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Apple is making it a little easier to use third-party devices with iPhones in order to comply with Europe's Digital Market Act (DMA), MacRumors reported. For iOS 26.3, Apple's devices will support third-party proximity pairing and notifications in Europe only, according to the latest beta notes. That will make it a bit easier to connect devices like Sony headphones or receive notifications from an iPhone on Wear OS smartwatches provided manufacturers support the new feature. "The DMA creates new opportunities for developers to bring to market innovative products and services in Europe," an EU spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal. "This is another step towards a more inter-connected digital ecosystem to the benefit of all EU citizens." The EU Commission added that the functionality will be "fully available" in the bloc in 2026. The new capabilities are as follows: Proximity pairing - Devices like earbuds will be able to pair with an iOS device in an AirPods-like way by bringing the accessory close to an iPhone or iPad to initiate a simple, one-tap pairing process. Pairing third-party devices will no longer require multiple steps. Notifications - Third-party accessories like smart watches will be able to receive notifications from the iPhone. Users will be able to view and react to incoming notifications, which is functionality normally limited to the Apple Watch. Notifications can only be forwarded to one connected device at a time, and turning on notifications for a third-party device disables notifications to an Apple Watch. Proximity pairing is a relatively minor quality-of-life upgrade, allowing you to connect with a tap via NFC rather than diving into the Bluetooth settings. However, there's no indication that it will allow seamless switching between devices as you can do with Apple's iPods, for instance. Notifications, however, will finally make third-party watches feasible with iOS devices. Apple's DMA compliance efforts are interesting to watch, as it appears to be doing the bare minimum required, often for what it calls privacy reasons. In some cases, the company is removing features in Europe that are available elsewhere, like iPhone mirroring on Mac meaning it doesn't have to implement the same feature on Android devices or PCs. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/apples-ios-263-will-introduce-proximity-pairing-to-third-party-devices-in-the-eu-133037696.html?src=rss
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Want to see a dead body? I present to you the Xbox. After a subdued launch at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020, the Xbox Series X quickly lost the fight against the PlayStation 5. Microsoft simply couldn't deliver enough compelling games, despite some huge acquisitions, while Sony leaned on its goodwill from the PS4 era and a handful of desirable exclusives. As prices rose due to supply chain issues and the Trump administration's volatile tariff scheme, there was even less of a reason to get an Xbox (even the cheaper Series S). When I re-reviewed the Series X last year, it was clear that it never lived up to its potential. Anyone in their right mind would be better off buying a PlayStation 5.Xbox didn't enter 2025 in a great state, and it's leaving the year grasping for help, like an Arc Raider player desperate for a revival after being knocked out. Microsoft cancelled the Perfect Dark reboot and Everwild, two of the most interesting games in its weak upcoming slate. The company brought titles like Forza Horizon 5 over to the PlayStation 5, which prompted Engadget Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham to declare he no longer needed an Xbox. Xbox Series X controllerEngadgetMaking things worse this year, Microsoft raised prices across the board, with the Xbox Series S starting at $400 and the cheapest Series X going for a whopping $600. And slow sales prompted Costco to stop selling Xbox consoles entirely. Microsoft didn't even try to push systems during Black Friday why go through the trouble of having sales if nobody is buying the hardware in the first place? Even Game Pass, which was once renowned as one of the best deals in gaming, almost doubled in price over the last year, reaching up to $30 a month (or $360 a year) for the Ultimate tier. Sure, Microsoft tried to add more value to its cheaper Game Pass tiers, and finally upgraded its cloud streaming platform, but the lack of consistent must-play exclusive titles has devalued the service (and Xbox as a whole). Avowed and South of Midnight were among the few exclusive highlights, but the latter will hit PS5 and Switch 2 next year. There's no word on Avowed reaching other consoles yet, but given Microsoft's current trajectory (and the fact that it's a genuinely great game), I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes available elsewhere.There was a chance for Microsoft to reinvigorate the Xbox brand with the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X gaming handhelds, but the $600 and $1,000 launch prices placed them out of reach for most gamers. It also doesn't help that Windows still isn't well-optimized for portable devices with touchscreens, and those systems also aren't compatible with older Xbox titles like the consoles. At the very least, Microsoft now has a handheld foothold. But a future portable Xbox console would need to be significantly cheaper to compete with the likes of the Steam Deck, which starts at $400 (and is often on sale for much less).And speaking of Valve, the company's recently announced Steam Machine has also stolen a lot of potential thunder from Xbox. The Steam Machine is basically a tiny gaming desktop for your TV, running the Steam Deck's SteamOS. That platform is a Linux distribution optimized for emulating Windows titles. But unlike an Xbox console, it's not closed off in any way. You're free to install whatever you'd like on a Steam Machine even Windows!While we still haven't seen the Steam Machine in action, the Steam Deck's excellent performance and game compatibility makes me think its desktop sibling could be genuinely compelling to console players looking for something new. And it will likely directly compete with the next Xbox, which is rumored to arrive in 2027 as a PC in a TV-friendly case (according to Windows Central's Jez Corden). Microsoft's recent partnership deal with AMD also hints at a more PC-like experience Xbox President Sarah Bond noted that the Xbox team is "working closely with the Windows team to ensure that Windows is the number one platform for gaming."It's worth remembering that only a single generation of the Xbox the Xbox 360 was successful enough to truly compete with Sony's PlayStation. The original Xbox reportedly cost Microsoft $4 billion over the course of four years, leading the company to quickly jump ship and move to its successor. The Xbox 360 was genuinely innovative, thanks to Xbox Live and smarter online integration, and it had a healthy amount of third-party support. In comparison, Sony's PlayStation 3 was $100 to $200 more expensive than the Xbox 360 at launch, it had far worse online support and developers found it hard to program for.Xbox Series XDevindra Hardawar for EngadgetUnfortunately, Microsoft squandered most of its good will with the Xbox One. That console was first announced as an "always online" device with restrictive DRM features that limited how you could share and sell games; it was bundled with a Kinect camera that could potentially surveil you; and at $499, it was $100 more than the PlayStation 4. Microsoft quickly reversed many of its DRM-heavy plans for the Xbox One, but by that point the damage was done. Sony ultimately sold more than twice as many PS4 units as the entirety of the Xbox One family (which included the cheaper One S and more powerful One X), according to data from Ampere Research. Things are looking worse this generation: The Xbox Series S and X reportedly only sold around 33 million units as of July, according to Statista estimates, while Sony confirmed it sold 84.2 million PS5s as of November. If this trend continues (and it doesnt appear as if Xbox sales will be increasing any time soon), Sony could end up selling three times as many consoles this generation, compared to Microsoft. Xbox sales have been so slow that the family-focused Nex Playground managed to outsell it in November, according to data from Circana. Given Xbox's inability to compete with the PlayStation 5, it's no wonder Microsoft could be changing things up entirely for its next system. Its partnership with AMD could easily lead to new handhelds, and it also gives Microsoft a leg up in producing a compact and powerful Xbox PC. After all, why should the company keep trying to go toe-to-toe with Sony's closed PlayStation platform? Why shouldn't Microsoft embrace its PC roots to give us a gaming desktop under our TVs? The company has already committed to bringing new Xbox games to PCs immediately, so the line between the two is already blurring. It may be a risk, but evolving into a PC proves theres still life in the Xbox brand. And crucially, its also something Sony cant easily replicate.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/2025-was-the-year-xbox-died-130000467.html?src=rss
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As many of us hunker down for the holidays, you might want to tackle some of the best games weve seen this year: the long-time-coming Silksong, the critically acclaimed (and sumptuous) Expedition 33 and the bizarre world of Baby Steps. Engadget Not to mention the Switch 2, which is slowly building out its own exclusive library with Metroid Prime 4 and Donkey Kong Bananza. Rare for me, this year, Ive played many of the new games weve picked. Brag. Id recommend both Dispatch and Blue Prince I still havent completed the latter, but, yes, Ive unlocked the secret elevator. And if you dont have access to your usual PC or console setup, there are some smartphone games worth your time, including Spooky Express, Is This Seat Taken and, well, Umamusume: Pretty Derby, a reimagined world of horse racing where the horses are anime girls with horse ears. Try explaining that to your uncle over dinner. Mat Smith The other big stories (and deals) this morning Paramount has an updated Warner Bros. Discovery bid The 12 best last-minute Christmas gifts for 2025 that will arrive by December 24 Nintendo has huge discounts on Switch 2 games in its holiday sale US bans new foreign-made drones and components Previously sold drones will not be affected. Engadget The Federal Communications Commission has assigned foreign-made drones and their critical components as prohibited to import into the US. The FCC said several national security agencies have determined that unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and their critical components produced in foreign countries pose an unacceptable risk to the United States national security. FCC Chair Brendan Carr clarified on X the ban does not affect old drones. People can continue using the devices theyve already purchased, and retailers can keep selling models already approved by the agency. One of the most well-known brands affected by the ban is Chinese company DJI, which told Engadget it was disappointed by the agencys decision. While DJI was not singled out, no information has been released regarding what information was used by the Executive Branch in reaching its determination, a spokesperson said. Continue reading. Pirate group Annas Archive says it has scraped Spotify in its entirety The group says it has over 86 million tracks. Annas Archive, the open-source search engine for shadow libraries, claims to have scraped Spotifys entire music library. The group acquired metadata for approximately 256 million tracks, including 86 million songs, and the total size is just under 300 TB. A while ago, we discovered a way to scrape Spotify at scale. We saw a role for us here to build a music archive primarily aimed at preservation, the group said in a blog post. In response, the streamer said: Spotify has identified and disabled the nefarious user accounts that engaged in unlawful scraping. Weve implemented new safeguards for these types of anti-copyright attacks and are actively monitoring for suspicious behavior. Continue reading. Foldable phone makers have solved every issue except one The only issue is price. Engadget Google and Samsung have iterated their big foldables year on year for, well, years. But in 2025, they both delivered big phones that addressed prior flaws and issues. With the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung achieved what may be an even bigger accomplishment by creating a foldable phone of essentially the same size and weight as its own S25 Ultra. The one thing the makers of big foldables havent figured out is how to make them affordable. OnePlus came close in 2023 with the Open, which cost $1,500 after rebates. But things are actually going backwards. The launch price of the Z Fold 7 ($2,000) is $200 higher than the Z Fold 5s debut price. Continue reading. Everything you need to know about Amazons newest Echo feature: Alexa Home Theater Spatial surround is here. Aazons Alexa Home Theater feature has gradually become a legitimate surround sound option. You can link up to five Echo speakers and a subwoofer for a wireless cinematic experience. While the automatic room calibration and easy setup are great, the high price tag of a full Echo Studio array and limited EQ controls mean its best for people already juggling multiple Amazon speakers. Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121545111.html?src=rss
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