The Verge – Page 8

Snap OS 2.0 is a small step towards AR glasses you might actually wear

Last September, Snap revealed its fifth-generation Spectacles, upgraded AR glasses with a twist: they were only ever released to developers. One year later, we still haven’t seen even a glimpse of the consumer-ready version of those glasses, which the company still says is coming in 2026, but Snap is ready to show off Snap OS 2.0, a software update to those developer Spectacles that signals its plans for mainstream AR.
https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/777810/snap-os-2-spectacles-software-browser-spotlight-gallery

Apple barely talked about AI at its big iPhone 17 event

The presentation was a far cry from Apple’s heavy-handed mentions of AI at the iPhone 16 unveiling, which led to public disappointment when some flagship features didn’t roll out as promised. This year, Apple talked more about how AI is helping power features in the background, and less about how it’s putting AI in front of consumers’ faces — unlike Google’s Pixel 10 unveiling last month and Samsung’s event in January.
https://www.theverge.com/apple-event/774963/apple-september-launch-event-ai-apple-intelligence

This robot lawnmower is designed to pick fruit and throw your dog a ball

The Master X Series Concept is capable of “trimming, weeding, fruit picking, and even pet interaction,” according to NexLawn’s press release. A 3D animated video demo shows the mower throwing a ball for a dog, for example, though it’s hard to picture a pooch that would engage positively with such a visibly not human-looking device.
https://www.theverge.com/news/772045/nexlawn-master-x-series-concept-robot-lawnmower

The Browser Company, maker of Arc and Dia, is being acquired

Mike Cannon-Brookes, the CEO of enterprise software giant Atlassian, was one of the first users of the Arc browser. Over the last several years, he has been a prolific bug reporter and feature requester. Now he’ll own the thing: Atlassian is acquiring The Browser Company, the New York-based startup that makes both Arc and the new AI-focused Dia browser. Atlassian is paying $610 million in cash for The Browser Company, and plans to run it as an independent entity.
https://www.theverge.com/web/770947/browser-company-arc-dia-acquired-atlassian

Sam Altman says ‘yes,’ AI is in a bubble

Altman compared the market’s reaction to AI to the dot-com bubble in the ’90s, when the value of internet startups soared before crashing down in 2000. “When bubbles happen, smart people get overexcited about a kernel of truth,” Altman said. “If you look at most of the bubbles in history, like the tech bubble, there was a real thing. Tech was really important. The internet was a really big deal. People got overexcited.”
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/759965/sam-altman-openai-ai-bubble-interview

AOL is finally shutting down dial-up

“AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet,” reads the statement by the Yahoo-owned company. “This service will no longer be available in AOL plans. As a result, on September 30, 2025 this service and the associated software, the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, which are optimized for older operating systems and dial-up internet connections, will be discontinued.”
https://www.theverge.com/news/757194/aol-dial-up-is-dead

Pebble is officially Pebble again

In 2016, Pebble was acquired by Fitbit for $23 million, marking the end of the first Pebble era. Along the way, Fitbit was acquired by Google. That’s important because the tech giant agreed to open-source Pebble’s software, and Migicovsky announced earlier this year that Pebble was making a comeback. However, because Migicovsky didn’t have the trademark, the new Pebble watches were initially dubbed the Core 2 Duo and the Core Time 2. “Great news — we’ve been able to recover the trademark for Pebble! Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this to work out so easily,” Core Devices CEO Eric Migicovsky writes in an update blog. “Core 2 Duo is now Pebble 2 Duo. Core Time 2 is now Pebble Time 2.”
https://www.theverge.com/news/713931/pebble-smartwatch-name-trademark-recovered