Trevor Noah is hosting Google’s Pixel 11 launch event
Google is set to host its next live Made by Google hardware launch event on August 12th, and the company says in a new video that comedian Trevor Noah will be hosting the show.
The video indicates that the event will feature other celebrities and influencers as well, including Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper (who was at the 2025 event), Indian cricketer Shubman Gill (who has starred in Pixel ads), Japanese actress Ayami Nakajo (who has also starred in Pixel ads), and NBA star / Google Performance Advisor Stephen Curry. (Cooper and Noah are also bringing shows to YouTube.)
Jimmy Fallon hosted the show last year, an event that my colleague V …
Jony Ive’s first OpenAI gadget is reportedly a hockey puck-sized smart speaker
The AI device OpenAI is developing with former Apple designer Jony Ive is "essentially a smart speaker without a display" that's battery-powered, doughnut-shaped and roughly the size of a hockey puck, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. The device, expected to launch in 2027 for a price over $300, reportedly "will have a unique look, complete with moving parts," including some that will move on their own to show when the device is responding or interacting with the user, along with lights, a camera system, and other sensors.
Gurman's sources also say the "battery-powered" device is designed to be "easy to carry around the home wit …
The AirPods Pro are $60 off, their best price since late June
Best Buy kicked off a sale on Apple products with discounts on its latest smartwatches to phones. Another deal that caught our eye is on the latest AirPods Pro, Apple’s flagship wireless earbuds, which are down to $189.99 ($60 off), with retailers like Amazon and Walmart matching the price. That’s their lowest price since Prime Day in late June, and just $20 shy of their all-time low.
AirPods Pro 3
The AirPods Pro 3 have a new design that improves their fit, superior noise cancellation, better bass, and fairly accurate heart rate sensors. Read our review.
Where to Buy:
The AirPods Pro are our favorite wireless earbuds to recommend for iPhone owners because they offer better sound quality than Apple’s entry-level AirPods. Our A/V reviewer John Higgins uses them more often than other pairs because of their, praising their excellent audio, best-in-class active noise cancellation, and just how easy they are to use. They also provide a tighter fit, making them more comfortable for some people, especially during workouts.
Beyond how good they sound, they offer a number of perks for Apple users. They can automatically sync with other Apple devices you’re signed in on, so you can move from taking a call on your iPhone to watching a show on your iPad. They also feature a built-in heart rate sensor that works with more than 50 workout types in Apple’s Fitness app, so you can use them as a fitness tracker of sorts.
Read our AirPods Pro 3 review.
The Zelda movie’s Ganondorf casting hints at more movies
Deadline reported Thursday that the upcoming The Legend of Zelda movie will feature Australian actor Uli Latukefu as the villain Ganondorf, and the publication notes that "We hear Latukefu inked a multi-picture deal."
Nintendo or Sony haven't formally confirmed that there's more than one movie in the works, though it's been rumored that Nintendo and Sony might be planning a trilogy. Still, it's not exactly unexpected that more Zelda movies might be on the way, especially given the huge success of the recent Super Mario films at the box office.
Nintendo initially announced the live-action Zelda movie, which it's making with Sony Pictures En …
Suno shares plans to combat spammy AI music
Suno announced plans to implement a new watermarking technology and download policy to limit the spread of spammy AI tracks and increase transparency. In a lengthy blog post, CEO and co-founder Mikey Shulman laid out the company's principles and the next steps for the company as it seeks legitimacy.
The company is rolling out new transparency tools, along with new watermarking and fingerprinting tech. Shulman says it aligns with "emerging industry standards" that will make it easier to identify Suno-generated content. He also says the company is aiming to partner with "distribution platforms on combatting fraud and misuse."
Last year, th …
Brendan Carr officially unleashes broadcast consolidation
The era of set broadcast ownership limits is officially over, after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted Thursday to end the national ownership cap rule.
The agency's two Republicans, Chair Brendan Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty, voted to end the ownership cap, which restricts broadcast owners from holding stations that reach a combined more than 39 percent of US TV households, while Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez dissented. It formalizes a policy Carr has long criticized, and which he announced last month that he would seek to end at Thursday's open FCC meeting. In place of a set limit, the FCC says, there will now be …
OpenAI is giving ChatGPT free users unlimited text chats
OpenAI is making a big change for ChatGPT users on its free and Go tiers: Starting next week, users on those tiers will be able to have unlimited text chats with the chatbot, according to OpenAI. Right now, you may run into rate limits if you do too many text chats on those tiers, but those limits, just for text, will be going away soon. Messages that include things like file uploads and images will continue to have limits.
Next week, OpenAI is also adding a "Think" button for free and Go users that they can use to "access higher reasoning for harder questions." This week, for those users, the company is additionally upgrading ChatGPT's def …
TikTok blames ‘moderator error’ on slow response to Perez Hilton livestream
TikTok says a "moderator error" delayed the removal of a livestream that appeared to show blogger Perez Hilton harming himself, as reported earlier by Wired. Jamie Favazza, a spokesperson for TikTok US, tells The Verge that the platform notified law enforcement about the situation and banned Hilton's account for violating its community guidelines.
Hilton, or Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., is known for the celebrity gossip blog he started in 2004, where he often posted photos of stars featuring his own often obscene or cruel drawings layered on top.
Though some users claimed Perez's livestream aired for more than 30 minutes, Favazza disputes …
Apple increases trade-in offers and adds new Android devices
Apple bumped up its trade-in offers for iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and certain Android phones, with some devices now worth over $100 more, 9to5Mac reports. The Mac Studio's trade-in value increased the most, going up by $260. While some devices' offers are unchanged, most got an increase of around $5 to $20, with a few seeing an increase of over $100:
- MacBook Pro ($855, previously $690)
- Mac Pro ($2,195, previously $2,045)
- Mac Studio ($1,305, previously $1,045)
Additionally, Apple is now offering trade-in credit for a handful of new Android devices:
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G ($95)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro XL ($315)
- G …
SoftBank donated $50 million to Trump’s library months before federal data center deal
SoftBank contributed $50 million to the Trump Presidential Library in January, just months before announcing that it's leasing land from the federal government to build a sprawling data center in Ohio. The Japanese company revealed the timing in response to a June letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), which raised concerns about bribery.
"Are we expected to believe it's a coincidence that two months after Softbank donated $50 million to the Trump library, his administration announced a massive lease deal for Softbank's data center?" Sen. Warren said in a statement to The …