Technology news

Annual innovation and entertainment festival SXSW is changing up its funding streams for next year's events, with the organization announcing it would stop taking sponsorship money from military affiliates. The organization's brief official statement (found in its updated Music Showcase FAQ) reads:After careful consideration, we are revising our sponsorship model. As a result, the U.S. Army, and companies who engage in weapons manufacturing, will not be sponsors of SXSW 2025.SEE ALSO:On social m

Image: The Verge At the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, Le Monde reports that athletes on Japan’s volleyball, track and field, and other teams will be competing in outfits made from a new fabric that can better absorb infrared light. Similar to stealth aircraft that avoid detection by deflecting radar signals away from detectors, the fabric absorbs and prevents infrared light from reaching cameras and infrared sensors.
Some devices have unintentionally demonstrated how the infrared sensing use

Image: Baggu It all started with a nylon purse shaped like a horse.
Baggu, the wildly popular brand of reusable shopping bags, announced earlier this month that it would be releasing a collaborative collection with New York-based brand Collina Strada. In the past, special-edition designer drops have been successful for Baggu: a previous collab sold out within minutes of items hitting the web. This new collection — with its colorful, dreamlike prints and bags shaped like a pony, little legs

Hawk Tuah Girl is the internet's latest viral star, and her origin story is all too common in the digital age. It started with one of those man-on-the-street interviews designed to go viral. The questions were sexual in nature, and that, combined with the setting (a.k.a. the party scene in Nashville), was a recipe for success.In case you haven't been on TikTok lately and missed it, Hawk Tuah Girl first surfaced in a Tim & Dee TV video. She's asked, "What's one move in bed that makes a man go

TL;DR: Watch South Africa vs. Afghanistan in the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup semi final for free on Disney+ Hotstar. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.We have reached the semi-final stages of the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup, meaning that the four remaining sides are just two games away from immortality. Afghanistan have probably been the story of the competition so far, but they face stiff competition for a place in the final from South Africa. If you want

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Samsung’s next Unpacked event is right around the corner, taking place on July 10th in Paris, France. Judging by various leaks and the recent invite video, we’ll be seeing new versions of the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip phones (and perhaps a closer look at the Galaxy Ring). Now, in the lead-up to the event, Samsung is offering one of its reservation promotions, allowing early adopters to ”reserve” one of the phones and get a $50 credit

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google has added new Chrome Actions to mobile that will let you call, read reviews for, or get directions to a restaurant or other business — all right from the address bar. The company announced the new feature in a blog on Wednesday.
Android users will see this new feature right away, but iOS users will have to wait until the fall.Image: GoogleA screenshot of the new Chrome Action shortcuts.
First introduced in 2020, Google Actions lets you quickly

Crypto scam victims are being pegged as easy marks by fraudsters who are targeting these individuals – after they've already been scammed.According to a new warning by the FBI, there's a new, growing trend of scammers masquerading as law firms and targeting those who have already been victims of cryptocurrency scams. These nonexistent law firms offer services to the scam victims, claiming that they can recoup their stolen funds. In reality, these fake companies just scam these victims agai

Image: The Verge Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin made sweeping claims against e-commerce app Temu in a lawsuit on Tuesday, accusing the company of violating state law against deceptive trade practices.
“Temu purports to be an online shopping platform, but it is dangerous malware, surreptitiously granting itself access to virtually all data on a user’s cell phone,” Griffin alleges.Screenshot: App Store / Google PlayTemu on the App Store.
Temu is the number one free shoppin

Researchers say Rabbit left secure data vulnerable to bad actors. | Photo: David Pierce / The Verge Rabbit and its R1 AI gadget are under fire again, and it’s much more serious than the time we found out its launcher really could just be installed as an Android app. A group of developers and researchers called Rabbitude says it discovered API keys hardcoded in the company’s codebase, putting sensitive information at risk of falling into the wrong hands.These keys essentially provided

Fashion label Collina Strada has made a name for itself by claiming to prioritize sustainable production and climate awareness, but a recent release has buyers doubting whether the brand is truly committed to the cause.A highly anticipated collaboration between Collina Strada and bag-maker Baggu, released yesterday, has been revealed to have been created using AI tools. As part of a larger discussion of the brand's use of AI, a Reddit user fed photos from the whimsical collection, which featured

Image: The Verge Valve is adding a native gameplay recording tool to Steam so that you can more easily capture and share clips. The game recording feature is available now in beta — including on Steam Deck.
You’ll be able to both continuously record clips with background recording or manually turn on recording with a hotkey, according to Valve’s website about the updates. When you’re recording, you’ll see the “Steam Timeline,” and you can add markers to

Hori’s design is a little funky, but those yellow and violet versions look fantastic. | Image: Hori Nearly five years after Valve discontinued its experimental Steam Controller, a new officially licensed gamepad for Steam is on the way. The new controller is made by Hori, and it’s only coming to Japan (at least for now).
Dubbed the Wireless Horipad for Steam, the PC-centric controller matches the Steam Deck’s menu buttons and has similar touch sensors atop its sticks to activat

A 3D-printed version of Super Monkey Ball’s AiAi completes this custom creation. | Photo: Tom Tilley / X Gamers could get an edge in Sega’s Super Monkey Ball with the help of a unique DIY controller: a literal monkey in a ball that can be physically rolled around instead of mashing a joystick on a gamepad.
Super Monkey Ball requires players to tilt and roll a series of complex floating platforms to control the monkey’s movements, so Sega designed the original arcade versions of

As state and federal governments pursue AI regulation, Google has chimed in with its with own thoughts. On Wednesday, the tech giant published a blog post titled "7 principles for getting AI regulation right." Unsurprisingly, the overall message is that AI should be regulated, but not to the extent that it hampers innovation. "We’re in the midst of a global technology race," wrote Kent Walker, president of global affairs for Google and parent company Alphabet. "And like all technology race

UPDATE: Jun. 26, 2024, 10:53 a.m. EDT This story has been updated to include the official dates for Prime Day 2024, as well as the best early deals you can shop ahead of the big day.Deal shoppers, gather round. Amazon Prime Day is officially back for its tenth year.We're still a few weeks out from the actual kick-off, but Amazon is already blessing us with impressive price drops and members-only deals. After all, it wouldn't really be Prime Day if it didn't last an entire month.This is where we

Samsung is announcing a bunch of stuff soon. Let's get ready for it together.The next Samsung Unpacked livestream is on July 10 at 9 a.m. ET, taking place in beautiful Paris. I could waste a bunch of time with a lengthy preamble, but we all know Samsung is here to show off new products. Let's talk about what those products might be.SEE ALSO:Samsung's next big Unpacked event is officially on July 10
Samsung Unpacked July 2024: What to expectIf this Unpacked is anything like the similarly timed on

Snapchat will now warn users when a message comes from certain regions or an account that’s been blocked by others. | Image: Snap Snap is rolling out intense new protections for teenagers’ Snapchat accounts in an effort to “address a growing trend of sophisticated sextortion scams.” Among them are new warnings and automatic friend request blocks targeting accounts that may be bad actors.
The features are aimed at stemming the tide of sextortion scams, the company writes i

Image: FromSoftware Shadow of the Erdtree is gonna get easier. Bandai Namco has seemingly heard the great hew and cry from reviewers and players alike that Erdtree is far too difficult. In response, the publisher is implementing a “calibration update” that will reduce the level of difficulty by making players stronger. According to the patch notes for this update:The attack and damage negation has been increased for the first half of the maximum amount of blessing enhancements, and t

Image: Microsoft A few years ago, Microsoft was planning to launch a dedicated Xbox cloud console, codenamed Keystone. The device looked like a miniature Xbox Series S, a small white box that was dedicated to accessing Xbox games over the company’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service. Microsoft eventually canceled its plans to launch Keystone, but a new patent gives us the best look at what the Xbox cloud console would have looked like.
Spotted by Windows Central, the patent reveals that Keystone wo

UPDATE: Jun. 26, 2024, 1:15 p.m. EDT This story has been updated with the best robot vacuum deals live at the end of June, including 50% off a Roomba, Eufy, and Narwal model.A quick look at the best robot vacuum deals ahead of Prime Day:Best budget dealEufy L60$199.99 at Amazon(save $80 with Prime)Get DealBest self-emptying dealShark Matrix RV2300S$299 at Walmart(save $200.99)Get DealBest vacuum-mop combo dealEufy X9 Pro$449.99 at Amazon(save $450 with code X9PROEUFY)Get Deal
Only three things

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images The Paris 2024 Olympics are nearly here. The opening ceremony starts on July 26th, and this year’s events run through August 11th. On the main NBC channel, you can see hours of live morning and afternoon coverage of events like swimming and gymnastics ahead of a three-hour primetime recap, to go along with livestreams of every sport and event and full event replays on Peacock.
One key aspect of NBC’s Peacock coverage will be an Olympics

Photo by Cooper Neill / Getty Images Legendary sportscaster Al Michaels is going to give daily, personalized recaps of the Paris Olympics on Peacock — well, an AI-generated Al Michaels voice will. In practice, the effect is a lot like hearing a sports announcer’s voice in a video game like Madden, except it’s spitting out lines about real-life sports, which, in this case, means custom Olympics coverage.
Here’s how it works. To set up what NBC is calling “Your Daily

GET $40 OFF: As of June 26, the Amazfit GTR 3 smartwatch is available for just $79.99 at Amazon, down from $119.99. That's a 33% discount. Opens in a new windowCredit: AmazfitOur pick: Amazfit GTR 3 smartwatch $79.99 at Amazon $119.99 Save $40.00Get DealYou don’t need to be a marathon runner or wait for a new year to start focusing on your health. Every day you wake up offers a new opportunity to prioritize your well-being, and right now, you can do it for less with a great deal on the Ama

SAVE $129.97: The Shark FlexStyle with five accessories is on sale for just $190.02, down from the usual bundle price of $319.99, with code BMSM15. That's a 40% discount, and the lowest price we've ever seen.Opens in a new windowCredit: SharkShark FlexStyle $190.02 at Shark $319.99 Save $129.97use code BMSM15Get DealTech advancements aren't just improving our phones and smart tech — tech has revolutionized the way we style our hair, too. Thanks to tools like the Shark FlexStyle, drying you

SAVE $30: As of June 26, the Amazon Luna controller is on sale for $39.99 at Amazon. That's 43% off its original price of $69.99.Opens in a new windowCredit: AmazonAmazon Luna wireless gaming controller$39.99 at Amazon $69.99 Save $30.00Get DealAmazon's cloud gaming service, Luna, is a great way to experience titles you may not have played yet for an affordable price. If it's something you're interested in exploring, you can snag its proprietary controller today for a great price so you can jump

The latest trend on TikTok? Inflation.A video uploaded by @sewerlidd reveals how much prices have increased in the past two years. In the video, the user compares their Walmart grocery bill in 2022 to how much the same order would cost today, and the reveal is shocking. The order is enough groceries for one person for one month. In 2022, the order cost $126, but now it would cost a whopping $414, nearly four times the price of their original order.The TikTok received over 250,000 views and nearl

Image: Figma Figma is announcing a bunch of new features at its Config conference today, including a major UI redesign, new generative AI tools to help people more easily make projects, and built-in slideshow functionality.Let’s start with the redesign, which is intended to “lay the foundation for the next decade,” according to a blog post. You’ll see things like a new toolbar, rounded corners, and 200 new icons. As part of the design refresh, the company wants to “

Photo by Daniel Golson for The Verge I’ll admit, I was too distracted by Rivian’s surprise announcement of a $5 billion deal with Volkswagen to develop software and electric vehicles to notice that the buzzy California company was also planning an investor day event on June 27th.So when I woke up on Wednesday to see this shareholder letter — thanks to InsideEVs with an assist from BloombergNEF’s Corey Cantor on Threads — I was pretty surprised to see Rivian was esse

Photo by Daniel Golson for The Verge I’ll admit, I was too distracted by Rivian’s surprise announcement of a $5 billion deal with Volkswagen to develop software and electric vehicles to notice that the buzzy California company was also planning an investor day event on June 27th.So when I woke up on Wednesday to see this shareholder letter — thanks to InsideEVs with an assist from BloombergNEF’s Corey Cantor on Threads — I was pretty surprised to see Rivian was esse

UPDATE: Jun. 26, 2024, 11:35 a.m. EDT We've updated this story with the latest information about Amazon's invite-only deals for Prime Day 2024.Last year, Amazon made the mega-sale that is Prime Day even bigger when they introduced their invite-only deals program, which allowed select shoppers a chance to grab extra-exclusive door busters. They brought them back for their fall Prime sale event, and as of June 25, have confirmed that Prime Day 2024 will be featuring more invite-only deals.So what

Opera is unveiling today the new version of its flagship AI-centric browser, Opera One, which first launched in 2023. With Opera One, the Norwegian company became one of the early adopters of generative AI applications in web browsing. Its native chatbot, Aria, provides a set of tools such as summarisation, translation, and information search. Dubbed Opera One R2, the new version is now available for testing. It aims to expand the AI capabilities, this time focusing on the multimedia experience

EARLY PRIME DAY BOOK DEALS: Don't miss Amazon's Prime Day book deals! As of June 26, save on hundreds of bestselling titles, from #BookTok favorites to Amazon's Best Books of the Year So Far.Our top picks: Best Amazon Books Editors' Pick book dealThe Husbands (Kindle Edition) by Holly Gramazio $5.99 at Amazon (save $9)Get DealBest #BookTok book dealThe Black Witch (Paperback Edition) by Laurie Forest$10.99 at Amazon (save $6)Get DealBest book-to-screen dealBridgerton Boxed Set 1-4 (Paperback Edi

GET A $10 AMAZON GIFT CARD: Amazon Prime members who are also members of Grubhub+ are eligible for a free $10 Amazon gift card with a $25+ order at Grubhub with code GRUBPRIME.Opens in a new windowCredit: AmazonFree $10 Amazon gift cardwith $25+ Grubhub order. Use code GRUBPRIMEGet DealIt's summer, which means the schedule is packed. Between work, keeping kids entertained, and soaking up every moment of warmth to make up for the frosty winter, dinner plans can fly out the window. If you're an Am

The excellent M2-powered Mac Mini is up to $110 off. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Apple may have released a bunch of new and improved laptops over the last few months, but the Mac Mini remains a solid desktop machine if you just need a basic computer for your home. And right now, Amazon is selling the latest M2-powered Mac Mini with the upgraded 512GB of storage for $689.99 ($110 off), which is just $10 shy of its all-time low price. You can also still buy the base model for $49