Days after CNBC reported Google plans to announce a foldable Pixel phone at I/O 2023, an alleged video of the device has started circulating online. On late Friday evening, leaker and developer Kuba Wojciechowski shared what he says is a clip of the Pixel Fold. Wojciechowski told The Verge the footage is a month old. Unfortunately, the video doesn’t show off any features that definitively identify the foldable as one of Google’s, so take what you see with a dose of skepticism, but for what it’s worth, Wojciechowski has a reliable track record.

The Pixel Fold will reportedly cost around $1,700 when it arrives later this year. According to CNBC, the device will feature a book-like design with a 5.8-inch external screen and a 7.6-inch folding display. It’s also said to sport the “most durable hinge” of any foldable to date and a battery that can last up to 72 hours through the use of an "Extreme Battery Saver" mode.

Separately, the Pixel Tablet also made a recent public appearance. The device is part of Google’s “Shaped by Water” installation at Milan Design Week. In an Instagram video spotted by 9to5Google (scroll over to the final video in the gallery), you can see the device appear alongside other Made by Google devices, including the Pixel Watch. The video doesn’t reveal a lot we didn’t already know about the Pixel Tablet. The design of the device aligns with the one Google showed off at I/O 2022 and again last fall. What’s new is that there’s a coral variant, in addition to Pixel 7 Pro-like “Hazel” and “Snow” colorways the company has shown off in the past.

Google will likely have more information to share about both the Pixel Fold and Tablet come May 10th.

Inside the secret list of websites that make AI like ChatGPT sound smart

Kevin Schaul, Szu Yu Chen and Nitasha Tiku, The Washington Post

AI chatbots are all the rage on the internet right now, but how much do you know about how the tech is being trained? The Washington Post explains how text that's mostly scraped from the internet is ingested and transformed into human-like speech, including training material from "proprietary, personal and often offensive websites."

Why social media impostors pose a constant battle for stars

J. Clara Chan, The Hollywood Reporter

Being a celebrity in the social media age means playing a constant game of whack-a-mole fighting imposters. The Hollywood Reporter explains how paid verification has only increased the challenge and how companies like Social Imposter are enlisted to help. 

How Cuba’s Street Network used spy tech to access pop culture

Yussef Cole and Emile Bokaer, Polygon

A story about how "a framework of murky legality, hacked-together hardware and mysterious actors," something more akin to spies and espionage, is being used to access things like video games and Game of Thrones in Cuba.

The iRobot Roomba S9+ premium robot vacuum is currently on sale for $250 off at Wellbots. Typically costing $999, ordering with the coupon code 200ENGDT will bring its price down to $749 — still very expensive, but a good value for this advanced cleaning machine. And if that’s more than you want to pay for a vacuum cleaner, you can save on cheaper models too.

The S9 series of Roomba vacuums build on the best qualities of the Roomba i7 line while adding some enticing extras. First, they offer 40 times the suction power of other robot vacuums while trapping mold and pollen allergens. It also has a different shape: Instead of being completely circular, it has two squared edges, which help it to clean more thoroughly around corners.

If you’re eyeing models from the j7 series, you can take $200 off several other iRobot vacuums with the same coupon code (200ENGDT), including the Roomba j7, Roomba j7+ and Roomba j7+ Robot Vacuum & Mop. The j7 series uses AI-driven navigation for enhanced obstacle avoidance — including pet poop. Of course, it also has powerful suction, precise mapping and an easy-to-use app. The j7 is one of Engadget’s top midrange picks for the best robot vacuums.

The standard model gets you the vacuum itself, the j7+ adds a self-emptying cleaning station and the j7+ with vacuum and mop includes the station and wet-mopping capabilities. The 200ENGDT coupon cuts the j7 (usually $599) down to $399 and the j7+ ($799 MSRP) to $599. and the j7+ with mop ($1,099 MSP) is only $899. Finally, you get free shipping on your order.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Google's long-planned 80-acre San Jose campus may be on hold, at least for now. CNBCsources say the Alphabet brand has halted construction of its Downtown West facility after an initial demolition phase. The company reportedly "gutted" the campus development team as part of its large-scale layoffs in January, and froze construction with no word to contractors on when it might resume.

In a statement to Engadget, a representative says the firm wants its office space to reflect the "future needs" of the business, hybrid workers and the community. Google is still determining "how to best move forward" with the San Jose campus but is "committed" to long-term development in San Jose, the spokesperson adds.

Google spent years negotiating and designing Downtown West, and received approval in 2021 after promising concessions that include 15,000 housing units across Silicon Valley, $200 million in community support (such as helping displaced businesses) and devoting more than half the campus to public uses. Construction was supposed to start in earnest later this year and take 10 to 30 years. Critics objected to the elimination or relocation of well-known businesses and landmarks, but the potential economic boon for the city was such that Governor Gavin Newsom touted the deal as playing a major role in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, it's the pandemic that ultimately put Google in its current position. The company has hired aggressively in previous years (its ranks have grown 20 percent since 2017), but is laying off around 12,000 employees this year as would-be ad and cloud service customers tighten their budgets. Google is also adopting a hybrid work strategy that lets staff stay home some of the time. Simply put, there's not as much need for offices as there was before.

This doesn't mean Downtown West is dead. The potentially decades-long timeframe for the project gives Google some flexibility. However, the uncertainty leaves San Jose in an awkward state. Google has cleared out a large area, but isn't building the campus that's supposed to bring jobs and economic activity to the region.

After the successful launch of the GMC Hummer EV Pickup, the company announced new electric trucks and SUVs with plenty of customization options, including a 3X trim option. The 3X line was originally supposed to launch in the fall of 2022, but good things come to those who wait, so they say. The 3X trim package will be available for the 2023 Hummer EV Pickup and the 2024 Hummer EV SUV and will ship standard with 22-inch wheels and 35-inch all-terrain tires.

Overall, the SUV and pickup both come in two trims, Edition 1 and 3X. For the pickup, you can get the 3X trim with an optional extreme off-road package; for the SUV, you can get both models with the off-road package. In addition to the increased customization options available for these vehicles, GMC has updated range estimates for the forthcoming models. The company announced that these trucks will ride up to 355 miles per charge, though this metric does decrease with certain configuration packages. 

For instance, choosing the Extreme Off-Road Package nets you rubber tires designed for mud, extra skid plates and additional underbody cameras, but your range slides down to 329 miles per charge. The original Edition 1 of these EV trucks got 330 miles in the lightest configuration, so the battery tech has certainly improved since the 2020 launch. The EV SUV line boasts a slightly lower range, at 298 to 314 miles per charge (again depending on which trim and configuration you choose).

GMC is still holding some specs close to the chest, but we do know that the new models still feature the same three-motor layout as prior generations, with an estimated 1,000 horsepower. That’s plenty of get-up-and-go. Depending on the configuration, you’ll be able to tow anywhere from 7,500 to 8,500 pounds with one of these electric beasts.

Despite a robust starting price tag of $80,000, consumers are definitely interested in GMC’s new electric trucks. Preorders went live back in September and quickly sold through 65,000 units. In other words, reservations are currently full but that could change in the future. We’ll keep you updated. In the meantime, GMC has plenty more electric vehicles coming, including the Sierra Denali truck and the Chevy Silverado.

Another Friday, another roundup of the best tech deals we could find. Our latest selection includes the iPad Air for $500, which is $99 off Apple's list price and a good value for a tablet we've called the best iPad for most people. Beyond that, the 55-inch LG C2 OLED TV is down to a near-low of $1,067, Google's Nest Thermostat is $50 off at $80, and the 128GB Samsung Evo Select microSD card is on sale for a new low of $12. GameStop is still running a buy-one-get-one-free sale on several video games of note, plus various picks from our Bluetooth speaker, gaming mouse, air fryer and gaming laptop buying guides are also on sale. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

Apple iPad Air

Apple's iPad Air is back on sale for $500, which matches the lowest price we've seen outside of a very brief drop to $479 last year. Apple normally sells the 10.9-inch tablet for $599, though it's often available around $550 on Amazon. The Air is the top pick in our guide to the best iPads and earned a review score of 90 when it launched last year. While it lacks the M2 chip, higher 120Hz refresh rate and improved speakers of the iPad Pro, it provides a similarly elegant design at a much lower price, with a better display, faster processor and wider accessory support than Apple's lower-end tablets.

Instant Vortex Mini Air Fryer

The top budget pick in our guide to the best air fryers, Instant's Vortex Mini is down to $40 at Amazon. This is a two-quart model, so it's not ideal if you want to cook for several people, but we've found it effective for smaller servings and side dishes like french fries, tofu, wings and the like. Its dial controls and four preprogrammed settings (air fry, bake, roast, reheat) are simple to use, and the whole thing takes up little countertop space. This deal is $5 more than the device's all-time low but roughly $10 less than its typical street price. Just note that the discount only applies to the aqua blue model.

Samsung Evo Select

The 128GB model of Samsung's Evo Select microSD card is down to $12, which is a new all-time low. On average, the U3- and V30-rated card has typically retailed for $15 over the last few months. This isn't the fastest option on the market, but it's still fast enough for most things you'd do with a Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, GoPro or Raspberry Pi. It's also backed by a 10-year warranty. If you more storage space, the 256GB and 512GB models are down to $21 and $40, respectively.

Google Nest Thermostat

The Google Nest Thermostat is on sale for $80 at B&H, which is $50 off its typical going rate. Note that this is not the Nest Learning Thermostat, which is Google's higher-end model. By comparison, the standard Nest Thermostat has a less premium design and can't learn your heating and cooling habits to make automatic adjustments. It also doesn't support remote temperature sensors, so it's less convenient for fine-tuning the temperature in specific rooms. 

That said, it still lets you control your home's climate remotely and can help you save on energy costs. It carries over features like HVAC system monitoring and voice assistant control as well, and unlike the pricier model, it supports the new Matter smart home standard. Google rolled out the latter for the Nest Thermostat just this week, allowing it to work with more platforms such as Apple HomeKit and Siri. We've highlighted the Nest Thermostat in past roundups.

Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro

Amazon has the white Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro on sale for $120, which is a new low and $30 below its usual price. The device is also available for $2 more at Best Buy. This is the "best premium" pick in our guide to the best gaming mice, as it offers exceptionally responsive performance in a comfortable and ultralight (63g) design. It lacks bells and whistles like RGB lighting and support for multiple control profiles, and most people still don't need to pay this much to get a good gaming mouse, but it's tailor-made for competitive-minded players who spend most of their time in twitchy FPS games.

SK Hynix Gold P31

SK Hynix's Gold P31 is a well-reviewed, power-efficient SSD that should represent a nice upgrade for anyone looking to boost the storage performance of their laptop. Its 2TB model is down to a new all-time low of $108, which is about $60 below the drive's average street price in recent months. If you don't need that much capacity, the 1TB model is available for $65. This is a PCI Express 3.0 drive, so it's not as performant as a higher-end PCIe 4.0 model, nor will it work with a PS5. But it's still fast enough for most people looking to load up games or transfer large files on the go, and at this price it offers a better cost-per-gigabyte ratio than most of its peers. It also comes with a five-year warranty.

Anker 715 USB-C Charger

If you're looking for a compact USB-C charger, the Anker 715 Charger is a nice value at its current deal price of $35. We've seen this discount a few times before, but it represents a roughly $10 drop from the device's average street price in recent months. This is a travel-friendly GaN charger (1.65 x 1.42 x 1.74 in.) that can deliver up to 65W of power, which is enough to charge many smartphones, tablets and smaller laptops at full speed. It only has one port, though; if you need something that can top up multiple devices at once, consider some of the alternatives in our guide to the best fast chargers.

Anker Soundcore Motion+

The Anker Soundcore Motion+ is down to $80, which is about $20 below its usual going rate. This is a recommendation from our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers: It can easily supply enough volume to fill a room, and compared to other portable speakers in this price range, it gives tracks an impressive sense of space. It's not the smallest device, and it can lack some detail in the treble, but it's well-built and sounds smooth on the whole. Beyond that, it's water-resistant with an IPX7 rating, so you can safely take it in the pool or shower, and it has a 3.5mm input for wired connections.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

Best Buy has a version of Asus' ROG Zephyrus G14 with a Ryzen 9 6900HS CPU, Radeon RX 6700S GPU, 14-inch 120Hz display, 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM down to $1,000, which is a new low. The G14 is the top pick in our guide to the best gaming laptops and earned a review score of 85 last year.

Note that this is the 2022 model; if you're willing to pay more for a brawnier Ryzen 7000 series CPU and Nvidia RTX 40-series GPU, Asus has refreshed models on the way (which likely explains the deal here). Nevertheless, the older Zephyrus G14 is a good value at $1,000, as it can still deliver perfectly playable frame rates with many modern games in 1440p. Relative to other gaming notebooks, it's also decent for everyday use, with a comfortable keyboard and trackpad, plenty of ports and roughly 7-10 hours of battery life when you aren't gaming. Its 3.6-pound chassis isn't a complete anchor, either.

Apple Mac Mini

Apple's latest Mac Mini is back down to an all-time low of $500. This deal applies to the entry-level version of the compact PC, which includes Apple's M2 chip, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. With those specs, you'll want to stick to lighter workloads, especially since you can't upgrade the Mini's memory or storage over time. But if that's all you need, this is the most affordable way into a competent Mac desktop. If you want more storage space, a model with a 512GB SSD is on sale for $690, which is another all-time low. We gave the version of the Mac Mini with Apple's faster M2 Pro chip a score of 86 in January, but the two devices are similar outside of that processor bump and a couple extra Thunderbolt ports. As of this writing, Amazon's listing says the device won't ship until the end of May.

Apple Watch SE

The Apple Watch SE is once again on sale for $219. This is a deal we've seen on-and-off for the past few months, but it falls within $10 of the smartwatch's all-time low and $30 below Apple's list price. We gave the latest SE a review score of 89 last September and call it a standout option for first-time buyers in our best smartwatches guide. Compared to the Apple Watch Series 8 (our top pick), it lacks an always-on display mode, fast charging and advanced health features like an ECG monitor, skin temperature sensor and blood oxygen sensor. However, it still provides most of the core Apple Watch feature set and the same processor as the Series 8 at a far lower cost. 

If you're willing to pay for the most rugged and longest-lasting Apple Watch, meanwhile, the Apple Watch Ultra is more modestly discounted at $749. That's about $30 below its usual street price.

LG C2 OLED TV

The 55-inch LG C2 OLED TV is on sale for $1,067, which is about $200 off the average street price we've seen in recent months and only $30 more than the lowest price we've tracked. The 65-inch version is also down to one of the best prices we've seen at $1,397. LG has replaced this 2022 model with this year's C3 OLED TV, which looks to be a marginal upgrade on the whole but promises improved image processing. This is also a step down from the Samsung S95B and newer S95C in terms of brightness and color saturation; those should be better for brightly-lit rooms. 

That said, the C2 is still excellent, offering the kind of deep contrast, smooth motion, low input lag and wide viewing angles you'd expect from a good OLED panel. And at this price, it costs far less than the C3 and Samsung'smodels. We previously recommended the C2 in our gaming TV buying guide.

GameStop BOGO sale

If you've been looking for games to play before the new Zelda drops, GameStop is running a buy-one-get-one-free sale that includes 40 different titles. Not every game in the sale is a winner, but the selection includes the PS4 version of the giant action-RPG Elden Ring, recent releases like the Yakuza spin-off Like a Dragon: Ishin! and the turn-based RPG Octopath Traveler II, plus Switch exclusives like Bayonetta 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, among others. Just note that the discount will only apply to the cheapest game you add to your cart.

PlayStation and Nintendo Switch game deals

Outside of GameStop's sale, we're seeing good prices on a number of recommended PlayStation and Nintendo Switch games. On the PlayStation side, the colorful action game Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and challenging roguelike Returnal are each down to $29, while the brutal sequel The Last of Us Part II is back down to $10. For Switch, several notable indie games are at or near all-time lows, including Celeste and Golf Story for $5 each, Hollow Knight and Spiritfarer for $7.50 each, Untitled Goose Game for $10, Hades for $12 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge for $20. We highlight many of these titles in our guides to the best couch co-op games, best PS5 games and best Switch games.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

WhatsApp has introduced an option called Keep in Chat, which allows users to prevent messages from vanishing in a disappearing message thread. You can long press on a message so it stays in the thread. However, the person who sent the message will be notified, and they'll ultimately decide whether to keep it in the chat. If not, the message will vanish into the ether as usual when the timer runs out.

A bookmark icon will appear next to saved messages. You can access all the ones you've saved in a Kept Messages folder, where they're organized by chat. WhatsApp says it's rolling out the feature gradually and everyone should have access within a few weeks.

On the surface, it seems like Keep in Chat undercuts the entire point of disappearing messages. However, WhatsApp suggested in a blog post that there may be times when you need to save a message (such as a voice note or someone's address) that includes important details. In any case, those who sent the message will have the option to veto saved messages and perhaps protect their privacy.

There are a number of e-bike conversion kits on the market, all offering ways to electrify your existing wheels. Boost has emerged as an option with a more elegant and easier way of doing things than some of its rivals. Rather than wire in controllers, battery hardware and a hall effect sensor, almost all of the necessary gear is built into a custom-made rear-hub motor. Everything else, meanwhile, is included in a circular battery pack that sits inside a bottle cage, or something that looks a lot like it, which is mounted to your downtube.

Whereas with, say, Swytch, which sells you a custom front wheel for you to attach to your bike, Boost goes on the back. That means the initial installation is a little more intensive, since you’ll need to add your cassette, string-in the chain and get the analog stuff all set up nicely. Or, you know, ask the technicians at your local bike repair store to do it for you if you’re a ten-thumbed menace to engineering like me. But, after that point, all you’ll need to do is screw in the bottle cage and ziptie a wire that runs from the rear wheel the downtube and you’re pretty much set.

It’s screenless, and part of this is because all of the torque sensors are included within the motor, and also to help keep costs down. Users can, if they need, connect to the companion app where they can set the power assist in either Eco or Boost modes. You’ll also get a short speed-boost option to help you get away from traffic, which maxes out the motor for a very brief period of time. The app also has a dashboard mode so, if you mount your phone on the handlebars, you can keep an eye on your speed, distance and battery level.

And the battery itself has a USB-A port hidden under a dust cover, enabling you to charge your device, or run a USB-powered light set, while riding.

Since the Boost was set up at the UK’s Cycle Show today, I was able to give it a go while hooked up to a turbo trainer. I found that it didn’t take very long at all before the level of boost the eco mode offered felt like it would be more than enough to get me across town each day. When the boost mode was activated, it quickly felt like too much power, an option you’d only ever need when you’re tackling steep hills and little else.

In terms of pricing, Boost is presently available in the UK and costs £695 when installed by a local cycling store. If you fancy tackling the installation yourself, you can also pick up the kit for £645, although the company also offers the motor and battery set for people to build their own wheels. It’s certainly an interesting twist on e-bike conversion kits, and one I’d be very interested in trying for myself in future.

I’m no cyclist, but I’ve always had a soft spot for retro-style cafe racer bikes with clean lines and a lack of unnecessary engineering. A lovely triangular frame, two narrow wheels, caliper brakes and a lovely paint job make the perfect bike for tootling around town. Years ago one company — Faraday — made an early hit on Kickstarter with its version of the old-school bike that, sadly, I never got to ride. Today at the UK’s Cycle Show, however, I stumbled across Quella’s range of retro e-bikes and already I’m in love.

Its Varsity collection has been around for a while, but the addition of electric options is relatively new. Rather than screw on a whole bunch of tech to the existing frame, all of the electronics are contained within the Zehus-made rear hub. That includes the battery, torque sensor, a GPS tracker, Bluetooth and, of course, the motor itself, with a peak output of 250W. The idea being you should just start pedaling and let the bike work out how much power you need at any given time.

There’s a lack of gears, both to add a greater level of mechanical simplicity and also because that’s just how these bikes usually roll. And while it ships as a single-speed, it’s packing a flip-flop hub, so you can convert it into a fixie if you’re, you know, a fixie rider (it’s okay, I won’t judge). Of more interest to me, however, is that if you pedal backwards when coasting, you can trigger the bike’s energy-recovery system to re-charge the battery. It’s a great feature given the lack of obvious tech here, and also ideal for a low-stakes bike like this.

This sense of low-stakes carries on through to the fact it’s really only designed for commutes on flat ground. The pedal assist will only push you to speeds of 15 miles per hour, and with 40Nm of torque and the lack of gearing, it probably won’t help you on a serious hill climb. But you can edit your speed profile with the companion app, letting you switch from low to high-power when you need that little bit more oopmh. The company says you should hope to get close to 40 miles of range from a single charge, and more if you’re particularly judicious about its use.

If there’s a downside, it’s that you’ll be spending the better part of £2,000 (around $2,475) on one, which is a serious chunk of change. But if you’re in the market for something that offers style first, practicality second and a lightweight frame third, this is something it’d be worth checking out.

Gamers who want to post clips of a cool multikill they pulled off in Halo Infinite or something ridiculous that happened in Sea of Thieves to Twitter may need to take an extra couple of steps to share their captures. Microsoft said it had to switch off the option to upload screenshots and clips directly to Twitter from Xbox consoles as well as the Game Bar on Windows.

There are other options, though they're a little more inconvenient. You can use the Xbox mobile app to download console captures and share them to Twitter. Nintendo and PlayStation offer similar ways to share screenshots and clips. Alternatively, you can copy your Xbox captures onto a USB drive and access them from your computer.

Engadget has contacted Xbox for comment, but it seems likely that Microsoft dropped the built-in sharing option due to Twitter's decision to start charging for API access. That move is breaking functionality for all kinds of organizations, including disaster response services.

This week, Microsoft said it would soon remove Twitter integration from its social media management tool for advertisers. Twitter is said to be charging at least $42,000 per month for enterprise access to its APIs.

In a response to a tweet about Microsoft's API move, Twitter owner Elon Musk suggested that Microsoft had "illegally" used his company's data and that a lawsuit is forthcoming. "They trained illegally using Twitter data. Lawsuit time," he wrote. Musk noted in December that ChatGPT operator OpenAI, whose tech Microsoft is using to power Bing's chatbot and other AI features, "had access to Twitter database for training. I put that on pause for now."

Musk recently set up his own AI company in the hopes of taking on the likes of Google and OpenAI. As it happens, he co-founded OpenAI but later disowned the company and publicly criticized ChatGPT.