The latest tech news about the world’s best (and sometimes worst) hardware, apps, and much more. From top companies like Google and Apple to tiny startups vying for your attention, Verge Tech has the latest in what matters in technology daily.
The creator behind AO3.life, a vibe-coded website that scraped the Archive of Our Own fanfiction repository and re-sold content as AI audiobooks, said they received over 2,000 takedown requests during the single day the website was live. The real AO3 platform is still suffering a partial system outage after announcing some lengthy downtime last Thursday.
3D-converted movies could be in for another big push, as Deadline reports the arrangement between Meta and Lionsgate will start with The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
After their theatrical run, the plan is for the movies to become available on Meta’s $1,300 VR headsets, along with games and other content.
A banner in the app says the app will “retire” on January 30th, 2027, according to 9to5Mac. The banner also points users toward the updated app, which was released earlier this year.
Don’t get too excited yet; it’s running in a virtual machine, and trees and water in The Witcher 3 aren’t supposed to look like that! But SteamOS on Arm-based Macs is now a thing with surprisingly decent performance, ETA Prime demonstrates in this video. Here’s the GitHub page.
Streaming all your video games seems like such a good, simple idea. All your games, everywhere, on any screen you like — it’s the dream! The Verge’s Sean Hollister explains how the tech works now (which might be better than you think), why it’ll take a huge amount of work to make it even a little bit better, and why games like Grand Theft Auto VI probably can’t just live in the cloud.
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The new icons trade the flat blue look for a gradient style in line with the updates across Google’s other logos.
It was the last defendant in a case brought by two young social media users. Meta, TikTok, and YouTube previously settled their claims, and opening arguments were set to begin this week. But the companies will be back in court soon, with the next bellwether cases scheduled for March 2027.
As a nod to this week’s Ocarina of Time release, you can click the Master Sword that pops up to be transported back to a classic list of blue links, complete with a retro “Google!” logo. I wish this was an option for every search.
This profile of friend-to-the-stars Charles Porch (formerly of Meta) details how OpenAI is working to seed AI within the entertainment industry.
Porch describes, for example, how having Real Housewives stars at personal events could pay off in the future: “If an AI model comes up on the show, it might be Chat because we have this nice drumbeat. This is what I’ve been trying to explain to folks: It’s not about deals; it’s about relationships.”
[Intelligencer]
NBCU Media Group chairman Matt Strauss on sports, streaming, and keeping you watching.
The fastest fiber internet option T-Mobile offers costs $90 per month, excluding taxes and fees, if you use Autopay. It will be available starting November 3rd.
0The X500 Pro Max is great, but it’s a step back from my favorite phone camera.
Bipartisan outrage has been growing for months — but Republicans’ many advantages could still help them win.
The Tonal 2 “Glacier” edition is available for $4,795. Aside from being a white colorway of the Tonal 2, it also has a mirror-like display that reflects the room when idle, built-in accessory storage, and some small design tweaks like arm covers and sculptural refinements across the top and bottom caps.
Starting today, new and existing owners of the company’s smart bird feeders will receive an unlimited number of identifications of over 6,000 different species when a bird lands to feed. Previously, free users were limited to only 10 AI bird recognitions per day. Those wanting more details, including a bird’s sex, age category, and health estimates, can opt for the $79.99-per-year Birdfy Membership Plus subscription or the $149.99-per-year Pro option.
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Chrome used to support tab scrolling with an experimental flag, but removed it earlier this year. Now it’s coming back in the latest Canary build for Chrome Desktop. It lets you navigate crowded tab bars using the scroll wheel, gestures, or arrow controls.
[Google Chrome Community]
Long-press a message with an email address, phone number, address, or meeting time, and the app will suggest dynamic actions like sending emails, saving contacts, or creating calendar events. It’s rolling out across iOS and Android, though only some Verge team members are seeing the feature on our phones so far.
That’s according to the Chosun Ilbo, which reports markets including Europe, China, and Japan will have to wait until later for the “intelligent eyewear,” powered by Google, and designed by Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. Chosun also reports the glasses will go on sale in mid-December, a little later than we’d previously heard.
Musk hinted at the change in an X post after users complained they were hitting usage limits sooner than expected. The cost of running xAI’s always-on AI agent was “unsustainably high relative to revenue,” he said, without providing details on what has changed.
LED billboards in Egypt, Malaysia, Brazil, and possibly Iraq and China were hacked to show sexually explicit material. The group Leakers$ claimed responsibility for the attack and said that “anyone with two brain cells” could have done it. According to Gizmodo:
A representative said participants using the pseudonyms Never, 19ylegal, CH, and Nivex identified thousands of exposed systems through an automated random scan lasting roughly two hours. The systems were allegedly accessible via web pages and interfaces that lacked basic security protections.
To close out spooky season, I shared some of my favorite creepy clips from YouTube. I tried to avoid series that spanned multiple videos or had the backing of bigger corporate sponsors, like Adult Swim’s infomercials. But let’s toss all qualifiers out the window: What YouTube clip or clips have unsettled you the most?
Mosseri opens the video by saying he’s “suspicious anyone actually is interested in” his roughly 6-minute day-in-the-life video. I can’t say anything that follows would lead me to disagree with him. But at least we know he won’t be making any extra money from it.
