Last year Apple secured the exclusive rights to broadcast Formula 1 racing in the United States from 2026 to 2030. Apple TV subscribers can now watch every practice and qualifying session as well as every sprint and Grand Prix of a race weekend on the F1TV app by linking their Apple account.
Right now, those with an existing F1TV subscription will still see an active status in their "my subscription" page on desktop that shows the plan's renewal date. However, after logging in via Apple with an Apple TV subscription, a second active F1TV subscription appears with an Apple TV logo and the label "Official U.S. broadcaster of Formula 1." Users are advised to cancel the duplicate subscription they had directly with F1TV, which can be done in the F1TV app.
For those that don't have an existing F1TV account, simply create one and activate it using your Apple account. Users who don't pay for Apple TV can still view "select races" and practice sessions throughout the season.
Apple has yet to release precise details on what content will be viewable from within the Apple TV app compared to the F1TV app, where users are accustomed to features like multi-view, onboard cameras, live team radios and live timing and telemetry. With the first race of the F1 season kicking off March 7 in Australia, we should have these answers soon.
Fans can currently check out preseason testing taking place in Bahrain this week and next through the F1TV app.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/how-to-get-f1tv-with-your-apple-tv-subscription-171534300.html?src=rss
Apple’s Vision Pro is a curious product — it initially wowed me two years ago, but it was hard to ignore that the visionOS platform felt incomplete without dedicated apps for YouTube and Netflix. Well, it seems that Google has finally decided to take the Vision Pro seriously, as it’s launching a YouTube app on the platform today. Previously, you could only view YouTube videos via Safari, or through third-party apps like Tubular Pro.
According to an Apple representative, the YouTube Vision Pro app features every video on on the service, including shorts, 360, 3D and VR 180 content. I haven’t tried it myself yet, but it certainly couldn’t be worse than trying to navigate through YouTube’s desktop app via finger gestures. Now that Google is spinning up its Android XR ecosystem, the company probably couldn’t avoid the Vision Pro for long. And don’t forget, we may also see a cheaper Vision Air next year.
Your move, Netflix.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/apple-vision-pro-finally-gets-a-youtube-app-today-170000886.html?src=rss
Wildlight Entertainment, the studio behind Highguard, has laid off many staffers. Level designer Alex Graner wrote in a LinkedIn post that the layoffs impacted "most of the team." The company says it's keeping a "core group of developers to continue innovating on and supporting the game." That sounds like a skeleton crew.
Today we made an incredibly difficult decision to part ways with a number of our team members while keeping a core group of developers to continue innovating on and supporting the game.
We're proud of the team, talent, and the product we've created together. We're also grateful…
Despite the company's efforts, the concurrent player count on Steam quickly dropped from around 100,000 to under 3,000 (where it sits right now.) It looks like that dwindling player count has now translated to massive layoffs just weeks after the initial release. Wildlight says it's "grateful for players who gave the game a shot, and those who continue to be a part of our community."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/highguard-studio-lays-off-most-of-its-team-just-weeks-after-the-game-went-live-165919815.html?src=rss
PlayStation’s first State of Play of the year is shaping up to be quite newsworthy. While Sony hasn’t revealed too much about what it will show off (with one notable exception), the stream is slated to last for over an hour, so there should be at least some interesting stuff. The showcase will get underway at 5PM ET on February 12. You can click the play button on the YouTube video above to watch the State of Play in English when the time is right.
The PlayStation YouTube channel is hosting alternative versions of the stream. One has English subtitles and the other is in Japanese. Otherwise, you can react to all the reveals live in Twitch chat.
The showcase will include “news, gameplay updates and announcements from game studios across the globe,” Sony said. It will “spotlight eye-catching third-party and indie games headed to PS5, along with the latest from teams at PlayStation Studios.”
Sony’s slate of first-party games has been relatively slim over the last few years, but the company is preparing to release a trio of them over the next couple of months. It’s likely that all three of those (Saros, Marathonand MLB The Show 26) will make appearances during the State of Play. Bungie has confirmed that Marathon will definitely be in the mix, though it dispelled rumors that another playtest for the extraction shooter will take place this weekend.
There are positive signs for news on the Silent Hill front as well. Konami has scheduled a Silent Hill Transmission presentation for 7PM on Thursday, which is soon after the State of Play wraps up. That stream will include new information about Silent Hill: Townfall, which was announced all the way back in 2022, but we could get a peek at that game during the State of Play too.
Elsewhere, we may get an update on Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, a nifty looking tag-fighting game from Arc System Works that Sony is publishing. That’s slated to arrive this year on PS5 and PC (Steam and Epic Games Store). A recent update to the game’s Steam page — which was quickly reverted — revealed that the game will have 20 fighters at the outset, with more to come. The timing of the leak suggests that Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls may well show up during the State of Play.
However, Marvel’s Wolverine, which is set to arrive this fall, may not be featured during this particular State of Play. Developer Insomniac Games indicated on X that it would reveal more details about the game this spring. However, that doesn’t entirely preclude Sony from featuring the game at Thursday’s showcase. Perhaps we’ll get even a release date, given that GTA VI (a game that most publishers will want to stay very far away from) now actually seems to be on track to arrive in November.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/how-to-watch-playstations-hour-long-state-of-play-and-what-to-expect-162128585.html?src=rss
Like it’s the case with the other parts of the world; in South Africa too, teardrop campers are becoming adventurous but with a very contemporary approach and a high-ticket price. TrailPod, an outdoor adventure brand in Cape Town, is doing things differently to keep their generation of teardrop rigs closer to the good old past, while integrating features that make it completely modern and dependable.
TrailPod shares our love for adventure and is therefore providing bespoke 4×4 teardrop trailers, which are designed for off-roading, but have a very nostalgic appearance to them. These rigs are made from zero-wood composite construction and feature a suspension system ready to deal with all road types.
The TrailPod Cricket series teardrop trailers are therefore cut out for off-roading, but they are subtle, competitively priced, and retro-inspired. Staying true to the teardrop shape and style from the past, these are ideal for adventurers seeking a variety of camping options without breaking the bank. For this, the foam composite body trailers have an aluminum layering underneath, prioritizing durability and retro-aesthetics.
The Cricket series may be new, but the first Pod was made in a garage setting during the Covid-19 pandemic. The idea back then was to build a vintage-style teardrop, close in aesthetics to the ones built in the 1940s with aircraft aluminum and army jeep wheels. “Feeling a bit like Pinocchio’s Geppetto,” this rig was called Tintin. Over the years with tweaks and perfection, the Tintin prototype is now evolved into a fully-fledged TrailPod Cricket teardrop series, which people are loving for obvious reasons, which definitely starts with the woody construction that dates back to the teardrop’s earliest days. It looks woody, but as said, it features a foam-composite body and no wood is involved (so not roting, mold and corrosion at any moment of its lifetime).
Tough laminate finish on the inside of the Cricket and thin aluminum cladding on the outside, which is overlaid with foam composite, make it a completely different teardrop option we have seen in recent memory. The comfortable and spacious interior of this trailer, which measures just 3.5 m long, is provided with a sleeping arrangement for two people, a small side-mounted kitchen, and cupboards for storage. Internal and external lighting are provided with energy by a 100-Ah lithium battery onboard and solar panels. Owing to its size and lightweight build, the TrailPod Cricket can be towed behind almost any vehicle.
Available in wide and extra-wide body options, Cricket can hold up to 200 kg on the roof when camped, so it’s possible to fit a rooftop tent on it. TrailPod has three teardrop variants in the Cricket series: Cricket, Cricket Lite, Cricket Max. While Lite is the smallest and cheekiest of the three, the TrailPod Cricket Max is the flagship model designed to go off-roading and ensure a prolonged off-grid stay. Its extra-wide body makes space for a double bed and a tailgate galley (a teardrop charm). Though TrailPods come in standard color options, they can be customized in a color of your choice, if you want.
Sony’s 1000X earbuds have been at the top of Engadget’s best wireless earbuds list since we first published it. With each new generation, the company managed to retain its crown, primarily thanks to a massive collection of features and an effective mix of sound quality and active noise cancellation (ANC) performance. Today, Sony revealed the latest entry in the series, the WF-1000XM6, delivering yet another redesign both inside and out. The company’s tried and true formula of features and audio performance remains, but it may no longer be enough to elevate the M6 above the competition.
Design
For the third time in a row, Sony overhauled the 1000X earbuds’ design. While the WF-1000XM5 was a clear revision of the WF-1000XM4, the M6 is a departure from both of them. The company managed to reduce overall size even further by using a rounder, pill-shaped enclosure for the earbuds’ main housing. I certainly applaud Sony for making these as tiny as possible, but I’m still not a fan of the company’s foam ear tips.
Sony introduced foam ear tips on the 1000XM4 earbuds and that led to an unstable fit during my testing. In fact, I ended up switching to the silicone M3 tips for a better feel. Things were slightly better on the M5, but the company regressed here on the M6. I tried every size of ear tips in the box and the fit test in the Sound Connect app only ever confirmed an air-tight seal in my right ear. This can impact sound quality and ANC performance, and the earbuds don’t feel like they’re sitting far enough inside my ears. I never got used to the fit in my three weeks of testing.
The exterior panel of the WF-1000XM6 is still touch sensitive, accepting a variety of taps for playback controls, calls, noise settings and more. Sony also included a repeated tapping gesture that’s used for volume control. Keep tapping on the right earbud to raise the volume and do so on the left to lower it. My disdain for touch controls is well-documented at this point, but the M6 reliably and quickly responded without me having to repeat a tap sequence.
WF-1000XM6 features
The WF-1000XM6 accepts taps for touch-based controls.
As is typically the case with its 1000X earbuds, Sony has loaded the M6 with features. Nearly all of these are holdovers from previous models, including Adaptive Sound Control that can automatically adjust settings based on your activity or location. Speak-to-Chat still pauses audio and activates ambient sound when you start talking, but it’s also still easily duped by coughs or clearing your throat. A quick access feature can put Amazon Music, Apple Music, Endel, Spotify and YouTube Music two or three taps away, depending on how you configure it.
The M6 earbuds also allow you to accept and reject calls with head gestures and you’ll have the option to pipe in your own voice during a call. Sony retained its existing option of operating the earbuds with voice commands: If you say “Assistant,” you can then ask it to play, pause, skip and replay songs. It will also adjust the volume for you, but that’s the extent of its abilities.
Sony included some handy power management features as well. First, there’s an Auto Power Save mode that will disable any custom EQ settings, DSEE Extreme upscaling, Speak-to-Chat and voice control/voice assistant to reduce power consumption when the M6 hits 20 percent battery remaining. A Battery Care tool will extend the life of the earbuds’ battery by stopping charging before it reaches 100 percent. Lastly, Automatic Power Off will turn the earbuds off when they’re outside of the case and haven’t been worn for some time.
Basic conveniences like multipoint Bluetooth, wireless charging and IPX4 water resistance are also here. Wear detection is onboard and you can use Sony’s EQ presets to alter the sound profile, or make your own and save them for future use. The Sound Connect app puts the battery levels of the individual earbuds and the case front and center, and you can edit the main screen to hide the features displayed there if you don’t need them.
Sound quality and ANC performance
Sound quality is one of Sony's strengths and that continues on the M6.
Billy Steele for Engadget
If Sony’s long list of features is its top advantage over the competition, overall sound quality is number two. For the WF-1000XM6, the company built new drivers with soft edges for deeper bass and a more rigid, lightweight dome for clearer treble. There are also notches around the edges for “clearer and smoother” sound quality overall, according to Sony. And of course, DSEE Extreme upscaling helps to recover details lost to compression while 360 Reality Audio and Spatial Sound Optimization are available for more immersive listening.
I found the M6 earbuds at their best with the stock EQ and DSEE Extreme active, much like I have on previous 1000X models. The sound is deep and warm, with thick bass that’s adequate without ever overpowering the mix. Highs cut through and there’s ample midrange, keeping those finer details from getting lost. Erika de Casier’s atmospheric Lifetime is a great example of what the WF-1000XM6 can do. Vocals seem to float over the top of the bassline and drums, with percussive piano chopping though and subtle synth details popping up throughout. When strings arrive on “Seasons,” the M6 ushers them into a prominent position rather than relegating them behind the beat.
On the WF-1000XM6, the chaos of Spiritbox’s “Holy Roller” doesn’t get condensed to a messy heavy metal roar either. And there’s plenty of texture in the synth-driven noise of Nine Inch Nails’ “As Alive As You Need Me To Be.” Even more straightforward rock tracks like Jimmy Eat World’s “Bleed American” have ample punch, with a wide soundstage that never feels claustrophobic or sounds compressed. Overall, the WF-1000XM6 holds its own against the best-sounding earbuds you can buy right now, though some of the competition, like Technics, have an edge in the way they handle the subtlest of nuances in songs.
If you were hoping for knock-out ANC abilities, I must report that the WF-1000XM6 isn’t the noise-canceling powerhouse that is Bose’s QC Ultra Earbuds. The M6 struggles mightily with human voices. While that’s the downfall of many ANC earbuds, you’ll want to keep it in mind if you plan to wear these in the office. I found I could also still hear constant noise sources like fans and white noise machines when wearing the M6 — items that the QC Ultra Earbuds combat effectively.
Using the WF-1000XM6 for calls
The WF-1000XM6 isn't as adept at calls as Sony advertises.
Billy Steele for Engadget
For calls, Sony says the M6 uses AI for both background noise reduction and voice capture with the beamforming microphones. What’s more, the earbuds are equipped with eight total mics for ANC and calls, plus bone conduction tech for improved voice pickup. Unfortunately, all of that doesn’t lead to stellar performance during calls. While the WF-1000XM6 is perfectly usable for voice and video calls, the overall quality is far from pristine. To make matters worse, the earbuds make you sound overly processed when you encounter significant background noise. Since the company prided itself on the upgrades here, the results are disappointing.
Battery life
Sony says the WF-1000XM6 will last up to eight hours on a charge or 24 hours when you factor in the full longevity of the charging case. During a battery test that I mostly ran with ANC active, I had no trouble hitting that single-charge figure. That’s with the volume around 75-80 percent and includes calls and virtual meetings where I switched over to ambient sound mode.
It’s worth noting that I had DSEE Extreme upscaling active the entire time, which can impact battery life. Plus, if you use the aforementioned Auto Power Save mode, you can extend play time when you have about a quarter of a tank left. Going without some of the M6’s best features in the interest of having tunes for a workout or commute is a fair trade in my book.
The competition
The WF-1000XM6 is still a compelling option, but it's not the clear favorite anymore.
Billy Steele for Engadget
When sizing up the competition for the WF-1000XM6, you have to choose your priorities. Simply put, no other company offers the comprehensive suite of features that Sony does. That’s been true for a while now and it continues with this model. If you want the strongest active noise cancellation, that will be Bose’s second-generation QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. If the best sound quality is your goal, the Technics AZ100 is your best bet in this price range. I’ll also mention Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 4 which offers great sound quality, respectable ANC and a comfier fit than the M6, but that set is almost two years old at this point.
Wrap-up
Sony continues its run of great earbuds with the WF-1000XM6, but this model isn’t the polished package that some of its predecessors were. The two most obvious places the company is lagging behind the competition is ANC performance and overall voice quality, not to mention my continued dissatisfaction with the fit that Sony’s foam tips provide. The M6 is also more expensive than the previous version was at launch, which makes it even harder to overlook any flaws. What you will get on the WF-1000XM6 is a ton of features, great sound quality and reliable touch controls in a smaller package. And for some, that might be enough to make you forget about the rest.
The WF-1000XM6 is available today in silver and black for $330.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/sony-wf-1000xm6-review-facing-tougher-competition-160000652.html?src=rss
When you think of Belgian fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck, you probably picture bold runway shows and provocative collections that push boundaries. As a member of the legendary Antwerp Six, the group that put Belgian fashion on the global map in the 1980s, Van Beirendonck has built a reputation for work that’s colorful, fantastical, and always thought-provoking. But his latest project isn’t something you can wear. Instead, it’s something you can climb, jump on, and explore.
Welcome Little Stranger, which opened at C-mine in Genk, Belgium this month, marks Van Beirendonck’s first venture into interactive play design. The installation transforms an old industrial warehouse into an extraterrestrial playground where kids can meet a mysterious alien visitor through soft-play structures, vibrant colors, and immersive environments that feel like stepping onto another planet.
The project is part of C-mine’s new PLAYGROUND initiative, which invites artists to reimagine what play spaces can be. Rather than traditional playground equipment, these are designed as artistic environments where creativity and physical activity merge. For Van Beirendonck, this meant translating his signature aesthetic (think neon colors, fantastical creatures, and bold shapes) from fabric and runway to foam and physical space.
What makes this particularly interesting is Van Beirendonck’s stated motivation. He wanted to create an environment that encourages imagination without screens or digital distractions. It’s a refreshing stance from someone known for addressing contemporary themes like technology and identity in his fashion work. The space invites kids to wonder about the universe, discover new possibilities, and play together without boundaries.
The alien theme isn’t random. Van Beirendonck’s fashion work has long explored ideas about identity, diversity, and what it means to be different. By framing the playground around encountering a “little stranger” from another world, he’s essentially asking kids to think about otherness, curiosity, and welcome. These are heavy concepts, but they’re delivered through climbing structures and colorful shapes rather than lectures.
The design process itself was collaborative. C-mine worked with artist Emma Ribbens, an alumna of LUCA School of Arts, to run workshops where children from Genk contributed ideas and shared their thoughts. This participatory approach meant kids weren’t just the audience for the final product but had ownership in shaping what the space would become. It’s an increasingly common approach in public art and design, recognizing that the people who will use a space often have the best insights into what it needs.
Van Beirendonck’s visual language translates surprisingly well to this new medium. His fashion collections have always featured exaggerated proportions, vibrant patterns, and elements that feel like they could belong in science fiction or fantasy worlds. Those same qualities make for compelling playground design, where safety requirements mean everything needs to be soft and rounded anyway.
The location adds another layer to the story. C-mine is a former coal mining site in Genk that’s been transformed into a cultural and creative hub. It’s the kind of post-industrial regeneration project you see across Europe, where old warehouses and factories become galleries, theaters, and community spaces. Housing a whimsical playground in what was once an industrial building creates an interesting contrast between the building’s austere past and its colorful present.
For Van Beirendonck, who’s known for work that balances playfulness with provocation, this project sits comfortably in his career arc. He’s done book illustrations, scenography, and various collaborations outside traditional fashion. Welcome Little Stranger just happens to be one you can physically inhabit rather than view from a distance. Genk’s mayor noted that the project positions the city as creative and innovative while giving families and schools from across the region a new destination. It’s the kind of cultural infrastructure that smaller cities increasingly use to attract visitors and define their identity beyond industrial heritage.
Whether Welcome Little Stranger becomes a model for future artist-designed play spaces remains to be seen. But it does suggest interesting possibilities for what happens when designers step outside their usual mediums and apply their vision to physical environments meant for pure, unstructured play. Sometimes the best design isn’t about making something look good but about creating spaces where imagination can run wild.
Apple is reportedly preparing to launch a premium version of its AirPods Pro by 2026, aiming to set a new benchmark in the wireless earbuds market. Positioned strategically between the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Max in terms of price and features, this upcoming model is expected to combine innovative technology with Apple’s signature design […]
With the release of iOS 26, Apple has introduced a highly anticipated feature that simplifies the process of creating custom ringtones directly on your iPhone. By using the enhanced functionality of the Shortcuts app and the Files app, you can now transform audio files or screen recordings into personalized ringtones without relying on third-party apps […]
Remember the pocket archaeology of untangling your headphones every single time you pulled them out? That split second of dread when you’d fish them from your bag only to discover they’d somehow tied themselves into impossible knots? Designer Aleš Boem remembers. But instead of trying to solve that universal frustration, he’s immortalized it.
His project, Tangled Headphones for print, takes that chaotic mess of wires we all spent years battling and transforms it into something worth looking at. These aren’t functional headphones in the traditional sense. They’re 3D-printed sculptures that wear their tangles like a badge of honor, turning what used to drive us crazy into the entire aesthetic.
The design itself is striking. Boem has essentially frozen a moment of cable chaos in black plastic, creating headphones where the tangled cord isn’t a bug but the feature. The earcups are swallowed by loops and knots of wire, the headband twists and weaves, and even when you look at them straight on, your brain does that thing where it tries to trace the path of the cable and gets completely lost. It’s visually messy in the most deliberate, controlled way possible.
What makes this project so interesting is its timing. We’re living in the post-wire era. AirPods dangle from ears everywhere. Bluetooth has become the default. Most people under 20 probably think tangled headphones are some kind of abstract concept, like dial-up internet or waiting a week to see what your vacation photos looked like. But for everyone else, there’s this strange collective memory of the tangle struggle, and Boem is tapping directly into it.
There’s something almost archaeological about seeing these headphones styled in those moody editorial photos. The model on the subway, holding a cassette player. The vintage Sony Walkman making an appearance. It’s not just product photography; it’s visual storytelling about a specific moment in technology that’s already slipped into nostalgia territory. The fact that these are 3D-printed adds another layer. Modern fabrication technology creating a monument to obsolete problems.
The sculptural quality is what really elevates this beyond a novelty. Look at the headphones on their own, isolated on that white background, and they read as genuine art objects. The tangles aren’t random. They’re carefully designed loops and intersections that create texture and volume. The way the cable winds around itself has rhythm to it. If you didn’t know what you were looking at, you might think it was some kind of experimental fashion accessory or a piece from a contemporary art exhibition. And maybe that’s the point. Good design often involves looking at the everyday and asking what if we didn’t fix this? What if we leaned into it instead? Boem took something universally annoying and reframed it as something worth preserving. It’s a love letter to the physical quirks of older technology, the little inconveniences that somehow become part of the experience.
The project also raises questions about what we lose when technology goes wireless. Sure, nobody misses fighting with tangled cables at 7 AM while trying to catch the bus. But there was something tangible about wired headphones. They were physical objects with character. They got worn in. They had that one earbud that always died first. The cable would fray at exactly the spot where it bent coming out of your pocket. They broke, they lasted, they were real in a way that feels different from charging cases and Bluetooth pairing.
Tangled Headphones for print sits right in that weird space between functional design and art commentary. It’s too conceptual to be practical, but too grounded in real experience to be purely abstract. It’s a conversation starter, a nostalgia trigger, and a genuinely clever piece of design thinking all wound together. Whether you’d actually want to own a pair is almost beside the point. What matters is that Boem saw something everyone else was trying to eliminate and decided it was worth celebrating instead. In doing that, he created something that makes you look twice and remember a very specific kind of small, everyday chaos that barely exists anymore. That’s pretty special.
