The United Arab Emirates will introduce AI to the public school curriculum this year, as the Gulf country vies to become a regional powerhouse for AI development. From a report: The subject will be rolled out in the 2025-2026 academic year for kindergarten pupils through to 12th grade, state-run news agency WAM reported on Sunday. The course includes ethical awareness as well as foundational concepts and real-world applications, it said. The UAE joins a growing group of countries integrating AI into school education. Beijing announced a similar move to roll out AI courses to primary and secondary students in China last month.

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The most popular online destination for deepfake porn shut down permanently this weekend, 404 Media reported.

“Mr. Deepfakes” drew a swarm of toxic users who, researchers noted, were willing to pay as much as $1,500 for creators to use advanced face-swapping techniques to make celebrities or other targets appear in non-consensual pornographic videos. At its peak, researchers found that 43,000 videos were viewed more than 1.5 billion times on the platform. The videos were generated by nearly 4,000 creators, who profited from the unethical—and now illegal—sales.

But as of this weekend, none of those videos are available to view, and the forums where requests were made for new videos went dark, 404 Media reported. According to a notice posted on the platform, the plug was pulled when “a critical service provider” terminated the service “permanently.”

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The recently-released seventh-gen Apple iPad mini is on sale for 20 percent off via Amazon, which represents a record low price. You can scoop up a 128GB model for just $399, though every storage variation is on sale. The 256GB model is available for $499 and the 512GB version costs $699. All colorways are on sale, but the deals don’t apply to the 5G cellular models. If Amazon isn’t your bag, these prices are also live at Best Buy and Target.

This particular model made our list of the best iPads, and for one obvious reason. It’s the only compact tablet that Apple makes. It’s small, but powerful enough for everyday computing tasks. The design recalls the iPad Air, with squared-off edges and thin bezels. There’s a Touch ID sensor in the power button, decent stereo speakers, a useful camera system and a USB-C port. It’s a regular iPad, just smaller.

We appreciated this release in our official review, saying it was everything we wanted in a small tablet. It offers support for the Apple Pencil Pro and includes the powerful A17 Pro chip. This chip allows for Apple Intelligence integration, though your mileage may vary on that one.

The Liquid Retina display is crisp, but it maxes out at 60Hz. Apple typically reserves its most advanced screen technologies for the iPad Pro. We also found in our testing that the tablet didn’t quite stack up to Apple’s advertised battery life of 10 hours. We typically got around eight hours before the iPad required a charge.

Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-newest-ipad-mini-is-20-percent-off-and-back-down-to-its-best-price-to-date-153842065.html?src=rss

Apple has been under fire for several years after it was discovered that Siri violated user privacy, and the company earlier this year agreed to a $95 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit, which includes compensation for affected users. Eligible individuals can now apply for their share of the total.

The dispute centered on Siri-enabled devices, including iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, HomePod, iPod touch, and Apple TV, which may have activated and recorded and shared private conversations without user knowledge.

If you qualify for the settlement class, you’ll receive $20 for each device claimed—up to five devices per individual for a total of $100—though it could be less if too many class members come forward.

Am I eligible for a Siri settlement payout?

The settlement covers Siri-enabled Apple devices purchased or owned between Sept. 17, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2024. If you can attest that your device accidentally triggered Siri during a private or confidential conversation, you’re eligible for a payout. Individuals can submit claims for up to five Siri devices.

The deadline to submit a claim is July 2, 2025, though it could take awhile to actually see any settlement cash. The court is scheduled to hold a final approval hearing on the case on August 1, and appeals after that meeting could delay payouts.

How to submit a Siri settlement claim

To claim your piece of the Siri settlement pie, you’ll need to submit a claim form online. If you received a personalized postcard or email about the suit containing a claim identification number (Notice ID) and confirmation code, you’ll use those to log into the site and begin the claims process.

If you didn’t get a notice but believe you are eligible, select New Claim. You’ll need to fill out some personal information—name, address, phone number, and email—as well as the email address attached to your Siri device(s). You’ll also need to either upload proof of purchase for each device you are claiming or provide the serial and model numbers. To finalize the form, select a payment option, complete the attestation statement, and hit Submit.

Alternatively, you can do nothing—or you can opt out of the settlement. You won’t receive any money in either situation, but with the latter, you retain your right to sue Apple in the future on claims related to this case. Instructions for requesting exclusion (also with a July 2 deadline) are detailed on the settlement page FAQ.

New York City’s subway system continues to operate largely on analog signal technology installed nearly a century ago, with 85% of the network still relying on mechanical equipment that requires constant human intervention. The outdated system causes approximately 4,000 train delays monthly and represents a technological time capsule in America’s largest mass transit system.

Deep inside Brooklyn’s Hoyt-Schermerhorn station, transit worker Dyanesha Pryor operates a hulking machine the size of a grand piano by manipulating 24 metal levers that control nearby trains. Each command requires a precise sequence of movements, punctuated by metallic clanking as levers slam into place. When Pryor needs to step away, even for a bathroom break, express service must be rerouted until she returns, forcing all trains onto local tracks.

The antiquated “fixed block” signaling divides tracks into approximately 1,000-foot sections. When a train occupies a block, it cuts off electrical current, providing only a general position rather than precise location data. This imprecision requires maintaining buffer zones between trains, significantly limiting capacity as ridership has grown. Maintenance challenges are also piling up, writes the New York Times. Hundreds of cloth-wrapped wires — rather than modern rubber insulation — fill back rooms and are prone to failure. When equipment breaks, replacements often must be custom-made in MTA workshops, as many components have been discontinued for decades.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has begun replacing this system with communications-based train control (C.B.T.C.), which uses computers and wireless technology to monitor trains’ exact locations. Routes already converted to C.B.T.C., including the L line (2006) and 7 line (2018), consistently show the best on-time performance. However, the $25 million per-mile upgrade program faces uncertain funding after the Trump administration threatened to kill New York’s congestion pricing plan, which would provide $3 billion for signal modernization.

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Beats headphones are well known for their style and better compatibility with Apple devices. Both of these hold true with their flagship headphones, the Beats Studio Pro, currently $169.95 (originally $349.99), the second-lowest price it has been after a 51% discount, according to price-tracking tools. While it is compatible with Android users, Apple users will get the most out of these premium headphones.

Beats Studio Pro

$169.95
at Amazon

$349.99
Save $180.04

$169.95
at Amazon

$349.99
Save $180.04

The Beats Studio Pro came out in 2023 with a “good” review from PCMag, praising its sculpted sound (but warning sound-sticklers against it), comfort, premium accessories, and spatial audio with head tracking. They also said you can get much better headphones for less than their $349.99 price (which is very true) that have adjustable EQ and better active noise cancelling (ANC). However, at $169.95, these headphones are a great deal, especially if you’re an Apple user.

These headphones have hands-free Siri access, one-touch pairing on iOS and Android devices (through Google Fast Pair), which gives simultaneous connections with up to two devices, and a transparency mode that lets you hear your surroundings. Apple users will be able to take advantage of the AAC codecs, which work seamlessly with Apple to give much better audio quality, but have limitations with Android devices. You get a quick-access menu to control the ANC and Transparency modes, and you can also use the Find My app if you misplace your headphones.

The biggest miss with the Beats Studio Pro that you would expect any premium headphones to have is an adjustable EQ. However, they have plenty of EQ presets for you to choose from. The ANC is slightly above average, which is good for its current price. You can get about 40 hours of playtime at full charge with ANC and Transparency modes off, and a 10-minute charge gives you about four hours of juice.

A wide-ranging sale on Beats headphones has brought some of the brand’s products down to record-low prices. Take, for instance, the Beats Solo 4. That model is currently half off at $100 at Amazon. Although we’ve seen those headphones hit this price before, it’s matching an all-time low. The same offer is also available at Walmart, Target and Best Buy.

We gave the Beats Solo 4 a score of 79 in our review just over a year ago. The lack of multipoint connectivity was a disappointment and there’s no automatic pausing when you remove them from your ears. Some folks may find the fit quite tight as well. However, we feel that the Beats Solo 4 offer improved sound quality over previous models, while the 50-plus hours of battery life is very welcome. If you’re looking for a portable set of on-ear headphones, the Solo 4 might be worth considering.

In addition, the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 are available for a discount, just a few months after they debuted. You can save 50 bucks if you buy a pair of the earbuds now, as they’re down to $200.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 are Apple’s first earbuds that include a heart-rate tracking feature. We gave the fitness-focused model a score of 79 in our review back in February.

The improved design helps make the earbuds more comfortable to wear compared with the previous iteration and we felt that they delivered powerful audio performance on the low end. The Powerbeats Pro 2 also have a lot of the same smarts as AirPods, largely thanks to the inclusion of an H2 chip. That said, the hook design won’t be to everyone’s taste, and we felt the active noise cancellation performance was so-so.

Elsewhere in the sale, there are some solid discounts that aren’t quite all-time lows but still worth checking out. You can snap up a pair of over-ear Beats Studio Pro headphones for $170, down from $350. We gave those a score of 81 in our review. As for the in-ear Beats Studio Buds +, those are $70 off at $100. We think these are the best Beats option for most people, and gave them a score of 84 in our review.

Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/a-beats-headphone-sale-includes-all-time-lows-on-the-solo-4-and-powerbeats-pro-2-144550967.html?src=rss

The highest-rated video games of 2025 are all budget-priced titles, with Metacritic top performers Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Blue Prince, and Split Fiction costing just $50, $30, and $50 respectively. This comes as Microsoft announces certain Xbox titles will now cost $80, following Nintendo’s similar price hike for Mario Kart on Switch 2.

Clair Obscur, developed by a small French studio, sold 1 million copies in its first week. Split Fiction, despite being published by EA, was created by a small Stockholm team and has reached 2 million sales. Blue Prince, a puzzle-roguelike largely created by a single developer in Los Angeles, is showing strong performance on Steam, Bloomberg reports.

All three games share key traits: they use commercially available engines, take creative risks that big-budget projects couldn’t afford, and target specific player demographics rather than trying to appeal broadly. The contrast is striking — Clair Obscur’s developers celebrated reaching 1 million sales while EA declared Dragon Age: The Veilguard a failure with similar numbers, underscoring the economic realities of different development scales.

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After a brief reprieve, Formula 1’s teams were back at it this past weekend at the Miami Grand Prix. It was the first of three stops in the US and five in North America as F1 capitalizes on its current wave of popularity here. The sport evidently believes something is going right—it just announced a contract extension that will see the event remain on the calendar for another 16 years.

The Miami race is among the latest of F1’s new breed of Grands Prix. It was originally supposed to be more of a true street circuit like Baku or Singapore or Las Vegas, with a route that crossed over a bridge into South Beach. But the track is laid out around the various parking lots of Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, like a 21st-century version of the early ’80s Caesars Palace Grands Prix or the now-defunct Sochi race that wound its way around Vladimir Putin’s favorite sea-side theme park.

Ticket prices appear to have come down a little now that the race is in its third year, but the “beach club” and Potemkin marina remain, even if they didn’t look particularly busy on any of the overhead shots. Despite what looked like sparse attendance on Friday and Saturday, we’re told that 275,000 people attended across the weekend.

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If you’re thinking about upgrading your home security without dealing with tangled wires or tricky installations, this refurbished Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera—currently priced at $114.95 on Amazon with free shipping—might be worth a look. It’s a wire-free setup that mounts easily with just a few screws and connects over 2.4GHz wifi. No electrical know-how required. PCMag gave it an Editor’s Choice award, mostly thanks to its 2K HDR video, wide 160-degree field of view, and a super bright (up to) 3,000-lumen floodlight. You can dim the light if needed (it’s set at a cooler 4,000K color temp), and either turn it on manually through the Arlo Secure app or have it trigger automatically with motion.

Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Wireless Camera, Color Night Vision, Motion Sensor, 2-Way Audio, White, 1-Pack (Renewed)

$114.95
at Amazon

$114.95
at Amazon

What’s nice here is the smart detection system—it doesn’t just ping your phone every time a leaf blows past. Instead, it uses object detection to tell you if it saw a person, animal, or vehicle. It also has a 12x digital zoom with auto tracking, which helps the camera stay locked on moving objects in the frame. The image/video quality holds up well, especially during the day—crisp, colorful, and clear. At night, it still performs nicely with decent clarity up to about 25 feet, but the colors don’t pop as much, especially in low lighting. Just a heads up, though: If you want to store footage in the cloud, you’ll need a subscription to the Arlo Secure plans. Those start at $7.99 per month for a single camera or $17.99 per month for unlimited cameras.

On the smart home side, it plays well with Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT, so it fits right into most setups, according to this PCMag review. As for battery life, the built-in battery lasts a few months between charges, but if that sounds like a hassle, you can pair it with a $59.99 solar panel or plug it in via Arlo’s $49.99 outdoor magnetic cable.

This is a video from the Brookfield Zoo Chicago of Adelaide, a 56-year old Tasmanian short-beaked echidna (aka spiny anteater) celebrating her birthday with a special cake made out of ground mealworms and chicken puree. Yum! I wonder if visitors got a slice, I’ll never say no to cake.