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Illustration: The Verge Google gives Apple a 36 percent cut of all search ad revenue that comes from Safari, according to University of Chicago professor Kevin Murphy. Google had fought to keep the number confidential, but Bloomberg reports that Murphy shared the figure while testifying in Google's defense today at the Google antitrust trial.Google has long paid to be the default search engine in Safari and other browsers like Firefox, spending $26.3 billion in 2021 alone for the privilege. $18 billion of that went to Apple, but the specifics of where the number came from remained secret until now. Google has been trying to keep such details under wraps as the trial goes on, but bits and pieces have seeped out anyway. According to Bloomberg, Google lawyer... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon is cutting just over" 180 jobs in its games division and making some changes to its games initiatives, according to a memo sent to employees by VP of Amazon Games Christoph Hartmann. The changes include shutting down its Crown channel that streams on Twitch, closing its Game Growth effort that helps game makers market their products, and refocusing" the work it does with its free games offered through Prime Gaming.We are proud of the work the teams have been doing, pushing into new areas with weekly content on Crown Channel, and finding more ways to help publishers reach new audiences with Game Growth," Hartmann wrote. But after further evaluation of our businesses, it became clear that we need focus our resources and... Continue reading...

The new Fire TV Stick 4K Max looks just like any old streaming stick from Amazon, but its upgrades are most prominent on the inside. | Image: Amazon As Black Friday deals continue trickling in early, more recent devices are going on sale for the first time or for new lows. One example is Amazon's new Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which came out just a couple of months ago and is now on sale for $39.99 ($20 off) at Amazon and Best Buy.The new flagship 4K streaming stick from Amazon is a lot like the last-gen model, but it packs better specs with Wi-Fi 6E support and 16GB of storage instead of 8GB while maintaining HDR support that includes HDR10 and HDR10 Plus. The last-gen model was one of our top recommendations for streaming devices, and the new model is just more of the same formula - a great streamer, especially if you want voice commands via Alexa. So if you want pretty much all the... Continue reading...

Image: Getty ExxonMobil is getting into the lithium production business. The company announced on Monday that it's going to become a leading producer of lithium" by opening its first drilling operation in southern Arkansas.The demand for lithium has grown in the past couple of years, with the metal serving as a key ingredient in the rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles, phones, laptops, and other tech. ExxonMobil plans to start producing lithium in 2027 and says it could make enough lithium to supply over 1 million electric vehicles per year by 2030.Earlier this year, ExxonMobil purchased 120,000 acres of lithium-rich land spanning a geologic formation - called the Smackover Formation - in Arkansas. To access the lithium, the... Continue reading...

Image: Remedy Entertainment Remedy Entertainment, the studio behind that one game that's having a moment right now, has announced that its upcoming game, codenamed Vanguard, is pivoting from a free-to-play model to a premium one.Vanguard had been announced in December 2021 along with the news that Chinese publisher Tencent would be brought on to localize and distribute the game in China. It had originally been billed as a free-to-play, co-operative PvE shooter that combines Remedy's narrative expertise and action gameplay into an immersive multiplayer experience."However, this latest announcement said that such an idea wasn't working out anymore. Due to uncertainties in creating a successful game to the rapidly changing free-to-play market and associated risks,... Continue reading...

Illustration by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The banks that participate in the Zelle payments app owned by JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and others have relented in their refusal to pay back victims of imposter scams. Reuters reported today that the repayments started on June 30th and were a response to lawmaker pressure on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to compel lenders to reimburse victims.Banks leaned on the fact that federal law only required them to pay back fraud victims if they didn't authorize criminal transactions, leaving people who were tricked into approving payments in a lurch. Reuters wrote that the institutions were worried that if they started paying people back, it would only encourage more imposter fraud. But the Federal Trade Commission said... Continue reading...

Nvidia's HGX H200. | Image: Nvidia Nvidia is introducing a new top-of-the-line chip for AI work, the HGX H200. The new GPU upgrades the wildly in demand H100 with 1.4x more memory bandwidth and 1.8x more memory capacity, improving its ability to handle intensive generative AI work.The big question is whether companies will be able to get their hands on the new chips or whether they'll be as supply constrained as the H100 - and Nvidia doesn't quite have an answer for that. The first H200 chips will be released in the second quarter of 2024, and Nvidia says it's working with global system manufacturers and cloud service providers" to make them available.The H200 appears to be substantially the same as the H100 outside of its memory. But the changes to its memory make for... Continue reading...

The first wireless earbuds from Sony's PlayStation unit have unique planar magnetic drivers and an equally unique style. Continue reading...

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge As large swaths of gaming history have become endangered, researchers and fans all over the world are fighting to turn back the clock. Continue reading...

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge When I ask Frank Cifaldi, the founder and director of the Video Game History Foundation, to explain the importance of preserving and maintaining old video games, he answers with a movie analogy. Imagine, he said, if movies were only released on, like, VHS, ever. You want to watch Back to the Future? All right, you have to go on eBay, and you have to find an antique VHS copy that's degraded a bit from use. You have to find a VCR that works, a TV that it plugs into - or the external scalers that make it look correct on your modern TV - and you might need a time-base corrector because the magnetic flux signal is out of sync."For too many games, this is the state of the industry. For the most part, decades' worth of games now exist only... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Google is suing scammers who are trying to use the hype around generative AI to trick people into downloading malware, the company has announced. In a lawsuit filed today in California, the company says individuals believed to be based in Vietnam are setting up social media pages and running ads encouraging users to download" its generative AI service Bard. The download actually delivers malware to the victims, which steals social media credentials for the scammers to use.Defendants are three individuals whose identities are unknown who claim to provide, among other things, the latest version" of Google Bard for download," the lawsuit reads. Defendants are not affiliated with Google in any way, though they pretend to be. They have... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Many Threads users are now saying they have the ability to opt out of having their posts shown on Instagram and Facebook. To keep Threads posts from showing up Meta's other platforms, tap the two lines in the top right of the Threads app > Privacy > Suggesting posts on other apps - two switches let users turn off suggestions on Instagram or Facebook. Meta tends to roll out Threads features slowly, so if you don't see the new toggles yet, give it time.Instagram and Facebook each got a For you on Threads" carousel in the last few months. Responding to user grumpiness, Threads said in October it was listening to feedback" shortly before testing the opt-out switch that's rolling out now.The feature was clearly intended to drive... Continue reading...

Image: William Joel / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 14, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, you're my favorite, so happy you're here, and also, you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)This week, I've been traveling a bunch, so I've watched Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and most of Rick and Morty. I've also been reading about life as an OnlyFans star and the insane growth of WhatsApp, doing some holiday meal planning in Mela, nodding vigorously at how bonkers tipping culture has become, and trying to make a dent in Barack Obama's very good AI reading list.I also have for you a rundown of the best tools for managing money, new gadgets... Continue reading...

Image: Supergiant Games Oh damn: Netflix is bringing Hades to its gaming service in 2024.We've known Netflix is serious about its gaming library. Ever since it added the Oxenfree series and, arguably, going all the way back to Hextech Mayhem, Netflix has shown its gaming offerings weren't going to be just silly, time-wasting waiting room games but solid mobile versions of indie games with name recognition, including the announcement of Braid earlier this week. Never has that idea been more expressed than in this latest announcement that Supergiant Games' Hades will debut exclusively on mobile via Netflix.Hades is an isometric dungeon crawler roguelike in which you play the seriously hot Zagreus, prince of Tartarus and son of Hades, as he tries to escape his... Continue reading...

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. | Image: Netflix Avatar: The Last Airbender, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Devil May Cry, Stranger Things, and 3 Body Problem are all showing out at Netflix's Geeked 2023 showcase. Continue reading...

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) reached a tentative deal with Hollywood studio executives, effectively ending the 118-day actors strike. Yesterday, SAG-AFTRA announced that its national board has approved the agreement, 86 percent to 14 percent, and recommended union members vote to ratify it.The deal is still technically pending until union members' vote is tallied on December 5th, though the guild says some of its features will go into effect during the ratification process, such as certain pay raises. SAG-AFTRA offered a summary of the deal in its announcement:

Panera's tip prompts are slightly better because you can choose a dollar amount, and there's a disclosure that your tip may" be distributed to eligible employees. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Tipping is an age-old American debate. How much do you pay and when? Is it a choice or an obligation? Generally, tech has at least made it easier over the years. Smartphones made it a breeze for friends to whip out a calculator to figure out tip and split the bill. And now, checkout screens everywhere, from in-person stores to delivery apps, have added buttons designed to make it easier for you to tip.That's convenient, until it's not. According to a new Pew Research Center report, tipping culture in America has seen a shift in recent years. Seventy-two percent of Americans say tipping is expected in more places than five years ago. Not all of that is tech-related, but it's hard to deny the role checkout screens have in tipflation. Even... Continue reading...

The M3 Pro is not as midrange as you'd expect. | Image: Apple Apple's new M3 Pro chip is looking like an odd duck in an otherwise solidly improved MacBook Pro laptop. For most people who need a computer with a bit of oomph over dreary office tasks and need multiple external monitors, the M3 Pro will serve their needs and have great battery to boot. But year-over-year computer upgraders who might already have a Mac with an M2 Pro chip or even an M1 Pro might not see many (if any) performance improvements unless they shell out more dough for an M3 Max.When you put the 12-core M2 Pro and M3 Pro head-to-head, you'd expect the latter to perform much better. In reality, the M3 Pro isn't running away from the older chips. That's because of an interesting design choice: Apple gave it an equal split of six... Continue reading...

The black version of the light and airy LinkBuds S can be had for just $108.80. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge You might think that two weeks before Black Friday is a bad time to get the best prices on tech, but with so many deals dropping early it doesn't hurt to be shopping ahead of schedule. For example, the Sony LinkBuds S wireless earbuds have once again dropped down to their lowest prices. You can get Sony's ultra-lightweight and comfy buds in black for just $108.80 ($90 off) at Newegg. Or, if you prefer brighter color options, Amazon, Target, and Sony also have them in white and blue for around $128 ($72 off).The LinkBuds S are all about comfort, with each earbud weighing in at under five grams. These noise-canceling buds are great for wearing for long stretches, like a lengthy commute - especially since they can automatically switch... Continue reading...

Both keycaps are made of metal and are available in a choice of three colors. | Image: Dbrand Love or hate its irreverent branding, you have to give props to Dbrand for its consistency. The company best known for its range of skins and cases for consumer tech gadgets is releasing its mechanical keyboard keycaps today, and they're remarkably on-brand.The Pyramid keycap is a pointy escape key that the company says stabs whoever presses it (lawyers advised that we soften the tip a little bit, but rest assured you're never more than one firm key press away from drawing blood") and a replacement enter key called The Enter that simply reads fuck off."Rather than full keycap sets that are designed to replace all the keys on a keyboard, these novelty keycaps are designed to just replace a couple of keys. The company says they're... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Meta is starting to prompt users to sign up for the paid no ads" version of Facebook and Instagram that's launching in Europe. It's rolling out as Meta responds to new EU privacy regulations by positioning the use of its services with targeted ads as a choice by users. Of course, that choice is also the only alternative available to paying around $20 per month to disengage from ads on Facebook and Instagram.The new prompt clarifies that people using both Facebook and Instagram will eventually need to pay an additional fee to cover both profiles. The pop-up appeared on one of our editor's Instagram accounts (and Matt Navarra mentions people are seeing them on Facebook as well), so you can see what it looks like right here. ... Continue reading...

Image: Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery just canned Coyote vs. Acme, a live-action and animated film featuring John Cena and the classic Looney Tunes hijinks of Wile E. Coyote. Director Dave Green confirmed that the nearly completed film will not be released shortly after Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter broke the news.Coyote vs. Acme is the third almost finished film that CEO David Zaslav has shelved for financial reasons. Like Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt, Coyote vs. Acme got sent to the vault so Warner Bros. Discovery could get a tax write-off as part of its efforts to cut billions in costs following last year's megamerger. The Coyote vs. Acme film cost around $72 million to make, according to The Hollywood Reporter, making for a $30 million... Continue reading...

One big wiper, or three wipers in a trench coat? | Image: Parker Ortolani / The Verge As Vergecast listeners know, I am deeply and forever fascinated by the Tesla Cybertruck's wiper - it is one of the silliest design compromises in automotive history on a vehicle that is itself a rolling design compromise. I love it so much.Anyway, I've been asking listeners to send in detailed shots of the wiper to confirm a rumor I've been hearing - my thanks to the dozens of people who've passed along photos. I didn't have anything worth running until today, though: our own Parker Ortolani spotted a Cybertruck in NYC and took several photos that appear to show that the single wiper" is actually multiple wiper blades stacked in a row.The idea, I've been told, is apparently to make replacements easier - one assumes sourcing... Continue reading...

The stylish black-and-white version of the Switch OLED is on sale. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge It's been a good week for console deals. Earlier this week, the Asus ROG Ally fell to a new all-time low and the PlayStation 5 bundle with Marvel's Spider-Man 2 dropped to $499 ($70 off). Now, Dell's offering the black-and-white Nintendo Switch OLED console for $349.99 with a $75 Dell gift card, effectively dropping the price tag to $275. You also can use the gift card to pick up various games and accessories, like the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.But that's not all. If you already own the Switch OLED, Dell is also selling the Xbox Series X for $449.99 ($50 off) and adding the same $75 gift card. That means you can also save on games like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor or controllers like Microsoft's Xbox Elite... Continue reading...

Photo by Leon Neal / Getty Images In the grand scheme of history, Elon Musk's full story feels like it has many more chapters left to go, but that isn't stopping A24 from making a big, flashy biopic about him with The Whale director Darren Aronofsky helming the camera.Puck reports that a new Muck biopic based on Walter Isaacson's recent biography of the South African billionaire is in the works.Currently, no writer or other members of the movie's creative team have been announced, but the news comes in the wake of The Whale garnering critical acclaim and Brendan Fraser winning a best actor Oscar for his performance as the film's central character. Director Danny Boyle's 2015 Steve Jobs drama, also based on a biography penned by Isaacson, was similarly well received... Continue reading...

These $100 earbuds offer good sound and impressive noise cancellation for the price, and they bring back the wing tip design of the Galaxy Buds Plus. Continue reading...

Cheaper bundles could result in fewer customers canceling their subscriptions when they're finished watching exclusives like Netflix's One Piece (pictured). | COURTESY OF NETFLIX Verizon is planning to offer its customers a discounted bundle of streaming services that includes the ad-supported tiers of both Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery's Max. People familiar with the situation" told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that the bundle will cost $10 a month instead of the roughly $17 per month you'd pay for the services separately.It's unusual for two rival streaming services to agree to a bundle, but there are benefits to doing so via distributors like Verizon, Comcast, Apple, and Amazon. Bundles can attract more customers to both streaming services, and reduce the number of people canceling their subscriptions when they are done watching a specific show. Earlier this week, Sowmyanarayan Sampath, chief... Continue reading...