Grand Theft Auto VI exists in its own universe

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on GTA VI and the state of the video game industry, follow…

Doodle generative compositions in your browser with Musical Spirograph

I remember having a Spirograph as a kid and being obsessed with it. Its geometric patterns are hypnotic and gorgeous. I also love generative music composition. So bringing those two…

W. Kamau Bell has the most practical ‘most indispensable tool’

W. Kamau Bell is one of those people who has always just seemed to be there. From Totally Biased, to Politically Re-Active, United Shades of America, and We Need to…

Amazon just hiked the prices for Echo, Fire TV, and Kindle products by up to 60 percent

Citing “significant increases in memory and storage component costs,” in a statement given to Fortune, Amazon has raised prices on Echos, Kindles, Fire TVs, and Eeros by up to 60…

An okay laptop with 16GB of RAM is better than a nice laptop with 8GB, and this $520 HP OmniBook proves it

Laptop prices are out of whack. $500 used to get you a tolerable laptop, and $900 got you a really good one. They often had similar CPU, RAM, and storage…

Two great new repairable gadgets

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 141, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, I’m newish here too, and also you…

TikTok will pay $400 million to settle DOJ child privacy lawsuit

The US Department of Justice announced on Friday that TikTok will pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2024 over allegedly violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act…

HoverAir’s transforming modular drone has already been halted in the US

I am so sorry, fellow US gadget fans: the FCC’s drone ban appears to have struck again. The HoverAir Versa — a baby steadycam with snap-on propeller wings that transform…

Over one million people have clicked LinkedIn’s AI slop button

LinkedIn actually announced a “Seems like AI slop” button on July 30th, and the company says that a lot of people have already used it. According to a Thursday post…

Apple is laying off staffers working on the Vision Pro and Siri

Apple is laying off staff on the Siri and the Vision Pro teams, according to Bloomberg. The cuts include “largely shutting down” a Vision Pro gaming team and “reducing the…