You need to watch the modern horror masterpiece, His House
There's an argument to be made that "the real monster is trauma" has become an overused trope in modern horror. Hereditary, The Babadook, and, much less effectively, Smile, are just a few higher-profile examples. But, if you ask me, few films have deployed this trope quite as effectively as the 2020 film His House.
The film follows Bol and Rial, refugees from South Sudan, played by Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku. Both deliver the kind of incredible performances that you rarely see in a genre film like this. It's part of what elevates His House above the standard "haunted by trauma" fare. Mosaku, in particular, shows the sort of nuance and scr …
Netflix CEO made a visit to the White House before buying Warner Bros.
In November, Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO made a trip to the White House for a lengthy meeting with Donald Trump. According to Bloomberg, the two discussed a number of topics, but chief among them was Netflix’s plan to bid on Warner Bros. At the end of their conversation, Sarandos felt that “Netflix wouldn’t face immediate opposition from the White House.”
This week, Netflix successfully won the bidding war for Warner, offering $82.7 billion. It’s well known that Paramount and its CEO David Ellison were eager to acquire the storied studio and its streaming assets. Ellison and his father, Larry Ellison, have close ties to the White House, and as part of their pitch to Warner, suggested that only they were in a position to overcome the regulatory hurdles of further media consolidation.
Sarandos seems to have rightly believed that the Ellisons overestimated their political clout. And despite some public efforts to turn the White House against the deal, Netflix won out, for now. There is of course, still a chance that Paramount could launch a hostile takeover effort, or that the Justice Department could try and scuttle the deal — nothing is guaranteed yet.
Sarandos tried to acquire Paramount before David Ellison swooped in, so snatching Warner Bros. out from under his nose is likely something of a personal victory.
X cuts off the European Commission’s ad account after being fined €120 million
Friday, the EU slapped X with a €120 million fine (about $140 million) for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). It was the first time that a company had been hit with a penalty for running afoul of the law. Elon Musk responded with his trademark tact and professionalism by posting “Bullshit” on X in response to the announcement from the European Commission. But that wasn’t the end, because just a day later Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, accused the Commission of abusing an exploit to boost the reach of the announcement and responded by shutting down its ad account.
According to Bier, the Commission had not used its ad account since 2021, but used a post format explicitly reserved for ads in its announcement of the fine against X. He claims that the Commission posted “a link that deceives users into thinking it’s a video and to artificially increase its reach.” (For the record, the post itself includes a video.)
The seemingly retaliatory revocation of the European Commission’s ad account is unlikely to materially change things for either X or the EU. If, as Bier claims, the Commission has not used its ad account since 2021, holding it hostage is unlikely to give X any leverage. And, while it can appeal the decision, X is currently still on the hook for the sizable fine. Plus, it must provide details for how it plans to address the “deceptive” use of verified checkmarks in the next 60 days, or face additional penalties.
We’ve reached out to the Commission for comment and will update if we hear back.
A very human vision for going all-in on AI
It's easy to think about AI as a sort of existential battle between human and machine. Maybe it will be, someday, in a Skynet sort of way. But there are also lots of people trying to figure out how to use AI not as a replacement for human creativity and thinking but as a tool meant to augment those things.
Sari Azout is one of those people. She's the founder of Sublime, a platform dedicated to curation, creativity, and ideas. Sublime is all about taste, which makes it slightly surprising that there's a huge amount of AI powering the way it works. But to Azout, it all makes sense.
Subscribe: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Pocket Ca …
What Google Glass got right — and really, really wrong
Google didn't invent the concept of smart glasses, but it did help make them mainstream. In retrospect, 13 years after their launch, this is both a good and bad thing. Glass made a lot of people dream about new ways to use computers without staring down at screens all day. Glass also made a lot of people realize just how bad it might feel to have a world full of face computers. Which is more predictive: Glass, or Glassholes? And can you even have one without the other?
For this episode of Version History, we go back in time and tell the story of Google Glass. David Pierce, Victoria Song, and tech journalist David Imel trace the product's be …
A love letter to glory days of iPhone gaming
It may be hard to believe now, but the App Store was once a thriving place for inventive indie games. The ubiquity of the iPhone coupled with the relative ease of development for the platform meant that smaller studios were able to get their games in front of huge audiences, leading to a great time of experimentation that unfortunately didn't last. But if you want to relive those better days, Simogo's new collection is just the thing.
You might recognize the name Simogo from more recent titles, like the noir mystery Lorelei and the Laser Eyes or the vibrant interactive pop album Sayonara Wild Hearts. Before that, though, the studio was a cr …
Starlink made ‘work from home’ possible from anywhere — now, I’m ready for a change
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on how to work anywhere, follow Thomas Ricker. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.
How it started
I've worked from home for 20 years. In that time, I've seen technologies supporting remote work advance considerably. But nothing has been as transformative as the arrival of Starlink, SpaceX's internet service that lets me "work from home" anywhere I choose, be it from the open road, forest, or desolate beach.
SpaceX began launching Starlink satellites in 2019 to provide data in the l …
An all-time great game makes a comeback
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 108, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, hope your holiday shopping is going well, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
This week, I've been reading about Ariana Grande and pelvic floors and Josh Shapiro and Las Vegas, finishing and then immediately rewatching The Chair Company, working by the light of this extremely rad MoMA lamp, installing a bunch of Hue Dimmer Switches around my house, trying desperately to hide the giant box that came with my new Frame TV, wondering if my 12,983 minutes of Spotify time this year …
Apple’s chip chief might be the next exec to leave
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is reporting that Johny Srouji, senior vice president of hardware technologies, told Tim Cook he is “seriously considering” leaving Apple for another company in the near future. It was reported in October that Srouji was “evaluating his future at the tech giant.” While nothing is confirmed, it seems the executive is leaning towards not having a future at Cupertino.
If Srouji leaves, he would be just the latest in a string of high-profile shakeups in the company’s C-suite. COO Jeff Williams announced his retirement in July, which led to some shifting of roles. But things have only accelerated in December, with AI chief John Giannandrea stepping down, policy lead Lisa Jackson and general counsel Kate Adams announcing plans to retire, and UI design lead Alan Dye departing for Meta, all in the last few days.
Apple has struggled somewhat to find its footing as the industry further embraces AI. Now Tim Cook is tasked with trying to stem the bleeding, while being subject to rumors of his own departure. Gurman, who is usually reliable, has said those rumors are premature, but it still adds to the uncertainty surrounding what is typically one of the more stable companies in Silicon Valley.
The Nintendo Switch 2 and Ninja’s Creami are the best deals of the week
Cyber week has just about wrapped up, but there are still some amazing Cyber Monday leftovers that you can save money on. The one deal we can’t stop telling readers about is the unexpected $50 discount on Nintendo’s Switch 2 console bundle that includes Mario Kart World, bringing it down to $449.99 (was $499.99). Currently, you can snag the bundle at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. It’s the best Switch 2 console to buy for the holidays because it comes with Mario Kart World, a fun racing game that’s $79.99 to buy outside of the bundle. You’re getting it for free instead.
A price drop for the new handheld was about the last thing we expected to see this week, and we’re happy that the deal has endured over multiple days. We don’t know when it will end, so we’re treating every day like it’ll be the last.
If you’re shopping for a Switch 2 console, there are some extras that you may want to consider buying along with it. Games aside, we have buying guides with recommendations if you’re looking for cheap, but great wireless controllers, protective cases that are better than the rest, as well as the best Switch 2 screen protectors we tried.
Nintendo Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 7.9-inch LCD display, magnetically attached Joy-Con 2 controllers, backwards compatibility with most original Switch games, and exclusive titles including Donkey Kong Bananza and Kirby Air Riders. Read our review.
Where to Buy:
We learned something interesting, but not entirely surprising, about people who were reading our Black Friday coverage: they love ice cream. They flocked to the $70 off deal that’s still happening at Amazon and Best Buy on Ninja’s Creami ice cream maker that can seemingly do it all. You’ll have a tough time finding a more capable machine at its $279.99 sale price (if you frequently treat yourself and the family to ice cream cones, the Creami’s cost will be offset faster than you might think). This machine has a ton of modes, letting you craft soft serve or thicker, scoopable ice cream. You can use it to craft sorbet, gelato, frozen custard, or froyo – or whip up a milkshake. One full batch of ice cream can fill four small cones, or four scooped bowls.
Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl
Ninja’s clever 2-in-1 machine can spin up soft serve and traditional hard scoops in a few easy steps, not to mention creamy milkshakes, gelato, and frozen yogurt.
Where to Buy:
Not everyone is ready for smart glasses that have cameras built into them. We get it (some Verge staffers feel the same way). However, if you want glasses with some smarts — the ability to take audio calls and listen to music and podcasts, or get Alexa assistance with questions or commands — look no further than the Black Friday bundle that includes Amazon’s latest Echo Frames glasses. The glasses typically sold for over $300 before Black Friday, but you can get the glasses in multiple styles for just $114.99 at Amazon.
Amazon Echo Frames (latest verion)
The smart glasses resemble a pair of regular eyeglasses but can be used to listen to music, take calls, and perform a range of Alexa-enabled tasks. They feature up to six hours of audio playback with their open-ear design.
Where to Buy:
Other Verge-approved deals we dug this week
- For a limited time, B&H Photo has the best price on the M4 Mac Mini that has 24GB of RAM and 256GB of storage — definitely an odd configuration, but a fast one, nevertheless! Normally $779, you can snag it for $679. Of course, most people who want this much memory probably want a bigger SSD than what’s offered here. Unfortunately, getting 24GB RAM with a 512GB SSD costs $904 at Amazon. If you prefer having a 512GB SSD and are alright settling with just 16GB of RAM, Amazon has that model for $729. As for my opinion on the matter, get the model with more RAM. Read our review.
- JBL’s Tour One M3 over-ear headphones plummeted to their lowest price yet at Amazon and B&H Photo, where the black or blue color schemes are $249.99 (originally $449, but commonly discounted to about $380). These hang with other flagship headphones in terms of sound quality, comfort, and have a robust active noise cancellation effect (they hit my radar thanks to a May 2025 review from Wirecutter). They’re especially interesting because they include an Auracast transmitter, with which you can plug into any device to beam a Bluetooth signal that any other Auracast-enabled device can connect to (the Tour One M3 is supported, obviously). In normal use, the transmitter is handy for setting up no-fuss connections to really any device with a headphone jack, be it in-flight entertainment, a treadmill, a laptop, or a portable gaming console, to provide some examples.
- I have another treat for your ears — this one being particularly good for PC gamers. The Fractal Scape is a wireless gaming headset better than most at its sale price of $169.99 ($30 off) at Amazon and Walmart. Not only does it sound very good while playing games and listening to music, its web browser-based tool makes it very easy to customize equalizers, in addition to tweaking the built-in LEDs built into the ear cups. Two other things make this one worth considering: recharging them is really easy, as you simply put them on the included docking station, and its Digital Crown-esque knob makes adjusting the volume or skipping tracks a breeze. Read our review.