This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
Epic says its Fortnite V-bucks price hike is a ‘direct correlation’ to operating costs
13 Mar 2026, 2:24 pm by Jay Peters
Epic Games announced this week that Fortnite‘s in-game V-bucks currency would be getting more expensive with a somewhat glib statement: “The cost of running Fortnite has gone up a lot and we’re raising prices to help pay the bills,” the company wrote. The price hike will go into effect on March 19th, the same day the next major Fortnite season debuts, and enough users have complained about the increase that an Epic staffer acknowledged the protests on a post on Reddit.
But when The Verge asked Epic executives at the GDC Festival of Gaming this week if they could be specific about why the company raised the price, they didn’t say much more.
…
Peacock is adding an AI Andy Cohen to narrate an endless stream of Bravo clips
13 Mar 2026, 2:20 pm by Emma Roth
When you open your Peacock mobile app this summer, you might see the AI likeness of TV host Andy Cohen pop up on your homepage. In an announcement on Friday, NBCUniversal said Cohen’s avatar will serve as a guide through Peacock’s “infinitely swipeable” feed of clips from Bravo shows, like Love Island, The Real Housewives series, and Below Deck.
The feed, called “Your Bravoverse,” will surface clips from the shows that you choose when you first open up the new experience. NBCUniversal will use AI to scan and pick out scenes from your favorite shows, while an AI-generated Cohen offers input about what’s happening on screen.
Video: Peacock / …
Peacock’s NBA streams are going vertical
13 Mar 2026, 2:00 pm by Emma Roth
Peacock is rolling out a native vertical video format for live sports, allowing you to watch games without turning your phone sideways. The feature will roll out to NBA games first this spring and will use an algorithm to track players and zoom in on the action.
The launch of this feature comes just months after a report from Nikkei Asia revealed that NBC Sports plans on using a player tracking system called viztrick AiDi. The technology was developed by a Japanese broadcaster and uses facial recognition to allow viewers on mobile to tap their screen to focus on specific players. It’s unclear whether Peacock’s vertical NBA streams will use …
The MacBook Neo is a winner
13 Mar 2026, 1:13 pm by David Pierce
It was a little surprising to see Apple decide to leap fully into the affordable laptop market, to try and compete with devices the company typically prefers to just look down its nose at. It was also a little surprising to see Apple basically nail it on the first try.
Verge subscribers, don’t forget you get exclusive access to ad-free Vergecast wherever you get your podcasts. Head here. Not a subscriber? You can sign up here.
On this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay and David get into the weeds on the MacBook Neo, the $599 laptop that appears to tick just about all the boxes of the average $599 laptop buyer. Both David and Nilay bought …
PSA: Don’t buy a $4,400 gray market Samsung TriFold on eBay
13 Mar 2026, 1:00 pm by Allison Johnson
I had to buy Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold from eBay for $4,399 and I’m pretty sure that’s because Samsung doesn’t want anyone to actually have this phone. I’m also afraid to turn it on.
Not that turning it on does much good. Whenever I tap “start” to set it up, a prompt to supply a “USIM” pops up and refuses to let me progress without one. I do not trust this phone enough to put a SIM card in it. The phone continues to want a SIM. We are at an impasse.
In theory, Samsung’s ambitious TriFold has been on sale in the US since January 30th (retail price: $2,899), but it has been damn near impossible to get one. For any other phone launch we wou …
PC makers are not ready for the MacBook Neo
13 Mar 2026, 12:00 pm by Antonio G. Di Benedetto
The MacBook Neo is here, and it took no time at all for an executive from a major PC manufacturer to put their foot in their mouth trying to discuss this new competition from Apple’s $600 laptop. On Asus’ latest earnings call, CFO Nick Wu said that the Neo and its aggressive entry-level pricing were “certainly a shock to the entire market.” Wu also disclosed that Asus had some knowledge of Apple developing the Neo back in 2025, much as many of us had heard rumors of a MacBook with an iPhone chip for months – and yet, Asus and other PC makers seem to have been caught flat-footed.
What’s worse is these company executives don’t even seem to r …
Apple reduces App Store fees in China to ward off regulators
13 Mar 2026, 11:16 am by Jess Weatherbed
Apple is cutting App Store developer fees in China from March 15th, dropping its typical commission on purchases from 30 percent down to 25 percent. The decision was made following “discussions with the Chinese regulator,” according to Apple’s announcement, suggesting that the reduction aims to avoid regulatory intervention after China reportedly considered opening a formal investigation into the iPhone maker’s App Store fees and policies in early February.
The fee updates will apply to the App Store on both iOS and iPadOS. The commission rate for small businesses and mini app developers will also fall from 15 percent to 12 percent. This is …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
