Broadcast channel replies allow participants to respond to messages as they can on Instagram posts. | Image: Meta Instagram is adding some new features to broadcast channels that give platform creators more ways to directly interact with their followers. Meta announced in its latest blog post that creators can enable “Replies” in their broadcast channel limited group chats, allowing participants to respond to messages and each other’s comments — just like they already can on Instagram posts. Creators can also publish time-sensitive “Prompts” to their channels, presented as questions like “what are you having for dinner today?” to encourage audience engagement. Channel participants have 24 hours to respond with text or photos, and can like their favorite comments left by other users. Instagram is also rolling out new metrics for creators to track, including total number of interactions, story shares, and poll votes, alongside “personalized, actionable guidance” that can help them grow and manage their audiences. Image: Meta Prompts work like open-response polls or sub-threads, allowing channel members to engage in a contained conversation. We’ve asked Meta to clarify when these new broadcast channel features will be available for Instagram creators. Instagram head Adam Mosseri initially teased the update by enabling it on his own “IG Updates” channel earlier this week. While Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp also support broadcast channels, these new features have only been announced for Instagram. Meta hasn’t mentioned if they’ll eventually be rolled out to its other platforms, but given Instagram was the first to launch broadcast channels it may be being used as a testing ground.

Image: Disney After bringing Hulu content to the Disney Plus app earlier this year, Disney is now doing the same for ESPN Plus programming. A new ESPN tile is being added to the app’s homescreen. The tile just says “ESPN,” because for right now, it’ll only include the live games and shows that are normally part of ESPN Plus. But next year will mark the long-awaited debut of a true ESPN streaming service — you know, the actual cable channel with shows that sports fans can’t live without — and that’ll eventually be accessible through this Disney Plus portal, too. Disney’s reasoning for putting all this content under one umbrella is simple: it wants to get more people signed up for the Disney Plus / Hulu / ESPN Plus triple-package bundle. And the less friction there is, the more appealing that bundle becomes for customers who might only be paying for the core service right now. To help push the bundle even harder, Disney Plus subscribers can now access “a curated selection of live sports events and shows from ESPN Plus and movies and series from Hulu.” The tiles for both services will now appear in the main navigation even if you’re not paying for Hulu or ESPN. Image: Disney If you’re a bundle subscriber, you get all the stuff! If you’re not, you get a small sampling of stuff... to help tempt you into the bundle. “This gives our bundle subscribers one place to consume everything they love from all our brands.” Alisa Bowen, president of Disney Plus, said in a press release. ESPN Plus offers access to “over 30,000 live sports events each year” along with plenty of original content. But this is really just a half-step towards the end goal of bringing real, linear ESPN to the service. Disney says what we’re seeing today is “the groundwork for an expanded sports offering on Disney Plus in the US upon the launch of ESPN’s flagship direct-to-consumer product, expected in fall of 2025.” That ESPN streaming service is expected to launch as early as August and has been rumored to cost upwards of $30 per month. Yes, just for ESPN. You’ll be able to view it through Disney Plus, but CEO Bob Iger has said the ESPN app will offer a more feature-packed sports experience with integrated betting and fantasy leagues. The Disney option is there for people who want the convenience of everything being crammed into a single app. Disney is determined to make its streaming business a reliable profit maker, and the real money is in bundles and ad-supported plans. On the ad front, advertisers will have the ability to purchase inventory “by sport, league, team, within live events, and across all marketplaces” now that ESPN content is streaming within Disney Plus. The company has also taken steps to tackle password sharing and now charges customers between $6.99 and $9.99 for letting others sign into their Disney Plus account from a different location. The cost of subscribing to Disney Plus is inevitably going to keep climbing higher. And Disney will no doubt cite the app’s value as an all-encompassing entertainment hub — now with sports — as the rationale for those hikes. For the end user, it can all feel reminiscent of cable, but that’s the streaming era we find ourselves in.

As far as tech goes, 2024 was a strong year for some innovative, interesting, and unforgettable moments. We kicked off the year with the Apple Vision Pro — Apple’s long-awaited entry into the world of “spatial computing.” It was impressive, with The Verge’s editor-in-chief, Nilay Patel, describing the device as “magic, until it’s not.” But it still remains to be seen if Apple’s first MR device can kick off this new age of computing. Meta also showed us what it developed after investing billions into its metaverse division. Deputy editor Alex Heath got a demo of Project Orion — a pair of AR glasses that won’t make you look like a super dork (okay, maybe a little). More importantly, though, we got a sense of where AR is heading, which arguably puts Meta in pole position in this space. This was also the year of wearable AI assistants. At CES 2024, we were introduced to the cute Rabbit R1 that stole our hearts. And we got to see Humane’s highly anticipated AI Pin. Even though the devices were big disappointments when they finally released, they do represent a turning point in the future of AI interactions. We can never go a year without the biggest smartphone upgrades. Samsung,... Read the full story at The Verge.

Apple won't follow the trend of introducing a brand new chip with its best new iPad models, as it did with the M4 iPad Pro. According to the latest reports, the M5 iPad Pro won't arrive before late 2025 or even early 2026. Top insider Ming-Chi Kuo wrote a blog post on Medium saying the M5 iPad Pro is expected to enter mass production in the second half of 2025. "The iPad Pro equipped with the M5 processor is expected to enter mass production in 2H25," he wrote. "The company's business momentum in 2H25 is anticipated to benefit significantly from Apple's new product launches." While this might not mean much, Kuo is likely talking about the significant refreshes expected by this time of the year, such as the iPhone, Apple Watch, and possibly a new version of the Apple Vision Pro. That said, users shouldn't be that worried about their M4 iPad Pro becoming an obsolete product in the near future. If rumors are accurate, the iPad Pro with the M4 processor could be almost two years old before Apple introduces a new variant. Even when that happens, we don't expect significant changes. Based on what we've heard so far, it seems that the iPad Pro will only get a specs bump with the M5 processor, and the next-generation chip won't even be such a big deal. Image source: Apple Inc. While the M4 greatly improves over the M3, Apple has apparently canceled the M5 with the newer 2nm process developed by TSMC due to cost concerns. According to The Elec, the M5 chip will adopt a new System On Integrated Chip technology, which enhances thermal management and reduces electrical leakage. With that, we could see enhancements in performance and efficiency and a broader focus on Neural Engine tasks for AI and Apple Intelligence. While knowing that Apple has moved on to producing its newer processors, we still have several months with M4 products, including some new ones that need to be unveiled. When will Apple start introducing new M5 products? If the company follows the schedule analysts predict, the M5 family won't be available before the end of next year. Here's what we expect: Late 2025: Apple should unveil at least new M5 MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max options; the company could also update the Mac mini and iMac, although it's unclear at this moment; Late 2025/Early 2026: Apple introduces the M5 iPad Pro; Early 2026/Mid 2026: Cupertino unveils new MacBook Air models with the M5 processor; Mid 2026/Late 2026: Apple expands the M5 chips for the Mac Studio and potentially to Mac Pro, depending on the upgrades expected for this processor. It's important to note that bigger changes are expected to start appearing by 2026 or 2027, when Apple will unveil a new OLED display technology for the MacBook Pro, followed by an improved display on the iPad Pro. In the next couple of years, we could also see Apple unveiling its first foldable products as well. Don't Miss: Apple just took the first major step toward making next-gen M5 iPads and Macs The post New iPad Pro won’t be Apple’s first product with an M5 chip appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Black Friday begins: 20% off Sonos, $29 Magic Bullet, $60 Vortex air fryer, $79 Ember heated coffee mug, more Early Black Friday deals: Nintendo Switch games, $249 Oura Ring 3, $25 Crock-Pot, $100 Beats Pill, more T-Mobile’s latest holiday offer: Get an iPhone 16 Pro on us

Eli Lilly said on Wednesday patients taking its obesity drug Zepbound lost 47% more weight than those who were given Novo Nordisk's Wegovy in the first large, head-to-head trial of the highly in-demand rival medicines. In the 751-person trial, Zepbound helped patients lose...

President-elect Donald Trump's jest to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau about annexing his nation as the U.S.'s 51st state appeared to continue with a computer-generated photo shared on Truth Social of himself with a Canadian flag and the caption "Oh Canada!" on Tuesday.

The FBI is investigating a series of recent mysterious drone sightings over Central New Jersey, not far from President-elect Donald Trump's Bedminster golf course.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, on Wednesday said he is not backing down even as his nomination to lead the Pentagon faces trouble in Congress over allegations about his personal and professional life.

Text messages sent from Android phones to iPhones are in danger of being hacked because their encryption methods don't apply to each others' systems, which won't allow users to heed FBI and CISA warnings for Americans to use fully encrypted messages when possible.

The CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was fatally shot in the chest on Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan, the New York Post reported, citing police sources.