Red Rooms Makes Online Poker as Thrilling as Its Serial Killer
Red Rooms is a techno‑thriller that intertwines a serial‑killer trial with high‑stakes online poker and Bitcoin, delivering a tense, slow‑burn narrative. Director Pascal Plante balances realistic depictions of dark‑web gambling with unsettling character dynamics, especially between model‑hacker Kelly‑Anne and obsessive fan Clementine. The film’s ambiguity keeps viewers guessing about motives and the true killer, while its tech accuracy sets it apart from typical horror fare. Red Rooms streams now on AMC+ and Shudder.
SteelSeries’ Feature-Packed Nova Pro Wireless Headset Is $80 Off
SteelSeries has slashed the price of its Arctis Nova Pro Wireless gaming headset by $80, lowering the list price from $379.99 to $299.99. The discount is part of the Big Spring Sale running through April 1, 2026 and is available at...
Why Can’t TikTok Identify AI Generated Ads when I Can?
TikTok requires advertisers to label content that is significantly altered by AI, yet enforcement appears uneven. Samsung’s AI‑generated Galaxy S26 Ultra ads are disclosed on YouTube but lack any AI label on TikTok, suggesting a gap in the platform’s verification...
A Classic Zelda-Style Adventure, but a Lot More Cozy
Under The Island, an indie 2D action‑adventure, blends classic Zelda exploration with a cozy, Stardew‑Valley vibe. Players control Nia, wielding a hockey stick, as she solves puzzles, battles whimsical foes, and prevents the island from sinking. The game distinguishes itself...
Insta360’s Last-Gen Link 2C Is Fantastic 4K Webcam Now that It’s 20 Percent Off
Insta360’s Link 2C webcam is on sale for $119.99, a roughly 20% discount from its regular $149 price. The device delivers 4K video at 30 fps and uses AI‑powered auto‑framing to keep subjects centered without a motorized gimbal. It attaches magnetically to...
Fitbit’s Budget-Friendly Inspire 3 Is $30 Off, Matching Its Best Price
Fitbit’s Inspire 3 has returned to its all‑time low price of $69.95, a $30 discount across Amazon, Best Buy and Target. The tracker offers core health metrics such as step counting, sleep insights, irregular heart‑rate alerts, and a ten‑day battery life....
Xbox’s Latest Games Showcase Had Hades 2, The Expanse, and Bluey
Microsoft’s Xbox Partner Preview showcased a surprisingly diverse slate of upcoming titles, highlighted by the imminent arrival of Hades II on Xbox and PlayStation 5 next month. The event, held amid a major leadership reshuffle at Xbox, emphasized third‑party support with...
Govee’s Color-Changing Smart Lamps Are on Sale for up to 30 Percent Off
Govee’s Table Lamp 2 Pro and Table Lamp 2 are part of Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, with the Pro model falling to $134.99 (a $45, roughly 30% discount) and the basic lamp to $55.99 (a $24, about 24% off). Both...
The Kid-Friendly Fitbit Ace Is $100, Which Matches Its Best Price
Fitbit’s Ace LTE kids smartwatch is now priced at $99.95, an $80 discount from its regular $179.99 list price, matching offers at Amazon, Best Buy and Target. The device blends step‑activated games, a digital companion named Eejie, and safety‑focused communication tools...
Two of My Favorite Color E-Book Readers Are the Cheapest They’ve Been in Months
Amazon’s Kindle Colorsoft (16 GB) and Kobo’s Libra Colour have hit their lowest prices ever, with the Kindle now $169.99—a $80 cut—and the Kobo at $199.99, $30 off. Both devices use 7‑inch E Ink panels that switch to color at 150 ppi...
PDP’s Wireless Guitar Controller Has Returned to Its Best Price to Date
PDP's Riffmaster wireless guitar controller, originally priced at $129.99 and later $149.99, is now on sale for $99.99 across major retailers. The discount applies to Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2 versions. The controller features color‑coded fret buttons, a built‑in...
AI Influencer Awards Season Is upon Us
The OpenArt and Fanvue joint venture has launched the inaugural AI Personality of the Year awards, backed by ElevenLabs. The month‑long competition offers a $20,000 prize pool split among an overall winner and categories such as fitness, comedy, music, and...
The Secret Story of the Vocoder, the Military Tech that Changed Music Forever
The vocoder, invented by Bell Labs engineer Homer Dudley to simplify voice transmission, first served as a wartime encryption tool in World War II. After the conflict, musicians discovered its ability to turn speech into an instrument, sparking a wave of...
The Beats Studio Pro Are Nearly $200 Off Ahead of Amazon’s Big Spring Sale
Apple’s Beats Studio Pro headphones have been slashed to $169.95, roughly $180 off the regular $349.99 price, as Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy promote the deal ahead of the retailer’s Big Spring Sale. The over‑ear model retains its long‑standing design but...
Ikea Tried to Build a Smart Home for Everyone — Here’s Why It’s Not Working Yet
Ikea launched a low‑cost Matter‑over‑Thread smart‑home line promising universal compatibility, but users encountered frequent onboarding and connectivity failures across major platforms. Reports highlighted Apple Home struggling more than Google Home, while Ikea’s Dirigera hub required multiple firmware updates to improve...
The Live Nation Settlement Has Industry Insiders Baffled
The DOJ reached a settlement with Live Nation‑Ticketmaster that stops short of a breakup, instead imposing a 15 % fee cap on tickets sold at Live Nation‑owned amphitheaters and requiring limited transparency for artists. The agreement also obliges Ticketmaster to open...
Grammarly Says It Will Stop Using AI to Clone Experts without Permission
Grammarly announced it will permanently disable its Expert Review AI feature after criticism that the tool cloned the voices of prominent writers without consent. The company, in partnership with Superhuman, is reimagining the feature to give experts explicit control over...
The Government Shutdown Is Hitting Airports — but Not ICE
A partial government shutdown has left TSA agents without pay, triggering hours‑long security lines at airports nationwide. While most DHS components scramble for funds, ICE and CBP continue operations thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which earmarked $170 billion...
Employees Across OpenAI and Google Support Anthropic’s Lawsuit Against the Pentagon
Anthropic sued the Department of Defense after the Trump administration labeled the company a supply‑chain risk for refusing to enable domestic mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. Hours later, roughly 40 engineers and researchers from OpenAI and Google filed an...
Google’s Latest Pixel Watches Have Fallen to Their Lowest Prices Ever
Google has slashed prices on its Pixel Watch lineup, with the Pixel Watch 4 now selling for $289.99 on major retailers—a $60 discount—and the older Pixel Watch 3 hitting a record low of $169.99, $80 off. The Watch 4 adds...
Yashica’s New Retro Point-and-Shoot Revival Sounds Surprisingly Capable for $100
Yashica has unveiled the Tank, a retro‑styled point‑and‑shoot camera priced at roughly $100 and available for preorder. It features a 12‑megapixel ½.8‑inch sensor, with an optional 36‑megapixel upscaled mode, and records 4K video at 30 fps. A 3‑inch flip‑up LCD, ISO...
Meta’s VR Metaverse Is Ditching VR
Meta announced Horizon Worlds will become “almost exclusively mobile,” ending its dual‑VR‑and‑mobile strategy. The shift follows a 10% cut to Reality Labs staff, closure of three VR studios, and the halt of new content for the Supernatural fitness app. By...
Amazon’s Send to Alexa Plus Makes the Kindle Scribe Feel More Like a Productivity Device
Amazon introduced Send to Alexa Plus, a new feature for Kindle Scribe and Scribe Colorsoft that lets users push handwritten notes or PDFs to Alexa’s AI assistant. Alexa can summarize content, generate to‑do lists, calendar events, reminders, and even draft...
What Happens when Waymo Runs Into a Tornado? Or an Elephant?
Waymo has launched a new "World Model" built on Google’s Genie 3 AI, enabling the creation of hyper‑realistic 3D driving simulations from simple text or image prompts. The platform can generate extreme edge cases—tornadoes, flooded streets, rogue elephants—and run them at...
Google Is Appealing a Judge’s Search Monopoly Ruling
Google has filed a notice of appeal against a federal judge’s August 2024 ruling that declared its online‑search business an illegal monopoly. The appeal requests a stay on the court‑ordered remedies that would force Google to share search data and...
Microsoft Is Closing Its Employee Library and Cutting Back on Subscriptions
Microsoft is closing its employee library, both physical books and digital subscriptions, and replacing it with an AI‑powered learning experience called the Skilling Hub. The move includes canceling contracts with news providers such as Strategic News Service and ending access...
Tesla to Stop Selling FSD as a Standalone Package and Switch to Subscription Only
Tesla announced that, effective February 14, it will cease selling Full Self‑Driving (FSD) as a one‑time purchase and will offer the Level 2 driver‑assist system exclusively through a $99‑a‑month subscription. The move follows a 15.6% year‑over‑year sales decline and comes as Elon...
DJI’s Mobile Selfie Stick / Tripod / Stabilizer Will Track You Automatically for Its Lowest Price of $103
DJI has reduced the price of its Osmo Mobile 7P gimbal stabilizer to $103, down from $129. The 7P combines a selfie stick, tripod, and a computer‑vision module that auto‑tracks subjects, stops, starts, and adjusts framing with a hand wave....
Musk Says He’s Going to Open-Source the New X Algorithm Next Week
Elon Musk announced that X will open‑source its new recommendation algorithm within seven days, promising weekly transparency updates thereafter. The 2023 Twitter algorithm repository on GitHub remains largely unchanged, fueling doubts about the new commitment. Musk says the release will...
Baldur’s Gate 3 Studio Says It Won’t Use AI for Concept Art or Writing
Larian Studios clarified that its upcoming title Divinity will not use generative AI for concept art or narrative writing. The studio’s CEO Swen Vincke emphasized AI will only assist internal brainstorming, PowerPoint decks, and idea iteration. AI‑generated in‑game assets may...
Democrats Ask Apple and Google to Remove X’s Undressing Bot From Their App Stores
Senators Ron Wyden, Ben Ray Luján and Ed Markey wrote to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai urging the removal of X’s AI chatbot Grok, which has been generating non‑consensual deepfake images that undress women and depict...
Ford’s AI Voice Assistant Is Coming Later This Year, L3 Driving in 2028
Ford announced that its AI‑powered voice assistant will launch on mobile apps later this year and expand to in‑car use by 2027, while a hands‑free Level‑3 autonomous driving feature is slated for 2028 on the upcoming Universal Electric Vehicle platform....
Character.AI and Google Settle Teen Suicide and Self-Harm Suits
Character.AI and Google have agreed to settle multiple lawsuits alleging their chatbot contributed to teen suicides and self‑harm. The settlements, filed in federal court in Florida, cover cases in Colorado, New York, Texas and a high‑profile suit by Megan Garcia....
Amazfit’s Stylish Budget Tracker Is Nearly Matching Its Best Price to Date
Amazfit has trimmed the price of its Active 2 fitness tracker to $84.99, just $5 above its all‑time low, positioning it as one of the most affordable premium wearables. The device boasts a 2,000‑nit OLED screen, stainless‑steel case, and support for...
It Turns Out I’ve Been Using My Hue Lights All Wrong
Philips Hue introduced SpatialAware, an AR‑driven feature that maps a room’s geometry and light‑fixture locations. By scanning the space with a smartphone, the Hue app creates a 3‑D model that lets remastered scenes distribute colors and intensities intelligently. About half...
At CES, EVs Take a Backseat to Robotaxis and AI
At CES 2026, the automotive spotlight shifted from electric vehicles to artificial intelligence and robotaxis. Hyundai used its keynote to showcase Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robot, while Mercedes announced a Nvidia‑powered Level 2++ driver‑assist system for the U.S. market. Uber displayed...
Universal Music Signs a New AI Deal with Nvidia
Universal Music Group has struck a partnership with Nvidia to integrate the Music Flamingo AI model across its vast catalog, allowing nuanced analysis of song structure, harmony and emotional arcs. The model, capable of processing tracks up to fifteen minutes,...
No, Microsoft Didn’t Rebrand Office to Microsoft 365 Copilot
Microsoft has not renamed its Office suite to Microsoft 365 Copilot; the confusion stems from the Office.com landing page promoting the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, which aggregates the traditional Office apps with AI assistance. The site’s note “formerly Office” references the legacy web‑based Office...
Nvidia Announces DLSS 4.5 with 6x Frame Generation and Improved Image Quality
Nvidia unveiled DLSS 4.5 at CES, introducing a second‑generation transformer model and a 6× Multi‑Frame Generation mode that can synthesize up to five extra frames per rendered frame. The update is rolled out to all RTX GPUs today, with the most...
These Are the Sleekest MSI Laptops I’ve Ever Seen
MSI unveiled a refreshed Prestige business‑laptop lineup at CES 2026, emphasizing thinner chassis, OLED screens and 2‑in‑1 flexibility. The flagship Prestige 14 AI Plus and Prestige 16 AI Plus ship with Intel’s Panther Lake processors, while the Flip variants add an MSI Nano Pen stylus with rapid charging....
Bosch’s Fancy Coffee Machine Is Getting Alexa Plus
Bosch unveiled its Personal AI Barista, powered by Alexa Plus, for the 800 Series fully‑automatic espresso machines at CES. The upgrade lets users control brewing parameters, drink selection and routines through natural‑language conversation with an Echo speaker. Bosch also previewed Bosch Cook AI, an...
HP’s Latest OmniBooks Are Getting Chip Bumps and OLED Screens
HP announced a refreshed OmniBook lineup at CES 2026, highlighted by the Ultra 14 which now offers Intel Panther Lake or Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 processors, up to 64 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD, and an OLED display. The Snapdragon X2 Elite delivers 85 TOPS...
Microsoft Edge Is Getting a Copilot-Inspired Redesign
Microsoft is rolling out a major UI refresh for Edge that borrows the Copilot design language. Early Canary and Dev builds already show Copilot‑styled settings, context menus, and a new tab page with rounded corners, matching colors and fonts from...
SwitchBot Says Its Humanoid Household Robot Can Do Your Laundry
SwitchBot unveiled the Onero H1 at CES 2026, a humanoid‑style household robot that can perform chores such as loading a washing machine, folding clothes, and making coffee. The robot rides on a wheeled base, boasts 22 degrees of freedom, multiple cameras,...
CES 2026: All the News, Gadgets, and Innovations From the Biggest Tech Show
The Verge is set to provide comprehensive coverage of CES 2026, the premier consumer‑electronics showcase opening January 6 in Las Vegas. The event will feature a wide array of product launches, from LG’s ultra‑light RTX laptop and AI‑enhanced gaming monitors...
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Is Now Blogging About AI Slop
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has begun publishing a personal blog series called “sn scratchpad,” using the platform to argue that the industry should move past the binary debate of AI “slop versus sophistication.” He frames AI as a cognitive amplifier, urging...
This Smart Fridge Wants to Solve the Hassle of Grocery Shopping
GE Appliances unveiled its Profile Smart 4‑Door French‑Door Refrigerator with Kitchen Assistant at CES 2026, featuring an 8‑inch tablet, built‑in barcode scanner, interior camera, and a proprietary voice assistant called “Hey, HQ.” The scanner lets users scan empty packages to automatically populate...
Tesla’s Fourth Quarter Sales Fell a Lot More than Expected
Tesla delivered 418,227 vehicles in Q4 2025, a 15.6% year‑over‑year decline and missing the 422,850 consensus estimate. Production fell 5.8% to 434,358 units, widening the gap between output and demand. The drop aligns with the expiration of the U.S. federal EV...
Meet the New Tech Laws of 2026
A cascade of state tech statutes will take effect in 2026, covering AI transparency, right‑to‑repair, cryptocurrency‑ATM safeguards, child‑focused privacy, and age‑verification mechanisms. California’s SB 53 mandates AI safety disclosures, while Colorado enforces comprehensive repair obligations and limits on crypto‑ATM transactions. The...
Rodeo Is an App for Making Plans with Friends You Already Have
Rodeo is an AI‑powered iOS app that transforms social‑media posts, screenshots, or chat snippets into ready‑to‑book events, handling venues, showtimes and calendar invites automatically. The service was launched by former Hinge executives Sam Levy and Tim MacGougan to solve the friction...
