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Showing posts from 2026

The AI industry’s race for profits is now existential

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Today on Decoder , let’s talk about the looming AI monetization cliff, and whether some of the biggest companies in the space can become real, profitable businesses before they careen right off it. My guest today is Hayden Field, who’s our senior AI reporter here at The Verge . She’s been keeping close tabs on both Anthropic and OpenAI, and how these two companies in particular tell us a whole lot about the AI industry in 2026.  You’ve certainly heard a version of the monetization cliff story before. The biggest AI firms are built off the back of hundreds of billions in capital investment, and they’re linked to even greater amounts of forward-looking investment in data center build-out, chips, and other infrastructure spend. At some point, the profits have to materialize, or the bubble pops. Maybe AGI arrives, maybe the economy crashes, who knows.  You’ve heard me ask some version of this question to scores of CEOs here on this show, and a majority of them have hinted towa...

Amazon’s Starlink competitor Leo gets a new date

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An Amazon Leo terminal being installed. | Image: Amazon Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says the company's space-internet service Leo (formerly known as Project Kuiper) will " launch in mid-2026 ." I'm going to assume that means proper commercial availability since the company already announced the start of an " enterprise preview " at the end of 2025, when the service was supposed to originally launch. Unlike SpaceX's Starlink service, Amazon doesn't (yet) have its own fleet of rockets to regularly send Leo satellites into low-Earth orbit. That's meant hitching rides with a variety of launch partners, including SpaceX, until Jeff Bezos's own reusable New Glenn rocket is fully operational. Amazon has FCC ap … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/2w3glMi

Spotify now lets you turn off all its videos

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The new controls apply to both individual and family accounts. | Image: Spotify Spotify is adding new toggles to stop any and all video from playing inside the app, for both music and podcasts. The controls are rolling out worldwide, work across all platforms and devices, and can be used by managers of Family Plans to limit video content for every member on the subscription. The new controls haven't arrived on my UK account or devices yet, but will appear under the "Content and display" settings on a phone, or the "Display" section on desktop. The existing toggle to disable Canvas clips - the short, looping, autoplay videos that Spotify added to the app in 2019 - is joined by a new toggle that disables access to music … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/dP3cJLs

Amflow’s latest e-bikes raise the bar again

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150Nm of raw climbing assist. | Image: Amflow Amflow, the e-bike brand spun out of DJI, is back with two impressive electric mountain bike ranges built around its incredibly dense Avinox motors. The e-MTBs aim to break the traditional trade-off between power, range, and weight. The flagship Amflow PX (weighing around 20kg / 44lbs) and the Amflow PR (weighing around 22kg / 49lbs) are powered by Avinox's new M2S and M2 drive systems , delivering up to 1,500W of peak power and up to 150Nm of torque - enough to easily snap chains and shred gear teeth if not managed properly. The carbon fiber frames offer an impressive 40 potential geometric combinations, allowing riders to extensively tune … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/PgkyS1t

The AI RAM shortage is also driving up SSD prices

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I thought the WD Black SN850X 2TB SSD in my gaming PC was pricey when I bought it for $173 in 2024, but now that same SSD costs $649 , more than what I paid for most of the parts in my PC combined. The price on my WD Black drive nearly quadrupled since November 2025, and consumer SSDs across the board are seeing similar increases, much like with RAM : The 4TB version of the popular Samsung 990 Pro SSD previously cost $320, but will now run you nearly $1,000. External SanDisk SSDs saw a 200 percent price hike at the Apple Store in March. Sony has announced that it's suspending orders for its SD and CFexpress cards. Modular PC brand … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/qiNmfop

The Neo Effect: How Apple’s cheapest Mac is changing the PC game

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This thing is poised to eat their lunch. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The MacBook Neo is disrupting the laptop space and putting Apple into the conversation as a value option like it’s never been before. With a price starting at $599 (or $499 for students and teachers ), the colorful laptop’s A18 Pro chip may be stolen from older iPads and iPhones, but it offers more than enough performance for everyday tasks and web browsing. From the screen sharpness, trackpad/keyboard feel, and its aluminum build, everything else about it is in line with more expensive MacBooks. And that means PC makers have a hot new competitor to contend with and adapt to — one that they weren’t ready for . Here’s all the news and analysis of Apple’s Mac for the masses. A MacBook Neo heatsink mod dramatically improves its gaming performance. I’m testing the MacBook Neo’s competition. What do you want to know? A simple mod with a sliver of thermal pad boosts the MacBook Neo’s performance...

Spotify’s Prompted Playlists can help you find new podcasts to listen to

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On Tuesday, Spotify expanded its Prompted Playlists feature to include podcasts , an update that could make it easier for Premium users to find new shows to listen to. Prompted Playlists were originally launched as a beta feature in December, but previously only worked for music. You can use the feature to effectively generate customized Discover Weekly playlists using text prompts to "steer the algorithm" toward specific genres or themes. Tuesday's update allows you to do the same thing with playlists of podcast episodes. The feature is still in beta, though, and is currently only available in English for Premium users in the U.S., Canada … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Gy9ZjpE

Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra is $200 off for the first time

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Privacy Display ensures that onlookers can’t see what’s on the screen. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge My colleague Allison Johnson loved the Privacy Display in her review of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra . The display feature, which blocks onlookers from getting a peep at what’s on the screen when viewed from the side, is worth getting the S26 Ultra for if you are serious about privacy during your commute or elsewhere. And thankfully, it’s not as expensive to buy the only device in Samsung’s latest smartphone lineup that has the unique mode. The cost of an unlocked S26 Ultra with 256GB of storage has dropped to $1,099.99 at Amazon , Samsung , and Best Buy , which is $200 off its original price — and now just $100 more than the S26 Plus that has fewer features. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Where to Buy: $1299.99 $1099.99 at Samsung (256GB) $1299.99 $1099.99 at Amazon (256GB) $1299.99 $1099.99 at Best Buy (256GB) In addition to Privacy Display, the S26 Ultra is Samsun...

Artemis II astronauts break a record, name a crater

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Artemis II is capturing images of the far side of the Moon, partially visible here, which can’t be seen from Earth. | Image: NASA A few minutes before 2PM ET on Monday, the crew of Artemis II broke a record set 56 years ago by the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission - at over 248,655 miles, they have now traveled farther from Earth than any humans before them. They marked the occasion with a crater naming ceremony that left the whole crew embracing each other in lunar orbit. To commemorate the Artemis II mission, the astronauts announced their suggestion to rename certain features on the Moon to honor the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, as well as commander Reid Wiseman's late wife, Carroll. pic.twitter.com/ejfhnItDo8 - NASA (@NASA) April 6, 2026 The Artemis II crew prop … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/xW3DN84

Robotaxi companies won’t say how often remote operators intervene

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Autonomous vehicle companies are refusing to disclose key details about their use of remote assistance teams, including how often these workers are forced to intervene to help their self-driving cars. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) had asked robotaxi companies to disclose the information as part of an investigation by his office into the use of remote assistance operators (RAO). The senator's office sent letters to seven robotaxi companies - Aurora, May Mobility, Motional, Nuro, Tesla, Waymo, and Amazon's Zoox - seeking information about the use of remote workers to monitor the driverless vehicles and occasionally intervene when the vehicles nee … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/kJ3KF2z

Logitech’s haptics-enhanced MX Master 4 mouse is on sale for under $100

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If you’re shopping for a wireless mouse that’ll help you multitask more easily, Logitech’s MX Master 4 is easily one of the best and most comfortable options available. It’s rarely discounted, but the black version is currently down to $99.99 ($20 off) at Newegg with code TRWF233 . While it offers similarly quiet clicks and long battery life to the MX Master 3S , its direct predecessor, the newer model touts haptic feedback that offers tiny, satisfying jolts when you press its thumb rest to bring up Logitech’s Action Ring overlay. Logitech MX Master 4 wireless mouse Where to Buy: $119.99 $99.99 at Newegg (with code TRWF233) The MX Master 4 works just as well on Windows as on macOS, and it includes a USB-C Bolt transmitter (previous models in the lineup included a USB-A version of the Bolt). I think this mouse is worth buying based on the hardware alone, though the additional features bundled with Logi Options, its companion app for desktop, add even more value. Clicking th...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins wants data centers in space

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Today, I’m talking with Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco. Cisco is one of those big companies that everyone has heard of but that most of us don’t have to interact with very much; it’s not really a consumer brand. But all of us are in some way using Cisco’s products and services every day because it makes a huge amount of networking equipment for other big companies, like telecoms and ISPs. It’s a guarantee that somewhere between me recording this and you watching, listening to, or reading it, the bits have passed through Cisco products. Without the actual routers and switches and silicon — and the software to make those things work — there’s no internet, there’s no cloud, and there’s no AI. Verge subscribers, don’t forget you get exclusive access to ad-free  Decoder  wherever you get your podcasts. Head here . Not a subscriber? You can sign up here . That’s Cisco’s new big business, of course: building all the networking needed inside all of the data centers the AI companie...