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How Iran out-shitposted the White House

In the early days of the war on Iran, while the White House was busy posting Call of Duty memes and AI slop of dancing bowling pins, the Iranian regime's state media was flooding the zone with video after video of what was happening on the ground: Explosions over Tehran . Smoke billowing in the sky . Blood on the ground . A Tomahawk missile landing on a school . Grieving parents burying their children . Only weeks prior, the authoritarian regime had been struggling to shut down all footage of the protests convulsing the nation, cutting off internet access to the outside world in the longest blackout in Iranian history. When Iranian dissidents m … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/q2VRF7v
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The new show making fun of tech bros

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 123, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, which Artemis photo did you make your wallpaper, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I've been reading about Sam Altman and Satoshi Nakamoto and chess drama and Iranian shitposters , buying the stuff I need to mod an old iPod , making videos with the clever new DualShot Recorder , watching Crime 101 now that it's streaming, finally getting my Stream Deck Mini to control all my office lights , revisiting the incredible 17776 series from our friends at SB Nation, moving a … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Jd0UCgS

Is the ‘Holy Grail of batteries’ finally ready to bless us with its presence?

Earlier this year, a relatively unknown startup from Finland made a startling announcement : It had finally solved solid-state batteries. Not only that, but Donut Lab, a spinoff of Verge Motorcycles, said that its solid-state battery - long considered the "Holy Grail of batteries" for their high-density, durable, fast-charging abilities - would go into production later this year. Battery experts were understandably skeptical. After all, solid-state batteries are one of those technologies, along with artificial general intelligence and the hyperloop , that seem perpetually two years away. And while most legitimate efforts in this field - whet … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/BLrkZdj

Fear and loathing at OpenAI

Sam Altman's tenure at OpenAI has been… messy. Messy to the point where Altman was briefly fired from his role as CEO, only to be reinstated days later, at which point he began reshaping the organization permanently. This week, The New Yorker published a deep look at Altman , his time at OpenAI, and the questions about whether he's the right person to be in charge of a technology as important and transformative as artificial intelligence. Verge subscribers, don't forget you get exclusive access to ad-free Vergecast wherever you get your podcasts. Head here . Not a subscriber? You can sign up here . On this episode of The Vergecast , David … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/3wD4Tib

Snap is sticking with Qualcomm for its next AR glasses

Snap's upcoming consumer AR glasses are still set to launch sometime this year, and they'll be powered by a Snapdragon XR chip from Qualcomm, according to an announcement of a "multi-year strategic agreement" between the companies. Snap has been working on smart glasses for a decade, with the first model of its camera-equipped Spectacles glasses launching in 2016 . But the past couple generations , which have been AR glasses capable of layering digital experiences over the real world, haven't been available to general consumers. The consumer Specs won't be the first time Qualcomm and Snap have worked together, as Snapdragon chips have powered … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/tpO5Qrl

YouTube Premium is getting pricier

YouTube Premium is getting more expensive in the US, with prices rising by $2 on standard individual accounts and as much as $4 for the family plan. The price hike is already in effect for new accounts, and is rolling out now for existing customers. Premium's Individual plan now costs $15.99 per month, up from $13.99, while the five-person Family plan is $26.99, previously $22.99. Premium Lite, which removes "most" ads but doesn't include YouTube Music, is now $8.99 monthly, up from $7.99. The new prices are live now for new signups, and 9to5Google reports that existing subscribers are beginning to be notified about the price hike via the … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/GUH1fA2

The AI industry’s race for profits is now existential

Today on Decoder , let’s talk about the looming AI monetization cliff, and whether some of the biggest companies in the space can become real, profitable businesses before they careen right off it. My guest today is Hayden Field, who’s our senior AI reporter here at The Verge . She’s been keeping close tabs on both Anthropic and OpenAI, and how these two companies in particular tell us a whole lot about the AI industry in 2026.  You’ve certainly heard a version of the monetization cliff story before. The biggest AI firms are built off the back of hundreds of billions in capital investment, and they’re linked to even greater amounts of forward-looking investment in data center build-out, chips, and other infrastructure spend. At some point, the profits have to materialize, or the bubble pops. Maybe AGI arrives, maybe the economy crashes, who knows.  You’ve heard me ask some version of this question to scores of CEOs here on this show, and a majority of them have hinted towa...