This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
Sony’s first clip earbuds don’t quite hit the mark
25 Jan 2026, 2:00 pm by John.Higgins
The Sony LinkBuds Clip are the company’s first clip earbuds. They follow the innovative donut-hole LinkBuds and LinkBuds Open and, like their predecessors, allow you to listen to music or podcasts, make phone calls, or be active outdoors while still maintaining awareness of your surroundings. The clip design has become more popular over the past couple of years, and while the LinkBuds Clip have a solid design and good sound, there’s nothing significant that sets them apart from competitors, especially at their $229.99 price.
Like other open earbuds, the LinkBuds Clip wrap around your ear helix like an ear cuff. The small spherical speaker e …
The great e-bike crackdown has begun
25 Jan 2026, 1:00 pm by Andrew J. Hawkins
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the e-bike movement, follow Andrew J. Hawkins. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.
How it started
Last week, I did something I don’t typically do, which is call up one of my elected officials and yell at them about a new bill.
New Jersey’s car-brained lawmakers had just passed legislation that would impose heavy restrictions on e-bike ownership in the state, and I was livid. Obviously there’s been a lot of concern about the growing number of teenagers being injured and killed w …
The day of the second killing
25 Jan 2026, 2:00 am by Gaby Del Valle
Steven Garcia, as told to Gaby Del Valle:
I was in the middle of a frozen lake when I got the notification from the Minnesota Star Tribune that there had been a shooting. I was on assignment at a pond hockey event, and someone who was supposed to play later that evening said he probably wouldn’t be able to make it – they knew there would be protests and demonstrations happening.
I arrived a little over three hours later. Federal officers had already cleared the scene – the FBI had been there investigating – so the only law enforcement present were state and local officials: the Minneapolis Police Department, their SWAT team, the Hennepin …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
