Engadget Feed

Not content with stuffing Gemini into all of its own apps and services, Google wants you to adopt its AI assistant on desktops and laptops too. The company released a Gemini Windows app on Tuesday and it's following that up a day later with one for Macs.

Google says the macOS Gemini app is a "native desktop experience" that you can access with a keyboard shortcut. By default, pressing option and space will open a mini chat, while a combo of option, shift and space will open the full Gemini chat experience. You'll be able to adjust these bindings in the app settings.

Users will be able to share anything that's on their screen, including files they have saved on your system, with the chatbot and ask it questions about whatever they’re seeing. This can include anything from images to documents, and data to code.

There's an option to share full web pages with Gemini, not just what's on your display. The Gemini app also supports image and video generation with Nano Banana and Veo, respectively. The app is available on Macs that are running macOS 15 (i.e. macOS Sequoia) or later in all countries and languages in which Gemini is supported. 

"We're building the foundation for a truly personal, proactive and powerful desktop assistant, with more news to share in the coming months," Michael Friedman, group product manager for the Gemini app, wrote in a blog post. That's intriguing, given that Apple's long-delayed, generative AI revamp of Siri may finally debut at WWDC in June. Apple's retooled chatbot, which is slated to have deep integration with macOS apps, is powered by Gemini models.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-unleashes-a-native-gemini-app-for-the-mac-170500185.html?src=rss

Occasionally, you really can have it both ways. For the most part, pellet grills are great for smoking and mid-temperature cooking, but you’ll typically need other grills for high-heat searing and 1,000-degree temperatures(with a few exceptions). Sure, some pellet grills allow you to move the heat deflector for direct access to the fire pot for searing, but that’s still not a cooking experience that will be familiar to gas grill users. 

With the X-Fire Pro 825 ($1,550), Recteq is putting its pellet grill expertise to work in a dual-mode design that’s meant to bridge the gap between gas and wood fire. Of course, this is a smart grill thanks to its Wi-Fi connectivity, and the backbone of this beast is undoubtedly a pellet grill. Plus, the company offers totally separate controls to avoid confusion between Smoke and Grill modes, all combined in a durable, all-stainless steel design. It’s the rare device that really is the 2-in-1 the company claims. 

Design

All Recteq grills are made of stainless steel, but unlike the Deck Boss, Patio Legend and other models in the company’s lineup, the X-Fire Pro doesn’t have a powder coated lid. This isn’t a problem per se, but it does require extra care with cleaning and maintenance to avoid rust. Apart from the cast iron grill grates, the interior components are also stainless steel, so most of this grill is clearly built to last. When you combine that with the robust cart and premium casters that the X-Fire Pro sits on, this grill is one of the most well-designed I’ve reviewed. 

Like most pellet grills, the X-Fire Pro has a digital controller mounted on the side. In this case, it’s situated on the front edge of a shelf on the left of the grill. Single-knob navigation allows you to set cooking temperature and food probe alerts, which can also be done via the Recteq app thanks to the grill’s Wi-Fi connectivity. The X-Fire Pro allows you to use two wired food probes simultaneously, but there’s no option for wireless probes. Recteq does sell wireless probes though, but they connect directly to the company’s app, not to the grill itself.

The X-Fire Pro has two separate sets of controls for its two modes Billy Steele for Engadget

Rather than a traditional on/off switch, the X-Fire Pro is turned on with the far left knob on the front. To do so, you choose between the grill’s two modes, Smoke or Grill. If you select Smoke mode, the controller on the left will light up and you set your desired temperature between 225 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Personally, I prefer a slightly lower minimum temperature, around 180 degrees, to enable things like cold smoking or even mimic the Keep Warm feature that competitors like Traeger offer. In Grill mode, you can expect temperatures from 225-400 degrees on low, 350-650 on medium, 500-850 on high and 800-1,200 on max. 

There are two fire pots inside the X-Fire Pro. The one on the left is used exclusively for Smoke mode while both can be used in Grill mode. I typically set the right side to a higher grilling temperature, since there’s an Adaptive Sear Control for direct access to the flame (there’s a dedicated knob on the front to control this). I would then leave the left side on low, which would give me a hot/cold setup like I would normally use on a gas grill. Of course, you can set both fire pots to the same heat level and use the entire cooking surface at the same temperature. You could also leave one of the fire pots completely off if you needed to do so.     

Dual-mode cooking

Recteq promises that the X-Fire Pro is a pellet grill that will offer the best aspects of gas grilling with familiar knob-based controls. I agree that the large knobs are similar to what you’ll find on a gas grill, although you can’t fine-tune the heat like you can with gas burnersI didn’t find this problematic, though. Where Recteq surpasses propane or natural gas options is the fact that the X-Fire Pro entirely runs on wood pellets, so your food tastes much better. Just keep in mind that it’s a different flavor than charcoal. 

During my testing, I unexpectedly spent most of my time using the X-Fire Pro in Grill mode. I cooked steaks, chicken, burgers, sausages and more, all of which tasted a lot better than they would have on a gas grill. Even at high temperatures, you still get some wood flavor, which helped elevate my sous vide New York Strips beyond a simple high-heat sear. Of course, I also had the option to open the Adaptive Sear Control for direct-flame finishing, which was absolutely the right move for steaks and burgers. 

One important caveat about Grill mode is that the digital controller for Smoke mode completely turns off. You operate this mode entirely with the front-mounted knobs — just like you would a gas grill. As such, you don’t have access to the food probes or any Wi-Fi features that Smoke mode employs. I can understand why Recteq would want to keep the two modes separate, but I do wish there was a way to use the food probes to track internal temperature of things like steak and chicken, or any items where exact doneness is essential. 

A pork shoulder (Boston Butt) cooked on the X-Fire Pro Billy Steele for Engadget

When it comes to smoking, the X-Fire Pro works just as well as any other pellet grills I’ve reviewed from Traeger, Weber and others. It’s very much a set-it-and-forget-it device, if you want it to be, which means you can put on a pork shoulder or a brisket early in the morning and it will be ready by dinner. But since the X-Fire Pro has two fire pots and therefore two smaller pellet hoppers instead of one larger one, each hopper’s capacity is limited to just10 pounds. While I had no trouble getting through an 8-hour smoke session with a full hopper (at 275 degrees), I wouldn’t feel comfortable with overnight cooks due to the reduced pellet supply. In Grill mode, though, a single full hopper on the right was always enough to get through a cook.  

Recteq says the digital controller can maintain the set temperature in Smoke mode within five degrees. I found this to be true during all of my low-and-slow cooking, and the graph in the app confirms it. The only dips it showed corresponded to the times I opened the lid. This performance was consistent across multiple uses of the X-Fire Pro, although on one particularly cold and very windy day, I did see some greater fluctuations (there’s a warning about this in the user manual). Under normal weather conditions though, this grill is reliable at maintaining the desired cooking temperature in Smoke mode.

Other features on the X-Fire Pro

The main cooking surface of the X-Fire Pro consists of four removable cast iron grates. These are reversible with one side for general use and the other with wider bars for more apparent sear marks. There’s also a shallow top grate above the primary cooking area, perfect for resting foods when they’re done or warming buns in Grill mode. In Smoke mode, you could also put another rack or two of ribs up there, but it’s not big enough for larger cuts of meat. 

Most pellet grills direct ash and grease to a catch pan of some sort. Since the X-Fire Pro has two fire pots, it has two ash removal trays on either side with levers to help with the debris. Like every other pellet grill, you’ll need to clean out some ash from the cooking chamber every few uses, and the best way to do that is with a shop vacuum. Recteq cautions against allowing grease buildup with Smoke mode, but I never found this to be a problem. That’s likely due to the fact that I used Grill mode between low-and-slow cooking sessions, so I probably burned off any excess residue. What’s more, I like to use aluminum pans for pork shoulders for easier cleanup, rather than placing them directly on the grates. 

The X-Fire Pro's adjustable sear control Billy Steele for Engadget

Like every other Wi-Fi-enabled pellet grill I’ve tested, the X-Fire Pro works with an app that allows you to control and monitor it from afar. You can keep tabs on both grill and food probe temperatures as well as turn the whole thing off. Recteq’s app also has more advanced features like temperature graphs, a 30-day cooking history and over 60 step-by-step guided recipes. Plus, you can save cooking sessions with notes for future reference and the app’s complete recipe book houses over 450 dishes. The company prides itself on the quality of its app, and I can confirm it’s the most reliable mobile software I’ve used during a smart grill review.

Now let’s discuss a few things you won’t find on the X-Fire Pro. First, there’s no option for a folding front shelf since the pellet hopper is front-mounted. The hopper lid gives you a slight ledge to rest the corner of a pan or tray, but it’s not enough to do any kind of wrapping or setting anything down completely. There’s also no interior lighting, which was probably the thing I missed most from other pellet grills. Sure, we can debate the utility of how some companies arrange these lights, but something is better than nothing, especially when you’re loading a grill before dawn or finishing a cook after dark. 

The competition

While there are other pellet grills with direct-searing capabilities, none of those offer the dual-mode functionality of the X-Fire Pro. For example, several Pit Boss models have levers for open access to the fire box — or, as the company calls, it the Flame Broiler. Some companies offer open-lid modes, like Weber does on the Searwood, but not all of those designs allow you to get direct access to the fire. These grills also let you set a high searing temperature on the regular controls rather than giving you completely a separate operating method like Recteq does. Again, the appeal with the X-Fire Pro is something familiar to both pellet and gas grillers with controls best-suited for each style of cooking. And yes, the $1,550 price puts this firmly in the premium category, but when you consider it’s two grills in one, that amount doesn’t seem excessive. 

The X-Fire Pro features an all-stainles-steel design Billy Steele for Engadget Wrap-up

Rarely does a device live up to its billing as a double-duty workhorse. With the X-Fire Pro, Recteq has successfully combined the best aspects of pellet grills with a dedicated high-heat mode and separate controls that will be familiar to gas grillers. This model offers robust build quality, reliable performance and Wi-Fi connectivity for extended smoking sessions. The smaller pellet hoppers require slightly more vigilance, and there are a few features I’d love to see in the future, but Recteq has certainly bolstered its reputation for well-built smart grills with this dual-mode machine. I’d much rather keep tabs on my pellet supply than guess if my propane tank is empty.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/recteq-x-fire-pro-825-review-a-smart-grill-that-pulls-double-duty-170000586.html?src=rss

Snap is laying off around 1,000 staff, amounting to 16 percent of its workforce, which it will seemingly replace with AI. The cuts were announced in a company-wide memo from CEO Evan Spiegel, who added that more than 300 open roles are also being closed.

Spiegel said the "incredibly difficult" decision would likely save Snap more than $500 million by the second half of 2026, in turn helping it to "establish a clearer path to net-income profitability." Impacted staff were notified by email and the company’s North America-based team were instructed to work from home. Snap said it would provide four-month severance packages to those affected by the layoffs, as well as healthcare and other entitlements.

"While these changes are necessary to realize Snap’s long-term potential, we believe that rapid advancements in artificial intelligence enable our teams to reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support our community, partners, and advertisers," Spiegel wrote. "We have already witnessed small squads leveraging AI tools to drive meaningful progress across several important initiatives, including Snapchat+, enhanced ad platform performance, and efficiency improvements in our Snap Lite infrastructure."

Snap laid off around 20 percent of its employees in 2022, with further cuts made in 2023 and 2024. It follows in the footsteps of a number of tech companies laying off employees in favor of AI in a move to boost efficiency, including Amazon, Fiverr, Microsoft and Pinterest in the last year. Snap is expected to launch the consumer version of its Specs AR glasses later this year, and recently span off the brand into its own business.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/snap-is-laying-off-16-percent-of-its-workforce-blames-ai-162456069.html?src=rss

The shoe company Allbirds, famous for its wool trainers, is pivoting to AI. You read that right. The San Francisco company has plans "to pivot its business to AI compute infrastructure, with a long-term vision to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service and AI-native cloud solutions provider." It's also changing its name to NewBird AI.

This is subject to shareholder approval, with a vote scheduled for May 18. Once approved, the company will raise $50 million from an unnamed investor to assist with this enterprise. This money will be used for the "acquisition and monetization of graphics processing units, related high-performance computing infrastructure capable to support high workloads and other related assets." In other words, all of the things one would need to start an AI compute company.

Allbirds, the shoe brand, now says it's an AI compute company. pic.twitter.com/MRAG2LXyY9

— Tracy Alloway (@tracyalloway) April 15, 2026

Allbirds has always been known as an eco-friendly shoe company and, well, there's no real way to do AI while protecting the environment. The company plans on getting rid of any eco-friendly branding, with stockholders being asked to approve a charter amendment proposal to "remove references to the company being operated for the environmental conservation public benefit."

Investors absolutely love AI, despite rising public sentiment against the technology. To that end, the announcement that Allbirds was transitioning from shoes, a product category it has a decade of experience in, to AI compute, a product category it has no experience in, shot the stock up by over 400 percent. Financial Times has suggested this uptick will be short-lived and that retail investors should stay away.

Allbirds was once valued at $4 billion. It just struck a deal to sell most of itself for $39 million. https://t.co/DsX89JdtEM

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 31, 2026

This pivot to AI cloud compute is surprising and, frankly, bizarre, but something drastic was bound to happen to Allbirds at some point. The shoe company was once riding high, with a valuation of around $4 billion as recently as 2021. It sold its shoe business and branding to an investment firm earlier this month for just $39 million.

Allbirds isn't the only company pivoting to compute in an effort to feed the hungry goblin called AI. Boom Supersonic is a startup trying to build the world's fastest airliner but has begun selling gas turbines to AI companies to power data centers. Many Bitcoin mining centers have pivoted to AI and it's worth remembering that NVIDIA's GPUs were once used primarily for PC gaming.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/shoe-company-pivots-to-ai-compute-in-sign-of-a-totally-normal-and-healthy-economy-161449196.html?src=rss

Traeger gave backyard pit masters something more affordable last year with the Woodridge, but now the company is back with an even more budget-friendly option. With the Westwood series, the company offers very basic pellet grill functionality with a simplified controller and a no-frills design. You’ll still get Wi-Fi connectivity that works with the company’s app, and the Westwood grills are compatible with Traeger’s rail-based accessories. As you might expect at the $700 and $800 prices, there are a number of caveats compared to the company’s more expensive options.

The new Westwood grills have an even more streamlined controller than the Woodridge models. A button-based interface replaces the knob, with buttons for increasing and decreasing temperatures, both wired and wireless food probes, Wi-Fi and ignition. The side-mounted hopper has an 18-pound pellet capacity and there are shelves on the left side and underneath the cooking chamber. Inside, a two-tier setup offers either 653 or 823 square inches of cooking space, depending on which Westwood model you opt for.

The Westwood remains a set-it-and-forget-it device. The Wi-Fi connectivity allows you to keep tabs on cooking sessions from anywhere with the Traeger app. You can do everything from low-and-slow smoking to roasting and grilling with the 180-450 degrees Fahrenheit temperature range. There’s also a front rail for the company’s Pop and Lock accessories, which include a folding front shelf.

The Westwood grills have a simplified design with two-tier grates insideTraeger

Of course, with the lower price comes a number of sacrifices. There’s no mention of Super Smoke or Keep Warm modes that Traeger offers on some of its more expensive grills. The Westwood only supports one wired food probe, so you’ll have to plan accordingly there. If you’re willing to spend an extra $80, these new grills do connect with Traeger’s wireless meat probe, so you at least have an option for additional food monitoring. Lastly, there’s no mention of a pellet sensor inside the hopper, which is a handy component for keeping track of your fuel supply.

While Traeger has consistently focused on midrange and premium pellet grills in recent years, the Westwood and Westwood XL are now the company’s most affordable options. These new grills will replace the popular Pro series in Traeger’s lineup. What’s more, new affordable options come at time when the company faces financial troubles and is currently in the midst of an ongoing restructuring.

The Westwood and Westwood XL are now available from grill retailers including Ace Hardware.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/traeger-debuts-westwood-smart-pellet-grills-that-start-at-700-160448450.html?src=rss

Chinese phonemaker Vivo has been pushing the limits of smartphone photography in the last few years. However, the availability of its phones — like last year’s X200 Ultra, with its beefy add-on telephoto — has been intermittent in the West.

The company says the X300 Ultra its first global flagship launch, although there’s still no word on a US launch or pricing at the time of writing. Like the latest phones from Xiaomi and Oppo, Vivo is also obsessing over larger camera sensors, peripherals and a dizzying array of technical photography specs, with a particular focus on cinematic video recording.

Collaborating with Zeiss again, the X300 Ultra features a “triple prime lens” camera system with 85, 35 and 14mm equivalent focal lengths. This can be punched up to 400mm equivalent with a new telephoto extender, the messily-named Zeiss Telephoto Extender Gen 2 Ultra, whose price is also unknown for now.

Even without that add-on, Vivo has built its 85mm equivalent 200-megapixel telephoto camera to handle most of your zoom-heavy shooting moments. A “gimbal-grade” APO (apochromatic) camera is designed to correct color fringing and stabilize your shots. These are both typical issues when using higher zoom levels. In a dedicated “snapshot” mode, Autofocus tracking will even work at 60 fps, which I’m excited to test, as the phone can also shoot at up to 12 fps. Vivo says its optical image stabilization can correct up to three degrees of movement.

Other cameras are similarly powerful, spec-wise. The 35mm equivalent Zeiss “Documentary” camera uses a 1/1.12-inch 200MP Sony sensor and is apparently engineered for strong low-light performance and portrait shooting, with an f/1.8 aperture. Finally, there’s a 50MP ultrawide rounding out the camera lineup.

All three rear cameras support up to 4K 120fps 10-bit log video and the same in Dolby Vision. Vivo says the X300 Ultra will capture “film-like” color performance without the need for editing. If you want to dig into editing, however, it supports 10-bit log video for more dynamic range and color depth.

Vivo is going hard on video capture. The X300 Ultra's new “pro video mode" has an upgraded monitoring feature that supports users’ custom LUTs, showing a real-time preview of how it will look while recording in log. Vivo’s log format is also compatible with ACES workflow, making it easier to integrate the X300 Ultra alongside other cinema cameras.

Vivo

To make it easier to use for hypothetical professional shoots, Vivo has collaborated with camera-peripheral maker SmallRig on a video-rig kit. This includes an expandable camera cage with quick-release ports (alongside multiple cold shoe mounts), dual handgrips and even a physical shutter control and zoom buttons. There’s also a cooling fan to keep the X300 Ultra recording at high resolution for extended periods.

It’s otherwise a flagship phone everywhere else, with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 processor and a 6.82-inch display at 3,168 x 1,440 resolution, topping out at an industry-leading 144Hz refresh rate. The X300 Ultra also supports up to 100W FlashCharge and 40W wireless charging (with compatible Vivo chargers) and a huge 6,600mAh battery.

We’re planning to test the X300 Ultra in the very near future. At the time of writing, the company is keeping pricing and launch dates to itself. We’ll update this story once we hear those crucial details. It’s also likely to face immediate competition from sibling brand Oppo, which has also been teasing an ultra iteration of its latest flagship phone, the Find X9 Ultra.

For now, Vivo says the X300 Ultra will launch across Asia, as well as parts of Europe (Austria, Spain, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy and Russia) and several other countries, including Brazil. And yep, no US, Canada or the UK on that list.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/vivo-x300-ultra-launch-powerful-camera-phone-availability-160008605.html?src=rss

A collaboration between Spotify and Bookshop.org that allows readers to purchase physical books in the Spotify app is now live in the US and UK.

Rather than positioning audiobooks as the hard copy-killer, Spotify is encouraging you to see them as complimentary to one another. First announced back in February, the new partnership with Bookshop.org appears to be an acknowledgement from Spotify that physical still reigns supreme in the book world. Bookshop is a digital marketplace that enables indie booksellers to take their businesses online, and Spotify says any purchase made through its app will "directly support those bookshops and the authors who brought the story to life."

When viewing an audiobook on Spotify, where available you should now see a "Get a copy for your bookshelf" link that redirects you to the Bookshop.org website, which takes over the rest of the purchase and shipping process, reports TechCrunch. The feature is now live on Android, with iOS support arriving next week.

Key to this partnership is the new Page Match feature that Spotify launched in February, which allows readers to sync their progress between audiobooks and physical or ebooks so they can jump between formats seamlessly. When reading a paperback, you can use your phone camera to scan the page you reach and continue from that point in the audiobook. It also allows you to scan ereader pages so you can pick up when you left off in the audiobook, and vice versa.

Spotify has today expanded Page Match to support more than 30 new languages, including French, German and Swedish, while Audiobook Recaps are now available on Android. Introduced last year, initially for iOS users, these AI-powered audio summaries refresh you on your progress before you start reading, becoming available once you pass the 10-minute threshold in a book.

Spotify launched audiobooks in 2022 and now offers 15 hours of free listening time a month to Premium subscribers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/spotify-is-selling-books-now-144340074.html?src=rss

Most teens in the United States say that Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat aren't harming their mental health, though a slightly higher proportion report negative effects on their sleep and productivity, according to a new report from Pew Research. The report offers fresh insights into how teens perceive the effects of social media at a time when there are increasing calls to ban younger teens from social platforms altogether. 

The report is based on a survey of 1,458 teens between the ages of 13 and 17. Teens were asked about their use of Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok and how those apps affect them. Pew also asked the teens' parents to weigh in. 

Relatively few teens reported negative mental health effects, with 9 percent of Snapchat and TikTok users and 11 percent of Instagram users saying they thought the services had hurt their mental health. More teens reported negative effects on sleep and productivity, however, especially when it comes to use of TikTok. Thirty-seven percent of teens said their use of the app had hurt their sleep and 29 percent reported that it had affected their productivity. Even so, the majority of teens responded that the apps had "neither helped nor hurt" their mental health, sleep or productivity.

Teens and their parents differed on the effects of social media platforms.Pew Research

A significant number of teens did say that social media apps had helped their friendships, particularly Snapchat. At the same time, the app had a "somewhat higher rate" of bullying and harassment compared with the other services.

While the self-reported data is hardly a definitive answer to whether social media is harming teens, the numbers do offer a somewhat different narrative than the one that lawmakers, regulators and other critics have used to pursue social media bans and civil litigation against major companies. Meta, Snap and TikTok are all facing lawsuits that claim the platforms have purposefully created addicting features and enabled other harms to teen users, 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, when researchers surveyed those same teens' parents, they had a more negative view of the apps' impact on their children. About four in ten parents said that social media hurts their kids' sleep and productivity and about a quarter thought it hurt their mental health. Forty-four percent of parents whose teens use TikTok said they thought their child was spending "too much" time in the app. 

"The share of parents who say the same of Snapchat and Instagram is lower," the researchers note. "But the same pattern continues for both, with parents being more likely than teens to describe their teens’ use of these sites as excessive."

The report isn't the first time Pew has polled teens on their relationship with social media. Last year, a separate report found that teens were becoming more worried about social media, though they were less likely to say they had been negatively impacted on a personal level. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/most-us-teens-say-tiktok-instagram-and-snapchat-arent-hurting-or-helping-their-mental-health-140000912.html?src=rss

Few creative software companies have embraced AI like Adobe, with the company embedding image, video, audio and vector generation tools into nearly all its apps. Now, Adobe is taking on AI apps like Gemini's Nano Banana with its new prompt-based Firefly AI Assistant. You simply describe the outcome you want and it will execute "complex multi-step workflows" across Photoshop, Premiere, Lightroom, Illustrator and other apps to achieve that result, Adobe says. 

The complexity of apps like Photoshop creates a "barrier to entry" for users who may have a vision but lack skill, according to Adobe. That's where the FireFly AI Assistant comes in. It works much like ChatGPT and other prompt-based AI assistants, but it has Adobe's suite of powerful apps behind it to execute the required steps. "You no longer have to map the process. You can start from the outcome," the company says. 

Adobe emphasizes that while the Firefly AI Assistant is doing the grunt work, you remain in control. "You stay in the loop as the assistant executes, stepping in at any point to guide direction, adjust outputs and create something that's distinctly yours." It also maintains Adobe's native file formats, so the final output remains fully editable. 

Adobe

You'll be able to launch complex workflows with Creative Skills that let you run multi-step workflows from a single prompt, then customize them to your working style. For instance, you can start with the "social media assets" skill then direct the assistant to crop or use Generative Extend to make it fit the format of Instagram, Facebook and other platforms. 

It can also handle context-aware creative decisions. In one example, Adobe describes a product photo set in a forest. "The assistant might give you a simple slider to increase or reduce the surrounding trees and foliage — making it easy to adjust the scene without complex edits," the company explains. Finally, to gather and act on feedback, the Assistant can organize and share work among team members via Adobe's Frame.io. 

Adobe emphasizes that Firefly AI Assistant is grounded in the company's pro-grade creative tools to deliver "precise, context aware results" in a way that other AI agents can't and will learn your style over time. That's an argument the company no doubt hopes will counter a narrative that generative AI apps like Nano Banana are "eating software" like Adobe Photoshop. Adobe's Firefly AI Assistant will arrive in public beta in the coming weeks. 

Should you wish to use other AI image generator within Adobe apps, the company has added Kling 3.0 and Kling 3.0 Omni, "all-purpose video models optimized for fast, high-quality production with smart storyboarding and audio-visual sync." That's on top of other models already offered, including Google's Nano Banana 2 and Veo 3.1, Runway Gen-4.5, Luma AI’s Ray 3.14, ElevenLabs’ Multilingual v2, Topaz Lab’s Topaz Astra and others. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/adobes-firefly-ai-assistant-works-across-photoshop-premiere-and-other-apps-130055883.html?src=rss

After unveiling a 4K version of its Fire TV Stick Select at its hardware event last September, Amazon is launching the latest version of its HD dongle today. The Fire TV Stick HD costs $35, comes with Alexa+ built in and offers the redesigned experience that the company previewed at CES in January. It might be confusing, considering Amazon makes at least five different configurations of its streaming stick, but the model announced today comes in at the entry-level and brings some meaningful upgrades.

First, it’s about 30 percent narrower, according to the company, which makes it easier to fit into tight spaces (or to wedge between your TV and wall, perhaps). It comes with a short USB-C cable with a USB-A head that plugs into one of the USB ports on your TV, allowing it to draw power without the typically longer cables that would connect to wall adapters. To quote the company, the new Fire TV Stick HD is “optimized for Direct Power through a TV’s USB port, so it fits more neatly behind a TV without requiring a separate power adapter.”

But if your TV doesn’t have a USB port for that, you can still use a USB-C cable with a traditional wall adapter to power the new Fire TV Stick HD. Given how little power the USB ports on a TV provide, it's likely any old charger will do.

A picture with a diagram showing where the Fire TV Stick HD would slip behind a TV in a bedroom.Amazon

The new dongle also comes with other improvements like support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3, and Amazon says it’s “more than 30 percent faster on average” compared to its predecessor, “which means it turns on and opens apps more quickly.” That, together with the redesigned layout, should make it easier to find what you want to watch.

And if you’re a Prime Member or subscribed to Alexa+, you can also ask the assistant for show recommendations, dim your lights or pick up where you left off on a Prime video in a different room, if you have a compatible TV set in there.

Amazon also said that “in the coming months,” it will add a “new Adaptive Display setting to the Fire TV Stick HD.” This is supposed to be an accessibility feature that makes onscreen elements like words, menus and images easier to see. The company said that it would proportionally scale content artwork while enlarging text and menus, so the overall experience is “more balanced.” Multiple size options will be available.

A screenshot showing how the Fire TV interface handles larger text for better readability.Amazon

Like its predecessors, the Fire TV Stick HD is a pretty straightforward device that brings modern features to older TVs. At $35, it’s a relatively budget-friendly price, though we recommend springing for the 4K Max model if you have a bit more to spare. If not, the new Fire TV Stick HD will start shipping on April 29 to those in the US, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, with more regions coming later.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/amazons-new-fire-tv-stick-hd-is-slimmer-than-ever-and-has-no-power-adapter-130000885.html?src=rss

When Amazon introduced the Ember Artline TVs in January, it didn’t have a specific date of availability to share. Now, the company is ready to supply the details: Pre-orders open today, and units ship on April 22 in the US and Canada, “with the UK and Germany to follow.” The company also announced a new version of its Fire TV Stick HD this morning, as well as some new features for its Fire TV software.

For those who don’t remember offhand, the Ember Artline is basically Amazon’s answer to Samsung’s Frame TV. It’s a matte, 4K QLED panel that can double as artwork when you’re not watching TV, and to that end, Amazon is including more than 2,000 pieces of art for free. That’s also part of the Fire TV package that comes on the new Fire TV Stick HD, so you don’t necessarily need an Ember Artline to access them.

In its press release, Amazon said “Our collection spans artistic movements and includes Impressionist classics by Monet, Degas, and Renoir, alongside contemporary works of street art, murals, mixed media, and photography. Customers also have access to 60 exclusive motion video pieces commissioned by documentary filmmaker Sam Nuttmann, who traveled the world capturing landscape and wildlife scenes.”

To make it easier to match the Ember Artline to your room’s decor, there are 10 frame color options to choose from, and the varieties I saw (a faux wood grain and a muted teal metallic finish) looked quite pleasant. If you really want some help finding artwork that will fit your space, Amazon’s “Match the room” feature might come in handy.

A person holding up a phone taking photos of a room with an Ember Artline TV on the wall.Amazon

At a recent demo, I watched as the company’s representatives scanned a QR code from the TV to pull up the tool on their phone. There, they took three photos of the environment (surrounding walls and furniture, for example) and the system generated suggested pieces of art from the gallery. Using the TV remote, they were then able to choose from the recommendations on the big screen.

In my brief experience, the suggestions were typically quite good at matching the vibe, while offering a variety of styles (geometric, landscapes, modern etc) each time. According to the press release, “the AI tool will suggest artwork from our collection based on the room's colors, overall style, and any recurring themes in their existing artwork, including nature or travel photography.”

If you’d like a more personal touch, you can showcase your own photos instead by connecting your Amazon Photos account. You can also ask Alexa+ to
“play a slideshow of us biking in the mountains,” for example, to pull up memories ad hoc.

An animated GIF showing the Ember Artline TV in various rooms and settings with varying decor.Amazon

That’s not the only new feature coming to the Fire TV ecosystem, by the way. In addition to adding Alexa+ support and the new Fire TV UI it showed off in January, Amazon said that this month, it’s “adding another tool for US customers to seamlessly transfer a show or sports game by asking Alexa to move the content to another enabled Fire TV device in your home.”

So say you started watching a show in your bedroom and wanted to continue on the bigger screen in your living area. You could say “Alexa, move this to the living room.” The demo I saw took place on two Ember Artline TVs on adjacent walls, so the speediness was quite noticeable.

After the VP for Fire TV Aidan Marcuss asked the assistant to move the content over, the second TV picked up where the first left off in just about a second or two. Maybe real-world performance may vary but I can't imagine dashing from my bed to my couch in under three seconds just to avoid missing precious moments of The Boys drama.

For now, the feature is limited to Prime Video content, and Amazon said it plans “to roll it out to more services over time.”

The Ember Artline comes in 55-inch and 65-inch sizes and starts at $900. For context, Samsung’s The Frame (not the Pro versions) is available as a 32-inch model that costs $600, while the 65-inch configuration starts at $1,100 at the moment.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/amazons-budget-friendly-answer-to-the-frame-tv-will-start-shipping-on-april-22-130000337.html?src=rss

Japanese entertainment company Toho has released a teaser video for Godzilla Minus Zero, the upcoming sequel to the award-winning film Godzilla Minus One. The teaser shows the famous monster next to the Statue of Liberty as it rampages across New York. Godzilla Minus Zero is set in 1949, two years after the events of the first film, and will be a direct sequel. You’ll see familiar faces from Minus One in the short trailer, as well, namely Koichi Shikishima and Noriko Oishi, two of the first movie’s main characters.

The kaiju flick was filmed specifically for IMAX with high-definition digital cameras. Even its audio was optimized for the massive screen’s immersive cinema experience. Minus One won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, so expectations are high for this sequel. The good news is that this movie is also helmed by Takashi Yamazaki, who wrote, directed and oversaw the visual effects for Minus One. Godzilla Minus Zero is heading to cinemas in Japan on November 3 and in the United States on November 6 this year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/godzilla-goes-to-new-york-in-minus-zero-teaser-trailer-015029346.html?src=rss

The company is promising details on its "latest AI breakthroughs and updates," but here's hoping for some neat surprises too.

Sony is removing some features from its TV guide and program guide displays for channels received by an over the air TV antenna on select models of Bravia televisions from 2023-2025. Cord Cutters News reported on the changes, which will take effect in late May.

Channel logos and thumbnail images in program descriptions are going away from the built-in TV Guide for antenna TV channels. Only programs from recently watched channels will be shown in the guide, and depending on the channel, program information may not be displayed. Change is also coming for set top box users, with the dedicated Set Top Box TV menu being removed and replaced by a Control menu. This setup will also not show program thumbnail images any longer. 

This is an admittedly narrow use case in the age of both streaming and cable TV, but Sony didn't provide any reason for making the change. And for those people who are impacted, this could be an unpleasant surprise next month that makes the TV guide and program guide much less helpful.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/sony-is-nerfing-its-bravia-tvs-program-guide-225640797.html?src=rss

The Federal Communications Commission has announced that Netgear has been given conditional approval that effectively exempts it from a previous ban on foreign-made networking routers. The conditional approval gives the company a de facto — though potentially temporary — monopoly on the selling and servicing of new consumer routers in the US.

"We're pleased to share that Netgear is the first retail consumer router company to receive conditional approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a trusted consumer router company," Netgear CEO CJ Prober said in a statement. "As a US founded and headquartered company, Netgear is aligned with the vision for a more secure digital future for our customers. For the last thirty years, we have been, and continue to be, committed to leading the consumer router category for the United States and setting the bar for quality, performance, innovation and security."

Both Netgear's lines of Nighthawk and Orbi mesh routers are covered by the approval until October 1, 2027, which appears to mean that the company can continue to offer software updates to both lines and presumably release and sell new models in the future.

The FCC dramatically expanded the Covered List, a collection of communications equipment seen as posing a risk to national security, to cover all foreign-made routers in March 2026. The decision prevents companies who make routers outside of the US from introducing new foreign-made models, and pushing certain software updates to existing models after March 1, 2027. Confusingly, though, it doesn't require anyone to replace their existing router or prevent those companies from selling routers they've already made. Receiving conditional approval is the definitive way companies can get off the list, but part of the FCC's requirements for approval is the company offering a plan to bring some or all of its manufacturing to the US — a theoretically costly decision.

Engadget has contacted Netgear for information about the US manufacturing plan it included in its application for conditional approval. We'll update this article if we hear back.

The vast majority of router companies, even ones that are headquartered in the US like Netgear, build their routers in Asia. It's not clear what makes Netgear's currently foreign-made routers safer than, say, an Amazon Eero 7 or a Google Nest WiFi Pro. Until other companies are given conditional approval, though, Netgear is in a unique position.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/fcc-just-handed-netgear-a-de-facto-router-monopoly-in-the-us-223712324.html?src=rss

Google has introduced a new app for Windows desktops and, unsurprisingly, it puts AI front at center. If you aren't a big fan of Google's Gemini chatbot, then skip on past this download. For those of you who are heavy Gemini users, though, this could mean a simpler and more integrated experience on Windows machines. 

Once installed, you can pull up the app's search bar with the Alt + Space shortcut. Queries typed into this open-ended search box can hunt down information from the web like typical Google search, where AI Mode will be enabled for an extra layer of artificial intelligence for follow-up questions or a deeper dive down a rabbit hole. But the app isn't limited to web search. It can delve into your computer's files, other installed apps or Google Drive files to retrieve information. Screen sharing is also built into the app, which enables using Google Lens to conduct AI-powered searches on content displayed on your monitor. 

The app is rolling out globally today in English. Interestingly, this hasn't been gated to the most recent Windows 11, but it does require a machine running at least Windows 10.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/googles-new-windows-app-is-yet-another-way-to-access-gemini-214000564.html?src=rss

The NAACP is suing xAI and a subsidiary called MZX Tech for allegedly operating unpermitted methane gas turbines to power its Colossus 2 data center in South Memphis. The association is asking the federal district court of the Northern District of Mississippi to declare that the company has violated the Clean Air Act, force it to stop using its unpermitted turbines and assess financial penalties against xAI for violating federal law, among other requests.

The lawsuit claims that xAI — the Elon Musk-founded AI startup now owned by SpaceX — is operating 27 gas turbines without an air permit to power Colossus 2, one of a growing number of data centers xAI has set up to train Grok, its AI assistant. Gas turbines expel pollution, hazardous chemicals and fine particulate matter that are linked to things like heart problems, respiratory diseases and even certain cancers, issues that are particularly concerning given Colossus 2's close proximity to people's homes. Operating these turbines without an air permit also violates the Clean Air Act, which requires sources of pollution to be permitted before being operated or constructed.

The NAACP is represented in the lawsuit by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice. Before filing today's lawsuit, the NAACP sent xAI a 60-day notice of intent to sue in compliance with the Clean Air Act. xAI's failure to respond to the notice is why the lawsuit is moving forward today.

"xAI's continued operation of these turbines without a permit and without adequate pollution controls is not only illegal, it's an insult to families living nearby who for months have expressed serious concerns about how air pollution from the company's personal power plant could impact their health and well-being," Ben Grillot, a Senior Attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said. "xAI must be held accountable for its reckless, unlawful actions — and that's exactly what this lawsuit aims to do."

Besides the high cost of sourcing the components that train and run AI models, AI companies often have to generate power to run the data centers where all those components are being installed. Oracle is reportedly turning to gas generators like xAI. Google, Meta and Amazon, meanwhile, have all invested in or signed deals with nuclear energy providers to power their data center efforts. Building new energy sources for data centers is one of several price-lowering methods proposed by the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, an agreement several tech companies signed to try and prevent data centers from raising the cost of the average person's energy bill.

Quickly building out new energy sources might help ease costs, but it doesn't account for the negative environmental impacts of having a new power plant in your neighborhood, something the Trump administration doesn't appear all too interested in addressing. In his latest AI framework proposal, President Donald Trump largely ignored the environmental impact of AI in favor of calling for the permitting process for things like on-site energy generators to be streamlined.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/naacp-sues-xai-over-data-center-pollution-213511352.html?src=rss

We're sliding into developer conference season and one of the biggest events on the upcoming calendar is Google I/O. This year's edition is taking place on May 19 and 20. As usual, the in-person element will happen in Mountain View, California, though many of the keynotes and sessions will be livestreamed. Google will surely make its biggest announcements during the opening keynote, which will start at 1PM ET on May 19. A developer keynote will take place later the same day.

As ever, the rumor mill will pick up speed in the leadup to Google I/O. We do have some ideas about what Google will discuss at the event. So let's take a look at what to expect at Google I/O 2026 (we'll update this story as we hear more credible rumors).

What's officially on deckGoogle I/O logoGoogle

When it confirmed the dates for this year's I/O, Google revealed a little bit about what it has in store for us. As you might imagine, AI will be a major focus of the event. Google plans to share its "AI breakthroughs and updates in products across the company, from Gemini to Android, Chrome, Cloud and more," it wrote in a blog post in February. 

There will be news on Gemini model updates as well as agentic coding. Google will have some product demos too.

The company has released its initial schedule of keynotes and sessions, but it doesn't provide us with a lot of specifics as yet. It has lined up discussions on what's new in the likes of Google Play, Firebase (a mobile and web app development platform), the Gemma open model family and the open-source app development framework Flutter. Interestingly, there isn't a dedicated session for Android XR on the schedule just yet.

What to expectLeaked image of Google's Aluminium OS9to5Google

There haven't been many credible leaks ahead of Google I/O as yet, but we can make some educated guesses about what to expect from the event. It's all but certain that we'll get more details about Android 17 at I/O. Developers need time to tweak their apps ahead of the next major version of the operating system rolling out to everyone if they want to take advantage of new features as soon as possible, and they invariably get a heads up about those at I/O every year. (That said, Google has been moving away from a big annual release approach in favor of juicier Pixel Drops/Android updates, so we may not see some of the new features it unveils at I/O for some time.)

As for other operating systems, Google is planning to meld ChromeOS and Android into a unified platform. This seems to be the project that's being referred to as Aluminium OS, which we got a first glimpse of earlier this year thanks to some leaks. I/O seems like the perfect venue for Google to start showing that off to the public.

On the AI front, a reveal of Gemini 4 could be on the docket, along with details of the latest Veo text-to-video model. Maybe we’ll hear more about Project Astra, Google’s pitch for a universal AI assistant.

If Google has some consumer hardware to show off at this year's event, I suspect it'll be an Android XR device or devices, rather than a Pixel phone or watch. There is a chance that we'll get a tease of the Google Pixel 11 lineup. But don't be surprised if we don't see that or the Pixel Watch 5 until Google's dedicated hardware event, which has taken place in August or October in recent years (Google will want to stay well away from Apple's iPhone event, which will likely take place in September as usual). 

Here’s hoping for a big surprise or twoGoogle

Sure, Android updates are all well and good. If Google insists on cramming Gemini and other AI tools into all of its tools and services, we’ll at least listen to what they have to say about all that.

But I have my fingers crossed for some cool surprises. Give us something new from Google X (Alphabet’s moonshot factory, not the thing that was once Twitter), an idea that could be a net benefit for humanity and boost the company’s bottom line at the same time. These events are always more fun when there’s something for us to get genuinely excited about, even if it’s something relatively niche but out there, like the Google Beam 3D video conferencing tech.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/what-to-expect-from-google-io-2026-200252914.html?src=rss

Riot Games released a pile of updates for its long-running MOBA League of Legends. One of the more noteworthy changes coming to the game is the official launch of WASD controls. This alternate option, allowing players to traverse the rift by keyboard rather than by mouse, is rolling out to ranked matches in patch 26.9. 

Riot first announced that it was pursuing support for WASD controls last August. The studio said it wanted to ensure that the alternate control scheme wasn't more powerful than point-and-click movement; Riot said it was targeting a low win-loss rate difference between the options before releasing it to League players. "There's still a small delta in the win-rates between the control schemes, with Point and Click having a minor advantage," according to today's devlog dedicated to this new feature. "We expect that difference will decrease over time as players gain more mastery with WASD, but we will continue to monitor this stat in the future." 

That blog post goes into more detail about how the team tested and gauged community responses to WASD, which is pretty neat stuff if you're a game dev nerd. League will be receiving a few new accessibility improvements, such as custom inputs for moving the mouse cursor and some new flexibility for keybinds, along with the new control scheme. Although Riot was clear to say that it's not adding official support for controllers or gamepads, players will be able to use WASD controls with a joystick.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/league-of-legends-new-wasd-control-scheme-will-be-enabled-for-ranked-later-this-month-193858052.html?src=rss

The RAMpocalypse continues. Microsoft just revealed significant price increases across the entire Surface line of products, according to reporting by Windows Central. The updated pricing has already hit the official Microsoft Store, with other retailers expected to follow suit in the near future.

These are fairly significant upticks. For instance, the base model 15-inch Surface Laptop 7 now starts at $1,600. It cost $1,300 when the laptop was first released back in 2024. It did receive a price increase last year to $1,500, so today's increase tacks on another $100.

The cost balloons even further when upgrading components, as a top-end Laptop 7 with a Snapdragon X Elite, 64GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage now costs a whopping $3650. As a comparison, a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro, 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD comes in at $3,300, and the M5 Pro blasts the Snapdragon X Elite out of the water.

Microsoft

This trend continues with the Surface Pro line of hybrid computers. The 12-inch Surface Pro starts at $1,050, after launching at just $800. The flagship 13-inch Surface Pro cost $1,000 in 2024 and now starts at $1,500. That's a $500 increase in just two years, though the base hard drive did get a bit bigger.

These price increases are, of course, being blamed on generative AI's penchant for eating up RAM and related components. "Due to recent increases in memory and component costs, Surface is updating pricing on Microsoft.com for its current‑generation hardware portfolio," Microsoft wrote in a statement.

Industry reports have also indicated that the company is currently readying refreshes across the Surface line. It's highly likely these new prices will stay in place if component prices don't decrease.

Motorola slapped sudden price increases on the Moto G series right after its new model went live https://t.co/00DzRHXK0f by @chaosromero

— 9to5Google (@9to5Google) April 8, 2026

These aren't the first devices that have shot up in price due to AI. Motorola recently instituted increases that even impacted its budget-friendly phones. Samsung has also pushed up the cost for its Galaxy Z Fold 7.

The PS5 is now much more expensive when compared to the 2020 launch price, though Sony didn't explicitly blame these increases on RAM, but rather "continued pressures in the global economic landscape." There are also rumors that the continued RAM shortage has made it difficult for Valve to manufacture the Steam Deck and likely pushed back the release of the Steam Machine to 2027. 

VDURA hikes its enterprise SSD pricing, now costs 22.6x more than hard drives — the price of a 30TB SSD has climbed 472% https://t.co/iDOZYMtQbB

— Tom's Hardware (@tomshardware) April 10, 2026

SSDs have also shot up in price, with old-school HDDs not far behind. It's getting thorny out there. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsoft-raises-prices-on-surface-pcs-due-to-skyrocketing-ram-costs-181648588.html?src=rss