Apple just announced a over several years to buy rare earth magnets from the US-based company MP Materials. These rare earth magnets are used in a number of products, including iPhones, MacBooks and the Apple Pencil stylus. The American-made magnets will be shipped throughout the world, to help “meet increasing global demand for the material.”

MP Materials is the only fully integrated rare earth producer in the country. The two companies have also pledged to work together to improve upon a processing facility in Texas, building a series of manufacturing lines specifically designed for Apple products. Once finished, the factory will “support dozens of new jobs in advanced manufacturing and R&D.”

“American innovation drives everything we do at Apple, and we’re proud to deepen our investment in the U.S. economy,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States.”

Apple and MP will also team up to create a recycling facility in California and have promised to develop “novel magnet materials and innovative processing technologies” to enhance magnet performance.

This is all part of Apple’s pre-existing pledge to over the next four years, which is a slight increase over the . Adjusted for inflation, .

Apple basically pioneered the use of recycled rare earth elements in consumer electronics. It began using these materials , in the Taptic Engine of the iPhone 11. The Pentagon recently became the largest shareholder of MP Materials, as rare earth materials are also key components in a range of military weapons systems.

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Pixel 6a owners were forced to install a new update earlier this month that, for some, will have a considerable impact on battery life. Things seem to be going a bit better than expected, but Pixel 6a owners are indeed feeling the effects.

Google started rolling out this new Pixel 6a update on July 8, with the update set to enact a battery reduction after the battery hit a certain number of charge cycles. For any device with over 400 charge cycles and an affected battery (meaning not all units are affected), this update would limit battery life and charging speeds as a precautionary measure. This came after limited reports of Pixel 6a devices catching fire.

As mentioned, the update has since rolled out and is starting to affect Pixel 6a owners.

User reports on Google’s forums and Reddit threads show Pixel 6a owners with, as expected, much worse battery life, with some only able to use their phone for a matter of a few hours or less. Others have found that the phone is not charging, or charging very slowly. The reason for it not charging entirely, though, seems to simply be that this update enacts a battery cap at 80% for some, meaning the phone won’t charge if it’s over that level. On the battery info page, a large message says that a battery replacement is recommended.

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The good news, though, is that this update seems to have far less wide-reaching impact compared to the Pixel 4a’s update. That suggests that not as many Pixel 6a owners have affected batteries in their devices, but it also just speaks to Google having handled this situation better than the last one. The Pixel 4a’s update was shrouded in mystery for a while, leaving owners in the dark as to why their device suddenly just didn’t work as it had.

If you have a Pixel 6a, Google is offering battery replacements as well as Google Store or cash credits towards a new device.

Are you still using a Pixel 6a? Have you seen any impact since the update? Let us know your experience in the comments below.

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YouTube has clarified its rules about repetitious content and your favorite reaction video channel won’t be impacted. Earlier this month, the platform said it would be changing its rules for monetization in an effort to address AI-generated materials, but didn’t include many specifics, which led many to sound the alarm that reaction videos might get swept up in the new rules. The company has now provided a few tweaks and more clear delineations in its guidelines about channel monetization policies.

For starters, the rule is being renamed to the inauthentic content policy. “This type of content has always been ineligible for monetization under our existing policies, where creators are rewarded for original and authentic content,” a note appended to the states. “There is no change to our reused content policy which reviews content like commentary, clips, compilations and reaction videos.”

YouTube provided a few examples of material that it would deem to be mass-produced or overly repetitive, and thus ineligible to be monetized. Inauthentic content includes video “that exclusively features readings of other materials you did not originally create, like text from websites or news feeds” or “image slideshows or scrolling text with minimal or no narrative, commentary, or educational value.” The company also shared examples of reused content. YouTube said those beloved reaction channels, as well as videos that contain clips for analysis, review or commentary, are unaffected by the new rules. The no-nos for reused content rules might include “Content uploaded many times by other creators” or “Content downloaded or copied from another online source without any substantive modifications.”

Google is testing AI-generated summaries in the Discover feed on Android and iOS, as well as easier bookmarking.

Instead of a single publication logo and name in the top-left corner of the card, Discover shows several overlapping icons to represent how many stories were used to generate the summary. Tapping opens a “More” sheet with all those articles.

You get three lines of text before you have to tap “See more.” The very last thing notes how it was “Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.” This experience, especially the highlighting of key information, feels very similar to AI Overviews in Google Search results.

The cover image is from the first story, with its headline appearing underneath. The publication name is even smaller than the title alongside the time/date. 

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From a browsing experience, this gives you more information and context before having to tap into an article. However, that extra information might have the adverse effect of users not clicking on the article. As of this test, Google Discover’s AI summaries appear alongside the existing solo article format.

Meanwhile, Discover is also testing adding the “Save” icon directly to the card. Appearing in between the heart and overflow menu, this saves you a tap, with your bookmarks appearing in the Activity tab. 

AI summaries and the elevated save icon are still being tested and not widely available. We’re seeing it on both Android and iOS (Google app).

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Update (7/14/25): Best Buy will reportedly restock Switch 2 consoles next on July 17, which coincides with the release of Donkey Kong Bananza.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally available in the US, but it’s still pretty tough to find it in stock online anywhere. The $450 console officially went up for sale on June 5, and several retailers have offered it both online and in-store in the week since. While millions of people have been able to buy theirs so far, online inventory has dried up considerably since launch day. There have been restocks at Walmart, Target and Best Buy, but they didn’t last long, which was to be expected. You may also be able to grab a bundle at Costco if you’re a member there, but you might have a better time doing so in store than online.

And that may be the way to go at this point, broadly speaking. You may have better luck venturing into a physical store and walking out with a Switch 2 than you will buying one online. If you have a local Target, Best Buy, Walmart or GameStop — the four official retailers Nintendo lists on its store page — it can’t hurt to stop by and see if they have any in stock. A few retailers, GameStop being one of them, are even directing online customers to “find a store” near them that has the console in stock. If you’re still on the hunt, we’ve rounded up all of the latest information we could find on how to buy the Nintendo Switch 2 and where you can pick one up.

Where to buy the Nintendo Switch 2

Walmart most recently offered the Switch 2 online on June 25, with Walmart+ members getting an hour’s head start. Currently, both the Mario Kart World bundle and the standalone console are available, but both are either out of stock or being sold at much higher prices than normal (likely by third-party sellers). We do not recommend buying the Switch 2 at a premium like this, but rather it’s better to wait for an official restock. Naturally, the world’s largest retailer is also selling the console at its brick-and-mortar locations, though the company has noted that quantities are limited and inventory will vary by location.

Amazon finally has the Switch 2 listed now: the Switch 2 console is up for $450 while the Mario Kart World bundle costs $500. This comes after weeks of the console being conspicuously absent from the retail giant’s site. A June 30 Bloomberg report confirmed what had been widely rumored for weeks: Nintendo was apparently punishing Amazon for continuing to surface third-party retailers selling trans-shipped games. That punishment appears to be over now, but note that both the console by itself and the bundle are available “by invitation” only from Amazon, which just means you have to register your interest with Amazon before you get an official invite that will allow you to buy the Switch 2.

Best Buy will reportedly restock Switch 2 consoles next on July 17, the launch day of the game Donkey Kong Bananza. Much like previous restocks, we expect you’ll have to be quick about it if you want to grab the console when new stock becomes available that day.

Target had the Switch 2 in stores on June 5 and restocked its online inventory for at least a couple of hours starting around 3:30AM ET on June 6. It then had another restock on June 12 around 2:30PM ET, but that appears to have died out in less than an hour. We also noted it showing up in stock in at least one Philadelphia location on June 24.

GameStop has advertised in-store availability, though exactly how much stock your local store may have will vary by location. Online, the device has been unavailable for the past week, with the listings for the base console and Mario Kart bundle now pointing to a “Find a Store” page.

You may still have some luck at certain membership-based retailers. A Mario Kart World bundle at Costco that includes a 12-month Switch Online subscription has gone in and out of stock since launch day. Sam’s Club has had a bundle without the Switch Online sub as well, though it’s out of stock now. We also saw the console at BJ’s early on June 5, but it’s showing up as out of stock now.

Verizon briefly had the Switch 2 available on launch day, but that’s dried up. Only those with Verizon service were able to order, and the process was apparently somewhat rocky.

Newegg has listed the Switch 2 on its site for several weeks, but it’s given no indication as to when it’ll begin sales. While some listings are available via a third-party seller, they’re at massively inflated prices.

With all of these stores, we’ve seen the Mario Kart World bundle available in greater quantities online than the base console, which costs $50 less. But given that Mario Kart is the Switch 2’s biggest launch game and retails for $80 on its own, that may not be the worst thing.

Nintendo, meanwhile, is only offering the Switch 2 via an invite system. This requires you to have been a Switch Online member for at least 12 months and logged at least 50 hours of Switch 1 playtime as of April 2. It can’t hurt to sign up if you meet the criteria, but don’t expect it to bear fruit immediately — it’s taken weeks for many people who registered in April to receive their invite.

You can find a list of every Switch 2 retail listing we could find below. Just be aware that this is meant to be a reference, not a rundown of everywhere the device is available right this second.

Where to buy Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle:

Where to buy Switch 2:

Where to buy Nintendo Switch 2 games and accessories

Nintendo is selling a number of Switch 2 accessories alongside the console, from its (pricey) Pro Controller to cases to cameras for the new GameChat feature. Most of these became available on June 5. The same goes for games like Mario Kart World and the Switch 2 version of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Another big Switch 2 release, Donkey Kong Bananza, will be available shortly starting on July 17 but is still up for pre-order now.

As of this publication, just about all Switch 2 games are broadly available. Stock for the accessories remains a little spottier, but most devices are still available at multiple retailers. Nintendo’s official Switch 2 carrying cases have been the main exceptions, so you may need to look to third-party alternatives if you want some protection for your console right away.

Mario Kart World ($80)

Donkey Kong Bananza ($70)

Additional Switch 2 games

Samsung microSD Express Card (256GB) for Nintendo Switch 2 ($60)

Joy-Con 2 bundle ($95)

Switch 2 Pro Controller ($85)

Switch 2 Camera ($55)

Hori Nintendo Switch 2 Piranha Plant Camera ($60)

Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip ($40)

Joy-Con 2 Wheels (set of 2) ($25)

Switch 2 All-in-One Carrying Case ($85)

Switch 2 Carrying Case and Screen Protector ($40)

Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set ($120)

Nintendo GameCube Controller for Switch 2 ($65)