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Chess meets roguelike dungeon crawler Below the Crown gets an early access launch date and a demo that's smarter than me
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Chess meets roguelike dungeon crawler Below the Crown gets an early access launch date and a demo that’s smarter than me

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Am I good at chess? I’ll take no for $1500, Alex. But do I love a funky twist on games that are older than time itself? You bet your bottom dollar I do! Enter Below the Crown, a chess video game that is also a roguelike, ,and is also a turn-based strategy game, and is also a dungeon crawler on top of that. It’s a lot! It also works very well, and in a demo that just came out today (alongside an early access release date), there’s a suggestion of something a touch more… unsettling… going on under the hood.


In Below the Crown, you are a wizard who is working to get The Emperor the gold he knows is down in the dungeon below his castle. This wizard version of you places a single king on a chess board in each run, with a selection of other, occasionally remixed versions of classic pieces at your disposal. You slowly add pieces to the board as you try to strategise your way towards taking down opposing kings, adding abilities to your various pieces as you go room by room. Sometimes you’ll be offered the opportunity to buy certain useful cards too, like one that will freeze an enemy piece in place for five turns.


It’s chess! And it’s not chess. The important thing is that the essence of the age-old game is there, that feeling of thinking where you’re going to place which piece where, albeit in a refreshingly different way. Though, it definitely is a game that is smarter than me, at least when it comes to chess, because I really would like to stress I’m pants at actual chess. Still fun though! And then there’s the creepy bits.


In between rounds, you might get asked to do things like placing a marker on a graph that reads loneliness on the Y axis and anxiety on the X axis. Upon beating a run I was asked to rank my pieces based on how I felt about them, and was then questioned on my choices afterwards. Methinks there is a bit more than just retro, roguelike chess going on here, and I’m curious to find out more.


Which I’ll be able to do soonish! As developer Misfits Attic (who also made Duskers) shared that Below the Crown will be launching into early access next month, November 10th. Better keep practicing at regular chess in the meantime so I don’t totally suck at this twisted video game version of it.

You can wishlist Below the Crown on Steam here.



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Amazon’s AI assistant is smarter, but still struggles.
Product Reviews

Amazon’s AI assistant is smarter, but still struggles.

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This week, Amazon will launch new Echo hardware designed to supercharge Alexa Plus, the AI-powered upgrade to its voice assistant. I’ve been using Alexa Plus for the last few months as part of its Early Access program, and while the new assistant is off to a promising start, it’s still clearly a work in progress.

To fix Alexa, Amazon had to break it apart and rebuild it. The result is a hybrid smart home assistant, personal assistant, and Amazon’s answer to ChatGPT. Right now, in its Beta phase, this new Alexa isn’t doing any of those things as well as I’d hoped.

This is most obvious in the smart home. Controlling my lights, locks, and robot vacuum with natural language rather than precise phrases is a huge improvement, as is not having to say “Alexa” repeatedly and being able to interrupt, um and er, and change my mind mid-thought. But we are still far from the dream of the ambient home that runs on a Star Trek–style “Computer.”

Today, running on what feels like underpowered hardware and with surface-level integrations into my smart home, Alexa Plus often leaves me frustrated. There’s power under that hood, but it feels largely inaccessible. The assistant desperately needs something to make it more compelling — and better hardware could be the answer.

Alexa Plus should make the smart home smarter

Generative AI is supposed to be a watershed moment for the smart home. By cutting through the complexity of programming your home and removing the frustrations of clunky commands, LLMs should make the smart home more accessible. And in many ways, Alexa Plus delivers.

I can now say, “Alexa, dim the lights in here, adjust the thermostat down a few degrees, lock the front door, and turn the upstairs lights off. Oh, and remind me to take the trash out in the morning,” and it all happens. This kind of easy, hands-free convenience is exactly what the smart home has promised for years.

The old Echo Show UI (left), compared to the new Alexa Plus UI, which offers more control and a more intuitive interface. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge and Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Managing my devices is also simpler. Instead of scrolling through thumbnail clips in the Ring app, I can ask an Echo Show 21 when the cat was last on the porch and instantly see a full-screen video. The updated UI on the Show 15 and 21 is a big improvement, with larger widgets, customizable layouts, and easier access to smart home controls.

Recently, Alexa and I chatted about the best ways to use my smart home gadgets to their full potential. It suggested possible routines, built the automations, tweaked them based on my feedback, and tested them — all in minutes, with no fiddling in the (still clunky) Alexa app. It even helped me set up a new air purifier and folded it into one of those routines.

But there are issues. Alexa Plus is noticeably slower, with some requests taking up to 15 seconds for a response. While turning on lights or adjusting a thermostat is fast enough (I assume due to using local connections over Matter), waiting for over 10 seconds for the weather or a song to play is tiresome.

Some basic features that used to work reliably now don’t or require new phrasing every time. My struggles to control my Alexa-enabled coffee machine persist, and I can’t get Alexa to consistently turn on my bathroom fan for a set period of time.

The Echo Show 21 can display live feeds from up to four Ring cameras, as well as pull up specific events using voice commands. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

I used to say, “Turn on the bathroom fan for 15 minutes,” and it did it. Now, Alexa Plus tells me it has to create a routine to do that, and then doesn’t run that routine. Or it says, “Sure,” turns the fan on, but never turns it off. I’ve tried this a dozen times and haven’t had a consistent response yet.

One surreal moment: after weeks of Alexa Plus’ new voice, the old Alexa suddenly surfaced when the system hit a snag. “Sorry, something went wrong,” it said in that stiff, familiar tone. For a second, I wondered — is the old Alexa still in there, trying to get out?

Building the old on top of the new

The old Alexa — the deterministic model built on rigid command-and-control rules — is essentially gone. According to Panos Panay, head of Amazon’s devices and service division, whom I spoke with in February, Alexa Plus runs on an entirely new architecture. One that, based on my testing, feels much more powerful than the old Alexa, but also less reliable.

That’s the paradox of LLMs: they’re excellent at parsing human language, but they’re not designed for consistency. Ask ChatGPT the same question twice, and you’ll get different answers. The unpredictability of LLMs, known as nondeterminism, is a poor fit for smart home control, where reliability and repeatability are crucial. It’s great when you’re brainstorming, but frustrating when you just want your morning coffee.

Amazon’s workaround has been to use its LLM models as a kind of translator. It interprets what you say, then hands off the request to deterministic systems — APIs, device controllers, or local Matter connections.

The unpredictability of LLMs is a poor fit for smart home control, where reliability and repeatability are crucial.

I’ve found this works most of the time, but if the LLM translates a request incorrectly or there’s a gap in the API, it appears that handoff can fail. I assume that’s why my bathroom fan sometimes turns on as requested and why Alexa sometimes insists on creating a routine but then forgets to finish the job.

This is the problem every company with a voice assistant in the smart home is dealing with — merging the old and predictable with the new and exciting. LLMs aren’t designed to be predictable, and what you want when controlling your home is predictability.

Panay says they’ve worked hard to bring predictability to Alexa Plus and to ensure it won’t hallucinate in your smart home. While the former still needs work, so far my smart home has been hallucination-free. There have been no bizarre behaviors such as unlocking doors or cranking up the heat unbidden, or doing something different from what was requested.

However, this tightly controlled structure has resulted in an Alexa Plus that is not the paradigm shift I was hoping for. Of course, it’s still early days, but the promise of LLMs is that they will unlock the potential of technology within our homes — and that hasn’t happened yet.

Alexa Plus hasn’t changed anything for me; it’s just made my smart home (mostly) easier to manage. It still feels like pieces and parts, not a cohesive whole being run by an intelligent machine.

Hardware could hold the key

Many of my frustrations with Alexa Plus are connected to the hardware, and changes here could make a big difference.

The current Show devices are the flagship Alexa Plus interfaces, specifically the Show 21 and 15. But the interplay between voice and screen is still lacking; the hardware remains voice-first.

For example, I’ll ask Alexa to show me the recipe I was just using, and instead, it will read out the directions. With hardware that synchronizes voice and visuals seamlessly, Alexa Plus would be very compelling. (Also, the Shows are the worst Echo devices at hearing commands, and Amazon really needs to fix that.)

Andy Jassy has promised us “beautiful” new hardware for Alexa. As the first products fully designed under Panos Panay, who told me he believes in screens, we have some idea of what’s coming. But ultimately, it will be about how well the hardware and software work together. The devices revealed this week will be Alexa Plus’s moment to prove it’s more than just potential.

Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

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Liquid Death
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Liquid Death launches ‘Certified Smarter Water’ to help students cheat through college legally

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Liquid Death has unveiled a new stunt video claiming its latest limited-edition water can help students cheat their way through college by “drinking textbooks.”

The brand’s parody campaign, titled Liquid Death Will Help You Legally Cheat Through College, plays on viral internet claims that water can retain memory. In the skit, Liquid Death says it lined up rows of Amazon Alexa devices to read entire stacks of college textbooks into cases of its canned water.

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The result, they claim, is “Certified Smarter Water” that transfers knowledge directly to the brain when consumed.

Liquid Death is no stranger to over-the-top ads, with past campaigns featuring everything from metal concerts for bottled water to celebrity-backed commercials. This latest effort leans on college humor, with fake testimonials about passing exams, skipping class, and even using cans to “absorb” entire lectures from a desk.

Drink your way through exams with Liquid Death

In the video, one mock student explains, “Now I could just drink water to get into med school. Thanks, Liquid Death,” while another quips, “Wake up and vomit. Drink some books. Repeat. College is easy now.”

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The company also jokes that any can of Liquid Death can be programmed for study, with Alexa devices supposedly able to add new material. At the end of the ad, viewers are directed to Amazon to buy limited packs of the Certified Smarter Water, though the product itself is a gag.

There is no “Certified Smart Water” can you can buy. Instead, Liquid Death offers a step by step guide on how to turn any flavor of Liquid Death into smart water using an Amazon Alexa.

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The long-running internet claim that “water has memory” first gained attention in the 1980s when French researcher Jacques Benveniste suggested water could retain traces of substances even after extreme dilution. His work was widely discredited, but the concept lingered in wellness circles and eventually in meme culture.

By leaning into that pseudo-science, Liquid Death adds another layer of satire — suggesting that if water can really “remember” words, it could become the ultimate cheat sheet for college students.

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Fall into smarter lighting | The Verge
Product Reviews

Fall into smarter lighting | The Verge

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Smart lighting is one of the most useful and enjoyable smart home upgrades you can make. The convenience of turning lights on and off with a voice command or having them come on at precisely the right brightness when you walk into a room, adjusted for the time of day, is a huge quality-of-life upgrade that you can’t truly appreciate until you try it.

The good news is that now is a great time to consider adding smart lights to your home.

The costs of smart LED bulbs, fixtures, and accessories, such as switches, are starting to come down, just as compatibility across smart home platforms and smartphones is going up — thanks to the Matter smart home standard.

All this means it’s easier than ever to add some smarts to your lighting. Here are a few of my favorite experiences and features that smart lighting can add to your home, along with tips on how to integrate them into your space.

Bring the outside in with Apple’s Adaptive Lighting

$40

Lifx’s 1,600 lumen, 9,000 kelvin smart lightbulb is one of several bulbs from multiple brands that work with Apple Home’s Adaptive Lighting feature. This automatically creates natural, circadian-rhythm light throughout your home.

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Changing the color temperature of your lighting is one of smart lights’ least-known but best abilities. While color changing is fun when you want to decorate for a holiday or celebrate your favorite sports team, changing the color temperature — the warmth or coolness of white light — can improve your environment every day.

In my home, I set the majority of my smart lights to use Apple’s Home’s Adaptive Lighting. This feature automatically adjusts the temperature of their white light throughout the day to mimic natural daylight: cooler and brighter light in the morning to help me wake up, shifting to warmer, more relaxing tones in the evening to help me wind down.

Adaptive Lighting runs in the background, so I don’t have to set up specific scenes for morning or evening lighting, and the light inside my home feels more like the light outside.

$99

Apple’s HomePod Mini smart speaker can work as an Apple Home hub to power Apple Home’s Adaptive Lighting feature.

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To set this up, you need an Apple Home hub (an Apple TV, HomePod, or HomePod Mini) and compatible lights (bulbs, light strips, etc.), as well as an iPhone or iPad for control. Until recently, only a handful of manufacturers supported Adaptive Lighting, but with Apple’s Matter update, it’s now easier for manufacturers to implement. I have adaptive lighting working across Philips Hue, Nanoleaf, Aqara, and Lifx smart lights in my home. Meross and Eve also support it.

While Hue, Lifx, and Nanoleaf offer similar circadian-rhythm lighting scenes in their apps, each only works across that company’s lights. Apple’s approach lets you mix and match brands.

For those outside Apple’s ecosystem, Ikea’s Dirigeria hub has a similar circadian lighting feature. Currently, it’s limited to Ikea lights, but since Dirigera is now a Matter Controller, it should eventually work with any Matter-compatible bulbs.

$308

Philips Hue Twilight is a smart bedside lamp designed around circadian rhythms to help you wake up more naturally and wind down more peacefully. With 4,000 K / 1,380 lumens, its smooth, deep dimming is exceptionally gentle, and the dual light sources provide ample light when needed.

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I haven’t used an alarm clock in years. Instead of jarring tones, I’m woken by light gradually brightening on my bedside table. I can’t recommend it enough. It makes mornings easier, and I never hit the snooze button — there isn’t one.

At first, I used a Philips Hue color bulb in a lamp with the Hue app’s “Wake up with light” feature, which I set to gradually brighten the bulb over 30 minutes. It worked well, but Hue’s new Twilight Sleep Wakeup light has taken the experience to a new level.

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1/2The Twilight offers good task lighting and an adjustable head. Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Designed specifically for sleep / wake, this bedside lamp is a big upgrade (both in price and function). The key difference is its dimmability: it fades as low as 0.02 percent, compared to a Hue bulb’s 0.2 percent, so the light increase feels smoother. It also features two light sources — the main lamp and a glowing LED column built into the back of the base that washes the wall with colorful light — creating a gentler, larger glow.

I like its compact form, adjustable head for easier task / reading light, and that its lights are both tunable white and color-changing, with six built-in sleep / wake routines that create some really beautiful light scenes. Crucially, it suppresses blue light in the nighttime scenes.

The device also features two buttons, one of which activates a Go To Sleep automation that fades in warm hues and turns off after 45 minutes. It’s nice not to have to reach for my phone to activate it. The other button cycles through the six preset scenes. Both buttons can be mapped to custom shortcuts if paired with a Hue Bridge. This also allows me to set wakeup routines to run every morning, plus connect it to Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home for voice control.

$385

An HDMI box, the Hue Sync syncs your Hue lights with whatever’s playing on any HDMI device connected to it. It supports up to 8K at 60Hz, has four inputs, and can sync up to 10 lights. Paired with Hue’s new Wall Washers ($384 for a pair) and a Bridge ($65.59), it makes for an impressive, albeit expensive, home theater lighting setup.

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One of the best uses for color LEDs is syncing them with content on your TV or your PC for an immersive effect. The least expensive ways to do this involve pointing a small camera at your screen to capture the colors, which are relayed via an app to LED light strips attached to the back of your TV. Govee and Nanoleaf offer this kind of TV bias lighting kit, which also sync with their other smart lights.

My TV is flush-mounted, so I can’t use an LED strip. That’s one reason Philips Hue’s solution works best for me. Its Hue 8K Sync Box uses HDMI syncing so no need for a camera, and the new Hue Play Wall Washers project light onto the wall around my TV, similarly to how a light strip behind it would.

The new wall washers cast more and better light than Hue’s other alternative to an LED strip (Play light bars), and use the same smooth, color-changing gradient technology as the Twilight lamp. Their compact size also means they don’t block my TV, unlike other free-standing solutions.

PreviousNext

1/2The Hue Wall Washers work with the Hue Sync Box to cast gradient lighting around a TV, creating a more immersive feel. Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

I like that Hue’s system doesn’t use a camera. Instead, I plug my streaming box and games console directly into the box via HDMI. It then syncs the content digitally instead of visually. The catch: since the Sync Box relies on data from the HDMI connection for its color information, it can’t sync with content played directly from the TV itself. But since I always use a streaming box, that’s fine for me. If you have a recent Samsung or LG TV, you can download the Hue Sync app and get the same functionality (for a fee).

The downside of the Hue option is that it’s expensive: you need the Hue Bridge, the Sync Box, and Hue lights — a setup that can run close to $1,000. If you can attach LED strips to the back of your TV and you don’t mind a camera in your living room, Govee or Nanoleaf are a better value.

$330

A huge, 8-foot-tall, 2,000-lumen RGBIC smart outdoor lamp, the Govee has six color zones and dedicated white lighting. It features built-in motion and light sensors, works with Matter, is IP66 rated, and includes a nice long power cord for easy installation.

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Outdoor smart lighting adds ambiance and nighttime usability to porches, patios, and gardens. I use string lights around mine, and it makes it much nicer to sit outside in the evening or have dinner on the porch.

I also have smart solar path lights from Ring and Linkind, and recently started testing Govee’s new outdoor lamp post — a huge, 2,000-lumen fixture that lights up my whole garden in anything from white to playful color themes.

Nanoleaf and Lifx string lights lighting up my patio and porch. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Outdoors is where I find I use color-changing lighting the most. I set the Nanoleaf outdoor string lights around my patio to change colors with the seasons, and their crystal-like design acts as a decorative feature even when off. On my porch, I have a string of tunable white string lights from Govee over my dining table that create cozy dinner ambiance or brighter task lighting.

My favorite features for outdoor lighting are voice control and scheduling. I have an Amazon Alexa routine where I say, “Alexa, glow up the garden,” and all the lights come on. It’s also simple to shut them all off with a voice command, plus I have them on a schedule to turn on at sunset and off later in the evening.

Take control of holiday lighting

$540

With three LEDs in each bulb under a prism lens, these permanent outdoor lights can pull off bigger, fancier lighting effects. These full-color and tunable white lights can go from elegant white to jolly holidays in a flash. Featuring a IP67 weather rating and a single power cord for 100 feet of lights, they’re designed to be permanently installed on your home.

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Every year, my husband climbs precariously up a very large ladder to hang holiday lights on our house. And every year, I stand below watching, stressing out. This year, we switched to permanent outdoor lights — a trend that’s exploded recently.

Instead of hanging temporary holiday string lights, you install durable weatherproof fixtures along rooflines and trim. Mostly hidden when off, they can cast elegant white light or colorful holiday displays when on. They mount with brackets and nails or 3M tape and connect to an app for control.

The Govee Prism permanent outdoor lights create a really nice effect on the facade of my house. Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

We just installed the new Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism lights, which start at $539.99 for 100 feet, and so far, I’m very impressed. With three lights in every bulb along the strip, they cast a softer, fuller glow than an individual light would. Plus, the prism lens above them lets me choose from three distinct colors or a more blended beam of light.

They were also relatively easy to install. Yes, a ladder was still involved, but theoretically for the last time! We used the provided tape to secure everything in place, then went back and used screws for a more permanent installation. With IP68 water- and dust-resistance, they should also be able to handle everything the elements can throw at them. However, how “permanent” they will actually be is something I’ll need to test over the long term.

The Govee Prism lights are Govee’s top-of-the-line option, but you can find cheaper models starting at $300. There are also offerings from Eufy, Lifx, Hampton Bay, and Nanoleaf, and Philips Hue just launched its first line of permanent outdoor string lights.

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Meta’s Smart Glasses Might Make You Smarter. They’ll Certainly Make You More Awkward
Product Reviews

Meta’s Smart Glasses Might Make You Smarter. They’ll Certainly Make You More Awkward

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On an earnings call this summer, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made an ambitious claim about the future of smart glasses, saying he believes that someday people who don’t wear AI-enabled smart spectacles (ideally his) will find themselves at a “pretty significant cognitive disadvantage” compared to their smart-glasses-clad kin.

Meta’s most recent attempt to demonstrate the humanity-enhancing capabilities of its face computing platform didn’t do a very good job of bolstering that argument.

In a live keynote address at the company’s Connect developer conference on Wednesday, Zuckerberg tossed to a product demo of the new smart glasses he had just announced. That demo immediately went awry. When a chef was brought onstage to ask the Meta glasses’ voice assistant to walk him through a recipe, he spoke the “Hey Meta” wake word, and every pair of Meta glasses in the room—hundreds, since the glasses had just been distributed to the crowd of attendees—sprang to life and started chattering.

In an Instagram Reel posted after the event, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth (whose own bit onstage had run into technical problems) said the hiccup happened because so many instances of Meta’s AI running in the same place meant they had inadvertently DDOS’d themselves. But a video call demo failed too, and the demos that did work were filled with lags and interruptions.

This isn’t meant to just be a dunk at the kludgy Connect keynote. (We love a live demo, truly!) But the weirdness, the timid exchanges, the repeated commands, and the wooden conversations inadvertently reflect just how graceless this technology can be when used in the real world.

“The main problem for me is the raw amount of times where you do engage with an AI assistant and ask it to do something and it doesn’t actually understand,” says Leo Gebbie, a director and analyst at CCS Insights. “The failure risk just is high, and the gap is still pretty big between what’s being shown and what we’re actually going to get.”

Eyes of the World

Live Captions seen on the Meta Ran Ban Display.Courtesy of Meta

Clearly, we are a long way from Zuckerberg’s vision of smart glasses being the computing platform that elevates humanity to some higher-thinking, higher-functioning state. Sure, wearing internet-connected hardware on your face can make it easier and faster to access information, and that may help you become—or at least appear to become—smarter or more capable. But as the clumsiness of the Connect demo very publicly demonstrated, the act of simply wearing a chatbot and a screen on your face might cancel out any cognitive advantage. Smart glasses put the wearer at a significant social disadvantage.





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Smarter Web eyes distressed rivals as UK Bitcoin treasury race tightens
Crypto Trends

Smarter Web eyes distressed rivals as UK Bitcoin treasury race tightens

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Smarter Web, the U.K.’s largest BTC holder, is going on the offensive. CEO Andrew Webley is eyeing distressed rivals, seeking to aggressively expand its war chest at a potential fire-sale discount.

Summary

  • Smarter Web’s CEO Andrew Webley considers buying struggling rivals to boost BTC holdings at discounts.
  • Company stock plunged 35.5% in a month, far underperforming Bitcoin’s 4% drop.
  • Coinbase warns treasury firms face “player vs player” competition for investor capital.

According to a recent Financial Times report, Andrew Webley, CEO of The Smarter Web Company, confirmed his firm is actively considering the acquisition of struggling competitors.

The primary objective is a strategic expansion of its Bitcoin (BTC) treasury by potentially purchasing BTC holdings at a significant discount to market value. This move comes amid a sharp decline in the company’s own stock price, which has dramatically underperformed Bitcoin over the past month.

Navigating a high-stakes battlefield

Smarter Web’s stock performance has starkly decoupled from the asset it holds. While Bitcoin declined just over 4% in the past month, the company’s share price plummeted approximately 35.5%, including a nearly 22% single-day drop on Friday.

The significant underperformance highlights a critical vulnerability: investor sentiment toward treasury vehicles is becoming increasingly fragile, independent of Bitcoin’s own price action.

The timing of Webley’s maneuver aligns with a sobering warning from Coinbase researchers that the sector is entering a brutal “player vs player” stage. Head of research David Duong and researcher Colin Basco recently stated that crypto-buying public companies will now compete far more fiercely for investor capital.

They predict that while a handful of “strategically positioned players will thrive,” the market segment is quickly becoming oversaturated, implying many of these treasuries will not survive long term.

Meanwhile, back in June, analysts at Standard Chartered, led by Geoffrey Kendrick, issued a prescient warning about the inherent risks of the Bitcoin treasury model. Kendrick cautioned that the premium at which these companies trade relative to their underlying BTC holdings is unsustainable, especially as access to Bitcoin through regulated ETFs and ETNs becomes easier. He ominously suggested that a drop below $90,000 could put half of all Bitcoin treasury companies underwater on their holdings.



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Apple Reveals Ultra-Thin iPhone Air Alongside Smarter Wearables
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Apple Reveals Ultra-Thin iPhone Air Alongside Smarter Wearables

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In brief

  • New Center Stage camera adds smarter framing, 4K HDR, and dual capture across iPhone 17 models.
  • iOS 26 brings on-device AI tools, including live translation, smart screenshots, and spam filters.
  • Final Cut Camera 2.0 adds ProRes RAW, genlock, and Apple Log 2 to iPhone 17 Pro for pro video work.

Apple’s new iPhone Air, its slimmest smartphone yet, led a slate of product announcements Tuesday, as the company focused on design, performance, and somewhat restrained emphasis on artificial intelligence across its devices.

Instead of spotlighting a major AI overhaul, humanoid robots, or a Siri reboot, the company leaned on thinner and more efficient phones—including enhanced iPhone 17 models alongside the Air—higher-performance chips, and incremental steps toward embedding AI and machine learning into its health, fitness, photo, and video applications.

One example: The new AirPods Pro 3 will offer a feature called Live Translation, enabling the earbuds to translate speech in real time through Apple Intelligence. They also include upgraded ANC, heart-rate monitoring, and extended battery life.

Apple also highlighted the expanded use of recycled titanium and aluminum after the company said in August it would bring iOS device glass manufacturing back to the United States. Here is what was announced on Tuesday.

iPhone 17 and iPhone Air

The iPhone 17 introduced several upgrades, including a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display with slimmer borders, 3,000 nits of peak brightness, and a second-generation Ceramic Shield that Apple claims triples scratch resistance. A 48-megapixel Dual Fusion camera system now includes a new square-sensor front camera, offering wider fields of view and AI-assisted group framing.

Powering the device is Apple’s A19 chip, a six-core CPU paired with integrated Neural Accelerators. Apple said it enables on-device generative AI tasks and doubles graphics performance compared with the iPhone 13. Battery life stretches to 30 hours of video playback, with fast charging via a 40W adapter.

The iPhone 17 starts at $799 with 256GB of storage and comes in black, lavender, mist blue, sage, and white. Preorders open Sept. 12, with availability beginning Sept. 19.

iPhone Air. Image: Apple

More notably, Apple introduced the iPhone Air—a 5.6-millimeter device that repositions internal components to maximize battery life in what it calls its lightest, most durable frame yet. The Air features a 6.5-inch display with ProMotion support up to 120Hz and uses the same Ceramic Shield on both front and back.

The phone runs on the A19 Pro chip and adds a new C1X modem that Apple says is twice as fast while drawing 30% less power. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread, and faster 5G. The camera array includes a 48-megapixel main sensor with what Apple says is optical-quality 2x telephoto and Focus Control for portraits.

A magnetic battery pack accessory can extend use by up to 40 hours. The iPhone Air starts at $999.

iPhone Pro models

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max round out the lineup, built with aerospace-grade aluminum, a vapor chamber cooling system, and the new A19 Pro chip. Both models feature Super Retina displays—6.3 inches for the Pro, 6.9 inches for the Max—and maintain the 3,000-nit brightness standard.

The Pro cameras go fully triple-lens: 48-megapixel main, ultra wide, and a telephoto with a tetraprism lens capable of 4x optical zoom at 100mm and 8x digital zoom at 200mm. Pro-level video tools include ProRes RAW, Apple Log 2, and genlock syncing.

Apple claims the Pro Max delivers the longest battery life of any iPhone, with up to 39 hours of video playback. Both models support eSIM in select markets. The iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099; the Pro Max at $1,199, with capacities up to 2TB.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro. Image: Apple

Apple’s new Center Stage front camera, available across the iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max, and iPhone Air, introduces the first square sensor on an iPhone and brings several AI-driven improvements to both photography and video.

The upgraded 18-megapixel camera offers a wider field of view and allows users to capture photos and videos in portrait or landscape—even while holding the phone vertically. The system uses AI to detect subjects and automatically adjust framing during group selfies, expanding the field of view and rotating orientation to include everyone in the shot.

Video tools now include ultra-stabilized 4K HDR recording and a new Dual Capture mode that records from the front and rear cameras simultaneously—aimed at creators filming reaction or commentary content while capturing action in the background.

During FaceTime and third-party video calls, Center Stage uses subject tracking to keep users centered and in frame, adapting as they move or shift positions.

Final Cut Camera 2.0

Apple also announced Final Cut Camera 2.0, a major update to its pro video app that brings ProRes RAW and genlock support to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.

ProRes RAW lets users capture raw sensor data for flexible post-production editing, while genlock enables frame-accurate sync across multiple devices for professional multi-cam setups. The update also adds open gate recording, Apple Log 2 for expanded dynamic range, and 200mm telephoto capture at up to 4K60 fps.

Final Cut Camera 2.0 integrates with the new Center Stage front camera, offering manual control over orientation and framing for creators recording with the front lens. The app also supports timecode modes and pairing with Final Cut Pro for iPad via Live Multicam.

AirPods Pro 3 and Apple Watch

Apple also upgraded its line of wearables. The AirPods Pro 3, priced at $249, introduce real-time translation powered by Apple Intelligence. Spoken results play through the earbuds, with contextual text appearing on paired iPhones.

The earbuds now include a custom heart-rate sensor, support for 50 workout types, and a new “Workout Buddy” feature that offers voice coaching during exercise. Battery life hits eight hours, or 10 in hearing-aid mode. Foam-infused tips come in five sizes, including an XXS fit.

On the wrist, the Apple Watch Series 11 adds a new ceramic coating, liquid glass face, and a circular 5G antenna for improved efficiency. Battery life reaches 24 hours. Health features include AI-powered hypertension detection, with FDA clearance pending, and new sleep tracking with quality scoring.

The Apple Watch SE 3 gets an always-on display, the S10 chip, and faster 5G, with sleep tracking, ovulation history, and apnea notifications.

At the top end, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 adds a larger, wide-angle OLED display, 42 hours of battery life (72 hours in low power mode), and two-way satellite messaging for emergency communication. It’s positioned for endurance athletes, with enhanced GPS, cycling metrics, stroke detection for swimmers, and offline hiking maps. Pricing starts at $799.

Apple Intelligence

Apple continued its measured rollout of artificial intelligence with iOS 26, introducing new features under the “Apple Intelligence” label that rely on on-device processing and privacy-first design.

Live Translation, one of the flagship additions, enables real-time text and audio translation across Messages, FaceTime, and Phone—with results delivered both audibly and on-screen. Apple said the feature works entirely on-device and does not require an internet connection.



New visual intelligence tools allow users to take screenshots and immediately search or act on what’s shown—such as identifying landmarks, extracting text, or navigating to settings. These updates build on Apple’s approach of integrating machine learning into existing workflows rather than overhauling the interface.

The company also introduced screening tools for phone calls and messages designed to filter out spam and unwanted interruptions, using AI to prioritize relevant contacts.

Under the hood, iOS 26 features Apple’s own foundation model—running locally on-device—which is now accessible to third-party developers. Apple said apps can leverage these capabilities to deliver personalized, private AI functions, even when offline.

Despite the new tools, Apple Intelligence stops short of offering a conversational assistant or chatbot. Instead, the company framed the features as utility-focused enhancements, embedded within apps and designed to avoid dependence on the cloud.

Generally Intelligent Newsletter

A weekly AI journey narrated by Gen, a generative AI model.



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Hands-on with the Level Lock Pro: sleeker, smarter, still very expensive
Product Reviews

Hands-on with the Level Lock Pro: sleeker, smarter, still very expensive

by admin


Smart locks are among my favorite pieces of smart home tech, offering convenience and peace of mind; I haven’t used a key in years. But most of them are big, clunky, and unmistakably “techy.” Keypads, bulky battery housings, and fingerprint readers mean they really stick out, on both sides of your door. If you want the convenience of a smart lock without the look of a smart lock, there’s really only one option: Level Lock. And now Level has launched its latest model, the Level Lock Pro.

For nearly a decade, Level has been making smart locks that look like regular deadbolts, with all the smarts hidden inside the footprint of a traditional lock. The Pro keeps that discreet exterior, but the interior has been totally rebuilt.

The $349 Level Lock Pro launches today and adds a faster dual-core Bluetooth/Thread chip, a built-in door sensor, a passive infrared sensor for presence detection, and double the battery life of the Level Lock Plus. It can be controlled with a regular key, Apple’s Home Key, a key fob, an optional keypad ($80), and with an app using Bluetooth or Matter connectivity.

The Level Lock Pro feels like the most complete realization of Level’s minimalist smart lock vision so far

Matter support means the Pro works with Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings, among other options — a significant expansion from Level’s earlier Bluetooth-only locks, which were limited to Apple Home and Ring out of the box.

“The lock’s firmware platform is entirely new and built around Matter,” Ken Goto, Level’s founder and CTO, told The Verge in an interview. “This makes it faster and more responsive today, and moving forward, gives us a platform for creating new features and functionality.” He said the company is actively working on support for ultra-wideband (UWB) hands-free unlocking and the upcoming Aliro smart lock standard, which should standardize how smart locks use UWB and bring NFC tap-to-unlock to Android phones.

As with all Level Locks, the Pro is powered by a single CR2 battery that fits inside the bolt.

I have been testing the Pro for a few days, and it’s significantly faster than the Level Lock Plus I tested previously. The hardware remains almost identical; there are just a few subtle updates, including a color-matched strike/bolt plate and key cylinder and glass on the outer bezel hiding a new PIR sensor that’s designed to extend battery life.

  • Price: $349
  • Lock type: Full replacement
  • Finishes: Matte black, silver nickel
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth, Matter-over-Thread (with Matter Controller / Thread Border Router), Wi-Fi (with Level Connect Wi-Fi Bridge)
  • Access options: Key, Apple Home Key, app, voice, auto-unlock, optional keypad
  • Battery type: 1 CR2
  • Battery life: 12 months
  • Guest Keys: Yes (app, NFC tags or codes)
  • Security rating: BHMA AAA
  • Waterproofing: IP54
  • Works with: Matter (including Apple Home), Amazon Alexa, and Google Home
  • Warranty: 24 months

I didn’t install the lock on my front door; my past testing has shown that Level Locks can have alignment issues on older doors like mine. Instead, I used a custom mini test door provided by Level. While the locks can work on older doors, Goto confirmed that they work best with factory-cut doors from the last 10 years.

The most notable feature upgrade compared to prior models is the built-in door sensor, which Level locks lacked until now. This tells you via an app if the door is open or closed, not just whether it’s locked or unlocked — so you don’t think you’ve locked it remotely when it’s actually wide open. Unlike other smart locks that require a chunky sensor stuck to your door frame, Level’s is completely hidden inside the lock.

Because of varied support across Matter platforms for notifications from door locks, the door sense works best with Level’s Connect Wi-Fi bridge, a $79 plug-in device that connects the lock to Wi-Fi and can also add cloud-to-cloud integrations with Google Home and Amazon Alexa (Ring is no longer supported).

Alongside notifications for door open/closed status, the Connect also adds alerts for who unlocked or locked it and battery life, not all of which are available yet in Matter.

1/3The Level app shows door status via Bluetooth when you’re in range, or when connected to a Level Connect Wi-Fi bridge.

The door sense feature works in some Matter platforms, but not all. I tested it with Apple Home and only got basic locked/unlocked alerts, no open/close status. When connected to Google Home, I could see the door status. This patchwork of features across platforms is one of Matter’s current frustrations. Other than that, however, the lock worked flawlessly over Matter, responding instantly and sending notifications promptly.

The Pro is Level’s first Matter-native smart lock (its Level Bolt and Level Lock Plus can be firmware-upgraded as they have a Thread-capable radio). You can add it directly to any Matter platform by scanning the code and get out-of-home control, voice control, and the option to add the lock to smart home routines and automations. Plus, you can still connect it to the Level app over Bluetooth for features like auto-unlock and controlling it with your phone locally if the power is out.

The auto-unlock feature worked fine, but sometimes took a few seconds to unlock after I was at the door. Auto-unlock uses your phone’s location, based on geofencing, and its Bluetooth connection to determine when you’re near the door and unlock.

Weak GPS at my house is partly to blame for the sluggishness. I have this problem with auto-unlock on most smart locks. That’s why I’m looking forward to UWB hands-free unlocking, which uses direct radio-to-radio communication, so it should be more reliable. Goto told me that processor-wise, the Pro is capable of supporting UWB, but as the Aliro standard isn’t final, he couldn’t commit to a timeline.

The Pro works with Apple Home Key using your iPhone. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

You can also use an Apple Watch. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

In practice, I found Apple Home Key the most reliable way of unlocking the Pro. If auto-unlock didn’t trigger fast enough, a quick tap with my iPhone or Apple Watch unlocked it promptly.

Level has a touch-to-unlock mode, similar to auto-unlock, which also uses your phone’s Bluetooth for authentication along with GPS. The main advantage here is that it ensures your door only unlocks when you touch the capacitive area on the lock, as opposed to auto-unlock, which opens as you approach. You can’t have auto-unlock and touch-to-unlock enabled at the same time.

I only tested the lock for a couple of days, so I can’t comment on battery life, but Level claims up to a year on one CR2. The Level Lock Plus, the other lock in the lineup with an NFC radio for Home Key and key fobs, has a 6-month battery life, so the Pro doubles that. The new chip with built-in Matter-over-Thread support and the new PIR sensor to reduce false wakeups of the onboard radios are the major changes helping extend battery life.

The rear of the Level Lock Pro is as slimline as a standard thumbturn, no bulky battery housing in sight.

The Level Lock Pro feels like the most complete realization of Level’s minimalist smart lock vision so far. It’s faster, smarter, and now adds door sensing without compromising its sleek design. Native Matter support finally addresses the connectivity headaches that have plagued prior models, making setup closer to plug-and-play.

But you may struggle with the Level if your door isn’t perfectly aligned, and inconsistent platform support means you’ll want the $80 Level Connect bridge for the full experience, pushing this already pricey lock into very expensive territory.

Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

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