96 – 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
    Despite what this black and white photo suggests, John Williams is still alive.

    But that won’t stop the legendary film composer from getting his own documentary film about his life and career, produced by (and featuring interviews with) Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Ron Howard, and many more.

    “Music by John Williams” will premiere at AFI Fest on October 23rd and hit Disney Plus on November 1st.

    Four Verge staffers independently saw this promo image and feared we’d lost an icon.
    Four Verge staffers independently saw this promo image and feared we’d lost an icon.
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Threads is getting ads sooner or later — here’s what they might look like.

    Meta told TechCrunch it’s not actually testing ads in Threads yet, but it’s getting more underpinnings in place — now including this “Sponsored” badge that might appear next to an advertiser’s (or sponsored creator’s) username. It was spotted by developer Alessandro Paluzzi.

    Threads boss Adam Mosseri confirmed in April that ads are coming; last we heard, it might not be till next year.

    Spot the “Sponsored” label.
    Spot the “Sponsored” label.
    Image: Alessandro Paluzzi (Threads)
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    The OLED-toting Zotac Zone handheld is indeed available for preorder — just not in the US.

    We held off on a story ’cuz we couldn’t initially find it on preorder, but here it is at Scan UK and Overclockers UK and Germany’s CaseKing, for example.

    What about the US? Zotac told Tom’s Hardware it isn’t offering preorders here. Can’t imagine it beats ROG Ally X for the same $800 with a much smaller battery inside... but twin trackpads and OLED intrigue me!

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Genki’s transparent PocketPro might be the best-looking 8BitDo gamepad yet.

    The SN30 Pro was already one of the best pocketable Bluetooth gamepads you could buy, complete with Switch motion controls — 8BitDo recently added drift-resistant Hall Effect sticks, too.

    Now, Genki is adding this gorgeous transparent white version with cool legends and a handy reference to swapping between its three modes. Note: It’s a crowdfunding campaign right now, but it’ll retail for $50, just $5 more than the opaque version.

    1/7
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    This tiny gamepad isn’t ‘one-of-a-kind,’ but it sure is adorable.

    Competition is a good thing, especially when it’s cute! We’re just not sure why CRKD would call the $20 Atom a “one-of-a-kind keychain controller” when the $25 8BitDo Micro and $20 Zero 2 have been around for years. The Micro even comes with a lanyard...

    But I guess the CRKD does come in more colors, including transparent ones!

    CRKD’s Atom. Its first product was the Nitro Deck.
    CRKD’s Atom. Its first product was the Nitro Deck.
    Image: CRKD
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    The best folding portable Bluetooth keyboard I’ve tried yet is a Royal Kludge.

    I don’t need a lot in a folding Bluetooth keyboard. It just needs to support multiple wireless devices, plus USB-C direct connect, and not get all floppy on my lap! Would you believe there aren’t a lot of keyboards like that?

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Acer will honor Intel’s warranty extension on crashing chips — meaning everyone’s finally on the same page.

    Acer to The Verge, today:

    We are offering a two-year extended warranty for affected 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core desktop processors causing instability issues. While we are working closely with Intel to address the situation through microcode updates, customers experiencing such issues should contact their nearest Acer service center.

    I think that’s just about everyone. Now we see if everyone makes exchanges difficult... or easy.

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Lenovo will now honor Intel’s two-year extension on crashing desktop CPUs.

    Lenovo previously had an unsatisfactory answer, but it’s come around:

    For affected processors, we will honor Intel’s 2-year processor warranty extension and recommend customers impacted by any CPU instability issues to contact Lenovo service for support.

    Fuller statement in our big story: