TheVerge

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google Docs is rolling out 40 new templates to make your documents more visually appealing. The new pageless templates cover a wider range of scenarios, whether you’re writing a blog post, creating a project roadmap, or making an interview guide. Google says its “high-quality, visually modern” templates come … Read more

Netflix We’ve known for some time that the second season of Castlevania: Nocturne was scheduled to hit Netflix some time in the new year, but we finally have a solid release date and a bloody new trailer to boot. Though the sun is shining bright in Nocturne’s new trailer, the fact that vampire god queen … Read more

Image: The Verge All the Matter-compatible devices you can buy, plus the latest on the smart home standard backed by Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung. Two years after its launch, the Matter smart home standard is still plugging away at its mission to create a smart home that is easy to use, works with every … Read more

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The US Commerce Department announced it has awarded memory chip maker Micron Technology with “up to $6.165 billion in direct funding” derived from the CHIPS Act. The new funding will go towards multiple semiconductor manufacturing projects in the US, including an Idaho plant and a Syracuse, New York … Read more

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Chatbot service Character.AI is facing another lawsuit for allegedly hurting teens’ mental health, this time after a teenager said it led him to self-harm. The suit, filed in Texas on behalf of the 17-year-old and his family, targets Character.AI and its cofounders’ former workplace, Google, with claims including negligence … Read more

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge Instagram is allowing creators to test their reel ideas on new audiences before sharing them with followers. Trial reels will be shown to non-followers first, providing engagement data including views, likes, comments, and shares approximately 24 hours after publishing to help creators determine whether it’s worth sharing with … Read more

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge A new California bill could require social media platforms to display warning labels about the potential risk to kids and teens. The bill (AB 56), introduced by Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, is meant to help address “the growing mental health crisis” … Read more

Today, for the first time, you can buy a car — yes, a whole car — on Amazon. Same-day delivery not guaranteed. The e-commerce giant’s first foray into car shopping is called Amazon Auto. The company is partnering with Hyundai dealers in 48 cities in the US to list vehicles on the site. Customers can … Read more

Genki’s Moonbase charger can delivery up to 140W of power through one of its USB-C ports. | Image: Genki Genki has announced its first power strip, capable of charging up to seven devices simultaneously using three AC outlets and four USB-C ports. The Moonbase can deliver up to 240W of power through its USB-C ports … Read more

Image: Solos Solos’ camera-equipped smart glasses have arrived to provide some much-needed competition against Meta’s Ray-Bans. The AirGo Vision is available now starting at $299 — the same price as the Ray-Ban Meta eyewear tech — and features integration with OpenAI’s GPT-4o AI model to identify and answer questions about the people, objects, and text … Read more

Image: Epic Games Fortnite players have finally started receiving refunds as part of a settlement Epic Games reached with the Federal Trade Commission, which claimed the developer tricked players into making in-game purchases. So far, the FTC says it sent out more than 600,000 payments totaling $72 million, and many players, including some of us … Read more

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge Every once in a while, we turn The Vergecast inward. Not only are we constantly covering and discussing what’s happening in the tech and media worlds, we’re also living it ourselves. We’re trying to navigate changes in platforms and economies, and figure out the best ways to do our … Read more

Sony It feels like we only just heard that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s 28 Years Later was in development, but the long-awaited sequel already has a full-length trailer and a solid release date. Set almost 30 years after the initial outbreak of the rage virus, 28 Years Later focuses on the lives of a … Read more

Image: Yelp Yelp is introducing some new AI features that aim to help users discover new establishments and narrow down customer reviews. The AI-powered “Review Insights,” announced today as part of Yelp’s end-of-year product release, quickly summarize how customers feel about certain aspects of a business, such as food quality, service, ambiance, and wait times. … Read more

Image: Warner Bros. Games Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League only came out in February, but the game’s final season, which starts tomorrow, is going to be its last. Season 4 Episode 7 launches on Tuesday, and Episode 8, which is set to release on January 14th, 2025, will “serve as the last seasonal Episode … Read more

Image: Google Google’s quantum computing lab just achieved a major milestone. On Monday, the company revealed that its new quantum computing chip, Willow, is capable of performing a computing challenge in less than five minutes — a process Google says would take one of the world’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years, or longer than the … Read more

Photo by Ashley Carman / The Verge Spotify has officially shut down its Car Thing accessory that offered simple and slick control over music and playlists while driving, and it’s giving owners just over a month (January 14th) to reach out to the company and get a refund. The device started to display its final … Read more

Photo: David Pierce / The Verge Meta has announced the v72 Quest update, and it’s packed with features like faster hand tracking, an easier way to pair your headset with a Windows 11 PC, and better support for showing your keyboard while you’re in full virtual reality. The update is rolling out gradually, which also … Read more

A thin layer of ice thaws on a puddle in the sunshine in Bavaria, Marktoberdorf. | Photo: Getty Images Scientific advisers to the European Commission are calling for a moratorium across the EU on efforts to artificially cool Earth through solar geoengineering. That includes controversial technologies used to reflect sunlight back into space, primarily by … Read more

Will Manchester City’s next uniform feature AI-generated cats? | Screenshot: Puma AI Creator Manchester City is holding a competition that asks fans to generate its future kit design with AI. Players will wear the winning design during the 2026-2027 season as City’s official third kit, and it will even be sold to fans. The club … Read more

iPhone owners in Norway can now select Vipps as their default mobile payment app. | Image: Vipps A Norwegian payment app called Vipps is the first service to take advantage of a new, more open iOS ecosystem thanks to EU regulations. Starting today, Norwegians can use Vipps for tap-to-pay transactions and online payments, and they … Read more

Donald Trump speaks with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press. | Photo: Peter Kramer / NBC via Getty Images President-elect Donald Trump gave a murky answer when NBC’s Kristen Welker asked whether he would protect TikTok from its impending ban during a Meet the Press interview on Sunday. He didn’t say he would save the … Read more

This meat-handed mess was generated using DaVinci AI with the prompt “a photorealistic person looking at their phone with a disgusted expression.” | Image: DaVinci AI / The Verge Many high-ranking AI apps feel like an attempted cash grab, and it’s not easy to spot the trash from the treasure. Read the full story at … Read more

The NYPD released this photo of the person of interest in the case. | Image: NYPD Police have arrested Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old software developer, in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione, of Maryland, was detained at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Monday morning. Mangione was taken into custody … Read more

Image: Rivian When I first started testing electric vehicles, finding a charging station was the means to an end. I didn’t care what it looked like or what neighborhood it was in — it was a minor miracle that I found a charger, any charger, to juice up. But now consumers want more. Heck, I … Read more

Image: Netflix Ustwo returns with a sequel that looks to evolve the puzzle franchise, all while continuing to offer a sanctuary in your pocket. Read the full story at The Verge.

Free users can still browse a feed of AI-generated videos created by the community. | Screenshot: OpenAI OpenAI launched Sora, its text-to-video AI model, on Monday as part of its 12-day “ship-mas” product release series, as The Verge previously reported it would. It’s available today on Sora.com for ChatGPT subscribers in the US and “most … Read more

Google’s Pixel Tablet uniquely turns into a smart display of sorts when you buy the charging speaker dock. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Google might soon stop selling tablets altogether, which is a shame, because we were fans of the Google Pixel Tablet when it was released last year. Yet while we … Read more

Image: The Verge OpenAI’s highly-anticipated AI text-to-video generator, Sora, will become available to everyone today. In a video posted on Monday, Marques Brownlee confirmed its imminent release and detailed his experience using Sora over the past few weeks, calling the results “horrifying and inspiring at the same time.” OpenAI first revealed Sora in February but … Read more