The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday issued a safety communication warning people to stay way from smartwatches and smart rings that claim to measure blood sugar levels without pricking the skin. “The FDA has not authorized, cleared, or approved any smartwatch or smart ring that is intended to measure or estimate blood glucose values on its own,” the agency wrote in the communication, and asked consumers, patients, and caregivers to stay away from such devices.

Non invasive blood sugar monitoring isn’t currently possible on any consumer device Popular wearables like the Apple Watch and the Oura ring can, instead, pair with FDA-authorized wearable devices like the Dexcom G7, which uses needles to read your blood sugar levels. Getting a smartwatch or a smart ring to monitor blood sugar levels without penetrating the skin would represent a huge medical advance, allowing people with diabetes, for instance, to stop pricking themselves each day, and alerting pre-diabetics.

Both Apple and Samsung have reportedly been working on the tech for years. Last year, Bloomberg reported that Apple’s no-prick monitoring was at a “proof-of-concept stage” and could come to the market once the company managed to figure out how to shrink its size. Apple has been working on the project since 2010, although it will likely still be years before the technology is small enough to be built into the Apple Watch. Samsung, too, is exploring ways to build the technology into the Galaxy Ring, a product that the company recently announced.

Until that time, be skeptical of any device that claims to do this right now. Current smartwatches and smart rings “do not directly test blood glucose levels,” the FDA writes. If you spot any company selling a device with these claims, you can report it to the FDA through the agency’s MedWatch Voluntary Reporting Form.

Despite quickly amassing more than 100 million users, Meta’s Threads hasn’t exactly broken through to the zeitgeist the way its main rival, X/Twitter, did. It’s arguably still awaiting its plane-on-the-Hudson moment. Nevertheless, Meta is doing what it can to bring attention to and keep eyes on the text-based platform, including by displaying popular threads on Facebook and Instagram.

Its latest test is out of a previous playbook too. The company is toying with letting users cross post from Facebook to Threads with ease. That could eventually make it easier for heavy Facebook users and/or content creators to share their thoughts, videos and photos on Threads without much more effort. As it stands, some users can share text and link posts from Facebook to Threads. There's no guarantee that Meta will deploy the feature in the long term or expand it to include images.

It makes sense for Meta to at least try this. Users have long been able to post stories and Reels to Facebook and Instagram simultaneously, so adding Threads to the mix is a logical step. Meta confirmed to TechCrunch that it's running the test, which is limited to iOS and isn't available in the EU. 

The opt-in approach is far more sensible than automatically sharing a user's Threads posts on Facebook, which Meta was doing for a while to boost awareness of the former. People often have different identities on Facebook and Instagram/Threads, even if they're tied to the same account. They might not want a highly political Threads post or dirty joke to show up in their friends' and family's Facebook feeds. At least this way they'll have the option to share a post on both platforms.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concluded Elon Musk ordered Twitter (now X) employees to take actions that would have violated an FTC consent decree regarding consumers’ data privacy and security. The investigation arose from the late 2022 episode informally known as “The Twitter Files,” where Musk ordered staff to let outside writers access internal documents from the company’s systems. However, the FTC says Twitter security veterans “took appropriate measures to protect consumers’ private information,” likely sparing Musk’s company from government repercussions by ignoring his directive.

FTC Chair Lina Khan discussed the conclusions in a public letter sent Tuesday to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (via The Washington Post). Jordan and his Republican colleagues have tried to turn the FTC’s investigation into a political wedge issue, framing the inquiry as a free speech violation — perhaps to shore up GOP support from Musk’s legion of rabid supporters. Jordan and his peers previously described the investigation as “attempts to harass, intimidate, and target an American business.”

Khan’s response to Jordan adopts a tone resembling that of a patient teacher explaining the nuance of a complicated situation to a child who insists on seeing simplistic absolutes. “FTC staff efforts to ensure Twitter was in compliance with the Order were appropriate and necessary, especially given Twitter’s history of privacy and security lapses and the fact that it had previously violated the 2011 FTC Order,” Khan wrote.

“When a firm has a history of repeat offenses, the FTC takes particular care to ensure compliance with its orders,” the FTC Chair wrote.

Tom Williams via Getty Images

The FTC’s investigation stemmed from allegations that Musk, newly minted as Twitter’s owner, ordered staff to give outside writers “full access to everything” in late 2022. Had staff obeyed Musk’s directive, the company likely would have violated a settlement with the FTC (originally from 2011 but updated in 2022) requiring the company to tightly restrict access to consumer data.

In November 2022, the FTC said publicly it was monitoring Twitter’s developments following Musk’s acquisition with “deep concern.” That followed the resignation of chief information security officer Lea Kissner and other members of the company’s data governance committee. They expressed concerns that Musk’s launch of a new account verification system didn’t give them adequate time to deploy security reviews required by the FTC.

Ultimately, Twitter security veterans ignored Musk’s “full access to everything” order. “Longtime information security employees at Twitter intervened and implemented safeguards to mitigate the risks,” Khan wrote in the letter. “The FTC’s investigation confirmed that staff was right to be concerned, given that Twitter’s new CEO had directed employees to take actions that would have violated the FTC’s Order.”

Slaven Vlasic via Getty Images

Rather than supplying outside writers with the “full access” Musk wanted them to have, Twitter employees accessed the systems and relayed select information to the group of outsiders. “Ultimately the third-party individuals did not receive direct access to Twitter’s systems, but instead worked with other company employees who accessed the systems on the individuals’ behalf,” Khan wrote.

The FTC says it will continue to monitor X’s adherence to the order. “When we heard credible public reports of potential violations of protections for Twitter users’ data, we moved swiftly to investigate,” FTC spokesman Douglas Farrar said in a statement to The Washington Post. “The order remains in place and the FTC continues to deploy the order’s tools to protect Twitter users’ data and ensure the company remains in compliance.”

One of the worst-kept secrets in gaming is now official. Former Xbox exclusive Hi-Fi Rush is coming to PS5 on March 19. Many expected the announcement to come during Wednesday's Nintendo Direct, which focused on third-party games, but Bethesda confirmed the news a few hours later. 

It emerged during the Direct that Pentiment and Grounded were Switch-bound. Both titles are also coming to PS4 and PS5 on February 22 and April 16, respectively. Grounded will have cross-play support between Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC.   

Meanwhile, Microsoft revealed that the fourth game making the jump to other platforms is Sea of Thieves, which is coming to PS5 on April 30. It will support cross-play between PS5, Xbox and PC.

Hi-Fi Rush debuted in early 2023 when Microsoft announced and released the game on Xbox and PC on the same day. The rhythm-based beat-'em-up quickly found a fan base in large part thanks to its killer visuals and soundtrack — the fact it was immediately available on Game Pass at no extra cost helped too. 

The PS5 version will include all content, including the two extra modes from the Arcade Challenge update. A digital deluxe edition will include more cosmetics and grant you additional Gears to splurge on upgrades.

Microsoft is looking to improve the bottom line of its gaming division. In recent months, the company has carried out mass layoffs and folded in Activision Blizzard revenue to help it do that.

Perhaps in line with that strategy, Xbox leaders recently confirmed rumors that they were going to release some more first party games on "the other consoles." They revealed earlier this month that four games would cross the great divide but declined to mention their titles, other than to confirm Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle would not be among them. 

The four games have all been out on Xbox and PC for at least a year and have reached their "full potential" on those platforms, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said. Two (Grounded and Sea of Thieves) are community-driven/multiplayer games. The others are "smaller games that were never really meant to be built as kind of platform exclusives." Hi-Fi Rush fits in the latter category, given that it was in development long before Microsoft bought ZeniMax Media, the parent of both studio Tango Gameworks and publisher Bethesda Softworks. 

There’s a Borderlands movie coming out, and now we have our very first teaser trailer. This footage gives us a glimpse of all of the major characters, most of which are sourced from the game, and the tone that director Eli Roth is going for.

There’s a definite Guardians of the Galaxy vibe running throughout. Maybe it’s the heavy use of an iconic Electric Light Orchestra song, or maybe it’s the ragtag group of adventurers or the mix of action and humor. In any event, director Eli Roth seems to be channeling his best James Gunn. All things considered, that seems to be the right tone for a Borderlands movie. Color us cautiously optimistic.

Now onto the cast and the characters that franchise fans know and love. Cate Blanchett plays the famously short-tempered Lilith and the actress certainly looks the part. Just look at that hair and outfit. The film follows Blanchett as she looks for a mysterious vault rumored to be stuffed to the brim with sweet, sweet loot. It’s just like the game!

Jamie Lee Curtis plays the scientist Dr. Tannis, an NPC in all three of the mainline Borderlands games. Comedian Kevin Hart portrays the mercenary Roland, a playable soldier in many of the games. Jack Black, following his turn as Bowser in the Super Mario Bros. Movie, plays the robot Claptrap. The well-meaning robot is considered a mascot for the franchise and often acts as comic relief. Black seems well-suited to the role. The cast is rounded out by Ariana Greenblatt as the demolitionist Tiny Tina, star of the spinoff game Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, and Florian Munteanu as her enforcer Krieg.

Of course, it remains to be seen if Roth can pull off this kind of big-budget adventure spectacle. The director’s mostly known for horror films. One thing’s for certain, however, the trailer actually looks and feels like Borderlands. The big and bright color palette recalls the cel-shaded aesthetic from the games. The movie hits theaters on August 9.

We often recommend Logitech gear in our guides and right now, a number of the brand's keyboards, webcams and mice are discounted up to 25 percent. The sale puts the Pebble 2 Combo keyboard and mouse at $50, which is $10 off and matches its all time low. You can get the deal from Amazon or directly from Logitech. The Pebble mouse is the newer model of a recommendation in our guide to productivity mice and the keyboard is the next generation of a callout from our MacBook accessories article. Both Bluetooth accessories are compact, portable and quickly swap between devices with a button press. Plus this new generation is made from around 50 percent recycled plastic. 

Elsewhere in the Logitech sale, the Brio 301 webcam is down to $45, which is a 25 percent discount and matches the low it hit a few times over the past few months. We named it a less-expensive alternative to our overall pick in our guide to webcams. It shoots 1080p video, has a noise cancelling mic and uses auto light correction to make up for a dimly lit room. It doesn't support HDR or have an adjustable field of view, but at just $45, it offers a lot of features at a low price. 

The Signature M650 mouse, which we recommend in our gift guide, is down to $35 (instead of the $40 list price) for a few different configurations, including a left-handed version. Logitech is running the same sale price. The mouse is lightweight, made from recycled materials, and has a SmartWheel that lets you swap between precision and super fast scrolling, depending on what you're working on. And it'll run for two years on a single AA battery.  

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Elden Ring fans who have been itching for a reason to return to the Lands Between (y'know, other than it being one of the best-received games in recent memory) will soon have one. Publisher Bandai Namco and studio FromSoftware revealed in a gameplay trailer that the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion will arrive on PC, PlayStation and Xbox on June 21. The studio announced the DLC one year ago.

The three-minute trailer is suitably epic in scope. It features new locales and more devious bosses to take down. One looks like a giant burning Wicker Man, while another has a lion-esque head and lightning powers. We also got a look at a gross, worm-like enemy that can almost swallow the player character.

It seems there will be new hand-to-hand combat options as the protagonist is shown attacking an enemy with a combination of kicks. At the end of the clip, our hero sprouts wings for what appears to be an aerial attack.

According to Bandai Namco, players will be entering "the Land of Shadow to explore a new adventure full of mysteries and danger," where they'll "unravel the dark side of the Elden Ring story." Pre-orders for the $40 expansion are open and newcomers will be able to pick up a bundle that includes the base game. Various special editions include extras such as an artbook, soundtrack and a figure of Messmer the Impaler, who appears to be the expansion's big bad.

During today's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, several Rare more titles were revealed for Switch Online. NES titles Snake Rattle 'n' Roll and R.C. Pro-Am are coming to the base tier today, along with SNES games Battletoads in Battlemaniacs and classic beat-'em-up Killer Instinct. Switch Online + Expansion Pack members will also get access to Nintendo 64 game Blast Corps.

However, there was a more interesting Switch Online announcement for those in Japan: Mother 3. The game debuted on the Game Boy Advance in 2006 at the end of that console's lifespan and as Nintendo was turning its attention to the DS. The company never released the sequel to Mother (aka EarthBound Beginnings) and Mother 2 (EarthBound) outside of Japan, despite Western fans of the series long yearning to play it. 

Some have taken to translating the game themselves, and one even offered their files to Nintendo in the hopes that the company would release an officially localized version for English-speaking audiences. With that in mind, choosing to limit Mother 3 to Switch Online in Japan may feel like a kick in the teeth for many of those who've been waiting nearly 20 years for Nintendo to bring the game to North America (it added the previous games in the series to Switch Online in the US in 2022).

Non-Japanese speaking fans will need to stick to unofficial translations for now, but they'd be forgiven for holding onto a glimmer of hope for a proper English localization. It's evident that Nintendo has remembered the acclaimed RPG exists and, given that it took the company 26 years to bring EarthBound Beginnings to North America, all is perhaps not yet lost.

Google doesn't have the best track record for naming its products, especially when it comes to messaging and video chat apps, and it looks like that trend is continuing into its AI apps. After announcing its new lightweight AI model Gemma earlier today, Google is also revealing that its Duet AI for enterprises using Workspace has also been rebranded to Gemini. If you'll recall, that's the next-generation AI model Google announced late last year, a name which also ended up being used for its Bard AI chatbot too. What's next, an AI model for smartwatches called Gem?

Businesses will have two Gemini for Workspace plans to choose from: Gemini Business, a new option for $20 a month that's available to organizations of all sizes, and Gemini Enterprise, a $30 a month offering for larger companies and "heavy uses of generative AI." Just like before, consumers will also have access to the AI features in Workspace apps by subscribing to a Google One AI Premium plan, which starts at $20 a month.

Consumers and businesses subscribed to these plans will also be able to use the Gemini chat experience at gemini.google.com. The company says it has "enterprise-grade data protections" and copyright indemnification, so it won't use your conversations for ads, AI training or data sharing. "By leveraging Gemini 1.0 Ultra, one of our largest AI models, we are able to provide insighul and expert responses to help people at work," Aparna Pappu, General Manager and Vice President of Google Workspace, said in a blog post. "Now, diverse teams in SMBs to large enterprises can use Gemini in more sophisticated ways with confidence that their interactions can be kept private."

Thanks to today's Nintendo Direct focused on third-party games, we now know the identity of two of the four Xbox titles that Microsoft pledged to release on "the other consoles." One of them is Pentiment, which is coming to Nintendo Switch on February 22 (i.e. tomorrow). The other is multiplayer title Grounded, which will arrive on Switch on April 16.

Pentiment debuted on Xbox, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming in late 2022, and it was well received by critics. The RPG has an eye-catching historical art style that fits the story a small team at Obsidian wanted to tell. Still, it's a bit of a niche game and one that game director Josh Sawyer admits would never have been possible without Game Pass.

"The old mentality of publishers and developers is generally focused on larger investments with higher [return on investment], and that's not the point in this environment, in this ecosystem," Sawyer told Waypoint Radio, as noted by Eurogamer. "[Game Pass] is the only way in which I conceive of [Pentiment] being viable."

That makes it particularly intriguing that Xbox picked Pentiment as one of the four games it's bringing to other consoles (it's worth noting that the number of Game Pass subscribers hasn't actually grown much over the last couple of years). Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said earlier this month the titles in question had all been on Xbox and PC for at least a year and that they had reached their "full potential" on those platforms. 

Two of the games are community-driven (i.e. multiplayer titles), and Grounded is clearly one of those. The Honey, I Shrunk The Kids-inspired survival game has been around for a few years. It debuted in early access in July 2020 before its full release in September 2022.

The other two games crossing the great divide are "smaller games that were never really meant to be built as kind of platform exclusives and all the fanfare that goes around that, but games that our teams really wanted to go build," Spencer said. Pentiment more or less falls into that category and had been rumored as one of the games to hit Switch and/or PlayStation. The other two Xbox games expected to come to other consoles are Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves.