The Verge

Google I/O starts today, and would you believe it? They're going to talk about AI. After getting everything Android out of the way in last week's dedicated Android Show, we're expecting today's I/O developer conference keynote to be one big AI show. Gemini, Project Astra, and everything in between are likely to be the focus [...]

Soon you'll be able to charge your electric vehicle at Waffle House diners while chatting up truckers and dodging flying chairs. Starting in 2026, BP Pulse will be equipping America's all-night breakfast place with 400kW DC fast chargers fitted with a mix of CCS and NACS connectors. Participating Waffle House diners in Texas, Georgia, Florida, [...]

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has given Amazon's Prime Air drones the go-ahead to deliver new categories of devices, including products with lithium ion batteries like iPhones, AirPods, and more, Amazon has announced. The company says those product categories can be shipped to your door within 60 minutes - if you're in one of the [...]

It: Welcome to Derry, the prequel TV show for Stephen King's It, has a new trailer. Coming to HBO Max (nee Max, nee HBO Go, nee HBO Now, nee...) this fall, the show centers on what seems to be the origins of It's supernatural villain Pennywise the Clown and the first crop of kids to [...]

Walmart has released a new version of its 4K Google TV box that could be an even better replacement for Google's now discontinued Chromecast line. The new $29.88 Onn 4K Plus Streaming Device is $10 more expensive than Walmart's $19.88 entry-level Onn 4K, but includes a feature from the pricier $49.88 Onn 4K Pro smart [...]

Phones that flip and fold have been The Next Big Thing so long it almost seems like they might never happen. Even as they've gotten better, faster, and more durable, devices from Google, Samsung, and others have just had too many compromises. (They also cost way too much.) But bit by bit, year by year, [...]

Ad-supported tiers are proving to be popular with streaming customers. New data from subscription analyst firm Antenna shows that 46 percent of Discovery Plus, Disney Plus, Hulu, HBO Max, Netflix, Paramount Plus, and Peacock subscribers in the US are paying for ad-supported plans, and that around 75 percent of subscribers have at least tried them. [...]

I suspect my dog does not like the Roborock Saros Z70. Unlike the dozens of other robot vacuums that Gus happily lets clean around him while he sleeps, the Z70 keeps stealing his treasures. Not his dog toys - although that could be a future feature - but my family's socks that he loves to [...]

Microsoft is starting to integrate AI shortcuts, or what it calls AI actions, into the File Explorer in Windows 11. These shortcuts let you right-click on a file and quickly get to Windows AI features like blurring the background of a photo, erasing objects, or even summarizing content from Office files. Four image actions are [...]

Some of Adobe's most expensive Creative Cloud subscriptions are about to get even pricier for users in North America. Starting from June 17th, the Creative Cloud All Apps plan will be renamed Creative Cloud Pro for users in the US, Canada, and Mexico, adding a bunch of generative AI perks in exchange for bumping up [...]

Renewable energy has driven a manufacturing boom in the US, but that's all at stake as Congress weighs cuts to Biden-era tax incentives. Solar, wind, and battery companies have announced plans to either create or expand 250 manufacturing facilities since August 2022. That's when Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), considered the biggest federal [...]

MSI has revealed its latest iteration of its Claw PC gaming handheld - and this time, it's powered by AMD. The company showed off the Claw A8 BZ2EM at Computex 2025, which comes with an AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip along with up to 24GB of DDR5 memory. That's a bit less than the 32GB [...]

Elgato announced a new Stream Deck Everywhere" strategy at Computex, which includes a software-based virtual Stream Deck for PCs, an ethernet dock accessory, unbranded Stream Deck modules that can bring its keys into other products, and even new scissor-switch keys for a more precise, keyboard-like feel. With these launches, we're opening up Stream Deck to [...]

It's finally possible to purchase an audiobook from Spotify's iPhone app with just a few taps. On Monday, Spotify announced that Apple approved an update that allows users in the US to see audiobook pricing within the app and buy individual audiobooks outside the App Store. The update also lets Spotify Premium subscribers purchase additional [...]

WizKids did Baldur's Gate 3 dirty with its new D&D Icons of the Realms collection of miniature figures. The anticipated collection based on the beloved RPG (my personal 2023 GOTY) launched in April, and some buyers noticed that the characters look nothing - and I mean nothing - like how they were advertised. These cursed [...]

SAG-AFTRA, the organization that represents voice, motion, and screen performers, has filed an unfair labor complaint against Epic Games. The complaint stems from the company's recent introduction of an AI programmed to sound like James Earl Jones' Darth Vader that can respond to a player's actions and questions. SAG-AFTRA wrote in a statement that it [...]

President Donald Trump signed the Take It Down Act into law, enacting a bill that will criminalize the distribution of nonconsensual intimate images (NCII) - including AI deepfakes - and require social media platforms to promptly remove them when notified. The bill sailed through both chambers of Congress with several tech companies, parent and youth [...]

There's a lot to look at, watch, and listen to on the web. Fully utilizing the bookmarks feature in Google Chrome can be a real help in staying on top of everything. Chrome is the browser I use most often, and I've got a huge number of bookmarked sites inside it: long reads I want [...]

Google's NotebookLM mobile app is out now for Android on Google Play and iOS and iPadOS via the App Store, Google Labs product manager Biao Wang says in a blog post. A mobile app has been one of the most frequent requests" for the team. The app appears to offer similar functionality to the desktop [...]

Huawei just launched a super sleek folding laptop that might be as thin as your phone. The MateBook Fold, which consists of a single OLED display, is just 7.3mm (~0.3 inches) thick when unfolded and 14.9mm (~0.6 inches) when closed, as spotted earlier by Android Headlines. To compare, Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Fold measures 8.6mm (0.34 [...]

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, but it's also one of the best times of the year to snag a seriously good deal on a top-tier TV. Right now, for instance, you can buy LG's C4 OLED at Amazon, Best Buy, and LG's online storefront in the 42-inch configuration starting at an all-time [...]

Microsoft is unveiling its own command line text editor on Windows today. Edit on Windows will be accessible by using edit" in a command prompt, allowing developers to edit files within the command line. It's part of a number of improvements to Windows developer tools at Microsoft's Build conference today to improve the Windows experience [...]

A Microsoft employee disrupted the company's Build developer conference in Seattle, Washington, this morning, protesting against the company's cloud and AI contracts with the Israeli government. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had only been onstage for a matter of minutes before protesters started interrupting his speech, with one shouting, Free Palestine!" Nadella continued his keynote, ignoring [...]

Bluesky is making it easier to know when an NBA game is happening with a new test that adds a red border to the NBA's profile picture, along with a live" callout below it. When you click the profile picture, you'll be taken out of Bluesky and to whatever live event the organization is promoting, [...]

Asus is updating three of its gaming laptop lines with configurations featuring the new GeForce RTX 5060 GPU, offering features like Multi Frame Generation for higher framerates at slightly lower prices. Nvidia's mid-range graphics are coming to the beefy ROG Strix G16 and G18, ROG Zephyrus G14 hybrid gaming / creativity laptop, and the entry-level [...]

Web developers will be able to start leveraging on-device AI in Microsoft's Edge browser soon, using new APIs that can give their web apps access to Microsoft's Phi-4-mini model, the company announced at its Build conference today. And Microsoft says the API will be cross-platform, so it sounds like these APIs will work with the [...]

Microsoft launched its Copilot Plus PC and Windows AI efforts last year, and now it's going a step further today with native Model Context Protocol (MCP) in Windows and the launch of the Windows AI Foundry. The groundwork is necessary for a future envisioned by Microsoft whereby automated AI agents assist their human companions. Introduced [...]

GitHub is launching an AI coding agent that can do things like fix bugs, add features, and improve documentation - all on a developer's behalf. The agent is embedded directly into GitHub Copilot, and it will start working once a user assigns it a task, according to an announcement at Microsoft Build. To complete its [...]

Microsoft's four-day Build conference kicks off on Monday, May 19th, with a livestream starting at 9AM PT / 12PM ET. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will be on stage to present all the latest Windows, Office, and AI news, followed by developer sessions that will be free for anyone to register and watch online. Build is [...]

Today, I'm talking with Kevin Scott, the chief technology officer of Microsoft and one of the company's AI leaders. This is Kevin's third time on Decoder, and he's one of my favorite guests. He thinks a lot about the relationship between technology, art, and culture, and he's unusually willing to dive into the weeds of [...]

"So the 10,000-foot-level view is that we've had three big revolutions in personal computing." That's how Ramanathan V. Guha, a technical fellow at Microsoft, begins his explanation of what I had thought was a relatively minor AI announcement coming at this year's Build developer conference. But Guha continues to make his case that what he [...]

Razer is making its Blade 14 thinner and more powerful, just like it did recently with its 16-inch counterpart. In addition to giving it an RTX 5060 GPU with a starting price of $2,299.99, the Blade 14 can be specced out with the RTX 5070 for $2,699.99. Razer says it isn't limiting that 5070 in [...]

The portable and capable Sonos Move 2 wireless speaker just hit its lowest price yet at Amazon and Best Buy, costing $336 (was $449) for each of its three available colors. It's still pricey, but now it's a better deal. Its built-in battery can last up to 24 hours of continuous playback, and, like the [...]

Sunny days are on their way to Netflix. The streamer just announced that the next season of Sesame Street will be available on Netflix later this year." Season 56 of the show won't be fully exclusive to Netflix, as the company says that it has exclusive worldwide premiere rights and episodes will be available day-and-date [...]

Google's annual I/O developer conference is almost here, and all eyes will be on the company's opening keynote. But for the first time in years, we know there's little reason to hope for major Android OS announcements, since Google already did that last week. Instead, we're expecting I/O's keynote to be (almost) all about AI, [...]

Microsoft's annual developer conference kicks off today in Seattle, Washington, during the same week Google hosts its own I/O developer event in Mountain View, California. Build will be focused on Microsoft's latest platform changes for developers, including new AI announcements that are bound to go head-to-head with Google's own news. Microsoft is streaming Build online [...]

Apple Intelligence has been a wreck since its first features rolled out last year, and a big new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman details why - and how Apple is trying to piece things back together. And much of its effort hinges on rebuilding Siri from the ground up. Gurman has reported in the past [...]

China has launched the first 12 satellites of a planned 2,800-strong orbital supercomputer satellite network, reports Space News. The satellites, created by the company ADA Space, Zhijiang Laboratory, and Neijang High-Tech Zone, will be able to process the data they collect themselves, rather than relying on terrestrial stations to do it for them, according to [...]

For most of my life, I've relied on a paper map when I go outdoors. Then, in March, I joined my friend Rusty on the Appalachian Trail for two weeks. He told me to download FarOut. FarOut was my introduction to the world of app-based navigation. It's focused on thru-hikers, and has useful details, including [...]

There have been a lot of big games this year that have felt all-consuming, like Monster Hunter Wilds or Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Maze Mice offers something different: a small, pick-up-and-play experience that takes a bunch of ideas from some classics and adds a clever twist. The game, from Luck Be a Landlord developer TrampolineTales, [...]

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 83, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, please don't spoil Andor for me, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I've been reading about Mission: Impossible and Sam Altman's kitchen and [...]

Yesterday, Reuters ran a story with the headline Weeks after Amazon's Alexa+ AI launch, a mystery: where are the users?," in which it detailed its difficulty locating first-hand accounts of the AI-upgraded assistants' use online. The Verge asked Amazon about the story, and the company has responded to say that the idea that Alexa Plus [...]

A former DoorDash delivery driver pleaded guilty this week to a wire fraud conspiracy that scammed the company out of over $2.5 million, the US Attorney's Office in California's Northern District announced on Tuesday. He and others made it happen over a period of months using fake customer accounts, deliveries that never happened, driver accounts, [...]

Epic is asking District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to order Apple to review - and approve if compliant with Apple's guidelines - Epic's submission of Fortnite to the US App Store in a new court filing.The company argues in the document that Appleis once again in contempt of the judge's April order restricting it from [...]

Last fall, Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber was roundly ridiculed after suggesting the company would like to produce a "Forever Mouse" - a mouse with a monthly subscription fee for software updates. It seemed to betray a lack of understanding: many people who buy mice don't want software at all, much less software they have to [...]

Let's get one thing out of the way immediately: you shouldn't buy Huawei's trifold phone, the Mate XT. And that's alright, because you probably couldn't if you wanted to - while it's no longer exclusive to China, it's only on sale in a handful of countries, and not in the US or Europe. Besides, I [...]

If you like games with parrying, there are two great new ways to get your fix: Doom: The Dark Ages and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. These very different games - one is a fast-paced first-person shooter, the other a turn-based fantasy RPG - approach the mechanic in very different ways. Let's start with Doom. One [...]

Android is getting its biggest visual update in years, and rather than unveiling it for the first time at its big annual developer conference, Google announced Material Three Expressive at a pre-show event broadcast on YouTube the week before. If a major design language shift for the world's most popular mobile OS doesn't qualify as [...]

Meta's building a new AI data center so massive in Louisiana that the local utility company has plans to construct three new gas-fired power plants to provide it with enough electricity. Now, advocates and lawmakers are pressing Meta for answers about how it'll clean up pollution stemming from the data center's energy consumption. Sen. Sheldon [...]