Coming into force this year: AI regulations galore, a teen social media lockdown, and “Taylor Swift” laws.
Remember when Dell made the baffling decision last January to ditch its awesome XPS brand for the utterly milquetoast “Dell Pro” and “Dell Pro Max” instead? After just one year, VideoCardz’ sources report, XPS laptops are coming back. Dell will reportedly announce them at CES 2026 next week.
When Intuit Dome opened last season, the arena staff assumed only a third of fans would opt-in to scanning, but close to 75 percent of venue attendees enrolled. The Clippers promise they are not using facial recognition — sorry, they call it “facial authentication” — for security purposes.
Early facial ticketing pilots were met with some protests. And energy still exists to create more state or federal oversight. But as the technology’s penetration has expanded, pushback seemingly hasn’t. A demand for security is leading venue operators to test out the newest tech, while a desire for convenience and personalization has seen fans increasingly getting in line.
The MTA stopped selling its iconic blue and yellow MetroCards as of January 1st, 2026, replacing them with the tap-to-pay OMNY system. The New York Times took the MetroCard for one final spin.
[The New York Times]
Scientists have had to contend with a spate of misinformation this year about efforts to purportedly resurrect long-lost species like the woolly mammoth.
It’s far more impactful to help endangered species now — especially as the US rolls back protections and climate change makes the world a more inhospitable place for already threatened creatures.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri says, “People stopped sharing personal moments to feed years ago,” in a New Year’s Eve post about the future of the platform as generative AI produces more realistic-looking content.
The Financial Times reporting on the delayed Trump Mobile phone that’s definitely not made in the USA:
Trump Mobile’s customer service team told the Financial Times that the recent US government shutdown had delayed deliveries of the phone.
Sure.
It added there was a “strong possibility” the device would not be shipped this month.
Duh.
Nvidia has built an empire on circular deals for chips. Can anything knock it down?
After going a year between his first and second videos investigating the PayPal-owned shopping extension, MegaLag didn’t make us wait long for part three.
Here, he says he has evidence of how Honey evaded detection by affiliate networks with “stand-down” rules against referral-fee-stealing behavior, and responses to Honey co-founder Ryan Hudson’s Reddit AMA. PayPal has not responded to requests for comment.
With a CNC-machined metal body, a front glass panel, a 3.5-inch high-res screen, and diamond-shaped shoulder buttons, the Pocket Vert looks and feels like a premium Android handheld. Ayaneo has finally made it available for preorder through Indiegogo starting at $269 for the version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
In June, Aflac disclosed a data breach involving a “sophisticated cybercrime group” that stole names, social security numbers, contact information, health data, and more from its systems. The insurance provider has now revealed just how many people are affected, adding that it is currently “not aware of any fraudulent use of personal information.”
[SecurityWeek]
The main Stranger Things series is coming to an end when the final episode is released tomorrow, on New Year’s Eve at 8PM ET.
Netflix released this new trailer for the finale, which is also going to be shown in theaters, where people can watch together regardless of their familiarity with “shipping” and/or fandom designation.
The event takes place starting at 12PM PT / 3PM ET at Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas on Wednesday, January 7th. Nilay will be taking the stage with Min at 12:30PM to talk AI, the state of gaming, and everything Razer is announcing at the show, followed by a live Vergecast taping at 3:30PM PT.
If you’ll be in Vegas for the show, you can RSVP at the link below for free tickets. Otherwise, stay tuned for the Decoder Live recording to hit our pod feed and YouTube channel later in the month.
[The Verge]
The budget-friendly smartphone is “slimmer and lighter” than its predecessor, and will be available on January 7th. It features a 6.7-inch display with an up to 90Hz refresh rate, along with 4GB of RAM and up to 2TB of expandable storage.
Samsung is also launching the Galaxy Tab A11+ in the US on January 8th, starting at $249.99.
An era of digital authoritarianism has American free expression in a stranglehold.
Longtime Verge readers will know: art TVs are not good TVs. But there’s a reason manufacturers keep making more of them.
Holmeser:
Manufacturers simply can’t resist the appeal of a low-quality LCD panel they can sell for the price of an OLED
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Did the new Knives Out’s impressively ornate seminary gym seem a little familiar? It’s not just you, it was one of the world’s subtlest Rickrolls.
A private swearing-in ceremony for New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will take place inside the original City Hall station at midnight on January 1st, ahead of a public ceremony at City Hall later that day. Mamdani’s subway PR continues to be a delightful vibe. In a statement to Streetsblog, he said:
“When Old City Hall Station first opened in 1904 — one of New York’s 28 original subway stations — it was a physical monument to a city that dared to be both beautiful and build great things that would transform working peoples’ lives.”
The proposed rules would be among the toughest global AI regulations if passed. Minors and elderly users would be required to register a guardian to use AI services, who’d be notified if topics like suicide come up, and chatbots would be banned from emotional manipulation and promoting violence, crime, or self-harm.
Hulu has started promoting Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, a four-episode revival of the original 2000s sitcom. You can watch the first teaser trailer below, with the show set to release on April 10th, 2026.
Zuckerberg’s 2025 AI spending spree now includes snagging Manus and autonomous bots that turn “advanced AI capabilities into scalable, reliable systems that can carry out end-to-end work in real-world settings.”
As we wait for agent reality to match agent hype, Manus says it plans to expand on its existing subscriptions via Meta’s platforms in the future.
[Facebook Business]
“Prediction markets” continue to appear everywhere, including CNN and CNBC, and Polymarket is shitposting about citizen journalism.
Meanwhile, The Athletic is the latest (following Awful Announcing and Front Office Sports) reporting on sports misinformation X accounts like “Emma Vance” and “Scott Hughes” have spread while sporting those site’s affiliate badges.
Several polls from Gallup and Pew reveal that voters overwhelmingly view the rise of AI as a net negative:
There is hardly any issue that polls lower than unchecked AI development among Americans. Gallup polling showed that 80 percent of American adults think the government should regulate AI, even if it means growing more slowly.
And much like their MAGA populist counterparts, Democrats are beginning to take notice.
In case you missed it over the holiday weekend, our friends over at MKBHD put together a cool explainer on transistors, semiconductors, Moore’s Law, and how remarkably tiny our electronics have become. It’s all useful info, but the production quality is just *chef’s kiss.* (The Epic Spaceman video Marques shouts out at the end is also very much worth a watch.)
