- 'Captain America' Braves Tough Review World With $100M Holiday OpeningThe movie had a low positive review score on Rotten Tomatoes (50%), and a B-mark from CinemaScore. ... read more
- AI Delivers Results for Marketers Amid Shifts in Consumer Behavior: Google’s Sadie ThomaPALM SPRINGS, Calif. – Artificial intelligence is helping brands to boost the efficacy of their marketing efforts amid the ongoing shifts in consumer behaviors. Search giant Google is seeking to put these powerful tools into ... read more
- BMW’s next-gen EVs depend on an unassuming black box called ‘Heart of Joy’BMW’s Vision Driving Experience is a test mule for its Neue Klasse platform. | Image: BMW Last November, I strapped into the rear passenger seat of an all-electric, four-door sedan with BMW ... read more
- The Media Claim to Find No Fraud in GovernmentThen again, they also told us Biden was sharp as a tack and nothing was amiss at the border. ... read more
- YouTube TV has a deal to keep Paramount contentDays after YouTube published a blog post saying it could lose Paramount content soon, it updated the post to announce a deal to keep it. The company posted on X that, ... read more
- A treasure trove of comedy historyHi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 71, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If youâre new here, welcome, happy long weekend to all those allowed to ... read more
- ‘TeslaTakeover’ protests are small, but numerousProtestors gathered outside a Tesla showroom in New York on Saturday. | Photo: Stephanie Keith / Bloomberg via Getty Images<br> Today marked a second weekend of scattered protests at Tesla showrooms, following ... read more
- The Nintendo DS Drastic emulator is gone from Google PlayThe popular Nintendo DS emulator Drastic has disappeared from the Google Play store, reports Android Authority. It’s not clear at the moment why the app is now gone, but it seems ... read more
- Amazon’s revamped Alexa might launch over a month after its announcement eventAmazon won’t launch the AI-powered upgrade for Alexa for at least a month after its showcase at an event set for February 26th, according to The Washington Post. The delay is ... read more
- Elden Ring Nightreign is already up for preorder with a $10 gift cardThe next Elden Ring entry welcomes all Tarnished on May 30th. Elden Ring Nightreign’s rocky network test might have left some fans disappointed this week, but I sincerely doubt a few breif ... read more
- The Vision Pro NBA app turns some games into a miniature 3D dioramaIt really makes you want to reach out and pick up one of the players. The NBA has introduced a new AR feature for its Vision Pro app this week called Tabletop, ... read more
- Vision Pro apps: the good, the bad, and the ridiculousThe Vision Pro is Apple’s newest computing platform, and that means we’re going to see a whole bunch of new apps. Apple pitches apps built for the Vision Pro as “spatial” ... read more
- Technics AZ100 earbuds review: audiophiles and multitaskers uniteIt can be surprisingly daunting to follow up on a great pair of earbuds. The objective is to make improvements wherever possible without sacrificing anything that people loved about the previous ... read more
- While Waiting is a playful reminder of the joys of boredomBoredom is something of a dying concept. Our phones, filled with games and videos and social feeds, allow us to fill every moment with something, whether weâre on a long flight ... read more
- Google’s Android-based earthquake detector had a false alarmGoogle has disabled its Android earthquake detection feature in Brazil after many smartphone users in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro received false emergency alerts on Friday morning, Android Police reports. ... read more
- Trump admin pulls hundreds of videos from CFPB’s YouTube channel
- OpenAI’s board ‘unanimously rejects’ Elon Musk’s offer to buy the companyOpenAI’s board of directors has responded to Elon Musk’s bid to buy the company. In a statement on X, OpenAI chair Bret Taylor said, “OpenAI is not for sale, and the ... read more
- Trump administration adds anti-trans notices to restored websitesPresident Donald Trump’s administration has ordered federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to add disclaimers railing against “gender ideology” to pages ... read more
- Texas AG Demands Info From Google And Apple About DeepSeekTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton is demanding that Google and Apple provide their analyses of Chinese AI company DeepSeek's AI Assistant. ... read more
- Mastodon will add quote posts, even though some users don’t want themMastodon is making a change that might have some users divided. In an update on Friday, the decentralized platform announced that it’s working to add quote posts “to help people to ... read more
- Google DeepMind's Newest Video Model Lands On YouTube ShortsYouTube's experimental text-prompt AI feature Dream Screen, which creates videos, is being upgraded with integration of Google DeepMind's newest video-generation model Veo 2. The company also will launch a feature that generates standalone video clips ... read more
- Climate group that called for ‘free Palestine’ stripped of federal fundingAn Environmental Protection Agency building in Washington, DC. | Photo Getty Images A grassroots environmental alliance that called for a “free Palestine” has lost the more than $50 million it was supposed ... read more
- Instagram Tests 'Dislike' ButtonInstagram is testing a new button that would allow users to dislike or downvote comments on posts. ... read more
- WhatsApp is getting themed chat bubblesWhatsApp is turning up the customization features for chats by including new theme options, custom colors for chat bubbles, and a bunch of new wallpapers to choose from. A new blog ... read more
- New Meta Reality Labs Division To Develop AI-Driven Humanoid RobotsMeta is further restructuring its VR/AR hardware department by creating a new unit focused on developing AI-powered humanoid robots designed to assist with physical household tasks, according to an internal company memo. ... read more
- Meta’s Ray-Bans have sold 2 million pairs — its maker is prepping to sell 10M each yearTwo weeks ago, we exclusively reported Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s remarks on how many pairs of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses the company had recently sold and might theoretically sell — 1 ... read more
- Senate Republicans introduce bills to make EVs more expensiveTwo bills were introduced in the Senate that, if enacted, would dramatically increase the price for most electric vehicles. The first bill, sponsored by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), would eliminate the ... read more
- The EV tax credit: all the cars, rules, and updatesThe electric vehicle tax credit, also known as the “clean vehicle tax credit,” or 30D, if you like IRS code, can offer up to $7,500 off the purchase of a new ... read more
- Netflix says its brief Apple TV app integration was a mistakeConsidering the trajectory of 2025 so far, perhaps we should’ve known that Netflix finally playing nice with the Apple TV app was too good to be true. And now the streaming ... read more
- Treasury inspector general will investigate DOGE payments accessTwo government watchdogs will investigate the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to sensitive Treasury payments systems, they confirmed in letters to Congress. In a letter to Senate Democrats, Treasury Deputy Inspector ... read more
- The inexpensive Roomba Combo j5 is over 50 percent off for Verge readersThe Roomba Combo i5 can vacuum and mop for just $189, which is a 40 percent discount. Looking for a robot vacuum or mop that won’t set you back a few hundred ... read more
- TikTok isn’t out of the woods yetHappy Valentineâs Day. Iâm sending this from the NBA All-Star Technology Summit in San Francisco, where Iâve never seen so many major streaming competitors onstage at once. This week, I go ... read more
- AppLovin Divesting Apps Business To Dig Into Ads, EcommerceAppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi announced this week that the company would divest its gaming studio apps business for $900 million, comprising $500 million in cash and a minority equity stake in the combined private company. ... read more
- Meta is working on ‘humanoid’ robots, tooMeta is planning to design the hardware and software for humanoid robots, according to a report from Bloomberg. Sources tell the outlet that a newly formed team within Meta’s Reality Labs ... read more
- Roblox is still trying to convince lawmakers it’s not social mediaAs the new Congress has already started working on legislation to protect kids from social media harms, Roblox is doubling down on its efforts to convince lawmakers it shouldnât be lumped ... read more
- Instagram starts testing new button that might downrank comments
- Amazon’s killing a feature that let you download and backup Kindle booksAmazon is making it harder to download purchased books to a computer in older formats. | Photo: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge Starting on February 26th, 2025, Amazon is removing a feature ... read more
- Small businesses are already feeling Trump’s tariffs
- Nosferatu is making its Peacock streaming debut next weekRobert Eggers’ excellent Nosferatu remake will finally be available to stream very soon. Peacock announced today that Nosferatu — which stars Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and Bill Skarsgård — will make ... read more
- You can get a 55-inch Hisense U7 for under $500Hisense models are great starter TVs that you can grow into. I sorely recall the early onset of the current gaming generation, which kicked off in late 2020. The Xbox Series X/S ... read more
- Missouri AG Drops Investigation Of Media MattersMissouri AG Andrew Bailey is dropping his investigation of Media Matters over a November 2023 report that said ads for major brands were appearing next to pro-Nazi content on X, formerly Twitter. ... read more
- Yellowjackets continues to stretch itself thin in season 3The third season of Yellowjackets is a bit like getting lured back to the high school reunion that was delightfully fun the first time but eventually becomes an exercise in diminishing ... read more
- Xiaomi’s 15 Ultra looks a lot like a Leica in new leaksThe rear finish looks like a real camera. It looks like Xiaomi is soon launching a new flagship Ultra smartphone model that takes its Leica licensing beyond just the lens. Android Headlines ... read more
- Kagi’s search engine adds a more private way to searchThe paid search engine Kagi has added an even more private way to search. The new feature, called Privacy Pass, lets you make searches without having them traced back to you. ... read more
- More Tesla showroom protests planned for this weekendActivists are calling for demonstrations at Tesla showrooms. Protestors are planning more demonstrations outside Tesla showrooms nationwide this weekend, as Elon Musk’s polarizing behavior and political activities within the Trump administration continue ... read more
- Elon Musk: agent of chaosItâs hard to think of a time when a single figure has been so central to seemingly everything in the way that Elon Musk is right now. Musk is overseeing and ... read more
- Netflix finally decides to play nice and support the Apple TV appSome Apple TV 4K users in the US are being prompted to connect their Netflix accounts to the Apple TV app. This would appear to signal an end to the streaming ... read more
- The technology team at financial regulator CFPB has been guttedAround 20 technologists at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were fired on Thursday evening, gutting a team that specialized in understanding Big Techâs entrance into financial products, three sources familiar with ... read more
- Elden Ring Nightreign’s director isn’t sorry about how stressful it isMy first time playing Elden Ring Nightreign, I was stressed the hell out. My team and I were in an underground dungeon, trying to make our way past traps and dangerous ... read more
- Dentsu Moves To Restore Growth After Flat 2024The firm took a Q4 $1.38 billion impairment charge and will take $327 million in restructuring costs this year in the face of "intensifying competition." ... read more
- TikTok Returns To App StoresApple and Google restored TikTok to their app stores late Thursday after reportedly receiving assurances that the federal government wouldn't attempt to enforce a law banning the app. ... read more
- Roku Q4 Grows 25%, Including AdvertisingRoku says small and medium-sized businesses contributed strongly to the bigger core, non-political advertising coffers during the period. ... read more
- In 'Good Cop/Bad Cop," Small Town Police Force Is A Family AffairThe quirky Pacific Northwest is the setting for yet another TV show about small-town detectives in a close-knit community. ... read more
- Netflix Looks – And Listens – To Podcast PossibilitiesWith its total addressable market in the TV/streaming video space near saturation in certain markets, Netflix is looking at around 500 million podcast listeners globally as a potential new revenue stream. ... read more
- Elon Musk’s DOGE website has been defaced because anyone can edit itSuch security, much open. The DOGE website created to document how Elon Musk’s team is eviscerating the US federal government is wide open for anyone to edit. This is the same DOGE ... read more
- Microsoft Outlook’s new minimize button makes mobile emails much easierMicrosoft is adding a super useful button to Outlook mobile that will let you quickly minimize a draft email and task switch on the go. If you’re like me and you ... read more
- Open source code repository says ‘far-right forces’ are behind massive spam attacksThe open source code repository Codeberg has blamed the far right for a recent campaign of abuse and harassment across its systems. “Projects advocating tolerance and equal rights” were subjected to ... read more
- Digiday+ Research: Site traffic declines are publishers’ biggest concern this yearInterested in sharing your perspectives on the media and marketing industries? Join the Digiday research panel. Traffic declines and the economy: Those were the biggest challenges publishers faced last year, and they’ll be on repeat ... read more
- Rundown: FTC’s potential priorities for ad tech, data and AI Under the leadership of Andrew Ferguson, chairman of Federal Trade Commission, the agency could shift its focus from broad regulatory rule-making to targeted enforcement actions. However, some observers note that doesn’t mean the FTC’s new ... read more
- Snapchat, Pinterest and Reddit turn to AI in laying the groundwork to capture SMB ad dollarsSmaller platforms are in a fierce tug-of-war for small- to medium-sized business (SMB) ad dollars, betting that these smaller advertisers hold the key to future growth — and they’re looking to AI-powered tools to capture ... read more
- Tubi’s Super Bowl viewership highlights brands’ embrace of FAST channelsFox’s streaming platform Tubi helped the broadcaster stage the most-viewed Super Bowl in history on Feb. 9. A record-breaking audience of 127.7 million watched the Eagles crumple the Chiefs on Sunday, and 13.6 million of ... read more
- Love in the time of Slack: Welcome to the new era of office romance
- TikTok is coming back to the App StoreApple is putting TikTok back in the US App Store, according to a source familiar the situation. The return follows US Attorney General Pam Bondi sending a letter to Apple assuring ... read more
- Google Addresses Ad Platform: Transparency, Leads, Optimization CitedGoogle Performance Max has become the hub of the company's advertising system, but marketers continue to express concerns about transparency while using the platform. ... read more
- Google Addresses Ad Platform Questions On Transparency, Lead Quality, OptimizationGoogle Performance Max has become the hub of the company's advertising system, but marketers continue to express concerns about transparency while using the platform. ... read more
- Gemini AI can now recall past conversationsGoogle’s Gemini AI assistant can now recall past conversations to provide more relevant responses if you have a subscription to Gemini Advanced via Google One AI Premium. With the update, you’ll ... read more
- Nvidia delays the RTX 5070 till after AMD’s revealAs always, the most important Nvidia graphics card is the one you can actually buy, and Nvidia’s talked a big game for its RTX 5070, making the dubious but nuanced claim ... read more
- Best/Worst AI Ads (According To Some Humans)With an "official" industry AI advertising awards show likely to be announced any day now, this best/worst list may give you a running start. ... read more
- Meta Expands Ad Placement Controls For BrandsMeta is offering advertisers more control over their ad placements through comment and publisher controls, as well as "blocklists" supported by additional third-party brand safety and measurement companies, including DoubleVerify and Zefr, in addition to ... read more
- Google’s latest Pixel phones are down to some of their best pricesGoogle’s Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL are up to $200 off. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge If you’re on the market for an excellent Android phone, multiple ... read more
- YouTube Citations In Google AI Overviews Rise 25%BrightEdge has kept pace with identifying trends on how Google AI Overviews (AIO) taps YouTube and serves up content in its engine. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan explained in a blog post how TV has surpassed ... read more
- How to get TikTok back on your phone if you deleted it after the banTikTokâs app is still working for people in the US â as long as itâs already on their phone. While the service quickly returned after the brief shutdown in January, the ... read more
- Amazon revamps Prime Video’s Apple TV appAmazon’s Prime Video app just got a big update on Apple TV. The app is now better optimized for tvOS, allowing you to swipe on the Siri Remote to scroll through ... read more
- Audio-Technica’s new cartilage conduction headphones offer better battery lifeAudio-Technica’s ATH-CC500BT2 offer similar advantages to bone conduction headphones but with improved battery life. | Image: Audio-Technica Audio-Technica has announced a new version of its open-ear cartilage conduction headphones the company says ... read more
- Bose headphones and earbuds are nearly 25 percent off for President’s DayDespite how they appear, the Ultra Open Earbuds don’t hurt while gripping your ears. If you need a new pair of headphones, earbuds, or a portable Bluetooth speaker, Bose’s ongoing President’s Day ... read more
- Social Commerce, Live Shopping: A Conversation With Mavely's Usaid KhanMavely VP of Business Development Usaid Khan talks about the promise of "everyday influencers," being bullish on social commerce, Mavely's recent acquisition, why Reddit may be a promising focus for creator-based ad dollars and more. ... read more
- The Promise Of Social Commerce And Live Shopping: A Conversation With Mavely's Usaid KhanMavely VP of Business Development Usaid Khan talks about the promise of "everyday influencers," being bullish on social commerce, Mavely's recent acquisition, why Reddit may be a promising focus for creator-based ad dollars and more. ... read more
- What’s with the EPA seizing ‘gold bars’?Lee Zeldin, Donald Trump’s pick to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, speaks during his Senate Environment and Public Works confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. ... read more
- California Bill Requiring Browser-Based Opt-Out ReintroducedCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a nearly identical bill last year. ... read more
- Double magnetic rings are here to stick your phone to anythingDouble magnetic rings. I like my phone, so I put a ring on it back in 2022 â the year my colleagues Jen and Allison introduced me to the Anker ring we ... read more
- Apple’s next Studio Display could get a much-needed Mini LED upgradeApple is preparing a new 27-inch display with Mini LED backlighting for release later in 2025 or early next year, according to analyst Ross Young (and highlighted by MacRumors). The purported ... read more
- RFK Jr., an anti-vax activist, will lead Health and Human Services following Senate confirmationRobert F. Kennedy Jr. is now President Donald Trump’s new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) following a Senate confirmation vote. As head of the HHS, Kennedy ... read more
- Android 16’s next public beta adds new features for pro photographersAndroid’s camera app is getting hybrid auto-exposure controls and precise color temperature and tint adjustments. | Image: Google Google is releasing the second public beta of Android 16 today that will introduce ... read more
- US Tech Entrepreneurs Continue To Stand With UkraineAm I worried for Ukraine at this moment? Of course I am. Am I pessimistic? Absolutely not. As an entrepreneur, everything in my life is about overcoming challenges, ... read more
- The UK’s war on encryption affects all of usThe encryption wars have reached a fever pitch, and the most contentious battle is not happening in the United States, where much of the action has been in the past â ... read more
- Captain America: Brave New World is trying twice as hard to be half as goodWith its first few Captain America films, Marvel Studios sold audiences on the idea that its superhero movies could be more than live-action cartoons. By borrowing from other genres, they could ... read more
- House Republicans Launch Privacy Initiative"We strongly believe that a national data privacy standard is necessary to protect Americans' rights online and maintain our country's global leadership in digital technologies, including artificial intelligence," Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-Kentucky) and John Joyce ... read more
- AI Startup Sued By Major Publishers Over Alleged Copyright InfringementAn AI startup based in Canada is being sued by 14 publishers including Conde Nast parent Advance Publications, the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Forbes Media, The Guardian, McClatchy, Business Insider, Newsday, Toronto Star, and ... read more
- Blue Origin is laying off around 10 percent of workersThe Jeff Bezos-owned space company Blue Origin has announced plans to lay off around 10 percent of its workforce. The company currently has more than 10,000 workers, according to Bloomberg, meaning ... read more
- OnePlus won’t release a foldable phone in 2025OnePlus says it won’t launch a new foldable phone this year, axing expectations that the company was prepping a proper sequel to its Open foldable from 2023, 9to5Google reports. A new ... read more
- The next Xbox is going to be very differentIâve been thinking a lot about the next Xbox lately. While Microsoft publicly lines up a busy year of game releases and ports for the PS5 and Switch 2, the company ... read more
- Apple’s sci-fi movies are way behind its showsApple TV Plus has steadily become the preeminent home of streaming sci-fi shows, and that reputation has really only grown over time. Silo just wrapped up its thrilling second season, Severance ... read more
- Final Fantasy iOS game shuts down over unfixable bugSquare Enix has shut down the iOS version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and removed it from the App Store following an unfixable bug that blocked people from accessing content they ... read more
- Twisted Metal’s second season streams this summerIt’s going to be a hot vehicular combat summer: Peacock has announced that the second of Twisted Metal will start streaming later this year. The show, which is an adaptation of ... read more
- Trade Desk Misses Q4, Stock PlummetsAfter 33 consecutive earning periods in which it met or exceeded financial expectations, The Trade Desk missed on Q4 revenues vs. analyst expectations, taking in $741 million - about 2% below estimates - and saw ... read more
- Shedding Light On Some Really Dark MediaSUBJECT LINE: Adalytics Study -- "That release fell like a dud," a PR pro mused, referring to news about Big Tech enabling brands to show up next to child porn. ... read more
- Tim Cook teases a new Apple launch next week, and it’s probably the iPhone SEApple is getting ready to show its newest device during an event on Wednesday, February 19th. Tim Cook revealed the date in a post on X, saying “Get ready to meet ... read more
- The FCC is a weapon in Trump’s war on free speechI’ve been the editor-in-chief of The Verge for over 10 years now, and a tech journalist for about 15 — and until recently, it felt pretty safe to assume that there ... read more
- Amazon has renewed The Rings of Power for a third seasonAt least one more season of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be coming to the small screen sooner than later. Today, Amazon announced that it ... read more
- State Dept.’s plan to buy $400 million worth of armored Teslas hastily changed to ‘armored EVs’On Wednesday, reports from The New York Times and Drop Site News pointed out that the US Department of State included an order for $400 million worth of armored Teslas in ... read more