Xbox warns of a ‘reset’ as it prepares for layoffs

Microsoft’s Xbox division will be hit with significant layoffs next month, according to people familiar with Microsoft’s plans. The company has been preparing for the layoffs internally for weeks, with Xbox CEO Asha Sharma hinting about “making hard choices” last month. Sources suggest the cuts could even involve a studio closure, or changes to the … Read more

Apple, Google add support for Thread 1.4

Google TV Streamer has been updated to Thread 1.4, allowing you to access a way to manually share its Thread credentials. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Apple and Google are updating their smart home streaming devices to Thread 1.4. As first spotted by Matter Alpha and 9to5 Google, the latest spec … Read more

Kalshi adds required employment verification for some prediction market bets

The CFTC is considering its first regulation for prediction markets, as arrests over “insider trading” on everything from military operations to Google Search data continue to stack up. As CoinDesk reports, a notice of proposed rulemaking says “the proposal would establish a structured framework for evaluating whether such contracts involve an activity enumerated in Section … Read more

Fable won’t answer basic biology questions

Anthropic just released Claude Fable 5, calling it the most powerful AI model it has ever made widely available and praising its skills in biology, among others. But the model won’t answer basic biology questions – the kind you’d expect a high schooler to handle. Instead, it hands off the query to the former flagship … Read more

Microsoft, like, totally gets why students are booing AI-pilled graduation speakers

New college graduates around the country have been booing and heckling commencement speakers who hype up AI. Microsoft would like everyone to talk it out. In a blog post running more than 3,100 words, Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith addressed the recent spate of viral clips from graduation ceremonies, like former Google CEO … Read more

The future of AI regulation is courting the strangest, most anxious bedfellows

(L-R) Sen. Mike Rounds, Pamela Brown, Chris Malachowsky, Kevin O’Leary, Gabriele Caccia, Tammy Haddad, Michele L. Jawando, Sen. Mark Warner, Michael Kelly and Major General Patrick Ellis attend the Second Annual AI Honors. | Getty Images for Washington AI N Hello and welcome to Regulator, a newsletter for Verge subscribers about tech politics, tech influence, … Read more

Microsoft restricts Claude Fable for employees over data retention concerns

Anthropic released Claude Fable, its first Mythos-class AI model, yesterday and it’s already causing concerns inside Microsoft. Sources tell me that Microsoft is limiting the use of Claude Fable 5 for employees because of Anthropic’s new data retention requirements. While Microsoft quickly rolled out Claude Fable 5 to its GitHub Copilot and Foundry customers, I’m … Read more

Boox’s quirky page-turning remote won me over

Tappy is a tiny wireless remote that doesn’t look like one. Following the launch of the surprisingly popular Kobo Remote, Boox has released its own device to ease the burden of reaching for an e-reader’s touchscreen that’s an arm’s length away. The Tappy isn’t Boox’s first page-turning remote, but its design takes a much different … Read more

Five questions for the duo behind The Pelley Minutes

Scott Pelley, correspondent, 60 Minutes. | Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty Images Websites are so back! Today’s website worth visiting is The Pelley Minutes, a clever project that puts the career of longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley into perspective. The show may only be 60 minutes long, but Pelley racked up nearly … Read more

The three sets of earbuds I reach for

I listen to a lot of earbuds, but these three I actually use all the time. | Photo: John Higgins / The Verge I have been an audio reviewer for 20 years. My time as a freelance headphones panelist at Wirecutter, and the multitude of reviews I’ve written for sites like Reviewed, Digital Trends, IGN, … Read more

Xbox exploring ‘radically different’ console business models

The RAMageddon crisis has got Microsoft rethinking its Xbox console hardware business. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Xbox strategy chief Matthew Ball have both revealed this week that Microsoft is reevaluating plans for its next-generation Project Helix console and exploring “radically different” console business models in the meantime. “We are working very hard to rethink … Read more

Microsoft is disabling Office 2019 for Mac next month

Microsoft’s Office 2019 apps for Mac will stop working next month, because the company isn’t renewing a certificate that validates Office licenses. Owners of Office 2019 for Mac are being warned they’ll have to purchase Office 2024 or a Microsoft 365 subscription if they want to continue editing documents. Microsoft previously promised that “all your … Read more

Waymo built a virtual driver to study how humans react to surprises on the road

Waymo has a lot of experience building virtual systems to help its autonomous vehicles better understand the real world. It built realistic 3D worlds to better anticipate natural disasters and unpredictable edge cases. It created a virtual representation of a hyperattentive driver to test against its own autonomous vehicles in a series of simulated scenarios … Read more

WhatsApp ordered to host rival AI assistants for free

Meta has been ordered by the European Commission to restore free WhatsApp access for chatbots made by rival AI providers while the regulator finishes its antitrust investigation. The rare interim measure announced on Tuesday was deemed necessary “to prevent serious and irreparable damage to competition” in the general-purpose AI assistant market. This is only the … Read more

Congress just gave DHS another $70 billion

Congress narrowly voted to fund President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, giving the Department of Homeland Security $70 billion over the next three years. The house voted 214 to 212 in favor of the reconciliation bill Tuesday, following the Senate’s 52-47 vote last Friday morning. The vote fell largely along party lines. Sen. Lisa Murkowski … Read more