Abu Dhabis Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan has more than $1.5 trillion to spend and hes in a hurry; grappling with Mark Zuckerberg.

On vendettas and nemeses WB axes Shadow of Mordor maker in setback for clever, sadly patented game system Opinion: By playing it safe, WB makes it harder for other games to experiment. Kevin Purdy Feb 26, 2025 5:51 pm | 3 "Tell me the truth, nowhave you been crafting games involving 'social vendettas and followers'? Hmm? Have you?" Credit: WB Games "Tell me the truth, nowhave you been crafting games involving 'social vendettas and followers'? Hmm? Have you?" Credit: WB Games Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreGame studio Monolith, part of Warner Bros. Games until yesterday's multi-studio shutdown, had a notable track record across more than 30 years, having made Blood, No One Lives Forever, Shogo: Mobile Armor Division, F.E.A.R., and, most recently, the Lord of the Rings series, Shadow of Mordor andShadow of War.Those games, derived from J.R.R. Tolkien's fiction, had a "Nemesis System," in which the enemies that beat the player or survive a battle with them can advance in level, develop distinct strengths and weaknesses, and become an interesting subplot and motivation in the game. Monolith's next game, the now-canceled Wonder Woman,was teased more than three years ago, and said to be "powered by the Nemesis System."Not only will Wonder Woman not be powered by the Nemesis System, but likely no other games will be, either, at least until August 2036. That's when "Nemesis characters, nemesis forts, social vendettas and followers in computer games," patent US2016279522A1, is due to expire. Until then, any game that wants to implement gameplay involving showdowns, factions, and bitter NPC feelings toward a player must either differentiate it enough to avoid infringement, license it from Warner Brothers, or gamble on WB Games' legal attention.It's bad enough that talented developers were let go. That one of their most notable innovations ends up locked up in a corporate vault, for more than a decade after they ceased to exist, is quite the sad footnote.Nobody wants to end upCrazy Taxi'da patent on loading screen mini-games. That patent was issued despite plenty of "loading screen games" existing before 1995, includingInvade-a-load. Similar patents have been issued fortheMass Effectdialogue wheel, a "sanity meter" inEternal Darkness, and basically the entire concept of Crazy Taxi, such that Sega tried to eliminateThe Simpsons: Road Rage entirely and recoup all its revenue. That case was settled out of court, and you haven't seen Crazy Taxi-like arrows above game vehicles to this day. Ars' Kyle Orland wrote in 2007 about how a 1989 patent for racing against your best time, or a "ghost racer," led to license payments from games made in the mid-2000s.In the US patent system, as Ernest Adams argued long ago in Gamasutra, patents are supposed to be for inventions that "produce a concrete, useful, and tangible result." Game mechanics like the Nemesis System exist only inside a computer, and it's a valid question whether your enjoyment of an orc's hatred of you constitutes anything concrete, useful, or tangible, such that only one firm should be given exclusive rights to profit from it.Mutually assured patent destruction One of Nintendo's patents on a Tears of the Kingdom mechanic, rendered in Japanese patent office style. Credit: Nintendo One of Nintendo's patents on a Tears of the Kingdom mechanic, rendered in Japanese patent office style. Credit: Nintendo While just under 50 percent of US patents filed have been granted in recent years, video game patents are handed out for only 6 percent of filings, according to IP law firm Heslin, Rothenberg, Farley and Mesiti (HRFM). Why file them at all, then, if the process is slow, expensive, and can generate backlash? The law firm suggests that, as in many other fields, patent filing has become more of a necessary defensive posture than a useful promise of future gain.Nintendo took out 31 patents on systems and mechanics in 2023's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The HRFM law firm suggests that Nintendo, to protect its multi-year investment in a new title in its marquee series, is taking out patents to prevent other game makers, or patent opportunists, from blocking or copying its game wholesale. Later, Nintendo can, like most firms, give up its provisional applications, having recouped its investment and unwilling to pay the heavy costs of moving forward.Patents held by Konami, Bandai Namco, Nintendo, and Sony blocked hundreds of other gaming firms' patents from taking hold in 2022, according to a report from the analysts at Patent Result. The system works, if that's what you want out of the system.Because game development wasnt risky enoughMany attorneys, pundits, and game development professionals believe that broader, non-hardware game patents, like Microsoft's "Scoring based upon goals achieved and subjective elements," would likely fall apart on any serious legal challenges. But which developer, big or small, wants to try that theory out with WB Games, which now has few other ways to make money from its Monolith acquisition? It's not a firm known for picking developers over corporate policy.So now the Nemesis System sits in limbo, patented by a conglomerate that, as parts of its restructuring, has said it will focus on four franchises:Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC Comics (primarily Batman), and Game of Thrones. While retrenching into safer bets, it is simultaneously making it harder for other developers to improve, expand upon, or simply revisit a good idea that will no longer find use inside its owner.IGN's Wesley Yin-Poole notes that some game systems, like mercenaries in Assassin's Creed:Odysseyand the Census inWatch Dogs: Legion,included some of the same procedurally generated, history-responsive feel, and avoided legal threats so far. But those titles are both published by Ubisoft, which could afford to license the system if it wanted and afford a robust legal defense, if needed.Monolith may be just one (notably talented) studio, and game mechanic patents may only represent 6 percent of those applied for. But patents like this feel like they're stalking the broader industry, waiting to strike just when they seemed forgotten.Kevin PurdySenior Technology ReporterKevin PurdySenior Technology Reporter Kevin is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering open-source software, PC gaming, home automation, repairability, e-bikes, and tech history. He has previously worked at Lifehacker, Wirecutter, iFixit, and Carbon Switch. 3 Comments

not your average wearable Single-fiber computer could one day track your health "Soldiers will be the early adopters and beneficiaries of this new technology, integrated with AI systems." Jennifer Ouellette Feb 26, 2025 4:15 pm | 14 US Army Major Hefner training in Norway wearing Fiber computer base layer. Credit: US Army Cold Regions Research & Engineering Lab US Army Major Hefner training in Norway wearing Fiber computer base layer. Credit: US Army Cold Regions Research & Engineering Lab Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreImagine heading out for a run on a cold winter day clad in athletic gear with sensors and microelectronics woven into the very fiber to constantly monitor your vital signs, even running the occasional app. MIT scientists have manufactured a single fiber computer embedded with all the components to do just that, according to a new paper published in the journal Nature.Our bodies broadcast gigabytes of data through the skin every second in the form of heat, sound, biochemicals, electrical potentials, and light, all of which carry information about our activities, emotions, and health," said co-author Yoel Fink, a materials scientist and engineer at MIT. "Unfortunately, most if not all of it gets absorbed and then lost in the clothes we wear. Wouldnt it be great if we could teach clothes to capture, analyze, store, and communicate this important information in the form of valuable health and activity insights?As previously reported, consumers scooped up more than 100 million units of such wearable devices as smartwatches, fitness trackers, augmented reality glasses, and similar tech in the first quarter of 2021 alone. Sales in the category increased 34.4 percent in the second quarter from Q2 2020, making it one of the fastest-growing categories of personal electronics. But while these devices do produce useful data, there are drawbacks. They can be heavy, uncomfortable when worn for long periods, and inaccurate since they usually only measure bodily signals from one spot (e.g., the wrist, chest, or finger).A fiber computer woven into apparel, by contrast, could monitor sensors and collect data from many points distributed across the body, according to the authors. In 2021, Fink's group successfully created the first fiber, sewn into a shirt, with the ability to digitally sense, store, and analyze a person's activity. Until then, electronic fibers had been analog. Hundreds of square silicone microchips were embedded in a polymer preform to create the fiber, and by controlling the polymer flow during manufacture, the team was able to ensure continuous electrical connection among the microchips in a fiber tens of meters long.The resulting fiber was thin, flexible, easily sewn into fabrics, and washable and could incorporate optical diodes, memory units, sensors, and other components. As proof of principle, Fink's team stored a 767-kilobit short movie file and a 0.48 megabyte music file in the fiber, envisioning a day when one could store one's wedding playlist in the bride's gown (or groom's tuxedo).A single-fiber computer Knotted computer fiber. Yoel Fink Knotted computer fiber. Yoel Fink Braiding a computer fiber with a combination of metal and textile yarns. Hamilton Osoy, IFM Braiding a computer fiber with a combination of metal and textile yarns. Hamilton Osoy, IFM Knotted computer fiber. Yoel Fink Braiding a computer fiber with a combination of metal and textile yarns. Hamilton Osoy, IFM But that earlier fiber was limited to fairly simple devices that could be incorporated and was not quite as elastic and flexible as actual fabrics. So Fink and his colleagues decided to rethink their approach. They particularly tackled what they describe as a "geometric mismatch": The fiber is cylindrical but the chips are flat, making it challenging to find sufficient space to connect wires to conductive areas (known as "pads") on more complex micro devices.The solution: Fink's team was able to map the 2D pads to a 3D layout with a flexible circuit board, wrapped into a cylinder. This enabled them to attach four wires to the sides of that cylinder in order to connect all the components: sensors, microcontroller, bluetooth modules, digital memory, battery, and an optical communication system that can send collected data wirelessly to a cell phone. They used a thermoplastic elastomer to make the resulting fiber computer more elastic, capable of stretching as much as 60 percent while still maintaining functionality.Then the fiber computer was covered with braided yarns (polyester, wool, nylon, or silk) and embedded in a pair of leggings. Each fiber had its own machine learning model trained to recognize the exercises being performed with up to 70 percent accuracy. That average accuracy increased to almost 95 percent when the individual fibers were connected into a network to communicate and share data.The fiber computer is currently being tested in the field by a multinational team led by US Army Major Hefner. They are spending 30 days traveling 1,000 kilometers in frigid arctic conditions as part of the Musk Ox II mission. Team members are all wearing base layer computing fabrics to monitor their bodies' response to the extreme cold. It's early days yet, but the long-term objective is incorporating fiber computers into apparel that can sense and respond to changes in the surrounding environment and individual physiology.Future research will focus on creating nano-fabricated custom microdevices with enhanced computational capabilities. "Soldiers will be the early adopters and beneficiaries of this new technology, integrated with AI systems using predictive physiological models and mission-relevant tools to enhance survivability in extreme environments," said Karl Friedl, a scientist with the US Army.Nature, 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08568-6 (About DOIs).Jennifer OuelletteSenior WriterJennifer OuelletteSenior Writer Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 14 Comments

Intuitive Machines, Firefly Aerospace, and ispace are all on their way to attempt a moon landing.Three private missions at once is notable, and it's just the beginning of the moon opening for business.Here's why three companies are flying to the moon right now.Three companies are flying missions to land on the moon right now, in the early stages of a mad dash for lunar wealth.The moon may not be Mars-obsessed Elon Musk's favorite space destination, but many other entrepreneurs see it as an untapped economic opportunity.That's why two Texas-based companies and one Japanese firm are flocking to the moon this month.All three missions were launched aboard SpaceX rockets. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with Firefly's and ispace's moon missions. Business Wire/AP None of them are carrying human crews, but they all lay the groundwork for more complex operations in the future as the moon opens for business.Intuitive Machines wants to mine the moonThe Texas-based company Intuitive Machines launched its second moon-landing mission, called IM-2, on Wednesday.The company became the first commercial enterprise to land on the moon a year ago, but the new mission is taking its ambitions further. The mission includes a rover and a hopper, which carry experimental technology for GPS on the moon and a small drill to test the technology needed to one day mine minerals and ice beneath the lunar surface. Intuitive Machines' newest lunar lander being enclosed in the fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. NASA via AP Water ice on the moon could be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel, while minerals like titanium or rare earth elements used in smartphones and computers could be sold back on Earth."The whole package of this mission is about prospecting," Steve Altemus, the CEO of Intuitive Machines, told Business Insider in December.He added that eventually, he hopes to mine rare materials on the moon and bring them back to Earth. Firefly Aerospace is testing lunar dust for NASAFor now, Intuitive Machines is the only company to ever successfully land softly (that is, without crashing) on the moon. Another Texas company, Firefly Aerospace, is gunning for second place this weekend.Firefly's Blue Ghost mission is set to attempt its first moon landing on Sunday. Firefly's Blue Ghost lander in lunar orbit. Firefly Aerospace "I think a lot of us will be holding our breath, you know, lighting a candle," Ray Allensworth, the director of Firefly's spacecraft program, told BI.If Blue Ghost succeeds, it will run experiments on the lunar surface for about two weeks, which is a full lunar day.All in all, the spacecraft is carrying 10 payloads for NASA, mainly focusing on "what the surface of the moon looks like or feels like, trying to figure out the impacts of the regolith, how the dust interacts with materials, the temperatures under the surface, stuff like that," Allensworth said.Japan's ispace wants people to live on the moonBoth Texas companies' moon landers are funded in part through NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.The third mission en route to the moon, though, is from the Japanese company ispace.The company's Hakuto-R spacecraft previously tried to land on the moon in 2023, but ispace reported that the lander had miscalculated its altitude when it detected an unexpected crater rim on the lunar surface, causing it to plummet and crash.Ispace is trying again with a new mission carrying a lander and a micro-rover. The mission, called M2, launched aboard the same Falcon 9 rocket as the Firefly Blue Ghost spacecraft on January 15. M2 is taking a more leisurely route to the moon, though, with its landing set for May or June. The new lander is named RESILIENCE. The moon as seen from ispace's RESILIENCE lunar lander. Business Wire/AP Ispace touts a future where the moon and its water resources support "construction, energy, steel procurement, communications, transportation, agriculture, medicine, and tourism."The ispace website also advocates for permanent human residence on the moon, saying that "by 2040 the moon will support a population of 1,000, with 10,000 people visiting every year."It's going to take a lot more moon missions to bring that vision to life. For now, for all three missions, just sticking the landing would be a huge achievement.

An unvaccinated child in Texas died from measles, with statewide vaccination rates trending down.Texas faces a measles outbreak with 124 cases, mostly among unvaccinated children.Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine critic, is the new US Health Secretary amid the outbreak.A child in West Texas has died from measles, marking the first reported fatality from the disease in the US in nearly a decade, state health officials announced on Wednesday.The "school-aged child" who was unvaccinated died at a children's hospital in Lubbock after being hospitalized last week and testing positive for measles, according to a press release from the Texas Department of State Health Services.The death comes as Texas battles a growing measles outbreak that has surged from a handful of cases to at least 124 infections since early February, mostly among children, state health officials said. At least 18 people have been hospitalized so far, most of whom are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status, according toAnother nine cases have been confirmed in eastern New Mexico close to its border with Texas, bringing the total to more than 130 across the two states, per Texas DSHS.Measles, a highly contagious airborne virus, has a fatality rate of one to three deaths per 1,000 reported cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Lara Anton, senior press officer of the Texas Department of State Health Services, told Business Insider that it is very difficult to stop the spread of measles. Not only does an unvaccinated person have a 90 percent chance of being infected if exposed, an infected person can be contagious without knowing it for up to four days, Anton said."When people register their children for school in kindergarten through seventh grade, they provide updates to us and the school districts on the vaccination coverage in their district," Anton said. "Generally the coverage level statewide has dipped down in recent years."Measles death is uncommon. The last reported measles death of an adult in the US occurred in 2015 when a Washington woman contracted it at a health clinic, CDC data shows. Anton said a child also died of measles in Texas in 2018.Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine critic, was confirmed as US Health Secretary this month despite opposition from medical professionals and some members of Congress. He has, however, pledged to maintain existing vaccination programs."We are following the measles epidemic every day," Kennedy said during a meeting with President Donald Trump's cabinet at the White House. "Incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year. In this country last year there were 16. So, it's not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year."He also mentioned that two people had died in the outbreak, but the Texas DSHS was only able to confirm one death so far.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Should Sony be trying to copy Steam Deck? (Valve/Sony)The Thursday letters page is not shocked that so many people play so few games, as one reader hopes for a F-Zero announcement this month.To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.ukPlayStation DeckI know it was said before that the Steam Deck had only sold a few million, but I had no idea that that whole type of handheld device was such a small piece of the overall gaming pie. Six million is an absolutely tiny amount overall. Even the Wii U managed to sell more than twice that much.It doesnt matter in itself Ive never heard anything but good things about the Steam Deck but you are right to question why Phil Spencer and Xbox seems so obsessed with it. We know theyre working on a handheld but I dont think hes ever once compared it to the Switch, its always been ROG Ally and other PC gadgets.At this point, I dont think it really matters what Xbox does but Sony seems to have got the same idea into their head, with rumours that the PlayStation 6 is a handheld too. Sony has a strange habit of copying what Microsoft does, even when theyre completely outselling them, and now we face the prospect of all next gens consoles being portables or hybrids, even though we only know the Switch sells and the ones that Xbox are copying definitely dont.This seems a very bad ideal to me, especially for Sony who are doing so well with the PlayStation 5 right now. Just make a sensible follow-up and have it be a plastic box under your TV, Sony. Thats all thats needed.BoswellSame old gamesWeve had information like this before, about how most people only play the same increasingly old live service games all the time, but the latest data just really rams home how the video games industry is becoming impossible to continue in the old way.Why spend six years making a single-player game when you know most people are still off playing Fortnite? But then its even more madness to make a live service game because players have absolutely no reason to switch to it. The only big hit recently has been Marvel Rivals and all thats done is swap in for Overwatch it hasnt increased the number of games being played at all.I think a lot of gamers dont appreciate the trouble were in here, assuming youre not one of those people happy to play the same game endlessly. COD and FIFA were one thing, but now casual gamers are playing even less unique games than ever. Im not happy with it but Im beginning to understand why Sonys release schedule looks the way it does.KorgNot mediocreJust finished Mad Max on the Steam Deck, which is pertinent on a number of fronts. I agree wholeheartedly with your review, that its a solid 7/10 which nicks from lots of other games but adds just enough to make something fun and worthwhile. The Ubisoft, open world, icon-clearing, structure of the game felt a bit less repetitive on the handheld (up to a point, I reached my limit eventually) and Id have been interested in what a follow-up game couldve looked like had Warner Bros. not been the absolute worst overlords in the industry.Its also another game I bounced off of on home consoles that Ive completed on the Steam Deck. I dont think we can ever expect the handheld PC market to grow as large as the handheld/hybrid console market; consoles (historically) are the gateway to the exclusive games from that company, whereas Valve dont need to do an awful lot to bring gamers to Steam.I hope the devices are profitable enough that we see more iterations of the format, even if handheld PC users will always remain in a small, devilishly handsome niche.MagnumstacheEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukGoddess of WarIt is a crying shame that the Wonder Woman game got cancelled as it seemed such an easy thing to get working. Old school God Of War (including all the Greek monsters) combined with the Nemesis system and bosh, it writes (programs?) itself.It sounds like thats pretty much what they were aiming for but years of bad management and now a company whose old games I remember playing on a 486 have been shut down. Its a crying shame and I blame Warner Bros. for it all. Especially now the Nemesis system will probably never be used again in anything.Warner say that their plans revolve around more DC Comics games and yet theyre not going to have one out for five or more years. Youre tell me there was absolutely nothing that couldve been salvaged from Monoliths game that was in development for three years? Its just a disaster.GantryMovie tie-inSo, as The Super Mario Bros. Movie is on Netflix, it got me thinking about a sequel to this film. Quick search on IMDB and it says April 3, 2026. I am going to have a punt that the new Mario game will be released to coincide with this date.The movie uses Donkey Kong a lot, maybe the rumours of Donkey Kong being in the new Mario game could link to the film somehow? Only time will tell.WillGC: Its worth noting that the only thing Nintendo did to tie into the first film was a sheet of movie stickers in a Switch hardware bundle.Goodbye SwitchSo, I see the rumours of a last minute Nintendo Direct have returned, which means that talk of a final goodbye fan game for the Switch still has some life in it.I find it hard to believe this might be true but since its Nintendo you can never rule out anything. If there is to be such a game though an unexpected sequel to a poorly selling franchise then I would like it to be F-Zero.Nintendo have said in the past that theyve not made a new one because they cant work out how to do something new and different enough and thats fair enough and probably at least partially true.You could do things with the settings and characters, but that would basically become a different game. But I think what F-Zero fans want is just F-Zero GX but dialled up to 11, and I really dont think thats going to happen. It wouldnt sell and I dont know who theyd get to make it.But if they are purposefully making something for the fans, then suddenly F-Zero is back on the menu. I hope (but do not expect).GeoffriesMusical memoriesListening to video game soundtracks when Im not playing the game is not something Im particularly into, but I opened up the Nintendo Music app when I saw Super Mario Bros. 2 had been added and have now ended up listening to the Mario Kart 8 soundtrack, aargh!It does have some banging tunes though.John AtkinsonGolden remakeI guess it was obvious Atlus would be looking to remake Persona 4 Golden after the success of Persona 3 Reload. However, despite being a fan of the franchise Im a little sceptical. Or at least theyll need to do a much bolder job to make it worthwhile, compared with what they did with the last one. I picked up Persona 3 Reload at launch, as while its still a fun time the game feels more like a remaster than a remake, as it just restates the original game again as closely as possible, beat for beat.The extremely conservative nature of it made sense in a way; its success wasnt proven and the budget was obviously set low. However, with Persona 4 Golden out on modern formats and still looking and playing pretty well today, just another redo in Unreal Engine wont cut it.I never see the point of remakes that just give you the same experience again but shiny new, and why do so many gamers demand that from them? The Resident Evil or Final Fantasy 7 titles show what can be done, a complete restatement of the games principles not beholden to the technology of original development. Those games feel fresh because they started from the drawing board and didnt just trying to recreate the old experience with better graphics and modern conveniences.With Persona 4, why not make Inaba an open world to explore, full of stat raising mini-games, design intricate handcrafted dungeons full of secrets, make the story and social networks more impactful to player decisions, and further revamp the combat system from what even Metaphor: ReFantazio accomplished?MarcGC: We agree on all counts.Inbox also-ransNokia N-Gage? Now theres a name Ive not heard for a long timeBosonValves obsession with ultra expensive VR headsets is so weird to me. I almost get the feeling theyre making them for Gabe and no one else.HatchetMore TrendingEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukThe small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Readers Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.You can also leave your comments below and dont forget to follow us on Twitter.ArrowMORE: Games Inbox: Will the Fable reboot be on PS5?ArrowMORE: Games Inbox: Is Mario better than Astro Bot? GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

2025Im going to be, as we millennials say, for real with you all about the iPhone 16e. After a couple of days with it, I prefer it over wielding the iPhone 16 Pro, at least for testing purposes. Im not saying there isnt a point in dropping a stack of cash on a Pro version of the iPhone or even the sub-level iPhone 16, but the iPhone 16e ticks all the boxes it needs to without this over-showmanship of everything Apple can do. Dare I say, its subdued Apple, and I like it. If anything, the iPhone 16e is what happens when Apple dials it down to only the essentials. I still dont know what the e stands for (I tried asking!), but I think it stands for exactly what you need. For Apple fans, the iPhone 16e is a chic little smartphone you buy for your kids or an elder, so you can keep an eye on them without the mental gymnastics of figuring out how to save some cash on an older model of the iPhone that can do it all. The iPhone 16e already does it all because its built on the same processing architecture as the iPhone 16/16 Pro. This phone is also for people who havent chosen a path yet; the iPhone 16e is the entry-level foray into the walled garden. Apple bottled up enough of the experience to entice you from your budget Android device. Apple iPhone 16e Apple's iPhone 16e is the "essential" iPhone with all the perks of being in the ecosystemespecially Apple Intelligence. Pros Cons iPhone 16e Review: Design Look, its an iPhone 16 Florence Ion / GizmodoBehold the dramatic, out-of-hand beauty shot. The third-generation iPhone SE was the last budget iPhone. That phone looked like it existed for fan service; it had Touch ID, which harkened back to an iPhone generation that Apple had since left when the SE 3 was announced. It had a measly 64GB of storage space and a camera that couldnt even shoot in the dark. The 4.7-inch screen was cute, especially in 2022 when we were all clamoring for smaller phones, but in 2025, its a screen for ants. The Google Pixel A-series quickly surpassed the iPhone SE. Apples budget phone stayed dated. The iPhone 16e has a renewed sense of self. It is not a budget Apple phone, but the entrance into the ecosystem that the company would like to invite you to sit in, even though it is very bright and slightly cold. It has all the essentials to enjoy tending in the walled garden. The design is a pared-down, lighter version of the iPhone 16. There have been complaints that the iPhone 16e is not colorful enough because it only comes in black and white, but youll probably end up covering this thing in a case, anyway. Florence Ion / Gizmodo The back of the iPhone 16e comes in white or black. Florence Ion/ Gizmodo Florence Ion/ Gizmodo Florence Ion/ Gizmodo Florence Ion/ Gizmodo The iPhone 16e doesnt have the Dynamic Island, but it does have Face ID, which works just as quickly as the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro. Dont forget to scan yourself with sunglasses and a mask because typing in a six-digit passcode is still annoying when trying to do something fast. The 6.1-inch screen is a Super Retina XDR display, though it tops at 1,200 nits of brightness. The charging port is now USB-C, and there is Qi wireless charging but no MagSafe, which is fine because you can easily spoof the magnet anyway (Ive been doing it on Android for years). The Action Button also makes an appearance here. I can see this being the main selling point of this specific iPhone model. Its beneficial for people buying this phone to help aid someone if theyre alone. Imagine setting up a Shortcut for a routine that dims the lights or setting up a FaceTime bookmark to simplify the task of video calling the grandkids.My favorite part about the iPhone 16e is its lightness relative to the rest of the iPhone lineupIm not even talking about the Plus or the Pro Max. I am talking about this phone weighing just under six ounces. The iPhone 16 is right at six ounces on the chart, but it has protruding glass, which adds a smidge more heft. Apple figures some of us will be buying this as a secondary phone. I liked that I could carry it around in my purse with the Pixel 9 Pro, which weighs seven ounces, and I barely felt it in there. That was with Apples magenta silicone case on it. Florence Ion / GizmodoThe iPhone 16es one camera is a two-in-one fusion camera. Unlike the iPhone 16 family, only one camera sensor is on the iPhone 16e. However, its a 48-MP Fusion camera, a two-in-one camera system that can shoot in 24-MP and 48-MP resolutions like the rest of the iPhone 16 family. The iPhone 16es primary camera offers some wiggle room with features like Portrait Mode with depth control. But there is no focus control. Theres no ultrawide camera to zoom out into or macro photography, either. If you want to get close to something, youll have to walk up to it. The iPhone 16e supports Dolby Vision video up to 4K at 60 frames-per-second, which is ample enough for anyone just recording for the sake of logging it. Photographic Styles are on the iPhone 16e, which feeds the inner emo in me. I even took a nighttime landscape photo by keeping the shutter open for a few seconds. All the basic camera necessities are on the iPhone 16e, and I was pretty satisfied despite the fixed lens experience. Florence Ion / Gizmodo Florence Ion / Gizmodo Florence Ion / Gizmodo Florence Ion / Gizmodo The perks of being an iPhone user The iPhone 16e exists to help bring new users into the fold with its ecosystem perks, particularly the ones that Apple has been able to market as essential utilities. Things like Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, and messaging over satellite will do wonders at extolling the idea that the iPhone is a helpful aid to life. Features like Find My and Crash Detection will also make it easier for parents to default to the iPhone 16e as their kids digital leash. Apple Intelligence is another big get, and the iPhone 16e is in this timeline to bring even outliers up to speed with what its doing with AI. Im still scratching my head at whether people joining the platform gravitate toward using the built-in features, but I can see typing to Siri getting the most play on this form factor. Im not so sure about the generative abilities of Image Playground. Its fast on the iPhone 16e, just like on the other iPhone 16s, but Im still not getting the desired results I want, which discourages me from using it. At the very least, youll have things like Apple Intelligence in the Mail app to help you sift through threads and generative writing help for those days you hate people too much to construct a sentence. Again, Apples point is that the device gives you access to the essentials, even the AI stuff.iPhone 16e Review: Performance Apples homegrown chips One of Apples latest priorities is getting a handle on its supply chain so it has total control over what it produces without relying on third-party vendors. Its getting there with the advent of the C1 modem. The only drawback of the modem is that it only works with sub-6GHz 5G networks, so youll have a hard time connecting inside stadiums and other overwhelmed, crowded places. But thats also why Apple can make such steady battery claims since most people dont need access to that stuff constantly. Apple says this is the longest battery life even in a 6.1-inch iPhone. Im still working on our official battery test to come in an update this week, but I can already tell you I have hardly charged the iPhone 16e since getting it set up five days ago. The other homegrown part of the iPhone 16e is its processor. The A18 featured here isnt a copy-paste chip; the GPU is a four-core chip rather than a five-core like in the regular iPhone 16. Still, thats not going to slow you down. The Geekbench numbers for GPU performance were only 2,000 points apart between the two sibling devices. Apple Arcade games like Hello Kitty Adventure Island and Sonic Dream Team ran smoothly without hiccups on the iPhone 16e. Pokmon Go was fine. Realistically, thats the caliber of mobile games people will play at this price point, and its good to know the first-tier iPhone can handle a subscription to Apple Arcade, though it can handle stuff like Resident Evil 4 andRoblox, too. (The kid stuck with this iPhone will be very happy about that last part.) Florence Ion / GizmodoThe iPhone 16e can run all the same apps and Apple Intelligence tricks as the rest of the iPhone 16 family. iPhone 16e Review: Verdict Should you buy the iPhone 16e? I wasnt expecting to adore this phone or prefer it over the iPhone 16 Pro I typically use to test software. The light build alone makes the iPhone 16e a joy to handle. Theres also virtually no difference in software experience between the iPhone 16e and the iPhone 16, so carrying around the whole kit and caboodle doesnt feel necessary. Its nice and freeing. Apple plans to push out Apple Intelligence features to the iPhone 16e simultaneously with the rest of the iPhone 16 family.The iPhone 16e may not be capable of capturing objects from far away or come in a spectrum of neat colors. Nor does it sync up with the vast offering of MagSafe accessories and devices. Otherwise, its everything you need to lock into the ecosystem and start buying other Apple accessories and subscribing to services. The iPhone 16e is the gateway drug. I know there will be a debate over the fact that there are cheaper Android devices that offer the same quality of features as the iPhone 16e. I say the iPhone 16e isnt for you. Its for the already-dedicated Apple users who dont want to fuss about what phone to buy to tether family members. With trade-ins and sales, the iPhone 16e could help bring in people who have wanted the device but were often limited by the high starting cost. Its also going to be a good deal for anyone upgrading from a much older iPhone 11 or earlier, and its $200 cheaper than going outright for the iPhone 16 with 128GB of storage.

Amazons Alexa is finally getting its promised AI makeover with Alexa+, and already the online retail giant is promising the moon by baking in LLMs into practically every one of its user-end products. Will Amazon finally offer the first real AI assistant that every company and their corporate mother has promised for the last two years? Perhaps, but that depends on whether you are willing to dive headfirst into Amazons hardware and software ecosystem. Amazon on Wednesday showed us a slew of promised features. Amazon said the chatbot wont just talk to you about your problems or offer bad pizza joint recommendations. It will interact with your interconnected smart home devices to easily set routines or sift through footage from your outdoor cameras. Amazons AI has image recognition capabilities that allow it to comprehend what happens in front of your Ring cameras or comprehend your emails or recipes. It also has the ability to work with Prime Video and cast to Fire TV, which could help the Amazon-owned James Bond infiltrate your screens big and small.Alexa+ will come out for some select users next month and will see a staggered release for all users. If you have Amazon Prime already, youll get access, but otherwise it will cost $20 per month. The AI will operate on Echo Show devices at first, including the more-recent Show 15 and 21, before supporting Amazon Fire TVs. Support on third-party devices sporting Amazons OS will come at a later date. Theres a lot going on, so lets break it down. Alexa+ Will Include Both a Website and App In the next few weeks, a reconfigured Alexa.com will host the companys AI-powered assistant. This will work in tandem with a revised Alexa app, which will replace the current application. Amazon did not show off much of what the UI on this website or app might look like, though the company demoed some features for controlling the food ordering capabilities similar to how it works on Echo. The app and website should be rolling out alongside the staggered, wider Alexa+ release.Amazons AI Should Remember All Your Documents, Should You Choose to Share Them Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo Alexa users should be able to upload any number of documents, emails, screenshots, or hand-written notes to Amazons AI for it to remember any dates, people, or pertinent details for you. This is similar to features in Googles Gemini, but you can also specifically ask the AI to remember certain events for you to call up at a later time. The easiest way to give the AI access to these documents is by sharing them to the Alexa app whenever the AI update arrives. Amazon told us you should be able to share emails associated with your Amazon account, though you can also connect separate accounts through the app. Amazons AI Is Connected to an Expansive Number of Apps Amazon promised Alexa+ wont just work with Amazon products, but tens of thousands of apps and services. Amazon counts news organizations like the Associated Press and Reuters among that number, so the actual number of APK-connected apps is far fewer than that. Still, included are apps like Uber, OpenTable, Thumbtack, Vizio, Tidal, Xbox, and many, many more. Its unclear what exact connections each app may entail, but Amazon did show how it could book a car trip on Uber and set up a calendar appointment through Thumbtack, all through the same UI.Amazon Wants to Reimagine How You Order Food Online Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo If I want to make a pizza at home, Amazons Alexa+ can do the hard part of searching for ingredients. Asking Alexa+ for ingredients first takes you to a separate cut-out menu, then as you talk about your wants and desires, Alexa will form a list of possible ingredients. Amazon told us this defaults to what you normally prefer to order based on your Amazon account, but you can modify numbers and brands either with your voice or by selecting each product that comes up. The AI was surprisingly capable at figuring out when I wanted a non-cheap bottle of olive oil or if I wanted to make my own pizza dough rather than muddle through with store-brand pre-made dough. Easily Pass Your Audio to Specific Speakers Around the Home In one demo, Amazons VP of devices and services, Panos Panay, showed how you can ask Alexa+ to play audio through specific speakers set up around your room. This was accomplished with two sections of Echo Speakers, though it should supposedly work with any range of smart home speakers. Alexa+ Can Set Smart Home Routines and Timers With Your Voice If youve already gone through the trouble of segmenting your home with various smart displays, smart lights, and any number of interconnected devices, then Alexa+ promises to make setting routines far easier. In a demo, Amazon showed how one could set a timer to turn down lights at a certain time of day or set mood lighting for certain scenarios. The AI should be able to comprehend what you want even if you dont know the exact names of different lighting fixtures around the home. This may make it easier for people who didnt set up those devices to change their routines.The New Alexa AI Will Comprehend Whats Happening in Front of Your Cameras The Amazon Nova group of AI foundation models includes a fair amount of image and video vision capabilities. This works best with Amazon-owned Ring products, as the AI can not only comprehend whats happening in real time, but it can spool back through recorded video if you wanted to know if a package arrived or if a member of your household remembered to walk the dog that day. This imaging capabilities will also work with the built-in cameras on Echo Show products or any interconnected camera setup, though company representatives told us the AI may not have the ability to look back through footage on third-party devices.Alexa Can Help Scatterbrains Guess What Movie Theyre Thinking Of Those of us who cant seem to build a coherent thought at the end of a work day may get a little help from Amazons new AI products. Alexa+ can supposedly help you figure out what movie scene youre thinking of. For example, if you ask it for the name of the movie with the sparkling vampires, it should bring up one of the four Twilight movies. While Amazons Echo devices will be first to use Alexa+, those devices can still cast your music or video content to a FireTV without any need to pick up a remote. At the start, Alexa+ wont have any Shazam-like capabilities to identify music based on what youre listening to. The company said thats something its looking at for a future addition. Theres a Child-Friendly Version of Alexa+ Amazon Kids+ subscribers will get new features with Stories by Alexa and Explore with Alexa. This essentially adds a chatbot to the companys existing storytelling interface, so if you wanted your Echo devices to offer an AI-generated bedtime story of a lizard wizard with accompanying ugly AI-generated art, then it should be capable of that. Otherwise, the AI should have the ability to answer questions to satiate your childrens curiosity, though judging by previous AI chatbots, we are hesitant to trust its accuracy or reliability.

Nature, Published online: 26 February 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08635-6A strategy is introduced that infers whole-animal metabolic flux wiring from transcriptional phenotypes in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and several features in its adult metabolism are discovered that are validated by stable isotope tracing.

Nature, Published online: 26 February 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08513-7Reply to: Causal claims, causal assumptions and protected area impact