With the dawning of a new era of hybridization in the automotive industry, more and more manufacturers are integrating electric propulsion into their lineups. Mild-hybrid systems are well-established, and more beneficial plug-in hybrid systems keep getting better and better. Even Lamborghini’s participating in the latest wave of hybridization, which might come as a surprise to … Read more
Our water, health, and energy systems are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattack. Now, when tensions escalate – like when the US bombed nuclear facilities in Iran this month – the safety of these systems becomes of paramount concern. If conflict erupts, we can expect it to be a “hybrid” battle, Joshua Corman, executive in residence for … Read more
If you’re looking for a webcam that works with the Nintendo Switch 2’s new GameChat mode that lets you video chat with friends and see their faces within games, it looks like the biggest brand in PC accessories is still your best bet. Logitech is the first webcam maker to confirm to The Verge that … Read more
The periscope camera on the Nothing Phone 3 — which is apparently in an odd spot. Earlier this month, I wrote about a leaked image of what was rumored to be the Nothing Phone 3. That image showed a design with a translucent back and three center-aligned cameras. But a new set of supposed Nothing … Read more
So far, Runway is known for bringing generative AI to Hollywood. Now, the $3 billion startup is setting its sights on the gaming industry. This week, I was granted access to a new interactive gaming experience that Runway plans to make available to everyone as soon as next week, according to CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela. The … Read more
The Senate version of the budget reconciliation bill, backed by President Donald Trump, removes protections for unlicensed spectrum that broadens the capacity of the 6GHz Wi-Fi band. This could result in slower Wi-Fi speeds. Under the bill, which may be voted on at the end of this week, the FCC would sell off some of … Read more
After a long week, the last thing I want to do is clean my floors (they’re seriously overdue for a cleaning). Busting out the vacuum and mopping can be tiring. That’s why I’m a big fan of robot vacuums, especially ones with built-in mops that can handle all the cleaning on their own. Speaking of, … Read more
A Google data center in Mayes County, Oklahoma. Google’s carbon emissions jumped yet again as the company continues to push ahead in AI. The company’s 2025 sustainability report emphasizes that its “ambition-based emissions” grew 11 percent last year to reach 11.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution, marking a 51 percent increase compared to … Read more
We’ve rounded up deals on all sorts of TVs, from affordable yet feature-packed models to high-end OLED panels that will really wow you. | Image: Sony Things are looking bright for those who want to nab a great TV in 2025 at a substantial discount. There’s usually a great deal happening on a mid- or … Read more
As the esports industry searches for new sources of revenue, Riot Games has opened up its League of Legends and Valorant esports leagues to sports betting sponsorships. The decision will permit tier one organizations – or the highest level of professional players – in the North and South America and European esports leagues of Valorant … Read more
Recalibrate your relationship with phone photography. Adobe’s Project Indigo is a camera app built by camera nerds for camera nerds. It’s the work of Florian Kainz and Marc Levoy, the latter of whom is also known as one of the pioneers of computational photography with his work on early Pixel phones. Indigo’s basic promise is … Read more
There’s some executive shuffling going on at Tesla. Two key leaders have left recently – one of them being fired by CEO Elon Musk – but the company also hired an exec from Cruise, GM’s failed robotaxi company. Yesterday, reports from Forbes and CNBC said that Musk had fired Omead Afshar, who formerly led operations … Read more
With the Wear OS 5.1 update that was released last March, Google quietly introduced a new feature called Channel Sounding for the Pixel Watch 3 that could improve the accuracy of pinpointing the location of other devices using its existing Bluetooth hardware. But while Channel Sounding is now supported by the smartwatch, it’s not yet … Read more
The Supreme Court has upheld a Texas law requiring age verification to access adult websites, saying despite First Amendment claims, the law “only incidentally burdens the protected speech of adults.” The ruling, in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, opens the door to age-gating in states nationwide. The court ruled in Texas’ favor by a margin … Read more
The Supreme Court ruled that the funding mechanism behind a key broadband subsidy program for schools and underserved areas can continue operating. In a decision issued on Friday, the Supreme Court rejected claims that Congress and the FCC’s implementation of the fund is unconstitutional. The program, known as the Universal Service Fund (USF), helps subsidize … Read more
The refund itself may not arrive until next year for new applicants. Eligible Fortnite players who felt bamboozled into making unwanted purchases have been given a second chance to request a refund. The Federal Trade Commission has reopened applications to receive refunds from the $245 million settlement that Epic Games reached with the agency until … Read more
I just tried on five different outfits in about 10 minutes — or at least my AI lookalike did. That’s all thanks to Doppl, a new app that Google is testing, which I used to create AI-generated clips of myself wearing outfits that I found across the web. It mostly works, but it has clear … Read more
The new Place smart smoke and CO alarm from Gentex features a built-in nightlight, motion detection, and ambient temperature and humidity sensing. A new line of smoke and CO alarms from Gentex called Place is packed with smart features, including phone notifications, a nightlight, motion detection, and temperature and humidity sensing. There’s also optional air … Read more
Universal and Blumhouse’s first M3gan feature came out of nowhere with a premise so ridiculous and campy that it was hard not to be at least a little intrigued. Equal parts Child’s Play and Small Wonder, M3gan was undeniably silly with its story about an AI-powered doll who sang Sia’s “Titanium” and danced around as … Read more
A lot of the future of AI will be settled in court. From publishers to authors to artists to Hollywood conglomerates, the creative industry is picking a big copyright fight over the vast quantities of data used to train AI models – and the ultimate output of those models. (Disclosure: Vox Media, The Verge’s parent … Read more
Threads will let you temporarily block words, just like X. Threads has taken another step towards decoupling from Instagram by introducing its own word blocking filters. Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced on Thursday that the Hidden Words setting on Threads includes “newly added custom filters to block words, phrases, and emojis in batches, with optional … Read more
Sendi Jia, a designer running her own studio between Beijing, China, and London, England, says she mainly uses AI generators like DALL-E to make fake photos for background panels or websites when her clients don’t have access to real ones. That’s helped clients with limited budgets, but it’s also exposed just how much of the … Read more
Redwood Materials is repurposing old EV batteries into energy storage systems that cost “substantially less” than brand new storage projects, the company said Thursday. The electric vehicle battery recycling and manufacturing venture, which was founded by Tesla’s former chief technologist, has created a new division called Redwood Energy to manage these projects. The aim is … Read more
During a company-wide all-hands meeting on Thursday, some of Meta’s top executives were asked about the “$100 million signing bonuses” that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman claimed they had been offering to poach his employees. “Sam is just being dishonest here,” Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s CTO, said at the meeting when asked about Altman’s remarks. “He’s suggesting … Read more
After quietly pausing the rollout of Google Photos’ AI-powered “Ask Photos” search tool, Google is now expanding access once again and making some improvements to the feature. Google’s Gemini AI models power Ask Photos so that you can ask complex questions to help you find photos. But earlier this month, a member of the Google … Read more
Apple has introduced new App Store changes in the EU in an attempt to avoid being further penalized under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). On Thursday, the company announced a new tier system for its Store Services fee that’s applied to purchases made outside apps, and it will only give developers access to … Read more
Ever been racing to meet a deadline only to realize your coffee’s gone cold again? The Ember Mug 2 self-heating smart mug keeps your drink hot so you can stay focused without making constant trips to the microwave. And right now, Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart are selling the 14-ounce smart mug in select colors starting at … Read more
Microsoft announced earlier this week that it would start testing its new aggregated gaming library on the Xbox app for Windows, and it’s now starting to show up for testers today. This new library experience lists Steam, Battle.net, Ubisoft, Epic Games Store, and Riot Games titles that are all installed on a PC from various … Read more
Microsoft is still updating the Xbox 360, nearly 20 years later. Earlier this week some devoted Xbox 360 users booted up their aging consoles to find that Microsoft had updated the home screen to finally resolve an issue with box art. But in addition to that fix, several users on Reddit, as well as Kotaku, … Read more
Comcast is changing its Xfinity plans nationwide to make them simpler — and it’s dropping data caps so that the plans have truly unlimited data. The company announced today that it will now offer four plans — 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps, and 2 Gbps — across three different pricing tiers: an “Everyday Price” … Read more