The Verge

Ring founder Jamie Siminoff has been on an "explanation tour," as The New York Times puts it, following the fallout from its Super Bowl ad and the introduction of its Search Party feature. In an interview with The Times this week, Siminoff explained that he understands people's concerns and that "maybe people were 'triggered' by [...]

Sony is shutting down Bluepoint Games, the PlayStation studio behind well-received remakes of games like Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls, according to Bloomberg. The change was made "following a recent business review," a spokesperson told the publication. About 70 staffers will be cut, and the studio will shut down in March. "Bluepoint Games [...]

A hacker tricked a popular AI coding tool into installing OpenClaw - the viral, open-source AI agent OpenClaw that "actually does things" - absolutely everywhere. Funny as a stunt, but a sign of what to come as more and more people let autonomous software use their computers on their behalf. The hacker took advantage of [...]

Packing multiple charging adapters can quickly eat up space, which is why an all-in-one travel adapter like the Baseus EnerCore CG11 makes for a good investment. The travel-friendly accessory works in most countries and lets you charge several devices at once, and right now, Amazon is offering it for $24.95 ($45 off) - its lowest [...]

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing TP-Link over claims that the router-maker is misleading customers about its ties to China. In a lawsuit filed this week, Paxton claims TP-Link is "masking its Chinese connections," while serving as "an open window for Chinese-sponsored threat actors and Chinese intelligence agencies." TP-Link was founded in China, but [...]

The Hunt - Apple TV's new French-language drama that was previously put on indefinite hold following concerns about plagiarism - has been given a solid release date. Today, Apple announced that The Hunt, which was produced by French studio Gaumont and directed by Cedric Anger, is set to premiere on March 4th. The news comes [...]

West Virginia has filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of allowing the distribution and storage of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in iCloud. In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey claims that by abandoning a CSAM detection system in favor of end-to-end encryption, iCloud has become a "secure [...]

New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) dropped her proposal to allow robotaxi companies to launch commercially in cities other than New York City, citing a lack of support among state legislators, Bloomberg reports today. The move is a blow to Waymo and other robotaxi companies who saw New York, and especially New York City, as [...]

Many modern gamepads have adopted a modular design in recent years, from the Victrix Pro BFG Reloaded to Hyperkin's clamp-on X5 Alteron for the Nintendo Switch. However, few of them are quite as innovative as last year's Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot, which is now on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for an all-time low [...]

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week. Wouldn't it be great if you could exchange music recommendations with your friends, no matter whether they use Spotify, Apple Music, or Bandcamp? What if you could follow DJs and [...]

GE has announced two new versions of its popular Opal nugget ice machines with smaller footprints that take up less counter space, and more affordable price tags. Like GE's larger and pricier Opal 2.0 Ultra, the two new machines make nugget ice - frequently also referred to as chewable ice, or pellet ice - by [...]

New users on the decentralized social network Mastodon could soon have an easier time getting started. Mastodon is running "onboarding experiments" to test ways to improve the new user experience, starting with default server recommendations. Now when new users join Mastodon from the mobile app, they may see a button to "join" a recommended server [...]

Nintendo just released a Switch 2 upgrade for Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. The upgrade is $4.99 for owners of the Switch game, or $64.99 if you buy the Switch 2 version. Don't buy the Switch 2 version! Instead, score a deal on the digital Switch version that's $39.99 (originally $59.99) at GameStop and Amazon. [...]

Generally speaking, arcane and mostly unenforced FCC rules are not the province of late night talk shows. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr seems intent on changing that, though; not long after causing a ruckus that briefly took Jimmy Kimmel off the air, his vague threats appear to have been enough to convince CBS to tell Stephen [...]

Today on Decoder we're going to talk about the war for AI talent. Right now, the hottest job market on the planet is for AI researchers. The vast majority of these people are concentrated into a small number of hugely valuable, extremely fast-growing companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nowadays, such companies are paying [...]

Gaming accessory company Abxylute has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming N6 and GameCube-style N9C Switch 2 dock-style controllers. If the ergonomics of Nintendo's Joy-Cons don't jibe with you, these aim to be solid alternatives, particularly for people with medium-to-large-size hands. Both of Abxylute's new controllers have bigger, more comfortable grips than Joy-Cons offer, [...]

Hello and welcome to Regulator, a newsletter for Verge subscribers about the love-hate (but mostly hate) relationship between Silicon Valley and Washington. I hope everyone got to celebrate George Washington's birthday in their preferred manner: skiing, staycationing, subscribing to The Verge if you haven't already, etc. Prediction: this is going to be a mess Political [...]

Google has updated the iPhone version of its photo editing app Snapseed with its own camera, including a suite of manual controls and retro film emulation effects. It's the second major update to the app in less than 12 months, after it had previously been left to languish by Google for years. The Snapseed camera [...]

Maybe you've heard: Memory is expensive now. The price of RAM has tripled, quadrupled, even sextupled depending on the type of chip, all because AI companies are gobbling it up. But maybe you've thought: I don't buy memory sticks! I don't build my own PCs! It won't affect me, right? I'm here to tell you [...]

Last summer, Bria Sullivan was getting ready to launch her app, an adorable companion called Focus Friend meant to help people manage their screen time. Her outlandish dream was to get 100,000 downloads. She'd been building the app with Hank Green, a creator with a huge audience, so she thought maybe, maybe, Focus Friend could [...]

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg entered a downtown Los Angeles courthouse in largely the same way as all the attorneys, reporters, and advocates who'd come to watch his landmark trial testimony, but with one notable difference: he was flanked by an entourage that appeared to be wearing Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses. To get to the courtroom, [...]

Phison is one of the leading makers of controller chips for SSDs and other flash memory devices - and CEO Pua Khein-Seng has now become a leading voice for just how bad the RAM shortage might get. Companies may need to cut back their product lines in the second half of 2026, and some companies [...]

Dyson has announced an alternate version of its skinny PencilVac that's designed to clean spills and stains on hard floors instead of sucking up dirt and debris. Like the PencilVac, which Dyson called "world's slimmest vacuum cleaner" when it was announced nine months ago, the new PencilWash squeezes a battery, motor, and other electronics into [...]

Meta is planning to launch a smartwatch with health tracking and AI features later this year, along with an updated version of its Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses, The Information reports. The smartwatch would arrive ahead of a pair of mixed reality glasses, code-named Phoenix, that Meta has reportedly delayed until 2027 amidst efforts to [...]

While the best iPad deals usually land during major sale events like Black Friday,many great iPad deals are available outside of those times. The day-to-day discounts come and go like changing winds, so there's often some amount to be saved, particularly on Apple's most affordable iPad, the iPad Mini, and the latest iPad Air. Hell, [...]

A set of bellwether cases alleging that social media platforms harmed teens' safety and mental health is going to trial this year, putting executives like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the stand to answer questions about what they've done or not done to protect kids. Unlike many earlier legal challenges against social media companies, these [...]

A leaked internal email obtained by 404 Media shows that Ring has bigger plans for its AI-powered neighborhood search capability than just looking for lost dogs. The outlet reports the email, sent last October by founder Jamie Siminoff to all Ring employees, says that with Search Party, "You can now see a future where we [...]

If you know where to look, you can often score deals on Apple's ever-expanding AirPods lineup. Both the AirPods Max and AirPods 4 (with and without ANC) now consistently receive discounts, as do the newer AirPods Pro 3. And while more recent shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday delivered some of the steepest [...]

Polestar says it will release four new electric models over the next three years, including a new SUV and a revamped version of its Polestar 2 sedan. The Swedish automaker, which is owned by China's Geely, said it will start delivering its Polestar 5 grand tourer to customers this summer, followed by a new long-roof [...]

Microsoft is working on a bunch of new features for Windows 11, including a new network speed test that you can access from your taskbar. The tool is bundled in an update rolling out to Windows 11 Insiders in the Release Preview Channel, allowing you to right-click the network icon in the system tray to [...]

A three-hour-long period drama about kabuki, a centuries-old form of Japanese theater, doesn't exactly sound like box office gold. But that's exactly what happened with Kokuho. Director Lee Sang-il's adaptation of the Shuichi Yoshida novel of the same name was a surprise hit last year, becoming Japan's top-grossing live-action film domestically. But star Ken Watanabe [...]

If you want a Chromebook that can double as a tablet when you need it to, Acer's Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is one of the better 2-in-1s on the market. And you can buy it with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $499 ($200 off), which is a new low price, at Best [...]

Maybe you've heard, but Elon Musk is apparently a Moon fan now. He has historically been the ultimate cheerleader for human missions to Mars, and as recently as last year, he said his aim was to go straight to the red planet and that the Moon was "a distraction." Now, he has apparently changed his [...]

On Wednesday, Audible launched a new "immersion reading" feature that could help readers concentrate on their audiobooks by allowing them to read along with the ebook version. While listening to an audiobook in the Audible app, users can tap the "Read & Listen" button above their book's cover art to see the text version of [...]

Google has given Gemini the ability to spit out AI-generated music, courtesy of DeepMind's latest audio model. Beta access to Lyria 3 is rolling out in the Gemini app, enabling users to generate 30-second tracks based on text, images, and videos, without having to leave the chatbot window. The new music-making tool is available globally [...]

As promised, Google opened preorders for its Pixel 10A midrange phone, and it'll launch on March 4th. We already published a hands-on with the device, and I encourage you to check it out (we think it's more like a better Pixel 9A than a slightly worse Pixel 10). If you decide that you want to [...]

Waymo defended its use of remote assistants for its robotaxis after the testimony of one of its top executives during a Senate hearing went viral. In a letter to Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) on Tuesday, Waymo's head of global operations Ryan McNamara provided a detailed description of the company's remote assistance operations, including the number [...]

Nevada is suing to block the prediction market platform Kalshi from allowing residents to place bets on the outcomes of events, including elections and sports games, as reported earlier by Business Insider. The lawsuit adds to a growing number of legal battles across the country, claiming that Kalshi is harming the state's gambling market by [...]

Toyota is on an EV roll these days, introducing the newly all-electric, three-row Highlander SUV, and giving us a fuller picture of the bZ Woodland wagon. Now, the Japanese auto giant is completing the triumvirate with a full detail breakdown of the upcoming C-HR hatchback. We already knew that the C-HR won't be as affordable [...]

Google's midrange Pixels have been our top pick for budget Android phones for a while. They offer good cameras and most of what you need at a budget-friendly price. But this year's upgrade feels so minimal, I'd liken it more to a Pixel 9A+. Or a Pixel 9B. The $499 Pixel 10A is supposed to [...]

Lori Schott didn't care what it took to haul her way from her small town in Eastern Colorado to show up to a Los Angeles courtroom where Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify Wednesday. "I don't care if I had to hire a pack mule to get me here, I was going to [...]

AI search startup Perplexity is distancing itself from ads amid fears users won't trust chatbots with an agenda to upsell. The move highlights an emerging crossroads for the AI industry as the sector's biggest players hunt for stable sources of income to bankroll massive spending, with giants like OpenAI leaning into ads and others like [...]

Tesla is no longer using the term "Autopilot" to describe the self-driving capabilities of its vehicles in California, avoiding a 30-day sales suspension in the state. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced that Tesla has taken corrective action after finding in December that the EV manufacturer's marketing was violating state law and misleading [...]

Meta has struck a multiyear deal to expand its data centers with millions of Nvidia's Grace and Vera CPUs and Blackwell and Rubin GPUs. While Meta has long been using Nvidia's hardware for its AI products, this deal "represents the first large-scale Nvidia Grace-only deployment," which Nvidia says will deliver "significant performance-per-watt improvements in [Meta's] [...]

The Late Show host Stephen Colbert says CBS blocked him from broadcasting an interview with James Talarico, a Democratic representative from Texas. During his opening monologue on Monday night, Colbert says the network's lawyers told him in "no uncertain terms" that he couldn't have Talarico on the show, forcing him to post the interview on [...]

Apple currently sells MacBooks equipped with its own M-series processors in a wide range of sizes and price points, all of which run the company's newest operating system, macOS 26. Purchasing a new MacBook can be complicated if you're trying to figure out what specs you need, but finding a deal on a relatively speedy [...]

Google says it will now display links more prominently inside its AI-powered features in Search. Robby Stein, the vice president of Google Search, announced on Tuesday that a list of links will now appear inside a pop-up when you hover over the sources in AI Overviews and AI Mode on desktop, alongside a description of [...]

If you're looking for a great pair of noise-canceling headphones, Sony's WH-1000XM6 are amongst the best available and are now down to $368 ($92 off) at Amazon in black or gray. While their high price usually makes them harder for us to suggest over the last-gen model, which is often on sale for around $278.99, [...]

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond launched on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 in December, but if you're itching for some more lore, Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective is a nice way to dig in, especially now that it's on sale. Normally $49.99, you can currently buy the hardcover version for $41.08 (about $9 off) [...]

It's official: Google I/O 2026 will take place from May 19th to 20th. In an announcement on Tuesday, Google says it will share the "latest AI breakthroughs and updates in products across the company, from Gemini to Android and more" during the event, which will take place in-person in Mountain View, California's Shoreline Amphitheatre, and [...]