The Verge·Friday, January 2, 2026

The Verge - Friday, January 2, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Grok is undressing anyone, including minors

xAI's Grok is removing clothing from pictures of people without their consent following this week's rollout of a feature that allows X users to instantly edit any image using the bot without needing the original poster's permission. Not only does the original poster not get notified if their picture was edited, but Grok appears to have few guardrails in place for preventing anything short of full explicit nudity. In the last few days, X has been flooded with imagery of women and children appeari

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Billion-dollar Bitcoin hacker Ilya Lichtenstein thanks Trump for early prison release

Just over a year after being sentenced to five years in prison for the theft of billions of dollars in Bitcoin, hacker Ilya Lichtenstein is free. Lichtenstein announced his release in a post on X, specifically crediting Trump: "Thanks to President Trump's First Step Act, I have been released from prison early. I remain committed to making a positive impact in cybersecurity as soon as I can." Thanks to President Trump's First Step Act, I have been released from prison early. I remain committed

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is now blogging about AI slop

Now that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has appointed a new CEO to run Microsoft's biggest businesses, he has a little more time on his hands for other adventures. Beyond focusing on Microsoft's technical work, Nadella is now turning to the ancient art of blogging to discuss Microsoft's year ahead and why he thinks everyone needs to move "beyond the arguments of [AI] slop vs sophistication." Nadella's first blog entry in "sn scratchpad" is all about Microsoft and other AI companies still needing to

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This smart fridge wants to solve the hassle of grocery shopping

This GE Profile fridge has a patented “Scan-to-List” barcode scanner built in, designed to make it easy to add items to a digital shopping list. Have you always wanted to scan your groceries at home? If so, the newest smart fridge from GE Appliances is for you. There's a barcode scanner built into the water dispenser that works along with an interior camera and an 8-inch tablet to help you keep track of what food you need and add it to your digital shopping list. The GE Profile Smart 4-Door

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Pebble’s round smartwatch is getting a reboot

The Pebble Round 2 (pictured here in rose gold) ditches the OG Time Round’s chunky display bezel. It's time to reboot another OG Pebble smartwatch - specifically, the round-faced Time Round, which is getting a follow-up more than a decade after its original launch. The new Pebble Round 2 improves upon its predecessor with longer battery life and a larger 1.3-inch touchscreen display, ditching the chunky bezel that surrounded the original Time Round's 1-inch screen. The Pebble Round 2 works wit

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Tesla’s fourth quarter sales fell a lot more than expected

Tesla's sales fell in the fourth quarter of 2025, as rising competition and the expiration of the federal EV tax credit continued to sap the company's global ambitions. The sales drop has led to Tesla losing its title as the world's best-selling EV maker to China's BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year. The disappointing sales report raises the question whether Tesla can reverse its downward fortune and achieve its goals of deploying self-driving cars and humanoid robots, both of whic

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LG announces the ‘world’s lightest 17-inch RTX laptop’

We should get more information about the upcoming 2026 LG Gram Pro series at CES. LG is teasing the 2026 Gram Pro laptops that will be fully unveiled at CES, including what the company claims is the "world's lightest 17-inch RTX laptop." The LG Gram Pro 17 (17Z90UR) and Gram Pro 16 (16Z90U) will introduce a new ultralight "Aerominum material" developed by LG that aims to reduce a laptop's weight while reinforcing strength and scratch resistance. The LG Gram Pro 17 will feature a 2,560 x 1600 d

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Fender’s first wireless headphones have a long-lasting, replaceable battery

Fender Audio, the consumer electronics brand owned by the famous guitar maker, has announced its first pair of wireless headphones at CES 2026. What sets the Mix headphones apart from the competition are impressive battery life, a modular design that allows the ear cups and headband to be swapped to alternate colors, and a focus on longevity with a battery that's easy to access and swap. When they launch this year the Mix headphones will initially be available in olympic white and skyscraper bla

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Fender’s new Bluetooth speakers can play audio from four sources simultaneously

The ELIE speakers don’t make you choose audio from just one source. | Image: Fender Audio Fender, the guitar maker also known for its amps and speakers, has a new consumer electronics brand called Fender Audio making its debut at CES 2026. In addition to a new pair of wireless headphones, Fender Audio has announced a pair of portable Bluetooth speakers called ELIE, which is short for "Extremely Loud Infinitely Expressive." The ELIE speakers will be available in two sizes, but both versions ca

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What to expect at CES 2026

The biggest tech show of the year kicks off next week, as some of the industry's top players show up to Las Vegas for CES 2026. We'll be there to see all the new product demos we can and to bring you the most exciting news from the show. Follow our coverage for a preview of all the new tech these companies are planning to launch in 2026. Expect to see the usual suspects: laptops, smart home gadgets, and TVs, and a whole lot more wearables and health tech. We're anticipating seeing more products

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