TheVerge

The UK currently has no citizen ID or legal requirements to carry identification. The United Kingdom is introducing a national digital ID scheme in an effort to crack down on illegal migrant workers. A government press release on Friday announced that the digital ID will be stored on mobile devices through the GOV.UK wallet app … Read more

Meta is bringing its “pay or consent” ad model to the UK after months of wrangling with regulators over the controversial policy. The update will force Instagram and Facebook users to pick between being served up personalized ads or shelling out for monthly subscriptions to ad-free versions.  Subscriptions start at £2.99 a month, around $4, … Read more

Today, Microsoft and Asus are officially opening preorders for the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X at $599 and $999 respectively in the US. They’re $799 CAD and $1299 CAD in Canada, €599 and €899 in Europe, £499 and £799 in the UK, and $799 AUD and $1599 AUD in Australia. They both … Read more

Japanese keyboard brand Realforce is teaming up with the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise and releasing four limited edition mechanical keyboards inspired by popular Gundam designs. The four keyboards are based on the Z Gundam and Hyaku Shiki from Zeta Gundam and the Nu Gundam and Sazabi of Char’s Counterattack fame. Realforce’s Japanese site indicates reservations … Read more

One of Nintendo’s most recognizable names is stepping down. Today the company announced that the aptly named Doug Bowser, who took over as president of Nintendo of America from Reggie Fils-Aimé in 2019, will be retiring. He’ll stay on until the end of the year — December 31st, to be precise — and will be … Read more

Nvidia is open-sourcing Audio2Face, its AI-powered tool that generates realistic facial animations for 3D avatars — all based on audio input. The change means developers can now use the tool and its underlying framework to create realistic 3D characters for their games and apps. Nvidia’s Audio2Face works by analyzing the “acoustic features” of a voice, … Read more

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order recognizing the framework of a deal between ByteDance and the US that would satisfy the TikTok divest-or-ban law. The deal values TikTok’s US operations at $14 billion and puts it under the control of companies based in the US. “I spoke with President Xi [Jinping], we had … Read more

In a four-part series of religious lectures in San Francisco, Peter Thiel – yes, that Peter Thiel – has argued that the End Times are night and that a biblical Antichrist – yes, that Antichrist – will come to earth in the form of onerous government regulations placed on science, technology and AI. These are, … Read more

Grooves etched onto the back of a microchip allow coolant to flow through them. Microsoft is making advances with a new way to cool microchips that it says could lead to more energy-efficient data centers in the future. It’s a method called microfluidics that involves liquid coolant flowing directly into the silicon. After lab tests, … Read more

Anker’s 65W 735 Charger is $14 off in the run-up to October 7th. Amazon’s October Prime Day event (also known as Prime Big Deal Days) doesn’t officially start until October 7th, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait to find a good deal on charging accessories. Many speedy wall adapters, power banks, and large … Read more

Avenir Telecom is making a line of new Energizer-branded laptops aimed at marathon battery life. There are three productivity-focused models: the Energizer EnergyBook Pro 15, EnergyBook Pro XL 18, and flagship Energizer EnergyBook Pro Ultra. The Pro Ultra sports a giant 18-inch display with a meager 1920 x 1200 resolution and an absolutely massive 192Wh … Read more

Twitch is launching a feature this week I’ve wanted for a very long time: the ability to scrub back on a livestream right from a streamer’s main channel page. You can already look back at previous parts of livestreams as they’re going on by clicking through to the Videos section of a streamer’s profile, but … Read more

Nine months after Google infused Gemini AI into Google Sheets, the AI system graduated from text and charts to taking on formulas. (Even those plopped into messy wedding planning spreadsheets, I found.)  Gemini’s chatbot appears on the right-hand side of Sheets. Now, when you ask how to manipulate data, Gemini will respond with suggested formulas … Read more

Two weeks ago, record company Hallwood Media signed a deal with Telisha “Nikki” Jones after negotiations that purportedly included an offer of $3 million, Billboard reported. Jones is a Mississippi-based lyricist behind the R&B artist “Xania Monet” whose most popular song on Spotify racked up over 1 million listens, and whose Reels regularly top 100,000 … Read more

OpenAI’s latest personalization play for ChatGPT: You can now allow the chatbot to learn about you via your transcripts and phone activity (think: connected apps like your calendar, email, and Google Contacts), and based on that data, it’ll research things it thinks you’ll like and present you with a daily “pulse” on them. The new … Read more

The Explorer 240D’s compact design makes it a great option for camping. | Image: The Verge Jackery’s new Explorer 240D is a 256Wh portable power station that weighs less than seven pounds, and it’s currently available at Amazon for an early-bird price of $139 ($70 off). It offers pure DC output of up to 200W, … Read more

LG’s Easy TV includes a camera so seniors can make video calls to family members for tech support. | Image: LG LG is launching a new TV in South Korea designed specifically for elderly users who may struggle to navigate and operate modern smart TVs. The LG Easy TV features a simplified home screen with … Read more

Amazon MGM Studios is working on a Spaceballs sequel, and a new cast photo confirms that Rick Moranis will be back after a decades-long break from live-action films to reprise his role as Dark Helmet. Moranis’ last live-action movie was Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, released in 1997, and while Deadline reported earlier this year that … Read more

Robots like Apptronik’s Apollo can use Google DeepMind’s updated AI models to search the web. | Image: Google Google DeepMind says its upgraded AI models enable robots to complete more complex tasks — and even tap into the web for help. During a press briefing, Google DeepMind’s head of robotics, Carolina Parada, told reporters that the … Read more

Microsoft is blocking the Israeli military’s access to cloud and AI services that have been used in the mass surveillance of Palestinian civilians. Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith announced the decision in an internal memo to employees on Thursday, after The Guardian and others reported last month that the Israeli government stored recordings … Read more

Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission, which claimed it tricked millions of customers into subscribing to Prime and made it hard to cancel. Under the agreement, Amazon will pay a $1 billion civil penalty, along with $1.5 billion that it will pay back to an … Read more

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. Amazon is moving ahead with plans to replace Android with its custom-built Vega operating system on Fire TV devices: The new Linux-based system will launch on TV streaming hardware before … Read more

What is this, a D-pad for iPods? Have you ever thought your favorite mobile games would be improved by awkward ergonomics, a dreadful D-pad, and a couple of camera lenses blocking a third of the screen? Then oh boy, does Xiaomi have the phone for you. Today it announced its flagship 17 series phones in … Read more

A new report from Senate Democrats claims members of Elon Musk’s DOGE team have access to the Social Security Numbers of all Americans in a cloud server lacking verified security measures, despite an internal assessment of potential “catastrophic” risk. The report, released by Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), cites numerous disclosures from whistleblowers, including one who … Read more

Have you heard? EV sales are expected to dip significantly in the coming weeks as the federal tax credit expires, and automakers are responding by canceling models, delaying factory plans, and boosting hybrids as a short-term solution. The latest model to get the axe is the Acura ZDX, an electric crossover that had both Honda … Read more

The 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max both feature second screens on the rear. A critic might accuse Xiaomi of copying Apple a little too closely in its launch event for the Xiaomi 17 phones, while a fan might say the company is trying to beat Apple at its own game. Either way, it’s pretty … Read more

Hey there, and welcome to Decoder! I’m Hayden Field, senior AI repoter at The Verge — and your Thursday episode guest host. I have another couple of shows for you while Nilay is out on parental leave, and we’re going to be spending more time diving into some of the unforeseen consequences of the generative AI … Read more

Cowboy is in talks to be acquired by ReBirth Group Holding, weeks after the struggling e-bike manufacturer was bailed out by the Paris-based investor. The news was first reported by French newspaper Le Figaro, and subsquently confirmed by one of Cowboy’s co-founders. “We can confirm that discussions with ReBirth are progressing very positively, and we … Read more

Alongside an annual fee increase, American Express also recently announced an update to its mobile app. | Image: American Express Following a significant price bump in 2021 from $550 to $695, American Express once again increased the annual fee for its Platinum card to $895 last week, making it one of the most expensive credit … Read more

Windows ML is available on Windows 11 24H2 or newer. Microsoft’s Windows ML platform is now generally available for production use, making it easier for developers to add AI to their Windows apps. In its announcement blog, Microsoft says Windows ML is supported on all devices running Windows 11 24H2 or newer, and provides a … Read more