YouTube is adding new features to its Premium Lite plan. The tier will offer background play and downloads for the mostly ad-free plan. The update comes a year after YouTube first launched the lower-cost plan.
The Premium Lite tier is notable because for $8 per month you get most videos ad-free, emphasis on most. Currently, it still uses ads for YouTube music (along with random other videos), but the new update is bringing more Premium tier features without the $14 per month price tag.
As a Lite user, you will be able to use background play on most videos. Notably, this announcement comes less than a month after Google cracked down on free workarounds to access background play on YouTube. “Background playback is a feature intended to be exclusive for YouTube Premium members. While some non-Premium users may have previously been able to access this through mobile web browsers in certain scenarios, we have updated the experience to ensure consistency across all our platforms,” Google told Android Authority. Now, it’s for Premium Lite users as well.
YouTube Premium Lite users are also getting access to downloads. They can watch — here it comes again — most videos offline. These new features will roll out starting today and in the coming weeks to Premium Lite subscribers.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtubes-premium-lite-tier-gets-background-play-and-downloads-170051755.html?src=rss
The new Specialized Levo R uses the same, powerful and punchy motor as the Levo 4, but has 130mm of travel, 29in wheels front and rear, a lighter frame and a less burly parts package.
This is a trail bike through and through, designed to be agile and fun whether you’re riding up or downhill.
But get the new ‘Rally’ onto the trail, and it’s far more capable than you might expect. So much so, in fact, I wonder whether it’s going to tread on the toes of the existing Levo.
Although, on paper, it may appear there’s a decent enough difference between the two bikes, there’s a good chunk of common ground, too.
Take the two top-end S-Works bikes, for example. There’s only a couple of kilos separating them when it comes to weight, with the Levo R tipping the scales at a claimed 21.16kg.
The Levo R is also incredibly capable and rides like a bike with more than 130mm of travel. It’s lively and fun, as promised, but get it pointed down something tricky and it’ll more than handle it.
The existing Levo still rides like a bigger bike should, but the differences might not be as drastic as you’d expect.
So, with the Levo R being as good as it is, has Specialized shot itself in the foot here, or is there still room for the Levo, too?
It might have less travel than the standard Levo, but the new Levo R is incredibly capable. Justin Sullivan / Specialized
When Specialized presented the new Levo R, it was keen to show us where on the riding spectrum it sits.
The current Levo – a bike that uses mixed wheels, some tough tyres and a chunky 160mm-travel fork – is referred to as “capable, versatile and rugged” with a bias towards descending. The Levo R is said to be “fast, agile, low and light”, and is intended to be more of an all-rounder when it comes to going up, along and down.
The new bike uses 29in wheels at the front and rear, with 20mm less rear-wheel travel than the standard Levo, at 130mm. This is paired with a 140mm fork, although Specialized says you can run up to a 150mm fork if you’re looking to boost capability a little more, closing the gap between the two eMTBs further.
Although the bikes look similar, the Levo R has a whole new frame.
In all, Specialized says it has saved 530g against the previous bike, shaving weight wherever possible, including the use of a carbon shock extension.
This new chassis is built around 29in wheels and designed to be used with a 140mm fork. Despite this and the fact that it’s meant to be a different offering from the Levo, Specialized says it’ll take up to a 150mm fork if you’re looking to boost comfort or broaden the margin for error.
Like the Levo, there’s plenty of opportunity to alter the Levo R’s geometry. The head angle can be adjusted via the angled headset cups, giving three options, with the middle position measuring a claimed 65 degrees.
A flip chip down at the Horst-link pivot enables to you to lengthen the chainstays by 6mm, with 447mm being the longer of the two options. This’ll also tweak the bottom-bracket height by 5mm and in the lowest setting, sit it up at 339mm off the floor.
The flip chip located on the chainstay pivot enables you to change the chainstay length and alter the bottom-bracket height. Justin Sullivan / Specialized
At 77 degrees, the seat tube angle should provide a decently efficient seated position for lapping up the trail miles.
In short, then, with the travel on offer, the ability to run a bigger fork if you wish and a host of geometry adjustment, the Levo R should be able to handle a lot.
Big power and range
Specialized sells the Levo R with a 840Wh battery as standard, although the 600Wh battery seen here is available aftermarket, as is a separate range extender. Justin Sullivan / Specialized
While the travel figures and geometry stats may differ slightly from the Levo R to the Levo, one thing that remains the same is what the motor is capable of pumping out.
After Specialized’s recent update, the S-Works 3.1 motor on the top-end model delivers a staggering 111Nm of torque and 850 watts of peak power. If you opt for any of the cheaper models, those numbers are reduced to 105Nm of torque and 810 watts of power.
We’re still not talking Avinox figures here, but the Specialized motor is certainly one of the gutsiest out there. It’s quiet, too, thanks to the lengths the team went to. The driveside housing has been decoupled from the motor mechanism to lessen vibrations, along with applying various surface coatings and treatments to the components within it in a bid to make it run as smoothly as possible.
Powering the motor is, as standard, an 840Wh battery. There is also the option to buy a lighter 600Wh battery or boost range by adding a 280Wh range extender.
Getting the battery out is extremely easy, as is fitting it. Justin Sullivan / Specialized
Within the side-loading battery compartment, Specialized has crammed in some of its SWAT storage, complete with a bag to stow your essentials.
For the most part, motor modes remain the same as we’ve seen on the Levo, although Specialized has added the Micro and Dynamic Micro Tune modes.
In these settings, you’re able to adjust assistance in 10 per cent increments. Now, though, there’s a new 0/0 (in Micro Tune) or 0/100 (Dynamic Tune) on offer, for those looking for more of a workout or to eke out as many miles as possible from one charge.
As with the Levo, there’s an integrated top-tube display with all the ride data you could possibly need, and plenty of tuning options.
The top-tube mounted display offers a whole host of ride data. Justin Sullivan / Specialized
Tuning can also be done via the Specialized app, where you can apply the Turbo System Lock for better security and keep tabs on your bike via Apple Find My.
When it comes to topping up the battery, Specialized offers its 12A Smart Charger (sold separately), which’ll get you up to 80 per cent in less than an hour. The standard 5A charger can manage 80 per cent in a claimed 90 minutes.
Capable suspension
The Fox Float Genie shock enables you to tune the first 70 and final 30 per cent of the stroke separately from one another. Justin Sullivan / Specialized
It might not be able to match the Levo when it comes to rear-wheel travel, but the 130mm the Levo R has on tap manages to feel deeper and more plentiful on the trail.
The trail-smoothing sensation is likely elevated by the use of the larger 29in rear wheel (compared to the 27.5in featured on the Levo), which rolls over smaller chatter more easily.
And let’s not forget the supple, incredibly smooth Fox shock with Genie technology. The dual-stage air spring enables you to tune the first 70 per cent and final 30 per cent separately from one another, and delivers a more linear, coil-like feel earlier in the stroke, helping keep the rear wheel tracking the trail more effectively compared to a standard air shock.
The 130mm of travel is dictated by the four-bar, Horst-link suspension system. A very nice touch from Specialized is the lifetime-replacement bearing policy (for the original owner), which should help breath new life into well-used rigs without costing riders a fortune.
The conundrum
The powerful motor and well-controlled power help make the Levo R a formidable climber. Justin Sullivan / Specialized
I get what Specialized is trying to do with the Levo R. It’s designed to offer a more lively trail-bike feel for those looking to clock some big miles and have fun while they’re doing it.
But perhaps it has made the bike too capable, too powerful and too close to the standard Levo in doing so.
Yes, it’s lighter, but it’s not a million miles off the Levo’s weight and doesn’t crack that sub-20kg mark. It’s still heavier than the Amflow PL, arguably the best eMTB in this category.
The Amflow PL’s Avinox motor is still the one to beat in many people’s view. Andy Lloyd / Our Media
It also has all the power and torque of the bigger bike, and even though the spec is more trail-focused, it’ll still take a right belting down some serious tracks if you want it to.
OK, the Levo is burlier, chunkier and likely a safer bet if you’re looking to hammer bike-park laps or ride enduro-style downhill trails, but you’ll be surprised by what the Levo R can take.
Will there still be a place for the Levo, considering the Levo R is so capable, despite having less travel? Justin Sullivan / Specialized
That’s why I feel the Levo R might be the better option for most riders. That’s not to say the Levo isn’t a good bike – I’ve really enjoyed my time aboard it. But as an all-rounder, the Levo R offers a little more versatility and is still very capable, making the Levo a little less appealing in my eyes.
Range overview
The big wheels, short travel and seriously punchy motor make the Levo R a great all-rounder. Justin Sullivan / Specialized
While only the S-Works model gets the S-Works motor, the two cheaper bikes share the 3.1 motor, which delivers 101Nm of torque and 810 watts of peak power.
The S-Works bike also gets the integrated carbon bar and stem, which you won’t see on any other bikes in the line-up.
Specialized Levo R Comp
The Levo R range starts with the Comp model, which will set you back $9,200. Specialized
Perhaps the best thing to happen to smartphones in the past five years was Apple’s decision to start supporting RCS. Ever since, texting between iPhone and Android hasn’t been a nightmare caused by SMS: Group chats function as they should, photos and videos can be sent in high quality, and you can even see when the other person is typing—though the messages are still green.
While the experience is miles better than it used to be, it isn’t perfect. There are still some key functions missing from RCS on iPhone. For instance, you can’t unsend messages, reply to a thread, or edit iPhone messages. The latter can only happen on the Android side, while only iPhones can react with emojis right now. The biggest omission, however, is support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE). This is arguably the most important advantage RCS has over SMS. E2EE “scrambles” your messages, and only you and the recipient(s) have the “keys” to unscramble them. If a hacker were to remotely access your messages from an untrusted device, they wouldn’t be able to read them: The only way to see these messages in plain text is to have access to the trusted device associated with them.
If you have an Android device, and you text with other Android devices using Google Messages, you likely have this advantage. You may see a small lock icon next to your messages as you send them, indicating that texts are sent with E2EE. iPhones have this advantage when texting other iPhones, as iMessage is E2EE as well. But when you text from an iPhone to an Android, whether or not you’re using RCS or SMS, those messages are not protected by encryption, which leaves you vulnerable to hacking.
End-to-end encryption support for RCS is live in the iOS 26.4 beta
That’s now changing. Apple is currently testing E2EE support for RCS on iPhone. Not only that, anyone can try it out right now—assuming you’re fine taking on the risks of beta software.
The change comes with the second beta for iOS 26.4, which Apple released on Monday. Apple’s first beta for 26.4 added an initial layer of support, but only for iPhones texting each other with iMessage disabled. The second beta now supports E2EE for RCS communications with Android devices. As long as your Android friends are running the latest version of Google Messages, and you’re running the second iOS 26.4 beta, you can rest easy knowing your messages are protected by end-to-end encryption.
However, this doesn’t mean that those of us waiting for the official iOS 26.4 release will enjoy the same. While beta features are always subject to change, Apple explicitly says in its release notes that, “This feature is not shipping in this release and will be available to customers in future iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS 26 releases.” It seems the company is getting a jump on testing in anticipation of a future iOS 26.4.1, iOS 26.5, or maybe even an iOS 27 release.
Don’t install the iOS 26.4 beta without knowing the risks
You’ll need to install the latest beta on your iPhone to give this encryption a try—but don’t do that without thinking it through. Beta software is in testing, which means there may be bugs and other instabilities you aren’t used to dealing with in iOS. If something goes wrong, and you need to uninstall the beta, you’ll need to reset your iPhone entirely. Unless you have a full backup of iOS 26.3 on your computer, you could lose data. As such, I never recommend installing betas on your primary device. It’s your choice, of course: Just understand the risks.
If you do decide to try the beta, you’ll also have access to other new features in iOS 26.4—namely, a new Apple Music experience with an AI playlist generator, fresh design, and the ability to add songs to multiple playlists at once.
While Toyota and Honda’s showrooms are littered with electrified offerings, Nissan hasn’t had much to counter. Globally, Nissan offers a series hybrid system called E-Power, but the company has been reluctant to offer it Stateside. If you ask anyone at the company about it, they’ll tell you that while it makes sense in Europe, Japan, and other parts of Asia, it is not optimized for the type of driving we do this side of the pond.
Nissan’s hybrid offerings in North America have been lackluster at best. There was the Altima that borrowed Toyota’s hybrid system from the Camry, and there was the Rogue hybrid that failed to deliver noticeably better fuel economy. And that’s really it.
That, however, is about to change with the company’s third-generation system.
NASA’s Curiosity rover has finally completed its focused survey of the so-called spiderwebs of Mars, providing us the first close-up look at a massive network of geologic ridges on Mount Sharp that have puzzled scientists since they were first spotted from orbit years ago.
Curiosity rover captured this panorama of boxwork formations—the
Zwift version 1.108 begins its phased rollout today. This is a minor update, but there are a few new Climb Portals included that we’ll get to ride in the coming months, plus changes to Coffee Stops which regular users will want to know about. See details below…
New Climb Portals
Although not mentioned in the release notes, today’s update includes three new climbs for the Climb Portal. These are the first climbs added to the library since April 2025!
All three are short Belgian climbs known for their inclusion in iconic sprint classics. My guess is we’ll see these on the Climb Portal calendar for April 2026:
In case you’re wondering: yes, these are very short climbs! Look how close together the 10 arches are on the Paterberg:
The Paterberg is now the shortest climb in the library, with the Koppenberg 2nd-shortest and Mur de Huy 4th.
Coffee Stop Fixes/Changes
Today’s release, as well as the previous update, contains several changes and fixes for Zwift’s Coffee Stop feature, effectively making it “Coffee Stop v2”. Here’s the full list of what has changed…
Bug Fixes
Game v1.107: Fixed issues where Coffee Stop was permanently greyed out throughout the activity, but was supposed to be available. (This happened when users jumped from a workout to an event through the ‘join event’ pop-up.)
Game v1.108: Fixed issues where towing abruptly stopped, and shouldn’t have:
When triggered before the final 5km of a distance-based event, or the final 15 minutes of a time-based event. Where towing used to abruptly stop when you hit 5km or 15 minutes to go, it will now continue through the end of the Coffee Stop timer.
When finishing the cooldown portion of an event, the activity automatically transitions into a free ride. If you triggered your Coffee Stop during the cooldown, towing used to suddenly stop right when the cooldown ended and the free ride began. It will now continue through the end of the Coffee Stop timer.
Your momentum and selected route will now continue after an intersection if your “tow truck” turns onto a different route.
What’s New
Earlier Availability: The 3-minute Coffee Stop is now available starting at the 5-minute mark, instead of 30 minutes into the ride. It will be available at the 5-minute mark even if you use the 30-second Coffee Stop in those first 5 minutes. (Hurray!)
Hover Tooltips: If the Coffee Stop icon is greyed out/disabled, hovering over it will now display the reason.
Activity Reset Logic: Coffee Stop timers and availability are now correctly reset whenever switching between different activity types where Coffee Stops are allowed (i.e. non-competitive group rides, and rides that don’t involve a structured workout), or returning to the Home Screen.
Note: These behaviors remain unchanged:
Coffee Stop is disabled in all competitive events and structured workouts.
Full 3-minute Coffee Stops regenerate 30 minutes after the previous one ended.
You need at least one other Zwifter nearby headed in the same direction.
Revised Strava Activity Descriptions
Zwift says, “We’ve simplified how Zwift activities appear on Strava by shortening activity titles and moving the route and world into the description. This change applies only to events, workouts, and RoboPacer rides.”
Here are shots of a Robopacer ride before and after this change. Nice change!
Computrainer Connection Fix
Racermate earned legend status years ago in the indoor cycling community due to their bombproof CompuTrainers. And even though Racermate closed up shop in 2017 (after 40 years making trainers!), there are still a number of Zwifters rolling CompuTrainers.
Unfortunately, back in January, Windows released a driver update for Win10 users that broke Zwift’s connection to CompuTrainer devices. (Or was it a Zwift update that caused the issue? Read the 120+ comment thread and decide.) Whatever the cause, today’s update includes a fix. Zwift says, “Windows: Improved an issue that could cause CompuTrainer devices to not appear in the Pairing screen after a recent Windows Update driver update.”
Release Notes
Zwift supplied the following additional release notes:
Fixed an issue that could cause the Goal Met notification banner to incorrectly appear in-game.
Fixed an issue that could cause the level-up visual effect to display the wrong level.
Fixed an issue that could cause level-up notifications to not appear in the Zwifters Nearby list when riding in Climb Portal.
Fixed an issue that could cause Apple Watch to appear as “UNKNOWN DEVICE” in the Pairing Screen.
Fixed an issue that could cause workout arches to render incorrectly in the Watopia volcano.
Fixed an issue that could cause minor visual discrepancies between the Race Score shown in the Zwift post-ride progress report vs. Zwift Companion. This only affected the display of Race Score – the underlying values were unaffected.
Discuss this update in Zwift’s forum > (link coming soon)
Questions or Comments?
If you spotted any other changes or bugs in the update, please comment below!
Blizzard is finally bringing Overwatch to mobile devices, but not exactly in the way you think. The company isn’t making a port of the mainline game. Rather, it just announced a spinoff called Overwatch Rush, which is being described as a “top-down hero shooter designed specifically for mobile set in the Overwatch universe.”
There have been rumors about an Overwatch mobile game for what seems like a lifetime. Most people assumed this would appear as a straight port, but a brand-new game is also great. It’s not being developed by Team 4, the group that works on the mainline game, but is being made internally.
Overwatch Rush features many of the heroes of Overwatch battling on familiar-looking maps, according to a gameplay video. The game offers 4v4 matches, though the characters are more cartoonish and stylized than the mainline game. This is likely to accommodate smaller screens and the top-down view.
This is a mobile game, so the battles are described as “bite-sized” and the controls are touchscreen-based. Blizzard says it’s still in the early stages of development but that it’s going to offer “fast-paced, on-the-go play, with hero-centric combat and playstyle customization that suits both team and solo players.”
Overwatch Rush will be playable soon, as part of a beta testing process. It’ll be free to play and available for both Android and iOS whenever the full game is ready to go.
Blizzard says that a “new, separate, dedicated team” will be “focused exclusively” on Overwatch Rush. That’s industry code for “we aren’t draining resources from the main game to make the mobile spinoff.” Oddly, the company recently held a series of panels to discuss the future of its franchises and didn’t mention this mobile game.
This isn’t the company’s first foray into mobile game development. It’s had a hand in stuff like Diablo Immortal and Warcraft Rumble.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/blizzard-finally-revealed-its-long-rumored-overwatch-mobile-game-162938590.html?src=rss
Version
5.4.0 of GNU awk
(gawk) has been released. This is a major release with a change in
gawk’s default regular-expression matcher: it now uses MinRX
as the default regular-expression engine.
This matcher is fully POSIX compliant, which the current GNU matchers
are not. In particular it follows POSIX rules for finding the longest
leftmost submatches. It is also more strict as to regular expression
syntax, but primarily in a few corner cases that normal, correct,
regular expression usage should not encounter.
Because regular expression matching is such a fundamental part of
awk/gawk, the original GNU matchers are still included in gawk. In order
to use them, give a value to the GAWK_GNU_MATCHERS environment variable
before invoking gawk.
[…] The original GNU matchers will eventually be removed from
gawk. So, please take the time to notice and report any issues in the
MinRX matcher, so that they can be ironed out sooner rather than later.
See the release announcement for additional changes.
BSD support improves, FreeBSD eyes a desktop option, and the init wars refuse to dieThe latest KDE desktop environment is out. Among other things, it comes with a pledge that it won’t require systemd, and this version has improved OpenBSD support. FreeBSD 15.1’s installer offers KDE too.…
Microsoft has spent more than $76 billion acquiring game studios and publishers over the past few years in an attempt to turn Xbox into a Netflix-like subscription platform, and the result is that nobody — possibly not even Microsoft — can clearly articulate what Xbox actually is anymore, The Verge writes.
The brand started as a powerful video game console, but Game Pass and cloud gaming pushed it toward a hazier identity: the “This is an Xbox” ad campaign tried to redefine it as any device that could play Xbox games, whether a PC, a smart TV, a phone, or a Windows handheld. Microsoft then went further and started publishing its biggest franchises on PlayStation, making it one of the largest third-party publishers on a rival’s platform.
Phil Spencer, who led the division for over a decade and drove the subscription pivot, announced his retirement last week, and incoming CEO Asha Sharma has pledged “the return of Xbox” — though her memo also talks about expanding across PC, mobile, and cloud, which sounds a lot like the status quo.
Netflix, Disney+, Amazon’s Prime Video and other major video on-demand (VOD) streaming services are set to face stricter regulation in the UK. Platforms with a monthly average of more than 500,000 UK viewers will be deemed “Tier 1″ services that are subject to similar oversight as broadcasters like the BBC and ITV under the eye of media watchdog Ofcom.
Streaming services run by public broadcasters like ITVX and Channel 4 will have to abide by the new rules as well. BBC services such as iPlayer are exempt for now as they’re regulated under the Broadcasting Code, which broadcasters have to adhere to. That said, the UK government plans to update the BBC Framework Agreement so that iPlayer is regulated in the same way as Netflix et al.
The government said the new rules will reflect changes in how people are watching TV. It claimed that 85 percent of people use an on-demand service every month while 67 percent watch live TV. It added that two-thirds of UK households subscribe to at least one of Netflix, Prime Video and Disney.
According to Variety, the rules will not apply to video-sharing platforms such as YouTube, since those are regulated under the Online Safety Act. However, individual channels on such platforms could be subject to the VOD standards code.
Tier 1 platforms will have to adhere to regulations regarding accuracy and impartiality, while ensuring they shield audiences from “harmful or offensive” material. Ofcom will be able to accept viewer complaints over apparent breaches of such rules and carry out investigations. The watchdog will then be able to take action if it determines that there’s been a breach of the VOD standards code. That includes fines of up to £250,000 ($337,000) or five percent of “qualifying revenue” per breach.
A public consultation will help shape the VOD standards code. The public and streaming services will have the chance to weigh in on what the rules should be. The standards code will then come into force a year after Ofcom publishes it. The government says “more than 20” platforms will be subject to the code as things stand.
Separately, a VOD accessibility code will be established to bring streaming services further into line with broadcasters. Tier 1 streaming platforms will have to ensure that at least 80 percent of their total catalogues are subtitled, 10 percent have audio descriptions and five percent is signed. They’ll have four years to meet the requirements of the accessibility code.
“With UK audiences increasingly favoring on-demand platforms over live TV, we want to ensure that no one is left behind, and that everyone can enjoy the huge range of content available on video-on-demand services,” Media Minister Ian Murray said in a statement. “Implementing a new Ofcom-regulated accessibility code for our largest video-on-demand services will give people with disabilities impacting their sight or hearing peace of mind that they’ll be able to stream all their favorite films and TV shows long into the future.”
The UK government is implementing these rules for streaming services under the Media Act 2024. Currently, platforms including Prime Video, Disney+, Paramount+, Discovery+, Hayu and ITVX are subject to statutory rules that Ofcom enforces. However, the watchdog has no oversight of Netflix as things stand. That platform’s European base is in the Netherlands. As such, the Dutch media regulator oversees Netflix instead.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflix-disney-and-other-major-streaming-services-face-stricter-uk-oversight-160121268.html?src=rss
Building a PC from scratch in the current climate is a tough proposition thanks to skyrocketing memory and storage prices, as well as inflated GPU costs. If you’re in need of a modest new gaming PC, however, you may want to consider going the prebuilt route, even if you’ve traditionally stuck with DIY builds. System builders are better equipped
Version
148 of Firefox has been released. The most notable change in this
release is the addition of a “Block AI enhancements” option that
allows turning off “new or current AI enhancements in Firefox, or
pop-ups about them” with a single toggle.
With this release, Firefox now supports the Trusted
Types API to help prevent cross-site scripting attacks as well as
the Sanitizer
API that provides new methods for HTML manipulation. See the release
notes for developers for changes that may affect web developers or
those who create Firefox add-ons.
Nothing has seemingly abandoned the traditional slow-burn reveal in favor of a blunt, early look at its next mid-range contender, the Phone 4a. After a couple of weeks of cryptic hints involving pink graffiti and vintage telephone cords, the company has pulled the curtain back on the device’s rear design a week ahead of its scheduled March
I’ve spend more time than I care to admit researching Selena Gomez today. The 33-year-old pop singer and star of Only Murders in The Building is at the center of an elaborate online conspiracy theory that been building steam all week. Why? In brief, many people online seem to believe Selena Gomez is a clone.
Why people think Selena Gomez is a clone
It started with the Epstein files. Last week, videos started showing up on TikTok claiming Selena Gomez was mentioned in the Epstein files. She was, but Gomez wasn’t corresponding with Epstein; her name is mentioned in a July 21, 2017 message between Jeffery Epstein and Lana (NAME REDACTED) in which Epstein writes, “sorry , you would have had fun. he has diecided [sic] on selena gomez.”
Conspiracy theorists have been using the Epstein files as evidence to confirm basically anything since they were released in January, and that Gomez reference from Epstein is, in their minds, a smoking gun that proves she’s a clone. The theory says the real Selena Gomez passed away during a kidney transplant operation in 2017, and the person we think is Selena Gomez is a genetically engineered replica. Interestingly, I can’t find anyone talking about why someone would go to the trouble, but maybe it was to keep the Gomez-money-machine printing cash.
To back up the cloning assertion, believers in the theory are comparing pictures and videos of a pre-2017 Gomez with her current appearance and pointing out all the ways she doesn’t look and sound like she did almost a decade ago. She has a rounded face now where here face used to be angular! Her voice is different too; she used to sound bubbly and high-pitched, now she sounds like Madeline Kahn. This has led some to believe she somehow is Madelein Kahn. (Or maybe Geena Davis.)
Evidence that Selena Gomez is not a clone
It’s impossible to prove a negative, but I’m still comfortable saying that Selena Gomez is definitely not a clone. Scientists have cloned all kinds of animals, from sheep to primates, so there’s theoretically no reason a human couldn’t be cloned. But it hasn’t been done (that anyone knows about), because it’s so unethical. But even if you put ethics aside, animal cloning has an extremely high failure rate: It took 79 embryos and 42 surrogate mothers to clone two macaque monkeys, for instance, and that was using fetal cells. Attempts to make cloned monkeys from adult cells went worse: 181 embryos were implanted into 42 surrogate mothers, and two baby monkeys were born, but both died within hours. The idea that a small army of doctors and scientists and 40+ surrogate mothers are keeping quiet about that one time they were supposed to give birth to Selena Gomez’s clone isn’t credible.
Like a lot of conspiracy theories, this one doesn’t even hold up to its own logic: if Selena Gomez had been cloned, wouldn’t the new version be identical to the old one? Why the changes in voice and appearance? If the clone can be spotted on sight (or upon listening to her sing), why make a clone at all?
More importantly, you can’t clone a full-grown person. You can (theoretically) clone a human embryo, but it would have to be implanted in someone’s womb, gestate, and be born. You’d have to raise it too. A Selena Gomez clone wouldn’t just pop out of a giant test tube and report to the set of a late-career Woody Allen movie.
Speaking of Woody Allen, the most reasonable explanation for that email is Jeffery Epstein telling “Lana” who Woody Allen had cast in A Rainy Day in New York—a movie shot in 2017 that stars Selena Gomez. The timeline fits perfectly with that movie’s pre-production schedule—they announced the casting publicly two weeks later—and Epstein and Allen were longtime acquaintances.
Here’s why Selena Gomez looks and sounds different than she did in 2017
Selena Gomez has lupus, a debilitating disease serious enough to have required her to receive a kidney transplant in 2017. No matter how rich and famous you are, you don’t come out of that unmarked. The change in the shape of the face (“Moon face” as it’s called) and body are well known side effects of the corticosteroids/steroids given to treat Lupus, as well as the immunosuppressants given for organ transplants. Same with her voice: Lupus causes vocal changes in about 80% of sufferers. Inflammation of the cricoarytenoid joint commonly leads to a lower pitched or raspy voice. Gomez even addressed the changes herself, noting that her “throat kinda swells inside sometimes” due to her health issues.
In short, Selena Gomez looks and sounds exactly like someone who has lupus and had a kidney transplant in 2017. Ironically, if she looked the same as she did 10 years ago, it would be much stronger evidence for a conspiracy. It would be totally reasonable to ask, “did she really have a kidney replaced? Does she really have lupus?” But she clearly did and does, and you can see it on her face and hear it in her voice.
Other celebrities rumored to have been cloned and/or died and been replaced
When it comes to cloning conspiracies, we’ve been her before. In 1969, hippies were convinced that Paul McCartney of the Beatles had died, and been replaced by Billy Shears, the (fictional) winner of a Paul McCartney look-a-like contest. In 2003, Avril Lavigne was said to have been replaced by a body double Melissa Vandella. Gucci Mane came out of prison in 2016 looking slimmer, and fans thought he was a clone. Britney Spears is AI. Eminem is an android. It never ends. I’m not sure why people in parasocial relationships with entertainers love pretending they’re fake, but they really do.
Is pretending celebrities are secretly dead bad?
I don’t think many Selena Gomez fans really believe she’s a clone, even if they post about it online. At least, they don’t believe it in the same way they believe the sun is going to rise tomorrow. I doubt I could get anyone to put money on it. It feels more like it’s half fan-fiction, an exciting (if ghoulish) game of what if?
Believing in a world where a cabal of Hollywood mad scientists secretly cloned an actress so Hulu could produce more Only Murders in the Building is more exciting than accepting the dull, randomness of actual life. It’s hard to accept that anyone, even a celebrity, can be stricken with a debilitating diseases that changes their faces and gives them unfamiliar voice, just because that’s how shit goes sometimes. Because that means it could happen to you. In conspiracy-land, at least there’s someone in charge of the bad things that happen. We’d rather have someone steering the bus, even with terrible intentions, than accept that there is no driver, and the exit doors are sealed shut.
The facilities provided by the kernel for the management of processes have
evolved considerably in the last few years, driven mostly by the advent of
the pidfd API. A pidfd is a file
descriptor that refers to a process; unlike a process ID, a pidfd is an
unambiguous handle for a process; that makes it a safer, more deterministic
way of operating on processes. Christian Brauner, who has driven much of
the pidfd-related work, is proposing
two new flags for the clone3()
system call, one of which changes the kernel’s security model in a
somewhat controversial way.
For the last few years, Lamborghini has been in a quandary: What to do about an electric vehicle? Among the supercar brands, Lamborghini has always stood out as favoring drama over lap times. And while electric motors and their instant torque can make a car accelerate very quickly indeed, other than the G-forces, it happens with such little fuss. Working out how to imbue an EV with enough “wow” factor to wear the famous bull badge has proved so difficult that the company has thrown in the towel in favor of developing more plug-in hybrids.
As part of Volkswagen Group, Lamborghini has access to the EV platforms used by fellow VW Group brands Audi and Porsche, so it’s not a question of access to technology. Rather, the company just doesn’t think it can sell the cars. As Tim Stevens found out for Ars last year, in this rarefied end of the car market, the customers just aren’t interested in EVs. People paying six or even seven figures for a supercar, especially a Lamborghini, are not exercising restraint, and they don’t want the car to do that, either.
Speaking to the Sunday Times this weekend, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann revealed that the Lanzador, an electric SUV under development for the past few years, was canceled in late 2025. “Investing heavily in full-EV development when the market and customer base are not ready would be an expensive hobby, and financially irresponsible towards shareholders, customers [and] to our employees and their families,” he told the paper.
Rumors are a-swirling over the next OnePlus flagship, with some saying that the OnePlus 16 is set to shatter the 1mm display bezel barrier, inching (or should that be millimetering) us closer to the bezel-less smartphone dream some enthusiasts have sleepless nights over.
If this claim (as noted by tech insider Old Chen Air over at Weibo)
