivals. However, this is also a Cupra, a brand that really does have its own identity, and it is this factor that really helps to set it apart from the competition. I loved the Cupra Born when I first drove it a couple of years ago…

Apple’s AirPods 4 are down to the lowest price ever on Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy, where you can pick them up starting at $99.99. That’s about 22 percent off the $129 list price. These are the newest version of Apple’s base AirPods, launched in September with the iPhone 16. They support spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, which is a weird effect that makes it sound like audio is coming out of the device you’re listening to instead of just pumping stereo sound into your ear drums. I usually turn it off. I like the open design of the…

T-Mobile is letting some legacy plan customers know that a price increase is coming, 9to5Google reports. Many Reddit users on r/tmobile said the carrier sent them text messages that their plans will raise by $5 per month per line starting on April 2nd.In an internal memo obtained by CNET, T-Mobile consumer group president Jon Freier says the price increase addresses “rising costs” for the company. The memo noted that affected customers would be notified by the end of the day today.CNET says it’s unclear which legacy plans will be affected but notes that Go5G, Go5G Plus, and Go5G Next subscribers…

Microsoft is testing AI-powered summaries in Notepad. In an update rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev channels, you’ll be able to summarize information in Notepad by highlighting a chunk of text, right-clicking it, and selecting Summarize.Notepad will then generate a summary of the text, as well as provide an option to change its length. You can also generate summaries by selecting text and using the Ctrl + M shortcut or choosing Summarize from the Copilot menu.As is the case with other AI features in Windows 11, you must be signed into a Microsoft account to use…