This week we saw major decisions that could shake up the tech world, as social media was called addictive in a landmark trial and the United States banned foreign Wi-Fi routers.
To catch up on this, as well as the latest reviews and other essential tech news, scroll down for our full ICYMI roundup of the week.
When you’re done here, be sure to also read our experts’ picks for the seven new movies and TV shows to watch this weekend.
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On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google responsible for designing deliberately addictive products, a case that could change social media forever. The plaintiff, a woman known only as KGM, testified that she “became addicted to YouTube at age six and Instagram at age nine,” which led to body image issues and self-harm.
KGM’s lawyers, in their closing comments, said: “How can you make a child never get off the phone? That’s called addiction engineering.” We identify three persuasive tricks social media companies use to keep users glued to their screens, and exactly how the infinite scroll loop hijacks children’s still-developing brains, all according to the latest scientific research.
2. We hear Sonos Play in all its splendor.
We spent a few weeks testing the Sonos Play speaker and it’s a real return to form for Sonos. Not because it’s the best-sounding speaker in the world (although that’s certainly impressive for something that size) or because it has every feature imaginable (although it offers more options than basically anything else in its price range), but because it gets back to what Sonos was known for: speakers so convenient, you’ll listen to more music than ever before.
It’s a portable, battery-powered speaker that’s compact and lightweight enough to take with you, but also powerful and high-quality enough to use as your main wireless speaker in a room. That means it’s always available at any time, so we found ourselves using it more often, in more places, than other portable speakers.
The excellent, durable design with a charging base is what helps cement it as perhaps the ideal whole-home wireless speaker, although it doesn’t come cheap.
3. We fly the DJI 360 drone
We have tested the DJI Avata 360 and our verdict is: it is the 360 drone to beat. It is more agile and versatile than the previous model, the Antigravity A1, and has excellent 10-bit image quality. Did we mention it’s also more affordable?
Yes, other DJI drones offer better pure image quality and 360° footage requires post-production editing. Still, as an all-rounder that’s both a capable 360 camera and an exciting FPV wheel, the Avata 360 delivers brilliant results.
4. Non-US Routers Banned in US
In this week’s version of the strange tech law the Trump administration will impose on us, it simply banned new non-US-made Wi-Fi routers, meaning they will be banned unless they are made in the United States.
According to the FCC, routers manufactured outside the US pose both a “supply chain vulnerability” and a “serious cybersecurity risk.” Basically, they fear that these foreign routers could be used to spy on American citizens.
While this isn’t the most illogical move, the big problem is that finding American-made routers isn’t easy, and all of the best ones we’ve tested are made outside the country, meaning that a new router you “upgrade” to could actually be a downgrade.
5. OpenAI killed Sora
Sora, we barely knew you. Just six months after launching what could be the world’s first social AI application and just 18 months after launching the Sora generative video model to the world, OpenAI went offline.
Sora, as a platform and application, seems to no longer exist.
OpenAI announced the news in a social post and has since offered little explanation. We have a few guesses, such as the rising costs of supporting all that video generation, the dwindling interest in the app, or perhaps OpenAI’s readiness to go public. It’s something they may have to do since Disney also just backed out of a billion-dollar deal with the artificial intelligence company.
6. iOS 26.4 sparked controversy
iOS updates usually offer new features and fun for iPhone fans, but this week, iOS 26.4 came with a less welcome gift: age verification checks for UK users.
When you install the update, you have to prove that you are over 18, and that has caused problems for many who don’t have a driver’s license or credit card to scan. Errors in the process and concerns around the security of age verification checks have also added extra fuel to this already hot topic.
If you’re having trouble with iOS 26.4, we’ve outlined some possible solutions in our guide below. This controversy is likely just beginning, but perhaps WWDC 2026 (also announced this week for June 8) will help provide some answers.
7. Netflix raised prices
It’s that time of year again! We’re not talking about the changing of seasons, no, of course, it’s Netflix’s price increase. Yippe…
The world’s largest streaming service has quietly announced that the ad-supported Standard tier will increase by $1 to $8.99, while both the ad-free tiers, Standard and Premium, will increase by $2 to $19.99 and $26.99, respectively.
What’s more, Netflix’s additional member fee will increase from $7.99 to $9.99. Oh!
It’s unclear if this change will roll out outside the US anytime soon, but you can always count on three things in life: death, taxes, and Netflix price increases.
