Tech

Marc Corfmat was a teenager when he began to compete for Lego’s ultimate prize: the chance to design an official set. He and his brother Nick had been building custom Lego creations ever since they were kids, sometimes in California, sometimes during vacations at their grandparents’ home in La Rochelle, France. They shared their models on YouTube and posted their creations to Lego’s website, but interest from the Lego world came slowly, if it came at all. Then, in 2020, the brothers started having some luck. The Lego Ideas program gives fans the chance to turn their designs into reality, offering both fame and a small fortune — 1 percent of net sales — to anyone who can convince 10,000 peers and The Lego Group that their set deserves to exist. After three years and 18 submissions, Marc fin...

Marc Corfmat was a teenager when he began to compete for Lego’s ultimate prize: the chance to design an official set. He and his brother Nick had been building custom Lego creations ever since they were kids, sometimes in California, sometimes during vacations at their grandparents’ home in La Rochelle, France. They shared their models on YouTube and posted their creations to Lego’s website, but interest from the Lego world came slowly, if it came at all. Then, in 2020, the brothers started having some luck. The Lego Ideas program gives fans the chance to turn their designs into reality, offering both fame and a small fortune — 1 percent of net sales — to anyone who can convince 10,000 peers and The Lego Group that their set deserves to exist. After three years and 18 submissions, Marc fin...

/ The formerly China-only device is coming to Europe with some serious camera hardware, including an upgraded telephoto lens. By Allison Johnson, a reviewer with 10 years of experience writing about consumer tech. She has a special interest in mobile photography and telecom. Previously, she worked at DPReview. Share this story The Vivo X100 Pro in blue.Image: Vivo Even in tiny smartphone cameras, lenses matter. Vivo seems to agree since lens improvements are a major emphasis on its new flagship smartphones: the Vivo X100 and Vivo X100 Pro. They launched in China first on November 13th, and now Vivo is releasing them internationally with matching 6.78-inch 120Hz OLED screens. The X100 will be available in Southeast Asian markets, including India and Indonesia, and the higher-tier X100 Pro w...

/ The PlayStation developer plans to focus on single-player narrative games. By Jay Peters, a news editor who writes about technology, video games, and virtual worlds. He’s submitted several accepted emoji proposals to the Unicode Consortium. Share this story Image: Sony Naughty Dog announced Thursday that it’s canceled the multiplayer game it was building in The Last of Us universe. The studio says it has been in pre-production on The Last of Us Online even while working on The Last of Us Part II. “We were enthusiastic about the direction in which we were headed,” according to a blog post about the news. However, “to release and support The Last of Us Online we’d have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on...

/ The podcast sponsor of Serial fame is rejecting union work at a time when studios across the industry are digging in on labor organizing. By Ariel Shapiro, lead reporter of Hot Pod, a newsletter covering podcasting and the audio industry. She previously worked at Forbes, where she covered media and entertainment. Share this story This is Hot Pod, The Verge’s newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Sign up here for more. Mailchimp, one of the podcast industry’s best-known sponsors, recently reached out to Pineapple Street Studios about making a new show. Pineapple and Mailchimp first collaborated in 2019, producing narrative ads for Mailchimp and branded series. So given their longstanding relationship, Pineapple Street staff were shocked when management at their parent compan...

/ No relation to her former partner Elon Musk’s AI chatbot. By Amrita Khalid, one of the authors of audio industry newsletter Hot Pod. Khalid has covered tech, surveillance policy, consumer gadgets, and online communities for more than a decade. Share this story The musician Grimes has developed an interactive AI plush toy for children which can converse with and “learn” the personalities of their owners. Grimes and toy company Curio created the line of toys in partnership with OpenAI, as first reported by The Washington Post. Grimes, who voices all three toys, is also an investor and advisor for the product.  The three plush figurines are named Gabbo, Grem, and Grok — not to be confused with the AI chatbot named Grok owned by Elon Musk, a former partner of Grimes. Curio told the Post that...

/ Delays in implementing the AI Act means nothing changes for now. By Emilia David, a reporter who covers AI. Prior to joining The Verge, she covered the intersection between technology, finance, and the economy. Share this story Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The European Union’s three branches provisionally agreed on its landmark AI regulation, paving the way for the economic bloc to prohibit certain uses of the technology and demand transparency from providers. But despite warnings from some world leaders, the changes it will require from AI companies remain unclear — and potentially far away. First proposed in 2021, the AI Act still hasn’t been fully approved. Hotly debated last-minute compromises softened some of its strictest regulatory threats. And enforcement likely won’t ...

/ Delays in implementing the AI Act means nothing changes for now. By Emilia David, a reporter who covers AI. Prior to joining The Verge, she covered the intersection between technology, finance, and the economy. Share this story Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The European Union’s three branches provisionally agreed on its landmark AI regulation, paving the way for the economic bloc to prohibit certain uses of the technology and demand transparency from providers. But despite warnings from some world leaders, the changes it will require from AI companies remain unclear — and potentially far away. First proposed in 2021, the AI Act still hasn’t been fully approved. Hotly debated last-minute compromises softened some of its strictest regulatory threats. And enforcement likely won’t ...

/ Google’s plan to implement a new Tracking Protection feature in Chrome begins in January with the intention to completely disable third-party cookies in the second half of 2024. By Umar Shakir, a news writer fond of the electric vehicle lifestyle and things that plug in via USB-C. He spent over 15 years in IT support before joining The Verge. Share this story Illustration: The Verge Google is about to launch its grand plan to block third-party cookies in Chrome that many websites use to track your activity across the web for profit. Starting on January 4th, Google will start testing its new Tracking Protection feature that will eventually restrict website access to third-party cookies by default. It will come to a very small subset of Chrome users at the start, specifically to one percen...

/ The Vistiq will slot in between the Lyriq and Escalade IQ when it comes out. As a three-row SUV with luxury styling, the EV is expected to cost upward of $90,000. By Andrew J. Hawkins, transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State. Share this story Cadillac is releasing the name and a few images of its next electric vehicle, the midsize Vistiq SUV, which the automaker expects to slot in between the Lyriq and Escalade IQ in terms of size and price. The three-row SUV is expected to hit dealerships sometime in 2025 as a model year 2026 vehicle. It will also join the entry-level Optiq in Cadillac’s growing lineup of zero-emission vehicles. “VISTIQ adds another compe...