Apple’s AI Playlist Playground is bad at music
Apple Music: "What do you want to hear?" Me: "Atmospheric instrumental black metal to write to." Apple Music: "Here's three metal songs with vocals, a field recording, an ambient electronic track, and a piece of doom jazz." I am skeptical of AI's ability to serve up the music I want to begin with, but even […]
Streaming keeps getting more expensive: all the latest price hikes
Death. Taxes. All your streaming services getting a little more expensive all the time. These are the new certainties in life, it seems. Netflix has raised the cost of its subscription repeatedly in recent years. Disney Plus, Prime Video, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, Peacock — practically any service you can name — charges more per […]
Netflix is raising prices again
Netflix's prices just went up, with its cheapest, ad-supported tier now reaching $8.99 / month (up from $7.99 / month), according to an updated support page spotted earlier by Android Authority. The standard and premium plans are also getting a hike, going from $17.99 to $19.99 / month and $24.99 to $26.99 / month, respectively. […]
Google’s ‘live’ AI search assistant can handle conversations in dozens more languages
Google is expanding access to Search Live, a feature that lets you search for information using your voice and camera. The AI search assistant is now available in more than 200 countries and territories, as well as dozens of languages, according to an announcement on Thursday. Search Live rolled out broadly in the US last […]
Fitbit’s budget-friendly Inspire 3 is $30 off, matching its best price
Amazon’s Big Spring Sale has delivered discounts on wearables like the latest Apple Watch SE 3 and Fitbit’s Charge 6. But they’re not exactly cheap even though they’re on sale. If you want something under $100, the Fitbit Inspire 3 has returned to its all-time low price of $69.95 ($30 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, […]
Xbox’s latest games showcase had Hades 2, The Expanse, and Bluey
It's a weird time for Xbox, with a big leadership shakeup that has many wondering what the future of the platform looks like, and what exactly it stands for. In the meantime, though, Microsoft is forging ahead with announcements, and it just wrapped up its latest Partner Preview event, focused on upcoming titles from third-party […]
My brief, weird time with the Samsung TriFold
I was ready to give up on the Galaxy Z TriFold. We had a strong case for getting a refund from the eBay seller - they'd claimed it was the version sold in Taiwan, but the phone that arrived at my door came with a Chinese serial number. That meant no Google services and lots […]
Govee’s color-changing smart lamps are on sale for up to 30 percent off
Speaking from experience, better lighting can completely change how a space feels. Over the years, I’ve filled my apartment with Govee’s color-changing lights, and they’ve made it feel calmer and more cheerful. That’s why it’s worth noting that a couple of its table lamps are on sale as part of Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, including […]
Meta gets ready to launch two new Ray-Ban AI glasses
This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week. Meta and its AI glasses hardware partner EssilorLuxottica are getting ready to launch the next generation of their Ray-Ban AI glasses. That's according to a series of FCC filings for […]
Everyone hates Ticketmaster. Why’d Trump go easy on them?
Today on Decoder, we’re talking about the major antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, and what it might mean for antitrust and competition law in general now that the Justice Department under Trump has decided to settle its part of the case. That’s even as many states — including New York, California, and Texas — carry […]