Author: News Room

Xbox is getting ready to launch its Gaming Copilot AI assistant on “current-generation consoles” this year, according to a report from GamesRadar. Sonali Yadav, Xbox’s product manager for gaming AI, revealed the news during a panel at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), adding that the company will also add the assistant to “more services that players are playing.”Microsoft has been working on its gaming-focused Copilot assistant for months now, with the company launching it in beta on the Xbox mobile app, Windows 11, and Xbox Ally handhelds. Players can use their voice to call upon the Gaming Copilot if they…

I’m not entirely sure why the Pixel 10A exists.Google hasn’t upgraded the chipset, cameras, or battery in the new phone, and the tweaks it’s made elsewhere are minimal at best. The flatter camera island is good, I guess! In one sense this isn’t a big problem: The Pixel 9A is an excellent device, and for the last year was easily the best phone you could buy for $500 in the US. The new 10A is available to buy now at that same great price ($499 for 128GB of storage or $100 more for 256GB), but with the 9A still on…

Mobile gaming has come a long way over the course of the last decade or so, but we all know that smartphones simply can’t match the visceral, tactile feel you get while playing with a dedicated controller. Luckily, Backbone makes some excellent mobile options — including last year’s Backbone Pro, which is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target right now for $139.99 ($30 off), its second-best price to date.In many ways, Backbone’s latest mobile controller is merely an updated take on what came before. The handheld device consists of two oblong halves with an extendable strip of plastic…

They may be great for fan engagement and selling ads, but the Big 12 has decided to replace the innovative glass-covered LED floors at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center with a traditional hardwood finish. It will be used for the remainder of the tournament during semifinal matches and the championship game.The LED floors, which were previously used during the 2024 NBA All-Star game at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, display animations and graphics that can also interact with players’ movements. They’re designed to be softer than hardwood floors while providing the same amount of grip. However, during the women’s Big…

The price increase comes two years after Amazon switched all users on Prime Video — which comes as a perk with a standard Amazon Prime subscription — to an ad-supported plan and began charging extra for commercial-free streams. Now, the streamer is calling its ad-free tier Prime Video “Ultra,” and is adding support for up to five simultaneous streams (up from three), up to 100 downloads (up from 25), and Dolby Atmos.In a post announcing the change, Amazon says putting premium features in ad-free streaming “requires significant investment,” adding that the structure “aligns with other major streaming services.” Prime Video…

Peacock is rolling out a native vertical video format for live sports, allowing you to watch games without turning your phone sideways. The feature will roll out to NBA games first this spring and will use an algorithm to track players and zoom in on the action.The launch of this feature comes just months after a report from Nikkei Asia revealed that NBC Sports plans on using a player tracking system called viztrick AiDi. The technology was developed by a Japanese broadcaster and uses facial recognition to allow viewers on mobile to tap their screen to focus on specific players.…

It was a little surprising to see Apple decide to leap fully into the affordable laptop market, to try and compete with devices the company typically prefers to just look down its nose at. It was also a little surprising to see Apple basically nail it on the first try.On this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay and David get into the weeds on the MacBook Neo, the $599 laptop that appears to tick just about all the boxes of the average $599 laptop buyer. Both David and Nilay bought a Neo this week, so they compare notes on their early…

The MacBook Neo is here, and it took no time at all for an executive from a major PC manufacturer to put their foot in their mouth trying to discuss this new competition from Apple’s $600 laptop. On Asus’ latest earnings call, CFO Nick Wu said that the Neo and its aggressive entry-level pricing were “certainly a shock to the entire market.” Wu also disclosed that Asus had some knowledge of Apple developing the Neo back in 2025, much as many of us had heard rumors of a MacBook with an iPhone chip for months — and yet, Asus and…

Apple is cutting App Store developer fees in China from March 15th, dropping its typical commission on purchases from 30 percent down to 25 percent. The decision was made following “discussions with the Chinese regulator,” according to Apple’s announcement, suggesting that the reduction aims to avoid regulatory intervention after China reportedly considered opening a formal investigation into the iPhone maker’s App Store fees and policies in early February.The fee updates will apply to the App Store on both iOS and iPadOS. The commission rate for small businesses and mini app developers will also fall from 15 percent to 12 percent.…

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.“It is a pretty rough time for the game industry.”Meta Reality Labs director of games Chris Pruett did not mince words when he returned to GDC for his annual talk on the state of VR gaming this week. “I have been in the industry for almost 30 years at this point,” he said. ”This is the roughest period I have ever seen.”“It’s rough for everybody,” Pruett said. “It’s rough for VR. We are not immune.”Pruett made…

Between March Madness and the Oscars, now might be a good time to improve your TV setup. Google’s TV Streamer 4K is currently on sale for $79.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, Target, and Walmart, which is its second-best price to date and only $5 more than its all-time low.As a streaming device, it’s terrific. Getting started is easy; it took us only about 10 minutes to set up, and the Google Home app even asks which streaming services you use and automatically installs them for you. The device also supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, too, so movies and shows…

Some people rarely lose things. Wallets are always exactly where they’re supposed to be, keys never go missing, and remotes never slip between the couch cushions. And then there’s the rest of us — the folks who can’t ever seem to find the thing that was right there a few seconds ago. For us, there are Bluetooth trackers.Bluetooth trackers have been around for a long time, and they all generally work the same way. You stick the tracker onto an object, pair it with your phone, and then, when you lose said object, you can go into an app and…