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As long as there’s a breeze, the Shine 2.0 wind turbine can generate power all night long. | Image: Aurea Technologies

Unlike solar panels that can only generate power while the sun’s shining, Aurea Technologies’ new Shine 2.0 portable wind turbine can potentially work all day long. That is, as long as the weather cooperates and provides an 8mph breeze needed to keep the turbine’s blades spinning.
Now available for preorder through a Kickstarter campaign offering discounts on its full $571 retail pricing for early backers, the Shine 2.0 is an improved version of the company’s first portable wind turbine that arrives with several welcome upgrades.

Image: Aurea Technologies
The Shine 2.0 folds down into a portable package that looks like an elongated football.

The Shine 2.0, and an included three-foot-tall support with stability cables, all fold up into a three-pound package that looks like an elongated football. The company compares its size to a water bottle, and while it’s a bit larger than that, the turbine is still portable enough to be carried in a backpack.
The Shine 2.0 generates power in wind speeds ranging from eight to 28mph, and at max speed, it can produce up to 50W of power, which is enough to fully charge a laptop in about two hours. With wind speeds at the bare minimum of 8mph, charging speeds will be well below 5W, and the company estimates it would take over 11 hours to just charge a smartphone in a “slight breeze.”
As portable power solutions go, the compact wind turbine is designed for campers, van lifers, or anyone expecting to find themselves without a reliable source of power for a while, including those who frequently experience power outages. To help improve its performance, the Shine 2.0 can be upgraded with an optional six-foot tall mount that positions it higher in the air where winds can be stronger. Like solar panels, its power output is dependent on weather conditions and can vary greatly throughout the day, but unlike solar, the Shine 2.0 won’t necessarily stop when the sun sets.

A switch from a 13W Micro USB port to USB-C now allows the Shine 2.0 to charge connected devices at 75W speeds (from its internal 12,000mAh battery), and it can be used to charge larger portable power stations using an optional new “Power Station Adapter.”

Image: Aurea Technologies
A new app can be used to remotely monitor the Shine 2.0 turbine over Bluetooth, including wind speeds and charge time estimates.

The most welcome upgrade on the Shine 2.0 is a new Bluetooth-connected mobile app, which allows you to monitor its performance from afar. The app provides details on the current wind speed, including how much power is being generated and how much is being consumed.
There are always risks when backing products being delivered through crowdfunding campaigns and potentially even greater risks with electronic devices. Aurea Technologies successfully delivered its original Shine wind turbine to customers using crowdfunding, so while there may be less risk here, there’s still the potential for delays that could push the Shine 2.0’s expected April 2025 delivery back even further.

As long as there’s a breeze, the Shine 2.0 wind turbine can generate power all night long. | Image: Aurea Technologies

Unlike solar panels that can only generate power while the sun’s shining, Aurea Technologies’ new Shine 2.0 portable wind turbine can potentially work all day long. That is, as long as the weather cooperates and provides an 8mph breeze needed to keep the turbine’s blades spinning.

Now available for preorder through a Kickstarter campaign offering discounts on its full $571 retail pricing for early backers, the Shine 2.0 is an improved version of the company’s first portable wind turbine that arrives with several welcome upgrades.

Image: Aurea Technologies
The Shine 2.0 folds down into a portable package that looks like an elongated football.

The Shine 2.0, and an included three-foot-tall support with stability cables, all fold up into a three-pound package that looks like an elongated football. The company compares its size to a water bottle, and while it’s a bit larger than that, the turbine is still portable enough to be carried in a backpack.

The Shine 2.0 generates power in wind speeds ranging from eight to 28mph, and at max speed, it can produce up to 50W of power, which is enough to fully charge a laptop in about two hours. With wind speeds at the bare minimum of 8mph, charging speeds will be well below 5W, and the company estimates it would take over 11 hours to just charge a smartphone in a “slight breeze.”

As portable power solutions go, the compact wind turbine is designed for campers, van lifers, or anyone expecting to find themselves without a reliable source of power for a while, including those who frequently experience power outages. To help improve its performance, the Shine 2.0 can be upgraded with an optional six-foot tall mount that positions it higher in the air where winds can be stronger. Like solar panels, its power output is dependent on weather conditions and can vary greatly throughout the day, but unlike solar, the Shine 2.0 won’t necessarily stop when the sun sets.

A switch from a 13W Micro USB port to USB-C now allows the Shine 2.0 to charge connected devices at 75W speeds (from its internal 12,000mAh battery), and it can be used to charge larger portable power stations using an optional new “Power Station Adapter.”

Image: Aurea Technologies
A new app can be used to remotely monitor the Shine 2.0 turbine over Bluetooth, including wind speeds and charge time estimates.

The most welcome upgrade on the Shine 2.0 is a new Bluetooth-connected mobile app, which allows you to monitor its performance from afar. The app provides details on the current wind speed, including how much power is being generated and how much is being consumed.

There are always risks when backing products being delivered through crowdfunding campaigns and potentially even greater risks with electronic devices. Aurea Technologies successfully delivered its original Shine wind turbine to customers using crowdfunding, so while there may be less risk here, there’s still the potential for delays that could push the Shine 2.0’s expected April 2025 delivery back even further.

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Photo illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Between the Apple Watch Series 10, the Ultra 2, and the second-gen SE, there are more options than ever. We’ll help you sort through them. Editor’s note: Due to a patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo, new Apple Watch Series 9, 10, and Ultra 2 units sold in the US no longer have the blood oxygen feature. Older models are unaffected. You can tell if you have a unit with the blood oxygen feature disabled if the part number ends in LW/A.
It used to be easy to pick an Apple Watch. All you had to do was choose whether you wanted the larger model or the smaller one. Then Apple added optional cellular connectivity. Then, a more affordable Watch SE (now in its second generation) and, in 2022, the rugged Apple Watch Ultra (also now in its second generation). Suddenly, there are lots of options.
Now that Apple has announced the Series 10, perfectly good older versions of the Apple Watch will get discounted as retailers try to empty their inventory. You may also see more refurbished versions of these older models pop up. If you’re interested in more premium materials, like stainless steel, this is a great way to get a fancier version of last year’s watch. You won’t be missing out on too much, either. The past few years have seen iterative updates in terms of hardware — and the bulk of new features come from software updates. With that said, keep in mind that the latest version of watchOS, watchOS 11, doesn’t support the Series 4, 5, and first-gen SE.
Buying refurbished is one way that you may be able to upgrade from an older model without giving up blood oxygen. Due to a patent battle with Masimo, new Series 9 and Ultra 2 models sold in the US after January 18th, 2024, no longer have this feature. This is not a big deal for most people, but if that feature is important to you, older watches and Series 9 and Ultra 2 units sold by Apple before January 18th still had the feature. (As do watches overseas. The ban only impacts US units.)
What about the new Series 10? In a nutshell, it’s got a bigger screen, it’s about 10 percent thinner, and it’s lighter than previous models. It’s also got a new FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection feature. There are a ton of new colors and finishes, with titanium replacing stainless steel. All in all, it’s an iterative update but one we find meaningful in terms of readability and wearability.
So much choice can lead to analysis paralysis. But don’t worry. I’ve tested every single version of the Apple Watch you can buy right now — in addition to basically every other fitness watch and smartwatch on the market — and can steer you in the right direction.

Should you get an Apple Watch?

The Apple Watch Ultra was introduced in 2022 as the new rugged kid on the block.

The Apple Watch is the best overall smartwatch for iPhone users. Many smartwatches are better than the Apple Watch for hardcore athletes, even with the Ultra models in the mix. But other watches fall short when it comes to productivity, safety features, controlling your smart home, and interacting with other Apple devices and services. And the Apple Watch has the most robust third-party app ecosystem of any smartwatch on the market.
By their nature, wearables are incredibly personal devices — and you won’t get the benefits of an Apple Watch if you don’t wear it regularly. The last thing you want is to spend hundreds of dollars on a thing that ends up collecting dust in a drawer. The best way to avoid this is to stack the deck in your favor and prioritize comfort. Before you try to start mulling over which Apple Watch model you should get, take a second to figure out which size and strap material will best fit your wrist.

The SE and Series watches come in two sizes each. The SE comes in 40mm and 44mm, while the Series 7, 8, and 9 are 41mm and 45mm. The new Series 10 ups the size again to 42mm and 46mm. The larger models are better for readability, while the smaller ones are more comfortable for those with petite wrists. Both the SE and the Series watches have aluminum cases, but the Series 10 now comes in titanium, too. (Older models come in stainless steel.) Most people will be fine with aluminum, but if you’re clumsy or very active, you’ll benefit from the extra durability offered by stainless steel or titanium. You might also just like the look better — and that’s valid since watches are a personal piece of tech. Just be prepared to pay a few hundred bucks more for that.

Polished titanium replaces stainless steel with the new Series 10. It’s quite fetching.

As for straps, we recommend the nylon sport loop, as it’s the most breathable option, has the easiest clasp, and is less irritating than the silicone options, which is great for sensitive skin. If you want more fashionable options, we recommend checking out Amazon or Etsy for a wider variety of styles and more affordable pricing.
You’ll want to check third parties for leather accessories, too. With the Series 9, Apple announced it will no longer make leather accessories in a bid to achieve carbon neutrality. Apple does have a suede-like FineWoven alternative, but it’s expensive, and in my experience, the material is extremely polarizing. Most Verge staffers agree it works better on the watch than on the phone case, but save yourself some grief and feel it out for yourself at an Apple Store before buying.
The Ultra and Ultra 2 both come in one size — 49mm — and with titanium cases. They come with their own special straps, too: the trail loop, alpine loop, and ocean loop. As their names suggest, they’re geared toward runners, hikers, and divers, but you can pick whichever one suits your fancy. We recommend the trail loop, as it’s the lightest and most versatile of the three. All the Ultra straps work with any 44mm or 45mm Series watch, and the Ultra is compatible with any 44mm or 45mm Apple Watch strap.
And while the Apple Watch is the best smartwatch you can get as an iPhone user, you can also always check out our fitness tracker buying guide.
Apple Watch Series, SE, or Ultra?

This year’s Series 10 is a more modest update. It primarily focuses on making the watches more comfortable while adding a larger, wide-angle OLED display. If you’re upgrading from an older model, you’ll definitely notice that you can see more from the wrist. The speakers now play music and podcasts, and voice isolation on calls has been improved. There’s an added depth and water temperature sensor, which makes it a better companion for water sports as well. Fast charging has also been meaningfully improved. On the health front, Apple has brought FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection to the watch, along with the Series 9 and Ultra 2.
We recommend the second-gen Apple Watch SE for younger people and first-time smartwatch buyers. If you’re upgrading from an earlier Apple Watch, you want an always-on display, or you want more advanced health tracking, you should consider the Series 10. And if you want the brightest screen, the best durability and battery life, and even more advanced fitness features, we recommend the Ultra 2.

The Series 10 focuses on making the watch more readable and comfortable to wear.

The Series 10 is Apple’s flagship smartwatch. Compared to earlier models, it’s going to get you the fastest processor, quick charging, a larger display, and all the latest sensors. Prices start at $399 for the 42mm version and $429 for the 46mm. Adding LTE connectivity will add $100 to the price, plus whatever your carrier charges for the service. Prices start at $699 for the polished titanium models.

The second-gen SE has a nylon composite back, which helps shave $30 off the original’s price. You can get a cellular version, and it supports many of the same advanced features as the last-gen Series 8, like fall detection, emergency calling, Fitness Plus, Apple Pay, and Family Setup. The biggest difference is that it lacks an always-on display, the EKG sensor, the temperature sensors, and the SpO2 sensor. The display is also slightly smaller on both sizes of the SE. It starts at $249 for the 40mm and $279 for the 44mm. Adding LTE will tack on an extra $50 in addition to your carrier’s fees.

To be perfectly honest, if you’re young and healthy, you’re not really missing out on EKG or SpO2. (Also, new watches sold in the US currently have the SpO2 feature disabled anyway.) The SE’s heart rate sensor is still capable of providing abnormal heart rate alerts. Right now, Apple’s SpO2 features are limited to spot checks. There’s not much you can do with that information, and unlike the EKGs, this is only cleared for general wellness purposes. It will not be able to replace a fingertip pulse oximeter, and you should never use it in this way.
The main purpose of the EKG sensor is to enable atrial fibrillation detection — and if your doctor’s given you a clean bill of health, you will likely only use this feature once or twice. According to the American Heart Association, the biggest risk factors for AFib are advanced age, underlying heart conditions, high blood pressure, family history, and sleep apnea, among other lifestyle choices. If this doesn’t apply to you, the SE is still going to give you an excellent health tracking experience and all the same smart features. Young, first-time buyers may as well save the extra $150 — so long as the lack of an always-on display isn’t a deal-breaker.

There are some situations where opting for the Series 10 is the better choice, however, like if you want an always-on display or need to have the latest and greatest. The larger, wide-angle OLED display also provides much better readability for anyone with bad eyesight. It’s also the better choice if you have a heart condition or are at a higher risk of developing AFib. If you suspect you may have sleep apnea, you’ll also need a Series 9, 10, or Ultra 2 to access that feature.

The Ultra 2 currently sits atop the lineup as Apple’s premium smartwatch. It’s visually distinct from both the Series and SE — and at 49mm, it’s the biggest of them all. Not only that, it has increased durability, water resistance, and a raised lip to protect the flat display. It also has an additional water temperature and depth sensor for divers, three microphones, and two speakers, which enable the Siren. It’s also got the Action button, which can be programmed for various activities, pause workouts, and trigger the Siren. At $799, this is the most expensive Apple Watch, but every model comes equipped with LTE capability. If you have an Ultra and are wondering if you should upgrade to the Ultra 2, the answer is no. If you have an Ultra 2 and are wondering if you should upgrade to the new black color, the answer is also no. (Admittedly, it does look quite nice.) It’s too soon, and there’s not enough of a difference. We recommend the Ultra 2 for new buyers only.

If battery life is your highest priority, getting either Ultra is the best choice. In testing, we got up to 60 hours without Low Power Mode enabled. However, if you use about one hour of GPS tracking a day or take calls, you’re more likely to get around two days. It’s also the better choice if you frequently hike, dive, or run trails. While marketed as a hardcore watch for explorers, in our opinion, it’s more of an aspirational watch for weekend warriors and intermediate athletes — or anyone who wants to be at that level.
You’re not going to beat either Ultra on battery life, but you can stretch out the battery life on the Series 4 or later with Low Power Mode. You can even sleep track with Low Power Mode on, though it’ll turn off background health sensors. With the Series 10, Apple has improved fast charging as well. Official estimates are that you can get 0 to 80 percent in 30 minutes, which roughly matches our real-world testing. Just be sure you’re using the correct charging accessories.
If you have smaller wrists, you may want to opt for the Series 10 as it has fast charging and is more comfortable to wear long-term. Faster charging comes in clutch when you’re about to head to bed and you’ve only got 15 percent battery. Also, if you’re the type that values futureproofing, the Series 10’s hardware will be able to support newer features for a longer period of time thanks to its newer processor. This is why folks who love their watch and are looking to upgrade from a Series 4 or older should also pick the Series 10. If you’re already in the habit of wearing the watch daily, you’ll get more mileage out of it as the SE is more of a gateway device, and the Ultra is overkill for the average joe.
The best Apple Watch if you’re on a budget

The latest Watch SE is the way to go for people who want to futureproof their hardware without breaking the bank (so long as you’re okay forgoing a larger display). You’re getting the same processor as the Series 8 and original Ultra, plus Crash Detection.
While the second-gen SE is an excellent watch, it’s not always the right choice. It’s meant to be a gateway watch, so it’s best suited to folks who are completely new to the Apple Watch and want to spend as little as possible. If you’re looking to upgrade from an older watch but don’t want to pony up for the Series 10, there’s another option: buying a used or refurbished Apple Watch.
Buying secondhand devices is also better for the environment and a more affordable way to get more expensive materials. Materials like sapphire glass, stainless steel, or titanium can add hundreds to the price of a new watch. It’s also a good way to save money if you’re just not excited by the Series 10’s features but want more than what the SE offers.

Opting for a Series 9 now means you may be able to score stainless steel for a discounted price.

The second-gen SE is excellent for folks on a budget or those who want a smaller case size.

It’ll take some patience to find the best price and the model you want. After all, you’re limited by what’s available. However, there are several sites that offer older models. Sometimes, you can also find deals and sales as well. If you’re worried about getting scammed, look for deals recommended by sources you trust (cough, cough, Verge Deals). Apple also sells its own refurbished models, which come with a full Apple warranty and are generally in a “like new” condition, though the selection can be limited, and you likely won’t pay less than a new SE. Sites like Back Market will also let you sort by condition and obtain a 12-month warranty.
If you’re considering a used or refurbished model, we recommend the Series 7 or Series 8 because they’ll get you a larger screen for readability. We also recommend that you use $250 as a benchmark since that’s the price of a new base model Watch SE. With that said, if you’re getting premium materials, going a little higher is fine. Do not get a refurbished Series 3 or older. Although you can find them for $100 (sometimes less!), they can’t run the latest software and even struggle to update the newest software they do support.
The best Apple Watch for kids

If you want your child to have an Apple Watch, we recommend picking a cellular Apple Watch SE or, if you can find one, a refurbished Series 4, 5, or 6 with cellular. All of these watches come in smaller sizes than the Series 7, 8, or 9, which will likely better fit their wrist. Also, the lower price will give you better peace of mind if you have a rambunctious kid. They likely won’t need many of the marquee features found in watchOS 11, either. That being said, if you want the most futureproof options, the second-gen SE and Series 6 are the best choices.
Since you’re buying for children, you’ll likely want to use Family Setup, as it will give you greater parental controls. (You can read our review of the feature here.) However, there are technical specifications that you’ll need to match in order to use it. You’ll need a cellular version of the device, and it must at least support watchOS 7. Apple’s support page states that you need a Series 4 or later or an Apple Watch SE for Family Setup.

The second-gen SE is a good option to give to your kids.

If you opt for the Family Setup route, not every feature will be available. While you can get Apple Pay and certain health features, you will not get the following: health data sharing, respiratory rate, irregular heart rhythm notifications, EKG, Cycle Tracking, Sleep, Blood Oxygen, Podcasts, Remote, News, Home, and Shortcuts.
The best Apple Watch for older relatives

This can be a tricky one, but we recommend a cellular Series 9 or 10.
For starters, the larger screen is much easier on the eyes. You can also increase the text size to be larger than on the SE or older Apple Watches. The always-on display aids accessibility, especially if arm mobility is a consideration. You’ll also get the full suite of health features, including irregular heartbeat alerts, walking steadiness, EKGs, fall detection, sleep apnea detection, and emergency calling. These models also have the double tap feature and improved Siri functionality, which may be helpful for elderly relatives with dexterity issues.
You can use the Ultra, but you should keep its size and weight in mind. Depending on your loved one’s wrist size and health, it may not make sense. Both sizes of the Series 10 have comparable screen sizes but are much lighter and more comfortable to wear.

The larger screen size but lighter weight of the Series 10 may benefit older relatives.

If your older relative has an iPhone and you’re hoping to use this for health reasons, we also don’t recommend Family Setup. That’s because you cannot use features like irregular heart rhythm notifications, EKG, and health data sharing. If your relative doesn’t have an iPhone, however, Family Setup is a fine option. You’ll still get high and low heart rate notifications, walking steadiness, and fall detection.
Update, September 18th: Updated to add extra info about the Apple Watch Series 10.

Photo illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Between the Apple Watch Series 10, the Ultra 2, and the second-gen SE, there are more options than ever. We’ll help you sort through them.

Editor’s note: Due to a patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo, new Apple Watch Series 9, 10, and Ultra 2 units sold in the US no longer have the blood oxygen feature. Older models are unaffected. You can tell if you have a unit with the blood oxygen feature disabled if the part number ends in LW/A.

It used to be easy to pick an Apple Watch. All you had to do was choose whether you wanted the larger model or the smaller one. Then Apple added optional cellular connectivity. Then, a more affordable Watch SE (now in its second generation) and, in 2022, the rugged Apple Watch Ultra (also now in its second generation). Suddenly, there are lots of options.

Now that Apple has announced the Series 10, perfectly good older versions of the Apple Watch will get discounted as retailers try to empty their inventory. You may also see more refurbished versions of these older models pop up. If you’re interested in more premium materials, like stainless steel, this is a great way to get a fancier version of last year’s watch. You won’t be missing out on too much, either. The past few years have seen iterative updates in terms of hardware — and the bulk of new features come from software updates. With that said, keep in mind that the latest version of watchOS, watchOS 11, doesn’t support the Series 4, 5, and first-gen SE.

Buying refurbished is one way that you may be able to upgrade from an older model without giving up blood oxygen. Due to a patent battle with Masimo, new Series 9 and Ultra 2 models sold in the US after January 18th, 2024, no longer have this feature. This is not a big deal for most people, but if that feature is important to you, older watches and Series 9 and Ultra 2 units sold by Apple before January 18th still had the feature. (As do watches overseas. The ban only impacts US units.)

What about the new Series 10? In a nutshell, it’s got a bigger screen, it’s about 10 percent thinner, and it’s lighter than previous models. It’s also got a new FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection feature. There are a ton of new colors and finishes, with titanium replacing stainless steel. All in all, it’s an iterative update but one we find meaningful in terms of readability and wearability.

So much choice can lead to analysis paralysis. But don’t worry. I’ve tested every single version of the Apple Watch you can buy right now — in addition to basically every other fitness watch and smartwatch on the market — and can steer you in the right direction.

Should you get an Apple Watch?

The Apple Watch Ultra was introduced in 2022 as the new rugged kid on the block.

The Apple Watch is the best overall smartwatch for iPhone users. Many smartwatches are better than the Apple Watch for hardcore athletes, even with the Ultra models in the mix. But other watches fall short when it comes to productivity, safety features, controlling your smart home, and interacting with other Apple devices and services. And the Apple Watch has the most robust third-party app ecosystem of any smartwatch on the market.

By their nature, wearables are incredibly personal devices — and you won’t get the benefits of an Apple Watch if you don’t wear it regularly. The last thing you want is to spend hundreds of dollars on a thing that ends up collecting dust in a drawer. The best way to avoid this is to stack the deck in your favor and prioritize comfort. Before you try to start mulling over which Apple Watch model you should get, take a second to figure out which size and strap material will best fit your wrist.

The SE and Series watches come in two sizes each. The SE comes in 40mm and 44mm, while the Series 7, 8, and 9 are 41mm and 45mm. The new Series 10 ups the size again to 42mm and 46mm. The larger models are better for readability, while the smaller ones are more comfortable for those with petite wrists. Both the SE and the Series watches have aluminum cases, but the Series 10 now comes in titanium, too. (Older models come in stainless steel.) Most people will be fine with aluminum, but if you’re clumsy or very active, you’ll benefit from the extra durability offered by stainless steel or titanium. You might also just like the look better — and that’s valid since watches are a personal piece of tech. Just be prepared to pay a few hundred bucks more for that.

Polished titanium replaces stainless steel with the new Series 10. It’s quite fetching.

As for straps, we recommend the nylon sport loop, as it’s the most breathable option, has the easiest clasp, and is less irritating than the silicone options, which is great for sensitive skin. If you want more fashionable options, we recommend checking out Amazon or Etsy for a wider variety of styles and more affordable pricing.

You’ll want to check third parties for leather accessories, too. With the Series 9, Apple announced it will no longer make leather accessories in a bid to achieve carbon neutrality. Apple does have a suede-like FineWoven alternative, but it’s expensive, and in my experience, the material is extremely polarizing. Most Verge staffers agree it works better on the watch than on the phone case, but save yourself some grief and feel it out for yourself at an Apple Store before buying.

The Ultra and Ultra 2 both come in one size — 49mm — and with titanium cases. They come with their own special straps, too: the trail loop, alpine loop, and ocean loop. As their names suggest, they’re geared toward runners, hikers, and divers, but you can pick whichever one suits your fancy. We recommend the trail loop, as it’s the lightest and most versatile of the three. All the Ultra straps work with any 44mm or 45mm Series watch, and the Ultra is compatible with any 44mm or 45mm Apple Watch strap.

And while the Apple Watch is the best smartwatch you can get as an iPhone user, you can also always check out our fitness tracker buying guide.

Apple Watch Series, SE, or Ultra?

This year’s Series 10 is a more modest update. It primarily focuses on making the watches more comfortable while adding a larger, wide-angle OLED display. If you’re upgrading from an older model, you’ll definitely notice that you can see more from the wrist. The speakers now play music and podcasts, and voice isolation on calls has been improved. There’s an added depth and water temperature sensor, which makes it a better companion for water sports as well. Fast charging has also been meaningfully improved. On the health front, Apple has brought FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection to the watch, along with the Series 9 and Ultra 2.

We recommend the second-gen Apple Watch SE for younger people and first-time smartwatch buyers. If you’re upgrading from an earlier Apple Watch, you want an always-on display, or you want more advanced health tracking, you should consider the Series 10. And if you want the brightest screen, the best durability and battery life, and even more advanced fitness features, we recommend the Ultra 2.

The Series 10 focuses on making the watch more readable and comfortable to wear.

The Series 10 is Apple’s flagship smartwatch. Compared to earlier models, it’s going to get you the fastest processor, quick charging, a larger display, and all the latest sensors. Prices start at $399 for the 42mm version and $429 for the 46mm. Adding LTE connectivity will add $100 to the price, plus whatever your carrier charges for the service. Prices start at $699 for the polished titanium models.

The second-gen SE has a nylon composite back, which helps shave $30 off the original’s price. You can get a cellular version, and it supports many of the same advanced features as the last-gen Series 8, like fall detection, emergency calling, Fitness Plus, Apple Pay, and Family Setup. The biggest difference is that it lacks an always-on display, the EKG sensor, the temperature sensors, and the SpO2 sensor. The display is also slightly smaller on both sizes of the SE. It starts at $249 for the 40mm and $279 for the 44mm. Adding LTE will tack on an extra $50 in addition to your carrier’s fees.

To be perfectly honest, if you’re young and healthy, you’re not really missing out on EKG or SpO2. (Also, new watches sold in the US currently have the SpO2 feature disabled anyway.) The SE’s heart rate sensor is still capable of providing abnormal heart rate alerts. Right now, Apple’s SpO2 features are limited to spot checks. There’s not much you can do with that information, and unlike the EKGs, this is only cleared for general wellness purposes. It will not be able to replace a fingertip pulse oximeter, and you should never use it in this way.

The main purpose of the EKG sensor is to enable atrial fibrillation detection — and if your doctor’s given you a clean bill of health, you will likely only use this feature once or twice. According to the American Heart Association, the biggest risk factors for AFib are advanced age, underlying heart conditions, high blood pressure, family history, and sleep apnea, among other lifestyle choices. If this doesn’t apply to you, the SE is still going to give you an excellent health tracking experience and all the same smart features. Young, first-time buyers may as well save the extra $150 — so long as the lack of an always-on display isn’t a deal-breaker.

There are some situations where opting for the Series 10 is the better choice, however, like if you want an always-on display or need to have the latest and greatest. The larger, wide-angle OLED display also provides much better readability for anyone with bad eyesight. It’s also the better choice if you have a heart condition or are at a higher risk of developing AFib. If you suspect you may have sleep apnea, you’ll also need a Series 9, 10, or Ultra 2 to access that feature.

The Ultra 2 currently sits atop the lineup as Apple’s premium smartwatch. It’s visually distinct from both the Series and SE — and at 49mm, it’s the biggest of them all. Not only that, it has increased durability, water resistance, and a raised lip to protect the flat display. It also has an additional water temperature and depth sensor for divers, three microphones, and two speakers, which enable the Siren. It’s also got the Action button, which can be programmed for various activities, pause workouts, and trigger the Siren. At $799, this is the most expensive Apple Watch, but every model comes equipped with LTE capability. If you have an Ultra and are wondering if you should upgrade to the Ultra 2, the answer is no. If you have an Ultra 2 and are wondering if you should upgrade to the new black color, the answer is also no. (Admittedly, it does look quite nice.) It’s too soon, and there’s not enough of a difference. We recommend the Ultra 2 for new buyers only.

If battery life is your highest priority, getting either Ultra is the best choice. In testing, we got up to 60 hours without Low Power Mode enabled. However, if you use about one hour of GPS tracking a day or take calls, you’re more likely to get around two days. It’s also the better choice if you frequently hike, dive, or run trails. While marketed as a hardcore watch for explorers, in our opinion, it’s more of an aspirational watch for weekend warriors and intermediate athletes — or anyone who wants to be at that level.

You’re not going to beat either Ultra on battery life, but you can stretch out the battery life on the Series 4 or later with Low Power Mode. You can even sleep track with Low Power Mode on, though it’ll turn off background health sensors. With the Series 10, Apple has improved fast charging as well. Official estimates are that you can get 0 to 80 percent in 30 minutes, which roughly matches our real-world testing. Just be sure you’re using the correct charging accessories.

If you have smaller wrists, you may want to opt for the Series 10 as it has fast charging and is more comfortable to wear long-term. Faster charging comes in clutch when you’re about to head to bed and you’ve only got 15 percent battery. Also, if you’re the type that values futureproofing, the Series 10’s hardware will be able to support newer features for a longer period of time thanks to its newer processor. This is why folks who love their watch and are looking to upgrade from a Series 4 or older should also pick the Series 10. If you’re already in the habit of wearing the watch daily, you’ll get more mileage out of it as the SE is more of a gateway device, and the Ultra is overkill for the average joe.

The best Apple Watch if you’re on a budget

The latest Watch SE is the way to go for people who want to futureproof their hardware without breaking the bank (so long as you’re okay forgoing a larger display). You’re getting the same processor as the Series 8 and original Ultra, plus Crash Detection.

While the second-gen SE is an excellent watch, it’s not always the right choice. It’s meant to be a gateway watch, so it’s best suited to folks who are completely new to the Apple Watch and want to spend as little as possible. If you’re looking to upgrade from an older watch but don’t want to pony up for the Series 10, there’s another option: buying a used or refurbished Apple Watch.

Buying secondhand devices is also better for the environment and a more affordable way to get more expensive materials. Materials like sapphire glass, stainless steel, or titanium can add hundreds to the price of a new watch. It’s also a good way to save money if you’re just not excited by the Series 10’s features but want more than what the SE offers.

Opting for a Series 9 now means you may be able to score stainless steel for a discounted price.

The second-gen SE is excellent for folks on a budget or those who want a smaller case size.

It’ll take some patience to find the best price and the model you want. After all, you’re limited by what’s available. However, there are several sites that offer older models. Sometimes, you can also find deals and sales as well. If you’re worried about getting scammed, look for deals recommended by sources you trust (cough, cough, Verge Deals). Apple also sells its own refurbished models, which come with a full Apple warranty and are generally in a “like new” condition, though the selection can be limited, and you likely won’t pay less than a new SE. Sites like Back Market will also let you sort by condition and obtain a 12-month warranty.

If you’re considering a used or refurbished model, we recommend the Series 7 or Series 8 because they’ll get you a larger screen for readability. We also recommend that you use $250 as a benchmark since that’s the price of a new base model Watch SE. With that said, if you’re getting premium materials, going a little higher is fine. Do not get a refurbished Series 3 or older. Although you can find them for $100 (sometimes less!), they can’t run the latest software and even struggle to update the newest software they do support.

The best Apple Watch for kids

If you want your child to have an Apple Watch, we recommend picking a cellular Apple Watch SE or, if you can find one, a refurbished Series 4, 5, or 6 with cellular. All of these watches come in smaller sizes than the Series 7, 8, or 9, which will likely better fit their wrist. Also, the lower price will give you better peace of mind if you have a rambunctious kid. They likely won’t need many of the marquee features found in watchOS 11, either. That being said, if you want the most futureproof options, the second-gen SE and Series 6 are the best choices.

Since you’re buying for children, you’ll likely want to use Family Setup, as it will give you greater parental controls. (You can read our review of the feature here.) However, there are technical specifications that you’ll need to match in order to use it. You’ll need a cellular version of the device, and it must at least support watchOS 7. Apple’s support page states that you need a Series 4 or later or an Apple Watch SE for Family Setup.

The second-gen SE is a good option to give to your kids.

If you opt for the Family Setup route, not every feature will be available. While you can get Apple Pay and certain health features, you will not get the following: health data sharing, respiratory rate, irregular heart rhythm notifications, EKG, Cycle Tracking, Sleep, Blood Oxygen, Podcasts, Remote, News, Home, and Shortcuts.

The best Apple Watch for older relatives

This can be a tricky one, but we recommend a cellular Series 9 or 10.

For starters, the larger screen is much easier on the eyes. You can also increase the text size to be larger than on the SE or older Apple Watches. The always-on display aids accessibility, especially if arm mobility is a consideration. You’ll also get the full suite of health features, including irregular heartbeat alerts, walking steadiness, EKGs, fall detection, sleep apnea detection, and emergency calling. These models also have the double tap feature and improved Siri functionality, which may be helpful for elderly relatives with dexterity issues.

You can use the Ultra, but you should keep its size and weight in mind. Depending on your loved one’s wrist size and health, it may not make sense. Both sizes of the Series 10 have comparable screen sizes but are much lighter and more comfortable to wear.

The larger screen size but lighter weight of the Series 10 may benefit older relatives.

If your older relative has an iPhone and you’re hoping to use this for health reasons, we also don’t recommend Family Setup. That’s because you cannot use features like irregular heart rhythm notifications, EKG, and health data sharing. If your relative doesn’t have an iPhone, however, Family Setup is a fine option. You’ll still get high and low heart rate notifications, walking steadiness, and fall detection.

Update, September 18th: Updated to add extra info about the Apple Watch Series 10.

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon’s warehouse workers and delivery drivers, the people critical to the company’s ability to get you things fast via Amazon Prime, will soon get Prime subscriptions as part of their employment. The new perk was revealed along with other benefit updates, including an average pay raise, announced by the company on Wednesday.
The free Prime subscription will be part of the benefits package for “front-line” workers starting “early next year,” according to a blog post. They’ll have free Prime for “as long as they are a part of the Amazon team.” Amazon Prime typically costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year.
As for pay, Amazon says that the frontline workers will be getting “at least” $1.50 more per hour beginning next month, which the company claims will bring the average base wage for these workers up to more than $22 per hour. The move follows a $2.1 billion investment in its Delivery Service Partner program announced last week to help those partners increase pay for their delivery drivers to “a national average of nearly $22.00 per hour.”
Amazon also offers language classes through a program called Career Choice, and now, instead of having to wait 90 days to be able to enroll, frontline workers can sign up for them “from day one.”
Amazon has raised pay for warehouse workers several times over the past few years. The company is announcing this latest raise ahead of its October Prime Day event.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon’s warehouse workers and delivery drivers, the people critical to the company’s ability to get you things fast via Amazon Prime, will soon get Prime subscriptions as part of their employment. The new perk was revealed along with other benefit updates, including an average pay raise, announced by the company on Wednesday.

The free Prime subscription will be part of the benefits package for “front-line” workers starting “early next year,” according to a blog post. They’ll have free Prime for “as long as they are a part of the Amazon team.” Amazon Prime typically costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year.

As for pay, Amazon says that the frontline workers will be getting “at least” $1.50 more per hour beginning next month, which the company claims will bring the average base wage for these workers up to more than $22 per hour. The move follows a $2.1 billion investment in its Delivery Service Partner program announced last week to help those partners increase pay for their delivery drivers to “a national average of nearly $22.00 per hour.”

Amazon also offers language classes through a program called Career Choice, and now, instead of having to wait 90 days to be able to enroll, frontline workers can sign up for them “from day one.”

Amazon has raised pay for warehouse workers several times over the past few years. The company is announcing this latest raise ahead of its October Prime Day event.

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Photo by Sjoerd van der Wal / Getty Images

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a bill Wednesday requiring new cars to have AM radio, which was introduced in response to an increasing number of vehicles coming out without the first-generation radio broadcast technology. The bill passed the committee on a roll-call vote of 45-2 and now heads to the full House for final approval.
The bill, titled the AM for Every Vehicle Act, would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue a rule that “requires automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio in their vehicles without a separate or additional payment, fee, or surcharge.”
Supporters say they are pushing the bill out of a concern that the slow demise of AM radio could make it more difficult to broadcast emergency information during a natural disaster or other related events. Conservatives are also worried about losing a lucrative platform for right-wing news and media.
The slow demise of AM radio could make it more difficult to broadcast emergency information
“With hurricane season in full swing, it has never been more important to pass the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act and ensure that this life-saving communication tool remains in vehicles,” Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass), who coauthored the bill, said in a statement. He noted that the bill has 60 cosponsors in the Senate, giving it a filibuster-proof majority.
Several automakers have introduced new models in recent years without AM radio capabilities, including popular electric vehicles from Tesla, Polestar, and Rivian. They argue that AM radio is incompatible with EVs, citing electromagnetic interference from the powertrain. Indeed, Tesla made this same argument when it removed AM radio from its vehicles back in 2018. Ford introduced the 2024 Mustang without AM radio but later said it would put it back after receiving pushback from lawmakers.
AM, which stands for amplitude modulation, differs from FM, or frequency modulation, based on how the carrier wave is modulated, or altered. Unlike frequency, amplitude can be affected by the noise emitted from electric devices, including smartphones, TVs, computers, and EVs. The problem is when the interference gets picked up by the radio, which can lead to distortion and crackling.
Some automakers argue that AM radio is incompatible with EVs
Automakers generally see AM radio as an obsolete technology, arguing that there are other, better technologies, such as internet streaming, HD radio delivered on FM bands, or some apps that provide AM content that will make up for the absence of AM radio in vehicles.
Critics say the bill could also add to the costs of producing EVs at a time when many manufacturers are struggling to rein in their costs.
“With a new mandate, [EV companies] will have to go through a significant powertrain redesign, vehicle redesign,” Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, said in an interview earlier this year, “because of the degree to which electric motor generates this [electromagnetic] interference.”

Photo by Sjoerd van der Wal / Getty Images

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a bill Wednesday requiring new cars to have AM radio, which was introduced in response to an increasing number of vehicles coming out without the first-generation radio broadcast technology. The bill passed the committee on a roll-call vote of 45-2 and now heads to the full House for final approval.

The bill, titled the AM for Every Vehicle Act, would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue a rule that “requires automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio in their vehicles without a separate or additional payment, fee, or surcharge.”

Supporters say they are pushing the bill out of a concern that the slow demise of AM radio could make it more difficult to broadcast emergency information during a natural disaster or other related events. Conservatives are also worried about losing a lucrative platform for right-wing news and media.

“With hurricane season in full swing, it has never been more important to pass the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act and ensure that this life-saving communication tool remains in vehicles,” Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass), who coauthored the bill, said in a statement. He noted that the bill has 60 cosponsors in the Senate, giving it a filibuster-proof majority.

Several automakers have introduced new models in recent years without AM radio capabilities, including popular electric vehicles from Tesla, Polestar, and Rivian. They argue that AM radio is incompatible with EVs, citing electromagnetic interference from the powertrain. Indeed, Tesla made this same argument when it removed AM radio from its vehicles back in 2018. Ford introduced the 2024 Mustang without AM radio but later said it would put it back after receiving pushback from lawmakers.

AM, which stands for amplitude modulation, differs from FM, or frequency modulation, based on how the carrier wave is modulated, or altered. Unlike frequency, amplitude can be affected by the noise emitted from electric devices, including smartphones, TVs, computers, and EVs. The problem is when the interference gets picked up by the radio, which can lead to distortion and crackling.

Automakers generally see AM radio as an obsolete technology, arguing that there are other, better technologies, such as internet streaming, HD radio delivered on FM bands, or some apps that provide AM content that will make up for the absence of AM radio in vehicles.

Critics say the bill could also add to the costs of producing EVs at a time when many manufacturers are struggling to rein in their costs.

“With a new mandate, [EV companies] will have to go through a significant powertrain redesign, vehicle redesign,” Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, said in an interview earlier this year, “because of the degree to which electric motor generates this [electromagnetic] interference.”

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Photo by Sheena Vasani / The Verge

OnePlus typically offered competitive specs and features in its devices at aggressive prices, but that’s softened a bit in recent years. The fairly recent OnePlus Pad 2 has some nice qualities, like a 3000 x 2120 resolution / 144Hz display that looks great, but its $550 price, plus add-ons, isn’t exactly cheap. Right now, though, there’s a sweet deal that helps.
You can get the OnePlus Pad 2 for $449.99 ($100 off) directly from OnePlus when you use the checkout code SEP50, and it’s accompanied by a free pair of OnePlus Buds 3 wireless noise-canceling earbuds ($99.99 value). As a whole, the package deal saves $200 on the total value of about $650.

The OnePlus Pad 2 comes with a fairly spacious 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM for a little performance headroom. It utilizes it well, with some speedy performance for everyday tasks and zipping around between Android apps. While it’s built for productivity (especially if you opt for the stylus and keyboard), the app ecosystem in the Android tablet space doesn’t really hold up its end of the bargain. It makes a fine entertainment tablet, though, especially if you want a slate with a nice, hefty build and that excellent screen.

Read our OnePlus Pad 2 review.

More hump day deals

The latest Amazon Echo Show 5 bundled with a Sengled Smart Color Bulb is $59.99 (about $50 off) at Amazon. The combo saves $20 compared to buying them separately, making the bulb essentially free. (The only time it’s been cheaper than this was during Prime Day.) An Echo Show display and a smart bulb is a bit of a smart home starter kit, allowing you to easily see weather and news updates and control the light or other smart accessories with Alexa voice controls.

8BitDo’s Ultimate C Wired Controller for Windows and the Steam Deck is just $14.99 ($5 off) at Amazon. The colorful controller comes in pastel green and purple, and it’s a great no-frills option if you just want a simple plug-and-play gamepad with comfy ergonomics and the solid D-pads 8BitDo is known for.
If you’re a Pixel Watch 2 or Pixel Watch 3 owner, you can get an additional Google Pixel Watch 3 USB-C Fast Charging Cable for $25.11 (around $4 off) at Amazon. The magnetic charging puck can quickly juice up the recent Pixel Watch models and get you through your day with even just a 20- or 30-minute top-up. But since it’s a proprietary charger, it helps to have a backup or the convenience of multiple charging spots in your home. Read our review of the new Pixel Watch 3.

Photo by Sheena Vasani / The Verge

OnePlus typically offered competitive specs and features in its devices at aggressive prices, but that’s softened a bit in recent years. The fairly recent OnePlus Pad 2 has some nice qualities, like a 3000 x 2120 resolution / 144Hz display that looks great, but its $550 price, plus add-ons, isn’t exactly cheap. Right now, though, there’s a sweet deal that helps.

You can get the OnePlus Pad 2 for $449.99 ($100 off) directly from OnePlus when you use the checkout code SEP50, and it’s accompanied by a free pair of OnePlus Buds 3 wireless noise-canceling earbuds ($99.99 value). As a whole, the package deal saves $200 on the total value of about $650.

The OnePlus Pad 2 comes with a fairly spacious 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM for a little performance headroom. It utilizes it well, with some speedy performance for everyday tasks and zipping around between Android apps. While it’s built for productivity (especially if you opt for the stylus and keyboard), the app ecosystem in the Android tablet space doesn’t really hold up its end of the bargain. It makes a fine entertainment tablet, though, especially if you want a slate with a nice, hefty build and that excellent screen.

Read our OnePlus Pad 2 review.

More hump day deals

The latest Amazon Echo Show 5 bundled with a Sengled Smart Color Bulb is $59.99 (about $50 off) at Amazon. The combo saves $20 compared to buying them separately, making the bulb essentially free. (The only time it’s been cheaper than this was during Prime Day.) An Echo Show display and a smart bulb is a bit of a smart home starter kit, allowing you to easily see weather and news updates and control the light or other smart accessories with Alexa voice controls.

8BitDo’s Ultimate C Wired Controller for Windows and the Steam Deck is just $14.99 ($5 off) at Amazon. The colorful controller comes in pastel green and purple, and it’s a great no-frills option if you just want a simple plug-and-play gamepad with comfy ergonomics and the solid D-pads 8BitDo is known for.
If you’re a Pixel Watch 2 or Pixel Watch 3 owner, you can get an additional Google Pixel Watch 3 USB-C Fast Charging Cable for $25.11 (around $4 off) at Amazon. The magnetic charging puck can quickly juice up the recent Pixel Watch models and get you through your day with even just a 20- or 30-minute top-up. But since it’s a proprietary charger, it helps to have a backup or the convenience of multiple charging spots in your home. Read our review of the new Pixel Watch 3.

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Adrian Wojnarowski looks on during the 2024 NBA Draft | Photo by Michelle Farsi / NBAE via Getty Images

Adrian Wojnarowski has been reporting insider NBA news for ESPN since 2017, but he’s best known for his news-breaking tweets about trades, free agency signings, and other deals. Now Wojnarowski says he’s retiring from the NBA beat.
For basketball fans, “Woj bombs” became a reason to have your phone on and Twitter notifications set, both to get instant updates about player movement and to avoid getting sucked in by fake accounts and rumors. In a 2015 GQ interview, Wojnarowski said his Twitter stardom got started with the 2009 NBA draft:

When did you first realize that Twitter could be such a powerful weapon in the breaking news?
I guess it was the 2009 Draft. It was the day before the draft and I was with Johnny Ludden, my editor at Yahoo and his wife (girlfriend at the time) Jennifer Banda. I kept saying to Johnny, I’m getting all this information on draft night. No one’s seeing it. By the time you put it up, it’s gone. How do I get this stuff out there? I’m getting this information on picks. What do we do with it? And Jennifer goes, well, get on Twitter.

Others also report sports dealmaking info — his former protege-turned-rival Shams Charania is reportedly a “looming” media free agent — but Woj has been at the top of the heap for a long time.
Wojnarowski announced his retirement from ESPN and the news industry in a post on Wednesday, and ESPN reports he will become the general manager of the men’s basketball program at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure.

-30- pic.twitter.com/bFeFL61s1c— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 18, 2024

Adrian Wojnarowski looks on during the 2024 NBA Draft | Photo by Michelle Farsi / NBAE via Getty Images

Adrian Wojnarowski has been reporting insider NBA news for ESPN since 2017, but he’s best known for his news-breaking tweets about trades, free agency signings, and other deals. Now Wojnarowski says he’s retiring from the NBA beat.

For basketball fans, “Woj bombs” became a reason to have your phone on and Twitter notifications set, both to get instant updates about player movement and to avoid getting sucked in by fake accounts and rumors. In a 2015 GQ interview, Wojnarowski said his Twitter stardom got started with the 2009 NBA draft:

When did you first realize that Twitter could be such a powerful weapon in the breaking news?

I guess it was the 2009 Draft. It was the day before the draft and I was with Johnny Ludden, my editor at Yahoo and his wife (girlfriend at the time) Jennifer Banda. I kept saying to Johnny, I’m getting all this information on draft night. No one’s seeing it. By the time you put it up, it’s gone. How do I get this stuff out there? I’m getting this information on picks. What do we do with it? And Jennifer goes, well, get on Twitter.

Others also report sports dealmaking info — his former protege-turned-rival Shams Charania is reportedly a “looming” media free agent — but Woj has been at the top of the heap for a long time.

Wojnarowski announced his retirement from ESPN and the news industry in a post on Wednesday, and ESPN reports he will become the general manager of the men’s basketball program at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure.

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Photo: Nilay Patel

Apple rolled out updates to all of its major operating systems this week, and the Vision Pro was no exception. With visionOS 2, the company has a chance to show the relative few who bought its spendy headset — and those who might yet — that it’s still committed to the new platform.
After a few months of using it in beta, visionOS 2 isn’t a dramatic change — it’s more like a smoothed-out version of the software the headset launched with. The addition of things like new gestures, better device support, and a couple of splashy features has removed a lot of the friction of using the Vision Pro and should give people who own it a reason to dust it off and take it for another spin.
Improving the basics
Let’s start with updates that really ought to have been in visionOS on day one. Apple has added Bluetooth mouse support and the ability to rearrange apps on the homescreen, which were strictly laid out in alphabetical order before. You can also pull the iPad and iPhone apps out of the folder they default to and put them with your Vision Pro-native apps — hooray! I’d really like to be able to create new folders because, once you get over three pages of apps, finding one can be cumbersome, especially if you don’t remember its name. Oh well, maybe next time.

GIF: visionOS 2 hand gestures
These new hand gestures are a welcome addition.

Getting around the operating system is easier now thanks to new gesture controls that let you summon the homescreen by tapping your fingers together after a circle appears when you look at your palm. Flip your hand over like you’re looking at your watch, and the circle morphs into a pill-shaped status bar showing the time, battery level, and volume level. Tap the status bar to get to Control Center or tap and hold to adjust the volume.
Compared to the old way of looking up to tap on a small circle to bring control widgets down, the new gestures feel more natural and, importantly, more fun. (Months later, I still have to resist the dramatic urge to do an unnecessary hand flourish and say “magic!” when I’m bringing up the homescreen.) Apple also added the ability to navigate using a paired Bluetooth controller, such as the Nintendo Joy-Cons.
Working with what you’ve got
Doing work with the Vision Pro is a lot better now thanks to the addition of mouse support and a new Keyboard Awareness feature that lets your keyboard punch through the virtual environment, either persistently or when you bring your hands near it. There’s no more fumbling for the home row! Unfortunately, Apple only names its own keyboards when describing the feature — it works with my mechanical keyboard but not reliably so.
The one big missing piece for people who want to use their Vision Pro for work is the curved ultrawide virtual display that Apple announced at WWDC. Apple says that’s coming later this year.
The fun stuff
Outside of productivity features, Apple has introduced some fun new features and improvements, such as the ability to convert photos into 3D spatial pictures. It’s a lot like retroactively adding portrait mode on the iPhone, and it can be impressive in the way it adds a new emotional… dimension (sorry!) to old family pictures.
But these generated spatial images also suffer from some of the same drawbacks as that retroactive portrait mode. The conversion can do weird things with hair and edges, and if someone in a photo is wearing glasses, the 3D effect hilariously breaks down, making them look like they’re wearing gag glasses with fake eyeballs pasted on the front of the lenses. I tried to capture this in screenshots, but you have to see the phenomenon in 3D for it to be obvious.
Another plus: you can now save one guest user’s hand and eye data so they don’t have to set it up again. I won’t say it’s not a welcome tweak, but it doesn’t go far enough. I’d really like to be able to permanently save multiple people. Let me share my expensive headset! We can’t afford another one!

GIF: Safari in visionOS 2

Immersing myself in The Vergecast.

Watching video content in Safari is a little nicer in visionOS 2. Now, when you tap the full-screen button, the webpage and browser disappear, leaving you with a floating video view that behaves a lot like it would in any other video app. Most of the time, that includes being able to switch it to immersive mode, transforming it into a gigantic movie screen that floats above the environment you’re in, casting light on the ground or water below. It helps to take the sting out of the continued lack of a native YouTube or Netflix app, although I still like to use third-party apps like Juno and Supercut for those services.
In addition, Safari now supports WebXR by default in visionOS 2, so you can take advantage of web-based VR and AR games and experiences. So far, the games I’ve tried using this on are either very bad or don’t work with the Vision Pro’s gestures, but I’d love to hear some recommendations. (Verge readers, assemble!)
Time to buy?
As nice as these changes are, I’m not sure that visionOS 2 will turn the ship around for Vision Pro sales, which a July analysis suggested won’t break 500,000 for the year. And that’s not surprising. People are still hesitant about VR for reasons like comfort and price. Maybe Apple’s rumored cheap headset could change things in a couple of years.
Even if you can afford the $3,499 Vision Pro, the visionOS 2 update doesn’t fix everything Nilay Patel brought up in his Verge review, like its narrow field of view and the loneliness of using it. But it’s a step in the right direction, and it shows that Apple hasn’t given up on the Vision Pro.

Photo: Nilay Patel

Apple rolled out updates to all of its major operating systems this week, and the Vision Pro was no exception. With visionOS 2, the company has a chance to show the relative few who bought its spendy headset — and those who might yet — that it’s still committed to the new platform.

After a few months of using it in beta, visionOS 2 isn’t a dramatic change — it’s more like a smoothed-out version of the software the headset launched with. The addition of things like new gestures, better device support, and a couple of splashy features has removed a lot of the friction of using the Vision Pro and should give people who own it a reason to dust it off and take it for another spin.

Improving the basics

Let’s start with updates that really ought to have been in visionOS on day one. Apple has added Bluetooth mouse support and the ability to rearrange apps on the homescreen, which were strictly laid out in alphabetical order before. You can also pull the iPad and iPhone apps out of the folder they default to and put them with your Vision Pro-native apps — hooray! I’d really like to be able to create new folders because, once you get over three pages of apps, finding one can be cumbersome, especially if you don’t remember its name. Oh well, maybe next time.

GIF: visionOS 2 hand gestures
These new hand gestures are a welcome addition.

Getting around the operating system is easier now thanks to new gesture controls that let you summon the homescreen by tapping your fingers together after a circle appears when you look at your palm. Flip your hand over like you’re looking at your watch, and the circle morphs into a pill-shaped status bar showing the time, battery level, and volume level. Tap the status bar to get to Control Center or tap and hold to adjust the volume.

Compared to the old way of looking up to tap on a small circle to bring control widgets down, the new gestures feel more natural and, importantly, more fun. (Months later, I still have to resist the dramatic urge to do an unnecessary hand flourish and say “magic!” when I’m bringing up the homescreen.) Apple also added the ability to navigate using a paired Bluetooth controller, such as the Nintendo Joy-Cons.

Working with what you’ve got

Doing work with the Vision Pro is a lot better now thanks to the addition of mouse support and a new Keyboard Awareness feature that lets your keyboard punch through the virtual environment, either persistently or when you bring your hands near it. There’s no more fumbling for the home row! Unfortunately, Apple only names its own keyboards when describing the feature — it works with my mechanical keyboard but not reliably so.

The one big missing piece for people who want to use their Vision Pro for work is the curved ultrawide virtual display that Apple announced at WWDC. Apple says that’s coming later this year.

The fun stuff

Outside of productivity features, Apple has introduced some fun new features and improvements, such as the ability to convert photos into 3D spatial pictures. It’s a lot like retroactively adding portrait mode on the iPhone, and it can be impressive in the way it adds a new emotional… dimension (sorry!) to old family pictures.

But these generated spatial images also suffer from some of the same drawbacks as that retroactive portrait mode. The conversion can do weird things with hair and edges, and if someone in a photo is wearing glasses, the 3D effect hilariously breaks down, making them look like they’re wearing gag glasses with fake eyeballs pasted on the front of the lenses. I tried to capture this in screenshots, but you have to see the phenomenon in 3D for it to be obvious.

Another plus: you can now save one guest user’s hand and eye data so they don’t have to set it up again. I won’t say it’s not a welcome tweak, but it doesn’t go far enough. I’d really like to be able to permanently save multiple people. Let me share my expensive headset! We can’t afford another one!

GIF: Safari in visionOS 2

Immersing myself in The Vergecast.

Watching video content in Safari is a little nicer in visionOS 2. Now, when you tap the full-screen button, the webpage and browser disappear, leaving you with a floating video view that behaves a lot like it would in any other video app. Most of the time, that includes being able to switch it to immersive mode, transforming it into a gigantic movie screen that floats above the environment you’re in, casting light on the ground or water below. It helps to take the sting out of the continued lack of a native YouTube or Netflix app, although I still like to use third-party apps like Juno and Supercut for those services.

In addition, Safari now supports WebXR by default in visionOS 2, so you can take advantage of web-based VR and AR games and experiences. So far, the games I’ve tried using this on are either very bad or don’t work with the Vision Pro’s gestures, but I’d love to hear some recommendations. (Verge readers, assemble!)

Time to buy?

As nice as these changes are, I’m not sure that visionOS 2 will turn the ship around for Vision Pro sales, which a July analysis suggested won’t break 500,000 for the year. And that’s not surprising. People are still hesitant about VR for reasons like comfort and price. Maybe Apple’s rumored cheap headset could change things in a couple of years.

Even if you can afford the $3,499 Vision Pro, the visionOS 2 update doesn’t fix everything Nilay Patel brought up in his Verge review, like its narrow field of view and the loneliness of using it. But it’s a step in the right direction, and it shows that Apple hasn’t given up on the Vision Pro.

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The Hype leaderboard is supposed to be all great videos all the time. | Image: YouTube

It’s a new way for viewers to share the stuff they really like — and for creators to grow on an increasingly busy platform. When a YouTuber hits 500,000 subscribers, the company has found that things tend to change. That half-million milestone is something of a tipping point in terms of both growth and revenue, says Bangaly Kaba, a director of product management at YouTube. “We just saw a disproportionate growth in earnings,” he says, “even though most of our creators are smaller than this size.” Big channels also tend to get more views, which gets them recommended more, which gets them more views, which gets them more revenue, and around it goes.
With a new feature called Hype, YouTube is trying to focus on growing the smaller channels and helping people discover and share new creators. Hype is an entirely new promotional system inside of YouTube: there’s a new button for hyping a video, and the most-hyped videos will appear on a platform-wide leaderboard. It’s a bit like Trending, but it’s focused specifically on smaller channels and on what people specifically choose to recommend rather than just what they watch.
YouTube has been working on Hype since the beginning of 2023, when the company decided to focus more on building communities inside of YouTube. (At its Made on YouTube event on Wednesday in New York City, “community” was very much the buzzword of the day.) In talking to users, Kaba says, the YouTube team found that what viewers wanted most was to feel involved. “Some of the research told us that viewers want to influence the creative process,” he says. “We also heard feedback that they want to contribute to the conversation.” People also wanted Cameo-style videos, they wanted to do Q&As with creators, and on and on.
As much as anything, though, fans wanted a way to more aggressively help their favorite creators succeed. There’s something alluring about being early to something cool, to being the one to share it with the world — it makes people feel invested in the things they’re promoting. In the era of duets and stitches and remixes, viewers are creators and creators are viewers, and giving everyone a way to grow made sense to YouTube. “We really wanted to allow the fans to lean in as community members, to help support their favorite creators,” Kaba says.
Meanwhile, more casual YouTube watchers kept saying the same thing: “they wanted to be able to discover things that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to discover, or YouTube might not otherwise recommend.” Viewers want the content; creators want to grow; fans want to share. Hype is the middle of all those things.

The actual mechanism behind Hype is pretty complicated. A video is only eligible to be hyped in the first seven days after it’s published, and of course, if it’s made by a channel with fewer than half a million subscribers. Each user only gets three hypes a week, and each hype is worth a certain number of points that inversely correlates to how many subscribers a given channel has. (The idea is that smaller channels should be able to hit the leaderboard, too, so each hype to a smaller channel will be worth more points — YouTube is doing an awful lot here to try and make sure the biggest channels don’t just dominate the leaderboard.) The 100 videos with the most total points hit the top of the leaderboard.
The leaderboards are specific to each country, and over time, YouTube also plans to personalize the Hype section for each user. The top 100 won’t change, but YouTube is suddenly getting lots of good data about which small videos people like across all subjects. Kaba says Hype won’t affect the traditional YouTube algorithm, but the Hype section might soon have more filters and topic-specific leaderboards, and hyped videos will start showing up in a new section in the recommendations feed.
The goal with all of this nuance and complexity is to make sure the leaderboard changes a lot and to make people feel invested in each thing they hype. “There’s a certain beauty in showing the things people have gone above and beyond to say they want to spend hype points on,” says Kristen Stewart, the interaction designer for Hype. “There’s a signal here: this is the stuff that really matters to people, that they really want to advocate for.” It’s also to try and prevent the system from being gamed. (It’s just a fact of the internet: if you give people a leaderboard, they’ll try to hack their way to the top of it.) Limiting users’ hypes means each one is a much stronger positive signal than a typical like — and it’s no accident that there’s no un-hype button.
“There’s a signal here: this is the stuff that really matters to people, that they really want to advocate for.”
You’ll start to see the hype button after you like a video as a way to boost the content even further. When you hype a video, it’ll show you how many points it has and whether it has hit the leaderboard. At the end of each week, you’ll get a Spotify Wrapped-style roundup of the videos you hyped and how they ultimately performed. There are also badges for the first few people to hype a video, or if, say, you hype five videos that end up on the leaderboard. “We’re thinking about all the things we can do to celebrate the people who are impactful hypers,” Stewart says.
For creators, Hype is meant to be all upside: a way to connect with their biggest fans, offload some of the promotional work, and monetize their most devoted viewers. When you hype a video, its creator also gets a monetary bonus, but you’re not told how much. And both Kaba and Stewart mentioned the possibility of paid hypes, so users can get more than three a week for a fee that would be shared with the creator. “The default is always going to be free until you run out of hypes,” Stewart says, showing a mock-up of what a paid hype might look like. “And then we’ll show you you’re going to hype for $2.”
To start, Hype is mostly its own thing inside of YouTube, but don’t be surprised to see it percolate throughout the platform. YouTube is a huge, practically overflowing platform, and it’s harder than ever to break through as a new creator. Making sure new users can grow and succeed is crucial for YouTube if it wants to be the home of the next MrBeast and not just the current one. You can’t just tweak the algorithm away from the big channels, though. Hype gives YouTube a chance to do what’s working while figuring out what’s next.

The Hype leaderboard is supposed to be all great videos all the time. | Image: YouTube

It’s a new way for viewers to share the stuff they really like — and for creators to grow on an increasingly busy platform.

When a YouTuber hits 500,000 subscribers, the company has found that things tend to change. That half-million milestone is something of a tipping point in terms of both growth and revenue, says Bangaly Kaba, a director of product management at YouTube. “We just saw a disproportionate growth in earnings,” he says, “even though most of our creators are smaller than this size.” Big channels also tend to get more views, which gets them recommended more, which gets them more views, which gets them more revenue, and around it goes.

With a new feature called Hype, YouTube is trying to focus on growing the smaller channels and helping people discover and share new creators. Hype is an entirely new promotional system inside of YouTube: there’s a new button for hyping a video, and the most-hyped videos will appear on a platform-wide leaderboard. It’s a bit like Trending, but it’s focused specifically on smaller channels and on what people specifically choose to recommend rather than just what they watch.

YouTube has been working on Hype since the beginning of 2023, when the company decided to focus more on building communities inside of YouTube. (At its Made on YouTube event on Wednesday in New York City, “community” was very much the buzzword of the day.) In talking to users, Kaba says, the YouTube team found that what viewers wanted most was to feel involved. “Some of the research told us that viewers want to influence the creative process,” he says. “We also heard feedback that they want to contribute to the conversation.” People also wanted Cameo-style videos, they wanted to do Q&As with creators, and on and on.

As much as anything, though, fans wanted a way to more aggressively help their favorite creators succeed. There’s something alluring about being early to something cool, to being the one to share it with the world — it makes people feel invested in the things they’re promoting. In the era of duets and stitches and remixes, viewers are creators and creators are viewers, and giving everyone a way to grow made sense to YouTube. “We really wanted to allow the fans to lean in as community members, to help support their favorite creators,” Kaba says.

Meanwhile, more casual YouTube watchers kept saying the same thing: “they wanted to be able to discover things that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to discover, or YouTube might not otherwise recommend.” Viewers want the content; creators want to grow; fans want to share. Hype is the middle of all those things.

The actual mechanism behind Hype is pretty complicated. A video is only eligible to be hyped in the first seven days after it’s published, and of course, if it’s made by a channel with fewer than half a million subscribers. Each user only gets three hypes a week, and each hype is worth a certain number of points that inversely correlates to how many subscribers a given channel has. (The idea is that smaller channels should be able to hit the leaderboard, too, so each hype to a smaller channel will be worth more points — YouTube is doing an awful lot here to try and make sure the biggest channels don’t just dominate the leaderboard.) The 100 videos with the most total points hit the top of the leaderboard.

The leaderboards are specific to each country, and over time, YouTube also plans to personalize the Hype section for each user. The top 100 won’t change, but YouTube is suddenly getting lots of good data about which small videos people like across all subjects. Kaba says Hype won’t affect the traditional YouTube algorithm, but the Hype section might soon have more filters and topic-specific leaderboards, and hyped videos will start showing up in a new section in the recommendations feed.

The goal with all of this nuance and complexity is to make sure the leaderboard changes a lot and to make people feel invested in each thing they hype. “There’s a certain beauty in showing the things people have gone above and beyond to say they want to spend hype points on,” says Kristen Stewart, the interaction designer for Hype. “There’s a signal here: this is the stuff that really matters to people, that they really want to advocate for.” It’s also to try and prevent the system from being gamed. (It’s just a fact of the internet: if you give people a leaderboard, they’ll try to hack their way to the top of it.) Limiting users’ hypes means each one is a much stronger positive signal than a typical like — and it’s no accident that there’s no un-hype button.

You’ll start to see the hype button after you like a video as a way to boost the content even further. When you hype a video, it’ll show you how many points it has and whether it has hit the leaderboard. At the end of each week, you’ll get a Spotify Wrapped-style roundup of the videos you hyped and how they ultimately performed. There are also badges for the first few people to hype a video, or if, say, you hype five videos that end up on the leaderboard. “We’re thinking about all the things we can do to celebrate the people who are impactful hypers,” Stewart says.

For creators, Hype is meant to be all upside: a way to connect with their biggest fans, offload some of the promotional work, and monetize their most devoted viewers. When you hype a video, its creator also gets a monetary bonus, but you’re not told how much. And both Kaba and Stewart mentioned the possibility of paid hypes, so users can get more than three a week for a fee that would be shared with the creator. “The default is always going to be free until you run out of hypes,” Stewart says, showing a mock-up of what a paid hype might look like. “And then we’ll show you you’re going to hype for $2.”

To start, Hype is mostly its own thing inside of YouTube, but don’t be surprised to see it percolate throughout the platform. YouTube is a huge, practically overflowing platform, and it’s harder than ever to break through as a new creator. Making sure new users can grow and succeed is crucial for YouTube if it wants to be the home of the next MrBeast and not just the current one. You can’t just tweak the algorithm away from the big channels, though. Hype gives YouTube a chance to do what’s working while figuring out what’s next.

Read More 

YouTube’s Inspiration tab will happily tell you exactly what to make next. | Image: YouTube

Artificial intelligence is running rampant across Google’s entire product portfolio, and YouTube is adopting some of the company’s newest tech in service of helping creators create. On Wednesday, at its Made on YouTube event in New York City, the company announced a series of AI-related features on the platform, including a couple that might change how creators make videos — and the videos they make.
The first feature is the new Inspiration tab in the YouTube Studio app, which YouTube has been testing in a limited way over the last few months. The tab’s job is, essentially, to tell you what to make: the AI-powered tool will suggest a concept for a video, provide a title and a thumbnail, and even write an outline and the first few lines of the video for you. YouTube frames it as a helpful brainstorming tool but also acknowledges that you can use it to build out entire projects. And I’m just guessing here, but I’d bet those AI-created ideas are going to be pretty darn good at gaming the YouTube algorithm.
Once you have some AI inspiration, you can make some AI videos with Veo, the superpowerful DeepMind video model that is now being integrated into YouTube Shorts. Veo is mostly going to be part of the “Dream Screen” feature YouTube has been working on, which is an extension of the green screen concept but with AI-generated backgrounds of all sorts. You’ll also be able to make full Veo videos, too, but only with clips up to six seconds long. (After a few seconds, AI video tends to get… really weird.)
Veo is integrated right into the normal Shorts editor, “just like it’s footage from my camera roll,” says Sarah Ali, a director of product management at YouTube. But she emphasizes that it’s still dependent on the creator’s vision to pull it all together. The clips will also be watermarked with DeepMind’s SynthID tool, plus a visual indication that it’s generated by AI.
Both of these features are rolling out slowly, and should appear to creators late this year or early next. There are other AI features coming to YouTube, too. The platform’s auto-dubbing feature, which converts videos to multiple languages, is coming to more creators and languages. It’s also giving creators AI tools with which to interact with fans through the new Communities section of the app.
There are some exciting possibilities for what could happen when creators have an easier time making new things, but it’s also possible that YouTube is about to be flooded with AI-conceived, AI-written, and even AI-produced videos that all look and sound and feel kind of the same. Most of these new features can be useful tools or shortcuts to slop creation, and each creator will have to decide what they want them to be. But from YouTube’s perspective, the company has spent the last few years trying to lower the bar to becoming a YouTube creator, particularly through Shorts, as it tries to compete with TikTok and Instagram and the countless other places people make things now. It seems confident that AI can make practically every part of a creator’s job easier — and maybe get them to create even more.

YouTube’s Inspiration tab will happily tell you exactly what to make next. | Image: YouTube

Artificial intelligence is running rampant across Google’s entire product portfolio, and YouTube is adopting some of the company’s newest tech in service of helping creators create. On Wednesday, at its Made on YouTube event in New York City, the company announced a series of AI-related features on the platform, including a couple that might change how creators make videos — and the videos they make.

The first feature is the new Inspiration tab in the YouTube Studio app, which YouTube has been testing in a limited way over the last few months. The tab’s job is, essentially, to tell you what to make: the AI-powered tool will suggest a concept for a video, provide a title and a thumbnail, and even write an outline and the first few lines of the video for you. YouTube frames it as a helpful brainstorming tool but also acknowledges that you can use it to build out entire projects. And I’m just guessing here, but I’d bet those AI-created ideas are going to be pretty darn good at gaming the YouTube algorithm.

Once you have some AI inspiration, you can make some AI videos with Veo, the superpowerful DeepMind video model that is now being integrated into YouTube Shorts. Veo is mostly going to be part of the “Dream Screen” feature YouTube has been working on, which is an extension of the green screen concept but with AI-generated backgrounds of all sorts. You’ll also be able to make full Veo videos, too, but only with clips up to six seconds long. (After a few seconds, AI video tends to get… really weird.)

Veo is integrated right into the normal Shorts editor, “just like it’s footage from my camera roll,” says Sarah Ali, a director of product management at YouTube. But she emphasizes that it’s still dependent on the creator’s vision to pull it all together. The clips will also be watermarked with DeepMind’s SynthID tool, plus a visual indication that it’s generated by AI.

Both of these features are rolling out slowly, and should appear to creators late this year or early next. There are other AI features coming to YouTube, too. The platform’s auto-dubbing feature, which converts videos to multiple languages, is coming to more creators and languages. It’s also giving creators AI tools with which to interact with fans through the new Communities section of the app.

There are some exciting possibilities for what could happen when creators have an easier time making new things, but it’s also possible that YouTube is about to be flooded with AI-conceived, AI-written, and even AI-produced videos that all look and sound and feel kind of the same. Most of these new features can be useful tools or shortcuts to slop creation, and each creator will have to decide what they want them to be. But from YouTube’s perspective, the company has spent the last few years trying to lower the bar to becoming a YouTube creator, particularly through Shorts, as it tries to compete with TikTok and Instagram and the countless other places people make things now. It seems confident that AI can make practically every part of a creator’s job easier — and maybe get them to create even more.

Read More 

Communities are for creators to talk to their fans — and for fans to talk to each other. | Image: YouTube

Many creators post videos on YouTube but take to other platforms to actually interact with their fans and viewers. With a new feature called Communities, YouTube is hoping to offer those types of interactive options right on the platform, so creators might not need to take to Discord, WhatsApp, or maybe Instagram or Reddit anymore.
The Communities feature, which YouTube launched today at the Made on YouTube event in New York City, is sort of a mix of old-school forum, subreddit, and Facebook group. Once a creator turns on their community, anyone who joins can post, and people can reply to each other. The idea is presumably that you’ll all talk about things related to the creator whose community you’re in, but if you’ve ever been in a YouTube comments section, you know that’s not how it’ll work. There’s also a special section for the creator’s own posts, where they can share text, images, and other stuff.
YouTube has been working on various features like this for a long time. There’s even a feature called Community already live on the platform, though that has really just been a way for creators to post non-video content, and most creators don’t seem to use it much. As YouTube has looked for ways to make viewers feel closer to their favorite creators and be part of their creative process, the new Community system is clearly designed to be much more interactive.
All of that new interaction could be overwhelming to some creators, so YouTube is also rolling out a new tool called Community Hub, which replaces the comments section of the YouTube Studio app and gives creators a combined view of all the activity on their channel. YouTube’s AI systems will help surface good comments and even offer reply suggestions so creators can get back to as many people as possible.
Even with those new tools, Communities will present plenty of complicated moderation issues, especially now that fans can post their own content in the channel instead of just leaving comments. That may be why YouTube is allowing each creator to turn it on for themselves and is taking the rollout slow; Communities are live on a few channels now, the company says, but won’t be available widely until next year.
YouTube may be a video platform, but the company has always seen itself as a social product, too. And it knows well that the most important way to make a platform stick is to give people a way to hang out with each other. So even as it comes up with new ways for creators to make and monetize videos, it’s also investing heavily in hanging out.

Communities are for creators to talk to their fans — and for fans to talk to each other. | Image: YouTube

Many creators post videos on YouTube but take to other platforms to actually interact with their fans and viewers. With a new feature called Communities, YouTube is hoping to offer those types of interactive options right on the platform, so creators might not need to take to Discord, WhatsApp, or maybe Instagram or Reddit anymore.

The Communities feature, which YouTube launched today at the Made on YouTube event in New York City, is sort of a mix of old-school forum, subreddit, and Facebook group. Once a creator turns on their community, anyone who joins can post, and people can reply to each other. The idea is presumably that you’ll all talk about things related to the creator whose community you’re in, but if you’ve ever been in a YouTube comments section, you know that’s not how it’ll work. There’s also a special section for the creator’s own posts, where they can share text, images, and other stuff.

YouTube has been working on various features like this for a long time. There’s even a feature called Community already live on the platform, though that has really just been a way for creators to post non-video content, and most creators don’t seem to use it much. As YouTube has looked for ways to make viewers feel closer to their favorite creators and be part of their creative process, the new Community system is clearly designed to be much more interactive.

All of that new interaction could be overwhelming to some creators, so YouTube is also rolling out a new tool called Community Hub, which replaces the comments section of the YouTube Studio app and gives creators a combined view of all the activity on their channel. YouTube’s AI systems will help surface good comments and even offer reply suggestions so creators can get back to as many people as possible.

Even with those new tools, Communities will present plenty of complicated moderation issues, especially now that fans can post their own content in the channel instead of just leaving comments. That may be why YouTube is allowing each creator to turn it on for themselves and is taking the rollout slow; Communities are live on a few channels now, the company says, but won’t be available widely until next year.

YouTube may be a video platform, but the company has always seen itself as a social product, too. And it knows well that the most important way to make a platform stick is to give people a way to hang out with each other. So even as it comes up with new ways for creators to make and monetize videos, it’s also investing heavily in hanging out.

Read More