Working hard, or bear-ly working? | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images It's earnings season, and investors got an unpleasant surprise from Google: an increase on its spending estimate, to as much as $205 billion - from the last quarter's projection of up to $190 billion. Even the lower end of Google's new projected range - $195 billion - is much more than the company had previously forecast as its top end spending. Now, look, I recognize that there's an impulse to say things like "What's $15 billion between friends?" but from an investor's perspective, Google has essentially said that it can't accurately forecast its costs, which is a scary thing. Plus, Google is spending more money than it's making. And Google …Read the full story at The Verge.

Most of us already know how to improve battery life on our phones. Things like Power Saving mode, lowering screen brightness, and enabling dark mode are common knowledge. Still, every now and then, I come across a setting that isn't advertised as a battery-saving feature at all, yet still makes a difference. This time, it was Samsung's Customization Service, a feature that I found buried in my Samsung account settings.

Almost every guide I came across suggested the same thing: if you want to run a local LLM, you need a dedicated GPU. I already had a self-hosted AI setup running smoothly on my machine with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, so I knew what a good local LLM experience looked like. That got me wondering how much of that experience could be replicated on a laptop with only integrated graphics. Instead of relying on benchmarks or online opinions, I decided to test it myself using the same model and everyday tasks I normally use AI for. The results were far better than I had expected.

Most people who use Tailscale have never thought about the server in the middle of it all, and to a degree, that's the beauty of it. You install the client, sign in with an existing account, and machines scattered across home networks, hotel Wi-Fi, and cloud providers quietly find each other. There is no gateway to configure and no port to forward, and it's totally free for reasonable home use. But at its core, using Tailscale still relies on a server that you do not own, and replacing it with something you personally host is easier than you might think.

I’ve been using Ollama to run all my local LLMs, but when Docker recently announced Model Runner, I decided to move my models there. The reason is simple — I don’t need another app to run my local LLMs because I already use Docker for several other services, and adding an LLM feels like a natural extension of that setup.

If you have ever gone TV shopping in a store, you've likely noticed how good all the displays look.

In June, Nintendo announced a new version of the Switch 2 that should let you easily replace its battery pack - but only for Europe. Logitech will do much the same. User-replaceable batteries will be the law in Europe in February 2027, but instead of bringing them to the rest of the world, Logitech plans to ship one version of its wireless mice to Europe and a different version everywhere else.That's the word from Logitech's new gaming boss, Robin Piispanen. We talked about it over iced vanilla lattes at my local cafe, right after discussing how Logitech isn't sure it wants to make another gaming handheld. Why? Logitech believes that les …Read the full story at The Verge.

The Hybrid adds Bluetooth functionality to the wired H3, seen here. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge While most gaming headsets have moved towards low-latency wireless connections, there’s something to be said for a budget-friendly, capable wired headset. The EPOS H3 Hybrid is on sale for just $24.99 at Woot, a whopping 75 percent off its original price of $99.99. It has an unorthodox batch of features: USB-A and 3.5mm options for connecting to a controller or a PC, and Bluetooth support for listening to music and taking calls. Notably, it can play audio from wired and wireless sources concurrently, and it can last up to 37 hours per charge.EPOS H3 HybridWhere to Buy: $99.99 $24.99 at WootMy colleague Cameron Faulkner spent some time with the wired-only version of this headset five years ago, and was impressed by its balanced sound profile, comfortable fit, and generously-sized volume knob. He had some qualms about USB connectivity and lack of sidetone, both of which seem to have been addressed in the Hybrid version of the headset that’s available at a steep discount right now. This version also has two microphones — a removable boom mic and a built-in microphone — so you can still take calls via Bluetooth without looking like an airline pilot.

Google Maps is one of the first apps I open before a long road trip, but it was also quietly becoming one of the biggest battery drains on my phone.

For years now, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 has been remembered as Nvidia's dependable mid-range gaming card. It was the GPU you bought when you wanted solid 1080p performance, enough VRAM to outlast its rivals, and even decent 1440p performance if you wanted to dip your toe in a higher resolution pond, all for a price tag that didn't completely empty your wallet. Five years later, it is now back in production, and while budget gamers do have every reason to celebrate, they are not quite the audience for it, which is what makes this return so fascinating.

Over the last few months, I've spent a lot of time talking to my computer. One underrated feature of the LLM revolution has been a remarkable leap in all kinds of dictation technology - even the fastest, cheapest models are getting very good at understanding and processing speech. I've tested lots of these apps, from WisprFlow to Monologue to Spokenly to Handy to so many others, and have found them all to be useful ways to quickly write emails, Slack messages, and more. They sometimes default to giving everything a too-formal style of formatting and love ending a text message with a period (like a sociopath), but they're getting better at th …Read the full story at The Verge.

Apple says it won't limit the capabilities of devices leased through its new Upgrade program if you miss a payment. In an emailed statement to The Verge, Apple spokesperson Brian Bumbery says, "There will be no restricted mode and/or there will be no limitations put on device functionality due to missed payments or default with the Apple Upgrade program."This confirmation comes after 9to5Mac uncovered code in an iOS 27 beta for a new "App Managed Features" system. This would reportedly allow financial partners to "perform ongoing status checks" on a device, as well as have Apple's system services put a device in "Restricted Mode" if its ow …Read the full story at The Verge.