Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Now that TikTok has finally reached the end of its legal options in the US to avoid a ban, somehow its future seems less clear than ever.The Supreme Court couldn't have been more direct: the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, as applied to TikTok, withstands First Amendment scrutiny and can take effect on January 19th. The court agreed that the government had a compelling national security interest in passing the law and that its rationale was content neutral. The solution proposed - forcing Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest TikTok or see it ousted from the US - was ruled appropriately tailored to meet those ends.Yet the government's response hardly feels like a victory lap. In fact, despite being still under ByteDance's control, it's not clear that anyone in the US government will even act like TikTok is banned on the 19th.TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement after the Supreme Court ruling today. Given... Read the full story at The Verge.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images In his first statement since the Supreme Court upheld a law that could ban TikTok from the US on Sunday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew offered no insight into what would happen to the app in just a few days. Instead, he took the opportunity to appeal to President-elect Donald Trump.I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States," Chew says in a video on the platform. We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a President who truly understands our platform - one who has used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process."
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, and even TikTok's CEO Shou Chew are among the powerful tech leaders lined up to attend Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, but Nvidia's CEO won't be joining them.Reuters reports that when asked about his attendance, Jensen Huang said he would instead be celebrating the Lunar New Year on the road" with employees and their families.While Huang won't be present at the President-elect's ceremony, he said he will look forward to congratulating the Trump administration when they take office." Huang also told reporters outside Nvidia's New Year party in Taipei that he discussed increasing the production of Nvidia's advanced Blackwell artificial intelligence chips with Chung Ching Wei, the chairman of Nvidia's main supplier, TSMC.Nvidia is estimated to control 90 percent of the market share of AI chips. The company criticized a new AI framework announced by the Biden administration last week that would limit how many AI chips companies can send to different countries. In its blog post, Nvidia praised the more lax regulatory environment put in place by the first Trump administration and said it looks forward to a return to policies that strengthen American leadership."Nvidia is notably not among the list of companies and tech execs to have donated to Trump's inauguration, with Meta, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and Apple's Tim Cook having each pledged $1 million to fund the ceremony. Huang also hasn't appeared at Mar-a-Lago to schmooze Trump directly, unlike top execs from other companies like Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
That Care Plus with Theft and Loss plan ain't cheap, though. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Samsung is sweetening the benefits for some subscribers of its extended warranty plans with a new deal: unlimited same-day glass repairs at no extra cost. Previously, a busted screen would cost subscribers $29 - and those on Samsung's less-expensive Care Plus plan will continue to pay that price. But if you're prone to breaking screens and you're on the Care Plus Theft and Loss plan, you won't pay anything extra.The new policy includes cracked glass on your phone's outer screen, back panel, and even the inner screens on folding phones, according to Samsung spokesperson Dale Hogan.That's a big deal, considering that repairing a cracked inner screen can cost hundreds of dollars without an extended warranty. Just one inner screen repair would probably make the Care Plus plan worth it, though the value is a little fuzzier for slab-style phones. Image: Samsung Samsung groups its phones into tiers and sets pricing for repairs based on those groups. You can also pay monthly for a three-year term or once upfront, but your policy will only cover two years. The monthly cost for a Tier 4 device, which includes the likes of the Galaxy S24 Ultra or any of Samsung's folding phones, is $18. The Galaxy S24 Plus costs a little less, at $15 per month, and the regular S24 is $10.That's not exactly cheap, and you'd have to crack your screen a lot to justify the price difference between Care Plus and Care Plus Theft and Loss. A two-year Care Plus plan for the Galaxy S24 Ultra costs $259 if you pay upfront; that's $90 less than the Care Plus Theft and Loss plan. You'd have to get three screen repairs to break even between the two plans.Theft and Loss includes a lot of other benefits, of course, like replacing your device for a flat fee if it goes missing. And if you're worried about your folding phone's inner screen, the pricier Care plan could certainly give you some more peace of mind. In any case, benefits like these getting better are the kind of inflation we like to see.
Image: The Verge, Nintendo Nintendo's taking the Switch 2 on tour. With the console now revealed, the next question on everyone's mind (outside of what games will be available at launch) is when will we be able to get our hands on it. While Nintendo hasn't shared the release date for the console, it is offering the chance for the public to preview it before launch at a series of live events held across the world. Here's what you need to know in order to demo the Switch 2.The Switch 2 will be demoed in several cities across North America: New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Toronto. You can see the exact dates and locations on Nintendo's website here. (There will also be events across Europe and Asia with registration for London and Tokyo already live.) But getting the chance to play for yourself isn't as simple as showing up and waiting in line. There's a registration process to go through first and registering doesn't guarantee you'll get in.First, anyone who wishes to attend must have a Nintendo account, including children aged seven years or older. If you don't have an account, they're free to make and young children can be registered under a Nintendo family account. Children younger than seven don't need to register.For families or folks who want to attend as a group of up to six people, all members must have a Nintendo account that's linked to a Nintendo Family group and everyone in the group must attend the same session.Registration opens on Friday January 17th at 12PM PT / 3PM ET and closes on January 26th. Tickets are free but awarded by lottery, similar to what Nintendo does for admission to its museum. So once you've registered, you have to wait. There are multiple hour-long sessions for each day of the event but you can only register for one time slot. (Really, Nintendo?) Trying to sign-up for additional time slots will require you to cancel your previous registration.The website doesn't indicate exactly when folks will be notified if they've been selected, just that it should happen shortly after the registration window closes.As with anything Nintendo, demand will be high so if you're vying for a chance to see the Switch 2 early, good luck. You'll need it.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Microsoft made a trio of announcements this week that are going to be very important for how the company approaches its big AI bet in 2025. It started off by creating a new AI engineering group to focus its developers on building an AI platform and tools for both Microsoft and its customers. Microsoft then announced pay-as-you-go agents for its relaunched Copilot Chat for businesses, and it finished the week by bundling Office AI features into Microsoft 365 for consumers and raising the subscription price.All three of these announcements are linked to Microsoft's insatiable hunger to win at AI. The company still prioritizes security through employee performance reviews, but it increasingly feels like promoting AI is an equally high priority.The new engineering group is a good example of Microsoft's priorities. Led by former Meta engineering chief Jay Parikh, the new CoreAI - Platform and Tools division will combine Microsoft's Dev Div and AI platform teams together. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella described the reorganization as entering the next innings of this AI platform shift" and said it will reshape all application categories." Nadella has regularly said that the pace of... Read the full story at The Verge.
If you saw my training load data for January, it would resemble a stock crashing. Hard. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Every January, fitness tech and wearable companies love to remind us about New Year's Resolutions. For a small number of people, New Year's features, challenges, and marketing campaigns will be exactly the push they need. For everyone else, they're another reason to feel bad about yourself.The start of the new year is when Peloton Bikes go on sale, Apple trots out its annual Ring in the New Year Challenge badge and new Fitness Plus content, and anecdotally, it's when I see a lot of friends suddenly start logging miles in Strava. But this year, I saw a new marketing tactic: Quitter's day.Quitter's day is the second Friday in January - the day when most people throw in the towel on New Year's Resolutions, fitness related or otherwise. Apple rolled out an Apple Watch commercial around it, encouraging people to quit quitting" with a little extra wrist-based motivation. Popular strength training app Ladder also jumped on the trend with a humorous ad hinting that, if you just have Ladder coaches in your ear, you too can avoid quitting.I was on the ground at the giant CES trade show during this year's Quitter's day. CES is a week where I'm lucky if I get one workout in, eat three... Read the full story at The Verge.
Comic book and graphic novel Kindle readers get a little reprieve with today's deal. | Photo: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge Much of Amazon's experimentation in the Kindle line has generally led to bigger devices that are easier to read, but the Kindle Colorsoft is the first that ventures beyond a fully monochromatic viewing experience. Of course, that comes with a higher price tag than comparably sized Kindles, but if you're a Prime member, you can finally save a bit. The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition has dropped to $229.99 ($50 off) at Amazon in its first sale.We feel the Kindle Colorsoft's 7-inch display offers the best color available in an ebook reader yet, thanks to better-than-average vividity and contrast. It makes browsing and reading books more pleasant, if nothing else. But there are other improvements we like, such as faster page-turning performance and smoother zooming. Those benefits aren't necessarily exclusive to the Colorsoft, however, as all of Amazon's newer Kindles have achieved similar results, thanks to performance bumps and software updates. This includes the 2024 Kindle Paperwhite, which the Colorsoft takes its design cues from.But like most newer Kindles, it's still lacking physical page turn buttons. That's a bit of a damper for something that costs considerably more and has a display that needs to be kept pristine. And while the color is great, the display's maximum 300ppi resolution is halved when using it - something to keep in mind, especially if you already have trouble reading standard text sizes on the Kindle's display at full resolution. Its advertised eight-week battery life also falls short of the 12 weeks you can squeeze out of the Paperwhite. That's still plenty, though, and you have convenient charging options between USB-C and wireless (the latter requires a separately sold $39.99 dock).Finally, before you decide whether to purchase one, it's worth noting that early Kindle Colorsoft units suffered from a display issue that caused yellow discoloration. Amazon says it has since addressed the issue with a combination of hardware and software tweaks. It even halted shipments temporarily while it investigated the issue and has allowed buyers to refund or replace their devices. If you buy one and happen to encounter the defect, Amazon should provide a remedy without much fuss.
MOSS LANDING, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 17: A fire erupted at Moss Landing Power Plant on Thursday. | Photo: Getty Images A fire broke out at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in Central California Thursday. The battery power plant is the largest in the world according to the company, Vistra, that owns it.The Monterey County Sheriff's Office issued evacuation orders for nearby residents and closed parts of Highway 1 in response. County Health officials have asked other residents to shelter indoors with windows and doors closed and to switch off ventilation systems.There's no way to sugarcoat it. This is a disaster, is what it is," Monterey County Supervisor Glen Church told KSBW-TV.The company will investigate the cause of the fire once it's out, Vistra spokesperson Jenny Lyon told The Mercury News. Vistra did not immediately respond to an email from The Verge. It completed an expansion of the facility in 2023, adding more than 110,000 battery modules needed to store renewable energy. Energy storage facilities like this one are essential for power grids to be able to keep enough excess solar and wind energy so it's available when the sun goes down and winds wane.This isn't the first battery fire in the area. A nearby Pacific Gas & Electric battery plant stocked with Tesla batteries caught fire back in 2022. The year prior, Vistra had to temporarily shut down its battery plant at Moss Landing after a malfunctioning smoke detector and heat-suppression system sprayed water on its batteries, Canary Media reported.The current blaze is unrelated to fires burning further south that have devastated Los Angeles County.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) are putting pressure on big tech firms to explain their motives for donating to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration fund. In letters to Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Uber, the lawmakers express concerns about the companies making contributions to avoid scrutiny, limit regulation, and buy favor."Over the past several weeks, Google, Microsoft, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman all donated $1 million apiece to Trump's inauguration, while Uber and its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, each contributed $1 million. Many of these tech execs have already met with Trump, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is even hosting an inauguration party for the incoming president, according to The New York Times.These sizable donations surpass the amount most of these companies contributed to President Joe Biden's inauguration fund in 2021. A filing with the Federal Election Commission shows Uber donated $1 million to the event, followed by Microsoft with a $500,000 contribution, Google at $337,500, and Amazon at $276,509. Apple donated just $43,200 to Biden's inauguration, while Meta and OpenAI didn't contribute at all.In the letters, Sens. Warren and Bennet draw attention to the regulatory scrutiny the Biden administration has directed toward big tech firms. You have a clear and direct interest in obtaining favors from the incoming administration: your company and many other Big Tech donors are already the subject of ongoing federal investigations and regulatory actions," the lawmakers write. These donations raise questions about corruption and the influence of corporate money on the Trump administration, and Congress and the public deserve answers."
Nacon's folding steering wheel for the Switch 2 will be priced at around $30. | Image: Nacon During the Switch 2 reveal, Nintendo teased the next entry in its Mario Kart series. We likely won't know more details about the follow-up to Mario Kart 8 until Nintendo's Switch 2 Direct event in April, but Nacon has already announced some of the first accessories for the new handheld designed to improve the ergonomics of its Joy-Con controllers for racing games, as spotted by Nintendo Life.Several companies were prepping peripherals for the Switch 2 well before Nintendo officially revealed its new design, including Dbrand, Genki, and smaller accessory makers whose cases and screen protectors gave us our first peeks at the console's redesign.Nacon's Switch 2 lineup features several accessories similar to what's been available for the original Switch for the past seven years. These include carrying cases, screen protectors, silicone wraps, USB-C chargers, and even tiny steering wheels for individual Joy-Cons for using motion controls in Mario Kart. Image: Nacon Nacon's Switch 2 steering wheel looks like a step-up to similar accessories released for the original Switch. Most interesting is a more elaborate steering wheel accessory for the Switch 2 that... Read the full story at The Verge.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram is bringing back one of its more chaotic features, now reworked for the short-form video era.A new tab in the Reels feed will serve up videos that a user's friends have liked or added commentary to, Instagram leader Adam Mosseri announced in a video message today. Users will be able to see which friends have liked a video - a callback to the old Instagram activity" feed that was killed in 2019.We want Instagram to not only be a place where you consume entertaining content, but one where you connect over that content with friends," Mosseri says. In the new feed, you'll be able to see which friends have liked a post and which have left a temporary note" on a Reel. Image: Meta Be careful what you like, I guess? That sounds nice in a ideal world, but given the way that the previous activity" feed was scrutinized, I'm willing to bet a lot of users actually don't want their friends to see all the Reels they've liked. (I'm not sure what benefits or insights my friends would get from seeing that I liked every single Shohei Ohtani post that crossed my feed, but OK.) It also might discourage people from engaging publicly with content in this way to avoid it being shown to all of their friends. It's also not a given that you share interests or hobbies just because you're friends with someone - for many people, it's the hyper personalized nature of TikTok that makes the experience interesting in the first place.Other platforms like X have gone the opposite route by hiding users' liked posts, in part because people kept getting caught liking embarrassing things (if someone catches Ted Cruz liking thirst trap Reels, please email me immediately). Meta didn't immediately respond to questions about whether users can opt out of having their activity shown in the new Reels feed.Instagram stands to benefit if its biggest rival, TikTok, is forced to pull out of the US this weekend. Reels is Instagram's answer to TikTok, but many creators and users say the atmosphere on Reels doesn't live up to the environment TikTok has cultivated. While the new feature might stoke drama and pull some users into the Reels feed, it could also have the opposite effect for those who don't want all their interests broadcast out.
The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is a great video doorbell if you're embedded in Amazon's ecosystem and is currently $80 off. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge If you're looking for a way to protect yourself from porch pirates, it's a good idea to invest in a solid smart video doorbell. The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is one of the best on the market, and is available at an all-time low price of $149.99 ($80 off) at Woot until February 1st at 12:59AM ET.The snappy battery-powered video doorbell is packed with a number of features that provide peace of mind. Its high-resolution 1536p video features a square aspect ratio, which is helpful as it allows you to get a complete view of your entire porch. The doorbell also supports motion detection using three sensors - radar, video analysis, and passive - for an impressive level of accuracy. Other standout features include good color night vision, dual-band Wi-Fi, and smart responses so you can talk to your visitor. The doorbell also integrates well with Amazon devices, allowing you to do things like pull up a live feed of your front door on an Echo Show or Fire TV-enabled television.The downside is some features are paywalled. So if you want smart alerts for people and packages or recorded footage, you'll have to fork out at least $4.99 a month (or $49.99 a year) for a subscription. But if you don't mind that, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is an excellent video doorbell that's particularly ideal for those embedded in Amazon's ecosystem.A couple more deals and discounts
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images The Supreme Court ruled that the law that could oust TikTok from the US unless Chinese parent company ByteDance sells it is constitutional as applied to the company.There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community," the court wrote in a per curiam ruling, which is not attributed to any particular justice. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary."The ruling means that TikTok is still on track to be banned in the US on January 19th, unless President Joe Biden extends the deadline or ByteDance manages to sell the company in time. The Biden administration now appears poised to hold off on enforcement and leave it to the next administration once President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Monday - though even that promise might not be enough to overcome the risk service providers like Apple, Google, and Oracle could face if they choose not to comply with the law by continuing to service TikTok once the ban technically takes effect.Trump has said he'd try to save the app, though it's not clear how - and he won't be sworn into office until a day after the sale deadline. The app won't just disappear from users' phones; TikTok has reportedly planned to go beyond the law's requirements and go dark should the ban be upheld.The justices caution that their ruling should be understood to be narrowly focused" given that the case involves new technologies with transformative capabilities." They emphasized that even though it's common for companies to collect data, TikTok's scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government's national security concerns. A law targeting any other speaker would by necessity entail a distinct inquiry and separate considerations." Ultimately, the government had good reason to single out TikTok for special treatment."The justices found that the law as applied to TikTok is content neutral" and justified by a content neutral rationale," citing the government's concern over the alleged potential for China to collect vast amounts of data on Americans through the app. They found that the law does not need to satisfy the highest possible form of First Amendment scrutiny and that, as applied to TikTok, it does satisfy intermediate scrutiny because the law furthers an important Government interest unrelated to the suppression of free expression" and doesn't burden much more speech than necessary to accomplish that.The court was not swayed by TikTok's assurances that the Chinese government was unlikely" to compel TikTok to turn over user data for intelligence-gathering purposes, since China has more effective and efficient means of obtaining relevant information." The justices said that even if China had not already sought to use ByteDance's relationship with TikTok to access US data, TikTok didn't offer any good reason for the court to conclude that the US government's determination that China might seek to exploit that relationship is not at least a reasonable inferenc[e] based on substantial evidence.'" In the end, the justices afforded a great deal of deference to the government's assessments, noting, for example, We are especially wary of parsing Congress's motives on this record with regard to an Act passed with striking bipartisan support."There are some buyers waiting in the wings for this ruling, hoping it will change ByteDance's calculus on a sale. Billionaire Frank McCourt's Project Liberty, for example, wants to buy the app without the algorithm to run on its own social network protocol. But it's still not clear if China would allow a sale, even without the coveted algorithm - perhaps betting that the US will eventually relent or that it can continue to thrive in other countries around the world. Still, reports this week indicate that might be starting to change, as unnamed sources told several outlets that Chinese officials were mulling the idea of getting billionaire Elon Musk to act either as a buyer or broker of a potential deal.The case pitted free expression and national security concerns against each other. The justices heard oral arguments in the case last Friday, where lawyers for TikTok and a group of creators on the platform described why they believe the law would violate the First Amendment. The US government defended the law, which was passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed by Biden, as important to national security.Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch offered their own statements, concurring in the final judgment. Sotomayor disagreed that the court need not determine that the law implicates the First Amendment because she thinks it's obvious it does. Even so, she agrees that the law can survive such scrutiny.Gorsuch points out the unusual speed of the case, writing that, We have had a fortnight to resolve, finally and on the merits, a major First Amendment dispute affecting more than 170 million Americans." He writes that he's pleased" the court did not consider the classified evidence presented to Congress to justify the law in this case, writing that, Efforts to inject secret evidence into judicial proceedings present obvious constitutional concerns."Gorsuch also says he has serious reservations" about whether the law is actually content neutral, though he finds the government's interest compelling and the law appropriately tailored to meet its goals. Whether it will actually do so is another matter, he points out. A determined foreign adversary may just seek to replace one lost surveillance application with another. As time passes and threats evolve, less dramatic and more effective solutions may emerge. Even what might happen next to TikTok remains unclear," Gorsuch writes. But the question we face today is not the law's wisdom, only its constitutionality. Given just a handful of days after oral argument to issue an opinion, I cannot profess the kind of certainty I would like to have about the arguments and record before us. All I can say is that, at this time and under these constraints, the problem appears real and the response to it not unconstitutional."
Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge Cash App is closing out the week on the hook for $255 million in multiple settlements around its consumer protections.Block, the company that owns Cash App, agreed Wednesday to pay $80 million to 48 states that fined the company for violating laws intended to keep illicit activity off the platform.State regulators found Block was not in compliance with certain requirements, creating the potential that its services could be used to support money laundering, terrorism financing, or other illegal activities," a press release from the Conference of State Bank Supervisors says.Separately, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reached a settlement with Block on Thursday, in which the company agreed to pay $120 million to Cash App customers and another $55 million to the CFPB. According to the bureau, Cash App's weak security measures put consumers at risk and made it difficult for users to get help after experiencing fraud on the platform. Cash App is also accused of tricking consumers into thinking that their bank, not Cash App, was responsible for handling disputes and that Cash App didn't offer meaningful and effective" customer service, which left the network vulnerable to criminals defrauding users."How to regulate peer-to-peer money-transferring apps like Cash App is an ongoing fight. This week, NetChoice and TechNet sued to challenge the CFPB's handling of such platforms like banks, calling it an unlawful power grab." Google filed a similar suit in December.
A whole Steam Deck fits within the screen of the Asus ROG Flow Z13 tablet. Bigger is better, right? I added controllers to a 13-inch gaming tablet and I don't regret it. Read the full story at The Verge.
Image: The Verge, Nintendo The Switch 2 exists. We know that for sure. It's bigger - seems like we know that, too. But what else do we know about the sequel to one of Nintendo's most innovative and bestselling consoles? Maybe not as much as you might think.On this episode of The Vergecast, we run down everything we know, and don't know, about the Switch 2. The Verge's Richard Lawler, Ash Parrish, and Andrew Webster join the show to explain all the new stuff we saw in Nintendo's trailer, all the things we're still wondering about, and why exactly Nintendo chooses to launch its consoles this way. It's all a little odd, but let's be honest: it's the Switch 2. What else did you need to know?After that, The Verge's Adi Robertson joins the show to talk about the week's whipsawing policy news. The TikTok ban - or non-ban, or later-ban, or kinda-sorta ban - is closer than ever, and there's another tech-related case in front of the Supreme Court that could prove just as consequential. We debate whether Elon Musk might save TikTok, whether anything at all is likely to happen on Sunday, and whether RedNote and Lemon8 are the future of anything.Finally, in the lightning round, Richard and David run down some of the week's other news, from the ousting of Sonos CEO Patrick Spence to the first successful Blue Origin launch. There's also some news about the iPhone 17 Air being a thing, a new streaming destination for the Super Bowl, and some Drake updates.If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, beginning with the Switch 2:
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Brendan Hoffman, Getty Images It's been more than four years since Donald Trump first moved to expel TikTok from the US - and now, just days before a second Trump presidency begins, it just might happen.President Joe Biden signed legislation last April that officially began the countdown that would force TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to divest from the US business. But even afterward, the atmosphere on the video powerhouse was mostly nonchalant, with a handful of stray jokes about this app disappearing" slotted between the usual fare.In the last week, though, the vibe has shifted - my favorite creators are posting links to their other social accounts, audiences are making highlight reels of the most viral moments on the app, and they're saying goodbye to their Chinese spy" and threatening to hand over their data to the Chinese government. A Chinese-owned app Xiaohongshu, known as RedNote, topped the App Store this week, driven by a wave of TikTok refugees" trying to recreate the experience of the platform. It's feeling a bit like a fever dream last day of school.For many creatives online, this wouldn't be the first time they've had to migrate to new spaces: reach, engagement, and visibility are constantly shifting even on the largest and most stable platforms. But the possibility that a social media site of this size would disappear - or slowly break down until it's nonfunctional - is a new threat. For small creators especially, TikTok is like playing the lottery: you don't need thousands of followers for your video to get big, and this unpredictability incentivized the average person to upload content.It's still unclear what will happen to TikTok after January 19th. I asked content creators what their game plan is. (Responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.)Noelle Johansen, @astraeagoods (89K followers)At the peak, I was making approximately 70 percent of my sales through TikTok from December 2020 to January 2022. Now, it drives at most, 10 percent of my sales," says Noelle Johansen, who sells slogan sweatshirts, accessories, stickers, and other products.At my peak with TikTok, I was able to reach so many customers with ease. Instagram and Twitter have always been a shot in the dark as to whether the content will be seen, but TikTok was very consistent in showing my followers and potential new customers my videos," Johansen told The Verge in an email. I've also made great friends from the artist community on TikTok, and it's difficult to translate that community to other social media. Most apps function a lot differently than TikTok, and many people don't have the bandwidth to keep up with all of the new socials and building platforms there."Going forward, Johansen says they'll focus on X and Instagram for sales while working to grow an audience on Bluesky and Threads.Kay Poyer, @ladymisskay_ (704K followers)I think the ease of use on TikTok opened an avenue for a lot of would-be creators," Kay Poyer, a popular creator making humor and commentary content, says. Right now we're seeing a cleaving point, where many will choose to stop or be forced to adapt back to older platforms (which tend to be more difficult to build followings on and monetize)."As for her own plans, Poyer says she'll stay where the engagement is if TikTok becomes unavailable - smaller platforms like Bluesky or Neptune aren't yet impactful enough.I'm seeing a big spike in subscribers to my Substack, The Quiet Part, as well as followers flooding to my Instagram and Twitter," Poyer told The Verge. Personally I have chosen to make my podcast, Meat Bus, the flagship of my content. We're launching our video episodes sometime next month on YouTube."Bethany Brookshire, @beebrookshire (18K followers)Bethany Brookshire, a science journalist and author, has been sharing videos about human anatomy on TikTok, Bluesky, Instagram, and YouTube. Across platforms, Brookshire has observed differences in audiences - YouTube, for example, is not a place [to] build an audience," she says, citing negative comments on her work.Sometimes I feel like the only ethical way to produce any content is to write it out in artisanal chalk on an organically sourced vegan stone"I find people on TikTok comment and engage a lot more, and most importantly, their comments are often touching or funny," she says. When I was doing pelvic anatomy, a lot of people with uteruses wrote in to tell me they felt seen, that they had a specific condition, and they even bonded with each other in the comments."Brookshire told The Verge in an email that sharing content anywhere can at times feel fraught. Between Nazi content on Substack, right-wing ass-kissing at Meta, and the national security concerns of TikTok, it doesn't feel like any platform is perfectly ideal.Sometimes I feel like the only ethical way to produce any content is to write it out in artisanal chalk on an organically sourced vegan stone, which I then try to show to a single person with their consent before gently tossing it into the ocean to complete its circle of life," Brookshire says. But if I want to inform, and I want to educate, I need to be in the places people go."Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, @woodstocksanctuary (117K followers)The Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in upstate New York uses TikTok to share information with new audiences - the group's Instagram following is mostly people who are already animal rights activists, vegans, or sanctuary supporters.TikTok has allowed us to reach people who don't even know what animal sanctuaries are," social media coordinator Riki Higgins told The Verge in an email. While we still primarily fundraise via Meta platforms, we seem to make the biggest education and advocacy impact when we post on TikTok."
Illustration: The Verge Google has notified the European Union that it won't integrate work from fact-checking organizations into Search or YouTube, ahead of the bloc's plans to expand disinformation laws. Google had previously signed a set of voluntary commitments that the EU introduced in 2022 to reduce the impact of online disinformation, which are in the process of being formalized into law under the Digital Services Act (DSA).The pushback comes as the emboldened leaders of US tech companies, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, have been courting President-elect Donald Trump, with Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg urging him directly to combat EU regulatory enforcement.In a letter written to the European Commission's content and technology czar Renate Nikolay seen by Axios, Google's global affairs president Kent Walker affirmed that Google won't commit to the fact-checking requirement as it simply isn't appropriate or effective for our services." Google will also pull out of all fact-checking commitments in the Code" before the rules become law in the DSA Code of Conduct, according to Walker.Currently, the EU's Code of Practice on Disinformation commits signatories to work with fact-checkers in all EU countries, make their work available to users in all EU languages, and cut financial incentives for spreading disinformation on their platforms. The code also compels companies to make it easier for users to recognize, understand, and flag disinformation, alongside labeling political ads and analyzing fake accounts, bots, and malicious deep fakes that spread disinformation. The commitments are not legally binding, however.Fact-checking isn't currently included as part of Google's content moderation practices. The company objected to some of the code's requirements in its agreement, saying that Search and YouTube will endeavour to reach agreements with fact checking organizations in line with this measure, but services will not have complete control over this process."40 online platforms have signed the code, including Microsoft, TikTok, Twitch, and Meta - despite the latter scrapping its fact-checking program in the US earlier this month. Twitter (now X) was also a signatory but pulled out after Elon Musk purchased the platform. According to the European Fact-Checking Standards Network, many of the other digital platforms that signed the voluntary disinformation code have been lax about fulfilling their commitments.It's unclear whether all of the code's requirements will be formalized into official rules under the DSA - EU lawmakers have been in discussions with signatories regarding which commitments they will agree to follow. The Commission has yet to announce when the code will officially become law, having said in November that it's expected to come into force by January 2025 at the earliest."
God of War Just a couple of years ago, Sony had a dozen new live service games in development, but that number keeps dropping. It was already down to six by the end of 2023, before the well-received launch of Helldivers II and the disaster that was Concord in 2024. Now, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has confirmed with Sony that two unannounced live service projects have been canceled.One was from Syphon Filter and Days Gone developer Bend Games, while Schreier reports the other shuttered title was a live-service God of War game that Bluepoint Games has been working on for the last couple of years."Bluepoint Games is one of several developers Sony acquired in recent years as it was building up a queue of live service projects, with many ports and remasters under its belt, including Demon's Souls, the first three Uncharted games, Shadow of the Colossus, and others. Now, Schreier says the studios won't close, but there's no word yet on what their next projects will be.The live service approach to gaming once seemed wide open following the success of Fortnite and other titles, but games like Concord, Anthem, and Redfall have shown how difficult it can be. At Sony alone, the list of canceled service titles Bloomberg has already reported on included the Spider-Man game revealed by the Insomniac ransomware breach, Twisted Metal, and a Destiny-linked game from Bungie called Payback.However, we're still expecting to hear more about Bungie's revived Marathon extraction shooter and Fairgames, a PvP heist title from Haven Studios.
Screenshot: SpaceX SpaceX successfully caught its Super Heavy booster for the second time. During Starship's 7th test flight from Boca Chica, Texas, Super Heavy descended into the launch tower's chopstick" arms, allowing it to grab the booster.Despite the successful catch, SpaceX lost communications with the Starship spacecraft mounted atop the booster. It successfully separated from the Super Heavy booster, but during that ascent phase, a couple of the engines dropped out, and then shortly thereafter, we lost communication with the vehicle," SpaceX's Kate Tice said during the stream. We are assuming that we have lost the ship."According to SpaceX, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn," but said teams are still going over the data to find out why.Several people who said they were on the islands of Turks and Caicos said they saw the Starship's re-entry debris and posted videos of it on social media.
The Pokemon Company It's coming a little later than we initially thought, but The Pokemon Company (TCPi) has finally announced when Pokemon TCG Pocket's long-awaited trading functionality is rolling out.Today, TCPi revealed that, along with Pokemon TCG Pocket's next set of cards, the game's trading feature is set to launch later this month. TCPi didn't specify an exact date in its statement about the update, but it did explain that trading will involve some restrictions and costs.In order to swap cards, people will first have to be friends with one another in the game. Trades can only occur if players are offering up cards with the same rarity, meaning that you won't be able to trade powerful EX cards for more common ones that are easier to pull. Additionally, TCPi trading is limited to cards that have rarities of 1-4 diamonds or a single star full-art cards, and TCPi noted that items must be consumed in order to trade."It's not clear which particular items players will need for trades, but it feels likely that the process will involve spending Poke gold, one of Pocket's multiple in-game currencies that can be purchased in exchange for real money. The item requirement sounds like logical (but not exactly welcome) way for Pocket to generate even more revenue given how easy it is to accumulate certain duplicates from every set.In a follow-up post to X, Pocket's official account stated that it was hearing people's immediate concerns about how this is all going to work in practice, and encouraged everyone to provide more feedback once the feature is out.
Image: Sony Sony announced a collection of black PlayStation 5 accessories in the midst of CES last week, and you can now preorder them ahead of their release date on February 20th. The new DualSense Edge controller ($199.99), Pulse Elite headset ($149.99), Pulse Explore wireless earbuds ($199.99), and PlayStation Portal ($199.99) are all available for preorder from Sony, Amazon, and a string of other retailers starting today.Sony's new PS5 accessories are just as sleek as the black DualSense controller Sony released in 2021. The PS Portal now sports black buttons like the DualSense Edge, while retaining the slick black accents found on the white model. The Pulse Explore earbuds, meanwhile, now come with a jet-black charging case, while the Pulse Elite headset comes with a black charging hanger and a felt carrying case.Despite the new look, none of the accessories introduce new features. The black PS Portal is the same handheld remote player we reviewed in 2023, with the same lengthy battery life and limitations as the white model (except it now supports cloud streaming). The new Pulse Explore and Pulse Elite support Sony's low latency lossless wireless audio codec and are compatible with the PS5, PS Portal, Windows PCs, and macOS. As for the black DualSense Edge, the wireless gamepad continues to offer deep customization and great software integration with the PS5.
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge General Motors and its subsidiary OnStar are banned from selling customer geolocation and driving behavior data for five years, the Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday.The settlement comes after a New York Times investigation found that GM had been collecting micro-details about its customers' driving habits, including acceleration, braking, and trip length - and then selling it to insurance companies and third-party data brokers like LexisNexis and Verisk. Clueless vehicle owners were then left wondering why their insurance premiums were going up.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images The Biden administration says it will leave it to incoming President Donald Trump to figure out how to deal with the mess of the TikTok ban, ABC News reports.Our position on this has been clear: TikTok should continue to operate under American ownership," a White House official told ABC News. Given the timing of when it goes into effect over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement."But don't get too excited just yet. Even though Trump has offered vague promises to save TikTok, there's still not much he can do to eliminate the huge monetary risk companies like Apple and Google could face so long as the law is on the books. And for that matter, the same goes for Biden - unless he formally extends the timeline for a sale of TikTok by Chinese owner ByteDance by up to 90 days before the ban take effect.The White House statement to ABC does not appear to suggest that Biden plans to take that route, and the Biden administration did not immediately respond to The Verge's request for clarification. But technically, to grant an extension, Biden would need to see progress toward a sale. So far, according to multiple reports, ByteDance has been focused on fighting the law, rather than exploring potential buyers. Even so, a handful of Democratic lawmakers led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) - who is trying to get Congress to extend the deadline - pleaded in a letter to Biden to use the 90 day extension.While TikTok itself is not mandated by the law to shut down, it may still choose to go dark as it's reportedly planned if it fears its US service providers including Oracle might choose not to risk helping it operate or update. TikTok, Oracle, Apple, and Google have not yet said publicly how they plan to handle Sunday's deadline. We also still haven't heard from the Supreme Court - which seemed poised to uphold the law and just said on Thursday that it may announce opinions" at 10AM ET on Friday - but since it's so far declined to pause it, the ban will at least technically take effect on Sunday, whether or not anyone else chooses to do something about it.
Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge Apple has temporarily stopped showing notification summaries for news and entertainment apps as part of the iOS 18.3 developer beta released Thursday, according to reports from MacRumors and 9to5Mac. The Apple Intelligence-powered feature was criticized after it inaccurately summarized content from outlets such as the BBC.Apple will reenable the notifications with a future software update" as it continues to work on the feature, 9to5Mac reports. In the new beta, Apple will make it clear that the notification summary feature is a beta and may contain errors."Additionally, 9to5Mac says Apple will let you disable notifications for specific apps from the lock screen or Notification Center in iOS 18.3 by swiping, tapping Options,' then choosing the Turn Off Summaries.'" The company will also use italicized text on the lock screen to make it easier to tell notification summaries and standard notifications apart.The Verge reached out to Apple with a request for more information about these changes but didn't immediately hear back.Last month, the BBC called out Apple after the company's notification summary feature wrongly summarized its coverage of the UnitedHealth shooter, suggesting the outlet reported that Luigi Mangione shot himself. Apple later said it would roll out an update to further clarify when the text being displayed is summarization provided by Apple Intelligence."
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge I'm not the first to note the irony of TikTok users flooding RedNote this week. The TikTok divest-or-ban rule was supposed to drive Americans away from a foreign-owned social network that was subject to influence or data harvesting by the Chinese government. Instead, it pushed them onto a different foreign-owned social network that poses the exact same hypothetical risks - and that might be subject to the exact same kind of ban.TikTok faces a ban under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed last year by President Joe Biden (who is reportedly experiencing some buyer's remorse right now). While it mentions TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, by name, it could apply to any company that meets the following criteria:
Illustration: Hugo Herrera / The Verge Two major tech trade groups are challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) effort to treat payment apps and digital wallets like banks. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, DC, NetChoice and TechNet claim that the CFPB's digital payment regulation, announced on November 21st, 2024, is arbitrary and capricious.The CFPB's unlawful power grab undermines the rule of law, further bloats the administrative state and puts American consumers and innovation at risk," Chris Marchese, NetChoice's director of litigation, said in a statement. The CFPB's actions create unnecessary roadblocks for businesses striving to meet consumer needs and set the stage for increased prices and reduced options."This is the second lawsuit related to the regulation. Google filed a lawsuit in December after the CFPB placed Google Payment Corp. under federal supervision. In a statement to The Verge, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda called the rule a clear case of government overreach."The rule, which went into effect in late December, lets the CFPB oversee digital payment processors' compliance with federal privacy and fraud laws through proactive examinations." The bureau estimated that the apps included under the rule - including Apple Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp - collectively process more than 13 billion transactions a year.But NetChoice and TechNet claim that the CFPB didn't sufficiently identify consumer risks or gaps in oversight that would justify the rule. The bureau failed to show that consumer risks the rule was even meant to alleviate in its haste to dream up a problem in search of a solution," the suit claims.
Photo by Amy T. Zielinski/Getty Images David Lynch, the director behind Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and other unsettling works, has died, his family confirmed in a post on his official Facebook page. He was 78 years old.The post announcing his passing didn't list a cause of death. But last August, Lynch revealed that he had been diagnosed with emphysema from my many years of smoking." At the time, he told Sight and Sound that he could no longer go out" over concerns that he could catch covid, and that he likely would not be able to direct again in person. In a post about his diagnosis, he said that recently I had many tests and the good news is that I am in excellent shape except for emphysema. I am filled with happiness, and I will never retire."The post, of course, had a very Lynchian addition: I enjoyed smoking very much, and I do love tobacco - the smell of it, lighting cigarettes on fire, smoking them - but there is a price to pay for this enjoyment, and the price for me is emphysema."Here is the full statement from Lynch's family announcing his death:
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Tesla is declaring the Cybertruck to be America's bestselling electric pickup truck in 2024." And yet, for the first time, the company is offering discounts of up to $2,600 on the low-poly truck, a sign that demand may not be as strong as Tesla would like you to think.The discounts, which appear on the company's inventory webpage, are as high as $1,600 for brand-new Cybertrucks and up to $2,600 for slightly used demo versions of the truck. The price reduction you see will depend on how you configure your Cybertruck.The discounts come as the electric vehicle market is suddenly brimming with a multitude of offerings, from established players like Chevy and Hyundai to upstarts like Rivian and Lucid. People shopping for an electric truck, in particular, have a lot of options, including the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Hummer and Sierra EVs, and Rivian R1T.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge More than 700,000 US-based users have downloaded RedNote, a popular Chinese social app, as the TikTok ban deadline looms - but they may find themselves looking for yet another TikTok alternative soon. A US official told CBS News that Xiaohongshu, the app more commonly referred to as RedNote, has many of the same issues that caused Congress to ban TikTok and that the app could eventually face a similar ban unless it divests from its China-based parent company.This appears to be the kind of app that the statute would apply to and could face the same restrictions as TikTok if it's not divested," the anonymous official told CBS News on Thursday, referring to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, the bill under which Congress banned TikTok.Among the problems lawmakers raised in the lead-up to the TikTok ban was the Chinese government's sway over TikTok's content moderation practices - an issue that appears to apply to RedNote as well. Per The Information, RedNote has begun removing US users' posts that are considered too sensitive" for the app, including posts discussing LGBTQ topics. Three people with knowledge of communications between RedNote and officials with the Cyberspace Administration of China told The Information that regulators are concerned about politically sensitive posts - and Chinese officials told RedNote's government relations team to ensure that users in China can't see US users' posts.Privacy advocates are also warning against using RedNote. In an emailed statement, Cooper Quintin, the senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said anyone for whom privacy is a matter of personal safety" should think twice before downloading RedNote, adding that the EFF has similar concerns about US-based apps like Facebook.People looking for alternative social media apps should be cautious about the privacy implications of sharing information with an app that has not yet seen substantial public scrutiny outside of China," Quintin said. This is certainly not a platform which values free speech - it's a heavily censored application on which topics such as political speech, drugs and addiction, and sexuality are more tightly controlled even than similar social networks. This is also not a platform that will protect you from US-based surveillance capitalism as it shares data with Facebook and Google ad networks."
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Microsoft is bundling its AI-powered Office features into Microsoft 365 Personal and Home subscriptions, but it's also raising prices as a result. Previously, Microsoft 365 subscribers had to pay an extra $20 per month to get Copilot inside Office apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as part of a Copilot Pro subscription, but Microsoft is now adding these AI features to Microsoft 365 apps for an extra $3 per month. Existing subscribers can opt out of the AI features and not suffer the price increase, though.Microsoft has been testing adding AI-powered Office apps, the most important feature of Copilot Pro, into the Microsoft 365 subscriptions in recent months. What was previously only available in Australia, New Zealand, and a number of countries across Asia is now expanding to most markets worldwide.While it feels like Microsoft is admitting that people aren't willing to pay an extra $20 a month for AI-powered Office features, Microsoft argues it has always wanted to bring AI features to more users.We know that people are willing to pay for the integration into Microsoft 365," says Gareth Oystryk, senior director of marketing for Copilot Pro and Microsoft 365, in an interview with The Verge. Copilot Pro is an opportunity to learn from our power users and early adopters. Our plan all along has been how do we bring this value to as many subscribers as possible in a way that works for them and for us." Image: Microsoft Copilot inside Word. Copilot Pro isn't going away, and Microsoft isn't reducing its $20 monthly pricing, either. It will remain for power users who want priority access to the latest AI models, along with early access to new AI features. We definitely have a place for Copilot Pro," says Oystryk. There is still a group of folks that enjoy the power use of Copilot Pro."Microsoft is raising the price of Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions by $3 per month in the US to bring these AI-powered Office features to all subscribers. We are raising the prices of Microsoft 365 Personal and Family for the first time in 12 years," says Oystryk. We've never actually raised the price in the US and we're raising it by $3 a month, along with similar amounts in other markets."Nobody likes price increases, and consumers are especially sensitive to being asked to pay more for AI features right now. If you don't want to pay extra for these AI features, then Microsoft will have plans for existing subscribers to remain at the same price point without Copilot in Office apps.We've created two new plans that are really only going to be available for the next year, Personal Classic and Family Classic," explains Oystryk. They'll be available as folks go through the renewal cycle. If they go to cancel they'll have the opportunity to pick one of these Personal Classic or Family Classic plans." Image: Microsoft Copilot in PowerPoint. These plans will only be available to existing Microsoft 365 subscribers, and new subscribers will get AI-powered Office features by default with the new pricing changes. It sounds like the classic plans won't get any of Microsoft's big new features, though. They'll continue to get security updates and minor feature updates, but any new additional innovations that we deliver in the future won't be included in those plans," says Oystryk.Microsoft is also introducing a new AI credits system today, alongside its Microsoft 365 subscription changes. It's a new system that works across most of Microsoft's AI-powered consumer experiences, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. You'll get a monthly allotment of credits within Microsoft 365 Personal and Family to use on things like image generation in the Designer app or in apps on Windows like Paint, Photos, and Notepad. Copilot Pro essentially includes unlimited usage of all of these AI features, based on a fair usage policy.Microsoft is also making it easy to turn off Copilot in Office apps if you simply don't want the AI assistant or you're a student and your school has policies against using AI. The most interesting piece of feedback we learned is that there are times where our users want to turn off Copilot," says Oystryk. We've been working to add new settings to some of our key apps that allow people to toggle off Copilot." This is coming to Word first today and then Excel and PowerPoint in the coming weeks.
Image: The Verge, Nintendo Nintendo has finally revealed its new console, debuting the Switch 2 with a short video that went heavy on visuals but light on information. The video was paired with a brief follow-up press release from Nintendo that also didn't go into much detail, with the company ostensibly saving all the juicy stuff for the Switch 2 Direct set to take place on April 2nd. While we wait for official word, here are the burning questions we still have about the Nintendo Switch 2.What are the Switch 2's specs?Perhaps the most glaring omission in the Switch 2 reveal was the fact that Nintendo didn't say anything about how powerful the new console is. We can see that the console is bigger, but what's the screen size? Is it OLED or LCD? Is the screen resolution still 720p? Is 4K resolution supported?Though visible for a few brief moments, the reveal video showed off the Switch 2's new dock. What's the docked resolution? Is it just a charging shell, or is it still required for TV play? Can you dock the Switch 2 in the original Switch dock, or will it support all the super-portable third-party docks?The Switch 2 also features a second USB-C port at the top. It's likely there to offer a way to... Read the full story at The Verge.
Red Dye No. 3 is used in certain candy, desserts, frostings, and other treats. | Photo by Lisa Wiltse/Corbis via Getty Images The US Food and Drug Administration is banning the use of Red Dye No. 3 in food, drinks, and medication, the agency announced Wednesday. The dye, which the FDA says gives certain candies, cakes, and frostings a bright, cherry-red color," was found to cause cancer in male rats.Food manufacturers in the US now have until January 15th, 2027 to reformulate their products without Red Dye No. 3, while drugmakers must take action by January 18th, 2028. Its ban as a food additive comes 35 years after the FDA banned its use in cosmetics and topical drugs in 1990. California similarly banned Red No. 3 and other food additives in 2023, while the European Union, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand also restrict the use of the dye.Under the Delaney Clause of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), the FDA must ban foods that induce cancer in humans or animals. However, the FDA notes that studies involving other animals and humans did not show these effects," adding that claims stating Red Dye No. 3 in humans are not supported by the available scientific information."Here are some foods that may use Red Dye No. 3, according to Amanda Beaver, a wellness dietician at Houston Methodist Hospital:
Illustration: The Verge In a bid to get even more people regularly coming back to the theater, AMC is rolling out a new set of perks for the cheapest (read: free) tier of its loyalty rewards program.Though AMC doesn't seem to be getting rid of the original Insider level of its AMC Stubs membership, the theater chain announced today that it's introducing a new Premiere Go! tier that will offer subscribers even more benefits. In addition to discounted tickets on Tuesdays, free (large) popcorn refills, and access to AMC theaters' priority lanes, Premiere Go! members will earn twice the amount of AMC points (which can be redeemed for more discounts) for every dollar spent.Unlike the Insider tier, Premiere Go! Subscribers' points won't expire. But like the Premiere ($17.99 / year) and A-List (the monthly price varies by location) tiers, people using Premiere Go! will also be able to upgrade the size of their popcorn and fountain drinks at no additional cost. To become a Premiere Go! member, you'll have to see at least eight movies a year or earn 5,000 points, and once you do, you'll keep the status through the entirety of the next year.In a statement about the new tier, AMC's senior VP of marketing Ellen Copaken described it as a way of offering customers an exciting and achievable pathway to unlock enhanced rewards simply by enjoying the movies they love."Everything about the new tier feels like AMC is trying to get more people to consider signing up for Stubs' A-Tier, which launched back in 2018 as a direct response to MoviePass. And given how MoviePass' legacy just became even more tarnished by former CEO Mitch Lower pleading guilty to fraud, Stubs is probably looking a lot more attractive by comparison now.
Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge The first Nintendo Switch basically had the road to itself, and Nintendo instantly proved just how awesome a hybrid console and handheld could be, leading to massive success. We now know that the Switch 2 is set to launch in 2025, but it will be released into a world that's packed with very capable handheld gaming PCs that could present an interesting challenge to Nintendo, especially following news from CES 2025.Valve's Steam Deck kicked off the handheld gaming PC push in large part because its Linux-based SteamOS makes playing your games just about as easy as it is on consoles. That's why one of the biggest CES announcements is that Valve is going to let people install SteamOS on other handhelds as soon as April, potentially making the entire handheld PC gaming market a lot more appealing.The first official non-Valve device with SteamOS is set to be Lenovo's $499 Legion Go S, which launches in May. But it's not hard to imagine a near-term future where many other hardware makers announce their own SteamOS handhelds, meaning the magic of SteamOS might be available in all kinds of interesting devices very soon. (And hopefully, the increased competition means Valve will make the eventual next Steam Deck really good.) Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge The Lenovo Legion Go S next to a Steam Deck OLED. CES 2025 featured a bunch of other handheld gaming hardware, too, like the chonk that is Acer's Nitro Blaze 11. It has a gigantic 10.95-inch screen, detachable controllers, and a kickstand. It's huge! Intel and Tencent also made a handheld with an 11-inch screen, and theirs has stereo 3D. My colleague Sean Hollister finally got to see the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus. Razer made a docking station that works with handheld gaming PCs. And in a CES panel, Microsoft promised news about changes to the handheld Windows experience for later this year, which could improve things for people who already own Windows-based hardware.That's a lot of cool stuff! But Nintendo is the 800-pound gorilla in the room, and as interesting as all of the PC gaming hardware is, the Switch 2 already looks like a very compelling upgrade: we already know it has a bigger screen, potentially better Joy-Cons, and a new Mario Kart. While Nintendo hasn't shared detailed performance specs, the Switch 2 will likely be much more powerful than the original and will probably have splashy new games in other marquee Nintendo franchises. (I'd bet already-announced Switch games like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokemon Legends: Z-A will get some kind of Switch 2 boost, too.)And right out of the gate, the Switch 2 will also have an enormous library, as it will be backward compatible with physical and digital Switch games - a catalog that includes many of the indie hits that are also some of the best games on handheld PCs.Back in 2017, when the original Switch launched, there wasn't anything like it. The Switch 2 will compete in a much more crowded field - and one that's getting even more crowded after CES 2025. Hopefully, the competition means everyone makes better hardware and better games. It's a great time for handhelds.Update January 16th: Added details about the Switch 2 following its official announcement.
The Roborock Q5 Max Plus can't mop, but it's great for dry spills on carpets and hard flooring. | Image: Roborock While you can pay close to $1,000 or more for a fancier robot vacuum with bells and whistles like mopping and AI object avoidance, sometimes, all you may need is a solid roamer with powerful suction. That's exactly what the Roborock Q5 Max Plus is, and the all-time low price of $279.99 ($170 off) at Amazon and Roborock right now appropriately reflects that.The Roborock Q5 Max Plus is quite similar to the Q5 Pro, which we typically recommend if you need something that's great for vacuuming pet hair. That's largely thanks to its dual rubber roller brushes, which can really dig into the carpet with greater friction to loosen up those hairs and other stubborn debris.It also has the same adjustable 5,500Pa suction power and a 770ml dustbin that empties itself into a roomy 2.5-liter bin at the charging dock. That means you could go several weeks before manually emptying the dock. However, unlike the Q5 Pro, it doesn't come with detachable mopping pads.Like the Q5 Pro, the Q5 Max Plus uses Lidar navigation with multi-level 3D room mapping and keep-out zones, and it runs for up to four hours before it needs to return to the dock. You can manage and control all of this with the companion app, too, or control it with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple Siri voice commands.
Image: The Verge, Nintendo Nintendo has finally revealed the Switch 2 - but it didn't reveal everything. Even still, the new console looks pretty much like a bigger, more refined Switch. Sure, that's the straightforward and expected move from Nintendo. But it's also exactly what I've been waiting for.The first Switch was a revelation. When it launched, I marveled over being able to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on my TV and then take the console out of the dock and play in handheld mode curled up on the couch. Nintendo absolutely nailed the execution of combining its console and portable expertise into one great device, and ever since, the Switch has been a constant companion at home and while traveling.I would have been disappointed if Nintendo messed with what worked for the Switch with the Switch 2. I'm glad it has a bigger screen, one that appears to be even larger than the seven-inch display on the OLED Switch. I'm guessing the taller Joy-Cons will be easier to hold, which could be a massive improvement for my hands, and attaching them from the side looks like it could be easier than sliding them up and down. The second USB-C port on the top will be a very welcome addition for easier... Read the full story at The Verge.
Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol / Anadolu via Getty Images Now that New York City has finally flipped the switch on congestion pricing, the big question is: Will it work? And if so, how well?To find out, all eyes turned to an unassuming new web tool called the Congestion Pricing Tracker. The brainchild of two college-age brothers, the tracker uses real-time traffic data from Google Maps to calculate traffic times for chosen routes and days. The data is presented as a line graph of traffic times before and after congestion pricing went into effect on January 5th. Compare one line to the other to see whether traffic times have increased or decreased.Unsurprisingly, depending on the route and time of day, the new tolling scheme seems to be working - perhaps even better than expected. Since January 5th, most drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours will pay $9 - or $2.25 for late nights and weekends. And that fee appears to be doing what it set out to do, which is to change the behavior of the people behind the wheel and funnel millions of dollars into needed transit improvements. That was what initially drew brothers Benjamin and Joshua Moshes to the project. Benjamin, a senior studying math and... Read the full story at The Verge.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Tech companies and their leadership are schmoozing Donald Trump ahead of the imminent administration switchup. Read the full story at The Verge.
Image: The Verge, Nintendo You can always count on Nintendo for a surprise. This is the company that followed the Game Boy with a strange dual-screened handheld and broke out of its GameCube slump with a console focused on motion controls. It's the company that lost its lead with the Wii U and then gambled on another innovation - the portable hybrid known as the Switch - to ultimately get back on top. All of those were big, risky swings that seemingly exemplified the company's playful, experimental ethos.The Switch 2, on the other hand, is... a bigger, better Switch. It's kind of boring. But it's also exactly the right move from Nintendo. At a time when people expect their games and experiences to carry over between devices, the old console paradigm of starting over with a new generation doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And since Nintendo hit a home run with the original Switch, it has the runway to be a little bit boring this time.Today's reveal video didn't detail a whole lot about the Switch 2 in terms of specs, but there are still some clear improvements over the original, like the bigger display (though we don't know the exact screen size) and redesigned Joy-Con controllers. More details are coming... Read the full story at The Verge.
The Comfy JT-200T calculator's solar panel is located on its top edge where you won't see it. | Image: Casio Japan Calculator aesthetics are apparently very important to some people, so Casio Japan has announced a new Comfy JT-200T solar-powered model that relocates its solar cell to the top edge keeping it out of sight while you're crunching numbers.The calculator is also available in five muted colors to better match your desk decor: off white, dark gray, grayish pink, grayish green, and grayish blue. It will be released on January 30th, 2025 in Japan for 3,850, or around $25. Image: Casio Japan The calculator is available in off white, dark gray, grayish pink, grayish green, and grayish blue color options. There's no indication the new position of the solar panel will affect its exposure to indoor lighting and power generation capabilities, but it is slightly angled upwards and a bit larger than the solar panels on Casio's other design-focused models.The company says the new model will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the very first calculator Casio released in 1965. However, the Comfy JT-200T has more in common with the company's first personal calculator, as it uses the same key font as the Casio Mini released in 1972.The calculator's case is made from a mix of recycled plastic and mica which helps hide scratches, there's a spring-loaded stand on the back that will elevate it about eight degrees, and it features a 12-digit segmented LCD display. Its number-crunching capabilities are basic, but it does include dedicated tax buttons potentially making it appealing to accountants not entirely devoted to spreadsheets. Image: Casio Japan Other models in Casio's design-focused line of calculators feature a small solar panel located just above their displays.
Sony Sony has been saying that its upcoming Until Dawn feature - one of its new IP adaptations - is meant to channel the game's spirit. But the movie's latest trailer makes it pretty clear that this isn't just going to be a one-to-one translation.Similar to the game, director David F. Sandberg's Until Dawn revolves around a group of people who find themselves trapped in a time loop that resets as they're each murdered in a number of different horrific scenarios. When Melanie (Maia Mitchell) goes missing under mysterious circumstances, her younger sister Clover (Ella Rubin) recruits her friends Max (Michael Cimino), Megan (Ji-young Yoo), Nina (Odessa A'zion), and Abel (Belmont Cameli) on a mission to find her. In the trailer, group's search brings them to what looks to be an inn run by Hill (Peter Stormare), an odd man who warns them that wandering farther up the road will only bring trouble into their lives.Though one seems all that bothered by how the weather acts strangely around Hill's inn, they know something is up when their car vanishes, and they find Melanie's signature written in a dusty old guest log. Things only get spookier as night falls, and something starts lurking in the darkness around Clover and her friends. But it isn't until people start dying that they realize they're somehow being resurrected and challenged to survive until the morning as various ghouls try to kill them in inventive ways.The trailer makes it seem like, despite revolving around new characters, it'll hit many of the classic Until Dawn beats. And when the movie hits theaters on April 25th, it'll probably keep audiences guessing as to who exactly is going to make it out alive.
Image: Polestar Polestar may be facing a possible ban in the US, but the Sweden-by-way-of-China manufacturer isn't going to let that stop it from releasing new products. The company provided a business update on Thursday, during which it announced a new model, the Polestar 7 compact SUV, that will be produced in Europe.Little was revealed about the Polestar 7 - we didn't even get a look at a prototype - but the company said it will be a very progressive SUV" with a strong USP," or unique selling point. It's unclear when the vehicle will go into production or even where in Europe it will be built. (Sweden seems like a likely bet.)We will enter the compact SUV segment, by the way the biggest and fastest growing segment in the world, and we will obviously make sure it comes with all the Polestar DNA," the company's new CEO, Michael Lohscheller, said.We will obviously make sure it comes with all the Polestar DNA"The update, which took the form of a professionally produced sit-down interview with Lohscheller, didn't touch on Polestar's regulatory trouble in the US. The Biden administration recently finalized a ban on connected vehicle software from China, a move that Polestar has said would effectively prohibit" it from selling EVs in the US.In fact, the US wasn't mentioned at all during the 27-minute video - perhaps a reflection of the strong headwinds EVs are facing under the incoming Trump administration. Instead, the company said it expects to launch soon in France, which is one of the fastest-growing markets for EVs.This represents a significant shift in the company's position from the past few years. Polestar was laser-focused on the US market with the Polestar 3, a three-row SUV manufactured at its factory in South Carolina in order to qualify for generous incentives under the Biden administration. EV sales were looking strong when the Polestar 3 was announced, but now sales have slowed thanks to high prices, charging challenges, and politics. Many of those incentives put in place by President Joe Biden are likely to be eliminated under President-elect Donald Trump.In a statement, Polestar said it was in the process of adapting its operations to comply with the new regulations. The U.S. is and will remain an important market for Polestar and we always ensure that our cars comply with regulations in the countries in which we operate," Polestar spokesperson Michael Ofiara said. The now finalized legislation is expected to be implemented with the model year 2027. We are in advanced stages to adapt our future models to make sure they comply with the regulation in terms of hardware, software and suppliers. Therefore, we will make sure to comply with all regulations."Polestar also reported its third quarter earnings today (the company is lagging behind other companies in reporting its earnings), including a $323 million net loss. It sold 12,548 cars, which was down 8 percent compared to its Q3 sales in 2023.$323 million net lossThe company also said it no longer expects similar revenue in 2024 as it earned in 2023, nor a positive gross profit margin for the fourth quarter. Instead, Polestar is expecting a mid-teens percentage decline in revenue and a negative gross margin around the same level as full year 2023, as the fourth quarter product mix was negatively impacted by fewer than expected Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 sales."But amid these challenges, Lohscheller said he was convinced that Polestar was still on the right track. He predicted positive" adjusted earnings for 2025 and free cash flow, in which Polestar would be generating more money from its business operations than it is losing in 2027.Really, 2024 is a transitional year for Polestar," said Lohscheller, who previously served as CEO of the Stellantis-owned Opel. But I feel we are well positioned now going into 2025 with the right cars, with the right distribution, and obviously a much much better focus on significant cost reduction and increasing efficiency."Update January 16th: Updated to include a statement from a Polestar spokesperson.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Liz Pelly's Mood Machine offers a history of the biggest player in streaming. Read the full story at The Verge.
The blacked-out Leica lettering of the SL2-S returns on the new model. | Image: Leica Camera Leica has a new camera for pros who shoot both video and stills. The $5,295 Leica SL3-S, which launches today, is a full-frame mirrorless hybrid camera optimized for fast-action stills and 6K video. Like the SL3 it's based on, the SL3-S has a compact body and 3.2-inch tilting touchscreen display. But where the SL3 with its 60mp sensor is mainly for still photography, the SL3-S is optimized for speed: its 24mp sensor can shoot video at 6K with 12-bit raw footage, and it can capture stills at up to 30fps with continuously tracking autofocus. Image: Leica Camera The new Leica SL duo: the Leica SL3 (left) and SL3-S (right). The SL3-S's newfound video chops mean it supports open-gate 6K (5952 x 3968 resolution) recording of its full 3:2 sensor at up to 30fps, or up to 60fps in 4K, and it can record directly to an SSD via USB-C connection. While it doesn't have an especially high-resolution sensor for stills, it makes up for that with speed and focusing ability. The SL3-S has 779 phase-detect autofocus points, more than double the SL3's 315 points. It also has improved object detection and tracking focus, and it shoots fast enough to enable 48- and 96-megapixel high-res multi-shot composites without a tripod.Otherwise, the SL3-S shares a lot with the SL3 - utilizing the same body design with dual card slots (one UHS-II SD and one CFExpress Type B), tilting touchscreen, color-coded menu system (red for photo / yellow for video), and that quirky light-up power button. (Seriously, why is the power button not a nice physical switch like every other camera?) It's a similar approach to the one Leica took with its last-generation SL2 and SL2-S, with the SL3-S once again looking identical to its pricier counterpart, aside from some blacked-out Leica lettering.The SL line is aimed at pros who need their fancy German camera to be more of an all-around workhorse, with high-res video recording and autofocus, instead of a slower-paced, specialized tool for photography like a Leica M rangefinder. So it makes sense that Leica is baking its Content Credentials into the SL3-S, utilizing Adobe's Content Authenticity Initiative for image verification like it first did on the M11-P. Strangely, this feature isn't available in the standard SL3, which launched in March 2024, and won't be added via firmware upgrade. Leica spokesperson Nathan Kellum-Pathe told The Verge that the SL3 lacks the necessary hardware and that while software-based content authentication is possible, it does not meet Leica's standard for encryption of this important data."If you have Leica money, but not infinite Leica money, the SL3-S feels like the better value for all but the pickiest pixel peepers.
Image: The Verge, Nintendo The arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2 heralds some much-needed improvements over its predecessor, especially its Joy-Con controllers. Here's a quick breakdown of what the announcement trailer showed us about the Switch 2's Joy-Cons.Before the official reveal of the console, there were rumors alluding to how the new Joy-Cons would work and their internal mechanisms. The most significant rumor was that they were held to the console via magnets, and in the reveal video, that appears to be the case. The video features the Joy-Con seemingly snapping to a cover as though attracted by a magnetic force. Gif: Nintendo The new Joy-Cons snap to everything as though powered by magnets. The video shows that the Joy-Cons have a protrusion that fits into an oval depression in the main body of the console, plugging into ports (with that iconic Nintendo Switch snap" sound) instead of sliding down rails. There's also a button at the top of each controller that is ostensibly how the Joy-Cons detach from the main console, but the reveal video didn't show that in action. According to some of the Switch 2 rumors reported on by The Verge, pressing that button actuates a pin that will push the Joy-Cons away from the console, and in the video, you can see on the inside track of each controller a small circle at the top that looks like it pushes out. Gif: Nintendo You can see a tiny protrusion at the top of the Joy-Con that is likely what detaches the controller from the console. The Joy-Cons, like the Switch 2 itself, are larger. In the version of the console shown in the announcement video, they're black with accents in the traditional red and blue colors from the original Switch. Other elements from the previous Joy-Cons are still there, like the indicator lights and the SL / SP buttons that are visible when the Joy-Cons are being used individually. The left Joy-Con still has its square screenshot button and the right one has the home button, but directly below that is a new button whose function is still unconfirmed.The biggest problem plaguing the original Switch Joy-Cons was a condition known as Joy-Con drift. Users reported that their analog sticks would display movement without input from the player, kind of like a cursor moving on a computer screen without moving the mouse. Nintendo didn't share any information about the internal mechanisms powering the Joy-Cons, so we don't know how susceptible they will be to this problem.We'll know more about the Joy-Cons, along with the console and its upcoming library of games, when Nintendo holds its Switch 2 Direct on April 2nd.
Image: Nintendo Nintendo shared the first details about the Nintendo Switch 2 in a video published Thursday. Nintendo doesn't give a specific release date for the console besides 2025."The console looks a lot like the original, but it's bigger. In the video, the Joy-Con controllers are black with colored accents, and they attach to the side of the console instead of sliding on and off. The Joy-Cons appear to snap on quite easily - leaks have suggested they could be attached via magnets.There's a new button under the home button on the right Joy-Con, which had shown up in leaks. The video also appears to show the Joy-Cons being used similarly to a mouse. And the SL and SR buttons on the Joy-Cons are bigger than they are on the original Switch's Joy-Cons.On top of the Switch 2, there's a new USB-C port next to the 3.5mm headphone jack. The kickstand has a new design - it's shaped more like a U. The dock for the Switch 2 has a more rounded design. And, like with the original Switch, there will also be a separate controller grip that you can snap the Joy-Cons into.The only game shown is what appears to be a new Mario Kart title. But the console will be backward-compatible with both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games - though the video cautions that certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2."Nintendo is promising to share more details in a Nintendo Switch 2-focused Direct on April 2nd, 2025. The specific time will be shared at a later date."Your first chance to try it could come at a series of events in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas that are scheduled over several days later in April - ticket registration will be available here on Nintendo's website starting January 17th at 3PM ET. Image: Nintendo The Nintendo Switch 2 console. The Nintendo Switch will be a tough act to follow. The device was a clever hybrid of a home console and a handheld, and the formula resulted in one of the bestselling consoles of all time. A huge part of the console's success was that it was home to some of Nintendo's best-ever games, including hits like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Odyssey, Metroid Prime Remastered, and the very popular Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Fortunately, you'll be able to play all of those games on the new console - Nintendo said in November that the Switch's successor will be compatible with Switch games and will have Nintendo Switch Online.The first Switch was also a massive sales hit. The company says that, so far, it's sold 146.04 million units, making the console its second-highest-selling video game system behind the original Nintendo DS, which sold 154.02 million units. The Switch's sales figures also mean that it has surpassed the Nintendo Wii (101.63 million units), the Game Boy (118.69 million units), and the Nintendo 3DS (75.94 million units).While we've been waiting years for a true Switch successor, the console had mid-cycle hardware refreshes along the way. The Nintendo Switch Lite was a great way to play Switch games on a smaller device, and the Nintendo Switch OLED added a beautiful display and a handful of other nice upgrades.Starting in December, supposed information about Nintendo's next console began to trickle out from accessory manufacturers. Dbrand, for example, gave us what it believed to be actual dimensions of the hardware and said that its understanding" was that the Joy-Con controllers would be magnetically attached. And at CES 2025, Genki showed off a 3D-printed mockup of what it believed the Switch's successor would look like.
Image: Nintendo We don't know when the Nintendo Switch 2 will launch (aside from later this year), but we do know when you can get your hands on the hardware - at least briefly. Nintendo is taking the Switch 2 on tour with a series of events it's called the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience." Players around the globe will be able to check out the new console for themselves and presumably play brand-new games, like the just-teased next entry in the Mario Kart series.The events will span North America, Asia, Oceania, and Europe and kick off in April - which is also when Nintendo will be hosting a Direct event to share more details on its new console. Here's the full schedule, and you can keep an eye out for tickets right here. Nintendo says the tickets will be made available through a free-to-enter, randomly selected drawing."
Image: Nintendo Nintendo is finally making a new Mario Kart. While the official announcement of the Switch 2 didn't feature much in the way of game announcements, the company did tease the next entry in the Mario Kart series. We don't know anything about it really, though. There's currently no title or details about the game. That should change later this year, as Nintendo is planning a Switch 2 Direct event for April.It's been a long time coming. Mario Kart 8 originally launched in 2014 for the Wii U, before an upgraded edition hit the Switch three years later, where it became the platform's bestselling title, moving more than 64 million copies. Of course, it's not like fans have been without new content; the Switch version of Mario Kart 8 got a huge number of DLC add-ons, which doubled the number of available tracks. Nintendo also released a mobile spinoff called Mario Kart Tour in 2019, though it stopped receiving updates as of 2023.
