The Verge

Anbernic has announced its second wireless controller through a teaser video on YouTube highlighting its features. The company's first gamepad, the RG P01, offered features like Hall effect triggers and joysticks for just $18. Pricing for the new Anbernic RG G01 hasn't been revealed, but it may be more expensive due to several upgrades, including [...]

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. On TikTok, it's disturbingly easy to find videos of [...]

This is an excerpt of Sources by Alex Heath, a newsletter about AI and the tech industry, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week. The leaders of the three preeminent frontier AI labs spent this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, taking shots at each other like candidates in a [...]

Tesla scrapped its Autopilot driver assist feature that used to come standard in new vehicles, as it attempts to steer customers to its newly subscription-only Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. According to Electrek, the company removed Basic Autopilot as a standard feature from new Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in North America. That means in [...]

In early December, I brought you the news that Google has begun replacing Verge headlines, and those of our competitors, with AI clickbait nonsense in its content feed. Google appeared to be backing away from the experiment, but now tells The Verge that its AI headlines in Google Discover are a feature, one that "performs [...]

Microsoft is giving its Paint and Notepad apps on Windows new AI capabilities for editing text and making digital illustrations. The updates are currently rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Windows 11 Canary and Dev channels, and include features that feel oddly niche or advanced for such simplified apps, such as AI text improvements [...]

Just over a year after it briefly disappeared from app stores, TikTok in the US is now part of a new entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. With approval from both the US and China closing on the schedule laid out in December, ByteDance's ownership of the new joint venture is now only 19.9 percent [...]

Ring has launched a new Ring Verify tool that the company says can "verify that Ring videos you receive haven't been edited or changed." But since Ring won't verify videos that have been altered in any way, it probably won't be able to verify those videos you see on TikTok that look like they're from [...]

In what world does Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake get canceled amid corporate restructuring and yet BG&E2 does not? "Beyond Good & Evil 2 remains a priority for us in the context of our strategy centered around Open World Adventures," an unnamed Ubisoft spokesperson told Kotaku and Insider Gaming. The original Beyond [...]

Unless you're dead set on picking up a larger panel, Samsung's forthcoming 2026 Frame lineup represents a fairly minor upgrade. That makes last year's model an easy rec for those on the hunt for an art-inspired 4K TV, especially given the 43- and 50-inch models are down to the lowest prices we've seen at Woot, [...]

After sharing a brief look at its new Talking Flower during a Nintendo Direct showcase last September that generated more questions than answers, Nintendo has finally revealed more details about what the interactive toy actually does and how much it costs. It shares some functionality with Nintendo's Alarmo alarm clock, but the Talking Flower seems [...]

Vimeo is laying off employees around the globe just months after the Italian software company Bending Spoons acquired the platform for $1.38 billion, as reported earlier by Business Insider. Even though it's not clear how many people were laid off, Dave Brown, Vimeo's former brand VP, says in a post on LinkedIn that "a large [...]

A judge is questioning whether Epic Games and Google are settling their long-running antitrust fight partly because of a previously unannounced partnership involving the Unreal Engine, Fortnite, and Android. In a hearing in San Francisco today, the court revealed that Epic and Google have struck a new deal that apparently includes "joint product development, joint [...]

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) is pressing OpenAI about its move to bring ads to ChatGPT, and is asking several other companies whether they have similar plans. In letters to the CEOs of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Snap, and xAI, Markey writes that embedding ads into AI chatbots "raises significant concerns for consumer protection, privacy, [...]

Tesla is finally doing unsupervised robotaxi trips in Austin, Texas, according to a video posted on X. Elon Musk reposted the video, congratulating Tesla's AI team for the milestone. For months, Tesla's robotaxis in Austin and San Francisco have included safety monitors with access to a kill switch in case of emergency - a fallback [...]

Ring's partnership with Flock is sparking renewed online backlash this week, with influencers calling for people to smash their Ring cameras and claiming the company is part of the surveillance state amid heightened concerns over ICE actions. Flock is an AI-powered surveillance camera company that has reportedly allowed government agencies - including ICE - to [...]

Substack announced Thursday it's launching Apple TV and Google TV apps that audiences can use for videos and livestreams - and early reactions suggest not all users are thrilled. Subscribers can watch videos and livestreams from creators they follow, but the app will also have a recommendations-based "For You" feed that mixes in other creators' [...]

The sun was already beginning to set as Portlanders in weatherproof jackets and fleeces lined up around Revolution Hall. It wasn't yet 5PM on a Wednesday but the crowd was gathering well before the town hall was scheduled to begin. Just a day earlier, news outlets reported that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison had been [...]

In February, Amazon plans to roll out a much-needed revamp of Fire TV OS, one that seemingly takes a cue from Google's TV platform. The forthcoming UI redesign will introduce better organization, support for Alexa Plus, and quicker performance to the aging OS, the latter of which has been a crux of the platform's issues [...]

Xbox showed off new footage of its Fable reboot during its Developer Direct on Thursday and announced that the game is set to launch this autumn for Xbox, PC, and PS5. The new Fable is an open-world action RPG. In addition to letting you customize your character and your combat skills, you can also do [...]

Buying the right laptop can be stressful. It's likely one of the pricier tech purchases you'll make, and there are a ludicrous number of models, sizes, form factors, and configurations to pick from. We review a wide swath of them here at The Verge, and we're constantly considering what's best and who it's best for. [...]

Today, I am sitting in the courtroom that may decide the fate of Android. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is here. Google Android boss Sameer Samat is here. Together, they'll try to convince Judge James Donato that they're no longer enemies - that Google's illegal monopoly on Android app stores can be resolved with a mutual [...]

It's been a bit of a wait, but a big new game from Pokemon developer Game Freak is almost here. During the Xbox Developer Direct showcase, the studio showed off more gameplay for its action RPG Beast of Incarnation, and confirmed that it will be launching in the summer of 2026 on the PS5, Xbox, [...]

Forza Horizon 6 will launch on Xbox Series X / S and PC on May 19th, Xbox and developer Playground Games announced during Thursday's Developer Direct showcase. If you preorder the Premium Edition, you can play starting May 15th. The game will come to PS5 later this year. The game has the largest map in [...]

In a now-annual tradition, Microsoft is kicking off the year with a showcase of some of its biggest upcoming games. Last year's edition of the Xbox Developer Direct had some big names, like Doom: The Dark Ages and a little game called Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. And we already know the three main titles that [...]

Sony is releasing a new turntable for the first time since 2019. Two, in fact. The entry-level PS-LX3BT ($399.99) and step-up PS-LX5BT ($499.99) are designed for easy operation with both wired and Bluetooth hi-res audio. Both turntables include one-button automatic playback - which starts the turntable, raises and lowers the tonearm on the vinyl, and [...]

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. When free TV startup Telly came out of stealth in 2023, it did so with big promises: Company executives told the media at the time that Telly would ship 500,000 [...]

Developers have been comparing the strengths and weaknesses of Anthropic's Claude Code, Anysphere's Cursor, and Microsoft's GitHub Copilot for months now, looking for a winner. While no individual AI coding tool manages to be the best at every task that software developers do each day, Claude Code is increasingly coming out on top for its [...]

Today's episode of Decoder is about X, Grok, and Elon Musk. By now we're several weeks into one of the worst, most upsetting, and most stupidly irresponsible AI controversies in the short history of generative AI. Grok, the chatbot made by Elon Musk's xAI, is able to make all manner of AI-generated images, including nonconsensual [...]

Google is helping AI Mode to provide more personalized responses in Search by allowing the chatbot to analyze your Gmail and Google Photos accounts. After launching for Gemini AI last week, "Personal Intelligence" is now coming to tailor AI Mode search results to your interests and daily life by gathering information from your emails and [...]

Two years ago, Lenovo introduced a collection of modular Magic Bay accessories for its ThinkBook 16p. They attached to a magnetic pin connector at the top of the laptop's display and added functionality like an improved 4K webcam, or LTE connectivity. The company has since expanded Magic Bay compatibility to more of its laptops and [...]

AMD announced an improved version of its popular Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor at CES earlier this month, and it's now confirming a release date and pricing today. The new Ryzen 7 9850X3D will debut on January 29th, priced at $499. That's $20 more than the initial retail pricing of the 9800X3D, and this faster 9850X3D [...]

A new tool aims to help AI chatbots generate more human-sounding text - with the help of Wikipedia's guide for detecting AI, as reported by Ars Technica. Developer Siqi Chen says he created the tool, called Humanizer, by feeding Anthropic's Claude the list of tells that Wikipedia's volunteer editors put together as part of an [...]

A successful phishing attack can cost a business an average of $4.8 million, according to research from IBM. To help reduce the risk of one succeeding, either at work or at home, 1Password is introducing a new phishing prevention feature that will watch for telltale signs of an attack, such as a website URL that's [...]

Waymo is kicking off the new year with a new city: Miami. Starting today, anyone on the company's waitlist of approximately 10,000 people can hail one of its robotaxis for trips within a 60-square-mile service area that includes popular neighborhoods like the Design District and Wynwood, Brickell, and Coral Gables - but not popular tourist [...]

As Hollywood continues to embrace generative AI, Adobe is taking steps to make its Firefly suite of creative tools the go-to for studios' entertainment production needs. Timed to this year's Sundance Film Festival, Adobe has announced that it is working with a number of studios, directors, and talent agencies to develop "private, IP-safe" Firefly Foundry [...]

Ubisoft is making some massive changes to its business: As part of a reorganization, the company will focus its efforts on the big open-world games it's famous for along with live service titles, and it has canceled six in-development games, including Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake. It's all part of a recent [...]

Around 800 artists, writers, actors, and musicians signed on to a new campaign against what they call "theft at a grand scale" by AI companies. The signatories of the campaign - called "Stealing Isn't Innovation" - include authors George Saunders and Jodi Picoult, actors Cate Blanchett and Scarlett Johansson, and musicians like the band R.E.M., [...]

SpaceX has the most internet-beaming satellites in its constellation, but the competition is coming, and now Jeff Bezos' space company, Blue Origin, has announced the TeraWave network. It says TeraWave will offer bandwidth of up to 6Tb available anywhere on Earth, for both upload and download. The only wrinkle? Even after satellite deployments are scheduled [...]

As we've previously lamented, one of Bluetooth's best modern features isn't being embraced by the tech world, but that's changing. Sennheiser has announced a new pair of wireless headphones and a transmitter designed for private TV watching that both use a Bluetooth feature called Auracast. Like tuning into a radio station broadcast from a tower, [...]

When it comes to finding a device to read ebooks, you have a few options to choose from. You can always buy a tablet or use your phone, but those devices are multipurpose and can be used for a ton of things, like surfing the web or doomscrolling on X or Bluesky. If you are [...]

Apple is working on an AI-powered wearable pin with cameras and microphones designed to pick up a user's surroundings, according to a report from The Information. The rumored device is reportedly the size of an AirTag, with a "thin, flat, circular" housing made from aluminum and glass. The Information reports that Apple's rumored AI pin [...]

Anthropic is overhauling Claude's so-called "soul doc." The new missive is a 57-page document titled "Claude's Constitution," which details "Anthropic's intentions for the model's values and behavior," aimed not at outside readers but the model itself. The document is designed to spell out Claude's "ethical character" and "core identity," including how it should balance conflicting [...]

Apple is planning a big Siri overhaul that will transform the voice assistant into an AI chatbot built directly into its iPhone and Mac, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. The update is reportedly coming later this year and will replace the existing Siri interface, allowing users to interact with the assistant by both typing [...]

It looks like Samsung is preparing to launch a new Qi2 battery pack for the upcoming Galaxy S26, which is rumored to support the upgraded charging standard. A report from Winfuture shows off leaked images of what appears to be the new accessory, outfitted with a magnetic Qi2 charging ring that delivers up to 15W [...]

Volvo's EX60, with fast-charging capabilities and a brand-new electric architecture, made its official debut today, with the Swedish automaker positioning the crossover EV as a new direction for its battery-powered lineup. With up to 400 miles of estimated range and an 800-volt architecture for ultra-fast charging, the EX60 feels like a concerted effort by Volvo [...]

Ubisoft is announcing a major reorganization, and with the changes, it's refocusing its portfolio and canceling some games, including the beleaguered remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. With the reorganization, Ubisoft will focus its efforts on big open worlds and live service games and is making "accelerated investments" in "player-facing Generative AI." [...]

ElevenLabs has released an album of AI-generated songs in its latest attempt to separate itself from the ethical concerns surrounding AI music. The Eleven Album aims to showcase "how artists can use AI to expand their creative range while maintaining full authorship and commercial rights," according to ElevenLabs. ElevenLabs is using the album to market [...]

The Trump administration took the next step toward unilaterally jumpstarting deep-sea mining this week, announcing a "consolidated" permitting process for both searching for and commercially extracting minerals that have so far remained relatively untouched. These minerals are found so deep in the sea that they're beyond any single nation's national jurisdiction - which is why [...]

If you want better audio than your phone can deliver while creating content on the go but a high-end wireless mic isn't in the budget, DJI's Mic Mini is worth a look. It'll improve your audio without putting much of a dent in your wallet, especially today now you can buy it with a single [...]