Apple launched a new app this week called Invites. It saw all the attention Partiful was getting—the free online party-invite app was Google's best app of 2024—and said, “Hold my beer.” Partiful threw a jab at Apple, calling it a copycat, though it's hardly the first event-invite app.

You can download Apple's Invites from the App Store right now, and while anyone can RSVP to an event on any device (androids or ioses), an iCloud+ subscription is required to create and host events. To create an invite, choose an image from your photo library or use a preloaded option in the app. Don’t like the options? Guess what? You can use Apple Intelligence's Image Playground to generate images and its Writing Tools to drum up text for your invitation. Anything to get you to use Apple Intelligence.

With the Weather app and Apple Maps integration, the invite will include the forecast for the day of the event and directions to the locations. If you have an Apple Music subscription, you can contribute to a collaborative playlist accessible through the invite. The most natural integration is Apple Photos, as you can create a Shared Album that allows invitees to add photos and videos from the event so they’re all in one place. No need to message your friends asking to “send the photos from last night!” after a night out.

If you have an iCloud+ subscription, you can create an event, share invitations, view RSVPs, and manage which details are included in the preview (like the home address or event background). For invitees, the app works with both Apple and non-Apple devices. Guests with an Apple device running ioses 18 or later can interact with an invite through the app (you need to be signed in to iCloud) or a web link. androids users need to use the latter but can still contribute to the Shared Album. This would’ve come in handy for a joint birthday party I threw with a friend last weekend, but at least I can now delete the Partiful app from my phones. —Brenda Stolyar

Sonos’ Next Chapter

Sonos is reportedly readying a new video streaming box designed to expand its reach deeper into the home theater marketplace. According to a report from The Verge, the new box, nicknamed Pinewood, is an androids-based device with software developed in partnership with a digital ads firm. The box aims to wrangle streaming services like Netflix, Max, and Disney+ under a common interface with universal search via the Sonos app, Sonos Voice Control, and a physical remote.

Pinewood will reportedly offer multiple HDMI inputs to connect devices like game consoles and Blu-ray players directly, giving Sonos control over the entire home theater I/O ecosystem. Additionally, the box could allow users to assemble Sonos speakers like the Era 300 and Era 100 into a surround sound system, bypassing the current requirement for a Sonos soundbar like the Arc Ultra (9/10, WIRED Recommends). Which speakers and configurations will be supported has yet to be determined.

All this potential functionality explains the price, which the report estimates could run from $200 to $400—a hefty sum that would put it well beyond traditional streaming boxes like the Roku Ultra, Google TV Streamer 4K, and Apple TV 4K.

It’s an ambitious play, especially given Sonos’ recent app troubles that overshadowed its first foray into headphoness with the Sonos Ace, all of which eventually forced CEO Patrick Spence to step down after eight years in the top spot. Set to arrive in the coming months, much of Pinewood’s success may depend on the Sonos app’s full recovery, both in reality and public perception. —Ryan Waniata

Amazon Is Having a Hardware Event

Amazon has officially sent media invites for an upcoming hardware event on February 26 in New York City. The invitations are vague, but thanks to some sleuthing from The Verge, the publication figured out that the five versions of the invite Amazon sent out spell “Alexa” when pieced together. It’s safe to say whatever news is announced will be tied to the long-lived voice assistant.

As MacRumors points out, we’ll likely see Alexa finally enter its generative AI era. Although the assistant has been around for a decade, Amazon has struggled to keep up with chatbot competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. In June 2024, Reuters reported that Amazon planned to charge a monthly subscription fee for a new “Remarkable Alexa” version that will utilize generative AI to answer complex queries while the “Classic” version will remain free. But in August, Reuters reported that the company was hitting snags, with the assistant taking up to six or seven seconds to acknowledge a prompt and issue a reply.

To course-correct, Amazon recruited Claude—an AI chatbot from startup Anthropic. A few months later, the company announced it was entering a “strategic collaboration” with Anthropic as its “primary training partner,” investing an additional $4 billion in the startup. Exactly how Amazon will leverage Claude to improve its assistant remains to be seen.

Seeing as this is a Devices and Services event, we’ll likely see the next generation of Alexa alongside some fresh hardware—including Echo speakers, Echo smart displays, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, and more. —Brenda Stolyar

Volkswagen Teases a $20K Electric Vehicle

This cheeky reveal picture looking very much like a “mini Golf” lets us get the very first glimpse at VW's coming budget EV—and it will be the brand's cheapest ever electric car, too … sub-£17,000 ($21,000). The ID.One will get a proper reveal in March, apparently, but we do know that it will use a version of VW’s MEB platform, which will also underpin the coming ID.2 electric car. The production version of the ID.2 will land in 2026 with a price of around $26,000, with the ID.One following in 2027.

Perhaps immediately killing hopes the car will come to the US, VW CEO Thomas Schäfer said the new budget EV will be “an affordable, high-quality, and profitable electric Volkswagen from Europe for Europe.” VW has stated that low-cost entry-level mobility in the electric era will be one of the cornerstones of the brand’s future plans. Since the launch of the ID product family in 2019, VW has shifted more than 1.35 million ID EVs worldwide, many with the woeful haptic buttons customers have loathed, but which mercifully have now been binned. —Jeremy White

Nomad Upgrades the Humble USB-C Cable

I'm all for anything that makes charging personal gadgets easier—the fewer wires I need to deal with the better. Nomad has just the thing for iphoness and Apple Watch owners: the Universal Cable for Apple Watch. This is a USB-C cable but at one end, right before the USB-C connector, there's an integrated Apple Watch charging puck, which you can use to juice up Apple's smartwatch or your AirPods case via wireless charging. No need to bring two cables to charge your iphoness and Apple Watch.

The 1.5-meter Kevlar cable can carry up to 100 watts, so it should be plenty enough to top up a MacBook Pro, and there's a built-in cable tie to keep things neat. It's available now for $100.

Dbrand’s Aperture Protects the Vision Pro

Are you one of 12 people with Apple's Vision Pro? Good news, there's a nicer way to protect it than Apple's clunky travel case. By nicer I mean more compact because Dbrand's Aperture is absolutely a nightmare for any trypophobe. Dbrand is leaning into it by calling it “the ugliest thing we've ever made.”

This product was born into existence right around the time the Vision Pro launched in early 2024, because who in their right mind would make an accessory for the flagging headset in 2025? Kyle Goodrich, a former augmented-reality designer at Snap, posted on X at the time about a prototype of a protective cover for the Vision Pro. It went viral, and Dbrand suggested a collab. Nearly a year later, it's finally here for the masses. Er, well, for the dozens of proud Vision Pro owners.

The holey design is for a reason—Apple's mixed reality headset has sensors all over to map out the world in front of you, and Dbrand says the Aperture doesn't obstruct any of these cameras and sensors, so performance will be the same. The polyurethane cover should keep your $3,500 device free from scratches and other potential damage without adding much bulk. There's a companion protector for the battery with a holster so you can clip it to your pants instead of shoving it into a pocket.

The Aperture Vision Pro cover costs $49, and the bundle with the battery cover is $69. Both are available now from Dbrand's website. They come in black or orange.

Comcast Soups Up the Super Bowl

Comcast plans to stream the Super Bowl in both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for the first time ever this Sunday. We've seen Dolby's top-tier HDR format during the big game before, but never had access to immersive object-based audio via Dolby Atmos.

The sound quality should help at-home viewers feel like they're watching with fans live, assuming you have a compatible setup. Folks with Xfinity TV can access the better-than-usual stream via the Xfinity Stream App as a part of Comcasts new Enhanced 4K offering, first launched for the Paris Olympics last year. —Parker Hall

Rado’s New Watch for Helmet Heads

Rado has combined forces with industrial designer Tej Chauhan (who has crafted tires for Lexus, sneakers for Nike, and 2003's teardrop-shaped Nokia 7600 phones) to create the most interesting watch the brand has released in years. Based on Rado’s DiaStar, the final sci-fi design of this piece is apparently inspired by none other then Brad Pitt’s space helmet seen in 2019's Ad Astra.

The DiaStar came out in 1962 and was the world’s first scratch-resistant watch. Even the ad campaign promised the piece was “unconditionally guaranteed three years,” no matter what you did to it. This new version, however, is made from Ceramos, a proprietary material that combines 90 percent ceramic with 10 percent metal alloy, meaning it is lightweight and supposedly even more resistant to scratches.

The $2,250 limited edition 38 x 45-mm DiaStar Original x Tej Chauhan features a polished yellow gold colored PVD case, a matte black dial, and a pillow-shaped rubber strap. It's a striking design, one for which Rado should be applauded. If you're looking for a watch that is both stylish and stand-out, maybe grab one while you can. —Jeremy White