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Automakers keep shoving more tech into their cars, despite evidence that consumers are increasingly fed up with huge screens and glitchy software . In fact, the features that car owners appreciate the most happen to be the ones they barely notice, according to the latest tech survey from JD Power. The consumer research firm surveyed 68,084 owners of new 2026 model-year vehicles after 90 days of ownership. The survey touched on 40 automotive technologies covering comfort and convenience; connected vehicles; driver assist; electric vehicles; and smart vehicles. The features that scored the highest were the ones that were the most inconspicuo … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/news/986721/car-tech-survey-jd-power-smart-ignition

YouTuber Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach has invested enough in GoPro to become its single largest shareholder, with an 8.5 percent stake in the company, Bloomberg reports. Speaking to Bloomberg , Fischbach said he thought GoPro "seems undervalued" and sees his investment as "part of a larger mission to make filmmaking more accessible," following the release of his first feature film , Iron Lung , earlier this year. Fishbach posted a video last week praising GoPro's new Mission 1 ILS camera and comparing it to the pricier Red Komodo-X, saying he plans to use the Mission 1 ILS in future movies. It includes an affiliate code for the new camera, but … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/986847/markiplier-gopro-investor

Steve Jobs' successor carried the torch of the iPhone and built Apple into a global powerhouse with few rivals. Since becoming CEO in 2011, Tim Cook has led the company to become one of the most dominant forces in the daily lives of billions of people. Today is his last day as CEO. Sending lots of love to the Apple community on my last day as CEO. My title changes tomorrow, but the love I have for the Apple community never will. Thank you for being a constant source of inspiration. My gratitude is endless, and I'm excited for the next chapter! - Tim Cook (@tim_cook) August 31, 2026 We'll have a lot to say about new Apple CEO John Ternus a … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/986832/read-tim-cooks-final-message-as-ceo-to-apple-staff

“AI creator” accounts like Aitana Lopez will get a new “AI-generated profile” label. | Image: Aitana Lopez Instagram is finally taking steps to address the rise of fake AI-influencer accounts that have gotten harder to spot . It's also renaming the "AI creator" label to "AI-generated profile" to make it clear when a profile features an AI-generated person that's not a real human being. "We've heard that people don't like seeing a profile that seems human, only to find out later that the person featured is AI-generated," said Instagram in a blog post . "They want to know when a profile features an AI-generated person." To that end, Instagram will be hunting down accounts that don't self-label their AI-generated profiles, and penalize them by limi … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/986593/instagram-addresses-fake-ai-profile-slop

I recently dug out my CDs and started reripping them all . I've found a few forgotten gems in there, but few hit harder for me than the beautifully concise Professor Murder Rides the Subway EP. There was a period of time in the mid-aughts in NYC where it seemed like every indie band wanted you to let loose, dance like no one was watching, and just have some damn fun. Few embodied that as much as New York dance punk band Professor Murder. LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture were the biggest names of the dance punk revival. But there were also bands like Rahim, Liars, Dan Deacon, and countless lesser-known acts on DFA that you could see on any giv … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/986564/professor-murder-rides-the-subway-dance-punk-perfection-review

Over 12 terabytes of data, containing builds of every game uploaded to Steam between 2003 and 2013, has been leaked . We don't know everything in the archives yet because of its massive size. But people have already dug up assets related to the canceled Half-Life 2: Episode 3 , content cut from Portal 2 , and a build of a game called F-Stop that's set in the Portal universe but is built around a camera mechanic. The leak also includes titles from third-party developers. Early versions of Call of Duty and Resident Evil installments have been dug up, as have builds of Mirror's Edge , Batman: Arkham Asylum , and Dragon Age: Origins . And more is lik … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/games/986552/12tb-steam-leak-half-life-2-episode-3

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope blasts off. | Photo: NASA / John Kraus After funding struggles and a name change, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has been successfully launched . It will now make a three-month, one-million-mile journey to its orbit at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2) beyond the Moon. From this vantage point, Roman will conduct an unprecedented survey of the universe . Its field of view is 100 times larger than Hubble's and, according to NASA, it can survey the sky 1,000 times faster using its 300-megapixel infrared camera. Roman also has a Coronagraph system that can block and mask glare from stars, allowing it to directly image exoplanets , even smaller, older, and colder planets … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/science/986544/nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope-launch

Inspired by Oregon Trail, but minus the dysentery. | Screenshot: Terrence O’Brien / The Verge I used to be an avid hiker and would try to go backpacking a few times a year. I always dreamed of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, but life kind of got in the way. (Turns out jobs, wives, and children aren't thrilled with the idea of you disappearing for three months.) But I've been longing to reconnect with my love of the outdoors and just recently took my kids on their first camping trip. So I discovered A Trail Tale at a really opportune time. It's an interactive trail journal created by Andy Moliski with help from his brothers Adam and Alex. The various segments of the trail are rendered in beautiful pixel art reminiscent of a '90s S … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/986461/hike-appalachian-trail-pixel-art-a-trail-tale

Alt-right troll Milo Yiannopoulos was arrested by ICE on Thursday, and today the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Reuters and the Washington Post that he had been deported to the UK. Yiannopoulos came to the US legally in 2019, but overstayed his visa. After he failed to appear in court for an immigration hearing, a final order of removal was issued ​on July 22. The British national made a name for himself as an editor at Steve Bannon's Breitbart and an early supporter of Donald Trump's. He has had a long history of controversial statements and associations, including reportedly helping arrange Trump's dinner with Kanye West an … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/policy/986456/milo-yiannopoulos-deported-ice

Sony Music and Warner Chappell have filed suit against Anthropic in the US District Court for the Northern District of California seeking damages for "tens of thousands" copyrighted works. The companies are asking for up to $150,000 per work, plus up to $25,000 for each instance when identifiable copyright data was stripped. In total, the damages could amount to several billion dollars if a court finds in Sony and Warner's favor and awards the maximum amount. This is just the latest high-profile suit against Anthropic, which recently settled a suit brought by the publishing industry for $1.5 billion . It's also faced multiple lawsuits from … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/986438/sony-music-warner-chappell-anthropic-lawsuit-copyright

BYOK is a no-frills, single-purpose gadget that 90 percent of people will find absolutely frivolous. But for those who spend a significant chunk of their lives putting words to virtual paper, there is an obvious allure. Personally, I think it's at its best when you just stick to the bare minimum, focusing on pure text drafting. Certain users, though, need more. They want BYOK to take notes, they want to use it for writing screenplays, or maybe they want to organize a sprawling novel. Balancing the wants and needs of these more demanding users has been a challenge that BYOK founder Nick Sjolinder has been trying to figure out how to tackle. … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/986427/distraction-free-writing-gadget-byok-scripts-extensions

Asha Sharma. | Image: The Verge, Microsoft According to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Project Helix, which she announced in March as a codename for Microsoft's "next generation console" - phrasing that seemingly implied a singular device - will actually be a "family" of devices." "We've been hard at work on a great next generation and a great family of devices for Helix, and we'll share more soon," Sharma told BBC News . She shared the answer after being asked if Helix will be a discless console. She didn't answer that, but this week Microsoft announced a program for digitizing your physical games . In 2025, Microsoft and AMD announced a "strategic multi-year partnership" to work together on … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/games/986337/xbox-ceo-asha-sharma-project-helix-family-of-devices

Amazon and Best Buy have the TCL QM7L mini-LED TV on sale for as low as $797.99 for the 55-inch model, a $200 discount from the usual price. We spotted scaling discounts on larger sizes as well, although Amazon already listed low stock on the 65-inch version. While OLED televisions are great for deep black levels and great contrast, their high price point may be off-putting to some buyers. Mini-LED TVs like this TCL are a more wallet-friendly option, and have high brightness while also supporting features like Quantum Dots for vivid colors. TCL QM7L Where to Buy: $997.99 $797.99 at Amazon (55-inch) $1499.99 $899.99 at Best Buy (65-inch) The QM7L also includes the features you’d expect from a premium television. The 144Hz refresh rate is supported by Variable Refresh Rate to reduce tearing and input lag while gaming, with HDR and Dolby Vision support for great image quality and contrast. The screens have Google TV onboard, with support for AirP...

The unofficial version of DLSS 5 makes Jesse Faden’s features much more pronounced. | Image: gabdeg via YouTube Modders are trying out an unofficial version of Nvidia's DLSS 5 on Skyrim , Cyberpunk 2077 , GTA V , and a bunch of other games after code for the AI upscaling tech appeared in an early-access build of NBA 2K27 . Members of the RenoDX modding channel on Discord reportedly found a way to extract the DLSS "Neural Rendering" file and apply it to Control before it expanded to other games, as reported earlier by Notebook Check and VideoCardz . In one video , a person shows how Control protagonist Jesse Faden's facial features become more and less defined as they tweak various DLSS 5 settings enabled by the RenoDX modders. With the "Neural Uplift" sett … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/games/986197/nvidia-dlss-5-leak-ai

The memory crisis just won’t quit. | Image: Alex Castro / The Verge Google will start policing memory-hungry Android apps as a direct response to the RAM crisis. Spotted by TechCrunch , the company yesterday published a memo addressing the Play Store's role in enforcing new memory-usage restrictions. The post emphasizes the importance of meeting new memory usage limits for apps, in order "to help developers navigate industry-wide hardware constraints and Android's broader memory limits," it says. And failing to meet the new memory restrictions will come with consequences. The memory limitations were first introduced with Android 17 , appearing first on Pixel phones. It's probably no coincidence that the base … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/985679/google-play-android-17-memory-limit

After unexpectedly showing up on a wall-mounting compatibility chart on Sony's site back in June, the company has announced the Sony Bravia 6 OLED TV. The TV sits below its other OLED TVs - the Bravia 8 and Bravia 8 II - as well as its Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II RGB LED TVs. The Bravia 6 OLED comes in five sizes from 48 up to 83 inches and is priced to compete with the LG C6 OLED and Samsung S90H QD-OLED TVs. It has a 120Hz panel, runs on Google TV with Gemini, supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and DTS:X and will have four HDMI 2.1 inputs. While the four HDMI 2.1 inputs could indicate the Bravia 6 uses a MediaTek Pentonic 800 SoC - one o … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/985363/sony-releases-cheaper-bravia-6-oled-tv

This is a friendly reminder that the Nintendo Switch 2 will jump in price by $50 starting on September 1st. That’s next Tuesday! The company gave plenty of notice, but the time has finally come. The base 256GB model that ships without a game will go from $449.99 to $499.99. Nintendo recently announced two bundles (both well over $500) shipping this fall that include a game with a slight discount. If you’re on the fence for a Switch 2, now is a pretty good time to buy one — not just because of the upcoming price increase. The game library is stellar and growing quickly, and the console itself is great, too. You’ll need one to play the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time , The Duskbloods , and plenty of other upcoming games. Nintendo Switch 2 The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 7.9-inch LCD display, magnetically attached Joy-Con 2 controllers, backwards compatibility with most original Switch games, and exclusive titles including  Donkey Kong Banan...

Google has updated Gemini Audio with some new Gemini 3.5 models, introducing new transcription capabilities that automatically detect specialized jargon and more than 85 languages. Gemini 3.5 Live, 3.5 Live Experimental, and 3.5 Transcribe are designed to provide better precision for Google's voice-controlled AI features, without struggling with background noise or when your speech is interrupted. Gemini 3.5 Transcribe is a completely new addition to the Gemini family, and its introduction comes as we're still waiting for Google to release the Gemini 3.5 Pro model that it promised to roll out in June . Google says that 3.5 Transcribe "repres … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/985186/google-gemini-3-5-transcribe-audio-ai

A screenshot from Apple’s events website. Apple's next launch event will take place on September 9th at 1PM ET. Invites to the event, which has a "Surprise and shine" tagline, were sent out on Wednesday. The event will take place at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park, but there will also be a livestream on Apple's website. September's show could be a big one, as Apple may finally announce the long-rumored foldable iPhone. A photo of an apparent dummy unit indicates the foldable may have a wide form factor that's similar to what Samsung used with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 , a phone that our reviewer Dominic Preston said "feels like the future." Apple is also expected to refresh its Pro … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/983407/apple-iphone-launch-event-2026-date

With the new design of Nothing OS 5.0 , app icons and widgets can use adaptive color to get color tints pulled from your wallpaper, which update whenever your wallpaper changes. Alongside Android's built-in Dynamic Colors, the company says it allows you to have specific elements change to match your wallpaper "while Nothing's predominantly monochrome character stays underneath." While I like Nothing's simplified, monochrome app icons, it's nice to get an option for adding some limited areas of color to the homescreen. Nothing's launching it as "an additional theme," so you can keep using the old design if you like. The Android 17-based upd … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/984430/nothing-os-5-launch-android-17

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 26: Polestar cars are displayed in the showroom at a Polestar dealership on June 26, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. Electric car maker Polestar will be barred from selling new vehicles in the United States starting with the 2027 model year after the Commerce Department cited national security concerns under new connected-vehicle regulations. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) | Getty Images Polestar said the Trump administration strung it along for months before finally rejecting its request to continue selling its electric vehicles in the US under a rule outlawing vehicles with connected software from China . In an August 18th letter sent to dealers and obtained by The Verge , Polestar said it doesn't have a clear answer as to why its application to continue selling its EVs in the US was denied, considering its sister company Volvo was authorized to sell its vehicles despite similar corporate ownership. (The...

Cursed BIOS. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge When a company's software update turns your computer into a useless brick, should fixes be free? Framework, the modular computer startup, apparently thinks so . But it's not clear that computing giant Lenovo will go that far. Three weeks after a Redditor presented a nearly $300 repair bill for their handheld gaming PC - among other reports of damage and high repair bills - the company is breaking its silence. It says, in short: try holding down the power button longer, and if that fails, contact customer support. Here's the statement Lenovo provided to The Verge , via communications director Jeff Witt: Lenovo is aware that some Legion Go d … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/games/983457/lenovo-bad-legion-go-bios-update-bricked

The creator of the world's first 3D-printed gun claims he's developed a way to thwart government-mandated software meant to block 3D printers from making firearms . It's an opening volley in what's shaping up to be an evolving battle between regulators trying to stem the tide of ghost guns and individuals trying to create workarounds. Cody Wilson, who claims to have made the detection-defying tool, is calling it "Hochulization" as a direct jab at New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who pushed through the nation's first law mandating gun file detection software on new printers earlier this year. "New York is trying to reach into the internet and pol … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/983244/3d-printed-guns-hashes-hochul

The FTC and Zillow have announced a settlement that ends the case alleging that a 2025 "partnership" between Zillow and Redfin violated antitrust laws. The FTC had alleged Zillow agreed to pay Redfin to syndicate its listings, while Redfin would end its own advertising contracts and promise not to compete with Zillow for multifamily listings. The FTC's settlement proposal allows Redfin to continue syndicating rental listings from Zillow "unencumbered by the anticompetitive restraints" in the original deal, but also requires Redfin to restart its own rental listings advertising business, which it wound down as part of the partnership. Dani … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/policy/983864/zillow-redfin-ftc-settlement

Robotaxis are expanding. So is the fight over the rules governing them. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul withdrew a proposal earlier this year that would have opened the door to driverless robotaxis outside New York City after taxi drivers, unions, and state lawmakers opposed it. Six months later, commercial driverless service remains illegal in the state, and legalization efforts are stalled. In DC, labor unions are fighting legislation that would legalize commercial robotaxis, while lawmakers are weighing a 200-vehicle cap and a 15-cent-per-mile fee that would fund Metro upgrades and aid workers displaced by autonomous vehicles. A July Cit … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/transportation/983765/robotaxi-waymo-zoox-tesla-rules-pushback-nhtsa

Netflix executives have considered making third-party streaming services available within its app, according to a report from The New York Times . The recent discussions reportedly centered around bringing Peacock and Fox One to Netflix, though it's unclear whether the streaming giant would sell subscriptions to the other services or add their content to its app. While Amazon's Prime Video and Roku have long sold subscriptions to rival services, the move would be a major change for Netflix, which has only joined bundles with other streamers. YouTube - Netflix's biggest rival - will also include access to Peacock as part of its Premium subscr … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/streaming/983741/netflix-open-app-peacock-fox-one

The Razr Ultra line is among those due to receive GrapheneOS support next year. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge GrapheneOS, an open source version of Android that prioritizes security and privacy, has detailed its plans for supporting Motorola smartphones. Official support is set to arrive next year, starting with traditional flagships, before rolling out to Motorola's foldable phones and perhaps cheaper models, eventually. In a Mastodon thread , the GrapheneOS Foundation announced that it will initially support a Motorola slab flagship phone, but will later support both Razr Fold and Razr Ultra foldables - the latter of which would be the first flip phone to officially run GrapheneOS. Graphene has always had stringent security standards when it com … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/983714/grapheneos-motorola-razr-fold-ultra-support-pixel-11

Tiangong Ultra (left) also broke the 400 meter world record during this year’s World Humanoid Robot Games. | Image: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images The 9.58-second 100-meter dash record set by Usain Bolt in 2009 has been outpaced by Chinese robots participating at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. In a preliminary heat on Saturday, Tiangong Ultra, made by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation ​Center, ran the distance in 9.39 seconds, followed by the Honor-developed Lightning at 9.47 seconds. It's one of several notable achievements to take place at the event, which can best be described as a sort of annual robot olympics that's designed to showcase advancements in bipedal bot technology. After launching in 2025, 2,056 robots from 16 countries are participating in this year's … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/983688/world-humanoid-robot-games-sprint-record-2026

It’s been over a decade and two console generations since GTA V came out, and its sequel is still a work in progress. GTA VI has faced multiple delays, with developer Rockstar Games bumping back its predicted release date twice, first to May 26th, 2026, then again to November 19th, 2026 , a full year after its originally planned release window of fall 2025, and facing accusations of union busting after firing more than 30 employees. Now, preorders have opened for the digital code-only game, offering the $79.99 standard edition and $99.99 Ultimate Edition on both PS5 and Xbox Series X / S . Early official glimpses offered a look at the game’s protagonists , Jason and Lucia, as the game will follow the pair around Vice City as they attempt to navigate a criminal conspiracy after a job goes south. After leaks of early builds a few years ago , a new “CyberL eek” series of posts have popped up, showing sequences of the game just days ahead of Rocks...

Jane Schoenbrun 's latest film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma , is making a splash in theaters right now. So it seems like the perfect time to revisit their first film, We're All Going to the World's Fair . I fell in love with this film when I first saw it at Sundance in 2021. We are immediately introduced to our protagonist, Casey, as she engages in the World's Fair Challenge, a sort of ARG creepypasta meets ice bucket challenge. There's a creepy mantra, some bloodletting, and a mysterious video - basically a speedrun of horror movie tropes. But having them all delivered by this young girl alone in her room who just stares directly in … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/983177/jane-schoenbrun-were-all-going-to-the-worlds-fair-horror-movie-review

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on GTA VI and the state of the video game industry, follow Andrew Webster . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started Four years ago, fans got a long-awaited look at Grand Theft Auto VI with a huge cache of videos that showed off Rockstar's latest open-world epic. There were 90 videos in total, providing a glimpse at the next-generation take on Vice City, introducing the game's new dual protagonists, and generally showing off the crime-fueled mayhem the series is known for. … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/column/983410/grand-theft-auto-vi-exists-in-its-own-universe

So pretty. | Screenshot: Terrence O’Brien / The Verge I remember having a Spirograph as a kid and being obsessed with it. Its geometric patterns are hypnotic and gorgeous. I also love generative music composition. So bringing those two things together in a browser tab, I'm hooked. Musical Spirograph is a relatively simple concept. A set of points dash around the screen according to mathematical equations, generating hypotrochoids and epitrochoids. Those points pass through a series of concentric rings which trigger specific notes. Honestly, that alone is fun enough, but you can customize it quite a bit. There are six different virtual rotors to pick from, you can have up to three arms drawing … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/983322/musical-spirograph-generative-composition

The best gift card deal we’ve spotted this year is happening Saturday, August 22nd, at Best Buy stores for one day only. In celebration of the retailer’s 60th anniversary, you can purchase a $100 Best Buy gift card for $60. The deal is only good for as long as supplies last at your local store, so you might want to plan on getting there no later than opening time to boost your chance of getting one. There are some limitations on how you can use the gift card. You can’t use them to buy other gift cards, like iTunes or Google Play credit, and they also can’t be used to buy prepaid or open-loop debit cards. However, they can be used in combination with other discounts or promotions on products from Best Buy, and any returns or cancellations you make will credit back to the gift card. We’ve found a number of deals during Best Buy’s 60th anniversary sale that you can apply that gift card to. The iPad Air M4 dropped to $649 , the lowest we’ve seen since th...

Walmart will soon allow you to pay for your items with Google Pay or Apple Pay. In an announcement on Friday , Walmart says it's going to bring tap-to-pay capabilities to "select" Walmart and Sam's Club locations starting August 24th, before rolling out support to all US stores by the end of 2026 and gas stations by mid-2027. This launch has been a long time coming, as Walmart was one of the last major retailers not to support Apple Pay or Google Pay. The retail giant even backed the launch of the short-lived CurrentC mobile payment service before rolling out Walmart Pay in 2016 , which lets you quickly check out with a QR code at its stores. … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/983336/walmart-apple-google-pay-launch

I recently looked back at a photo I'd taken on a smartphone in 2014, and I was struck by just how good it looked. The details were soft, the shadows were dark. It was the kind of photo I felt like I hadn't seen out of a phone in years. That might be changing, though. The Pixel 11 includes a suite of new photography features called Camera Looks that allow those who really care about those things (hi, it's all of us) to dial in their preferences and get rid of that modern over-processed look. On today's episode of The Vergecast , David Imel joins us to discuss his time reviewing the Pixel 11 Pro and how he's thinking about its new approach to … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/podcast/983288/pixel-11-gets-in-on-the-digicam-trend

Mark Zuckerberg. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg now owns an actual castle. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan bought Strancally Castle and its 440-acre estate in Ireland "several weeks ago," according to The Irish Times . While the exact price of the purchase is unclear, the family could have paid "anywhere between €20 million and €30 million" for the 16,000-square-foot castle, which was restored by its previous owners. "Mark and his family are excited to continue caring for this historic home and look forward to spending time in Ireland, where Meta maintains its international headquarters," a spokesperson tells The Irish Times . The publication says "it is und … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/982955/meta-mark-zuckerberg-strancally-castle-ireland

The 2023 Framework Laptop 13 with AMD Ryzen 7040-series chips. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Some Framework Laptop 13 owners with last-gen AMD chips have reported that a recent BIOS update is bricking their laptops on both Windows and Linux. The BIOS update causing this issue is version 3.20 for Ryzen 7040-series mainboards, released back in July and still available on Framework's site at the time of this writing. Upon running the update, some users reported their laptops getting stuck on the update screen . While some users on Framework's community forums reported that the company was sending them replacement mainboards under the one-year warranty, several with out-of-warranty boards said they were told they'd have to buy new ones. … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/982800/framework-laptop-13-amd-7040-bios-320-bricking-warranty

The frost color scheme is nice, but it’s no pistachio or hibiscus. | Photo: Cameron Faulkner / The Verge It'd be easy to overlook the Pixel 11. Want the best cameras? The Pixel 11 Pro is your answer. Want the best bargain? The Pixel 10A is still a great deal. But the Pixel 11 might be the sweet spot in Google's lineup this year. With 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, it delivers the same performance as the base Pixel 11 Pro for $899 - $200 less. And while it's $400 more than the Pixel 10A , it has a faster processor, more RAM and storage, Qi2 charging, and a telephoto lens. It's also the cheapest way to experience what's actually new about the Pixel 11 series. With the hardware basically unchanged from the Pixel 10 except for new colors and a … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/982190/google-pixel-11-review

Apple is once again overhauling App Store rules in the European Union, which the company says will resolve its "disagreements with the Commission over business terms and alternative distribution." As part of the changes, every developer that distributes apps will be moved to a single set of business terms, and digital transactions for apps distributed outside of the App Store will be subject to a Core Technology Commission fee of 5 percent. The new terms go into effect on October 1st. They will include a 26 percent commission for App Store apps that use Apple's in-app purchase system, or a 20 percent fee for developers using alternate payme … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/981504/apple-app-store-eu-rules-core-technology-commission

Tesla Cybercabs are lined up on a lot at Tesla Giga Texas in Austin, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. | Image: Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images The Tesla Cybercab , that golden two-seater central to Elon Musk's robo-supremacist ambitions , is finally nearing it's public launch. Whether or not the no-steering wheel and no-pedal vehicle is actually ready for public roads, let alone customers, remains very much in doubt . According to The Information , Tesla is planning a public launch of the Cybercab in Austin, Texas, as soon as this month. The driverless vehicle has been popping up around the country, although often with a steering wheel and pedals , as employees are continuing to gather data. Tesla employees have been testing the fully driverless version on private roads around the com … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/transportation/981398/tesla-cybercab-launch-robotaxi-fsd-...

YouTube will soon count a view as soon as a video starts to play, lining up with the system used by Instagram, TikTok, and its Shorts videos. The update will go into effect on August 24th, "which means creators will likely see their total view counts increase faster moving forward," the platform says . Instagram and TikTok similarly add a view to a video when it starts to play or replay, while X counts a view when a user watches a video for at least two seconds. YouTube applied Instagram and TikTok's view-counting method to Shorts last year. YouTube says it's going to keep its original view-counting method under an "engaged views" metric in … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/streaming/981105/youtube-video-view-counting-update

A bulldozer plows through land during construction for a section of border wall near Santa Elena Canyon on August 14, 2026 in Big Bend National Park, Texas. | Brandon Bell/Getty Images About 22 miles south of the former mining town of Patagonia, Arizona, down a winding, unpaved mountain road that passes cows grazing on open range, stands a cottonwood tree believed to be at least 200 years old. The "grandmother" tree, as some locals call it, is imperiled and already showing signs of stress, almost as if it knows its fate. The leaves are yellowing prematurely, falling to the ground at the height of summer. On July 27th, a construction crew felled three neighboring trees to build an extension of President Donald Trump's wall along the US-Mexico border. An activist climbed up the last tree standing two days later and ever sin … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/report/980933/trump-border-wall-...

Integrated BagLev hooks keep Peak Design’s City Line crossbody bag and backpack off the dirty ground. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge It's just a hook, sewn into a bag, but I really, really like it. Peak Design is so proud of its clever integration that the San Francisco-based maker of camera gear gave it a name: BagLev, for its ability to keep its new City Line of bags levitated above the dirty ground. How many of us are guilty of coming home and tossing a bag onto the kitchen table or counter to unload it? We pretend it's not a thing, despite the carryall having come into contact with unknown filth picked up from the floors of subways and dive bars, sidewalks, and parks. BagLev lets you hang your bag off a chair, ledge, tabletop, or counter as you go about your day, kee … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/980137/peak-design-city-line-review

According to the Financial Times , OpenAI disbanded its preparedness team at the end of last month. The job of the preparedness team was to assess if models posed serious risks and develop ways to mitigate those risks. (You know, like the possibility that it could go rogue and hack another company.) According to FT , responsibility has instead been divided up for specific areas like bio and cyber, then moved into existing teams. This is the latest change at the company, which has been in upheaval as it heads towards what is expected to be a massive IPO. Over the last few years, it's slowly torn down its more reach-led model, dissolving its AG … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/980817/openai-disbands-preparedness-team

In every possible universe? | Image: Backwoodz Studioz "Breakups are… tough." It's the opening lines of an interlude towards the end of DOOMED! Called "It Happens in Every Universe." It's also basically the thesis of the entire record. It's no grand revelation, but it's a well-trodden subject that Open Mike Eagle manages to mine for artistic gold. Eagle's subject matter is usually personal, and his productions tinged with nostalgia. But DOOMED! is his most intimate album yet. A lot of that is due to the production from Kenny Segal. The two have traveled in the same orbit and worked together before, but this is the first full-length album release from the two. These are some of Segal's most c … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/980799/open-mike-eagle-and-kenny-segal-doomed-review