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This week, we're diving into the big changes at Xbox and what it all means for Microsoft's gaming future. Phil Spencer, the longtime face of Xbox, announced he's retiring last week. He'll be replaced by Microsoft's former CoreAI CEO Asha Sharma, instead of his longtime deputy Sarah Bond, who plans to leave the company. Will this change actually help the beleaguered Xbox division, or is it another example of Microsoft shoving AI into everything? Also, Samsung held its latest Unpacked event this week to announce its new Galaxy S26 family. They look pretty much the same as last year, but the Ultra model includes a unique privacy feature that can instantly make the screen unreadable to bystanders. It's one of those features we expect to see in every phone eventually.Subscribe!iTunesSpotifyPocket CastsStitcherGoogle PodcastsTopicXbox leadership falls apart. what happens next with Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond out? 1:53Samsung Unpacked: Privacy display on the S26 Ultra looks amazing 27:27U.S. Defense leadership gives Anthropic a Friday deadline to let it use Claude as it sees fit 42:38MrBeast editor accused of insider trading on Kalshi 50:40Discord delays age verification program after user revolt 54:09Around Engadget 1:04:04Working on 1:05:16Pop culture picks 1:08:21CreditsHosts: Devindra Hardawar and Igor BonifacicProducer: Ben EllmanMusic: Dale North and Terrence OBrienThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/engadget-podcast-xboxs-leadership-shakeup-and-samsungs-galaxy-s26-150000180.html?src=rss
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Samsungs Unpacked event midweek revealed three new phones and two sets of earbuds, but the real standout, as usual, is the Galaxy S26 Ultra. This year, the Ultra actually features a bit of genuine tech innovation and no, we dont mean it folds. Lets talk about its new Privacy Display. This isn't a shimmery, holographic screen protector thats hard to read and constantly peels off at the corners; this tech is engineered directly into the S26 Ultras OLED display. Samsung Display revealed its Flex Magic Pixel technology back in 2024. The S26 Ultras Privacy Display is built off the back of this. It controls the direction of light emitted from the AMOLED at the pixel level, integrating wide-angle and narrow-angle pixel arrays so the display can switch between a wide-angle viewing experience and more private, straight-on views. While HPs SureView tech is similar, the amount of customization possible is incredible and we all have our phones out in public much more than our HP laptops. It could be perfect for keeping prying eyes off your banking apps, messaging apps and even dating apps. Otherwise, the rest of the S26 series offers incremental updates with better cameras and newer processors. This makes the base S26 and S26+ a harder sell unless your current Galaxy phone is several years old. Also, following the 2026 trend, they are all pricier this year. Make sure you check out our early impressions (S26 Ultra, S26, Galaxy Buds 4); reviews are coming soon. Mat Smith The other big stories (and deals) this morning Apple and Netflix are teaming up to share Formula 1 programming Burger King will use AI to monitor employee friendliness Canadian government demands safety changes from OpenAI Amazon introduces three personality styles for Alexa+ Ambient Dreamie bedside companion review How much for a good nights sleep? $250? Cheyenne MacDonald for Engadget Ambients dedicated alarm clock offers many of the conveniences of your smartphone alarms highly customizable alarm schedules, a library of soundscapes and noise masks and even Bluetooth so you can connect earbuds. Theres no subscription, it sounds great and sleep insights are supposedly incoming. However, $250 is a lot. Check out our full review. Continue reading. An AI-generated Resident Evil Requiem review briefly made it on Metacritic By a video game news site owned by ClickOut Media. Review aggregator Metacritic has removed a review of Resident Evil Requiem because it was AI generated. Kotaku explained the review was published by UK gaming site VideoGamer, but appears to be written by a fake AI journalist rather than a real person. Brian Merrygold doesnt seem to exist. The authors profile on VideoGamer is just as awkwardly written as the review, and the profile picture of the account also appears to be AI-generated. Literally, the file name includes ChatGPT-Image. ClickOut Media, the company that owns VideoGamer and a collection of other publications, reportedly laid off the staff of its gaming sites earlier this month to pivot to AI-generated content. Here it is. Continue reading. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-144951777.html?src=rss
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The MacBook is coming back or at least, that's what the rumors claim. Next week, Apple is expected to announce a colorful, low-cost, non-Air, non-Pro MacBook powered by one of its mobile processors. By avoiding its pricier M-series chips, Apple may reportedly be able to reach a low $699 or $799 price for the MacBook. The $999 MacBook Air is the cheapest laptop on the company's website right now, but Apple also sold the older M1 MacBook Air at Walmart for $700 in 2024, which later went down to $650 last year.That Walmart deal was a smart way for Apple to test out the viability of cheaper MacBooks without building an entirely new product. But now the M1 Airs design looks seriously dated, and the company also needs to move beyond the six-year-old M1 chip. It's time to get serious about delivering a true low-cost Apple laptop.There's another compelling reason to bring back a cheaper MacBook: It's the perfect way to court disgruntled Windows users, something Apple hasn't really done since its "Get A Mac" ads from the mid-2000s. I figure the unbridled success of the iPhone and iPad made Apple focus less on directly competing with Windows. The sleek designs of the 2011-2015 era MacBook Air and Pros were their main selling points, but Apple's push towards USB-C-only machines and unreliable butterfly keyboards later made it clear it wasn't totally focused on Macs.But now Microsoft is distracted by AI it's been pushing Copilot and AI features for years, instead of improving the Windows experience with more useful upgrades. Recent talk of agentic AI capabilities, which would let Copilot handle tasks for you automatically, also sparked plenty of criticism from Windows users. And with all of the focus on AI, Microsoft has also released some disastrous Windows updates over the last year, which have bricked OS installations. So, Apple, why not make a direct play for Windows users? Last year, I covered why it's a great time to jump ship from Windows to Mac, and I haven't been able to let go of that idea since. Apple's M-series chips are shockingly fast and efficient, and its hardware tends to be more durable than typical PC fare. Rumors point to Apple developing a new aluminum case for the low-cost MacBook, so it will likely feel more polished than a typical sub-$1,000 Windows laptop. macOS has also avoided the bloat that's plagued Windows for years you can turn off Apple Intelligence with two clicks if you want to, and there aren't any annoying ads to deal with. A MacBook Air M5 on a table.Devindra Hardawar for EngadgetAnd while it used to be a pain to transition from Windows to Mac, its far easier these days, especially if you mainly rely on web apps. It also wouldn't be tough for Apple to make short tutorials to help Windows users get their bearings with the macOS basics, like installing apps and juggling app windows. Apple could also make a play for iPhone owners using Windows, who may not be aware of the many ways iOS and macOS are integrated. iPhone mirroring may be a huge draw on its own.Rumors also suggest the upcoming MacBook might use the A18 Pro from the iPhone 16 Pro, a chip that benchmarks faster than the M1. Even if it only has six cores, making it slower for heavy workloads than the M2, an A18 Pro-powered MacBook would still be more than enough power for basic productivity work. Not everyone needs the surprising amount of GPU power in the MacBook Air especially if downgrading means they can save $200 to $300.I'm not saying any of this through any sort of Apple-loving bias. I typically use a MacBook Pro for work, but I'm a Windows user at heart. Windows was my gateway to computing in the '90s, back when Macs were far more expensive than PCs. These days, I spend more time on my Windows desktop making podcasts, playing PC games and bumming around the internet than I do working on Macs. And yet, its hard to deny everything Apple is doing right today the only thing its missing is an inexpensive laptop entry. A $699 or $799 MacBook simply makes sense. And for many Windows users, itll be just the escape from Microsoft they need.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/a-cheap-macbook-is-the-perfect-way-for-apple-to-win-over-windows-users-130000045.html?src=rss
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