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There's no denying the allure of shiny new tech (I mean, have you seen the smartphone images Engadget's Sam Rutherford takes?). But you don't always have to shell out for the latest model to get a good gadget. Buying refurbished will be much easier on your wallet, sometimes saving you hundreds of dollars over buying new. And with tariffs threatening to increase the costs of all goods — tech included — going the refurbished route might become the more popular option in the near future. And let's not forget, buying refurbished is far easier on the environment, since the majority of a device's environmental impact happens in the manufacturing process and, as a bonus, it keeps old tech out of the e-waste stream for a little longer.
There's no regulation for what constitutes "refurbished" tech, but it's often a level or two above "used" items you'd buy off a guy on the street. Refurbished usually means the device has undergone some combination of testing, cleaning and repair — often all three — and it should perform as if it were new, with only minor scuffs to indicate its past life. But some outlets aren't as trustworthy as others when it comes to refurbished options. We have a few recommendations for places to find refurbished tech that all have documented processes for how they handle the process. We also point out what to look for when you're shopping for such tech, so you get something as close to
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The European Commission (EC) reportedly delayed regulatory penalty announcements against Apple and Meta this week as it accelerates its push for a trade deal with the US. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal said the move led to concern from European Parliament lawmakers that political factors are influencing the body's regulatory decisions.
The EU is said to have initially planned to announce cease-and-desist orders against Apple and Meta on Tuesday and reportedly told at least one of the companies about the timing in advance. The WSJ says the decision to postpone the announcement came shortly before EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefcovic met with US officials in Washington on Monday, the official's first in-person talks with the US since President Donald Trump's 90-day tariff pause.
On Tuesday, an EC spokesperson said technical work had been completed on the cases, but no dates had been announced. "We're currently working on the adoption of final decisions in the short term," the spokesman reportedly said.
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US District Judge Leonie Brinkema found Google guilty of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act by "willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power in the open-web display publisher ad server market and the open-web display ad exchange market." Here's a PDF of the ruling, via The Verge. It's the conclusion of a case brought by the federal government and eight states over two years ago.
Though Google competes in dozens of categories—from manufacturing its own phones to providing "big iron" data to some of the world's biggest companies—advertising is arguably its most important business. Ads keep much of the web profitable and allow Google to provide its primary search engine for free, in addition to other services like Gmail, Google Docs, YouTube, etc. According to Statista, Google reaped over 250 billion US dollars from advertising in 2024, and Google owns 80 percent of the search market worldwide.
The determination that Google is operating an illegal monopoly—the second such determination from the US DOJ in two years—could be devastating t
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When U.S. President Donald Trump levied 145 percent tariffs on goods imported from China, Apple CEO Tim Cook started working to score Apple an exemption that would keep iPhone costs down.
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Apple Inc on Monday released the results of a study that found its App Store spurred $458 billion in sales last year from categories such as retail of physical goods, ride-hailing and advertising from which the iPhone maker takes no commission.
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