• Yahoo is adding generative AI to its search engine

    January 27, 2026

    Yahoo has a new AI-powered “answer engine”, dubbed Yahoo Scout. The new tool is available now in beta and is powered by Anthropic’s . The company says Scout “synthesizes” info from the web, as well as Yahoo’s own data and content when constructing responses to user’s natural-language search queries. Yahoo says the interface will include interactive digital media, structured lists and tables and visible source links aimed at making answers easier to verify. (Disclosure: Yahoo is the parent company of Engadget.) Alongside Scout, Yahoo is announcing an “intelligence platform” across its varied products. This will include features like AI summaries…

  • WhatsApp is rolling out a new stricter security setting to protect users from cyber attacts

    January 27, 2026

    Days after Meta was sued by over alleged false privacy claims by its chat app WhatsApp, the company has rolled out a new setting to protect users against cyber attacks. The feature, called Strict Account Settings, adds restrictions like automatically blocking media and attachments from unknown senders, and silencing calls from unknown numbers. Under this setting, link previews are turned off, and the setting to block a high number of unknown messages is also switched on. When someone turns this option on, by default, two-step verification is turned on along with security notifications that alert someone when the code of someone they…

  • The EU tells Google to give external AI assistants the same access to Android as Gemini has

    January 27, 2026

    The European Commission has started proceedings to ensure Google complies with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in certain ways. Specifically, the European Union’s executive arm has told Google to grant third-party AI services the same level of access to Android that Gemini has. “The aim is to ensure that third-party providers have an equal opportunity to innovate and compete in the rapidly evolving AI landscape on smart mobile devices,” the Commission said in a statement. The company will also have to hand over “anonymized ranking, query, click and view data held by Google Search” to rival search engines. The Commission…

  • Risotto raises $10M seed to use AI to make ticketing systems easier to use

    January 27, 2026

    Help desk automation is a billion-dollar industry, and one of the most likely to be disrupted by tech built upon AI. Major players like Zendesk, ServiceNow and Freshworks currently dominate the space, but lots of smaller startups are betting that reshuffling workflows will give them a chance to cut in. Risotto is one of those startups, and after today, it will have plenty of runway to test its theory. The company on Tuesday said it has raised a $10 million seed round led by Bonfire Ventures, with participation from 645 Ventures, Y Combinator, Ritual Capital, and Surgepoint Capital. Designed to…

  • The Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold will cost $2,900 in the US

    January 27, 2026

    As promised, Samsung is bringing its Galaxy Z Trifold smartphone to shoppers in the US. The unique foldable goes on sale on January 30. The phone was announced along with its select markets’ sale dates at the close of 2025. We didn’t have price information for Samsung’s domestic market at that time, and even though we were anticipating the Galaxy Z Trifold to cost a bundle, the actual cost is more absurd than we’d guessed. In reality, getting your hands on this slim triple-screen smartphone will run you $2,900. Putting aside the ludicrous expense, this smartphone is pretty dang cool.…

  • Pinterest to lay off 15% of staff to redirect resources to AI

    January 27, 2026

    Pinterest said on Tuesday that it plans to lay off less than 15% of its workforce to cut back on office space and reallocate resources for its AI initiatives. In a regulatory filing, the company noted it expects to complete the layoffs by late September. The filing stated that Pinterest would be “reallocating resources to AI-focused roles and teams that drive AI adoption and execution” and “prioritizing AI‑powered products and capabilities.” The company had 4,666 full-time employees at the end of 2024, which means roughly 700 workers will be affected by cuts. The move comes as Pinterest, and every other…

  • 2026 Toyota bZ4X review | CarExpert

    January 27, 2026

    Toyota Australia is starting to get serious about electric vehicles (EVs) in this market. Up against an onslaught of electric offerings from China and elsewhere, the Japanese auto giant has upped the ante with an updated and upgraded version of its first EV, the bZ4X mid-size electric SUV. Toyota has slashed pricing, added buyer incentives, improved the standard spec, given it more EV driving range, and a slight styling upgrade, too. And for the entry-level 2WD variant tested here, the brand has pushed particularly hard. So, is the bZ4X finally the EV with which the world’s biggest automaker can compete…

  • Lego has a new round of Star Wars sets that work with the Smart Brick

    January 27, 2026

    Lego unveiled its Smart Play system at CES 2026 earlier this month, with a selection of sets designed for the engaging feature. Now, the toy company has announced five new compatible sets — all Stars Wars themed — available now for pre-order. Anthony Daniels, the original C-3PO, shared the news during the Nuremberg Toy Fair. The Smart Play system, Lego’s newest venture, involves a Smart Brick, Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures. Each Smart Brick has proximity sensors, an accelerometer, a speaker and more. The Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures relay what’s happening to the Brick. For example, if you whoosh…

  • Uber launches an ‘AV Labs’ division to gather driving data for robotaxi partners

    January 27, 2026

    Uber has more than 20 autonomous vehicle partners, and they all want one thing: data. So the company says it’s going to make that available through a new division called Uber AV Labs. Despite the name, Uber is not returning to developing its own robotaxis, which it stopped doing after one of its test vehicles killed a pedestrian in 2018. (Uber ultimately sold off the division in 2020 in a complex deal with Aurora.) But it will send its own cars out into cities adorned with sensors to collect data for partners like Waymo, Waabi, Lucid Motors, and others —…

  • Apple’s new louder, high-precision AirTag

    January 27, 2026

    Between the new Macs, iPhones and rumored AI gadgets, Apple surprised us with an upgraded, second-generation AirTag. It has Apple’s latest Ultra Wideband chip — the same one used in the iPhone 17 lineup and the Apple Watch Ultra 3. It also uses Precision Finding to reach items up to 50 percent further away than the previous AirTag model. This feature will now work with any Apple Watch Series 9, Ultra 2 or newer. TMA (Apple) Apple says the new tag is 50 percent louder and features a “distinctive new chime.” So you can show off that you’ve got the…