This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
I let Gemini in Google Maps plan my day and it went surprisingly well
5 Apr 2026, 2:00 pm by Allison Johnson
You may be familiar with Gemini as the thing that’s in every Google service you use – whether you want it or not.
While it’s been a constant, sometimes unwelcome presence in Gmail for at least the past year, it’s a relatively new addition to Maps. And you know what? It’s kind of great.
To put it to the test, I had Gemini plan a day-long itinerary for me around the city. After an hour or so of having Gemini find stuff for me – playgrounds near the new light rail extension, kid-friendly restaurants with vehicle themes, you get the gist – I was impressed. Some of the suggestions were obvious, but I also bookmarked a handful of spots not on m …
Is the Slate Truck too minimal for its own good?
5 Apr 2026, 1:00 pm by Andrew J. Hawkins
The first thing you notice about the Slate Truck is its size. It’s small, surprisingly so. In a country where trucks often come with their own zip code, Slate’s pickup is refreshingly puny, measuring 174.6 inches long, 70.6 inches wide, and 69.3 inches tall, with a curb weight of approximately 3,602 pounds (1,634kg). As a reference point, it’s nearly the same size as Marty McFly’s 1985 Toyota SR5 from Back to the Future.
But inside, that diminutive feeling disappears, as I found myself with ample amounts of head- and legroom. As a relatively tallish guy (over 6 feet) who often feels cramped in most vehicles, I couldn’t believe the amount o …
How the Amazon Echo learned to talk — and listen
5 Apr 2026, 12:24 pm by David Pierce
Jeff Bezos badly wanted a voice computer. He had been saying so publicly since the very early days of Amazon, telling anyone who would listen about why voice might make it easier and more natural to interact with technology. (And to buy stuff from Jeff Bezos.) But when a team at Amazon set out to actually make the voice computer a reality, they encountered a seemingly endless series of hard problems. Eventually, though, they created two products, the Echo speaker and the Alexa voice assistant, that would help bring a new kind of computer to millions of people.
On this episode of Version History, we tell the story of the Echo’s development i …
Grammarly’s sloppelganger saga
5 Apr 2026, 12:00 pm by Stevie Bonifield
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the ups and downs of AI, follow Stevie Bonifield. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.
How it started
Most people probably know Grammarly for its browser extension that suggests how to spruce up your emails, but over the past few years, it’s been eyeing bigger ambitions. In October, the company formerly known as Grammarly made a public pivot to rebrand as an AI company called Superhuman. The new name was adopted from Superhuman Mail, an AI email platform that Grammarly acquired i …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
