Technology news

Image: HBO The first season of Dune: Prophecy is about to wrap up — but there’s more on the way. Ahead of the finale on December 22nd, HBO has confirmed than the prequel series has been renewed for a second season.
The show premiered in November, and takes place 10,000 years before the events of the Dune movies from Denis Villeneuve. It stars Emily Watson and Olivia Williams as two Harkonnen sisters who form the galaxy-defining sect known as the Bene Gesserit.
“If you just know

Illustration: The Verge Google Keep is being upgraded to a system app on Android 16 devices, joining the ranks of other Android apps that provide essential services like calling and messaging, reports Android Police.
Google’s free note-taking app appears as a system app on the latest Android 16 beta, Android 16 Developer Preview 2. Anyone upgrading to this OS version will no longer be able to uninstall the app unless they have root access.
Google integrated Keep with its Tasks feature in A

The Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition is the first hardware from the open-source smart home platform that’s designed for voice control. | Image: Nabu Casa There’s a new voice assistant in town, and this one can work locally in your home without phoning home to its corporate overloads. This week, the popular hobbyist smart home platform Home Assistant officially launched its first voice assistant hardware — Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition.
Built for the open-source smart

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Thousands of delivery drivers who work for Amazon third-party contractors are now on strike, The New York Times reports. The workers are striking after “Amazon’s repeated refusal to follow the law and bargain with the thousands of Amazon workers who organized with the Teamsters,” according to a Teamsters press release.
Workers are picketing at Amazon warehouses from Atlanta, New York City, San Francisco, Southern California, and Sk

Image: The Verge In what seems to be a battle between Threads and Bluesky for the hearts and minds of ex-Twitterers, Threads has been adding some interesting new features. The latest is the ability to share photos and videos without including the original post — in other words, without quote posting. (There’s a similar feature in X for videos.)
There has been some initial pushback on it. A photographer on Threads complained that “there will be a small watermark-like credit on t

Illustration: The Verge Google has introduced a new AI “reasoning” model capable of answering complex questions while also providing a rundown of its “thoughts,” as reported earlier by TechCrunch. The model, called Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, is still experimental and will likely compete with OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model.
In a post on X, Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean says the model is “trained to use thoughts to strengthen its reasoning,” and a

The next big iOS update probably isn't too far off, but don't expect a ton from it.Apple's next software update will be iOS 18.3, or at least, that's what everyone expects right now. Since iOS 18.2 just came out, that would make sense. It should be noted that we don't know specifically when iOS 18.3 will launch or entirely what it will entail when it does come out. However, per 9to5Mac, the x.3 update for each of the last three versions of iOS came out in late January, so expect iOS 18.3 to laun

8BitDo’s new Mini Wired Xbox controller is smaller and lighter than its Ultimate C gamepad. | Image: 8BitDo 8BitDo has announced an alternate version of its Ultimate C wired Xbox controller that’s 20 percent smaller and 10 percent lighter while still featuring full-sized triggers, joysticks, and buttons.Although the new 8BitDo Ultimate Mini is designed for kids and teens, it will also appeal to any gamer with smaller hands who struggles with the size and weight of standard controller

Image: Paramount Variety is reporting that Paramount Pictures is planning to extend the Sonic The Hedgehog trilogy by yet another movie. Sonic The Hedgehog 4 has been greenlit with a target release window of spring 2027.
The news comes mere hours before Sonic The Hedgehog 3 releases in theaters on Friday December 19th. The movie once again stars Ben Schwartz as Sonic, ColleenO’Shaughnessey and Idris Elba as his friends Tails and Knuckles, with Jim Carey returning as their nemesis Dr. Ivo R

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Welcome to the season o

Image: Evan Blass (X) “The future of gaming handhelds is coming to CES ‘25 and you have a front row seat!” the email in my inbox exclaims.
Let me translate: it looks like Lenovo just tacitly confirmed it will announce its first SteamOS handheld in Las Vegas on or before January 7th, 2025. We’re expecting it to be the Steam button equipped Legion Go S that leaker Evan Blass revealed last week.Why do I say that? The January 7th event, titled “Lenovo Legion x AMD: The

You can get the full Elite Series 2 experience for a price that’s only $15 more than the Core package. | Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge With the holiday season in full effect, you can expect a fresh stream of Christmas noobs entering your multiplayer lobbies. If you’re on an Xbox or PC and looking to keep the pressure on during ruthless initiation rites, the Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Gaming Controller can help maximize your effectiveness. It’s usually a pricey

Like any genAI model, Google Gemini responses can sometimes be inaccurate, but in this case it might be because testers don't have the expertise to fact-check them. According to TechCrunch, the firm hired to improve accuracy for Gemini is now making its testers evaluate responses even if they don't have the "domain knowledge." SEE ALSO:Google adds Deep Research to Gemini for browsing the web on your behalf
The report raises questions about the rigor and standards Google says it applies to testin

SAVE $25: As of Dec. 19, get the Xbox Wireless Controller at Best Buy for $39.99, down from its usual price of $64.99. That's a discount of 42%. Opens in a new windowCredit: Best BuyXbox Wireless Controller$39.99 at Best Buy $64.99 Save $25.00Get DealThe end of the year is fast approaching. What better time to kick back and enjoy some video games? It's also the best time to do a quick upgrade on all your gaming equipment. For instance, you can still snatch a discounted console or two here and th

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images The Federal Aviation Administration banned drones from flying over “critical New Jersey infrastructure” in the wake of thousands of drone sightings for which there seem to be very few satisfying answers. The ban will last until January 17th and will block unauthorized drone activity in 22 areas due to “special security reasons,” according to ABC7NY.
Under the FAA’s temporary flight restriction, drones can’t operat

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As you prepare for the holidays, a good speaker is part of any host's toolkit. You can deck the halls and turn on the holiday lights, but you need a spe

Image: Evan Blass Lenovo showed off a laptop concept with a rollable display last year, and in 2025, it might release one that you can actually buy. Leaker Evan Blass just shared images of what he says is a sixth-generation Lenovo ThinkBook Plus, and based on two of the images, it has a display that extends upward to reveal more display underneath.
It seems pretty similar to the concept from 2023, which also extended upward to show more screen. In these images from Blass, Lenovo is showing how t

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The deals aren't done yet, folks. If you still have some gifts to check off your list

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Uh, if we're reading the calendar right, it looks like Christmas is less than a week away. Yikes. If you're looking down your list and realizing you're way behind on gifts, there is a solution.Gift cards are an easy, last minute gift, an

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Photo by Jason Henry / AFP via Getty Images Waymo’s autonomous vehicles cause less property damage and fewer bodily injuries when they crash than human-driven vehicles, according to a study that relies on an analysis of insurance data.The study is the product of the collaboration between Waymo and insurer Swiss Re, which analyzed liability claims related to collisions from 25.3 million fully autonomous miles driven by Waymo in four cities: Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. T

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The puppet influencers are coming...in 2025. | Image: The Verge / Adam Mosseri Instagram is planning to introduce a generative AI editing feature next year that will allow users to “change nearly any aspect of your videos.” The tech is powered by Meta’s Movie Gen AI model according to a teaser posted by Instagram head Adam Mosseri, and aims to provide creators with more tools to help transform their content and bring their ideas to life without extensive video editing or manipu

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The No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers and the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face off in the first round of the College Football Playoffs (CFP). The match will take place at Notre Dame Stadium in Indiana on Friday, Dec. 20,

Image: The Verge I’m guessing I’m not alone in getting more scam and spam calls than ever before. As a result, Google and the other Android phone makers have gradually added a range of built-in features to detect and deal with unwanted callers. These include having suspicious numbers flagged before you answer, being able to block nuisance callers, and even getting AI to answer incoming calls for you. Putting these protections in place should go a long way toward dealing with unwanted

Two new sizes of the Samsung Galaxy Ring could accommodate more users. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Samsung might be introducing two larger size options for its Galaxy Ring wearable as early as January, according to leaker Max Jambor and new details spotted by 91mobiles in a Galaxy Ring manual. The Galaxy Ring is currently available in sizes five to 13, while the new options will expand that to 14 and 15, helping it to better compete with the Oura Ring which is already available in sizes

Image: FromSoftware Sony has announced that it has increased its holdings in Japanese media giant and FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa Corporation. Sony acquired the shares for 50 billion yen or roughly $300 million, bringing its total ownership to 10 percent and making it the Kadokawa’s largest shareholder.
The news comes after earlier rumors that Sony was considering acquiring the company outright. Kadokawa confirmed that Sony had expressed interest in acquiring shares, but that, at