Tech’s greatest losers of 2025

Truthfully, compiling the most important losers for Engadget is extra enjoyable than speaking up the winners. Whereas we reviewed nothing as atrocious as these ill-fated AI assistant devices from 2024, AI corporations and providers straddled each the winner and loser podiums.

The losers could be you, the American shopper. (Sorry.) Within the US, anybody wanting a drone should discover one thing that isn’t made by DJI. The corporate has been focused by regulators since 2017 over considerations its merchandise may spy on delicate US infrastructure on behalf of China.

The issue is DJI has such a excessive market share (over 75 p.c) that its absence will successfully upend the trade. Oh, and its drones are persistently the most effective too. The US authorities hasn’t but tried to work with DJI to evaluate whether or not its merchandise pose a danger. DJI just lately made a last plea for a safety evaluate, sending letters to 5 US companies that might assess its merchandise. If that fails, US drone choices will shrink massively.

In the identical 12 months, EV gross sales throughout the globe are up round 25 p.c this yr. Germany set a report within the first half of 2025, with electrical vehicles accounting for almost one in 5 new registrations. In China, EV gross sales are rising so quick (over 50 p.c market share) that the nation is flooding the worldwide market with gas-powered vehicles it may’t promote at residence. Nonetheless — bear in mind that is about losers — within the US, the Trump administration ended the EV tax credit score. And shock! Gross sales of EVs within the US slumped, with some automakers, akin to Ford, seeing a 60 p.c year-over-year decline.

As Sam Rutherford places it, this coverage change places extra roadblocks (his inadvertent pun, not mine) in the way in which of creating cheaper battery-powered vehicles. It additionally impacts EV funding and will imply US automakers fall even additional behind their rivals elsewhere.

We additionally level and shake our heads at Xbox, Grok and TV streaming. Verify all of it out right here.

— Mat Smith

The opposite large tales (and offers) this morning

Information, trailers and award winners. Most of that are Clair Obscur.

When you missed The Sport Awards 2025, you missed a historic sweep by Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The Belle Epoque saga, which was anticipated to win a number of classes, even bagged Sport of the Yr and finally picked up extra wins than any title within the present’s 12-year historical past.

Naturally, there have been trailers and recreation reveals too, which have been pleasantly notable. We bought a primary have a look at the Management sequel, Resonant, Star Wars: Destiny of The Previous Republic is coming, headed by Mass Impact veterans, whereas Larian Studios is returning to the Divinity sequence following the success of Baldur’s Gate 3. Heck, if you would like a very good probability of profitable at The Sport Awards, rent Jennifer English to voice one among your principal characters — she was in each BG3 and Clair Obscur.

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Slop Wars, Toy Sloppy and extra!

Disney introduced a three-year licensing settlement with OpenAI to carry greater than 200 of its characters, together with these from Star Wars and Pixar, to the Sora app and ChatGPT. With the deal in place, OpenAI customers will be capable to immediate ChatGPT to generate pictures that faucet into Disney’s mental property, with costumes, props, automobiles and environments lined. Moreover, Disney will make investments $1 billion in OpenAI, with the choice to buy further fairness down the highway.

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Study tennis from Serena Williams or music from John Legend.

When you’re struggling to discover a good current for the vacations, MasterClass has discounted its subscriptions by as much as 40 p.c. I secured the same deal for myself and was pleasantly shocked by the stable interface and the variety of programs. I additionally forgot to replace my subscription, whoops. Perhaps this provide will get me again on board.

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It’s already getting the small print incorrect by itself reveals.

Amazon’s plan to supply AI-generated recaps of Prime Video reveals isn’t off to an ideal begin. The corporate’s recap of the primary season of Fallout has a number of errors. First, the AI-generated recap incorrectly identifies the period of the present’s Los Angeles-set flashbacks as being the Nineteen Fifties — they’re really 2077. Maybe extra egregiously for a recap, it misunderstands the ending of the primary season, which units up season two’s partnership between vault dweller Lucy and The Ghoul.

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