15 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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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.

Umar Shakir
Umar Shakir
Waze on CarPlay now has one less annoyance.

A new interface update adds search and quick navigation buttons to the main screen on the right side, so you don’t have to tap to make the top bar appear to start your next trip, 9to5Google and autoevolution report. The new shortcut button lets you tap to quickly begin navigating to home or work based on the time of day.

Waze CarPlay screen with arrows pointing from the top nav bar to the lower right side where there’s a new icon that shows a briefcase.
The button shows up when you’re not currently navigating somewhere.
Image: The Verge
Umar Shakir
Umar Shakir
MyFitnessPal app will get AI-generated meal plans.

The company completed its acquisition of meal-planning software startup Intent and plans to launch personalized meal features to fit users’ dietary needs, make nutrition logging easier, automate grocery lists, and even add ingredients to online store carts.

Chris Welch
Chris Welch
Apple completes its acquisition of Pixelmator’s apps.

Pixelmator, Pixelmator Pro, and Photomator are now officially part of Apple. As noticed by MacRumors, all of Pixelmator’s apps are showing a pop-up message confirming that the deal announced back in November has been finalized.

At least for now, the key question of what Apple will do with Pixelmator’s software remains unanswered. Will it carry on as a standalone offering and be the second coming of Aperture? Or are we going to see a Photos Plus subscription debut at WWDC in a matter of months?

Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Wikipedia as a TikTok alternative?

A developer named Isaac Gemal spent a few hours coding using Anthropic’s Claude last week to make WikiTok, a site with a TikTok-like presentation, but instead of vertical videos, you swipe through random Wikipedia article previews you can tap to read, ArsTechnica reports.

Gemal reportedly has no plans for an algorithm, and “liking” a post saves it to a list locally, according to the developer.

GIF showing WikiTok — scrolling through three article previews, tapping the like button, checking out a list of saved likes, and visiting an article page.
WikiTok in action on my phone.
GIF: WikiTok
Wes Davis
Wes Davis
TikTok disappeared from TV app stores, too.

It’s no surprise that you can’t find it on Google TV or Apple’s tvOS after the federal TikTok ban, but Axios found that TV makers LG, Amazon, and Vizio also stopped offering the app for download.

It’s understandable. After all, who wants to risk hundreds of billions in fines to offer a social video app designed for smartphone screens?

The timeline apps are here, and they’re awesome

One app, all your feeds, none of the nonsense of social media. It’s a better way to consume just about everything.

David Pierce
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Nintendo added 49 Super Mario World tracks to its music app.

The best selling Super Nintendo game of all time (thanks in part to Super Mario World being bundled with the console at launch) is now available for your listening pleasure through the Nintendo Music app.

There are 49 tracks from the game with a total runtime of an hour and five minutes. If you’re listening at work and are racing a deadline, I’d recommend avoiding “Hurry Up!” Invincibility BGM which is still surprisingly stressful.

A screenshot of the Nintendo Music app on iOS showing the top tracks for Super Mario World.
If you need some new background music for work there’s now over an hour of Super Mario World’s soundtrack available in the Nintendo Music app.
Screenshot: Nintendo Music
Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Trump orders a ‘sovereign wealth fund’ for the US.

The President signed an executive order today to create the fund “within the next year,” and told reporters that the US could use it to purchase TikTok, according to Reuters.

Trump has previously suggested the US could own 50 percent of the app in a “joint venture.”

A better way to buy and read booksA better way to buy and read books
David Pierce
Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Twitch adds built-in exporting to Instagram.

The livestreaming platform announced that this week, every channel will get the ability to edit and share clips straight to Instagram.

How useful that is for Twitch’s gaming-focused creators is up for debate, but with TikTok’s future in question, adding Instagram to the mix seems sensible.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
You’re running out of time to get Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete for $9.99.

The new version of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp -- free of in-app purchases -- debuted last December at $9.99 for a limited time.

For those who have been dragging their feet on buying the new Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete for either iOS or Android, that limited time offer runs out before the end of this week. At 1AM ET on January 31st, the game will increase in price to $19.99.

A screenshot of the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete game in the Apple App Store.
Starting early in the morning on January 31st, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete will double in price.
Screenshot: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Marvel Snap is back in the App Store.

Now listed as self-published by developer Second Dinner instead of ByteDance-owned Nuverse, the card battler has escaped the TikTok ban and is back for iPhone / iPad players, even though the Google Play listing still doesn’t work.

It was only gone for about a week, but now iOS players can download Marvel Snap to new devices and install updates again. TikTok’s fate remains undetermined.

Marvel Snap

[App Store]

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Raising an iPad Kit.

Cat toy apps like “Meow Cat Game” aren’t new, but my orange fuzzball Trevor is. If you need a way to distract your energetic kitty for a while then they might just buy you enough time to get some work done.

Wes Davis
Wes Davis
OpenAI has added its o1 model to Canvas.

In an X post announcing the change yesterday, the company also said that Canvas, its ChatGPT coding helper feature, now has the ability to render HTML and React code.

OpenAI added that Canvas has rolled out to the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS.