The Verge·Friday, December 26, 2025

The Verge - Friday, December 26, 2025

10 stories~15 min

Listen to this episode

Hear all 10 stories summarized and read aloud.

▶Play on Tera.fm

Stories Covered

Rodeo is an app for making plans with friends you already have

There are plenty of dating apps out there and apps that turn your chaos of work obligations into easily actionable lists. There is also a growing number of apps that help you make new friends. The pitch for Rodeo is a bit different in that it uses AI to help you schedule activities with your existing friends. The company was started by a pair of former Hinge execs who felt it was more difficult than it should be to make plans with friends. Parenting, work, 37 different group chats - all of this

Read original →

Framework announces another memory price hike — and it likely won’t be its last

The modular PC company Framework is adjusting the price of its DDR5 RAM modules once again as the cost of memory continues to surge. In an update on Wednesday, Framework said it will charge $10 per GB for 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB, with "slightly higher" prices for the 48GB and up. Framework first announced a price hike on memory earlier this month, citing "substantially higher costs" from suppliers and distributors. With this most recent increase in place, the 8GB variation jumped from $60 to $80, th

Read original →

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition and other Switch games are up to 50 percent off

Unlike the day after Thanksgiving, when people are rushing online and to the stores to look for deals, the day after Christmas is usually a time to recover from the festivities and check your budget to see how much all that gifting has cost you. However, if you're in a shopping mood, or if you suddenly realized you forgot somebody important, there are still some deals out there. For example, Nintendo is offering a bunch of its best-known games at deals ranging from 25 to 50 percent off. These in

Read original →

Google is letting some people change their @gmail address

If you've been saddled with some awful Gmail address you chose in high school (looking at you, LazySexyCool3030), help appears to be on the way. According to a Google account support page in Hindi the company is allowing some people to change their email address. According to the page (via Google Translate): If your Google Account email address ends with gmail.com, you can replace it with one that ends with @gmail.com. This appears to be more like adding a second address to your account than act

Read original →

The 10 best shows to stream on Amazon Prime Video from 2025

Aside from free shipping, Prime Video is the second-best perk that comes with an Amazon Prime subscription. This year, the streaming service delivered several strong installments to some of its biggest series like Reacher, Fallout, and Invincible - but it also premiered some great new shows and spinoffs to keep things fresh. Here's a list of the best shows and new seasons released on Prime Video in 2025. Reacher (season 3) Reacher is one of my favorite series on Amazon Prime Video, and the late

Read original →

LG teases a new chore-completing home robot

LG is getting ready to take the wraps off a new robot it claims is capable of performing a "wide range" of household chores. The robot, called LG CLOiD, will make its debut at CES next month, featuring two articulated arms and five individually actuated fingers on each hand. Though we only have a description and two images showing LG CLOiD's five-fingered hands, it already seems a lot different from the two-wheeled home companion LG revealed last year, which came with a handle attached to its he

Read original →

I re-created Google’s cute Gemini ad with my own kid’s stuffie, and I wish I hadn’t

Buddy’s in space. When your kid starts showing a preference for one of their stuffed animals, you're supposed to buy a backup in case it goes missing. I've heard this advice again and again, but never got around to buying a second plush deer once "Buddy" became my son's obvious favorite. Neither, apparently, did the parents in Google's newest ad for Gemini. It's the fictional but relatable story of two parents discovering their child's favorite stuffed toy, a lamb named Mr. Fuzzy, was left be

Read original →

Hollywood cozied up to AI in 2025 and had nothing good to show for it

AI isn't new to Hollywood - but this was the year when it really made its presence felt. For years now, the entertainment industry has used different kinds of generative AI products for a variety of post-production processes ranging from de-aging actors to removing green screen backgrounds. In many instances, the technology has been a useful tool for human artists tasked with tedious and painstaking labor that might have otherwise taken them inordinate amounts of time to complete. But in 2025, H

Read original →

Anker’s beefy Laptop Power Bank has returned to its Black Friday low

As you might expect, things have been relatively quiet on the deals front since Black Friday, particularly when it comes to discounts on charging accessories. Thankfully, Anker’s aptly titled Laptop Power Bank is once again on sale at Amazon and Walmart for $87.99 ($47 off), which matches the record-low price we last saw at the end of November. Anker Laptop Power Bank Where to Buy: $119.99 $87.99 at Amazon $119.99 $89.99 at Best Buy $119.99 $87.99 at Walmart Unless you’ve been living under

Read original →

Sony’s souped-up PlayStation 5 Pro is $100 off for the rest of today

Sony’s full suite of PlayStation 5 consoles jumped in price in August due to increased US tariffs, but now through Christmas, you can save $100 on several models. This discount is especially great if you planned to go big with Sony’s PS5 Pro, the company’s priciest, most powerful console yet. Normally $749.99, you can currently grab one at Amazon, Walmart, and Target for around $689.99. Sony’s PlayStation Direct storefront indicates that the PS5 Pro sale ends on December 25th at 3AM ET, although

Read original →