technology

/ The company’s testing a new AI-powered ‘shorten’ feature that provides bulleted summaries of the article or webpage you’re reading. 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: Opera Opera’s adding a ChatGPT-powered tool to its sidebar that generates brief summaries of webpages and articles. The feature, called “shorten,” is part of the company’s broader plans to integrate AI tools into its browser, similar to what Microsoft’s doing with Edge. As shown in a demo included in Opera’s blog post, you can activate the feature by selecting the “shorten” button to the right of the address ba...

Google/ Tech / Google employees criticized the company and CEO Sundar Pichai over the ‘botched’ launch of its ChatGPT competitor.

/ Plus, you can still score steep savings on Sonos speakers, the Google Pixel Watch, and Eero’s top-of-the-line mesh Wi-Fi router. 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 Chris Welch / The Verge Welcome to the weekend, dear readers! Microsoft’s forthcoming, ChatGPT-powered browser and Nintendo’s latest Direct event may have dominated the news cycle as of late, but there were a number of headline-grabbing discounts peppered throughout the week. And while we typically reserve our weekend roundups for new deals, we figured we’d take the opportunity to run through some of the highlig...

It’s the ultimate big-screen gaming experience for the ultimate price. Razer has made big laptops in the past — but they apparently weren’t big enough. The Razer Blade 18 is the biggest-screened Razer Blade ever released, and it’s hard to overstate how immersive that 18-inch, QHD, 16:10, 240Hz display is. That massive 2560 x 1600 screen is the primary draw of the device, but a few other staples of the Blade line — the six-speaker array, the per-key RGB keyboard, the best build quality you’ll find in the high-end gaming space — as well as some features coming newly to the 18, including a CPU overclocking feature, a battery health optimizer, and an absolutely massive touchpad, all make for a solid package. While the smaller Blade 16, with its dual-mode Mini LED screen, may be a flashy and fa...

/ You compleat me.

Mobile/ Tech / Could this be the solution to finally getting reliable coverage maps? 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: FCC Cell network coverage maps have always been dubiously accurate in the US, and even the ones released by the FCC in 2021 come with a ton of asterisks. A company called Ranlytics is hoping to make a much more accurate picture by attaching equipment to some of the mail trucks that are already driving to many locations in the US to deliver parcels and letters (via Light Reading). The data it collects will provide info on coverage quality “in a given town, on ...

/ It’s actually not the first design that Ive has made for the king.

/ Fitbit hasn’t truly disappeared (yet), but this kind of feature is more likely for a future Pixel Watch. 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 Victoria Song / The Verge Fitbit recently filed a patent application (pdf) for a force-sensitive display that would enable blood pressure readings on wearables. But even if patents did guarantee success — which they don’t — the past few months make it hard to be confident in the future of Fitbit smartwatches. First things first, you shouldn’t read too hard into any patent filing. While it can give you a sense of what a company’s workin...

/ Two reports this week outline how the company is profiting from ads placed next to content from toxic and hateful accounts.

/ ‘There will always be a need for genuine community and human connection, which can be aided by tools like this.’

/ The Chinese phone brand is putting a carbonated spin on its midrange 10 Pro phone. 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: Realme Realme knows how to lean hard into a co-branded, special edition phone, and it looks like that’s what’s happening in its latest collaboration: the Realme 10 Pro 5G Coca-Cola Edition. It’s launching in India today, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: a midrange phone with flashy Coke branding. Because Realme has no chill, the theme extends all the way from the packaging to the UI. Case in point: there’s a camera mode where the shutter makes the sound ...

/ Patents can be a glimpse into what a company’s thinking about, even if they don’t guarantee a product is in development. And here’s yet another one about an Apple Watch camera. 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 Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge While gadget patents don’t guarantee anything, they can offer a glimpse into areas a company is exploring. Earlier this week, Apple was granted a patent (US-11571048-B1) for an Apple Watch strap release mechanism that could potentially be used with a built-in camera. That, on its own, is a neat idea, but it’s also the third camera...