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Sony is introducing a new rewards program for PlayStation owners that lets you purchase exclusive physical merchandise if you’ve unlocked certain in-game trophies. The company is starting with rewards for two trophies from Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima (rewards for Ghost of Yotei are in the works), and Sony will presumably offer something similar for all of its most popular game franchises. The “Ghost Rewards” you might have earned playing Ghost of Tsushima include a $25 commemorative pin shaped like a mask (unlocked for earning the game’s “Living Legend” Platinum trophy) or a $30 custom t-shirt with what looks like a gold woodblock print design (unlocked for earning the “Mono No Aware” Gold trophy). In order to claim either reward you have to login to your PlayStation account on a dedicated website before December 31, 2025, and despite what the term “reward” might suggest, pay for either item to actually receive it. The reward, in this case, is access, not the merch itself. Sony’s last attempt at some kind of loyalty or rewards program was the short-lived and entirely digital PlayStation Stars program. While it was running, it let you earn “Stars” for playing specific games or doing activities on your console, and then spend those Stars on what amounted to digital models of characters or items. The program always felt a bit like an NFT feature that the company had quickly reworked when blockchain tech fell out of style, and it made sense when it abandoned it. Rather than PlayStation Stars, Franchise Rewards is most similar to Bungie Rewards, the program and online store the Destiny 2 developer has run since 2018. Via Bungie Rewards you can unlock commemorative shirts, jackets and more for completing in-game activities in Destiny and Destiny 2, including the series’ multi-hour raids. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/playstations-franchise-rewards-program-gates-merch-behind-in-game-trophies-182001158.html?src=rss

Costco has reportedly stopped selling Xbox consoles online throughout the US and UK, according to reports by The Gamer and others. The wholesaler has removed any mention of the console and related accessories and games from its website. I checked this myself and, sure enough, the search yielded no results. The site still has dedicated sections for both Sony and Nintendo and is selling the PS5 and the Switch family of consoles, along with accessories and games for each system. It’s unclear if online unavailability has extended to brick-and-mortar locations, but some Reddit users noticed a distinct lack of Xbox products at the retailer. We reached out to Costco to ask what’s going on and will update this post when we hear back. Costco/Engadget We don’t know why Costco would make this move, but there’s a chance this is in relation to Microsoft’s poor showing this console generation. The PS5 has sold nearly 80 million units, while the Xbox Series X/S has sold around 42 million units. The Xbox One also struggled during the previous generation, leading some to speculate that Microsoft has been preparing to exit the console business. The company has denied this and there have been rumors that it’s actively working on the follow-up to the Series X/S. However, the company has also begun porting its games to rival consoles. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/costco-reportedly-stops-selling-xbox-consoles-online-184906670.html?src=rss

The inevitable has happened and Disney+ has once again announced that prices will be going up for its streaming service. Whether it’s because of the ever-increasing costs or because of the company’s recent teetering toward censorship or because you simply aren’t using it, you may decide it’s time to take a break. Here’s everything you need to know about canceling your Disney+ subscription. How to cancel via web or mobile The simplest way to end your Disney+ service is if you’re being billed directly by the mouse. You can follow the same steps in a web or mobile browser, or within the Disney+ mobile app.  Log in to your Disney+ account.  Select your Profile. Select Account. Select your Disney+ subscription under Subscription. Select Cancel Subscription. Easy peasy. But things can get a little more convoluted if you’re not in a direct-billing situation.  How to cancel via third-party provider Like many entertainment services, Disney+ offers the option to access its streaming service from a third-party provider. Most often, these are the companies running mobile app stores, like Apple and Google, or through wireless service brands, like Spectrum or Verizon. Since those companies are the ones that handle the money, you need to start the cancellation process with them rather than with Disney.  The exact details might vary, but the general approach is to sign into your account with the third party, then find the place to manage either billing or subscriptions, and pick the Disney+ option. Here are the specific steps for a few of the most common providers. Cancel via Apple Go to the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.  Tap on your name at the top of the screen and tap Subscriptions.  Select your Disney+ subscription to manage and make changes.  Cancel via Google Go to the Google Play store using a web browser. Confirm that you’re signed in to your Google account. On the top right, click your Google account icon and select Payment & subscriptions. Click the Subscriptions tab and select your Disney+ subscription. Click Manage and select Cancel subscription. Cancel via Amazon Go to Amazon Memberships and Subscriptions using a web browser.  Sign in to your Amazon account. Navigate to your Disney+ subscription and select Cancel Subscription. How to cancel a bundle subscription Because Disney owns everything, at some point you may have upgraded to a bundle plan that includes Hulu, ESPN or HBO Max as well as Disney+. If you originally had a subscription for one of those services that you upgraded to include Disney+, canceling the Disney service will only end that part of the package deal. You will continue getting billed for the original plan you bought under the terms at the time you signed up. Ending the entire bundle means you’ll also need to separately cancel your streaming service with Hulu, ESPN or HBO Max.  How to pause your Disney+ service If you want to simply take a break because you won’t be using a Disney+ subscription for a few months, the company does offer a pause option. It’s not available for the Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle subscription, but for any other plans, you can pause your subscription as long as your Disney+ account is active and you have no outstanding payments to the company. And once again, if a third party handles your billing, you’ll need to contact them to initiate a pause. For direct-billing customers, here’s how to pause your Disney+ service: Log in to your Disney+ account. Select your Profile. Select Account. Select your Disney+ subscription under Subscription. Select Pause Subscription. Choose the duration of the pause. Select Pause Subscription. What happens after you cancel Clicking the final button doesn’t immediately end your service. Since Disney doesn’t offer any refunds on partially-used subscriptions, you’ll still have access to the service until the end of the current billing period after canceling. That means that if you change your mind and decide to keep the service, it’s pretty easy to resume your previous plan before the billing period ends. There will be a “Restart Subscription” option under the Account tab. If you decide to resume Disney+ use after the end of your final billing period, you’ll have to start up a new subscription with the platform.   Cancellation also doesn’t erase your data with Disney. The company will hold onto your name, email address and other info unless you choose to delete your Disney+ account.  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/how-to-cancel-your-disney-subscription-183643669.html?src=rss

“Which iPhone should I buy?” It’s a question you may have heard many times over the years. Much of the time, the answer is simple: Get the best one you can afford. And if you’re happy with your current iPhone, there’s no need to make a change at all. But if you’re ready to upgrade, allow us to help. We’ve reviewed just about every iPhone ever made, including all five models Apple has released in 2025. Below, we’ve broken down which ones may best suit your needs. Before we dig in, just note that we’ve based our guide on the list prices of new, unlocked iPhones on Apple.com. If you can find a steep discount from another trusted retailer or a good deal on a refurbished model, that could change the value equation. Table of contents Best iPhones for 2025 The rest of Apple’s iPhone lineup in 2025 iPhone FAQs Recent updates Best iPhones for 2025 The rest of Apple’s iPhone lineup in 2025 The iPhone 16. Billy Steele for Engadget Apple iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus Apple is still selling the last-gen iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus for $699 and $799, respectively, but the improvements made with the iPhone 17 have forced both devices into something of a no man’s land. The 16 Plus and its 6.7-inch display might be worth it if you want a large-screen iPhone for a much lower price than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but you’ll miss out on the base model’s 120Hz always-on display and upgraded dual-camera setup. If you just want a usable iPhone for as little as possible, meanwhile, the iPhone 16e is acceptable for $100 less. In general, we think the iPhone 17 is worth the extra $100; its 6.3-inch display helps it split the difference between the 16 and 16 Plus anyway. iPhone FAQs Brian Oh for Engadget When is the best time of year to buy an iPhone? The best time to buy an iPhone, or really any product, is whenever you need one. But if you want to maximize how long your iPhone is considered “current,” plan to upgrade in late September. Apple almost always introduces its new core models around then. SE and “e” iPhones, meanwhile, have arrived between February and April, but those aren’t guaranteed annual releases. Cash discounts on new unlocked iPhones are rare, so there usually isn’t much reason to wait for a deal before buying (as is often the case with Samsung or Google phones). Carriers will run their own sales, but those typically involve locking you into years-long service plans. The exception would be if you specifically want an older iPhone, since Apple typically cuts the price of its last-gen devices by $100 or more when it introduces a new model. So, for instance, if you know you won’t care about the inevitable iPhone 17’s upgrades, you could wait until that device is announced and get the iPhone 16 for a little cheaper. How long does an iPhone last? This depends on the person and how they define “last.” If we had to give a broad estimate, we’d say most iPhone users keep their device between two and four years. If you’re particularly sensitive to performance and camera improvements, you might want to upgrade on the earlier side of that timeline. If you’re not as picky, you could hold out for even longer — though you’ll likely want to get a battery replacement sometime around the three- or four-year mark (or whenever you notice your battery life has severely degraded). Software support shouldn’t be a problem regardless: Apple is renowned for keeping its devices up-to-date long-term, and the current iOS 26 update is available on iPhones dating back to 2019. Most of those older phones don’t support Apple Intelligence, so there isn’t total parity, but that’s not a big loss in the grand scheme of things. How do I know how old my iPhone is? Go to your iPhone’s Settings, then tap General > About. You should see the Model Name right near the top. You can also tap the Model Number below that, then verify the resulting four-digit code on Apple’s identification page to further confirm. If you don’t want to use software, for whatever reason, you can also find your iPhone’s model number printed within its USB-C or Lightning port, if the device lacks a SIM tray. For older devices, you can alternatively find that number within the SIM slot or — if you’re still hanging onto an iPhone 7 or older — right on the back of the handset. Recent updates September 2025: We’ve overhauled this guide to reflect the release of the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 series. The base iPhone 17 is our new top pick for most people, while the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max represent the best iPhones you can buy if money is no object. The iPhone Air is worth considering if you care about style above all else, while the iPhone 16e remains acceptable if you want the most affordable new iPhone possible. August 2025: We’ve taken another pass to ensure our advice is still up-to-date and noted that we expect to Apple to launch new phones soon in September. June 2025: We’ve lightly edited this guide for clarity and added a few common FAQs. Our picks remain unchanged. February 2025: The new iPhone 16e replaces the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus as our “budget” pick. We’ve also removed our notes on the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone SE (3rd generation), as each has been formally discontinued. January 2025: We’ve made a few minor edits for clarity and ensured our recommendations are still up to date. December 2024: We’ve made a few edits to reflect the release of Apple Intelligence, though our picks remain the same. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/best-iphone-160012979.html?src=rss

Stellantis — the parent of several auto brands including Dodge, Ram and Chrysler — said customers’ personal information was included in a data breach. The automaker said in a statement that “contact information” was procured, but not “financial or sensitive personal” data, as that is not stored on the third-party platform that was breached. “We recently detected unauthorized access to a third-party service provider’s platform that supports our North American customer service operations,” Stellantis said. “Upon discovery, we immediately activated our incident response protocols, initiated a comprehensive investigation and took prompt action to contain and mitigate the situation. We are also notifying the appropriate authorities and directly informing affected customers.” The company encouraged customers to be on guard against phishing and social engineering attacks, and to be careful about sharing personal information with anyone who contacts them unexpectedly. Stellantis has not disclosed what types of contact information were involved in the breach, how many customers were affected or whether it’s offering them privacy or credit protection services. A spokesperson told Engadget the automaker is “not providing any additional information beyond our statement.” Bleeping Computer says a group called ShinyHunters claimed credit for the breach. The group told the publication it obtained more than 18 million records, containing contact details and names, from Stellantis’ Salesforce instance. ShinyHunters has reportedly stolen data from other Salesforce clients over the last several months, including Google, Qantas, Adidas and LVMH. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/stellantis-confirms-data-breach-involving-customers-contact-information-194136744.html?src=rss

The Supreme Court has voted 6-3 in favor of hearing a lawsuit brought by a former member of the US Federal Trade Commission, CNBC reports. Democrats Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya were fired from their posts as commissioners in the FTC by President Donald Trump in March. As has been the case with several of the Trump administration’s actions to remove possible critics from their roles in civil service, the pair said their dismissal was illegal. Commissioners’ terms may only be ended early for good cause under a law designed to protect the FTC as an independent agency. The FTC is also not allowed to have more than three commissioners from a single political party, meaning Slaughter and Bedoya could not both be replaced by additional Republican members. In July, US District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled in favor of Slaughter, who has moved ahead with a suit to contest her dismissal, and a federal appeals court reinstated her to the FTC in September. Today, however, the Supreme Court ruled that her firing may stand while it considers her case. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-supreme-court-will-hear-former-ftc-commissioner-rebecca-slaughters-case-203200530.html?src=rss

Perplexity has introduced a new feature dubbed Email Assistant. With this resource, users can direct an AI chatbot to execute basic email tasks such as scheduling meetings, organizing and prioritizing emails, and drafting replies. At launch, Gmail and Outlook are the only supported email clients.  Email assistant is only available to members of the company’s pricey Max plan, which costs $200 a month. Perplexity added this upscale subscription option in July. Once an Max user has signed up for the feature, they can write to Perplexity’s assistant email address to access its capabilities. Although the company emphasized that the AI assistant does not train on a user’s emails, it does adopt their writing style when drafting replies. The feature is available starting today. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/perplexity-launches-an-ai-email-assistant-for-max-subscribers-195212382.html?src=rss

EventVPN, a new freemium VPN built by the same team and on the same infrastructure as ExpressVPN, launched on September 18 for iOS and macOS. It comes with unlimited free bandwidth, a relative rarity among free VPNs, and carries over ExpressVPN’s kill switch and post-quantum WireGuard protocol. Free users get 35 server locations and one device connection, while paid users get 125 locations and eight simultaneous connections. EventVPN isn’t the first free VPN that actually aims to ensure user privacy — the free version of Proton VPN is also safe, as are a few others on our best VPN list, like hide.me and Windscribe. However, ExpressVPN isn’t wrong that free VPNs often don’t have their users’ interests at heart. The EventVPN announcement left me with one big question: what’s it doing to be safer, more private and/or better than other free options? The most interesting feature of EventVPN — and one I can’t currently find duplicated on any other free VPN — is that it has no user data backend whatsoever. It uses Apple ID validation to manage accounts and connection tokens without storing any information itself. This doesn’t move the security needle much (Apple isn’t immune to data leaks either), but it does make it theoretically impossible for EventVPN to sell user information. Of course, a clear privacy policy that EventVPN sticks to would accomplish the same thing. But just like with RAM-only servers automatically deleting user activity logs, it’s always nice to have an option other than trusting the VPN provider to keep its word. And to be fair, ExpressVPN has a clear privacy policy that it sticks to, so there’s good reason to believe EventVPN will do the same for its own policy. There is one unfortunate cost to that relative privacy, though: EventVPN’s free plan requires you to watch ads. When I briefly tested it, I was shown one 30-second ad whenever I connected and another when I disconnected. It’s galling to be asked to watch ads for a service that also has a paid tier ($9.99 per month, or $69.99 for a year), since I’ve already named three other equally good freemium VPNs that don’t show ads at all. At least EventVPN anonymizes the ads, showing advertisers a masked identifier instead of any real info on you. To sum up, EventVPN is a lot better than free VPNs that turn you into the product, but its ads put it a step behind ProtonVPN, hide.me, Windscribe and even TunnelBear. If ExpressVPN has always worked far better for you than any other provider, it might be worth using EventVPN as a backup free service. Otherwise, there are better options. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/heres-how-eventvpn-is-different-from-other-free-vpns-213014671.html?src=rss

Steam’s seasonal sales are usually the peak moments to add new software to your library, but right now, Valve is offering a notable hardware discount. The Steam Deck starter model is currently on sale for 20 percent off its usual $399 price tag. That means you can snag yourself the gaming handheld with an LCD screen and 256GB of storage for $319. Steam hasn’t set an end date for this offer, so it might be worth acting quickly if you want to get in on this particular sale. The Steam Deck is still the go-to for most PC gamers who want a handheld. Its balance of power, portability and price have kept it one of our top recommendations, even three years after the product’s debut. But keep in mind before you add this to your cart that this iteration does have a few limitations compared to the higher end Steam Decks. The LCD screen doesn’t have the true blacks of the OLED option, and serious players may run up against the storage limits of this model pretty quickly. But if you’ve been curious about a Steam Deck and aren’t looking to have a full library of big AAA downloads available all at once, this is a good time to pick up one of your own. Besides, with the $80 you’ll save, you can also grab a copy of current indie darlings Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades II and still have money leftover. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-lcd-steam-deck-is-20-percent-off-right-now-215238765.html?src=rss

Facebook Dating has added two new AI tools, because clearly a large language model is what the search for love and companionship has been missing all this time. The social media platform introduced a chatbot called dating assistant that can help find prospective dates based on a user’s interests. In the blog post announcing the features, the example Meta provided was “Find me a Brooklyn girl in tech.” The chatbot can also “provide dating ideas or help you level up your profile.” Dating assistant will start a gradual rollout to the Matches tab for users in the US and Canada. And surely everyone will use it in a mature, responsible, not-at-all-creepy fashion. The other AI addition is Meet Cute, which uses a “personalized matching algorithm” to deliver a surprise candidate that it determines you might like. There’s no explanation in the blog post about how Meta’s algorithm will be assessing potential dates. If you don’t want to see who Meta’s AI thinks would be a compatible match each week, you can opt out of Meet Cute at any time. Both these features are aimed at combatting “swipe fatigue,” so if you’re 1) using Facebook, 2) using Facebook Dating, and 3) are really that tired of swiping, maybe this is the solution you need. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/facebook-adds-an-ai-assistant-to-its-dating-app-225754544.html?src=rss