from the so-very-free-speechy dept

JK Rowling has spoken about how she wrote the first Harry Potter book while she was employed at Amnesty International and how much that experience influenced her writing, and how she learned “the power of human empathy” from working there. Rowling was also, you’ll recall, one of the high profile signers of the infamous Harper’s Letter on “open debate.”

Now she’s threatening to bankrupt Amnesty International for expressing an opinion about Beira’s Place, a “women only” charity Rowling created.

Amnesty International UK had released a report, expressing its well-supported opinion about so-called “anti-rights actors,” specifically calling out a number of groups that it believed, through their statements or actions, sought to “restrict human rights by undermining human rights protections in law and practice.” It had a section on “anti-gender” efforts by some groups which have targeted trans rights and pointed out that:

“Human rights are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. When the rights of one group are restricted, protections for others can also be weakened, even where the effects are not immediately visible.”

This should be a fairly non-controversial statement. But, the report named a number of organizations that it deemed to be “gender critical,” which are, in effect, organizations that have — through their words or actions — done damage to trans rights in particular, and the wider LGBTQ+ space.

No matter your stance on any of this, expressing an opinion about an organization should be seen as part of their free speech and… what’s the term Rowling used in the Harper’s letter? Right, “open debate.”

But, no, not here. One of the organizations that Amnesty mentioned was Beira’s Place, which Rowling helped create as an organization to provide support for female victims of sexual violence. However, aligned with Rowling’s transphobic views and campaigning, the organization proudly insists that it is for “women only.” Beira’s Place and the constant verbiage surrounding it about being for “women only” have certainly contributed to the sense that it is another part of Rowling’s transphobic mission to diminish and deny rights of transgender women.

To look at Rowling’s X feed, for example, is to witness a near never-ending stream of gleefully obnoxious and petty attacks on trans people who speak up for their own rights. I’d post examples, but I’d rather not give any more attention to that sort of hateful messaging.

Thus it’s entirely reasonable to have and express the opinion that Beira’s Place and other operations that refuse to recognize the rights of trans women (and trans men) are “anti-rights.” I mean, literally part of Beira’s Place’s messaging to the world has been its anti-trans stance.

After all, as the statement above notes, when you deny rights to one group, you are weakening rights for all. And, look, even if you somehow agree with Rowling, if you actually believed in free speech and “open debate” you should at least support Amnesty UK in expressing their opinion that being anti-trans is being anti-rights.

But Rowling seems to absolutely loathe any actual “open debate” regarding her views towards the trans community. Thus, she spoke out angrily about the Amnesty report, leading to a media fury, and causing the organization to pull it down. She has also demanded an apology and threatened to sue the organization:

Lawyers acting for the centre have threatened Amnesty with court action unless it permanently withdraws the report, publicly apologises to the blacklisted groups and commissions an external investigation into how it came to be published.

The letter said: “The [Amnesty] report has wrongly labelled all associated with Beira’s Place, including those accessing support as anti-rights bigots who are seeking to weaken human rights.

“This is a shocking way to describe those who are seeking help to overcome the trauma of sexual violence. There is no basis for these allegations, and our client, with the support of its founder JK Rowling, will not sit back and allow the reputation of Beira’s Place or those who access its support to be tarnished in this way.”

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And to make it clear she seeks to burden Amnesty UK with as many costly lawsuits as possible, she’s offering to fund other organizations that wish to sue Amnesty International UK over this report.

That’s her tweeting:

Should any of the women’s organisations targeted by Amnesty UK’s recent ‘anti-rights’ blacklist wish to take legal action, applications can be made to the JK Rowling Women’s Fund.

So much for free speech and open debate, huh?

Rowling has a right to express her own bigotry and hateful views. But Amnesty International and anyone else should also be able to express their opinion that by her words and her deeds she is doing real harm to the rights of trans people worldwide. But Rowling is making every effort to shut that down.

I am sure that Rowling and her supporters will claim, ridiculously, that because she views Beira’s Place and her other anti-trans activism as “pro-women’s rights” that it is somehow defamatory to call it anti-rights. But that’s why it’s a protected opinion. Whether or not one’s views and actions are pro or anti-rights is, inherently, an opinion.

My opinion is that Rowling is a hateful, angry woman who has done tremendous harm to some of the most marginalized people in the world for no reason at all, and her wink wink nod nod “I’m just supporting women’s rights” bullshit as cover for that is both craven and pathetic. She has contributed to a hateful, anti-rights movement that has put millions of people at greater risk. That she is now seeking to effectively silence and potentially destroy the organization that she, herself, claims was so valuable in getting her to understand the value of human empathy is a particularly sad statement on where her life has taken her.

Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for literally any of her Harper’s Letter co-signers to call out her attacks on the organization’s speech, and threats to their existence for expressing an opinion she doesn’t like. Apparently, that kind of “open debate” is too much?

Filed Under: defamation, free speech, human rights, jk rowling, lgbtq, terfs, trans rights

Companies: amnesty international, beira’s place

Microsoft has observed a surge in attacks using the ACR Stealer malware to steal browser-stored passwords, authentication tokens, and sensitive documents from its enterprise customers.

Between late April and mid-June, the threat actor used the ClickFix social-engineering method, WebDAV servers, and the MSHTA (Microsoft HTML Application Host) utility to deliver the info-stealing payload.

ACR Stealer is a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) operation believed to be a rebranding of the Amatera Stealer malware.

ACR Stealer attacks

While there are multiple delivery methods for the malware, Microsoft highlights two intrusion chains as the most prevalent for ACR Stealer.

The first campaign starts with a ClickFix lure that executes a command to run a malicious DLL from a remote WebDAV share using rundll32.exe.

Threat actors abusing WebDAV is a common tactic, seen in past attacks delivering Bumblebee and Voldemort malware.

In a report this week, Microsoft says that the threat actor typically uses a GUID-based directory structure and filenames in the WebDAV path to mimic legitimate resources (for example, google.ct) and blend the activity with expected network traffic.

After establishing communication with the command-and-control (C2) infrastructure, “a heavily obfuscated PowerShell script” is executed to launch a malware installer and establish persistence.

The routine installs a bundled Python loader, creates a scheduled task masked as a software update, manipulates timestamps, clears PowerShell history, and injects the final payload into a system process for in-memory execution.

Some variants use public blockchain services as dead-drop resolvers to obtain updated payload locations or C2 addresses, a popular technique also known as “EtherHiding.”

For the second delivery chain, the threat actor uses ClickFix to launch MSHTA, which retrieves malicious content from the attacker’s server and executes an obfuscated PowerShell downloader.

The malware then extracts an encrypted payload concealed inside a publicly hosted steganographic JPEG image and executes it directly in memory.

Despite the differences, the objective remains stealing sensitive data:

• Steal passwords, cookies, session data, and authentication tokens stored on web browsers
• Decrypt browser data through the Windows Data Protection API DPAPI
• Access Chromium browser databases on Chrome and Edge
• Search for PDFs and Microsoft 365 documents
• Collect files from the Desktop and Downloads folders
• Target enterprise-synchronized OneDrive and SharePoint directories

All data is collected and then archived in preparation to be exfiltrated to the attacker.

“These two campaigns represent some of the most prevalent ACR Stealer delivery campaigns observed by Defender Experts; however, they do not represent the full range of delivery methods used by this malware family,” Microsoft warns, noting that additional execution chains are very likely to exist.

As a general defense rule against ClickFix attacks, users should avoid copying and executing instructions in command interpreters, especially when they claim to fix an error or to verify that they are human.

Microsoft recommends that organizations reduce exposure to web-based delivery chains by enforcing filters, blocking low-reputation or new domains, and restricting access to online resources that are not required for business operations.

Application control rules can restrict launching content from a remote resource using tools like PowerShell, Python, mshta.exe, or rundll32.exe, especially from user-writeable paths.

Microsoft’s report provides a larger list of recommended mitigations along with a set of indicators of compromise specific for the observed ACR Stealer activity.

Security teams log 54% of successful attacks and alert on just 14%. The rest move through your environment unseen.

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The Honda Prologue, you may have heard, is officially dead — a decision the company confirmed to TechCrunch, removing the last all-electric vehicle from the automaker’s U.S. portfolio. The Prologue’s departure signals more than Honda’s EV backpedaling. It also illustrates a broader EV industry retreat from the U.S. market (in stark contrast to the rest of the world).

The demise of the Honda Prologue got us thinking: What other EVs have left the U.S., and why?

The end of the $7,500 federal tax credit had an outsized effect on EV sales in the United States. But there are other reasons behind the winnowing choices, including tariffs, changing consumer tastes, costs, company priorities, and regulatory action. According to data published in July by Kelley Blue Book and Cox Automotive, 247,226 EVs were sold in the second quarter or about 5.8% of the total market. While EV sales grew between the first and second quarters of 2026, they are still down from the same period last year (and before that tax credit ended in fall 2025).

Still Americans are still buying EVs, and there are new EVs entering the U.S. market — the Rivian R2 is one example. And there are signs of a slow recovery. Fourth quarter 2025 sales were 36% lower than the same period in 2024. This year that gap has narrowed, albeit still below sales figures from the previous year. For example, EV sales in Q2 were 20.5% lower than the same period in 2025.

Even with a recovery underway, automakers are pulling the plug on many EV modes. Here are those ones that have left or are leaving. TechCrunch will periodically update this list of EVs that have left, or are leaving, the U.S. market in 2026.

Afeela

Ah, Afeela we never even knew ya.

The Afeela got its start as the Vision S, a prototype announced by Sony in 2020 at the Consumer Electronics and that ended up being one of the big, surprising reveals of the annual tech trade show. Honda entered the picture in 2022 when the two Japanese conglomerates announced a joint venture; they showed off an Afeela-branded prototype the following year.

In the months and years that followed, there was constant barrage of updates about the Afeela, which seemed to be everywhere, and yet nowhere. It was even displayed at TechCrunch Disrupt one year.

The Afeela, despite the marketing blitz, never made it into production. In March 2026, the joint venture gave up on the two Afeela-branded EVs. The move followed Honda’s decision, announced just a two weeks before, to cancel three EVs planned for the U.S. market.

Honda (and Acura!)

It was just a couple of years ago that Honda declared its EV ambitions with its O Series, including a mid-sized SUV prototype that debuted at the CES 2025 tech trade show and its futuristic Saloon and Space-Hub concepts the year before. The SUV, which was slated for production at Honda’s “EV Hub” factory in Ohio, was supposed to debut in North America in the first half of 2026.

Honda stopped development of the Acura RDX, Honda O sedan and SUV in March 2026 as part of a major overhaul of the company’s EV plans. The company blamed U.S. tariffs and Chinese competition for the decision.

There was also chatter at the time that Honda was planning to stop production of the Prologue, but there was no official announcement until July 16 when CarBuzz was the first to report that the Prologue program was ending. TechCrunch confirmed with Honda that the Prologue was going out of production.

The death of the Series 0 is difficult to measure since it never went into production. The Prologue represented more grounded goals than the O Series, and one that actually went into production and sold to U.S. consumers. The Prologue was a product of a partnership with General Motors — it is built at GM’s Ramos Assembly Plant in Mexico — and closely related to the Chevrolet Blazer EV. And it did OK for awhile, selling roughly 33,000 units in 2024 and 39,000 in 2025, before the tax credit ended and sales went into a free fall.

Hyundai

The Korean automaker has actually done quite well selling EVs to Americans. But it has made a few changes based on changing economics. In March, the company said it would no longer sell the Hyundai Ioniq 6 in the U.S., a decision that was likely tied to tariffs. The Ioniq 6 is made in South Korean and imported to the U.S., while its Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 models are assembled at its Georgia factory.

The company has said it will continue to import its more expensive, lower volume N-model of the Ioniq 6.

Nissan

Nissan decided last year it would not produce a 2026 model year of its all-electric Ariya SUV for the U.S. market. And it doesn’t appear to be returning. Nissan first unveiled the Ariya in 2020 and planned to start selling it in Japan the following year.

The Ariya was the first all-electric to come out of Nissan since the early EV pioneer introduced the Leaf hatchback a decade ago.

Polestar

Swedish EV maker Polestar, owned by Chinese automotive giant Geely, has been forced to leave U.S. over the country’s ban on Chinese-connected vehicle technology. Polestar needed specific authorization from the U.S. Department of Commerce to continue importing and selling its vehicles in the United States.

Without it, Polestar has been effectively banned from the United States. The company said it would continue selling its existing stock of Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 vehicles in the U.S., and that it will “continue to support customers, including providing access to its service network.” The Polestar 3 was assembled at a factory in South Carolina and in Chengdu, China.

Volvo Cars, Polestar’s sibling company that is also owned by Geely, did receive the authorization.

Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X

Tesla announced in January that it would end production of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV to make way for what the company views is the future. And it’s not a traditional electric sedan or SUV. In Tesla’s view, the future is AI, autonomy, and robots. It’s worth noting that sales of the S and X have fallen steadily over the years as consumers turned to its high volume and cheaper vehicles, the Model 3 and Model Y.

The last Model S and X vehicles rolled off the assembly line this spring. The company recently removed the assembly lines for the S and X at its Fremont, California factory to make room for production of its Optimus robots.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen has pulled back on the ID. 4 electric SUV and the ID Buzz.

In April, Volkswagen said it would no longer produce the ID.4 at its U.S. factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee in a shift to high-volume vehicles like its upcoming gas-powered Atlas SUV. The company said, at the time, U.S. customers will be able to buy the ID.4 until the current inventory runs out. VW said it expects U.S. inventory to last into 2027.

To be clear, Volkswagen has said the ID Buzz is merely on a hiatus and will return in 2027. But there is no 2026 model.

There are, however self-driving versions of the ID buzz currently being tested in the United States. Volkswagen subsidiary MOIA America and Uber started testing autonomous microbuses in Los Angeles in April in preparation for a robotaxi service that is supposed to launch in late 2026. When the service initially launches there the vehicles will have himan safety operators.

Volvo

Volvo decided in March that it would pull its subcompact EX30 and EX30 Cross Country variant from the U.S. market. The company said at the time that production for the U.S. would end sfter the summer. The EX30 had a promising start. It recieved a lot of attention prior to it official entry into the U.S. in 2025, and it was the company’s more affordable EV option.

Volvo does plan to continue selling the larger, all-electric EX60 and EX90 SUVs in the United States.

The penalties relate to an investigation into Google’s Play store and its tactics around search ranking.

The European Commission is expected to fine Google “hundreds of millions of euros” in a series of findings against the tech giant over the coming week, sources told the Financial Times (FT) on Wednesday (15 July).

The penalties relate to a long-running Digital Markets Act (DMA) investigation into Google over the company’s tactics around search ranking and its app marketplace Google Play.

In March 2025, the EU shared its preliminary decisions from the probe, finding that some of Google Search’s features treated its parent company Alphabet’s services more favourably than its competitors.

It found that despite implementing some changes, Alphabet treated its own services, including shopping, transport or financial results, more favourably in Google Search results, and gave its own services more prominent treatment by displaying them at the top of search results.

In a separate finding, the EU said that Alphabet’s Google Play did not allow developers to inform users of alternative third-party payment options.

The FT, which reviewed internal documents from the Commission, reported that the expected actions against the company will also include daily penalties and other regulatory orders.

The exact level of fines and penalties were not specified in documents, the publication said, but it noted that the EU called Google’s non-compliance “serious”.

As a very large online service, Google is subject to strict rules around fair competition and platform safety in the bloc.

The company has come under EU ire numerous times, including being probed for allegedly “demoting” news and media publishers in search results and for using content posted to YouTube to train its AI – all within the past year.

Last September, the Commission fined Google €2.95bn for breaching antitrust regulations in the EU with its advertising technology practices.

German publication Handelsblatt was the first to report that the search giant might be handed a hefty penalty resulting from the investigation into Search and Play.

In its May report, the publication said that the expected high triple-digit-million-euro penalty could be the highest fine imposed under the DMA since its enactment in 2022.

So far, Apple and Meta are the only companies to be penalised under the law, with Apple receiving a €500m fine last year – the highest penalty yet.

The Commission’s anticipated penalty on the search giant comes as the bloc readies to decide whether Google must give third-party search engines access to search data – such as ranking, query, click and view data.

Google has been facing increased regulatory pushback in Europe in recent times. In June, the UK forced the company to let publishers opt out of having their content used to power AI features in Search, including its AI Overviews.

The country’s competition watchdog also ordered the company to tweak its search tool to help businesses better integrate with it and understand its workings.

Meanwhile, Germany, in a ruling this year, found that Google’s AI Overview outputs constitute the company’s own words, holding Google liable over statements Overview generated about two German publishers.

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Adam Savage has spent years turning movie props into objects he can actually touch and use. His earlier work on Rounders chips and a matching poker table showed how deeply he loves the gear that surrounds a serious game. This new project takes that same passion and points it at his favorite Bond film. Casino Royale features one of the most intense poker scenes ever put on screen, complete with million-dollar plaques and sky-high tension. Savage decided to build the kind of custom carrier and racks that might actually move such a set between games.

He began by looking for realistic copies rather than making things from scratch, as the details might be very confusing. One manufacturer, Apache Poker Chips, sent him several ceramic pieces that mimic the chips depicted in the movie in every aspect, including weight, sound when knocked together, and feel in your hand. To top it all off, the set includes these large plaques that are worth a million dollars each, as they have the same styling and design as the high-roller tables in Montenegro. It all adds up to over 65 million dollars, but that’s still nowhere near the ultimate sum from the film.

Sale

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• STEP INTO THE WORLD OF 007 – Bring James Bond style to poker night, blackjack, solitaire, magic practice, cardistry, party games, or for display…
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Next came the design process, which involved Savage working with his shop assistant to create specialized racks that could carry many more chips than a regular tray. Each rack has 175 chips, organized into five stacks of 35. They produced the racks on a two-color machine, so the Casino Royale emblem is visible through the plastic as part of the design. With six racks in all, the set has plenty of capacity, but it all fits in one large case with a lock. Getting it just right required some careful computer work and a lot of test printing to ensure that the fit and logo were correct.

The plaques needed some boxes to keep them in, so Savage used the table saw to make some wooden trays, angled the cuts so the boxes would stack nicely and stand out when pulled out with those old drawer handles. After some testing, he decided to producing them using a 3D printer, which allowed him to get a smoother finish that looked like it belonged in a fine shop. Each box may hold a number of plaques and has the same two-color design treatment as the chip racks.

The case, however, is the true standout, as Savage started with a massive anvil-style box that was essentially a strongbox and then transformed it into something that resembles a bank vault on wheels. He fitted boat-style latches and a very good lock on each side. There are plastic bits to assist everything line up when you seal the lid, and the inside of the lid has a small tufted trim for a luxurious feel. He polished it off with some old aircraft stickers, a Montenegrin flag, and some tamper-evident seals, making it look like something from an extremely secretive high-stakes operation.

The problem is that once the case is filled, moving it around becomes difficult because it weighs around 19kg on its own, before you even consider the box itself. So Savage decided to link the box to one of those stainless steel moving kitchen carts, allowing one person to move it without exerting themselves. Inside the cart, he also fitted some custom 3D-printed card carriers that look just like the original mid-century designs, ensuring that you always have two decks of cards ready. The entire operation is now sitting on the cart, and every detail has been meticulously planned. The chips sound and feel just like the ones in the movie, and the plaques are also spot-on.

France and Germany pledged on Friday to develop a European alternative to Palantir’s military AI software. A joint declaration signed after talks between Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz committed the two countries to examine “a European sovereign digital backbone” covering data-centric security, AI, and cloud solutions. France’s Arcadia, an AI-powered command-and-control platform, was named as the starting point, alongside unspecified “comparable German solutions.”

The declaration arrives after both countries moved to drop Palantir from their intelligence services. France’s DGSI announced in June it was replacing Palantir with ChapsVision’s ArgonOS, six months after renewing the American firm’s contract. Germany’s BfV chose ChapsVision for the same role. The Bundeswehr has excluded Palantir from its defence cloud procurement entirely. A top NATO commander recently told Politico there was no real European alternative to Palantir’s Maven software, which the alliance uses for battlefield data processing. Friday’s declaration is Paris and Berlin’s answer: build one.

The joint statement also covers missiles, tanks, and space. France, Germany, and the UK will examine cooperation on long-range weapons with a 2,500-kilometre range, drawing on capabilities at ArianeGroup. The Franco-German MGCS tank programme, intended to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc, will launch a research programme on autonomous driving, sensors, and battlefield networking. The troubled FCAS next-generation fighter jet was notably absent from the declaration. Instead, the two countries agreed to create a “European collaborative combat standard” so fighter jets and drones from different nations can communicate in the field.

Palantir’s CEO Alex Karp called Germany’s refusal to consider his company “conversations about witchcraft“ in a Bild interview last month, arguing the software was proven on every serious battlefield. That argument has not moved Berlin. The sovereignty question is not whether Palantir’s technology works, it plainly does, but whether Europe’s most sensitive military infrastructure should depend on an American company at a time when transatlantic relations cannot be taken for granted. France and Germany have now put that question into a joint declaration. Whether they can turn it into working software is the harder part.

The new Audeze Maxwell 2 ANC addresses the most conspicuous omission from one of the best-sounding wireless gaming headsets on the market. Following the Maxwell 2’s debut in early 2026 and the recent introduction of interchangeable ReSkin earcups, Audeze is adding active and adaptive noise cancellation, expanded smart-audio capabilities, and new visual accents. More significantly, the Maxwell 2 ANC is the first headset in Audeze’s entire headphone lineup to offer ANC.

The original Maxwell did more than raise expectations for gaming audio. It smashed through the category’s glass ceiling and demonstrated that a high-end headphone manufacturer could build a wireless gaming headset with serious planar magnetic performance without charging $2,000 to $4,000 for admission. There is, after all, a finite supply of audiophiles willing to explain that purchase to a spouse, accountant, or divorce attorney.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has never said that Maxwell convinced it to acquire Audeze in August 2023, but the timing is difficult to ignore. The headset gave Audeze a credible path beyond the comparatively limited market for ultra-premium planar magnetic headphones and into the vastly larger PlayStation, PC, and console-gaming ecosystem. It would be surprising if that potential did not feature prominently in Sony’s calculations.

Audeze gave eCoustics an early listen to the Maxwell 2 at CanJam NYC 2026, and its planar magnetic drivers delivered the detail, impact, and spatial precision that made the original such a category disruptor. The missing feature was ANC. With the Maxwell 2 ANC, Audeze has finally filled that hole rather than hoping gamers would stop noticing it.

Related Review: Audeze Maxwell Wireless Gaming Headphones Review

Audeze Adds Gaming Focused Adaptive ANC to the Maxwell 2

The inclusion of ANC and expanded smart-audio capabilities is a welcome addition to the Maxwell platform, which has already earned considerable attention from the media, esports competitors, and audio professionals.

Audeze’s adaptive hybrid noise cancellation system has been engineered specifically for gamers. It combines feedforward and feedback noise reduction with low-latency transparency, reducing external distractions while preserving positional-audio accuracy. According to Audeze’s internal testing, the system delivers a significant reduction in constant low-frequency noise and outperforms typical consumer ANC headphones during gameplay.

The Maxwell 2 ANC also supports AI-controlled ANC settings, voice-activated commands, an improved transparency mode, and simultaneous wired and Bluetooth audio playback. Combined with the full planar magnetic driver system and SLAM technology carried over from the Maxwell 2, these upgrades position the Maxwell 2 ANC as the most advanced gaming headset Audeze has released to date.

Key Features of the Maxwell 2 ANC

• Adaptive Hybrid Noise Cancellation: ANC microphones embedded within the earcups give users greater control over their listening environment. A low-latency Transparency Mode is also included.
• Voice-Command Control: Voice commands provide faster access to key settings as gameplay conditions change.
• Planar Magnetic Drivers with SLAM: Carried over from the Maxwell 2, Audeze’s planar magnetic driver system and SLAM technology are designed to deliver clearer, deeper bass and more precise sound.
• Improved Comfort: Upgraded ergonomics are intended to reduce fatigue during longer gaming sessions.
• Versatile Connectivity: The Maxwell 2 ANC supports connections with PCs, game consoles, and mobile devices, making it easier to move between gaming and everyday listening.
• Style Highlights: Silver accents give the Maxwell 2 ANC a distinct appearance, while the previously introduced limited-edition ReSkin earcups allow users to personalize the headset.

Comparison

The Bottom Line 

The Maxwell 2 was unveiled at CES 2026 and quickly established itself as one of the strongest premium gaming headsets on the market. The Maxwell 2 ANC addresses its most obvious omission by adding adaptive hybrid noise cancellation, improved transparency, and expanded smart-audio features without abandoning the 90 mm planar magnetic drivers, Fluxor magnet arrays, Fazor waveguides, and SLAM acoustic technology that distinguish the platform.

That combination is what makes the Maxwell 2 ANC unusual. Noise cancellation is hardly new to gaming headsets, but pairing gaming-focused adaptive ANC with Audeze’s full-size planar magnetic driver technology is far less common. Its primary competition includes the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni ($399), Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II ($349), and the Razer Kraken V4 Pro ($399).

Those rivals offer their own advantages, including lighter designs, hot-swappable batteries, elaborate control hubs, and aggressive competitive-gaming tuning. Audeze’s strongest argument remains sound quality, particularly for gamers who also expect one headset to handle music, movies, voice chat, and everyday listening without sounding like a plastic helmet full of angry bees.

At $429 for the PlayStation version and $449 for Xbox, the Maxwell 2 ANC is aimed at serious console and PC gamers who prioritize planar magnetic clarity, bass extension, positional accuracy, and effective isolation over low weight or bargain pricing. It is not an impulse purchase, but it is considerably less expensive than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite and occupies a rare position between conventional premium gaming headsets and Audeze’s far more expensive audiophile headphones.

Sony’s acquisition of Audeze appears to be paying dividends. Rather than sanding away the company’s audiophile identity, the Maxwell platform is bringing its planar magnetic technology to a much larger audience. The Maxwell 2 ANC is the most complete version of that strategy so far—and potentially the model that finally eliminates the strongest reason some gamers had for buying something else.

Pricing & Availability

All models support Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch. The Maxwell 2 ANC will be demonstrated at CanJam London 2026 from July 18-19. 

Related Reading:

If you have ever been a subscriber of YouTube TV or DirecTV at any point since April 2019, you could get cash as part of a $50 million settlement agreed to by Disney in an antitrust lawsuit the corporation faced for allegedly forcing higher prices for live TV streaming services.

To be eligible for a payout, you had to have bought a subscription to either YouTube TV or DirecTV — or both — between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2026. DirecTV subscriptions might have been called DirecTV Stream, DirecTV Now and/or AT&T TV Now.

How to apply for the settlement

If you’re part of the settlement, you will likely get a notice in your USPS mailbox or your email inbox. Check your junk or spam folders in case your email service filtered it. The deadline for claiming a payment is Sept. 8.

If you get a notice, go to this website and log in with the ID and PIN provided on the settlement notice. You will need to verify your YouTube TV or DirecTV Stream subscription.

If you don’t get a notice but believe you are eligible for the cash settlement, send an email to info@OnlineTVSettlement.com or print out a PDF version of the claim form and send it via snail mail to:

Biddle v. Disney
Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 4720
Portland, OR 97208-4720

Printed settlement claims must be postmarked by Sept. 8.

The settlement terms specify that 90% of the money will go to payees in these states and territories: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin. 

The remaining 10% will go to settlement members in other states.

Why the lawsuit?

In Biddle v. Disney, (PDF) filed in 2022, the plaintiffs alleged that Disney violated federal and state antitrust and consumer protection laws by forcing YouTube TV, DirecTV and FuboTV subscribers to pay more for livestreaming TV. The $50 million settlement does not apply to FuboTV plaintiffs, who have not yet settled with Disney.

The plaintiffs alleged that Disney forced streaming platforms to bundle content from expensive channels such as ESPN and Hulu — both owned by Disney — into base packages, thereby escalating the subscription prices for those packages. It was alleged that prices for YouTube TV base package subscriptions went up from $35 to $65.

“Since Disney acquired operational control over Hulu in May 2019, prices across the SLPTV [Streaming Live Pay Television] Market, including for YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream, have nearly doubled,” the lawsuit alleged.

Disney denies violating any laws. There will be a hearing on Jan. 14, 2027, for final approval of the settlement.

A representative for Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Modern video games are nothing short of amazing. My son and I were playing through the one of the latest Zeldas, which involve a mix of combat and puzzle-solving that’s pretty much the hallmark of the franchise. But the most recent open-world Zelda is simply massive. Made by around 1,000 people at a development expense of $150,000,000, it takes probably 60-80 hours to play through if you’re not rushing, and more if you’re taking it easy. It has layers of game mechanics, and worlds in the sky, on land, and underground. It’s big in every way.

Contrast the games of my youth, which were a lot smaller. Written by a pair of people or maybe a handful, with playtimes in the single-digit hours, and of course fitting in the limited computing resources of the time. But the low-stakes nature of the early phases of the industry meant that software developers could take risks, and many of the games were consequently kinda idiosyncratic in this more innocent time.

I think there’s something to be said for small games. They don’t require a lifestyle commitment just to get through. They can still be fun, without taking all of your time. And honestly, when you’re done with a game quickly, you have more time for other stuff. Granted, some of this spirit lives on in the small indie games of today, but even so, game developers have the big studios’ products in the backs of their minds when they are working on their smaller oeuvres.

We were talking about preserving old games for posterity around Hackaday and on the podcast, and our conversations reminded me of a couple of educational games that, despite their rudimentary graphics, are still pretty good today. Both were electronics related, and both are still playable today thanks to efforts on emulation and software preservation. To get a feel for the 1980’s, give Rocky’s Boots a try. (I like the TRS-80 Color Computer version the best, but that may just be nostalgia.) Most of you grownups out there will get through it in an hour or so.

And if you want a challenge, try Rocky’s harder sequel: Robot Odyssey. If you already have a background in digital circuits, you’ll find it doable. Younger me hit a wall about two-thirds of the way through.

Both of these games stick with me because they taught me something, but also because they were simply quirky in a way that a game can only be when it’s written by a small team of folks who are just having fun programming it. If you pitched “a puzzle game about a raccoon who builds logic circuits to activate robot boots”, the boardroom would look at you like you’re out of your mind. But it’s just exactly the quirkiness and individuality of some of these early games that I cherish the most.

If you find yourself knee-deep in an endless modern game, take a side-quest off into a more naive time, and you’ll appreciate why people are putting efforts into archiving them.