by Emma Roth on (#6JEWW)
Image: Formula 1 / Netflix Sports documentaries are becoming a popular genre among streamers, from Netflix to Apple TV Plus. Continue reading...
The Verge - All Posts
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
| Feed | http://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml |
| Updated | 2024-11-24 20:00 |
by Brandon Widder on (#6JEWY)
Google's TV software isn't all that different from what other streaming devices employ, but its content-first UI keeps us coming back. | Image: The Verge The streaming world may be consolidating faster than anticipated, but it's pretty clear that cable TV isn't likely to stage a comeback anytime soon. Fortunately, if you're looking to pick up a new streaming device to make the most of Netflix and other services, the Chromecast with Google TV (4K) is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo starting at $39.98 ($10 off), nearly matching its lowest price to date.Despite having launched at the tail end of 2020, Google's 4K-ready Chromecast remains one of our top picks when it comes to streaming devices. It features many of the hallmarks we expect in a modern streamer, including support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, along with a comfortable remote that can control your TV over both IR... Continue reading...
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by Ash Parrish on (#6JEWZ)
Paramount Plus Unlike the previous season's pilot, Halo's season 2 premiere shows you don't need a bunch of video game details to tell a video game story. Continue reading...
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6JESD)
The Verge In Netflix's new adaptation of Cixin Liu's novel The Three-Body Problem, actress Rosalind Chao portrays one of the brilliant minds mobilized into action by the presence of a threat with the potential to wipe out humanity. But in Macmillan's forthcoming The Three-Body Problem audiobook recording, Chao will bring the entire world of Liu's novel to life with the sound of her voice.Ahead of the March 21st debut of Netflix's 3 Body Problem, Macmillan Audio has tapped Chao to narrate its new recording of The Three-Body Problem - the first book in Liu's Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy chronicling the story of how humanity responds after making first contact with aliens. In a press release about the new audiobook, Chao said that, after... Continue reading...
by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6JESE)
With two solid films under its belt, Paramount's A Quiet Place films have really come into their own as a franchise, and even though the novelty of their core conceit has waned over time, the new trailer for director Michael Sarnoski's upcoming prequel looks pretty damn promising.After spending two films telling the story of how the Abbott family survived after the sudden arrival of aliens that hunt using their incredibly sensitive hearing, A Quiet Place: Day One shifts its focus to a woman named Sam (Lupita Nyong'o) on the day the creatures first dropped down to Earth. In the film's new trailer, Sam seems to be one of the millions of New Yorkers who have no idea what to think when they look up one afternoon and see massive fiery... Continue reading...
by Emma Roth on (#6JESF)
Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Apple may have just released the Vision Pro, but it hasn't forgotten about making foldable iPhones and iPads. A new report from The Information reveals the company is developing at least two" iPhone prototypes that fold horizontally, similar to Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip devices.We are unlikely to see a folding iPhone anytime soon, if at all, as The Information reports the device isn't in the company's mass production plans for 2024 or 2025. Even though the company reportedly wants to create a foldable iPhone with displays on the outside of the device, The Information says engineers struggled" with the design because it can break easily. Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Apple's vision for a folding iPhone may... Continue reading...
by Tom Warren on (#6JESJ)
Image: Microsoft A year ago today, Microsoft unveiled its ambitious plans for an AI-powered Bing search engine. It was the biggest launch in the history of Bing, helped push AI usage even further into the mainstream, and spurred a wave of dreams and panic about what AI could impact next. The launch was even successful enough to rattle Google, which was quickly seen as falling behind on artificial intelligence.They will definitely want to come out and show that they can dance," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told The Verge at the time. And I want people to know that we made them dance."The strategy worked. But one year later, Bing seems to have fallen out of the conversation. Google is still at over 91 percent of traditional search market share, a... Continue reading...
by David Pierce on (#6JESH)
Image: Cath Virginia | The Verge The buzziest new thing in social networking is a big deal. It's also very confusing. And it's not actually new. Let's talk about it. Continue reading...
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by Barbara Krasnoff on (#6JESG)
Tech, tarot, junk journaling, and cats. Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6JEPE)
iFixit's partially disassembled Vision Pro | Image: iFixit The Apple Vision Pro has a very good display. That's the big takeaway from iFixit's second teardown video on the headset (with accompanying blog), as the team found the dual MicroOLED panels inside are the densest they've ever seen at 3,386 pixels per inch (ppi). That doesn't quite put the Vision Pro at 4K resolution, but it's close. (iFixit notes that the consumer standard for 4K UHD is 3,840.) This is the benefit of using MicroOLED and is also a huge part of why the Vision Pro is so costly.Compared to other VR headsets, there's no contest here. iFixit points out that the Meta Quest 3 sits at about 1,218ppi, while the HTC Vive Pro is even less dense at around 950ppi. And your average phone is only going to be in the mid-100s. (iFixit... Continue reading...
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by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#6JEPF)
The new Ring Battery Doorbell Pro adds radar-powered motion detection. | Image: Ring Smart home security company Ring has announced a new battery-powered doorbell. The $229.99 Battery Doorbell Pro builds on the Ring Battery Plus released last year - which brought 1536p HD video and a head-to-toe view to Ring's wire-free doorbell line - and adds 3D Motion Detection powered by radar instead of passive infrared sensing. This should give more accurate alerts and not try to tell you that a tree branch is a person. There's also dual-band Wi-Fi, color pre-roll, color night vision, and noise-cancelling audio.Ring now sells three wireless battery doorbells: the Video Doorbell (second-gen) for $100, the Battery Plus for $150 (down from its launch price of $180), and the Battery Pro for $230. The new top-of-the-line Pro has... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6JEPG)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Ford created a skunkworks" lab two years ago with the mission of developing affordable electric vehicles, the company's CEO said in an earnings call Tuesday. The team is being led by Alan Clarke, who worked at Tesla for 12 years before joining Ford as executive director of advanced EV development, according to TechCrunch.Ford, like other global automakers, is scrambling to perfect the formula for profitable electric vehicles. The company's Model e unit, which oversees EVs and software products, reported a loss of $1.6 billion in the last quarter of 2023. Ford said it would slow the pace of money it was spending on EVs in order to better match customer demand.But the revelation of a skunkworks lab working on low-cost EVs proves that... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6JEKV)
Emission rise from a smoke stack at the Essex County Resource Recovery Waste-to-Energy Facility on January 21, 2024, in Newark, New Jersey. | Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a significantly stricter standard today for fine particle pollution, commonly referred to as soot. It's the first time in twelve years that the agency has updated the rule to reflect current science and the culmination of a power struggle that has spanned three presidential administrations.Tackling this kind of pollution is like battling a dragon with many heads - it comes from power plants, factories, vehicles, wildfires, and anything else you can imagine that produces soot. That's made this rule a major target for both health advocates pushing for more protective policies and industries lobbying to keep current, more lax regulations in place.For now, at least, health advocates are... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6JEKW)
Some of the newer Asus OLED monitors like the ROG Swift PG32UCDM (pictured) will benefit from a longer three year burn-in warranty. | Image: Asus MSI and Asus are providing consumers who purchase their OLED monitors with some additional peace of mind, having now revised their warranty coverage on certain models to cover the dreaded issue of panel burn-in. On Monday, TFTCentral spotted that the warranties offered across Asus OLED displays have been quietly updated to include burn-in coverage of either two or three years. MSI then countered this less than 24 hours later, announcing a new three-year burn-in warranty for some of its own OLED displays.OLED panels are becoming more common in gaming-focused monitors thanks to the improved image quality and responsiveness they provide over IPS and LCD displays, but burn-in is still a concern for many consumers. Static elements - like... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6JEHP)
A heat pump is installed on the first floor among many AC units at the New York City Housing Authority's Woodside Houses in Queens, New York. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Nine states inked an agreement today to promote heat pump sales. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) sets a 2030 target for heat pumps to make up 65 of residential heating, cooling, and water heating equipment sales. By 2040, the goal is for heat pumps to account for 90 percent of the HVAC and water heating market.Heat pumps are more energy efficient alternatives to traditional heating and cooling systems. And because they're electric, they can feasibly run on renewables like wind and solar once there's more clean energy coursing through power grids. The states on board with the agreement include: California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Rhode Island.The MOU isn't legally binding, so... Continue reading...
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by Sean Hollister on (#6JE8N)
Cosmo Canyon. Nibelheim. Dolphin racing. Vincent Valentine. A one-winged Sephiroth. Marlene's dad Dyne. Mini-game after mini-game after mini-game to play. The world will be saved, but will you?" asks the game's trailer, with almost zero subtlety that the events of this game will determine Aerith's infamous fate.Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is coming February 29th, and both Sony and Square Enix want to make damn sure that fans know this game is a can't-miss event - even though it's not the conclusion to the remake of Final Fantasy VII and will have another game following it.But as a huge fan of the original PS1 title who initially held out on playing Remake for that reason, I've gotta say the 15-plus minutes of video that Sony and... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6JE5V)
Image: Porsche Porsche's inaugural electric car is getting a facelift to dramatically improve its driving range, performance, and fast-charging abilities. As rival EVs get bigger batteries and improved charging architectures, Porsche is intent on remaining top of the heap with the refreshed Taycan sport sedan.The 2025 Taycan comes in two body styles - the sports sedan and the Cross Turismo wagon - each with four powertrain options as well as rear- and all-wheel drive variants. The sedans, which range in price from $101,395 to $210,995, will be available this fall. The Cross Turismo models, available later this fall, start at $113,095 and climb all the way to $213,695.The 2023 Taycan came in two battery configurations: 79kWh and 93kWh. For the 2025... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6JE5T)
Wind turbines and power lines can be seen against the evening sky near Leuna, Germany on October 4th, 2022. | Photo by Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images The European Union saw a record drop in pollution from fossil fuel power plants last year, according to a new report. Ember, an energy think tank that crunched the numbers, calls it an unprecedented collapse in coal and gas electricity generation." Renewable energy is finally starting to take over the power grid.Fossil fuels dropped to their lowest point since reliable record-keeping started in 1990, making up less than a third of EU's electricity generation in 2023. Carbon-pollution-free power generation - which includes renewables and nuclear energy - made up more than two-thirds of the electricity mix, and twice as much as fossil fuels.An unprecedented collapse in coal and gas electricity generation."What's encouraging is it's... Continue reading...
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by Emilia David on (#6JE5W)
Image: OpenAI OpenAI's image generator DALL-E 3 will add watermarks to image metadata as more companies roll out support for standards from the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA).The company says watermarks from C2PA will appear in images generated on the ChatGPT website and the API for the DALL-E 3 model. Mobile users will get the watermarks by February 12th. They'll include both an invisible metadata component and a visible CR symbol, which will appear in the top left corner of each image.People can check the provenance - which AI tool was used to make the content - of any image generated by OpenAI's platforms through websites like Content Credentials Verify. So far, only still images, not videos or text, can carry the... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6JE5X)
Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Warner Bros. Discovery is preparing to launch a streaming service in partnership with ESPN / Disney and Fox Sports, as reported earlier by CNBC and Sports Business Journal. All three companies have agreed in principle to launch an as-yet-unnamed standalone app, of which they all share one-third ownership, this fall that streams a range of leagues and sports.It is poised to have sports networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNews, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, and truTV. The new service will air games from the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL), along with NASCAR, PGA Tour Golf, Grand Slam Tennis, and more. Disney... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6JE5Y)
Photo by Rodin Eckenroth / WireImage Three years after Disney cut ties with The Mandalorian's Gina Carano, the actor is now filing a lawsuit against the company - with a little help from Elon Musk.As The Hollywood Reporter reports, Carano is suing Disney for discrimination and wrongful termination after she was fired following inflammatory and antisemitic posts on X (then Twitter) and Instagram. At the time of Carano's firing, Disney said in a statement that her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable."As for the timing, Carano is filing the lawsuit now because Musk posted in August of last year that if you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this... Continue reading...
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by Amrita Khalid on (#6JE5Z)
Image: Laura Normand / The Verge Lingo Telecom and Life Corporation are linked to a robocall campaign that used an AI voice clone of President Joe Biden to persuade New Hampshire voters not to vote, said New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella during a press conference on Tuesday. Authorities have issued cease-and-desist orders as well as subpoenas to both companies. The two companies are both based in Texas and have been accused of illegal robocall investigations in the past, the FCC noted in the document.In its cease-and-desist order to Lingo Telecom, the FCC accused the company of originating illegal robocall traffic." According to the document, the robocalls began on January 21st of this year, two days before the New Hampshire presidential primary. Voters in... Continue reading...
by Ariel Shapiro on (#6JE3F)
Image: The Verge This is Hot Pod, The Verge's newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Sign up here for more.After last week's big deal announcements, Spotify reported its fourth quarter earnings. The company is still operating at a loss, but the margins on podcasting do seem to actually be improving. I have more on that below, plus what it cost for the company to get there. Oh, and still no HiFi.Plus, I've got some more Hot Pod Summit programming announcements.After slashing jobs and ending exclusivity, Spotify may finally have a profitable podcast businessOn a call today, Daniel Ek told investors what they have wanted to hear about podcasting for a long time. I'm pleased to say in Q4, we were very close to breakeven on that business,... Continue reading...
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6JE3G)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The writing's been on the wall for months now, but Disney Plus is finally implementing measures to keep US subscribers from sharing their passwords with people who aren't paying for the service.Today, Disney Plus began sending out emails informing subscribers about new changes to its terms of service that will, among other things, make it harder for people to access the service using log-in credentials that aren't actually theirs. The updated terms come a few months after Disney Plus implemented similar measures for its Canadian subscribers and just days after Hulu sent out similar notices to users about changes to its own TOS and its plans to stop password sharing in the coming weeks.Like Hulu's terms of service, the changes to... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6JE3H)
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The first visionOS developer beta since the launch of the Apple Vision Pro is here, bringing with it a fix that lets users of the headset get closer to objects in a 3D space.In visionOS, when you get close enough to an object or an app window, it starts to fade to nothing as you pass through it. But one of The Verge's staffers said the point where this fade happens when playing something like STAK!, a game that lets you stack 3D blocks, was frustratingly far away.Apple's release notes for the visionOS beta 1.1 update say that users will be able to reposition volumetric scenes much closer than before, which will enable easier direct interaction" with the objects in them.Besides this fix, Apple has also reportedly enabled... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6JE3J)
Illustration: The Verge WhatsApp, like many other major tech platforms, will have to make some significant changes to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA). One of those changes is interoperability with other messaging platforms, a move WhatsApp engineering director Dick Brouwer explains in an interview with Wired.The shift toward interoperability will first include text messages, images, voice messages, videos, and files sent from one person to another. In theory, this would allow users to chat with people on WhatsApp through third-party apps, like iMessage, Telegram, Google Messages, and Signal, and vice versa.However, it all depends on whether other companies get on board, as there are still concerns about how the Meta-owned app will... Continue reading...
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by Emilia David on (#6JE0V)
Screenshot of the Ikea AI Assistant | Ikea Trips to Ikea can easily be an overwhelming exercise if you go in without a plan. Ikea's AI assistant on the GPT Store was created to help - it will tell you all about its products and visualize them in a room.Francesco Marzoni, chief data and analytics officer at Ingka Group, the largest Ikea franchise holder, said in a press release the AI assistant is part of a series of experiments the company is doing so that we can take part in the AI evolution as we shape our company strategy."I figured an Ikea AI Assistant should be a good way to make the experience less exhausting; this is part of Ikea's pitch to potential users. So I decided to give it a try. However, I found that the Ikea GPT was not a good partner in interior design.T... Continue reading...
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by Sheena Vasani on (#5G2MT)
Bose's new QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are $50 off at multiple retailers. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge When it comes to headphones and true wireless earbuds, there are a ton of brands and products to choose from. However, the sheer range of available models can also make them difficult to shop for, especially since many of them cater to different lifestyles, budgets, and priorities. Some are better suited for long-haul flights and vigorous workouts, for instance, while others let you tune out noise so you can focus better.That's why we've curated a list of the best headphone and earbud deals available. Here, you'll find sales on all kinds of earbuds and over-ear headphones, all of which come with their own strengths and weaknesses. And if you want to do even more research before making a buying decision, we've put together guides to... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6JDYA)
Illustration by Hugo Herrera / The Verge The European Commission today recommended reducing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels by 90 percent by 2040 compared to 1990 levels.At face value, it's an ambitious target for transforming the European Union's energy system. As always, though, the devil is in the details. And the proposed plan is already garnering a range of strong reactions.A formal proposal still needs to be issued, but it has already faced pushback on how much of those pollution cuts should come from risky tactics aimed at capturing rather than preventing pollution. Some environmental groups are also criticizing a glaring omission in the draft: while it mentions phasing out coal, there's no strategy to phase out oil and gas.It's like building a bike... Continue reading...
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6JDTY)
Apple's AirTags are going for about $20 a pop when you buy four of them. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Gadgets that make life easier in a ton of ways without costing a fortune are my favorites, which is why I love location trackers like Apple's AirTags. The tiny trackers function like a second pair of eyes, helping my loved ones and me keep tabs on just about anything - suitcases, keys, remotes, pets, parked cars, wandering toddlers, you name it. And right now, you can buy a four-pack for about $79 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, which factors out to $19.75 a pop. You can also buy a single AirTag for $24 at Amazon and Walmart, which is just a penny more than its price during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.For iPhone owners, there's simply no better location tracker on the market. The AirTag can tap into Apple's vast Find My system and... Continue reading...
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by Tauriq Moosa on (#6JDTZ)
Image: Warner Bros. Games Rocksteady Studios returns to the superhero genre with an ill-conceived attempt to merge Arkham-style action with a live-service game. Continue reading...
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by Richard Lawler on (#6JDV0)
Image: Edert Lopez (TikTok 1, 2), @lentinidante (X) The Vision Pro era is only a few days old, and while people continue to debate whether this is the future of entertainment and productivity or something else entirely, one group of people has found a well-defined use case for Apple's new gear: chasing views.The new genre of wearing a Vision Pro unusually" social video has many forms, with robot dogs, subways, and crosswalks making appearances, but the niche that keeps popping up in our feeds is the one that includes an element of Tesla / Autopilot / Cybertruck hype to the mix. The Verge asked Apple about the videos appearing on social media, but the company has not responded.See X user Dante Lentini, who had to explain that his video was a skit," and he wasn't actually arrested for... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6JDV1)
Photo by Shahar Azran / Getty Images Five years after driving WeWork into the ground, co-founder and ousted CEO Adam Neumann has now hatched a plan to buy it out of bankruptcy. In a letter to WeWork's advisers obtained by The New York Times, Neumann and his new real estate business, Flow Global, express interest in buying the co-working space solution - but claim WeWork has been ignoring attempts to get more information so they can come up with a bid.Neumann and Flow Global have been exploring a purchase of WeWork since December 2023, with the help of funding from Dan Loeb's hedge fund, Third Point. However, as noted in the letter written by Neumann's attorney Alex Spiro - the same person who represents Elon Musk - WeWork doesn't seem interested in entertaining Neumann's... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6JDV2)
Taylor Swift departs Perth Airport on March 4th, 2012, in Perth, Australia. | Photo by Faith Moran / GC Images Taylor Swift's attorneys have threatened legal action against Jack Sweeney, a college student who has attracted the ire of celebrities and billionaires over his social media accounts that share publicly available information about private jet landings and takeoffs.An attorney for Swift sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sweeney, a University of Central Florida junior, in December, according to The Washington Post. The letter, which Sweeney shared with the Post, says that his social media accounts cause direct and irreparable harm, as well as emotional and physical distress." It says that unless Sweeney stops the stalking and harassing behavior," the artist would have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies."I think it's... Continue reading...
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by David Pierce on (#6JDQZ)
Arc Search, from The Browser Company, is one of the better mobile browsers we've tried. It also represents something of an existential threat to the internet, at least as we know it now. By searching the web for you and creating a bespoke webpage every time you ask a question and tap Browse for me," Arc - and other AI-focused search engines like Perplexity - could change everything from Google's business model to the way our favorite blogs work.On this episode of The Vergecast, we talk with Josh Miller, The Browser Company's CEO, about all things browsers and AI. He makes the case that there's a lot left to solve here, but the web is changing no matter what, and in many ways, it'll change for the better. He's definitely right that the... Continue reading...
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by Alex Heath on (#6JDR1)
Bluesky There was a moment last year when Bluesky - the weird, irreverent Twitter competitor with a decentralized twist - had captured lighting in a bottle.The app quickly amassed over two million users while in closed beta and became a hot topic of conversation in newsrooms like The Verge's. Now, the conversation about what comes after the platform-now-called-X has largely shifted to ActivityPub, the decentralized protocol powering Mastodon, a budding ecosystem of other services, and eventually, Meta's Threads.Even with ActivityPub taking off, Bluesky is ready to have its moment in the spotlight again. Starting this week, the app is removing its invite system and throwing open its doors to anyone who wants to sign up. And later this month,... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6JDR0)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Mozilla is introducing a new paid subscription privacy monitoring service called Mozilla Monitor Plus. For $8.99 a month under its annual subscription, Mozilla says it will automatically keep a lookout for your information at over 190 sites where brokers sell information they've gathered from online sources like social media sites, apps, and browser trackers, and when your info is found, it will automatically try to get it removed.Mozilla Monitor product manager Tony Cinotto told The Verge in an email that Mozilla partners with a company called Onerep to perform these scans and subsequent takedown requests. While requests usually take between seven and 14 days to process, he says sometimes information can't be removed. Mozilla will... Continue reading...
by Emilia David on (#6JDN1)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Meta will start labelling AI-generated photos uploaded to Facebook, Instagram, and Threads over the coming months as election season ramps up around the world. The company will also begin punishing users who don't disclose if a realistic video or piece of audio was made with AI.Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global affairs, said in an interview that these steps are meant to galvanize" the tech industry as AI-generated media becomes increasingly difficult to discern from reality. The White House has pushed hard for companies to watermark AI-generated content. In the meantime, Meta is building tools to detect synthetic media even if its metadata has been altered to obfuscate AI's role in its creation, according to Clegg.Meta already... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6JDN2)
Some app users are seeing options to filter homepage videos by green, blue, or red. | Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is testing a new feature that allows users to filter videos on their home feed by color, creating a more visually cohesive and pleasing experience when browsing. 9to5Google and users on Lemmy have reported seeing a new prompt window appear on the YouTube mobile app, asking users if they're craving something new," with options to create a video feed by red, blue, or green hues.This is an experimental feature and hasn't been rolled out widely. YouTube spokesperson Allison Toh confirmed to The Verge that it's currently available to select users on Android and iOS mobile devices." The company did not explain why it was developing such a feature, however, or provide a timeline for when (or if) it will be widely available. ... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6JDN3)
Spotify's growing userbase. | Image: Spotify Spotify now boasts 236 million Premium subscribers, a 4 percent increase over last quarter, while its total number of monthly active users rose 5 percent to 602 million. The announcement came as part of its fourth quarter earnings release, which covers the three months ending on December 31st. Over the course of 2023, Spotify's userbase and premium subscribers grew by 113 and 31 million, respectively, setting records for the company.The results cap off a year that included both cost-cutting and price increases for the world's largest audio streaming service. Last December the company announced it would be laying off 17 percent of its workforce, or over 1,500 people, in what was its third major round of layoffs in 2023. Spotify also... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6JDK3)
Image: Cook and Becker Tencent is reportedly working on a free-to-play mobile version of FromSoftware's 2022 smash hit title Elden Ring. That's according to Reuters, which cites three people familiar with the company's plans. The Chinese tech giant apparently has a team of a few dozen people" who've been working on the title after Tencent Holdings acquired a stake of a little over 16 percent of FromSoftware in August 2022. Tencent did not immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment.If the report is accurate, Elden Ring would be the latest in a long line of major game IPs licensed by Tencent to create mobile free-to-play versions. Among the most successful of these have been PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile, but Tencent and its subsidiaries are... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6JDK4)
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony has started testing a new PS5 beta update that will improve the speakers and microphone on the DualSense controller, alongside adding pointers and emoji reactions to the Share Screen feature. The update is available to testers today via an email invite, and it also includes the ability to dim the brightness of the PS5 power indicator.The firmware for both the DualSense and DualSense Edge wireless controllers has been updated with this PS5 beta to improve the volume of the speakers that output in-game sounds and voice chat. Sony is also improving the microphone capabilities of both of the DualSense controllers to better deal with noise.The mic input quality on these controllers has been improved, courtesy of a new AI machine... Continue reading...
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by Sean Hollister on (#6JDAB)
Image: Square Enix Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is nearly here. It's coming February 29th, and yes, we will find out what happens to Aerith unless the game's producer was playing us. But we won't have to wait that long to get a taste, because Sony will release a playable demo as soon as tomorrow, February 6th.That's the word from Wario64, who spotted a trailer for the demo on PlayStation Network, one you can watch below - and the news that the demo will let you step into the shoes of either Cloud or Sephiroth during the Nibelheim episode."
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by Emilia David on (#6JD69)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Reuters reports that Huawei will focus on increasing the manufacturing of its AI chip, the Ascend 910B, at the expense of production of its Mate 60 phones in at least one facility.Huawei makes both its Ascend AI chip and the Kirin chip, which powers the Mate 60, in one facility. However, production in the plant has been low, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, so the company now plans to prioritize the AI chip. Demand for Ascend chips, which aid in training AI models, has been growing domestically. By delaying the production of chips for Mate 60, Huawei can focus on improving the number of usable and sellable chips from the facility. The Mate 60 helped Huawei beat Apple's phone sales in the country in 2023, writes the South... Continue reading...
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by Sean Hollister on (#6JD6A)
Image: BrickLink Designer Program If you consider yourself a diehard fan of adult-grade Lego, you might want to be hovering over these buy buttons on Wednesday, February 7th, at 11AM ET. That's when Lego will begin selling five limited-edition sets that are literally a fan dream come true: fans entered a BrickLink Designer Program contest to create these Lego sets all by themselves, and they'll get 5 percent of the proceeds!They're also just really cool builds. I'm definitely eying the $380 Mountain Fortress that looks like an excellent counterpart to my Lion Knight's Castle, the $50 Snack Shack that reminds me of a shrimp truck I loved in Hawaii, and the $320 Parisian Street with its timeless Haussmann architecture and charming storefronts.I'll tell you more about... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6JD6B)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is planning to share details about its plans to bring Hi-Fi Rush and other Xbox exclusives to PS5 and Nintendo Switch consoles, according to sources familiar with Microsoft's plans. Details of Microsoft's multi-platform plans have been gradually leaking, with The Verge revealing over the weekend that the upcoming Indiana Jones game is being considered for PS5. Now, Microsoft is getting ready to outline the future of Xbox next week after a weekend of leaks and uncertainty for Xbox fans.We're listening and we hear you," says Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer in a post on X. We've been planning a business update event for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox.... Continue reading...
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by Nilay Patel on (#6JD38)
I just like this photo a lot. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Here's a little bit of an about-face: YouTube now says it has a Vision Pro app on its roadmap. I mean this literally, as YouTube spokesperson Jessica Gibby just emailed me the following statement: We're excited to see Vision Pro launch and we're supporting it by ensuring YouTube users have a great experience in Safari. We do not have any specific plans to share at this time, but can confirm that a Vision Pro app is on our roadmap."This of course follows YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix all declining to allow their iPad apps to run on the Vision Pro before launch - and the last time we asked, there was no mention of a proper visionOS YouTube app coming in the future, so something's changed in Mountain View. (One theory: the immediate... Continue reading...
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6JD39)
Unlike their predecessor, the third-gen AirPods offer IPX4 water resistance. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Apple's AirPods are some of the most popular wireless earbuds in the world, so it's a safe bet your valentine will love receiving them as a gift. Fortunately, Apple's two most affordable models - the third-gen AirPods and their second-gen predecessor - have returned to some of their best prices to date. The third-gen model is available for $139.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target with a Lightning charging case or at Costco for $139.99 with a MagSafe case. Meanwhile, the last-gen AirPods, which don't offer MagSafe charging, are down to $89.99 ($40 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart.For those who don't need active noise cancellation, Apple's entry-level earbuds are terrific. They integrate well with other iOS devices,... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6JD3A)
TikTok users were not best pleased when the removal of UMG-owned music muted their favorite Pedro Pascal fan edit. | Image: 20th Centuary Fox / Canva / The Verge Remember TikTok's thirsty Pedro Pascal fan edits? For several months beginning in January 2023, many of us couldn't open the video platform without being blasted by the familiar sound of Shaggy's Hey Sexy Lady" hit, to which many of the biggest videos were set. If you dive back into any of those videos now, you'll find that swathes of these filtered, edited clips of the Chilean actor have been completely muted - because Hey Sexy Lady," along with many other popular songs used in viral trends, have been taken off TikTok.Last week, TikTok failed to reach a deal to renew licensing rights with Universal Music Group (UMG), leading to thousands, potentially millions, of songs from UMG's library being suddenly removed from the platform.... Continue reading...
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by Quentyn Kennemer on (#6JD0A)
Amazon's biggest smart display includes an Alexa Voice Remote and integrated Fire TV support. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge A smart display can amalgamate the various smart home and virtual assistant tools at your disposal, whether you prefer voice-activated assistants or smartphone-like interfaces for direct control. That's exactly what Amazon's Echo Show 15 provides, and right now, the wall-mountable panel is down to $199.99 ($80 off) at Amazon and Best Buy.The Echo Show 15 is a solid 15.6-inch smart display that can double as a 1080p TV thanks to its Fire TV integration, which makes it ideal in the kitchen for viewing recipes or enjoying a side of entertainment with whatever meal you're cooking. The touchscreen display lets you control a range of compatible smart home devices using various widgets and apps - which are great for viewing calendar... Continue reading...
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