Ars Technica Mar 4, 02:54 PM
Are consumers doomed to pay more for electricity due to data center buildouts? Data center operators to sign pledge to supply their own power instead of relying on grid.
Ars Technica Mar 3, 03:01 PM
This is why our electricity bills are so high right now New data shows electricity rates rose 5 percent nationwide in 2025.
Bloomberg Technology Mar 7, 03:34 AM
Nintendo Files Lawsuit Seeking Refunds on Trump’s Tariffs Nintendo Co. filed a lawsuit in the US Court of International Trade on Friday, seeking a refund for duties it paid to the US government as a result of President Donald Trump’s Tariffs.
The Verge Mar 4, 02:19 PM
Apple launches $599 MacBook Neo powered by an iPhone chip Apple just announced a new entry-level MacBook that runs on the same A18 Pro chip that launched two years ago in its iPhone 16 lineup and starts at $599.
The MacBook Neo features a 13-inch (2408 x 1506) display, 8GB of RAM, 256GB or 512GB of storage, a Magic Keyboard, multi-touch trackpad, 1080p camera, two USB-C ports (one USB 3 and one USB 2), a headphone jack, and new side-firing speakers with support for spatial audio and Dolby Atmos. It's available in four colors: silver, indigo, blush, and citrus, each with a color-matched keyboard.
There are some tradeoffs for the lower price, like the 8GB of RAM that doesn't include an option to …
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The Verge Mar 3, 02:00 PM
Elgato’s Stream Deck Plus XL has more buttons, more dials, and a larger touchscreen The Stream Deck Plus XL has more than four times as many LCD keys as the smaller original version. | Image: Elgato
After supersizing its Stream Deck controller into a product designed for professional broadcast environments in 2024, Elgato is giving a similar treatment to the three-year-old Stream Deck Plus. The new Stream Deck Plus XL is essentially the same product as the original, but with more macro buttons, more dials, a wider touchscreen, and a bigger footprint. It's also $150 more expensive. The original Stream Deck Plus is still $199.99, while the new XL version is $349.99.
The original Stream Deck Plus had fewer buttons than the standard Stream Deck but offered expanded functionality through four additional dial controls and a touchscreen above …
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The Verge Mar 4, 08:22 PM
The world’s biggest automaker has one of the dirtiest supply chains: report Tesla, Ford, and Volvo occupy the top three spots in a new ranking of 18 global automakers based on their efforts to eliminate carbon emissions, environmental harms, and human rights violations from their supply chains. Toyota, meanwhile, lurks near the bottom of the list, underscoring the persistent difficulty in getting the world's largest car company to clean up its supply chain.
The rankings were compiled by Lead the Charge, a global coalition of leading climate, environment, and human rights organizations that includes the Sierra Club, The Sunrise Project, and Public Citizen, among others. This is the fourth edition of the coalition's …
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The Verge Mar 4, 06:57 PM
Google’s AI-powered workspace is now available to more users in Search Google is bringing Canvas to everyone in the US using AI Mode in Search. The feature opens up a dedicated workspace within its AI-powered search tool, allowing it to use the latest information from Search to organize plans, develop tools, and draft documents in a panel alongside your chat.
Though Google initially launched Canvas inside its Gemini app as a way to create documents and code in real-time, it later tested the feature in AI Mode - but only for visualizing travel plans. Now, you can use Canvas in AI Mode for tasks related to creative writing and coding, too, giving you the ability to view an AI-generated dashboard laying out infor …
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The Verge Mar 5, 12:17 AM
Seven tech giants signed Trump’s pledge to keep electricity costs from spiking around data centers Trump summoned tech leaders to the White House on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 to sign pledges committing their companies to foot the electricity bill for energy-hungry data centers. | Photo: Getty Images
Leaders from Google, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, OpenAI, Amazon, and xAI met with President Donald Trump today to sign a "rate payer protection pledge." It's one way they're responding to growing bipartisan concerns about electricity rates rising as tech companies and the Trump administration rush to build out a new generation of AI data centers.
"[Tech companies] need some PR help because people think that if a data center goes in, their electricity prices are going to go up," Trump said during the event. "Some centers were rejected by communities for that and now I think it's going to be the opposite."
Trump signed a proclamation formally …
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The Verge Mar 4, 05:35 PM
Downdetector and Speedtest sold to Accenture for $1.2 billion Downdetector and Speedtest - the free platforms that allow people on the web to quickly check internet speeds or see if an online platform may be down - will soon have a new owner. On Tuesday, the consulting and IT services provider Accenture announced that it has agreed to acquire the Ookla-owned platforms from Ziff Davis for $1.2 billion, as reported earlier by Reuters.
In the press release, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet says the company will use Ookla's products to capture data that will help "clients across business and government scale AI safely." Ziff Davis, which owns CNET, IGN, and Eurogamer, acquired Ookla in 2014. Ookla's other produc …
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The Verge Mar 4, 08:15 PM
Console exclusives might be making a comeback The Last of Us Part I. | Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment
The near future of game consoles could look a lot like the past. Once a hallmark of the industry, over the last few years console-exclusive games have steadily become rare, as the likes of Sony and Microsoft experimented with offering titles on multiple platforms. Heck, who knows what an Xbox even is anymore? But it seems that the experiments haven't paid off. Signs are pointing to the return of exclusives, as companies lean on other ways to entice new audiences.
The most obvious indication of this shift comes from a Bloomberg report that Sony is pulling back from releasing its big PS5 games on PC, much in the way that it scaled back its li …
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Ars Technica Mar 4, 08:48 PM
Google and Epic announce settlement to end app store antitrust case The era of the 30 percent app store cut has ended.
The Verge Mar 4, 04:21 PM
MacBook Neo versus an old MacBook Air: good luck Are you the one? | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
My first thought when Apple announced the MacBook Neo today was "okay, but why not just get an older Air?" If you're thinking that too, you might be right. If you can find one.
The Neo starts at $599 with an A18 Pro processor, 8GB of memory, and 256GB storage, and ends at $699 with the same specs plus TouchID and 512GB of storage. It has two USB-C (not Thunderbolt) ports, a pretty basic-looking screen, a mechanical trackpad instead of haptic, and various other cost-saving measures. It's the cheapest new MacBook you can get now.
The new M5 MacBook Air starts at $1,099 with 16GB of memory and 512GB of much faster storage, a bigger and brigh …
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Ars Technica Mar 4, 05:00 PM
Google Pixel 10a review: The sidegrade Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
The Verge Mar 3, 03:00 PM
We played Pokémon Pokopia, ask us anything Pokémon's 30th anniversary is here and Nintendo (and The Pokémon Company, Game Freak, and Omega Force) are kicking things off with a surprisingly excellent life simulation spinoff game. Pokémon Pokopia arrives on March 5th, and it's one of the first Pokémon titles that will debut exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2. Equal parts Animal Crossing, Minecraft, and Dragon Quest Builders, Pokopia reimagines the Pokémon world as a massive, human-free paradise that you can rebuild however you want. Pokopia easily could have been a straightforward game about making friends and crafting neighborhoods. But as our review discusses, Pokopia's a much bigg …
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CNBC Technology Mar 7, 12:03 AM
5 unresolved questions hanging over the Anthropic–Pentagon fracas: 'It's all very puzzling' Plenty of unknowns remain after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a "Supply-Chain Risk to National Security" on Friday.
The Verge Mar 3, 07:00 PM
Google brings Android’s desktop mode to Pixel devices Google is bringing a new desktop mode to its Pixel phones and tablets. The feature comes as part of Google's March Pixel drop, allowing users with a Pixel 8 and newer to connect their device to an external monitor via USB-C for a "desktop-like multi-window experience."
You can use a mouse and keyboard with the new desktop mode, which also works with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The Pixel Tablet is also getting a desktop windowing feature that Google says will offer a "familiar interface to arrange and resize overlapping windows."
Though Google's announcement doesn't include any images of what these new experiences will l …
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The Verge Mar 3, 07:00 PM
The Pixel Watch now lets you tap to pay without opening the Wallet app Google has a big update in store for the Pixel Watch, which will now allow you to make a range of payments by simply tapping your watch to a retail terminal without opening the Wallet app. The feature, called "express pay," is coming to the Pixel Watch 2 and later.
It's similar to "express mode" on the Apple Watch, a feature that lets you use compatible cards without waking or unlocking your device. However, Google notes that you'll need to opt in to use the new express pay feature, and that the watch itself will need to be unlocked to make a payment.
Before this update, Pixel Watch users had to double-tap the device's crown to open the Wa …
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The Verge Mar 3, 02:00 PM
GoPro’s next cameras are coming soon with a brand-new chip An image GoPro says was captured using its “next‑generation camera system” powered by its new processor. | Image: GoPro
GoPro has announced a new processor today that the company says will "power GoPro's next generation of cameras across current and future products" - and will debut in cameras launching in Q2 2026. There were no details shared about what cameras GoPro plans to launch in the coming months, but the company says its new GP3 chip will be its "most powerful custom imaging processor to date," improving the low-light and thermal performance of its small form-factor cameras to extend run times.
The GoPro GP2 is the processor currently found in GoPro cameras that have been released since 2021. It already uses AI to optimize camera settings for differ …
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Ars Technica Mar 3, 06:41 PM
M5 Pro and M5 Max are surprisingly big departures from older Apple Silicon Apple is using more chiplets and three types of CPU cores to make the M5 family.
The Verge Mar 4, 06:09 PM
Google isn’t waiting for a settlement — the 30 percent Android app store fee is dead In November, Epic and Google jointly proposed a settlement that would change Android's fate globally without cracking open Google's Android monopoly quite the way it otherwise might. Today, Google has decided it's not waiting for that settlement to be approved: it's moving forward with many of its proposed changes right now, rolling them out globally through 2027.
By June 30th, Google writes, it will lower its app store fees in the US, UK, and European Economic Area to 20 percent or less, down from 30 percent. By the end of the year, it will launch a "Registered App Stores" program outside of the US, so that you can download and install thi …
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The Verge Mar 3, 07:00 PM
Google’s latest Pixel drop allows Gemini to order groceries for you and more Google is adding several new features to Pixel phones with its latest March update, including the ability for its Gemini AI assistant to do things for you, like order groceries or book a ride. This feature, which was first shown off during Samsung's Unpacked event last week, is rolling out now to the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL.
With Gemini's new agentic feature, you can ask the assistant to complete work on your behalf inside "select" apps, including Uber and Grubhub. It will work in the background while you use your phone, but Google notes that you can supervise or interrupt its work at any time. This feature will also be …
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The Verge Mar 3, 08:07 PM
Shark’s latest robot vacuum hunts stains with UV light The Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal is SharkNinja's latest robot vacuum and mop. A flagship model with a multifunctional dock that empties the dustbin and refills and washes its mop, the Reveal's signature feature is a UV light designed to "find" stains on your floors. It costs $1,299.99 and is available now.
Combined with an RGB camera to detect visible messes and obstacles, the UV light lets the vacuum spot stains that aren't visible under normal lighting, such as pet urine. When it encounters dirt, visible or not, the robot uses onboard AI to identify and decide how to clean it.
Its cleaning tools include a vacuum with a single roller brus …
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The Verge Mar 3, 06:29 PM
Phone makers of all sizes are feeling the RAM crunch Xiaomi kept prices steady with the 17 and 17 Ultra, but it’s not clear how long that will last.
We've been talking to phone companies both big and small this week at MWC, and they've basically all agreed on one point: the RAM crisis is hitting hard, and phone prices will almost certainly increase where they haven't already.
For a major global brand like Xiaomi, volume is one lever the company can pull. To balance out the increased costs, Angus Ng, Xiaomi's director of communications and public relations, tells us, "We can potentially go for bigger volumes, especially in the mid-range segment and entry-level segment, so then we can try to lower costs in that area." Pulling other levers, like scaling back flagship specs, isn't considere …
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Ars Technica Mar 3, 07:58 PM
There are plenty of great choices if you want to spend less than $15K on an EV There's a lot of good Hyundai and Kia EVs in this price bracket, plus the Bolt and i3.