Lead Hacker

Apple has released iOS 18.4, and one of the biggest features is priority notifications, which use Apple Intelligence to highlight “important notifications that may require your immediate attention,” according to Apple’s patch notes. The priority notifications will appear at the top of your notification stack on your Home Screen, as shown in the below picture from Apple’s website. The update (as well as the just-released iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4) also expands the availability of Apple Intelligence to “many new languages, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified) — as well as localized English for Singapore and India,” according to an Apple press release . EU users will also be able to use Apple Intelligence on iPhone and iPad. Apple Intelligence is now available on Vision Pro as well as part of visionOS 2.4 . And Apple is launching a Vision Pro app for iOS with today’s software updates to help you find co...

Following months of testing , Plex has started to roll out its redesigned mobile app to Android and iOS devices, and it will arrive to everyone within the next week. The new app comes with an updated navigation system that should make it easier to access different parts of the app and find content to watch, along with a dedicated tab for centralized media libraries. It also has a button in the top-right corner of the screen for your Watchlist and more artwork across detail pages for shows and movies, as well as cast and crew profiles. In a post on the Plex forum , the company outlines a ton of improvements it has made to the app since the preview, including faster load times and scrolling, the addition of a sleep timer, and picture-in-picture support. Plex plans on rolling out a way to download a whole season at once, the ability to cast to more devices, UI improvements for ratings and reviews, and more. It’s also working on a revamp of its TV app, which it started testing earlier...

Amazon has launched a new AI model, Nova Act, which is designed to perform tasks — like online shopping — in your browser. For now it’s only available to developers in a “research preview,” but Amazon is also expanding access to its other Nova AI models through a web portal, making them easier to find and use. Nova Act is a new model whose function sounds similar to OpenAI’s Operator agent . Amazon says Act can carry out web searches, make purchases, or answer questions about what’s on the screen, including the option to perform tasks on a schedule. It can also recognize more detailed instructions — such as telling it “don’t accept the insurance upsell” while making a purchase. Act is currently only accessible to developers, but Amazon says it’s already being put to use carrying out some online tasks in the upgraded Alexa Plus assistant. Act is the first product to be released by Amazon’s Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Labs, which says its “dream” is for agents to “perform...

The Echo Show 8 is one of the devices Alexa Plus is currently available on. Amazon has officially launched its AI-powered Alexa Plus – but it’s only available to a “small number” of customers to start, Amazon spokesperson Kristy Schmidt confirmed to The Verge . As shown on its early access page , Alexa Plus also doesn’t come with all the features Amazon showcased during its recent devices event , like the ability to brainstorm gift ideas, order groceries with your voice, or access Alexa Plus in your browser. There are some other missing features that “don’t yet meet Amazon’s standards for public release,” according to a report from The Washington Post . Alexa Plus still can’t order takeout from Grubhub using context from a conversation, nor can it identify family members around the house and give them reminders to do chores. You won’t be able to access Kids Plus features, such as Stories With Alexa, either. For now, Alexa Plus is only available on Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 devic...

The official unveiling of the Switch 2 was an incredibly confident moment for Nintendo. It was brief and lacking almost entirely in details. There was no price, no release date, and no confirmed games outside of a Mario Kart tease . The 2 in the name implied a bigger and better Switch, but when it came to the how — the chips that will power the device, the screen that will make Zelda and Mario look great — Nintendo deemed it wasn’t important enough to share right away. And it’s right: unlike the rest of the industry, Nintendo has carved out a path where specs no longer matter. It wasn’t always this way. Previous Nintendo consoles were sold, as their contemporaries were, on horsepower. The Super Nintendo was a more-powerful NES, while the N64’s processor was deemed so important that the system was named after it. But things started to change around the time of the GameCube. Nintendo had experienced a steady decline in console sales over subsequent generations; while the...

The Z Flip 7 FE’s cover screen looks identical to the Flip 5 and Flip 6’s. The big difference between Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the cheaper Z Flip 7 FE will be their cover screens, going by new renders released by the leaker OnLeaks. Earlier this month he produced designs that show a new, larger cover screen on the flagship Flip 7 , but our first look at the more affordable “Fan Edition” instead includes Samsung’s older display design. The Z Flip 7 FE seems to use the same cover screen design as the Z Flip 5 and 6 , with a thick bezel and a stepped bottom edge that cuts around the camera lenses. By contrast, our latest look at the Z Flip 7 shows an edge-to-edge display that wraps around the cameras, similar to the screens on Motorola’s Razr Plus models . According to OnLeaks — who created the renders in conjunction with SammyGuru based on leaked details — the display will be the same 3.4-inch size as on the Z Flip 6. At 165.1 x 71.7 x 7.4mm when unfolded, the ph...

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 77, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, don’t forget to make your Venmo private, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I’ve been reading about RISC and Ben Affleck and Google’s new search boss , installing a SodaStream because my can situation is getting out of control, binge-watching How I Met Your Mother along with the new rewatch pod , watching Dead Talents Society after my colleagues raved about it, reliving a decade of great music through one Benny Blanco interview , enjoying a huge uptick in new friends on Signal , and doing a lot of retro racing in New Star GP . I also have for you a terrific new Apple TV Plus show, a deep dive into fax machines, the internet’s favorite new AI plaything, and much more. Kind of a light week this week, honestly, but still lots to dig into. Let’s do it. (As always, the best part of Installer ...

A Tesla Cybertruck drives past protestors during a Tesla Takedown, a nationwide peaceful protest movement, at a Tesla Showroom in the Coral Gables neighborhood on Saturday, March 29, 2025 in Miami. | Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui / The Verge Thousands of anti-Tesla protesters took to the streets Saturday March 29th in opposition to Elon Musk and his efforts with DOGE to eliminate humanitarian aid, close federal agencies, and fire government workers. It was the culmination of nearly two months of steady, almost daily demonstrations aimed at hurting Tesla’s sales — and ultimately Musk himself. Today was billed as a “Global Day of Action†with protests targeting hundreds of Tesla locations in the US, Canada, and Europe. The Verge wanted to check the temperature and see how these protesters were thinking about this current moment, and whether they felt their boycott was having its desired effect. Tesla sales have slid significantly since the protests started, and its stock ...

Samaung’s new Bespoke AI Jet Ultra cordless stick vacuum has an AI cleaning mode that senses floor types and automatically adjusts suction power and brush speed. In our notification-heavy world, there is still one activity where you might just miss that buzz on your phone or ping on your smartwatch – while you’re vacuuming. Thankfully, Samsung has a solution.  Its newest cordless stick vac, the new Bespoke AI Jet Ultra ($1,099), now has an LCD display control panel that, along with standard features such as power level and battery life, can notify you when you have an incoming phone call or text message. The vacuum, which works with an auto-empty charging station, also features 400AW suction and 100-minute battery life. Even better, if you’re doing the wash and left your phone in the other room, Samsung’s added touchscreens to its washers and dryers , including the new Bespoke AI Laundry Vented Combo washer / dryer ($3,099). This lets you answer a call directly on the built-...

Whenever  Verge  staffers are asked to describe their smart tech, office tools, kitchen gadgets, or whatever else, they talk about things they recently bought, things they picked up 10 years ago, or things they’ve had sitting around their house for decades. We’ve gathered a few of the items that our staffers have enthused about in the past that they use for charging, repairing, listening, cooking, gardening, and parenting, and that are now discounted as part of Amazon’s Big Spring Sale. Just in case you’d like to check them out. Kitchen help After realizing we’re not a family who likes to get their hands dirty while cooking (we leave that part to mixers and blenders), an automatic soap dispenser has become one of the most used devices in our kitchen. We opted for a  cheap $25 option from Amazon  that lets you adjust how much foaming soap is dispensed and lasts for a couple of months between charges, but companies like Simplehuman sell pricier  $80 versions...

As protests against Tesla continue to grow, Elon Musk is threatening to “go after†the people who say or post anything negative about the company — which he labels “propaganda.â€Â Â  That was what I took away from Elon Musk’s 38-minute interview on Fox News last night, which largely focused on the billionaire’s efforts to eliminate government programs and fire thousands of federal workers. Those efforts have spurred thousands of people to protest at Tesla locations across the US. Waving signs and chanting slogans, the so-called Tesla Takedown protesters have become a symbol of opposition to Musk as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). There has also been an uptick in incidents of arson, vandalism, and violence against Tesla showrooms that, while unrelated to the protests, have led to Musk and President Donald Trump labeling these actions as “domestic terrorism.†And in last night’s interview, Musk made no distinction between those...

So far, 2025 has been a great year for watching new, must-see TV shows and movies on subscription services . But if you, like many of us, have more concurrent subscriptions than you care to admit, you’ll agree that keeping up with the latest each month is expensive. They may not cost as much as most of the tech we cover, but it adds up. If you’re trying to cut down on your expenses, you might be able to do so while holding onto your precious subscriptions. Several services offer ongoing promos, some of which are even available to new and returning subscribers alike. Below, we’ve curated some of the best deals going on right now, so you can enjoy streaming your favorite show or movie for less than it would typically cost you. The best Disney Plus deals The best Hulu deals The best Peacock deals The best Sling TV deals The best Apple TV Plus deals The best Max deals The best Netflix deals The best YouTube TV deals The best Paramount Plus and Showtime deals The best Starz...

Keep your private messages private. If you hadn’t heard of Signal before this week, chances are you’re well aware of it now. The messaging app was thrust into the news on Monday when The Atlantic ’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to a group chat involving top military officials planning an airstrike. Even though it entered the discourse for extremely unusual reasons, Signal has been, and remains, a well-regarded messaging platform for secure communication. It’s not foolproof — emphasis on fool, in this case — but it’s worth understanding what it is and how it works, even if you’re not a person who deals with highly confidential information. What is Signal? Signal is a messaging app. You download it to your iOS or Android device, link your phone number, and you’re ready to go — just like other services like WhatsApp or Telegram. The thing that makes Signal different is its emphasis on privacy. Communication on the platform is end-to-en...

The Trump administration planned a military strike in Yemen the way normal people plan a surprise birthday party: in a group chat.  As detailed by The Atlantic earlier this week , Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, and other senior officials used a Signal group to discuss an attack on Houthi targets, sharing details that included the movement of American assets in advance of their deployment. The news leaked because one member, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, made the bizarre mistake of inviting Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg into the discussion. But even before that moment, Hegseth and the rest were doing something dangerous and far outside the bounds of normal military planning — while using an app that, for ordinary people, is still one of the best ways to have a private chat. Signal is an end-to-end encrypted chat service used for many private communications, including conversations between sources and journalists at outlets lik...

Luna, the cloud gaming service from Amazon that lets you stream to PC, Fire TV sticks, and more, is getting several Electronic Arts games, including Star Wars titles and sports games, added to its library soon. The first collection of games will be released tomorrow and available to Luna Plus subscribers, including Star Wars Jedi: Survivor , Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Dead Space . Meanwhile, “more of EA’s popular franchises,” including some unnamed EA Sports games, will be released “over the coming months.” Luna, which launched in the US in 2022 , has reached multiple countries over the years, including Canada, Germany, and the UK, but is yet to be available globally. However, Amazon has announced it will now bring Luna to Sweden, Portugal, Belgium, and Luxembourg. You’d be forgiven if you’ve forgotten about Amazon’s Luna service, which had a rocky start and lost many games from its library early on. But it has survived the test of time, outlived Google’s Stadia, and has ...

Microsoft is rolling out a new sign-in screen for more than a billion consumers that access services like Outlook, Windows, Xbox, Microsoft 365, and more. The updated authentication screen is based on Microsoft’s Fluent 2 design language and even includes a dark mode with Xbox colors. The entire authentication process for Microsoft accounts has been improved as part of this redesign, with a bigger emphasis on passwordless authentication. “Our new UX is optimized for a passwordless and passkey-first experience,” says Robin Goldstein , partner director of product management for Microsoft Identity. “We’ve reduced the number of concepts per screen to lower cognitive load and speed up the authentication process, plus re-ordered some steps to logically flow better.” The more simplified design also includes light and dark themes, which are enabled automatically based on your device configuration. “The first place to see this will be on Gaming apps,” says Goldstein. “Other consumer apps wi...

The Canon EOS R50 V is a redesigned version of the EOS R50 with a stronger focus on video capabilities. | Image: Canon Canon has announced an updated version of its EOS R50 with improved video capabilities, a smaller body, and a cheaper price tag — thanks in part to losing an electronic viewfinder. The original, which launched in 2023, was an entry-level mirrorless camera with 4K video capabilities that maxed out at 30fps. The new EOS R50 V bumps that to 4K at 60fps and borrows some features from the video-focused PowerShot V1 point-and-shoot Canon announced in February . The Canon EOS R50 V will be available sometime in April at $649.99 (the original debuted at $680) for the camera body alone. It will also be sold in an $849.99 bundle that includes Canon’s new RF-S14-30mm F4-6.3 lens featuring optical image stabilization and powered zoom capabilities controlled by a ring instead of a button or a lever. Canon says the use of a ring makes it easier to smoothly control the lens’s zo...

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is just $999.99, which is a whopping $700 discount on the cleaning machine. Spring cleaning season is here, which is probably why we’re seeing retailers slash prices on top-tier robot vacuums like the Dreame X40 Ultra and Eufy X10 Pro Omni . Yet it’s the deal on the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra — our favorite robot vacuum overall — that stands out the most. Right now, you can buy the excellent robovac / mop hybrid for $999.99 ($700 off) at Amazon , Best Buy , and directly from Roborock at this new all-time low price.  Boasting 10,000Pa of suction power, the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra delivers exceptional vacuuming performance with a pair of rubber roller brushes that can suck up dirt impressively well. It also comes with camera-equipped AI obstacle avoidance, so you don’t need to worry about it getting tangled up in clutter. The S8 Max V Ultra can additionally lift itself up to scrub your floors, courtesy of a sonic mop that vibrates up to 4,000 times a min...