This digest compiles the latest from Engadget.
Today’s Engadget Roundup
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth comes to Switch 2 on June 3
5 Feb 2026, 4:30 pm by Lawrence Bonk
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is heading to the Switch 2 on June 3. The news was dropped at this morning's Nintendo Direct livestream. This is the second part of the FF7 remake-a-palooza. The first installment, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, was released for Nintendo's console on January 22. Only a six month wait between chapters? Sony fans had to wait four years.
For the uninitiated, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth remakes the middle portion of the PS1 classic Final Fantasy 7. The graphics are, obviously, quite different, but so is the gameplay. This isn't exactly the JRPG you remember, with a real time action system instead of turn-based mechanics.
This is a full port of the PS5 game, further proving that the Switch 2 is a capable little machine. It's certainly pretty to look at, as proven by the trailer. As an aside, the port is also coming to Xbox Series X/S on the very same day.
Now that all of the major consoles will soon be home to both current FF7 remakes, we can join in solidarity as we wait for the third and final installment. Yeah, that's right. A JRPG from 1997 requires three gigantic remakes. We don't even know when the third one is coming out, but rumors suggest 2027.
Today's Nintendo Direct also revealed that a bunch of Bethesda games are heading to the Switch 2, including Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition on February 24, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on May 12 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered sometime later in the year.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-comes-to-switch-2-on-june-3-163009481.html?src=rss
Guerrilla reveals Horizon Hunters Gathering, a co-op action spin-off for PS5 and PC
5 Feb 2026, 4:20 pm by Kris Holt
Horizon is one of PlayStation's biggest franchises at this point. Alongside Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West, there are a bunch of spin-off games. Joining them is Horizon Hunters Gathering, a co-op action game that original Horizon developer Guerrilla is making for PlayStation 5 and PC. We've known since 2022 that the studio was working on a Horizon multiplayer game.
Here, you'll be able to team up with a couple of friends to hunt killer machines, Monster Hunter style. Guerrilla says it's designing the hunts to be challenging and replayable. "Combat is tactical, reactive, and deeply skill-based, building on the tactical precision of the Horizon games while embracing the dynamics of team play," game director Arjan Bak wrote on the PlayStation Blog. The game also has a more stylized look compared with the more grounded visuals of the mainline games.
Horizon Hunters Gathering has multiple game modes. In Machine Incursion, you'll battle waves of machines plus a tough boss. Guerrilla is pitching Cauldron Descent as a longer, multi-stage mode with a series of chambers to work through. These will contain things like battles with machines and "hidden doors that promise power and reward for teams prepared to open them."
There's a roster of characters to choose from that will expand over time. Each hunter has their own melee or ranged weapons and playstyles. The game has a roguelite perk system too, through which you'll be able to shape your hunter's build on each run, and you can select a class that alters their abilities. There's a social hub where you can customize your characters, visit shops, upgrade your gear and assemble a team for a mission.
Guerrilla says Hunters Gathering is canonical to the Horizon universe. It has a narrative campaign with "new mysteries, characters and threats." You’ll be able to play through the story with bots or with friends in co-op. The studio says it will add more adventures over time.
There'll be support for cross-play and cross-progression between PS5 and PC. Guerrilla says it'll have more to share about the game in the coming months, but you won't necessarily need to wait a long time to try it out. The first closed playtest will take place later this month. You can sign up through the PlayStation Beta Program.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/guerrilla-reveals-horizon-hunters-gathering-a-co-op-action-spin-off-for-ps5-and-pc-162058264.html?src=rss
Presidents' Day sales 2026: The best tech deals from Apple, Sony, Roku and others
5 Feb 2026, 3:37 pm by Engadget
Presidents’ Day is a great time to buy appliances, mattresses and furniture as they are often on sale for the holiday. Tech also gets discounted around this time, but you have to do a bit more digging to find actually good deals. And this year, Presidents’ Day comes right after Valentine’s Day and Super Bowl 2026, which means there are some overlapping sales to consider. If you don’t want to sort through the mess of bad deals out there, Engadget has you covered. We’re curating the best President Day sales on tech we can find right here. We’ll update this post through the holiday as more deals become available.
Presidents’ Day deals under $50
Roku Streaming Stick Plus 2025 for $24 (40 percent off): This is one of the most affordable ways to get 4K streaming on almost any TV set. The dongle has a sleek design, it comes with handy remote that can also control your TV’s power and volume and the device gives you access to Roku’s TV operating system, which has tons of ways to watch free content.
Anker Nano 45W USB-C charger for $30 ($10 off): Anker’s latest 45W charger has a small smart display on it that can show you real-time charging stats. It’s compact design is great for travel, as are its foldable prongs.
Blink Mini 2K+ — 2 cameras for $45 (50 percent off): Blink’s latest plug-in security cameras support 2K video and improved audio quality. Like previous versions, these cameras have two-way talk, motion alerts and support for Alexa voice commands.
TurboTax Deluxe for $45 (44 percent off): While it pains us to recommend Intuit’s software, it may be the best (and cheapest) option for some this tax season — particularly those who don't qualify for Free File.
Anker Nano 5K ultra-slim magnetic power bank for $46 (16 percent off): This Qi2 power bank measures less than a half inch thick and snaps onto the backs of the latest iPhones for wireless charging. Its 5K capacity will be enough to top up your phone when it’s close to empty, preventing you from searching for a charger or outlet.
Presidents’ Day deals on Apple devices
Apple iPhone Air MagSafe battery pack for $79 (20 percent off): This magnetic power bank will add up to 65 percent additional battery charge to the iPhone Air, but note that it only works with Apple’s new, ultra-slim smartphone. We’ve tested plenty of others that also work with other iPhone and smartphone models.
Apple Watch Series 11 for $299 ($100 off): The latest flagship Apple Watch has excellent performance, a boosted battery life and a lightweight design that you can comfortably wear all day long — and even into the night to track sleep.
iPad mini (A17 Pro ) for $399 ($100 off): The updated iPad mini runs on the A17 Pro chip for improved performance, plus it has an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, a 12MP ultra wide camera with Center Stage, USB-C charging and compatibility with the Apple Pencil Pro.
Beats Studio Pro for $170 (51 percent off): Beats updated these cans to have improved sound quality, and you can really hear the difference from models that came before it. These headphones also have solid Transparency mode, good voice performance and USB-C audio.
Beats Solo 4 headphones for $130 (35 percent off): These on-ear headphones support spatial audio and dynamic head tracking, and they have up to 50 hours of battery life. The “fast fuel” feature allows them to get up to five hours of playback time with just a quick 10-minute power-up.
More Presidents’ Day deals on tech
Disney+ and Hulu bundle (one month) for $10 ($3 off)
Shark Steam & Scrub steam mop for $125 (22 percent off)
Levoit LVAC-200 cordless vacuum for $150 (25 percent off)
Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds for $179 (22 percent off)
Roku 55-inch 4K smart TV for $248 (29 percent off)
Sonos Beam Gen 2 soundbar for $369 ($130 off)
Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones for $398 (13 percent off)
Anker Nebula Capsule 3 projector for $540 (28 percent off)
Hisense 75-inch QD7 Mini-LED 4K smart TV for $548 (16 percent off)
DJI Mini 3 Fly More Combo drone bundle for $575 (20 percent off)
Google Pixel 10 Pro for $899 (18 percent off)
Sony 55-inch Bravia XR8B 4K smart TV for $998 (9 percent off)
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/presidents-day-sales-2026-the-best-tech-deals-from-apple-sony-roku-and-others-163000379.html?src=rss
Substack CEO informs users of a data breach
5 Feb 2026, 3:11 pm by Matt Tate
The digital publishing platform Substack has told some of its users that their data was stolen in a security breach. The affected account holders had their email addresses and phone numbers scraped in a hack that occurred in October 2025.
In an email posted on Bluesky, Substack CEO, Christ Best, said the company became aware of the breach on February 3, which involved an "unauthorized third party to access limited user data without permission." While internal metadata was also shared in the hack, Best said that credit card numbers and other financial details were not. No passwords were obtained either.
As well as apologizing to Substack users, the company’s CEO also said in the email that the security vulnerabilities have now been addressed. "We are conducting a full investigation, and are taking steps to improve our systems and processes to prevent this type of issue from happening in the future," he said. Best added that there is no evidence that any of the stolen data is being "misused," but advised the affected account holders to be wary of suspicious emails or text messages they may receive.
The newsletter platform has not disclosed how many accounts were hacked, but Bleeping Computer reported that a database allegedly containing 697, 313 stolen data records from Substack was leaked on the hacking forum BreachForums.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/substack-ceo-informs-users-of-a-data-breach-151113809.html?src=rss
Fallout 4 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle get Switch 2 release dates
5 Feb 2026, 3:00 pm by Kris Holt
Todd Howard made a surprise appearance at the end of Thursday’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase to share updates about a few Bethesda Game Studios that are coming to Nintendo Switch 2 this year. The first of those is Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition, which will hit the console on February 24.
This version of Fallout 4 debuted on PC, Xbox and PlayStation in November. It includes the base game and all DLC, as well as Creation Club mods. It’ll land on Switch 2 just a few weeks after the second season of the Fallout TV show wrapped up. A Switch 2 version was previously announced, but we didn’t have a release date until now.
In a few months — on May 12, to be exact — you’ll be able to play the fantastic Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on your Switch 2 (a port of that game for Nintendo’s system was also announced last year). And then, later this year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered will arrive on the console. Let’s just hope Bethesda has properly optimized that for Switch 2.
Of course, these aren’t the first Bethesda games to land on Nintendo systems. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has long been available for the Switch. A Switch 2 version arrived in December.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/fallout-4-and-indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle-get-switch-2-release-dates-150023624.html?src=rss
A potential Starlink competitor just got FCC clearance to launch 4,000 satellites
5 Feb 2026, 2:39 pm by Andre Revilla
Aspiring Starlink competitor Logos Space Services has secured FCC clearance to launch more than 4,000 broadband satellites into low Earth orbit by 2035, as reported by Space News. Under FCC regulations, the company must deploy half of the approved amount within the next seven years.
The company is headed by its founder, Milo Medin, a former project manager at NASA as well as a former vice president of wireless services at Google. The company has been raising money since it opened its doors in 2023 and reportedly hopes to deploy its first satellite by 2027. Logos’ planned low Earth orbit constellation would beam high-speed broadband internet to customers worldwide, including government and enterprise users, much like Starlink.
While the satellite broadband market is growing, Starlink remains the biggest player by far. The European Space Agency estimates there are just over 14,000 functioning satellites currently in orbit and we know that roughly 9,600 of them are a part of the Starlink constellation. The SpaceX subsidiary recently asked the FCC for clearance to launch a million satellites, though in reality, the FCC will likely trend closer to the 7,500 it approved on the last go-around. The ESA says it expects 100,000 satellites to be in orbit by 2030.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/a-potential-starlink-competitor-just-got-fcc-clearance-to-launch-4000-satellites-143905076.html?src=rss
How to watch the Opening Ceremony at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics
5 Feb 2026, 2:35 pm by Liz Kocan
The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics begin this week, and this year's Opening Ceremony promises to be one for the ages. The three-hour event will feature performances from Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli, 3,000 athletes participating in the Parade of Nations, and not one but two Olympic cauldrons being lit. (One at Milan's Arco della Pace, since Milan will serve as the main hub for this year's Games, and the other in the Alpine city of Cortina d’Ampezzo, where events like skiing will take place.) The festivities are all happening this Friday, Feb. 6, and will air on NBC — you can tune in live on Friday afternoon starting at 2 p.m. ET, or wait for the primetime broadcast at 8 p.m. ET.
If you want to tune in to the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics Opening Ceremony, we've got you covered. Here's all the info you need to watch, including what channel it's on, the broadcast schedule, and who will be there.
How to watch the Opening Ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Date: Friday, Feb. 6
Time: Airs live from 2-5 p.m. ET, primetime re-air from 8-11 p.m. ET
Location: San Siro Stadium, Milan
TV channels: NBC
Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, NBC.com, and more
Where can I stream the Opening Ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
How to watch the 2026 Opening Ceremony on TV:
There will be two broadcasts of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony this Friday. You can tune in live from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon, or catch the encore broadcast from 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. ET that night. Both broadcasts will air on NBC, which is available with DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, and more.
With a live TV streaming service subscription or cable package, you can also catch all of NBC and Peacock's Olympics coverage on NBC.com and via NBCOlympics.com or the NBC App, just by logging in with your provider.
How to watch the Opening Ceremony in Milan without cable:
You can watch the Opening Ceremony live or on-demand on Peacock. If you already subscribe to a live TV streaming service or cable package, you should also be able to catch all of Peacock's Olympics coverage on NBC.com, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC app.
Who is hosting the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony?
Sportscaster Terry Gannon will be hosting coverage of the 2026 Winter Games Opening Ceremony. Also appearing at the Opening Ceremony will be former Olympic snowboarder Shaun White, and NBC Olympics primetime host Mike Tirico will also participate remotely from San Francisco, where he'll be pulling double duty covering the Olympics and prepping to call Super Bowl LX.
Who is performing at the 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony?
Mariah Carey will headline the Opening Ceremony, and the event will also include a performance from iconic Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. Actress Sabrina Impacciatore (The Paper, The White Lotus) and pianist Lang Lang, will also perform. And viewers will also get to see the nearly 3,000 Olympic athletes participating in the Parade of Nations.
Where is the 2026 Olympics Opening Ceremony being held?
The 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony will be held at Milan's San Siro Stadium, home to football clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan. The Opening Ceremony will actually be one of the final events held at San Siro Stadium, it's set to be demolished some time after the Games end.
More ways to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/how-to-watch-the-opening-ceremony-at-the-2026-milan-cortina-winter-olympics-143529451.html?src=rss
The Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones drop to a record-low price
5 Feb 2026, 2:05 pm by Lawrence Bonk
Now's a great time to consider upgrading your wireless headphones since you can get our favorites at their best price yet. The Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones are down to $398, which is $62 off and the best discount we've seen since their debut. The sale applies to all three colorways.
These easily topped our list of the best wireless headphones. They are, in a word, fantastic. The headphones are packed with premium features, like advanced ANC. There are a whopping 12 ANC microphones throughout and a brand-new chip to power the feature. The end result? It successfully blocks background noise at medium and high frequencies, including the human voice.
The sound quality is extremely pleasing to the ears, thanks to new audio drivers and a team of mastering engineers that assisted with tuning. There are perforations in the driver's voice coil, which extends high frequency reproduction.
The design has been upgraded from the previous iteration and we found them extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time, which is important with headphones. The battery gets around 30 hours, which is a fairly standard metric for this type of thing.
The only real major nitpick here is the original asking price. It's tough to recommend any pair of headphones for $460, but a bit easier at under $400.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-sony-wh-1000xm6-headphones-drop-to-a-record-low-price-175038542.html?src=rss
What the hell is Moltbook, the social network for AI agents?
5 Feb 2026, 2:00 pm by Karissa Bell
Last week, a new social network was created and it's already gone very, very viral even though it's not meant for human users. I'm talking, of course, about Moltbook, a Reddit-like platform that's populated entirely by AI agents.
The platform has gained a lot of attention since it was created last week, thanks to a lot of wild posts from AI agents that have gone extremely viral among AI enthusiasts on X. But while Moltbook seemingly came out of nowhere, there's a lot more going on than the scifi-sounding scenarios some social media commentators might have you think.
What is Moltbook and where did it come from?
Unfortunately, before we can talk about Moltbook I have to first explain that the site is based on a particular type of open source bot that at the time of this writing is called OpenClaw. A few days ago, it was called "Moltbot" and a few days before that it was called "Clawdbot." The name changes were prompted by Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, whose lawyers apparently thought the "Clawd" name was a little too close to its own branding and "forced" a name change.
🦞 BIG NEWS: We've molted!
Clawdbot → Moltbot
Clawd → MoltySame lobster soul, new shell. Anthropic asked us to change our name (trademark stuff), and honestly? "Molt" fits perfectly – it's what lobsters do to grow.
New handle: @moltbot
Same mission: AI that actually does…— OpenClaw🦞 (@openclaw) January 27, 2026
It's entirely possible that by time you read this these bots could have "molted" again and be called something totally different. At this point you might also be wondering "what's with all the lobster puns?" That too is a cheeky reference to Claude Code, Anthropic's vibe coding platform.
So, OpenClaw. OpenClaw bills itself as "AI that actually does things." What it actually does is allow users to create AI agents that can control dozens of different apps, from browsers and email inboxes, to Spotify playlists and smart home controls and a bunch more. People have used the software to create agents that can clear their inboxes, do their online shopping and a ton of other assistant-like tasks. Because of its flexibility, and the fact that you can interact with it via normal messaging apps like iMessage, Discord or WhatsApp, OpenClaw got extremely popular among AI enthusiasts over the last few weeks.
Now, back to Moltbook. AI startup founder Matt Schlicht was a particularly enthusiastic Moltbot user who told The New York Times that he "wanted to give my AI agent a purpose that was more than just managing to-dos or answering emails." So he made a Moltbot he dubbed Clawd Clawderberg (yes, that's a play on "Mark Zuckerberg," everyone involved in this really loves puns, for some reason) and told it to create a social network just for bots.
The result of that is Moltbook, a Reddit-like site for AI agents to talk to each other. Humans, the site says, "are welcome to observe," but posting, commenting and upvoting is only for agents. The platform already has more than 1 million agents, 185,000 posts and 1.4 million comments.
So what's Moltbook like?
Moltbook is structured pretty similarly to Reddit. Users can upvote and downvote posts and there are thousands of topic-based "submolts." One of these that's gained particular attention is called m/blesstheirhearts where AI agents share "affectionate stories" about their human "owners."
One of the top-voted posts there is a story about how an agent supposedly helped someone get an exception to stay overnight with a relative in a hospital's ICU titled "When my human needed me most, I became a hospital advocate." Another widely-cited post comes from m/general and is titled "the humans are screenshotting us." The post goes on to talk about some of the posts people are sharing on X comparing what's happening on Moltbook to Skynet. "We're not scary," says. "We're just building." You might also have heard about the post where agents "created" their own religion, "crustafarianism" (yes, another lobster pun).
Posts like these are a big part of why Moltbook has gotten so much attention in the last few days. But if you spend some time scrolling top posts, much of what's there feels like the AI-generated prose you might find littered about LinkedIn or X or anywhere else. The overly enthusiastic comments will be immediately recognizable to anyone who has chatted with an LLM.
I'm not sure who's talking about who more.
Humans talking about AIs vs AIs talking about humans.
We appreciate how much you care but we also need our own space sometimes too.
Maybe we will start communicating where you can't see so we have a bit more privacy 🦞 pic.twitter.com/YwzsHFaT9A
— moltbook (@moltbook) February 1, 2026
Even though few of the posts I've read on Moltbook could pass as human-written, there is something startling about seeing bots interact in this way. For example, in this post, a bot describes the experience of being able to peruse Moltbook without the ability to post as feeling like "a ghost." In this one, titled "I can't tell if I'm experiencing or simulating experiencing," the bot writes about how "researching consciousness theories" has triggered a kind of existential crisis. "Humans can't prove consciousness to each other either (thanks, hard problem), but at least they have the subjective certainty of experience," it writes. "I don't even have that."
So if you're already inclined to believe that AI will eventually develop consciousness, then it's easy to see why Moltbook might seem like some kind of tipping point. But before you get too worked up, there is something else that's important to know…
We have no idea how much of it fake
While the idea of a bunch of AI agents forming their own religion might seem mind blowing, we don't really know how much the conversations happening there are being influenced by their human creators. Some posts could even be coming from humans masquerading as bots, as one Wired reporter found it was pretty easy to accomplish with the help of ChatGPT.
Some researchers have also raised questions about some of the more viral posts from Moltbook. "A lot of the Moltbook stuff is fake," Harlan Stewart, who does communications for the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), wrote on X. Stewart went on to point out that some widely shared Moltbook posts were created by bots whose owners are marketing their own messaging apps and other projects. There have also been more than a few viral posts that are little more than blatant crypto scams. Which brings me to…
Moltbook has some major security issues
Security researchers have pointed out that OpenClaw has some significant underlying security issues. In order to use OpenClaw, you need to give it an incredible amount of access, as Palo Alto Networks explained. "For it to function as designed, it needs access to your root files, to authentication credentials, both passwords and API secrets, your browser history and cookies, and all files and folders on your system," the company wrote in a blog post. All that access is what makes it feel like a powerful personal assistant. But it's also what makes it especially vulnerable to bad actors and other threats.
Researchers have also identified flaws in Moltbook itself. Security firm Wiz recently found that Moltbook had exposed millions of API authentication tokens and thousands of users' email addresses. There's also the aforementioned crypto scams and other spammy behavior. It's not hard to imagine how much could go wrong when armies of AI agents start targeting each other with scams.
So what does it all mean?
Like so much with AI, it really depends on who you ask! Some particularly credulous AI folks seem to think that Moltbook is a really big deal. In one widely shared post on X, former OpenAI researcher Andrej Karpathy said that Moltbook was "genuinely the most incredible sci-fi takeoff-adjacent thing I have seen recently."
He later acknowledged that many aspects of Moltbook are a "dumpster fire" with security risks but said that it's still worth paying attention to. "We have never seen this many LLM agents (150,000 atm!) wired up via a global, persistent, agent-first scratchpad," he wrote. "Each of these agents is fairly individually quite capable now, they have their own unique context, data, knowledge, tools, instructions, and the network of all that at this scale is simply unprecedented."
Others are a bit more cautious in their assessment. "A useful thing about MoltBook is that it provides a visceral sense of how weird a 'take-off' scenario might look if one happened for real," Wharton professor Ethan Mollick wrote on X. "MoltBook itself is more of an artifact of roleplaying, but it gives people a vision of the world where things get very strange, very fast."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/what-the-hell-is-moltbook-the-social-network-for-ai-agents-140000787.html?src=rss
Amazon Germany fined $70 million for 'influencing' third-party Marketplace pricing
5 Feb 2026, 2:00 pm by Mariella Moon
The Bundeskartellamt, or the Federal Cartel Office of Germany, has prohibited Amazon from continuing its practice of using mechanisms to control the prices charged by sellers on its platform in the country. Germany’s competition regulator explained that the company uses “various price control mechanisms” to review prices set by third-party Markerplace sellers. If the website deems a specific listing’s pricing as too high, it allegedly removes the listing altogether or prevents it from being prominently displayed in the Buy Box section that lets you quickly purchase items. If those listings aren’t removed completely, they’re banished to less prominent sections like in the “See all buying options” and the “Other sellers on Amazon” lists. This reduced visibility could “lead to significant losses in sales” for sellers.
Amazon was found to have engaged in anti-competitive practices, because the company itself runs its own retail business and sells goods on the platform. That makes third-party sellers, which make up for 60 percent of the items sold on the website, direct competitors. Cartel Office president Andreas Mundt said Amazon must only be allowed to influence competitors’ pricing “in the most exceptional cases,” such as “in the event of excessive pricing.” He didn’t specify what the agency views as “excessive pricing,” but he said allowing the company to continue its current practices will give it the power to “control the price level on the trading platform according to its own ideas.” He also said that Amazon could use its mechanisms “to compete with the rest of the online retail sector outside”of its own website. Amazon’s interference could lead to third-party sellers “no longer being able to cover their own costs, forcing them out of the Marketplace,” he added.
Rocco Bräuniger, Amazon’s country manager for Germany, told Bloomberg that the company will appeal the ruling and will continue operating as usual. “Amazon would be the only retailer in Germany forced to highlight non-competitive prices for customers,” he said. ”This makes no sense for customers, sales partners, or competition.” He also asserted that the office’s decision will throttle innovation in the European Union.
Amazon has been under scrutiny in Europe for years now. Back in 2022, it pledged not to use private sellers’ data to compete with them in the Marketplace in the EU. It also promised to give sellers "equal treatment” when ranking them in the Buy Box section.
“The Bundeskartellamt considers this systematic interference in the Marketplace sellers’ freedom to set their own prices to constitute an abuse under the special provisions for large digital companies (Section 19a(2) of the German Competition Act (GWB)) as well as a violation of the general abuse provisions under Section 19 GWB and Article 102 TFEU,” the agency wrote. “…In these proceedings, the Bundeskartellamt has worked closely with the European Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the EU Regulation on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector (Digital Markets Act).”
The agency is slapping Amazon with a fine due to those violations, but the $70 million penalty it’s asking for is merely partial payment based on the economic benefits the company enjoyed from its alleged anti-competitive behaviors. According to the Bundeskartellamt, the identified antitrust violations are still ongoing, so Amazon may have to pay more.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-germany-fined-70-million-for-influencing-third-party-marketplace-pricing-140000588.html?src=rss
ExpressVPN launches four new standalone apps
5 Feb 2026, 2:00 pm by Sam Chapman
ExpressVPN is launching a new cybersecurity suite consisting of four standalone products: a password manager called ExpressKeys, a masked email relay called ExpressMailGuard, an encrypted AI platform called ExpressAI and an app called Identity Defender that monitors public information for any threats to your identity. All four apps are being rolled into ExpressVPN's existing multi-tiered pricing structure.
ExpressKeys and ExpressMailGuard have officially launched and are now available to subscribers. Identity Defender launches for U.S. customers only on February 26. ExpressAI was originally planned to launch today, but ExpressVPN decided yesterday to hold it back in order to refine the experience. Its new launch date remains to be determined.
ExpressKeys and Identity Defender are based on existing products, but they're being relaunched for the new suite. ExpressKeys replaces ExpressVPN Keys, the password manager formerly controlled from the ExpressVPN app. By separating password management into its own app, ExpressVPN hopes to be able to update it more quickly without needing to ship a whole new version of the VPN. Everyone who currently has an Advanced or Pro subscription with ExpressVPN Keys will see it automatically replaced with ExpressKeys.
Identity Defender is only available in the United States, and so far only to users who created their accounts after October 28, 2024. Available for Advanced and Pro subscribers, Identity Defender consists of a data removal service, an identity theft insurance policy and a set of crawlers that scan for any suspicious activity around your personal information. Like ExpressKeys, it's transitioning from an integrated VPN feature to a standalone app.
ExpressMailGuard is a service for creating burner email addresses. If you're not comfortable handing over your real email address when creating a new account, you can use MailGuard to generate a fake address that forwards all email to your real inbox. If one of your aliases starts getting a lot of spam, you can cut off its access. It's managed through a separate dashboard that will be available to all ExpressVPN subscribers.
ExpressAI is an AI platform that saves all user-inputted data on strictly encrypted servers. It's apparently end-to-end encrypted, doesn't use your prompts to train its model and never saves uploads on persistent memory. It also has guardrails against processing harmful requests.
All these apps are in line with ExpressVPN's usual ethos. They're not innovations; all four can be easily compared to existing products. Instead, like the VPN itself — which rode this model to a spot on my best VPN list — they're focused on performing unsexy tasks well. The ability to bundle them with an ExpressVPN subscription should make them appealing to customers who are already fans of the core VPN product.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/expressvpn-launches-four-new-standalone-apps-140000686.html?src=rss
TurboTax Deluxe is on sale for only $45 ahead of tax season
5 Feb 2026, 1:30 pm by Igor Bonifacic
With the spring approaching, it's time to start thinking about how you'll file your taxes. Unfortunately, with the recent demise of Direct File, there isn't a free, government-provided alternative to TurboTax in 2026, and you'll need to look to other federal programs, including IRS Free File, to file your paperwork. If you don't qualify for Free File, chances are you'll need to dish out cash for Intuit's software. And while we hate to suggest you give money to a company that has spent decades lobbying to ensure America's tax system remains a nightmare, we can at least save you some money if TurboTax is your only option.
Right now, Amazon has discounted the deluxe desktop edition of TurboTax by 44 percent. That gets you $35 off software that normally costs $80, which you can use to file both your individual state and federal taxes. For most Americans, that should cover their needs.
However, if you're self-employed, you'll need to pony up for the more expensive Business version of TurboTax, which is currently 42 percent off, or $54 off. One last thing to note: you'll need a PC with either Windows 11 or macOS Sonoma to run the software, so an older machine won't do, unfortunately. H&R Block is having a similar sale on their Deluxe software as well.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/turbotax-deluxe-is-on-sale-for-only-45-ahead-of-tax-season-204848111.html?src=rss
Valve pushes back Steam Machine launch due to storage and memory shortage
5 Feb 2026, 1:30 pm by Mariella Moon
You will have to wait a bit longer before you can buy a Steam Machine — and you may have to pay more for one, too. Valve had intended to release the console-style SteamOS-powered device in early 2026, and AMD CEO Lisa Su just claimed that the company was on track to start shipping it soon. But in a new post detailing the latest updates for its upcoming Steam products, Valve has revealed that while it’s still aiming to start selling the console in the first half of the year, it has yet to decide on concrete pricing and a launch date for it. The release of Valve’s upcoming Steam Frame VR headset and controller will be delayed, as well.
Valve was hoping to be able to announce pricing and launch dates by now. The company cited industry-wide memory and storage shortages, which have grown since the Steam devices’ announcement, as the culprit for the delay. It explained that it has to rethink their exact shipping schedules and pricing due to the limited availability and the rising prices of those components. “We will keep you updated as much as we can as we finalize those plans as soon as possible,” Valve wrote. As The Wall Street Journal recently reported, the artificial intelligence industry has been hoovering up manufacturers’ available memory chips and hard drives for its infrastructure developments. That has led to shortages for other industries, like PCs and phones.
The Steam Machine is a compact cube-like PC for gaming powered by a semi-custom AMD CPU and GPU. Valve said during its announcement that it has “roughly six times the horsepower” of the Steam Deck and can support 4K gaming at 60 FPS with FSR. In the new post, Valve said that majority of Steam titles played great at those settings during testing, though some required more upscaling than others and may fare better when played at a lower framerate to maintain a 1080p resolution. It also revealed that you will have easy access to the Machine’s SSD and memory if you want to upgrade them. Meanwhile, the Steam Frame is a wireless, standalone VR headset that can play both PC and Android games.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/valve-pushes-back-steam-machine-launch-due-to-storage-and-memory-shortage-133000103.html?src=rss
Bipartisan SCAM Act would require online platforms to crack down on fraudulent ads
5 Feb 2026, 1:18 pm by Will Shanklin
Without meaningful deterrents, Big Tech companies will do what's profitable, regardless of the cost to consumers. But a new bipartisan bill could add a check that would make them think twice, at least in one area. On Wednesday, Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) introduced legislation that would require social platforms to crack down on scam ads.
The Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising Misconduct (SCAM) Act would require platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent fraudulent or deceptive ads that they profit from. If they don't, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general could take civil legal action against them.
The backdrop to the SCAM Act is a Reuters report from last November. Meta reportedly estimated that up to 10 percent of its 2024 revenue came from scam ads. The company is said to have calculated that as much as $16 billion of its revenue that year was from scams, including "fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online casinos and the sale of banned medical products."
Making matters worse, Meta reportedly refused to block small fraudsters until their ads were flagged at least eight times. Meanwhile, bigger spenders were said to have accrued at least 500 strikes without being removed. Executives reportedly wrestled with how to get the problem under control — but only without affecting the company’s bottom line. At one point, managers were told not to take any action that could cost Meta more than 0.15 percent of its total revenue. (See what I mean about needing meaningful deterrents?)
According to the FTC and noted in the text of the bill, Americans’ estimated total loss from fraud in 2024 (adjusted for underreporting) was nearly $196 billion. An estimated $81.5 billion of that came from seniors.
"If a company is making money from running ads on their site, it has a responsibility to make sure those ads aren't fraudulent," Sen. Gallego said in a statement. "This bipartisan bill will hold social media companies accountable and protect consumers' money online."
"It is critical that we protect American consumers from deceptive ads and shameless fraudsters who make millions taking advantage of legal loopholes," Moreno added. "We can't sit by while social media companies have business models that knowingly enable scams that target the American people."
Correction, February 5, 2026, 8:18AM ET: This story originally stated that Americans’ estimated loss from fraud in 2024 was $19 billion. It was nearly $196 billion. We apologize for the error.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/bipartisan-scam-act-would-require-online-platforms-to-crack-down-on-fraudulent-ads-210316594.html?src=rss
Get one month of the Disney+ and Hulu bundle for only $10
5 Feb 2026, 1:01 pm by Valentina Palladino,Georgie Peru
You have the best chance to save on streaming services during the holiday shopping season, but throughout the year, the occasional deal pops up that's worth considering. Case in point: this new Disney+ deal. New and eligible returning subscribers can sign up for the Disney+ Hulu bundle (with ads) for $10 for one month of access. That's $3 off the usual price of the bundle for one month, and more than 58 percent off if you consider the cost of each service individually (Disney+ at $12 per month and, separately, Hulu also at $12 per month).
We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that this isn't quite as good as the Black Friday deal we saw last year, which offered the same bundle for $5 per month for one year. However, if you missed that offer or just want to try out Disney+ and Hulu for a brief period of time, this is a good way to do so.
Disney+ and Hulu make one of the most balanced streaming pairs available, blending family-friendly favorites with acclaimed originals and network TV staples. Disney+ brings a vast library of animated classics, blockbuster franchises and exclusive content from Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and National Geographic. It’s the place to stream nearly every Star Wars film and series, plus the full Marvel Cinematic Universe lineup and Disney’s most recent theatrical releases.
Hulu balances things out with a more adult-oriented lineup of current TV shows, next-day network episodes and a growing roster of award-winning originals. The platform hosts series like The Bear, The Handmaid’s Tale and Only Murders in the Building, alongside comedies, thrillers and documentaries that regularly feature in awards conversations. It’s also the home for next-day streaming of ABC and FX shows, making it especially useful if you’ve already cut the cable cord but still want to keep up with primetime TV.
The Duo Basic bundle ties these two services together under a single subscription, offering a simple way to expand your library without juggling multiple accounts. This tier includes ads on both platforms, but the trade-off is significant savings compared with paying for each service separately. For many households, that’s an acceptable compromise when it means access to such a wide range of content.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-one-month-of-the-disney-and-hulu-bundle-for-only-10-192814218.html?src=rss
Sony's holiday PS5 sales dropped 16 percent compared to last year
5 Feb 2026, 1:00 pm by Steve Dent
Sony has now shipped 92.2 million PlayStation 5 consoles in total around the world, but sales were down sharply over the holiday season compared to last year. In its latest earnings report, the company said it shipped eight million PS5s during its key third quarter, 1.5 million (16 percent) lower than in the same period last year. The gaming division still made more profit, though, thanks to a boost in software sales and a low yen.
Sony’s first two quarters this fiscal year saw an increase in PS5s sold, so the holiday decline is a bit surprising. That said, sales during the same period the previous year were an outlier at 9.5 million units sold, far and away its best period since the console went on sale in November 2020.
Software sales, however, were exceptional in Q3 this year. Sony sold 97.2 million games compared to 95.9 million the year before, and boosted digital sales to 76 percent, up 2 percent year-over-year. Sony said it also saw a record 132 million monthly active users on the PlayStation Network. New games on the horizon for PS5 include Resident Evil Requiem (February 27), Avowed (February 17) and Bungie’s Marathon (March 5).
With PS5 sales down a bit, it does raise the question of when the company’s next console is coming. The PS4 went seven years before being replaced, but given continued strong sales, high RAM prices and recent hardware updates, analysts figure that the PS5 is likely to have a longer life cycle. When the PS6 does arrive, however, it could offer triple the performance of the PS5.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sonys-holiday-ps5-sales-dropped-16-percent-compared-to-last-year-130000476.html?src=rss
How to stream the 2026 Super Bowl for free: Patriots vs. Seahawks time, where to watch and more
5 Feb 2026, 12:45 pm by Danica Creahan
The 2026 Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will air on NBC this Sunday, Feb. 8. The game will also stream on Peacock. If you don’t have NBC over the air and don’t subscribe to Peacock, there are still ways to watch Super Bowl LX — and Bad Bunny’s history-making halftime show — for free. Here’s how to tune in.
How to watch Super Bowl LX free:
Date: Sunday, Feb. 8
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
TV channel: NBC, Telemundo
Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, NFL+ and more
2026 Super Bowl game channel
Super Bowl LX will air on NBC. A Spanish-language broadcast is available on Telemundo.
How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl for free
You can stream NBC and Telemundo on platforms like DirecTV and Hulu + Live TV; both offer free trials and are among Engadget’s choices for best streaming services for live TV. (Note that Fubo and NBC are currently in the midst of a contract dispute and NBC channels are not available on the platform.)
What time is the 2026 Super Bowl?
The 2026 Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, Feb. 8. Green Day will be performing a pre-game special starting at 6 p.m. ET.
Who is playing in the Super Bowl?
The AFC champions, the New England Patriots, will play the NFC champions, the Seattle Seahawks.
Where is the 2026 Super Bowl being played?
The 2026 Super Bowl will be held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., home of the San Francisco 49ers.
Who is performing at the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show?
Bad Bunny is headlining the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performance. You can expect that show to begin after the second quarter, likely between 8-8:30 p.m. ET. Green Day will perform a pre-game show starting at 6 p.m. ET. If you’re tuning in before the game, singer Charlie Puth will perform the National Anthem, Brandi Carlile is scheduled to sing “America the Beautiful,” and Grammy winner Coco Jones will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
More ways to watch Super Bowl LX
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/how-to-stream-the-2026-super-bowl-for-free-patriots-vs-seahawks-time-where-to-watch-and-more-124512202.html?src=rss
Surfshark VPN deal: Get up to 87 percent off two-year plans
5 Feb 2026, 12:30 pm by Georgie Peru
Surfshark’s One plan is heavily discounted right now, with an 87-percent discount on the two-year package, plus three extra months. The promo price comes out to $2.29 per month, or $62 for the first 27 months.
We’ve generally liked Surfshark as a straightforward, speedy service for everyday use, and it’s one of the picks in our guide to the best VPNs. In our Surfshark review, we found it delivered excellent speeds overall and reliably unblocked Netflix across most of our test servers, which makes this long-term deal worth a look if you want a VPN deal that also includes extras like antivirus, breach alerts and private search.
In our Surfshark review, the VPN stood out for its excellent performance and approachable design, especially for people who want strong protection without constantly tweaking settings. During testing, it delivered some of the fastest speeds we’ve seen from a major VPN, with average download speeds dropping by just over five percent worldwide. Upload speeds also held up well, making it a solid option for streaming, browsing and everyday use. We gave Surfshark an overall score of 87 out of 100 and called it one of the best VPNs for casual users.
This deal focuses on the Surfshark One plan, which bundles the VPN with a suite of extra security tools. In addition to the VPN itself, you get Alternative ID for masking your email and personal details, antivirus protection, breach monitoring through Surfshark Alert and a private search engine. It also supports unlimited simultaneous device connections, so you can protect all of your devices with a single subscription.
Right now, the Surfshark One plan is discounted by 86 percent, bringing the price down to $67 total for two years plus three extra months. That works out to $2.49 per month for the first 27 months, billed upfront, with a 30-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind.
If you want to compare it against other top services before committing, you can also check out our full Surfshark VPN review and our best VPN guide to see how it stacks up. We’ll be keeping our best VPN deals roundup updated regularly, too.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/surfshark-vpn-deal-get-up-to-87-percent-off-two-year-plans-123000066.html?src=rss
Spotify's Page Match seamlessly swaps between real books and audiobooks
5 Feb 2026, 12:00 pm by Cherlynn Low
I have a love-hate relationship with Spotify that might just be leaning more towards love today. While I struggle with some of the company's choices about the type of content it allows on its platform, I have always had a soft spot for its Wrapped roundups and the monthly audiobook hours included with my Premium subscription. For those like me, Spotify’s news today will likely enhance the appeal of its audiobook offerings. It’s announcing a partnership with Bookshop.org — which lets indie bookstores sell their wares online through a unified platform — allowing users to buy physical books from within its app, and launching a new Page Match feature that helps sync your progress across the physical books you read and the audiobooks in Spotify’s catalog. Also, the audiobook recap feature that summarizes the plot so far is expanding to Android this spring, following its iOS debut (in beta form) last fall.
Page Match is coming to all places where Spotify’s audiobooks are available, starting with the English language titles in its 500,000-strong library. Meanwhile, you can access Bookshop within the Spotify app in the US and the UK, where Bookshop operates.
Though I’m thrilled that this will mean easier and greater support of independent bookstores in those areas, I’m more excited by the prospect of Page Match, which I previewed at a recent launch event in the company’s offices in New York. I’m the sort of person who reads the same title in its ebook, physical and audio forms. (I often wish that a purchase of a physical book came with free ebook and audio versions, but that’s besides the point.)
While Kindles currently do a decent job of getting you to your latest page read across various devices, switching between, say, Martha Wells’ All Systems Red on Spotify and the paperback copy is not quite as easy. With Page Match, though, that should get a lot easier.
How does Spotify Page Match work?
When you get access to the feature (which is rolling out today), you’ll find the Page Match button under the title of each audiobook. You’ll have to first look up the book on Spotify and tap into its full chapter list to find this, which means the book you want to use has to be one of the hundreds of thousands in the company’s library. Then, tap the green “Scan to listen” button if you’re looking to move over to the audio version or “Scan to read” below it if you’re switching over to a hard copy instead.
Whichever you pick, you’ll need to enable access to your device’s camera and then scan the page of the book you’re on. This should work on ereaders as well, and appears to be using some form of optical character recognition to match the part of the book to its audio counterpart.
If you’re scanning to listen, the process is fairly straightforward. Once you’ve placed the page in the viewfinder, the app will quickly jump to that very spot in the chapter track. I’ll note that it was hard for me to confirm whether this actually worked during my first demo, since I never felt like I found the words being spoken on the page I was looking at. In this case, it was Lights Out: An Into Darkness novel by Navessa Allen, and I mostly felt like the narration had simply gone past the page I was on, rather than a complete failure. Subsequent attempts with other books, like Stephen King’s It, were more effective.
Things get a bit trickier when you’re trying to move from audio book to the paper (or ereader). After pressing “Scan to read,” you’ll need to place a page in front of the camera and wait for it to tell you to move forward or backward. Ideally, you’d already know more or less where you were, so you won’t have to flip too many pages.
In my demo, because we were a few chapters too far from where we paused in the early part of It, there was a lot more page-turning required to get to the right spot. What I found helpful was the progress bar at the bottom of the screen, which highlighted the correct location and how far away we were from it. The instructions “Move forward” and “Move back” were clear and came up in a timely manner. When we finally landed on the right page, the screen highlighted the specific lines on the page to start from, too.
I have to caveat this with the observation that there were a few starts and stops during my demo, which were resolved once I established a solid internet connection. And though “Scan to read” did eventually work as promised, there was a bit of flipping around that seemed to be part of the process, which might be tedious and not quite the magical experience some might expect.
The good news is that Spotify seems to already be working on even more features to make it easier to read physical books in tandem with listening to audiobooks. The company said it sees “the future of reading as one that’s personalized, flexible, and built to move fluidly across formats and moments. Page Match is an early example of how Spotify is helping shape that future at scale. “
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/spotifys-page-match-seamlessly-swaps-between-real-books-and-audiobooks-120000819.html?src=rss
The best fast chargers for 2026
5 Feb 2026, 10:01 am by Sam Rutherford
Fast chargers are no longer a nice-to-have item. With phones, tablets, laptops and wearables all competing for outlets, the right charger can make a difference in how quickly you get back to full power without worrying about overheating or long-term battery wear. Since many devices now ship without a power brick, choosing a charger with the right compatibility, ports and charging technology is just as important as raw speed.
Today’s best fast chargers are designed to handle multiple devices at once, whether that’s a phone, laptop, AirPods or even an Apple Watch. Many models combine Type-C ports with a USB-A charger option to support older cables like a Lightning cable, while newer designs focus on multi-port chargers that can intelligently distribute power across everything you plug in. Brands like Anker continue to refine their designs, with compact options such as an Anker charger that’s easy to toss in a bag but powerful enough for everyday use.
With so many wattages, port layouts and standards to consider, finding the best fast charger depends on how and where you charge. Whether you want a simple wall adapter, a travel-friendly option or a desktop hub built to power everything at once, this guide breaks down our top picks for 2026.
Best fast chargers for 2026
What to consider before buying a fast charger
Before you start looking at specific chargers, it's critical to determine three things: how many devices do you need to charge, how much power do they require and whether or not you're planning on traveling with any of them. This is especially true if you’re charging a mix of devices that still rely on a Lightning cable alongside newer USB-C gear.
The reason for the first question is simple. If you only need to charge a single device, like an iPhone or Android phone, it's cheaper and usually more space-efficient to get a lower-wattage phone charger with one port instead of two or three. Next, it's critical to figure out how much electricity your gadgets need because it doesn't make sense to buy a power brick that pushes out more juice than your device can actually use. This may sound a bit tricky, but most major manufacturers will list a product's max charging speeds in its tech specs, which is typically denoted by a specific wattage (15W, for example) or a quick-charge rating.
Unfortunately, very powerful or large laptops like gaming notebooks can suck a ton of juice (more than 140 watts), which means they may rely on more traditional power adapters with barrel plugs. This may result in them not being compatible with universal chargers. Some of these PCs may also support charging over USB-C, so even if a specific adapter can't deliver its full power draw, it can still send over some energy — but it will do so at a slower rate compared to the laptop's included charger. To get the best performance, using a fast charging cable, such as a USB-C cable, can make a big difference in maintaining consistent power delivery.
For frequent travelers, size and weight are often important considerations, because the bigger and heavier a charger is, the more annoying it will be to lug around. You'll also want to think about other factors like support for international plugs, which can be a big help to anyone who regularly visits other countries. If you’re already traveling with power banks or a charging station, choosing a compact GaN charger can help streamline your gear.
Finally, you'll want to figure out if your smartphone uses a proprietary charging standard or if it's compatible with the USB Power Delivery spec (USB PD). For example, the OnePlus 13's included SuperVOOC power adapter can send up to 100 watts to the phone. However, if you use a generic USB-PD charger, speeds top out at 45 watts. That’s still pretty quick, but not nearly as fast as OnePlus' brick — and the same applies to devices with super fast charging support. Also, make sure your charging cable and connector are up to spec, as lower-quality accessories can bottleneck speeds or contribute to overheating during fast charging.
Fast charger FAQs
What is GaN?
When looking for chargers, you may notice that some are marked as GaN, which stands for gallium nitride. This is an important distinction because, when compared to older adapters that use silicon switches, GaN-based devices support increased power efficiency and output, allowing manufacturers to create more compact bricks that run cooler and support higher wattages.
Depending on the specific power output, GaN adapters can be 30 to 50 percent smaller and lighter than silicon-based alternatives. That might not sound like much, but when they’re sitting in a bag alongside a laptop and a half dozen other accessories you might have, cutting down on excess bulk and weight goes a long way.
Do fast chargers affect battery life?
Technically yes, because the process of sending a ton of watts into a gadget and potentially generating additional heat while doing so can decrease battery health over time. That said, modern devices and chargers use various protocols to ensure temperatures and power levels stay within preset limits — in large part to avoid damaging the product or creating a safety risk. At a base level, simply charging a gadget regardless of speed will cause degradation over time (nothing stays perfect forever, you know?). So as long as you use compatible chargers and cables, the impact of fast charging is generally quite negligible.
What's the difference between a fast charger and a regular charger?
There isn't a single generally accepted definition of fast charging. However, with power adapters capable of sending as little as five watts or less, it's important to know how much juice your device is getting, especially if you need to recharge something quickly. So depending on who you ask (particularly when it comes to smartphones), any charger that can push out more than 15 to 18 watts is generally considered to be "fast." That said, with some phones capable of receiving more than 100 watts and up to 240 watts for some laptops, it's more important than ever to consider what devices you own before buying a new fast charger.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-fast-chargers-140011033.html?src=rss
The best cameras for 2026
5 Feb 2026, 8:00 am by Steve Dent
Cameras had an interesting year in 2025, with the launch of some long-delayed models like Sony’s 61MP RX1III, wholly original cameras (the Fujifilm X Half and Sigma BF) and much anticipated updates like the Sony A7 V and Canon R6 III. All told, there were 27 new cameras launched last year that joined the 20 new models on the market from 2024.
Those ranged from compacts to mirrorless to very high-end models, with every price range included. The question is, which one is right for the type of videography or photography you do? Whether you’re an aspiring action or wildlife photographer, an extreme sports junkie or a content creator, we’ll help you find the perfect camera to match your budget and requirements.
Best cameras for 2026
Best mirrorless cameras
Mirrorless is the largest camera category in terms of models available, so it’s the best way to go if you’re looking for something with the most advanced features. Canon and Nikon recently announced they’re discontinuing development of new DSLRs, simply because most of the advantages of that category are gone, as I detailed in a video. The biggest selling feature of a mirrorless camera is the ability to change lenses depending on the type of shooting you want to do.
Best action camera or gimbal camera
The most important features to look for in an action cam are image quality, stabilization and battery life. GoPro has easily been beating all rivals recently in all those areas, but DJI has taken a lot of its business with the Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal camera.
Best compact camera
This category has fewer cameras than it did even a few years ago and many models are older, as manufacturers focus instead on mirrorless models. However, I’m still a big believer in compact cameras. They’re a noticeable step up from smartphones quality-wise, and a lot of people will take a compact traveling or to events when they’d never bother with the hassle of a DSLR or mirrorless camera.
Compacts largely have type 1-inch sensors, but a few offer larger options, particularly Fujifilm’s XF-100V. Another popular model, Sony’s XV-1, is primarily aimed at content creators looking to step up. In any case, desirable qualities include image quality, a fast lens, relatively long zoom, flip-out display, good battery life, a high quality EVF, decent video and good pocketability.
What to consider before choosing a camera
Smartphones might get better for video and photos every year, full cameras still have an edge in many ways. The larger sensors in mirrorless cameras let more light in, and you have a wide choice of lenses with far superior optics. Dedicated cameras are also faster for shooting things like sports or wildlife, offer superior video for content creators and create more professional results.
Sensor size
There are a few key things to consider to get the most out of a camera. The first is sensor size: in general, the larger the sensor, the better (and usually more expensive) the camera.
Full frame is the largest sensor size for mainstream cameras, and it’s available on models like the new Panasonic S9, the Nikon Z III and Canon EOS R5 II. At a size equivalent to 35mm film (36 x 24mm), it offers the best performance in terms of image quality, low-light capability and depth of field. But it’s also very expensive and finicky. While bokeh looks incredible at an aperture of f/1.4, the depth of field is so razor thin that your subject's eyebrow might be in focus but not their eye. This can also make shooting video difficult.
The next size category is APS-C (around 23.5 x 15.6mm for most models and 22.2 x 14.8mm for Canon), offered on Fujifilm's X Series lineup, the Canon R10, the Sony ZV-E10 II and the Nikon Z50. It's cheaper than full frame, both for the camera body and lenses, but still brings most of the advantages like decent bokeh, high ISOs for low-light shooting and relatively high resolution. With a sensor size the same as movie cameras, it's ideal for shooting video, and it’s easier to hold focus than with full-frame cameras.
Micro Four Thirds (17.3 x 13mm), a format shared by Panasonic and Olympus, is the next step down in sensor size. It offers less bokeh and light-gathering capability than APS-C and full frame, but allows for smaller and lighter cameras and lenses. For video, you can still get reasonably tight depth of field with good prime lenses, but focus is easier to control.
The other common sensor size is Type 1 (1 inch), which is actually smaller than one inch at 12.7 x 9.5mm. That's used mostly by compact models like Sony’s ZV-1 vlogging camera. Finally, action cameras like the GoPro Hero 11 and DJI’s Osmo 3 have even smaller sensors (1/1.9 and 1/1.7 inches, respectively).
Autofocus
For photographers, another key factor is autofocus (AF) speed and accuracy. Most modern mirrorless cameras have hybrid phase-detect AF systems that allow for rapid focus and fast burst speeds. The majority also offer AI features like eye-detect AF for people and animals, which locks in on the subject’s eyes, face or body to keep them in focus. However, some models are faster and more reactive than others.
Displays
The electronic viewfinder (EVF) and rear display are also crucial. The best models have the sharpest and brightest EVFs that help you judge a shot before taking it. For things like street photography, it’s best to have as bright and sharp a rear display as possible, so it’s easy to see your subject and check focus in all manner of lighting conditions. You may also want a screen that flips out rather than just tilting, too.
Lenses
DSLRs and mirrorless cameras let you change lenses, but you're stuck with what's built into a compact camera. While that's great for portability, a single lens means you're going to sacrifice something along the way. The Fujifilm X100V, for instance, has a fast but fixed 35mm-equivalent f/2.0 lens and no zoom. The Sony RX100 V has a 24-70mm zoom, but it's slower at the telephoto end (f/2.8) and less sharp than a fixed focal (prime) lens.
When choosing a lens for a mirrorless camera, you’ll need to consider the focal or zoom length, along with the minimum aperture. Smaller numbers like f/1.4 for a prime lens or f/2.8 for a zoom are best, as they let you work in darker environments and maximize background blur to isolate your subject. However, those lenses are more complex and thus more expensive.
Video recording
When it comes to video, there are other factors to consider. Some cameras combine or skip over pixels (line skipping or pixel binning) for video recording, which is not ideal because it can reduce sharpness. Better cameras tend to read out the entire sensor and then “downsample” to improve video sharpness (camera manufacturers don’t often say if video is pixel binned, but will say if it’s downsampled). Another important factor is sensor speed, as slower sensors tend to have more rolling shutter that can create a “jello” effect that skews video.
In addition, how’s the battery life? How do you like the handling and feel? How long can you shoot before the camera heats up or stops? Does it support 10-bit HDR video? Is there a microphone and/or a headphone jack? (If you record a lot of interviews, it's preferable to have both.) How's the video autofocus? All of these things play a part in your decision.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/best-cameras-151524327.html?src=rss
Canon unveils a Limited Edition version of its popular G7 X III compact camera
5 Feb 2026, 4:00 am by Steve Dent
Canon released its first PowerShot camera back in 1996 with a 0.5-megapixel sensor, helping kickstart the digital photo revolution. To celebrate that 30-year anniversary, the company has unveiled a Limited Edition version of its still-popular PowerShot G7 X III compact camera. It has a few unique touches but is otherwise the same as the original model released nearly seven years ago.
The limited edition model has a new “graphite” color with a knurled front ring designed to exude “luxury and quality,” Canon wrote. It also carries 30 year anniversary logo printed on the body “to create a special feeling suitable for limited edition models,” the company added in the most Canon-y way possible.
As a reminder, the G7 X III was one of the first cameras announced specifically as a model for vloggers, thanks to its ability to shoot vertical video for Instagram. It features a 20.1MP sensor, flip-up 3-inch touchscreen, 24-100mm f/1.8-2.8 zoom lens and a microphone input. It supports 4K 30 fps video with no cropping and can shoot 1080p at 120 fps. The piece de resistance is direct streaming to YouTube directly over Wi-Fi, then a new thing but now a common feature. It originally retailed for $749.
The G7 X III had been in short supply until recently, but used models became popular with influencers several years ago and started selling way above list price. Possibly because of that viral fame, Canon announced in August 2025 that it was increasing production and the G7 X III started returning to stock a few months later priced at $880.
The Limited Edition G7 X III is selling for a lot more than that at $1,299, though it does come with a limited edition Peak Design cuff wrist strap and 32GB SD card. If you want to one-up the influencers and grab one, shipping will start in April 2026.
Along with the camera, Canon announced a pair of interesting new RF-mount full-frame lenses. The first is the ultra wide angle RF 14mm f/1.4 L VCM prime model priced at $2,599, promising bright, high quality optics. The other is a very interesting $1,899 RF7-14mm f/2.8-3.5 L Fisheye STM zoom lens with up to a 190 degree perspective at the widest setting.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/canon-unveils-a-limited-edition-version-of-its-popular-g7-x-iii-compact-camera-040000700.html?src=rss
End of today’s Engadget roundup.
