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DNA testing company 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, following a tumultuous few years that included significant layoffs and a wide-ranging data breach. It plans to find a buyer and continue operations throughout the process, with the company's CEO, Anne Wojcicki, resigning to bid for the company independently. The Board of Directors' Special Committee previously rejected a proposal from Wojcicki.

"We expect the court-supervised process will advance our efforts to address the operational and financial challenges we face, including further cost reductions and the resolution of legal and leasehold liabilities. We believe in the value of our people and our assets and hope that this process allows our mission of helping people access, understand and benefit from the human genome to live on for the benefit of customers and patients," said Mark Jensen, chair and member of the Special Committee, in a release.

Jensen added that the company is committed to safeguarding customer data and that "being transparent about the management of user data going forward, and data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction."

There was a time when 23andMe was all the rage, with everyone you knew sending samples of their saliva. However, things have declined since the company went public. It was once valued at $6 billion, but this month that number was less than $50 million. The company also laid off over 200 employees late last year.

But, the largest hurdle came in 2023 when hackers accessed the information of 6.9 million customers — the breach started in April of that year, but 23andM3 noticed it five months later, in September. The company announced the leak that October. One year later, 23andMe settled a class action lawsuit for $30 million, following claims such as that the company failed to tell plaintiffs that they were specifically targeted for being of Chinese or Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.

Following the news, California Attorney General Rob Bonta recommended 23andMe customers delete their data as a precaution. You can find details on how to do that here. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/23andme-has-filed-for-bankruptcy-and-ceo-anne-wojcicki-has-stepped-down-144629683.html?src=rss

23andMe has capped off a challenging few years by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. Given the uncertainty around the future of the DNA testing company and what will happen to all of the genetic data it has collected, now is a critical time for customers to protect their privacy. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has recommended that past customers of the genetic testing business delete their information as a precautionary measure. Here are the steps to deleting your records with 23andMe.

1. Log into your 23andMe account.

2. Go to the "Settings" tab of your profile.

3. Click View on the section called "23andMe Data."

4. If you want to retain a copy for your own records, download your data now.

5. Go to the "Delete Data" section

6. Click "Permanently Delete Data."

7. You will receive an email from 23andMe confirming the action. Click the link in that email to complete the process.

While the majority of an individual's personal information will be deleted, 23andMe does keep some information for legal compliance. The details are in the company's privacy policy.

There are a few other privacy-minded actions customers can take. First, anyone who opted to have 23andMe store their saliva and DNA can request that the sample be destroyed. That choice can be made from the Preferences tab of the account settings menu. Second, you can review whether you granted permission for your genetic data and sample to be used in scientific research. The allowance can also be checked, and revoked if you wish, from the account settings page; it's listed under Research and Product Consents.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/how-to-delete-your-23andme-data-201451382.html?src=rss

Disney is giving Disney+ subscribers the ability to edit their "Continue Watching" lists, a quality-of-life feature that's been oddly missing from the streaming service up until now.

Continue Watching collects all of the TV shows, movies and live events you've started watching, saving your place so you can pick up right where you left off. If you dip in and out of watching things, it's very easy for the list to get unwieldy quickly, so being able to edit it is helpful.

You can remove something from Continue Watching in two different ways: directly from the list itself or the Details page of a given show or movie. If you're on your TV and want to edit your list, you just highlight a movie or show with your remote, press and hold the remote's button (on the Apple TV remote, for example, its the center button) and then select "Remove" when the menu slides over. From the Details page of the show or movie you want to remove, just highlight and select the "Remove" icon (it's a minus symbol) to get it out of your list.

The process is similar on the web or in Disney+ mobile app. If you're watching Disney+ on your phone, you can just tap on the three dots in the corner of a show or movie in Continue Watching and then tap on Remove. On the web, just hover your mouse over anything in Continue Watching and click on the Remove icon in the corner of the movie or show. The only thing you can't remove from Continue Watching are live events, which will stay until they officially end. 

Disney says the ability to edit Continue Watching is available today on the web, iOS devices and Apple TV, and will be coming to the other platforms Disney+ is on in the coming weeks.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/disney-adds-option-to-edit-continue-watching-list-182856588.html?src=rss

There’s now a native version of Google Drive for Arm-powered PCs, like those featuring last year’s Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips. The company announced this feature update in a blog post, saying that the Drive app for Windows is "generally available" for Snapdragon X chipsets. Today’s release follows a beta test going back to last year.

This includes machines by several big brands, with the most notable being the newest Microsoft Surface laptops. The Drive port for Arm-based PCs also allows users to access their accounts through the Windows File Explorer app. This should make it easier to pull files from Drive accounts.

The native app only works on devices running Windows 11 and Microsoft WebView2. Existing beta users will automatically be updated to the full version. It’s rolling out today but could take up to 15 days to hit everyone’s accounts. The new app is available for all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers and users with personal Google accounts.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/google-drive-is-now-available-on-snapdragon-based-windows-pcs-173517153.html?src=rss

The most notable feature of Nothing’s latest phones may be its combo of distinct hardware design and Android software tweaks. However, after using the Nothing Phone 3a for a few weeks, the Essential Space app has kept me hooked on what is ostensibly a lower-mid-range smartphone.

It’s also a hard app to explain in a single sentence. It’s a little bit of a screenshot gallery, a little bit of a notes app, a little bit of a to-do list app, a little bit of country, a little bit of rock-and-roll. It’s all sewn together with similar AI features to what we've seen on most new smartphones.

However, compared to the disjointed apps and features of Google AI, Galaxy AI, or Apple Intelligence, Essential Space keeps everything in one place. The utility is helped by having a dedicated launcher button (the Essential Key): A single press will screenshot your phone (and file it in Space), while a long press starts recording your voice — and files it away in Space, too, initiating AI-powered transcription. A double press of the Essential Key launches the app, which seems odd. The screenshot should also be a double press, but maybe that’s just me.

It’s not an entirely new premise. We raved about Google’s Pixel Screenshot app, which also does a good job of organizing your screenshots to make things easier to find. However, Google’s Screenshots app is limited to only that — screenshots. Nothing, on the other hand, already announced it’ll bring a similar-seeming Smart Collections feature to the Space app in the future.

Inside Nothing’s Space app, the phone extracts dates, attempts to create to-do lists, analyzes screenshots and associates them with time, date, and location data. In short, it makes it easier to remember why I took a screenshot when I did, and it even attempts to create actionable items and reminders. I’ve started taking voice notes and mulling over everything I must do on a workday morning. It'll summarize it into a to-do list with goals I can check off when completed.

With Essential Space, Nothing doesn’t seem to be meddling with AI for the sake of it. While image generation, rewriting emails, and writing guidance on my smartphone are occasionally fun, Essential Space removes many roadblocks to using these functions. I don’t have to ask the Phone 3a to transcribe your voice recordings; it just gets to work. There are limitations, perhaps predictably, given the middleweight processor of a mid-range phone, and AI processing happens on the cloud. Nothing says it deletes processing requests from its servers after they’re completed. However, phones that cost over twice as much as the Phone 3a can handle AI processing on-device for most things that Essential Space can do.

There is also no way to share something with Space, whether a photo or a recording unless you initiate the recording through that pesky Essential Key. Of course, you can take screenshots of old screenshots, photos, and websites, but then you’re back to the same disjointed process as other Android devices and iPhones.

Nothing’s Essential Space manages to streamline AI into many of the features I use most, like transcription and reminders. The company has teased further functionality, like a focused search for use inside the Space app, and cutesy gimmicks like flip-to-record for your voice notes, which should only bolster what I thought would be weird software curio. It isn’t earth-shattering, but put all together, it's one of the best integrations of AI aimed at making your life easier.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/nothing-phone-3a-essential-spaces-ai-powered-app-done-right-163042976.html?src=rss

No, pigs aren’t flying, hell hasn’t frozen over and you (probably) haven’t won the Powerball jackpot, but something else nearly as unexpected is happening. Over four years after it debuted AirPods Max, Apple is set to update them with long-overdue features. The company is bringing lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio to the overear headphones when it rolls out iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 and macOS Sequoia 15.4 in April.

This is the only major update Apple has given the AirPods Max so far, outside of starting to offer a model with a USB-C charging port back in September. And that's the kicker: the update will only be for the USB-C version of the AirPods Max, not the original version with the Lightning port. This is due to technical constraints on the Lightning model, such as digital-to-analog converter performance.

What's more, lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio won't be available in wireless mode. To take advantage of these features, you'll need to connect the headphones to an audio source via a USB-C cable. As luck would have it, Apple is starting to sell a USB-C to 3.5mm cable today. That will run you $39. There will also be the option to connect your iOS or iPadOS device to speakers or car stereos that have 3.5mm audio ports with the cable.

Still, you'll at last be able to listen to 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio with AirPods Max, as long as you have the USB-C model. Lossless audio will also be compatible with Personalized Spatial Audio, Apple says. Apple Music subscribers can listen to more than 100 million songs in lossless audio.

The company notes that, following the firmware update, "AirPods Max will become the only headphones that enable musicians to both create and mix in Personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking." It adds that the ultra-low latency audio feature will allow for no response delay on par with the speakers built into Mac, iPad and iPhone devices. It suggests this feature could be a boon for gamers and livestreamers.

Update March 24, 12:08PM ET: Added clarification that lossless and ultra-low latency audio will only be available on the USB-C version of AirPods Max and only in wired mode.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/apple-is-finally-updating-airpods-max-with-lossless-and-ultra-low-latency-audio-140142271.html?src=rss

Mexico is under pressure these days to keep illegal drugs and migrants from crossing into the United States. But the country is facing pressure to crackdown on another front: the trade in smuggled and counterfeit products. 

Professor Enrique Dussel Peters in his office at the Center for China-Mexico Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. (Ted Siefer)

Late last fall, these pressures came to a head when police in Mexico City descended on a 16-story building and confiscated what they said were 19 tons of contraband mostly from China, including Hello Kitty knock-offs. 

Mexican authorities said the raid was just the start of ongoing operations aimed at protecting domestic manufacturing and enforcing trade agreements. 

But for professor Enrique Dussel Peters, who heads the Center for China-Mexico Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the timing of the raid is telling.

“This is a symbolic stance saying, ‘Mr. Trump, we are following your orders. Don’t worry, we will not become your backdoor for illegal imports,’” he said.

Inside Izagaga 89, the building raided by police in Mexico City last fall. (Ted Siefer)

Dussel pointed out that many places are selling imported goods from China in the city’s historic center, where the raid took place. “You have hundreds of blocks, and they just see this one building,” he said.

Reporting by Mexican journalists has revealed that there are dozens of shops, warehouses and plazas selling products from China. Many operate clandestinely and skirt local laws.

Much of this trade takes place in a neighborhood called Tepito. Here, one can find block after block of vendors selling things like scooters, stereo speakers, make up and new shoes, including ones purporting to be Nike Air Jordans for about $20.

A vendor named Francisco, who was one of the few willing to be recorded, said the glut of Chinese products makes it hard to compete. (We’re not using his last name because he fears legal trouble.)

“It’s not good because [the products from China] displace Mexican products,” he said. “There’s no way to compete with them.”

The bigger reality here is that imports from China — both legal and smuggled — have become thoroughly enmeshed in the Mexican economy. Exports from China have doubled over the past five years, to more than $100 billion annually.

“Imagine a video of a day in Mexico without China,” Dussel said. “So we would be walking barefoot without underwear, cellular phones would not work because the antennas are from Huawei, a Chinese firm. Ports, airports and whatever would not work.”

From this perspective, a raid or two might be a light lift for Mexico — considering some of the other tough choices the country faces to stay in the good graces of the United States.

The PlayStation 5 release date for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has been revealed. MachineGames' latest Nazi-thwacking simulator will hit Sony's console on April 17, just four months after it debuted on Xbox and PC. If you pony up for the digital premium edition or physical collector's bundle, you'll get early access to the game on April 15 (plus some other goodies). Digital pre-orders are open now and physical pre-orders go live tomorrow, March 25.

Microsoft confirmed last August that it would bring a port of the tremendously enjoyable blockbuster to Sony's console this spring as part of its shift away from platform exclusivity. We've seen a number of notable former Xbox exclusives come to PS5 (and Switch in some cases) over the last year or so. Among them are Sea of Thieves, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment and Grounded. Forza Horizon 5 is also PS5-bound on April 29.

Meanwhile, Doom: The Dark Ages will hit PS5 on May 15, the same day it's set to land on PC and Xbox. Rumors suggest that a remastered collection of the first three Gears of War games is coming to Sony's system. The rebooted Fable and even Xbox's flagship Halo series could make the leap over to PlayStation as well, as the walls around Microsoft's gaming garden continue to crumble.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle-hits-ps5-on-april-17-150021622.html?src=rss

You’ll soon be able to pay for your next delivered DoorDash meal in installments. The payment company Klarna is partnering with the delivery service to offer “buy now, pay later” loans for DoorDash purchases over $35. 

Those kinds of short-term loans are becoming more common across the economy, but they come with risks.

One of the most popular “buy now, pay later” methods is known as “pay in four.” Basically, when you buy a new pair of pants — or soon the dinner for your next lazy night in— you pay one installment up front, and three more every two weeks, explained the Boston Fed’s Joanna Stavins.

“So it’s a sort of six-week short-term credit, interest-free,” she noted. If you’re late on payments, however, fees can eventually rack up.

Stavins said that buy now, pay later users tend to have less money in the bank. “And they already carry credit card debt, so they are what I call ‘financially fragile.'”

There’s additional risk because unlike getting approved for a credit card,” there’s no requirement for a buy now, pay later to assess whether you have an ability to repay the loan,” said Nadine Chabrier at the Center for Responsible Lending. “That may lead to consumers taking out unaffordable amounts of debt.”

And a delivered DoorDash meal often comes with fees already, noted Lisa Gill at Consumer Reports. So someone who uses “buy now, pay later” for their order is financing “service fees, delivery fees, gratuity fees and any other service charges over a month’s time, and they’re just trying to get a $10, you know, bowl for lunch or burrito for lunch.”

You could always order directly from the restaurant and cut out the middlemen, she added.

The Trump administration’s budget-cutting efforts are having a big impact at research universities, even as those efforts remain in various stages of implementation due to legal challenges. Universities have to plan years ahead, especially when it comes to medical research. And dozens of institutions have announced cuts.

Research that started 30 years ago at Donald McDonnell’s laboratory at Duke University led to a new drug in 2023 to treat metastatic breast cancer. Now, he has a second drug in clinical trials.

“Both of those drugs — let me just say — were drugs that industry passed on years and years ago for other indications, and they were rediscovered by really inquisitive, bright graduate students,” he said.

McDonnell’s lab depends on a handful of those students, funded in part through the school and in part through grants. Right now, with all of the uncertainty around federal funding, McDonnell is facing an unprecedented challenge.

“This is the time of year when students elect, you know, to work with various professors, and I personally am scrambling right now to take four incredible students who want to work with me to develop a new drug we have for prostate cancer, and I can’t find funding,” he said.

He needs $70,000 per student per year.

Similar scenes are playing out across the country. Academics say that at minimum, the Trump administration is slow-walking approvals of medical research grants.

Also, the threat of drastically reducing reimbursement for researchers’ so-called indirect costs — things like electricity and supplies — has left many unsure about what money their labs will actually have to spend.

“We’re doing a lot of tabletop exercises, a lot of strategic planning exercises with different scenarios,” said Colin Duckett, executive vice dean for basic and preclinical science at Duke. Those scenarios could mean broader, school-wide budget cuts to come.

Dozens of other universities have already publicly announced such cuts, because of the disruptions coming from the federal government.

“I came here 35 years ago from England, because this is the best place in the world to do science. And it is really sad for me to wonder whether the U.S. is the best place to do science. It’s almost inconceivable,” said Laurel Harbridge-Yong, a political science professor at Northwestern University. “There is a lot of worry, there’s a lot of frustration, there is a lot of anxiety.”

Harbridge-Yong’s own research grants are unaffected, but she’s been having a lot of conversations across academia. She noted that graduate students, in particular, are concerned about their futures.

That’s because of the challenges professors like McDonnell are having in finding grants. Existing private funds can’t make up the difference for the federal government’s vast financial powers.

“If this grant money dramatically decreases or goes away in some fields, we can’t sustain to bring in the graduate students,” Harbridge-Yong said. “That means these early career researchers don’t get to be trained to become world-class researchers and scientists, and we’re going to lose that whole pipeline of expertise and knowledge.”

It’s the kind of loss, academics say, that could take a decade or more to reverse.

The Nothing Phone 2a was one of the most memorable smartphones of 2024. It offered a fast display, big battery and personality, all for just $349. For a follow-up, Nothing could have simply refreshed the 2a and the result would have probably been worth recommending. But the company didn't do that. Instead, it decided to update the 2a and release an entirely new handset alongside it.

That new device, the Phone 3a Pro, has something you don't find on many midrange smartphones: a periscope telephoto camera. If you can live with some added weight and a slightly silly design, the 3a Pro offers a nearly flagship camera experience for $459. As for the 3a, it’s a great device on its own, and a smart alternative if you have even less to spend on a new phone.

Carrier compatibility Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

There are a couple of important details I need to mention before I get too far into this review. In the US, Nothing is selling the 3a and 3a Pro through a "beta" program where the company only offers 14 days of after-sale support. If there's something wrong with your new phone and it's outside the extremely short return period, you could easily be out of luck. This is separate from Nothing's software support policy, which promises three years of Android upgrades and six years of security patches for the 3a and 3a Pro, in addition to "corrective and functionality updates."

Additionally, the phones don't support all of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon's 5G bands. You’ll get basic connectivity, but mmWave speeds are off the table. Lastly, Nothing notes AT&T and Verizon customers will need to contact their carrier to enroll their new phone’s IMEI for 5G access. I mention these things upfront because I think the 3a and 3a Pro are great phones worthy of your consideration, but it’s also understandable if Nothing's limited customer and carrier support put you off.

Design Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

The 3a and 3a Pro don't feel like two sub-$500 handsets, and a big part of that is a new glass backing. Compared to my iPhone 12, the 3a and 3a Pro feel very Apple-like in their construction. I especially like the coating Nothing used for the outer casing of the two phones, which makes the frame feel like it's made from ceramic. Both are big handsets, and the texture made for a secure grip anytime I took one of them out of my pocket. Nothing has also added better waterproofing, with both the 3a and 3a Pro offering IP64-certified protection against moisture and dust. That's up from the IP54 rating on the 2a. If you spend a lot of time around water, plenty of other midrange phones come with better protection, including the new $499 Pixel 9a.

Another new feature is a button called the Essential Key. On both phones, it's located on the right side, right below the power button. I'll have more to say on what it does later, but for now I'll mention it feels less solid than all the other buttons on the two phones. It's a shame because everything else is so well-made.

The Phone 3a is available in three colors (black, white and blue) and the 3a Pro in two (gray and black). Unfortunately, you can't buy the blue 3a in North America, otherwise I would get one for myself. Nearly three years after the release of the Phone 1, Nothing's devices continue to have unique designs, though I imagine some people might not be thrilled about the look of the 3a Pro.

Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

I mean, look at it. The 3a Pro is a modern-day Lumia 1020, and is sure to attract confused looks. Not only does the camera housing make an already thick phone thicker, but the extra hardware makes the 3a Pro a whole 10 grams heavier than the 3a. And at 201 grams, the 3a already feels substantial.

It's hard to see in photos but there's a gap between bottom of the 3a Pro's camera module and the top of the back casing. In the short time I've had the phone, it has already started collecting dust and debris there. The outer ring of the module also has a finish that doesn't match with any of the other materials used on the phone. Ultimately, it feels like the 3a Pro sacrifices some of the 3a's cool factor for camera performance. That tradeoff is ultimately worth it and its design grew on me, but I wouldn't judge you if you found the 3a Pro too much.

Display Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

The 3a and 3a Pro have the same display. At 6.77 inches, it offers slightly more real estate than the 2a's 6.7-inch screen. This time around, Nothing has also gone with Panda Glass to protect the AMOLED panel from scratches. On paper, that's a downgrade from the Gorilla Glass Nothing used for the 2a and what you'll find on the Pixel 9a and Galaxy S24 FE, but short of conducting a drop test, it’s hard for me to say if there's any difference in durability.

What I can say is the display looks great. It's still an FHD panel with a variable refresh rate that goes up to 120Hz. However, it offers improved visibility in direct sunlight with the ability to hit a peak brightness of 1,300 nits automatically. I never struggled to see the screen, even on a sunny day when I wore polarized glasses.

For the price, Nothing picked the perfect screen. It's fast, vibrant and, thanks to a new 480Hz sampling rate, highly responsive. One aspect of the display that may annoy some is that Nothing went with an optical in-display fingerprint sensor instead of ultrasonic. Ultrasonic sensors tend to be faster and more accurate, but they also cost more to make, so they're typically only found on flagship devices like the Galaxy S25. Don't let that scare you away from the 3a and 3a Pro though. Outside of a bit of pokiness during setup, I haven't had any issues with the fingerprint sensor.

Cameras Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

The cameras on the 3a and 3a Pro are the complete package. Starting with the 3a, Nothing has made a few tweaks. For a main camera, you still get a 50-megapixel Samsung GN9 sensor paired with an f/1.88 lens and optical image stabilization (OIS). Instead of the 50MP ultrawide camera on the 2a, the 3a has an 8MP sensor from Sony and a slightly wider 120-degree field of view. Most notably, the phone now comes with a 50-megapixel telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom.

While more manufacturers are beginning to include telephoto cameras with their midrange phones, it's still not a feature you find on every device. For $379, the 3a's telephoto has no right being as good as it is, and I was constantly surprised by the detail in the shots I took. Across the entire package, Nothing has really pleasing image processing. The contrast that the software adds to photos might be too much for some, but it otherwise does a great job of producing warm and inviting natural colors. Like a lot of phones in its price range, the 3a's cameras can struggle in low light or when it has to contend with harsh sunlight.

One idiosyncrasy of Nothing's image processing is that photos will often look unusable before you press the shutter. For example, bright scenes will frequently have blown out highlights. However, once the phone has had a second to apply HDR, those same images will often turn out great. I didn’t know this when I first started using the phone, so sometimes I gave up on a shot before taking it. This is true of the 3a Pro too, so keep that in mind if you decide to buy one of them.

As for the 3a Pro, it offers a near flagship experience and the highlight is the phone's periscope camera. It has a 50MP Sony sensor with an f/2.55 lens and built-in OIS. The telephoto gives a 3x optical zoom, but you can also push it to 6x with a lossless crop. Either way, the images produced by this lens can look sharp and detailed, as long as the subject you're trying to shoot is relatively still.

As you can see from the sample gallery, some of the cats I tried to photograph around my neighborhood came out a bit blurry. That's because the 3a Pro attempted to get away with using a relatively slow shutter speed. However, for less challenging scenes, the periscope camera consistently felt like cheating, and I had to keep reminding myself this is a phone that costs less than $500.

The telephoto also has a macro mode, allowing it to focus on subjects as close as 5.9 inches away. It can be tricky to judge how close you need to be to the subject, but when I was able to nail focus, the 3a Pro produced detailed shots.

Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

The main camera on the 3a Pro is similarly great. Like on the 3a, you get a 50MP sensor with an f/1.88 lens. However, it comes with a different Samsung sensor that has dual-pixel autofocus, which helps the 3a Pro lock in faster and more accurately. Here, Nothing’s image processing goes a long way to deliver photos that look pleasant. Colors are vibrant without being overbaked and there's just enough detail to satisfy anyone who's looking for it.

I didn't take too many selfies. The 3a Pro has a slight edge in that department thanks to a higher resolution 50MP sensor, but the 3a is no slouch either with its 32MP sensor. Neither phone has a front-facing camera with autofocus, but that’s often the first feature manufacturers cut to make a more affordable device.

In the US, the 3a Pro has no counterpart. There are phones like the Motorola Edge 50 Pro that offer a great telephoto at a comparable price, but it's not sold in North America. If a camera with reach is important to you, the 3a Pro's closest stateside competitor is the Galaxy S24 FE, but it normally costs $650. And for that reason, I think it's well-worth considering over dual rear camera phones like the Pixel 9a.

Performance Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

On top of updated camera hardware, the 3a and 3a Pro feature a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset. Relative to the 2a's MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro, Nothing says the new Snapdragon SoC has a 33 percent faster CPU and 11 percent faster GPU. When I ran the 3a Pro through Geekbench 6, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 earned a single-core score of 1,115 and a multicore score of 3,082. For context, the Dimensity processor scored 1,123 and 2,603 when my colleague Sam Rutherford reviewed the 2a last year. For another point of comparison, the Exynos 2400e in the Galaxy S24 FE easily beats both the Qualcomm and MediaTek chips with scores of 2,140 and 6,690, respectively.

I know that’s a lot of numbers all at once, but I put them upfront to set expectations: think of the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 more as a budget chip than a flagship one. For everyday use, I found it was more than enough for my needs. With 12GB of RAM, the 3a and 3a Pro offer plenty of headroom for scrolling through social media, multi-tasking and AI applications like Gemini.

However, the phones are less ideal for gaming. When I tried to play games like Diablo Immortal and League of Legends: Wild Rift, I found it was possible to run them at 60 frames per second, but the 3a and 3a Pro would occasionally drop frames and I couldn't play either game with all their graphics settings maxed out. 

Battery Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

Like the 2a, the 3a and 3a Pro feature a 5,000mAh battery. Looping a YouTube video until the battery died, the 3a went 19 and a half hours on a single charge. If you want to spend a day gaming, the 3a Pro is good for about eight hours before it needs charging. For more average use involving a mix of social media use and web browsing, I was able to get close to 14 hours of screen time.

Once the battery is empty, the 3a and 3a Pro support 50W fast charging, up from 45W on the 2a. Neither phone comes with a power adapter inside the box, and Nothing didn't provide me with one for testing, but the company claims the 3a and 3a Pro can go from zero to 100 percent battery in less than an hour using its new charger. Most people probably have a 20W power adapter lying around, and based on my observations, you can expect to charge the phones from 10 percent to full in about an hour and a half.

If your budget allows for it, it's definitely worth spending extra to buy Nothing's new charger since few phones in this price range offer charging as fast as the 3a and 3a Pro. The tradeoff is neither the 3a or 3a Pro support wireless charging, but if you ask me, I would take faster wired charging over Qi compatibility every time.

Software Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

The 3a and 3a Pro arrive with Android 15 and the latest version of Nothing OS out of the box. As I mentioned at the start, Nothing has promised to support these phones with three years of Android updates, so if you buy one now, you can expect to get at least Android 18 before you might need to consider upgrading phones. Google and Samsung offer longer support, but relative to the rest of the Android ecosystem, Nothing’s policy is pretty good.

This was my first time using Nothing OS and I have to say I'm a big fan. Nothing hasn't gone overboard customizing stock Android, and there's really no bloatware to speak of. Both the system and quick settings menus mostly follow the format established by Google, so navigating the interface is easy. One nice touch is that Nothing includes its own monochromatic icon pack, with many popular third-party apps covered. There are 18 custom widgets that come standard with Nothing OS and they all look great.

The one major new software feature included with the 3a and 3a Pro is tied to the Essential Key I mentioned. A single tap of the button allows you to take a screenshot, which you can immediately annotate. If you long press instead, the 3a and 3a Pro will start recording a voice memo. Finally, a double tap opens the Essential Space, the new app where all of those screenshots and notes are stored. An algorithm will automatically transcribe any voice memos and do its best to categorize all your clippings into categories, though you can also create your own. Nothing plans to do more with Essential Space in the future, but for now it's limited in its functionality, and you can't rebind the Essential Key to do something else if you don't find the app helpful.

If you're the type of person who uses Apple Notes religiously, I can see the Essential Key and Essential Space being a great way to keep your digital life tidy. I found it less useful, mostly because I've never been much of a notetaker. I will say I do think it's a good idea, and, with a bit more iteration, Nothing could create something that feels, well, more essential.

Wrap-up Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro offer tremendous value for $379 and $459. It's really hard to criticize Nothing for any of the component choices, and if you're willing to take a risk on the company's limited US warranty and want something unique, these are the phones to buy.

For everyone else, it's safer to buy something like the Pixel 9a or Galaxy S24 FE directly from your carrier. You won't have to worry about calling your carrier about your phone, and you'll get a longer one-year warranty. Additionally, both Google and Samsung offer up to seven years of software support with their latest devices.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/nothing-phone-3a-and-3a-pro-review-rising-above-the-boring-competition-120014496.html?src=rss

Smart LED light bulbs are one of the easiest ways to get into the IoT space. These smart lighting solutions let you control your home’s illumination from your phone and other connected devices, and in addition to that practicality, they also inject some fun into your space. Color-changing bulbs have a plethora of RGB options for you to customize the lighting mood for your next movie night, date night or game day, or you can opt for cozy warm white light when you need to unwind at the end of a long day.

It goes without saying that many of these smart LED light bulbs work with Amazon’s Alexa and the Google Assistant, so if you already have a smart home setup in the works, you can find one that fits into your chosen ecosystem. And arguably the best thing about these devices is that they can fit into any budget; affordable and advanced options have flooded the space over the past few years. We’ve tested out a bunch of smart lights over the years, and these are our current favorites.

Table of contents

• Best smart lights for 2025

• Other smart bulbs we tested

• What to look for in smart light bulbs

• Smart light bulb FAQs

Best smart lights for 2025

Other smart bulbs we’ve tested Nanoleaf Smarter Kit

While we’ve recommended Nanoleaf’s Smarter Kits in guides in the past, they’re a bit more niche than other smart lights on this list. They’re best for adding flare to your living room or game-streaming setup as they come in different shapes like hexagons and triangles and can sync with music. In addition to different colors, light animations and schedules, Nanoleaf’s Smart Kits also support Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands.

What to look for in smart light bulbs Connectivity (To hub or not to hub)

One of the biggest appeals of smart lighting solutions is being able to control them from your phone. Most of them are able to do so by connecting to it via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or via an external hub, which handles the connection for them. Bluetooth connectivity limits the range in which you’ll be able to control the light, so it’s only best for a limited number of bulbs and ones you don’t expect to control when you’re away.

Wi-Fi color-changing bulbs are easy to set up and can be cheaper overall since they don’t require a hub to connect them. However, having something like a central Zigbee hub can make your whole system more reliable since its connection is separate from your home’s network. For that reason, hub-based bulbs tend to be more expandable, so we mainly recommend those if you want to eventually have dozens of smart lights around your home.

White or color?

Most color-changing bulbs you’ll find today are “white and color” bulbs, meaning they can glow in vibrant RGB color-options like blues, pinks, greens and everything in between, as well as shine with different temperatures of white. But there are some white-only bulbs out there, and they are often a bit more affordable than their color counterparts. While we recommend springing for the white-and-color devices, if you’d prefer white only, make sure you’re getting a bulb that can span the color temperature spectrum (typically from about 2000 to 5000 Kelvin), offering you various levels of cool and warm white light.

App features

One of the perks of smart lighting solutions is the amount of control you have over them thanks to their various app-control capabilities. Most companion apps let you do things like set lighting schedules and timers, group individual lights into room designations and create your own custom light “scenes” with different RGB options. But we have seen other features that aren’t as ubiquitous like vacation mode for automatically turning lights on and off to enhance your home security, and sync with media, which changes the colors of lights depending on the music you’re listening to or the game you’re currently live-streaming.

Smart home compatibility

If you use a smart assistant like Amazon’s Alexa or the Google Assistant regularly, make sure the smart lights or smart switches work with your favorite. All of the bulbs we tested supported both Amazon’s and Google’s virtual assistants, allowing you to use voice commands to turn lights on and off, dim them with a virtual dimmer and more. The wildcard here is Siri and Apple’s HomeKit; while numerous smart bulbs have added HomeKit support, not all lights are compatible with Apple’s smart home system.

Expandability

We alluded to this above, but you’ll want to consider how many smart lights you eventually want in your home. Some brands and lighting systems are easier to expand than others, and we generally recommend going for hub-based bulbs if you plan on putting smart lights in every room in your home. If you’re only looking to deck out your home office or living room with some fancy color-changing bulbs, Wi-Fi options should serve you well. Thankfully, these are some of the most affordable smart home devices you can get, so even if you don’t have a clear answer to this question now, you can reconsider your options down the line if you do decide to outfit your home with multiple smart bulbs.

Smart light bulb FAQs What’s the best smart light bulb for Alexa?

There is no best smart light bulb for Alexa. Amazon doesn’t make its own smart bulbs (like it does for smart plugs and thermostats), but rather there are dozens of smart lights made by third-parties that work with Alexa — including all of the ones we tested. Before picking the best smart light bulb for you, make sure to check the voice assistants that the contenders support. You’ll find that most smart light bulbs available today work with Amazon’s Alexa and the Google Assistant, and plenty of them also have support for Apple’s Siri and HomeKit.

Can you put a smart bulb in any lamp?

Smart light bulbs can go into most modern light fixtures — but just like regular bulbs, they need to be the right shape/size for the fixture. A standard A19 smart light bulb should work properly in most table, floor and other lamps. If you have a fixture that takes a specific type of bulb, look for smart bulbs that will fit properly.

Do smart light bulbs use electricity when off?

Smart light bulbs do use a negligible amount of electricity when their fixtures are turned off. This is due to the fact that the smart bulb needs to stay in constant contact with your home’s internet connection or Bluetooth in order to work properly. However, their energy-saving benefits usually outweigh the small amount of power they consume even while turned off.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/best-smart-led-light-bulbs-143022856.html?src=rss

After weeks of some Google Maps users reporting that their Timelines had been wiped of all the places they’ve visited, as spotted by 9to5Google earlier this month, Google has confirmed that some users’ data was deleted and is, in some cases, unrecoverable. In a statement to The Verge, Google spokesperson Genevieve Park said, “We briefly experienced a technical issue that caused the deletion of Timeline data for some people.” Only users who had backups turned on will be able to restore their Timelines, according to the statement.

Google recently switched to on-device storage for Timeline data, and backups don’t appear to be on by default. To enable them, you have to go into Your Timeline in the Maps app and update the settings from the cloud icon there. The incident caused some users to lose years’ worth of location history. And while some who had backups enabled prior to the issue have said they were able to restore their Timeline data, others on Reddit said they weren’t able to get it all back even after importing their backups.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/google-says-a-technical-issue-caused-some-users-maps-timeline-data-to-be-deleted-214358403.html?src=rss

We’ve been hearing for some time that Apple is working on a version of the Apple Watch SE with a plastic shell to offer a cheaper and more kid-friendly option, but it seems bringing that vision to life is a bit more complicated than expected. After Apple’s September event last year came and went with no new Apple Watch SE announced, Mark Gurman reported that the team had run into some “cost and quality” challenges with the plastic design, but that it was still happening. Now, in this week’s Power On newsletter, Gurman says the plastic Apple Watch SE is “in serious jeopardy.”

According to Gurman, “The design team doesn’t like the look, and the operations team is finding it difficult to make the casing materially cheaper than the current aluminum chassis.” It’s been over two years since Apple released the second generation Apple Watch SE, and that model now feels “bland,” as Engadget’s Amy Skorheim wrote after revisiting the device recently. A refresh is due, but it's now looking like the plastic design may not be in the cards just yet.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/apples-rumored-plastic-apple-watch-se-has-reportedly-hit-a-serious-snag-180820143.html?src=rss

Apple is working on adding cameras to future Apple Watch models in order to make them function more like AI wearables, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in the Power On newsletter. Gurman reports that the company “is considering adding cameras to both its standard Series watches and Ultra models,” with plans for a 2027 launch. The move would allow the Apple Watch to support AI features like Visual Intelligence, which can provide on-the-spot information about whatever the user points the camera at.

Gurman previously reported that Apple is developing AirPods with a built-in camera for the same purpose, and he notes this week that these are expected to launch around the same time as the camera-equipped Apple Watches. Camera placement would likely vary among the different watch models. According to Gurman, the Series watches could get a camera in the display, while the camera in the Ultra would be on the side of the device.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/apple-watches-with-built-in-cameras-to-support-ai-features-are-reportedly-in-the-works-154531629.html?src=rss

These are the recently released titles that belong on your reading list. This week, we picked up Stephen Graham Jones’ The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, Sarah Wynn-Williams’ Careless People and the latest issue of the Image Comics series, Bug Wars.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-stephen-graham-jones-the-buffalo-hunter-hunter-sarah-wynn-williams-careless-people-195716192.html?src=rss

Apple’s most recent Mac mini is down to its lowest price yet in an early Amazon Spring Sale deal. The M4 Mac mini starts at just $499 right now for 16GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, or 17 percent off the usual price of $599. Other versions are $100 off too, with 16GB/512GB currently going for $699 and the model with 24GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage sitting at $899. You can also get the Mac mini with the M4 Pro chip for $1,299, down from its usual $1,399.

The M4 Mac mini earned a review score of 90 in our review this past fall, impressing us with how much power it packs into its tiny frame. Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar wrote at the time, “The Mac mini was the fastest computer I've reviewed this year, at least when it comes to CPU benchmarks.” That it starts at 16GB of RAM (as is now standard for new Macs) is a big plus, and in addition to the connections on the back, it has some useful front ports: two USB-C ports and a headphone jack.

The M4 Mac mini’s diminutive size means you won’t have to sacrifice much desk space for it, but it’ll still be powerful enough for tasks like light video editing and some gaming. Devindra wrote that “the Mac mini impressed me by running Lies of P in 1,440p with maxed out graphics settings at 60fps,” along with Resident Evil 4 and No Man’s Sky, which “also held a steady 60 fps in 1,440p.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-spring-sale-apple-deals-include-the-mac-mini-m4-for-a-record-low-price-161156926.html?src=rss

The US Federal Communications Commission has launched what it describes as a "sweeping investigation" on Chinese companies already on its "Covered List." Those companies include Huawei, ZTE and China Telecom, which the US government believes are aligned with the Chinese Communist Party. In 2022, the Biden administration banned the sale of communications equipment, video surveillance gear and services from those companies in an effort to protect the country's national security and ensure that "untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within [US] borders."

According to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, the agency has reason to believe that some of the entities in the Covered List are still operating in the US, because they don't think the ban covers "particular types of operations or otherwise." These companies are "trying to make an end run around those FCC prohibitions by continuing to do business in America on a private or 'unregulated' basis," he said. 

This investigation is the first major initiative under the Council for National Security that Carr recently established within the FCC. The new council's main purposes is to reduce American technology and telecommunications sectors' reliance on foreign adversaries, mitigate the country's vulnerability to cyberattacks and espionage, as well as to ensure that the US "wins the strategic competition with China over critical technologies."

The FCC intends to gather a wide range of information on entities in the Covered List, including details about their ongoing business in the US and the business of companies that may be aiding their operations. It said it will "close any loopholes that have permitted untrustworthy, foreign adversary state-backed actors to skirt [its] rules." 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/the-fcc-is-investigating-whether-huawei-other-chinese-companies-are-evading-us-ban-150002185.html?src=rss

I really love the Apple TV+ show “Severance,” and I’m having an internal struggle about it that is not unlike the current struggle in Congress over how to measure tax cuts. 

In “Severance,” an evil company has found a way to sever employee’s minds. When they’re at work, they don’t remember the life they have outside of work. The show is so horrifying and dystopian, I find it oddly soothing.

What I do not find soothing is the $10 a month I pay to watch “Severance” on Apple TV+. But I signed up temporarily to watch it. Now the season finale has aired and it’s decision time. 

“So you have a month-to-month subscription, and you get to the point where you’re deciding, ‘Oh, do I, do I keep the subscription service or do I cancel it?’” said Chye-Ching Huang, executive director of the Tax Law Center at New York University. 

Here’s my dilemma — and Congress’. I could look at the situation like: “My show’s ending. It’s time to cancel Apple TV+ and save some money.” That’s the “current law baseline” Congress uses now.

Then there’s the “current policy baseline” part of my brain. It says: “You’ve been paying for Apple TV+ for months. This isn’t some new expense you have to figure out. Just keep it.“

My streaming subscription struggle is basically what is happening in Congress, except instead of $10 for Apple TV+, it’s trillions of dollars for tax cuts.

“The way to think of current policy is: What’s the policy today?” said Neil Bradley, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Bradley thinks the way taxes are calculated in the budget should be changed to use the current policy baseline. “Current policy baseline reflects the reality of what’s happening in the real world,” he said.

 In the real world, Bradley said most people and businesses saw their taxes go down in 2017, and they’ve stayed down — that’s the policy we’re living under now. 

“Absent a current policy baseline, you’re going to have to sunset all of these tax provisions,” said Bradley. “ And so you end up with this huge tax cliff that no one believes actually that we should send the economy over.”

If the tax cuts expire, most households would see their taxes go up by at least $500. For the top 1%, it would be more like $60,000

Bradley said keeping the tax cuts in place isn’t a new cost, it’s a continuation of current policy.  

But Congress doesn’t calculate it that way. It uses the so-called current law baseline.

“So current law baseline is exactly how it sounds. It’s how the law is written,” said Jonathan Tucker, a partner at tax firm KBKG. He’s firmly in the current law baseline camp. “These tax cuts from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will expire. That is the law.” 

That means if Republicans want to extend the 2017 tax cuts this year, it will show up in the budget as a new government expense — an expensive one: roughly $4.5 trillion over the next 10 years.

“That would increase the deficit, right?” said Tucker. “Current law is the reality, right? The actual economic impact.” Tucker said the economic impact of these tax cuts is a major blow to the already worrisome deficit. And the current policy camp wants to ignore that.

“Current policy is kind of the funny math, if you will, to make it look like it’s not going to cost anything. But I’m a tax accountant, so I tend to like to deal with real numbers,” he said.

But this fight isn’t really about the numbers, it’s about the framing of those numbers. The GOP’s majority in Congress means the tax cuts will most likely be renewed, no matter who wins this war of the words.

So why the fight? NYU’s Chye-Ching Huang said the framing matters. 

“It changes the rhetoric,” she said. Current law baseline would mean Democrats can point to the tax cut extension and say: “The GOP is preaching about cutting government waste, but they are adding trillions to the deficit with these tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the super wealthy.”

If current policy baseline wins, Republicans can say, “We’re not adding to the deficit! The Democrats are just trying to raise everybody’s taxes.”

There are also some political process implications: Current policy baseline could make passing the tax cuts easier, and they wouldn’t have to come up for a vote again in the future.  

“But the reality for how the federal budget and how people will experience it is really the key thing to keep focused on,” said Huang. 

And the reality is this: The tax cuts will add trillions to an already crippling U.S. debt load. But, if they expire, most businesses and individuals will see their taxes go up at a moment when a lot of people are struggling financially.

The ultimate decision will be made by the Senate parliamentarian — a nonpartisan appointee, whose “mysterious and important” job, as they might say in “Severance,” is to wade through wonky word policy debates like this one.

Meanwhile, I have to make the call about whether to sever my ties with Apple TV+. Though I did hear “Severance” was renewed for a third season.

Caregiver John Boakye added paprika, garlic and onion to a bag of raw chicken that he was prepping for dinner for a Dallas family to grill up later. 

Cooking is one of the many tasks Boakye takes on to help Jean Fuller, 89, and her husband, Dale, 91, manage their home and their health. “I take him through exercises and stuff,” he said. “And I [help] with the wife too.” 

Boakye, who emigrated from Ghana around eight years ago, earns $15 an hour. It helps pay the rent on a house where he lives with his wife and another family from his home country. 

He and two other caregivers help the Fuller family manage life. Jean has a brain condition. 

“What it takes away is short-term memory loss. If you were to meet my wife today, she would have no recollection of having met you the next day,” Dale said. 

Dale said that for the first year or so after his wife’s diagnosis in 2019, they managed on their own. But eventually they needed help with activities like taking medication, bathing and laundry. 

He gets to spend more time with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren because of the assistance he gets for his wife. 

“The caregiver becomes sort of a second brain for her, since hers doesn’t work so well,” he said.

The at-home help from Cambridge Caregivers costs around $16,000 a month. Dale said they’re lucky it’s covered by long-term care insurance, which most people don’t have. All three of the Fullers’ helpers are immigrants from Africa. 

“Eighty percent of our staff are foreign born. Most of them, 90%, are African,” said Cambridge Caregivers CEO Adam Lampert, who employs roughly 300 people. “Americans don’t want to do this job.” 

About a third of home health and personal care aides in the U.S. are foreign born, according to the American Immigration Council analysis of American Community Survey data. Around 100,000 are from African countries. 

“Our labor force is generally more skilled than is required by that type of job,” said economist Pia Orrenius of the Dallas Federal Reserve. “Our kids are growing up with more education than ever before. They’re not aspiring to those types of jobs.” 

But someone still has to do this work, and it won’t be artificial intelligence. These are physically and emotionally demanding jobs. 

As the U.S. population ages, Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Jonathan Gruber said it’s a looming labor problem. Recent census data shows that there are just five states where more than 1 in 5 people is 65 or older. In 2050, Gruber estimates, 43 states will be in the same boat.

“America is going to be Florida,” he said. “We have no plan for credibly meeting that massive change in the long-term care needs of our population.”  

It may be unrealistic in this political environment, but he said one obvious solution is increasing legal immigration. 

“There’s a natural trade to be made, which is to let people who would like to come live in America and be happy to work for the low wages we pay our care providers to come and provide the care we need,” Gruber said.   

And without immigration reform, it’ll be baby boomers, their kids and taxpayers who will pay for the labor shortage. Adam Lampert said the pandemic is an example of what can happen when there’s a shock to the labor market. 

“Prices went up almost 30% — when I say ‘prices,’ I mean the wages that we had to pay went up — and we turned around and charged that to our client,” Lampert said. 

The pandemic labor shortage boosted immigrants’ wages because there weren’t enough other workers to compete for those caregiver roles. 

Lampert worries about a similar effect under a policy of mass deportation. He said his employees are working legally, but that’s not true everywhere.

“There are these undocumented workers in the invisible part of the market. They’re working privately for people,” Lampert said. 

A large part of the caregiving labor force works informally and even the threat of mass deportation, he said, could cause workers to stay home, removing a chunk of that workforce. 

“That is the definition of the labor shortage,” he said. 

And a run on caregivers would make these services more costly at a time when the ranks of people who need care are growing.