This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
The wild, intense rise and fall of Flappy Bird
4 Jan 2026, 2:10 pm by David Pierce
Flappy Bird was almost preposterously simple. If you ever played the game, even once, you surely remember how it worked, but here’s a summary just in case. You were a bird. Your job was to fly, left to right, for as long as possible without crashing into the green Mario-ish pipes coming from both the top and bottom of the screen. Tap the screen to go up, stop tapping to go down. That’s it. That’s the game.
Nobody, not even Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen, thought those were the ingredients for a smash hit. And yet for a few weeks in 2014, the game was at the top of app stores everywhere – and became something of a cultural phenomenon. Almos …
This startup brought WALL-E to life and will also sell you WALL-E’s weird cousin
4 Jan 2026, 2:00 pm by Emma Roth
An AI robotics startup called Zeroth is turning WALL-E into a real-life robot companion. Though the WALL-E version with the Disney-licensed design is currently only on sale in China, Zeroth is launching what looks like an off-brand version of the beloved bot in the US for $5,599.
The bot, called the W1, doesn’t feature WALL-E’s yellow color scheme or humanlike eyes, but it comes with the same dual-tread design that is supposed to help the bot travel over grass, gravel, and slopes. Zeroth says the W1 is designed for use at home or in “light” scenarios, as it can carry up to 110 pounds – more than double its 44-pound weight – while using lida …
Xreal’s entry-level AR glasses get a spec bump and 3D conversion
4 Jan 2026, 2:00 pm by Victoria Song
At CES 2026, Xreal announced an upgraded, slightly more affordable version of its entry-level AR glasses: the $449 Xreal 1S. And this time, you can also convert 2D videos to 3D without any extra apps, software, or proprietary players.
At a glance, the Xreal 1S don’t look much different from the Xreal One or One Pro. (Or even the forthcoming Project Aura glasses that Xreal’s developing with Google.) The main hardware changes are essentially an “S”-year spec bump. Namely, resolution increases from 1080p to 1200p Full HD, brightness goes up from 600 to 700 nits, and the field of view is now 52 degrees instead of 50 degrees. The aspect ratio h …
Baseus’ new desktop dock includes a Qi2 25W charger
4 Jan 2026, 2:00 pm by Dominic Preston
Chinese accessory brand Baseus has launched a new desktop dock for CES 2026 with an exhaustive array of ports and power options, including a magnetic Qi2 25W charging pad that flips up from the dock’s top.
Baseus calls the Spacemate RD1 Pro a 15-in-1 docking station, though there might be some double counting to get to that number. Still, with two HDMI ports, four USB-C, four USB-A, 1Gbps Ethernet, UHS-I SD and microSD card slots, and the Qi charger, you get at least 14 without the need for any creative math.
The dock can output 4K@120Hz to one monitor, or 4K@60Hz to two, with up to 10Gbps data transfer over USB-C. Charging caps at 100W pe …
Narwal’s Flow 2 robovac might help you find that earring you lost
4 Jan 2026, 2:00 pm by Emma Roth
Narwal’s successor to its edge-mopping Flow robovac is here, and it sports a refreshed design along with a new cleaning mode that can scan your floor to tag valuables that you may have dropped, like jewelry, your phone, a key, wallet, and more. When the Flow 2 detects one of these items, the robovac will maintain a distance of at least 5cm to prevent vacuuming it up.
The robovac will also push a notification to the Narwal app containing a photo of the item and its location on a map of your home. Narwal says the Flow 2’s built-in AI system allows for “unlimited” object recognition using its dual RGB cameras that capture a 136-degree field of …
Xreal’s Neo is the best-looking mobile dock for AR glasses
4 Jan 2026, 2:00 pm by Cameron Faulkner
When the Nintendo Switch 2 launched in June, AR glasses brand Viture beat Xreal to the punch with its own multi-port battery pack that doubles as a portable video dock for the new console. After several months, Xreal answered with the Neo, a 10,000mAh (38.7Wh) battery pack with DisplayPort Alt video-out. It sure is one of the prettiest batteries I’ve ever seen, and it works with the company’s own glasses dating back to the Air series, as well as its new $449 Xreal 1S, which just launched. I’ve also gotten Viture’s Luma Pro glasses working with it.
The $99 Neo is available now and is being shown off at CES 2026. Whether it’s worth the price …
Govee’s latest smart lights can make your ceiling more interesting
4 Jan 2026, 1:00 pm by Cameron Faulkner
Govee is known for putting lights in every corner of your room: in your bulb sockets, in the corner for a little multicolored bias lighting, and even behind the TV with its scene-matching LED strips. And it has some curious announcements at CES 2026 that tackle a new part of the room: the ceiling. Govee has announced the Sky Ceiling Light and the Ceiling Light Ultra.
The Sky Ceiling Light, shown above, is designed to mimic daylight, so as to present the illusion that you have a view to the great outdoors. Govee envisions this being a worthwhile addition for windowless spaces, saying that it has “refined white-light performance” that can cre …
Jackery’s expensive solar-powered Gazebo is a good DIY idea
4 Jan 2026, 1:00 pm by Thomas Ricker
Jackery, the home battery company, is back at CES with a solar-powered Gazebo it swears you’ll be able to buy in the second half of the year, starting in California. With an expected price of between $12,000 and $15,000 before adding any battery storage, you might want to save a few bucks and build one yourself from solar panels and power stations that Jackery, and many others, will happily sell you.
Jackery’s 4.5m x 3m x 2.7m (14ft 9.17in x 9ft 10.11in x 8ft 10.30in) aluminum Gazebo is fitted with 2,000W of solar panels, integrated lighting, a pull-down projector screen, and a pair of weather-resistant AC outlets. Pair it with one of Jacke …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
