Samsung isn’t waiting a full year to reveal its latest Galaxy Buds. The company debuted the Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro at its Galaxy S26 Unpacked event where the hot topic was three new phones. When it comes to Samsung’s earbuds, the company has overhauled the shape and design while improving sound quality, active noise cancellation (ANC) and adding new features. As always, the best of what the Galaxy Buds 4 lineup has to offer will be reserved for people with a recent Samsung phone.

While the company is keeping it’s AirPods-esque “blade” design, it retooled that element to ditch the angular shape and the gimmicky lights. It’s now a flat, metal panel and the area that allows for pinch controls has been engraved so that your fingers find it easily. In terms of shape, Samsung says it analyzed data from hundreds of millions of ear data points and ran over 10,000 simulations to improve overall fit with smaller earbuds. The Galaxy Buds 4 remain an open-fit design while the Pro version has a tip that seals off your ears. Like before, the company kept the transparent lids for the charging cases, although this time the earbuds lay flat in those rather than standing up.

Inside of the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, Samsung is using a wider woofer as part of its two-way driver setup for cleaner bass. That configuration’s dedicated tweeter should also deliver natural, rich treble, according to the company. Both Galaxy Buds 4 models support high quality audio up to 24bit/96kHz (from a recent Samsung device) and direct multi-channel 360 audio is available as well.

Billy Steele for Engadget

Although the Galaxy Buds Pro 4 got the bulk of the ANC upgrades, Samsung says it improved noise-canceling performance for both models. The company promises effective noise blocking for transit sounds — engine noise from buses, trains or planes — in addition to “everyday background noise.” What’s more, both of the Galaxy Buds 4 devices feature ambient sound mode, adaptive EQ and adaptive ANC, with the latter two applying adjustments automatically as needed.

The Pro model can also detect the user’s voice and increase ambient sound for conversations — a feature that’s held over from the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. When you stop talking, the earbuds will automatically resume ANC. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro also has a Siren Detect feature that activates ambient sound so that you can hear safety alerts like alarms or emergency vehicles.

The new item that pushes the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro closer to the AirPods Pro 3 is head gestures. Samsung will now let users manage calls and interact with Bixby by nodding or shaking their head side to side. As before, the Galaxy Buds remain a conduit to Bixby, but they’re also a gateway to Gemini and Perplexity — all of which can be accessed hands-free via voice controls.

The Galaxy Buds 4 ($180) and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro ($250) are available for pre-order today before hitting shelves on March 11. Both models will be available in black, white and pink gold, although that third color is a Samsung online exclusive.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/samsungs-redesigned-galaxy-buds-4-lineup-has-retooled-sound-improved-anc-and-new-features-180000718.html?src=rss

Samsung has announced the latest version of its flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, and just like last year, the high-end phone is where the company is making some of its biggest changes. The S26 Ultra includes a new processor, a new privacy-focused display technology, an improved camera system and like Samsung’s other phones, a crop of new AI-powered software features.

On first blush, the Galaxy S26 Ultra isn’t all that different from the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Samsung is still using a 6.9-inch QHD+ AMOLED screen, with an 120Hz refresh rate and support for an S Pen stylus. The S26 Ultra also features the same flat sides, utter lack of Qi2-compatible magnets and pronounced camera bump. Despite those similarities, the new flagship does have some differences: for one, it’s ever so slightly thinner at  0.31-inches than the S25 Ultra was at 0.32-inches. It also comes with an aluminum frame rather than the titanium frame of the previous generation. For stylus fans, the new S Pen has a curved top that lets it better match the curves of the S26 Ultra. Biggest of all, Samsung’s new phone includes “Privacy Display,” a new technology that lets the phone limit how much of its screen is visible when you’re not looking directly at it.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Inside, the Galaxy S26 Ultra uses Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip, a modified version of the flagship mobile chip it debuted last year, and either 12 or 16GB of RAM. In terms of storage, the Galaxy S26 Ultra can come with either 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of memory. Regardless of which version you pick, you’ll get a 5,000mAh battery with support for Samsung’s wired and wireless fast charging, and Wireless PowerShare for topping up accessories like wireless earbuds.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra, just like the S25 Ultra before it, includes an array of four cameras on the back and one selfie camera on the front. The phone features a 200MP f/1.4 wide, 50MP f/1.9 ultra-wide, 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto, 50MP f/2.9 periscope telephoto and 12MP f/2.2 selfie camera. If you were to just look at just the megapixel counts of the phone, they’re identical to last year’s model. Samsung’s major tweaks are to the aperture of both the wide and periscope cameras, which should let them capture more light.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Of course, plenty of the flashiest parts of Samsung’s new smartphone are software features. The improved photo and video performances of the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s cameras is partially driven by software tweaks. Samsung is also adopting Perplexity as a second, system-level AI assistant. The AI can be called with a button press or “Hey Plex,” powers improvements to Bixby and can act inside Samsung apps. That doesn’t mean Gemini isn’t still available, though. Google’s AI will gain the ability to handle things like booking a rideshare or filling an online grocery cart in the background on the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at $1,300 and is available to pre-order today in a purple-ish “Cobalt Violet,” light blue “Sky Blue,” black, white and exclusively through Samsung’s online store, “Silver Shadow” and “Pink Gold.” The phone will become generally available on March 11.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsungs-galaxy-s26-ultra-offers-a-subtle-set-of-hardware-improvements-180000725.html?src=rss

DVD and Blu-ray sales have been in freefall for years, but the decline is slowing considerably as Gen Z buyers turn to physical media and drive a measurable uptick at video rental stores and retailers across the U.S.

Overall disc sales fell just 9% last year after dropping more than 20% in both 2023 and 2024, according to the Digital Entertainment Group, and U.S. consumers spent 12% more on 4K UHD Blu-rays in 2025 than the prior year. The Criterion Collection, a leading boutique Blu-ray label, confirmed significant year-over-year sales increases that its president credits to younger customers.

Vidiots, a video store in Los Angeles, averaged 170 rentals a day in January 2026 — its biggest month ever — after loaning about 22,000 discs total in 2023 and roughly 50,000 in 2024. Barnes & Noble reported DVD and Blu-ray sales growth of “mid-double digits” over the past year.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The newest Galaxy series is officially here. Samsung announced its latest batch of flagship phones During its big Unpacked 2026 event. The company had announced as much ahead of the presentation but was silent on the name, though few will be surprised to learn this year’s phones are the Galaxy S26 series—specifically, the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra. While the new devices look similar to last year’s models, there are some new features and changes (including ones exclusive to the S26 Ultra) that may make them worth upgrading.

The S26 series comes with new Galaxy AI features

Credit: Sachin Bahal

Since Samsung is all-in on AI, it’s only fitting there are a couple of new Galaxy AI features making their debut on the Galaxy S26 series. First is the “Now Nudge,” Samsung’s answer to the Pixel 10’s Magic Cue feature. Now Nudge uses AI to understand the context of what’s currently on your screen and prompts users with helpful information, such relevant photos, calendar availability and more.

The Galaxy S26 series supports switching between three AI assistants at once. You can access Google Gemini and Bixby, of course, but users will now be able to use Perplexity as well. This includes hands-free voice commands (e.g. “Hey Plex.”) Galaxy S26 users can utilize Perplexity to get info, manage tasks, or even navigate through their device using natural voice or text prompts.

Samsung is also upgrading Circle to Search with version 3.0. Now, users can circle multiple items within an image, such as a whole outfit, and Galaxy AI can identify and itemize each item at once. Then, there’s Notification Intelligence, where the AI will prioritize your most important messages and notifications, such as conversations with humans, above promotional or subscription notifications. The higher priority notifications will appear higher in your incoming notifications list.

Credit: Sachin Bahal

One of the S26 Ultra’s exclusive features is Privacy Display, which allows users to make their screen only visible when viewing straight on, as if you’re using a privacy screen protectors. Privacy Display can be enabled all the time or during certain conditions, like using certain apps or when entering a passcode or password.

These are the specs for the Galaxy S26 series

Credit: Sachin Bahal

All models in the Galaxy S26 series are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip, a slightly overclocked version of the SoC exclusive to Samsung phones. Compared to last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, the 8 Elite Gen 5 brings a 20% performance boost and 35% CPU power efficiency, thanks to the 3 nanometer manufacturing process. The new Adreno GPU in the 8 Elite Gen 5 should also improve graphics performance by 23%.

Like the Galaxy S25 series, all three Galaxy S26 models feature a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, which supports an adaptive refresh rate of 1-120Hz. Storage options include 256GB and 512GB on the S26 and S26+, while the S26 Ultra comes in an optional 1TB variant as well. All three come with 12GB of RAM, but the 1TB S26 Ultra comes with 16GB of RAM. Screen sizes have stayed relatively the same apart from the base S26, which has gone up to 6.3 inches:

• Galaxy S26: 6.3-inch display (2340 x 1080)

• Galaxy S26+: 6.7-inch display (3120 x 1440)

• Galaxy S26 Ultra: 6.9-inch display (3120 x 1440)

The base model S26 comes with a 4,300 mAh battery, up from the 4,000 mAh battery on the S25, while the S26+ stays with a 4,900 mAh battery and the S26 Ultra continues with a 5,000 mAh battery. The S26 supports 25W wired and 15W wireless charging, while the S26+ supports 45W wired and 20W wireless charging. The S26 Ultra, however, has the fastest speeds of all, with 60W wired and 25W wireless charging. Despite those speeds, the Galaxy S26 series does not support Qi2 with the built-in magnetic array like Pixelsnap on the Pixel 10 series. That being said, Samsung will happily sell you their official cases with magnets built-in and will offer a magnetic charging puck and magnet battery pack.

Credit: Sachin Bahal

As far as the cameras go, Samsung isn’t changing much with the Galaxy S26 series. The S26 and S26+ have the same 12MP ultra-wide, 50MP wide, and 10MP telephoto lenses as the S25 and S25+. The Galaxy S26 Ultra gets a slight upgrade, at least to the 200MP wide lens, which now comes with a new f/1.4 aperture. It carries over the 50MP ultra-wide and two telephoto lenses, 10MP (3x) and 50MP (5x), of the S25 Ultra. The 12MP selfie camera on all three models also hasn’t changed from the S25 series. Thanks to the wider aperture on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, you can shoot what Samsung calls Nightography Video. It allows users to capture more detail in low light environments, to complement Samsung’s Nightography photo mode.

When is the Galaxy S26 available?

Credit: Credit: Sachin Bahal

The Galaxy S26 series is available for pre-order starting today. The phones will be available in a number of colors including, Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue and Black.

To coincide with the Samsung Galaxy S26 launch, Google announced three Gemini-related upgrades for Android, coming first to both the Galaxy S26 series and the Google Pixel 10 range. In fact, one of these new features seems like a significant step forward for AI on smartphones: the ability for Gemini to handle multi-step tasks on an Android phone. The examples Google gives are booking a ride through Uber or reordering a meal on DoorDash, where the AI takes care of everything in the background, leaving you free to worry about, well, whether it’s going to work.

Google wants Gemini to perform tasks on your behalf

“When you’re working on a repetitive daily task, it’s easy to daydream about handing it off to someone else,” explains Google in the announcement blog post. “Now, we’re showing an early preview of what’s possible.” Understandably, this has a “beta” label as well as an “early preview” label attached, and it’s initially only going to be available on Galaxy S26 phones and Pixel 10 phones (the Pixel 10a misses out). It’ll also be limited to the U.S. and South Korea to begin with.

As per Google, the process will be tightly controlled: Automations begin with your voice command and end as soon as the task is finished. Live notifications will keep you updated throughout, and you can jump in and take manual control at any time. What’s more, the app is run in a “secure, virtual window” on your phone, with restricted app access.

It’s going to be interesting to see how well this works. If it works well, this feels like a notable moment in getting AI to actually do mobile tasks for us. It’s not clear if Google needs third-party app permission for this, but for now the feature will be available “for select apps” in the food, grocery, and rideshare categories.

Google is upgrading Circle to Search and Scam Detection

Next, Google is upgrading Circle to Search on Android, the feature that lets you circle anything on screen and run a search from it. Circle to Search can do everything from find you a lamp online to warn you about a phishing scam.

Now, Circle to Search will be able to search multiple elements on screen at once. It might be different pieces of furniture in a room, or different items of clothing in an outfit. You don’t actually make the selections yourself: You just circle the relevant area (or the entire screen), and Gemini picks out the various constituent parts.

“We know that sometimes you aren’t just looking for a single thing on your screen—you’re looking for the whole thing,” says Google. “Whether you’re curating a mood board, building an entire outfit or just satisfying your multi-layered curiosity…Circle to Search is getting a whole lot more helpful.”

Circle to Search can now scan for multiple items in a search.
Credit: Google

Google is also embedding the ability to virtually try on clothes from your phone in the Circle to Search flow. It’s similar to the Gemini multi-step process above, with the AI taking on several sequential tasks to (in theory) be even more useful—technically, Google calls it a query fan-out technique. Again, this will be exclusive to Galaxy S26 and Pixel 10 phones, with no word yet on this potentially expanding to other handsets.

Finally, the last upgrade is more of a wider roll out than a new feature. The Scam Detection AI that Android uses to detect if you’re being scammed in calls in real time is coming to the Galaxy S26 series for users in the U.S. It’s already offered on multiple Pixel models in the U.S., the UK, Australia, Canada, India, and Ireland. The same technology is also currently available in Google Messages to catch text-based scams, and Google says it’s “enhancing” how this works to recognize more varied scams, starting with Galaxy S26 and Pixel 10 devices. The new and improved tech will use on-device models to better spot techniques used by scammers.

Last year, it felt like Samsung relied a bit too much on AI when trying to convince people to upgrade to its flagship phone. And while there’s no shortage of features that utilize machine learning on the new Galaxy S26 Ultra, it feels like Samsung has done a much better job of filling out the rest of the phone’s kit with fresh hardware, faster charging and a more cohesive design. It’s still rather expensive, but its price has stayed flat year-over-year at $1,300, which when combined with everything else makes it a much more attractive package than its predecessor. 

Design and display

Samsung’s Ultra phones are always going to be somewhat boxy and that’s OK. However, for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, the company’s top-of-the-line handset is getting a slightly curvier appearance thanks to rounder corners. There’s also a very (and I do mean very) small reduction in size that technically makes this version the thinnest and lightest Ultra to date (214 grams and 7.9mm thick). That said, considering the previous model weighed 218 grams and measured 8.2mm, it’s incredibly hard to feel a difference even when you know what you’re looking for. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

In reality, the biggest exterior change is that Samsung has ditched the titanium frame from last year’s phone in favor of an Armor Aluminum chassis with Corning Gorilla Armor 2 panels in front and back. Samsung says this new design is meant to make the Ultra fit in better with its less expensive siblings while also making it easier to do things like color match the phone’s body to the rest of the device. Also, for anyone who keeps track of Samsung’s palette, the hero color for the S26 Ultra is a rather fetching shade of purple called cobalt violet, with sky blue, white and black available as well (plus silver shadow and pink gold being Samsung’s online exclusive hues).

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

However, my favorite new thing on the S26 Ultra is its Privacy Display. When activated, it functions a lot like HP’s Sure View tech, which prevents people from peeking at your screen from acute angles. It works both when viewed from the side or up and down and has a surprising amount of customization. Not only can you set it to turn on automatically when the phone asks you for a password or PIN, it can also be triggered by specific apps or whenever you receive a notification. But perhaps the most impressive thing is that there’s almost no impact on image quality. When Privacy Display is active, there is a minor reduction in overall brightness, but aside from that, it’s really hard to tell when it’s on (at least from the front). Furthermore, the S26 Ultra’s 6.9-inch AMOLED screen has the same underlying specs as last year, including its 120Hz variable refresh rate and 2,600 nit peak brightness, so there are pretty much no trade-offs for the added functionality. 

Performance and charging

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Inside, the S26 Ultra features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip along with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. Compared to its predecessor, Samsung claims the NPU’s performance has made the biggest leap with it being 39 percent more powerful year-over-year with respectable increases for its CPU (19 percent faster) and GPU (24 percent faster) as well.

As for charging, both wired and wireless speeds have gotten a big boost with the former now rated at up to 60 watts (up from 45 watts) or 25 watts (up from 15) for the latter when using compatible Qi2 pads. Samsung says buyers will even get a three amp cable in the box, so all you need to do to get those peak wired speeds is to hook it up to the right adapter.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Unfortunately, we’re still not getting a magnetic ring inside the phone, which means if you want to use the S26 Ultra with magnetic accessories, you’ll need to pair the phone with a case that supports that functionality. This is super frustrating because Samsung says this decision was made in part to keep the handset as thin as possible, but when you consider the difference between the S26 Ultra and the S25 Ultra is 0.3mm, that choice feels rather misguided. 

Cameras

One of my biggest complaints about last year’s S25 Ultra is that the only new hardware was an updated 50MP sensor for its ultra-wide lens, which is the camera I (and probably most people) use the least. Thankfully, it seems Samsung took note of that because while the resolution of its 200MP main cam, 10MP 3x telephoto and 50MP 5X telephoto are the same as before, the S26 Ultra’s main and 5x zoom lenses now have significantly wider apertures (from f/1.7 to f/1.4 and f/3.4 to f/2.9, respectively). This results in as much as 47 percent more light reaching the phone’s primary sensor (or 37 percent for the 5x telephoto), which should result in some major gains in photo quality and low light sensitivity. That said, I wasn’t able to properly test this during my hands-on session, so I’m going to reserve final judgement for a proper review. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Meanwhile, for video capture, Samsung is adding support for the APV codec at up to 8K/30 fps to the S26 Ultra along with a new horizon lock feature that will keep your footage level no matter how much you rotate the phone. Now I will admit that the latter didn’t impress me much when I first heard about it, but after testing it out and spinning the phone a full 360-degrees while recording a clip, I was shocked when the resulting video showed no hint of being whirled around. Samsung also says the handset’s improved Nightography processing uses AI to recognize noise patterns in low light to improve image quality. But similar to the wider apertures bringing in more light, I’ll believe it when I see it. 

Finally, there’s a new AI-powered Photo Assist tool that lets you edit or adjust images using natural language prompts. From what I experienced, it’s effective and works as you’d expect. However, with the proliferation of services and devices offering similar functionality over the past year, this feature feels more like Samsung’s attempt to keep up with the Joneses. 

AI features

When it comes to AI, the S26 Ultra is getting the same batch of new and improved features as the rest of the S26 family. So if you’re big into machine learning, there’s no need to pay extra for this model. Furthermore, many of the updates for 2026 are tweaks or refinements of existing things like the Gallery app, which now uses AI to automatically sort screenshots into eight different categories so they’re easier to find later. There’s also what Samsung is calling Now Nudge, which functions a lot like Google’s Magic Cue. It’s built into the Samsung keyboard and it can do things like suggest relevant photos based on your conversations. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

To me, the most impressive of the bunch is the S26’s Automated App Actions, which allow you to ask the phone to do slightly more complicated tasks like ordering an Uber to a specific location. After your initial prompt, Gemini can even complete the task in the background while you go back to doomscrolling or watching videos. When it’s done, you’ll get a notification so you can manually review and confirm the command. Unfortunately, Uber will be the only supported app at launch, though Samsung says it’s working on expanding the feature to others like Instacart. 

Early thoughts

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Look, there’s no getting around it: $1,300 is a lot to spend on a phone. That said, considering the RAM shortage that’s going on right now, keeping the S26 Ultra’s price the same as last year’s phone feels like a small blessing. And when you get that on a handset with a more refined design, a beefier chip, a fancy Privacy Display, faster charging and an updated generation of AI-powered tools, Samsung’s latest flagship feels like a much better deal than its predecessor. Really, the only thing that hasn’t been improved is the Ultra’s S-Pen, which as time goes on, is starting to feel more and more like a consolation prize for people who are still nostalgic about the Note line than a true tentpole feature. 

Now this doesn’t mean that people with an S25 Ultra or even an S24 Ultra should run out and upgrade. But for anyone with something older than that who’s in the market for a true do-everything phone, the S26 Ultra has quite a bit to offer. 

Pre-orders for the Galaxy S26 Ultra are live now, with official sales slated for March 11. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra-hands-on-meaningful-tweaks-plus-a-slick-new-privacy-display-180000057.html?src=rss

To coincide with the release of Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 family of phones, Google is pushing out a small but meaningful update to Circle to Search. As a reminder, Circle to Search allows you to carry out a Google Search from almost anywhere on your phone. Just tap and hold your device’s home button, and then circle the passage or image you want to know more about. 

With previous iterations of Circle to Search, the tool’s underlying AI system was limited to searching against a single object in an image. Now, thanks to Gemini 3, it can scan and identify multiple objects at the same time. Naturally, Google is quick to point out the boon this represents for shopaholics. If you see a fit you like on Instagram, you can circle an entire person and the tool will attempt to find a match for each item they’re wearing, including any shoes and accessories. At the same time, Google has made it easier to see how those clothes might look on you by bringing its virtual try on feature directly inside of Circle to Search.    

The benefits of the new model aren’t only limited to shopping queries. Building on a search technique Google debuted with AI Mode, Circle to Search can now also reason through the relationship between different objects in an image. So say you see a photo of a coral reef and want to know how all the different pictured fish live together, Circle to Search will not only be able to identify the different species shown but also explain how they coexist with one another.   

Google is bringing the new and improved Circle to Search to Galaxy S26 and Pixel 10 phones first before rolling it out to more Android devices soon. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/googles-circle-to-search-can-now-identify-multiple-objects-in-an-image-180000385.html?src=rss

Here’s yet another troubling story about this “golden” era of AI. A hacker has exploited Anthropic’s Claude chatbot to carry out attacks against Mexican government agencies, according to a report by Bloomberg. This resulted in the theft of 150GB of official government data, including taxpayer records, employee credentials and more.

The hacker used Claude to find vulnerabilities in government networks and to write scripts to exploit them. It also tasked the chatbot with finding ways to automate data theft, as indicated by cybersecurity company Gambit Security. This started in December and continued for around a month.

It looks like the hacker was able to essentially jailbreak Claude with prompts, finally bypassing the chatbot’s guardrails. Claude originally refused the nefarious demands until eventually relenting.

“In total, it produced thousands of detailed reports that included ready-to-execute plans, telling the human operator exactly which internal targets to attack next and what credentials to use,” said Curtis Simpson, Gambit Security’s chief strategy officer.

Anthropic has investigated the claims, disrupted the activity and banned all of the accounts involved, according to a company representative. The spokesperson also said that its latest model, Claude Opus 4.6, includes tools to disrupt this kind of misuse.

It’s also been reported that this hacker used ChatGPT to supplement the attacks, using OpenAI’s chatbot to gather information on how to move through computer networks, determine which credentials were needed to access systems and how to avoid detection. OpenAI says it has identified attempts by the hacker to violate its usage policies and that the tools refused to comply.

The hacker remains unidentified. The attacks haven’t been attributed to a specific group, but Gambit Security did suggest they could be tied to a foreign government. It’s also unclear what the hacker wants to do with all of that data.

Mexico’s national digital agency hasn’t commented on the breach, but did note that cybersecurity is a priority. The state government of Jalisco denies that it was breached, saying only federal networks were impacted. However, Mexico’s national electoral institute also denied any breaches or unauthorized access in recent months. It’s worth noting that Gambit found at least 20 security vulnerabilities during its research that the country is likely not keen on highlighting.

This isn’t the first time Claude has been used for a major cyberattack. Last year, hackers in China manipulated the tool into attempting to infiltrate dozens of global targets, several of which were successful. Anthropic just nixed its long-standing safety pledge, which committed to never train an AI system unless it could guarantee in advance that safety measures were adequate. So who knows what fresh hell the future will bring as the company’s tools become more advanced.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/hacker-used-anthropics-claude-chatbot-to-attack-multiple-government-agencies-in-mexico-171237255.html?src=rss

An anonymous reader shares a report: Japan’s Fair Trade Commission raided Microsoft Japan’s offices on Wednesday as part of an investigation into whether it improperly restricted customers of its Azure platform from using rival cloud services, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The source said Japan’s antitrust authorities would also be seeking clarification from Microsoft’s parent company in the United States. Microsoft Japan is suspected of setting conditions that effectively shut out other services by limiting access to popular services on other cloud platforms, the source said.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Casey Means, President Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, will appear before the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday and is likely to face scrutiny over her qualifications for becoming the country’s top doctor.

Though Means holds a medical degree from Stanford Medical School, she dropped out of her medical residency and holds no active medical license. Instead, she has pursued a career as a wellness influencer, embracing “functional” medicine, an ill-defined form of alternative medicine. She co-founded a company called Levels, which promotes intensive health tracking, including the use of continuous glucose monitoring for people without diabetes or prediabetes, which is not backed by evidence.

Last year, an analysis by The Washington Post found that Means earned over half a million dollars between 2024 and 2025 from making deals with companies described as selling “diagnostic testing,” “herbal remedies and wellness products,” and “teas, supplements, and elixirs.”

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If you order a new smartphone to be delivered to your home, you may be a target for scammers. Fraudsters are impersonating representatives from mobile carriers, calling customers and claiming that they’ve been sent the wrong device and need to return it.

Obviously, if you follow through, scammers get to keep your phone—they may either to sell it or activate it using your information to perpetrate identity fraud.

Scams centered on stealing high-value tech aren’t anything new. In addition to regular porch pirating, thieves have been known to knock on doors, posing as couriers or company representatives attempting to recover a “wrongly delivered” item. Fraudsters have also used fake Find My alerts to gain access to lost or stolen iPhones.

How the phone return scam works

As an editor at ZDNET experienced, the scam begins shortly after your new phone is delivered. You may receive a call from a spoofed number, and someone claiming to represent your carrier will have specific information like your name, address, and device model. They’ll tell you that there’s been a mix-up and you need to send your phone back so you can receive a replacement. They may give you instructions to scan a QR code, print a label, and take the package to a shipping drop-off point. In some cases, targets have been promised gift cards for the inconvenience.

If you hesitate, scammers may employ a number of pressure tactics to get you to act. They’ll tell you that delaying the return could cause issues with your device activation, billing, or warranty. They may continue to call with threats.

Like many scams, this one relies on social engineering: it manipulates emotions and instincts to get you to act against your best interest. Fraudsters impersonate a trusted brand and use detailed information about you to make their story more believable. They use timing to their advantage and promote a sense of urgency.

The phone return scam also has similarities to the brushing scam, in which victims receive a package containing merchandise they didn’t order so that scammers can write a verified review or boost sales numbers or collect personally identifiable information once you scan a QR code (an added component known as quishing) to learn more about the item.

What to do if you get a call about your new phone

The solution here is to simply hang up. If you are concerned about your account or device, call your carrier directly (use the customer service number from a previous bill or go through the official app) and confirm the mix-up. Don’t engage with QR codes or any instructions provided on unsolicited calls.

It may be alarming that a scammer has specific details about your order and calls right after your new phone is delivered. Unfortunately, a lot of your personal information is out in the open and available to bad actors, whether as the result of a data breach or some other form of compromise (such as malware that can read notifications). This is a good reason to keep an eye out for other indicators of identity theft and act quickly if you find anything suspicious.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has threatened to cut Anthropic from his department’s supply chain unless it agrees to sign off on its technology being used in all lawful military applications by Friday.

The threat is the latest escalation in a feud between Anthropic and the department, triggered by the AI group’s refusal to give unfettered access to its models for classified military use, including domestic surveillance and deadly missions with no direct human control.

Hegseth summoned Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei to Washington for a meeting on Tuesday. During tense talks, the defense secretary threatened to cut the company out of the department’s supply chain or to invoke the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era measure enabling the president to control domestic industry in the interest of national defense, said a person with knowledge of the talks.

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Amazon is offering a new way for Alexa+ users to customize the AI assistant’s communication style. The company has introduced three personalities for Alexa+, so the assistant can adopt an attitude that is Brief, Chill or Sweet. 

The Brief style will be exactly that: no small talk and no extra conversation. Chill is easygoing and seems to be inspired by caricatures of the surfer/stoner type, while the Sweet mode is almost aggressively perky and chipper. In the audio sample provided, when a user asks “Alexa, how’s it going?” the Chill voice responds, “Life’s treating me well – all systems are Zen and the digital universe is spinning in harmony.” In contrast, the Sweet one replies, “Absolutely fantastic! I’m radiating pure joy and ready to make your day incredibly amazing!”

Amazon explained that the three personality styles are based on five metrics: expressiveness, emotional openness, formality, directness and humor. The company may release additional options with different combinations of those sliding scale traits in the future.

For now, users can swap the assistant’s vibe from the Alexa app or with the spoken command, “Alexa, change your personality style.” Both approaches can also be used to swap back to the classic Alexa voice. All three personalities are available now for all Alexa+ customers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazon-introduces-three-personality-styles-for-alexa-140000602.html?src=rss