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Get an iPhone 17 Pro free with trade-in at Verizon right now - how the deal works

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

4 ways I save money on my favorite AI tool subscriptions - and you can too

PM Images/DigitalVision/Getty Images Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. I subscribe to several generative AIs, both for personal and professional reasons. Those include ChatGPT, Google AI Pro, Copilot through Microsoft 365, and Perplexity AI. But with most of those AIs generally costing $20 a month, subscribing to them all can put a heavy dent into my wallet. That's why I've dug up discounts on these services that save me a fair chunk of change. Here's what I've done to sav

Copilot Chat arrives free for Microsoft 365 users - check if you have it

Microsoft Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Copilot Chat is now integrated into Microsoft 365. Chat is available in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. But you'll need a Microsoft 365 business account. You're working on a Word document or PowerPoint presentation and you want to discuss certain questions or ideas with an AI chatbot. That's the goal behind the new Copilot Chat integration in Microsoft 365. In a Monday blog post, Seth Patt

Some Pixel 7 users say their batteries are swelling - what Google is doing about it

CNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro users are seeing a rise in battery issues. The swelling is causing some phones to separate. Google is offering several remedies, including a replacement. Yet another Pixel phone is experiencing battery issues. Just a few months after the Pixel 7a had such widespread battery problems that Google offered to repair them for free, and the Pixel 6a saw overheating problems so severe at leas

Tesla Faces US Auto Safety Investigation over Door Handles

US auto safety regulators opened an investigation into whether some Tesla Inc. vehicle doors are defective, citing incidents in which exterior handles stopped working and trapped children inside. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday it’s opening a preliminary evaluation of Tesla’s electrically powered door handles becoming inoperative due to issues with certain vehicles’ low-voltage batteries. While the probe specifically focuses on an estimated 174,290 Model Y SUVs,

Java 25 Officially Released

Java 25 / JDK 25: General Availability JDK 25, the reference implementation of Java 25, is now Generally Available. We shipped build 36 as the second Release Candidate of JDK 25 on 15 August, and no P1 bugs have been reported since then. Build 36 is therefore now the GA build, ready for production use. GPL-licensed OpenJDK builds from Oracle are available here: https://jdk.java.net/25 Builds from other vendors will no doubt be available soon. This release includes eighteen JEPs [1]: 470: PEM En

Microsoft Favors Anthropic over OpenAI for Visual Studio Code

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Microsoft is adding automatic AI model selection to its Visual Studio Code editor that will automatically pick the best model for “optimal performance.” This new auto model feature will select between Claude Sonnet 4, GPT-5, GPT-5 mini and other models for GitHub Copilot free users, but pai

We're launching a new Google app for Windows experiment in Labs

Today, we’re launching a new experimental Google app for Windows in Labs to help you find what you need, faster. Now you can search without switching windows or interrupting your flow. Whether you're writing in a doc or in the middle of a game, just press Alt + Space to instantly search for information from your computer files, installed apps, Google Drive files — and of course, the web. With Google Lens built in, you can select and search anything on your screen, making it easy to translate i

‘Fantastic Four’ Takes Its First Steps Home Next Week

If you didn’t see Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters or just want to see it again, you can on digital starting September 23. The latest Marvel Studios will arrive on all the usual platforms, followed by a physical launch on October 14. Along with the standard deleted scenes, special features include a gag reel, commentary track with director Matt Shakman and production designer Kasra Farahani, and three featurettes centering the heroes, their comic book villains, and the film’s retrofuturi

Welcome to the Age of Ultra-Cheap, Ad-Filled Projectors

With all the Roku-native TVs crowding the market, the company behind today’s popular streaming platform wants to project a new kind of cheap option for streaming. Roku partnered up with Aurzen, the makers of the $300 Z-shaped Aurzen Zip mini projector, and now they have a full $250 cinema you can set up for quick and dirty Netflix or Howdy (Roku’s $3/month ad-free streaming service) and chill sessions on your bedroom wall—as long as you’re not expecting the brightest display. Take a breath and

Feds Launch Investigation Into Faulty Tesla Doors

U.S. regulators just launched an investigation into faulty door handles on certain Tesla cars, after receiving several reports of exterior handles glitching and leaving children trapped inside. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Tuesday that it’s opening a preliminary probe into Tesla’s electrically powered door handles, focusing on 2021 Model Y vehicles. The review covers nearly 175,000 cars and will gauge how widespread and serious the problem is. “At this time,

The Sun Is Entering a New and Unexpected Active Stage

When solar activity reached an all-time low in 2008, astronomers reasonably figured the Sun was entering into a period of historically low activity. They were wrong. New research published September 8 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters suggests that 2008 marked the beginning of a steady increase in solar activity. To be clear, this “reversal” extends beyond the well-known 11-year cycles the Sun typically follows. Specifically, the researchers found a slow uptick in many of the Sun’s key “vita

Farsighted? These Eye Drops Could Eventually Replace Your Reading Glasses

If you haven’t yet experienced it yourself, you’ve certainly seen older family members start to hold smartphones and restaurant menus up to their noses, squinting at the small text. That’s because as we age, we all develop presbyopia, or age-related farsightedness—trouble focusing on close objects or text. That’s where surgery or reading glasses usually come in, but new research suggests there could be another option. Researchers have demonstrated that after taking special eye drops two or thre

Prime Day Again? Yes, Amazon's Prime Day Is Coming Back This October

Black Friday is preeminent among shopping events -- the big kahuna of sales, the top dog of deals. But you won't have to wait all the way until November to score some epic deals, especially if you're an Amazon Prime member. Amazon on Tuesday confirmed the dates for this year's Prime Big Deal Days: Oct. 7 and 8. That's about three weeks away, and there are already some early deals live now. Amazon started Prime Day a decade ago in 2015. Since then, bargain hunters and savvy shoppers have looked

How to Set Up and Use a Burner Phone

Authorities around the world can use your cell phone to track your location and potentially access other sensitive private information about you. One possible protection from this data collection is a burner phone. As invasive state surveillance ramps up globally—including new initiatives in the United States to monitor travelers, protesters, and vulnerable populations—privacy tools that were formerly the domain of digital hermits and people involved in organized crime are now more and more appe

Official watch bands for your new Apple Watch are $34 off at Woot

The new Apple Watch lineup launches on Friday, and Woot has a well-timed sale on an assortment of Apple’s Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop watchbands. Solo Loop bands are marked down to $14.99 ($34 off), while Braided Solo Loop bands are on sale for $29.99 ($69 off). These bands are also compatible with previous-generation Apple Watch models. If you’re on the fence about upgrading to one of Apple’s 2025 smartwatches, I recommend checking out Victoria Song’s reviews of the Apple Watch SE 3 and Ser

Salesforce launches ‘Missionforce,’ a national security-focused business unit

Salesforce is increasing its focus on national security. The customer relationship management giant announced the creation of a new business unit called Missionforce on Tuesday. It will be focused on incorporating AI into defense workflows in three main areas: personnel, logistics, and decision making, according to a company press release. Missionforce will be helmed by Kendall Collins, who joined Salesforce in 2023 and is currently the chief business officer and chief of staff to Salesforce C

D-ID acquires Berlin-based video startup Simpleshow

Video generation and editing platform D-ID said Tuesday that it has acquired Berlin-based B2B video creation platform Simpleshow. The companies didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal. Simpleshow’s product will operate under D-ID’s umbrella, and eventually the two platforms will merge, D-ID chief executive Gil Perry told TechCrunch. Simpleshow, founded in 2008, has raised over $20 million in funding, according to Crunchbase data. The startup has offices in Berlin, Luxembourg, London, Miam

Deal is done to keep TikTok in the USA says Trump

Deal is done to keep TikTok in the USA says Trump 50 minutes ago Share Save Imran Rahman-Jones Technology reporter Share Save Getty Images A deal has been made between the US and China to keep TikTok running in the US, according to the US President Donald Trump. "We have a deal on TikTok, I've reached a deal with China, I'm going to speak to President Xi on Friday to confirm everything up," Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a state visit to the UK. The social media platform,

YouTube says it has paid creators more than $100 billion over last 4 years

A Youtube podcast microphone is seen at the Variety Podcasting Brunch Presented By YouTube at Austin Proper Hotel in Austin, Texas, on March 8, 2025. YouTube said on Tuesday it has paid out over $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies since 2021. The surge has been fueled in part by growing viewership on connected TVs. The number of channels making more than $100,000 from TV screens jumped 45% year over year, the company said. YouTube Chief Product Officer Johanna Voolich praise

OpenAI to launch ChatGPT for teens with parental controls as company faces scrutiny over safety

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman walks on the day of a meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 4, 2025. OpenAI on Tuesday announced it will launch a dedicated ChatGPT experience with parental controls for users under 18 years old as the artificial intelligence company works to enhance safety protections for teenagers. When OpenAI identifies that a user is a minor, they will automatically be di

Youth Group in Nepal Overthrows Government, Elects New Leader via Discord Poll

Nepal's government collapsed this week following an ill-advised attempt to ban social media outright. The lifting of the social media ban on Monday was unable to quell a surge in anger. Youth-led groups of disaffected "Gen Z" activists clashed with police in the streets of the capital, Kathmandu, protesting growing wealth inequality and government corruption. Over 50 people were killed in the clashes as angry crowds set government buildings ablaze, forcing prime minister Sharma Oli to resign o

BlackBerry Passport getting set to follow Classic with a new life on Android

Blackberry The original BlackBerry Passport TL;DR The team behind BlackBerry Classic’s Android revival is now working on a similar project for the BlackBerry Passport. Zinwa Technologies, the team behind the project, plans to sell DIY kits that will allow users to run Android on the Passport. The kits aren’t available immediately, but will be available sometime in 2026, which is slightly disappointing. Old, discarded BlackBerry phones are having a renaissance moment. We recently witnessed an

Siri just got five surprise iOS 26 features, here’s what’s new

Siri hasn’t had the best year, largely owing to major feature delays amid ever-stronger AI competition. While the big Siri upgrades we’ve been waiting for are reportedly coming next spring, Apple has five surprise new features available now in iOS 26. iOS 26 makes Siri’s existing Apple Intelligence features more powerful and useful Apple launched iOS 26 yesterday to all users, and simultaneously published a document outlining new features in more depth than ever before. Surprisingly, the docum

Topics: 26 apple chatgpt ios siri

iOS 26 gives Apple’s Home app new automation features

One of the promises of the smart home is that it, in theory, should intelligently adapt and respond to your needs. iOS 26 provides a key upgrade in that department with new Adaptive Temperature features in the Home app to automate your thermostat. Adaptive Temperature in iOS 26’s Home app provides two benefits During the iOS 26 beta cycle, evidence in code revealed new Adaptive Temperature features in the works for Apple’s Home app. It was unknown if these features would be ready for iOS 26’s

The first Roku-powered smart projector is here

Folks in the US can now snap up the first smart projector that's powered by Roku tech. The Aurzen Roku TV Smart Projector D1R Cube is available on Amazon for a regular price of $250. Until October 1, though, there's a coupon that drops the price to $180 (a discount of $70). There was a Roku-branded 3M projector that arrived all the way back in 2012 , but that required a Roku Streaming Stick. The new Aurzen model has Roku's operating system built in. You'll be able to operate this projector usi

KPop Demon Hunters is reportedly coming to Fortnite

KPop Demon Hunters has been the talk of the town since debuting on Netflix in June. Now, the Huntr/X singers might be taking over a new area: gaming. Kpop Demon Hunters is reportedly coming to Fortnite. Two Fortnite leakers, SpushFNBR and Loolo, posted the news on X (formerly Twitter), citing a "reliable source." Little to nothing is known about what a crossover would entail but the duo said they would be posting more details in the coming weeks. A film about three k-pop singers who save the wo

Team-Wide VMware Certification: Your Secret Weapon for Security

When one person on your IT team is VMware certified, that’s a win. But when your entire team is certified? That’s a force multiplier for innovation, retention, and your security posture. Organizations that invest in team-wide certification build high-performing environments that are more collaborative, secure, and future-ready. The result: smoother rollouts, fewer errors, faster incident response, and a workforce that’s confident, capable, and committed. Certification Is a Security Strategy

Self-Replicating Worm Hits 180+ Software Packages

At least 187 code packages made available through the JavaScript repository NPM have been infected with a self-replicating worm that steals credentials from developers and publishes those secrets on GitHub, experts warn. The malware, which briefly infected multiple code packages from the security vendor CrowdStrike, steals and publishes even more credentials every time an infected package is installed. The novel malware strain is being dubbed Shai-Hulud — after the name for the giant sandworms