Amazon | The Verge

Here’s how Amazon’s price fixing allegedly drove up prices everywhere

2026-04-22T02:34:49-04:00

On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta revealed the evidence of alleged price-fixing by Amazon. The state filed a request to the Supreme Court in February for a preliminary injunction to stop Amazon's behavior while the lawsuit it originally filed in 2022 proceeds, and is now making that 16-page document available, "largely unredacted." It lays out how Amazon allegedly schemed to raise other retailers' prices ahead of Prime Day, or worked with its vendors to make sure items available at a discount elsewhere were suddenly out of stock and unavailable for the lower price.

In response to a request for comment from The Verge, Amazon …

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A giant cell tower is going to space this weekend

2026-04-17T09:13:28-04:00

This weekend's scheduled Blue Origin rocket launch is rather momentous. Success would signal an end to SpaceX's monopoly on reusable orbital launch vehicles, and set up a three-way race to make that "No Service" indicator on your phone disappear forever.

On Sunday morning, Jeff Bezos' massive New Glenn rocket is scheduled to launch with the first-stage booster that launched and landed on the program's second mission last November. It's a critical test, because cost-effective booster reuse is what's made SpaceX's Falcon 9 so dominant.

Amazon desperately needs a reusable rocket of its own to accelerate its Leo launches. Without one, it's onl …

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Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick HD is its ‘slimmest ever’

2026-04-15T10:58:11-04:00

Amazon has taken the wraps off a new Fire TV Stick HD that it says is its slimmest yet. At $34.99, the device offers a design that Amazon says is 30 percent thinner than the previous generation, along with the ability to power it directly through your TV's USB port.

The new design eliminates the need to use the Fire TV Stick HD with a separate wall adapter, making it easier to travel with. But if your TV doesn't have a USB port, Amazon notes that you can still power the new Fire TV Stick HD with a USB-C cable and a wall adapter.

The streaming stick comes with the revamped Fire TV OS, along with support for Wi-Fi 6 and Blueto …

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Prime Video is bundling Apple TV Plus and Peacock for a limited time

2026-04-15T16:18:52-04:00

A new bundle on Amazon includes both Apple TV and Peacock Premium Plus for $19.99 per month, rather than the $29.98 per month it would cost to buy each individually. Amazon says the bundle is only available for "a limited time," but all users in the US can sign up for it, even without an Amazon Prime subscription.

The same bundle is already available directly from Apple TV and Peacock at the same price, with the option to choose a cheaper plan that includes Peacock with ads. But just like Comcast's Xfinity StreamSaver bundles, this is another example of competing giants in entertainment and tech teaming up to reach every possible custome …

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Apple and Amazon are teaming up to challenge Starlink’s smartphone ambitions

2026-04-14T10:03:08-04:00

Amazon has made a deal to buy Globalstar's low-Earth orbit satellite network for $11.57 billion, snapping up its spectrum licenses, operations, and assets to combine with its upcoming Leo internet satellite constellation. Apple owned 20 percent of Globalstar, and as a part of the deal, Amazon will continue to support satellite services like Emergency SOS for iPhones and Apple Watches, and develop future services that connect them to its Leo satellite network. The deal is currently scheduled to close in 2027, pending approval by regulators.

Globalstar currently provides direct-to-device services to the iPhone and Apple Watch. That's differen …

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Amazon Luna axes third-party game purchases

2026-04-10T14:39:59-04:00

Amazon Luna announced a big change on Friday that will prevent players from purchasing third-party games and subscriptions. The cloud gaming service will remove previously purchased games on June 10th, 2026, though they'll still be available to play on other platforms through the EA, GOG, or Ubisoft accounts players used when purchasing the title.

In line with these changes, Amazon Luna will no longer support EA, Ubisoft, or GOG's third-party stores. It's also discontinuing subscriptions to Ubisoft Plus and Jackbox Games, and says it will cancel active subscriptions purchased through Luna at the end of the billing cycle. Amazon Luna is gett …

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Amazon’s Starlink competitor Leo gets a new date

2026-04-09T09:55:47-04:00

An Amazon Leo terminal being installed. | Image: Amazon

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says the company's space-internet service Leo (formerly known as Project Kuiper) will "launch in mid-2026." I'm going to assume that means proper commercial availability since the company already announced the start of an "enterprise preview" at the end of 2025, when the service was supposed to originally launch.

Unlike SpaceX's Starlink service, Amazon doesn't (yet) have its own fleet of rockets to regularly send Leo satellites into low-Earth orbit. That's meant hitching rides with a variety of launch partners, including SpaceX, until Jeff Bezos' own reusable New Glenn rocket is fully operational.

Amazon has FCC app …

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Amazon is ending support for older Kindles and Kindle Fires

2026-04-07T17:44:41-04:00

It’s finally the end of the line for the 1st generation Amazon Kindle. | Image: Amazon

Amazon has announced that starting on May 20th, 2026, Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire devices released in 2012 and earlier will "no longer be able to purchase, borrow, or download new content via the Kindle Store," Amazon spokesperson Jackie Burke wrote in an email to The Verge. Users will still be able to read books already downloaded to their devices and can access their accounts and Kindle purchases through the Kindle mobile app, Kindle for Web, and newer devices. If the older devices are deregistered or factory reset, users won't be able to re-register them after the May deadline.

The complete list of affected devices goes all the way …

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How the Amazon Echo learned to talk — and listen

2026-04-05T08:24:45-04:00

A photo of a black speaker, the Amazon Echo, on a gray background. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Jeff Bezos badly wanted a voice computer. He had been saying so publicly since the very early days of Amazon, telling anyone who would listen about why voice might make it easier and more natural to interact with technology. (And to buy stuff from Jeff Bezos.) But when a team at Amazon set out to actually make the voice computer a reality, they encountered a seemingly endless series of hard problems. Eventually, though, they created two products, the Echo speaker and the Alexa voice assistant, that would help bring a new kind of computer to millions of people.

On this episode of Version History, we tell the story of the Echo's development i …

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You can order Grubhub and Uber Eats ‘conversationally’ with Alexa Plus

2026-03-31T09:08:25-04:00

Amazon is giving you a new way to order food through Grubhub and Uber Eats with Alexa without having to endure an awkward exchange just to add fries. Amazon said the entire process is meant to be conversational, building your order in a similar manner to ordering in a restaurant.

That means changing your order, modifying an item, or adding a drink mid-conversation is as simple as saying so, without having to wait for Alexa to finish talking. Amazon said Alexa will only step in when you need help or have questions.

"For years, voice assistants have operated on a call-and-response model: you ask, it answers," Amazon said in a press release …

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