Reddit’s AI is turning posts into podcasts and short videos
Reddit is trying out a new way for people to take in content on Reddit: by turning text posts into audio / video content. As part of an experiment, some posts are being adapted into videos that use AI voices to read the text of the main post and some comments. The video highlights the text as it's read by the AI voice, and under the video, a note says that it's a "Real conversation voiced by AI."
An old post in r/boardgames from eight years ago with 101 responses to a request for good road trip games that adults will like is an example of Reddit's AI at work. Instead of the usual text thread, it has the main question above a three-minute vi …
ABC’s livestreamed news show is powered by trending topics
ABC News has officially introduced Searched, a livestreamed show that highlights stories people are discussing on social media and searching on the web, as reported earlier by Variety. Though the network just announced the show now, Searched began airing on the ABC News Live streaming channel in April, which appears on both Disney Plus and Hulu.
In the press release, ABC News says Searched "pulls real-time data from the top search engines and social media platforms to provide topical news for the audience." A recent episode of Searched highlighted an Illinois Powerball winner, NBA star Russell Westbrook's retirement, and Tropical Storm Lala …
This compact Glorious mechanical keyboard is just $35
Are you curious about custom mechanical keyboards, but don’t want to spend hundreds just to get started without being sure you’ll enjoy the hobby? You can grab the 65-percent Glorious GMMK 3 mechanical keyboard at Woot for $34.99 (usually $139.99) by entering the coupon code WOOTGAMING at checkout, and first-time Woot customers will get an extra $5 off when using the same code.
It’s a well-equipped keyboard out of the box, particularly for this price, and with its support for swappable switches, it’s a great platform for exploring keycap and switch options from different makers. It’s wired only, includes a full set of double-shot PBT keycaps for both Windows and macOS, and comes with linear Glorious Fox switches pre-installed.
As a 65 percent mechanical keyboard, the layout favors just the essentials to keep a compact footprint. That means dropping the row of dedicated function keys, and limiting the extra buttons to standard modifiers, plus a couple of spare buttons for page up and down. There are still arrow keys for gaming and OS navigation, and a customizable knob for volume or media controls. Under the hood, the aluminum plate and gasket system are modifiable and upgradeable, letting you dial in the typing experience and sound.
Wordle meets Clippy in this new word game
Like many of us, Sam Rosenthal plays games like Wordle every day, chasing after good scores and sharing the results with friends and family. But he's also a game designer, the creative director at Blaseball developer The Game Band, and so this regular habit got him thinking about what else could be done in the space. "When I was a kid and I played word games with my family, they weren't the New York Times puzzle games," Rosenthal explains. "We were sitting in a car on a road trip playing these really loose games that couldn't be made digitally before. Things like the alphabet game or our own riffs on 20 questions. That felt like a really int …
YouTube is changing how it counts views to give the numbers a boost
YouTube will soon count a view as soon as a video starts to play, lining up with the system used by Instagram, TikTok, and its Shorts videos. The update will go into effect on August 24th, "which means creators will likely see their total view counts increase faster moving forward," the platform says.
Instagram and TikTok similarly add a view to a video when it starts to play or replay, while X counts a view when a user watches a video for at least two seconds. YouTube applied Instagram and TikTok's view-counting method to Shorts last year.
YouTube says it's going to keep its original view-counting method under an "engaged views" metric in …
The Analogue Pocket gets a Supreme makeover in red or gold
Analogue and Supreme are teaming up to release metallic versions of the Analogue Pocket handheld in red and gold as part of Supreme's fall / winter 2026 collection.
Here's how they're described on Supreme's website:
Metallic portable handheld multi-video-game-system. Unibody aluminum with 24K Gold-plated and custom red glossy finishes.
They also have a Supreme logo on the front and the back. I dig the colors, but not the logos. (But I'm not really a Supreme guy.)
No price is currently listed on the website for the handhelds. We've asked Analogue and Supreme how much they'll cost. A standard Pocket costs $239.99.
Supreme's fall / winte …
Sonos finally added Live Activities controls for your iPhone lockscreen
Sonos released an update to its mobile app that finally introduces support for iOS' Live Activities, giving iPhone users quick access to playback controls on their lockscreen. The added functionality is a "much requested, anticipated, and needed feature," according to a post Sonos shared to Reddit today that was spotted by 9to5Mac.
While some features like displaying album art are not available, the Sonos Live Activity provides basic details and controls when listening to music or podcasts through a Sonos system without having to fully unlock your iPhone and open the app.
Support for Live Activities and lockscreen controls similar to wha …
Trump’s dumb border wall
About 22 miles south of the former mining town of Patagonia, Arizona, down a winding, unpaved mountain road that passes cows grazing on open range, stands a cottonwood tree believed to be at least 200 years old. The "grandmother" tree, as some locals call it, is imperiled and already showing signs of stress, almost as if it knows its fate. The leaves are yellowing prematurely, falling to the ground at the height of summer. On July 27th, a construction crew felled three neighboring trees to build an extension of President Donald Trump's wall along the US-Mexico border.
An activist climbed up the last tree standing two days later and ever sin …
Apple ordered to stop scaring iPhone and iPad users away from third-party apps
Apple's changing its rules for data collection consent prompts after Germany's Federal Cartel Office accused Apple of giving the prompts a design that favored its own apps. Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompts reportedly cost social media apps nearly $10 billion when they launched with iOS 14.5, making cross-app tracking of users largely opt in. But as a designated "gatekeeper" under the EU's DMA rules, it is facing additional scrutiny over whether the program provides a level playing field.
The regulator says the prompts steer users away from agreeing to let third-party apps use their data, while encouraging them to give consent for …
WiiM’s capable HomePod-esque smart speaker is almost $50 off
The smart speaker market is more or less dominated by major tech companies: Apple, Google, Sonos, and Amazon. But WiiM’s powerful 100W Sound smart speaker is an attractive alternative because it’s not locked down to play nicely with select music services. It supports over 20 services, and it sports Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 and ethernet, giving you multiple ways to connect. Additionally, it taps into standards used by other speakers, including Chromecast, Spotify Connect, DLNA, Alexa Cast, and more (AirPlay 2 is off the table, though its Pro Music Streamer supports it). In other words, it can be added to multi-room setups you may already have in the Google Home or Amazon Echo ecosystem.
The black and white versions are rarely discounted, but they’re each 15 percent off at Amazon and directly through WiiM. Normally $299.99, they’re $254.15.
WiiM also makes the Sound Lite, which is also discounted by 15 percent. Originally $229, it’s $194.65 at Amazon and WiiM. It has the same dimensions, connectivity and performance output as the Sound (plus, the ability to use AI to adapt its sound quality to your room), but it lacks the 1.8-inch touch display that can show off album art, and there’s no voice remote included — those are around $33. That said, you can wirelessly pair these speakers and other recent WiiM products to each other to build a surround sound setup. Read more in our coverage.
Other great Verge-approved deals
- All colors of Apple’s AirPods Max 2 over-ear, noise-canceling headphones are down to $429 at Best Buy as part of its 60-year anniversary sale. Originally $549, this sale brings them down to their second-best price, only bested by Prime Day’s $399 deal. Amazon has fewer colors available at this price. In our review, John Higgins praised their improved sound quality and noise cancellation effect, but wished certain things about it had changed. At their original price, he would have liked a proper carrying case included with purchase. But, at least with this discount, you can get a nicer case with the cash you’ll save.
- Look, sometimes you just need a cheap TV, not an amazing one. If that’s you, there might be a 58-inch Hisense 4K QLED Roku TV that’ll do. Normally $399.99, the QD5 is down to $189.99 at Best Buy. It doesn’t seem particularly impressive, but it’s a feature-packed TV at a good price. Beyond having built-in Roku guts for streaming movies and TV shows, it supports Dolby Vision, HDR 10 and HLG, and its game mode supports variable refresh rate and auto low latency mode (though, it tops out at 60Hz refresh rate).
- We highlighted a deal on the Godox ES45 key light recently, and the deal is back on at Amazon. The $20 off sale brings the powerful key light setup down to $119, and while it doesn’t match Elgato’s Key Light one-for-one with specs, it’s a great value that costs $60 less. It has adjustable color temperature and brightness, and its settings can be easily tweaked with its controller, which gets recharged by sticking magnetically to the back of the light. A key light is great for adding a strong light source to your room. It can be used to light you directly, or aim it at the wall to be softly illuminated in light that bounces off.