This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest phones, smartwatches, apps, and other gizmos that swear they’re going to change your life. Optimizer arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 10AM ET. Opt in for Optimizer here. I had a major problem during […]
First announced at CES 2025, Belkin’s Stage PowerGrip is finally available for $79.99. You can find power banks with wireless charging and more than 9,300mAh capacity for less than that, but Belkin has packed a lot of extra functionality into its latest that could justify the price if you’re a smartphone photographer. The imaging capabilities […]
In 1972, Hamilton’s Pulsar Time Computer launched the first commercially sold digital watch, but its LED screen was power hungry and only showed the time when you pushed a button. What helped make digital watches practical was the eventual upgrade to low-power, always-on LCD displays, which Timex first introduced on its SSQ watch in 1975. […]
One of the most iconic puzzle toys of the last 50 years has evolved to become a novel way to play mobile games. First announced earlier this year, the Rubik’s WOWCube is a simpler 2×2 version of the puzzle that trades colored squares for 24 tiny color LCD displays. It still rotates like a traditional […]
A single-second pause over a social video can dismantle your algorithm. Even at my best, I can still hesitate over a poorly shot video demonstrating the “latest tech” that I simply “can’t live without” and later learn I really could have lived without it. However, by then my feed is already filled with duplicate videos […]
Elgato first launched a USB-C-powered teleprompter two years ago, and I was impressed with the $279.99 package. Now, it’s launching an even bigger version, the Prompter XL, that’s targeted at studio use, podcast rooms, and corporate AV setups for $599.99. The Prompter XL has a 15.6-inch LCD display (1920 x 1080), up from the 9-inch […]
Panther Lake is the most important chip Intel has made in years. It’s the one that will tell the world if a smaller, more focused Intel can still meet or beat the competition from Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm. It’s the first on Intel’s 18A process, the one Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger claimed would right the […]
Google’s third foldable features plenty of improvements from its second, from a world-first IP68 rating to magnetic Qi2 charging, brighter displays, and a bigger battery. But one area it hasn’t improved is the size and shape – in fact, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a gram heavier and a fraction of a millimeter thicker […]
iFixit has broken down Meta’s Ray-Ban Display glasses, revealing that the tech inside isn’t what makes them special — it’s the glassmaking. iFixit explains that the glass lenses use a reflective geometric waveguide system that bounces some of the light out to the wearer’s eyes at specific angles via partially reflective mirrors, which helps prevent […]
While the WH-1000XM6 are the top dog in Sony’s lineup, the discount for Prime Big Deal Days is relatively modest at just $21 off. If you don’t need the latest tech, though, you can save a lot more by grabbing the last-gen WH-1000XM5 in black, which are down to $250 ($150 off) at Amazon. That’s […]