Technology news

Apple now sells four different AirPods, all of which support USB-C charging. | Image: Apple Alongside the new iPhone 16 and Apple Watch Series 10, Apple announced three new versions of the AirPods during its “It’s Glowtime” event on Monday. They include the new entry-level AirPods 4 for $129, a higher-end AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation (ANC) that costs $179, and a revised AirPods Max priced at $549. All three will be available on September 20th and can be preordered t

Apple updated its lineup to include new colors and features, including sleep apnea alerts. | Image: Apple The iPhone 16 took center stage during Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event on Monday, but it wasn’t the only new gadget to make its debut. Apple also introduced the new Apple Watch Series 10 and a black version of the existing Apple Watch Ultra 2. Both are available for preorder starting today and launch on September 20th, with the Series 10 starting at $399 and the l

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Apple has revealed the launch date for iOS 18 — and it’s just days away. The update, which will add new ways to customize your iPhone’s homescreen and lockscreen, arrives on September 16th.
In iOS 18, you can freely rearrange apps and widgets on your homescreen and change their appearance. Apple is rolling out a redesigned Control Center, too, along with a new password management app and support for satellite messaging. Some other updates includ

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge AMD is saying the quiet part out loud: it’s now prioritizing AI chips ahead of flagship GPUs for gamers. The company’s just laid out a new business strategy, where it will merge its RDNA gaming graphics and CNDA data center efforts into a single universal “UDNA” that’s aimed at AI first.In two interviews with Tom’s Hardware (you’ll definitely want to read both), AMD computing and graphics boss Jack Huynh doesn’t beat

Beats’ new iPhone 16 cases feature a microfiber-lined interior and will come in four colors. | Image: Beats Beats, Apple’s other headphone brand, just announced its first collection of smartphone cases designed for the Apple 16 lineup, with full compatibility with the new Camera Control button.The $49 hardshell polycarbonate cases feature “flexible sidewalls” to help absorb some of the impact when dropped and a microfiber lining to protect an iPhone’s finish. Accord

A group of people on a film set staring towards the camera. | HBO HBO’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is no stranger to building doomed cinematic universes, but the network seems game to poke fun at the messy business of it all with Armando Iannucci, Sam Mendes, and Jon Brown’s new series, The Franchise.
Set in a world where the fictional superhero movie Tecto: Eye of the Storm is deep into production, The Franchise follows as the film’s crew tries to survive the expe

MagSafe Charger (1 m) | Image: Apple Apple released a new, more powerful version of the MagSafe charger during its September iPhone 16 event today. The puck will be compatible with all iPhones and any Qi2 device, but only the new iPhone 16 models are listed as supporting the fastest 25W wireless charging rate.
That’s a higher maximum rate than the phones offered by Samsung and Google right now — the Galaxy S24 series maxes out at 15W, while Google’s Pixel 9 phones range from 15

Image: Apple Apple released a new, more powerful version of the MagSafe charger during its September iPhone 16 event today. The puck will be compatible with all iPhones and any Qi2 device, but only the new iPhone 16 models are listed as supporting the fastest 25W wireless charging rate.
That’s a higher maximum rate than the phones offered by Samsung and Google right now — the Galaxy S24 series maxes out at 15W, while Google’s Pixel 9 phones range from 15W–23W when using t

The colors are good this year. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are official, with Action Buttons inherited from the 15 Pro and a new look for the camera bump. We’ve just gotten some hands-on time with them in Cupertino, California, following the announcement, and the great news is that color is back, baby: they look great.
The rear cameras are now stacked vertically on a smaller pill-shaped camera bump. This arrangement is better suited for capturing spatial

It’s quite light on the wrist. I was surprised. Now that Apple’s Glowtime event is over, we’ve gotten to spend some time with the Apple Watch Series 10.
This is the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, but the Series 10 isn’t that different from what you already know.It looks a lot like prior Apple Watch models, but it has an updated design that makes the whole package thinner while expanding the screen sizes to 42mm and 46mm, up from 41mm and 45mm on the Series 9. That s

For the first time, Apple’s AirPods for the masses come in two different versions. Today, the company announced its AirPods 4 earbuds, which start at $129, but there’s also a higher-tier $159 model that brings active noise cancellation to this open-style design. We’ve seen this attempted by other brands before — most recently Samsung with the Galaxy Buds 3 — and I’m very curious about how well Apple’s implementation will be able to combat city streets a

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge It seems like Apple is already moving on from FineWoven. After introducing the FineWoven brand with a series of very bad cases and accessories last year, it appears as though Apple opted not to release new cases featuring the material for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. Apple has stopped offering FineWoven cases for the iPhone 15 lineup on its website, too.Apple launched FineWoven, which had a microtwill material, as a replacement for its leather cases. But

The iPhone 16 Pro Max. | Image: Nilay Patel / The Verge I just spent a few minutes with the new iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, which feature bigger displays with thinner bezels, revamped cameras, and Apple’s new Camera Control button, which is pretty fascinating.
Let’s start with Camera Control, which is a physical button — it depresses into the case ever so slightly, with additional haptic feedback from Apple’s Taptic Engine to make it feel like a chunkier click. You can jus

Screenshot: The Verge Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event has just come to a close. While the iPhone 16 was the headliner of today’s showcase, Apple had several other announcements to share, including some exciting new additions to its smartwatch and AirPods lineups.
Here are all the biggest announcements from the event.
The iPhone 16 adds two new buttonsScreenshot: Apple
In addition to inheriting the iPhone 15 Pro’s Action Button, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus now come

Image: Team Asobi Astro Bot cannot stop winning — whether it be the hearts of fans and critics or racking up some of the highest review scores of a game this year. Now the game will continue its well-earned victory lap with the news that it’s getting DLC...for free...this year. Astro Bot director and Team Asobi studio head Nicolas Doucet confirmed the news in an interview with Australian outlet Quest Daily.The DLC update will add new maps geared toward speedrunning challenges, leader

Finding out what kind of dog this is with Visual Intelligence. | Screenshot: Apple Apple has announced a new feature called Visual Intelligence that will be part of iOS 18’s Apple Intelligence suite of AI features “later this year.” The feature works much like similar features offered by other multimodal AI systems from Google or OpenAI.
Visual Intelligence lets you “instantly learn about everything you see,” Apple’s Craig Federighi said during the company&rsq

The AirPods Pro 2 are also getting a five-minute hearing test feature. | Image: Apple Apple has announced a batch of hearing health updates coming to the AirPods Pro 2, including a new “clinical grade” hearing aid feature. The iPhone maker says the hearing aid functionality is still awaiting FDA clearance, but it expects the agency’s approval alongside other regulatory bodies “soon.”
When enabled, the hearing aid feature will boost specific sounds in real time, such

Image: Apple Apple announced the iPhone 16 Pro lineup at Monday’s product event.The company’s new flagship smartphones have slightly bigger screens across both models: 6.3 inches on the iPhone 16 Pro and 6.9 inches on the iPhone 16 Pro Max (up from 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches, respectively, on the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max). The bodies of the phones are once again made from titanium. It comes in four colors: black, white, natural, and a new “desert titanium.” Apple also

Image: Apple Apple announced the iPhone 16 Pro lineup at Monday’s product event, with bigger screens, a new A18 Pro chip, a bunch of new recording features, and improved battery life.
The company’s new flagship smartphones have slightly bigger screens across both models: 6.3 inches on the iPhone 16 Pro and 6.9 inches on the iPhone 16 Pro Max (up from 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches, respectively, on the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max). Apple also says the phones have “the thinnest bord

Image: Apple Apple announced the iPhone 16 Pro lineup at Monday’s product event.The company’s new flagship smartphones have slightly bigger screens across both models: 6.3 inches on the iPhone 16 Pro and 6.9 inches on the iPhone 16 Pro Max (up from 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches, respectively, on the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max). The bodies of the phones are once again made from titanium. It comes in four colors: black, white, natural, and a new “desert titanium.” It also has

Illustration: The Verge The titanium Apple Watch Series 10 is carbon neutral, Apple announced during the “It’s Glowtime” event. Any Apple Watch in any finish can be carbon neutral this year, Apple says.To reduce emissions, the titanium watch is made with 95 percent recycled titanium, Apple’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams said. Apple also makes enough renewable energy purchases to match the electricity used to manufacture the watch. It also says it’s prioriti

Image: Apple Apple has announced the iPhone 16, the latest edition of its mainline smartphone. The iPhone 16 comes in a variety of slightly refreshed colors that are more vivid compared to previous years. Also refreshed is the updated dual-camera arrangement on its rear, once again set up vertically, as last seen on the iPhone 12 from 2020.
The iPhone 16 has a variety of new hardware refinements, like a new A18 chip with 3nm process that’s 30 percent faster than the iPhone 15’s CPU,

Image: Apple Apple has announced the iPhone 16, the latest edition of its mainline smartphone. The iPhone 16 comes in a variety of slightly refreshed colors that are more vivid compared to previous years. Also refreshed is the updated dual-camera arrangement on its rear, once again set up vertically, as last seen on the iPhone 12 from 2020.
The iPhone 16 has a variety of new hardware refinements, like a new A18 chip with 3nm process that’s 30 percent faster than the iPhone 15’s CPU,

Apple’s AirPods 4. | Image: Apple Apple is launching a new version of AirPods called the AirPods 4, with a refined new shape that Apple says is its “most comfortable AirPods ever.” It keeps an open-air design, has a “massive improvement” in audio quality, and includes support for personalized spatial audio.The earbuds will be available in two models: an entry-level model, known as the AirPods 4, and a higher-end model with noise cancellation, known as the AirPods 4

Photo: The Verge After almost four years without a hardware update, a new version of the AirPods Max has been announced by Apple today, with the most welcome upgrade being a switch from Apple’s proprietary Lightning port to USB-C.
The new AirPods Max can be preordered today in several new color options that include black, blue, purple, and orange for $549 (the same price as the previous model) and will be available starting on September 20th.
The AirPods Max, the first over-ear wireless he

Image: Chris Welch / The Verge Apple is adding sleep apnea detection to the Apple Watch. The new feature is coming to the Apple Watch Series 9, the just-announced Series 10, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple announced at its product event on Monday.
Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes you to stop breathing as you sleep. Sleep apnea is a feature that wearables makers have been working on for some time, with Samsung getting cleared by the FDA for sleep apnea tracking with the Galaxy Watch earli

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 in black. | Photo: Chris Welch / The Verge Apple has refreshed the Apple Watch Ultra 2 with a new “satin black” color option and sleep apnea detection feature, the company announced at its September event today. It’s the first time Apple has offered the Watch Ultra in more than one color since it launched two years ago.The Watch Ultra 2 will use the watch’s accelerometer and measurements over time to detect when a sleeper’s motion is consiste

Screenshot: Apple The 10th version of the Apple Watch has been announced at Apple’s event on Monday and features a 40 percent brighter wide-angle OLED screen that’s larger than the display on the Apple Watch Ultra.
The new Apple Watch Series 10 is just 9.7 millimeters thick, making it 10 percent thinner than the Apple Watch Series 9. Apple says its larger OLED screen, the largest used in an Apple Watch to date, allows the wearable to display an extra line of text onscreen, makingit e

The US-only beta test is limited to a“small group of narrators.” | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon will begin inviting a small group of Audible narrators to train AI-generated voice clones of themselves this week, with the aim of speeding up audiobook production for the platform. The US-only beta test was announced on Audible’s creator marketplace and will be extended to rights holders like authors, agents, and publishers “later this year,” according

An apparent image of the Meta Quest 3S. | Image: Meta Meta appears to have leaked the Meta Quest 3S, its rumored budget follow-up to last year’s Quest 3 headset, in its own Windows Meta Quest Link PC software. Spotted by UploadVR, the images posted on Reddit show a VR headset that’s visually a bit of a cross between the Quest 2 and Quest 3.
The headset is expected to make its first Meta-sanctioned appearance very soon at the company’s Connect event that starts on September 25th

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge It may be iPhone 16 announcement day, but there’s a great deal available right now for Android fans. Now that all versions of the Google Pixel 9 are out in the wild (including the excellent Pixel 9 Pro Fold), last year’s Pixel 8 Pro has dropped to a new low of $624 ($375 off) at Amazon, Target, and Best Buy — and Best Buy is extending an extra $100 discount if you activate with a carrier through them.The 2023 Pixels may not feel quite as nic

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Sony is holding a PlayStation “Technical Presentation” tomorrow, just days after teasing a PS5 Pro console. The nine-minute stream will be hosted by Mark Cerny, the lead architect of the PS5 console. Cerny previously revealed the full PS5 specs ahead of its debut in 2020.
The stream will start at 8AM PT / 11AM ET / 4PM UK on September 10th and will be broadcast on the PlayStation YouTube channel. Sony hasn’t provided any further detai

German startup Cylib has broken ground on its first industrial-scale battery recycling plant, just months after it raised €55mn in the largest-ever funding round for a European battery recycling company.  The state-of-the-art facility, located at Chempark on the outskirts of Düsseldorf, will spread across three football pitches. Once operational — scheduled for 2026 — the plant is slated to recycle 30,000 tons of EV batteries a year.  For context, the average EV

Atomico, one of the largest venture capital firms in Europe, has raised $1.24bn to support startups in the region. This is its largest fundraise to date, Atomico says, although falling slightly short of its initial target of $1.35bn. The total amount is a combination of two different funds. The first fund has secured $485mn for early-stage companies, primarily targeting Series A, but also including some seed investments. The second fund will focus on growth investments, to which Atomico expande

The Ultimate Ears Miniroll is available now in black, gray, pink, and blue colorways. | Image: Logitch / Ultimate Ears Ultimate Ears just launched the Miniroll, a new compact Bluetooth speaker that’s more portable than the company’s Boom-branded lineup. Priced at $79.99, the Miniroll is now the smallest and most affordable Bluetooth speaker offered by Ultimate Ears, and revives the disc design used by the company’s discontinued Roll and Roll 2 products.
As its name suggests, th