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Reddit is redesigning its homepage into two separate feeds: a 'Following' feed showing posts from subscribed communities, and a 'For You' feed blending those posts with algorithmic recommendations based on user interests and activity. The change follows Reddit's earlier move this year to deprecate r/all, the feed that surfaced platform-wide popular posts.
Airbnb has updated its policy to prohibit hosts from requiring guests to do time-consuming checkout tasks such as washing dishes, stripping beds, doing laundry, or hauling out trash, effective for bookings made on or after November 20. Listings will now show a 'rules and requests' section, with a warning flagged if a host still lists cleaning requests after the policy takes effect, and hosts can no longer slip extra rules into guest messages or signage. Airbnb says limited exceptions remain, such as requiring trash be placed in animal-proof containers in bear country.
The Verge's senior smartphone reviewer spent a week testing the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable iPhone, alongside editor-in-chief Nilay Patel, and hosted a live Q&A session to field reader questions about the device. The published review already covered core functionality, but the reviewer noted there was more detail to share about how the device operates in daily use.
Apple executives told The Verge that its new smart home device, HomeView, was held back for years waiting on a more capable, conversational Siri AI with personal context. VP Kaiann Drance and VP Lilian Rincon said the device needed Siri's natural-language abilities to let any family member interact with it, such as adjusting a thermostat by voice. HomeView will now launch on November 13, 2026, years after Mark Gurman first reported it was largely ready and targeted for March 2025.
The Verge's staff has spent a week testing all five newly launched Googlebook laptops from Google's OEM partners and reports that the hardware is strong but the new operating system is riddled with problems. Testers cite missing features like swiping between desktops, inconsistent handling of Android apps, and basic text interactions that don't work properly in apps like Signal.
Amazon has quietly removed the ability to use Alexa voice commands to play or pause audio coming through the 3.5mm aux input on some older Echo speakers. A Reddit user reported receiving a message from Amazon about the change, and an unnamed spokesperson reportedly confirmed it to Ars Technica, but Amazon gave The Verge no on-record explanation. Control of the aux port through the Alexa app's settings menu reportedly still works.
Amazon has begun its Prime Big Deal Days event, offering a wide range of discounts in anticipation of the holiday shopping season. The event is positioned as a lead-up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, featuring numerous deals across various product categories.
The Verge's Version History podcast dedicates an episode to the One Laptop Per Child initiative and its XO-1 laptop, which aimed to give every child in the world access to a computer. Host David Pierce discusses the project's history and design with The Verge's Adi Robertson and tech journalist David Imel.
Google shared new details on its Chromebook Plus laptop lineup, emphasizing tight integration with Android phones and a commitment to 10 years of software updates. The first devices come from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo.
The Verge's Version History podcast released a new episode examining how Texas Instruments built and maintained near-total dominance of the graphing calculator business since the early 2000s. Hosts David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Victoria Song discuss the company's history as part of a back-to-school themed season that will also cover One Laptop Per Child, Chromebooks, LeapPad, and overhead projectors.
Apple released macOS 27, codenamed Golden Gate, on Monday, bringing a redesigned Siri assistant capable of searching personal data like photos and emails and taking actions inside apps such as Messages and Reminders. The update also refines the Liquid Glass interface with better contrast, a new opacity slider, and consistent window corner shapes, while working only on Apple Silicon Macs, not Intel-based machines.
Apple's newest Pro-series iPhones bring a variable-aperture main camera, a new chip, improved battery life, and a black color option, but starting prices rose by $100 across the lineup, including older models. Alongside them, Apple released AirPods 5 with better active noise cancellation and stem-based volume controls on the pricier version, starting at $129.