Apple’s new HomeView smart display is $10 cheaper at Amazon
Apple only just announced on Tuesday that its first smart display, the HomeView, will arrive on November 13th, but you can already save a couple bucks on it. Right now, you can buy the display for $289.99 ($10 off) in gray and the creamy white “starlight” colorway at Amazon. Sure, it’s a small discount, but deals on new Apple devices ahead of launch are rare.
Expect a full review of the HomeView in November, but my colleague Jennifer Pattison Tuohy spent some brief time with it and likened it to an “iPhone for your home” that looks a bit like an oversized Apple Watch. It features a gorgeous seven-inch square touchscreen that can recognize up to six household members and automatically switch between personalized experiences, displaying information relevant to whoever is using it.
As you might already know, the HomeView also doubles as a smart home hub, with support for Matter and Thread. You can use it to control compatible smart home devices, view live feeds and recorded footage from HomeKit Secure Video cameras, and more. It also features a 12-megapixel FaceTime camera for video calls, and doubles as an entertainment device, letting you play music, display photos, and more.
Apple’s AI-powered Siri assistant is another big part of the experience, allowing you to ask questions and get information using personal context from your messages, calendar, and emails. That means you can ask it to find your lost keys, play a song someone texted you, pull up a recipe with step-by-step instructions and built-in timers, or help you keep track of your schedule without having to reach for your phone.
Read our hands-on impressions.
Sprout Pi adds Bluetooth, streaming, and USB-C to your aging iPod
There's an entire cottage industry of iPod mods out there, but Sprout Pi and Sprout Pico are two of the few full motherboard replacements that combine many of the most popular mods into a single upgrade. Both versions add Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB-C, a microSD card slot, FLAC playback, and more. And while cracking open an iPod will never not be intimidating, at least the Sprout doesn't require any soldering.
The firmware allows audio over USB for wired headsets, as well as over the original 3.5mm jack. Plus, Bluetooth support lets you connect to your AirPods or favorite UE party speaker. Wi-Fi enables Google Cast and AirPlay streaming, as well …
Anbernic’s next dual-screen handheld could replace your aging Nintendo 3DS
Anbernic shared a new video of its upcoming dual-screen handheld it announced last week showing the device playing 3DS, Xbox, and PS3 games through emulation. While competitors like Ayaneo have been making dual-screen handhelds for a few years, Anbernic only recently introduced its own dual-screen devices including the RG DS and RG DS Plus. Those handhelds are designed to be modern replacements for the Nintendo DS, but the new RG DDS, short for "Dream Dual Screen," has a faster processor and displays with aspect ratios optimized to replace the Nintendo 3DS - although Anbernic isn't trying to recreate the glasses-free 3D effect.
Full perform …
My AI doppelganger tells me what to eat
This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent 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.
For the past 100 days or so, my mornings have had a new rhythm. When I wake up, the first thing I have to do is feed my digital twin. It consumes my metabolic data, and its first "meal" of the day is my body composition data, sent straight from a smart scale.
Once that's logged in the app, I scoot over to the kitchen to fill an Owala with lemon water to take my medications with. That, too, gets logged in the app. On Mondays, I'll …
OpenAI claims an ex-employee took its product plans and presented them to Apple
OpenAI claims a former employee took more than 100 files related to its product plans before joining Apple. In a document filed on Wednesday, OpenAI accuses the unnamed employee of sending this information to a personal account and then presenting it to Apple leadership, including the vice president of the company's operations in Asia.
The filing, reported earlier by Reuters, is tied to a legal battle between Apple and OpenAI over trade secrets - but this time, OpenAI is doing the accusing. It alleges that the files in question contain images of at least one unreleased device, along with supplier information, engineering data, project files …
Repairing the iPhone Duo’s folding screen costs as much as a new iPhone
If you don't get AppleCare Plus for the iPhone Duo, any repairs are going to be pretty expensive. Apple published the estimated repair costs for the iPhone Duo without AppleCare Plus today, as reported by MacRumors, and they can be high: Battery service, for example, will cost $229, inner display damage will cost $999, and "other damage" costs $1,499.
Here's Apple's estimated costs for various repairs if you don't have AppleCare Plus:
Cover layer damage $49
Back glass damage $199
Battery service $229
Rear camera damage $229
Outer display damage $379
Outer display and back glass damage $509
Inner display damage $999
Ot …
Honey, Xbox shrunk its controller
Microsoft is officially announcing its Xbox Nano controller today, a smaller and cheaper controller that's designed to fit into your pocket. The more compact controller is also designed for "younger players, smaller hands, or anyone seeking something portable for play on the go."
The $49.99 Xbox Nano is Microsoft's smallest controller, and it's shorter than most smartphones at just over five inches in length. It has all the regular buttons you'd find on a normal Xbox controller, as well as Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth support for connecting to Xbox consoles and phones, tablets, and PCs.
The Xbox Nano controller also has includes a rechargea …
Microsoft has a new machine learning tool to improve weather forecasts
Old-school physics-based weather forecasting and even new AI models typically become less reliable beyond two weeks, a problem Microsoft claims to have solved using machine learning.
Researchers with the company say they've found a new, cost-effective way to make more accurate weather forecasts two to six weeks in advance - allowing farmers and emergency responders to plan ahead with greater certainty. The findings were published today in the journal Nature, and the tool is now open-source software.
Microsoft joins Google, Nvidia, and other companies developing AI tools for weather forecasting. Instead of creating a new standalone weather …
Now you can call anyone with WhatsApp, even if they don’t have WhatsApp
WhatsApp's new guest calling feature allows you to invite anyone to a call, without needing them to make an account first. They won't need the app, either, since Meta also added support for calls on the web version of WhatsApp earlier this year. You can invite guests just by sending them the call link, and guests still have access to call features like hand raising, screen sharing, and emoji reactions, complete with end-to-end encryption.
However, you still need an account to start a call, and there are a few restrictions for guests:
Anyone joining as a guest always needs the call host's approval. Guests will enter a waiting room until th …
Square’s new kiosk lets you talk to AI for help with your order
Square is launching new hardware: a big kiosk for ordering things that has a touchscreen and lets you talk to an AI. It's called the Square Kiosk.
Square says the Kiosk, which has a large pill shape, has an "agentic, conversational voice layer" that "fully understands a seller's menu and listens and responds in real time, enabling customers to order the way they'd naturally talk to staff." While talking with the AI agent, you can do things like ask questions and request modifications and substitutions.
The touchscreen on the Kiosk is 21.5 inches, and the device can welcome you as you approach thanks to presence detection, Square says. When …