The Verge

Fortnite players are able to hop into matches following a login issue that Epic Games described as preventing users from getting in reliably." This log-in outage is resolved; all players are able to log-in again across all platforms," Epic said at 8:54PM ET. We'll continue monitoring our services to ensure there are no other issues." [...]

The Supreme Court will let Mississippi's social media age verification law take effect while the case is being argued in court. In an unsigned ruling on Thursday, the court declined to block the law after an emergency petition from trade association NetChoice. The order offers no explanation, but in a concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh [...]

MicroSD cards are tiny but slow; the M.2 storage sticks in your PC are blazing fast but bigger and fully enclosed. Now, a new type of SSD out of China could be the best of both worlds - and it's already set to appear in two cutting-edge gaming portables. Chinese storage manufacturer Biwin is calling [...]

Some cool decor can help a new dorm or apartment feel like home, which is why Nanoleaf's back-to-school sale is worth checking out. The company's offering all-time low prices on a wide range of its modular smart light gear, from skylights to smart light display cases. Some of our favorite deals include Nanoleaf's Blocks Combo [...]

Airbnb has introduced a new reserve now, pay later" option that lets users in the US book a reservation without paying right away. Instead, users can put off their payment to a later date before check-in. Airbnb says it will require payment before the end of a stay's free cancellation period, ensuring hosts have time [...]

A new letter to the Federal Trade Commission, and US attorneys general for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, calls for an urgent investigation into Elon Musk's Grok - especially its new "Imagine" tool for AI-generated image and video. The tool, released by xAI earlier this month, encourages users to create NSFW content [...]

In an internal document, Meta included policies that allowed its AI chatbots to flirt and speak with children using romantic language, according to a report from Reuters. Quotes from the document highlighted by Reuters include letting Meta's AI chatbots engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual," describe a child in terms that [...]

ESR has issued a recall for 33,000 HaloLock wireless power banks, in 6,000mAh and 10,000mAh versions, because their lithium-ion batteries can overheat and ignite, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers." The power banks were cheaper alternatives to Apple's MagSafe accessories (priced between $32 and $40) but offered slower 7.5W wireless charging speeds when used [...]

HP-owned HyperX is announcing a slew of new gaming headsets and streaming-friendly microphones. The HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 is the new flagship at $299.99. It uses 53mm drivers and 2.4GHz wireless lasting up to 250 hours - an impressive 10+ days of continuous use - though it drops to half that when simultaneously connected to [...]

Acura is bringing back the RSX sedan as a premium, dramatic-looking, all-wheel drive electric crossover that's also the first model engineered in-house on Honda's new global EV Platform. This is the same platform that will eventually underpin the automaker's Zero series, which is expected to go into production next year along with the RSX. So [...]

One of the most-discussed subjects among many of my friends and colleagues are headphones: specifically, what provides the best sound, the best noise cancellation, and are the most comfortable to wear. If you're part of the Apple ecosystem, then one of those featured in our roundup of best AirPods to buy are the AirPods Max, [...]

Back-to-school season is closer than you might realize, especially for college students, many of whom are set to return to campus in a matter of a few short weeks. And while school can be a challenging time on many fronts, regardless of the grade, there are tools that can help you better prepare for life [...]

It seems like Google is looking for a way to put AI into everything these days, and now its efforts have reached its airfare-booking service, Flights. On Thursday, Google announced that it's testing a new AI-powered Flight Deals tool, which could come in handy if you're planning a trip on a budget but aren't quite [...]

Microsoft originally encouraged its employees to work from home amid the coronavirus outbreak in 2020. This new flexible working arrangement then became an official "hybrid workplace" policy several months after the pandemic began, allowing managers to approve permanent remote work. Now that the pandemic has settled into endemicity, Microsoft wants employees to return to the [...]

It's game time for streaming services: a growing number of streamers are betting on casual games as a way to keep viewers hooked when they've run out of things to watch. Toronto-based Zone-ify added free casual games to its ad-supported streaming service in June. Last month, close to 70 casual games arrived on Happykids and [...]

Elon Musk is calling in another return on his investment in American politics: he's threatening Apple with a lawsuit because neither X nor xAI's Grok have been recommended on the iOS App Store. How serious this threat is - well, that's hard to say, as it was posted between Grok-generated waifus. "Hey @Apple App Store, [...]

If you want a convenient way to stay well read without amassing a library of physical books, an e-reader may be the right solution. The Boox Palma 2 impressed us with its pocket-friendly size and ability to run Android apps. A bundle including the Boox Palma 2 and a case is $299.99 ($29 off) at [...]

Smart lighting company Philips Hue appears to be launching a new version of its bridge, the first in a decade. According to a product page briefly published on Hue's website and since removed, the Hue Bridge Pro will be faster, have more capacity, and can turn your smart lights into motion sensors." A Hue video [...]

OpenAI is considering ways to bring in additional revenue, and bringing ads to ChatGPT is one option on the table. While being interviewed on Decoder, ChatGPT head Nick Turley said he's humble enough not to rule it out categorically," but hedged that OpenAI would need to be very thoughtful and tasteful" about how ads could [...]

If you're firmly in the Apple hardware ecosystem, Kuxiu's K1 wireless power bank could be more useful to you than other portable MagSafe batteries. You can stick it to the back of your iPhone to keep it charged when you don't have access to power, but rotating the K1 90 degrees reveals a second built-in [...]

Welcome to Decoder! I'm Alex Heath, your Thursday episode guest host and deputy editor at The Verge. Today, I'm talking to a very special guest: Nick Turley, the head of ChatGPT at OpenAI. While Sam Altman is definitely the public face of the company, Nick has been leading ChatGPT's development since the very beginning. It's [...]

Figures reported by BBC News show that popular pornography websites are seeing far fewer visitors from the UK since the country enforced mandatory age verification requirements for online platforms. Pornhub saw a 47 percent decrease in UK traffic between July 24th (a day before the age-gating rules came into effect) and August 8th, according to [...]

With Meta, Google, Samsung, and maybe even Apple working on AI-powered glasses, smart spectacles are quickly becoming the hottest gadget in tech. Now, even HTC is jumping in on the trend with a new pair of Vive Eagle smart glasses that come with built-in speakers, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and an AI voice assistant. The [...]

Sensitive Content Warnings that detect and blur images containing nudity are now rolling out to all Google Messages users on Android, according to 9to5Google. The feature gives users the option to delete blurred images without having to view them and block whoever sent the message. Users who attempt to send or forward nude images will [...]

On the surface, Cadillac's new Elevated Velocity looks like your typical concept car: gull-wing doors; a plush red interior; a retractable steering wheel for fully autonomous driving; and futuristic lighting scheme. But the real attention grabber is the lifted chassis and a new off-roading mode that could hint at a possible new direction for GM's [...]

After debuting its affordable $29.99 Elves 2 controller last month, GuliKit is back with another budget-friendly alternative to Nintendo's Switch 2 Pro Controller - if you prefer an asymmetrical joystick layout. Both the $24.99 GuliKit ES and $29.99 ES Pro controllers are available starting today in gray for the cheaper version and your choice of [...]

I know my way around a pair of joysticks - but I'd prefer to soar. I don't want to think about filming while I'm flying. I'd rather explore. Now, camera maker Insta360 is launching its first drone, under a new drone company, to serve that exact demand. It's called Antigravity, and in January 2026, it'll [...]

Accessibility-focused tech provider Envision has partnered with eyewear company Solos to launch new smart glasses specifically designed for blind and low-vision users. Envision says the camera-equipped Ally Solos Glasses can read and translate text, describe surroundings, search the web, and recognize people, objects, and signs, feeding information to the user via open-ear speakers built into [...]

Apple appears to have inadvertently included details about several of its upcoming devices in code spotted by MacRumors. One part of the code suggests that Apple plans on putting an M5 chip in its next-gen Vision Pro headset, aligning with a previous report from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. That's not the only device in [...]

Teenage Engineering - best known for its electronic instruments and slick audio gear - has announced a new computer case, a follow-up to its $149 Computer-1 released back in 2021, that it's claiming is the cheapest computer case in the world" because the company is giving it away for free. Unfortunately, the Computer-2 is already [...]

Google is readying its next set of hardware announcements, and has already confirmed that the Pixel 10 series is launching this month. We even know what two of the phones look like, thanks to official teasers from Google. But beyond the few tidbits Google has shared officially, there's an awful lot more we think we [...]

After months of speculation over the e-bike maker's imminent demise, Cowboy says it now has the financial backing it needs to survive. The Brussels-based maker of boutique e-bikes says it has secured short-term financing to keep the lights on and a commitment from Rebirth Group Holding that should ensure its long-term future." The bicycle company [...]

Tesla's in-car visualizations for features like Autopilot and Full Self-Driving might be getting an upgrade with a switch to Epic Games' Unreal Engine. As reported by Not a Tesla App, Tesla hacker greentheonly says they found evidence of the change in Tesla's 2025.20 firmware for Tesla Model S and Model X cars with AMD chips. [...]

In a regulatory filing on Monday, Kodak warned investors that the 133-year-old photography company didn't have the financing it would need to pay around $500 million of debt obligations that were coming due, raising doubts about the company's ability to continue. But in a statement shared with The Verge, Kodak says it plans to use [...]

Stripe, a financial services company that acts as a payment processor for millions of businesses including itch.io, has issued an apology following reports that members of its support team told callers the business does not support the sale of LGBTQ content. "We apologize: the information given by our support team was totally wrong," said Stripe [...]

A Reddit user, writing in Portuguese, has shared a handful of images of what appears to be a prototype of a small Kindle with a color screen. The device shows the name Kindle Petit Color in the corner of one image, although the post author says that name hasn't been finalized yet. The Redditor says [...]

Thousands of delegates have descended upon Geneva this week for what's supposed to be the culmination of years of negotiations that, if successful, are supposed to end in a groundbreaking global plastics treaty. They might be breathing in the very thing they're trying to clean up as they negotiate. Greenpeace tested the air around the [...]

Apple is developing a bunch of products and features to deliver its vision of AI, including multiple robots, a smart home display, and a revamped version of Siri with new technology powering it, according to an extensive report from Bloomberg. The company's generative AI efforts lag those from other big tech companies, and it delayed [...]

We're just one week away from Google's Pixel 10 launch event, but the steady stream of leaks shows no sign of stopping. Now, new leaked images shared by Dutch outlet NieuweMobiel show what looks like Google's rumored Pixelsnap" cases with a ring in the center, hinting at support for the Qi2 wireless charging standard. Bringing [...]

Starlink now charges $5 a month to pause its high-speed, low-latency internet service, a feature that used to be available for free. It affects Roam, Residential, and Priority subscribers in the US, most of Europe, and Canada with lots of exceptions. SpaceX hilariously calls it an upgrade, but I call it a bait and switch [...]

New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the banks behind Zelle over claims that their payment platform enabled massive amounts of fraud" that caused customers to lose more than $1 billion between 2017 and 2023. In the lawsuit, James alleges Zelle was rushed to market, resulting in a design that made the platform an [...]

It hasn't been officially announced yet, but leaked pics and specs have revealed the new design and capabilities of Insta360's next ultra-compact action camera. The most notable update, thanks to product shots shared by reliable leaker Roland Quandt, is a new square design for the camera, which has previously been pill-shaped. It will also supposedly [...]

Microsoft is adding the ability to download ARM64 compatible games to its Xbox app for Windows on Arm. Windows Insiders can now test a new update to the Xbox app that lets them install games locally, instead of having to rely on Xbox Cloud Gaming. Currently, the Xbox app on devices like the Qualcomm-powered Surface [...]

Google is rolling out an update for Gemini that will allow the AI chatbot to remember" your past conversations without prompting. With the setting turned on, Gemini will automatically recall your key details and preferences" and use them to personalize its output. This expands upon an update that Google introduced last year, which lets you [...]

I love sudoku, so I just couldn't resist checking out LinkedIn's new Mini Sudoku game that it launched this week. Two puzzles in, I can already tell you that I like it a lot. The rules in Mini Sudoku are quite similar to regular sudoku: you need to fill in all of the blank spots [...]

A new company is launching today that claims to have developed the first volume-produced, consumer-ready autonomous vehicle - designed from the ground up for private ownership at scale." The company is called Tensor, and it describes itself as a leading AI agentic company" that's based in San Jose, California - but little information exists online [...]

We've heard about upskilling and re-skilling due to AI - but how about de-skilling? A new study published this week found that doctors who frequently use AI to detect cancer in one medical procedure got significantly worse at doing so. The researchers set out to discover whether continuous exposure to AI impacted doctors' behavior when [...]

It's not every day you come across a wall charger that can both power and help you keep track of your devices, but that's the beauty of Twelve South's 120W PlugBug. The slim wall charger with four USB-C ports can double as a location tracker when needed, and it's currently on sale at Amazon for [...]

Carrera, a German company that has been making slot car toys since the 60s, has announced a new scaled racing experience that does away with the slots altogether. Carrera Hybrid still has you racing 1:50-scale cars around a reconfigurable track, but you control them using an app on a mobile device and you're now free [...]