The Verge

Robosen's partnership with Hasbro continues with a new Bumblebee self-transforming robot toy launching this summer. Powered by 31 servo motors, Bumblebee transforms from a bright yellow bot to a classic Beetle with a scaled-down design officially licensed by Volkswagen that can be driven using a smartphone and Robosen's app. They even brought back Dan Gilvezan, [...]

Ahead of Star Wars Celebration Japan getting underway on April 18th in Tokyo, Audio-Technica has announced four new limited edition versions of its ATH-CKS50TW2 wireless earbuds that originally debuted at CES 2025. Functionality is the same, but the earbuds have gotten a Star Wars-themed makeover with new colors and details inspired by R2-D2, Grogu, the [...]

Microsoft is planning to improve the startup speed of its Office apps, starting with Word in May. The launch times of Office apps will improve thanks to a new scheduled task that will run silently when you boot your PC to make sure Word and eventually other Office apps open quickly. We are introducing a [...]

Luna, the cloud gaming service from Amazon that lets you stream to PC, Fire TV sticks, and more, is getting several Electronic Arts games, including Star Wars titles and sports games, added to its library soon. The first collection of games will be released tomorrow and available to Luna Plus subscribers, including Star Wars Jedi: [...]

A Shinichir Watanabe production wouldn't be complete without an absolute banger of a soundtrack, and his upcoming Adult Swim series Lazarus is no exception. Ahead of Lazarus's premiere on April 5th, Adult Swim has released three singles from multi-instrumentalist / composer Kamasi Washington, British DJ Bonobo, and producer Floating Points that each come from different [...]

Real time day / night cycles have been featured in a lot of Pokemon titles since the Gold and Silver era, but Pokemon Legends: Z-A is going to take the classic mechanic in a wild new direction. During today's March Direct presentation, Nintendo dropped a new Pokemon Legends: Z-A trailer showcasing a few of the [...]

What are the essential features of a smartphone? Thatas not a rhetorical question, and itas actually a useful exercise: if I were to take away everything but the things you truly need on your phone, what would those things be? And how might you interact with your phone differently if those things were all you [...]

Caterpillar is adding lidar to its heavy-duty construction equipment after striking a deal with Luminar, which makes the laser sensor for a number of automakers and self-driving car operators. Caterpillar says it will integrate Luminar's hardware into its Cat Command autonomy platform, which it uses to power self-driving features in its trucks and other vehicles. [...]

As if things werenat embarrassing enough for national security adviser Michael Waltz, what with inviting a journalist into a private policy group chat and all, Wired discovered that his Venmo account was wide open, revealing the names of ahundreds of Waltzas personal and professional associates.aA Venmo is a popular and convenient way to transfer money [...]

Nintendo closed out today's Direct with a surprise announcement: a news app that will keep players up to date on everything Nintendo. It's called Nintendo Today, and it'll be available on both iOS and Android. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the app was designed to compliment its event-like livestreams, which have become incredibly popular in the [...]

AI-generated images have made significant progress since the days of abstract renderings and glitchy amalgamations. OpenAI's newly released Images for ChatGPT" has an uncanny ability to nail depth, shadows, and even text. It's unleashed a frenzy of people recreating a familiar style: Hayao Miyazaki's work at Studio Ghibli. The art style was already ubiquitous across [...]

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is still alive - and it's looking good. Nintendo unveiled a new trailer for the game that serves as an introduction of sorts, showcasing the alien world you'll be exploring along with Samus' various abilities, including new psychic powers that work both in combat and in puzzle solving. While no specific [...]

Best Buy in Canada wrote in a now-removed blog post that the company will open pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 on April 2nd so that customers have the chance to secure their console early. Best Buy hasn't said what time the preorders will open; however, it's on the same day as the Nintendo Direct presentation [...]

Google is introducing new features to Maps, Search, and Hotels that aim to help users plan upcoming travel and vacations. The Google Maps app is getting a standout feature that can identify locations in your screenshots and save them to a list, making it easier for users to plan their trips before screenshots of travel [...]

Instacart is introducing a new way for shoppers to make money: taking videos of store shelves one aisle at a time." The new earning opportunity, called Store View, will allow Instacart to determine which products are available, as well as which ones are out of stock. Instacart says Store View will also help its predictive [...]

It was only a matter of time. Garmin announced today it's launching Garmin Connect Plus, a premium tier to its app that adds AI-powered insights and a few other expanded features. Existing and new Garmin users will be able to opt in to a free 30-day trial and then choose between a $6.99 monthly or [...]

Vivaldi and Proton have teamed up to make it easier for Vivaldi browser users to privately explore the web without downloading a virtual private network (VPN). Starting today, the free version of Proton VPN is now integrated directly into Vivaldi's browser, and can be accessed by logging into a Vivaldi account. The feature is currently [...]

Uber is expanding its airport shuttle service to include one of the busiest hubs in the world, New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport. For a limited time, customers can grab a ride from specific stops in Manhattan or Brooklyn to JFK for just $10. After April 30th, the fare increases to $25, including [...]

Poco is releasing its first phone with Ultra" branding, and on paper it lives up to the name. The F7 Ultra runs on the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and combines it with a triple rear camera setup, 120W wired charging, and IP68 protection from dust and water. Despite those specs, it's going on sale [...]

Robinhood is getting closer to becoming a full-fledged financial service. On Wednesday, the company announced a wholly online banking platform that will offer checking and savings accounts to Robinhood Gold subscribers when it launches this fall. The platform, called Robinhood Banking, will let users access their accounts, as well as send and receive money through [...]

Members of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee met Wednesday to discuss what's typically a highly bipartisan topic: protecting kids online. But in a far-from-typical political climate, the mood was tense and confrontational. Republican lawmakers are eager to revive a handful of bipartisan bills like the Kids Online Safety Act, which House Republican leadership blocked [...]

From the AirPods Pro to the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, Amazon's Big Spring Sale has ushered in a number of surprisingly good deals on wireless earbuds. Neither of the aforementioned picks is probably the best option if you're working with a tight budget, though, fortunately, there are cheaper alternatives. Right now for example, the already [...]

During a briefing on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced plans to put a 25 percent tariff on cars and trucks imported into the US. Trump said the taxes would go into effect on April 2nd - the same time he's expected to introduce a round of reciprocal tariffs, according to The New York Times. The [...]

Microsoft is sharing several new Xbox gaming updates for March that include a new look for Game Bar on PC, a new Cloud Gaming feature, and fresh benefits for playing some free-to-play games through Game Pass. Game Bar on PC, which gives you the ability to quickly launch games, control audio mixes, and monitor game [...]

OpenAI is pushing back the rollout of ChatGPT's built-in image generator for free users. In a post on Wednesday, CEO Sam Altman admitted that the image-generation tool is more popular than he expected, adding that rollout to our free tier is unfortunately going to be delayed for awhile." OpenAI only just added image generation capabilities [...]

Amazon has released a software update for the current-generation Colorsoft and Paperwhite that lets you double-tap on the sides or back of your Kindle to turn the page. The new feature, as spotted by The eBook Reader, is listed in the release notes for the 5.18.1 update and can be found in Settings > Device [...]

YouTube will soon count Shorts views using the same method as TikTok and Instagram. Starting March 31st, YouTube will displaythe number of times a Short starts to play or replay, like Instagram and TikTok do, instead of only counting after someone watches a Short for a specific length of time. We hope that this deeper [...]

After an hours-long tease, Marvel has confirmed much of the cast for the next Avengers movie - and it pulls together a huge list of stars from films ranging from past Avengers and X-Men flicks to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps. Today's announcements include: Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars [...]

When it comes to working out or just hanging outside, the perks of bone conduction headphones versus over-ear headphones or earbuds are growing. They've always been the safer alternative since they don't obstruct your hearing, but with the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, they now actually sound good. Thanks to its USB-C charging (in place of [...]

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked Apple's efforts to intervene in the federal antitrust trial against Google that jeopardizes Apple's lucrative search exclusivity deal, Ars Technica reports. In February, US District Court Judge Amit Mehta had already denied Apple's request to take a limited role in the remedies phase of the Google Search [...]

Microsoft is rolling out a new sign-in screen for more than a billion consumers that access services like Outlook, Windows, Xbox, Microsoft 365, and more. The updated authentication screen is based on Microsoft's Fluent 2 design language and even includes a dark mode with Xbox colors. The entire authentication process for Microsoft accounts has been [...]

Canon has announced an updated version of its EOS R50 with improved video capabilities, a smaller body, and a cheaper price tag - thanks in part to losing an electronic viewfinder. The original, which launched in 2023, was an entry-level mirrorless camera with 4K video capabilities that maxed out at 30fps. The new EOS R50 [...]

Spring cleaning season is here, which is probably why we're seeing retailers slash prices on top-tier robot vacuums like the Dreame X40 Ultra and Eufy X10 Pro Omni. Yet it's the deal on the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra - our favorite robot vacuum overall - that stands out the most. Right now, you can buy [...]

Rivian announced the creation of a new micromobility company called Also. The deal includes $105 million in Series B funding from venture capital firm Eclipse and will focus on the development and production of lightweight electric vehicles like bikes and scooters. For the world to fully transition to electrified transportation, a range of vehicle types [...]

Security cameras can be helpful for spotting package thieves, letting you know when your kid got home from school, or scaring off that rascally raccoon rustling around your chicken coop. But constant notifications from these devices can make them more annoying than useful. Notification fatigue once made me ignore the repeated motion alerts from a [...]

Krisp, the company best known for its noise cancellation app, is launching a new AI tool that's supposed to convert a speaker's accent to American English in real time. The tool comes bundled in Krisp's existing desktop app and acts as a virtual microphone to modify the sound of someone's voice across video conferencing apps [...]

Blizzard has announced that it will make exceptions to its hardcore permadeath policy and allow some characters to return to life. According to a report in Ars Technica, Blizzard made the pronouncement in response to a string of DDoS attacks that seemed specifically targeted to cause the in-game deaths of members of a high-profile raiding [...]

Video game menus tend to fade into the background a but thatas not the case with Metaphor: ReFantazio. Like the Persona games before it, the fantasy RPG has an interface thatas slick, aggressive, and certainly not the kind of thing youall forget. And according to lead interface designer Koji Ise, the intent was to create [...]

I can tell you the entire story of the 11th-generation iPad by explaining the results of one benchmarking test. Itas called Geekbench, and itas a cross-platform tool that simulates a bunch of real-world activities to give each device a score that roughly approximates how powerful it is. Itas not perfect (no benchmark is), but it [...]

The Nissan Leaf is back, and it's not a frumpy looking hatchback anymore. The Japanese automaker is dusting off its pioneering EV and giving it new technology and a new form factor. The Leaf will return as a crossover SUV with a Tesla plug (!!), casting off its outdated appearance that previously led to rumors [...]

On March 24th, The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published a damning story about being added to the Houthi PC Small Group' on Signal by Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz. In it, he described inadvertently becoming privy to high-level military operation planning that should never have taken place on Signal by people who really should [...]

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy is The Verge's smart home reviewer, and she's mind-bogglingly impressive in the number of devices she covers. As she says, On any given day, I can be evaluating anything from robot vacuums, smart locks, and lights, to smart chicken coops, smart ovens, and connected coffee makers." Jennifer has been a journalist for [...]

The latest update for No Man's Sky is going back in time. Called Relics, the expansion launches today and introduces paleontology and archaeology elements to the sci-fi exploration game; players can now unearth the bones of alien creatures, piece them together, and even erect museums. Perhaps most interesting is that players will be able to [...]

The US has added 80 organizations and companies to a trading export blacklist in an effort to prevent China from acquiring computing technology for military purposes. The new restrictions announced by the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) are the latest attempt to block foreign access to cutting-edge American chips, despite [...]

When Princess Mononoke first debuted back in 1997, it marked a major turning point for Studio Ghibli. The studio had already dabbled in computer-generated imagery and digital compositing with films like Isao Takahataas Pom Poko and Yoshifumi KondAas Whisper of the Heart. But Mononoke was the first instance of Ghibli really embracing CGI as a [...]

Transport for London (TfL) has announced that all non-folding e-bikes will be banned from the majority of London's public transport network. The ban has been driven by the fire risk from regular bikes converted into e-bikes using DIY kits, but extends to purpose-built e-bikes too in the name of easier enforcement. The new ban comes [...]

12-year-old browser game GeoGuessr is getting a belated port to PC, with a new listing for the game now in the Steam Store. Despite its age, GeoGuessr will launch in Early Access when it goes on sale some time in April 2025. GeoGuessr first launched in 2013, and tasks players with figuring out their coordinates [...]

If you're looking for some solid evidence that Microsoft's strategy to bring Xbox games to PS5 is seeing some early success, look no further than Sony's own PlayStation Store today. The top preordered games in the US PlayStation Store are Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5, with the $99.99 premium versions [...]

As a part-time vanlifer, Iam constantly looking for opportunities to be alone in the world. But I also want to feel safe when parked overnight at an abandoned train station where thereas a non-zero chance of starring in a Netflix true-crime drama. Thatas why I always travel with an axe, my reactive beagle, and a [...]

Porsche is upgrading the infotainment in the upcoming 2026 model year Taycan, 911, Panamera, and Cayenne with more responsive" software and features such as an Alexa personal assistant. The 2026 Porsche Communication Management (PCM) will get the Porsche App Center introduced in the Macan Electric. It provides direct access to a large number of apps" [...]