The Verge

The touchscreen on the JBL Tour Pro 3's charging case is now 30 percent larger. | Image: JBL JBL has announced an upgraded version of its first wireless earbuds with a touchscreen charging case. The new JBL Tour Pro 3's case features a larger screen and now works as a transmitter, broadcasting audio to the earbuds from a wired source such as a plane's in-flight entertainment system. However, that larger screen also comes with a steeper price tag. They'll sell for $299, which is nearly $50 more than the JBL Tour Pro 2.The 1.57-inch touchscreen on the JBL Tour Pro 3's charging case is 30 percent larger than the screen on the Tour Pro 2's, giving it enough room to fit additional info like the name of the song currently playing. That will potentially make it even more useful as an alternative to reaching for your smartphone if you... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Google is upgrading its Gemini writing tools in Gmail to help you polish drafts that you've already written. Now, among other Gemini-powered Help me write" options like Formalize and Elaborate, you can tap Polish" to refine your emails, Google says in a blog post. The company has also added shortcuts that appear in the body of your emails on Android and iOS, making it more obvious that there are AI writing tools to use.The tools are available to people who pay for Google One AI Premium accounts or who have paid for Google's Gemini add-on for Workspace. If that's you, when you open an empty draft, you'll see a Help me write" shortcut appear that you can tap to have Gemini draft text for you. Once you have 12 or more words in a draft -... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Today, Google announced it's making assigning group work in Google Classroom easier and faster with a new feature called Student Groups. Teachers will now be able to add individual students to predefined groups before creating and assigning group work.Google is entering this school year with a bunch of new updates for the now 10-year-old Classroom platform, like a new Education Navigator, a Read Along feature, and Dark Mode to the mobile app. But teachers have been waiting for something like Student Groups for a long time.Previously, teachers would need to create an assignment first and then individually add students to that assignment if they wanted to assign group work. For occasional group projects, this worked okay, but it was a... Continue reading...

How many of those $5 skirts do these retailers have to sell to pay their lawyers? | Image: The Verge The Shein complaint about Temu kicks off with a bang, accusing Temu of being an unlawful enterprise built on counterfeiting, theft of trade secrets, infringement of intellectual property rights, and fraud" in just the first sentence. But I guess you have to go big when the lawsuit against you accuses you of using Mafia-style" intimidation tactics.It gets worse, Shein alleges. Temu isn't a marketplace at all. It controls every aspect of its seller's activity," the complaint says. It directs what products they can list and the prices for which they can sell; encourages them to infringe the intellectual property rights of others; and even prevents them from removing their products from Temu's website after they have admitted to... Continue reading...

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge If you want the old Sonos app back, it's not coming. In a Reddit AMA response posted Tuesday, Sonos CEO Spence says that he was hopeful until very recently" that the company could rerelease the app, confirming a report from The Verge that the company was considering doing so. But after testing that option, rereleasing the old app would apparently make things worse, Spence says.Since the new app was released on May 7th, Spence has issued a formal apology and announced in August that the company would be delaying the launch of two products until our app experience meets the level of quality that we, our customers, and our partners expect from Sonos."Here's Spence's explanation as to why it can't bring back the old app:

Image: Bethesda Microsoft and Bethesda are officially bringing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to PS5 after it debuts first on Xbox. During Gamescom Opening Night Live, Bethesda confirmed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is coming to Xbox and PC first on December 9th, before launching on PS5 in spring 2025.The confirmation comes months after The Verge exclusively revealed Microsoft was considering launching Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5. I wrote in February that Bethesda's Indiana Jones game would have a rather short period of exclusivity, with Bethesda considering a PS5 launch months after the December 2024 launch on Xbox and PC.Sources familiar with Bethesda's plans tell me the company has been targeting an April 2025 release for I... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge You'll soon be able to access your saved passwords, bookmarks, and addresses in Chrome by simply signing in to your Google account on the browser. The change lets you skip the extra step of toggling on Chrome sync - and it's coming to Chrome on Android and desktop following last year's rollout on iOS. GIF: Google Google already rolled out the streamlined process on iOS. Google says it will give you the option to sign in to Chrome for a customized browsing experience," allowing you to send tabs and use your saved passwords across devices. But you don't have to sign in to your account on Chrome if you're not keen on linking your browsing data to your Google account. Google also notes that saving your history... Continue reading...

Image: Gearbox Software Gearbox is planning to launch Borderlands 4 sometime in 2025, the company announced at the Gamescom Opening Night Live show on Tuesday. The game is set to launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X / S.The reveal trailer was pretty mysterious, and the trailer's description on YouTube doesn't offer much in the way of specifics, either. In this next installment of the definitive looter shooter, players will assume the role of a legendary Vault Hunter as they blast their way through hordes of enemies in search of new treasures to loot on an all-new planet," according to the description. At the very least, this new game seems like it will continue the legacy from other titles in the series.The announcement follows the Borderlands movie's g... Continue reading...

Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge If you happen to crack the screen on your brand-new Pixel Watch 3, Google won't repair it; the new smartwatch is replacement only," a Google representative told Android Authority. That means this is the third smartwatch in a row where Google won't offer repairs.That's a shame, especially when you consider how Pixel Watch screens have held up in our reviews of the last two. Replacements are $49 if you happen to have bought Preferred Care, Google's device insurance program - but that program costs $89 for two years of coverage (or $4 per month for 60 months).Google representative Erin Cizek confirmed to The Verge via email that those with damaged Pixel Watch 3s can contact the Google Pixel Watch Customer Support Team to check your... Continue reading...

Photo by Sascha Thelen / picture alliance via Getty Images Geoff Keighley ends the summer of video game events with ONL live from Gamescom. Continue reading...

Image: The Verge A group of authors has sued Anthropic, accusing it of training its models on pirated books, as reported by Reuters. The proposed class action lawsuit was filed in a California court on Monday and alleges Anthropic built a multibillion-dollar business by stealing hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books."In the lawsuit, the authors say that Anthropic used a sprawling, open-source dataset known as The Pile" to train its family of Claude AI chatbots. Within this dataset is something called Books3, a massive library of pirated ebooks that includes works from Stephen King, Michael Pollan, and thousands of other authors. Earlier this month, Anthropic confirmed to Vox that it used The Pile to train Claude.It is apparent that Anthropic... Continue reading...

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is starting to test its new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier with Xbox Insiders today. The new Game Pass Standard subscription includes the usual Game Pass library for Xbox but with online console multiplayer, too. Crucially, it doesn't include immediate access to day-one game releases, though.During the test period, Xbox Insiders will be able to access Xbox Game Pass Standard for just $1. Any renewals during the preview period will also be $1 per month," says Megan Spurr, senior community lead for Xbox Game Pass. Once this Standard tier launches fully, it will be priced at $14.99 per month. Image: Microsoft The new Game Pass lineup. Microsoft is also providing some clarity on when day-one games and... Continue reading...

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images Iran is behind attempts to hack into Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns and has already succeeded in compromising Donald Trump's campaign, intelligence officials said in a statement issued Monday.The joint statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) says:

The Echo Hub is a smart home controller that's simple to use and set up and is currently $35 off at multiple retailers. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge If you're looking for a simple and intuitive smart home controller even the most tech-averse family members or roommates can use, Amazon's Echo Hub is an excellent solution. And right now, it's down to an all-time low price of $144.99 ($35 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo.The Echo Hub lets you control a wide range of smart home devices like smart lights, security devices, thermostats, and more by simply tapping its eight-inch touchscreen. It's also mountable, so you can hang it up in the kitchen or some other place for the whole household to access. Naturally, as an Amazon gadget, the Echo Hub integrates best with Alexa, making it a particularly great buy if your smart home runs on a bunch of Alexa-enabled devices. However, the... Continue reading...

Mecha Break lets you ask for advice from in-game characters. | Screenshot: YouTube Nvidia ACE, the company's AI-powered system for giving voices and conversation skills to in-game characters, is set to debut in Mecha Break, a new multiplayer mech battle game coming to PC, Xbox X / S, and PlayStation 5 in 2025.In Mecha Break, players can choose from a variety of mechs across categories like assault, melee, and sniper for online matches where they'll fight both on the ground and in the air. It looks similar to something like the Armored Core series, just without a single-player mode.Nvidia writes that players will be able to interact via natural language with game characters" and that the characters can see" and identify you or objects around you through your webcam, using GPT-4o. It'll also use a combination of... Continue reading...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images The Olympics weren't just good for streaming - they boosted traditional TV viewership, too. Even though the Games in Paris accounted for just three days of Nielsen's July 2024 report, they led to a 2.3 percent boost in overall TV viewing compared to June and a 3.5 percent increase compared to the same time last year.During the month, broadcast TV captured 20.3 percent of all viewership, marking a slight increase from last month. It also accounted for more than 22 percent of TV viewing when the Olympics kicked off in the last week of July. As pointed out by The Hollywood Reporter, it's rare to see an increase in traditional TV viewership in July, as it's typically one of the slowest months for broadcast and cable TV. I... Continue reading...

The HyperX QuadCast 2 S features 100 RGB lights that can be controlled through its Ngenuity software. | Image: HyperX HyperX announced new versions of its QuadCast USB gaming microphones today. The QuadCast 2 and QuadCast 2 S now include a streamlined multifunction control dial and welcome upgrades to their recording quality.The original versions of the HyperX QuadCast mics delivered a lot of functionality at a sub-$200 price point, including multiple pickup patterns and programmable LED lighting. But recording quality maxed out at 16-bit/48kHz. The new QuadCast 2 boosts recording quality up to 24-bit/96 kHz, while the QuadCast 2 S goes even higher, maxing out at 32-bit/192kHz.The new versions are still priced under $200, although each has received a price bump. The QuadCast 2 is now $149.99 instead of $139.99, while the QuadCast 2 S is $199.99, up... Continue reading...

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge Having your Windows PC start up is something that's normally taken for granted - until it pauses mid-boot. You may be faced with a serious problem that needs some serious troubleshooting.Here are some key steps for dealing with problems that may come up when you're booting a Windows PC. With loads of possible hardware and software combinations out there, it's hard to be definitive about what might have gone wrong or how to fix it, but this should at least get you pointed in the right direction.A reminder: sometimes you're going to need to replace or reformat your main Windows drive when this happens, and that's why it's essential that you always have all your files and folders safely backed up.One more note: if you've got an... Continue reading...

The Energy Observer, a boat powered by hydrogen and other renewable energy sources, sailing in the Gulf of Thailand in 2022. | Photo by Pitcha Dangprasith / AFP via Getty Images Mining trucks, cement mixers, and terminal tractors all seem like the perfect use of hydrogen fuel cells. But they run into the same challenges around price and fueling. Continue reading...

In 2004, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced plans for a hydrogen highway." It called for a new kind of fuel station, built to support a new kind of electric vehicle. Cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells could help clean up the air and free the US from foreign oil - and California could lead the way.That's not what happened. Twenty years later, the American auto industry is shifting overwhelmingly to electric vehicles... but they run on batteries, not hydrogen. The hydrogen highway is littered with shortages, high prices, and faulty equipment. Thousands of drivers across the state are left wondering whether they bet on the wrong future.We wanted to find out what happened to California's hydrogen dream.So, we hit the... Continue reading...

Image: Nvidia Nvidia is bringing its full set of G-Sync features to monitors that won't need a proprietary G-Sync module. Nvidia is partnering with MediaTek to integrate all of its current and future G-Sync features into MediaTek scalers, eliminating the need for a dedicated G-Sync module.We are working with MediaTek to bring G-Sync to their market leading monitor scalers," says Nvidia. We will bring all the G-Sync technologies, including our most recent - Pulsar - to many more gamers and we'll continue to create more G-Sync technologies with the MediaTek scaler solutions." Image: Nvidia Your next G-Sync monitor won't need a dedicated module. G-Sync originally required a dedicated module in 2013 to allow it to... Continue reading...

Photo by Sascha Thelen/picture alliance via Getty Images Geoff Keighley's big Opening Night Live (ONL) show for Gamescom is back for another year. and we're set to see some new looks at many upcoming games and hopefully a few surprises.The X account for The Game Awards - another big showcase hosted by Keighley - has already shared that we can expect to see Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Monster Hunter Wilds, Marvel Rivals, Dune: Awakening, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Civilization VII. Keighley has used his own X account to tease that games like Squid Game: Unleashed, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, and Little Nightmares III will be at the show. Keighley also shared a mysterious post from Hideo Kojima about Death Stranding 2, so maybe we'll see that game, too.How and when to watch... Continue reading...

Image: Valve Valve is banning Counter-Strike 2 players from using keyboard features to automate perfect counter-strafes. Razer was the first keyboard maker to add a Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions (SOCD) feature to its range of Huntsman V3 Pro keyboards last month, followed shortly by Wooting. Using Snap Tap as Razer calls it or Wooting's Snappy Tappy will now get you kicked from Counter-Strike 2 games.Recently, some hardware features have blurred the line between manual input and automation, so we've decided to draw a clear line on what is or isn't acceptable in Counter-Strike," says Valve. We are no longer going to allow automation (via scripting or hardware) that circumvent these core skills and, moving forward, (and... Continue reading...

Image: Disney Though Disney Plus' The Acolyte series introduced some very compelling new characters and lore to the Star Wars canon, its story about the dark side of the Force won't be continuing with a second season.Though its season one finale seemed to be setting up the series for more episodes, Deadline reports that Disney has canceled The Acolyte. Things were rocky from the start for the show as Star Wars fans displeased with its cast and premise took to review-bombing it in droves, but Disney's cancellation decision was reportedly driven by The Acolyte's less-than-desirable viewership numbers.The news comes just a little over a year after Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that reigning in spending on big budget Marvel and Star Wars projects could... Continue reading...

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge National Public Data (NPD) confirmed last week that it suffered a security breach dating back to December last year. An alleged stolen NPD database containing 2.9 billion lines of data, including Social Security numbers, was advertised on the dark web in April by a hacker group known as USDoD for $3.5 million, and the stolen data has since been posted publicly in various locations.Now, Krebs On Security reports a roughly identical website to NPD called recordscheck.net was found to be hosting an archive containing site logins as well as source code for some of the site's tools in plaintext. That would've been enough information to access the same consumer records as NPD. The now-removed file contained email data belonging to NPD founder... Continue reading...

Starting on August 21st, 2024, new Anova customers will have to pay a yearly or monthly fee to use the companion app. | Image: Anova Starting on August 21st, 2024, Anova will be introducing a subscription fee for new users of its sous vide cookers who want to take advantage of additional features available through its mobile companion app, including controlling the appliance remotely.Similar to the Snoo, a smart bassinet that recently locked previously free features behind a monthly subscription, Anova's fees - $1.99 per month or $9.99 per year - will only apply to new users who create an account in the app starting on August 21st.As explained in a blog post shared on the company's website last week, existing users and those who purchase an Anova cooker before August 21st can still use all of the app's features for free, but everyone will be required to create an... Continue reading...

Image: Turtle Beach Turtle Beach's redesigned Stealth 700 Gen 3 wireless gaming headset is redefining #donglelife by including two USB transmitters, allowing it to quick-switch across consoles and PC / Steam Deck at the push of a button once it launches on September 22nd - with preorders available now for $199.99.This isn't the first headset to try the one-button switching thing, but the new Stealth 700 goes a very different route than Logitech's pricier Astro A50 X, which routed all audio and video through its charging dock's HDMI passthrough. The Stealth 700 sounds a little more rudimentary than that (though also much less finicky), but its specs are pretty robust with 60mm drivers that are 10mm larger than the last-gen model, simultaneous Bluetooth 5.2... Continue reading...

President Joe Biden gives a speech at the Intel Ocotillo Campus on March 20th, 2024 in Chandler, Arizona. | Photo by Rebecca Noble / Getty Images The Biden administration needs to conduct more thorough environmental reviews, advocates contend. Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple has launched a web app for its Podcasts app, and you can access it right now at podcasts.apple.com. The app works on Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari, MacRumors reports.If you've used the Podcasts app for Mac or iOS, the web app should feel pretty familiar: there are sections like a Browse tab where you can see featured podcasts, a Home tab where you can check out episodes from the shows you follow or that Apple thinks you might be interested in, a Top Charts tab, and more.When I first visited the site, I signed in to my Apple account, and all of the shows I follow on the Podcasts app on my iPhone were there. I can't seem to find a way to speed up playback on the web app, which is a shame for 2x sickos like me, but I appreciate... Continue reading...

Waymo's sixth-gen robotaxi is already being tested on public roads. | Image: Waymo Waymo published a blog post today previewing its new sixth-generation robotaxi, which is an electric minivan manufactured by the Chinese automaker Zeekr.In the post, Waymo VP of engineering Satish Jeyachandran touts the new robotaxi as more high tech than past iterations, while also featuring fewer sensors to help reduce costs for the Alphabet-owned company. And within its high-powered computer, it contains all the learnings of the previous five generations of Waymo's autonomous vehicles, meaning it won't have to do as much real-world testing as past models before it can be rolled out to the public.But looming over Waymo's assertion that its new robotaxi will be cheaper to produce is the possibility that it could also be subject to... Continue reading...

Google's Pixel 9 is poised to usher in a whole new era of weird vacation photos. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge I had no problem taking out the vaping couple on a beach towel. They're in the background of one of my vacation photos, and they're really mucking up the vibe. The Google Pixel's Magic Editor feature takes them right out with a few taps, and you know what? I felt fine about that. It's drawing the line that I'm having a hard time with.My taken-on-an-iPhone, edited-on-the-Pixel-8-Pro vacation photos are just the kind of thing Google's generative AI editing features are designed for. We went to a beach on Lake Michigan for sunset, and I had an adorable photo of my child sitting on my husband's shoulders. It's the kind of moment you want to crystallize and keep in a jar for the whole rest of your life.Except for the couple of dinguses in... Continue reading...

Unitree's G1 humanoid robot can fold down for storage and transport but weighs as much as a small child. | Image: Unitree Robotics Robots capable of performing human-like tasks have so far been relegated to laboratories, factories, and captivating YouTube demos. But Unitree is readying its G1 humanoid robot for mass production with a $16,000 price tag that somehow feels both expensive and reasonable for a robot that looks this capable, as spotted by New Atlas.The Unitree G1 is an upgraded and production-ready version of the H1 humanoid bot the Chinese company debuted only a year ago. Powered by an unnamed 8-core high-performance CPU," the G1 features 23 degrees of freedom through powered joints on its arms, legs, and torso. The robot can jump, walk at a top speed of over 4.4mph, and even climb stairs littered with construction debris. How well it can handle stairs... Continue reading...

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge GM is laying off 1,000 salaried employees in its global workforce on Monday, CNBC reported today. The cuts will affect the automaker's software and services division, including about 600 employees working at GM's tech campus near Detroit.In an email to The Verge, GM spokesperson Kevin Kelly said that as the company builds its future, it needs to simplify for speed and excellence, make bold choices, and prioritize the investments that will have the greatest impact," which includes laying off certain teams" in the software and services organization.The division is led by GM executives Baris Cetinok and Dave Richardson, who replaced executive VP of software and former Apple executive Mike Abbott. Abbott joined GM in May 2023 but left... Continue reading...