The Verge

Image: Klobrille (Twitter / X) Get your first look at the new Indiana Jones game and more. Continue reading...

Figure unveiled its first prototype humanoid robot (pictured) in October 2023, just one year after the company was founded. | Image: Figure Robotics startup Figure has signed a commercial agreement" with BMW to introduce its general purpose" humanoid robots to BMW's manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, as it tries to identify use cases in automotive production. The robots are intended to automate difficult, unsafe, or tedious" manufacturing tasks, and if they're found to be viable, they'll then be deployed in the BMW facility in stages.Single-purpose robotics have saturated the commercial market for decades, but the potential of general purpose robotics is completely untapped," said Figure CEO Brett Adcock. Figure's robots will enable companies to increase productivity, reduce costs, and create a safer and more consistent environment."

Like the rest of the S24 lineup, Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra comes in four color options. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge As expected, Samsung introduced the new Galaxy S24 phone lineup during its Galaxy Unpacked event on January 17th. The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus start at $799.99 and $999.99, respectively, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra starts at $1,299.99. All of the phones are available starting on January 31st, 2024, though you can preorder them now.We've yet to wrap up our testing, so we can't comment on how well the phones perform in reality. However, in the limited time we've been able to try them out so far, it seems Samsung made mostly minor hardware updates. Along with brighter displays, the new lineup features larger S24 and S24 Plus models, while the S24 Ultra features what should be a more durable titanium frame.It's the new AI features... Continue reading...

Masimo showed up with the Freedom (right), a prototype for a smarter watch featuring its blood oxygen tech. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge In the past few weeks, you've probably heard something about the Apple Watch getting banned. Something to do with a sensor, with some medical tech company accusing Apple of infringing on its patents. That medical tech company is Masimo, and it's known within the medical community for its pulse oximetry technology, used for measuring blood oxygen levels.The company would also like to be known for something else: its brand-new smartwatch, which features the tech that got the Apple Watch in trouble.Masimo isn't traditionally a gadget maker, but its new watch - the Freedom - is meant to be a true consumer device: something that looks stylish on the wrist, can relay your notifications, and will track your health while it's at it. On paper,... Continue reading...

Game developers are overwhelmingly concerned about the ethics of using AI. The organizers of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) have released their annual State of the Game Industry survey, in which 84 percent of the 3,000-plus respondents said they were somewhat or very concerned about the ethics of using generative AI.The survey's results elaborated on why developers are concerned, citing reasons that include the potential for AI to replace workers and exacerbate layoffs or expose developers to possible copyright infringement complaints. Developers are also worried that AI programs could scrape data from their own games without their consent.GDC's survey also broke down developer sentiment regarding AI according to job type.... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple's most outspoken critics aren't thrilled with the company's recent App Store changes. In a statement to The Verge, Spotify spokesperson Jeanne Moran says that the new 27 percent tax on alternative payment methods shows that Apple will stop at nothing to protect the profits they exact on the backs of developers and consumers under their app store monopoly."The company updated its App Store policies to comply with a court order handed down as part of the Epic v. Apple ruling. The change lets developers in the US link to alternative payment methods, but only if they shell out a 27 percent commission for each purchase made outside the App Store.Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney was one of the first to call out Apple's changes as... Continue reading...

Image: Bose / Kith Well, this is certainly an unconventional way to introduce what looks like a very unconventional product. Bose just announced the Ultra Open Earbuds, an open-style pair of buds with a very unique design that leaked earlier this month. They're meant to clip onto your outer ear to preserve total environmental awareness whenever you're listening to them. And they're priced at a hefty $300.But here's the catch: this initial offering is an exclusive set designed in collaboration with fashion / lifestyle brand Kith. Kith's brand is etched onto the earbuds and case in Bose's signature typeface. You'll only be able to get the Kith for Bose Ultra Open Earbuds" from Kith's online and physical stores beginning January 22nd. And they'll supposedly... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge We're only a few weeks into 2024, and it's already time for a gaming event. Kicking things off this year is the Xbox Developer Direct 2024, which is described as a deep-dive into some of the biggest games coming to Xbox platforms."Right now, we know that includes at least a few previously announced titles: an Indiana Jones game from the studio behind Wolfenstein, the very intense-looking sequel to Hellblade, the upcoming Obsidian RPG Avowed, and Ara: History Untold, a turn-based strategy game from a new studio founded by Firaxis Games developers.Other than that, there will likely be at least a few surprises. Rumors have been swirling about games like Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush expanding to new platforms, and Starfield is getting a... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Rumors are swirling that Microsoft has been considering bringing some Xbox exclusives to rival PlayStation and Nintendo Switch platforms. Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush have both reportedly been under cross-platform consideration, and when you combine the rumors with recent comments from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Xbox CFO Tim Stuart, it's clear Microsoft is weighing its Xbox strategy now that the Activision Blizzard deal is complete.At a Wells Fargo summit in late November, Stuart detailed what he described as a bit of a change of strategy" for Microsoft Gaming, the division that houses Xbox and Microsoft's overall gaming efforts. Not announcing anything broadly here, but our mission is to bring our first-party experiences [and]... Continue reading...

Images: Rabbit CES 2024 presentation (YouTube) With artificial intelligence being so prevalent across, well, just about everything these days, it's no small feat for AI developers to make their products stand out among the deluge. Very few have managed to capture as much attention as Rabbit, the AI startup that's managed to sell 40,000 units of its standalone $199 R1 gadget within eight days of launching the device at CES in January this year.The AI-powered Rabbit OS behind the Rabbit R1 is essentially a dedicated virtual assistant that's designed to interact with your favorite apps like a kind of universal controller. The OS is built upon a Large Action Model" trained to interact with common apps like Spotify and Uber to get things done; from sending messages, controlling music,... Continue reading...

Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Following a lost bid to halt a ban on selling its newest Apple Watches, Apple says it's going to sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 without their blood oxygen features beginning tomorrow, January 18th.The revised watches will be available from Apple's website beginning at 9AM ET, and they'll be available in Apple's retail stores as well. If you currently have an Apple Watch with blood oxygen features, Apple says there will be no impact" to those devices.A court filing earlier this week confirmed that US Customs approved versions of the Apple Watches with the blood oxygen features removed. According to Bloomberg, Apple has developed a software workaround.Here is Apple's full statement from Apple spokesperson Nikki... Continue reading...

The Verge Pitchfork, the acerbic music site that defined album reviews in the early blogging era, is being hollowed out. Owner Conde Nast has decided to merge the music magazine with GQ, the men's interest publication, according to a staff memo circulated by Max Tani of Semafor. Launched back when CDs were a thing, Pitchfork outlasted the age of music piracy and mp3s and through the rise of digital streaming. Its future as a brand post-merge is now uncertain.Multiple employees were also laid off on Wednesday, including editor-in-chief Puja Patel. One laid off writer, Matthew Ismael Ruiz, estimated that half the staff" was laid off.Today we are evolving our Pitchfork team structure by bringing the team into the GQ organization. This decision... Continue reading...

Image: EA It's been almost five years since EA announced the third installment of the popular Plants vs. Zombie mobile game, and now it's nearly here. EA has revealed that Plants vs. Zombies 3: Welcome to Zomburbia (PvZ3) has soft-launched in select countries, including the UK, Netherlands, Australia, Philippines, and Ireland.Just like previous installments, PvZ3 is a tower defense game that tasks you with using animated plants to fend off a horde of zombies. EA says the game features new and returning characters," along with gameplay that reflects the classic combat of the first game." PvZ3 will be free to play, but it will still have microtransactions.The original Plants vs. Zombies was released on PC and Mac in 2009 before making its way... Continue reading...

The Galaxy S24 family arrives with new AI features to enhance photography, communication, and search. Here's where you can preorder one. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Following a spat of leaks, Samsung has unveiled its forthcoming set of flagship phones, detailing the new Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra at its latest Unpacked event. The new smartphones officially launch on January 31st and are available for preorder beginning today, with the base model starting at $799.99, the Plus model starting at $999.99, and the high-end Ultra handset going for $1,299.99.In our early hands-on time with them, we haven't noticed anything groundbreaking about the Galaxy S24 family's hardware, though each phone boasts a slightly bigger battery and display than its predecessor. The Ultra now further justifies its premium price tag with a titanium build, and all of the displays are noticeably brighter. Instead of... Continue reading...

Marvel Studios Echo star and Daredevil alum Vincent D'Onofrio says Netflix's Marvel series are part of the MCU's canon, which was obvious if you watched shows or listened to Kevin Feige. Continue reading...

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge The cover glass on our smartphones has grown durable enough to withstand more than a few drops nowadays. Whether you're talking about Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus or the iPhone's ceramic shield," displays have gotten pretty tough. But one common complaint remains: phone screens are still all too easy to scratch. Sometimes, it feels like it's even easier to scratch a premium phone than it used to be. Screen protectors are still a booming business, after all.But today marks some promising news. During Samsung's Unpacked event, Corning announced a new kind of cover glass called Corning Gorilla Armor that it claims makes big strides on several fronts. It's debuting on the brand-new Galaxy 24 Ultra. First, and as to be expected, the... Continue reading...

With their powers combined... | Photo by Jaap Arriens / NurPhoto via Getty Images Cable, like broadcast TV, is on the decline. People are increasingly getting their news from social media and digital media (hello), which means the big cable news channels are seeing declines in viewership and subsequent declines in ad dollars. Now, a memo from CNN CEO Mark Thompson outlines some of the early plans to try to save CNN from cable - and grow its presence on the phone.As noted by The Wall Street Journal, which has seen the memo, the first step will be combining CNN's myriad news-gathering groups into one team. CNN, in its current structure, has a TV-focused operation, a streaming one, and a digital one. They communicate, but they're separate organizations with separate leaders and goals. Thompson will combine them and then... Continue reading...

Circle a fake plant and find it on sale at Walmart, just like that. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge It's hard to think of a more self-explanatory feature than Circle to Search: it does exactly what it sounds like it does. You circle something on your phone screen, tap a button, and voila! A page full of Google search results telling you about the thing you circled. Easy, right? The new feature is launching on five phones to start - the three members of Samsung's brand-new Galaxy S24 series, as well as Google's Pixel 8 and 8 Pro - before it comes to other select, premium" Android phones.Well, maybe it does need a little explaining. If the feature sounds familiar, you might be thinking of Google Lens, which is similar. But instead of opening up the Google app, you can use Circle to Search anywhere on your device. Just long-press the... Continue reading...

The big phone is back. Ever wish you could have the most phone? For several years running, Samsung's S-series Ultra has been that device, and the company is going just as big with the Ultra for 2024. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is here with a new titanium finish, lots of AI tools, and a higher starting price: $1,299, up from an already high $1,199.One of the most immediately noticeable new features of the Ultra is how it's built. This year's model has a titanium frame - like Apple's iPhone 15 Pro - which Samsung says allows for better durability. Unlike Apple, Samsung hasn't used the material in an attempt to make the phone lighter; titanium is heavier than aluminum, but it's more durable so you can use less of it. In this case, Samsung has just gone for the... Continue reading...

Amazon is taking $290 off of the Yeedi Vac 2 Pro robot vacuum. | Image: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge From an AI-powered robot vacuum that can suck up milk to a robovac with an actual arm, we saw some pretty cool (and downright weird) gadgets launch during CES last week. But unless you have nearly two grand just lying around to spend, those fancy features don't come cheap. Luckily, there are significantly more affordable options on the market like the Yeedi Vac 2 Pro, which is down to just $159.99 ($290 off) at Amazon when you clip the on-page coupon.If all you need is a decent robot vacuum that'll clean your floors well enough, this top-notch budget robovac nails the essentials. It doesn't come with the kind of advanced obstacle avoidance tech found in the longer-lasting Roomba j7, but it does avoid most obstacles over an inch tall.... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Google is testing changes to some of its most important services including Search, the Chrome browser, and its Android operating system ahead of the European Union's tough new antitrust rules coming into force in March, the company has announced. The changes come as a result of the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a sweeping piece of legislation under which Google has been designated as a gatekeeper" and given new rules for how it can operate important core platform services."On Android, it's introducing a new browser choice screen during initial device setup, similar to what it already offers to let users pick between different search engines. (This search engine choice screen's roots lie in a 4.3 billion fine from the EU over... Continue reading...

This is Hot Pod, The Verge's newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Sign up here for more.We've got some podcast news to cover today, but first, I am very excited to finally share what we have in store for Hot Pod Summit. The invite-only event is just over a month away, and I can't wait to see everyone there. Without further ado...Ira Glass is coming to Hot Pod SummitMy favorite part of Hot Pod Summit is bringing podcast leaders together to talk frankly about the challenges and possibilities shaping the industry. It's been a year of dramatic change, so we thought it best to bring in someone who has been there from the very beginning. Who better than the man who kicked off the podcast revolution?I will be talking to Ira... Continue reading...

Notion Calendar is just Cron, reskinned and deeply integrated with Notion. | Image: Notion Notion users have been asking for an integrated calendar system for years. Now, Notion is delivering: it's launching Notion Calendar, a standalone app that integrates with all of your databases and notes in Notion. It's yet another way Notion is attempting to be the only app your company needs to do pretty much everything.If you've ever used Cron, the calendar app Notion acquired in 2022 and has been operating ever since, you basically already know the deal with Notion Calendar. It's just a redesigned, Notion-ified version of the app. Cron was always a fast, simple, nice-looking calendar with some clever features like Calendly-style booking tools and a command bar you can use for quickly setting up recurring meetings and the like. One... Continue reading...

The European Parliament has made its case - now, it's up to the European Commission to decide whether to initiate legislation proceedings. | Image: The Verge The EU has proposed sweeping changes within the music streaming industry to promote smaller artists and make sure underpaid performers are being fairly compensated.A resolution to address concerns regarding inadequate streaming royalties for artists and biased recommendation algorithms was adopted by members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Wednesday, highlighting that no existing EU rules currently apply to music streaming services, despite being the most popular way to consume audio.The proposition was made to ensure European musical works are accessible and avoid being overshadowed by the overwhelming amount" of content being continually added to streaming platforms like Spotify. MEPs also called for outdated pre-digital"... Continue reading...

Image: Wing If drone delivery is going to go mainstream, it's going to need bigger aircraft that can handle more stuff. Today, Alphabet's Wing unveiled the first in a new lineup of larger drones with more payload capacity.Wing's flagship drone is designed to handle payloads of up to 2.5 pounds. The new drone can handle up to five pounds without sacrificing range. The company says that it has enough battery power to complete 12 miles round trip while cruising at up to 65mph.It's always been our vision to implement a multimodal drone delivery model, in the same way that ground delivery uses different vehicle sizes for different orders," Wing CEO Adam Woodworth said in a blog post.It's always been our vision to implement a multimodal drone... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Apple has updated its App Store policies to spell out how developers can link to outside payment platforms, as reported by 9to5Mac. Developers will still owe Apple a cut if they use an outside payment platform. Apple will take a 27 percent cut (as opposed to the 30 percent in many cases) or 12 percent if a developer is part of the App Store Small Business Program, according to a support page about external purchase links.Section 3.1.1(a) of the App Store Review Guidelines lays down more of the new rules for developers who want to link to alternative payment methods, like how they have to apply for an entitlement" to enable them. Developers also can't exclusively receive payments from outside Apple's walled garden; they'll also have... Continue reading...