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Apple has lined up its first event of the year. Already! It's taking place in New York City on March 4 at 9AM ET, but the company hasn't confirmed if it will stream the media event.
It seems likely the event will be mainly iPads and MacBooks — so business as usual. However, it could include new entry-level MacBooks in a fresh array of colors. I think that's what everyone's reading into the lemon-and-lime tinged invitation.
I'm very much up for a return of the colorful Mac. The first Mac I ever used was one of those bubbly orange iMacs, interning at a video-game magazine. Yes, a magazine.
We're also expecting a 2026 MacBook Air and refreshed 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips also breaking cover. Is it too early for an iPhone 17e? Perhaps. We'll be reporting from the event.
And for those asking about yesterday's newsletter, thanks for your continued support and we'll have more to say soon.
— Mat Smith
The other big stories (and deals) this morning
Meta's metaverse is going mobile-first
Meta reportedly plans to release a smartwatch this year
Ring could be planning to expand Search Party feature beyond dogs
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The future of home was on display at KBIS 2206. Here's all the coolest stuff coming in 2026.
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The US State Department is building a web portal, where Europeans and anyone else can see online content banned by their governments, according to Reuters. It was supposed to be launched at Munich Security Conference last month, but some state department officials reportedly voiced their concerns about the project. The portal will be hosted on freedom.gov, which currently just shows the image above. "Freedom is Coming," the homepage reads. "Information is power. Reclaim your human right to free expression. Get Ready."
Reuters says officials discussed making a virtual private network function available on the portal and making visitors' traffic appear as if they were from the US, so they could see anything unavailable to them. While it's a state department project, The Guardian has traced the domain to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is a component of the US Department of Homeland Security. Homeland also serves as the administrator for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The project could drive the wedge further between the US and its European allies. European authorities don't usually order broad censorships preventing their citizens from being able to access large parts of the internet. Typically, they only order the blocking of hate speech, terrorist propaganda, disinformation and anything illegal under the EU's Digital Services Act or the UK's Online Safety Act.
"If the Trump administration is alleging that they're gonna be bypassi
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Sony is closing Bluepoint Games, the studio behind the Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls remakes, Bloomberg reports. Bluepoint's last major project was God of War: Ragnarok from 2022, which it co-developed with Sony Santa Monica.
According to Bloomberg, Sony decided to shut down the studio following "a recent business review." Around 70 employees will lose their jobs as part of the studio closure, which will officially happen in March. "Bluepoint Games is an incredibly talented team and their technical expertise has delivered exceptional experiences for the PlayStation community," Sony said in a statement to Bloomberg. "We thank them for their passion, creativity and craftmanship."
Following their work on Ragnarok, Bluepoint was reportedly tasked with developing a live-service game set in the God of War universe. That title was cancelled in 2025, alongside another game from Bend Studio. In the context of Sony's other live-service failures, the decision wasn
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 A major UK consumer lawsuit alleging that Qualcomm inflated iPhone prices through its patent licensing practices will be withdrawn with no payment (via Reuters).
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