Apps – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
Skip to main content

Apps

The best apps download superpowers to your smartphone. The Verge covers the new and noteworthy Android apps, iPhone apps, and games, highlighting great design, impressive utility, and novel features. If it belongs on your phone, you’ll find it on The Verge.

Apple Music is getting a price hike

Some Apple One plans are getting price increases, too.

Jay Peters
Google is renaming NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook

You’ll soon be able to access your notebooks in AI Mode, too.

Emma Roth

Latest In Apps

David Imel
David Imel
Lights, camera, Action Plates.

The Moment Pro Camera II app was already my go-to app for RAW phone snaps, but Moment’s new Action Plates feature lets you configure your UI exactly how you want. Plus, who doesn’t love a little skeuomorphism?

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Image Credit: Moment
Cameron Faulkner
Cameron Faulkner
Google Photos got rid of the visual gaps between days, but you can turn them back on.

It used to be easy to tell which photos you took on a certain day in Google Photos. I didn’t realize how much I appreciated those little visual gaps breaking up time until a new update removed them, smashburgering my photos and videos, in favor of a persistent bar hovering at the top of the screen. Thankfully, you can reinsert them by clicking the three vertical dots to the right of that floating bar, then select “Show dates in grid.”

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Apple and Google ordered to take down AI “nudify” apps.

San Francisco city attorney David Chiu sent cease-and-desist letters to both companies, demanding that they remove 13 apps that can be used to generate nude images of someone without their consent, according to a report from Wired. The letters ask Google and Apple to stop “aiding and abetting” the sale of sexualized AI deepfakes, which is prohibited under California law.

Google spokesperson Dan Jackson tells The Verge that the company suspended the five Android apps cited in Chiu’s letter, adding that the Play Store “does not allow apps that contain sexual content.”

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
ChatGPT will show teens more frequent break reminders.

The notifications will show up for teens who spend “extended time” on ChatGPT, OpenAI says. The company will also notify parents if their teen’s account is banned for violating policies on “violent threats or acts of violence online.”

Image: OpenAI
FL Studio head Constantin Koehncke turns to Reddit for feedback and fun

The Image Line CEO hits the forums and subreddits every day to keep in touch with his users.

Terrence O'Brien
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Phoebe Gates’ shopping app reportedly claimed commissions for sales it didn’t generate.

Bloomberg reports on Phia, the price comparison app launched by Bill Gates’ daughter:

Bloomberg tested the Phia mobile browser extension across more than 50 websites and found that during the checkout process, Phia opened a background tab without user interaction and injected its own referral code that overrode legitimate referrals from other publishers… This allows Phia to claim a commission for sales it did not meaningfully influence.

Phia tells Bloomberg it “has since resolved the issue.”

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
The Weather Channel’s retro experience is expanding to its mobile apps.

A few months ago The Weather Channel launched a website recreating the channel as it appeared during the heyday of cable TV in the ‘80s and ‘90s with simple graphics and a smooth jazz soundtrack. That same nostalgic experience is now available in The Weather Channel’s iOS and Android mobile apps.

1/2Image: The Weather Channel
Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Chrome for Android is getting an actual back button.

Until now, the Android version of Chrome has relied on the swipe gesture to go back a page. But Chrome 150 ditches the info button from the top-right menu and adds an actual back button in its place. The update is rolling out now through the Play Store.

Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
No TikTok until you get your steps in.

The step tracking app WeWard has a new way to cut back on screen time — its “Walking Mode” feature can lock selected apps until you hit your step goal, TechCrunch reports. If you leave Walking Mode turned on, it will re-lock your apps when your step goal resets each day.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Get Google Earth Pro while you still can.

In an update on Tuesday, Google says it will block users from downloading its Google Earth Pro desktop app starting June 25th, 2027. People can continue to use the app after that date, which offers access to more advanced mapping tools, but Google suggests sticking to Google Earth on the web to get access to the latest updates.

Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Notion’s new app is a hub for AI agents.

Unlike Notion’s main notetaking app, the new Notion Agents app on iOS is specifically for chatting with your custom AI agents or connected AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, 9to5Mac reports. Notion says you can use it to ask your agents questions or capture text, photos, and voice notes.

Screenshots of the Notion Agents app from the App Store
Image: Notion
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
The TV Time app is shutting down after 15 years.

The app, which allows you to track the shows and movies you’re watching, will no longer be available starting July 15th. In an update on its support page, TV Time’s developers say operating the free app “was no longer sustainable,” and that “there was not enough demand for a paid app.”

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
The native Discord app for Meta Quest VR headsets is now available.

With the VR app, you can still chat with friends on Discord using other platforms. Check the app out on the Meta Store.

Meta and Discord announced last year that the app was in the works.

A screenshot of the Discord app for Meta Quest headsets.
Image: Meta
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
OpenClaw gets its own app on iOS and Android.

Users can pair the app with the “gateway” that powers the open-source AI assistant, according to its description on the Google Play Store and App Store. Once connected, users can chat with OpenClaw using real-time voice conversations, approve an agent’s actions, and control access to features like their device’s camera or location.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Image: OpenClaw Foundation
David Pierce
David Pierce
Today’s Vergecast: Our vibe coded projects that actually work.

It’s time for a new series on The Vergecast! (It still needs a name. Please help.) We’re going to give Verge staffers a challenge, and regroup a few weeks later to see who did it best. We’re starting with some vibe coding. The Verge’s Jake Kastrenakes and Hayden Field share what they’ve made with AI that has actually stuck in their lives, before David gives the challenge: build a website to solve a problem in your life. We’ll be back with the results soon, and in the meantime, send us ideas for more challenges! (Also, names for the series. PLEASE.)

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Cursor launches an iPhone app for its AI coding agent.

Cursor, which SpaceX recently announced plans to acquire, says its new app can help users launch and track AI agents, as well as show updates about an agent’s progress via the iPhone’s Live Activities feature.

The Cursor app is available in beta on the App Store.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Apple is acquiring the Play app. No, not that one.

The Play design tool for Mac and iPhone won an Apple Design Award for innovation last year, and could be used to prototype iPhone app interfaces before it was pulled from the App Store. Apple doesn’t specifically mention how it’ll use Play, but its IP could be used to improve Xcode developer tools.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Notion is “winding down” Notion Mail.

It will be shut down on September 22nd, meaning it will have lasted for just over a year. Instead, Notion will focus on inbox agents.

“As Notion agents have gotten more capable, we’ve seen more users hand off email workflows to them,” the company says on X. “Today, more than half of Notion Mail users manage emails without ever opening their inbox. So, we’re going all in on using agents to run your inbox.”

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Google Finance has its own app now.

The new Google Finance app is launching on Android first, with iOS coming later this year. Google is also launching its redesigned Finance dashboard out of beta, as well as adding new features like the ability to track portfolios and receive updates about topics related to your investments.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

The Google Finance app.
The Google Finance app.
Image: Google
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Google Wallet now supports TSA PreCheck Touchless ID.

You can now use Google Wallet to create an ID pass with your passport, check in for your flight, and then enroll in TSA PreCheck Touchless ID at participating airports. That means instead of showing physical or digital ID at airport security, you can walk through with the TSA’s “facial comparison” technology.

Screenshot of Google Wallet with a prompt for TSA PreCheck Touchless ID
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Crayola’s first coloring app for adults includes “nostalgia” themed designs.

The new iPhone and iPad app from Red Games is launching alongside a line of alcohol-based and acrylic markers aimed at adults, although I doubt they’ll be replacing my Copic or Posca markers. Coloring apps were all the rage a decade ago — let us know if you’re still deep in the virtual pages, or if you’ve swapped the apps for AI-generated designs.

A screenshot of the Crayola Adult Coloring app on an iPad
Image: Crayola / Red Games
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Now Google Meet works in Android Auto.

When the Google Meet UI for Apple CarPlay launched in April, Google said Android Auto would follow soon, and now it’s here, with the rollout set to finish by June 26th. If you want to take a work call while in the car, you can see your schedule, dial colleagues, or join calls (audio only, both ways) without picking up your phone.

Google Meet screenshot showing previous calls
Screenshot of Google Meet’s Android Auto UI showing scheduled calls
1/2Image: Google
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Mastodon is officially launching its version of Bluesky starter packs.

The new “Collections” feature is included in Mastodon’s 4.6 update, which will also allow you to hide the “Media” or “Featured” tabs on your profile and let people subscribe to your posts via email, even if they don’t have a Mastodon account.

Mastodon 4.6

[Mastodon Blog]

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Sonos is updating its app with new volume controls and navigation.

In a post on Reddit, Sonos CEO Tom Conrad says the company is rolling out a beta this week that will introduce tabbed navigation, a volume interface “that is easier to grab and fine tune,” and more control over player organization. It’s part of Conrad’s efforts to clean up the app more than two years after a messy redesign.

(Finally!) An update.

[Reddit r/Sonos]

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Plex is getting more social.

After launching the abilty to create and share lists of movies and TV shows, Plex is now rolling out a “discussions” feature that will allow you to chat about content in its app. Other social features, like emoji reactions, are set to arrive throughout the year.

Image: Plex