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Nanoleaf's smart holiday string lights are compatible with Matter, so they can work with a wide range of smart home platforms. | Image: Nanoleaf If you've got a holiday party or gathering coming up, Nanoleaf's Essentials Matter Smart Holiday String Lights will help set the mood without putting a dent in your wallet. Typically $119.99, right now, the 65-foot string lights are only $44.99 at Best Buy, which is significantly cheaper than they were on Black Friday and a new all-time low.If you're looking for a piece of decor that'll get everybody in the Christmas spirit, these twinkly string lights are it. With 250 addressable LEDs capable of displaying more than 16 million colors and an IP44 rating, they'll make any tree, fireplace, or porch pop. The lights also come with festive preset scenes and will even dance along to the beat of holiday tunes. Plus, the Wi-Fi string lights... Continue reading...

Image: Sony Naughty Dog announced Thursday that it's canceled the multiplayer game it was building in The Last of Us universe.The studio says it has been in pre-production on The Last of Us Online even while working on The Last of Us Part II. We were enthusiastic about the direction in which we were headed," according to a blog post about the news.However, to release and support The Last of Us Online we'd have to put all our studio resources behind supporting post launch content for years to come, severely impacting development on future single-player games," Naughty Dog says. So, we had two paths in front of us: become a solely live service games studio or continue to focus on single-player narrative games that have defined Naughty Dog's... Continue reading...

Curio The musician Grimes has developed an interactive AI plush toy for children which can converse with and learn" the personalities of their owners. Grimes and toy company Curio created the line of toys in partnership with OpenAI, as first reported by The Washington Post. Grimes, who voices all three toys, is also an investor and advisor for the product.The three plush figurines are named Gabbo, Grem, and Grok - not to be confused with the AI chatbot named Grok owned by Elon Musk, a former partner of Grimes. Curio told the Post that the AI plush toy Grok and chatbot Grok are unrelated. The toy Grok is a shortening of the word Grocket," which Grimes said she coined due to the fact that her children with Musk grew up in the vicinity of... Continue reading...

Photo Illustration by Amelia Holowaty Krales and Cath Virginia / The Verge We've assembled a collection of quick-hit gifts that can be issued within seconds, freeing you of shipping concerns and in-store shopping. Continue reading...

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. | Image: Rockstar Games Netflix just released its biggest games yet. The Grand Theft Auto trilogy - which includes GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas - is now available on both iOS and Android, and the games are all free to play if you're already a Netflix subscriber. But while the streaming service has offered mobile games for a while now (and added some excellent titles to its library), actually finding games you want to play can be a bit fiddly. In the mobile Netflix app, every game is confined to a single row, which means lots of scrolling around icons that don't seem to be in any particular order.It's definitely easy to miss things. So here's a handy trick for finding all the games Netflix offers - and it works on both Google Play and the App Store.It's... Continue reading...

The 15-inch M2-powered MacBook Air delivers more screen real estate than its smaller counterpart, along with two more speakers. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The new M3-powered MacBook Pros are powerhouses: but if you just need a good all-around laptop for everyday computing needs, they might be overkill. It's a better idea to save the money and opt for one of Apple's entry-level models instead, especially as both are currently on sale. Right now, the 15-inch, M2-powered MacBook Air has returned to its best price of $1,049 ($250 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, while the 13-inch M2-equipped MacBook Air is $899 ($200 off) at Best Buy. Both are base models with 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM.The 15-inch MacBook Air boasts a larger and sharper 15.3-inch screen as well as a far better speaker array than the smaller model. Otherwise, though, both laptops are similar, with the same fantastic battery life, a... Continue reading...

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Image: Getty Images Elon Musk is planning to open up a university in Austin, Texas, according to a report from Bloomberg. A tax filing for Musk's charity, The Foundation, reveals that the billionaire wants to contribute $100 million to build STEM-focused primary and secondary schools before opening a university dedicated to education at the highest levels."The Foundation filed the tax exemption application with the Internal Revenue Service in October 2022, and Bloomberg says it was approved in March of this year. As noted in the filing, the university will offer instruction by experienced faculty" in subjects like math, science, engineering, and physics, in addition to hands-on learning experience including simulations, case studies, fabrication/design... Continue reading...

Image: GM Cadillac is releasing the name and a few images of its next electric vehicle, the midsize Vistiq SUV, which the automaker expects to slot in between the Lyriq and Escalade IQ in terms of size and price.The three-row SUV is expected to hit dealerships sometime in 2025 as a model year 2026 vehicle. It will also join the entry-level Optiq in Cadillac's growing lineup of zero-emission vehicles.The three-row SUV is expected to hit dealerships sometime next year as a model year 2025 vehicleVISTIQ adds another compelling EV to the Cadillac lineup, reinforcing our commitment to an electric future," said John Roth, vice president of Global Cadillac. Our brand now has an EV entry in most luxury segments, offering customers a range of... Continue reading...

Google's Nest Renew service for its thermostats will soon be under new management. | Image: Google Google's Nest Renew service is leaving Google and merging with the OhmConnect energy management platform to form a new company called Renew Home. Venture capitalist firm Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP), which backs OhmConnect and is putting $100 million into the new company, announced the move, saying it will create the country's largest energy transition resource."Renew Home ... will help accelerate the growth of the virtual power plant (VPP) industry," SIP CEO Jonathan WinerNest Renew and OhmConnect both help smart home users leverage connected devices to take advantage of cheaper or cleaner power when it's available. Launched in 2021, Nest Renew is a service for Google Nest Thermostat users that lets them shift the energy... Continue reading...

Proton Proton has released a desktop version of its Proton Mail app that will give users full access to both Proton Mail and Proton Calendar and (eventually) the ability to view your emails offline. The desktop app is available in beta is optimized for both Windows and macOS, and encrypts sent emails end-to-end just like with the browser version, according to the Swiss company, while offline access to emails will be available soon."Technically, it's been possible to access your Proton emails offline through a desktop email app, but you had to use the Proton Mail Bridge to configure your accounts to work with other IMAP / SMTP email clients like Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, and others. Proton's desktop app, on the other hand, will let you... Continue reading...

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Twitch is updating the way it responds to sexual content. As part of the change, the streaming platform will now allow some previously prohibited content - as long as it has a label to warn viewers.Twitch has long struggled with moderating content containing sexual material and has faced backlash for its uneven handling in the past. While Twitch notably banned Indiefoxx over what the streamer claimed was a wardrobe malfunction, the company chose to warn - not ban - top streamer Pokimane for accidentally showing a Pornhub page. Twitch also recently banned a female creator who appeared to be streaming while topless.The platform will now allow deliberately highlighted breasts, buttocks or pelvic region" if the stream has a Content... Continue reading...

Image: Apple Apple has begun selling the USB-C charging case for its second-generation AirPods Pro as a standalone purchase. But it doesn't come cheap. The MagSafe-compatible case, available immediately, is priced at $99. Still, if you're dead set on switching all of your gadgets to USB-C and already own a pair of second-gen AirPods Pro with a Lightning case, this upgrade is cheaper than buying a whole new set.Delivery estimates are already showing an arrival date of after Christmas, so the case might not be a viable holiday stocking stuffer unless your local Apple store gets stock in the coming days.The USB-C AirPods Pro, which released earlier this year, still have some advantages over the original Lightning model. Namely, they're... Continue reading...

Image: Bungie Epic Games plans to give away 17 free games during its annual holiday sale for the Epic Games Store, the company announced on Wednesday.The first free game you can snag is Destiny 2: Legacy Collection (2023), which includes three expansions: The Witch Queen, Beyond Light, and Shadowkeep. If you want to catch up on some older Destiny 2 content before the recently delayed release of The Final Shape, the Legacy Collection might be a good thing to add to your Epic Games Store library (though note that it doesn't include the current Lightfall expansion). Legacy Collection will be available for free until December 20th at 11AM ET; at that time, the next free game will unlock.The 2023 holiday sale has some pretty good deals, too.

Biometric AI tech like facial recognition software was one of the major sticking points contributing to negotiation delays. | Image: The Verge When European lawmakers reached a provisional deal on landmark artificial intelligence rules last week, they had reason to celebrate.The EU AI Act reached a long-awaited climax on Friday following not only two years of broad discussion but a three-day marathon" debate between the European Commission, the European Parliament, and EU member states to iron out disagreements. All-nighters were pulled. Bins overflowed with the remnants of coffee, energy drinks, and sugary snacks. It was the kind of environment you'd expect from students cramming for finals, not lawmakers working on legislation that could set a blueprint for global AI regulation. The chaos was largely thanks to two contentious issues that threatened to derail the entire... Continue reading...

The Range Rover EV waiting list is open for signups. | Image: Jaguar Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced that it has opened up waiting list signups for its first fully electric Range Rover EV, along with a teaser video today.The electric SUV, which it says will debut in 2024 (it had previously pegged a 2025 launch), is in the physical prototype phase. JLR says it's still filing patents as the EV goes through what it calls one of the most rigorous engineering sign-off programmes ever."JLR plans for the Range Rover EV to have performance similar to its existing V8 Range Rovers. The company says it will be capable of 800-volt rapid charging on public networks - that is, it carries the promise of charging up to 80 percent in about the time it takes to drop by a gas station and hit the restroom and take a... Continue reading...

The $800 GE Profile Smart Mixer improves on the category - but not enough to justify its high price tag and hefty size. Continue reading...