Apple is still hard at work on becoming a relevant player in AI. The latest missive from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg suggests that Apple is shifting its artificial intelligence goals to center on new device segments. Sources reportedly told the publication that Apple has a slate of new smart home products in the works that could help pivot its lagging AI strategy.

The center of the new lineup is a tabletop AI companion that has been described as an iPad on a movable robotic arm. It would be able to swivel to face the screen toward a user as they move around their home or office. Sources said the current prototype uses a horizontal display that's about seven inches while the motorized arm can move the screen about six inches away from the base in any direction. Equipped with a long-promised overhaul to the Siri voice assistant, this device could act like an additional person, recalling information, making suggestions and participating in conversations. According to Bloomberg, Apple is targeting a 2027 release for this product. 

Apple's new lineup is also rumored to include a smart home hub that is a simpler version of the robotic friend with no moving stand. We might be seeing this sooner, with a projected 2026 release for the device. This hub device would be able to control music playback, take notes, browse the web and host videoconferencing. Both the robot companion and the smart home hub are reportedly running a new operating system called Charismatic that's designed to support multiple users. The Siri running on the device will be given a particularly cheery personality, and it may also be getting a visual representation. Bloomberg's sources said there hasn't been a final decision on aesthetics; internal tests have had Siri looking like an animated Finder icon and like a Memoji.

Today's scuttlebutt follows on previous reports from Gurman that pointed to Apple's interest in these categories. The idea of a smart home hub was apparently floated at the company as far back as 2022, and it's finally being rumored to have a formal debut some time this year. Robots have also been a topic of interest in Cupertino for some time, with claims that Apple was developing a personal robot dating back at least to last spring. While this Bloomberg piece offers more detail about those hypothetical plans, there's always a chance Apple will change direction or scrap a project.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/apples-tabletop-robot-companion-rumored-for-2027-launch-204904807.html?src=rss

©

© Reuters / Reuters

Sony just announced some new additions to the PS Plus Game Catalog for August and it's a pretty beefy lineup. All of these titles will be ready to play on August 19. There's something here for just about everyone, so let's get started.

Perhaps the biggest game of the bunch is Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered. This is the PS5 port of the PS4 hit, which upgrades the graphics and swaps out the actor playing Peter Parker. PS4 owners aren't being left out in the cold here, as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Game of the Year Edition will also be available.

Not into web-slinging? Mortal Kombat 1 will be available for PS5 players. This is the latest and greatest fighting game in the long-running franchise. It garnered positive reviews upon launch back in 2023. The graphics are stunning and there's a Johnny Cage skin made to resemble actor Jean-Claude Van Damme.

The fantasy surfing adventure Sword of the Sea will be available for subscribers as a day one release on August 19. That's the same day it launches for all platforms. This one's by the same developers behind Journey and Abzû, so color us excited.

Other games available on August 19 include the utterly charming narrative adventure Harold Halibut and the horrifically captivating Indika. Beyond that, there's the life sim Coral Island and the RPG Atelier Ryza 3 Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/spider-man-and-mortal-kombat-1-head-up-augusts-ps-plus-game-catalog-additions-172758798.html?src=rss

©

© Sony

Pebble creator Eric Migicovsky and his new company, Core Designs, have been beavering away on new e-paper smartwatches and the team has just revealed the final design of the higher-end model. The Pebble Time 2 has a 1.5-inch, 64-color e-paper screen, with a touchscreen, metal frame, heart-rate monitor and (it's claimed) up to 30 days of battery life.

The frame is a bit more curved than on pre-production versions of the Pebble Time 2. The top and bottom buttons on the right side are now angled rather than sitting in a straight line with the center one. With the strap attached, the Pebble Time 2 weighs about 48 grams, and the body is about 32.5 grams.

Core Designs has added more features to the smartwatch as well. The Pebble Time 2's front, rear and buttons will be made using 316 stainless steel. It will also have a multicolor RGB LED backlight, compass sensor and screw-mounted back cover. In addition, the team has incorporated a second microphone, which Migicovsky said could be used to potentially support environmental noise cancellation.

It was previously confirmed that the Pebble Time 2 would have a quick-release 22mm strap, flat hardened glass lens, step and sleep tracking and a speaker. The watch will also boast a vibration function and water resistance.

Core Designs plans to offer the Pebble Time 2 in four colorways, but the team hasn't settled on the options yet. Once it has, it will email everyone who has pre-ordered the smartwatch and ask them to pick a color. 

The Pebble Time 2 is currently scheduled to start shipping in December and it will cost $225 (the $149 Pebble Duo 2 became available last month). Migicovsky and the team recently regained the Pebble trademark. As such, they were able to start using the Pebble branding again and renamed what were previously called the Core 2 Duo and Core Time 2.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/heres-the-final-design-of-the-pebble-time-2-e-paper-smartwatch-172406191.html?src=rss

©

© Core Designs

When Nintendo announced that it was adding GameCube games to its (inexplicably Switch 2-only) Nintendo Switch Online offering, people were understandably excited about the likes of Super Mario Sunshine and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker joining the service. And I was one of them (even if I’d personally lose little sleep if Super Mario Sunshine was fired directly into the sun).

But as much as I want the obvious GameCube classics on my Switch 2, it’s the more underrated gems I’ve heard so much about from hardcore Nintendo fans over the years that really pique my interest. Games like Chibi-Robo!, for example, which Nintendo has confirmed as the next title joining the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion pack library on August 21.

Chibi-Robo! is a 2005 platform-adventure game about a friendly little robot whose main goal is to help the Sanderson family by taking on various housework-related missions and performing generally good deeds on request. Chibi-Robo’s helpfulness isn’t limited to humans, though. In its quest to spread happiness, it also assists several animals and even enchanted toys along the way. As a player, you have to keep an eye on the robot’s battery life and use power outlets dotted around the house to recharge it. Fail to do so and it’ll collapse, and you’ll lose a chunk of the in-game currency you’ve collected.

Chibi-Robo! looks like a typically charming Nintendo game in every respect, but it was actually originally conceived by now-defunct developer Skip Ltd. as a point-and-click adventure game, with Bandai as the publisher. Exactly how or why the game ended up moving over to Nintendo remains a mystery, but director Kenichi Nishi told Time Extension that Shigeru Miyamoto took a particular liking to the character design. The legendary Mario creator then went on to play something of an overseer role in the game’s development under its new publisher.

Chibi-Robo! spawned a number of handheld spinoffs, but the original game remains the one with cult classic status. It’s also become increasingly hard to play over the years, with Nintendo choosing not to port the game forward. These days you can expect to pay as much as $200 for a second-hand physical copy. As someone who categorically does not have that kind of cash to chuck at a 20-year-old video game (or any game for that matter), I’m looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about when it lands on Switch 2 next week.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-is-putting-an-extremely-rare-gamecube-game-on-switch-2-next-week-171049667.html?src=rss

©

© Nintendo

One thing I need to make clear right from the start: this is a review of Norton VPN (formerly Norton Secure VPN, and briefly Norton Ultra VPN) as a standalone app, not of the VPN feature in the Norton 360 package. They're similar, but Norton VPN has a few more features, including the ability to choose cities as server locations in countries with more than one option.

I'll state my opinion up front. Norton VPN isn't a bad service, but it's not good enough to get ahead of its direct competitors. ExpressVPN, Surfshark, Proton VPN and NordVPN are all either faster, more feature-rich, more secure, more affordable or some combination of the four. There's no reason to go with Norton as your VPN unless you're getting it as part of another Norton 360 bundle.

For this review, I ran rigorous tests that highlighted Norton VPN's strengths (well-designed user interfaces, a verified privacy policy) along with its weaknesses (holes in its security, renewals that double the price, weak customer support). Norton's history of focusing on Windows means that app is by far the most complete; if you're on any other platform, expect to miss out on the best VPN protocols and the complete feature set.

Editors' note: We're in the process of rebooting all of our VPN reviews from scratch. Once we do a fresh pass on the top services, we'll be updating each review with a rating and additional comparative information.

Table of contents

• Findings at a glance

• Installing, configuring and using Norton VPN

• Norton VPN speed test

• Norton VPN security test

• How much does Norton VPN cost?

• Norton VPN side apps and bundles

• Close-reading Norton VPN's privacy policy

• Can Norton VPN change your virtual location?

• Investigating Norton VPN's server network

• Extra features of Norton VPN

• Norton VPN customer support options

• Norton VPN background check

• Final verdict

Findings at a glance

Use this table as a quick reference for my test results, investigations and thoughts about Norton VPN. For more details, jump to the relevant section using the table of contents above.

Category	Notes
Installation and UI	All apps install easily Navigation is intuitive, with clearly labeled tabs and explanations of each feature Mac and iOS apps lack several options, including split tunneling Browser extensions are the only way to use the ad blocker Smart TVs are also supported
Speed	Relatively significant average speed drop of 21.1 percent Download speeds varied with distance, which can be a sign of outdated infrastructure Upload speeds dropped an average of 9.5 percent Mean worldwide latency was 322 ms, putting Norton in the middle of the pack
Security	Windows and Android apps have WireGuard, OpenVPN and Mimic; Mac and iOS apps just have IKEv2 and Mimic Mimic uses vetted encryption, but I still recommend using open-source protocols wherever possible Unless kill switch is enabled, your real IP address is visible while switching server locations
Pricing	You can only subscribe for one year at a time After one year, renewal pricing kicks in, doubling the annual fee The Standard plan, which includes all VPN features, costs $39.99 for the first year and $79.99 for future years All plans can be refunded for 60 days
Bundles	Plus plans add most of the functionality of Norton Antivirus, but without manual scans, disk cleanup or email monitoring Ultimate adds parental controls and personal data removal Norton VPN is also available through several Norton 360 plans, with reduced features
Privacy policy	Norton's general privacy policy allows far too much data collection, but Norton VPN's rules are stricter An audit in 2024 found that Norton VPN posed little or no privacy risk
Virtual location change	Most servers changed my virtual location to access a different Netflix library Iceland location was repeatedly blocked
Server network	106 server locations in 66 countries Good distribution across northern and southern hemispheres No information on virtual server locations
Features	Can block ads on mobile and browsers; browser version can allow certain acceptable ads Some locations connect through a second server, while others continually rotate your IP address Kill switch works but is only available on iOS through Mimic Windows and Android users get split tunneling by app Can scan wi-fi networks for common attacks
Customer support	Windows users have the most in-app debugging options — all other platforms just link to the website FAQs are hard to navigate and have little useful information Tech support prefers to call rather than email
Background check	Norton Antivirus was first offered in 1991, but Norton VPN didn't launch until 2019 as part of the Norton 360 resurrection No serious controversies during that time

Installing, configuring and using Norton VPN

Here, I'll do my best to convey how it feels to use Norton VPN on various platforms. Its apps for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and browsers are all similar, but there are distinctions in both design and features.

Windows

Once you download the Norton VPN app from its website or the Microsoft Store, an installation wizard takes over and makes the rest of the process easy. You'll have to click to grant a few permissions and skip through a tutorial, but after that, you're free to move about the interface.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

Norton VPN's Windows UI was a pleasant surprise. There's no wasted detail on the front page. Click the large yellow button to connect to the VPN, or select the server name to go to the location list, which is alphabetized. Clicking the very first entry in the list connects you to the fastest location. IP rotator servers and double VPN routes are grouped under tabs below that. There's no clutter and no aggressive popups, and connections happen quickly.

You'll find four tabs on the left-hand side of the Window. The top one manages the VPN. Then there's a store for other Norton products (IMO the only real misstep), a set of help pages and the controls for the VPN's settings and features. This last is subdivided into a row of easily understandable subtabs. I'm impressed by how seamlessly the design works in explanations of what each setting does — it makes the whole thing that much more accessible.

Mac

Downloading Norton VPN for Mac is a quick and painless process, with one slight difference from Windows: you'll have to mess around a bit in System Preferences to give Norton the permissions it needs. Fortunately, the setup wizard guides you through the steps with text and animations.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

The actual interface is just as free of clutter as the Windows app — more so in some cases, as there's no shilling of the rest of the Norton family. The downside is that there's also no help center access from the main window; you have to go to Settings -> Troubleshooting to find the link. There also aren't links to specific help articles like the Windows app includes.

Android

One word of warning about Norton VPN's mobile apps: you need an internet connection for the initial login and setup. It doesn't appear to be opening a website, but if you don't have web access, you'll get stuck in an endless loading loop.

The front pages of Norton VPN's desktop apps don't have many design elements, so the same general schematic is easy to compress onto mobile. The Android client has a status indicator, a large button to start your connection, tabs along the bottom and a gear icon for settings in the top-right. It's all intuitive and responsive.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

If I were to change anything, though, I'd take some of the options from the upper-right settings menu and swap them with the bottom tabs for notifications and accounts settings. VPN preferences should be accessible in one click, especially protocols. Frankly, the messages you get from this app aren't important enough to merit such pride of place.

iOS

Norton VPN's apps for iPhone and iPad are almost identical to its Android app. The only real difference is that the iOS client is missing some features, most notably split tunneling; also, the kill switch is only available on the Mimic protocol, about which there's limited information. Other than that, it feels good to use. While it's not great that Apple users lose out on the full feature set, I can't deny it alleviates the problem of the VPN preferences menu feeling overstuffed.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

Browser extensions

Norton VPN has browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge. The only reason to install any of these is to access the ad blocker, which doesn't come with either of the desktop apps. Other than that, it's an underwhelming extension. I recommend skipping it and going with a dedicated ad blocker instead — you'll get more customization features that way.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

Norton VPN speed test

Using speedtest.net, I tested Norton VPN to see how much it slowed down my browsing speeds. I then calculated the results as percentages. While different networks give you different starting speeds, the same server location tends to slow down all those networks at about the same rate. You can use this table to estimate how much speed you can expect while Norton VPN is running.

As a reference, you generally need download speed for loading web pages and videos, upload speed for sending large amounts of data and latency for real-time communication. Latency always increases sharply over longer distances, but a good VPN can still keep the jumps under control. Let's see how Norton VPN did.

Server location	Latency (ms)	Increase factor	Download speed (Mbps)	Percentage drop	Upload speed (Mbps)	Percentage drop
Portland, OR, USA (unprotected)	18	—	58.90	—	5.91	—
Portland, OR, USA (protected)	30	1.7x	55.83	5.2	5.53	6.4
McAllen, TX, USA	164	9.1x	48.96	16.9	5.70	3.6
Argentina	422	23.4x	43.02	27.0	5.72	3.2
Croatia	379	21.1x	46.35	21.3	5.65	4.4
Nigeria	564	31.3x	39.94	32.2	3.86	34.7
Indonesia	375	20.8x	44.88	23.8	5.64	4.6
Average	322	17.9x	46.50	21.1	5.35	9.5

Before I interpret the results, I should mention that the algorithm Norton VPN uses to pick the fastest server doesn't seem to be reliable. Every time I clicked it, it gave me the server in Texas, thousands of miles from my real location in Portland, Oregon. Moreover, the Portland server was obviously faster. This happened repeatedly over multiple days of testing.

To the point: this table doesn't look good for Norton VPN. Download speeds dropped an average of 21.1 percent, the worst showing of any VPN I've tested so far. What's worse, the data clearly trend toward worse speeds at greater distances. Although it's true that distance impacts download speed as well as latency, it's also true that a well-implemented modern server OS should be able to render that effect minimal.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

Upload speed looks better, with an average drop of under 10 percent — mainly dragged down by the Nigeria server, which cut speeds sharply across every test. Latency is also not awful. Controlling for the expected variance due to distance, Norton VPN beat out both Surfshark and NordVPN in average worldwide ping, which suggests that gaming may be its comfort zone.

Norton VPN security test

A VPN's primary job is to change your IP address. While doing this, it must also encrypt your communications with its servers so nobody can follow your connection home — this is what separates a VPN from a simple proxy. In this section, I'll run three checks to see whether Norton VPN can guarantee anonymous browsing.

VPN protocols

VPNs use protocols to establish stable connections between your devices and their servers. Most providers pick from the same pool of field-tested options, but you do see a surprise every now and then, like Norton VPN's Mimic.

Norton VPN's protocol selection follows its general trend of serving very different experiences to users on different platforms. Windows and Android users get WireGuard, OpenVPN and Mimic, while macOS and iOS users only get Mimic and IKEv2. Here's a rundown of each.

• WireGuard is the most modern open-source VPN protocol currently available. It's almost always the fastest and uses a secure stream cipher for cryptography. The one downside is that it saves your real IP address to keep the connection open. Norton VPN deals with this by assigning temporary dynamic IP addresses during the authentication process.

• OpenVPN is an open source protocol that's been in use for ages. Its source code is slightly clunky after years of volunteers poking it for weaknesses, but that also makes it the most trustworthy option. It's fast on average, though usually slower than WireGuard or IKEv2.

• IKEv2 is a fast protocol that's good at reconnecting mobile devices as they move between networks. Norton VPN uses it in conjunction with IPSec encryption. If you're on an Apple device, it's your only option other than Mimic.

• Mimic is an obfuscation protocol, which makes your VPN connection look like regular HTTPS traffic. This can get around networks that block all VPN traffic regardless of content. Mimic is based on TLS 1.3, and uses the same standard encryption algorithms as the other protocols.

Normally, I advise letting your VPN choose what protocol is best. Norton VPN is different. There simply isn't enough information about Mimic for me to trust it, and you shouldn't let the VPN switch you to it without your knowledge. All the others are fine, though.

Leak test

Testing a VPN for leaks is easy: just check your IP address before and after connecting, and see if it changes. I used IPleak.net to run that test on several Norton VPN servers. I first observed that Norton VPN prevents IPv6 leaks by blocking IPv6 altogether. On every run, the IPv6 test failed to load, no matter which server location I chose. This is an effective way to make leaks impossible, since almost none of the internet is IPv6-only yet.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

My second conclusion was that Norton VPN's servers don't leak through DNS or WebRTC while your connection remains stable. However, every time I changed from one location to another, my real IP address was visible on the test screen for several seconds. Enabling the kill switch solved this problem, but the kill switch is not active by default, so make sure you turn it on in the settings.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

There is one other serious problem with this: on the iOS app, the kill switch cannot be used except with the Mimic protocol. This forces users to choose between leaving a hole in their security or trusting it to a protocol with limited transparency. Until this changes, I can't recommend installing Norton VPN on iOS at all.

I tested the rotating IP server in the United States to see if it had the same problem, and thankfully didn't notice it. A Norton representative also confirmed that all servers have their own DNS resolvers that avoid public servers, cutting off a big source of leaks. Still, I'd recommend keeping the kill switch engaged. As long as you remember this, Norton VPN is secure.

Encryption test

Finally, I ran a test with WireShark to see if Norton VPN's protocols managed to encrypt my traffic. Since I've been uncertain about Mimic, I used it for the encryption test. I found that Mimic does in fact encrypt data packets, even on an unsecured HTTP connection. WireShark also confirmed to me that Mimic is using TLS for key exchange and encryption.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

How much does Norton VPN cost?

Norton VPN subscriptions are only available for one year at a time — there's no monthly option. There are three different subscription tiers, summarized in the table below. "Number of devices" refers to how many devices you can have installed on a single account, whether or not any of them are connected to the VPN.

Subscription	Starting price (One year)	Renewal price (One year)	Number of devices	Features
Standard	$39.99	$79.99	5	Basic VPN service, IP rotation, double VPN, kill switch
Plus	$49.99	$109.99	5	Antivirus, password manager, dark web alerts, 10GB cloud backup
Ultimate	$59.99	$129.99	10	Parental controls, device locator

The Standard subscription is a reasonable price for what you get, but the superior Proton VPN is barely more expensive and Surfshark is actually cheaper. In other words, Norton VPN is a good price, but not great value — especially when you factor in the renewal prices, all of which force you to pay double or more what you paid the first time. If you'd like to decide for yourself, all the plans do come with a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Norton VPN side apps and bundles

Norton is better known as an antivirus company than a VPN provider, so naturally Norton VPN is packaged with the rest of the Norton 360 family. Be warned — unless you turn the option off in the Settings -> Privacy tab, Norton will collect information on your app usage and use it to target you with ads for its other products.

Norton 360 is a massive product line encompassing dozens of individual subscriptions. To keep this section from bloating, I'll focus on the software available as part of an upgraded Norton VPN subscription, then end by listing the Norton 360 plans that include Norton VPN.

Features on Norton VPN Plus

A Norton VPN Plus subscription adds several features from Norton's antivirus suite, but isn't a complete replacement for Norton or any other dedicated antivirus software. Plus users get most of the antivirus features that work in real time, including a smart firewall, anti-ransomware backups, a sandbox for quarantining suspicious programs and a malicious script blocker.

VPN subscribers do not get access to the quicker Smart Scan option, instead getting a different scan feature that checks for online threats (note that the FAQ page about this erroneously says Norton VPN includes Smart Scan). VPN users also miss out on the LiveUpdate feature that installs security patches autonomously, plus the automated hard drive cleaner.

Features on Norton VPN Ultimate

In addition to raising the device limit to 10, Norton VPN Ultimate adds two features on top of Plus: parental controls and Privacy Monitor. The latter is only available in the US and Canada.

Parental control is both a time-based site blocker and a monitoring app. It can not only track a child's internet activity, but also their physical location, giving you alerts if they leave set boundaries during a certain time (say school property during a weekday). Privacy Monitor scans for your information on data brokerage sites so you can send deletion requests, similar to Surfshark Incogni.

Norton 360 plans that include Norton VPN

Instead of subscribing to Norton VPN directly, you can also pick a Norton 360 plan that includes VPN service. Norton 360 Standard and Norton 360 For Gamers each let you install Norton VPN on three devices. Norton 360 Deluxe raises that number to five, while Norton 360 with Lifelock Select and Norton 360 with Lifelock Advantage grant you 10 total VPN installs. Norton 360 with Lifelock Ultimate Plus lets you install Norton VPN on an unlimited number of devices.

Close-reading Norton VPN's privacy policy

To assess Norton VPN's privacy, we need to look at two different privacy policies. Like I said in the introduction, there are technically two products called Norton VPN — the standalone service I've been reviewing and the VPN features of the Norton 360 bundle. I've been focused on the independent Norton VPN so far, but since the Norton 360 VPN add-on is a privacy risk, I want to mention it here.

Norton lists the privacy policies for each of its products on one page of its website. The VPN feature of Norton 360 is governed by the top two policies, Norton Security Products (desktop) and Norton 360 Mobile Apps. The standalone Norton VPN has its own policy further down the page.

The Norton 360 policy is a privacy nightmare. Both the desktop and mobile apps claim the right to save your IP address, device fingerprints and web activity for up to 36 months, and there's no exception for the VPN feature. I strongly advise against using Norton 360's bundled VPN for any activity you don't want Norton seeing.

Fortunately, Norton holds the standalone VPN to a much more acceptable set of rules. It isn't permitted to collect IP addresses, browsing history or DNS requests, nor can it share any of the data it does collect with partners. The partners note is important because one of Norton's sibling companies, Avast, is known to have sold information on its users to corporations for ad targeting. A Norton representative stated that Avast is no longer involved in harvesting or selling user data. More importantly, he said that no data from VPN products is shared between Gen Digital brands.

Independent privacy audits

A recent audit by penetration testing firm VerSprite provides reason to be hopeful about Norton VPN's privacy. According to a report published in August 2024, which you can download from this page, VerSprite found that Norton VPN posed an overall "low" privacy risk, judged on a scale of low, medium, high and critical risks.

During their audit, VerSprite informed Norton that certain conditions could make VPN users identifiable. In a second round of tests, Norton appears to have fixed those vulnerabilities. That's certainly reassuring, but I wish the report — which only runs three pages in all — was more specific about what the problem actually was. Regardless, the VerSprite audit is a good sign that Norton VPN is taking privacy more seriously than Norton as a whole.

Can Norton VPN change your virtual location?

If a VPN can change your virtual location, it can not only throw ISPs and other interlopers off your real identity, but also change what you see on the internet — especially on streaming sites, where connecting through a different country can unlock new shows. However, Netflix and its brethren block VPN traffic for copyright reasons, so it's never a guarantee that you'll get in.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

I tested Norton VPN's ability to unblock Netflix on five different locations, connecting three times on three different servers in each place. I set the app to automatically choose the protocol. In the table below, you'll see how many tests each location passed, and whether Netflix showed new content each time. If I get into Netflix but the library doesn't change, that indicates the server might be leaky.

Server location	Unblocked Netflix?	Changed content?
Vancouver, Canada	3/3	3/3
Iceland	0/3	0/3
Latvia	3/3	3/3
Morocco	3/3	3/3
Philippines	3/3	3/3

I had no problems in four out of five of the locations I tested, but Netflix utterly defeated the Iceland servers. No matter how many times I disconnected and reconnected to get a new IP address, Netflix recognized a VPN server and blocked me. This happened even when I switched to the Mimic protocol.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

That indicates that Netflix has blocklisted most or all of Norton VPN's servers in Iceland, and the company hasn't caught up. It's another troubling indication that Norton isn't committing the level of attention that its server network requires.

Investigating Norton VPN's server network

Speaking of the server network, now's the time to get deeper into it. The relative scarcity of different IP addresses on Norton VPN, along with the download speed drops over long distances, suggest to me that Norton might have relegated maintaining VPN data centers to an afterthought. So, let's see what its worldwide server selection looks like.

Region	Countries with servers	Total server locations
North America	5	32
South America	6	6
Europe	36	47
Africa	5	5
Middle East	2	2
Asia	10	10
Oceania	2	4
Total	66	106

All of Norton VPN's server locations are physical, with no virtual locations. This makes its network more reliable — virtual server locations can deliver unexpected speed swings. However, it does limit the number of locations Norton is capable of offering.

The selection is reasonably good, with many locations in often-underserved Africa and South America, and many options in marquee regions like the US and Europe. However, it's a pretty small network for what Norton is charging. Also, as we saw with the Iceland location getting blocked by Netflix, having a country on the menu doesn't necessarily mean it will do the job.

Extra features of Norton VPN

Norton VPN added a ton of features in the first several months of 2025. Most of these mainly brought it up to par with other VPNs, like city-level region selection or support for smart TVs. However, there are one or two you won't find in many other places, like the IP rotator — to my knowledge, nobody else has that except Surfshark. Here are the most important extras to know about.

Ad blocker

Norton VPN's ad blocker can be used on its browser extension. Its mobile apps can block the trackers embedded in ads, but not the ads themselves. There's not a lot of customization potential; you can turn it on and off, and that's mainly it. The one option you have on the extension is to turn "acceptable ads" back on. This can help you get into sites that normally block users with adblock on, or use sites where you want to see ads to help them monetize.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

Double VPN and IP rotator

Norton introduced these two features in 2025 as "enhanced anonymity" upgrades. Double VPN runs your VPN through two server locations instead of one, so you're still safe if one server breaks down. You can choose from eight pre-determined multi-hop paths with endpoints in the USA, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Germany and Taiwan.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

IP rotation servers change your IP address frequently while you're connected, which makes you harder to track. Unlike Surfshark, which lets you turn this on everywhere, Norton VPN limits you to six IP rotator locations: the USA, the UK, Canada, Japan, Germany and Australia.

Convenience features

The next three features were also added in the last eight months. The server location menu now puts your last five locations at the top for easy retrieval. While connected to a server, you can pause the VPN for 15, 30 or 60 minutes, after which it turns back on. Finally, the mobile apps have added a home screen widget so you can operate the VPN without opening the app.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

Kill switch

A VPN kill switch cuts off your internet access if you lose your VPN connection, so any sensitive information isn't broadcast unprotected. Norton VPN's kill switch is vital, since it appears to briefly drop encryption while switching server locations. Unfortunately, it's not available on iOS.

Split tunneling

The Windows and Android apps for Norton VPN allow split tunneling, in which only certain apps go through the VPN while others connect directly. Norton uses app-based split tunneling, but if you want to protect or remove protection from specific URLs, you can use two different web browsers.

Wi-Fi security

This feature, which appears on NortonVPN's mobile apps only, activates whenever you connect to a Wi-Fi network. Norton VPN scans that network for common attacks launched over Wi-Fi, like DNS poisoning and SSL stripping, and sends you an alert if it detects any.

P2P optimization

Norton VPN has certain servers in its network configured for torrenting. You can't use it for torrenting outside those locations — if you try, the VPN will disconnect. To connect to a P2P server, just select "P2P-optimized region" from the server menu. You can't choose a torrenting server in a specific region; the app just selects the fastest.

Norton VPN customer support options

Following the broad trend of Norton VPN, the Windows app gets most of the love, having much more in-app support than any other platform. Mac users get a troubleshooting tab in the settings menu, with three options: go to the online help center, send a bug report or go to the community forum. iOS and Android just have a "help and support" button on the accounts page that sends you straight to the website.

On Windows, there's a separate help and support tab above the settings tab, which gives you direct links to some of the most important pages on the Norton website. It's also got links to the forum and help center. Then there's the same troubleshooting tab as the Mac app, but with more options. Windows users can reset the app to default, record a problem to get more specific help, send debug logs and run an automated "Repair Norton" process.

If you got to the website through a desktop app, it's surprisingly difficult to get to the general support page for Norton VPN — Windows links to a splintered set of FAQ pages, while Mac sends you to a Mac-specific page for the entire Norton Family. I recommend just going to support.norton.com in your browser, then clicking the Norton VPN button. At least the links in both mobile apps take you straight there.

Once you have gotten to the Norton VPN support page, you won't find much of use. Help articles are limited and leave some big holes. For example, all connectivity problems are limited to a page called "Fix problem accessing the internet when connected to Norton VPN." The only advice for Windows, Mac and Android is to choose a different VPN protocol, and there's nothing at all for iOS.

Even worse, whenever you use the search bar to look anything up, you're forced to watch an AI answer type itself out in real time, so links to the actual help pages are constantly jumping around as you try to click on them. It's this feature that pushes Norton's help pages from negligent to hostile.

Live support experience

There are a few other ways to get support from Norton VPN. You can check in on the community forum, chat live with an agent or call their phone line. The forums are reasonably active for Windows, but pretty dead for all other platforms.

I used live chat to ask about a problem with installing the iOS app. I managed to reach a human pretty quickly, but there were several long pauses during our conversation. Eventually, they escalated my case to a higher support team.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

I assumed that this team would send me an email, per standard practice. Instead, they repeatedly tried to reach me by phone. I was not warned that they would do this, and each time, the call was flagged as spam. By the time I realized Norton was calling me, I'd already solved the problem myself. Be aware of this if you plan to contact Norton with a difficult issue.

Norton VPN background check

The Norton software brand has existed in some form or another since the Norton Utilities package was developed for DOS in 1982. The brand was acquired in 1990 by Symantec, which had published its own first antivirus program the year before. Symantec began releasing Norton Antivirus in 1991, and continued distributing it until its merger with Avast in 2022. Since then, the combined company has been called Gen Digital.

Compared to that long history, Norton VPN has only been around for a blip. It launched in 2019 as part of Symantec's bid to expand the Norton Antivirus line into a suite that could defend against more types of threats. As such, while Norton and Symantec have been involved in their share of controversies over the years, very few of them happened during Norton VPN's lifetime.

Despite Norton's long and checkered history, checking the background of its VPN is pretty simple: nothing has gone seriously wrong yet. This VPN has problems, but they're mainly out in the open, stemming from it being a relative afterthought from a company more focused on other types of security.

Final verdict

For me to recommend a VPN, it has to stand out in a crowded field. After a week of working with Norton VPN, I have to conclude that the only way it distinguishes itself is the Norton name. For everything else it does, a competitor does it better. Surfshark scoops it on IP rotation and multihop, ExpressVPN has better protocols, NordVPN is faster and Proton VPN's ad blocker works in more places.

One thing I will say in Norton VPN's favor is that it's working to rectify all this. In the last year, it's added a lot of features. The problem is that most of those are options I'd have expected it to have already, such as city-level region selection and a kill switch on Mac. It's catching up, not innovating.

It's also nice that you can use the bundles to roll more Norton products into one subscription. However, since Norton is much more experienced at developing other sorts of security software, I'd advise going the Norton 360 route if you're interested in those other features and treating the VPN as an add-on. Norton VPN is a side dish, not an entree.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/norton-vpn-review-a-vpn-that-fails-to-meet-nortons-standards-170037086.html?src=rss

©

© Gen Digital

PUBG: Battlegrounds is finally ready to ditch last-gen consoles. On Wednesday, the developer said that the game will transition to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 13.

Although the battle royale has been playable on current-gen consoles all along, it was running as a PS4 or Xbox One game. That helped it cast a wide net (and probably make more money), but it also came with technical limitations. The company said the move to current-gen will "provide our players with a more stable gameplay environment on console and ensure a smoother, more seamless experience with future updates."

PS5 players can expect the new version to play in 1440p at 60fps. Both the PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X will reach 2160p at 60fps. However, the two high-end systems will support Dynamic 4K resolution. Meanwhile, the Xbox Series S will run at 1080p at 60fps or 1440p at 30fps. (Your choice.)

Here's how PUBG: Battlegrounds currently looks on PS5.

PUBG / Krafton

And this is how it will look after November 13. It's a subtle difference at first glance, but you can see more detail, including pronounced shadows.

PUBG / Krafton

When the cutoff arrives, the game will no longer be downloadable or playable on PS4 and Xbox One. PlayStation users will need to download a separate PS5 version of the game on November 13. If you already have it installed on your Xbox Series X/S, the current-gen update will install automatically via Microsoft's Smart Delivery. On both systems, your existing account data and purchased items will transition automatically.

PUBG left its last-gen users a sentimental message that sounds a bit like a corporate layoff letter. "We still vividly remember the epic battles, the heart-stopping moments, and the camaraderie that brought us together," the company wrote. "We are deeply grateful for every moment you've spent with us over the past eight years."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pubg-battlegrounds-will-leave-ps4-and-xbox-one-behind-later-this-year-162932937.html?src=rss

©

© PUBG / Krafton

Amazon is expanding its same-day grocery delivery service with the addition of perishable food items in over 1,000 US cities. Shoppers can now add fresh grocery items like produce, dairy, meat, seafood and frozen foods to their orders. Grocery and non-grocery items can be combined into one order, checked out from one cart and received together on the same day. The company had trialed this service in the Phoenix area last year.

Prime members continue to get free same-day delivery where available on orders over $25, and non-Prime members can still pay an additional $12.99 shipping fee to receive a same-day delivery.

Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market in 2017 and has been making strategic moves to capture grocery market share in the years since. The tech giant has experimented with self-checkout technology, and even opened its own Amazon-branded brick-and-mortar grocery stores.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassey is determined to grow the grocery side of the business to compete with the likes of Walmart and Instacart. Amazon says it plans to "expand to over 2,300 cities" by the end of 2025, with plans to continue adding more locations next year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-adds-perishable-food-to-same-day-delivery-162144510.html?src=rss

©

© hapabapa via Getty Images

Google is adding a temporary chat feature to Gemini. The equivalent of a browser's incognito mode, it lets you have one-off AI chats. They won't appear in your history, influence future chats or be used for training.

The temporary chats will be saved for up to 72 hours. Google says this is to give you time to revisit the chat or provide feedback. The feature begins rolling out today and will continue to do so over the coming weeks.

It arrives alongside a new setting that does, well, pretty much the opposite. The Gemini app can now learn from your conversations and remember details and preferences. It may then reference them in future chats. (For example, it might recall a hobby you once mentioned when you later ask it for party theme ideas.)

Google added the past chats feature to Gemini Advanced earlier this year. ChatGPT and Claude each have a similar memory option.

The memory setting is on by default, so you'll want to tweak your privacy settings as soon as it arrives if you don't want to use it. In the Gemini app, head to Settings > Personal context > Your past chats with Gemini to change it.

Google

Speaking of settings, Google is changing the name of its data-retention toggle. What was once "Gemini Apps Activity" is now labeled as "Keep Activity." Despite the semantic change, your previous setting will stick, so you shouldn't need to change this one.

Personalized conversations will first launch with Gemini 2.5 Pro in "select countries." It will make its way to 2.5 Flash and more regions in the weeks ahead.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/gemini-will-remember-more-or-less-of-what-you-say-160012521.html?src=rss

©

© Google

We got our first look at Lego Voyagers back at Summer Game Fest in June. As it turned out, Light Brick Studio (Lego Builder's Journey) and publisher Annapurna Interactive weren't kidding about the "coming soon" aspect of the reveal trailer. That's because Lego Voyagers is set to hit PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam and Epic Games Store) on September 15.

Lego Voyagers is a physics-based, co-op puzzle game for two players. You and a buddy will each control Lego bricks as you attempt to rescue an abandoned spaceship. The blue and red pieces snap together with other blocks and can build structures to help navigate these worlds. You'll be able to play together locally on the same system or online. If you choose the latter route, only one of you needs to own the game for you both to play it, thanks to the Friend's Pass system.

According to Annapurna, Lego Voyagers "asks open questions about building friendships, sharing dreams and giving space. It reminds us that while playing and being creative is for all shapes and sizes, it’s always better when you share it with a friend." That sounds quite lovely to me.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/co-op-puzzle-game-lego-voyagers-will-arrive-on-september-15-153915915.html?src=rss

©

© Light Brick Studio/Annapurna Interactive

VPN users are overwhelmed with choice, and there are as many bad options out there as there are good ones. Luckily, NordVPN sits in the latter category, and right now Nord is offering discounted plans across its various tiers. If you take out a two-year NordVPN Plus plan (the company's most popular plan) it’ll cost you $108 for the duration of the contract, with Nord throwing in three extra months at no extra cost. That’s 73 percent off the usual rate.

As well as Nord’s VPN service, a Plus plan also includes the Threat Protection Pro anti-malware tool, password management and an ad- and tracker-blocker. A Prime plan additionally comes with encrypted cloud storage or NordProtect, which insures you against identity theft and monitors dark web activity. That's also on sale — down to $189 on the same two-year commitment with those three additional months thrown in, which works out to a 77 percent savings on the regular price.

When Engadget’s Sam Chapman reviewed NordVPN earlier this year, he praised its excellent download speeds, exclusive features and extensive server network. Less impressive is its clunky interface and inconsistent design when jumping between different platforms running a NordVPN app. While it doesn't quite make the cut in our guide to the best VPNs available right now, it generally performed well in speed tests and Threat Protection Pro is really worth having.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/nordvpn-two-year-plans-are-up-to-77-percent-off-right-now-151807263.html?src=rss

©

© Nord

Since the original Tamagotchi landed on store shelves 28 years ago, not much has changed in the world of virtual pets. The basic gameplay remains, with players being asked to feed, groom and play with small digital creatures inside a handheld device. But new features have also been added, like Bluetooth connectivity and downloadable content (they're also a little bigger than before). This month, however, Hasbro is throwing its hat into the ring with the Nano-Mals, a $20 device that takes the standard features of a virtual pet and aims them toward a new purpose: fidget toy.

The first thing you’ll probably notice when you pick up one of the eight initial Nano-Mals models is how cute they all are: they’re styled after both common and uncommon animals, including two cows, two cats, a red panda, a narwhal, and a pair of unicorns.But the second thing you’ll notice is that there’s no screen to be found anywhere; instead, the sole “display” is a a light-up heart on the front of the toy that has three levels and changes color to indicate how satiated the toy is in terms of hunger, affection and play.

How you fulfill these needs is where the Nano-mals distinguish themselves from other virtual pets: Instead of pushing buttons and navigating through various menus, you interact instead with the various parts of the toy directly. Push down on its ear to “pet” it, flip its arms to “dance” and push its nose to “feed” it. The more you perform these actions, the more each color of the heart will fill up, eventually resulting in a rainbow kaleidoscope across the toy’s chest.

It’s incredibly easy to do, not just because these are simple actions, but because they’re engineered to be satisfying since it is a fidget toy. It feels good to flip the arms up and down and squish the ears. Not so much for pushing the shallow nose button though, meaning it was often the need that took the longest for me to fulfill. It just wasn’t fun to push the nose! I can only hope that future iterations improve on this.

Once you’ve figured out the basic functions, it becomes a game in itself to figure out the best way to hold and interact with the device. You don’t need to look at it and the entire thing can be operated with one hand, which is exactly what you want in a fidget toy. I found myself rotating it between my fingers while flipping the arms – the device also contains an accelerometer so any significant movement also counts as “play.”

If you have more than one Nano-mal – which is quite likely given the device’s low price – the toys will interact with each other, lighting up and talking to each other. It’s cute but also a bit unsettling, as it was very reminiscent of this year’s Black Mirror episode “Playthings” with the Nano-mals emitting mysterious bleats and chimes just like the Thronglets. Fortunately, there is an off switch, and the Nano-mals will burble happily before shutting down when you use it.

Kris Naudus for Engadget

However, the off switch isn’t absolute as, should you press any of the buttons, the Nano-mal will still react, though maybe not effusively as if the device were powered fully on. This is a problem given that the Nano-mal is meant to be taken out and about (there’s even a clip at the top), but will likely be banned from classrooms due to the possibility of it being accidentally triggered when a kid moves their stuff. The toys can be muted by holding down the nose for a few seconds, but it only works when the device is fully powered on, and resets every time the Nano-mal is turned off and on.

Aside from that and the fact that I couldn’t remove the attachment clip, which got in the way when I was trying to spin the device in my hand, I think the Nano-mal is a solid first try at this kind of toy. Kids will love how cute they are, especially when you dress them up in the included clothes, which double as protective cases for the devices. And adults will appreciate them too: Parents are big on screen-free devices, while the young-at-heart will appreciate having something to keep their hands busy that isn’t their phone.

The Nano-mals are available now at all major toy retailers, including Walmart and Amazon.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/hasbros-nano-mals-are-a-virtual-pet-that-rewards-fidgeting-141553387.html?src=rss

©

© Kris Naudus for Engadget

At WWDC 2025, Apple announced it was replacing the sequential numbering for OS versions and with year numbers. So instead of watchOS 12, I’ve spent the past two weeks with the public beta of watchOS 26. The naming scheme shift is subtle, but helpful — which is how I’d describe the upgrades the new software brings to the Apple Watch. The AI-powered Workout Buddy better contextualizes your Fitness data and an added gesture gives the watch a fun trick that’s actually helpful. Other upgrades — including better smart replies and the Liquid Glass treatment — all combine to make the watch work and look a bit better than it did before. It’s not a game-changing shift, like other OS 26 releases, but it manages to make a great watch a touch better.

Luminous Liquid Glass

Every Apple operating system got the Liquid Glass treatment this year, including watchOS 26. The change is less noticeable on the Apple Watch than on the iPhone or iPad, though. You’ll notice the semi-transparent buttons and flowy movement when entering your password and opening the control center — the icons look like they’re surrounded in little drops of water, which is quite pretty. You’ll see it on the Photos watch face, too, especially if you select the “glass” color for the time readout. 

Amy Skorheim for Engadget

The Smart Stack now has a liminal glow and the app icons are likewise a touch more luminous than before. The effect is subtle and nicely unifies the look of the watch and its companion iPhone. Like all design upgrades, Liquid Glass made me feel like I was using a new watch — though, like everything, the novelty wore off after a week or two.

Revamped Workout app combines AI stats with a DJ

In addition to the Buddy, the Workout app has a new look with icons in each of the four corners of the screen that give you easier access to adjust your data view, play music, set goals and tweak Buddy settings. My favorite new feature is in the music menu and it’s limited to Apple Music for now. If you tap the music icon, you have the option to auto-play music. From there, you can also select “Picked for you” or “Choose media.” The former will select music that matches the type of workout you’re doing and what you like to listen to. As someone who gets derailed from pretty much all my tasks when I have to interact with my phone, I appreciate anything that can make decisions for me and prevent me from reaching for it.

I was presented with peppy beats that matched the cadence of my run, from bands and artists that were familiar as well as new-to-me selections that fit my tastes. Unfortunately, it didn’t always work correctly. Sometimes I’d get no music, other times the music would play but the Workout Buddy would fall silent. I realize I’m testing a public beta of watchOS 26, so I’m holding out hope the feature will work at launch. Because when it worked, it was glorious.

Amy Skorheim for Engadget

The new Workout Buddy is probably the biggest AI play in watchOS 26. It uses historical and real-time data collected by your watch to give you a window into how you’re performing at the beginning, end and throughout a workout. It works for walking, running, cycling and other workouts but requires headphones and a nearby Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone. That gave me pause. I hate carrying stuff and/or sticking things in my ears when I run. But after acquiring some open earbuds and digging out my old Spibelt, I made it work.

There are three voices to choose from as of this writing, a bright feminine option, a British male-sounding one and another female-presenting version with a lower register. These were built on vocal data from Fitness+ trainers and have an authentic sound to them. At the start of a workout, you’ll get a brief pep talk along with some recent milestones. My pre-game walking and running talks included references to the day of the week, my location and accumulated fitness data. For example, “Way to get out there on a Wednesday morning walk in Albuquerque. So far this week, you’ve done three walking workouts. Let’s get in some steps!”

Depending on the type of exercise, you can set target ranges for cadence, heart rate, speed, distance, power (cycling), time and others. During a workout, the AI will let you know if you’re at, below or above those levels. The first time I tried Workout Buddy, my run was quite lonely. I didn’t realize I had to turn on the Buddy, as well as the various goal metrics within the Workout app. I did that and, on my next run, the AI delivered cadence and heart rate updates, and let me know when I hit milestones like distance and duration.

At the end of a workout, you’ll see a thinking animation as the AI assembles a summary. It’ll recap data like your pace, distance, average and peak heart rate, as well as progress on your Activity rings. It’ll also point out comparisons or cumulative milestones you may have hit. For example, after a longer walk, it told me that I’d just burned the most calories on a walk so far. Another day, it told me I’d walked ten miles so far this week. It closes the update by encouraging you to take the energy into the rest of your day or something similarly positive but measured.

That’s a big improvement over the first few times I used the feature. My first few pep talks were cloying, telling me something along the lines of “It’s not easy to get out there early in the morning!” and “Your effort is inspiring!" After I stopped a run early to fuss with settings, it told me I did a “Great job!” on a three-minute run. Thankfully, Apple appears to be tweaking the Buddy behind the scenes, calibrating the AI’s “personality.” Recent pep talks have become noticeably less sycophantic and therefore more enjoyable. I imagine the Buddy will only continue to evolve even more from here.

The Workout Buddy is not a coach

The Workout Buddy is a motivational experience that provides personalized insights you can use to gauge your performance. But I just finished trying out Samsung’s AI running coach on the Galaxy Watch and couldn’t help comparing the two. That coach pushed me to run five kilometers for the first time in my life. The Buddy made me feel like I’d accomplished something special just by taking my dog on a stroll. Both have their place, but I’d say Apple’s version is probably best for those who already know what their goals are and what they need to do to hit them. Samsung’s version may be better for beginners who want some help shaping their fitness journey.

In addition to the Buddy, the Workout app has a new look with icons in each of the four corners of the screen that give you easier access to adjust your data view, play music, set goals and tweak Buddy settings. My favorite new feature is in the music menu and it’s limited to Apple Music for now. If you tap the music icon, you have the option to auto-play music. From there, you can also select “Picked for you” or “Choose media.” The former will select music that matches the type of workout you’re doing and what you like to listen to. As someone who gets derailed from pretty much all my tasks when I have to interact with my phone, I appreciate anything that can make decisions for me and prevent me from reaching for it.

I was presented with peppy beats that matched the cadence of my run, from bands and artists that were familiar as well as new-to-me selections that fit my tastes. Unfortunately, it didn’t always work correctly. Sometimes I’d get no music, other times the music would play but the Workout Buddy would fall silent. I realize I’m testing a public beta of watchOS 26, so I’m holding out hope the feature will work at launch. Because when it worked, it was glorious.

More hands-free fun with wrist flick

I love the double tap gesture Apple introduced with the Apple Watch Series 9 — it’s a pleasure to stop timers, start auto-detected workouts and answer calls without getting my other hand involved. But it took some practice before I could reliably get the watch to recognize the gesture. (The trick is raising your wrist in an exaggerated checking-the-time motion then quickly, but not too quickly, tapping your thumb and finger together twice.)

Luckily, the new Wrist Flick motion introduced in watchOS 26 takes practically no effort to get right. It involves quickly turning the back of your wrist away from you and back up again. Doing that can silence a call, stop a ringing timer, dismiss notifications and return you to the watch face from any app you open. It also makes those irritating helpful “Time to stand!” reminders go away. The wrist flick doesn’t clear alerts, just dismisses them — so the red indicator dot disappears, but the notification remains and you can see it if you swipe down. Just note that it’s only available to Apple Watch Series 9, 10 and the Ultra 2.

Amy Skorheim for Engadget

Wrist flick is a great feature — though it's important to note that Android wearables since WearOS 2 had a similar feature for a while now. And I’d like to see Apple adopt more hands-free interactions like this. Apple already has many gesture-based controls as part of its existing AssistiveTouch feature. Actions like fist clenches, wrist tilts and single or double taps can control most of the navigation on the watch. Unfortunately, turning on AssistiveTouch turns off the universal double tap feature. I’d be interested in seeing something that splits the difference. Perhaps four or five gestures for basic functions that can be used in conjunction with screen input.

Smarter replies could make Messages a usable watch app

The Apple Watch is great for reading texts, but replying is awkward. That tiny keyboard is an interface for ants — even talk-to-text input is inefficient as it’s tough to correct mistakes. Smart Replies are little canned responses that appear as suggestions below the reply field. Those aren’t new, but now Series 9 watches and later will use an improved on-device language model to come up with relevant bits of text you can send with a tap.

In addition to the choices that are always offered — Okay, Yes, No, Thank you and Can I call you later? — I saw things like “Ok, let me know” and “That’s so sweet!” both of which applied to their respective conversations. I wasn’t always given Smart Reply suggestions, and some of them weren’t very relevant, but again, it’s a great feature that will save time when it works.

Another Messages update is a carryover from iOS 26 (and borrowed from countless other messaging apps). You can now set custom backgrounds for each of your (Apple-only) contacts. Just note that whatever you set will be seen by all participants in the conversation, once they update to iOS 26. On your watch, the photo, gradient or pattern you pick carries over to your conversations. Not only does it look nice, I find backgrounds help me to not accidentally text my mom something I meant to send to my sister.

Amy Skorheim for Engadget

Notes have arrived

The Notes app is now on Apple Watch. I honestly hadn’t noticed the lack before this — I know there are plenty of Notes enthusiasts out there, but in my world, Alexa handles all reminder and shopping list duties. Still, I can see how the new integration could come in handy. After creating a simple shopping checklist in the iOS Notes app, I opened the list on my watch while I was shopping and found it far easier to check things off on my wrist than dragging out my phone every time I stuck something in my cart.

I’m curious to see whether Apple’s improved prediction algorithms for the new OS will eventually add Notes to my Smart Stack suggestions after I open the Notes app a few times at the grocery store. As it stands now, the Notes widget will pop up first in the Smart Stack if that’s the last app you used.

The rest of the new stuff

Face Gallery

The iPhone Watch app has a new look and now organizes watch faces by category instead of by name. Groupings include New, Clean, Data-rich, Photos and Health and Fitness, among others. It’s certainly an improvement, but one that makes you wonder why it wasn’t always like this.

Amy Skorheim for Engadget

Adaptive sound

Another nice-but-obvious update adjusts the volume of pings and beeps to fit the environment — quieter in a noiseless office and louder at a raucous BBQ. I set a timer to go off when I was quietly working at my desk and then again with loud music playing and I couldn’t really tell the difference. But that’s a hard metric for the humble human ear to judge. Again, this is a feature reserved for Series 9 models and later.

Smart Stack

The Smart Stack will now add a small prompt to your watch face when it detects certain situations. For example, if you open the camera app on your phone, a small camera icon appears at the bottom of your watch screen, as a suggestion to open the remote shutter. Apple gives other examples, such as showing the workout icon when you arrive at your usual pilates studio or the Backtrack navigation feature when you journey away from cellular connectivity.

I didn’t see the prompt very often, but I did notice that the Smart Stack rearranged itself according to my habits — such as putting the medication widget at the top of the stack right around the time it was time to take my prescription, or shuffling Shazam to the top when it hears music playing.

Siri is still Siri

Coming fresh off of reviewing the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, I can’t help but notice a stark difference between that wearable’s fully integrated, AI-powered Gemini and Apple’s same-old Siri. Gemini on the Samsung watch helped me find new stuff in my city, performed convoluted tasks and answered some pretty esoteric questions. I use Siri on my watch to reliably set timers, text people and add events to my calendar. But it’s not quite on the level of Gemini’s contextually-aware, generative capabilities that can interact with multiple apps. Asking something like “Where should I have lunch?” gave me a list of businesses with lunch in the name followed by Siri asking me: “Which one?” Not sure what that meant. Gemini, on the other hand, gave me local and relevant ideas for places I’d actually want to eat.

Even before AI swallowed everyone’s mind, I had a soft spot for digital assistants. When Alexa sings the “You’re very, very, oh so very welcome” song, I get a dopey smile on my face. I’ve tried to love Siri, but I get frustrated by being misunderstood, misdirected, misheard and flat-out ignored. I know Apple doesn’t like to release new tech until it’s fully up to snuff, and I’m looking forward to seeing what finally happens with new Siri. But for now, the disparity shows.

Wrap-up

The changes watchOS 26 brings to the Apple Watch are perhaps not as grand as those for other Apple devices. Liquid Glass here isn’t as all-encompassing as it is on the iPhone. The new watch features don’t make the wearable finally realize its full potential like iPad OS 26 does for the tablet. And there isn’t one major feature upgrade that transforms the watch experience, like macOS 26 does with Spotlight on Macs.

But the updates do push the experience of using the watch forward. Liquid Glass is pretty and nicely ties the wearable with its companion devices. The Workout app, which was already good at tracking fitness metrics, is even better with the Workout Buddy, providing stat summaries and automated playlists. Improved smart replies for Messages and the addition of the Notes app fix two of the watch’s previous shortcomings. And the wrist flick adds another option for hands-free interaction and — I hope — is a precursor to more such utility. I’m still holding out hope for an improved, personable and helpful Siri once Apple is ready, but for now, these are all welcome upgrades for what’s already the industry’s best overall smartwatch.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/watchos-26-preview-its-the-little-things-140035949.html?src=rss

©

© Amy Skorheim for Engadget

Terraform co-founder Do Kwon has pleaded guilty to two US chargers of fraud after his actions wiped out $40 billion worth of crypto investments, The Guardian reported. Kwon's story is a wild one involving an immense crypto crash, an Interpol manhunt and Kwon's eventual extradition from Montenegro to the United States. 

Kwon, along with Sam Bankman-Fried and others, was a key player in 2022's crypto collapse. His company Terraform created a "stablecoin" called TerraUSD supposedly pegged to the US dollar, along with a floating crypto coin called Luna. When TerraUSD fell below its $1 peg in May of 2021, Kwon secretly arranged for a trading firm to buy the currency to boost its price. However, he lied to investors and said he stabilized the coin using a specialized algorithm. 

Those investors believed the story and bought up Luna (closely tied to TerraUSD), to the tune of nearly $50 billion, according to US prosecutors. Both currencies subsequently collapsed, taking $40 billion of investor money with it. As it often works with such things, many regular people lost their life savings, while venture capital firms profited before the rug was pulled. 

Following the collapse, Kwon was put on wanted lists in both the US and South Korea, with investigators in the latter country enlisting Interpol to find the entrepreneur. He subsequently posted on X that he "wasn't on the run" and was extradited to the US last year on New Year's Eve. 

Kwon was originally charged with nine counts including securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud and money-laundering conspiracy. Though facing up to 25 years, he may receive a reduced sentence of 12 years maximum provided he accepts responsibility for his crimes. "I made false and misleading statements about why [TerraUSD] regained its peg by failing to disclose a trading firm’s role in restoring that peg,” Kwon said. “What I did was wrong.”

Earlier, Kwon agreed to pay an $80 million civil fine and be banned from crypto transactions as part of a $4.55 billion US Securities and Exchange Commission settlement. Prosecutors will allow Kwon to be transferred to South Korea after half his US sentence is served. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/terraform-labs-founder-do-kwon-pleads-guilty-to-fraud-over-40-billion-crypto-collapse-134009107.html?src=rss

©

© REUTERS / Reuters

You'll soon be able to watch KPop Demon Hunters on the big screen. The Netflix animated film has become a global hit since it launched on the platform and has reportedly become the second most-watched movie on the service's history after Red Notice. Now, Netflix is holding a limited theatrical event, wherein fans can watch a sing-along version of the film. Aside from the movie itself being a hit, its songs have gained massive popularity, with the track Golden recently taking the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100. 

KPop Demon Hunters is a musical that revolves around the girl group Huntr/x, which as you might have guessed, are demon hunters. The group is the latest trio of women who uses the power of their singing voices to maintain the Honmoon, or the magical barrier that prevents demons from entering our world established generations ago by the first trio of singing demon hunters. In the film, they're in constant competition with a boy band called Saja Boys, who are made up of demons that look like pretty boys. The main antagonist, however, is Gwi-Ma, ruler of the demons. He was voiced by Lee Byung-hun, whom a lot of people might know as the Front Man in Squid Game. 

The film's limited theatrical release will only last for one weekend, from August 23 to 24, in select screens across the US and Canada. You can buy tickets starting today, August 13, at 9AM Eastern time, from the even't official website, where you can also view the full list of theaters and showtimes in your area.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflixs-kpop-demon-hunters-is-headed-to-theaters-for-two-days-124552307.html?src=rss

©

© Netflix

Sam Altman is preparing to co-found a new company funded by OpenAI that will go up against Elon Musk's Neuralink, The Financial Post reported. The startup, called Merge Labs, will use AI for its brain-computer interface and compete directly with Neuralink, along with other nascent companies in the field like Precision Neuroscience and Synchron. 

The name Merge Labs comes from a term Altman used in 2017 called "the merge" that describes the moment human brains and computers come together. The company will raise funds, most from OpenAI's ventures team, that will set its valuation at $850 million. Altman will co-found Merge Labs with Alex Blania (from World, an eyeball scanning company also backed by OpenAI) but won't invest any capital himself, according to three people with direct knowledge of the project. 

Altman has been interested in the topic of machine-brain interfaces for years and suggested in the 2017 article above that the merge could arrive as soon as 2025 (it didn't). More recently, he wrote in another blog post a "high-bandwidth brain-computer interface" could soon be developed with the aid of recent tech advances. 

Altman's Merge Labs will be a direct competitor to Musk's Neuralink, intensifying the rivalry between the two that kicked off when Musk left OpenAI's board in 2018. Mind link technology has existed for decades now, but recent advances in implant tech and AI have allowed researchers to collect and process higher signal levels from the brain. 

Neuralink started its first human trials in January 2024 with quadriplegic subject Noland Arbaugh and later implanted its tech into a second anonymous subject. That subject, "Alex," has reportedly been able to play FPS games and create 3D designs, while suffering from fewer issues and side effects as Arbaugh. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-and-sam-altman-are-reportedly-creating-a-startup-rival-to-elon-musks-neuralink-123022874.html?src=rss

©

© Justin Sullivan via Getty Images

ChatGPT will now allow you to choose between several GPT-5 variants and previous OpenAI models. In a post on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has revealed that the chatbot's model picker now comes with three GPT-5 choices: Auto, Fast and Thinking. He said most "will want Auto," which is most likely the standard version that's already a reasoning model. But users will be able to choose the fast-responding version or the Thinking version that implies it delivers longer, more comprehensive answers if they want to. GPT-4o is now also back in the model picker for all paying users by default. 

OpenAI removed GPT-4o with the launch of GPT-5: The company significantly simplified ChatGPT because GPT-5 was supposed to offer a unified experience for users. However, its decision was met by criticism from people who preferred GPT-4o's personality better, especially since it didn't give them notice that it was deprecating older models. In his post, Altman promised users that if the company ever does deprecate GPT-4o, OpenAI "will give plenty of notice." In addition to the GPT-5 and GPT-4o models, users can toggle to "Show additional models" in ChatGPT web settings if they want to access o3, 4.1, and GPT-5 Thinking mini. GPT-4.5 is only available to subscribers paying for the $200-a-month Pro tier, though, because it "costs a lot of GPUs."

Altman said that GPT-5 Thinking now has rate limits of 3,000 messages a week, after which users will only be able to use GPT-5 Thinking mini. He has also revealed that OpenAI is working to update GPT-5's personality to make it warmer, but "not as annoying (to most users) as GPT-4o."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/you-can-pick-chatgpts-older-ai-models-again-121549264.html?src=rss

©

© Cheng Xin via Getty Images

Though a keyboard and mouse are the usual tools of choice for PC esports, some competitive PC gamers employ gamepads for things like fighting games and Rocket League. Razer is now catering to those folks with two new PC gamepads, the wireless Wolverine V3 Pro 8K PC and wired Wolverine V3 Tournament Edition 8K PC. The key feature is right there in the names, with 8,000Hz polling speeds that promise high responsiveness for demanding pro or serious players. 

The Wolverine V3 Pro 8K PC offers 8,000Hz polling in both wired and wireless modes, meaning player inputs are recognized nearly instantly. By contrast, Razer's Wolverine V3 Pro designed for Xbox and PC (which we liked) tops out at just 1,000Hz. The V3 Pro 8K PC model also uses Tunnel Magnetoresistance (TMR) thumbsticks with swappable caps for long life, consistent tension and superior anti-drift performance over time. 

That model is also Razer's lightest wireless esports controller yet and features an ergonomic shape to reduce hand fatigue. Other features include 4 mouse click back buttons and 2 claw grip bumpers, Razer Pro HyperTriggers, Mecha-Tactile PBT Action Buttons, an 8-way floating D-Pad and Razer's Synapse customization. It comes with a carrying case and 2m braided cable and is now available for $200. 

Razer also launched a wired-only model called the Wolverine V3 Tournament Edition PC. It offers most of the same features, like the 8,000Hz HyperPolling tech, TMR anti-drift thumbsticks, HyperTriggers, Mecha-Tactile PBT buttons and Synapse customization. It also comes with a 2m braided cable and is now available for $120 — a very reasonable price for a competition-level gamepad. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/razer-debuts-two-pc-gamepads-for-esports-120046977.html?src=rss

©

© Razer

Apple has denied Elon Musk's accusation that it's favoring OpenAI in its App Store rankings and making it impossible for other AI companies to reach the top. In a statement sent to Bloomberg, Apple said the App Store is "designed to be fair and free of bias." The company's spokesperson explained that the App Store features "thousands of apps through charts, algorithmic recommendations and curated lists selected by experts using objective criteria." They added: "Our goal is to offer safe discovery for users and valuable opportunities for developers, collaborating with many to increase app visibility in rapidly evolving categories."

xAI founder Elon Musk accused Apple of "unequivocal antitrust violation" by favoring OpenAI in a post on X, warning that his company "will take immediate legal action." In a separate post from his threat, he asked Apple why it "[refuses] to put either X or Grok in [its] 'Must Have' section." X, he said, is "the #1 news app in the world," while Grok is ranked number five among all apps. "Are you playing politics? What gives?" he continued. 

Musk didn't provide evidence to back his accusations. It's also worth noting that Chinese AI app DeepSeek reached the top of Apple's free app rankings back in January, overtaking even ChatGPT. As X's own Community Notes also mentioned in Musk's post, added hours after it went up, Perplexity reached the top of overall rankings in India's App Store back in July. Both apps were able to reach the top of their respective lists way after Apple and OpenAI announced their partnership last year. 

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to Musk's accusation, as well. He said it's a "remarkable claim," given that he has heard allegations that Musk manipulates "X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn't like." In response, Musk posted: "Scam Altman lies as easily as he breathes."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/apple-says-the-app-store-is-fair-and-free-of-bias-in-response-to-musks-legal-threats-235555807.html?src=rss

©

© NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Federal Trade Commission announced that Match Group will pay $14 million to settle a complaint about deceptive practices. The settlement fee will be used to provide redress to injured customers of Match Group's dating services, which include Match.com, Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and PlentyOfFish.

The agency sued Match Group in 2019 on a series of allegations. According to the complaint, the dating service company had used misleading ads to encourage subscriptions and then made it difficult for customers to cancel those subscriptions. Match Group was also accused of locking customers out of their accounts when they attempted to dispute billing charges.

In addition to the payment, Match Group has agreed to clearly and conspicuously disclose the terms of its "six-month guarantee," as well as any conditions or limitations to those offers. It will also offer simple mechanisms for customers to cancel their subscriptions. Finally, Match Group will not retaliate or take action against customers who file billing disputes, and it won't deny those customers access to paid-for services or goods.

Match Group also drew scrutiny earlier this year after an investigation claimed that it had failed to act on reports of sexual assault and made little effort to keep abusive or dangerous users from rejoining other dating platforms it owns.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/match-group-will-pay-14-million-to-settle-claims-of-deceptive-business-practices-224505163.html?src=rss

©

© REUTERS / Reuters

• Last week, OpenAI launched the newest version of its flagship software — and told users they'd have to give up the ones they already used.
• Redditors and other people on the internet complained — and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman changed his mind.
• Does that mean Sam Altman is a weak CEO? Maybe. But for now, he just seems like a flexible one.

All hail the new ChatGPT, which is much better than the old ChatGPT, which we're getting rid of.

That was the messaging from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his team last week.

A day later, Altman changed his mind. He told the world the older version of ChatGPT was going to stick around, after all — in addition to the new version that was meant to replace it.

I'm not getting into the weeds here about the change and change back, which is confusing for people who use ChatGPT, and impenetrable to non-users. (If you want to, I suggest you head to Business Insider's coverage, or this post from analyst Ben Thompson, for details.)

I'm most interested in Altman's incredibly quick pivot.

Because I'm having a hard time thinking of a CEO hyping a new product launch, and almost immediately changing course afterward, supposedly because his customers didn't like it.

Can you think of one? The most obvious one I can recall is New Coke, which you have to be pretty old to have tried. It only lasted for a few months in 1985, because lots of Old Coke drinkers hated it, and it's now synonymous with Corporate Mega Flops. But it still lasted for a few months — not a single day.

And this is different than product flops like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, which was pulled off the market after a couple of months because some of them exploded.

And to be clear — Altman isn't recalling his newest, very high-profile AI engine. It still exists; he's just reversing his call to get rid of the older one.

(Business Insider owner Axel Springer has a commercial agreement with OpenAI. And our CEO thinks we should all use AI in our day-to-day work.)

It's possible that there are other, yet-to-surface explanations for Altman's change of heart. But so far, the only one he's offered is that he heard from people on Reddit and presumably other places who were upset to lose the versions of the service they already had.

If you are an Altman fan, you can paint the episode as a story that shows you how nimble and responsive a Big Tech CEO can be.

If you are less generous, you might argue that this was something Altman and his company should have seen coming, and acted accordingly. Either by not budging, and explaining to users that they were wrong, and would learn to love the new tech. Or by not making the move in the first place.

Thompson, in his Stratechery newsletter, worries that Altman's quick flip is a sign of a bigger problem — that he's too willing to tell people what they want to hear:

The real question for OpenAI is if they are in fact ... just a bit too obsequious and sycophantic. The paradox of successful consumer companies from Apple to Facebook is that they give customers what they want, but they don't ask them; they make decisions and then seek out revealed preference through data, not stated preference on social media. Hopefully OpenAI did that in this case; my concern is that the more realistic explanation is that this is a company that, in the end, can't say "no" to anyone.

Maybe! But I think this is probably a pretty small chapter in the OpenAI story — a visible, but ultimately not-that-consequential misstep. Maybe OpenAI really did misjudge its customers. But it was pretty easy to make those customers happy, simply by … not taking something away from them.

It also helps that this was a do-over Altman and crew could do with a couple key strokes. There were no devices (yet) to recall, no refunds to issue.

In that sense, this reminds me of something closer to a branding or marketing snafu, like a new Gap logo that lasted for 10 days in 2010, or that Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad from 2017 that disappeared after people called it stupid and tone-deaf. Embarrassing screw-ups, but not the first thing you think about when you think about those companies.

I myself had forgotten those stories until ChatGPT reminded me of them, when I asked for comparable flip-flops. (I don't use ChatGPT to write my stories, but I definitely find myself using it as a superior version of Google more and more these days.)

And yes, if we see more waffling from Altman in the months and years to come, we'll be able to point back to this botched rollout as the start of a pattern.

But for now, this one seems like an odd and interesting footnote, and not much else.