The Verge

The 2024 Microsoft Surface Laptop is currently the least expensive available with a Qualcomm X chip. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Currently, the $999 Microsoft Surface Laptop is the cheapest way to get a Windows machine that runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus chip, with all the battery life benefits (and caveats) that might entail. But in 2025, they'll be cheaper - Qualcomm now says they'll hit the $700 mark next year.As we look forward to 2025, in addition to new design wins, our X series product roadmap will expand to address PCs with retail prices as low as $700 without compromising NPU performance," Qualcomm CEO and president Cristiano Amon just said on the company's Q3 2024 earnings call.Amon did not necessarily say the cheaper machines would be laptops - the company's chips can also power small desktops like its eight-inch Dev Kit. He only spoke to... Continue reading...

Leaked photos of the DJI Neo drone suggest it may cost just $329 to buy a bundle. | Image: Jasper Ellens DJI's 4K-ready Neo drone has leaked - and according to the photos, box, specs, and leaked Walmart price we've now seen, it could be the lightest and cheapest full-featured DJI drone you can buy.A leaked Walmart listing hints that the DJI Neo Fly More Combo could sell for just $329, and the starting price for a standalone drone could be even less given that DJI's Fly More" bundle comes with extra batteries, a charging hub, and a shoulder bag that typically increase the price. Image: Jasper Ellens The DJI Neo. Meanwhile, retail packaging photos published on X by well-known leaker Jasper Ellens as well as an FCC database listing now give us a glimpse into the drone's specs. As mentioned, the drone will be... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge After striking deals with Google and OpenAI, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is calling on Microsoft and others to pay if they want to continue scraping the site's data.Without these agreements, we don't have any say or knowledge of how our data is displayed and what it's used for, which has put us in a position now of blocking folks who haven't been willing to come to terms with how we'd like our data to be used or not used," Huffman said in an interview this week. He specifically named Microsoft, Anthropic, and Perplexity for refusing to negotiate, saying it has been a real pain in the ass to block these companies."Reddit has been escalating its fight against crawlers in recent months. At the beginning of July, its robots.txt file was... Continue reading...

Photo by David Berding / Getty Images A group of over 200 tech leaders and investors are pledging their support to Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race, countering an opposing group from Silicon Valley that has backed former President Donald Trump.Shark Tank star and former Dallas Mavericks principal owner Mark Cuban, LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla, and SV Angel managing partner Ron Conway are among the signatories.We spend our days looking for, investing in and supporting entrepreneurs who are building the future. We are pro-business, pro-American dream, pro-entrepreneurship, and pro-technological progress," the investors write in a statement on their site, VCs for Kamala. We also believe in democracy as the... Continue reading...

Image: Bungie Another round of layoffs has hit Bungie. Bungie CEO Pete Parsons made the announcement on the studio's website, citing the increasing costs of development and economic conditions as the reason for the reduction of staff - a refrain that's become common in the last two years of prolific video game industry layoffs. Parsons wrote that 220 roles would be eliminated, representing 17 percent of the company's workforce.Additionally, Parsons wrote that Bungie was working to integrate another 155 employees into other departments within Sony Interactive Entertainment. These numbers, combined with the 100 people laid off in October of last year, mean that Bungie has lost roughly 40 percent of its total workforce in the last 12 months. Bungie had... Continue reading...

Image: Uber Uber is teaming up with BYD to bring 100,000 of the Chinese automaker's electric vehicles to the ridesharing app. The multiyear partnership will roll out in Europe and Latin America first, giving drivers best-in-class pricing and financing" for BYD vehicles used with Uber.Uber says the goal is to encourage more drivers to use EVs as part of its plan to electrify its rides, while also lowering the cost of EV ownership. Along with potential discounts on financing and loans, the partnership could give BYD drivers price cuts on charging and vehicle maintenance, depending on the market.Both companies plan to bring the partnership to the Middle East, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in the future. Uber announced a similar partnership in... Continue reading...

Image: Microsoft I'm fairly confident Microsoft has created more Xbox controllers than I've eaten hot dinners at this point, but I'm always happy to see another translucent option. This time, it's the new Sky Cipher Special Edition" controller, which includes a translucent blue design that lets you see the inner workings of the Xbox controller.Microsoft has created white, black, and even pink translucent controllers in the past, but only the top half of those featured the effect. This new blue model is now mostly translucent, apart from the rear, grips, and buttons. It matches the special 20th edition model that was released in 2021. Microsoft has opted for two-tone thumbsticks, a matching D-pad, and blue metallic triggers. Image:... Continue reading...

Photo by Jamie Squire / Getty Images As part of a new partnership with the NFL, Sony is developing a new set of headphones for NFL coaches that will debut during the 2025 season. The new headphones are being built from the ground up," Sony Electronics' Matthew Parnell tells The Verge in a briefing, and Sony engineers have already started working with NFL operations teams on the product.Sony's new headset for coaches will be a brand new model," Parnell says, and the company will have to make sure it can withstand many kinds of weather and still work in loud stadiums. The headphones will also use private 5G networks from Verizon so that coaches can communicate with each other - current headphones use Verizon's CBRS wireless connection.It's unclear to what extent the new... Continue reading...

Image: Alvaro Bernis / The Verge Wix is releasing new generative AI tools that can produce entire SEO-optimized blog posts, right down to the imagery. Available now for English-speaking users of the website builder, Wix says its new tools can create AI-generated drafts or outlines" that real human writers can use as a foundation to create blog posts that maintain the quality and authenticity of user-generated content."We see that on average sites with blogs get 86 percent more organic traffic compared to sites without blogs," said Wix blog general manager Einat Halperin in the announcement. With our range of new blog creation tools, we're looking forward to more users producing top-notch content."Wix is being blunt about why these tools exist: SEO-optimized blog... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Google is rolling out new online safety features that make it easier to remove explicit deepfakes from Search at scale and prevent them from appearing high up in search results in the first place.When users successfully request the removal of explicit nonconsensual fake content that depicts them from Search, Google's systems will now also aim to filter out all explicit results on similar searches about them and remove any duplicate images.These protections have already proven to be successful in addressing other types of non-consensual imagery, and we've now built the same capabilities for fake explicit images as well," Google product manager Emma Higham said in the announcement. These efforts are designed to give people added... Continue reading...

Image: Audi Audi's got some new E-tron EV models, and this time around, they aren't SUVs. Instead, we're getting electric versions of the A6, the automaker's popular midsize sedan, and it's coming in both a Sportback and an Avant station wagon style, along with performance S6 variants.Audi first revealed the A6 E-tron as a concept at Auto Shanghai in 2021, and the production version is looking very close to the source material. The front still has slim headlights with adaptive matrix LEDs (only available outside the US due to regulations) and a front grille with a fish scale-like texture surrounded by a dark mask. On the back, the car has digital OLED panels for its rear lights that can be used as a safety communications display.The US is... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is making Skype ad-free in an update that will rollout to users across all platforms soon. The update also includes improved AI image creation tools on Skype for Windows and macOS, and the ability to sign in automatically on iOS if you're already signed into another Microsoft app.Our latest update removes all ads from Skype channels and the entire Skype platform, ensuring a smoother, decluttered and more enjoyable user experience," says Skype product manager Irene Namuganyi.The removal of ads in Skype means you'll no longer see ads in the main chat interface, or in the channels section. Microsoft says it has listened to feedback around ads in Skype, and decided to focus on your chats without any ad distractions, making your... Continue reading...

The Nothing Phone 2A Plus will be available in the UK first, followed by limited availability in the US a few days later. | Image: Nothing A little more than four months after the Phone 2A's debut, Nothing is already introducing a follow-up with the Phone 2A Plus, which has a handful of performance improvements and a more premium look while maintaining a sub-$400 price tag.Plus is often used in smartphone naming to delineate a larger model with a bigger screen, but that's not the case here. The Phone 2A Plus has the same 6.7-inch OLED screen up front to go with the same flashing Glyph Interface in the back, the same 5,000mAh battery, and NFC, just like the 2A.The biggest upgrade for the Phone 2A Plus is a new MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G processor, currently exclusive to Nothing, which the company claims is nearly 10 percent faster than the processor used in the Phone... Continue reading...

Image: Ring On Monday evening, Amazon Web Services sent a notice about issues in the US-EAST-1 region of its server networks, which supports many of the internet's services. So far, the only problem we've seen that appears to be linked to the issues is an outage affecting Amazon-owned Ring, with owners of the security cameras and doorbells reporting that features like history, events, and Neighbors are unavailable.At 1:20AM ET, Ring's status page was updated to announce the incident had been resolved, with a note at the bottom of the page saying the issues had affected Ring.com, Ring Protect (Video Recording), Live Calls (Doorbell Dings & Motions), Video On Demand, and Partner Integration.The Ring outage began starting at 6:40PM ET on Tuesday.... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon, not third-party sellers, is responsible for properly recalling hazardous items that were sold on its marketplace, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) decided on Tuesday. The CPSC says Amazon failed to adequately notify the public about more than 400,000 recalled products.Even though Amazon stopped selling those products and attempted to alert buyers, the CPSC decided Amazon needs to follow approved recall procedures designed to keep the public from using, giving away, or reselling dangerous items. (When the CPSC helps a company recall a product, it doesn't just warn buyers; it warns everyone.)The Amazon products, sold between 2018 and 2021, include faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hairdryers that pose an electric... Continue reading...

Image: Meta Meta has shut down its AI chatbots that let you have conversations with alter-ego versions of celebrities, as reported by The Information. The celebrity chatbots were a big part of Meta's announcements at its Connect event last September, now, you can't talk with them anymore.

There's a custom case for this and everything. | Image: Samsung Samsung's advertising for its Galaxy Z Flip series typically revolves around Gen Z photo shoots and showing off specific features like interpreter mode. But today, the company has taken quite a turn by highlighting the foldable phone's use as... a policing tool.In a post on Samsung's newsroom titled Samsung Technology Is Helping Police Authorities Protect the Public's Safety," we learn that two police departments in Missouri participated in a pilot program that led them to integrate the Z Flip into their daily operations. This included their use as a body-worn camera to promote transparency, marking the first time that police have used a foldable device in this way," the article says. Eventually, two other departments joined in.T... Continue reading...

Player data from a single match on Call of Duty: Warzone's Caldera map. | Image: Activision Activision is sharing an open-source dataset pulled from Call of Duty: Warzone's Caldera map for researchers to study and to help support AI model training.This first-of-its-kind data set release for Call of Duty, now available in OpenUSD, contains the near-complete geometry of Caldera as well as a collection of randomly selected anonymized time samples showing how players move around the map," Activision writes in a blog post.According to Michael Vance, an Activision SVP and fellow software engineer, it's one of the largest production-validated open data set releases from the gaming industry in terms of complexity of geometry and instance counts." It's also one of the largest publicly available OpenUSD (a file format for 3D... Continue reading...

Image: Mojang Studios Two of the bestselling games of all time are joining forces for some very strange downloadable content in Minecraft. It involves visiting the Tetris universe" inside of the game... which has taught me that there is something called the Tetris universe. Notably, the new Minecraft DLC is a form of dungeon crawler that also involves playing Tetris to find lost Tetriminos, those falling blocks that come in an assortment of iconic shapes. (This also isn't the first time the two games have crossed over, though the previous collab wasn't quite so weird.)I'm not sure I fully understand it, so here's the synopsis from Mojang Studios:

The Verge Microsoft just posted the fourth and final quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $64.7 billion in revenue and a net income of $22 billion during Q4. Revenue is up 15 percent, and net income has increased by 10 percent.Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud revenues, which include the company's server products and cloud services, were $28.5 billion overall and up 19 percent year over year. Revenues from this part of Microsoft's business now make up nearly 45 percent of all revenue. While cloud revenue is strong once again, Microsoft's consumer devices push continues to dip. Xbox hardware revenue is down again, and Surface revenue has now declined for seven consecutive quarters in a row. Photo by... Continue reading...

Image: Android Headlines The Pixel Watch 3 looks like it will have a larger screen than the Watch 2, thanks to thinner bezels. Leaked marketing materials shared by Android Headlines suggest that the 41mm Pixel Watch 3 will offer 10 percent more screen than the Watch 2 in the same amount of space.The Pixel Watch 3 could also have a brighter display - up to 2,000 nits, double the peak brightness of the Pixel 2 - as well as 20 percent faster charging. The spec sheet, if legitimate, confirms the previously leaked 45mm Watch and states that both sizes will have up to 24 hours of battery life with always-on display enabled or up to 36 hours with a new Battery Saver mode.This could mean that the Pixel Watch 3 won't use the hybrid interface" rolled out in Wear OS 4,... Continue reading...

Apple's second-gen earbuds are down to $69.99, which is a price we've seen only a handful of times. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Amazon Prime Day brought discounts on a whole swath of Apple products, from iPads and AirTags to the latest 15-inch MacBook Air. We also saw deals across Apple's entire earbuds lineup - including a terrific deal on the second-gen AirPods, which quickly sold out at Amazon. Luckily, if you missed it the first time around, Apple's entry-level earbuds are once again on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for $69.99 ($60 off), effectively matching their lowest price to date.Admittedly, Apple's second-gen earbuds can't rival the latest AirPods Pro with USB-C or even the third-gen AirPods, for that matter. However, the vanilla buds do offer excellent wireless performance and reliable battery life, allowing you to eke out five hours of music... Continue reading...

Image: OpenAI OpenAI's new advanced voice mode for ChatGPT is starting to roll out to a small number of people who subscribe to ChatGPT Plus. The feature, which OpenAI showed off at its GPT-4o launch event in May, was criticized for sounding similar to Scarlett Johansson and was later delayed for safety reasons.At OpenAI's event, the new voice mode appeared to be noticeably more capable than ChatGPT's current voice mode. Onstage, OpenAI employees were able to interrupt and ask the chatbot to tell a story in different ways, and the chatbot took their interruptions in stride to adjust its responses.

The LimeBike (left) and the LimeGlider (right). | Image: Lime Lime is testing two new e-bikes designed to make bike-sharing accessible to a wider range of riders. Alongside throttles that mean you don't have to pedal to move, the LimeBike and the LimeGlider both offer 20-inch wheels with fat tires for better traction, step-through frames to make getting on and off easier, and lower centers of gravity for more stability.The LimeBike is meant to complement" the pedal-assist Gen4 e-bike that Lime launched in 2022. It comes with pedals as well as a handlebar throttle, allowing riders to either pedal with electric assist or move with electric power only. Its seatpost has a quick-adjust clamp to make it easier to move up or down, among other improvements. Image: Lime The... Continue reading...

Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images Marvel's big plan to pull the MCU out of its multiversal tailspin became very clear this past weekend during San Diego Comic-Con as the studio announced that the Russo brothers are coming back to direct the next two Avengers films. While Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is out, Avengers: Doomsday is in, with Robert Downey Jr. signed on to play the central role. And it seems like Marvel is dropping a pretty penny to make this all happen.Variety reports that Marvel is spending $80 million to lure the Russos back to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the two films that will bring the Marvel Cinematic Universe's ongoing Multiverse Saga to a close. Both films are also set to be produced by the Russo's AGBO outfit rather than... Continue reading...

It's the new-age Tamagotchi, only it talks back. | Image: Friend A few minutes before Avi Schiffmann and I get on Google Meet to talk about the new product he's building, an AI companion called Friend," he sends me a screenshot of a message he just received. It's from Emily," and it wishes him luck with our chat. Good luck with the interview," Emily writes, I know you'll do great. I'm here if you need me after."Emily is not human. It's the AI companion Schiffmann has been building, and it lives in a pendant hung around his neck. The product was initially named Tab before Schiffmann pivoted to calling it Friend, and he's been working on the idea for the last couple of years.Schiffmann defines Friend both by what it is and what it very deliberately is not. The original idea was to be more... Continue reading...

Don't mistake Dasung's portable color E Ink monitor for a tablet; it's completely dependent on another device. | Image: Dasung It may look like another e-note tablet, but Dasung's Paperlike Color is actually a portable monitor featuring a 12-inch color E Ink screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. For those working remotely, it can provide extra screen real estate for a laptop or a smartphone, or its reflective e-paper panel can serve as an alternative to staring at an LCD for hours, thus reducing eye strain.The Paperlike Color is Dasung's second dedicated display product featuring an E Ink Kaleido 3 color screen, following a 25.3-inch desktop version that debuted last September. The desktop version sells for $1,649, while the new portable version is available now for $849.The Kaleido display technology works by applying a color filter over a... Continue reading...

Image: Meta Meta is launching an app for its Quest 3 headsets that lets you take measurements and visualize changes in your home. The utility app, called Layout, will appear in the Quest 3 library as part of the v68 update.Meta says you can use Layout to measure furniture around your home, allowing you to get a sense of how much room you have for a new couch or TV without taking out your tape measure. You can also use the app to place virtual objects in a real-world environment as well as try out the leveling tool to ensure the picture you just hung up isn't crooked. Image: Meta You can place and resize virtual objects - like a TV - to see how they look. Along with the Layout app, the v68 update includes Meta's e... Continue reading...

Paris 2024, before the triathlon, view of the Seine with the grandstands and the Eiffel Tower in the background. | Photo: Getty Images The men's triathlon event at the Paris Olympics was postponed today because of pollution levels in the Seine, where the swimming leg of the event was supposed to be held. Now, the event is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday - if the water quality improves by then.Bacteria in the river, including E. coli, has been a concern leading up to the Summer Games. Paris spent the equivalent of roughly $1.5 billion on cleanup efforts before the Olympics to prevent sewage and wastewater from contaminating the Seine, The Associated Press reports. But rain seems to have stymied efforts to keep bacteria at safe levels.The tests carried out in the Seine today revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees"Paris 2024 and... Continue reading...

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge Before Roku was a leading player in the streaming wars, with that ubiquitous purple screensaver and a library of original content and practically every streaming app you could possibly imagine, it was a Netflix gadget - the first Netflix gadget, for that matter, and the one that helped start a streaming revolution. But the Roku story was almost very different.On this episode of The Vergecast, we try out a couple of show formats we've been planning for a while. First, we debut our tech-rewatch segment, in the vein of some of our favorite rewatch shows like Office Ladies, The West Wing Weekly, and The Rewatchables. We're calling it Version History, at least for now. For this first segment, we tell the story of the Roku Netflix Player,... Continue reading...