Engadget News + Next

Latest Episodes:

Meta has released an app for making generative AI games Jul 06, 2026

Show notes

Plus - Why bulky laptop chargers are a relic of the past; Tesla Q2 vehicle deliveries are up 25 percent over last year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alibaba got a reprieve from a US ban, Sony says it will still make physical discs after 2028, as long as the game came out before then, and a NASA mission to rescue the falling Swift observatory has launched Jul 06, 2026

Show notes

-A judge has ruled that the Pentagon must not treat Chinese online retailer Alibaba as a Chinese military company with respect to new lobbying restrictions.

-As reported by Game File, Sony shared a private message to PlayStation developers and publishers that said they "will still be able to place re-orders for existing PlayStation disc games."

-The NASA Swift Boost mission launched on Friday morning after a couple of delays, and the agency has started preparing it for its ultimate goal: To rescue the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which is falling faster than anticipated.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple is reportedly planning a visual refresh of the entry-level MacBook Pro next year Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

Next spring could be a fiesta of new iPads, MacBooks and iPhones.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump bought a bunch of tech stock the same day he announced his AI Action Plan, Threads' ubiquitous Mr Beast spam is part of a massive crypto scam network, Cloudflare will filter out web crawlers that serve AI companies Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

-Without a doubt, it was the most personally profitable period of any president's term in office, personally netting him a figure north of $2 billion.

-According to an analysis from Zach Edwards, a staff security researcher at Infoblox, the person or group behind these accounts is running more than 10,000 malicious "crypto casino" websites.

-Cloudflare has announced plans to automatically block mixed-use web crawlers that index websites for search engines and act as AI agents and trainers at the same time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Layoffs looming, Xbox union members argue for transparency and good-faith bargaining Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

"We're done paying for executives' failures," one Xbox developer said.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI reportedly wants all AI companies to give the US government a stake in their businesses, Amazon is ready to deploy the Leo satellite broadband service, and X is making a fresh push for live video with new creator payouts Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

-OpenAI's Sam Altman has reportedly been in talks with the US government to ensure his company's path towards achieving its goals remains free of political hurdles.

-A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket left for space in the early hours of July 2, bringing 29 Amazon Leo satellites with it.

-X launched a live streaming command center called Live Studio, with tools creators need to go live more easily, along with new payouts to incentivize them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google's Gmail Live AI feature is now available in beta Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

You can use Gemini to quickly search your inbox with natural language.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A UN report says policymakers are struggling to keep pace with AI development, Meta is putting rate limits on its smart glasses' Conversation Focus feature, and Netflix used AI to put Gene Wilder's voice into a new reality show Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

-In its report, the panel discussed how quickly AI capabilities have evolved over the past few years. The complexity of tasks AI models can accomplish has been doubling every few months.

-Conversation Focus, in particular, is only accessible at no cost for three hours per month. If you want to use it for longer than that, you'll have to pay for a $20-a-month Meta One Premium plan.

-Netflix has worked with ElevenLabs to develop a recreation of Gene Wilder's voice for use in an upcoming unscripted reality show inspired by Roald Dahl's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WhatsApp introduces usernames so you can chat without phone numbers Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

You'll be able to reserve the username you want starting this week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sensitive iPhone supplier details were part of last week's data leak, SCOTUS restricted use of geofence warrants, and Tidal will not pay people who upload it Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

-Reuters reported that the documents posted on "the dark web" allegedly show information about both components and their suppliers for the iPhone 18 Pro.

-The US Supreme Court just issued a ruling that limits geofence searches by law enforcement agencies, which could have major ramifications for privacy rights across the country.

-Tidal is still allowing tracks made with AI on its platform, but will slap a tag on anything that's 100 percent AI-generated so its users are aware.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices