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Google is rolling out new Gemini-assisted functionality to Search and its Translate app. It says its AI can now provide more natural and accurate text translations for phrases that have more "nuanced meanings." Translate will now take slang terms and colloquial expressions into consideration rather than provide sometimes unhelpful direct translations.
The latest update to its text translation feature is rolling out first in the US and India, translating between English and just under 20 other languages, including German, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. It works in the Translate app for iOS and Android and on the web.
Gemini's speech-to-speech translation feature has also been updated, so you can now hear real-time translations in your headphones, like with Apple's AirPods Pro 3. Google says the new functionality, which is now in beta in the Translate app for Android (iOS is coming next year) in the US, tries to "preserve the tone, emphasis and cadence of each speaker" so you better understand the direction of the conversation and who said what. It works with any headphones and supports more than 70 languages.
Finally, Google is adding more tools to its potentially Duolingo-rivaling AI-powered language learning tools, which it introduced to the Translate app in August. Like Duolingo, Translate can now track how many days in a row you've been attempting to learn a new language, so you can check your progress over time. Whether it will nag you as persistently as the Duolingo ow
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Engadget staffers spend the entire year poking, prodding and otherwise testing the latest tech gadgets. So we've got a pretty good handle on what's unique and interesting right now. We put together this list for anyone looking for a good gift for that tech-obsessed person on their gift list. Some of these are devices we've tested for our reviews and guides, others are items we bought for ourselves (or wish someone would buy for us). We've got more than 35 picks here, from nearly every member of the Engadget team. Chances are, you'll find a good gift or two for every tech nerd you know. Here are our favorite tech gifts and gadgets for 2025.
Best tech gifts and gadgets
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Sandfall Interactive, the developer of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, knows how to ride the wave. Right after the visually stunning RPG finished dominating The Game Awards, the team dropped a free "Thank You" content update for fans.
This is no minor patch. It adds a playable environment and new boss battles for late-game players. The "Thank You" update also adds new music tracks, a Photo Mode and new text and UI localizations. On top of that, you'll find quality-of-life tweaks, including improved performance on handheld PCs.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won a record-breaking nine categories at The Game Awards 2025. That includes — deep breath — Game of the Year, Best RPG, Best Art Direction, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Performance (Jennifer English), Best Score and Music, Best Debut Game and Best Indie Game. The previous record was The Last of Us Part 2, which took home seven awards in 2020.
The game's free "Thank You" update is rolling out now. You can catch a glimpse of it in the trailer below.
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Well-known game developer Halfbrick this week launched Bluey's Quest for the Gold Pen, an iPhone, iPad, and Mac adventure game that's currently exclusive to Apple's platforms. The game was made for children and adults who are fans of the wildly popular Bluey animated series.
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 We're already in the middle of December, and holiday deals are abundant this time of year. This week, you can find best-ever discounts on AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3, and M5 iPad Pro. Below, you'll also find an exclusive sitewide deal at Burton Goods and an ongoing holiday sale at Samsung with big discounts on storage accessories and more.
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Reddit has filed a lawsuit in Australia's High Court aiming to overturn the country's under-16 social media ban, Reuters reported. The forum platform called the law contrary to Australia's constitution as it intrudes on free political discourse. It also argued that Reddit shouldn't have been included in the ban since it isn't a social media site, based on the law's definition. The action is likely to set in motion a protracted legal battle, given Reddit's resources and its popularity in Australia
Australia's minimum age social media ban, the first of its kind in the world, went into effect on December 10. The ten platforms affected, including Reddit, must bar underage users or face a fine of up to A$49.5 million ($33 million). Platforms are using a variety of means to determine age, including age inference based on activity and selfies.
However Reddit argued that the law comes with some "serious privacy and political expression issues" for users. "Australian citizens under the age of 16 will, within years if not months, become electors. The choices to be made by those citizens will be informed by political communication in which they engage prior to the age of 18," it wrote in the filing.
The government disagreed, noting that Reddit filed the lawsuit to protect is profits, not children's right to free expression. "It is action we saw time and time again by Big Tobacco against tobacco control and we are seeing it now by some social media or big
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The collapse of Terraform Labs was part of a greater deleveraging event in crypto that culminated in the fall of FTX.
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 Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28.
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With rising RAM prices, laptops (and desktops) will soon cost more than they do today.
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If you want to learn a new skill in the new year or brush up on some skills you already have, MasterClass could be a good option for you. It's even more accessible now that the company is running a holiday promotion that knocks 40 percent off subscriptions. For the top-tier Premium plan, which includes offline mode and use on up to six devices, you'll pay $144 for the year instead of the usual $240. The entry-level plan, which supports just one device and doesn't offer offline viewing, is marked down to $72 from $120.
Over the past few years, MasterClass has grown to over 200 classes, sessions and original series. You can learn about entrepreneurship from Richard Branson, screenwriting from Aaron Sorkin, cooking from Gordon Ramsay and heaps more. Each of these offers classes in a one-on-one format with slick instructional videos and often workbooks to accompany them.
MasterClass also appears on our list of the
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NEW RESOURCES Eastern Daily Press: UEA's Institute for Volunteering Research releases archive. "A new archive showcasing 25 years of volunteering research has been launched by the University of East Anglia. Published by […]
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Do Kwon, who designed the virtual currencies Luna and TerraUSD, which plunged in 2022, had pleaded guilty to fraud.
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This morning Disney and OpenAI announced a three-year licensing agreement: Starting in 2026, ChatGPT and Sora can generate images and videos incorporating Disney IP, including more than 200 characters from the company's stable of Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel brands. To say these companies make for strange bedfellows is an understatement.
The agreement brings together two parties with very different public stances on copyright. Before OpenAI released Sora, the company reportedly notified studios and talent agencies they would need to opt out of having their work appear in the new app. The company later
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Finding the right gifts for everyone on your list this time of year can be a major source of stress. It can be even more daunting if you're trying to stick to a budget all while getting the folks you love things that they will really appreciate. But there's also a good chance you're getting fed bad gift ideas (and just as bad deals) if you're browsing the web frantically searching as we get closer and closer to the holidays.
Allow us at Engadget to help you through it. Here, you'll find all of our holiday gift guides collected in one place, so you can more easily find the best Christmas gifts you need this year. Are you looking for white elephant gift ideas? Are you struggling to come up with a good gift for the father figure in your life? Are you just looking for a good board game to pick up for your own family? We've got you covered with gift ideas for all of those scenarios and more.
Best white elephant gift ideas
According to legend, the King of Siam would give a white elephant to courtiers who had upset them. The recipient had no choice but to simply thank the king for such an opulent gift, knowing that they likely could not afford the upkeep for such an animal. It would inevitably lead them to financial ruin. This story is almost certainly untrue, but it has led to a modern holiday staple: the white elephant gift exchange. These gift ideas will not only get you a few chuckles, but will also make your recipient feel (slightly) burdened.
Read more: The best white elephant gift ideas
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President Trump said Nvidia can export some chips. But years of U.S. restrictions have propelled China to make everything it needs for advanced A.I.
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