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.
Sometimes, wired is simpler, better, and less expensive than wireless.
Copilot Vision will be able to look at your whole desktop.
The highlights: Beeper is “gradually” deprecating Beeper Cloud in favor of connecting directly to other messaging networks, and there’s a new Beeper Plus subscription tier with some useful features. You can get an idea of the updates in bento box below or read all the details in Beeper’s blog post.
Chipotle is hosting “one of the biggest and most unique listening parties in music history” tomorrow for You’ll Be Alright, Kid, a new album from TikTok Hype House member Alex Warren.
Judging from his current hit, “Ordinary,” Warren’s music has a lot in common with how Chipotle tastes, so the combo makes sense. The song will play at restaurants on Thursday night, and there’s a giveaway tied to the Chipotle app. Hopefully, it works out better than McDonald’s $1 million Flexi-Disc promotion in 1989.
Now I’m going to bleach my soul and get myself to a nunnery.
Remember when I told you about the Android handheld that’s kinda like a Nintendo Switch that transforms into a Nintendo DS? I got an exclusive early look at a Sugar 1 prototype, running some of my own dual-screen and single-screen Nintendo games on it!
It’s crowdfunding on Indiegogo on Monday, July 21st; we don’t have final pricing yet, but it’ll be north of $600.
Yesterday Ugreen dropped the first Qi2.2 power bank as the first certifications rolled out, and now Aukey has followed with a 2-in-1 charging stand dubbed the MagFusion 2X. You can preorder it today.
Both charging pads are Qi2.2, meaning each can deliver 25W speeds. Aukey claims an iPhone 16 Pro Max charges 25 minutes faster than on Qi2 — which suggests Apple’s latest phones are already compatible.
Microsoft is giving Skype for Business a few extra months of support. While the main Skype consumer app closed down earlier this year, Skype for Business 2015 and 2019 are set to go end of support in October. Now, businesses will be able to purchase extended security updates for Skype for Business, but only for an extra six months. That brings extended support up to April 14th, 2026.
Researchers Jason Wei and Hyung Won Chung are said to be joining Meta’s superintelligence lab, the latest of several high-profile OpenAI researchers and developers to be plucked by the social media giant. That would make this the second big move in as many years for Wei and Won Chung, who left Google’s Brain research group to join OpenAI in 2023.
Amazon’s third batch of Project Kuiper satellites has launched into space on Elon Musk’s Falcon 9 rocket. The deployment of 24 Kuiper satellites comes just three hours after 26 Starlink satellites were deployed. Jeff Bezos plans to light up his space Internet service later this year with help from launch partners ULA, Arianespace, and yes, his own Blue Origin. The Kuiper constellation will eventually consist of more than 3,200 satellites, less than half of what Starlink already has operating, with more competitors to come.
Cameron John Wagenius, aka kiberphant0m, had already pleaded guilty on two charges for hacking T-Mobile and Verizon, and could face 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to additional conspiracy, extortion, and identity theft charges.
Wagenius reportedly sold data stolen from Snowflake cloud storage accounts, including records for 560 million Ticketmaster customers and information from over 150 other companies, and said he’d posted hacked AT&T call logs for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Two other men, John Binns and Connor Moucka, have also been indicted in this case.
The House voted against a procedural step to advance a slate of three President Donald Trump-endorsed crypto bills that would regulate stablecoins, determine who can regulate cryptocurrency, and prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. Thirteen Republicans defied Trump’s encouragement to advance the legislation amid disputes about whether the bills should be combined in a vote. It’s not clear what happens next, but Crypto Week might not be done just yet.
What do a filmmaker in Wisconsin, billionaire investor Bill Ackman, The Guardian, and a doctor who posted on TikTok all have in common? UnitedHealth has targeted them in an effort to clamp down on criticism. The company’s legal tactics have only intensified after the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, The New York Times reports.
[nytimes.com]
Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company has officially launched its hearing aid feature, along with the Apple Watch’s sleep apnea detection, in more locations, including Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and others.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Troy Jones, director of Tesla’s North American sales, is leaving after 15 years at the company. This comes after Tesla reported a steep drop in sales for the second quarter. Other execs have similarly been fleeing. Elon Musk fired Omead Afshar, who formerly led operations in North America and Europe. And the company’s director of human resources for North America, Jenna Ferrua, departed in June, according to the Journal. The C-suite is getting thin.
Right-wing influencers now have to choose between authenticity to their brand, and their loyalty to Trump.
