Using WowMouse to control a computer mouse. | Image: Doublepoint A company called Doublepoint announced a new app during CES this week called WowMouse that turns Android smartwatches like the Samsung Galaxy Watch into a gesture-based mouse for your computer. That means waving your arm around to move the mouse and pinching your fingers to click (similar to the Double Tap feature on the Apple Watch Series 9). The app is available now on the Google Play store.WowMouse works by broadcasting the watch as a Bluetooth Human Interface Devices (HID) mouse, allowing it to work with a variety of operating systems, by just pairing it like you would any other Bluetooth mouse. According to Doublepoint’s site, that includes Windows, Linux, macOS, and iPadOS. It’s confirmed that it works on certain Wear OS watches,... Continue reading…

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Apple will combine a San Diego team of 121 employees with one in Austin, Texas, and any of the employees who elect not to move could be let go on April 26. That’s according to Bloomberg, which reported that an Apple spokesperson confirmed that the team, which listens to recordings of Siri interactions to make sure it responded appropriately, will “have the opportunity to continue their role with Apple in Austin.”The article reports that the staff was surprised by the relocation, which Apple had indicated would involve a move to another campus in San Diego by the end of January, rather than going to Texas. The company reportedly told employees they can apply for other jobs within the company, though some doubt they’re qualified for other... Continue reading…

The Quest 2 offers lower specs than Meta’s latest headset, true, but it also costs half the price. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge In case you haven’t heard, the Meta Quest 2’s $249 holiday pricing is sticking around for good. That’s a natural progression for the second-gen VR headset, which launched in 2020 and was recently outclassed by the newer Meta Quest 3. What’s more, if you pick up a 128GB Quest 2 at Walmart right now, you’ll receive a $50 Meta Store credit to help you build up your game library, essentially making it a $200 purchase.At launch, the Quest 2 was an excellent little device thanks to its standalone nature. As far as mainstream VR headsets go, it remains one of the easiest and most affordable devices to pick up and play, especially since you don’t have to worry about external depth sensors and wires. You won’t be able to engage in unique... Continue reading…

Image: Ubisoft Two weeks into 2024, and we’ve already got a GOTY. Continue reading…

From AI-powered robots to face-scanning smart locks, the gadgets that will power the homes of the future are here and were on display at CES 2024, the annual consumer tech show in Las Vegas. This is where tech companies show off their latest innovations in cars, TVs, laptops, smart home gear, and more. The Verge went to Vegas to take a closer look at all the new tech poised to bring our homes into the future.After seeing hundreds of gadgets over three days, smart home reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy rounded up the tech that caught her eye. In the video above, she goes through them room by room, showing how this smart home technology can make life more convenient, comfortable, and energy-efficient. Here are a few of the products she... Continue reading…

Image: William Joel / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 21, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, sorry for all the bad jokes, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) I’ve been in Vegas all week for CES, the annual extravaganza of gadgets and gizmos aplenty, whozits and whatsits galore. Most of what’s here isn’t yet available for purchase (and a lot of it never will be), but I love getting a peek into what the tech industry is dreaming about, so I figured I should share some of the best new stuff here. I’ve also been reading about how Cyberpunk 2077 turned into a hit, learning some new tech minimalism ideas, watching Patriot and rewatching Archer, and trying out a new... Continue reading…

Image: Samsung This year at CES was the year AI took over. From large language model-powered voice assistants in cars to the Rabbit R1, the technology you heard about everywhere was AI. It was a little too much.It may be the year of AI at CES, but many of these “AI” features have been around for a while — it’s just that companies are only now embracing the branding of artificial intelligence. AI has entered the public consciousness: it’s cool and hip to place it front and center in a product, a sign that companies are ambitious and forward thinking. That’s led the term to be adopted wherever possible, even when it’s not strictly the AI most people know. But as more companies rebrand anything involving algorithms as AI, how are we meant to separate... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Peacock is the only source for tonight’s playoff game between Miami and Kansas City, and the most surprising result is that through three quarters, the service is mostly holding up to the task. The game just entered the fourth quarter, which is going to be “commercial free,” but that may not be enough to make everyone happy about the deal the NFL made to take a playoff game away from regular TV broadcast availability and put it on a streaming service operated by NBCUniversal.Most initial viewer complaints online were more about needing Peacock to tune into the game, instead of connection or login issues that have occasionally marred live sports streaming before. However, some folks have noted audio problems, or had streams glitch and... Continue reading…

Two things make CES an incredible experience. First, of course, are all the new products announced at the show, but there are all the cool things you get to try for the first time, even if they're not necessarily new. For me, a highlight of CES 2024 was trying out the virtual reality haptics experience bHaptics had on display. Before this show, I had no idea this company existed, but it's supported in around 200 games and with many devices.

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge For anyone who wants to try the Apple Vision Pro when it’s officially released on February 2nd, there’s going to be a whole procedure. We knew that, but now a report in Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter for Bloomberg sheds light on how the in-store demos for the Vision Pro will work.According to Gurman, the process will start with an Apple Store employee scanning users’ faces to pick out the light seal for Apple’s headset — a process he likens to configuring Face ID. For those who need vision correction, Apple will reportedly also scan their lenses with a special device to suss out the prescription. Then an employee fits a Vision Pro with one of “hundreds” of on-hand lenses and a seal and tells you how to use the device... Continue reading…

Mochi Mayhem and the Indigo Disk are lightyears away from perfection, but they offered a satisfying conclusion to the parts of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet that worked best. Continue reading…

The AirPods Pro 2 are the best wireless earbuds for most iPhone users, offering a rich set of advanced features in a compact design. Of course, one of the most important parts of trying out your earbuds is ensuring they fit your ears perfectly. If you've just set up a pair on your iPhone, you may have noticed the Ear Tip Fit Test option. This test is currently exclusive to the AirPods Pro, and we advise all users to take it at least once.