4 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Thomas Ricker

Thomas Ricker

Deputy Editor

Deputy Editor

    More From Thomas Ricker

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Garmin watches now help with birth control.

    Not because they’re so ugly, it’s because Garmin wearables that track skin temperature during sleep — like the Fenix 8 and Forerunner 970 — can now feed that data to the FDA-cleared Natural Cycles birth control app to show the wearer’s daily fertility status.

    Time to get busy.
    Time to get busy.
    Image: Natural Cycles
    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Google’s AI Inbox expands to Ultra subscribers.

    If you’re the type that pays Google $249.99/mo for its AI Ultra plan in the US then you’ve earned yourself early access to Gmail’s new semi-useful-perhaps-someday-in-the-future AI Inbox. It’s still in beta, so take care.

    Your inbox on AI. Any questions?
    Your inbox on AI. Any questions?
    Image: Google
    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Delta signs with Amazon, not Starlink.

    Now we know why Delta Airlines has been holding fast to its sluggish in-flight connectivity providers while seemingly everyone else has jumped into Elon Musk’s lap: it was holding out for Amazon Leo. Amazon’s still busy building out its satellite constellation so we’re talking 2028 before Delta can start offering the service on about 500 domestic aircraft.

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Airbnb now offers private car shuttles.

    Starting today, you can book a private car for transport between your Airbnb and point of arrival or departure right in the app. The service works in 125 cities across Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

    If you can afford to rent this home in Rome then Airbnb’s private car service is for you.
    If you can afford to rent this home in Rome then Airbnb’s private car service is for you.
    Image: Airbnb
    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Japan gets an alternative iOS game store.

    Aptoide’s AppArena is now available in Japan as an Apple Store alternative. It comes after regulators required Apple and Google to support third-party app marketplaces and payment systems. AppArena features AI-assisted discovery of apps and games, cashback rewards, and 15-minute game trials.

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    WhatsApp is coming to CarPlay.

    The native app is currently in beta for iOS users, according to WABetaInfo. It lets users access their recent chat list, view contact details, manage calls, and send messages from their car’s infotainment display. Meta’s devs are on a roll having recently brought WhatsApp to both Apple and Garmin watches.

    The native interface in beta.
    The native interface in beta.
    Image via Wabetainfo
    Bluetti’s Sora 500 solar panel is incredibly powerful for its size

    8

    Verge Score

    Too bad this 500W N-Type panel isn’t bifacial and isn’t (yet) available in the US.

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Meta’s Oversight Board warns that “Community Notes” aren’t a proper substitute for fact-checking globally.

    Duh. The quasi-independent board says that expanding Community Notes outside the US — where it launched in lieu of fact checkers in early 2025 — could “pose significant human rights risks and contribute to tangible harms that Meta has a responsibility to avoid or remedy,” according to Niemen Lab.

    The improved battery-powered Starlink Mini is here

    8

    Verge Score

    Quickly untether from an unhinged world.

    Thomas Ricker