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Illustration: The Verge

Microsoft is integrating Nvidia’s GeForce Now service into its store pages for Xbox games. The integration will allow you to pick between either Xbox Cloud Gaming or Nvidia’s GeForce Now service when you view a game listing on the web.
Currently, Microsoft only lists its own Xbox Cloud Gaming service under “play with cloud gaming” on game listings, so it’s surprising to see the company add Nvidia’s GeForce Now service. At the time of publication, the new “play with cloud” button isn’t available just yet, so it’s not clear whether this is simply a link to the main homepage of GeForce Now or whether this deep links and launches the game directly on Nvidia’s cloud gaming service.

Play your games the way you want, where you want! Starting today, we’ve enabled GeForce NOW integration which allows you to launch supported games on GeForce NOW via https://t.co/Nf3xumC9vw game pages: https://t.co/rNVwXNU6gw pic.twitter.com/TBrfsiDoCe— Xbox (@Xbox) July 17, 2024

Nvidia’s GeForce Now RTX 4080 tier is the most impressive cloud gaming service available right now, with Nvidia even claiming the end-to-end latency beats an Xbox Series X running locally on a 60Hz TV.
Microsoft and Nvidia are no strangers when it comes to cloud gaming partnerships, though. Both companies signed a 10-year deal to allow Nvidia to license Xbox PC games for GeForce Now, including Activision Blizzard titles. Nvidia also rolled out an update to GeForce Now earlier this year that allows members to sync their Xbox accounts and Microsoft Store purchases to the cloud gaming service. You can even stream Xbox PC games through PC Game Pass on GeForce Now.

Illustration: The Verge

Microsoft is integrating Nvidia’s GeForce Now service into its store pages for Xbox games. The integration will allow you to pick between either Xbox Cloud Gaming or Nvidia’s GeForce Now service when you view a game listing on the web.

Currently, Microsoft only lists its own Xbox Cloud Gaming service under “play with cloud gaming” on game listings, so it’s surprising to see the company add Nvidia’s GeForce Now service. At the time of publication, the new “play with cloud” button isn’t available just yet, so it’s not clear whether this is simply a link to the main homepage of GeForce Now or whether this deep links and launches the game directly on Nvidia’s cloud gaming service.

Nvidia’s GeForce Now RTX 4080 tier is the most impressive cloud gaming service available right now, with Nvidia even claiming the end-to-end latency beats an Xbox Series X running locally on a 60Hz TV.

Microsoft and Nvidia are no strangers when it comes to cloud gaming partnerships, though. Both companies signed a 10-year deal to allow Nvidia to license Xbox PC games for GeForce Now, including Activision Blizzard titles. Nvidia also rolled out an update to GeForce Now earlier this year that allows members to sync their Xbox accounts and Microsoft Store purchases to the cloud gaming service. You can even stream Xbox PC games through PC Game Pass on GeForce Now.

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Until the end of July, you can save $12 on Nintendo’s retro gamepads. | Image: Nintendo

If you’re looking for a more authentic way to set a new speedrunning record when Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition launches tomorrow, Nintendo’s now offering a 20 percent discount on its wireless NES gamepads, bringing the price down from $59.99 to $47.99 for a pair of them.
The promotion runs until July 31st, so you’ve got a few weeks to take advantage of the deal. However, the controllers are only available to those with a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership — and the free trial doesn’t count. You’ll need to log in with your Switch credentials to buy them through Nintendo’s online store, and Nintendo is limiting sales to four sets of two NES controllers.

Image: Nintendo
The wireless NES gamepads charge the same way the Joy-Cons do, attaching to either side of the Nintendo Switch.

First released back in 2018, the controllers replicate the design of the original Nintendo Entertainment System’s bundled gamepads but add the convenience of wireless connectivity and a rechargeable battery. Like the Joy-Con controllers, they can only be charged by attaching them directly to the Switch, making the portable console a requisite accessory.

Until the end of July, you can save $12 on Nintendo’s retro gamepads. | Image: Nintendo

If you’re looking for a more authentic way to set a new speedrunning record when Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition launches tomorrow, Nintendo’s now offering a 20 percent discount on its wireless NES gamepads, bringing the price down from $59.99 to $47.99 for a pair of them.

The promotion runs until July 31st, so you’ve got a few weeks to take advantage of the deal. However, the controllers are only available to those with a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership — and the free trial doesn’t count. You’ll need to log in with your Switch credentials to buy them through Nintendo’s online store, and Nintendo is limiting sales to four sets of two NES controllers.

Image: Nintendo
The wireless NES gamepads charge the same way the Joy-Cons do, attaching to either side of the Nintendo Switch.

First released back in 2018, the controllers replicate the design of the original Nintendo Entertainment System’s bundled gamepads but add the convenience of wireless connectivity and a rechargeable battery. Like the Joy-Con controllers, they can only be charged by attaching them directly to the Switch, making the portable console a requisite accessory.

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Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Finding especially good deals on Amazon Prime Day can be challenging (trust me, I do it nonstop for our coverage), but the discount on the Bose SoundLink Flex is a standout one. For now, you can get the portable Bluetooth speaker in select colors for $99 ($50 off) at Amazon and direct from Bose or for $99.99 at Best Buy. Amazon gates the deal behind its Prime membership paywall, but anyone can buy from the other two retailers.

This is the lowest price to date on the SoundLink Flex, which is our top pick of Bluetooth speakers under $200. Bose’s colorful speaker has a small footprint, making it easy to throw in a bag and travel with, but it sounds like a much larger speaker. It’s got a nice, bass-rich sound that doesn’t cross into “that’s too much bass why are you rattling my skull” territory. And its IP67 water and dust resistance and 12-hour battery life means it can head for the great outdoors or pool and keep the tunes going for most of the day.
It’s an easy recommendation at this price if you’re in the market for a Bluetooth speaker, care about sound quality, and don’t want to spend a whole lot more to get something like a Sonos Move 2.

Other notable speaker deals for Prime Day
The Bose may be one of the best bang-for-your-buck speaker deals going on this Prime Day, but there are a variety of others that are worthy of consideration — both in the Bluetooth world and even in the entertainment sphere with soundbars.
The Sonos Roam 2, which came out less than two months ago, is selling for $143 ($36 off) at Amazon and direct from Sonos. The retro-styled JBL Authentics 300 is $100 off at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo, and is currently selling for $349.95. Another JBL, the pocketable Go 3 is $31.53 ($18 off) at Amazon in various colors. And the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is another alternative that’s $56.99 ($44 off) at Amazon in its unique pink, blue, and gray color combos.

And yes, for just you Vergecast listeners, there are even discounts on some of Sony’s new ULT party speakers. The Sony ULT Field 7 Bluetooth party speaker is $398 ($101 off) at Amazon. The hourglass-shaped speaker is almost boombox-like in its size and has a claimed battery life of up to 30 hours.
But if 45 watts of output from a 14-pound speaker isn’t enough, the Sony ULT Tower 10 weighs in at 64 pounds, pumps out 1,000 watts, and is selling for $998 ($200 off) at Amazon. Both of these ULTs are matching their all-time low prices and feature the coveted “ULT button” and colorful party lights. The Tower 10 even comes with a wireless karaoke mic (and it’s possible your local police will be pre-filing the noise complaints).

Over in soundbar land, the Sonos Ray and Amazon Fire TV Soundbar offer some fairly affordable options at $199 ($80 off) and $99.99 ($20 off), respectively. The Ray has been discounted since the beginning of Prime Day, but unfortunately, Amazon’s combination soundbar and Fire TV streamer was first selling for a lower $89.99. It’s still a decent value at $100 if you want just one box for both audio duties and to stream the content to your TV — but we want you to know it’s sadly no longer the better deal it was.
And lastly, if you want soundbars with multichannel surround setups and big subwoofers, we’ve pulled together a pair of Vizio deals. The Vizio M-Series M512a-H6 is selling for $349.99 ($150 off), while the Vizio Elevate is a pricier $549.99 ($250 off). Both of these setups are 5.1 surrounds with Dolby Atmos support and separate subwoofers. The Elevate’s trick is that it points its side speakers upward for better coverage, and it has a larger eight-inch woofer.

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Finding especially good deals on Amazon Prime Day can be challenging (trust me, I do it nonstop for our coverage), but the discount on the Bose SoundLink Flex is a standout one. For now, you can get the portable Bluetooth speaker in select colors for $99 ($50 off) at Amazon and direct from Bose or for $99.99 at Best Buy. Amazon gates the deal behind its Prime membership paywall, but anyone can buy from the other two retailers.

This is the lowest price to date on the SoundLink Flex, which is our top pick of Bluetooth speakers under $200. Bose’s colorful speaker has a small footprint, making it easy to throw in a bag and travel with, but it sounds like a much larger speaker. It’s got a nice, bass-rich sound that doesn’t cross into “that’s too much bass why are you rattling my skull” territory. And its IP67 water and dust resistance and 12-hour battery life means it can head for the great outdoors or pool and keep the tunes going for most of the day.

It’s an easy recommendation at this price if you’re in the market for a Bluetooth speaker, care about sound quality, and don’t want to spend a whole lot more to get something like a Sonos Move 2.

Other notable speaker deals for Prime Day

The Bose may be one of the best bang-for-your-buck speaker deals going on this Prime Day, but there are a variety of others that are worthy of consideration — both in the Bluetooth world and even in the entertainment sphere with soundbars.

The Sonos Roam 2, which came out less than two months ago, is selling for $143 ($36 off) at Amazon and direct from Sonos. The retro-styled JBL Authentics 300 is $100 off at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo, and is currently selling for $349.95. Another JBL, the pocketable Go 3 is $31.53 ($18 off) at Amazon in various colors. And the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is another alternative that’s $56.99 ($44 off) at Amazon in its unique pink, blue, and gray color combos.

And yes, for just you Vergecast listeners, there are even discounts on some of Sony’s new ULT party speakers. The Sony ULT Field 7 Bluetooth party speaker is $398 ($101 off) at Amazon. The hourglass-shaped speaker is almost boombox-like in its size and has a claimed battery life of up to 30 hours.

But if 45 watts of output from a 14-pound speaker isn’t enough, the Sony ULT Tower 10 weighs in at 64 pounds, pumps out 1,000 watts, and is selling for $998 ($200 off) at Amazon. Both of these ULTs are matching their all-time low prices and feature the coveted “ULT button” and colorful party lights. The Tower 10 even comes with a wireless karaoke mic (and it’s possible your local police will be pre-filing the noise complaints).

Over in soundbar land, the Sonos Ray and Amazon Fire TV Soundbar offer some fairly affordable options at $199 ($80 off) and $99.99 ($20 off), respectively. The Ray has been discounted since the beginning of Prime Day, but unfortunately, Amazon’s combination soundbar and Fire TV streamer was first selling for a lower $89.99. It’s still a decent value at $100 if you want just one box for both audio duties and to stream the content to your TV — but we want you to know it’s sadly no longer the better deal it was.

And lastly, if you want soundbars with multichannel surround setups and big subwoofers, we’ve pulled together a pair of Vizio deals. The Vizio M-Series M512a-H6 is selling for $349.99 ($150 off), while the Vizio Elevate is a pricier $549.99 ($250 off). Both of these setups are 5.1 surrounds with Dolby Atmos support and separate subwoofers. The Elevate’s trick is that it points its side speakers upward for better coverage, and it has a larger eight-inch woofer.

Read More 

Image: Nuphy

What you have on your desk and in your workspace at home can reveal a lot about you: how your work, what you like to distract yourself with, what kind of toys and other tschotchkes you like to have around you. That is why we have the What’s On Your Desk? series, where we look at how some of our co-workers organize their spaces. It gives us — and you, our readers — a glimpse into the personality of the folks here.

Out of curiosity, we took a look at some of our past articles to see if any of the devices that our staff use in their day-to-day work have surfaced during Amazon’s Prime Day sale. We did find a few.
Here they are, along with any comments that the folks that use them had to say.

Joanna Nelius, reviewer
Mechanical keyboard

My keyboard is the Nuphy Air75 V2 with low profile keys and the company’s own Cowberry linear mechanical switches. I can see why Nuphy named this specific mechanical keyboard line “Air,” because it does feel like you are typing on air. The keys require little actuation force, and they make a pleasant and light thunk sound when they bottom out — even the spacebar, which has some of the best key stabilizers I’ve ever seen on a keyboard. I’ve used too many mechanical keyboards with wobbly, pingy spacebars.
A comfortable mouse

My partner gave me his Logitech MX Master 3 mouse because the gaming mouse I was using before (and the three gaming mice before that) started giving me wrist pains. My pinky would lock up sometimes, too.
I don’t have any of those issues with the MX Master 3. It’s ergonomically designed to keep your wrist in a natural position, and even though it’s such a small adjustment compared to how my wrist is positioned with a standard gaming mouse, it was enough to completely get rid of the pain. Now, I use this mouse for everything, even gaming.

Victoria Song, senior reviewer
Some extra lighting

I’ve got an Elgato Key Light, which helps when it gets dark in my office and I need to look presentable on a Zoom call. It’s also just a great light for when I’m journaling at night. (I’ve got a smaller lamp on the other side for evening or cloudy days.)
Unblurring video calls

I got the Insta360 Link webcam because I was tired of looking like a blurry potato on calls. This one is neat because it tracks your position, though sometimes it doesn’t always work the way it’s supposed to and my coworkers get to look at a close-up of my forehead.

Sean Hollister, senior editor
A perfectly placed screen

My main screen is an Asus VG27AQ. One of the biggest reasons I bought it was its small, squarish stand. That way, it can perch atop my NAS at the perfect head height with just enough room for my mini desktop and water bottle underneath. Too many modern monitors have big V-shaped stands that make them hard to prop up, I’m afraid.

Antonio Di Benedetto, commerce writer
A fountain of pens

I own about seven fountain pens. Most of them are very inexpensive, and some were so cheap they’re kinda crappy and barely worth futzing with (the typical bad initial purchases you later learn from). The two I use the most are the Lamy Safari with a fine nib and the TWSBI Eco with an extra-fine nib. I write a bit small, so these work well for me.
An old-fashioned watch stand

This adorable elago W3 stand for my Apple Watch looks like an original Macintosh.

Adi Robertson, senior tech & policy editor
Working with wireless headphones

I spend the workday at my Vox laptop, a 2017 MacBook Pro, with a few accessories, including a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones that my colleague Chris Welch reviewed.

Image: Nuphy

What you have on your desk and in your workspace at home can reveal a lot about you: how your work, what you like to distract yourself with, what kind of toys and other tschotchkes you like to have around you. That is why we have the What’s On Your Desk? series, where we look at how some of our co-workers organize their spaces. It gives us — and you, our readers — a glimpse into the personality of the folks here.

Out of curiosity, we took a look at some of our past articles to see if any of the devices that our staff use in their day-to-day work have surfaced during Amazon’s Prime Day sale. We did find a few.

Here they are, along with any comments that the folks that use them had to say.

Joanna Nelius, reviewer

Mechanical keyboard

My keyboard is the Nuphy Air75 V2 with low profile keys and the company’s own Cowberry linear mechanical switches. I can see why Nuphy named this specific mechanical keyboard line “Air,” because it does feel like you are typing on air. The keys require little actuation force, and they make a pleasant and light thunk sound when they bottom out — even the spacebar, which has some of the best key stabilizers I’ve ever seen on a keyboard. I’ve used too many mechanical keyboards with wobbly, pingy spacebars.

A comfortable mouse

My partner gave me his Logitech MX Master 3 mouse because the gaming mouse I was using before (and the three gaming mice before that) started giving me wrist pains. My pinky would lock up sometimes, too.

I don’t have any of those issues with the MX Master 3. It’s ergonomically designed to keep your wrist in a natural position, and even though it’s such a small adjustment compared to how my wrist is positioned with a standard gaming mouse, it was enough to completely get rid of the pain. Now, I use this mouse for everything, even gaming.

Victoria Song, senior reviewer

Some extra lighting

I’ve got an Elgato Key Light, which helps when it gets dark in my office and I need to look presentable on a Zoom call. It’s also just a great light for when I’m journaling at night. (I’ve got a smaller lamp on the other side for evening or cloudy days.)

Unblurring video calls

I got the Insta360 Link webcam because I was tired of looking like a blurry potato on calls. This one is neat because it tracks your position, though sometimes it doesn’t always work the way it’s supposed to and my coworkers get to look at a close-up of my forehead.

Sean Hollister, senior editor

A perfectly placed screen

My main screen is an Asus VG27AQ. One of the biggest reasons I bought it was its small, squarish stand. That way, it can perch atop my NAS at the perfect head height with just enough room for my mini desktop and water bottle underneath. Too many modern monitors have big V-shaped stands that make them hard to prop up, I’m afraid.

Antonio Di Benedetto, commerce writer

A fountain of pens

I own about seven fountain pens. Most of them are very inexpensive, and some were so cheap they’re kinda crappy and barely worth futzing with (the typical bad initial purchases you later learn from). The two I use the most are the Lamy Safari with a fine nib and the TWSBI Eco with an extra-fine nib. I write a bit small, so these work well for me.

An old-fashioned watch stand

This adorable elago W3 stand for my Apple Watch looks like an original Macintosh.

Adi Robertson, senior tech & policy editor

Working with wireless headphones

I spend the workday at my Vox laptop, a 2017 MacBook Pro, with a few accessories, including a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones that my colleague Chris Welch reviewed.

Read More 

Didn’t think we’d see this phone again. | Image: Essential

Someone obtained Essential’s unreleased smartphone that took the “candy bar” style phone a bit too far. Originally revealed in 2019 as “Project Gem,” this PH-2 looks like what you’d get from splitting an already tall Sony Xperia 1 in half. It reminds me of memes that popped up about the slightly taller 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5, as people imagined what might happen if phones just kept getting taller instead of wider.
Rob Wainwright, a software engineer who works on the Nova Launcher, says he bought the phone on eBay, and in his video, you can see the mostly operational PH-2 with card-style widgets for apps like Spotify and Uber, along with a smartwatch-style clock at the top.

Why didn’t it come out? The first Essential phone in 2017 reportedly only sold about 150,000 units, and before a follow-up could launch, reports by The Information and the New York Times surfaced disturbing details about the sexual misconduct claims surrounding company founder Andy Rubin’s departure from Google a few years earlier. Plans for the second phone were canceled, and in early 2020, Essential shut down, saying it had “no clear path to deliver” the device to customers.
The video shows off the PH-2’s tall 5.7-inch AMOLED display with 2,160 by 560 resolution and a holepunch camera in the front, while the rear has a protruding camera and a non-functional fingerprint reader. Like the PH-1, this one is also a fingerprint magnet.
While the UI is not fully complete, the video shows off the custom Android launcher that has swipe-up gestures on the bottom corners to go home or back. Many of the cards on the homescreen are essentially just web apps that, when opened, look very out of place — a YouTube video looks like a postage stamp sideways on the top, and the rest of the screen is just the description, comments, and other suggested videos.

Didn’t think we’d see this phone again. | Image: Essential

Someone obtained Essential’s unreleased smartphone that took the “candy bar” style phone a bit too far. Originally revealed in 2019 as “Project Gem,” this PH-2 looks like what you’d get from splitting an already tall Sony Xperia 1 in half. It reminds me of memes that popped up about the slightly taller 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5, as people imagined what might happen if phones just kept getting taller instead of wider.

Rob Wainwright, a software engineer who works on the Nova Launcher, says he bought the phone on eBay, and in his video, you can see the mostly operational PH-2 with card-style widgets for apps like Spotify and Uber, along with a smartwatch-style clock at the top.

Why didn’t it come out? The first Essential phone in 2017 reportedly only sold about 150,000 units, and before a follow-up could launch, reports by The Information and the New York Times surfaced disturbing details about the sexual misconduct claims surrounding company founder Andy Rubin’s departure from Google a few years earlier. Plans for the second phone were canceled, and in early 2020, Essential shut down, saying it had “no clear path to deliver” the device to customers.

The video shows off the PH-2’s tall 5.7-inch AMOLED display with 2,160 by 560 resolution and a holepunch camera in the front, while the rear has a protruding camera and a non-functional fingerprint reader. Like the PH-1, this one is also a fingerprint magnet.

While the UI is not fully complete, the video shows off the custom Android launcher that has swipe-up gestures on the bottom corners to go home or back. Many of the cards on the homescreen are essentially just web apps that, when opened, look very out of place — a YouTube video looks like a postage stamp sideways on the top, and the rest of the screen is just the description, comments, and other suggested videos.

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Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge

My friends, it is Prime Day, and that means you can justify buying silly gadgets because they are even slightly on sale. This is what it means to be American.
In my case, that gadget is the Neohipo ET30, a vintage-looking VU meter that swings its needles around when you listen to music. I have mine connected between my Sonos Amp and my speakers for maximum accuracy, but you don’t need to do that: it has a built-in mic that makes the needles bounce if you’re playing music through any old speaker in the same room. It also lights up in 34 colors. I am in love.

I want to be clear: there is a scale printed on these meters, but it means literally nothing because you can adjust their sensitivity at will. They are just for show, and the show is delightful. You can also use the switching function in the ET30 to A/B test two sets of speakers and two different amps, but that is so secondary to the meters that I’m not even going to finish this sentence. And in the worst possible crime against USB, the ET30 has a fake USB-C port on the back that can only take 5V from a USB-A-to-USB-C cable — plugging in a true USB-C cable does nothing. If it wasn’t so pretty, I would call the police.

There are other VU meters like this out there — the Fosi Audio LC30 is also on sale for Prime Day and looks a little cooler, but various reviews say the meters aren’t nearly sensitive enough. The Douk Audio Little Bear is also on sale, but some reviews say that if you hook it up directly to your speakers, you might get some added noise, which I didn’t want. Plus, the ET30 is bigger, and the point of this whole situation is having big vintage meters, you know?
Anyhow, the ET30 usually costs $160, but it’s on sale today for $127. You don’t need an app, it collects no data, and it can never be bricked by a firmware update or private equity buyout. What more do you want from a gadget?

Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge

My friends, it is Prime Day, and that means you can justify buying silly gadgets because they are even slightly on sale. This is what it means to be American.

In my case, that gadget is the Neohipo ET30, a vintage-looking VU meter that swings its needles around when you listen to music. I have mine connected between my Sonos Amp and my speakers for maximum accuracy, but you don’t need to do that: it has a built-in mic that makes the needles bounce if you’re playing music through any old speaker in the same room. It also lights up in 34 colors. I am in love.

I want to be clear: there is a scale printed on these meters, but it means literally nothing because you can adjust their sensitivity at will. They are just for show, and the show is delightful. You can also use the switching function in the ET30 to A/B test two sets of speakers and two different amps, but that is so secondary to the meters that I’m not even going to finish this sentence. And in the worst possible crime against USB, the ET30 has a fake USB-C port on the back that can only take 5V from a USB-A-to-USB-C cable — plugging in a true USB-C cable does nothing. If it wasn’t so pretty, I would call the police.

There are other VU meters like this out there — the Fosi Audio LC30 is also on sale for Prime Day and looks a little cooler, but various reviews say the meters aren’t nearly sensitive enough. The Douk Audio Little Bear is also on sale, but some reviews say that if you hook it up directly to your speakers, you might get some added noise, which I didn’t want. Plus, the ET30 is bigger, and the point of this whole situation is having big vintage meters, you know?

Anyhow, the ET30 usually costs $160, but it’s on sale today for $127. You don’t need an app, it collects no data, and it can never be bricked by a firmware update or private equity buyout. What more do you want from a gadget?

Read More 

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Instagram will let a select group of researchers access its data to study how the platform affects the mental health of teens and young adults. The pilot program, launched in partnership with the Center for Open Science (COS), could produce independent studies that offer insight into the relationship between social media and a teen’s well-being.
Researchers will gain access to Instagram data for up to six months, which may include information on how many accounts a teen follows, how much they use Instagram, their account settings, and more. However, Meta notes it won’t provide access to a user’s demographic information, nor will it include the contents of their posts, comments, or messages.

New opportunity! Meta and COS have opened an RFP for a pilot program using Instagram data to study social media’s impact on youth well-being. Check out the details and see if it fits your research: https://t.co/jCheql0toa.— Center for Open Science (@OSFramework) July 17, 2024

Through the program, first reported by The Atlantic, COS will choose up to seven research proposals in different areas related to the mental health of teens. (Meta will not be involved in the process.) Researchers must also recruit the teen participants and get their parents’ permission. COS says the study of data directly from Instagram could help “contribute to understanding of well-being when combined with other sources of data,” such as surveys and other types of studies.
“Parents, policymakers, academics and technology companies are grappling with how best to support young people as they navigate online spaces, but we need more data to understand the full picture,” Curtiss Cobb, Meta’s vice president of research, said in a statement.
Instagram’s effect on the mental health of teens has been in the spotlight for a while now. In 2021, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen came forward with a trove of leaked documents, including internal research that suggested “teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression.” Scientists later called on Meta to make its mental health research more accessible.
Instagram has since rolled out features intended to protect kids on the app, but concerns about Instagram — and other online platforms — remain, leading to a deluge of child safety bills and age verification laws across the US.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Instagram will let a select group of researchers access its data to study how the platform affects the mental health of teens and young adults. The pilot program, launched in partnership with the Center for Open Science (COS), could produce independent studies that offer insight into the relationship between social media and a teen’s well-being.

Researchers will gain access to Instagram data for up to six months, which may include information on how many accounts a teen follows, how much they use Instagram, their account settings, and more. However, Meta notes it won’t provide access to a user’s demographic information, nor will it include the contents of their posts, comments, or messages.

Through the program, first reported by The Atlantic, COS will choose up to seven research proposals in different areas related to the mental health of teens. (Meta will not be involved in the process.) Researchers must also recruit the teen participants and get their parents’ permission. COS says the study of data directly from Instagram could help “contribute to understanding of well-being when combined with other sources of data,” such as surveys and other types of studies.

“Parents, policymakers, academics and technology companies are grappling with how best to support young people as they navigate online spaces, but we need more data to understand the full picture,” Curtiss Cobb, Meta’s vice president of research, said in a statement.

Instagram’s effect on the mental health of teens has been in the spotlight for a while now. In 2021, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen came forward with a trove of leaked documents, including internal research that suggested “teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression.” Scientists later called on Meta to make its mental health research more accessible.

Instagram has since rolled out features intended to protect kids on the app, but concerns about Instagram — and other online platforms — remain, leading to a deluge of child safety bills and age verification laws across the US.

Read More 

Illustration: The Verge

Google appears to be showing its AI-generated search results less often in recent weeks, according to a recent study from an SEO company.
The data, collected by BrightEdge and reported on by Search Engine Land, suggests that AI Overviews dropped from appearing in 11 percent of queries on June 1st to 7 percent of queries on June 30th. BrightEdge’s data also indicates that AI Overviews cite Reddit and Quora dramatically less than they did before.
Since the launch of AI Overviews in May, Google has had to make changes to address bizarre results like recommending that you put glue on pizza (which appears to have been pulled from a Reddit thread) and suggesting that you eat rocks (seemingly pulled from an article in The Onion). In response, Google defended AI Overviews but said it had implemented adjustments, such as limiting the use of user-generated content in AI Overviews and adding better tools to detect nonsensical queries that shouldn’t get AI Overviews.
Google spokesperson Ashley Thompson tells The Verge that the findings “do not reflect what we’ve seen” and criticized the study’s methodology. Thompson also says BrightEdge’s study appears to mix users who have opted in to “AI Overviews & More” as part of Google’s experimental Search Labs features and those who haven’t. (People who have opted in to AI Overviews in Search Labs will see them on more search results, according to Thompson.)
“We designed AI Overviews to appear for queries where they’re helpful and provide value beyond existing features on the results page, and they continue to show for a large number of searches,” Thompson says. “As we’ve shared, we’re continuing to refine when and how we show AI Overviews so they’re as useful as possible, including a number of recent technical updates to improve response quality.”
AI Overviews are an important initiative for Google. If people don’t like or trust them, they might turn to products from competitors like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Perplexity instead, which could be a big loss for the search engine. Google is bullish on AI Overviews — CEO Sundar Pichai said that people “are responding very positively to AI Overviews” in a May interview with editor-in-chief Nilay Patel — but the company is still doing some fine-tuning.

Illustration: The Verge

Google appears to be showing its AI-generated search results less often in recent weeks, according to a recent study from an SEO company.

The data, collected by BrightEdge and reported on by Search Engine Land, suggests that AI Overviews dropped from appearing in 11 percent of queries on June 1st to 7 percent of queries on June 30th. BrightEdge’s data also indicates that AI Overviews cite Reddit and Quora dramatically less than they did before.

Since the launch of AI Overviews in May, Google has had to make changes to address bizarre results like recommending that you put glue on pizza (which appears to have been pulled from a Reddit thread) and suggesting that you eat rocks (seemingly pulled from an article in The Onion). In response, Google defended AI Overviews but said it had implemented adjustments, such as limiting the use of user-generated content in AI Overviews and adding better tools to detect nonsensical queries that shouldn’t get AI Overviews.

Google spokesperson Ashley Thompson tells The Verge that the findings “do not reflect what we’ve seen” and criticized the study’s methodology. Thompson also says BrightEdge’s study appears to mix users who have opted in to “AI Overviews & More” as part of Google’s experimental Search Labs features and those who haven’t. (People who have opted in to AI Overviews in Search Labs will see them on more search results, according to Thompson.)

“We designed AI Overviews to appear for queries where they’re helpful and provide value beyond existing features on the results page, and they continue to show for a large number of searches,” Thompson says. “As we’ve shared, we’re continuing to refine when and how we show AI Overviews so they’re as useful as possible, including a number of recent technical updates to improve response quality.”

AI Overviews are an important initiative for Google. If people don’t like or trust them, they might turn to products from competitors like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Perplexity instead, which could be a big loss for the search engine. Google is bullish on AI Overviews — CEO Sundar Pichai said that people “are responding very positively to AI Overviews” in a May interview with editor-in-chief Nilay Patel — but the company is still doing some fine-tuning.

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Robot vacuums with multifunctional docks that make cleaning virtually handsfree — like the Dreame L20 Ultra — are seeing some serious discounts this Prime Day. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Robot vacuums have come a long way since their bump-and-roll days, when they had to be rescued whenever they encountered a sock or a particularly scary-looking chair leg.
Today, high-end robot vacs have advanced sensors that help them nimbly navigate your home, charging docks that suck the dirt out of the bin so you don’t have to get your hands messy, and self-filling water tanks so they can mop more of your floor in one clean.
The problem with all these fancy features is that they can cost over $1,000 for the privilege of less hands-on time with your floor cleaner. However, this Prime Day, we’re seeing the first serious discounts on several of these high-end, multifunctional cleaning robots.

iRobot’s Roomba Combo j9 Plus, Roborock’s S7 Max Ultra, and Dreame’s L20 Ultra are all excellent robot vacuums and mops that can do all of the above and more. They are on sale for between $600 and $800 during Amazon’s Prime Days — in some cases, that’s a whopping 50 percent off.
Both the Roborock and the Dreame are slightly older models, but as I point out in my guide to budget robot vacuums, going with a generation or two behind the current model is the best way to score a great price on a great robot vac. These vacuums should last for years, so it’s not like buying last season’s Prada slip-ons.

The Roomba Combo j9 Plus is iRobot’s top-of-the-line model and my top pick if you’re looking for a Roomba. While it doesn’t have as many fancy features as the Roborock or Dreame, it is a very powerful vacuum and has the best AI-powered obstacle navigation of any robot vacuum I’ve tested.
Its dock also looks really nice (comparatively), and its retractable mopping system—while quite small—works well. Also Roombas are some of the most repairable robots I’ve tested, meaning you can keep them running for years.

The Dreame L20 Ultra was my top pick for a robot vacuum and mop until Dreame launched the X30 Ultra, followed quickly by the X40 Ultra (yes, I think they may be breeding). But both will cost you over $1,000, whereas the still excellent L20 is only $699 today.
The L20 has many of the same features as its siblings, including oscillating mop pads that automatically disengage when vacuuming carpet and that can extend out to scrub your baseboards. You can read more about the differences between the L20 and the others in my review of the X30.

The Roborock S7 Max Ultra is not Roborock’s top-of-the-line (that’s the S8 MaxV Ultra, which is not on sale), but it’s a very capable bot. It’s a version of the excellent but now discontinued S7 MaxV Ultra. The most noticeable difference is that it doesn’t have a camera; instead, it uses 3D lasers to spot objects it needs to avoid while cleaning your floors.
The S7’s sonic mopping made it the first robot vacuum I tested that could really mop your floors rather than just drag a damp cloth around. While others have caught up since (after all, the S7 is two years old), it still does a great job. Roborock also has the best app of all the robot vacuum makers, with tons of customization features that are easy to access.

Robot vacuums with multifunctional docks that make cleaning virtually handsfree — like the Dreame L20 Ultra — are seeing some serious discounts this Prime Day. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Robot vacuums have come a long way since their bump-and-roll days, when they had to be rescued whenever they encountered a sock or a particularly scary-looking chair leg.

Today, high-end robot vacs have advanced sensors that help them nimbly navigate your home, charging docks that suck the dirt out of the bin so you don’t have to get your hands messy, and self-filling water tanks so they can mop more of your floor in one clean.

The problem with all these fancy features is that they can cost over $1,000 for the privilege of less hands-on time with your floor cleaner. However, this Prime Day, we’re seeing the first serious discounts on several of these high-end, multifunctional cleaning robots.

iRobot’s Roomba Combo j9 Plus, Roborock’s S7 Max Ultra, and Dreame’s L20 Ultra are all excellent robot vacuums and mops that can do all of the above and more. They are on sale for between $600 and $800 during Amazon’s Prime Days — in some cases, that’s a whopping 50 percent off.

Both the Roborock and the Dreame are slightly older models, but as I point out in my guide to budget robot vacuums, going with a generation or two behind the current model is the best way to score a great price on a great robot vac. These vacuums should last for years, so it’s not like buying last season’s Prada slip-ons.

The Roomba Combo j9 Plus is iRobot’s top-of-the-line model and my top pick if you’re looking for a Roomba. While it doesn’t have as many fancy features as the Roborock or Dreame, it is a very powerful vacuum and has the best AI-powered obstacle navigation of any robot vacuum I’ve tested.

Its dock also looks really nice (comparatively), and its retractable mopping system—while quite small—works well. Also Roombas are some of the most repairable robots I’ve tested, meaning you can keep them running for years.

The Dreame L20 Ultra was my top pick for a robot vacuum and mop until Dreame launched the X30 Ultra, followed quickly by the X40 Ultra (yes, I think they may be breeding). But both will cost you over $1,000, whereas the still excellent L20 is only $699 today.

The L20 has many of the same features as its siblings, including oscillating mop pads that automatically disengage when vacuuming carpet and that can extend out to scrub your baseboards. You can read more about the differences between the L20 and the others in my review of the X30.

The Roborock S7 Max Ultra is not Roborock’s top-of-the-line (that’s the S8 MaxV Ultra, which is not on sale), but it’s a very capable bot. It’s a version of the excellent but now discontinued S7 MaxV Ultra. The most noticeable difference is that it doesn’t have a camera; instead, it uses 3D lasers to spot objects it needs to avoid while cleaning your floors.

The S7’s sonic mopping made it the first robot vacuum I tested that could really mop your floors rather than just drag a damp cloth around. While others have caught up since (after all, the S7 is two years old), it still does a great job. Roborock also has the best app of all the robot vacuum makers, with tons of customization features that are easy to access.

Read More 

C’mon, how cute is that. | Image: TinyPod

If you’ve been feeling nostalgic for your old iPod lately, well, I have great news. TinyPod is a case you put on your Apple Watch — sans strap — so you can hold it and use it like your favorite vintage MP3 player. A $79 version includes a scroll wheel, which physically turns the watch’s digital crown. For $29, you can get a case without the scroll wheel and with a cutout so you can access the digital crown directly.
But TinyPod could be more than just a way to turn your watch into a cute media player — it’s designed to make your watch a more capable companion to your phone. Recently, we’ve seen all kinds of gadgets and minimalist phones that promise to help you disconnect while still keeping you connected to the essentials. But largely, they’re too underpowered, fiddly, or just not smart enough to be useful, and the smartphone as we know it remains undefeated.

Image: TinyPod
A cutout on the back means you can charge the watch without taking it out of the case.

That’s why the TinyPod’s “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” stance is so appealing. It’s not a replacement for your phone, it’s designed to be “your phone away from phone,” as the company calls it. And although you can put any old Apple Watch in the case, the concept makes the most sense with a cellular model. Leave your phone behind while you maintain access to the essentials like messaging, calls, mobile payments, and music playback — the minimalist phone dream.
If this all rings a bell, you might be thinking of the concept for an iPod Nano-inspired watch case designed by Joyce Kang that surfaced a few years ago. Despite claims that it was “coming soon,” it doesn’t appear that the case ever made it to market. Kang’s case was more of an exercise in nostalgia, too, since the scroll wheel was nonfunctional.
TinyPod appears to be much closer to reality — it’s shipping “this summer,” according to the company’s website, and you can order one now in three different sizes.

C’mon, how cute is that. | Image: TinyPod

If you’ve been feeling nostalgic for your old iPod lately, well, I have great news. TinyPod is a case you put on your Apple Watch — sans strap — so you can hold it and use it like your favorite vintage MP3 player. A $79 version includes a scroll wheel, which physically turns the watch’s digital crown. For $29, you can get a case without the scroll wheel and with a cutout so you can access the digital crown directly.

But TinyPod could be more than just a way to turn your watch into a cute media player — it’s designed to make your watch a more capable companion to your phone. Recently, we’ve seen all kinds of gadgets and minimalist phones that promise to help you disconnect while still keeping you connected to the essentials. But largely, they’re too underpowered, fiddly, or just not smart enough to be useful, and the smartphone as we know it remains undefeated.

Image: TinyPod
A cutout on the back means you can charge the watch without taking it out of the case.

That’s why the TinyPod’s “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” stance is so appealing. It’s not a replacement for your phone, it’s designed to be “your phone away from phone,” as the company calls it. And although you can put any old Apple Watch in the case, the concept makes the most sense with a cellular model. Leave your phone behind while you maintain access to the essentials like messaging, calls, mobile payments, and music playback — the minimalist phone dream.

If this all rings a bell, you might be thinking of the concept for an iPod Nano-inspired watch case designed by Joyce Kang that surfaced a few years ago. Despite claims that it was “coming soon,” it doesn’t appear that the case ever made it to market. Kang’s case was more of an exercise in nostalgia, too, since the scroll wheel was nonfunctional.

TinyPod appears to be much closer to reality — it’s shipping “this summer,” according to the company’s website, and you can order one now in three different sizes.

Read More