The Verge’s 2025 holiday gift guide
The holidays have a way of sneaking up on us. One minute you're trick-or-treating with your kids, and the next you're panic shopping in a Buc-ee's gift aisle. But it doesn't have to be that way. With the right cheat sheet, you can keep the holiday spirit high and stress levels low.
Fortunately, we did some planning on your behalf. As much as we love playing with the latest gadgets and gizmos here at The Verge, we also love recommending them. That's why, after consulting with our expert team of writers and editors, we've compiled a medley of gift ideas that won't be regifted come this time next year - from noise-canceling earbuds and e-reade …
Welcome to the big leagues, Netflix
Warner Bros. has an infamous history of being bought by other companies and then quickly ending up back on the market after its new owners realize how difficult it is to capitalize on a legacy production studio's assets. Those challenges are part of what doomed WB's mergers with AOL and AT&T, who bought the studio in attempts to reinvent themselves. But WB's latest acquisition deal - this time with Netflix for $83 billion - feels like it has the potential to turn out differently because of how much of a major player within the entertainment industry the streamer has become. It also signals just how far Netflix has come: in less than two deca …
Chamberlain blocks smart home integrations with its garage door openers — again
Garage door opener manufacturer The Chamberlain Group has launched a new version of the communication platform that powers its connected garage door openers - and it's bad news for smart home users.
The new Security+ 3.0 platform, launching alongside Chamberlain's latest openers, shuts down the workarounds that third-party accessory makers such as Tailwind, Meross, and Ratgdo developed to let you integrate your garage door with Apple Home, Home Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and others.
Instead, you're pushed into Chamberlain's ad-stuffed MyQ app and a short list of partners and integrations, nearly all of which require paid subsc …
Star Wars’ original theatrical cut returns to theaters in 2027
Disney is bringing a “newly restored version” of the original, 1977 theatrical cut of Star Wars back to theaters on February 19th, 2027. It will only be available in theaters for “a limited time,” Disney says, and it’s being released as part of “Lucasfilm’s yearlong 50th anniversary celebration” for the franchise. Tickets aren’t on sale yet, but Disney says it will share details on when and where to buy tickets on StarWars.com.
Disney initially revealed earlier this year that it would be bringing Star Wars back to theaters. Star Wars creator George Lucas has famously tinkered with what’s now called A New Hope, but a few lucky fans have already been able to recently see the first theatrical cut; The British Film Institute showed an original, 35mm release print of the movie in June at an event that featured an introduction from Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who confirmed that it was “in fact, the first print.”
Ahead of the re-release of the first Star Wars, Disney is bringing The Mandalorian and Grogu to theaters on May 22nd, 2026. Another film, Star Wars: Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling, is coming to theaters on May 28th, 2027.
Pantone’s ‘Cloud Dancer’ color party is a recession indicator
Pantone's color of the year for 2026 is white - sorry, Cloud Dancer. Pantone announced the shade on Thursday, and describes it as a "discrete white hue offering a promise of clarity." The accompanying image shows a person with cropped hair in billowy white clothing, arms outstretched over a background of clouds.
"PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer encourages true relaxation and focus, allowing the mind to wander and creativity to breathe, making room for innovation," the company writes. But all I can see is a recession indicator.
This is the third year in a row where the Pantone color has slid more and more into unobtrusive, dispassionat …
Trump Mobile’s refurbished iPhones are an unsurprisingly bad deal
It's been well established that the Trump Phone doesn't exist. But that isn't the only phone Trump Mobile sells. It also offers a range of refurbished Apple and Samsung handsets that you can buy right now. You really shouldn't though.
I was relieved reading Allison's coverage over the last two weeks to discover that not everything about Trump Mobile is a scam. It may have taken her a couple weeks to actually get a SIM card, but once it arrived it did work just fine - it's T-Mobile, after all. It made me realize that you could, if you wanted, get Trump Mobile coverage on a Trump Mobile-sold phone right now, so long as you don't mind that the …
Horses is a hit, but its studio might still be in trouble
After indie narrative horror game Horses was banned from Steam two years ago, it put the studio, Santa Ragione, at risk of closure. Studio cofounder and Horses producer Pietro Righi Riva had to make a difficult phone call to the game’s director, Italian filmmaker Andrea Lucco Borlera. “I was terrified for him,” Riva said in an interview with The Verge. “This was his first game and he put so much work, so much passion, so many years, and it was supposed to be his big breakthrough.”
But Horses has broken through even without Steam. Riva’s detailed accounting of the game’s multiple storefront bans caught the attention of journalists, developers, and curious gamers eager to see just what was so objectionable that the game couldn’t be sold on Steam alongside the likes of Sex Standing or Sex with Hitler 2. That attention has made Horses the video game cause célèbre of the moment, catapulting it to bestseller status on GOG.com.
But while this all sounds like a happy ending, Riva isn’t ready to breathe easy just yet. “I’m relieved because with all this attention, I’m probably going to be able to give back most of the money [roughly half of $100,000] that I had to borrow,” he said. “But we’re not out of the [woods] yet, no.”
Horses is a short, crunchy-looking game, boasting Dreamcast-era graphics with gameplay that’s no more involved than clicking things to put them in and take them out of your inventory. And while Santa Ragione has had success with Saturnalia and Milky Way Prince before the bans, it was largely a little-known developer. Riva is aware of how that looks, acknowledging that the bans have been instrumental in Horses punching through the noise.
“There is no way the same kind of interest would have happened,” he said. And despite that first difficult call, Riva says Borlera is quite pleased at what the bans have done for his game. “He’s extremely happy with the reception that the game is getting,” Riva said. “People are reading into the game and […] engaging with it in a way that he hoped.”
“There is no way the same kind of interest would have happened.”
That engagement, though, isn’t enough to make up for the access Steam could have provided. While Riva is grateful for the support of gamers and storefronts like GOG, it’s not enough, and he’s still very much in fear of Santa Ragione’s future. “Even with all the publicity, all the reporting, all the reviews, everything else,” he said. “This still does not compare to the kind of audience we would have on Steam.”
Steam has an outsize influence on the PC video game market. The indie studios that cannot afford the costs of porting their games to consoles are at the mercy of Valve’s vague, capricious, and often inconsistent moderation whims. Though Horses has found a roundabout way to relative success without it, Riva said that journey has been traumatic, affecting not just him and his team but his peers and future projects.
“I think there is going to be, in my case, and in other people’s case, a certain degree of self-censorship,” he said. “It’s terrifying, and it’s going to make people make safer and safer games, me included.”
Chrome can now autofill details from your Google account
Google has announced several autofill improvements being rolled out to the mobile and desktop versions of Chrome. The updates will give autofill access to more of your data from places like Google Wallet and make it easier to select the right info a form is asking for when there are multiple suggestions.
Autofill can now access your name, email address, and saved work and home addresses from your Google Account while you’re signed into the desktop, iOS, and Android versions of Chrome.
For Chrome on Android, Google is expanding the autofill suggestions that appear above the onscreen keyboard so they’re not as condensed and easier to differentiate. The suggestions will now display two lines of information that could, for example, include the addresses of two contacts with the same name so you have more context for choosing the correct one.
Google is also improving how Chrome’s autofill completes forms with international addresses, including Mexican descriptions that often reference two cross-streets, while support for “phonetic names in Japan” will be introduced later.
Last month Chrome added the ability to autofill details like your passport number, driver’s license, loyalty cards, and info about your vehicle including its VIN and license plate for desktop users who turned on “enhanced autofill.” Both the desktop and Android versions of Chrome will now be able to access data from travel bookings saved in Google Wallet, so if you’re booking an airport rental car online, you can autofill details like the time and day your flight arrives.
You can now use Pixel phones as a Switch 2 webcam
When it launched the Switch 2’s compatibility with various webcams was hit or miss. A webcam isn’t a necessary accessory, but since the Switch 2 lacks one of its own, you need one to take full advantage of the console’s GameChat feature that can livestream players’ faces during multiplayer matches. Switch 2 webcam compatibility has since improved, but if you don’t already own one, you can now use your Pixel smartphone, according to Android Authority.
Despite Nintendo’s claims that the Switch 2 works with most USB webcams, our own testing confirmed that Pixel smartphones could not be used as webcams at launch, even with the device’s settings switched to the USB webcam mode that Google introduced with Android 14. Switch 2 users eventually found that Android phones and iPhones could be used as a webcam for the console, but with the help of additional USB-C to HDMI adapters, and HDMI capture cables.
But extra hardware is no longer needed to use a Pixel smartphone as a Switch 2 webcam. We tested a Pixel 9 Pro connected directly to the Switch 2’s top USB-C port with a single cable and, after switching the USB preferences to “Webcam” mode, we were able to use the smartphone as the camera for GameChat. If you’re playing multiplayer games like Mario Kart World, GameChat lets you not only speak with other competitors around the world, but also see them superimposed over a livestream of them playing if you’re using a webcam.
It’s not known if recent updates on Google’s or Nintendo’s end are responsible for making this work (the Pixel 9 Pro we tested it with is running the Android 16 December release), but it’s a welcome upgrade for those who frequently travel with their Switch 2 and don’t want to lug a separate webcam everywhere they go.
The Luigi Mangione trial is all about narrative control
On Monday, several dozen members of the public are lined up outside 100 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan, hoping to squeeze into the courtroom to hear testimony from witnesses called by the state against Luigi Mangione - the man accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson a year ago.
Despite the endless news coverage, viral memes, and photos seen by millions of people, the group that shows up to hearings has thinned out significantly since the court date in February, when hundreds gathered outside and in the courthouse. There is a small demonstration ramping up, organized by healthcare reform group People Over Profi …