4 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Archives for July 2026

Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Roblox is planning new voice and video chat features.

After announcing it’s shutting down Roblox Connect, Roblox said in its latest earnings report that it’s working on adding “integrated voice calls” and video chat, as alternatives to tools like Discord.

Our roadmap includes a plan to provide users the option to video chat with friends or stream with their Roblox avatar. Because the calls will originate within the Roblox app and accompany users as they move between games, they deliver a safer, richer, more immersive connection than any off-platform alternative.

Apple’s iPhone and Mac sales keep growing despite RAM shortagesApple’s iPhone and Mac sales keep growing despite RAM shortages
Maybe we shouldn’t give 24-year-olds billions of dollars to bet on AI

This 24-year-old first-time hedge funder screwed up his AI fund with one weird trick.

Elizabeth Lopatto
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Reddit is planning something new in video.

The company’s Q2 2026 shareholder letter mentions that “we’re reimagining how users and communities connect, share, and consume content through a modernized video experience on Reddit.” Wonder if it will make Reddit yet another app with a vertical video feed. The platform turned on video replies in May.

Daily active uniques also reached 130 million users. However, the company is facing “headwinds in users coming from search,” says CEO Steve Huffman.

Charts showing Reddit’s user growth.
Image: Reddit
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Senators call on Apple to not buy Chinese-made RAM chips.

Apple has reportedly been seeking permission to buy memory from CXMT, a blacklisted Chinese supplier.

“We urge Apple to abandon any effort to incorporate memory from CXMT, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC), or any other Chinese state-backed supplier into any of its products,” the Senators wrote in a letter to CEO Tim Cook.

Citing core national security and economic reasons, Schumer demands Apple reject Chinese military-linked chips

[U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York]

Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Chrome for Android has custom new tab page backgrounds now.

As spotted by 9to5Google, you can change the background to different colors and images, including uploading your own, and set the background to refresh everyday, like on the desktop version of Chrome. The new backgrounds are under “Customize new tab page” in Chrome’s three dots menu.

A screenshot of new tab page customization options on Chrome for Android
A screenshot of new tab page customization options on Chrome for Android
1/2Image: Google
Jacob Kastrenakes
Jacob Kastrenakes
Meta’s Oversight Board is coming for ChatGPT and Claude.

A recent study from the Oversight Board found that leading AI systems are less likely to criticize authoritarian governments than democratic ones.

It’s a wild finding — but wait? Why is Meta’s Oversight Board studying systems from OpenAI and Anthropic in the first place? Board member Suzanne Nossel joined me on The Vergecast to discuss the findings and why the Oversight Board’s future might involve looking at more than just Meta.

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Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Wonder Man won’t have a second season on Disney Plus.

A show almost canceled as a tax write-off before it ever aired is now canceled, according to Variety, despite Variety’s report that it was renewed in March.

Our S1 review mentioned that “by the end of the season, you get the sense that Simon and Slattery could go on to become one of Marvel’s more novel riffs on a superhero team,” and a source in today’s report says the show’s characters could pop up elsewhere in the currently-under-renovation-MCU.

‘Wonder Man’ Not Returning for Season 2 at Disney+

[Variety]

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 9 is $40 off at Costco and comes with over $50 in freebiesSamsung’s Galaxy Watch 9 is $40 off at Costco and comes with over $50 in freebies
Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Spotify’s User Notes turn playlists into mixtapes.

You’ll find the feature in the three-dot menu next to tracks on your playlists. Now you can remind yourself of how you discovered a song, or leave a message to someone you’re sharing the playlist with. Playlists have always felt impersonal compared to a mixtape or mix CD. This closes the gap slightly.

Series of screenshots showing where to find the new User Notes feature in Spotify.
Image: Spotify
LinkedIn actually adds a ‘seems like AI slop’ buttonLinkedIn actually adds a ‘seems like AI slop’ button
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Game Boy Camera, meet pocket camera.

This prototype is a fully functional Game Boy Pocket, with a removable Game Boy Camera module and interchangeable CS-mount lenses! It’s from 8-bit photog Crissa Graves, who previously made a Game Boy Camera that fully fits inside a cartridge. “You can still play Tetris and Pokemon one-handed,” she tells me — but no speaker.

<em>USB-C charging — and still has link port access for a Game Boy Printer!</em> <em>1800mAh battery for hours of photos.</em>
“<em>CS Mount lens, but I’ll likely share the design files so makers can customize it for whatever lens they’d like.</em>“
<em>“By the time I’m done, it should be 109 x 61.8 x 23.5 mm (18.5mm at the thinnest part). For reference, Ricoh GR III is 109 x 62 x 33mm, which was the size aim.“</em>
<em>“The smallest Game Boy Camera cartridge ever!</em>“
<em>“4 completely custom circuit boards: the main CPU, the shutter & power button board, a flexible PCB board to connect the screen to the CPU, and the cartridge.</em>”
1/5
USB-C charging — and still has link port access for a Game Boy Printer! 1800mAh battery for hours of photos.
Image: Crissa Graves
Govee’s portable smart lamp is down to one of its best prices to dateGovee’s portable smart lamp is down to one of its best prices to date
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
More Odyssey in IMAX.

Christopher Nolan’s three-hour movie has had additional 70mm IMAX showtimes added, which are now scheduled to run through September 16th.

After experiencing the movie in both standard widescreen and IMAX, our reviewer Charles Pulliam-Moore wrote that “By shooting The Odyssey completely in 70mm, Nolan crafted a film whose size and visual detail could make it feel immersive in ways that most modern features aren’t.” Might be worth getting a ticket, even if AI bots aren’t much help.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
The Epic Games Store launches on iOS in Brazil.

Apple recently started allowing alternative app marketplaces in Brazil following a long legal dispute, during which Epic originally announced that the store would be launching in the country.

The store will have Fortnite and Rocket League Sideswipe, Epic says.

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Epic Games Store Comes to iPhones in Brazil as Apple Obstructs App Store Competition

[Epic Games ]

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