Happy Friday. I'm back from vacation and still getting caught up on everything I missed. AI researchers moving jobs is getting covered like NBA trades now, apparently.
Before I get into this week's issue, I want to make sure you check out my interview with Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivason Decoder this week. It's a good deep dive on the main topic of today's newsletter. Keep reading for a scoop on Substack and more from this week in AI news.
From chatbots to browsers
So far, when most people think of the modern AI boom, they think of a chatbot like ChatGPT. Now, it's becoming increasingly clear that the web browser is where the next p …
The Twelve South Butterfly SE conveniently folds down, making it easy to throw in a bag. | Image: Twelve South
Keeping multiple devices charged while traveling usually means packing several wall warts and cables. Thanks to the clever design of the Twelve South Butterfly SE 2-in-1 Qi2 Charger, however, you can power two devices with a single, compact accessory. Best of all, the foldable charger is now on sale at Amazon and Best Buy starting at $40.99 ($59 off), which is the lowest price we’ve seen.
The Butterfly SE features two soft-touch charging discs, one that delivers up to 15W for your phone and another that provides up to 5W for your smartwatch. The two discs are connected by a flexible strap, and they snap together magnetically for travel, folding down to roughly the size of an AirPods Pro case. The versatile charger can also fold into a stand, allowing you to display the iPhone in StandBy mode, which transforms the device into a bedside clock or photo frame.
Each purchase comes with a color-coordinated woven USB-C cable, though it doesn’t include a wall adapter. For this kit to work, you’ll need a 30W charger (this one from Anker is currently down to $12.29 at Amazon). Twelve South also offers an aluminum version of the Butterfly, which is also on sale for $79.99 ($50 off) at Amazon. Build quality aside, the so-called Butterfly 2-in-1 MagSafe Charger is essentially the same thing, but it includes the necessary 30W power adapter and four international adapters.
More weekend discounts
For those unaware, Belkin offers a variety of great accessories, from cases to audio gear. And now through July 31st, you can get free shipping and save 20 percent sitewide on orders over $75 with promo code VERGE20. It’s a good opportunity to save on Belkin’s charging case for the Nintendo Switch 2 and the excellent BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Stand with Qi2 15W, which can charge three devices simultaneously.
If you’re obsessed with karaoke or frequently host outdoor parties, you can pick up the Soundcore Rave 3S AI Party Speaker from Amazon and Soundcore (with code WS7DV2HKQOYP) for $279.99 ($70 off), its best price to date. The wireless Bluetooth party speaker comes with two microphones and an AI vocal removal feature that can remove vocals from “any song from any app,” giving you endless karaoke fodder. It also features light effects, which you can further customize via the Soundcore app.
The Nothing Phone 3 recently launched in the US, and the configuration with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage is already available for $799 ($100 off) from Amazon and Nothing. The device replaces the patented light strips found on prior models with a small dot-matrix LED display, which can show notifications, battery percentages, and helpful information. Read our hands-on impressions.
Correction, July 18th: An earlier version of this article misstated that the Twelve South Butterfly SE can power two Qi2-compatible devices at once. Only the main charging pad is Qi2-compatible.
In a landmark victory for the crypto industry, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, establishing a regulatory framework for a type of digital currency known as stablecoins.
The GENIUS Actcreates rules for entities that issue stablecoins, whose value is tied to an asset like the US dollar. Those rules govern who’s allowed to issue stablecoins, how they need to maintain reserves, what happens in the case of bankruptcy, and an obligation to prevent money laundering.
Trump congratulated members of the crypto industry who attended the signing ceremony at the White House, including the CEOs of Coinbase and Tether. He drew a stark contrast between the Biden administration, which he called “a vicious group of people” who were “trying to crush your industry,” and himself. “I got you guys out of so much trouble,” Trump said.
“The entire crypto community, for years, you were mocked and dismissed and counted out,” Trump said. “But this signing is a massive validation of your hard work and your pioneering spirit.” He added that he chose to back crypto “at an early stage” because it will make the US dollar stronger. “And I also did it for the votes,” he said to a round of laughter from the audience, “because you did come out and vote.”
“This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and your pioneering spirit”
The bill passed through both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support, with backers saying it creates necessary safeguards for the industry and keeps the US competitive in the space. But it also saw opposition from other members on both sides. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) criticized the bill as “a huge giveaway to Big Tech,” citing concerns it would incentivize companies that issue stablecoins to collect more financial data on consumers. In a speech on the Senate floor, Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), said that the bill “is riddled with loopholes and contains weak safeguards for consumers, national security, and financial stability.”
Warren and other Democrats have also warned that legitimizing the stablecoin industry through the legislation could bolster a potential avenue of corruption for Trump. Trump’s family is involved in crypto firm World Liberty Financial that launched its own stablecoin, USD1. The White House has said the venture creates no conflicts for the president as his assets are in a trust managed by his kids.
“Through his crypto businesses, President Trump has created an efficient means to trade presidential favors like tariff exemptions, pardons, and government appointments for hundreds of millions—perhaps billions—of dollars from foreign governments, from billionaires, and from large corporations,” Warren said. “This is the single greatest corruption scandal in American history and, by passing the GENIUS Act, the Senate is about to not only bless this corruption, but to actively facilitate its expansion.”
As Trump signed the GENIUS Act, he tried to steer attention to what he’s billed as “a big scandal” for his predecessor. “This is not an autopen, by the way.” Trump quipped.
Think of OpenAI's new ChatGPT Agent as a day-one intern who's incredibly slow at every task but will eventually get the job done.
Well… most of the job. Or… at least part of it. Usually.
It's been one day since OpenAI debuted ChatGPT Agent, which it bills as a tool that can complete a wide range of complex, multi-step tasks on your behalf using its own "virtual computer." It's a combination of two of the company's prior releases, Operator and Deep Research. The Verge forked over the $200 for a one-month subscription to ChatGPT Pro, since OpenAI announced that higher-than-expected demand for ChatGPT Agent will delay its rollout to Plus an …
Personally, I think electric scooters are a little goofy, but I’m glad they exist. I know a lot of people who don’t want to drop a couple thousand dollars on an electric bike, but still want the joy and freedom of zipping around town at a modest 18mph, while being able to hop on a subway or bus if needed. They want something you can carry with one hand, but that still has the stability to carry you around town.
This is not one of those scooters. The Bo Turbo was designed by a team of ex-Formula One engineers, and glancing at the spec sheet, it would appear that these folks brought some of that manic energy from F1 to this scooter project.
The Bo Turbo will out-accelerate a Tesla Model 3, thanks to 24,000W dual motor propulsion system and an 1,800Wh battery. It has a top speed of 100 mph (!) and can travel up to 150 miles on a single charge. It aims to break the current scooter speed record under official supervision of the Guinness World Records folks.
The company makes a number of wild claims here, including a higher power-t0-weight ratio than a Bugatti Veyron. They also claim that the scooter’s battery can deliver enough energy to fast-charge 1,500 iPhones at the same time — which, like, cool. But why?
Look, I get it. This is not for me, a suburban dad of two that enjoys biking with my kids to our town pool. That’s totally cool. I don’t need to be the target demographic of every product we report on. And scooters can and should go as fast as the scooter people want them to. But I am struggling a bit with the question of who exactly this is for. A scooter that goes 100 mph? Like, this isn’t legal, right?
Bo’s CEO seems to acknowledge that it’s in a bit of a legal gray area with this scooter. In an interview with The Autopian, Oscar Morgan basically says no one was going to tell them not to build this scooter, so why not?
His point was simple: This is a mostly unregulated market in a lot of places, so why not build the wildest scooter you possibly can?
“Our passion is elite vehicle engineering, and we are firm believers in the human spirit of adventure. The UK already has a proud history in this pursuit with the first car to pass 100mph, then Thrust SSC taking the Land Speed record in Nevada,” explained Morgan. “I guess you could say the UK has a proud history of crazy Brits constructing vehicles that ought not be possible.”
Bo’s engineering team, some of whom hail from the UK’s Williams Racing, based the Turbo’s monocoque chassis tech on its Bo Model-M scooter, which is the scooter it actually intends to sell to real people. (Available August 2025.) The Turbo is more of a crazy science experiment. Let’s build the world’s fastest scooter!
Which is not to say you can’t buy one. Bo says it’s working on a limited run of Turbo scooters on commission, with an estimated price tag of $29,500. Yes, that’s about the same price of a used Tesla Model 3 — a little pricier in some markets. And certainly more than your average Amazon scooter. You want the speed? You gotta pay for it.
Bo is building these things made to order, with the first delivery expected to an unnamed collector in Madrid at the inaugural Formula One race there in 2026. And if you want one for yourself, you’ll need to submit a resume of prior racing experience to Bo through its website. Basically you’re auditioning for the right to ride one of these things. Considering the stakes involved, that seems like a fair trade-off.
Would you ride one of these things? I wouldn’t, but I have too much to live for. (Aforementioned children.) But I salute the risk takers. Please wear all the safety equipment.
RealPage, the algorithmic rent-setting software company, has announced plans to acquire Livble, a service that lets people pay their monthly rent in installments.
Livble describes itself as a “flexible” rent payment solution. Renters can split payments into up to four installments throughout the month. The service bills itself as helping tenants “avoid late fees and credit card fees” as well as “build credit through rent,” but it charges $30 to $40 per loan. RealPage didn’t disclose the terms of the deal.
Under the deal, RealPage will integrate Livble into its property management software and will handle “all collections.” Last year, the US Department of Justice and several states sued RealPage over claims that it monopolized the market for commercial revenue management software used to set the price of apartments. The lawsuit alleges RealPage used nonpublic rental prices from competing landlords to inform its algorithm, which provides rental price recommendations for property owners.
George Slover, senior counsel for competition and policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, calls RealPage’s latest acquisition a “bold move” given its existing antitrust battle. “I think it’s going to have to be reviewed by the Justice Department,” Slover told The Verge. “It’s really a question of whether they’re buying a potential competitor.”
In May, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and others asked RealPage whether it had “potential involvement” in Republicans’ now-scrapped AI moratorium. They argued that RealPage would’ve benefited from a 10-year ban preventing states from regulating algorithms, as several local governments have already enacted laws regulating rent-setting software.
Update, July 18th: Added a statement from the CDT.
Alvaro Bedoya, then-commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), right, and Rebecca Slaughter, commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), left, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, DC. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images
US District Court Judge Loren AliKhan called the attempted firing unlawful, finding that Rebecca Kelly Slaughter "remains a rightful member of the Federal Trade Commission" and that the president can only remove her for "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office." AliKhan ordered Republican FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson to provide Slaughter with "access to any government facilities, resources, and equipment necessary for her …
Netflix used generative AI to create a scene in the sci-fi series The Eternaut — a first for one of the streamer’s original shows or films. During an earnings call on Thursday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the use of AI was faster than using traditional visual effects tools and helped cut costs.
“That VFX sequence was completed 10 times faster than it could have been completed with traditional VFX tools and workflows,” Sarandos said during the call. “Also, the cost of it just wouldn’t have been feasible for a show in that budget.”
Sarandos said the creative team behind The Eternaut used AI to generate a scene of a building collapsing in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper,” he added.
In May, Netflix revealed a new AI-powered search feature on mobile that lets users find shows or movies using conversational phrases, like “something funny and upbeat” or “stories about dancers.” Netflix also said that it will use AI to blend ad breaks with the platform’s shows and movies — for example, allowing advertisers to display their product in front of a Stranger Things-inspired background.
Ring has once again started letting police request footage from users. Axon, a law enforcement technology company and maker of Taser, announced in April that it’s partnering with Ring to allow customers to share “relevant video with law enforcement to help solve crimes faster and safeguard neighborhoods,” as spotted earlier by Business Insider.
The move reverses Ring’s plan to step away from sharing video with police. Last year, the company discontinued “Request for Assistance,” a feature that allowed law enforcement officers to ask people for camera footage through Ring’s Neighbors app. At the time, the company said it would only let police request footage during “emergencies,” which still allowed law enforcement to obtain footage without a warrant, raising privacy concerns
Now, Ring’s partnership with Axon will allow police to solicit footage from Ring users through Axon’s digital evidence management system, though it’s unclear whether this will surface in the Neighbors app. Once the request is sent, Ring users can decide whether or not to send the footage, and if they do, it will be “encrypted and securely added to the case file,” according to Axon. Axon also claims Ring won’t share information about the users who declined to share footage. A source tells Business Insider that Ring is “exploring a new integration with Axon that would enable livestreaming from Ring devices” if customers give permission.
Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, who returned to Amazon in April to head up the teams dedicated to Ring, Blink, Amazon Key, and Sidewalk, said the integration will help further Ring’s mission to “make neighborhoods safer.”
Ring has come under fire in the past for allegedly helping police convince users to share their video footage, Motherboard reported in 2019. In 2023, Ring agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission that claimed its cameras enabled Ring workers and hackers to illegally spy on users.
Siminoff said in the April announcement, “This integration with Axon will foster a vital connection between our neighbors and public safety agencies in their communities, giving them a way to work together to keep their neighborhoods safe.”
Spotify has launched two new Audiobooks Plus add-on subscriptions that allow Premium users to double their audiobook listening limit to 30 hours. They’re available to individual Premium subscribers and users who manage Family and Duo plans. Other users on Premium accounts can now also request 15 hours of audiobook access from their plan manager. However, the new plans are still too short for those who prefer to listen to longer books.
The 30-hour limit won’t get you through titles like George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones or Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings, for example. You could listen to two or three smaller novels instead, but if you want to re-listen to them in the future, you’ll have to sacrifice those hours again. I recently listened to the almost 33-hour-long audiobook for The Eye of the World, the first book in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series, in a single weekend, which I would be unable to even finish with Spotify’s add-on. If you listen to books of a similar length over a few days, you’d have nothing left for the rest of the month.
And you can forget about buying books to get around these issues — any audiobook included in Premium isn’t available for Premium subscribers to purchase. I scoured through Spotify’s audiobook listings to find anything I could buy as a Premium subscriber and came up with nothing. By comparison, Audible’s $14.95 premium plan gives users an entire free book each month that they can keep forever, and frequently has titles on sale for far less than the price of Spotify’s time-based top-ups. The payouts that Spotify gives to authors are reportedly better than what Audible pays, but it sucks that Spotify makes it so difficult to support authors directly with purchases.
These add-ons are currently only available for Spotify Premium users in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Netherlands, following initial tests in Ireland and Canada. Pricing will vary by region. In the UK, both Audiobook add-ons are priced at £8.99 (about $12, which could double the $11.99 individual Premium plan pricing in the US).
Spotify will eventually introduce similar plans to the US, according to TechCrunch, though users in that region already have the option to purchase 10-hour audiobook top-ups for $12.99. The main perk here is convenience — these rolling add-on subscriptions will automatically allow Premium users to listen to 30 hours of audiobooks each month without needing to buy top-ups.
“Since the launch of Audiobooks in Premium, we’ve introduced millions to audiobooks and given them the flexibility to discover even more titles and authors, which the credit model limits,” Spotify’s Director of Audiobooks Strategy and Operations, Shaela Greenfield, told The Verge. “We know book fans on Spotify crave more opportunities to listen, and we’re excited to make that possible with Audiobooks Plus.”
“The feedback from our early tests in Canada and Ireland is positive, and now even more users around the world can take advantage, ” said Greenfield. “We will continue to unlock more offerings that bring optionality to users and drive growth for authors and the entire publishing industry.”
The 15 hours provided to Premium subscribers is a “nice to have” if you also stream music on the platform, especially if you only listen to a handful of shorter book titles every month. Spotify also has a $9.99 audiobook-only Premium plan that provides 15 hours of listening with no music perks if you prefer to listen to your tunes elsewhere.
Update, July 18th: added a statement from Spotify’s Shaela Greenfield.
The VIVI MO206SHUL shown here replaces the recalled MO206SH model but has a battery with UL 2849/2271 certification. | Image: VIVI
The US federal government's consumer watchdog has issued a recall for "about 24,000" batteries sold with cheap VIVI e-bikes at retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and AliExpress for prices between $365 and $950. At least 14 incidents of overheating batteries have been reported, with three reported fires. No injuries have been reported, but owners are urged to stop using the e-bikes immediately because the lithium-ion batteries pose a "risk of serious injury or death."
The VIVI e-bikes and batteries in question - models listed here - were likely not certified to UL safety standards. That's not stated in the US Consumer Product Safety Commission …
Microsoft has suddenly shut its movies and TV store on Xbox consoles and Windows PCs. As of today, you can no longer purchase new movies or TV shows from the Microsoft Store on Xbox or Windows, but you will still be able to access previously purchased content on your devices.
“Downloads will continue to be available on Windows and in HD max resolution,” Microsoft says, but you’ll have to continue using the Movies & TV app on Windows or Xbox to play the content you own, rather than accessing it from another service — unless your purchased movies are part of Movies Anywhere in the US. Microsoft is not offering a refund for purchases, either.
The closure has been nervously anticipated by Xbox and Windows users ever since Microsoft shut down its Groove Music service in 2017. Microsoft originally launched a movies and TV storefront with the Zune Marketplace in 2006, before it was replaced by Xbox Video in 2012. That then morphed into the Movies & TV app and store in 2015, and now, a decade later, it’s going away.
Microsoft is now leaving it up to Amazon, Netflix, Apple TV, and the many other streaming video services to cater for movies and TV content on Windows and Xbox. Microsoft will continue to provide support for any issues with previously purchased content, and users will be hoping the company keeps its servers online for many years to come.
When Nintendo first announced the Switch 2's slate of launch titles, people were very quick to cry foul about how few original, exclusive games the company had lined up for its latest console. There were ports from other systems and updated versions of original Switch games. But Mario Kart Worldwas the Switch 2's only major new exclusive title, which, for some, put a further damper on a launch that was already mired in confusion about pricing and game key cards.
I can't open LinkedIn without seeing a new post from a Microsoft employee who lost their job in the company's latest round of layoffs. Around 15,000 jobs have been eliminated at Microsoft over the past couple months - the biggest cuts at the company in more than a decade.
I've spoken to more than a dozen Microsoft employees in recent weeks, and everyone is concerned about the company's direction in this AI era. Morale is at an all-time low, and employees are worried that regular layoffs are simply the new normal.
Sources tell me that Microsoft's leadership team had the choice between reducing investment in AI infrastructure for the upcomin …
Would you like Siri more if it had a face? Ever since Elon Musk added a weird anime girlfriend to Grok, I've been wondering if there's a not-so-distant future where all of our AI assistants are much more clearly personified. Grok makes it feel deeply uncomfortable, but I'm not so sure it has to be that way; we're basically just talking about Cortana.
This week on The Vergecast, we're talking all about AI, how powerful it can be in the home, and the uncomfortable feelings were getting talking to these new, more capable assistants. The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy joins the show to talk about her early tests of Alexa Plus, which is finally …
Perplexity has just launched its agentic answer to Google Chrome — it’s called Comet, and it knocked out a slate of tasks on my behalf, though I think I could’ve done some faster myself. The new AI-powered browser is currently only available to Perplexity Max subscribers or through an early access waitlist, and it’s supposed to simplify the way you browse the web by infusing AI into practically everything you do.
For one, it replaces Google Search results with its Perplexity AI “answer engine,” which appears in your browser window when you type a query into the address bar. Unlike your typical search engine, Perplexity will first surface links to relevant websites and then generate information about what you’re looking for. Comet’s distilled search results come in handy when you want it to narrow down your results for you, but it’s a bit jarring not to see the massive selection of websites suggested by Google.
Comet also comes with an AI assistant built in, similar to the Gemini integration that Google is testing in Chrome. Selecting the Assistant button in the top-right corner of the browser will open up a sidebar with a chat interface. From here, you can type in a query or use voice mode to chat about different topics, as well as ask specific questions about the webpage you’re on.
Comet can generate a summary of an article, describe an image, summarize YouTube videos, or perform more research about a topic that catches your eye. It’s also able to scan all of your open tabs to provide summaries of those pages and compare products on them.
At this point, these are all pretty standard features for an AI tool, but what makes Comet really stand out is its ability to complete tasks on your behalf. After linking my Google account to the browser, I found that it was frighteningly fast at generating — and sending — an email to myself containing a summary of this year’s hurricane season outlook. The browser also speedily complied with a request to close all the tabs I hadn’t opened in more than 15 minutes. It even wrote and published a post on my X account on my behalf about the upcoming Made by Google event.
I asked it to unsubscribe from the promotional emails sent by Fubo and Fanatics.com as well. I watched as Comet’s AI assistant walked itself through the process. In the chat interface, Comet shows what it’s “seeing” as it locates recent emails sent by the companies, finds the unsubscribe button, and then actually selects it.
I even had Comet go through my list of LinkedIn invites and accept requests from people with five or more mutual connections. The browser once again traced its own process of going through my invites, identifying which ones met my threshold for mutual connections, and then hitting Accept. But as I had Comet perform these tasks, I couldn’t help but think it’d be faster if I did them myself.
It took Comet two minutes to unsubscribe from receiving emails from those two providers, but it only took me a little over 30 seconds to unsubscribe from the same ones (yes, I timed myself). Comet also ate up a chunk of time when accepting a couple of LinkedIn invitations, a task I could do in just a couple of clicks. I can see it serving as a great accessibility tool, as well as a way to complete tasks in the background while you’re doing something else.
You can unlock even more agentic features when you start a prompt with “take control of my browser.” I didn’t realize this until I contacted Perplexity to ask when the browser would be capable of booking reservations or buying products. Without this phrase, Comet will stop short of completing these tasks and instead provide instructions on how you can do it manually.
To start, I asked Comet to “take control of my browser” and summarize the comments on a Verge article. Instead of denying my request because it couldn’t read the collapsed comments section (like Gemini in Chrome did), Comet worked around this and opened the comments section itself. It summed up the sentiment surrounding my colleague Vee’s cursed piece about Grok’s AI anime waifu, calling users’ reaction to the chatbot overwhelmingly “negative and critical.”
I took things a step further by asking Comet to take control of my browser, add aquarium sand and glue for an iPad repair to my cart on Amazon, and then check out. The process was surprisingly seamless, as I watched it acknowledge the total price, choose Prime’s one-day shipping speed, select my default payment option, and hit “order” without needing me to intervene.
I only ran into some hiccups when having Comet book me a reservation for a restaurant. When I finally found a restaurant that accepts online reservations, I once again asked the browser to take control and make a reservation for me on a specific date. It completed the task, only it never asked for my email or phone number, and instead entered a generic placeholder for both. I was able to have Comet rebook with my actual email address, but it shows that the browser might not get everything right all the time.
“Some of the more complicated agentic actions like shopping do have a higher failure rate than simpler tasks, but this is actually a limitation of current AI models,” Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer told The Verge. “So this will only get easier and better in Comet.”
Still, Comet can do far more than Chrome’s Gemini integration, and it’s exactly the type of tool that Google has set its sights on creating. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas has made it clear that the startup wants to challenge Google’s dominance, and Comet may play a big role in bringing it up to speed.
Delta wants AI to set 20 percent of its ticket prices by the end of 2025. | Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images
Delta Air Lines is leaning into dynamic ticket pricing that uses artificial intelligence to individually determine the highest fee you’d willingly pay for flights, according to comments Fortune spotted in the company’s latest earnings call. Following a limited test of the technology last year, Delta is planning to shift away from static ticket prices entirely after seeing “amazingly favorable” results.
“We will have a price that’s available on that flight, on that time, to you, the individual,” Delta president Glen Hauenstein told investors in November, having started to test the technology on 1 percent of its ticket prices. Delta currently uses AI to influence 3 percent of its ticket prices, according to last week’s earnings call, and is aiming to increase that to 20 percent by the end of this year. “We’re in a heavy testing phase,” said Hauenstein. “We like what we see. We like it a lot, and we’re continuing to roll it out.”
While personalized pricing isn’t unique to Delta, the airline has been particularly candid about embracing it. During that November call, Hauenstein said the AI ticketing system is “a full reengineering of how we price and how we will be pricing in the future,” and described the rollout as “a multiyear, multi-step process.” Hauenstein acknowledged that Delta was excited about the initial revenue results it saw in testing, but noted the shift to AI-determined pricing could “be very dangerous, if it’s not controlled and it’s not done correctly.”
Delta’s personalized AI pricing tech is provided by travel firm Fetcherr, which also partners with Virgin Atlantic, Azul, WestJet, and Viva Aerobus. In Delta’s case, the AI will act as a “super analyst” that operates 24/7 to determine custom ticket prices that should be offered to individual customers in real time, per specific flights and times.
Airlines have varied their ticket prices for customers on the same routes for many years, depending on a range of factors, including how far in advance the booking is made, what website or service it’s being booked with, and even the web browser the customer is using. Delta is no exception, but AI pricing looks set to supercharge the approach.
Delta has taken heat for charging customers different prices for flights, having rolled back the decision to price tickets higher for solo travelers compared to groups in May. It’s not entirely clear how invasive Delta’s AI ticketing will be when it analyzes customers to figure out prices, but Fortune notes that it has privacy advocates concerned.
“They are trying to see into people’s heads to see how much they’re willing to pay,” Justin Kloczko of Consumer Watchdog told the publication. “They are basically hacking our brains.” Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego described it as “predatory pricing” that’s designed to “squeeze you for every penny.”
Prosser is accused of stealing trade secrets to leak details of iOS 26’s design before its announcement at WWDC.
Apple has sued the well-known leaker Jon Prosser for the alleged theft of trade secrets related to iOS 26. Prosser has been accused of tasking another man, Michael Ramacciotti, with secretly accessing an Apple employee’s development iPhone and using that information to report on Apple’s planned changes in the then-unannounced iOS 26.
According to the lawsuit, Apple claims that Prosser offered Ramacciotti “money or a future job opportunity” in exchange for access to a company phone belonging to his friend Ethan Lipnik, an Apple software engineer working on iOS. Ramacciotti allegedly learnt Lipnik’s iPhone passcode, used “location-tracking” to determine when he’d be away from home for an extended period, and then accessed the iPhone running a development version of the mobile OS. Apple says that Ramacciotti showed the software to Prosser over a video call, which Prosser recorded, shared with others, and used to create renders of the new designs.
Apple says it found out the details of what happened in April from an anonymous email from someone who claimed to have seen Prosser’s recording of the call and recognized Lipnik’s apartment. The company also claims to have a voice note sent by Ramacciotti to Lipnik, apologizing for the incident and claiming that the subterfuge was Prosser’s idea, which Lipnik in turn provided to Apple. Lipnik was fired by Apple for failing to properly follow its policies around securing unreleased software.
Prosser has responded to the lawsuit on X, insisting that Apple’s account is “not how the situation played out on my end,” and claiming to have evidence to that effect. “I did not ‘plot’ to access anyone’s phone. I did not have any passwords. I was unaware of how the information was obtained.”
In its legal filing, Apple asks for both damages and a court order preventing Prosser from disclosing Apple’s trade secrets again. The company adds that while iOS 26 has since been announced to the public, its secrets are still at risk because the development phone “contained other unannounced design elements.”
Late last year, Nintendo hosted a mysterious Switch Online playtest, and on Thursday, the company announced that it would be doing another test as part of the “Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program” and that it will be opening applications soon. This second round will be a test of the “same service” as before.
Last time, Nintendo asked participants not to share details about the playtest, but leaks appeared anyway indicating that the test was for some kind of MMO-style game.
Applications for this next playtest will be open to users 18 or older with an active Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack as of Thursday at 6PM ET and with a Nintendo Account registered in Japan, United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Brazil, or Mexico. Users can apply as individuals or as a group of up to four people “if everyone in the group meets the Application Qualifications,” according to Nintendo.
We will perform another test in the #NintendoSwitchOnline: Playtest Program. From 8:00 AM PT on July 21st, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members can apply to participate on a first-come, first-served basis.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 17, 2025
You can prepare your application on Nintendo’s website from Friday, July 18th at 6PM ET to Monday, July 21st at 10:59AM ET.
You can actually submit your application from Monday, July 21st at 11AM ET to Wednesday, July 23rd at 10:59AM ET, though Nintendo says applications will be accepted “on a first-come, first-served basis.”
Nintendo expects to accept “as many as 40,000 participants worldwide,” a big jump from the 10,000 participants allowed for the October test. If you participated in that playtest, you can participate in this next one, too, Nintendo says.
The playtest itself will run from Monday, July 28th at 9PM ET to Sunday, August 10th at 8:59PM ET.
Subaru doesn’t have the deepest bench when it comes to EVs. There’s the Solterra, now in its third model year, and the upcoming Trailseeker, which promises to be the Outback to the Solterra’s Impreza when it comes out in 2026.
Now we can add a new member to the lineup. The 2026 Subaru Uncharted is an electric crossover SUV that like the Solterra and Trailseeker is built on Toyota’s E-TNGA platform. When it comes out next year, the Uncharted will have more than 300 miles of estimated range, 338 horsepower, and a sporty style befitting one of America’s favorite outdoor automotive brands.
With Uncharted, Subaru finally seems like it’s ready to pick up the pace on electrification. Subaru and EVs always seem like a good fit — its customers are a little bit crunchy and enjoy darting up rugged trails in AWD vehicles — so it’s a little confusing that the brand has taken so long to come around to the technology. But with a heavy lift by Toyota, Subaru is making good on lost time.
That said, Subaru is sticking to a pretty familiar template with the Uncharted. The compact crossover will have dual motors for AWD, 338 horsepower, and a 0–60mph acceleration time under 5 seconds on the Sport and GT trims. All that on top of Subaru’s finely tuned suspension for more refined handling.
How does the Uncharted stack up against Subaru’s flagship EV? It’s shorter than the Solterra by nearly 7 inches but offers more cargo capacity, with over 25 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row (the Solterra only has 23.8 cubic feet of cargo, or 63.5 cubic feet with the second row folded flat).
The 74.7kWh battery will provide an estimated 290 miles of range on Sport and GT trims with AWD, and over 300 miles on the front-wheel drive version, which comes with 228 horsepower and a lower price point. The Uncharted will come with a standard NACS charging port for access to Tesla Supercharger stations. Subaru claims 10–80 percent charging in under 30 minutes, thanks to battery preconditioning features. Though charging at Tesla’s V3 Superchargers and higher will probably be a little bit slower than expected, as the Uncharted only supports charging speeds of up to 150kW.
Inside, the 14-inch infotainment screen supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connections. The center console features twin wireless charging pads that come standard on all trims. And even though climate functions appear on the center touchscreen, there are a fair share of physical buttons, especially around the center-mounted gear shifter.
In appearance, the Uncharted looks similar to the recently revealed Toyota C-HR. Given their shared tech and architecture, it’s likely that the Uncharted is basically a cousin to the C-HR. (A Subaru spokesperson didn’t respond to questions about the shared platform.)
Subaru still distinguishes itself, thanks to its iconic badging and reputation among a certain segment of nature-seeking urban and suburban dwellers. The Solterra has been a surprise hit for the Japanese automaker, selling 3,131 units in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 1,147 in Q1 last year. That’s a 173 percent increase year over year.
