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Nintendo recently announced a new pricing policy , which knocks $10 off the cost of digital versions of future first-party titles exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2. Splatoon Raiders , for instance, is available for preorder ahead of its July 23rd release for $49.99 digitally or $59.99 for the physical edition. However, Walmart is the exception in how it’s pricing preorders for the cartridge version. Right now, you can reserve the upcoming for $49.94 — just a few cents cheaper than the digital version. Raiders isn’t a sequel to Splatoon 3 , but rather a spinoff that has similar third-person, paint-splatting gameplay set in new locales. Splatoon Raiders Where to Buy: $59.99 $49.94 at Walmart (physical) $59.99 at Amazon (physical) The same $10 discount is in effect for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book , a side-scrolling adventure with a gorgeous storybook art style that comes out on May 21st. The price of the physical version is $69.99, but  Walmart  is currently offe...

Google Search queries hit an "all time high" in the first quarter of 2026, according to a statement from CEO Sundar Pichai published as part of Alphabet's earnings on Wednesday . "Our AI investments and full stack approach are lighting up every part of the business," Pichai says. "Search had a strong quarter with AI experiences driving usage, queries at an all time high, and 19% revenue growth." He also notes that Q1 was "our strongest quarter ever for our consumer AI plans, driven by the Gemini App" and that the company now has more than 350 million paid subscriptions, with "YouTube and Google One being the key drivers." Alphabet also anno … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/TXW5nV7

One of the best-selling gaming consoles over the winter holidays was the Nex Playground, a small camera-equipped cube that runs motion-controlled games made primarily for kids. It got a $50 price increase this month — going from $249 to $299 — but shoppers are getting a brief discount during Amazon’s gaming week sale that lasts through May 4th. It’s currently selling for $239 at Amazon , Best Buy , and Walmart . While not as good as previous $199 sale prices, this is apparently as good as it’s going to get right now. Nex Playground The Nex Playground is a motion-controlled console that connects to your TV and uses a built-in camera and AI to track your movements as you play. Designed for ages five and up, it comes with games like Fruit Ninja and Whack-a-Mole Deluxe . You can download more games, including titles featuring popular characters like Elmo, with a paid Play Pass subscription. Where to Buy: $299 $239 at Amazon $299 $239 at Best Buy $299 $239 at Walmart The...

Google is trying out an AI Mode-like search experience for YouTube. The company is now testing "a new way to search on YouTube that feels more like a conversation," with results pulling in things like longform videos, YouTube Shorts, and text about what you're searching for. The "experiment" is now available if you're a YouTube Premium subscriber in the US who is 18 or older. I turned it on for my account. Now, in the search bar, I see an "Ask YouTube" button, and clicking the search bar shows prompts to ask like "funny baby elephant playing clips," "summary of the rules of volleyball," and "short history of the Apollo 11 moon landing." If … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Konzsxa

One of the most popular Linux distributions is about to get an influx of AI features. As reported by Phoronix , Jon Seager, VP of engineering at Ubuntu developer Canonical, shared a blog post on Monday detailing plans to add AI features to the Linux distro over the next year. As the post states, the AI features "will come in two forms: first as a means of enhancing existing OS functionality with AI models in the background, and latterly in the form of 'AI native' features and workflows for those who want them." These features will range from accessibility tools like improved speech-to-text and text-to-speech to agentic AI features for tasks … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/g3VNo8T

Google CEO Sundar Pichai arrives for the inauguration of President Donald Trump. | Getty Images Over 600 Google employees signed a letter to CEO Sundar Pichai demanding that Google block the Pentagon from using its AI models for classified purposes, reports the The Washington Post . Its organizers claim many of the signers work in Google's DeepMind AI lab, and include more than 20 principals, directors, and vice presidents. According to the Post , the letter says that "The only way to guarantee that Google does not become associated with such harms is to reject any classified workloads. Otherwise, such uses may occur without our knowledge or the power to stop them." Anthropic is currently in a legal battle with the Pentagon over being … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/MOpk0b6

The supposed “Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide” dummy unit can be seen in the middle. | Image by Sonny Dickson The wide foldable phone that Samsung is reportedly developing is expected to arrive later this year, and now we may have some idea of what it will look like. Leaker and journalist Sonny Dickson has shared images online of what he says are dummy units of Samsung's upcoming Galaxy foldables, including the "Z Fold 8 Wide" - showing a passport-like design that's primed to take on Huawei's Pura X Max and Apple's long-rumored foldable iPhone . The leaked dummy unit suggests that Samsung's wide foldable will feature a dual-camera setup on the rear, down from three cameras on Samsung's other Z Fold phones. All three of the dummy units feature promin … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/cb78jBM

The auto design world is full of advanced 3D visualization tools and VR sculpting platforms, but your average new car still enters the world as a sketch. Those sketches traditionally see endless iteration and refinement from all angles before being turned into 3D models by hand, some dying in the digital world, others sculpted into clay to better visualize lines and profiles. That's just the beginning of a design and development process that often takes a half-decade or more. That means many new cars hitting dealerships this summer were first sketched in 2020 or 2021, initiatives kicked off when alternative fuel incentives were widesprea … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/wxcIAeb

Who’s asking for this? | Image: Turtle Beach Turtle Beach's latest collection of PC peripherals are so focused around touchscreen displays that the company even slapped one on a gaming mouse. The $160 wireless Command Series MC7 features a 2.25-inch touch display bar on the left side of the mouse, which seems to be located in just the right position for users to worry about accidentally hitting it with their thumbs. The display bar is designed to function like a built-in Stream Deck , allowing users to assign customizable commands for macros, apps, and OBS controls. It also brings to mind the infamous MacBook Pro Touch Bar , which was easy to accidentally hit while typing until the feat … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/AsodZi2

In late 2025, Google started rolling out new icons with a gradient design. Now it seems the new look is coming to the rest of Google's apps. 9to5Google got its hands on images of the new icons that ditch the uniform circle design that tries to cram in every color of the Google logo. In general, the looks are softer. Corners are rounder, the gradients gently transition from almost pastel to the more saturated Google primary colors. We've already seen this new design language show in updated versions of the Google G logo , as well as Gemini, Photos, and Maps. According to 9to5, this represents the presence of AI-powered features. The new ico … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/82wILTj

Some relevant reading. In January I finally made good on my threat/promise to install Linux on my desktop . I wanted to see how far I could get using a Linux PC as my main computer without doing a bunch of research beforehand or troubleshooting afterwards. Since then I have booted into Windows exactly twice: once to scan a multipage document that wasn't scanning right in Linux, and once to print a photo for my kids' school on extremely short notice. There's a reason it's taken me three months to write the next installment in my Linux diary: nothing has gone horribly wrong. It didn't take long for my Linux install to stop feeling new and exciting and start feeling … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/UJ8k7lT

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on Hollywood trends and streaming culture, follow Charles Pulliam-Moore . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes on Sundays at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started Under David Zaslav's leadership, WBD got very into the practice of shelving its own nearly completed projects in order to cash in on subsequent tax write-offs . To help deal with its looming debt and operating costs , the studio killed Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah's live-action Batgirl feature and the Scoob! Holiday Haunt movie from Michael Kurinsky … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Mrh74eO

Multiple sources are reporting that the Trump administration has dismissed the entire National Science Board (NSB). The NSB advises the president and Congress on the National Science Foundation (NSF), which has already been funding research at historically low levels and has seen significant delays in doling out that funding. The NSF has been fundamental in helping develop technology used in MRIs, cellphones, and it even helped get Duolingo get off the ground. In a statement, Zoe Lofgren , the ranking Democrat on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, said: "This is the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Wak6oEm

Part of what has held back electric cars has been the cost. But an influx of used vehicles over the next three years could bring prices down dramatically. In 2025, just 123,000 leases on EVs expired. That is expected to more than double to 300,000 in 2026, and double again to 600,000 in 2027 and 660,000 in 2028, according to Cox Automotive . Most leased vehicles end up entering the used market. This means more than a million used EVs could become available over the next few years, making them far more accessible. The vast majority of cars sold in the US are used - some 76 percent as of 2024, according to Consumer Affairs . A large part of th … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Dnpkgfv

Apple and Samsung dominate the US phone market, and they've done so for years. Together with Google, they've shaped our sense of what a smartphone is and what it can do, pushing the boundaries of mobile photography, software, and processing power. But over the last few years, they've sat back, content to iterate rather than innovate - and in the interim, China's tech giants have plowed ahead. Now a gulf is growing between the phones on sale in the US and those available in the rest of the world. US phone buyers are missing out. Some of the blame for that gap lies with Apple. Where it goes, the market follows, and in recent years it's gone s … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/mJG1aKe

Windows users will no longer be forced to run automatic updates in the middle of a game or a busy day. Microsoft is rolling out some long-awaited changes to Windows Update to users on its Dev and Experimental Windows Insider channels, including the ability to indefinitely delay updates up to 35 days at a time. Last month, Microsoft announced a slew of upcoming changes to improve Windows 11 and address some of users' most common complaints about the platform. Chief among the company's planned fixes was making updates less disruptive . In its blog post on Friday, Microsoft says you'll be able to "extend the pause end date as many times as you … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/DIE3t9Q

Following Paramount Skydance's move to launch an investigation into how its upcoming Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender animated feature leaked onto the internet , a suspect has been taken into custody by police. The Straits Times reports Singaporean police have arrested a 26-year-old man who is alleged to have uploaded the new Avatar movie (previously titled The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender ) online after accessing a server where the project was being held ahead of its scheduled October 9th premiere on Paramount Plus. According to the authorities, a copy of the entire movie was found on the suspect's electronic devices. If he is ultimatel … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/kSti5ql

Anthropic's tightly controlled rollout of Claude Mythos has taken an awkward turn. After spending weeks insisting the AI model is so capable at cybersecurity that it is too dangerous to release publicly, it appears the model fell into the wrong hands anyway. According to Bloomberg , a "small group of unauthorized users" has had access to Mythos - whose existence was first revealed in a leak - since the day Anthropic announced plans to offer it to a select group of companies for testing. Anthropic says it is investigating. That's a rough look for a company that has built its brand on taking AI safety seriously while touting the cybersecurity … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/9yGPiWS

"I know a bubble when I see one." That's what Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who led the push to create a new consumer financial regulator in the wake of the 2008 recession, told a crowd at a Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator event in Washington, DC on Wednesday. Warren warned of what she called "striking" parallels to that crisis in the AI industry. While she believes the technology has "enormous potential," she warned that AI companies' massive spending and borrowing practices are creating a tinderbox and Congress should step in. Though the AI industry has grown rapidly, Warren said the pace isn't keeping up with their spending, requiring the … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/rjn6aP1

Los Angeles Golf Club owner Alexis Ohanian looks on during the match against the Jupiter Links Golf Club at SoFi Center on March 24, 2026 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. | Image: TGL Golf via Getty Images Hello and welcome to Regulator , a newsletter for Verge readers about tech politics, political tech, and how they're muddying the waters of Washington, DC. My birthday is this week, and if you're not a Verge subscriber but would like to wish me a happy birthday, you should subscribe here , because that would be the best gift of all. (Tips sent to tina.nguyen+tips@theverge.com would be a very good gift, too.) Last night, I watched Alexis Ohanian , venture capitalist and cofounder of Reddit, stun a room of Washington insiders by criticizing the Trump administration's immigration policies. This happened in front of at least one senior administrat … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/U63gx5p

A former employee of Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson has filed a lawsuit alleging that she faced "intentional infliction of emotional distress" from harassment at the YouTuber's production company, was asked to work during maternity leave, and was wrongfully fired just a few weeks after returning from leave. According to the lawsuit, plaintiff Lorrayne Mavromatis and other female employees were demeaned by their male colleagues, who perpetuated a toxic, "male-centric workplace." Mavromatis was one of the few women in the executive suite at Beast Industries before she was fired. The lawsuit claims that she faced unwanted sexual advances and comme … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/KDrtx3e

Posting links to X through custom social media software just got a lot more expensive. On Monday, X significantly increased how much it costs to post a URL via the X API, which is what third-party tools use to hook into the platform. It now costs $0.20 when a link is posted, up from $0.01. Any change to make posting links more expensive will likely make X even less attractive to publishers than it already is, especially given the widely held suspicion that linking news articles can lower a post's reach. The issue came up in a recent spat between Nate Silver and X's head of product, Nikita Bier, who claimed that links are "not deboosted." Bu … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/jrXiovR

Google has announced a new collection of touch-up tools for Google Photos' image editor designed to apply subtle enhancements, refinements, or fixes to faces in photos. The tools are gradually being rolled out on the Google Photos app globally starting today, but only on devices running Android 9.0 and up with at least 4GB of RAM. They'll be accessible after selecting a specific face in a photo and able to remove unwanted blemishes, whiten teeth, smooth skin, and make changes to irises, under eye areas, eyebrows, and lips. The intensity of the effects can be adjusted to ensure they're subtle enough to not be noticeable. The new tools come … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/2WbSqoM

La-Z-Boy announced a new AudioLuxe furniture line with recliners and sofas upgraded with built-in sound systems that deliver "crystal clear tones and deep bass vibrations." The company is partnering with Klipsch for the speakers integrated into each piece's headrest and the subwoofer hidden in the base. The furniture can be used as part of a larger surround sound setup or wirelessly connected to smartphones and tablets to enhance your evening doomscrolling. Specifics like pricing or configuration options haven't been announced yet, but after introducing its AudioLuxe line at a trade show this week, La-Z-Boy says the furniture will be availa … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/q7E34BF

As an avid vanlifer, I have to carefully curate everything I carry in order to eke out every square inch of storage I can to support life off the grid for weeks at a time. That's why I jumped at the chance to review DJI's latest power station. The DJI Power 1000 Mini is almost half the size of the original DJI Power 1000 released two years ago with the same 1kWh battery capacity. And from my calculations, it's also the smallest 1kWh power station from the major brands that money can currently buy. DJI's little power station also has a few tricks up its sleeve, including a built-in retractable USB-C cable, a light that can be controlled rem … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/l4CFcH6

The Mission family. | Image: GoPro GoPro is pricing its new Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro cameras at $599.99 and $699.99, respectively, each discounted by $100 if you subscribe to its ecosystem - fine for professional film makers, but a tough sell for weekend warriors. The Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro can both be reserved now , and you'll get the $100 Point-and-Shoot Grip accessory for free (while supplies last) ahead of their May 28th release. The Mission 1 Pro ILS, the cam with the interchangeable mount for Micro Four Thirds (MFT) lenses and adapters, will be available later in Q3 for $699.99, or $599.99 for GoPro subscribers. @verge The Verge's video director, Owen Grove, … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Pko6DhG

Liftoff. | Anadolu via Getty Images Today's launch of AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite aboard Blue Origin's reusable New Glenn rocket was a partial success. The New Glenn touched down on its landing pad without incident, making it the second launch and landing for the first stage booster, and officially giving Jeff Bezos a reusable launch vehicle. Unfortunately for AST SpaceMobile, the mission was less successful. Its cell-tower-in-space was delivered to a lower orbit than expected by the second stage of the launch vehicle, rendering it functionally useless. In a statement , the company said: While the satellite separated from the launch vehicle and powered on, the alt … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/camf0Kw

Vercel, a major development platform that hosts and deploys web apps, was compromised, and the hackers are attempting to sell stolen data. A person claiming to be a member of ShinyHunters , which was behind the recent hack of Rockstar Games , posted some data online, including employee names, email addresses, and activity time stamps. Vercel confirmed in a post on X that a "security incident" had occurred, and that it impacted a "limited subset" of its customers. Vercel said that a compromised third-party AI tool was the avenue for attack, though it did not specify which third-party was involved. We've identified a security incident that inv … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Z3pjfPD

Gully Foyle is my name… | Image: Brick Tower Press This might feel like a somewhat obvious recommendation to some, but it flew under my radar until now. Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination (originally published as Tiger! Tiger! in the UK) is a 1956 sci-fi novel that some have cited as a precursor to cyberpunk . It's a work I admit I have some conflicted feelings about, but one I think is well worth reading if you consider yourself a fan of sci-fi. It's also well worth seeking out a physical copy, something I wish I had known before I started reading it in the objectively inferior e-book form that can't capture the ergodic elements of the climax. It's hard to explain the plot of The Star … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/5a94R6t

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more stories on Big Tech versus politics in Washington, DC, follow Tina Nguyen and read Regulator . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started A long time ago, in 2004, the Federal Communications Commission laid down a rule designed to prevent a monopoly: No one company could broadcast to more than 39 percent of all the TV households in the United States. But then Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025. Brendan Carr became FCC chairman and immediately kicked off a deregu … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/vNko25I

According to Nikkei Asia , even as suppliers ramp up DRAM production, manufacturers are only expected to meet 60 percent of demand by the end of 2027. SK Group chairman has even said that shortages could last until 2030 . The world's largest memory makers - Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron - are all working to add new fabrication capacity, but almost none of it will be online until at least 2027, if not 2028. SK opened a fab in Cheongju in February, but that is the only increase in production among the three for 2026. Nikkei says that production would need to increase by 12 percent a year in 2026 and 2027 to meet demand. But according to Counte … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/DFfSAKp

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 124, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, send me your Coachella fits, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I've been reading about restaurant bread and GLP-1s and Lenny Rachitsky and Artemis II fashion , watching the new boy band doc because I will always watch a boy band doc, also watching every clip I can find from Justin Bieber's Coachella set, filling the Schitt's Creek -shaped hole in my heart with Big Mistakes , getting increasingly excited about The Mandalorian and Grogu , and watering my new lawn so it … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/FtvY9X1

The Trump administration has spent nearly two months fighting with AI company Anthropic. It's dubbed the company a "RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY" full of "Leftwing nut jobs" and a menace to national security. But some of the ice may reportedly be melting between the two, thanks to Anthropic's buzzy new cybersecurity-focused model : Claude Mythos Preview. Anthropic's relationship with the Pentagon soured quickly in late February after the company refused to budge on two red lines: using its technology for domestic mass surveillance or lethal fully autonomous weapons with no human in the loop. Anthropic's tech has in the past been used heavily b … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/TsfBQK6

Stop using this recalled wireless power bank immediately. | Image: Casely Casely first recalled over 429,000 of its 5,000mAh Power Pods wireless power banks in April 2025 following 51 reports of their lithium-ion batteries "overheating, expanding or catching fire," resulting in six minor burn injuries. Both the company and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC) are reannouncing the same recall today following 28 additional reports of batteries overheating. Those include a serious incident on a plane and the death of a 75-year-old New Jersey woman who "suffered second and third degree burns and later passed away from complications from her injuries" following an explosion, according to the USCPSC . The … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/QwJU4Zy

The version posted by @realdonaldtrump/Truth Social. Hello and welcome to Regulator , a newsletter for Verge subscribers about Big Tech power plays in Washington and beyond. (And when I say beyond, I mean the great beyond, like Heaven, maybe.) If you've found your way to this newsletter from the wild, annual subscriptions are currently 50 percent off . That's $30 a year for access to an entire newsroom full of reporting about technology and how it's eating society alive - not just in politics! (I will also accept confidential tips at tina.nguyen+tips@theverge.com .) You can't spell "antichrist" without "AI" Of all the things that would have fractured the religious right's alliance with Donald Tr … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/lu5ybkL

The Varmblixt is a smart donut-shaped light fixture that can sit on a table or be mounted on a wall. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Ikea's popular Varmblixt lamp just got a smart home glow-up . The delightfully bulbous light now features color-changing, dimming, and smart home control. I tested the new smart lamp in my daughter's room and found it made a great bedside lamp and added a fun touch of ambiance to her space. While she's rarely a fan of me adding smart tech to her room, she did give this an "It's nice" accolade - high praise from my 15-year-old. The donut lamp, as it's known for its distinctive shape resembling everyone's favorite sweet treat, can be wall-mounted or set flat on a table. It comes with a long power cable, which helps with placement, and differs … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/QHxG1vg

The United States' foreign router ban didn't make a whole lot of sense , and today may not change that. The FCC has just granted Netgear a conditional approval to import its future consumer routers, cable modems, and cable gateways into the US through October 1st, 2027 - even though the company builds those devices in Asia and has not announced any plan to bring manufacturing to the United States. Neither the FCC's announcement nor Netgear's announcement explain why Netgear was granted the temporary exemption. The FCC only states that the Pentagon has now made "a specific determination" that "such devices do not pose risks to U.S. national … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/EgON3Sn

Bong Joon Ho’s quirky Mickey 17 is on the list of 4K Blu-rays available in Amazon’s three for $33 sale. | Image: Warner Bros. Pictures Amazon has switched on its semi-regular three for $33 sale for a large batch of 4K Blu-ray movies. As usual, there are too many to list individually, though it’s a comprehensive mix of old and new flicks that should keep physical media fans scrolling for a minute. The steps to get in on the deal are the same as ever: add three titles from the sale page to your cart, and each item will be price-adjusted at checkout for a total of $33. The deal also works if you add six eligible movies to your cart. These sales are always a good opportunity to add a permanent addition to your movie library, as opposed to hoping they’ll always be available on your preferred streaming services. Movies on 4K Blu-ray will look and sound better than their streamed equivalent, assuming you have a 4K Blu-ray player and a 4K-ready TV. I’ve included a batch of personal favor...