Wear OS is much better than it used to be, so there’s never been a better time to consider a smartwatch.

Read the full story at The Verge.

You were listening, walking, and playing, and they were watching. The app recaps, best-of lists, and awards for 2024 that we can find are here.

It’s not just Spotify anymore — the Wrapped phenomenon has taken over. From music and podcasts to gaming (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and Steam are all accounted for) and beyond, the data breakdowns of what you’ve been doing are a reminder that with so many connected devices, someone is always watching.

Once Dunkin and Shake Shack started doing roundups, the trend was cemented, and it doesn’t seem like it will turn around any time soon.

Of course, Spotify is still taking the lead. For 2024, Wrapped integrates Google’s NotebookLM to have two AI-generated podcast hosts review facts you already knew about your favorite musicians and track how your taste changed throughout the year. If you haven’t pulled up your Wrapped 2024 stats yet, here’s how you can find them.

If you have recaps to share or spot a few that we’ve missed, drop them in the comments.

Will Judd / Eurogamer.net:
Sony details the PS5 Pro's specs, including an AMD RDNA 2-based GPU with 16.7TF of performance and ray tracing improvements, and announces an AMD partnership  —  Plus: what this all means for future PlayStation hardware.  —  When Sony revealed the PlayStation 5 Pro, it did so in a very different manner …

Elden Ring Nightreign is a cooperative spinoff with an asterisk. You can play it with a group of three or by yourself, but not in a duo, according to an IGN interview with director Junya Ishizaki. There isn’t a technical reason for this awkward limitation, however. It’s about game balance. “This was largely a game […]

GM is partnering with ChargePoint to build out a new EV charging network under the GM Energy brand, the companies announced today.

GM plans to install up to 500 DC fast-charging ports at stations deployed in “strategic” places across the US, with some equipped with ChargePoint’s Express Plus platform that supports charge speeds up to 500kW. GM and Chargepoint plan to open the stations “rapidly, with the locations deployed by the end of 2025.”

ChargePoint will bring its Omni Port charging hardware for the project, which can connect with vehicles fitted with either CCS or Tesla’s NACS ports so that owners generally would not need to carry an adapter.

“With ultra-fast charging, Omni Port technology, and excellent customer experiences, this collaboration should be another reason why EV drivers and the EV-curious should be excited,” GM Energy VP Wade Sheffer said in a statement.

This isn’t GM Energy’s only EV charger partnership. The automaker also has an ongoing deal with EVgo that has already installed 2,000 DC fast chargers as of December. GM is also building stations with Flying J and Pilot truck stops, while also taking a role in the EV charging consortium Ionna with major players like Hyundai, Kia, BMW, and Stellantis.