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  • Best Super Bowl TV deals: Get up to $630 off sets from Samsung, LG, Sony and others

    Best Super Bowl TV deals: Get up to $630 off sets from Samsung, LG, Sony and others


    With Super Bowl LIX only a few days away, it’s a decent time to grab a new TV at a discount. If you’re hoping to upgrade your living before the Chiefs and Eagles square off (again), you may need to pay extra to get a new set shipped in time. Nevertheless, we’ve searched through Amazon, Best Buy and other retailers to find a few Super Bowl 2025 TV deals that might actually be worthwhile. 

    To be candid, many of the deals we’ve found are the result of TVs naturally falling in price this time of year more than any Super Bowl-specific sales. Most TVs tend to follow a similar pricing timeline: arrive in the spring, drop a bit over the summer, receive a larger price cut around the holidays, then gradually become cheaper until being discontinued the following year. We’re in the last step of that pattern now, and with TV makers like Samsung and LG unveiling their 2025 models during CES last month, last year’s sets are likely to fall even further in the months ahead.

    That said, if you must shake things up today, a number of well-reviewed TVs from LG, Sony, Samsung, TCL and Hisense are back down to the prices we saw around Black Friday. A few are even cheaper. We’ve also found a couple of deals on other living room gadgets from Roku and Sonos. Though we at Engadget do not formally review TVs, we’ve scoured feedback from other reviewers we trust and checked price histories to ensure the deals below are genuine.

    • LG B4 OLED TV (48″) for $600 at Best Buy ($200 off MSRP): This ties the lowest price we’ve seen for the 48-inch LG B4, which is the entry-level model in LG’s 2024 OLED lineup. While it’s not as bright or color-rich as some higher-end alternatives, it still offers the essential perks of any good OLED TV: superb contrast with deep black tones, clear motion, wide viewing angles and the like. It’s also a nice value for gaming, as it has four HDMI 2.1 ports that support refresh rates up to 120Hz. It’s just better off in a darker room, and this particular model is relatively small.

    • Hisense U7N QLED TV (65″) for $698 at Amazon ($300 off): Several reviewers we trust say that the U7N delivers better brightness, contrast and HDR performance than most TVs in its price range. It’s built with most of the features expected from pricier LED sets, including quantum-dot color, mini-LED backlighting and a 144Hz refresh rate. It also runs on the handy Google TV platform. Its viewing angles are poor, so it’s not great for watching shows with a large group, and you may need to tinker with settings to get an optimal image. But the 65-inch model should be a strong value at this price, which is only about $20 more than the all-time low we briefly saw around Cyber Monday. Also at Best Buy. If you’d prefer a smaller size, the 55-inch model is also back within $20 of its best-ever price at $498.

    Samsung The Frame
    The Samsung Frame TV.
    Amy Skorheim

    • Samsung The Frame 2024 QLED TV (55″) for $868 at Woot ($630 off): This deal from Amazon subsidiary Woot has been live for a few weeks, but it ties the best price to date for the 55-inch version of Samsung’s stylish Frame TV outside of a one-off eBay coupon deal. You’d buy this set for its design above all else: It can’t match the contrast and color volume of other TVs in its price range, as it lacks local dimming altogether, but it’s convincingly built like a framed piece of wall art that can blend in with your home decor. Its matte panel helps it fend off glare in a bright room, and you can display actual artwork onscreen when you’re not watching something. It’s worth noting that Samsung unveiled a new and improved “Frame Pro” TV at CES, but we’d expect that to cost more whenever it arrives.

    • TCL Q651G QLED TV (65″) for $370 at Amazon ($180 off): The Q651G is a fairly basic LED TV that might appeal to gamers on a budget, as it can play at a fast 120Hz refresh rate — albeit only when you drop the resolution from 4K to 1440p or 1080p. It’s another one without local dimming, so its contrast is limited. Most reviewers suggest that the Hisense U6N (which isn’t majorly discounted) provides a brighter and much more dynamic image for not much more. However, while the U6N can also play in 1440p/120Hz, the TCL model has a wider variable refresh rate (VRR) range in that mode. In simpler terms, that means it’ll have an easier time allowing your PS5 or Xbox games to run smoothly. This discount marks a new low for the 65-inch model. Also at Best Buy.

    The Samsung S90D OLED TV.
    The Samsung S90D.
    Samsung

    • Hisense U8N QLED TV (65″) for $898 at Amazon ($602 off): The U8N’s picture quality is a broad step-up from the U7N above, with better contrast, more vibrant colors and supremely high peak brightness. It still has most of the same drawbacks — mediocre viewing angles, minor blooming in a dark room, just decent upscaling of lower-res content — but it should be a worthy upgrade if you have more cash to burn. This is another discount we saw for much of November and December, but it ties the all-time low for the 65-inch variant. Also at Best Buy.

    • Samsung S90D QD-OLED TV (55″) for $1,198 at Amazon ($600 off): The S90D stands out for its QD-OLED panel, which mixes the benefits of an OLED display with quantum dots to boost color performance. Most reviews say that it can put out a wider gamut of more vibrant colors and brighter HDR highlights than more traditional OLED TVs like the LG C4. It also has four HDMI 2.1 ports that can play up to 144Hz. It doesn’t support Dolby Vision HDR, however, and Samsung’s Tizen interface can be clunky. The company has also made the aggravating step of using both QD-OLED and more standard WOLED panels within the same product line, but this 55-inch version comes with the superior display in North America. (The 65- and 75-inch models do as well.) This deal is the second-best price we’ve seen and about $150 off this variant’s average street price in recent months. Also at Samsung and Best Buy. 

    The Sony Bravia 7 QLED TV set up in a living room.
    The Sony Bravia 7.
    Sony

    • Sony Bravia 7 QLED TV (55″) for $1,198 at Amazon ($100 off): The Bravia 7 isn’t as strong of a value as the Hisense U8N, but some reviews suggest that it’s a decent alternative if you’re willing to trade some contrast and peak brightness for a more accurate picture out of the box. Like the Hisense TV, its image washes out when viewed from an angle and it only has two HDMI 2.1 ports for gaming. In general, most people will be happier with a good OLED TV around this price. But if you want a brighter LED TV that looks great right away, this one might be worth a look. This is a new low for the 55-inch model. Also at B&H and Best Buy.

    • Roku Ultra (2024) for $79 at Amazon ($21 off): Roku’s Ultra set-top box is overkill for most, but it might be worthwhile if you prefer the simplicity of Roku’s interface and need built-in Ethernet and USB ports. It supports just about all the major apps and HDR formats, plus it lets iPhone owners cast video from their phone via AirPlay. Unlike the cheaper Roku Streaming Stick 4K, it also comes with a rechargeable remote that has backlit buttons, built-in voice controls and a lost remote finder. We call it the best Roku player in our guide to the best streaming devices. This deal was available for much of the holiday season, but it ties the latest model’s all-time low. Also at Roku, Walmart and Best Buy.

    • Sonos Beam (Gen 2) for $399 at Sonos ($100 off): Yes, the recent overhaul of the Sonos app has been an abject disaster, to the point where the audio brand’s CEO and other execs have left the company entirely. However, if you’re not already tied up in the Sonos ecosystem and just want a clean-sounding soundbar that won’t take up a ton of space in your living room, the Sonos Beam’s hardware still does enough right to be worth a look. We call it the best midrange option in our guide to the best soundbars. It only has one HDMI port, and it’s too small to deliver truly room-rattling bass, but it still compares favorably to most alternatives in its size range. This deal is $30 above the device’s all-time low but still $100 off its typical street price. Other Sonos home theater gadgets are similarly discounted, including the more compact Sonos Ray for $179 and the Sub 4 subwoofer for $679. These offers are also available at Amazon and other retailers. Sonos says they’ll run until February 9.

    • LG C3 OLED TV (65″) for $1,197 at Amazon ($303 off): The LG C3 was released in 2023, but it’s not a huge downgrade from last year’s LG C4, so it’s still worth considering when it’s available for less. The C4 should be slightly better in terms of brightness and color volume, plus it supports refresh rates up to 144Hz rather than 120Hz, though the latter is only really useful for PC gaming. Neither model can quite match the QD-OLED panel on the Samsung S90D, but the C3 will still look excellent if you’re not comparing the two side-by-side and just want to save some cash on a larger premium display. This discount ties the lowest price we’ve tracked outside of a handful of in-store-only and eBay coupon deals.

    • Sony A95L OLED TV (65″) for $2,498 at eBay via BuyDig ($500 off): The A95L is wildly expensive even with this discount, but many reviewers agree that it’s the best TV on the market if money is no object. It’s another QD-OLED TV like the Samsung S90D, but it’s more color-accurate out of the box and should be better at preserving details in shows that aren’t presented in 4K. It also supports Dolby Vision, unlike Samsung’s TVs, and its Google TV software is generally easier to navigate than Tizen. The only serious drawback is that it’s limited to two HDMI 2.1 ports, which may be annoying for those who own a soundbar and multiple game consoles. This discount from ties the lowest price to date for the 65-inch model; just use the code SAVEBIG20 at checkout. It comes from eBay via BuyDig, which Sony lists as an authorized seller.

    Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

    This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/best-super-bowl-tv-deals-get-up-to-630-off-sets-from-samsung-lg-sony-and-others-161012987.html?src=rss



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  • Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus Review: The Best Thing About AI Is I Hardly Notice It

    Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus Review: The Best Thing About AI Is I Hardly Notice It


    Samsung Galaxy S25

    9.1/ 10
    SCORE

    Samsung Galaxy S25

    Pros

    • Camera consistently delivers good images
    • Impressive battery life
    • More AI features feel practical

    Cons

    • Still some stray gimmicky AI features
    • Not many changes over the S24
    Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus

    9.1/ 10
    SCORE

    Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus

    Pros

    • Lightning fast charging
    • Nice big screen
    • 7 years of OS and security upgrades
    • Great performance

    Cons

    • Battery life is similar to the baseline S25
    • Similar specs as the S25, at a higher price
    • Better cameras on other phones at the same price

    Samsung’s mantra when debuting the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus appears to have been, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” as this year’s phones share a striking resemblance to last year’s S24 and S24 Plus. But what the new phones lack in innovation, they make up for in consistency and practicality. 

    While I found myself warming up to (most of) the many AI upgrades separating the S25 and S25 Plus from their predecessors, there are other time-tested attributes that remain more important to me – namely, cameras and battery life. Still, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I grew to like certain AI-powered features after using the phones for a week. 

    This story is part of Samsung Event, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Samsung’s most popular products.

    For instance, there’s a new tool called AI Select that looks at your phone’s screen and suggests actions like summarizing or translating text, the Gallery app can find a picture you’re looking for with more conversational search terms and Audio Eraser can clean up distracting background noises in your videos. 

    Watch this: Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus Review: AI Finally Makes Itself Useful (Mostly)

    Google’s Gemini has been further baked into the Galaxy’s interface and can be summoned with a long press of the side power button to answer questions and carry out tasks as your assistant.

    At a time when major phone releases are as high-stakes as ever, Samsung tries to set the $800 Galaxy S25 and $1,000 Galaxy S25 Plus apart by leaning into what’s new (AI), as well as the familiar (good cameras and battery life). And I am definitely impressed. 

    Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus: Look and feel 

    rear of Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus phones in dark blue and white against a blue and pink background

    The S25 and S25 Plus have matte glass backs that add a premium touch.

    James Martin/CNET

    So what’s the difference between the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus? Not much. Other than the Plus being, well, bigger than the baseline model.

    The phones both have AMOLED displays with 120Hz adaptive refresh rates, with the S25’s measuring 6.2 inches and the S25 Plus clocking in at 6.7 inches. At 162 and 190 grams respectively, the S25 and S25 Plus feel light in hand, thanks to their aluminum frames. The screens are covered in Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and the matte glass backs offer an elegant touch and premium feel. 

    I hesitantly dunked the S25 Plus into a shallow pool at Filoli Historic House & Garden near San Francisco during testing and am happy to report it survived unscathed. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since both the S25 and S25 Plus have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning they can survive being submerged for 30 minutes being under 1.5 meters of water (or about 5 feet).

    Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus side closeup

    The camera bumps don’t jut out too much on the S25 and S25 Plus, which is nice. 

    James Martin/CNET

    The phones come in navy, icy blue, mint and silver shadow, as well as the online-exclusive colors blue black, coral red and pink gold. I absolutely adore the icy blue color of the S25 I’ve been using, and the Plus I have in navy also looks nice and rich.

    The S25 and S25 Plus arrive with Android 15 and Samsung’s One UI 7. And similar to the Pixel 9 series, you’ll get seven years of OS and security updates, helping you get the most bang for your buck (and there’s certainly a lot of buck involved here). The phones are powered by a custom-built Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, helping to bring those many, many AI features to life.

    The best thing about AI is that I hardly notice it

    Samsung Galaxy S25

    Gemini and I, surprisingly, became friends.

    James Martin/CNET

    I’m not alone in feeling severe AI fatigue. As someone who tends to be AI-averse (do I really need it to write my emails, brainstorm ideas or summarize a PDF?), I tend to be wary of AI-heavy announcements like the one Samsung had at its Galaxy Unpacked event in January.

    Once I got my hands on the devices, I put my skepticism aside and was surprised. 

    After a few days, I found myself leaning on Gemini for help with everything from tweaking email settings (this was faster than Googling and reading), caring for my wood cutting board, and finding events and sending corresponding texts via a single voice command. 

    Ultimately, it’s the AI features that operate discreetly that won me over, like Circle to Search. This is a Google-powered feature that came out last year and lets you circle anything on your screen to quickly see product information and links. Now, Circle to Search can recognize a song playing in the background of a video or even a tune you hum or sing, and I had a lot of fun testing this out. When I hummed niche Taylor Swift songs like I Hate It Here and Foolish One, it nailed both. (Step aside, Shazam.) To be fair, I’m not sure how often I’ll use this particular aspect of Circle to Search, but the tool as a whole remains impressive. 

    The AI Select tool also served me well, but primarily for translating text. My Spanish vocab has (sadly) gotten rusty since high school. So when I came across an email in Spanish, I tapped the tool on the right-hand side of the screen, circled the text I wanted to translate and within a couple taps, it was quickly transformed into English (and hopefully, accurately). 

    Side-by-side AI generated images of Abrar, one black and white and pencil style, the other color CGI

    Here are two Portrait Studio images of me entirely created by AI.

    Galaxy AI/Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

    Not all AI features are a home run, though. Portrait Studio, which uses AI to create stylized portraits (kind of like caricatures an artist might sketch of you at the beach or on a boardwalk), is fun to play with but feels like a novelty. It did an admittedly great job replicating details like my hijab, eye shape and smile. But I’m not sure how useful a tool like this is in the long run. Similarly, Drawing Assist, which turns your sketches into different stylized illustrations, is impressive at transforming my crappy drawings into pleasing images. I don’t have any real use for this tool, as I’m not going to be framing these random images of cats and flowers. 

    The biggest disappointment, so far, has been the Now Brief. This is designed to learn your habits – like if you usually check the weather, read the news and consult your calendar each morning – then surface any relevant suggestions to simplify those routines. In the week I used these phones, the only time I was even slightly impressed with this feature was when it showed a highlight of the images I’d taken that day. But otherwise, Now Brief simply lists the weather, my events that day and articles that are irrelevant 90% of the time. That’s not to say it won’t eventually learn more about me and get better, but it hasn’t proven its value just yet.

    Photos and videos are even better with AI

    Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus camera closeup

    The S25 and S25 Plus have a trio of lenses on the back: wide, ultrawide and 3x telephoto.

    James Martin/CNET

    The Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus share the same camera specs as last year’s series: a 50-megapixel wide camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and 10-megapixel 3x telephoto camera. They also both share a 12-megapixel front-facing camera. So you’ll get the same kinds of images on both the S25 and S25 Plus.

    I’ve always admired the punchy colors in Galaxy S photos, and the S25 and S25 Plus were no exception. Here are a few of my favorite shots.

    This is one of the best examples of how each shade of color, from pale pinks to vibrant reds, pop. There’s so much texture in this image below, from the ripples on the water to the droplets on the petals, and the background maintains just enough detail and color without robbing the spotlight.

    Flowers sit atop a bird bath in a garden


    Enlarge Image

    Flowers sit atop a bird bath in a garden

    Bright colors shine on the S25 and S25 Plus. 

    Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

    Portrait mode on the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus is perhaps the most impressive I’ve seen, as it does the best job of knowing what to keep in sharp focus and what to blur. Even in this picture below of my (dying) tulips, each leaf and petal remains clearly in the foreground and isn’t lost to background blur. 

    Pink tulips sit in a floral vase on a marble coffee table


    Enlarge Image

    Pink tulips sit in a floral vase on a marble coffee table

    These wilting flowers may not look very pristine, but at least the overall shot does.

    Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

    Portrait mode isn’t perfect, of course, as some of the many branches in this shot do get the undesired blur effect. But it’s such a minor detail that hopefully all you’ll notice is how well the flowers on the table pop.

    Several flower arrangements sit on a table in the lobby of The Palace Hotel


    Enlarge Image

    Several flower arrangements sit on a table in the lobby of The Palace Hotel

    I love how commanding the subject is in Portrait shots.

    Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

    The improvements over previous Galaxy S devices come in the form of – yes, AI. Generative Edit debuted on the S24 series, but is now processed on device, allowing you to quickly and easily remove photobombers or objects cluttering your image. I tried this out with both people and objects and was blown away each time. Generative Edit did a seamless job filling in backgrounds (sometimes even generating new graffiti patterns, as seen below when I removed a railing).

    A pot filled with succulents sits in front of a wall with graffiti, with a white railing to the right


    Enlarge Image

    A pot filled with succulents sits in front of a wall with graffiti, with a white railing to the right

    There’s a rail on the right…

    Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

    A pot filled with succulents sits in front of a wall with graffiti, and a white railing to the right has been erased with AI


    Enlarge Image

    A pot filled with succulents sits in front of a wall with graffiti, and a white railing to the right has been erased with AI

    And now there’s not!

    Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

    One downside, though an upside for transparency, is that there’s a label on images that have benefitted from Generative Edit disclosing that this is “AI-generated content.” I understand the importance of this, especially as AI gets better at fooling people, but object removal features are nothing new to photography.

    In one photo, there's a light behind a woman in a purple scarf and floral dress. In another image, the light has been erased.


    Enlarge Image

    In one photo, there's a light behind a woman in a purple scarf and floral dress. In another image, the light has been erased.

    Before and after. Notice the AI disclaimer at the bottom of the image to the right.

    Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

    Samsung introduced a Virtual Aperture tool that mimics a standalone camera’s f-stops, using the separate Expert RAW app. If you’re a pro photographer, I can see this being a cool feature to have. But as someone who likes things plain and simple, I’m going to stick with the camera’s built-in Portrait mode so that factors like background blur and lighting are sorted out for me. 

    Another AI-related boost comes in the form of nighttime videos. I was impressed with how rich the dark sky looks in videos I recorded and with how smooth the motion appears as I panned the camera. Daytime videos also looked solid.

    Photos at night were splendid, with rich contrast and saturation.

    Balls of light sit on the floor of a garden


    Enlarge Image

    Balls of light sit on the floor of a garden

    The S25 beautifully handled the combination of vibrant greens, dark shadows and bright holiday lights (which are still up for some reason).

    Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

    Night mode also did a great job of brightening up this image to almost make it look as if it were taken in the daytime, and not at 7 p.m.

    A tree photographed at night, brightened by the S25's night mode


    Enlarge Image

    A tree photographed at night, brightened by the S25's night mode

    This night time shot almost looks as if it were taken in the daytime. 

    Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

    Selfies maintain the smoothing effect I so love on Galaxy S phones, while maintaining vibrancy and crispness in the foreground and background. 

    A woman in a purple headscarf and floral dress stands in front of a series of palm trees


    Enlarge Image

    A woman in a purple headscarf and floral dress stands in front of a series of palm trees

    And let’s flip that camera around real quick for a selfie. 

    Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

    Battery life and performance

    A hand holding the Galaxy S25 while running an AI search

    Remarkably, the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus have a great battery life, which is important since both feature power-hungry AI features.

    Celso Bulgatti/CNET

    Battery capacity is one of the few factors separating the phones, with the S25 sporting a 4,000-mAh battery and the Plus packing a 4,900-mAh battery.

    Both phones lasted about a day and a half with regular use. In CNET’s 45-minute endurance test, which involves a combination of streaming, scrolling through social media, joining a video call and playing games, the S25’s battery dropped from full to 93% (the same as last year’s S24), while the battery on the S25 Plus dropped to 94%. 

    In a longer, 3-hour streaming test over Wi-Fi, in which I watched a YouTube video in full-screen mode at full brightness, the S25 dropped from 100% to 85%, while the S25 Plus dropped to 86%.

    YouTube streaming battery test

    Phone After 1 hour After 2 hours After 3 hours
    Galaxy S25 96% 90% 85%
    Galaxy S25 Plus 96% 91% 86%
    Galaxy S24 FE 96% 90% 83%
    Galaxy S24 97% 91% 86%
    Galaxy S24 Plus 97% 91% 87%

    Higher percentages are better.

    The S25 supports 25-watt charging, while the S25 Plus supports 45-watt charging. In a 30-minute test using a 30-watt charger, the S25 went from 0% to 47%, and reached 100% in 80 minutes. In the same test using a 45-watt charger, the S25 Plus went from 0% to 63% in 30 minutes, and reached a full charge in 70 minutes. For comparison, in last year’s test, the S24 went from 0% to 51% in 30 minutes, and the S24 Plus went from 0% to 50%.

    The Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus also support 15-watt wireless charging, which is the same as what you’ll get with Qi2. You can use Samsung’s own case with the Qi2 magnetic profile or a compatible third-party case to tap into those wireless capabilities.

    Benchmark tests for the CPU in Geekbench 6 place the S25 and S25 Plus well above the entire Galaxy S24 lineup. In a graphics test using 3D Mark’s Wild Life Extreme, the S25 and S25 Plus exceeded the performance of the iPhone 16 Pro, Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra.

    Check out the graphs below for more specifics.

    Geekbench v.6.0

    Samsung Galaxy S25 2,999 9,604Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus 3,224 10,143Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 2,057 6,571Samsung Galaxy S24 1,955 6,255Apple iPhone 16 Pro 3,507 8,750

    Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

    3DMark Wild Life Extreme

    Samsung Galaxy S25 6,496Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus 6,875Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 4,415Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 4,808Samsung Galaxy S24 4,752Apple iPhone 16 Pro 4,672

    Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

    3DMark Wild Life Extreme — Average frame rate

    Samsung Galaxy S25 38.90Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus 41.17Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 26.4 Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 28.79Samsung Galaxy S24 28.46Apple iPhone 16 Pro 28

    Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

    Final thoughts: Which phone to buy, the S25 or S25 Plus?

    Samsung Galaxy S25

    The Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus have lots of AI but aren’t entirely defined by it.

    James Martin/CNET

    Perhaps the highest praise I can give to a phone in 2025 is that there was just enough AI to not make me go crazy. The S25 and S25 Plus have their fair share of AI-powered features, but for the most part, there are only several that I can see myself willingly using. Others like Portrait Studio and Drawing Assist may be fun for keynote demos, but don’t seem to serve a real purpose beyond that. (But it wouldn’t be a Galaxy phone without a flashy feature no one uses, right??)

    Thankfully, the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus continue to deliver on what, to me, makes the Galaxy S series notable: good cameras, solid battery life and a seamless interface. 

    Because there are so many similarities between the S25 and S25 Plus, and the higher battery capacity on the Plus didn’t result in any startling differences (although superfast charging is great), I’d personally save some money and just go with the baseline S25. If you want a bigger phone, it might be worth going a full step up with the S25 Ultra, so you could take advantage of added perks like that 50-megapixel ultrawide lens, but that costs $500 more than the regular S25. Still, the S25 and S25 Plus share many similarities with the Ultra, including Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 12GB RAM and AI features, so you’ll be getting a relatively good value from that baseline model.

    If you have a Galaxy S22 or older, switching to the S25 or S25 Plus could be a significant upgrade. If you have an S23, you can benefit from improved battery life and dip your toes into Samsung’s newer AI waters. But if you’re rocking an S24, there’s no reason to pay for relatively modest upgrades.

    Ultimately, the S25 and S25 are much of the same as what we’ve seen before. But that isn’t such a bad thing, when “the same” largely still does the trick.

    Samsung Galaxy S25 specs vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus, Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus

    Samsung Galaxy S25 Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus Samsung Galaxy S24 Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus
    Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate 6.2-inch AMOLED; 2,340×1,080 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate 6.7-inch AMOLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate 6.2-inch AMOLED; 2,340×1,080 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate 6.7-inch AMOLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate
    Pixel density 416 ppi 509 ppi 416 ppi 509 ppi
    Dimensions (inches) 5.78 x 2.78 x 0.28 in. 6.24 x 2.98 x 0.29 in. 5.79 x 2.78 x 0.3 in. 6.24 x 3 x 0.3 in.
    Dimensions (millimeters) 146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2 mm 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm 147 x 71 x 7.6 mm 158 x 76 x 7.6 mm
    Weight (grams, ounces) 162 g (5.71 oz.) 190 g (6.70 oz.) 168g (5.93 oz.) 197g (6.95 oz.)
    Mobile software Android 15 Android 15 Android 14 Android 14
    Camera 50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto) 50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto) 50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto) 50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto)
    Front-facing camera 12-megapixel 12-megapixel 12-megapixel 12-megapixel
    Video capture 8K 8K 8K 8K
    Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
    RAM + storage 12GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB 12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB 8GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB 12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB
    Expandable storage None None None None
    Battery 4,000 mAh 4,900 mAh 4,000 mAh 4,900 mAh
    Fingerprint sensor Under display Under display Under display Under display
    Connector USB-C USB-C USB-C USB-C
    Headphone jack None None None None
    Special features 2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and dust resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; 25W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7 2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and dust resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; 25W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7; ultrawideband 2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and dust resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; 25W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 6E 2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and dust resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; 45W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 6E
    US price starts at $800 (128GB) $1,000 (256GB) $800 (128GB) $1,000 (256GB)

    How we test phones

    Every phone tested by CNET’s reviews team was actually used in the real world. We test a phone’s features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it’s bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP-rating for water resistance. We push the processor’s performance to the extremes using standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.

    All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using it daily as well as running a series of battery drain tests.

    We take into account additional features like support for 5G, satellite connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus support, fast charging speeds and foldable displays, among others that can be useful. We balance all of this against the price to give you the verdict on whether that phone, whatever price it is, actually represents good value. While these tests may not always be reflected in CNET’s initial review, we conduct follow-up and long-term testing in most circumstances.





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  • The 44 Best Shows on Hulu Right Now (February 2025)

    The 44 Best Shows on Hulu Right Now (February 2025)


    While Netflix seemingly led the way for other streaming networks to create compelling original programming, Hulu actually beat them all to the punch. In 2011, a year before Netflix’s Lilyhammer and two years before the arrival of House of Cards, the burgeoning streamer premiered The Morning After, a pop-culture-focused news show that ran for 800 episodes over three years, plus A Day in the Life, a docuseries from the late Oscar-winner Morgan Spurlock.

    Hulu has continued to make TV history in the years since, most notably in 2017, when it became the first streamer to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series with The Handmaid’s Tale. In the years since, the streamer has continued to match—and often exceed—that high bar for quality entertainment with shows like The Bear, which took home 11 Emmys in 2024, and Shōgun, which recently set an Emmy record with 18 wins in a single season.

    While more competition has popped up since Hulu started gaining critical credibility, the network has continued to stand out for its carefully curated selection of original series and network partnerships that make it the home of FX series and more. Below are some of our favorite shows streaming on Hulu right now.

    Not finding what you’re looking for? Head to WIRED’s guide to the best TV shows on Amazon Prime, the best TV shows on Disney+, and the best shows on Netflix. Have other suggestions for this list? Let us know in the comments.

    If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more.

    Paradise

    This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman reteams with that award-winning series’ star, Sterling K. Brown, for an intricate political thriller which plays with time to slowly reveal the details of a secret service agent (Brown) tasked with protecting the president (James Marsden) who ultimately becomes a suspect in the POTUS’ death. Expect many twists—including a massive one to kick off the series in episode 1.

    Scamanda

    “Why would somebody fake cancer?” That’s the question asked—and that ABC News attempts to answer—in this true crime docuseries based on the podcast of the same name. The four-part special recounts the life and lies of Amanda C. Riley, a wife, mother, churchgoer, and popular mommy blogger who was celebrated for sharing her fight against Hodgkin’s lymphoma with the world … only to have it all blow up in her face.

    Accused

    Like a reverse engineered version of Law & Order, Accused—adapted from the acclaimed British series of the same name by Homeland cocreator Howard Gordon—follows the justice system from the perspective of the accused. Each episode begins with the defendant in the courtroom and recounts (via flashbacks) the circumstances that led them there. Like Dick Wolf’s iconic crime series, each episode is full of familiar faces, from Whitney Cummings and Wendell Pierce to Molly Parker and Margo Martindale. The series premiered in early 2023, with season 2 just finishing up in December.

    Say Nothing

    Fact and fiction combine in this historical drama based on Patrick Radden Keefe’s novel that follows the lives of a group of people growing up in Belfast during the Troubles and their dealings with the Provisional IRA. Much of the story focuses on the Disappeared—a group of 16 people who went missing during the Troubles and were believed to have been kidnapped and murdered. Jean McConville was one of these individuals, both the only woman among them and the only Irish Catholic convert. Nearly 50 years later, many questions remain about these individuals. While Say Nothing doesn’t attempt to answer all of these questions, it does add fascinating context to the events.

    Interior Chinatown

    Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang) is a waiter who attempts to escape his humdrum life by imagining that he is a background actor in a Law & Order-esque TV show called Black & White. After Wu witnesses a kidnapping, police detective Lana Lee (Chloe Bennet) enlists him to help investigate and take down the local gangs in Chinatown—and discovers something about his own family in the process. Nothing is what it seems in this meta comedy-crime series, which Charles Yu adapted from his own National Book Award–winning novel. The Daily Show’s Ronny Chieng ups the comedy as Wu’s coworker/BFF Fatty Choi, and Taika Waititi (one of the show’s executive producers) directs the pilot.

    What We Do in the Shadows

    If you are in need of a laugh-out-loud comedy (and don’t mind if it’s of the sometimes R-rated kind), you should be watching What We Do in the Shadows. In 2014, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi cowrote, codirected, and costarred in a feature of the same name—a funny mockumentary featuring a group of vampires who share a home. This series, which premiered in 2019, moved the vampire action from New Zealand to Staten Island and brought in a whole new group of vampires—who struggle to even get up off the couch, let alone take over all of New York City (as they’ve been instructed to). After several years, they finally seem ready to get around to the task. If you haven’t been watching, now is the perfect time to start—especially as its sixth season, which aired its final episode on December 16, will sadly be its last.

    La Máquina

    Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna have been close friends since childhood, and it shows in the onscreen work they’ve done together—most famously in Alfonso Cuarón’s Oscar-nominated Y Tu Mamá También (2001). More than two decades later, their onscreen chemistry is still potent, as evidenced by this Spanish-language boxing drama. Esteban (García Bernal) is an aging boxer whose manager/BFF Andy (Luna) persuades him to step into the ring one last time before he officially retires. But as the match looms closer, the criminal underbelly of the sport rears its head—forcing Esteban to determine what parts of his life he’s willing to sacrifice. With just six episodes in all, La Máquina moves fast. Don’t flinch.

    Rivals

    Though David Tennant rose to fame playing Doctor Who’s lovably quirky Tenth Doctor, he’s often at his best when he gets to play a bit of a conniving asshole. In Rivals, Tennant clearly relishes the opportunity. Based on Jilly Cooper’s 1988 novel, and set two years before then, it tells the story of two very powerful men and neighbors—Lord Tony Baddingham (Tennant) and Tory MP Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell)—whose ongoing rivalry brings to mind the over-the-top nighttime soaps of that decade, including Dallas and Dynasty. Like those iconic American series, Rivals is more shock-driven than plot-driven, with its campiness (and lots and lots of sex between people who are married to other people) being part of the point. At its heart, it’s a class warfare story in which the tensions between bona fide aristocrat/rogue Campbell-Black and new-money-who-married-into-old-money media mogul Baddingham boil over for all to see. Especially after Baddingham, who owns a television network, poaches popular TV presenter Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner) from the BBC and enlists fish-out-of-water American TV producer Cameron Cook (Nafessa Williams) to help keep him on top.

    How to Die Alone

    Former Saturday Night Live and Insecure writer Natasha Rothwell—whom you might know from her Emmy-nominated turn as spa manager Belinda in season 1 of The White Lotus (she’ll be back for season 3)—created and stars in this eight-episode series. Mel (Rothwell) is an employee at New York City’s JFK Airport who is content with the uneventful life she has built for herself. But when she has a sudden brush with death, she decides to take her life into her own hands. While it’s not the first series to explore matters of life and death, it does so in a way that is both beautifully nuanced and laugh-out-loud funny—all of it anchored by Rothwell’s performance. On February 4, Hulu announced that it had canceled the series after one season—a move that has Rothwell “baffled” and looking for a new network to produce season 2.

    English Teacher

    Television audiences are hardly lacking in high school–set comedies, or in really great high school–set comedies, and/or really great high school–set comedies that focus on the teacher perspective (see: Abbott Elementary). English Teacher is already proving that it is well on its way to fitting into that elite niche. Brian Jordan Alvarez—who was behind the award-winning 2016 web series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo—both created and stars in the show, in which he portrays an English teacher in Austin, Texas, who is dedicated to making an impact on his students, even if he sometimes needs to depend on their teenage wisdom to figure out the right way to do that. While it doesn’t shy away from the politics that exist in the teaching profession, it also presents the “adults” as often just as lost as the kids they teach.

    Only Murders in the Building

    Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez make for a delightful trio of true-crime-obsessed podcast fans who, in season 1 of this original Hulu series, decide to join forces and create their own podcast while attempting to solve the mysterious death of a fellow resident of their Manhattan apartment building. From the very beginning of their odd alliance, it’s been clear that all is not what it seems, and everyone is keeping secrets. Now they’ve upped the ante on guest stars, too; the third season saw Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep join in the fun. Streep returned for the show’s fourth season, and was joined by Eugene Levy, Kumail Nanjiani, Tina Fey, Melissa McCarthy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria. Season 5 is already in the works.

    At Witt’s End

    On December 1, 1994, 19-year-old Melissa Witt drove to surprise her mother at a bowling alley in Fort Smith, Arkansas, but disappeared without a trace. Six weeks later, her naked body was found by hunters in Ozark National Forest. Now, this four-part docuseries delves into the 30-year quest to identify Melissa’s killer(s) and bring an end to her case, which local police, the FBI, family, and friends are still desperate to solve. At Witt’s End elevates the typical true-crime docudrama by drawing an intimate portrait of Witt, a beloved teen whose life was cut far too short.

    Solar Opposites

    This animated sci-fi comedy, which premiered in 2020, is about a family of aliens from the planet Shlorp who crash-land on Earth—for better or worse. The show is rooted in the idea that humans are, well, weird. Which seems appropriate given this current moment in time. Yet, in between the laughs and occasional threat to humanity, it maintains a positive outlook on the world and the people who inhabit it. Which is something we could probably all use right about now.

    Marvel’s Hit-Monkey

    Hit-Monkey may not be Marvel’s best known character, but this action-packed animated series is helping change that. As the title indicates, the story centers around Hit-Monkey (Fred Tatasciore), a snow monkey intent on taking out the Tokyo underworld with the help of his mentor, Bryce Fowler (Jason Sudeikis). Oh, and Bryce is a ghost—and a former assassin.

    Futurama

    Following a decade-long hiatus, Futurama—Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s animated sci-fi comedy—made a triumphant return in 2023, complete with gags about Twilight Zone and “Momazon” drone deliveries. Now is the perfect time to dive back in—or watch it all for the first time. All 12 seasons of the series are currently available for streaming and and Hulu has confirmed that at least two more seasons are on the way (with the next one tentatively scheduled to premiere in July).

    We Were the Lucky Ones

    In Radom, Poland, the Kurcs are a loving family who seem to have it all—until the horrors of the Holocaust invade the serenity of their everyday lives. As World War II arrives on their doorstep, the family is separated—escaping to France, Brazil, West Africa, and Russia. Some are in hiding, others in concentration camps. But they’re all focused on one goal: surviving the war and reuniting with each other.

    The Bear

    Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is a superstar of the fine dining world who has returned to his hometown of Chicago to save his family’s struggling sandwich shop after his brother’s death by suicide. While Carmy initially struggles to acclimate himself to being home and to his inherited kitchen’s back-to-basics style, he eventually realizes that it’s not too late to change both himself and the restaurant. Anyone who has ever worked in a busy kitchen knows the stress that comes with it, and The Bear does an excellent job of making that tension palpable—as evidenced by its slew of aforementioned Emmy Awards. While the plot sounds simple enough, much of Carmy’s previous life is a bit of a mystery, and it’s doled out in amuse-bouche-sized bits throughout the series with top-tier guest stars you may not have seen coming (fact: Jamie Lee Curtis has never been better, as evidenced by her recent—and very first—Emmy win). Prepare to feast.

    Queenie

    Queenie Jenkins (Dionne Brown) is a Jamaican-British twentysomething whose world is thrown into an upheaval following an ugly breakup with her boyfriend. That messiness follows Queenie into the next chapter in her life, when she attempts to pick up the pieces of her failed relationship while frequently butting heads with her family and trying to reconcile her dual cultures. Candice Carty-Williams adapts her own bestselling novel to create a poignant dramedy that’s ultimately about trauma and healing.

    Black Twitter: A People’s History

    In the late 2000s—back when Elon Musk was just that car-and-spaceship billionaire—Twitter was more than a social media network. It was a genuine gathering place for people to find their people, whether that was Film Twitter or Cat Twitter. For Black Twitter, it was a lot more. This three-part docuseries, based on WIRED senior writer Jason Parham’s 2021 cover story, recounts the most important moments and movements that helped solidify the Black Twitter community’s place as a cultural force in the world, from politics and beyond.

    Under the Bridge

    Welcome to your new true crime obsession. Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone (who earned an Emmy nomination for her work in the show) make a formidable duo as an author and a police officer, respectively, investigating the brutal murder of a 14-year-old girl in a small town in Canada. The limited series is based on Rebecca Godfrey’s award-winning 2005 book of the same name (with Keough portraying Godfrey), and is a haunting reminder of what human beings are capable of.

    Shōgun

    Game of Thrones fans still lamenting the loss of one of television’s great epics have found their new favorite binge-watch in Shōgun, which just took home a record 18 Emmys (with 25 nods altogether). This 10-episode series, based on James Clavell’s beloved novel (which was first adapted into a miniseries in 1980), is a brilliant and sweeping tale of political rivalry in feudal Japan where Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a powerful warrior, has a target put on his back by his political rivals in the Council of Regents. Fortunately for Toranaga, he’s got Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), a talented translator and fiercely loyal samurai, by his side. Though it was originally positioned as a one-and-done limited series, FX and Hulu have already confirmed that both seasons two and three are in the works.

    Such Brave Girls

    Comedian/actress Kat Sadler created and stars in this deeply messy, darkly funny story of a totally dysfunctional family—mom Deb (Sherlock’s Louise Brealey) and daughters Josie (Sadler) and Billie (Lizzie Davidson, Sadler’s real-life sister)—attempting to pick up the pieces after their husband/father leaves them. It’s cringe-comedy at its finest, and the kind that will appeal to fans of Fleabag. A second season is in the works, and expected to premiere later this year.

    Abbott Elementary

    Quinta Brunson created and stars in this hit series, which follows the daily lives—in and out of the classroom—of a group of teachers at what is widely considered one of the worst public schools in America. Despite a lack of funding for even basic educational necessities, and school district leaders who only care about the barest minimum standards, these educators are united by their drive to surpass expectations and encourage their students to do the same. The series is currently in its fourth season, with season 5 already confirmed.

    Fargo

    Noah Hawley’s anthology series isn’t the first attempt to adapt the Coen brothers’ Oscar-winning crime-comedy to the small screen (Edie Falco starred in a previous version, which was a more straightforward adaptation of the movie), but his approach was clearly the smarter move. Fans of the Coens in general will find lots to love about the many nods to the filmmakers’ entire filmography, with each season covering a different crime and time period. Though the seasons do share connections, each one is a total one-off, and the show might boast the most talented group of actors ever assembled: Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Bob Odenkirk, Oliver Platt, Ted Danson, Patrick Wilson, Nick Offerman, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Ewan McGregor, Michael Stuhlbarg, Carrie Coon, Scoot McNairy, Chris Rock, Jason Schwartzman, Timothy Olyphant, and Ben Whishaw are just a few of the names who’ve found a home in Fargo. The fantastic fifth season—featuring Juno Temple, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joe Keery, and Lamorne Morris (who won an Emmy for his role)—continued this tradition of exceptional acting, with all episodes streaming now.

    A Murder at the End of the World

    Darby Hart (Emma Corrin) is a talented hacker and armchair detective who is one of eight guests invited to spend a few days at the stunning yet remote home of a mysterious billionaire (Clive Owen). When one of the guests ends up dead, Darby must work quickly to prove that it was murder—and who did it—before the bodies start piling up. Fans of twisty true crime will appreciate this limited series, which comes from the minds of Brit Marling (who costars) and Zal Batmanglij—cocreators of the equally mind-bending The OA.

    Moonlighting

    While Die Hard turned Bruce Willis into one of Hollywood’s biggest action stars, he was far from producers’ first choice for the role of John McClane. That’s largely because he was seen as the funny guy from Moonlighting, the Emmy-winning ’80s dramedy that centers around the Blue Moon Detective Agency and its two often-bickering owners, David Addison (Willis) and Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd). Over the course of its five seasons, the series racked up some serious critical acclaim and wasn’t afraid to experiment with the sitcom format.

    The Other Black Girl

    Sinclair Daniel shines as Nella Rogers, an up-and-coming book editor—and the only Black employee at the publishing house where she works. While Nella is initially thrilled when another young woman of color, Hazel-May McCall (Ashleigh Murray), is hired as an assistant, she can’t help but notice that a series of bizarre events seems to follow. As Nella tries to suss out exactly what is going on, she uncovers some pretty damn disturbing skeletons in her employer’s closet. While horror-comedies are an increasingly popular movie genre, we don’t see them on the small screen quite as often—which, if this clever series is any indication, is a real shame. Also unfortunate: One season is all we’ll get of The Other Black Girl.

    The Full Monty

    Twenty-six years after a low-budget British comedy blew up at the box office, scored an Oscar, and introduced “the Full Monty” into the popular lexicon, the Regular Joes turned strippers from Sheffield are back to face largely the same issues they were lamenting in the original feature film. Much of the main cast reassembled for this follow-up to Peter Cattaneo’s hit 1997 movie, including two-time Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson, who passed away in late December. Stripping is involved, as are other inevitables in life, including breakups, reconciliations, and death. For fans of the original movie—or the Broadway musical and stage play that followed—it’s a fun check-in with the characters who bared it all.

    The Office (UK)

    Years before there was Jim and Pam and Dwight and Michael, there were Tim and Dawn and Gareth and David. For lovers of cringe, it’s hard to do better than Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s workplace comedy. David Brent (Gervais) is the original boss from hell, whose office antics will have you covering your eyes and laughing out loud at the same time. Like many British series, there are just two seasons—each consisting of a mere six episodes—plus a two-part Christmas special. Don’t be surprised if you sit down to watch a single episode and binge it all in one go.

    Cheers

    In the 1980s, NBC was the channel to watch on Thursday nights—in large part thanks to Cheers. The bar where everybody knows your name is where the action happens in this award-winning sitcom about a former Red Sox player (Ted Danson) and the lovable employees and patrons who treat his bar like a second home. If you can look past (or, even better, embrace) the questionable ’80s fashion and sometimes-sexist storylines that wouldn’t necessarily fly on TV today, you’ll find what is arguably one of the smartest sitcoms ever written. More than 40 years after its original premiere, the jokes still stand up and the characters are some of television’s most memorable (and beloved) for a reason.

    Dopesick

    Back in 2021, Hulu went where Netflix’s Painkiller went in 2023: to the late ’90s and early 2000s, aka the beginning of America’s opioid crisis. Danny Strong created this retelling of the lengths to which Richard Sackler (played here by the always excellent Michael Stuhlbarg) and Purdue Pharma would go to sell doctors on the powers of OxyContin—all with the promise of no addiction. Michael Keaton won an Emmy for his portrayal of a widowed doctor in Appalachia who buys into the lies, and eventually becomes a victim of them.

    Reservation Dogs

    Taika Waititi and Sterlin Harjo cocreated this Peabody Award–winning series, which made history as the first mainstream TV show created by, starring, and crewed by an almost entirely Indigenous American team. It tells the story of four bored teens who are desperate to escape their lives on a reservation in Oklahoma. They decide that California is where they want to be and commit to a life of mostly petty crimes in order to save up enough money to leave. The full series is available to watch now, including the brilliant third season sendoff.

    Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi

    “The gateway to another culture often happens first through food,” says Padma Lakshmi in the first season of Taste the Nation. That pretty much sums up this food show, made in the style of Parts Unknown and Bizarre Foods (both of which are also streaming on Hulu). Lakshmi makes for a compelling tour guide, and she doesn’t even need to leave the US to explore the cultures, and culinary delights, of Ukraine, Cambodia, Italy, and beyond.

    The Great

    Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult shine in this witty, fast-paced, comedic retelling (but not really) of Catherine the Great’s rise to power. Created by Tony McNamara, who earned Oscar nominations for his writing work on both The Favourite and Poor Things, The Great offers the same combination of lush costumes and scenery mixed with a biting commentary on the world, and a woman’s place in it. A story that rings as true today as it did in the 18th century, when Catherine the Great became empress of Russia and brought about the Age of Enlightenment, this show chips away at notions of class, propriety, and monarchical rule in a way few others do. If it’s historical accuracy you’re after, look elsewhere; the series’ creators describe it as decidedly “anti-historical” (which is part of the fun). All three seasons are available to stream.

    Tiny Beautiful Things

    The reason to watch this eight-part limited series can be summed up in two words: Kathryn Hahn. A comedic juggernaut, Hahn can switch from funny to dramatic in the same scene, if not the same sentence. This talent is on display in Tiny Beautiful Things, where she plays Claire, a writer who takes up an advice column and pours all the traumas of her life into responding to her readers. Based on Wild author Cheryl Strayed’s collection of “Dear Sugar” columns, the vignettes here may be a bit out of sorts, but Hahn pulls them together.

    Dave

    Dave Burd is a comedian and rapper who goes by the stage name Lil Dicky. In Dave, Burd plays a rapper who goes by the stage name Lil Dicky and is attempting to raise his profile and make a much bigger name for himself. If only his many neuroses didn’t keep getting in the way. While Dave could have easily turned into some mediocre experiment in meta storytelling, Burd—who cocreated the series, stars in it, and has written several episodes—grapples with some surprisingly touchy topics, including mental illness. And he does it all with a level of sensitivity and honesty that you might not expect from a guy named Lil Dicky. Despite the show’s popularity and critical acclaim, the three seasons currently streaming may be all we get of Dave. In early 2024, Burd announced that he’d be pressing “pause” on the series in order to explore other creative ventures. (But never say never.)

    Atlanta

    Donald Glover proved himself to be a quadruple threat of an actor, writer, musician, and comedian with this highly acclaimed FX series about Earnest “Earn” Marks (Glover), an aspiring music manager who is trying to help his cousin Alfred Miles, aka Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), kick off his musical career. They’re surrounded by a supportive crew of friends, including Alfred’s BFF, Darius (LaKeith Stanfield), and Van (Zazie Beetz), Earn’s close friend and the mother of his child. This makes it all sound like a fairly straightforward buddy comedy, but Atlanta is so much more. Even better: It’s weird. Glover is not afraid to experiment with storytelling, which is part of what makes the show so compelling.

    Baskets

    Zach Galifianakis stars alongside Zach Galifianakis as twin brothers Chip and Dale Baskets in this unexpectedly moving family comedy about an aspiring clown (Chip) who fails to graduate from a fancy clowning school in Paris and is forced to return home to Bakersfield, California, where he lives with his mother (the late Louie Anderson) and is constantly belittled by his higher-achieving brother (Dale). Between the dual role for Galifianakis and Anderson as the mom, it may sound like a cheap bit of stunt casting that can’t sustain more than an episode, let alone multiple character arcs. But if you’re a fan of absurdist comedy, Baskets truly ranks among the best of them. And Anderson, who won his first and only Emmy for his role as Costco-loving Christine, is absolutely transcendent. While it received a fair amount of critical acclaim, Baskets could rightly be considered one of the most underseen and underappreciated series in recent memory.

    The Dropout

    Amanda Seyfried won a much deserved Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy for her portrayal of the notorious Stanford dropout turned health care technology maven Elizabeth Holmes, who tricked some of the world’s savviest business minds into investing in her company, Theranos. While Holmes’ goal was altruistic enough—making health care more accessible to the masses via a device that could detect any number of diseases with little more than a single finger prick of blood—the technology wasn’t able to catch up. Rather than admit defeat, she kept pushing, making business deals and promises she could never fulfill.

    The Handmaid’s Tale

    When Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale in 1985, little did she know that its television adaptation would revolutionize the still-nascent world of original streaming content. And she may not have anticipated just how many parallels her dystopian classic would share with the real world at the time it was adapted into an award-winning television series. It’s set in an unnamed time in what is presumably the very near future, when the United States has been taken over by a fundamentalist group known as Gilead, under whose regime women are considered property and stripped of any personal rights. The most valuable women are those who are fertile, as infertility has become an epidemic, and they are kept as handmaids who are forced to take part in sexual rituals with high-ranking couples in order to bear their children. Recognizing the power she wields, Offred, aka June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss), is not content to remain enslaved and sets about changing the rules as she seeks to reunite with her lost husband and daughter. It’s been a while since we’ve seen any new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale; its most recent season aired in 2022. Production on the sixth, and final, season commenced in September and is scheduled to drop in the spring.

    It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

    If you thought the characters on Seinfeld were terrible people, wait until you meet the gang from Paddy’s Pub. For nearly 20 years, Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Mac (Robert McElhenney), Charlie (Charlie Day), Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson), and Frank (Danny DeVito) have unapologetically plotted against each other and total strangers in a series of completely self-centered schemes with absolutely no regard for the rules of civility. The show follows the “no hugging and no learning” rule Larry David established for Seinfeld, but elevates it to a new level of sociopathy. “Dennis and Dee Go on Welfare,” “Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack,” “How Mac Got Fat,” “Dennis Looks Like a Registered Sex Offender,” “The Gang Turns Black,” and “The Gang Goes to a Water Park” are just some of the offbeat adventures awaiting viewers. In 2021, Sunny became the longest-running live-action sitcom in the history of television, and it shows no signs of slowing down—or taking it easy on its characters. It also happens to be one of the easiest shows to binge: Pop an episode on and, without even realizing it, you’ll be on to another season. Its 16th (!!) wrapped up in 2023—but there are at least two more on the way.

    Letterkenny

    What began as a web series is now a Hulu original that wrapped up its eleventh season in December. The show is a portrait of small-town Canada (the fictional Letterkenny of the title) and focuses on siblings Wayne (cocreator Jared Keeso) and Katy (Michelle Mylett), who run a produce stand with help from friends Daryl (Nathan Dales) and Squirrely Dan (K. Trevor Wilson). As is often the case in small-town series, many of the residents fall into specific categories—in Letterkenny, you could be a gym rat, a hick, a skid (their word for a drug addict), or a “native” (a member of the nearby First Nation reservation). But in contrast to many small-town series, these groups—and the individuals who comprise them—aren’t reduced to meaningless stereotypes.

    The Patient

    Steve Carell plays against type—or is at least nothing like The Office’s Michael Scott—in this psychological thriller from Joel Fields and The Americans creator Joe Weisberg. Carell is Alan Strauss, a therapist being held captive by his patient (Domhnall Gleeson), who cops to being a serial killer and desperately wants Strauss to “cure” his desire to kill. The series plays out like one big-bottle episode; much of the action occurs in a single room, with Carell and Gleeson speaking only to each other—each trying to determine his best next move.

    Pen15

    Mining the awkwardness of one’s middle school years is hardly a new comedy concept. But being in your early thirties and playing yourself as a junior high school student and then surrounding yourself with age-appropriate actors who are actually going through that hellish rite of passage brings a whole new layer of cringe and humor. This is exactly what cocreators/stars Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle did for Pen15.



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  • The best Xbox controllers: Microsoft, Razer, PowerA, and more

    The best Xbox controllers: Microsoft, Razer, PowerA, and more


    We live in a golden age of gaming controllers. The gamepads on the market now are higher quality, more versatile, and more customizable than anything from just a few console generations ago. If you play on an Xbox Series X or Series S (or a Windows PC), you can choose between several high-quality controllers from Microsoft as well as a plethora of great options from the likes of 8BitDo, PowerA, Razer, Scuf, Nacon, and Turtle Beach, some of which have even started using drift-proof Hall effect sticks for improved longevity. The days of the cheap “little sibling” controller that looked cool but barely worked are over.

    I’ve spent a ton of time playing all kinds of games (first-person shooters, fighters, third-person action-adventure, racing, indie roguelikes, etc.) to test a wide swath of Xbox controllers, and it may not be a surprise that the standard Xbox Wireless Controller is the best option for most folks. It makes a great PC controller, too.

    But while the default Xbox gamepad strikes the right balance of quality, comfort, versatility, and price, there are several alternatives worth considering.

    Is it wireless? Does it support Bluetooth? Or is it wired only? If so, is the cable replaceable?

    Does it feel cheap or nicely made? Any glitches or reliability issues while testing?

    Does it have handy extras like remappable extra buttons or fancy triggers?

    Can you remap buttons or tune it with custom software profiles? Is there a fun cosmetic flair to its design?

    Is it priced affordably, about average, or does it come at a steep premium?

    The best Xbox controller for most people

    $44

    The official Xbox Wireless Controller has a dedicated share button for saving clips and screenshots and sharing them online, Bluetooth support, and a USB-C port for charging up Microsoft’s play-and-charge rechargeable battery.

    Connectivity: Xbox wireless, Bluetooth, wired / Connector type: USB-C / Mappable rear buttons: No / Software customization: No / Power: AA batteries or add-on rechargeable

    Okay, I already know what you’re thinking. “The best controller for Xbox is the one that comes with the Xbox?” That may seem like a no-brainer, but this standard controller truly does earn this title as the best all-rounder. It lacks some extras found on pricier options, but this controller is the distillation of over 20 years of Xbox gamepads, and it shows.

    Thanks to Microsoft’s proprietary wireless protocol, this is the only affordable wireless Xbox controller out there. (Third-party wireless options have been trickling out in recent years, but they’re mostly at the high end.) While some hate the standard Xbox Wireless Controller for its use of AA batteries instead of a built-in rechargeable cell, that also means it’s flexible, allowing for rechargeable AAs or a battery pack. And user-replaceable batteries mean you’re not stuck with a controller that doesn’t hold its charge after years of use. It also works over a USB-C connection.

    Two Xbox controllers, one blue and one black, being held by wooden mannequin hands.

    The standard Xbox controller looks great, feels great, plays great, and is available in cool colors.
    Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

    A closeup of a Hori rechargeable battery pack inserted into an Xbox controller.
    A closeup photo of the Xbox Wireless Controller in blue, showing that the buttons are color-matched to the controller.

    Attention to detail: Microsoft color-matches the light-up Xbox button to the controller.
    Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

    But the standard-issue Xbox pad isn’t just great because of its connectivity. The hardware itself is excellent for the controller’s $60 asking price. The sticks, buttons, triggers, and the sunken dish-shaped D-pad all feel impeccably tight, with the latter having a satisfying clickiness to it. If you’re a hardcore fighting game fan, you may be better served by a dedicated fight stick or a controller geared toward that genre — one with a superb D-pad like Hori’s Horipad Pro — but the Xbox Wireless Controller is an extraordinary jack-of-all-trades.

    The only things it really lacks compared to pricier options are extra, customizable buttons and software tuning for things like stick sensitivity, though Microsoft does offer cosmetic customization through its Xbox Design Lab, which bumps the price from $69.99 to $109.93 depending on the configuration. There’s a lot to love about these controllers, whether you make your own or pick one from the many colors Microsoft offers.

    The best cheap Xbox controller

    $27

    PowerA’s Advantage Wired Controller is a budget-minded gamepad for Xbox and PC that connects via USB-C and features two customizable rear buttons and three-way trigger lockouts.

    Connectivity: Wired / Connector type: USB-C / Mappable rear buttons: Two / Software customization: No / Power: Wired

    If you’re looking for a great controller but don’t have a lot of money to spend — and you don’t mind a cable — PowerA’s Advantage Wired Controller offers a solid value without much sacrifice. Its full retail price is $37.99, but some color schemes dip as low as $25. The Advantage is PowerA’s follow-up to its Enhanced Wired Controller, our previous budget pick. Like the Enhanced, the Advantage comes in a wide variety of hues and designs, but it has some nice improvements. Namely, the new model has a detachable USB-C cable (instead of micro-USB) and three-way hair-trigger lockouts. It also has two customizable rear buttons like the Enhanced, rounding out a nice arsenal of features for a low-cost gamepad.

    You don’t normally find a feature like hair-trigger lockouts on a controller this affordable.

    You don’t normally find a feature like hair-trigger lockouts on a controller this affordable.
    Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

    The only other thing I’d love to see in a controller this cheap are drift-free Hall effect sticks. If that’s a priority to you while on a tight budget, consider spending a little more on the GameSir G7 SE. It’s another great USB-C wired option that puts the drift worries to bed for around $40, though it doesn’t have trigger lockouts like the Advantage does.

    A pair of hands playing a white GameSir G7 SE controller on a laptop.A pair of hands playing a white GameSir G7 SE controller on a laptop.

    $45

    A wired controller for Xbox and Windows PC with two programmable rear buttons, detachable USB-C cable, and drift-free Hall effect sticks.

    The best “pro” Xbox controller

    $169

    The Xbox Elite Series 2 is easily one of our favorite controllers at The Verge. It’s an improvement on the already excellent Elite controller, with deep customization, optional rear paddle buttons, a swappable D-pad, and analog sticks that allow you to tailor its layout to suit your play style.

    Connectivity: Xbox wireless, Bluetooth, wired / Connector type: USB-C / Mappable rear buttons: Up to four / Software customization: Yes / Power: Built-in rechargeable

    The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 is Microsoft’s fancy controller, and it’s got a lot of nice extras, like better build quality, extra buttons, user-swappable sticks and D-pad, a built-in rechargeable battery, and loads of software customization. Where the standard Xbox controller is constructed entirely of unassuming plastic, the Elite mixes higher quality soft-touch plastic, rubberized grips, and metallic touches for a superior fit and finish. This makes it heftier than the stock controller, and it just feels nice in your hands. It also comes with a charging dock and zip-up case with passthrough charging, completing a really nice package for $179.99. There’s also the stripped-down Elite Series 2 “Core” version with an MSRP of $129.99, which ditches the add-ons. You can buy them separately in a $59.99 accessories pack, but you’ll end up paying more that way, barring sales or discounts.

    A pricey controller like an Xbox Elite is a bit of an emotional purchase. Most of us are not competing at e-sports levels, but it’s fun to use something that feels nicer, offers ways to custom-tailor it to your likings, and maybe gives you a slight competitive edge thanks to features like hair triggers and removable rear paddles. In theory, you may be able to get shots off faster in an online shooter with the hair triggers, and you can map the paddles to functions like jump, crouch, reload, etc. while keeping your thumb on the right stick. You could teach yourself claw grip to accomplish the latter with even a cheap wired controller, sure, but it just won’t feel as cool as when using an Elite. (And why try to get good or learn something when I can buy my way there instead?)

    A close-up of the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, showing its matte black finish.

    The Xbox Elite Series 2 is made from premium materials but has a nice, subdued aesthetic.
    Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

    A macro closeup of the dish-shaped metal D-pad on the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2.

    The metal, dish-like D-pad is a small work of art. Sadly, however, it’s a far cry from the best D-pad around.
    Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

    The removable rear paddles of the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller.

    The four removable paddles on the rear sit beneath the trigger locks and charging dock pins.
    Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

    While the Elite is still a great controller in 2025, you should keep in mind that it’s been around since 2019 and a Series 3 revision is feeling long overdue. The Series 2 also has a bit of a reputation for lackluster quality control — with horror stories from users about going through multiple replacements under warranty. Microsoft extended the controller’s warranty from 90 days to a year in late 2020 to help address concerns, but buying an Elite Series 2 may still feel like a slightly risky proposition. It also predates the current-gen implementation of a dedicated Share button, and its potentiometer-based sticks run the risk of stick drift after long-term use (something third parties are addressing with controllers that use drift-free Hall effect sticks, unlike all three big console manufacturers).

    Even with those heaping mouthfuls of salt, the Elite 2 remains by far the most well-rounded option for a step-up Xbox controller — thanks in large part to its impressive build and expansive software experience. If all these caveats give you pause, though, there is another promising option.

    Read our Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 review.

    A formidable alternative to the Elite

    $200

    Razer’s Wolverine V3 Pro is its first wireless controller for Xbox and PC. It also features Hall effect sticks, mouse click-like hair triggers, swappable stick toppers, and six customizable buttons.

    Connectivity: Wireless USB dongle (Xbox / PC), wired / Connector type: USB-C / Mappable rear buttons: Four / Software customization: Yes / Power: Built-in rechargeable

    At $199.99, Razer’s Wolverine V3 Pro controller is even more expensive than the Elite Series 2, but it’s worth the added cost if you want a high-end controller with drift-free sticks. Not only is the V3 Pro Razer’s first foray into using Hall effect sticks, it’s the company’s first fully wireless Xbox gamepad. It also sports some of the best hair-trigger lockouts around, with a mouse-like click usually found on even pricier Scuf controllers (a previous high-ranking pick of ours). Other than that, the V3 Pro is similar to the previous V2 Pro, with six remappable buttons — four rear paddles in new, angled orientations and two extra shoulder buttons — and some RGB lighting. The buttons and D-pad still have that satisfying micro-switch tactility and audible clickiness like the previous-gen V2 Pro, but the RGB lighting is more subtle this time around.

    The V3 Pro has four angled rear buttons and two extra shoulder buttons.

    The V3 Pro has four angled rear buttons and two extra shoulder buttons.
    Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

    In addition to standard stick toppers it comes with a short, domed option and an extra-tall concave one.
    Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

    The extra shoulder buttons are handy for claw grip, or freeing up some of the rear paddles for other functions.
    Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

    The Wolverine V3 Pro’s biggest shortcomings compared to Microsoft’s Elite Series 2 are its more basic software customization, lack of Bluetooth, and the fact that it needs a USB dongle to work wirelessly. The V3 Pro is otherwise the better pick if you can justify its very high cost. And if you can’t, there’s also the $99.99 Wolverine V3 Pro Tournament Edition that has a nearly identical set of features in a wired version.

    Other controllers worth knowing about

    • Nacon’s Revolution X is one of the most customizable wired controllers you can get (it even has removable weights in its handles), and its software is nearly as expansive as Microsoft’s first-party app.
    • Turtle Beach’s controllers have offerings with handy audio features geared toward competitive shooters, like the Recon and React-R. Its fanciest option, the Stealth Ultra, is a $200 wireless model with Hall effect sticks that’s overall very good. Though, for the same money, I prefer the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro, since it feels better to use and the Stealth Ultra’s built-in 1.5-inch screen for customizing functions (or getting social media notifications) is clunky.
    • 8BitDo’s Ultimate Wired Controller for Xbox and PC is a quality, affordable gamepad with two rear buttons and software customization, though the lengthy USB cable is not detachable. There’s a new model with Hall effect sticks and a detachable USB-C cable that looks like a real contender. It’s on our shortlist of options to test next alongside the 8BitDo Ultimate C, which has RGB analog stick rings but lacks rear buttons, and the 8BitDo Ultimate 3-Mode, which is wired on Xbox but includes wireless connectivity for PC and mobile.
    • Briefly mentioned above, the Horipad Pro has one of the best D-pads around. It also offers a lot of software customization at an affordable price, but its shoulder buttons are a bit stiff.
    • If you’re the nostalgic type, the Hyperkin Duke, DuchesS, and Xenon are faithful wired recreations of Xbox gamepads from Microsoft’s first two console generations. They’re kind of dumb but endearing (especially the chunky Duke), but they’re unique collector pieces you can also use on modern games.
    • We’re planning to test PowerA’s newest pro-style Xbox controllers, including the Fusion Pro 4 Wired and PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless. The former is primarily standard fare for a pro-style controller these days, but it does come with height-adjustable Hall effect sticks. It also features remappable rear buttons, three-way trigger locks, and onboard volume controls. The Fusion Pro Wireless is similar but offers some trippy Lumectra lighting, letting you customize four separate RGB zones with six different lighting modes.
    • We’d be remiss not to give the wireless Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot a spin (pun intended). The customizable controller uses a unique swivel system that allows you to quickly swap the analog sticks for additional face buttons, which makes it ideal for fighting game purists and other retro gaming needs. We plan on getting our hands on one in the coming weeks, so we’ll let you know whether it’s the next best thing or just a fun party trick.

    Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

    Update, February 5th: Updated with current pricing and availability, plus details on new controllers we’re planning to test.



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  • A comprehensive list of 2024 and 2025 tech layoffs

    A comprehensive list of 2024 and 2025 tech layoffs


    The tech layoff wave continued through 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, 2024 saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 542 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Large companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap, and Microsoft conducted sizable layoffs in 2024, while smaller-sized startups also experienced cuts, and in some cases, shut down operations altogether.

    We’re continuing to track the industry’s layoffs into 2025 so you can see the trajectory of the cutbacks. Later this year, we will break out our 2024 and 2025 lists in order to make the trends easier to parse.

    By tracking these layoffs, we’re able to understand the impact on innovation across companies large and small. We’re also able to see the potential impact of businesses embracing AI and automation for jobs that had previously been considered safe. It also serves as a reminder of the human impact of layoffs and what could be at stake in regards to increased innovation.

    Below you’ll find a comprehensive list of all the known layoffs in tech that have occurred in 2024, to be updated regularly. If you have a tip on a layoff, contact us here. If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can contact us here.

    • January 2025: 6,003 employees laid off — see all January 2025 Tech Layoffs
    • December 2024: 2,268 employees laid off — see all December 2024 Tech Layoffs
    • November 2024: 5,925 employees laid off — see all November 2024 Tech Layoffs
    • October 2024: 3,659 employees laid  off — see all October 2024 Tech Layoffs
    • September 2024: 3,765 employees laid off — see all September 2024 Tech Layoffs
    • August 2024: 26,024 employees laid off — see all August 2024 Tech Layoffs
    • July 2024: 9,051 employees laid off — see all July 2024 Tech Layoffs
    • June 2024: 10,083 employees laid off — see all June 2024 Tech Layoffs
    • May 2024: 11,011 employees laid off — see all May 2024 Tech Layoffs
    • April 2024: 22,423 employees laid off — see all April 2024 Tech Layoffs
    • March 2024: 7,403 employees laid off — see all March 2024 Tech Layoffs
    • February 2024: 15,639 employees laid off — see all February 2024 Tech Layoffs
    • January 2024: 34,107 employees laid off — see all January 2024 Tech Layoffs

    February 2025

    Sonos

    Reportedly let go of approximately 200 employees, according to The Verge. The company previously cut 100 employees as part of a layoff round in August 2024. 

    Workday

    Laid off 1,750 employees, as originally reported by Bloomberg and confirmed independently by TechCrunch. The cuts affect roughly 8.5% of the enterprise HR platform’s total head count.

    Okta

    Laid off 180 employees, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The cuts come just over one year after the access and identity management giant let go of 400 workers.

    Cruise

    Is laying off 50% of its workforce, including CEO Marc Whitten and several other top executives, as it prepares to shut down operations. What remains of the autonomous vehicle company will move under General Motors.

    Salesforce

    Is reportedly eliminating more than 1,000 jobs. The cuts come as the giant is actively recruiting and hiring workers to sell new AI products.

    January 2025

    Cushion

    Has shut down operations, CEO Paul Kesserwani announced on LinkedIn. The fintech startup’s post-money valuation in 2022 was $82.4 million, according to PitchBook.

    Placer.ai

    Laid off 150 employees based in the U.S., affecting roughly 18% of its total workforce, in an effort to reach profitability.

    Amazon

    Laid off dozens of workers in its communications department in order to help the company “move faster, increase ownership, strengthen our culture, and bring teams closer to customers.”

    Stripe

    Is laying off 300 people, according to a leaked memo reported by Business Insider. However, according to the memo, the fintech giant is planning to grow its total headcount by 17%. 

    Textio

    Laid off 15 employees as the augmented writing startup undergoes a restructuring effort.

    Pocket FM

    Is cutting 75 employees in an effort to “ensure the long-term sustainability and success” of the company. The audio company last cut 200 writers in July 2024 months after partnering with ElevenLabs.

    Aurora Solar

    Is planning to cut 58 employees in response to an “ongoing macroeconomic challenges and continued uncertainty in the solar industry.”

    Meta

    Announced in an internal memo that it will cut 5% of its staff targeting “low performers” as the company prepares for “an intense year.” As of its latest quarterly report, Meta currently has more than 72,000 employees.

    Wayfair

    Will cut up to 730 jobs, impacting 3% of its total workforce, as it plans to exit operations in Germany and focus on physical retailers.

    Pandion

    Is shutting down its operations, impacting 63 employees. The delivery startup said employees will be paid through January 15 without severance.

    Icon

    Is laying off 114 employees as part of a team realignment, per a new WARN notice filing, focusing its efforts on a robotic printing system.

    Altruist

    Eliminated 37 jobs, impacting roughly 10% of its total workforce, even as the company pursues “aggressive” hiring.

    Aqua Security

    Is cutting dozens of employees across its global markets as part of a strategic reorganization to increase profitability.

    SolarEdge Technologies

    Plans to lay off 400 employees globally. It’s the company’s fourth layoff round since January 2024 as the solar industry as a whole faces a downturn.

    Level

    The fintech startup, founded in 2018, abruptly shut down earlier this year. Per an email from CEO Paul Aaron, the closure follows an unsuccessful attempt to find a buyer, though Employer.com has a new offer under consideration to acquire the company post-shutdown.

    December 2024

    Brave Care

    Has shut down its operations permanently, according to a post on its website. It’s unclear how many workers were impacted.

    Epicery

    Has ceased operations as the result of “economic and financial challenges” that the food delivery startup could not overcome.

    Bench

    Abruptly shut down but was later acquired by Employer.com for an undisclosed price in a last-minute deal. It’s currently unknown how many of the accounting startup’s 600 staff will be hired back.

    Lilium

    Ceased operations and laid off about 1,000 workers. But the company might be saved after all: Lilium announced that a consortium of investors agreed to acquire two subsidiaries, which would allow it to restructure and exit insolvency.

    Boston Dynamics

    Has laid off 45 employees, accounting for 5% of its total workforce. A spokesperson told The Boston Globe the cuts impacted “nearly every function throughout the business.”

    OfferUp

    Is cutting 22% of its workforce as it attempts to expand into new product lines. The total number of workers impacted is not currently known.

    Canoo

    Is undergoing another layoff round two months after the EV startup relocated employees to Texas to avoid bankruptcy. More than 20 employees were included in the cuts.

    Foundry

    Eliminated 27% of its workforce. The cuts include 16% of its U.S.-based employees, as well as a “small team in India,” affecting a total of 74 workers.

    Calendly

    Laid off 70 employees, roughly 13% of its workforce. The cuts impacted teams in engineering, customer experience, marketing, and billing.

    Yahoo

    Laid off around 25% of its cybersecurity team — known as The Paranoids — over the last year, TechCrunch has learned. The cuts impacted 40 to 50 employees out of a total staff of 200.

    Bluevine

    Is cutting 100 employees, impacting its global workforce by roughly 18%. It’s the fintech company’s second layoff round in six months.

    EasyKnock

    Has abruptly shut down. The news follows several lawsuits filed against the proptech company and an FTC consumer alert about controversial sale-leaseback models.

    Carousell

    Is eliminating 76 roles in a reorganization effort. The cuts account for about 7% of the Singapore-based company’s total headcount. 

    Mixtroz

    Is shutting down its operations, co-founders Kerry Schrader and Ashlee Ammons Halpin announced.

    Stash

    Reportedly laid off 40% of its roughly 220-person workforce in a major restructuring effort following the departure of CEO Liza Landsman in September.

    Booking Holdings

    Has laid off 60 employees in one of its B2B units as the company shifts its focus to AI.

    Lightspeed Commerce

    Will lay off roughly 200 employees as part of a “strategic review” of its business while exploring a potential sale. The company cut 280 workers in April as part of a restructuring effort.

    November 2024

    AlphaSense

    Laid off 150 employees, impacting 8% of its workforce, in a new restructuring effort following its July 2024 acquisition of Tegus.

    Ola Electric

    Is reportedly letting go of up to 500 employees in an effort to boost its profitability. The cuts would impact more than 10% of its total workforce.

    Hopper

    Cut roughly 10% of its workforce, affecting 60-65 employees, as the online travel agency conducts another reorganization attempt.

    LinkedIn

    Eliminated 202 employees, accounting for roughly 1% of its total workforce. The cuts impacted engineering and customer support roles, spokesperson Greg Snapper confirmed to The Information.

    Headspace

    Is cutting 13% of its workforce and shifting its staff of clinical therapists to part-time or contract roles in an effort to “reset” the unicorn startup. It’s unknown exactly how many employees were impacted.

    Truelayer

    Reportedly laid off roughly a quarter of its employees. Sources told City AM that the former unicorn startup cut 71 roles before announcing a $50 million funding round.

    AppLovin

    Announced 120 layoffs in a new WARN filing. The filing comes a week after the advertising software company hit a $97.7 billion valuation.

    Stoa

    Has shut down its operations after four years in business, CEO Raj Kunkolienkar announced on LinkedIn.

    AMD

    Is laying off 4% of its workforce to focus on “large growth opportunities.” AMD had roughly 26,000 employees as of last year, so the cuts could impact approximately 1,000 workers.

    23andMe

    Is cutting 40% of its workforce, impacting more than 200 employees, as part of a restructuring effort at the company. Since going public in 2021, 23andMe has lost more than 99% of its value amid declining interest in its products and subscriptions, plus a data breach in 2023 that resulted in 7 million users’ ancestry data being stolen.

    Chegg

    Is laying off 319 employees, accounting for 21% of its total staff, as it struggles to compete with ChatGPT and other AI products. Like 23andMe, at the time of writing, Chegg has also lost 99% of its valuation since going public in 2013.

    Enphase Energy

    Is laying off roughly 500 workers, affecting 17% of the solar and EV charging company’s total workforce. Enphase laid off 10% of its workforce less than a year ago, as they and other solar companies continue to face significant headwinds.

    Exosonic

    Is shutting down after five years of operation. In 2020, the supersonic aircraft startup joined Y Combinator’s Winter cohort in 2020 and went on to raise over $4.5 million.

    Freshworks

    Is laying off 660 employees globally, accounting for 13% of the company’s total workforce, as the software-as-a-service company for customer and IT service management aims to finish a restructuring effort by the end of the year.

    Akamai

    The cloud computing company is eliminating 2.5% of its workforce, impacting roughly 250 employees. The company made a similar sized cut to its workforce at the beginning of 2023.

    ShareFile

    Announced it will cut nearly 200 jobs in North Carolina, shortly after its acquisition by Progress Software Corp.

    Just Eat

    Is reducing its headcount by 300 employees, accounting for 2% of the food delivery company’s total work force.

    iRobot

    Is laying off 105 employees — about 16% of the company’s workforce. The move comes after iRobot slashed roughly 350 jobs earlier this year, following the scuttling of an acquisition by Amazon for $1.7 billion.

    The Mozilla Foundation

    Has laid off 30% of its employees as the organization says it faces a “relentless onslaught of change.” It’s the second layoff round at Mozilla this year.

    Maven Clinic

    Reportedly cut 10% of its staff, impacting roughly 60 employees. In October 2024, the company announced a $125 million Series F Round.

    Bowery Farming

    Is shutting down its operations. The agtech company was valued at $2.3 billion in 2021.

    October 2024

    Tidal

    Is conducting another round of layoffs, reportedly impacting up to 100 employees. CEO Jack Dorseytold employees in an email that the company needs to operate “like a startup again.” 

    X

    Reportedly conducted a round of layoffs. The number of employees impacted is currently unknown.

    Coursera

    Cut 10% of its total workforce as the education company struggles with its customers not renewing their subscriptions.

    Dropbox

    Is letting go of 20% of its workforce as the company undergoes what CEO Drew Houston calls a “transitional period.” The reduction in headcount will impact 528 employees.

    Consensys

    Has laid off 20% of its total workforce as it faces struggles in the Ethereum market.

    F5

    Is trimming its global workforce by nearly 2% in a cost-cutting measure, impacting roughly 100 employees.

    Kyte

    Is pulling out of almost all of its major markets in the U.S. and has cut its workforce roughly in half as it shifts its focus on just San Francisco and New York City.

    Upwork

    Is reducing its total workforce by 21% as the company aims to generate $60 million in annual cost savings.

    Venminder

    Will lay off 100 employees after being acquired by risk and vendor management company Ncontracts.

    Jellysmack

    Is laying off staff in a reorganization effort impacting 22 employees in the U.S. Cuts will reportedly also impact staffers in France in the coming months.

    CapWay

    Has been shut down, founder Sheena Allen wrote on LinkedIn. The Y Combinator-backed fintech sought to bring financial services to people in banking deserts.Meta

    Employees across multiple teams across Meta have been laid off as the company looks to “ensure resources are aligned with their long-term strategic goals,” in the words of its emailed statement to TechCrunch. What Meta did not detail was the scope or specific teams affected by the layoffs, though Threads, recruiting and legal were confirmed not to be unaffected.

    Boeing

    Will cut 10% of its workforce, impacting roughly 17,000 employees. The cuts follow a loss of $9.97 a share in Q3 amid a continued machinist union strike.

    Stellantis

    Is laying off 1,100 employees in Michigan, impacting the company’s subsidiary brands Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, and Dodge.

    TikTok

    Is laying off hundreds of employees, mainly in Malaysia, as the social network turns to AI for content moderation. The company said fewer than 500 people were affected.

    Samsung

    Is cutting jobs in Southeast Asia and Australia to “improve operational efficiency.” A spokesperson told TechCrunch that it hasn’t “set a target number for any particular positions,” though the cuts could impact roughly 10% of workers in those markets

    Kasperksy

    Is shutting down its UK office and laying off dozens of workers, TechCrunch has learned. The cuts come just three months after the company started closing down its U.S. operations. 

    NFX

    Laid off four employees as the firm looks to “rebalance” its resources from its software and product teams to its investing team, general partner Pete Flint told TechCrunch.

    Eaze

    Is laying off 500 employees as it begins winding down its operations. In a message to staff, CEO Cory Azzalino cited the “ongoing challenges of the California cannabis market” as a reason for the closure. 

    PubMatic

    Eliminated 1% of its total workforce, impacting roughly more than a dozen employees, as it reportedly pivots its business to connected-TV advertising.

    Tome

    Has laid off nearly a third of its employees in a “resetting” attempt for the company. It’s the second layoff round for the AI startup in 2024.

    Alma

    Has laid off 9% of its total workforce, impacting most departments, as it aims for “long-term sustainability.”

    Flexport

    Is reducing its headcount by about 2%. It’s the second layoff round for Flexport this year, where the company cut 20% of its staff in January.

    FreshBooks

    Let go of 140 employees across all of its teams as it aims to reach profitability, CEO Mara Reiff announced in a blog post.

    September 2024

    Shein

    Has cut 17 employees in Singapore as the company prepares for an IPO at the London Stock Exchange.

    Drata

    The security compliance platform has laid off 9% of its workforce, impacting 40 employees.

    Moov

    Reportedly laid off upwards of 50 employees, though Moov itself has not yet confirmed the layoffs.

    FreightWaves

    Eliminated 16 jobs in sales, HR, and marketing, citing a significant downturn in the freight market.

    Northvolt

    Is cutting 25% of its global workforce in an effort to cut costs. The layoffs impact upwards of 1,600 employees at the battery giant.

    Olo

    Is reducing its workforce by 9%, impacting roughly 50 employees, as it aims to fund future growth initiatives.

    Healthy.io

    Cut 40 employees across its markets in the U.S., the UK, and Israel. The cuts come after the Israeli healthtech firm laid off 70 employees in 2023. 

    Reverb

    Reportedly eliminated 40 roles. The Chicago-based music gear marketplace was acquired by Etsy in 2019.

    Luminar

    Is reducing its staff by 30% as part of a new cost-cutting measure, CEO Austin Russell announced in a blog post. The cuts are largely made up of “non-technical” roles.

    Notable Labs

    Is eliminating 65% of its workforce and consultants and pausing a clinical trial of its cancer treatment as it aims to minimize expenses.

    CrawTrawler

    Is cutting 10% of its workforce, impacting roughly 40 employees. The company, however, said it will create 28 new roles as part of its new strategy.

    ApplyBoard

    Has eliminated 4% of its total workforce as it restructures its operations in Ontario.

    Qualcomm

    Will lay off 226 workers in San Diego later this year, according to a California WARN notice. The decision comes less than a year after the chipmaker let go of more than 1,250 workers. 

    Udemy

    Will reduce its headcount in a new restructuring effort, impacting roughly 280 employees. The company says that half of those affected by the cuts would be rehired, particularly if they work in lower cost markets.

    Amperity

    Will lay off 13% of its workforce. The company previously laid off 20 employees earlier this year, in addition to two other workforce reductions in 2023.

    Cisco

    Is reducing its headcount by 7%, impacting around 5,600 employees. The cuts follow another layoff round from the company this year, in which 4,000 employees were impacted.

    Microsoft

    Is laying off around 650 employees in its gaming division. The layoffs come eight months after the gaming division faced 1,900 job cuts after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard.

    Nori 

    Has shut down its operations citing a “tough funding environment,” co-founder Alexsandra Guerra announced on LinkedIn.

    Bending Spoons

    Will lay off 75% of WeTransfer’s staff. Bending Spoons acquired the file transfer service in July for an undisclosed amount.

    Goop

    Is laying off 18% of its 216-person staff as the company shifts its focus to its beauty and food brands and deprioritize other areas like wellness and travel. 

    Fly.io

    Has reportedly laid off around 40 employees in what appears to be a restructuring effort for the company.

    Motif FoodWorks

    Is reportedly shutting down its operations following a lengthy litigation battle with competitor Impossible Foods.

    August 2024

    Character.AI

    Reportedly cut at least 5% of its staff in its marketing and recruiting departments.

    Apple

    Is reportedly cutting around 100 jobs in its digital services group, potentially impacting workers in the company’s Books and News teams.

    Brave

    Has laid off 27 employees across the different departments, TechCrunch has learned. The cuts impact roughly 14% of the web browser and search startup’s total staff.

    Scale AI

    Reportedly terminated more than 1,000 remote contract workers. The company did not categorize the cuts as layoffs and says full-time employees have not been impacted.

    Skip the Dishes

    Is cutting 100 workers in Canada and 700 working for its parent company, Just Eat Takeaway.com, CEO Paul Burns announced on LinkedIn.

    GoPro

    Will reduce its total workforce by about 15% before the end of the year as part of a major restructuring effort. The cuts will impact around 139 workers.

    Retention.com

    Laid off 40% of its staff, CEO Adam Robinson wrote on LinkedIn, impacting 15 employees.

    Loop

    Is conducting layoffs as the company goes through a “strategic shift” in priorities. The number of employees affected is currently unknown.

    Inuitive

    Is cutting 20% of its workforce, affecting around 80 employees. Inuitive CEO Shlomo Gadot is also stepping down from the company.

    Formlabs

    Has laid off a “small number” of employees, the company exclusively confirmed to TechCrunch. The 3D printing firm says the cuts occurred over the past two years and impact 40 employees out of its less than 750-person staff.

    Sonos

    CEO Patrick Spence confirmed with TechCrunch the company cut 100 employees in a new layoff round, impacting 6% of Sonos’ workforce. Sonos previously reduced its headcount by 7% in 2023.

    Cisco

    Will reportedly eliminate thousands of jobs in another round of layoffs this year. The company previously laid off more than 4,000 employees in February 2024.

    Tally

    Has shut down its operations “after exploring all options” before running out of cash. The fintech previously helped users manage and pay off their credit card debt; it had 183 employees and was last valued at $855 million. 

    Branch.io

    Has laid off more than 100 employees. Nova Launcher, which was acquired by Branch in 2022, said the cuts whittled down its team to one full-time developer.

    READY Robotics

    Has reportedly stopped its operations. The company is now auctioning off equipment through the Silicon Valley Disposition.

    Eventbrite

    Is cutting around 100 employees, accounting for 11% of its total workforce. The online ticketing company previously let go of 8% of its employees in February 2023.

    LegalZoom

    Announced it will reduce its global workforce by 15% and pause future hiring efforts in an effort to save $25 million.

    Techstars

    Is laying off 17% of its staff and ending its $80 million J.P. Morgan-backed programs at the end of this year following a rocky period for the company that has included financial losses and leadership shakeups.

    Mobius

    Will completely shut down operations after facing financial struggles. The Kenya-based SUV manufacturer reportedly cited tax hikes as a driving force of the decision.

    Infineon

    Will cut 1,400 jobs globally, including hundreds of roles at its German plant. The company said it will also relocate an additional 1,400 employees to countries with lower labor costs.

    Jam City

    Has eliminated around 85 employees, affecting 10% of the video game developer and publisher’s total workforce.

    Dell

    Will conduct layoffs as the company plans to get “leaner,” according to an internal memo, and create a new sales unit focused on AI products and services. The number of employees impacted is currently unknown.

    Intel

    Intel kicked off the month with substantial layoffs, with 15,000 employees accounting for 15% of its total staff affected by the company’s cutbacks. “Our revenues have not grown as expected — and we’ve yet to fully benefit from powerful trends, like AI,” CEO Pat Gelsinger said in a memo announcing the layoffs.

    July 2024

    Rad Power Bikes

    The e-bike startup that has raised more than $300 million from investors has also conducted five rounds of layoffs since April 2021, with TechCrunch exclusively learning that Red Power’s most recent layoffs were conducted in July with an unknown number of Rad Power’s roughly 394 employees impacted.

    Match Group

    Has discontinued livestreaming services across its dating apps, specifically Plenty of Fish and BLK, as it shifts its focus to generative AI. The move will result in a 6% reduction in its total workforce.

    Bungie

    Will cut 220 employees, representing around 17% of the game studio’s total workforce. CEO Pete Parsons said the changes impact all levels of the company, including senior and executive leadership.

    Pocket FM

    Has reportedly eliminated roles for nearly 200 U.S. writers a month after the company partnered with ElevenLabs to quickly convert scripts into audio content using AI.

    WayCool Foods

    Has reportedly laid off more than 200 employees across several departments. It would be the agritech company’s third substantial layoff round in the past year.

    Webflow

    Announced it will eliminate roughly 8% of its workforce as the company works toward its “next phase of growth.”

    Cohere

    Is reportedly laying off about 20 employees, accounting for nearly 5% of its total workforce. The cuts came the day after the company announced it raised $500 million at a $5 billion valuation.

    Magic Leap

    Reportedly eliminated around 75 of its workers. As part of the cuts, the augmented reality startup reportedly axed its sales and marketing departments entirely.

    Mercari

    Is reportedly laying off nearly half of its employees in the U.S. as the Japan-based company struggles to compete with other e-commerce rivals like Temu.

    Aqua

    Is eliminating 50 employees, accounting for 10% of its total workforce. Earlier this year, the cybersecurity company raised $60 million at a $1 billion valuation, making it a unicorn.

    EverC

    Is reportedly laying off 10% of its 165-person workforce. The company develops cyber intelligence software that helps prevent online fraud.

    Lex

    Has laid off the majority of its roughly eight-person staff as the LGBTQ+ social networking site struggles to monetize its product. Last year, the company’s third, Lex raised $5.6 million in seed funding and elevated co-founder Jennifer Lewis from COO to CEO.

    Monarch Tractor

    Cut “less than” 15% of its 250- to 300-person workforce as part of a necessary reshuffling following a $133 million Series C funding round, TechCrunch has learned.

    Kaspersky

    Will lay off dozens of employees and leave the U.S. market completely following a U.S. government order that banned the sale of the company’s software due to security risks.

    Salesforce

    Eliminated about 300 employees in its workforce as it rolls out a broader effort to cut costs and streamline its operations.

    Intuit

    Will cut 1,800 employees, impacting 10% of its workforce. The company says more than half were cut due to low performance and aims to hire approximately the same number of employees instead of cutting costs.

    UiPath

    Plans to cut 420 jobs, 10% of its total workforce, as the company undergoes a large restructuring effort.

    UKG

    Cut an estimated 2,200 employees, amounting to nearly 14% of its workforce, as the software company attempts to redirect its resources into “key areas of product innovation.”

    OpenText​​

    Plans to cut roughly 1,200 jobs, amounting to almost 2% of its total workforce, as the information management company plans to significantly reduce its expenses by 2025.

    Unacademy

    Is laying off about 250 employees in the latest in a series of job cuts after schools reopened across India following pandemic lockdowns.

    Koo

    Is ceasing its operations after its last-resort acquisition talks with Dailyhunt collapsed.

    Upside Foods

    Has cut its workforce by 26 people, CEO Uma Valeti wrote in an email to staff, as the lab-grown meat industry sees a decline in VC funding.

    Sightful

    Is eliminating 20 employees, amounting to a third of its total workforce, as the company shifts its focus to software development.

    June 2024

    RealPage

    Will cut approximately 4% of its workforce as part of a plan to boost growth, though the company is also one of many within its field facing a consolidated lawsuit alleging they engaged in price fixing.

    Planet

    Intends to lay off roughly 180 employees, amounting to 17% of its workforce, according to an SEC filing that amounts to its second recent round of layoffs.

    Moxion Power

    Is laying off more than 100 employees, according to a WARN filing. The news of the cuts comes after the company launched a large office expansion in Richmond, California.

    eBay

    Is reportedly conducting layoffs in Israel as it goes through a global restructuring.

    BeReal

    Is reportedly cutting a large number of its staff after being acquired by French gaming company Voodoo.

    Flutterwave

    Has laid off about 30 people, accounting for 3% of its workforce, as it refocuses its business to enterprise.

    Ginkgo Bioworks

    Terminated 158 employees, with another batch of layoffs expected to come as the company aims to reduce its workforce by 25%.

    Moovit

    Is making cuts to 10% of its workforce, impacting around 20 to 25 employees.

    Wex

    Is laying off 375 employees, accounting for 5% of its total workforce.

    PayPal

    Will eliminate up to 85 employees based in Ireland, the company announced.

    Rapyd

    Is reportedly laying off around 30 employees in Israel and will move positions to other regions to cut costs.

    C2FO

    Cut 16 employees in its supplier resource management department as it focuses on automation.

    Chegg

    Is reducing its global headcount by 23% in a major restructuring effort as the online learning platform aims to become a “leaner” operation.

    StackPath

    Is closing up shop and liquidating its assets. The number of employees affected is currently unknown.

    Unit

    Is reducing its headcount by 15% as the company attempts to “think in longer time frames,” the company announced in a blog post.

    Loop

    Is making more cuts, co-CEO Carey Anne Nadeau announced on LinkedIn. The number of employees impacted is currently unknown.

    Care/of

    Will lay off its 143 employees by July 3 due to a “funding loss,” and will no longer be accepting new orders. The company has not shut down fully though, telling TechCrunch: “We are actively exploring options for the brand but do not have anything definitive to communicate at this time.”

    Running Tide

    Shut down its operations and laid off its remaining employees after raising more than $50 million since its 2017 start.

    Satellogic

    Is laying off 70 employees, about 30% of its workforce, three weeks after an earlier round of cuts impacted 34 employees.

    ByteDance

    Is slashing around 450 jobs at its Indonesian e-commerce division, accounting for 9% of the unit. 

    VRChat

    Has eliminated around 30% of its total workforce, CEO Graham Gaylor confirmed in a statement.

    Paytm

    Is reportedly conducting large cuts across the company. The total number of employees impacted is currently unknown.

    Kissflow

    Has cut around 45 jobs as part of a restructuring effort.

    Copia Global

    Has laid off at least 1,060 employees two weeks after the startup filed for administration.

    Revel

    Is laying off its 1,000+ staff drivers as it embraces a gig worker model similar to that of Lyft and Uber.

    Simpl

    Has cut 30 employees a month after the Bengaluru-based startup laid off 160 people.

    Oda

    Has confirmed layoffs of 150 jobs as it drastically scales back its expansion ambitions to focus on its markets in Norway and Sweden.

    Pagaya

    Is laying off 100 workers, or 20% of its staff, in another round of cuts.

    MoonPay

    Is reportedly laying off 10% of its workforce, amounting to around 30 people.

    Microsoft

    Is reportedly cutting hundreds of employees working in its Azure cloud business, though the exact number of employees impacted is currently unknown.

    OrCam

    Is laying off 100 employees months after reducing its headcount by 50 workers.

    Google

    Is reportedly making large cuts globally across several of its Cloud teams, including teams focused on sustainability, consulting and partner engineering.

    Tropic

    Is eliminating 40 employees as part of a restructuring effort, CEO David Campbell wrote in a post on LinkedIn. 

    May 2024

    Gro Intelligence

    Is shutting down its operations after laying off 60% of its staff in March in an attempt to stay afloat.

    Jasper Health

    Has laid off a substantial part of its workforce, TechCrunch learned. Engineering and product design departments were most impacted by the cuts at the cancer care platform startup.

    Cirium

    Is laying off 37 tech workers at FlightStats, the flight tracking startup it acquired in 2016, as it plans to consolidate its operations in India and the U.K.

    Walnut

    Is cutting 15 employees in a round of layoffs, impacting 20% of the Israeli startup’s total workforce.

    Fisker

    Has laid off hundreds of employees in a bid to keep the EV startup alive. One current and one laid off employee told TechCrunch exclusively that an estimated 150 people remain at the company.

    Cue Health

    Is shutting down its operations and laying off the rest of its staff. The COVID-19 test company laid off half of its workforce earlier this month to cut costs.

    Foursquare

    Has let go of 105 employees as the company seeks to “streamline” its operations, according to an email to staffers from current CEO Gary Little.

    Lucid Motors

    Is laying off about 400 employees, roughly 6% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring ahead of the launch of its first electric SUV later this year.

    TikTok

    Will reportedly make large cuts to its global operations and marketing teams. The amount of employees impacted is currently unknown.

    Pixar

    Will reportedly cut 14% of its staff, impacting 175 employees, as the company shifts its focus from original Disney+ programming back to films.

    Replit

    Let go of 20% of its staff as the coding startup shifts its focus to enterprise sales.

    SeekOut

    Cut about 30% of its total workforce. The recruiting startup that uses AI to find candidates was last valued at over $1.2 billion in January 2022.

    Gopuff

    Eliminated 6% of its staff in another round of layoffs as the fast-delivery startup attempts to become cash-flow positive by the end of 2024.

    Atmosphere

    Plans to lay off 106 employees, according to a WARN notice filed in Texas. 

    Mainvest

    Has shut down its operations. The number of employees affected is currently unknown.

    Indeed

    Is cutting roughly 1,000 jobs, impacting 8% of the company’s headcount, CEO Chris Hyams wrote in a letter to staff.

    Motional

    Cut around 40% of its workforce, impacting about 550 employees, sources told TechCrunch. The company’s chief operating officer, Abe Ghabra, has also left the company.

    Google

    Will eliminate 57 positions in San Francisco, according to a WARN notice filed in California.

    Vacasa

    Is eliminating 800 employees, accounting for 13% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring effort.

    Brilliant

    Told The Verge it has laid off most of its staff and is no longer selling its smart home controllers and light switches as it looks for a buyer.

    Enovix

    Laid off roughly 170 workers, impacting a third of its total headcount, in an effort to cut back on annual operating costs. 

    Microsoft

    Closed Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and more game studios as part of cuts at Bethesda. It’s currently unclear how many employees will be impacted.

    Cue Health

    Is eliminating 230 employees, about 49% of its workforce, in a cost cutting measure laid out in documents filed with the U.S. SEC.

    Luminar

    Is slashing its workforce by 20%. The cuts will affect around 140 employees, and the company is also cutting ties with “the majority” of its contract workers.

    Sprinklr

    Has laid off about 3% of its workforce, impacting 116 people, the company confirmed to TechCrunch in a statement. The cuts come over a year after the company eliminated about 4% of its headcount.

    Peloton

    Is laying off 15% of its workforce, affecting about 400 people, as part of a cost-cutting effort. The company’s CEO Barry McCarthy is also stepping down.

    April 2024

    Tesla

    Has gutted its charging team in a new round of layoffs, CEO Elon Musk announced in an overnight email to executives.

    Google

    Has laid off staff across key teams like Flutter, Dart and Python. It is currently unclear how many employees were let go.

    Fisker

    Is laying off more employees to “preserve cash,” according to an internal email viewed by TechCrunch. The number of cuts is currently unknown.

    Getir

    Is shutting down operations in the U.S., the U.K. and Europe, impacting at least 6,000 jobs across the closing markets.

    Ola

    Is cutting about 180 jobs in a profitability push and has let go its chief executive Hemant Bakshi, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.

    True Anomaly

    The space and defense startup laid off nearly 30 people, accounting for about 25% of its workforce, due to “duplication of roles and functions across the company,” TechCrunch exclusively reported.

    Expedia

    Is expected to cut employees in its Austin office for the second time this year.

    Nike

    Plans to eliminate 740 employees at its Oregon headquarters this summer, according to a WARN Act notice.

    Stability AI

    Is eliminating 10% of its workforce following the exit of former CEO Emad Mostaque.

    Google

    Is laying off workers as part of continued cost cutting measures. The number of employees affected was at the time unknown.

    Rivian

    Is reducing its total workforce by 1%. It’s the second round of layoffs for the EV maker this year.

    Take-Two

    Is laying off 5% of its workforce, affecting around 579 employees. The GTA 6 publisher also announced the elimination of “several projects” in development.

    Tome

    Is eliminating about 20% of its 59 employees in a restructuring effort.

    Tesla

    Is cutting “more than 10%” of its global workforce, per an internal email sent by CEO Elon Musk. That could impact more than 14,000 workers worldwide, as Tesla prepares itself “for our next phase of growth” amid a challenging EV market.

    Criteo

    Is reducing its global workforce by nearly 4%, impacting up to 140 employees.

    TikTok

    Is laying off 250 employees based in Ireland as it restructures its Training and Quality team.

    Hinge Health

    Cut approximately 10% of its workforce, TechCrunch exclusively learned, as the company prepares for an IPO and aims to reach profitability.

    Checkr

    Has laid off 382 employees, amounting to 32% of its total workforce, TechCrunch exclusively learned. The background-screening platform was last valued at $5 billion in April of 2022.

    Bolt.Earth

    Reportedly laid off a sizable part of its staff in a restructuring effort. The number of employees impacted is currently unknown, but sources told Inc42 that it could be “in the range of 70-100” workers.

    Apple

    Is laying off 614 employees in California after abandoning its electric car project, according to a WARN notice.

    Agility Robotics

    Has laid off a “small number” of employees as part of a company-wide focus on commercialization efforts.

    Ghost Autonomy

    Shut down operations. The company, which was backed by OpenAI, employed about 100 people.

    Whirlpool

    Is shutting down Yummly, the recipe and cooking app it acquired in 2017.

    AWS

    Will cut hundreds of jobs across Sales, Marketing, Global Services and its Physical Stores Technology team.

    Byju’s

    Is laying off about 500 employees, accounting for 3% of its total workforce, as part of a restructuring effort.

    March 2024

    Reliance

    Reliance, largest conglomerate in India, took its time in announcing it had laid off more than 42,000 people in its fiscal year, which ended in March. That significant number accounted for 11% of its workforce, and another 143,000 employees took “voluntary separations” in the same time.

    ChowNow

    Has laid off 20% of its staff after acquiring point-of-sale platform Cuboh. The company previously laid off 100 people in 2022.

    Nintendo of America

    Is restructuring its testing department, which is largely made up of contractors. A Nintendo spokesperson told Kotaku the changes will end some assignments but will lead to the creation of new full-time positions.

    Dell

    Cut its global workforce by about 6,000 jobs, according to a 10-K SEC filing. The filing reveals the company cut 13,000 jobs in the last year.

    Synctera

    Has made cuts to its staff, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. A report in Fintech Business Weekly estimates that 17 people, or about 15% of the company, were impacted. 

    ShopBack

    Is cutting 195 roles in an effort to become more sustainable, CEO Henry Chan wrote in a blog post. The layoffs impact nearly a quarter of its staff.

    Airmeet

    Reportedly eliminated 20% of its total workforce in its second restructuring effort in the past year.

    Chipper Cash

    Conducted another round of layoffs impacting 20 employees, CEO Ham Serunjogi announced in a blog post. 

    Textio

    Has reportedly cut 16% of its staff in a strategic move to support its Textio Lift product. 

    Stash

    Is reportedly laying off around 25% of its workforce. According to Axios, the cuts affect roughly 80 people.

    Phantom Auto

    Is shutting down after failing to secure new funding, TechCrunch has learned. The remote driving startup, which had cut staff last year, employed a little more than 100 people.

    IBM

    Is reportedly slashing its marketing and communications staff. The company previously announced a strategy to replace upwards of 8,000 jobs with AI.

    Inscribe.ai

    Cut just under 40% of its staff, equating to dozens of employees, the company confirmed to TechCrunch.

    Turnitin

    Laid off around 15 people earlier this year, following comments from CEO Chris Caren that the company would be able to reduce 20% of its headcount thanks to AI.

    Sorare

    Laid off 13% of its staff based in its New York office as the web3 fantasy sports platform focuses on its Paris headquarters, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.

    Melio

    Is eliminating roughly 7% of its workforce as part of organizational restructuring. The fintech unicorn last conducted layoffs in August 2022.

    ONE

    Is cutting about 13% of its workforce, affecting 40 employees. It’s the second round of layoffs for the battery startup in recent months.

    Project Ronin

    Is shutting down, resulting in a “permanent mass layoff” impacting around 150 employees.

    February 2024

    Fisker

    Plans to lay off 15% of its workforce and says it likely does not have enough cash on hand to survive the next 12 months.

    EA

    Cut 5% of its workforce, impacting 670 employees, as it moves away from the “development of future licensed IP.”

    Bumble

    Is letting go of about 350 employees, accounting for 30% of its workforce.

    Apple

    Is likely cutting hundreds of employees who worked on the company’s autonomous electric car project now that the effort has stopped, TechCrunch has learned.

    Sony

    Is laying off 900 employees from its PlayStation unit, affecting 8% of the division’s workforce. Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla and Firesprite studios will also be impacted.

    Expedia

    Will reportedly cut 1,500 roles in 2024, primarily in its Product & Technology division, accounting for more than 8% of the company’s workforce.

    Finder

    Eliminated roughly 60 employees, or 17% of its workforce. It’s the financial startup’s third major layoff round in the past 12 months.

    Rivian

    Is laying off 10% of its salaried workforce in a bid to cut costs in an increasingly tough market for EVs.

    Meati Foods

    Will lay off 13% of its workforce as it works to “build a financially sustainable business,” CEO Phil Graves told TechCrunch exclusively.

    Cisco

    Announced it will eliminate 5% of its employees, impacting more than 4,000 people.

    Toast

    Will lay off about 550 workers in a move designed to promote “operating expense efficiency.”

    Instacart

    Announced in an SEC filing that it will lay off roughly 250 employees as part of a restructuring effort.

    Mozilla

    Is scaling back its investment in a number of products, TechCrunch has learned, resulting in layoffs that will affect roughly 60 employees.

    Grammarly

    Is laying off 230 employees worldwide as part of the company’s efforts to advance its focus on “the AI-enabled workplace of the future.”

    Getaround

    Is cutting 30% of its North American workforce as part of a restructuring.

    Amazon

    Is reportedly cutting jobs in its healthcare businesses One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy. The number of impacted roles is currently unknown.

    DocuSign

    Announced plans to eliminate 6% of its workforce, largely impacting the company’s sales and marketing divisions.

    Snap

    Announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce, impacting roughly 500-plus employees, in an effort to “reduce hierarchy.”

    Polygon Labs

    Has laid off 60 employees, or about 19% of its staff, CEO Marc Boiron announced in a blog post.

    Okta

    Is laying off approximately 400 employees. The layoffs come almost exactly a year to the day after Okta announced plans to cut about 300 employees.

    January 2024

    Thinx

    Will lay off 95 workers in New York City, according to a filing with the New York Department of Labor.

    Proofpoint

    Is laying off about 6% of its global workforce, or 280 employees, the company confirmed to TechCrunch.

    Wattpad

    Conducted another round of layoffs earlier this month, amounting to roughly 15% of its workforce, a source familiar with the situation told TechCrunch. 

    Block

    Is reportedly laying off around 1,000 people in the Cash App, foundational and Square arms of Block.

    PayPal

    Has reportedly begun company-wide layoffs. While it is unclear how many people will be affected, one source told TechCrunch it was expected to be in the “thousands.”

    Aurora Solar

    Has laid off 20% of its staff of about 1,000 people, TechCrunch exclusively learned. The cuts to the software startup come despite record growth in the solar industry last year.

    iRobot

    Is laying off 350 people, or one-third of its headcount, after Amazon’s bid to acquire the Roomba-maker shuttered. Longtime CEO Colin Angle has also stepped down.

    Salesforce

    Is reportedly laying off 700 workers, or around 1% of its staff. This comes after the company had a significant reduction of 10% of its workforce in 2023.

    Flexport

    Is reportedly planning to cut around 20% of its staff in the next few weeks. The company announced similar cuts in October, when founder Ryan Petersen returned as CEO and slashed its workforce by 20%.

    Microsoft

    Is laying off 1,900 employees across its gaming divisions following its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Blizzard president Mike Ybarra announced he will also be stepping down.

    Swiggy

    Is cutting about 400 jobs, 7% of its workforce, as the food delivery startup seeks to bring further improvements to its finances ahead of a planned IPO later this year.

    Aurora

    Laid off dozens of workers, according to sources familiar with the decision. The autonomous vehicle technology company has since confirmed that about 3% of its workforce has been laid off.

    eBay

    Will lay off 9% of the company’s workforce, affecting about 1,000 full-time employees. In a blog post, the company also plans to cut contract roles in the coming months.

    SAP

    Announced it intends to offer voluntary buyouts or job changes to 8,000 employees amid restructuring.

    Brex

    Laid off 20% of its staff, affecting 282 workers. In a blog post, Co-CEO Pedro Franceschi said that the company is prioritizing “long-term thinking and ownership over short-term gains in our comp structure.”

    TikTok

    Eliminated around 60 jobs across the U.S. in Los Angeles, New York, and Austin in addition to layoffs in international markets. The affected roles, according to NPR’s initial reporting, are largely in sales and advertising.

    Vroom

    Is cutting 90% of its employees as it shuts down its online used car marketplace and shifts resources into two business units: one focused on auto financing and the other on AI-powered analytics.

    Riot Games

    Is laying off 11% of its workforce, affecting about 530 employees, as the company focuses on “fewer, high-impact projects.” The League of Legends maker is also sunsetting its five-year-old publishing group, Riot Forge.

    Wayfair

    Is eliminating 13% of its global workforce, affecting 1,650 employees, in a restructuring effort aimed at cutting layers of management.

    YouTube

    Will eliminate 100 employees, a spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch, as part of a restructuring effort in its creator management and operations teams.

    Google

    Is laying off “hundreds” of employees in its advertising sales team, according to a leaked memo. The cuts come a week after the company did sweeping layoffs across its hardware teams. And more layoffs will come throughout the year, as CEO Sundar Pichai told the company in a memo obtained by the Verge.

    Lost Boys Interactive

    Reportedly laid off a “sizable” number of employees January 12. The game developer studio was acquired by Borderlands maker Gearbox in 2022.

    Pixar

    Is going to lay off employees in 2024, TechCrunch exclusively learned, with the total impacted employees potentially reaching as high as 20% of the animation studio’s 1,300 person workforce. The cutbacks come as Disney looks to reduce the studio’s output as it struggles to achieve profitability in streaming.

    Audible

    Is laying off 5% of its workforce, citing an “increasingly challenging landscape,” according to a leaked memo obtained by Business Insider.

    Discord

    Is laying off 17% of its staff, impacting 170 people. In an internal memo obtained by the Verge, Discord CEO Jason Citron blamed the cuts on the company growing too quickly.

    Google

    Laid off hundreds of employees across its Google Assistant division and the team that manages Pixel, Nest and Fitbit hardware. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman are also exiting.

    Amazon

    Is laying off “several hundreds” of employees at Prime Video and MGM Studios, according to a memo obtained by TechCrunch. The cuts come days after the 500 layoffs at Amazon’s Twitch.

    Twitch

    Is reportedly laying off 500 employees, 35% of its current staff, amid a continued struggle to achieve profitability in the face of rising costs and community backlash. The pending layoffs come after hundreds more employees were laid off in 2023.

    Treasure Financial

    Confirmed to TechCunch that layoffs, conducted in December, had impacted 14 employees, accounting for 60% to 70% of the company, according to multiple sources.

    Duolingo

    Confirmed it cut 10% of its contractor workforce at the end of 2023 as it turns to AI to streamline content production and translations previously handled by humans.

    Rent the Runway

    Will cut about 10% of corporate roles as it goes through a restructuring plan following Anushka Salinas’ planned resignation as operating chief and president at the end of January.

    Unity

    Is reducing its workforce by about 25%, or 1,800 people. The video game engine maker went through three rounds of layoffs in 2023.

    Pitch

    Laid off two-thirds of its employees as the German startup, which built collaborative presentation software, looks to pursue a “completely different path.” CEO and co-founder Christian Reber also stepped down.

    BenchSci

    The AI and biomedical startup reportedly cut 17% of its workforce January 8, citing “shifts in the economic environment,” in a LinkedIn post announcing the layoffs. 

    Flexe

    Eliminated 38% of its staff January 8 as the online retail logistics company follows up after conducting layoffs in September 2023.

    NuScale

    Announced January 8 it is laying off 28% of its staff, or 154 workers, as the small modular nuclear reactor company shifts its focus to “key strategic areas.”

    Trigo

    Is reportedly laying off 15% of its workforce focused on computer vision for retailers.

    InVision

    Is shutting down at the end of 2024 after a 12 year run. The design collaboration startup was once valued at nearly $2B.

    VideoAmp

    Is laying off nearly 20% of its workforce as it tries to maintain its battle with Nielsen over media measurement. CEO Ross McCray stepped down from the company.

    Orca Security

    Is laying off roughly 15% of its staff, totaling 60 employees. The Israel-based unicorn reportedly plans to move some impacted employees into other positions at the company.

    Frontdesk

    Laid off its entire 200-person workforce January 2 after attempts to raise more capital failed, TechCrunch exclusively learned. The mass layoff comes just seven months after the startup acquired rival Zencity. 





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