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Image: The Verge

New York State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D) is a driving force behind kids online safety laws. He sponsored the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act and the New York Child Data Protection Act, both signed by Governor Kathy Hochul earlier this year. But when parents talked to him about the rules, he says, they kept asking a question he hadn’t considered: “Does it cover Roblox?”
Like the vast majority of online regulation, New York’s rules were aimed at traditional social media companies like Meta, Snap, and TikTok. But there’s been increasing scrutiny of the massively popular and overwhelmingly child-focused social gaming platform, and Gounardes is introducing a new bill to target it.
The New York Children’s Online Safety Act (NYCOSA) regulates how minors can communicate on social networks, aiming to prevent strangers from contacting them. While the bill could apply to a vast range of online services with users under the age of 18, Gounardes told The Verge in an exclusive interview that the “seed” of the idea came from those Roblox questions. It’s a new moment of reckoning for a platform that’s flown under the radar until recently — possibly because many legislators barely realize it exists.
NYCOSA helps solidify New York as a leading force on kids online safety legislation
NYCOSA includes provisions that overlap and build on a number of other state- and federal-level online regulation bills, including Gounardes’ earlier legislation. It would require any public or “semi-public” platform used by minors aimed at letting users create profiles, post content, and interact with others to make the profiles of minors private by default, preventing them from having their profiles viewed by strangers. It would also prohibit minors from being tagged in posts and sent messages or digital currency by users they’re not connected with.
The bill would also give parents more control over their children’s social media accounts. For kids under 13, sites would be required to let parents see and change privacy settings, approve all friend requests, and view connections. (Roblox is one of the few major platforms that allows children this young; Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and most other networks set the minimum age at 13.) For minors under 18, they’d have the right to approve financial transactions.
On top of that, covered platforms would have to implement “commercially reasonable and technically feasible age verification” and would be banned from using design tricks known as “dark patterns” to discourage using the features above.
Online age verification is a major regulatory flashpoint since the most bulletproof systems — like providing government-issued IDs — require collecting information that could fundamentally compromise privacy for children and adults alike. A longstanding Supreme Court precedent bars these intrusive methods, but the court is set to take up the issue again next year while considering a Texas anti-porn law.
What’s more, significant parts of the rule would be left up to New York’s attorney general to establish. The definition of a covered platform doesn’t have a size threshold or specify a precise kind of service — some elements, like letting users “create or post content that is viewable by other users” or “socially interact with each other,” could describe anything from a behemoth social network to a blog’s comment section.
The AG is also in charge of defining “reasonable” age verification. Gounardes says this shouldn’t require uploading a photo ID or storing large amounts of personal data. He says platforms already have strategies to infer users’ ages based on their activity, often for advertising purposes. And the bill asks the AG to consider the “size, financial resources, and technical capabilities” of a given platform. Even so, it means legislators could pass the law with wide latitude for how law enforcement interprets its rules.
Gounardes’ communications director, Billy Richling, tells The Verge in an email that the bill is not intended to cover news sites or blogs and says other definitions in the legislation make clear it’s focused on private communications like direct messages. “We’re really focused on ensuring unconnected accounts are not able to direct message under-18 accounts without a friend request being approved first,” Richling says. Likewise, he says, “a small app that’s really unable to conduct any age assurance” is unlikely to be a target, but “if we used an explicit size threshold, we’d risk arbitrarily exempting an offending app just below the cutoff.”
The broad definition — including avoiding specifying particular kinds of covered service — is intended to make the rule “content-neutral” and avoid triggering strict scrutiny under the First Amendment in court. Numerous state-level laws regulating internet platforms have been the target of lawsuits, and several have been blocked by courts as likely unconstitutional. That includes the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, a high-profile law that contains some similar provisions to NYCOSA, particularly a requirement that sites estimate users’ ages.
Gounardes based the legislation on the Federal Trade Commission’s 2022 settlement with Fortnite maker Epic Games over alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) and alleged use of dark patterns to get kids to buy things on the platform. If enacted, NYCOSA would let the New York attorney general seek $5,000 in damages per violation.
“My initial understanding of the social media landscape is informed by what I remember when I was using it”
While CEOs from Meta, Google, Snap, and X have been hauled before Congress to face angry lawmakers and parents, Roblox has so far mostly escaped the limelight, despite its large user base of kids and teens. Gounardes says that for lawmakers like himself, that may be due to a lack of familiarity with the service. At 40 years old, he says, “my initial understanding of the social media landscape is informed by what I remember when I was using it”: the early days of Facebook.
Plus, he says, his concept of video games was shaped by consoles like the Nintendo 64, not internet-connected games that double as hugely open online social spaces. Parents have been trained to worry about the dangers of kids doomscrolling, while playing video games can look quite different. “It’s not the same as seeing someone in their room just scrolling on Instagram for hours on end,” says Gounardes. “That’s a very different visual of what harms could be befalling them. That’s kind of why I think this has gone under the radar.”
But Gounardes says that lack of familiarity can have “serious repercussions.” He recalled a Bloomberg article from July describing the “Sisyphean task” of keeping the platform safe from child predators.
Facing increasing regulatory pressure and the threat of federal legislation, Roblox and others have already taken some of the steps Gounardes is proposing. Roblox announced earlier this week that it would prohibit kids under the age of 13 from sending private messages outside of games or experiences and require parental permission to send messages within games. Meta’s Instagram recently announced that all accounts for users under 18 would become default-private “Teen Accounts,” with more restrictive settings.
“These developments are only the result of the public pressure that has been growing from legislative action, from regulatory enforcement and just grassroots people power,” says Gounardes. “Companies are feeling the heat. They are smart to try to get ahead of this, but those measures are in and of themselves insufficient, and we should not be letting the wolf guard the hen house.”

Image: The Verge

New York State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D) is a driving force behind kids online safety laws. He sponsored the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act and the New York Child Data Protection Act, both signed by Governor Kathy Hochul earlier this year. But when parents talked to him about the rules, he says, they kept asking a question he hadn’t considered: “Does it cover Roblox?”

Like the vast majority of online regulation, New York’s rules were aimed at traditional social media companies like Meta, Snap, and TikTok. But there’s been increasing scrutiny of the massively popular and overwhelmingly child-focused social gaming platform, and Gounardes is introducing a new bill to target it.

The New York Children’s Online Safety Act (NYCOSA) regulates how minors can communicate on social networks, aiming to prevent strangers from contacting them. While the bill could apply to a vast range of online services with users under the age of 18, Gounardes told The Verge in an exclusive interview that the “seed” of the idea came from those Roblox questions. It’s a new moment of reckoning for a platform that’s flown under the radar until recently — possibly because many legislators barely realize it exists.

NYCOSA includes provisions that overlap and build on a number of other state- and federal-level online regulation bills, including Gounardes’ earlier legislation. It would require any public or “semi-public” platform used by minors aimed at letting users create profiles, post content, and interact with others to make the profiles of minors private by default, preventing them from having their profiles viewed by strangers. It would also prohibit minors from being tagged in posts and sent messages or digital currency by users they’re not connected with.

The bill would also give parents more control over their children’s social media accounts. For kids under 13, sites would be required to let parents see and change privacy settings, approve all friend requests, and view connections. (Roblox is one of the few major platforms that allows children this young; Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and most other networks set the minimum age at 13.) For minors under 18, they’d have the right to approve financial transactions.

On top of that, covered platforms would have to implement “commercially reasonable and technically feasible age verification” and would be banned from using design tricks known as “dark patterns” to discourage using the features above.

Online age verification is a major regulatory flashpoint since the most bulletproof systems — like providing government-issued IDs — require collecting information that could fundamentally compromise privacy for children and adults alike. A longstanding Supreme Court precedent bars these intrusive methods, but the court is set to take up the issue again next year while considering a Texas anti-porn law.

What’s more, significant parts of the rule would be left up to New York’s attorney general to establish. The definition of a covered platform doesn’t have a size threshold or specify a precise kind of service — some elements, like letting users “create or post content that is viewable by other users” or “socially interact with each other,” could describe anything from a behemoth social network to a blog’s comment section.

The AG is also in charge of defining “reasonable” age verification. Gounardes says this shouldn’t require uploading a photo ID or storing large amounts of personal data. He says platforms already have strategies to infer users’ ages based on their activity, often for advertising purposes. And the bill asks the AG to consider the “size, financial resources, and technical capabilities” of a given platform. Even so, it means legislators could pass the law with wide latitude for how law enforcement interprets its rules.

Gounardes’ communications director, Billy Richling, tells The Verge in an email that the bill is not intended to cover news sites or blogs and says other definitions in the legislation make clear it’s focused on private communications like direct messages. “We’re really focused on ensuring unconnected accounts are not able to direct message under-18 accounts without a friend request being approved first,” Richling says. Likewise, he says, “a small app that’s really unable to conduct any age assurance” is unlikely to be a target, but “if we used an explicit size threshold, we’d risk arbitrarily exempting an offending app just below the cutoff.”

The broad definition — including avoiding specifying particular kinds of covered service — is intended to make the rule “content-neutral” and avoid triggering strict scrutiny under the First Amendment in court. Numerous state-level laws regulating internet platforms have been the target of lawsuits, and several have been blocked by courts as likely unconstitutional. That includes the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, a high-profile law that contains some similar provisions to NYCOSA, particularly a requirement that sites estimate users’ ages.

Gounardes based the legislation on the Federal Trade Commission’s 2022 settlement with Fortnite maker Epic Games over alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) and alleged use of dark patterns to get kids to buy things on the platform. If enacted, NYCOSA would let the New York attorney general seek $5,000 in damages per violation.

While CEOs from Meta, Google, Snap, and X have been hauled before Congress to face angry lawmakers and parents, Roblox has so far mostly escaped the limelight, despite its large user base of kids and teens. Gounardes says that for lawmakers like himself, that may be due to a lack of familiarity with the service. At 40 years old, he says, “my initial understanding of the social media landscape is informed by what I remember when I was using it”: the early days of Facebook.

Plus, he says, his concept of video games was shaped by consoles like the Nintendo 64, not internet-connected games that double as hugely open online social spaces. Parents have been trained to worry about the dangers of kids doomscrolling, while playing video games can look quite different. “It’s not the same as seeing someone in their room just scrolling on Instagram for hours on end,” says Gounardes. “That’s a very different visual of what harms could be befalling them. That’s kind of why I think this has gone under the radar.”

But Gounardes says that lack of familiarity can have “serious repercussions.” He recalled a Bloomberg article from July describing the “Sisyphean task” of keeping the platform safe from child predators.

Facing increasing regulatory pressure and the threat of federal legislation, Roblox and others have already taken some of the steps Gounardes is proposing. Roblox announced earlier this week that it would prohibit kids under the age of 13 from sending private messages outside of games or experiences and require parental permission to send messages within games. Meta’s Instagram recently announced that all accounts for users under 18 would become default-private “Teen Accounts,” with more restrictive settings.

“These developments are only the result of the public pressure that has been growing from legislative action, from regulatory enforcement and just grassroots people power,” says Gounardes. “Companies are feeling the heat. They are smart to try to get ahead of this, but those measures are in and of themselves insufficient, and we should not be letting the wolf guard the hen house.”

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Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

If you’re unsure what to gift the father figure in your life this year, we have more than a few suggestions. Dads are known for a lot of things — corny jokes, falling asleep on the couch, owning far too many pairs of New Balance sneakers — but being easy to please isn’t always at the top of that list. At no point is this more evident than during the holidays, when gift-giving is at its peak and time is in limited supply.

But you don’t have to worry if you’re struggling to find inspiration this year. We’ve gone ahead and amassed an eclectic collection of gifts that should appeal to all types of dads, from the aspiring marathoner and science fiction aficionado to the wannabe grill master hell-bent on perfecting his burger skills. We’ve also included a range of picks for adventurer seekers and music lovers as well as multiple board games for the dad who prefers an old-fashioned whooping over another round of Mario Kart or Fortnite. Just try not to crush his spirits completely if you can help it — he’s still your dad, after all.

Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

If you’re unsure what to gift the father figure in your life this year, we have more than a few suggestions.

Dads are known for a lot of things — corny jokes, falling asleep on the couch, owning far too many pairs of New Balance sneakers — but being easy to please isn’t always at the top of that list. At no point is this more evident than during the holidays, when gift-giving is at its peak and time is in limited supply.

But you don’t have to worry if you’re struggling to find inspiration this year. We’ve gone ahead and amassed an eclectic collection of gifts that should appeal to all types of dads, from the aspiring marathoner and science fiction aficionado to the wannabe grill master hell-bent on perfecting his burger skills. We’ve also included a range of picks for adventurer seekers and music lovers as well as multiple board games for the dad who prefers an old-fashioned whooping over another round of Mario Kart or Fortnite. Just try not to crush his spirits completely if you can help it — he’s still your dad, after all.

Read More 

The Butter Bot has a functional camera that can live stream video to an included wireless remote. | Image: Kickstarter

Geek Club and CircuitMess have created a functional replica of one of Rick and Morty’s most tragic characters — the Butter Bot — with new capabilities so the bot is more than just a breakfast butler. With a camera, working treads, and AI capabilities, this Butter Bot can navigate the world, recognize your face, and chat with you.
The tiny robot is available for preorder now through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for $139, with delivery expected as early as August 2025. For aspiring Ricks, the Butter Bot is also available as part of a pricier $219 “Mad Scientist Pack” that includes a collection of upgradeable modules expanding its functionality.
With any crowdfunded product there’s always the risk of delays or delivery never happening, but the Kickstarter’s creators have already successfully completed several crowdfunding campaigns, including a buildable RC Batmobile, and a DIY mobile phone. It’s also officially licensed by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products (WBDGCP) so there’s no risk of the Kickstarter being abruptly shut down by WB’s lawyers.

Image: Kickstarter
The Butter Bot can be controlled from an included wireless remote which includes a screen that can live stream video from the bot.

The 4.53-inch tall Butter Bot is powered by a dual-core processor and features a 1,000mAh rechargeable battery, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a tiny speaker and microphone, a two-megapixel camera, and a pair of electric motors driving its treads. The robot can be operated using an included wireless remote that has a joystick for steering, several buttons for triggering sounds and pre-programmed actions, and a small screen that can show a live video feed from its camera.

Image: Kickstarter
The “Mad Scientist Pack” includes add-on modules further expanding the robot’s capabilities.

This Butter Bot is more than just an RC toy. Using AI, its camera, and sensors, it can autonomously navigate and avoid obstacles like the edge of a table, and respond to voice commands using a library of 1,000 lines spoken in the Butter Bot’s voice from the animated series. It’s also a STEM learning tool that can be upgraded with optional modules including lights, a motion detector, an electronic nose that can detect various gases, and a blank circuit board for further expanding its capabilities.

The Butter Bot has a functional camera that can live stream video to an included wireless remote. | Image: Kickstarter

Geek Club and CircuitMess have created a functional replica of one of Rick and Morty’s most tragic characters — the Butter Bot — with new capabilities so the bot is more than just a breakfast butler. With a camera, working treads, and AI capabilities, this Butter Bot can navigate the world, recognize your face, and chat with you.

The tiny robot is available for preorder now through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for $139, with delivery expected as early as August 2025. For aspiring Ricks, the Butter Bot is also available as part of a pricier $219 “Mad Scientist Pack” that includes a collection of upgradeable modules expanding its functionality.

With any crowdfunded product there’s always the risk of delays or delivery never happening, but the Kickstarter’s creators have already successfully completed several crowdfunding campaigns, including a buildable RC Batmobile, and a DIY mobile phone. It’s also officially licensed by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products (WBDGCP) so there’s no risk of the Kickstarter being abruptly shut down by WB’s lawyers.

Image: Kickstarter
The Butter Bot can be controlled from an included wireless remote which includes a screen that can live stream video from the bot.

The 4.53-inch tall Butter Bot is powered by a dual-core processor and features a 1,000mAh rechargeable battery, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a tiny speaker and microphone, a two-megapixel camera, and a pair of electric motors driving its treads. The robot can be operated using an included wireless remote that has a joystick for steering, several buttons for triggering sounds and pre-programmed actions, and a small screen that can show a live video feed from its camera.

Image: Kickstarter
The “Mad Scientist Pack” includes add-on modules further expanding the robot’s capabilities.

This Butter Bot is more than just an RC toy. Using AI, its camera, and sensors, it can autonomously navigate and avoid obstacles like the edge of a table, and respond to voice commands using a library of 1,000 lines spoken in the Butter Bot’s voice from the animated series. It’s also a STEM learning tool that can be upgraded with optional modules including lights, a motion detector, an electronic nose that can detect various gases, and a blank circuit board for further expanding its capabilities.

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Who even carries eight six-sided dice with them anyway? | Image: Timestop

Dice hoarding is a common hobby among Dungeons and Dragons players, but I’m betting most won’t have a digital watch in their collection. Alongside displaying the time, day, and date, the Timestop D-20 includes all the dice-rolling features you need to play tabletop roleplaying games directly from your wrist at the push of a button.
The watch allows the wearer to digitally roll a 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, 20-, or 100-sided dice, alongside “Advanced Combat” features such as rolling up to 12 dice at once, and D20s with advantage or disadvantage (a fancy way of rolling two dice and taking either the higher or lower results). It’ll also display specific icons when a D20 rolls a 1 or a 20 — known as a “critical failure” or “critical success” respectively in D&D.
“We wanted a fun animation while rolling, but also an overall subdued look so you could ‘take the game with you’ and even wear the watch at the office,” Timestop says in its blog describing the design process. “We included day and date complications with a perpetual calendar so it was still a practical timepiece.”

Pricing starts at $99 and is available in three colors: black, orange, and stainless steel. Shipping starts next year, with stock available for delivery in either January or February.
One feature you won’t find on the Timestop D-20 is an alarm, because alarms “aren’t fun,” according to its creator. Otherwise, it’s water-resistant, features a backlit LCD display, and uses a replaceable coin cell battery that can last up to three years with “typical use.” I’m not sure how many fireball spells would be considered typical, but it certainly offers a more unique way to play than traditional dice or digital dice-rolling apps.

Who even carries eight six-sided dice with them anyway? | Image: Timestop

Dice hoarding is a common hobby among Dungeons and Dragons players, but I’m betting most won’t have a digital watch in their collection. Alongside displaying the time, day, and date, the Timestop D-20 includes all the dice-rolling features you need to play tabletop roleplaying games directly from your wrist at the push of a button.

The watch allows the wearer to digitally roll a 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, 20-, or 100-sided dice, alongside “Advanced Combat” features such as rolling up to 12 dice at once, and D20s with advantage or disadvantage (a fancy way of rolling two dice and taking either the higher or lower results). It’ll also display specific icons when a D20 rolls a 1 or a 20 — known as a “critical failure” or “critical success” respectively in D&D.

“We wanted a fun animation while rolling, but also an overall subdued look so you could ‘take the game with you’ and even wear the watch at the office,” Timestop says in its blog describing the design process. “We included day and date complications with a perpetual calendar so it was still a practical timepiece.”

Pricing starts at $99 and is available in three colors: black, orange, and stainless steel. Shipping starts next year, with stock available for delivery in either January or February.

One feature you won’t find on the Timestop D-20 is an alarm, because alarms “aren’t fun,” according to its creator. Otherwise, it’s water-resistant, features a backlit LCD display, and uses a replaceable coin cell battery that can last up to three years with “typical use.” I’m not sure how many fireball spells would be considered typical, but it certainly offers a more unique way to play than traditional dice or digital dice-rolling apps.

Read More 

The 25L model is an improvement on perfection, but not without some help. Perfect is a high bar to live up to, but it’s the word I used to describe my experience with Peak Design’s first backpack eight years ago. That 20-liter Everyday Backpack aimed at techies and camera nerds was so popular with Verge staff that we would often get our bags mixed up when gathered together at tech events.
Back in 2016, I was hauling around a laptop; a DSLR with external flash and at least one long lens; a tripod; and a portable battery or two to keep everything charged. Here in 2024, I need a bag to also carry gear like a drone and controller; an action camera with a wireless mic and selfie stick; and maybe even a Starlink Mini dish with a portable solar panel to keep everything connected and charged.
As someone who now likes to work as remotely as possible, often from the limited confines of an adventure van, I’m also looking for a singular bag that can be quickly adapted for a hike or bike ride, a trip to the gym, store, or office, or a weekend away via train or airplane. It then needs to stow quickly and compactly until its next use.
In my two months testing Peak Design’s new lighter-weight and more versatile $249.95 25L Outdoor Backpack, I can say this: it’s not perfect — but it is better, so long as you’re ready to spend even more on accessories.

The 25L Outdoor Backpack is sized for day trips with your laptop, camera, and other gadgets, alongside some food, water, and maybe an extra layer of clothing. Unlike the 45L model, the much smaller pack I’ve been testing is frameless, and the hip belt must be purchased separately for $44.95.
In contrast to the heavier Everyday Backpack, the Outdoor Backpack’s weather- and abrasion-resistant nylon shell lacks any gear protection or structure. It’s compatible with Peak Design’s ecosystem of accessories, like its ultralight Packing Cubes, quick-release Capture clips, and protective Camera Cubes, the last of which I’d consider mandatory additions for this bag.
The 25L Outdoor Backpack has a deep main pocket that is accessible by a roll top for top-down access to all your gear or via two zippers that fully open the bag like a clamshell to access the cubes. Other storage breaks down as follows:

An outer “Flex” pocket suitable for a rain jacket and hydration bladder.
Two zipped side pockets built into the outer shell of the Flex pocket, where you can attach the stretchy key lanyard and carry things like passports, documents, and a wallet.
A suspension sleeve attached to the inside of the back panel, suitable for laptops up to 16 inches or a hydration bladder, with integrated routing for the drinking tube.
Two deep side pocket holsters for things like water bottles, tripods, and trekking poles.
Mesh pockets on the wide and plush shoulder straps for quick access to a phone, snacks, glasses, etc.
Gear loops integrated all over the bag for external carry and compression using a pair of long attachment cords, two included stretchy gear straps, and two sternum straps.

Design
Peak Design sent me the cloud white version of the 25L Outdoor Backpack to review. The bag’s combination of sleek and soft recycled materials adorned with gray, black, and orange embellishments looks fantastic and has only minor blemishes after sitting in dirt, rough gravel, and that congealed goo that accumulates on barroom floors. Unfortunately, Peak Design says those whites will yellow slightly over time due to UV exposure. If that concerns you, as it does me, then you can opt instead for the black or purple-ish color options.

The pack is covered in gear loops where you can attach gear straps (top) and attachment cords (below) to compress the bag and add external storage. The straps and cords can be removed from the bag if not needed.

Seeing all those untidy loops, cords, and other snaggy bits for the first time was a bit of a downer, until I realized many could be relocated or even removed entirely. I also didn’t like all the rumpled fabric when the bag was empty, but Peak Design has a fix for that as well.
The 25L Outdoor Backpack is designed to work with Peak Design’s soft-shelled “smedium” $69.95 Camera Cube — it’s not small and not quite medium, but it’s just right for that main storage compartment. I highly recommend buying it for the 25L model, as it not only stiffens the bag, making it look better, but also protects the gear within and makes it easily accessible. The remaining space can be filled with a small Camera Cube ($59.95).
The “UItra Cinch” system of cords that control access to the outer Flex pocket and roll top opening is fine but finicky. It locks in place when you’re done pulling it to control the width of the opening, but it requires two hands, and those dangly cords can get in the way.

The two loosened retention cords often need to be pushed out of the way to access the roll top opening or to grab a jacket tucked inside the inner Flex pocket.

Despite my moaning, I’m a big fan of the new Flex pocket — it’s the pocket I use the most because it can be quickly accessed throughout the day. And I like that I can access the internal storage and expand it upward with the roll top. But the Ultra Cinch cord system is certainly not the peak of design.
Gear hauling
I never had a problem with the comfort of the original Everyday Backpack on my six-foot athletic frame, but others did. Peak Design says it improved the fit and comfort of the new 25L Outdoor Backpack, and I found this to be true in a variety of scenarios when carrying both light and heavy loads.
It remained stable and comfortable during my regular bike rides to my gym and coworking space, carrying a change of clothing, laptop, charger, and miscellaneous items like cables and glasses. The compression straps helped keep the bag thin and snug to my body. It also worked well on several day hikes and when attaching the hip belt to support a very heavy remote office load complete with a satellite dish.

The small Camera Cube can also be worn across the chest, held in place to the Outdoor Backpack’s shoulder straps by the included two sternum straps. This configuration gives you super-quick access to a camera or drone, and I found it reasonably comfortable to wear like that over a few hours of hiking.

Other notable observations:

On the white model, the Flex outer pocket is transparent enough to expose items pressed against the external shell. The black and purple-ish colors don’t seem to have this issue.
My review bag has weathered light rain just fine, but if you’re out in a storm, you’ll want the $29.95 rainfly accessory to keep everything dry inside.
I found the Flex pocket to be a good place to temporarily store sweaty gym gear instead of lashing it to the outside of the bag — it’s airy and easy to wipe down.

When perfection is the benchmark, there are bound to be quibbles.
I like the lightweight, unstructured design of the 25L Outdoor Backpack, which lets you layer on the protection (and weight) as you need. That’s smart. Once I added the Camera Cubes, it kept my expensive gear protected and organized while looking and functioning better than Peak Design’s original Everyday Backpack.
At $249.95 / €279.99, this is the most versatile backpack Peak Design has ever made. But it only reaches its true potential for the gadget and photography nerds it targets after you buy a Camera Cube or two. But now you’re looking at a pack that costs at least $320 and could easily exceed $400.
That’s still not too outrageous for a full-featured camera bag. You can pay about $215 for the smaller but heavier 22.5L PRO Light Backloader from Manfrotto, $324 for the larger 31L Prvke top-loader with camera cubes, or almost $400 for the 25L McKinnon Camera Pack and cubes from Nomatic.
I do love Peak Design’s 25L Outdoor Backpack and will likely ask Santa for it to avoid personally betraying my own Everyday Backpack, which has served me well for many years. However, my colleague Vjeran Pavic from our video team, who regularly travels the world with a bag full of cameras and drones, has already switched out his Everyday bag for the white 25L Outdoor Backpack.
Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

The 25L model is an improvement on perfection, but not without some help.

Perfect is a high bar to live up to, but it’s the word I used to describe my experience with Peak Design’s first backpack eight years ago. That 20-liter Everyday Backpack aimed at techies and camera nerds was so popular with Verge staff that we would often get our bags mixed up when gathered together at tech events.

Back in 2016, I was hauling around a laptop; a DSLR with external flash and at least one long lens; a tripod; and a portable battery or two to keep everything charged. Here in 2024, I need a bag to also carry gear like a drone and controller; an action camera with a wireless mic and selfie stick; and maybe even a Starlink Mini dish with a portable solar panel to keep everything connected and charged.

As someone who now likes to work as remotely as possible, often from the limited confines of an adventure van, I’m also looking for a singular bag that can be quickly adapted for a hike or bike ride, a trip to the gym, store, or office, or a weekend away via train or airplane. It then needs to stow quickly and compactly until its next use.

In my two months testing Peak Design’s new lighter-weight and more versatile $249.95 25L Outdoor Backpack, I can say this: it’s not perfect — but it is better, so long as you’re ready to spend even more on accessories.

The 25L Outdoor Backpack is sized for day trips with your laptop, camera, and other gadgets, alongside some food, water, and maybe an extra layer of clothing. Unlike the 45L model, the much smaller pack I’ve been testing is frameless, and the hip belt must be purchased separately for $44.95.

In contrast to the heavier Everyday Backpack, the Outdoor Backpack’s weather- and abrasion-resistant nylon shell lacks any gear protection or structure. It’s compatible with Peak Design’s ecosystem of accessories, like its ultralight Packing Cubes, quick-release Capture clips, and protective Camera Cubes, the last of which I’d consider mandatory additions for this bag.

The 25L Outdoor Backpack has a deep main pocket that is accessible by a roll top for top-down access to all your gear or via two zippers that fully open the bag like a clamshell to access the cubes. Other storage breaks down as follows:

An outer “Flex” pocket suitable for a rain jacket and hydration bladder.
Two zipped side pockets built into the outer shell of the Flex pocket, where you can attach the stretchy key lanyard and carry things like passports, documents, and a wallet.
A suspension sleeve attached to the inside of the back panel, suitable for laptops up to 16 inches or a hydration bladder, with integrated routing for the drinking tube.
Two deep side pocket holsters for things like water bottles, tripods, and trekking poles.
Mesh pockets on the wide and plush shoulder straps for quick access to a phone, snacks, glasses, etc.
Gear loops integrated all over the bag for external carry and compression using a pair of long attachment cords, two included stretchy gear straps, and two sternum straps.

Design

Peak Design sent me the cloud white version of the 25L Outdoor Backpack to review. The bag’s combination of sleek and soft recycled materials adorned with gray, black, and orange embellishments looks fantastic and has only minor blemishes after sitting in dirt, rough gravel, and that congealed goo that accumulates on barroom floors. Unfortunately, Peak Design says those whites will yellow slightly over time due to UV exposure. If that concerns you, as it does me, then you can opt instead for the black or purple-ish color options.

Seeing all those untidy loops, cords, and other snaggy bits for the first time was a bit of a downer, until I realized many could be relocated or even removed entirely. I also didn’t like all the rumpled fabric when the bag was empty, but Peak Design has a fix for that as well.

The 25L Outdoor Backpack is designed to work with Peak Design’s soft-shelled “smedium” $69.95 Camera Cube — it’s not small and not quite medium, but it’s just right for that main storage compartment. I highly recommend buying it for the 25L model, as it not only stiffens the bag, making it look better, but also protects the gear within and makes it easily accessible. The remaining space can be filled with a small Camera Cube ($59.95).

The “UItra Cinch” system of cords that control access to the outer Flex pocket and roll top opening is fine but finicky. It locks in place when you’re done pulling it to control the width of the opening, but it requires two hands, and those dangly cords can get in the way.

Despite my moaning, I’m a big fan of the new Flex pocket — it’s the pocket I use the most because it can be quickly accessed throughout the day. And I like that I can access the internal storage and expand it upward with the roll top. But the Ultra Cinch cord system is certainly not the peak of design.

Gear hauling

I never had a problem with the comfort of the original Everyday Backpack on my six-foot athletic frame, but others did. Peak Design says it improved the fit and comfort of the new 25L Outdoor Backpack, and I found this to be true in a variety of scenarios when carrying both light and heavy loads.

It remained stable and comfortable during my regular bike rides to my gym and coworking space, carrying a change of clothing, laptop, charger, and miscellaneous items like cables and glasses. The compression straps helped keep the bag thin and snug to my body. It also worked well on several day hikes and when attaching the hip belt to support a very heavy remote office load complete with a satellite dish.

Other notable observations:

On the white model, the Flex outer pocket is transparent enough to expose items pressed against the external shell. The black and purple-ish colors don’t seem to have this issue.
My review bag has weathered light rain just fine, but if you’re out in a storm, you’ll want the $29.95 rainfly accessory to keep everything dry inside.
I found the Flex pocket to be a good place to temporarily store sweaty gym gear instead of lashing it to the outside of the bag — it’s airy and easy to wipe down.

When perfection is the benchmark, there are bound to be quibbles.

I like the lightweight, unstructured design of the 25L Outdoor Backpack, which lets you layer on the protection (and weight) as you need. That’s smart. Once I added the Camera Cubes, it kept my expensive gear protected and organized while looking and functioning better than Peak Design’s original Everyday Backpack.

At $249.95 / €279.99, this is the most versatile backpack Peak Design has ever made. But it only reaches its true potential for the gadget and photography nerds it targets after you buy a Camera Cube or two. But now you’re looking at a pack that costs at least $320 and could easily exceed $400.

That’s still not too outrageous for a full-featured camera bag. You can pay about $215 for the smaller but heavier 22.5L PRO Light Backloader from Manfrotto, $324 for the larger 31L Prvke top-loader with camera cubes, or almost $400 for the 25L McKinnon Camera Pack and cubes from Nomatic.

I do love Peak Design’s 25L Outdoor Backpack and will likely ask Santa for it to avoid personally betraying my own Everyday Backpack, which has served me well for many years. However, my colleague Vjeran Pavic from our video team, who regularly travels the world with a bag full of cameras and drones, has already switched out his Everyday bag for the white 25L Outdoor Backpack.

Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

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Image: Laura Normand / The Verge

The Department of Justice says that Google must divest the Chrome web browser to restore competition to the online search market, and it left the door open to requiring the company to spin out Android, too.
Filed late Wednesday in DC District Court, the initial proposed final judgement refines the DOJ’s earlier high-level outline of remedies after Judge Amit Mehta found Google maintained an illegal monopoly in search and search text advertising.
The filing includes a broad range of requirements the DOJ hopes the court will impose on Google — from restricting the company from entering certain kinds of agreements to more broadly breaking the company up. The DOJ’s latest proposal doubles down on its request to spin out Google’s Chrome browser, which the government views as a key access point for searching the web.
The possibility of an Android spin-out could hang over Google’s head
While the government isn’t going as far as to demand Google spin out its Android business, it’s leaving the option open. The possibility of an Android spin-out could hang over Google’s head to incentivize it against circumventing other remedies, but the government says a spin-out could also be mandated should those other solutions prove ineffective at restoring competition to the market. The DOJ says Google might even choose divestiture itself if the company doesn’t want to comply with some of the other rules the government is proposing against self-preferencing Google Search in Android.
Other remedies the government is asking the court to impose include prohibiting Google from offering money or anything of value to third parties — including Apple and other phone-makers — to make Google’s search engine the default, or to discourage them from hosting search competitors. It also wants to ban Google from preferencing its search engine on any owned-and-operated platform (like YouTube or Gemini), mandate it let rivals access its search index at “marginal cost, and on an ongoing basis,” and require Google to syndicate its search results, ranking signals, and US-originated query data for 10 years. The DOJ is also asking that Google let websites opt-out of its AI overviews without being penalized in search results.
Judge Mehta is now tasked with determining the best way to restore competition
The DOJ will file a revised version of its proposals in early March, before the government and Google return to the DC District Court in April for a two-week remedies trial. It’s the second stage of the litigation, with Mehta now tasked with determining the best way to restore competition in the markets.
The remedies trial will take place with a new administration overseeing the DOJ, which could impact the sorts of solutions it ultimately pursues. But the case was originally filed during the first Trump administration, which suggests Google won’t be entirely off the hook.
Google and the DOJ are scheduled to deliver closing arguments in a separate antitrust case playing out in Alexandria, VA on Monday, regarding its advertising technology business.

Image: Laura Normand / The Verge

The Department of Justice says that Google must divest the Chrome web browser to restore competition to the online search market, and it left the door open to requiring the company to spin out Android, too.

Filed late Wednesday in DC District Court, the initial proposed final judgement refines the DOJ’s earlier high-level outline of remedies after Judge Amit Mehta found Google maintained an illegal monopoly in search and search text advertising.

The filing includes a broad range of requirements the DOJ hopes the court will impose on Google — from restricting the company from entering certain kinds of agreements to more broadly breaking the company up. The DOJ’s latest proposal doubles down on its request to spin out Google’s Chrome browser, which the government views as a key access point for searching the web.

While the government isn’t going as far as to demand Google spin out its Android business, it’s leaving the option open. The possibility of an Android spin-out could hang over Google’s head to incentivize it against circumventing other remedies, but the government says a spin-out could also be mandated should those other solutions prove ineffective at restoring competition to the market. The DOJ says Google might even choose divestiture itself if the company doesn’t want to comply with some of the other rules the government is proposing against self-preferencing Google Search in Android.

Other remedies the government is asking the court to impose include prohibiting Google from offering money or anything of value to third parties — including Apple and other phone-makers — to make Google’s search engine the default, or to discourage them from hosting search competitors. It also wants to ban Google from preferencing its search engine on any owned-and-operated platform (like YouTube or Gemini), mandate it let rivals access its search index at “marginal cost, and on an ongoing basis,” and require Google to syndicate its search results, ranking signals, and US-originated query data for 10 years. The DOJ is also asking that Google let websites opt-out of its AI overviews without being penalized in search results.

The DOJ will file a revised version of its proposals in early March, before the government and Google return to the DC District Court in April for a two-week remedies trial. It’s the second stage of the litigation, with Mehta now tasked with determining the best way to restore competition in the markets.

The remedies trial will take place with a new administration overseeing the DOJ, which could impact the sorts of solutions it ultimately pursues. But the case was originally filed during the first Trump administration, which suggests Google won’t be entirely off the hook.

Google and the DOJ are scheduled to deliver closing arguments in a separate antitrust case playing out in Alexandria, VA on Monday, regarding its advertising technology business.

Read More 

Image: Honda

Honda set up a demonstration facility in Japan to show off its plans to mass-produce solid-state batteries at lower costs, which could be crucial to unlocking higher-range, longer-lasting electric vehicles for the future.
Solid-state batteries have been elusive for many companies due to the complexity of scaling up production. The technology swaps out the liquid electrolytes found in current lithium-ion batteries with dry conductive materials, promising higher energy density and longer lifespans. But it will require a whole new production process to be successful.
Several companies are actively pursuing solid-state batteries, including Volkswagen-backed QuantumScape, Nissan, and Factorial, which is testing semi-solid-state batteries that fit Dodge Chargers.

Image: Honda
Roll pressing of cathode for solid-state batteries.

Honda says it is accelerating research at its new 27,000 square-meter demo facility set up in Sakura City, Japan, and is shortening the time required to make a single unit. The site has full-scale equipment that is split between three buildings: the first for cathode formation and cell assembly; the second for anode formation; and the third for electrolyte activation and module assembly.
The plan includes using a continuous inline mixer that Honda says is “three times faster” than typical cell batch processing. Honda plans to make batteries on this line in January.

Honda is readying its solid-state tech for mass production in the second half of the 2020s. The company’s CEO Toshihiro Mibe has eluded that solid-state batteries will also be the key to unlocking cheaper EVs.
Meanwhile, Honda is leaning on its other efforts to stay on top of the EV game. Honda’s Prologue SUV, built on GM’s EV platform, is doing pretty well in the US, and the company is readying a larger SUV for 2025. It’s also introducing a production vehicle at CES that will use the new Honda Zero platform, which is powered by LG batteries (Honda and LG are building a battery plant together in Ohio).

Image: Honda

Honda set up a demonstration facility in Japan to show off its plans to mass-produce solid-state batteries at lower costs, which could be crucial to unlocking higher-range, longer-lasting electric vehicles for the future.

Solid-state batteries have been elusive for many companies due to the complexity of scaling up production. The technology swaps out the liquid electrolytes found in current lithium-ion batteries with dry conductive materials, promising higher energy density and longer lifespans. But it will require a whole new production process to be successful.

Several companies are actively pursuing solid-state batteries, including Volkswagen-backed QuantumScape, Nissan, and Factorial, which is testing semi-solid-state batteries that fit Dodge Chargers.

Image: Honda
Roll pressing of cathode for solid-state batteries.

Honda says it is accelerating research at its new 27,000 square-meter demo facility set up in Sakura City, Japan, and is shortening the time required to make a single unit. The site has full-scale equipment that is split between three buildings: the first for cathode formation and cell assembly; the second for anode formation; and the third for electrolyte activation and module assembly.

The plan includes using a continuous inline mixer that Honda says is “three times faster” than typical cell batch processing. Honda plans to make batteries on this line in January.

Honda is readying its solid-state tech for mass production in the second half of the 2020s. The company’s CEO Toshihiro Mibe has eluded that solid-state batteries will also be the key to unlocking cheaper EVs.

Meanwhile, Honda is leaning on its other efforts to stay on top of the EV game. Honda’s Prologue SUV, built on GM’s EV platform, is doing pretty well in the US, and the company is readying a larger SUV for 2025. It’s also introducing a production vehicle at CES that will use the new Honda Zero platform, which is powered by LG batteries (Honda and LG are building a battery plant together in Ohio).

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The SEL trim of the Hyundai Ioniq 9. | Image: Hyundai

The South Korean automaker unveiled its newest EV ahead of the LA Auto Show. Ahead of the LA Auto Show this week, Hyundai showed off its brand-new three-row all-electric SUV with a suite of features that the Korean automaker is convinced will appeal to fickle American car buyers.
The Ioniq 9 is a battery-electric three-row SUV based on the Seven concept that the company showed off in 2021. The new EV is built on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform, which underpins all the other electric Hyundais on the market, including the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, and Ioniq 5N. And it will have a 110.3kWh battery that Hyundai said should get more than 300 miles of range for all models.

Image: Hyundai
The SEL trim…

Image: Hyundai
… and the Calligraphy trim.

A variety of options
The new Ioniq 9 will come in two versions: Long Range and Performance, each with rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive options. The Long Range RWD makes around 214hp (160kW) and just shy of 260 pound-feet of torque (350nm). The Long Range AWD version will get a 70kW motor (with 255nm of torque) at the front and a 160kW (with 350nm of torque) motor at the rear, though Hyundai doesn’t say whether those will be additive.
The Performance AWD (there is no Performance RWD) will get a pair of 160kW motors at the front and rear. According to Hyundai, only the 600-plus-hp Ioniq 5N will have more power, but we’ll have to wait for the launch to get the final horsepower and torque numbers from the company.

The Ioniq 9 will come with Tesla Supercharger-supporting North American Charging System ports, but Hyundai said that it will also offer customers an adapter for non-Tesla chargers. The port is located on the passenger-side rear panel, which may present a problem at Tesla Superchargers with short cords. For example, owners may be forced to take up two or more spaces at crowded stalls. (Tesla V4 chargers have longer cables and should reach the charging port, but we’ll have to wait for a test vehicle before we can confirm.)
Simon Loasby, senior VP and head of the Hyundai Design Center, said that the E-GMP platform determined the location of the charging port on the Ioniq 9.
The new EV will also get access to the Ionna charging network, which is backed by eight automakers. And it will have bidirectional charging so that owners with Hyundai’s Home charging setup can keep their home powered during a power outage.

A living room on wheels
Other features include a second row with “Relaxation Seats” (in the Calligraphy line only) that fully recline with a leg rest and massage function to allow up to four people to relax during vehicle charging. Those second-row seats will swivel to face the third row to create what Loasby calls a “furnished space.”
Hyundai designers included a slidable center console in models with the captain’s chairs that can move forward and back to make space to walk through to the third row or be accessed by second-row passengers.
There’s also a UV-C sterilizer in the glovebox (in overseas markets, it will be in the front tray), which can be used to sterilize your phone or wallet. The UV-C sterilizer and the sliding console are features that currently exist in the Hyundai Santa Fe.

The new Ioniq 9 will get over-the-air software updates as well as a new app store that Hyundai is calling “Features on Demand.” Through the app store, customers can personalize their Ioniq 9 with things like special lighting patterns and digital dash design as well as content and games — for a fee.
“We want to evolve the features that people actually tell us that they’re willing to pay for,” said Olabisi Boyle, senior VP of product planning and mobility strategy at Hyundai Motor North America. Hyundai did extensive consumer research before moving ahead with the plan, she added.
“Gaming was a big one, road trip games and trivia, picture taking and selfies inside the car seems to be a big one too,” Boyle said. “So things that build upon that inside the vehicle are things we’d charge for.” Hyundai confirmed that it would not pull a BMW and charge a monthly fee for things like heated seats.

Room to grow
Hyundai’s current electric lineup includes the Ioniq 5 and 6 — and soon the 9. The company said that this strange number jump leaves room in the lineup for potential future vehicles like an Ioniq 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 — though the company wouldn’t elaborate. Essentially, the nomenclature leaves room for the future.
Hyundai hasn’t announced final pricing yet, but the vehicle will be built in Georgia at Hyundai’s new “Metaplant” in Bryan County. The Metaplant is a joint venture between the Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Hyundai and represents a $7.6 billion investment in the state.
Hyundai hasn’t announced final pricing yet
How President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened tariff plans will impact the production of the Ioniq 9 and the plant remains to be seen, but Trump has already said he plans to kill the $7,500 federal tax credit that’s helped millions of Americans purchase expensive EVs.
“Ioniq 9 pricing will be announced closer to launch, but we will take all relevant market factors into consideration to arrive at competitive numbers,” said Chris Paukert, senior group manager of product public relations at Hyundai, when asked about Trump’s threats to kill the federal tax credit for EV purchases and roll back tailpipe emission rules.
Regardless of what Trump actually implements, Hyundai said it’s committed to meeting customers where they are.
“This EV journey was not something that we were spurred into,” Boyle told a group of selected journalists ahead of the unveiling. “It’s based on our north star of progress for humanity and working towards being a smart mobility company… Customers want a choice.”
Hyundai said that it’s still sorting out trim lines for the American market and that it would offer more details when the car goes into production in the spring of 2025. The Hyundai Ioniq 9 will be a 2026 model with a planned on-sale date sometime in Q2 of next year.

The SEL trim of the Hyundai Ioniq 9. | Image: Hyundai

The South Korean automaker unveiled its newest EV ahead of the LA Auto Show.

Ahead of the LA Auto Show this week, Hyundai showed off its brand-new three-row all-electric SUV with a suite of features that the Korean automaker is convinced will appeal to fickle American car buyers.

The Ioniq 9 is a battery-electric three-row SUV based on the Seven concept that the company showed off in 2021. The new EV is built on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform, which underpins all the other electric Hyundais on the market, including the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, and Ioniq 5N. And it will have a 110.3kWh battery that Hyundai said should get more than 300 miles of range for all models.

A variety of options

The new Ioniq 9 will come in two versions: Long Range and Performance, each with rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive options. The Long Range RWD makes around 214hp (160kW) and just shy of 260 pound-feet of torque (350nm). The Long Range AWD version will get a 70kW motor (with 255nm of torque) at the front and a 160kW (with 350nm of torque) motor at the rear, though Hyundai doesn’t say whether those will be additive.

The Performance AWD (there is no Performance RWD) will get a pair of 160kW motors at the front and rear. According to Hyundai, only the 600-plus-hp Ioniq 5N will have more power, but we’ll have to wait for the launch to get the final horsepower and torque numbers from the company.

The Ioniq 9 will come with Tesla Supercharger-supporting North American Charging System ports, but Hyundai said that it will also offer customers an adapter for non-Tesla chargers. The port is located on the passenger-side rear panel, which may present a problem at Tesla Superchargers with short cords. For example, owners may be forced to take up two or more spaces at crowded stalls. (Tesla V4 chargers have longer cables and should reach the charging port, but we’ll have to wait for a test vehicle before we can confirm.)

Simon Loasby, senior VP and head of the Hyundai Design Center, said that the E-GMP platform determined the location of the charging port on the Ioniq 9.

The new EV will also get access to the Ionna charging network, which is backed by eight automakers. And it will have bidirectional charging so that owners with Hyundai’s Home charging setup can keep their home powered during a power outage.

A living room on wheels

Other features include a second row with “Relaxation Seats” (in the Calligraphy line only) that fully recline with a leg rest and massage function to allow up to four people to relax during vehicle charging. Those second-row seats will swivel to face the third row to create what Loasby calls a “furnished space.”

Hyundai designers included a slidable center console in models with the captain’s chairs that can move forward and back to make space to walk through to the third row or be accessed by second-row passengers.

There’s also a UV-C sterilizer in the glovebox (in overseas markets, it will be in the front tray), which can be used to sterilize your phone or wallet. The UV-C sterilizer and the sliding console are features that currently exist in the Hyundai Santa Fe.

The new Ioniq 9 will get over-the-air software updates as well as a new app store that Hyundai is calling “Features on Demand.” Through the app store, customers can personalize their Ioniq 9 with things like special lighting patterns and digital dash design as well as content and games — for a fee.

“We want to evolve the features that people actually tell us that they’re willing to pay for,” said Olabisi Boyle, senior VP of product planning and mobility strategy at Hyundai Motor North America. Hyundai did extensive consumer research before moving ahead with the plan, she added.

“Gaming was a big one, road trip games and trivia, picture taking and selfies inside the car seems to be a big one too,” Boyle said. “So things that build upon that inside the vehicle are things we’d charge for.” Hyundai confirmed that it would not pull a BMW and charge a monthly fee for things like heated seats.

Room to grow

Hyundai’s current electric lineup includes the Ioniq 5 and 6 — and soon the 9. The company said that this strange number jump leaves room in the lineup for potential future vehicles like an Ioniq 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 — though the company wouldn’t elaborate. Essentially, the nomenclature leaves room for the future.

Hyundai hasn’t announced final pricing yet, but the vehicle will be built in Georgia at Hyundai’s new “Metaplant” in Bryan County. The Metaplant is a joint venture between the Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Hyundai and represents a $7.6 billion investment in the state.

How President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened tariff plans will impact the production of the Ioniq 9 and the plant remains to be seen, but Trump has already said he plans to kill the $7,500 federal tax credit that’s helped millions of Americans purchase expensive EVs.

“Ioniq 9 pricing will be announced closer to launch, but we will take all relevant market factors into consideration to arrive at competitive numbers,” said Chris Paukert, senior group manager of product public relations at Hyundai, when asked about Trump’s threats to kill the federal tax credit for EV purchases and roll back tailpipe emission rules.

Regardless of what Trump actually implements, Hyundai said it’s committed to meeting customers where they are.

“This EV journey was not something that we were spurred into,” Boyle told a group of selected journalists ahead of the unveiling. “It’s based on our north star of progress for humanity and working towards being a smart mobility company… Customers want a choice.”

Hyundai said that it’s still sorting out trim lines for the American market and that it would offer more details when the car goes into production in the spring of 2025. The Hyundai Ioniq 9 will be a 2026 model with a planned on-sale date sometime in Q2 of next year.

Read More 

Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy were officially appointed the co-leads of President-elect Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) last week, and on Wednesday, the two men spelled out their plans for the advisory group in a long article in The Wall Street Journal.
Musk and Ramaswamy say they will “serve as outside volunteers” making recommendations that allow the Trump administration to “cut the federal government down to size.” Their primary focus is on cutting down federal agencies, which they view as wasteful and “antidemocratic.”
“Most legal edicts aren’t laws enacted by Congress but ‘rules and regulations’ promulgated by unelected bureaucrats,” write the two unelected men who have been tasked with cutting trillions from the federal budget and rewriting government operations.
Musk and Ramaswamy say they’ll hire “a lean team of small-government crusaders” to work with the Trump administration and the White House Office of Management and Budget. Their primary lever for change will be executive action leaning on two recent Supreme Court rulings — West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency and Loper Bright v. Raimondo (which overturned the Chevron doctrine) — which “suggest that a plethora of current federal regulations exceed the authority Congress has granted under the law.”
Here is how DOGE will make its recommendations for what Trump should put pause on — a process that will be aided vaguely by “advanced technology:”
DOGE will work with legal experts embedded in government agencies, aided by advanced technology, to apply these rulings to federal regulations enacted by such agencies. DOGE will present this list of regulations to President Trump, who can, by executive action, immediately pause the enforcement of those regulations and initiate the process for review and rescission. This would liberate individuals and businesses from illicit regulations never passed by Congress and stimulate the U.S. economy.
As a result, Musk and Ramaswamy foresee Trump cutting “thousands” of federal regulations and say that these cuts will allow for “mass head-count reductions” of government employees. DOGE will try to determine the “minimum number of employees required at an agency for it to perform its constitutionally permissible and statutorily mandated functions.” This will almost certainly hobble many government agencies, which enforce everything from environmental protections to healthcare standards.
Musk and Ramaswamy also suggest that Trump could impose rules like requiring federal employees to return to the office five days per week, which they say could bring “voluntary terminations” they would welcome. “If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home.”
In the article, Musk and Ramaswamy list a few federal expenditures that seem to be on the chopping block, including “$535 million a year to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting” and “$1.5 billion for grants to international organizations to nearly $300 million to progressive groups like Planned Parenthood.”
Musk and Ramaswamy aim to “eliminate the need” for DOGE’s existence by July 4th, 2026.

Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy were officially appointed the co-leads of President-elect Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) last week, and on Wednesday, the two men spelled out their plans for the advisory group in a long article in The Wall Street Journal.

Musk and Ramaswamy say they will “serve as outside volunteers” making recommendations that allow the Trump administration to “cut the federal government down to size.” Their primary focus is on cutting down federal agencies, which they view as wasteful and “antidemocratic.”

“Most legal edicts aren’t laws enacted by Congress but ‘rules and regulations’ promulgated by unelected bureaucrats,” write the two unelected men who have been tasked with cutting trillions from the federal budget and rewriting government operations.

Musk and Ramaswamy say they’ll hire “a lean team of small-government crusaders” to work with the Trump administration and the White House Office of Management and Budget. Their primary lever for change will be executive action leaning on two recent Supreme Court rulings — West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency and Loper Bright v. Raimondo (which overturned the Chevron doctrine) — which “suggest that a plethora of current federal regulations exceed the authority Congress has granted under the law.”

Here is how DOGE will make its recommendations for what Trump should put pause on — a process that will be aided vaguely by “advanced technology:”

DOGE will work with legal experts embedded in government agencies, aided by advanced technology, to apply these rulings to federal regulations enacted by such agencies. DOGE will present this list of regulations to President Trump, who can, by executive action, immediately pause the enforcement of those regulations and initiate the process for review and rescission. This would liberate individuals and businesses from illicit regulations never passed by Congress and stimulate the U.S. economy.

As a result, Musk and Ramaswamy foresee Trump cutting “thousands” of federal regulations and say that these cuts will allow for “mass head-count reductions” of government employees. DOGE will try to determine the “minimum number of employees required at an agency for it to perform its constitutionally permissible and statutorily mandated functions.” This will almost certainly hobble many government agencies, which enforce everything from environmental protections to healthcare standards.

Musk and Ramaswamy also suggest that Trump could impose rules like requiring federal employees to return to the office five days per week, which they say could bring “voluntary terminations” they would welcome. “If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home.”

In the article, Musk and Ramaswamy list a few federal expenditures that seem to be on the chopping block, including “$535 million a year to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting” and “$1.5 billion for grants to international organizations to nearly $300 million to progressive groups like Planned Parenthood.”

Musk and Ramaswamy aim to “eliminate the need” for DOGE’s existence by July 4th, 2026.

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The Blackwell B200 GPU. | Image: Nvidia

Nvidia has become the world’s most valuable company on the back of AI chips, passing Microsoft and Apple along the way, and in today’s Q3 2025 earnings, the company suggested its record AI revenue and profits are only the beginning.
While The Information recently reported that its new flagship Blackwell AI servers might have cooling issues, the company didn’t address that on today’s call — instead, Nvidia assured investors that Blackwell is in “full production,” is “full steam” ahead, and that the company would continue to deliver more of the chips each quarter from here on out.
Nvidia has already shipped 13,000 Blackwell samples to its customers this quarter, said CFO Colette Kress, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang claimed Blackwell’s success can already be measured in the billions as a result. “As you can see from all the systems being stood up, Blackwell is in great shape,” Huang told investors.

While Nvidia has long been known as a graphics and gaming company, pioneering the GPU, its data center fortunes have now outstripped its other businesses by an order of magnitude. Gaming is now merely a $2-3 billion business each quarter for Nvidia, but its AI-infused data centers raked in $30.7 billion this past quarter, making up the vast majority of its $35 billion in quarterly earnings.
Much of that is pure profit for Nvidia, too: $14.8 billion in Q1, $16.6 billion in Q2, and now a profit of $19.3 billion in Q3. (Microsoft and Apple made $24.7 billion and $21.4 billion in profit, respectively, this past quarter, though.)
Though AI is nowhere near as big a business yet for Nvidia’s rival AMD, that company is seeing a similar shift, and is similarly changing its strategy to revolve around AI. Both Nvidia and AMD have accelerated their development timelines, promising to bring out new chips to meet that AI demand each year instead of every two years.
Practically, that means there’s substantial overlap between each new generation of chips as businesses order them and stick them into data centers. Though Blackwell is Nvidia’s latest and greatest, Nvidia says today that the H200 it announced last year is actually now the fastest-selling product it’s ever made, growing to multiple billions of dollars’ worth this past quarter.
Nvidia’s H100 was its original winning AI product, though it took longer to see its current success; Huang says the company expects demand for its H-series chips to continue through most of next year.
Intel, meanwhile, is far behind in terms of AI fortunes and is currently restructuring.

The Blackwell B200 GPU. | Image: Nvidia

Nvidia has become the world’s most valuable company on the back of AI chips, passing Microsoft and Apple along the way, and in today’s Q3 2025 earnings, the company suggested its record AI revenue and profits are only the beginning.

While The Information recently reported that its new flagship Blackwell AI servers might have cooling issues, the company didn’t address that on today’s call — instead, Nvidia assured investors that Blackwell is in “full production,” is “full steam” ahead, and that the company would continue to deliver more of the chips each quarter from here on out.

Nvidia has already shipped 13,000 Blackwell samples to its customers this quarter, said CFO Colette Kress, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang claimed Blackwell’s success can already be measured in the billions as a result. “As you can see from all the systems being stood up, Blackwell is in great shape,” Huang told investors.

While Nvidia has long been known as a graphics and gaming company, pioneering the GPU, its data center fortunes have now outstripped its other businesses by an order of magnitude. Gaming is now merely a $2-3 billion business each quarter for Nvidia, but its AI-infused data centers raked in $30.7 billion this past quarter, making up the vast majority of its $35 billion in quarterly earnings.

Much of that is pure profit for Nvidia, too: $14.8 billion in Q1, $16.6 billion in Q2, and now a profit of $19.3 billion in Q3. (Microsoft and Apple made $24.7 billion and $21.4 billion in profit, respectively, this past quarter, though.)

Though AI is nowhere near as big a business yet for Nvidia’s rival AMD, that company is seeing a similar shift, and is similarly changing its strategy to revolve around AI. Both Nvidia and AMD have accelerated their development timelines, promising to bring out new chips to meet that AI demand each year instead of every two years.

Practically, that means there’s substantial overlap between each new generation of chips as businesses order them and stick them into data centers. Though Blackwell is Nvidia’s latest and greatest, Nvidia says today that the H200 it announced last year is actually now the fastest-selling product it’s ever made, growing to multiple billions of dollars’ worth this past quarter.

Nvidia’s H100 was its original winning AI product, though it took longer to see its current success; Huang says the company expects demand for its H-series chips to continue through most of next year.

Intel, meanwhile, is far behind in terms of AI fortunes and is currently restructuring.

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