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Showing posts from 2026

Leaked iPhone 18 Pro photos reportedly wound up on the dark web

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The iPhone 17 Pro. | Image: The Verge Leaked iPhone 18 Pro photos and parts lists appeared on the dark web following a data breach affecting one of Apple's key suppliers, according to a report from Reuters . The leaked images show a drop test of what a source tells Reuters is the iPhone 18 Pro, equipped with a three-camera layout and Apple logo. This comes just a week after Tata Electronics, an India-based company that manufactures iPhone components and assembles the devices, confirmed that it suffered a data breach . Security researchers told Reuters at the time that the ransomware group, World Leaks, posted more than 200,000 files related to the breach on the dark web. The leak … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/RfAJMwz

Tidal won’t pay royalties on AI-generated music but isn’t banning it outright

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Tidal shared its new policies regarding AI-generated music today and how the platform plans to "protect artists" and "inform listeners." Instead of banning it outright, starting on July 15th Tidal will label tracks it has identified as being 100 percent AI-generated with an icon. But starting today those tracks will no longer be monetizable. "Tidal's priority is ensuring royalties go to original works directly produced, written, and performed by people. We will therefore not knowingly attribute royalties to music we identify as wholly AI-generated," the company's announcement reads. The platform didn't specify what tools it's using to iden … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/JWFcq8j

OpenAI is teasing new hardware… for Codex

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OpenAI is releasing some sort of device related to its AI-powered coding tool, Codex, on July 15th. In a video posted to X on Monday, OpenAI shows a square-shaped device with several buttons, alongside the caption, "Your favorite Codex shortcuts are getting an upgrade." This isn't the mysterious AI-powered device OpenAI is working on with former Apple designer Jony Ive, however. As shown in the teaser, OpenAI is launching the device in partnership with Work Louder, a company that sells an array of mechanical keyboards and macro pads with mappable keys, dials, and switches. The silhouette of the device shown by OpenAI looks a bit like Work … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/jRHDZSr

Comcast is splitting in two

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Comcast has announced plans to separate itself into two publicly traded companies, spinning off its NBCUniversal and Sky broadcasting arms. The shake up aims to protect the media conglomerate's profitable broadband and wireless brand, which will retain the "Comcast" company name, as its media and entertainment business - now collectively named "NBCUniversal" - faces increasing pressure from industry consolidation and streaming rivals. The separation is expected to take approximately a year, with Comcast shareholders owning shares in both Comcast and NBCUniversal upon completion. While current Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts will be "actively i … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/bkyCun2

The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it

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A sneaky rule change has the potential to blow up scientific research in the United States. But there's still time to fight it. On May 29th, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a 412-page proposal to revise federal financial assistance. The language is a combination of distinctly Trumpian attacks on "woke" policies and boring governmentese designed to make your eyes glaze over as quickly as possible. But under phrases like "providing further clarification on the regulatory status of the OMB requirements" is something darker - a threat to scientific research in this country, the livelihoods of thousands of scientists, and the li … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/05BVvp8

China’s Z.ai claims it can match Mythos on cybersecurity

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China's Zhipu AI ( Z.ai ) released its open-weight GLM-5.2, and some researchers have claimed that it matches Mythos in certain bug-finding and cybersecurity scenarios. While GLM lags behind models from Anthropic and OpenAI in other, more general tasks, it seems that China has dramatically reduced the gap in the capabilities between its models and those of the US. This level of advancement is particularly concerning to the US government, which has worked to restrict China's access to powerful models like Anthropic's Mythos and Fable, as well as the hardware necessary to train and run them. The Trump administration views Mythos and other advan … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/4o0q9xw

Suno launches Spark incubator program to feed independent artists to its AI machine

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Suno has ambitions to be more than just a toy to churn out AI slop, it also wants to be a streaming destination and to break new artists. Spark is their new incubator program for independent artists that provides grants, mentorship, and marketing support. To apply, artists need to be an unsigned singer, songwriter, or producer releasing music under their own name. They also need to agree to some terms and conditions that have raised some eyebrows over on the Suno subreddit . For one, you need to agree to make your songs available on Suno for remixing. That's not necessarily super concerning, but the broad license it grants Suno to your works … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/ur4Iihk

Ad-free streaming is a luxury now

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This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about the streaming industry, follow Emma Roth . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started Streaming was once a reprieve from cable. Not only could you watch whatever you wanted at any given time, but you didn't have to sit through five-minute-long commercial breaks. And the best part was the price: Netflix, for example, cost just $7.99 / month when it launched its standalone streaming service in 2010. Amazon's Prime Video was the same, offering ad-free streaming as a p … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/IOARr5s

TMD’s keyless bike lock is a $280 solution to a $60 problem

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A $280 bike lock on a $10,000 e-bike. I've seen lots of so-called "smart" bike locks over the years, but none so far could justify the added cost. A newcomer that got its start securing ATMs for banks is trying to change that. There's nothing wholly unique about the TMD Chain Lock , but the combination of materials, performance, and insurance-friendly ART-2 certification makes it worth considering. TMD's first bicycle lock combines a Bluetooth proximity sensor and motion alarm with a slender core of hardened steel chain wrapped in a soft and lightweight sleeve of high performance Dyneema and Kevlar fibers. That makes this lock tough, yet flexible enough to conveniently wrap arou … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/0ahRIQi

Teenage Engineering adds lo-fi mode, USB audio, and more to its KO II sampler

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Teenage Engineering has already issued multiple substantial updates for its surprisingly capable $329 EP-133 KO II sampler . Its latest is one of the biggest yet. OS 2.5 adds audio over USB, selectable sample rates for lo-fi fun, sample reverse, an arpeggiator, equal-length autochopping, and it extends the maximum length of a sample from 20 seconds to 40 seconds by capturing mono, instead of stereo, audio. Sample reverse is such a simple feature that it's shocking it wasn't implemented earlier. An arpeggiator doesn't always make a ton of sense on a sampler, but the KO II sounds so incredible repitching samples (like the SK-1 successor I've a … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/AlDFOuG

Margaret Atwood says the problem with AI is ‘garbage in, garbage out’

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Margaret Atwood onstage at Detroit Opera House on January 26, 2026 | Photo: Monica Morgan/Getty Images Maraget Atwood, the storied author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin , was interviewed as part of the Babell Literary and Cultural Festival in Porto, Portugal. As it usually does at these things, the issue of AI came up, and Atwood didn't mince words. According to Deadline's recap, Atwood said she'd used an AI chatbot exactly once, Anthropic's Claude, and came away unimpressed. She was looking for information about the British detective series Father Brown and, well: "Claude gave me the wrong answer, or it lied. Of course, it didn't know it was lying because it's not a human being; it's a large language model… It had skimmed a … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/vRsSKcf

Anthropic’s Mythos 5 is back

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After a rollercoaster negotiation process with the Trump administration that dragged on for two weeks, Anthropic's Mythos 5 is finally back in action - at least, somewhat, for a select group of organizations, according to a letter from the government to Anthropic that was viewed by The Verge . Fable 5, however - the public-facing Mythos-class model - appears to still be in limbo, with no apparent timeline for a rollout agreement. The letter, dated June 26th and sent by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown, who had been recently leading negotiations, states that there's been a "revision to the license requiremen … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/ruywBK8

My favorite Govee smart lamps are at their lowest prices ever for Prime Day

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We’ve already rounded up the best Philips Hue deals of Prime Day , but if you’re looking for something a little more budget-friendly, Govee’s latest sale is worth checking out. The company has heavily discounted several of its color-changing smart lamps, including the Table Lamp 2   ($53.99, down from $79.99), Floor Lamp Basic ($59.99, regularly $99.99), the portable Table Lamp Classic ($55.99, down from $79.99), and Uplighter Floor Lamp ($125.99, down from $179.99). I own all but the Portable Table Lamp Classic and regularly recommend them to friends. No matter which lamp you choose, you’re getting a similar experience. Each supports millions of colors and adjustable white light, comes with a variety of preset scenes, and can sync its lighting to music. You can also create custom scenes, schedules, and automations in Govee’s app or control the lamps with your voice using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Plus, wit...

Our favorite Prime Day gadgets under $100 you don’t need but will really want

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Govee’s floor lamps are just $60. | Image: Govee: Prime Day has a funny way of convincing you to buy things you weren’t shopping for in the first place. You sign on intending to buy something sensible you actually need, like a pack of USB-C cables , and an hour later you’ve also added a gadget that can press your coffee maker’s power button and a color-changing smart lamp that syncs to music to your cart.  They aren’t exactly essentials, but they’re the kind of gadgets you never knew you wanted until you saw them and often end up being the most delightful to own. From a pocket-size gaming controller and a tiny crafting machine that lets you make stickers and cards to a cordless barcode scanner that lets you catalog your home library like a real librarian, these are the Verge -approved small gadgets you probably don’t need but will totally want anyway, most of which cost less than $100. SwitchBot Smart Switch But...

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...