The Verge

Image: Michael Straight via Facebook Michael Straight, a former jockey paralyzed from the waist down, was left unable to walk for two months after the company behind his $100,000 exoskeleton refused to fix a battery issue, as reported earlier by the Paulick Report and 404 Media. I called [the company] thinking it was no big deal, yet I was told they stopped working on any machine that was 5 years or older," Straight wrote on Facebook, referring to a wiring problem in the watch he wears to operate the machine.I find it very hard to believe after paying nearly $100,000 for the machine and training that a $20 battery for the watch is the reason I can't walk anymore?" he wrote. Straight has been using the ReWalk exoskeleton since 2014, following a horseback riding accident... Continue reading...

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images The head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took a Zoom call with someone using deepfake technology to pose as a top Ukrainian official, The New York Times reports.Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) received an email last Thursday that appeared to be from Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's former foreign minister, asking him to meet on Zoom. The person on the other end of the call reportedly looked and sounded like Kuleba but was acting strangely. He asked Cardin politically charged questions in relation to the upcoming election," according to an email Senate security officials sent legislators that was obtained by the Times. The fake Kuleba demanded that Cardin give his opinion on foreign policy questions, including whether he supported firing... Continue reading...

An integrated USB-C hub allows accessories like external drives to be attached to an iPhone in the SuperCage while still powering it. | Image: Moment Moment's SuperCage is a new smartphone accessory that improves the functionality and ergonomics of using a smartphone as a pro video camera. Smartphone cages for mobile filmmakers aren't a new idea - even Moment sells a cheaper alternative - but the SuperCage is its first one integrating a USB-C hub so that there's one less accessory needed.That way, smartphones with a USB-C port can record to an external storage device (which, in the case of the iPhone 15 and 16, unlocks ProRes 4K recording at 60fps if the storage is fast enough) while still charging from a power bank through the 100W passthrough port.The company has made a name for itself with accessories like lenses and MagSafe tripod mounts that make it easier to film and shoot... Continue reading...

A couple days after prematurely revealing the phone on its website, Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy S24 FE. It starts at $649.99 with 128GB of storage, and Samsung's also offering a 256GB model for $709.99. Design-wise, we're looking at a phone that's very similar to last year's version - though the S24 FE is loaded up with the company's latest AI software capabilities like generative photo editing, instant slo-mo, and more.The new phone has a 6.7-inch OLED display with a slimmer bezel this time around, and it's powered by Samsung's Exynos 2400e processor, which some would consider a downgrade from the Snapdragon chip used in US editions of the S24 series. Samsung does note that a larger vapor chamber this year should help... Continue reading...

Image: Disney Plus / Marvel To make the show's spells feel real, showrunner Jac Schaeffer prioritized practical effects over green screens. Continue reading...

Image: Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery has debuted an official teaser trailer for the second season of The Last of Us, and it looks like it's going to be a rough one for Joel and Ellie - which, if you've played The Last of Us Part II, should be no surprise.After five years of peace following the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie's collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind," according to Warner Bros. Discovery's official logline for the season.Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey again star as Joel and Ellie. New cast members include Kaitlyn Dever, who plays Abby, Isabela Merced, who plays Dina, and Jeffrey Wright, who is reprising... Continue reading...

Here's an example of what the new screensaver ads look like. | Image: LG Ad Solutions LG's smart TVs are starting to display full-screen ads before the conventional screensaver kicks in when entering idle mode. The native screensaver ads started rolling out to LG's smart TVs earlier this month, including OLEDs like the new G4 model, and will appear across the homescreen, content store, and LG Channels.The feature will advertise both LG's own products - with FlatpanelsHD reporting it saw a muted ad for the LG Channels streaming service - and those from third parties that may be unrelated to TV or entertainment entirely. In a press release, LG Ad Solutions' technology chief, Dave Rudnick, said that the ads were effective in testing and present a valuable opportunity for brands to be front and center on the largest screen... Continue reading...

Image: Hugo Herrera / The Verge California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law (AB 2426) to combat disappearing" purchases of digital games, movies, music, and ebooks. The legislation will force digital storefronts to tell customers they're just getting a license to use the digital media, rather than suggesting they actually own it.When the law comes into effect next year, it will ban digital storefronts from using terms like buy" or purchase," unless they inform customers that they're not getting unrestricted access to whatever they're buying. Storefronts will have to tell customers they're getting a license that can be revoked as well as provide a list of all the restrictions that come along with it. Companies that break the rule could be fined for false... Continue reading...

Photo by Tommaso Boddi / Variety via Getty Images Meta has cut deals for high-profile actors to lend their voices to its Meta AI chatbot, with Kristen Bell among the initial set of voices. Bell lending her voice is a bit of a surprise. Back in June, she openly expressed opposition to Meta's AI using her data.She reposted a popular Instagram message declaring that she refused to consent to Meta using her content and likeness for training large language models and demanding that Instagram get rid of the AI program." Kristen Bell / Instagram The prompt claims that by reposting, users deny Meta permission to use their personal data for these purposes. Celebrities such as Jessica Chastain, Sarah Paulson, and Ashley Tisdale have reposted a recent version of this prompt -... Continue reading...

If a place is caught using fake reviews, Google will temporarily limit its reviews entirely. | Image: The Verge Google Maps is reeling in business pages engaging in fake reviews, and highlighting such activity to its users. Google will now impose restrictions against business profiles that violate the search giant's Fake Engagement policy, such as temporarily removing reviews, blocking new reviews or ratings, and displaying a warning message on profiles that have had fake reviews deleted.The business profile restrictions were introduced in the UK earlier this year, but Search Engine Roundtable notes that the support page was updated in mid-September to seemingly apply globally. For the moment, however, only users in the UK are seeing the business warnings, such as the example posted to X by Mike Blumenthal. Image: Google / Mike... Continue reading...

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge Get ready for another wave of urgent motherboard updates for your desktop PC. Intel has just announced a new microcode update for its 13th and 14th Gen Raptor Lake processors - the ones that could possibly get permanently damaged and begin to crash your PC.While there's still no fix for chips that are already crashing, the company is now releasing microcode update 0x12B to motherboard manufacturers to help prevent one of the root causes of damage. In this case, it prevents the Intel CPU from asking for too much power when it's just sitting idle or performing light tasks. (Too much voltage can prematurely age a chip.)Intel says it may take several weeks for motherboard manufacturers to validate and roll out BIOS updates across their... Continue reading...

Credit: Blue Origin Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket hit a significant milestone this week, completing its first second-stage hot fire test that validates the interactions between the subsystems, its two BE-3U engines, and the ground control systems. The test lasted for 15 seconds and allowed the launch operations team to practice launch procedures in the lead-up to New Glenn's planned November launch.New Glenn is Blue Origin's big rocket answer to SpaceX when it comes to shooting things into space, but Jeff Bezos' company has been moving slowly and has only so far conducted tourist flights to suborbital space using its New Shepard rocket. New Glenn was supposed to launch the smallsat ESCAPADE in conjunction with NASA this year as its first mission, but it... Continue reading...

Photo: David Pierce / The Verge Pour one out for the Rabbit R1. Only 5,000 people of the 100,000 who bought the orange AI gadget are still using it daily, five months after it launched. That's straight from the mouth of Rabbit founder Jesse Lyu, who gave the number to Fast Company while explaining that the device had to launch before it was ready in order to beat big tech companies to the punch.That's a big fall from the moment AI gadgets were having earlier this year. There was tremendous hype around the R1 after its CES debut, and an air of mystery surrounded Humane's AI Pin before its reveal. Both shipped without any of the futuristic grandeur that was promised. As The Verge's David Pierce wrote in his review of the R1, the whole thing just feels broken." Maybe... Continue reading...

The new Moonwalkers Aero are lighter than the originals and can be customized in different colors. | Image: Shift Robotics Shift Robotics has launched a new version of its Moonwalkers shoes / motorized roller skates that claim to boost the speed of your natural walking gait.Unlike the first generation, there are six wheels instead of 10 on the Moonwalkers Aero, which the company says makes them lighter and quieter. That makes them similar to, but not the same as, the industrial-focused Moonwalkers X shoes it introduced earlier this year at CES.Their top speed is still 7mph, but they're over a pound lighter on each foot - 4.2 pounds compared to 5.3 pounds - thanks to a new magnesium alloy powertrain." The Aero are also 20dB quieter as a result of there being eight fewer wheels underfoot and a new Neodymium magnet based motor."Despite a streamlined... Continue reading...

The Space Invaders: My Play Watch can be customized with various retro gaming-themed straps. | Image: F84 Taito Corporation, which gave the world Space Invaders over 45 years ago, has collaborated with the designers of Floor 84 Studio to create a watch that pairs retro gaming with basic health tracking capabilities. The Space Invaders: My Play Watch is now available for $60 for the earliest backers of a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.The My Play Watch was teased earlier this month, but we now know more about what its creators say it can do. Its design looks inspired by, or directly lifted from, the Apple Watch, but with a 1.86-inch touchscreen display and a body that's not as thin as the Series 10 or as thick as the Ultra 2. It comes with two watch straps that match its retro gaming aesthetic, and it's compatible with standard 22mm... Continue reading...

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that his office had launched an investigation into the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries alleged role in causing a plastic pollution crisis on April 28th, 2022, in Playa Del Rey, California. | Photo: Getty Images California is going after ExxonMobil over what it calls a campaign of deception" about plastic recycling.The Golden State filed suit against the oil giant this week, alleging that it has misled consumers for years by marketing recycling as a way to prevent plastic pollution. Plastic is difficult and relatively costly to recycle, and very little of it ever gets rehashed, but the industry sold recycling as a feasible solution anyway.That's why California wants to hold ExxonMobil accountable for the role it says the company played in filling landfills and waterways with plastic. Plastics are made with fossil fuels, and California says ExxonMobil is the biggest producer of single-use plastic polymers.California wants to hold ExxonMobil... Continue reading...

Photo by Jay Peters / The Verge Meta is overhauling its metaverse avatars, and you'll be able to use them soon: the new look will be available on October 1st, the company announced at its Connect conference on Wednesday. The new avatars will be available on Meta Horizon OS (its VR operating system), as well as Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.Meta's avatars started out in a rough place, but the company has made steady improvements, and these changes look to build on that. With the upgraded avatars, Meta is going to give users new ways to fine-tune things like eye size, nose shape, and body shapes, Meta's Aigerim Shorman, a VP on the Horizon team, said onstage. That's thanks in part to a new underlying tech stack, which includes an updated avatar skeleton.Of course,... Continue reading...

Image: HP HP has a groundbreaking announcement. No, it's not making it easier to use cheaper, third-party ink, nor does it have a solution for frequent paper jams and irritating software issues. It's bringing AI to printers.The new HP Print AI experience is rolling out today in an exclusive" beta and comes with a Perfect Output feature that's supposed to clean up printouts of webpages. HP says it will automatically detect unwanted content like ads or weird formatting, allowing it to print just the desired text and images."It's also supposed to optimize printouts of spreadsheets by keeping charts and tables on a single page, instead of splitting them up. But that's not all - HP says you can use conversational prompts" with Print AI to turn... Continue reading...

Photo by Jay Peters / The Verge Meta has big ambitions for using AI to help creators, and it showed two impressive demos of what that could look like onstage at Connect today.One version of this involves fully recreating real influencers as AI figures. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg presented a live demo of a creator-based AI persona, which looked like the creator, talked like the creator, and tried to respond to questions like the creator would. It was pretty wild to watch.

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Meta has a bunch of new hardware and AI news coming out of its Meta Connect event today, including a new Quest 3S VR headset, an expansion of Meta AI features, a new Llama model, and a first look at the new Orion augmented reality glasses. CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stage on Wednesday with a new style and demonstrated new features including live translation between English and Spanish.Here's everything announced at Meta Connect:Orion AR glasses Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Meta has revealed its Orion augmented reality glasses, and they look almost like a trendy pair of frames you could pick up without all the tech inside. Orion uses Micro LED projectors inside the frame and beams images in front of your eyes... Continue reading...

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Meta's CEO on his first pair of AR glasses, partnering with Ray-Ban, why he's done with politics, and more. Continue reading...

The MX Ink is available to buy now following its announcement back in June. | Image: Logitech Logitech has released a pen-shaped Meta Quest controller that makes it easier to draw, sculpt, and manipulate objects in mixed reality environments. After initially being announced back in June, the $129.99 Logitech MX Ink stylus is available to buy starting today and can be paired with the Meta Quest 3S, Quest 3, and Quest 2 headsets via the Meta Quest app.The MX Ink should feel more comfortable and natural to use across 2D and 3D creative software compared to much bulkier Quest controllers, especially for artists who are more accustomed to working on traditional drawing tablets. It'll be down to developers to make their apps compatible with the stylus, with support already announced for Open Brush, Gravity Sketch, and Adobe Substance... Continue reading...

Image: Meta If you think avoiding AI-generated images is difficult as it is, Facebook and Instagram are now going to put them directly into your feeds. At the Meta Connect event on Wednesday, the company announced that it's testing a new feature that creates AI-generated content for you based on your interests or current trends" - including some that incorporate your face.When you come across an Imagined for You" image in your feed, you'll see options to share the image or generate a new picture in real time. One example (embedded below) shows several AI-generated images of an enchanted realm, where magic fills the air." But others could contain your face... which I'd imagine will be a bit creepy to stumble upon as you scroll. G... Continue reading...

The Verge's Alex Heath wearing a Quest 3S. Meta finally announced the very heavily leaked Quest 3S VR headset, and the leaks were right: it's a $299.99 headset that looks like a mix of the Quest 2 and Quest 3. But now that the specs are official, I can tell you that it's a lot closer to the Quest 3 than expected for a refresh that's almost half the price. If you don't have a Quest headset already, the 3S is potentially a very compelling purchase.The Quest 3S offers the same mixed reality features and performance as the Quest 3 - it even has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip - meaning you can play all of the same games and experiences on either device. The Quest 3S uses the same Touch Plus controllers as the Quest 3. And the Quest 3S is actually rated for a higher... Continue reading...

Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge In November of 2020, Google - which had offered unlimited storage for what it called high quality" (read: compressed) photos - announced that, as of June 1st, 2021, unlimited" was being changed to up to 15GB on your Google account." Since then, photo and video storage has counted against your total of 15 free gigs on a Google account, along with your Gmail, Google Drive files, and other stored data. Once you hit that 15GB threshold, you have to buy into the Google One service to increase your storage capacity.You can, of course, simply pay for Google One (plans start at 100GB for $1.99 a month). But it's a good idea to check out your alternatives. Below are some of the main photo storage services available to you, along with their... Continue reading...

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is planning to combine its Xbox Game Pass and Xbox mobile apps into a single application soon. The software maker is testing a new version of the Xbox app for iOS and Android this week that includes features from the separate Xbox Game Pass app.You'll soon be able to explore the full Game Pass library and manage memberships within the Xbox mobile app. Game Pass Ultimate members will also be able to claim perks within this updated Xbox app.These updates will be available for Xbox beta members on mobile and will be coming to everyone soon," says Microsoft in a blog post. As part of these changes, we will no longer support new downloads of the Xbox Game Pass app, starting in November."The new Xbox app will now include the... Continue reading...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Phone-Free School Act into law this week, requiring every school district, charter school, and county office of education statewide to implement rules limiting cellphone use by July 1st, 2026. There are exceptions to the rule, including using phones for emergencies or with permission under certain circumstances.We know that excessive smartphone use increases anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues - but we have the power to intervene," said Newsom in a statement.This comes as other states like New York consider pursuing legislation for a total ban on phones in schools. It's part of a wave of laws targeting tech-related child safety at the state and national level, including the... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge The employees at an Apple Store in Oklahoma City voted on Tuesday to ratify their union contract, making it the second retail location to reach a collectively bargained agreement with the company.The store's 78 employees, who are represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), shared the details of the contract, which includes wage increases of up to 11.5 percent over the next three years and guaranteed paid time off. The contract also ensures employee involvement in scheduling, job protection in case of a store closure, and health benefits.The Apple Store workers in Oklahoma City voted to unionize in 2022. They later reached a tentative agreement with Apple after holding an informational picket outside the store. In... Continue reading...

Amazon's new 12th-gen Kindle will come in at least two colors: black and matcha green. | Image: MediaMarkt With stock of its current generation of e-readers dwindling, Amazon is expected to announce new Kindles soon, perhaps as early as next week. A Spanish retailer has a listing for a new 2024 version of the entry-level Kindle with a release date listed as September 30th, as spotted by Good e-Reader.The new Kindle will have a six-inch, 300ppi screen with improved contrast and a backlight that's 25 percent brighter than the model Amazon released two years ago. It will also offer faster page turns and a new dark mode that inverts its monochromatic E Ink screen, but there's no mention of it having warm screen lighting or whether it will feature the improved E Ink Carta 1200 screen that Amazon used on the 11th-gen Kindle Paperwhite that debuted... Continue reading...