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Amazon Renews ‘Invincible’ for Season 5 While You’re Still Waiting for Season 4

Today, Prime Video announced that Invincible has been renewed for a fifth season, giving fans even more reason to stay alive long enough to not only witness its already confirmed fourth season, with the promise that more of co-creator Robert Kirkman’s cult-classic Image Comics series is in the chamber, ready to be unloaded onto the streamer. The news that Invincible has been renewed for a fifth season shouldn’t come as a surprise to fans. During the Season 3 press tour, Robert Kirkman boldly de

Why Android-Makers Should Focus on the Phone and Leave AI to Google

If you've bought an Android phone in the past year, you've likely noticed that it's packed with AI features. Maybe you knew about them before you hit purchase, maybe you assumed (safely as it turns out) that there would be some kind of AI on your new phone, or maybe they took you totally by surprise. If you bought a Samsung Galaxy S25, for example, you'll have had Gemini, Circle to Search, Bixby and Galaxy AI at your fingertips -- all before you even thought about downloading the ChatGPT app. I

Adobe Firefly can now generate sound effects from your audio cues

Since rolling out the redesign of its Firefly app in April, Adobe has been releasing major updates for the generative AI hub at a near monthly clip. Today, the company is introducing a handful of new features to assist those who use Firefly's video capabilities. To start, Adobe is making it easier to add sound effects to AI-generated clips. Right now, the majority of video models create footage without any accompanying audio. Adobe is addressing this with a nifty little feature that allows user

Adobe Firefly can now generate AI sound effects for videos - and I'm seriously impressed

Adobe / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Just a year and a half ago, the latest and greatest of Adobe's Firefly generative AI offerings involved producing high-quality images from text with customization options, such as reference images. Since then, Adobe has pivoted into text-to-video generation and is now adding a slew of features to make it even more competitive. Also: Forget Sora: Adobe launches 'commercially safe' AI video generator. How to try it On Thursday, Adobe released a series of upg

How I started my own LinkedIn newsletter for free - in 5 easy steps

David Gewirtz / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET It's been almost exactly two years since I launched my weekly Advanced Geekery email newsletter on Substack. Each week, I list my latest ZDNET articles, showcase any new videos I put out, sometimes spotlight projects I'm working on (and those of readers), and share a few great YouTube videos and articles worth reading. The newsletter is a great way for those who like my work to keep up with what I produce. Recently, I've started getting requests fo

Adobe’s new AI tool turns silly noises into realistic audio effects

Adobe is launching new generative AI filmmaking tools that provide fun ways to create sound effects and control generated video outputs. Alongside the familiar text prompts that typically allow you to describe what Adobe’s Firefly AI models should make or edit, users can now use onomatopoeia-like voice recordings to generate custom sounds, and use reference footage to guide the movements in Firefly-generated videos. The Generate Sound Effects tool that’s launching in beta on the Firefly app can

Uber inks six-year robotaxi deal with Lucid, invests $300 million in EV company

Uber on Thursday announced a partnership to deploy more than 20,000 robotaxis over the next six years as demand for driverless cars kicks into high gear. As part of the partnership, the ride-hailing company is teaming up with Lucid , the electric vehicle maker, and Nuro, an autonomous vehicle startup. Under the agreement, Uber will invest $300 million in Lucid. Nuro will develop the self-driving technology that Lucid will use to supply Uber with robotaxis over the course of the deal and receive

Uber to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Lucid and Nuro in massive robotaxi deal

is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State. Uber plans to make “multi-hundred-million dollar investments” in both Nuro and Lucid as part of a massive new robotaxi deal that was just announced. The three companies are linking up to deploy “20,000 or more” robotaxis in the US over the next six years. The vehicles will be Lucid’s new Gravity SUV, equipped with autonomo

Lovable becomes a unicorn with $200M Series A just 8 months after launch

Fast-growing Swedish AI vibe coding startup Lovable has become Europe’s latest unicorn. Only eight months since its launch, the startup has raised a $200 million Series A round led by Accel at a $1.8 billion valuation. Like Cursor and other platforms that help developers write code and build apps by harnessing the coding and reasoning abilities of large language models, Stockholm-based Lovable helps people use natural language to create websites and apps. The startup’s trajectory so far has cha

Uber makes multi-million-dollar investment in Lucid and Nuro to build a premium robotaxi service

Uber is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into EV maker Lucid and autonomous vehicle technology startup Nuro in a bid to launch its own premium robotaxi service. Under the deal announced Thursday, Uber will invest $300 million in Lucid and separately buy “at least” 20,000 of the EV maker’s new Gravity SUV over the next six years. Those EVs will be equipped with Nuro’s autonomous vehicle system, and the vehicles will be owned and operated by Uber or its third-party fleet partners. Uber p

Roblox launches new age verification system to unlock unfiltered chats

Users over 13 years old will be prompted to use the facial-analysis software to estimate their age and determine whether they can access the new "trusted connections" feature that allows them to engage in private, unfiltered chats with other age-screened users, Ebanks said. Roblox's use of age-estimation tech will help the company "confirm the age of our users and give them more tailored and age-appropriate features," said Ryan Ebanks, a Roblox principal product manager for social products. So

How to make Android look like iOS 26, for better or for worse

Apple debuted its new design language for iOS 26, dubbed Liquid Glass, to a mixed reception in June. While some people enjoyed the new transparent icons and light refraction effects, others — including Android Authority‘s Robert Triggs — criticized it as an “accessibility nightmare.” But that hasn’t stopped many Android users from trying to emulate the new design on their own smartphones. And thanks to the customization features of Android and the ability to choose a different launcher, getting

Don’t be duped: Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile’s cheapest plans aren’t worth it

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority Recently, my cousin asked me whether Verizon’s myPlan Unlimited Welcome was better than his legacy plan, prompted by a promotional email he received. At first glance, the new plan looked cheaper and similar in features. But upon closer examination, his legacy plan had notable advantages, especially higher-priority data and a few other perks. Truthfully, none of the entry-level postpaid plans from Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T offer great value in 2025. There ar

Google could revamp Android’s backup settings with a sleek new look (Updated: Rolling out)

Damien Wilde / Android Authority TL;DR Google Play Services v25.11.32 beta contains code for a redesigned Backup page, simplifying the interface by removing unnecessary details. Update, July 17, 2025 (06:38 AM ET): Google is rolling out the new Backup UI in Google Play Services. We’ve received the update across devices with Android 15 and Android Canary. Original article, March 20, 2025 (09:02 AM ET): Google has a decently robust backup and restore solution through Google One. This system taps

Get Apple’s one-tap Ambient Music playlists on Android with this free new app

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority TL;DR A new third-party app brings Apple’s Ambient Music feature to Android, letting you start playlists to help you relax, focus, or sleep. Called Ambient Music, the app adds Quick Settings tiles that launch curated streams of music designed for specific activities. The free, open-source app is available on GitHub, requires Android 14+, and caches songs for offline listening. While Android and iOS often borrow features from each other, you don’t always hav

This 9-inch tablet singlehandedly changed my mind about gaming on Android

ZDNET's key takeaways The RedMagic Astra gaming tablet is available on Amazon starting at $700. The tablet offers unmatched performance for an Android tablet. When the fan is in use on the Astra, the battery does drain a bit faster, and the price is up there for a tablet. $699 at Amazon As far as gaming is concerned, I'm not ashamed to say that I've done it all: consoles, PCs, handhelds, phones, and now, tablets. For the most part, I've found Android devices to offer less than stellar results

Call of Duty cheaters complain after Activision launches new wave of mass-bans

Several players of the popular first-person shooter Call of Duty complained last week that they were permanently banned from the game for using a well-known cheat. Video game streamer ItsHapa wrote on X last week that Call of Duty players using ArtificialAiming, a cheat provider of more than 19 years, were the targets of a “massive wave of permabans,” referring to bans that cannot be reversed, which prevents cheaters from creating new accounts. The streamer also posted a series of screenshots f

Does the UK video games industry have a class problem?

Does the UK video games industry have a class problem? 53 minutes ago Share Save Laura Cress BBC News Share Save BBC Declan Cassidy is the CEO of Into Games "I'm scared for the future of games," says Chris Goodyear. "It could end up going the way that theatre has, and become a very privileged thing." At one of the UK's largest conferences for video game developers, social class was on the agenda. The concern raised by Chris, a producer working to highlight accessibility barriers in the indust

A recap on May/June stability at Neon

Details of incidents and what we did to prevent more in the future Starting in May, we had a series of feature launches with agentic AI partners that gained far more momentum than we predicted. In two short timespans, the rate of new database creation increased more than 5x, and the rate of branch creation increased more than 50x. While we were humbled by the uptick, the significant burst in operational load caused a lot of strain in the Neon platform, manifesting as more incidents over the cou

I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone! My name is Eric Migicovsky and I love small phones. It’s weird because I am 6'6" but I never enjoyed using a large phone. I loved the Sony Xperia Compact series. RIP... I love small phones because they fit nicely in pocket are much lighter are easy to use one-handed without dropping won't fall out of my pocket while bicycling And of course, some people with smaller hands hate how big phones feel! The drawbacks of a small phone (smaller screen, s

Best Internet Providers in Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth is one of the best cities in the country if you want fast internet speeds. Residents have access to a bunch of great ISPs across the city. In fact, Fort Worth has the 14th fastest speeds in the US, according to Ookla's latest data. (Disclaimer: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) And in 2022, the city introduced free Wi-Fi to 40,000 residents in historically underserved neighborhoods to make up for the gap in internet access. If you've ever been on Fort Wo

'Gentle parenting' my smartphone addiction

On a recent weekday, I sent an Instagram message to a friend of mine, an art adviser in New York named Stephen Truax, to gossip about an exhibition. Instead of messaging me back in the app, he texted me to say that he’d blocked Instagram on his smartphone during daytime working hours. Impressed, I asked him how he was accomplishing such a feat. Truax said he was using Opal, an app that makes your smartphone a little more like a so-called dumbphone, without requiring you to trade in your device a

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A Recap on May/June Stability at Neon

Details of incidents and what we did to prevent more in the future Starting in May, we had a series of feature launches with agentic AI partners that gained far more momentum than we predicted. In two short timespans, the rate of new database creation increased more than 5x, and the rate of branch creation increased more than 50x. While we were humbled by the uptick, the significant burst in operational load caused a lot of strain in the Neon platform, manifesting as more incidents over the cou

Trump Appears to Go TACO on Rumors He’ll Fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Reports leaked Wednesday that President Donald Trump was getting ready to fire the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell. The news caused markets to dip, but TACO, the popular Wall Street acronym that stands for Trump Always Chickens Out, appears to be the dish of the day, as the president denied he was going to fire Powell while speaking to reporters in the White House. “He should have cut interest rates a long time ago. Europe has cut ’em 10 times in the short period of time, and we

I Usually Find Android Phones Too Complicated, but the Pixel 9 Pro Is Different

CNET's key takeaways I've been using Google's Pixel 9 Pro for months. I like its solid overall performance and quirky new AI skills. The element that stands out most is how easy it is to use. Android phones often get a bad rap for being overly convoluted. And to be fair, that's often well justified. Samsung's Galaxy S25 range, for example, has deep menu systems for messing about with nearly every aspect of the phone, along with features like the Edge Panel sidebar and a variety of Samsung's

Louis Vuitton says regional data breaches tied to same cyberattack

Luxury fashion giant Louis Vuitton confirmed that breaches impacting customers in the UK, South Korea, and Turkey stem from the same security incident, which is believed to be linked to the ShinyHunters extortion group. Since last week, the retailer has been notifying customers that their info was exposed in a data breach, first in South Korea, then in Turkey, and on Friday in the United Kingdom. "Despite all security measures in place, on July 2, 2025, we became aware of a personal data breac

Intel's retreat is unlike anything it's done before in Oregon

Intel's campus in Aloha was the company's first Oregon site -- and its first manufacturing facility outside California -- when it opened in the 1970s. Mike Rogoway/The Oregonian Over the five decades Intel has operated in Oregon, its local footprint had moved in just one direction: Upward. From a single factory in Aloha that opened in 1976, the chipmaker grew into the state’s largest corporate employer and one of Oregon’s primary economic engines. Intel spent billions of dollars every year to

The Big Beautiful Bill Is Bad for Americans’ Health and Wallets, Study Finds

The “Big Beautiful Bill” is now law, and it’s poised to wreak plenty of destruction. Research out today finds that the policy changes will lead to thousands more deaths annually, as well as harm the financial health of rural hospitals. Epidemiologists at the University of California, San Francisco, and elsewhere conducted the study. They found the Medicaid cuts caused by the Big Beautiful Bill will cause many avoidable hospitalizations and deaths, put dozens of rural hospitals at high risk of c

Galaxy Watch users might want to stay away from testing QPR1 betas

Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Galaxy Watch owners are reporting problems when using Samsung’s wearables with Android 16 QPR1 beta releases. Issues include failure to pair, connections dropping, and Samsung apps repeatedly crashing. For the moment, the only permanent solution seems to be going back to Android 16 stable. Getting early access to in-development software can be a lot of fun. Plenty of us participate in testing programs for some of our favorite apps, both in the interest o

Introducing the Ars Technica Posting Guidelines version 3.0

Ars Technica's community is—in our biased opinion—second to none online. For more than 26 years, readers have enabled and inspired our work, creating a community with an amazing signal-to-noise ratio. To aid these efforts, we're updating our Posting Guidelines to make them more accessible to new readers—and more straightforward and more transparent for everyone. The substance of the guidelines isn't changing. Most provisions are just common-sense items meant to foster genuine discussion, such a