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The NotePin is a voice recorder in the body of a Fitbit. | Image: Plaud

After creating an impressive (not to mention somewhat TikTok famous) AI-powered voice recorder, Plaud is launching a more ambitious gadget: a wearable designed to be with you all the time, recording your notes and meetings and helping you get stuff done. The device is called the NotePin, and the pill-shaped gadget and accessory lineup seems to take some cues from early Fitbits. You can wear the NotePin around your neck as a pendant, pin it to your chest, strap it to your wrist, or clip it just about anywhere.
AI wearables are everywhere right now and largely fall into one of two categories. There are the companionship devices, like Friend, meant to just provide something to hang with and talk to. Then, there are the productivity devices, like Limitless, designed to be useful more than delightful.
The NotePin is very much in the second camp: Plaud is positioning it as a way to transcribe, summarize, and get action items out of everything that happens in your life. Its battery lasts for up to 20 hours of continuous recording, the company says, but Plaud doesn’t intend for it to always be on — you have to tap on the device to start recording, for one thing, rather than just setting it and forgetting it. This is good UI and also good privacy practice both for users and for the world at large; these devices raise complicated questions about who consents to being recorded, and requiring manual action at least solves part of the problem.
Plaud’s first product, the Note voice recorder, is one of the better AI voice note tools on the market. The Note is made to attach to the back of your phone and record voice notes or phone calls, and then automatically transcribe and summarize them. Plaud’s app is a little messy, but the basic tech works pretty well. The NotePin’s main improvement is its form factor: Plaud is hoping that by getting the device out of your pocket and onto your body, you’ll have more reasons to use it.
The NotePin itself costs $169, and Plaud’s AI features are free for very basic uses and $79 a year for more advanced things like summary templates and speaker labeling. (Presumably, anyone interested in buying this thing is going to want the pro features.) The software will ultimately be what matters: the AI boom seems to mean many more people will start recording much more of their lives, and it’ll be up to Plaud and its competition to figure out what to do with all that information. Perfect memory is an enticing thing, but it’s an awfully hard one to get right.

The NotePin is a voice recorder in the body of a Fitbit. | Image: Plaud

After creating an impressive (not to mention somewhat TikTok famous) AI-powered voice recorder, Plaud is launching a more ambitious gadget: a wearable designed to be with you all the time, recording your notes and meetings and helping you get stuff done. The device is called the NotePin, and the pill-shaped gadget and accessory lineup seems to take some cues from early Fitbits. You can wear the NotePin around your neck as a pendant, pin it to your chest, strap it to your wrist, or clip it just about anywhere.

AI wearables are everywhere right now and largely fall into one of two categories. There are the companionship devices, like Friend, meant to just provide something to hang with and talk to. Then, there are the productivity devices, like Limitless, designed to be useful more than delightful.

The NotePin is very much in the second camp: Plaud is positioning it as a way to transcribe, summarize, and get action items out of everything that happens in your life. Its battery lasts for up to 20 hours of continuous recording, the company says, but Plaud doesn’t intend for it to always be on — you have to tap on the device to start recording, for one thing, rather than just setting it and forgetting it. This is good UI and also good privacy practice both for users and for the world at large; these devices raise complicated questions about who consents to being recorded, and requiring manual action at least solves part of the problem.

Plaud’s first product, the Note voice recorder, is one of the better AI voice note tools on the market. The Note is made to attach to the back of your phone and record voice notes or phone calls, and then automatically transcribe and summarize them. Plaud’s app is a little messy, but the basic tech works pretty well. The NotePin’s main improvement is its form factor: Plaud is hoping that by getting the device out of your pocket and onto your body, you’ll have more reasons to use it.

The NotePin itself costs $169, and Plaud’s AI features are free for very basic uses and $79 a year for more advanced things like summary templates and speaker labeling. (Presumably, anyone interested in buying this thing is going to want the pro features.) The software will ultimately be what matters: the AI boom seems to mean many more people will start recording much more of their lives, and it’ll be up to Plaud and its competition to figure out what to do with all that information. Perfect memory is an enticing thing, but it’s an awfully hard one to get right.

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The Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 have a dedicated speaker for bass.

The OpenRun Pro 2 add USB-C charging, a dedicated speaker for bass, reduced vibration, and AI noise cancellation. I’ve been hunting for a pair of open-ear headphones. I’ve tried two bone-conduction headphones from Suunto. They were lovely, but the bass left me wanting. I tried the Shokz OpenFit Air. The bass was better, but the fit wasn’t great when I wore my glasses. I’d resigned myself to forever using my Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses for runs — great sound but a little heavy and gross when sweaty — and then Shokz said it had a brand-spanking-new pair of bone conduction headphones for me to try. The $179.95 OpenRun Pro 2.
And after about two weeks of wearing these for every run, walk, and gym session, I think I may be a full-on convert — at least, for my workouts.

The bone conduction driver handles mids and high tones, while the air conduction speaker handles bass. It works.

The thing that ultimately sold me was the bass. Unlike the original OpenRun Pro (which are now discounted to $159.95), these don’t rely on bone conduction alone. Bone conduction drivers usually sit by your temples and rely on vibration to transmit sound into your skull. Traditionally, they’re decent for high and mid tones, but bass often sounds muddy. With the OpenRun Pro 2, there’s now a dedicated, 18mm by 11mm air conduction speaker specifically for bass. The previous OpenRun Pro had bass enhancers, but this update is meant to pack more of a punch. Another plus: fewer vibrations. One issue I’ve had with bone conduction is when you crank up the volume to catch any bass, it often means the bone conduction drivers will buzz like furious bees.
I was skeptical going into testing. I’ve heard many promises of great bass from open-ear buds only to be sorely disappointed. But to my surprise, it was pretty good! I still have to crank up the volume a bit, it’s no match for a loud highway, and it’s still not as good as in-ear buds. But to be fair, no open-ear bud will ever be free of those compromises. I was still able to groove to the thumpy intro to “Start a Riot” by Duckwrth and Shaboozey without missing too much. I listen to audiobooks on my daily walks, and those also sounded clearer than I expected — provided the construction crew down the block wasn’t making a racket.

USB-C over proprietary chargers any day. You do have to remove a lil flap to access the port, but that’s a quibble.

But an even bigger surprise was fit. It’s great. When I first tried Shokz headphones, back when the company was still AfterShokz, I hated the wraparound neckband. It felt too big and too tight around the temples, and the ear hooks were uncomfortable if I wore glasses. But in this case, the combination of ultrathin and bendy ear hooks attached to the neckband made these headphones feel secure. Shokz also says it’s tweaked the design so there’s 16 percent less clamping force on the temples — and truly, that wasn’t an issue for me this time around. I still don’t love the neckband. It’s a bit annoying when I have to tie up my hair and can get in the way if I’m doing floor exercises like a dead bug or chest presses, but these are quibbles.
Claimed battery life has also improved to 12 hours on the Pro 2. That aligned with my testing. These days, I work out about 9–10 hours per week and go on several walks. So far, I’ve had to charge about once per week. The nice thing here is the Pro 2 now use USB-C instead of a proprietary charger. Huzzah! As a wearables reviewer, I have too many proprietary chargers, so it’s always a huge plus to see companies opt for a universal charging standard.

I wish I had a cuter color, but those are coming later. There is an orange version now, though.

The only thing I wasn’t sold on was the mic quality. Shokz claims there’s a new AI noise reduction algorithm and better, wind-resistant microphones. However, whenever I called up friends while on walks, they said I sounded like crap and begged me to switch to AirPods. Granted, I rarely call people on walks, and I definitely don’t want to talk to anyone while exercising, but it’s something to consider if you do like chatting while on the go.
For me, using the OpenRun Pro 2 was like the stars finally aligning. I’m not making a huge compromise on bass, the fit is secure and comfortable, and I can stay aware of my surroundings. I’ll probably switch back to the Beats Fit Pro for gym sessions, but until I find better bass on an open-ear headphone? These are the ones I’ll be reaching for.
Photography by Victoria Song / The Verge

The Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 have a dedicated speaker for bass.

The OpenRun Pro 2 add USB-C charging, a dedicated speaker for bass, reduced vibration, and AI noise cancellation.

I’ve been hunting for a pair of open-ear headphones. I’ve tried two bone-conduction headphones from Suunto. They were lovely, but the bass left me wanting. I tried the Shokz OpenFit Air. The bass was better, but the fit wasn’t great when I wore my glasses. I’d resigned myself to forever using my Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses for runs — great sound but a little heavy and gross when sweaty — and then Shokz said it had a brand-spanking-new pair of bone conduction headphones for me to try. The $179.95 OpenRun Pro 2.

And after about two weeks of wearing these for every run, walk, and gym session, I think I may be a full-on convert — at least, for my workouts.

The bone conduction driver handles mids and high tones, while the air conduction speaker handles bass. It works.

The thing that ultimately sold me was the bass. Unlike the original OpenRun Pro (which are now discounted to $159.95), these don’t rely on bone conduction alone. Bone conduction drivers usually sit by your temples and rely on vibration to transmit sound into your skull. Traditionally, they’re decent for high and mid tones, but bass often sounds muddy. With the OpenRun Pro 2, there’s now a dedicated, 18mm by 11mm air conduction speaker specifically for bass. The previous OpenRun Pro had bass enhancers, but this update is meant to pack more of a punch. Another plus: fewer vibrations. One issue I’ve had with bone conduction is when you crank up the volume to catch any bass, it often means the bone conduction drivers will buzz like furious bees.

I was skeptical going into testing. I’ve heard many promises of great bass from open-ear buds only to be sorely disappointed. But to my surprise, it was pretty good! I still have to crank up the volume a bit, it’s no match for a loud highway, and it’s still not as good as in-ear buds. But to be fair, no open-ear bud will ever be free of those compromises. I was still able to groove to the thumpy intro to “Start a Riot” by Duckwrth and Shaboozey without missing too much. I listen to audiobooks on my daily walks, and those also sounded clearer than I expected — provided the construction crew down the block wasn’t making a racket.

USB-C over proprietary chargers any day. You do have to remove a lil flap to access the port, but that’s a quibble.

But an even bigger surprise was fit. It’s great. When I first tried Shokz headphones, back when the company was still AfterShokz, I hated the wraparound neckband. It felt too big and too tight around the temples, and the ear hooks were uncomfortable if I wore glasses. But in this case, the combination of ultrathin and bendy ear hooks attached to the neckband made these headphones feel secure. Shokz also says it’s tweaked the design so there’s 16 percent less clamping force on the temples — and truly, that wasn’t an issue for me this time around. I still don’t love the neckband. It’s a bit annoying when I have to tie up my hair and can get in the way if I’m doing floor exercises like a dead bug or chest presses, but these are quibbles.

Claimed battery life has also improved to 12 hours on the Pro 2. That aligned with my testing. These days, I work out about 9–10 hours per week and go on several walks. So far, I’ve had to charge about once per week. The nice thing here is the Pro 2 now use USB-C instead of a proprietary charger. Huzzah! As a wearables reviewer, I have too many proprietary chargers, so it’s always a huge plus to see companies opt for a universal charging standard.

I wish I had a cuter color, but those are coming later. There is an orange version now, though.

The only thing I wasn’t sold on was the mic quality. Shokz claims there’s a new AI noise reduction algorithm and better, wind-resistant microphones. However, whenever I called up friends while on walks, they said I sounded like crap and begged me to switch to AirPods. Granted, I rarely call people on walks, and I definitely don’t want to talk to anyone while exercising, but it’s something to consider if you do like chatting while on the go.

For me, using the OpenRun Pro 2 was like the stars finally aligning. I’m not making a huge compromise on bass, the fit is secure and comfortable, and I can stay aware of my surroundings. I’ll probably switch back to the Beats Fit Pro for gym sessions, but until I find better bass on an open-ear headphone? These are the ones I’ll be reaching for.

Photography by Victoria Song / The Verge

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Uber to rolling out a few new features for its teenage customers in the first major update since first opening up its platform to teen riders over a year ago.
Last year, Uber launched teen accounts in two dozen cities, in which parents and guardians can create accounts for minors aged 13–17. Since then, the list has grown to over 250 cities in all 50 states. Uber says the latest update is in response to feedback from teen users and their families.
Uber says the latest update is in response to feedback from teen users and their families
Parents and guardians can now hail a ride for their teenager from their own accounts. Previously, rides could only be hailed from the teen customers’ accounts. The ride will feature all the same safety features that are available to teens who book their own trips, including notifications when the teenager has started the ride and real-time tracking of the vehicle.
Teen customers can also schedule trips as little as 30 minutes before and as much as 90 days in advance, a feature that is already available to adult riders. And adults who are Uber One subscribers can now share their benefits with their teenagers, including $0 delivery fees on Uber Eats orders and cash back on certain trips.
To date, Uber is the only ridehail app offering service to teen customers. Lyft still requires its account holders to be at least 18 years old. Of course, teens have been ignoring these rules for years, using either their parents’ accounts or those of friends. Uber has said it wants to create clear guardrails for its service in creating teen accounts, as well as provide more clarity for drivers.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Uber to rolling out a few new features for its teenage customers in the first major update since first opening up its platform to teen riders over a year ago.

Last year, Uber launched teen accounts in two dozen cities, in which parents and guardians can create accounts for minors aged 13–17. Since then, the list has grown to over 250 cities in all 50 states. Uber says the latest update is in response to feedback from teen users and their families.

Parents and guardians can now hail a ride for their teenager from their own accounts. Previously, rides could only be hailed from the teen customers’ accounts. The ride will feature all the same safety features that are available to teens who book their own trips, including notifications when the teenager has started the ride and real-time tracking of the vehicle.

Teen customers can also schedule trips as little as 30 minutes before and as much as 90 days in advance, a feature that is already available to adult riders. And adults who are Uber One subscribers can now share their benefits with their teenagers, including $0 delivery fees on Uber Eats orders and cash back on certain trips.

To date, Uber is the only ridehail app offering service to teen customers. Lyft still requires its account holders to be at least 18 years old. Of course, teens have been ignoring these rules for years, using either their parents’ accounts or those of friends. Uber has said it wants to create clear guardrails for its service in creating teen accounts, as well as provide more clarity for drivers.

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Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge

Apple has eliminated about 100 jobs across its digital services group according to Bloomberg, as part of a “shift in priorities” for the division. The majority of those laid off reportedly worked within the team that runs the Apple Books app and Apple Bookstore, with the remaining cuts made to some engineering roles and services like Apple News.
According to Bloomberg, the layoffs aren’t a sign that Apple is shifting its focus away from services like Apple Books, and the Books app is still expected to receive future updates for new features. While the services division — which includes things like Apple TV Plus, Apple News, and Apple Music — has been a revenue driver for Apple in recent years, the company reportedly doesn’t consider Apple books to be a major part of the lineup.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously said that cutting jobs is a “last resort” for the company, and layoffs have been rare (or at least, far smaller than those affecting rival tech giants) until fairly recently. At least 600 job cuts were reportedly made to Apple’s canceled car and smartwatch display projects back in April, and an undisclosed “small number” of roles were eliminated from its corporate retail teams in 2023. We have reached out to Apple for comment about this latest round of cuts and will update if we hear back.

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge

Apple has eliminated about 100 jobs across its digital services group according to Bloomberg, as part of a “shift in priorities” for the division. The majority of those laid off reportedly worked within the team that runs the Apple Books app and Apple Bookstore, with the remaining cuts made to some engineering roles and services like Apple News.

According to Bloomberg, the layoffs aren’t a sign that Apple is shifting its focus away from services like Apple Books, and the Books app is still expected to receive future updates for new features. While the services division — which includes things like Apple TV Plus, Apple News, and Apple Music — has been a revenue driver for Apple in recent years, the company reportedly doesn’t consider Apple books to be a major part of the lineup.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously said that cutting jobs is a “last resort” for the company, and layoffs have been rare (or at least, far smaller than those affecting rival tech giants) until fairly recently. At least 600 job cuts were reportedly made to Apple’s canceled car and smartwatch display projects back in April, and an undisclosed “small number” of roles were eliminated from its corporate retail teams in 2023. We have reached out to Apple for comment about this latest round of cuts and will update if we hear back.

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The Verge

X has updated its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok after five secretaries of state warned it was spreading election misinformation. The AI assistant will now say “For accurate and up-to-date information about the 2024 US Elections, please visit Vote.gov,” when users ask election-related questions.
The change was introduced after election officials from Minnesota, New Mexico, Michigan, Washington, and Pennsylvania sent a complaint letter to X owner Elon Musk earlier this month, highlighting that Grok had provided false information about the ballot deadlines in their states. Grok, which is developed by another Musk-owned company xAI, is only available to paying subscribers on the X social media platform — but the letter signed by the five secretaries of state said election misinformation from the chatbot has been shared to reach “millions of people” before it was corrected 10 days after the issue was discovered.
“We appreciate X’s action to improve their platform and hope they continue to make improvements that will ensure their users have access to accurate information from trusted sources in this critical election year,” the officials said in response to Grok’s updated message. “Elections are a team effort, and we need and welcome any partners who are committed to ensuring free, fair, secure, and accurate elections.”
The update doesn’t affect Grok’s recently added ability to spit out AI-generated images related to elections, which has already been used to populate the platform with misleading or incendiary depictions of politicians like Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump. X also notably removed the ability for some users to report posts that contained electoral misinformation last September.

The Verge

X has updated its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok after five secretaries of state warned it was spreading election misinformation. The AI assistant will now say “For accurate and up-to-date information about the 2024 US Elections, please visit Vote.gov,” when users ask election-related questions.

The change was introduced after election officials from Minnesota, New Mexico, Michigan, Washington, and Pennsylvania sent a complaint letter to X owner Elon Musk earlier this month, highlighting that Grok had provided false information about the ballot deadlines in their states. Grok, which is developed by another Musk-owned company xAI, is only available to paying subscribers on the X social media platform — but the letter signed by the five secretaries of state said election misinformation from the chatbot has been shared to reach “millions of people” before it was corrected 10 days after the issue was discovered.

“We appreciate X’s action to improve their platform and hope they continue to make improvements that will ensure their users have access to accurate information from trusted sources in this critical election year,” the officials said in response to Grok’s updated message. “Elections are a team effort, and we need and welcome any partners who are committed to ensuring free, fair, secure, and accurate elections.”

The update doesn’t affect Grok’s recently added ability to spit out AI-generated images related to elections, which has already been used to populate the platform with misleading or incendiary depictions of politicians like Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump. X also notably removed the ability for some users to report posts that contained electoral misinformation last September.

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Image: AMD

You can’t download more RAM, but you can now download better gaming performance if you’re the owner of a modern Ryzen desktop CPU. AMD revealed last week that it was working with Microsoft on an optimization patch for Ryzen CPUs that was due with Microsoft’s next big Windows 11 version 24H2 update, but Microsoft has now backported this to the existing 23H2 version.
The result is a significant performance improvement in gaming across a variety of Zen 4 and Zen 5 desktop Ryzen CPUs, including the popular 7800X3D chip. “Users will need to look for KB5041587 under Windows update > Advanced options > Optional updates,” says AMD in a statement to Wccftech. “We expect the performance uplift to be very similar between 24H2 and 23H2 with KB5041587 installed.”
Reviewers already started testing Microsoft’s 24H2 update for Windows 11, which is expected to be available in late September, and found that on average there’s a 10 percent performance improvement across multiple games running at 1080p on an older Ryzen 7700X. On the latest Ryzen 9700X, Hardware Unboxed found that Windows 11 24H2 also provides an 11 percent performance improvement on average in the same game tests.
Initial benchmark results for AMD’s latest Zen 5 desktop CPUs failed to impress reviewers, leading to the revelation that AMD and Microsoft have been working to optimize AMD-specific branch prediction code in Windows 11. Now that Microsoft has backported this to existing Windows 11 version 23H2 installs, you no longer need to opt into Release Preview testing to get 24H2 and the Ryzen CPU performance improvements.

Image: AMD

You can’t download more RAM, but you can now download better gaming performance if you’re the owner of a modern Ryzen desktop CPU. AMD revealed last week that it was working with Microsoft on an optimization patch for Ryzen CPUs that was due with Microsoft’s next big Windows 11 version 24H2 update, but Microsoft has now backported this to the existing 23H2 version.

The result is a significant performance improvement in gaming across a variety of Zen 4 and Zen 5 desktop Ryzen CPUs, including the popular 7800X3D chip. “Users will need to look for KB5041587 under Windows update > Advanced options > Optional updates,” says AMD in a statement to Wccftech. “We expect the performance uplift to be very similar between 24H2 and 23H2 with KB5041587 installed.”

Reviewers already started testing Microsoft’s 24H2 update for Windows 11, which is expected to be available in late September, and found that on average there’s a 10 percent performance improvement across multiple games running at 1080p on an older Ryzen 7700X. On the latest Ryzen 9700X, Hardware Unboxed found that Windows 11 24H2 also provides an 11 percent performance improvement on average in the same game tests.

Initial benchmark results for AMD’s latest Zen 5 desktop CPUs failed to impress reviewers, leading to the revelation that AMD and Microsoft have been working to optimize AMD-specific branch prediction code in Windows 11. Now that Microsoft has backported this to existing Windows 11 version 23H2 installs, you no longer need to opt into Release Preview testing to get 24H2 and the Ryzen CPU performance improvements.

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Image: The Verge

AT&T seems to be experiencing some issues right now that are leaving customers seeing “SOS” instead of their usual bars of service.
Many customers are tweeting directly at AT&T’s Help account on X, reporting issues like being stuck in SOS or having no phone service.
According to The Mobile Report, AT&T has found internally that a failure at a switching center “has resulted in a cascade of problems, including service delays, the inability to provision new SIM cards, and, for many, a complete loss of network connectivity” that may primarily affect iPhones and other Apple devices. Users on Reddit have also reported service issues on some Android devices.
On Tuesday afternoon, there was also a spike in user reports on Downdetector. There has been a dip in reports since the peak, but while writing this article, the Downdetector graph has started to creep up again.
AT&T spokesperson Jim Kimberley tells The Verge that he is looking into what might be going on. Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
This outage is happening just one day after AT&T announced it would pay $950,000 to settle an FCC investigation over a 911 outage in August 2023, and just after AT&T reported a work stoppage by the Communications Workers of America in the Southeast during negotiations.

Image: The Verge

AT&T seems to be experiencing some issues right now that are leaving customers seeing “SOS” instead of their usual bars of service.

Many customers are tweeting directly at AT&T’s Help account on X, reporting issues like being stuck in SOS or having no phone service.

According to The Mobile Report, AT&T has found internally that a failure at a switching center “has resulted in a cascade of problems, including service delays, the inability to provision new SIM cards, and, for many, a complete loss of network connectivity” that may primarily affect iPhones and other Apple devices. Users on Reddit have also reported service issues on some Android devices.

On Tuesday afternoon, there was also a spike in user reports on Downdetector. There has been a dip in reports since the peak, but while writing this article, the Downdetector graph has started to creep up again.

AT&T spokesperson Jim Kimberley tells The Verge that he is looking into what might be going on. Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

This outage is happening just one day after AT&T announced it would pay $950,000 to settle an FCC investigation over a 911 outage in August 2023, and just after AT&T reported a work stoppage by the Communications Workers of America in the Southeast during negotiations.

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Hi, Barbie! | Image: HMD

HMD’s Barbie-branded flip phone arrives a little too late to catch the Hot Foldable Summer wave, but it’s definitely not short on charm. Preannounced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, the HMD Barbie Phone is now official and goes on sale for $129 in October.
The Barbie phone is a true feature phone; no apps, just connectivity for calls and texts. HMD is pitching it as a device for a digital detox so you can “take a vacation from your smartphone.” That’s fine since you probably wouldn’t want to do much more on its small 2.8-inch inner screen, but bear in mind that typing out T9 texts is worse than you remember. There’s a 5-megapixel camera with a built-in flash, which, as HMD points out, is perfect for that early digital camera look that’s so hot right now.

The phone itself may be basic, but the vibe is not. The Barbie Phone comes with extra theme-appropriate battery covers, a beaded wrist strap, and stick-on gems to customize the look. Even the classic Snake game gets a Barbie treatment. I love a gadget that goes all in on a concept, and this one goes hard.
The HMD Barbie Phone will work on all three major US wireless networks. It’ll be available for preorder on September 23rd and will ship on October 1st.

Hi, Barbie! | Image: HMD

HMD’s Barbie-branded flip phone arrives a little too late to catch the Hot Foldable Summer wave, but it’s definitely not short on charm. Preannounced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, the HMD Barbie Phone is now official and goes on sale for $129 in October.

The Barbie phone is a true feature phone; no apps, just connectivity for calls and texts. HMD is pitching it as a device for a digital detox so you can “take a vacation from your smartphone.” That’s fine since you probably wouldn’t want to do much more on its small 2.8-inch inner screen, but bear in mind that typing out T9 texts is worse than you remember. There’s a 5-megapixel camera with a built-in flash, which, as HMD points out, is perfect for that early digital camera look that’s so hot right now.

The phone itself may be basic, but the vibe is not. The Barbie Phone comes with extra theme-appropriate battery covers, a beaded wrist strap, and stick-on gems to customize the look. Even the classic Snake game gets a Barbie treatment. I love a gadget that goes all in on a concept, and this one goes hard.

The HMD Barbie Phone will work on all three major US wireless networks. It’ll be available for preorder on September 23rd and will ship on October 1st.

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Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Telegram doesn’t have the moderation of most social networks or the privacy of a true encrypted messaging app. That could leave its operator in hot water. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest in France on Saturday took the tech world by surprise. The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire was detained after touching down at an airport outside of Paris in his private plane. And with scant detail available, observers wondered what the unprecedented action meant for free speech, encryption, and the risks of running a platform that could be used for crime.
On Monday, French officials revealed that Durov is being questioned as part of a wide-ranging criminal investigation surrounding crimes that regularly happen on Telegram. While some of the accusations could still raise red flags, many seem to concern serious offenses — like child abuse and terrorism — that Durov would reasonably have been aware of. But many questions remain unanswered, including how worried other tech executives should be.
Crime happens on lots of platforms. Why does Telegram stand out?
Telegram is a messaging app that was founded in 2013 by brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov. While it’s sometimes portrayed as an “encrypted chat app,” it’s mostly popular as a semi-public communication service like Discord, particularly in countries like Russia, Ukraine, Iran, and India.
It’s a massive platform that is used by millions of innocent people every day, but it’s also gained a reputation for being a safe haven for all sorts of criminals, from scammers to terrorists.
Pavel Durov has crafted a brash pro-privacy persona in public. In an interview with Tucker Carlson this year, Durov gave examples of times that Telegram has declined to hand over data to governments: when Russia asked for information on protesters, for instance, and when US lawmakers requested data on participants in the January 6th Capitol riot. Earlier, at a 2015 TechCrunch event, Durov said that Telegram’s commitment to privacy was “more important than our fear of bad things happening, like terrorism.”
That sentiment isn’t radically out of step with what many encryption proponents believe, since strong encryption must protect all users. A “backdoor” targeting one guilty party compromises everyone’s privacy. In apps like Signal or iMessage, which use end-to-end encryption, nobody but the sender and recipient can read a message’s contents. But as experts have pointed out, Telegram doesn’t implement this in any meaningful sense. End-to-end encryption has to be enabled manually for one-on-one messaging, and it doesn’t work for group chats or public channels where illegal activity occurs in plain view.
“Telegram looks much more like a social network that is not end-to-end encrypted,” John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab, told The Verge. “And because of that, Telegram could potentially moderate or have access to those things, or be compelled to.”
The ecosystem of extremist activity on the platform is so well-known that it even has a nickname: “terrorgram.” And much of it happens in the open where Telegram could identify or remove it.
Telegram does occasionally take action on illegal content. The platform has blocked extremist channels after reports from the media and revealed users’ IP addresses in response to government requests, and an official Telegram channel called “Stop Child Abuse” claims that the platform blocks more than 1,000 channels engaged in child abuse every day in response to user reports.
But there have been numerous reports of lax moderation on Telegram, with its general approach being frequently described as “hands off” compared to competitors like Facebook (which still struggles to effectively moderate its own massive platform). Even when Telegram does take action, reporters previously discovered that the service may only hide the offending channels rather than block them.
All of this puts Telegram in a unique position. It’s not taking a significantly active role in preventing use of its platforms by criminals, the way most big public social networks do. But it’s not disavowing its role as a moderator, either, the way a truly private platform could. “Because Telegram does have this access, it puts a target on Durov for governmental attention in a way that would not be true if it really were an encrypted messenger,” said Scott-Railton.
Why was Pavel Durov arrested? And why were other tech executives upset?
According to a statement by French prosecutor Laure Beccuau, Durov is being questioned as part of an investigation on Telegram-related crimes, which was opened on July 8th.
The listed charges include “complicity” in crimes ranging from possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material to selling narcotics and money laundering. Durov is also being investigated for refusing to comply with requests to enable “interceptions” from law enforcement and for importing and providing an encryption tool without declaring it. (While encrypted messaging is legal in France, anyone importing the tech has to register with the government.) He’s also accused of “criminal association with a view to committing a crime” punishable by more than fine years in prison. The statement added that Durov’s detainment could last 96 hours, until Wednesday, August 28th.
When Durov was first taken into custody, though, these details weren’t available — and prominent tech executives immediately rallied to his defense. X owner Elon Musk posted “#FreePavel” and captioned a post referencing Durov’s detention with “dangerous times,” framing it as an attack on free speech. Chris Pavlovski, CEO of Rumble — a YouTube alternative popular with right-wingers — said on Sunday that he had “just safely departed from Europe” and that Durov’s arrest “crossed a red line.”
Durov’s arrest comes amid a heated debate over the European Commission’s power to hold tech platforms responsible for their users’ behavior. The Digital Services Act, which took effect last year, has led to investigations into how tech companies handle terrorism and disinformation. Musk has been recently sparring with EU Commissioner Thierry Breton over what Breton characterizes as a reckless failure to moderate X.
Over the weekend, the public response was strong enough that French President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement saying that the arrest took place as part of an ongoing investigation and was “in no way a political decision.” Meanwhile, Telegram insisted that it had “nothing to hide” and that it complied with EU laws. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” the company’s statement said.
Is the panic around Durov’s arrest justified?
With the caveat that the situation is still evolving, it seems like free speech is not the core issue — Durov’s alleged awareness of crimes is.
In posts on X, University of Lorraine law professor Florence G’sell noted that the most serious charges against Durov are the ones alleging direct criminal conspiracy and a refusal to cooperate with the police. By contrast, the charges around declaring encryption tech for import seem like minor offenses. (Notably, in the United States, certain import / export controls on encryption have been found to be violations of the First Amendment.) G’sell noted that there are still unknowns surrounding which criminal codes Durov could be charged under but that the key issue seems to be knowingly providing tech to criminals.
Arguably, Telegram has long operated on a knife-edge by attracting privacy-minded users — including a subset of drug dealers, terrorists, and child abusers — without implementing the kind of robust, widespread encryption that would indiscriminately protect every user and the platform itself. If child abuse or terrorism is happening in clear view, platforms have a clear legal responsibility to moderate that content.
That’s true in the US as well as in Europe. Daphne Keller, platform regulation director of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, called Durov’s arrest “unsurprising” in X posts and said it could happen under the US legal system, too. Failing to remove child abuse material or terrorist content “could make a platform liable in most legal systems, including ours,” she wrote. Section 230, which provides a broad shield for tech platforms, notably doesn’t immunize operators from federal criminal charges.
That said, there are still many unknowns with Durov’s arrest, and there may be further developments that justify some of the concern over implications for encryption tech. References to lawful “interceptions” — a term that typically refers to platforms facilitating surveillance of users’ communications — are particularly worrying here.
European and US police have increasingly targeted encrypted chat platforms used by criminals in recent years, hacking a platform called EncroChat and even going as far as to secretly run an encrypted phone company called Anom. Notably, those platforms were focused on serving criminals. Telegram, on the other hand, is aimed at the general public. In his interview with Carlson, Durov claimed that at one point, the FBI — which played a key role in the Anom operation — attempted to convince Telegram to include a surveillance backdoor.
“This case definitely illustrates — whatever you think about the quality of Telegram’s encryption — how many people care about the ability to communicate safely and privately with each other,” said Scott-Railton.
Durov’s arrest also raises the question of what should push a platform into legal liability. Serious crimes certainly occur on Facebook and nearly every other massive social network, and in at least some cases, somebody at the company was warned and failed to take action. It’s possible Durov was clearly, directly involved in a criminal conspiracy — but short of that, how ineffectual can a company’s moderation get before its CEO is detained the next time they set foot on European soil?

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Telegram doesn’t have the moderation of most social networks or the privacy of a true encrypted messaging app. That could leave its operator in hot water.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest in France on Saturday took the tech world by surprise. The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire was detained after touching down at an airport outside of Paris in his private plane. And with scant detail available, observers wondered what the unprecedented action meant for free speech, encryption, and the risks of running a platform that could be used for crime.

On Monday, French officials revealed that Durov is being questioned as part of a wide-ranging criminal investigation surrounding crimes that regularly happen on Telegram. While some of the accusations could still raise red flags, many seem to concern serious offenses — like child abuse and terrorism — that Durov would reasonably have been aware of. But many questions remain unanswered, including how worried other tech executives should be.

Crime happens on lots of platforms. Why does Telegram stand out?

Telegram is a messaging app that was founded in 2013 by brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov. While it’s sometimes portrayed as an “encrypted chat app,” it’s mostly popular as a semi-public communication service like Discord, particularly in countries like Russia, Ukraine, Iran, and India.

It’s a massive platform that is used by millions of innocent people every day, but it’s also gained a reputation for being a safe haven for all sorts of criminals, from scammers to terrorists.

Pavel Durov has crafted a brash pro-privacy persona in public. In an interview with Tucker Carlson this year, Durov gave examples of times that Telegram has declined to hand over data to governments: when Russia asked for information on protesters, for instance, and when US lawmakers requested data on participants in the January 6th Capitol riot. Earlier, at a 2015 TechCrunch event, Durov said that Telegram’s commitment to privacy was “more important than our fear of bad things happening, like terrorism.”

That sentiment isn’t radically out of step with what many encryption proponents believe, since strong encryption must protect all users. A “backdoor” targeting one guilty party compromises everyone’s privacy. In apps like Signal or iMessage, which use end-to-end encryption, nobody but the sender and recipient can read a message’s contents. But as experts have pointed out, Telegram doesn’t implement this in any meaningful sense. End-to-end encryption has to be enabled manually for one-on-one messaging, and it doesn’t work for group chats or public channels where illegal activity occurs in plain view.

“Telegram looks much more like a social network that is not end-to-end encrypted,” John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab, told The Verge. “And because of that, Telegram could potentially moderate or have access to those things, or be compelled to.”

The ecosystem of extremist activity on the platform is so well-known that it even has a nickname: “terrorgram.” And much of it happens in the open where Telegram could identify or remove it.

Telegram does occasionally take action on illegal content. The platform has blocked extremist channels after reports from the media and revealed users’ IP addresses in response to government requests, and an official Telegram channel called “Stop Child Abuse” claims that the platform blocks more than 1,000 channels engaged in child abuse every day in response to user reports.

But there have been numerous reports of lax moderation on Telegram, with its general approach being frequently described as “hands off” compared to competitors like Facebook (which still struggles to effectively moderate its own massive platform). Even when Telegram does take action, reporters previously discovered that the service may only hide the offending channels rather than block them.

All of this puts Telegram in a unique position. It’s not taking a significantly active role in preventing use of its platforms by criminals, the way most big public social networks do. But it’s not disavowing its role as a moderator, either, the way a truly private platform could. “Because Telegram does have this access, it puts a target on Durov for governmental attention in a way that would not be true if it really were an encrypted messenger,” said Scott-Railton.

Why was Pavel Durov arrested? And why were other tech executives upset?

According to a statement by French prosecutor Laure Beccuau, Durov is being questioned as part of an investigation on Telegram-related crimes, which was opened on July 8th.

The listed charges include “complicity” in crimes ranging from possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material to selling narcotics and money laundering. Durov is also being investigated for refusing to comply with requests to enable “interceptions” from law enforcement and for importing and providing an encryption tool without declaring it. (While encrypted messaging is legal in France, anyone importing the tech has to register with the government.) He’s also accused of “criminal association with a view to committing a crime” punishable by more than fine years in prison. The statement added that Durov’s detainment could last 96 hours, until Wednesday, August 28th.

When Durov was first taken into custody, though, these details weren’t available — and prominent tech executives immediately rallied to his defense. X owner Elon Musk posted “#FreePavel” and captioned a post referencing Durov’s detention with “dangerous times,” framing it as an attack on free speech. Chris Pavlovski, CEO of Rumble — a YouTube alternative popular with right-wingers — said on Sunday that he had “just safely departed from Europe” and that Durov’s arrest “crossed a red line.”

Durov’s arrest comes amid a heated debate over the European Commission’s power to hold tech platforms responsible for their users’ behavior. The Digital Services Act, which took effect last year, has led to investigations into how tech companies handle terrorism and disinformation. Musk has been recently sparring with EU Commissioner Thierry Breton over what Breton characterizes as a reckless failure to moderate X.

Over the weekend, the public response was strong enough that French President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement saying that the arrest took place as part of an ongoing investigation and was “in no way a political decision.” Meanwhile, Telegram insisted that it had “nothing to hide” and that it complied with EU laws. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” the company’s statement said.

Is the panic around Durov’s arrest justified?

With the caveat that the situation is still evolving, it seems like free speech is not the core issue — Durov’s alleged awareness of crimes is.

In posts on X, University of Lorraine law professor Florence G’sell noted that the most serious charges against Durov are the ones alleging direct criminal conspiracy and a refusal to cooperate with the police. By contrast, the charges around declaring encryption tech for import seem like minor offenses. (Notably, in the United States, certain import / export controls on encryption have been found to be violations of the First Amendment.) G’sell noted that there are still unknowns surrounding which criminal codes Durov could be charged under but that the key issue seems to be knowingly providing tech to criminals.

Arguably, Telegram has long operated on a knife-edge by attracting privacy-minded users — including a subset of drug dealers, terrorists, and child abusers — without implementing the kind of robust, widespread encryption that would indiscriminately protect every user and the platform itself. If child abuse or terrorism is happening in clear view, platforms have a clear legal responsibility to moderate that content.

That’s true in the US as well as in Europe. Daphne Keller, platform regulation director of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, called Durov’s arrest “unsurprising” in X posts and said it could happen under the US legal system, too. Failing to remove child abuse material or terrorist content “could make a platform liable in most legal systems, including ours,” she wrote. Section 230, which provides a broad shield for tech platforms, notably doesn’t immunize operators from federal criminal charges.

That said, there are still many unknowns with Durov’s arrest, and there may be further developments that justify some of the concern over implications for encryption tech. References to lawful “interceptions” — a term that typically refers to platforms facilitating surveillance of users’ communications — are particularly worrying here.

European and US police have increasingly targeted encrypted chat platforms used by criminals in recent years, hacking a platform called EncroChat and even going as far as to secretly run an encrypted phone company called Anom. Notably, those platforms were focused on serving criminals. Telegram, on the other hand, is aimed at the general public. In his interview with Carlson, Durov claimed that at one point, the FBI — which played a key role in the Anom operation — attempted to convince Telegram to include a surveillance backdoor.

“This case definitely illustrates — whatever you think about the quality of Telegram’s encryption — how many people care about the ability to communicate safely and privately with each other,” said Scott-Railton.

Durov’s arrest also raises the question of what should push a platform into legal liability. Serious crimes certainly occur on Facebook and nearly every other massive social network, and in at least some cases, somebody at the company was warned and failed to take action. It’s possible Durov was clearly, directly involved in a criminal conspiracy — but short of that, how ineffectual can a company’s moderation get before its CEO is detained the next time they set foot on European soil?

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Image: Boox

Boox, the company behind the pocket-friendly Palma e-reader, has revealed its cheapest device yet. At just $149.99, the Boox 6 Go features a six-inch 300ppi E ink display and a wider-than-the-Palma form factor for reading while on the go.
The device uses an upgraded Carta 1300 E ink display that’s supposed to offer deeper blacks and brighter whites. Like many of Boox’s other e-readers, the Boox 6 Go is pretty light, weighing in at just 146 grams (or 5 ounces) and measuring a quarter of an inch thick.

Image: Boox

Along with Android 12 and the Google Play Store on board, it runs the latest version of Boox’s firmware, which introduces a minimalistic interface, a dark mode option, and a new handwriting tool. The Boox 6 Go ships with a 2.0Ghz octa-core processor and 32GB of storage. But it only has 2GB of RAM, which could slow down performance — especially if you want to download and use Android apps.
Either way, the Boox Go 6 could be a good fit if you’re looking for an e-reader that’s a bit larger than the Palma, but cheaper and more portable than its other options, like the Go Color 7 or the Go 10.3.
You can check out the Boox Go 6 from the company’s website.

Image: Boox

Boox, the company behind the pocket-friendly Palma e-reader, has revealed its cheapest device yet. At just $149.99, the Boox 6 Go features a six-inch 300ppi E ink display and a wider-than-the-Palma form factor for reading while on the go.

The device uses an upgraded Carta 1300 E ink display that’s supposed to offer deeper blacks and brighter whites. Like many of Boox’s other e-readers, the Boox 6 Go is pretty light, weighing in at just 146 grams (or 5 ounces) and measuring a quarter of an inch thick.

Image: Boox

Along with Android 12 and the Google Play Store on board, it runs the latest version of Boox’s firmware, which introduces a minimalistic interface, a dark mode option, and a new handwriting tool. The Boox 6 Go ships with a 2.0Ghz octa-core processor and 32GB of storage. But it only has 2GB of RAM, which could slow down performance — especially if you want to download and use Android apps.

Either way, the Boox Go 6 could be a good fit if you’re looking for an e-reader that’s a bit larger than the Palma, but cheaper and more portable than its other options, like the Go Color 7 or the Go 10.3.

You can check out the Boox Go 6 from the company’s website.

Read More