This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
Samsung ‘Wide Fold’ rumored to rival Apple’s foldable next year
22 Dec 2025, 1:55 pm by Jess Weatherbed
Apple’s long-rumored foldable iPhone is set to arrive next year, and already faces some preemptive competition from Samsung. Korea’s ET News reports that Samsung’s upcoming “Wide Fold” is also set to launch in 2026, and will closely mirror the display size and 4:3 aspect ratio of Apple’s first foldable.
The machine-translated report says the Wide Fold is expected to feature an OLED display that measures 5.4 inches in its folded position, and 7.6 inches when unfolded. “It will be a ‘passport’ type with a 4:3 screen ratio when unfolded,” according to an unnamed industry source cited by ET News.
Last week, The Information reported that Appl …
It’s finally time to retire the word ‘podcast’
22 Dec 2025, 1:30 pm by Andru Marino
According to YouTube’s 2025 Recap feature, the podcast I consumed the most on its platform was Seth Meyers’ recurring segment “A Closer Look” on his show Late Night.
Last year, I would have argued that this is not a podcast. That it is, in fact, a clip of a TV show. But in 2025, with almost every major podcast now having a video component, the definition of the word “podcast” has become pretty meaningless. A decades-old TV show talk show format is now almost indistinguishable from podcasts like Good Hang with Amy Poehler, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Club Shay Shay with Shannon Sharpe, and other shows at the top of Spotify’s podcast c …
The best books we read in 2025
22 Dec 2025, 1:00 pm by Verge Staff
These days when you want to engage with some media, you can choose from podcasts, videos, games, live performances – or books, one of the oldest and most popular ways to learn something new or escape (at least temporarily) from today’s troubled world.
We polled the staff of The Verge to find out what books they read over the past year that really struck a chord – because the books were enlightening, educational, or just enjoyable. Here are some of the answers we got. (And please let us know what your favorite reads were in 2025 in the comments.)
Brandt Ranj, commerce writer
Screwing up is one of the inevitabilities of life, but dwelling …
Honey: all the news about PayPal’s alleged scam coupon app
22 Dec 2025, 3:46 am by Verge Staff
PayPal’s Honey browser extension has been lauded for years as an easy way to find coupons online. But some are calling it a “scam” after a deep dive from YouTuber MegaLag, who accused Honey of “stealing money from influencers,” and returned one year later with a second video that says Honey targeted minors, collected data on people who never signed up for its service, and exploited small businesses.
The first video shines a light mostly on Honey’s use of last-click attribution, swapping its tracking cookie in for others’ when you interact with it. The second video tracks a series of emails between Honey and small businesses that lost revenue from its use of private coupon codes and how it attempted to squeeze them to sign up as partners, as well as its approach of sponsoring YouTubers with large audiences of younger viewers, like Mr Beast.
PayPal issued statements after the first video in 2024 saying that it follows “industry rules and practices” like last-click attribution. But creators who may have missed out on money because of it aren’t happy. Some YouTube channels, like Legal Eagle and GamersNexus, are now suing.
Below, you’ll find all our coverage of the controversy.
- Steve Ballmer’s Kawhi Leonhard controversy intersects with another scandal.
- The Honey exposé fallout continues.
- Google changes Chrome extension policies following the Honey link scandal
- GamersNexus is leading a new class action lawsuit against PayPal.
- YouTuber Legal Eagle is suing over PayPal’s Honey extension
- Honey’s deal-hunting browser extension is accused of ripping off customers and YouTubers
Frozen Waymos backed up San Francisco traffic during a widespread power outage
22 Dec 2025, 2:45 am by Richard Lawler
A power outage struck San Francisco on Saturday that blacked out about 130,000 customers at its peak, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, but also caused another problem: stranded Waymo vehicles. Posts all over social media showed the company’s autonomous SUVs sitting still in the streets and causing traffic jams.
Some people posted videos of Teslas using their FSD feature to navigate the same streets, and Elon Musk tweeted that “Tesla Robotaxis were unaffected by the SF power outage.” On Sunday evening, Waymo spokesperson Suzanne Philion said, “We are resuming ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area.”
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
