Google's A series of mid-range smartphones have always had similarities to their preceding Pixel phones, particularly the base model. But this year, the line between the just-announced Pixel 7a and Pixel 7 is blurrier than ever. In fact, the average consumer may not be able to tell the two phones apart unless they put them side-by-side. But there's a $100 difference between them, so which phone should you get? What does that extra Benjamin get you? Let's find out!

Roborock’s Q Revo, which launched less than three months ago, is already $200 off at multiple retailers. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Fall is a busy time of the year, especially with kids heading back to school and the holiday season fast approaching. Thankfully, if you’d like to free up some of your precious time by ridding yourself of some work, Roborock is dropping prices on many of its best robot vacuums as part of its anniversary sale, which runs through Saturday, September 2nd.First up is the new Roborock Q Revo, which is our favorite midrange model and is currently available for an all-time low of $699.99 ($200 off) from Roborock. The robovac / mop hybrid cleans carpets well but also features two oscillating mops, allowing it to remove stains from hardwood floors with ease. The handsome vacuum can also empty itself, fill up its own mop reservoir, and even... Continue reading…

In a bid to offer users a full-color, paper-like visual experience, TCL debuted its NXTPAPER tech back in 2020. The innovative display tech has made its way to several TCL laptops and tablets since the initial announcement, with the latest model in the lineup featuring a revised version with a higher peak brightness for better outdoor visibility. Although TCL originally planned on limiting the unique displays to large-screen devices, it has now announced two new smartphones featuring NXTPAPER panels. The all-new TCL 40 NXTPAPER and TCL 40 NXTPAPER 5G are budget-friendly devices featuring the in-house paper-like display technology that promises a more comfortable viewing experience.

Image: Marshall Marshall earbuds seem to be aimed at people who want a little more edge and to stand out from Apple’s ubiquitous AirPods. The guitar amp company has already released several generations of buds, and today, it’s announcing its latest pair. The $199 Motif II ANC will be available on September 12th, and they’re said to offer improved noise cancellation and 10 additional hours of total battery life compared to the prior model. Marshall says you can expect six hours of continuous playback or a total of 30 hours including the charging case. The Motif II ANC are also Marshall’s first buds to be LE Audio-ready. “This future-proof technology delivers higher quality audio, while increasing the streaming range and improving audio sync, for a... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge By the end of this month, porn will get a lot harder to watch in Texas. Instead of clicking a button or entering a date of birth to access Pornhub and other adult sites, users will need to provide photos of their official government-issued ID or use a third-party service to verify their age. It’s the result of a new law passed earlier this summer intended to prevent kids from seeing porn online. But it’s also part of a broad — and worrying — attempt to age-gate the internet. Texas may be the biggest state rolling out anti-porn rules, but it’s not the first. In the last year alone, more than half a dozen states have passed similar legislation and even more are looking to follow suit. While these rules are focused on adult content,... Continue reading…

Besides allowing you to create AI-generated stickers, WhatsApp is also working on something much more serious. The Meta-owned instant chat messaging platform is planning a new privacy feature that will make IP tracking a lot more difficult to achieve.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Verizon is making it easier to block pesky spam texts sent by random email addresses. If you find yourself overloaded with these messages, you can now text “Off” to 4040 to stop receiving texts from emails altogether.While Verizon previously let you turn email-to-text off through your My Verizon account, this new feature lets you switch off email-to-text messages directly from your phone. It’s worth noting that when you turn email-to-text off, you won’t receive any emails to your phone number — so you might not want to turn it off if you often receive legitimate messages from emails.If you want to start receiving text messages from email addresses again, you can text “On” to 4040. You can also check whether or not you’ve enabled... Continue reading…

Sony is twinning it. Sony is once again trickling down high-end camera features to newer lower-cost models while simultaneously making some confounding design decisions. The new cameras are the $2,199.99 Sony A7C II and the $2,999.99 Sony A7C R, a pair of compact mirrorless twins that look and function mostly the same except for the resolution of their sensors. This pair of cameras are successors to 2020’s compact and well-regarded A7C. They are due to launch in September along with a new $2,299.99 Sony FE 16–35mm f/2.8 II ultrawide zoom lens.The A7C II’s price puts it at $400 more than the first-generation model at launch, which is a steep increase. Sony typically keeps older models around even after they’ve been updated, though, so it will likely still be... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Grubhub’s bringing Amazon’s cashierless Just Walk Out technology to some colleges, the company announced today. The food delivery service will first focus on rolling out the tech to colleges, starting with Loyola University Maryland next week before expanding nationwide. The tech is capable of identifying items taken from and returned to shelves so students and staff can buy food from on-campus stores without waiting in line. After scanning a QR code in the Grubhub app, the company will automatically charge their Grubhub-linked meal plans or other stored payment methods after they leave the store.“With Just Walk Out technology and Grubhub, students, faculty, and staff will find a convenient way to purchase the items they need with a... Continue reading…

Snapchat users will soon able to create their own Dreams in the Memories section of the app. | Image: Snap After releasing its My AI chatbot earlier this year, Snapchat is now jumping on the AI selfie bandwagon with a new feature called Dreams. Located in the camera roll section of Snapchat called Memories, Dreams are the company’s own take on the generative AI selfies that one-off apps like Lensa have already popularized. After uploading a series of real-life selfies in the app specifically for Dreams, Snapchat displays a series of eight-photo packs to choose from with themes like doppelgangers or back-to-school. The first pack of Dreams is free to make and each additional one costs $1 as an in-app purchase. Snapchat users in Australia and New Zealand are getting access to Dreams starting today, followed by access opening up to the rest of... Continue reading…

Courtesy of Netflix Netflix doesn’t have the best track record with comic book adaptations, but the streamer’s first trailer for The Killer from director David Fincher looks like it might be a hit to watch out for.Based on the 1998 comic book series created by writer Matz and artist Luc Jacamon, The Killer tells the story of an unnamed hitman who, after years of expertly murdering targets and leaving no trace of his involvement, starts to slip up in ways that make him question his grasp on reality. Like the comic, the new teaser trailer details how — aside from his marksmanship skills — a big part of what makes the killer (Michael Fassbender) so deadly is his preternatural patience and strict adherence to a professional code that’s always running through... Continue reading…

HP has three gaming brands that offer tiered performance and features for users with varying budgets and needs. Omen Transcend is the peak of HP's offering, while Omen is the flagship series that no doubt appeals to most people. Victus is the more affordable brand that's great for gamers just getting into the PC world. Victus laptops are slightly more affordable than Omen ones, have many great features, and you can configure them with plenty of options, including Intel and AMD hardware.