Apple picked up an intriguing new member for its design team today in Sebastiaan de With, co-founder of the iPhone camera app Halide. He announced the move today on Threads, adding, "So excited to work with the very best team in the world on my favorite products."
The Halide app has caught our eye at Engadget at severalpoints over the years. de With also is co-founder of Lux, which is Halide's parent company. The other Lux apps also have an emphasis on photography and videography, particularly on Apple devices. Prior to Halide, de With had done other work at Apple, collaborating on properties including iCloud, MobileMe and Find My apps. It's unclear if his exit will mean any notable changes for Halide, or for the Lux apps Kino, Spectre and Orion.
For a long time, Apple's design philosophy was personified by Jony Ive, who left the company in 2022. Since his departure, no single person has emerged as the face and voice of Apple's attitude toward design, which could be why recent moves such as Liquid Glass have been met with deeply divided reactions.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/halide-co-founder-joins-apples-design-team-235023416.html?src=rss
Mark Zuckerberg says there's an end in sight to Reality Labs' years of multibillion-dollar losses following the company's layoffs to the metaverse division earlier this year. The CEO said he expects to "gradually reduce" how much money the company is losing as it doubles down on AI glasses and shifts away from virtual reality.
Speaking during Meta's fourth-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg was clear that the changes won't happen soon, but sounded optimistic about the division that lost more than $19 billion in 2025 alone. "For Reality Labs, we are directing most of our investment towards glasses and wearables going forward, while focusing on making Horizon a massive success on mobile and making VR a profitable ecosystem over the coming years," he said. "I expect Reality Labs losses this year to be similar to last year, and this will likely be the peak, as we start to gradually reduce our losses going forward."
The company cut more than 1,000 employees from Reality Labs earlier this month, shut down three VR studios and announced plans to retire its app for VR meetings. Meta has also paused plans for third-party Horizon OS headsets. Instead, Meta is doubling down on its smart glasses and and wearables business, which tie in more neatly to Zuckerberg's vision for creating AI "superintelligence."
During the call, Zuckerberg noted that sales of Meta's smart glasses "more than tripled" in 2025, and hinted at bigger plans for AR glasses. "They [AI glasses] are going to be able to see what you see, hear what you hear, talk to you and help you as you go about your day and even show you information or generate custom UI right there in your vision," he said.
Zuckerberg has spent the last few years laying the groundwork for pivoting Meta's metaverse work into AI. He offered one example if what the means for Meta’s Horizon app.
"You can imagine … people being able to easily, through a prompt, create a world or create a game, and be able to share that with people who they care about. And you see it in your feed, and you can jump right into it, and you can engage in it. And there are 3D versions of that, and there are 2D versions of that. And Horizon, I think fits very well with the kind of immersive 3D version of that.
“But there's definitely a version of the future where, you know, any video that you see, you can, like, tap on and jump into it and, like, engage and kind of like, experience it in a more meaningful way. And I think that the investments that we've done in both a lot of the virtual reality software and Horizon … are actually going to pair well with these AI advances to be able to bring some of those experiences to hundreds of millions and billions of people through mobile."
One thing Zuckerberg didn’t mention, though: the word “metaverse.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/mark-zuckerberg-says-reality-labs-will-eventually-stop-losing-so-much-money-222900157.html?src=rss
Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope have found a galaxy that is offering new data about the early stages of the universe's existence. The latest discovery shared by astronomers is about a bright galaxy dubbed MoM-z14. According to the team, this galaxy existed 280 million years after the Big Bang.
The sounds like a long time, but in the context of the universe's estimated 13.8 billion years of existence, that's actually one of the closest examples astronomers have found to the Big Bang's occurrence. As a result, MoM-z14 can offer some insights and some surprises about what the early stages of the universe entailed.
"With Webb, we are able to see farther than humans ever have before, and it looks nothing like what we predicted, which is both challenging and exciting," lead author Rohan Naidu of Massachusetts Institute of Technology said. The findings about this galaxy were published in the Open Journal of Astrophysics.
The scientists were able to date MoM-z14 with Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrograph instrument, analyzing how light from the galaxy changed wavelengths as it traveled to reach the telescope. One of the initial questions sparked by this bright galaxy centers on the presence of nitrogen. Some early galaxies, including MoM-z14, have revealed higher nitrogen concentrations than scientists had projected was possible. Another topic of interest is about reionization, or the process of stars producing enough light or energy to permeate the dense hydrogen fog that existed in the early universe.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time, with Webb revealing the early Universe like never before and showing us how much there still is to discover” said Pennsylvania State University graduate student and team member Yijia Li.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/astronomers-share-new-insights-about-the-early-universe-via-the-webb-space-telescope-213311848.html?src=rss
We’ve somehow almost reached the end of January already, which means it’s time for Sony to divulge the list of PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for February. They are Undisputed, Subnautica: Below Zero, Ultros and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. If you have a PS Plus subscription on any tier, you can claim these starting on February 3. After claiming them, these games will stay in your library as long as your PS Plus plan remains active.
Undisputed (PS5) is a 2024 boxing game with dozens of licensed fighters across several weight classes. They include legendary figures like Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson as well as modern greats including Canelo Alvarez and Oleksandr Usyk.
Subnautica: Below Zero (PS4 and PS5) is a spin-off from adventure survival game Subnautica. It has more land-based areas to explore than the original game and you’ll need to keep an eye on a body temperature meter to make sure you stay warm enough.
I’ve been meaning to check out Ultros(PS4 and PS5) for a while and its inclusion here is almost enough to make me want to re-subscribe to PS Plus. It's a Metroidvania with a striking neon palette. As for Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (PS4), that could be a good way for folks to dip back into the long-running combat flight sim series (or try it for the first time) before Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve arrives later this year.
PS Plus subscribers still have until February 2 to add the Monthly Games for January to their library. Those are Need For Speed Unbound, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed and Core Keeper.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/februarys-ps-plus-monthly-games-include-undisputed-and-subnautica-below-zero-205100847.html?src=rss
Patreon creators will need to make some changes soon, thanks to Apple. On Wednesday, Patreon said Apple has renewed its requirement that all Patreon creators must move to subscription billing. The deadline to do so is November 1, 2026.
Patreon's blog post announcing the change made it clear that it had no other choice. "We strongly disagree with this decision," the company wrote. "Creators need consistency and clarity in order to build healthy, long-term businesses. Instead, creators using legacy billing will now have to endure the whiplash of another policy reversal — the third such change from Apple in the past 18 months."
Up to this point, Patreon’s billing model has operated in a gray area, allowing its creators to charge fans outside the App Store without paying Apple’s fees. When the issue first surfaced, TechCrunchdescribed it as stemming from how paid content was accessed (only some creators offered content that could be consumed in-app). On Wednesday, a Patreon representative described the gray area as being “because Apple’s In-App Purchase system doesn’t support some of Patreon’s longstanding billing models.”
But now Apple has reimposed its subscription mandate, eliminating the gray area. "We know that Apple is serious about enforcing this mandate," Patreon wrote. "Late last year, they blocked a Patreon app update and made it clear that in order to remain in the App Store, we have to comply with their billing requirement. Because millions of fans use iOS as their primary way to access Patreon and connect with creators, having our app blocked — or not available in the App Store at all — isn't an option."
Patreon’s "whiplash" description isn't hyperbole. Apple first announced the mandate in 2024. At that time, the deadline for all Patreon creators to make the switch was set to November 2025 — one that Patreon grudgingly accepted. But according to the company, Apple told it last May that the original 2025 deadline was no longer in effect. Now, it appears to have reversed that again.
If there's a silver lining, TechCrunchnotes that only 4 percent of Patreon creators are using the affected (legacy) billing models. And fans can still bypass Apple's fees on iOS by joining via their iPhone's web browser. Patreon has much more detail for creators in its announcement post.
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 21: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) speaks to Apple CEO Tim Cook (L) as he attends a reception for business leaders (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
To top it all off, Tim Cook decided that Saturday — the day Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents — would be a good time to attend the screening of Melania at the White House. He even posed for a selfie with accused rapist Brett Ratner, the film’s director.
Update, January 28, 2026, 5:22 PM ET: This story has been updated to clarify how the Patreon app operated in a gray area before Apple’s changes.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/patreon-creators-have-to-switch-to-subscription-billing-by-november-thanks-to-apple-203759852.html?src=rss
Music hardware and software manufacturer Native Instruments has entered into preliminary insolvency proceedings, according to a report by Create Digital Music. This is the company behind iconic software like Massive, Traktor and Kontakt and hardware like Maschine+. Native Instruments also owns the brands iZotope, Brainworx and Plugin Alliance.
We don't have many specifics as to what this entails and what the future of the company will look like. We do know that an administrator has been appointed to handle restructuring and, potentially, to sell off existing assets. Native Instruments employs hundreds of people and their fates also remain uncertain.
A private equity firm called Francisco Partners owns a majority stake in the company. It also owns majority stakes in entities like GoodRX and Verifone, among others. This isn't the first time Native Instruments has been forced into major restructuring. The company experienced plenty of layoffs and uncertainty between 2019 and 2020 before being purchased by private equity.
Again, we have no idea how this will shake out. It's possible that new investors will jump on board and it goes back to business as usual. It's also possible everything will be scrapped for parts and sold to the highest bidder.
We do know that subsidiary Plugin Alliance seems to be unaffected. It issued a statement on Facebook saying that it isn't involved with the proceedings and that operations will continue as normal. This means new plugins will be released, along with updates for current software.
Everything else is still up in the air. This is troubling for those who have heavily invested in the company's ecosystem of products. I'm one of them. Any hope I had for a hardware refresh of the Maschine+ just went out the window.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/native-instruments-enters-into-insolvency-proceedings-leaving-its-future-uncertain-183206826.html?src=rss
The first of the new features is a sidebar. Available to all Gemini in Chrome users, the interface allows you to chat with Gemini and keep a conversation going across multiple tabs. Google suggests the sidebar is useful for multitaskers. "Our testers have been using it for all sorts of things: comparing options across too-many-tabs, summarizing product reviews across different sites, and helping find time for events in even the most chaotic of calendars," the company writes.
Now you can access Nano Banana, Google's in-house image generator, directly from Chrome. No need to go to the Gemini app.
Google
The sidebar is also where you access the second new feature Google is adding to Chrome. Following its successful rollout within the Gemini app, Nano Banana, Google's in-house image generator, is available directly inside of the browser. With the addition, you won't need to open a new tab when you want Gemini to make you an AI image. You also won't need to download and upload a file when you want Gemini to edit an existing image for you. Instead, you can complete both of those tasks from any of your open tabs, thanks to the new sidebar.
Looking forward, Google plans to bring Personal Intelligence, which debuted inside of the Gemini app at the start of January, to Chrome in the coming months. Once the feature arrives, it will allow the browser to remember past conversations you've had with Gemini. In turn, Google says this will lead to a more personalized Chrome. "Personal Intelligence in Chrome transforms the browsing experience from a general purpose tool into a trusted partner that understands you and provides relevant, proactive, and context-aware assistance," the company said.
In the meantime, Gemini in Chrome already supports Google's Connected Apps feature, which allows the assistant to pull information from the company's other services, including Gmail and Calendar. During a press briefing, a Google employee demoed this feature by asking Gemini to pull up the dates of when their children would be on March break. Without telling the assistant where to look, Gemini sourced the correct time frame from the employee's email inbox.
A new sidebar interface allows Chrome users to access Gemini from any of their open tabs.
Google
Last but not least, Google is previewing a new auto browse feature inside of Chrome. In the demo the company showed, an employee asked Gemini to find and buy them the same winter jacket they bought a few seasons ago. The assistant first drafted a plan outlining how best to tackle the request. It reasoned the best place to start was with a search of the employee's email inbox to determine the correct model and size of jacket. It then went shopping.
While Gemini was working on this task, the employee was free to continue browsing in Chrome. At several points in the process, the assistant would stop before continuing to obtain the employee's permission to move forward. For instance, it paused when it needed login credentials, and again when it needed a credit card number to complete the purchase.
Judging from the demo, it will probably take you less time to do your online shopping and other browser tasks on your own. Google suggests the feature will appeal to those who are creatures of habit. Say you often order the same produce from a grocery delivery service every week, Gemini can automate the ordering. Plus, the feature is in preview, so early testers probably won't be too put off by Gemini's slow pace. In any case, Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the US can try auto browse starting today.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-brings-its-nano-banana-image-generator-to-chrome-180000104.html?src=rss
When deciding which video game to buy, "Is it fun?" is no longer the only consideration. Given the state of the industry, "Do I want to support this company?" is arguably more important. Take, for example, Ubisoft, where things seem to unravel more each day. After the floundering publisher floated even more layoffs this week, workers at its Paris headquarters said, "Enough is enough." They're now calling for a three-day strike.
Unions representing Ubisoft employees plan to strike from February 10 to 12. "With management being stubbornly entrenched in its authoritarian ways, we are calling Ubisoft employees across France to join this strike, along with the five unions present within the company," The Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo (Video Game Worker's Union) wrote in a statement.
Then, earlier this week, the Assassin's Creed publisher proposed cutting 200 jobs at its Paris headquarters. Under French labor law, the company would organize the cuts through the nation's Rupture Conventionnelle Collective (RCC) process. It would require a mutual agreement between the company and the labor union.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot
ROBYN BECK via Getty Images
Adding even more fuel to the fire, Ubisoft will now require workers to return to the office five days each week. (The company had previously agreed to two work-from-home days per week.) Although Ubisoft framed the mandate as being about efficiency and collaboration, it's easy to view this as a cudgel to further reduce its headcount. One Ubisoft developer, who hinted as much while voicing his opposition to the mandate on LinkedIn, said he was suspended without pay for three days as a punitive measure.
The workers' union saw all of this and decided it was time to act. "We're calling for a HALT to management's obsession with penny-pinching and worsening our working conditions," the Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo wrote. "It's time for a real accountability from company executives, starting from the top! Without the workers, and generous public funding, Ubisoft would never have been able to grow this much. WE are Ubisoft, and WE are shutting it down February 10th to 12th!"
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ubisoft-173241918.html?src=rss
Windscribe isn't a VPN for everybody, and it's not trying to be. Despite its high-achieving free plan, it didn't quite make my list of the best VPNs, largely due to alienating interface choices and swingy download speeds. Its iconoclastic approach to everything from design to pricing to its online knowledge base will likely win some customers for life and turn others off.
For those in the latter camp, I've written up this guide for cancelling Windscribe. Follow the instructions below to stop Windscribe from auto-renewing, cancel third-party subscriptions, delete your account altogether and get a refund.
The most important thing to know before we start is that Windscribe's money-back guarantee only lasts seven days — if you paid for a subscription, you have to cancel before then to get a refund. It's a tighter period than most VPNs, so be ready to decide fast.
How to stop your Windscribe Pro subscription renewing
To cancel Windscribe Pro, simply stop your payment method from automatically renewing for the next subscription period. Once you've done this, you can continue using Windscribe Pro until the end of the current period, then you'll be downgraded to the free version. Here are the steps to follow.
In your browser, navigate to windscribe.com. Click the words My Account at the top of the home page.
Scroll down to the billing section. On the subscriptionline, click the button marked Cancel Subscription.
You'll be taken to a new page. Enter your password in the Your Password field. Below, enter a reason for cancellation (this can be "none" or possibly "suck it," which Windscribe should approve of).
Click the Cancel Subscriptions button at the bottom of the page to end automatic renewal on your account.
You can reach this page by logging into your account on Windscribe.com.
Sam Chapman for Engadget
If your account also included a static IP subscription, there's no way to cancel that through the usual dashboard. You'll have to submit a support request by asking the Garry chatbot, which can be accessed by clicking the icon at the bottom-right corner of any page on windscribe.com.
When you subscribe to an app through a third party like the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, that same third party also handles cancellations and refunds. Windscribe itself won't be able to do anything for you here.
If you subscribed through Google Play on an Android phone, you can cancel by opening the Google Play Store app and tapping your profile icon at the top-right (a circle with the first letter of your username inside). Tap Payments & Subscriptions in the menu that appears, then subscriptions on the next page. Find your Windscribe subscription, tap it and click Cancel Subscription to end payments.
If you went through the App Store on an Apple device, open the Settings app, then tap on your name at the top of the screen. Tap Subscriptions and scroll down to your Windscribe subscription. Tap it, then tap Cancel Subscription.
How to delete your Windscribe account
If you're certain you want to stop using Windscribe and never start up again, you can scrub your presence from its servers by deleting your account. To do this, go to windscribe.com and click the My Account button in the header bar. Scroll all the way to the bottom and click on the obnoxiously titled Give Up On Privacy button. This will show you the following image.
I realize I'm harping on this, but Windscribe gets exceptionally punchable when you try to delete your account.
Sam Chapman for Engadget
You'll have to fight through several attempts at comedy to finish deleting your account. Click Yes or No when asked if you ever question your life choices. Enter your password, write whatever you want as a cancellation reason and check both of the boxes below the text field. The Delete Account button should finally be clickable; do it. Once you've pulled the trigger, you won't be able to use the same email address to sign up for another account.
How to get a refund from Windscribe
As I warned above, you can only get a refund from Windscribe for seven days after paying for a subscription. You also cannot get your money back if you've used more than 10GB of data since the start of the payment period. Finally, you can only get refunded on the first payment of each subscription — renewals are not eligible.
If you're within those limits, you can request your money back by starting a conversation with the Garry chatbot. Click the chatbot icon at the bottom-right of the Windscribe website to start a chat. Be warned that you might have to stand firm through several attempts to fix your complaints before you can actually initiate the refund process.
Best Windscribe alternatives
Windscribe is a VPN with a lot of good points. That said, by the time you've waded through a swamp of dick jokes to complete the process, I wouldn't blame you for feeling validated in your decision to get rid of it.
There are plenty of good VPNs that can replace Windscribe. My favorite is Proton VPN, which also has a free plan, though without the ability to select your own server. ExpressVPN is simple and powerful, if a little overpriced, while Surfshark is the fastest VPN overall. If you liked Windscribe for its non-VPN features, NordVPN has the best range of extra perks.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/how-to-cancel-windscribe-and-get-your-money-back-173000785.html?src=rss
Gaming peripheral company Razer has announced the beta release of Synapse Web, a browser-based version of its desktop software. The web app is intended for quick adjustments when away from home, such as LANs or tournaments, where downloading the full desktop version may not be possible or practical.
At launch, Synapse Web will only support the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro keyboards, though Razer says more devices will be added down the line. Using any Chromium-based browser, users can make quick changes to key settings, apply Chroma RGB quick effects and manage on-board profiles. These profiles can then be viewed, edited and saved directly to the keyboard’s device memory, so the configuration stays consistent when moving between PCs.
The company says the new web-based tool is meant to "complement" Synapse 4, the most recent desktop version, but its appeal may be in providing an alternative altogether. Even a cursory search online will turn up years of complaints that Synapse is riddled with bugs, so fans of the brand may be happy to use a pared-down web app if it means more reliability. Razer says you'll still need the full app for advanced customization and "deeper device integration" like multi-device RGB syncing or game-specific profiles.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/razer-made-a-web-app-version-of-synapse-170715465.html?src=rss
