The Verge

Apple is hosting a "special Apple experience" in New York City on Wednesday, March 4th at 9AM ET, instead of at the Apple Park location it typically uses for events. It's also hosting press in the cities of London and Shanghai at the same time. The invitation includes the words "You're invited" and an Apple [...]

Today, let's talk about the camera company Ring, lost dogs, and the surveillance state. You probably saw this ad during the Super Bowl a couple of weekends ago: Since it aired for a massive audience at the Super Bowl, Ring's Search Party commercial has become a lightning rod for controversy - it's easy to see [...]

Sony and Nintendo are reportedly feeling squeezed by RAM shortages as demand from AI data centers takes up an increasing share of memory chip production. In response to rising costs and dwindling chip supplies, Sony is considering pushing back the release of its next PlayStation console "to 2028 or even 2029," according to industry sources [...]

Samsung has released a new advertisement for its upcoming Galaxy S26 launch that all-but confirms rumors of a new display with a built-in privacy mode. Leaked videos show that the feature could be capable of entirely blacking out content from specific apps or parts of the display when viewed at an angle. The new advert [...]

TikTok creator ByteDance says that it is working to improve safeguards on its new AI video generator after Disney, Paramount, and Hollywood trade groups accused the tool of violating copyright protections. Concerns were raised after hyperrealistic videos generated by the Seedance 2.0 model went viral last week, with the likeness of actors, such as Tom [...]

Two hours before one of the most important live events in Netflix's history, LA's sprawling CBS Radford Studio Center is abuzz with the strangest combination of things. As I walk through one cavernous soundstage on a Tuesday afternoon, I hear multiple people warming up their voices to sing. I pass a man carefully waving a [...]

Sam Altman announced on X that Peter Steinberger, the man behind the trendy AI agent OpenClaw, was joining OpenAI. He said that Steinberger has "a lot of amazing ideas" about getting AI agents to interact with each other, saying "the future is going to be extremely multi-agent." He also said that this ability for agents [...]

Let me just say that I highly recommend you go into Possession blind. Don't watch a trailer. Don't even finish reading this. Go watch it now over on Shudder, Criterion, or Metrograph. It's also available through Kanopy or Hoopla if your library provides access. Then come back so we can talk about it in the [...]

After a few weeks living with Casio's AI-powered pet, Moflin, I finally understand why my mother hated my Furby so much. The fuzzy, guinea-pig-adjacent puffball fits snugly in the palm of my hand. It's undeniably cute, in a weird kind of way, but the second it starts to squeak or twitch, I am hit with [...]

Enthusiast gaming keyboard tech has made the jump to gaming mice - well, to one gaming mouse so far. The $179.99 Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike is the first to feature analog sensors that use induction to register clicks faster than microswitches used in many mice. Those sensors allow for a host of cool features [...]

With Apple's second-gen AirTags now widely available, we're already seeing inventory of the first-gen model begin to dwindle. Case in point? Amazon is no longer selling a single AirTag, and it's unclear when - or if - the retailer will restock the first-gen model. Thankfully, you can still grab a four-pack of the first-gen location [...]

Many of the emails released by the Department of Justice from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein are full of garbled symbols like: Or: The scrambled text is so ubiquitous that it's spurred conspiracy theories that it could be some kind of code. But as believable as it might be that a cabal of elite sex [...]

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about video game industry's pushback against generative AI, follow Jay Peters. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Long before the generative AI explosion, [...]

The folks behind Jmail are at it again with a clone of Wikipedia that turns the treasure trove of data in Epstein's emails into detailed dossiers on his associates. Entries include known visits to Epstein's properties, possible knowledge of Epstein's crimes, and laws that they might have broken. The reports are dense, listing how many [...]

Buying a pre-assembled gaming desktop makes sense for some. It can save you time and money, too, compared to buying PC components piecemeal. If you're weighing your options, consider some Presidents Day offers on iBuyPower's pre-built desktops, including the $1,899 RDY Element 9 Pro R07 and the $2,099.99 Slate - both of which are stocked [...]

Georgia Tech has announced the finalists in its annual Guthman Musical Instrument Competition. Every year, for the last 28 years, the school invites inventors from around the world to submit new instruments of their own design to compete for $10,000 in prizes. Past finalists have included founding members of Teenage Engineering, Artiphon, and Roli. And [...]

My ongoing quest to turn my iPhone into one of my favorite consoles of all time has led me to a curiously named controller. GameSir's Pocket Taco is only barely pocketable, and distinctly lacking in taco fillings, but for $35, it's an excellent and easy way to turn your phone into a Game Boy-inspired handheld [...]

In an eyewitness video analyzed frame by frame by The New York Times, Alex Pretti raises one hand and holds a phone in the other. Federal agents tackle him, and one appears to find and remove a gun holstered on his hip. Then, an agent shoots - and a second follows. They appear to fire [...]

Hopping over a pile of dirty snow, I arrived on a frigid February evening at a wine bar in midtown, a purple neon sign reading "EVA AI cafe." Inside, several people were seated at tables and booths, staring at phones. Servers milled about, placing mini potato croquettes and nonalcoholic spritzers on each table. Like many [...]

Colonialism is not merely about occupying nations. It's a project of mass violence, part of which involves total erasure and the widespread theft of some of the most culturally significant artifacts in the world. Even today, colonizing nations proudly display stolen artifacts, acting as peacocking robbers under the guise of tourism. See, for example, the [...]

Monday, February 16th, is Presidents Day, and there are plenty of good deals happening on tech in the run-up to the holiday. Even if you don't snag any huge upgrades, though, you likely already own multiple gadgets that you need to recharge each and every day. It would sure be nice to be able to [...]

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 116, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, happy National Ferris Wheel Day to all those who celebrate, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I've been reading about Letterboxd and Mike [...]

The most striking thing about Ring's statement that it had parted ways with Flock Safety is what the home security company didn't say. There was no mention of the public backlash around ties to ICE, or any promise to address users' concerns about the company's relationships with law enforcement. In an increasingly authoritarian political climate, [...]

It's been eight years since I last reviewed a robot vacuum. Having spent the last two months with a new flagship, I'm shocked by how much they've advanced from early bump-and-run models. In October, DJI launched its very first robovacs in Europe. I've been testing the top-of-the-line Romo P model, which doesn't yet have a [...]

Sammy Azdoufal claims he wasn't trying to hack every robot vacuum in the world. He just wanted to remote control his brand-new DJI Romo vacuum with a PS5 gamepad, he tells The Verge, because it sounded fun. But when his homegrown remote control app started talking to DJI's servers, it wasn't just one vacuum cleaner [...]

The close timing of Jeffrey Epstein coming into contact with 4chan founder Chris 'moot' Poole and the launch of the "politically incorrect" message board /pol/ that became a breeding ground for QAnon and the white supremacist alt-right movement was coincidental, says Poole. In a statement given to The Verge, Pool writes, "The decision to add [...]

Valentine's Day is often thought of as the quintessential Hallmark holiday - and why wouldn't it be? Most of the time, it's marketed to us with massive floral arrangements and heart-shaped chocolates, both of which can come off as borderline twee. But no one says you have to play by the rulebook when it comes [...]

If you like how well AirPods work with iPhones but want something more colorful and flexible, the Beats Studio Buds Plus are a nice middle ground. They're platform-agnostic and are on sale for $99.95 ($70 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart for Presidents Day. The deal includes the eye-catching translucent option and is [...]

User reviews on Steam may get more informative after a Steam Client Beta update released on Thursday, which adds an option for users to attach their hardware specs to game reviews. Steam users have always been able to share their specs in the text of their reviews, but the option to automatically include that data [...]

The past few days have been a wild ride for xAI, which is racking up staff and cofounder departure announcements left and right. On Tuesday and Wednesday, cofounder Yuhuai (Tony) Wu announced his departure and that it was "time for [his] next chapter," with cofounder Jimmy Ba following with a similar post later that day, [...]

During the 2024 presidential election, @KamalaHQ was something of an alter ego for Vice President Kamala Harris - as Harris ran a buttoned-up campaign, the online accounts shared clips of her set to viral TikTok sounds, shitposted unflattering pictures of Donald Trump, and adopted a voice that was at times indistinguishable from the average 20-something [...]

Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. Last week, we spoke to executives from the company for the first time, and this week we're back with more details on how it began. Trump Mobile may bear the US president's name, but he didn't come up with the idea, and [...]

As part of its acquisition by China-based Picea Robotics, iRobot is creating a new US-based subsidiary called iRobot Safe, which the company says will be "responsible for the protection of US consumer data," similar to the TikTok deal that was completed last month. iRobot customers in the US will be able to continue using their [...]

You can watch Ring's recent Super Bowl ad and see a cute story about dogs being reunited with their families. You can also watch the very same ad and see the seeds being planted for a massively connected, utterly ubiquitous surveillance system that will end the concept of privacy forever. Maybe you can even see [...]

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. For the past week, I've been thinking about the fact that Oura has gone to Washington. The Oura [...]

Valentine's Day often comes with more pressure than it needs to. At heart, though, February 14th is about showing appreciation for the people you care about in ways that feel thoughtful and sincere. And while big displays of romance can do that, it's often the quieter, more personal gestures - or a meaningful gift that [...]

Meta's VR strategy is in a bit of an uncertain place right now, with the company recently cutting many jobs at its Reality Labs, and discontinuing new content drops in beloved experiences like Supernatural. Even so, there's still a lot of fun to be had with its Meta Quest 3S if you've been curious about [...]

We sat in a parking lot and waited. We watched, knowing we were being watched in return. Two men, masked and presumably armed, idled in a gray SUV. "They're all on this fucking street now," Lety, a lifelong resident of the Minnesota suburbs, told me. ICE had been spotted at a gas station and a [...]

Meta aims to introduce facial recognition to its smart glasses while its biggest critics are distracted, according to a report from The New York Times. In an internal document reviewed by The Times, Meta says it will launch the feature "during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to [...]

Following the popularity of the Kodak Charmera, it was inevitable that other retro-inspired digital toy cameras would start popping up. While the Charmera's design was inspired by the '80s single-use Kodak Fling camera, the OPT100 Neo Film crams a basic digital camera into a 35mm film roll that comes inside a plastic canister and a [...]

When the Mewgenics team announced in 2024 that it had added autism to the list of disorders the game's cats could inherit, developer Edmund McMillen - best known as the co-creator of Super Meat Boy - was unprepared for the reaction. "It was like the most positive response I've ever had to anything I posted," [...]

There's been some hullabaloo over HP's laptop subscription service, recently brought to light by a Linus Tech Tips video. And for good reason: it feels like everything is a subscription these days. But it's not just the dystopian feeling that companies are happy to sell you access to movies, music, games, phones, printers, and now [...]

Tenways just launched its new CGO Compact electric bike in Europe that's designed to fit into tight spaces like car trunks, apartment hallways, and train compartments. To achieve this, the CGO Compact is fitted with small 20-inch wheels, folding pedals, and a handlebar fitted with a twistable stem to create a slim, wall-hugging profile. The [...]

To close out its February 2026 State of Play presentation, Sony revealed God of War Sons of Sparta, a new prequel 2D side scroller in the God of War franchise, and announced that it's out right now on PlayStation 5. "God of War Sons of Sparta is a 2D action platformer with a canon story [...]

Following intense backlash to its partnership with Flock Safety, a surveillance technology company that works with law enforcement agencies, Ring has announced it is canceling the integration. In a statement published on Ring's blog and provided to The Verge ahead of publication, the company said: "Following a comprehensive review, we determined the planned Flock Safety [...]

Strap in, because the next PlayStation event is going to be a long one. Sony's latest State of Play - a showcase event for upcoming PS5 games - kicks off on February 12th at 5PM ET and it'll last more than an hour. We don't know what exactly will be shown. Sony says that the [...]

The Trump administration just eliminated the landmark finding that has underpinned federal regulations on planet-heating pollution since 2009. For nearly the past two decades, the "endangerment finding" has allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to craft rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Rather than repealing those rules individually, the Trump administration [...]

Whether you're considering a 16-inch gaming laptop, or a more compact 14-inch model, there's a deal with your name on it happening right now at Best Buy. The 2025 models of Acer's Predator Helios Neo 16S and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 are hundreds off, although it's the model with the bigger screen that is [...]

Spring doesn't officially kick off until March 20th, but there's something to be said about getting a head start on your spring cleaning. Lucky for you, Eufy's X10 Pro Omni is currently on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and directly from Eufy (with promo code WS7DV2D5LF9F) for $449.99 ($450 off), matching its lowest price to date. [...]