Illustration: The Verge Meta has finally pulled the curtain back on what its plans for third-party chats in WhatsApp and Messenger will look like. The change, which is coming for users in the European Union, introduces new options to put Messenger and WhatsApp messages in the same inbox as third-party chats or keep them separate.It’s building new notifications into Messenger and WhatsApp as well, which will let users know when they can link chats from newly supported apps. Meta says it has “gone above and beyond the ‘basic’ features required for interoperable messaging” and will offer rich messaging features, like reactions, direct replies, typing indicators, and read receipts. Image: Meta It will also start including the option to create... Continue reading…

The most welcome upgrade on the Xgimi Aura 2 is a retractable lens protector. | Image: Xgimi Xgimi has announced an upgraded version of its ultra-short throw projector. The new Aura 2 is smaller and lighter than its predecessor while delivering more brightness, but the most welcome improvement is an automatic sliding cover on top that protects the projector’s lens and helps minimize dust buildup. Image: Xgimi The Aura 2 can project an image up to 150 inches in size while sitting close to a wall. Xgimi says the Aura 2 produces 2,300 ISO lumens of brightness from its “Dual Light 2.0” light source that uses a combination of lasers and LEDs. That’s up from 1,800 ISO lumens for the original Xgimi Aura, which should improve the Aura 2’s performance when used in rooms where ambient light can’t be completely... Continue reading…

The Samsung T7 is an excellent drive if you're looking for something compact and quick. Right now, you can score the 4TB model for a great price, with Amazon knocking 42% off the original price of the portable SSD, driving it down to $279.99 for a limited time.

The AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme is the chip inside the Asus ROG Ally X, Asus ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go — and in early 2025, AMD will announce its successor, the Z2 Extreme, for future PC gaming handhelds. That’s the word from Digital Trends’ Jacob Roach, who heard AMD computing and graphics boss Jack Huynh say it’s targeting a 2025 release on an IFA stage in Berlin; I just confirmed with AMD spokesperson Stacy MacDiarmid that the company plans to announce it in early 2025, though AMD’s declining to say any more about it today. The only other things we’ve heard: AMD says it’s working with multiple partners, so the chip may already be in handheld makers’ hands. And it’s probably based on AMD’s Strix Point; so say Jez Corden’s sources over... Continue reading…

Look out below! | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge It’s been a minute since I checked in on our friends at Coinbase, and so when I saw Reuters noting that a class action suit would be going ahead, I thought perhaps we should all reflect together on Coinbase’s cruel summer.The company’s shares have fallen by more than a third in the last 6 months, to $147.95 as of this writing, from $238.55 on March 6th. On the company’s first day of trading, in April 2021, its closing price was $328.28.Quite a turn of fortune! Certainly some price fluctuation can be chalked up to the vagaries of the cryptocurrency market — Coinbase was trading at $153.98 at the start of this year, before a Bitcoin ETF got approved. When Bitcoin began a run in February, Coinbase also started trading up. Still, there... Continue reading…

If you have a Hisense TV, you’ll be able to easily link up Yeelight’s lighting — like these smart cubes. | Image: Yeelight Yeelight’s array of smart lighting products will now automatically sync with Hisense VIDAA TVs. During the IFA tech conference in Berlin, Yeelight revealed that its app now integrates directly with Hisense TVs, allowing it to capture the audio and video on your screen while relaying matching effects across Yeelight’s devices.That means you can quickly link up Yeelight’s light strip and its stackable cube-shaped lights to your TV (given that you have a Hisense, of course). That makes it even simpler to set up when compared to some other ambient lighting options from brands like Philips, which requires you to either purchase a Hue Play HDMI sync box to sync your lighting or the Hue Sync TV app, that’s only available on some Samsung TVs... Continue reading…

The Pixel Fold’s successor features an updated format that makes it a joy to use. Continue reading…

A capacious battery allows the Reolink Altas PT Ultra to be easily installed anywhere without the need for access to power. | Image: Reolink Reolink’s new Altas PT Ultra is the company’s first battery-powered security camera that is capable of all-day continuous recording. It doesn’t need power access, so it can be installed almost anywhere, and since it captures 4K video to a microSD card instead of the cloud, there are fewer security risks and no subscription fees.There are already many battery-powered security cameras that streamline installation, but they’re limited by small batteries that can’t record for more than a day before needing a charge. Reolink’s Altas PT Ultra’s solution to that problem is a built-in 20,000mAh battery the company says has enough power to record for 12 hours per day for up to eight days or four days when recording nonstop around the clock.H... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge The Justice Department wants to learn more about Google’s AI strategy in order to determine what kinds of changes it will ask for to resolve Google’s monopoly in search. The request came during a hearing on Friday in a federal court in Washington, DC, where Google and the DOJ met before Judge Amit Mehta, who recently ruled in favor of the DOJ and agreed that Google is an illegal monopolist. Mehta’s decision officially ended the first phase of the trial, which focused on whether Google is liable under antitrust law. Now the parties are moving onto the remedies phase, where the government will propose solutions to correct the illegal behavior and restore competition to the market. DOJ attorney David Dahlquist told the court that the... Continue reading…

Snap Groups is basically Snap Layouts for Chromebooks. | Illustration: The Verge Google is rolling out a new ChromeOS update that makes it easier to keep your on-screen apps organized, copy text from images, and adjust camera and microphone settings on Chromebook devices. One of the more notable features introduced in ChromeOS 128 is Snap Groups — a feature similar to Windows 11’s Snap layouts that allows you to easily group apps together in a variety of fullscreen layouts. The feature is even triggered the same way as Microsoft does it, by hovering over the maximize app button.The ChromeOS camera app now supports Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract text from captured images of letters or other documents. It allows users to copy or search the text in images, more easily convert images into searchable... Continue reading…

With just a single USB-C port, Anker’s new Nano is its smallest and lightest 100W charger yet. | Image: Anker Anker’s new 100W Nano Charger is about 60 grams lighter than the company’s last ultracompact 100W wall charger, but it has a big tradeoff. To make its smallest 100W power adapter yet, Anker had to sacrifice a couple of USB ports.The new 100W Nano Charger is available for preorder for $44.99 and ships in mid-September. The new frame is about 26 percent smaller and 30 percent lighter than Anker’s Prime 100W GaN charger, which is the smallest 100W power adapter the company previously sold with two USB-C ports and a single USB-A. To better put the Nano’s size into perspective, with its prongs folded, it’s only about 17 percent larger than the Apple AirPods Pro 2’s charging case, so the Nano should fit in any pocket you can squeeze AirPods... Continue reading…

When shopping for a new PC, it's essential to balance all the components to create harmony. This is even more critical when choosing from the best gaming laptops, as you can't change most of the components. While you might be tempted to go the whole hog and buy a laptop with an RTX 4090 graphics chip, you don't need to. Tempering your expectations and looking for something better suited to on-the-go gaming is better. Let's talk about why and what you should do instead.