Nothing’s new flagship Headphone 1 Pro put you in the studio
Nothing has been on a bit of an audio tear this year, releasing the solid Headphone A and the surprisingly good Ear 3A earbuds. The Headphone A released at $199, while the earbuds are under $100, leaving room for something fancier. That something is the Nothing Headphone 1 Pro, the company's new $399 flagship over-ears that surprised me with everything they offer. They include what you'd expect from a pair of flagship headphones, such as active noise cancellation (ANC), multiple sound profiles, and easy-to-use controls. They also have a few things you might not: a triple-driver design, Auracast, and something I've never seen before: a Flat E …
AMD is acquiring AI company World Labs in a deal worth more than $8 billion
AMD announced today that it's acquiring World Labs, an AI research lab co-founded by the prominent researcher Dr. Fei-Fei Li, in an all-stock deal worth approximately $8.2 billion. World Labs launched in 2024 and was valued at $1 billion in a matter of months. The startup launched its first commercial product, a world generation model called Marble that lets users make interactive 3D worlds from a prompt, in 2025.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. Li will become EVP and chief scientist at AMD, reporting to AMD CEO Lisa Su, while the World Labs team will "continue to focus on advancing AI model research." AMD also notes t …
Bose starts adding Auracast to its headphones
A new firmware update for the $449 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Gen 2 adds support for Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast as beta features. The flagship Ultra headphones are the first from Bose to support the audio sharing technology, which the company plans to bring to more devices soon.
Only a few major manufacturers include Auracast, and only on select headphones or earbuds - including Sony, JBL headphones, Samsung Galaxy Buds, and Sennheiser, which also released an Auracast transmitter this year. Some smaller companies, like EarFun, have added support. But Bose is one of the most recognizable names in headphones, so the fact that it' …
OpenAI’s AI agents need to catch up
OpenAI popularized the modern generative AI chatbot, but as its 2026 DevDay event approaches, it's fallen behind in one of the industry's hottest categories: continuously running, consumer-facing AI agents. On Tuesday, it will likely try to capture the lead in that race. Rumors abound that OpenAI will release its own AI agent, dubbed Aeon - its answer to Meta's Muse, SpaceX's Grok Bot, OpenClaw, and many more.
Aeon could have a shot at success, but to beat the competition, it would need to pull together the best features of several different agent platforms. The ideal system would be as useful as the open-source OpenClaw, as cheap and easy …
Trump finalizes rule to make cars less fuel efficient
The US Department of Transportation finalized its plans today to weaken fuel efficiency standards, calling it "among the largest deregulatory actions under the second Trump Administration."
It's a nail in the coffin for Biden-era standards that would have required fleet average fuel economy to reach 50.4 miles per gallon by model year 2031. President Donald Trump's plan requires 34.9 miles per gallon, not much higher than the 30.1-mile-per-gallon target previously set for model year 2024.
Consumer advocacy, health, and environmental groups are incensed
The Trump administration claims its plan would shave $1,300 off the average cost of a n …
AI is supercharging hacking, and your local hospitals and banks aren’t ready
In March, Janice Malone began getting calls about suspicious activity from her nonprofit organization, Vivian's Door. Vivian's Door, headquartered in Alabama, typically provided training, resources, and community to underserved and minority-owned businesses. The work sometimes put it in close contact with these companies' financial data, which was stored on its systems. But suddenly, concerned callers from all over the world warned they'd been getting emails "begging for money" - which she hadn't sent.
The organization's third-party IT team pulled its systems offline for three days while they investigated the issue and plugged up the vulner …
Florida seeks a ban on ChatGPT acting like a person
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is calling for a judge to block OpenAI from "giving ChatGPT false human attributes," a few months after Florida sued the AI company over safety concerns. According to Uthmeier, users are lulled into a false sense of security by the AI bot, as "ChatGPT's use of language, including first-person pronouns and output that mimics emotion, deceptively suggests to users that it is a trustworthy 'friend.'" All of this happens to increase engagement and contribute to OpenAI's training data, convincing users to rely on ChatGPT more even as its pursuit of engagement makes it potentially less trustworthy, claims Ut …
OpenAI keeps bulldozing mathematicians
In a chaotic few months, OpenAI has demonstrated it can do two things with remarkable consistency: make impressive breakthroughs in mathematics, then colossally screw up announcing them. OpenAI is now trying to do better. Somehow, it has botched that too.
OpenAI's latest attempt to repair fractured relations with a mathematical community it has repeatedly alienated is to consult a new independent advisory group of elite practitioners. But mathematicians speaking to The Verge, including one of the group's members, describe a messy and confusing affair bearing many of the hallmarks of OpenAI's previous rushed forays into mathematics, suggest …
Walmart won’t hike prices based on your shopping history, CEO says
Walmart says it won't change product prices based on your personal information or the time of day, as reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal. In a letter to customers, Walmart CEO John Furner writes that the company's switch to digital shelf labels is meant to save store associates time, rather than dynamically change prices.
"Your income, shopping history, urgency or what we think you could pay won't change the price," Furner writes. "And whether you're buying groceries or electronics on a hot afternoon or in a sudden rush for an item, it's never a reason to charge you more." Furner adds that it won't use conversations with its Sparky …
Volkswagen replaces ID.4 with all-electric Tiguan
In a widely expected move, Volkswagen announced Monday that it will replace the recently retired ID.4 crossover with the upcoming ID.Tiguan. The decision is an acknowledgment by the German automaker that its more recognizable nameplates like Tiguan are likely an easier sell with consumers, especially when it comes to EVs.
When it lands in Europe in early 2027, the ID. Tiguan will join the ID.Polo and ID.Cross to round out Volkswagen's new-and-improved electric lineup. VW also confirmed that the ID.Tiguan will come to the US, where the ID.4 was previously manufactured, "at a later date." Design details remain under wraps, as the ID.Tiguan i …