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2026-04-14 03:47:49

Xbox's new chief exec, Asha Sharma, has only been in charge for a few months but things already seem like they might be changing for the better. Or at the very least, they might be getting cheaper. The Verge reported that the new Xbox CEO wrote a memo to employees addressing the current pricing of the Game Pass subscription service. 

"Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox. It’s also clear that the current model isn’t the final one," Sharma allegedly said. "Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation. Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around."

After Microsoft upped the price for Game Pass twice within 15 months, many of us certainly felt that the service had gotten too costly to keep. Xbox is still offering a wide range of titles on Game Pass; the April update is adding indies like Hades 2 and new Double Fine project Kiln alongside AAA hits like the remake of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The Verge's sources suggested that the addition of the CoD franchise might have been a factor in some of the Game Pass price increases, since Microsoft would lose out on revenue by making the latest entries in the series available under the subscription. 

It's too early to say whether this memo from Sharma means Xbox is on the brink of a resurgence. And there are changes the company could make, like adding ever more complicated tiers, that would further hamper interest and uptake of Game Pass. But acknowledging the problem, even internally, is refreshing to see after so many baffling moves from Xbox in recent years.

2026-04-14 02:54:32

Fans of miniature plastic soldiers, rejoice. Games Workshop has brought a host of older Warhammer and Warhammer 40K video games to Steam for the first time, alongside a dozen games that haven't been available on Valve's storefront for a few years. The new to Steam releases consist of three games from the Warhammer fantasy range — Shadow of the Horned Rat, Mark of Chaos – Gold Edition and Dark Omen — and four from its sci-fi 40K universe — Chaos Gate, Fire Warrior, Final Liberation and Rites of War.  

If you're a Warhammer fan of a certain age, some of these may be formative experiences for you. I know they are for me. I can't count how many hours I spent playing Chaos Gate when I first discovered 40K at the age of 10. Yes, it was an XCOM clone, but by that point I didn't know about the MicroProse original, and Space Marines were cool. 

Years later and as a Tau collector at the time, I also loved Fire Warrior, even if it wasn't the most polished or deep first-person shooter. I haven't played the other five games included in today's announcement, but I've heard Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat and Warhammer 40K: Rites of War are pretty good if you're into the setting or, in the latter case, a fan of the Eldar.  

To celebrate the re-release of these old gems, Games Workshop is running a Classics sale on Steam, with discounts on all 19 re-releases. Plus, you can get discounts on some more recent releases, including the excellent Dawn of War – Definitive Edition and Dawn of War 2 – Anniversary Edition. If you're new to the Warhammer 40K universe, and would rather avoid a plastic addiction, one of those would be my first port of call, along with the excellent Space Marine 2.

2026-04-14 02:50:00

Dozens of civil rights organizations have written a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to warn of the dangers in bringing facial recognition technology to the company's smart glasses. More than 70 groups have banded together to form a coalition to urge Zuckerberg to abandon plans to incorporate the tech, on the grounds that it would empower stalkers, sexual predators and other bad actors.

This coalition includes organizations like the ACLU, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Fight for the Future, Access Now and many others. The letter isn't asking for safeguards. These groups want the feature to be completely eliminated, stating the idea behind facial recognition of this type is so dangerous that it “cannot be resolved through product design changes, opt-out mechanisms or incremental safeguards." This tracks, as there would be no real way for bystanders to know or consent to being identified.

"People should be able to move through their daily lives without fear that stalkers, scammers, abusers, federal agents and activists across the political spectrum are silently and invisibly verifying their identities and potentially matching their names to a wealth of readily available data about their habits, hobbies, relationships, health and behaviors," the letter states.

The organizations have urged Meta to disclose any known instances of its wearables being used for stalking, harassment or domestic violence. They also want the company to disclose past or ongoing discussions with federal law enforcement agencies, including ICE, about the use of Meta smart glasses and other wearables, according to a report by Wired.

There is certainly some cause for worry here. According to the New York Times, Meta issued an internal memo last year that suggested it could roll out this technology "during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns." That's corporate speak for "we'll do it when nobody is watching." The coalition called this "vile behavior" that looks to take advantage of "rising authoritarianism."

The technology in question is apparently called Name Tag, for obvious reasons. It uses AI to pull up information about people in a field of view to smart glasses displays. That's about as dystopian as it gets.

The company has reportedly been working on two versions of the toolset. There's one that would only identify people that are currently connected to a Meta platform and another that would identify anyone with a public account on a service like Instagram. It doesn't look like there's any way, as of yet, to use this tech to identify strangers on the street who don't have a Meta account of any kind. In other words, the company should expect a wave of cancellations if this rolls out.

In an emailed statement, a Meta spokesperson told Engadget: "Our competitors offer this type of facial recognition product, we do not. If we were to release such a feature, we would take a very thoughtful approach before rolling anything out."

Public outcry has gotten Meta to back off from facial recognition in the past. The company ended Facebook's photo-tagging system in 2021 after pushback from civil liberties groups and years of costly litigation. Meta paid out billions of dollars to settle biometric privacy lawsuits in Illinois and Texas and another $5 billion to the FTC for a separate privacy case partially tied to facial recognition software.

Update, April 13 2026, 4:45PM ET: This story was updated after publish with comment from Meta.

2026-04-14 01:47:05

There are plenty of retro gaming handhelds on the market, but Anbernic is introducing one that offers a unique spin on the square shape. The retro gaming handheld maker revealed the RG Rotate on its YouTube channel, showing off a 1:1 display that swivels out much like the T-Mobile Sidekick of yore.

Anbernic often drip feeds details of its upcoming products over time, but so far, we know that the RG Rotate will run on Android, feature an aluminum alloy frame and come in Polar Black and Aurora Silver. Anbernic's video detailed that the handheld will have a "proprietary ultra-thin alloy hinge" that went through "high-durability testing." While the handheld maker has experience with other hinges as seen with its RG DS and RG 34XXSP, the RG Rotate's hinge mechanism could prove to be a new engineering challenge. 

As for the rest of the build, Anbernic is adding swappable L2 and R2 buttons that allow users to adjust the height of the shoulder buttons. From the video, the RG Rotate might only be built with a single USB-C port, which has irked a few fans hoping for an audio jack. Anbernic hasn't announced pricing for the RG Rotate yet, but it'll likely be much cheaper than more premium options from Ayn or Retroid.

2026-04-14 01:00:00

Over the past couple of years, Google has found ways to stuff Gemini in nearly every app and service it offers. Whether it's Gmail with its AI inbox or Chrome with its chat sidebar, Gemini is now inescapable inside of Workspace. I don't know about you, but I don't need an AI to tell me how to write a =SUM equation in Sheets or an outline for a first draft. Most of the time, I find Gemini is a distraction. If you feel the same way, this how-to is for you.    

How to remove Gemini from your personal Workspace account 

Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

To turn Gemini off, you will need to disable two separate sets of options. The first set covers a set of features, including smart compose, that are shared across Gmail, Chat and Meet — so if you turn them off in one app, they won't be available in any of the three. All of this is most easily done through Gmail's web client.  

1. In Gmail, tap the cog icon.

2. Select See all settings.

3. Under the General tab, scroll down to find Smart features.

4. Disable Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet.  

In Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, smart features are turned off by default.  

Next, turn your attention to Workspace. 

1. In Gmail, tap the cog icon.

2. Select See all settings.

3. Under the General tab, scroll down and click Manage Workspace smart feature settings.

4. Toggle off smart features in Google Workspace and Smart features in other Google products.

A word of warning: completely disabling smart features in Google Workspace turns off not only Gemini integration but also access to basic capabilities like spelling and grammar corrections. You'll also lose features that have been Google staples for years. In Gmail, for example, the app will stop sorting incoming emails by priority, a notification at the top of the screen informing you that smart features are required for inbox categorization. Whatever Google's motivation for this state of affairs, it's a design decision that actively discourages users from disabling Gemini integration. 

Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

If you want to rid yourself of Gemini but would still like to use some of the other features the company offers through Gmail and its other apps, I recommend leaving the first set of smart features on while disabling the Workspace-specific ones. You can also opt to turn off some of the features included in the first group, while leaving others on. Below is a list of those features, with a brief overview of the less self-explanatory ones.    

• Grammar

• Spelling

• Autocorrect

• Smart Compose — as you write an email, Gmail will generate predictive writing suggestions  

• Smart Compose personalization — as you write, Gmail will tailor Smart Compose suggestions to your writing style 

• Nudges — Gmail will generate notifications prompting you to respond or follow up on unanswered emails   

• Smart Reply — Gmail will generate suggestions on how to respond to an email

• Package tracking — Google will display shipping updates inside of Gmail

• Desktop notifications — Yes, for some reason you need the power of AI to get notifications on your PC 

Unfortunately, Google doesn't offer this same level of granular control when it comes to smart features inside of Workspace. For instance, if you turn off Gemini in Docs, Calendar won't automatically display events from Gmail. Again, Google really wants to dissuade you from disabling Gemini. 

How to remove Gemini from your professional Workspace account

If your workplace uses Google Workspace, all of the above options should be present in Gmail's settings menu, and you can follow the same steps to turn off most of the smart features Google offers. Unfortunately, the second part of the process does nothing. You will still see Gemini in Docs, Sheets and elsewhere, even with smart features in Workspace turned off. Only your admin can completely turn off Gemini for you.

2026-04-14 00:29:22

Many countries are pursuing social media bans for anyone under 16, but a recent poll is putting the effectiveness of such laws into question. The Molly Rose Foundation, a charity organization that focuses on preventing online harm, recently published a study that polled 1,050 Australian children between ages 12 and 15 in March. The study's results showed that 61 percent of those between 12 and 15 who previously had access to affected social media platforms still have one or more active accounts.

Australia made a first-in-the-world decision to ban social media for those under 16 years old, beginning on December 10. While it's only been a few months since the ban went into effect, the foundation's poll concluded that the ban doesn't have a "clear positive or negative impact on children’s wellbeing." The study also noted that 70 percent of children trying to get on restricted platforms said that it was easy to get around the ban.

"These results raise major questions about the effectiveness of Australia’s social media ban and show it would be a high stakes gamble for the UK to follow suit now," Andy Burrows, the CEO of the Molly Rose Foundation, said in a statement.

The Australian government has also published its own findings in March that examined how social media platforms are complying with the ban. According to the government's report, Snap, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are currently being investigated for potential non-compliance. The report added that Australia's eSafety agency is finalizing these investigations and will make a decision about enforcement by the middle of 2026. According to the eSafety report, the agency's enforcement powers include issuing infringement notices, seeking court-ordered injunctions and "civil penalties up to A$49.5 million," or around $35 million USD.