Microsoft and Apple are constantly competing for who can create the best laptop for consumers, with Apple generally being the more expensive option. But that is not the case this time with Apple's MacBook Air M3 and Microsoft's Surface Laptop 6 for Business being released a month apart with very competitive pricing.

The Soundcore Sleep A20 are decent passive earbuds that are great for side sleepers, even if Anker overpromises. Continue reading…

Image: Slow Bros. Harold Halibut moves at its own pace. A point-and-click adventure built with real-world materials and then animated with stop-motion, Harold Halibut tells a story that’s at times slow and ponderous and, at others, cozy and heartwarming. It’s sort of like what would happen if Wes Anderson teamed up with Aardman Animations to make a sci-fi game. Which is to say that it’s charming and built with an incredible amount of care and detail. As a game, it’s standard stuff — but as a place to experience, there’s nothing quite like it.The developers at German studio Slow Bros. say that every element in Harold Halibut was “meticulously hand-crafted using traditional sculpting and model-making techniques.” And much of the joy of the game comes from... Continue reading…

If you're looking for a powerful tablet that can really handle pretty much anything that you throw at it, there aren't going to be too many options out there. Most folks would probably suggest an iPad or Android tablet, but going with one that's running Windows is probably going to be a far better option thanks to its versatility. Microsoft's Surface Pro has pretty much dominated this space for some years now, but it looks like a newcomer could be looking to take the crown.

Image: Motorola A new wooden Edge phone isn’t all that Motorola announced today. The company also introduced two pairs of earbuds: the higher-end set is called the Moto Buds Plus and costs $129.99, while the more basic Moto Buds will only be available in select markets. But the Plus standout as the more interesting product, and that’s because Motorola teamed up with Bose for the EQ tuning and active noise cancellation on these buds. There’s a “Sound by Bose” emblem right on the carrying case. There isn’t a ton of detail on exactly how deep this collaboration was, but Motorola’s store page says the Moto Buds Plus “were certified by Bose to deliver an unprecedented audio experience.” Bose spokesperson Joanne Berthiaume told me “we worked closely with the... Continue reading…

Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images Creators fundraising for projects on Kickstarter will soon be able to collect money even after their campaign ends.Currently, Kickstarter projects can last anywhere from one to 60 days, and creators hoping to continue fundraising after meeting their goal have had to go off-platform to keep raising money.The new late pledge feature will allow crowdfunding campaigns to collect money indefinitely if the creator chooses. Late pledges could also be helpful for fans who learn about projects after the fundraising window has closed but want to support the creator. Creators who are offering something in exchange for a certain level of monetary support — a digital download of an album or physical items, for example — will need to end late... Continue reading…

The four-inch tall metal object tore through a roof in Naples, Florida last month. | Image: Alejandro Otero NASA has confirmed suspicions that the strange object that crashed into a Florida home last month did indeed come from the International Space Station (ISS). The agency analyzed the cylindrical object after it tore through the roof and two floors of a house in Naples on March 8th, and established that it came from a cargo pallet of aging batteries that was released from the ISS back in 2021.More specifically, NASA revealed in a blog post on Monday that the offending object was a support component used to mount the batteries on the 5,800-pound (2,630-kilogram) pallet released from the space station. Made from Inconel (a metal alloy that can withstand extreme environments like high temperature, pressure, or mechanical loads), the... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Self-driving cars have an image problem. They stumble into construction zones, block ambulances, run red lights, and even injure the occasional bicyclist or pedestrian. Forget the fact that most autonomous vehicles operate each day safely, anonymously, and without fanfare. There are hundreds in operation today in California, Arizona, Texas, and elsewhere, and the numbers are only going to increase. But when they do make mistakes, people tend to notice. Numerous public opinion polls have shown declining support for autonomous vehicles (AV) over the years and a rise in outright hostility toward the technology.The autonomous vehicle industry’s main lobbying group — yes, of course it has one — is intent on reversing this trend before it... Continue reading…

There are plenty of ways you can customize your Windows 11 PC, but when it comes down to it, the operating system is fairly limited in the options it gives you. You can change the color of the taskbar and Start menu, but really, that's about it. That, paired with some of the things Microsoft tries to force on its users, makes third-party apps like StartAllBack all the more compelling.

Weird phones are back, baby. | Image: Motorola Motorola is introducing three new Edge series phones, reviving a classic design feature it first introduced a decade ago: a wooden back panel. The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra is the highest spec’d device of the trio, and it’s the only one with the “real wood” back panel option (though the peach fuzz vegan leather looks awfully nice, too). Motorola will launch the phones first outside of the US “in the coming weeks,” but says it’s committed to “expanding the Edge family in North America this year.” The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra uses the new Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 chipset, which is a slight step down from the 8 Gen 3. There’s a 6.7-inch OLED with up to 144Hz refresh rate, which has been “Pantone-validated.” Say what? Motorola says this designation... Continue reading…

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Since 2022, TikTok has undertaken a massive, expensive effort to silo off its US operations — and American users’ data — from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. TikTok has described the corporate restructuring, which it dubbed Project Texas, as “an unprecedented initiative dedicated to making every American on TikTok feel safe, with confidence that their data is secure and the platform is free from outside influence.” Several former employees, however, told Fortune that Project Texas is instead “largely cosmetic” and that they and their colleagues continued to work closely with Beijing-based ByteDance executives after the plan’s implementation.One major aspect of Project Texas — so named because Oracle, TikTok’s “technology... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holoway Krales / The Verge At the least the only way to go from here is up... right? Continue reading…