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.
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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.
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.
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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.
Apple has released updates for iOS 26.4.2 and iPadOS 26.4.2, as well as version 18.7.8 for older devices, providing bug fixes and security updates to all users.
Apple’s new update can be applied to all current-gen iPhones.
Incremental updates for Apple’s operating systems provide some much-needed bug fixes, security updates, and performance improvements between major updates. On Wednesday, Apple issued the second incremental update of version 26.4, bringing iOS and iPadOS up to 26.4.2. The previous incremental update, for iOS 26.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.2, landed on April 8. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Google announced two new tensor processing units (TPUs) for the “agentic era,” with separate processors dedicated to training and inference. “With the rise of AI agents, we determined the community would benefit from chips individually specialized to the needs of training and serving,” Amin Vahdat, a Google senior vice president and chief technologist for AI and infrastructure, said in a blog post. Both chips will become available later this year. CNBC reports: After years of producing chips that can both train artificial intelligence models and handle inference work, Google is separating those tasks into distinct processors, its latest effort to take on Nvidia in AI hardware. […] None of the tech giants are displacing Nvidia, and Google isn’t even comparing the performance of its new chips with those from the AI chip leader. Google did say the training chip enables 2.8 times the performance of the seventh-generation Ironwood TPU, announced in November, for the same price, while performance is 80% better for the inference processor.
Nvidia said its upcoming Groq 3 LPU hardware will draw on large quantities of static random-access memory, or SRAM, which is used by Cerebras, an AI chipmaker that filed to go public earlier this month. Google’s new inference chip, dubbed TPU 8i, also relies on SRAM. Each chip contains 384 megabytes of SRAM, triple the amount in Ironwood. The architecture is designed “to deliver the massive throughput and low latency needed to concurrently run millions of agents cost-effectively,” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google parent Alphabet, wrote in a blog post.
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 .
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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.
Sustainability Week 2026
This article is part of a series of sustainability-themed articles we’re running to observe Earth Day 2026 and promote more sustainable practices. Check out all of our Sustainability Week 2026 content.
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.
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One area where solar power has really been embraced is the world of smart adventure watches. Opt for the Solar version of the likes of the Garmin Fenix 8 or Instinct 3, and — provided you’re adventuring in sunny enough conditions— you’ll unlock unlimited battery life. That’s invaluable if you’re using your watch to keep you on the right track.
Of course, it isn’t practical or logical to integrate solar panels into every kind of gadget (and some ostensibly solar-powered gadgets have underwhelmed us in our tests). But there are plenty of excellent power stations with compatible solar panels, which will efficiently juice up whatever you care to plug into them. These can be a practical solution for campervan-travelers and festival-goers. Scroll down for our pick of some of the best solar-powered gadgets to get started with.
The allegation, first pushed by Iranian state media and later by foreign outlets and Chinese publications, centers on hardware failures said to have occurred even while Iran remained largely cut off from the global internet. Read Entire Article Source link
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.
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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.)
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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.
Some people might look at cars — and the automotive hobby itself — as an escape from the constant political debates and arguments that seem to be everywhere in modern life. However, the reality is that politics are often heavily tied to both the industry itself and cars as a hobby.
Mandates, laws, and regulations related to safety systems, fuel economy standards, fuel types, and even a vehicle’s country of origin have all been part of federal politics in the past, and will likely feature in the future, too. Likewise, hobbyists and classic car owners sometimes need to argue their cases to state governments to protect or expand their hobby. For example, Jay Leno has been leading an effort in California since 2025 to have the state amend some of the notoriously restrictive smog laws that make classic car ownership difficult and expensive.
The Golden State, however, is not the only place where classic car owners face restrictions. In Minnesota, a new bill aimed to limit the use of classic cars registered with the state’s collector plates — including potentially prohibiting owners from driving them on weekdays or at night. Naturally, this has caught the attention not just of classic car owners in Minnesota, but of observers nationwide. Thankfully for Minnesotans, however, the bill looks to have stalled out before getting to a vote.
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One state with many plates
Skhoward/Getty Images
While it’s entirely possible — and potentially very enjoyable — to have a classic car as a daily driver, there are lots of pros and cons of daily driving a vintage vehicle, not least the cost of ownership. Minnesota, however, offers drivers some help here, with a few different collector plate options available depending on a vehicle’s age, all of which exempt the owner from annual registration fees. At the very least, Minnesota collector plates require a car to be at least 20 years old and for the owner to have another vehicle with standard plates. As stated in the current law, owners are also not to use cars with collector plates for daily transportation.
The new bill, HF3865, wanted to tighten these restrictions so that collector-plated vehicles could only be operated during daylight hours on Saturdays and Sundays, or specifically during collector club activities or parades. Now, the amendment might be understandable on the surface if its purpose was to clarify what does or doesn’t constitute daily transportation. It could also be useful if there were concerns over vehicle owners abusing the privileges that come with the plates. But some classic car owners fear it represents a significant encroachment on the hobby and could be a gateway for additional laws in the future.
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The worst likely won’t come to pass
The bill’s wording would mark a huge departure from Minnesota’s current law, theoretically making it illegal to take a collector-plated car out for a casual Friday evening cruise or a Tuesday afternoon test run after replacing a part. The issue, of course, is that both scenarios are pretty common for classic car owners, especially those who spend their weekdays wrenching. More broadly, though, the concern is also less about the specifics of this one bill. Instead, it’s the seeming trend of lawmakers scrutinizing and attempting to legislate classic car and auto enthusiast hobbies that has this bill in the headlines.
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Fortunately for classic car owners in Minnesota, the bill may not become law, as it has been stuck in Committee since early March, 2026. Opponents of the bill are likely hoping that lawmakers get caught up with more pressing matters than limiting which days classic car owners can drive their vehicles, causing HF3865 to sputter out before a vote. There are already many things to consider before buying a classic car, and on top of all the other expenses that come with the hobby, having strict rules on use are something most vintage car owners would prefer not to deal with — regardless of which state they live in.
CATL recently unveiled its new battery technology, promising improvements in some of the most difficult tradeoffs in EV performance. Its third generation Shenxing battery can be recharged almost fully in around six minutes, while also maintaining stronger efficiency in low temperatures and harsh weather. Read Entire Article Source link
Following our hands-on coverage at CES 2026, where LG Electronics showed just how far it could push OLED design, the company has now confirmed pricing and availability for the 2026 OLED evo W6 Wallpaper TV series.
The W6 does not just lean into the wallpaper concept, it fully commits to it. These panels are incredibly thin to the point where they almost disappear once mounted, turning the display into something that feels more like part of the wall than a traditional television. Now available for pre-order in 77-inch ($5,499.99) and 83-inch ($7,499.99) sizes – that is $1,000 more than LG’s G6 Series OLED evo AI 77 and 83-inch TV prices. The W6 moves from CES showpiece to something you can actually bring home, assuming your wall and your budget are ready for it.
Here is what the LG OLED evo W6 series offers.
Wallpaper Design
LG W6 on display at CES 2026
The defining feature of the W6 series is its ultra thin Wallpaper design. The LG OLED evo W6 is built to sit nearly flush against the wall with a roughly 9 mm class profile and a mounting system designed to minimize any visible gap. The goal is straightforward. Once installed, it looks less like a television and more like part of the wall itself.
Zero Connect Box
To support the Wallpaper design, all physical connections except the power cable are handled by LG’s Zero Connect Box. This external hub manages both wired and wireless sources and transmits 4K video and audio to the display from up to 32 feet away.
The result is a cleaner installation. The LG OLED evo W6 can sit flush on the wall without the usual tangle of cables pulling it back into reality, which is the whole point of the design.
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OLED Performance
The OLED evo W6 incorporates LG’s RGB Tandem OLED panel with additional support from LG’s Alpha 11 AI Processor Gen3, which delivers advanced picture and sound optimization through AI-driven processing, including Hyper Radiant Color Technology. This elevates brightness, color accuracy, and contrast across a wide range of lighting conditions. With Brightness Booster Ultra, the W6 achieves luminance levels up to 3.9 times brighter than conventional OLED displays.
Reflection Handling, Black Levels, and Color Performance
The LG OLED evo W6 adds some real substance behind the design. It carries an industry first Reflection Free Premium certification aimed at reducing glare and reflections in brighter rooms, which has always been a weak spot for OLED in everyday spaces.
LG also leans on its Perfect Black and Perfect Color claims, both verified by UL Solutions. In practice, that translates to consistent black levels and stable color performance regardless of ambient light. The benefit is not subtle. Better contrast, more accurate color, and a picture that holds together whether you are watching during the day or at night.
Premium Gaming Support
Meeting the needs of gamers has become a very important selling point for TVs, and the LG OLED evo W6 Wallpaper TVs fill the fill. The W6 supports 4K resolution at up to 165Hz with variable refresh rate (VRR) technology, NVIDIA G-SYNC compatibility, and AMD FreeSync Premium. These features are designed to support ultra-smooth, high-bandwidth gameplay with minimal lag, making the W6 a capable display for competitive gaming as well as cinematic viewing.
webOS Platform
The W6 incorporates LG’s latest version of its webOS platform to provide personalized user experiences through AI-powered features, including Voice ID, Multi-AI integration, and an upgraded AI Concierge for intuitive content discovery and navigation. In addition, LG Channels is also included – providing lots of free ad-supported content.
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LG Gallery+
New for 2026, Gallery+ transforms the W6 into an art display when not viewing TV or gaming. Gallery+ allows users to display curated artwork, personal photos, and ambient visuals. Not only does art look great, but displaying artwork on the W6 takes full advantage of the TV’s flush-wall design and OLED picture quality.
The Bottom Line
We spent time with the LG OLED evo W6 at CES 2026 and it made a clear case for itself. This is not just another premium OLED. The near flush 9 mm class panel and the Zero Connect Box change how a large screen TV lives in a room. It is one of the few designs that actually reduces visual clutter instead of adding to it, and that matters if the TV shares space with everything else in your home.
It is not perfect. You are paying a premium for the form factor and installation approach. The Zero Connect Box solves cable management but adds another component that has to be placed somewhere. And while the wireless link is a real advantage for clean installs, some buyers will still prefer a traditional wired connection for peace of mind.
Who is this for? Not the budget crowd and not the spec chasers looking for the absolute brightest panel at any cost. This is for buyers who care as much about how a TV fits into a space as how it performs. Interior designers, custom installers, and anyone trying to avoid turning their living room into a black rectangle showroom will get it immediately. Everyone else will look at the price first and then decide how much that disappearing act is worth.
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Price & Availability
The LG OLED evo W6 Wallpaper TVs are available for pre-order on LG’s website at the following prices:
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