Windows 11 now has better Bluetooth quality for game chat and voice calls

Microsoft is addressing muffled audio quality on Bluetooth headsets by introducing a new LE Audio feature for Windows 11. Built on top of the Bluetooth Low Energy radio spec, LE Audio uses a new compression algorithm that results in higher quality audio that Microsoft says will “drastically” improve the audio experience in games and calls … Read more

‘Vibe-hacking’ is now a top AI threat

“Agentic AI systems are being weaponized.” That’s one of the first lines of Anthropic’s new Threat Intelligence report, out today, which details the wide range of cases in which Claude – and likely many other leading AI agents and chatbots – are being abused. First up: “Vibe-hacking.” One sophisticated cybercrime ring that Anthropic says it … Read more

London targets noisy commuters with headphone campaign

TfL is using posters to encourage passengers to wear headphones when listening to audio. | Image: TfL / The Verge After bringing 4G and 5G connectivity to the Underground, London’s public transport authority has started scolding noisy passengers who subject everyone to music and calls blasting out of their phones. A new poster campaign launched … Read more

Microsoft hosts emergency press conference after protesters ‘storm a building’

Microsoft president Brad Smith hosted an impromptu press conference on Tuesday afternoon, just hours after protesters gained access to a building at the company’s headquarters and held a sit-in demonstration inside his office. Seated on the edge of his desk, in the office that had been occupied by protesters earlier that day, Smith addressed a … Read more

Microsoft locks down a building after protesters get inside president’s office

Redmond police outside Microsoft’s building 34 | Image: No Azure for Apartheid Microsoft has temporarily locked down a building at its headquarters after protesters managed to get inside the office of the company’s president. Current and former Microsoft workers held a sit-in protest inside Brad Smith’s office in Building 34, demanding that the company cut … Read more

Anthropic settles AI book piracy lawsuit

Anthropic has settled a class action lawsuit with a group of US authors who accused the AI startup of copyright infringement. In a legal filing on Tuesday, Anthropic says it has negotiated a “proposed class settlement,” allowing it to skip a trial that would have determined how much the company owes for allegedly training its … Read more

Looks like nuclear fusion is picking up steam 

Nuclear fusion is on the upswing, as more companies pile into the space to achieve what’s often described as the Holy Grail of clean energy, according to an updated map from the Clean Air Task Force (CATF).  Nuclear fusion aims to replicate the way the Sun produces light and heat, generating a tremendous amount of … Read more

AI super PACs, the hottest investment in tech

Hello and welcome to Regulator, a newsletter about the collision between Big Tech and Washington (last week of summer edition). If you enjoy this, consider subscribing to get this newsletter weekly and everything The Verge has to offer. Ever since the US Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. FEC that corporations had the right … Read more

Framework is working on a giant haptic touchpad, Trackpoint nub, and eGPU for its laptops

Today, Framework announced the second-gen Framework Laptop 16 with two industry firsts: the first Nvidia graphics card upgrade you can perform at home in just a couple minutes, and the first complete 240W laptop charging solution over a USB-C cable. But the company’s also revealing some intriguing upgrades that didn’t quite make the cut — … Read more

Tesla rejected $60 million settlement in Autopilot case that ultimately cost it 4 times that amount

Tesla rejected a $60 million settlement in the wrongful death case that ended up costing the company $243 million in punitive and compensatory damages, Reuters reported today, citing newly filed legal documents. The proposal stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the families of the victims in a 2019 crash in which a Tesla Model S … Read more

Framework is now selling the first gaming laptop that lets you easily upgrade its GPU — with Nvidia’s blessing

Framework CEO Nirav Patel said he would deliver “the holy grail for gamers” with the Framework Laptop 16. In 2023, he suggested it’d be the first consumer notebook to fulfil the promise of modular, upgradable graphics cards like a desktop PC. We at The Verge were skeptical, because the last time we heard someone tell … Read more

Google will verify Android developers distributing apps outside the Play store

New verification rules will take effect in certain regions next year, before rolling out globally. Google is increasing security measures around sideloading apps by removing anonymity for Android developers who distribute outside of the Play Store. Starting in September next year, Google will require developers in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand to verify their identities … Read more

Zooming in on weird cameras

Unconventional cameras are having a bit of a moment. From the Sigma BF to the Fujifilm Half to young photographers reaching for old digital point-and-shoots, the camera industry has looked a little different over the past few years. Are these moments just flashes in the pan, or part of something bigger? This week on The … Read more