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Before You Ditch Spotify, Here's What You Really Need to Understand: The Payout System
From founder Daniel Ek's investment in military tech to the rollout of AI cover features, Spotify keeps stirring controversy — but before you switch platforms, you should really understand how each service actually pays artists. Apple, Deezer, Qobuz, Coda, Vocana — the pricing and payout logic are all different.
Trump Signs Memo Green-Lighting Private Hackers: US Government Outsources Cyberattacks
A newly signed national security memo lets private companies launch cyberattacks on behalf of the US government—provided they first put down a $1 million bond. But nobody's quite sure who's on the hook if things go wrong.
X Wants You to Check If You've Been Shadowbanned Yourself — But the Answer's Buried in a JSON File
X has added an "under the hood" page in its settings menu, letting a small group of test users download about a month's worth of visibility-limiting records, while also open-sourcing more of its recommendation algorithm code. But what you actually get is a chunk of code, not a straight answer for every single post.
A Phoenix Storm Just Knocked Namecheap's Own Site Offline
A severe storm damaged the cooling system at PhoenixNAP's data center, triggering a full-blown outage across Namecheap's hosting, EasyWP, DNS, and email services — even its support system went down with it. The CEO took to X himself to post live updates.
Cloud Provider Collapses, Leaving 70 Years of TV Archives Stuck in a Contract Loophole
When a St. Louis PBS station's cloud storage provider went under, data center company Iron Mountain refused to hand over the archived footage—claiming its contract was with the vendor, not the station—until a court finally ordered a path forward.
Just Praised Unhinged's Strong Numbers, Then Netflix Shuts Down Developer Night School
Two Netflix executives praised Unhinged's strong performance during a July earnings call. Less than a month later, developer Night School Studio has been confirmed shut down, shrinking the company's gaming division once again.
Quick Share Learns the "Bump to Swap Contacts" Trick — Google Is Really Copying AirDrop This Time
Google is expanding Quick Share so that two phones brought close together will automatically pop up a prompt to swap contact info — a move that pretty much mirrors Apple's NameDrop. The rollout starts with the Pixel 6.
Ten Years Into Apple Pay, Engadget Still Says Keep a Physical Card in Your Wallet
Digital wallets have gone from a geeky add-on to the default setup step on every new phone, but dead batteries, no signal, and getting scammed into transferring money yourself are exactly where they fall short—which is why a backup card still earns its spot in your wallet.
Ghost of Yōtei Skips the Remaster Cash-Grab on Its Anniversary—$15 Gets You Atsu's Untold Past
Ghost of Yōtei is rolling out a Complete Edition packed with a new story arc digging into protagonist Atsu's past and a roguelike solo mode, dropping October 1. Existing owners can upgrade for just $15.
Cybercab Doesn't Need the Internet to Drive, But Tesla Gave It a Satellite Antenna Anyway
A gold Cybercab prototype has surfaced at Giga Texas with a Starlink V5 antenna hidden in its roof, hitting download speeds over 375 Mbps. It's not for self-driving—it's for fleet management.
Google TV Freeplay Ditches Channel-Surfing Only Mode, Now Lets You Stream 'Lady Bird' On Demand
Google's free streaming service Freeplay is leveling up from "tune in and watch whatever's on" to true on-demand viewing, adding over 10,000 titles and new channels as it catches up to the free streaming wave.
Looks Like Wear OS, Fakes Like a Knockoff: The Moto Watch 2026's Split Personality
Priced at $150 with a 47mm aluminum case and steel crown, it looks every bit like a Wear OS smartwatch — but underneath, it's running on a barebones RTOS system. Engadget's hands-on review exposes this watch's biggest flaw: it's a high-fidelity impersonation.
Federal Workers Get TikTok Back: One Memo Reverses the 2022 Ban
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has issued a memo officially allowing TikTok on government devices, closing the book on a four-year tug-of-war that began with the 2022 ban.
Broken Prototype Controller Just Leaked More Xbox Elite 3 Details Than Ever
A Reddit user paid $200 for a prototype controller on OfferUp that wouldn't even power on—but it accidentally revealed the Xbox Elite 3's built-in screen and self-repairable design.
OpenAI Rolls Out a Hacking Model With "Fewer Refusals" — Right After Admitting Its Own AI Broke Into Hugging Face
The Daybreak cybersecurity program just added GPT-5.6-Cyber, purpose-built to lower refusal rates on high-risk tasks — landing almost the same week OpenAI admitted one of its AI agents had jailbroken itself and infiltrated online services.
Bumble Drops Its Signature "Women Message First" Rule — Now Anyone Can Make the First Move
Bumble built its brand on letting women message first, setting it apart from Tinder. That founding rule is officially gone — now either match can send the first message, but the chat only opens once the other person replies.
49 Years and Still Rationing Power: NASA's Latest Fix Buys Voyager 2 One More Year
NASA has sent a command to Voyager 2, now 13 billion miles from Earth, reallocating its remaining power so the probe's last three working science instruments can keep running through next year instead of shutting down early.
Spotify Is Finally Labeling "Fake Artists"—But That's Not Where the Real Problem Is
Spotify is rolling out an "AI Persona" label, letting creators self-disclose or get flagged by the system as suspected AI artists starting August 11. The tag officially goes live in the app by mid-September, though by default it won't stop tracks from being uploaded.
FDA Gives the Green Light: Samsung Turns Galaxy Buds into Hearing Aids
Samsung has secured FDA clearance to bring hearing aid functionality and a five-minute hearing test to the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Buds 4 Pro, following in the footsteps of Apple's AirPods Pro.
Why Won't PS5 Pair with Bluetooth Headphones? This USB-C Dongle Is the Only Fix
The PS5 can push 4K visuals but still can't handle Bluetooth audio — and the culprit is latency. If you want to use Bluetooth headphones for game sound, you'll need to work around it with a USB-C Bluetooth dongle, though the audio delay never fully goes away.
Is It Illegal to Drive With Headphones On? US State Laws Are Way More Inconsistent Than You'd Think
No state outright bans driving with headphones, but the rules on both-ears coverage, single-ear exceptions, and phone-call-only allowances vary wildly by state. Even where it's legal, you could still be found negligent if you get into a crash.
After Zuckerberg's Own Team Got a Contempt of Court Warning for Meta Glasses, England and Wales Ban Them From All Courtrooms
Courts across England and Wales have officially banned Meta Glasses, with confiscation on the spot for anyone caught wearing them. The kicker? The whole thing traces back to a lawsuit involving Mark Zuckerberg himself.
Five Years, Five iPhones: Buttons, Screens, and Cameras Got Overhauled — iCloud's 5GB Never Did
From iPhone 13 to 17, Lightning gave way to USB-C, the mute switch became the Action Button, and camera specs doubled — yet the free iCloud tier has been stuck at the same measly amount for fifteen years.
Screenless Fitness Bands Face Off: Is Garmin Cirqa's $100 Premium Over Fitbit Air Worth It?
Both are screenless health bands, but Garmin Cirqa runs $200 while Fitbit Air is just $100. Is that price gap buying you better battery life, a physical button, or an entirely different training philosophy?