Disney is rolling out its redesigned interface for Disney+ to more users in the US today. The redesign brings the streaming service in line with the loud, key art-forward approach of Netflix, and follows a price increase for both tiers of Disney+ that the company introduced in October.
The biggest change in the new Disney+ is the addition of a horizontal navigation bar with separate tabs for recommendations (For You), Disney+, Hulu and ESPN. Disney is leaning on a new algorithm that better uses your viewing history to make recommendations, and it now also integrates live TV streams via a dedicated tab in its vertical menu. Outside of the US, the new interface is also being paired with the rebranding of Disney's Star streaming service to Hulu.
The new interface is the latest step in Disney's plan to eventually completely fold Hulu into Disney+ in 2026. The Hulu has a dedicated tab in the app, but eventually it'll just be one of the many sources of content Disney+ collects. Meanwhile, the live TV component of Hulu + Live TV will eventually be merged with Fubo, creating an even larger YouTube TV competitor that Disney will have 70 percent stake in. The growing competition between Google and Disney could be one of several reasons the companies have yet to settle the carriage dispute that's currently blocked channels like ABC and ESPN on YouTube TV.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/the-redesigned-disney-app-is-rolling-out-to-more-users-in-the-us-204759533.html?src=rss
Development on the next Mass Effect is still underway, Mass Effect executive producer Mike Gamble confirmed in a blog post celebrating the series' "N7 Day" fan holiday. Bioware shared that it had started work on the new game in 2020, but Electronic Arts' decision to go private have naturally called the future of the series into question.
Gamble's blog post doesn't share many details about the new game beyond the fact that Bioware "is heads-down and focused exclusively on Mass Effect." What does seem more clear is that the game could have some kind of connection to the Mass Effect TV show currently in development at Amazon. "The writers room is going strong, and we’ve got a lot figured out about how it fits within the Mass Effect canon, and where it sits in respect to the new game," Gamble says. Notably, the series is set after the events of the original trilogy of games, and follows a new story in the universe's timeline. "It won’t be a retread of Commander Shepard’s story."
Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Bioware's last game, was not the smash hit EA apparently wanted it to be, and Bioware has appeared to go through a period of contraction in response. High-profile senior staff were let go in January 2025, and even before the game was released, EA began moving Bioware developers to other studios. EA itself may also be adjusting its larger game development strategy. Following its proposed acquisition, the publisher announced a partnership with Stability AI in October to create new AI-powered tools to better streamline its development process.
The Mass Effect series is beloved, and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, the 2021 remaster that packaged all the trilogy's DLC and games into a single package, was a great reminder. With a new entry and a TV show in the works, Bioware seems poised for a comeback. It just needs to survive EA until then.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/bioware-says-next-mass-effect-is-still-in-development-despite-turmoil-at-ea-200000050.html?src=rss
Meta said on Friday that it's investing $600 billion in US infrastructure and jobs by 2028. Although the announcement is light on specifics (and heavy on standard Big Tech self-congratulation), it sounds like much of it will go toward AI data centers.
"At Meta, we're focused on creating the next generation of AI products and building personal superintelligence for everyone," the company wrote. "Data centers are crucial to reaching these goals and helping America maintain its technological edge."
If you feel like this isn't the first you've heard of Meta and $600 billion in US spending, you're right. That's the figure Mark Zuckerberg gave during a September White House dinner with Big Tech CEOs. But more memorable was the hot-mic moment later captured between Zuckerberg and President Trump. "Sorry, I wasn't ready," the Meta CEO said to the president, referring to his $600 billion pledge. "I wasn't sure what number you wanted to go with."
Meta's announcement today includes figures intended to bolster its claim to be a champion of US infrastructure. The company says that, since 2010, its data centers have "supported over 30,000 skilled trade jobs and 5,000 operational jobs." Meta adds that it's currently bringing over $20 billion to US subcontractors.
As for the "superintelligence" mention, it also surfaced when Zuckerberg announced data center investments in July. That term typically refers to a hypothetical point at which AI surpasses human cognitive abilities. (Steve Wozniak, Geoffrey Hinton and others want it banned until it’s proven safe and controllable.) The company views its AI glasses as a central part of that future. Zuckerberg said in July that anyone without them may eventually suffer from a "pretty significant cognitive disadvantage."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-says-it-will-invest-600-billion-in-the-us-with-ai-data-centers-front-and-center-195000377.html?src=rss
There’s a fine line between luxurious and ludicrous. When you’re talking about a pair of $799 headphones, that line begins to blur. Bowers & Wilkins has been on an excellent run of form over the past few years, consistently offering some of the best sound quality you’ll find on any headphones. It doesn’t load its models down with features — sometimes it could use a few more — but there’s always a great blend of design, audio performance and capable active noise cancellation (ANC) that make for well-rounded products.
And then there’s the Px8 S2. At $799, it’s $100 more expensive than its predecessor (the Px8) was at launch, which puts them even further out of reach for most. Bowers & Wilkins did change up its familiar design slightly, and there’s a big improvement to audio performance, the addition of high-res music over USB-C and improved call quality. There’s no doubt the Px8 S2 is beyond premium, but did the company go too far?
What’s new on the Px8 S2?
After several generations of the Px7 and Px8 that had pretty much the same design, Bowers & Wilkins changed things up a bit with the Px8 S2. There isn't a comprehensive redesign here, but the slimmer ear cup silhouette and the exposed cabling on the headband yokes are notable improvements to the overall look. Once again, the company opted for a mix of soft leather and die-cast aluminum, both of which give the Px8 S2 a decidedly high-end aesthetic.
Inside, new 40mm carbon cone dynamic drivers were updated with a new chassis and motor. Those components are powered by 24-bit DSP (digital signal processing) with a dedicated amplifier and digital-to-analog converter (DAC). There’s also a more robust five-band EQ with True Sound bypass, which allows you to disable any equalizer tweaks to quickly return to Bowers & Wilkins’ stock tuning. The company added aptX Lossless support on top of the existing aptX Adaptive availability, and you can get “true” lossless — 24-bit/96kHz — sound quality over USB-C.
Compared to the previous model, the Px8 S2 has two more microphones, bringing the total to eight. Six of those are used for external monitoring for ANC while two keep tabs on noise inside the headphones. All eight are used during calls, in addition to an upgraded “pure voice” algorithm to improve performance there. You can also hear yourself better in transparency mode, which is the biggest boost to calls.
What’s still good on the Px8 S2?
The Px8 S2 has some subtle, but welcome design changes.
Billy Steele for Engadget
Bowers & Wilkins has excelled at crafting a warm, inviting and immersive sound profile across its headphones for a while now. That’s still the case on the Px8 S2 as the audio quality is rich and detailed, with a wide soundstage that envelops you — almost to the point of bombarding your ears. While I don’t think the bass tuning is well-suited for mellow genres, there’s plenty to like here. On albums like Jason Isbell’s Foxes in the Snow, for example, the amount of texture and subtle nuance where the only instruments are the singer’s voice and a single acoustic guitar is incredible.
Reliable battery life has been a strong point for the company in the past, and that remains true on the Px8 S2. The 30-hour battery figure (ANC on) is the same as the previous model, and I was able to easily achieve that longevity during my testing. With a mix of active noise cancellation, high-res tunes and transparency mode for work calls, the headphones easily kept up with Bowers & Wilkins’ promised numbers.
What’s not so good about the Px8 S2?
The Px8 S2's controls are tiny buttons in awkward locations.
Billy Steele for Engadget
The biggest knock against the Px8 S2 is the price. These headphones are way more expensive than what most companies charge for their top-of-the-line models, which is around $500 these days. Sure, $799 is only $50 more than the tariff-adjusted rate for the Px8 (which was originally $699), and there are several upgrades here, but that price will be prohibitively expensive for many, thus making the S2 harder to recommend despite their strengths.
Even with the upgraded sound, I feel like Bowers & Wilkins may have gone too far with the bass tuning. There is some absolutely booming low-end tone on display here, especially for bass-heavy genres like rock, metal, EDM and hip-hop. On Spiritbox’s “Perfect Soul,” as one example, the kick drum edges dangerously close to drowning out the lead and bass guitars. A bit more restraint here would’ve provided ample thump and depth that isn’t almost exhausting to listen to. At times, the enhanced bass is great, but at others, like on Ruston Kelly’s Pale, Through the Window, it can really be too much for the style of music.
On its recent headphones, Bowers & Wilkins relocated the physical controls from sitting on the edge of their ear cups to a ridge on the outside. In the process, the company also made the buttons much smaller. As I said when I reviewed the Px7 S3, this makes the controls harder to find with your thumbs, and you also have to be more accurate with your presses. That’s especially true for the three-button array on the right side that handles volume changes and playback controls.
Like it did with its previous headphone models, Bowers & Wilkins hasn’t packed the Px8 S2’s spec sheet with advanced features. You do get a couple of basic items — multipoint Bluetooth and wear detection/automatic pausing — but things like speech recognition, hands-free assistants or automatic sound profiles aren’t here. This is an area where the likes of Sony, Bose and Sennheiser surpass Bowers & Wilkins, even though products like the Px8 S2 typically offer superior sound quality.
Wrap-up
The Px8 S2 offers a few notable upgrades over the Px8.
Billy Steele for Engadget
So how well does Bowers & Wilkins straddle that line between luxury and ludicrousness? I’d say the Px8 S2 is a luxurious set of headphones with a ludicrous price. I fully understand that Bowers & Wilkins is a high-end audio brand and that its products typically demand a premium over most of the competition. But like I already said, the price puts these excellent headphones out of reach. When you consider the price tag alongside the lack of advanced features, the Px8 S2 becomes hard to recommend. But for those who can afford them, a tantalizing symphony of sound awaits.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/bowers--wilkins-px8-s2-review-headphone-extravagance-193000794.html?src=rss
Data can paint a much starker contrast than words alone, and US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) appears to get that. On Friday, her office published numbers on Big Tech's tax breaks in Republicans' "Big Beautiful Bill." When compared with the benefits those sums could have provided for working families, it helps to fortify what some might otherwise dismiss as run-of-the-mill rhetoric.
According to Sen. Warren, the bill's tax breaks for Microsoft alone will total $12.5 billion in 2026. When compared with the average cost of SNAP benefits, that sum could have provided food assistance to 5.2 million people. Or, it could have covered Medicaid for 1.6 million adults (or 3.8 million children), or lowered Affordable Care Act (ACA) premiums for 1.9 million Americans.
Meanwhile, Warren says Amazon is set to score a $16 billion tax break this year. That's the equivalent of Medicaid for 2 million adults (or 5.4 million children), lower ACA payments for 2.4 million Americans or SNAP benefits for 6.6 million people.
What about the tax breaks Alphabet gets? Warren says Google's parent company is looking at a $17.9 billion tax cut this year. That could pay for Medicaid for 2.3 million adults (or 5.4 million kids), lower ACA premiums for 2.8 million people or food assistance for 7.5 million people.
If you’re confused about why Big Tech is helping to pay for a lavish White House ballroom, look no further. Regardless, Warren’s analysis goes on to break down the $137 billion in tax breaks for all corporations in 2026, the $132 billion routed to the wealthiest one percent in 2027 and more. You can read the senator's full report for more details.
"Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are knocking millions of Americans off their health insurance and ripping away food assistance from families — all so they can fund giant tax cuts for billionaires and giant corporations," Warren said in a statement. "This is a matter of priorities: Trump and Republicans are fighting for their billionaire buddies, while Democrats are fighting for American families."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/sen-warren-big-techs-tax-breaks-could-have-covered-benefits-for-millions-of-americans-174831791.html?src=rss
Fitbit is mostly associated with tracking your steps, workouts and sleep, but also among its arsenal of overall health features is the ability to track your food intake. You can use it to see how many calories you’ve consumed versus how many you’ve burned, and even scan the barcode of pre-made food items to add them to your daily log. But the food log feature in the Fitbit app currently appears to be broken, or at least not working as it’s supposed to.
As spotted by 9to5Google, various problems have been reported during the last 24 hours, and while the page still loads as it should, adding items is proving difficult. Attempting to search for a meal or food pulls up a blank page, while the barcode scanner seems to be completely broken, returning a maintenance error message when you try to use it.
A number of Fitbit users are reporting similar issues, with only the custom food creation function working properly. Some have also said that they tried updating the app to fix it, but with no success. One user who deleted and re-installed the Fitbit app said that didn’t work either, while another said they “really rely on the calorie count feature,” which obviously won’t be accurate if you can’t log every meal you eat.
Google, Fitbit's parent company, has not officially commented on the matter at the time of writing, and we’ll update this article if it responds to our request for one.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/fitbit-appears-to-be-experiencing-a-partial-outage-174249152.html?src=rss
The government of Denmark said on Friday that lawmakers from its political right, left and center have reached an agreement to ban social media for anyone under 15, as reported by The Associated Press. If enacted, the move would be one of the most ambitious attempts globally to keep children off social media. Momentum has been building in recent years around concerns that social media is harming its younger users.
The country’s Digitalization Ministry would set the minimum age at 15 for certain social media platforms but has not clarified which ones would be affected. The government also did not share specifics on how enforcement would work.
A statement from the Digitalization Ministry reads, in part, “Children and young people have their sleep disrupted, lose their peace and concentration, and experience increasing pressure from digital relationships where adults are not always present,” as reported by The Associated Press. Digitalization Minister Caroline Stage said Danish authorities are “finally drawing a line in the sand and setting a clear direction.”
In December, the world’s first country-wide social media ban for children will go into effect in Australia, banning children under 16 from major social media platforms. Platforms that want to operate in the country must employ age-verification technology and would face fines if they fail to enforce the nation’s age limits.
Some age-verification methods, particularly facial recognition and showing of ID, have faced heavy skepticism as they have been implemented around the world. In the UK and Italy anyone wanting to watch porn online must now upload a selfie or provide ID to verify they are above age limits. If the same methods are employed to verify teenagers' ages, questions will undoubtedly arise about data safety and privacy involving minors' data.
Texas recently came close to enacting a similar ban, though it ultimately didn't pass. Utah passed laws in 2023 that require parental consent before teens can create social media accounts. Florida passed a social media ban for children that is currently held up in court.
This move will undoubtedly spark more conversation around the potential harms of social media on adolescents, as well as whether social media access will be perceived as personal parenting decisions that should remain free from government intervention.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/denmark-set-to-ban-social-media-for-users-under-15-years-of-age-171602408.html?src=rss
Were you a Lego set kid or a giant-bucket-of-Legos kid? I was a sets kid all the way — I loved, and still love, the zen feeling of building something incredible a little bit at a time. Also, every time I tried to build something from the giant bucket, it fell apart immediately, but let's not dwell on that. For this year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we're trawling the net for the best deals on Lego sets, from family-friendly tie-ins to architectural behemoths. If you've had your eye on a set but demurred due to the price, this list is for you.
It's a good idea to use a price tracker to see if you're getting the best Lego Black Friday deals. You'll find Lego bargains this holiday season at retailers like Amazon and Walmart, but don't overlook Lego's own site. If you join the free Lego Insiders program, you'll get special discounts and exclusive member gifts with each purchase, plus points you can redeem for your next set or bucket.
You can now officially backorder the hottest Lego gift of the season, the Star Trek USS Enterprise set, which was just announced. With a titanic 3,600 pieces and mini-figures of the whole Next Generation crew, it's a must-have for any Star Trek fans. The set is available for $400 starting today.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/lego-black-friday-deals-are-still-live-up-to-50-percent-off-on-star-wars-disney-harry-potter-and-more-toy-sets-for-the-biggest-holiday-sale-155007472.html?src=rss
2025 is almost over (gasp!), so it's time to look back at all of the best devices we've seen so far. In this episode, Engadget Deputy Editor Billy Steele joins Devindra to talk about the highlights of the year, which range from the usual suspects (like Google's Pixel and the iPhone 17 Pro), to surprises like the Ninja Swirl. Also, we chat about yet another super-thin phone and the latest sampler from Teenage Engineering.
Engadget’s Best of 2025: phones, tablets, cameras, even EVs! – 1:40
Reuters reports Meta projected 10% of its revenue ($16B) came from ads for scams this year – 32:20
Moto Edge 70 is another super thin smartphone, but who wants it? – 41:43
Netflix is going big on video podcasts in 2026 – 42:56
You can now stream PS5 games you own to the PS Portal via the cloud – 48:23
Around Engadget: Why DJI drones may be banned in the U.S. – 52:27
Pop culture picks – 56:05
Credits
Host: Devindra Hardawar Guest: Billy Steele Producer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/engadget-podcast-our-favorite-gadgets-of-2025-143000733.html?src=rss
Back in 2019, Form made — and you’re going to have to forgive me for the most inevitable pun in history — a big splash with its first smart swimming goggles. The company has released several upgrades since, and it just announced the latest version of its HeadCoach software, which is designed to deliver personalized swim coaching using AI.
Available through Form Premium, HeadCoach 2.0 effectively functions like a virtual coach, analyzing each swim and providing immediate feedback in the Form app. It’ll highlight both your strengths and areas of improvement, reminding you what to focus on via the goggles’ augmented reality display.
HeadCoach 2.0 analyzes metrics like distance per stroke (DPS), stroke rate, pace and heart rate, as well as your personal Form Score and existing app data. Insights can be tailored to an objective you set, such as improving your technique or preparing for a race, with HeadCoach zoning in on what you should be trying to achieve in your next session to achieve your goals.
HeadCoach 2.0’s insights are based on data from millions of swims, with input from professional coaches and Olympic swimmers. The idea appears to be data-led virtual guidance informed by humans, so you can trust the feedback you get in the app.
HeadCoach 2.0 is available now to all Form Premium subscribers, which costs $10 per month after a free one-month trial.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/form-brings-better-ai-enabled-swim-coaching-to-its-smart-goggles-140655591.html?src=rss
