Samsung didn't only have new phones to show off at its Unpacked event. The company took the opportunity to reveal the Galaxy Watch 6 too. The latest wearable starts at $300, but Amazon is sweetening the deal. If you lock in a pre-order there, you'll get a $50 Amazon gift card. Note that the offer only applies to the Bluetooth models, and not the LTE or Watch 6 Classic variants. You'll get a free fabric watch band as well. The Watch 6 will be available starting on August 11th.

The Bluetooth model does not, unfortunately, feature the return of the rotating bezel (you'll need to plump for the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic for that), but there are still some other interesting updates. During our hands-on time with it, we found that a new one-click mechanism makes it much easier to swap between certain bands.

The standard Watch 6 is available in sizes of 40mm and 44mm. The screen is much sharper and brighter this time around. It has a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits, so you shouldn't have much trouble seeing the display on a sunny day. Samsung has also upgraded the processor and added a larger battery. The company claims you'll get up to eight hours of use after eight minutes of fast charging. 

The sleep-tracking and coaching features have seemingly been upgraded, while there's a new Personalized Heart Rate Zone feature that aims to help you attain the fitness results you're looking for. Meanwhile, Samsung Wallet has replaced Samsung Pay to make the device compatible with digital IDs, boarding passes and event tickets.

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Samsung has only just unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5, but there are already deals to be had if you lock in a pre-order on Amazon. Those who pre-order the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will get a $200 Amazon gift card as well as a free storage upgrade from 256GB to 512GB. That should somewhat make up for the foldable's high base price of $1,800.

We've had some hands-on time with the Z Fold 5. There's a new hinge that all but eliminates the gap between the two halves of the screen and it reduces the device's overall thickness to 13.5mm. The Flex Hinge still has IPX8 water resistance, according to Samsung.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform chipset and it has 12GB of RAM. The 6.2-inch OLED cover screen and main 7.6-inch display both have 120Hz refresh rates. The camera array includes a 50MP main lens, a 12MP ultra-wide and a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom.

So far, we feel that the Z Fold 5 has improved multitasking, but rivals such as Google and Oppo are catching up to Samsung on the foldables front. The high price doesn't help, but at least the Amazon pre-order deal takes the sting out of that a bit. The Z Fold 5 will ship on August 11th.

Meanwhile, you'll get a $150 Amazon gift card when you pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. A free storage upgrade to 512GB can be all yours too. The Z Flip 5 starts at $1,000 and it will also be broadly available on August 11th.

Samsung's latest clamshell foldable has a 3.4-inch external screen, which is nearly four times the size of the one on the previous model. It also boasts a Flex Hinge to minimize the crease between the two halves of the 6.7-inch, 120Hz AMOLED main screen.

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A Congressional subcommittee is set to hold a hearing into UFOs, which are also referred to as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). The panel will hear "firsthand accounts" of UAP and "assess the federal government’s transparency and accountability" regarding possible threats to national security. You'll be able to watch the hearing below on July 26th at 10AM ET.

The hearing — conducted by the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs — will also focus on drives for legislation to "bring transparency to UAPs." The subcommittee wants to force the federal government to provide US residents with "information about potential risks to public safety and national security" as well. According to Rep. Tim Burchett, “The Pentagon and Washington bureaucrats have kept this information hidden for decades and we’re finally going to shed some light on it."

The federal government has placed more of an onus on UAPs over the last few years (publicly, at least). In 2021, the Pentagon set up a task force to look into UAP sightings while NASA has established a separate panel to investigate the phenomena. The Department of Defense also created its own UAP investigative body, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), in 2022.

Among the three witnesses who will testify during the hearing is David Grusch. The former intelligence official recently claimed that the US government has been recovering alien spacecraft and the bodies of UAP pilots for decades. Grusch, who until July 2022 was the co-lead for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's UAP analysis, also said there was evidence of "malevolent activity" by UFOs. His claims, for which he has not provided any physical evidence, led to the hearing.

Threads is about to get vastly more useful as Meta has started rolling out the option to see a chronological feed of posts from the people you follow. Many observers said this was a key feature Threads needed to truly compete with Twitter, long a vital source of real-time information. But as Twitter (sorry, X) owner Elon Musk continues to reduce his app to rubble, Threads is looking like a more viable destination for up-to-the-minute news and updates. You'll need to update to the latest version of Threads to see the chronological feed, but since this is a gradual rollout, it might not appear for you immediately.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the rollout of the chronological feed on his Instagram broadcast channel (Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, said a while back that such an option was on the way). The Meta CEO added that Threads has gained another vitally important feature in the form of translations. Zuckerberg said there was more to come, hopefully including the ability to post to Threads from the web, direct messages, improved accessibility, better search and a TweetDeck-like way to keep tabs on Threads posts.

General Motors isn’t quite done with the Chevrolet Bolt. Back in April, it emerged the company will end production of the popular, wallet-friendly EV and EUV this year, largely because it relies on old battery cell tech and the factory where it’s made is being refitted. However, there’s some positive news for fans of the EV as GM has confirmed a new version of the Bolt is on the way.

The company hasn’t revealed many details about the new Bolt — you’ll need to wait until later this year for that. Unsurprisingly, though, the next-gen model will use GM’s Ultium battery system as well as its Ultifi software platform. The company says that, by harnessing these technologies, it will be able to bring the Bolt back to market “on an accelerated timeline,” but didn’t give an indication of when that might be.

GM made the Bolt announcement during its quarterly earnings call. The company said it saw its strongest Bolt EV and EUV sales to date in the first half of 2023. It posted quarterly revenue of $44.7 billion, up 25 percent year-over-year, but noted there was a $792 million charge related to a new partnership with LG. “The charge reflects the conscious decision GM made during the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV recall to serve customers in ways that go beyond traditional remedies,” GM said.

The company built around 50,000 EVs in North America in the first six months of 2023. It’s doubling that target for the second half of the year. It aims to reach a capacity of 1 million EVs in the continent by 2025.

In the meantime, Chevy has three other EVs on the way this year: the Silverado, the Blazer and the Equinox. The brand will reveal its first full-size electric SUV, the Escalade IQ, on August 9th.

Shark makes some of the best robot vacuum cleaners around and now you can pick one up for a steal. Several of the brand's models are now on sale on Amazon. You can save up to 45 percent on the products, and you'll get maximum savings on a model with a self-emptying base and self-cleaning brushroll. The IQ Robot Vacuum AV1002AE with XL Self-Empty Base has dropped from $549 to $300.

The vacuum has a bagless base that can hold up to 30 days' worth of debris and dirt. The device empties itself after each clean. It has a multi-surface brushroll that Shark claims can pull in dirt and debris from carpets as well as hard floors, while a multi-stage filtration system captures dust, dander and allergens.

This model is said to have advanced navigation — it will clean rooms row by row in the aim of offering complete coverage. You can use Alexa or Google Assistant to get the device to start cleaning. Alternatively, you can put the vacuum to work with a single tap in Shark's app. When its battery runs low, the robovac will return to the base and recharge, then continue where it left off.

Another item in the sale that's worth considering is our top pick for the best midrange robot vacuum. The Shark AI Robot Vacuum with Base has dropped from $600 to $449.44. That's 25 percent off the usual price.

This model uses LiDAR to map your home. It's also a self-emptying model but this one can hold up to 60 days worth of debris and dirt in the base. This vacuum cleans in a matrix grid with multiple passes to help ensure cleanliness. It has a HEPA filtration system that can capture 99.97 percent of dust and allergens, Shark says. The brand also notes that the robovac can clean for up to 120 minutes before having to recharge.

As it promised, Reddit has been taking over control of subreddits that shut down to protest changes to the platform's API. The admin account u/ModCodeofConduct has taken sole charge of r/malefashionadvice, a community with more than 5.4 million subscribers.

The subreddit joined thousands of others in closing shop in mid-June to show opposition to the new API rules. Other subreddits started allowing users to post porn in protest.

Third-party developers used the API to build thousands of apps that hook into Reddit. Many of their apps helped with moderation or accessibility. However, Reddit decided to start charging for the formerly free API, forcing the developers of many popular apps to abandon their projects. A transcription community also closed over a "lack of trust" in the platform.

Reddit saw a sizable drop in traffic after the protest started, according to third-party data. The company warned moderators that kept their subreddits private or in read-only mode that it would replace them.

One of the former r/malefashionadvice mods told The Verge that Reddit removed their privileges on Thursday, something they'd been expecting to happen. In a pinned post, u/ModCodeofConduct sought volunteers to take over the subreddit. The admin account has posted similar messages on other subreddits for which it's the only current moderator, including r/AccidentalRenaissance (which has more than 925,000 subscribers) and r/ShittyLifeProTips (1.7 million subscribers). 

"We are, and have been, enforcing the moderator Code of Conduct. This is not new because of the protests," a Reddit spokesperson told Engadget. Under its guidelines, Reddit considers a public community that has indefinitely been made private to be "abandoned," and it seeks "new mods who want to reinvigorate it." The spokesperson added that "we have a practice of reactivating private, high-subscriber communities that are being 'camped' on." 

Meanwhile, Reddit this week revived r/place, a communal art project that allows each user to place a single pixel onto a large mosaic once every few minutes. Unsurprisingly, redditors are using it to call out the company and CEO Steve Huffman (aka u/spez). "Never forget what was stolen from you," reads a message on the mosaic that directs viewers to the r/Save3rdPartyApps community.

Some redditors seem very excited about a new World of Warcraft feature called Glorbo, which some believe will "make a huge impact on the game." Their palpable enthusiasm for Glorbo caught the attention of a blog named The Portal, which publishes "gaming content powered by Z League," an app that aims to bring gamers together. 

Just one problem: Glorbo isn't real. The Portal appears to be using AI to scrape Reddit posts and turn them into content.

Redditor u/kaefer_kriegerin noticed that The Portal was seemingly turning discussions from some gaming subreddits into blog posts. They decided to try and trick the content farm into covering a fake WoW feature. The ruse was a success. Other redditors played along, as did some Blizzard developers, as WoW Head notes.

The Portal's now-deleted blog post even quoted u/kaefer_kriegerin as stating, "Honestly, this new feature makes me so happy! I just really want some major bot operated news websites to publish an article about this." You almost couldn't make this up. An archived version of the post is still available.

There appears to be at least some level of human input on The Portal. The site added "(Satire)" to the headline of the post before eventually deleting it entirely. It also published an article based on another Reddit troll post about WoW taking away players' keys (which is not a thing that's happening). That blog post is also gone from The Portal.

Engadget has contacted Blizzard to find out whether it will address the hype for Glorbo and actually bring the feature to WoW. As it happens, Blizzard is reportedly using AI to help create character outfits and concept art. We've also asked Z League for comment, and we'll let you know if it sends us a (presumably AI-generated) statement.

Given the rise of generative AI in recent months, we're likely to see a tidal wave of AI-generated guff appearing on websites, even including mainstream publications. Earlier this year, CNET had to correct dozens of AI-generated finance posts after errors were found. The site's staff has pushed back against CNET's plans to keep using AI amid efforts to unionize. Gizmodo publisher G/O Media is also forging ahead with AI-generated blog posts, despite one that was widely mocked for getting a chronological list of Star Wars movies and TV shows very wrong. That and other AI-generated articles that appeared across the G/O network this month infuriated the company's human writers and editors.

Mistakes happen. Human writers can't get everything right all of the time. But any journalist worth their salt will strive to make sure their work is as accurate and fair as possible. Generative AI isn't exactly there yet. There have been many instances of AI chatbots surfacing misinformation. However, some believe AI can help to actually combat misinformation by, for instance, assisting newsrooms with fact checking.

Meanwhile, Google appears to be working on an AI tool that can whip up news articles and automate certain tasks to help out journalists. Some critics who have seen the tool in action have suggested that it takes the work of producing accurate and digestible news stories for granted.

The Federal Trade Commission has formally put its administrative trial over Microsoft's pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard on hold. The move, which was first reported by Bloomberg, allows the agency and companies to hold talks over a settlement for the eye-popping $68.7 billion merger.

The FTC's decision to pause its case is another major victory for Microsoft and Activision as they attempt to get the deal over the line. The agency sued to block the deal in December and an evidentiary hearing in the case was set for August 2nd. Last week, it lost a legal bid to prevent the companies from merging before the administrative trial was set to begin in early August. The FTC has appealed its court loss.

“The FTC has not shown it is likely to succeed on its assertion the combined firm will probably pull Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content will substantially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets,” Jacqueline Scott Corley wrote in a ruling last week. Microsoft has since signed a deal with Sony to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for 10 years if the merger goes through.

In a motion filed on Tuesday, Microsoft and Activision urged the FTC to withdraw its case. FTC rules stipulate that the agency has to withdraw its case after the companies made the request, since it was denied a preliminary injunction to stop them from merging. Per Bloomberg, Microsoft and Activision can now try to convince the FTC to accept remedies that will resolve the agency's concerns about the deal's impact on competition in the gaming industry. Alternatively, they could persuade the FTC to completely abandon its opposition to the merger.

The FTC still has the option of holding its administrative trial after the merger closes. However, it's rare for the agency to proceed with an in-house case after it loses a federal court battle.

The initial deadline for the acquisition to close was Tuesday, though Microsoft and Activision extended their merger agreement until October 18th to give them "additional time to resolve remaining regulatory concerns." They agreed that Microsoft will be on the hook for a breakup fee of as much as $4.5 billion if the deal falls apart, though both sides are determined to wrap things up. 

Microsoft and Activision still have to gain approval from a UK regulator to close the deal without having to resort to workarounds to continue doing business in the country. The Competition and Markets Authority initially blocked the merger in April, but over the last week or so, it has signaled a willingness to amicably resolve its concerns over the potential impact of the deal on the cloud gaming market. 

Microsoft is poised to submit an updated merger proposal to the CMA. The regulator will make a decision by August 29th, though it aims to do so as soon as possible. In a hearing this week, a CMA lawyer said that both the regulator and Microsoft are confident that the company will be able to resolve its concerns. That's yet another sign that the biggest merger in gaming history is very likely to close in the coming weeks.

Microsoft, Google and OpenAI are among the leaders in the US artificial intelligence space that will reportedly commit to certain safeguards for their technology on Friday, following a push from the White House. The companies will voluntarily agree to abide by a number of principles though the agreement will expire when Congress passes legislation to regulate AI, according to Bloomberg.

The Biden administration has placed a focus on making sure that AI companies develop the technology responsibly. Officials want to make sure tech firms can innovate in generative AI in a way that benefits society without negatively impacting the safety, rights and democratic values of the public.

In May, Vice President Kamala Harris met with the CEOs of OpenAI, Microsoft, Alphabet and Anthropic, and told them they had a responsibility to make sure their AI products are safe and secure. Last month, President Joe Biden met with leaders in the field to discuss AI issues.

According to a draft document viewed by Bloomberg, the tech firms are set to agree to eight suggested measures concerning safety, security and social responsibility. Those include:

• Letting independent experts test models for bad behavior 

• Investing in cybersecurity

• Emboldening third parties to discover security vulnerabilities

• Flagging societal risks including biases and inappropriate uses

• Focusing on research into the societal risks of AI

• Sharing trust and safety information with other companies and the government 

• Watermarking audio and visual content to help make it clear that content is AI-generated

• Using the state-of-the-art AI systems known as frontier models to tackle society’s greatest problems

The fact that this is a voluntary agreement underscores the difficulty that lawmakers have in keeping up with the pace of AI developments. Several bills have been introduced in Congress in the hope of regulating AI. One aims to prevent companies from using Section 230 protections to avoid liability for harmful AI-generated content, while another seeks to require political ads to include disclosures when generative AI is employed. Of note, administrators in the Houses of Representatives have reportedly placed limits on the use of generative AI in congressional offices.