The Verge

Hello and welcome to Regulator, the Verge newsletter about the technology politics happening in our nation's capital. I hope our snowstorm-affected readers are safe, warm, and haven't reenacted The Shining at home yet. Do you know what prevents that? Subscribing to The Verge. Last week, when I was tracking Coinbase's opposition to the Clarity Act, [...]

The Android ecosystem is all about choice. While iPhone owners have a smaller pool of new devices to pick from when it's time to upgrade, there's a wider range of choices on Android. Some Android phones even fold in half! Imagine. On the flip side, all that choice can make for some hard decisions. Here's [...]

Over the last few months of 2025, Meta spent $6.4 million on an ad campaign running in cities across the country, from Sacramento to Washington, with a clear mission: win over viewers on the construction of new data centers. As the New York Times reports, the ad campaign is anchored by short, folksy video spotlights [...]

An open-source AI agent that "actually does things" is taking off, with people across the web sharing how they're using the agent to do a whole bunch of things, like manage reminders, log health and fitness data, and even communicate with clients. The tool, called Moltbot (formerly Clawdbot), runs locally on a variety of devices, [...]

The colossal winter storm that swept across 34 states left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity. Bitterly cold temperatures lingering after Winter Storm Fern are still testing power grids, already under stress from a rush of new AI data centers. Over the weekend, wholesale electricity prices soared in Virginia, the state with the most [...]

Fitness trackers have come a long way from the simple bands that tracked steps and little else. Modern trackers can monitor everything from your heart health to how well you've recovered from a hard bout of training. Even flagship smartwatches, which used to be lackluster trackers, have become pretty adept workout companions. Whatever your fitness [...]

Razer has announced the beta release of a new online customization tool compatible with several versions of its Huntsman V3 Pro keyboards at launch. Razer Synapse Web isn't a full replacement for the company's Synapse 4 desktop app. It's instead designed to be a streamlined alternative accessible through a browser for situations where you're not [...]

Amazon Go and Fresh physical store locations will soon be no more, with Amazon announcing on Tuesday that it's closing the majority of the stores and converting others into Whole Foods Market locations. Customers will still be able to order from Amazon Fresh online, but won't be able to shop at physical stores with the [...]

When Netflix first acquired cozy game developer Spry Fox in 2022, it made a lot of sense. The studio had been around for over a decade and had several hits with mobile games like Triple Town and Alphabear. That approachable style of puzzle game seemed like a good fit for Netflix's mobile-first strategy, and, as [...]

Reincubate, which makes the Camo and Camo Studio apps for turning your iOS or Android phone into a webcam for your Mac or PC, is suing Apple, alleging anticompetitive conduct and patent infringement. Camo first launched in 2020, but two years after, Apple launched a similar feature called Continuity Camera, which works just with Apple [...]

Buying separate chargers for your phone, watch, and earbuds adds up quickly. Anker's MagGo Wireless Charging Station (Foldable 3-in-1) replaces all three, and now through January 30th it's just $49.99 ($60 off) at Amazon-owned Woot. That's the best price we've seen, and cheaper than many chargers designed for just one device. The charging station delivers [...]

WhatsApp is launching new "Strict Account Settings" that add even more protections against cyberattacks. The feature is built for people at a high-risk of attacks - such as journalists or public figures - and automatically blocks attachments and media from senders you don't know, while silencing calls from unknown contacts. The new setting limits other [...]

As we moved into the third day of the TikTokalypse, the app appears to have finally stabilized in the US, as we verified that it's possible to consistently publish new videos and even have other people watch them. That hasn't been a simple task since the service started having problems early Sunday morning, but on [...]

Google is making Search less about links and more about AI. The company is upgrading its AI-powered search features, adding Gemini 3 to AI Overviews and letting users ask follow-up questions "seamlessly" to make sure Search can answer "whatever's on your mind," a move that feels closer to using an AI chatbot than a search [...]

The routine is familiar by now. A new online shooter with bright, colorful graphics launches and rockets up the charts despite the fact that you maybe haven't even heard of it. Or maybe it just has a really forgettable name. But everyone seems to be talking about it, and it's free, so you figure you [...]

The day Alex Pretti was shot 10 times in the street by federal agents, I was delivering a eulogy for my grandfather, who died the way we're supposed to: old, asleep, surrounded by family. Because it's my job to coordinate visuals for this website, I locked myself in a bathroom stall, watched a video of [...]

Pornhub will soon begin restricting UK users from accessing its website in response to the country's "failed" online safety regulations, according to an announcement on Tuesday. The site's owner, Aylo, says it will block users who haven't already verified their age on the platform starting February 2nd, 2026, as reported earlier by 404 Media. As [...]

Removing or restricting access to Grok's AI image editor might not be enough to stop the flood of nonconsensual sexualized images being generated by AI. A report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) released on Tuesday found dozens of AI "nudify" apps similar to Grok on Google and Apple's platforms, as previously reported by CNBC. [...]

Following the initial reveal last September, Nintendo has released a new trailer detailing which Virtual Boy games will be available to Switch Online subscribers starting on February 17th alongside revamped headsets, and which titles will launch later this year. The company also revealed some new features for the games, including the option to change the [...]

Tesla's robotaxis are not robotaxis in the sense that they're not fully driverless and still feature safety monitors with access to a kill switch in case anything goes wrong. But the automaker is shaking things up with its approach to pricing, according to a new analysis of the nascent market. Obi, an app that aggregates [...]

Yahoo's big AI play is, in many ways, actually a return to the company's roots. Three decades ago, Yahoo was known as "Jerry's guide to the world wide web," and was designed as a sort of all-encompassing portal to help people find good stuff on an increasingly large, hard-to-parse internet. In the early aughts, the [...]

Amazon is resolving claims that it incorrectly processed returns with a proposed settlement valued at over $1 billion, as reported earlier by Reuters and Bloomberg Law. The settlement includes $600 million in refunds, along with an additional $309.5 million in payments to affected customers. Initially filed in 2023, the class action lawsuit claims that while [...]

Pinterest is planning to lay off hundreds of workers and reduce its office space to reallocate resources for its artificial intelligence initiatives. In a regulatory filing posted Tuesday, Pinterest says the reduction is expected to impact "less than 15 percent" of its current workforce, and that the layoffs should be complete by September 30th, 2026. [...]

Samsung's much-anticipated Galaxy Z Trifold goes on sale on this Friday, January 26th, and the price is every bit as steep as we'd feared: $2,899, which gets you 512GB of storage and a phone that kind of wants to be a tablet all the time. The Trifold first premiered in Korea late last year, so [...]

When federal agents killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning, video of the shooting - from lots of people, and lots of angles, with wildly varying levels of quality - immediately began to fly around the internet. This is what always happens in times like these, and there have unfortunately been a lot of [...]

Google is giving Photos users more control over the app's generative AI photo-to-video feature. Google Photos now supports text prompts for video generation, according to the update announcement on Monday, allowing users to describe the specific movement, style, or effect they want to see when bringing still images to life. Text prompts join the existing [...]

It took way too long, but Roland finally caved and gave the people what they want: a proper analog successor to the iconic TR-808 drum machine. The 808's sound, especially the kick drum, is embedded so deeply in the DNA of modern music that it would be a gross disservice to try and boil its [...]

Bridget McCormack is used to correcting judges' work. As the former chief justice on the Michigan Supreme Court, it was her job to review complaints about how judges at the lower courts failed to consider key evidence or rule on certain aspects of a case. In her current job, McCormack is working on a new [...]

Microsoft has started testing a refreshed web experience for Xbox Cloud Gaming that looks even more console-like. Xbox Insiders can now try out the preview UI, which includes updated navigation features, plenty of new animations, and a refreshed design. It all feels like a teaser of what's to come for Xbox consoles in the years [...]

Meta is gearing up to trial new premium subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp in the coming months that will allow users to access expanded AI capabilities and additional features. TechCrunch reports that the upcoming subscription plans aim to "unlock more productivity and creativity" by providing premium users with "more control over how they share [...]

Strava and Komoot - two of the most popular apps for cyclists, hikers, and runners - are each bringing offline maps to the Apple Watch, ending a major source of frustration for many. Now you can easily see routes and record your workouts all in your preferred app, without having to bring along a relatively [...]

More than a day after TikTok's issues began, TikTok USDS says the problems are the result of a power outage at a data center and subsequent cascading systems failure. Starting early Sunday morning, TikTok's now under new ownership US arm started breaking down just a couple of days after Oracle & Co took the reins. [...]

X is facing an investigation from the European Commission over the sexualized deepfakes generated by its Grok AI chatbot. In its announcement, the Commission says it will evaluate whether X "properly assessed and mitigated risks" associated with Grok's image-generating capabilities in the EU, as reported earlier by The New York Times. Advocacy groups and lawmakers [...]

Some people rarely lose things. Wallets are always exactly where they're supposed to be, keys never go missing, and remotes never slip between the couch cushions. And then there's the rest of us - the folks who can't ever seem to find the thing that was right there a few seconds ago. For us, there [...]

Google could owe you some money, now that it's moving to settle a class action lawsuit over how it handled recordings captured when its devices were activated by something other than Google Assistant's actual trigger word, "Ok Google." German outlet VRT NWS's 2019 report exposed the issue, and court filings from last Friday say the [...]

If you prefer over-ear headphones to earbuds and own an iPhone or another Apple device, the AirPods Max with USB-C are worth a look, especially now that you can buy them at Best Buy as part of a flash deal for $429.99 ($120 off) through tomorrow, January 27th. That's $30 shy of their lowest price [...]

"Fuck ICE first, second, third, and fourth. Then worry about fucking me," a Reddit post reads. "Immigrants of any status are my friends, neighbors, and colleagues." Across the internet - and in the streets - the sentiment is unavoidable, especially after a federal immigration agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, in Minneapolis [...]

Most vertical video microdrama apps have been focused on putting out newly produced series meant to be watched on your phone. But Tattle TV thinks that people might also be interested in checking out bite-size pieces of cinematic history. Though Tattle TV - a UK-based streaming platform created by filmmakers Philip McGoldrick and Marina Elderton [...]

Anthropic's Claude got a bit livelier today thanks to a new extension to MCP, the open-source protocol that allows AI agents to easily access tools and data across the internet. Users will now be able to interact with apps directly inside the Claude chatbot, letting you draft and format Slack messages to colleagues and create [...]

TikTok's takeover in the US has prompted users to join an alternative social platform called UpScrolled. The app, which is available on Android and iOS, currently holds the 12th spot in Apple's App Store, and it's struggling to keep up with an influx of new traffic. "You showed up so fast our servers tapped out," [...]

Recently released documents show the big business opportunity that social media companies saw in recruiting teens to their platforms and how they discussed risks that heavy digital engagement could pose. The documents were released last week as part of a major set of trials brought by school districts, state attorneys general, and others against Meta, [...]

OpenAI is reportedly asking a high price to advertise on ChatGPT, around $60 per 1,000 views, or triple what ads on Meta's platform usually cost, according to The Information. Despite the higher price, OpenAI won't be offering advertisers the same level of detailed information that Google and Meta do, such as whether users took any [...]

For many years, credit card companies and other payment methods were aggressive about policing child sexual abuse material. Then, Elon Musk's Grok started undressing children on X. The Center for Countering Digital Hate found 101 sexualized images of children as part of its sample of 20,000 images made by Grok from December 29th to January [...]

TikTok says a power outage is causing ongoing issues and outages that started in the US early Sunday morning. In an email to The Verge, TikTok USDS spokesperson Jamie Favazza pointed to a statement posted to the joint venture's newly-created X account, which says the company has been "working to restore our services following a [...]

Given that RAM has become so expensive to buy recently, you might have considered buying a prebuilt desktop computer. If so, and you're leaning toward a high-end gaming model, Costco has a model that's an impressive value at $1,999.99 ($300 off) for members through February 8th. It's an all-AMD, liquid-cooled machine built into Asus' ROG [...]

Microsoft is announcing a successor to its first in-house AI chip today, the Maia 200. Built on TSMC's 3nm process, Microsoft says its Maia 200 AI accelerator "delivers 3 times the FP4 performance of the third generation Amazon Trainium, and FP8 performance above Google's seventh generation TPU." Each Maia 200 chip has more than 100 [...]

TikTok has suffered from extensive problems on its first weekend after completing a transaction that changed the ownership of its US arm. According to Downdetector, the issues initially spiked in the early hours of Sunday morning, but many users, including editors here at The Verge, are still reporting errors. On Monday morning, TikTok USDS head [...]

Over the next year, top social media executives are expected to take the witness stand to defend their companies from an avalanche of claims about their failure to protect kids. The first of many trials is set to begin this month in California, when Meta, TikTok, and YouTube face claims that tech addiction harmed a [...]