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Stranger Things ‘ fifth and final seaso n finally has a premiere date. During its live Tudum event, Netflix announced that Stranger Things ‘ fifth season will actually be split into three parts. Volume 1 is set to debut on November 26th, Volume 2 premieres on December 25th, and The Finale drops on New Years Eve. Along with the premiere dates, Netflix also shared a teaser showing off some of what Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin, (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Max (Sadie Sink) are going to be up against when the show returns. Initially, Netflix suggested that Stranger Things ’ final chapter would be split into two pieces rather than three, but the new release plans seem like the company’s way of making sure that viewers stick around rather than inhaling the show in a couple of sittings. Though this is the end of the core Stranger Things series, Netflix still has live-action and animated spin-offs in the works . The s...

Just one day after Elon Musk’s public departure from his role as a White House employee , the Trump Administration pulled its nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to become the new NASA Administrator. First reported earlier on Saturday by Semafor , citing anonymous sources, the move has been confirmed by White House spokesperson Liz Huston. The New York Times reports, based on three unnamed sources, that Trump “told associates he intended to yank Mr. Isaacman’s nomination after learning that he had donated to prominent Democrats,” including Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Isaacman, the billionaire founder and CEO of a payments company, Shift4, has purchased several spaceflights from Musk’s SpaceX. He flew on the Inspiration4 mission in 2021, and again last year on Polaris Dawn , completing the first commercial spacewalk. As noted by Space.com , the White House also released an in-depth version of its NASA budget request for 2026 on Friday, proposing to cut its funding by nearly on...

Grindr has always excelled at helping its users find folks looking to spend some quality time together, but the hookup app is looking to speed up the “ looking? ” process even more with its latest feature. Today, Grindr announced that Right Now, its social media-like live feed feature, is rolling out to all of the platform’s users following a pilot test in select markets . Unlike Grindr’s traditional grid that shows you an array of other users’ profiles based on how far away they are, Right Now functions a bit more like X / Twitter and displays a stream of recent posts that can include both text and photos.  Right Now posts disappear from the live feed after an hour, and while they don’t have to be used for hookup purposes, posters can hit a toggle specifying whether they’re looking to host (read: have someone over for fun.) At launch, Grindr says users in certain locations “will receive a number of free hour-long Right Now sessions per week (refreshed every Friday)” meaning th...

Elon Musk appeared in the White House with a black eye he said he got from rough-housing with his young son. Elon Musk appeared alongside President Trump for a press conference in the Oval Office Friday, perhaps for the last time , with a noticeable black eye that he says he got from his young son. "I said, 'Go ahead, punch me in the face.' And he did," he said. Musk is emerging from his five-month stint as head of DOGE , or Department of Government Efficiency, with more than just a shiner. His company, Tesla, is hemorrhaging market share in key countries around the globe and recorded its first year-over-year quarterly sales decrease in almost five years. His reputation has plummeted, with a majority of US residents saying they dislike him . And his claims to have saved the government a trillion dollars by slashing "waste, fraud and abuse" seem to have mostly been a failure. One researcher tied Musk's elimination of humanitarian aid funding to 30...

Microsoft is adding text formatting to its Windows Notepad app. The significant Notepad update is available for Canary and Dev Channel testers on Windows 11, and introduces bold and italic styling, alongside hyperlinks and even Markdown support. The addition of text formatting in Notepad means there’s now a formatting toolbar at the top of the app, alongside the existing File, Edit, and View options. The toolbar includes access to bold, italic, and hyperlink options, but it also includes support for lists and headings. “The experience supports Markdown style input and files for users who prefer to work directly with the lightweight markup language,” explains Dave Grochocki, principal product manager lead for Microsoft’s Windows inbox apps. “You can switch between formatted Markdown and Markdown syntax views in the view menu or by selecting the toggle button in the status bar at the bottom of the window.” Since Notepad is usually used with plain text, you can also easily clear all...

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has signed a bill that cracks down on social platforms’ features that could keep kids online for longer. Under the Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act ( LB504 ), major platforms must let users choose to see a chronological feed, rather than one provided by a recommendation algorithm, which experts have found could negatively affect children’s mental health and development.  In addition to pausing potentially disruptive notifications at nighttime and during school days, platforms must offer users the option to voluntarily limit how much time they spend on the services. Online services are required to let users limit certain categories of content from getting recommended, too. The law also places several limitations on user tracking and requires platforms to apply strict privacy settings to users identified as minors by default. These settings allow platforms to only collect the “minimum” amount of data from young users, block targeted advertising...

In dribs and drabs, we’re starting to get a better idea of what Tesla’s robotaxi service will look like when it launches in Austin, Texas, in just a few weeks. But it’s not nearly enough given what’s at stake. The company is considering June 12th as a possible date to launch its robotaxi service in Austin, Bloomberg reports — though that date could change. Tesla has yet to publicly announce a date, nor has it clarified who will be able to access the vehicles. The news comes as CEO Elon Musk said that the company has begun to test vehicles without safety drivers. “For the past several days, Tesla has been testing self-driving Model Y cars (no one in driver’s seat) on Austin public streets with no incidents,” Musk said on X . “A month ahead of schedule. Next month, first self-delivery from factory to customer.” “No incidents.” But before you give Musk too much credit for the milestone, keep in mind that we still know next to nothing about how this service will operate. Tesla...

AI could soon surpass Bitcoin mining in energy consumption, according to a new analysis that concludes artificial intelligence could use close to half of all the electricity consumed by data centers globally by the end of 2025. The estimates come from Alex de Vries-Gao, a PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Institute for Environmental Studies who has tracked cryptocurrencies' electricity consumption and environmental impact in previous research and on his website Digiconomist . He published his latest commentary on AI's growing electricity demand last week in the journal Joule . AI already accounts for up to a fifth of the electricity that data centers use, according to de Vries-Gao. It's a tricky number to pin down without big tech companies sharing data specifically on how much energy their AI models consume. De Vries-Gao had to make projections based on the supply chain for specialized computer chips used for AI. He and other researchers trying to understa...

You can circle, highlight, or tap the item you want to search for. | Image: YouTube YouTube is bringing Lens to Shorts. The feature, which will roll out in beta in the coming weeks, will let you search for more information about the animals, plants, and items you spot within a video. If you’re watching a Short with a landmark in the background, for example, YouTube says you can use Lens to search for the specific landmark and find out more about where the video was filmed. You’ll be able to use the feature by accessing Shorts from within YouTube’s mobile app. After you pause the Short, tap the Lens button in the top menu, and then circle, highlight, or tap the item you want to search for.  YouTube will then show visual matches and search results overlaid on the Short. The platform notes that when you select one of these results, you can “quickly jump back into the content you were watching.” Google has begun expanding Lens in recent months, as it now lets you search with vi...

Let’s face it: Dyson is better known for vacuum innovation than for selling budget-friendly products. Thankfully, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav — the company’s first robot vacuum in more than a decade — is now available from Amazon , Best Buy , Target , and Dyson for around $799.95 ($200 off), which is easily the best price we’ve seen. For some people, the 360 Vis Nav’s short battery life, missing AI-powered obstacle avoidance, and lack of an auto-empty dock are real deal breakers — something our own resident smart home reviewer, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, was quick to point out in her hands-on of the D-shaped vac last year. However, Dyson’s latest robot vacuum isn’t as focused on high-end features as it is on mere power and precision. For starters, the vacuum touts a whopping 65 air watts of suction, rendering it one of the most powerful models available and the best robot vacuum for carpets we’ve ever tested. It’s also outfitted with a massive roller brush that’s situated at the fron...

Apple is going to switch up how it names its next set of major operating systems, Bloomberg reports . Instead of just notching up the version number, Apple will instead switch to marking them by year.  However, the years will apparently align with the year after the one the update is actually released in, similar to cars. That means that the next big iOS update will be iOS 26 instead of iOS 19. Bloomberg says that other upcoming name changes include iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26. Apple plans to announce the change at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which kicks off on June 9th. The idea is to make Apple’s software version numbers more consistent. Right now, the version numbers are all over the place; the current naming schemes include things like iOS 18, watchOS 12, and visionOS 2. At WWDC, Apple is also expected to show off a design overhaul its operating systems that’s inspired by the Vision Pro’s visionOS. The event begins with a ke...

Apple plans to announce an app focused on video games for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV at its Worldwide Developer Conference next week, according to Bloomberg . The app will let you launch games you’ve installed on your devices and serve as a hub for things like achievements and leaderboards. Apple is expected to launch its gaming app alongside the next version of iOS this September, Bloomberg reports. It will apparently replace Apple’s Game Center, feature editorial content, and let you access games also available on the App Store. A 9to5Mac report from last year described the app as working similarly to the Xbox app for iPhone.  A Mac version of the new app will let users “tap into games downloaded outside of the App Store,” Bloomberg says. Bloomberg’s report follows news that Apple bought its first gaming studio. The company confirmed to Digital Trends that it acquired RAC7, the two-person studio behind Sneaky Sasquatch , one of the first games released on its A...

TCGplayer is an online marketplace where users can buy and sell trading cards for Pokémon, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more. | Photo by Stefanie Rex/Picture Alliance via Getty Images eBay is slashing the jobs of 220 workers at TCGplayer’s card authentication center in Syracuse, New York, as reported earlier by local news outlet LocalSyr . eBay will move the online trading card marketplace’s operations to a warehouse in Kentucky — a decision TCGplayer’s union claims is eBay’s attempt to “evade its bargaining obligations.”  eBay acquired TCGplayer for $295 million in 2022 as part of efforts to expand its presence in the trading card industry. The workers at TCGplayer unionized under the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in 2023, which later filed unfair labor charges that accused eBay of refusing to acknowledge the union , failing to provide relevant information related to collective bargaining, and “surveilling” pro-union employees , among other alleged union-busting tactics....

There are multiple ways to unlock the Tapo DL100 smart door lock, but it lacks a fingerprint or palm reader. | Image: TP-Link TP-Link has announced a new budget-friendly electronic door lock joining its Tapo smart home line that’s launching today for $69.99. Despite the entry-level pricing, the new Tapo DL100 Smart Deadbolt Door Lock offers multiple unlocking methods including a keypad, a physical key, the Tapo mobile app, or voice commands used through smart assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings. The Tapo DL100 is about $10 cheaper than the Wyze Lock Bolt which we selected as the best budget smart lock in our buyer’s guide . The new Tapo doesn’t offer the convenience of a fingerprint scanner like the Lock Bolt, but it does come with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Wyze’s budget option is Bluetooth only unless you pair it with the company’s video doorbell. With Wi-Fi turned on, TP-Link estimates the new Tapo DL100 will run for up to seven months on a set ...

A hinged design lets PopSockets’ new grip double as a more versatile phone stand. | Image: PopSockets PopSockets is launching a new version of its MagSafe grip that can be used to prop a phone up vertically for scrolling TikTok or video calls. The PopSockets Kick-Out Grip and Stand is less than a millimeter thicker than the company’s current lineup of MagSafe PopGrips , according to the company’s founder, David Barnett, but introduces a hinge so the pop-up grip can now fold out and double as a support stand. The Kick-Out Grip and Stand is available starting today through the PopSockets online store for $39.99 in colors that include black, dusk, putty, and latte. It’s also available through Best Buy’s website and retail locations which offer two exclusive color options: French navy and silver, both featuring a shiny metal finish. If those colors don’t work for you, as with previous iterations of the PopSockets, the collapsible grip on the new Kick-Out can be removed with a twist and...

After months of remaining quiet about how President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese-made goods may affect its business, Nikon has announced a “necessary price adjustment” for its products that will come into effect for the US starting on June 23rd, 2025. The company hasn’t shared any specifics on which of its imaging products will see a price increase, or how much the increases may end up being, but it could mean this is the time to grab hardware like the recent Z5 II if you’ve been eyeing it.  “At Nikon, we remain committed to providing the highest quality imaging products and value to our customers,” Nikon said in a statement posted Friday . “Due to the recent tariffs, a necessary price adjustment for products will take effect on June 23, 2025. We will be carefully monitoring any tariff developments and may adjust pricing as necessary to reflect the evolving market conditions. We wish to thank our customers for their understanding and know that we are taking every possible s...

As policy makers in the UK weigh how to regulate the AI industry, Nick Clegg, former UK deputy prime minister and former Meta executive, claimed a push for artist consent would “basically kill” the AI industry. Speaking at an event promoting his new book, Clegg said the creative community should have the right to opt out of having their work used to train AI models. But he claimed it wasn’t feasible to ask for consent before ingesting their work first. “I think the creative community wants to go a step further,” Clegg said according to The Times . “Quite a lot of voices say, ‘You can only train on my content, [if you] first ask’. And I have to say that strikes me as somewhat implausible because these systems train on vast amounts of data.” “I just don’t know how you go around, asking everyone first. I just don’t see how that would work,” Clegg said. “And by the way if you did it in Britain and no one else did it, you would basically kill the AI industry in this country ov...

Nintendo is entering a new era. While most everyone associates the company with video games, for the last few years the brand behind Mario has been steadily expanding itself into something much larger. "I think people view Nintendo as a gaming company, but we have always thought of ourselves as an entertainment company," Nintendo's senior managing executive officer, Shinya Takahashi, told me in 2023 . Design legend Shigeru Miyamoto echoed the same idea at the opening of Nintendo's first museum last year . "What I wanted to express with this museum is that we are first and foremost an entertainment company," he said. To that end, Nintendo has entered into new areas like theme parks and Hollywood films. At the same time, it's now attempting to maintain its foothold in games with the launch of the Switch 2 , a follow-up to its most successful home console to date. Each of these moves is a bold bet designed to broaden Nintendo's scope - but each one d...

Disney Plus will become the new home of CoComelon outside of YouTube starting in 2027, according to Bloomberg . All eight seasons will move over from Netflix, which has hosted the absurdly popular kids’ show since 2020. CoComelon, essentially a series of mind-numbingly plotless, CG-animated vignettes set to karaoke-quality nursery rhymes, is a giant in the world of children’s programming, having accounted for 601 million Netflix views in 2023. According to Bloomberg , it was the second most-streamed show on the platform last year. Despite its popularity, Bloomberg reports that CoComelon views fell by “almost 60% over the last couple of years,” and that compared to all of streaming, it went from the fifth most-watched show in 2023 to not even breaking the top 10 last year. Still, it’s probably going to be a good deal for Disney, which will reportedly pay “tens of millions” a year for it. After all, 2027 is also the year that the first CoComelon movie hits theaters . from The V...

DJI seems to be preparing three new drones for release in the coming months: a Mini 5 Pro, Avata 3, and a Neo 2, according to DroneXL . The site published leaked images and video of the drones, along with a new FCC filing that suggests DJI is also working on a new action camera called the DJI Osmo Nano. DroneXL published a video showing two drones that may be follow-ups to the Avata 2 and the adorable DJI Neo . DroneXL notes a few differences, like that the Avata 3’s battery sits farther back and it’s got a larger camera unit up front. It also has four-blade propellers rather than the three-blade setup of the Avata 2. Next to the Avata 3 is what the outlet thinks is a Neo 2 prototype, although it’s hard to discern much more than that it appears to have redesigned propeller guards compared to the original. Yesterday, DroneXL pointed to a new FCC filing that revealed some information about the unannounced Mini 5 Pro. The filing shows the Mini 5 Pro will pack a whopping 33.5Wh ba...

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 84, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I've been reading about Mubi and Around The Horn and millennial tech , moving all my journals to Diarly , trying out Matt D'Avella's workout routine , catching up on Clarkson's Farm , wishing desperately that Philly Justice was a real show, watching a lot of Helper Cars with my toddler, testing the Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones, dusting off my Fortnite skills, and enjoying this unbelievably deep dive into the first Star Wars movie. I also have for you a new blockbuster movie, an old-new blockbuster mobile game, a new season of one of my all-time favorite shows, a cheap set-top box worth a look, and much more. Shockingly busy week! Let's dig in. (As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are ...

For five weeks, the Federal Trade Commission asked a federal judge to imagine a world where Instagram and WhatsApp flourished outside Meta's control instead of being acquired by the tech giant. In the sixth and final week of trial, Meta asked Judge James Boasberg to consider that actually, these apps might be as good as they can get. Meta rested its case Wednesday after a brief four days in court (many of its witnesses were also called by the FTC, so it already had the chance to question them in prior weeks). In those final days, Meta called on WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton and an early Instagram infrastructure executive to explain how Meta helped those apps grow in ways they'd be unlikely to otherwise - countering testimony from Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom , who claimed Meta withheld resources to help the app grow and become safer, and believed Instagram would have still been a hit on its own. Meta argues that far from becoming competitors that checked Meta's po...

You’ll be able to use a USB mouse with the Nintendo Switch 2 in at least one game, as a Koei Tecmo developer commentary video for the upcoming Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition revealed this week. That’s great news if your wrists, like mine, started preemptively cramping the first time you saw video of someone tipping a Joy-Con 2 controller on its edge for mouse mode. While demonstrating the game’s use of the Joy-Con 2 as a mouse, producer Michi Ryu stops and plugs in a USB mouse. The Switch 2 displays a message that says a mouse has been connected, and he continues to play with both a mouse and his left Joy-Con 2, switching between them seamlessly, the same way you’ll be able to go back and forth between gyro and mouse control in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond . As VideoGamesChronicle notes , the original Switch had mouse and keyboard support, though only some games took advantage, like the Nightdive-developed Turok port . (If you own that game and never noticed t...

It’s finally time to upgrade for many owners of the earliest Amazon Fire TV devices, as Netflix is ending support for them next month, reports German outlet Heise . The cutoff for US users is June 3rd, according to ZDNet , which writes that the company has been emailing those who would be affected by the change. Netflix is specifically ending support for the 1st-generation Fire TV streaming box and Fire TV Stick, as well as the 2016 Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, ZDNet writes. If you didn’t get the email but want to be certain whether your Fire TV device is one of those reportedly losing Netflix, the outlet writes that you can check the “About” section under Settings > My Fire TV. According to Heise , Amazon is offering discounts on new Fire TV Sticks to those affected by the change. Amazon didn’t immediately respond when The Verge reached out to ask whether that’s true for US users, as well. In a FAQ added to a Netflix help page sometime in the last couple of months ...

The Wild Robot is included in the sale. | Image: The Verge If you’re looking to expand your 4K Blu-ray collection, Universal Pictures’ massive Gruv Day sale is worth checking out. The event features deals on everything from Steelbooks to Blu-Ray box sets and individual Blu-Ray titles. There are plenty of great deals to be found, but a few standouts include The Lord of the Rings 4K trilogy for $41.99 ($25.81 off), which is nearly matching its Black Friday low. Along with all three movies in the series, it also includes the extended versions. Another highlight is HBO’s Chernobyl on 4K Blu-ray, with the complete series available for just $14.99, down from $39.99. The best offer, though, is a 2-for-$24 deal featuring some of the biggest 4K Blu-ray releases from the past few years. The promo extends to over 65 movies, including recent films from the past year like The Wild Robot , Dune: Part Two , Beetlejuice Beetlejuice , and Godzilla Minus One .The sale includes older hits too...

Sonos’ excellent portable smart speaker, the Roam 2, is on sale for a new low of $134. Memorial Day weekend isn’t just for barbecues and beach trips — it’s also a chance to score some of the best tech deals you’ll find all season. And despite the fact the holiday isn’t until Monday, May 26th, multiple retailers are already offering steep discounts on some of our favorite gadgets, from big-ticket items to everyday essentials. Below, we’ve rounded up a few highlights, from LG’s C4 OLED and the Sonos Move 2 to the Garmin Forerunner 265 , all of which are down to their best price to date. We’ve also included practical (and affordable) finds like video doorbells and Bluetooth trackers , so you can keep your valuables safe while you’re off on summer adventures. Our miscellaneous section is full of surprises, from discounted laptops and tablets, to affordable trinkets that’ll make life a little better. Whether you’re shopping for yourself or hunting for a last-minute graduation gift, t...