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If you've been saddled with some awful Gmail address you chose in high school (looking at you, LazySexyCool3030), help appears to be on the way. According to a Google account support page in Hindi the company is allowing some people to change their email address. According to the page (via Google Translate): If your Google Account email address ends with gmail.com, you can replace it with one that ends with @gmail.com. This appears to be more like adding a second address to your account than actually changing your email address, however. Email sent to your old address will still arrive in your inbox, and that address will still work to s … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/U83iEvJ

LG is getting ready to take the wraps off a new robot it claims is capable of performing a "wide range" of household chores. The robot, called LG CLOiD, will make its debut at CES next month, featuring two articulated arms and five individually actuated fingers on each hand. Though we only have a description and two images showing LG CLOiD's five-fingered hands, it already seems a lot different from the two-wheeled home companion LG revealed last year, which came with a handle attached to its head rather than two arms. LG says CLOiD's motor-equipped arms operate with seven degrees of freedom , indicating a more human-like range of motion an … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/DJ7awEy

Buddy’s in space. When your kid starts showing a preference for one of their stuffed animals, you're supposed to buy a backup in case it goes missing. I've heard this advice again and again, but never got around to buying a second plush deer once "Buddy" became my son's obvious favorite. Neither, apparently, did the parents in Google's newest ad for Gemini . It's the fictional but relatable story of two parents discovering their child's favorite stuffed toy, a lamb named Mr. Fuzzy, was left behind on an airplane. They use Gemini to track down a replacement, but the new toy is on backorder. In the meantime, they stall by using Gemini to create images and vid … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/rNVx6nE

AI isn't new to Hollywood - but this was the year when it really made its presence felt. For years now, the entertainment industry has used different kinds of generative AI products for a variety of post-production processes ranging from de-aging actors to removing green screen backgrounds. In many instances, the technology has been a useful tool for human artists tasked with tedious and painstaking labor that might have otherwise taken them inordinate amounts of time to complete. But in 2025, Hollywood really began warming to the idea of deploying the kind of gen AI that's really only good for conjuring up text-to-video slop that doesn't ha … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/W2xAeTK

If you’re in the market for a new Android smartphone — or on the hunt for a solid last-minute gift — Google’s Pixel 10 is a great place to look. We consider it the best Android phone you can buy, and right now, you can grab it at Amazon starting at $449 ($350 off) when you use promo code PIXEL10 , which drops Google’s entry-level flagship to its lowest price to date. If you prefer a better cameras or a bigger screen, Amazon is also offering the Pixel 10 Pro and the Pixel 10 Pro XL for $649 ($350 off) and $799 ($400 off), respectively, using the same code. Google Pixel 10 (128GB) Where to Buy: $799 $449 at Amazon (with code PIXEL10) $799 $599 at Best Buy $799 $599 at Google Google Pixel 10 Pro Where to Buy: $999 $649 at Amazon (with code PIXEL10) $999 $749 at Best Buy $999 $749 at Google Store In her review , Verge senior reviewer Allison Johnson called the Pixel 10 a great, basic Android phone that offers some notable upgrades over its predecessor . It...

IO Interactive has delayed the release of 007 First Light , its upcoming James Bond origin story game, by two months. 007 First Light will now be released on May 27th, 2026. According to an announcement about the delay : 007 First Light is our most ambitious project to date, and the team has been fully focused on delivering an unforgettable James Bond experience, bringing together breathtaking action, globe-trotting, spycraft, gadgets, car chases, and more. As an independent developer and publisher, this decision allows us to ensure the experience meets the level of quality you players deserve on day one. The game is progressing well and … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/M5hJLEv

Ahead of CES 2026 getting underway in early January, Birdfy has announced two new camera-equipped smart bird feeders that can identify and capture visitors in slow motion. The Birdfy Hum Bloom is specifically designed to attract and record hummingbirds using a nectar bulb that mimics flowers they're naturally attracted to, while the Feeder Vista introduces a 360-degree camera and a bottom-up feeding system that doesn't obstruct views. Both feeders are expected to be available in Q2 of 2026 but pricing hasn't been announced. The Birdfy Hum Bloom is built around an 8MP camera that can capture 4K video of hummingbirds at 20fps. Capturing 120fp … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/8b6cjpu

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 had earned another Game of the Year award by the Indie Game Awards last week, but the organization has since announced that the award would be retracted because developer Sandfall Interactive used generative AI during development. The Indie Game Awards also rescinded the Debut Game award given to Expedition 33 . Here is the Indie Game Awards' explanation, from an FAQ : The Indie Game Awards have a hard stance on the use of gen AI throughout the nomination process and during the ceremony itself. When it was submitted for consideration, a representative of Sandfall Interactive agreed that no gen AI was used in the … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/pTOWQml

According to YouTube's 2025 Recap feature , the podcast I consumed the most on its platform was Seth Meyers' recurring segment "A Closer Look" on his show Late Night. Last year, I would have argued that this is not a podcast. That it is, in fact, a clip of a TV show. But in 2025, with almost every major podcast now having a video component, the definition of the word "podcast" has become pretty meaningless. A decades-old TV show talk show format is now almost indistinguishable from podcasts like Good Hang with Amy Poehler , Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Club Shay Shay with Shannon Sharpe , and other shows at the top of Spotify's podcast c … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/orCyQv1

These days when you want to engage with some media, you can choose from podcasts, videos, games, live performances - or books, one of the oldest and most popular ways to learn something new or escape (at least temporarily) from today's troubled world. We polled the staff of The Verge to find out what books they read over the past year that really struck a chord - because the books were enlightening, educational, or just enjoyable. Here are some of the answers we got. (And please let us know what your favorite reads were in 2025 in the comments.) Brandt Ranj, commerce writer Screwing up is one of the inevitabilities of life, but dwelling … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/zl5LwPO

PayPal’s Honey browser extension has been lauded for years as an easy way to find coupons online. But some are calling it a “scam” after a deep dive from YouTuber MegaLag, who accused Honey of “stealing money from influencers,” and returned one year later with a second video that says Honey targeted minors, collected data on people who never signed up for its service, and exploited small businesses. The first video shines a light mostly on Honey’s use of last-click attribution, swapping its tracking cookie in for others’ when you interact with it. The second video tracks a series of emails between Honey and small businesses that lost revenue from its use of private coupon codes and how it attempted to squeeze them to sign up as partners, as well as its approach of sponsoring YouTubers with large audiences of younger viewers, like Mr Beast. PayPal issued statements after the first video in 2024 saying that it follows “industry rules and practices” like last-click attribution. But...

Waymo driverless car is not able to detect traffic lights after a major power outage in San Francisco, California, | Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images A power outage struck San Francisco on Saturday that blacked out about 130,000 customers at its peak, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Company , but also caused another problem: stranded Waymo vehicles. Posts all over social media showed the company's autonomous SUVs sitting still in the streets and causing traffic jams. Some people posted videos of Teslas using the FSD feature to navigate the same streets, and Elon Musk tweeted that "Tesla Robotaxis were unaffected by the SF power outage." Power out in SF and the @Waymo 's are causing a MASSIVE jam in North Beach 🤣 pic.twitter.com/fuvhprlyma - Iago Maciel (@_iagomaciel) December 21, … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/FILdquo

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 110, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, happy holidays, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I've been reading about mall Santas and malleable software and phone bans , wondering how I barely know any of the songs in DJ Earworm's annual mashup , waiting patiently for Ugmonk's Layflat notebooks to go back on sale, finally setting up my Switch 2 Camera for some holiday gaming, trying desperately to not come in last place in my fantasy football league, using MCP to build some really weird note-taking workflows … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/KMD8U9B

The holidays have a way of sneaking up on us. One minute you're trick-or-treating with your kids, and the next you're panic shopping in a Buc-ee's gift aisle. But it doesn't have to be that way. With the right cheat sheet, you can keep the holiday spirit high and stress levels low. Fortunately, we did some planning on your behalf. As much as we love playing with the latest gadgets and gizmos here at The Verge , we also love recommending them. That's why, after consulting with our expert team of writers and editors, we've compiled a medley of gift ideas that won't be regifted come this time next year - from noise-canceling earbuds and e-reade … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/wvcdE8A

If you’re feeling the stress of having procrastinated on your holiday shopping — and you missed out during Black Friday and Cyber Monday — we’ve got you. We’ve found a variety of gadgets on sale that make for great gifts, many of which will ship in time for the holidays. One of the standouts is the current promo on Sony’s noise-canceling WH-1000XM5 headphones , which are on sale with a free pair of wireless earbuds. Other deals you may have missed include steep discounts on Amazon’s latest entry-level Kindle and the new Echo Dot Max . Sony WH-1000XM5 Where to Buy: $399.99 $248 at Amazon (with WF-C700N) $399.99 $248 at Best Buy $399.99 $249.99 at Target Sony’s last-gen WH-1000XM5 have consistently impressed us with their audio quality, active noise cancellation, and comfort. And right now, Amazon is offering them with a free pair of Sony’s WF-C700N earbuds for $248 ($152 off). The headphones have an updated design that includes a thinner headband, more memory foam in...

OpenAI will now give you the ability to dial up - or down - ChatGPT's warmth and enthusiasm. An update rolling out on Friday gives you the option to choose whether you want "more" or "less" of these personality traits, or stick with the default. There are also options to tweak how often ChatGPT uses emoji, headers, and lists. You can find these settings by tapping the menu at the top left corner of the ChatGPT app, selecting your profile, heading to Personalization , and choosing Add Characteristics . Alongside these options, you can pick a "personality" for the AI chatbot , including whether it's quirky, professional, friendly, cynical, and m … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/TeCF5ao

Google has filed a lawsuit against SerpApi, a company that offers tools to scrape content on the web, including Google's search results. SerpApi is accused of violating the Copyright Act by using "deceptive means" to automatically access and take Google's search results "at an astonishing scale" before selling the data to customers. Reddit also sued SerpApi, along with two other data scrapers, in October, accusing "at least one" of ripping content from its site for the AI startup Perplexity. Though Google's complaint briefly mentions Reddit's lawsuit against SerpApi, it doesn't directly say anything about Perplexity or AI bots. Google's la … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/ewPJLRf

Google expanded Gemini's AI verification feature to videos made or edited with the company's own AI models. Users can now ask Gemini to determine if an uploaded video is AI-generated by asking, "Was this generated using Google AI?" Gemini will scan the video's visuals and audio for Google's proprietary watermark called SynthID . The response will be more than a yes or no, Google says. Gemini will point out specific times when the watermark appears in the video or audio. The company rolled out this capability for images in November, also limited to images made or edited with Google AI. Some watermarks can be easily scrubbed , as OpenAI lear … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/KqYD3Ti

Between all the new phones, smartwatches, and laptops we see throughout the year, it often feels like we're constantly being nudged toward shinier, more expensive gadgets. And I get it. As a self-professed gadget nerd, few things are more exciting than unboxing and setting up a new device. But the truth is, you can still find plenty of great gifts for under $100. I use the Leatherman Free T4 every day , while Donkey Kong Bananza has provided me (and other Verge staffers ) with hours of entertainment. If someone in your life loves the satisfaction of building and has shelves full of knickknacks, the Lego Game Boy is ( as our reviewer termed it ) … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/4D0UWLS

You can save $50 on the latest AirPods Pro and still have it arrive in time for Christmas. You don’t need to deal with long mall lines or crowded parking lots just to wrap up your holiday shopping, but you probably already knew this. Some of the best deals are online, and even though Christmas is now just a few days away, a lot of Verge -approved gifts should still arrive on time if you order them online. We know that everyone’s wishlist looks different from the next, so we’ve got you covered with 30 gift ideas to suit gamers, music lovers, bookworms, and more. Below, you’ll find products like the latest AirPods Pro to the Meta Quest 3S and Kindle Paperwhite . On a tighter budget? There are many sub-$50 presents below, too. Headphones and earbuds AirPods Pro 3 The recently released AirPods Pro 3 have a new design that improves their fit, superior noise cancellation, better bass, and fairly accurate heart rate sensors. Read our review . Where to Buy: $249 $199 at Walmart ...

Bluetooth trackers come in all shapes and sizes. | Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge Some people rarely lose things. Wallets are always exactly where they’re supposed to be, keys never go missing, and remotes never slip between the couch cushions. And then there’s the rest of us — the folks who can’t ever seem to find the thing that was right there a few seconds ago. For us, there are Bluetooth trackers. Bluetooth trackers have been around for a long time, and they all generally work the same way. You stick the tracker onto an object, pair it with your phone, and then, when you lose said object, you can go into an app and ring the tracker. But these days, Bluetooth trackers can do a lot more. Some have ultra-wideband chips that enable precision tracking, so you can find exactly where in a room your item is. Increasingly, trackers also tap into large networks — like Apple’s and Google’s — making it easier to locate lost items outside the home. Many will notify you if they de...