Mike Rugnetta is a writer, podcast host, producer, audio engineer, educator, musician, sound designer, and father. In short, the man wears a lot of hats. He’s the cocreator and host of the award-winning Never Post, an absolutely must-listen podcast about the internet, as well as Fun City, a TTRPG podcast where he’s the GM. He’s … Read more
When I returned to my computer five minutes after giving Gemini a lengthy prompt, I had two things: a functional app in a preview window, and a message about a bug. “~ Channel is unrecoverably broken and will be disposed!” Sounded bad! But right below it was a button to fix the bug. Pretty weird … Read more
On Friday evening, the government ordered Anthropic to block access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all foreign nations, both inside and outside the US, due to national security concerns. That order included employees of Anthropic. To meet those demands, the company has completely cut off access to the models for all customers. In … Read more
iPhone owners are getting real, native AI photo editing for the first time. The most popular camera in the world just got its first set of serious AI photo editing features, and I don’t think any of us are ready. As far as AI photo editing goes, the new features in iOS 27 are pretty … Read more
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 132, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, happy soccer, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been preparing for a month of getting absolutely nothing done during the World Cup. … Read more
Echo Isle is heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda, and it’s not afraid to show it: The retro graphics bear a striking resemblance to Link’s Awakening, the main character wears a blue tunic and wields a sword, and he navigates dungeons to collect items and keys to fight bosses and gather magical MacGuffins. But … Read more
Concept art from Dear Upstairs Neighbors that used to train custom builds of Google’s Veo and Imagen models. | Image: Google DeepMind For all the noise that’s been made about how generative AI is poised to revolutionize the filmmaking industry, there haven’t really been any projects created with the technology that felt like the sort … Read more
On June 10th, the German container ship Posen docked in Los Angeles after a two-week voyage from Shanghai. As Valve watcher Brad Lynch notes, it was almost certainly carrying the first mass production shipments of the Steam Frame, Valve’s new gaming headset. Import records show that Valve’s distribution partner Ceva offloaded nearly 32 metric tons … Read more
Nothing Phone 4A Pro | Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge If you’re thinking about upgrading your phone, “the best time was yesterday,” according to Nothing CEO and co-founder Carl Pei, echoing a message we heard during MWC. As Android Authority reports, Pei said in a post on X that the RAM shortage has already … Read more
Hm! | Photo: Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Elon Musk’s SpaceX IPO will probably make him the richest person to ever walk the planet. And while his mountain of horrible personal conduct could fill multiple books, one fact in particular stands out: A year ago, Musk’s actions directly led to the deaths of … Read more
You’d be forgiven for thinking this day would never come. Siri has spent a decade and half somewhere between “sort of useful at a few things” and “utterly disastrous, why did I even try, can it honestly not even set a timer.” But the wildest thing just happened: Apple put out a new version of … Read more
Elon Musk is now officially the world’s first trillionaire. That is a colossal amount of wealth (and by proxy, power) for one individual to have. Its scale – a thousand times more than a billion – is difficult to fathom for those of us who aren’t among the 3,363 billionaires that currently exist in our … Read more
Elon Musk’s net worth has passed the trillion-dollar mark after SpaceX’s IPO. His net worth, which was hovering around $800 billion before the IPO, includes the value of his 4.8 billion shares in SpaceX, along with his wealth from his other companies, like Tesla. Shares of SPCX opened at $150 and have remained well above … Read more
Where’s the Trump phone? We’re going to keep talking about it every week. We’ve reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone’s whereabouts. We don’t have the phones we preordered yet, but this week included an unexpected in-person encounter with the T1. You see a lot of interesting phones when you’re among tech … Read more
Whether you’re planning a backyard barbeque or a World Cup watch party, Govee’s Table Lamp Classic can help set the mood with color-changing lighting effects. Right now it’s down to just $59.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, which is its best price yet. Govee Table Lamp Classic Where to Buy: $79.99 $59.99 at Amazon (with on-page … Read more
SpaceX’s IPO on Friday allows the public to buy shares of the combined rocket, AI, and social media company for the first time, and is raising enough money to likely make Elon Musk the first trillionaire. He’ll have more wealth, on paper at least, than the economies of nations like Ireland, Sweden, or his home … Read more
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says his new AI startup will work toward developing an “artificial general engineer,” according to reports from The New York Times and CNBC. The startup, called Prometheus, aims to develop AI-powered engineering tools to aid in the design of physical products. The NYT first reported on Prometheus last November, but now … Read more
SpaceX is now a publicly traded company. In one of the most highly anticipated and controversial public offerings of all time, the rocket venture helmed by Elon Musk started trading on Nasdaq on June 12th at the take-it-or-leave-it price of $135-per-share – though most retail investors will likely pay far more. The IPO is historic … Read more
Summer is approaching, which means it’s time to enjoy some gloriously warm weather beside the grill. But let me pitch you on an alternative: Instead of the usual burgers, hot dogs, and kebabs, what if you made pizza? I’ve been doing this for a few years now, and while I still love to grill, it … Read more
Just in time for Le Mans, BMW is pulling the cover off its new M performance concept built on the Bavarian automaker’s Neue Klasse next-generation architecture. The concept is the debut of a new design language for BMW’s M division, signaling a shift toward a more electrified future. The company says it is built on … Read more
The sun is out, the sky is clear. It’s time to get outside and disconnect — from work, at least. This summer, we’re looking at all the ways to upgrade our free time indoors and out, from smart lights for the backyard to great gadgets to bring camping to ways to wind down at the local library. … Read more
Even with the looming specter of rising prices, there’s never been a better time for portable gaming. The Steam Deck has ushered in a new era of handheld PCs, the Analogue Pocket and other Game Boy-style remakes are making retro games more approachable than ever, the Playdate has led to an alternate universe of weirdo … Read more
It’s intended for camping, but BougeRV’s T1 light is so versatile that it also makes for a great summer travel companion that’ll continue to light the dark corners of your life long after you return. I used it for a few months during a recent road trip in my camper van, and it’s the light … Read more
‘Listen, that’s not what I’m here for.’ | Image: Apple Our early testing has already shown that Siri AI knows when to shut up, and that’s very much by design. In an interview with Mostly Human spotted by MacRumors, Craig Federighi said Apple’s new Siri won’t act all sycophantic like chatbots made by OpenAI, Google, … Read more
Amazon’s rolling out a free software update for Echo Hub devices that gives the home screen a much-needed update to the interface it launched with in 2024. It had already added Alex Plus AI support, but the new interface has a cleaner, fully customizable layout that fits more smart home info and controls on the … Read more
The platform-agnostic Logitech MX Master 3S wireless mouse is discounted to $89.99 at Amazon ($30 off), matching the best price we’ve seen so far this year. While it may look like a somewhat ordinary mouse, it has a unique second scroll wheel near the left thumb that’s surprisingly useful for horizontal scrolling in spreadsheets. You … Read more
You can save on a big set of outdoor security cameras ahead of Prime Day. Amazon has a five-pack of Blink cameras with a video doorbell included that’s marked down to $166.99. The bundle includes a Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+, five Blink Outdoor 2K+ cameras, and a Blink Sync Module Core. The doorbell is typically … Read more
Roborock’s Q10 S5 Plus comes with a self-emptying dock and is under $300. | Image: Roborock Even at full price, the Roborock Q10 S5 Plus offers impressive value, boasting features typically reserved for pricier robovac models at a fraction of the price. That’s especially true today. It’s down to just $269.99 ($280 off) at Wellbots … Read more
Just after Seattle enacted a one-year data center moratorium that some of Amazon’s own employees pushed for, Amazon shared how much water its data centers use, reportedly for the first time. With concerns about water consumption and energy use a focus of new AI data center construction debates, Amazon says its global data center operations … Read more
Under a new bipartisan bill, Americans could sue for damages if a government official illegally tries to coerce a social media, AI, or broadcasting company to remove their post – regardless of whether the platform actually does it. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the JAWBONE Act on … Read more