Robin Zeng, founder and chairman of CATL, on stage during the company’s Tech Day event in Shanghai, China, on Monday, April 21, 2025.CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, previewed several breakthroughs in electric vehicle battery tech that is sure to wow EV makers across the world — even if the tech never makes it to the US. The company teased the innovations at an event in Shanghai timed to precede the city’s auto show. According to local reports, CATL presented three new announcements designed to shake-up the battery world. The first was an upgraded version of its Shenxing battery designed to add more range when fast charging. CATL said the battery can now offer 520 kilometers (323 miles) of range from just five minutes of charging time — a marked improvement over BYD’s promise to add 400km (249 miles) of range in the same amount of time. CATL said its system could provide a maximum charging speed of 1.3 megawatts. Even at -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), when charging speeds tend to slow to a crawl, CATL’s Shenxing battery can go from 5 percent to 80 percent in just 15 minutes.Another major announcement was the reveal of a new sodium-ion battery called Naxtra. According to Bloomberg, the new cells are already ready for commercialization and have been tested in a number of extreme settings, including very cold and hot temperatures. The new batteries are promised to delivery around 200km of range for hybrid vehicles, and 500km for an EV. Sodium is seen by some as an improvement over lithium, both in terms of availability and stability. The material is more cost effective to obtain and isn’t subject to the same safety hazards as lithium, which can catch fire under certain circumstances. CATL believes that sodium-ion batteries could potentially replace up to half the market for lithium iron phosphate batteries that now dominates the field. CATL also unveiled a new dual-power battery that can offer a maximum range of 1,500km (932 miles) on a single charge. The company likened the super-powered battery to a dual engine aircraft, with a regular fast-charging cell combined with a separate auxiliary pack for enhanced performance and range. But thanks to President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, US residents are unlikely to see any of these benefits anytime soon. CATL’s batteries are found in a wide range of EVs, including Tesla and Ford. And while the company could license its tech to American automakers, rising tensions are likely to make it difficult in the near term. China has recently halted export of rare earth minerals and magnets, and seems likely to want to keep all the best innovations to itself as the US walls itself off from the rest of the world. And the US Department of Defense has recently added CATL to its list of Chinese military companies, which could make it more difficult for the company to do business in the US.

For years, running virtual machines inside Type-2 hypervisors was the least exhausting solution for Windows users who wanted to tinker with Linux tools and services. But with the arrival of the original Windows Subsystem for Linux, it became a lot easier to integrate the FOSS operating system’s app suite into Microsoft’s flagship OS. Building on its predecessor, WSL2 leverages the Virtual Machine Platform component of the bare-metal Hyper-V platform to run a VM that’s ultra-light as well as deeply integrated into your Windows setup.

Sony has published a new teardown of the PlayStation 5 Pro, highlighting improvements that it made to the cooling apparatus of the machine. They include tweaks to the PS5’s liquid metal cooling design aimed to give the console “more stable” cooling.  The changes follow unproven claims that the liquid metal used in the first PS5 can leak and damage the console. Some sites even recommended against keeping the PS5 vertical after a repair shop owner and YouTuber was partially misquoted by jailbreak site Wololo.net. Wololo later followed up, saying its original story contained a “critical misunderstanding” — ultimately, it doesn’t seem like this was ever a widespread issue.Even so, Sony writes that it changed the design for the PS5 Pro, quoting Shinya Tsuchida, PS5 Pro Mechanical Design Lead:We spent quite some time conducting research on insulation when we were designing the original PS5. The basic structure remains the same in the PS5 Pro, but we made some improvements by adding fine grooves where the liquid metal is applied, so that the cooling effect is more stable. When we were doing research for the original PS5, we anticipated that semiconductors would continue to advance and become much denser, so we believed liquid metal technology would become crucial. It turns out we were right, and it was integral when designing the PS5 Pro.The rest of the blog post and its images may be familiar to you if you already saw iFixit’s teardown of Sony’s very expensive console, in which it noted that the inside of the PS5 Pro contains more thermal management than electronics.Some of that includes a larger cooling fan that the company says has redesigned fan blades, including “smaller blades in between” them. The blog also explains why it’s so hard to see the traces on the PS5 Pro’s motherboard: the board hides extra electrical layers beneath, to speed up memory access.

It's hard to ignore how large tech companies have become over the years. We've seen Google rise from a strangely-named search engine with a policy to "do no evil" to a giant corporation with a finger in every tech-based pie imaginable. However, it seems the company has overstepped its mark and has drawn the ire of the US court. At the start of the hearing of an antitrust case against Google, a judge has put forward the idea of Google breaking up and selling parts of its business, including the Chrome browser.

For a long time, Mac and Windows have had a clear divide between them. Mac tends to be thought of as more aesthetic and minimalist, with a greater focus on design and looks, while Windows is thought of as the more accessible but messier alternative. Here's the good news: you can have your cake and eat it, too. By changing a few key settings on Windows, you can give it a more aesthetic, more minimalist experience that will put even Mac users to shame.

Near the beginning of his opening arguments, David Dahlquist, a lawyer for the US Department of Justice, showed a slide that he described as Google’s “vicious cycle.” It goes like this: Google pays billions of dollars to be the default search engine practically everywhere, thus it gets more search queries, thus it gets better data, thus it is able to improve its results, thus it makes more money, thus it can afford more defaults. Google doesn’t really disagree with this assessment — but in it’s telling, that’s a virtuous cycle. Another way to describe it is as the virtuous cycle that makes Google Search so powerful: Google believes it’s created a perfect system; the DOJ thinks it’s a nightmare. A judge will make the final call.Dahlquist’s remarks were the opening salvo of the remedies phase of US v. Google, a landmark antitrust case that ended with judge Amit Mehta finding last year that Google’s search engine is a monopoly. The question in the courtroom this time, to be litigated over the next two weeks, is what to do to fix it. And according to Dahlquist, the process has to start by stopping every part of the cycle from spinning.The DOJ is asking for three broad …Read the full story at The Verge.

Creating a functional and inspiring home office is crucial for effective remote work or focused personal projects. When I set out to build mine, I had a general idea of what I wanted, but of course, the journey wasn't without its missteps. Looking back at my own home office build, there are definitely things I'd approach differently next time.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is huge, jam-packed with regions to explore and targets to assassinate. It’s a great entry in the long-running franchise and appeals well to gamers who love the series’ RPG turn as well as those who preferred its stealth-first roots. Shadows has proven to be a hit with critics and audiences, enjoying an 81 metascore on Metacritic and a 90 player rating on OpenCritic.

Star Wars is a franchise that has connected with people across multiple generations. And because of that, there have been many different video games that take place in a galaxy far, far away. But over the past 50 years that Star Wars has entertained fans around the world, there was a period of time that was considered a golden age of Star Wars game releases, which showcased an immense level of passion and creativity.

Luke, Jamie, and Kimberly will join the rest of Nintendo’s Street Fighter amiibo lineup. | Image: Nintendo <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9am3smYMP6A">via YouTube</a>Nintendo’s soon-to-be-released amiibo just went up in price at Walmart, GameStop, and Best Buy in the US. The three retailers have increased the price of Street Fighter 6 amiibo from $29.99 to $39.99, while the new Legend of Zelda amiibo have gone from $19.99 to $29.99, as reported earlier by Nintendo Life.Nintendo’s upcoming amiibo, which include Street Fighter’s Luke, Jamie, and Kimberly, along with The Legend of Zelda’s Riju, Sidon, Yunobo, and Tulin, are set to arrive with the Switch 2 on June 5th.Though Nintendo announced last week that it isn’t increasing the price of the $449.99 console, that isn’t the case for its accessories. The Switch 2 Joy-Con, Pro Controller, and the Switch 2 camera all went up in price last week, around the same time some users started noticing the amiibo price hike at GameStop. Walmart and Best Buy only seem to have adjusted the prices on Monday.The Verge reached out to Nintendo with a request for more information, but didn’t immediately hear back. The Switch 2 and its amiibo will be available for preorder on April 24th.

Anker’s newest Qi2-compatible chargers might be faster, but if you’re looking for a reliable — and relatively inexpensive — charger to keep you powered on the go, Anker’s last-gen 622 Magnetic Battery (MagGo) is still a solid choice. Thankfully, it’s on sale through April 25th as part of Woot’s Anker Power Mania sale for a mere $22.99 ($25 off), which is about $3 shy of the power bank’s best price to date. Before Anker’s pricier 6,600mAh Qi2 power bank took its place, the 5,000mAh Anker 622 was our favorite MagSafe-compatible battery pack. It can deliver a respectable 7.5 watts of power to MagSafe-compatible phones, which isn’t as fast as the newer model’s 15W output but still enough to achieve about an 80 percent charge on an iPhone 16 or 16 Pro (or slightly less if you’re using a power-hungry iPhone 16 Pro Max or a beefier last-gen model) within a couple of hours.What’s more, the power bank features a foldable kickstand, allowing you to stream video, take video calls, or read recipes hands-free (it also works great if you’re a fan of Apple’s handy StandBy mode). Thanks to a USB-C port on the side that offers passthrough charging, the power bank can even charge itself and your phone simultaneously.Three more deals we’re diggingThe Nothing Ear (a) have returned to their all-time low price of $79.99 ($20 off) at Amazon.  These water-resistant earbuds deliver great sound, comfort, and solid active noise cancellation, making them our top pick for earbuds under $100. Plus, they feature a low-latency gaming mode and ChatGPT integration for Nothing phone users, both of which are nice bonuses at this price.Best Buy is offering the second-gen Hatch Restore 2 sunrise lamp on clearance for $101.99 ($68 off), which is a new low price. It isn’t as customizable as the third-gen Hatch Restore, but the color-changing sleep gadget can still gradually wake you with the light of a simulated sunrise and peaceful alarms. It also comes with a library of sounds — including white noise and meditation exercises — to help you build good sleeping habits. That said, if you want more than just sunrise alarms and sleep sounds, you’ll have to pay $4.99 a month to access the full content library. Read our review.Woot is selling the second-gen Theragun Mini in refurbished condition for just $99.99 through May 10th, which is half the price of buying it new. The portable massage gun features three speed settings and three interchangeable attachments, allowing you to target specific muscles that require extra attention. The device also features USB-C charging and Bluetooth, enabling you to access personalized guided exercises through Therabody’s app.

How much will Trump’s threatened 245 percent tariffs truly impact Chinese goods and the prices we pay in the US? Some Chinese companies aren’t waiting to see. Anbernic, which makes excellent and controversial Nintendo Game Boy clones, is already suspending US shipments indefinitely.“Due to changes in U.S. tariff policies, we will be suspending all orders shipping from China to the United States starting today,” writes Anbernic. “We strongly recommend prioritizing products shipped from our U.S. warehouse, which are currently not affected by import duties and can be purchased with confidence.”No, Anbernic didn’t set up a brand-new US warehouse in response to tariffs — it’s been an option on its storefront for some time. Generally, Anbernic begins by drop-shipping each new handheld from China directly to buyers’ homes after they’re introduced, then stockpiles additional units in US warehouses for faster ship times. Anbernic lets buyers pick which warehouse they prefer on its checkout page. @verge This amazing knockoff GBA SP comes stuffed with software piracy. #gameboy #gaming #nostolgia #techtok ♬ original sound – The Verge As of last week, Anbernic had already begun suggesting that US buyers pick its US warehouse because “orders shipped to the United States may be subject to high customs duties,” asking customers to “take this potential risk into account when making your purchase decisions.” But now, the company is suspending those shipments entirely — similarly to how acclaimed retro game scaler maker RetroTINK suspended shipments not just because of tariffs, but “due to lack of guidance on how tariffs will be collected.” I checked: while you can still add a Anbernic handheld to your US cart from a Chinese warehouse, the company offers plenty of warnings and won’t let you purchase it from there.One reason for Anbernic’s popularity is that its retro handhelds are cheap, typically around $70 for the newest models. (Some also do an excellent job emulating the look and feel of classic Nintendo handhelds, as you can see in my videos above and below.) But those low prices are now completely under threat by Trump’s tariffs and the removal of the de minimis exemption for cheap Chinese goods. It’s not clear if or how companies like Anbernic could afford to resume shipments, should those tariffs actually take hold.For the time being, Anbernic handhelds are also still available in the US via third-party sellers like Amazon — which I’ve always found surprising given that those ones typically come with Nintendo, Sega and Sony ROMs.Retro Handhelds has a handy regularly updated page keeping track of handheld tariffs; so far, Anbernic is the only one to suspend US shipments entirely. @verge A Game Boy for pirates? The $70 Anbernic RG 34XX is my new favorite way to play Game Boy — but the new RixelHK app lets people use the handheld’s built-in Wi-Fi to browse a huge catalog of games for free. It encourages you to download Nintendo, Sony, and Sega titles, and they appear to be the real deal but also, unauthorized. Typically, would-be pirates would need to buy an SD card filled with pirated games or fill that SD card on a PC, but these Anbernics make downloading games as easy as downloading songs used to be. #gaming #gameboy #nostalgia #tech #techtok #todayimtoyingwith ♬ original sound – The Verge