Sources tell Reuters that the Trump administration is considering blocking Chinese imports of the component due to security concerns. Optical transceivers are used across data centers and the telecommunications industry to quickly transmit information, with China’s Zhongji Innolight currently making up 27 percent of the transceiver market, according to Counterpoint.

The era of AI-powered search has made Reddit mentions highly valuable. Subreddit moderators are catching brands trying to take advantage.




The latest Quick Posts
Back to school / Before the bell rings, we’ve got some tech picks for students (and their parents).


From necessities to nice-to-haves, we’ve gathered 28 products that will make this year at school the best it can be.

An AI-powered Sidekick kicks this smart calendar display up a gear.

The cut corners of these Asus, Lenovo, and Acer laptops are glaringly obvious next to the Neo.

This smartwatch for kids offers a fresher take on gamifying activity, while also enabling GPS tracking for parents.
You reap what you SEO / Search engine optimization has reshaped the internet as we know it.


The explosion of AI search has created a gold rush for firms claiming they can change what gets cited.

SEO experts got very rich filling the web full of garbage. But are they to blame, or is Google?

According to recently released documents, the convicted sex offender had a vast network of people working to whitewash his digital presence.

For two decades, Google Search was the invisible force that determined the ebb and flow of online content. Now, for the first time, its cultural relevance is in question.
Dynamic range / The latest ways to take photos and record video.


It takes a little more work, but phones can now legitimately rival point-and-shoot cameras.

This is bigger than the Pocket 4, but definitely better.

Beni is a trip — and when it trips, it gets back up again.

The film photography renaissance continues and gets more affordable.
Staff picks / Our favorite stories you don’t want to miss.


Applied without scary needles or noise.

Folding screens are no longer novel, but they’re finally good enough for an iPhone.

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

Pippa is trying to entice artists with a revenue share system.


Signal’s secure messenger can easily work across multiple Android devices and iPhones now.


The company’s data center revenue has more than doubled, hitting $6.7 billion.
As BoingBoing notes, a Tennessee candidate for Congress was charged for four counts of felony vandalism for allegedly shooting up Flock cameras. The Blount County sheriff’s office says the suspect admitted to shooting the “ALPR systems” over about a week in July. To say these systems are unpopular is becoming an understatement.


But it’s still losing money overall.
The March 2nd start date will cost Paramount millions of dollars, as it must pay $7 million each day the deal doesn’t close after September 30th.
Separately, Paramount revealed in its Q2 2026 earnings report (pdf) that its streaming service gained 2 million subscribers over the past few months and will soon add a short-form video feed, similar to HBO Max and Netflix.


The Chinese-owned appliance manufacturer announced it will use US-manufactured Texas Instruments semiconductors in its new laundry machines made at its Louisville, Kentucky, headquarters. Along with its Wi-Fi and BLE connectivity solutions, GE Appliances says it’s exploring using TI’s intelligent microcontroller platform to bring advanced AI to its washers and dryers.
Verge staff had a long chat yesterday about our memories at the movies, and we’ve already received some wonderful and touching stories from readers. Thank you for sharing! We’d love to hear more — please jump into the comments in the original post found here:
Our favorite memories at the movies
However, Axios says the White House did meet with AI companies on Tuesday to discuss the finalized framework, which was created following an executive order signed in June.
Everyone in AI is talking about open-weight models right now. Some see them as the ticket to faster, more efficient development; others see them as an economic threat; they’re either a security risk or the only security solution, depending who you ask. The Verge’s Robert Hart explains how open-weight models work, why they’re suddenly at the center of discussions about AI safety, and whether the only way to stop a bad guy with AI is a good guy with AI.
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If you said that in your head in a weird little voice, good news: Dropout is now streaming Don Hertzfeldt’s legendary animated films, from Rejected to World of Tomorrow. Paper Trail, which just won the short film category at the Annecy Festival, will be available September 1st.


Pavel Durov claims attackers post illegal content and manipulate reports to ‘trigger the removal of legitimate communities.’
Several different models sold through Amazon, Walmart, and Ocoopa’s online store have been recalled after 1,480 reports of the devices overheating resulting in 15 fires, 350 burns, and the death of an 83-year-old in California, according to the USCPSC. Consumers with recalled hardware can reach out to Ocoopa for a full refund.


What did the content creators learn about ChatGPT at the “summer club” weekend trip?
It’s launching a new B550 X series “engineered to be the most powerful refresh of the AM4 platform,” which is now 10 years old, as PC Gamer reports. The new motherboards were designed around the Ryzen 7 8500X3D that AMD recently relaunched as component shortages continue to drive up prices.


The Steam Deck OLED recently got a price bump, but the next best SteamOS handheld just got cheaper.




One day we will have a talk with the people who don’t understand what science fiction is (writing about politics with plausible deniability). Until then, please enjoy Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains,” originally published in Collier’s in 1950 and taking place on April 28th, 1985. In The Martian Chronicles, the date is revised to August 4, 2026 and guess what! That’s today.
If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.
[Library of Short Stories]
The antitrust lawsuit alleges that Amazon prevents unionization and restricts delivery network companies from hiring drivers at other companies, resulting in lower wages and “harsher working conditions” for “thousands” of New Jersey residents. You can read the complaint here.
[New Jersey Office of Attorney General]
The company’s original smart ring is getting some big upgrades to compete with the Oura ring. The CRW-H001M-8 will launch in China first for around $295 with fitness tracking that includes a heart rate monitor and thermometer plus vibrating alerts for notifications from a connected phone. But you’ll need to charge the new model with a proprietary cable.


The new option allows you to pay for a device, taxes, and fees over 36 months.


Samsung’s next-gen HDR spec is beating Dolby Vision 2 to the punch, but only on Samsung’s new TVs, and only for supported titles on Prime Video.
Futurism made the tally. The publication also found 12 cases involving police intervention to try and stop protestors from “from confronting civic leaders,” though noted that the tally is “likely much higher.”


It’s the second-largest data center market behind Virginia.


Plus, we found deals on a cooler that doubles as a speaker, and a 100W display-equipped USB charger.
The humble drawing app has gotten several useful upgrades over the past few years, but Mark Russinovich, the Microsoft Azure CTO, has found a way for Paint to play Doom… kind of. Instead of actually running the game, DoomPaint loads rendered frames into the app from the Windows clipboard at a very playable 35fps.
The software conglomerate has agreed to acquire Airtable for around $1.29 billion in cash — a fraction of the more than $11 billion it was once valued at in 2021. This is just the latest feather in Bending Spoon’s cap, which has built a reputation for buying software companies that are past their heyday.


The planned feature will allow EU users to copy content on their iPhone and paste it onto their PC.
After launching in China last month, Godox’s C100 digital camera is now available for preorder in the US through Amazon for $44.90. That makes it more expensive than the smaller $35 Kodak Charmera, but in addition to its unique viewfinder, the C100 offers a slight bump in photo and video resolution to 1920x1080.
If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.
Network Boost is a new feature that aims to provide reliable connectivity for IRL streamers. It requires a Streamlabs Ultra subscription (which starts from $27 per month) and works by pooling cellular and local Wi-Fi connections together on both the iPhone you’re broadcasting on, and a secondary iPhone or Android device running the Streamlabs Controller app.
The communications app has introduced an “@all” alert to get everyone’s attention instead of tagging people individually — a feature that’s thankfully restricted to admins for group chats with more than 32 members. You can now also start new group chats from existing groups, and polls have been updated, adding the ability to hide voter names, edit questions, and set voting deadlines.
First announced nearly a month ago in China, DJI’s wireless Mic Mini 2S that adds redundant recording with 14.5GB of storage in each transmitter is now available globally, but not the US. A kit with two mics, a receiver, and a charging case is €189, £169, or CAD $265, according to PetaPixel.
If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.
Remember when David Ellison bought Paramount and then almost immediately tanked CBS News’ ratings by handing the keys over to conservatives like Bari Weiss? Well, in a new essay for The New York Times, Ellison swears he won’t do the same if Paramount is able to absorb Warner Bros. and CNN.
[The New York Times]


As the box office heats up this summer, The Verge reflects on the magic of theaters


Back-to-school season also means giveaway season here at The Verge.
According to the Financial Times, Apple “has introduced a cap and a 30-day cool-off period” for researchers’ vulnerability reports for its operating systems due to an uptick in reports using AI that “can hallucinate security risks.” Apple is also reportedly using AI internally to help manage the recent “upsurge” in bug reports.
[Financial Times]
In addition to built-in USB-C charging ports, Falcam’s new 2,600mAh TagBatt rechargeable batteries support Apple’s Find My tracking network so you can potentially use them to find a camera that’s been misplaced or stolen. They’re available now in a $69.99 Sony NP-FZ100 version, and a $64.99 LP-E6 option for Canon cameras.













