NEWS

Airbnb announced new features today that will help users connect with fellow travelers while participating in the same activity. The company is also improving search by suggesting properties that you might have missed due to your filters, and has redesigned the Maps view to let you search for points of interest such as nearby landmarks, attractions, and restaurants. Earlier this year, Airbnb launched Experiences, activities like cooking classes and guided tours that travelers can book and enjoy with other travelers. At the time, the company hinted that the Airbnb app would lean toward fostering connections with fellow travelers. The company is now releasing a few features in that direction. First, when you book an experience, you will be able to see the names of other people who are in the...

Building a smart home is typically a work in progress. Your home network is responsible for accessing and managing a variety of smart home devices. Whether you use Home Assistant or any other smart home software, you might run into network issues as the volume of devices grows. Network reliability is crucial to ensure that your smart home and automations work smoothly. Those smart home devices, at times, turn radio silent, keep dropping connections, or become unresponsive. Resetting the device would help, unless the issue lies in the network configuration and setup. After checking the Wi-Fi signal strength with a Wi-Fi analyzer app and testing the connection speed for reliability, it's necessary to roll up sleeves. Here are some simple network tests that will help you fix most smart home i...

Your TV is an Xbox. Your computer is an Xbox. Your phone, your crummy Android tablet, your car’s infotainment display, oops all Xboxes. If Microsoft is right about the future of gaming, your game console might soon be an Xbox even if it’s not an Xbox. It’s an interesting idea, and raises some fascinating questions about the gaming industry. Here’s one of those questions: shouldn’t an Xbox play Xbox games? Here’s another: are they ever going to be any good? The new Xbox is not an Xbox On The Vergecast: the handheld consoles we’re still waiting for, AI and our brains, and hybrid gadgets. On The Vergecast: the handheld consoles we’re still waiting for, AI and our brains, and hybrid gadgets. On this episode of The Vergecast, The Verge’s Sean Hollister begins the show by telling us about his ex...