Waiting for Trump Phone
Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. Crickets.
Despite recent signs of life, another week has come and gone without the Trump T1 Phone. We're now over nine months since its announcement in June of last year, and it just keeps missing ship dates. That's enough time to gestate and birth a whole human baby! It's also like, three (RIP) Samsung Galaxy Z TriFolds long. Which got me to thinking, what other products and services arrived - and maybe even departed - in the time that we've been waiting for the T1? Here is an incomplete list:
…How the Apple Watch defined modern health tech
This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here.
You can trace the state of health tech today to a single gadget: the Apple Watch Series 4.
Back in 2018, smartwatches and fitness bands focused on a handful of things: step count, heart rate, some light sleep monitoring, and activity logging. As a result, they were much more focused on fitness rather than overall health. Handy if you were trying to increase activity levels or lose a few pounds, but not a device th …
Apple’s best product ever
All week, we've been asking you to help us rank the 50 best products Apple ever made, as we mark the company's 50th anniversary. Thanks to everyone who pitched in - we ended up with more than 1.6 million votes! We also have lots of other coverage of Apple's first half century, and you should check it all out. All those votes later, we have some answers. And some thoughts.
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On this episode of The Vergecast, after some housekeeping (vote for us in the Webby Awards, and come see Sn …
Chatbots are now prescribing psychiatric drugs
Utah is allowing an AI system to prescribe psychiatric drugs without a doctor. It's only the second time the state - and the country - has delegated this kind of clinical authority to AI. State officials say it could bring costs down and ease care shortages, but physicians warn the system is opaque, risky, and unlikely to expand mental health care to those who need it.
The one-year pilot, announced last week, will allow Legion Health's AI chatbot to renew certain prescriptions for psychiatric medications, in some cases. The San Francisco startup promises Utah-based patients "fast, simple refills" through a $19-a-month subscription. The prog …
AO3 is finally out of beta after 17 years
Archive of Our Own (AO3) is officially exiting beta. The Organization for Transformative Works - the nonprofit behind the fanfiction site - announced the update on Thursday, which comes 17 years after AO3's launch in 2009.
"Since 2009, AO3 has grown and changed a lot," the announcement says. "We've introduced many features over the years through the efforts of our volunteers and coding contributors, as well as the contractors we've been able to hire thanks to generous donations from our users."
The post highlights some of the features that AO3 has had since its launch, including a tagging system, fanworks downloads, privacy settings that a …
PSA: Anyone with a link can view your Granola notes by default
If you use the AI-powered note-taking app Granola, you might want to double-check your privacy settings. Though Granola says your notes are "private by default," it makes them viewable to anyone with a link, and also uses them for internal AI training unless you opt out.
Granola describes itself as an "AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings." It integrates with your calendar to capture audio from your meetings, and then uses AI to generate a bulleted list of what you've heard, which it calls a "note." You can edit the AI-generated notes, invite other collaborators to view them, and use Granola's AI assistant to ask questions about y …
Reddit is moving on from r/all
Reddit is deprecating r/all, one of its feeds that shows popular posts on the platform, as part of "ongoing efforts to simplify Reddit and improve Home feed personalization."
Reddit has offered both r/popular and r/all as ways to see trending posts, with r/all being a "less filtered feed" where "sexually explicit posts are filtered out but other popular Not Safe for Work (NSFW) posts are included." But in January, Reddit said it had removed r/all from its apps as part of an "experiment" and that, as part of a separate experiment, some desktop users wouldn't see r/all in their sidebar. (The company earlier announced r/all's removal from its …
The best AirPods deals you can get right now
If you know where to look, you can often score deals on Apple’s ever-expanding AirPods lineup. Both the AirPods Pro 3 and the AirPods 4 (with and without ANC) now consistently receive discounts, as do the AirPods Pro 3. And while major shopping events like Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day have delivered some of the biggest price drops, there are still good deals to be found on every model — including the recently released AirPods Max 2.
Below, we’ve rounded up the best deals currently available on each set of AirPods, including both iterations of the AirPods 4 and AirPods Max, as well as the third-gen AirPods Pro.
The best AirPods 4 deals
AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
Where to Buy:
At the end of 2024, Apple introduced the AirPods 4, a pair of wireless earbuds available in two variations: a $129 standard model and a $179 noise-canceling model. Both versions represent significant upgrades over the third-gen AirPods, with a more comfortable design and improved audio performance. They’re also better for taking calls thanks to Apple’s Voice Isolation feature, which focuses the mics on your voice so you can be heard more clearly in noisy environments.
The $179 AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation offer a surprisingly effective noise-canceling mode, a helpful transparency mode, and several other Pro-level features. The latest AirPods Pro do a better job of tuning out noise, but the AirPods 4 with ANC still do a good job of reducing sound. They also feature other perks formerly reserved for Apple’s top-of-the-line earbuds, including wireless charging and a case with a built-in speaker that allows you to easily track it down via Apple’s Find My app.
Given they’ve been out for over a year, we consistently see discounts for both iterations of the AirPods 4. During Black Friday, we saw the standard model drop to a new low of $74; however, right now, they’re only down to $119 ($10 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and B&H Photo. The AirPods 4 with ANC, meanwhile, are on sale for $154.99 ($24 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Costco (for members), which is significantly more than their recent low of $99.
Read our full AirPods 4 review.
The best AirPods Pro 3 deals
At its “Awe Dropping” event in September, Apple introduced the AirPods Pro 3. In addition to improved ANC and sound, the third-gen earbuds include a built-in heart rate sensor that syncs with the iPhone Fitness app, allowing you to track your pulse and calories burned across more than 50 workout types. They’re also more comfortable and secure than their predecessor, thanks to a redesigned, angled fit and five ear tip sizes — including a new XXS option. Additionally, they carry a more robust IP57 rating and support Apple’s new live translation feature, which, in our testing, generally conveys the gist well but still can’t beat a human interpreter.
Given how recently they launched, we’ve been surprised by how often the AirPods Pro 3 have been discounted. In fact, last month we saw them drop to $199 ($50 off), which is $15 shy of their all-time low. Unfortunately, while they’re still on sale, they’ve since increased in price to $224 ($25 off) at retailers like Amazon and Walmart.
Read our full AirPods Pro 3 review.
The best AirPods Max deals
AirPods Max 2
Where to Buy:
Apple AirPods Max
Where to Buy:
The AirPods Max aren’t the iconic in-ears that have become synonymous with the AirPods name. Both the first-gen Max and the newer AirPods Max 2 are large and luxurious, comprised of aluminum, steel, and mesh fabric that remains comfortable during extended listening sessions. The original pair delivered clear, expansive sound, great noise cancellation, and lossless audio over USB-C; however, with the Max 2, Apple built upon that excellent foundation with improved ANC and a built-in amplifier for better sound. They also feature Apple’s newer H2 chip, enabling AI-powered live translation, adaptive audio, and other features once reserved for the AirPods Pro line. The over-ears aren’t the best noise-canceling headphones for everyone — blame the sticker price — but for iPhone users, they’re hard to beat.
The AirPods Max 2 retail for $549 — the same price as the original model — but you can currently save $20 on both the black and white versions at Amazon and Costco (if you’re a member), which is the first discount we’ve seen on the recently released headphones. If you’re okay with picking up the last-gen model, the original AirPods Max with USB-C are on sale in select colors for $399.99 ($150 off) at Woot through April 3rd, matching their best price to date. They’re also available in a wider range of hues at Amazon, Walmart, Target, and other retailers for $449.99 ($100 off), which is still a hefty discount.
Read our full AirPods Max and AirPods Max 2 reviews.
Update, April 2nd: Updated to reflect current pricing and availability, as well as the recent release of the AirPods Max 2.
This bike rack pioneer is selling Bluetooth suction cups to stick bikes to your car
Richard Allen didn't invent the automobile bike rack - his 1967 patent application makes it clear that others came before. But after nearly sixty years selling popular and simple mechanical bike carriers, his company Allen Sports now offers a line of - yes - Bluetooth-monitored suction cups to stick bikes to your car.
If you feel stressed just looking at these pictures of the new $299 Smart Suction Go, you're not alone! It's the first thing my colleague Andrew Liszewski said, and I wholeheartedly agree. But apparently some people already swear by the ease and portability of suction-cup bike mounts - SeaSucker is the big name in that space.
…The ABS Challenge System is exposing the worst umpire in baseball
During Wednesday's game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers, umpire CB Bucknor took a foul ball to the mask and had to be helped off the field. It was the cap to what has been a particularly bad week for one of the most controversial umpires in baseball.
It started with perhaps the best example of how MLB's Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System can inject drama in baseball. This is the first year for the new robot umpire, which allows hitters, catchers, and pitchers to challenge balls and strikes for the first time. Each team starts a game with two challenges. But they only lose a challenge if it's unsuccessful, so p …