Latest Tech News

Stay updated with the latest in technology, AI, cybersecurity, and more

Filtered by: op Clear Filter

Here are the laptops I’d tell any parent to consider for their back-to-school student

is a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget. He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021. We’re in the heart of summer fun, but it’s already time for back-to-school planning, especially if that involves buying a new laptop. The dizzying number of different laptops and configurations can feel overwhelming, especially if you want something that doesn’t cost too much but will still last a long time. My general guidelines are t

I tried one of the first Material 3 Expressive apps so I could see the future of Android

Joe Maring / Android Authority Ever since Google announced Material 3 Expressive in May, I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on Android’s new design language. However, with Android 16 QPR1 not rolling out until later this year, and Google still in the testing phases of Material 3 Expressive redesigns for its apps, it’s going to be a while before we really feel the impact of Android’s big redesign. Thankfully, it’s now possible to get a little taste of what it’ll be like. Last week, t

The Rise and Fall of the Hanseatic League

Today, we typically think of coalitions in the context of modern electoral politics. So it might be surprising that one of the greatest case studies in the history of coalitions is a community of medieval German merchants known as the Hansa. Starting as individual traveling traders, the Hansa built up coalitions for collective bargaining, collective action, and collective security. Through this process, they formed Northern Europe’s first ever long-distance trade network. Without corporate str

Open Sauce is a confoundingly brilliant Bay Area event

This is the second year I brought my Dad (a now-retired radio engineer and co-host of Geerling Engineering) to Open Sauce, a Bay Area maker faire-like event, dreamed up by William Osman and featuring hundreds of exhibits ranging from mad science, to vintage electronics, to games, to world-record-breaking Rubik's Cube solvers: Sprawling over the grounds of the San Mateo County Event Center, I met people of all ages who were building all sorts of zany contraptions. Sometimes practical, sometimes

Gear News of the Week: Amazon Buys Bee, VSCO Has a New App, and CMF Debuts a Smartwatch

That trade-off lets the Watch 3 Pro purportedly last 13 days on a single charge, a slight bump over its predecessor (the new watch lasts 4.5 days if you have the always-on display enabled). There's a new dual-band GPS for more accurate route tracking, 131 sport modes with a personalized running coach, and a new heart-rate sensor that CMF claims is more accurate across workout intensities and skin tones. Naturally, there's a dose of “AI-powered” post-workout summaries. The CMF Watch 3 Pro can no

60 Italian Mayors Want to Be the Unlikely Solution to Self-Driving Cars in Europe

The future of self-driving cars in Italy it seems needs not only technology but also (possibly above all) political backing. The good news, then, is that more than 60 mayors in Italy have decided to take the field for the cars of the future. On July 14, in the hall of the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan, Pierfrancesco Maran, a member of the European Parliament for the Italian Democratic Party, launched the Autonomous Driving: Italy in the Front Row initiative, which has backing from admini

Starlink kept me connected to the Internet without fail—until Thursday

A rare global interruption in the Starlink satellite Internet network knocked subscribers offline for more than two hours on Thursday, the longest widespread outage since SpaceX opened the service to consumers nearly five years ago. The outage affected civilian and military users, creating an inconvenience for many but cutting off a critical lifeline for those who rely on Starlink for military operations, health care, and other applications. Michael Nicolls, SpaceX's vice president of Starlink

Meta names Shengjia Zhao as chief scientist of AI superintelligence unit

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Friday that former OpenAI researcher Shengjia Zhao will lead research efforts at the company’s new AI unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL). Zhao contributed to several of OpenAI’s largest breakthroughs, including ChatGPT, GPT-4, and the company’s first AI reasoning model, o1. “I’m excited to share that Shengjia Zhao will be the Chief Scientist of Meta Superintelligence Labs,” Zuckerberg said in a post on Threads Friday. “Shengjia co-founded the new lab and

Topics: ai meta msl openai zhao

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 26, #1498

Gael Cooper CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.

Apple Adds 13, 16 and 18 Plus Age Ratings to Apps and Games: What to Know

In an effort to help parents decide which apps they should download or avoid for their kids on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, Apple Watches, Apple TVs and the Apple Vision Pro, Apple has added three new age ratings: 13 plus, 16 plus and 18 plus. To make things a little clearer, Apple removed the 12- and 17-plus ratings (but kept the 4- and 9-plus ratings). Apple said the new age ratings will be present on any Apple device running iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26 and watchOS 26

North Korean hackers ran US-based “laptop farm” from Arizona woman’s home

Christina Chapman, a 50-year-old Arizona woman, has just been sentenced to 102 months in prison for helping North Korean hackers steal US identities in order to get "remote" IT jobs with more than 300 American companies, including Nike. The scheme funneled millions of dollars to the North Korean state. Why did Chapman do it? In a letter sent this week to the judge, Chapman said that she was "looking for a job that was Monday through Friday that would allow me to be present for my mom" who was b

LeBron James Not Happy With AI Videos Showing Him Pregnant

Basketball star LeBron James' attorneys apparently sent a cease and desist letter to the developers of a popular AI service that created videos and images of famous NBA stars in bizarre situations — including one of James lying on a couch, clutching a pregnant belly. Jason Stacks, owner of AI platform FlickUp, confirmed to 404 Media that he'd received a letter from James' lawyers, prompting the company to tweak its tech so that people wouldn't be able to make silly slop videos of James in impro

Developing our position on AI

If you’re not familiar with us, RC is a 6 or 12 week retreat for programmers, with an integrated recruiting agency. Ours is a special kind of learning environment, where programmers of all stripes grow by following their curiosity and building things that are exciting and important to them. There are no teachers or curricula. We make money by RC is a 6 or 12 week retreat for programmers, with an integrated recruiting agency. Ours is a special kind of learning environment, where programmers of al

Apple Adds 13, 16 and 18 Plus Age Ratings to Its Apps and Games: What to Know

In an effort to help parents decide which apps they should download or avoid for their kids on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, Apple Watches, Apple TVs and the Apple Vision Pro, Apple has added three new age ratings: 13 plus, 16 plus and 18 plus. To make things a little clearer, Apple removed the 12- and 17-plus ratings (but kept the 4- and 9-plus ratings). Apple said the new age ratings will be present on any Apple device running iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26 and watchOS 26

Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Season 4's Last Double XP Weekend Is Live Now

With less than 13 days left in Black Ops 6 Season 4, players are running out of time to finish up the latest Call of Duty battle pass. If you're struggling to knock out the last few pages of the pass, advance in the CODtoons event or find the willpower to keep playing Grief -- developer Treyarch has your back with another double XP weekend and three boosts for players to take advantage of. You'll be able to speed through battle pass tiers, account levels and weapon attachment unlocks to kickstar

This ultraportable Lenovo laptop is a worthy MacBook Air alternative (and has a useful iPhone feature)

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition ZDNET's key takeaways The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is available now for $999 for the 32GB of RAM configuration. It pairs a myriad of customizable features with a nice display, surprisingly beefy speakers, and a marathon battery. A few physical design choices might be of concern for some, and I wish it had an OLED. $1,298 at Walmart $1,299.99 at Best Buy $1,429.99 at Lenovo more buying choices At Best Buy, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is on sale

Microsoft gives Copilot a face - here's how to try your new Appearance chat buddy

Microsoft Microsoft has a new experiment, called Copilot Appearance, that's designed to bring its AI assistant to life -- visually, anyway. Also: Microsoft's Copilot Vision can now see and analyze your entire Windows desktop Available now as an early preview in Copilot Labs, this feature layers real‑time facial expressions and non‑verbal cues onto Copilot's voice interactions. The goal is to make conversations with Microsoft's AI feel more natural, human‑like, and animated. What is Copilot A

These 8 Common Foods Contain Microplastics. Here How to Make Swaps

Microplastics used to sound like a distant environmental issue, but they're showing up in more places than you'd expect, including the food we eat every day. According to new research, even something as simple as chewing gum could expose you to tiny plastic particles. With something as common as chewing gum becoming a microplastic delivery system, many people are concerned about how often they're consuming the potential hidden hazard. The average person takes in between 39,000 and 52,000 microp

Google's new AI tool Opal turns prompts into apps, no coding required

MR.Cole_Photographer/Getty Historically, building an app required an intimate understanding of the intricacies of writing code. Thanks to AI, those days are over. Google unveiled Opal, an experimental tool out of Google Labs that allows developers to create apps using natural language prompts and interactive visual aids, Thursday. Opal harnesses a suite of Google's proprietary AI models to help users create various visual assets for their apps. Gemini 2.5 can assist with the written copy for a

‘Solar Opposites’ Returns One Last Time This October

It’s very sad bidding farewell to Solar Opposites, but at least we get one more 10-episode season to enjoy before it wraps up its entertainingly bizarre mix of sci-fi antics, surreal subplots, crass jokes, wacky t-shirts, holiday specials, and sweet lessons about found family. And we won’t have to wait too long: season six hits Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ starting October 13. There’s an official description of the new season as well as a teaser, neither of which tell us much: “Once their alien di

Tesla's Optimus Robots Have Reportedly Run Into Severe Trouble

Elon Musk's Tesla is in deep trouble. This week, the company reported a massive 16 percent decline in automotive revenues, the biggest drop in over a decade. With tax incentives and auto regulatory credits being phased out by president Donald Trump, Musk conceded that the company is facing a "few rough quarters" ahead. While Musk didn't manage to reassure investors about rescuing Tesla's car sales business — the company's shares plummeted following Wednesday's earnings call — the billionaire i

Jaw-Dropping Video Shows NASA’s Plan to Deliver a Helicopter Swarm to Mars Without Landing

It’s been more than a year since the Ingenuity helicopter broke one of its blades, ending its experimental stint on Mars. On the heels of this wildly successful NASA mission, a defense contractor has introduced a new design concept to succeed the iconic Mars chopper—one that would release multiple vehicles to spread across the Martian landscape at the same time, like a coordinated swim team diving into the water. Virginia-based AeroVironment (AV), in partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labor

Apple broadens App Store’s age-rating system

Apple is expanding its age-rating system for apps. The company on Thursday said it has updated its age-rating system to add 13+, 16+, and 18+ ratings to the existing slate of 4+ and 9+ ratings, and remove the 12+ and 17+ age ranges. In addition, app developers will need to answer a new set of age-rating questions to help identify the sensitive content in their app. Developers will also be able to update their apps’ age ratings to one of the new options, if needed. The company says it has automa

Trump's AI plan says a lot about open source - but here's what it leaves out

traffic_analyzer / Getty Images As expected, President Donald Trump's administration recently unveiled Winning the Race: AI Action Plan went all in on liberating AI companies to do what they want to make sure "that the United States and its allies win the [AI] race." Also: Trump's AI plan pushes AI upskilling instead of worker protections - and 4 other key takeaways What about safety and responsibility? Not so much. The contradiction... The AI Action Plan states it is "a national security i

‘Gundam Wing’ Celebrated 30 Years at Comic-Con With an Epic New Short

It’s been an important year for Gundam, between the afterglow of the franchise’s 45th anniversary last year, the launch of a brand new series in Gundam GQuuuuuuX, and the alignment of several key anniversaries for major entries in the franchise—including the 30th anniversary of the show that introduced Gundam to America, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Of course then, Heero and the gang weren’t going to let an opportunity like San Diego Comic-Con come by without being able to celebrate 30 years of mech

Microsoft’s AI CEO thinks Copilot will age and ‘have a room that it lives in’

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s AI CEO, has a vision of Copilot that involves it being so highly personalized that “it will age.” Microsoft has been increasingly pushing Copilot to be a personalized AI assistant, with a big redesign last year that included a conversational voice mode. Now, Suleyman’s Microsoft AI team is launching a new Copilot virtual character that will interac

Asus’ slim ROG G14 gaming laptop with an RTX 5070 Ti is $350 off

is an editor covering deals and commerce. He joined in 2018, and covers gaming, PCs, accessories, and more. The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 has long been a Verge-favorite gaming laptop, and we consider it to be the very best one that you can buy. This year, the lineup became even more powerful and spec-packed while still retaining the low-profile and portable 14-inch design that initially drew us to it. If you’re looking to make an upgrade soon, there’s a temporary $350 discount at Best Buy on a conf

Tesla is reportedly behind on its pledge to build 5,000 Optimus bots this year

In Brief Tesla is well behind the pace needed to meet its earlier stated goal of producing at least 5,000 Optimus humanoid robots this year, The Information reports. Nearly eight months into 2025, and the number of bots Tesla has produced is only in the hundreds, according to two sources. That means Tesla will either need to step it up or push back the deadline. The news comes after Tesla reported a 12% decline in overall revenue in the second quarter, due to falling EV sales, less cash from r

Apple broadens App Store’s age rating system

Apple is expanding its age rating system for apps. The company on Thursday said it has updated its age rating system to add 13+, 16+, and 18+ ratings to the existing slate of 4+ and 9+ ratings, and remove the 12+ and 17+ age ranges. In addition, app developers will need to answer a new set of age rating questions to help identify the sensitive content in their app. Developers will also be able to update their apps’ age ratings to one of the new options, if needed. The company says it has automa

OpenAI Is Reportedly About to Release GPT-5

Is it *finally* happening? Save the Date OpenAI's release of GPT-5 might be right around the corner. Citing sources familiar with the matter, The Verge reports that the ChatGPT maker now expects to release the highly anticipated upgrade to its large language model as soon as early August, following several recent delays — and for power users, an unbearable years-long wait. OpenAI has been dropping hints about GPT-5 since 2023, but its development has been troubled, with reports of persistent