Technology

Following the release of the Dyson Zone, high-fidelity ANC headphones with a built-in contactless visor that directs purified air to the nose and mouth, the Singaporean tech company continues to show that it’s capable of producing more than just bladeless fans with a glimpse into its future in robotics. Dyson has set up four robotic tech offices in London, Hullavington, and Singapore and is looking to recruit 700 additional engineers to work on robots that will help humans carry out household chores. “There is a big future in robotics,” says designer Jake Dyson. “Saving people time, performing chores for people, and improving people’s daily lives. I’m a parent, I spend half my life cleaning after my kids and it’s pretty tedious.” Aside from its classic floor-cleaning robots, Dyson offers a...

Those who tuned in on Twitter’s annual meeting of stockholders may have been disappointed to hear that there has yet to be a clear answer regarding Elon Musk‘s acquisition of the Twitter platform. Top executives from the company fielded questions regarding the deal, seemingly revealing their uncertainty. While that appeared to be the case, CEO Parag Agrawal told investors in the meeting, “We’re working through the transaction process.” Recently, Musk announced that he is placing the deal “on hold pending details supporting calculations that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users.” The evident uncertainty led Agrawal to reassure listeners that despite the unforeseen challenges brought on by the temporary hold, he said, “Even as we work towards closing this transaction,...

This story is part of a group of stories called Only the best deals on Verge-approved gadgets get the Verge Deals stamp of approval, so if you’re looking for a deal on your next gadget or gift from major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more, this is the place to be. Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer in the US. In addition to using the long weekend of this national holiday for travel and taking some well-earned rest and relaxation, it usually kick-starts lots of outdoor activities — like backyard cookouts, road trips to the beach, and camping trips. It’s also another shopping holiday, with discounts on offer for all kinds of home goods and some great tech, gadgets, and gear. There are plenty of deals on cool outdoorsy gear to take advantage of lea...

Google Docs is getting an absolutely lovely feature that could cut down a lot of busywork when it comes to properly formatting your document: the ability to select multiple sections of text at once. If you’ve got two sentences separated by a heading, or want to apply the same effect to three different words throughout a paragraph, you can now do so by simply selecting the text all at once, and applying your changes. Selecting multiple text sections is extremely simple: select the first bit of text however you would normally, then press either the Command (⌘) or Control key, depending on whether you’re using a Mac or Windows machine. Keep holding it down, and select the other bits of text you want. After you’ve got everything selected, you can let go, and change whatever formatting bits you...

Sony’s annual Days of Play promotion has kicked off once again, offering many quality discounts on PlayStation games and accessories. In the past, this event has even seen the launch of limited edition consoles, but that feels like a distant memory now — much like easily buying a console without an online queue. The good news is that you can save on some recent releases, like Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, as well as Sony’s first discount across the full line of colorful DualSense controllers. These deals run through June 8th, with some accessory discounts lasting through June 11th or once they sell out. Here are some notable ones most worthy of your money. Accessories First up, a product we don’t often see on sale is the Sony Pulse 3D wireless headset for PS5 and PS4. This is the lat...

After spending a little less than a week at the space station, Boeing’s new passenger spacecraft, the CST-100 Starliner, returned to Earth this afternoon, landing intact with the help of parachutes and airbags in the New Mexico desert. The successful touchdown brings an end to a crucial test flight for Starliner, one that showcased the vehicle’s ability to launch to space, dock with the station, and then return home safely. Shaped like a gumdrop, Boeing’s Starliner capsule was built in partnership with NASA in order to launch the agency’s astronauts to and from the International Space Station, or ISS. The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which challenged private companies with creating space taxis to carry people to low Earth orbit. But before NASA will let its personnel ...

Amazon’s brick-and-mortar clothing store, Amazon Style, is now open in the Los Angeles, California-area at The Americana at Brand mall, the company announced today along with a video profiling some of its employees. It’s a new addition to Amazon’s lineup of physical locations, along with Whole Foods and its cashier-less Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh grocery stores. Amazon Style will feature clothing from brands like Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger, Champion, and more, and though it does not feature Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, it will have regular employees present to help you from start to finish. Rumors of Amazon’s “department store” plan surfaced in September, with a Wall Street Journal report suggesting that the store would use tech solutions to focus on customer convenience with stores in C...

After a brutal month for Tesla stock, Elon Musk will no longer fund his Twitter buyout by borrowing against his Tesla ownership stake. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk announced the expiration of a series of margin loans against Tesla stock, which had been included as part of his original financing plan to acquire Twitter. As part of the announcement, Musk committed to providing an additional $6.25 billion in equity financing, bringing his total commitment to $33.5 billion. Tesla has shed more than 30 percent of its value since the Twitter deal was signed Musk’s initial plan to acquire Twitter involved a combination of $21 billion in personal equity and $25.5 billion in loans. $12.5 billion of those loans were secured against Tesla shares owned by Musk. Musk cu...

Sony’s correcting what it says was a “technical error” that resulted in users being charged a higher than expected price to upgrade to one of the new PlayStation Plus tiers. As the revamped subscription service went live in Asia on May 23rd, some users were reporting anyone trying to upgrade from a subscription they’d purchased at a discount was faced with paying back what they’d saved initially, plus the upgrade price for a new tier. Essentially, in order for consumers to take advantage of the shiny new PlayStation Plus, Sony was gonna get all their money. There was also a similar situation happening for people who “stacked” PS Now subscriptions. PS Now, which allows streaming of older PlayStation games, currently costs $59.99 per year. Its equivalent tier in the new PlayStation Plus serv...

Twitter will pay $150 million to settle a privacy lawsuit with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The settlement, announced today, covers a complaint that Twitter deceptively used members’ email addresses and phone numbers for targeted advertising. On top of the fine, Twitter must also accept audits of its data privacy program among other restrictions. The legal filing claims that Twitter misrepresented its policies to users between 2013 and 2019, violating both the FTC Act and an order from a previous settlement in 2011. The company encouraged users to add a phone number or email address to enable security measures like two-factor authentication. In reality, however, Twitter also incorporated that information into its ad targeting data. It apologized for t...

With Memorial Day less than a week away, summer is officially just around the corner. And if your plans this year involve lounging by the pool or picnicking at the park with friends, why not make things more relaxing with the help of a portable Bluetooth speaker? JBL’s Charge 5 is one of the best despite its mono driver, offering up to 20 hours of battery life and perks like stereo pairing and IP67 water resistance. You also won’t need to fret about your phone or other devices running out of battery life using the Charge 5, since the speaker features a USB-A port for topping off your devices as you listen. While it doesn’t sound as nice or as detailed as Bose’s SoundLink Flex, our favorite Bluetooth speaker, it’s still good; it’s also a great deal right now since it’s on sale in blue on Am...

If you own a Windows 10 or 11 PC and an Xbox One or Series X / S console, you might not be aware that those devices have some interesting cross-functionality. Using Microsoft’s Wireless Display app, you can easily output the games from your Xbox to your Windows PC screen. Conversely, it’s possible to stream what’s on your PC to the TV that you’re using with your Xbox — you can even control it from the console, and setting it up is surprisingly simple. One note, though: This is a wireless-only feature. Because the app uses Miracast to stream the content from your PC, you’ll need to make sure that both the Windows PC and Xbox One or Series X / S are on the same Wi-Fi network. How to stream your PC to your Xbox One or Series X / S Any Windows 10 or 11 PC that can connect to Wi-Fi will support...