Category: Technology

Happy Holidays! As we like to do on The Vergecast, we take this time of year to see our families, relax and recharge, and go extremely deep into a specific technology that matters right now. This year, we picked the tiny chip in all your devices that is suddenly a precious and expensive commodity: RAM.

On this episode, David and Nilay are joined by The Verge‘s Sean Hollister to get a primer on all things Random Access Memory. The hosts talk through the history of the technology, what RAM made possible in our computers, how it became utterly ubiquitous in practically every electronic device we own, and why it’s so hard to get right now. (Her …

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This morning, I asked my Alexa-enabled Bosch coffee machine to make me a coffee. Instead of running my routine, it told me it couldn’t do that. Ever since I upgraded to Alexa Plus, Amazon’s generative-AI-powered voice assistant, it has failed to reliably run my coffee routine, coming up with a different excuse almost every time I ask.

It’s 2025, and AI still can’t reliably control my smart home. I’m beginning to wonder if it ever will.

The potential for generative AI and large language models to take the complexity out of the smart home, making it easier to set up, use, and manage connected devices, is compelling. So is the promise of a “ …

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Want to see a dead body? I present to you the Xbox. After a subdued launch at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020, the Xbox Series X quickly lost the fight against the PlayStation 5. Microsoft simply couldn’t deliver enough compelling games, despite some huge acquisitions, while Sony leaned on its goodwill from the PS4 era and a handful of desirable exclusives. As prices rose due to supply chain issues and the Trump administration’s volatile tariff scheme, there was even less of a reason to get an Xbox (even the cheaper Series S). When I re-reviewed the Series X last year, it was clear that it never lived up to its potential. Anyone in their right mind would be better off buying a PlayStation 5.

Xbox didn’t enter 2025 in a great state, and it’s leaving the year grasping for help, like an Arc Raider player desperate for a revival after being knocked out. Microsoft cancelled the Perfect Dark reboot and Everwild, two of the most interesting games in its weak …read more

The first crack showed right before Inauguration Day. The year before, Congress had overwhelmingly passed a bill banning TikTok unless it broke ties with its Chinese parent company. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld it, and it was clear what needed to happen next: either the president could give TikTok another 90 days to complete a deal or it would be banned immediately.

But neither of those things happened. Outgoing President Joe Biden punted the decision to incoming President Donald Trump, and after a dramatic few hours where TikTok took itself offline in the US, it returned with a triumphant message thanking Trump for saving it.

Nea …

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Apple has been fined more than €98 million (about $116 million) by Italy’s antitrust regulator over the “excessively burdensome” privacy rules it imposes on third-party apps. The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) says that Apple abused its dominant app store market position by burdening developers with “disproportionate” terms around data collection that exceed privacy law requirements, compared to rules for native iOS apps.

The fine specifically targets the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy Apple launched in 2021, which requires third-party developers to ask users for consent twice to track their data across other apps and websites …

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As many of us hunker down for the holidays, you might want to tackle some of the best games we’ve seen this year: the long-time-coming Silksong, the critically acclaimed (and sumptuous) Expedition 33 and the bizarre world of Baby Steps.

Not to mention the Switch 2, which is slowly building out its own exclusive library with Metroid Prime 4 and Donkey Kong Bananza. Rare for me, this year, I’ve played many of the new games we’ve picked. Brag. I’d recommend both Dispatch and Blue Prince — I still haven’t completed the latter, but, yes, I’ve unlocked the secret elevator.

And if you don’t have access to your usual PC or console setup, there are some smartphone games worth your time, including Spooky Express, Is This Seat Taken and, well, Umamusume: Pretty Derby, a reimagined world of horse racing where the horses are anime girls with horse ears. Try explaining that to your uncle over dinner.

— Mat Smith

The other big stories (and deals) this morning

• Paramount has an updated Warner Bros. Discovery bid

• The 12 best last-minute Christmas gifts for 2025 that will arrive by December 24

• Nintendo has huge discounts on Switch 2 games in …read more

As a reluctant doomsday prepper and eager vanlifer, Dometic’s battery-powered Go Faucet has, for the last few years, played a central role in my bougie bug-out kit and my camping rig’s water system. So it took me all of two minutes with Dometic’s new Recon 360 Faucet to realize it’s an upgrade in every single way that matters – and then confirmed after a week of testing it.

The Recon 360 Faucet lets you pump water out of a storage container like a typical faucet in places that lack traditional plumbing, be it inside a boat, cabin, or van, or at the beach, job site, or campground. A long silicone water hose attaches to the back of the faucet …

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