Engineers took the existing flagship and completely overhauled it to create the 2027 BMW i7, which uses the brains and brawn from BMW’s most recent electric vehicles. This resulted in two all-wheel drive versions that will roll into showrooms late next year, with production kicking off this July at the German factory in Dingolfing.

Designers gave the front end a nip and tuck, as the kidney grille is now thinner and illuminated with beautiful clean LED strips, while the headlights now form a single neat band across the front; the actual beams are now tucked away lower in the bumper to keep things appearing minimalist. You can still get the sleek crystal lenses if you want to add some sparkle when the lights come on. Meanwhile, at the back, the taillights are zipped in tighter towards the middle and have a smoked finish to sharpen the overall look, and just for fun, there’s a new light bar that projects animated patterns onto the ground beside the doors when you’re getting in or out, using a tidy 200K pixels and available in three moods.

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All models now have dual motors, with the base i7 50 xDrive producing 449 horsepower and accelerating from 0 to 60 in 5.3 seconds while reaching 130 mph. If you want a little more power, the i7 60 xDrive is the way to go, with 536 horsepower under the hood and a 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds; it is also electronically limited to 149 mph. Both versions employ cutting-edge motor technology that eliminates the need for rare earth magnets and is combined with silicon-carbide inverters to provide the smoothest, quietest ride imaginable.

The battery size is approximately 113 kilowatt-hours, thanks to the new sixth-generation cylindrical cells, which pack 20% more energy into the same space as previously. The top model can now travel over 350 miles on a full charge, which is a significant improvement over the previous model. To make things even better, the engineers reduced the wiring weight by 30% and shortened the harness by 2,000 feet using the new zonal electrical setup, which feeds a central computer with twenty times the processing power. That extra brain aids with over-the-air upgrades and smarter route planning, which automatically includes charging stops and heats the battery in advance.

Charging can get you to 80% in 28 minutes if you plug into a compatible station, and every car has a North American Charging Standard (NACS) port built right in, so you don’t need a special adapter for that. The regenerative braking system is quite sophisticated, as it determines how much energy to take back in based on what you’re doing, traffic lights, and traffic circumstances, resulting in that pleasant one-pedal feel when you want to slow down.

Step inside, and all of the information you need appears instantaneously on the long glass strip of screen that runs pillar to pillar at the base of the windshield. Speed, range, and navigation are right in front of you, in your natural sight line, while the media and AI’s avatar hang out above the new 17.9-inch touchscreen in the center. The front passenger has access to a 14.6-inch screen for personal enjoyment while driving. And in the back, those who want to go all out may purchase an optional 31.3-inch movie screen that descends down from the roof with 8K quality, as well as a built-in camera for video conversations, streaming, and games to play while parked. Music enthusiasts can select an audio system with up to thirty-six speakers that are fully calibrated for the immersive Dolby Atmos experience.

The seats are still extremely luxurious, and for those seeking even greater comfort, there are executive lounge chairs and footrests that can even slide out of the seat in front. Materials such as leather, wood, crystal, and metal combine to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Four-zone climate control and a panoramic glass roof are standard features, and adaptive air suspension with electronic dampers ensures a smooth ride regardless of the road conditions. Furthermore, twenty-two inch wheels are available as an option, a fresh new dimension not before provided on this model.

Prices begin at roughly $106,200 for the i7 50 xDrive and $124,700 for the i7 60 xDrive before destination fees, and you know what? That’s not a bad deal, especially given the additional technology and range. With these changes, the already fantastic luxury electric vehicle just became even better, as you can now travel even longer on a single charge, charge up much faster when you need to stop, and with all of the screens and sound, every mile seems like a great treat.

Vampire Survivors developer Poncle has big plans for the future, according to an interview the company’s chief strategy officer Matteo Sapio. It’s opening two new studios in Japan and Italy and has over 15 games in active development. That’s a lot of action for a company primarily known for one franchise.

Sapio says the company is developing three basic types of games. There are spinoffs to Vampire Survivors, like this week’s . Poncle is also making original IPs and says there are two games set in new universes coming down the pike.

Finally, it’s working on some roguelites with similar mechanics to Vampire Survivors, but using other IPs. We already know about one of these, a roguelite set in the Warhammer 40K universe . It’s set to land on Steam sometime this year. To assist with these plans, Poncle has developed an engine that can turn pre-existing IPs into games that play like Vampire Survivors.

If you’re wondering if there are enough fans for multiple top-down roguelites with simple controls and bullet hell mechanics, let me point you to Halls of Torment, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor and Soulstone Survivors, among many others. This has become a popular genre in recent years, likely due to the continued success of Vampire Survivors. To that end, the original game .

Poncle has, however, paused all of its third-party publishing plans after releasing a couple of games last year. “It was a learning experience,” Sapio said. “But we found that we weren’t able to give the right support.” The company could revisit third-party publishing in the future.

This is great news for Poncle and fans of the Vampire Survivors franchise, but there’s always risk when a company tries to grow like this. Remember Embracer Group? It went on a massive buying spree beginning in 2019, .

However, this isn’t a AAA game development studio. Poncle makes indie titles and the new studios will be lean operations, with “little teams of people.” Sapio said this organizational structure will help keep the company “agile and flexible.”

I personally have high hopes for this endeavor. This is because the just-released spinoff Vampire Crawlers is so very good, which proves to me that Poncle isn’t a one-trick pony. It plays like a mix of Slay the Spire with a first-person dungeon crawler like Etrian Odyssey, all while successfully capturing the vibe of Vampire Survivors. If Poncle can keep up this level of quality, gamers could be in for a long-term treat.

Figuring out ways to indulge a tech habit while being mindful of environmental impact is tricky, but looking for more energy-efficient options is a great place to start — and opting for a solar-powered device means you could avoid wasting any previous resources when recharging.

For gadgets designed for outdoor use, solar power makes a lot of sense. That Ring doorbell that sits on your wall? You can get a solar-paneled surround that’ll keep it charged up using the energy of the sun, so you won’t need to worry about forgetting to replace the batteries. The same goes for external security cameras — we’re particular fans of the Baesus Security S2, which has a solar panel that rotates throughout the day to follow the sun on its journey across the sky.

Meta has introduced a new “live chats” feature to Threads, enabling people on the platform to participate in real-time conversations about live events they’re interested in. Live chats can be hosted within Threads communities, the topic-specific social spaces that Meta last year.

The new feature sounds a bit like Threads’ take on Instagram’s broadcast channels, but the latter only allows for one-way messaging. Live chats can be hosted by select creators, including Community Champions — users highly engaged within specific communities — and media personalities. Once a chat is launched or scheduled, the host chooses who is invited to contribute and can then share the link publicly.

You can post photos, videos, links and emoji reactions as well as text-based messages. If you’re unable to send messages in a live chat that is at capacity, you can still watch it, react to others messages and vote in polls. Live chats remain open to view after they’ve ended, and you don’t need to be part of a community to join.

Meta is debuting its new social feature in the NBAThreads Community during the Playoffs, with Malika Andrews, Rachel Nichols, Trysta Krick, David Rushing and Lexis Mickens named as hosts. Live chats will appear at the top of the NBAThreads Community feed, and can also be shared in a post that might appear on your main feed in Threads. You’ll also see a red ring around a host’s profile photo when they’re live.

Meta says live chats will gradually be rolled out to more communities on Threads, with features like co-hosting, lock screen widgets and the ability to quote and share messages from a chat on your feed coming soon.

Meta has been steadily expanding its X rival’s features since it launched in 2023. It started small with (note: not hashtags) and , before rolling out communities last year. It also started long-form text posts and just gave Threads a long-overdue facelift on web. Back in October, the company that its text-based social media platform now has 150 million daily users.

New York has banned state employees from using insider information to trade on prediction markets. In an executive order signed today and viewed by WIRED, Governor Kathy Hochul forbade the state’s government workforce from using “any nonpublic information obtained in the course of their official duties” to participate on prediction market platforms, or to help others profit using those services.

“Getting rich by betting on inside information is corruption, plain and simple,” Hochul said in a statement provided to WIRED. “Our actions will ensure that public servants work for the people they represent, not their own personal enrichment. While Donald Trump and DC Republicans turn a blind eye to the ethical Wild West they’ve created, New York is stepping up to lead by example and stamp out insider trading.”

The order was not spurred by any specific insider trading incidents involving New York state employees. “There are no known instances of this behavior to date,” says New York State Executive Chamber deputy communications director Sean Butler.

This is the latest in a wave of initiatives meant to curb insider trading on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, the two most popular of these platforms in the United States. California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a similar executive order last month, banning Golden State employees from prediction market insider trading. Yesterday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker followed suit.

In addition to these executive orders, Congress has also introduced several bills intended to curb market manipulation and corruption in the industry, including legislation barring elected officials from participating in prediction markets. Some individual politicians are discouraging or outright barring their staff from buying event contracts on those platforms. According to CNN, the White House recently warned executive branch staff not to trade on prediction markets. When WIRED asked the White House about its policies on these markets earlier this year, it pointed to existing regulations prohibiting gambling activity but did not respond to requests for clarification on whether it considered prediction market participation to be gambling.

The Commodity Exchange Act, which covers derivative markets, does already prohibit insider trading, which means that both public servants and people in the private sector are breaking the law if they enact insider trades on event contracts. Rather than establishing new rules, the New York executive order serves primarily to underline the state’s commitment to enforcing existing laws and to clarify how these laws and its Code of Ethics for employees apply to prediction markets.

However, with so many high-profile examples of suspected insider trading on Polymarket focused on geopolitical events, from the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to strikes in the ongoing Iran war, many onlookers—including prominent lawmakers—see this as such a combustible issue. They’re racing to write laws and orders restating and emphasizing existing rules.

“This makes sense, and we already do this. At Kalshi, insider trading violates our rules, and we enforce them when we catch insiders,” Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana says. “Government employees should be aware that trading on federally regulated markets using material nonpublic information violates the law.” (Polymarket did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

Facing backlash, Polymarket and Kalshi have recently announced new initiatives to combat insider trading.

In February, Kalshi publicized its decision to suspend and fine two individuals for violating its market manipulation policies; the company also confirmed that it had flagged the cases to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency overseeing prediction markets. In March, it rolled out a beef up market surveillance arm, preemptively blocking political candidates from trading on markets related to their campaigns.