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

Gadgets Archive

Archives for August 2026

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
New Googlebook announcements are coming in September.

It’s been a few months since Google revealed its Chromebook successor / sibling, and all’s been quiet since — at least officially, with leaks of laptops from Lenovo and Asus. We’ll know more soon: Google invited outlets including The Verge to a media event in September where we’ll get to “test out the laptops and new features.”

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Meta’s smart glasses are now prohibited for ICE staffers.

The glasses “could unintentionally capture, record or transmit sensitive information, potentially compromising privacy and legal protections,” ICE acting director David Venturella said in a memo to staff, according to The New York Times. Staffers can’t wear the glasses in the “federal workspace.”

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Whoop drops the subscription requirement for its Advanced Labs blood testing.

The wearable company now says the Advanced Labs blood testing service that it launched last year is now available, with prices starting at about $150, even if you don’t have one of its wearable devices or the membership subscription tied to them. It’s also adding the “multi-cancer early detection test” Galleri to the package, which might help it stand out from the increasingly crowded wearable field and alleged lookalikes.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
They hear me rollin’.

Segway’s new $449.99 S2 Kids self-balancing scooter is a direct descendent of the brand’s original Personal Transporter but includes upgrades like animated RGB lighting and built-in Bluetooth speakers for blasting music. It’s got a top speed of 8.7 mph, a range of eight miles, and a weight limit of up to 132 pounds.

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

1/4Image: Segway
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Nothing is about to drop its own budget ‘Neo.’

Buds Neo, that is, which are being teased by Nothing’s budget-friendly CMF sub-brand, just two weeks after it launched the CMF Clip Pro open earbuds. It posted the below image on X yesterday as a “hint of what’s next.” A new video posted today also shows colorful Smart Dial charging case configurations, and a short message: “Buds Neo. 20 August.”

A picture of a wireless earbud, posted to Nothing’s CMF X account.
These upcoming CMF wireless earbuds are similar in shape to the Buds 2 Plus that the brand launched last year.
Image: Nothing
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
The new Fairphone 6 Plus gets a perfect repairability score.

Given it’s a minor hardware refresh of last year’s Fairphone 6 it comes as no surprise that the new Fairphone 6 Plus (the company’s first smartphone it will sell directly in the US) was awarded a perfect 10/10 score in iFixit’s teardown test. Disassembly of everything from camera modules to the screen was straightforward using just basic tools.

The Verge Guide to PetsThe Verge Guide to Pets
Kara Verlaney
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Google is reportedly stopping Pixel production in China.

Most of Google’s products are still manufactured in the country, but Nikkei Asia reports that all production of Pixel phones, watches and earbuds will leave China starting in 2027. Google started this exodus in 2019, shifting to building production capacity in Vietnam and India instead, as have Apple and Microsoft in recent years.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Google’s people-tracking app is now on Wear OS.

Find Hub on Google-powered smartwatches now includes a separate Find People app. As 9to5Google notes, it’s barebones: it shows a list of everyone you’re sharing location with, but to actually change any settings or see their location on a map, you have to open your phone. Perhaps there’s more to come.