Google is giving its smart-home range a shake-up, and is discontinuing two of its products to replace them with third-party collaborations. That means, after 12 years, it’s time to say goodbye to the Nest Protect Smoke & CO Alarm, and it’s also ending production of the Nest x Yale Lock, a smart lock that debuted in 2018.

The Nest Protect’s replacement comes from First Alert, a well-established player in the smoke detector space. Arriving in the coming months for $130 and available for preorder now, the First Alert Smart Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm will offer safety voice alerts, safety checkups, and the ability to silence alarms from the app.

It’ll connect with existing Nest Protect devices, so if you have one, you can still install the First Alert system in another spot, and if a fire is detected, both units will sound the alarm. Just like the Protect, it can be set up and controlled through the Google Home app.

The Nest x Yale Lock replacement is the Yale Smart Lock with Matter—with no Nest branding at all, though it is “designed for Google Home” and meant to complement Google’s Nest Video Doorbell. Yale claims it’s easy to install, sports 12 months of battery life, has multiple unlocking positions (like an entry code, app, or key), and will be integrated into the Google Home app. It’s also Matter-certified, meaning you should be able to easily connect it with other smart home platforms. It arrives this summer.

Both of Google’s discontinued products will keep receiving security updates (Nest Protect will continue working through its expiration dates), and you’ll still be able to purchase them at retailers while supplies last.

Apple’s WWDC Gets a Date

Mark your calendars. Apple has officially confirmed its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) will start on June 9, with an in-person event and live-streamed keynote. This is where we’ll see new software capabilities for the company’s hardware, including the next versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. The specifics of what will be announced will have to wait until then, but rumors are already swirling about what to expect.

Apple is reportedly “preparing one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company’s history, aiming to transform the interface of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac for a new generation of users,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. This will include updating the style of menus, apps, icons, windows, and system buttons for a more consistent look. It will also mark one year since Apple Intelligence was announced. It’s had a rocky launch, and Apple has recently delayed updates to the new Siri experience that would supposedly understand your context. We’ll likely see more news about the voice assistant and future artificial intelligence features to come. —Brenda Stolyar

Rivian Spins Out a New Micromobility Startup

There’s a new micromobility startup in town called Also, and it hails from Rivian. It began as a stealth program to explore how Rivian’s software and hardware prowess could be applied to smaller electric vehicles, but Rivian decided it “deserved to be its own company.” Rivian maintains a minority ownership stake in Also, with opportunities for collaboration and the ability for the company to leverage Rivian’s retail stores. Rivian’s founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe, will be chairman of Also’s board of directors.

Expect to see the first designs from Also later this year, with a flagship product reportedly arriving in 2026, according to TechCrunch. It’s unclear exactly what we’ll see first, but the first product has a seat and two wheels, a screen, a few computers, and a battery. That sounds like an awful lot like an electric bike or motorcycle, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The Pixel 9a Gets a Release Date

Google announced the Pixel 9a last week, but right before the news went out, the company changed the release date from March 26 to a vague “April.” Turns out there was a small component quality issue that affected a “small number of Pixel 9a devices,” and Google wanted to investigate it. All of this seems to be sorted now.

“A passive component in Pixel 9a didn’t meet our rigorous quality standards for device longevity, and rather than ship it, we made the difficult decision to delay the on-shelf and take corrective action on the small number of affected units,” a Google spokesperson tells WIRED.

The Pixel 9a will now launch on April 10 in the US, Canada, and the UK. On April 14, it’ll launch in several European countries, including Germany, Spain, and Italy, and then on April 16, it will be available in Australia, India, Singapore, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

Lossless Audio Will Come to AirPods Max in April

Lossless audio is finally coming to Apple’s AirPods Max. This week, the company announced a new software update coming in April that will allow the latest USB-C version of its noise-canceling headphones to support audio files with a resolution of up to 24 bit/48 kHz—a first for the headphones. Unfortunately, the original Lightning-powered AirPods Max are left out.

Following the iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4 firmware update, the AirPods Max will also support “ultra-low latency,” which Apple says will improve their gaming performance, as well as offering “significant enhancements to songwriting, beat making, production, and mixing.” More specifically, Apple says that along with their upgraded fidelity and response time, the AirPods Max will be the only headphones that let users record and mix using Personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking, with Apple’s Logic Pro recording software for Mac.

In the same vein, Apple released a new USB-C to 3.5-mm adapter cable for AirPods Max, which will let Max users connect to analog audio sources like laptops, headphone amplifiers, and airplane entertainment systems, though it doesn’t support lossless playback. The pricey accessory will run you $39 and is available at the Apple Store now.

The headphones announcement comes alongside another update for music creators, this time on the Apple Music front. The streaming service is rolling out a new integrated experience that allows DJs to use its 100 million songs with DJ tools including AlphaTheta, Serato, and inMusic’s Engine DJ, Denon DJ, Numark, and RANE DJ. —Ryan Waniata

Twelve South’s AirFly Pro 2 Upgrades In-Flight Entertainment

The original AirFly from accessory maker Twelve South was a hit with frequent flyers who wanted to use their wireless headphones with in-flight entertainment systems. Now, the AirFly Pro 2 has landed with some worthy upgrades.

Firstly, it’s now easier to pair, with a dedicated on/off switch that’ll automatically connect to your headphones out of the box. There are also front-mounted volume controls for easier access, plus a battery life indicator for checking how much juice is left with the push of a button. That battery life gets a boost too, up to 25-plus hours, from the 20-plus hours on its predecessor.

In addition to a new Qualcomm QCC3056 chipset, it now offers aptX HD that’ll help deliver higher-fidelity audio, richer details, and enhanced clarity compared to standard Bluetooth connections. It’s available now for $60. —Brenda Stolyar

Sony’s C710N Gets a Transparent Look

Sony has updated its popular midrange earbuds with crowd-pleasing upgrades like better noise canceling, improved battery life, and new touch controls—not to mention a rather lovely transparent blue colorway.

The WF-C710N will run for 30 hours total (with ANC on), up from 20 hours on their predecessors, and with up to 8.5 hours on a single charge. New dual microphones help to give the noise canceling a boost, ensuring that your environment is more accurately assessed for the best possible noise reduction. They’ll help improve call quality too.

Touch controls can divide opinion, but these replace the physical buttons on the WF-C700N to make volume control easier and more comfortable while you’re wearing them, while Bluetooth Multipoint is on board from launch, for connecting to and switching between two devices at once.

The best thing is that the price hasn’t changed from their predecessors—they cost $120. Preorders are open now, and the headphones will ship in the next couple of weeks. —Verity Burns

Canon’s EOS R50 V Is Vlogger-Ready

The new Canon EOS R50 V is a video camera for the vlogging masses, serving up some high-end video features without the high-end price. The 24-MP APS-C sensor in the R50 V is capable of 10-bit 4:2:2 C-Log 3 video. Resolution tops out at 4K/30, but that uses the full width of the APS-C sensor (meaning it’s oversampled 6K video).

The R50 V can also shoot PQ and Hybrid Log Gamma video for your HDR footage, plus it has four-channel audio capabilities—something you don’t see much in a camera that’s only $649. It does lack some of the more premium features of Canon’s cinema line, though, and does cut a few other corners as well.

There’s no viewfinder, for example, though you do get a fully articulating rear screen, and there’s no flash. The EOS R50 V will be available in April for $649 for the body, and $849 with the new 14-30mm F4-6.3 power zoom lens. —Scott Gilbertson