Author: News Room

Spotify is adding new personalization features to Discover Weekly, the popular and influential playlist streamed by millions of users. The regularly updated playlist will now have buttons for genres like pop, R&B, and funk at the top, allowing users to tell Spotify what they want more of.The Discover Weekly playlist is one of the more noteworthy things Spotify has introduced: the company says songs on the playlist have been streamed more than 100 billion times. The weekly mixtape — generated via Spotify algorithms — promised to introduce users to new music that they might enjoy, pulling from listener data. But…

Serious security flaws have been found in hundreds of Brother printer models that could allow attackers to remotely access devices that are still using default passwords. Eight new vulnerabilities, one of which cannot be fixed by patching the firmware, were discovered in 689 kinds of Brother home and enterprise printers by security company Rapid7. The flaws also impact 59 printer models from Fujifilm, Toshiba, Ricoh, and Konica Minolta, but not every vulnerability is found on every printer model. If you own a Brother printer, you can check to see if your model is affected here.The most serious security flaw, tracked…

After nearly a decade of wearables testing, I’ve amassed a truly terrifying amount of health and fitness data. And while I enjoy poring over my daily data, there’s one part I’ve come to loathe: AI summaries. Over the last two years, a deluge of AI-generated summaries has been sprinkled into every fitness, wellness, and wearable app. Strava introduced a feature called Athlete Intelligence, pitched as AI taking your raw workout data and relaying it to you in “plain English.” Whoop has Whoop Coach, an AI chatbot that gives you a “Daily Outlook” report summarizing the weather, your recent activity and…

Over the years, Tesla has built part of its reputation on hosting big, bold events to generate authentic hype for upcoming releases. The robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas, last week wasn’t one of them.Coverage of the rollout was dominated by a close-knit cohort of Tesla influencers and Elon Musk superfans, many of whom are openly supportive of the CEO’s vision. Journalists and tech bloggers who might have been more critical of the technology were not only excluded but also actively ridiculed and mocked by Tesla fans and some of their followers for attempting to ask basic questions about the service.…

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 88, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, happy heat dome, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been reading about crypto crimes and egg thieves and Gap, watching Last Breath and Tires and The Four Seasons, testing the super simple Min browser, learning a ton from The Magic of Code, playing too much Ridiculous Fishing, vibe-coding a tracker for baby feedings, finally winning a Knockout Tour in Mario Kart World, lusting after the new Teenage…

Thanks to being an ‘in front of the TV’ gaming console as well as one of the best handheld consoles, the Nintendo Switch already has fairly comprehensive controls in the form of the Joy-Cons. Joy-cons are built-in on the Switch Lite or detachable with the standard console or its newer OLED counterpart. However, while such controllers are great for many games and any casual multiplayer sessions, you’ll soon find yourself longing for a more traditional controller experience. That’s why we’ve picked out the best Nintendo Switch controllers. Many of these will feel as comfortable as other gaming controllers, with some…

Even the best smartphone is useless without power. A dead device won’t get you very far. Facing the dreaded red bar? Whether you’re camping away from the mains or commuting on 1-percent, put an end to your power struggle with the back-up batteries below. From compact packs to high-capacity hubs, we’ve rounded up the best portable chargers to keep your gear going wherever you do. We’ve also included a few rugged power banks for adventurous energy, plus our favourite solar panel for proper off-grid refills. Not sure what’s watt? We’ve also included a few buying tips to help you decipher…

Reddit has become known as the place to go for unfiltered answers from real, human users. But as the site celebrates its 20th anniversary this week, the company is increasingly thinking about how it can augment that human work with AI.The initial rollout of AI tools, like Reddit Answers, is “going really well,” CTO Chris Slowe tells The Verge. At a time when Google and its AI tools are going to Reddit for human answers, Reddit is going to its own human answers to power AI features, hoping they’re the key to letting people unlock useful information from its huge…

Kobo is discounting two of its best e-readers. The Kobo Elipsa 2E, a competitor to the Kindle Scribe, is available for an all-time low of $349.99 ($50 off) from Rakuten Kobo and Target. Meanwhile, the Kobo Libra Colour is available for $209.99 ($20 off) from Amazon, Target, and Rakuten Kobo. The sale runs through July 10th.The Kobo Elipsa 2E is my top pick for taking notes while reading. Its spacious 10.3-inch display lets you write directly on ebook pages — whether in margins, between lines, or wherever inspiration strikes — giving you a natural, paper-like experience. While Amazon’s Kindle Scribe…

In the past week, big AI companies have — in theory — chalked up two big legal wins. But things are not quite as straightforward as they may seem, and copyright law hasn’t been this exciting since last month’s showdown at the Library of Congress.First, Judge William Alsup ruled it was fair use for Anthropic to train on a series of authors’ books. Then, Judge Vince Chhabria dismissed another group of authors’ complaint against Meta for training on their books. Yet far from settling the legal conundrums around modern AI, these rulings might have just made things even more complicated.Both…

With the dawning of a new era of hybridization in the automotive industry, more and more manufacturers are integrating electric propulsion into their lineups. Mild-hybrid systems are well-established, and more beneficial plug-in hybrid systems keep getting better and better. Even Lamborghini’s participating in the latest wave of hybridization, which might come as a surprise to some.That’s because this Italian company’s outlandish supercars have never been regarded as thrifty, or ever trying to be thrifting. They’ve always returned old-truck-like fuel economy thanks to their ravenous 10- and 12-cylinder engines. And their innate ability to make those behind the wheel drive them…

Forget going out—why spend money on expensive cinema tickets when you can recreate the theatre experience right in your own living room with one of the best 4K TVs? By investing in a new television, you can enjoy stunning visuals and immersive entertainment without leaving your home. Even if you’re on a tight budget, there are plenty of affordable options that will make a significant difference to your viewing experience. For those with a bigger budget, you can elevate your home theatre setup with top-of-the-line gear that brings the magic of the movies to your doorstep. Selecting the right 4K…