Apps | The Verge

X is going to let Grok curate your timeline

2026-04-22T16:51:58-04:00

X is putting its AI chatbot, Grok, in charge of your timeline. In an announcement on Wednesday, X product head Nikita Bier says Premium subscribers on iOS can get early access to a feature that allows users to pin specific topics to their home tab, which Grok will then use to curate the posts you see across each feed.

"It's powered by Grok's understanding of every post with the algorithm's personalization - meaning every timeline is made just for you," Bier writes. "And it works even better when it's a topic you already engage with."

Bier says early access to the Grok-powered timeline is coming to Android users "very soon." Along with this …

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Google Photos adds subtle touch-up tools for faces

2026-04-20T15:33:17-04:00

Google has announced a new collection of touch-up tools for Google Photos' image editor designed to apply subtle enhancements, refinements, or fixes to faces in photos.

The tools are gradually being rolled out on the Google Photos app globally starting today, but only on devices running Android 9.0 and up with at least 4GB of RAM. They'll be accessible after selecting a specific face in a photo and able to remove unwanted blemishes, whiten teeth, smooth skin, and make changes to irises, under eye areas, eyebrows, and lips. The intensity of the effects can be adjusted to ensure they're subtle enough to not be noticeable.

The intensity of the touch-ups can be adjusted to ensure they're subtle enough to go unnoticed. | Image: Google" data-portal-copyright="Image: Google">

The new tools come …

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The AI apps are coming for your PC

2026-04-17T16:35:23-04:00

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 124, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, send me your Coachella fits, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

This week, I've been reading about restaurant bread and GLP-1s and Lenny Rachitsky and Artemis II fashion, watching the new boy band doc because I will always watch a boy band doc, also watching every clip I can find from Justin Bieber's Coachella set, filling the Schitt's Creek-shaped hole in my heart with Big Mistakes, getting increasingly excited about The Mandalorian and Grogu, and watering my new lawn so it …

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Netflix embraces vertical video with major mobile app update

2026-04-16T16:29:56-04:00

Netflix announced on Thursday that it will be launching a redesigned mobile app, which will include a vertical video feed, at the end of April. "This redesign will better reflect our expanding entertainment offering and make it easier for members to engage how and when they want," the company said in its Q1 2026 earnings letter to shareholders.

In Thursday's letter, the company said that the lines between "entertainment on TV and mobile devices are blurring," noting that video podcasts "over-index" on mobile. Co-CEO Greg Peters said in January that the company was planning to revamp its mobile UI as a way to "better serve the expansion of o …

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Elon Musk grilled by senator over X Money plans

2026-04-14T14:31:27-04:00

Elon Musk is facing questions about his upcoming payments platform, X Money, and whether it will allow users to safely perform transactions. In a letter to Musk on Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) writes that X Money could pose a risk to "consumers, our national security, and the stability of the financial system," citing Musk's "track record operating X."

Musk said X Money will launch in early public access in April. Though Musk hasn't shared much about the platform, former X CEO Linda Yaccarino said last year that it will allow users to fund their X Wallet using Visa's Direct service, connect to debit cards for peer-to-peer transacti …

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Google’s Spotlight-like desktop search bar for Windows is available for everyone

2026-04-14T13:12:03-04:00

Last year, Google announced that it was testing a Google desktop app for Windows that resembles macOS's Spotlight feature, and now the app is available globally in English. You can download the app from Google's website, and it works with PCs with Windows 10 or newer.

By pressing the Alt + Space shortcut, you can bring up the app, which lets you search both the web and files on your computer and on Google Drive. While searching, you can click through different views like All, Images, and AI Mode. If you want to ask Google questions about what you're looking at on your computer, you can use Google Lens or share your screen.

It's unclear if …

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DaVinci Resolve adds new photo editing tools to take on Lightroom and Photoshop

2026-04-14T11:28:36-04:00

DaVinci Resolve 21’s updates include support for RAW files from Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Fujifilm cameras. | Image: Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design announced an update to its powerful multipurpose post-production software today adding new tools and improved workflows for editing photos. In addition to helping position DaVinci Resolve 21 as an alternative to Adobe's Lightroom and Photoshop, the latest version also introduces new features to lure users away from Adobe Premiere including AI tools that can make an actor look younger or older by adding wrinkles or changing the shape of their face.

The new photo mode in DaVinci Resolve 21 can be used to organize, rate, and label large collections of images and includes an AI-powered search feature for finding specific subje …

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The new show making fun of tech bros

2026-04-18T07:05:56-04:00

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 123, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, which Artemis photo did you make your wallpaper, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

This week, I've been reading about Sam Altman and Satoshi Nakamoto and chess drama and Iranian shitposters, buying the stuff I need to mod an old iPod, making videos with the clever new DualShot Recorder, watching Crime 101 now that it's streaming, finally getting my Stream Deck Mini to control all my office lights, revisiting the incredible 17776 series from our friends at SB Nation, moving a …

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Little Snitch’s software counter surveillance jumps from Mac to Linux

2026-04-10T15:41:43-04:00

The popular macOS app Little Snitch brought its network-monitoring tools over to Linux this week. In a blog post announcing the launch, one of the developers at Objective Development shared some early results from using the app on Linux: "On Ubuntu, I found 9 system processes making internet connections over the course of one week. On macOS, we counted more than 100."

While the Linux version of Little Snitch provides the same basic functionality for viewing and disabling unwanted connections, it's not exactly the same. Objective Development says it's "not a security tool," unlike the macOS version.

According to Objective Development, Lin …

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Mastodon is about to launch its take on Bluesky’s starter packs

2026-04-09T12:10:42-04:00

Mastodon is preparing to roll out "Collections" in the next few weeks, a feature that allows you to find and create lists of accounts worth following, according to an announcement on Thursday. Collections, which take inspiration from Bluesky Starter Packs, will come with the ability to add up to 25 accounts to a single list.

If you're on a participating server, you'll be able to create a Collection with a short description and topic. You can also mark them as "sensitive," which "hides the description and accounts behind a content warning." As mentioned by Mastodon last year, Collections - then called "Packs" - will come with the ability to …

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