X appears to be sending fake traffic across the web

X's new link experiment on iOS may be artificially inflating traffic. Websites like Substack and Bluesky noticed a sharp increase in "fake" views following the update, something that Nick Eubanks, the VP of owned media at the digital marketing platform Semrush, attributes to a new behavior that preloads content before users click on it. "What's […]

Samsung’s Frame Pro TV has hit a new all-time low before Black Friday

Samsung’s 65-inch Frame Pro is $1,447.99 ($752 off) — a new all-time low — at Woot. The 75-inch model is $1,897.99 ($1,302 off), also an all-time low at Woot. The TV’s main attraction is its “Art Mode,” which cycles through a gallery of famous paintings when you’re not actively using

Pluribus: all the latest on Vince Gilligan’s Apple TV series

Apple’s run of excellent sci-fi looks to continue with Pluribus. The series has some strong pedigree; it’s helmed by Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul creator Vince Gilligan, who also has a history in the genre working on The X-Files. It’s also a show that requires a lot of trust from viewers, with a strange […]

Ploopy’s smallest open-source trackball now includes a button

Canadian-based Ploopy announced the Nano 2 on Friday. It’s an update to the ultra-compact Nano trackball featuring a new button, improved performance, and a USB-C port that replaces the original’s chunky USB-B port. The company made a similar upgrade with its Classic 2 trackball mouse earlier this year. The Nano 2 is still designed to […]

The Verge’s favorite holiday gifts under $100

Between all the new phones, smartwatches, and laptops we see throughout the year, it often feels like we're constantly being nudged toward shinier, more expensive gadgets. And I get it. As a self-professed gadget nerd, few things are more exciting than unboxing and setting up a new device. But the truth is, you can still […]

Lost in AI translation

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest phones, smartwatches, apps, and other gizmos that swear they're going to change your life. Optimizer arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 10AM ET. Opt in for Optimizer here. Imagine you're minding your business on […]

Big Tech tax breaks could’ve funded benefits for millions, Senator Warren finds

President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” is handing out billions in tax breaks, and a new analysis from Senator Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) office is demonstrating just how substantial those sums are. Under the law, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, will save around $17.9 billion in taxes this year, an amount that Warren’s office found could’ve paid […]

Tesla rewards Elon Musk’s reality-distortion field

The most striking moment of Tesla's annual shareholder meeting Thursday wasn't when Elon Musk won a impossible sounding pay package worth nearly $1 trillion. That was a foregone conclusion, given Musk's popularity with retail shareholders and his ability to vote his own extensive holdings. To me, the more illuminating moment was when the gathered crowd […]

Apple Silicon|Intel

Bring back the iBook, you cowards

Apple is reportedly working on a low-cost laptop powered by an iPhone chip. This could be a small deal, a decision made by supply chain economics and the fact that the M1 MacBook Air continues to sell well at Walmart. Or it could be huge, a return to form for a company that once seemed […]

The Polestar 4 takes EV minimalism to the next level

Since the launch of its Polestar 2 sedan in 2021, Swedish EV company Polestar has launched two additional models: the spacious 3 compact crossover SUV, and now the 4, a sporty, even more compact crossover SUV. The 4 slotting in between the 2 and 3 in size may confound some consumers, but one of its […]