In our review of the Asus ROG Ally, we noted that the system's dependency on Windows is holding it back. From our testing, it was clear that Microsoft's operating system wasn't designed for portable gaming, making the device hard to recommend. Now, the Asus ROG Ally's dependency on Windows has hindered it again as reports claim the latest Windows update has ruined its performance.

The Verified Product Security Mark is a new labeling program from the CSA designed to help users easily identify what cybersecurity protections an IoT device has in place. | Image: CSA As useful as connected devices like video doorbells and smart lights are, it’s wise to exercise caution when using connected tech in your home, especially after years of reading about security camera hacks, fridge botnet attacks, and smart stoves turning themselves on. But until now, there hasn’t been an easy way to assess a product’s security chops. A new program from the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the group behind the smart home standard Matter, wants to fix that.Announced this week, the CSA’s IoT Device Security Specification is a baseline cybersecurity standard and certification program that aims to provide a single, globally recognized security certification for consumer IoT devices. Device makers who adhere to the s... Continue reading…

From a small-sized NAS to an all-in-one media server, the Raspberry Pi is a versatile device that can be customized for pretty much any project imaginable. Heck, the newer boards pack enough firepower to emulate games developed for older consoles, and you even get to choose between Recalbox, Retro-Pie, and several other emulator-centric distros.

Image: The Verge Today, Steam launched Steam Families, an overhaul of its family sharing system. The new system gets rid of limits on how many people can play games from one library, makes buying games for your kids easier, and adds new parental controls and sharing options. Before, you needed to use two different systems — Family Sharing and Family View — if you wanted to share your library but limit which games your kids could play. Also under the old approach, only one person at a time could play a game from another’s library. Now — to use Steam’s example — if you’re playing your copy of Portal 2 and someone else wants to play Half-Life from your library, that’s fine. They’ll only be booted if you start up Portal 2 while they’re playing it from your... Continue reading…

Recently, Google added an interesting new feature to Gemini. This tool lets you sculpt the chatbot's responses to better suit your needs. This includes regenerating a piece of text, adding more context, cutting down on words, rewriting sections, or getting rid of entire sections. This not only allows you to refine any text you generated that you intend to copy-paste (i.e. generating a cover letter), but it's also great for asking Gemini to extrapolate on parts you want to learn more about (i.e. asking it how a phishing attack works exactly). As such, I gave the tool a test run to see how each part fares.

Apple has really improved the MacBook Air in the last few years, and we consider it to be one of the best Macs for most people. The MacBook Air M2 impressed us, and the 2024 M3 MacBook Air looks to set an even higher performance standard for the Air series of MacBooks.

Last year’s iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple is reportedly in “active negotiations” with Google to bring its Gemini generative AI technology to the iPhone, Bloomberg reports, and has also considered using OpenAI’s ChatGPT.CEO Tim Cook has already confirmed that Apple is spending “a tremendous amount of time and effort” on artificial intelligence features, and plans to release them to its customers “later this year.” Bloomberg’s report suggests that the AI features built into Apple’s products could eventually be powered by a mix of first- and third-party AI models. Apple’s models could power on-device generative AI with iOS 18, releasing later this year, while cloud-based AI features like text- and image-generation could come via partnerships with the likes of Google.If a... Continue reading…

Is it upper midrange? Is it lesser high-end? Hard to say. | Image: Qualcomm Qualcomm just launched a new chipset that’s designed to sit just below its current flagship in terms of capabilities and price. The Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 aims to bring most of the 8 Gen 3’s features — including support for on-device generative AI models — to more affordable phones. It represents a new tier for the top-of-the-line 8-series chips, and it’s also a little bit confusing.Before we get into all that, let’s start with the straightforward stuff: the 8S Gen 3 includes a GPU similar to the standard 8 Gen 3, though it has one less performance core and runs at a lower frequency — the prime core runs at up to 3.0GHz versus 3.4GHz on the 8 Gen 3. The new 8S Gen 3 also uses a previous-gen modem, the X70 5G, which includes Wi-Fi 7... Continue reading…

Sony’s PlayStation VR2. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge After producing in excess of two million units of its latest virtual reality headset, Bloomberg is reporting that Sony is hitting pause on production to try and shift its unsold inventory. The PlayStation VR2 launched last February for $549 as an accessory for the PlayStation 5, but IDC data suggests that shipments have declined each quarter since.Bloomberg suggests that the problem is a lack of content for the headset. The PSVR2 is compatible with a handful of AAA games including Horizon Call of the Mountain, Gran Turismo 7, and entries in the Resident Evil series, as well as a range of smaller titles. But, at $549, the headset costs more than the PS5 itself, so expectations are high. Bloomberg notes that Meta and Apple have faced... Continue reading…

Perhaps those who use light mode are right; us dark mode enjoyers can be a bit overzealous. Whenever a website or an app doesn't have a native dark mode built into it, we're sent scurrying on the hunt for a plugin or an extension to change that. And while there are plenty of good browser plugins out there that give us what we want, nothing beats a native dark theme. Now, Google Drive will be a little easier on the eyes, as the website is getting its own muted theme.

People love their Windows on Arm devices, but they only truly shine if the software running on it also supports an Arm architecture. Fortunately, more and more developers have been creating Arm-compatible software that makes use of the special hardware, resulting in faster processing speeds and less of an impact on power usage. And while Google had been lagging behind with its efforts to port Chrome onto Arm, the company has finally released its browser natively onto Windows on Arm for all to use.

Are you the best gamer in your business? Do you think the people you work with would be able to take down another company? If so, you're about to have a chance to prove your skills. The popular job-oriented social network LinkedIn is adding games to its platform, and it will feature a ranking system that allows companies to pit their workers against one another.