The gist: It's impossible to paint a full picture of what Audio Intelligence on the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 will be right now. The watchOS 27.3 developer beta just dropped earlier this afternoon, and these features are meant to be lived with in day-to-day life. We're definitely going to do that over the next […]
The gist: This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. From afar, it's easy to look back at the Theranos debacle and scream at Nathan Fielder that, obviously,
The gist: Last week, I sank into my living room couch and watched a bedraggled, nihilistic Matthew McConaughey take a drag of a cigarette in season 1 of True Detective. "You know, someone once told me time is a flat circle. Everything we've done, or will do, we're gonna do over and over and over again." I […]
The gist: This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. It's an overcast Saturday morning when I give my 12th vial of blood for testing in six weeks. It's my […
The gist: Last year, Amazon bought Bee, a relatively unknown startup with a $50 always-listening AI wearable that summarized every conversation you had. Today, the e-commerce giant is announcing two new Bee devices - and a new subscription to go with them. First is the $74.99 Bee Frontier, an updated version of the original Bee
The gist: This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. For the past 100 days or so, my mornings have had a new rhythm. When I wake up, the first […]
The gist: The other day I whizzed past several people while running in the park, my playlist blasting at full volume. The next morning, I smiled at a barista while ordering a caramel apple-flavored matcha latte. Afterward, I sat on a park bench reading a book, called up a pal to chat about her recent trip to […]
The gist: The Fitbit Edge may not be Google's best-kept fitness-tracking secret, but as of today, its existence is official. The tracker sits smack-dab between the recently launched Fitbit Air and the more powerful Google Pixel Watch 5 in the company's current wearable lineup. Basically, if you have smartwatch fatigue but don't
The gist: This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. Finding concrete data about gray-market peptides is a Sisyphean task. Unlike bona fide clinical drug tri
The gist: With AI hardware, tech companies are pushing the definition of what does and doesn't constitute a recording. For most of gadget history, it'd be reasonable to assume that a device with a microphone or camera is either recording you or it isn't; it's either on or off, without much gray area. Microphones capture sound. C
The gist: This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. "I will explode your butthole with this poopmaxxer pesto," a calm Gen Z voice announced from my phone's
The gist: This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. Last night, I asked Blorbo - what I named my Muse AI agent - to help me set some health […]
The gist: Walking around Meta Connect 2026, everyone's sporting smart glasses in all sorts of shapes, colors, and sizes. It's a marked difference here, a tech bubble where "pervert glasses" are not a concern. Outside Connect, the public backlash against wearable surveillance tech - a catchall term that encompasses not just smart
The gist: Last year, Peloton did a sweeping refresh of its hardware that added cameras, fans, and AI-powered software called Peloton IQ. This year, it's zeroing in on its treadmill lineup - refreshing its two existing Treads and adding the new, more affordable Tread Flex into the fold. At a New York City launch event, Peloton ch
The gist: You wouldn't know that the Apple Watch Series 12 is a big deal just by looking at it. It has the same design, buttons, sizes, and sensor types as generations of Apple Watches before it. But under the hood, the Series 12 builds in major changes that lay the groundwork for big ideas about the […]
The gist: This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. During last week's Apple Watch announcement, I let out a distinct "Noooo!" in the Steve Jobs Theater. Al
The gist: This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. Whenever the algorithm serves up a steaming pile of looksmaxxing, I flash back to an old sketch from Tha
The gist: After Apple wrapped up its "Surprise and shine" event today, we were able to get a look at the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4. Both of the new watches launch September 18th, with preorders available starting today. The Apple Watch Series 12 once again starts at $399 for the aluminum case option […]
The gist: This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. My mom was a dramatic woman prone to overreacting. When I was a snotty teen, I told her she needed […]
The gist: This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. Oura's getting sued. A recently filed class-action complaint against the smart ring maker alleges that t
