The Verge

Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. As usual, we're still waiting for a response. In the meantime, I finally got a reply from a company exec. After months - months - of emailing various official Trump [...]

In case you missed it, we recently overhauled our guides to the best budget robot vacuums and the best mopping vacs, both of which feature a slate of new picks from Roborock, Narwal, Dreame, and others. Dyson's 360 Vis Nav Robot Vacuum didn't technically make the cut, though it was once one of our top [...]

What responsibility do you have to speak up about bad things happening in the world? Does that responsibility change when speaking up might affect your business? What about if you're a sports creator, or the moderator of a deeply NSFW subreddit? What about if you're just a little ol' phone website? Ultimately, everyone has to [...]

The Trump administration has flooded Minneapolis and other parts of Minnesota with federal agents as part of its immigration crackdown, Operation Metro Surge -detaining children, intimidating protestors and community organizers, and killing multiple people. Minnesotans have responded with mass community-level resistance, including mutual aid and tracking ICE operations, despite threats and surveillance -including through systems [...]

The Analogue 3D finally launched late last year with four controller ports on the front supporting the N64's original wired gamepads. If you wanted to go wireless, your best option was the 8BitDo 64 which offered a similar button and joystick layout as the N64's original controllers, but with a modernized design. For a more [...]

For my money, you simply cannot get a better electrocapacitive keyboard than the Bauer Lite with a DynaCap kit. [Editor's note: Huh?] You can get a nicer EC keyboard, without having to build it yourself, by simply spending $3,600 on a Norbauer Seneca. Or you can get a Happy Hacking Keyboard or a Realforce for [...]

So, you're thinking of buying a smart ring. Well, some good news. Picking the best of the lot is incredibly easy right now. The bad" news is that, as far as trustworthiness and reliability, your choices are somewhat limited, as this is still a niche and emerging gadget category. Smart rings are in the middle [...]

As of Saturday, nearly all of Belkin's Wemo smart home devices will lose access to cloud services, including features like remote access and integrations with Google Home and Alexa. Belkin will also end app updates for the Wemo app beginning on January 31st. The shut down was first announced in July and impacts most Wemo [...]

Robot vacuums that can both mop and sweep your floors have improved significantly in recent years. While they are still not as effective as good ol' manual labor, if you run them regularly, they will help keep your floors cleaner with much less effort on your part. The difference is that newer combo" robot vacuum-and-mop [...]

Don Lemon, a former CNN anchor turned independent journalist, was arrested on Thursday night by federal agents in Los Angeles, who alleged that he had violated federal law while covering an anti-ICE protest in Minnesota. Notably, Lemon was not the only journalist targeted by law enforcement for their presence at the Minnesota protest. On Thursday [...]

As a result of cold weather and windy conditions moving through Florida, NASA is now targeting Monday, February 2nd for a wet dress rehearsal of the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Depending on how Monday's rehearsal goes, NASA will potentially set a launch date for Artemis II. But as a result of the [...]

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. Optimizer arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 10AM ET. Opt in for Optimizer here. Unboxing Mirumi is like traveling back in time. It's [...]

The significant problems with the TikTok app last weekend were, according to the company, because of a technical issue stemming from a power outage at a "US data center partner." Users could not upload new videos and view counts were all out of whack, with few answers or explanations. For TikTok, the timing was unfortunate. [...]

Apple TV continues to flesh out its streaming lineup for 2026, this time by announcing that Sugar will be back in the summer. The show's second season will premiere on June 19th and run for eight episodes. Sugar first premiered in 2024. And while it's a noir detective story at its core, thanks to a [...]

Hello, friends. It's time for another exclusive AMA for Verge subscribers, and this time, I'll be your host. I cover everything from wearables to dystopian cursed tech like at-home urine labs and belligerent AI companions. At times, my job calls for flirting with Grok's AI girlfriend for 24 hours or coercing weird AI video apps [...]

The makers of Amazon's Melania documentary have defended its exorbitant cost following accusations of bribery to appease the Trump empire. Amazon paid $40 million to Melania Trump's production company for the film rights and another $35 million for marketing - making it one of the most expensive documentaries ever produced. "I think it's silly because [...]

Anna and Magnus built a life together. They had a home with three kids and a dog. Then they separated. This is where The Love That Remains begins, but as time passes and the reality of their divorce sets in, they're left to move through a future strained by their unraveling. Icelandic director Hlynur Palmason's [...]

Microsoft's PowerToys team is contemplating building a top menu bar for Windows 11, much like Linux, macOS, or older versions of Windows. The menu bar, or Command Palette Dock as Microsoft calls it, would be a new optional UI that provides quick access to tools, monitoring of system resources, and much more. Microsoft has provided [...]

Japan's anti-piracy coalition says that one of the world's largest manga piracy networks has been shut down following a coordinated investigation between Japanese publishers and Chinese authorities. The Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) announced the arrest of an individual on suspicion of copyright infringement on November 19th, who "has admitted to operating" Bato.to and approximately [...]

The US is now leading a global surge in new gas power plants being built in large part to satisfy growing energy demand for data centers. And more gas means more planet-heating pollution. Gas-fired power generation in development globally rose by 31 percent in 2025. Almost a quarter of that added capacity is slated for [...]

Apple says the iPhone had its "best-ever" quarter, with revenue hitting more than $85.3 billion over the past few months. The company announced the news as part of its Q1 2026 earnings report, which also revealed record-breaking revenue of $143.8 billion, up 16 percent when compared to the same time last year. "The demand for [...]

There's never a shortage of weird tech debuting at CES every year. A new company called Tomorrow Doesn't Matter, or TDM, announced a peculiar pair of headphones at the show earlier this month with a feature no one has tried before. The Neo headphones can be rolled up like a hedgehog, which turns them into [...]

A foldable phone isn't for the faint of heart. They're generally heavier, pricier, and have less capable cameras than a standard slab-style phone. They're also still not as durable as regular smartphones, though they're not nearly as fragile as they once were. In fact, thanks to Google, we finally have a foldable phone we can [...]

Elon Musk-led SpaceX may merge with another company helmed by Elon Musk. Reuters initially reported Thursday that SpaceX and xAI are "in discussions to merge" ahead of SpaceX's IPO that's planned for later this year. The merger would help with SpaceX's plans to launch data centers into space, according to the publication. Later on Thursday, [...]

Apple's biggest acquisition ever is still its $3 billion Beats buy in 2014, but now the second biggest deal is bringing in Q.ai, a four-year-old AI audio startup. Apple did not disclose the terms, but Financial Times reports that Apple is spending $2 billion on the company. It also mentioned Q.ai patents for optical sensor [...]

Webcam company Obsbot recently launched two new gimbal-equipped webcams, the $349 Tiny 3 and the $199 Tiny 3 Lite. It claims that the priciest model is the smallest pan, tilt, zoom (PTZ) 4K webcam ever made, weighing 63 grams. Ironically, the Tiny 3 Lite is heavier and bigger. I've been testing the Tiny 3 for [...]

Spotify is expanding its in-app messaging feature with group chats. Now you can add up to 10 friends and family members to your discussion about your new favorite song, podcast, or audiobook, as reported earlier by TechCrunch. The music streaming platform launched direct messaging last August, allowing you to share what you're listening to without [...]

While generative AI is being adopted at various levels of game development, a new survey suggests that developers increasingly think the technology is bad for the industry. According to the most recent survey from the Game Developers Conference, 52 percent of respondents said that gen AI is having a "negative" impact on the games industry, [...]

This week, a new generative AI tool from Google let me create bad knockoffs of 3D Nintendo worlds. Check out my version of something like Super Mario 64: I didn't like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but it's better than my version of a Metroid Prime experience: Or how about my take on The Legend of [...]

Windows is in a weird spot. In its 40-year history, the operating system has weathered its fair share of missteps, but Windows 11 is testing the patience of its users in new ways. Persistent bugs, performance issues, intrusive prompts, ads, and bloatware have eroded the core Windows experience. Early system requirement decisions have also damaged [...]

Waymo has finally broken through its SFO logjam. The company announced today that it will start offering robotaxi rides to a select group of passengers traveling to and from the San Francisco International Airport, a major step in Waymo's effort to increase its footprint in the Bay Area. The company plans on gradually growing the [...]

Gaming on Linux has already come a long way over recent years, with improvements to Valve's Proton and more gamers switching to Linux, but the newly-formed Open Gaming Collective (OGC) is aiming to take it even further. Universal Blue, developer of the gaming-focused Linux distribution Bazzite, announced on Wednesday that its helping to form the [...]

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week. If you're in the market for a new TV, you'll have plenty of different options these days, ranging from display technologies (OLED vs. QLED vs. micro RGB) to styles (shiny [...]

If you've been considering picking up the latest Pokemon game for the Switch 2, there's good reason to do it today, as Best Buy is knocking $14 off the physical version. Pokemon Legends: Z-A normally costs $69.99, but you can snag it for $55.99 for the rest of the day - a price that other [...]

The music streaming service Deezer is giving other companies access to its AI song-detecting tool. The tool, which identifies, tags, and excludes AI-generated music from algorithmic recommendations, is now available for businesses to purchase and use, according to an announcement on Wednesday. Deezer launched its AI music detection tool last year as part of efforts [...]

The violent federal occupation of Minneapolis - and the subsequent killings of two residents at the hands of immigration agents - began with a vlog. Nick Shirley, a roving 23-year-old with a smartphone and a taste for outrage, made a YouTube video with unfounded allegations of fraud at daycares operated by the local Somali American [...]

Classic 2D animation may not be as prevalent as it once was, but some of the stuff we're getting over the last few years has been incredible. That includes future classics like Mars Express and Scavengers Reign, and now you can add the Moebius-inspired Arco to the list. After making a splash on the festival [...]

On today's episode of Decoder, I'm talking about the bidding war over Warner Bros. Discovery, which is the biggest story in the entertainment industry right now, and for good reason. It has pretty much everything you could want in a buzzy Hollywood saga - big names, big money, and big drama. Right now, the winning [...]

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is pushing OpenAI for assurances it won't seek a government bailout if it doesn't turn a profit. In a letter to CEO Sam Altman, Warren says she is concerned that the company is preparing to fall back "on the classic strategy of privatizing profits and socializing losses" amid soaring spending and [...]

It's not a household name, but Rogbid has been churning out budget-friendly smart wearables for around a decade. Its latest creation capitalizes on the recent trend of functional ring watches, but unlike Timex and Casio's wearables that don't do much more than tell time, the Rogbid Fusion includes smart functionality like fitness tracking, heart rate [...]

Fidelity is launching a stablecoin that investors will be able to buy and sell for $1 when it arrives in the "coming weeks." The stablecoin, called Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), will live on the Ethereum network and is backed by cash reserves, cash equivalents, and short-term US Treasuries, according to CoinDesk. A stablecoin is a [...]

Android users could get a recovery payout of up to $100 each in a proposed settlement Google filed in San Jose, California on Tuesday night. As Reuters reports, the $135 million settlement is for a class action lawsuit claiming that Google collected users' cellular data without their permission, even while Google apps were closed, location [...]

The Corsair Galleon 100 SD didn't just come out of the ether. The new full-size mechanical keyboard with a Stream Deck fused to its side is the result of a lot of things coming together over the years. Corsair's gaming business is more refined than ever, and Stream Deck's wide ecosystem of plug-ins makes the [...]

Patreon will force creators to move away from legacy billing methods this fall to appease Apple's newly revived subscriptions mandate. The migration will impact 4 percent of Patreon creators who still use first-of-the-month and per creation billing models, with Apple imposing a deadline to switch to subscription billing by November 1st, 2026. On its support [...]

A Waymo robotaxi struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, on January 23rd, causing minor injuries and prompting the National Highway Traffic Safety administration to open an investigation. The incident occurred during normal school drop off hours, with other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity, NHTSA [...]

I was tear gassed by the government for the first time in July 2020 at one of the many Black Lives Matter protests that broke out all over the country. The feeling is excruciating, like your lungs are trying to kill you from the inside out. The sting in your eyes is painful, too. But [...]

PopSockets has announced a new version of the Kick-Out Grip it launched last May with some added functionality. The Kick-Out PopWallet carries forward the same design as the original with a hinged pop-up grip that can be folded out to function as a stand for propping up a phone vertically or horizontally. The new version [...]

Nothing CEO Carl Pei confirmed the Phone 4 won't launch in 2026 in a new video on the brand's YouTube channel. "There's no new flagship this year," Pei said when asked about phone plans for 2026, instead emphasizing that last year's Phone 3 remains the Nothing flagship. "We're not just going to churn out a [...]

Google is disabling some Phone app features on older Pixel devices after acknowledging a bug that inadvertently leaked audio to callers. The issue has specifically been linked to the Take a Message feature released last year, which automatically answers and transcribes voicemails when you miss a call, with a handful of Pixel 4 and 5 [...]