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Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Our budget-friendly gift guide has it all, from buzzy earbuds and drift-free gamepads to the coolest lightsaber knockoff there is. Gifts can add up shockingly fast, especially when they’re outfitted with advanced sensors and powerful AI chips from the likes of AMD, Nvidia, and Apple. But not everything we cover at The Verge will leave you strapped for cash around the holidays.

These days, there are plenty of handy gadgets available for $50 or less, from adorable USB-C charging cords to retro step trackers that won’t hit you with a deluge of notifications as soon as you wake up. However, if you’re willing to spend a little more — say, up to $100 or so — the possibilities really open up. Nothing’s splashy budget earbuds can often be found for as little as $79.99, for instance, as can KBDcraft’s Lego-like mechanical keyboard. There are also a number of non-tech gifts worth tucking under the Christmas tree, a selection of which we’ve rounded up below, alongside other Verge favorites.
So take the price filters below for a spin and keep an eye out in the days ahead for our guides to the best gifts under $25 and $50.

Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Our budget-friendly gift guide has it all, from buzzy earbuds and drift-free gamepads to the coolest lightsaber knockoff there is.

Gifts can add up shockingly fast, especially when they’re outfitted with advanced sensors and powerful AI chips from the likes of AMD, Nvidia, and Apple. But not everything we cover at The Verge will leave you strapped for cash around the holidays.

These days, there are plenty of handy gadgets available for $50 or less, from adorable USB-C charging cords to retro step trackers that won’t hit you with a deluge of notifications as soon as you wake up. However, if you’re willing to spend a little more — say, up to $100 or so — the possibilities really open up. Nothing’s splashy budget earbuds can often be found for as little as $79.99, for instance, as can KBDcraft’s Lego-like mechanical keyboard. There are also a number of non-tech gifts worth tucking under the Christmas tree, a selection of which we’ve rounded up below, alongside other Verge favorites.

So take the price filters below for a spin and keep an eye out in the days ahead for our guides to the best gifts under $25 and $50.

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Image: The Verge

The estate of now-defunct crypto exchange FTX has filed a lawsuit against Binance and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao in a bid to recover $1.76 billion. FTX alleges these funds were fraudulently transferred to Binance, Zhao, and other Binance executives in July 2021 as part of a shares repurchase deal with FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
According to the filing, the transaction saw Binance sell back the 20 percent stake it held in FTX’s international unit and 18.4 percent in its US-based entity, which Bankman-Fried paid for using a mix of FTX and Binance-branded cryptocurrencies. The FTX estate alleges the share repurchase deal was conducted unlawfully because — following massive fraud by Bankman-Fried and other executives — FTX and its sister company Alameda were already insolvent at the time, and unable to fund the transaction.
Bankman-Fried, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence, was convicted of fraud last year after using customer funds to make investments, political donations, and purchase property.

Separately, the lawsuit says that Zhao sent “a series of false, misleading, and fraudulent tweets that were maliciously calculated to destroy his rival FTX.” Zhao tweeted on November 6th, 2022 that Binance was planning to liquidate $529 million worth of FTX tokens. According to the FTX estate, this “triggered a predictable avalanche of withdrawals” that contributed to the collapse of the crypto exchange.
The run on FTX ended up exposing a financial house of cards at the company, leading to criminal charges against Bankman-Fried and others. The Securities and Exchange Commission said that the downfall of FTX was caused by Bankman-Fried’s “own misappropriation of customer funds,” and that the operation was a fraud “from the start.”
An unnamed Binance spokesperson told Bloomberg that the claims against the company “are meritless,” and that the company will “vigorously defend ourselves.”
This lawsuit is one of more than 20 that the FTX estate has recently filed to reclaim billions of dollars owed to creditors. This includes Alameda suing Waves blockchain founder Aleksandr Ivanov to recoup $90 million that was previously deposited to Vires, a Waves-based liquidity platform. Last month, the FTX estate also received court approval for its plan to repay $16 billion to customers who lost money when the company collapsed.

Image: The Verge

The estate of now-defunct crypto exchange FTX has filed a lawsuit against Binance and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao in a bid to recover $1.76 billion. FTX alleges these funds were fraudulently transferred to Binance, Zhao, and other Binance executives in July 2021 as part of a shares repurchase deal with FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

According to the filing, the transaction saw Binance sell back the 20 percent stake it held in FTX’s international unit and 18.4 percent in its US-based entity, which Bankman-Fried paid for using a mix of FTX and Binance-branded cryptocurrencies. The FTX estate alleges the share repurchase deal was conducted unlawfully because — following massive fraud by Bankman-Fried and other executives — FTX and its sister company Alameda were already insolvent at the time, and unable to fund the transaction.

Bankman-Fried, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence, was convicted of fraud last year after using customer funds to make investments, political donations, and purchase property.

Separately, the lawsuit says that Zhao sent “a series of false, misleading, and fraudulent tweets that were maliciously calculated to destroy his rival FTX.” Zhao tweeted on November 6th, 2022 that Binance was planning to liquidate $529 million worth of FTX tokens. According to the FTX estate, this “triggered a predictable avalanche of withdrawals” that contributed to the collapse of the crypto exchange.

The run on FTX ended up exposing a financial house of cards at the company, leading to criminal charges against Bankman-Fried and others. The Securities and Exchange Commission said that the downfall of FTX was caused by Bankman-Fried’s “own misappropriation of customer funds,” and that the operation was a fraud “from the start.”

An unnamed Binance spokesperson told Bloomberg that the claims against the company “are meritless,” and that the company will “vigorously defend ourselves.”

This lawsuit is one of more than 20 that the FTX estate has recently filed to reclaim billions of dollars owed to creditors. This includes Alameda suing Waves blockchain founder Aleksandr Ivanov to recoup $90 million that was previously deposited to Vires, a Waves-based liquidity platform. Last month, the FTX estate also received court approval for its plan to repay $16 billion to customers who lost money when the company collapsed.

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Image: Digital Eclipse

For such a simple game, Tetris has a wild history. Developed in the mid-1980s by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union, Tetris’ global expansion involved a complex web of software copyright, clandestine meetings, handshake deals, and someone stretching a tourist visa to the very limits. It’s a story that inspired a feature film — but it might be best explored in Tetris Forever, the latest retro game collection from Digital Eclipse.
The studio has made a name for itself with its interactive documentary format. The idea is that, instead of just presenting a bunch of games and supplementary material and leaving it to players to sort through it, the collections put everything into a timeline you can explore in chronological order. This structure adds context to the games so that you have an understanding of why they’re important or interesting before you play them. The format has been used to tell the story of Atari’s first five decades and how Jordan Mechner developed Karateka.

It’s also ideally suited for the story of Tetris. Like its past collections, Digital Eclipse uses a combination of short documentary-style videos, photos, magazine and advertising scans, and the games themselves, and puts them on a timeline. In this case, you start out watching interviews with Pajitnov about his early life and how he first came up with and developed the concept for Tetris. Then you can play the very first version, made up of ASCII symbols, which was available on a Soviet computer called the Electronika 60.

From there, the story expands as various figures swoop in to take Tetris to the rest of the world, including Pajitnov’s lifelong friend Henk Rogers, who has his own fascinating backstory. As with all of its releases, Digital Eclipse expertly weaves these storylines together, showing players the importance of each beat in the history of Tetris. It’s augmented by a few important voices — including Tetris Effect designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi — who explain the game’s cultural impact.

What also makes it work is that Tetris Forever is just a great collection of Tetris games. It features 18 games, including some that were never widely released. Now, there are some notable omissions, namely the iconic original Game Boy version, but the collection gets around this in a few ways. First off, it includes an incredible array of variants that show the many ways Pajitnov and other designers tried to build on the original concept. (My personal favorite is Magicaliss, which came bundled with Super Tetris 3 and adds some clever puzzles and a very metal fantasy theme.) Then there’s an unofficial Game Boy version that looks, sounds, and plays like the original, even if it doesn’t have the actual Nintendo license.
There’s also a brand-new version of the game called Tetris Time Warp. It starts out like a slick, modern rendition of the game, but every so often will literally warp you back in time briefly, reskinning the game to look like one of the many older variants, and introducing some new challenge that you only have a few moments to complete. Then you’re whisked back to the present. Honestly, I’d buy Tetris Time Warp on its own. But as part of this collection, it’s just an added bonus on top of a great group of classic interpretations.
For all the ways it has penetrated pop culture, finding a good version of Tetris to play on modern hardware isn’t always simple. For that alone, Tetris Forever is worth the price of admission. But like the rest of Digital Eclipse’s work, it takes things a step further and shows how interactivity is the ideal way to dig into video game history.
Tetris Forever launches on November 12th on PC, Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox.

Image: Digital Eclipse

For such a simple game, Tetris has a wild history. Developed in the mid-1980s by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union, Tetris’ global expansion involved a complex web of software copyright, clandestine meetings, handshake deals, and someone stretching a tourist visa to the very limits. It’s a story that inspired a feature film — but it might be best explored in Tetris Forever, the latest retro game collection from Digital Eclipse.

The studio has made a name for itself with its interactive documentary format. The idea is that, instead of just presenting a bunch of games and supplementary material and leaving it to players to sort through it, the collections put everything into a timeline you can explore in chronological order. This structure adds context to the games so that you have an understanding of why they’re important or interesting before you play them. The format has been used to tell the story of Atari’s first five decades and how Jordan Mechner developed Karateka.

It’s also ideally suited for the story of Tetris. Like its past collections, Digital Eclipse uses a combination of short documentary-style videos, photos, magazine and advertising scans, and the games themselves, and puts them on a timeline. In this case, you start out watching interviews with Pajitnov about his early life and how he first came up with and developed the concept for Tetris. Then you can play the very first version, made up of ASCII symbols, which was available on a Soviet computer called the Electronika 60.

From there, the story expands as various figures swoop in to take Tetris to the rest of the world, including Pajitnov’s lifelong friend Henk Rogers, who has his own fascinating backstory. As with all of its releases, Digital Eclipse expertly weaves these storylines together, showing players the importance of each beat in the history of Tetris. It’s augmented by a few important voices — including Tetris Effect designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi — who explain the game’s cultural impact.

What also makes it work is that Tetris Forever is just a great collection of Tetris games. It features 18 games, including some that were never widely released. Now, there are some notable omissions, namely the iconic original Game Boy version, but the collection gets around this in a few ways. First off, it includes an incredible array of variants that show the many ways Pajitnov and other designers tried to build on the original concept. (My personal favorite is Magicaliss, which came bundled with Super Tetris 3 and adds some clever puzzles and a very metal fantasy theme.) Then there’s an unofficial Game Boy version that looks, sounds, and plays like the original, even if it doesn’t have the actual Nintendo license.

There’s also a brand-new version of the game called Tetris Time Warp. It starts out like a slick, modern rendition of the game, but every so often will literally warp you back in time briefly, reskinning the game to look like one of the many older variants, and introducing some new challenge that you only have a few moments to complete. Then you’re whisked back to the present. Honestly, I’d buy Tetris Time Warp on its own. But as part of this collection, it’s just an added bonus on top of a great group of classic interpretations.

For all the ways it has penetrated pop culture, finding a good version of Tetris to play on modern hardware isn’t always simple. For that alone, Tetris Forever is worth the price of admission. But like the rest of Digital Eclipse’s work, it takes things a step further and shows how interactivity is the ideal way to dig into video game history.

Tetris Forever launches on November 12th on PC, Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox.

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Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images

Efforts to influence President-elect Donald Trump’s policies via Elon Musk are already beginning. On Friday, nonprofit AI advocacy group Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) launched a public petition asking Trump to make Musk his special adviser on AI, saying he is well positioned to protect the US lead on the technology while ensuring it’s rolled out safely.
“No one is better equipped to help the Trump Administration make America lead on AI than Elon Musk,” reads the petition circulated by ARI, which is led by former Democratic representative Brad Carson and says it doesn’t take corporate funding.
Musk has been a leading critic of OpenAI, a company he cofounded but more recently has distanced himself from and made into an opponent. Shortly after the release of ChatGPT, he signed onto a letter calling for a moratorium on the development of more advanced generative AI models in order to implement safeguards. Critics say his stances are largely self-interested, however, since he also runs his own AI company, xAI.
The ARI petition says it’s possible to deal with Musk’s conflicts of interest, arguing that with “proper mechanisms” to do so, “Musk would be an invaluable asset for helping the Trump administration navigate the development of this transformational technology.” ARI is aiming to get 10,000 signatures on the petition.
“Musk could emerge as a champion for AI safety in the administration,” ARI policy analyst David Robusto wrote in a recent blog post. Robusto pointed to Musk’s cofounding of OpenAI, his call for a moratorium on AI development, and support of California’s vetoed AI safety bill SB 1047 as reasons to believe his commitment to safety is deep-rooted. Robusto concedes that Musk hasn’t said much about what kinds of government policies should actually be implemented — besides the creation of a dedicated AI safety agency — but says his “lack of specificity suggests his thinking on the topic is evolving and can still be shaped by public debate over the issue.”
Musk has previously claimed he’ll join the Trump administration in a role he created from whole cloth: the head of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whose role would be to gut the entire US regulatory system. But Robusto hopes he could promote AI safety even in that capacity — if only by hitting the departments that manage it less hard. Robusto says Musk may spare agencies key to AI safety policy like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) from cuts to federal spending. And if Musk imposes mass layoffs across the government to save costs, the government may lean more on AI tools to make up the workload.
“With proper guardrails in place, his unique combination of technical expertise and safety advocacy could be a valuable asset in developing responsible AI governance,” Robusto writes.

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images

Efforts to influence President-elect Donald Trump’s policies via Elon Musk are already beginning. On Friday, nonprofit AI advocacy group Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) launched a public petition asking Trump to make Musk his special adviser on AI, saying he is well positioned to protect the US lead on the technology while ensuring it’s rolled out safely.

“No one is better equipped to help the Trump Administration make America lead on AI than Elon Musk,” reads the petition circulated by ARI, which is led by former Democratic representative Brad Carson and says it doesn’t take corporate funding.

Musk has been a leading critic of OpenAI, a company he cofounded but more recently has distanced himself from and made into an opponent. Shortly after the release of ChatGPT, he signed onto a letter calling for a moratorium on the development of more advanced generative AI models in order to implement safeguards. Critics say his stances are largely self-interested, however, since he also runs his own AI company, xAI.

The ARI petition says it’s possible to deal with Musk’s conflicts of interest, arguing that with “proper mechanisms” to do so, “Musk would be an invaluable asset for helping the Trump administration navigate the development of this transformational technology.” ARI is aiming to get 10,000 signatures on the petition.

“Musk could emerge as a champion for AI safety in the administration,” ARI policy analyst David Robusto wrote in a recent blog post. Robusto pointed to Musk’s cofounding of OpenAI, his call for a moratorium on AI development, and support of California’s vetoed AI safety bill SB 1047 as reasons to believe his commitment to safety is deep-rooted. Robusto concedes that Musk hasn’t said much about what kinds of government policies should actually be implemented — besides the creation of a dedicated AI safety agency — but says his “lack of specificity suggests his thinking on the topic is evolving and can still be shaped by public debate over the issue.”

Musk has previously claimed he’ll join the Trump administration in a role he created from whole cloth: the head of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whose role would be to gut the entire US regulatory system. But Robusto hopes he could promote AI safety even in that capacity — if only by hitting the departments that manage it less hard. Robusto says Musk may spare agencies key to AI safety policy like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) from cuts to federal spending. And if Musk imposes mass layoffs across the government to save costs, the government may lean more on AI tools to make up the workload.

“With proper guardrails in place, his unique combination of technical expertise and safety advocacy could be a valuable asset in developing responsible AI governance,” Robusto writes.

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Remember the race to 5G? | Image: The Verge

Boost Mobile has announced it is on its way to meeting FCC coverage deadlines by the end of the year and says it has earned the title of MNO — Mobile Network Operator — rather than MVNO, which is a virtual network operator mainly reselling service from other carriers. Mission… accomplished? Sort of. It’s progress, at least.
Boost, you will remember, is supposed to be our nation’s fourth wireless carrier thanks to a wonky deal that allowed T-Mobile to buy Sprint. Dish Network — now owned by EchoStar — bought the brand as part of the deal and is required by the FCC to hit certain milestones in its 5G network buildout to hold up its part of the bargain. Last June, it was required to cover 70 percent of the US population; by the end of the year, it needs to reach 80 percent. Boost’s chief technology officer, Eben Albertyn, told The Verge, “We are well on our way to meeting this goal.” He says the company has lit up more than 20,000 of the 24,000 cell sites it has promised to deploy by June 2025.

“Covering” 80 percent of the population is one thing; actually providing service to customers on that network is another. While Boost’s network has been under construction over the past few years it has mainly offered service through AT&T and T-Mobile as an MVNO.
Boost spokespeople weren’t able to tell me what percentage of customer traffic rides on Boost’s own network versus its roaming partners. However, the company’s director of communications, Meredith Diers, says it has migrated “over half a million customers onto our network and our core since the beginning of this year.” New customers in covered areas are also loaded directly on the network, provided they have a phone compatible with its network. Considering that just a couple of years ago, there was just one phone compatible with the network, that’s good progress.
The effort has certainly come a long way since the days of Project Gene5is, its early pilot program that weirdly had something to do with NFTs. But Boost’s subscriber numbers are still small; in its August earnings release the company said it had 7.28 million subscribers. T-Mobile counted 127 million customers in its most recent earnings release. Even if it meets those FCC milestones on time, there’s much more work to be done.

Remember the race to 5G? | Image: The Verge

Boost Mobile has announced it is on its way to meeting FCC coverage deadlines by the end of the year and says it has earned the title of MNO — Mobile Network Operator — rather than MVNO, which is a virtual network operator mainly reselling service from other carriers. Mission… accomplished? Sort of. It’s progress, at least.

Boost, you will remember, is supposed to be our nation’s fourth wireless carrier thanks to a wonky deal that allowed T-Mobile to buy Sprint. Dish Network — now owned by EchoStar — bought the brand as part of the deal and is required by the FCC to hit certain milestones in its 5G network buildout to hold up its part of the bargain. Last June, it was required to cover 70 percent of the US population; by the end of the year, it needs to reach 80 percent. Boost’s chief technology officer, Eben Albertyn, told The Verge, “We are well on our way to meeting this goal.” He says the company has lit up more than 20,000 of the 24,000 cell sites it has promised to deploy by June 2025.

“Covering” 80 percent of the population is one thing; actually providing service to customers on that network is another. While Boost’s network has been under construction over the past few years it has mainly offered service through AT&T and T-Mobile as an MVNO.

Boost spokespeople weren’t able to tell me what percentage of customer traffic rides on Boost’s own network versus its roaming partners. However, the company’s director of communications, Meredith Diers, says it has migrated “over half a million customers onto our network and our core since the beginning of this year.” New customers in covered areas are also loaded directly on the network, provided they have a phone compatible with its network. Considering that just a couple of years ago, there was just one phone compatible with the network, that’s good progress.

The effort has certainly come a long way since the days of Project Gene5is, its early pilot program that weirdly had something to do with NFTs. But Boost’s subscriber numbers are still small; in its August earnings release the company said it had 7.28 million subscribers. T-Mobile counted 127 million customers in its most recent earnings release. Even if it meets those FCC milestones on time, there’s much more work to be done.

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The first part of Wicked, starring Ariana Grande (left) and Cynthia Erivo (right) will arrive in theaters on November 22nd. | Image: Universal Pictures

Barbie producer Mattel has issued an apology after customers spotted its Wicked edition dolls listed an adult website on the packaging. The toy merchandise mistakenly directed customers to the homepage of the Wicked Pictures pornographic movie studio, instead of the correct WickedMovie.com URL.
“We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this,” Mattel said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children.”
Mattel said that the dolls, which have been released to coincide with Universal’s film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical, are “primarily sold in the US” and that the error was a “misprint.” It’s unclear how many of the mislabeled toys, which are advertised for children aged four and up, have already been distributed to stores. According to The Hollywood Reporter, impacted products from the toy line are currently being pulled from shelves at various retailers including Walmart. Best Buy, and Amazon.

The official Mattel Wicked dolls link to a porn site on the box pic.twitter.com/iW4mNVAlPE— just2good (Sarah Genao) (@just2goodYT) November 9, 2024

Mattel has advised customers who have already purchased the dolls, which retail between $24.99 to $39.99, to “discard the product packaging or obscure the link.” Some are taking financial advantage of the blunder, however — products advertised to specifically include the printing error are being listed on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
Wicked serves as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz that’s told from the perspective of the witches Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Ariana Grande). Part one of Wicked will debut in theaters on November 22nd, with a second film expected to release in November 2025.

The first part of Wicked, starring Ariana Grande (left) and Cynthia Erivo (right) will arrive in theaters on November 22nd. | Image: Universal Pictures

Barbie producer Mattel has issued an apology after customers spotted its Wicked edition dolls listed an adult website on the packaging. The toy merchandise mistakenly directed customers to the homepage of the Wicked Pictures pornographic movie studio, instead of the correct WickedMovie.com URL.

“We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this,” Mattel said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children.”

Mattel said that the dolls, which have been released to coincide with Universal’s film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical, are “primarily sold in the US” and that the error was a “misprint.” It’s unclear how many of the mislabeled toys, which are advertised for children aged four and up, have already been distributed to stores. According to The Hollywood Reporter, impacted products from the toy line are currently being pulled from shelves at various retailers including Walmart. Best Buy, and Amazon.

Mattel has advised customers who have already purchased the dolls, which retail between $24.99 to $39.99, to “discard the product packaging or obscure the link.” Some are taking financial advantage of the blunder, however — products advertised to specifically include the printing error are being listed on eBay for hundreds of dollars.

Wicked serves as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz that’s told from the perspective of the witches Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Ariana Grande). Part one of Wicked will debut in theaters on November 22nd, with a second film expected to release in November 2025.

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Donkey Kong Country gets a Nintendo Direct showcase on Monday. | Image: Nintendo

Nintendo says it’s finally going to show off the long-awaited Donkey Kong Country area of Super Nintendo World in a Nintendo Direct stream on Monday at 5PM ET. It’s an encouraging sign for the theme park expansion devoted to Mario’s first nemesis, the opening of which was delayed earlier this year.
Nintendo first confirmed that it was building the area, which will feature a mine cart rollercoaster ride, back in 2021. Nintendo and Universal Studios showed the region off — or a digital render of it, anyway — earlier this year, and confirmed that when the Orlando, Florida version of Super Nintendo World opens on May 22nd, 2025, it will have all of the same attractions as its Osaka counterpart.
As for Nintendo Switch 2 news, well, don’t get your hopes up. Nintendo says “no game information will be featured.”

Tune in on 11/11 at 2 p.m. PT for a SUPER NINTENDO WORLD Direct livestream! The stream will be roughly 10 minutes and showcase Donkey Kong Country of #SuperNintendoWorld at Universal Studios Japan. No game information will be featured. #NintendoDirect : https://t.co/0QwNF7DIkG pic.twitter.com/P0HPDK9x0y— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) November 10, 2024

Nintendo said in May that Donkey Kong Country’s Mine-Cart Madness rollercoaster will have “jaw-dropping maneuvers” that include being “blasted out of a barrel, seemingly jumping over gaps as they speed along the rickety track.” And like other parts of the park, visitors can expect Donkey Kong-themed merchandise and interactive experiences.

Donkey Kong Country gets a Nintendo Direct showcase on Monday. | Image: Nintendo

Nintendo says it’s finally going to show off the long-awaited Donkey Kong Country area of Super Nintendo World in a Nintendo Direct stream on Monday at 5PM ET. It’s an encouraging sign for the theme park expansion devoted to Mario’s first nemesis, the opening of which was delayed earlier this year.

Nintendo first confirmed that it was building the area, which will feature a mine cart rollercoaster ride, back in 2021. Nintendo and Universal Studios showed the region off — or a digital render of it, anyway — earlier this year, and confirmed that when the Orlando, Florida version of Super Nintendo World opens on May 22nd, 2025, it will have all of the same attractions as its Osaka counterpart.

As for Nintendo Switch 2 news, well, don’t get your hopes up. Nintendo says “no game information will be featured.”

Nintendo said in May that Donkey Kong Country’s Mine-Cart Madness rollercoaster will have “jaw-dropping maneuvers” that include being “blasted out of a barrel, seemingly jumping over gaps as they speed along the rickety track.” And like other parts of the park, visitors can expect Donkey Kong-themed merchandise and interactive experiences.

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Photo by Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images

Amazon’s next ideas for growing its grocery business could blur the lines between Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh by enmeshing the two businesses’ fulfillment networks in a new set of experiments, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Amazon has reportedly started shipping Whole Foods products from 26 Amazon Fresh fulfillment centers and plans to build a microfulfillment center at a Pennsylvania Whole Foods Market and stocking it with Amazon Fresh household goods and groceries. Another part of the plan includes an experimental “Amazon Grocery” inside a Chicago Whole Foods that offers brands and groceries that the upscale store wouldn’t normally carry, according to WSJ.

The goal of the tests is to give Amazon customers a way to buy products “ranging from organic produce to Tide detergent and Cheez-It crackers” from one source, rather than multiple stores, the Journal writes. Doing that could give its grocery businesses “greater scale with online customers” as it tries to drive deeper into a market dominated by companies like Walmart and Kroger, which already distribute orders from their many brick-and-mortar stores.
These are the latest in a long string of grocery and retail maneuvers by Amazon. Its other recent moves include expanding Amazon’s unlimited grocery subscription and leaning into “Dash Carts” that let customers scan products as they go. The company has also stepped back from programs like Just Walk Out cashierless checkout and shuttered its drive-up grocery stores.

Photo by Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images

Amazon’s next ideas for growing its grocery business could blur the lines between Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh by enmeshing the two businesses’ fulfillment networks in a new set of experiments, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Amazon has reportedly started shipping Whole Foods products from 26 Amazon Fresh fulfillment centers and plans to build a microfulfillment center at a Pennsylvania Whole Foods Market and stocking it with Amazon Fresh household goods and groceries. Another part of the plan includes an experimental “Amazon Grocery” inside a Chicago Whole Foods that offers brands and groceries that the upscale store wouldn’t normally carry, according to WSJ.

The goal of the tests is to give Amazon customers a way to buy products “ranging from organic produce to Tide detergent and Cheez-It crackers” from one source, rather than multiple stores, the Journal writes. Doing that could give its grocery businesses “greater scale with online customers” as it tries to drive deeper into a market dominated by companies like Walmart and Kroger, which already distribute orders from their many brick-and-mortar stores.

These are the latest in a long string of grocery and retail maneuvers by Amazon. Its other recent moves include expanding Amazon’s unlimited grocery subscription and leaning into “Dash Carts” that let customers scan products as they go. The company has also stepped back from programs like Just Walk Out cashierless checkout and shuttered its drive-up grocery stores.

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Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

Apple has begun selling repair parts for iPhone 16 and 16 Pro phones on its self-service repair store. That includes replacements for commonly damaged parts like cameras, displays, and back glass, and follows the release of official Apple iPhone 16 repair manuals in September, as MacRumors notes.
A replacement camera assembly will run you $169 for the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus or $249 for the 16 Pro and Pro Max. And new displays range from $279 to $379, depending on the model. Batteries are either $99 or, for the 16 Pro phones, $119. And if you don’t have the tools, you can always rent out one of Apple’s heavy, specialized repair kits for $49.

Taking on a DIY iPhone repair isn’t quite as dicey as it once was, thanks to Apple’s gradual shift towards repairability. It’s also generally cheaper than paying someone else, especially if you can get your hands on used replacement parts, something Apple officially supports now. More affordable third-party components like batteries and displays may be a viable choice soon, too, after the company said it will offer better support for them this year.

Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

Apple has begun selling repair parts for iPhone 16 and 16 Pro phones on its self-service repair store. That includes replacements for commonly damaged parts like cameras, displays, and back glass, and follows the release of official Apple iPhone 16 repair manuals in September, as MacRumors notes.

A replacement camera assembly will run you $169 for the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus or $249 for the 16 Pro and Pro Max. And new displays range from $279 to $379, depending on the model. Batteries are either $99 or, for the 16 Pro phones, $119. And if you don’t have the tools, you can always rent out one of Apple’s heavy, specialized repair kits for $49.

Taking on a DIY iPhone repair isn’t quite as dicey as it once was, thanks to Apple’s gradual shift towards repairability. It’s also generally cheaper than paying someone else, especially if you can get your hands on used replacement parts, something Apple officially supports now. More affordable third-party components like batteries and displays may be a viable choice soon, too, after the company said it will offer better support for them this year.

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Image: Disney

Star Wars spinoff Andor is finally coming back for its second and final season on Disney Plus April 22nd, 2025, Disney announced during its D23 event in Brazil yesterday. And in a clear nod to Rogue One, the 2016 film it’s setting up, it has a new logo with the subtitle “A Star Wars Story.”
The new season will complete the so far excellent story of Cassian Andor’s (Diego Luna) transformation from street rat to hard-bitten rebel alliance spy in the lead-up to the events of Rogue One. Its 12-episode run will be broken up into blocks of three episodes, each covering three-day events taking place in a four-year period, as TheWrap notes.

On April 22, 2025, #Andor returns to @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/c6P3pdNBi6— Star Wars (@starwars) November 9, 2024

We’ll see some first-season characters return, including Luthen, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), and Saw Guerrera (Forest Whitaker). Alan Tudyk is expected to show up, reprising his role as the charming imperial droid, K-2SO, and Ben Mendelsohn will be there, playing his Rogue One villain, Orson Krennic.

Image: Disney

Star Wars spinoff Andor is finally coming back for its second and final season on Disney Plus April 22nd, 2025, Disney announced during its D23 event in Brazil yesterday. And in a clear nod to Rogue One, the 2016 film it’s setting up, it has a new logo with the subtitle “A Star Wars Story.”

The new season will complete the so far excellent story of Cassian Andor’s (Diego Luna) transformation from street rat to hard-bitten rebel alliance spy in the lead-up to the events of Rogue One. Its 12-episode run will be broken up into blocks of three episodes, each covering three-day events taking place in a four-year period, as TheWrap notes.

We’ll see some first-season characters return, including Luthen, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), and Saw Guerrera (Forest Whitaker). Alan Tudyk is expected to show up, reprising his role as the charming imperial droid, K-2SO, and Ben Mendelsohn will be there, playing his Rogue One villain, Orson Krennic.

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