The Verge

Elon Musk's final frontier is officially open for business now that SpaceX has formally filed its S-1 prospectus with the SEC. That kicks off what could be the largest initial public offering ever when it lists on the Nasdaq stock exchange with the ticker SPCX. SpaceX generated $18.67 billion in revenue in 2025, driven largely [...]

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. This week's issue is a special early edition tied to The Verge's Google I/O coverage. You can expect our next issue at its usual time [...]

REI's annual Anniversary Sale - the retailer's biggest of the year - has arrived, bringing with it discounts on all kinds of outdoor essentials. If you've got a camping trip coming up, now is a good time to stock up on the basics, whether it be a tent, sleeping pad, or stove. If your summer [...]

If you choose to get an extra controller for your Nintendo Switch 2, you can spend a lot - and get a lot in return. Buying Nintendo's own $89 Switch 2 Pro Controller, for instance, will net you the console's only wireless controller with a 3.5mm headphone jack for private listening, not to mention great-feeling [...]

Hello and welcome to Regulator, a newsletter for Verge subscribers about the car crashes piling up on a daily basis at the Washington-based intersection of technology and politics. If you're not a subscriber, sign up for our fine editorial enterprise today, especially as we process the end of Musk v. Altman. And if you have [...]

"There's an app for that" was the promise of the App Store from the very beginning. The app that will get your phone to do the thing you want it to? It's just a few taps away. The tagline wasn't strictly true - I'm still waiting for that one perfect grocery list app. Still, apps [...]

Volvo once had ambitions to fully exit the gas car business. Now it's trying to keep its tenuous foothold in the EV market. It's not an understatement to say that Volvo's EV journey has been a bumpy one. The compact EX40 has been a consistent winner, but the Swedish brand's other EVs have been plagued [...]

Google announced a new YouTube Shorts Remix feature that lets users restyle clips or even insert themselves into other people's videos using Gemini Omni. Now, at the bottom of a YouTube Short, when you click the remix icon, you'll see an option to "reimagine" it. Here, you can prompt Gemini to turn a video into [...]

More than 47,000 Samsung Electronics workers were gearing up for an 18-day strike after bonus payment negotiations between the company and its union collapsed. The strike was set to start on Thursday at Samsung's domestic chipmaking plants, raising concerns around the already constrained production of memory chips amid the ongoing shortage. Later on Wednesday, both [...]

Microsoft has recruited game industry analyst Matthew Ball as Xbox chief strategy officer. Ball publishes an annual state of video gaming report, which is a popular read across the game industry, and he's "widely respected across gaming, media, and technology," according to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. Sharma announced Ball is joining Microsoft in a memo [...]

Google's AI-powered Search era apparently also extends to its ads. Now, when you look for a product in Search, Google's Gemini AI model will surface relevant items and generate a "custom explainer" about why you should purchase a specific one. The update comes just one day after Google revealed a new Search box for larger, [...]

Whether you're heading out for a quick Memorial Day getaway or preparing for summer travel, a reliable power bank can come in handy when there's no outlet in sight. Fortunately, Anker's Laptop Power Bank can keep all your essential gadgets charged, and it's currently on sale atAmazon,Best Buy, andWalmart for $95.99 ($24 off), which is [...]

High school graduation is a time of change that might be felt more deeply by family members than by the grads themselves. While some grads may immediately embark on a career path, many continue their education and delve deeper into their studies at college. Either way, they'll be taking on more responsibility, meaning it's up [...]

Having personally recently tested a bunch of MagSafe power banks for an upcoming piece, let me tell you that it's tough to find a low-cost model that offers a bunch of features. Anker's 10,000mAh Zolo power bank is an exception to the rule, with its built-in, braided USB-C cable, MagSafe magnets to stay attached to [...]

We're about to find out if the systems designed to make deepfakes and AI-generated content easy to spot are actually up to snuff. SynthID and C2PA Content Credentials, two distinct technologies for invisibly tagging image, video, and audio files with information about their origins, are getting their biggest expansion to date, and with it, the [...]

Just as the T1 Phone is seemingly on the verge of release, Trump Mobile has been accused of insecurely storing customer data, leaving addresses and phone numbers vulnerable. The alleged leak has also revealed how many T1 Phone orders were apparently placed, and it's far fewer than viral figures have claimed. YouTuber Coffeezilla was the [...]

After initially revealing its unique design at NAB 2026 last month with few technical details, Insta360 has announced and launched its new wireless Mic Pro system featuring a couple of industry firsts. While the Mic Pro transmitters that can directly connect to devices over Bluetooth are available individually for $99.99, a more elaborate kit with [...]

When the member states of the United Nations reviewed their Global Compact on Migration earlier this month, one country was conspicuously absent from the discussions: the United States. In a post on X explaining its reasoning, the State Department said it objects to global "efforts to facilitate replacement migration to the United States and our [...]

For years, tech companies have promised AI will give everyone a capable personal assistant but delivered something more like a clueless intern. Over the past six months, that has started to change, thanks largely to the viral open-source AI agent platform OpenClaw. And among the top AI labs now chasing similar success, one seems particularly [...]

Utah may host one of the world's most colossal data centers, despite stark warnings from experts and fierce public backlash. Earlier this month, commissioners in Box Elder County signed off on the Stratos Project: a 40,000-acre data center stretching across the county's Hansel Valley. It's supposed to establish American AI dominance, but potentially at the [...]

Apple TV is best known for its lineup of science fiction shows and feel-good sitcoms, but of late the streaming service has veered in a different direction. A pair of its current buzziest shows explore the world of OnlyFans creators and cam models, and they're timed up near perfectly; just as one ends (Margo's Got [...]

Google is adding a new Android feature that resembles Apple's Handoff, allowing you to start a task on your Android phone and continue it right where you left off from a compatible tablet. "Continue On" is designed to eventually be bidirectional, but Google says that at launch it will only support tasks moving from a [...]

The era of ultra-high performance Mercedes EVs is here. The German automaker finally revealed its new super sedan, the AMG GT 4-door coupe, with technology borrowed from the automaker's XX concept that last year made history by driving 24,901 miles in under 8 days at Nardo Ring in southern Italy. With the production model, Mercedes [...]

Amid the flurry of today's Google I/O announcements, Google shared details about Wear OS 7, the next major update to its smartwatch platform. To help you keep track of things like deliveries and sports scores, Wear OS 7 will get the iPhone-style Live Updates that were introduced on Android last year - which can appear [...]

I am dying to know how much money Plex is about to make the next six weeks charging people to stream their own video from their own homes. Today, it's giving every prospective customer until July 1st to lock in a lifetime subscription at today's rates - before it triples the price to $750. Plex [...]

Welcome to a "profound moment for humanity," according to Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, who closed out Google I/O's keynote presentation on Tuesday, saying: Google's cutting-edge research and products will help unlock AGI's incredible potential for the benefit of the entire world. When we look back at this time, I think we will realize that [...]

What better way to unwind from a two-hour keynote presentation than to pore over the weirdest and wildest details, from a Gmail bot you can converse with to DeepMind's leader saying the singularity is near. The Vergecast went live right after the show, with senior AI reporter Hayden Field joining me to discuss the highlights. [...]

Last year, after watching Google's I/O keynote, I wrote that it felt like Google's future was Google googling. After watching this year's I/O keynote on Tuesday, I don't think Google just wants to google for you - I think it wants to do everything for you, all from a search box. Take the trusty Google [...]

Nintendo recently teased the Choose Your Game" Switch 2 console and digital game bundle, coming in early June. However, multiple retailers (including Nintendo itself) are already offering the $499.99 bundle. The list currently includes GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy, and the Nintendo Store. It's a deal worth hopping on ahead of the holiday season, since Nintendo [...]

Google has big promises for its AI-powered future - and a lot of it depends on your trust. At I/O 2026, Google described a bunch of new tools that it claims will make your life easier. Gemini Spark, Google's always-on AI agent, can help organize an upcoming event, while Daily Brief can offer a rundown [...]

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, and the holiday's sales include plenty of deals on gadgets that can help you make the most of the season. If your plans involve beach days, pool parties, or backyard barbecues, now's a great time to pick up a portable Bluetooth speaker, as many of our favorite [...]

A handful of Democrats called an unofficial hearing on Capitol Hill Monday to slam the Department of Justice's "trivial" and "pathetic" settlement with Live Nation-Ticketmaster, previewing how they might go after Trump administration antitrust deals if they win back congressional power in November. While the DOJ settlement with Live Nation, which came one week into [...]

Ugreen has announced a new Apple Find My-compatible tracker with a novel design that limits where you can hide it, but greatly benefits battery life. Inspired by "major football tournaments" the company doesn't call out by name, the Ugreen FineTrack 2 is shaped like a soccer ball and is designed to be used hanging off [...]

Last week, we noted Kickstarter's new content guidelines, which had some pretty weird new additions, including a prohibition on "sexual wellness products that are not designed for insertion or penetration and are not marketed primarily for sexual gratification." Those rules have now been eliminated and the company has restored an earlier version of its guidelines. [...]

Gemini is gaining the power of sight and mobility. Today at the I/O conference, Google and Volvo announced that the AI-powered assistant will be able to access external cameras in the upcoming EX60 SUV to help explain and interpret its surroundings to vehicle owners. The upgrade is possible thanks to Volvo's use of Google's embedded [...]

Google's I/O 2026 keynote today was once again full of AI-related announcements including a new family of Gemini 3.5 AI models, new features for Search and Gmail, and updates about its Project Aura smart glasses. If you weren't able to tune into the event's livestream today or follow along with our live blog, you can [...]

Google is making a big push into cybersecurity. At I/O, the company announced that it was inviting select groups of experts to test the API for CodeMender, an "AI agent for code security" it debuted last October. The difference is that Google is now making the tool more widely available externally - and marketing it [...]

Google Search is entering the next phase of its AI evolution. During Google I/O 2026, the company showed off a reimagined search box that makes it easier to flow between AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of search results, and AI Mode, Google's chatbot-like search experience. Powered by the new Gemini [...]

Google is launching a big new feature for Gmail called Gmail Live, a new AI-powered voice mode that's basically the Gemini Live experience but built specifically for your inbox. To use Gmail Live, tap an icon that will appear in your search bar and just start talking. In a press briefing, a Google employee showed [...]

Google is launching its own take on OpenClaw, the buzzy AI agent platform that caused a stir in the tech industry earlier this year. Announced during Google I/O 2026, Gemini Spark is an always-on AI agent that can write emails for you, create continually updated study guides, monitor credit card statements for hidden subscription fees, [...]

Google is launching a new AI image generation app to Workspace that it's calling Pics, and it has a new feature to try and reduce the hassle of iterating on AI images: Instead of having to write an entire prompt just to change one small aspect of an image, you'll be able to click on [...]

We're back at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, for this year's edition of Google I/O. These days, Silicon Valley is buzzing about the future of AI search, agents, vibe coding, and e-commerce, so you can bet we're expecting to hear tons of news on these fronts. And who knows, we might get a [...]

Ten years ago Sony introduced the MDR-1000X headphones. They combined noise canceling, good sound, design, and comfort in a way that we hadn't quite seen before in a set of wireless headphones. (At the time, the Bose QC35 were the closest competitor, but I wasn't a huge fan of their sound tuning.) The 1000X set [...]

Google I/O 2026 kicks off today, with the event's keynote presentation slated for 10AM PT / 1PM ET on May 19th. Gemini is expected to be front and center once again at this year's developer conference, with Google potentially introducing new versions of AI models and more agentic AI features. Google already showed off a [...]

The use of AI-powered tools to announce students as they walk on stage during graduation and commencement ceremonies has grown in popularity over the past few years, but it's not always succeeding at the one job it's there for. Many schools have switched to these systems as a way to ensure names are being pronounced [...]

A law requiring social networks to quickly remove sexual deepfakes and other nonconsensual imagery is now fully in force. But experts warn the policy could do little to help victims - and at worst could facilitate censorship online. Last May, President Donald Trump signed the Take It Down Act, a law addressing nonconsensual intimate imagery [...]

Apple's annual update about accessibility features on its platforms has new additions for the iPhone, Mac, and especially Vision Pro, with a focus on how on-device AI processing is being used in features like VoiceOver, Magnifier, Voice Control, and Accessibility Reader. One addition that jumped out to me is the ability to use on-device speech [...]

Anker's Solix S2000 solves two major pain points with power stations: idle power draw that can leave a battery unexpectedly dead, and the large footprint required to hold so much energy. Impressively, it achieves this at an incredibly low introductory price that works out to just $0.29 per Wh. Unlike most other power stations in [...]

In most platforming games, you're fighting against the world around you. You're trying to beat a level, nail a seemingly impossible series of jumps, or defeat a powerful boss. But even though Yoshi and the Mysterious Book uses familiar gameplay - you traverse the world by jumping, climbing, and, uh, eating - it reframes your [...]

Almost exactly two years ago, Microsoft introduced Arm-powered versions of the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7, with Intel models not ready until more than six months later. This time around Microsoft is refreshing its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models with Intel's latest Core Ultra Series 3 processors first, ahead of similar models [...]