Windows | The Verge

Is this $450 laptop from an unknown brand too good to be true?

2026-08-08T00:23:20-04:00

Cute name, especially if it were a wookiee. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

Finding a good laptop under $500 was hard enough before RAMageddon. They nearly always had cheap hardware and underpowered, often outdated chips. That's what made the MacBook Neo so disruptive: It offered great build quality and good-enough performance starting at $599. Windows laptops couldn't touch it. Even though it's gone up to $699, it's still the laptop to beat.

So when little-known Chinese brand Chuwi announced a $450 Windows laptop with an aluminum build and a brand-new Intel Wildcat Lake processor, it sounded too good to be true.

It is.

Chuwi UniBook

Score: 3

Pros	Cons
It's $450 Tons of ports for a small laptop (though none are very …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Apple is working on iPhone-to-Windows copy-paste

2026-08-04T10:42:31-04:00

Apple is working on a feature that will allow users in the European Union to copy content on their iPhone and paste it onto their Windows PC (or vice versa), as spotted earlier by MacRumors. The move comes in response to an interoperability request from Microsoft that asks Apple to open up its Universal Clipboard feature, which supports copying and pasting across the Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro.

Under the EU's Digital Markets Act, developers and government agencies can work with digital gatekeepers, like Apple, to make their systems interoperable with third-party tools and services. The EU's ruling on connected devices has also forced …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Perplexity’s Personal Computer turns Windows PCs into AI agents

2026-07-28T08:11:42-04:00

Perplexity has expanded its agentic Personal Computer tool to Windows, allowing computers running the world's most popular OS to be used as a locally run AI system. Like the Mac version that Perplexity launched in April, Personal Computer for Windows operates like a "general-purpose digital worker" that can access local files and apps to perform actions on your behalf, such as creating documents and updating spreadsheets.

This launch builds on Personal Computer integrations that Perplexity launched for Microsoft's 365 workspace apps and Teams virtual meeting software in May. Personal Computer for Windows aims to bridge the remaining gap by …

Read the full story at The Verge.

This is my new favorite laptop, but thanks to RAMageddon the price already went up by $800

2026-07-27T18:36:47-04:00

Framework’s Laptop 13 Pro looks great in black but costs lots of green. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

Framework laptops always come with compromises in exchange for their unique DIY premise. Even though you pay extra for one compared to sleeker options from competitors, it's easier to excuse minor flaws for modular ports, easy repairs, and an impressive range of upgradeable parts. So what happens when Framework goes "Pro"? We get a one-of-a-kind jewel among notebooks.

The 13 Pro corrects and improves many shortcomings of the regular Laptop 13. It has a bright and sharp touchscreen, the best haptic trackpad not made by Apple, and an impeccable build and feel. Take all that and marry it to a great Intel chip and cutting-edge user-replaceable …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft pressures LG into killing unwanted McAfee ads

2026-07-24T10:35:12-04:00

Microsoft has intervened to stop Windows 11 users with LG monitors from being bombarded with annoying McAfee trial pop-ups. In response to complaints about the LG bloatware, Microsoft's Windows chief, Pavan Davuluri, said that LG has agreed to immediately disable the McAfee pop-up from its LG Monitor App Installer, and pledged that Microsoft will "keep improving here with our ecosystem partners."

This crackdown follows backlash about large pop-up ads for McAfee antivirus and LG's own apps appearing on Windows 11 PCs after being connected to LG monitors. Upon connection, a Windows driver update was silently installing LG driver updates and t …

Read the full story at The Verge.

LG’s monitors come with an unwanted addition for Windows: McAfee pop-up ads

2026-07-20T12:22:33-04:00

This LG 34GX900A-B is one of the monitors found auto-installing LG’s app on users’ PCs. | Image: LG

A video from Gamers Nexus explains how, after connecting a new LG UltraGear monitor to a PC running Windows 11 for the first time, Windows Update is silently installing LG driver updates and the LG Monitor App Installer, without so much as a permission pop-up or notification. The app doesn't appear to include special controls of its own, instead simply pointing users to LG's other apps, as well as McAfee antivirus.

There are reports about LG's app auto-installing as far back as 2024, but Gamers Nexus's test follows recent user complaints on Reddit about large pop-up ads for McAfee and LG's own apps suddenly appearing in the bottom right cor …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Even Microsoft couldn’t make Windows 11 work well on 8GB of RAM

2026-07-17T10:40:04-04:00

Memory anxiety. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

Last year, Microsoft's 13-inch Surface Laptop quickly became one of my favorite thin-and-light Windows notebooks. At $900, it was easy to recommend to anyone wanting MacBook Air-like build quality and battery life on Windows - I even convinced my sister to buy one on sale.

But that was last year. This year, thanks to RAMageddon, that same laptop costs $950, and now that price gets you half as much RAM - just 8GB. It's the same great hardware on the outside, but it's not the same laptop on the inside.

It's been a long time since we tested a Windows laptop with so little RAM. We've been saying for years that 8GB isn't enough. But this is Mi …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft’s biggest ever patch Tuesday lets you hold off updating for longer

2026-07-15T05:31:06-04:00

Microsoft just released a long list of improvements for Windows 11 as part of its bigger patch Tuesdays, patching at least 570 security holes, almost triple the number fixed in last month's record-breaking release, according to Krebs on Security. It also includes the ability to pause updates indefinitely, as reported earlier by Windows Central. This option rolled out to Windows Insiders earlier this year, allowing you to hold off on updates for up to 35 days and repeatedly extend the deadline after that.

It comes as part of Microsoft's plan to revitalize Windows 11 with updates focused on addressing user complaints and improving performance …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft tests Windows Search without all the ads and fluff

2026-07-13T17:53:20-04:00

Microsoft is testing a cleaner version of the Windows 11 search menu that strips it of recommended content and ads. In a blog post on Monday, Microsoft announced that it's rolling out the decluttered Search Box to Windows Insiders in the Experimental channel as the company looks to regain trust with users and fix Windows.

One of the biggest changes is a revamped search homescreen that displays only your recent searches. Currently, when you open the search menu, it shows your recent searches alongside several distracting tiles on the right pane, containing things like the image of the day, daily quizzes, trending searches, and game recommend …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft fixes storage-hogging Windows 11 folder

2026-07-07T09:52:58-04:00

Microsoft is addressing a Windows 11 bug that caused a folder to take up several gigabytes of storage space. As spotted earlier by Windows Latest, Microsoft included the patch in its optional June 2026 update (KB5095093), which "improves disk space usage for the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file."

The CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file is installed on Windows 11 PCs by default, and is related to app permissions. Several users have had issues with this file over the past few months, with one person saying the file took up 500GB of storage on their device. Others have reported the file growing to similarly large amounts, ranging from 12GB …

Read the full story at The Verge.