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2026-02-19 01:57:21

Nevada is taking action against the rapidly growing Wild West of prediction markets. The state's gambling regulators and attorney general sued Kalshi on Tuesday. They accuse the company of bypassing Nevada law by operating a sports gambling market without proper licenses. In addition, they say Kalshi provides services to individuals under 21, which violates state law.

The lawsuit follows a federal appeals court’s rejection of Kalshi's request to prevent the state from pursuing legal action. And it comes a day after the Trump administration claimed that only the federal government has the right to enforce the industry.

Prediction markets, which allow users to bet on events such as sports, political outcomes and wars, have exploded in popularity. Business Insider reports that Kalshi did 27 times as much business during this year's Super Bowl as last year's. Some of that growth has been at the expense of regulated gambling; Nevada's gambling operations did less business during this year's game.

"Kalshi has continued to dramatically expand its business, rather than attempting to maintain any kind of status quo," Nevada regulators wrote in a letter this month.

Kalshi and rival Polymarket insist that their businesses are "event contracts" and should be regulated as financial investments rather than gambling. The Trump administration, rife with conflicts of interest in this area, agrees. The Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed an amicus brief on Tuesday, claiming that it alone has the authority to enforce the prediction market.

"The CFTC will no longer sit idly by while overzealous state governments undermine the agency's exclusive jurisdiction over these markets by seeking to establish statewide prohibitions on these exciting products," CFTC Chair Michael Selig wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

OLIVIER TOURON via Getty Images

Not coincidentally, prediction markets are a growing part of the Trump family business. Donald Trump Jr. is a paid adviser to Kalshi. He's also an investor in and unpaid adviser to Polymarket. In January, his family's social media business said it would launch its own prediction market platform.

Prediction markets have the potential to be a hotbed of insider trading. According to blockchain analyst DeFi Oasis, fewer than 0.04 percent of Polymarket accounts have captured over 70 percent of the platform's total profits, totaling over $3.7 billion.

Last month, The Guardian highlighted the case of a Polymarket user who bet tens of thousands of dollars on "yes" to the question, "Israel's military action against Iran by Friday?" Within 24 hours, Israel bombed Iran, leaving hundreds dead. The user made $128,000 on that bet. The Guardian traced the blockchain data to a wallet associated with an X account. Its location on the social platform was set to Beit Ha'shita, a northern Israeli settlement. The user later transferred their bets to two other accounts, apparently to avoid detection. In January, the accounts held 10 live bets on Israeli military strategy.

Another anonymous user made over $400,000 by betting that Nicolás Maduro would be ousted by the end of January. The bets were placed in the hours and days leading up to the US strikes on Venezuela. In another case, eight jointly owned accounts collectively generated over $161,000 by betting on the country's María Corina Machado Parisca winning the Nobel Peace Prize. The accounts' handles used names such as "fmaduro," "madurowilllose," "striketheboats" and "trumpdeservesit".

2026-02-19 01:36:12

Apple has scheduled a product launch event, dubbed an "Apple Experience", for March 4 at 9AM ET. The company is reportedly holding this event in NYC, London and Shanghai.

Everyone loves shiny new products, so what can we expect to see at Apple's first launch event of 2026? We don't know anything for certain, but we have plenty of educated guesses that have been sourced from industry reports and speculation from analysts.

Budget-Friendly MacBook

There have been rumors swirling that Apple is preparing to launch a cheaper alternative to the MacBook Air. Bloomberg reported on this all the way back in November. Industry rumors indicate that Apple will be stuffing this laptop with an iPhone processor, the A18 Pro, to keep the price down.

It's also been suggested that this laptop will only include 8GB of RAM, which kind of flies against the company's recent stance to outfit all Macs with at least 16GB of RAM. However, that would certainly help with the cost. You might have heard about a little thing called AI that chomp chomps on all RAM it can find.

TechRadar has reported that this could be Apple's biggest laptop launch in years, with potential initial shipments hitting 8 million units. The price is likely to be somewhere in the $699 to $799 range, which is pretty nifty. However, I'd still go for an Air at $999. They are absolute workhorses.

MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and Max chips

It's likely that Apple will release more powerful MacBook Pro models this year and the timing seems to match up. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has suggested a March launch and the event is on March 4.

The company has already released a MacBook Pro with an M5 chip, but both the M5 Pro and Max are likely on the horizon. We could be getting new laptops outfitted with these chips in various display sizes.

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

There have also been reports that both of the higher-end M5 chips are getting a redesign to help improve heat dissipation and reduce defective chip rates. Additionally, the new chiplet design would allow the M5 Pro and Max to raise the total number of CPU and GPU cores. The Max is expected to have more cores than the Pro.

This idea is helped along by the fact that MacBook Pro M4 Max orders are currently delayed. This is typically the case with an outgoing model as stock dries up to make room for new releases. Also, the Pro and Max variants typically get announced in the Fall, so we are due. 

New iPads

Rumors have been circulating that we are about to get new iPads, including an update to the base model and the Air. The standard model, which would be the 12th-gen release, is expected to upgrade the A16 chip to an A18. This should also allow for the integration of Apple Intelligence tools, if that's your bag.

Nathan Ingraham for Engadget

As for that iPad Air, rumors suggest an upgrade to the M4 chip from the M3. An extremely light tablet with an M4 would be fairly notable in my estimation, as only the newest iPad Pro has that chip.

iPhone 17e

It was almost exactly a year ago that Apple announced the iPhone 16e, so you know what that means. It's time for a refresh. Recent reports have suggested that an announcement regarding the iPhone 17e is imminent, so this launch event seems like as good a place as any to reveal the latest "budget-friendly" smartphone.

As for specs, Mark Gurman has suggested that it'll be getting an upgrade to the A19 chip, which is nice. Also, it could be getting MagSafe support. That sounds like an iterative upgrade, but the price is expected to remain steady at $599.

Other Possibilities

The following stuff is less likely, though certainly possible. There have been rumors that Apple is currently preparing a revamped Studio Display and Mac Studio desktop. The reports suggest a release sometime in the first half of the year, and March is right in the middle of that timeframe.

It's also possible that the company will reveal an upgrade to the MacBook Air with the M5 chip. Reports indicate that this is unlikely to happen during this event, but it is worth noting that the M4 Air came out in March of last year. In other words, it's a toss up.

What's not a toss up? You shouldn't expect anything regarding the long-anticipated Siri refresh. This looks to be a hardware event, so any software updates will likely have to wait until WWDC this summer. In any event, Engadget will be on hand to report on all of Apple's new products. 

2026-02-19 00:22:48

Ticketing marketplace SeatGeek has announced a partnership with Spotify that will direct an artist's fans to its platform from the Spotify app. The integration is currently limited to a few participating venues for which SeatGeek is the primary ticket seller.

While SeatGeek is one of the largest online marketplaces for the secondary ticketing market, the company's announcement makes clear that this Spotify integration only applies to venues where it's the primary ticketing company. For now, that's just 15 US partner venues, primarily professional sports arenas like AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Spotify has experimented with direct ticket sales in the past, but now focuses on signing on partners to integrate into the streaming experience. The company currently lists 46 ticketing partners, including Ticketmaster, AXS and others. The app also allows users to follow specific venues to be notified about upcoming concerts and events.

The world's largest music streaming service has added a glut of new features recently. One helps listeners learn more about a song, while another new addition finally added group messaging. The platform, which now boasts some 750 million monthly users, has also been trying to address AI slop in its library, although not very hard by the looks of it.

2026-02-18 23:00:00

Google's A-series phones have offered some of the best value among midrange handsets for years, and after checking out the new Pixel 10a, I don't see that trend stopping anytime soon.

Let's start with the specs. Starting at just $499, you get a vivid 6.3-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and 3,000 nits of peak brightness, 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of onboard storage. The phone also features a durable aluminum frame along with a stronger Corning Gorilla Glass 7i panel in front and a composite plastic back with a lovely matte finish. As a nod towards sustainability, Google says the P10a's chassis is made from 100 percent recycled material, while the rear panel comes in at 81 percent. And just like its predecessor, you still get an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance and the same battery capacity (5,100mAh) — except now it charges even faster, both wired (30 watts, up from 23) and wirelessly (10 watts, up from 5).

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The one place where the Pixel 10a might come up a touch short is that unlike its more expensive siblings, it features an older Tensor G4 processor instead of the Tensor G5 chip used on the main Pixel 10 line. Google says the decision to go with an older SoC is due to budget constraints. While it might not be the first choice for gamers or power users, I've never really had an issue with the day-to-day performance of Google's recent homegrown silicon.

However, even with a one-year-old chip, Google found a way to port over three flagship features to the Pixel A series for the first time. Camera Coach uses AI to help you compose and come up with more interesting shots. Meanwhile, Auto Best Take is designed to ensure that everyone in a group shot ends up with their finest expression. Finally, Satellite SOS allows you to call for help during emergencies, even when you don't have proper cell service. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

As for its cameras, the P10a looks to be using the same sensors as before, including a 48MP main camera, a 13MP ultra-wide and a 13MP selfie shooter in front. That might be a bummer for some, but considering that the Pixel 9a offered by far the best image quality of any phone in its price bracket, I'm not that bothered. Also, it's quite likely that if Google had opted for new hardware, it may have pushed the phone above $500. 

After seeing the positive response to the barely-there camera bump on its predecessor, Google leaned in and made the Pixel 10a’s rear camera module completely flat, and it’s my favorite thing about the phone. There's no hump or protrusions to speak of, and when combined with the rest of the phone's design, it results in a really sleek, minimalist look. Plus, after almost a decade of big and bulky camera warts on the back of phones, it's just nice seeing the Pixel 10a go the opposite direction. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

On the flipside, my biggest complaint about the P10a is that Google didn't include Pixelsnap support (aka magnetic Qi2 compatibility). It's another feature that got cut due to cost and it's a real bummer because after introducing it on last year's main Pixel 10 line, I was hoping that it would become a standard inclusion on all Google phones going forward. Thankfully, when I asked about the lack of Pixelsnap support, Google representatives were able to confirm that there will be third-party accessory makers such as Casefinite, Dbrand and Spigen that will offer cases with built-in magnetic rings, so anyone hoping to attach magnetic peripherals will still have an avenue to do so. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Regardless, for Android phone owners who are in the market for a simple, no-nonsense upgrade that covers all the basics without breaking the bank, the Pixel 10a is looking like another top contender. 

The Pixel 10a is available for pre-order today in lavender, berry, fog and obsidian with official sales slated for March 5. 

2026-02-18 23:00:00

Google debuted the Pixel 10a phone today. Pre-orders are open now and the smartphone will be available starting March 5. Although it's the new 2026 addition to the A series lineup, the Pixel 10a invites many comparisons with last year's Pixel 9a. For starters, the price is identical at $499.

Design-wise, not much as changed. The back of the phone can lay flat, which has become a hallmark of the Pixel A collection, rather than wobbling around on a bulky camera housing. The screen is still 6.3 inches with an Actua display. The phone's insides are also the same; the 10a comes with the same Tensor G4 chip and 8GB of RAM as its predecessor, and buyers have the option to upgrade to either 128GB or 256GB of storage. The phone has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance and its display uses Corning Gorilla Glass 7i.

One of the few areas where the 10a is getting a marked upgrade is on its battery. This version claims more than 30 hours of battery life, or up to 120 under the Extra Battery Saver mode. The 10a also brings the welcome addition of proper fast charging, where a compatible charger can get the device to 50 percent battery in about 30 minutes. This addresses one of the few complaints we had about the 9a. 

For the photo buffs, the Pixel 10a has a 48MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide lens; again unchanged from the specs in the 9a. AI is also present in the new model's photography suite, with the addition of the Camera Coach resource for the first time on the A series lineup. Camera Coach uses Gemini AI models to read the scene and offer tips on getting the desired shot. The 10a also has the Auto Best Take feature for getting everyone's best side in a group shot and the Add Me tool that lets you insert yourself into a photo after the fact.

2026-02-18 23:00:00

Now that pre-orders are open for the Google Pixel 10a, it’s time to see how it stacks up against last year’s Pixel 9a. At first glance, the two phones look very similar, and that’s not a bad thing. Google hasn’t tried to reinvent its budget-friendly formula this year, sticking to the same compact design, clean software experience and camera-first approach that made the 9a such a good value.

Both phones share a lot in common, including 120Hz OLED displays, Google’s Tensor G4 chip, strong computational photography and seven years of OS and security updates. The actual differences are more incremental, including a moderately brighter, tougher display, improved Extreme Battery Saver longevity, slightly faster wireless charging and the addition of Satellite SOS. Importantly, Google is keeping the starting price the same as before, with both phones coming in at $499.

On paper, the Pixel 10a doesn’t dramatically rethink what an affordable Pixel should be, but it does offer meaningful upgrades for the same price. While we wait for a review unit to evaluate the Pixel 10a's day-to-day performance, here's a quick comparison of the spec sheets of the two devices to see what the new model brings.

Pixel 10a vs Pixel 9a: Design and display

There’s very little separating these two on performance. Both the Pixel 9a and Pixel 10a run Google’s Tensor G4 chip with 8GB of RAM and the same storage options, so day-to-day speed should feel virtually identical. The Pixel 10a ships with Android 16 out of the box, though the 9a can be updated to the same version.

Off the bat, the Pixel 10a doesn’t look dramatically different from the Pixel 9a, and that appears to be intentional. Google is sticking with the same compact, no-frills approach from the last few A-series Pixels, so you’re still getting a 6.3-inch OLED panel with a smooth 60–120Hz refresh rate and a clean, understated aesthetic. 

The meaningful changes show up once you dig into the display specs. The Pixel 10a upgrades the cover glass from Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to Gorilla Glass 7i, which should offer better durability against drops and scratches over time. Brightness also gets a noticeable bump. The 9a topped out at 1,800 nits for HDR content and 2,700 nits at peak, while the 10a pushes that to 2,000 nits for HDR and up to 3,000 nits at peak brightness. In practice, that should make the Pixel 10a easier to read outdoors and a bit punchier when watching HDR video.

Contrast is improved as well. The Pixel 10a’s panel is rated at a contrast ratio of more than 2,000,000:1, doubling the already respectable figure on the Pixel 9a. That won’t radically change how the phone looks day to day, but it should translate to deeper blacks and slightly more depth in darker scenes, especially when streaming video or browsing photos at night.

Pixel 10a vs Pixel 9a: Cameras

On paper, the Pixel 10a’s camera hardware looks very familiar. Like the Pixel 9a, it uses a 48-megapixel main camera paired with a 13MP ultra-wide, and there’s no dedicated telephoto lens. Image quality, color science and low-light performance should therefore be similar between the two.

Where the Pixel 10a pulls ahead is in software features. Google has added a few camera tools that aren’t available on the Pixel 9a, even though the underlying hardware hasn’t changed much. One of those is Camera Coach, which debuted on last year’s Pixel 10 series and offers on-screen tips to help you frame shots better or adjust how you’re holding the phone. The Pixel 10a also gains Macro Focus, allowing you to get much closer to small subjects like plants or textures. In our Pixel 9a review, we found the phone could capture solid close-up detail, but locking focus could be finicky at times, so a more dedicated macro mode should make those shots easier to nail.

Finally, there’s Auto Best Take, which automatically picks the best expressions from a burst of photos and combines them into a single image. The feature debuted on Google’s Pixel 10 lineup last year, and it’s especially handy for group shots where someone always seems to blink at the wrong moment. By bringing it to the 10a, Google is extending one of its more genuinely practical AI camera tricks to a cheaper phone.

Battery life and charging

Both the Pixel 9a and Pixel 10a use a 5,100mAh battery and support the same 23W wired charging speeds. Where the Pixel 10a does pull ahead slightly is wireless charging. The Pixel 9a tops out at 7.5W, while the Pixel 10a supports wireless charging at up to 10W when used with Qi-certified Extended Power Profile (EPP) chargers, which are designed to deliver faster wireless power than basic Qi pads. The difference isn’t dramatic, but the Pixel 10a should charge a bit quicker on a compatible wireless stand when you’re in a pinch.

You’ll also get some extra hours in dire situations. When you activate Extreme Battery Saver, the Pixel 9a is rated for up to 100 hours, while the Pixel 10a extends that to up to 120 hours. 

The Pixel 10a gets Satellite SOS

The biggest safety-related upgrade on the Pixel 10a is the addition of Satellite SOS. Because it uses a newer modem compared to the Pixel 9a’s Exynos Modem 5300, it is capable of tapping satellite networks when necessary. This allows the phone to contact emergency services when you’re outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage, which can be genuinely useful if you spend time hiking, traveling or driving in remote areas.

If you already own a Pixel 9a, there doesn’t appear to be a huge reason to upgrade. Day-to-day performance may feel almost identical, since both phones use the same Tensor G4 chip, the same amount of RAM and very similar camera hardware.

That said, the Pixel 10a does make a stronger case for first-time buyers or anyone upgrading from an older Pixel. The biggest differentiator, though, is Satellite SOS — it’s the one feature the Pixel 9a simply can’t match due to hardware limitations. At the same $499 starting price, the Pixel 10a is, on paper, the better long-term buy if you’re choosing between the two today. 

Google Pixel 10a vs. Google Pixel 9a: Specs at a glance