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Anthropic Settles High-Profile AI Copyright Lawsuit Brought by Book Authors
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Anthropic Settles High-Profile AI Copyright Lawsuit Brought by Book Authors

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Anthropic has reached a preliminary settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by a group of prominent authors, marking a major turn in of the most significant ongoing AI copyright lawsuits in history. The move will allow Anthropic to avoid what may have been a financially devastating outcome in court.

The settlement agreement is expected to be finalized September 3, with more details to follow, according to a legal filing published on Tuesday. Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Anthropic declined to comment.

In 2024, three book writers, Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson, sued Anthropic, alleging the startup illegally used their work to train its artificial intelligence models. In June, California district court judge William Alsup issued a summary judgement in Bartz v. Anthropic largely siding with Anthropic, finding that the company’s usage of the books was “fair use,” and thus legal.

But the judge ruled that the manner in which Anthropic had acquired some of the works, by downloading them through so-called “shadow libraries,” including a notorious site called LibGen, constituted piracy. Alsup ruled that the book authors could still take Anthropic to trial in a class action suit for pirating their works; the legal showdown was slated to begin this December.

Statutory damages for this kind of piracy start at $750 per infringed work, according to US copyright law. Because the library of books amassed by Anthropic was thought to contain approximately seven million works, the AI company was potentially facing court-imposed penalties amounting to billions, or even over $1 trillion dollars.

“It’s a stunning turn of events, given how Anthropic was fighting tooth and nail in two courts in this case. And the company recently hired a new trial team,” says Edward Lee, a law professor at Santa Clara University who closely follows AI copyright litigation. “But they had few defenses at trial, given how Judge Alsup ruled. So Anthropic was starting at the risk of statutory damages in ‘doomsday’ amounts.”

Most authors who may have been part of the class action lawsuit were just starting to receive notice that they qualified to participate. The Authors Guild, a trade group representing professional writers, sent out a notice alerting authors that they might be eligible earlier this month, and lawyers for the plaintiffs were scheduled to submit a “list of affected works” to the court on September 1. This means that many of these writers were not privy to the negotiations that took place.

“The big question is whether there is a significant revolt from within the author class after the settlement terms are unveiled,” says James Grimmelmann, a professor of digital and internet law at Cornell University. “That will be a very important barometer of where copyright owner sentiment stands.”

Anthropic is still facing a number of other copyright-related legal challenges. One of the most high-profile disputes involves a group of major record labels, including Universal Music Group, which allege that the company illegally trained its AI programs on copyrighted lyrics. The plaintiffs recently filed to amend their case to allege that Anthropic had used the peer-to-peer file sharing service BitTorrent to download songs illegally.

Settlements don’t set legal precedent, but the details of this case will likely still be watched closely as dozens of other high-profile AI copyright cases continue to wind through the courts.



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Whistleblower claims DOGE uploaded Social Security data to unsecure cloud server

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The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) chief data officer, Charles Borges, has filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uploaded a copy of a key Social Security database to an unsecured cloud environment in June, the New York Times reported. This may have exposed the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans. The complaint alleges that under the authority of the SSA’s Chief Information Officer, Aram Moghaddassi, a copy of the country’s Social Security information was held in a cloud environment that lacked any security oversight or adherence to SSA security protocols. The information uploaded was from the Numerical Identification System (Numident) database, and includes the names, Social Security numbers, place and date of birth, citizenship, race, ethnicity, address and even parents’ names of anyone who has ever had a Social Security number, even those who are no longer alive.

 “Mr. Borges has raised concerns internally with various authorities in the Chief Information Officer’s (CIO) office and to date has not been made aware of any remedial action. He therefore elevates his concerns out of a sense of urgency and duty to the American public,” the  complaint states. “Should bad actors gain access to this cloud environment, Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, may lose vital health care and food benefits, and the government may be responsible for reissuing every American a new Social Security number at great cost.” 

The approvals to copy the Numident database were, despite the enormous risk of that information falling into the wrong hands, approved expeditiously, according to the complaint. “I have determined the business need is higher than the security risk associated with this implementation and I accept all risks,” Moghaddassi wrote in a memo. Another senior DOGE official, Michael Russo, is alleged to have signed off on the decision in under half an hour. Before accepting his position as CIO, Moghaddassi worked for then-de facto DOGE boss Elon Musk at both Neuralink and X.

In a statement to the New York Times, SSA spokesperson Nick Perrine said the agency was “not aware of any compromise to this environment” and that “the data referenced in the complaint is stored in a longstanding environment used by S.S.A. and walled off from the internet.”

That DOGE should have access to sensitive data in the first place was the subject of tension within the federal government earlier this year. Several lawsuits attempted to block DOGE from accessing SSA, Treasury and Office of Personnel Management data. Via the so-called shadow docket, the Supreme Court struck down a Fourth Circuit injunction preventing the agency from siphoning SSA data in June. Among his other allegations, Borges claims DOGE regained access to the data during the injunction period.  



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CRKD’s Vortex is a twist on a Peak Design backpack, but for gaming
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CRKD’s Vortex is a twist on a Peak Design backpack, but for gaming

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Embracer Group-owned CRKD recently launched a backpack, the $99.99 Vortex 1.0. During a recent vacation, I swapped it in place of my go-to for the past eight or so years, the 20-liter Peak Design Everyday backpack, which CRKD has thoroughly cribbed the look of. However, the Vortex has handheld gaming pockets, which helps it stand out, especially at this price.

I generally like using the Peak Design backpack, except that bringing it on vacations means that I have to leave my handheld(s) at home. It’s not wide enough to accommodate even the original Switch once things are stuffed into its side pockets. The Vortex 1.0, on the other hand, let me bring both my Switch 2 and Steam Deck, thanks to its two dedicated handheld sleeves. It’s also wider and taller, which means its top zipper compartment can hold a 16-inch laptop and a tablet.

Despite its similarities with the Peak Design Everyday backpack, there are little details the Vortex should have (but didn’t) attempt to duplicate, like having multiple handles that let you carry it either vertically or horizontally, or having velcro-equipped shelves that let you tweak the height and width of each compartment.

The Vortex 1.0 is a third of the cost of the 30-liter Everyday backpack, making it a good value for gamers who don’t want to turn packing into a game of Tetris. But its materials and shoulder strap padding don’t feel as durable or breathable compared to my Peak Design bag, which still looks and operates in like-new condition after nearly a decade. In other words, the Vortex can’t compete toe-to-toe in some of the most important ways with the backpack that it’s trying to clone.

Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge



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The Bluesky app logo appears on the screen of a smartphone lying on a laptop keyboard
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Bluesky exits Mississippi over age verification row

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  • Bluesky has decided to exit Mississippi in response to the new age verification law
  • Under the law, social media platforms need to verify all users’ ages before granting them access
  • People in Mississippi may be able to keep accessing Bluesky by spoofing their IP address with a VPN

Bluesky has decided to exit Mississippi in response to the new age verification law, which now requires social media platforms to verify the age of every user before granting them access.

Elon Musk’s X rival warns that the new requirements “would fundamentally change how users access Bluesky,” while opening up to privacy and security challenges that would impact smaller providers in particular.

Therefore, starting Friday, August 22, 2025, Bluesky is blocking all traffic from Mississippi IP addresses. This, however, means that users based in the state may be able to turn to the best VPN services to keep using the app.


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“We do not take this decision lightly,” wrote Bluesky in its official announcement, while ensuring that child safety remains a core priority. Yet, “We think this law creates challenges that go beyond its child safety goals, and creates significant barriers that limit free speech and disproportionately harm smaller platforms and emerging technologies.”

Being a decentralized platform, the block applies only to the Bluesky app built on the AT Protocol. “Other apps and services may choose to respond differently,” explains the provider.

Why is Bluesky worried about Mississippi’s age verification approach?

As per Mississippi’s HB1126 law, which was upheld by the US Supreme Court on August 14, all social media platforms must verify that every user accessing the platform is over 18 and obtain parental consent for all minors looking to use the app.

The law also requires tech providers to identify and keep track of all teen and child users. Fines for non-compliance can reach up to $10,000 per user.

“Building the required verification systems, parental consent workflows, and compliance infrastructure would require significant resources that our small team is currently unable to spare as we invest in developing safety tools and features for our global community,” explains Bluesky.

The economic burden is only half of the story, though.

Bluesky is also concerned that the “law’s broad scope” could affect all citizens in Mississippi (not only minors) to use their favorite platforms, negatively impacting their right to free speech and access to information.

The provider also warns against the privacy implications that could stem from collecting and storing such sensitive information about all users, as well as from tracking minors online.

Unfortunately, Bluesky is unavailable in Mississippi right now, due to a new state law that requires age verification for all users.
While intended for child safety, we think this law poses broader challenges & creates significant barriers that limit free speech & harm smaller platforms like ours.

— @bsky.app (@bsky.app.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T14:19:50.674Z

Age checks aren’t the real issue here, either. Bluesky was indeed one of the first providers to enforce age verification rules in the UK.

Yet, there’s a substantial difference between the two laws.

Under the UK Online Safety Act, Bluesky and similar providers are required to verify users’ age only for accessing content deemed legal but harmful.

“Mississippi’s law, by contrast, would block everyone from accessing the site – teens and adults – unless they hand over sensitive information, and once they do, the law in Mississippi requires Bluesky to keep track of which users are children,” explains the provider.

Can a VPN help?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Bluesky app is now set to block access to all Mississippi IP addresses “until legal challenges to this law are resolved,” explains the provider.

A virtual private network (VPN), however, could help you get back online. A VPN is security software that not only encrypts all your internet connections but also spoofs your IP address by rerouting your traffic via one of its international servers.

Therefore, if you’re in Mississippi and want to keep accessing Bluesky, all you need to do is connect to a VPN server based where the app is available.

Remember, though, to use only reliable and secure services to ensure your data stays safe. At the time of writing, NordVPN is TechRadar’s top recommendation. If you aren’t willing to pay for a subscription just yet, I suggest checking our best free VPNs guide, with PrivadoVPN and Proton VPN being today’s top picks.

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A screenshot of the PC version of Gears of War: Reloaded
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Gears of War: Reloaded PC performance: The updated graphics are easy work for any desktop GPU from the past six years but they’re still enough to give handhelds grief

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If you were hoping that Gears of War: Reloaded was going to be like The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, then I have a bit of bad news for you. It’s essentially 2016’s Ultimate Edition of Gears of War, but with better lighting and textures—everything else, including meshes, animations, and the overall gameplay, is exactly the same.

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition was a remaster itself, so Reloaded is a remastered remaster. Or is it a re-re-master? Either way, whatever your feelings are about the Ultimate Edition, they’ll probably be no different for Reloaded.

I must admit to being a little surprised that developers The Coalition retained the use of Unreal Engine 3 for Reloaded, albeit with large chunks of it heavily rewritten, replaced, and modified. But having thought about it, rewriting the whole game to work with Unreal Engine 5 was probably going to be too much work for the scale of the project, and if you’re going to do that, then you might as well do a full remake instead.


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(Image credit: Microsoft Studios)(Image credit: Microsoft Studios)

The good news about sticking with the old engine and just using better quality assets, lighting, shadows, and reflections, is that Gears of War: Reloaded will run on pretty much any gaming PC you like. For game performance analysis, I usually start with a top-end rig, but in this instance, I kicked off with the oldest gaming PC in my office, and the game ran so well—even at maximum quality settings—that I skipped over testing a full range of PCs.

In fact, other than one very specific type of PC platform, you can likely just slap all the settings to the maximum values and enjoy 60+ fps performance. You might need to keep the resolution down or utilise a spot of FSR 3.1 or DLSS 3.5 upscaling to push it higher if you want to, but the main reason for using either one is for the superior anti-aliasing—the alternative is to use FXAA, but there’s absolutely no reason to do so.

Tested on: Core i7 9700K | Radeon RX 5700 XT | 16 GB DDR4-3200

1080p | FSR Balanced | Ultra quality preset

As you can see from the above footage, the Core i7 9700K + Radeon RX 5700 XT combination has no problems whatsoever running Gears of War: Reloaded at an acceptable frame rate. There’s quite a big difference in the frame rate when fighting in narrow corridors to battles held in open areas, but every PC I tested is affected in the same way.

If you’re happy to go with a lower frame rate (GoW:R isn’t a fast-reaction game by any means), then you could increase the upscaling quality mode. AMD’s FSR Native AA and Nvidia’s DLAA are both supported, but you’re not really going to easily tell the difference between them and DLSS/FSR Quality.

Admittedly, the RX 5700 XT is still quite a capable graphics card, so the next platform I tested Gears of War: Reloaded on was an entry-level gaming laptop.

Tested on: Ryzen 7 7735HS | GeForce RTX 4050 | 16 GB DDR5-4800

1080p | FXAA | Ultra quality preset

Just as with the Core i7 9700K rig, the RTX 4050 laptop coped absolutely fine. So much so that for the above footage, I disabled DLSS and just used FXAA to remove jagged edges from objects, characters, and other models. Even with no performance boost from upscaling, the little laptop has no problem hitting 60 fps or more.

The other reason why I included the use of FXAA was to highlight just how bad the anti-aliasing technique is compared to what can be achieved with FSR and DLSS. Both solutions have been implemented well in the game, so you’re pretty much covered, no matter what GPU you have.

Tested on: Core Ultra 9 285K | GeForce RTX 5090 | 48 GB DDR5-8400

4K | DLAA | Ultra quality

Heading to the other end of the hardware scale, pairing a GeForce RTX 5090 with a Core Ultra 9 285K and 48 GB of DDR5-8400 produces an entirely expected outcome. You might be surprised that the fps isn’t higher, but that’s in part because Gears of War: Reloaded has an adjustable frame rate cap with a limit of 240 fps.

You might think it has to do with the choice of CPU, as Intel’s Arrow Lake chips aren’t the best for gaming. However, the 5090 was being correctly utilised, and at no point were the 285K’s P-cores being saturated with work. In fact, this was common across all of the PCs I tested Gears of War: Reloaded on, though there was one exception.

Tested on: Asus ROG Ally | 15 W mode

1080p | FSR Balanced | Custom low quality

Given how well the old Core i7 9700K rig coped with 1080p Ultra quality, I was confident that my Asus ROG Ally would be fine with a lower preset and perhaps a bit more upscaling. Upon first firing up the game on the handheld gaming PC, it defaulted to the Medium quality preset with FSR Balanced upscaling.

In the narrow corridors, it just about reached 60 fps, but once out into the open areas, the frame rate would drop below 40 fps. That might not sound particularly rubbish, but it created a surprising amount of input lag, making what’s already quite a clunky game feel leaden and slow.

(Image credit: Microsoft Studios)

My solution was to use the Low preset with a Medium quality texture setting. You don’t really gain much fps by using lower quality textures, and it looks especially bad on the Low or Lowest preset. To be frank, while the new HDR lighting algorithm does a decent job of things, the game’s old-school looks lean heavily on the quality of the textures. In some cases, even on the maximum setting, they’re rather poor, so you’ll want to use the best texture setting that you can.

The one thing I did notice when testing the ROG Ally was that the GPU utilisation was quite poor. In the above footage, you can see that some of the handheld’s CPU cores are being hit quite hard, and along with the relative lack of VRAM bandwidth, this particular handheld isn’t best suited for good-looking, smooth gameplay in GoW:R. Steam Deck owners will want to skip the game entirely.

Final thoughts

(Image credit: Microsoft Studios)

In addition to the above PC platforms, I tested Gears of War: Reloaded on Ryzen 5 5600X, Ryzen 7 5700X3D, Core i5 13600K, and Core i7 14700K rigs, with graphics cards including a GeForce RTX 2060, RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 5070, and a Radeon RX 6750 XT and RX 7900 XT. All of them, without exception, had no difficulties in running GoW:R with the Ultra preset enabled.

In some cases, I had to use Balanced upscaling instead of Quality or DLAA/Native AA, but it didn’t affect the visual quality of the game, and it helped keep the 1% low performance above 60 frames per second. It’s just a shame that I couldn’t do the same with my ROG Ally, without ruining the game’s looks.

The old-school graphics techniques are a piece of cake for any modern graphics card, to be honest, because they all have enough pixel throughput and VRAM bandwidth to keep on top of things. However, handheld PCs are limited in both of these aspects, which is a real shame, as Gears of War: Reloaded is supposed to scale down to such hardware.

Technically, it does, though you’ll have to accept a relatively low frame rate and sluggish controls. At least I didn’t experience any glitches or bugs in the review code, nor any shader compilation or traversal stutters—just frame rate wobbles upon loading a new stage and hit boxes with minds of their own.

Gears of War: Reloaded is arguably a more definitive version of the game than the Ultimate Edition, and if the idea of playing a stompy-stompy, cover-and-fire classic appeals to you, then at least you won’t have to worry about whether your desktop or laptop gaming PC will be up to the task.

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Justin Sun, founder of Tron
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Crypto Bros’ ‘Startup Nation’ Wants to Plant a Flag on an Asteroid

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The “Network State” movement, described by its detractors as a “cult,” is an ideological movement that seeks to create privately owned, anarcho-capitalist, “autonomous” communities. One such community, the Republic of Liberland, recently made two announcements that its denizens seem to think are quite exciting: 1) Liberland has a new “prime minister” in the form of crypto billionaire Justin Sun, and 2) the bold explorers of Liberland plan to express their collective spirit of adventure by planting a flag on an asteroid.

First, the Sun thing. Sun, who is the founder of the Tron blockchain and is so rich that he once bought (and ate) a $6 million banana, was actually voted in as Liberland’s PM last October. Since then, it’s not entirely clear what Sun has been doing, although the community appears to be pushing for greater legitimacy and political influence. Liberland, whose community was originally founded in 2015, actually lays claim to an area of physical land between the borders of Serbia and Croatia, although Croatian border police are, according to Wired, not known to recognize the settlement. Its community is tied together largely by libertarian sentiments and an affinity for crypto. Wired writes:

Over the years, Liberland has been funded in large part by wealthy crypto donors, attracted by the prospect of a state built around the same libertarian principles on which crypto was founded. Liberland has itself released two crypto coins—one as a medium of exchange and the other for voting in elections—and developed its own national blockchain.

Alternative economic systems may be an overarching theme, but lately, Liberland’s biggest priority seems to be launching its brand into outer space. This brings me to the fledgling country’s other exciting development: its mission to plant a flag on an asteroid.

To be clear, Liberland has already planted a flag in space—although the flag sounds like it may have been more akin to an NFT than an actual flag. Indeed, according to the micro-nation’s website, a version of its flag was planted on the moon in March by a mission flown by Firefly Aerospace, an American rocket company. However, the flag is described as being “part of a digital artifact collection housed within the LifeShip Pyramid.” Not familiar with the LifeShip Pyramid? It’s a “specially designed capsule ensuring its [contents] preservation in the Moon’s harsh environment.” LifeShip, itself, is a company whose primary service is to collect a swab of your saliva, extract your DNA, and then send it to the moon.

Stop me when your brain starts hurting.

Anyway, the “digital artifact collection” thing makes Liberland’s moon flag sound somewhat dubious, but the country also has another lunar mission scheduled to occur at some point in the next few months: “A second lunar mission is scheduled later this year, again carrying a physical Liberland flag to reinforce our symbolic mark on the Moon,” the nation’s website says. The nation also has plans to plant a flag on an asteroid. “Liberland is embarking on its most daring adventure yet: a commercial Lifeship mission to a near-Earth asteroid,” the website says. “On this mission, the Liberland flag—bearing engravings of citizen names—will travel into deep space, marking the first commercial asteroid mission to carry a national flag, and highlighting our pioneering spirit.”

If all of this sounds really cool to you, there’s still a chance for you to get your name engraved on that asteroid flag by giving Liberland money (registered residents can qualify if they donate $2k to the cause), or, if you’re not a Liberland denizen, by registering to be one by September 4th. Gizmodo reached out to Sun and the Free Republic of Liberland for more information.

The Liberlanders’ website makes them seem almost cute in their preoccupations with bloodless (largely digital) colonialism, but there’s a sense beneath it all that these are people with way too much money and time on their hands. Indeed, planting a flag on an asteroid actually sorta seems like a good metaphor for the Network State movement writ large—a symbolically laden but rather pointless activity that will cost a lot of money and be logistically near-impossible to achieve.



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Apple logo on a glass building
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Details About the First iPhone Foldable Are Coming Into Focus

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We keep collecting more details about what Apple’s first foldable iPhone will look like when it launches in 2026. The latest information is pretty intriguing.

As reported by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the foldable is code-named “V68.” It will have four cameras and be available only in black-and-white variations. The device will also rely on Touch ID (not Face ID) and will not have a SIM card slot. The four cameras will consist of one on the front, two on the back, and one on the inside.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source on Chrome.

The report collects the latest news about the Fold, Flip or whatever Apple calls its first foldable. We’ve already reported that the phone will cost nearly $2,000 and will be released as part of the iPhone 18 bonanza in September 2026. We have words of warning for Apple as it prepares to become the final major mobile player to jump into the foldable phone pool, with rivals Samsung and Huawei already having taken a big lead in the race.

Watch this: Apple’s Foldable iPhone Said to Use Samsung Parts

05:05

Moving beyond the iPhone ‘rectangle’

Jon Rettinger, a tech influencer with over 1.65 million YouTube subscribers, is enthused about Apple finally adding a new-look item to its product line.

“The beauty of Android has always been a variance of form factors,” Rettinger tells CNET. “You have flips, folds, even rolls now. On the Apple side of the fence, it’s just been, ‘What size rectangle do you want?’ I, for one, am beyond excited about the prospect of Apple diving into the foldable space.”

Rettinger admires the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, calling it “about as close to the perfect foldable as possible.” But he thinks that Apple can help disrupt the segment with its own version.

“Apple is entering a mature market with its first product. The tolerance for first-time issues, especially at an anticipated high price, will be extremely low,” he says. “However, if they ship a competitive product, I think they’ll have an absolute home run on their hands.”

Let’s bite into the details of the latest Apple iPhone foldable rumors. Bloomberg says Apple has changed course on the screen tech. The company is no longer going with on-cell touch sensors, which “can create air gaps between the screen and its cover” and thereby increase the visibility of a crease — one of the biggest pitfalls of foldable phones so far with all brands.

Instead, Apple will use an in-cell touchscreen, similar to what current iPhones use. The company believes this will enhance touch accuracy and reduce the visibility of the crease.

The report also says the iPhone foldable will utilize a C2 modem, Apple’s first cellular chip with “capabilities approaching the latest from Qualcomm.”

Like Rettinger, fellow influencer Austin Evans, who has 5.68 million YouTube subscribers, is also “really excited” about the iPhone foldable and is “curious about how Apple will differentiate,” Evans tells CNET.

“The biggest thing I’d like to see is for it to turn into an iPad mode when open,” Evans said. “Especially if they include Pencil support.”



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Matter Is Finally Ready to Deliver the Smart Home It Promised
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Matter Is Finally Ready to Deliver the Smart Home It Promised

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“We’re doing some outdoor products, and now we use Wi-Fi,” he explained. “But in an ideal world, these should be Thread products, because it has much better range, and also it’s low power.”

Chu hasn’t given up on Thread, though, and said testing version 1.4 is going well. The latest version has made it simpler for devices to work in a unified, brand-agnostic, mesh network, regardless of the software or hardware ecosystem being used. It has also streamlined cloud access and simplified device setup, ultimately helping to make Matter more robust, scalable, and user-friendly.

“I think that Matter and Thread has had a lot of negativity in the past few years, but it’s time for the consumers to give it another try,” says Chu. “It’s gotten much better. A lot of people in the industry have been working very, very hard to get it to the point that it’s at today.”

It’s an area of improvement that Richardson is also keen to highlight. “Thread is an important, foundational technology of Matter,” he said. “We are closely aligned with the Thread Group and continue to look for ways to improve the Thread experience within Matter and the use cases that it enables.”

Growing Pains

Thread took most of the early heat when Matter started stumbling, but it wasn’t the only problem. Dev headaches, slow rollout, and a lack of compatible devices have all played a part.

For an emerging standard, this is not unusual. But when the likes of Google, Apple, Amazon, and Samsung team up, it becomes a much bigger story.

“We started this with a lot of fanfare, and usually standards don’t. They sort of start off in a corner, with maybe a couple of super nerdy articles about it, and then, two years later, something shows up when companies start rolling it out.”

That’s the take of Daniel Moneta, chair of the Matter Marketing and Product Subgroup at the CSA. Moneta has also spent the past few years working with Samsung SmartThings in a product and marketing role, giving him plenty of irons in the Matter fire.

“I do think there were a lot of expectations, that maybe we set, but maybe people just had, in terms of things like how quickly it was going to be done, how fast products were going to come out, which problems Matter was going to solve and which ones it wasn’t,” he said.

Moneta believes many criticisms of Matter stem from its tech-fluent early adopters already being obsessive about the details. Speaking as a self-titled “nerdy enthusiast,” he understands.

“We’re very interested in the technical nuance … in looking at things like compatibility matrices. The smart home has historically been for that enthusiast in the home and, almost by definition, a group of people who have greater expectations, want more flexibility, and also maybe want it to do things beyond necessarily what it was built for.

“I’m not saying Matter wasn’t made for that audience, because I think it’s fantastic for that audience,” he continues. “But Matter was also designed for the Ikea buyer or the Samsung TV buyer. The one that goes, ‘I have a Matter hub in this TV I just bought. Maybe I should buy some light bulbs.’”



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Which model should you buy?

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“Which iPhone should I buy?” It’s a question you might have heard many times over the years. Much of the time, the answer is simple: Get the best one you can afford. And if you’re happy with your current iPhone, don’t feel the need to make a change at all. But if you’re ready to upgrade, allow us to help. We’ve reviewed just about every iPhone ever released, so we’ve picked through all nine models in Apple’s current smartphone lineup and highlighted the ones that should satisfy most people below.

Before we dive in, note that we’ve based our guide on the list prices of new, unlocked iPhones on Apple.com. If you can find a steep discount from another trusted retailer or a good deal on a refurbished model, that could change the value equation.

We’ll also note that right now is arguably the worst time to buy a new model. Apple has released its latest iPhones each September like clockwork for several years, and we expect that trend to continue with the inevitable iPhone 17 series (and the full iOS 26 update) next month. So if you can hold out a little longer — even if it’s just to save another $100 or so on last year’s iPhone 16 devices, which will likely receive a price cut — you should. But if you can’t wait, here are the best iPhones you can buy as of summer 2025.

Table of contents

Best iPhones for 2025

Cherlynn Low for Engadget

Original release date: September 20, 2024 | Storage capacity: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Screen size: 6.3 inches | Features: A18 Pro chip, Always-on 120Hz ProMotion display, USB-C port (USB 3), Titanium frame, Camera Control button, Action button, 25W MagSafe charging, Apple Intelligence | Cameras: 48MP wide, 48MP ultrawide, 12MP 5x telephoto, 12MP front | Color options: Natural Titanium, Desert, White, Black | Dimensions: 5.89 x 2.81 x 0.32 inches | Weight: 7.03 ounces

Read our full iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max review

The iPhone 16 Pro is the iPhone we’d recommend to most people. Yes, its starting price of $999 might be steep, but a smartphone is a long-term investment. If the question is “which iPhone is most likely to keep you happy for the next three to five years,” we think the iPhone 16 Pro’s advantages over the standard iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are still meaningful enough to be worth the extra $100-200 — even if the gap isn’t as wide as it’s been in years past.

For one, the iPhone 16 Pro’s blasted titanium frame feels higher-quality than the aluminum one on the base iPhone 16. It’s a bit heavier than the standard 16 and the older iPhone 15 Pro, but it’s far from an anchor, and its slightly curved edges are pleasing to hold. It runs on the slightly faster A18 Pro chip, which doesn’t make a huge difference with everyday tasks but is more future-proof all the same, particularly if you have any interest in gaming or content creation. And while every iPhone 16 has a USB-C charging port, the Pro models support faster data transfer speeds (provided you have the right cable).

The most prominent upgrade is the display. While the OLED screens on the iPhone 16 Pro and standard iPhone 16 are equally sharp and bright, the former’s is more spacious at 6.3 inches (instead of 6.1 inches), despite the phone itself only being 0.08 inches taller and 0.02 inches thicker. This is mainly due to the Pro’s thinner bezels, which grant you more room for streaming videos and reading web pages in a device that isn’t significantly more cumbersome to hold.  

On top of that, the Pro’s screen has an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz, which can make scrolling web pages, gaming and streaming video noticeably smoother. Some will tell you that the average person doesn’t need this, and it’s true that not everything plays at 120Hz. But using a smartphone is nothing if not interacting with a small screen, and once you’ve seen a faster refresh rate in action, it is difficult to give up.

It’s a frustrating situation: You can get a budget Android phone with a 120Hz display for around $300, yet Apple continues to use “ProMotion” as a way to upsell people from devices that already cost hundreds more. Nevertheless, our job is to tell you what’s best — and the Pro’s screen is simply more modern. It’s also an always-on display, unlike the panels on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, so you can view your notifications at a glance without having to physically touch the device.

Another step up is the camera system. The iPhone 16 Pro has a trio of rear cameras: a 48-megapixel main camera, a 48MP ultrawide shooter and a 12MP telephoto camera. That last one is the biggie, as the regular iPhone 16 lacks a dedicated telephoto lens entirely. Beyond that, the Pro’s main camera has a larger sensor, so it’s a bit better in low-light environments, plus it supports portrait mode at night. You can take sharper macro shots for close-ups, and there are other enthusiast features like the ability to shoot ProRAW or record 4K Dolby Vision and ProRes video up to 120 frames per second. 

If none of this jargon means anything to you, know the regular iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are still great point-and-shoot cameras. Those devices can now take macro photos as well, plus they have the same upgraded Photographic Styles feature that can help touch up shots you may find overprocessed. They also share the Camera Control button for quickly (if sometimes awkwardly) accessing the camera app, adjusting settings and snapping pics. All that said, the 16 Pro is better, especially if you take your photos with a little more intent.

The Pro gets slightly better battery life as well, though it’s not the longest-lasting smartphone we’ve tested. Apple rates it at up to 27 hours of video playback, up from 22 hours with the standard iPhone 16, but both devices will likely need a top-up before you go to bed. The base model’s battery is easier to replace, too, which is aggravating for Pro owners given the higher price. 

Apple is very bluntly selling each iPhone 16 on how well they’ll work with its new “Apple Intelligence” AI features, but you shouldn’t base any purchasing decisions on that functionality right now. As of this writing, the tricks include a marginally more robust Siri, ChatGPT integration, email and notification summaries, writing assistance and image generation tools, a Clean Up feature that can remove unwanted objects from photos (much like Google’s Magic Eraser) and a “Genmoji” custom emoji maker, among others. More updates will arrive over time. 

Some of these AI features can be useful at points; other times… not so much. Little about them will truly change the way you use a smartphone today, and whether anyone really needs them to write a paragraph-long email or read a brief article is up for debate (to put it charitably). For now, it might be best to view Apple Intelligence as an intriguing first step toward a future that may or may not be realized down the road.

Pros

  • Powerful performance
  • Excellent 120Hz display
  • Premium titanium design
  • Fast camera with high quality video capture
  • Photographic Styles are effective and pretty

Cons

  • Costs $200 more than iPhone 16
  • Shorter battery life than iPhone 16 Pro Max
  • Camera Control button can be finicky

$999 at Apple

Brian Oh for Engadget

Original release date: September 20, 2024 | Storage capacity: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Screen size: 6.9 inches | Features: A18 Pro chip, Always-on 120Hz ProMotion display, USB-C port (USB 3), Titanium frame, Camera Control, Action button, 25W MagSafe charging, Apple Intelligence | Cameras: 48MP wide, 48MP ultrawide, 12MP 5x telephoto, 12MP front | Color options: Natural Titanium, Desert, White, Black | Dimensions: 6.42 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches | Weight: 7.99 ounces

Do you want a larger device than the iPhone 16 Pro? Are you willing to trade pocketability for longer battery life? Are you cool with spending at least $1,199 on a smartphone? If your answer to those questions is “yes,” skip the 16 Pro and get the iPhone 16 Pro Max instead.

It has all the same benefits of our top pick, but with a roomier 6.9-inch display and the longest-lasting battery of any iPhone. It can last closer to two days per charge, whereas the smaller Pro is more likely to tap out around one day. It also starts with 256GB of storage, which doubles that of the Pro and helps justify the increased cost at least somewhat.

The downside is that it’s a tank. The iPhone 15 Pro Max wasn’t exactly tiny, and this latest model is slightly taller and wider, so you’ll probably need two hands to operate it comfortably if your mitts aren’t on the larger side. Ultimately, we’re assuming that most people would prefer the more hand- and pocket-friendly size of the regular 6.3-inch Pro, even if it means sacrificing a half-day or more of battery life. That’s an easier call to make now that there’s no difference between the two phones’ camera setups. But if you just want the biggest beast of an iPhone, the 16 Pro Max is it.

Pros

  • Long-lasting battery
  • Powerful performance
  • Great cameras with minimal shutter lag
  • Excellent 120Hz display
  • Premium titanium design

Cons

  • Most expensive iPhone
  • Might be too large for some
  • Camera Control button can be finicky

$1,199 at Apple

Brian Oh for Engadget

Original release date: February 28, 2025 | Storage capacity: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | Screen size: 6.1 inches | Features: A18 chip (4-core GPU), 60Hz display, USB-C port (USB 2), Aluminum frame, Action button, 7.5W Qi wireless charging, Apple Intelligence | Cameras: 48MP rear, 12MP front | Color options: White, Black | Dimensions: 5.78 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches | Weight: 5.88 ounces

Read our full iPhone 16e review

Here’s the reality: There’s no such thing as a true budget iPhone in 2025. The $429 iPhone SE was the closest thing Apple had to a value-oriented model coming into the year, but it was officially discontinued in February, and its severely outdated design made it difficult to recommend long before that. The new iPhone 16e is the SE’s ostensible replacement, but it costs $599, well above what anyone could call “affordable” when there are so many genuinely decent Android phones that sell for hundreds of dollars less.

So when we recommend the iPhone 16e in this spot, think of it less like a budget pick and more like “the cheapest competent iPhone you can reliably buy.” It’s easy to see how it could be better, but it still gets you most of what makes the iPhone experience worthwhile. It looks and feels much more substantial than the old iPhone SE, with a larger and more vivid 6.1-inch OLED display, cleaner lines and flat aluminum edges. Its A18 chip is nearly the same as the one in the standard iPhone 16, just with one fewer GPU core; either way, it’s powerful enough to run Apple Intelligence and most games fine. Its battery life is fantastic, with an even higher video playback rating (26 hours) than the base iPhone 16. It has a USB-C port, Face ID and the programmable Action button. Most importantly, it’s the least expensive route into iMessage, Apple Pay, FaceTime, AirPlay and all the other iOS perks locked in Apple’s walled garden, for better or worse.

However, the standard iPhone 16 does bring meaningful upgrades for $200 more. The main one is a better camera setup, as it has a second, 12MP ultrawide lens and a larger main sensor with better image stabilization. The 16e’s single-camera system is still perfectly fine for most situations, but night shots look softer, portraits are a bit blurrier and there’s no macro mode. Annoyingly, the iPhone 16e also lacks MagSafe, locking it out of a host of useful accessories, and it’s limited to slow 7.5W wireless charging. There’s no ultra-wideband chip to more precisely locate AirTags, and the standard iPhone 16’s display can get brighter. (Both are stuck at 60Hz, though.) That screen also has the Dynamic Island, which makes it easier to check timers, Uber ETAs, sports scores and the like at a glance. The 16e, by comparison, has the static “notch” from older iPhones. The standard 16 is also available in more colors, whereas the 16e only comes in a more basic black or white.

In many ways, the iPhone 16e feels like it was designed backwards to make the regular iPhone 16 look like a better value. Nevertheless, if you can afford an iPhone 16 or 16 Plus but can’t spend another $200 or $300 for a 16 Pro or 16 Pro Max, you should still get one of the base models over the 16e.

Really, bargain hunters should look to the refurbished market for discounts on older iPhones first. If you can find an iPhone 15 from a reputable seller for $100+ less than the 16e, that’d be ideal, as it offers many of the 16’s core upgrades and anything older won’t have a USB-C port. If you see an iPhone 15 Pro around the same price, it’s no contest — that one is better than the 16e pretty much across the board. But even a refurbished 15 is unlikely to be all that cheap, and every older iPhone will inevitably lose update support sooner. Still, that might not matter so much if you just want an Apple phone for basic iOS things and can find an acceptable price-to-storage ratio. Taking advantage of trade-in deals or, to a lesser extent, monthly installment plans that lower upfront costs seems especially prudent these days as well. 

As it stands now, the lack of a competitive budget model in the iPhone lineup is disappointing, and it appears that won’t change anytime soon. Apple will be Apple. But if you just want to walk into an Apple store and buy an iPhone that works, the 16e is fine enough, even if it’s not a slam-dunk value.

Pros

  • Solid performance
  • Long battery life
  • Clean, durable design
  • Bright, vibrant OLED display

Cons

  • 60Hz display
  • Only one rear camera
  • No MagSafe and slow wireless charging
  • Expensive compared to previous iPhone SE

$599 at Apple

The rest of Apple’s iPhone lineup in 2025

The iPhone 16.

(Billy Steele for Engadget)

Apple iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus

The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus have made genuine improvements over their predecessors and generally feel more “Pro-like” than they have in years past. They also come in a range of vibrant colors. If the iPhone 16 Pro or 16 Pro Max are just too pricey, especially if you want extra storage space, they’re fantastic compromises. Still, they are compromises. If you can afford it, the Pro should hold up a bit better over time.

Apple iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus

The iPhone 15 and 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Plus still get you many key upgrades over the iPhone 16e, including a superior two-camera system, a brighter display, MagSafe and the Dynamic Island. The 15 Plus is particularly appealing as the most affordable big-screen iPhone in Apple’s current lineup. It has excellent battery performance as well.

At $699 or $799, though, both phones are priced in something of a no man’s land. Most people who care about ultrawide cameras and MagSafe support should just spend another $100 for the iPhone 16 or 16 Plus, which add AI features, a slightly improved ultrawide lens with macro support, an extra hour or two of battery life, faster wireless charging (25W vs. 15W), a quicker processor, more RAM, the Action button and the Camera Control button.

Those who aren’t as particular about specs, meanwhile, are probably happy to save an extra $100 on the iPhone 16e, which is still better equipped for the long-term thanks to its faster chip and Apple Intelligence support. As a result, the 15 and 15 Plus will probably make the most sense if you can find a good price on a refurbished model.

iPhone FAQs

When is the best time of year to buy an iPhone?

The best time to buy an iPhone, or really any product, is whenever you need one. But if you want to maximize how long your iPhone is considered “current,” plan to upgrade in late September. Apple almost always introduces its new core models around then. SE and “e” iPhones, meanwhile, have arrived between February and April, but those aren’t guaranteed annual releases.

Cash discounts on new unlocked iPhones are rare, so there usually isn’t much reason to wait for a deal before buying (as is often the case with Samsung or Google phones). Carriers will run their own sales, but those typically involve locking you into years-long service plans. The exception would be if you specifically want an older iPhone, since Apple typically cuts the price of its last-gen devices by $100 or more when it introduces a new model. So, for instance, if you know you won’t care about the inevitable iPhone 17’s upgrades, you could wait until that device is announced and get the iPhone 16 for a little cheaper.

How long does an iPhone last?

This depends on the person and how they define “last.” If we had to give a broad estimate, we’d say most iPhone users keep their device between two and four years. If you’re particularly sensitive to performance and camera improvements, you might want to upgrade on the earlier side of that timeline. If you’re not as picky, you could hold out for even longer — though you’ll likely want to get a battery replacement sometime around the three- or four-year mark (or whenever you notice your battery life has severely degraded).

Software support shouldn’t be a problem regardless: Apple is renowned for keeping its devices up-to-date long-term, and the current version of iOS 18 is available on iPhones dating back to 2018. (Though the forthcoming iOS 26 update will push the cutoff line up a year.) Most of those older phones don’t support Apple Intelligence, so there isn’t total parity, but that’s not a big loss in the grand scheme of things.

How do I know how old my iPhone is?

Go to your iPhone’s Settings, then tap General > About. You should see the Model Name right near the top. You can also tap the Model Number below that, then verify the resulting four-digit code on Apple’s identification page to further confirm.

If you don’t want to use software, for whatever reason, you can also find your iPhone’s model number printed within its USB-C or Lightning port, if the device lacks a SIM tray. For older devices, you can alternatively find that number within the SIM slot or — if you’re still hanging onto an iPhone 7 or older — right on the back of the handset.

Recent updates

August 2025: We’ve taken another pass to ensure our advice is still up-to-date and noted that we expect to Apple to launch new phones soon in September.

June 2025: We’ve lightly edited this guide for clarity and added a few common FAQs. Our picks remain unchanged.

February 2025: The new iPhone 16e replaces the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus as our “budget” pick. We’ve also removed our notes on the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone SE (3rd generation), as each has been formally discontinued.

January 2025: We’ve made a few minor edits for clarity and ensured our recommendations are still up to date.

December 2024: We’ve made a few edits to reflect the release of Apple Intelligence, though our picks remain the same.



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The new entry-level Kindle Colorsoft is $30 off for a limited time
Gaming Gear

The new entry-level Kindle Colorsoft is $30 off for a limited time

by admin


Amazon’s 16GB Kindle Colorsoft is less than a month old, but it’s already on sale for $219.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. Meanwhile, the new Colorsoft Kids — which includes a 12-month subscription to Amazon Kids Plus, a two-year extended warranty, and a cover-style case — has been discounted to $239.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. Both ad-free e-readers feature a seven-inch color E Ink display, IPX8 waterproofing, and a battery that can last up to eight weeks on a single charge.

The 16GB Colorsoft is Amazon’s newest color e-reader, and it has many of the same features found on last year’s Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition. It offers the same page turn speeds and works well when reading both monochrome and color books; however, like with the step-up model, the resolution drops from 300ppi to 150ppi when reading books in color, which was noticeable but not a dealbreaker in our testing. Viewing PDFs in color on the Signature Edition via the Send to Kindle service worked well enough, too, but transferring them from a computer via USB-C stripped their color.

Overall, Amazon’s entry-level Colorsoft is the best color e-reader in its price range. If you love reading graphic novels or books with a lot of illustrations, you’ll get a much richer experience compared to reading the same titles on a monochrome Kindle (it also won’t irritate your eyes as much as staring at a phone or tablet screen). That being said, you do lose some features when stepping down from the Signature Edition, including support for wireless charging and an auto-adjusting front light. The Signature Edition also has twice the storage (32GB) and supposedly an extra four weeks of battery life, though we haven’t used the entry-level model long enough to confirm the latter.



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