Technologies

T-Mobile Data Breach Settlement Checks Have Been Delayed: Here’s the Scoop

The personal data of 76 million US customers was exposed during a cyberattack in 2021. The settlement payout has been pushed back.

It’s been years since T-Mobile customers filed for a part of the wireless carrier’s 2022 class-action settlement. Those who qualify were told to expect settlement checks in April, but if you haven’t received one, keep waiting. The website about the T-Mobile settlement now says payments are coming in May instead.

«Due to unexpected delays, we now expect the distribution of settlement payments to begin in May 2025,» the settlement site now reads.

A representative for the settlement did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether any payments have been issued.

The settlement is the result of a class-action lawsuit filed against T-Mobile after a 2021 cyberattack exposed the personal data — names, addresses and Social Security numbers — of 76 million US customers. In 2022, T-Mobile agreed to a $350 million settlement to resolve claims that its negligence led to the data breach. It remains the second-largest data breach settlement in US history, following Equifax’s $700 million settlement in 2019.

How much will you get?

If your data was exposed but you haven’t already filed, it’s too late to get in on the settlement. It’s all over except for the distribution of the checks. T-Mobile agreed to pay $350 million into a settlement fund that will be used to make cash payments for out-of-pocket losses and lost time, make cash payments, provide identity-defense services, provide restoration services, make payments to notify class members and administer the settlement, pay the class representatives who brought the suit, and pay attorney fees and costs.

According to The Hill, payments might be smaller than $25 for some, as priority will go to those who can prove they suffered out-of-pocket losses. Those who lived in California at the time of the data breach are eligible for $100. And those who spent money at the time to recover or avoid identity theft or fraud — like freezing their credit, spending money on credit monitoring services, incurring losses or were told to document their losses — are eligible for up to $25,000, according to The Hill.

Those who made a valid claim for identity-defense services will be sent information on how to activate those services. Monetary payments will be made in the manner each customer selected at the time they filed, which could mean a paper check will be mailed, or a digital deposit will be made. You can read the full documents for the lawsuit online.

Technologies

Amazon Unveils AI-Using Warehouse Robot With Human-Like Sense of Touch

Amazon’s new Vulcan robot uses physical AI to carefully stow and pick everything from socks to fragile electronics at fulfillment centers.

Amazon’s new Vulcan fulfillment center robot doesn’t look humanoid, but it has some very human characteristics, like the ability to «feel» the items it’s handling.

Amazon introduced Vulcan at its Delivering the Future event in Germany on May 7.

«Built on key advances in robotics, engineering, and physical AI, Vulcan is our first robot with a sense of touch,» the company said in a statement. The event is a showcase for Amazon’s technology innovations.

Vulcan can stow or pick items from the fabric-covered pods Amazon uses for inventory storage. It has a human–like finesse when handling objects. Force feedback sensors help the robot avoid damaging the merchandise.

A suction cup and camera system comes into play when Vulcan is pulling items out of bins.

«While the suction cup grabs it, the camera watches to make sure it took the right thing and only the right thing, avoiding what our engineers call the risk of ‘co-extracting non-target items,'» Amazon said.

Vulcan is in place at fulfillment centers in Spokane, Wash. and Hamburg, Germany. It’s primarily tasked with reaching items stored low that require a human to bend down, or items stored up high that require an employee to use a stepladder.

The rise of robots in traditionally human-powered workplaces can be a sensitive subject. Amazon makes it clear it sees Vulcan as an assistant to its employees rather than a replacement for them.

Vulcan can handle 75% of the types of items stocked at the fulfillment centers. It’s designed to know which ones it can move and which ones it needs to ask for human help for — like a robot-human tag team.

The robot uses a physical AI system that includes «algorithms for identifying which items Vulcan can or can’t handle, finding space within bins, identifying tubes of toothpaste and boxes of paper clips and much more.» The AI was trained on everything from socks to electronics and continues to learn as the robot works.

Humans and robots can effectively coexist in distribution centers, said logistics and operations researchers Rene de Koster of Erasmus University in the Netherlands and Debjit Roy of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.

«Right now, at least, distribution center automation with people in the mix is often a more efficient, flexible and cost-effective bet than a completely automated center,» the team said last year in a summary of their research for the Harvard Business Review.

Robots have long been part of Amazon’s operations with over 750,000 robots deployed in its fulfillment centers, the company said.

Vulcan will roll out to more centers in Europe and the US over the next couple of years, increasing the chances of your future Amazon shipments having Vulcan’s unseen «fingerprints» on them.

Technologies

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Technologies

Xbox Handheld Console Seemingly Glimpsed in New Asus Leak

Rumors of a handheld gaming device made by Asus in collaboration with Xbox got a shot in the arm after an alleged prototype surfaced in leaked photos.

Remember those rumors about an Xbox-branded handheld gaming machine? While nothing’s official yet, things are looking a bit more concrete after a big new leak from the FCC.

On Wednesday, images surfaced online from the FCC certification of unannounced new handhelds supposedly on the way from Asus, specifically the successors to its ROG Ally handheld PC, as reported earlier by Engadget. Microsoft’s plans for an Xbox handheld were previously speculated to involve partnering with another company, and now it appears that the ROG Ally 2 could boast an Xbox-branded model, with some different hardware under the hood.

Originally launched in 2023, the Ally is a handheld gaming machine running Windows that allows PC games to be played on the go. It’s emerged as one of the main competitors to Valve’s Steam Deck, which kickstarted a new wave of interest in handheld PCs.

Based on the images circulating online, the Ally 2 appears to be a bit thicker than its predecessor, with grips on the side of the unit redesigned to more closely resemble traditional controller handles. Not much appears different with the Xbox model, aside from a branded Xbox button on the top left.

According to the leaked FCC filings, the Xbox version would run on an AMD 8-Core 36W Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor and 64GB or LPDDR5X memory, while the standard edition will boast an AMD 4-core 20W AMD Aeirth Plus chip with an unspecified amount of memory. Both models at this time feature 7-inch 120hz screens.

Aside from those hardware differences, the Xbox edition of the Ally 2 is expected to be differentiated by a greater integration with features like the Xbox Game Bar and services like Game Pass. As a Windows PC, the ROG Ally is already compatible with Game Pass for PC, so it remains to be seen what a deeper integration with the service will look like.

Xbox and Asus did not respond to requests for comment before publishing.