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Image: The Verge, Nintendo The Switch 2 exists . We know that for sure. It’s bigger — seems like we know that, too. But what else do we know about the sequel to one of Nintendo’s most innovative and bestselling consoles? Maybe not as much as you might think. On this episode of The Vergecast , we run down everything we know, and don’t know, about the Switch 2. The Verge ’s Richard Lawler , Ash Parrish , and Andrew Webster join the show to explain all the new stuff we saw in Nintendo’s trailer , all the things we’re still wondering about, and why exactly Nintendo chooses to launch its consoles this way. It’s all a little odd, but let’s be honest: it’s the Switch 2. What else did you need to know? After that, The Verge ’s Adi Robertson joins the show to talk about the week’s whipsawing policy news. The TikTok ban — or non-ban , or later-ban , or kinda-sorta ban — is closer than ever, and there’s another tech-related case in front of the Supreme Court that could prove just as...

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Brendan Hoffman, Getty Images It’s been more than four years since Donald Trump first moved to expel TikTok from the US — and now, just days before a second Trump presidency begins, it just might happen. President Joe Biden signed legislation last April that officially began the countdown that would force TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest from the US business. But even afterward, the atmosphere on the video powerhouse was mostly nonchalant, with a handful of stray jokes about “this app disappearing” slotted between the usual fare. In the last week, though, the vibe has shifted — my favorite creators are posting links to their other social accounts, audiences are making highlight reels of the most viral moments on the app, and they’re saying goodbye to their “Chinese spy” and threatening to hand over their data to the Chinese government . A Chinese-owned app Xiaohongshu, known as RedNote, topped the App Store this week, driven b...

Illustration: The Verge Google has notified the European Union that it won’t integrate work from fact-checking organizations into Search or YouTube, ahead of the bloc’s plans to expand disinformation laws. Google had previously signed a set of voluntary commitments that the EU introduced in 2022 to reduce the impact of online disinformation, which are in the process of being formalized into law under the Digital Services Act (DSA ). The pushback comes as the emboldened leaders of US tech companies, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai , have been courting President-elect Donald Trump, with Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg urging him directly to combat EU regulatory enforcement . In a letter written to the European Commission’s content and technology czar Renate Nikolay seen by Axios , Google’s global affairs president Kent Walker affirmed that Google won’t commit to the fact-checking requirement as it “simply isn’t appropriate or effective for our services.” Google will also “pull out o...

Photo by Andrew Liptak / The Verge ChargePoint has had enough of vandalizing thieves who saw through EV charger cables to steal valuable copper — so now it’s making new “cut-resistant” cables and adding alarm systems in an attempt to mitigate the damage. ChargePoint’s VP of product management Steve Farrell tells The Verge the cable uses a patent-pending technology that includes strategically placed steel to provide protection. Although the design may make the cables a bit larger and less flexible, Farrell wrote that usability won’t be impacted, and that most users “will not notice the difference” with the changes. The new cable can be retrofitted on commercial and fleet charging stations (both AC and DC models) made by the company. Farrell also says the cables were tested against “commonly used devices,” including wirecutters, bolt cutters, and battery powered tools. ChargePoint was “satisfied with its ability to significantly increase the time, effort, and resources (i.e. tools)...

Realme’s 14 Pro and 14 Pro Plus turn blue in the cold, even underwater. | Image: Realme Realme just launched its 14 Pro phones in India, and they come with a party trick: the phones can change color in the cold. That’s in addition to a triple camera flash and a triple IP rating that should protect the phone from extreme water conditions. Both the Realme 14 Pro and 14 Pro Plus share the color-sensitive tech, though it’s limited to the pearl white versions, with purple and gray models stuck on one lousy color. Co-designed with Danish studio Valeur Designers, the pearlescent phones include thermochromic pigments that start out as white, but pick up blue hues when the temperature drops below 16 degrees Celsius (about 61 degrees Fahrenheit), reversing as it warms up again. Image: Realme Realme says that the colder the temperature, the faster the phone will change. It’s even possible to create short-lived patterns by only cooling specific spots, which Indian YouTubers are already en...

Some big concerns for Biden to raise in his final days in office. | Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images, Nathan Howard President Biden used his final public address from the Oval Office to warn the nation about the dangers presented by the spread of misinformation and power-hungry tech leaders. “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.” In his farewell message on Wednesday , Biden called back to warnings that President Dwight Eisenhower gave about the military-industrial complex causing a “disastrous rise of misplaced power.” “Six decades later, I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well,” Biden said. Despite praising US technology leadership for its innovation and ability to transform lives, Biden said he was con...

Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage Drake has withdrawn the petition he raised accusing Spotify and Universal Music Group (UMG) of illegally boosting Kendrick Lamar‘s diss track “Not Like Us.” According to documents filed with the New York Supreme Court on Tuesday, the pre-action case is being discontinued with no financial cost to any of the parties involved. The petition, or “pre-action case,” isn’t a full lawsuit — it refers to a stage of litigation that seeks information from each party and allows time for issues to be resolved before disputes are escalated to court. The legal petition filed by Drake (real name: Aubrey Graham) in November alleged that Spotify and UMG — the parent label that represents both him and Lamar — used “bots,” discounted licensing rates, and pay-to-play agreements to artificially inflate the streaming numbers for Lamar’s song. The diss track, aimed at Drake, became a viral hit following a feud between the two artists last year that attracted significa...

Ralf Groene inside Microsoft’s Surface hardware labs. | Image: Getty Microsoft’s former head of design for Windows and devices has started a new role at Amazon this week. Ralf Groene was responsible for the design of Microsoft’s Surface tablet, and worked closely with former Windows and Surface chief Panos Panay on a line of Surface devices over the past decade. The pair are now reunited at Amazon, working on devices again. Groene — who left Microsoft in April 2024, less than a year after Panay departed for Amazon — will lead design for Amazon’s devices and services business. Groene left Microsoft shortly after the company named Pavan Davuluri as its new Windows and Surface chief . Groene, alongside Panay, was instrumental in the creation of the Surface line of products. The original Surface tablet started off life in Groene’s sketchbook , with a set of doodles about kickstands that formed the basis of months of 3D-printed prototypes that were held together with string . Micros...

The Quest 3S has its flaws, but it’s a great first VR headset. Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/uJBEmNG

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge Goodbye to our personal Chinese spies . With five days left until the date by which TikTok is to be either sold or banned in the United States , millions of users are reckoning with what happens when one of the internet’s most important media platforms just up and disappears. (Or, more likely, sticks around for a while, consistently gets worse, and then dies with a whimper.) On this episode of The Vergecast , we reckon with how we got here, and where we go next. The Verge’s Lauren Feiner walks us through the years-long history of the fight over TikTok, and takes us inside last week’s Supreme Court hearing , where the country’s highest court appeared to be in favor of the ban. Even with a few days left, though, the story’s not over : Donald Trump has said he wants to save the app, and he’ll be inaugurated as president the day after the ban is set to go into effect. And now there are rumors Elon Musk might be involved with the app’s future, too. If we...

At $439, the DJI Flip could be a good starting point for people who don’t typically buy drones at all. You can unfold it, launch it from your hand with a single button, land it on your hand again, or optionally use joysticks, all while capturing higher quality photos and video than the immediate competition. In August, my colleague Thomas Ricker told you how DJI rival Hover had changed the game by selling a $349 flying camera that doesn’t require people to learn joysticks; with the $199 DJI Neo , DJI looked poised to muscle in on that in a big way. But the $439 Flip not only lets you launch and film basic dronies, orbits, and follow-me shots from the drone itself, it dramatically increases camera quality, flight stability, battery life (a quoted 31 minutes), and lets you launch it faster. You just won't be able to fly it FPV like some of us were hoping . Not only is the Flip the first DJI drone to look like a Star Wars AT-AT walker or a penny-farthing bicycle when folded , it’...

The Galaxy S23 phones are the most recent in its flagship line currently eligible for trade-in. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Samsung has announced a change to its Galaxy Trade-In program that allows consumers to trade in select Galaxy smartphone models to the company year-round, without the need to make a new purchase at the same time. The new program is set to start today in South Korea and France, with other markets to follow later in 2025. The company says that its aim is to “boost the value of Galaxy devices” in the long-term by providing “amazing savings” through the trade-in process. There are two key changes to the program, which will be operated by insurance and repair company Likewize . The main change is the purchase requirement: before this policy shift, trade-ins to the company have required a new purchase from samsung.com or the company’s app, with the option to start a trade-in only appearing during the checkout process. The second change is “year-round”...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Tom Conrad, a longtime veteran of the tech industry who joined Sonos’ board of directors in 2017, has been appointed interim CEO following today’s ouster of Patrick Spence . And in his first letter as the (temporary) new boss, Conrad hits on a number of things that will likely be music to the ears of rank-and-file Sonos employees. “I’ve heard from many of you about your own frustrations about how far we’ve drifted from our shared ideals,” he says in the letter. “There’s a tremendous amount of work in front of us, including what I’m sure will be some very challenging moments, decisions, and trade-offs, but I’m energized by the passion I see all around me for doing right by our customers and getting back to the innovation that is at the heart of Sonos’ incredible history.” Conrad says he has already relocated to Santa Barbara — where Sonos is headquartered — and will be in the office daily as he works to reenergize employees after an ordeal that has ...

Image: Sonos In 2024, Sonos gave everyone a valuable lesson on the worst way to introduce a redesigned app. It was too soon, too buggy, and too careless. In May 2024, Sonos released a completely rebuilt and overhauled mobile app for Android and iOS. The new software was meant to improve performance, make the app feel more customizable, and allow for new features in the future. But customers immediately complained about countless bugs, degraded Sonos speaker system performance, and features that had gone missing. The controversy effectively torpedoed Sonos’ reputation with many customers. In the months since, Sonos has worked to regain their trust, address issues with the redesigned app, and bring back features that were absent at launch. The company still hasn’t fully recovered from its enormous mistake. On January 13th 2025, Sonos announced CEO Patrick Spence would step down after he was unable to turn things around. from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/SGdoWHX

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge As chief executive, Spence oversaw many successful products. But there was no coming back from last year’s app debacle: it has finally led to his ouster. Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is resigning from the company today, effective immediately, with board member Tom Conrad filling the role of interim CEO. It’s the most dramatic development yet in an eight-month saga that has proven to be the most challenging time in Sonos’ history. The company’s decision to prematurely release a buggy, completely overhauled new app back in May — with crucial features missing at launch — outraged customers and kicked off a months-long domino effect that included layoffs , a sharp decline in employee morale, and a public apology tour. The Sonos Ace headphones , rumored to be the whole reason behind the hurried app, were immediately overshadowed by the controversy, and my sources tell me that sales numbers remain dismal. Sonos’ community forums and subreddit have been dom...

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at the Department of Transportation offices in Washington, DC. | Photo by Cheriss May for The Verge The outgoing transportation secretary on EVs, robotaxis, Trump, Musk, and the work still left to do. The outlook for electric vehicles is looking really shaky . Sales are up for most companies not named “Tesla,” but with Donald Trump promising to eliminate all of the generous subsidies and tax credits put in place by the Biden administration, that momentum could falter. Trump is also getting ready to unleash a flood of tariffs on foreign imports , including auto supplies. And he’s expected to relax tailpipe emission rules that could slow down EV sales even more — and allow car companies to sell more polluting vehicles. Amid all this, Pete Buttigieg, who oversaw much of Biden’s EV policies, is trying to put on a brave face. While the incoming Trump team sharpens its knives, the transportation secretary is finishing out his days by appro...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Apple may have settled on iPhone 17 Air as the name for the rumored skinny iPhone that’s expected this fall, reports Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman in today’s Power On newsletter . He writes that the phone will be “a testing ground for future technologies,” including the tech that leads to the company’s first foldables. The name wouldn’t be surprising — both the MacBook Air and iPad Air were the thinnest versions of their lines when they were released. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to carry that forward by being “about 2 millimeters thinner” than current iPhones, Gurman has written . Other recent rumors have put it between 5.5mm and 6.25mm thick, which is close to the M4 iPad Pro’s depth and less than the thinnest iPhone so far, the iPhone 6. The thinness isn’t just a flex — realizing it will help Apple along toward future foldable iPads and iPhones, Gurman writes. And he says the phone could be one of Apple’s first proving grounds for its in-hous...

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge It’s getting increasingly difficult to avoid AI when you open up your phone or laptop — as soon as I started this article in Google Docs, I was immediately offered some AI assistance to write it (which I didn’t take). And with the rollout of Apple Intelligence , that now applies to iPhones, iPads, and Macs, too. But if you aren’t seeing much value in the Apple Intelligence features that have launched so far, you’re not alone: around three-quarters of iPhone owners can’t see what all the fuss is about, according to a recent survey . It’s also worth bearing in mind that these AI add-ons take up 7GB of local storage (and counting) on every device you want to use them on. The good news is that Apple Intelligence is both opt-in and reasonably easy to disable, which isn’t something every company does with their AI tools (looking at you, Google and Microsoft). So if you find features like Writing Tools and mangled notification summaries superfl...

The Cell BioPrint is designed to be used in retail spaces and dermatology offices. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Las Vegas is punishingly dry. The arid winter air means I woke up on Day 3 of CES 2025 with a nosebleed, chapped lips, and ashy legs. This in spite of the fact I slathered myself with two pumps of a fermented bean essence, eye cream, moisturizer, and a lip mask. Staring at my face in the hotel mirror, I wonder if any of those products were doing what they’re supposed to — and if maybe, I should try something different. This is why I was so eager to try L’Oréal’s Cell BioPrint . For anyone who’s struggled with their complexion, the Cell BioPrint feels like a holy grail gadget. The device is a mini-lab setup that analyzes a skin sample to generate a report about your skin’s current condition. It’ll also “grade” your skin with regard to oiliness, wrinkles, skin barrier function, pore size, and uneven skin tone. Based on the proteins in your skin, you’ll also see wh...

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 66, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, happy 2025, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I’ve been reading about loneliness and Web3 scams and the future of procedural TV , watching Deadpool & Wolverine on an airplane like the director intended, rewatching Severance and Squid Game to get ready for the second seasons, eagerly awaiting the return of Kids Baking Championship , wondering if that’s real Sara Dietschy or AI Sara Dietschy , and giving an Apple News Plus subscription a whirl as my go-to news source. I also have for you a big report from CES in Las Vegas. This edition of Installer is a little different than most, just because we saw so many new things, and so many new things launched, and in many cases, it’s hard to know whether any of it will ever hit shelves. So think of this as part Installer, part CES recap, part “David h...