- Reddit will help advertisers turn ‘positive’ posts into adsReddit is launching a new feature for advertisers that slots positive posts from Reddit users right under their ads. The new alpha feature, called Conversation Summary Add-ons, “dynamically integrates positive content ... read more
- Patreon is raising its fees for new creators soonPatreon has announced an update to its pricing, consolidating its Pro and Premium plans into a single offering starting August 5th. The new plan will take 10 percent of creators’ earnings, ... read more
- Trump Mobile is a bad dealTrump Mobile launched this morning with a single prepaid wireless plan and the promise of nationwide coverage for $47.45 per month. For that price, you get unlimited talk and texting, international ... read more
- Sir Martin Sorrell: AI, Geopolitics and Efficiency Are Reshaping Advertising’s Future
CANNES — In a wide-ranging interview during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Sir Martin Sorrell, executive chairman of digital advertising and marketing ... read more
- Ad Flexibility, Contextual Targeting have Reinvented the Upfront: Warner Bros. Discovery’s Jill Steinhauser
NEW YORK – Warner Bros. Discovery is reimagining the traditional upfront by offering a flexible, cross-platform model that prioritizes cultural relevance, audience targeting and ... read more
- A handy charger for every Switch Joy-Con you own is just $20It works with Switch and Switch 2 Joy-Con. | Image: The Verge A company named Fastsnail has won the race when it comes to making a Joy-Con charging accessory that’s better than ... read more
- Microsoft’s Windows Hello facial recognition no longer works in the darkMicrosoft’s Windows Hello face unlock feature no longer works in dark rooms, and it’s not a bug. Microsoft quietly made the change to Windows Hello in April, in order to fix ... read more
- The Trump Mobile T1 Phone looks both bad and impossibleHave you seen this phone before? No, really, I need to know. Here is a roughly complete list of all the things we know for sure about the first phone made for ... read more
- The Case For Neurodiversity In Advertising: It's 'Messy'"If marketers are not communicating with them and driving their business, they're going to lose out on $12 trillion of buying power," Havas Donna Murphy says of Gen Z's neurodiverse consumer marketplace. ... read more
- WhatsApp is officially getting adsMeta is also adding sponsored channels and subscriptions. WhatsApp is rolling out ads. In an update on Monday, Meta announced that it will now show ads from businesses through its Stories-like status ... read more
- Nintendo announces a Donkey Kong Bananza DirectNintendo will offer an early look at Donkey Kong Bananza during a livestream on Wednesday, June 18th at 9AM ET. The company announced the upcoming Direct event through its Nintendo Today ... read more
- Amazon Ads Launches Live Signals In CloudAmazon Live signals in Amazon Marketing Cloud has launched to give advertisers more information on impressions, views, and clicks into live shopping campaigns. ... read more
- PMG To Brands: Now There's An App For ThatCANNES, France -- It's called "Alli Marketplace" and it's akin to a consumer app store model, enabling clients to seamlessly integrate new and emerging technologies into their martech stack, PMG announced here this morning. The ... read more
- ABC Fired Moran For X Posts, But Was Trump A Factor?How much were Disney/ABC execs thinking not only of Moran's breach of the company's journalistic standards, but how Trump may have retaliated if they didn't dismiss Moran? ... read more
- Dentsu Expands Sports & Entertainment, Appoints Ise To Lead ItThe expansion includes the international launch of Dentsu anime solutions, the expansion of Dentsu Sports Analytics into MENA, and the growth of dentsu Sports & Entertainment hubs. ... read more
- OnePlus announces the Nord 5 and four more productsOnePlus has announced five new products, including a new phone from its popular Nord lineup, which will launch in Europe and India next month. The company will release two phones, a ... read more
- WPP Integrates TikTok's Symphony Content Tools Into WPP OpenIt's not an exclusive arrangement but for now, WPP said the collaboration gives its teams early access to the social media company's content-focused AI-driven tool set. ... read more
- Microsoft accidentally swapped Windows 11’s startup sound with Vista’sIf you’ve been having flashbacks to 2007 while using your PC over the past few days, you’re not alone. Microsoft has mistakenly replaced Windows 11’s boot sound — in test versions ... read more
- Your next phone could run on Trump MobileDonald Trump might be planning to launch a mobile network and a Trump-branded phone. DTTM Operations LLC, the company Trump uses to manage his trademarks, has applied to use both “Trump” ... read more
- Here comes the AI sponconSocial media is filled with an endless supply of people selling things, from Shein try-on hauls to health supplement and gadget product placements. Influencer marketing disrupted traditional advertising, creating an army ... read more
- ‘It’s a big meeting week’: Kimberly-Clark’s Patricia Corsi on the AI hype, Cannes jargonSubscribe: Apple Podcasts • Spotify If you’re looking for Patricia Corsi, Kimberly-Clark’s chief growth officer, along the French Riviera during this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, don’t expect to find her sipping rosé. While Cannes ... read more
- Cannes Briefing: A sunburned reckoningTo receive this daily Cannes briefing over email, please subscribe here. Cannes has always thrived on the blur: part conference, part fever dream, part reputation management exercise with a rosé chaser. But this year, before ... read more
- The Shorts play: YouTube steps up creator monetizationYouTube is expanding its internal brand partnership tools and its relationships with third-party creator monetization vendors — all part of a broader effort to create new revenue streams for Shorts creators. In recent months, YouTube ... read more
- Outfront brings its XLabs to Cannes for the first time, hoping to draw a broader ad baseCannes Lions used to be the place to see and be seen for creative excellence. But for the last 15 years or so, media companies and platforms have steadily muscled their way onto the beaches ... read more
- Meet the man behind Cannes Lions’ most exclusive partiesUnik Ernest doesn’t exactly fit the mold of Cannes’ archetypal power broker. Tall, reserved, more listener than talker — he doesn’t shout status. But on the Croisette some call him the fixer. Spend five minutes ... read more
- Amazon and Roku kick of Cannes Lions with DSP tie-up Related Insights Member Exclusive Future of TV Briefing: A Q&A with Roku’s Sarah Harms about streaming ad measurement Subscribe To Read Read More Amazon Ads and Roku have ... read more
- Omnicom strikes partnerships at Cannes Lions with Disney and Walmart around harnessing liveCannes Lions is officially underway, and holding company Omnicom is wasting little time forging ahead with unveiling partnerships with major publishers and platforms as it digs deeply into harnessing the power of ‘live’ — be ... read more
- Media Buying Briefing: How Acadia is winning over creative work as well as mediaThere’s a threat to the creative side of the agency business, and it’s called generative AI. News announcements in the past few weeks have drilled that home, as Meta and other publishers announce ways to ... read more
- 'How To Train Your Dragon' Roars And Soars With $84M OpeningThe live-action movie adaptation of the animated original rocketed to a series best $83.7 million in domestic box-office revenue business, and $197.8 million globally, ... read more
- Anker’s Soundcore Sleep earbuds finally feature active noise cancelingBattery life is reduced, but Anker’s sleep buds could now be even better at blocking disturbing sounds at night. | Image: Anker Anker has announced a new version of its wireless sleep ... read more
- Magna Revises Global Ad Outlook Down SlightlyThe IPG Mediabrands forecasting unit also boosted its U.S. ad growth outlook slightly form its last quarterly update in March. ... read more
- In Cannes, Lions Escape The Palais Walls In Search of CEOs, Record AttendanceThe world’s largest advertising festival is getting even larger, with record attendance, partnerships, and award entries marking a significant evolution in how the event engages with the French Riviera city that hosts it. No longer ... read more
- Norbauer Seneca review: a $3,600 luxury keyboard for the keyboard obsessedThe best, and most expensive, thing I’ve ever typed on. | Photo by Nathan Edwards / The Verge Some people can tell great wine from okay wine. They go on wine tastings, ... read more
- How to build the best keyboard in the worldRyan Norbauer in his garage / workshop. | Photo: Taeha Kim / Norbauer & Co. The term "endgame," among keyboard enthusiasts, is sort of a running gag. Endgame is when you finally ... read more
- Would you switch browsers for a chatbot?Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 87, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, happy It's Officially Too Hot Now Week, and ... read more
- Digitas’ John Kahn on the Future of Trust, Tech and Retail Media: ‘It Starts with Brand Truth’
- Tanks, guns and face-paintingOf all the jarring things I've witnessed on the National Mall, nothing will beat the image of the first thing I saw after I cleared security at the Army festival: a ... read more
- No Kings: protests in the eye of the stormDemonstrators in Los Angeles marched alongside an inflatable Donald Trump baby dressed in a diaper. As President Donald Trump kicked off a birthday military parade on the streets of Washington, DC, what's ... read more
- Sony’s noise-canceling WH-1000XM6 are already on sale with a $30 gift card
- Answering the Nintendo Switch 2’s lingering accessibility questionsOne of the biggest surprises of the Nintendo Switch 2's reveal was its proposed accessibility. For years, Nintendo has been known for accidentally stumbling on accessibility solutions while stubbornly refusing to ... read more
- Nintendo Switch 2 review: exactly good enoughThe first Switch was such a hit that Nintendo decided not to mess with a good thing. Instead of releasing a successor that feels like a generational leap or a pivot ... read more
- Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s AI hiring spree
- Anne Wojcicki is taking back control of 23andMe23andMe co-founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki is set to buy back the company after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. On Friday, 23andMe and TTAM Research ... read more
- Instagram Stokes Creative Energy Via Film Series And Emerging Artist ProgramInstagram will begin highlighting the creative journeys of Tyler, The Creator, Rosalia and other major artists through a series of in-app mini-films, while also launching "Drafts," a new way for the platform to invest in ... read more
- Gamefam Brings FIFA's 2025 'Club World Cup' To RobloxGamefam has announced a playable Roblox launch dedicated to FIFA's upcoming Club World Cup tournament - a U.S.-based competition among 32 men's club soccer teams with a $1 billion pot. ... read more
- Mel Brooks is returning for Spaceballs 2Spaceballs, which was first released nearly 40 years ago, is getting a sequel in 2027 from Amazon MGM Studios. A Spaceballs 2 announcement trailer posted Thursday doesn’t have any solid details ... read more
- Yelp Renews Bid To Block Texas Suit Over 'Crisis Pregnancy Centers'Yelp says Texas AG brought bad-faith lawsuit over warning labels on so-called "crisis pregnancy centers." ... read more
- The Switch 2 gives Splatoon 3 a fantastically fresh coat of paintSplatoon 3 already looked phenomenal on the original Switch, in a way that seemed to defy the console's hardware limitations. The game's paint-slicked visuals were gorgeous, and its chaotic battles were ... read more
- Belkin’s 3-in-1 Qi2 wireless charger is the cheapest it’s been in monthsBelkin’s Qi2-ready BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 wireless charger is $30 off. If you’re looking to declutter the cables on your desk or nightstand and keep all of your devices charged, Belkin’s Qi2-ready BoostCharge ... read more
- Google’s test turns search results into an AI-generated podcastThe option to generate an Audio Overview appears beneath the “People also ask” module. Google is rolling out a test that puts its AI-powered Audio Overviews on the first page of search ... read more
- Anbernic’s sliding screen handheld might be too chunky and heavy for your pocketsAnbernic hasn’t officially released or even put its new RG Slide handheld up for preorder yet, but a handful of reviewers have recently shared their first impressions of the new console. ... read more
- Minnesota Passes Bill Requiring Social Media WarningsMinnesota lawmakers have passed a bill requiring social media platforms to post "conspicuous" notices warning users of potential risks to their mental health. ... read more
- Kwikset’s newest smart lock gets almost everything rightKwikset’s Halo Select smart lock. Legacy lock maker Kwikset has been producing innovative smart locks since 2013, when it released the first touch-to-open lock, the Kwikset Kevo. The company followed that up ... read more
- Dbrand’s Killswitch is the best all-around Switch 2 caseThe transparent front cover is included with the $80 Travel tier, and it includes a tray that holds 10 cartridges. | Image: Cameron Faulkner/The Verge I've been checking out a lot of ... read more
- Google’s Gemini AI will summarize PDFs for you when you open themGoogle is rolling out new Gemini AI features for Workspace users that make it easier to find information in PDFs and form responses. The Gemini-powered file summarization capabilities in Google Drive ... read more
- Pixar is heading back to Italy for its next big filmThough Disney and Pixar are about to start getting everyone hyped for Toy Story 5, the studios are already working hard on another feature. While Disney and Pixar opened their Annecy ... read more
- USDOT wants more self-driving cars without pedals or steering wheelsThe US Department of Transportation wants to make it easier for automakers and tech companies to deploy self-driving cars without traditional controls like steering wheels and pedals. In a letter sent ... read more
- Steam is finally adding native support for Macs with Apple SiliconSteam will soon fully support Macs equipped with Apple’s in-house chips. In the latest Steam client beta spotted by 9to5Mac, Valve says the “Steam Client and Steam Helper apps now run ... read more
- The new Pebble watch’s mobile app will also work with some old Pebble watchesCore Devices is ready to ship 200 of its Core 2 Duo smartwatches to preorder customers in its beta test program. | Photo: Eric Migicovsky / Core Devices On his personal blog, ... read more
- Meta AI Personal Chats Appearing In Public Search FeedSecurity and financial experts have noted that Meta AI makes private conversations public when users try to post messages to its social feed without understanding exactly how the platform works. The conversations are searchable, which ... read more
- Switch, Xbox, and the portable future of gamesThe Switch 2 is a hit (and a supply chain success story). Microsoft is starting to show off its plan for the future of Xbox. And everywhere you look, there are ... read more
- Google just released the first major Snapseed update in yearsSnapseed now has a “Faves” tab on the toolbar. | Image: Google Google has completely revamped its Snapseed image editing app on iPhone and iPad. The change, spotted earlier by 9to5Google, is ... read more
- Report: FTC Weighs Ad 'Boycott' Ban As Condition Of Omnicom/IPG Merger"The New York Times" reported that the agreement (not yet finalized) would be part of a consent decree that the FTC has proposed to the holding companies in ongoing negotiations related to the commission's antitrust ... read more
- Autistic Detective Migrates From French To English On PBSThose familiar with the French police procedural "Astrid" will wonder what took somebody so long to make an English-language version. ... read more
- Google is shutting down Android Instant Apps over ‘low’ usageGoogle has confirmed that it plans to shut down Android’s Instant Apps later this year, attributing the decision to “low” usage of the functionality. Instant Apps were introduced in 2017, and ... read more
- Tesla’s minor Model S and X refreshes cost $5,000 moreThe refreshed 2025 Tesla Model S (right) and Model X (left). Tesla is relaunching its Model S and Model X with minor changes as the EV maker struggles to address plummeting demand. ... read more
- At Cannes Lions, Ad Measurement Is The Creative Industry's Most Urgent ChallengeAs brands and agencies confront tighter budgets and heightened expectations, the stakes are clear. Advertisers need answers to foundational questions: Was my message seen by the right people? How often? On which platforms? Was it ... read more
- Trump's Military Parade: Not So TV-WorthyDon't expect to see much coverage of the Trump military parade this Saturday on major TV broadcast networks. Where to see it? Streaming - but only on a limited basis. ... read more
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is getting a fifth and final seasonWe’re still over a month away from the premiere of season three, but Paramount has announced that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is getting a fifth season — and that it ... read more
- PCIe 7.0 is coming, but not soon, and not for youPCIe 7.0 is earmarked for data-heavy applications rather than consumer computing hardware. The PCIe 7.0 specification has now been released, while many of us are still waiting for PCIe 6.0 to materialize ... read more
- ‘Fundamental to our success’: Ryan Kangisser, the media svengali behind the industry’s biggest pitchesNext week’s Cannes Lions festival in the south of France will bring CMOs, holding company execs and consultants together for the industry’s biggest bazaar. While the creative shops are there exclusively to gather up armfuls ... read more
- AI screenings, budget cuts, and burnout: What’s really behind advertising’s hiring disconnectThe job market has never been easy to navigate. But right now — between tightened marketing budgets, agency consolidation and economic headwinds — it’s as convoluted as ever. Job seekers say they’re seeing hundreds of roles for ... read more
- Cannes Briefing: A guide to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025To receive this daily Cannes briefing over email, please subscribe here. If this is your first time (or if you want a refresher on what you might expect), here’s what we can tell you about ... read more
- How PayPal is using Venmo, Honey transactions to win over marketers to its ads businessIt’s no secret that retail media networks are seeing a boon in business and viewed as a bright spot in advertising. Financial institutions are chasing those dollars now, too, from the likes of Chase and ... read more
- Live is where it’s at for Omnicom, based on research (and strategy) it’s bringing to CannesAs thousands of agency folk grab their passports, sunblock and antacids to head to Cannes next week for the annual Lions fest, Omnicom has quietly hammered out its strategy and message it take to the Croisette. ... read more
- ‘Xandr DSP took the brunt of the frustration with Netflix’: Overheard at the Digiday virtual town hall
- ‘I feel disposable’: Confessions of a transgender Target employee after DEI pullbackThis story was first published by Digiday sibling ModernRetail In an email to employees in May, after pulling back on some diversity, equity and inclusion goals, Target’s CEO tried to reassure employees that its values ... read more
- Meta is paying $14 billion to catch up in the AI raceMeta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Meta is paying $14.3 billion to buy 49-percent of Scale AI and hire its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to reboot its troubled AI efforts. As part of the ... read more
- The Steve Jobs Archive shares stories, videos, and notes of his famous commencement speechThursday marks the 20th anniversary of Steve Jobs’ famous Stanford commencement speech, and the Steve Jobs Archive has marked the occasion by uploading an HD version of the speech, publishing notes ... read more
- It could be 2026 before all your Thread border routers work togetherThere’s finally some good news for anyone battling multiple Thread networks while using Matter devices in their smart home — as long as you’re the patient type. According to Matter Alpha, ... read more
- NHL Teams See 9% Sponsorship Revenue Hike To $1.5BFive hundred new brands have made deals with the NHL year-over-year - with finance (up 8%), business services (18%), and automotive brands (8%) accounting for one-third of the new sponsorship money. ... read more
- Pinterest To Host LTK Influencer Shopping ContentTo boost its strategic position in the social commerce sphere, Pinterest will feature high-performing creator content originally posted on influencer shopping platform LTK. ... read more
- Trump’s protest threats raise surveillance alarms around his military paradePresident Donald Trump's warning that protesters of Saturday's US military parade in Washington, DC, will be met with "very heavy force" threatens to chill speech and underscores the need for protesters ... read more
- Apple’s upgraded Siri might not arrive until next springApple is aiming to launch the upgraded Siri that it originally previewed at WWDC 2024 in spring 2026 with iOS 26.4, according to Bloomberg. At WWDC last year, Apple showed off ... read more
- Florida Battles Snapchat Over Teen Safety"The nation's teens are in the midst of an ongoing mental health crisis precipitated by behavioral addiction to social media apps like Snapchat," Florida argues in papers filed Wednesday. ... read more
- Here’s the $2,000 fully AI-generated ad that aired during the NBA FinalsThe AI ad was inspired by GTA IV. If you’ve been on social media lately, you might’ve seen the unsettling AI slop videos showing AI-generated people in wild scenarios or just speaking ... read more
- Bose upgraded the adaptive ANC on its new QuietComfort Ultra earbudsBose includes the option to turn off touch controls on its upgraded QuietComfort Ultra earbuds. | Image: Bose Bose has announced upgraded QuietComfort Ultra wireless earbuds with better adaptive ANC that can ... read more
- Chasing rainbowsLiving with colorblindness feels like you're constantly being pranked by the world in subtle, irritating ways. The other day, I was booking a flight on Kayak, trying to figure out which ... read more
- Effie Lions Foundation LaunchedThe Foundation is anchored by the Effie Collegiate program and a number of educational tools provided by the Lions organization including Lions Learning and Lions Intelligence. ... read more
- Meta inks a new geothermal energy deal to support AIMeta’s geothermal ambitions are growing with a new agreement to support projects in New Mexico. It announced the deal with XGS Energy today, a company developing next-generation geothermal technologies that make ... read more
- The best note-taking apps for collecting your thoughts and dataThese days, we are all dealing with huge amounts of information, from meeting notes to social media, to photos and videos, to whatever else we've collected - and we are all ... read more
- Let's Drop 'Trading' From Our Industry LexiconFolks should stop trying to shoehorn financial market methodologies into advertising products and services. ... read more
- Samsung 'Playable' Ad Breaks To Feature New Mini-GamesSamsung Ads' "GameBreaks" is expanding its portfolio of interactive mini-games. Four new gaming titles will soon be available. ... read more
- A massive internet outage is messing up Google Home, Spotify, and other servicesOn Thursday afternoon, many people with smart home setups connected to Google Home / Nest, or who are trying to stream music on Spotify, are coming up empty. All I’m seeing ... read more
- California Senate Approves Bill To Curb Online Privacy SuitsLawmakers in California advanced a bill that would revise the state's 58-year-old wiretap law in ways that could discourage lawsuits over online tracking. ... read more
- Pinterest is adding third-party influencer content to its feedsInfluencers on affiliate shopping platform LTK may soon get access to a huge new audience: Pinterest users. Under a new partnership announced today, high-performing image posts on LTK will automatically be ... read more
- All the Android features Apple announced at WWDCThe latest edition of iOS Doing Android Things. Apple announcing Android features years after Google shipped them is a tale as old as time, but that doesn't make it any less fun ... read more
- Garmin’s Venu X1 smartwatch has its biggest display and smallest case yetGarmin announced the $799 Venu X1 fitness watch today. It offers a 2-inch square AMOLED screen and seems like a shot at the Apple Watch Ultra 2, given its similar square ... read more
- A Mister Miracle animated show is in the works at DC StudiosAnd for its next trick, DC Studios is expanding its new cinematic universe with a series focused on Mister Miracle. During its presentation at this year’s Annecy Film Festival, DC studios ... read more
- Basis Reboots System, Simplifies Cross-Programmatic/Direct/Social BuysBasis Technologies has overhauled its platform and data system to simplify ad planning and buying across programmatic, publisher direct and social channels. ... read more