'The Verge'

Gemini can now tell when a PDF is on your phone screen

In the latest version of the Files by Google app, summoning Gemini while looking at a PDF gives you the option to ask about the file, writes Android Police. You’ll need to be a Gemini Advanced subscriber to use the feature though, according to Mishaal Rahman, who reported on Friday that it had started rolling… Read more

Here’s the first CoPilot plus mini PC with Intel’s new Core Ultra 9 processors

Asus has announced the Asus NUC 14 Pro AI, the first Copilot Plus-capable AI mini PC that crams an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor into a form factor resembling a black M4 Mac Mini. First introduced at IFA in September, Asus is providing a little more detail about the mini PC’s specs than it did… Read more

TCL’s new AI short films range from bad comedy to existential horror

Earlier this year, TCL released a trailer for Next Stop Paris — an AI-animated short film that seems like a Lifetime movie on steroids. The trailer had all the hallmarks of AI: characters that don’t move their mouths when they talk, lifeless expressions, and weird animation that makes it look like scenes are constantly vibrating…. Read more

10 excellent shows and movies from 2024 to stream on Max

Despite Max’s pivot to purging films and TV shows from its programming library, the platform still has plenty of excellent new releases to check out during this year’s holiday season. Whether you’re into live-action dramas, sci-fi spectacles, or animated epics, the streamer has a little bit of everything to offer. Naturally, we’ve put together a… Read more

Josh King’s viral slide-out MagSafe gamepad found a home at OhSnap and looks amazing

When 19-year-old Josh King suggested he would single-handedly redefine mobile gaming with his 3D-printed gamepad, drawing a direct line from himself to Steve Jobs, I have to admit I thought it was a bit much! But it’s no longer just a 3D-printed controller. OhSnap, the company behind the excellent magnetic PopSocket alternatives I showed you… Read more

Pegasus spyware maker NSO Group is liable for attacks on 1,400 WhatsApp users

NSO Group, the organization behind the Pegasus spyware, has been found liable in a lawsuit brought by Meta’s WhatsApp over attacks on about 1,400 devices, as reported by The Record. WhatsApp originally filed the suit in 2019, and investigations have found that Pegasus has been used to hack phones belonging to groups like activists, journalists,… Read more

Qualcomm wins a legal battle over Arm chip licensing

A federal jury in Delaware determined on Friday that Qualcomm didn’t breach its agreement with Arm through its 2021 acquisition of Nuvia, a startup founded by three former Apple engineers. As reported earlier by Bloomberg and Reuters, the decision stems from a two-year-long legal battle that accused Qualcomm of misusing the chip designs Arm licensed… Read more

US reveals charges against alleged LockBit ransomware developer

The US government has charged a dual Russian and Israeli national with allegedly building and maintaining LockBit’s malware code, while receiving over $230,000 in cryptocurrency for his work. The 51-year-old Rostislav Panev was arrested in Israel pending extradition to the US, making him the third member of the LockBit ransomware group in custody. Authorities previously… Read more

YouTube is cracking down on clickbait

YouTube is taking a tougher stance on clickbait, saying it will remove content with titles or thumbnails that promise viewers “something that the video doesn’t deliver,” as spotted earlier by TechCrunch. This change will “slowly” roll out in India first, according to YouTube’s blog post, but will “expand to more countries” in the “coming months,”… Read more

OpenAI teases new reasoning model—but don’t expect to try it soon

For the last day of ship-mas, OpenAI previewed a new set of frontier “reasoning” models dubbed o3 and o3-mini. The Verge first reported that a new reasoning model would be coming during this event. The company isn’t releasing these models today (and admits final results may evolve with more post-training). However, OpenAI is accepting applications… Read more

Three of the biggest US banks are facing a lawsuit for ‘widespread fraud’ on Zelle

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has filed a lawsuit against Zelle and three banks that own it — Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase — claiming they failed “to protect consumers from widespread fraud.” Zelle is a payment network designed to compete with payment platforms like Venmo and Cash App, but the… Read more

Squid Game: Unleashed is a fun game and a terrible adaptation

In Squid Game, schoolyard games are turned into nightmares, as players compete to survive and — if they’re lucky — earn a massive cash prize. But in Unleashed, a new mobile spinoff that’s part of the streamer’s fledgling gaming efforts, those games are fun. It’s a strange experience that sands off much of the appeal… Read more

Apple begins pulling iPhone SE, 14, and 14 Plus from EU

Starting December 28th, all new phones sold in the European Union must have USB-C. And while that deadline is still about a week away, Apple has begun pulling the iPhone SE, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Plus — the last models with Apple’s proprietary lightning port — from its Swiss online store. The removal was… Read more

Google Fiber’s internet plans are getting simpler

Google Fiber is changing up its internet plans in Huntsville, Alabama and Nashville, Tennessee. The new Core 1 Gig, Home 3 Gig, and Edge 8 Gig plans appear to have launched last month and streamline the company’s existing options, as spotted earlier by 9to5Google. These options replace the 1 Gig, 2 Gig, 5 Gig, and… Read more

We repaired an iPhone to see if iOS 18 fixes iPhone repair

We started making this video with one question in mind: “What makes iPhone repair so difficult?” And immediately the answer was: a lot. I’ve never repaired a phone before, so I was particularly nervous that the first one I was opening was an iPhone. This wasn’t just because I didn’t want to destroy a phone… Read more