As a potential FTC antitrust lawsuit looms in the background, Amazon plans to reduce its in-house brands. According toThe Wall Street Journal, the retailer will eliminate 27 of its 30 clothing brands and all of its private-label furniture lines. It isn’t clear how many other areas the cuts could affect, but the Amazon Basics brand appears to remain largely, if not wholly, intact. The retailer told the WSJ that it looks to eliminate products that “aren’t resonating with customers.”

Among the Amazon clothing labels reportedly being phased out are Lark & Ro, Daily Ritual and Goodthreads. (Amazon Essentials, Amazon Collection and Amazon Aware will reportedly remain.) Meanwhile, the retailer is allegedly dropping its Rivet and Stone & Beam furniture brands once their current stock is depleted. “We always make decisions based on what our customers want, and we’ve learned that customers seek out our biggest brands — like Amazon Basics and Amazon Essentials — for great value with high quality products at great price points,” Matt Taddy, VP of Amazon Private Brands, said in a statement to the WSJ.

Although Amazon didn’t explicitly connect the changes to the expected FTC lawsuit, the timing seems unlikely to be coincidental. Company representatives will reportedly sit down next week with FTC chair Lina Khan and commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. The chat is viewed as a “last rites” meeting, giving the company one final chance to sway the government agency to back down before a filing decision. The anticipated lawsuit culminates a four-year investigation into the company’s alleged anticompetitive practices. It also faces a separate FTC lawsuit related to tricking customers into Prime subscriptions.

Part of the FTC’s interest reportedly lies in Amazon’s dealings with third-party sellers, a longstanding point of focus in antitrust arguments. The WSJ reported in 2020 that Amazon employees used internal data about third-party sellers to create in-house products. That led to the company agreeing to stop boosting its in-house brands in search results, making them harder to sell.

X (formerly Twitter) CEO Linda Yaccarino confirmed today that video chat is coming to the platform. In an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen (viaTechCrunch), Yaccarino said, “Soon you’ll be able to make video chat calls without having to give your phone number to anyone on the platform.” The move reflects Yaccarino and Musk’s mission to build X into an “everything app” that includes long-form videos, payments and creator subscriptions.

The announcement follows a slightly cryptic post this week from X designer Andrea Conway. “Just called someone on X,” she posted, followed by four exploding-head emojis. Although that post didn’t clarify whether it was voice or video calls, it now appears she was referring to the latter.

It isn’t clear how X video calls would fill a burning need for consumers: The crowded video-chat landscape already includes Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Apple FaceTime and more. But as Musk and Yaccarino try to reshape the company, they increasingly view the platform formerly known as Twitter as expanding far beyond tweets into a real-time town square for various media, communications and payments.

“At the heart of the rebrand, X, we need to keep our minds open that it’s developing into this global town square that is fueled by free expression where the public gathers in real time,” Yaccarino said. “And I want to stop on that for a second because ‘in real time’ is what’s most important about the vibrancy of X and how people interact with it. And now it’s all in one seamless interface.”

One of the platform’s first moves into new areas was in long-form video. The company added a Twitter Blue perk in May that lets subscribers upload videos up to two hours long. Apple was an early adopter as it used the allotment to plug its series Silo by posting the entire first episode on the social platform. X also recently began paying content creators with enough of a following to generate income — with one user claiming to receive $24,000.

Yaccarino echoed the company’s previous comments about X as a payment platform. “Payments: There’s been a lot of talk about that,” she said. “Payments between you and a friend, between you and one of your creators. So there’s been a lot going on in the rebrand represented — really a liberation from Twitter. A liberation that allowed us to evolve past a legacy mindset and thinking and to reimagine how everyone, everyone on spaces who’s listening, everybody who’s watching around the world, it’s going to change how we congregate, how we entertain, how we transact all in one platform.”

As Elon Musk awaits his doctor’s permission to fight Mark Zuckerberg in an on-again / off-again cage match, the two billionaires’ companies continue to spar in the consumer adoption arena. Meta forged ahead with Threads’ aggressive update schedule today as it tries to challenge Musk’s erratic X (rebranded Twitter). Zuckerberg announced today that the young platform now supports sharing posts to Instagram DMs, custom alt text for photos and videos and a new mention button.

The Send on Instagram option lets users publish their Threads posts directly to Instagram DMs via the Send button. The feature could be seen as one of the “retention-driving hooks” Meta cooked up to ensure “people who are on the Instagram app can see important Threads,” as Reutersreported Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said in a recent company meeting. The strategy is allegedly tied to reports of falling engagement after the fledgling platform added over 100 million users in less than a week. Zuckerberg reportedly described the decline as “normal” and expected retention to grow as Meta continues to flesh out the social channel, which launched in early July.

Meta

Meanwhile, the custom alt-text option is an accessibility feature allowing Threads users to add (or edit existing auto-generated) alt text for photos and videos before uploading. The new mention button makes it easier to tag profiles in your Threads posts. Finally, the platform is making it easier to verify your identity on fediverse platforms like Mastodon. “You can now add your Threads profile link on supported platforms to verify your identity,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri posted today.

These are only the latest additions Meta has rolled out in the past few weeks. It announced earlier this month that a much-needed web version is on the way, offering desktop use for the first time, along with a proper search function. Other post-launch additions include a chronological feed and the ability to sort your following list and view your liked posts.

Cadillac revealed its first all-electric Escalade today. The 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ is a $130,000-and-up extravagance using GM’s Ultium batteries to offer a 450-mile range. But its price isn’t the only thing that’s formidable about the SUV: It’s even bigger than standard gas-powered Escalades — and nearly as long as the long-wheelbase model, the Escalade ESV. However, Cadillac says it’s still “estimated to be the most aerodynamic full-size SUV ever produced by GM.”

A 24-module Ultium battery powers the SUV, producing over 200kWh of available energy. It supports 800-volt DC fast charging and can provide up to 100 miles of range in 10 minutes of charging on 350-kW DC charging stations. It supports up to 19.2 kW AC with an estimated 37 miles of range per hour of charging.

The Escalade IQ has two electric motors supplying 680 horsepower (505 kW) and 615 lb-ft (834 Nm) of torque in normal mode. However, it can reach 750 hp (560 kW) and 785 lb-ft (1,064 Nm) in a Velocity Max mode. It’s rated to reach 60mph in less than five seconds in Velocity Max.

Cadillac

The Escalade IQ will make its presence known on roads, joining the ranks of electrified behemoths like the Hummer, Silverado, GMC Sierra Denali and Ram 1500 EV. The new Cadillac measures nearly 19 feet long, eight feet wide and over six feet high. But you get significant room inside with 119.2 cubic feet of cargo volume with the second and third-row seats folded. (It also has a frunk that adds another 12 cubic feet of storage.) The SUV can tow up to 8,000 lbs. It has a dash-spanning 55-inch dual-screen LED display, and its infotainment system runs Android Automotive OS (including Google Assistant, Google Maps and the Play Store). Higher-end tiers offer 360-degree audio through an AKG 40-speaker array.

Production for the 2025 Escalade IQ will begin next summer at GM’s Factory Zero assembly center in Detroit. Pricing “starts at around $130,000,” including destination charges.

Federal regulatory agencies have fined 11 financial institutions a combined $549 million for using “off-channel” messaging apps (WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal and text messages) for conversations about trades and other business. Securities laws require investment firms and banks to preserve communications records and ensure employees only carry out business through authorized channels. “The firms did not maintain or preserve the substantial majority of these off-channel communications, in violation of the federal securities laws,” the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wrote in a statement today.

The Wall Street firms were fined over half a billion dollars in penalties for using messaging apps instead of email, approved messaging platforms or other easily archived channels. Firms penalized by the SEC include Wells Fargo ($125 million), BNP Paribas ($35 million), SG Americas Securities ($35 million), BMO Capital Markets ($25 million), Mizuho Securities ($25 million), Houlihan Lokey Capital ($15 million), Moelis & Company ($10 million), Wedbush Securities ($10 million) and SMBC Nikko Securities America ($9 million). Meanwhile, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Wells Fargo ($75 million), BNP Paribas ($75 million), Société Générale ($75 million) and Bank of Montreal ($35 million).

“Recordkeeping failures such as those here undermine our ability to exercise effective regulatory oversight, often at the expense of investors,” said Sanjay Wadhwa, the SEC’s Deputy Director of Enforcement. “The Commission’s message could not be more clear — recordkeeping and supervision requirements are fundamental, and registrants that fail to comply with these core regulatory obligations do so at their own peril,” said CFTC Director of Enforcement Ian McGinley.

Federal regulators said all firms admitted to the facts about unapproved communications in agreeing to the penalties. “As described in the SEC’s orders, the firms admitted that from at least 2019, their employees often communicated through various messaging platforms on their personal devices, including iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal, about the business of their employers,” the SEC wrote in a statement. “The firms did not maintain or preserve the substantial majority of these off-channel communications, in violation of the federal securities laws. By failing to maintain and preserve required records, certain of the firms likely deprived the Commission of these off-channel communications in various SEC investigations.”

Both government agencies stressed that the problem was pervasive and not limited to entry-level employees and junior staff. “The failures involved employees at multiple levels of authority, including supervisors and senior executives,” the SEC said.

YouTube announced today that it’s changing how its home page works if you have your watch history disabled. Starting today, the video service’s home feed will stop appearing for those with their viewing history turned off and “no significant prior watch history.” The change will provide a more streamlined browsing experience, showing only the search bar and guide menu.

“Starting today, if you have YouTube watch history off and have no significant prior watch history, features that require watch history to provide video recommendations will be disabled — like your YouTube home feed,” the company wrote in a blog post today. “This means that starting today, your home feed may look a lot different: you’ll be able to see the search bar and the left-hand guide menu, with no feed of recommended videos, thus allowing you to more easily search, browse subscribed channels and explore Topic tabs instead.”

YouTube says the changes will appear “slowly, over the next few months.” The company describes the move as making “it more clear which YouTube features rely on watch history to provide video recommendations and make it more streamlined for those of you who prefer to search rather than browse recommendations.”

YouTube says, once the change rolls out to your account, you can change your watch history settings to switch views at any time. The toggle is in a dedicated section on the My Google Activity settings page.

Valve announced today that it’s offering “certified refurbished” Steam Deck units. The renewed devices shave around 20 percent off the prices of their new counterparts, allowing you to pick one up for cheaper than Steam Summer Sale prices. The consoles include the same one-year warranty as new models. In addition, Valve announced that GameStop is now selling Steam Deck refurbs in select stores, although its models are “refurbished at GameStop facilities and will come with their own warranty.”

At the time of publication, Valve has all three Steam Deck tiers in stock. The 64GB model costs $319, the 256GB variant is $419 and the 512GB one is sold for $519 — the same systems in new condition retail for $399, $529 and $649, respectively.

Valve says it thoroughly tests each unit before certifying it for resale. “Every device goes through a complete factory reset, software update, and an extensive examination involving over 100 tests at one of Valve’s facilities,” the company wrote. “Among the tests are all controller inputs, the audio system, the screen, and internals. Battery health is also assessed to ensure proper functionality and longevity.”

The company cautions that the renewed units “may have minor cosmetic blemishes,” but it promises “a reliable, high-quality gaming experience at a lower cost.” In addition to offering the same warranty as new consoles, the refurbished models include a power supply (also refurbished), carrying case and quick-start guide. Valve says refurbished Steam Deck stock is limited “and may fluctuate over time.” The company recommends checking its refurbished stock regularly if they’re sold out.

Meanwhile, GameStop's refurbished Steam Decks are also available today. They’re sold in select retail locations for “up to 20% less than new models” and are only available for customers with a GameStop Pro membership, which costs $25 annually.

Sony has reportedly begun rolling out a cloud streaming beta for PS Plus Premium subscribers — and it supports up to 4K resolution. Announced in June as being in the “early stages” of development, the feature will support PS Plus catalog titles, game trials and “supported digital PS5 titles that players own.” The feature could help PlayStation owners avoid lengthy downloads that take up precious storage.

An alleged PlayStation email to an invited tester, posted on Reddit, reads, “We’re excited to unveil PS5 cloud streaming, and your help testing it means a lot to us.” The beta period uses exclusive invite codes that can’t be shared with other users. The email notes that features could change before cloud streaming’s official launch.

User ArashiGames wrote on ResetEra that they tested God of War: Ragnarok at 2160p with “no issues so far.” They described resolution options ranging from 720p to 2160p for that title, and they said Returnal streamed in 4K. “There’s a new section in the PS+ menu that is for Streaming PS5 Games,” the beta-tester wrote. “Just click the game and it loads in a few seconds.” They listed Horizon Forbidden West, Fortnite, Destiny 2 and Death Stranding (among others) as streaming options. 4K resolution could prove a competitive advantage against Xbox Cloud Gaming, which maxes out at 1080p resolution and 60fps.

Sony’s upcoming “Project Q” streaming handheld will have an 8-inch, 1080p screen with a 60Hz refresh rate. The accessory is confirmed to use Remote Play (streaming directly from a console rather than the cloud) but could theoretically support cloud streaming as well. The device is set to launch later this year for an as-yet-unknown price.

Game streaming will be exclusive to PS Plus Premium members. The $18 / mo. service already supports cloud gaming for PS4, PS3 and select “classic” titles. It lets you stream available games to PS5, PS4 or PC.

Apple is testing variants of the M3 chip, according toBloomberg, with the first Macs running the new Apple Silicon potentially arriving as early as October. The high-end laptop chip, the M3 Max, will reportedly have four more high-performance CPU cores and at least two additional graphical cores compared to the M2 Max, which only arrived in January.

The company is reportedly testing new iMacs, 13-inch MacBook Pros, 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Airs and Mac minis — all running the M3 chip and expected within the next 12 months. Updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M3 Pro and M3 Max chips won’t likely arrive until 2024.

The company could move on an aggressive Mac release schedule as its desktop and laptop computer line struggles to regain its sales footing after a pandemic-era boom. Although it launched a 15-inch MacBook Air in June and new models of the MacBook Pro and Mac mini in January, we could see more new Mac hardware this fall. (The company hinted in its earnings call last week that new Macs wouldn’t arrive until after the fiscal fourth quarter, which concludes at the end of September.) Bloomberg reports Apple is indeed planning an October product launch.

The base M3 chip will reportedly use the same configuration as the M2: eight processor cores and up to 10 graphical cores. However, the M3 Pro will start at 12 CPU cores and 18 graphical cores, and test logs suggest the M3 Max will include 16 CPU cores and 40 graphics cores. Of course, Apple is likely testing multiple variants of core-count options, and we don’t yet know which versions will make it to consumers.

The M3 chip has been long-rumored to shift to TSMC’s upcoming 3-nanometer process for expected performance and efficiency improvements over the 5nm process used in the M2. Apple is also widely expected to use the 3nm process for the A17 chip in the upcoming iPhone 15 series.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into Adobe’s planned $20 billion purchase of design rival Figma. The EU said it’s concerned about the acquisition diminishing competition for interactive design software and digital asset creation tools.

The EU Commission has until December 14th to make a decision. “With our in-depth investigation we aim to ensure that users continue to have access to a wide pool of digital creative tools to choose from,” European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said in a statement to Reuters. Engadget asked Adobe for comment, but the company didn’t immediately respond. (We’ll update this article if it does.)

The move echoes a similar move from the UK last month when its Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched its own in-depth investigation into the transaction. The UK has until December 27th to complete its “phase two” review.

The transaction would be the largest-ever purchase for Adobe. The San Francisco-based Figma, founded in 2012, quickly grew in popularity and became a go-to tool for vector design and remote collaboration. The company’s products compete directly with Adobe XD and Illustrator. Adobe has previously said it wants to incorporate Creative Cloud suite features into Figma while adding some of Figma’s collaborative capabilities to its core products. It said at the time of the acquisition’s announcement that it was “deeply committed” to keeping Figma independent and said there was “no plan” to change its pricing or remove its free tier.