21 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Tech Archive

Archives for February 2026

DJI’s first robovac is an autonomous cleaning drone you can’t trust

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Verge Score

Romo flies through chores, but a recent security vulnerability makes it difficult to recommend.

Thomas Ricker
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Disney accuses Bytedance’s new AI video model of infringing on its characters.

In a cease and desist letter, Disney includes examples of the new Seedance 2.0 model making videos featuring characters like Spider-Man and Darth Vader, according to Axios. “ByteDance is hijacking Disney’s characters by reproducing, distributing, and creating derivative works featuring those characters,” Disney’s attorney said.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
The DHS is reportedly pressing social media platforms for info about ICE critics.

Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta have received “hundreds” of subpoenas from the DHS in recent months, according to a report from The New York Times. The agency is reportedly asking the platforms for the names, email addresses, phone numbers, and other information associated with accounts that “track or criticize” ICE.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Polymarket ran a popup ‘free grocery store’ in NYC because it has ‘market’ in its name.

Curbed described the scene as “bleak” and noted that many waiting in line for the promised free Tide Pods and milk (which was apparently purchased at an Aldi before being stocked on the popups’ oddly orderly shelves) had never heard of Polymarket and didn’t intend to place bets there. When Curbed asked why:

Because of the word market within Polymarket, per Josh Tucker, a company executive. Get it? Daf Orlovsky, a creative director, said it could work — “these ideas that don’t seem possible could be brought to life at tech-market speed,” he said.

The Verge’s 2026 Valentine’s Day gift guide (for him)The Verge’s 2026 Valentine’s Day gift guide (for him)
Brandon Widder and Cameron Faulkner
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Stern’s new pinball machines are for Pokémon fans with deep pockets.

The machines could be some of the priciest merch released for the franchise’s 30th anniversary. There’s fun details like a Master ball plunger handle and a Meowth balloon that swoops down, but to get all the best features you’ll need to skip the $6,999 Pro and $9,699 Premium machines, and splurge on the $12,999 Limited Edition option.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
You don’t need to be a Pokémon trainer to control this interactive Pikachu.

Toymaker Wow! Stuff has announced a new Pikachu puppet featuring blinking eyes, moving ears, and a “first-of-its-kind animated mouth moving feature.” Pikachu also has sensors that respond to touch with light up cheeks and over 100 sound effects. It will be priced at £89.99, or around $122, according to Insider Gaming.

A person holds an interactive Pikachu puppet.
The Pikachu Puppetronic by RealFX will be initially released through the online Pokémon Center store later this year, but a few Pokémon fans have already had a chance to see it in action.
Screenshot: Instagram
Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Deezer is giving users more control over their infinite algorithmic Flow playlists.

Flow Tuner lets users pick which genres are included in a Flow session, rather than just disliking individual songs. It’s a hamfisted way to customize your algorithm, but the specificity of Deezer’s options are impressive: Metalcore, Balkan Folk, Schlager. This is well beyond your basic buckets like rock and pop.