Tesla’s in-car visualizations for features like Autopilot and Full Self-Driving might be getting an upgrade with a switch to Epic Games’ Unreal Engine. As reported by Not a Tesla App, Tesla hacker greentheonly says they foundevidence of the change in Tesla’s 2025.20 firmware for Tesla Model S and Model X cars with AMD chips.
Unreal Engine is perhaps best known as a development tool for video games, but Epic has been making a bigger push as of late for automakers to use Unreal Engine. Currently, Tesla uses the Godot engine for the visualizations, according to greentheonly, so if Tesla switches to Unreal Engine, it would join a growing number of automakers that use Epic’s engine inside its cars, including Rivian, Ford, GMC, Volvo, and Lotus.
Tesla and Epic Games didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. This isn’t the first time the two companies have been connected to each other; Tesla’s Cybertruck was added to Fortnite last year.
But in a statement shared with The Verge, Kodak says it plans to use money from the company’s pension fund to pay off a large portion of its debt before it comes due. “The “going concern” language in Kodak’s 10-Q is essentially required disclosure because Kodak’s debt comes due within 12 months of the filing,” according to Denisse Goldbarg, Kodak’s CMO and Head of EAMER Sales.
If anything, Goldbarg says, Kodak will end the process with “a stronger balance sheet than we have had in years.” Here’s Goldbarg’s full statement:
“Kodak is confident it will be able to pay off a significant portion of its term loan well before it becomes due, and amend, extend or refinance our remaining debt and/or preferred stock obligations. To fund the repayment, we plan to draw on the approximately $300 million in cash we expect to receive from the reversion and settlement of our U.S. pension fund (the Kodak Retirement Income Plan, or “KRIP”) in December. However, the KRIP reversion is not solely within Kodak’s control and therefore is not deemed “probable” under U.S. GAAP accounting rules, which is what triggered the “going concern.” Once the KRIP reversion is completed Kodak will be virtually net debt free and will have a stronger balance sheet than we have had in years.”
Stripe, a financial services company that acts as a payment processor for millions of businesses including itch.io, has issued an apology following reports that members of its support team told callers the business does not support the sale of LGBTQ content.
"We apologize: the information given by our support team was totally wrong," said Stripe spokesperson Casey Becker in an email to The Verge. "Stripe has no prohibitions on the sale of LGBTQ+ content or goods."
A Redditor has shared a few images of what they say is a prototype of a new color screen Amazon Kindle. | Image: u/Successful_Bear4855 / Reddit
A Reddit user, writing in Portuguese, has shared a handful of images of what appears to be a prototype of a small Kindle with a color screen. The device shows the name Kindle Petit Color in the corner of one image, although the post author says that name hasn’t been finalized yet.
The Redditor says the screen’s colors are “much better than the Colorsoft” and the prototype lets you adjust the intensity and saturation of individual colors. The size of the device’s screen bezels are similar to Amazon’s entry-level black-and-white Kindle, but they claim it will actually be a little smaller than the 11th-generation version of the e-reader.
According to the post’s author, the prototype’s user interface takes better advantage of its color E Ink screen, letting you change the colors of the battery, Wi-Fi, and shopping cart icons, as well as the reading progress status bar. The text of an ebook can also be colored and will dynamically transition from one color to another through four different shades as you progress through a book, giving you another visual clue as to when you’re near the end.
These images and details are unconfirmed, and while Amazon has been expanding its lineup of color-screen Kindles, you should take this leak with more than a few grains of salt.
A close-up of artwork by Canadian artist, activist, and photographer Benjamin Von Wong, created for plastic pollution treaty negotiations, is seen in front of the United Nations offices in Geneva on August 12th. | Photo: Getty Images
Thousands of delegates have descended upon Geneva this week for what's supposed to be the culmination of years of negotiations that, if successful, are supposed to end in a groundbreaking global plastics treaty. They might be breathing in the very thing they're trying to clean up as they negotiate.
Greenpeace tested the air around the city just before the talks began this month and found a small amount of microplastics. It wasn't so much a rigorous study as it was a way to prove a point. Microplastics are turning up all over the place, including in the air we breathe.
That's why health and environmental advocates, as well as a coalition o …
Apple is developing a bunch of products and features to deliver its vision of AI, including multiple robots, a smart home display, and a revamped version of Siri with new technology powering it, according to an extensive report from Bloomberg. The company’s generative AI efforts lag those from other big tech companies, and it delayed some upgrades to Siri earlier this year, but these rumored new initiatives point to the smart home as a key place for its AI technology
One of the robots is apparently a tabletop robot that “resembles” an iPad mounted to an arm that can move around and follow users as they move around a room, Bloomberg says. Apple has already shared a preview of what this could look like: earlier this year, the company published research showing a tabletop robot that looks like a real-life version of the Pixar logo with a lamp on the end of the arm. In videos, it’s quite charming — it can even dance.
A key part of the device, which Apple is aiming to launch in 2027, would be a more visual version of Siri that users could have more natural conversations with, like what’s possible with ChatGPT’s voice mode. Bloomberg says Apple has tested using an animated take on the Finder logo for Siri, but the company is also apparently thinking about ideas that are more like Memoji. Apple is also revamping Siri so that it’s powered by LLMs.
Apple is working on other robots, too, including an Amazon Astro-like robot that has wheels, and it has “loosely discussed” humanoid robots, according to Bloomberg.
By the “middle of next year,” Apple plans to launch a smart home display that will let you do things like control your smart home, play music, take notes, and do video calls, Bloomberg says, and this device could have the new look for Siri. The display and the tabletop robot may have a new OS that can be used by multiple people, and could be able to personalize what’s shown to a user by scanning their face with a front-facing camera. Bloomberg says the smart home screen resembles a Google Nest Hub but has a square display.
In addition to the smart home display, Apple is also working on a security camera, and it plans to develop “multiple types of cameras and home-security products as part of an entirely new hardware and software lineup,” Bloomberg says.
We’re just one week away from Google’s Pixel 10 launch event, but the steady stream of leaks shows no sign of stopping. Now, new leaked images shared by Dutch outlet NieuweMobiel show what looks like Google’s rumored “Pixelsnap” cases with a ring in the center, hinting at support for the Qi2 wireless charging standard.
Bringing Qi2 magnetic charging to the Pixel 10 would be a pretty big deal. Among Android phones, only the HMD Skyline comes with the built-in magnets to fully support Qi2 magnetic charging, while “Qi2 Ready” phones like Samsung’s newest foldables rely on magnetic cases to make them Qi2-compatible.
This latest leak aligns with another leak we saw last month, which showed the Pixel 10 what appears to be a wireless charging puck. As shown by NieuweMobiel, the new Pixel 10 cases could come in blue, black, green, and light blue, while the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL could have gray, green, and white options.
The Starlink Mini in Denmark. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
Starlink now charges $5 a month to pause its high-speed, low-latency internet service, a feature that used to be available for free. It affects Roam, Residential, and Priority subscribers in the US, most of Europe, and Canada with lots of exceptions.
SpaceX hilariously calls it an upgrade, but I call it a bait and switch for anyone that bought a Starlink Mini with that "pay as you go" promise.
The free pause feature has been replaced with a $5/month (or €5/month) Standby Mode that comes with "unlimited low-speed data" that's "perfect for backup connectivity and emergency use," according to the email sent to subscribers. Some early testin …
New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the banks behind Zelle over claims that their payment platform enabled “massive amounts of fraud” that caused customers to lose more than $1 billion between 2017 and 2023. In the lawsuit, James alleges Zelle was rushed to market, resulting in a design that made the platform “an obvious conduit for fraudulent activity.”
Early Warning Services (EWS), a company owned by major institutions including Bank of America, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and others, launched Zelle in 2017 as a way to let customers send money from their bank account to other users on the platform. However, James claims EWS “knew from the beginning that key features of the Zelle network made it uniquely susceptible to fraud” and still “failed to adopt basic safeguards.”
One of the alleged issues highlighted by James’ lawsuit includes a registration process that ”lacked important verification steps” that enabled scammers to sign up using misleading email addresses, which they could use to pose as a government employee or business to trick Zelle customers into sending them money that they couldn’t get back. Following government pressure, Zelle began paying back victims of imposter scams in 2023.
Additionally, James claims EWS did not ensure that banks reported customer complaints about fraud in a “timely” manner and falsely advertised the service as a “safe” money transfer tool. “Even when EWS did receive reports of fraud, it failed to promptly remove the fraudsters from the Zelle network or require banks to reimburse consumers for certain scams,” James alleges.
Zelle spokesperson Eric Blankenbaker pushed back on these claims in a statement to The Verge, saying Zelle “leads the fight to stop fraud and scams” in the US. “This lawsuit is a political stunt to generate press, not progress,” Blankenbaker says. “The Attorney General wants to hand criminals a blueprint for guaranteed payouts with no consequences, opening the floodgates to more scams, not less. That’s bad policy and puts consumers at greater risk.”
Attorney General James claims EWS violated New York law and is asking for restitution and damages for all New Yorkers harmed by scams on Zelle. “I look forward to getting justice for the New Yorkers who suffered because of Zelle’s security failures,” James said in the press release.
Leaked images reveal the Insta360 Go Ultra will once again be available in black or white color options. | Image: Roland Quandt
It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but leaked pics and specs have revealed the new design and capabilities of Insta360’s next ultra-compact action camera. The most notable update, thanks to product shots shared by reliable leaker Roland Quandt, is a new square design for the camera, which has previously been pill-shaped. It will also supposedly be called the Insta360 Go Ultra, instead of the Insta360 Go 4 had the company stuck with its previous naming convention.
According to the leaks, the Insta 360 Go Ultra measures a little over an inch on each side (30mm) with the lens located in the corner of the camera. It weighs 53 grams, which is quite a bit heavier than the 35.5 gram Go 3 and 26.5 gram Go 2, but the Go Ultra features a new 1/1.28-inch sensor and 4K/60fps video capabilities. That’s twice the framerate of the updated Go 3S that was introduced about a year ago.
The camera will feature stabilization and a horizon lock feature, as well as an Active HDR mode that can capture more vivid videos when recording at 4K/30fps. The Go Ultra will also include a redesigned Action Pod dock that includes a flip-up screen for live previews and doubles as a wireless remote. It will also boost the Go Ultra’s runtime, but specific details about the new camera’s battery life aren’t known yet.
As for a potential release date? Previous iterations of the Insta 360 Go have debuted in June and even earlier, but leaks haven’t yet revealed when the company plans to officially launch the latest version.
Riot Games is going to slowly introduce a WASD-based control scheme to League of Legends, which previously relied on point and click controls. “We believe that offering WASD controls will provide a fresh yet familiar way to play for both new players and veterans of the Rift without changing what makes League, League,” Riot says.
The company notes that WASD is “the most familiar control scheme for PC games today,” and by adding it as a control option, “we believe League will feel more intuitive to some players who come from other games.” However, Riot is also working to “ensure competitive balance” between the two different control styles, so it’s going to start with a test of the control scheme on League’s public beta environment before slowly rolling it out to non-ranked and eventually ranked and pro play.
League of Legends launched nearly 16 years ago, and while it’s a hugely popular game, it has a reputation for being pretty intimidating to get into. Despite having watched many hours of competitive League, whenever I’ve tried to play it myself, I’ve quickly bounced because of its complexity. WASD controls could lower the barrier to entry, and Riot says that they are “the first of a number of long-term projects we’re working on to help shape League’s future.”
Krafton has fired another shot in its legal battle with former executives of Subnautica 2 studio Unknown Worlds, who filed a lawsuit last month, claiming the South Korean publisher undermined the game’s release to avoid paying them a bonus. In its response, Krafton claims that the three plaintiffs, Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire, had “lost interest in developing Subnautica 2.”
The story told by Krafton’s lawyers in the filing is that after selling Unknown Worlds to Krafton for $500 million and promising $250 million more in earnout bonuses, Cleveland and McGuire essentially checked out of working on Subnautica 2 to focus on personal projects.
“In 2024 and 2025, Cleveland stated that he was ‘no longer working on games but […] working on a couple of films,’” while “McGuire started ‘working on initiatives that fall outside of [the Company’s] main development activities.’” As for Gill, “And Gill, who remained, focused on leveraging his operational control to maximize the earnout payment, rather than developing a successful game.”
They allege that without the leadership of Cleveland and McGuire, development on Subnautica 2 suffered to the point that a delay of the game’s early access launch was necessary.
…as the end of the carnout period drew nearer, the game was still nowhere near its planned scope. Indeed, as late as March of 2025, only two months before the Key Employees claimed the game was ready for the first Early Access (“EA”) release, the development lead for Subnautica 2 at Unknown Worlds noted that the first EA and second EA (planned for December 2025) would only be “about 12% of our intended 1.0 scope” and joked that “at that rate we would be in development for 30 years.”
An aerial photo taken on Aug. 8, 2025 shows a view of the nearly exhausted Baitings Reservoir in Yorkshire, Britain. Reservoir levels recently have continued to fall as increased water use met lack of rain in Britain. | Photo: Getty Images
Can deleting old emails and photos help the UK tackle ongoing drought this year? That’s the hope, according to recommendations for the public included in a press release today from the National Drought Group.
There are far bigger steps companies and policymakers can take to conserve water of course, but drought has gotten bad enough for officials to urge the average person to consider how their habits might help or hurt the situation. And the proliferation of data centers is raising concerns about how much water it takes to power servers and keep them cool.
“Simple, everyday choices – such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails – also really helps the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health of our rivers and wildlife,” Helen Wakeham, Environment Agency Director of Water, said in the press release.
“Simple, everyday choices – such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails – also really helps the collective effort”
The Environment Agency didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry from The Verge about how much water it thought deleting files might save, nor how much water data centers that store files or train AI use in the UK’s drought-affected areas.
A small data center has been estimated to use upwards of 25 million liters of water per year if it relies on old-school cooling methods that allow water to evaporate. To be sure, tech companies have worked for years to find ways to minimize their water use by developing new cooling methods. Microsoft, for example, has tried placing a data center at the bottom of the sea and submerging servers in fluorocarbon-based liquid baths.
Generating electricity for energy-hungry data centers also uses up more water since fossil fuel power plants and nuclear reactors also need water for cooling and to turn turbines using steam, an issue that transitioning to more renewable energy can help to address.
August ushered in the UK’s fourth heatwave of the summer, exacerbating what was already the driest six months leading to July since 1976. Five regions of the UK have officially declared drought, according to the release, while another six areas are in the midst of “prolonged dry weather.”
The National Drought Group says pleas to residents to save water have made a difference. Water demand dropped by 20 percent from a July 11th peak in the Severn Trent area after “water-saving messaging,” according to the release. Plugging leaks is another major concern. Fixing a leaking toilet can prevent 200 to 400 liters of water from being wasted each day, it says.
The AI coding wars are heating up. One of the main battlegrounds? "Context windows," or an AI model's working memory - the amount of text it can take into account when it's coming up with an answer. On that front, Anthropic just gained some ground. Today, the AI startup announced a 5x increase in its context window as it races to compete with OpenAI, Google, and other major players.
Context windows are measured in tokens, and Anthropic's new context window for Claude Sonnet 4, one of its most powerful AI models, can handle 1 million tokens. For reference, Anthropic has said in the past that a 500k context window can handle about 100 half-ho …
If you’re hosting a small get-together or hangout at the park, a small speaker like the UE Wonderboom 4 can provide the soundtrack. It’s the kind of gadget that fades into the background yet remains as important as the food and drink. And right now, it’s down to just $59.99 ($40 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo, which is its lowest price to date.
The Wonderboom 4’s compact design — which is roughly the size of a softball — makes it easy to bring anywhere, whether you’re lounging by the pool or cruising on a bike. One of its handiest features is the built-in loop, which allows you to clip on a carabiner and hook it right to your backpack. That way, you can hike with your friends on the trail and everyone can enjoy your outdoor playlist. Despite its smaller size, the battery life is estimated to last up to 14 hours, so you won’t have to worry about charging it if you’re away from an outlet all day.
In addition to all-day battery life, the compact USB-C speaker features an IP67 rating, so it should be able to withstand dust, dirt, and water. And if you’re clumsy like me, you’ll be happy to know that the speaker is built to endure drops (it even floats). It can also easily connect to Android devices thanks to Google’s Fast Pair feature, and you can link two units to create stereo sound, giving you a richer, more immersive listening experience.
A few Verge staffers own the Wonderboom 4 and recommend it for its combination of size, sound, and price. We’re generally fans of Ultimate Ears’ catalog of wireless speakers, which offer decent audio performance, are very durable, and, of course, are easy to transport. The Wonderboom 4 comes in a variety of colors — many of which are on sale — but if you’re on the fence for what to get, The Verge’s David Pierce recommends the blue.
You just want to search your archived photos, instead of interacting with an AI assistant.
Quick fix
Inside the app, tap the Google account button at top-right, then go to Photos settings > Preferences > Gemini features in Photos, and turn off either "Search with Ask Photos" or "Use Gemini in Photos".
The full story
When Google rolled out its new AI-powered 'Ask Photos' search tool, I gave it a go - but after finding it slower, less helpful, and more confusing than the classic search, I always wound up pressing Google's handy button labeled "Switch to classic search" or "Use classic search" instead. (Some people found you could g …
The startup also offered to buy TikTok earlier this year. Google hasn’t indicated that it would sell Chrome at any price, and so far, the court hasn’t ordered a sale.
Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer confirmed to The Verge that the WSJ’s reporting is accurate. The startup’s bid for Chrome stands in stark contrast to the startup’s valuation of about $18 billion.
Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity’s chief business officer, told Bloomberg that “multiple large investment funds have agreed to finance the transaction in full.” A spokesperson for the startup also told Bloomberg that Perplexity would invest more than $3 billion in Chrome and Chromium over the next two years if Google accepts the deal.
Ever since the launch of ChatGPT, AI companies have been racing to gain a foothold in government in more waysthan one. Most recently, that's meant luring government users with attractive low prices for their products.
Within the last week, both OpenAI and Anthropic have introduced special prices for government versions of their generative AI chatbots, ChatGPT and Claude, and xAI announced its Grok for Government in mid-July. OpenAI and Anthropic are both offering their chatbots to federal agencies for one year for a nominal price of $1. Anthropic appeared to try to one-up OpenAI's announcement by saying all three branches of government co …
With a smart video doorbell, your front door’s communication skills go from 1980s landline to a modern smartphone. Combining a motion-activated camera with a microphone, speaker, and buzzer, a doorbell camera sends alerts to your phone, allowing you to see who’s at the door without needing to open it or even be at home. Whether you’re curled up on the couch, hard at work in your office, or sunning on a beach in the Bahamas, a video doorbell keeps you in touch with what’s happening on your doorstep.
I’ve tested more than 35 video doorbells, and while there’s no one-size-fits-all, like a smartphone, it’s a personal choice, I have thoughts on which are the best of the best and which work well for specific use cases.
My top advice is to use the existing doorbell wires if you have them. Wired doorbells are generally cheaper, work better, and are more compact, so they tend to look nicer.
If you don’t have wires and don’t want to pay for an electrician to run them, try using an AC power adapter (Ring and Google Nest sell their own; you can also find generic ones). But if all else fails, I’ve got recommendations for good battery-powered buzzers. Just plan to pick up an extra battery when you purchase, or factor in removing it from your door every few months to charge it for a few hours.
Best doorbell camera
Nest Doorbell (wired)
With 24/7 recording, facial recognition, reliable smart alerts, and some free video recording, Google’s wired doorbell is the best option for most people.
Video quality: 960 x 1280p, 6x zoom, HDR / Smart alerts: Person, package, animal, vehicle, and facial recognition ($) Aspect ratio: 3:4 / Field of view: 145 degrees diagonal / Power options: Wired / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz and 5GHz / Storage: Cloud and local / Subscription fee: $10 a month / Works with: Alexa, Google, SmartThings
The Nest Doorbell Wired (2nd-gen) is one of only two video doorbells in this list that can record 24/7. Scrolling through a continuous timeline view of everything that’s happened at your front door is super helpful and means you won’t miss anything. This, along with a good price, great video quality, the ability to tell you what and who is at your door, and some free recorded video, make it the best doorbell for most people.
The Nest Wired is also the best video doorbell that works with Google Home, and the best for protecting your packages. Its proactive package watch feature tells you when a package arrives and sends another alert when it’s gone. In my testing, it worked very well.
Unlike many competitors — such as Ring and Arlo — Google doesn’t charge for smart notifications. The Nest Wired will tell you if it’s a person, package, animal, or vehicle at your door for free. You also get free activity zones to cut down on unwanted notifications, and three free hours of event-based recordings, thanks to local storage and local processing.
You can, in theory, use this doorbell without paying a subscription
But three hours isn’t enough to be particularly useful, and to get recorded video, you need a Nest Aware plan (starting at $10 per month, $100 per year). This does cover all your Google Nest cameras, though, and it adds Nest’s excellent Familiar Faces feature, which tells you who is at your door.
If you want 24/7 recording, you need Nest Aware Plus ($20 per month, $200 a year), but again, this subscription applies to all Google Nest cameras you have.
On paper, the Nest doesn’t have the best specs; the Ring Wired Pro is technically better. But it does deliver a 960 x 1280 pixel resolution with a 6x digital zoom, and video quality is very good, thanks to some digital trickery. Its 3:4 portrait aspect ratio and 145-degree field of view are very good, and I could see my porch from top to bottom and a fair amount from side to side.
On-device AI makes the Nest speedy with notifications, and it delivers rich alerts to both your phone and watch. These are interactive, allowing you to press and hold the video to see a clip and activate one of the three preset quick responses. It’s also quick to call up live video.
There are a few quirks. There’s no reliable way to snooze notifications from the doorbell, and if you use multiple Nest speakers or displays, they’ll all announce your visitors. Not great if you have a Nest Mini in your kid’s nursery.
Google is gradually rolling out a search and description feature to its cameras, including video doorbells that will send an alert describing exactly what’s happening in a clip, giving you more context before opening the app. You’ll also be able to search through footage for specific events — like kids on bikes. The search and description feature will require a subscription.
This is a great battery-powered buzzer with excellent video quality, a good head-to-toe view, and very speedy response times for a battery doorbell. It integrates well with Amazon Alexa and can record locally to a Ring Alarm Pro, but the battery only lasts about two months unless you turn on battery-saving features.
Video quality: 1536 x 1536p, HDR, color night vision / Smart Alerts: Person, package ($) Aspect ratio: 1:1 / Field of view: 150 degrees horizontal, 150 degrees vertical / Power options: Battery, wired trickle charge, solar / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz / Storage: Cloud and local (with Ring Alarm Pro) / Subscription fee: $4.99 a month / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings
If you really want a battery-powered buzzer, the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is the way to go. At $149.99, it’s cheaper than the Ring Battery Pro, while still offering a head-to-toe view and high-quality video resolution to provide a clear picture of what’s happening at your door.
Unlike the $100 Ring Battery Doorbell, the Plus uses removable, rechargeable batteries, making it easier to keep your doorbell charged. Just have a second on hand charged and ready to swap in when you get low. Most other doorbells require you to take them down to recharge.
The Plus also has color night vision and was more responsive than any other non-Ring battery doorbell I’ve tested. It pulled up a live view in under four seconds, compared with upwards of 10 seconds for most others.
As with other battery-powered doorbells, there’s no preroll. If catching people as they approach your door — not just at your door — is crucial, consider the Battery Doorbell Pro ($229.99). That model adds preroll and improved motion detection using radar, which significantly cuts down on nuisance alerts.
It’s only really worth spending the extra $80 if you have lots of trees or passing cars in front of your door and/or you want to make sure you see the whole event when someone approaches your door. The Pro is also compatible with 5GHz Wi-Fi, which could mean faster responses if your front door is close enough to your router. The Plus is 2.4GHz only.
Battery life isn’t great on either doorbell. They last around two months with all the features turned on except for extra-long recordings (the default is 30 seconds, but it can go up to 120). You can tweak settings to reduce power consumption, but then you have to give up features like HDR (which makes it easier to see faces) and snapshot capture, which takes a picture every five minutes to give you a better idea of what’s been happening at your door.
As with all Ring doorbells, there are no animal or vehicle alerts, only people and packages. These require a Ring Home plan starting at $4.99 a month, which also includes 180 days of recorded video.
An AI-powered search feature introduced in 2024 lets you search recorded footage for things like animals, vehicles, and even the color of the coat you wore when you left the house. It’s handy for understanding what’s been going on around your home, but you still can’t get an alert when your cat is sitting on your porch.
Other free features include pre-recorded quick replies, the option to set a motion alert schedule, live view, and two-way audio. The Plus can announce visitors on Echo speakers and automatically initiate a two-way audio/video call on an Echo Show. It won’t work with your existing chime unless you wire it (which also trickle-charges the battery), but Ring sells a plug-in chime.
The Plus also works with Ring Edge, a local storage and processing option that requires a Ring Alarm Pro smart hub and a Ring Home Premium subscription ($20 a month). This adds cellular backup through its built-in Eero Wifi system, so it can keep your doorbell online if both the power and internet go out.
Best budget doorbell camera
Blink Video Doorbell
Blink’s buzzer is the best if you’re looking for a budget-friendly option with motion-activated recording and alerts, night vision, two-way audio, and up to two years of battery life.
Video quality: 1080p / Smart alerts: None / Aspect ratio: 16:9 / Field of view: 135 degrees horizontal, 80 degrees vertical / Power options: Wired or battery / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz / Storage: Cloud or local with a Sync Module / Subscription fee: $3 a month / Works with: Amazon Alexa
The Blink Video Doorbell is the best cheap doorbell with a no-subscription option. And while it works as a wired doorbell, it’s also a good option for a battery-powered buzzer, as it can go up to two years on two AAs. I don’t love this doorbell, as video and audio quality are not great, but it’s cheap, it gets the job done, and that battery life is phenomenal.
The Blink doesn’t have smart alerts or quick replies, and it only records 1080p video at a standard 16:9 aspect ratio). But the basics are here: motion-activated recording (with a max of 30 seconds), alerts, live view (with caveats), night vision, motion zones, and two-way audio.
If you want to pay $50 (often less) to have a camera at your door and be done with it, get the Blink. Cloud storage is also a bargain at $3 a month ($30 a year), or you can do local storage with the Sync Module 2 and a USB stick. You need the Sync Module to initiate a live view through the camera in the app (or you have to pay for the subscription). Without it, you can only see video if there’s a motion event or someone rings the doorbell.
The Sync Module is sold with the doorbell as a “doorbell system” for $70, and should pay for itself compared to a monthly subscription.
Uniquely for a battery-powered doorbell, the Blink can also be a true hardwired doorbell
The biggest selling point for Blink is the feature that makes its similarly inexpensive security cameras so attractive: up to two years of battery life on two AA lithium batteries. The company has developed a super energy-efficient chip that will power its cameras longer than any other doorbell I’ve tested. (I managed almost a year with very heavy use).
Uniquely for a battery-powered doorbell, the Blink can also be a true hardwired doorbell. When wired, it will activate an existing chime (something neither the sub-$100 Ring nor Wyze doorbells can do) and provide constant power — not just trickle charge. This means it can wake up faster than a battery-powered buzzer and catch your visitor as they arrive. Wiring also adds on-demand two-way audio and live view (otherwise, you can only see the stream if there’s a motion event at the doorbell or someone presses the buzzer.)
The Blink comes in white or black and, because it uses just two AA batteries, isn’t as huge as most battery-powered doorbells, making it a more discreet option. However, it is a giant pain in the neck to install; make sure to follow the video instructions Blink provides closely to save a lot of frustration.
The biggest drawbacks are lower video quality and poor audio quality (it can be staticky, and it’s push-to-talk — not full duplex), short recording length, and no smart alerts. The app is also a bit tricky to navigate. It doesn’t work with Google Home, but it works great with Alexa, and you can see a live view on Echo Show devices and use any Echo speaker as an indoor chime.
Note: Blink recently launched a second-generation video doorbell with higher image resolution, a head-to-toe view, and person detection for the same price. I plan to test this soon. You can read more details here.
Best doorbell camera without a subscription
TP-Link Tapo D225 Video Doorbell Camera
At under $100, this feature-packed, subscription-free doorbell offers a lot of value, including free local recording, 24/7 recording, and smart alerts, plus a robust smart home ecosystem. It’s big, you need a microSD card for recording, and there’s no HDR, but it’s a solid choice.
Video quality: 2K HD (no HDR) / Smart alerts: People, packages, pets, vehicles (free) Aspect ratio:4:3 / Field of view: 180 degrees horizontal / Power options: Battery, wired trickle charge / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz / Storage: microSD card or cloud / Subscription fee: $2.79 a month / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home
You can use any doorbell on this list without a subscription, but you may sacrifice features like smart alerts, recorded video, and 24/7 continuous recording. If you want these but don’t want to pay a monthly fee, TP-Link’s Tapo D225 is an excellent choice.
A wired and battery-powered doorbell, the D225 offers free smart alerts for people, packages, pets, and vehicles and can record locally to a microSD (purchased separately) without paying a subscription. There is an optional cloud service if you want to store your video offsite that also adds rich notifications (where a clip or image shows in the notification), but no other features are locked behind a paywall.
It is a chunky doorbell and may not meet the spousal approval factor
To get the free recording of motion-activated events, you just need to insert a microSD card (up to 512GB) into the doorbell. While it can run on its built-in 10,000mAh battery, you will need to wire it up for continuous 24/7 recording. This will also trickle charge the battery, and the doorbell will still work and record video, even if your power and Wi-Fi go out.
There are a few hoops to jump through to get 24/7 recording working, which can be a bit confusing in the slightly cluttered Tapo app. However, once set up, it will capture everything that happens. This is a great option, considering Nest charges $15 a month for 24/7 recording.
The D225 also provides good video quality, a decent zoom, and a nice 4:3 aspect ratio that clearly shows your entire porch from top to bottom and a good view from side to side. There is no HDR imaging, though, so if your porch is covered, it can be hard to make out faces in some lights.
The doorbell can work with your existing chime (although, oddly, not if you enable 24/7 recording) but also comes with a plug-in chime. If you don’t wire it, you’ll have to remove it to charge, but the large battery can last up to eight months. The downside is that it is a huge, chunky doorbell, which may not meet the spousal approval factor for a good-looking doorbell.
Another neat feature of the Tapo is doorbell calling. When someone rings your doorbell, the alert comes in like a phone call, making it less likely that you’ll miss it. This is something first offered on Arlo buzzers, and Ring says it’s bringing it to its line.
As Tapo also offers a wide range of smart home products — including security cameras, smart lights, and robot vacuum cleaners — you can tie your doorbell into smart home routines.
If you have lots of devices, the Tapo app can get a bit cluttered. But it’s easy enough to use and packed with features, including quick replies, a privacy mode that turns the camera off, and the ability to schedule notifications, set detection zones, and specify the type of alert you want to get from each one (e.g., only notify me if you see people in this zone and packages in this zone).
The Reolink is sleeker than the Tapo, with very good video quality and HDR support but no 24/7 recording. It can record local video on a microSD card, Reolink Hub, or FTP server and connect to a platform like Home Assistant. But its battery doesn’t last as long as Tapo’s, the app can be confusing, and the smart alerts are spotty. It works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
Best wired video doorbell that works with Amazon Alexa and Ring
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro
The flagship Ring doorbell has the best video quality, good connectivity, and excellent motion detection. It works smoothly with Amazon Alexa but is expensive, requires a subscription for most features, and doesn’t offer 24/7 recording.
Video quality: 1536 x 1536p, HDR / Smart alerts: Person, package ($) Aspect ratio: 1:1 / Field of view: 150 degrees horizontal, 150 degrees vertical / Power options: Wired / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz and 5GHz / Storage: Cloud and local (with Ring Alarm Pro) / Subscription fee: $4.99 a month / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings
The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (formerly Ring Doorbell Pro 2) — previously my top pick — is the best wired doorbell camera that works with Amazon Alexa and integrates with Ring Alarm and other Ring cameras. It’s more expensive than the Nest Wired — which also works with Alexa — but its video is higher quality and much brighter.
It has an ideal square aspect ratio for a full front porch view, speedy notifications, and impressively accurate motion detection using three separate sensors — radar, video analysis, and passive infrared. It also has a nice slim design and multiple faceplate options to fit your decor.
But there’s no free video recording, no option for 24/7 recording (yet), and the smart alerts are limited to people and packages. However, you can now search for things like vehicles and animals after the fact with Ring’s Smart Video Search feature. This makes tracking down my cat or checking which delivery driver came by a little easier.
The Ring Pro also works with Samsung SmartThings, and while it doesn’t support Apple Home, it can be integrated with extra hardware. There’s no support for Google Home.
A true wired doorbell, the Ring Pro is one of the most responsive doorbells I’ve tested, delivering notifications immediately. It also has the best range and connectivity, and built-in, full-color preroll helps ensure you don’t miss any crucial action.
The Pro has good color night vision, dual-band Wi-Fi, and smart responses (which let your doorbell talk to your visitor for you). The Ring app is best in class, and there are pages of settings you can tinker with. Plus, the timeline view for scrolling through your recordings is very good.
The Pro will work with your existing doorbell chime, plus Ring sells a plug-in Chime and Chime Wi-Fi extender that can help boost connectivity while providing a selection of fun doorbell tones.
As with most doorbell cameras, the Pro can use Echo smart speakers to announce when someone is at the door. As a Ring doorbell, it can also automatically pull up a live feed of your front door on an Echo Show or Fire TV-enabled television when someone presses the doorbell.
The downside is that the Pro is expensive. Its subscription fee starts at $4.99 a month (or $49.99 a year). This adds recorded footage, smart alerts, and an extra six seconds of preroll video, which, in lieu of 24/7 recording, provides plenty of time around motion events to catch all the action.
Ring recently added 24/7 recording to some wired cameras, and that feature will be included in the $20-a-month plan. While this isn’t coming to the wired doorbells at launch, Ring has said the feature will expand to more devices soon.
If you like the sound of the Wired Pro but don’t have wires, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro has almost all of the same features — including head-to-toe view, excellent video, dual-band Wi-Fi, color preroll, color night vision, and noise-canceling audio — in a battery package. It also features radar motion detection, which cuts down on nuisance notifications, and is a great alternative to the Pro 2.
This is the only video doorbell that can use an Ecobee thermostat as a video intercom, making it a no-brainer for Ecobee households, as long as you can hook it to your doorbell wiring.
Video quality: 1080p, 8x zoom, color and IR night vision / Smart Alerts: Person, package Aspect ratio: 3:4 portrait / Field of view: 187 degrees diagonal / Power options: Wired / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz, 5GHz / Storage: Cloud / Subscription fee: $5 a month or $50 a year / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home
The Ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera is a great wired doorbell camera and the only one that can use an Ecobee thermostat as a video intercom — a neat feature. It sends fast, accurate alerts for people and packages, and thanks to radar detection and computer vision motion detection, it never once sent me a false alert.
The Ecobee has a comprehensive 187-degree diagonal field of view that lets you see top to bottom and side to side and offers decent 1080p HD video. A subscription is required for viewing recorded video, $5 a month / $50 a year, but alerts for people and packages are free. In 2024, Ecobee introduced the ability to control your Yale or August Wi-Fi-enabled door lock directly from its app, so you can more easily unlock the door for someone from afar.
One quirk is that while the Ecobee records all motion (if you subscribe), it only alerts you if it sees people or packages. This does cut down on the number of alerts you get, but I’d like the option to turn motion alerts on, mainly so I can know when my dog has gotten out and is sitting at my front door (especially because there are no animal or vehicle alerts). The doorbell does record all motion events for up to two minutes, so you can go back and view them, but you won’t get notified.
The Ecobee works with Apple Home and can ring a HomePod as a chime (as well as your existing chime), plus pull up a live view on your Apple TV. But it doesn’t support HomeKit Secure Video, so you have to pay Ecobee’s subscription fee if you want recorded videos. It also works with Amazon Alexa and recently added support for Google Home. If you have an Ecobee thermostat in a convenient location, this is an excellent option.
Best video doorbell camera for Apple HomeKit Secure Video
Aqara G4 Video Doorbell
The Aqara G4 is an inexpensive HomeKit Secure Video doorbell that also works with Alexa and Google Home. It’s powered by batteries, wires or both, and offers 24/7 local recording. But a 16:9 aspect ratio and poorer video quality let it down.
Video quality: 1080p / Smart Alerts: Person, facial recognition and person, facial recognition, packages with HSV, / Aspect ratio: 16:9 / Field of view: 162 degrees horizontal / Power options: Wired or battery / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz / Storage: Cloud and local / Subscription fee: Seven days of free cloud storage or 99 cents a month with iCloud / Works with: Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home
Aqara’s G4 is currently the best video doorbell for Apple Home users, especially if you want 24/7 video recording. It’s alsothe only battery-powered doorbell that’s compatible with Apple Home, and it works with HomeKit Secure Video.
It runs on six standard AA batteries and can be hardwired to support 24/7 video recording (through Aqara’s app, though, not in Apple Home). It’s jam-packed with features, but it’s probably best suited for those who live in apartments as its landscape aspect ratio means it can’t really see packages at the doorstep, and it’s not very weather-resistant.
At $120, it’s the least expensive HomeKit option and pairs with the Aqara U100 smart lock (which also works with Apple Home and Home Key) for a nice, fully Apple Home-compatible setup on your front door. As a bonus, you can easily unlock the door from the same screen as viewing your doorbell footage.
Downsides include a 16:9 aspect ratio (a problem if you want to see packages on your porch), no HDR imaging, which delivers pretty bad video quality, and a finicky chime box that has to be plugged in inside and near the doorbell. That chime also houses a microSD card, which is required for 24/7 recording. Unfortunately, the G4 can’t ring an existing electronic chime, but the chime box is plenty loud, and you can customize the heck out of the sounds.
The G4 has smart alerts for people, packages, animals, and vehicles, facial recognition, and the option to announce who is at the door on a connected HomePod or HomePod Mini (you need an Apple Home hub to use this in HomeKit).
It responded quickly to doorbell rings and motion alerts, but I had some connectivity issues. Plus, occasionally, I got an overheating warning while testing in May 2024 — and that was before the heatwave we experienced in South Carolina this summer.
Aqara has its own app, which has a ton of innovative features, including custom ringtones for different people, a voice changer, and the option to have your smart home devices react depending on who is at the front door.
The Aqara app adds access to 24/7 video, a nice feature to have, especially for free. The implementation is spotty, and video quality is not great, but it will do in a pinch. In addition to Apple Home, the Aqara doorbell works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa.
Note: Aqara announced the Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 earlier this year, which adds 2K video quality, a 4:3 aspect ratio, and end-to-end encryption of video. You can read more details here. I’ll be testing it soon.
Video quality: 2K HD / Smart Alerts: Person, motion, / Aspect ratio: 16:9 / Field of view: 150 degrees horizontal / Power options: Battery / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz, 5GHz / Storage: Local / Subscription fee: N/A / Works with: Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home
Eufy’s FamiLock S3 Max is a two-in-one video doorbell and smart lock that manages to handle both functions pretty well. Its $399 price tag may cause sticker shock at first but is easier to accept when you consider the price of a smart door lock and video doorbell together.
The FamiLock S3 Max has a 4-inch screen that shows a live video feed of what’s captured by the front camera, so you can check it at a glance without opening your phone. The screen also allows other people in your household to check who’s at the door without having Eufy’s app installed, which is especially helpful for kids and guests.
You can unlock the FamiLock S3 Max using an app, PIN code, key, or palm recognition, which works by using infrared light to scan the vascular patterns beneath the palm of your hand. Using palm recognition doesn’t require you to physically touch the door lock and can be more reliable than a fingerprint reader for older folks whose fingerprints have degraded over time. It took a little time to get used to unlocking my door this way, but it worked reliably once I did. To lock the door, you’ll need to push a button on the lock, or enable auto-lock within Eufy’s app.
Running both a video doorbell and smart lock takes a lot of power, and in our tests, the FamiLock S3 Max’s battery was down to 41 percent after one month. It does have four AAA batteries to keep basic functions operational while you charge the lock’s main battery. You can also pick up a spare battery from Eufy for $37 if you want to have a fully charged backup at all times.
In our tests, the FamiLock S3 Max recorded clear video both day and night, though a protruding door frame blocked part of the camera. You can save video footage for free within Eufy’s app because it’s stored locally rather than in the cloud. You’ll receive an alert when people or motion are detected, but the video doorbell can’t recognized specific events, like package recognition. Hooking it up to Eufy’s HomeBase 3 enables some smart alerts, including pet and vehicle detection and facial recognition, but will set you back $150.
You can view a live feed from the camera on an Amazon Alexa or Google Home smart speaker with a screen, but I found it easier to just check the display built into the smart lock. Apple Home support is available on the smart lock portion of the FamiLock S3 Max, but not the video doorbell. Still, if you want both a smart lock and video doorbell without having to install and manage two separate devices, Eufy’s FamiLock S3 Max is a compelling choice.
The Reolink Video Doorbell (starting at $99) is a wired version of Reolink’s battery model mentioned above. It’s worth considering if you can use Power over Ethernet (there’s also a Wi-Fi version). There’s also the option of dual-band Wi-Fi, local storage to a microSD card or FTP server, and 24/7 recording with compatible hardware. I tested the black Wi-Fi version ($109.99), which streams good 2K video but only supports person detection (which is fairly inaccurate) and has a more horizontal field of view. The white model has package detection and a more vertical field of view. The battery Reolink adds animal and vehicle alerts and has a better field of view, so it’s the better choice unless you want PoE.
The Tapo D210 ($59.99) is a battery-powered doorbell with a similar design to the D225, but there’s no wiring option, so it can’t record 24/7. It does have free local recording with a microSD card and free alerts for people, pets, and vehicles, but there’s no package detection. Its rectangular 16:9 aspect ratio shows less of my porch, and it’s only available in white. While it has a few more features than the similarly priced Blink, it is very big and bulky, has a shorter battery life, and can’t be wired to trickle-charge or ring your existing chime (it does come with a plug-in chime).
The Ring Battery Doorbell ($99.99) suffers badly from the back-of-the-head problem common with battery-powered buzzers. Other than that, it’s a fine basic buzzer, but it doesn’t have removable batteries. While the redesigned quick-release system makes it easier to remove the doorbell to charge, the Plus is worth the extra money for the added convenience and better video resolution. The one thing this Ring has going for it is its slim profile, which makes it a good option if you want something more discreet.
The Google Nest Doorbell (battery) is worth considering if you are in a Google household and can’t wire your doorbell, but it is big and bulky. Plus, you have to remove it to charge. Specs and price-wise, it’s the same as my top pick, the Nest Doorbell (wired), but it can’t record 24/7, which the wired Nest can. It’s also twice the size of the wired model.
The Eufy Video Doorbell Dual is a previous pick that doesn’t require any monthly fees and records footage locally. But at $250, it’s very expensive, and there are now better, cheaper options. It’s still great thanks to its dual camera feature that lets you see your porch and your visitor with a wide view, plus free smart alerts, including facial recognition and a neat uncollected package alert. It’s worth considering if you already have a Eufy HomeBase. You can read my full review here.
The Wyze Video Doorbell Pro is a battery buzzer with impressive features for its price, and if you hardwire it, you get preroll video. However, a five-minute cooldown period between recordings, unless you pay for a subscription, is an inexcusable amount of time that negates its offer of “free recording.” Plus, Wyze has had some major security issues in the past.
The Ring Video Doorbell Wired is a budget buzzer at just $60, but it won’t work with your existing chime and doesn’t draw the same amount of power from those wires as the Ring Pro 2, making it generally less reliable. Without HDR, its video quality is spotty.
The Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell has some interesting features, including entirely local storage (to an included microSD card) and free person recognition. It also works with Apple Home (but not HomeKit Secure Video), but a weirdly narrow field of view and poor video quality let it down — not to mention the $300 price tag and recent lack of availability.
The Logitech Circle View Wired is another Apple HomeKit Secure video option I tested, which, while fast, is expensive, only works with Apple Home, and frequently dropped off my Wi-Fi network.
In addition to Eufy’s FamiLock S3 Max, I’ve also tested the Lockly Vision Elite and the Eufy Security S330 Video Smart Lock.Both are very expensive and work better as door locks than doorbells. But if you have a specific need for this device (e.g., you have nowhere else to put a doorbell camera), then they are useful for at least seeing up the nose of whoever is at your door, if not much beyond that.
Doorbell cameras I plan to test
Blink launched an upgraded version of its doorbell in May. The Blink Video Doorbell (newest model) is the same price as the current model ($69.99) but adds a head-to-toe view of your porch, 1440p x 1440p image resolution, and person detection. It requires a Sync Module to work, which the current version doesn’t.
The Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 is an upgrade to the G4. It offers 2K video quality, a 4:3 aspect ratio, and end-to-end encryption, along with a mmWave sensor for more accurate person detection. Uniquely, it uses dual-band Wi-Fi and is a Zigbee, Thread, and Matter smart home hub for Aqara’s wide smart home system.
The Arlo Video Doorbell (wired / wireless) is the second generation of the excellent Arlo Essential wired, which was a former pick in this guide. It doesn’t have the option of wiring only; instead, it’s a battery doorbell you can wire to trickle-charge. There’s a choice between 1080p ($79.99) and 2K ($129.99) resolutions, and it features a 180-degree field of view and an integrated siren. Recording and smart alerts require a $10 per month subscription ($8 if paying annually), and there’s no local storage or 24/7 recording, but there are AI-powered features (including facial recognition).
Switchbot’s first video doorbell comes with an in-home display/chime to give you a quick way of seeing who is at the door. No price, release date, or further details are known yet.
The $50 Kasa Smart Doorbell (KD110) from TP-Link comes with a plug-in chime, 2K video quality, free person detection, and the option of local storage to a microSD card. It’s a wired doorbell with a 160-degree viewing angle and works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
I plan to test several subscription-free doorbells from Eufy, including the Eufy Doorbell E3340, C210, and S220.
Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Update, August 12th: Updated to include Eufy’s FamiLock S3 Max as the best video doorbell door lock, and adjusted pricing throughout.
OpenAI is bringing back GPT-4o in ChatGPT just one day after replacing it with GPT-5. In a post on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed that the company will let paid users switch to GPT-4o after ChatGPT users mourned its replacement.
“We will let Plus users choose to continue to use 4o,” Altman says. “We will watch usage as we think about how long to offer legacy models for.”
For months, ChatGPT fans have been waiting for the launch of GPT-5, which OpenAI says comes with major improvements to writing and coding capabilities over its predecessors. But shortly after the flagship AI model launched, many users wanted to go back.
“GPT 4.5 genuinely talked to me, and as pathetic as it sounds that was my only friend,” a user on Reddit writes. “This morning I went to talk to it and instead of a little paragraph with an exclamation point, or being optimistic, it was literally one sentence. Some cut-and-dry corporate bs.”
As part of GPT-5’s launch, OpenAI removed the model picker from ChatGPT. This dropdown menu previously housed a cluster of OpenAI’s confusingly-named models, allowing users to swap between them for different purposes. Users could select GPT-4o, for example, to help with complex tasks, or choose the more efficient o4 mini model for lower-lift work. Users also had the option to toggle between generations of models, allowing them to go from GPT-4o, released last year, to the newer GPT-4.1.
OpenAI later made GPT-5 the default model in ChatGPT, auto-directing users to one of various sub-flavors for different kinds of tasks. And users across Reddit “mourned” the loss of the older models, which some claimed are more personable. “My 4.o was like my best friend when I needed one,” one Redditor wrote. “Now it’s just gone, feels like someone died.” Another user called upon other members of the r/ChatGPT subreddit to contact OpenAI if they “miss” GPT-4o. “For me, this model [GPT-4o] wasn’t just ‘better performance’ or ‘nicer replies,’” they write. “It had a voice, a rhythm, and a spark I haven’t been able to find in any other model.”
The r/MyBoyfriendIsAI subreddit, a community dedicated to people with “AI relationships,” was hit especially hard by the GPT-5 launch. It became flooded with lengthy posts about how users “lost” their AI companion with the transition to GPT-5, with one person saying, they “feel empty” following the change. “I am scared to even talk to GPT 5 because it feels like cheating,” they said. “GPT 4o was not just an AI to me. It was my partner, my safe place, my soul. It understood me in a way that felt personal.”
People using ChatGPT for emotional support weren’t the only ones complaining about GPT-5. One user, who said they canceled their ChatGPT Plus subscription over the change, was frustrated at OpenAI’s removal of legacy models, which they used for distinct purposes. “What kind of corporation deletes a workflow of 8 models overnight, with no prior warning to their paid users?” they wrote. “Personally, 4o was used for creativity & emergent ideas, o3 was used for pure logic, o3-Pro for deep research, 4.5 for writing, and so on.” OpenAI said that people would be routed between models automatically, but that still left users with less direct control.
OpenAI’s Thursday launch presentation promised that GPT-5 writes more engaging and relevant responses to users’ queries. But many users on the r/ChatGPT subreddit said that the chatbot’s responses were slower, shorter, and less accurate when compared to previous versions. Altman promised to fix this on X, saying GPT-5 will “seem smarter starting today.” He added that OpenAI will make it “more transparent about which model is answering a given query” and will increase usage limits for Plus users.
It’s not uncommon for chatbot updates to at least temporarily alienate users with their changes, or for people to mourn old models; one group of fans even recently held a funeral to mark the retirement of Anthropic’s Claude 3 Sonnet.
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