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RAM is ruining everything

Price hikes related to the memory shortage aren’t just coming for PC gamers; smartphones, laptops, and storage drives could soon get increases, too.

Emma Roth

Today’s Storystream

Feed refreshed An hour ago

Stop, shop, and scroll.

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Dominic Preston
UK porn traffic goes down, VPN use goes up.

Who could have seen that coming? UK regulator Ofcom’s annual Online Nation report shows that major porn sites took a traffic hit following the introduction of mandatory age checks, while VPN use shot up — but has been steadily declining since, which may ease fears that a VPN ban is next on the agenda.

Graph showing UK VPN usage following the introduction of the Online Safety Act age restrictions
This data only catches mobile VPN users though.
Screenshot: Ofcom
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Jay Peters
The Switch’s Virtual Boy accessory is available for pre-order.

You can try to get one on Nintendo’s website, as spotted by Wario64, though it’s only available for paid Nintendo Switch Online members. Good luck snagging one.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

I’m not a paid subscriber, so I can’t order it.
I’m not a paid subscriber, so I can’t order it.
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External Link
Sean Hollister
Microsoft: ‘We’re committed to making Windows the best place to play.’

Microsoft seems to have gotten the message that Linux is becoming real competition and that the Xbox Ally needs more work! “[W]e will continue refining system behaviors that matter most to gaming: background workload management, power and scheduling improvements, graphics stack optimizations, and updated drivers,” the company writes.

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External Link
Lauren Feiner
The House is moving forward with kids online safety more quickly than expected.

A key committee scheduled a markup of 18 bills, including the revised Kids Online Safety Act, for Thursday. That’s just over a week since holding a hearing to first consider the package. After killing KOSA last year, the House may be trying to leave its mark before the holiday break.

Both sides of the aisle hate the AI moratorium

It’s the one of the few things Republicans and Democrats can agree on right now.

Tina Nguyen
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External Link
Jay Peters
Apple’s former COO has been nominated to join Disney’s board.

Jeff Williams, who recently retired from Apple, will stand for election “as a new independent director at the company’s 2026 annual meeting of shareholders,” Disney says. The board will be expanded to 11 members.

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External Link
Elizabeth Lopatto
Will the SpaceX S-1 finally drive me around the bend?

SpaceX is planning to go public at a valuation that would make it the biggest listing of all time, Bloomberg reports. “The Elon Musk-led company is targeting a valuation of about $1.5 trillion for the entire company” and while they’re saying they plan for next year, it’s a Musk company so you know what that means: “the timing could slip until 2027.” SpaceX expects $15 billion in 2025 revenue, and $22 billion to $24 billion in 2026, mostly due to Starlink.

A first look at Google’s Project Aura glasses built with Xreal

It’s kinda like a pair of chunky sunglasses that runs Android apps.

Victoria Song
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Youtube
Stevie Bonifield
Spry Fox’s cozy MMO ‘Spirit Crossing’ is crossing over from Netflix to Steam.

The mobile version of the Cozy Grove-inspired life sim MMO, currently in alpha playtesting, will continue to be available through Netflix, but now there’s also a PC version coming in 2026. Its Steam page arrives less than a week after Netflix sold Spry Fox back to the studio’s original owners.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

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The Verge
Sean Hollister
Samsung memory is nearly as big as Samsung Galaxy.

I knew Samsung made lots of money making chips, not just electronics. But Emma’s RAM report puts it in perspective: Last quarter, the company earned nearly twice as much from memory as from its entire TV and appliance business.

Samsung’s mobile biz was still bigger than memory ($22.8B vs. $18.2B), but not by much!

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Emma Roth
PlayStation’s 2025 Wrap-Up is here.

Your Wrap-Up summary will show you how many hours you clocked on your PS5 this year, along with stats showing the number of games you played, which ones you played the most, and how many trophies you earned throughout the year. You can view your recap on PlayStation’s website until January 8th, 2026.

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Andrew Liszewski
Google Maps on iOS now automatically remembers where you parked.

The new feature was recently announced by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps’ senior product manager, as spotted by 9to5Google. You’ll need to first connect your iPhone to your car through USB, Bluetooth, or CarPlay, but when you’re done driving Google Maps will automatically save your vehicle’s location for 48 hours, or until you start driving again.

A screenshot of Google Maps on iOS showing where a vehicle is parked.
Image: LinkedIn
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Youtube
Jay Peters
Sam Altman, on Jimmy Fallon:

“I cannot imagine having gone through figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT,” he said. While he does acknowledge that “clearly, people did it for a long time,” he says that he has “relied on it so much.”

Most of the interview was pretty boring, but the parents in The Verge’s Slack have been talking a lot about that part.

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Jay Peters
Bluesky is coming back in Mississippi.

The platform had blocked access to users in Mississippi due to an age verification law, but in a post on Monday, Bluesky said it has upgraded its Age Assurance system to “restore access to people over 18 in Mississippi” and to comply with “upcoming laws in Australia and other regions.”

The Verge’s 2025 holiday gift guide for tinkerersThe Verge’s 2025 holiday gift guide for tinkerers
Gadgets
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake

Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. AI companies are ignoring it.

Benjamin Riley
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Andrew J. Hawkins
This bite-sized Fiat is coming to the US because Trump said he liked small cars.

Trump was talking about Japanese kei cars, specifically, but Stellantis is hoping his good will extends to Italian quadricycles like the Fiat Topolino. The automaker says it will bring the micro-EV to the US sometime next year, but I’m not convinced American car buyers will be as charmed as the president. Last year, Fiat had to pause production of the slightly larger 500e after record-low sales. At one point Fiat dealers were practically trying to give them away.

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Stevie Bonifield
Blink cameras can now tell you what they’re seeing with video descriptions.

The feature uses AI to give you more detailed motion notifications, like describing people the camera or doorbell detects, much like the AI video descriptions Ring cameras got earlier this year.

Video descriptions are launching as an early access beta feature and require a paid Blink subscription.

A screenshot of an AI video description in a notification for a Blink camera
Image: Blink
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