The Verge·Wednesday, December 31, 2025

The Verge - Wednesday, December 31, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Net neutrality was back, until it wasn’t

The fight for net neutrality never seems to be truly won or lost. Federal net neutrality rules have been on and off for the past 15 years. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed the Open Internet Order under President Barack Obama in 2010, prohibiting ISPs from blocking or throttling lawful internet traffic, the baseline rule of net neutrality. Then, at the request of those ISPs, a court blocked its rules. An updated framework was passed by the FCC in 2015, only to be overturned in 2

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Leaked video shows the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s new camera island

New photos and video seem to confirm previous leaks hinting that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will sport a new camera bump. OnLeaks posted images of what look like dummy phones on X, following renders it leaked back in September. #Samsung #GalaxyS26Ultra pic.twitter.com/0lzaFIxYev - Steve H.McFly (@OnLeaks) December 30, 2025 We've seen a similarly raised island on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which 9to5Google points out could lead to an annoying wobble when using the device on a table. #Samsung #G

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The Dreame X40 Ultra robovac is about $700 off, nearly matching its best price

The Dreame X40 Ultra used to be one of our robot vacuums on the market before its successor took its place. With the year coming to a close, now’s a good time to set yourself up for a cleaner, more organized start in 2026. The Dreame X40 Ultra — one of our favorite robot vacuum deals from Black Friday — can handle most of the heavy lifting for you, and it’s once again on sale. You can currently buy it for $503 ($697 off) at Amazon at checkout, which is just $4 more than its record low price se

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Killing in the name of… nothing

In a good and just society, it would have been possible to bury Charlie Kirk without either threatening mass violence toward his enemies or making light of his death with a furry sex meme. But America in 2025 did not remotely resemble a working society, let alone a civil one, and Kirk's killing came prepackaged with its own desecrating shitposts. There was, briefly, an attempt at a national mood of somberness. The president ordered flags across the nation to be lowered to half-staff. Politicians

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The 11 best Nintendo Switch 2 games we played in 2025

2025 was a big year for gaming, and that includes gaming hardware. Nintendo launched its Switch 2 console in June, and since then, numerous Switch 2 titles and noteworthy updates for original Switch games have launched. These include brand-new Nintendo experiences like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, as well as some belated but welcome third-party titles, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Divinity: Original Sin 2. Even classics like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild got some new life

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Two cybersecurity employees plead guilty to carrying out ransomware attacks

Two former employees at cybersecurity firms - one of whom was a ransomware negotiator - have pleaded guilty to carrying out a series of ransomware attacks in 2023. The Department of Justice announced the guilty pleas on Tuesday, saying 40-year-old Ryan Goldberg and 36-year-old Kevin Martin extorted $1.2 million in Bitcoin from a medical device company and targeted several others. Goldberg, Martin, and an unnamed co-conspirator were indicted for the attacks in October, which involved using ALPHV

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The OneXSugar Wallet is the first gaming handheld with a folding screen

Folding OLED displays are still most commonly found on premium smartphones and laptops, but One-Netbook is bringing the tech to a new gaming device. Its new OneXSugar Wallet is reminiscent of the company's folding OneXSugar Sugar 1 handheld that launched earlier this year. But instead of two screens, the Wallet handheld unfolds to reveal just one big 8.01-inch OLED screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, as spotted by Retro Handhelds. The OneXSugar Wallet was announced on China's Weibo yesterday, but wi

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GameSir put a tiny force feedback steering wheel on its new Swift Drive controller

GameSir is no stranger to experimenting with unique controller features - its Tarantula Pro can automatically swap its face button labels to accommodate alternate layouts, and its Pocket 1 clamps Game Boy controls onto your phone. What sets its new Swift Drive controller apart is a small steering wheel located smack-dab in the middle of the gamepad that's connected to what GameSir calls the "world's smallest direct drive motor" providing force feedback effects for racing games. Pricing and avail

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Anker’s portable backup battery is an even better investment now that it’s nearly half off

Anker’s 521 PowerHouse can power up to six devices. Winter storms across the country are bringing heavy snow, rain, and — in some cases, as this Californian who briefly lost power a few days ago can attest — outages. If you want to prepare, Anker’s 521 PowerHouse can help keep your essential devices running and it’s on sale for $129.99 ($120 off) at Amazon. That is about $2 shy of its all-time low price and the best price we’ve seen since Black Friday. Anker 521 PowerHouse Where to Buy: $24

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The FCC has probably killed a plan to improve smart home security

The US Cyber Trust Mark Program, an Energy Star-style certification for smart home security, could be winding down less than a year after it launched. Safety testing company UL Solutions has announced that it is stepping down as the program's lead administrator, just a few months after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began investigating it over ties to China. The Cyber Trust Mark Program hasn't been officially shut down yet, but the loss of its lead administrator leaves it in limbo.

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