You've likely seen the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D touted as the best gaming CPU ahead of its launch and published reviews, but why is this the case, and what makes AMD's 3D V-Cache so important for gaming? It's all about that thick cache stack, which allows the processor to store more data on the chip before moving to slower system memory. There are other benefits of an AMD X3D processor, which makes most of them far superior for playing all your PC games.

Google’s Nest Learning thermostat. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Google is bringing smart home controls in Gemini to everyone. The Google Home extension in the Gemini app is adding a few new features, in addition to letting you adjust your smart lighting, thermostat, speakers, and other compatible devices as long as they’re connected to your Google account.Google first previewed the extension last November. With it, you can use natural language to control your smart home when interacting with Gemini, such as saying “The sun is too bright in the living room” to close your smart blinds. But now, Gemini can also carry out multiple requests, like “Turn the armchair light on too, but dim the kitchen lamp.” You’ll be able to use the Google Home extension to ask Gemini about the status of your devices too, such as whether you’ve left your porch light on.Additionally, Google will let you control “non-sensitive” smart home devices, like your lights, from your phone’s lock screen. Other updates include the ability to adjust the volume, pause, and resume media on smart speakers, displays, and TVs within the Gemini app, as well as an updated thermostat control design that matches the one inside Google Home. Gemini will also automatically open the Google Home app for security-related actions for cameras and locks (it previously only linked you).The launch of the Google Home extension follows a big update to Gemini, which lets it perform more complex tasks across multiple apps. You can try out the integration for yourself by signing into Gemini with the same account you use for Home and turning on the Google Home extension. It launches today but is rolling out “over the coming weeks.”

This icy 2025 Audi Q8 E-Tron has a heat pump. | Image: Umar Shakir / The Verge Many EV manufacturers have leaned heavily on energy-gulping resistive heaters to keep the cabin and battery warm in the winter time. But heat pumps, which can cut down on battery range losses in the cold, are becoming more prevalent in EVs, and they could help EV owners in the US who are dealing with the low temperatures across much of the country this week.EV research site Recurrent reported that heat pumps can improve drivable range in below freezing temperatures by about 8 to 10 percent. The site tested this by comparing the ranges of 2020 Model 3 and Model S vehicles that lack heat pumps against 2021 versions that have them.Recurrent’s data shows that the Tesla Model X and the Audi E-Tron only lose about 11 to 13 percent of their range at 32 degrees Fahrenheit compared to driving them in ideal temperatures hovering around 70 degrees, as The Washington Post notes, making them among the best heat pump-equipped EVs.. However, The Washington Post says that heat pumps aren’t as effective below 15 degrees.A heat pump works by efficiently transferring heat generated by the car to the cabin and other components. Similarly, gas cars have long used a heater core to transfer wasted heat energy from its internal combustion engine into the cabin.Heat pumps have made their way into popular EVs like Teslas as early as 2021 and are coming to other top models like Ford’s Mustang Mach-E for the 2025 model year. They also are already in many EVs on the road today, including the Polestar 2, Honda Prologue, Chevy Equinox EV, Kia EV6, Rivians, and even some Nissan Leaf models as early as 2013. Recurrent has a complete list of EVs that have heat pumps.Older EVs with smaller batteries that lack heat pumps demonstrate cold range loss more vividly. For instance, my sister, who is driving a 2017 Ford Focus Electric, is only getting about 80 miles of range in the freezing cold with its resistive heaters off and only about 50 with it on. That could be the difference between being able to do a full work commute roundtrip without stopping or needing to find a (hopefully working) DC fast charging station on the way back.We’ve previously shared some tips on how to handle EVs in the winter that can help you through icy situations on the road. Some tips include preconditioning your vehicle while plugged in before leaving and brushing snow off more often since it won’t melt off the hood like a gas car.

Image: The Verge Following last month’s test, Threads will now let everyone schedule posts, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced on Thursday. You can use the feature by creating a new post, selecting the three-dot menu in the top-left corner, and selecting “Schedule.”Once you get your post timed up, you can view, delete, or edit it from your drafts folder. Threads will let you schedule your posts up to 75 days in advance, but it won’t allow you to schedule replies. Screenshot: The Verge Mosseri also said that Threads is adding a way to “markup” a post you’re resharing. Based on early versions of the feature shared by users, it looks like it will let you draw over, highlight, or add arrows to an existing post. This feature is rolling out to a “few countries with more to come soon.”There are some big changes in store for Threads, which will also trade fact-checking for Community Notes as part of Meta’s broader moderation shift. The X competitor will start adding political content to recommendations as well.

There are a lot of great gaming laptops out there, but this one from MSI has to be one of the most complete packages that we've seen in quite some time. Not only does it feature a fantastic processor and high-end graphics card, but it also delivers the visuals thanks to its large 18-inch screen. With that said, this laptop isn't going to be for everyone, especially with its $3,300 price tag.

OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT and Dall-E, released a new product today. Called Operator, the "agent" is reportedly able to perform repetitive online tasks, and can even interact with website interfaces.

This icy 2025 Audi Q8 E-Tron has a heat pump. | Image: Umar Shakir / The Verge Many EV manufacturers have leaned heavily on energy-gulping resistive heaters to keep the cabin and battery warm in the winter time. But heat pumps, which can cut down on battery range losses in the cold, are becoming more prevalent in EVs, and they could help EV owners in the US who are dealing with the low temperatures across much of the country this week.EV research site Recurrent reported that heat pumps can improve drivable range in below freezing temperatures by about 8 to 10 percent. The site tested this by comparing the ranges of 2020 Model 3 and Model S vehicles that lack heat pumps against 2021 versions that have them.Recurrent’s data shows that the Tesla Model X and the Audi E-Tron only lose about 11 to 13 percent of their range at 32 degrees Fahrenheit compared to driving them in ideal temperatures hovering around 70 degrees, as The Washington Post notes, making them among the best heat pump-equipped EVs.. However, The Washington Post says that heat pumps aren’t as effective below 15 degrees.A heat pump works by efficiently transferring heat generated by the car to the cabin and other components. Similarly, gas cars have long used a heater core to transfer wasted heat energy from its internal combustion engine into the cabin.Heat pumps have made their way into popular EVs like Teslas as early as 2021 and are coming to other top models like Ford’s Mustang Mach-E for the 2025 model year. They also are already in many EVs on the road today, including the Polestar 2, Honda Prologue, Chevy Equinox EV, Kia EV6, Rivians, and even some Nissan Leaf models as early as 2013. Recurrent has a complete list of EVs that have heat pumps.Older EVs with smaller batteries that lack heat pumps demonstrate cold range loss more vividly. For instance, my sister, who is driving a 2017 Ford Focus Electric, is only getting about 80 miles of range in the freezing cold with its resistive heaters off and only about 50 with it on. That could be the difference between being able to do a full work commute roundtrip without stopping or needing to find a (hopefully working) DC fast charging station on the way back.We’ve previously shared some tips on how to handle EVs in the winter that can help you through icy situations on the road. Some tips include preconditioning your vehicle while plugged in before leaving and brushing snow off more often since it won’t melt off the hood like a gas car.

Thanks to its long list of features and flexible nature, Notion has become my digital sanctuary — a place where my to-do lists, projects, subscription and finance trackers, and random thoughts exist in organized harmony. Unlike other productivity tools, Notion isn’t straightforward and requires a learning curve. Earlier, I used to struggle with clunky databases, messy pages, and missed deadlines.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Netflix plans to offer couch co-op and party games that it will stream over the cloud to TVs, co-CEO Greg Peters said as part of the company’s Q4 2024 earnings announcements this week. The company has offered cloud gaming as a beta to a “subset” of subscribers since 2023, so this news from Peters indicates that the company is going to continue to invest in it.Peters didn’t say exactly when the co-op and party games might be available. But he did say that “we think of this as a successor to family board game night or an evolution of what the game show on TV used to be.”Netflix will also continue to focus on “more narrative games based on Netflix IP” — Peters says those games are “consistent fan favorites and we’ve got a lot in the library to work with there.”The company’s gaming division has seen some major changes as of late: former executive Leanne Loombe announced she was moving to Annapurna Interactive, and last year, the group got a new boss after the old boss moved to a new role focused on generative AI in games. Netflix also announced that it would be removing nearly all of its interactive titles and that it would be closing its AAA studio before it ever released a game.

DIY fans have always been cooking up various ways to prevent porch thieves from stealing precious packages not meant for them. However, not all of them are quite as feature-rich and robust as this amazing Raspberry Pi delivery box that someone made. The best bit is that the designer detailed everything they did while creating the project, meaning you can build your own at home.

Image: The Verge Following last month’s test, Threads will now let everyone schedule posts, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced on Thursday. You can use the feature by creating a new post, selecting the three-dot menu in the top-left corner, and selecting “Schedule.”Once you get your post timed up, you can view, delete, or edit it from your drafts folder. Threads will let you schedule your posts up to 75 days in advance, but it won’t allow you to schedule replies. Screenshot: The Verge Mosseri also said that Threads is adding a way to “markup” a post you’re resharing. Based on early versions of the feature shared by users, it looks like it will let you draw over, highlight, or add arrows to an existing post. This feature is rolling out to a “few countries with more to come soon.”There are some big changes in store for Threads, which will also trade fact-checking for Community Notes as part of Meta’s broader moderation shift. The X competitor will start adding political content to recommendations as well.

If you were to tell me that Intel would be killing it in the GPU space a year ago, I would be hesitant to believe you. The first-gen A-series GPUs were good but not mind-blowing and Intel didn't have many answers for AMD or Nvidia yet. Fast-forward a couple of years and with countless firmware revisions under its belt, Intel launched Battlemage in late 2024. The Intel Arc B580 and Arc B570 are already available and appear to be selling well. This is great news for the company and the wider community who have had to endure the result of a duopoly lasting decades. Although Intel may be losing the CPU fight, it's making strides in the GPU space.