Author: Eternity Lab

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Beats’ iconic Powerbeats Pro 2 is finally getting its first special edition. The brand is known for making partnerships with other brands, influencers, and artists by customizing its popular earbuds and headphones, but this time, the company is going a step further, letting Nike take over Beats’ powerful earbuds. The result is a few design changes that you might never see the audio company letting anyone do that again. From the customized charging case to dual color earbuds, there’s even Nike’s special slogan hidden inside the product.

“This isn’t just a new colorway; it’s a collision of two brands that define performance, culture, and sports–the attributes of today’s athlete,” said Chris Thorne, CMO of Beats. “By placing the Swoosh on our hardware for the first time, we’re honoring the shared DNA of Beats and Nike. It’s a tribute to the grit, style, and sound that push people to their limits.”

Apple and Nike are no strangers. Both companies have been working together for years, and the sportswear firm has been the only one, besides Hermes, to have a proper special Apple Watch, in addition to bands, and other collaborations. Besides that, we’ve seen Tim Cook wearing special Nike editions, and Beats is always partnering with the company. Still, this brings a new level of commitment between the brands, which features LeBron James and Tom Kim in this new campaign.

This might be Powerbeats Pro 2’s boldest design yet

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First available in four colors, this limited edition comes in a new Volt palette. The first design change customers will notice is in the charging case, which has kind of a “Splatoon” vibe. The case has Volt splatter across it, and when customers open it, they will be greeted with Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan. Nike’s slogan is in an Apple product, yes. The third change is that on the right earbud, customers will see Nike’s logo instead of Beats’ traditional “b” logo (the Beats logo will still be on the left earbud). The earbuds will also have a dual-color design, with most of the earbud being volt and the bud itself in black. 

To celebrate the launch, Beats ambassador LeBron James is featured in an advertisement playing a round of golf. Despite his terrible game, he’s so focused on the music he’s listening to that he doesn’t care about the criticisms by professional golfer Tom Kim and actors Lionel Boyce and Travis “Taco” Bennett.

Powerbeats Pro 2 is still one of the best earbuds around

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Powerbeats Pro 2 improves everything about the first generation of this product. From proper wireless charging to up to 45 hours of listening time. Beats also made the earhooks smaller and with a new material to make them more comfortable and stable (even though prolonged use still hurts the back of my ears a bit). Customers get Beats’ signature sound with powerful bass and Apple’s H2 chip, which enables several popular AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 features, like Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency Mode, head gestures, and more. What I like the most about Powerbeats Pro 2 is the physical buttons for volume, which are especially useful when you’re on a long run and already sweating a lot.

Besides that, heart rate measurement has become my favorite feature on Apple’s earbuds, and with a firmware update released last year, Powerbeats Pro 2 got support for it on the Fitness app, as it was previously only available within third-party apps. This update also brought Calorimeter, Pedometer, and Live Activities for the heart rate sensor on the Lock Screen.

Powerbeats Pro 2 Nike Special Edition launches this Friday, March 20, for $249.99 in the U.S., the UK, China, Japan, Germany, Canada, Australia, Singapore, France, Spain, India, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong. It will be available in select Apple Store locations in the U.S., the UK, China, and Singapore.

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The first “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” trailer leaked in mid-December 2025, giving fans a blurry first look at footage from the film. However, Sony didn’t immediately release an official trailer in theaters or on YouTube. At the time, Marvel was also conducting a massive teaser trailer campaign for “Avengers: Doomsday.” In an unexpected move, both Sony and Marvel refrained from releasing MCU trailers during the Super Bowl.

Fast-forward to mid-March, and Sony has finally released the first “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” trailer online, with about four months to go until the film’s premiere. Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo, and Sadie Sink, “Brand New Day” will hit theaters on July 31. The first trailer gives us our first official look at some of these beloved MCU characters in this new “Spider-Man” adventure.

Sony spent a full day teasing the trailer online before its release on Wednesday, with Tom Holland kickstarting a campaign on social media to announce a promotional campaign unlike those used for earlier “Spider-Man” films. Sony partnered with Spider-Man fans to release short clips from the trailer, for a total of 23 “Brand New Day” videos that were posted on Instagram by individual Spider-Man fans. Interestingly, each short trailer teaser came with a link to the next piece of the puzzle. The better experience is watching the full trailer in one go, either on YouTube (as seen above) or in theaters, where it should play starting this week before the current attractions.

What happens in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer?

The trailer gives us a first look at Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), in the days after the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Peter Parker narrates the clip, briefly reminding us of his predicament. He is still the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but he’s living a lonely life, with everyone dear in his life either dead or having no memory of their relationship with Peter Parker. The trailer shows us a Peter who still suffers, following the lives of MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) closely, without actually getting involved. However, the trailer does show that Peter will interact with his former girlfriend and best friend in the movie. It’s too early to tell whether MJ and Ned will remember who Peter Parker is by the end of the film.

All the while, Peter is still doing his job, which is protecting the world around him from bad guys (including Scorpion, played by Michael Mando, and The Hand ninja group), with the trailer teasing stunning action scenes in Destin Daniel Cretton’s first “Spider-Man” movie. But Peter is also suffering physically as his body is going through some sort of transformation that requires some medical attention. Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is the person Peter goes to for help to study the new mutations, much like he went to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in “No Way Home” for assistance.

The trailer also gives us a quick look at the MCU’s Punisher (Jon Bernthal), teasing the somewhat hilarious relationship between the two vigilantes. But we don’t get to see Sadie Sink, who seemed to appear in the leaked trailer late last year. On the other hand, a mysterious character narrates the “life cycles” description of spiders throughout the trailer’s runtime.

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*This post contains spoilers for “Invincible” Season 4, Episode 1 and potentially future seasons*

Now with three bloody, bone and gristle sprinkled seasons under its belt, “Invincible” has gained a phenomenal cast list to bring Robert Kirkman’s world of flawed and incredibly fragile heroes, constantly fighting an endless array of villains. Now in season 4, the big threat is the long-anticipated arrival of Grand Regent Thragg, leader of the Viltrumite people and the mustached menace that’s going to cause even more problems for both Mark (Steve Yuen) and Nolan (J.K. Simmons). He’s voiced by “Foundation” star, Luke Pace, and is a perfect fit for the character. Before we get to see the full force of Viltrum’s leader, though, there are other foes for Mark to go up against, beginning with ferocious femme fatale, Universa.

Making her original appearance in “Invincible” #69 in the comics, Universa was a Wonder Woman-like warrior that Mark was forced to face. In the first episode of “Invincible” season 4, she arrives with the goal of draining the planet’s energy resources for her own gain. Luckily, Invincible Inc. gets the call to save the day when she attacks a power plant. For a role this intimidating, it’s smart to call someone who has handled various levels of danger. Someone who can confront everything from hordes of zombies to alien invaders. Who better for the job than “The Walking Dead” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” star Danai Gurira?

Danai Gurira’s Universa will play a part in Invincible’s future

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After playing Michonne in “The Walking Dead,” it’s great to see another beloved cast member from Kirkman’s live-action show lend her voice here. Just like Michonne, Universa starts out as something of a lone warrior, out for her own and doing anything she can to save her homeworld. Like Michonne, trust is a fragile thing and one that Mark eventually earns in the comics, so it’ll be interesting to see if this iteration of the show will end up on the same path.

So far, there have been occasional deviations in “Invincible” that stray from the comic’s storyline, so who knows? Universa, while defeated by the combined efforts of Invincible and Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs), might still be upset about losing her battle and being prevented from completing her mission, possibly leading to another confrontation in the future. Honestly, though, maybe it’s better if she doesn’t, considering Mark has enough on his plate with warring nations trying to take over the planet and a girlfriend who isn’t feeling too great at the moment. All of this is part of what makes “Invincible” one of the best R-rated superhero shows out there. If you want to keep up with it, be sure to tune back in on Prime Video when the fourth episode drops next week.

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Early this year, popular projector brand XGIMI announced it would enter the augmented reality (AR) glasses market with its new MemoMind brand. While BGR already had the chance to go hands-on with the product at its official reveal at CES, the publication was also invited to Mobile World Congress 2026, in Barcelona, to take another look at these glasses, which are now set to be released later next month. Unlike other AR glasses, XGIMI decided to join this market because it already produces everything from its projectors, including the optical part.

This is why, internally, it became a challenge to see if its engineers could replicate the quality of its projector lenses for AR glasses, and they were satisfied with the results. That said, XGIMI will be releasing not just one pair of AR glasses, but three models that will range from no AR display, to a single one or two over the year. With that, the company will offer a range of different options to customers, but with a main feature in common: none of them will be made to take photos or record videos. Instead, they can help you with everyday queries, among other features, but they won’t raise privacy concerns from people around whenever customers can actually get them.

XGIMI’s MemoMind AR Glasses are full of clever features

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The first thing I realized after going hands-on with the MemoMind was that this device actually looks like regular glasses, which means they don’t feel intimidating in case you’re walking around with them; in addition, in case you choose a model that features displays, they still look very discreet.The flagship model, XGIMI’s MemoMind One, will be all about looking good, as customers will be able to choose between eight frame styles and five interchangeable temple designs. As proper glasses, XGIMI will also offer prescription lenses from day one, but the sunglasses add-on will be available at a later date.

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What I think is most interesting about these AR glasses is that they are made for quick interactions. So, for most of the time, you’ll just be wearing regular glasses, and whenever you need a smart capability, like live translating, checking your schedule, or even presenting with a live teleprompter, you’ll be able to. 

Besides those features, I also think XGIMI’s know-how was able to solve one of the biggest issues with AR glasses, which is adjusting the distance between what you’re reading on the display, and doing that by offering a two-wide-screen option. In my experience, I wouldn’t be crossing my eyes to read what was in front of me. That said, XGIMI continues to build the hype over these glasses, and you’ll soon be able to put them to the test.

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Design changes to the Pennsylvania license plate are causing people to receive wrongfully attributed bills or traffic fees. It all has to do with the automated toll and camera systems and the license plate recognition software powering them. To celebrate America’s 250th birthday, the state license plate was refreshed to feature the Liberty Bell,  a new slogan (“Let freedom ring”), and small changes for the overall style, which included altering the font for the numbers and lettering. 

As a result of those changes, cameras and license recognition systems are reportedly reading the new 0 as the number 8, changing the final plate number and resulting in the wrong person or driver getting a bill. PennDOT has released a statement on the matter, explaining, “The addition of the slash through the zero was intended to help differentiate between the 0 and the letter O, which both the license plate readers (LPR) and human eye have had difficulty differentiating on past registration plates.”  

Automated cameras and recognition systems are the source of the problem here. There have long been concerns over their accuracy, and it certainly seems like there should be a system of checks and balances put in place before those bills or fines go out to potential drivers. A prescient idea considering one of the biggest U.S. cities is installing automated speed cameras to dole out hefty fines. 

What is Pennsylvania doing to fix the inaccurate readings?

While the easiest solution would be to change the font on the plates, Pennsylvania is instead opting to recalibrate its systems and train the software to better detect the new character. PennDOT says the new plate “meets PennDOT production and legibility requirements and was developed in consultation with PA State Police (PSP) and the PA Turnpike (PTC).” In addition, the slash technique through the zero was a “best practice recommendation” from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).

The unfortunate issue is that the retraining process may not be as quick as everyone hopes. It takes time for the systems to build recognition data, which potentially means more people getting flagged and being sent bills that shouldn’t be their responsibility. Pennsylvania officials say residents should double-check their toll-by-plate statements and, if they see anything that’s inaccurate, contact the Turnpike Commission. Recognition and camera inaccuracies can be fairly common anywhere, actually. Cameras mounted too high or too far away, not properly maintained, or obscured by sunlight or lighting glare can give false readings. Moreover, there are a variety of factors that impact visual accuracy, such as lighting conditions, vehicle speeds, environmental elements or inclement weather, camera quality and, yes, license plate designs and their condition.

The technology as a whole has gotten better over time. Australian traffic cameras have the ability to tell when drivers are texting instead of paying attention. Researchers in the country may have also devised a system to detect drunk drivers and prevent accidents using camera footage and AI.

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Mobile World Congress 2026 is about to wrap up in Barcelona. Over the past few days, BGR exhaustively walked through the Fira Gran Via venue to discover all the latest mobile tech, which this year has been represented by Chinese phones, 6G and Wi-Fi 8 promises, and, of course, one too many robots.

From the best of Showstoppers to all the crazy concepts on display from Lenovo, like a tabletop robot that could be the ultimate personal assistant, the trade show was marked by Honor hosting its first global announcement event hosted outside of China with the new Honor Magic V models. Besides that, we’ve seen mobile phones unveiled by Nothing, Huawei, Xiaomi, and even Oukitel, which ranged from copycats of the latest iPhone and Samsung Galaxy devices to a mockup of a very tiny smartphone that looks suspiciously like a potential Galaxy S27.

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Also at the show, Qualcomm committed to the upcoming 6G standard alongside many industry players, as they expect the first appearance of this technology to arrive before the end of the decade. Even more optimistic than that, these companies are now promising the next step of Wi-Fi, the Wi-Fi 8 standard, to start showing up in products by the end of this year or early 2027. In other words, these tech players are getting ready for more AI, consistent connectivity, and blazing-fast speeds.

Restaurant robots, leasing robots, fighting robots, and dancing robots

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While Mobile World Congress isn’t often overrun by robots, as CES usually is, several companies still took the time to show off some of their latest technology innovations combined with top-of-the-line connectivity capabilities. While walking through the halls, I’d often see a horde of people walking behind Exergio’s humanoid robot paired with Converse shoes, and it would even make cameos at other booths like MEI and Unitree.

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Unitree, once again, was showing the capabilities of its boxing robots, which so far are more fun than actually dangerous, unlike some of the other devices they have in store. Like many other attendees, I spent a good 15 minutes watching these robots weirdly trying to attack each other, while Exergio’s robot would be just standing there… capturing data.

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Another surprise was Agibot and its new leasing program for robots. Starting at 899 euros per day, anyone can rent a robot for a kid’s party, as a museum tour guide, to provide security, or even to dance with you. We also had the chance to visit a restaurant that was operated entirely by robots. It was a bit slow, but the technology is (allegedly) only getting better.

How are humans going to connect with each other in the next decade?

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During MWC, we were also invited to attend the Wired x Sparks’ panel at the Monastery of Sant Miquel. Executives from Sparks, Ericsson, OURA, and RenaiXance took part in the discussion of what to expect from technology in the next decade. While the hot topics on the show floor involved faster connectivity, more displays, and AI assistants, for Sparks’ Chief Growth Officer, Adam Charles, the next decade will be about “more intentional personal experiences,” as people will look for more ways to use technology to connect with one another.

OURA’s CEO, Tom Hale, also talked about how non-intrusive technologies will continue to play a big role in that paradigm shift. Of course, being chief executive officer of a company that gets health data from your finger, Hale talked about how his technologies, and future ones, could help users read the room better. “Understanding people around you takes time, maybe you could understand the physiological sense of others without doing the hard work, which could help you approach a conversation with your wife, boss, or someone else differently.”

At the end of the day, Mobile World Congress, just like this panel, was all about improving human connectivity. It might happen through 6G, Wi-Fi 8, XGIMI’s AR glasses, or as simply by getting to know others. The answer lies somewhere in between.

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After months of rumors, Samsung finally introduced its new Galaxy S26 family, including the new Galaxy S26 Ultra. While the company added a few new design changes, such as a glass module to wrap the main cameras, an aluminum finish instead of titanium, and improved the chipset with new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 “For Galaxy,” what makes this device so enticing is its new privacy display.

This feature has been widely rumored to land with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and Samsung was also not shy to tease it over the past few months. However, now that it’s actually being released as a product, the company’s privacy display seems even more interesting than before. After all, it’s a working product. According to the company, it’s able to turn off some pixels on the display that are made to make it visible from all angles, which means that in some cases, the user will be the only person taking a look at the display. That said, instead of offering a privacy screen protector, Samsung was able to bring that technology built into its display.

Here’s how Samsung privacy’s display works

Samsung says there are two types of pixels on its displays. One emits light directly to the user’s eyes while the other emits light to make it easier to view content from all angles. With the Privacy Display, users can decide if they want the entire display to be hard to see from all angles, just certain apps, or even just notifications. With this technology, Samsung feels to be revolutionizing privacy on the smartphone, as users can rest assured to open any message, app, or photo without worrying about others peeking, whether they’re at home, at work, or commuting.

What makes this technology so interesting is that it doesn’t make the display worse, nor does it need an accessory, as everything is built into the screen. Since Samsung can deactivate each pixel individually, it gives users control as precise as just a notification getting blurred while all the rest remain visible.

This feature is also great to prevent criminals from peeking at your password from a distance or people from taking a look at sensitive information without your permission. In other words, Samsung was able to make a tiny upgrade, the most important reason for customers to upgrade their phones to a Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Could the iPhone get a similar feature?

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So far, rumors don’t suggest Apple is working on a new display technology that could bring the same level of privacy to the iPhone. Most rumors talk about a smaller Dynamic Island, under-screen Face ID, and even a brighter display. While all of those features, combined with a more resistant panel introduced with the iPhone 17 models, make the iPhone always an enticing upgrade, it also gives the feeling that Apple is really behind Samsung on that specific feature.

After all, the past privacy functions introduced by Apple don’t seem to address how exposed iPhone users are in public. For example, the company already has a hidden folder; it’s now testing to offer Stolen Device Protection as an opt-out feature, instead of opt-in, but if you’re opening your bank app on the streets, or you need to check a confidential e-mail, you just need to be extra careful. A few years back, the Wall Street Journal reported that criminals kept peeking at users’ passcodes to then rob people; Apple’s response was Stolen Device Protection, but it’s not as effective as Samsung’s Privacy Display.

I’m sure that just not me, but many iPhone users might have started to consider a different alternative just for the sake of having such a well-thought-out idea in their pockets, and if Apple doesn’t do something in the near future, it might start losing high-end market customers to its competitors.

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Battery anxiety is a huge issue with smartphones in this day and age. While many smartphones have started to offer more efficient and larger batteries — like the newly announced Galaxy S26 Ultra — they continue to deal with an array of battery-related problems. This leads people to look for easy ways to extend their phone’s battery life, which often requires jumping through a few hoops. Now, though, Google is working on a way to make it easier than ever to tell if an application will drain your battery more than it should.

This mostly started late last year, when Google shared a blog post detailing some of its plans to start implementing big changes to help Android users find applications that misuse or overuse the battery in smartphones and tablets. The goal, based on that blog post, was to come up with a solution for identifying applications that abuse the “wake lock” system built into Android phones. This system essentially allows for apps to keep the CPU in the phone or tablet running despite the screen on the device being turned off. Because the CPU continues to run, the battery in the device runs down much faster. Now, it seems Google is finally ready to debut its solution.

On top of rolling out new technical quality treatments to help mitigate to overuse of the wake lock system, Google says it will also start adding a disclaimer to applications that consistently exceed the limit of a stat called “Excessive Partial Wake Lock.” Further, if the issue persists, Google says it may even limit how those applications appear in the Play Store’s recommendations.

How this helps

The change is all part of Google’s ongoing initiative to improve battery drain in Android smartphones as a whole. While the company has instituted features into Android, like the Battery Health function, it is important for users to know when apps might abuse the battery life on their smartphone before they download those applications. Google showed what the warning might look like on an app’s page, and it’s pretty easy to see.

Beyond breaking down when an application abuses its access to the wake lock system, Google says it is also working closely with developers to help optimize applications that rely on background resources to ensure they aren’t draining your battery. In fact, the company actually mentioned WHOOP by name in the most recent blog post, noting that by working with the fitness-based accessory brand, Google has leveraged some of the recommendations it has instituted in recent updates to improve performance and battery draining from WHOOP’s related apps.

With so many of our apps relying on background information — social media, emails, etc all require background processes to keep up-to-date in real-time — Google can hopefully stave off some of the battery anxiety Android users might be feeling. This is especially important as we wait for more brands to adopt newer battery technology, like silicon-carbon batteries.

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It’s been over five years since we stepped into the “next generation” of gaming with the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. And, depending on who you ask, the decline of the Xbox has been fairly apparent as the ongoing rise of Xbox Game Pass and the availability of the console’s “exclusives” on PC — and pretty soon PlayStation, too — has only grown thanks to the company’s broad approach to supporting multiple platforms. However, it seems Xbox isn’t quite ready to step away from hardware. Rather, the next Xbox console will break new ground, as Microsoft says it cane play PC and Xbox games.

While rumors have been swirling for months at this point, we’ve finally been given our first real taste of what to expect from Microsoft’s next Xbox. Recently-appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma shared on X today that the new console, codenamed Project Helix, will “play your Xbox and PC games,” and that the gaming company plans to share more about what it is and what to expect at GDC later this month.

And that’s the kicker. We still know so little about the next generation of Xbox consoles. Sure, there are plenty of rumors, but with the ongoing chip shortage and skyrocketing RAM prices — they’ve gotten so bad that future laptops setups could completely change — a more gaming console that potentially doubles as a PC could help consumers justify the purchase and Xbox justify the price.

PC games are coming to the next Xbox

Most of the rumors we’ve been seeing over the past few months began in 2025, when Microsoft shared the first details about its plans to release an Xbox-branded version of ASUS’s ROG Ally. The ROG Xbox Ally X was an interesting take on Xbox gaming, not only offering access to PC games, but letting users play Xbox games, too, so long as they had a PC version. And that’s where it ceased to be an Xbox, as it couldn’t play Xbox-only games natively.

Of course, the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X were just part of the “This is an Xbox” campaign, in which the company highlighted all of the devices capable of playing Xbox games via the cloud. Plus, with the Xbox ROG Ally seeing the success it did at putting the Xbox UI on a portable Windows device, it doesn’t seem all that far-fetched that the company will take the next logical step of making its next console more of a PC, too. In fact, we’re already seeing other companies develop living-room friendly PCs with the reveal of the Steam Machine from Valve. Then there’s Xbox’s continued partnership with AMD. In a video celebrating the agreement, from June 2025, Sarah Bond, former President of Xbox, seemed to imply that next-generation Xbox consoles would not be tied to a single store.

While the ROG Xbox Ally can’t play native Xbox games, Bond assured fans that wouldn’t be the case for its future consoles. And if Microsoft does lean fully into making anything and everything an Xbox, then it will fundamentally change the how we play. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long to find out more, as GDC kicks off on March 9, 2026.

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Just like Spotify brought direct messaging to the masses, it seems YouTube is also continuing its move to do the same. The company first began testing the feature in November 2025, but the sample size for it was limited, with it only being available in Ireland and Poland. On March 3, 2026, YouTube shared an update that the direct messaging feature is available in even more European countries — a total of 31, to be exact.

Chief among these other countries are Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, and Italy. The list, of course, goes on, but there is no mention of when it will come to the Americas as of this writing. But the arrival of direct messaging on YouTube also has some stipulations tied to it. For starters, the feature is limited to users who have verified their age is 18 or older. This means you’ll need to use Google’s age verification system, which is driven by AI, and even slightly based on your viewing habits. Further, you’ll need a YouTube account and to be signed into it.

The primary point of this feature is to simplify sharing videos. This is a similar focus to what has been seen with Spotify’s foray into direct messaging. However, much like Spotify’s launch of the feature, this isn’t the first time that direct messaging has been available on YouTube, as the company previously ditched private messages in 2019.

An old feature made new

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This latest move is certainly an interesting one, especially as many of the approaching feature drops for YouTube appear to be more related to AI-powered features and functionality. If you were hoping for other features, then finding out about YouTube’s return to direct messaging might not be that big of a win for you. However, it does appear that many users are actually excited about the return of messaging to the platform, with some on Reddit noting that they loved the feature before it was sunset and are excited to see it make a return.

Even still, some have also expressed concerns that it might fall into the same trap as some other messaging options, with direct messages being flooded with random advertising texts instead of actual, useful information and interactions. Others believe it could improve the amount of friendships between YouTubers and users on the platform by allowing YouTubers to interact with their fans more directly without having to go outside of the system.

Thankfully, it doesn’t appear that Google is trying to do anything extra funny, like locking DMs behind YouTube Premium or YouTube Premium Lite — though the company did recently bring two of its best premium features to the more affordable subscription.

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