The Verge

iFixit has completed its teardown of the Nintendo Switch 2 and many repairs don’t look easy. | Image: iFixit

After retroactively lowering the original Nintendo Switch’s repairability score from an 8 out of 10 to just 4 out of 10 to reflect 2025 standards, iFixit has found the Switch 2 to be even harder to fix. Following its full teardown of the new console, iFixit is giving the Switch 2 a 3 out of 10 repairability score thanks, in part, to a battery that’s once again “glued in with powerful adhesive” and flash storage modules and USB-C ports that are soldered to the main board.

Nintendo continues to rely on the tri-point screws the company has been using to assemble its consoles and handhelds for decades, and on the Switch 2, many are hidden behind stickers that get damaged in the process of removing them to access the screws. The company has never released repair parts or manuals for the original Switch, and there are currently none available for the Switch 2, so you’ll need third-party alternatives to reassemble the console.

Components like the headphone jack, speakers, microphone, and microSD reader on the Switch 2 are easy to remove. As are buttons that are soldered to breakout boards, and the console’s cooling fan that’s held in place by three screws.

But iFixit describes removing the Switch 2’s battery as an “absolute mission” and “just as bad as the original Switch.” Lots of isopropyl alcohol and a “whole set of pry tools” were needed to remove it, and in the process the foam Nintendo glued to the battery was left disintegrated making a future battery swap a difficult and messy endeavor.

The Switch 2’s gamecard reader, which was modular and relatively easy to remove and replace in the original Switch and Switch OLED models, is now soldered to the console’s mainboard as it is on Switch Lite. iFixit also found three different types of thermal paste used in the Switch 2 which in the original Switch would solidify over time making it hard to remove and less effective at preventing the console from overheating.

Even the new Joy-Cons on the Switch 2 are harder to disassemble, which is problematic because the joysticks are using the same potentiometer technology as the original Joy-Cons that rely on a resistive material that can wear away over time. That’s one of the causes of the original Switch’s notorious joystick drift issue and this time around it’s going to be even harder to do repairs or replace the sticks altogether with Hall effect or TMR alternatives.

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This year’s WWDC kicks off in less than a week, which means Apple is likely to announce a string of software changes in short order, some of which are designed to improve Apple’s latest pair of premium earbuds. Thankfully, if you haven’t yet pulled the trigger on the second-gen AirPods Pro, they’re once again on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for around $169 ($70 off), matching their best price of the year.

If you’re an iPhone user, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better pair of noise-canceling earbuds than Apple’s latest AirPods Pro with USB-C. The second-gen model ratchets up the noise cancellation and sound quality, providing dynamic, rich sound and ANC that can go toe-to-toe with Sony’s XM5 and other like-minded rivals. Unlike the cheaper AirPods 4 with ANC, they also feature convenient swipe-based controls and four sets of silicone tips, whereas Apple’s entry-level earbuds still rely on an open-style design that allows more ambient noise in.

As for why they’re the perfect fit for iPhone users, well, that’s easy. The Pro are chock-full of Apple-only features, including head tracking spatial audio, robust Find My support, and automatic device switching. The included speaker-equipped charging case also features a U1 chip for more accurate tracking, and thanks to a software update in the fall, Apple’s high-end earbuds can now protect your hearing and serve as clinical-grade hearing aids. That makes them well-suited for those with mild to moderate hearing loss — or your next Turnstile concert.

Read our original AirPods Pro (second-gen) review.

Other ways to save this weekend

It’s by no means a necessity, but I’ve been ogling the Vestaboard Note ever since the spendy split-flap display went up for sale last month. The nostalgic 24.5-inch board is currently available for preorder from Vestaboard ahead of its December launch starting at $899 ($400 off), and while it only features 45 split-flap mechanisms (as opposed to 132 on the original), it still looks like a delightful way to showcase any message, pattern, or image you create using the accompanying web interface or mobile app.Ugreen’s FineTrack Smart Finder is available for just $9.99 (about $7 off) from Amazon and Ugreen right now, which is the best price we’ve seen on the inexpensive location tracker. Sure, it’s not quite as capable as an AirTag, but it still comes with a two-year replaceable battery, a built-in ringer, and the ability to tap into Apple’s extensive Find My network as necessary. Hell, it even comes with a lanyard hole, which isn’t something we can say about Apple’s tracker.Meta’s entry-level VR headset, the Meta Quest 3S, is on sale once again at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy, where you can pick it up with a copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow and a three-month trial of Meta Horizon Plus for an all-time low of around $269 ($30 off). It’s sort of the middle child in terms of Meta’s headset lineup, as it features the same chipset as the Quest 3 but remains reliant on the same lenses and field of view as the Quest 2. Still, it can play most of the same standalone games as the former, as well as PC-based virtual reality titles if you own a gaming PC. Read our review.

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Yacht Club Games, the studio behind the Shovel Knight series, is launching its next game, Mina the Hollower, on October 31st, the team announced as part of Summer Game Fest on Friday.

Mina the Hollower is a top-down adventure game that looks like it was ripped directly from a Game Boy Color. You play as Mina, a mouse, and you’ll use things like your whip and the ability to burrow underground to take on enemies.

The game was initially announced in February 2022 alongside a Kickstarter to help raise funds for development. The Kickstarter was a big success, raising more than $1.2 million.

If you want to try Mina the Hollower ahead of its official launch, Yacht Club games is releasing a demo for the game that available now and will be part of next week’s Steam Next Fest. I got early access to the demo and really loved it. Any progress you make in the demo, which ends with the game’s first big boss fight, can be brought over to the final game.

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The Wholesome Direct is always full of cute and charming games to keep an eye on for the future. But it's also a great place to find things to play now - and that's especially true this year. The 2025 edition of the livestream showcase included a number of games that released during the show itself.

So if you like what you see, there's no wait at all.

Camper Van: Make it Home

Finally, a game that combines designing your own house with going on a road trip. Camper Van: Make it Home is exactly what it sounds like. On the design side, you're able to customize a tiny home camper and make it appropriately cozy, but the developers say it will also take you on "a journey of self-discovery."

Fireside Feelings

This game seems designed entirely around comfort. You play as a cute little animal and spend your time curled up around a fire, chatting with friends, and guiding the conversation as you get pulled into a bigger story.

Instants

Puzzle game meets scrapbooking. Here the goal is to organize a huge cache of family photos, and as you do, discover their history and story. "Inspired by the way elders pass down family history using pictures to support their storytelling," the develope …

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When fans nervously tuned in to watch HBO's adaptation of one of their favorite video games, there was one familiar presence that immediately calmed their nerves: the mournful guitar of Gustavo Santaolalla. As certain story beats changed and beloved polygonal faces were replaced with new actors, the beating heart of The Last of Us - its mesmerizing, tension-ridden score - survived the transition to TV intact.

"[Series creator] Neil Druckmann has said that my music is part of the DNA of The Last of Us," Santaolalla says. "I think the fact that we kept the sonic fabric - that we didn't do an orchestral score for the series - has been instrumental in keeping those fans of the games fans of the series, too."

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Santaolalla first started releasing music when he was 17. Loving both English rock bands and the traditional Argentine folk music that he was raised on, Santaolalla melded both into his own unique sound, part of a genre called rock nacional. Before he could fully make his mark, Santaolalla's family fled the Argentine junta dictatorship in 1978, moving to Los Angeles, where his unique sound soon caught the attention of filmmakers. Snapped up to sc …

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Give the people what they want, Tim.

It's early June and the vibes are decidedly off in Cupertino.

The hype leading up to Apple's last two developer conferences felt much different. There was anticipation in 2023 for a potentially groundbreaking new headset. In 2024, there was a sense of urgency leading up to the company's AI announcements and whispers that Siri might actually, finally be good at something. But 2025?

Well, things are different.

The Vision Pro was the big announcement at that 2023 show, and it's, uh, still around. Apple has reportedly cut production due to slow sales, and you can get one at a steep discount on eBay. Maybe the price is wrong. And the big AI announcement last year? How's that going? As it stands, Apple Intelligence is stalled out. The features that Apple managed to deploy are underwhelming, and the meaty update to Siri has been delayed - maybe even for years. It sounds like the whole thing was a real fiasco inside Apple, and publicly, the company took down an ad showcasing Siri features that simply don't exist yet. Ouch.

And then there's the legal stuff. In 2021, a court in California ordered Apple to let developers add links allowing customers to make purchases outside of their a …

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The Insta360 Link is among the USB-C webcams that doesn’t work with the new Switch.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is more expensive in practically every way: pricier console, pricier games, an entire Chat button you'll eventually have to pay to use. So it was nice when Nintendo revealed you won't need its own $55 camera to video chat with pals.

"You can use the Nintendo Switch 2 camera accessory (sold separately) or any compatible USB-C® camera you'd like," the company wrote. But you might be mighty disappointed if you simply buy a PC webcam off the shelf.

Many USB-C webcams we've tried don't work at all, including the ones you'll typically find on "best webcam" lists around the internet, like the Logitech Brio 4K, the Insta360 Link, and the Elgato Facecam MK.2. Meanwhile, ancient USB-A cameras like my Logitech C920 fire up instantly with no trouble at all.

And in our testing, it doesn't seem to matter if you use USB-C or USB-A, whether you're going through a C-to-A adapter, whether you plug in via USB hub or the Switch's dock; the webcams that work, work, and the ones that don't, don't.

Overall, it's starting to look like Nintendo didn't mean "compatible with USB-C," but rather "compatible with Switch 2." So why did it suggest you can use any camera you'd like? We …

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After a very convincing tease that suggested news was in fact not incoming, Capcom just officially announced Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth mainline entry in the franchise. It launches on February 27th, 2026 on PC, PS5, and Xbox.

The announcement came via a lengthy trailer that took quite a while before revealing itself to indeed be the next Resident Evil, focused instead on an office space. But then, naturally, things got pretty creepy. Capcom says the new game will indeed be survival horror, but didn’t provide much other info, explaining only that players will “escape death in a heart-stopping experience that will chill you to your core.”

The game is a follow-up to Resident Evil Village in 2021, which followed a reinvigorating return to survival horror in the seventh entry. At the same time, Capcom has kept the franchise alive through a series of big-budget remakes of older titles, most recently with Resident Evil 4 in 2023.

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In 1999, the iconic New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan released their very first video game, Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style. Now, 25 years later, the Wu have returned with a new game project called Wu-Tang: Rise of the Deceiver. Announced simultaneously at Summer Game Fest and at the opening performance of the group’s farewell tour, Rise of the Deceiver is part of the apotheosis of one of the greatest rap groups of all time.

The Verge had the opportunity to speak to the game’s developers at Brass Lion Entertainment about working with some of rap’s living legends on a project that is both the end of an era in rap history and the beginning of something new.

Rise of the Deceiver is an action co-op game in which players, imbued with powers bestowed upon them by the legendary members of the Wu-Tang Clan, fight against invaders that wish to corrupt their home. It’s been in development for three years, and started as a companion piece to Angel of Dust, a movie produced by Ghostface Killah and directed by The RZA.

“What we did is we leaned into elements of that script that worked really, really well from an interactive perspective, and made a companion piece to it,” said Bryna Dabby Smith co-founder and CEO of Brass Lion Entertainment.

According to Dabby Smith, the driving ethos behind Rise of the Deceiver is essentially, “do it for the culture.” While there have been numerous hip-hop-centric video games over the years, very few of them tackle the artistry, history, and culture of the genre beyond using it as set dressing. “We wanted to create something where it was built from the ground up,” Dabby Smith said. “It was by the culture, for the culture, and actually representing what [Wu-Tang Clan] put out there through the years.”

And for the game’s soundtrack, which incorporates music from throughout the group’s 30-plus year history, it really was built from the ground up.

“For us, the treatment of the music was a really big deal,” said Dabby Smith. It’s not just snippets of “C.R.E.A.M” or “Protect Ya Neck” playing during cutscenes. She talked about how their sound team created a dynamic music system.

“So while you are playing the game, the music is reacting to what you’re doing and it’s completely unique to your playing experience.” Additionally, players will experience Wu-Tang’s discography in ways they’ve never heard before.

“It’s not just the traditional songs that you’ve heard. It’s remix versions. It’s orchestral versions,” Dabby Smith said. There are even totally new tracks in the game that incorporate Wu-Tang samples to make something unique but still familiar to fans’ ears.

“Hip-hop is a syncretic art form. It takes pieces of things that have existed elsewhere and mashes them together in unique ways,” said Evan Narcisse, a former video game journalist who worked as a writer on the project. “We’re doing the same thing.”

Rise of the Deceiver is meant to appeal to all kinds of video game fans, not just 30-something hip-hop heads. There’s something for everyone. And if you are a 30-something hip-hop head, this game will be a love letter to one of the greatest musical acts in a generation.

“The Wu Tang Clan are larger than life,” said Narcisse. ”They’re superheroes, and they deserve a world that speaks that legacy.”

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I usually struggle with strategy games. They're typically too hard for me, and I often get overwhelmed at managing multiple characters or squads. But I couldn't put down Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown, which blends ideas from strategy games and classic TMNT arcade games to keep things snappy, easy to play, and full of action.

One way Tactical Takedown - developed by I Am Your Beast maker Strange Scaffold - keeps things simple is by having you play as just one character in each of the game's 20 levels. The four turtles have different movesets; Leonardo, for example, uses his swords to aggressively attack enemies, while Michelangelo can zip around the playing field on his skateboard. You're able to customize each turtle's arsenal by buying new moves, but I didn't change the movesets at all and got through the game just fine.

Battles take place in a grid overlaid on small chunks of very TMNT locations, like a street, sewer, or subway system. Every turn, you have six "action points" to spend as you please, whether that's moving around the level or attacking bad guys. You just press a button to use one of your moves, no menu required, which speeds things up considera …

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Battlelines are being drawn between the major AI labs and the popular applications that rely on them.

This week, both Anthropic and OpenAI took shots at two leading AI apps: Windsurf, one of the most popular vibe coding tools, and Granola, a buzzy AI app for taking meeting notes.

"With less than five days of notice, Anthropic decided to cut off nearly all of our first-party capacity to all Claude 3.x models," Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan wrote on X this week, noting that "we wanted to pay them for the full capacity." An additional statement on Windsurf's website said: "We are concerned that Anthropic's conduct will harm many in the industry, not just Windsurf."

Here, Mohan's company is collateral damage in Anthropic's rivalry with OpenAI, which has reportedly been in talks to acquire Windsurf for about $3 billion. The deal hasn't been confirmed, but even the spectre of it happening was enough for Anthropic to cut off one of the most popular apps that it powers. After a spokesperson told TechCrunch's Maxwell Zeff that Anthropic was "prioritizing capacity for sustainable partnerships," co-founder Jared Kaplan put it more bluntly.

"We really are just trying to enable our customers w …

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I have been watching, with some grim amusement, Elon Musk discovering the limits of being just another political donor. While he was at DOGE, he literally could control the Treasury and DOD - he effectively had the IT reins of the entire country, and could simply gut things he hated at will. There was a price for that: it destroyed what was left of his reputation. But it was real, true power - being able to stop payments at will makes you more powerful than the president.

So much for that. These days, Musk is reduced to begging his followers on X to call their senators and congressmen [sic, obviously] to vote down the Big Beautiful Bill. His nominal reason is that Donald Trump's budget plan will increase the deficit, but reports indicate that Musk is annoyed an EV credit is getting cut. That makes it harder to sell Teslas in an environment where it's already hard to sell Teslas. Also, Musk may be annoyed that he didn't get to stay past his statutory limit as an unpaid advisor and that the FAA isn't using Starlink, according to Axios.

Even less powerful enemies can lead to political problems, which is why Musk doesn't get his pet boy in NASA

The cracks have been showing in the M …

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I’m not sure how it took so long, but a real-time strategy game set in Westeros is finally in the works. The new game is called Game of Thrones: War for Westeros, and it’s described as a “classic, premium” RTS game for PC that will let players take control of the various houses and factions in George R.R. Martin’s fantasy universe.

The game is being developed by PlaySide Studios, and will include both a single-player campaign and multiplayer options. Here’s the official description:

In *War for Westeros,*players will lead the armies of House Stark, House Lannister, House Targaryen, or the Night King in ruthless free-for-all battles where trust is fleeting and power is everything. Engaging in epic real-time strategy battles, forging strategic alliances, and weaving deceit against rival forces will be key.

Each faction offers deeply asymmetric strategies, with signature heroes, armies, and mechanics forged from the brutal legacy of Westeros. Players can deploy infantry, cavalry, siege engines, giants, and dragons to break enemy lines as they work to outplay and outmaneuver rivals with inspiring hero abilities and the ruthless instincts of a true war commander.

While there have been plenty of Game of Thrones video games, including some clever indie spinoffs, War for Westeros seems like a very natural expansion for the franchise. The game is launching at some point in 2026.

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When I first started using Signal, I would connect with friends using our phone numbers. Now, I use Signal to find people to interview for stories, which is why some of my social media posts and articles include a note telling folks how they can reach me on the app.

Needless to say, I'd rather not plaster my phone number all over the internet. So it's a relief that Signal lets you create a username in order to keep your phone number private. Other people can find you on the app using that username, and they won't be able to see your phone number. (By the way, if you're a current or former worker for a federal science agency and want to connect, you can reach me on Signal at bqe210.91.) Even if you're not a reporter, it can be easier to exchange a short username with someone rather than a phone number.

You can keep it mysterious and call yourself whatever you want

In Signal, you actually use two different names: a profile name and a username. As we've discussed, the username is what others search for on the app to find you. Once you start messaging each other, they'll see your profile name. If your username is very different from what people usually call you, you can take thi …

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Last night, I stayed up way too late playing through the Great Plateau section of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, and I'm falling in love with the game all over again.

The opening moments of Breath of the Wild are iconic. The wide shot of Hyrule you see after leaving that first cave is breathtaking, showing you the world of possibilities ahead. Solving the puzzles on the Great Plateau requires some real creativity and experimentation, especially to survive the colder parts of the area. All of that magic is still there with the Switch 2 version of the game, which you can get as a $9.99 upgrade if you already own the Switch version or as a standalone $69.99 purchase, but it all plays better.

As far as I could tell, the frame rate stayed at a steady 60fps no matter where I went in my initial explorations, which makes the game feel much smoother and more responsive. That was nice for my skirmishes with the Great Plateau's Bokoblins; they're basic enemies, but I liked sparring with them at the faster frame rate all the same. The game also has a higher resolution on Switch 2, and while the graphics aren't improved too dramatically from the original …

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You can use many of 8BitDo’s wireless controllers with the Switch 2 following a simple firmware update. | Image: 8BitDo

8BitDo announced that eight of its flagship controllers are now compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2 following a firmware update.

Although some companies had early access to the Switch 2’s specs to build accessories like cases and screen protectors, many had to wait until launch day to ensure their devices were compatible with the new console.

8BitDo has an extensive line of controllers that are already compatible with the original Switch, including an all-button arcade controller launching in July. The new firmware update is available for the following models:

Ultimate 2 Bluetooth ControllerUltimate Bluetooth ControllerUltimate 2C Bluetooth ControllerUltimate C Bluetooth ControllerPro 2 Bluetooth GamepadSN30 Pro Bluetooth GamepadUSB Wireless Adapter 2USB Wireless Adapter

The company said more updates are coming soon.

8BitDo provides multiple tools for updating the firmware on its controllers. There’s an Upgrade app available for macOS and Windows PCs that downloads and installs new firmware when a controller is connected to the computer with a USB cable.

You can also use 8BitDo Ultimate Software for Windows, Android and iOS mobile devices, or the newer 8BitDo Ultimate Software V2, which is only available for Windows and macOS. You can check which version of the Ultimate Software that your 8BitDo controller is compatible with on the company’s website.

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OpenAI says it’s forced to store deleted ChatGPT conversations “indefinitely” due to a court order issued as part of The New York Times’ copyright lawsuit against it. In a post on Thursday, OpenAI chief operating officer Brad Lightcap says the company is appealing the court’s decision, which he calls an “overreach” that “abandons long-standing privacy norms and weakens privacy protections.”

Last month, a court ordered OpenAI to preserve “all output log data that would otherwise be deleted,” even if a user requests the deletion of a chat or if privacy laws require OpenAI to delete data. OpenAI’s policies state that when a user deletes a chat, it retains it for 30 days before permanently deleting it. The company must now put a pause on this policy until the court says otherwise.

OpenAI says the court order will impact free, Pro, Plus, and Team ChatGPT users. It won’t affect ChatGPT Enterprise or ChatGPT Edu customers, or businesses that have a zero data retention agreement. OpenAI adds that the data won’t be public, and “only a small, audited OpenAI legal and security team” will be able to access the stored information for legal purposes.

The Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement in 2023, accusing the companies of “copying and using millions” of the newspaper’s articles to train their AI models. The publication argues that saving user data could help preserve evidence to support its case.

“We think this was an inappropriate request that sets a bad precedent,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a post on X. “We will fight any demand that compromises our users’ privacy; this is a core principle.” The New York Times declined to comment.

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Square Enix just announced Killer Inn, a new “murder mystery action” game, as part of Summer Game Fest on Friday.

In a Killer Inn match, 24 players are divided into two teams of “wolves” and “lambs,” and it’s the job of the lambs to discover and kill all the wolves or for the wolves to kill the lambs. (Just to be clear, you play as humans, but with the title of wolves or lambs.) When wolves kill a lamb, they’ll leave clues like a piece of hair or clothing that the lambs can use to try and identify the wolves.

Killer Inn is coming to PC, and it will be getting a closed beta “soon.” You can apply for the beta on the game’s Steam page.

It looks like an interesting take on a murder mystery video game, especially if you are looking for something new to play with your friends after following the popularity of Among Us.

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X has updated its developer agreement to add a new restriction on using posts on the platform to train AI. The updated policy, spotted earlier by TechCrunch, says developers can’t use content from X or its API to “fine-tune or train a foundation or frontier model.”

The policy change could set up X to make AI training deals with third-party companies, similar to the deal Reddit struck with Google. Reddit, which has a similar policy to block AI crawlers, sued Anthropic on Wednesday over claims the company’s AI crawlers accessed the site more than 100,000 times since July 2024. Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, acquired X for $33 billion on paper in March.

Though X’s developer agreement now bars companies from training AI on its content, its privacy policy still states that third-party “collaborators” can train AI models on the site’s data unless users opt out. X also feeds user data into its AI model, Grok, for training.

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Ana de Armas as Eve in Ballerina. | Lionsgate

Lionsgate was always going to need to take the John Wick franchise in a new direction if it wanted to keep the film series going after the inevitable exit of its central star. A spinoff series came and went with a telling lack of fanfare that spoke, in part, to how John Wick stories feel like they were meant to be experienced in movie theaters. And while the studio has a second tie-in show in the works, it seems like another project that might wind up being a sign that John Wick works best on the silver screen.

On paper, director Len Wiseman's awkwardly named From the World of John Wick: Ballerina feature sounds like the sort of straightforward parallel prequel that could work as the beginning of a new chapter for the largerfranchise. There's a simplicity to the story and a comedic whimsy to (some of) its action that feels true to the John Wick brand. And there are enough returning faces from the older films that it works fairly well as a crash course introduction to this gore-filled world of assassins.

But in practice, Ballerina lacks a lot of the near-camp flair that made previous John Wick films fun, and most of its set pieces feel uninspired. Rather than using its story to …

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It’s that time of year again. With E3 done and gone, Summer Game Fest has taken its place, and it always makes for a busy few days in gaming.

The centerpiece of the event is SGF Live on June 6th at 5PM ET, a keynote hosted by Geoff Keighley that, like The Game Awards, is packed with new game announcements as well as updates and trailers for games we already know about. But there are also a handful of other smaller showcases sprinkled throughout the week, including the Access-Ability Summer Showcase (June 6th at 11AM ET), Day of the Devs (June 6th at 7PM ET), the Wholesome Direct (June 7th at 12PM ET), and the PC Gaming Show (June 8th at 3PM ET). And that’s not including standalone events from PlayStation and Xbox.

It’s a lot to keep track of, and you can follow along with the most important updates right here.

The fest begins soon.The Access-Ability Summer Showcase returns with the latest in accessible gamesSummer Game Fest might have a lot of games.

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AI still doesn’t know what kissing looks like.

Doomscroll on TikTok long enough, and you'll come across an ad for AI video apps. In one ad, a stereotypically nerdy girl puckishly smirks as she uploads a picture of herself and her much more handsome crush. Boom - suddenly, thanks to AI, they're smooching. In another, I'm shown a woman in a blouse and jeans. Do I want to know what she looks like in a blue bikini? Psst. There's an app for that. The ad then shows me the woman in said blue bikini.

These apps aren't peddling the digital nudes many people associate with AI deepfakes, which are proliferating in their own right on app stores. Slapped together by opportunistic developers and sprinkled with subscription fees and microtransactions, they're all pitching tools to help you make benign fantasies a bit more tangible - but the results feel more cursed than magical.

AI video ads link out to apps with titles like Boom.AI, VideoAI, and DreamVid, made by companies you've probably never heard of - a short perusal of Apple's App Store brings up roughly two dozen options. Despite their titillating promotional material, they feature plenty of innocuous video templates. By uploading one or two photos and hitting a "generate" button …

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Google is taking another step toward making Gemini a more helpful assistant. It’s rolling out “scheduled actions,” a feature AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers can use to ask the AI assistant to perform tasks at specific times, like providing a summary of their calendar at the end of each day or generating ideas for blog posts every Monday.

Users can also have Gemini complete one-off tasks using this feature, such as asking for a summary of an award show the day after it happens, Google says. “Just tell Gemini what you need and when, and it will take care of the rest,” the company writes in a post announcing the change.

Gemini subscribers can manage planned tasks by heading to the “scheduled actions” page in the Gemini app’s settings. Android Authority first spotted an early version of the feature in April, which comes as Google aims to have its AI assistant perform more agent-like tasks.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT offers a similar feature to subscribers that allows the AI chatbot to send you reminders or perform recurring actions.

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While you could play Fortnite on the original Nintendo Switch, it was a less than ideal situation that made the game feel more like a rough around the edges tech demo than a polished piece of software. Because of the Switch's hardware limitations, Fortnite could only run at 30 frames per second max, which could make it tricky to pull off well-timed shots. Character models were often so simplified that they barely looked like their counterparts on other consoles. And a combination of dropped frames, simpler textures, and overall lower resolution gave the island a choppy, muddy aesthetic quality that was tolerable, but far from beautiful.

Though it was constantly being patched, Fortnite felt dated on the original Switch in a way that made it hard to justify Battle Passes or get excited about new design changes to the island. But, similar to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Fortnite's Switch 2 update revitalizes the game by addressing almost every one of its core issues and highlighting all of the new bells and whistles Epic has been developing for it.

Even in the Fortnite's main menu where all of the game's various modes, shops, and inventory screens are displayed, there was a sluggish …

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Volvo is looking to boost its reputation for safety with the release of a new “multi-adaptive safety belt” that uses real-time data from the vehicle’s sensors to better protect the person wearing it.

Seatbelt technology hasn’t changed much since Volvo patented one of the first modern three-point safety belts in the early 1960s. But cars have changed significantly, adding sensors, cameras, and high-powered computers to power advanced driver assist features and anti-crash technology.

Now, Volvo wants to put those gadgets to work for seatbelts. Modern safety belts use load limiters to control how much force the safety belt applies on the human body during a crash. Volvo says its new safety belt expands the load-limiting profiles from three to 11 and increases the possible number of settings, enabling it to tailor its performance to specific situations and individuals.

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As such, Volvo can use sensor data to customize seatbelts based on a person’s height, weight, body shape, and seating position. A larger occupant, for example, would receive a higher belt load setting to help reduce the risk of a head injury in a crash, while a smaller person in a milder crash would receive a lower belt load setting to reduce the risk of rib fractures.

During a crash, Volvo says its vehicles’ safety systems will share sensor data — such as direction, speed, and passenger posture — with multi-adaptive seatbelts to determine how much force to apply to the occupant’s body. And using over-the-air software updates, Volvo promises that the seatbelts can improve over time.

Volvo has previously deviated from traditional practices to introduce new technologies meant to underscore its commitment to safety. The company limits the top speed on all of its vehicles to 112 mph — notably below the 155 mph established by a “gentleman’s agreement” between Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW to reduce the number of fatalities on the Autobahn.

The new seatbelts will debut in the Volvo EX60, the automaker’s mid-sized electric SUV which is scheduled to come out next year.

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