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Whether you’re buying your first pair of AirPods or replacing a well-used older pair, it’s easy to understand why so many iPhone owners prefer Apple’s earbuds and headphones over other options. Apple has spent years gradually adding new features that work best — and sometimes only work at all — within the company’s walled garden. These convenient tricks include audio sharing, automatic switching between Apple’s various devices, Apple TV integration, and more.  There are four AirPods models to choose from, each with a distinct appeal and upside. You likely already know whether you’re more interested in earbuds or over-ear headphones,…

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Meta is paying $14.3 billion to acquire 49 percent of Scale AI and hire its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to revamp its troubled AI efforts. As part of the deal, Wang will report directly to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and remain on Scale's board of directors, both companies announced on Thursday. Sources say Wang will lead a new AI lab at Meta tasked with building "superintelligence." Meta spokesperson Ashley Zandy says the company "will share more about this effort and the great people joining this team in the coming weeks." Zuckerberg has been actively recruiting a new…

Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of Steve Jobs’ famous Stanford commencement speech, and the Steve Jobs Archive has marked the occasion by uploading an HD version of the speech, publishing notes Jobs emailed to himself, and sharing details about the leadup to the speech. You can see everything on a page on the Steve Jobs Archive’s website and watch the HD video on YouTube. The website’s page about the speech is a little saccharine, but there’s no denying that the address has been very influential – LeBron James used the speech to help inspire the Cleveland Cavaliers during their championship…

There’s finally some good news for anyone battling multiple Thread networks while using Matter devices in their smart home — as long as you’re the patient type. According to Matter Alpha, the tvOS 26 beta announced at WWDC this week adds Thread 1.4 to Apple TVs. And, as Apple’s smart speakers use a fork of tvOS, it’s likely that the upcoming HomePod OS 26 will include 1.4 as well. Thread 1.4 brings a standard way for Thread border routers, such as Apple TVs and HomePods, to join an existing Thread network, fixing the problem where border routers from different manufacturers…

President Donald Trump's warning that protesters of Saturday's US military parade in Washington, DC, will be met with "very heavy force" threatens to chill speech and underscores the need for protesters to take precautions around digital surveillance, privacy advocates tell The Verge. In remarks from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump did not distinguish between peaceful and non-peaceful protesters. "For those people who want to protest, they're going to be met with very big force," Trump said. (Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later said, "Of course, the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question.") "No Kings" protests are set to…

A screenshot of the Apple Home Energy tab. Apple’s smart home didn’t get a single nod during the WWDC keynote, but it turns out there are some interesting developments coming to the Home app around energy management.  In a video posted to the Apple developer site this week, the company outlined its new EnergyKit framework, which allows developers to integrate energy data from Apple Home in iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 to reduce or shift the electricity usage of their devices to prioritize cleaner and/or less expensive energy. So, for example, your thermostat can reduce its energy use when prices…

Earlier this year, Google shipped a Pixel 4A update to some owners that lowered battery life to mitigate overheating risk, and soon, it’s going to do the same for the Pixel 6A.  “A subset of Pixel 6A phones will require a mandatory software update to reduce the risk of potential battery overheating,” Google’s Alex Moriconi says in a statement to The Verge. “The update will enable battery management features that will reduce capacity and charging performance after the battery reaches 400 charge cycles. We’ll contact impacted customers next month, with all the information they need to address the issue.” As…

The Nintendo Switch 2 is here, but we can’t just forget about the original Switch. We’ve still got love for the console, and its many millions of owners, so we’ll keep recommending the best controllers for the Switch right here. Now, you may already know that the best Switch controllers aren’t the ones that come with the console. The removable Joy-Cons included with all non-Lite Switch consoles are convenient, given they can be detached for wireless use, but their tiny shape doesn’t do them many favors. They aren’t comfortable to hold for long gaming sessions — especially if you have…

Robot vacuums that can both mop and sweep your floors have improved significantly in recent years. While they are still not as effective as good ol’ manual labor, if you run them regularly, they will help keep your floors cleaner with much less effort on your part. The difference is that newer “combo” robot vacuum and mop models are designed to actually scrub your floors. The first robot vacuums that could also “mop” simply slapped a thin, flat microfiber pad on the bot that kind of Swiffer-ed your floor. Basically, all this was good for was getting up fine dirt…

Every morning, Federal Communications Commissioner Anna Gomez says she checks her email "to see if I'm going into work." At a time when the federal workforce has been slashed by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Gomez's job appears to be one of the most precarious in the US government. She's the last remaining Democrat at the now two-person FCC and has been touring the country to speak out about actions by President Donald Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who she says seek to censor and control Americans' speech. Gomez has accused her own agency under Carr's leadership…