More Tesla showroom protests planned for this weekend

Activists are calling for demonstrations at Tesla showrooms. Protestors are planning more demonstrations outside Tesla showrooms nationwide this weekend, as Elon Musk’s polarizing behavior and political activities within the Trump administration continue to have negative side effects on his electric car business. The protests are being advertised on BlueSky under the tags “Tesla Takeover” and … Read more

Elon Musk: agent of chaos

It’s hard to think of a time when a single figure has been so central to seemingly everything in the way that Elon Musk is right now. Musk is overseeing and overhauling the federal government, while bending it toward his own financial gain. He’s also ubiquitous in the artificial intelligence world, where this week he … Read more

The technology team at financial regulator CFPB has been gutted

Around 20 technologists at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were fired on Thursday evening, gutting a team that specialized in understanding Big Tech’s entrance into financial products, three sources familiar with the matter tell The Verge. It follows an earlier round of layoffs of mostly contractors and probationary employees on Tuesday, as reported by Wired, … Read more

Open source code repository says ‘far-right forces’ are behind massive spam attacks

The open source code repository Codeberg has blamed the far right for a recent campaign of abuse and harassment across its systems. “Projects advocating tolerance and equal rights” were subjected to spam campaigns using abusive messages, which escalated to spam emails sent to users via Codeberg’s own automated systems. Codeberg says it stands strong “against … Read more

Gemini AI can now recall past conversations

Google’s Gemini AI assistant can now recall past conversations to provide more relevant responses if you have a subscription to Gemini Advanced via Google One AI Premium. With the update, you’ll no longer have to recap previous chats or search for a thread to pick up a conversation, as Gemini will already have the context … Read more

Amazon revamps Prime Video’s Apple TV app

Amazon’s Prime Video app just got a big update on Apple TV. The app is now better optimized for tvOS, allowing you to swipe on the Siri Remote to scroll through Prime Video’s shows and movies as well as use touchpad gestures for fast-forwarding, rewinding, and scrubbing through content. Amazon has updated the app’s search … Read more

Audio-Technica’s new cartilage conduction headphones offer better battery life

Audio-Technica’s ATH-CC500BT2 offer similar advantages to bone conduction headphones but with improved battery life. | Image: Audio-Technica Audio-Technica has announced a new version of its open-ear cartilage conduction headphones the company says deliver improved sound and better battery life. The headphones use a technology that’s similar to bone conduction headphones from companies like Shokz and … Read more

Bose headphones and earbuds are nearly 25 percent off for Presidents Day

Despite how they appear, the Ultra Open Earbuds don’t hurt while gripping your ears. If you need a new pair of headphones, earbuds, or a portable Bluetooth speaker, Bose’s ongoing Presidents Day sale presents a few compelling options. In fact, now through February 17th, several QuietComfort and SoundLink devices are receiving steep discounts, including some … Read more

What’s with the EPA seizing ‘gold bars’?

Lee Zeldin, Donald Trump’s pick to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, speaks during his Senate Environment and Public Works confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. | Photo: Getty Images The Trump administration is attempting to take back around $20 billion of funding that the Biden administration previously … Read more

Apple’s next Studio Display could get a much-needed Mini LED upgrade

Apple is preparing a new 27-inch display with Mini LED backlighting for release later in 2025 or early next year, according to analyst Ross Young (and highlighted by MacRumors). The purported follow-up to 2022’s Studio Display would leave the monitor’s size unchanged but offer meaningful gains in contrast, black levels, and (potentially) overall brightness. Even … Read more

RFK Jr., an anti-vax activist, will lead Health and Human Services following Senate confirmation

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now President Donald Trump’s new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) following a Senate confirmation vote. As head of the HHS, Kennedy will oversee agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. While Kennedy has said that he is … Read more

Android 16’s next public beta adds new features for pro photographers

Android’s camera app is getting hybrid auto-exposure controls and precise color temperature and tint adjustments. | Image: Google Google is releasing the second public beta of Android 16 today that will introduce new features for professional photographers who want more control while capturing images and videos. The upgrades include new manual control options when using … Read more

The UK’s war on encryption affects all of us

The encryption wars have reached a fever pitch, and the most contentious battle is not happening in the United States, where much of the action has been in the past — like the government’s efforts to restrict exports of encryption software until the 1990s and the FBI’s standoff with Apple in 2016. It’s in the … Read more

Captain America: Brave New World is trying twice as hard to be half as good

With its first few Captain America films, Marvel Studios sold audiences on the idea that its superhero movies could be more than live-action cartoons. By borrowing from other genres, they could become gritty, character-focused thrillers like The Winter Soldier or splashy crossover events like Civil War. And the tonal shifts between each feature made it … Read more

Blue Origin is laying off around 10 percent of workers

The Jeff Bezos-owned space company Blue Origin has announced plans to lay off around 10 percent of its workforce. The company currently has more than 10,000 workers, according to Bloomberg, meaning the layoffs could affect around 1,000 employees. In an email obtained by The Verge, Blue Origin CEO David Limp told employees that fast growth … Read more

OnePlus won’t release a foldable phone in 2025

OnePlus says it won’t launch a new foldable phone this year, axing expectations that the company was prepping a proper sequel to its Open foldable from 2023, 9to5Google reports. A new OnePlus “Open 2” could have followed the blueprint of its subsidiary company Oppo’s new ultra-thin Find N5 that’s launching in China and internationally next … Read more

The next Xbox is going to be very different

I’ve been thinking a lot about the next Xbox lately. While Microsoft publicly lines up a busy year of game releases and ports for the PS5 and Switch 2, the company has also been secretly building its future Xbox hardware and platform. There haven’t been any giant leaks about next-gen hardware yet, but Microsoft has … Read more

Apple’s sci-fi movies are way behind its shows

Apple TV Plus has steadily become the preeminent home of streaming sci-fi shows, and that reputation has really only grown over time. Silo just wrapped up its thrilling second season, Severance is back after a long hiatus, and promising adaptations of Neuromancer and The Murderbot Diaries are in the works. Even the service’s detective shows … Read more

Final Fantasy iOS game shuts down over unfixable bug

Square Enix has shut down the iOS version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and removed it from the App Store following an unfixable bug that blocked people from accessing content they had paid for. “The issue is due to changes made to the in-app purchases model,” Square Enix says in a post. “Further investigation revealed … Read more