The FTC finalizes its rules clamping down on fake online reviews

Image: The Verge Microsoft is announcing plans to make changes to Windows that will help CrowdStrike and other security vendors operate outside of the Windows kernel. The announcement stems from a Microsoft-hosted security summit earlier this week at the company’s Redmond, Washington headquarters, where it discussed changes to Windows in the wake of the disastrous…

Apple Apple The Apple event on Monday revealed the newest selection of iPhones, which includes the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. If you’re looking into upgrading to one of the latest models but are unsure of the differences between the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro (other than the price tag),…

Unity has ditched a controversial fee it was charging game developers. The game engine maker says it’s focusing on its seat-based subscription fee (i.e. an annual payment for each person using the software at a studio), though there will be a price increase for Pro and Enterprise users. The company announced the runtime fee a…

Apple’s newly announced hearing aid capability is officially the first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid software to be approved by the FDA. And it should be available on devices soon. The federal agency formally ushered in the tech giant’s new “Hearing Aid Feature” (or HAF, as the agency refers to it) mere days after the company’s…

Given the presidential debate this week, you probably heard plenty of misinformation and conspiracy theories.  Indeed, reporters and fact checkers were working overtime to specifically determine whether Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating domestic pets, as grotesquely alleged by Republican presidential contender Donald Trump, and his vice presidential running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance. Neither…

You can’t escape advertising on the internet…even AI chatbots are starting to send ads your way. In an update provided to its advertisers, ecommerce giant Amazon has shared that it will start serving ads via its AI-powered shopping assistant chatbot called Rufus. SEE ALSO: New evidence claims Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon could be listening…

Meta will hide the “AI Info” label in a menu if an image has been edited with AI. | Image: Meta Meta is updating how it labels content on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads that has been edited or manipulated using generative AI. In an updated blog post, Meta announced that its “AI Info” tag will…

Pixar After breaking all kinds of box office records and becoming one of this year’s biggest theatrical hits, Pixar’s Inside Out 2 is coming to Disney Plus at the end of September. Though you can still catch the movie in theaters right now, Disney announced today that Inside Out 2 will make its Disney Plus…

Adult video site Clips4Sale is celebrating its 20 year anniversary in 2024, and it’s looking back on the last two decades of fetish content. According to the site, some fetishes are timeless — like foot fetishes, which thrived on Clips4Sale (C4S) since the very beginning. But so much has changed in terms of how we…

Apple’s recent iPhone event brought some nifty ideas, from the camera button to a reinvention of Google Lens and beyond. The company also announced that it’s bringing simple multitrack recording to Voice Memos. This was particularly exciting for me since, well, I use Voice Memos a lot. I have nearly 500 of these little recordings…

Finding someone who you like enough to hang out with on a regular basis is hard enough. But finding someone who you like enough to smoke with regularly? That’s a different ball game, and the best 420-friendly dating apps can help you find someone to share your next joint with. “I don’t care that you’re…

Meeting people in real life is ideal, but waiting for a meet-cute to happen organically isn’t always realistic. That’s especially true when your life involves working late into the evening, launching a startup, juggling multiple clients and side hustles as a busy freelancer, and just generally trying to have it all. So, how do you…

Sexting (dirty talk, swapping nudes, sending explicit audio messages…the list goes on) is one way to take your dating life to new heights. Whether you’re single and ravenous for some sexy screen time with a stranger, in a long-distance relationship keeping the passion alive through digital intimacy, or interested in amping up your solo sex…

A lot of guys have a love-hate relationship with the apps, but what’s the alternative? Sure, even the best dating apps for men can be a pain, yet meeting someone organically, or “in the wild,” can feel nearly impossible. Between work, hobbies, and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life, who has the…

Illustration: The Verge Google is rolling out its Gemini Live voice chat mode to all Android users for free. You can access the conversational AI chatbot through the Gemini app or the overlay on Android. Google first announced Gemini Live during its Pixel 9 launch event last month, but it has only been available to…

Surprise: Fitbit wearers will now get a feature previously reserved for Premium subscribers. As 9to5Google noted, the fitness company has rolled out its readiness score for free to its trackers and watchers. This update was in conjunction with the launch of the Pixel Watch 3 this summer. (For the unaware, Google owns Fitbit.) So…what is…

The Gocycle GXi we reviewed a few years ago. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge Gocycle’s designer-in-chief Richard Thorpe is rebooting the e-bike company he founded more than two-decades ago. Following a January restructuring to reduce overhead, Thorpe is now turning to crowdfunding to help launch a new series of F1-inspired e-bikes while…

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge One year to the day since Unity announced its runtime fee pricing model, the software developer is canceling that program effective immediately. “After extensive consultation with our games community and customers, we’ve decided to cancel the Runtime Fee,” said Unity CEO Matt Bromberg in the blog post announcing…

Image: The Verge OpenAI is releasing a new model called o1, the first in a planned series of “reasoning” models that have been trained to answer more complex questions, faster than a human can. It’s being released alongside o1-mini, a smaller, cheaper version. And yes, if you’re steeped in AI rumors: this is, in fact,…

For the first time in history, a private citizen has left the confines of a spaceship while flying through space — an exercise that before now was only performed by trained astronauts.  The unprecedented commercial spacewalk was part of SpaceX‘s Polaris Dawn mission, which sent four civilians into orbit to test the company’s new spacesuits….

Nevada will become the first state to pilot a generative AI system designed to make unemployment claim decisions, marketed as a way to speed up appeals and tackle the nation’s overwhelming backlog of cases. It’s a risky, first-time experiment at integrating AI into higher-level decision making. Google is behind the program’s tech, which runs transcripts…

This really solid Baseus 30W/10000mAh MagSafe power bank is on sale via Amazon for 40 percent off. That brings the price to $28, from $46. This is a record low for this particular power bank, but be sure to clip the coupon to get the deal. This is one of the best MagSafe batteries out…

The Food and Drug Administration has approved Apple’s over-the-counter Hearing Aid feature. Designed for people with mild to moderate hearing loss, it transforms the second-gen AirPods Pro into OTC hearing aids. This follows the FDA’s 2022 decision to allow adults with less-than-severe impairment to use corrective consumer hearing devices without a professional test, prescription or…

SAVE 37%: The Sony SRSXB13 portable Bluetooth speaker is on sale for just $38 at Amazon, marked down from the list price of $59.99. That’s a savings of $21.99. Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Sony SRSXB13 portable Bluetooth speaker $38.00 at Amazon $59.99 Save $21.99 Get Deal A portable Bluetooth speaker can make…

Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge Google has unlisted an impressive Gemini demo video it posted last December that seemed remarkably conversational. BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD), an ad industry watchdog, inquired whether the video “accurately depicts the performance of Gemini in responding to user voice and video prompts.” Google chose to…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Just days after Apple announced a new hearing aid feature for the second-generation AirPods Pro, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the software that powers this functionality. In a press release, the FDA describes Apple’s solution as “the first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid software device.”…

Lego’s McLaren P1 isn’t quite as fast as the real deal. | Image: Lego After releasing a 24-inch long scale replica of the McLaren P1 earlier this year, Lego has now debuted a full-size, driveable version of the hypercar built from over 342,817 Technic pieces and powered by hundreds of Lego electric motors. That eclipses…

It’s not totally uncommon for major automakers to buddy up on projects, share their knowledge and try to find ideas that benefit all parties. The latest to snuggle up are GM and Hyundai. Through their collaboration, they hope to improve their competitiveness while trying to reduce the costs and risks involved with developing new tech….

SAVE UP TO $120: This week, explore deals on a variety of headphones including Beats Fit Pro for $159 for $40.95 off and 20% savings. Plus find AirPods Max starting at $429, giving you $120 in savings for 22% off. Best headphone deals Best earbud deal Beats Fit Pro $159 at Amazon (Save $40.95) Get…

Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of Sept. 12: OUR TOP PICK Roborock S8 Pro Ultra $949.99 at Amazon (save $650) Get Deal BEST HEADPHONES DEAL Beats Fit Pro $159 at Amazon (save $40.95) Get Deal BEST SOUNDBAR DEAL JBL Bar 9.1 soundbar $584 at Amazon (save $615.95) Get Deal BEST…