Author: News Room

Aging laptops often end up in drawers or landfills once their operating systems stop receiving updates. Google and refurbished electronics marketplace Back Market want to change that with a new initiative announced at the MWC 2026 event. The companies have announced a pilot program that distributes USB drives preloaded with ChromeOS Flex, giving older laptops an easier way to run a modern operating system again. What is ChromeOS Flex? For the uninitiated, ChromeOS Flex is Google’s lightweight, secure, and cloud-based operating system that can be installed on old Windows and Mac PCs. The system focuses on web-based computing and shifts…

Despite not offering major upgrades over its predecessor, Google’s latest mid-ranger is a solid choice for anyone seeking the Pixel experience on a budget. The Pixel 10a delivers clean software with a suite of handy AI features, reliable everyday performance, decent battery life, and capable cameras at an affordable price point. But viewed purely through a hardware lens, the newly launched Nothing Phone 4a Pro appears to have the upper hand. Nothing appears to offer more for the same price Although both phones start at the same price, the Phone 4a Pro seems to deliver significantly more at first glance.…

Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has unveiled a major breakthrough in EV battery technology that could dramatically reduce charging times. The company introduced its second-generation Blade Battery alongside new “Flash Charging” technology, claiming compatible electric vehicles could charge from 10% to 70% in about five minutes and up to 97% in roughly nine minutes. The announcement positions BYD as one of the key challengers to Tesla in the race to make electric vehicles as convenient as gasoline-powered cars. A Breakthrough in EV Charging Speed The new battery system is part of BYD’s next-generation Blade Battery 2.0, which improves energy density,…

Pokémon Pokopia is finally out, exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2, as of today, and there’s already a limited-time event on the way. Titled “More Spores for Hoppip,” this event begins on Monday, March 9, at 1 p.m. PT and runs through Tuesday, March 24, at 12:59 p.m., and will give players the chance to befriend Hoppip, the Cottonweed Pokémon. After befriending Hoppip, you can collect special cotton spores that will appear in your various biomes during the event. Once you’ve gathered enough, you can exchange the spores for picnic-themed furniture items to use in your habitats. With these new decorations, you…

Ubisoft has finally acknowledged what many Assassin’s Creed fans suspected all along: a remake of the iconic Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is indeed in development. After years of leaks and speculation, the company has teased the project under the title Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced, subtly confirming the long-running rumors in a new franchise update blog post. Get ready to become a pirate once again Rather than outright announcing the remake, Ubisoft opted for a playful tease. In the blog post, Assassin’s Creed franchise head Jean Guesdon referenced the series’ famous motto and hinted that the rumors surrounding Black…

Kena: Bridge of Spirits originally launched on PlayStation and PC in 2021, then came to Xbox in 2024. Now, developer Ember Lab has revealed that Kena: Bridge of Spirits will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 sometime this Spring. The Switch 2 version will be a complete experience as it features the Anniversary DLC that originally launched in 2022. That DLC features Charmstones, Spirit Guide Trials, and new Kena Outfits, as well as additional accessibility features. It will also feature a New Game+ mode, which allows players to restart Kena’s journey with all previously unlocked abilities, upgrades, outfits, Rot, and more, for…

Luxury car designers and budget smartphones don’t usually exist in the same sentence. But that’s exactly what happened when Infinix partnered with Italian design firm Pininfarina. If that name sounds familiar, it is the studio behind some of the world’s most iconic sports cars. The collaboration will debut with the upcoming Infinix Note 60 Ultra, a device that kicks off a new premium design direction for the brand. The Ferrari design DNA behind the phone Pininfarina is one of the most recognizable names in automotive design. The Italian studio has spent decades shaping legendary cars like the Ferrari Testarossa and…

Nintendo launched Kirby Air Riders, a sequel to 2003’s Kirby Air Ride on GameCube, back in November, and since then, players have been awaiting word on when the previously announced King Dedede (and Tank Star) amiibo would be released. After months of waiting, Nintendo has revealed it will hit stores on July 2, alongside news of two additional Kirby Air Riders amiibo on the way: Sword Kirby (and Dragoon) and Noir Dedede (and Hydra). Nintendo did not announce prices for these figures, but if they’re priced like previously released Kirby Air Riders amiibo, you can expect them to reach into the…

Nothing has officially launched the Phone 4a alongside the Phone 4a Pro, and the company has positioned this as a phone for people who love to create. The star of the show is a brand new camera system, but there’s more under the hood than just upgraded lenses. It’s all about the cameras with other minor improvements The Phone 4a features a 50MP periscope camera with a 3.5x OIS sensor. You also get the familiar 50MP OIS main sensor, an ultra-wide, and a 32MP selfie camera. You get a zoom range from 0.6x to 70x, which is a significant upgrade.…

Apple Music started rolling out Transparency Tags on March 4, a system for flagging AI-generated music and artwork. Music Business Worldwide reports that labels can now tag content across four categories when they deliver it: tracks, compositions, artwork, and music videos. When a label sends a song to Apple, it can check a box saying AI generated a material portion of the recording or its packaging. Apple says in a partner newsletter that proper tagging is the first step toward giving the industry the data it needs for thoughtful policies. There’s just one thing missing: Enforcement. The data problem with…