With Alexa Plus, Amazon finally reinvents its best product
The biggest surprise at Amazon’s press conference last week was the lack of hardware announcements. Traditionally, Amazon announces dozens of new gadgets at its events, but this time, Amazon spent 70 minutes talking about software. Specifically, Alexa Plus, its new generative AI-powered Alexa voice assistant. And that was exactly the right move. Over the past […]
https://www.theverge.com/amazon-alexa/622172/amazon-alexa-plus-panos-panay-interview
All the news about EV charging in the US
The state of electric vehicle charging in North America is shaping up like the smartphone charging wars — but focused on much more expensive hardware. Right now, like USB-C and Android phones, the Combined Charging System (CCS, Type 1) plug is on a greater variety of cars. Meanwhile, Tesla’s plug was long compared to Apple […]
EVgo says no to fast-charging extension cables and breakaway adapters
Electric vehicle charging network EVgo changed its terms of service Thursday to include new language explicitly prohibiting the use of high-speed DC extension cables and breakaway adapters at the company’s stations. The terms, which go into effect March 8th, are another bump in the road for enterprising companies looking to cash in on EV charging […]
Apple’s AirTags are on sale for their best price to date
Apple AirTags can help you find your lost items, but what if you need to keep track of more than one or two items, or you want to equip the whole family? The occasional deal on a four-pack can help a ton, especially when it’s down to $64.49 (about $35 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, […]
Trump’s first 100 days: all the news affecting the tech industry
President Donald Trump kicked off the first day of his presidency by signing a flurry of executive actions, including halting enforcement of the TikTok ban and rolling back the Biden administration’s artificial intelligence order. Having already run the country once before, Trump entered the presidency with the goal of hitting the ground running, having already […]
https://www.theverge.com/24348851/donald-trump-presidency-tech-science-news
Meta is firing about 20 employees for leaking
Meta has fired “roughly 20†employees who leaked “confidential information outside the company,†according to a spokesperson. “We tell employees when they join the company, and we offer periodic reminders, that it is against our policies to leak internal information, no matter the intent,†Meta spokesperson Dave Arnold tells The Verge exclusively. “We recently conducted […]
https://www.theverge.com/labor/621059/meta-fires-20-employee-leakers
The fallout of Meta’s content moderation overhaul
Meta is making sweeping changes to its content moderation policies, including abandoning third-party fact-checks in favor of X’s crowd-sourced “Community Notes” approach and loosening restrictions on topics like immigration and gender identity. Under the updated Hateful Conduct policy, for example, calling gay and trans people “mentally ill” is now allowed, while an explicit ban on […]
https://www.theverge.com/24339131/meta-content-moderation-fact-check-zuckerberg-texas
Here’s a new trailer for the ambitious survival game from PUBG’s creator
PlayerUnknown Productions, the studio from PUBG creator Brendan Greene (aka PlayerUnknown), has shared a gameplay trailer for Prologue: Go Wayback!, a single-player survival game that’s launching in early access on Steam this year. The studio previously shared that the game would be built with “machine-learning-driven terrain generation technology,” and in this new trailer, you can […]
https://www.theverge.com/news/620988/playerunknown-productions-prologue-go-wayback-trailer
Jeff Bezos is sending Katy Perry to space
Katy Perry will fly to space during Blue Origin’s next crewed mission, the Jeff Bezos-owned space company has announced. The pop star will join CBS host Gayle King and Bezos’s fiancé Lauren Sánchez aboard the New Shepard rocket this spring, marking its 11th human flight. Along with Perry and Sánchez, who is known for her […]
https://www.theverge.com/news/620987/blue-origin-jeff-bezos-katy-perry-new-shepard-launch
Microsoft pushes ahead with AI in gaming
Microsoft might say its top priority right now is security, but it’s been clear for months that AI is just as important. The odd division out has been Xbox, which hasn’t discussed its use of AI much in public. But that changed last week when Microsoft ripped the band-aid off and waded, somewhat clumsily, into […]
Powerbeats Pro 2 review: the workout buds to beat
After an epic wait, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are finally here. No, seriously. The original Powerbeats Pro released nearly six years ago, roughly an ice age as far as gadgets go. Turns out, it was worth it thanks to new active noise canceling, a transparency mode, and heart rate monitoring. None of these features are […]
Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a small update with a big periscope lens
Xiaomi has announced its 15 Ultra flagship phone at a launch event in China, where it’s going on sale starting at 6,499 yuan (around $893). The Android phone joins the company’s Xiaomi 15 and 15 Pro, which went on sale there in October 2024. It is a mostly iterative upgrade on last year’s model, but […]
https://www.theverge.com/news/619919/xiaomi-15-ultra-launch-china-200mp-periscope-specs-camera
Streaming services keep getting more expensive: all the latest price increases
Death. Taxes. All your streaming services getting a little more expensive all the time. These are the new certainties in life, it seems. In recent years, as the streaming TV and movie business has gotten more competitive and companies around Hollywood have thrown billions into building their own platforms and libraries in order to compete […]
https://www.theverge.com/23901586/streaming-service-prices-netflix-disney-hulu-peacock-max
Max’s ad-supported tier is losing CNN and the Bleacher Report
Though Max has always said that it planned to charge more for access to its CNN and Bleacher Report Sports add-ons, the price hikes are coming in a roundabout way targeted at subscribers to the streamer’s cheapest tier. Max announced today that it no longer intends to charge subscribers to its Standard ($16.99/month or $169.99/year) […]
https://www.theverge.com/hbo/619939/max-cnn-bleacher-report-leaving-basic-ad-supported-tier
Longer-lasting laptops: the modular hardware you can upgrade and repair yourself
When it comes to improving the sustainability of consumer electronics, there’s a growing movement to design devices with a focus on upgradability and repairability that can extend their longevity, instead of just making them easier to recycle after a few years of use. At one time, nearly every laptop maker was caught up in a […]
https://www.theverge.com/24190757/modular-laptops-repairable-upgradable-diy
Volvo ES90 will charge faster, drive farther than other Volvo EVs
Volvo is continuing to drop hints about its upcoming high-tech electric sedan, the ES90, ahead of the EV’s official reveal next month. Today, the Swedish automaker provided new details about the ES90’s range and battery efficiency, calling it “a car that goes further and charges faster than any electric Volvo before.” That’s mostly thanks to […]
https://www.theverge.com/news/619345/volvo-es90-range-battery-charging-ev-voltage
Anker’s new USB-C HDMI cable supports 140W fast charging
Anker has released a new HDMI to USB-C cable that allows you to connect a mobile device to an external display without draining its battery. The Anker Nano USB-C to HDMI Cable Adapter, now available through Amazon for $28.99, is Thunderbolt 5 compatible and includes a USB-C port on the HDMI connector so you can […]
https://www.theverge.com/news/619071/anker-nano-usb-c-hdmi-cable-adapter-140w-power
Dark Horse is shutting down its iOS comics app
The Dark Horse Digital service is being shut down, and as part of that, the Dark Horse Comics iOS app will no longer be supported, according to an announcement. Dark Horse Comics says people should download comics they’ve purchased by March 30th, as it will end support for its iOS app and the standalone Plants vs. […]
https://www.theverge.com/news/619143/dark-horse-comics-app-shutting-down
Microsoft makes Copilot Voice and Think Deeper free with unlimited use
Microsoft made OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model free for all Copilot users last month, and now it’s providing unlimited use of this model and Copilot’s voice capabilities to everyone. Previously, both Think Deeper (powered by o1) and Voice in Copilot had limits for free users, but Microsoft is removing these today to allow Copilot users to […]
Three years later, the Steam Deck has dominated handheld PC gaming
Today is the third anniversary of Valve’s Steam Deck, the handheld gaming PC that all but created the market for handheld gaming PCs. It was a mess to start! But three years later, The Verge has data showing how it has dominated the nascent market. While Valve told us in November 2023 that it had […]