The United States notoriously makes tax filing stressful and expensive thanks to greed, the tax lobby and the idea that basically nothing should be free (fun stuff!). However, there's a little glimmer of hope, as the IRS is making Direct File, its free digital tool announced in late 2023, permanent. According to the US Department of the Treasury, a Direct File pilot program saved 140,000 individuals an estimated $5.6 million in filing costs for the 2024 tax session. 

Not only is the program here to stay (with the current government, at least), but its access is expanding. Taxpayers in 12 states could use Direct File this year, but the tool will be available in all 50 states and Washington DC starting with the 2025 filing season. The Treasury reports that Direct File users approved of the tool, with 90 percent of the 11,000 taxpayers surveyed rating the system "excellent" or "above average."  

Right now, the free TurboTax alternative only works for taxpayers with simple filings like a W-2 or standard deduction. However, the Treasury plans to "expand the reach and tax scope" it offers in the coming years. Despite this expansion, it will be up to states whether they want to participate in the program. 

A misdelivered order, theft and a hasty return: those are the three acts comprising Playdate's recent real-life adventure. According to the handheld gaming system's account on X (formerly Twitter), FedEx dropped off $400,000 worth of Playdates to a construction site near their actual warehouse destination. Then, poof, it was all gone — but that wasn't the last of it. Suddenly, the shipment reappeared, not at the warehouse door but in front of a random restaurant. The return was seemingly quick, with some packages toppled over and entering the street.

We don't know who was behind the theft and eventual return, though no one seems too bothered, as a follow-up post says the necessary detective work was "enjoyed." Plus, the account (jokingly?) pitched selling these devices as a limited edition run called Playdate Hot. Playdate promised further details in the future — possibly on the Playdate Podcast. One user on X asked about getting their hands on any devices they don't need, to which Playdate responded, "Check the streets of North Las Vegas." 

The Playdate came out in April 2022 as a cute, monochromatic alternative to high-level gaming systems that features a crank on its side. Panic, which owns Playdate, sold about 70,000 units in the first two years and offers more than 100 titles in its built-in library. These black-and-white games are relatively simple but include everything from first-person shooters to puzzles. 

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are one of our favorite wireless earbuds on the market, but they don't come cheap. However, they're currently down to $130 from $200 — the best deal we've seen all year. You can access the discount on Wellbots with the checkout code ENGPIX70.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro came out in the summer of 2022, but they're still one of the best earbuds on the market. We gave them an 87 in our review thanks to features like their excellent active noise cancellation (ANC) and a powerful, punchy bass. You can use ANC and transparency mode or turn both off completely. That bass is part of an overall impressive sound quality that extends across musical genres. Plus, they last about 11 hours without ANC or seven hours with it and their case offers wireless charging. 

The earbuds are also a great option if you have an Android phone. They allow you to switch easily between paired devices, use Google Assistant without touching any buttons and access a "conversation detection" mode that turns off ANC and your music if you start talking. All of these functions work natively on Google's Pixel phones but are available on other Android devices with the Pixel Buds app. 

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

Tesla is no stranger to safety issue recalls, and now there's another to add to its list. The company is recalling 125,227 vehicles due to a problem with the seat belt warning system, Reuters reports. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the driver could be unbuckled, and the warning light and chime still might not activate. This malfunction violates federal safety requirements and could increase a person's injury risk. 

The affected models span the last decade, comprising some of the 2012-2024 Model S, 2015-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles. To fix the issue, Tesla will change the sensor from depending on seat weight to whether the buckle is plugged in and the car is turned on. An over-the-air update should begin in June. 

Tesla notably recalled over two million vehicles in December following Autopilot safety issues and a two-year NHTSA investigation. More recalls followed earlier this year: In January, Tesla recalled 200,000 Model S, X and Y vehicles from 2023 due to a software issue that prevented the backup camera from working when the car is in reverse (so the exact time it's needed). The included vehicles comprised over 10 percent of the company's 2023 output. Tesla also recalled 3,878 Cybertrucks in April after discovering that an accelerator pad could get loose. 

Instagram launched Notes in December 2022 as a way for people to share statuses (not so dissimilar to Facebook) on the platform. Now, the Meta-owned app is taking inspiration from its sister site for more features, with the addition of Note Prompts. 

Instagram first experimented with Note Prompts earlier this year, and the feature allows users to share questions such as "What should I eat?" or "Who is going to be in X city this weekend?" Friends can then respond with tips, suggestions and random thoughts on the subject. It feels very Facebook circa 2012, as does another new feature, Mentions, in which users can tag a friend directly in their Notes. The example Instagram gives, "Hanging with @user later," would be right out of the early 2010s with just adding "Text! :)" Instagram also announced Note Likes, which works similarly to how likes function everywhere else on Instagram — all users need to do is double tap a note or click the heart. 

Notes have only emerged on Instagram in the past couple of years. They mirror stories in many ways, lasting only 24 hours and with controls as to who can see them (such as just mutual followers). Notes are visible in a user's inbox and on profiles. 

My phone always dies on long days out and about, but I'm not a fan of carrying heavy power banks or having cords twist in my bag. The Anker Nano portable charger is the only option I've found that I'll actually use, and I'm excited to report (though with a bit of jealousy) that it's currently on sale for just $12. The charger is typically $26, but a 31 percent discount and a $6 coupon bring the white and black models to a record-low price. 

I personally vouch for Anker's Nano portable charger thanks to features like its lightweight, small build, and, like I mentioned above, its built-in lightning plug. You can juice it up through its USB-C port, with the device typically holding one and a half charges for my iPhone 12 Pro (Anker also makes a model for Android, which is our favorite portable option for a partial charge). Plus, the device has four clear dots on its front to indicate how much charge is left.

There are a few downsides to Anker's Nano portable charger, but none that are too much of a hindrance. You need to be careful if using inside a bag as the lightning charger can sometimes move out of the upright position it needs to work. It also isn't great if you're looking to boost multiple batteries at a time or use it for days on end, as it does seem to die before I can get two charges out of it. Overall, though, its convenience is amazing when I know I'll be out all day or traveling.

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

The top-of-the-line MacBooks are undoubtedly expensive, so we're happy anytime there's a sale. Right now, Apple's 2023 MacBook Pro laptop with an M3 Max chip is touting a 7 percent price cut, dropping to $3,249 from $3,499. Yes, the device's 1TB of storage and 36GB of unified memory still require a large investment, but we'll gladly take the $250 in savings. This deal is running on Amazon and B&H, but if you want to bump things up to 48GB of unified memory, that model is down to $3,699 from $3,999 on Amazon — an 8 percent discount.

Apple's MacBook Pro with an M3 Max chip is great for anyone who needs a really powerful laptop, such as creatives, software engineers or developers. It offers a 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display and more than 1,000 nits of brightness for HDR content or up to 600 nits of brightness for SDR content. The MacBook Pro comes with one port for MagSafe charging, one for HDMI and three Thunderbolt 4 ones. Plus, it has an SDXC card slot and a headphone jack. Sound-wise, it has a three-mic array and a six-speaker system with Spatial Audio.

If a MacBook Pro isn't your thing, the new 15.3-inch MacBook Air with M3 chip is also on sale. The model is down to $1,199 from $1,299 — an 8 percent discount — and comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of memory. Apple recently released the 2024 MacBook Air 13-inch and 15-inch models with M3 chips. While they're not going to measure up completely to the Pro (the MacBook Air never does), it performed really well in our Cinebench R23 single-core and multi-core CPU tests, compared to its predecessor. 

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

Earlier this month, Marvel and ILM Immersive announced that What If...? would be coming to the Apple Vision Pro in the form of an "immersive story" based on the Disney+ original. The original announcement didn't offer much in the way of detail but now we've got an official trailer and release date, with the title arriving on May 30.

The mixed reality game's trailer features the Watcher who needs help fighting "dangerous variants from across the Multiverse." Can you guess whose been chosen for this mission? That's right, you. Soon Wong appears and the Watcher tasks them with teaching you to cast spells and harness the Infinity Stones' power — which Wong reluctantly agrees to do. You will also meet game versions of Thanos, Hela, Red Guardian and more characters. 

Overall, What If...? should take you on quite a journey. "As they step into breathtaking environments, they will cross between mixed and virtual reality as they enter new and iconic MCU locations," ILM Immersive stated in a release. "Fans will use their hands and eyes to interact with the world around them, becoming immersed with stunning visuals and spatial audio, and work to save the fate of reality as they live out their narrative journey. Together, these groundbreaking features and more will remind them that time, space, and reality are more than a linear path."

What If...? will be available on Apple Vision Pro starting May 30 and you'll be able to grab it as a free app for a limited time. However, you will need to have dropped $3,500 for the device so it's still going to cross you a pretty penny to play. 

You might start to see more Airbnb properties with EV accommodations in the future. The online platform is teaming up with ChargePoint to get more Airbnb hosts to install EV chargers, Business Wire reports. The partnership means Airbnb hosts can access an exclusive ChargePoint package and save money. 

ChargePoint is giving Airbnb hosts 25 percent off whichever charger they pick and another $100 off installation fees. Chargers start at $399, meaning customers will get at least $100 off on that purchase alone. However, the installation deal is only available when purchased through the Airbnb page on ChargePoint's website. Airbnb is also giving another $200 off charging hardware for the first 1,000 Airbnb hosts to make purchases.

The partnership could lead to greater success for hosts. According to Airbnb, searches for properties with EV chargers increased by over 80 percent between 2022 and 2023. Also, it claims that, on average, listings with EV chargers get more income and nights booked than those without one. 

Individuals and organizations are still struggling with how and how much to integrate AI into daily life. Rarely has that been more clear than a case out of Emory University in which the school went from awarding students with an entrepreneurship prize worth $10,000 for their AI-powered studying tool to suspending them for it, 404 Media reports. No, the students didn't suddenly misuse the tool, known as Eightball, in any way; they did just as they said they would, and all the while, Emory promoted them — until they didn't.

Eightball allowed students to turn any coursework or readings into practice tests or flashcards for studying. It also connected to Canvas — the platform professors at Emory use to share course documents with their students. A demo video for Eightball called it similar to ChatGPT but trained on Canvas courses, looking at everything from lectures to slides, rather than students having to upload each PDF individually to the tool. 

Emory's Honor Council accused Eightball's creators of cheating, plagiarizing and helping other students violate the Honor Code in November 2023 and the duo shut the tool down. The Council also claimed Eightball attached to Canvas without permission, despite it being stated during the awards competition in Spring 2023. The body launched an investigation into the students, which found that Eightball hadn't assisted with cheating and that the student creators had never lied about its capabilities.

Yet, the Honor Council recommended a year suspension for one of the students, Benjamin Craver, and expulsion for the other (who ideated Eightball). The Council's director called the situation "unprecedented" due to the harm it could cause at Emory. Craver was eventually suspended for the summer and fall 2024 semesters — after which he would need to apply for readmission. He was also given a mark on his permanent record and required to complete an educational program. His co-creator received a one-year suspension.

Craver filed a lawsuit on May 20 against Emory detailing how Eightball came to be, teachers' support and use, articles promoting it in the university's newspaper and that the students had always been transparent in its use. Among other evidence, the lawsuit also shares words of support from the associate dean of Emory's business school about Eightball following the award and her choice to connect the students with an outside entrepreneur, an Emory Alumnus. "While nothing about Eightball changed, Emory's view of Eightball changed dramatically," Craver's lawsuit states. "Emory concedes that there is no evidence that anyone has ever used Eightball to cheat. And to this day Emory advertises Eightball as an example of student innovation and entrepreneurship."