Technology

Polestar is delivering a not-so-subtle snub to Mercedes’ subscription performance upgrade. The automaker has released an update that gives the Polestar 2’s long range dual motor variant a 68HP power boost (plus 15lb. ft. of torque) in the US and Canada for a one-time $1,195 fee. That’s far from a trivial expense, but it’s a … Read more

The European Commission and Amazon have reportedly come to an agreement that will allow the retail giant to avoid a fine for allegedly misusing seller data. According to The Financial Times, the company has pledged to give rival products equal treatment in the Buy Box section of its website, a move that should theoretically increase the … Read more

Giphy is looking to improve accessibility and help more people understand what the platform’s GIFs are depicting with the help of alt text descriptions. It has teamed up with a content accessibility solutions provider called Scribely to add descriptive text to the platform’s content. Screen readers will be able to read the alt text aloud, … Read more

Apple isn’t done scaling back its plans for an electric car, apparently. Bloombergsources say the EV, codenamed Project Titan, is no longer a fully self-driving machine. It will reportedly have a conventional wheel and pedals, and will ‘only’ drive itself on highways. The company has also pushed the launch back by a year to 2026, … Read more

Since Amazon first announced its Luna cloud gaming service in 2020, Ubisoft has been one of the company’s closest partners. The publisher embraced the service early and came out of the gate with a dedicated channel. Now the two companies are deepening their partnership with an expansion of what you can do with Luna. Starting … Read more

CD Projekt Red is shutting down The Witcher: Monster Slayer, its Pokémon Go-style mobile title released last year. The game will start winding down at the end of January before going offline for good at the end of June. Unfortunately, that will also mean layoffs. As detailed in a FAQ (spotted by IGN), some developers … Read more

Amazon has rolled out another round of discounts on Samsung storage devices, dropping various microSD cards and SSDs we recommend to their lowest prices to date. Among the highlights, the 1TB version of Samsung’s 980 Pro SSD is down to $100, which is about $25 off its average street price over the last few months … Read more

Snapchat is testing out a new way for its augmented reality lens creators to make money from their creations. The company is experimenting with a new feature that will allow creators to sell paid upgrades to lenses with Snapchat’s in-app currency . Creators have flexibility in terms of the “digital goods” they can build into … Read more

Meta thrives on ad targeting, but it may have to tone down its use of the technology in Europe. The Wall Street Journalsources claim the EU’s European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has ruled that Meta can’t require users to accept personalized ads. You could opt out of targeted ads on Facebook or Instagram if you’d … Read more

YouTube is rolling out Twitch-style custom global emotes for comments and live chats. Threeindependentillustrators created the first batch of emotes, which are focused on gaming, though it appears that they work on any type of channel. YouTube plans to develop emotes for other types of communities in the future. To use the emotes, click on … Read more