34 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Sean Hollister

Sean Hollister

Senior Editor

Senior Editor

    More From Sean Hollister

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    A futuristic flashlight that shines UV and lasers at the same time.

    I love how flashlights have evolved in the past decade with powerful LEDs, lithium-ion batteries and USB-C charging, and while this Olight ArkPro is way pricier than my Wuben X4, it feels way more elegant, compact, and offers both a green laser beam and UV light as well as up to 1700 lumens of white.

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

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    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    OhSnap is already building two new MCON sliding gamepads that aren’t so dang thick.

    I had a blast with the OhSnap MCON viral sliding gamepad, save for one teensy thing — it’s incredibly impractical to keep your phone attached to it because it’s thick and blocks the cameras. The upcoming ~$100 MCON Slim and ~$60 MCON Lite might fix that, but they don’t have the spring loaded action. The Lite uses 3DS-style Circle Pads, the Slim has touchpads. Tentatively coming September.

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    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Speaking of LG Display and Samung Display, their RGB monitors are rad.

    We wrote RGB is the next big thing in monitors, and today we got a look. John and I agree LG Display’s 27-inch 4K RGB-stripe OLED panel looked wonderfully crisp, a way better demo than Samsung Display’s 34-inch RGB-stripe ultrawide. Also, LG has a 39-inch 5K RGBW OLED ultrawide with 1,500-nit peak brightness, if you don’t mind the extra white subpixel...

    <em>LG Display’s 27-inch 4K 240Hz RGB-stripe panel.</em>
    <em>Close up of the RGB subpixels, as captured by LG’s camera.</em>
    <em>Samsung Display’s 34-inch 1440p ultrawide RGB-stripe QD-OLED gaming panel.</em>
    <em>LG Display’s new RGBW (not RGB) panels, which have the same Tandem RGB layers for extra brightness as its new TV screens.</em>
    <em>LG Display’s 5K ultrawide.</em>
    <em>LG Display’s 5K ultrawide.</em>
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    LG Display’s 27-inch 4K 240Hz RGB-stripe panel.
    Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Battle of the ‘world’s brightest’ 4,500-nit TVs.

    How can both Samsung Display and LG Display claim to have the world’s brightest TV when they offer the same 4,500-nit brightness peaks? Not convincingly! But the extra 500 nits is still a milestone over last-gen tech, and boy are these new OLED screens gorgeous in person. You can’t say OLED is lacking brightness anymore.

    <em>LG Display’s flagship 83-inch “Meta” panel, with its Primary Tandem RGB 2.0 tech.</em>
    <em>Samsung Display’s new 77-inch QD-OLED.</em>
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    LG Display’s flagship 83-inch “Meta” panel, with its Primary Tandem RGB 2.0 tech.
    Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Alienware Area-51 officially gets AMD Ryzen 9850X3D.

    Alienware’s flagship desktop finally ditched proprietary parts last year (no more Dell-specific motherboards) and welcomed AMD’s flagship Ryzen X3D desktop chips in November. Now it’s getting the latest AMD chip too — just know the new 9850X3D is only a tad faster than the 9800X3D (AMD says roughly 7 percent uplift).

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

    <em>Antonio got a few photos of <a rel="sponsored" href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/8836598/type/dlg/https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/cty/pdp/spd/alienware-area-51-aat2265-gaming-desktop/useaat2265wcto01?tfcid=91049735&dgc=opl&gacd=9684992-1108-5761040-266906002-0&dgc=ST&SA360CID=19752644118&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19752644118&gbraid=0AAAAADllXQedld0BjDNCLlpUBMQ-8qr-a&gclid=CjwKCAiA3-3KBhBiEiwA2x7FdBLbb25PiwBlBMXl5Fx9X6KTETCjCcBC_T0u0lsC90l6BgMtqIGnQhoC6i4QAvD_BwE">the refreshed Area-51</a></em>.
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    Antonio got a few photos of the refreshed Area-51.
    Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
    Lego’s Smart Bricks aren’t just an experiment — and they aren’t just for kids

    Julia Goldin and Tom Donaldson explain what the sensor-packed Smart Play initiative means for Lego.

    Sean Hollister
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    The Cyber Fidget has an OLED display to go with its clicky buttons.

    When the Kickstarter launches, it will cost $179 for the machined aluminum version, but if that’s too much, its makers say you’ll be able to get it cheaper with a 3D-printed shell or as just the board.

    But until then, you can check out Sean Hollister toying with the Cyber Fidget at CES 2026.