This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on e-bikes, power stations, and how to work anywhere, follow Thomas Ricker. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Lithium-io...
According to the Wall Street Journal, the export control directive that led to Anthropic cutting off access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 was triggered in part by cybersecurity research from Amazon and conversations between CEO Andy Jassy and the White House. According to the report, the paper from Ama...
In 2026, Marvel and Mattel are both releasing projects designed to capitalize on people's love for iconic animated heroes from their childhoods. Masters of the Universe has put a live-action He-Man on the big screen, and the second season of X-Men '97 is about to fling some of Charles Xavier's mu...
You know this came for free bundle with the console for $150, right? | Image: Heritage Auctions A copy of Super Mario Bros., still in the box and sealed with its original sticker, just sold at Heritage Auctions for $3 million. That absolutely crushes the previous record of $2 million, also for ...
Here are some wearables that will last longer than a mere two days while offering some of the features you might be looking for.
Asha Sharma. | Image: The Verge, Microsoft Microsoft is preparing to lay off a significant chunk of its Xbox division and is reevaluating the plans for its next-generation Project Helix console. It's apparently also considering dramatically restructuring its relationship with Xbox, and hasn't r...
The point-and-click adventure game based on the horror anthology series arrives in August.
Bose’s latest QuietComfort Ultra headphones fold down for easy storage. | Image: Bose If you’re planning on traveling anytime soon, Bose’s second-generation QuietComfort Ultra headphones are a great companion for long flights and train rides. Not only do they offer excellent noise cancellation,...
The magnetic fields emitted by your headphones will need to be used a safe distance away from your CIDs.
I turned off Siri on the Mac years ago and never looked back. Similarly, I found Apple Intelligence so fruitless I never engage with it. But the new Siri AI coming to macOS 27 Golden Gate has at least got me slightly rethinking things. I'm still early in testing Siri AI, as I've only had access t...
You can use your AirPods as a remote control for your iPhone's camera. Here's how.
Mike Rugnetta is a writer, podcast host, producer, audio engineer, educator, musician, sound designer, and father. In short, the man wears a lot of hats. He's the cocreator and host of the award-winning Never Post, an absolutely must-listen podcast about the internet, as well as Fun City, a TTRPG...
Have you ever looked at a USB connector or port and wondered why it was that color?
This week's science news.
When I returned to my computer five minutes after giving Gemini a lengthy prompt, I had two things: a functional app in a preview window, and a message about a bug. "~ Channel is unrecoverably broken and will be disposed!" Sounded bad! But right below it was a button to fix the bug. Pretty weird ...
On Friday evening, the government ordered Anthropic to block access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all foreign nations, both inside and outside the US, due to national security concerns. That order included employees of Anthropic. To meet those demands, the company has completely cut off access to t...
KPMG published a paper about the benefits of AI last year. An investigation found that it was full of AI hallucinations.
A roundup of recent reviews published by Engadget.
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 132, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, happy soccer, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I've been preparing for a month of getting absolutely nothing done dur...
iPhone owners are getting real, native AI photo editing for the first time. The most popular camera in the world just got its first set of serious AI photo editing features, and I don't think any of us are ready. As far as AI photo editing goes, the new features in iOS 27 are pretty tame compar...