The Verge - All Posts

Illustration: Lille Allen / The Verge Tesla is asking shareholders to vote for a second time on Elon Musk's massive compensation package, after a Delaware judge voided the first one earlier this year on the grounds that the approval process was deeply flawed."Tesla shareholders approved the package in 2018, which gave Musk incentive to hit specific milestones, including a market valuation of $650 billion, which was more than 10 times Tesla's value at the time.In a proxy statement filed today, Tesla's board recommends that shareholders simply re-ratify the 2018 pay package in order to address concerns raised by the court ruling - rather than negotiate a new proposal with Musk that could end up costing Tesla even more money.The Delaware Court second-guessed your... Continue reading...

The Form 4. | Image: Frrmlabs Formlabs was one of the early Kickstarter success stories, and its laser-blasting 3D printers are now used by model makers, prototypers, dentists, and maybe even action figure companies around the globe. But its newest printers are ditching those resin-blasting lasers because they're comparatively slow.With the new Form 4, Formlabs says you can print two to five times faster than its predecessor, the Form 3 Plus - by switching to an LCD screen and a bright backlight that can cure an entire layer of resin at a time.That's a common technique in prosumer resin printers already, one called masked stereolithography (mSLA), but Formlabs claims it's managed to build a printer to do it at a higher quality than ever before. Even so, it may... Continue reading...

Photo by Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge Google Maps is rolling out some new updates designed to make locating an electric vehicle charging station less stressful. And to accomplish this, it will (of course) lean heavily on artificial intelligence.Google says it will use AI to summarize customer reviews of EV chargers to display more specific directions to certain chargers, such as those located in parking garages or more hard-to-find places. And there will be more prompts in the app to encourage users to submit their feedback after using an EV charger - which will then be fed into the algorithm for future AI-powered summaries. Google Google Maps users will be asked to submit details like whether the charging session was successful or the type of plug... Continue reading...

The company expects to complete its downsizing efforts by the end of this year. | Image: Take-Two Interactive Take-Two Interactive, the gaming company behind franchises like Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2K, and Bioshock, has announced cost-cutting measures that will lay off approximately five percent" of its global workforce and scrap several projects already in development.The company said in an SEC filing published on Tuesday that it is streamlining its organizational structure, which will eliminate headcount and reduce future hiring needs." Take-Two says it will incur charges of up to $200 million to enact its cost reduction program," which aims to save the company over $165 million per year. The downsizing efforts are expected to be largely complete" by December 31st, 2024.A 5 percent workforce reduction works out to around 579 of the 11,580... Continue reading...

The phone is boring so you can focus on good times with your friends, get it? | Image: HMD HMD really wants us to have more fun. Earlier this year, it announced a collaboration with Mattel on an upcoming Barbie flip phone. Now, it's teaming up with Heineken and creative firm Bodega on another effort designed to tap into nostalgia: the Boring Phone. There are more details on Heineken's site - which you'll need to be at least 21 to view - but basically It's a translucent flip phone with no apps, just good retro vibes to help you connect with your friends over a cold one.The Boring Phone is apparently real - I know, I was skeptical, too - but it will only be available through giveaways and isn't going on sale. It's a limited edition run and Heineken's website indicates 5,000 will be made. There's a 2.8-inch QVGA display on the... Continue reading...

Drake performing in Atlanta, Georgia in 2022. | Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage Last year, a few AI voice clone tracks went viral using Drake's voice. His label, Universal Media Group, responded to one track with a strongly worded statement against AI and takedown requests that saw it removed from streaming services. And Drake, seemingly not happy about another one of the songs, posted, This is the final straw AI," on Instagram.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Just two days after Apple removed the iGBA emulator from the iOS App Store, an NES emulator called Bimmy briefly appeared before being taken down. MacRumors reported that the app was described as being for homebrew games but also supported ROMs provided by players. Unfortunately, when we attempted to download Bimmy, we received an error message saying it's no longer available.Now, clicking on a link to Bimmy shows This app is currently not available in your country or region." This time, it wasn't Apple that removed it but the developer. Over on MacRumors' forums, the developer said it pulled the app out of fear."No one pressured me to, but I got more nervous about it as the day went on," it wrote. Screenshot:... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Self-driving cars have an image problem. They stumble into construction zones, block ambulances, run red lights, and even injure the occasional bicyclist or pedestrian.Forget the fact that most autonomous vehicles operate each day safely, anonymously, and without fanfare. There are hundreds in operation today in California, Arizona, Texas, and elsewhere, and the numbers are only going to increase. But when they do make mistakes, people tend to notice. Numerous public opinion polls have shown declining support for autonomous vehicles (AV) over the years and a rise in outright hostility toward the technology.The autonomous vehicle industry's main lobbying group - yes, of course it has one - is intent on reversing this trend before it... Continue reading...

Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images Creators fundraising for projects on Kickstarter will soon be able to collect money even after their campaign ends.Currently, Kickstarter projects can last anywhere from one to 60 days, and creators hoping to continue fundraising after meeting their goal have had to go off-platform to keep raising money.The new late pledge feature will allow crowdfunding campaigns to collect money indefinitely if the creator chooses. Late pledges could also be helpful for fans who learn about projects after the fundraising window has closed but want to support the creator. Creators who are offering something in exchange for a certain level of monetary support - a digital download of an album or physical items, for example - will need to end late... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon Music may soon let you create playlists with a text prompt using Maestro, its new AI playlist maker.Maestro, which is currently available in beta to a small number of Amazon Music subscribers in the US, will let users put together playlists using any prompt, including emojis, Amazon said in a blog post. According to the company, listeners will be able to save the AI-created playlists and share them with other Amazon Music users. In the post, Amazon Music's suggested prompts included and eating ," Music my grandparents made out to," and I tracked my friends and they're all hanging out without me."The feature is similar to Spotify's AI Playlist, which was rolled out to Premium users in the United Kingdom and Australia this... Continue reading...

Sleep trackers, earbuds, and smart beds. | Image: Kristen Radtke / The Verge Sleep tech is more than tracking. Here are the best gadgets I've tested that help you fall asleep, stay asleep, or wake up earlier. Continue reading...

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is proposing a $7 million fine against Cerebral, a mental telehealth firm that it says not only was careless with patients' data but actively shared it with third parties for advertising purposes. The company and its CEO, Kyle Robertson, are also accused of lying to customers about how their data is shared and of having a misleading cancellation policy.The FTC notes that Cerebral shared the sensitive data of nearly 3.2 million consumers" with third parties like LinkedIn, TikTok, and Snapchat through trackers on its website or apps - something the company admitted to last year. That apparently included details like home and email addresses, phone numbers, pharmacy and health insurance details, and... Continue reading...

Image: Getty Images Parcast founder Max Cutler left Spotify last February as part of a wave of high-profile departures from its podcast vertical, and he's now launching Pave Studios to create content across multiple formats. Storytellers who successfully engage audiences and create fandoms through written, audio, and video content have led the charge in cultivating their robust communities into diverse businesses," said Cutler.The company has two new brands to start, with OpenMind, which focuses on wellness, and the true crime-geared Crime House. Image: Pave Studios Spotify acquired the true crime and horror-focused studio Parcast in 2019 as part of a $1 billion investment in original podcasts. After the sale, Cutler went on to serve... Continue reading...

A sign warns of elevated fire danger in the Oakland Hill area of Oakland, California, on Thursday, October 29th, 2020. | Photo by Philip Pacheco / Bloomberg via Getty Images Hate to break it to you, baby - but if you were born in the US this year, climate change could wind up costing you around $500,000 over the course of your lifetime. That's according to a new study commissioned by Consumer Reports and conducted by consulting firm ICF.The study counts up higher bills for climate-related calamities that drive up housing, food, and healthcare costs, for example. On top of that, there's the prospect of higher taxes and lost income over the years in a warming world.While there's a lot of uncertainty built into the study, it's an attempt at breaking down all the big and little ways that climate change can affect daily life. Each stifling heatwave, flooded road, and downed power line costs consumers... Continue reading...

The Kindle Scribe comes with a stylus to take notes and is nearly $100 off. | Image: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge When it comes to finding a device to use to read your ebooks, you have a few options to choose from. You can always buy a tablet or use your phone, but those devices are multipurpose and can be used for a ton of things, like surfing the web or doom-scrolling on Twitter. If you are looking for something to strictly read books, e-readers, while niche, are designed to store all of your books in a virtual library with limited functionality.Amazon, one of the pioneers of the e-reader, has dominated the space for years with its ever-expanding Kindle lineup, which consists of several unique models with their own pros and cons. The bulk of the devices function as simple ebook readers; however, with the Kindle Scribe, Amazon looks to be moving... Continue reading...

The Beatles in the United Kingdom, circa 1960. | Photo by Keystone-France / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images It has been hard to find physical copies of director Michael Lindsay-Hogg's 1970 Beatles documentary Let It Be in the years since its theatrical release, but Disney Plus is getting ready to debut a remastered version of the film.Disney Plus announced today that Let It Be - a chronicle of the Beatles recording their Let It Be album in 1969 before breaking up the following year - will stream on May 8th. Like the docuseries The Beatles: Get Back, Let It Be will feature original film footage remastered by Peter Jackson's Park Road Post Production and remastered audio created using the same de-mixing tools that recently led to the release of the Beatles' final song. In a statement about Let It Be's streaming premiere, Lindsay-Hogg recalled... Continue reading...

Image: GMC The 2024 GMC Sierra EV is almost here, and to celebrate, the automaker is giving it the gift of more range.When it was first announced two years ago, GMC said the Sierra EV Denali would get an EPA estimated range of 400 miles, thanks to a massive battery that was expected to top 200kWh. Now, GMC says the electric truck's maximum range at launch will be actually closer to 440 miles - a staggering amount in the nascent world of electric pickups.Most electric trucks on the road today struggle to exceed 300 miles of range. Weather, terrain, and road type can also affect range and sap battery life. And once they start doing truck stuff, like hauling or towing, that range can drop even lower. GMC's claims about the Sierra EV's range will... Continue reading...

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge Hundreds of cables. Hundreds of thousands of miles. The internet runs, in vastly more ways than we realize or think about, through a series of garden-hose size tubes on the ocean floor. Without those tubes, the modern world sort of collapses. And the folks responsible for keeping them functioning have bigger, harder, stranger jobs than you might think.On this episode of The Vergecast, we talk to The Verge's Josh Dzieza, who has been reporting on the undersea cable world and just published a feature about some of the folks who keep it running. It's a story worthy of a high-seas action movie, and it's all about cables.Then, we chat with The Verge's Tom Warren and Joanna Nelius about the new generation of PCs that Microsoft and others... Continue reading...

Photo by Go Takayama for The Verge On the afternoon of March 11th, 2011, Mitsuyoshi Hirai, the chief engineer of the cable maintenance ship Ocean Link, was sitting in his cabin 20 miles off Japan's eastern coast, completing the paperwork that comes at the end of every repair. Two weeks earlier, something - you rarely knew what - damaged the 13,000-mile fiber optic cable connecting Kitaibaraki, Japan, and Point Arena, California. Alarms went off; calls were made; and the next day, Hirai was sailing out of the port in Yokohama to fix it. The repair was now nearly done. All that remained was to rebury the cable on the seafloor, which they were doing using a bulldozer-sized remotely operated submersible named Marcas - and, of course, the paperwork.Suddenly,... Continue reading...

Photo by Ashok Kumar / TAS24 / Getty Images for TAS Rights Management The Department of Justice is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit could reportedly come as early as next month and will target the company's alleged monopoly in the live ticketing industry.Live Nation drew antitrust scrutiny when it merged with Ticketmaster in 2010. But those concerns boiled over in November 2022 when a Ticketmaster crash blocked thousands of Taylor Swift fans from purchasing tickets for the Eras Tour due to unprecedented demand." The DOJ opened an investigation into Live Nation shortly after, The New York Times reported.Lawmakers also levied heavy criticism against the ticketing company, with Sen. Amy... Continue reading...

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge When you load your music streaming app of choice onto your mobile device, your audio quality settings are worth taking a minute or two to configure. If you don't have these set to as high a quality as possible, you're missing out on the best audio experience your streaming apps can offer.Because they are managed separately for streaming music over cell and Wi-Fi networks and for downloading tracks to your device for offline listening, there is a tradeoff. Increased sound quality and fidelity means more data gets used (which might be a concern if you're not on an unlimited cellular plan), bigger file sizes (which take up more room on your device), and a longer wait for downloads. But even if you have to compromise some settings, it's a... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Sony is working on a new high-end version" of the PS5, codenamed Trinity and likely to debut as the PS5 Pro later this year. The Verge confirmed leaked specs about the PS5 Pro earlier this week, and we've also obtained details on how existing and new PS5 games can be enhanced" to take advantage of the PS5 Pro hardware. Sony is also working on an ultra-boost mode for older games to make them run better on the PS5 Pro.Sources familiar with Sony's plans tell The Verge that Sony is asking developers to create a new PS5 Pro-exclusive graphics mode in games that combines Sony's new PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) upscaling to 4K resolution with a 60fps frame rate and ray-tracing effects. Insider Gaming first reported on some of... Continue reading...

The Soundcore Sleep A20 are decent passive earbuds that are great for side sleepers, even if Anker overpromises. Continue reading...

The four-inch-tall metal object tore through a roof in Naples, Florida, last month. | Image: Alejandro Otero NASA has confirmed suspicions that the strange object that crashed into a Florida home last month did indeed come from the International Space Station (ISS). The agency analyzed the cylindrical object after it tore through the roof and two floors of a house in Naples on March 8th and established that it came from a cargo pallet of aging batteries that was released from the ISS back in 2021.More specifically, NASA revealed in a blog post on Monday that the offending object was a support component used to mount the batteries on the 5,800-pound (2,630-kilogram) pallet released from the space station. Made from Inconel (a metal alloy that can withstand extreme environments like high temperature, pressure, or mechanical loads), the recovered... Continue reading...

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images Officials at the UK's Department of Science, Innovation and Technology have started drafting legislation to regulate AI models, Bloomberg reports. It's unclear how any future regulation will intersect with the UK's already-extant AI Safety Institute, which already conducts safety tests of the most powerful AI models.After hosting the first global AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in November 2023, which was attended by many world leaders, the UK established an AI Safety Institute the following November. The institute began evaluating AI models for safety this year, though some technology companies requested more clarity on the timelines and what would happen if AI models are found risky. The UK also agreed to do joint safety testing... Continue reading...

The entry-level Apple Watch SE is a gateway smartwatch if there ever was one. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge In September, Apple launched its latest batch of smartwatches, introducing the Apple Watch Ultra 2 ($799) alongside the new Apple Watch Series 9 ($399). Each wearable has its own pros and cons, as does the second-gen Apple Watch SE ($249), but the introduction of the new wearables also means there are now more Apple Watch models on the market than ever before - and a lot more deals to be had.But with all of those options, which one should you pick? Generally speaking, you want to buy the newest watch you can afford so that it continues to receive software updates from Apple. The latest update, watchOS 10, launched in September on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer, though no one can say with certainty whether the Series 4 will get the... Continue reading...

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to propose new regulations that would require data brokers to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In a speech at the White House earlier this month, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said the agency is looking into policies to ensure greater accountability" for companies that buy and sell consumer data, in keeping with an executive order President Joe Biden issued in late February.Chopra said the agency is considering proposals that would define data brokers that sell certain types of data as consumer reporting agencies," thereby requiring those companies to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The statute bans sharing certain kinds of data (e.g., your credit report) with... Continue reading...

Image: Parker Ortolani / The Verge Over the last few days, Tesla has delayed some Cybertruck deliveries. The company hasn't specified why or even publicly commented on the delays, but commenters in the Cybertruck Owners Club forum have reported receiving texts or calls telling them their deliveries were being rescheduled.One user said they'd been told by their dealer that the truck was recalled over its accelerator pedal. Another claimed Tesla sent them a text saying it's not scheduling deliveries at the moment for the same reason. Several others reported receiving texts about issues with the preparation of your vehicle."An Elon Musk fan account called @WholeMarsBlog posted on X that deliveries have been halted for seven days, but that hasn't been confirmed, and Tesla... Continue reading...

Keanu Reeves as John Wick. | Image: Lionsgate The third Sonic movie already seemed like it was going to kick all kinds of ass by bringing Shadow the Hedgehog into the picture, but Paramount's just upped the ante by adding one Keanu Reeves to its cast.According to both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, Keanu Reeves has been tapped to voice Shadow, the anthropomorphic hedgehog best known for his jet-powered sneakers and fondness for guns. While the studio's yet to make an official announcement, news of Reeves' casting comes after director Jeff Fowler teased that the next Sonic movie will be inspired by Sonic Adventure 2, the Dreamcast game that first introduced Shadow in 2001.Shadow's cinematic arrival was also teased at the end of the last Sonic movie, where he appeared to be... Continue reading...

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is bringing its ad blocker fight to mobile. In an update on Monday, YouTube writes that users accessing videos through a third-party ad blocking app may encounter buffering issues or see an error message that reads, The following content is not available on this app."Last year, YouTube launched a global effort" to encourage users to allow ads while watching videos or upgrade to YouTube Premium. It also began disabling videos for users with an ad blocking extension enabled.But now, YouTube says its policies don't allow third-party apps to turn off ads because that prevents the creator from being rewarded for viewership." This appears to target mobile ad blockers like AdGuard, which lets you open YouTube within the ad... Continue reading...

Pigeon River Country State Forest in Vanderbilt, Michigan, U.S., on Wednesday, April 20th, 2022. State and local governments in the US are enrolling public-owned forests in carbon projects that could earn them tens of millions of dollars but provide little new help in the fight against climate change. The charity that serves as a major watchdog on corporate climate commitments faces allegations that it's caving to industry pressure to relax standards.The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) assesses companies' sustainability pledges and develops standards for how companies can set goals to fight climate change that are backed by science. SBTi's policies are supposed to prevent greenwashing, which is when companies make misleading statements about their environmental impact.One way SBTi has tried to crack down on greenwashing is by limiting the use of carbon offsets. Offsets are supposed to cancel out some of a company's carbon footprint, even though that's often only reflected on paper and not in the real world. SBTi's tough... Continue reading...

The new Blink Mini offers both better image quality and audio quality than before. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Whether you're away at work or on vacation, a security camera can offer some extra peace of mind by allowing you to keep an eye on your pet, packages, and other valuables at home. And right now, one of the least expensive security cameras you can buy is even more affordable. Normally $39.99, the new Blink Mini 2 is down to just $29.99 ($10 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, which is the first deal we've seen on the wired camera since it launched last month. You can also buy it at Amazon with a weather-resistant adapter for just $39.98 ($10 off).While the Blink Mini 2 remains a basic 1080ps camera like its predecessor, it's now a lot more useful if you're already locked into the Amazon ecosystem. You can use it outside thanks to its... Continue reading...

The layoffs follow the company's first drop in year-over-year vehicle deliveries since 2020. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A few weeks after reporting its first year-over-year decline in vehicle deliveries since 2020, Tesla is now planning to lay off over ten percent of its global workforce, according to an internal company-wide email seen by Electrek. That works out to at least 14,000 of the 140,473 employees that Tesla reported in its latest annual earnings. It's not clear which teams at Tesla will be impacted.There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done," said CEO Elon Musk in the email published by Electrek. In a later post on X, Musk said that about every 5 years, we need to reorganize and streamline the company for the next phase of growth."

Sony's flagship earbuds are smaller, lighter, and better-sounding than the last-gen model. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Whether you need some peace while working from home or plan on taking some summer travels, a good pair of wireless earbuds is crucial for preserving and protecting your sanity. My favorites have been from Sony's flagship line. I started with Sony's WF-1000XM4 before the dastard battery drain bug rendered them unusable. They were great otherwise, and I liked them so much that I took a chance on the WF-1000XM5, which so far haven't thrust the same thorns in my side. They retail for $299.95, but Amazon is selling them starting at $229.95 right now, which is only a few dollars shy of their all-time low.The XM5 are Sony's latest flagship pair of noise-canceling earbuds. They're comfortable and offer excellent sound quality, not to mention... Continue reading...