The Verge - All Posts

The original Steam Controller, and a prototype that preceded it. | Image: Sean Hollister / The Verge Two years ago, Valve told The Verge it wanted a successor to its cult classic Steam Controller, whose incredibly customizable buttons and touchpads paved the way for the Steam Deck handheld PC. Now, Valve watcher Brad Lynch claims a Steam Controller 2 - codename Ibex" - is actually getting made.His sources tell him the Steam Controller 2 is currently being tooled for mass production, and it's apparently not the only new Valve gamepad on the way!

Image: Netflix Netflix is releasing a documentary next month about Ilya Dutch" Lichtenstein and Heather Razzlekhan" Morgan called Biggest Heist Ever - and the company's timing couldn't be better, as Lichtenstein and Morgan, a married couple, were both recently sentenced to prison for laundering stolen Bitcoin that would now be worth more than $11 billion.Based on a trailer for the documentary, Biggest Heist Ever seems like it could be fascinating and wildly entertaining. These were some of the more unique people we encountered," says one person featured in the trailer. They were the first aspiring rappers that I arrested, that's for sure." (That last quote is in reference to Morgan's rap career under her Razzlekhan persona. The songs are bad.)L... Continue reading...

British automaker Jaguar is changing its branding for a new era" as it prepares to fulfill its plan to go all-electric for its lineup, with the first new model slated to launch in 2026. The automaker has revealed a new logo that changes the font, spaces out the letters, and uses a mix of upper and lowercase letters.This is a reimagining that recaptures the essence of Jaguar, returning it to the values that once made it so loved, but making it relevant for a contemporary audience," writes Jaguar Land Rover's chief creative officer Gerry McGovern. While at a press event, McGovern told journalists his team had not been sniffing the white stuff - this is real," according to Car Dealer Magazine.Jaguar is taking the contemporary" quite... Continue reading...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Google is tightening its rules against parasite SEO" content, or articles and pages that often have little to do with the site's focus but that exploit the website's Google ranking.An example of parasite SEO content is a news blog that publishes online shopping coupon codes in a hidden part of its website or an educational site publishing unrelated affiliate marketing content. In March, Google announced it would crack down on this kind of site reputation abuse," and now it's making it clear that it doesn't matter if the publisher created the content themselves or outsourced it - it's a search policy violation regardless.Since launching the policy, we've reviewed situations where there might be varying degrees of first-party... Continue reading...

Nanoleaf's smart ceiling lights are exceptionally bright and deliver some cool lighting effects perfect for setting the mood. | Image: Nanoleaf If you want to brighten up your home as the days get darker, Nanoleaf's ceiling lights will bring a bit of the sun in. Normally $249.99, right now you can buy the three-pack Nanoleaf Skylight Smarter Kit at an all-time low price of $199.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and directly from Nanoleaf.Nanoleaf designed the full-color LED ceiling lights so they mimic a skylight, and that they do very well. All of the tunable lights radiate 4,200 lumens of brightness, illuminating any home even on the darkest winter day. You can even choose from nature-inspired lighting animations like shooting stars" and sun shower," so it's as if you're really peering up right through your ceiling into the sky.Along with brightening up your house, the lights also... Continue reading...

Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The holidays are expensive, but they don't have to be. From fitness trackers to smart speakers, here are the best gifts under $50. Continue reading...

Image: Sony Sony announced its new A1 II pro-focused mirrorless camera during today's livestream from its Creative Space event in New York City. The camera has various speed and performance improvements over its predecessor, plus a fast new zoom lens to accompany it.The $6,499 A1 II sports a 50.1-megapixel full-frame stacked sensor that's capable of shooting full-resolution RAW photos at 30 frames per second and up to 8K video at 30p (as well as 4K video at 120p). That's not very different from the original A1, but the sequel model is adopting the body design of Sony's A9 III with a slightly taller grip and improved ergonomics, an in-body image stabilizer capable of a claimed 8.5 stops of correction, and a speed boost button and pre-capture... Continue reading...

Control. | Image: Remedy Entertainment We already knew that the supernatural thriller Control was getting a sequel, but now Remedy has provided some more details on the game. Well, one major detail: Control 2 will be an action RPG, seemingly deviating from the action-adventure template set by the original.The news came during an investors presentation, in which the studio revealed a few other tidbits about its franchises: Alan Wake 2 has sold over 1.8 million copies, the ultimate edition" of Control hits Mac on February 12th, and it will also be getting a free update of some kind next year that will unlock previously released content."A large part of the presentation was devoted to Remedy's ambitious plan to build out an interconnected universe, which will span not only... Continue reading...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge From the unbeatable Switch Pro and comfy Joy-Con alternatives to a dongle that lets you use your Xbox or PlayStation controllers with your Switch, these are the best Switch controllers you can get. Continue reading...

The update will first come to the Galaxy Watch 6 before arriving on previous Wear OS models. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge There's good news if you've got an older Samsung Galaxy Watch: the company announced today that it's finally begun rolling out One UI 6 Watch to its older Wear OS smartwatches.One UI 6 Watch is Samsung's take on Wear OS 5, and brings with it a host of new features. On the health and fitness front, that includes AI-powered health tips, FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection, and Energy Score, a new metric for gauging recovery from exercise and physical stress. (You can read more about how these three features work in our Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Ring, and Ultra reviews.) Meanwhile, the new Workout Routine feature allows you to create a custom workout by combining various activity types. Also included is the Race feature for runners and... Continue reading...

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge There are all kinds of reasons you might want to record what's happening on your Android screen, from capturing your gaming exploits to trying to explain to a family member how to fix a problem they're having with their favorite app.And when you do need this function, you'll find it built right into Android (as it is on iOS). Since Android 11 launched in 2020, you haven't needed a third-party app for the job - though you can still use one if you need extra features.Here's how to get screen recordings on Android, as tested with both a Pixel 8 running Android 15 and a Galaxy Z Fold 5 running Android 14 (One UI 6.1.1). If you need more options, there are a couple of third-party apps mentioned at the end.Screen recording on a Google Pixel... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Microsoft Teams meetings are getting a new interpreter feature that lets each participant speak or listen in the language of their choosing. Interpreter in Teams uses real-time AI-powered speech-to-speech translation to simulate your speaking voice during meetings.A preview will be available in early 2025 that will include up to nine languages, and the ability for the interpreter feature to simulate your personal voice in a different language.It's part of a series of AI-powered changes coming to Microsoft Teams. Meeting transcription will soon support multilingual meetings, so that up to 31 translation languages will be supported for a meeting transcript. Image: Microsoft The Microsoft Teams Super Resolution... Continue reading...

The Verge At Microsoft's Ignite conference today the software giant is introducing Copilot Actions, a new way for Microsoft 365 Copilot users to automate repetitive tasks. Microsoft is also adding AI agents to SharePoint, allowing PowerPoint to translate entire presentations, and improving how Copilot works in Outlook to find the best time for meetings.Copilot Actions, now in private preview, enables anyone to automate repetitive everyday tasks. That could include automating a summary of meeting actions from Teams meetings, generating weekly reports, or even automating meeting prep. Copilot Actions are designed to be something you set and forget, much like an AI-powered macro that goes off and does its thing based on some fill-in-the-blank... Continue reading...

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is planning to launch a new purpose-built miniature PC for its Windows 365 cloud service next year. Windows 365 Link is a $349 device that acts like a thin client PC to connect to the cloud and stream a version of Windows 11.The Link device is designed to be a compact, fanless, and easy to use cloud PC for your local monitors and peripherals. It's meant to be the ideal companion to Microsoft's Windows 365 service, which lets businesses transition employees over to virtual machines that exist in the cloud and can be streamed securely to multiple devices.We want the focus of Link to be the Windows 365 part of it," explains Pavan Davuluri, Microsoft's head of Windows and Surface, in an interview with The Verge. We want to make... Continue reading...

New V4 cabinet and Supercharger stalls. | Image: Tesla Tesla will launch fully realized V4 Supercharger stations that support up to 500kW charging for EVs and 1.2MW for Tesla's commercial Semi trucks next year. Sites with new V4 cabinets are going into permitting now. When they open next year, they'll connect the charging stalls EVs plug into with upgraded electronics that support faster charging on Cybertruck and other manufacturers' EVs.Tesla started rolling out the V4 stalls in Europe and limited places in the US last year. However, their power cabinets are limited to the capabilities of V3 Supercharger stations that support 250kW max charging. The updated V4 stalls include new physical payment terminals, longer cords that can reach the charge ports of other manufacturers' EVs without... Continue reading...

Image: Cath Virginia/ The Verge A group of state attorneys general are pushing Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which has stalled in the House of Representatives thanks to concerns over online censorship. An open letter published today is signed by 32 attorneys general, including those of 31 states and the District of Columbia. It urges leaders of both parties in the House and Senate to vote on the bill before the current congressional session ends early next year.While an increasingly online world has improved many aspects of our material well-being, prolific internet usage negatively impacts our children," reads the letter, whose signatories include the attorneys general of Florida, New Mexico, and New York. KOSA will establish better safeguards... Continue reading...

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge The Department of Justice is planning to ask for Google's antitrust trial judge to force the company to sell off its Chrome browser after the judge ruled the company has maintained an illegal search monopoly, reports Bloomberg.Chrome is the world's most widely used browser, and the government's lawyers have argued that its use in cross-promoting Google's products is one of the things limiting available channels and incentives for competition to grow.Requirements that officials are preparing to propose include that Google separate Android from Search and Google Play, but without trying to force Google to sell off Android. Another requirement would say it has to share more information with advertisers and that it give them more control... Continue reading...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Emails in Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI expose the startup's rocky origins. Continue reading...

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Google might be preparing to make big changes to its laptop and tablet hardware by making the software on its Chromebooks resemble what you'd find on a tablet. One report from Android Authority suggests that Google has a multi-year project" in the works for migrating ChromeOS to Android, while a second one from the same outlet indicates Google may be planning a second Pixel tablet that comes with a foldable keyboard cover.That tracks with the moves Google has made in recent months.In June, Google announced that ChromeOS will soon be developed on large portions of the Android stack" to make the engineering process easier and bring AI features to ChromeOS faster. Google also merged its Android and hardware teams, began testing desktop... Continue reading...