8 – 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.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Duolingo is acquiring the team behind a music startup.

The team from NextBeat, a “London-based music gaming startup known for blending world-class music licensing with engaging mobile gameplay,” will join Duolingo to help improve its music course, according to a press release.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
1Password on Android got updated to fix Chrome autofill problems.

If you also use 1Password and have an Android device, you may have also been dealing with autofill problems lately. However, updating to version 8.11.4 or higher and following the instructions to make sure Chrome is set to use third-party autofill seems to have worked on my phone to make the app more reliable again.

According to 1Password, the need to update its app and an uneven update rollout from Google caused a gap as Chrome switched from the old compatibility mode approach to the new native autofill experience.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Tinder’s parent company expects to save money by avoiding some of Apple’s App Store fees.

During an earnings call, Match Group CFO Steven Bailey said that once Tinder and Hinge widely roll out external payments, he expects to see “at least” a $65 million boost to the company’s adjusted operating income in 2026. Earlier this year, a judge ordered Apple to stop restricting how developers can link to payments outside the App Store.

“We’re also continuing to monitor the Epic vs. Google case and growing regulatory pressure,” Bailey said.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
All three Pilotwings games have been added to the Nintendo Music app.

You can now tune out to 75 chill tracks from the games which always prioritized fun and unique flying challenges over being truly accurate flight simulators. There are 21 tracks and 19 minutes of music from the original Super Nintendo version of the game, 30 tracks/46 minutes from Pilotwings 64 on the N64, and 24 tracks/36 minutes from Pilotwings Resort which was the last game in the series launching on the Nintendo 3DS in 2011.

A screenshot of the original Super Nintendo Pilotwings game.
The Nintendo Music app has added 75 tracks from all three Pilotwings games including the original Super Nintendo version.
Screenshot: Nintendo Music
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
This free app turns your MacBook’s trackpad into a makeshift scale.

Is it a good idea to keep your MacBook in the kitchen while you’re baking? Probably not, but it’s still good to know that developer Kris Shah has created a simple macOS app that can turn your Apple laptop’s trackpad into a makeshift scale, as spotted by Lifehacker.

Track Weight, available for free on GitHub, does require you to keep one finger resting on the trackpad to use it which is a bit inconvenient, but it’s surprisingly accurate.

A screenshot of the Track Weight macOS app.
Track Weight requires you to keep a finger touching your MacBook’s trackpad at all times to function, but there’s a button to reset the scale to zero before placing another object on it.
Screenshot: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Proton is adding yet another privacy-focused app to its arsenal.

The company has introduced Proton Authenticator, an open-source two-factor authentication app that can sync 2FA codes across devices using end-to-end encryption. Though Proton’s password manager already comes with a built-in 2FA feature, Proton says using its standalone Authenticator offers an “extra layer of security” by generating codes in a separate app.

Proton Authentication is available for free on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Image: Proton
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Bluesky will now start asking UK users to verify their age.

In its most recent update, Bluesky will prompt UK users to prove their age by uploading their ID, scanning their face, or using a payment card. Users who don’t verify their age or are under 18 won’t be able to access certain features or content, in line with the UK’s Online Safety Act.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Beeper is getting some upgrades.

The highlights: Beeper is “gradually” deprecating Beeper Cloud in favor of connecting directly to other messaging networks, and there’s a new Beeper Plus subscription tier with some useful features. You can get an idea of the updates in bento box below or read all the details in Beeper’s blog post.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Big updates for the Nintendo Today app.

You can now get daily notifications for news and watch picture-in-picture video, according to the update notes. They’re good improvements for an app Nintendo actually uses for big news.

A screenshot of patch notes for the Nintendo Today app.
Image: Nintendo
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
The makers of Cameo just launched... a birthday-tracking app?

The new app, called Candl, puts your contacts’ birthdays into a single calendar where you can track and sort through upcoming birthdays, as well as see whose astrological sign you’re most compatible with, as reported by TechCrunch.

Candl can also help you “grow your birthday network.” If you don’t have a contact’s birthday, but one of your mutual friends does, their birthday will surface in your app.

Image: Cameo
Inside the AI startup frenzy: ‘Everyone’s pivoting, then pivoting again’

Meaning founder and former Verge reporter Ellis Hamburger on the ethical vacuum in AI and what founders aren’t saying publicly.

Alex Heath
Figma is going publicFigma is going public
Emma Roth
Threads now has DMsThreads now has DMs
Emma Roth
Google Calendar now has an Apple Watch appGoogle Calendar now has an Apple Watch app
Andrew Liszewski