Table of ContentsTable of ContentsSpotifyApple MusicTidalQobuzAmazon MusicDeezerYouTube MusicWho could ever have imagined that, one day, all of our favorite music, artists, and albums would have entire discographies that you could access on your smartphone or tablet from pretty much anywhere in the world.Thats the beauty of music streaming services, and the modern age is jam-packed with these audio platforms. While some are better than others, the end goal for these streamers, whether it's Spotify or Tidal or Apple Music, is to beam your favorite tracks, podcasts, comedy specials, and other soundbites to your ears.But with so many to choose from, it can be difficult to find the diamond in the rough. Not to worry though, weve had the opportunity to test out all of the best music streaming services (we look at all the best free music download sites as well), and have compiled and consolidated our favorites into this roundup.SpotifyThe best for most peopleJump to detailsApple MusicPerfect for Apple users who want hi-res audioJump to detailsTidalAudiophile quality with wide device supportJump to detailsQobuzAudiophile quality for a little lessJump to detailsAmazon MusicExcellent value, hi-res audio, great for Prime customersJump to detailsDeezerSomewhere in the Goldilocks zoneJump to detailsYouTube MusicThe best of music and YouTube is all hereJump to detailsDerek Malcolm / Digital TrendsThe best for most peopleSpotifyProsExcellent UIBest-in-class discoveryMore than 100 million songsThe biggest podcast networkFun special featuresConsNo lossless or hi-res option ... yetGlitchy performance at timesSpecsPlans (monthly):Free / Basic: $11 / Individual: $12 / Duo: $17 / Student: $6 / Family: $20Library Size:More than 100 million tracksQuality:160kbps to 320kbpsWhen it comes to music streaming, Spotify is definitely one of the most recognizable brands on the planet. Launched in 2006, the platform is available across the globe, and is home to more than 100 million songs and growing. Spotify is also the world's biggest podcast platform. And late last year, Spotify also became the home to an immense trove of audiobooks too. Whether youre rocking an iPhone, a Google Pixel, a laptop, or you're in your car, theres a good chance that Spotify is going to be compatible with your hardware.Beyond the music archive, Spotify offers several different subscription options, including Basic, Individual, Family, and Student plans, as well as a free version with ads. Spotify Premium users also receive unlimited track skips, 320kbps audio quality, offline downloads for up to 10,000 songs across five devices, and up to 15 hours of audiobook access per month. And if you dont care about audiobooks, the Basic subscription is essentially a Spotify Premium plan, sans audiobooks. On the flip-side, if all you want are audiobooks, theres now even a $10 per month Audiobooks Access plan that gives you 15 hours of audiobook-listening and ad-supported music.Spotify is also great for sharing. Thanks to integrations with social platforms like Facebook and Instagram, your circle of pals will get to see what youve been jamming out to lately. Youll even have the option of sharing songs with others and even creating collaborative playlists you can all add to. Additionally, no one is quite as good as Spotify at always adding and experimenting with new and fun features, like its AI-driven DJ and, most recently, its beta AI Playlist that lets you type Chat GPT-style text prompts to get it to curate playlists for you.So, where does the service struggle? Track quality, for one. Unlike platforms like Tidal and Qobuz that place a big emphasis on hi-res audio, Spotifys tracks are capped at 320kbps, which only the most critical of audiophiles will notice. Spotify's long-awaited Hi-Fi tier may still see the light of day, though, so if it's not a deal breaker, you could just wait it out. But if you just want a music streamer that offers tons of genres, playlists, and fun social features, Spotify is going to be your best bet.SpotifyThe best for most peopleAndy Boxall / Digital TrendsPerfect for Apple users who want hi-res audioApple MusicProsMore than 100 million songsExcellent hi-res options and Dolby AtmosGreat interfaceCompetitive pricingConsNo free tierCant keep downloaded songs if you cancelNo plan for couplesSpecsPlans (monthly):Individual: $11 / Student: $6 / Family: $17Library Size:More than 100 million tracksQuality:256kbps AAC, 16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/48kHz, 24-bit/192kHzSome folks will remember Apples original foray into digitized music from a little platform called iTunes that launched back in 2000. Paving the way for Apples streamlined interface and big music library, iTunes eventually evolved into Apple Music in 2015. A fierce competitor to rivals like Spotify and Tidal, Apple Music is simple to use, boasts a library of more than 100 million tracks, is available across multiple platforms, and even offers hi-res listening options.Apple Music also lets you test the waters before enrolling in one of its many subscription options. With a one-month free trial, youll have plenty of time to get a good lay of the land, at which point youll need to shell out for a monthly subscription, which runs $5 for students, $11 for an Individual plan, and $17 for the Family plan. And if you purchase a new pair of AirPods, Beats, or an Apple HomePod, Apple will give you six months of Apple Music on the house!Every tier gives you access to full playback controls, recommended music based on your listening habits, and some nice visual treats for your phone, tablet, and computer screens. Were talking immersive album artwork, line-by-line lyrics, and intuitive search tools that make finding songs and artists a breeze. And when iOS 18 finally rolls out, Apple Music will get a few UI tweaks and new features, including Music Haptics and the ability for multiple users to control SharePlay listening.As far as track quality is concerned, Apples audio far exceeds Spotifys 320kbps cap, with lossless ALAC tracks that can get as high as 24-bit/192kHz. Apple Music also uses the smaller AAC format with resolution up to 256kbps and offers many tracks and albums in Dolby Atmos, which Apple brands as Spatial Audio. And while youll be able to share tracks with friends and family, Apple Music doesnt offer the same social integrations as Spotify.If youre familiar with the design and UI of devices like the iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and Apple TV, youre going to feel right at home using Apple Music. Both desktop and mobile interfaces are clean, simple, and easy to navigate, with just about everything you could need right at your fingertips. Plus, there are all kinds of smart speakers (such as Sonos and Apple's HomePod) and smart displays that offer native Apple Music support.Apple MusicPerfect for Apple users who want hi-res audioRelatedDerek Malcolm / Digital TrendsAudiophile quality with wide device supportTidalProsMore than 110 million tracksSome of the best hi-res tracks in the gameIncludes offline listeningWorks with many different types of devicesAwesome playlist curationsConsWeak podcast libraryMusic discovery tools are not as good as othersUI could be improved and more streamlinedSpecsPlans (monthly):Individual: $11 / Family: $17 / Student: $5 / DJ Extension add-on: $9Library Size:More than 110 million tracksQuality:320kbps, 16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/192kHzRegarding top-notch music streaming quality, Tidal is one of the best names in the business, bar none.Renowned for its focus on excellent sound quality (along with its main rival, Qobuz), Tidal gives you access to an immense library of songs inCD quality 16-bit/44.1kHz up to 24-bit/192kHz in various formats, including FLAC, HiRes FLAC, and Dolby Atmos. Not all of Tidal's artists and albums are in hi-res, but there's a good chance that several artists you enjoy have at least some hi-res offerings in the archive. Up until summer 2024, subscribers also had access to Sony 360 Reality Audio and MQA tracks, but unfortunately Tidal nixed support for both formats.Diehard fans will also enjoy Tidal's dedication to additional content, including videos and real-time streams, creating a more immersive musical experience. We're also big fans of its artist-generated playlists.In terms of cross-platform compatibility, Tidal is also available on a range of popular devices, from iOS and Android hardware to smart speakers, smart displays, streaming devices, and even native AV support from audio brands like Sonos and Harman Kardon through Tidal Connect. But what sets Tidal apart is its user-friendly interface. While not as user friendly as Spotify, from apps to desktop versions, Tidals UI is designed to be clean, ultra-navigable, and tethered to your preferences, ensuring a comfortable and personalized experience.Beginning in April 2024, Tidal removed its expensive HiFi plans, while still keeping its high-quality library. The best part? Its new plans are cheaper and more in line with what Apple Music, Spotify, and others are charging. This means you can enjoy premium music streaming without breaking the bank. And for an extra $9 per month, you can now add a DJ Extension to an Individual Tidal subscription. This is a cool service for professional DJs who want to extract and re-mix audio stems from over 110 million Spotify tracks.If youre looking for supreme audio quality and talented curation, you should give Tidal a try. Plus, youll be hard-pressed to find many of these high-resolution tracks elsewhere.TidalAudiophile quality with wide device supportBryan M. Wolfe / Digital TrendsAudiophile quality for a little lessQobuzProsBig hi-res music libraryInspired editorial contentCan purchase songs and albums without a subscriptionFree trial for Studio planConsLacks social listening featuresNo podcastsSpecsPlans (monthly):Studio: from $11 / Sublime: from $180 per yearLibrary Size:More than 100 million tracksQuality:16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/192kHzA close competitor to Tidal, Qobuz is another music streaming platform that goes all in on the hi-res catalog. It is home to over 100 million tracks in lossless CD quality, and more than 240,000 albums in hi-res audio. Qobuz streams audio using high-quality FLAC files ranging from 16-bit/44kHz to 24-bit/192kHz, translating to some seriously good sound. Whether you're listening through a pair of speakers or a pair of headphones, Qobuz tracks are going to sound about as good as they can get.Qobuz offers two subscription plans, namely Studio and Sublime. Each plan has three levels to choose from. The Studio plan provides offline listening and a visually appealing desktop and mobile interface enriched with additional content such as artist bios, reviews, feature op-eds, and how-to guides. The Solo Studio level costs $13 per month, Duo costs $18 per month, and the Family plan (for up to six accounts) costs $22 per month. You can get discounts on these plans by opting for a yearly payment.The Sublime subscription offers the same benefits as the Studio plan and up to 60% off many hi-res download purchases. However, you need to purchase a yearly subscription to get these benefits. The Solo Sublime plan costs $180/year, Duo costs $270/year, and the Family plan costs $350/year. Note that the Sublime subscription can only be purchased through a yearly payment, not monthly.Oh, and we can't forget this gem: You can pay to download Qobuz hi-res tracks and albums without a monthly subscription.On the downside, Qobuz does not have Dolby Atmos tracks like Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music, and there are no podcasts or video content.QobuzAudiophile quality for a little lessAmazonExcellent value, hi-res audio, great for Prime customersAmazon MusicProsHuge music libraryLots of hi-res tracks and albums90-day free trialDiscounted plans for Amazon Prime membersDiscount for owning an Echo deviceNow offers a student planConsComplicated subscription optionsAmazon Music only has shuffle modeSpecsPlans (monthly):With Prime: $10 / w/o Prime: $11 / Family: $17 / Single Device Owner: $6 / Student: $6Library Size:More than 100 million tracksQuality:320kbps, 16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/192kHzAmazon Music is a unique streaming option, especially for those of us who are already paying for Amazon's $139 annual Prime membership (or $15 per month). Like many platforms we've covered up to this point, Amazon Music offers both CD quality and lossless audio formats, Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio tracks, a large music library, and some awesome smart home integrations (especially for Alexa-powered devices). The "unique" descriptor is mainly aimed at Amazon Music's pricing, though, which is complex, to say the least.Are you an Amazon Prime member? Great! That means you'll be able to get the ad-free Amazon Music Unlimited (AMU) for $10 per month, as opposed to the non-Prime member subscription tier, which costs $11 per month. If you're interested in nabbing Amazon Music Unlimited and just so happen to own an Echo speaker, you can sign up for the Single Device Owner plan. It only costs $6 per month, but you'll only be able to use AMU on that one device. Oh, and there's also an AMU Family Plan for $17 per month ($169 per year) that covers up to six users.The pricing isn't impossible to understand, but figuring out which option makes the most sense for you and yours can be confusing. Plus, Amazon technically has two different music streaming options: Amazon Music Unlimited and Amazon Music Prime. The latter is built into your Amazon Prime membership and gives you access to Amazon's entire music library, but playback is limited to shuffle mode, and you won't be able to listen to any hi-res tracks either.Whether you're listening with Amazon Music Unlimited or Amazon Music Prime, Amazon Music looks great on mobile and desktop platforms. Unlimited subscribers also benefit from video content, offline downloads, and a fun scrolling lyrics feature.Amazon MusicExcellent value, hi-res audio, great for Prime customersSomewhere in the Goldilocks zoneDeezerProsRobust music libraryOffline downloadsIncludes video content and podcastsCD-level qualityCan upload your own MP3s on desktopDuo plan is now availableConsNo hi-resCant upload MP3s using mobile devicesSpecsPlans (monthly):Free / Premium: $12 / Family: $20 / Duo: $16 / Student: $6Library Size:More than 120 million tracksQuality:128kbps, 320kbps, 16-bit/44.1kHzDeezer lives in the Goldilocks zone of music streaming options. It offers a bigger library than competitors like Spotify and Apple Music and has CD-quality music, but it doesnt touch the top-shelf hi-res content youll find on platforms like Tidal and Qobuz. Price-wise, though, its weirdly more expensive than everyone except Tidal, but Tidal gives you hi-res. Its individual plan is $12 per month, and for that, you get access to unlimited listening, lyrics, video content, offline listening, and a few other features.Deezer is also one of the only streaming platforms that lets you upload your own tracks. While the quality is limited to MP3, and you wont be able to do any uploading with a mobile device, its nice to have the ability to spread your own library across multiple gadgets.Deezer used to have a HiFi plan that was $15 per month, but now its 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC tracks are built into its Premium and Family plans. As mentioned, this is lower quality than top-tier plans from the likes of Tidal and Qobuz, but it still packs quite a punch. Deezer free tier customers can only access MP3 files up to 128kbps, though. On a positive note, like Spotify, there's now a duo package available through Deezer for $16/month.As for Deezers UI across desktop and mobile platforms, both versions are geared toward easy navigation through playlists, genre labels, and similar search criteria. There are also several recommended categories and an excellent podcast library to check out.Deezer does a nice job at checking several of the most important boxes for what makes up a solid music streaming service. Hi-res devotees may want to look elsewhere, but we definitely think Deezer is worth trying out, so make the best of that 30-day free trial!DeezerSomewhere in the Goldilocks zoneDerek Malcolm / Digital TrendsThe best of music and YouTube is all hereYouTube MusicProsTerrific music librarySimple pricing modelIntuitive user interfaceCool community upload featuresConsNo hi-res tracksNo editorial contentSpecsPlans (monthly):Free / Premium Individual: $11 / Family: $17 / Student: $5.50Library Size:More than 100 million tracksQuality:256kbpsLast but not least, we have YouTube Music. A rebranding and consolidation of multiple Google/YouTube paid services that came before it (including Google Play and YouTube Red), YouTube Music is your one-stop-shop for everything ... music-related. Subscribers will have access to over 100 million tracks, podcasts, an intuitive lyrics tool, excellent playlists, and much more. Right off the bat, though, we'd like to let our hi-res fans know that YouTube Music caps its track quality at 256kbps.That doesn't mean you should look away, though. In fact, we think YouTube Music has a lot going for it when it comes to overall desktop and mobile interfaces. Navigating from one panel to the next is fast and easy, with most of what you'll want to be listening to housed under the "Home" and "Library" tabs. The former is a hub for recommended content based on your listening habits, while the latter is the storage site for all your personal playlists, favorited songs and albums, and other user-specific features.It's also a thrill to watch YouTube Music sync up to your local time of day and weather conditions. These factors affect the type of music that the platform will recommend.Regarding pricing, there's only one paid subscription plan: YouTube Music Premium. This paid tier removes ads for desktop and mobile listening, grants you offline downloads, and gives you a sweet feature called Smart Downloads. When enabled, this lets YouTube Music automatically download your favorite songs, artists, and albums for offline listening and even adds in recommended tracks and albums.And, of course, YouTube Music is packed with video content. When you search for a song or artist, you will get officially licensed media and see video results for YouTubers covering the song, lyric videos, and more.YouTube MusicThe best of music and YouTube is all hereEditors RecommendationsTopics Michael BizzacoAV ContributorMichael Bizzaco has been selling, installing, and talking about TVs, soundbars, streaming devices, and all things smart home for the better part of 15 years. He even knows a thing or two about how to fix this stuff when it starts misbehaving (because no tech is perfect!).Mike has been writing for Digital Trends and several other publications since 2020. Fortunately, hes still able to write after he got his index finger stuck in a vending machine at the Ramada Inn the summer before fourth grade! From hands-on reviews to best-of roundups, Mike does his best to share his expertise in a friendly and informative way with all readers, and loves staying on top of the latest AV and smart home trends.When hes not thanking his father for dislodging his finger from that vile vending machine in New Jersey, Mike enjoys playing guitar, reading, and indulging in horror films with his girlfriend. Derek MalcolmContributing Editor, A/VDerek Malcolm is a contributing editor and evergreen lead for the A/V and Home Theater section of Digital Trends. Derek joined the DT team in 2020, spending his days wrangling the movie and TV streaming guides before getting the chance to nurture his obsession with the latest audio/video gear. A former musician and practicing vinyl nerd, his passion for sound can be found in his writing, whether its a guide to the best speakersand turntables, or a review of a party speaker thatll blow your roof off.Derek studied journalism at Torontos Humber College, graduating in 1999. He started his career writing about music, movies, and TV, back when people still read things on paper, working at such magazines as TV Guide and celebrity mag Hello! Canada. Derek counts Matt Damon, Britney Spears, and Coldplay among his favorite interviews.From 2006 to 2018 Derek was the editor-in-chief of Canadian tech and entertainment magazine Connected, where he steered the publication through the invention of the iPhone and the rise of streaming to the demise of BlackBerry and the print industry.One of two Canucks on the Digital Trends A/V team, Derek is based in Toronto where he lives with his wife, daughter, two cats, and his prized vintage Marantz stereo receivers.When Derek isnt cussing at the labyrinthine setup menus of the latest projectors, he can be found at home listening to records or counting the days to ski season.You can find Derek on Threads and sharing his vinyl exploits on Instagram. Since Apple added spatial audio to the Apple Music streaming service and the AirPods family of wireless earbuds and headphones in 2021, it feels like you cant read about new audio products or services without running into that term. And just a few short years later, its seemingly everywhere.This has led to a lot of misconceptions about what spatial audio is, how it works, and why you need to hear it for yourself. People often ask, If Apple created spatial audio, why are other companies claiming they do it, too? The answer is that Apple didnt create it, and you certainly dont need to own its products to experience spatial audio. Read more If youre a huge music fan, youve probably combed through the many playlists, artists, and albums of your Spotify or Apple Music subscription. But what about all the indie artists of the world? Some music-streaming platforms are better than others at celebrating theunsung gem acts, but one of the most reliable forums for new, off-the-grid tunes is SoundCloud.Founded in 2007, SoundCloud has always prioritized music thats a bit under the radar. With over 320 million tracks in its library, the platform will even let you download a majority of its songs and albums. Read more Kid-friendly consumer tech is all the rage these days, so its no surprise that theres an entire market of headphones designed exclusively for young ones. But when we think kid-friendly, sometimes we imagine products that are built to be a bit more throwaway than their adult counterparts. Thats not the case with the products on our list of the best headphones for kids, though.We want our child-tailored headphones to include parental-controlled volume limiters, to ensure our children arent harming their eardrums. Pretty much every entry on our list checks this vital box, but we also wanted to point you and yours toward products that offer exceptional noise-canceling, built-in mics for phone and video calls, and long-lasting batteries for schooldays or a long flight. Read more

Xbox has confirmed that another Developer_Direct will take place later this month, offering use new looks at games like Doom: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Plus, well see a brand new game from a mystery studio sometime during the showcase.January 2025s Developer_Direct will take place on official Xbox social media channels at 10 a.m. PT on January 23. Its the latest iteration of a type of showcase that Xbox began in 2023, which is meant to give us a deeper look at upcoming Xbox games and the studios behind them. Hi-Fi Rushfamously shadow-dropped after the first Developer_Direct, and previous shows have also featured games like Indiana Jones and the Great Ciricle, Minecraft Legends, Forza Motorsport, Redfall, Avowed, Senuas Saga: Hellblade II, Visions of Mana, and Ara: History Untold.Recommended VideosThis show focuses on titles we know are coming later this year, with an Xbox Wire post teasing details on each. Well finally get the full reveal of Doom: The Dark Ages, iD Softwares latest shooter, first announced at 2024s Xbox Games Showcase. A deep dive into South of Midnight is also confirmed, giving us another look at the American Deep South folklore-inspired action-adventure game that impressed Digital Trends when we saw it in action at Complusion Games studio last November.Compulsion GamesOn the third-party front, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33will also show up. This gorgeous RPG impressed at the latest Xbox showcase, and developer Sandfall Interactive is poised to give us a behind-the-scenes look at the game and will share more about the games creation and how they plan to deliver an incredible story in a gorgeous fantasy world. Hopefully, we get release dates for these highly anticipated Game Pass titles.Please enable Javascript to view this contentThe most exciting part of this Developer_Direct is that the Xbox Wire post teases that it will visit a surprise location to see another studios brand new game. Although Xbox isnt saying anything more about it, rumors suggest it could be an Unreal Engine 5 remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The phrasing of brand new game seems to dispel that possibility, though, so well have to tune into the show when it takes place in a couple of weeks to see if thats true.Editors Recommendations

Behind the clash is a new Biden administration effort to block Chinas access to sensitive technologies.

Lunar dreams Intuitive Machines set for second landing, looking to build a lunar economy "You just can't trash everything associated with the Moon and go to Mars." Eric Berger Jan 9, 2025 10:55 am | 2 A view of the second Intuitive Machines lander on Wednesday. Credit: Eric Berger A view of the second Intuitive Machines lander on Wednesday. Credit: Eric Berger Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreFive years ago, a small company in Houston named Intuitive Machines had just 30 employees, a couple of 3D printers, and a few soldering irons.Oh, and it had some big dreams. The company's founders wanted to open a business on the Moon.On Wednesday morning, when I drove into the company's new headquarters at Spaceport Houston, there were no spaces to park in a lot filled with hundreds of cars. Inside, the offices were buzzing. And a large integration hangar was packed with hardware: two lunar landers, two lunar rover mock-ups, a hopper, and other spaceflight vehicles.This is what can happen when NASA strikes the right balance with the commercial space industry.In May 2019, NASA issued the first three awards as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program to pay private companiesin this case, Astrobotic, Orbit Beyond, and Intuitive Machinesto deliver scientific payloads to the lunar surface. It's been a long road since then. Astrobotic's first mission a year ago failed on the way to the Moon. Orbit Beyond dropped out. But Intuitive Machines largely succeeded, putting its Odysseus lander on the Moon, albeit sideways, after its altimeter failed. For the first time ever, a private company successfully made a soft landing on the Moon.Now, it's going to try again.To the Moon in a week"For us, it's been a real journey," said the chief executive of Intuitive Machines, Steve Altemus, as we stood a few feet away from the company's second lunar lander, which will soon be shipped to a launch site in Florida. "In February of 2023, we went public, and that was a huge milestone for us in terms of growing up. In February 2024, we landed on the Moon, and everything has changed since then. And here we are again, ready to launch our second mission in February 2025."The company's lander, named Athena, is presently scheduled to lift off on a dedicated Falcon 9 rocket at the end of February, Altemus said. The current launch date supports a lunar landing about a week later, on March 6 or 7, near the South Pole of the Moon. The goal is to have about 10 days in sunlight before the lunar night sets in.With programs like the Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program, or CLPS, NASA is attempting to stimulate a lunar-based economy. No one is sure whether such an economy will actually develop, but NASA has had success previously in fostering an economy in low-Earth orbit. The lunar CLPS program is a clever attempt by the space agency to solve the chicken-and-egg conundrum when it comes to the Moon. Lander companies like Intuitive Machines could not be sure any private companies actually wanted stuff delivered to the Moon. And private industry was unsure of building payloads and businesses without knowing a lander delivery service would exist.NASA stepped in and said it would be an anchor customer, buying about a dozen of lunar landing missions, each carrying several hundred pounds of cargo, to the Moon. For several million dollars, private companies could send payloads along to test new ideas.Lots of goodies on boardNASA's efforts seem to be working. There are a handful of larger NASA payloads onAthena. These include a NASA-supplied drill that will attempt to drill about 1 meter below the surface and look for water ice and other volatiles with a mass spectrometer.Additionally, there is a "hopper" funded by NASA and developed by Intuitive Machines. Named "Grace" Hopper after the mathematics pioneer, the hydrazine-fueled drone will "hop" into a nearby crater, potentially giving NASA its first detailed look inside a permanently shadowed region of a lunar crater. If this works, it will be exceptionally cool. Future hoppers are expected to have a range of about 15 miles (25 km).Some of the commercial payloads include "Freedom" from Lonestar Data Holdings as part of an effort to establish a physical data center beyond Earth; an autonomous rover developed by Lunar Outpost; a cellular network demo mission from Nokia that will relay communications from the rover and a hopper back to the Athena lander; and a small rover built by the Japanese Dymon corporation.Finally, there are some interesting payloads tagging along with the spacecraft to the Moon but not landing there. These include a small orbiter for NASA called Trailblazer, which seeks to map the distribution of water on the Moon. Additionally, the space mining company AstroForge is flying its Odin spacecraft, which will separate from Athena and seek to make the first-ever flyby of an asteroid by a commercial spacecraft.All in all, it's an incredibly fun mission. But Intuitive Machines has to deliver. And if Athena can successfully reach the lunar surface, it will send a strong signal to the commercial space industry in the United Statesand around the worldthat the Moon is open for business.What comes next?One thing Altemus wanted to speak about Wednesday was the renewed interest in Mars by the incoming Trump administration. "There's been a lot of churn about what this administration is going to do," he said. "But you just can't trash everything associated with the Moon and go to Mars. That doesn't make any sense from a national security standpoint."The next Trump administration is expected to have a renewed focus on Mars, fueled in part by Trump's interests as well as those of SpaceX founder Elon Musk. However, the next administration is also likely to value private companies that are already delivering on spaceflight, which includes Intuitive Machines and other participants in the CLPS program. In addition to Athena's launch in February, another CLPS missionFirefly's Blue Ghost landercould fly as early as January 15 on a Falcon 9 rocket.NASA's Artemis plan to send humans back to the Moon serves a couple of purposes, including not just commercial development but also reaching the South Pole before China's space program, which has set a date of its first astronaut landing by 2030. As part of that, Altemus believes the space agency should extend the CLPS program for another decade (it began in 2018) with a second phase starting in 2028. This would support medium-sized landers capable of sending a ton or two of cargo to the lunar surface and buttress NASA's human plans."I'm talking to anybody I can about what that looks like," he said. "You need that regular cadence of missions to keep learning and getting smarter about landing on the Moon as a country. It improves our supply chain, and it improves our pipeline of talent. It also gives us a better understanding of the conditions in the environment around the Moon.Eric BergerSenior Space EditorEric BergerSenior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 2 Comments

will trump kill it off? Winners and losers as the EV tax credit rules change for 2025 27 EVs now qualify for the tax credit, up from 24 in 2024. Jonathan M. Gitlin Jan 9, 2025 10:30 am | 29 Credit: Getty Images Credit: Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe list of electric vehicles that qualify for the IRS clean vehicle tax credit has changed with the arrival of the new year. No longer linked to battery capacity, the credit of up to $7,500 is now tied to the sourcing of battery componentseach year, an increasing amount must be extracted or refined in the US (or a free trade partner) to be eligible. The total number of eligible EVs has actually increased in 2025, from 24 last year to 27 this year, but a number of automakers' products have also dropped off the list in the process.The $7,500 tax credit is split into two components. $3,750 is available if the battery components are made or assembled in the US. The other half now requires that 60 percent of the critical minerals in the batterythings like lithium, nickel, and so onbe extracted or refined in the US (or by a free trade partner). Last year, this threshold was 50 percent; next year, it will increase to 70 percent.Additionally, national security concerns mean that no EV is eligible if any of its battery components are manufactured by a "foreign entity of concern," which means any company with direct links to the governments of China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia. While the latter three have no domestic EV production they're trying to sell in the US, that obviously does not apply to China, which heavily subsidizes its domestic car makers to allow them to export their vehicles at rock bottom prices to undermine local industry in other regions.Winners and losersGenesis' GV70 Electrified now qualifies for the full EV tax credit, as do Hyundai's Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9, and the Kia EV6 and EV9. But those appear to be the only newly qualified EVs for 2025. And the Tesla Cybertruck joins the list as well.Many more OEMs have lost eligibility, however. The Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV have both fallen off the list as General Motors has ended production of those models. Nissan is still building the Leafin Smyrna, Tennessee, in factbut for 2025, it too loses tax credit eligibility. Volkswagen's ID.4 similarly drops off the list, as do the Rivian R1S and R1T, which last year were eligible for half of the credit. Tesla also appears to have lost eligibility for the Model Y rear drive, but not other Model Y variants.And now, only one plug-in hybrid EV still qualifiesthe Chrysler Pacifica PHEV minivan. Last year, the partial tax credit was available for the Ford Escape plug-in hybrid, the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe and Jeep Wrangler 4xe, and the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring; this year, none qualify.Will the tax credit even exist in six months?While those changes affect purchasing a new clean vehicle, due to a loophole, the restrictions do not apply to leased EVs. This means leasing is still probably the preferred route to go, especially for buyers who may plan on replacing their car in a few years.Whether or not that option will exist by the end of the year remains to be seen. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly made well-known his opposition to clean energy and EVs, and his close advisor Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is also publicly in favor of ending the clean vehicle tax credit, going on record to state that the effect would be far more deleterious to rival companies than Tesla.Killing off the tax credit will require the action of Congress, howeverthis cannot be done by executive action. But it is widely believed that Republicans in Congress will use the budget reconciliation processwhich is immune to filibusterto wipe out this part of the tax code.Jonathan M. GitlinAutomotive EditorJonathan M. GitlinAutomotive Editor Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC. 29 Comments

Changing diapers is a fact of life for new parentsIan Allenden / Alamy Stock PhotoParents arent easily disgusted, but only once their child has started eating solids. The level of disgust that parents experience seems to change over time, which could have evolved to both protect their child and prime their immune system.Disgust probably evolved as a way to avoid pathogens, such as those in faeces or vomit, as a sort of behavioural immune system, says Hannah Berg at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who wasnt involved in the new research.Read

The division between light and dark over the north pole of Mercury, viewed from the BepiColombo spacecraftESA/BepiColombo/MTMThese pictures of Mercurys pockmarked surface are the last well see before the BepiColombo mission begins orbiting the solar systems innermost world in late 2026.Since launching in 2018, the joint European-Japanese BepiColombo spacecraft has flown by Mercury six times, using each successive approach to reduce its speed and adjust its flight path to make it easier to get into orbit. While the missions main scientific instruments havent yet been put to use, the spacecrafts monitoring cameras have given us some of the clearest views weve ever had of the Swift Planet. AdvertisementThe European Space Agency (ESA) has now released three of the most captivating images from BepiColombos most recent flyby on 8 January, taken from around 300 kilometres above Mercurys surface as it flew over the planets north pole and northern regions.It meant getting up at 5.30am, but once close-up images started to appear in our shared folder, it was worth it, says David Rothery at the Open University, UK. We had studied some simulated views in advance and used these to devise our imaging strategy, but what we saw was better than expected.The image above, taken over the planets north pole, shows the clear division between sunlight and darkness on Mercury, which researchers call the terminator line. Mercury has some of the hottest temperatures in the solar system where sunlight falls on its scorched surface, but it also has some of the coldest, in craters that are permanently shadowed by their rims. Voyage across the galaxy and beyond with our space newsletter every month.Sign up to newsletterSome of these shadowed crater regions can be seen lying along the terminator line in the image. It was great looking down on Mercurys north pole, and even seeing the sunlit tip of the central peak inside the crater Tolkien, whose floor is in permanent shadow, says Rothery.Scientists have found some evidence that these cratered regions contain frozen water. One of BepiColombos main mission objectives is to discover whether that water really exists, and how much there is.The vast volcanic plains on Mercury known as Borealis PlanitiaESA/BepiColombo/MTMMercury also contains an expansive volcanic plain known as Borealis Planitia, which BepiColombo spied on its flyby. Researchers think these plains were formed from vast lava flows more than 3 billion years ago that flooded existing craters, some of which can be seen in the above image. Most of these flooded plains are smooth, with a few impact craters that must have been formed more recently.The Caloris Basin, which at 1500 kilometres wide is Mercurys largest crater, appears as a semi-circular patch of lighter-coloured ground extending from the horizon towards the bottom left of the image. Scientists hope to learn more about how this crater, the Borealis Planitia and the solidified lava flows between are connected once BepiColombo starts orbiting the planet.Nathair Facula, thought to be a remnant of Mercurys largest ever volcanic eruption, is seen as a bright patch in this imageESA/BepiColombo/MTMThe bright region near the top of the planet in this image is called Nathair Facula, and researchers think it is the remnant of Mercurys largest ever volcanic eruption. The centre of the region is a 40-kilometre-wide volcanic vent, which appears to have been the source of at least three huge eruptions that spewed volcanic material for hundreds of kilometres.[Nathair Facula] was right on the verge of what we expected to be able to make out, but having published on it based on images from the previous NASA mission to Mercury, it was exciting to glimpse it again, says Rothery. It is a very important science target for several of BepiColombos instruments when we get into orbit, because it offers our best chance to work out what it is about Mercurys composition that has allowed explosive volcanic eruptions to continue through much of the planets history.Topics:

CommentFeedback has found a contender for the 2025 Reverse Nominative Determinism gong: the scientific journal Intelligence 8 January 2025 Josie FordAn intelligent approach?Feedbacks ears always prick up when we see a publication with a self-aggrandising title. So we latched with interest onto a social media post by Rebecca Sear, a demographer at Brunel University London, who noted that publisher Elsevier has chosen new editors for Intelligence.Intelligence, you see, is a scientific journal that publishes studies that make a substantial contribution to an understanding of the nature and function of intelligence. Feedback cannot verify that the editors have been changed, because the journals About page hasnt been updated, but it did advertise for a new editor-in-chief in January 2024. There has been a report that most of the editorial board has resigned in protest at the appointment of the new editor(s), but since that report appeared on a far-right website, Feedback is disinclined to believe it without further evidence.Hang on, readers may be thinking. How did we get from a scientific journal replacing its editors to a far-right website? The thing is, intelligence research has sometimes been misused to justify claims of racial superiority, especially during the eugenics movement of the early 20th century. And Intelligence has published research that your racist uncle might quote approvingly.AdvertisementSomeone at Elsevier appears to have noticed. The Guardian has reported the publisher was reviewing papers by the late Richard Lynn, who claimed to have found variations in IQ between countries including in papers in Intelligence.This is all getting a bit dark, so lets move swiftly forward to the other issue with Intelligence: its apparent lack of its supposed defining trait. Sear highlighted a paper with the innocuous-seeming title Temperature and evolutionary novelty as forces behind the evolution of general intelligence.Its thrust is that, when some Homo sapiens populations first migrated outside Africa, they encountered all sorts of novel conditions, like different climates. This prompted them to evolve a greater level of intelligence. What this means for African populations is left to the reader to infer.If this all sounds like something from the bad old days of Victorian science, Feedback regrets to inform you that this paper was actually first published online in 2007. However, if you swallow your nausea and look closer, a true delight emerges.The first issue is that the author calculates the distances populations travelled as the crow flies. You cant use straight-line distances as even a first approximation for the history of human migration, which involved people journeying to the far north-east of Asia, crossing into North America and onwards to the southern tip of South America.But it gets better. In the same sentence, the papers author says he calculated the distance using the Pythagoras theorem. Readers will recall that Pythagoras theorem only applies to flat planes and doesnt work for curved surfaces. Yes, this study about the racial origins of intelligence is built on the assumption that Earth is flat.With immense academic restraint, a 2009 rebuttal suggested this study might be questionable. Other psychologists brought the problem to the journals attention, only to be told that their critiques were wholly negative and nitpicking. The paper remains live.Accordingly, Feedback would like to nominate the journal Intelligence for the 2025 Reverse Nominative Determinism Award.Forty lashesNew Scientist reporter Karmela Padavic-Callaghan highlights a paper about why eyelashes are curly, which they describe as silly enough to be Feedback material. Rude: this is a deeply serious column about serious things.The research is mostly about the physics of eyelashes, explaining how they transfer water away from our eyes so we can still see when it is raining. This process depends on a hydrophobic curved flexible fiber array with surface micro-ratchet and macro-curvature. There is a lot of stuff about adhesion forces and the importance of the curvature of the lashes for water drainage.And then we get to the discussion section where, as Karmela drily notes, the authors go into aesthetic advice. You see, modern beauty standards encourage women to use mascara to extend and fix eyelashes, which compromises the protective functions. But fear not, the solution is at hand: as a tip, for people with sparse eyelashes, hydrophobic curved false eyelashes could offer a practical solution for enhancing appearance while preserving eye protection. Could a patent possibly be pending?Feedback wonders whether the authors have any advice for middle-aged writers whose eyebrows grow too long, causing them to look like a macaroni penguin unless regularly trimmed. For a friend.Worst to-be-read pile everFeedback has somehow got onto the mailing list for Spines, a tech company aiming to disrupt the publishing industry through the power of artificial intelligence.By using AI to do the editing and other jobs previously done by skilled and salaried humans, Spines aims to publish 8000 books in 2025. To which Feedback says, yes please. When one looks at the structural problems in the publishing industry, such as the dire fact-checking standards in non-fiction output, one can only conclude that what we really need is a deluge of even more books of an even lower quality.Got a story for Feedback?You can send stories to Feedback by email at feedback@newscientist.com. Please include your home address. This weeks and past Feedbacks can be seen on our website.

Saving $2 trillion would be a "best-case outcome" for DOGE, Elon Musk said on Wednesday.Musk said DOGE has a "good shot" at saving $1 trillion, and that would still be an "epic outcome."The Tesla chief had previously said that his commission would save "at least" $2 trillion.Elon Musk cast doubt on his previous promise that President-elect Donald Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency" would save the government $2 trillion."I think we'll try for $2 trillion. I think that's like the best-case outcome," Musk told political strategist Mark Penn during a Wednesday evening chat on X on Wednesday.In October, Musk said that DOGE would save the government $2 trillion. Some federal budget experts immediately questioned whether it would be possible to make such significant cuts, especially given that Trump has promised not to touch programs like Social Security and Medicare.Musk said that he thinks that panel has a "good shot" at saving $1 trillion."But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage," Musk told Penn. He added that he thinks the commission has a "good shot" at saving $1 trillion."If we can drop the budget deficit from $2 trillion to $1 trillion and free up the economy to have additional growth, such that the output of goods and services keeps pace with the increase in the money supply, then there will be no inflation. So that, I think, would be an epic outcome," Musk continued.Musk did not specify in October what cuts he planned to make to achieve that target, which would involve slashing government spending by nearly a third. The federal government spent $6.75 trillion in the 2024 fiscal year.Musk, however, still told Penn on Wednesday that he thinks the government remains "a very target-rich environment for saving money.""It's like being in a room full of targets. Like you could close your eyes, and you can't miss," he added.Republican lawmakers have moved quickly to support DOGE's efforts. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia will lead their respective chamber's work with the panel.The Tesla CEO's influence has soared since Trump's victory. In recent weeks, Musk played a leading role in helping kill sweeping legislation to fund the federal government briefly increasing the risk of a shutdown.Earlier Wednesday, Trump waived off concerns about Musk's political moves in Europe. The Tesla CEO has repeatedly criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and called for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a Trump ally, to step aside. Musk has also endorsed Germany's far-right AfD party ahead of elections next month. Top leaders have pushed back in response."You mean where he likes people that tended to be conservative? I don't know the people," Trump told reporters during a wide-ranging news conference. "I can say Elon's doing a good job. Very smart guy."Musk and President-elect Donald Trump's transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.Trump will be sworn into office on January 20.

I took my 14-year-old daughter on a trip to India. When we arrived, she realized she couldn't access TikTok for our trip. At first, she panicked, but then she realized she didn't need TikTok to stay connected. Recently, I took my 14-year-old daughter on a once-in-lifetime trip to India. When we landed, I was excited to see the Taj Mahal and embark on a safari for a chance to see one of the country's famed Bengal tigers.My daughter was also elated when we landed in India but for a much different reason. After a long flight, she looked forward to connecting to WiFi to see what she had missed. However, her joy quickly turned to despair when she discovered that TikTok was banned in India due to national security concerns posed by the Chinese-owned app, concerns shared by the United States that may lead to a national ban later this month.In contrast, I was thrilled. I spent years trying to limit my daughter's access to TikTok. At times, this caused my daughter to crumple in tears, insisting that she was the only one without access to the creator's "everyone" was following. Eventually, I lightened up, but I still question that decision.I was happy that for the next two weeks, the government of India and I were perfectly aligned on this issue. They could be the bad guys in my teenager's eyes instead of me.My daughter wasn't convinced she could live without TikTokAfter a few minutes without TikTok, my daughter declared, "I can't do this. I am getting on a plane and going home right now." I reminded her that a TikTok ban is looming in the United States and that a world without the app might be her new reality. While challenges are still pending, the app could disappear as soon as January 19th in the United States.I reasoned that our two weeks in India might be her chance to ease out of using the app and see what life is like without TikTok. That would make the transition easier if the TikTok ban goes through at home, I reasoned. She didn't find my logic compelling, but since I told her she would have to pay for her own ticket home, she decided to make the best of it and stay.She asked her friend for updatesAt first, my daughter brought up how unfair it was that she could not access TikTok several times a day. I gently teased her that skincare and fashion trends wouldn't change before we got home. She was not amused, but I was happy not to be the bad guy in this scenario. My daughter texted her best friend, who had the good fortune to still have access to TikTok back home, to ask what she was missing. Her friend shared news about some new reels she thought my daughter would like, but nothing earth-shattering. Gradually, my daughter stopped asking and stopped complaining.She realized she could live without TikTokAfter our first week in India, I asked my daughter how her TikTok detox was going. She snapped back that she hadn't been on her phone that much. I gave her a wry smile and asked if she thought there was a connection. My daughter was adamant that the two were unrelated, but I wasn't convinced.We were busy in India. However, I think that my daughter did not feel as compelled to reach for her phone because the pull of TikTok which can be harmful to teens, according to the company's documents was absent.She found substitutesA TikTok-less world didn't end my daughter's obsession with her phone. She told me that she started watching Instagram reels instead, which she enjoyed more than she thought she would.We talked about what she would do if a TikTok ban were enacted in the US. Although my daughter was emphatic that she did not want that to happen, she told me that she would follow her favorite creators on Instagram but would cut some others loose. As a parent, I wonder if it'd make her reassess her relationship with social media, too. I am not naive. I know that it's unrealistic to expect any teenager to abandon social media entirely. I know that if TikTok is banned in the United States, my daughter will fill the gap with other apps, which is what happened in India. However, I still feel comforted knowing that those apps will not pose the same threats as TikTok.Nevertheless, I am glad that the two weeks my daughter spent without TikTok showed her that she can survive in a world without TikTok.