The holiday season is fully in the rear view mirror and real life is here to stay. But that doesn't mean the time for gifts is over especially ones for yourself. You can still take advantage of great January sales on some awesome tech products.
Take the Apple Mac mini M4, which is down to $500 from $599. The 17 percent discount gives you 16GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD for only about $20 more than the computer's Black Friday sale. Its beefier models are also on sale: opting for 512GB of SSD will cost you $690, down from $799, while also upping your RAM to 24GB is available for $890, dropping from $999.
We gave the Apple Mac mini M4 a 90 in our review thanks in large part to its powerful chip. The M4 works very fast despite being in such a small device. It also offers front-facing headphone and USB-C ports. You can further upgrade to the Apple M4 Pro chip for $1,270, down from $1,399 a nine percent discount. The Pro model also has Thunderbolt 5 support.
Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-mac-mini-m4-is-back-on-sale-for-499-141615231.html?src=rss
The 2026 Golden Globes took place on Sunday and it was another big night for streamers. Netflix took home seven awards, Apple and HBO Max each won three and Hulu got one.
Netflix's hit show Adolescence received four awards alone, including best limited or anthology series. It also won for best actor (Stephen Graham), supporting actor (Owen Cooper) and supporting actress (Erin Doherty) in a miniseries or television film.
KPop Demon Hunters the sensation which became Netflix's most-watched title won for best animated feature and best original song. "I just want to say this award goes to people who have had doors closed on them, and I can confidently say rejection is redirection. So never give up. It is never too late to shine like you were born to be," singer-songwriter EJAE said in her acceptance speech for the song, Golden.
Netflix also won for best performance in stand-up comedy on television for Ricky Gervais: Mortality.
Apple TV took home two awards for The Studio: best television series musical or comedy and best performance by a male actor in a television series for Seth Rogen. The streamer also won for best performance by a lead actress in a television series drama thanks to Rhea Seehorn in Pluribus.
The Pitt gave HBO Max two of its three awards, with trophies for best television series drama and best performance by a lead actor in a television series drama to Noah Wyle. Jean Smart rounded out the streamer's awards with best performance by a lead actress in a television series musical or comedy for Hacks.
Hulu's award came through best performance by a lead actress in a limited or anthology series for Michelle Williams in Dying For Sex.
This year also brought a first to the Golden Globes: the best podcast category. Amy Poehler won for Good Hang with Amy Poehler, a podcast that has featured interviews with everyone from Tina Fey to Quinta Brunson since debuting in March last year. Fellow nominees included Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy and Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflix-won-seven-awards-at-the-golden-globes-with-adolescence-and-kpop-demon-hunters-140006510.html?src=rss
To comply with Australia's under-16 social media ban, Meta said on Medium that it has shut down nearly 550,00 accounts. That number includes 330,000 Instagram, 173,000 Facebook and 40,000 Threads accounts deemed to belong to children. "Ongoing compliance with the law will be a multi-layered process that we will continue to refine, though our concerns about determining age online without an industry standard remain," the company wrote.
Australia's minimum age social media ban, the first of its kind in the world for a democracy, went into effect on December 10. The ten platforms affected, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, Reddit and Twitch, must bar underage users or face a fine of up to $AUD 49.5 million ($33 million). Platforms are using a variety of means to determine age, including age inference based on activity and selfies.
Some of those platforms aren't taking the ban lying down. Reddit, which launched a lawsuit against the Australian government, argued that it shouldn't have been included in the ban since it isn't a social media site, while adding that it comes with some "serious privacy and political expression issues" for users.
Meta also expressed its opposition to the ban, citing a number of factors. It says taking social media out of the hands of teens can isolate them from getting support from online communities, and that the ban is only driving them to "less regulated parts of the internet." It also sites inconsistent age verification methods and a lack of interest in compliance from teens and parents.
However, the fact that Meta has removed almost 550,000 accounts just a month after the ban took affect shows that it is also affecting the company's bottom line. And Meta doesn't have a sterling record when it comes to teen safety, having previously downplayed the frequency of harm to children. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-closes-550000-accounts-to-comply-with-australias-kids-social-media-ban-130041356.html?src=rss
Malaysia and Indonesia are the first countries to block Grok, claiming that Xs chatbot does not have sufficient safeguards in place to prevent explicit AI-generated deepfakes of women and children from being created and disseminated on X. Indonesia temporarily blocked access to Grok on Saturday, as did Malaysia on Sunday, the Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, UK media regulator Ofcom has opened a formal investigation into X under the Online Safety Act. "The government sees non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the safety of citizens in the digital space," Indonesias Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement. Officials in the country said initial findings showed that Grok lacks effective controls to prevent users from creating and sharing sexually explicit deepfakes based on photos of Indonesian residents. The country's director general of digital space supervision, Alexander Sabar, said generating deepfakes can violate individuals' image and privacy rights when photos are shared or manipulated without consent, adding that they can lead to reputational, social and psychological harm.The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission cited "repeated misuse" of Grok to generate explicit and non-consensual deepfakes, some of which involved women and children. The regulator said Grok will remain blocked in the country until X Corp and parent xAI establish strong enough safeguards. Ofcoms investigation will focus on whether X has "has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal in the UK." That includes whether X is taking appropriate measures to prevent its UK users from seeing "priority" illegal content, such as CSAM and non-consensual intimate images; if the platform is removing illegal content quickly after becoming aware of it; and whether X carried out an updated risk assessment before making "any significant changes" to the platform. The probe will also consider whether X assessed the risk that its platform poses to UK children and if it has highly effective age assurance to protect UK children from seeing pornography.The regulator said it contacted X on January 5 and received a response by its January 9 deadline. Ofcom is conducting an "expedited assessment of available evidence as a matter of urgency" and added that it has asked xAI for "urgent clarification" on the steps the company is taking to protect UK users."Reports of Grok being used to create and share illegal non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material on X have been deeply concerning," an Ofcom spokesperson said. "Platforms must protect people in the UK from content thats illegal in the UK, and we wont hesitate to investigate where we suspect companies are failing in their duties, especially where theres a risk of harm to children. Well progress this investigation as a matter of the highest priority, while ensuring we follow due process. As the UKs independent online safety enforcement agency, its important we make sure our investigations are legally robust and fairly decided."If Ofcom deems that a company has broken the law, it can "require platforms to take specific steps to come into compliance or to remedy harm caused by the breach." The regulator can additionally impose fines of up to 18 million ($24.3 million) or 10 percent of "qualifying" worldwide revenue, whichever of the two figures is higher. It can also seek a court order to stop payment providers or advertisers from working with a platform, or to require internet service providers to block a site in the UK. The UK government has said it would back any action that Ofcom takes against X. Reports over the weekend suggested that the UK had held discussions with allies over a coordinated response to Grok-generated deepfakes. Regulators elsewhere, including in India and the European Union, are also investigating X.Last week, Grok started telling X users that its image generation and editing tools were being limited to paying subscribers. But as of Monday it was still possible for non-paying users to generate images through the Grok tab on the X website and app. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/malaysia-and-indonesia-are-the-first-to-block-grok-following-csam-scandal-120000534.html?src=rss
As cars become screen-dense digital environments, Volvo is reframing typography as critical safety infrastructure. Volvo Centum is a custom font designed to improve glance-based comprehension while driving.The Swedish automaker partnered with type studio Dalton Maag to engineer a font that minimizes cognitive load and maximizes clarity across digital interfaces. Every letterform was calibrated for split-second readability, with adjustments made for different lighting conditions, screen sizes and reading distances. The typeface supports over 800 languages, including complex scripts like Chinese and Arabic, ensuring consistent performance whether displayed on a dashboard in Stockholm or Shanghai. It debuts in the upcoming EX60 model before rolling out across Volvo's ecosystem.
To further push the limits of consumerism, Google has launched a new open standard for agentic commerce that's called Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). In brief, it's a framework that combines the power of AI agents and online shopping platforms to help customers buy more things.
Thanks to the introduction of UCP, Google is offering three new online shopping features. To start, Google's AI mode will have a new checkout feature that allows customers to buy eligible products from certain US retailers within Google Search. Currently, this feature works with Google Pay, but it will soon add PayPal compatibility and incorporate more capabilities, like related product discovery and using loyalty points.
On the merchant side, the UCP also established the Business Agent feature, which Google said will be "a virtual sales associate that can answer product questions in a brands voice." The Business Agent will launch tomorrow with early adopters including Lowes, Michaels, Poshmark, Reebok and more. Also for retailers, the UCP is responsible for the new Direct Offers feature, which lets companies advertising with Google to "present exclusive offers for shoppers who are ready to buy, directly in AI Mode." The Direct Offers feature will work in tandem with the ads in AI Mode that Google is testing.
With UCP, Google Search, retailers and payment processors are joining forces to make online shopping even easier, whether it's figuring out what product to buy, completing the purchase or offering "post-purchase support." According to Google, UCP is compatible with existing industry protocols, like Agent2Agent, Agent Payment Protocols and Model Context Protocol. UCP was even co-developed with industry giants like Shopify, Etsy and Walmart, and was endorsed by even more companies in the commerce ecosystem, including Macy's, Stripe, Visa and more.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/googles-new-commerce-framework-cranks-up-the-heat-on-agentic-shopping-212433122.html?src=rss
The loss of the federal EV tax credits may have been a huge blow to prospective buyers, but California wants to fill that gap for its residents. Governor Gavin Newsom's proposed budget for 2026-2027, which was released on Friday, includes a "light-duty zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) incentive program" that details a one-time infusion of $200 million.
According to the budget summary, this incentive program is "a critical part of the Administration's strategy to keep ZEVs affordable and accessible for all." The proposed budget still has to make it through the state's legislature later this year, but if passed, the new incentive would help continue the momentum of EV adoption across California. In the third quarter of 2025, the state saw almost 30 percent of auto sales being EVs, according to the California Energy Commission.
There are no details in the budget summary outlining how exactly the $200 million would break down on a per-vehicle basis, but USA Today reported that the rebate would be an "on the hood" instant discount for EVs. Previously, buyers would get up to $7,500 back in federal tax rebates on new EV purchases and up to $4,000 on used EVs. For California's proposed incentives, the chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, Lauren Sanchez, told USA Today that the state is still trying to figure out if it will offer tax credits for those who buy used EVs.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/californias-governor-plans-to-set-aside-200-million-for-state-ev-tax-credits-194446449.html?src=rss
Don't be surprised if you see even more drones delivering groceries across the US since the Alphabet-owned Wing announced another service expansion with Walmart over the next year. The partnership said that drone delivery services will be available at 150 more Walmart locations in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Miami and more metros that have yet to be announced.
According to Wing, its top 25 percent of customers have ordered its delivery drones up to three times a week. To meet growing demand, Wing and Walmart said it will serve up to 40 million US customers and build up a network of 270 delivery locations by 2027. The partnership launched its service in August 2023 with the inaugural deliveries offered to the Dallas-Fort Worth customer base. In June 2025, Wing and Walmart increased drone delivery coverage to 100 more stores across Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa. Last month, the two companies launched their delivery service in Atlanta and are planning to kick off deliveries in Houston on January 15.
Before Walmart, Wing broke into the US market by working with Walgreens to deliver health and wellness products in April 2022. Since then, the Alphabet subsidiary has partnered with DoorDash and Apian, a London-based healthcare logistics company. Besides its commercial partnerships, Wing has been working on a larger delivery drone that will be able to fly at up to 65 mph and carry up to five pounds, or double its current capacity.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/wings-drone-deliveries-are-coming-to-150-more-walmarts-180708189.html?src=rss
X may soon provide more insight into how its algorithm works. On Saturday, Elon Musk posted on the platform to say that the company "will make the new X algorithm, including all code used to determine what organic and advertising posts are recommended to users, open source in 7 days." X's recommendation algorithm has been the subject of investigations by France and the European Commission, the latter of which recently extended through 2026 a retention order that it sent to the company at the beginning of last year. And scrutiny into the platform, along with demands for accountability, have only increased after its chatbot, Grok, was caught generating CSAM at users' requests and continues to be used to digitally undress women nonconsensually. Elon Musk's X post about open-sourcing the algorithm.Screenshot/XMusk has been making promises of open-sourcing the algorithm since his takeover of Twitter, and in 2023 published the code for the site's "For You" feed on GitHub. But the code wasn't all that revealing, leaving out key details, according to analyses at the time. And it hasn't been kept up to date. Of the making the new algorithm open source, Musk said in his post, "This will be repeated every 4 weeks, with comprehensive developer notes, to help you understand what changed."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/elon-musk-says-xs-new-algorithm-will-be-made-open-source-next-week-225721656.html?src=rss
Your neighborhood GameStop might be on the chopping block, along with more than 400 other retail locations across the US. As first reported by Polygon, the retailer is pursuing a severe cost-saving measure by closing up several hundred physical locations. According to a blog that keeps track of GameStop closures, there are 410 locations that are confirmed to be closing or are already closed, along with another 11 that are reportedly also on their way, as of January 10.
As Polygon indicated, these closings aren't much of a surprise considering GameStop's SEC filing for December 2025 indicated that it would "anticipate closing a significant number of additional stores in fiscal 2025," which ends on January 31, 2026. The same filing detailed that the company's board would pay out the GameStop CEO, Ryan Cohen, up to $35 billion in stock options, given that he increases the retailer's market cap to $100 billion.
While the blog covers only closures in the US, the SEC filing also noted that GameStop is planning to reduce its presence in several other European countries and Canada. Even though GameStop saw a historic spike in market value in 2021, it has struggled with the brand's direction, as seen with failed attempts at offering a crypto locker and an NFT marketplace.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/gamestop-reportedly-shuts-down-more-than-400-us-stores-210632743.html?src=rss
