Apple's biggest acquisition ever is still its $3 billion Beats buy in 2014, but now the second biggest deal is bringing in Q.ai, a four-year-old AI audio startup. Apple did not disclose the terms, but Financial Times reports that Apple is spending $2 billion on the company. It also mentioned Q.ai patents for optical sensor […]

Webcam company Obsbot recently launched two new gimbal-equipped webcams, the $349 Tiny 3 and the $199 Tiny 3 Lite. It claims that the priciest model is the smallest pan, tilt, zoom (PTZ) 4K webcam ever made, weighing 63 grams. Ironically, the Tiny 3 Lite is heavier and bigger. I've been testing the Tiny 3 for […]

Prediction markets will let you bet on just about anything, from how many tweets Elon Musk will post this week to the next president of the United States, with predictions sometimes showing shockingly (or suspiciously) spot-on accuracy. Polymarket’s CEO Shayne Copland has even claimed that prediction markets are “the most accurate thing we have as […]

Spotify is expanding its in-app messaging feature with group chats. Now you can add up to 10 friends and family members to your discussion about your new favorite song, podcast, or audiobook, as reported earlier by TechCrunch. The music streaming platform launched direct messaging last August, allowing you to share what you're listening to without […]

While generative AI is being adopted at various levels of game development, a new survey suggests that developers increasingly think the technology is bad for the industry. According to the most recent survey from the Game Developers Conference, 52 percent of respondents said that gen AI is having a "negative" impact on the games industry, […]

This week, a new generative AI tool from Google let me create bad knockoffs of 3D Nintendo worlds. Check out my version of something like Super Mario 64: I didn't like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but it's better than my version of a Metroid Prime experience: Or how about my take on The Legend of […]

Windows is in a weird spot. In its 40-year history, the operating system has weathered its fair share of missteps, but Windows 11 is testing the patience of its users in new ways. Persistent bugs, performance issues, intrusive prompts, ads, and bloatware have eroded the core Windows experience. Early system requirement decisions have also damaged […]

Waymo has finally broken through its SFO logjam. The company announced today that it will start offering robotaxi rides to a select group of passengers traveling to and from the San Francisco International Airport, a major step in Waymo's effort to increase its footprint in the Bay Area. The company plans on gradually growing the […]

Gaming on Linux has already come a long way over recent years, with improvements to Valve's Proton and more gamers switching to Linux, but the newly-formed Open Gaming Collective (OGC) is aiming to take it even further. Universal Blue, developer of the gaming-focused Linux distribution Bazzite, announced on Wednesday that its helping to form the […]

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. If you're in the market for a new TV, you'll have plenty of different options these days, ranging from display technologies (OLED vs. QLED vs. micro RGB) to styles (shiny […]