Technology news

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to meet with President-Elect Donald Trump on Monday as the platform faces a ban in the US, according to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. The move makes Chew the latest tech executive — following Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
TikTok already lost in appeals court while fighti

Sub.club, which lets fediverse creators offer paid subscriptions and premium content and launched at the end of August, is already shutting down. “With regret, we will be winding down this project over the next few weeks,” the sub.club team announced last week. Creators using the service will be “fully paid,” but sub.club feeds will stop working “by the end of January.”
As I wrote when I first covered sub.club, the service seemed like an interesting way to le

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram will now let you schedule direct messages, as first reported by TechCrunch. With this feature, you can long-press on the “send” button and then choose a date and time that you’d like to send your message.
As noted on Instagram’s support page, you can schedule messages containing only text, meaning you can still only send photos, videos, or GIFs to friends or family members in real-time. When you click on a chat with a sche

If TikTok had you rushing to throw away your black plastic kitchen utensils, rest assured that those tools weren't as bad as they seemed. A study went viral in November — as much as any study can go viral — that suggested black plastic kitchen utensils were shed lots of poison into our food thanks to a flame retardant carried over from recycled electronics that helped make the plastic tools. However, there was a big problem in the study that came down to simple math, as Canada's Nati

Blackmagic has announced that its URSA Cine Immersive commercial camera for shooting high-quality 3D immersive video is now available to preorder “direct from Blackmagic Design Offices,” with the first deliveries going out in early 2025. The camera, which could enable more immersive content for the Vision Pro, costs $29,995 — or a mere 8.6 Vision Pros.
First revealed in June, the Cine Immersive will let cinematographers shoot 90fps video in stereoscopic 3D at 8160 x 7200 resol

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images Police in Serbia are using mobile device hacking tools to break into the phones of activists and journalists and then installing spyware to track them, Amnesty International warns in a report. The organization says the state uses tools built by Israeli company Cellebrite, which are intended to help law enforcement unlock devices for forensic purposes.
Amnesty International calls for the Serbian government to end these surveillance practices:
S

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is rolling out a way for creators to let third-party companies use their videos to train AI models. To be clear, the default setting for this is off, meaning that if you don’t want to let third-party companies scrape your videos for AI training, you don’t have to do anything. But if, for some reason, you do want to allow that — Google says that “some creators and rights holders” may want to — it’s going to

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is rolling out a way for creators to let third-party companies use their videos to train AI models. To be clear, the default setting for this is off, meaning that if you don’t want to let third-party companies scrape your videos for AI training, you don’t have to do anything. But if, for some reason, you do want to allow that — Google says that “some creators and rights holders” may want to — it’s going to

Image: The Verge ChatGPT’s AI search engine is rolling out to all users starting today. OpenAI announced the news as part of its newest 12 days of ship-mas livestream, while also revealing an “optimized” version of the feature on mobile and the ability to search with advanced voice mode.
ChatGPT’s search engine first rolled out to paid subscribers in October. It will now be available at the free tier, though you have to have an account and be logged in.One of the improvem

There is (or was) a vulnerability in Windows Defender, but you don't have to worry about it. That's the short version. The longer version, for those who are interested, is that Microsoft detected a fault in its homegrown antivirus software and admitted as much in an official security note, per Forbes. Microsoft's security note included an executive summary that explained the problem in something resembling layman's terms:"Improper authorization of an index that contains sensitive information&nbs

Our top picks from Best Buy's Last-Minute Savings eventBest Apple dealApple MacBook Air (M2, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD)$799(Save $200)Get DealBest Bluetooth speaker dealJBL Charge 5$139.99(Save $40)Get DealBest gaming dealSony PlayStation 5 Slim (Digital Edition) Fortnite Cobalt Star Bundle$374.99(Save $75)Get DealBest home dealKitchenAid Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer (5.5-quart)$279.99(Save $170)Get Deal
The holiday season doesn't really arrive until you find yourself panicking over finishing your gift shopp

You can now search your saved lists and locations in Google Maps, which might be just the tool you need to find that one cool spot you bookmarked weeks ago. As spotted by 9to5Google, Google's handy "Saved" feature now lets you search, which means you can parse through webpages you bookmarked, Discover tabs, and locations you saved in Maps. So if you've saved lots of cool cafes, bars, restaurants, clubs, bookstores, hobby shops — whatever you're into — they're now searchable. Funny it

As of Dec. 16th, you can get up to 51% off on Beats audio gear including Beats Studio Pro headphones, Beats Studio Buds, and the Beats Pill speaker.The best Beats dealsThe best beats dealBeats Studio Pro$169.99(Save $180)Get DealThe best Beats earbud dealBeats Studio Buds$79.00($70.95)Get DealThe best Beats speaker dealBeats Pill$99.95($50)Get Deal
Modern life is noise. Whether you want to tune out the hustle with a calming ambient dream-scape or dive face-first into the buzz of endless four-on-

I was getting ready for a night out when I spotted a "hey girlie" text from an unknown number flash across my screen. "I'm Danny's girlfriend and I saw some messages from you on his phone. I was wondering if you could help me?"My eyes widened as I read the word "girlfriend." I've never opened a message faster. SEE ALSO:Why social media algorithms hurt after a breakup
Danny (not his real name) and I had been embroiled in a sexting situationship after matching on Hinge. It was just a bit of fun du

SAVE UP TO 77%: Shop deals on Amazon Echos ahead of the holidays. Get majors savings on devices like the Amazon Echo Auto. When bundled with one month of Amazon Music Unlimited, receive the device and subscription for just $14.98, saving you $50 for 77% off.Best Amazon Echo device dealsBest Echo dealAmazon Echo Pop$17.99 at Amazon(Save $22)Get DealBest Echo bundle dealAmazon Echo Auto with one month of Amazon Music Unlimited$14.98 at Amazon(Save $50)Get DealBest Echo Show dealAmazon Echo Show 5$

SAVE $27.98: Get one month of free access to YouTube Premium and 50% off a two-month membership with this Best Buy offer. YouTube Premium typically costs $13.99 per month which means you'll get three months of access for the price of one month.Opens in a new windowCredit: YouTubeOne free month of YouTube Premium and 50% two months$13.99 at Best Buy $41.97 Save $27.98eligible for new subscribersGet DealLove streaming videos and music but can't stand wasting time with ads? Life is too short wait a

OpenAI is making ChatGPT Search available to all users and search in Voice Mode.Two months ago, ChatGPT Search was launched for ChatGPT Plus users. As of today, it's rolling out to all free users who are logged in. Search with Advanced Voice Mode also now works with ChatGPT Search. Just an hour before OpenAI's announcement, Google unveiled Veo 2, its next-gen text-to-video model. The two companies haven't been shy about their cutthroat rivalry, often shipping similar products within a day (or in

An AI-generated image I made in Whisk using Google’s suggested images as prompts. | Image: Google via Whisk Google has announced a new AI tool called Whisk that lets you generate images using other images as prompts instead of requiring a long text prompt.
With Whisk, you can offer images to suggest what you’d like as the subject, the scene, and the style of your AI-generated image, and you can prompt Whisk with multiple images for each of those three things. (If you want, you can fi

More AI features are rolling out to the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta just announced three new features are rolling out to its Ray-Ban smart glasses: live AI, live translations, and Shazam. Both live AI and live translation are limited to members of Meta’s Early Access Program, while Shazam support is available for all users in the US and Canada.
Both live AI and live translation were first teased at Meta Connect 2024 earlier this year. Live

More AI features are rolling out to the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta just announced three new features are rolling out to its Ray-Ban smart glasses: live AI, live translations, and Shazam. Both live AI and live translation are limited to members of Meta’s Early Access Program, while Shazam support is available for all users in the US and Canada.
Both live AI and live translation were first teased at Meta Connect 2024 earlier this year. Live

There are some mysterious flying objects hovering over New Jersey and, days after the first drones were spotted, we still don't know much about what they are, where they're from, and what they're doing up there.Folks with eyes on New Jersey have been reporting mysterious drone sightings — over houses, military installations, and Trump's Bedminster golf club, to name a few — since mid-November. The FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Aviation Administration have all inve

SAVE $23: Select Amazon accounts are eligible to buy an Amazon Smart Plug for just $1.99 with code PLUG, down from the list price of $24.99. That's a 92% discount. Check the product page to see if your account is eligible.Opens in a new windowCredit: AmazonAmazon Smart Plug$1.99 at Amazon $24.99 Save $23.00eligible for select Amazon accounts only with checkout code PLUGGet DealA smart plug is one of the simplest, yet most convenient additions if you prefer smart home devices. For some lucky Amaz

Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of Dec. 16:OUR TOP PICKBeats Studio Buds$79(save $70.95))Get DealBEST HOME SECURITY DEALBlink Whole Home Bundle$109.97(save $90)Get DealBEST SOUNDBAR DEALSonos Ray$169(save $110)Get DealBEST SMART GADGET DEALAmazon Echo Frames$169.99(save $160)Get DealBEST OUTDOOR DEALYeti Roadie 60 wheeled cooler$337.50(save $112.50)Get Deal
There's only a little over a week until the big day, or in other words, it's crunch time for holiday shopping. Luckily, there'

Google Deepmind has unveiled its next-generation AI tools, Veo 2 and Imagen 3, along with a playful new experiment, Whisk, aimed at remixing visuals in creative ways.Veo 2 is the newest version of the company's flagship video-generation tool, which according to Google will be capable of higher realism and an improved understanding of movement, physics, and cinematic techniques. In its press release, Google Deepmind states that Veo 2 can generate 4K videos and handle complex prompts — like

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge Instagram will now let you showcase your favorite moments from 2024 by adding a collage to your story. The new feature, which is only available through the first week of January, lets you combine a bunch of pictures from throughout the year and share them with friends.
You can currently only create collage-like stories by adding a photo to your story, resizing it, moving it around the screen, and then adding more images as stickers. Instagram’s la

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The next time you comment on a YouTube video, you could hear its creator’s voice respond to you. YouTube says it’s testing out a feature with a “small number” of creators that lets them record an audio reply to comments on their videos.YouTube says it hopes this experiment “enables more meaningful relationships between creators and their audiences.” YouTubers in the test group can use it by tapping the sound wave icon wh

Sony’s XM5 deliver impressive noise cancellation, sound, and comfort. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge The holiday season is a time of celebration, but it can also be chaotic. With all the parties, travel, and family obligations, it’s difficult to carve out time to recharge. That’s why noise-canceling earbuds like Sony’s WF-1000XM5 are so helpful, as they can help you enjoy some peace and quiet even in the busiest of environments. Thankfully, they’re currently on

Sen. Chuck Schumer during a December 15th press conference. | Screenshot: NBC News Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has asked the Department of Homeland Security to provide New York and New Jersey authorities with an advanced drone detection system to help “determine what the heck is going on” with continued sightings in the Northeast.
“We’ve seen lots of recent sightings in New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Staten Island.” Schumer said during a December

Save $101.99: As of Dec. 16, you can grab the Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds for $198 at Amazon, saving you $101.99 on their $299.99 retail price. You can also grab the earbuds for a dollar more at Best Buy and Target, with all three deals giving you roughly a 33% discount, and the best prices we've ever seen on these earbuds.Opens in a new windowCredit: SonySony WF-1000XM5 earbuds$198.00 at Amazon $299.99 Save $101.99Get DealIf you're currently scrambling for last-minute Christmas gifts and kicking yo

The Anbernic RG34XX is now available in four colors, including transparent red and green options. | Image: Anbernic Anbernic’s latest handheld, which upgrades the design of Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance with a larger screen, extra buttons, and the ability to play games through emulation, is now available. The RG34XX can be ordered through Anbernic’s website for $69.99, but is discounted to $63.99 until December 18th. It comes in four colors, including the GBA’s original pur

HDMI 2.2, the new HDMI specification is set to debut in early January. In an email sent to the press, including Mashable, the HDMI Forum, which oversees the development of HDMI specifications, said HDMI 2.2 will be announced on Jan. 6 in Las Vegas, a day before the official start of CES. Not much else was shared beyond the details of the press conference at the massive consumer tech conference. But the email did say that the new HDMI 2.2 specifications "will support a wide range of higher resolu

YouTube is providing more ways to limit your child's access to the unfettered landscape of YouTube content. Announced on Dec. 13, the platform will now offer an additional parent code feature on the YouTube app for TVs. With the code in place, users will have to input a password to access YouTube, even when signed out of an account with parental controls in place — a common work around to account safety settings. Young watchers will also need the code to access accounts for older members o

Image: The Verge T-Mobile is letting customers sign up to be the first to test its upcoming Starlink satellite direct-cell service, which promises to fill in 500,000 square miles of terrestrial cell tower dead zones in the US. The company created a new registration page where people can sign up for free, and testing will begin “early next year.”
The T-Mobile Starlink beta program is open to all post-paid customers with “compatible” satellite phones, although the company h

On Dec. 16th, get up to 50% off on Govee smart lights and smart bulbs at Amazon.The appeal of Govee is simple, these smart lights provide endless color variations. Simply replacing a couple of bulbs in your room could entirely change the feel of your apartment, allowing you to sculpt variation of hues. However, Govee’s selection of lights goes far beyond smart bulbs. Govee also offers outdoor rope lights that snake color through your yard, floor lamps, Christmas tree strands, and customiza

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Workers at a Staten Island, New York Amazon warehouse voted on Friday to authorize a strike if the company doesn’t agree to set dates for contract negotiations. The workers are asking Amazon to recognize the union and bargain for safer working conditions and better wages, threatening the possibility of a strike during one of Amazon’s busiest times of the year.
Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien says in a press release that Amazon mu

Photo by Jia Tianyong / China News Service / VCG via Getty Images The same day that General Motors announced that it would stop funding its beleaguered robotaxi company Cruise, one of China’s leading autonomous vehicle operators made a different sort of announcement.Pony.ai said it would expand its robotaxi fleet from about 250 to at least 1,000 vehicles in 2025, thanks to a partnership with GAC Aion, a division of one of China’s biggest automakers. With a larger fleet, the company s

SAVE $50: An Amazon Echo Auto with one month of Amazon Music Unlimited is just $14.98, down from the typical bundled price of $64.98. That's a 77% discount.Opens in a new windowCredit: AmazonAmazon Echo Auto with one month of Amazon Music Unlimited$14.98 at Amazon $64.98 Save $50.00Prime member exclusiveGet DealAhh the open road. It offers us freedom to explore, see new and exciting areas, or just drive into work five mornings each week. Regardless of how often you drive or how you feel about dr

Eufy’s new Indoor Cam E30 can sit on a table or be mounted to walls and ceilings, but you’ll need to run a power cable. | Image: Eufy Eufy has announced a new security camera, the Indoor Cam E30. The camera updates an older model released in 2020 with 4K video recording capabilities and an added spotlight that adds color capture to its typical night vision options. It’s available now for $69.99.
The Indoor Cam E30 can rotate 360 degrees horizontally and pan 75 degrees verticall

Image: Apple The end of the end of the world is now in sight. Apple just announced that its post-apocalyptic series Silo, which is in the midst of its second season, has been renewed for two more seasons. That means that season 4 will be the show’s last.
Silo first debuted in 2023, and it tells the story of the remnants of humanity, who live in an underground silo where they’re largely safe from the ruined landscape outside. However, things get much more complex very quickly, and the

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Snapchat is tweaking how people earn money on the platform by introducing a new, unified monetization program. The new program will cover content posted to Stories as well as Spotlight, the platform’s TikTok-like discovery feed filled with recommended video content. Under the program, influencers earn revenue for ads placed within eligible Stories and Spotlight posts.Previously, monetization of these formats was splintered off from one another: Stories

In what must be the least anticipated recap of the year, British online bank Monzo has dropped its answer to Spotify Wrapped for another brutal round.Debuted last year to many, many memes, Monzo's 2024 wrap-up released once again to low moans across the UK. No, I don't need to know how much I spent on [REDACTED], I already know. But this year, the team listened — you can customise what the banking app tells you about your year of spending, whether "nice" or "savage.""The nation’s fav