The Verge

Black Friday is the most anticipated day of the year for bargain hunters. While there's still some time to go before November 28th, we're already starting to see a healthy selection of early discounts, allowing you to get a jump on your holiday shopping. Right now, for instance, Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are on sale [...]

Ookla has found that Apple's custom N1 networking chip that integrates the Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread radios in the iPhone 17 family delivers a clear step-change in real-world Wi-Fi performance" when compared to the Broadcom chip used in the iPhone 16 models. In North America, the iPhone 17 family also outperformed flagship Android [...]

Cloudflare, a networking company that provides DDoS protection and internet content delivery services for many companies around the globe, has recovered after a major outage that took down sites across the web. Users weren't able to access X, ChatGPT, and even the outage-tracking site DownDetector on Tuesday morning, with some sites displaying an error message [...]

Meta won a landmark antitrust battle with the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday after a federal judge ruled it has not monopolized the social media market at the center of the case. US District Court Judge James Boasberg wrote that Meta had not unfairly cornered a market on personal social networking," a category that includes [...]

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is pressing the Trump administration for more information on potential plans to prop up" major AI companies with money from taxpayers. In a letter to David Sacks, the White House special advisor for AI and Crypto, and Michael Kratsios, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Sen.Warren writes [...]

The latest Apple Watch SE impressed us with all of its upgrades this year, but the Apple Watch Series 11 is still the better option if you're an iPhone owner who requires more advanced health notifications. Thankfully it, like the SE, is now down to a new record-low price, starting at $349.99 ($50 off) at [...]

Honeycomb Aeronautical, a company that makes flight simulator accessories like flight sticks and pedals that can turn your desk into a cockpit, has announced a compact alternative for PC pilots with limited room. Its upcoming Echo Aviation Controller is about the size of a console gamepad but squeezes standard features like joysticks and buttons to [...]

Microsoft is trying to transform Windows into a canvas for AI," with new AI agents integrated into the Windows 11 taskbar. These new taskbar capabilities are designed to make AI agents feel like an assistant in Windows that can go off and control your PC and do tasks for you at the click of a [...]

Microsoft is racing towards building an AI agent factory" that lets businesses build and manage their own AI agents. While Microsoft was founded on the idea of being a software factory, it's quickly being transformed into an era where AI agents will increasingly take on more human work. Now, Microsoft is launching Agent 365 as [...]

Microsoft is adding even more AI features to Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. While the software maker has been adding plenty of features to its paid Microsoft 365 Copilot over the past year, a range of free additions are coming to its Office apps in early 2026 that don't require the $30 per month, per [...]

Alongside today's announcement of Gemini 3 Pro, Google has revealed Antigravity, a development tool that uses Gemini 3 Pro, along with other third-party models. Google says that Antigravity, which supports multiple agents and gives them direct access to the editor, terminal, and browser, is designed for an agent-first future." One of the key components of [...]

I've developed a sixth sense for old video game cartridges. I can spot them at flea markets and thrift stores, spy them hidden behind stacks in used book stores. It happened after I first bought an Analogue Pocket, when the hunt for new and interesting Game Boy games became as important as actually playing them. [...]

Microsoft is announcing a strategic partnership with Anthropic today that will bring the AI startup's models to Microsoft Foundry for the first time. As part of the deal, Anthropic is also committing to purchasing $30 billion of Azure compute capacity and to contractadditionalcompute capacity up to one gigawatt." Microsoft Foundry customers will now be able [...]

The concept of enshittification, as coined by the author and activist Cory Doctorow, just feels right. Whether you're searching on Google, shopping on Amazon, or scrolling on Facebook, large platforms often feel like they're not trying to bring us value so much as extract every bit of value they can out of us. It wasn't [...]

Zoox is getting closer to a full launch of its robotaxi service in San Francisco. Last month, the Amazon-owned company started allowing select riders to hail its toaster-shaped, four-passenger vehicles for the first time. And today, Zoox is finally inviting members off its public waitlist, which it calls Zoox Explorers," to do the same. The [...]

Wyze has announced a new version of its electronic door lock that features Wi-Fi, allowing it to be controlled remotely from anywhere using a mobile app or voice commands through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. The original Wyze Lock Bolt is currently featured in our smart lock buyer's guide as the best budget smart(ish) lock," [...]

Sony is cutting the price of its PS5 consoles by $100 for Black Friday. Deals include a PS5 Digital Edition 825GB Fortnite bundle for $399.99 and a 1TB PS5 Fortnite bundle for $449.99 - both ship with exclusive Fortnite in-game content and 1,000 V-Bucks. While the Fortnite bundles shave $100 off the regular price of [...]

Valve is making a game console that might take on Sony and Microsoft. It's also making a gaming headset to compete with Meta. These are big, ambitious, and messy efforts, and we have lots of questions. So do you! We've gotten a lot of questions about Valve's huge 2026 hardware push and entry into the [...]

It's not hard to understand the AI future Microsoft is betting billions on - a world where computers understand what you're saying and do things for you. It's right there in the ads for the latest Copilot PCs, where people cheerfully talk to their laptops and they talk back, answering questions in natural language and [...]

The Connectivity Standards Alliance has released Zigbee 4.0, an updated version of its wireless mesh networking standard with better security, improved battery life, and batch setup of new devices like smart lights, switches, and plugs. It's also announcing a new feature called Suzi, which is short for Sub-GHz and Zigbee. While Zigbee smart home devices [...]

After initially launching it exclusively in China last week, DJI has announced a global release (not including the US) for its new Osmo Action 6 action camera. The camera is not a radical departure from the physical design of last year's model, but DJI is introducing some innovative new functionality. For example, it features an [...]

Roblox will soon require that users go through an age estimation process if they want to be able to chat with other people on the platform. The requirement will be in effect for all users starting in early January. Roblox has come under significant scrutiny over child safety on the platform, with multiple states filing [...]

Google filed a motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by anti-corporate diversity activist Robby Starbuck, who claimed Google's AI falsely associated him with sexual assault allegations and a white nationalist. Starbuck's claims against Google came after he filed a similar lawsuit against Meta, whose AI he claimed falsely asserted that he'd participated in the [...]

Current and former OpenAI employees have grown increasingly frustrated by the fact that the company hasn't allowed them to donate their equity to charity in years. But OpenAI has finally seemed to bow to pressure, sending out an email from the company's equity team stating that current and former employees with eligible shares will be [...]

Google debuted a new and improved AI weather model today that will be incorporated into popular products like Search, Gemini, and Pixel phones. The company's AI-enhanced forecasts have proven themselves to be quite accurate so far. AI weather models have also been able to make predictions faster and more efficiently than conventional physics-based models. Until [...]

The latest feature update for Google Calendar allows you to block off time for tasks and mark yourself as busy, all in one place, expanding the existing Tasks feature in Calendar. It's something Workspace users have been specifically requesting and effectively allows tasks to function like meetings, including options to set (and adjust) a specific [...]

The tech industry trade group NetChoice is suing Virginia over a new law that will restrict minors from using social media for more than one hour per day. The lawsuit, filed on Monday, asks the court to block the law over claims it violates the First Amendment by putting unlawful barriers on how and when [...]

Traveling during the holidays can be chaotic and loud, but a quality pair of over-ear headphones can provide much-needed peace and quiet on your journey. Fortunately, you can currently snag Bose's QuietComfort Headphones on sale at Amazon for an all-time low of $169.99 ($180 off) in select colors. That's more than 50 percent off the [...]

On December 11th, 2010, Jeffrey Epstein was fretting about what came up if you Googled him. By this time Epstein had already pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution with a child and was a registered sex offender, and just a few days earlier he had been photographed in Central Park taking a stroll with Prince Andrew. [...]

Are you a red wine drinker? A high spender? Or perhaps you're a slow eater, the sort who takes up a restaurant's table for longer than they'd like. You might not even know - but OpenTable does. Those are just a few of the notes that the reservation platform has started serving up to some [...]

Google users can now describe their next trip to its AI Mode in search and select the option to Create with Canvas," which will build out an itinerary in a side panel complete with data on flights and hotels. The document it puts together can lay out potential plans, with suggestions based on the user's [...]

Netgear announced its latest mobile hotspot today, the Nighthawk 5G M7, which will be available in January, along with a new mobile app and an eSIM marketplace where you can purchase local SIM cards for more than 140 countries. The M7 comes unlocked for $499.99, making it a more affordable alternative to the unlocked version [...]

If you're a film enthusiast or, better yet, a fan of Criterion's Closet Picks videos, then you'll want to know about the half-off sale on the Criterion Collection's DVDs now in progress at Barnes & Noble. The sale, which will last until December 7th, includes, according to the site, contemporary and classic films from around [...]

Whether you have a Steam Deck handheld, or an Asus ROG Ally (the older, non-Xbox version), you might be considering an upgrade to its internal storage. I'm not talking about microSD cards, which are convenient, but slow. I'm talking about M.2 2230-size SSDs that are significantly faster at reading and writing data. If so, Prime [...]

Less than two years ago, TikTok was a crisis situation on Capitol Hill. The chair of the House Select Committee on China called it "digital fentanyl" that brainwashes young Americans into supporting Hamas. A former national security adviser said letting TikTok remain in the US under its Chinese owner "would be akin to allowing Soviet [...]

A few months after announcing its big name change, MSNBC is getting a new domain featuring its new name: ms.now. It features essentially the same layout as the old MSNBC website, but with a fresh coat of paint, including the new MS NOW flag logo - the old MSNBC peacock is gone. The new website [...]

Ford will be the next automaker to allow its vehicles to be featured on Amazon's new online car buying site. Starting today, customers can browse, finance, and purchase certified pre-owned Ford vehicles online through Amazon Autos, with in-person pickup at a local Ford dealership. Ford is the second brand name, after Hyundai, to list its [...]

At $380, MSI's 27-inch 1440p QD-OLED gaming monitor is one of the best purchases Verge readers who want an awesome gaming upgrade can make now. That's how much it costs in an online-only deal at Costco for membership holders through December 1st. In case you're curious as to what kind of OLED monitor you can [...]

X has revealed Chat, an encrypted upgrade to the platform's direct messaging service. It also includes support for video and voice calls, disappearing messages, and file sharing. The company announced Chat on Friday, and it's available now on iOS and the web, with an Android version coming soon." It replaces X's existing messaging system, though [...]

Google officially turned off remote control functionality for early Nest Learning Thermostats last month, but it hasn't stopped collecting a stream of data from these downgraded devices. After digging into the backend, security researcher Cody Kociemba found that the first- and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats are still sending Google information about manual temperature changes, whether [...]

Jeff Bezos is getting a new job. He'll reportedly become co-CEO of Project Prometheus, a new startup that he's partly funding. The company's exact plans are still unknown, but its focus is on AI that could improve manufacturing in fields including computing, automobiles, and aerospace. The New York Times reports that Project Prometheus is already [...]

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius is the eternal optimist, and for good reason. He has long pushed the European Union to roll back its lofty goal of phasing out new internal combustion engine cars, arguing that weakening the rules was a return to pragmatism and not capitulation to opponents of Europe's green agenda. His push is [...]

That Sky Sports felt the need to launch a TikTok channel specifically marketed towards women and billed as its lil sis" was questionable enough. But once people got a taste of the content on Halo, it was clear the company had absolutely no idea what it was doing. Halo didn't focus on women's sports, nor [...]

There's something irresistible about music that sounds as if it's coming apart at the seams. The Black Dresses are masters of barely contained chaos. All of their records feel as if they're in danger of collapsing into pure noise at any moment. But never have they so expertly woven the various threads of their sound [...]

If you're an indie rock fan of a certain age, the name Stereogum will probably conjure strong feelings. The site was launched "January 1st, 2002, on a whim," founder Scott Lapatine told The Verge. Originally, this early staple of the music blog era was focused almost entirely on music discovery and posting MP3s. "It was [...]

Quick: tell me how old you are by telling me which app you used to download free music. Was it Napster? Kazaa? Usenet? Gnutella? WinMX? Morpheus? The Pirate Bay? Were you, I don't know, sending your friends songs on AIM or BBM? The possibilities are endless. For a decade or so, if you were online, [...]

Hall effect gaming keyboards aren't uncommon. But Asus' ROG Falcata is the only one that's also a split ergonomic keyboard, aimed at alleviating wrist, hand, or arm pain. For the luxury of having it all, you'll pay $419.99, enough to buy a nice Hall effect keyboard and a split ergonomic one. It'd be worth it [...]

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on Hollywood trends and streaming culture, follow Charles Pulliam-Moore. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Once upon a time (read: a few years ago), [...]

According to the Financial Times, Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO as early as next year. And the board has started to seriously work out a succession plan. FT says that John Ternus, Apple's senior vice-president of hardware engineering, is considered the frontrunner for the position. Cook, who turned 65 recently, has been [...]