Google is offering employee buyouts in Search and other orgs

Google is starting to offer buyouts to US-based employees in its sprawling Search organization, along with other divisions like marketing, research, and core engineering, according to multiple employees familiar with the matter. The buyouts, which Google is referring to as a “voluntary exit program,” are currently not being offered to employees in DeepMind, Google Cloud, … Read more

It’s more than just a hat

There’s a line in showbiz that goes, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Ian Proulx, CEO of Splitgate 2 developer 1047 Games, has recently learned the hard way that’s not entirely true. Last week, during the Summer Game Fest keynote livestream, Proulx came out to promote his game wearing a black hat that read … Read more

Android 16 has arrived with iPhone-style Live Updates

Android 16 is officially here, and it includes Google’s take on the iPhone’s Live Activities. On Tuesday, Google announced that Live Updates are rolling out first with ride-share and food delivery apps, allowing you to track the progress of your ride or delivery with persistent, real-time notifications. Google first started working on Live Updates last … Read more

Sonos is finally updating its Ace headphones with a long-delayed feature

A new software update is bringing a long anticipated features to the Sonos Ace headphones. Sonos has released a major software update for its Ace wireless headphones bringing performance improvements and a feature that was supposed to originally be available late last year. TrueCinema mode, which adapts the headphone’s spatial audio to your space and … Read more

Snap will start selling AR glasses next year

Snap’s 2024 version of Spectacles for developers. | (Photo by Nalani Hernandez-Melo for The Verge) Snap plans to start selling its first pair of augmented reality glasses to the public in 2026. The coming release is part of CEO Evan Spiegel’s decade-plus bet on what comes after the smartphone. He teased it Tuesday onstage at … Read more

The Trump administration appears to be planning its own chatbot

The Trump administration is working on an “AI.gov” website and API to “accelerate government innovation with AI,” 404 Media found based on code posted to Github and an early version of the site. The project appears to be run by the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services, led by former Tesla engineer Thomas Shedd. Shedd, … Read more

Meta is reportedly making a $15 billion bet on AGI

Meta is close to finalizing an almost $15 billion investment in Scale AI, the tech giant’s largest-ever external investment, which would give Meta a 49% stake in the company, according to The Information. As part of the deal, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is personally assembling a team of about 50 people to help Meta supercharge … Read more

Threads is finally getting DMs

It’s interesting that Threads is using an envelope symbol — like X — and not the paper airplane used by Instagram. Threads users will soon be able to send direct messages to each other without having to leave the platform. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on June 10th that Threads will start testing its own … Read more

The video game actors’ strike may be over soon

American Screen Actors Guild members have reached a “tentative” contract agreement with major gaming companies that could potentially end the 11-month-long video game actors’ strike. SAG-AFTRA announced the tentative contract on Monday without specifying terms or protections for performers. The strike began on July 26th, 2024, after the union and a bargaining committee of video … Read more

VanMoof’s new S6 e-bikes fix everything but trust

VanMoof, the poster child of bikeaggedon, just launched the first e-bikes developed under new leadership following its 2023 bankruptcy sale to McLaren Applied. The bikes were supposed to be revealed tomorrow, but a link provided to an early access program has resulted in the details leaking early. The new S6 Series – which I briefly … Read more

Hang on, did the iPad just become a computer?

I genuinely never expected to say this: it appears Apple finally figured out multitasking on the iPad. With iPadOS 26, the company hasn’t completely taken off the guardrails for how you can use and place apps on your tablet, but it came awfully close. With a couple of clever iPad-specific tricks, and better support for … Read more