- Crypto Group Claims Responsibility For Hurling Sex Toys During WNBA GamesGreen Dildo Coin, a meme coin intended to be perceived as a joke, was launched to protest the "toxic" environment in the crypto world. ... read more
- OpenAI gets caught vibe graphingSomething’s off with that chart on the left. During its big GPT-5 livestream on Thursday, OpenAI showed off a few charts that made the model seem quite impressive — but ... read more
- The Browser Company’s AI browser now has a $20 subscriptionThe Browser Company — the makers of the Arc browser — just launched a $20 per month subscription to its new AI-powered web browser, Dia, as reported earlier by TechCrunch. ... read more
- Watchdogs Seek FTC Probe Of Meta-Scale AI DealMeta Platforms' $14.3 billion acquisition of a 49% stake in artificial intelligence company Scale AI will enable the social platform to foreclose competition in data annotation -- which is key to developing large language models. ... read more
- The latest iPad Air is cheaper than ever You can save $150 on various iPad Air configurations. Laptops are great, but sometimes it’s simply just more convenient to use a tablet like the iPad Air. The Air’s easier ... read more
- How curation is causing a paradigm shift across programmatic advertisingDrew Stein, Audigent managing director, Experian Marketing Services Curation, the packaging of audience and programmatic supply chain data against ad inventory to sell overlooked, but valuable, ad impressions, can no longer be considered a trend ... read more
- Instagram Feature Competes With 'Snap Map'"Friends Map" - Instagram's newest feature - takes on Snapchat's long-running in-app map, which it uses to show people where their friends are in real time, and promote brick-and-mortar shopping experiences. ... read more
- The 6 biggest changes coming to ChatGPTGPT-5 has finally arrived. Along with the announcement of the highly anticipated AI model, OpenAI also previewed several updates coming to ChatGPT, ranging from visual changes to improvements to the ... read more
- Friendslop is coming for the Switch 2During today's Nintendo Indie World showcase, I had two epiphanies. The first was the realization that friendslop games are about to hit the Switch 2 like a falling piano in ... read more
- Paramount is now a Skydance CorporationIt’s official: Skydance Media’s deal to purchase CBS parent company Paramount Global for $8 billion is complete, and incoming chairman / CEO David Ellison’s first order of business is a ... read more
- Trump ‘Wins’ on the Backs of U.S. ConsumersGreg Ip’s analysis of President Trump’s trade war ‘victory’ rests on a fundamental economic misunderstanding. ... read more
- X Plans Grok Response Ads, Musk SaysTo help boost X's struggling ad business, X and xAI owner Elon Musk told advertisers via a live broadcast on his social media platform Wednesday that he plans to allow marketers to buy ad space ... read more
- Samsung’s inexpensive Galaxy Buds FE are even more affordable at over 50 percent offThe Buds FE come with a charging case that provides up to 30 hours of listening time. | Image: The Verge Samsung’s latest Unpacked event came and went with no ... read more
- Meta’s prototype headsets show off the future of mixed reality
- Ad.com Acquired Public Good, Flipped The AI Search Engine ScriptA division of Public Good has launched an AI search platform with consumer cash back options, revenue share for publishers and an organized environment for brands to advertise. It grabs data from LLMs such as ... read more
- Meta Presses Judge To Toss Monopoly Charges"The evidence decisively demonstrated that Meta -- once an online 'Facebook' for connecting students -- has evolved into a diverse global provider of entertaining and informative content that competes with increasingly similar social apps including ... read more
- Weapons turns our deepest anxieties into a potent horror masterpieceZach Cregger's first major film Barbarian was tense and frightening, but it was also infused with a healthy dose of absurdity. The movie's twisted sense of humor made it easier ... read more
- Microsoft brings GPT-5 to Copilot with new smart modeOpenAI officially launched its new GPT-5 models today, and Microsoft is now bringing GPT-5 to Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Azure AI Foundry, GitHub Copilot, and more. It’s part of a ... read more
- US military finds a good use for Tesla Cybertruck: missile target practiceElon Musk has long bragged that the Tesla Cybertruck is a uniquely impervious vehicle thanks to its stainless steel body and “bulletproof” windows, calling it “an armored personnel carrier from ... read more
- GPT-5 is being released to all ChatGPT usersOpenAI is releasing GPT-5, its new flagship model, to all of its ChatGPT users and developers. CEO Sam Altman says GPT-5 is a dramatic leap from OpenAI's previous models. ... read more
- Senators are trying to force ISPs to block all foreign pirate sitesLawmakers have introduced a new bill aimed at countering “foreign piracy sites,” as reported earlier by TorrentFreak. The bill, called the Block Bad Electronic Art and Recording Distributors (Block BEARD) ... read more
- Google Performance Max Gains Controls, InsightsSeveral Performance Max updates aim to boost performance and streamline ad management. Here's what Google told us. ... read more
- Microsoft is cautiously onboarding Grok 4 following Hitler concernsEarlier this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella moved with haste to get engineers to test and deploy DeepSeek's R1 model on Azure AI Foundry. It was an unusually quick turnaround ... read more
- WBD Q2 Advertising Falls 10%Global linear TV networks ad revenues fell 13% to $1.95 billion. Streaming ad revenue was up 17% to $282 million. ... read more
- Google TV’s uncertain futureLast year, Google surprised online video publishers with some stunning news: the company, which now generates over a quarter trillion dollars with advertising every year, effectively admitted that it isn't ... read more
- WBD Had A Modestly Successful Q2 As It Prepares To Un-Merge ItselfTotal revenue for the quarter was $9.8 billion, up only 1% year-over-year from the last Q2 quarter total of $9.7 billion – which is modest, but at least in line with company expectations. The post ... read more
- Peloton pivots to wellness alongside another layoffPeloton exceeded investor expectations this quarter, but CEO Peter Stern says expenses are still too high. Peloton has pivoted many times over the past few years in its quest to ... read more
- The Framework Desktop made me fall for small form factor PCsThe Framework easily fits on any desk. Framework has built a name for itself by taking the locked down world of laptops and making them modular, upgradable, and repairable. So ... read more
- Daily CTV Usage Grows At The Expense Of DigitalThis year CTV will see a 7.7% rise in media time spent per day among U.S. adults 18 years and older by device versus 2024. Mobile -- which still leads all media usage -- will ... read more
- Trump’s endless new tariffs are threatening businesses — and youStop me if you've heard this one before: a new wave of tariffs are taking effect today. Announced on July 31st, the latest set of tariffs imposed by President Donald ... read more
- Ad Tech Goes To Court, OpenX v. Google EditionOpenX filed a lawsuit against Google over its anticompetitive practices. And HyphaMetrics claimed victory against Nielsen in court over a patent lawsuit. The post Ad Tech Goes To Court, OpenX v. Google Edition appeared ... read more
- DJI’s first robovac features drone tech and a transparent designThe DJI Romo P features a transparent housing on the robovac and base station. | Image: DJI Following the reveal of its first 360-degree action camera a week ago, DJI ... read more
- HBO Max is going to get even more annoying about password sharingHBO Max’s password-sharing crackdown is about to get stricter. During an earnings call on Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery streaming head JB Perette said prompts surrounding account sharing will become more ... read more
- Trump demands CEO of Intel resign over ties to ChinaTan was named Intel CEO just five months ago. | Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images President Donald Trump has called for Lip-Bu Tan to immediately resign as Intel’s CEO over ... read more
- Truth Social’s new AI search engine basically just pushes Fox NewsDonald Trump’s Truth Social has launched a new AI search feature that consistently pushes conservative media sources. The feature, Truth Search AI, is powered by the AI startup Perlexity and ... read more
- GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke on Copilot, vibe coding, and AI’s next chapterWelcome to Decoder! This is Alex Heath, your Thursday episode guest host and deputy editor at The Verge. It’s AI coding week at Decoder. You just heard Casey Newton’s interview ... read more
- Digital Foundry, the most trusted name in game console analysis, is going independentOver the past decade and a half, Eurogamer's Digital Foundry has become the most knowledgeable and trustworthy place to find out just how powerful a new video game console might ... read more
- Lesser Takes Center Stage In WPP Investor Call, Runs A Pre-Roll SpotWPP Media was the star billing in an otherwise lackluster second quarter earnings presentation to investors this morning, featuring a forward-looking presentation by the unit CEO Brian Lesser, which began with a sizzle reel, and ... read more
- Lesser Takes Center Stage In WPP Q2 Investor Call, Runs A Pre-Roll SpotWPP Media was the star billing in an otherwise lackluster second quarter earnings presentation to investors this morning, featuring a forward-looking presentation by the unit CEO Brian Lesser, which began with a sizzle reel, and ... read more
- Samsung Ads Canada Brings Improved Targeting To Porter Airline’s CTV StrategyNo brand is universally known, even ones considered to be “household names.” Fly across the ocean, or even the country, and you’re bound to discover that something you thought was ubiquitous was actually… biquitous? You ... read more
- Disney Goes A Netflix Route: Media Data Hiding?For its most recent quarterly period, Disney+ and Hulu posted a 2.6 million rise in subscribers to 183 million, a bit softer than some analysts expected. ... read more
- Disney, NFL Tie-Up Signals New Phase In TV Sports BizIf the NFL is to have 10% ownership of ESPN, does that mean the ESPN universe of content platforms will have to increase the attention they pay to NFL football by 10%? ... read more
- This smart lock lets me see through my doorEufy’s FamiLock smart lock features an integrated video screen and a neat palm unlock option. | Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Eufy's FamiLock S3 Max ($399) is a ... read more
- 40 years later, Brazil is as prescient as everBrazil opens with a bureaucratic error. A fly gets stuck in a typewriter, changing the surname of Archibald Tuttle to Archibald Buttle, a misprint on a form that dictates the ... read more
- Magnite hints at potential future legal action against Google Magnite issued its latest financial results yesterday, revealing that it generated more than $173 million in revenue, a 6% increase year over year, during the three months ended June 30. However, it was Magnite CEO ... read more
- All the news from Nintendo’s August Indie World showcaseNintendo’s latest livestreamed event is highlighting the smattering of indie games coming to the Switch consoles later this year, and the Indie World Showcase is scheduled to start on Thursday, ... read more
- Meta illegally collected Flo users’ menstrual data, jury rulesYet another reason to be wary of period tracking apps. A California jury has found that Meta illegally collected user health data from the Flo period-tracking app, violating the state’s ... read more
- The lawyer who beat Tesla is ready for ‘round two’The day after he won an unprecedented $243 million verdict in a wrongful death case against Tesla, attorney Brett Schreiber posted a reel on Instagram celebrating the victory. His song ... read more
- Apple’s mysterious chip tech will help Samsung make iPhone image sensors in TexasSony is currently Apple’s sole image sensor supplier. Apple is teaming up with Samsung to produce digital image sensors for future iPhone models, according to The Financial Times. This is ... read more
- OpenAI’s new GPT-5 models announced early by GitHubGitHub has accidentally announced OpenAI’s new range of GPT-5 models. A now-deleted GitHub blog post reveals that GPT-5, which will be available in four different versions, offers “major improvements in ... read more
- This CDP Is Using AI To Reach People (And Their Pets) On An Individual LevelHerding cats. A wild goose chase. Leading a horse to water (or, more specifically, trying to make it drink.) Pick your animal-related idiom of choice, because no matter what, the point is the same: sometimes, ... read more
- Magnite Targets CTV, SMBs And Google’s SSP Market ShareAdvertisers want more curated inventory and programmatic deals, especially for CTV campaigns. And Magnite is reaping the benefits – but not to the extent that investors were hoping to see. The SSP beat its own ... read more
- The Old York Times; Shopify’s Taste Of Shopper MarketingBig Times The New York Times is lapping the competition in ad revenue growth. Its digital advertising grew 18.7% YOY to $94.4 million, per its Q2 earnings report yesterday. That growth rate blows other large ... read more
- Sunglass Hut sees a lift in store traffic after running CTV adsThis story was first published by sister site, Modern Retail. Sunglass Hut is making connected TV a key part of its vision for courting consumers. This summer and last summer, Sunglass Hut ran CTV ads ... read more
- Why marketers aren’t panicking in face of the latest tariff pressures (yet)One could easily be forgiven for thinking disaster was just around the corner. After a slew of downgraded ad spend forecasts earlier in the summer, big brands like Adidas, Walmart and P&G have finally begun ... read more
- Media Briefing: Publishers’ new power player: the AI negotiatorThis week’s Media Briefing looks at the new MVP in the room in the AI era. Publishers are hiring execs for the role of the AI negotiator, tasked with working with tech companies and platforms ... read more
- WTF is brands’ new investment in creator-generated content?It’s no secret that the creator economy has hit critical mass. Advertisers are getting more specific in their asks — whether it be more meticulous metrics or carefully curated creators — to have more control over ... read more
- AI turns creative into a repeatable systemAt the MMA’s recent CMO summit, the conversation kept circling back to one thing: AI is accelerating the push to operationalize creative. “It was the subject matter of everything discussed on stage over the course ... read more
- Elon Musk outlines AI-led Grok future for advertising on XWith Linda Yaccarino out of the picture, Elon Musk is once again acting as X’s main conduit to marketers. He made that clear on Wednesday (August 6) when he hosted a live Spaces alongside senior ... read more
- Sonos confirms tariffs will increase its prices this yearTom Conrad took over as CEO of Sonos in January as it continues to recover from last year’s disastrous mobile app update, and now the company has issued its first ... read more
- Trump threatens 100 percent tariff on computer chips with a gigantic loopholeIn the very first week of his presidency, Donald Trump vowed to force silicon manufacturing back to the United States by making processors more expensive, a threat he’s repeated ... read more
- Apple made a 24k gold and glass statue for Donald TrumpAt a White House press conference to discuss Apple’s new US manufacturing plans, CEO Tim Cook presented a gift to President Donald Trump: a “unique” piece of glass from iPhone ... read more
- IAB Tech Lab Unveils ‘LEAP’ Ad Playbook to Modernize Live Event Streaming AdsAs live streaming continues its global takeover of sports, concerts and cultural events, the IAB Tech Lab is stepping in with a new solution to a growing problem: how to serve ads reliably during massive, ... read more
- Google would like you to study with Gemini instead of cheat with itGoogle’s Gemini AI now has a “guided learning” mode that tries to help you actually understand the problems you’re trying to learn about instead of just giving you the answer. ... read more
- Apple announces $100 billion US manufacturing plan after pressure from Donald TrumpApple is putting another $100 billion toward expanding manufacturing in the US as the company responds to pressure from President Donald Trump to manufacture more of its products in the ... read more
- California Deep Fake Law Struck DownA federal judge has nixed California's Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act, which would have required large online platforms to block "materially deceptive" content about political candidates. ... read more
- WB Games’ best PC titles are in this $12 Humble bundleIt may be nearly 15 years old, but Arkham City is still worth playing. | Image: Warner Bros. Games The future of Warner Bros. Games is unclear, as it shut ... read more
- Tomorrowland Stream Breaks TikTok Live Viewer RecordThis year's turnout attracted more than 74 million unique viewers across both festival weekends. ... read more
- Snap Loses Some Q2 Footing, Refocuses On AR DevelopmentsSnapchat's latest performance report shows overall user and revenue growth, but highlights potential growth concerns in key revenue markets, including the U.S. ... read more
- Q2 Report: Snap Loses Footing In North America, Focuses On AR DevelopmentsSnapchat's latest performance report shows overall user and revenue growth, but highlights potential growth concerns in key revenue markets, including the U.S. ... read more
- What Makes Up Perplexity Core Ranking FactorsMetehan Yesilyurt, growth marketing manager at AppSamurai, analyzed browser-level interactions with Perplexity's infrastructure and believes he has discovered how content is evaluated and ranked. ... read more
- Google Isn't Weakening Web Traffic, Says VP Of Google SearchRecent data and reports suggest Google AI features are destroying traffic to publishers and websites, but Liz Reid, vice president and head of Google Search, says click volume data from the company tells a different ... read more
- Lasso’s McLean Shaw: How Healthcare Marketers Can Navigate Tightening Privacy RegulationsNEW YORK — The pressures on media buying, from consumer privacy restrictions to finding the right place and time for the right message, have never been simple to manage. But to get a truly acute ... read more
- Media Matters Presses Bid To Halt FTC ProbeThe FTC wants Media Matters to turn over documents relating to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, World Federation of Advertisers and its now defunct Global Alliance for Responsible Media, DoubleVerify, and other groups. ... read more
- The Jurassic Park islands and dinos are coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024A screenshot of the Jurassic World: Archipelago with pteranodons flying over the fictional islands. | Screenshot: YouTube Jurassic World: Archipelago is a new expansion pack for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 ... read more
- Programmatic Pharma Ads Gain Momentum as TV Marketplace Evolves: Experts from The Trade Desk, KinessoCANNES – Programmatic advertising is moving beyond its reputation as a lower-funnel tactic and gaining new traction among pharmaceutical brands, thanks to evolving TV upfronts, improved measurement tools and greater flexibility in buying, according to ... read more
- The Best $9 Ever Spent In AdvertisingThat $9 was for the first interruptive ad ever, a Bulova spot during a 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers game, that begat an industry now worth $150B+. ... read more
- OpenAI teases GPT-5 launch event this ThursdayOpenAI is teasing a big announcement on Thursday, and based on a not-so-subtle clue, it seems like the news will be the reveal of its long-awaited GPT-5 AI model. In ... read more
- I tested Grok’s Valentine sex chatbot and it (mostly) behavedIt's Tuesday, August 5th, and I have awoken to the news that Valentine, Grok's latest spicy AI companion, has been released! As an OnlyFans content creator and someone who spends ... read more
- Google swears it isn’t destroying the web with AI searchGoogle says its AI search features aren’t tanking website traffic despite recent reports suggesting otherwise. In a blog post published on Wednesday, Google Search head Liz Reid says click volume ... read more
- Who Will Write The AI Playbook For Kids? Kate O'Loughlin Has Some Awesome SuggestionsAs CEO of youth branding ecosystem SuperAwesome, O'Loughlin is on the front lines of the AI battle to win the hearts and minds -- and build intimate relationships -- with child users. ... read more
- Who Will Write AI Playbook For Kids? Q&A With SuperAwesome CEO Kate O'LoughlinConsidering the relationship-building chatbot models being made available to younger consumers, there could be unprecedented consequences for child users' personal growth and wellbeing. ... read more
- Bose’s stylish SoundLink Home speaker is cheaper for the first time in monthsThe limited-time $20 discount is available at Amazon, Best Buy, and From Bose. Audio quality is always going to be a speaker’s most important feature, but it doesn’t hurt if ... read more
- Call of Duty’s PC anti-cheat will require Secure Boot on WindowsTo better protect against cheaters, Activision says that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 players on PC will need to use hardware with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 and have ... read more
- Why performance marketing means nothing without consumer trustLucy Markowitz, svp, gm U.S. marketplace, Vistar Media Performance marketing was long considered a silver bullet to optimize ad campaign performance. It promised growth, visibility and scale. But after years of chasing clicks and conversions, ... read more
- Disney Will Unify Hulu and Disney+ Into A Single App Next YearEver open the Disney+ app and experience cognitive dissonance when shows like “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” appear in the recommendations? Well, expect more of that in the future. The post ... read more
- Yelp Co-Branded Ads Help Localize National BrandsYelp launched an ad unit that lets national brands like Pepsi and Bilt spotlight local business partners to target ads. The ads appear in search results and offer national advertisers a contextual way to support ... read more
- Zillow Pilots Containerized RTB, As It Rethinks The Equation Of Quality And CostZillow had a problem. The company, a large real estate listings platform, wanted to change its media mix to higher quality online ad placements. “Environments where we are proud to show up,” as Zillow VP ... read more
- Microsoft is bringing its Xbox Copilot to the Windows Game BarMicrosoft started testing its Xbox Copilot on iOS and Android earlier this year, and now it’s bringing the chatbot to the Game Bar feature on Windows 11. Xbox Insiders can ... read more
- Introducing Regulator and The Stepback, our new subscriber-exclusive newslettersToday, I'm excited to announce three newsletter offerings, exclusive to Verge subscribers, that will continue to deliver must-read stories about tech and beyond. First, we're introducing Regulator by Tina Nguyen. ... read more
- Welcome to RegulatorYou'll often see tech policy reporting described as the intersection of technology and politics, and for years, that was a pretty accurate description: Silicon Valley existed independent of Washington politics, ... read more
- Welcome to The Stepback, a weekly breakdown of one essential story from across the tech worldI'm excited to announce The Stepback, a weekly subscriber-only newsletter that I'll be editing for The Verge. We'll be bringing you a new story each Sunday from a rotating ... read more
- In Pod We Trust, Nielsen Fuses Edison Data Into Media PlanningThe latest audio collaboration between the two companies effectively gives advertisers and agencies the ability to plan podcasts alongside TV, radio, digital and social media buys. ... read more
- The Switch OLED went up in price, but you can still save $110Nintendo recently made the unexpected decision to increase the prices of its last-gen Switch hardware due to “market conditions,” adding $30 to the cost of the $199.99 Switch Lite, $40 ... read more
- A ‘unified’ Disney Plus could be the end of Hulu’s appDisney is planning to fully integrate Hulu with Disney Plus, creating a “unified” app experience that will launch next year, the company announced as part of its earnings results on ... read more
- Sonos’ smart assistant is expanding from music to home controlSince its launch in 2022, the capabilities of Sonos Voice Control have expanded to include setting timers and checking the weather. But by the end of this year, the smart ... read more
- Shell Shutters Its Volta EV Charging And Media DivisionVolta Charging, an electric vehicle charging station manufacturer, was an early entrant to the “everything is an ad network” trend when it started building an adjacent advertising and data business called Volta Media in 2016. ... read more
- Instagram adds a reposts feed and rips off Snap MapsInstagram is getting several new features that pull from competitors, and it’s updating a controversial feature that it added earlier this year. Starting today, users will have the ability to ... read more
- AI could turn your town nuclearVintage postcard, 1950s. | Image: Getty Images These days, Paducah, Kentucky - population 27,000 and home to the National Quilt Museum - prides itself as "Quilt City." But decades ago, ... read more
- Struggling Local Media Is Subject For Peacock SitcomThe show, titled "The Paper," puts the spotlight on a fictional newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, and premieres Sept. 4. ... read more