As the Pixel 10 Pro reaches its six-month mark, Google Play Points is offering some members $400 off. Start by going to the Perks tab on Android.

Some Play Points members — in our case, Platinum — have a “Get up to $400 off select Google devices” level perk. 

“$400 off Pixel 10 Pro / Pro XL” is the top offer. This Google Store deal is “available to select participants based on past Play activities, which may include purchase histories.” This brings the 128 GB Pixel 10 Pro to $599, while the 256 GB Pixel 10 Pro XL is $799.

If available, add the item to your cart and enter the promotional code “during checkout for an instant $400 discount on your purchase of Pixel 10 Pro / Pro XL (Unlocked only).”

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The promotion code expires March 11, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. PT. 

Promotional code is for 1-time use only with no residual balance; cannot be combined with other promotional codes or offers unless otherwise stated; is not transferable; and is not valid for cash or cash equivalent. Void where prohibited.

There are three other offers, but “once individual offer is claimed you cannot go back and redeem other device offers.”

• $80 off Pixel Watch 4
• $70 off Fitbit Charge 6
• $100 off Pixel 10a

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is gearing up to spill the beans on Microsoft’s next-generation console. In a post on X today, she revealed that the system is codenamed “Project Helix.” Confirming previous rumors, she says it will “lead in performance” and play both console and PC games. Sharma also notes that she’ll be discussing the system at GDC next week with partners and developers.

The next-gen console tease follows Sharma’s appointment as Xbox CEO a few weeks ago, after former Xbox head Phil Spencer stepped down. Last year, it was clear that things were rocky for Microsoft’s storied gaming brand, and the executive shakeup certainly didn’t help much. But it’ll be interesting to hear more details about Project Helix at GDC — is it simply a PC masquerading as a console? What sort of performance benchmarks is Microsoft trying to reach, and will we get any hints about hardware?

For the first time, in a long time, there’s something intriguing happening in the land of Xbox. Much like the first Xbox, Microsoft could end up cutting this generation short to quickly prep a successor. And if the rumors about a PlayStation 6 delay end up being true, it could give Microsoft a few years with new hardware ahead of Sony.

The Amazon Fire TV experience is taking on a new look with a few thoughtful UI changes and smart features that look genuinely exciting. Amazon says the experience will come in the form of a free update, even though it’s announcing a new TV, too.

According to a press release from Amazon, the Fire TV launcher is getting a makeover. The company references data that users spend more than 10 minutes deciding what to watch, which seems to be the fuel behind some of these changes. The overarching theme looks to be “ease of use,” which seems to be a good foundation for this update.

One of the biggest and superficial changes will alter the homescreen and category menus. Amazon says it will prioritize movies and content from apps the user already uses, instead of content from unfamiliar sources. For example, shows from Disney+ might appear more often if the user has a subscription and visits often, omitting options from lesser-used catalogs.

It also looks like the design language has been updated with different layouts and new typography. Apps on the homescreen have more rounded corners, and the design looks a bit fresher. Up to 20 apps can now be pinned to the Amazon Fire TV homescreen, instead of the 6-app limit prior.

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Amazon says that it’s improved the Fire TV OS’ code, too. It claims speed increases of up to 30% have been recorded. Whether that makes it into real-world use is yet to be seen, but an improvement at that amount would be immediately felt by Fire TV users.

Some of these changes are said to be leaking into the mobile app, which is reportedly redesigned as well.

Amazon is using the Fire TV redesign to announce a new art TV, as well. The Ember Artline is a 4K QLED framed TV with Dolby Vision and HDR10+. It apparently comes in at 1.5 inches thin, taking up next to no space on the wall.

Just like some other TVs coming out, Amazon’s Ember Artline will use ambient sensors to detect those nearby to wake and sleep. In Google TV’s case, presence sensing is used to wake and show relevant information. It’s a cool feature to see, and Amazon’s new TV will shockingly only cost $899 and up.

The TV will also act as an art display, obviously. It has a matte screen and a wooden frame with integration through Amazon’s photo library.

The Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, 4K Max (2nd gen), and Fire TV Omni Mini-LED series will get the new UI first. Amazon notes that other devices will see the update “later this spring.”

Jurors in a New Mexico child safety trial heard testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg today. During pre-recorded testimony, Zuckerberg was repeatedly asked about the company’s understanding of social media addiction and other issues that had been studied by its researchers.

During the deposition, which was recorded last March, Zuckerberg was asked about numerous findings from researchers at Meta who studied how the company’s apps affect users and teens. The CEO downplayed the significance of many of these documents.

Early in the testimony, which was viewed by Engadget on Courtroom View Network, Zuckerberg was questioned about a document on the effect of feedback on Facebook users. The document stated that “contributors on Facebook are likely to learn to associate the act of posting with feedback” which will “lead contributors to seek rewards by visiting the site more often.” Zuckerberg said he wasn’t “sure if that’s actually how it works in practice, but I agree that you’re summarizing what they appear to be saying.”

Later, the CEO was questioned about a document that graphed the proportion of 11 and 12-year-olds who were monthly active users on Instagram. The chart indicated that at the time, around 20 percent of 11-year-olds were monthly users of the service. “I agree that the graph says that, I am not familiar with what methodology we were using to estimate this,” Zuckerberg said. “I assume that if we had direct knowledge that any given person was under the age of 13, that we would have them removed from our services.”

New Mexico’s attorney general sued the company in 2023 for alleged lapses in child safety, including facilitating predators’ access to minors and building features it knew were addictive. In court, Meta’s lawyers and executives have disputed the idea that social media should be considered an “addiction.” In public statements, the company has said that lawsuits have relied on “cherry-picked quotes and snippets of conversations taken out of context” and that it “has consistently put teen safety ahead of growth for over a decade.”

As with his recent testimony in a separate trial over social media addiction in Los Angeles, Zuckerberg repeatedly rejected the “characterization” of questions that were posed to him. And he said that Meta’s goal was to make its apps “useful” rather than to increase the amount of time people spend with them.

Zuckerberg was also questioned about a document written by a company researcher that stated “there is increasing scientific evidence, particularly in the US, … that the average net effect of Facebook on people’s well being is slightly negative.” The CEO said that “my understanding is that the general consensus view is not that.”

It’s not the first time a Meta executive has tried to downplay the significance of internal research. The company used a similar strategy in 2021 after former employee turned whistleblower Frances Haugen disclosed documents showing that Facebook’s researchers had found that Instagram made some teen girls feel worse about themselves.

Zuckerberg’s testimony was played one day after jurors heard recorded testimony from Instagram chief Adam Mosseri. The exec was also asked about Haugen’s disclosures and Meta’s response to them. Some of those disclosures were based on “problematic research,” he said. “Most research is surveys. We run hundreds of surveys every month.”

Google is rolling out Cinematic Video Overviews to NotebookLM that go beyond narrated slides, while Canvas in AI Mode is now more capable.

Previously, Video Overviews essentially created a slide deck that was accompanied by narration. Cinematic Video Overviews generate “unique, immersive videos tailored to you.”

NotebookLM leverages Gemini 3, Nano Banana Pro, and Veo 3 to offer “fluid animations and rich, detailed visuals to help you learn and engage with the topics you care about. Google describes Gemini as a “creative director” making “hundreds of structural and stylistic decisions to best tell the story with your sources.”

It determines the best narrative, visual style and format, and even refines its own work to ensure consistency.

This is rolling out starting today (in English) for Google AI Ultra subscribers on web and mobile.

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Speaking of the app, NotebookLM has rolled out a shortcut to open Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides directly in their native apps (if installed) instead of inline. Tap the button in the top right for the richer view. Prompt-based Slide Deck revisions are also now available by tapping the corner button.

Meanwhile, Canvas in Google AI Mode now supports creative writing and coding tasks, with full availability for US English users. This “dynamic space to organize your plans and projects over time” is available from the ‘plus’ tool menu.

Now, you can draft documents or create custom, interactive tools right within Search.

Your Canvas appears as a side panel next to the chat where you can continue to refine the output. Additionally, you can view the underlying code.

Whether you’re building custom tools, studying for exams or planning a trip, Canvas in AI Mode makes it easy to jumpstart your next big project.

Google has also improved AI Mode recipe results: “when you search for meal ideas like “easy dinners for two,” you can tap on the dish to see links to relevant recipe sites, plus a short overview of the dish to help with inspiration.”

In the future, Google will add the cooking time to more results and other “helpful information” to improve the use case.

Today the White House announced that several major players in tech and AI have agreed to steps that will keep electricity costs from rising due to data centers. Under this Ratepayer Protection Pledge, companies are agreeing to practices that are intended to protect residents from seeing higher electricity costs as more and more businesses create power-hungry data centers. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI have all apparently signed on. A few of the participants — Amazon, Google and Meta — had conveniently timed press releases patting themselves on the back for their participation and touting whatever other policies they have for mitigating the negative impacts of data center construction.

The main provisions of the federal pledge have tech companies agreeing to “build, bring, or buy the new generation resources and electricity needed to satisfy their new energy demands, paying the full cost of those resources.” It also claims they will pay for any needed power infrastructure upgrades and operate under separate rate structures for power that will see payments made whether or not the business uses that electricity.

The pledge doesn’t appear to be any form of binding agreement and there’s no discussion of enforcement or a penalty for companies that don’t honor the stipulated provisions. It also doesn’t address any of the other impacts data centers and AI development might be having, either on local communities, on other utilities and resources, or on access to critical computing elements like RAM.

Following its debut on Google Pixel, it sounds like AirDrop-over-Quick-Share support is heading to more Android phones soon, with Oppo saying it will roll out an update sometime later this month.

In an MWC press release sent to 9to5Google around the MediaTek chips used inside of Oppo’s latest smartphones (namely the Find X9 series), the company also shared that it plans to bring AirDrop over Quick Share support to its Android phones starting later in March.

Oppo says:

Coming soon, OPPO’s Find X9 Series will bring Android Quick Share, enabled in close collaboration with MediaTek and Google. Without installing third-party applications, users can conveniently and securely transfer files between OPPO smartphones and iOS, iPadOS and macOS devices, improving cross-platform interoperability. The feature is expected to begin rolling out via software update starting in March.

It’s a notable expansion, and with evidence of Samsung also preparing support for AirDrop over Quick Share on the Galaxy S26 series having also recently surfaced, it seems possible that a broader rollout is on the horizon. That’s only speculation on our part, though.

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As mentioned, Oppo’s MWC announcement includes new on-device AI Translate and AI Portrait Glow features coming to Find X9 and Find X9 Pro in ColorOS 16. Also shown off was Omni, an on-device full-modal AI model which Oppo says enables “live scene understanding and interactive Q&A directly on a smartphone.”

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