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YouTube creators can start making money earlier in their careers. On Wednesday, the company said it's reducing the Shopping affiliate program subscriber threshold from 1,000 to 500.

The affiliate program launched in 2022, allowing creators to earn kickbacks when viewers buy products tagged in their videos. It applies to YouTube Shorts, VOD and Live content. Creators will still need to meet the YouTube Partner Program's other requirements to reap the benefits.

Perhaps not a coincidence, the move comes only a day after Meta added shopping links to Reels. Creators on Facebook and Instagram can now link to up to 30 distinct products from marketplace partners in a single video.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/youtube-is-bringing-affiliate-shopping-features-to-more-creators-183927027.html?src=rss

Apple’s excellent For All Mankind might be wrapping up after its recently confirmed sixth season, but as one big-budget alt-history sci-fi show departs, another is born. Apple TV has just dropped the first teaser for Star City, which focuses on the reimagined space race of the 1960s from the Soviet perspective.

ICYMI, For All Mankind has been running for nearly five seasons now (the fifth arrives later this week), with its debut season in 2019 asking, "what if Russia had beaten America to the moon?" For All Mankind has jumped a number of decades ahead since then, but Star City returns us to that initial premise, taking us behind the Iron Curtain to see how the Soviet Union orchestrated its fictional historical triumph.

The brief teaser doesn’t show us much in the way of plot, but you straight away get what vibe the streamer is going for with a show it describes as a "propulsive paranoid thriller." We also get a look at some of the cast, which includes House of the Dragon’s Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin and Agnes O’Casey.

Interestingly, Star City’s two-episode premiere lands on Apple TV on May 29, right after the finale of For All Mankind season 5, which takes place in the 2010s. That could make for a pretty jarring backwards time jump if you watch both seasons back to back, but nobody can say that Apple isn’t serving its sci-fi audience.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/heres-your-first-look-at-for-all-mankind-spinoff-star-city-174359587.html?src=rss

Google just introduced Lyria 3 Pro, an updated version of its AI model that generates songs based on prompts. The biggest improvement here is the ability to make full three-minute songs, up from 30 seconds when the product launched last month.

The tool also brings a lot more customization into the mix. Users can now prompt the model to create specific elements within a song, like intros, verses, choruses and bridges. Google says "Lyria 3 Pro better understands musical composition" when compared to the previous model and that it's "great for experimenting with different styles or generating songs with complex transitions."

It's already available for paid Gemini users and for enterprise customers on Vertex AI. Additionally, developers have access to the tool via the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. The company is also integrating it into Google Vids, an AI-based video-generation platform.

Google says that "responsibility was foundational" when designing and training this model, so it only uses materials that the company has actual rights to. Additionally, all Lyria 3 Pro outputs are embedded with SynthID, which is a watermark for identifying AI-generated content.

That's all well and good, but do we need yet another AI music-making tool? Current estimates suggest that around 50,000 AI-generated tracks get uploaded daily to Spotify alone. The platform had to delete, and this is not a typo, 75 million of these tracks last year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-lyria-3-pro-can-now-generate-ai-music-slop-up-to-3-minutes-in-length-172738752.html?src=rss

Meta is laying off more employees. Of the hundreds of cuts made on Wednesday, the Reality Labs division is one of the prime recipients. The layoffs come a day after news broke that Meta executives (sans Mark Zuckerberg) could be set for windfalls of up to $2.7 billion each under new pay packages.

Today's cuts of “hundreds” fall well short of its reported 20 percent workforce reduction plans that leaked earlier this month. At the end of 2025, Meta's workforce stood at around 79,000 people. However, this could simply be a smaller initial round before the larger cuts come into play.

Earlier in March, Meta reportedly asked some managers to prepare cost-cutting plans. The company is looking to offset its costly AI infrastructure investments, which include a plan to spend $600 billion on data centers by 2028.

YouTube / Meta

The layoffs are also said to affect Meta's recruiting, sales, Facebook and global operations divisions. But the Reality Labs cuts further illustrate how the company's VR and metaverse bets failed to pay off. Today’s cuts follow layoffs in January that shed over 1,000 jobs from the division, which has lost over $70 billion since the beginning of 2021. Now, despite the 2021 rebranding that pivoted from social media to the metaverse, Zuckerberg now increasingly views Meta as an AI titan.

In January, the CEO forecast the AI world Big Tech is creating when he said he was beginning to see "projects that used to require big teams now [being] accomplished by a single very talented person." That sure sounds peachy for the dwindling few reaping the benefits. Those farther down the food chain may have different thoughts.

Speaking of that sweet, sweet C-suite life, Meta is taking a page from Tesla's Elon Musk pay package. SEC filings reveal that the company is planning a lucrative new incentive system for six executives: CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li, COO Javier Olivan and CPO Chris Cox. They're set to receive more stock-based compensation tied to performance. Bosworth, Cox, Li and Olivan could reportedly be looking at bounties of up to $2.7 billion apiece.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-lays-off-hundreds-of-workers-including-more-from-reality-labs-171536879.html?src=rss

One of the most overly hyped, unfortunately named and curiously positioned cars has been officially killed. It's the Afeela 1, better known as the PlayStation Car, and it was meant to be an ultimate intersection of personal mobility and digital media. It is, instead, dead, killed by a combination of headwinds that even the most pessimistic of mobility analysts couldn't have foreseen when it was first revealed six years ago.

That said, the six year interval might have been the biggest blow to the Afeela 1's chances.

How did we get here?

What was to become the Afeela 1 debuted at CES 2020 as the Sony Vision S, a car that made headlines not so much for the way it looked (it was pretty plain) or the way it was supposed to drive (Sony didn't really talk feel). It was notable simply because it was a car from a company best known for TVs that looked amazing and video game consoles that were impossible to find.

A few years later, Sony paired up with Honda to show that this wasn't just a Gran Turismo fantasy made manifest. This was going to be an actual production car. In 2025, it was given a price tag: $100,000, along with a maximum range of about 300 miles. With cars like the Lucid Air already on the road, going 400 miles on a charge and costing less, Afeela 1 looked out of date well before it entered production.

Back then, I said it was already shaping up to be a PS4 in a PS5 era, and a year later, the unveiling of a slightly taller SUV version didn't exactly shift the fates in the Afeela's favor.

That incredibly long rollout, teasing a car for six full years, was pretty damning, but that was far from the only factor in the demise of the Afeela 1.

A geopolitical EV catastropheThe interior display is one of a few interesting aspects of the Afeela 1.Tim Stevens for Engadget

Back in 2020, the future was looking electrified. Manufacturers around the world were gearing up for an anticipated European ban on internal combustion by 2035, many of them promising to have fully electrified fleets years ahead of schedule.

Government incentives were generous, free chargers were popping up all over the place, and the global cheerleader for emissions-free motoring, Elon Musk, was still mostly respectable.

In the years that followed, everything fell apart, especially here in the US. Electric cars became a political firestorm, with Trump’s campaign taking every opportunity to decry them. Our federal rebates were scrapped, incentives for charger deployments were terminated and suddenly, the global automotive landscape became mired in a turbulent web of tariffs that shifted with the winds of hot air billowing around Washington.

EVs were now seen as an incredible folly by a considerable percentage of American consumers. The CEO of the world's largest EV manufacturer goose-stepping along to the beat didn't help. What was a market ripe for electrified innovation in 2020 turned into a mobility landmine by 2026.

Autonomy when?Afeela 1Tim Stevens for Engadget

One of the key selling points of the Afeela 1 was to be Sony deploying the full might of its digital empire onto four wheels. PlayStation gaming on the go! High definition movies in the dashboard! Ratchet & Clank on a weird little LCD on your bumper for some reason!

This was exciting stuff back in 2020 because autonomous cars were right around the corner. Waymo was doing incredible things, others were hot on its heels, and a significant chunk of industry analysts were predicting that hands-off, eyes-closed autonomy would be a tick of a box on vehicle configurators in just a few years' time.

Fast-forward to 2026 and, in many ways, we're no closer to that dream. Sure, we have a number of hands-off driver assistance systems available today, some more aspirationally named than others, but there are no mass-market, eyes-off autonomy systems on American roads.

That means the inclusion of Sony's media empire isn't quite the flex it was. Sure, your kids in the back seat can have a hell of a time, but chances are they already have enough devices to keep them well entertained without you having to drop six figures on a new car from a new company with a funny name.

The intangiblesAfeela 1

Another key strike against the Afeela 1 was that it, quite simply, didn't look very good. That first Vision concept had a few striking lines about it. But by the time Sony Honda Mobility came about, they'd all been ironed out. A white, featureless sedan is something that's hard for anyone to get excited about.

Not every car needs to be exciting to behold, but the Afeela 1 didn't really deliver in other regards. I've sat in a few different versions of prototypes, and while they were all nice enough, none held a candle to the sorts of posh appointments you'd expect were you to drop $100,000 on a Mercedes-Benz or a BMW.

Sony was really betting on the car's media chops to deliver value to its hardcore fans, but there are plenty of amazing-sounding cars on the road today, cars that look better and cost less than the Afeela 1 would have. Sony cachet simply wasn't enough.

Honda's cold feetHonda 0 Series α EV Honda

The final death knell of the Afeela 1 came at the hands of Honda. While the Afeela 1 was born of a Sony dream, it was to be produced in partnership with Honda. When I met with Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe last year, he was already getting cool on the company's American EV prospects. "The volume initially will probably be less than we had envisioned earlier," he said.

Since then, Honda took things further, canceling its 0 Series EVs. That struck me as a real shame. Where the Afeela 1 looked anonymous and was set to cost too much, the 0 Series machines were stunning and intended to be affordable. They had a real chance.

Their death effectively ripped the platform right out from under the Afeela 1. It's conceivable that Sony could take its content, car and characters to a new platform, and indeed, the press release on the cancellation of the Afeela 1 leaves the door open, saying: "SHM will continue discussions with Sony and Honda regarding its future business plans." But, that seems extremely unlikely to me.

So the Afeela 1 is dead, and so too is the dream of the PlayStation car. If you've read my coverage of the thing in the past, you know that I was never bullish on it. Pessimistic is closer to the truth, yet I still feel incredibly bad about this turn of events. I spoke with and interviewed a fair few Sony Honda Mobility employees over the years, and all were extremely excited about what they were building.

And why not? They were trying to do something new, a radically different experience in a wholly new car from a wholly new brand. That’s not something that comes along very often. Sadly, the Afeela 1 will go down in history as a lesson of exactly why that is.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/the-afeela-1-came-too-late-and-now-is-gone-too-soon-164845008.html?src=rss

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on March 25 that Cox Communications is not liable for copyright infringement committed by its subscribers, reversing a 2024 appeals court decision that had upheld the ISP's liability.

Sony Music Entertainment and other major labels sued Cox in 2018, arguing the company failed to terminate internet service for subscribers repeatedly flagged for pirating copyrighted music. A jury awarded $1 billion in statutory damages after finding Cox willfully infringed all 10,017 copyrighted works at issue, though this was overturned on appeal and a new trial was ordered.

Writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said a provider is not liable "for merely providing a service to the general public with knowledge that it will be used by some to infringe copyrights." A provider is liable only if it intended or actively encouraged the infringement, Thomas wrote. The decision applies the same framework the court used in 2005 when it found file-sharing service Grokster liable for promoting piracy.

Cox serves approximately six million subscribers and contractually prohibits them from using their connections to distribute copyrighted content. A firm enlisted by the labels to track piracy sent Cox 163,148 infringement notices over a roughly two-year period. Cox terminated just 32 subscribers for copyright infringement during that span.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/supreme-court-rules-isps-arent-liable-for-subscribers-music-piracy-163412791.html?src=rss

Low-quality, mass-produced AI songs have been flooding music streaming platforms like Spotify for a couple of years now. This is annoying, but relatively easy for fans to avoid. However, it leads to real problems for artists. There's so much slop coming in that some gets falsely attributed to actual musicians on these platforms.

This messes with brand identity and audience retention, but Spotify is testing a new tool to help real artists exercise more control over their profiles. The platform's Artist Profile Protection feature lets musicians review releases before they go live and become associated with their profiles.

Spotify

This should prevent AI slop from creeping in, as the actual artist will have final say when 100 new songs show up out of the blue that sort of sound like them but with all of that pesky soul removed. It's in beta right now and if an artist denies a track, it won't be associated with their profile, won't contribute to stats and won't show up in user recommendations. This looks to be a simple and potentially effective solution to an ongoing problem.

"Music has been landing on the wrong artist pages across streaming services, and the rise of easy-to-produce AI tracks has made the problem worse," Spotify wrote in a blog post. "We know how frustrating this can be for both artists and fans alike."

This comes just a week after Sony requested the removal of more than 135,000 AI-generated songs from Spotify after it was discovered the tracks were impersonating real artists. This even happens to bands that have opted out of Spotify entirely. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard left the platform last year, to protest CEO Daniel Ek's investment in a weapons manufacturing company, but a deepfake artist quickly filled the vacuum.

Some of this isn't malicious. It's a numbers game for the "creators" of these tracks. Statistics vary, but it's been estimated that around 50,000 AI-generated songs get uploaded to Spotify each and every day. The platform deleted 75 million of these tracks last year. With this many uploads, it's easy for tracks to accidentally end up on the wrong artist's profile. Bad actors looking to attach their slop to a known quantity compounds the issue.

In any event, it's good that Spotify is doing something about this. We don't know when the tool will exit the beta phase and become available for all artists on the platform. That day can't come soon enough. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/spotify-is-testing-a-tool-to-help-real-artists-deal-with-ai-slop-on-their-profiles-161013653.html?src=rss

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has detailed the company's latest plan to fight bots and it means that some accounts will need to "verify humanness," though the company is stopping short of widespread identity verification. In an update, Huffman said that in "rare" cases accounts that seem "fishy" will be prompted for additional verification.

Such prompts "will not apply to most users," according to Huffman, but will apply to accounts where Reddit detects signs of automated posting or bot-like behavior. If the account doesn't pass the verification test, it may be "restricted" from the platform. For now, verification will take the form of on-device methods, including FaceID and passkeys. But the company is considering alternative methods, including World ID, the face-scanning orb company run by Sam Altman. "I think the internet needs verification solutions like this, where your account information, usage data, and identity never mix," Huffman writes. 

As part of the new policy, Reddit is also adding an "[APP]" label to existing "good" bots on the platform and making it easier for users to report suspected "bad" bots. The company is also grappling with a growing number of age verification laws. Reddit is “exploring” ways to “comply with these regulations without compromising user privacy,” Huffmans said.

The company is clearly trying to walk a careful line in how it approaches verification. Huffman notes that Reddit intends to "confirm humanness" rather than verify users' actual identities, which would erode the anonymity that Reddit is known for. But the rise of agentic AI has meant that Reddit is contending with the same sorts of bot-driven spam that took down the short-lived reboot of Digg.

Of course, Reddit is also filled with AI-generated material that's shared by actual humans but may be considered spammy by other users. The company has no plans to crack down on such content, at least for now, according to Huffman. "For better or worse, using AI to write is part of how people will communicate in the future (albeit annoying), so our current focus is to ensure there is a real, live human behind the accounts you’re seeing."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reddit-will-prompt-some-accounts-to-verify-humanness-in-latest-bot-crackdown-161000181.html?src=rss

Sony just revealed the upcoming Bravia 3 II mid-range LED TV. It'll be available in sizes all the way up to 100 inches, for those in need of a home theater centerpiece. It's considered a mid-range device, but is still outfitted with plenty of tech typically reserved for the company's high-end displays.

First of all, these TVs ship with Sony's XR processor. This grants access to the company's proprietary Clear Image algorithm, auto HDR tone mapping and more. It's nice to see these features expand beyond flagship products.

The 4K LED display supports Dolby Vision, Atmos and DTS:X, with refresh rates up to 120Hz. It also features four HDMI 2.1 ports, so you can hook up a Switch 2, a PS5 and an Xbox Series X all at the same time with a port to spare.

The software here is integrated with Google Gemini, allowing for all kinds of voice commands. Finally, the TVs ship with Sony's new Inclusive Remote Control, which has been designed for accessibility.

The Bravia 3 II line will start showing up at retailers this spring. Prices start at $600 for a 43-inch model and go all the way up to $3,100 for that 100-inch monstrosity.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/sonys-upcoming-bravia-3-ii-is-a-mid-range-led-tv-available-in-sizes-up-to-100-inches-160002697.html?src=rss

Sony already has a robust collection of soundbars in its Bravia Theater lineup. Today, the company is adding two more, as well as new rear speakers and three new subwoofers. The Bar 7 will sit in Sony’s premium tier, alongside the existing (and larger) Bar 8 and Bar 9 models, while the Bar 5 will offer a more compact and more affordable solution just below the current Bar 6.

The Bravia Theater Bar 7 utilizes nine total drivers to produce Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and IMAX Enhanced sound. More specifically, that arrangement includes three woofers, two tweeters, two up-firing units and two side-firing drivers, in addition to four passive radiators. Compare that to the Bar 8 and Bar 9 which house 11 speakers and 13 speakers respectively. Sony says the Bar 7 has new two-way front speakers and the center, up-firing and side-firing drivers all have the company’s oval-shaped X-Balanced design. In terms of features, you get Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping and Sound Field Optimization for more immersive audio performance.

The Bar 7 will come bundled with Sony’s new Bravia Theater Sub 7 for $870, but you can also purchase it without the subwoofer (pricing TBA). For a more robust system, the Bar 7 can be paired with the company’s Bravia Theater Rear speakers.

Sony Bravia Theater Sub 7Sony

Speaking of subwoofers, Sony debuted three new models today. The aforementioned Sub 7 is the smallest, employing a 5.1-inch driver for the low-end tone. Move up to the new Sub 8 and you get a 7.9-inch driver for “enhanced atmosphere, clearer bass,” according to the company. The largest of the new options is the Sub 9 which has two opposing 7.9-inch drivers for “powerful, clean bass.” Unfortunately, these add-ons don’t come cheap: the Sub 7 is $330, the Sub 8 is $500 and the Sub 9 is $900.

Sony also touts dual subwoofer connectivity as part of the refreshed Bravia Theater lineup. All three of the new subs can be used as a pair, so long as you have a Theater Bar 7, Theater Bar 8 or Theater Bar 9. You can also use two subwoofers with some of Sony’s receivers (STR-AZ7000ES, STR-AZ5000ES, STR-AZ3000ES, STR-AZ1000ES and STR-AN1000). The company explains that opting for two subs provides “stronger, more balanced bass,” obviously, that fills the room for a more “cinematic effect.” Sony also says two subwoofers enable “richer, fuller bass” at lower volumes.

Rear speakers are something you’ll need if you truly want immersive audio, and the new Theater Rear 9 units are a big upgrade over the current Rear 8s. Most notably, you get an up-firing driver for enhanced overhead sounds along with two passive radiators, in addition to a tweeter and a woofer. The drivers all have aluminum diaphragms instead of paper, and the Rear 9s come with a swivel wall mounts that enable 60-degree movement. A pair of Theater Rear 9 speakers will set you back $750.

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 5Sony

If all of that sounds too expensive for your living room, Sony has something more affordable in the midrange area. The Bravia Theater Bar 5 is just $350 and still offers Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio. It doesn’t have up-firing drivers, it’s a 3.1-channel setup, so any overhead effects will be simulated. Still, that’s probably okay if you have a smaller space or live in an apartment as the upmixing tech (S-Force Pro Front Surround and Vertical Sound Engine) should provide ample immersion. The Bar 5 does come with a subwoofer though, and you can employ Sony’s Voice Zoom 3 feature for enhanced dialogue.

The Bravia Theater Bar 7, all three of the new subwoofers and the Rear 9 will be available for pre-order later this spring. The Bar 5 is up for pre-order starting today.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/sony-adds-the-bravia-theater-bar-5-and-bar-7-to-its-soundbar-lineup-160000680.html?src=rss

X is updating its revenue-sharing incentives to give more weight to engagement from a user’s home region, Nikita Bier, the company’s Head of Product has announced. Bier said the change in policy was to “encourage content that resonates with people in [the user’s] country, in neighboring countries and people who speak [their] language.” 

Bier continued that while X appreciates everyone’s opinion on US politics, the company is hoping the new policy can “disincentivize gaming the attention of US or Japanese accounts.” The US and Japan have the largest number of users on X. Bier didn’t mention it outright, but dozens of popular accounts tweeting pro-Trump sentiments and commentaries focusing on US politics in general were revealed to be based outside the US late last year, when X rolled out a transparency feature that exposed users’ locations. Those accounts, which pretended to be from the US and garnered millions of likes, views and reposts, turned out to be based in countries like India, Kenya and Nigeria. 

“X will be a much richer community when there's relevant posts for people in all parts of the world,” Bier said. When one user responded to his post that some countries barely have any users, making it hard to earn money from the website, Bier just suggested that they should write about their day-to-day experiences. “Of course, you’re welcome to continue chiming in on America politics. We just won’t send money overseas for that content,” he said. X’s new policy will start taking effect on Thursday, March 26. 

We’ve love to hear your thoughts about living in Portugal. I’m sure you have plenty of great stories about your day to day experience there.

Of course, you’re welcome to continue chiming in on America politics. We just won’t send money overseas for that content.

— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) March 25, 2026

Update, March 25 2026, 11:30AM ET: According to a tweet from Musk, X "will pause moving forward with this until further consideration."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-is-changing-its-revenue-sharing-policy-to-deter-users-pretending-to-be-americans-090701729.html?src=rss

The leaders of several major tech companies will offer the White House their opinions on tech and science policy as part of an advisory council. Mark Zuckerberg, Jensen Huang, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison — the CEOs of Meta, NVIDIA, Dell and Oracle, respectively — are joining the panel alongside Google co-founder Sergey Brin and AMD CEO Lisa Su. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who has donated to super PACs that support President Donald Trump, will serve on the panel too.

The latest iteration of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has 13 members, though that could expand to 24. White House AI and cryptocurrency czar David Sacks co-chairs PCAST alongside Trump's science advisor, Michael Kratsios.

“Under President Trump, PCAST will focus on topics related to the opportunities and challenges that emerging technologies present to the American workforce, and ensuring all Americans thrive in the Golden Age of Innovation,” the White House told The Wall Street Journal in a statement. Zuckerberg said he was "honored to join the president’s council and work with other industry leaders" to help ensure the US is the world leader in AI.

George W. Bush established PCAST with a 2001 executive order, and some notable executives have been involved with the panel. Barack Obama's advisors included then-Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt and former Microsoft chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie, while ex-Disney CEO Bob Iger served on PCAST during Trump's first term. Joe Biden's panel included Su.

The tech CEOs all have a personal and professional stake here, given the potential impact of federal rules on them and their businesses. It’s worth noting that Meta, Google and Huang all chipped in to help pay for the construction of Trump’s White House ballroom. Google, Meta and NVIDIA were among the companies that each donated $1 million to the committee for Trump's second inauguration.

Meanwhile, Ellison — whose family has spent much of the last couple of years building a media empire that includes Paramount and potentially Warner Bros. Discovery — has close ties to Trump. Oracle is also one of the companies that backed the takeover of the US version of TikTok, a deal that Trump approved with an executive order. It was reported this month that the Trump administration is receiving $10 billion for brokering the buyout.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/mark-zuckerberg-jensen-huang-and-sergey-brin-join-trumps-tech-advisory-panel-144722797.html?src=rss

It’s been quite a while since we visited Middle-Earth on the big screen (anime prequels aside), but it looks like Lord of the Rings fans have plenty to look forward to in the coming years. We already knew that Andy Serkis’ The Hunt for Gollum was in the works — and by all accounts is progressing nicely — but another Rings-related film is in development too, and it’s being co-written by none other than Stephen Colbert.

The announcement came from Peter Jackson himself, in a video posted by Warner Bros. to coincide with Tolkien Reading Day. The director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy provided a quick update on Serkis’ film (the British actor is both directing and reprising his role as Gollum), before introducing "very special partner" and diehard Tolkien fan Colbert on a video call.

With The Late Show nearing its end, its host was seemingly going to be out of work in the summer. Colbert is working with his son Peter as well as screenwriter Philippa Boyens (who co-wrote the original film trilogy). They'll adapt some early chapters of Fellowship of the Ring that never made it into Jackson’s 2001 film. The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past is actually set 14 years after the events of Return of the King, and will see Sam, Merry and Pippin retrace the first steps of their famous adventure.

So while the new film is inspired specifically by Fellowship chapters III (‘Three is Company’) through VIII (‘Fog On The Barrow-Downs’), it sounds like we’re actually getting a sequel of sorts, in which we’ll also see Sam’s daughter Elanor make a huge discovery that puts her on her own quest.

Colbert and his son had been scribbling away at their idea for several years before plucking up the courage to show what they had come up with to Jackson, but the legendary 64-year-old filmmaker was clearly a fan. And given the timing of the announcement, Colbert will soon be able to commit all of his energy to the project, which has not yet named any cast members. Will Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan be dusting off their hobbit attire? Only time will tell, but the time jump would presumably make it possible.

The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past doesn’t have a release date, but its announcement coincides with the 25th anniversary of Fellowship of the Ring, which has already been marked by the whole trilogy returning to theaters earlier this year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/stephen-colbert-is-writing-a-new-lord-of-the-rings-movie-143004743.html?src=rss

Anthropic has begun previewing "auto mode" inside of Claude Code. The company describes the new feature as a middle path between the app's default behavior, which sees Claude request approval for every file write and bash command, and the "dangerously-skip-premissions" command some coders use to make the chatbot function more autonomously. 

With auto mode enabled, a classifier system guides Claude, giving it permission to carry out actions it deems safe, while redirecting the chatbot to take a different approach when it determines Claude might do something risky. In designing the system, Anthropic's goal was to reduce the likelihood of Claude carrying out mass file deletions, extracting sensitive data or executing malicious code. 

Of course, no system is perfect, and Anthropic warns as such. "The classifier may still allow some risky actions: for example, if user intent is ambiguous, or if Claude doesn't have enough context about your environment to know an action might create additional risk," the company writes. 

Anthropic doesn't mention a specific incident as inspiration for auto mode, but the recent 13-hour AWS outage Amazon suffered after one of the company's AI tools reportedly deleted a hosting environment, was probably front of mind for the company. Amazon blamed that specific incident on human error, saying the staffer involved in the incident had "broader permissions than expected."

Team plan users can preview auto mode starting today, with the feature set to roll out to Enterprise and API users in the coming days.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropic-releases-safer-claude-code-auto-mode-to-avoid-mass-file-deletions-and-other-ai-snafus-142500615.html?src=rss

Ring has today announced a spec bump to its battery-powered video doorbells for all those folks who can’t wire their units to power. The flagship Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd gen) gets 4K video, with 10x zoom and the promise of far longer time between recharges than the previous model. At the same time, it’s bringing 2K imaging to its lower-end battery doorbells, the Battery Doorbell Plus and Battery Doorbell (2nd gen). The former, as fitting its higher price, gets a quick-release battery pack, while both models get 2K video and 6x zoom. Naturally, these features are already available on Ring’s wired products, the bulk of which were announced back in September 2025.

The company is also aware that swapping out batteries isn’t ideal if you really need a doorbell to work all of the time. That’s why it’s also launching a new Solar Charger which integrates into the mount, keeping your doorbell running for longer between trips to the wall outlet. There’s also a bigger Solar Panel, which pumps out more juice than its smaller sibling, and can be mounted in a wider variety of places. All of the above are available to pre-order from today, and are priced as follows: Pro ($250), Plus ($180), Battery Doorbell ($100), Solar Charger ($50), Solar Panel ($60).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/ring-adds-4k-to-its-battery-powered-video-doorbells-130021181.html?src=rss

Hearing aid company Sonova has put its Sennheiser consumer audio division on the auction block less than five years after acquiring it, the company announced on Reddit. "Today Sonova announced they intend to divest the business and will focus on Hearing Care," Sonova wrote, adding it intends to find "the right new owner."

Sennheiser's consumer audio division mainly manufactures high-end headphones like the HD 400, HD 500, HD 600 and HD 800 series and recently launched the HDB 630, $500 wireless headphones aimed at audiophiles. The company's most (in)famous lineup is the HE series, which includes the $55,000 HE 90 and €89,990 HE 1.

Sonova originally purchased Sennheiser with the intent of expanding its demographic to younger customers. At the time, it said "even if [young people] don't have hearing loss, most of them will gradually get hearing loss with age, and devices like Sennheiser's allow us to have earlier consumer access to such people." For its part, Sennheiser said it wanted to relinquish its consumer business in order to focus on its pro audio, business and Neumann (high-end microphone) divisions that it still owns.

Things apparently didn't go to plan, though. Sonova's Sennheiser division's sales in the last half-year declined significantly year-over-year and the company was hit with a €6 million fine over its retail pricing practices (that occurred prior to the acquisition). However, the company's recent products have been praised by the audiophile community as a return to previous form, with Engadget's audio reviewer Billy Steele calling the HDB 630 "a sonic marvel."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/sennheisers-owners-want-to-sell-its-consumer-headphone-business-121830441.html?src=rss

Late last year, Samsung launched its newest generation of affordable A-series phones, starting with the entry-level A17. Following the arrival of the flagship Galaxy S26 line, the company has returned to flesh out the rest of its midrange portfolio. The more affordable Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A57 sport some interesting upgrades, even when compared to some of their pricier siblings.

Core specs and features

Before we dive into my hands-on impressions, I want to do a quick rundown of each phone's specs as that should help set up (or temper) expectations. As you'd expect based on their numbering, the A37 is the more affordable of the two with a base price of $450 for 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. You can also choose 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage for $540. Notably, when compared to the A17, the A37 features a much more recent and more powerful Exynos 1480 chip that brings a big jump in NPU performance and helps unlock much of the phone's newfound AI capabilities. It also comes with a large 6.7-inch AMOLED display, a 5,000mAh battery and three rear cameras. However, two of those will likely get more use than the other as the A37 packs a 50-megapixel main camera and an 8MP ultra-wide, along with a 5MP macro shooter. 

The Galaxy A37 will be available in four colors: charcoal, white, lavender and graygreen. However, the middle two are Samsung.com exclusives and the last one is only available from Best Buy. Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Meanwhile, the Galaxy A57 is a bit more expensive, starting at $550 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, or $610 for the 8GB/256GB version. It also features a slightly more powerful Exynos 1680 processor and a higher-res 12MP sensor for its ultra-wide lens, but aside from that, it has the same general camera setup as A37 and the same size battery. One small difference is that the A57 has Bluetooth 6 connectivity and Wi-Fi 6E, but the A37 is still stuck with BT 5.3 and basic Wi-Fi 6.

For some reason, the A57 is only available in one color: navy. Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Both phones come with IP68 ratings for dust and water resistance (which is an upgrade from IP67 on the A36) and 120Hz refresh rates. However, the most important shared trait is that while neither supports wireless charging, they can both take wired power at up to 45 watts, which is actually faster than a base Galaxy S26's limit of just 25 watts. Finally, in addition to six years of OS and security updates, the A37 and A57 are getting some trickle-down AI features from its flagship siblings. Those include improved support for Google's Circle to Search, Object Eraser and better transcription and translation capabilities in the Samsung Voice Recorder app.

Galaxy A37 impressions

Both phones have nearly identical designs, right down to the same screen size and number of cameras. That said, one area where Samsung cut corners on A37 is that it features a plastic frame instead of the A57’s aluminum. But even when you hold them side by side, it's rather difficult to discern between the two. There's no obvious difference in appearance or button layout, so the main way to tell the two apart is by feeling for the cooler touch you typically get from a metal chassis. Alternatively, if you look closely, you'll notice that the A37 has slightly thicker bezels around the outside of its screen. 

Here's a closer look at the A37's color options. Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Compared to the Galaxy A17, the A37's Exynos 1480 felt significantly snappier and much better equipped for multitasking or AI-based tasks like removing unwanted objects from photos. Regardless, as the less expensive of Samsung's new midrange phone options, the company did a really good job disguising the major differences between the two new models. 

Galaxy A57 impressions

To be honest, the A57 wasn't quite as appealing as the A37 due to its higher price and no additional features. The main tool it has that isn't available on its more affordable sibling is Samsung's Best Face camera tool, which allows the phone to analyze people's expressions so you can select your favorite reaction and put it in the photo you want. On paper, its Exynos 1680 chip should be a bit faster, but in normal use, it's really hard to tell. And unlike the A37, which comes in four colors (white, charcoal, lavender and gray/green, depending on the retailer), the A57 is only available in navy. 

Early thoughtsWhile they look the same, the A57 features an aluminum chassis instead of plastic like on the A37, which should be better for long term durability. Sam Rutherford for Engadget

As a more powerful and more premium alternative to the $200 A17, the A37 feels like a worthy upgrade for the money. It offers noticeably smoother performance along with a more elegant hole-punch selfie cam (instead of a waterdrop) and stereo speakers (instead of mono). Starting at $450, the A37 can also undercut the Pixel 10a while offering a larger 6.7-inch AMOLED display (versus 6.3 inches for the Pixel) and a smattering of equivalent AI features. And in some ways, the wider selection of colors just reinforces that Samsung is probably placing bigger bets on the A37's market prospects. If I were looking for an affordable Android phone with a big screen, I'd give more consideration to this new middle child in Samsung's A-series lineup.

Aside from bezels that are a tiny bit bigger, the Galaxy A37 (left) looks almost exactly the same as the more expensive Galaxy A57 (right).Sam Rutherford for Engadget

As for the A57, it's certainly not a bad phone, but starting at $550, it suffers from being in a much more competitive price bracket. For those who prefer smaller devices, the $500 Pixel 10a is cheaper while offering even better AI tools, a cleaner UI, wireless charging, a slightly larger battery and unmatched photo quality. However, the A57's biggest rival is arguably another Samsung phone: the Galaxy S25 FE. Aside from slower wired charging, it has an even nicer design, an extra year of software and security updates (seven total) and a proper telephoto camera instead of a macro lens. And while its MSRP is a bit higher at $650, it's regularly on sale for under $600 (or less), which effectively sidesteps the A57's biggest advantage. 

That said, no matter which one you prefer, more options for affordable gadgets are always welcome — especially with the price of smartphones and PCs increasing due to the global RAM shortage.

The Galaxy A37 and A57 will officially go on sale April 9. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-a37-and-a57-hands-on-the-cheaper-phone-might-be-a-winner-120000965.html?src=rss

Apple has introduced more than just new features, like an AI playlist generator, with iOS 26.4 in the UK. The company now requires users in the region to verify their ages and to prove they’re 18 years old or above before they can access “certain services or features, or take certain actions on their account.” Users can verify their ages in Settings by linking a credit card to their account or scanning an ID. For people who’ve had an Apple account for a while, the company will check if they already have a payment method on file that can prove they’re of age.

The company says it will automatically switch on its Web Content Filter and Communication Safety features for everyone under 18 and for those who haven’t verified their ages. These tools are integrated into Apple’s operating systems and can restrict users from accessing specific websites on Safari and third-party browsers, as well as warn users when they’re receiving or sending images and videos containing nudity.

Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, praised Apple for the decision, especially since it’s not required to implement age verification for the iOS or its App Store under the region’s Online Safety Act. “Apple’s decision that the UK will be one of the first countries in the world to receive new child safety protections on devices is a real win for children and families,” the regulator said. “Our rules are flexible and designed to encourage innovation, particularly in age assurance. We've worked closely with Apple and other services to ensure they can be applied in a variety of contexts in order to ensure users are protected. This will build on the strong foundations of the Online Safety Act, from widespread age checks that keep young people away from harmful content, to blocking high-risk sites and stepping up action against child sexual abuse material.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-introduces-age-verification-for-icloud-accounts-in-the-uk-115340237.html?src=rss

Sony Honda Mobility, the automotive venture from two of Japan’s most storied companies, has swung the axe on its EV project. In a statement, it said it would “discontinue the development and launch” of the Afeela 1 and 2, its long-in-development electric cars. The company added it would review its “business direction,” and announce its future plans “at the earliest possible opportunity.” Which, if we’re honest, probably means the whole thing is going to be shut down, or scaled back so much it’s no longer worth talking about.

2026 has not been a great year for Honda. On March 12, it posted an up-to $15.7 billion loss as it wrote off a big chunk of its investment in EVs. The US’ pivot toward fossil fuels, removal of federal EV tax credits and the imposition of tariffs has hit its business pretty hard. Not to mention the high-profile embarrassment of its current F1 engine project with Aston Martin, which promised so much and has delivered less than nothing. 

Sony’s journey into the automotive world began six years ago with the announcement of the Vision-S, the car which would eventually be re-christened Afeela. But while the product looked good on trade show stands, it stood still while the rest of the car world sprinted ahead. In January, Tim Stevens said Afeela 1 looked a little dated, and a little lacking in emotion, and a lot more expensive than comparable models from rivals. It’s also worth noting Sony and Honda’s vision of a smart device on wheels is hardly a novel concept these days.

Not to mention that Afeela 1 is a sedan, being sold to a world that’s increasingly fallen out of love with the type in favor of higher-riding SUVs. In Sony's statement, however, the SUV-aping Afeela 2 didn't even get a mention by name, which hints that it was as much an afterthought for the company as we might have guessed when it was announced. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/sony-and-honda-kill-its-afeela-evs-100426852.html?src=rss

It's about to get a lot easier for creators on Facebook and Instagram to push products to their followers. Meta will now allow creators to include clickable shopping links for products directly in their Reels.

Brand partnerships and affiliate links, in which creators earn a portion of sales generated by their recommendations, are central to how creators earn money from Facebook and Instagram. But Meta has limited the ways in which they can direct their followers off-platform. As a result, creators often rely on third-party "link in bio" services for managing links to the stuff they endorse.

Now, Meta says it will allow eligible creators to link to up to 30 distinct products in a single Reel. the feature will be available on both Instagram and Facebook, though Facebook creators are limited to tagging products from marketplace partners like Amazon. 

The change could be a boon for lifestyle creators and others who rely on their followers regularly buying the stuff they recommend. It brings Meta’s apps up to par with TikTok and YouTube Shorts, both of which have had affiliate shopping features for years. It will also make shopping content a lot harder to ignore, which could risk alienating some people if creators go overboard.

For Meta, the change will give it new insight into what its users are buying. A Meta spokesperson says the company isn't taking a cut from creators' sales via these links for now, though it's probably safe to assume the company will use the data gleaned from them to bolster its ad business. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-letting-creators-fill-their-reels-with-shopping-links-232406681.html?src=rss