Author: News Room
I saw a lot of weird phones at Mobile World Congress last month: robot phones, cameras disguised as phones, phones for dogs. But the one that caught me most off guard was the one my friend (and Verge alum) Sam Byford brought to dinner: an iPhone Air.“Ha!” I said. “You actually use that thing?”“Yeah,” he said. “It’s great.” That’s when he pulled out a second phone — the Xiaomi Leica Leitzphone, which he was using alongside it.Got it, I said. The trick to enjoying the iPhone Air is to simply have another, much better phone on your person at all…
With temperatures on the rise and Earth Day right around the corner, now’s a good time to invest in a smart thermostat if you haven’t already. A good one like Amazon’s Smart Thermostat can help reduce energy use and lower your bills without sacrificing comfort, and right now it’s just $61.99 ($18 off) at Amazon. Aside from a brief drop during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, it’s spent most of 2026 at full price, making this the best deal we’ve seen since it dropped to $51.99 on Black Friday.My colleague Jennifer Pattison Tuohy was impressed by how much the smart thermostat…
The MacBook Neo is disrupting the laptop space and putting Apple into the conversation as a value option like it’s never been before. With a price starting at $599 (or $499 for students and teachers), the colorful laptop’s A18 Pro chip may be stolen from older iPads and iPhones, but it offers more than enough performance for everyday tasks and web browsing.From the screen sharpness, trackpad/keyboard feel, and its aluminum build, everything else about it is in line with more expensive MacBooks.And that means PC makers have a hot new competitor to contend with and adapt to — one that…
Microsoft is losing another veteran executive. Julia Liuson, head of Microsoft’s developer division (DevDiv), is resigning from the software giant after 34 years. Liuson spent the past 12 years leading Microsoft’s developer business, during a period Microsoft focused more on open source projects and acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion.Liuson will continue as head of DevDiv until the end of June, and then move to an “advisory role” reporting to Microsoft CoreAI chief Jay Parikh, according to an internal memo seen by The Verge. It’s not immediately clear who will replace Liuson, or whether the DevDiv team will simply report up…
Meta Superintelligence Labs is launching its first model since Mark Zuckerberg spent billions overhauling the company’s AI efforts. Called Muse Spark, the model now powers the Meta AI app and the Meta AI website in the US, per the company’s announcement. In the coming weeks, Meta says, it will appear in WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and Meta’s smart glasses, as well as roll out in other countries.Like Google Gemini, which easily integrates into Google’s product suite, Meta touts Muse Spark as “purpose-built for Meta’s products.” The model, the first in a new series, will also be available to some of…
After acquiring its competitor Whistle from Mars Petcare nearly a year ago, Tractive is introducing two new pet trackers today. The Cat 6 Mini features a sleeker design than Tractive’s current smart cat tracker and monitors additional vital signs. The Dog 6 XL, specifically designed for larger breeds, is now lighter and more durable with improved battery life.Both the $79 Cat 6 Mini and $89 Dog 6 XL trackers are available starting today through the company’s online store and other retailers in multiple colors — beige, black, and purple for the cat’s and beige and black for the dog’s. Each…
The open-world racing game launches next month, but I recently had the chance to play a preview version to get a sense of what to expect. Even with just a brief taste of the experience I came away impressed. The main shift with Horizon 6 is the setting: It takes place in Japan, and the map is absolutely huge. More importantly, though, it’s incredibly varied. One second you’re blazing past skyscrapers in Tokyo, the next you’re racing along tiny roads in the countryside. It felt like if I took off for a few minutes in any direction, I’d find a…
Insta360 just announced the Snap, a new smartphone accessory designed to improve the quality of your selfies. It works like a digital mirror magnetically attached to the back of your Android or iOS smartphone so you can preview and properly frame shots using its more capable rear cameras, while touchscreen functionality lets you control camera apps without having to constantly flip your phone around. After testing the Snap with my iPhone 16 Pro for a week I found it to be an effective way to use my phone’s multiple rear cameras for selfies, but the accessory is not without some…
Last September, a company named Lumafield scanned 1,000 cylindrical lithium-ion batteries to shine a light on the hidden risks of cheaping out. At roughly the same time, I found myself testing two awesome new kinds of AA battery that recharge using USB-C cables.It gave me an idea. Could we find the very best USB-C AA batteries by combining my own anecdotal testing with Lumafield’s scanning tech?The answer seems to be yes! Knowing what I now know, the Zepath 3600mWh is the only rechargeable lithium-ion AA I’d buy for myself — even though USB-C is in the charger, rather than each…
Daily life is different when you’re tracking glucose. A little over a year ago, I was on my way to a conference. My bags were packed, the Uber was on its way, but there was one last thing to do before I could head to the airport. Tearing open a small isopropyl alcohol wipe, I cleaned the skin on the back of my arm. After that, I applied a small applicator to the clean skin, doing my best to ignore the visible needle inside. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed a button. It made a ka-thunk. I repeated the…
Microsoft first started trying to get rid of the Control Panel in 2012, with the launch of Windows 8. More than a decade later, it’s still working on migrating all the old Control Panel items into the modern Settings app in Windows 11. While there have been hints that the Control Panel might finally go away, the reality is a lot more complicated for Microsoft.“We’re doing it carefully because there are a lot of different network and printer devices & drivers we need to make sure we don’t break in the process,” explains March Rogers, partner director of design at…
The Moto Pad will be available through T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile starting on April 30th, or it can be purchased through Motorola’s online store by T-Mobile customers for $249.99 in a single bronze green color option. Powered by a MediaTek D6300 5G processor, the tablet features an 11-inch 2.5K display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 7,040 mAh battery Motorola says is good for up to 12 hours of streaming.The tablet uses Dolby technology to “deliver an immersive audio experience with greater depth, clarity, and detail across all your favorite entertainment” through four built-in speakers. It also supports…