Polar Introduces Loop, a $200 Screenless Wearable
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Amid lawsuits alleging child safety concerns, online gaming service Roblox announced on Wednesday that it’s expanding its age-estimation technology to all users and partnering with the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) to provide age and content ratings for the games and apps on its platform. The company said that by year’s end, the age-estimation system will be rolled out to all Roblox users who access the company’s communication tools, like voice and text-based chat. This involves sca
The Trump administration wants the United States to be the dominant force when it comes to artificial intelligence, and one way the administration hopes to achieve primacy is by bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S. To help with that transition, President Donald Trump has introduced potential chip tariffs and policies in recent months meant to bring more semiconductor manufacturing stateside. In late August, the Trump administration took an unprecedented step toward that goal w
Google’s AI note-taking and research assistant NotebookLM now lets users customize the tone of their Audio Overviews, which are podcasts with AI virtual hosts that summarize and discuss documents shared with NotebookLM, such as course readings or legal briefs. When generating an Audio Overview, users can now choose whether they want their AI podcasts to be formatted as a “Deep Dive,” “Brief,” “Critique,” or “Debate.” A Deep Dive features conversational dialogues where two AI hosts unpack the t
An Interview with Dr. Jiebo Luo – 2025 2025 Edward J. McCluskey Technical Achievement Award Recipient Dr. Jiebo Luo, the Albert Arendt Hopeman Professor of Engineering and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Rochester, is a visionary in computer vision, machine learning, and computational social science whose groundbreaking work has spanned over 600 publications, 90 patents, and numerous prestigious awards across academia and industry. Your research spans computer vision, natura
is features writer with five years of experience covering the companies that shape technology and the people who use their tools. After years of requests from users, Instagram will finally have a dedicated app for iPad. Beginning Wednesday, September 3rd, users will be able to download the new app built specifically for Apple’s tablet. But it will be slightly different than the mobile app users are accustomed to. Most significantly, the iPad app will open directly to a feed of Reels, the compa
Amid lawsuits alleging child safety concerns, online gaming service Roblox announced on Wednesday that it’s expanding its age estimation technology to all users and partnering with the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) to provide age and content ratings for the games and apps on its platform. The company said that by year’s end, the age estimation system will be rolled out to all Roblox users who access the company’s communication tools, like voice and text-based chat. This involves sca
It’s shaping up to be a good week for people who like enormous party speakers. Hot on the heels of JBL’s PartyBox 720 comes Samsung’s latest Sound Tower. The two new models are the ST50F and the ST40F, both of which are designed to provide music for large gatherings, indoors or outdoors. A redesigned acoustic structure houses dual dome tweeters equipped with Samsung’s Waveguide tech, which it says delivers a wider and more even soundstage. These are joined by a pair of woofers, the output of wh
Netflix has upgraded its Moments feature for the mobile app. It already lets users save iconic scenes, but now there's a simple editor to bring it in line with something like Twitch's clipping tool. Viewers can use the tool to set start and end points, so they can turn preferred scenes into "full clips to save, relive and share anytime." Just tap the "Clip" button when watching something on mobile and the new editor will pop up. Once something is saved, it'll reside in the "My Netflix" tab. The
Perplexity, the NVIDIA- and Bezos-backed AI company, is partnering with PayPal to get its Comet browser in front of millions of the financial tech giant's users. The deal will see PayPal and Venmo customers in the US and select international markets gain access to the AI-powered browser, as well as a free 12-month subscription to Perplexity Pro, which normally costs $200. There are, of course, some conditions. The promotion is part of PayPal's new subscription hub, where users can manage all th
University students might soon have something other than black-light posters to brighten their dorm rooms. Researchers have created glow-in-the-dark plants by injecting succulents with materials similar to those that make the posters light up. The fleshy plants shine as brightly as a night light, and can be made to do so in a wide variety of colours — a first for glowing houseplants, according to the team. Glow way! Bioluminescent houseplant hits US market for first time The researchers, led b
Just months ago, the world’s largest iceberg weighed about a trillion tons and covered an area nearly the size of Anchorage, Alaska. Now it’s less than half that—and rapidly disappearing. In recent weeks, massive chunks of ice measuring up to 250 square miles (400 square kilometers) have sloughed off the “megaberg” known as A23a. Smaller pieces float freely in the surrounding waters too, many of them still big enough to threaten ships. The iceberg’s disintegration has reduced its total area to
HBO Max may not have the shine it once did, but the streaming service (previously just Max) is still home to some of the best TV shows of the past 25 years, from The Sopranos and The Wire to Game of Thrones and The Leftovers. Whether you’re a longtime fan of the “it’s not TV” cable network or a HBO Max newbie trying to figure out where to start, the shows below should give you plenty upon which to feast your eyes. Looking for more recommendations? Head to WIRED’s guide to the best TV shows on
is a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years. When NBC’s adaptation of The Office first debuted in 2005, the series was panned for being a pale and uninspired imitation of its English predecessor. It took an entire season for showrunner Greg Daniels to figure out how to infuse his take on The Office with a quirky, satirical energy calibrated to appeal to American audiences. But o
Google will not be forced to break up its search business, but a federal judge has tentatively ordered other changes to the tech giant’s business practices to keep it from further anticompetitive behavior. U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta outlined remedies on Tuesday that would bar Google from entering or maintaining exclusive deals that tie the distribution of Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, or Gemini to other apps or revenue arrangements. For example, Google wouldn’t be able to condi
Alphabet shares rose 9% on Wednesday as investors viewed the result of Google's antitrust case as broadly favorable to the tech giant. The U.S. Department of Justice had proposed a sort of break-up of Google, which included divesting its Chrome browser, in an antitrust case that began in September 2023. While Google was found to hold an illegal monopoly in its core market of internet search last year, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled against the most severe consequences that were proposed
Apple’s big September 9 launch event is just days away. We’re expecting the iPhone 17 lineup, Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11, and AirPods Pro 3. But beyond these near-locks, what other new products might Apple launch? Here are the five biggest wildcards that could make an appearance based on rumors. AirTag 2 September 9 launch: Likely Out of all the wildcard products in the pipeline, AirTag 2 seems especially likely to launch next week. Apple’s original AirTag launched in 2021, and we’ve
NotebookLM/Screenshot by Nina Raemont ZDNET's key takeaways NotebookLM introduced new audio formats on Wednesday. The formats offer users more interactive, customizable information distillation. The tool could save students and workers time. Google's NotebookLM audio overview feature went viral because it uses AI to create engaging, realistic podcasts from your content. The feature just got a facelift, making it even more helpful, allowing you to customize the podcast to suit your needs eve
As part of my ongoing project to reimplement Django’s templating language in Rust, I have been adding support for custom template tags. The simplest custom tag will look something like: # time_tags.py from datetime import datetime from django import template register = template . Library() @register.simple_tag def time (format_string): now = datetime . now() return now . strftime(format_string) # time_tags.py from datetime import datetime from django import template register = template . Libr
If you’re super nostalgic for the days of analog, modern Bluetooth devices probably aren’t cutting it. You can’t pick Bluetooth up; you can’t see it; you can’t… forget to rewind it and then have to wait to start your favorite album over again. Luckily, IFA 2025 is here, and the sky is the limit, which means we now have a modern boombox that can play honest-to-God cassettes while still leaving room for the convenience of wireless music streaming and hi-fi audio. We Are Rewind’s GB-001 is billed
Emma Roth is a news writer here at The Verge, “and for me,” she explains, “that means every day is different. During the four years I’ve been here, I’ve covered breaking news and written about basically everything in the realm of tech, whether it’s streaming price hikes, the latest in AI chatbots, privacy issues surrounding age verification, and a whole lot more.” Although she covers the latest tech news and products, it turns out that one of Emma’s favorite home appliances is a decades-old vac
Alphabet shares rose 8% on Wednesday as investors viewed the result of Google's antitrust case as broadly favorable to the tech giant. The U.S. Department of Justice had proposed a sort of break-up of Google, which included divesting its Chrome browser, in an antitrust case that began in September 2023. While Google was found to hold an illegal monopoly in its core market of internet search last year, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled against the most severe consequences that were proposed
TL;DR YouTuber MrBeast is reportedly planning to enter the US telecom industry. His telecommunications company is expected to launch in 2026, according to a leak. MrBeast will reportedly use the MVNO strategy instead of setting up a standalone carrier. It hasn’t been long since 27-year-old YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as MrBeast, entered the food industry by launching his chocolate and snack brand, Feastables. The YouTuber is now reportedly looking to expand into the telecommunic
Addigy has long been known for its Apple device management service, but its new Security Suite aims to offer additional solutions for IT teams and managed service providers. By combining Addigy’s device management service platform with SentinelOne EDR and MDR, IT teams can have a single console for compliance, endpoint protection, and 24/7 threat defense for their macOS fleets. Some of my favorite gear eufyCam 2C Upgrade your home security with wireless cameras that includes HomeKit compatibili
For more than a year now, there have been debates about whether Google’s payment to Apple to be the default search engine in Safari would be outlawed. While it had seemed likely this would be the case, what we got was a compromise ruling. It turned out that the difference between Apple earning $20 billion a year and $0 hinged on a single word … It had seemed likely both companies would lose The ruling just over a year ago was very clear: Google’s deal with Apple to be the default search engin
May James/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Some PayPal and Venmo users can now access Comet for free. The offer includes a one-year subscription to Perplexity Pro. Comet is Perplexity's new AI-centric web browser. PayPal and Venmo users in the US and other global markets can now receive early access to Perplexity's highly anticipated Comet web browser, PayPal announced today. The offer includes a 12-month f
Kerry Wan/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. I've been fairly vocal recently that Samsung's One UI 7 is my favorite Android skin. It is fast, responsive, and intuitive. But nothing comes fine-tuned to your experience straight out of the box. You need to personalize your smartphone to make it more appealing. I change almost a dozen settings on every Samsung Galaxy phone to best suit my needs, and I believe these will elevate your user experience, too. Also: The best S
Bosch GO 3 cordless screwdriver ZDNET's key takeaways This pro-quality screwdriver has held up to heavy use for over six months Fast charging and a large battery keep it running all day It's now selling at its lowest price yet. $79.9 at Amazon Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. When it comes to some things, a review when something is a few weeks old really doesn't do it justice. You need time to put it through its paces to make sure that it really is as good as it seems.
Apple's Assault on Standards Will we notice? And what can be done? TL;DR: Market competition underlies the enterprise of standards. It creates the only functional test of designs and functions as a pressure release valve that enables standards-based ecosystems route around single-vendor damage. Without competition, standards bodies have no purpose, and neither they, nor the ecosystems they support, can retain relevance. Apple has poisoned the well through a monopoly on influence which it has pa
Bentley provided flights from New York to San Francisco and accommodation so Ars could attend Monterey Car Week. Ars does not accept paid editorial content. If the Tesla Model S prodded the legacy car companies to get on top of battery production and introduce iPad-like screens in cars, Chinese car companies are bringing the heat for what's left of the 2020s in all segments. Much of the media coverage has rightly been on how this trend will affect mass-market vehicles. But what does it mean at