This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
Anker’s USB-C cable that lets you charge two gadgets at once is 20 percent off
14 Feb 2026, 2:00 pm by Cameron Faulkner
Monday, February 16th, is Presidents Day, and there are plenty of good deals happening on tech in the run-up to the holiday. Even if you don’t snag any huge upgrades, though, you likely already own multiple gadgets that you need to recharge each and every day. It would sure be nice to be able to charge two devices at once, and you can do just that with Anker’s braided, two-headed USB-C cable — which is available from Amazon or Anker in black or white for $15.99 ($4 off).
Anker 2-in-1 USB C to USB C Cable 140W (six-foot)
Where to Buy:
The six-foot cable’s usefulness speaks for itself, but I’ve been surprised by how much of a game-changer it’s been for me at home. My wife and I stow our laptops and iPad Air near an outlet, and it’s nice not to have to argue over who gets to charge their gadget first. We can plug the two ends of the cable into the devices we deem most important to charge throughout the day. It also supports 140W passthrough to a single device, if you have a wall adapter that can push that much juice, and automatically allocates power to the device that needs it most.
Returning stolen artifacts becomes a thrilling heist in Relooted
14 Feb 2026, 2:00 pm by Tauriq Moosa
Colonialism is not merely about occupying nations. It’s a project of mass violence, part of which involves total erasure and the widespread theft of some of the most culturally significant artifacts in the world. Even today, colonizing nations proudly display stolen artifacts, acting as peacocking robbers under the guise of tourism. See, for example, the British Museum’s continual hold of the Egyptian Rosetta Stone, the so-called Benin Bronzes, and the Ethiopian Maqdala collection. Colonized nations have sought to reclaim their stolen culture.
But what happens when kind requests and diplomatic maneuvers are not only insufficient but undeser …
Ring’s Flock breakup doesn’t fix its real problem
14 Feb 2026, 1:00 pm by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
The most striking thing about Ring’s statement that it had parted ways with Flock Safety is what the home security company didn’t say. There was no mention of the public backlash around ties to ICE, or any promise to address users’ concerns about the company’s relationships with law enforcement.
In an increasingly authoritarian political climate, the threat of mass surveillance fueled by AI-powered cameras is what many people fear. Yet Ring’s statement made no attempt to address this. Instead, the company claims it canceled Flock’s integration with its Community Requests tool because it would “require significantly more time and resources t …
How to un-Big Tech your online life
14 Feb 2026, 1:00 pm by David Pierce
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 116, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, happy National Ferris Wheel Day to all those who celebrate, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
This week, I’ve been reading about Letterboxd and Mike Vrabel and AI influencers and daytime talk show economics, taking copious notes on Ezra Klein’s terrific podcast on the state of the internet, buying just about every lamp in this excellent office tour, making Dot my main Mac calendar app, telling everyone I know how good Steal is, re-reading Tim Wu’s excellent book The Master S …
The DJI Romo robovac had security so poor, this man remotely accessed thousands of them
14 Feb 2026, 8:00 am by Sean Hollister
Sammy Azdoufal claims he wasn’t trying to hack every robot vacuum in the world. He just wanted to remote control his brand-new DJI Romo vacuum with a PS5 gamepad, he tells The Verge, because it sounded fun.
But when his homegrown remote control app started talking to DJI’s servers, it wasn’t just one vacuum cleaner that replied. Roughly 7,000 of them, all around the world, began treating Azdoufal like their boss.
He could remotely control them, and look and listen through their live camera feeds, he tells me, saying he tested that out with a friend. He could watch them map out each room of a house, generating a complete 2D floor plan. He …
DJI’s first robovac is an autonomous cleaning drone you can’t trust
14 Feb 2026, 8:00 am by Thomas Ricker
It’s been eight years since I last reviewed a robot vacuum. Having spent the last two months with a new flagship, I’m shocked by how much they’ve advanced from early bump-and-run models.
In October, DJI launched its very first robovacs in Europe. I’ve been testing the top-of-the-line Romo P model, which doesn’t yet have a US release date. It includes a self-cleaning base station, a mopping function, and enough high-end specs and charm that my colleague Jen Tuohy took notice.
Jen is a true robovac expert. I, let’s be clear, am not. But I can share what it’s like to make the jump from an entry-level model to one of these multifunctional comb …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
