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Announcements, stories, and updates from ChalloTech.
WWDC 2026 bonus live blog: Tech Talk with Craig Federighi
One of the funnier parts of the keynote. Fresh off the WWDC keynote presentation, The Verge has been invited to an "on-the-record technical deep dive into the bold new architecture enabling Apple Intelligence capabilities." Apple SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi and his team will be there, and so will we. The revamped Apple Intelligence is at the heart of nearly every update Apple announced across all its operating systems today, Liquid Glass corner radii notwithstanding. The discussion will begin at 12PM PT / 3PM ET. Nilay and Vee will be liveblogging below; Allison will be...
NASA will wear high-tech Prada long johns to the Moon
We've seen Axiom Space and Prada's collaboration on the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit. Now the company has revealed the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG) that astronauts will wear underneath it when Artemis IV returns humans to the Moon in 2028.The LCVG is the all-important base layer that will keep the crew cool and comfortable while inside the AxEMU and on spacewalks. Cold water is circulated through tubes embedded in the suit to whisk heat away from astronauts' bodies. And, should the primary system fail, there is a backup, unlike older cooling suits. The...
Hand-drawn interactive searching game Hidden Folks 2 is coming next year
It'll be available for PC and mobile, and maybe Nintendo Switch down the line.
Filtr is a new privacy tool that blocks ads in almost every iPhone and Mac app
This popular ad blocker app for iPhones, iPads, and Macs can now block ads from loading inside apps, including web browsers, thanks to a new feature in the latest Apple software.
Cash App made a magic wand for contactless payments
The Cash App Wand is a novel way to pay for your next coffee. | Image: Cash App The convenience of contactless payments can already feel magical, but Cash App is really leaning into that with its latest accessory. The mobile payment service is launching the Cash App Wand: an NFC-enabled, iridescent, star-topped wand that allows users to make on-the-go payments without pulling out their phone or card.This plays on a popular DIY trend that's already circulating on social media platforms, in which people are 3D printing (or otherwise constructing) their own creative "cases" for contactless payment...
Yes, the Oura Ring 5 is noticeably smaller
From top to bottom: Oura Ring 5, Oura Ring 4 in ceramic, Oura Ring 4 regular, and Oura Ring Gen 3. This is not an Oura Ring 5 review. That's coming later, once I've had enough time to really test the new durability and battery life claims, plus the new software updates that start rolling out today. In the meantime, I did want to provide an answer to a burning question that I've seen asked in many Oura Ring comment sections across the internet.Yes, it is smaller and lighter than the Oura Ring 4. And for impatient folks considering upgrades, I come bearing photographic size comparisons to the...
Pokémon Champions hits iOS and Android on June 17
In a few short weeks, Pokémon Champions will arrive on mobile with full cross-platform support.
Australia gets access to AI model ‘too dangerous to release’
Mythos is so good at finding software flaws that its maker won’t release it. Now Australia is on the access list.
Australia gets access to AI model ‘too dangerous to release’
Mythos is so good at finding software flaws that its maker won’t release it. Now Australia is on the access list.
Microsoft’s next-gen quantum chip cuts timeline to useful quantum computing
Microsoft’s new Majorana 2 quantum chip. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft claimed last year that it had made a key breakthrough in quantum computing with Majorana 1, the company's first quantum processor. While physicists were immediately skeptical of Microsoft's claims, the software giant is announcing Majorana 2 today, the next generation of its topological quantum chip.Majorana 2 contains qubits, a unit of information in quantum computing much like the binary bits that computers use today, that are 1,000 times more reliable, according to Microsoft. It's a milestone that helps make quantum...
Microsoft’s first advanced reasoning AI is here
Microsoft announced a bunch of new in-house AI models at Build 2026, including a new "flagship" model: MAI-Thinking-1. It's an ambitious step into model development for Microsoft, which introduced its initial in-house models last year - before then, it had relied on OpenAI's models. The two companies recently renegotiated their deal to loosen ties.According to Microsoft, MAI-Thinking-1 is a "medium-sized model" that "matches leading models" on "key" software engineering benchmarks. Microsoft says the company "trained it from the ground up on clean data, without distillation from third-party...
The Trump phone is not here
Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. It's now been more than a week since Trump Mobile announced that phones would "start shipping this week."Last week Trump Mobile announced that the T1 Phone was ready to start shipping by the end of the week. Almost two weeks later, there's no sign that's actually happened - and the company still hasn't shipped either of the two phones ordered by The Verge.Depending on where you get your news, you might believe the company when it says the phone has...
Trump Mobile confirms it exposed customers’ personal data, including phone numbers and home addresses
President Trump’s branded cell phone maker and cell provider said the exposure was linked to a third-party platform, and was evaluating whether it needs to notify customers.
Tesla recalls thousands of Model Ys at risk of… missing a sticker
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a recall for 14,575 Model Y vehicles over an issue that Tesla can't fix with its usual software update: a missing label. According to the recall report, Model Ys made between November 17th, 2024 and April 21st, 2026 could be missing a weight certification sticker due to a mishap with an "automated vision-scanning tool" in Tesla's Fremont, California factory. As Electrek reports, the sticker in question usually goes on the inside of the driver's side door and shows the vehicle's maximum safe loaded weight, along with tire info...
Circle Medical (YC S15) Is Hiring a Mobile Engineer
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Meta and Google get data from the app your boss uses to track you
Hundreds of thousands of workplaces use software to monitor employees. Now, a new study has found that many of these tools share data not just with employers, but with digital advertising platforms and data brokers as well. The review was led by Stephanie Nguyen, senior fellow at Columbia Law School's Center for Law and the Economy and former Federal Trade Commission chief technologist under Lina Khan. It examined nine workplace monitoring (or "bossware") services and found that all of them shared some information with third-party platforms. The data ranged from names and email addresses to web...
‘Fuck you, Bambu’: How one private message could change the face of 3D printing
Bambu Lab makes the best, most accessible 3D printers yet, but that reputation is suddenly under siege. It all started when Paweł Jarczak received a private message from the company on Reddit asking him to delete his code. Now the 3D printing community is lining up behind Jarczak to fund a war against Bambu - and the future of 3D printers could be at stake.Jarczak is a developer who shared a way to let people remote control their Bambu printers without using Bambu software. But Bambu wanted to lock down its system, despite relying on open-source code. That provoked a furious coalition of...
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software is creeping into Europe
First came the Netherlands, now it's Lithuania. And more European countries appear to be in the queue for Tesla's driver assistance system.
Volvo is trying to put its EV stumbles in the rearview
Volvo once had ambitions to fully exit the gas car business. Now it's trying to keep its tenuous foothold in the EV market. It's not an understatement to say that Volvo's EV journey has been a bumpy one. The compact EX40 has been a consistent winner, but the Swedish brand's other EVs have been plagued with problems. The EX90 was supposed to be a bold statement for the future, but persistent software bugs have forced Volvo into an expensive hardware replacement. The tiny EX30 faired no better, with tariffs upending the rollout of the brand's first mass-market affordable EV, eventually leading to...
Customers say Trump Mobile is leaking their personal information
Trump Mobile is leaking customers’ email and home addresses, but has not responded to people alerting the company of the data exposure, according to two YouTubers who said they verified that their leaked data is authentic.
Trump Mobile may be leaking customer addresses
The T1 Phone was meant to start shipping last week. | Screenshot: Trump Mobile Just as the T1 Phone is seemingly on the verge of release, Trump Mobile has been accused of insecurely storing customer data, leaving addresses and phone numbers vulnerable. The alleged leak has also revealed how many T1 Phone orders were apparently placed, and it's far fewer than viral figures have claimed.YouTuber voidzilla was the first to report the apparent leak, having been tipped off by an anonymous person who discovered the "vulnerability" in the Trump Mobile website. The hacker says they're able to both...
This new app scans your clothes for PFAS, microplastics, and hidden toxins
Most health-conscious consumers have already ditched plastic containers, switched to filtered water, and overhauled their skincare routines. Clothing, however, remains a stubborn blind spot, and a new app called Wove wants to change that. Launched this week, Wove bills itself as the first mobile app that scans everyday garments for PFAS, microplastic shedding potential, […]This story continues at The Next Web
Gemini will use Volvo’s external cameras to interpret parking signs
Gemini is gaining the power of sight and mobility. Today at the I/O conference, Google and Volvo announced that the AI-powered assistant will be able to access external cameras in the upcoming EX60 SUV to help explain and interpret its surroundings to vehicle owners. The upgrade is possible thanks to Volvo's use of Google's embedded Android Automotive as its vehicle operating system.Google posits that the first use case will be to ask Gemini to translate difficult-to-understand parking signs, though the company obviously sees other future applications as possible as well. Google envisions a...
With Gemini 3.5 Flash, Google bets its next AI wave on agents, not chatbots
Google launched Gemini 3.5 Flash, its most powerful coding and agentic AI model yet, at the company's annual developer conference. It is capable of autonomously executing complex tasks and building software from scratch.
Nintendo's wacky new mobile game takes inspiration from WarioWare
The free-to-download Pictonico! turns photos into minigames.
The minimalist Light Phone teams up with Andrew Yang’s Noble Mobile, which pays you to stop doomscrolling
"The Light Phone is designed to be used as little as possible," founder Joe Hollier told TechCrunch.
Does Trump Mobile know how many stripes are on the American flag?
The T1 Phone has the wrong number of stripes, but it does at least have 50 stars. | Screenshot: Trump Mobile Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. This week, despite our best hopes, we still don't have our phone - but we do have some fresh doubts about the company's patriotic credentials.This has been a momentous few days for Trump Mobile, in which it defied the haters by announcing that its phones will be shipping to buyers this very week. Not that there's any sign the company has...
Google Enhances Android Mobile Security with New AI-Powered Protections - CyberSecurityNews
Google Enhances Android Mobile Security with New AI-Powered Protections CyberSecurityNewsWhat’s New in Android Security and Privacy in 2026 blog.googleGoogle launches new Android security feature to help uncover spyware attacks TechCrunchFind Hub ‘Mark as lost’ will require biometric unlock & hide Quick Settings, more 9to5GoogleAndroid 17: AI scam alerts, anti-theft features, verified bank calls & more Deccan Herald
YouTube viewers watch 2 billion hours of Shorts on TVs each month
Short-form video is built for mobile, so it may seem counterintuitive, but it's true: YouTube Shorts are becoming quite popular on the big screen.
Netflix’s new INKubator studio will produce animated shorts with AI
Netflix’s job listings indicate an generative AI-heavy animation studio is coming. | Image: The Verge This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.Netflix has been building a new internal studio called INKubator that aims to use AI to produce short-form animated content: The streamer is hiring for a wide variety of roles, including producers, software engineers, and CG artists to staff INKubator, according to a number of recently published job listings.Netflix has yet to...
AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon team up to eliminate coverage dead zones
AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have agreed to work together under a new joint venture that aims to end wireless dead zones in the US. The partnership was announced today as an "agreement in principle," but if finalized would see the three carrier companies pooling their ground-based spectrum resources together to increase coverage in rural areas.The goal is to create the "best and most diverse ecosystem for wireless and satellite products and services," though details on how this will actually be achieved are fairly vague. There's mention of the venture developing a unified technical standard for...
Notion just turned its workspace into a hub for AI agents
Notion’s new developer platform lets teams connect AI agents, external data sources, and custom code directly into their workspace as the company pushes deeper into agentic productivity software.
Musk’s xAI is running nearly 50 gas turbines unchecked at its Mississippi data center
Gas turbines at xAI's Colossus 2 data center have drawn a lawsuit over the company's use of "mobile" gas turbines as power plants.
Netflix’s ad ambitions just keep growing
For the second year in a row, Netflix's ad-supported tier more than doubled its monthly viewerbase. During its 2026 upfront presentation, Netflix revealed that its $8.99-per-month plan reaches more than 250 million people around the globe, a significant leap from 94 million users reported last year.The streaming service reported earning $1.5 billion from ads in 2025, and now it's finding more areas to stick them across its service. Starting next year, Netflix will start showing ads in the vertical video feed it just launched on its mobile app, and in the lineup of podcasts it began adding to...
The Trump phone starts shipping this week, CEO claims
The Trump phone may finally be here: Trump Mobile's CEO told USA Today that the phone will begin shipping to buyers this week. The announcement comes as reports have gone viral this week alleging that preorders for the phone have been canceled.Trump Mobile CEO Pat O'Brien confirmed the release plans to USA Today over email, telling the outlet that all preorders will be fulfilled within the next few weeks.O'Brien reportedly acknowledged the phone's numerous delays - it's now been 11 months since it was announced - though seemingly didn't offer any detailed explanation for why the phone has taken...
The 9 biggest new features in Android 17
AI-generated widgets are among the features coming to Android this year. | Screenshot: Google Would it shock you to hear that Android 17 is filled with new AI-enabled features, like improved dictation and vibe-coded widgets? Fortunately, that's not all. The platform is getting non-AI updates too, from an emoji overhaul to a new screentime tool that helps you avoid distracting apps.Google has just revealed the biggest changes coming in its next OS update as part of its dedicated Android Show, ahead of next week's big I/O developer conference. The Android software updates came alongside a tease...
Panasonic’s new Lumix L10 is a compact camera with a focus on photography
Panasonic has announced a new addition to its Lumix camera line with a compact body and fixed lens that's targeted at photographers instead of creators making video content. The Lumix L10 is available for preorder today with a black or silver finish for $1,499.99. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Lumix brand, the L10 will also be available in a titanium gold finish with matching accessories and software for $1,599.99, but only in limited numbers and primarily through Panasonic's online store.The Lumix L10 weighs 508 grams and features a magnesium alloy front case and a metal exterior...
U.S. bank disclose security lapse after sharing customer data with AI app
The bank said the security lapse was due to the use of an “unauthorized” AI software app.
Rivian’s AI-powered voice assistant is ready to roll
Rivian's AI-powered voice assistant is rolling out today to the company's vehicle fleet. The assistant will be available through a software update to all compatible Rivian Gen 1 and Gen 2 vehicle owners who subscribe to the company's Connect Plus cellular service, which costs $15 a month or $150 a year, or are in an active trial. First announced at last year's AI and Autonomy Day, the Rivian Assistant is powered by the company's Rivian Unified Intelligence, "a shared, multi-modal AI foundation" that is "interwoven" throughout the entire company. The assistant is deeply embedded in the vehicle's...
Waymo issues recall to deal with a flooding problem
Waymo has issued a software recall that makes its robotaxis more cautious around flooded areas. A "final remedy" is in the works.
Instructure strikes deal with hackers who breached it twice
The maker of the Canvas school software said it "reached an agreement" with the hackers, but provided no guarantees that the hackers would not release the data or keep their word.
Waymo recalls robotaxis for driving on flooded roads
A Waymo drives across Congress Avenue on 8th Street in front of the Capitol Building as rain arrives in the Austin area on Friday, Jan. 23, 2025 ahead of anticipated drops in temperature and freezing rain over the weekend. (Sara Diggins/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images) | Image: Getty Waymo is recalling its autonomous driving software that allowed its vehicles to drive on flooded roads. The recall affects 3,791 vehicles that operate using Waymo's fifth and sixth generation systems. In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Alphabet-owned...
Spotify’s latest ‘Wrapped’ covers your entire music history
Its like a “Wrapped” but for your entire Spotify listening history. | Image by Spotify / The Verge Spotify is celebrating its 20th anniversary by giving listeners a "fully personalized look at their entire music history." Starting today, Spotify mobile app users can access a new Wrapped-like experience that features "never-before-shared data" going back to when they first joined the service.The "Spotify 20: Your Party of the Year(s)" experience will allow users to look back on their first day on Spotify, the first song they streamed, their most-listened to artist, and the total number of...
Palantir’s true believers are wearing this jacket
In late April, Palantir - the software company that, in recent years, has perhaps become best known for its defense industry contracts and work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement - announced that it would be adding new products to its merch store. The latest offering was a cotton chore coat. At $239 and in bright blue and black options, the jacket looks like a standard offering that has, by way of photographer Bill Cunningham, trickled down into mainstream menswear for years. This jacket is a pastiche of 19th century French workwear that was worn by people actually doing physical labor...
NYT’s Wordle to become a TV game show
The popular mobile puzzle game will become a TV game show next year.
Porsche shutters e-bike, battery, software subsidiaries as part of company overhaul
More than 500 people will be affected by the closures.
Someone out-Trumped the Trump phone
These are just five of the 29 versions of the Aurora Lux that Dreame claims it will release. | Screenshot: Dreame Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. This week, Trump Mobile has been trumped.It's been another long week without the Trump phone, but it's no longer the only nonexistent phone I have to worry about. Robot vacuum manufacturer Dreame has announced its own set of phones that are unlikely to ever launch, and one of them takes the Trump phone playbook and amps it up to 11.I was...
The company that owns Moog, Akai Pro, and Numark is buying Native Instruments
Native Instruments' suite of music production software and gear, including Traktor and Kontakt, will soon live under the inMusic umbrella alongside other music tech brands like Akai Professional and Moog Music. As MusicRadar reports, Native Instruments CEO Nick Williams said the company was looking for a buyer in March, following news it had entered bankruptcy proceedings in Germany.In a blog post announcing the deal, Williams called the acquisition a "fresh start," meaning that for the company's brands, "Native Instruments, iZotope, Plugin Alliance, Brainworx - all of it continues." The two...
DJI's Osmo Mobile 8P gimbal has a detachable screen remote
t makes it easier to record yourself from afar with the higher-quality rear cameras.
AI evaluation startup Braintrust confirms breach, tells every customer to rotate sensitive keys
Braintrust, a startup that makes an “operating system for engineers building AI software,” notified customers that hackers broke into one of its Amazon cloud environments, and is asking customers to rotate their API keys.
Threads is finally getting DMs on the web
Nearly a year after rolling out Threads direct messaging to everyone on mobile, Meta is finally bringing the feature to the web. Meta says it's "testing" DMs on the web now, but plans to make the feature "available to more people soon."In your DM page on the web, you can see your inbox and message requests. Like on mobile, you can also choose to let anyone DM you or just people you follow. The company is also planning to test group chats on the web - group chats are currently available on mobile - and is also working on "more controls.""While there's nothing better than a good conversation in...
Kaspersky suspects Chinese hackers planted a backdoor into Daemon Tools in ‘widespread’ attack
The cybersecurity company says it's seen thousands of infection attempts, and at least a dozen successful hacks after users installed malicious versions of the popular Windows software.
Homebridge 2.0 is here, and it speaks Matter
Homebridge, the popular software solution that allows you to integrate non-HomeKit devices like Ring cameras into Apple Home, is adding support for the Matter smart home standard.Today, May 4th, Homebridge 2.0, which has been in beta for over three years, officially launches. Along with other improvements, the update brings the "initial groundwork for Matter support," according to a post on the r/homebridge subreddit from NorthernMan5, one of the GitHub core maintainers.The update enables Homebridge to act as a Matter bridge in addition to a HomeKit bridge, allowing Matter devices to appear in...
AI tool ‘too dangerous to release’ could wreak havoc on businesses
It found a 27-year-old bug in software used in routers worldwide. Experts fear Anthropic’s Mythos model could trigger the next wave of major breaches.
Some of Xteink’s credit card-sized e-readers are losing their best feature
The X3 is Xteink’s smallest e-reader. | Photo: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge The Xteink X4 and X3 are excellent alternatives to Kindles and Kobos if you want an e-reader that's as easy to slip into your pocket - just not out of the box. Both devices come with stock firmware that's clunky, limited, and occasionally confusing, but that can be easily fixed by plugging them into a PC to install alternative software called CrossPoint Reader which delivers a more polished user interface and improved functionality. But now buyers report Xteink is blocking the upgrade, which might depend on where you...
Uber taps Hertz to clean, charge, and fix its Lucid Motors robotaxis
Hertz is creating a new affiliate company called "Oro Mobility" to provide fleet management solutions "across a range of mobility segments."
Dental practice software maker fixes bug that exposed patients’ medical records
The security bug is now fixed, but the patient who found it said it was challenging to alert the software company about the issue.
Here’s what Netflix’s new vertical video feed is like
Netflix is starting to roll out a big revamp of its mobile app, and a central feature is a new vertical video feed called "Clips" where you can scroll through clips of shows, movies, and other Netflix content. The idea of the Clips feed is that it can help you discover new things to watch in a mobile-friendly format. The company started testing a vertical video feed last year, saying at the time that "we know that swiping through a vertical feed on social media apps is an easy way to browse video content." The new mobile UI will start rolling out starting Thursday in Australia, Canada, India...
Larry’s risky business
Oracular spectacular? | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge If you want to know whether the AI bubble is bursting, there's only one publicly traded company that will tell you: Oracle.That's right, the database company. Oracle has burned its boats and pivoted to AI, but not in any kind of usual way. It is not a foundation model builder like OpenAI or Anthropic, obviously. It's not quite a neocloud, though it has entered the same bare-metal business as CoreWeave. It is a software-as-a-service company that has made an audacious bet on a very specific future version of AI as Oracle's traditional...
General Motors is adding Gemini to four million cars
Gemini is coming to Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC vehicles. | Image: General Motors General Motors is planning to bring Google's Gemini AI assistant to around four million vehicles across the US. Model year 2022 and newer Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC vehicles with Google built-in will be eligible for the AI upgrade, which will be rolled out via over-the-air software updates for GM's infotainment system "over several months," according to GM's announcement.GM says this update represents "one of the largest deployments of Gemini in the industry," and that "customers will notice an...