Many of us rely on our laptops for work, school, or entertainment, but even the best laptops trade power and features for the convenience of portability. Gaming laptops come with power-limited GPUs, pretty much all laptops are limited in storage space, and the thinner they get, the harder they are to cool. But with a few wisely chosen pieces of external hardware, that laptop can turn into a powerhouse of productivity and graphical prowess.

Looking like a true brute of an off-roader. | Image: Audi Audi has revealed a new dual-motor electric off-road vehicle concept based on the Q6 E-tron that looks ready for a snowpocalypse. The automaker built a working prototype that lifts the vehicle by 6.3 inches and widens it by 9.8 inches, giving it a stance that wouldn’t be out of place if it appeared in Truck Country, USA.Audi’s CEO Gernot Döllner calls the “Q6 E-Tron Off-road concept” a “reinterpretation of Quattro,” which is the company’s marketing term for its all-wheel-drive models. The extra ride height is courtesy of four bespoke portal axles integrated into the wheel hub assemblies at the front and rear that Audi says increase torque at the wheel by 50 percent. Each axle is powered by an electric motor with a combined power output of 380kW and up to 9,883 lb ft of torque at its peak. That’s up 3,245 lb ft of torque from the normal Q6 E-tron, which is Audi’s first vehicle built on Volkswagen’s modular Premium Platform Electric (PPE) platform (also used in the new A6 E-tron and Porsche Macan EV).The vehicle is designed to climb hills as steep as 45 degrees but the company did nerf the Q6’s top speed a bit down to 108 mph. Still, no one should drive that fast anyway in a vehicle lifted this high. This also makes the Off-road concept a much more realistic one compared to more sci-fi Audi concepts like the Activesphere coupe / pickup truck combo with a mixed reality cockpit or the truly apocalyptic all-terrain “AI:Trail” that has drones for headlights.Audi’s Q6 E-tron Offroad concept will be featured at the FAT International Ice Race in Austria on February 1st. The company will also show it in action via its social media channels.

Image: The Verge Nearly a week after it was removed, the TikTok app is still missing from Apple and Google’s app stores.The app was pulled from both stores after the US’ ban-or-divest law went into effect last weekend, which resulted in the service going dark within the United States. While TikTok came back online shortly after the ban, the app didn’t return to either mobile store. Apple and Google are at risk of paying billions in fines if they make TikTok available, and it’s unclear if President Donald Trump’s executive order refusing to enforce the ban actually removes that risk.Apple and Google haven’t replied to multiple requests for comment from The Verge — including requests I made today — about if or when the app might be available again. Apple and Google do have statements about the removal of TikTok and other ByteDance-owned apps like Lemon8 and Marvel Snap, but otherwise, no comment since. TikTok didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment, either, however, Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner posted Friday evening on X, saying, “Our current estimation is that Marvel Snap will be back in the app stores as early as next week barring any setbacks.” Without explaining further, Second Dinner co-founder Ben Brode answered a question on Bluesky about what would happen for next month’s updates, saying, “we’re hoping to have it back before then.”Because these app stores are the primary way many people get the software, TikTok’s absence basically means you can’t newly install the app — at least, for the time being — without jumping through a lot of hoops. It also means they can’t deliver updates to add new features or address any bugs, including potential security flaws.If you had TikTok on your phone before the ban kicked in, however, the app should work for you as normal. (As a result, people are trying to sell used phones with the TikTok app still on them.) You can also use TikTok in a browser — including on your phone.Update, January 24th: Added new details about Marvel Snap.

When it comes to making PC upgrades, most people think of their componenets, or a monitor, or maybe even peripherals. However, one upgrade that's turned out to be one of the best I've ever made has actually been an audio interface.

"Can it run Doom" is a classic trend where people try to put the classic FPS on as many devices as possible. However, what about the humble Tetris? Everyone knows the famous block-moving game, but people don't really try to get it running on as many weird and wonderful devices as they do Doom.

Sometimes, it can be a hassle to carry around a charger. For this reason, it's important to choose one that's going to fit your lifestyle. So, if you're someone that travels alot, it's going to be a good idea to have one that packs up small, doesn't weight a lot, and can supply plenty of power to all your devices.

When Windows 11 debuted back in 2021, people had mixed feelings about it, because while the design was refreshing, useful features like the drag-and-drop items on the taskbar were missing, leading to outrage. The taskbar drag-and-drop and other missing features were reintroduced to Windows 11 in the 22H2 update. Now, after more than two years, the software giant is once again rolling up its sleeves to take the drag-and-drop to the next level to make sharing effortless.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Ever since Elon Musk closed his deal to buy Twitter he’s claimed the company, now called X, is in “a very dire situation from a revenue standpoint.” Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that banks are preparing a coordinated move to sell off some of the $13 billion in debt they loaned Musk to finance the deal. It mentions an email sent to employees this month, also confirmed by The Verge, where the Chief Twit said, “...we’ve witnessed the power of X in shaping national conversations and outcomes,” but also claimed, “Our user growth is stagnant, revenue is unimpressive, and we’re barely breaking even.”Part of the reason Bank of America, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley are holding so much of the debt is from trying to avoid selling at a loss after economic conditions changed, and Musk had an extended court battle attempting to get out of the deal. While equity investors have reportedly slashed the value of their stakes by as much as 78 percent, the Journal reports, “banks hope to sell senior debt at 90-95 cents on the dollar, while retaining more-junior holdings.”As Musk referenced in his email, the report says the banks hope to use the narrative of Musk’s link to Donald Trump, as some unnamed investors may be interested in buying based on a belief that its financials are on the way up. However, Musk also said that the company could become cash-flow positive “within months” nearly two years ago, and it still faces over $1 billion in annual interest payments on the loans. The platform is increasingly turning into a testing ground for his AI ambitions, as we reported earlier this month, and while X has added some features, like job listings and a new video tab, there’s little sign of the service he’d said would be able to “someone’s entire financial life” by the end of 2024.

Has the fan seized up inside your game console? How about the display or disc drive? Whenever something goes wrong with a specific part of any video game console, it can be a pain to get it rectified. The most common route is to reach out to the manufacturer, which will require you to either send out the device or seek local assistance from a nearby shop. This can prove time-consuming and costly, depending on whether your console is still under warranty. But what about a classic console? Why don't manufacturers stock and sell parts for all console models?

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Apple is making an executive change to try and improve its AI efforts and Siri. Kim Vorrath, who recently helped get the Vision Pro software out the door and has been at Apple for 36 years, has been brought over to Apple’s artificial intelligence and machine learning division and will serve as a “top deputy” to AI boss John Giannandrea, Bloomberg reports.The company made a big splash about its AI / Apple Intelligence efforts at WWDC last year, but they haven’t had the same impact as things like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. Apple has also been slowly rolling out what it announced, and a big Siri upgrade that lets it understand what’s happening on your screen and take action may not arrive until iOS 18.4. And the company’s AI-powered news notification summaries will be put on pause with iOS 18.3 after criticism that the summaries were incorrect.By bringing on Vorrath, whose resume at Apple includes work on the original iPhone software group, over to the AI team, it appears Apple wants to bring more rigor to Apple’s AI development. It also indicates that Apple may see AI as a bigger deal for its future than the Vision Pro.Bloomberg also reports that “the artificial intelligence group is focused on revamping the underlying infrastructure of Siri and improving the company’s in-house AI models” this year, per a memo from Giannandrea.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images “All I know is I’m good for my $80 billion.”Rarely does a one-liner so perfectly capture the state of the moment. Here, you have Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella saying he’s “not in the details” about Stargate, the supposedly multi-hundred-billion AI infrastructure project driven by his marquee investment, OpenAI.Nadella not being read in on the nebulous details of Stargate says a lot about how much Microsoft and OpenAI have drifted apart. Microsoft is mentioned in the Stargate press release since OpenAI’s models are still exclusive to Azure. But the most striking aspect of Stargate is not that the money isn’t there for it yet; it’s that OpenAI’s biggest backer has decided to not participate in what Sam Altman is calling “the most important project of this era.” As Nadella made clear on CNBC this week, he’s running his own, $80 billion AI infrastructure buildout and, going forward, OpenAI can get additional compute — with his blessing — elsewhere. While it received fewer headlines this week, I found Nadella’s response to Elon Musk on X even more illuminating. In his response to Musk saying, “on the other hand, Satya definitely does have the money,” Nadella responded: “ And all... Read the full story at The Verge.

Docking stations can be a great way to expand the capabilities of the devices you already own. While docking stations are usually paired up with laptops, you can also use them for tablets, PC gaming handhelds, and smartphones as well. Of course, if you've been on the hunt for one, chances are, you've seen how pricey they can be.