This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
Switch 2 pricing and next PlayStation release could be impacted by memory shortage
16 Feb 2026, 1:45 pm by Jess Weatherbed
Sony and Nintendo are reportedly feeling squeezed by RAM shortages as demand from AI data centers takes up an increasing share of memory chip production. In response to rising costs and dwindling chip supplies, Sony is considering pushing back the release of its next PlayStation console “to 2028 or even 2029,” according to industry sources cited by Bloomberg, while Nintendo may increase the $450 price of its Switch 2 console this year.
That delay would be a considerable divergence from Sony’s usual release schedule, having launched a new console generation every six to seven years since the original PlayStation debuted in 1994. As the curre …
Samsung ad confirms rumors of a useful S26 ‘privacy display’
16 Feb 2026, 11:55 am by Dominic Preston
Samsung has released a new advertisement for its upcoming Galaxy S26 launch that all-but confirms rumors of a new display with a built-in privacy mode. Leaked videos show that the feature could be capable of entirely blacking out content from specific apps or parts of the display when viewed at an angle.
The new advert shows a woman reading a racy romance novel on a subway, while curious passengers look over her shoulder. An overlay shows a quick flick of a “Zero-peeking privacy” toggle, which blacks out the titillating content for the nosy onlookers.
That might sound similar to existing privacy filters, which have been available as after …
After spooking Hollywood, ByteDance will tweak safeguards on new AI model
16 Feb 2026, 11:29 am by Jess Weatherbed
TikTok creator ByteDance says that it is working to improve safeguards on its new AI video generator after Disney, Paramount, and Hollywood trade groups accused the tool of violating copyright protections. Concerns were raised after hyperrealistic videos generated by the Seedance 2.0 model went viral last week, with the likeness of actors, such as Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, and characters from Dragon Ball Z, Family Guy, and Pokémon.
“ByteDance respects intellectual property rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0,” a ByteDance spokesperson said in a statement shared by CNBC. “We are taking steps to strengthen current saf …
A Star is born
16 Feb 2026, 11:00 am by David Pierce
Two hours before one of the most important live events in Netflix’s history, LA’s sprawling CBS Radford Studio Center is abuzz with the strangest combination of things. As I walk through one cavernous soundstage on a Tuesday afternoon, I hear multiple people warming up their voices to sing. I pass a man carefully waving a hair dryer in front of a piano. Outside, a man and a woman, both in scant black leather, walk past with a wave. I’m told they’re aerialists. Somewhere in this enormous rehearsal space, there’s also a 74-year-old budding standup comedian, an 11-year-old gospel singer, and a dancing border collie.
Such is the wondrous, bizar …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
