Tag: Engaget

  • GoPro to lay off over 20 percent of staff by the end of 2026

    GoPro will cut 23 percent of its global workforce by the end of this year, as the action camera pioneer looks to reverse its fortunes in a competitive market.

    145 employees will be laid off, with the restructuring process commencing in the second quarter of 2026, the San Mateo company said in a Form 8-K filing. At the end of the first quarter, GoPro’s total number of employees stood at 631, and it expects the cuts to cost it between $11.5 million and $15 million. These charges include honoring severance packages and healthcare benefits.

    GoPro’s last reported round of layoffs took place in the second half of 2024. The company posted a year-end revenue decline in its 2025 financial results, including a loss of $9 million in its fourth quarter.

    Despite the layoffs, GoPro is seemingly optimistic about 2026, banking on its AI-centric GP3 processor to spearhead a “new era of performance and innovation” for the company. The first GP3-powered GoPro cameras will launch in the coming months.

    GoPro launched its first action camera in the early 2000s and enjoyed huge success with extreme sports enthusiasts. But it no longer has the market to itself, facing stiff competition from the likes of DJI, Insta360 and smartphone cameras in general.

  • Sony teases its next-gen ‘True RGB’ Mini LED TV technology

    This year at CES 2026 everybody was pretty confused about the new “Micro RGB” and “RGB Mini LED” TVs that use similar technology but carry different names. Now, Sony has come up with another label for its own Mini LED TVs with RGB backlighting: True RGB. The idea is to emphasize that the individual red, green and blue LED backlights allow for “purer color, greater brightness, and the largest color volume ever achieved in Sony’s home TV history,” the company said.

    To be clear, this is not some new technology that Sony just came up with — it’s the same Micro RGB tech we saw earlier this year from Samsung, LG, HiSense and others. These TVs use pure red, green and blue LED backlights along with an LCD layer (rather than solid blue LEDs and quantum dots like Mini LED TVs) to produce the final picture. This display tech is supposed to deliver better color accuracy and more brightness than regular Mini LED TVs. (It’s not the same as OLED tech, in which each pixel acts as a light source.)

    Sony rebrands its RGB Mini LED TVs as 'True RGB'

    Sony’s True RGB backlight tech (right) compared to current Mini LED TVs (Sony)

    However, Sony says that the way it processes the image makes its True RGB TVs stand out from rivals. To control the LEDs more precisely, it borrowed algorithms from its wildly expensive professional reference monitors. That supposedly allows for more precise color control and higher brightness that allow movies and series to look more like the creators intended. It also reduces the “blooming” that occurs when light leaks into neighboring pixels, while improving color accuracy when viewing the TVs from an angle.

    Every TV maker claims to have the best technology, but Sony has a lot of credibility due to its history with cinema cameras, Hollywood productions and reference monitors. We’ll have to wait until spring this year to see the new Bravia True RGB TVs for ourselves, but prior to that, the company has promised to release “additional details” about them in the near future.

  • Anthropic launches Project Glasswing, an effort to prevent AI cyberattacks with AI

    We see a lot of doom and gloom about the potential negative impacts of artificial intelligence, particularly centered on how it could create new problems in cybersecurity. Anthropic has announced a new initiative called Project Glasswing to help address those concerns by working “to secure the world’s most critical software” against AI-powered attacks. The endeavor includes Amazon Web Services, Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, CrowdStrike, Google, JPMorganChase, the Linux Foundation, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Palo Alto Networks as partners.

    Participants will use Claude Mythos Preview, an unreleased, general-purpose model from Anthropic, to enhance their own security projects. Anthropic claims that this model has found thousands of exploitable vulnerabilities, “including some in every major operating system and web browser.” The company said it wants to begin using its tools defensively to prevent malicious use of AI that could cause severe consequences for economies and security.

    Anthropic has become one of the notable AI companies raising concerns about ethics in the field. Earlier this year, the business refused to remove guardrails on its services for use by the Pentagon, which prompted the Department of Defense to sanction Anthropic with a “supply chain risk” designation in retaliation. Launching Project Glasswing could be a helpful start toward improved cybersecurity in the AI era, but some damage has already been done. Its own Claude was reportedly used by a hacker against multiple government agencies in Mexico in February.

  • Elon Musk wants any damages from his OpenAI lawsuit given to the AI company’s nonprofit arm

    Elon Musk is still taking OpenAI to court over its transition to a for-profit company, but today he amended the complaint so that he won’t personally get any of the $150 billion in damages he’s pushing for. The Wall Street Journal reported that if Musk wins in his upcoming trial, he wants any damages should be awarded to the OpenAI nonprofit branch. He’s also seeking OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s removal from the nonprofit’s board of directors if his suit succeeds.

    Musk launched a lawsuit against OpenAI in 2024, claiming that the business had become a “closed-source de facto subsidiary” of Microsoft when it dropped its nonprofit designation. He claims that, as a co-chair of the OpenAI founding group, the change to a for-profit operation defrauded him as a donor. As a result, he’s now claiming that he, or apparently the remaining nonprofit side of OpenAI, deserve a portion of the company’s current valuation.

    Considering the reputation Musk, Altman and their various business endeavors have for creating spicy PR situations, it seems likely that the exchanges between the two camps will get more heated as the trial date approaches.

  • Xbox Game Pass additions for April include Hades 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

    As ever, Xbox is bringing a bunch of high-profile titles to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass this month, while adding several to the lower tiers of the service. There aren’t too many surprises among this first wave of April newcomers, though. Many of these additions were previously confirmed, while EA Sports NHL 26 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (the remake) were always going to join Game Pass at some point.

    Still, there’s plenty to dive into on the service this month. April 14 is a particularly eye-catching day, with both Hades 2 (which is debuting on Xbox Series X/S and PS5) and the long-awaited Replaced hitting Game Pass alongside the turn-based, character-driven RPG The Thaumaturge.

    Here’s a breakdown of everything coming to Game Pass over the next few weeks:

    April 7

    • Final Fantasy IV — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

    April 8

    • DayZ — PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, Game Pass Essential and PC Game Pass

    • Endless Legend 2 — PC game preview on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

    • FBC: Firebreak — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

    • Warhammer Vermintide 2 — Cloud and console on Game Pass Essential (already on Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass Premium)

    April 9

    • Planet Coaster 2 — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

    April 10

    • Tiny Bookshop — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

    April 13

    • Football Manager 26 — PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

    • Football Manager 26 Console — Cloud, console and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

    April 14

    • Hades 2 — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

    • Replaced — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass

    • The Thaumaturge — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

    April 16

    • The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

    • EA Sports NHL 26 — Cloud and Xbox Series X/S on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass

    April 17

    • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — Cloud, console and PC on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass

    April 21

    • Little Rocket Lab — Cloud, console and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

    • Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato — Cloud, console, handheld and PC on Game Pass Premium (already on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass)

    • Vampire Crawlers — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld, and PC on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass

    April 23

    • Kiln — Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, handheld and PC on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass

    As Xbox adds more titles to Game Pass, so too must it remove some. It’s yet again erasing Grand Theft Auto V (Cloud, console and PC) from Game Pass, this time on April 15. The other games leaving the service on the same day are:

    • Ashen (Cloud, console and PC)

    • Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (Cloud, console and PC)

    • My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery (Cloud, console and PC)

    • Terra Invicta (game preview on PC)

  • Chrome finally adds support for vertical tabs.

    Google has started rolling out a small but significant update to Chrome on desktop. Starting today, users will begin seeing an option to organize their tabs vertically. To use the new feature, right click on any Chrome window and select “Show Tabs Vertically.”

    Google is late to the game here. Before today, every other major browser but Chrome offered support for vertical tabs — though the quality of implementation varies widely. Firefox, for instance, has supported vertical tabs since its 136 update in March of last year, and in my experience, has one of the best interfaces for managing dozens of tabs. Apple’s own Safari is another browser with the option to stack tabs vertically, though things can quickly get confusing due to all the different ways you can group webpages.

    Separately, Google is rolling out an enhanced reading mode that offers a new full-page interface. To use the feature, right click on a page and select “Open in reading mode.” As you might imagine, reading mode is designed to make busy webpages easier to get through without distraction. As with most Chrome upgrades, it may take a few days before today’s update rolls out to your device, so be patient if you don’t see it right away.  

  • NHTSA closes probe into Tesla’s remote parking crashes

    The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration has closed its investigation into Tesla’s remote parking features, after it found that previously reported incidents led to minor issues and happened in low speed. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigations opened an evaluation into incidents involving the company’s Actual Smart Summon feature in January 2025. It’s a level 2 automated driving feature meant for parking lots or private property, allowing Tesla owners to control their cars from an app within short distances.

    Investigators said there were 159 incidents involving the feature overall, but those make up less than one percent of the millions of Summons sessions owners have done. Further, almost all of the incidents happened when users “did not have a complete 360-degree view of the surroundings in the app to assess situational awareness.”

    In most of the incidents involving crashes, the vehicles hit parking gates, adjacently parked vehicles and short parking bollards. The investigators identified two incidents that happened because some of the vehicles’ cameras were blocked by snow, and the Summons feature didn’t detect the problem. In one other incident, the system didn’t identify a gate arm blocking a garage exit lane.

    Tesla has since rolled out over-the-air updates improving the vehicles’ camera visibility checks and object detection capabilities. Since the reported crashes involved minor problems and didn’t lead to injuries, deaths or any major incidents that resulted in air bag deployment or in the vehicle being towed away, the agency has decided to shut down the probe altogether.

  • Spotify’s Prompted Playlist feature now works for podcasts

    Spotify’s Prompted Playlist tool now works for podcasts, after launching the feature for music earlier this year. As the name suggests, this is an AI thing. It lets users use natural language, or prompts, to describe what they’re looking for in a playlist and the algorithm does the rest.

    The platform says the tool is a good match for podcasts, as listeners can use it to discover a new favorite show or “dive deeper into a topic or piece of culture.” Spotify adds that the algorithm generates playlists based on both the prompt and a person’s listening history, along with “what’s happening in the world today.”

    The tool in action.

    Spotify

    Spotify gives some examples of the kinds of prompts that could be used to generate podcast playlists, which include a user asking the bot to build a playlist “all about science and innovation” and another “with the biggest entertainment news from the past few days.” It’ll be interesting to see if the algorithm prioritizes podcasts from its ever-growing stable of in-house creators over third party releases.

    Spotify says the tool “unlocks powerful new opportunities” for creators. This is because it can recommend older episodes from a back catalog, thus giving them a little boost.

    The feature is rolling out now in a beta form to Premium users in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Sweden. It remains to be seen when Spotify will open up the tool to other languages.

  • Report: Apple’s foldable iPhone may be delayed due to engineering snags

    Apple has run into “more issues than expected” with its foldable iPhone that may set back its release, according to Nikkei. The engineering problems reportedly cropped up during the device’s early test production phase and may delay first shipments by months, according to multiple sources briefed on the matter.

    “The current situation could put the mass production timeline at risk,” one of the sources said. “April will mark a crucial stage of the engineering verification test, and this month till early may is extremely critical.” Component suppliers have supposedly been notified that the foldable iPhone’s production schedule will be delayed, and Apple is working to address the problems.

    A foldable iPhone has been rumored since 2017, and Apple’s biggest rival, Samsung, released its first one back in 2019. According to multiple sources, Apple was aiming to launch its debut foldable iPhone in fall 2026 alongside the iPhone 18. However, as we detailed in an explainer last month, “the project could slip into 2027 if Apple runs into manufacturing or durability issues, particularly around the hinge or display.”

    Apple was reportedly prioritizing the foldable iPhone and other premium models for its September event this year due to constrained supplies of components like memory chips. However, the foldable’s engineering issues could throw a wrench into those plans. “Apple and the supply chain are working under a pressured timeline and the current solutions are not enough to completely solve the engineering challenge… more time is needed,” Nikkei’s source stated.

    The problems reportedly arose during Apple’s production verification tests. That’s the fourth of six steps the company’s new products must go through before shipping, prior to the key pilot production and mass production phases. Since the foldable would be an all-new design, it would have to pass each stage with flying colors before proceeding to the next.

    Though likely to account for less than 10 percent of iPhone production, the foldable will be a key product for Apple designed to boost interest in iPhones across its range. Apple reportedly plans to produce seven to eight million of the devices initially, Nikkei reported. Apple has not yet officially announced the device and declined to commented on the reported engineering issues.

  • Amazon’s new USPS deal will see postal deliveries cut by 20 percent

    Earlier this year, Amazon threatened to cut US Postal Service deliveries by as much as two thirds. Now, the parties have reached tentative a deal that will see USPS deliveries reduced by 20 percent, The Wall Street Journal reported. While not as drastic as first menaced, the reduced volume will still deal a financial blow to the USPS.

    “We’re pleased to have reached a new agreement with USPS that furthers our longstanding partnership and will let us continue supporting our customers and communities together,” an Amazon spokesperson told the WSJ.

    Amazon is the USPS’s largest customer, accounting for 15 percent of its volume and $6 billion in revenue. A two-thirds cut would have been a disaster for the USPS, but a 20 percent reduction could result in more than $1 billion in lost revenue nonetheless. Amazon would have needed to scramble as well, as it relies heavily on the post office for rural and last-mile deliveries.

    Amazon’s contract with the USPS was set to expire in September 2026, and in October Amazon said it wanted to strike a deal by December 2025. However, the USPS abruptly pulled out of negotiations, according to Amazon, and implemented a new bidding process for last-mile deliveries. “Our goal was to increase our volumes with USPS, not reduce them — until USPS abruptly walked away at the eleventh hour in December,” Amazon said at the time.

    Amazon was reportedly considering expanding its own delivery network if the USPS deal fell through, though the company may have started those rumors itself to prod negotiations. The Postal Service decided to re-engage with Amazon after bids from several Amazon rivals fell short of its volume and revenue expectations, according to the WSJ‘s sources. The new agreement is still subject to approval by the federal Postal Regulatory Commission.