Fairphone is at long last bringing its sustainability-focused smartphones to the US. The company has teamed up with Murena to start offering a version of the Fairphone 4 in the country. The Murena Fairphone 4 is available to order now. It starts at $599 for 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, according to the Murena store. A variant with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage will run you $679. Storage is expandable via microSD.

Those prices might seem fairly steep for a two-year old device with a mid-range Qualcomm chip from 2020, but the Murena Fairphone 4 is about much more than the pure specs. For one thing, it's a privacy-centric device with a version of Android that's detangled from Google. Murena's /e/ operating system eschews Google's stock apps. For instance, rather than Google Maps, you'll get an open-source alternative by default. The device has its own directory that gives each app a privacy rating. As such, you'll have some information about how each app tracks your data before you install one.

You can still install Google-built apps. Murena purports to snag apps from the Play Store without directing your information to Google. You can install a standard version of Android if you like, but Murena warns that this will void your warranty. (For what it's worth, Fairphone 4 buyers in Europe can opt to have either stock Android or /e/ out of the box). Murena plans to provide software updates and security patches for at least five years, while Fairphone offers a five-year hardware warranty.

Fairphone's ethos centers around repairability and as such the smartphone is designed to be long-lasting. The Fairphone 4 has a 10 out of 10 repairability score from iFixit. It has a modular design and it's said to be the first such phone with an IP rating of IP54. That means the phone should be protected from dust and rain. None of the components are glued together and you can use a regular screwdriver to swap them out.

The Murena Fairphone 4 has a 3905mAh battery as well as 5G and dual-SIM support. On the camera front, you'll get a dual 48MP rear camera and 25MP selfie camera. The device's body, camera array, loudspeaker, USB-C port and 6.3-inch display are all individual parts and you'll be able to buy replacements from Murena. Meanwhile, the Murena Fairphone 4 doesn't come with a USB cable, power adapter or headphones in the box. Murena sells those separately as it encourages buyers to use cables and adapters they might already have stuffed in a drawer somewhere.

Although the device is unlocked, T-Mobile and mobile virtual network operators that use the T-Mobile network are the only recommended carriers for it in the US. Fairphone is framing the device's US debut as a pilot as the company is primarily focused on the European market. "This collaboration with e/OS/ is a great opportunity for us to pilot selling devices in the US market with a long-standing partner and learn more about the American market," Fairphone CEO Eva Gouwens told Engadget in a statement.

Amazon Prime Day is upon us, and with it comes great deals on many of our favorite smart home devices, including already well-priced speakers. We're big fans of Amazon's Echo Dot, recently naming its fifth generation the best smart speaker available for under $50, and now it's at an all-time low of $23. This 54 percent discount brings one of the most affordable smart speakers on the market down to a small fraction of what its competitor's cost.

Amazon released the Echo Dot fifth-gen last year with improved sound quality compared to previous models. It plays Amazon Music, Spotify and Apple Music, has Alexa on hand to answer any questions or tell you the weather and comes with a mic off button for when you don't want her listening. 

Echo Dots are compatible throughout your home, making them ideal for parties or larger spaces. They can also sync with your Fire TV and create a home theater system of sorts. Since the current discount lets you buy two for the price of one (with a few dollars for movie snacks left over), it's worth thinking about whether you want a more expansive sound. 

If you're looking for a smart speaker for a more compact space — and to save a little more money — Amazon's Echo Pop is also touting a big markdown for Prime Day, with a 55 percent discount bringing the speaker from $40 to $18. The new arrival has a front-facing speaker and can lose a little bit of sound quality at high volumes, but other than a few different color options, it doesn't vary too much from its sibling. 

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for the best Amazon Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In the Know. Hear from Autoblog’s car experts on must-shop auto-related Prime Day deals and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

8BitDo is reviving and modernizing the classic NSK Neo Geo controller. The new controller, based on the Neo Geo CD controller released in 1994, supports Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz wireless and is compatible with Windows and Android as well as the significantly less common Neo Geo Mini series. The controller lasts 35 hours wirelessly and will take one hour to charge. You can optionally plug the controller into your device to eliminate any sort of latency or interference.

The officially-licensed NSK controller also features L/R shoulder buttons, button layout swapping and a turbo function to help with compatibility across a wide range of games and platforms. According to 8BitDo, it was able to create a "flawless remake" of the unique joystick found on the original, including the clicky feel and sound of the joystick.

In the past, 8BitDo products have been solid, and the Neo Geo CD should hopefully be no different. With its wide platform support, it’s a great companion for those who are constantly gaming on the go, though Apple fans will be left out for starters. 8BitDo announced earlier this year that all of its controllers now support iPhones, iPads and Macs. The company says that support for Apple devices is coming, but didn’t provide a specific timeline for when that may happen.

8BitDo is known for making customizable and often less expensive controllers compared to the equivalent first-party controllers as well as modern riffs on other classic controllers like those for the NES, Super NES and Sega Genesis. In early 2022, the company released its Ultimate Wired Controller, which included Xbox-specific face buttons, haptic feedback and a built-in headphone jack.

The 8BitDo Neo Geo CD will be available in four limited edition color options in addition to the standard black. The controller will be available for pre-order on Amazon starting today at $34.99 and will be available on August 15th.

You'll have some good choices for summer gaming if you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Microsoft has revealed that Capcom's dinosaur shooter Exoprimal will be available to Game Pass members on Xbox, PC and the cloud when the title launches July 14th. If you were hesitant to buy the hybrid PvE/PvP game sight unseen (or weren't sure about the beta), you won't necessarily have to.

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V is also making its third appearance on Game Pass, albeit only for Xbox and streaming — sorry, no PC downloads this time. There's not much more to add about the decade-old classic at this point, but it's likely worth checking out if you somehow haven't played GTA V before or simply miss the escapades of Michael, Franklin and Trevor.

Other additions include adventure game pioneer Ron Gilbert's The Cave (July 18th for cloud and Xbox), Insurgency: Sandstorm (July 11th for PC), McPixel 3 (July 6th for all platforms), Common'hood (July 11th for all platforms) and the preview for Techtonica (July 18th, all platforms). You may want to play Spelunky 2 soon, though, as the side-scrolling cave explorer is leaving Game Pass on July 15th.

These arrivals aren't necessarily as sweet as Sony's free PlayStation Plus games for July, which include Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Alan Wake Remastered. That's not true every month, though, and it's clear there are different objectives this time around. Microsoft is hoping to reel in people who look for launch day games and long-time favorites. Sony, meanwhile, is choosing well-known games that shine a spotlight on Microsoft's attempt to buy Activision Blizzard.

Several days after Twitter stopped showing tweets to logged-out users, that basic functionality seems to be returning. Several Engadget editors are once again able to see individual tweets without being logged into their accounts. Profiles still seem to be busted for those who aren’t signed in, however. For instance, I’m able to see a user’s bio, but their feed of tweets isn’t showing up. Meanwhile, tweet previews are working in iMessage again for some folks.

Making tweets inaccessible to logged-out users was a “temporary emergency measure,” according to Twitter owner Elon Musk. “We were getting data pillaged so much that it was degrading service for normal users,” he wrote.

The company gave a similar explanation as to why it temporarily put limits on the number of tweets each user is able to read per day. On Tuesday, it said it made that move, which busted various Twitter apps, to “detect and eliminate bots and other bad actors that are harming the platform,” such as those who are scraping data to train artificial intelligence models. Twitter added that the rate limits were affecting a small percentage of users at that point.

Twitter no longer has a communications department that can be reached for comment. Still, public tweets are once again becoming available for anyone to view just as Meta starts rolling out its Twitter competitor, which is called Threads. That service is expected to go live in several markets on Thursday, but not in the European Union.

Audi's original E-Tron was really just an electric Q8. Now that it uses the E-Tron moniker as a label for all of its EVs, the carmaker has rebadged the updated E-Tron as the Q8 E-Tron. Yet this is more than just a facelift. Instead, Audi took the opportunity to make the vehicle better based on what it's learned over the past few years as an EV builder.

The biggest difference from the offset is the increased range. The previous E-Tron had a range of 204 miles at launch. This new Q8 E-Tron manages a more impressive 285 miles on a single charge, which should appease most people looking to buy an EV.

Behind the wheel, the new Audi is just a better driving vehicle than the original E-Tron. It's less performance-centric than you would expect from a brand like Audi, instead the automaker has targeted a luxury ride and frankly, it's nailed it. It's a good example of automakers taking what they've learned while building EVs over the past few years and evolving their platform. For the full story, check out our video below.

While the absolute best true wireless earbuds tend to cost between $150 and $300, the market has matured to the point where it’s possible to get something good enough without spending triple digits. Yes, you’ll still find lots of junk in the bargain bin, but with each passing year, we’re seeing more earbuds that offer pleasing sound, solid battery life and extensive feature sets without putting a heavy burden on your wallet. To help those on a budget, we researched and tested a range of true wireless earbuds that cost less than $100. These are the ones we found to offer the best value.

Best for most: Anker Soundcore Space A40

The Anker Soundcore Space A40 are often available for $80 but offer the kind of performance and features you’d see from earphones that cost twice as much. Their little round earpieces are light and evenly balanced, so they shouldn’t be a pain for most to wear for hours at a time. The default sound profile is good enough: It’s warm, with a bump in the upper-bass and a dip in the treble that can dull some finer details but sounds pleasant on the whole. Unlike many cheaper headphones, it doesn’t completely blow out the low-end. As with many modern pairs, you can tweak the sound with custom EQ tools in the Soundcore app. Using these won’t make the Space A40 sound as nice as the best premium pairs, but it can give them a touch more deep bass or high-frequency emphasis. The app in general is easy to use, and it saves any changes you make directly to the earphones.

The Space A40's best feature is their active noise cancellation (ANC), which is outstanding for the money. It won’t totally block out higher-pitched sounds, but it’s plenty effective at muting the rumbles of a train or jet engine. By default, Anker uses an adaptive ANC system that automatically tweaks the intensity based on your surroundings, though you can manually set it to strong, moderate or weak levels, too. That’s great for those with sensitive ears. There’s also a transparency mode, which isn’t nearly as good as what you’d find on a high-end pair like the AirPods Pro but works in a pinch.

Most of the little touches you’d want from a modern set of headphones are here as well. The Space A40 can connect to two devices simultaneously, and you can use one earbud on its own. Battery life is solid at eight-ish hours per charge, while the included case can supply another 40 or so hours and supports wireless charging. The IPX4 water resistance rating isn’t anything special but still means the earphones can survive light rain and everyday sweat. The touch control scheme can feel somewhat busy, as it lets you assign up to six different shortcuts to different taps and long presses and effectively forces you to omit a function or two, but it works reliably. We’ve had no real connection issues, either.

The only major shortcomings are the mic quality and the lack of auto-pausing when you remove an earbud. The former doesn’t handle sibilant sounds very well and can lose your voice in particularly noisy areas, so this isn’t the best option for phone calls, but it’s usable.

Bluetooth: v5.2
Active noise cancellation: Yes
Transparency mode: Yes
Custom EQ: Yes
Charging port: USB-C
Wireless charging: Yes
Water resistance: IPX4
Multipoint connectivity: Yes (2 devices)
Auto-pause: No
Battery life (rated): 10 hrs, 50 hrs w/ case
Fast charging (rated): 10 mins = 4 hrs
Codecs: SBC, AAC, LDAC
Warranty: 18 months

Runner up: EarFun Air Pro 3

The $80 EarFun Air Pro 3 are a commendable alternative to the Space A40 if you see them on sale or if you prefer an AirPods-style “stem” design. Like the Space A40, they come with ANC, a transparency mode, a relatively stable fit, a pocketable case that supports Qi wireless charging and the ability to connect to two devices at once. Battery life is slightly worse, closer to six or seven hours than eight, but it’s not bad. Their IPX5 water resistance rating is a touch better, as is their built-in mic.

The Air Pro 3 sounds decent, too. By default, they have an excited, V-shaped EQ curve, with intense bass and a noticeable spike in the treble. Some might enjoy this, as it gives EDM and pop a good sense of thump, but others might find it fatiguing, and it can make higher frequencies sound a hair too sharp. The Space A40’s sound isn’t exactly balanced, but it should be a little more agreeable for most. You can still rein in and personalize the sound with a (less flexible) custom EQ tool in the EarFun app, though.

Likewise, the Air Pro 3’s active noise cancellation is serviceable in most cases, but it’s a half-step behind the Space A40 and isn't customizable. Plus, while the design is generally comfortable for extended listening, it’s bulkier than our top pick. On the plus side, the touch controls are slightly more extensive, as you can triple-tap each earbud to access additional shortcuts.

Bluetooth: v5.3
Active noise cancellation: Yes
Transparency mode: Yes
Custom EQ: Yes
Charging port: USB-C
Wireless charging: Yes
Water resistance: IPX5
Multipoint connectivity: Yes (2 devices)
Auto-pause: No
Battery life (rated): 9 hrs w/ ANC on, 7 hrs w/ ANC off, 45 hrs w/ case
Fast charging (rated): 10 mins = 2 hrs
Codecs: SBC, AAC, LC3, aptX adaptive
Warranty: 18 months

Best under $50: EarFun Free 2S

If you don’t want to spend more than $50 on a set of true wireless earbuds, consider the Earfun Free 2S. Like the Air Pro 3, it has a big bass response and a smaller bump in the treble. It misses details in the mids and can get fatiguing over extended periods, but it’s a richer example of this kind of “fun” sound signature than most pairs in this price range. You can adjust the sound through EarFun’s app as well, though there’s still fewer EQ presets to choose from than with the Soundcore Space A40.

The earpieces themselves are well-shaped and not oversized; combined with their soft silicone ear tips, they should be comfortable for most to wear over long periods of time. An IPX7 rating means they’re fully waterproof, too. There’s a suite of reliable touch controls and battery life sits at around seven hours. The included case adds another 30 or so hours and supports wireless charging, too. It’s not the smallest case we’ve used, but it’s not so large that it can’t fit in a pocket, either.

That said, you start to run into more “you get what you pay for” situations once you drop into this price range. In addition to not sounding quite as sharp as our pricier picks, the Free 2S lack active noise cancellation, multi-device connectivity, auto-pausing and a transparency mode. And though their mic quality is decent in most cases, it’s pretty susceptible to wind noise.

Bluetooth: v5.2
Active noise cancellation: No
Transparency mode: No
Custom EQ: Yes
Charging port: USB-C
Wireless charging: Yes
Water resistance: IPX7
Multipoint connectivity: No
Auto-pause: No
Battery life (rated): 7 hrs, 30 hrs w/ case
Fast charging (rated): 10 mins = 2 hrs
Codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX
Warranty: 18 months

Best for workouts: Jabra Elite 3

The Jabra Elite 3 are a couple of years old, but since they’re frequently on sale in the $60 to $70 range, they’re still worth a look. They’re particularly useful for workouts, as their compact design should be snug yet comfortable for most. What’s more, they don’t require any bulky wing stabilizers or over-ear hooks. They also have an IP55 water resistance rating, which should be enough to withstand most gym sessions. (As with most earbuds, you should give them a light cleaning between workouts.) Plus, they use physical buttons instead of touch controls. When you’re on the move, having that immediate, tactile feedback is more reliable for quickly changing tracks or adjusting volume.

The Elite 3 still sound better than most pairs in this price range, too. As noted in our review the Elite 3’s signature is balanced enough for most music, with a slight but not overbearing bass boost that gives tracks a nice sense of body. By default, it sounds a bit better than both the Space A40 and the Air Pro: The treble is more present than the former, and the bass is less boomy than the latter. It’s more measured than the Free 2S as well, so if you see the Elite 3 on sale for around $50, it’s the pair to get. Similar to our other top picks, you can also customize the Elite 3’s EQ through the Jabra Sound+ app.

Where the Elite 3 falls short is in all the other stuff. There’s no active noise cancellation, no wireless charging, no multipoint connectivity and no auto-pausing. And while there is a transparency mode, the effect is so meager that you’re better off just removing the earpieces entirely. The seven-ish hours of battery life is solid, however, and you can use a single earbud at a time if needed. Call quality is acceptable as well, though not a standout feature.

You could also consider the Elite 4, which launched in March and feature both ANC and multipoint connectivity. At $100, though, most budget-conscious buyers are better off with the Space A40.

Bluetooth: v5.2
Active noise cancellation: No
Transparency mode: Yes
Custom EQ: Yes
Charging port: USB-C
Wireless charging: No
Water resistance: IP55
Multipoint connectivity: No
Auto-pause: No
Battery life (tested): 7 hrs, 28 hrs w/ case
Fast charging (rated): 10 mins = 1 hr
Codecs: SBC, aptX
Warranty: 2 years (w/ Sound+ app registration)

Best for an open design: Amazon Echo Buds (2023)

All of our picks so far are technically earphones, meaning they extend into your ear canal. For many people, that is inherently uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the market for decent yet affordable “earbuds,” which rest on the concha instead of going all the way in your ear, is spotty. If you can’t bring yourself to pay for a pair of AirPods, though, the Amazon Echo Buds are a worthy compromise at $50.

The plastic earpieces here aren’t exactly premium, but they rest lightly in the ear and feel sturdily put together. They let in and leak noise more easily than in-ear headphones, but if you prefer open earbuds, that’s a feature rather than a bug. If the fit doesn’t feel right, you can shed a little bulk by removing the pre-installed silicone covers. (Like most open earbuds, though, comfort here is dependent on your ear shape.) Mic quality is more than adequate, and the circular touch panels give ample room for using the controls, which are customizable and consistently responsive. Battery life sits around five hours, which is middling but not out of character for budget earbuds. The pocket-friendly case adds about three full charges, but it’s worth noting that Amazon doesn’t include a USB-C charging cable. A poor IPX2 water resistance rating means you should avoid the gym, too.

While the Echo Buds sound fine out of the box, I'd use the EQ sliders in the Alexa app to bring down the treble a click or two. By default, the highs are a bit too edgy. That said, this emphasis lends a nice crispness to things like vocals, cymbals and strings, and there’s enough separation to keep complex tracks from sounding totally muddled. The profile here isn’t as full-bodied as the latest AirPods, and no open earbuds deliver true sub-bass, but there’s at least some rumble for hip-hop and EDM.

Unlike many cheap earbuds, the Echo Buds support auto-pausing and multipoint. I often had to manually pause playback on one device before I could switch to the other, but having the feature at all at this price is great. Unsurprisingly, they also come with Alexa baked in, which you can access hands-free. You manage the Echo Buds through the Alexa app, which is much more cluttered than a dedicated audio app but includes extras like a lost device tracker and sidetone control for phone calls. And if you want nothing to do with Alexa, it also lets you turn off the mics and wake-word support.

Bluetooth: v5.2
Active noise cancellation: No
Transparency mode: No
Custom EQ: Yes
Charging port: USB-C
Wireless charging: No
Water resistance: IPX2
Multipoint connectivity: Yes (2 devices)
Auto-pause: Yes
Battery life (rated): 5 hrs, 6 hrs w/ wake word off, 20 hrs w/ case
Fast charging: 15 mins = 2 hrs
Codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX
Warranty: 1 year

Honorable mentions

JLab Go Air Pop

If you just want a competent pair of wireless earbuds for as little money as possible, take a look at the JLab Go Air Pop. For $25, they have a light design with decent isolation, plus eight to nine hours of battery life, IPX4 water resistance and a full set of touch controls that actually work. JLab even lets you swap between three EQ presets from the buds themselves. It’s still worth upgrading to the EarFun Free 2S if you can afford it, as the Go Air Pop sounds boomier by comparison and isn’t as clear in the treble and upper-mids. There’s no app support, either. But for $25, expect trade offs like this.

QCY T20 AilyPods

If you want the cheapest acceptable pair of open earbuds, meanwhile, get the QCY T20 AilyPods. They are an unabashed rip-off of the third-gen AirPods from a relatively obscure Chinese brand, but they cost $33 and their pleasingly smooth sound is arguably better than the Echo Buds out of the box. They have a higher IPX4 water resistance rating, too. There’s no auto-pausing or multipoint, however, and their touch controls border on unusable. The Echo Buds’ sound is also easier to tidy up, as the handful of EQ presets in the QCY app actually make things worse.

Nothing Ear Stick

The Nothing Ear Stick have a fashionable transparent design and a case that looks like a big, clear tube of lipstick. To access the earbuds, you just twist the case, which is always fun. The earpieces feel sturdy and polished, with responsive controls built around AirPods-style stem squeezes. Audio quality isn’t bad, either, though the treble is a little shouty by default. The main problem is that these are unsealed earbuds that cost $99. That’s still under our “budget” threshold, but it’s a little too close to AirPods territory for a pair with far fewer software tricks to make up for the sound sacrifices inherent to this design. If you’re particular about aesthetics and must have open earbuds, then the Ear Stick are a good take on the idea. Most others are better off with the Space A40.

With Twitter seemingly on its very last legs, it doesn't come as a big surprise that other social media giants would want to capitalize on the void. Meta is launching Threads, which allows users to write and comment on posts much in the same way as Twitter. Now we have a first look at how Threads will operate, thanks to early users' profiles showing up on its website.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri has used his first few posts to share more about Thread's purpose and features, including a photo demonstrating how to limit replies. "We have lots of work to do, but we're looking to build an open, civil place for people to have conversations," Mosseri shared in his first post. Threads will eventually include Fediverse integration, a decision Mosseri explained as "you may one day end up leaving Threads, or, hopefully not, end up de-platformed. If that ever happens, you should be able to take your audience with you to another server. Being open can enable that."

Threads

Meta employees like CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Mosseri join celebs like Shakira and Gordon Ramsey and a range of influencers who were given first access to Threads. The limited number of initial users reflects in current follower counts, with most profiles only having a few hundred and Zuckerberg and Mosseri at only a couple thousand.

Threads will be available on the web and for download on the Apple and Google Play App Stores starting the morning of July 6th in the US and UK. It won't be available across the rest of Europe yet, though, likely due to stricter EU data privacy rules. In the meantime, Meta employees aren't averse to patting themselves on the back while taking a dig at Twitter, as Meta product designer Peter Franko did in his first post on Threads.

Fisker has given us another glimpse of the 600-mile range Ronin convertible EV and promised to unveil it in full on August 3rd, according to an Instagram post from CEO Henrik Fisker. Like the original Fisker Karma, it's a low and swoopy four-door "super GT" sedan that will join the Ocean SUV and future Pear EV. "Fisker Ronin, All Electric super GT! Reveal August 3rd! Super fast & space for 5! The ultimate long distance Grand Touring car with anticipated range of 600 miles!" Fisker wrote in the post. 

There's no word yet on the price, but the company previously promised to keep it under $200,000. Other than the anticipated range, specs like power have yet to be shared. It was first revealed last year when Fisker announced it would show it off in August 2023, so it's on schedule in that regard. 

It's a bit behind on Ocean EV deliveries, however. The company announced the start of production back in December 2022, saying it planned to build 300 Ocean EVs in Q1 2023 and boost that to more than 8,000 in Q2 and 15,000 in Q3. So far, however, it has only shipped 22 units in the US and just started deliveries a few weeks ago. The Ocean (built at Fisker's "carbon neutral" Graz, Austria factory) is priced at $37,500 for the base model and goes up to $69,000 for the 350-mile range, 550 HP Ocean Extreme.

Fisker is working on an even more affordable EV, the four-door Pear that starts at $29,900 before any incentives. Not a lot of details are available for that vehicle either, but production is supposed to start next year in Lordstown, Ohio, with Foxconn as the contract manufacturer. The two companies plan to eventually produce a minimum of 250,000 units per year. 

MSG and Sphere Entertainment have started fully testing the Sphere, a 17,600-seat venue near The Venetian with an animated outer dome and a wraparound internal 16K LED screen. It displays images, video and animation on the outside and the inside, apparently opening up entirely new concert and cinematic experiences.

MSG's James Dolan and David Dibble explained to Rolling Stone the aim is to create a VR experience without the "damn goggles." Creators use a special camera to produce footage that envelops the audience. Construction started in 2019, but the pandemic and technological complexity have brought costs close to $2.3 billion, making it the most expensive venue in Las Vegas to date. And this is Las Vegas – not a place of humble, small-scale buildings and structures. 

You can watch it here, but it will count as one of your finite tweet views a day...

– Mat Smith

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Apple wants to take the Epic Games case to the Supreme Court

Prior rulings could reduce its App Store profits.

Apple is initiating one last-ditch effort to maintain a cut of in-app sales, asking the Supreme Court to hear its appeal of Epic Games' anti-trust case, Reuters reports. Two lower courts ruled Apple must drop its guidelines preventing apps from including their own payment options, a policy that helped Apple's bottom line.

The lawsuit was a mixed bag for both parties involved: In 2021, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Epic knowingly violated Apple's rules, and the iPhone maker wasn't required to re-add Fortnite to its App Store. Rogers also stated Apple wasn't acting like a monopoly, but it must allow apps to offer third-party payment systems. The change went into effect last year, and the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the entire injunction this past April.

Continue reading.

July 3rd was the hottest day in recorded history

Average global temperatures climbed past 17 degrees Celsius on Monday.

Reuters

According to US National Centers for Environmental Prediction, meteorologists documented the hottest day in recorded history on Monday, July 3rd. They saw average global temperatures over 17 degrees Celsius (62.62 Fahrenheit) for the first time since satellite monitoring of global temperatures began in 1979. Scientists even believe Monday is also the hottest day on record since humans began measuring daily temperatures in the late 19th century. The recent heat is attributed to a combination of El Niño and ongoing human-driven emissions of greenhouse gases. Studies have shown climate change is contributing to heat waves that are more frequent, last longer and hotter than ever.

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Twitter says it couldn't tell people about rate limiting in advance

The company claims bad actors could otherwise have changed their strategies.

Twitter’s decision to limit the number of tweets users could read each day came as a surprise to many. (Most? All?) However, the company now says it could not give folks a heads-up. "We temporarily limited usage so we could detect and eliminate bots and other bad actors that are harming the platform," a Twitter Business blog post reads. "Any advance notice on these actions would have allowed bad actors to alter their behavior to evade detection."

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