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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

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

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

The Sony XM5 have been some of the best noise-canceling headphones for a few years, and they’re now under $200 for Prime Day. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge I can’t think of a tech accessory I actively use more than headphones. Whether it’s for music, calls, or just to block out ambient noise so I can focus, I always have a pair close at hand. One of the best times to get some of your own with some big savings attached is during Prime Day. There are always an overwhelming amount of deals on earbuds and headphones — and honestly, they’re not always that great. As The Verge ’s audio expert, these are the ones that I think are worth their full cost, and especially so now that they’re on sale. And while Prime Day is an Amazon event, there are plenty of deals at other retailers like Best Buy and Walmart, too. The best noise-canceling headphones and earbuds deals They might not be the most recent XM series headphones Sony has released, but the Sony W...

A family “eSUV” designed to be fun and practical. | Image: Amflow Amflow, the e-bike brand spun out of DJI, just announced its TL series, a do-it-all "eSUV" suitable for both bikepacking adventures and dropping the kid at daycare on your cycle to work. The all-terrain TL series is built around Amflow's incredibly compact yet powerful Avinox M2 mid-drive motor. The Amflow TL Carbon offers 125Nm of hill-flattening torque and up to 1100W of peak output. It supports up to 1280Wh of battery capacity when its 800Wh removable battery is paired with a 480Wh extender. You can even opt for a hub that charges up to four batteries sequentially. This sport-tourer comes standard with mudguards, integrated lights, and … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/uN4mxWY

Public pushback against data centers has emphasized their water and energy consumption , and now Nvidia is highlighting its claim that the Rubin generation reference design for a fully liquid-cooled data center has "eliminated massive amounts of power usage and pretty much all water usage." Still, it doesn't address all of the concerns around AI data centers, including during their construction, and for the power generation requirements of the massive facilities. Also, as Gizmodo points out, Nvidia's blog post doesn't mention the cost of building this style of data center vs. one using less efficient air cooling, but claims that "every cloud … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/mlpotyT

Valve's Steam Machine finally has a price: a whopping $1,049 for the 512GB configuration or $1,349 for the 2TB version. And those are without bundled controllers, which drive up the cost more. The prices are so high in part because Valve isn't subsidizing the hardware , and the company has already indicated that the component crisis forced it to reconsider its initial pricing plans . In an interview with the YouTube channel Gamers Nexus, Valve engineers discussed the reality of sourcing RAM in 2026, with take-it-or-leave-it prices as memory and other components remain in short supply, from only a few vendors like Samsung, Micron, and SK Hyni … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/D40QV1u

Joyce, a native New Yorker, didn't think finding her first solo apartment in the city would be easy. But she also didn't think it'd be "hell." After looking at a lot of tiny, overpriced places she described as "shitholes," Joyce found her dream apartment: a reasonably priced studio in Manhattan. "It was big and airy, and there was a fireplace," she said. The kitchen was small but well equipped and looked like it had been recently renovated. She dropped everything to see the apartment, and when she got there, she learned that five other women, all around her age, had viewings scheduled after hers. "I get in, and it's not the same apartment … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/rtgpieN

The AirPods Max 2 have some updates on the inside, but look identical to the original AirPods Max. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Walmart has the Apple AirPods Max 2 in every color discounted to $399.99 (normally $549) during Walmart Deals, the lowest price we’ve seen yet by a long shot. Amazon currently has the starlight color selling at this price. In our review, we praised Apple’s latest over-ear headset for its excellent sound quality, impressive noise cancellation, and premium build quality. An upgraded amplifier gives some extra oomph to the same drivers that are in the first-gen AirPods Max with USB-C, and the new processing chip supports features like live translation and conversation awareness. AirPods Max 2 Where to Buy: $549 $399.99 at Amazon $549 $399.99 at Walmart Unfortunately, this incremental update missed the opportunity to solve some of the previous version’s biggest flaws. For example, they don’t have a power b...

Seven months after introducing its $119.98 Ultra BodyScan smart scale , Wyze announced a cheaper $79.98 alternative available today that makes a few compromises to shave $40 off the price. There's no Wi-Fi, but you can sync the BodyScan's measurements to Apple Health and Google Fit by connecting to the Wyze mobile app over Bluetooth. And instead of a customizable LCD screen, the new scale uses a simpler 4.7-inch LED display to show your health stats. But the new Wyze Scale BodyScan still features a retractable tethered handle with four additional electrodes so it can provide a more detailed breakdown of health metrics for your legs, arms, and … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/1BS3Y9p

Bob Starr was delighted with his vibe-coded website. "Boomberg" showed how much US tax money is going to tech companies, and Starr launched it online immediately after making it. It wasn't until months after the site went live that he realized there was a problem: a hidden SQL injection risk. It could've left the site open for an attacker to read or alter data they shouldn't have access to. "It was just a glaring oversight on my part. It was a complete blindspot in my state of learning this new technology and understanding it, and I'm sure there are others making the same mistake," said Starr, a project manager in the tech sector. "It was … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/bXnrZeV

The history books are littered with the corpses of corporate record labels started by companies that had no business being in the music industry. Bose thinks it can be the exception to the rule. It thinks it can be Red Bull. And, while Bose has more of a right to dip its toes into the media world than Build-a-Bear , there's little reason to believe it can succeed where so many others have failed. In an interview with Business Insider , Bose CMO Jim Mollica said the company had created Bose Studios as part of a move away from traditional "campaign-driven marketing." A big element of that is going to be Bose Records, a new label the company has … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/9aqFXB7

If you had a Roomba, especially in the early days of the robot vacuum, it was in many ways a fairly unsophisticated machine. It would just bump around your house, looking for something to suck up, until its battery died or its (way too small) tank filled up. Not that it mattered, though. You probably loved your Roomba. You probably gave it a name. On this episode of Version History , we tell the story of the Roomba, and how it made vacuums lovable. The Verge 's David Pierce and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy are joined by iRobot's co-founder and former CEO Colin Angle to trace the robovac revolution back to its origins, with a group of engineers try … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/A6qinRF

Joby flight at JFK airport. | Image: The Verge This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on aviation, air taxis, and Wi-Fi speeds at 30,000 feet, follow Andrew J. Hawkins . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started Last year, two of the leading air taxi companies in the US, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation, sued each other , with Joby accusing Archer of corporate espionage and Archer claiming that Joby was concealing its ties to China. Then, in February of this year, Archer filed a patent infringement suit against a different air taxi rival, Vertical A … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/FZScsxL

The 1 VIII doesn’t look much like any Xperia that’s come before. The Xperia 1 VIII marks an attempt at a step change for Sony's flagship phone line. Not only has it had an aesthetic overhaul, but Sony has also revamped the camera system, dropping the continuous optical zoom telephoto that's defined the last four generations of Xperia phone . It's not all different. Sony staples like a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD card slot remain, and a few specific design touches, like a thick front bezel that fits stereo speakers, have stayed intact. Sony's ambitious pricing hasn't changed either: The Xperia 1 VIII isn't launching in the US, but in the UK and Europe, it starts from £1,399 / €1,499 (about $1,850), r … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/JVXnOvo

Atlantic reporter Alex Reisner recently uncovered four datasets of music being used to train AI models and made them fully searchable for the public. Two of the sets are absolutely enormous at 12 million and 9 million tracks. The other two are much smaller, but still represent a significant amount of training data at over 100,000 songs each. According to Reisner, the sets have been downloaded thousands of times and, while it's impossible to know exactly who has used them, Google and Stability have both confirmed they have in research papers. Some of the sources, like the Free Music Archive dataset, are free to stream for personal use but re … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/y4ZlQge

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 133, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, happy belated Juneteenth, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I've been reading about Sam Bankman-Fried and PE Guy and admin nights (which we should totally all do together one of these days), listening to Paul McCartney on Song Exploder , trudging through the bugs of the iOS 27 beta in order to use the good new Siri, once again trying and failing to switch to YouTube Music , free trial-hopping my way through the World Cup, finally upgrading my camera setup with the E … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/U2uiSGe

I’m a fan. I can't remember the last time I got excited about a fan. Normally, I just buy whatever Vornado or Dreo model fits my budget, but that was before I started testing the battery-powered Standing Circulator Fan from SwitchBot . As the name indicates, the SwitchBot fan is a 3D circulator - a fancy way of saying that it can tilt up, down, left, and right to push a decent amount air around a room. It looks okay, despite all the plastic, is relatively quiet, runs for hours on battery, has an integrated nightlight, transforms from a desktop to standing fan in seconds, and works on its own or as part of a smart home. There's a lot to like here. Over … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/sOjl9VY

Nothing's next budget phone is the latest victim of RAMageddon. As 9to5Google reports, Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis announced in a post on X that a follow-up to the CMF Phone 2 Pro won't be coming this year: We were working on a successor but with memory prices where they are right now, we can't build a phone that feels like a genuine step forward at a price that makes sense for CMF. As a result, we've decided not to launch a new CMF phone this year. Last week, Nothing CEO and co-founder Carl Pei also said the RAM shortage has impacted the cost of the company's mid-range phone, stating, "For Phone 4A, memory costs doubled between … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/3k6S2Xs

Relativity Space’s CEO is former Google executive Eric Schmidt. | Image: Alexander Tamargo / Getty Images Relativity Space, the rocket company led by former Google executive Eric Schmidt, was picked to launch NASA's Aeolus payload to Mars in 2028, as reported earlier by TechCrunch . Under a new public-private partnership, Relativity Space will provide the "spacecraft, rocket, and cruise operations" to fly Aeolus to Mars, where the payload will "provide the first integrated, daily, global view of Martian winds, temperatures, dust, and clouds." The Aeolus payload will have four instruments on board for studying the Martian atmosphere, which NASA says will "directly inform entry, descent, and landing systems and support safer, more predictable mis … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/9MkJK5u

You don’t need a Game Boy Camera or a GB Operator dock to use Epilogue’s new Flashback app. | Image: Epilogue The $50 GB Operator is an accessory that lets you connect, play, and authenticate Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges on PCs and other devices. Now it's getting some new functionality for the Game Boy Camera. After turning the Game Boy Camera into a charmingly awful desktop webcam two years ago, device-maker Epilogue has just released an iOS / Android mobile app so you can take photos while the Game Boy accessory is connected to your smartphone through the GB Operator. The Game Boy Camera was a terrible camera even by 1998 standards when it was released. It captured 0.01434-megapixel images in just four shades of gray an … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/6EwA2YO

You can stream Sinners and other recent Oscar winners for less with HBO Max's sale. | Image: Warner Bros. Pictures The easiest way to save on a streaming service is often to pay for a year upfront, which HBO Max is currently making a lot cheaper. Through July 15, 2026, new and returning subscribers can get 28 percent off any of HBO Max’s yearly plans , bringing the ad-supported tier down to $78.99 ($31 off) per year, the Standard plan to $132.99 ($52 off) per year, and the Premium tier to $164.99 per year ($65 off). That’s up to 40 percent less than paying month to month. HBO Max Where to Buy: $109.99 $78.99 at HBO Max (annual, basic) $184.99 $132.99 at HBO Max (annual, standard) $229.99 $164.99 at HBO Max (annual, premium) All three plans include access to HBO Max’s extensive library of movies and TV shows, including films from Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, A24, Studio Ghibli, and Turner Classic Movies. Subscribers can al...

Snap's new smart glasses are probably the most impressive bit of face-computer technology we've seen. They're not VR-headset huge; they don't have a big charging puck; thanks to Snap's many years of AR lens development, they're likely to have a lot of features right out of the box. (Yes, they're $2,195, but that may just be what all this tech costs right now.) Snap is clearly at the front of this race. And then… you see the pictures. The pictures of Snap CEO Evan Spiegel wearing the new Specs , as the enormous and heavy stems smash down on his ears. The pictures of models and athletes wearing Specs, carefully posed to hide the obvious weigh … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/MOytCXK

Apple is planning to raise prices in response to the ongoing memory shortage. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal , Apple CEO Tim Cook says "price increases are unavoidable:" We're doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we've been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable. Cook doesn't say when Apple plans on raising prices or which products will be affected. The company has already stopped selling the Mac Studio with 512GB of RAM in March and later raised the starting price of the Mac Mini to $799 after dropping the cheaper $599 option f … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/iAsRl4g

VSCO is taking on Adobe with a new Studio Pro editing app rolling out today on iOS and coming to macOS later this year, as Bloomberg reports. At launch, the app offers tools for batch editing, style matching from a reference image, and sharing images through VSCO Galleries. VSCO says more features are coming later, including support for RAW images, advanced export options, and additional advanced editing tools like adjusting image aspect ratios. A press release says the app is made for managing high-volume editing projects, like "weddings, portraits, events, sports, school photography, and other large-scale photoshoots." The $500 per ye … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/mZKotzW

Anthropic has spent much of this week fighting to get its newest AI models back online after the Trump administration abruptly ordered the company to cut access for all foreign nationals, including users inside the US and its own employees, forcing Anthropic to block access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for everyone. "To my knowledge, this is the first time US export controls have been used to control access to an AI model in this way." The Trump administration has not publicly explained the legal basis for the order, but in a statement on its website, Anthropic said the government cited "national security authorities" to justify "an export con … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/dzBytHO

I'll admit it. I was wrong . Wildly colorful lighting is delightful for your smart home - well, outdoors, at least. Smart lighting is one of my favorite features of the smart home - it combines convenience with ambiance, letting you change the entire look of your room with just a press of a button. But, other than the occasional pop of color , mostly in my kids' rooms and outdoors around the holidays, I've never found much use for color-changing lights. I prefer the subtler effects of tunable white light combined with dimming to set the scene indoors, and that preference also extended to outdoor lighting. Until this summer. With an influx o … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/iU3WTNd

The next humanoid robot might not have a head. It might not have legs. It might even sit on a wheeled base and fold down like a deck chair. But, as Genesis AI puts it , "humanoid robots don't need to look human." That explains the look of Eno, the new robot from the French startup backed by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Genesis says Eno is designed "around human capability" rather than human appearance and is intended as a fully "general-purpose" robot rather than a machine built around a single task, like folding laundry . One part is still very human though: its hands, which the company says are designed to "exactly match the form and fu … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/uWUmG9Q

Father’s Day is nearly here. Hopefully, you already got a gift for dads you care about, but if not, here’s a quick, easy recommendation for anyone who enjoys a good comic strip. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes contains every one of Bill Watterson’s beloved strips made during the comic’s ten-year run from 1985 through 1995, packed in three deluxe hardcover books, for $89.48 at Amazon when you check the on-page coupon. The set originally sold for $225, but it’s often available for around $130. This is the best price I’ve seen it sell for. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes Where to Buy: $225 $89.48 at Amazon (with on-page coupon) $225 $134.22 at Target The lighthearted, kid-friendly comics couldn’t be more different from Watterson’s darker, adult-themed The Mysteries , which brought him out of retirement with its 2023 launch. If you’re thinking of getting dad a book, but aren’t sure Calvin and Hobbes is the right pick, there are some good deals hap...

Google’s Android 17 update includes highlights like new floating “Bubble” app windows for easier multitasking, a Screen Reaction recording mode, and a 50/50 split gaming mode for foldable phones. Meanwhile, Wear OS 7 brings Live Updates, better battery life for smart watches, and prepares connections for new Android XR smart glasses that will launch this fall.  The update is rolling out to Pixel phones first, then other devices, with some features like Gemini Intelligence set to debut later this year. Follow along here for the latest updates. Android 17 arrives on Pixel phones today Android foldables are getting new gamepad controls. Google launches Wear OS 7 with Live Updates and a battery life boost The Google / Xreal Aura XR glasses are now available to preorder Android 17 is getting its own version of Apple’s Handoff Wear OS 7 wil...

Amazon’s Smart Thermostat looks surprisingly nice for such a cheap gadget. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge If your electricity bill climbs every summer, a smart thermostat could help keep cooling costs in check. The Amazon Smart Thermostat is an excellent option for its price, especially today. It’s down to just $57.99 at Amazon as a part of Amazon’s early Prime Day sale, which is the best price we’ve seen since Black Friday. Amazon Smart Thermostat Where to Buy: $79.99 $57.99 at Amazon $79.99 at Best Buy $79.99 at B&H Photo For a smart thermostat that costs under $100, the Amazon thermostat offers a lot of helpful features. One of its most useful is its ability to  learn and adapt to your routines, reducing the need to constantly tweak the temperature yourself. It’s also compatible with most 24-volt HVAC systems, and adjusts itself accordingly depending upon whether or not you’re asleep or at home. The app lets you creat...

The products pictured here aren’t on sale, but we certainly hope they will be soon. | Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge Amazon’s earlier-than-usual Prime Day doesn’t begin until June 23rd, but there are several even earlier deals on must-have products that you can check out right now. To name some examples, Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 are selling at their cheapest-ever price. Also, you can grab Ring’s latest battery-powered doorbell for $60 off and it includes a free Indoor Cam Plus with purchase. While the pre-Prime Day deals are looking good so far, you may not see the brands or products you’re looking for — hopefully, those deals will come later in June. Still, we’ve only included early deals that meet the criteria we hold for all our commerce coverage: they’re good products sold at attractive prices. We’ll update this post frequently ahead of Prime Day. Logitech MX Master 3S The MX Master 3S is a favorite among many Verge staff members because of...