Technology

2024: a year in art on The Verge

Published

1 year ago

December 31, 2024

The Verge art team was busy this year, creating illustrations, photographs, and interactive designs to match stories about underwater sea cables, competitive Excel, parental anxiety, AI companions, and so much more. Here’s a look back at 20 of our favorite projects from 2024, with comments from those of us who worked on the project.

2004 was the first year of the future

In a special issue on the year 2004, The Verge looked 20 years back to examine how 2004 was “the year of the future,” setting in motion the internet as we know and use it today. Cath Virginia absolutely crushed the hub design (with three skins! Remember skins?), Graham MacAree built the smoothest pages, and Amelia Holowaty Krales took the early aughts photos of my dreams. This package is both a love letter to a time we all saw ourselves for the first time online and a capsule of what we hope it can become again: a place for play, creativity, and connection. – Kristen Radtke, creative director

Photography by Go Takayama

For Josh Dzieza’s feature on the hundreds of thousands of miles of internet cables at the bottom of the world’s oceans — and the people who fix and tend to them — we created an immersive electric blue world of maps and schematics. It’s great to have an opportunity to mash up data visualizations and maps along with stunning original photography, and Go Takayama’s intimate photos of these seafaring men give a face to an essential but otherwise invisible job. – Kristen Radtke, creative director

Photography by Stormy Pyeatte

The visuals for these pieces are one of my proudest Verge projects. Stormy Pyeatte’s ethereal style of floral photography and projection mapping makes for a rhythmic and mesmerizing feature design — it almost makes you want to fall in love. – Cath Virginia, senior designer

We started this story trying to figure out how on earth a bunch of Excel nerds ended up on ESPN. We ended up discovering exactly how powerful, versatile, and important spreadsheets really are and the power they confer when you can reduce the world to rows and columns. In the process, our brilliant design team found yet another way to build a spreadsheet: to use rows and columns to tell the story, and depict its characters, in their natural habitat. – David Pierce, editor-at-large

Photography by Amelia Holowaty Krales

Every once in a while, we go bananas on a special-edition print project, and for our subscription launch this year, we somehow convinced our colleagues to pose in 1980s office wear for our Content Goblins magazine. It’s an issue about the enshitification of the internet, so I basically lobbed as much goop and slime on top of the design as possible. Our A/V producer Andrew Marino was the real MVP of this project for letting us turn him into a literal goblin. – Kristen Radtke, creative director

Today’s smart homes: the hopes and the realities

The occupant of a home filled with “smart” technology — speakers, lights, a robovac — sits by the window and ignores the tech in favor of gazing at the trees and clouds outside. Adrián Astorgano’s vibrant art gives us a moving (both figuratively and literally) picture of how today’s smart homes are useful and even preferable, but not an end in themselves. –Barbara Krasnoff, reviews editor

Getting Kristen Radtke’s beautiful comic up on the site was an interesting challenge: how do we preserve the artwork and animation without compromising on performance? I think the amount of work done to optimize the piece ultimately paid off in the user experience. It’s our smoothest comic yet. – Graham MacAree, senior engineer

I love everything that Samar Haddad makes, especially how she breaks down complex topics step by step in clever visual ways. For this short series on AI in sports, she created a massive suite of graphics in a cool retro vibe. I hate sports, and I love this series. – Kristen Radtke, creative director

Photography by Amelia Holowaty Krales; design by Maeve Sheridan and Cath Virginia

Creating the lede images for our gift guides is a big job each year. We source all the products, create distinct sets for each guide, and try to keep things fresh for the whole suite. I love the joyful scenes photographer Amelia Holowaty Krales created this year with prop stylist Maeve Sheridan, with bold, poppy wrapping papers designed by our senior designer Cath Virginia. You can even buy your own custom Verge wrapping paper from our merch store. – Kristen Radtke, creative director

Searching for color at Pantone’s all-brown party

Photography by Amelia Holowaty Krales

I was so excited to head to a party with Verge senior photographer Amelia Holowaty Krales: one, because it meant we were both off the hook for bedtime with our respective kids, and two, because she can communicate a vibe so sharply through her lens. Her photos from the Pantone Color of the Year party are visual arguments in themselves, and her use of double exposures throughout perfectly communicates the branded extravaganza of the evening. – Kristen Radtke, creative director

Art by Cath Virginia with photos from Getty Images

There’s a lot to call out in this great, cohesive collection of images that helped bring our physical media issue to life. But I have to put a spotlight on the floppy disk turned turntable, which is as clever as it is mesmerizing. – Andrew Webster, senior editor, entertainment

Art by Cath Virginia, assets from TurboSquid

The most recognizable part of Pitchfork — besides its logo — is its 10-point rating scale. How do you convey the diminishment of an august music publication? You just turn the volume down. – Elizabeth Lopatto, senior reporter

Photography by Amelia Holowaty Krales

Wearables — especially smart rings — tend to be small gadgets. So when it comes to art, it’s really important to think about how to make them pop on the page while also differentiating them from each other. (Let’s be real, watches and rings start to look an awful lot alike after a while.) Cue fun, colorful props and sparkly nails! – Victoria Song, senior reviewer

The Verge’s guide to the 2024 presidential election

Design by Mr.Nelson with photos from Getty Images

In one of the most depressing election cycles of all time, Wouter Tjeenk Willink, aka Mr.Nelson, did an apt job with these uncomfortably chaotic collages. – Cath Virginia, senior designer

Alexa, thank you for the music

When people grow old, they don’t stop being individuals capable of joy. Mojo Wang’s imaginative drawing of an older woman in celebration of her favorite music beautifully illustrates an article that explains how the writer’s mother used a smart speaker to enhance the final chapters of her life. – Barbara Krasnoff, reviews editor

Google is further cracking down on sites publishing ‘parasite SEO’ content

Art by Cath Virginia with photos from Getty Images

I’ve spent the last few years writing about all the ways search engine optimization infiltrates Google, making for a frustrating experience for both users and website operators. This image perhaps perfectly encapsulates SEO at its worst: insidious, corrosive, and just plain gross. – Mia Sato, platforms and communities reporter

OpenAI searches for an answer to its copyright problems

Art by Cath Virginia with photos from Getty Images

Basically my favorite part of the story process is finding out what madness our art team has cooked up this time. In this case, I think I told Cath Virginia that I felt like the “it’s all Ohio” meme as I was reporting the story — it’s all copyright law and always has been. And she went galaxy brain with it. – Elizabeth Lopatto, senior reporter

How the Stream Deck rose from the ashes of a legendary keyboard

Richard Parry’s playful 3D animations perfectly express the cult status of the infamous Optimus Maximus keyboard. – Cath Virginia, senior designer

Vice was never as big and solid as Shane Smith made it seem, and the story had a cartoonish surrealness to it that was captured perfectly in Hunter French’s illustrations — whether that was the Buster Keaton-inspired lead art or Smith hawking the brand in secretive deals. Sure, there are a bunch of complicated financial details, but the art really gets to the heart of the thing, doesn’t it? – Elizabeth Lopatto, senior reporter

Photography by Liam James Doyle and Montinique Monroe

Mia Sato’s piece about a lawsuit involving two Amazon influencers is amazing, and the photographs of these two individuals are a perfect pairing. The portraits that Montinique Monroe and Liam James Doyle took in Austin, Texas, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, respectively, were individually fantastic and worked so well together, it was really hard to choose which to use. – Amelia Holowaty Krales, senior photographer

Technology

This Windows gaming handheld has a screen that folds in half

Published

3 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

This Windows gaming handheld has a screen that folds in half

Lenovo put a foldable display on a gaming handheld. The Legion Go Fold Concept is a Windows-based handheld with a flexible POLED display, detachable Joy-Con-like controllers, and a folio case to turn the whole thing into a mini laptop.

You can use it as a standard Steam Deck-esque handheld with the display folded down to 7.7 inches and controllers attached at its sides, or you can unfold it for a bigger experience. When unfolded, the controllers can be repositioned to all four sides, allowing you to play with the screen in vertical or horizontal orientations.

In vertical splitscreen mode, you can put your game on one half of the screen and a second window (like your chat or game guide) on the other half. Horizontal fullscreen mode gives your game the full 11.6 inches of real estate in a 16:10 aspect ratio. To go into laptop mode, you remove the controllers and mount the handheld into a folio case with a stand, built-in keyboard, and trackpad. The controllers can be put into a separate grip mount to unify them as one gamepad.

There are a lot of ways you can use this folding handheld, including turning one of its controllers into a vertical mouse like on other Legion Go handhelds, but there’s one thing it doesn’t do: fold down to close and protect its screen. The Go Fold only folds outwards, so don’t expect a Nintendo DS or GameBoy Advance-like clamshell that closes for portability. Instead, it’s all about getting bigger than your average gaming handheld and offering more. (Though we’ve tried bigger before.)

The Legion Go Fold has some formidable specs: an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V Lunar Lake processor, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a 48Whr battery. The plastic-covered OLED has a resolution of 2435 x 1712 and 165Hz refresh rate. And there’s even a second, circular toushscreen on the right controller, under the face buttons. It doubles as a touchpad and can be a support display, allowing you to swipe between extracted UI elements from a game (which I wouldn’t expect to be widely supported), a clock, system monitoring, or an animated GIF (just for fun).

During my brief in-person demo I didn’t get to play any graphically-intense games — just Balatro, which can practically play on a potato. The screen looked plenty sharp, but like any foldable there’s a crease down the middle; it’s very visible, but you learn to look past it and ignore it after just a bit. The build and feel of the whole thing felt a little fragile, and detaching and reattaching the controllers was definitely janky. Build quality will hopefully be improved if this device ever actually makes it to market.

The laptop mode was a pleasant surprise for me though. I did not expect a gaming handheld to double as a conventional computer you could get work done on. The Legion Go Fold’s case took quite a bit of fumbling before I set it up correctly, but it shouldn’t take too long to get used to if you actually lived with it.

Then again, I don’t know if anyone is going to be able to live with this thing — ever. I’d love for the Legion Go Fold to go from concept to real product like other out-there Lenovo ideas, but I shudder to think what it might cost. The Legion Go 2 is already priced well over $1,000. And with the ongoing RAMageddon crisis we’re living through, there’s no telling how much more expensive an actual Legion Go Fold would be if it came out in a year or more.

But even if it’s not the kind of foldable I expected, and even though it may never come out, it’s certainly cool. Now somebody please make a folding PC handheld that goes from kinda-big to really small. I think that’d be the one for me.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

Technology

Iran networks suffer losses amid airstrikes, showing digital evolution of conflicts

Published

4 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Iran networks suffer losses amid airstrikes, showing digital evolution of conflicts

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When missiles fly, we expect explosions. We expect smoke, sirens and satellite images. What we do not expect is silence.

On February 28, 2026, as fighter jets and cruise missiles struck Iranian Revolutionary Guard command centers during Operation Roar of the Lion, a parallel assault reportedly unfolded in cyberspace.

Official news sites and key media platforms went offline, government digital services and local apps failed across major cities, and security communications systems reportedly stopped functioning, plunging Iran into a near-total digital blackout.

According to NetBlocks, a global internet monitoring organization that tracks connectivity disruptions, nationwide internet traffic in Iran plunged to just 4 percent of normal levels.

That level of collapse suggests either a deliberate state-ordered shutdown or a large-scale cyberattack designed to paralyze critical infrastructure. Western intelligence sources later indicated the digital offensive aimed to disrupt IRGC command and control systems and limit coordination of counterattacks.

For the United States and its allies, the episode offers a stark reminder that modern conflict now blends airstrikes with digital warfare in ways that can ripple far beyond the battlefield.

In a matter of hours, modern conflict looked less like tanks and more like a blinking cursor.

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Iran’s national symbols stand in contrast to reports of a sweeping digital blackout that reportedly disrupted communications and critical systems across the country. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Iran internet shutdown: A country offline in real time

Reports described widespread outages across Iran. Official news sites stopped functioning. IRNA, Iran’s state-run news agency, went offline.

Tasnim, a semi-official news outlet closely aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reportedly displayed subversive messages targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

THINK YOUR NEW YEAR’S PRIVACY RESET WORKED? THINK AGAIN

The IRGC, Iran’s powerful military and intelligence force, plays a central role in national security and regional operations. At the same time, local apps and government digital services failed in cities like Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz.

This was not one website defaced for headlines. It appeared systemic. Electronic warfare reportedly disrupted navigation and communications systems.

Distributed denial of service attacks, often called DDoS attacks, flooded networks with traffic to overwhelm and disable them.

Deep intrusions targeted energy and aviation systems. Even Iran’s isolated national internet struggled under pressure.

CHINA VS SPACEX IN RACE FOR SPACE AI DATA CENTERS

For a regime that tightly controls information, losing digital command creates both operational and political risk.

Why cyber warfare matters in the Iran conflict

Cyber operations offer something missiles cannot. They disrupt without always killing. They send a signal without immediately triggering full-scale war. That matters in a region where escalation can spiral fast.

History shows Iran understands this logic. Between 2012 and 2014, Iranian actors targeted U.S. financial institutions in Operation Ababil. Saudi Aramco also suffered a major cyberattack.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HELPS FUEL NEW ENERGY SOURCES

After Israeli strikes in 2025, cyberattacks targeting Israel surged dramatically within days.

Cyber retaliation lets leaders respond while limiting direct military confrontation. It buys leverage in negotiations. It creates pressure without necessarily crossing a red line.

But there is a catch. Every cyber strike risks miscalculation. And digital damage can spill into the real world fast if critical infrastructure is hit.

As military strikes targeted IRGC command centers, internet traffic inside Iran reportedly plunged to just 4 percent of normal levels. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

If the blackout and strikes mark a turning point, Tehran has options. None are simple.

1) Cyberattacks against U.S. or allied infrastructure

Cyber retaliation remains one of Iran’s most flexible tools. It can range from disruptive attacks and influence campaigns to more targeted intrusions that pressure critical services. Recent expert commentary warns that U.S. cyber defenses and the private sector could face sustained testing.

2) Targeting U.S. drones and unmanned systems

Iran has used drones and electronic interference as signals before. Analysts continue to flag jamming, spoofing and harassment of unmanned systems as a way to raise costs without immediately striking large numbers of personnel.

3) Maritime attacks in the Strait of Hormuz

This risk is rising fast. An EU naval mission official reportedly said IRGC radio transmissions warned ships that passage through Hormuz was “not allowed”. Greece has also urged ships to avoid high-risk routes and warned about electronic interference that can disrupt navigation. Insurers are already repricing the danger, with reports of war-risk policies being canceled or sharply increased.

4) Support for allied or informal armed groups

Iran has long worked with allied forces and militias in the region, and some of those groups could step up attacks on U.S. interests or allied partners in retaliation, widening the clash without direct state-to-state engagement.

5) Limited ballistic missile strikes

Missile strikes remain a high-impact option, but they raise the odds of rapid escalation. Recent expert analysis continues to frame them as a tool Iran may use for signaling, especially if leadership feels cornered.

Tehran’s skyline, including the Azadi Tower, became the backdrop to a crisis shaped as much by cyber disruption as by missiles in the sky. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

The escalation risk between the U.S. and Iran

Here is the uncomfortable truth. Neither Washington nor Tehran likely wants a full-scale regional war. In moments like this, military strikes rarely stand alone.

They often move alongside diplomacy. Leaders send signals. They apply pressure. At the same time, they try to leave room for talks.

But escalation has momentum. Each missile changes the equation. Each casualty raises the stakes. The more damage done, the harder it becomes to step back.

5 SIMPLE TECH TIPS TO IMPROVE DIGITAL PRIVACY

Fear plays a role. So does pride. Domestic audiences demand strength. Leaders feel pressure to respond in kind. That is how limited strikes can spiral into something much larger.

What the Iran cyberattack blackout means for global cybersecurity

This episode highlights something bigger than regional tension. Nation-states now pair kinetic strikes with digital offensives.

Cyberattacks can blind communications, freeze infrastructure and disrupt financial systems before the world even processes the first explosion.

TRUMP TELLS IRANIANS THE ‘HOUR OF YOUR FREEDOM IS AT HAND’ AS US-ISRAEL LAUNCH STRIKES AGAINST IRAN

For businesses and individuals, that reality matters. Modern conflict no longer stays confined to battlefields.

Supply chains, energy grids and online platforms can feel the ripple effects. The blackout in Iran serves as a reminder that digital resilience is now a national security issue.

How to stay safe during rising cyber tensions

When a country’s internet can plunge to just 4 percent of normal traffic in hours, it is a reminder that cyber conflict can escalate quickly.

Even if the disruption happens overseas, global networks are interconnected. Financial systems, supply chains and online platforms can feel the ripple effects.

You cannot control geopolitics. You can control your digital hygiene. Here are practical steps to reduce your personal risk during periods of heightened cyber activity:

Install strong antivirus software to guard against state-linked phishing and malware campaigns that often spike during geopolitical conflicts.

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Keep devices updated so security patches close vulnerabilities that attackers often exploit during global cyber spikes.

WORLD LEADERS SPLIT OVER MILITARY ACTION AS US-ISRAEL STRIKE IRAN IN COORDINATED OPERATION

Use strong, unique passwords stored in a reputable password manager to protect your accounts if cyber retaliation campaigns expand beyond government targets. Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2026 at Cyberguy.com

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on financial, email and social accounts to safeguard access in case stolen credentials circulate during heightened cyber conflict.

Be cautious with urgent headlines or alerts about international conflict, since attackers frequently mimic breaking news.

Monitor financial accounts for unusual activity in case broader disruptions spill into banking systems.

When tensions rise, phishing campaigns often rise with them. Threat actors exploit fear and confusion. Staying disciplined with basic security habits makes you a harder target if malicious traffic increases.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

The reported cyber blackout inside Iran may signal a new chapter in modern conflict. Jets and missiles still matter. But so do servers, satellites and code. Leaders may try to contain the damage while showing strength.

Still, history shows how quickly careful plans can unravel once pressure builds. War today runs on electricity and bandwidth as much as fuel and ammunition.

When networks go dark, the impact does not stay on a battlefield. It spills into banking systems, airports, hospitals and the phones in our pockets. That is what makes this moment different.

If an entire nation’s digital systems can be disrupted in hours, how prepared is your community if something similar ever hits closer to home? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

Soundcore new Space 2 promise improved ANC and sound

Published

15 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Soundcore new Space 2 promise improved ANC and sound

We finally have an update to the Soundcore Space One that launched two and a half years ago. At MWC 2026, Soundcore has announced the Space 2, which will be available in the US on April 21st in three colors — linen white, jet black, and seafoam green — for $129.99. That’s $30 more than the Space One’s original price.

According to Soundcore, the Space 2 have had a full-band noise cancellation upgrade with the focus of those improvements on the low-frequency sounds we all generally use ANC headphones to block — things like airplane, train, and bus engine sounds while traveling. The Space 2 use the same number of microphones as the Space One for noise canceling, instead relying on optimized mic placement and structure and materials improvements for the boost in performance.

Redesigned 40mm drivers incorporate dual layers in their design. There’s a silk diaphragm with metal ceramic that supposedly results in faster transient response — the driver’s ability to respond to sudden sound quickly and accurately — with better balanced sound reproduction. The Space One had great sound performance for the price, but I’m all for any improvement to sound performance accuracy. Like the Space One, the Space 2 will support LDAC high-res audio.

The headphones connect wirelessly over Bluetooth 6.1, although they do not support Auracast transmissions — an unfortunate exclusion. There’s also a 3.5mm jack for a wired connection.

Battery life has been increased to up to 50 hours with ANC and 70 hours with ANC off. This is up from 40 hours with ANC and 55 hours without ANC with the Space One headphones. With a five-minute charge the Space 2 get an additional four hours of listening.

The Space 2 will include many of the features found on the Space One. You can use HearID 3.0 to go through a series of sound samples to tune the headphones’ sound to your preferences. It worked well for me on the Space One to get them closer to a sound I liked, with a bit of the edge taken off the higher frequencies. There’s also a sensor that detects when you remove the headphones and stops playback so you don’t miss any of your music or podcast. They once again come with a cloth bag that matches the color of the headphones instead of a case, which is one change I wish Soundcore had made, as the cloth bag doesn’t offer as much protection if you tend to throw your headphones into your backpack or bag.

The Soundcore Space One were among the best budget ANC headphones when they came out, and still hold up to more recent releases. But with the bump in price to over $100 for the Space 2, there’s a bit more expectation on them. ANC performance continues to improve — and products get cheaper — across manufacturers, so the Soundcore Space 2 has some competition from companies like Sony, EarFun, and JLab. If the ANC on the Space 2 stands up to current budget headphones and they still sound as good and are as comfortable as the Space One, you can expect to see the new Soundcore Space 2 on many recommendation lists.