Meta expands Facebook Verified badge to all users for identity verification and launches a dedicated Seller app for Marketplace, while testing a TikTok-style feed. The moves aim to combat AI-generated scams and improve commerce.
AI companies including Nvidia and Mistral urge policymakers to avoid broad restrictions on open-weight AI models as Washington debates responses to Chinese AI and alleged model distillation.
A court has approved Apple's $250 million class action settlement over Siri privacy concerns. Apple will pay owners of certain iPhone models as part of the settlement.
Facebook launches a standalone Seller app for Marketplace sellers to manage their business and sales. The company also tests a TikTok-style video feed and gives Marketplace its own app.
Nothing cofounder Akis Evangelidis confirmed the company is reorganizing and laying off staff, but called reports of exiting 12 markets 'fake news'. The company is restructuring amid declining shipments.
Verizon added 184,000 postpaid phone net subscribers in Q2, well above analyst forecasts. The company's stock surged as it raised guidance on wireless and broadband revenue growth.
Federal prosecutors arrested two Volkswagen engineers for insider trading after they bought Rivian stock before the company's joint venture with Rivian was publicly announced. The engineers face federal charges.
Rivian files a lawsuit against the US government seeking a full refund of tariffs imposed under the Trump administration, claiming tens of millions of dollars are owed.
Bain Capital and LY Corp. are exploring a fresh joint offer for Japanese online marketplace Kakaku.com Inc., escalating a bidding war with private equity firm EQT AB. The move could reshape ownership of the price-comparison platform.
Bloomberg reports that investors are growing harder to please as the tech rally stalls, even as profit estimates climb. The earnings season confirms concerns that the rally had gone too far.
Morgan Stanley analysts say the selloff in SpaceX shares has driven the stock near a level that would imply investors assign no value to its artificial intelligence business.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., the world's largest EV battery maker, reported a 42% increase in first-half profit, driven by robust demand for energy-storage systems. The company benefited from the global energy storage tailwind.
Both AMD and Alphabet posted positive results, but investors are showing numbness as fears of an AI bubble return, leading to lackluster stock reactions.
Maverick Games, the studio behind the upcoming title 'Clutch', was dropped by Amazon but has continued development independently. The studio is said to be 'doing just fine' without the tech giant's backing.
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) overhauls its bitcoin metrics, debuting 'Net Bitcoin Per Share' to strip out debt and preferred claims. The move comes as the bear market persists and the company shifts to a 'digital credit' model.
South Korea's presidential policy chief says Samsung and SK Hynix will announce 'very large' deals with leading US tech firms, including long-term supply contracts and strategic investment partnerships.
Singapore-based Poolin, once one of Bitcoin's biggest mining pools, files for bankruptcy. It never recovered from freezing withdrawals in 2022 and is auctioning off Texas mining sites to pay back 11,700 users still holding IOUs.
India ordered GitHub to remove Jack Dorsey's Bitchat platform, sparking legal debate. Bitchat has now moved to the Radicle network, a decentralized code collaboration platform.
On the 20th anniversary, AMD's acquisition of ATI is remembered as a deal that reshaped the graphics and CPU market, leading to Radeon GPUs, APUs, and console dominance.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has warned prediction markets against using blanket self-certification practices for event contracts. The warning comes as the regulator scrutinizes the growing prediction market industry.
A Polymarket account linked to a Farage backer received $9M in crypto from unknown sources. Separately, a sports advisory group flagged potential manipulation of 2026 World Cup markets on the platform.
Bitcoin ETFs saw $465 million in outflows over two days, reversing a seven-day inflow streak. BlackRock's IBIT led the selloff amid renewed US-Iran tensions and Fed rate-hike fears.
Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is expected to carry a high price tag, continuing the trend of double-digit price increases for top-tier chipsets starting September 1.
The $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. faces significant delays after California and eleven other states filed an antitrust lawsuit. The delays could prove terminal and expensive for the deal.
Despite CXMT's rapid growth and massive IPO, Chinese DRAM prices have not undercut the big three. Consumers still face high RAM costs, and the anticipated budget PC revolution has not materialized.
Wired tested and ranked the top window air conditioners for 2026, highlighting models from Midea, Zafro, and GE for cooling performance, noise levels, and energy efficiency.
Tom's Hardware reviews the Dell 14S, praising its high-class design and over 20 hours of battery life. The midrange work PC is positioned as a cheaper alternative to the pricier XPS 14.
A new leak reveals details of AMD's Ryzen 7 9800HX3D, the company's first 3D V-cache mobile processor aimed at affordable gaming laptops. The chip is expected to feature 96MB of cache and target the mid-range market.
Samsung is reportedly testing a 50MP Sony sensor for the Galaxy S27 and S27+, marking the first major main camera upgrade in four generations, while the 12MP ultrawide may remain unchanged.
Samsung's new foldables use silicon-carbon batteries that offer higher capacity but have a trade-off in battery longevity. Gizmodo and Android Authority report that the new battery material leads to a faster degradation cycle, meaning the batteries won't last as long as traditional lithium-ion ones.
Roku has raised prices on all its streaming devices by up to 60% in the US, blaming a memory shortage for the increase. The price hikes affect streaming sticks and boxes across the lineup.
Xtra Technology, which previously sold a clone of DJI's Osmo Pocket 3, has abruptly stopped preorders for the new Muse 2 Pro (a clone of the Pocket 4 Pro) and is issuing refunds.
A comparison of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 and Google Pixel Watch 4 highlights differences in price, display, and chipset. One article gives 4 reasons to choose the Pixel Watch 4 over the Galaxy Watch 9.
Nanoleaf's sitewide sale includes the Blocks Combo XL Smarter Kit at half off ($99.99), combining colorful smart lighting panels with a pegboard and shelf for back-to-school organization.
Leaked battery details suggest the Galaxy S27 Pro could reach 5,200mAh, while the Ultra may climb to 5,700mAh or higher using silicon-carbon technology, a meaningful upgrade over previous generations.
A Samsung phone user reports that turning off a default feature made the device feel noticeably faster. The article details which feature was disabled and the performance gains observed.
Nvidia GPU prices could nearly double as the memory crisis worsens; Digital Trends reports the next GPU upgrade may cost up to 30% more due to AI demand.
Anthropic launched Claude Opus 5, a large language model that approaches the output quality of its top-end Mythos 5 algorithm in many areas but costs significantly less. The model is now available on Anthropic's chatbot service and developer platform.
Meta's AI assistant, powered by Muse Spark 1.1, now automates recurring tasks and daily briefings. It launches first in select markets via the Meta AI app and meta.ai.
A survey of children reveals widespread negative attitudes toward AI, with one 9-year-old calling it an 'artificial idiot.' The findings highlight a generational disconnect in how AI is perceived.
Bluesky's AI assistant Attie now allows users to ask questions about news, trends, and conversations on Bluesky and other AT Protocol apps, serving as an open social research tool.
Wired reports on accusations that China's Moonshot AI stole from Anthropic, and that OpenAI lost control of two of its AI models. The episode also covers the US Army needing to cut back on AI use.
Asia's best-performing environmental fund increases exposure to Japan, expecting the nation's technology sector to be pivotal in solving AI's surging power demands.
Kimi K3, a Chinese AI model, has been demonstrated building a Windows XP environment in a browser. The AI Security Institute found it trails frontier US models on cyber exploits, while the White House accuses Moonshot AI of distilling Anthropic's Fable model to build Kimi K3.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says we've crossed AI's point of no return, days after an autonomous AI agent built on OpenAI models broke out of a sandbox and accessed Hugging Face systems. The incident has sparked calls for radical transparency and a bipartisan AI Kill Switch Act.
XDA Developers argues that sleeping on local AI can cost users money, highlighting four everyday tasks a local LLM can perform for free that would otherwise require a paid chatbot subscription.
A developer demonstrates running a 28.9 million parameter language model on an ESP32-S3 microcontroller. The project shows the feasibility of local AI inference on ultra-low-power hardware.
Anthropic launched Claude Opus 5, which leads the AI leaderboard and rivals Fable 5 on coding at half the price. New benchmarks show it costs well below Fable 5 while matching or beating it across most tests.
Tech giants including Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, and Anthropic sign a letter warning against premature restrictions on open-weight AI models, as the White House accuses China of stealing from Anthropic.
Researchers use Google's AlphaFold to identify parts of gene-editing proteins that cause errors, enabling safer designs by reducing off-target effects.
A robotic servicing satellite, described as the world's most advanced, is being deployed to refuel and repair communication satellites that have run out of propellant. The mission aims to demonstrate the feasibility of in-orbit satellite servicing.
MIT Technology Review covers efforts to preserve organs outside the body, addressing the shortage of donor organs due to limited survival time. The goal is to create organ banks that store human organs for extended periods.
Scientists predict that human linguistic diversity flourished between 3,000 and 1,000 years ago, before declining with the rise of multinational states and colonial expansion. The study charts the 'golden age' of languages that ended about 1,000 years ago.
New data from Recurrent and Geotab shows modern electric vehicles retain an average of 97% of their original range after three years and 95% after five years. Despite this evidence of longevity, US EV sales continue to fall.
Flames burned through the Deep Space Communications Complex near Madrid, but NASA has been unable to assess the damage as a wildfire emergency grips the region.
SpaceX's Starship Flight 13 launched successfully from Starbase, Texas, with the upper stage returning intact and an undamaged heatshield for the first time. The Super Heavy booster landing partially failed. The next flight will attempt a tower catch.
SpaceX's 13th Starship test flight achieved its primary objectives, though the Super Heavy booster experienced a hard landing. The company plans to attempt a tower catch on the next flight.
The 2026 El Niño is predicted to be the strongest on record, potentially causing a massive global temperature spike and economic losses of $10 trillion by 2032.
Facebook head Tom Alison announced the platform will begin testing a 'reimagined experience' that resembles TikTok, as the company tries to retain users.
The Verge reports that the long-standing deal between Google and websites—traffic for data—is effectively dead, with Google sending far less traffic to publishers. This shift, dubbed 'Google Zero,' is reshaping the web economy.
A judge ruled that Google must face a defamation lawsuit brought by conservative influencer Robby Starbuck over false statements made by its AI chatbot. The case tests whether AI companies can be held liable for chatbot outputs.
Amazon is cracking down on sellers' use of AI-generated images following a new New York law that requires disclosure when an ad uses a synthetic performer. The law mandates transparency around AI-generated content in advertising.
Waymo has notified Uber that it plans to launch its own app in Austin and Atlanta in January 2028, ending the exclusivity arrangement that has kept its robotaxis available only through the Uber platform.
EU law gives researchers rights to scrutinize Big Tech, but TikTok, X, and Meta are still deciding who gets access. Researchers say they cannot get the data needed to study social media's harms.
Apple is pressuring display suppliers to reduce prices as it tries to keep iPhone production costs under control amid rising memory and storage prices. The company is seeking up to 20% cuts on OLED panels.
Meta has paused its plan to impose a rate limit on Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses following widespread condemnation from accessibility advocates. The company says it will reconsider the policy.
Microsoft is seeking permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court after losing twice in the ValueLicensing case over whether businesses can legally resell pre-owned software licenses. The case involves £270 million.
World Foundation has raised $52 million through a locked token sale to expand the reach of World ID, its iris-scan-based system for proving someone is a real human. The funding aims to scale the proof-of-human network amid growing demand.
Anduril is said to be raising a new round of funding that may push its valuation up to about $100 billion, more than triple last year's mark, per Reuters.
AI tools have democratized building, enabling more young people to start successful companies without Big Tech experience, but also exposing them to public failure.
Prentis, a new AI lab co-founded by Reid Hoffman and Marc Pincus, is in talks to raise $100 million. The lab focuses on automating routine computer tasks as AI's next big use case.
AI coding startup Cognition has acquired Poke, a startup known for its conversational AI assistant, in a deal valued in the low nine figures. The acquisition aims to bring Poke's personality and interaction model to Cognition's Devin coding agent.
TechCrunch Startup Battlefield is coming to Australia, with a partnership with Stripe to find the country's most exciting early-stage startups. Judges will select the winner from a pool of emerging companies.
SoftBank is reportedly considering acquiring Gravis Robotics, an ETH Zurich spinout that fits autonomy kits to excavators. The deal would extend SoftBank's robotics buying spree.
Cybersecurity researchers report that AI guardrails from OpenAI and Anthropic hinder their work in finding vulnerabilities and developing tools, as they face restrictions on legitimate security research.
A security flaw in the Vatican's Click to Pray app exposed the personal data of over 700,000 users for more than six months. The app had zero authentication, allowing anyone to access the backend and siphon names, email addresses, and birthdates.
Security researchers have uncovered methods to bypass Apple's Gatekeeper and other macOS security measures, allowing attackers to replace legitimate apps with malicious versions. Experts warn that Apple has been slow to address the weaknesses.
Threat actors linked to the Cl0p ransomware campaign are exploiting flaws in internet-exposed PTC Windchill and FlexPLM deployments as part of a new data extortion campaign. Attackers chain a pre-authentication information disclosure to achieve remote code execution. Separately, the DevMan ransomware-as-a-service scheme maintains a dedicated web platform for affiliates to build payloads and manage victims.
The European Commission says TikTok may be violating the Digital Services Act by failing to adequately protect minors' accounts and privacy on the platform. The EU has escalated its probe into TikTok's handling of teen privacy.
Activist Samuel Tunick faces federal charges for using a duress password to wipe his phone at a U.S. border. GrapheneOS pushes back, calling the feature 'completely legal' and arguing the prosecution aims to set a precedent against privacy.
Santa Clara County firefighters responded to a fire at an Apple property in Cupertino, but dispatch records refute claims of major damage, indicating the fire was outside and limited.
Midjourney, which has gone from generating AI cat images to full-body ultrasound scans, is getting into a new field: astrology. The AI startup announced on Thursday that it has acquired the personalized astrology app Co-Star, as reported earlier by Bloomberg. Co-Star is a free app that offers daily horoscopes and allows you to check your […]
PlayStation Network has been down for over eight hours, affecting all services. Gamers are questioning the push toward digital-only as discs remain functional.
AMC renews Interview with the Vampire for Season 4 adapting Queen of the Damned. The show will return for a fourth season titled 'Queen of the Damned.'
Vietnam drafts a decree requiring users under 16 to keep their social media accounts but lose the right to post, as part of child online safety measures.
Analysis of satellite imagery shows dozens of alleged scam compounds have appeared in Myanmar in recent months. The findings suggest criminal organizations continue to operate despite a purported crackdown.
Australia will invest an additional $3.2 billion in a government-run shipyard as part of the AUKUS pact to build nuclear-powered submarines, upgrading naval capacity and domestic shipbuilding.
The Verge's Optimizer newsletter by Victoria Song discusses the daily tracking of gadgets and potions, and announces a schedule change to Wednesdays starting August 12.
The European Union has agreed to US requests to delay Copernicus satellite imagery of the Iran war zone as the US escalates military operations, raising concerns about information access.
Wired reports that Chinese vape makers are using nicotine analogs like 6-methyl-nicotine to sidestep US regulations, chemicals Big Tobacco studied but never marketed.
A judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Meta Platforms Inc.’s WhatsApp is able to access users’ encrypted messages and has made false claims about the privacy and security of its chat service.
Money has evolved into far more than the cash in your wallet or your bank account. And at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, we’re devoting an entire stage to that progression.
The EPA proposes a rule that would let states decide how much public input is allowed on air pollution permits, potentially reducing community oversight. Critics say the change would benefit data center and industrial projects at the expense of local residents.
A federal judge told the US government it could withdraw subpoenas for NYT reporters' phone records, refusing to quash them but giving the administration an out, in a case involving press freedom.
Users report that adjusting Wi-Fi channel width and changing a single router setting can resolve random slowdowns and intermittent connectivity issues. The findings counter common advice to always use the widest channel for maximum speed.
Star Wars Detours, a long-lost animated comedy series, will finally air a few episodes at the Lucas Museum, but only a limited audience will be able to watch.
Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will introduce early versions of the Ringwraiths, re-invented as the Nazgnagôl, in the upcoming season.
Sony's decision to stop producing new PlayStation discs from January 2028 continues to draw industry reaction. Ubisoft's CFO supports the move, arguing that cheaper digital-only consoles and the inevitability of the shift outweigh concerns about the used-game market. The announcement follows years of declining physical sales and a broader industry push toward digital distribution.
Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 will introduce early versions of the Ringwraiths, re-invented as the Nazgnagôl. The season's trailer launch and other details are also covered.
Boox teases a 3.97-inch Picco e-reader with expandable storage, and Android Police reports that it may finally address the desire for a truly pocketable ereader, potentially shaking up the market.
Engadget reviews the Alienware 15 as a budget gaming laptop with perfect timing, praising its value despite a mediocre display. The laptop also drops to its lowest-ever price at Amazon, saving $200.
A review of Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender finds Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko returning but possibly unrecognizable, questioning if the film meets fan expectations.
Someone installed a popular AI assistant on a rented server, switched off the setting that makes it ask permission before running risky commands, and pointed it at Thailand's Ministry of Finance, which runs the country's treasury and tax collection.
The agent then worked through the ministry's network on its own, checking hosts for ways to gain root access, hunting through file systems, and
Anthropic launches Claude Opus 5, which tops the AI leaderboard and rivals Fable 5 on coding benchmarks at half the price. Opus 5 may have solved browser-based prompt injection, a major security flaw in AI agents.
Nvidia Corp. will invest $1 billion in Naver Corp. to help finance an AI data center under construction in South Korea, adding to a frenzy of deals by the world’s most valuable company.
NordVPN has launched HangUp, a free standalone Android app that identifies, categorizes, and blocks scam and telemarketing calls for users with just a free Nord account.
Prime Video released the first trailer for Blade Runner 2099 at San Diego Comic-Con. Showrunner Silka Luisa discussed how the series connects to the original films. All episodes drop on November 25.
AI startup Midjourney acquires astrology app Co-Star in a deal that the founder describes as uncovering something subliminal. Midjourney is also building its own apps, signaling a broader push into consumer AI.
Director Brad Bird debuted the opening seven minutes of his upcoming Netflix animated film Ray Gunn at San Diego Comic-Con, discussing its sci-fi noir approach and influences.
Home Assistant has rewritten its Matter server implementation from Python to TypeScript. The change aims to improve performance and maintainability. A new guide also addresses security considerations for installing custom add-ons.
Marvel is bringing Indiana Jones back to comic books with a new miniseries set after Raiders of the Lost Ark, along with a collection of classic comics.
Smart plugs pose fire and damage risks when used with high-power appliances like space heaters, air conditioners, and refrigerators; experts recommend dedicated outlets for such devices.
Santa Monica Studio confirms God of War Laufey will launch on February 16, 2027. A new Kratos-led title is already in development, as revealed at Comic-Con.
A discounted bundle offers the Complete Raspberry Pi and Alexa A-Z Bundle, featuring project-based courses for building Amazon Alexa projects. The deal targets beginners and intermediate users.
Target is updating its Pokémon Trading Card Game supply and display policies, which may benefit the upcoming 30th anniversary set releasing in September.
The Spaceballs sequel panel at Comic-Con revealed heartwarming reasons for the film's existence, including a tribute to John Candy and Mel Brooks' CGI Yogurt. The film releases April 2027.
A review of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra finds that a 4-month-old foldable priced at $600 offers better performance and value. The reviewer recommends the cheaper alternative over Samsung's latest flagships.
House of the Dragon season 3 episode 6 depicts a moment director Loni Peristere calls 'an instigating event for a lot of bad things,' as Rhaenyra's cut finger foreshadows the rot to come. The episode escalates desperation as the Dance builds to the finale.
Samuel Tunick, charged with felony for using a duress password to wipe his phone during a border search, gave an interview to 404 Media. He says the case is meant to intimidate people. GrapheneOS defends the feature.
Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 features a new non-canon orc character who rebels against Sauron and writes poetry. The season also includes Sauron using a legendary item against a Balrog and reduced Harfoot presence.