Author: News Room

Apple’s OLED touchscreen MacBook Pros set to launch this fall will get a Dynamic Island feature like what’s available on iPhones, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Apple first debuted the Dynamic Island with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max as a pill-shaped cutout that can show information and alerts, though the MacBook Pro’s Dynamic Island will be “smaller” than what’s available on current iPhones.The new MacBook Pros, which will come in 14-inch and 16-inch screen sizes, otherwise look “similar” to the current models, Gurman says, but Apple will be updating the Mac’s user interface to make it…

Apple, like many others, has had to launch age verification features in response to new requirements for age checks in many regions, and on Tuesday, the company announced new details about its tools that developers can use to “meet their age assurance obligations under upcoming U.S. and regional laws, including in Brazil, Australia, Singapore, Utah, and Louisiana.”One of the big updates is that users in Australia, Brazil, and Singapore can’t download apps rated 18-plus unless their age has been confirmed through “reasonable methods,” which the App Store can confirm automatically. Apple notes that developers may still “have separate obligations to…

OpenAI won a victory Tuesday in one of its legal battles with xAI, which involved allegations of poaching and theft of trade secrets.The former company’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit was granted on Tuesday with leave to amend, meaning xAI has the option to refile with modified claims. In the ruling, US District Judge Rita F. Lin wrote that “xAI does not point to any misconduct by OpenAI” in its current claims. “Instead, it points to eight former xAI employees who left for OpenAI at around the same time,” with no indication that OpenAI directed their actions while leaving xAI.xAI…

YouTube is adding background playback and offline downloads to YouTube Premium Lite, its $7.99-per-month subscription. With the change, you’ll be able to keep YouTube videos going while you use another app on your phone or save videos to watch when you’re offline.YouTube Premium Lite came to the US just about a year ago as a more affordable way to watch YouTube with fewer ads, but it lacked background playback and offline downloads. In its blog post, the company said that it had “heard feedback about wanting these additional features included in the service.” The features are rolling out beginning Tuesday…

On July 25th, the UK became one of the first countries to widely implement age verification. Its Online Safety Act requires sites hosting porn and other content deemed “harmful” — including Reddit, Discord, Grindr, X, and Bluesky — to verify that users are over the age of 18. The early results have been chaotic. While many services have complied, some have pulled out of the country rather than face the risk and expense. Users have tricked the verification tools or bypassed them with VPNs. It’s just a taste of the issues that many other countries might face as they launch…

Discord already runs safety systems that catch spam rings, prevent raids, and detect coordinated abuse, powered by our rules engine (which we just open sourced as Osprey for other platforms to use). Age determination works the same way, using the same category of account-level signals: how long your account has existed, whether you have a payment method on file, what types of servers you’re in, and general patterns of account activity. It does not read your messages, analyze your conversations, or look at the content you post. We know “trust us” isn’t enough here, which is why we’ll publish the…

1Password is increasing its prices on March 27th, 2026. In an email sent to users, the password manager says it will raise the price of its yearly individual plan from $35.88 to $47.88, and that its family plan is going from $59.88 to $71.88.“While 1Password has grown substantially in value and capability, our pricing has remained largely unchanged for many years,” 1Password’s email states. 1Password says that the price increase will help it “continue investing in innovation and the world-class security you expect.” The email lists some of the new features the company has recently added to the platform, such…

Samsung is set to introduce its new Galaxy S26 lineup at its next Unpacked event on February 25th, potentially alongside a new pair of earbuds and other wearables. If you’re thinking about picking up any of the new devices, it’s worth claiming Samsung’s $30 promotional credit before it expires, which you can do by registering your interest on Samsung’s website before 1PM ET / 10AM PT tomorrow.If you’re even remotely considering an upgrade, there’s not much to lose by signing up. You don’t need to pay anything or even offer your credit card details to take advantage of the offer.…

DJI wants a federal court to toss out the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to ban imports of its China-made drones and components, as reported earlier by Reuters. In a petition filed in an appeals court this week, DJI claims the FCC “exceeded its statutory authority” last December when adding drones made in foreign countries to its Covered List, which blocks communications equipment “deemed to pose an unacceptable risk” to national security.In addition to preventing DJI and other foreign dronemakers from importing new drones in the US (unless approved by the Department of Defense), the FCC also gave itself the authority…

Not everybody wants their living room to be dominated by a big, hulking TV screen. Luckily, Samsung’s 2025 Frame TV, which is designed to fade into the background when idle, is discounted to its lowest price to date at Woot. Now through February 28th, the 43- and 55-inch panels are on sale for $587.99 ($312 off) and $847.99 ($400 off), respectively, with additional deals available on other sizes.The Frame features a slim QLED panel that can showcase more than 4,000 paintings — including works by Vincent van Gogh and more contemporary artists — via Samsung’s Art Store, helping the 4K…

ADT, the 150-year-old company best known for home security, has acquired Origin Wireless in a $170 million deal to expand the capabilities of its security and smart home offerings. Origin Wireless developed algorithms that analyze how wireless RF signals bounce around a space to detect the presence and movements of people and objects without the need for additional sensors.ADT plans to integrate Original Wireless’ technology into its smart home and security systems to add more context when security alarms are triggered, and potentially reduce false alarms. By leveraging existing technologies like Wi-Fi, future ADT systems may also require fewer sensors…

ProducerAI, an AI-powered music-making platform, is joining Google. As part of the deal, Google will fold ProducerAI under the Labs umbrella and power the tool with a preview version of its new Lyria 3 music-making AI model.ProducerAI is a music-making platform that allows users to work with an AI agent to generate sounds, workshop lyrics, remix songs, and even create new instruments based on a prompt. The platform launched in July 2025 as a successor to the AI music-making tool Riffusion, and initially used the startup’s own AI model to help you generate songs and tweak existing ones. Seth Forsgren,…