Uber and its new partner Momenta will start testing an autonomous ride-sharing service in Europe in 2026, Momenta announced. The service will kick off in Munich, Germany using Momenta’s self-driving tech and Uber’s ride-sharing platform, with the goal of future European expansion. The companies chose Munich to kick off the operation due to the city’s “deep-rooted engineering heritage, top-tier automotive ecosystem and openness to innovation,” Momenta said.
Momenta and Uber announced a “strategic agreement” in May this year to launch a robotaxi service with safety drivers aboard to start with. Momenta was one of China’s first autonomous vehicle companies and has been testing self-driving cars in the nation since 2018, with plans to roll out a commercial operation at its base in Shanghai next year. It also builds ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) for major automakers including Mercedes-Benz and Audi, with over 400,000 installed to date.
Europe has been slower than the US and China to adopt self-driving taxis, but that has started to change. Uber will be competing with Baidu, which announced plans to start testing its Apollo Go self-driving service in Switzerland as early as this year. Another company, WeRide, launched its own pilot program in Switzerland in January 2025 and started testing a driverless shuttle system in France shortly after that.
Elsewhere, Uber has partnered with other self-driving vehicle companies including WeRide, Pony.AI and Momenta in the Middle East. It also has a deal with UK-based Wayve to launch self-driving ride sharing trials in London next year, and recently said it would offer ride-sharing services in Los Angeles using an autonomous version of Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz.
Uber and Momenta’s Munich service will use Level 4 self-driving vehicles that can be operated without a safety driver in preset geographical areas. The companies will need to obtain certification from the German government and approval for the “geofenced zones” where it’s allowed to operate.
Uber originally planned to build its own self-driving cars but abandoned the idea in 2020 following the death of a pedestrian and scandal around alleged trade secret theft from Waymo. Since then, it has taken the route of partnering with autonomous vehicle manufacturers, including the aforementioned Waymo in Austin and Atlanta.
For many, Google is synonymous with seemingly healthy features suddenly deleted from existence. There’s some truth to it, but one of the crucial changes I’ve taken issue with isn’t in the absence of features; it’s in the convolution. Specifically, in the privacy changes made to Google Maps Timelines.
Privacy takes precedence in Google Maps
As long as I can remember, it seems like Google Maps has had its universally loved timeline feature.
Wherever you go and whatever you visit, Google Maps saves your route and location data for a couple of reasons. It’s how Google pulls some recommendations based on past visits, but on the user-facing side, it also means a record of your trips is saved with easy recall.
The feature had to be enabled, and consent had to be given to Google to store that data in its servers. Still, most, including myself, were all too happy to allow that for the sake of looking back several years and saying, “Oh yeah, I remember grabbing ramen at 2 am in Yokohama.”
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You could take a look at entire countries and see your own hotspots — where you frequented the most and where you haven’t been at all.
In 2019, the New York Times published an article that highlighted the problem with this system. Google was being targeted by law enforcement, and warrants were being obtained to collect geofencing data from the company. Why wouldn’t a warrant need to be obtained for the suspect? Well, the suspect didn’t own that data; Google did.
It was kept on Sensorvault servers, housing location data with “anonymous ID numbers” tagging each device contributing to Google’s servers. Those IDs were then requested via another warrant after the number was linked to the crime in question. The result was usernames and other valuable personal information turned over to law enforcement, and not always for the correct suspect.
You can see how this would be problematic.
At the end of last year, Google made an adjustment to Maps that took the responsibility of storage away from the company and put it on device owners. The Timeline feature in Google Maps switched over to an on-device system, where each device that contributes to location history would keep local data about its comings and goings.
The option to back that data up to the cloud is still there, but it needs to be enabled for each device that contributes. If not, that timeline data is lost if the device is reset or if that data auto-deletes after a short period of time — something that can be disabled.
Privacy is great, but execution costs are high
In the life of someone who covers Android devices, switching phones is second nature. Somewhere in the shuffle, I seemed to have missed the cutoff for Google’s switch to on-device timelines.
If I had paid more attention, I might have been able to back everything up. But I didn’t.
Road trips — gone. Cross-country moves — gone. First time visiting another country — gone. Every event, CES, or IFA visit — gone.
I thought that maybe I could go through all the devices I used since Google made the switch, and maybe just one of them would have access to the backed-up timeline data. That was a waste of time. The data is gone.
Just this past week, before realizing my mistake, I foolishly got excited to look through the Timeline feature.
I was looking for last year’s IFA trip in Berlin to show someone where I had taken a massive bike detour one night. This was all in the hopes of retracing steps and finding the exact location of some horrifying statue with a deer skull attached to it.
That’s when I fully realized my trip data was lost. There was no hope of finding that haunting amalgamation of man and antlers becuase the exact route I rode was missing. That whole trip was missing.
I imagine that if Google had removed Timelines altogether, without the option to back things up within a certain amount of time, the data loss would feel less frustrating. The opportunity was there and, still, due to some admitted incompetence, my timeline data was purged from existence. That feels so much worse than the abandonment of any feature could.
That includes classic products that have gone unsupported, like Stadia and Google Podcasts, to name just two. Games that were once on Stadia still exist. Just becuase the platform is gone doesn’t mean I can’t play them somewhere else. I’m sure my location data is out there, realistically, but it’s not within reasonable reach.
So is it better to lose a feature in its entirety, or miss the boat when massive changes come along? It happens all the time. Google’s product ecosystem is so vast that it’s difficult to keep up with every little tool at your disposal. That’s even more true in the wake of Gemini and the onslaught of AI tools that spawn from it. If even a couple of those brought on changes as inherently substantial as the Timelines tool, plenty of users may never even know about it.
That extends to users in my own family. They had been using Maps consistently for directions since Google announced it would be changing its approach, and they had no idea that Maps Timelines needed to be backed up. Like me, their last decade of travel data is gone.
In essence, the Google Maps Timeline contributions feel like the culmination of literal years of travel and existence. It’s a palpable representation of where you’ve been and what you’ve done. Losing that is gutting, in a way.
If this is your first time hearing about the change, go ahead and open Google Maps. You won’t be notified that your timeline is gone. Only when you open the feature page after tapping your profile photo will you get a notification about your data.
If Google hadn’t hidden the card highlighting the change in the actual Timeline page — a page rarely frequented — then more users would likely back up their data and save their trip log. Supplemented with push notifications and emails detailing the change, it’s likely the change went unnoticed for some.
Even if that feature isn’t directly interacted with very often, the ability to recall past trips and visits is extremely valuable. For myself, that value was reset to 0.
The feature isn’t technically gone, but it feels like starting over. That’s worse than losing it altogether.
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Amid a federal immigration crackdown in Boston, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey decried the ramped-up enforcement as “political theater” with no benefit to public safety.
During an appearance on MSNBC Sunday, Healey said President Donald Trump’s administration had not contacted her about what Immigration and Customs Enforcement has dubbed “Operation Patriot 2.0.” A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said ICE was “arresting sex offenders, pedophiles, murderers, drug dealers and gang members released by local authorities.”
But Healey, who noted her experience as a prosecutor and the state’s attorney general, said the surge of immigration enforcement was not actually aimed at making Massachusetts safer.
“What we have seen from ICE and from the administration really isn’t about public safety, it’s about political theater,” Healey said. “It’s about a political power grab and an attempt to intimidate.”
ICE operations in Massachusetts have led to the arrest and detainment of civilians, not just criminals, Healey said.
Days before the start of the reported start of the surge of immigration enforcement, the Department of Justice filed suit against Boston in federal court, claiming its “sanctuary city” law was unconstitutional. The city has not responded in federal court, but Boston Mayor Michelle Wu vowed to fight back.
The law in question, the Boston Trust Act, prohibits local law enforcement in the city from aiding ICE in civil immigration efforts.
“These are just terms the Trump administration makes up,” Healey said, of the “sanctuary city” phrase.
“Massachusetts is not a sanctuary state,” she added.
Wu has also decried the ICE operation, saying the city would not be “bullied or intimidated into abandoning the efforts that make Boston a safe home for everyone.”
“For months, ICE has refused to provide any information about their activities in Boston and refuses to issue warrants, while we hear reports of ICE agents taking parents as they are dropping their kids off at school,” she said. “That does not make our community safer.”
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InDrive, known for its bidding-based ride-hailing model across Asia and Latin America, is rolling out a “super-app” strategy aimed at frontier markets — expanding beyond cabs to deliver daily essentials to its users.
Beginning with grocery deliveries in Kazakhstan, InDrive plans to expand into multiple verticals over the next 12 months across its top markets, including Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan, Peru, and Mexico. The shift comes on the heels of more than 360 million app downloads and 6.5 billion transactions globally, cementing its position as the world’s second most-downloaded ride-hailing app, behind Uber, since 2022.
“If customers use you more frequently, then, of course, they stay longer, they’re more valuable in the ecosystem, and they’re just more loyal overall,” said Andries Smit, chief growth business officer at InDrive, in an exclusive interview.
InDrive chose grocery delivery as its first expansion move after seeing rapid growth in its delivery segment — with over 41 million orders completed worldwide in 2024 and more than 14 million in Q2 2025 alone — making it one of the fastest-scaling categories in the company’s portfolio.
The Mountain View, California-based company has launched its grocery delivery service in Kazakhstan, offering over 5,000 products with a 15-minute delivery promise. Early pilots in the Central Asian country yielded a net promoter score of 83% — signaling high customer satisfaction — and an average of five grocery orders per user per month, the company said.
Smit told TechCrunch that InDrive is using a dark store model for grocery deliveries in Kazakhstan, with most items focused on ready-to-eat meals and around 10% consisting of fresh products — part of a strategy to boost customer retention. He added that the model will vary in other regions, where the company is open to partnering locally, particularly in markets with a dense network of mom-and-pop stores.
Without sharing specifics, Smit said that the company has added 30% more dark stores in the country since August.
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Why is Kazakhstan the first market?
InDrive currently operates in 982 cities across 48 countries globally and leads in eight of them. But then why has it picked Kazakhstan as the first market for its super-app move?
Smit told TechCrunch that the company decided to do so after seeing a “huge uptick” in consumers going digital in the country, which is the largest economy across Central Asia. InDrive also has its largest headcount in Kazakhstan, serving as a central hub for its R&D and operations.
InDrive did not disclose specific growth metrics for its operations in Kazakhstan. However, a recent report by Dealroom, published in collaboration with the government-backed tech park Astana Hub, noted that the company saw a 44% growth in the country over the past 12 months.
The report also valued Kazakhstan’s tech ecosystem at $26 billion — an 18-fold jump since 2019 — suggesting a sharp rise in local startup formation, funding, and digital services.
Image Credits:Dealroom
Kazakhstan already has grocery delivery apps to fulfill some of the demand. Nonetheless, InDrive wants to win the market predominantly with affordable pricing — aiming to be the Aldi of online groceries.
“There is access and inequality, and even access issues with some of the groceries,” said Smit. “Some of our cost-conscious consumers end up not buying from the right places or not buying the right goods, and they recognize that, but they feel they have no other choice.”
InDrive’s super-app: a differentiator or déjà vu
Many companies have tried to succeed with super apps. While some, like WeChat and Gojek, have found success, others — including Meta — have struggled to gain traction.
Smit, who worked with WeChat in his former role in 2016, experienced how the integrated experience on the Chinese app worked well. He told TechCrunch that, by leveraging his expertise and utilizing AI capabilities, InDrive plans to make its super-app strategy successful. The AI integration would help bring personalization to users and make services accessible to people with disabilities and those with lower literacy, he said.
InDrive’s Grocery Delivery service in KazakhstanImage Credits:InDrive
In November 2023, InDrive announced a venture and merger and acquisition arm to invest up to $100 million over the next few years. Smit told TechCrunch that of that venture, about 30% has already been deployed on the super-app strategy.
The company invested in Pakistan’s grocery startup, Krave Mart, in December as part of that venture. However, there is no concrete timeline on when InDrive’s app will offer grocery deliveries to users in Pakistan.
InDrive’s arch-rival Uber has also expanded its service portfolio, adding verticals like food delivery through Uber Eats in select markets. Smit said InDrive targets a different customer segment — one that Uber typically doesn’t serve — though there is some overlap in certain regions.
“By and large, we really support and play into a cost-conscious consumer,” he said.
India as a “puzzle” market
In addition to frontier markets including Kazakhstan, InDrive has been operating in India for some time, competing with Uber as well as homegrown players such as Ola and Rapido. However, the company has not picked up in the South Asian nation. Uber even piloted a version of InDrive’s bidding model in India, attempting to replicate the approach.
Data from Appfigures exclusively shared with TechCrunch shows that InDrive saw 1.07 million fewer downloads year-to-date compared to the same period in 2024 — a 22.6% decline. In contrast, Uber added 8.02 million downloads, up 60.6%, while Ola gained 1.55 million, a 13.2% increase. Rapido emerged as the fastest-growing player, with 14.9 million additional downloads — an 80.9% surge.
“India is a puzzle for us,” Smit told TechCrunch. “India is still growing, and we are focused… we’ve decided to focus very quickly on key cities where we really think we want to operate strongly.”
Image Credits:Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch
The company is testing different models, especially in the freight business, though it is known for allowing riders to haggle with drivers. These include different payment mechanisms for drivers to get paid daily and even go with a specific take rate, Smit said.
InDrive faced early challenges and saw limited success at first — even in markets like Pakistan, where it later became the leading ride-hailing platform following Uber’s exit.
“We’ve had sleeper markets where the markets sort of drifted, and then for whatever case, maybe one of the competitors falters,” Smit said.
More than a dozen riders and drivers in India told TechCrunch that safety concerns were a key reason they no longer prefer using InDrive. Some drivers said the app’s bidding model had been exploited by riders — and, in some cases, even by fellow drivers posing as riders to hassle their peers by aggressively haggling.
Smit said that the company prioritizes safety and customer service.
“Yes, we need to do a lot more in talking to this safety perception and in teaching and educating our drivers and passengers,” he said.
Next verticals in plans
InDrive plans to expand its super-app offering by launching new services tailored to local market needs. Smit told TechCrunch that these could include financial services. One example is already live in markets including Brazil and Mexico, where drivers can access small loans through the ride-hailing app. The company is exploring ways to extend this to passengers — and potentially to small businesses involved in deliveries, the executive added.
The company also plans to explore a service that enables micro-mobility, allowing its consumers to connect with local businesses and public transportation services.
“We want to be city-specific, and it could be a bouquet of different services,” Smit said. “We want to capture the key verticals that we have capability for, that we know and are very close to our core… But if we have no experience in running, for those kinds of services, we will definitely just partner with the right player.”
Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy is releasing a Poké Ball virtual pet toy so you can fulfill your dreams of carrying your favorite Pokémon around with you everywhere. I don’t know how this one slid under my radar when it was announced at the end of August (perhaps because all my attention has been on ) but now that I’ve seen it, I must have it. While it appears to be a Japan-only release, the product page shows it will have an English language option in the menu. Pre-orders are open (though currently sold out on ), and the device will ship on October 11, according to .
The toy costs ¥7,480 or about $51 — but I shudder to think how much that number will jump with tariffs factored in. Per the listing, there are seven partner Pokémon you can care for: Pikachu, Eevee, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, Quaxly, Lucario and Sylveon. And if you pet the device, they’ll react. There are also 150 other Pokémon to interact with, though it’s unclear what the extent of those interactions will be beyond battles (and… ?). Regardless, l hope Wooper is one of them.
Ahead of the expected October 1 announcement, the rumored Nest Cam and Doorbell “2K” updates are already appearing in stores.
The image below is from a Reddit user visiting Home Depot this weekend. The retailer put the products out early, which is something that has happened in the past.
We see the updated product packaging that Google introduced last year. On the smart home front, this style debuted with the Google TV Streamer and 4th gen Nest Learning Thermostat.
On this box, Google is using “2K” after the product name to distinguish the new generation. The side of the box features a “with Gemini” badge that has the sparkle. Google ads/videos refer to the Pixel 10 “with Gemini,” but this expansion to the actual box is new. The full product names are expected to be:
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Nest Cam Outdoor (wired, 2nd Gen)
Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd Gen)
Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd Gen)
We don’t think the price tags in this picture are for the new products as it refers to the “2ND GEN” Nest Doorbell Wired instead of “3rd Gen.” This is likely a case of the new units being mistaken for the existing lineup by employees. Usually, attempts to purchase new products early will fail at the register, but some have gotten lucky in the past (Chromecast with Google TV).
The physical design of these cameras are mostly unchanged from 2021. There are some new colors, with a very vibrant red leading the pack. (Is that going to fit in anybody’s home, or is it intentionally meant to stick out?)
It’s somewhat unexpected to see these products shipped to stores already. As such, it’s likely they will be immediately available to purchase come October 1.
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Police are asking the public for information on a shooting that happened Thursday in Taunton and left a man with life-threatening injuries.
On Sept. 4, Taunton police were contacted by Morton Hospital around 6:45 p.m. after a patient checked in with a gunshot wound, the police department said in a press release. The 24-year-old man was stabilized at the hospital and then flown by medical helicopter to a local trauma center.
The initial investigation determined that the shooting took place at 11 Granite St. in Taunton, police said.
“Based on the information gathered so far, investigators believe this was an isolated incident and not a random act of violence,” police wrote on Friday.
Taunton police detectives are still investigating the shooting. They ask that anyone with information about it call them at 508-821-1475.
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Microsoft said Saturday that clients of its Azure cloud platform might experience increased latency after multiple undersea cables were cut in the Red Sea, as reported in Bloomberg.
In a status update, the company said traffic going through the Middle East or ending in Asia or Europe had been affected. It did not say who had cut the cables or why.
“Undersea fiber cuts can take time to repair, as such we will continuously monitor, rebalance, and optimize routing to reduce customer impact in the meantime,” the status update said.
By Saturday evening, Microsoft said it was no longer detecting any Azure issues. But it seems Azure was not the only service affected, with NetBlocks reporting that “a series of subsea cable outages in the Red Sea has degraded internet connectivity in multiple countries” including India and Pakistan.
Sometimes, rising prices for streaming services feels as inevitable as death and taxes. So when a serious discount is available, we tend to sit up and take notice. For a few weeks, you can get a whopping half off an annual subscription to Paramount+. A year of the Paramount+ Essential plan, which is ad-supported, will cost $30 compared to the usual $60. Paramount+ Premium, which is ad-free except for live tv programming, will cost $60 for a year instead of $120.
Paramount+
Get half off plans for new and returning customers through September 18.
This is a substantial deal that both new and returning subscribers can take advantage of; it’s not uncommon for this type of serious discount to only be offered to a first-timer. Anyone who signs up for a year-long subscription to Paramount+ from now through September 18 will be able to get this pricing. The only real caveat with this deal is that you have to pay for the full year in advance; month-to-month subscriptions will still cost the usual rate.
Paramount+ has some great programming options, particularly if you’re a fan of anything involving RuPaul. It’s also the home of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Lower Decks, which are arguably the best modern additions to the sci-fi show’s canon, as well as the other past and present Star Trek series. The platform offers a solid lineup of sports as well. And if you opt to go for the Premium plan, you’ll also be granted access to Showtime titles such as Yellowjackets and the rebooted Dexter: Resurrection.
Check out our coverage of the best streaming deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
Over the past few days I’ve been on the ground in Berlin covering IFA 2025, and one of the most common things to see on the show floor has been Qi2 accessories. With the Pixel 10 finally adding magnets, I was like a kid in a candy store, so here are some of my favorite Qi2 accessories from IFA.
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As one of the longest-running tech shows on the planet, there was a lot at IFA 2025 this week. TVs, home appliances, robots for your robots, and so much more. I saw a lot of cool stuff, but one of the biggest themes I saw around the show – besides AI, of course – was Qi2.
With Qi2’s big 25W upgrade making a splash recently, tons of brands were showcasing their accessories this week ahead of the iPhone launch in just a few days. And, carrying around my Pixel 10 Pro XL around the show floor, I was pretty excited to see everything.
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There were so many Qi2 accessories at IFA, you could simply throw your phone across the room – and I mean absolutely launch it – and there was actually a pretty decent chance it would land on a magnetic accessory.
Of course, there were chargers aplenty.
Aukey’s MagFusion Ark is a stand-out with its flexible charging spheres, while Ugreen caught my eye with a range of battery banks that support 25W charging speeds. What stood out to me about both of these brands is that, unlike many of the other ones out there, the lineups weren’t fully focused on stuffing in an Apple Watch charger. So many of the clever multi-device Qi2 setups I saw across the show felt like a waste as a Pixel 10 owner who’d just have an Apple Watch charger sitting there with nothing to do, so it was nice that Aukey and Ugreen weren’t so hyper-focused on that 3-in-1 setup.
But options went well beyond these two.
Battery banks were clearly a huge area of focus. As mentioned, Aukey and Ugreen both had their own options there, but I also saw options from a lot of other brands. A couple of stand-outs there include one from BMX (short for “Better Mobile Experience”), which has a solid-state battery inside. This means that it can take damage without being dangerous. To prove it, the company put a screw into one of its batteries just before the show and, well, the building hasn’t burned down yet. Meanwhile, a pleather-clad battery from “Uniq” offers passthrough for magnetic accessories, meaning you can still keep your wallet attached to the battery while the battery charges your phone.
Other interesting chargers I spotted include a charging puck from Energea that has a built-in retractable USB-C cable, a desktop charging dock from Baseus that has several charging ports, built-in retactable cables, and a posable Qi2 25W dock.
There was also this wild Qi2 charging dock built into a lamp from a company called Ricomm.
But magnetic accessories go beyond just chargers and batteries! I also found some neat wallets with kickstands from Moft, a pair of flexible car mounts from Baseus, and a Bluetooth speaker stand from Energea. Several brands were also showing off little magnetic panels that include suction cups.
Towards the end of my visit, I also visited the “Oh Snap” booth, a smaller company that had some neat options to show off.
The two main products on display included a phone grip that, by their description, “doesn’t suck.” Unlike the many other phone grips I’ve seen, this one is very thin. It’s even thinner than Google’s Pixelsnap Ring and, while the kickstand isn’t nearly as strong, it also comes with the benefit of still supporting wireless charging passthrough on magnetic chargers. But by far the coolest thing was a game controller that’s slim, has a pop-out design to reveal the gamepad, and also comes in a translucent design. The design is surprisingly comfortable, but also super portable. It’s a great idea, and while the controller is still in the final stages of crowdfunding, I’m certainly excited to see it come to market.
And that really put a perfect bookend on my experience at IFA exploring all of the Qi2 accessories that, finally, my phone actually supports. The world of Qi2 (and MagSafe) is wacky and wonderful, full of plenty of practical ideas, but also plenty of clever use cases that I wouldn’t have expected.
I’m really excited to start testing out more of these Qi2 offerings with my Pixel 10 over the coming months, and thrilled that it seems like more Android brands are set to follow Google’s lead.
Did any of these accessories catch your eye? Let’s discuss!
This Week’s Top Stories
Android 16’s big redesign is finally, actually here
After a “false” start to Android 16 a few weeks ago, the full Material 3 Expressive redesign we’ve been waiting for has arrived as QPR1 is now available to all Pixel 6 and newer owners.
IFA 2025 recap (aside from all the Qi2)
Here are all of our stories from IFA 2025, including launches from Samsung, Lenovo, and many more.
