5 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Tech

The latest tech news about the world’s best (and sometimes worst) hardware, apps, and much more. From top companies like Google and Apple to tiny startups vying for your attention, Verge Tech has the latest in what matters in technology daily.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Get ready for “Pro and tell.”

Apple CEO John Ternus shared a teaser ahead of the launch event, which kicks off at 1PM ET today. Will we see the long-rumored touchscreen MacBook Pro?

Inside Amazon’s Echo hardware event

The company’s low-key product launch was designed to give each device more attention, according to Panos Panay.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Spending time with the Echo Time

Amazon’s $200 smart alarm clock is angling for a spot on your bedside table.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Our first look at Amazon’s big new Echo Show 16
Hands-on

It’s Amazon’s most ambitious smart display to date, but has it priced itself out of the game?

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Substack and Beehiiv want to monetize your podcast.

Both newsletter platforms have helped host podcasts for a while, and now they’re getting into the money side. Last week Substack announced an early access program for dynamic sponsorship placements, with programmatic ads coming “soon.” Smaller rival Beehiiv followed up yesterday, though has both types of audio ad ready to use right now.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Apple’s OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro could cost $2,899.

The company “has discussed” that price for the 14-inch, M5 Pro-equipped laptop it’s planning to announce at its “Pro and tell” event tomorrow, according to Bloomberg. That price would be a $400 premium over the M5 Pro MBP that’s on sale now.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Discord is turning on websites for all Discoverable Servers.

Discord acknowledges that long-form conversations that can be popular on message boards, like help posts and theory crafting, have moved to Discord where they’re “inaccessible to the wider internet.”

The option to make the websites already existed, but turning them on for all Discoverable Servers, a change set for November 16th, could make some information buried inside Discord easier to find. Admins can opt channels out from showing up.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Rockstar workers will vote on union recognition right around GTA VI’s launch.

The union vote will take place from November 12th through November 26th, according to an emailed press release from the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB). GTA VI is scheduled to release on November 19th.

If the staffers vote in favor, “the Rockstar Game Workers Union will become the biggest recognised union in the UK games sector,” the IWGB says.

A screenshot from the IWGB Rockstar Game Workers Union. The text reads: “Following months of negotiations, recognition of the IWGB Rockstar Game Workers Union will be put to an employee vote lasting from the 12th to the 26th of November. The ballot will coincide with the game studio’s most anticipated release of all time, Grand Theft Auto VI, on the 19th of November. The terms of the recognition deal, agreed upon by workers and management, would give workers a say over issues including pay and bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working arrangements, and generative Al policies. If employees vote in favour of recognition, they will have the biggest recognised union in the UK games sector.“
Image: Rockstar Game Workers Union (X)
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Apple’s next MacBook Neo is reportedly launching in the first half of 2027.

The company is also working on a refreshed MacBook Air for the same timeline, an updated “low-end” MacBook Pro and M7 chips expected in 2027, and the M7 Ultra chip and an updated Mac Studio scheduled for 2028, Bloomberg reports.

Major League Baseball is looking for a new kind of fan

A sport historically averse to internet culture is finding success embracing fandom, trends, and influencers.

Mia Sato
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Another senator wants Meta to reverse its business term revisions.

Adam Schiff joins Sen. Marsha Blackburn in expressing concern, urging Meta to “compensate creators and publishers for their work” after the company’s updated terms seemingly gave itself permission to train its AI on news sites. Those changes have since been tweaked and pushed back until November 20th, but Schiff says “a delay isn’t enough.”

Allison Johnson
Allison Johnson
Cosplaying as a street photographer with the iPhone Duo is ridiculous and kinda fun.

I took Halide’s newly Duo-updated iOS app for a spin to try out the waist-level viewfinder feature, shooting with Process Zero for some added lo-fi flair. It was a good time! But you’re definitely gonna get called out when someone spots it, and the fish-slinging folks at the Pike Place Fish Market don’t miss a beat. They were kind enough to help me test the selfie camera, at least.

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Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
X has another new head of product.

After Nikita Bier’s one-year stint in the role, Peter Sellis, formerly of Ustream, Snap, Discord and Microsoft, is leading the app formerly known as Twitter.

I’m joining the team at @X to lead Product. I am a huge believer in @SpaceX ‘s mission to extend human consciousness to the stars, so it’s time to make shitposting multiplanetary. X is the best way to find out what’s happening in the world right now and talk about it. The team has been working tirelessly to make X a better place and product for the people who love it, and many have noticed the recent momentum. My goal is to help accelerate that momentum for our community, new users, and businesses globally by continuing to make this product beautiful and useful. We are twenty years in, but it truly feels like X’s next chapter will be our greatest. I look forward to your ideas and feedback; I’m sure the replies will be measured and magnanimous.
Screenshot: Peter Sellis (X)
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Proton is reportedly going to “re-interview” employees and ask about their AI use.

An email to staff seen by 404 Media says the Proton Mail owner needs “people who can translate AI’s capabilities into better products, stronger execution, and new ways of working.” It reportedly calls the re-interviews “consequential,” adding that they “may lead to changes in roles, responsibilities, and continued employment.”