The Eiliko robot toy. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Eiliko, a cute robot charm you can hang on your bag with built-in AI conversations, turned out to be a security nightmare. It told owners that "your secrets are safe with me," but hackers could easily read complete transcripts of everything we told the toy, and that was just the beginning. The Verge and security researcher Sammy Azdoufal spent over a month trying to get in contact with the company, including emails to Energize Lab CEO and founder Shaw Yeung. Nobody would answer our questions.
Now, the company is finally breaking its silence, though its response leaves something to be desired.
Bose announced today it has acquired Skullcandy. Although the two companies are competitors in the consumer audio space, Skullcandy recently partnered with its new owner to bring several of Bose's audio technologies - including its head-tracking spatial audio and excellent active noise cancellation (ANC) - to products like the Skullcandy Crusher 1080 ANC headphones and Method 360 ANC earbuds.
Specific details about the deal weren't shared, but according to a news release, Bose plans to keep Skullcandy a separate brand that will become part of its premium consumer audio business. Skullcandy will remain based in Park City, Utah, where it was …
Zero Company will have you teaming up with some unlikely new allies. | Image: EA and Disney
If you’ve been curious about Star Wars Zero Company, the XCOM-like strategy game set in the Star Wars universe, Amazon has both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X physical editions on sale for $47.99 and $49.99, respectively. The game usually sells for $59.99. While I’m not usually enthused by turn-based strategy games, I’ve been impressed enough with the story and characters to keep playing, and any fan who’s familiar with the world surrounding the battles should make the experience more immersive.
There’s a surprising depth here, as well, with branching story missions that have consequences, and higher difficulty modes that punish you more severely for mistakes. The character creator is impressive, too, with a huge number of unlockable outfits and accessories, as well as classic alien races from the movies and cartoons. Plus, isn’t it every Star Wars fan’s dream to lead a crew of rag-tag heroes into battle against Droidekas and outlaws?
Samsung’s latest version of The Frame TV is $400 off. | Image: Samsung
If you want a TV but prefer something that won’t clash with your room’s decor, Samsung’s The Frame is a standout option that’s designed to look like a piece of framed art instead of a black, monolithic rectangle mounted to your wall. You can buy the latest version of the 55-inch Samsung Frame TV on sale for around $897.99 ($402 off) at Amazon, which marks a new low price. Larger sizes are on sale, too, including the new 98-inch model, which is down to $3,749.99 ($1,252 off).
The 2026 model is largely the same as its predecessor; The biggest hardware change is that this size of the TV features built-in ports instead of using Samsung’s One Connect Box. Like previous models, it has a matte, canvas-like display that more closely resembles an actual painting better than a glossy TV screen. Its built-in motion sensor detects when someone enters the room and can automatically display artwork, even adjusting its brightness and colors based on ambient lighting. It supports Samsung’s Art Store, which offers access to more than 5,000 works ranging from world-famous galleries to lesser known, independent artists. A full subscription costs $49.99 annually, though you can also enjoy 30 new free, rotating artworks every month. Samsung includes a wall mount and a black bezel in the box, with additional magnetic frame styles available separately to better match your space or taste.
In terms of performance, the Frame prioritizes style over image quality, so it’s not necessarily the best choice for cinephiles who may be willing to pay more for a brighter picture, deeper blacks, and more lifelike colors. Still it offers a refresh rate of up to 144Hz with variable refresh rate support for smoother gaming, along with HDR10 Plus and Dolby Atmos support for a more immersive audio/visual experience.
There are quite a few 5K monitors out there. Many of them are designed to appeal to Mac users who are looking for cheaper Studio Display alternatives without giving up the pixel-dense 218ppi screen. However, if you’re interested in hearing about one with gaming chops, Samsung’s 27-inch Odyssey G80HF seems like one of the best monitors out there to satisfy your niche, but respectable desires. Currently, you can grab this model for $599.99 at Amazon and B&H Photo, which beats its best price by $100.
The G80HF supports two display modes with its Fast IPS panel: 5K at up to 180Hz refresh rate, or 1440p with up to a 360Hz refresh rate. Samsung touts Nvidia G-Sync compatibility as well as AMD FreeSync Premium to ensure the monitor’s refresh rate remains in lockstep with your GPU’s frame rate output. The monitor features a DisplayPort 2.1 port (just one, and Samsung doesn’t advertise its bandwidth), two HDMI 2.1 ports, and a USB hub for charging or connecting two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 accessories.
As a gamer, one of my favorite features here is the one-millisecond response time. That’s a very common spec among gaming monitors — even in ones that cost hundreds less — but it’s a bit of a rare spec in a 5K monitor at this price. I tested KTC’s sub-$500 model last year, and gaming on it was a pretty atrocious experience despite having what it claimed to be gaming-ready capabilities.
For $200 more ($799.99), LG’s 27-inch UltraGear evo 5K Mini LED monitor delivers slightly better specs. It has more dimming zones for a more accurate picture, it can get brighter, and it supports USB-C video input with 90W power delivery output to charge your device as you use it. Its dual mode refresh rates aren’t as high as Samsung’s (165Hz / 330Hz), but I don’t really see that as much of a downside.
Other great deals happening now
For those who haven’t yet placed a preorder for Grand Theft Auto VI, which comes out in less than a month, you can do so while saving $10 on a gaming gift card at Best Buy. The retailer is letting customers build a bundle of select games and gift cards. You can, for example, add GTA VI and a gift card will be $10 off its advertised price at checkout. It’s a small, but welcome way to save a little cash. The bundle includes other current and upcoming blockbusters, like Gears of War: E-Day, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and more.
The excellent remake of Demon’s Souls by the shuttered PlayStation studio, Bluepoint Games, is down to just $13.49 in digital format on the PlayStation Store. What’s more, it’s for the digital deluxe edition (originally $89.99), which includes in-game cosmetics, a consumable that grants you a bunch of souls for in-game upgrades, and the soundtrack. The sale lasts through November 4th on the West Coast, or until 2:59AM ET on November 5th on the East Coast. The remake doesn’t mess with the formula of FromSoftware’s PS3 cult classic (it has stages instead of being an open-world like its spiritual successor, Dark Souls), but gives it some brilliant visuals and fast loading times. It’s definitely worth a try if you’re into other Soulslike games that reward (and test) your patience. Read our review of the game.
If you need a multi-port wall charger to quickly charge a bunch of USB-C devices, Ugreen’s Nexode Pro is down to $59.99 at Amazon and Ugreen, a $30 discount off the usual cost. The price was $10 lower during June’s Prime Day, but this is still a nice value. Despite the charger advertising 160W charging passthrough, its USB-C ports labeled C1 and C2 each top out at 140W when just one device is plugged into the charger. The power of each port (four USB-C, one USB-A) varies depending on how many gadgets are plugged in, up to 160W total. The charger has folding prongs and a display that can rotate depending on how it’s plugged in.
I'm The Verge's senior smartphone reviewer and I've been using the iPhone Duo for the past week. I've unfolded it, flipped it, and folded it more times than I could count as I've been working on the review alongside our editor-in-chief Nilay Patel, and I'm ready to answer your questions about it. The Duo represents the first time the iPhone has gone through a major form factor shift, and in true Apple fashion, it has some very specific ideas about how you should use it. We covered a lot of how the Duo works in our review, but there's a ton more to talk about and I am here for it.
Verge subscribers can submit questions starting right now in …
The iPhone Duo has all the messiness of a first-gen product. And while I'm not sure I love all of the decisions Apple made around its design, it got one thing right: the matte finish on the inner screen. I've been using it for the past week to watch movies on a plane, peruse my photo gallery, and catch up on a little reading, and I'm convinced. The matte screen is the best thing about the Duo, and I hope every other foldable maker copies it.
When we first got our hands on the Duo, the nano-texture finish on the 7.6-inch inner screen was genuinely a surprise. I've used a dozen or so book-style foldables over the past five years, and every on …
Instead of measuring how fast or far a user went during a run or bike ride, or metrics like calories burned, Cardio Effort measures how hard their cardiovascular system was working during exercise …
The Superstrike looks similar to Logitech’s previous high-end gaming mice, but it has haptics-based sensors instead of switches. | Image: Cameron Faulkner / The Verge
Looking for a way to try the haptics-equipped G Pro X2 Superstrike wireless gaming mouse without spending full price? You probably aren’t alone. Logitech’s now-last-gen right-handed mouse is a great PC gaming companion that mimics the feel of mechanical switches with nothing but haptics. You can grab it refurbished through Logitech’s official eBay store for $131.74 (usually $179.99), and for even less with the code PROXPRODUCTS15 applied at checkout. It drops the price to just under $117.
The G Pro X2 Superstrike came out earlier this year, and I went hands-on with it. Logitech’s companion software lets you customize the intensity of the haptics, from an extra punchy click to one that’s barely there. (You can also turn the click feel off completely, but that felt a bit strange.) The mouse also supports rapid trigger, and when used together with haptics, it lowers the click latency compared with other mice that have mechanical switches.
The company followed up recently with the X3 Superstrike, though its differences may not matter much to those who aren’t competitive gamers. The X3 features a more responsive sensor, better battery life, and improved weight distribution. There are some other somewhat small changes to the specs. That said, none of these improvements makes the X2 feel obsolete, and Logitech is continuing to support and sell the mouse. So, if you want to give it a try, now’s your chance to save quite a bit of money on the purchase.
Tuesday Labs, a New York City-based robotics lab and design studio, has opened reservations for Voxel, its new bi-pedal robot designed to learn and take over routine tasks throughout your home. Similar to other robots like Weave Robotics' Issac 1 that are designed for household chores beyond mopping or vacuuming floors, Voxel features a pair of highly-articulated arms and an advanced vision system. If you're interested in bringing home what Tuesday Labs describes as a "droid butler" you can reserve one now for $200 while full pricing is expected to be around $20,000 when Voxel ships sometime in 2028.
Arturia is adding to its Freak line of proudly weird digital synths with the MiniFreak 49. Under the hood, it's almost identical to the current MiniFreak, but it adds a number of more professional features and some interface improvements.
The most noticeable change is that, rather than the MiniFreak's 37 minikeys or the MicroFreak's 25 "key" touchplate, the MiniFreak 49 has (as you may have guessed) 49 full-sized, semi-weighted keys. Though it's somewhat disappointing that they feature only mono aftertouch instead of polyphonic aftertouch. It also trades the touchstrips of the other Freak instruments for proper aluminum pitch and mod wheel …
While Oura has largely dominated the smart ring market for years, rivals like RingConn and Ultrahuman are emerging to dethrone it, putting pressure on the company to keep innovating. By launching more advanced workout metrics, Oura is looking to differentiate itself from competitors as the smart ring market gets more crowded.
When I was in Nagasaki earlier this month, I visited the Atomic Bomb Museum there. One of the displays, which showed the damage caused by the bomb that the U.S. dropped on the city, had long audio narration in Japanese only. — Read the rest
The bright spotlight’s focused beam improves the quality of video captured at night while scaring off unwanted visitors. | Image: Baseus
Baseus announced a new addition to its lineup of AI-assisted security cameras that's more proactive about discouraging unwanted visitors instead of just recording and alerting you to their presence. The Baseus Security PrimeSentinel U2 Pro Outdoor 3K Dual Camera introduces a motorized spotlight that shines directly on a moving target, even as they're running across your property, so they know they've been detected. The targeted light also improves the quality of video captured in the dark to increase the chances of a subject being identified, and it can assist your family with after-hours activities like taking the dog out.
Sony’s WF-1000XM6 are on sale in black today only. | Image: Sony
For a very limited time, Sony’s latest high-end noise-canceling earbuds are actually cheaper than their last-gen counterpart, the WF-1000XM5. B&H Photo is selling Sony’s latest WF-1000XM6 in black for an all-time low of $238 ($92 off) at checkout. Other retailers aren’t currently offering a discount on the XM6.
The XM6 are a solid upgrade over their predecessor and easily amongst the best noise-canceling wireless earbuds on the market. In his review, John Higgins noted that they do a better job of tuning out other people’s conversations than any other earbuds he’s tested. Sony has also improved the bone-conduction sensor and added AI-powered microphones that help keep your voice clear during calls, even in noisy environments.
The XM6 earbuds also deliver clean, balanced sound with impressive bass, raising the bar of what we expect with Sony’s WF-1000XM series. If you prefer to customize your listening experience, Sony’s Sound Connect app offers plenty of customization options, including the ability to adjust how much surrounding noise you hear without removing the earbuds. You can also personalize the touch controls.
The XM6 earbuds support Sony’s LDAC codec, which delivers higher-quality audio from compatible Android devices, too. New in the latest set is a listening mode that makes music sound more like background audio playing in a cafe, allowing you to listen to your favorite music without getting too distracted from whatever you’re doing.
The front view of the Mac Mini. | Image: The Verge
Best Buy has a great deal for the rest of the day on the M4 Mac Mini base model that has 16GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. Normally, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to buy the M4 model for its usual $799 price given that the newer, faster M6 version has been available from Amazon for $779.99 (originally $899) for the past couple of weeks. However, at $649 it’s a much more tempting price.
The M4 Mac Mini launched at $599 in 2024, and was an incredible value. Given that this sale price makes it just $50 more than the original price instead of $200, it’s a good time to buy if you want to spend as little as possible on a modern Mac desktop.
Aside from some impressive generational leaps in processing power, you aren’t missing out on a ton by skipping the M6 model and opting for the M4. Their design and ports are nearly identical, and with either model you’ll need to supply your own keyboard, mouse, display, webcam, etc. If you’re on the fence and can’t decide between the M4 and M6 models, I suggest checking out my colleague Antonio’s review of the M6 Mac Mini. The newer model might be well worth the extra $130 cost.
Today brought a big discount to LG’s C6 OLEDs lineup, particularly its bigger models. The 55-inch model is $999.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Costco (previously $1,399.99), costing a little less than the 42- and 48-inch configurations. The price hasn’t gone below $1,299.99 before, so it’s a good time to consider an upgrade. The 65-inch model is cheaper than before, too. Previously $1,699.99, but normally selling for $1,500 or so, you can grab the larger version for $1,399.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Costco. If you have a big room and budget, the 77-inch LG C6H that, like the 48-inch version, has a tandem OLED panel that offers more brightness and better colors, is $1,999.99, down from $2,499.99.
For $499.99, you can grab a 14-inch HP OmniBook 3 during Best Buy’s deal of the day that has a 2K OLED screen, a capable Snapdragon X ARM processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. This seems like a fantastic option for anyone on a budget. Its Snapdragon processor can run most x86 Windows 11 apps without much issue, and it’s just a rarity to get these kinds of specs — from the OLED screen to the RAM amount — at $500. My colleague Antonio reviewed the 16-inch version that cuts some corners in the screen department compared to this 14-inch model.
It’s time to get spooky if you haven’t already planned your run of games for Halloween. The spectacular Silent Hill 2 remake is down to $21.34 on Steam for PC via Fanatical, a third-party site I’ve shopped from numerous times. If you’re alright with spending more, Resident Evil Requiem is one of Capcom’s several great 2026 games, and it’s $20 off at Amazon on all platforms, costing $49.99.
The Final Porta are available for preorder now through the company's online store for 12,800 yen (around $80) with black or orange ear pads and shipping expected …
The scale features a conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass surface so it can take BIA measurements no matter where your feet are positioned. | Image: Wyze
Wyze announced a new version of its Ultra BodyScan smart scale that debuted nearly a year ago with additional electrodes on a retractable handle, allowing it to provide a breakdown of various health metrics across your arms, legs, and torso. With the new Ultra BodyScan Plus, Wyze is introducing a redesign that moves the scale's 4.3-inch customizable color screen to the retractable handle so all the measurements are now displayed closer to eye level.
The Wyze Scale Ultra BodyScan Plus is available starting today for $149 through Wyze's online store in black or white color options. That makes it about $30 more expensive than the $119.98 Ultra …
If you spend any time on r/synthesizers or watch a lot of synth videos on YouTube, you've probably noticed the explosion of custom firmware for hardware synthesizers, samplers, and grooveboxes. What unites almost all of them is that they were made possible by increasingly sophisticated vibe-coding tools.
These sorts of custom firmware were exceedingly rare in the pre-LLM days and required both deep expertise and an incredible investment of time. It could take weeks or months to add a simple feature like velocity sensitivity to a Korg Volca. Now, hobbyist hackers are able to turn Temu synths into full-fledged grooveboxes in a matter of days.
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