Galaxy Unpacked 2025: live updates from Samsung’s event

We’re expecting the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra, and new AI features.

Samsung is announcing its new Galaxy S25 phones. We’ll have all of the updates as they come in. You can also tune in to watch the event in the video below once everything gets started at 1PM ET / 10AM PT.

Expect Samsung to talk about AI. It’s the thing tech companies love to talk about as much as possible. Probably because they’re all spending a lot of money on it. Google, Apple, Microsoft, and others have used similar events to chat about how they’re implementing AI into their software, for example.

Whatever comes up, we’ll have it all here.

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NFL teams can’t use Bluesky

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

The NFL told the New England Patriots to shut down the team’s Bluesky account_._ Patriots VP of content Fred Kirsch said the team was told that Bluesky is “not an approved social media platform for the NFL yet,” addressing a fan question on a January 16th episode of the Patriots Unfiltered podcast, as spotted by Awful Announcing.

Kirsch said the team “briefly” had a Bluesky account before the league asked it to take the account down. The NFL told Front Office Sports in November it was aware of Bluesky but had no presence there, Awful Announcing notes. The league did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Football teams are allowed to post on other platforms, including X, which the NFL has a content partnership with that includes the “NFL Portal” that X CEO Linda Yaccarino revealed in October. The league also has a content deal with Reddit and a heavy presence on Threads and other Meta-owned platforms.

Bluesky has been growing steadily, with some occasional recent spikes in signups. The platform is closing in on 29 million users as of this writing, nearly doubling where it was two months ago. Whether that’s enough for the NFL is an open question, but Front Office also reported Bluesky was working to get leagues on board with the platform. The Patriots are “ready to go” whenever it does, Kirsch said on Patriots Unfiltered.

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Here are the best Kindle deals right now

The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is on sale as a part of a bundle that includes a cover and a wireless charging dock. | Photo: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge

When it comes to finding a device to read ebooks, you have a few options to choose from. You can always buy a tablet or use your phone, but those devices are multipurpose and can be used for a ton of things, like surfing the web or doom-scrolling on X. If you are looking for something to strictly read books, e-readers, while niche, are designed to store all of your books in a virtual library with limited functionality.

Amazon, one of the pioneers of the e-reader, has dominated the space for years with its ever-expanding Kindle lineup, which consists of several unique models with their own pros and cons. The bulk of the devices function as simple ebook readers; however, with the Kindle Scribe, Amazon is moving beyond books and into the realm of writing — something that should make future Kindles function more akin to physical paper.

Below, we’ve listed each model currently available. Sometimes there isn’t a deal for one or even any of the products, but in those cases, we’ve listed the most recent sale price.

Photo by Sheena Vasani / The Verge

The entry-level Kindle remains the smallest e-reader Amazon offers, one that’s available in either black or green.

The best Kindle (2024) deals

In case you missed it, Amazon announced a new entry-level Kindle in October, one that was designed to replace the outgoing 2022 model. The latest Kindle — which starts at $109.99 — boasts a brighter 94-nit display, improved contrast levels, and slightly faster page turns. It also comes in a “matcha” green instead of “denim,” just in case you’re not a fan of the default black color. Otherwise, though, it’s nearly identical to its predecessor, with the same six-inch 300ppi screen, support for USB-C, and 16GB of base storage.

In the past, Amazon’s newest ad-supported Kindle has dropped to as low as $84.99 ($25 off) with three months of Kindle Unlimited. Right now, however, you can only buy the Kindle at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for its full retail price of $109.99.

The best Kindle Kids (2024) deals

Amazon also updated its kid-friendly Kindle in late 2024. The new Kindle Kids is identical to the standard model but comes with several accessories and provides age-appropriate content for younger readers who prefer digital books. Like the last-gen Kindle Kids, the latest model retails for $20 more than the base model, bringing the MSRP to $129.99.

In terms of add-ons, the new Kindle Kids edition consists of four items: the device, a protective case, a two-year extended replacement guarantee (in the event the device breaks), and six months of Amazon Kids Plus. The latter is the biggest selling point of the device aside from the kid-friendly patterns and lack of ads, as it allows parents to grant their child access to games, videos, and books — including those in the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter series — at no additional cost.

In the past, we’ve seen the new Kindle Kids sell for as low as $94.99 ($35 off). Right now, however, you can only buy the e-reader at its full price of $129.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target.

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is identical to the standard model but features wireless charging and a sensor to automatically adjust the backlight.

The best Kindle Paperwhite (2024) deals

The latest Kindle Paperwhite, which launched last year, is Amazon’s 12th-gen model. Considering it’s one of the company’s higher-end configurations, it offers all the features found in the entry-level Kindle, including USB-C charging and a crisp 300ppi display. That being said, it’s noticeably faster than Amazon’s base ebook reader and features IPX8 waterproofing, a larger seven-inch display, and longer battery life.

Like other Kindles, the new Paperwhite is available in a few different configurations. There’s an ad-free Signature Edition for $199.99, which is identical to the standard model but comes with 32GB of storage, Qi wireless charging, and a backlight that will automatically adjust when needed. There’s also a Paperwhite Kids for $179.99, which comes bundled with a kid-friendly cover, a two-year extended replacement guarantee, and six months of Amazon Kids Plus.

In the past, we’ve seen the Paperwhite drop to as low as $129.99. Unfortunately, the standalone model is currently only available at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target starting at $159.99 (its full retail price). If you’re okay with purchasing a bundle, you can also grab it at Amazon with a power adapter and a black, green, or pink fabric cover for $196.97 ($20 off) or with a plant-based black, green, or pink leather cover for $202.97 ($20 off).

Read our Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review.

As for the ad-free Signature Edition, it’s available at Amazon and Best Buy right now for $199.99 — its regular retail price. You can also grab it at Amazon with a wireless charging dock and a black, green, or pink fabric cover starting at $251.97 ($25 off) or with a plant-based black, green, or pink leather cover for $257.97 ($25 off).

You can write in the Kindle Scribe and use its AI features to clean up the handwriting or summarize your notes.

The best Kindle Scribe (2024) deals

Like its predecessor, the second-gen Kindle Scribe is Amazon’s biggest e-reader. It packs a 10.2-inch display with 300 dpi, along with the same great battery life for which Kindles have become known. What separates the Scribe from other Kindles, however, is that it comes with a stylus, which can be used to jot down notes or doodle in the ebook reader’s built-in notebook. With the latest Scribe, Amazon also introduced a new Active Canvas feature, so you can scribble notes directly on ebook pages, as well as a suite of AI-powered features that can summarize your notes and refine your handwriting.

Recently, we saw the entry-level Kindle Scribe drop to an all-time low of $324.99 ($75 off). However, right now, you can only buy the base model at Amazon and Best Buy for its full retail price of $399.99. You can also buy the base Scribe as a part of a bundle with a 9W power adapter, a Premium Pen, and either a plant-based leather cover starting at $434.97 ($55 off) or a premium leather cover starting at $459.97 ($60 off). Alternatively, the 64GB version is available with the same accessories and a plant-based leather cover for $479.97 ($60 off) or a premium leather cover for $504.97 ($65 off).

Read our Kindle Scribe (2024) review.

Photos by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge

The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is Amazon’s only color e-reader.

The best Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition deals

In October, Amazon announced its first color e-reader, the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition. Like the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, it boasts a seven-inch display with a crisp 300ppi resolution, IPX8 water resistance, wireless charging, and 32GB of storage. However, unlike the Paperwhite, the e-reader offers a color mode, which cuts the resolution in half. Thankfully, it’s still vibrant for a color E-Ink screen despite the lower resolution, rendering it particularly ideal for reading comic books and manga.

We recently saw the Kindle Colorsoft drop to $229.99 ($50 off) for Prime members, which is the first discount we’ve seen on the color ebook reader to date. Unfortunately, that deal has expired, meaning you can only buy the standalone model at Amazon and Best Buy for its full retail price of $279.99. However, you can save some money if you buy it as a part of a bundle for $327.97 ($35 off), which nets you a wireless charging dock and plant-based leather cover in black, pink, or green. You can also buy it with a “premium” leather cover in red or black for $349.97 ($35 off).

Read our Kindle Colorsoft review.

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Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas

Image: Google

Google Fiber’s next big expansion is underway in Las Vegas, Nevada. After first announcing the expansion last year, Google has confirmed that it has started construction in Las Vegas and Clark County where its fiber internet service will be available “later this year.”

GFiber, as it’s increasingly being branded, is currently available in select cities across 19 states, including California, North Carolina, Texas, Tennesee, and more. The company most recently lit up its services in Pocatello, Idaho; Logan, Utah; and Lakewood, Colorado, and it plans on bringing GFiber to Lawrence, Kansas as well. Like other fiber internet services, GFiber has symmetrical internet speeds, meaning the speeds for uploads and downloads are the same.

Image: Google

Google’s streamlined plans offer three options instead of four.

On Wednesday, Google also confirmed that it’s piloting simplified, “lifestyle-based” plans in Alabama and Tennesee, which were first spotted last month. The new $70 / month Core 1 Gig, $100 / month Home 3 Gig, and $150 / month Edge 8 Gig plans replace the 1 Gig, 2 Gig, 5 Gig, and 8 Gig plans that GFiber widely offers.

These new plans are also launching in all of the locations where GFiber is currently available in Arizona and North Carolina, GFiber spokesperson Sunny Gettinger tells The Verge. They’re coming to most of GFiber’s remaining cities within the next month, too.

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Insomniac Games boss Ted Price is retiring

Ted Price at the D.I.C.E awards in 2014. | Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic

After three decades at the helm, Insomniac Games founder and president Ted Price has announced he’s retiring. Price will officially step away at the end of March, and he’s being replaced by three new studio heads who will take over Insomniac moving forward.

According to Price, the succession process has been in the works for a while. “I actually made this decision last year,” he explains. “For me, after over 30 years of leading Insomniac, I felt it was simply time to step aside and let others pave the way for our team.”

Insomniac was founded in 1994, and since then has gone on to create multiple hit games and franchises, including Ratchet & Clank, Resistance, Sunset Overdrive, and, more recently, Spider-Man. In 2019 the studio was acquired by PlayStation, and it’s currently working on a Wolverine game.

Taking over for Price will be Chad Dezern, Ryan Schneider, and Jen Huang. Dezern previously served as Insomniac’s creative lead, and has been with the studio nearly since its inception, while Schneider was the Head of Franchise Strategy and Studio Relations and joined the studio during the PS2 years. Huang, meanwhile, has been Insomniac’s CFO for the past eight years.

“I believe strongly that for us to continue our success, we need leaders at the top who are intimately familiar with how we do things, leaders who have helped build our culture and our processes, and who have earned people’s trust,” Price said of the new co-studio heads.

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Elon Musk, White House advisor, says OpenAI deal announced at White House is a sham

Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Photo: Getty Images

Elon Musk doesn’t miss an opportunity to take a dig at OpenAI — even when the news item in question is supposed to be favorable to President Trump. Just a few hours after yesterday’s White House presser on The Stargate Project wrapped up, Musk posted on X that “they don’t actually have the money.”

Softbank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX have committed to “deploy” $100 billion now and $500 billion toward the AI data center company over the next four years.

But Musk, who now has wide-ranging clearances and reportedly even his own office inside the Trump White House, seems doubtful. “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority,” he added. The Japanese CEO and billionaire investor is the former owner of WeWork and Sprint and the current owner of Arm, and there have been reports for the last year that, along with Altman, he’s been chasing funding to invest in an AI chip venture.

They don’t actually have the money

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 22, 2025

Musk and OpenAI are embroiled in a legal battle that often veers into public view, with Musk accusing the ChatGPT maker of steering AI in dangerous directions — and OpenAI saying his criticisms are disingenuous and in bad faith. Sam Altman replied to Musk’s allegation on Wednesday morning but chose to focus on the man himself rather than anything having to do with Stargate. “I genuinely respect your accomplishments and think you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time,” Altman posted. An attempt to reconcile? Biting dry sarcasm? Who knows anymore.

i genuinely respect your accomplishments and think you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time

— Sam Altman (@sama) January 22, 2025

The Stargate Project has a buildout “currently underway” in Texas, and the companies involved say they’re evaluating other sites across the US. Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and OpenAI have been named as the project’s initial tech partners. “The scale of this investment, obviously, is huge. And what I think that says about the likely progress of the technology, at least what all of us believe, is correspondingly huge,” Altman said in a Fox News interview last night.

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The 65-inch LG C3 is matching its lowest price

The LG C3 can easily last several years as your home theater’s centerpiece. | Image: LG

If you’re spending more time indoors to escape the icy winds or need something impressive to enjoy the Super Bowl, a new TV might be in order. Although it’s a couple of years old now, the LG C3is still one of the best 4K OLED TVs you can buy, and it’s a bit cheaper today at Amazon and Walmart. They’re selling the 65-inch model for $1,196.99 ($302 off), which is matching its all-time low price.

The LG C3 offers a great picture quality with vivid color, no light blooming or bleeding, and deep, inky black levels for a practically infinite contrast ratio. If you somehow haven’t seen how good an OLED panel can look yet, then a trip to Best Buy is in order. It appeases most home theater and gaming needs with a 120Hz variable refresh rate and auto low-latency mode across all four of its HDMI ports, Dolby Vision and HDR 10 Plus, Dolby Atmos audio, and an incredible upscaling engine that can make older content look fantastically sharp.

You’re not missing out on much by skipping the LG C4, either, and the incoming C5 may not have enough to justify waiting and paying significantly more. LG advertises a substantial brightness boost in the newer models, but in reality, the C4’s panel doesn’t blow the C3 out of the water. The C4 is also capable of a higher 144Hz refresh rate, though that’s a largely discernible jump that’s only relevant for PC gamers. Both run webOS, which offers a deep selection of apps for gaming, music, and video with voice-activated content discovery.

More ways to save

• Costco members can pick up the Insta360 X4 adventure bundle for $429.99 ($7 off) at Costco. The waterproof 8K action camera comes with two batteries, a 114cm selfie stick that Insta360’s software can automatically remove from your footage, and a 256GB V30 microSD card. You can shoot up to 30 frames per second at its max resolution, or step down to 5.7K for up to 60 frames per second and 4K at 100 frames per second — all decent improvements over the X3. Another new feature is a detachable lens guard to protect the glass element, one that doesn’t noticeably impact your image quality when shooting in 360 mode.
• The CMF Buds from Nothing’s affordability-focused sister brand are already a ridiculous bargain, but Amazon is discounting select colors to an even better $27 ($12 off). The IP54 wireless earbuds support active noise cancellation that can reduce up to 42dB of noise and have four noise-filtering mics to help with call quality. They’ll last up to eight hours per charge with a total 35.5 hours available with the case, and they have Bluetooth 5.3 with Google Fast Pair support. You can customize them in Nothing’s companion app, too, allowing you to change gesture behaviors and tweak audio modes.
• If you need a really good Android phone that’ll get major software updates for more than half a decade, you should start with the Google Pixel 8A. You can get the 128GB model for $399 ($100 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store right now. It’s using Google’s Tensor G3 processor, which supports computational photography and other AI features being baked into Android. The phone also has a 120Hz display, Qi wireless charging, and a decent camera that’s not quite as nice as those on its flagship counterparts but still capable of impressive results. Read our review.

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YouTube Premium gets more experimental features that can now be tested all at once

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

YouTube Premium users are getting a slew of new experiments to try out before anyone else alongside an option to reduce their membership cost when bundling subscriptions. Subscribers can now also sign up to test multiple experimental features all at once, instead of being limited to just one at a time.

There are several new experiments that users can try out, including 256kbps bitrate audio quality on videos, and options for iOS users to view YouTube shorts in picture-in-picture mode and automatically download “recommended Shorts” for offline viewing. The AI-powered skipping feature that allows users to jump right to the most-watched part of a video is also available on web browsers after initially being introduced for mobile devices last year.

These will eventually be joined by expanded playback options for mobile devices that can increase video speed by up to four times. YouTube hasn’t mentioned when this experimental feature will be available, however, only that it’s coming “soon.”

YouTube is also rolling out a deal that makes YouTube Premium a smidge cheaper when you purchase it as a bundle with Google’s cloud storage. The offer is eligible on Google One Premium plans (which start at $9.99 per month for 2TB) or higher, but you’ll only save $2 per month on YouTube Premium — bringing the price back to 2023 levels.

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Samsung launches a kid-friendly mode for the Galaxy Watch 7

The new Galaxy Watch for Kids mode is enabled in Wear OS via Google Family Link. | Image: Samsung, Google

Samsung dropped some wearable news ahead of its Unpacked event later today: parents can now use the cellular Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 as a smartwatch for their kids.

With a new Galaxy Watch for Kids mode, children can use the smartwatch to call and text trusted contacts, while parents can also track their kids’ locations via GPS. The option starts rolling out today and will work on Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T networks.

The good news is parents won’t need a separate smartphone for this to work. Instead, it’s similar to Apple Family Setup, where parents use their phone to pair and set up the smartwatch before programming guardrails through the Google Family Link app. Parents can control which apps can be downloaded to the device, locate misplaced watches, and specify their children’s contacts for texting and calling. In an emergency, kids can also access emergency SOS features by pressing the side button five times. As with other children’s smartwatches, there’s a School Time mode that limits features during school hours.

In a keyword blog, Google also notes that kids can download 20 “teacher approved” apps and watchfaces from the kids section of the Google Play store. They include Barbie, Marvel, and Rubik’s Cube-themed watchfaces and educational games from PBS Kids and Crayola. Other third-party apps are available for download but require parental approval.

Samsung isn’t reinventing the wheel here — it’s playing catch-up. Apple first introduced Family Setup for its smartwatches in 2020, and last year, Google launched the Fitbit Ace LTE, a revamped kids GPS tracker with Pixel Watch hardware and a focus on educational gaming.

Meanwhile, this has been a feature that parents have been asking for in subreddits and Samsung customer forums. Previously, it was possible to set up Galaxy Watches as standalone devices with cellular service for kids, but it required parents to be a bit more tech-savvy in figuring out location tracking, phone setup, and parental controls. This new mode streamlines everything into a more accessible format, though it is only limited to the Watch 7.

We’ve asked Samsung if it plans to introduce the feature to LTE version of the budget Galaxy Watch FE but did not immediately receive a response.

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I hope Sharge’s new retractable charger can survive me fidgeting with it all day

The Sharge Retractable 65 includes a 27-inch retractable USB-C charging cable. | Image: Sharge

First revealed last December through a Chinese retailer, Sharge’s new 65W GaN charger is now available globally. As the name implies, the Retractable 65 features an integrated USB-C cable that fully retracts when not in use so you won’t be scrambling to find one when a device is about to die. It’s available in white or black for $39.90 and while it comes with US style folding prongs it can be ordered with EU and UK outlet adapters.

Image: Sharge

An additional USB-C port allows the charger to power two devices, although the maximum power output drops to 60W with both ports in use.

The Retractable 65 can deliver up to a maximum of 65W of power with a single device connected, so you can use it to charge larger devices like laptops. In addition to the retractable USC-cable that’s just over 27 inches in length, the charger includes an additional USB-C port. Two devices can be charged simultaneously, but while Sharge hasn’t detailed how power is split between the two ports, the charger’s maximum output drops to 60W while both are in use.

Image: Sharge

The charger’s retracting mechanism is left visible through a transparent housing.

The Retractable 65 joins a growing number of chargers and portable power solutions featuring retractable cables, thanks in part to most devices now supporting USB-C so companies like Sharge don’t have to accommodate several different charging ports.

The big question with this trend is how durable are the internal mechanisms used to retract integrated cables? As someone who likes to fidget with gadgets all day (and who broke the spring-loaded memory card eject mechanism on a Sony camera while fidgeting with it) I will undoubtedly be doing the same with chargers like this.

Will it survive someone mindlessly yanking out the cable and watching it go flying back into the charger all day like a tape measure? On its website Sharge claims the mechanism can survive “10,000+ stretch cycles” without breaking, but we’ve reached out to the company for more details about the charger’s durability — including if a broken retraction mechanism is covered under warranty — and will update this story when it responds.

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Plex starts testing its big redesign on Apple TV

Image: Plex

After getting started on mobile back in November, Plex is ready to test its “reimagined” app experience on much bigger screens. Today the company announced that the preview has expanded to included tvOS. “Please keep in mind this is nowhere close to perfect, but we want to get feedback from the community as early as we can,” Plex wrote in the blog post.

Live TV and on-demand rentals are prominently shown in the navigation bar, but if it’s anything like the mobile version, you can disable those if you only care about enjoying your personal library. Note that you’ve got to opt into this preview; the regular Plex app isn’t going anywhere just yet. Instructions for doing so can be found here.

Image: Plex

Plex’s reimagined experience puts a spotlight on its live TV and on-demand content.

Plex is also getting more social: movie and TV show reviews can now be viewed by everyone across the platform — if you change your privacy settings to allow this, that is. You can comment on reviews by others, so Plex seems to be leaning into all the success around Letterboxd with this one.

“By making your profile publicly accessible on watch.plex.tv you can easily share a link to your profile with others so that they can see what you’ve been watching, what’s on your Watchlist, and more,” the company says.

Last, Plex is making HEVC hardware encoding available to all Plex Plus customers. “HEVC encoding offers a better visual quality at the same bit rate, allowing for a higher-quality video over the same (or lower) bandwidth usage for streaming from your Plex Media Server,” the company says. Another benefit is that HDR metadata is fully preserved. HEVC encoding is supported on macOS, Linux, and Windows “when using hardware encoding with Apple, Intel, or Nvidia devices,” Plex wrote back in September.

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Silo’s season 2 finale was excellent, but the show is running out of time

Steve Zahn and Rebecca Ferguson. | Image: Apple

The second season of Silo — a postapocalyptic thriller on Apple TV Plus — has wrapped up, and the finale was the show at its very best. It was full of dramatic twists, painful sacrifices, brutal fights, beautiful shots of a decayed future, and in its final moments, a tease that shows how much larger and more expansive the story actually is. It left me excited about what’s coming next — but also wary that the show is running out of time to tell the full story.

This article contains spoilers for the first two seasons of Silo_._

Silo takes place far in the future, when the outside world is seemingly uninhabitable and what remains of humanity lives in vast, tightly controlled silos deep underground. The first season followed Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) as she was able to uncover (some of) the truth about the reality of the world and her home’s place within it. It ended with a great cliffhanger as she stepped outside and discovered that her silo, which she believed to be the only remaining place full of human life, was just one of many.

Season 2 picked up right after that and explored two concurrent threads. On one side, there was Juliette, whose trek outside uncovered a silo filled...

Read the full story at The Verge.

Sega is the next game company asking you to make an account

Image: Sega

Sega launched a new cross-platform game-linking service called Sega Accounts, reports Eurogamer. The company says the online profile system will bring “a host of benefits” for players, like bonuses for specific games and other promised features down the line.

You can create the account over at sega-account.com, and from there link it to your Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam accounts, with Epic Games coming soon. Doing so will net you a code for some bonus DLC: a new costume to use in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, which is out on February 20th. (You can also get that DLC by signing up for Sega’s newsletter, though.)

Sega says the account will enable other “services and features” soon. One possibility could be a subscription service like Game Pass or PlayStation Plus, as IGN speculated today. Sega’s Shuji Utsumi told BBC last month subscriptions like those are “interesting” and that the company is “evaluating some opportunities,” but didn’t get more specific than that.

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Trump’s first 100 days: all the news impacting the tech industry

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images

President Donald Trump has promised everything from saving TikTok from a ban to rolling back Biden-era electric vehicle policies.

President Donald Trump kicked off the first day of his presidency by signing a flurry of executive actions, including halting enforcement of the TikTok ban and rolling back the Biden administration’s artificial intelligence order.

Having already run the country once before, Trump entered the presidency with the goal of hitting the ground running, having already selected nominees and chairs for key agencies that oversee tech. This time, Trump has the backing of many tech billionaires who attended his inauguration and showed up at his home in Mar-a-Lago.

Read on below as we keep track of all the ways Trump is leaving his mark on tech in his first 100 days in office.

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Annapurna taps Netflix exec for its beleaguered gaming label

Stray is just one of the titles Annapurna Interactive has worked on. | Image: Annapurna Interactive

Former Netflix executive Leanne Loombe is joining Annapurna Interactive as executive vice president and head of games, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Loombe helped build out Netflix’s game development and publishing arm, and now she’ll likely face new challenges as a leader of the gutted games publisher.

Annapurna Interactive, which is behind popular indie titles like Stray, Outer Wilds, and Gorogoa, experienced an upheaval last year when the entirety of its staff resigned after its owner, Megan Ellison, disagreed with the employees’ wishes to spin the publisher off into a new company, Bloomberg reported at the time. The former Annapurna Interactive staff members later took control of the games published under Private Division, an indie label previously owned by Take-Two Interactive, according to Bloomberg.

Loombe worked at Riot Games before joining Netflix in 2021, where she brought titles like Hades and the Grand Theft Auto trilogy into the streamer’s growing gaming portfolio and helped head up its cloud gaming initiative. As part of its earnings report released on Tuesday, Netflix said it would “continue to test and expand” its cloud gaming offering on TV, as well as focus on adding “immersive, narrative games based on our IP, socially engaging party games, games for kids and mainstream established titles” to its lineup.

“I’ve always admired how incredibly thoughtful Annapurna Interactive is about supporting developers who have a strong creative vision and empowering them to create high quality games that players love,” Loombe said in a post on LinkedIn. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to continue creating and strengthening a place developers can call home.”

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Adobe Premiere Pro now lets you find video clips by describing them

Seems like a good solution for folks who are too lazy to title their video files. | Image: Adobe

Search in Premiere Pro has been updated with AI-powered visual recognition, allowing users to find videos by describing the contents of the footage. It’s just one of several quality-of-life features Adobe is adding to Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Frame.io that aim to save video editors time on their projects.

Users can enter search terms like “a person skating with a lens flare” to find corresponding clips within their media library. Adobe says the media intelligence AI can automatically recognize “objects, locations, camera angles, and more,” alongside spoken words — providing there’s a transcript attached to the video. The feature doesn’t detect audio or identify specific people, but it can scrub through any metadata attached to video files, which allows it to fetch clips based on shoot dates, locations, and camera types. The media analysis runs on-device, so doesn’t require an internet connection, and Adobe reiterates that users’ video content isn’t used to train any AI models.

This is launching alongside a translation feature for video captions that supports 17 languages. Multiple caption tracks can be opened simultaneously in Premiere Pro to make it easier to view and edit several translations at once. The media intelligence-empowered Search panel and caption translations are available starting today in the beta version of Premiere Pro, which is available to anyone with an active Creative Cloud or Premiere Pro subscription.

After Effects now supports HDR monitoring and has been overhauled with a new caching system that makes it faster to preview or playback large project files. The app is no longer limited to storing all the rendered frames in your system memory — instead, both RAM and the disk cache of your computer storage are used to improve performance. Adobe says this will allow older desktops and laptops to play back entire compositions “without having to pause for caching or rendering.” Both HDR support and the updated caching system are available in the After Effects Beta.

Finally, Canon’s C80 and C400 cameras can now be used with Frame.io’s Camera to Cloud integration, which allows you to automatically upload files to the Frame.io app directly from the camera. Support for this was rolled out in a Canon firmware update in December, which users will need to install before using the feature.

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Here’s the tech that could turn millions of Zigbee light bulbs into motion sensors with a single update

In development for several years, Zigbee ambient sensing could turn existing Zigbee-powered lights, switches, and plugs into motion sensors. | Image: Ivani

Lights that turn on when you walk into a room and turn off when you leave are one of the most desirable smart home features. But you need to buy additional hardware like motion sensors to make this “magic” happen. A new ambient sensing technology called Sensify could make this easier by turning your light bulbs into motion sensors. And it might be landing on a Philips Hue bridge near you very soon.

“There are tens of millions of devices with the base firmware already out there; we’re just working on the final touches to light up the full experience.”

Sensify is a wireless network sensing (WNS) technology developed by Ivani that can turn mains-powered Zigbee devices into motion sensors for controlling your lights with just a firmware update — no additional hardware needed. The best part is that it can work on devices already in most homes. “There are tens of millions of devices with the base firmware already out there; we’re just working on the final touches to light up the full experience,” Ivani cofounder Justin McKinney tells The Verge.

An obvious use case for this is a Zigbee-based smart lighting system such as Philips Hue. There’s been speculation that Hue is working on a Zigbee sensing technology since its sister company Wiz debuted a similar tech called SpaceSense in 2022, which uses WNS over Wi-Fi. The well-informed hueblog.com reports that Zigbee wireless network sensing is the technology Hue will most likely use. The Verge reached out to Signify, which owns Hue, but hasn’t yet received a response.

This engineering video demonstrates how Sensify’s Zigbee ambient sensing can turn lights on and off based on occupancy. Video: Ivani

McKinney wouldn’t say which companies are using Ivani’s Sensify, which has been in development since 2016, but he did share that the company is working “with some large household names poised to deploy the technology very soon.” He also said it’s the only company offering this capability over Zigbee networks.

Ivani is a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), which runs the Zigbee protocol, but Sensify is a proprietary solution that leverages the Zigbee network. Despite reports indicating this sensing tech is coming to all Zigbee devices, the CSA confirmed to The Verge that this is not a new feature within Zigbee itself.

WNS works by detecting disturbances in radio frequencies and can also be applied to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread technologies. McKinney says Sensify requires three or more devices positioned around a detection area to detect motion and occupancy in the space. The tech also allows for precise detection zones based on where the devices are situated. “The devices send messages to each other, look at underlying network diagnostic information, and process it to provide occupancy sensing decisions,” says McKinney.

Image: Ivani

Wireless network sensing requires three or more devices to work. This diagram from Ivani illustrates typical topologies.

Performance-wise, McKinney says Sensify is “equivalent or superior” to passive infrared sensing (PIR) tech, which is traditionally used for motion sensing. It also doesn’t need line of sight, as PIR does. However, it’s not as precise as technologies like mmWave sensing, which can determine if someone is in a room through as slight a movement as breathing. “The lights will still likely turn off if you’re still, even if you’re in the space,” he says.

The good news is that Sensify can run on Zigbee networks with a range of chipsets working together, meaning it can be deployed as a software update to existing systems. McKinney also confirmed Sensify runs locally on your Zigbee network, there’s no Sensify cloud, and any sensing data is only accessible to the manufacturer deploying the technology.

This video, published by the CSA, illustrates how Ivani’s wireless network sensing works over a Zigbee network.

Motion sensing in the smart home has several use cases, from lighting control and security to energy management and elder care. Two big advantages of WNS here are cost and scale. There’s no need to buy additional hardware to get the capability, and many homes already have devices that can use it.

Ivani is currently the only company with a Zigbee solution, but there are WNS solutions out there that use Wi-Fi. Origin Wireless and its partner company, Nami, were the first to develop Wi-Fi sensing, and they are leading Matter’s efforts around bringing ambient RF sensing technologies to the smart home standard.

“It really is the promise of what home automation was supposed to be”

Origin’s technology powered Linksys Aware, a feature the router company launched in 2019 that turned its routers into motion sensors, and last year, Threshold launched a smart plug using Origin’s Wi-Fi sensing to allow caregivers to monitor a loved one’s activity remotely.

In 2021, I tested Hex Home, a proof-of-concept security system from Origin that used Wi-Fi sensing instead of motion sensors. But false positives made it virtually unusable. I also tried Wiz’s Wi-Fi-based SpaceSense when it first launched. It was more reliable but still fairly inconsistent. However, according to McKinney, advances in machine learning and AI have brought significant improvements to WNS technology.

He says Ivani’s Sensify tech is ready for deployment over Zigbee, and they’re just waiting for their partners to fine-tune how best to “introduce the feature within their product lines.” He expects they will update existing products in the next few months. “We have the pleasure of experiencing our partner’s products and their beta tests in our homes, and it really is the promise of what home automation was supposed to be.”

There have been a lot of promises around home automation over the years, with very few being fulfilled. But the idea of, say, every Philips Hue light bulb in your home turning into a motion sensor overnight, making it simple to automate control of your lights without sticking white plastic sensors everywhere, is a fairly exciting one.

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Google will let you control your Chromebook with your face

I want to use this feature just to side-eye Gemini. | Image: Google

Google is announcing a variety of classroom and accessibility-focused ChromeOS features today, and one of the standouts is being able to control your computer with your head and facial expressions. The feature — aimed at those with motor impairments — was first announced in early December, but it’s now rolling out to more users with compatible Chromebooks (Google recommends 8GB of RAM or more).

This isn’t Google’s first foray into the face-as-a-cursor space. It previously made an open-source AI accessibility tool for Windows games called Project Gameface, which was also announced for Android. Here’s a sample video from Google of the tech in action, demoed by software engineer Amanda Lin Dietz who helped develop it.

Additionally, Google is also teasing a boatload of new Chromebooks for 2025, with over 20 new devices in its standard Chromebook and Chromebook Plus lines coming this year. That estimate may be a bit of a stretch, since Google seems to be counting the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus that launched back in October, but it does also count the just-announced 14-inch Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 and more to come.

Along with laptops aimed at educators and students, Google’s got a new batch of classroom-focused ChromeOS features called Class Tools. These allow teachers to have real-time control of their students’ screens. Once a pairing code is shared, educators will be able to send students direct content on their Chromebook screens, flip on live captions or translations for them, remotely view their screens, and share a student’s work with the whole class.

Image: Google

An educator’s view of Google’s Class Tools settings.

In addition to these collaborative tools, Google Classroom is also getting an integration with Figma’s FigJam, allowing teachers to assign online whiteboards to students for brainstorming and group work. Maybe the combination of FigJam with the teacher’s ability to snoop on students’ screens will reveal who’s really doing all the work for the group.

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Here’s what Bambu will — and won’t — promise after its controversial 3D printer update

Using the non-touch screen on an older Bambu P1P 3D printer. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Bambu Lab, the company behind my favorite 3D printers, has given itself one hell of a week. Now, I’ve got answers to some of my burning questions, answers which you might also hopefully appreciate. But first, some backstory.

Since last Thursday, some creators have pledged not to buy Bambu printers anymore, even removed some of their 3D models from its online repository, after the company revealed it would add a new proprietary authentication mechanism that could keep you from using third-party tools to remote control your printer.

While you’d still be able to stick a file on an SD card and physically put it into your printer or use Bambu’s proprietary cloud, the old way of printing remotely from a third-party slicer would be no more — unless you downloaded a new proprietary Windows and Mac “Bambu Connect” desktop app to be the middleman between your slicer and Bambu’s hardware.

“Unauthorized third-party software will be prohibited from executing critical operations” — Bambu

While Bambu was clear early on that this would be an optional update, one you could simply choose not to install, the company also positioned it as a necessary one to secure printers against remote hacks....

Read the full story at The Verge.

Trump pardons Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images

On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump issued a pardon to Ross Ulbricht, who ran the dark web marketplace Silk Road under the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts.” Ulbricht has been serving a life sentence without parole since 2015, when he was convicted of multiple charges, including the distribution of narcotics.

The Silk Road marketplace, which was only accessible through the Tor network, became one of the most prevalent early commercial uses of Bitcoin. Buyers and sellers traded in illicit drugs, forged passports, and more.

In the intervening years, Ulbricht became a cause celebrè for a certain segment of the right-wing, particularly in the crypto crowd that embraced Trump last year. To his supporters, Ulbricht’s life sentence is unusually punitive. Similar offenses have garnered much more lenient sentences — for instance, Blake Benthall, who operated Silk Road 2.0, was sentenced to time served and three years of probation. Ulbricht’s lieutenant, Thomas Clark, also known as “Variety Jones,” was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year.

Although the criminal offenses were nonviolent in nature, the judge who sentenced Ulbricht took into account multiple deaths attributable to drugs bought through the Silk Road.

Throughout his trial, Ulbricht denied that he had committed the crimes at issue. Because law enforcement had arrested him with his laptop open, they had access to all his files, which included the code of the website, private messages between him and employees of the Silk Road, and a diary whose entries corresponded to OKCupid messages tied to Ross Ulbricht’s real identity.

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Trump says he’s open to Musk or Ellison buying TikTok

Image: The Verge

President Donald Trump says he’d be open to his buddies Elon Musk or Larry Ellison buying TikTok.

“Larry, let’s negotiate in front of the media,” Trump said at a press conference with the Oracle co-founder, SoftBank CEO Masa Son, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to announce a $500 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure investment. “What I’m thinking about saying to somebody is, buy it, and give half to the United States of America. Half, and we’ll give you the permit. And they’ll have a great partner, the United States.”

“Sounds like a good deal to me, Mr. President,” Ellison said.

It’s still not entirely clear how all of this would work, or how the US could legally operate a speech platform without violating the First Amendment. But it’s one of the earliest examples of how Silicon Valley’s coziness with Trump could manifest over the next four years.

Trump signed an executive order on Monday instructing his administration not to enforce the law on service providers covered by the forced divestiture bill — which include Oracle, Apple, and Google — for 75 days. But legal experts say the action provides hardly any legal cover for those companies to violate federal law and risk $850 billion in penalties. Even so, Oracle has appeared to rely on Trump’s assurances to help TikTok run in the US after the January 19th sale deadline, though the company has not yet commented on it directly.

TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance still has other offers on the table, including from billionaire Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty and now, apparently, from YouTube creator MrBeast — whose investor group is receiving legal counsel from a team that includes the brother of Trump’s attorney general pick.

As he was leaving the briefing, a reporter asked Trump if he has TikTok on his phone. “No, but I think I might put it there,” Trump responded. “I think I’ll get it right now.”

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Microsoft is letting OpenAI get its own AI compute now

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

Microsoft and OpenAI announced Tuesday that they have adjusted their partnership so that OpenAI can access competitors' compute.

The new agreement “includes changes to the exclusivity on new capacity, moving to a model where Microsoft has a right of first refusal (ROFR),” Microsoft says. “To further support OpenAI, Microsoft has approved OpenAI’s ability to build additional capacity, primarily for research and training of models.”

The foundation of their relationship (which runs through 2030) stays pretty much the same — Microsoft keeps its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s tech for products like Copilot, and OpenAI’s API remains exclusive to Azure. They’ll maintain their two-way revenue-sharing setup (it's been reported that Microsoft gets 20 percent of OpenAI’s revenue). Prior to today’s change, OpenAI was locked into using Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure exclusively for its computing needs.

The news follows the announcement of a joint venture between Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and OpenAI to build a system of data centers in the U.S. called Starbase.

The models OpenAI hopes to build and the user base it's looking to serve require billions of dollars in compute. It has been previously reported that some OpenAI shareholders felt Microsoft wasn’t moving fast enough to supply OpenAI with computing power, hence why the startup partnered with Oracle back in June (with the blessing of Microsoft) for the necessary compute.

There’s been a lot of buzz about Microsoft and OpenAI facing relationship woes after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was briefly ousted from the company, causing a lot of very public drama. The New York Times reported that the relationship has grown increasingly strained due to financial pressures at OpenAI, concerns about stability, and growing friction between employees at both companies.

Last March, Microsoft hired Inflection CEO Mustafa Suleyman to lead its consumer AI efforts, along with most of Inflection’s staff, in a $650 million deal. According to The New York Times report, this move particularly angered some OpenAI leadership, including Altman.

OpenAI’s deal with Microsoft also has an unusual escape clause: if OpenAI creates artificial general intelligence (AGI), it could close off Microsoft’s access to some of its most powerful models developed after that point. AGI, reportedly, is defined as a system capable of generating more than $100 billion in profits. This was originally meant to keep such powerful AI from being commercialized, but now OpenAI is reportedly considering dropping this provision, likely to secure more Microsoft funding.

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OpenAI and Softbank are starting a $500 billion AI data center company

Image: The White House (YouTube)

A plan to build a system of data centers for artificial intelligence has been revealed in a White House press conference, with Masayoshi Son, Sam Altman, and Larry Ellison joining Donald Trump to announce The Stargate Project. Their companies, Softbank, OpenAI, and Oracle (respectively), along with MGX are listed as “initial equity funders” for $500 billion in investments over the next four years, “building new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the United States.”

According to a statement from OpenAI, “Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI” are the initial tech partners, with a buildout “currently underway” starting in Texas as other sites across the country are evaluated. It also says that “Oracle, NVIDIA, and OpenAI will closely collaborate to build and operate this computing system.”

In a press conference announcing the project, which has been rumored since early last year, Son and Altman spoke directly to Trump, insisting that the project only happened because of his election victory.

Developing...

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Meta’s next smart glasses may be with Oakley

Oakleys are considered stylish and popular with athletes — which is probably why Meta’s keen to partner. | Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

Meta may be releasing new Oakley-branded smart glasses later this year, according to a new Bloomberg report.

The Oakley-branded glasses, internally referred to as “Supernova 2”, would be based on the brand’s Sphaera glasses. Instead of housing the cameras on the side, the Supernova 2 would shift the camera to the center of the frame. The idea is to appeal to cyclists and other outdoor athletes. The report didn’t detail any other potential features, though the Oakley glasses would ostensibly have similar features to the current Ray-Ban Meta glasses.

Oakley, like Ray-Bans, are a subsidiary of eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica. The move to expand Meta’s tech to other brands under EssilorLuxottica’s umbrella is a savvy one. While the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are good for discreet, everyday wear, they’re a bit heavy for endurance sports and lack certain features like polarized lenses for better visibility. Oakleys are also considered stylish and popular among professional athletes. Conceptually, they’re similar to the now discontinued Bose Frames Tempo, which allowed athletes to have open-ear audio with polarized lenses in a relatively light form factor. That said, if the goal is to appeal to athletes, Meta and Oakley will likely have to address factors like weight, sweat resistance, and battery life.

The report also notes that Meta plans on launching a higher-end version of its current Ray-Ban glasses that include a display capable of delivering notifications, running simple apps, and previewing photos.

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Sonic 4 comes to theaters in March 2027

Image: Paramount

The fourth Sonic movie now has an official release date: March 19th, 2027, according to Variety. Right around the release of the very successful Sonic the Hedgehog 3last December, news hit that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 was in the works, but at the time, the movie only had a spring 2027 release window.

Sonic films have drawn all-star cast members over the years, such as Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, who has played the role in all three of the movies, Idris Elba as Knuckles, and Keanu Reeves as Shadow. And a post-credits scene for the third movie hints that other fan favorites could join the series (spoilers in that link!), so there might be big casting announcements ahead for the fourth Sonic film.

The March 2027 date for Sonic The Hedgehog 4 means it will launch well after The Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel, which is set to debut on April 3rd, 2026.

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Netflix is raising prices again, as the standard plan goes up to $17.99

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Netflix is raising prices yet again. In its latest earnings report released Tuesday, the streaming service announced that “we are adjusting prices today across most plans” in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina.

Netflix spokesperson MoMo Zhou tells The Verge that the ad-supported tier is increasing from $6.99 to $7.99 per month, while the standard ad-free tier will go from $15.49 to $17.99 per month. Its highest-priced premium tier is also increasing from $22.99 to $24.99 per month. The price hikes will go into effect during subscribers’ next billing cycle, according to Zhou.

“As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix,” the company’s letter to investors says. Netflix last raised the price of its subscription in October 2023. This is also the first time it’s raising the price of this ad-supported plan, which it rolled out in 2022.

Netflix added 19 million new subscribers over the past few months — the most in its history during a single quarter — bringing its global total to 300 million. This is the last time Netflix will reveal how many subscribers it added during the quarter, as the company said last year that it would only announce “major subscriber milestones as we cross them” starting in the first quarter of 2025.

Even with a subscriber count reaching new highs, and operating income ballooning past $10 billion for the first time, Netflix executives believe the company still has room for growth. The company’s letter to investors says it accounts for less than 10 percent of TV viewing in the countries it’s available in, “which suggests a long runway for growth as streaming continues to expand around the world.”

Along with the price hike, Netflix announced that it’s rolling out a new Extra Member with Ads plan, which will allow those on the ad-supported plan to add someone outside their household to their subscription. It currently costs an extra $7.99 per month to add someone outside your household to an ad-free plan.

The streamer ended 2024 with a strong content lineup that included new seasons of Squid Game and the League of Legends spinoff Arcane.

Netflix’s approach to live content has also gotten more aggressive within the past several weeks, as it has gone from airing “sports-adjacent” events like a golf tournament that paired PGA players with Formula One drivers to full-blown NFL games featuring performances from Beyoncé and Mariah Carey. But Netflix notes that it’s “not focusing on acquiring rights to large regular season sports packages; rather, our live strategy is all about delivering can’t-miss, special event programming.”

Despite running into some hiccups, the streamer also touted “record-breaking” viewership numbers for last year’s live boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, while its WWE debut with Monday Night Raw locked in 4.9 million views, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Update, January 21st: Added information from Netflix.

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The Switch 2 has a new trigger for disconnecting Joy-Con controllers

A video on Nintendo’s Switch 2 website shows how the trigger (or is it a button?) on the back of the Joy-Con controllers disconnects them from the console, as spotted by Polygon.

In the video, the trigger is pressed down a tad before a final push releases it from the console. As the Joy-Con moves away, you can also see a small cylinder receding back into the top part of the inside of the controller; to me, that indicates that when you push the trigger, you’re actually pushing out that cylinder to help bump the Joy-Con out.

Here’s a GIF of the relevant part of the video:

GIF by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge

The mechanism to remove the Joy-Con controllers looks similar to what was included in a 3D-printed mockup that accessories-maker Genki brought to CES.

However, as for how the controllers actually stay attached to the Switch 2, Nintendo so far hasn’t said if the console uses magnets, as has been rumored. It’s one of many unanswered questions — hopefully, all will be revealed at Nintendo’s Switch 2-focused Direct on April 2nd.

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Apple Intelligence is enabled by default in iOS 18.3

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple Intelligence will be switched on by default, starting in iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS 15.3. In release candidate notes spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple says it will switch on AI-powered features automatically for new users or those upgrading to the latest versions of its operating systems.

The AI update will only apply to devices that support Apple Intelligence, including the iPhone 15 Pro and later, iPads and Macs with the Apple Silicon M1 chip or later, and the most recent version of the iPad mini.

For users new or upgrading to macOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence will be enabled automatically during Mac onboarding. Users will have access to Apple Intelligence features after setting up their devices. To disable Apple Intelligence, users will need to navigate to the Apple Intelligence & Siri Settings pane and turn off the Apple Intelligence toggle. This will disable Apple Intelligence features on their device.

As Apple’s notes mention, after updating your device, you’ll have to manually disable Apple Intelligence if you don’t want support for features like AI notification summaries, Image Playground, and tools that can rewrite pieces of text running on your device. To turn Apple Intelligence off, you’ll have to head to the Apple Intelligence & Siri Settings pane and then switch off the Apple Intelligence toggle.

Last week, iOS 18.3 beta testers spotted an update that will pause AI notification summaries for news and entertainment apps after the feature inaccurately summarized a BBC headline. Apple will also make it easier to identify notification summaries on your iPhone’s lock screen and note that they “may contain errors.”

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Microsoft’s Steam-like browser overlay is now available on Windows 11

Image: The Verge

Microsoft is rolling out its new in-game browser overlay on Windows 11 this week, after months of beta testing. The Microsoft Edge Game Assist feature is a widget that appears in the Game Bar in Windows 11 much like Valve’s Steam overlay browser. It’s also game-aware, so it can detect games you’re playing and offer up tips and guides in a little side panel.

The Game Assist overlay was previously restricted to beta users, but it’s now available in the stable version of Microsoft Edge. If you want to enable the in-game browser you can open up Microsoft Edge and go to Settings and more > Settings and then search for Game Assist and install the widget. The Game Assist feature will then be available in the Game Bar, which can be opened with the Windows key + G.

“The initial preview of Game Assist offers contextual tips and guides for a selection of popular PC games while we optimize the experience based on your feedback,” explains William Devereux, senior product manager for Microsoft Edge. Microsoft has also added support for more popular PC games, including Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Marvel Rivals, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

“We’ll add tips and guides for even more popular games throughout the preview and over time,” says Devereux. “In the meantime, you can still use Game Assist to browse your favorite guides or other websites while playing any game.”

Game Assist works by using the same cookies, autofill, and favorites data from your main Microsoft Edge browser. Microsoft has also added support for extensions like ad blockers to this Game Assist feature, and it’s planning to add support for keyboard shortcuts in the future, alongside an improved picture-in-picture experience and the ability to add a tab from Microsoft Edge to the sidebar.

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ACLU and 18 states sue Trump over his attempt to repeal birthright citizenship

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images

One of President Donald Trump’s first moves in office was an executive order repealing birthright citizenship — something he promised to do but didn’t deliver on during his first term. The move, which is almost certainly unconstitutional, would affect more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country as well as people in the US on non-immigrant visas, including more than 580,000 people with H1-Bs. The executive order is slated to go into effect 30 days after its announcement, though two lawsuits filed in federal courts could slow or halt its implementation.

Trump floated the idea of doing away with birthright citizenship in 2018. At the time, his critics pointed out that the move would require a constitutional amendment since birthright citizenship is enshrined under the 14th Amendment. “No president can change the Constitution with the stroke of a pen,” Beth Werlin, then-executive director of the American Immigration Council, said at the time. To get around this, Trump’s executive order attempts to reinterpret the 14th Amendment rather than amending or repealing it altogether.

As the order notes, the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” The courts have historically taken “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” to mean anyone who is present in the country, regardless of their immigration status — but Trump’s order claims that the amendment:

does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.

Put simply, under Trump’s order, the children of most undocumented immigrants wouldn’t be US citizens, nor would the children of people in the country on student, work, or tourist visas. This is more than a reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment — it’s an attempt to do away with the jus soli principle that undergirds US citizenship.

Since the country’s inception, the United States has had jus soli citizenship; anyone born in the country or its overseas territories is a citizen, regardless of their parents’ nationality or immigration status. This is different from jus sanguinis citizenship, under which only people whose parents are nationals of a certain country are granted citizenship. There have been some historical exceptions to jus soli citizenship in the US — most notably, the exclusion of enslaved African Americans and their children, as delineated by the Supreme Court’s decision in the landmark 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford case. After the end of the Civil War, Congress enacted the 14th Amendment, granting citizenship to anyone born on US soil.

Two lawsuits have already been filed challenging the executive order. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a host of other organizations filed a suit in a New Hampshire federal court on Monday night, hours after the order was announced. Attorneys general from 18 states — along with San Francisco and Washington, DC — filed a separate suit on Tuesday in a federal district court in Massachusetts.

“Neither the Constitution nor any federal statute confers any authority on the President,” the ACLU lawsuit reads. The ACLU argues that allowing the executive order to stand “would ‘promot[e] the creation and perpetuation of a subclass’ of children who were born in the United States but lack fundamental legal recognition and face stigma as a result of their novel and uncertain status.” Moreover, the suit claims, the order “will invite persistent questioning of the citizenship of children of immigrants—particularly children of color.”

Both the ACLU lawsuit and the suit filed by 18 states ask the courts to block the executive order before it goes into effect.

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