Fortnite has returned to Apple’s App Store in the United States after a nearly five-year absence, marking a significant victory for Epic Games in its protracted legal battle against Apple’s App Store policies. The return follows an April 30 ruling where a federal judge determined Apple violated a court order requiring the company to allow greater competition for app downloads and payment methods, referring Apple to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney celebrated on X with a simple “We back fam” message. The game, which had 116 million users on Apple’s platform before its 2020 removal, was banned after Epic challenged Apple’s practice of charging up to 30% commission on in-app payments as anticompetitive.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Honda said on Tuesday that it was scaling back its investment in electric vehicles given slowing demand and would be focusing on hybrids, now far more in favor, with a slew of revamped models. Japan’s second-biggest automaker after Toyota also dropped a target for EV sales to account for 30% of its sales by the 2030 financial year. “It’s really hard to read the market, but at the moment we see EVs accounting for about a fifth by then,” CEO Toshihiro Mibe told a press conference.

Honda has slashed its planned investment in electrification and software by that year by 30% to 7 trillion yen ($48.4 billion). It’s one of a number of global car brands dialing back EV investment due to the shift in demand in favor of hybrids and as governments around the world ease timelines to meet emission rules and EV sales targets. Honda plans to launch 13 next-generation hybrid models globally in the four years from 2027. At the moment it sells more than a dozen hybrid models worldwide, though just three in the U.S. — the Civic, which comes in hatchback and sedan versions, the Accord and the CR-V. It will also develop a hybrid system for large-size models that it plans to launch in the second half of the decade.

The automaker is aiming to sell 2.2 million to 2.3 million hybrid vehicles by 2030, a huge jump from 868,000 sold last year. That also compares with a total of 3.8 million vehicles sold overall last year. Earlier this month, Honda announced it had put on hold for about two years a $10.7 billion plan to build an EV production base in Ontario, Canada, due to slowing demand for electric cars. Honda said, however, that it still plans to have battery-powered and fuel-cell vehicles make up all of its new car sales by 2040.

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AMD’s Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 were fairly well received when they were released in March, ably competing with Nvidia’s RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti for the same or a little less money. We were impressed by the cards’ performance and power efficiency, even if they still have some of the same caveats as older Radeon cards (lack of DLSS upscaling and lower relative ray-tracing performance being two).

Today AMD is formally expanding its family of RDNA 4 graphics cards with the Radeon RX 9060 XT, a GPU that will go up against Nvidia’s RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti GPUs. These GPUs have just half the compute units of the RX 9070 XT, but at $299 and $349 for 8GB and 16GB configurations, they ought to be decent options for 1080p or entry-level 1440p gaming PCs (with the eternal “if you can find them” caveat that comes with buying a GPU in 2025).

AMD says the new GPUs will be available starting on June 5th from the typical range of partners—AMD released renders of a reference GPU design, but sometimes these are starting points that manufacturers can take or leave, rather than products AMD intends to manufacture and sell itself.

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AMD has unveiled its 9060 XT GPU at Computex 2025. The midrange GPU will be the clear competitor to Nvidia’s 5060 Ti and goes toe-to-toe with it on almost every spec. Built on AMD’s 4-nanometer RDNA 4 silicon, the 9060 XT will pack 32 compute units, along with 64 dedicated AI accelerators and 32 ray-tracing cores.

AMD

Notably, the RX 9060 XT will ship in 8GB and 16GB GDDR6 versions, whereas Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti uses faster 28 Gb/s GDDR7, delivering roughly 40 percent more bandwidth (448 GB/s vs. approximately 322 GB/s) on the same 128-bit bus. We’ll have to wait for some side-by-side performance comparisons before drawing any strong conclusions from those specs.

AMD has listed the 9060 XT’s boost clock at speeds up to 3.13 GHz. The GPU boasts 821 TOPS for AI workloads and will draw a modest 150 to 182 watts from the board. The card will connect via PCIe 5.0 x16 and supports the now-standard DisplayPort 2.1a and HDMI 2.1b. Based on these initial specs, the 9060 XT should be a solid entry for games running at 1080p and a decent option for those at 1440p. Those wishing to play at 4K should still opt for the Radeon RX 9070 or 9070 XT.

Pricing and exact release timelines have not yet been announced.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/amd-unveils-radeon-rx-9060-xt-at-computex-2025-030021776.html?src=rss

Not many people need a 96-core processor. But for creative professionals, engineers and AI developers who do, AMD has a new batch of chips on display at Computex 2025. The company announced its new Ryzen Threadripper 9000 series on Tuesday, with bonkers specs to power pro-level workstations and ultra-high-end prosumer desktops.

At the top of the line in the series is the AMD Threadripper Pro 9995WX. This chip has a staggering 96 cores and 192 threads, matching the highest-end model from 2023’s Threadripper Pro 7000 line. But the new 9000 series tops out with a higher maximum boost speed of 5.4GHz. That’s up from 5.1GHz in the premiere 7000 Pro chip.

AMD’s new batch includes six processors in the Threadripper Pro WX series, designed for pro-level workstations. (In addition to the 96-core 9995WX, options include 12-, 16-, 24-, 32- and 64-core models.) Moving past the Pro series, the standard Threadripper 9000 line for high-end desktops maxes out with the 64-core, 128-thread 9980X.

AMD hasn’t yet announced pricing or specific retail models carrying the chips. But the 7000 Pro series offers a hint. The top-shelf model from that line costs a cool $10,000. (Yep, that’s for the processor alone.) So, unless your work involves extremely demanding AI development, 3D modeling or ultra-high-res video editing, you can slowly step away and make your way back to the consumer aisle.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/amds-ryzen-threadripper-9000-chips-have-up-to-96-cores-just-like-the-last-bunch-030003537.html?src=rss

A Massachusetts man has agreed to plead guilty to hacking into one of the top education tech companies in the United States and stealing tens of millions of schoolchildren’s personal information for profit. From a report: Matthew Lane, 19, of Worcester County, Massachusetts, signed a plea agreement related to charges connected to a major hack on an educational technology company last year, as well as another company, according to court documents published Tuesday.

While the documents refer to the education company only as “Victim-2” and the U.S. attorney’s office declined to name the victim, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News that it is PowerSchool. The hack of PowerSchool last year is believed to be the largest breach of American children’s sensitive data to date.

According to his plea agreement, Lane admitted obtaining information from a protected computer and aggravated identity theft and agreed not to challenge a prison sentence shorter than nine years and four months. He got access simply by trying an employee’s stolen username and password combination, the complaint says, echoing a private third-party assessment of the incident previously reported by NBC News.

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A new virtual machine manager called Karton is being developed specifically for the KDE Plasma desktop, aiming to offer a seamless, Qt-native alternative to GNOME-centric tools like GNOME Boxes. Spearheaded by University of Waterloo student Derek Lin as part of Google Summer of Code 2025, Karton uses libvirt and Qt Quick to build a user-friendly, fully integrated VM experience, with features like a custom SPICE viewer, snapshot support, and a mobile-friendly UI expected by September 2025. Neowin reports: To feel right at home in KDE, Karton is being built with Qt Quick and Kirigami. It uses the libvirt API to handle virtual machines and could eventually work across different platforms. Right now, development is focused on getting the core parts in place. Lin is working on a new domain installer that ditches direct virt-install calls in favor of libosinfo, which helps detect OS images and generate the right libvirt XML for setting up virtual machines more precisely. He’s still refining device configuration and working on broader hypervisor support. Another key part of the work is building a custom SPICE viewer using Qt Quick from scratch:

If you’re curious, here’s the list of specific deliverables Lin included in his GSoC proposal, though he notes the proposal itself is a bit outdated […]. For those interested in the timeline, Lin’s GSoC proposal says the official GSoC coding starts June 2, 2025. The goal is to have a working app ready by the midterm evaluation around July 14, 2025, with the final submission due September 1, 2025. You can learn more via KDE.org.

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KrebsOnSecurity was hit with a near-record 6.3 Tbps DDoS attack, believed to be a test of the powerful new Aisuru IoT botnet. The attack, lasting under a minute, was the largest Google has ever mitigated and is linked to a DDoS-for-hire operation run by a 21-year-old Brazilian known as “Forky.” Brian Krebs writes: [Google Security Engineer Damian Menscher] said the attack on KrebsOnSecurity lasted less than a minute, hurling large UDP data packets at random ports at a rate of approximately 585 million data packets per second. “It was the type of attack normally designed to overwhelm network links,” Menscher said, referring to the throughput connections between and among various Internet service providers (ISPs). “For most companies, this size of attack would kill them.” […]

The 6.3 Tbps attack last week caused no visible disruption to this site, in part because it was so brief — lasting approximately 45 seconds. DDoS attacks of such magnitude and brevity typically are produced when botnet operators wish to test or demonstrate their firepower for the benefit of potential buyers. Indeed, Google’s Menscher said it is likely that both the May 12 attack and the slightly larger 6.5 Tbps attack against Cloudflare last month were simply tests of the same botnet’s capabilities. In many ways, the threat posed by the Aisuru/Airashi botnet is reminiscent of Mirai, an innovative IoT malware strain that emerged in the summer of 2016 and successfully out-competed virtually all other IoT malware strains in existence at the time.

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Spain has ordered Airbnb to remove over 65,000 listings that violate rental regulations, citing missing license numbers and unclear ownership details. The crackdown is part of a broader government effort to address the country’s housing crisis, which many blame on unregulated short-term rentals reducing long-term housing supply. Reuters reports: Most of the Airbnb listings to be blocked do not include their licence number, while others do not specify whether the owner was an individual or a corporation, the Consumer Rights Ministry said in a statement on Monday. Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy said his goal was to end the general “lack of control” and “illegality” in the holiday rental business. “No more excuses. Enough with protecting those who make a business out of the right to housing in our country,” he told reporters.

Bustinduy said Madrid’s high court is backing the request to withdraw as many as 5,800 listings. Airbnb will appeal the decision, a spokesperson said on Monday. The company believes the ministry does not have the authority to make rulings over short-term rentals and failed to provide an evidence-based list of non-compliant accommodation. Some of the incriminated listings are non-touristic seasonal ones, the spokesperson said.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from Decrypt: The founder of online news publication TechCrunch has claimed that Coinbase’s recent data breach “will lead to people dying,” amid a wave of kidnap attempts targeting high-net-worth crypto holders. TechCrunch founder and venture capitalist Michael Arrington added that this should be a point of reflection for regulators to re-think the importance of know-your-customer (KYC), a process that requires users to confirm their identity to a platform. He also called for prison time for executives that fail to “adequately protect” customer information.

“This hack — which includes home addresses and account balances — will lead to people dying. It probably has already,” he tweeted. “The human cost, denominated in misery, is much larger than the $400 million or so they think it will actually cost the company to reimburse people.” […] He believes that people are in immediate physical danger following the breach, which exposed data including names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, government-ID images, and more.

Arrington believes that in the wake of these attacks, crypto companies that handle user data need to be much more careful than they currently are. “Combining these KYC laws with corporate profit maximization and lax laws on penalties for hacks like these means these issues will continue to happen,” he tweeted. “Both governments and corporations need to step up to stop this. As I said, the cost can only be measured in human suffering.” Former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan pushed back on Arrington’s position that executives should be punished, arguing that regulators are forcing KYC onto unwilling companies. “When enough people die, the laws may change,” Arrington hit back.

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Fortnite is back in the US App Store. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced that he intended to relaunch the game in late April, following a court order that demanded Apple stop collecting a 27 percent fee on app transactions that happen outside of its in-app purchase system. The company finally amending its rules to remove that additional commission is why Epic moved forward with the relaunch.

The origins of this conflict can be traced all the way back to 2020, when Epic added its own method for collecting payments for in-game items in Fortnite and encouraged players to circumvent Apple’s system. Fortnite was removed from the App Store (and the Google Play Store for that matter), Epic sued and the rest is history. 

Epic didn’t win its entire case against Apple, but it did secure a permanent injunction allowing developers to include in-app text that makes users aware of payment options other than the App Store. According to the latest court order, Apple allowed that text, but was still demanding developers pay it a fee for those non-App Store transactions. That prompted the judge overseeing the companies’ case to demand Apple stop and remove even more obstacles from the payment process.

It was anticipated that Fortnite would return far earlier than it actually did. Companies like Spotify swiftly updated their apps to take advantage of Apple’s rule change, with approved applications showing up in early May. In fact, Spotify managed to get a second update focused on Audiobooks approved before Epic was able to get Fortnite in the App Store. Today’s news comes in the wake of a Judge ordering Apple on May 19 to either resolve the matter or have the “Apple official who is personally responsible” show up in court next week to explain why.

Fortnite has technically been available on Apple devices in other ways for a while now, whether its through the Epic Game Store in the European Union, or game streaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now in the US. Returning to the App Store is a symbolic victory. The real prize are the court orders that came from Epic v. Apple.  

Assuming they survive Apple’s appeal, they could dramatically reshape Apple’s business and the way apps work on the iPhone. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/fortnite-is-finally-back-in-the-us-app-store-222946133.html?src=rss

Google on Tuesday unveiled Veo 3, an AI video generator that includes synchronized audio — such as dialogue and animal sounds — setting it apart from rivals like OpenAI’s Sora. The company also launched Imagen 4 for high-quality image generation, Flow for cinematic video creation, and made updates to its Veo 2 and Lyria 2 tools. CNBC reports: “Veo 3 excels from text and image prompting to real-world physics and accurate lip syncing,” Eli Collins, Google DeepMind product vice president, said in a blog Tuesday. The video-audio AI tool is available Tuesday to U.S. subscribers of Google’s new $249.99 per month Ultra subscription plan, which is geared toward hardcore AI enthusiasts. Veo 3 will also be available for users of Google’s Vertex AI enterprise platform.

Google also announced Imagen 4, its latest image-generation tool, which the company said produces higher-quality images through user prompts. Additionally, Google unveiled Flow, a new filmmaking tool that allows users to create cinematic videos by describing locations, shots and style preferences. Users can access the tool through Gemini, Whisk, Vertex AI and Workspace.

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The Solar Energy Industries Association released an assessment of how the budget reconciliation bill currently under review in Congress would have a negative impact on the economy. The legislation cuts incentives around solar power investment and adoption, such as the Section 25D residential tax credit.

The group’s analysis found that the bill, as it stands, would lead to the loss of nearly 300,000 current and future jobs in the US. It also said removal of incentives could mean a loss of ​​$220 billion in investment in the sector by 2030. It also pointed to a future energy shortage, claiming that solar was on course to be responsible for about 73 percent of the 206.5 GW of new energy capacity needed in the country by 2030.

“Passing this bill would create a catastrophic energy shortfall, cede AI and tech leadership to China, and damage some of the most vital sectors of the U.S. economy,” SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said.

It’s the type of reaction we expect to see when an industry is under threat from federal action. It’s also the type of researched data that doesn’t seem to have much influence on the current administration, particularly when it comes to the environment and sustainability.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/solar-trade-association-warns-of-devastating-energy-shortages-if-incentives-are-cut-214607526.html?src=rss

Three-dimensional printing is transforming medical care, letting the health care field shift from mass-produced solutions to customized treatments tailored to each patient’s needs. For instance, researchers are developing 3D-printed prosthetic hands specifically designed for children, made with lightweight materials and adaptable control systems.

These continuing advancements in 3D-printed prosthetics demonstrate their increasing affordability and accessibility. Success stories like this one in personalized prosthetics highlight the benefits of 3D printing, in which a model of an object produced with computer-aided design software is transferred to a 3D printer and constructed layer by layer.

We are a biomedical engineer and a chemist who work with 3D printing. We study how this rapidly evolving technology provides new options not just for prosthetics but for implants, surgical planning, drug manufacturing, and other health care needs. The ability of 3D printing to make precisely shaped objects in a wide range of materials has led to, for example, custom replacement joints and custom-dosage, multidrug pills.

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One of the biggest reveals of Google I/O was that the company is officially back in the mixed reality game with its own prototype XR smart glasses. It’s been years since we’ve seen anything substantial from the search giant on the AR/VR/XR front, but with a swath of hardware partners to go with its XR platform it seems that’s finally changing.

Following the keynote, Google showed off a very short demo of the prototype device we saw onstage. I only got a few minutes with the device so my impressions are unfortunately very limited, but I was immediately impressed with how light the glasses were compared with Meta’s Orion prototype and Snap’s augmented reality Spectacles. While both of those are quite chunky, Google’s prototype device was lightweight and felt much more like a normal pair of glasses. The frames were a bit thicker than what I typically wear, but not by a whole lot.

Karissa Bell for Engadget

At the same time, there are some notable differences between Google’s XR glasses and what we’ve seen from Meta and Snap. Google’s device only has a display on one side — the right lens, you can see it in the image at the top of this article — so the visuals are more “glanceable” than fully immersive. I noted during Google’s demo onstage at I/O that the field of view looked narrow and I can confirm that it feels much more limited than even Snap’s 46-degree field of view (Google declined to share specifics on how wide the field of view is on its prototype.)

Instead, the display felt a bit similar to how you might use the front display of a foldable phone. You can get a quick look at the time and notifications and small snippets of info from your apps, like what music you’re listening to.

Obviously, Gemini is meant to play a major role in the Android XR ecosystem and Google walked me through a few demos of the assistant working on the smart glasses. I could look at a display of books or some art on the wall and ask Gemini questions about what I was looking at. It felt very similar to multimodal capabilities we’ve seen with Project Astra and elsewhere.

There were some bugs, though, even in the carefully orchestrated demo. Gemini started to tell me about what I was looking at before I had even finished my question to it, which was followed by an awkward moment where we both paused and interrupted each other.

One of the more interesting use cases Google was showing was Google Maps in the glasses. You can get a heads-up view of your next turn, much like Google augmented reality walking directions, and look down to see a little section of map on the floor. However, when I asked Gemini how long it would take to drive to San Francisco from my location it wasn’t able to provide an answer. (It actually said something like “tool output,” and my demo ended very quickly after.)

As with so many other mixed reality demos I’ve seen, it’s obviously still very early days. Google was careful to emphasize that this is prototype hardware meant to show off what Android XR is capable of, not a device it’s planning on selling anytime soon. So any eventual smart glasses we get from Google or the company’s hardware partners could look very different. What my few minutes with Android XR was able to show, though, was how Google is thinking about bringing AI and mixed reality together. It’s not so different from Meta, which sees smart glasses as key to long-term adoption of its AI assistant too. But now that Gemini is coming to just about every Google product that exists, the company has a very solid foundation to actually accomplish this.

Developing..

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/google-xr-glasses-hands-on-lightweight-but-with-a-limited-field-of-view-213940554.html?src=rss

It should have been obvious that Google I/O 2025 would be jammed-packed, considering the company felt the need to hold a separate event to cover all of its Android news. But color me shocked that Google pulled off a nearly two hour-long presentation, full of announcements and reveals, mostly about AI.

Not all AI announcements are equal, of course. Some of the news was geared towards enterprise users, and some towards developers. But many of the features discussed are on their way to consumers’ devices too, some as soon as today. These are the updates I’m going to focus on here—you can expect to try out these features today, in the coming weeks, or at some point in the near future.

Gemini Live is coming to the iPhone

Earlier this year, Google rolled out Gemini Live for all Android users via the Gemini app. The feature lets you share your camera feed or screen with Gemini, so it can help answer questions about what you’re seeing. As of today, Google is now bringing the feature out to iPhones with the Gemini app as well. As long as you have the app, you can share your camera and screen with the AI, no matter what platform you’re on.

AI Mode is the future of Google Search

Google has been testing AI Mode in Search since March. The feature essentially turns Google Search into more of a Gemini experience, allowing you to stack multiple questions into one complex request. According to Google, it’s AI can handle breaking down your query and searching the web for the most relevant sources. The result, in theory, is a complete report answering all aspects of your search, including links to sources and images.

AI Mode is rolling out for all users—not just testers—over the coming weeks. But it’s not just the AI Mode experience that Google has been testing. The company also announced new AI Mode features at I/O.

Cram multiple searches into one

First, there’s Deep Search, which multiplies the number of searches AI Mode typically would make for your query and generates an “expert-level fully-cited report” for you. I would still fact check it thoroughly, seeing as AI has a habit of hallucinating. AI Mode is also getting Gemini Live access, so you can share your screen or camera in Search.

Use “Agent Mode” as a real world personal assistant

Project Mariner is also coming to AI Mode. Google says you’ll have access to “agentic capabilities,” which basically means you can rely on the AI to complete tasks for you. For example, you’ll be able to ask AI Mode to find you “affordable tickets for this Saturday’s Reds game in the lower level,” and not only will the bot do the searching for you, it’ll fill out the necessary forms. Google says that functionality will apply to event tickets, restaurant reservations, and local appointments.

You can see that in action with Agent Mode, which will theoretically be able to execute complex tasks on your behalf. We don’t know a lot about how that will work yet, but we do have a clear example from the Google I/O stage. During the presentation, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai tasked Gemini’s Agent Mode with finding an apartment with in-unit laundry, keeping to a certain budget. Gemini then got to work, opening the browser, pulling up Zillow, searching for apartments, and booking a tour.

AI Mode will pull from your previous search history in order to deliver you more relevant results. That includes results that apply to your whereabouts—say, local recommendations for an upcoming trip—as well as preferences (if you tend to book outdoor dining spots, AI Mode may recommend outdoor dining when you ask to find dinner reservations).

New Gemini features coming to Workspace

Google announced a number of new Gemini features at I/O, some of which are coming to Workspace.

One of the features Google focused on most was Personalized smart replies in Gmail. While Gmail has an AI-powered smart reply feature already, this one goes a step further, and bases its responses on all of your Google data. The goal is to generate a reply that sounds like you wrote it, and includes all the questions or comments you might reasonably have for the email in question. In practice, I’m not sure why I’d want to let AI do all of my communicating for me, but the feature will be available later this year, and for paid subscribers first.

If you use Google Meet with a paid plan, expect to see live speech translation start to roll out today. The feature automatically dubs over speakers on a call in a target language, like an instant universal translator. Let’s say you speak English and your meeting partner speaks Spanish: You hear them begin to speak in Spanish, before an AI voice takes over with the English translation.

‘Try it on’

Google doesn’t want you returning the clothes you order online anymore. The company announced a new feature called “try it on” that uses AI to show you what you’d look like wearing whatever clothing item you’re thinking about buying.

This isn’t a mere concept, either: Google is rolling out “try it on” today to Google Search lab users. If you want to learn more about the feature and how to use it, check out our full guide.

Android XR

As the rumors suggested, Google talked a bit about Android XR, the company’s software experience for glasses and headsets. Most of the news it shared was previously announced, but we did see some interesting features in action.

For example when using one of the future glasses with Android XR built in, you’ll be able to access a subtle HUD that can show you everything from photos to messages to Google Maps. (Personally, the main draw here for me would be AR Google Maps while walking around a new city.) On stage, we also saw a live demo of speech translation, which Android XR overlaying an English translation on screen as two presenters spoke in different languages.

While there’s no true timeline on when you can try Android XR, Google’s big news is that it is working with both Warby Parker and Gentle Monster on making glasses with the service built in.

Veo 3, Imagen 4, and Flow

Google unveiled two new AI generation models at I/O this year: Imagen 4 (images) and Veo 3 (video).

Imagen 4 now generates higher-quality images with more detail than Imagen 3, Google’s previous image generation model. However, the company specifically noted Imagen 4’s improvements with text generation. If you ask the model to generate a poster, for example, Google says that the text will be both accurate to the request, as well as stylistic.

Google kicked off the show with videos generated by Veo 3, so it’s safe to say the company is quite proud of its video generation model. While the results are crisp, colorful, and occasionally jam-packed with elements, it definitely still suffers from the usual quirks and issues with AI-generated video. But the bigger story here is “Flow,” Google’s new AI video editor. Flow uses Veo 3 to generate videos, which you can then assemble like any oother non-linear editor. You can use Imagen 4 to generate an element you want in a shot, then ask Flow to add it to the next clip. In addition to the ability to cut or expand a shot, you can control the camera movement of each shot independently.

It’s the most “impressive” this tech has seemed to me, but outside of a high-tech story board, I can’t imagine the use for this. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I certainly don’t want to watch AI-generated videos, even if they are created via tools similar to the ones human video creators use.

Veo 3 is only available to Google AI Ultra subscribers, though Flow is available in limited capacity with Veo 2 to AI Pro subscribers.

Two new Chrome features

Chrome users can look forward to two new features following Google I/O. First, Google is bringing Gemini directly to the browser—no need to open the Gemini site. Second, Chrome can now update your old passwords on your behalf. This feature is launching later this year, though you’ll need to wait for the websites themselves to offer support.

A new way to pay for AI

Finally, Google is offering new subscriptions to access its AI features. Google AI Premium is now AI Pro, and remains largely the same, minus the new ability to access Flow and Gemini in Chrome. It still costs $20 per month.

The new subscription is Google AI Ultra, which costs a whopping $250 a month. For that price, you get everything in Google AI Pro, but with the highest limits for all of the AI models, including Gemini, Flow, Whisk, and NotebookLM. You get access to Gemini 2.5 Pro Deep Think (the company’s newest and most advanced reasoning model), Veo 3, Project Mariner, YouTube Premium, and 30TB of cloud storage. What a deal.

Self-hosting is having a moment, even if it’s hard to define exactly what it is.

It’s a niche that goes beyond regular computing devices and networks but falls short of a full-on home lab. (Most home labs involve self-hosting, but not all self-hosting makes for a home lab.) It adds privacy, provides DRM-free alternatives, and reduces advertising. It’s often touted as a way to get more out of your network-attached storage (NAS), but it’s much more than just backup and media streaming.

Is self-hosting just running services on your network for which most people rely on cloud companies? Broadly, yes. But take a look at the selfh.st site/podcast/newsletter, the r/selfhosted subreddit, and all the GitHub project pages that link to one another, and you’ll also find things that no cloud provider offers.

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google rolled out early versions of Gemini 2.5 earlier this year. Marking a significant improvement over the 2.0 branch. For the first time, Google’s chatbot felt competitive with the likes of ChatGPT, but it’s been “experimental” and later “preview” since then. At I/O 2025, Google announced general availability for Gemini 2.5, and these models will soon be integrated with Chrome. There’s also a fancy new subscription plan to get the most from Google’s AI. You probably won’t like the pricing, though.

Gemini 2.5 goes gold

Even though Gemini 2.5 was revealed a few months ago, the older 2.0 Flash has been the default model all this time. Now that 2.5 is finally ready, the 2.5 Flash model will be swapped in as the new default. This model has built-in simulated reasoning, so its outputs are much more reliable than 2.0 Flash.

Google says the release version of 2.5 Flash is better at reasoning, coding, and multimodality, but it uses 20–30 percent fewer tokens than the preview version. This edition is now live in Vertex AI, AI Studio, and the Gemini app. It will be made the default model in early June.

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Amazon’s Memorial Day sale is in full swing, and you can find more than just the usual appliances and tools on sale. There are discounts on many tech products for audiophiles as well, from Beats headphones, to the Sonos Arc Soundbar, and the beloved Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones, which have dropped in price after the release of the WH-1000XM6.

If you’re looking for bargains on budget headphones and earbuds, I’ve rounded up the best ones that you can find under $100, whether you’re looking for earbuds, bone conduction headsets, or open-ear, in-ear, or over-the-ear headphones. Here are the best deals I found.

Bluetooth 5.3 Open-Ear, Mic, MP3 Mode Built-in 32GB, 10Hrs Playtime, IP68 Waterproof.

FEICO Bone Conduction Headphones

$49.99
at Amazon

$83.92
Save $33.93

$49.99
at Amazon

$83.92
Save $33.93

40H Play Bluetooth 5.4 Headphones with Smart Digital Display Design Fit Sports Running, Workout

TOZO OpenEarRing Open Ear Headphones

$29.99
at Amazon

$59.99
Save $30.00

$29.99
at Amazon

$59.99
Save $30.00

45H Playtime, Wireless Charging Case, IPX8 Waterproof Stereo Headphones in Ear Built in Mic Headset

TOZO T10 Earbuds

$18.98
at Amazon

$38.99
Save $20.01

$18.98
at Amazon

$38.99
Save $20.01

48hrs Play Back Sport Earphones with LED Display Over-Ear Buds with Earhooks Built-in Mic Headset fo

bmanl Wireless Earbuds

$25.48
at Amazon

$49.99
Save $24.51

$25.48
at Amazon

$49.99
Save $24.51

253H Battery, ENC Mic, Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C Charging Case, IPX5 Waterproof, Noise Isolating

TREBLAB X4 Earbuds

$39.99
at Amazon

$59.97
Save $19.98

$39.99
at Amazon

$59.97
Save $19.98

Adjustable Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds, Reduce Noise by Up to 98%, 50H Playtime, Hi-Res

Soundcore by Anker Space A40

$44.98
at Amazon

$79.99
Save $35.01

$44.98
at Amazon

$79.99
Save $35.01

JBL Pure Bass Sound, Up to 30 hours of battery life, IP67 Waterproof and Dustproof, Ambient Aware &

JBL Endurance Race TWS

$49.95
at Amazon

$79.95
Save $30.00

$49.95
at Amazon

$79.95
Save $30.00

145H Battery, Waterproof & Sweatproof Bluetooth Earbuds, Mics for Calls

TREBLAB X3 Pro

$59.97
at Amazon

$99.97
Save $40.00

$59.97
at Amazon

$99.97
Save $40.00

60H Playtime, Hi-Res Audio Custom EQ via App Deep Bass Comfort Fit Ear Cups

TOZO HT2 Headphones

$33.99
at Amazon

$59.99
Save $26.00

$33.99
at Amazon

$59.99
Save $26.00

Signature-HD Sound, Deep Bass, 35H Battery, Comfortable, Foldable Over Ear.

TREBLAB Z2 Headphones

$89.92
at Amazon

$129.97
Save $40.05

$89.92
at Amazon

$129.97
Save $40.05

Try bone conduction and open ear headphones at up to 50% off

Not everyone can afford Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 headphones. If you’re curious to see how bone conduction headphones feel before committing to a premium model, try the Feico Bone Conduction Headphones, which are $49.99 right now, down from $83.92. A fun feature: You can save MP3 songs directly to the headphones so you can listen to music underwater (Bluetooth signals can’t penetrate water).

Open-ear headphones are great for hearing your surroundings while your out and about. The Tozo OpenEarRing are now just $29.99 (originally $59.99), offering a lightweight option with 40 hours of battery.

A range of earbuds at up to 51% off, including a pair with unheard of battery life

If you’re looking to spend the least possible on a decent set of earbuds, consider the Tozo T10s, which are $18.98 (originally $38.99). Impressively at this price point, they include an IPX8 waterproof rating, stereo sound, and EQ presets in their companion app.

Earhook earbuds are good if you prioritize a secure fit. The Bmanl Wireless Earbuds are $25.49 (originally $49.99) are comfortable to wear and can go 8 hours on a single charge (and up to 48 hours with the charging case).

Speaking of battery life, if that’s important to you, you will love the Trelab X4 earbuds, currently going for $39.99 (originally $59.97). I’ve never heard of any earbuds getting even close to 253 hours of juice, but somehow these IPX5 waterproof earbuds with noise isolation for calls pull that off, going for 11 hours between charges, plus another 242 hours from the charging case. Dang!

I can vouch for the Soundcore by Anker Space A40, which I’ve used for a year—they have the best ANC I’ve experienced among all of the budget earbuds I’ve tested. You can get them for $44.98 (originally $79.99).

JBL is a well-known brand for earbuds. Its sporty earbuds, the JBL Endurance Race TWS, are $49.95 (originally $79.95) and offer an IP67 waterproof rating, 30 hours of battery life, and an ambient aware feature so you can better hear your surroundings.

The Trelab X3 Pro offer a good balance of great battery life (totaling 145 hours, including the charging case), a sporty design with earhooks and a waterproof rating, and good microphones for calls. You can get them for $59.97 (originally $99.97).

These over-ear headphones are up to 43% off

It’s not every day you can get over-ear headphones with ANC, 60 hours of battery, high-resolution audio, and a companion app with EQ presets for $33.99 (originally $59.99). You can get exactly that with the Tozo HT2 Headphones.

If you want headphones from a more established brand, get the Trelab Z2 for $89.95 (originally $129.97). They’re ANC, have 35 hours of battery, are foldable and come with a case, and include a bass-boosting mode.

Google announced a lot of new stuff today at I/O, but few things were more eye-watering than the company’s new Google AI Ultra subscription. At $250 per month, it’s by far the most expensive subscription Google has yet launched. So it makes sense it comes with everything. And I mean everything.

For starters, subscribers at this tier get to use Gemini Ultra, which includes the new Veo 3 video generation model that can also generate sounds alongside video, to…some effect. This tier will also be the first to get access to the upcoming 2.5 Pro Deep Think reasoning model that Google says can “consider multiple hypotheses before responding.” It also brings access to tools like Flow and Whisk that provide editing tools on top of Veo and Imagen’s video and image-generating capabilities.

Technically, these plans are part of the Google One subscription family, so they’re not solely focused on AI features. On top of the above mentioned features, you’ll also get 30TB of storage across all the services attached to your Google account (like Gmail, Photos, and Drive).

Google has also thrown in a YouTube Premium individual subscription at this new, highest tier. This makes it the only Google One plan that includes ad-free YouTube (as well as YouTube Music). Sorry, folks who are only paying $150 for the Google One Premium subscription with 30TB of storage and only Gemini Pro access.

Google’s previous plan, Google AI Premium, is now Google AI Pro. It still costs $20 per month, and comes with the same perks it did before. Now, however, users have access to a limited version of Flow with Veo 2, as well as Gemini in Chrome.