Author: News Room

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 achieve this nirvana is through facial recognition. You already unlock your phone with your face; why not your home?Hands-free unlocking using geofencing has been around for a while, but it can be slow and unreliable, and requires an app running in the background on your…

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 the next season of Version History (this season’s finale is out on Sunday!), reading about data center heists and Backyard Baseball and the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, canceling my October plans to see Digger 30 or 40 times, taking on the new Knockout Tour routes in Mario Kart World, learning more…

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 natural and real, while the magic cast by the Red Wizards of Thay was vibrant and colorful. Specular highlights in HDR really pop. I saw it with Xenk’s glowing sword as he fought in the Underdark in Honor Among Thieves, but also in the explosions as Furiosa…

I was a latecomer to the web compared to many tech nerds, having first encountered it at university. A tutor brought in his Mac, to which he connected a modem. It spent a short time making terrifying screeching noises, channeling ZX Spectrum games being loaded from tape while suggesting the very act of dialling in was tantamount to gadget torture. Then we were online. Things were simpler back then. Websites were basic. Many search engines were hand-crafted directories. I searched for my favourite band, Wire. That generic word returned a mere few dozen results. There was no AI rubbish – which brings me neatly to Quiche.…

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 first time I rode an Amflow PX Carbon Pro fitted with the incredibly compact, lightweight, and powerful M2S motor from Avinox, a new DJI offshoot that has incumbents like Bosch and Specialized on edge. The motor doesn’t make me a speed demon, but it does let me suck better by compensating whenever my…

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 slate of upcoming projects at Bethesda Game Studios — which itself was hit with layoffs — including official confirmation that Fallout 5 is in the works.“We’re investing more deeply in the worlds players love, giving creators a bigger role in shaping their experiences, and bringing our teams closer together so we can get…

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 Music Business Worldwide, says it is increasing prices “as a result of rising licensing costs.”Music Business Worldwide also reports that prices gone up in the UK and Europe, and the publication “understands” that hikes are hitting other countries as well. Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request…

Creators who are part of TikTok’s test and want to use the tool will first have to verify their identity with a company called Jumio. You’ll have to do a real-time selfie scan and an ID check, but Kizer says that “TikTok does not retain ID documents, and facial information is used only for likeness matching and to help identify potential unauthorized uses of a creator’s likeness.”After verification, TikTok’s system scans for AI-generated content potentially using a creator’s likeness. From there, a creator can review what TikTok found and potentially report unauthorized posts and accounts. Read the full article here

Netflix has admitted it used generative AI on a large number of titles added to its library this year. The streaming giant says that around 300 titles have been made with help of artificial intelligence, mostly in post-production but often in outright content generation. The admission comes in a letter to shareholders, following the company’s latest earnings briefing. The company says it has saved money and time with AI workflows, while admitting AI had a hand in creating scenes that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. The company mentioned three specific titles that benefitted Glory (India), Brasil 70: A Saga do…

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 evaporative mister in a design that can be worn, clipped, or used on a tabletop. Right now, it’s on sale for $99.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, matching its all-time low. If you’re a Costco member, you can get it for the same price with a free clip, crossbody strap, and InstaChill Cooling…

As Sony goes about killing gaming discs – to the chagrin of an enormous number of PlayStation gamers (don’t believe me? Check out the comments on the latest Wolverine trailer) – the humble shiny frisbee seems to be having a moment in the sun among music fans. New reporting from Luminate claims compact disc sales have jumped by 16% in the first half of 2026, with 16.3 million units sold. That outstrips the growth of vinyl records, which only saw a 2.4% increase during the first half of 2026. We’ve seen vinyl records and even cassette tapes enjoy a resurgence…

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 interview this week. “Do people trust the product that we’re making and do they trust the company and the people behind it?”Migicovsky revived Pebble early last year, after the original company shut down in 2016. The new generation of Pebbles has the same aesthetic, but with updated tech, including larger e-paper displays. I…