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Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Photo: Getty Images Elon Musk doesn't miss an opportunity to take a dig at OpenAI - even when the news item in question is supposed to be favorable to President Trump. Just a few hours after yesterday's White House presser on The Stargate Project wrapped up, Musk posted on X that they don't actually have the money."Softbank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX have committed to deploy" $100 billion now and $500 billion toward the AI data center company over the next four years.But Musk, who now has wide-ranging clearances and reportedly even his own office inside the Trump White House, seems doubtful. SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority," he added. The Japanese CEO and billionaire investor is the former owner of WeWork and Sprint and the current owner of Arm, and there have been reports for the last year that, along with Altman, he's been chasing funding to invest in an AI chip venture.

The LG C3 can easily last several years as your home theater's centerpiece. | Image: LG If you're spending more time indoors to escape the icy winds or need something impressive to enjoy the Super Bowl, a new TV might be in order. Although it's a couple of years old now, the LG C3 is still one of the best 4K OLED TVs you can buy, and it's a bit cheaper today at Amazon and Walmart. They're selling the 65-inch model for $1,196.99 ($302 off), which is matching its all-time low price.The LG C3 offers a great picture quality with vivid color, no light blooming or bleeding, and deep, inky black levels for a practically infinite contrast ratio. If you somehow haven't seen how good an OLED panel can look yet, then a trip to Best Buy is in order. It appeases most home theater and gaming needs with a 120Hz variable refresh rate and auto low-latency mode across all four of its HDMI ports, Dolby Vision and HDR 10 Plus, Dolby Atmos audio, and an incredible upscaling engine that can make older content look fantastically sharp.You're not missing out on much by skipping the LG C4, either, and the incoming C5 may not have enough to justify waiting and paying significantly more. LG advertises a substantial brightness boost in the newer models, but in reality, the C4's panel doesn't blow the C3 out of the water. The C4 is also capable of a higher 144Hz refresh rate, though that's a largely discernible jump that's only relevant for PC gamers. Both run webOS, which offers a deep selection of apps for gaming, music, and video with voice-activated content discovery.More ways to save

The new Galaxy Watch for Kids mode is enabled in Wear OS via Google Family Link. | Image: Samsung, Google Samsung dropped some wearable news ahead of its Unpacked event later today: parents can now use the cellular Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 as a smartwatch for their kids.With a new Galaxy Watch for Kids mode, children can use the smartwatch to call and text trusted contacts, while parents can also track their kids' locations via GPS. The option starts rolling out today and will work on Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T networks.The good news is parents won't need a separate smartphone for this to work. Instead, it's similar to Apple Family Setup, where parents use their phone to pair and set up the smartwatch before programming guardrails through the Google Family Link app. Parents can control which apps can be downloaded to the device, locate misplaced watches, and specify their children's contacts for texting and calling. In an emergency, kids can also access emergency SOS features by pressing the side button five times. As with other children's smartwatches, there's a School Time mode that limits features during school hours.In a keyword blog, Google also notes that kids can download 20 teacher approved" apps and watchfaces from the kids section of the Google Play store. They include Barbie, Marvel, and Rubik's Cube-themed watchfaces and educational games from PBS Kids and Crayola. Other third-party apps are available for download but require parental approval.Samsung isn't reinventing the wheel here - it's playing catch-up. Apple first introduced Family Setup for its smartwatches in 2020, and last year, Google launched the Fitbit Ace LTE, a revamped kids GPS tracker with Pixel Watch hardware and a focus on educational gaming.Meanwhile, this has been a feature that parents have been asking for in subreddits and Samsung customer forums. Previously, it was possible to set up Galaxy Watches as standalone devices with cellular service for kids, but it required parents to be a bit more tech-savvy in figuring out location tracking, phone setup, and parental controls. This new mode streamlines everything into a more accessible format, though it is only limited to the Watch 7.We've asked Samsung if it plans to introduce the feature to LTE version of the budget Galaxy Watch FE but did not immediately receive a response.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube Premium users are getting a slew of new experiments to try out before anyone else alongside an option to reduce their membership cost when bundling subscriptions. Subscribers can now also sign up to test multiple experimental features all at once, instead of being limited to just one at a time.There are several new experiments that users can try out, including 256kbps bitrate audio quality on videos, and options for iOS users to view YouTube shorts in picture-in-picture mode and automatically download recommended Shorts" for offline viewing. The AI-powered skipping feature that allows users to jump right to the most-watched part of a video is also available on web browsers after initially being introduced for mobile devices last year.These will eventually be joined by expanded playback options for mobile devices that can increase video speed by up to four times. YouTube hasn't mentioned when this experimental feature will be available, however, only that it's coming soon."YouTube is also rolling out a deal that makes YouTube Premium a smidge cheaper when you purchase it as a bundle with Google's cloud storage. The offer is eligible on Google One Premium plans (which start at $9.99 per month for 2TB) or higher, but you'll only save $2 per month on YouTube Premium - bringing the price back to 2023 levels.

The Sharge Retractable 65 includes a 27-inch retractable USB-C charging cable. | Image: Sharge First revealed last December through a Chinese retailer, Sharge's new 65W GaN charger is now available globally. As the name implies, the Retractable 65 features an integrated USB-C cable that fully retracts when not in use so you won't be scrambling to find one when a device is about to die. It's available in white or black for $39.90 and while it comes with US style folding prongs it can be ordered with EU and UK outlet adapters. Image: Sharge An additional USB-C port allows the charger to power two devices, although the maximum power output drops to 60W with both ports in use. The Retractable 65 can deliver up to a maximum of 65W of power with a single device connected, so you can use it to charge larger devices like laptops. In addition to the retractable USC-cable that's just over 27 inches in length, the charger includes an additional USB-C port. Two devices can be charged simultaneously, but while Sharge hasn't detailed how power is split between the two ports, the charger's maximum output drops to 60W while both are in use. Image: Sharge The charger's retracting mechanism is left visible through a transparent housing. The Retractable 65 joins a growing number of chargers and portable power solutions featuring retractable cables, thanks in part to most devices now supporting USB-C so companies like Sharge don't have to accommodate several different charging ports.The big question with this trend is how durable are the internal mechanisms used to retract integrated cables? As someone who likes to fidget with gadgets all day (and who broke the spring-loaded memory card eject mechanism on a Sony camera while fidgeting with it) I will undoubtedly be doing the same with chargers like this.Will it survive someone mindlessly yanking out the cable and watching it go flying back into the charger all day like a tape measure? On its website Sharge claims the mechanism can survive 10,000+ stretch cycles" without breaking, but we've reached out to the company for more details about the charger's durability - including if a broken retraction mechanism is covered under warranty - and will update this story when it responds.

Image: Plex After getting started on mobile back in November, Plex is ready to test its reimagined" app experience on much bigger screens. Today the company announced that the preview has expanded to included tvOS. Please keep in mind this is nowhere close to perfect, but we want to get feedback from the community as early as we can," Plex wrote in the blog post.Live TV and on-demand rentals are prominently shown in the navigation bar, but if it's anything like the mobile version, you can disable those if you only care about enjoying your personal library. Note that you've got to opt into this preview; the regular Plex app isn't going anywhere just yet. Instructions for doing so can be found here. Image: Plex Plex's reimagined experience puts a spotlight on its live TV and on-demand content. Plex is also getting more social: movie and TV show reviews can now be viewed by everyone across the platform - if you change your privacy settings to allow this, that is. You can comment on reviews by others, so Plex seems to be leaning into all the success around Letterboxd with this one.By making your profile publicly accessible on watch.plex.tv you can easily share a link to your profile with others so that they can see what you've been watching, what's on your Watchlist, and more," the company says.Last, Plex is making HEVC hardware encoding available to all Plex Plus customers. HEVC encoding offers a better visual quality at the same bit rate, allowing for a higher-quality video over the same (or lower) bandwidth usage for streaming from your Plex Media Server," the company says. Another benefit is that HDR metadata is fully preserved. HEVC encoding is supported on macOS, Linux, and Windows when using hardware encoding with Apple, Intel, or Nvidia devices," Plex wrote back in September.

Image: Apple The second season of Silo - a postapocalyptic thriller on Apple TV Plus - has wrapped up, and the finale was the show at its very best. It was full of dramatic twists, painful sacrifices, brutal fights, beautiful shots of a decayed future, and in its final moments, a tease that shows how much larger and more expansive the story actually is. It left me excited about what's coming next - but also wary that the show is running out of time to tell the full story.This article contains spoilers for the first two seasons of Silo.Silo takes place far in the future, when the outside world is seemingly uninhabitable and what remains of humanity lives in vast, tightly controlled silos deep underground. The first season followed Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) as she was able to uncover (some of) the truth about the reality of the world and her home's place within it. It ended with a great cliffhanger as she stepped outside and discovered that her silo, which she believed to be the only remaining place full of human life, was just one of many.Season 2 picked up right after that and explored two concurrent threads. On one side, there was Juliette, whose trek outside uncovered a silo filled... Read the full story at The Verge.

Image: Sega Sega launched a new cross-platform game-linking service called Sega Accounts, reports Eurogamer. The company says the online profile system will bring a host of benefits" for players, like bonuses for specific games and other promised features down the line.You can create the account over at sega-account.com, and from there link it to your Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam accounts, with Epic Games coming soon. Doing so will net you a code for some bonus DLC: a new costume to use in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, which is out on February 20th. (You can also get that DLC by signing up for Sega's newsletter, though.)Sega says the account will enable other services and features" soon. One possibility could be a subscription service like Game Pass or PlayStation Plus, as IGN speculated today. Sega's Shuji Utsumi told BBC last month subscriptions like those are interesting" and that the company is evaluating some opportunities," but didn't get more specific than that.

Stray is just one of the titles Annapurna Interactive has worked on. | Image: Annapurna Interactive Former Netflix executive Leanne Loombe is joining Annapurna Interactive as executive vice president and head of games, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Loombe helped build out Netflix's game development and publishing arm, and now she'll likely face new challenges as a leader of the gutted games publisher.Annapurna Interactive, which is behind popular indie titles like Stray, Outer Wilds, and Gorogoa, experienced an upheaval last year when the entirety of its staff resigned after its owner, Megan Ellison, disagreed with the employees' wishes to spin the publisher off into a new company, Bloomberg reported at the time. The former Annapurna Interactive staff members later took control of the games published under Private Division, an indie label previously owned by Take-Two Interactive, according to Bloomberg.Loombe worked at Riot Games before joining Netflix in 2021, where she brought titles like Hades and the Grand Theft Auto trilogy into the streamer's growing gaming portfolio and helped head up its cloud gaming initiative. As part of its earnings report released on Tuesday, Netflix said it would continue to test and expand" its cloud gaming offering on TV, as well as focus on adding immersive, narrative games based on our IP, socially engaging party games, games for kids and mainstream established titles" to its lineup.I've always admired how incredibly thoughtful Annapurna Interactive is about supporting developers who have a strong creative vision and empowering them to create high quality games that players love," Loombe said in a post on LinkedIn. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to continue creating and strengthening a place developers can call home."

In development for several years, Sensify is an ambient sensing technology that can turn existing Zigbee-powered lights, switches, and plugs into motion sensors. | Image: Ivani Lights that turn on when you walk into a room and turn off when you leave are one of the most desirable smart home features. But you need to buy additional hardware like motion sensors to make this magic" happen. A new ambient sensing technology called Sensify could make this easier by turning your light bulbs into motion sensors. And it might be landing on a Philips Hue bridge near you very soon.There are tens of millions of devices with the base firmware already out there; we're just working on the final touches to light up the full experience."Sensify is a wireless network sensing (WNS) technology developed by Ivani that can turn mains-powered Zigbee devices into motion sensors for controlling your lights with just a firmware update - no additional hardware needed. The best part is that it can work on devices already in most homes. There are tens of millions of devices with the base firmware already out there; we're just working on the final touches to light up the full experience," Ivani cofounder Justin McKinney tells The Verge.An obvious use case for this is a Zigbee-based smart lighting system such as Philips Hue. There's been speculation that Hue is working on a Zigbee sensing technology since its sister company Wiz debuted a similar tech called SpaceSense in 2022, which uses WNS over Wi-Fi. The well-informed hueblog.com reports that Zigbee wireless network sensing is the technology Hue will most likely use. The Verge reached out to Signify, which owns Hue, but hasn't yet received a response.This engineering video demonstrates how Sensify's Zigbee ambient sensing can turn lights on and off based on occupancy. Video: IvaniMcKinney wouldn't say which companies are using Ivani's Sensify, which has been in development since 2016, but he did share that the company is working with some large household names poised to deploy the technology very soon." He also said it's the only company offering this capability over Zigbee networks.Ivani is a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), which runs the Zigbee protocol, but Sensify is a proprietary solution that leverages the Zigbee network. Despite reports indicating this sensing tech is coming to all Zigbee devices, the CSA confirmed to The Verge that this is not a new feature within Zigbee itself.WNS works by detecting disturbances in radio frequencies and can also be applied to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread technologies. McKinney says Sensify requires three or more devices positioned around a detection area to detect motion and occupancy in the space. The tech also allows for precise detection zones based on where the devices are situated. The devices send messages to each other, look at underlying network diagnostic information, and process it to provide occupancy sensing decisions," says McKinney. Image: Ivani Wireless network sensing requires three or more devices to work. This diagram from Ivani illustrates typical topologies. Performance-wise, McKinney says Sensify is equivalent or superior" to passive infrared sensing (PIR) tech, which is traditionally used for motion sensing. It also doesn't need line of sight, as PIR does. However, it's not as precise as technologies like mmWave sensing, which can determine if someone is in a room through as slight a movement as breathing. The lights will still likely turn off if you're still, even if you're in the space," he says.The good news is that Sensify can run on Zigbee networks with a range of chipsets working together, meaning it can be deployed as a software update to existing systems. McKinney also confirmed Sensify runs locally on your Zigbee network, there's no Sensify cloud, and any sensing data is only accessible to the manufacturer deploying the technology.This video, published by the CSA, illustrates how Ivani's wireless network sensing works over a Zigbee network.Motion sensing in the smart home has several use cases, from lighting control and security to energy management and elder care. Two big advantages of WNS here are cost and scale. There's no need to buy additional hardware to get the capability, and many homes already have devices that can use it.Ivani is currently the only company with a Zigbee solution, but there are WNS solutions out there that use Wi-Fi. Origin Wireless and its partner company, Nami, were the first to develop Wi-Fi sensing, and they are leading Matter's efforts around bringing ambient RF sensing technologies to the smart home standard.It really is the promise of what home automation was supposed to be"Origin's technology powered Linksys Aware, a feature the router company launched in 2019 that turned its routers into motion sensors, and last year, Threshold launched a smart plug using Origin's Wi-Fi sensing to allow caregivers to monitor a loved one's activity remotely.In 2021, I tested Hex Home, a proof-of-concept security system from Origin that used Wi-Fi sensing instead of motion sensors. But false positives made it virtually unusable. I also tried Wiz's Wi-Fi-based SpaceSense when it first launched. It was more reliable but still fairly inconsistent. However, according to McKinney, advances in machine learning and AI have brought significant improvements to WNS technology.He says Ivani's Sensify tech is ready for deployment over Zigbee, and they're just waiting for their partners to fine-tune how best to introduce the feature within their product lines." He expects they will update existing products in the next few months. We have the pleasure of experiencing our partner's products and their beta tests in our homes, and it really is the promise of what home automation was supposed to be."There have been a lot of promises around home automation over the years, with very few being fulfilled. But the idea of, say, every Philips Hue light bulb in your home turning into a motion sensor overnight, making it simple to automate control of your lights without sticking white plastic sensors everywhere, is a fairly exciting one.

I want to use this feature just to side-eye Gemini. | Image: Google Google is announcing a variety of classroom and accessibility-focused ChromeOS features today, and one of the standouts is being able to control your computer with your head and facial expressions. The feature - aimed at those with motor impairments - was first announced in early December, but it's now rolling out to more users with compatible Chromebooks (Google recommends 8GB of RAM or more).This isn't Google's first foray into the face-as-a-cursor space. It previously made an open-source AI accessibility tool for Windows games called Project Gameface, which was also announced for Android. Here's a sample video from Google of the tech in action, demoed by software engineer Amanda Lin Dietz who helped develop it.Additionally, Google is also teasing a boatload of new Chromebooks for 2025, with over 20 new devices in its standard Chromebook and Chromebook Plus lines coming this year. That estimate may be a bit of a stretch, since Google seems to be counting the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus that launched back in October, but it does also count the just-announced 14-inch Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 and more to come.Along with laptops aimed at educators and students, Google's got a new batch of classroom-focused ChromeOS features called Class Tools. These allow teachers to have real-time control of their students' screens. Once a pairing code is shared, educators will be able to send students direct content on their Chromebook screens, flip on live captions or translations for them, remotely view their screens, and share a student's work with the whole class. Image: Google An educator's view of Google's Class Tools settings. In addition to these collaborative tools, Google Classroom is also getting an integration with Figma's FigJam, allowing teachers to assign online whiteboards to students for brainstorming and group work. Maybe the combination of FigJam with the teacher's ability to snoop on students' screens will reveal who's really doing all the work for the group.

Using the non-touch screen on an older Bambu P1P 3D printer. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge Bambu Lab, the company behind my favorite 3D printers, has given itself one hell of a week. Now, I've got answers to some of my burning questions, answers which you might also hopefully appreciate. But first, some backstory.Since last Thursday, some creators have pledged not to buy Bambu printers anymore, even removed some of their 3D models from its online repository, after the company revealed it would add a new proprietary authentication mechanism that could keep you from using third-party tools to remote control your printer.While you'd still be able to stick a file on an SD card and physically put it into your printer or use Bambu's proprietary cloud, the old way of printing remotely from a third-party slicer would be no more - unless you downloaded a new proprietary Windows and Mac Bambu Connect" desktop app to be the middleman between your slicer and Bambu's hardware.Unauthorized third-party software will be prohibited from executing critical operations" - BambuWhile Bambu was clear early on that this would be an optional update, one you could simply choose not to install, the company also positioned it as a necessary one to secure printers against remote hacks.... Read the full story at The Verge.

Image: The Verge President Donald Trump says he'd be open to his buddies Elon Musk or Larry Ellison buying TikTok.Larry, let's negotiate in front of the media," Trump said at a press conference with the Oracle co-founder, SoftBank CEO Masa Son, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to announce a $500 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure investment. What I'm thinking about saying to somebody is, buy it, and give half to the United States of America. Half, and we'll give you the permit. And they'll have a great partner, the United States."Sounds like a good deal to me, Mr. President," Ellison said.

Image: The White House (YouTube) A plan to build a system of data centers for artificial intelligence has been revealed in a White House press conference, with Masayoshi Son, Sam Altman, and Larry Ellison joining Donald Trump to announce The Stargate Project. Their companies, Softbank, OpenAI, and Oracle (respectively), along with MGX are listed as initial equity funders" for $500 billion in investments over the next four years, building new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the United States."According to a statement from OpenAI, Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI" are the initial tech partners, with a buildout currently underway" starting in Texas as other sites across the country are evaluated. It also says that Oracle, NVIDIA, and OpenAI will closely collaborate to build and operate this computing system."Separately, Microsoft announced an update to its partnership with OpenAI, saying that the key elements of their deal remain in place through 2030, covering our access to OpenAI's IP, our revenue sharing arrangements and our exclusivity on OpenAI's APIs all continuing forward."What is changing is that Microsoft says OpenAI has made a new, large Azure commitment that will continue to support all OpenAI products as well as training." However, their exclusive arrangement for new capacity is changing so that now Microsoft has a right of first refusal over OpenAI building new capacity.In a press conference announcing the project, which has been rumored since early last year, Son and Altman spoke directly to Trump, insisting that the project only happened because of his election victory.

Oakleys are considered stylish and popular with athletes - which is probably why Meta's keen to partner. | Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images Meta may be releasing new Oakley-branded smart glasses later this year, according to a new Bloomberg report.The Oakley-branded glasses, internally referred to as Supernova 2", would be based on the brand's Sphaera glasses. Instead of housing the cameras on the side, the Supernova 2 would shift the camera to the center of the frame. The idea is to appeal to cyclists and other outdoor athletes. The report didn't detail any other potential features, though the Oakley glasses would ostensibly have similar features to the current Ray-Ban Meta glasses.Oakley, like Ray-Bans, are a subsidiary of eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica. The move to expand Meta's tech to other brands under EssilorLuxottica's umbrella is a savvy one. While the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are good for discreet, everyday wear, they're a bit heavy for endurance sports and lack certain features like polarized lenses for better visibility. Oakleys are also considered stylish and popular among professional athletes. Conceptually, they're similar to the now discontinued Bose Frames Tempo, which allowed athletes to have open-ear audio with polarized lenses in a relatively light form factor. That said, if the goal is to appeal to athletes, Meta and Oakley will likely have to address factors like weight, sweat resistance, and battery life.The report also notes that Meta plans on launching a higher-end version of its current Ray-Ban glasses that include a display capable of delivering notifications, running simple apps, and previewing photos.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Netflix is raising prices yet again. In its latest earnings report released Tuesday, the streaming service announced that we are adjusting prices today across most plans" in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina.Netflix spokesperson MoMo Zhou tells The Verge that the ad-supported tier is increasing from $6.99 to $7.99 per month, while the standard ad-free tier will go from $15.49 to $17.99 per month. Its highest-priced premium tier is also increasing from $22.99 to $24.99 per month. The price hikes will go into effect during subscribers' next billing cycle, according to Zhou.As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix," the company's letter to investors says. Netflix last raised the price of its subscription in October 2023. This is also the first time it's raising the price of this ad-supported plan, which it rolled out in 2022.Netflix added 19 million new subscribers over the past few months - the most in its history during a single quarter - bringing its global total to 300 million. This is the last time Netflix will reveal how many subscribers it added during the quarter, as the company said last year that it would only announce major subscriber milestones as we cross them" starting in the first quarter of 2025.Even with a subscriber count reaching new highs, and operating income ballooning past $10 billion for the first time, Netflix executives believe the company still has room for growth. The company's letter to investors says it accounts for less than 10 percent of TV viewing in the countries it's available in, which suggests a long runway for growth as streaming continues to expand around the world."Along with the price hike, Netflix announced that it's rolling out a new Extra Member with Ads plan, which will allow those on the ad-supported plan to add someone outside their household to their subscription. It currently costs an extra $7.99 per month to add someone outside your household to an ad-free plan.The streamer ended 2024 with a strong content lineup that included new seasons of Squid Game and the League of Legends spinoff Arcane.Netflix's approach to live content has also gotten more aggressive within the past several weeks, as it has gone from airing sports-adjacent" events like a golf tournament that paired PGA players with Formula One drivers to full-blown NFL games featuring performances from Beyonce and Mariah Carey. But Netflix notes that it's not focusing on acquiring rights to large regular season sports packages; rather, our live strategy is all about delivering can't-miss, special event programming."Despite running into some hiccups, the streamer also touted record-breaking" viewership numbers for last year's live boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, while its WWE debut with Monday Night Raw locked in 4.9 million views, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Update, January 21st: Added information from Netflix.

Playstack Balatro has crossed a major milestone, selling 5 million copies in its first year. The news was shared on X and featured a shout out to The Game Awards.To everyone who picked up Balatro after seeing it at @thegameawards, we hope you're having an amazing time with it!" the post read. Balatro was featured prominently during The Game Awards, nominated for a number of awards including Game of the Year and winning the best indie, best debut indie, and best mobile categories.On X, Wout van Halderen, PR manager for Balatro publisher Playstack, added that the game had sold 3.5 million copies by the first week of December. With The Game Awards taking place the second week in December, the implication is that Balatro received a significant 1.5 million unit bump in sales after being featured during Keighley's Christmas Commercial telethon. Even more impressive, the 5 million figure is total units sold and doesn't count the number of downloads the game got for being on the Apple Arcade subscription.Since its launch in February, Balatro has quickly become one of the biggest indie hits of 2024. Developed by a single person over the course of two years, the poker roguelike has garnered a reputation for being a well-crafted number-go-up" game with its developer leaning in on the joke that it devours players' free and not-so-free time.In the 11 months since the game's release, it's only gotten small, cosmetic updates but developer LocalThunk has hinted a major gameplay-focused update is forthcoming this year.Jimbo help us all.

The Korg Handytraxx Play is a portable record player designed for scratching on-the-go. | Image: Korg Korg has announced a new collection of portable record players with each model featuring specialized functionality depending on what you like to do with your vinyl. The Handytraxx Play is designed for DJs who perform with their turntables, the Handytraxx Tube has a more premium build to maximize sound quality, while the Handytraxx 1bit includes additional tools and outputs for digitizing vinyl.They don't have release dates yet, but the collection will start at $399 for the Handytraxx Play. It's a significant jump after that to the $799 Handytraxx Tube, while the 1bit will be even pricier at $999.If the design of the Handytraxx turntables feel familiar, it's because you're probably old enough to remember a similar product from Vestax called the Handy Trax that debuted in the early aughts. Korg's updated versions were developed in collaboration with Vestax's former president and co-creator of the original Handy Trax, Toshihide Nakama, before he passed in 2023. Image: Korg The Handytraxx Play is designed for DJs who like to scratch or sample vinyls as part of a live performance. It features a built-in crossfader, low-pass, high-pass, and EQ filters, a delay effect, and a built-in variable speed looper for recording samples and creating beats. Its control panel can also be flipped around for right or left-handed use.The Play can be powered by an AC adapter or six AA batteries and features a pair of 2.5-watt speakers for entertaining a crowd without the need for additional equipment. You can also plug in a pair of headphones for a private performance. Image: Korg The Handytraxx Tube upgrades the Play with an aluminium die-cast platter that uses software to monitoring its pitch and speed to maintain a stable rotation and optimize playback. Its tone arm also features an adjustable counterweight so you can swap needles while ensuring you always have the proper pressure on your records to prolong their life.As the name implies, the Tube uses Korg's Nutube vacuum tube technology that operates exactly as a triode vacuum tube" and creates the same characteristic rich overtones," the company claims. The tube technology adds pleasant harmonics characteristic of vacuum tubes for a rich, immersive sonic experience," while bass and treble controls let you dial in your preferred balance.Korg is also offering a limited edition version of this turntable called the Tube J as part of a collaboration with a Japanese company called JICO. The J version swaps the Tube's standard JICO J44A 7 cartridge with JICO's Clipper MM Cartridge featuring an upgraded design and improved performance. It also boosts the Tube's price tag to $1,199. Image: Korg The Handytraxx 1bit carries forward the hardware upgrades of the Tube but using Korg's included AudioGate 4 software it can digitize vinyl to the Direct Stream Digital (DSD) format which was originally developed by Sony and Philips for the Super Audio CD (SACD). Instead of capturing 16 audio samples 44,100 times per second as is done with traditional audio CDs, the 1bit and Korg's software captures single samples 5.6 million times per second, resulting in a much higher quality recordings suitable for archiving.

Illustration: The Verge Meta is integrating WhatsApp into its Accounts Center, as WABetaInfo spotted. The change, which is rolling out globally over the next few months," lets WhatsApp users share status updates across Instagram and Facebook, as well as enable single sign-on.Meta says the link won't be turned on automatically, so it's up to you to decide if linking WhatsApp to Accounts Center is something you're into. If you do so, Meta will start using your WhatsApp information to do things like provide, personalize, and improve its products and services, including to show you ads," according to a help page about the change. Image: Meta Meta's other apps won't use WhatsApp personal data unless it's to determine how many people we serve, keep people safe, or to provide optional features that work across Meta products," the company writes. It also says linking your account won't change the fact that messages are end-to-end encrypted in WhatsApp.Down the line, Meta says it will add the ability for users to go to Accounts Center to manage things like Meta AI stickers or AI-generated avatars created using its Imagine Me feature.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images The UK government is going to launch an app that will allow citizens to digitize their driver's licenses. Science Secretary Peter Kyle announced on Tuesday that the GOV.UK Wallet launching for Android and iOS devices later this year will let users securely store government-issued documents on their phone, allowing them to be accessed immediately instead of waiting for physical versions to arrive in the mail.The wallet will utilize smartphone security features like facial recognition to help protect users' personal data. Veteran cards for former military personnel will be the first documents supported, followed by a pilot for mobile driver's licenses later in 2025." All UK government services that provide paper or card credentials will be expected to offer a digital alternative by 2027. Traditional physical documents will still be available.Along with CDs, the Walkman, and flip phones, the overflowing drawer rammed with letters from the government and hours spent on hold to get a basic appointment will soon be consigned to history," Kyle said in the announcement. GOV.UK Wallet will mean that every letter or identity document you receive from the government could be issued to you virtually."According to Kyle, the new digital wallet app is intended to give UK citizens more control over their own data, making it easier to prove eligibility for welfare benefits and purchase age-restricted products in stores. People in the UK are currently required to present physical identity documents (if assumed to be underage) when clubbing or purchasing alcohol, running the risk of having them lost or stolen.The UK is also launching a new GOV.UK app in summer 2025 that will allow users to access government information, and, eventually, complete tasks like canceling stolen passports and applying for welfare benefits from their phones.There are also plans to add an AI-powered chatbot, imaginatively called GOV.UK Chat," to the app, which TechCrunch reports was co-developed by OpenAI, and to add ways to make payments and receive timely notifications" for government services.

Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for IMDb IMDb founder and CEO Col Needham is stepping down after launching the website 35 years ago, the Amazon-owned company announced on Tuesday. Needham will now serve as executive chair. IMDb chief operating officer Nikki Santoro will take over as CEO.Needham started building the database that later became IMDb in 1990. He remained CEO even after selling the website to Amazon in 1998, overseeing major changes like the rollout of its IMDbPro subscription and an update that lets professionals hide their age.Santoro joined IMDb in 2016 and became COO in 2021. She has helped expand the site's database and build out IMDbPro, according to IMDb's leadership page.As executive chair, Needham will still provide strategic guidance, consult on key initiatives, and serve as a global ambassador" for the company, according to IMDb's press release.[Santoro's] track record of driving growth and enhancing our products and services makes her the ideal person to guide IMDb into a new era," Needham says in a statement. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Nikki and the talented IMDb team in my new role as we build on IMDb's legacy and shape the future of entertainment information."

Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images CapCut, the ByteDance-owned video editing app that's subject to the same ban as TikTok, is working again in the US.Users who have the app downloaded have seen a notice on Tuesday welcoming them back to the service and thanking them for their patience and support." The notice appears to come after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the night after his inauguration instructing federal enforcers not to take action against service providers subject to the law for 75 days. Screenshot by The Verge While the order was meant to quash concerns for service providers that could face billions in fines for violating federal law and maintaining the app now that the sale deadline has passed, legal experts say it does little to actually dispense of the legal risk. Perhaps as a result, even though some of CapCut's US service providers appear to be cooperating with Trump's wishes to get the app back online, it still doesn't appear in Apple or Google's app stores - similar to TikTok.Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, apps owned by China-based ByteDance were required to be sold to a non-adversary entity by January 19th to continue operating in the US. Instead of making a deal, however, the company pursued its legal options and ultimately lost at the Supreme Court. Trump is now trying to broker a joint venture" that gives the US 50 percent ownership over TikTok to save it from the ban, though that idea also appears to have its own risky legal implications.

Image: Infold Games Clear some room in your closet, stylists: Infinity Nikki's next update is coming soon bringing with it new content, new locations to explore, and most importantly, new outfits. The Firework Season starts January 23rd. The update will be themed around Lunar New Year celebrations, starting a new Mira Journey battle pass while offering limited-time quests and a new area to explore.Infinity Nikki's official website has previews of what outfits will be available as well as a full breakdown of all the new content. Since Nikki is a gacha game, there are a number of premium outfits to try and earn. But developer Infold is also offering three outfits in three colors for a total of nine different outfits all for free. I'm particularly intrigued by the Radiant Night outfit as it looks like as a high-fashion version of Resident Evil VII's Lady Dimitrescu. Check it out as the website also has codes players can use to redeem helpful in-game items. Infinity Nikki has also released a trailer for the update showing off the Firework Isles, the new location that will be available during the season. Expect the the area to be chock full of scenic vistas for stylists to take their best pictures including a magical horse-drawn carriage that zooms through the sky.The game's also adding a new boss encounter, The Dark Bouquet, which will probably be added to the Realm of the Dark boss list for players to challenge weekly. The Infinity Nikki soundtrack is also launching on select music platforms which is a welcome development considering some of those tracks - especially the one for the Ghost Train dungeon - are incredibly funky for a generally lighthearted dress-up game. Fireworks Season starts January 23rd and lasts until February 25th.

The Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo Hybrid Instant Camera is expected to be available starting in February 2025 for$349.95. | Image: Fujifilm Fujifilm has announced a new hybrid instant camera coming to its Instax line that doubles as a smartphone printer. The new Instax Wide Evo Hybrid instant camera is similar to the Instax Mini Evo that Fujifilm launched in the US in 2022, but as its name implies, it instead uses Instax's Wide format instant film that produces prints that are twice as wide.The Instax Wide Evo will be available starting sometime in February 2025 for $349.95. It will launch alongside a matching black case for $49.99 that allows the camera to be used without removing it completely, and a new version of Fujifilm's Instax Wide instant film featuring a brushed metallic border effect in a $24.99 10-pack.In addition to being much larger than the Instax Mini Evo to accommodate the wider film stock, the new Instax Wide Evo features a 15.67mm lens, which is the widest used on any Instax camera to date. It allows you to snap wide-angle images to capture more of a scene, but it can also be turned off using a toggle switch if you prefer a closer crop. Image: Fujifilm There's no viewfinder, so you'll need to rely on a 3.5-inch screen on the back for framing shots. There's no viewfinder, but the back of the camera has a 3.5-inch LCD display for framing shots as well as navigating menus for effects, settings, and editing images. On the front of the camera a small mirror can be used to frame selfies. Fujifilm says the Instax Wide Evo's battery has enough charge to print up to 100 images, and there's a microSD card slot to boost the camera's storage capacity. Out of the box its internal memory can only hold about 45 images. Image: Fujifilm The Instax Wide Evo features several dials and a rotating lens for selecting various effects and dialing in the intensity. Like the Instax Mini Evo, the new Instax Wide Evo offers 10 lens effects and 10 film effects that can be combined (only two at at time) for a wider range of creativity. The intensity of the effects can also be adjusted using a Degree Control, which is controlled by a ring on the lens. Dials on either side of the camera let you scroll through the various lens and film effects.For photographers feeling a bit nostalgic for film, the Instax Wide Evo also offers five additional film style customizations that add effects like film strip holes, a retro contact sheet look," or the date and time superimposed in the corner of an image. The camera even has a small crank with a pop-out handle - similar to what film cameras used to advance exposures - that's instead used to start printing. Image: Fujifilm The Instax Wide Evo wirelessly connects to a smartphone app over Bluetooth and doubles as a portable printer. The Instax Wide Evo can also be used as a printer when wirelessly connected over Bluetooth to a smartphone running its free iOS or Android mobile app. You can print images from your phone's camera roll, or use your smartphone as a wireless remote for the Instax Wide Evo, letting you join group shots without the need for a timer. The app even has a Discover Feed featuring images from other users, and lets you share your own if you're looking for yet another social media fix.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images In his executive actions on day one of his presidency, Donald Trump rescinded an executive order Joe Biden signed in 2023 to establish safety guidelines for generative AI.The Biden-era order required developers of large AI models like OpenAI's GPT lineup to share the results of safety tests with the US government. It also directed the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop standards for safety testing, and it tasked other federal agencies with assessing any potential chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, cybersecurity, or critical infrastructure risks AI might pose.Biden's action also included measures meant to protect workers and consumers. It commissioned a report on how AI might affect the labor market and asked agencies to develop practices for addressing AI-enabled fraud and discriminatory algorithms.Donald Trump axed all that yesterday as he signed a flurry of new executive orders. One of his first actions was to rescind 78 Biden-era executive actions, including Executive Order 14110 on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence."Trump has made the development of new AI tools a priority for his administration. His inauguration was stacked with tech heavyweights, some of whom donated to the president's inauguration budget. Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Shou Zi Chew, Sundar Pichai, and Sam Altman were all reported in attendance yesterday.The stage is now set for a showdown over the European Union's AI Act that passed last year, which created transparency requirements and bars certain uses of AI.Other measures the Biden administration put in place to boost AI development in the US may have a better shot at surviving. Before leaving office this month, Biden announced a new regulatory framework restricting some international sharing of AI chips and models. Biden also issued an executive order in January meant to speed the development of AI data centers on federal land.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram is taking advantage of TikTok's absence from app stores by offering creators large cash bonuses to exclusively post Reels on the platform, according to a report from The Information. The bonuses reportedly range from $10,000 to $50,000 per month and require creators to post their short-form videos on Instagram before publishing them to other platforms, like TikTok.Meta has boosted payouts for creators to compete with TikTok in the past - but the big bonuses don't seem to last. In 2021, Instagram launched a Reels bonus program, but in 2022, creators said the platform had begun slashing their payments until the program was axed completely in 2023.The report of new bonuses comes at a chaotic time for TikTok, which went dark in the US to comply with the federal divest-or-ban law that came into force on January 19th. Though the app started coming back online on Sunday, it still hasn't returned to app stores. President Donald Trump also signed an executive order delaying its ban.The Verge reached out to Meta with a request for comment but didn't immediately hear back.Within the past week, Instagram has announced a series of updates that appear to cater to TikTok creators. Along with changing the format of profile grids from squares to rectangles, Instagram also extended the maximum length of Reels to three minutes. Instagram head Adam Mosseri also revealed that the company is working on a new video editing and creation app designed to compete directly with CapCut, which is owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance.All this might not be enough to attract TikTok creators, as some aren't happy with Meta's reversal on fact-checking and policy changes that seem designed to appease the new administration.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Samsung is set to announce its Galaxy S25 phones at its Galaxy Unpacked event tomorrow, January 22nd at 1PM ET. The event typically focuses on its next smartphones and software features, which you can bet includes lots of AI, but there should be some other things here and there, too. Here's what we're expecting and how you can watch along.How you can watch Galaxy UnpackedSamsung will stream the event on YouTube, its website, and its newsroom page, and we'll post about the announcements as they happen right here on The Verge. We expect the company to reveal the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra.What we expect Samsung to announceIt sounds like we're getting more of the same with those phones, except for the S25 Ultra, which is expected to receive design tweaks like slightly rounder corners. That's at least according to a preview in a set of leaked renders that hit the internet last week. The company has said its 2025 Galaxy devices will have Qi2 wireless charging support, but it's possible that only means they're Qi2 Ready" phones that need a magnetic case to get the full MagSafe-like experience. Images: Android Headlines Recently leaked renders showed what you can expect from the next Galaxy S25 phones. The phones will run Samsung's tweaked version of Android 15, One UI 7, which launched in beta last month with features like an iPhone Dynamic Island-like Now Bar," a redesigned camera app, and the ability to disable HDR content to avoid being ambushed by overly-bright videos in your social feeds. The company said yesterday that One UI 7 seamlessly integrates AI agents and multimodal capabilities into every touch point." Expect more along those lines during the event.It seems unlikely Samsung will unveil a Galaxy S25 Slim" phone. A recent leak suggested the phone won't launch in the US. There's also a chance the company will talk more about the Project Moohan" VR headset my colleague Victoria Song previewed in December.

The Galaxy S25 phones will probably look a lot like the S24 and S24 Plus. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge I take no pleasure in saying this, but if the rumors about the Galaxy S25 series are true, then these phones look boring as hell. That would be fine, except that Samsung is asking us all to get very excited about them by hosting a big, loud launch event. And I think it's time for Samsung - and honestly, the industry as a whole - to look in the mirror and ask: do we really need this?I'm not saying Samsung or any other tech company should throw a bunch of spaghetti at the wall and cram some questionably useful stuff into their phones just for the sake of it. That helps nobody. It's just that getting up onstage and declaring that these phones are fundamentally different and new should be a truly special occasion. And that used to be true! But now, it's just a thing we do every year that feels a lot like the thing we did last year. Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge This year's Ultra will probably look a lot like last year's Ultra, give or take some rounded edges. In this particular season of mobile innovation, hardware just isn't as important as it once was. Take the iPhone 16; the launch event centered so much on software features that Apple called... Read the full story at The Verge.

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images President Donald Trump has issued an executive order telling the Department of Justice to not enforce a rule that demands TikTok spin off from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or face a ban.The order, issued on Trump's first day in office, is meant to effectively extend the deadline established by the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act for ByteDance to sell its stake by undercutting penalties on American companies like Apple and Google working with TikTok. It directs the attorney general not to take any action to enforce the Act for a period of 75 days from today to allow my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way." The AG is supposed to issue a letter to each provider stating that there has been no violation of the statute and that there is no liability for any conduct that occurred."The order furthermore instructs the Department of Justice to take no action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act" and says they should be barred from doing so for any conduct that occurred during the above-specified period or any period prior to the issuance of this order, including the period of time from January 19, 2025, to the signing of this order."

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Donald Trump has once again taken the US out of the landmark Paris climate agreement, abandoning the global effort to limit climate change. Trump signed an executive order today to exit.The Paris accord was adopted in 2015, committing nearly 200 countries including the US to working together to stop global average temperatures from rising much higher than they have already. 2024 was the hottest year on record, beating the previous record set in 2023.Scrapping efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the US can have repercussions for Americans and people around the world. The US was already the biggest historical emitter of planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions and the world's leading oil and gas producer, giving it big sway in global climate negotiations. Within America's borders, billion-dollar weather and climate disasters have already grown more prevalent (adjusted for inflation) in recent years.Exiting the Paris agreement is in clear defiance of scientific realities and shows an administration cruelly indifferent to the harsh climate change impacts that people in the United States and around the world are experiencing," Rachel Cleetus, policy director and lead economist for the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in an emailed statement.Our planet's climate has stayed relatively stable for the last 11,000 years or so, supporting the rise of agriculture and civilization as we know it, until the Industrial Revolution. The Paris agreement aims to keep global temperatures within roughly the same temperature range, preventing warming of more than 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius.It might not seem like a big difference in temperature, but climate change has already become severe enough to supercharge weather-related disasters across the US including wildfires still burning around Los Angeles that leveled entire communities this month.Trump took the US out of the Paris accord the last time he was in office. Former President Joe Biden recommitted upon stepping into office in 2021. Now, the US will join Iran, Libya, and Yemen as the only countries not on board with the international agreement. It'll take one year from the date the Trump administration sends notification to the United Nations before US withdrawal from the Paris agreement will be official.

Photo by Alex Wong / Getty Images Brendan Carr is now formally the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, giving him the power to set the agency's agenda and usher through a host of regulations with major implications for the tech and media industries as soon as he has a Republican majority.In a statement, Carr named a few areas of focus: issues ranging from tech and media regulation to unleashing new opportunities for jobs and growth through agency actions on spectrum, infrastructure, and the space economy."Carr's priorities might also be gleaned from a document you might have already heard about: Project 2025. That's because he authored the FCC chapter of the Heritage Foundation's wishlist for a Donald Trump presidency. In that chapter, Carr proposes actions including: limiting immunity for tech companies under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, requiring disclosures about how platforms prioritize content, requiring tech companies to pay into a program that funds broadband access in rural areas, and more, quickly approving applications to launch satellites from companies like Elon Musk's Starlink.Carr also wrote about protecting the US from security threats stemming from China, including by addressing TikTok's threat to national security." Whether that's something Carr takes up as chair now seems more in doubt, as Trump has changed his tune on the app's danger to the US. While Trump was the first to try to ban TikTok from the US, he's now positioning himself as its savior - putting China and TikTok hawk Carr in a tricky position.The new FCC chair has also indicated that he could use his power to revoke spectrum licenses for networks over their decisions to host speech when he deems it a violation of the equal time rule. This came up in a scuffle about NBC's hosting of Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live before the election - though the network seemed to comply with the rules for giving candidates similar time and placement on public airwaves by offering Trump an appearance on air later on.Regardless, Carr will need a third Republican vote on the commission to approve any measures that are not bipartisan in nature. Trump has nominated Olivia Trusty, a former Senate aide, to join the commission, pending Senate confirmation.Trump's pick to lead the Federal Trade Commission is also now in place. Andrew Ferguson, who was already serving as a commissioner, has a reported agenda that echoes parts of Carr's. It includes a desire to hold big tech accountable and stop censorship" and also to protect freedom of speech and fight wokeness."Correction, January 21st: An earlier version of this article said Mark Meador had been nominated to join Carr. Meador has been nominated to join the FTC, not the FCC.