Speaking of critical listening, the XC1 work with Sony’s hi-res capable LDAC Bluetooth codec, should you happen to own a compatible Android phone (sorry, iPhone users). Using LDAC can reveal more detail, especially when listening to a source of lossless audio, but for these earbuds, I don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze. Using… Continue reading Baseus Inspire XC1 Review: Excellent Open Earbuds
Author: Wired Magazine
The Best OTC Hearing Aids (2025), Tested and Reviewed
If you’re spending hundreds or thousands of dollars buying an OTC hearing aid, make sure you’re getting a product that offers a sustainable long-term solution to your hearing loss needs. Aside from the obvious things like sound quality, take a few minutes to look into these specs. What size and style works best for you?… Continue reading The Best OTC Hearing Aids (2025), Tested and Reviewed
DHS Wants a Fleet of AI-Powered Surveillance Trucks
The US Department of Homeland Security is seeking to develop a new mobile surveillance platform that fuses artificial intelligence, radar, high-powered cameras, and wireless networking into a single system, according to federal contracting records reviewed by WIRED. The technology would mount on 4×4 vehicles capable of reaching remote areas and transforming into rolling, autonomous observation… Continue reading DHS Wants a Fleet of AI-Powered Surveillance Trucks
OpenAI’s Sora Loses Its Top App Store Ranking to Dave’s Hot Chicken
Since its launch on September 30, OpenAI’s Sora app has dominated the iOS App Store charts, thanks to its easy breezy AI video generation and an initially loose interpretation of copyright laws. On Friday, its reign came to an end. Your new champion is … Dave’s Hot Chicken. Yes! Not ChatGPT or Gemini or Threads… Continue reading OpenAI’s Sora Loses Its Top App Store Ranking to Dave’s Hot Chicken
Astronomers Have Discovered Earth’s Latest Quasi-Lunar Moon
The Earth has just added its seventh confirmed quasi-lunar moon. It is 2025 PN7, a small Apollo-type asteroid detected in August solely by its brightness, thanks to the Hawaiian Pan-STARRS 1 telescope. After analyzing its trajectory, scientists concluded that the object maintains a 1:1 resonance with the Earth. In other words, it orbits the sun… Continue reading Astronomers Have Discovered Earth’s Latest Quasi-Lunar Moon
This Upgraded SteelSeries Gaming Headset Is $80 Off
In the world of high-end gaming headsets, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless (8/10, WIRED Recommends) stands out with an impressive feature set and excellent audio. Right now, you can pick up the wireless model for just $300 from Amazon, an $80 discount off the usual price. That might sound like a lot for gaming… Continue reading This Upgraded SteelSeries Gaming Headset Is $80 Off
Inside the Messy, Accidental Kryptos Reveal
Jim Sanborn couldn’t believe it. He was weeks away from auctioning off the answer to Kryptos, the sculpture he created for the CIA that had defied solution for 35 years. As always, wannabe solvers kept on paying him a $50 fee to offer their guesses to the remaining unsolved portion of the 1,800-character encrypted message,… Continue reading Inside the Messy, Accidental Kryptos Reveal
The ‘Surge’ of Troops May Not Come to San Francisco, but the City Is Ready Anyway
After months of deployments by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the National Guard across American cities, federal agents have been preparing to descend into San Francisco. Local resistance groups have been coordinating with activists in other cities across the country that have been besieged by federal law enforcement. Thousands of volunteers, coordinating through Signal… Continue reading The ‘Surge’ of Troops May Not Come to San Francisco, but the City Is Ready Anyway
How Hacked Card Shufflers Allegedly Enabled a Mob-Fueled Poker Scam That Rocked the NBA
“If there’s a camera that knows the cards, there is always some kind of underlying threat. Customers are gonna be essentially at the mercy of the person setting up the machine,” poker player and card house owner Doug Polk previously told WIRED. “If you’re showing up in a private game and there’s a shuffler, I… Continue reading How Hacked Card Shufflers Allegedly Enabled a Mob-Fueled Poker Scam That Rocked the NBA
Trump’s Investment in Intel Is Paying Off
The Trump administration’s investment in Intel appears to be paying off, but the once-mighty chipmaker has a long way to climb back to industry dominance. In August, the US government announced it was converting about $9 billion in federal grants that Intel had been issued during the Biden administration into a roughly 10 percent equity… Continue reading Trump’s Investment in Intel Is Paying Off