technology

Wear OS is much better than it used to be, so there’s never been a better time to consider a smartwatch. By Victoria Song, a senior reporter focusing on wearables, health tech, and more with 11 years of experience. Before coming to The Verge, she worked for Gizmodo and PC Magazine. Editor’s note: Fossil confirmed to us this week that it is leaving the smartwatch business. As a result, we’ve removed their Gen 6 smartwatch from this list as we evaluate other options. After a long stretch of slim pickings, the last couple of years have been huge for Android smartwatches. Now there are more good options than ever. But this is still a transitional era. While we’re encouraged by the stronger third-party app options, the market is still fragmented. Wear OS 4 is already here for Samsung’s Galaxy W...

Analyst tips 8-inch LCD for Nintendo Switch 2. Supply chain analysis from Omdia’s Hiroshi Hayase suggests Nintendo’s next console, widely expected to launch later this year, will have a bigger screen than both the original Switch (6.2-inches) and the OLED model (7-inches), Bloomberg reports. That lines up with VGC’s previous reporting about the LCD display. Developers reportedly saw demos of the new Switch last year, and Activision was briefed on it as early as 2022. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Nintendo There’s a very good chance that this will be the last year where th...

/ After facing backlash over pollution from gas export terminals, Joe Biden announced a pause on new projects. a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63″>In this marshy coastal region between Texas and Louisiana, the proliferation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal projects, massive facilities that receive and liquefy gas from pipelines, then transfer the LNG to ships for export, unsettles residents, who consider the plants to be a threat to their coast.

/ It’s $70 off at Dell, which is nearly enough to buy an expansion card when storage space eventually runs out. a]:text-gray-13″>If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge We’ve seen the original Xbox Series S in white dip below the $249.99 mark over the past several months. But if you missed out on those opportunities, Dell presents another with a sale that brings Microsoft’s entry-level gaming console down to $229.99. That’s a $70 discount compared to its...

/ OpenAI also promised general availability of GPT-4 Turbo with vision. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Illustration: The Verge In a blog post, OpenAI said the updated GPT-4 Turbo “completes tasks like code generation more thoroughly than the previous preview model and is intended to reduce cases of ‘laziness’ where the model doesn’t complete a task.” The company, however, did not explain what it updated. Some ChatGPT users recently complained about the chatbot frequently refusing to complete prompted tasks and blamed the lack of updates to GPT-4. However, OpenAI’s update is for G...

/ An independent review of an incident in which a driverless Cruise vehicle dragged a pedestrian over 20 feet concludes the company has connectivity issues. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu via Getty Images Cruise, the self-driving car subsidiary of General Motors, tried to send a 45-second video to regulators of an incident in which one of its driverless cars dragged a pedestrian 20 feet but was hampered by “internet connectivity issues,” according to a report compiled by a law firm investigating the incident. The law firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart &...

/ Fortnite is coming back to the iPhone in the EU after Apple opened up the platform to comply with the Digital Markets Act. a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63″>Fortnite in 2020, when it was banned on the App Store.

/ The term ‘Taylor Swift AI’ was trending in various regions, with one post gaining more than 45 million views before it was eventually removed. a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63″>Many of the posts circulating the offending images are still live.

/ AI is going to unleash my productivity… as soon as I can figure out what it’s good for. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: OpenAI When OpenAI announced other people could build their own custom versions of ChatGPT-style chatbots, I was initially only interested in a journalistic way. I knew this was an interesting commercial step for OpenAI, but the value of the store is still an open question. Why should I use most GPTs (as the bots are called), when I can usually call up an app that does the same thing? But I can’t deny there’s one incredibly useful bot that’s changed...

/ And it finally lets the Pixel 8 Pro take your body temperature with its built-in thermometer. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Google A “fresh” new color for the Pixel 8 series isn’t the only thing Google is announcing today. The company is also detailing its latest feature drop, which brings the brand-new Circle to Search feature — first seen on Samsung’s Galaxy S24 — to both the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. Google says Circle to Search will go live on January 31st, which just so happens to be the release date for Samsung’s S24 lineup. With a long press of the home button or naviga...

/ Google’s 2023 flagships have added a fourth color option, but it’s only available from the Google Store and Google Fi — and only with 128GB of storage. a]:text-gray-13″>If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Google wasn’t exactly subtle with its teases earlier this week, and now the company has confirmed that it’s launching both the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro in a new mint green color. The latest color option is a bit muted compared to the “bay” blue 8 Pro. But if you’re a fan of the smaller regular Pixel 8, this is your first chance at a color beyond the very safe black, hazel, and rose gold options that have been available since the phone shipped back in October. For both phones, mint is only available with the base 128GB of stor...

/ The latest update for the PlayStation 5 prevents the Cronus Zen controller emulator from connecting — but it’s unclear whether it was intentional. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The PlayStation 5’s latest update blocks players from using the Cronus Zen — a device cheaters use to get an unfair advantage in first-person shooters and other games — as spotted by Call of Duty news site CharlieIntel. A notice on the Cronus website warns players that the 24.01-08.60.00 update for the PS5 no longer allows the Cronus Zen to connect to the console. Altho...