Anker’s first OTC hearing aids, powered by the Thus chip, are expected in coming months. | Image: Anker In what could be fortuitous timing for hearing aid users, Anker announced its first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids at IFA 2026. It was only a couple months ago when LXE Hearing, the pare...
The Soundcore Space 2 Pro will be the first headphones to run on Anker’s Thus chip. | Image: Soundcore After introducing the Thus processing chip in April and releasing it with the Liberty 5 Pro series earbuds, Soundcore is bringing it to more audio products. The Thus chip is behind the best ca...
Peace, man. | Image: Anker Anker's SleepLab speaker promises to track and enhance sleep without a wearable. It uses millimeter-wave radar (60GHz) blasting from your nightstand to track micro-movements in your chest and body to continuously monitor your heart rate and breathing to enhance whatev...
Uber beat out Waymo in launching a commercial robotaxi service in London, the city's first. The vehicles use autonomous driving tech developed by Wayve, a UK-based startup, and will initially feature safety drivers behind the wheel. The launch is a milestone for Uber, which has been plotting a U...
Google launched Gemini 3.8 Flash, arriving just a few weeks after its predecessor. The company claims the new model "works harder" than Gemini 3.7 Flash by performing more reasoning steps on complex tasks and "calling tools iteratively." It has the same introductory pricing as 3.7 Flash, $0.75 pe...
The discounted Garmin InReach 3 Mini can help you stay in touch when you’re out in the wilderness. | Image: Garmin Summer is winding down, but REI’s Labor Day sale is here to help save you some bucks on gear that’ll let you get the most out of your upcoming outdoor expeditions. There are many, ...
David Faugno, CEO at 1Password, at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 11th, 2025. | Photo: Zed Jameson / Bloomberg via Getty Image 1Password faced immediate backlash from customers this week over a $300,000 pledge in support of a Linux distro created by David Heinemeier ...
Amazon is trying to combat impersonation scams with a new feature that allows you to use its AI assistant to determine whether an email, text message, or phone call actually came from the company. With the update, you can ask Alexa for Shopping about a message you received, and it will use AI to ...
I think automakers are finally getting the memo. Rather than try to reinvent the wheel with its new electric vehicle, Range Rover just made one that looks nearly identical to its lineup of gas-powered SUVs. They didn't try to pass off some sleek, spaceship-looking pod as a Range Rover. Sometimes ...
The doors to Europe's largest consumer tech show haven't opened to the public yet, but there's already plenty of news coming out of IFA 2026 in Berlin, Germany. If you're already struggling to keep up with what has been announced, here are some of the best new gadgets and upgrades from the show -...
OpenAI is on the cusp of releasing its most powerful AI model yet, Astra, following weeks of delays to shore up safety protocols after its agents attacked real targets during testing. As details about the model trickle out, researchers are warning it "may be the single worst development for AI se...
The Trump administration has intervened in The New York Times' copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, making an argument in favor of the AI lab. The landmark lawsuit, filed in December 2023, alleging that OpenAI unlawfully trained its AI systems on articles from The New York Times and seeks to recoup...
MrBeast will feature Gemini, Google Health, and the Fitbit Air in upcoming videos as part of a multi-year partnership with Google. The deal will kick off with a video featuring Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson turning to Gemini for wilderness survival advice: First up on September 5 is a new MrBeast vid...
US District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema declined the Justice Department's request to make Google sell off parts of its ad tech business, accepting milder remedies to restore competition to markets it illegally monopolized for years. Brinkema said she would adopt most of the behavioral changes pro...
The Abbot Libre Duo is the first FDA authorized 2-in-1 continuous glucose monitor. | Image: Abbott This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in ...
The SoundForm Mini 2 come in a variety of colors, and include a carrying case if you’re willing to spend a bit more. | Image: The Verge Verge readers can get a discount on Belkin’s SoundForm Mini 2 wireless headphones. The kid-focused on-ear headphones feature an 85-decibel volume limit and eas...
OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman are facing 30 new lawsuits that accuse them of providing "substantial assistance and encouragement" to the suspect in Canada's Tumbler Ridge school shooting, as reported earlier by TechCrunch. The new wave of lawsuits was filed in a California federal court on Wednes...
Last week, I powered on a 26-year-old copy of Pokémon Pinball, one of the best Game Boy games ever made. My save file was no more. The Charmander I'd caught for my daughter, the high scores we'd set together… gone. Before flash memory, Nintendo cartridges used tiny watch batteries to save their g...
LG’s CLOiD is a robot housekeeper on wheels, not legs. The company says it’s developing a robot foundation model by training hundreds of CLOiDs in home environments. | Image: LG The idea of humanoid robots running our homes has been the stuff of science fiction for years. But unlike hoverboards...
In 2007, the US was on the cusp of an economic recession, and Buddy Rizer was tasked with finding Loudoun County, Virginia, a new way to make money. Rizer’s earlier career as a radio DJ didn’t exactly make him an obvious candidate to find a solution, but he was looking for what he called a “real ...