Kobo’s great color e-readers are held back by lock-in Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeThey’re more colorful than anything Amazon offers and have built-in support for Overdrive, but the UI feels more focused on selling books than reading them. Continue reading…

WhatsApp is developing a personalized AI avatar generator The upcoming feature will allow WhatsApp users to ‘imagine’ themselves in different settings. | Illustration: The VergeWhatsapp appears to be working on a new generative AI feature that should allow users to make personalized avatars of themselves for use in any imagined setting. The in-development feature, spotted in the new WhatsApp Beta for A…

The FTC’s ban against noncompete agreements may be under threat Illustration by The Verge | Photo via Getty ImagesA federal judge could block the Federal Trade Commission’s impending ban on noncompete agreements from going into effect. Noncompete agreements are intended to make it difficult for employees to switch to similar positions at other companies or start businesses of their own, and they’ve been a co…

Leak: Basically every spec for Samsung’s Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 Image: Evan BlassWe’re only one week away from Samsung’s next Unpacked event on July 10th, where we’re expecting the company’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 folding phones — but leaker Evan Blass has just revealed the entire spec sheets and marketing materials with practically everything you’d want to know. For example, did you know both phones w…

The Verge’s guide to Amazon Prime Day 2024 Illustration by Hugo Herrera for The VergeAmazon Prime Day 2024 is nearly here. The annual two-day super sale will start on July 16th and run through July 17th, bringing with it a treasure trove of discounts, promos, and exclusive deals for Amazon Prime subscribers. It may not be the only Prime Day event we see this year — Amazon has recently ta…

All the smart home news, reviews, and gadgets you need to know about Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The VergeNavigating the maze of platforms, ecosystems, protocols, and gadgets on your way to a smarter home is a full-time job. (I should know; it’s mine.) Continue reading…

Twilio alerts Authy two-factor app users that ‘threat actors’ have their phone numbers Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeTwilio says someone has obtained phone numbers associated with its two-factor authentication service (2FA), Authy, as reported earlier by TechCrunch. In a security alert on Monday, Twilio warns that the “threat actors” may try to use the stolen phone numbers to carry out phishing attacks and other scams…

The Game Boy Camera will soon get a second life as an awful webcam You won’t have to worry about how your hair looks when using the Game Boy Camera as a webcam. It will always look bad. | Screenshot: EpilogueThe 26-year-old Game Boy Camera is still embraced by some photographers seeking a lo-fi aesthetic, and soon, it could serve double duty as a webcam for anyone who wants to show up to a video call looking li…

You can save $200 on a refurbished second-gen Sonos Beam The latest Beam isn’t tiny, but it’s far from the biggest soundbar around. | Photo by Chris Welch / The VergeWhile the world of deals is about to heat up with Fourth of July sales and Amazon’s upcoming Prime Day event, there are some great discounts you can take advantage of right now. For starters, Sonos is selling refurbished models of its sec…

Google will now generate disclosures for political ads that use AI Illustration: The VergeGoogle is making it easier for advertisers to disclose whether political ads contain AI-generated content. In an update spotted by Search Engine Land, Google says it will automatically generate disclosures whenever advertisers label election ads as containing “synthetic or digitally altered content.” Last year, Google star…

Amazon is bricking its Astro business robots less than a year after launch The Astro for Business robot is no more. | Image: AmazonFor a moment there, it seemed like Amazon might pivot its Astro home robot to enterprise after giving it a better job as a camera-equipped patrol dog. But today, it’s discontinuing the Astro for Business robot for good. On September 25th, every one of the 20-pound wheeled robots will stop w…

Blumhouse’s Afraid brings AI terror to the smart home SonySony and Blumhouse’s Afraid from director Chris Weitz might not go so far as to suggest that you shouldn’t have so many smart devices watching and listening to everything you do in your home. But the movie’s first trailer will probably leave you contemplating what the AI-powered Internet of Things could do to you if it decided to go rogue un…

OpenAI’s ChatGPT Mac app was storing conversations in plain text Image: The VergeUntil Friday, OpenAI’s recently launched ChatGPT macOS app had a potentially worrying security issue: it wasn’t hard to find your chats stored on your computer and read them in plain text. That meant that if a bad actor or malicious app had access to your machine, they could easily read your conversations with ChatGPT and the dat…

Nothing’s first CMF phone could be customizable with dial and kickstand add-ons Users will be able to swap the CMF Phone 1’s rear case and attach accessories like a folding kickstand. | Image: NothingNothing plans to reveal the first smartphone from its affordable CMF subbrand on July 8th, but as part of a continuing series of teasers, it’s revealed the CMF Phone 1’s unique customizability, including a dial that can be used…

The FTC is investigating PC manufacturers who scare you away from your right to repair A “warranty void if seal broken” sticker covering a screw hole. | Image: Eirik Solheim (CC BY-SA 2.0)Ever seen one of those “warranty void if removed” stickers covering the screw holes on a gadget? Today, the FTC is reminding ASRock, Gigabyte, and Zotac that they’re illegal. In fact, the FTC sent letters to ASRock, Gigabyte, and Zotac that sugge…

Mark Zuckerberg experiments with six-window Quest VR multitasking The update brings mixed reality spatial computing to the mainstream on the Meta Quest 3. | Image: MetaMark Zuckerberg announced on Wednesday that version 67 of Horizon OS is rolling out with an experimental feature allowing Quest owners to multitask with up to six virtual windows. Once enabled (by going to Settings, then Experimental, and toggli…

Alphabet is abandoning its Mineral robo-agriculture startup Mineral’s autonomous “plant buggies” could find a new home via licenses with former industry partnerships. | Image: AlphabetAlphabet is reportedly walking away from its Mineral robotic agriculture startup due to fierce industry competition and slim profit margins. According to Bloomberg, the Google parent company will license some of its farming…

A cheaper, weirder e-reader alternative to the Boox Palma You can find the Xiaomi Moaan InkPalm Plus for around $125 online. | Image: XiaomiIt seems like everyone is enamored with the Boox Palma, including our own David Pierce, but at $280, it’s expensive for an e-reader. For another option that mirrors larger e-readers but in a tiny and cheaper package, John Moltz has taken a look at the $125 Xiaomi M…

The Verge’s favorite board and video games Screenshot: SteamPlay is important — in fact, it can be as important to a grown-up as it is to a child. If you’ve spent the day concentrating on work, doing your taxes, cleaning your home, or caring for others, it’s not a bad idea to also take a little time for yourself to escape from your adult responsibilities. These days, play can take a lot …

A24’s MaXXXine flips the script to give you something fresh to scream about Photo: A24The latest installment of Ti West’s X franchise is a glamorously cutthroat send-up of Ronald Reagan-era excess and moral panic. Continue reading…