The Verge’s annual summer ‘in’ and ‘out’ list

What’s in, what’s out, and what’s a bit of both this summer.

by Mia Sato

Jul 3, 2026, 1:00 PM UTC

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Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

The Verge’s annual summer ‘in’ and ‘out’ list

What’s in, what’s out, and what’s a bit of both this summer.

by Mia Sato

Jul 3, 2026, 1:00 PM UTC

Mia Sato

is features writer with five years of experience covering the companies that shape technology and the people who use their tools.

In the AI slop-loaded, algorithm-powered modern reality, trends come and go — and the tech industry is no different. For the last few years, The Verge staff has compiled a selection of things that are IN for summer and OUT for summer — and each time there are some strong feelings. (Here are the last two years’ predictions.) Let’s do it again!

Mia Sato, senior report

IN	OUT
Motion sickness glasses	AI “pervert” glasses
Fiber	Protein
Bootleg sports merch	Official tech company merch
Floating in water	Touching grass

Meredith Haggerty, editor

IN	OUT
The great New York renaissance	The Great American State Fair
The Knicks garbage can	Taylor Swift’s MSG wedding
The Invite	Believing Olivia Wilde is a bad director
Seeing through your own human eyes	The Kylie Jenner Meta glasses

Hayden Field, senior AI reporter

IN	OUT
The NYC ferry	The NYC subway (sorry it’s too hot rn)
Using AI to draft letters to your landlord	Using AI to draft breakup texts, or anything else personal
Letterboxd	Threads
Absolutely unhinged design ideas that AI could never come up with	Millennial minimalism

Victoria Song, senior dystopia reviewer

IN	OUT
Flintstones vitamins	Gray market peptides
Drugstore moisturizer	Looksmaxxing
The FDA approving a new sunscreen filter	Whatever it is RFK Jr. is doing
Writing in an analog journal	AI wearables that record everything you do
Accepting we will all die	Whatever it is Bryan Johnson is doing

TC Sottek, senior editor

IN	OUT
EverQuest (2026)	EverQuest (1999)
Entire bootleg movies on TikTok	20-part “story” edits on TikTok
Boston as the most Scottish city in the US	Boston as the most Irish city in the US

Kevin McShane, editorial director audio/video

IN	OUT
A single plain text file	Vibecoding your own to-do app
Silo season three	Ted Lasso season four
Vertical sitcoms	Vertical dramas

Kevin Nguyen, deputy editor

IN	OUT
Any movie theater that does not serve food to your seat	Alamo Drafthouse
Proton Mail	Gmail
Buying refurbished devices	Buying new devices

Marina Galperina, senior tech editor

IN	OUT
Leaks	Press releases
Practical effects	Generative AI in movies
Making computers	Buying computers
Webrings	X, the everything app
Letting your phone battery die	Doomscrolling

Gaby Del Valle, policy reporter

IN	OUT
Being a bandwagon sports fan	Rivalries – lifelong, heated, etc
Gelato	Frozen yogurt
Dua Lipa’s joie de vivre	Kylie Jenner’s whole deal
Mineral sunscreen	Beef tallow “sunscreen”

Antonio DiBenedetto, reviewer

IN	OUT
Friendslop games	Live-service games
Expensive PC gaming	Expensive console gaming
xboX	XBOX

Liz Lopatto, senior internet typist

IN	OUT
Unconstitutional Iran war	Peace
The shortest inseam you can find and/or make	Pants
Ceasefire	Unconstitutional Iran war
World Cup	Owala tumblers and other adult sippy cups
Unconstitutional Iran war	Ceasefire
Major League Cricket (Go Unicorns!)	Major League Baseball
Ceasefire	Unconstitutional Iran war
McCartney II	Taylor Swift
Unconstitutional Iran war	Ceasefire
Excommunication	JD Vance
Ceasefire	Unconstitutional Iran war