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Andrew Liszewski
Rivian will launch an Apple Watch app that can remotely access and control its EVs.

After adding support for using the Apple Watch as a digital key for its Gen 2 EVs in December, Rivian is launching an Apple Watch app alongside an update to its mobile app, according to RivianTrackr. The watchOS app can be used to open windows, activate the alarm, or unlock doors, including Gen 1 EVs.

A digital key for a Rivian EV displayed on an Apple Watch.
Rivian’s Apple Watch app will allow both Gen 1 and Gen 2 models to unlock doors remotely.
Image: Rivian
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Stevie Bonifield
The Mummy 4 lands its official release date for May 19, 2028.

The Mummy franchise will rise from its tomb 29 years after the 1999 original starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz arrived in theaters, Variety reports. Fraser and Weisz will be reuniting for The Mummy 4, along with producer Sean Daniel, but the film’s plot remains a mystery.

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Sean Hollister
Free whistles to melt ICE.

Friends and colleagues keep asking things like: “Can I pay you for some of those 3D-printed whistles to fight fascists so I can hand them out too?” But they are free! Request free whistles right here. Also, I’ve got an extra-long Bluesky thread with more inspiring quotes.

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Andrew J. Hawkins
Trump’s team stalls EV charging money again.

Last month, a federal judge ordered the US Department of Transportation to unfreeze $5 billion from the federal program dedicated to building more EV chargers. But today, Transportation Secretary announced a new requirement that all federally funded EV chargers be “100 percent” built in America. Since most EV chargers are sourced from China, this will essentially refreeze the funds and indefinitely delay the installation of more chargers.

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Stevie Bonifield
A new bill could force tech companies to report using copyrighted content for AI training.

The bipartisan “Copyright Labeling and Ethical AI Reporting Act,” introduced by Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and John Curtis (R-UT), would require a written notice detailing the use of copyrighted works for training new and currently-available AI models, Deadline reports. The bill follows numerous lawsuits against AI companies for alleged copyright infringement.

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Andrew J. Hawkins
The early reviews of the Rivian R2 are starting to roll in.

A handful of journalists and YouTubers got to drive a pre-production version of Rivian’s upcoming $45,000 EV, and the reviews are now live. Doug DeMuro called it “awesome.” MKBHD thinks it will be Rivian’s answer to the Model Y.

JerryRigEverything took it off-roading. And Patrick George from InsideEVs found some of the software choices frustrating. They all agree that Rivian can’t afford to screw this up.

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Stevie Bonifield
India orders social platforms to remove deepfakes within three hours of takedown requests.

The new mandate is one of several changes to India’s 2021 IT rules announced on Tuesday, TechCrunch reports. The updates also include requirements for “synthetic audio and visual content” to be labeled and traceable, and a ban on “deceptive impersonations, non-consensual intimate imagery, and material linked to serious crimes.”

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Jay Peters
An easier way to reply to fediverse DMs.

Cross-platform social web tool Bridgy Fed can already send you notifications about DMs it can’t bridge back across platforms, and starting today, Bridgy Fed lets respond to those DMs right inside Bridgy Fed.

A screenshot of Bridgy Fed’s new DM notification response tool.
Image: A New Social
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Jay Peters
Twitch is testing pause screen ads.

The platform isn’t the first service to try them.

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Andrew Webster
A shadow is descending on Apple Arcade.

But, like, in a good way. The subscription service just announced its March lineup, and the highlight is Oceanhorn 3: Legend of the Shadow Sea, the latest in the very Legend of Zelda-inspired series. Interestingly, it’ll be playable on basically every Apple platform: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and even Apple Vision Pro.

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Emma Roth
Paramount ups its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, again.

Now, Paramount is offering to cover the $2.8 billion termination fee that Warner Bros. Discovery would owe Netflix for abandoning the $82.7 billion merger agreement. It’s also tossing in a $0.25 per share “ticking fee” that it would pay shareholders for every quarter its deal hasn’t closed beyond December 31st, 2026.

Romeo Is a Dead Man is bizarre, bloody, and exactly what makes Grasshopper special

For nearly three decades the No More Heroes developer has been showing style and inventiveness in spades.

Diego Nicolás Argüello
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Andrew J. Hawkins
Uber to do Baidu robotaxis in Dubai.

Say that five times really fast! Uber has said it would use Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxis in London, and now the company is adding Dubai as well, starting in March 2026.

Image: Uber
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Charles Pulliam-Moore
This isn’t even Tony Tony Chopper’s final form.

There’s a lot to see in Netflix’s new trailer for the live-action One Piece’s upcoming second season, but the most surprising reveal here is a fresh look at Tony Tony Chopper’s (Mikaela Hoover) Walk Point form that turns him into a much more normal-looking reindeer. The show’s out March 10th.

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Jess Weatherbed
YouTube Music just got an AI playlist maker.

Similar to the Prompted Playlists that Spotify launched in December, YouTube Music premium subscribers on iOS and Android can now use voice or text descriptions to turn ideas, genres, or vibes into personalized playlists.

<em>The AI Playlists feature should appear when you open the “New” menu at the bottom-right of the YouTube Music app.</em>
<em>The AI Playlists feature should appear when you open the “New” menu at the bottom-right of the YouTube Music app.</em>
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The AI Playlists feature should appear when you open the “New” menu at the bottom-right of the YouTube Music app.
Image by YouTube
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Dominic Preston
Gotta go fast.

Sega has partnered with Seiko to make a limited edition 65th anniversary watch with a subtle Sonic the Hedgehog motif, though he may not be the best character to associate with a timepiece.

Lewise:

Shame it’ll always run fast

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

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Jess Weatherbed
Spotify finished 2025 on a high note.

In its Q4 earnings report, the audio streaming service said it’s gained 38 million monthly active users (MAU) and nine million paying subscribers since its last quarter. Spotify now has 751 million MAUs and 290 million subscribers globally.

<em>Here you can see the comparison between all active monthly users and paying subscribers over time.</em>
<em>Spotify also broke down the user and subscriber shares for different global regions.</em>
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Here you can see the comparison between all active monthly users and paying subscribers over time.
Graph by Spotify
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Dominic Preston
OpenAI’s first hardware slips to 2027.

We’d heard its devices could arrive this year, but in a court filing OpenAI vice president Peter Welinder said they won’t reach customers before March 2027.

The case is a trademark infringement suit from audio startup iyO, which sued after OpenAI bought Jony Ive’s company io — Welinder confirmed OpenAI has no plans to use the io name for its hardware.

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