by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#6K4PT)
Illustration by Adrian Astorgano From security cameras to temperature sensors, pet feeders to smart sprinklers, here's the pet tech I use to look after my critters. Continue reading...
The Verge
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
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| Updated | 2025-07-09 05:33 |
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by Justine Calma on (#6K4M6)
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility under construction in Phoenix, Arizona, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. | Caitlin O'Hara/Bloomberg via Getty Images A new report warns that a boom in computer chip manufacturing in the US could fuel demand for dirty energy, despite companies' environmental claims. The solution for manufacturers, surprisingly, might be to act more like other big tech companies chasing climate goals.New semiconductor factories being built in the US by four of the biggest manufacturers - Intel, TSMC, Samsung, and Micron - could use more than twice as much electricity as the city of Seattle once they're operational. These companies claim to run on renewable energy, but according to an analysis by nonprofit Stand.earth, that's not entirely true.Semiconductors happen to make up a big chunk of a device's carbon footprint. And unless companies turn to clean energy, they... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6K4M7)
YNAB's screen showing the interface for importing Apple transactions and balances. | Image: YNAB With its latest iOS 17.4 update, Apple is adding an easier way for Apple Card, Apple Cash, and Savings with Apple Card users to track their balances and transactions, TechCrunch reports. With the update, third-party budgeting apps can automatically import information from Apple's financial services via the iPhone maker's FinanceKit API.Budgeting and money-management apps YNAB, Monarch, and Copilot have all rolled out support for the new feature, which will need to be manually set up from within their respective apps. After setup, YNAB notes that transactions should be automatically imported whenever you open its app, or even take place when its app is running in the background.
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6K4M8)
Cath Virginia / The Verge The European Union is attempting to loosen the grip that companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google have over the digital economy. Tech giants targeted by the Digital Markets Act (DMA) - a law passed in 2022 aiming to make the tech industry less monopolistic - are required to remove unfair competitive advantages that have let them dominate their respective markets by March 6th.But some experts believe the status quo is unlikely to shift. Many of these companies have announced compliance plans in response to the DMA, and for the most part, these changes - as one might expect from a plan crafted by the company itself - are unlikely to result in a loss of power. And then there's Apple, which appears to be engaging in outright malicious... Continue reading...
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by Victoria Song on (#6K4HX)
I'm the most shocked that I enjoyed the app. | Image: Headspace, Meta I am not a chill person, but I would like to be. It's why I keep trying various meditation tech, breathing in and out as abstract graphics or disembodied voices guide me to a higher state of being. Or that's what would happen if most meditation tech worked for me. So trust me when I say I expected nothing from Headspace XR.When the pandemic struck, meditation and mindfulness apps like Headspace were everywhere. Totally makes sense. Yet meditating in VR? It sounds ridiculous. Why would I breathe in a headset when I could just... not. But you never know! Things could surprise you! That's why I, the meditation skeptic, agreed to try a demo of Headspace XR. Walking into Meta's New York office, I thought I'd stick on the headset and nod... Continue reading...
by Jon Porter on (#6K4G7)
Image: Logitech Logitech's MX Brio is a new $199.99 (219.99 / 229) 4K webcam aimed at everyone from remote workers to streamers. Key specs include the ability to stream in 4K at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps, an aperture of f/2.0, and an aluminum unibody design that kind of looks a little like a kazoo if you squint at it.Since it's 2024, Logitech is naturally advertising some AI-powered technology in the MX Brio. The webcam's face-based image enhancement" is designed to automatically detect the position of your face within the frame of the webcam and adjust its picture's white balance, exposure, and focus accordingly. But there have also been hardware improvements, with the company advertising that the pixels in its new webcam's 8.5-megapixel sensor are... Continue reading...
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by Verge Staff on (#6K4G8)
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images The Digital Markets Act's deadline for compliance is imminent. Its six designated gatekeepers" have fought the rules, but also bent to them. Continue reading...
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by Alex Heath on (#6GFFN)
Illustration: The Verge CEO Sam Altman has returned to OpenAI, and Elon Musk is suing the company he helped to start. Continue reading...
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by Alex Heath on (#6K4BQ)
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images OpenAI has responded to Elon Musk's lawsuit by saying that he at one point wanted absolute control" of the company by merging it with Tesla.In a blog post published on Tuesday, OpenAI said it will move to dismiss all of Elon's claims" and offered its own counter-narrative to his account of the company abandoning its original mission as a nonprofit.As we discussed a for-profit structure in order to further the mission, Elon wanted us to merge with Tesla or he wanted full control," including majority equity, initial board control, and to be CEO," according to the post, which is authored by OpenAI co-founders Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, John Schulman, Sam Altman, and Wojciech Zaremba. We couldn't agree to terms on a for-profit... Continue reading...
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by Emilia David on (#6K490)
Illustration: The Verge The VCR will always invoke a sense of nostalgia, but Microsoft hopes it can help in court; it's citing the tech in its attempt to dismiss three claims in The New York Times' copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft.The Times sued Microsoft for allegedly copying its stories and using that data to mimic its style, but Microsoft's lawyers are now arguing that OpenAI's large language models are just the latest in a long line of technologies that are considered legal despite their potential for copyright abuse. Despite The Times's contentions, copyright law is no more an obstacle to large language model than it was to the VCR (or the player piano, copy machine, personal computer, internet or search engine)," reads one... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6K491)
Image: The Verge The music labels suing Twitter - now X - for copyright infringement can move forward with parts of their lawsuit. In a filing on Tuesday, US District Judge Aleta A. Trauger partially denied X's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying it's still not clear to what extent X Corp. may be liable for the infringing acts of users on its platform."Last year, the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) sued X for $250 million on behalf of Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group, Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, and other major publishers.The lawsuit alleges that X breeds massive copyright infringement that harms music creators" by failing to take action against posts containing copyrighted music. Copyright issues on X have... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6K46R)
Is this what the Pixel 8a will look like? | Image: OnLeaks / Smartprix The Pixel 8a phone is getting a new 256GB tier, at least according to rumblings heard from retailers by the usually reliable German tech news site WinFuture. The site's sources also say it will come in four colors, like the $499 Pixel 7a, but it will cost a quite a bit more than that phone at 569.90, or about $618 USD.According to WinFuture's sources, the beefed-up storage version will cost even more - 630 (about $684 USD) - putting it a whiff away from the regular Pixel 8's $699 price tag. However, as the site notes, that could be subject to change.The Pixel 8a will reportedly come in obsidian (black), porcelain (beige), bay (light blue), and mint (light green). Last year's Pixel 7a also came in four colors, but only as a 128GB... Continue reading...
by Mia Sato on (#6K46S)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge A year ago, TikTok introduced a new way for creators on the platform to make money: make longer videos. The invite-only Creativity Program, then in beta, required TikTokers to post clips longer than a minute to qualify for monetization, demonstrating a shift in how the company wanted people to use its platform. It was a move away from the so-called short-form video style that made TikTok a household name in the first place.TikTok announced today that the program will be called Creator Rewards going forward, and content creators will need to make videos longer than a minute to monetize through the program. The previous creator fund, which didn't have a requirement for video length, shut down in November.Creator Rewards will calculate... Continue reading...
by Amrita Khalid on (#6K46T)
Image: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Owners of Meta's Quest 2 or Pro headsets can turn on a setting that allows their headset to work while lying down, thanks to the v63 software update that's starting to roll out.Meta tested lying down mode in a public preview early last year but removed the feature before the v53 update shipped for everyone. In January, Meta exec Mark Rabkin told a user, It shall make a comeback," and here it is, at least as an experimental option, which Meta could change or remove in the future. Image: Meta Many users were upset when it was removed after the test, especially those with health conditions that make it painful or impossible to wear a headset while upright for long periods of time. For other users, it might have less... Continue reading...
by Amrita Khalid on (#6K46V)
Image: Apple Apple Podcasts will auto-generate transcripts for podcasts beginning today, thanks to the 17.4 update for iPhones and iPads. Transcripts will automatically appear for new podcast episodes shortly after their publication, while Apple will transcribe podcast back catalogs over time.The podcast transcripts are searchable, allowing users to type in a specific word or phrase and skip to that part of an episode. Users can find transcripts for individual podcast episodes on the bottom-left corner of the Now Playing" screen. Image: Apple Transcripts are now on Apple Podcasts. After Spotify rolled out auto-generated transcripts last fall, it's no surprise that Apple wants its native podcast player to keep up... Continue reading...
by Sean Hollister on (#6K46X)
Illustrations by Alex Castro / The Verge One day after the Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu utterly folded in the face of Nintendo's lawsuit, it's not yet clear what other parts of the emulation community might have to fear. But the Yuzu settlement already took the Nintendo 3DS emulator Citra down with it, and it's not the only change the community's making seemingly out of an abundance of caution.The developer of popular Nintendo DS emulator Drastic just made its app completely free on Android (previously $4.99), and it intends to pull it down for good. Exophase wrote on its official Discord that I want to make it clear that I don't have any kind of financial incentive" and that Nintendo's move simply made the whole process more urgent": Screenshot by Sean... Continue reading...
by Emma Roth on (#6K43E)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Spotify isn't going to launch the in-app purchases it previously planned for the European Union, at least right now. Instead, if Apple approves a newly submitted update, it's going to try to do the next best thing: provide pricing information within the app and link users to its subscription options.Spotify tells The Verge that it's planning to make this change in response to the European Commission's ruling on Monday, which fined Apple 1.84 billion (about $2 billion) for abusing its dominant position" in the music streaming app distribution business. The European Commission found that Apple's anti-steering rules prevent developers from telling users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6JS1H)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge After making it available as a beta feature for a few weeks, Signal has rolled out support for usernames on its encrypted messaging service so anyone can add an optional username that will connect them to others without sharing their phone number.You can create a username by heading to your settings and selecting Profile." After you create a unique username, you can generate a QR code or link that points people to your username in the app. Other users can also connect with you by typing your username into the new chat bar and sending a message. As noted in Signal's FAQ page for usernames, you can change your username whenever you want, but other users will be able to claim your previous name. Signal first started testing usernames last... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6K43F)
Image: Waze / Screenshots:WesDavis / The Verge Waze announced several new features, including an alert for stopped first responders, for its already busy driving directions map. That feature is out now, but others, like new road hazard warnings and updated routing info, will be available on iOS and Android phones this month, with still others planned for later this year.The first responder alert feature shows a blinking icon of an emergency vehicle on the map and tells you how far away it is. As if the bright strobing lights ahead of you aren't enough of an indicator or you're not looking at the road at all (okay, maybe sometimes you're just stuck behind a big truck). This feature is out now for users in the US, Canada, Mexico, and France, with other countries to follow. ... Continue reading...
by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6K43G)
Image: Warner Bros. Discovery Wired reports that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is gearing up to implement a new set of restrictions designed to prevent subscribers from sharing their passwords with people who aren't paying for the service themselves. Speaking at Morgan Stanley's Technology, Media & Telecom conference on Monday, WBD head of global streaming and games JB Perrette said that the company plans to launch its crackdown some time in late 2024.We're launching in a bunch of European markets as we go into the second and third quarter," Perette said. And password sharing crack down, which, obviously, Netflix has implemented extremely successfully. We're going to be doing that starting later this year and into 25, which is another growth opportunity for us."M... Continue reading...
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by Chris Welch on (#6K43H)
The Verge Tidal seems to have decided that there just aren't enough people willing to pay upward of $20 per month for the highest-possible audio fidelity. So starting April 10th in the US, the company will combine its existing HiFi and HiFi Plus plans into a single subscription tier that will simply be called Tidal." And it'll cost the same $10.99 per month that the less expensive HiFi plan did.At a high level, it sounds like this new, much simpler subscription model will still include all the perks - high-res FLACs, Dolby Atmos mixes, etc. - that were previously only available on the Plus tier. Yes, that means a subscription service is actually getting cheaper for once if you were a HiFi Plus user. Hard to believe in this day and age, right?... Continue reading...
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by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#6K43J)
Some GE Appliance's Cafe wall ovens can now recognize what's in them and suggest cooking modes for you. | Image: GE Appliances If you have a smart GE Appliances wall oven, it's about to get smarter. Cookcam AI is a new feature that uses artificial intelligence to recognize what you put in the oven and figure out the rest for you, so you don't need to hover over it and worry about burning your pizza. The company says Cookcam AI is coming to select GE Profile and Cafe wall ovens with in-oven cameras via a free over-the-air software upgrade.Cookcam AI will work with Precision Cooking Mode, which is a feature already on most connected GE Appliances ovens, including Monogram, Cafe, GE Profile, and GE models. Precision Cooking Mode allows for guided cooking that takes you step by step through setting the appliance correctly for your dish using the oven's touchscreen... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6K43K)
iPhone 15 users should now see more battery-related information under Battery Health settings. | Image: The Verge Apple's iOS 17.4 update is now available, introducing new emoji and a cryptographic security protocol for iMessage, alongside some major changes to the App Store and contactless payments for the iPhone platform in Europe. Apple is making several of these changes to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a law that aims to make the digital economy fairer by removing unfair advantages that tech giants hold over businesses and end users.iOS 17.4 will allow third-party developers to offer alternative app marketplaces and app downloads to EU users from outside the iOS App Store. Developers wanting to take advantage of this will be required to go through Apple's approval process and pay Apple a Core Technology Fee" that charges 50... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6K3X5)
Image: Rad Power Bikes As electric bikes become more popular in the US, the risk of deadly fires stemming from cheaply made batteries has become an unfortunate side effect that risks derailing the momentum of an important climate change fighting tool. That helps explain why Rad Power Bikes, the leading e-bike manufacturer in the US, is releasing new battery technology that it says can help usher in a new era of safety for the industry.Today, the company is announcing four new models with new state-of-the-art batteries designed to better prevent malfunctions that can cause the types of fires that are becoming increasingly common among cheaper e-bike brands.The new models include a refreshed RadWagon, the company's bestselling electric cargo bike, as well as... Continue reading...
by Tom Warren on (#6K3X6)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Microsoft is planning to unveil new Surface devices later this month. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge that the company will unveil Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 hardware, aimed at business and commercial customers, on March 21st.The March event will be focused on minor spec bumps to the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 commercial models, but a larger redesign is planned for the consumer models of both devices this spring. While the commercial Surface Pro 10 will sport the latest Intel chips and a familiar design, Microsoft is moving to an OLED display on the Surface Pro 10 for consumers.Windows Central first reported details of an OLED Surface Pro 10, claiming Microsoft would unveil the new OLED model... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6JH1T)
Noomia Rapace in Constellation | Image: Apple From Netflix to Disney Plus to Max, here are details on the most anticipated films and TV shows coming home this year on streaming platforms. Continue reading...
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by Allison Johnson on (#6K3QA)
A standout in a sea of same-looking budget phones. Budget phones tend to be pretty forgettable, but the Nothing Phone 2A isn't your average budget phone - that much is obvious just looking at it.The 2A is Nothing's third phone and its first attempt at a truly inexpensive device. And it's very budget-friendly: the Phone 2A goes on sale today starting at 319 (329) for a model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. A 12GB / 256GB version will cost 349 (379). Preorders open today, and the phone will ship on March 12th. The 256GB variant will be sold in the US for $349, but there's a catch - it's only available through a developer program, and the phone doesn't fully support our networks. That's our loss because Nothing has created a device that really stands out from the crowd. ... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6K3X7)
(C) 2024 Stellantis The electric Charger will come in two variants, but Dodge isn't ready to abandon the gas-gargling V8 quite yet. Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6K3X8)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Facebook, Instagram, and Threads are all experiencing issues. The three Meta-owned platforms aren't working for many users, with the widespread outage seeming to start around 10AM ET. Some users are experiencing issues logging in to their Meta Quest headsets, too.Facebook is logging users out of their accounts, leaving them unable to get back in. The outage seems to be improving on Facebook, as some of us here at The Verge are finally able to get back into their accounts and view posts.Meanwhile, over on Instagram users still can't refresh their feeds. Meta acknowledged the issue on its status page with a message timestamped 10:17AM ET, reading, We are aware of an issue impacting Facebook Login. Our engineering teams are actively... Continue reading...
by Emilia David on (#6K3X9)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Kayak launched new AI features that let people ask a chatbot for travel tips and find flights with just a screenshot. This brings Kayak in line with many other travel sites that offer AI services for trip planning and, now, price comparisons.PriceCheck, one of Kayak's two new AI features, lets users check if they found the best price just by taking a screenshot of flight information they found somewhere else. Kayak said in a statement that customers can upload a screenshot of any flight, even if they found the flight on their competitors' websites, and PriceCheck will search hundreds of sites to see if we can find a better price."Matthias Keller, chief scientist and senior vice president of technology at Kayak, said in an email to T... Continue reading...
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by Victoria Song on (#6K3SG)
RIP to an iconic shape. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge I had mixed feelings when Apple did away with the wedge in favor of a more traditional shape for the M2 MacBook Air. Did it feel a bit like sacrilege? Sure, but at least the wedge wasn't gone gone. There was still the M1 Air.Except now that the M3 Air is here, it's been discontinued. Now, it really is the end of the wedge era and I can't help but feel bereft.Logically speaking, losing the wedge shape doesn't affect how well the newer Airs work. I know because I have one: a 15-inch M2 MacBook Air. It's thin, sleek, and the battery lasts forever. I didn't pay out the nose for it. These are the defining characteristics for the Air - wedge-less or not.But I also have an M1 MacBook Air that I use for work. Recently, jumping back and... Continue reading...
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6K3SH)
Amazon's apt-titled thermostat can learn your habits over time and supports Alexa. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge While the days are getting brighter, spring isn't set to arrive for another few weeks. Given we're still dealing with storms in sunny" Southern California, I'm going to venture a guess that it probably doesn't feel like winter's almost over where most of our readers live, either. Thankfully, Amazon's Smart Thermostat is on sale right now at Amazon for $59.99 ($20 off), its lowest price in nearly three months and the best deal we've seen outside of Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day.Amazon's budget-friendly smart thermostat offers an impressive set of features for the price. It's compatible with most 24-volt HVAC systems and adapts to your habits and preferences over time thanks to its support for Hunches, which lets you essentially... Continue reading...
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by David Pierce on (#6K3SJ)
Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge There's one thing you can count on at Mobile World Congress: a whole mess of Android smartphones. This year's conference in Barcelona, Spain, delivered, with new devices from Xiaomi, Nothing, and others showing off the state of the art in the smartphone world.But there was something else brewing at this year's MWC: some new ideas about what a mobile device" might really mean. As generative AI changes the way we interact with technology, devices like the Humane AI Pin are starting to chart a path past the slab of glass in your pocket. Some of those slabs of glass are becoming more than just bundles of apps.MWC goers also saw a few new smartwatches, Samsung showed off its smart ring, and Lenovo asked the most important questions of all:... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6K3SN)
Image: GM General Motors will release a fleet of medium-duty trucks that run on hydrogen fuel cells as part of a pilot project sponsored by the US Department of Energy. The goal is to prove out the capabilities of hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, as a viable alternative to diesel vehicles.We will design, engineer, and develop a fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell medium-duty trucks," said Jacob Lozier, project lead at GM, to demonstrate how the capability and strength of our fuel cells can help real-world fleet customers."The trucks' development will receive funds from DOE's SuperTruck program, which aims to reduce carbon emissions among heavy- and medium-duty vehicles. The total project will cost $65 million, with $26 million... Continue reading...
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by Aude White on (#6K3SM)
Lookman Kampala Five films that take an expansive and creative approach to the documentary form. Continue reading...
by Barbara Krasnoff on (#6K3SK)
Illustration by Adrian Astorgano As my mother reached her 90s, although she was relatively healthy and active, I realized that she was starting to experience some physical limitations and memory issues. And while I didn't live far away, I knew that I needed to find a way to help her live on her own comfortably and safely despite her increased dependence. More traditional technologies, such as wearable alert systems, could only do so much (especially when she refused to wear them). So I started looking at smart home tech - and started finding some better answers.I'm not alone. According to the US census, in 2020, the number of people in the United States aged 65 or older reached 55.8 million, or 16.8 percent of the population, and many are choosing to age... Continue reading...
by Nathan Edwards on (#6K3SQ)
Illustration by Adrian Astorgano For many of us, the path to the smart home starts with a simple problem. You lock yourself out of the house one too many times, so you buy a smart lock. You want to change the temperature without getting out of bed, so you get a smart thermostat. You always forget to turn the porch lights off, so you buy a smart switch that automates them. For most people, that's as far as it goes and as far as it needs to go.But other people see a temperature sensor and a smart plug, or a light switch and a smart bulb on different circuits, plus a platform that lets them talk to each other, and think, Ah, I could go wild with this. Why shouldn't the lights come on automatically when I walk into a room? Why can't my bed be perfectly... Continue reading...
by Jess Weatherbed on (#6K3Q9)
Removing stalks on the Tesla steering wheel in favor of touch controls has driven people mad. | Image: tesla Car makers in Europe are being encouraged to stop using touchscreens for basic functions like turn signals and wipers in an attempt to promote safer driving. As reported by the Times, the European New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) - an independent and well-regarded safety body for the automotive industry - is set to introduce new rules in January 2026 that require the vehicles it assesses to have physical controls to receive a full five-star safety rating.While Euro NCAP testing is voluntary, it is widely backed by several EU governments with companies like Tesla, Volvo, VW, and BMW using their five-star scores to boast about the safety of their vehicles to potential buyers.The overuse of touchscreens is an industry-wide problem"... Continue reading...
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by Lauren Feiner on (#6K3MS)
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal to bar landlords from charging tenants in bulk for cable, internet, and satellite services, offering them more choice in the kinds of services they need.The agency is circulating a proposed rule to ban the practice of bulk billing," the White House announced in a press release ahead of President Joe Biden's meeting with his Competition Council on Tuesday. It's part of a broader effort to promote policies that will lower costs for Americans, as Biden is trying to appeal to voters focused on the economy as he seeks reelection later this year. That theme of lowering costs will resurface in Biden's State of the Union address on Thursday, National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6K3MT)
A screenshot from a recent R2 teaser video. | Image: Rivian Ahead of its launch on March 7th, key specs for Rivian's upcoming R2 electric SUV were briefly visible via the source code on the company's teaser site, Electrek reports. These include a range of up to 330 miles, a 0-60mph acceleration in three seconds, five seats, and a starting price of $47,000 (though a $47,500 starting price was reportedly also mentioned on other parts of the site). Deliveries are expected to start in 2026, per the website's code, which is in line with previous reports.Rivian has been teasing its R2 electric vehicle for a while now, which is expected to be a smaller and more affordable compact SUV versus its current R1S. The company has publicly said it's targeting a price of between $40,000 to $60,000 for the new... Continue reading...
by Sean Hollister on (#6K3DV)
Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge Oregon's landmark right-to-repair law is nearly here - today, SB 1596 passed the Oregon legislature, and is headed to Governor Tina Kotek's desk to sign or veto within the next five days. It's a big deal, because the Oregon law would be the first to ban parts pairing," a practice where companies can keep you from using components (sometimes even official ones) unless that company's software is satisfied that they belong.Similar to California's right-to-repair law, the Oregon bill also requires companies to make the same parts, tools, and repair documents available to any owners that it offers to authorized repair shops, and without charging any more for them.It doesn't specify a number of years that companies need to make those... Continue reading...
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by Emilia David on (#6K3AE)
Illustration: The Verge OpenAI's new Read Aloud feature for ChatGPT could come in handy when users are on the go by reading its responses in one of five voice options out loud to users. It is now available on both the web version of ChatGPT and the iOS and Android ChatGPT apps.Read Aloud can speak 37 languages but will auto-detect the language of the text it's reading, and the feature is available for both GPT-4 and GPT-3.5. It's an interesting example of what OpenAI can do with multimodal capabilities (the ability to read and respond through more than one medium) revealed soon after a competitor, Anthropic, added similar features to its AI models.ChatGPT launched a voice chat feature in September 2023 where users can directly ask the chatbot prompts without... Continue reading...
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by Richard Lawler on (#6K3AF)
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Elon Musk fired a lot of people after he took over Twitter, but the first ones to go were several of its top executives. Now former CEO Parag Agrawal, former CFO Ned Segal, former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, and former general counsel Sean Edgett are suing Musk and the company now known as X, saying they're owed more than $128 million in severance payments, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.Under Musk's stewardship, X's aversion to paying those it owes has practically become a trope (this is referenced in the lawsuit, along with a link to a page that tracks lawsuits against Twitter for non-payment and a note that the person who runs the site has been banned by X).But this time, it's the same execs who forced Musk to close... Continue reading...
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by Barbara Krasnoff on (#6HZP0)
Image: Samar Haddad / The Verge The holidays are over, a new year is here, and along with all the various upheavals that we are facing, most of us have to deal with our annual income taxes. (The usual quote about death and taxes goes here.)While we were able to wait until April 18th in 2023, this year, tax day is back to the traditional April 15th, which is a Monday. That is, unless you live in Maine or Massachusetts - then you have until Wednesday, April 17th, because of the Patriots' Day and Emancipation Day holidays.Despite the stress that many of us feel at the thought of tackling our yearly taxes, try not to worry - we're going to list some resources that are available so that you can prepare your taxes. As always, it might not be a bad idea to start working on... Continue reading...
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by Quentyn Kennemer on (#6K389)
The BackBone One might help you realize hidden savings by staving off carpal tunnel treatments. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge If you want to reliably hit headshots and combos on your smartphone, there's no substitute for a mobile gaming controller that adds proper physical controls. Our favorite for the task is still the Backbone One, and now through March 10th, you can save 30 percent on the original Lightning version in black, which is down to $69.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Target, and direct from Backbone. You can also pick up the PlayStation Edition, which comes in white and has button labels corresponding to Sony's controllers, for $69.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Target, and Backbone.The original Backbone One supports the iPhone 14 and older, Lightning-based models. (If you own an iPhone 15 variant, you'll need the Backbone One with USB-C, which isn't on... Continue reading...
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by Amrita Khalid on (#6K355)
Instagram We've all sent DMs on Instagram that we wish we had phrased differently or that included an awkward typo. Now, Meta has announced Instagram is giving users the ability to edit their direct messages up to 15 minutes after sending them. Prior to this update, the only option to undo the past was to delete the entire message.In order to edit a DM on Instagram, simply press and hold the sent message until the dropdown menu appears. Then, select Edit." The revised message will display the word Edited" in the conversation, so if you're hoping they just hadn't noticed, you still might be better off deleting the original and resending. Image: Instagram A screenshot of a user's chat history on Instagram in which they... Continue reading...
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by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#6K356)
Ikea is finally bringing Matter to its new smart home hub. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge Ikea's Dirigera hub, its new hub for controlling its line of connected devices, may soon get support for the Matter smart home standard. While promised when the hub was announced in May 2022, Matter for the Dirigera didn't materialize within a couple of months" of the product launching, as initially announced. It was then delayed again last November. But the company has now announced the rollout of Matter for the hub in beta.We are excited to unveil the first version of Matter support for the Dirigera hub, available now for beta users through the Ikea Home Smart app," David Granath, range manager at Ikea Home Smart told The Verge.The initial release transforms the Dirigera hub into a Matter bridge, allowing Zigbee devices to be... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6K358)
Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Soon, Google Pixel devices will be able to upload and view Ultra HDR pictures on Instagram. It's part of Google's March feature drop that rolls out to supported Pixel 7, Pixel 8, and Pixel Fold phones starting today, while a post in Google's support forum for Pixels says the update will roll out for US carriers starting next week.Samsung's Galaxy S24 was the first to support Ultra HDR photos on Instagram, allowing you to show off photos taken with the device's upgraded camera in full color and contrast. But now, Pixel owners will soon be able to do the same as well as capture and share 10-bit HDR videos to Instagram Reels.Next week's feature drop will also bring Circle to Search to the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. This feature lets you l... Continue reading...
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by Verge Press Room on (#6K359)
Alex Cranz, Jake Kastrenakes, and Kara Verlaney The Verge's editor-in-chief Nilay Patel announced several changes to the industry-leading tech publication's masthead today, starting with the promotion of Jake Kastrenakes to executive editor.Kastrenakes first joined The Verge as an intern in 2014 and has spent 10 years as a reporter and editor at the site, overseeing the news team, creators coverage, and the Hot Pod and Command Line newsletters. As executive editor Kastrenakes will be responsible for making sure The Verge's newsroom meets the highest standards of rigor and quality every single day.The Verge audience has incredibly high expectations of us and our work, and Jake has spent his career overdelivering on those expectations," says Patel. Jake has already been instrumental... Continue reading...
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by Sean Hollister on (#6K35A)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Just over a week ago, Nintendo sued the developers of the leading Nintendo Switch emulator, Yuzu, for facilitating piracy at a colossal scale." Now, it appears that Yuzu will give up without a fight - and give Nintendo everything it wanted. And it affects the Nintendo 3DS emulator Citra, too.According to a joint filing, Tropic Haze has not only agreed to pay $2,400,000 to Nintendo but also says Yuzu is primarily designed to circumvent and play Nintendo Switch games." The company agrees to be permanently enjoined from working on Yuzu, hosting Yuzu, distributing Yuzu's code or features, hosting websites and social media that promote Yuzu, or doing anything else that circumvents Nintendo's copyright protection.Piracy was never our... Continue reading...