A similar AI shopping feature on TikTok. | The Verge In late February, Puck reported on a strange case: An influencer with more than a million followers was inadvertently promoting products on Instagram. On some of Julia Berolzheimer's posts, a "Shop the look" button hovered in the corner. When followers clicked it, they were fed similar items to what Berolzheimer was wearing. Her job is to promote clothing, accessories, and other products to her followers, so having links to specific items isn't strange. What was odd was that she hadn't placed the links there herself - Instagram added them without her consent. The product links led followers not to the actual items Berolzheimer was promotin …Read the full story at The Verge.

I've loved gaming ever since I was two, and over nearly three decades, I've been privileged to experience thousands of games that looked, felt, sounded, and played vastly differently. In 2026, that diversity seems to be dissipating slowly, and Unreal Engine 5 is one of the first reasons that comes to mind.

Unlike its predecessor, the iPhone 17E supports MagSafe. | Image: Apple The iPhone 17 lineup now has a “budget” option. Announced this week, the iPhone 17E will hit stores on Wednesday, March 11th, starting at $599, with preorders opening on March 4th. The 6.1-inch phone joins the rest of Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup, which includes the iPhone 17 ($799), the more powerful iPhone 17 Pro ($1,099), and the iPhone 17 Pro Max ($1,199), as well as the ultra-thin iPhone Air ($999).Unlike last year’s iPhone 16E, the 17E features MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging, along with the faster A19 chip found in the iPhone 17 and twice as much base storage (256GB vs. 128GB). It also features a sharper, more durable display, retains support for Apple Intelligence, and includes a 48-megapixel “fusion” camera that enables 2x telephoto shots, all of which bring it closer to Apple’s more premium phones.But at $599, the 17E doesn’t include all of the bells and whistles found in the rest of Apple’s current iPhone lineup. For example, it only has a 6.1-inch 60Hz display — the smallest display of any iPhone 17 series phone — and lacks features like an always-on display and Dynamic Island, a pill-shaped cutout that shows info, like ride-share updates, at a glance. It’s also noticeably dimmer, with a peak brightness of 1,200 nits.Camera hardware is another differentiator. While the 17E, Air, and standard iPhone 17 all share a 48-megapixel main sensor, the iPhone 17 has a dedicated ultrawide camera, which also enables macro photography for close-up shots. The 17 and Air also offer an 18-megapixel front-facing camera — the 17E only has a 12-megapixel shooter — which could translate to sharper selfies and clearer video calls. The Pro and Pro Max models expand further with more advanced camera arrays, including the addition of dedicated telephoto cameras. Plus, all except the 17E include the Camera Control button, which is designed to help people quickly launch the camera and adjust various settings.Unsurprisingly, charging speeds and battery life also differ. The 17E supports MagSafe charging with Qi2 support, allowing for wireless charging at up to 15W, while the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and both Pro models support faster 25W wireless charging. Apple says the 17E can charge up to 50 percent in 30 minutes, compared to about 20 minutes for the higher-end models. Battery life increases as you move up the lineup, with the 17E rated for up to 26 hours of video playback, while the iPhone Air and the larger Pro Max models last longer (up to 39 hours, in some instances).Those are just some of the main highlights, though. If you want to get into the nitty-gritty, we’ve compiled all the specs together below, letting you see how each phone stacks up to the others.CategoryiPhone 17EiPhone AiriPhone 17iPhone 17 ProiPhone 17 Pro MaxOperating systemiOS 26iOS 26iOS 26iOS 26iOS 26Apple Intelligence supportYesYesYesYesYesDisplay6.1-inch (2532 x 1170-pixel) OLED6.5-inch (2736 x 1260) OLED6.3-inch (2622 x 1206) OLED6.3-inch (2622 x 1206) OLED6.9-inch (2868 x 1320) OLEDDisplay refresh rate60Hz120Hz120Hz120Hz120HzPeak brightness1,200 nits3,000 nits3,000 nits3,000 nits3,000 nitsMinimum brightnessN/A1 nit1 nit1 nit1 nitAlways-On displayNoYesYesYesYesGlass displayCeramic Shield 2Ceramic Shield 2Ceramic Shield 2Ceramic Shield 2Ceramic Shield 2BuildAluminum frameCeramic Shield back, titanium frameAluminum frameCeramic Shield back, aluminum unibodyCeramic Shield back, aluminum unibodyDimensions146.7mm x 71.5mm x 7.8mm156.2mm x 74.7mm x 5.64mm149.6mm x 71.5mm x 7.95mm150.0mm x 71.9mm x 8.75mm163.4mm x 78.0mm x 8.75mmWeight5.96 ounces (169 grams)5.82 ounces (165 grams)6.24 ounces (177 grams)7.27 ounces (206 grams)8.22 ounces (233 grams)Battery capacityUp to 26 hours video playbackUp to 27 hours of video playbackUp to 30 hours of video playbackUp to 33 hours of video playbackUp to 39 hours of video playbackWireless chargingYes, MagSafe / Qi2 (up to 15W)Yes, MagSafe / Qi2 (up to 20W)Yes, MagSafe / Qi2 (up to 25W)Yes, MagSafe / Qi2 (up to 25W)Yes, MagSafe / Qi2 (up to 25W)Fast charge-capableYes; up to 50 percent in 30 minutesYes; up to 50 percent in 30 minutesYes; up to 50 percent in 20 minutesYes; up to 50 percent in 20 minutesYes; up to 50 percent in 20 minutesProcessorA19 A19 ProA19A19 ProA19 ProProcessor cores6-core CPU / 4-core GPU / 16-core neural engine6-core CPU / 5-core GPU / 16-core neural engine6-core CPU / 5-core GPU / 16-core neural engine6-core CPU / 6-core GPU / 16-core neural engine6-core CPU / 6-core GPU / 16-core neural engineRAMNot sharedNot sharedNot sharedNot sharedNot sharedStorage256GB, 512GB256GB, 512GB, 1TB256GB, 512GB256GB, 512GB, 1TB256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TBPortsUSB-C charging and data portUSB-C charging and data portUSB-C charging and data portUSB-C charging and data portUSB-C charging and data portUSB speedsUSB 2 USB 2 USB 2 USB 3 USB 3 Rear cameras48-megapixel (f/1.6) main48-megapixel (f/1.6) main48-megapixel (f/1.6) main, 48-megapixel (f/2.2) ultrawide48-megapixel main, 48-megapixel ultrawide, 48-megapixel telephoto48-megapixel main, 48-megapixel ultrawide, 48-megapixel telephotoHighest optical magnification2x2x2x8x8xMacro modeNoNoYesYesYesFront camera12MP18MP18MP18MP18MPVideo recordingUp to 4K at 60fpsUp to 4K at 60fpsUp to 4K at 60fpsUp to 4K at 120fps (ProRes with external recording)Up to 4K at 120fps (ProRes with external recording)BiometricsFace IDFace IDFace IDFace IDFace IDSIM supportDual eSIM (no physical SIM)Dual eSIM (no physical SIM)Dual eSIM (no physical SIM)Dual eSIM (no physical SIM)Dual eSIM (no physical SIM)Action ButtonYesYesYesYesYesCamera Control buttonNoYesYesYesYesDynamic IslandNoYesYesYesYesWi-FiWi-Fi 6Wi-Fi 7Wi-Fi 7Wi-Fi 7Wi-Fi 7Bluetooth version5.36.06.06.06.0Satellite SOS featureYesYesYesYesYesMessages via satelliteYesYesYesYesYesCrash DetectionYesYesYesYesYesApple PayYesYesYesYesYesIP ratingIP68IP68IP68IP68IP68Starting price$599$999$799$1,099$1,199AvailabilityMarch 11thAlready availableAlready availableAlready availableAlready availableColorsBlack, pink, whiteSky blue, light gold, cloud white, space blackLavender, sage, mist blue, white, blackCosmic orange, deep blue, silverCosmic orange, deep blue, silver

Recently, I decided to do something a little bit unthinkable. I went into the router and blocked WAN access for every smart device in my house. No more phoning home, no more data mining, and zero reliance on external servers in the cloud.

To say that AI has reshaped a lot of fields in one way or another would be an understatement. Programming, though, might be the field where the pace of change feels faster than almost anything else. It began with copying snippets of code out of a ChatGPT window and pasting them into an IDE. Then came AI-powered inline suggestions and tab completion. Now, we're in the era of agentic coding tools like Cursor, Antigravity, and Claude Code, where, in addition to generating lines and lines of code, the AI is capable of actually doing tasks for you instead of telling you how to do them. This includes reading your codebase, creating new files, running commands, and building features end-to-end while you simply prompt and watch.

The AirPods 4 are the best entry-level AirPods yet. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge It’s a good day for Apple fans on a budget. Not only did the company introduce a new budget phone, its entry-level AirPods 4 are also on sale. Right now, you can snag a pair of Apple’s AirPods 4 starting at just $89 ($30 off) at Walmart. The model with active noise-cancellation are also down to their second best price to date, going for $119 ($60 off) at Amazon and Walmart.AirPods 4Where to Buy: $129 $89 at Walmart $179 $119 at Amazon (with ANC) $179 $119 at Walmart (with ANC)The AirPods 4 are the best and most comfortable entry-level earbuds from Apple yet. They deliver fuller bass along with clearer, more detailed sound than previous models, and even now match the AirPods Pro in terms of voice call quality. They also boast an upgraded IP54 rating for water and dust resistance, meaning they can withstand light rain and sweaty workouts. As with other Apple headphones, they also play nicely with Apple devices, offering conveniences like automatic switching, access to hands-free Siri, and Apple TV support.If you’re willing to spend $30 extra, the ANC model offers all the same features while also doing a surprisingly good job of tuning out the world. They can’t rival the AirPods Pro, but they still dramatically cut down on ambient and low-frequency noise on planes and in offices, particularly with music playing. The ANC earbuds also offer a transparency mode that sounds natural, along with support for tracking via Apple’s Find My App, a wireless charging case, and live translation through an iOS 26 update.

ChatGPT is great for getting information or making sense of something quickly. But it also comes with limits the more heavily you rely on it. There are usage caps for free tier users, as well as the reality that most of your work is happening on someone else’s servers, and there’s little in the way of customization.

So, you finally dropped $500–$1,000 on a fancy new graphics card after finding a remotely reasonable "deal" and launched your favorite AAA titles to take your new GPU for a spin. An hour went by, but you missed the part where the new GPU was supposed to feel like an upgrade. The games felt the same as they did on your older card, and you were left wondering what the point was. If this sounds familiar, then you probably upgraded your GPU at the wrong time, or at least without thinking about the rest of your build. Multiple reasons can make a GPU upgrade feel underwhelming, from poor raw performance and diminishing returns to system bottlenecks and game selection. Let's get into each of them and unpack what you can do to remedy the situation.

Finnish startup Donut Lab is out to prove that its solid-state battery is all that it claims to be. Last week, the test was about fast charging. This week is where things get hot. Like the first test, this one was also conducted by state-owned VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The team set out to determine how well Donut Lab's cells held up under extreme heat, which has been known to adversely affect traditional lithium-ion batteries. The results show that not only can the Finnish startup's solid-state battery still discharge energy under conditions of up to 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit), it actually gains capacity. …Read the full story at The Verge.

Apple has asked Google to look into "setting up servers" for a new version of Siri that's Gemini-powered and meets Apple's privacy requirements, The Information reports. Apple had already announced in January that Google's Gemini AI models would help power the upgraded version of Siri it delayed last year, but The Information's report indicates Apple might lean even more on Google so it can catch up in AI.The original partnership announcement said that "the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google's Gemini models and cloud technology," and that the models would "help power future Apple Intelligence features," incl …Read the full story at The Verge.

Sharing content to Mastodon is getting easier with the addition of a universal "Share to Mastodon" button for the decentralized social media platform. Announced on Monday, the widget allows users to share content on any Mastodon server by connecting your Mastodon account and redirecting you to the server that account is on. The blog post announcing the feature also explains that the tool "works entirely in your browser: there is no tracking data, and it does not store any information on the server." Previously, a "share" widget wasn't available on Mastodon mainly due to the technical challenges that come with the platform's decentralized d …Read the full story at The Verge.

The US Supreme Court has declined to hear a case over whether AI-generated art can obtain a copyright, as reported earlier by Reuters. The Monday decision comes after Stephen Thaler, a computer scientist from Missouri, appealed a court's decision to uphold a ruling that found AI-generated art can't be copyrighted.In 2019, the US Copyright Office rejected Thaler's request to copyright an image, called A Recent Entrance to Paradise, on behalf of an algorithm he created. The Copyright Office reviewed the decision in 2022 and determined that the image doesn't include "human authorship," disqualifying it from copyright protection. After Thale …Read the full story at The Verge.