Index funds are touted as one of the safest ways to invest. Rather than picking and choosing individual stocks, index funds let you bet on the market as a whole. So what happens when a company like SpaceX - a giant gamble, and, in my opinion, terribly overpriced - is fast-tracked … | Continue reading
The aptly-named “2K Megahits 2026 Bundle” from Humble includes 15 Steam games for $15. It’s a smattering of the publisher 2K’s biggest games of the 2010s, including BioShock Infinite, Risk of Rain 2, Borderlands 3, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The bundle will be available until Augus … | Continue reading
You probably know the signature PlayStation boot sound. Did you know that it's technically a multi-part chime? There's the synthy section where "Sony Computer Entertainment" shows onscreen with a white background. You only get to the next screen with the echo-y chimes and the col … | Continue reading
The end of the Ford F-150 Lightning was also the start of a new era for the automaker. After failing to capture the market with the electric version of its popular F-Series truck, Ford is going back to the drawing board with its Universal Electric Vehicle Platform. The first offe … | Continue reading
A judge partially granted the request from a dozen state attorneys general to temporarily place the $110 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery on hold, as reported by Variety and Reuters. US District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín said that based on the new company … | Continue reading
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your gaming monitor, LG’s 27-inch 27GX704A-B pairs a glossy WOLED panel with a fast refresh rate, and it’s currently on sale for $379.99 (about $70 off) at Amazon and directly from LG, marking a new low price. It originally launched at $799 … | Continue reading
A video from Gamers Nexus explains how, after connecting a new LG UltraGear monitor to a PC running Windows 11 for the first time, Windows Update is silently installing LG driver updates and the LG Monitor App Installer, without so much as a permission pop-up or notification. The … | Continue reading
Adobe's experimental camera app has taken an unexpected turn. After Project Indigo was launched last year to provide a "more natural (SLR-like) look" for iPhone photography, the Indigo camera app is now being updated with a suite of generative AI tools. And the change doesn't rel … | Continue reading
Today, I’m talking with Harvard professor and New Yorker staff writer Dr. Jill Lepore about her new book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, which comes out on August 25. Jill is one of the best writers there is at identifying institutional patterns in history, and Decode … | Continue reading
There are a ton of deals available to shop today thanks to Best Buy’s “Black Friday in July” sale lasting all week. The sale typically aligns closely with Prime Day each year, but of course, Amazon’s shopping holiday happened much earlier than we expected. So it’s nice to have so … | Continue reading
Electric aviation is still in its infancy, but manufacturers are already looking beyond mere air taxi trips across cities. Today, one of the leading air taxi startups, San Jose-based Archer Aviation, unveiled a new aircraft it co-developed with defense technology company Anduril … | Continue reading
After months of teasing us with reminders about how large Avengers: Doomsday's cast is going to be, Marvel has finally released a proper trailer for the film. Though Robert. Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom definitely appears to be causing a lot of the chaos in Doomsday's first trailer, … | Continue reading
AliExpress has been hit with a €550 million (about $629 million) fine for violating Europe's Digital Services Act (DSA) rules by failing to prevent illegal, unsafe, or counterfeit products from being sold on the e-commerce platform. The European Commission ruled that AliExpress d … | Continue reading
China's leading AI companies are ramping up the pressure on Silicon Valley, as Moonshot and Alibaba unveiled models they claim can go toe-to-toe with the best from OpenAI and Anthropic at a fraction of the cost. The rapid-fire releases suggest America's lead at the AI frontier is … | Continue reading
Just why? ʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(̸̢̛̼̞̭͋ͅ)̸͚̰͛̔̾̀̿͒͂:̴͓̞̑̌̂̆̊͋̀:̸͎̟̯̂̓̌ ҉ ͡ ͞ ͞ ͞ ҉● ࿀ ● ࿀ ● ҉⃝ ⃝͢ ͞ ͘ ͞⃝̕ ͢ ̛ ⃝ ̸ ̡ ͢⃝̧ ͡ ͡ ̀ ̧ ̢⃝͜ ҉ ͞ ͞ �... | Continue reading
Following the success of its $99 Kodak-branded Snapic A1, Reto Project is releasing the Kodak EC35, an even more affordable 35mm film camera for just $34.99. The EC35 certainly isn't fancy. Its 25mm acrylic lens with a fixed f/10 aperture and 1/100 shutter speed basically put it … | Continue reading
I would never go so far as to say there's no place for AI in music (I'm a fan of Holly Herndon, after all). But I generally find music made with generative AI to be offensively boring, especially the outputs of Suno. So I'm having a bit of a tough time processing the fact that [… … | Continue reading
According to the New York Times, federal agents have been told that the FBI will no longer be investigating confrontations involving ICE agents. The DHS and DOJ denied the change in policy to The Times. The reported change in guidance follows renewed scrutiny of violence by ICE a … | Continue reading
In 2017, I bought an old Magnus chord organ off Craigslist for $10. It's one of my favorite music gear purchases. Electric chord organs let you play full chords with just a press of a button, making them perfect for aspiring singer-songwriters or fooling around at home. But chord … | Continue reading
Birdfy has kicked off a midyear sale, taking up to 40 percent off a range of its smart bird feeders. One of the best deals is on Netvue’s Birdfy Feeder AI-Powered Smart Bird Feeder with Camera, which has dropped to $149.99 at Birdfy and is its second-best price to date. The bundl … | Continue reading
The manosphere influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested Saturday in Miami by US Marshals in relation to new rape and sex trafficking charges in England. According to the Associated Press, British authorities are seeking the brothers' extradition. The new charges facing A … | Continue reading
Clap on. Clap off. Well, more like, Clap, pause for half a beat but no longer because otherwise it'll stop hearing you, clap again because you waited too long, clap louder and faster, that didn't work, clap two more times, and suddenly: on. The Clapper didn't always work - and ev … | Continue reading
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on video games and physical media, follow Jay Peters. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started As a … | Continue reading
On July 19th, dozens of teams of high school students will begin a five-day, 630-mile road race from Fort Worth to Fort Stockton in Texas. But this is not your typical contest. The students design and build the cars themselves, using off-the-shelf parts and 3D printed materials. … | Continue reading
Last year, Sam Altman invited author Dave Eggers to give a talk to around 200 OpenAI staffers. The man has written countless novels, screenplays, pieces of journalism, started McSweeney's, and founded multiple schools and nonprofits that support writers and the arts more broadly. … | Continue reading
Mystic Leaks suggests that the Pixel 11a will return to featuring a flagship-grade processor with the Tensor G6. Rather than the Tensor G5 found in the Pixel 10 and 10 Pro, the Pixel 10a shipped with the previous generation Tensor G4. That was a huge disappointment since, typical … | Continue reading
Now, if you want to, you can use Google's 3D emoji in your own creations. The company shared some details about how it went about designing the little pictograms and why, as part of World Emoji Day on Friday. Things you might not necessarily worry about in a 2D illustration sudde … | Continue reading
A 360-degree camera is a great way to ensure you capture every bit of the action, but prices tend to be on the high end for models worth your attention. That’s why it’s notable that the GoPro Max 2 accessory bundle is discounted to $369 at Amazon (a dollar more at Best Buy and Go … | Continue reading
Carter Sherman has been covering sex, gender, and the complex personal and national politics that accompany them for years. She was a senior reporter for Vice and has written for Elle, Ms. magazine, and Los Angeles magazine as well. Along the way, she's garnered a Scripps Howard … | Continue reading
Hands-free unlocking is the future of smart locks. The best smart home tech removes friction, and having your door unlock for you as you walk up is as frictionless as it gets - no passcodes to remember, no need to have a free hand to wave, press, or poke at the lock. One way to [ … | Continue reading
The Sony Bravia 9 II is the most anticipated new TV in years. It's an amazing RGB LED TV. I watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on the new Bravia with my son, who has been getting into the roleplaying game but had never seen the movie. The landscapes of Faerûn looked … | Continue reading
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 136, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, hope your neighborhood isn't as smoky as mine, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I've been recording … | Continue reading
It's been a good few weeks for games on rails. Nintendo's Star Fox remake wisely kept the tightly scripted, action-packed levels from Star Fox 64 largely the same, and they're still fun to fly through nearly 20 years later. Denshattack!, a new game from Undercoders, similarly fea … | Continue reading
Cheater, I'd grumble between huffs as yet another e-bike rider casually skittered past me on a steep ascent. It's this purist attitude that, for years, has left me blind to one simple fact: electric mountain bikes are fun! My attitude adjustment came a few weeks ago, the very fir … | Continue reading
Food producer Taylor Farms released a statement on the Cyclospora outbreak Friday, confirming that it's "voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the US market." Reuters reports that, according to a source, Taylor Farms told customers like Yum Bra … | Continue reading
Portable fans are one of the easiest ways to stay cool during the summer, and you don’t have to spend much to find a decent one. If you’re looking for something more versatile, though, Shark’s ChillPill Personal Fan and Cooling System combines a rechargeable fan with a dry-touch … | Continue reading
TikTok is starting to test an opt-in tool that scans for AI likenesses and lets creators report them to the company, as spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra. The tool is initially being tested with "some" US creators, TikTok US spokesperson Zachary Kizer tells The Verg … | Continue reading
Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky says buyers of its new e-paper smartwatches should know what they're signing up for and trust Pebble to make things right if they run into issues, despite the short warranty. "I think the most important thing is trust," Migicovsky told me in an inte … | Continue reading
Apple Music is more expensive now. In the US, an individual plan now costs $11.99 per month, a $1 bump up from the previous $10.99 price. A family plan now costs $19.99 per month, up from $16.99, and a student plan costs $6.99 per month, up from $5.99. Apple, in a statement to Mu … | Continue reading
Apple is suing OpenAI. The complaint is readable and intense, as these things often are, though many experts seem to think many of the allegations are just the ways things are done. So what does Apple really want here, and why is it picking such a public fight with OpenAI? On thi … | Continue reading
The Asus ROG Swift 32-inch 4K QD-OLED gaming monitor has almost everything I want in a high-end gaming monitor, most notably a QD-OLED panel for inky black levels and vivid colors that go beyond what’s possible on an LCD screen. Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo have this model on … | Continue reading
Sean Hollister, reporting for The Verge (gift link): Here’s Google’s full statement on withdrawing its proposed modifications to Judge Donato’s permanent injunction, via Google spokesperson Dan Jackson: We’ve agreed with Epic to withdraw our motion to modify the US Court’ … | Continue reading
Leaker Evan Blass shared images of Samsung's redesigned Galaxy Z Fold 8 just days before the July 22nd launch event where Samsung is expected to officially announce the phone. The leaked images show a shorter, wider foldable matching earlier leaks of the Z Fold 8. They also revea … | Continue reading
Are we living through a small car renaissance? There's the Slate Truck, Amble's dune buggy, and the Fiat Topolino, as well as a whole galaxy of kei cars and trucks from Japan that have their own built-in fan base. While microcar sales in the US are still as tiny as the vehicles t … | Continue reading
Federal authorities have arrested a Florida man suspected of stealing at least $220,000 in crypto through malware-infected Steam games, as reported earlier by local news outlet Local10. In the complaint, officials accuse 21-year-old Zyaire Wilkins and co-conspirators of launching … | Continue reading
Greenworks Tools has issued a recall for around 554,780 Kobalt-branded power tools designed for yard work because of a battery issue "posing a risk of serious injury from fire hazard." There have been 34 reports of the tool's batteries "producing smoke, sparking or catching fire … | Continue reading
Xbox is currently in a "reset" period that includes laying off around 3,200 employees over the next year, involving deep cuts at beloved studios like id Software and Obsidian Entertainment. Now, in an attempt to show that things are still running fine, the company has announced a … | Continue reading
This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. I was in the middle of writing a different Optimizer column this … | Continue reading