This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
The perfect successor to Lost has been hiding from me for years
15 Apr 2026, 2:00 pm by Andrew Webster
Ever since Jack decided to stay behind in 2010, I’ve been searching for something to give me the same feeling that Lost did. I crave a big mystery with a huge cast and more secrets than I can handle, something that prompts me and my friends to share nonsensical theories about what’s really going on. It’s been 16 years and my search has been filled with disappointment. Yellowjackets initially seemed like exactly what I wanted until its downslide began, while promising shows like 1899 were cancelled before they had a chance to really get started. It turns out that the perfect Lost successor has actually been airing for years, but because of th …
Walmart is updating its 4K streaming box with Gemini and Matter support
15 Apr 2026, 1:49 pm by Andrew Liszewski
It hasn’t been officially announced, but Walmart’s website now has a listing (you may need to set your location to Ventura, California) for an updated version of its budget-friendly Onn 4K Pro streaming box that originally debuted in May 2024. Following technical illustrations that leaked less than a month ago, the listing was discovered after a Reddit user shared images of the 2026 version of the Onn 4K Pro they purchased at a Walmart in California yesterday, as spotted by Android Authority.
At $59.88, the new Onn 4K Pro is $10 more expensive than the previous version and now features a larger design that looks similar to the $99.99 Googl …
Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick HD is its ‘slimmest ever’
15 Apr 2026, 1:00 pm by Emma Roth
Amazon has taken the wraps off a new Fire TV Stick HD that it says is its slimmest yet. At $34.99, the device offers a design that Amazon says is 30 percent thinner than the previous generation, along with the ability to power it directly through your TV’s USB port.
The new design eliminates the need to use the Fire TV Stick HD with a separate wall adapter, making it easier to travel with. But if your TV doesn’t have a USB port, Amazon notes that you can still power the new Fire TV Stick HD with a USB-C cable and a wall adapter.
The streaming stick comes with the revamped Fire TV OS, along with support for Wi-Fi 6 and Blueto …
Adobe embraces conversational AI editing, marking a ‘fundamental shift’ in creative work
15 Apr 2026, 1:00 pm by Jess Weatherbed
Adobe is fully embracing AI tools that enable creators to edit their work using descriptive prompts, instead of manually using specific Creative Cloud apps. The software giant’s new Firefly AI Assistant allows users to describe what they want to change by typing their own words into a conversational interface.
Adobe says this marks a “fundamental shift in how creative work is done” by removing skill barriers and laborious tasks, while still giving creatives full control over their work. It’ll be “available soon” on the Firefly AI studio platform according to Adobe, though no specific launch date was provided in the announcement.
The unifi …
More phone cameras should come with telephoto lenses
15 Apr 2026, 1:00 pm by Allison Johnson
Upgrading your phone with a camera grip attachment is one thing. But doll-sized telephoto lenses that you mount on top of the rear camera? C’mon.
I wrote the Vivo X300 off as a gimmick, a funny concept designed to generate attention rather than actual sales. But then I spent a weekend carrying the phone and its elaborate kit of goofy little lenses around – and I had way too much fun.
The Vivo X300 Ultra is an update to one of the very best phone cameras out there. It’s only available in China at the moment, with a global launch that will almost certainly exclude the US. Its rear cameras are no joke: a 200-megapixel main, 200-megapixel 3.7 …
Nothing makes it easy to share files between any Android phone and a Mac
15 Apr 2026, 12:45 pm by Dominic Preston
I test Android phones for a living, but I write about them using a company-supplied MacBook Air. Both platforms are great in their own right, but they’re not so great at talking to one another. On a handful of Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones you can now AirDrop files directly to Apple machines; Nothing’s new Warp app hopes to solve the problem for the rest of us, offering a seamless(ish) way to send files and text between one machine and the other.
Warp is the combination of an Android app and a browser extension, which means it’ll only be helpful if you use a Chrome-based browser capable of installing the extension – but that does m …
The new Tomodachi Life is made to be shared — even if Nintendo doesn’t want you to
15 Apr 2026, 12:00 pm by Andrew Webster
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is hard to explain. The best way to understand is to see it in action; a screenshot of Handsome Squidward and Bob Belcher falling in love over their shared appreciation of cannibalism makes it clear that, while it’s a life sim, the game is really a joke-generating machine. Living the Dream on the Nintendo Switch gives you more tools and fewer restrictions to make those jokes stranger and funnier. But while Living the Dream provides more freedom for creativity, it also has big restrictions on sharing those creations, and the game seems content with inside jokes staying within its virtual walls.
Living the Dre …
Microsoft faces fresh Windows Recall security concerns
15 Apr 2026, 11:30 am by Tom Warren
When Microsoft tried to launch Recall, an AI-powered Windows feature that screenshots most of what you do on your PC, it was labeled a “disaster” for cybersecurity and a “privacy nightmare.” After the backlash and a year-long delay to redesign and secure Recall, it’s once again facing security and privacy concerns.
Cybersecurity expert Alexander Hagenah has created TotalRecall Reloaded, a tool that extracts and displays data from Recall. It’s an update to the TotalRecall tool that demonstrated all the weaknesses in the original Recall feature before Microsoft redesigned it.
Microsoft’s redesign focused on creating a secure vault for Recall …
Snap is laying off 16 percent of its staff as it leans into AI
15 Apr 2026, 11:26 am by Jess Weatherbed
Snap is laying off roughly 16 percent of its global workforce in a cost-cutting effort to chase improved profitability with the help of AI. The cuts will impact around 1,000 full-time employees, according to a memo sent to staffers from Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. An additional 300 open roles are also being closed.
“While these changes are necessary to realize Snap’s long-term potential, we believe that rapid advancements in artificial intelligence enable our teams to reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support our community, partners, and advertisers,” Spiegel wrote in the memo, which was included in the company’s 8-K filing. …
Spotify now sells printed books
15 Apr 2026, 11:00 am by Jess Weatherbed
Spotify is rolling out some new updates for book lovers, expanding audiobook listening features and allowing users to buy physical publications through the platform. Readers in the US and UK can now purchase printed books via a new integration with Bookshop.org on the Android Spotify app, with support for iOS users expected to arrive next week.
The partnership was announced in February, with Bookshop.org founder and CEO Andy Hunter saying at the time that “Spotify is bringing in more readers, and I’m all for anything that grows the size of the pie.” This, alongside other updates announced today, aim to make it easier to jump into your next …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
