Stevie Bonifield | The Verge

NASA’s Curiosity rover found a ‘sea of polygons’ on Mars

2026-07-30T13:20:06-04:00

The latest discovery from NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is a field of honeycomb-shaped polygons covering a Martian valley called Valle Grande. As Gizmodo reports, Curiosity has snapped pictures of the unusual terrain texture before, called polygonal fractures, each about 1.5 to 3 inches wide, but NASA says it’s previously only found them in small patches, “nothing on the scale discovered in Valle Grande.”

Curiosity captured a 360-degree panorama of the “sea of polygons” on June 19th and 20th (Martian sols 4,930 and 4,931) that shows the texture spreading out in all directions. Project scientist Ashwin Vasavada says the Curiosity team “measured their shapes and chemistry carefully and are hopeful there are clues in the data as to how these features formed.”

NASA says billions of years ago, “lakes and streams dappled the lower foothills of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that Curiosity has been ascending since 2014.” This terrain could also indicate there was once water in Valle Grande, based on previous polygon patches:

Some of the polygons that the mission has spotted in the past clearly formed as mud cracks, though a variety of processes can contribute to their honeycomb textures, including cycles of warm and cold temperatures or compression that squeezed water out of the sediment when the surface was buried.

Best Buy is selling an RTX 5080 for more than the RTX 5090’s MSRP

2026-07-30T11:48:10-04:00

Best Buy has raised the price of the Asus ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC to $2,099 — the first time a major US retailer is directly selling an RTX 5080 for more than the $1,999 MSRP of the RTX 5090, VideoCardz reports. The ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC now costs 40 percent more than its launch price of $1,499, and over double the $999 MSRP of the RTX 5080 Founders Edition.

As VideoCardz notes, this is currently the only RTX 5080 directly sold by Best Buy that’s priced over the RTX 5090’s MSRP. There are still other RTX 5080 GPUs available for significantly less, including at other retailers — Asus is selling the ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC for $1,899, which is still more than its launch price but a bit lower than Best Buy. However, component shortages and RAM price hikes aren’t showing any sign of slowing down any time soon, so more RTX 5080 GPUs could see similar price hikes.

Best Buy’s price increase also follows reports that Nvidia is planning to increase its GPU prices by 20 to 30 percent, its third such price hike this year. With prices for RAM and other components rising, we’ve even seen the return of GPUs with 4GB of VRAM like the ASRock AMD Radeon RX 9050 Challenger.

Qualcomm is raising phone chip prices starting September 1st

2026-07-29T17:41:56-04:00

RAMageddon won’t be the only reason your next phone costs more — Qualcomm is about to raise prices on all its processors, as well. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said on Wednesday that “prices are going to go up” on the company’s products starting on September 1st, CNBC reports. The price hikes were rumored last week to be “a percentage in the double digits.”

Qualcomm announced the planned price increases while reporting a 20 percent year-over-year drop in revenue from its handset business, the lowest it’s reported since 2021. In its quarterly earnings presentation, Qualcomm said this drop is due to “unprecedented increases in memory pricing and supply constraints,” which have been driving up prices on everything from game consoles to laptops and even Raspberry Pi boards, with no sign of stopping any time soon. But instead of profiting less as a result, the company says it’ll raise its own prices to compensate.

Qualcomm is also expecting an “acceleration” in the dip in revenue from Apple products, noting that its “modem share for the upcoming iPhone launch is expected to be materially lower.” It suggested twice on the earnings call that its other businesses would make up the difference.

As smartphone revenue declines, it seems Qualcomm’s planning to become a tripod of handset, data center, and automotive — it said today that soon only half of its revenue will come from phones, and only one-third will be from phones by 2029, as its data center and automotive businesses ramp.

On Wednesday, Qualcomm announced a decade-long deal to supply chips for BMW. Qualcomm EVP, CFO, and COO Akash Palkhiwala also said some OEMs are beginning to use “prior generation” Qualcomm chips in their devices in response to higher component costs.

OpenAI president says it’s ‘building a family of devices’ for its AI chatbots

2026-07-29T14:19:30-04:00

In an interview with our friend Joanna Stern on her YouTube channel, OpenAI president Greg Brockman said the company is working on a “family of devices” for interacting with its AI models. However, Brockman didn’t confirm reports that one of those devices is a smart speaker OpenAI’s rumored to be launching in 2027, or earlier rumors that the device might be a wearable like the Humane AI pin. He didn’t give a release date, either, only saying that “you can expect them soon.”

When asked about whether Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI could impact the devices it’s working on with former Apple designer Jony Ive, Brockman said, “We are focused on our own development and technology.” He went on to add, “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We are plenty innovative. We are thinking about things from our own angle.”

Whatever form OpenAI’s new devices take, Brockman says he thinks we’ll shift to talking to our computers rather than typing for the “vast majority of what we do.” As far as the problem of everyone talking to their computers in an open office, he brought up soundproof “beak” masks that have started to appear, saying that while he doesn’t use one, “it really shows you where there’s product market fit,” even if everyone agrees that’s not going to be a good solution.

Brockman also said OpenAI is working to address trust issues with its AI models, like concerns about how private ChatGPT’s “temporary chat” mode actually is, including developing technological solutions to offer “verifiable, auditable guarantees” that only the AI can review users’ private data.

The Ferrari Luce has at least 500 fans

2026-07-29T12:05:24-04:00

Just two months after a bumpy launch earlier this year, Ferrari has reportedly already hit its 2026 sales goal for its polarizing, Jony Ive-designed Luce EV. Ahead of Ferrari announcing its quarterly earnings on Thursday, the Financial Times reports that Ferrari was aiming to sell “just under 500” Luce units this year, and reached that target this month.

Luce sales so far were reportedly driven by “strong demand from China,” where EV sales have already taken off from makers like Geely, Lynk & Co, and Zeekr. The Financial Times says Ferrari was trying to “reach a new generation of wealthy buyers” with the Luce, particularly in China and “tech hubs like Silicon Valley,” adding that their sources say US tech entrepreneurs have had “positive” feedback on the €550,000 EV.

Long term, Ferrari is reportedly hoping to sell around 2,500 Luce units by 2030, or roughly 600 each year, making up about 5 percent of the company’s annual sales. It’s also auctioning off the first production model of the Luce next month, which could sell for upwards of $1.1 million.

Ariana Grande is suing the hackers who’ve been leaking her songs and videos for years

2026-07-28T17:48:50-04:00

Ariana Grande filed a lawsuit on Monday in the Los Angeles County Superior Court against the currently unidentified hackers who allegedly stole and leaked private content. It aims to “uncover the identities of these currently unknown and unscrupulous individuals,” referred to as “John Doe 1 and John Does 2 through 100.” The lawsuit also says that “In 2023 alone, 45 unreleased songs” were “hacked, stolen, and leaked,” adding that hundreds of similar leaks have happened since Grande’s music debut in 2011.

The stolen content is said to include “still-in-production, unreleased masters and demos, footage from recording sessions, music videos, behind-the-scenes photographs and videos, as well as album and photoshoot outtakes.”

The lawsuit accuses the unidentified hackers of selling the content, as well as publishing it on social media platforms like X, TikTok, and YouTube. It claims their actions are invading her privacy and violating California’s Comprehensive Data Access and Fraud Act, a law against unauthorized computer access that has come up in cases including Sony’s lawsuit against George Hotz and Meta’s lawsuit against the Pegasus spyware.

As reported earlier by Variety, the lawsuit claims the hackers have repeatedly targeted people who work with Grande. In one incident in 2019, hackers stole Grande’s photos from a photographer’s Dropbox account. The following year, unreleased footage was stolen from a producer’s hacked “mobile device.” In 2024, scammers used phishing emails to get unreleased photos from a technician working with one of Grande’s photographers.

4GB graphics cards are back

2026-07-28T14:49:17-04:00

The first modern GPU with 4GB of VRAM has appeared, as RAM prices and component shortages push tech prices higher. As Digital Foundry reports, a listing for an AMD Radeon RX 9050 with 4GB of RAM was spotted on ASRock’s website by a user on X, the same day ASRock also launched an 8GB version of the RX 9050.

Does it make sense to buy a graphics card with just 4GB of VRAM? According to the specs on ASRock’s website, the 4GB version of the RX 9050 is built on AMD’s RDNA 4 architecture and has a 64-bit memory interface, 16 compute units, and a boost clock speed of up to 2,600MHz / 18GBps. That should be enough to enable new features like FSR 4, but is far below the suggested requirements of current AAA titles like Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced and Halo: Campaign Evolved, even if you’re willing to run at 1080p and aren’t worried about future proofing.

While ASRock has not yet announced pricing for the 4GB RX 9050, Tom’s Hardware spotted it in a Best Buy listing for an $889 prebuilt gaming PC that also includes 8GB of DDR4 RAM, 500GB of SSD storage, and an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 CPU.

ASRock and AMD did not immediately respond to a request for on the record comment.

X Money is launching in the US starting today

2026-07-28T04:59:47-04:00

X Money, a core part of Elon Musk’s mission to turn X into an “everything app,” is rolling out starting today, 9to5Mac reports. The payment platform offers a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payments similar to Venmo, along with a metal Visa card users can emblazon with their X username. Other perks include Apple Wallet support and free money transfers on X. It also advertises “up to” a 6 percent APY, but only Premium Plus subscribers are eligible for it — standard Premium subscribers have to deposit a certain amount of money to get a “boosted” 6 percent APY.

X Money was previously limited to an invite-only beta, but will now be available to X Premium and Premium Plus subscribers in the US. The launch comes a few months after Elon Musk said “early public access” for the payment platform was launching in April.

Earlier this year, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) raised safety concerns about X Money, writing that it could pose risks to “consumers, our national security, and the stability of the financial system.” Launching a payment platform on X has been a mission of Musk’s for a while now — in 2023, he said during an X staff meeting that, “If it involves money, it’ll be on our platform.”

Amazon’s trying to launch a global satellite cellphone network in 2028

2026-07-27T11:40:38-04:00

Amazon filed an FCC application on Saturday to launch a new Leo satellite constellation that will provide direct-to-device satellite service for “voice, messaging, data, and emergency services.” If approved, Amazon will begin deploying the new constellation of 5,105 satellites in 2028. It says it plans to partner with mobile network operators to offer direct-to-device satellite service, similar to Starlink’s partnership with T-Mobile.

Earlier this year, Amazon announced it’s acquiring Globalstar’s satellite network and taking over its deal to provide direct-to-device satellite services for Apple devices. Amazon says its new constellation will “use Globalstar’s spectrum,” adding that it plans to “collaborate with Apple on future satellite services using the expanded network.” Advanced Television points out that the FCC application also includes a request to use spectrum assigned to Iridium’s satellite network outside the US, even as Rocket Lab is in the process of acquiring Iridium with plans to expand.

The new constellation and direct-to-device service will “complement” the broadband services Amazon also plans to offer through its Leo platform. In addition to consumer satellite service, it would also be used for things like disaster response and emergency messaging.

Amazon says the new direct-to-device satellites “will process the signals in orbit before relaying them to improve performance.” The new constellation will be nearly double the size of Amazon’s initial Leo constellation, which is planned to include around 3,200 satellites. As of July 2nd, Amazon says “over 375” of those satellites have launched so far.

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Qualcomm is about to raise prices and that’s bad news for everyone

2026-07-24T15:23:53-04:00

Qualcomm sent a letter to customers on Friday warning of plans to increase its prices by “a percentage in the double digits,” Bloomberg reports. The price hikes will go into effect starting with products shipped after September 1st.

Qualcomm claims it has “exhausted its ability to absorb higher costs from suppliers,” as ongoing component shortages continue to drive up prices. The company also said it attempted to source components from alternate suppliers prior to announcing the price hikes.

As Bloomberg notes, Qualcomm’s price increases will likely have a ripple effect, particularly for smartphones. Qualcomm’s chips power everything from Samsung’s new foldables to upcoming smartglasses. Earlier this year, Qualcomm even promised one of its new chip platforms would deliver $300 Windows PCs. Those devices could get pricier if device manufacturers pass the brunt of Qualcomm’s price hikes onto their customers.

Qualcomm’s far from the only company bumping up its prices. Seemingly everything is getting more expensive as a result of component shortages, including Xbox consoles, Raspberry Pi boards, most Apple devices, and Samsung and Google’s smartphones. Some devices are even getting downgraded specs alongside higher prices, while other devices are getting canceled or delayed.

Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.