Technologies

You’ll No Longer Need to Set a Password With New Microsoft Accounts

Microsoft is optimistic that our reliance on passwords is coming to a close.

Microsoft is once again moving closer to a passwordless future.

In a bold step toward embracing passkeys – which uses cryptography to better protect data from hackers and phishing scams – new Microsoft accounts will now be passwordless by default. Instead, the company will issue a prompt to set up passkeys as part of an effort to make the process more secure.

The company announced the news on World Password Day, which is observed on the first Thursday in May – a day that’s been used to encourage people to review their passwords and security settings since Intel created the event in 2013.

The need to get a better grasp on password protection comes at a time when many big tech companies are pushing to eliminate passwords altogether. Apple rolled out passkeys as part of iOS 16 in 2022, followed by Google, which allows people to sign in to Google and other popular accounts such as Amazon, WhatsApp and PayPal via fingerprint, face scan, PIN or pattern using a device’s lock screen.

«Although passwords have been around for centuries, we hope their reign over our online world is ending,» Microsoft said in a blog post.

Weak passwords don’t just make users vulnerable to hackers, they’re also often reused across multiple platforms, from banking apps to email to social media.

Now when a new Microsoft user attempts to enter a password and set up a «one time code» on their account, the company will prompt them to sign in with the code instead of the password and then encourage them to enroll a passkey. When they visit again, they’ll be prompted to sign in with the passkey – not a password. Meanwhile, existing users can visit their account settings to delete their password.

«This simplified experience gets you signed in faster and in our experiments has reduced password use by over 20%,» the company added. «As more people enroll passkeys, the number of password authentications will continue to decline until we can eventually remove password support altogether.»

Last year, the company introduced passkey support for Microsoft accounts for its consumer apps and services like Xbox and Copilot. It has since seen nearly a million passkeys registered every day.

Not a perfect solution

Lorrie Cranor, a security professor at Carnegie Mellon University, acknowledged that passkeys generally have security advantages over passwords, especially because many consumers still use the same password for many accounts, but said passkeys aren’t perfect either.

«From a security perspective, it is great to see them being pushed out to consumers, but I do have some concerns about their usability, especially in cases where consumers have multiple devices or lose or upgrade a device.» she said. «Shared accounts and devices may also be problematic.»

However, she said the companies pushing for passkeys should address the usability issues, implement secure and usable fallback authentication procedures over time.

«[They’ll need to] support users who run into problems,» Cranor said.

Technologies

Google’s Pixel 10A Is Coming to Japan With an Exclusive Blue Edition and Special Wallpaper

This model comes with creatively designed stickers and a special look for Pixel’s 10th anniversary.

Don’t be blue: Google is releasing an Isai blue edition of the Pixel 10A to celebrate the Android phone line’s 10th anniversary, setting it apart with its own sticker set, specialized wallpaper and custom icons. But it’ll only be available in Japan.

Announced Tuesday on the Google Japan blog, the Isai blue Pixel 10A has a dark blue look and includes bonus decorations designed in collaboration with Japan’s Heralbony art company. These include an exclusive bumper case and stickers for customization.

This edition of the Pixel 10A will arrive in Japan on May 20, following the April 14 release of the Pixel 10A in its original colors of lavender, berry, fog and obsidian. The Isai blue model costs 94,900 yen, which roughly translates to $595, and includes 256GB of storage.

This makes it slightly less expensive than the US model’s 256GB edition, but it comes with a number of fun extras at no additional cost.

Google’s creation of a country-specific model for Japan may also reflect strong sales in that market. In 2023, the IDC analytics firm (via 9to5Google) reported that the Pixel 7 series accounted for 10.7% of the country’s market share, a 527% increase from 2022.

Technologies

Can’t Wait for New Emoji? Here’s How to Create Your Own on iPhone

Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones can create custom emoji in a few easy steps.

Apple brought new emoji to all iPhones when the company released iOS 26.4 on March 24. The new emoji include «🫍» orca, «🫪» distorted face and «🫈» hairy creature — or as we might normally call it, Sasquatch. According to Emojipedia, there are 3,953 emoji with more on the way, including a pickle. But there’s no emoji for a dog wearing pajamas, a plate with burgers and fries and many other things. But if you have Genmoji on your iPhone you can create these emoji and many more.

Apple released iOS 18.2 in 2024 and the company introduced its own emoji generator, called Genmoji, to Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones at that time. The Unicode Standard, a universal character encoding standard, is responsible for creating new emoji, and approved emoji are added to all devices once a year. With Genmoji, you don’t have to wait for new emoji to appear on your iPhone each year. You can just create them as you need them.

Read on to learn how to use Genmoji on iPhone to create your own custom emoji. Just note that only iPhones with Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 17 lineup, can use Genmoji at this time.

Note: The new emoji may not display correctly for Apple users whose devices aren’t on a 26.4 software version.

How to make custom emoji

1. Open Messages and go into a chat.
2. Tap the plus (+) button next to your text box.
3. Tap Genmoji.

You can then type a description of an emoji into the text box near the bottom of your screen and tap the check mark on your keyboard to enter that description into Genmoji. You can also tap different suggestions and themes that are right above the text box. And with iOS 26 or later, you can also combine and use emoji to create others rather than describing a new emoji or using suggestions.

Your iPhone will generate a series of new emoji for you to pick from according to your description, and you can swipe through these new emoji. When you find the one you want, tap Add in the top right corner of your screen and the new emoji will be available to use as an emoji, tapback or a sticker. Now you don’t have to wait for the Unicode Standard to propose, create and bring new emoji to devices.

For more iOS news, here’s what to know about iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.3. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for other tips and tricks.

Technologies

Save Over 20% on This Handy 10,000-mAh Anker Nano Power Bank

Keep your devices charged on the go with this Anker Nano power bank, now down to just $46.

We’ve just spotted the Anker Nano 45-watt portable power bank for just $46 at Amazon right now. This saves you $14 — a 23% discount on its list price. Though it’s $6 more than the lowest-ever price we saw during Black Friday, it’s still a solid discount when you take the rising cost of tech accessories into account. It also matches the lowest price we’ve seen in 2026. It comes in four colors: black, green, pink and white. They’re all on sale for the same price.

This Anker Nano portable charger weighs approximately 8.2 ounces and measures a compact 3.21×1.99×1.42 inches. Despite its small size, it has a retractable cable and supports fast charging in compatible Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel and other smartphones. It also has a large 10,000-mAh capacity and a smart display so you always know how much juice is left in your power bank.

The Nano can charge an iPhone 17 to up to 50% battery in an estimated 20 minutes, and is powerful enough to charge tablets and laptops. Need to charge your devices while charging your power bank? You can do so safely thanks to pass-through charging so you’ll never have to go without battery life.

We’ve also compiled a list of the best power banks for iPhones and for Android, in case this deal isn’t quite a fit for you.

Why this deal matters

If you travel, have a long commute time or are otherwise always on the go, a portable charger can help you keep your devices fully powered. This 45-watt Anker Nano power bank is compact, includes a loop that lets you keep track of it easily and has a built-in cable so you don’t have to keep up with extra cords. Amazon’s $14 discount makes this a solid deal for anyone looking for a compact power bank.