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It’s a dynamic time right now in the automotive industry. Many manufacturers that previously pledged themselves to dive head-first into the wonderful world of electrification are now pumping their literal and metaphorical brakes on the idea, leaning back into hybrids, plug-ins, and various other transitional means of propulsion. Audi is one of those brands that has been softening its stance on the EV front lately, pledging to continue supporting internal combustion-powered machines so long as the market demands. But its new concept unveiled today in Milan gives us a striking view of a next generation of EVs — and hybrids, and others — that will wear four rings on the nose. It’s called the Concept C, and it’s part of a movement Audi brass have called “the radical next.” It’s meant to be something of a reboot for the brand’s design efforts, a back-to-basics project that starts on the inside with a dramatically simplified interior design. While many modern Audis feature one or two giant touchscreens that dominate the dash, in the Concept C, there’s just a pure dashboard with a subtle, illuminated vertical slot in the middle. Controls are physical and chunky, designed to have a strong sense of weight and tactility, featuring what the car’s designers describe as the “Audi click.” Tim Stevens for Engadget It’s definitely a major departure for Audi, but there is a nod to modern sensibilities with a 10.4-inch touchscreen. It’s hidden, tucking itself behind the dashboard when not needed and quickly swiveling into view when summoned. The car also features buttons and touch-sensitive surfaces that disappear behind the dashboard, a row of backlit controls that only appear when needed. The outside of the car is a substantial reboot, too. In this new concept, you’ll see some similarities to the brand’s last great roadster, the TT, which went out of production in 2023. But to see the key inspiration for the Concept C, you have to go back a little further, back to the Auto Union Grand Prix machines of the 1930s. Specifically, Audi is referencing the Type C, which raced from the pre-Formula One days of 1936 to 1937. That car’s shape and upright grille definitely carry on in the Concept C, but this new road car has one feature that vintage racing machines lacked: a folding hardtop convertible. The Concept C is actually the first Audi to sport such a top, giving it the look of a coupe but the open-air design of a roadster. The louvered rear and simple, tapered shape are dipped in a colored paint meant to emulate the subtle warmth of titanium. Tim Stevens for Engadget One thing that tapered shape doesn’t allow is a rear window. Like the Polestar 4, the Concept C takes an extreme stance towards rearward visibility by featuring none at all. That rear-view mirror you see hanging from the glass is digital. But, the fact that this car even has a rear-view mirror, plus side mirrors and windshield wipers, hint that this thing is probably close to production-ready. When it comes to the more practical matter of what makes it go, and for how far and how quickly, sadly, we don’t have a lot of details just yet. Again, Audi has said that this will be an EV, but that the design will influence a new generation of Audis powered by all sorts of options, including hybrid and internal combustion, “as the transition to electric mobility progresses.” This car, though, is most definitely battery powered, though the company has yet to share any more details beyond that. Audi says it is rear-wheel drive, which would point to a single-motor at the back, but a future version with Quattro all-wheel drive seems like a sure bet. This car’s predecessor, the TT, was actually based on the Volkswagen Golf chassis, which gave it front-wheel drive to begin with. However, if this new machine is to share its foundations with anything, it’s much more likely to be Porsche’s upcoming electric 718, as previewed in the Mission R. But for now that’s just speculation, and again, this is just a concept. Audi isn’t saying when a car like this might see production, but it is a machine that is destined to become something you can buy. That’ll be good news to anyone who misses the dearly departed TT. If an eventual production-based Concept C still looks this good when it hits dealers, it very well might make just as many waves as its predecessor. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/audis-concept-c-previews-the-companys-next-gen-ev-aspirations-190030488.html?src=rss

The Google TV Streamer 4K is back on sale for just $80, which is a discount of 20 percent. The deal is available via Amazon, but also through retailers like Best Buy and Walmart. This beats a recent Prime Day promotion by $4. The TV Streamer 4K topped our list of the best streaming devices. It’s a smartly-designed product that just works. We enjoyed the clean interface and the fantastic remote that ships with the device. The processor is speedy and this thing can stream content in 4K at 60FPS. It integrates with HDR, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. On the audio side of things, it supports formats like Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos. It can even handle spatial audio, so long as you’re wearing the Pixel Buds Pro earbuds. The interface includes a smart home control hub, which we praised in our official review. This lets users easily control smart lights and thermostats, among other gadgets. The TV Streamer 4K also offers voice control, which we found to be useful. There are only two minor knocks with this one. The original asking price is on the higher end, but this sale alleviates that concern. The unit also includes some fairly useless AI integration, but it’s 2025 so what else is new? 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-google-tv-streamer-4k-is-back-on-sale-for-80-183511035.html?src=rss

Paramount has just signed a deal with Microsoft and Activision to make a movie based on the iconic Call of Duty franchise. The valuation of the deal hasn’t been revealed, but CoD is a mighty lucrative IP. We don’t know much about the specifics of the deal, other than it covers a live-action feature film that Paramount will develop, produce and distribute. This means we don’t have any information about the cast, creative team or what game or era the film will pull from. After all, there have been more than 30 mainline games in the franchise. Some of the standard Call of Duty games could make for decent, yet slightly derivative, war movies, while the more futuristic titles could spin out into sci-fi epics. Variety reports that this could just be the beginning. The deal is for one movie but industry sources indicate that there’s potential here for Paramount to expand the franchise to more movies and TV shows. Get ready for the CoDCU. Paramount recently completed an $8 billion merger with Skydance, after making some controversial moves that were widely seen as appeasements to President Trump to secure the blessing of the FCC. Since that happened, the newly-formed media conglomerate has been on a spending spree. It lured the creators of Stranger Things away from Netflix and shelled out over $7.7 billion for exclusive rights to UFC events for the next seven years. The company recently announced plans to double its yearly theatrical output, eventually hoping to release 20 films annually. As for games, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 arrives on November 14. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/call-of-duty-is-getting-the-movie-treatment-courtesy-of-paramount-171408410.html?src=rss

Google is readying an update for its Play Games app that will introduce stats and milestones to your all-new profile. From September 23 (October 1 in the EU and UK), other players will be able to see which games you’ve played and for how long, as well as any achievements you’ve unlocked. Google says there will also be new “social features,” but it’s not yet clear what they’ll be. It sounds a lot like Google’s take on Steam profiles (similar features are also available on PlayStation and Xbox) and the company says it will be collecting usage data for games you’ve installed or played previously, adding that it may pass on information about your in-game activity to developers. You can also choose to import your past activity on a one-time basis, which Google pulls from your account history and then uses to populate your Play Games profile statistics from the start. You’re already able to decide whether data related to gaming is collected through Activity Controls in your account settings. It’s up to you whether people can see your profile or not. If you make it public, other people can follow you and snoop on your gaming activity, but you can also choose to hide it if you don’t want anyone to know how many hours you’ve spent playing Angry Birds. You’re also free to delete your Play Games profile entirely, along with all of the data it’s using. Google’s overhauled gaming profiles will arrive around the same time as Apple’s annual software updates for all of its devices, which will introduce a new dedicated gaming app, simply called Games. Pre-installed on all updated Mac, iPhone and iPad devices, it effectively replaces Game Center and will behave more like a modern gaming hub. Games will feature leaderboards, matchmaking services, recommendations and news regarding new titles. And like Google’s offering, you’ll be able to see what your friends are playing. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/googles-play-games-update-will-show-people-what-youre-playing-164549921.html?src=rss

There’s a new player in the AI race, and it’s a whole country. Switzerland has just released Apertus, its open-source national Large Language Model (LLM) that it hopes would be an alternative to models offered by companies like OpenAI. Apertus, Latin for the world “open,” was developed by the Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne (EPFL), ETH Zurich and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS), all of which are public institutions.  “Currently, Apertus is the leading public AI model: a model built by public institutions, for the public interest. It is our best proof yet that AI can be a form of public infrastructure like highways, water, or electricity,” said Joshua Tan, a leading proponent in making AI a public infrastructure.  The Swiss institutions designed Apertus to be completely open, allowing users to inspect any part of its training process. In addition to the model itself, they released comprehensive documentation and source code of its training process, as well as the datasets they used. They built Apertus to comply with Swiss data protection and copyright laws, which makes it perhaps one of the better choices for companies that want to adhere to European regulations. The Swiss Bankers Association previously said that a homegrown LLM would have “great long-term potential,” since it will be able to better comply with Switzerland’s strict local data protection and bank secrecy rules. At the moment, Swiss banks are already using other AI models for their needs, so it remains to be seen whether they’ll switch to Apertus.  Anybody can use the new model: Researchers, hobbyists and even companies are welcome to build upon it and to tailor it for their needs. They can use it to create chatbots, translators and even educational or training tools, for instance. Apertus was trained on 15 trillion tokens across more than 1,000 languages, with 40 percent of the data in languages other than English, including Swiss German and Romansh. Switzerland’s announcement says the model was only trained on publicly available data, and its crawlers respected machine-readable opt-out requests when they came across them on websites. To note, AI companies like Perplexity have previously been accused of scraping websites and bypassing protocols meant to block their crawlers. Some AI companies have also been sued by news organizations and creatives for using their content to train their models without permission.  Apertus is currently available in two sizes with 8 billion and 70 billion parameters. It’s currently available via Swisscom, a Swiss information and communication technology company, or via Hugging Face.  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/switzerland-launches-its-own-open-source-ai-model-133051578.html?src=rss

ExpressVPN has tripled its subscription options by switching to a tiered pricing structure, effective today. The new system includes three levels of service, the cheapest offering basic VPN service and the others adding extra features. Each one of those levels — Basic, Advanced and Pro — can be purchased for monthly, yearly or two-year durations. In total, you’ve now got nine different options for subscribing to ExpressVPN. The company also says legacy plans will remain active “for now,” and current customers won’t be downgraded. The change is similar to the approach already used by rivals like NordVPN and Surfshark. Previously, ExpressVPN locked feature offerings to the duration of the plan, so the only way to get the full suite of features was to subscribe for 24 months. Now, while longer-term subscriptions will still offer discounts, features depend on your level of subscription instead of how long it lasts. The new tiers roll in some features that were previously part of ExpressVPN’s Identity Defender suite, including identity monitoring, credit reports and data removal services. New types of plans will also bump the number of allowed simultaneous connections to as high as 14. Here’s what you’ll get with each tier. ExpressVPN The Basic plan comes with “core VPN functionality” including the Lightway protocol. Basic users will no longer have access to the ad blocker, tracker blocker or parental controls. It can be used on 10 devices at once and will cost $12.99 for a month, $74.85 for a year and $97.72 for two years. The Advanced plan raises the device limit to 12 and adds the blockers and parental controls, plus the ExpressVPN Keys password manager. It also gives you three days of eSIM service and adds the Identity Defender features — leak alerts, $1 million of identity theft insurance, data removal and credit monitoring. As was already the case, those ID protection features are available only to users in the United States. An Advanced plan will cost $13.99 for a month, $89.85 for a year and $125.72 for two years. The one-year and two-year plans are both cheaper than the same duration used to cost. Advanced subscribers also get five days of eSIM service and a discount coupon for between 25 and 50 percent off an ExpressVPN Aircove router (it’s not currently clear how the exact discount will be determined). Although Basic and Advanced users can pay extra (between $3.99 and $8.99) for a dedicated IP address, it comes standard on a Pro subscription. Pro users additionally get monthly credit reports and data removal, 14 simultaneous connections and an Aircove discount between 50 and 75 percent. A Pro plan costs $19.99 for a month, $134.95 for a year and $209.72 for two years. What ExpressVPN tiered pricing means for VPN shoppers Ultimately, I don’t think this new approach will change much about the experience of using ExpressVPN. It’s not introducing any new features; I already touched on everything here in my recent ExpressVPN review, so the only difference is how much you’ll pay to access the perks. The best news for consumers is that ExpressVPN is now available for significantly cheaper than before. A two-year Basic plan costs about 30 percent less than a two-year subscription used to — though a one-year basic plan is still more expensive than a comparable subscription to Proton VPN or Surfshark. All that said, I can’t enthusiastically recommend a Basic subscription until I know that it includes the Network Lock kill switch and split tunneling on supported platforms (we’re reaching out to ExpressVPN to confirm this). We’re in the process of overhauling our ranking of best VPNs, including the new information from ExpressVPN — check in soon to see the results. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/expressvpn-switches-to-multi-tiered-pricing-plans-letting-users-tweak-features-to-plan-duration-130016667.html?src=rss

Dolby Vision has been one of the industry standards for HDR on TVs for over a decade. At IFA 2025, Dolby Laboratories is introducing Dolby Vision 2, what it calls “a groundbreaking evolution of its industry-leading picture quality innovation.” The second iteration has been updated to meet the capabilities of today’s TV technology and the ever-expanding set of artist tools. Dolby Vision 2 includes a more powerful image engine, better optimization for your TV and features that go “beyond HDR.”  The base of Dolby Vision 2 is called Content Intelligence. Dolby says these tools provide a better “bridge” between the creative professionals and the living room by using AI to automatically adapt your TV to what your watching and where you’re watching it. Content Intelligence includes tools like Precision Black to help keep darker scenes visible and Light Sense that detects ambient light to create the best picture. There’s also Sports and Gaming Optimization that caters to the specific needs of live sports and gaming with upgrades to white point adjustments and motion control.  Bi-directional tone mapping will allow premium TVs produce “deliver higher brightness, sharper contrast and deeply saturated colors” while maintaining artist intent, Dolby explains. That “beyond HDR” push includes features like Authentic Motion. This tool is what Dolby calls “the world’s first creative driven motion control tool to make scenes feel more authentically cinematic.” When it’s ready for the living room, Dolby Vision 2 will be offered in two ways. First, Dolby Vision 2 Max will come on premium TVs to harness all of their processing power to provide unique premium features. Regular Dolby Vision 2 is what you’ll find on mainstream TVs with features that run on the new image engine and Content Intelligence.  When new standards like this are introduced, sometimes it takes a while for them to actually make it into products you can buy. Dolby says Hisense will be the first to bring Dolby Vision 2 to market, offering support for the new standard on its “premium” TVs, including RGB-MiniLED models. What’s more, French streaming service Canal+ is also on board, aiming to leverage the new technology for movies, TV shows and live sports.  You’ll want to tune into our CES coverage in January, because Dolby Vision 2 will certainly be a topic of discussion for the companies that typically debut new TVs in Las Vegas. Perhaps we’ll also get a demo of what this second-gen tech is capable of at the show as well.  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/dolby-announces-dolby-vision-2-expanding-picture-quality-beyond-hdr-123019504.html?src=rss

JBL just announced a new portable Bluetooth speaker, called the Grip. This model includes a rope hook, which should make it easy to attach to backpacks, ski gear, or just about anything else. It also features customizable ambient lighting that actually looks pretty useful. The company says this lighting scheme makes the speaker a “perfect bedside companion for late-night reading.” A speaker that doubles as a night light? I can see the use for that. As for the audio, JBL promises “pro sound” at a “fuller volume” when compared to some rival Bluetooth speakers. It boasts multispeaker connectivity via Auracast, which makes it much easier to switch between sources. The battery life is also on point here, offering up to 14 hours of use per charge. The speaker looks pretty durable, with an IP68 waterproof and dustproof rating. The company also notes that the unit is drop-proof, so “it can survive a hard fall onto concrete.” The JBL Grip costs $100 and is available in numerous colorways. Pre-orders are open right now, with shipments going out on September 28. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/jbls-grip-bluetooth-speaker-doubles-as-a-snazzy-reading-light-120033764.html?src=rss

It was a quiet Labor Day weekend for tech, but the Engadget team has kept busy testing out new gear from the likes of DJI, Sony and Bose. I want to kick things off with the new flagship DJI Mic 3. The wireless mics have a wholesale design change from the Mic 2, plus many improvements in sound quality, noise reduction and the number of subjects you can record at once — though there is one downgrade compared to the last model. I’ve had one for over a week, so I’ll share some impressions as well. The most noticeable change with the Mic 3 is the smaller transmitter size and lighter weight. It’s just 16 grams (.58 ounces) compared to 28 grams (.99 ounces) for the Mic 2. The smaller size and rotating clip make the Mic 3 more discreet and easier to attach to any shirt or hat. However, there’s still a large DJI logo on both sides of the transmitter, so dig out your black tape. The Mic 3 now supports up to four transmitters and eight receivers at once. That means you can record four subjects at a time to as many as eight receivers simultaneously for multi-camera shoots (if you buy the extra kits). DJI’s Mic 3 is now on sale in most territories, priced at $329 in a kit with a charging case plus two transmitters and a receiver, or $219 with a single transmitter and receiver. — Mat Smith Get Engadget’s newsletter delivered direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! The news you might have missed Hitman on iOS, martial arts survival and other new indie games worth checking out Apple’s MLS Season Pass drops to as low as $25 for the rest of 2025 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd gen) review: Still a noise-canceling powerhouse How to perform a reverse phone number lookup The best mobile microphones for 2025 Our top picks for phone mics to record anything and everything. That makes it a great time to test the DJI Mic 3’s rivals. The world of mobile-specific (or phone-friendly) microphones has expanded significantly, with many great options arriving in the last few years. We’ve tested a wide range of popular microphones with a mobile focus, so you don’t have to. Some microphones — such as the wireless lavalier kind — will be more versatile and convenient, making them useful for a variety of uses. We also have musician or field-recording picks, where we explore more exotic form factors, such as shotgun mics and mobile-friendly desktop options. Naturally, our top focus is sound quality and performance. Continue reading. YouTube TV subscribers won’t lose access to Fox content after all The two companies reached an agreement. YouTube TV warned subscribers they could lose access to Fox content, including the start of the NFL season and a key college football game between the top-ranked Texas Longhorns and the Utah Utes. The standoff was over money, of course, with YouTube TV saying Fox demanded more than rival stations with comparable offerings. That has now been resolved with a “renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Weather, Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes, Big Ten Network, the Fox network and all Fox Local Stations,” Fox said in its own press release. In the past, YouTube TV has lost access to local Fox stations that carry regional sports, though usually disputes are extended and resolved before they get that far. Continue reading. Sony RX1R III camera review Waiting 10 years to be underwhelmed. Engadget First things first: The RX1R III can capture stunning photos. However, for something Sony waited nearly a decade to update and is charging $5,100 for, it also feels like a missed opportunity. First, the RX1R III is nearly $2,000 more expensive than its predecessor. Plus, it’s missing a handful of features the company really should have included for it to hold its own against other high-end compact cameras from rivals, like Fujifilm. Come for Igor Bonifacic’s full review, stay for the pet pics. Continue reading. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111920529.html?src=rss

You don’t need to spend a fortune to get a new phone that handles your daily tasks with ease. The best cheap Android phones pack impressive features into affordable price tags, making them great options for anyone who wants solid performance without stretching their wallet. Whether you’re scrolling social media, streaming videos or snapping photos, there are plenty of budget-friendly Android devices that can keep up with everything you do. While you might not get all the bells and whistles of flagship models, many of today’s affordable phones still offer surprisingly good build quality, smooth displays and capable camera systems. Some even boast impressive camera quality that can go toe-to-toe with far more expensive options — perfect for casual photographers or anyone who just wants to capture great moments on the go. Table of contents Best budget Android phones for 2025 How cheap should you go for an Android phone? What to look for in a cheap phone Android phone FAQs Best budget Android phones for 2025 How cheap should you go for an Android phone? We tend to define a budget smartphone as costing between $150 and $350. Any lower and the device runs the risk of suffering from too many compromises in function, and above that, you cross over to pricier midrange handsets (if you’re open to spending more, we shouted out a couple of our favorite flagship phones at the very end of this guide). But for those with a little wiggle room, there are some things to consider. For example, a child may be better off with a cheaper device, especially if it’s intended mainly for emergencies, WiFi browsing or texting parents (and not social media). On the higher end of this price spectrum, sub-$350 Samsung phones and other Android devices have come a long way thanks to improved performance, better phone cameras with low-light capabilities, fast charging, and nicer displays like AMOLED panels. This makes them a viable alternative to, say, a flagship handset with a premium design, even if you have the flexibility to spend more. What to look for in a cheap Android phone When it comes to cheap phones, you get what you pay for. Most smartphones in this price range are made out of plastic, though the fit and finish of a specific model can vary a lot based on price. A bright screen is also important. Typically you’ll get LCD panels with a 60Hz or 90Hz refresh rate, but some phones may have OLED or AMOLED screens with increased color saturation. Long battery life is critical as well, so we tend to favor devices with larger power cells of around 5,000 mAh. In this price range, performance can vary a lot, so look for devices with at least 8GB of RAM and processors that can deliver stutter-free visuals. It’s also important to consider support length: as periodic security updates and lengthy software support can extend the longevity of your device, which will save you money in the long run. Android phone FAQs What’s the price difference for a cheap Android vs a cheap iPhone? iPhones tend to be more expensive compared to Android phones — even the cheapest iPhone, the iPhone SE, which starts from $429, is a harder pill to swallow compared to a cheap Android phone. In contrast, you can get your hands on a cheap Android device for as low as $100. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/best-cheap-android-phone-160029703.html?src=rss