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Score a discounted Xbox console before the prices jump

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The Xbox Series S and Series X consoles together. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Microsoft announced today that the price of all Xbox models will rise in August , the second time in less than a year as memory prices continue to wreak havoc on every industry from cars to computing. Thankfully, we’re already out looking for Prime Day deals, and we were able to find some discounts on both the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X ahead of the price hikes. Microsoft Xbox Series X The Xbox Series X is Microsoft’s flagship console, serving as its most powerful (and biggest) option focused on fast, 4K gameplay. Read our review . Where to Buy: $649.99 $573 at Walmart (1TB, disc drive) $649.99 $573.99 at Target (1TB, disc drive) The 1TB Xbox Series X is discounted to $573 and $573.99 at Walmart and Target respectively, a significant reduction from the usual $649.99 price point. This is the model with a built-in 4K Blu-ray player that will go up to...

RAMageddon just got extremely real

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Even Tim Cook couldn’t supply chain his way out of the RAM crisis. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge As far as prices go, Apple is kind of a reverse canary in the coal mine. With its famously generous margins and immense purchasing volume, it can afford to ride out price fluctuations in its supply chain in a way no other consumer tech company can. So when Apple raises prices across nearly all of its product lines, you know that shit is well and truly real. That's what happened earlier today: Apple increased pricing across Macs, iPads, HomePods, and even the Vision Pro. Prices jumped hundreds of dollars in many cases. The MacBook Neo's key feature - a $599 starting price - is now $699. The iPhone appears to be safe for now, but I'd be sho … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/08xBjiy

It’s a bad time to want a new computer

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It's not exactly surprising that RAMaggeddon is making new tech hardware really expensive. But if you've been in the market for things like a new computer or tablet, this week has been filled with sticker shock. Given how many companies announced price hikes related to component shortages, it seems unlikely things will get cheaper any time soon. Valve started the week off by finally revealing the price of the Steam Machine, its long-delayed, console-like PC that, in our tests, has performance on par with the PS5 . It starts at $1,049 , nearly double the price of the six-year-old PS5, and that's for the base configuration with 512GB of storage … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/KnwWEH1

Microsoft introduces cheaper Surface devices with half the memory

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Microsoft just added a cheaper 12-inch Surface Pro and 13-inch Surface Laptop to its lineup. Both models come equipped with 8GB of RAM instead of 16GB, costing $849 for the specced-down Surface Pro and $949 for the Surface Laptop , as spotted earlier by Windows Central . When the 12-inch Surface Pro and 13-inch Surface Laptop launched in 2025 , the base configurations offered 16GB of RAM and 256GB of USF storage, for $799 and $899, respectively. But in April 2026, Microsoft hiked the prices to $1,049 and $1,199. The memory crunch has also resulted in a higher base price for Microsoft's newest Surface models . Other than slashing device memory … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/xCQSsoD

A new paper argues Microsoft exaggerated its quantum claims a year ago

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Microsoft’s Majorana 1 processor. | Image: Microsoft A critique published in Nature Wednesday calls the basic technology behind Microsoft's "breakthrough" quantum computing chip the Majorana 1 into question. Microsoft unveiled the chip in February 2025 and said it featured a brand-new technology known as a topological qubit. Topological qubits, they said, would be the "building blocks" for their future quantum computer. Microsoft announced the next generation chip Majorana 2 at Build earlier this month. But in a peer-reviewed article, Henry Legg, a physicist at the University of St Andrews, reanalyzed Microsoft's data on their device and argued that the company's researchers did not conclusi … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Oqeplof

Congresswoman denies staff used AI to write defense funding amendment

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) says her staff used AI for "spellcheck" in an amendment summary for a major defense bill, but denies it was used for the bill text itself and says "NO Legislation is ever drafted with AI." Luna issued the response after accounts on X began sharing screenshots of an amendment summary for the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. It reads: "Identical to H.R. 100 (118th Congress).11:25 AM????Claude responded: Requires the Secretary of Defense to designate Department of Defense activities, support, and operations at the southwest land border as a named operation with…" At first, Luna's response seemingly indic … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/9jYnCR8

GTA VI is a worrying sign for the future of physical games

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Rockstar Games has finally given Grand Theft Auto VI a price ahead of the game's November 19th launch. But while announcing that the game would cost $79.99, Rockstar also confirmed that the physical versions of GTA VI won't include a disc, and instead will only contain a download code inside the box . Not only is that a disappointing decision for people who like to own physical games, but given the scale of the next GTA , it also sets a bad precedent for the rest of the industry. It's no secret that digital games have overtaken physical ones. The sales data proves it: Capcom, for example, recently announced that 93 percent of its games were s … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/5iAPn7W