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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6HQQX)
Marvel Studios Disney Plus' Echo limited miniseries feels like the studio's first successful attempt at matching the energy that made Netflix's Marvel shows great. Continue reading...
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The Verge
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
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| Updated | 2025-07-08 00:17 |
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by Jay Peters on (#6HQQY)
Where we drivin'? | Image: Sony Sony and Honda's in-development Afeela EV will let you display messages and images on its front bumper, according to a new video about the car, including the ability to... advertise video games.You can see the screen-ified bumper - sorry, the Media Bar" - starting at 3:17 in the video. The video does show some more sensible uses of the Media Bar, like displaying the name of the car, a red warning sign, or even a birthday greeting. But the video also shows how you can display logos for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Fortnite, and Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition, which is just ridiculous.That's not the only weird - and potentially distracting and dangerous - tech thing packed into the screen-filled car. One feature,... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6HQP6)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says that it will be forced to sunset its internet subsidy for low-income families, known as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), in May if it doesn't receive additional funding. The program is currently only funded through April this year, despite a White House push for a $6 billion extension.CNN reports that today, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both the House and Senate plan to submit a bill requesting its extension. The extension bill, reportedly called the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act, will be introduced in Congress tomorrow to provide a $7 billion extension for the program.But the bill will have to overcome objections from Republicans in the House and Senate... Continue reading...
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by Alex Heath on (#6HQP7)
The Humane AI pin retails for $699 and requires a $24 per month subscription. | Image: Humane Humane laid off 4 percent of employees this week in a move that was described as a cost cutting measure to those who were impacted, according to sources familiar with the matter. Employees were recently told by leadership that budgets would be lowered this year, said one of the people, who requested anonymity to speak without the company's permission.The cuts, which numbered 10 people, come ahead of the five-year-old startup shipping its first device: a $699, screenless, AI-powered pin that is pitched as a smartphone replacement. After a lot of hype and secrecy, Humane unveiled the AI Pin to the world in November and began accepting preorders, with shipments planned to begin in March.Humane has raised over $200 million from a who's-who... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6HQP8)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A few months after Intel's CEO announced plans to put AI into everything," we're starting to get a clearer picture about where it will go first. Today, the company announced its AI-focused chip for the automotive sector or, as Intel describes it, the first-generation AI-enhanced software-defined vehicle system-on-chip." Intel also announced the acquisition of an energy management company and a new effort to standardize battery power for electric vehicles.Intel has been locked in a race with Nvidia and AMD to corner the market in processors and other hardware needed to fuel the AI boom. Now, it's shifting to AI PCs, arguing that AI is more secure when running on a personal computer as opposed to over the internet.The companies also... Continue reading...
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by Ariel Shapiro on (#6HQP9)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge This is Hot Pod, The Verge's newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Sign up here for more.Welcome back, and happy new year! I am plugging away at Hot Pod Summit preparations and very excited to reveal our lineup next week. In the meantime, the lottery is still open, so please let us know if you are interested in attending.Today, YouTube at very long last debuts RSS integration. Plus, Audacy files for bankruptcy and PRX announces a new distribution deal with Conde Nast. Let's get into it.YouTube finally supports RSSYouTube is making good on its promise to support RSS feeds. In a blog post and video published today, the company provided instructions for podcasters on how to connect their RSS feeds to YouTube Studio. It's... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6HQKB)
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Microsoft said 2024 was going to be the year of the AI PC," and it looks like that's ringing true already. Microsoft appears to be readying a new generative AI feature for its Notepad application that's built into Windows. While the software giant hasn't officially announced it, eagle-eyed Windows watchers have discovered code in Microsoft's latest test builds of Windows 11 that indicate a new Cowriter" feature could be on the way soon.It looks like it has the same credits system that Microsoft uses in its Cocreator feature in Paint to let Windows users know how many more times they can use these AI-powered features. Microsoft hasn't announced pricing for these credits yet, but one can assume the company will eventually start charging... Continue reading...
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by David Pierce on (#6HQKD)
If AI can fix grocery shopping, count me in. | Photo: Walmart Imagine never running out of milk again. You pour the last bit into your cereal - which is, incidentally, also empty now - and then head to work. By the time you get home the empties have been replaced as if by magic.Walmart thinks it can make this happen, with the help of AI. The company announced a new feature of its InHome replenishment service that aims to automatically order the right stuff at the right time, and hand it off to a delivery person who can drop things off in a fridge in your house. Shoppers with the $20 monthly InHome membership already get the seamless drop-off, but they still have to select items themselves. By training its models on both your habits and Walmart's overall knowledge of how people buy and consume... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6HQKC)
Image: Walmart / Zipline Walmart is expanding its drone delivery program to 1.8 million more households in Texas. The retailer says its drone deliveries now cover 75 percent of the population in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, all thanks to partnerships with drone startups Wing and Zipline.Walmart launched its drone delivery program with Zipline and DroneUp in Arkansas in 2021 before expanding it to more states in 2022. The newly expanded service in Texas allows customers living within 10 miles of a participating Walmart to get items delivered to their homes via drone. GIF: Walmart Since there is a weight limit, customers can only have smaller products like cold medicine, birthday candles, and even a carton of eggs delivered. Walmart... Continue reading...
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by Alex Cranz on (#6HQGY)
That's a whole navigable UI... on broadcast TV. | Photo by Alex Cranz / The Verge If you happen to live in Las Vegas and have a TV with an ATSC 3.0 tuner, then, for the next few days, there will be a new channel on your TV. At first, the Roxi channel just appears to play music videos, but when you hit the pause button on your remote, the TV pauses - despite being a broadcast channel. There's no DVR involved or app you need to download. And with the press of your remote, you can skip ahead to the next music video or even choose from other playlists, all within the broadcast channel. It's something that's been central to the promise of ATSC 3.0, and Roxi thinks it's finally delivering.Roxi CEO Rob Lewis knows a bit about music streaming. In the 2000s, he was the CEO of Omnifone, one of the first music streaming... Continue reading...
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by Emilia David on (#6HQGZ)
Illustration: The Verge The state of Pennsylvania will deploy OpenAI's enterprise ChatGPT service in a pilot program to help state employees do administrative work.The pilot begins this month and will be limited to an unspecified number of Pennsylvania's Office of Administration employees, but it could be expanded to other state workers in the future, a press release from Governor Josh Shapiro said. The state says it will consider feedback from the initial batch of employees before it releases another 100 licenses to access ChatGPT Enterprise.Our goal with the pilot is to work closely with a small number of employees to figure out where we can have the greatest impact using generative AI tools," said Neil Weaver, secretary of Pennsylvania's Office of... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6HQH0)
Image: Netflix We're inching ever closer to 3 Body Problem's premiere on Netflix, and today, that means another glimpse at the sci-fi adaptation. Whereas the previous trailer focused on the incredibly immersive virtual reality game at the core of the story, the latest clip focuses on something different: the mystery. Basically, a whole bunch of scientists have gone missing, and Benedict Wong's character is trying to figure out what it all means.The show, of course, is based on the novel by Cixin Liu (which was just the first part of a trilogy), and Netflix describes the premise thusly:
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6HQH1)
Image: Luminar All vehicles are required to have automatic emergency braking, but the technology is not the best at preventing crashes, especially at highway speeds. But what about automatic emergency steering?Florida-based lidar company Luminar unveiled a new automatic emergency steering (AES) feature powered by its Iris Plus sensor. The idea is to use the laser sensor, in combination with the vehicle's other safety systems, to proactively avoid crashes without driver intervention.The company demonstrated the new feature at CES in Las Vegas this week. The hope is that Luminar's long-range lidar, with up to 300 meters (984 feet) of range in the right conditions, can detect obstacles and initiate driving maneuvers before the driver does.The... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6HQDW)
Photo by Loren Grush / The Verge NASA has pushed back its timeline for the crewed Artemis missions that will send human beings to the Moon. The first one, Artemis II, was supposed to take place later this year, but now it will launch in September 2025 to orbit the Earth's satellite, with the landing mission, Artemis III, now planned for a year later in September 2026. NASA said the Artemis IV mission to take humans to the lunar Gateway space station in 2028 is still on track.The future missions are intended to establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon" and land the first woman and the first person of color" on its surface. The Artemis missions use NASA's Space Launch System rocket, which was also subject to years of setbacks before... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6HQDY)
Image: Mercedes-Benz AG Mercedes-Benz is supercharging its in-car voice assistant with generative AI, paving the way for more natural interactions and personalized driver experiences.The automaker's upgraded MBUX Virtual Assistant will run on the next-generation MB.OS operating system to create the most human-like interface with a Mercedes-Benz yet," the company says. Examples include predictive behavior, like playing the morning's news headlines upon entering the vehicle or offering to dial into a meeting if the vehicle owner's calendar indicates they are running late for a meeting.Mercedes vehicles already have voice-command capabilities, allowing drivers to use the phrase, Hey, Mercedes," followed by a short command to do things like adjust the... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6HQDX)
Image: Mercedes-Benz AG People love to play their music while driving, but unless you're some sort of wizard with control over time and space, rarely does the beat actually match up with the rhythm of acceleration and steering. Mercedes-AMG aims to change that with a new interactive musical experience" that it's created along with musician and entrepreneur Will.i.am.At CES this year, the automaker announced MBUX Sound Drive, a new feature that uses sensors and software to link music to driving. It's hard to describe, but Mercedes says it's composed musical tracks to pair with regular functions like recuperation, acceleration, steering, and braking, turning the whole car - as Will.i.am puts it - into its own orchestra."A new feature that uses sensors and... Continue reading...
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by Chris Welch on (#6HQDZ)
The PlayStation 5 slim" is barely a couple months old, but Sony is already preparing to release new sideplates for the console. And the company is showing off a trio of those new color options - blue, silver, and red - here at CES 2024. The side covers will start at $54.99 when they go on sale in the near future.Unlike the standard white PS5 slim, these don't have the glossy / matte split between the top and bottom plates. I prefer matte all the way, so I'm happy to see that. (There's no avoiding dust on that black center section of the PS5, unfortunately.) Will Sony sell the detachable disc drive in new colors, too? Sony's playing it fairly safe with the colors here, but they all looked pretty eye-catching on... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6HQE1)
The Saloon concept will be the basis for the first Honda Zero production model coming in 2026. | Image: Honda Honda announced a new global electric vehicle series, dubbed Honda Zero, presenting it as an antidote to the recent trend of thick, heavy" EVs seen on the road today. Honda says it will introduce its first model, based on a sleek, sedan-like concept called the Saloon, starting in North America in 2026.In addition to the Saloon, Honda also introduced a boxier van-esque concept called the Space-Hub. The concepts are meant to demonstrate Honda's lighter approach to EV development, riding atop a thin" vehicle architecture with a low floor that's meant to accentuate aerodynamics. Yep, still an H. Thin" and light" are two of the three principles, the third being wise," that Honda says is guiding the development of... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6HQE0)
The last time Hyundai brought an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype to CES, it was 2020, and the South Korean automaker was talking bullishly about adding it to Uber's forthcoming air taxi network.Today, Uber's air taxi network has been sold to another startup, the air taxi industry as a whole is still struggling to get a commercial service up and running, and Hyundai is unveiling a new product concept" that it says will be ready for production by 2028.Supernal, the automaker's eVTOL division, says its S-A2 concept can cruise at 120mph and reach an altitude of 1,500 feet. It packs enough battery capacity for the type of 25- to 40-mile trips that helicopters commonly conduct between downtowns and airports for... Continue reading...
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by Victoria Song on (#6HQE2)
The idea is to reduce heat damage and energy consumption. | Image: L'Oreal L'Oreal has been a staple of CES for years, showing up with surprising twists on beauty products like a wearable UV sensor, a lipstick printer, and an AR-powered brow applicator. This year, the company is taking on the classic hairdryer with the AirLight Pro, and it's doing so in an unconventional way.Most conventional hairdryers rely on thermal coils to produce heat and air that then dries the hair. Unless you use heat protectant, it can be pretty brutal on your hair with frequent use. Meanwhile, Dyson's Supersonic hairdryer mostly uses a powerful motor and clever ergonomic design to maximize airflow while also reducing heat. L'Oreal's AirLight Pro also does that, but it adds infrared light into the mix. Image:... Continue reading...
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by David Pierce on (#6HQE3)
The Rabbit R1 is not a phone... but it's not not a phone. | Image: Rabbit Jesse Lyu, the CEO and founder of an AI startup called Rabbit, says he doesn't want to replace your smartphone. At least not right away. His company's new gadget, a $199 standalone AI device called the R1, is so staggeringly ambitious that Lyu seems to think he can't help but replace your phone at some point. Just not quite yet.The R1 looks a little like a Playdate console or maybe a modernized version of one of those '90s-era handheld TVs. It's a standalone gadget about half the size of an iPhone with a 2.88-inch touchscreen, a rotating camera for taking photos and videos, and a scroll wheel / button you press to navigate around or talk to the device's built-in assistant. It has a 2.3GHz MediaTek processor, 4GB of memory, and 128GB of... Continue reading...
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by Brandon Widder on (#6HQA7)
Alan Wake 2, Remedy's latest supernatural thriller, is down to just $26.79 thanks to the latest Epic Games promo. | Image: Remedy Entertainment Unsurprisingly, the holidays have always been a terrific opportunity to save on the latest title or revisit the classics you may have missed, often for far less than their usual asking price. But while Steam's winter sale has come and gone - taking its terrific Diablo IV discount along with it - there's still time to take advantage of Epic Games' annual holiday sale, which runs until January 10th at 11AM ET.The full list of eligible titles is exhaustive, to be honest, but there are a couple of newer PC games worth highlighting. If you're looking for a very heady third-person shooter with some Twin Peaks vibes that pulls out all the stops when it comes to ray tracing, for instance, Alan Wake 2 is on sale for $39.99 ($10 off) with a... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6HQA8)
Artists have noted various inconsistencies with several of the dragon images in Wacom's recent promotional campaign. | Image: Wacom Popular drawing tablet manufacturer Wacom is the latest target being slammed by the digital art community after appearing to use AI-generated images in ads. Over the weekend, creatives across X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok noticed that Wacom was promoting its Intuos pen tablet with a dragon illustration that showed telltale marks of AI-generated images - such as questionable scale designs and fur blending unnaturally into other sections of the image.Wacom deleted the images without explanation, fueling speculation that an industry-standard brand for artists was using tools widely criticized for replacing them. And it wasn't the only AI controversy this weekend. Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the publisher behind Magic: The Gathering and D... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6HQA9)
Image: Lucasfilm After three seasons on Disney Plus, Din Djarin and his adorable protege are heading to the big screen. Today, Lucasfilm announced that a movie based on The Mandalorian was in the works, with production starting in 2024 and series creator Jon Favreau as director. Favreau will also be serving as producer alongside Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Star Wars mainstay Dave Filoni. The film is called, fittingly, The Mandalorian & Grogu.That's about all we have to go on right now. There are no details on when the movie will take place or any hints at a plot. In a statement, Kennedy said simply that this new story is a perfect fit for the big screen." Here's a piece of teaser art to get your Star Wars juices flowing: I... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6HQAC)
Telly's AI assistant in action. | Image: Telly Telly, the company giving people free 55-inch 4K TVs as long as they're willing to live with persistent ads on a second screen, is previewing a Hey Telly" voice assistant that will be based on OpenAI's ChatGPT, at least at first. Users will interact with it on the TV's second (lower) screen, and the company says it will come to know and recognize the Telly owner" over time and offer personalized recommendations to users. The company didn't say when the feature will be available.The existing SoundHound-powered voice assistant is limited to more mundane tasks like setting timers, changing picture modes, or answering simple questions. Image: Telly Telly's assistant can offer Taylor Swift tickets to you. Telly... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6HQAB)
Image: Lamborghini Lamborghini announced new telemetry features that allow supercar owners to better keep track of their very fast vehicles - and themselves.The automaker unveiled Telemetry X, its new real-time performance and biometric data-tracking system, at CES in Las Vegas. The system consists of several features, including Remote Garage, Biometric Data, and Digital Co-Pilot, aimed at letting wealthy supercar owners keep better track of their laps. Photo: Lamborghini Remote Garage is basically a remote coaching feature, enabling a 5G cellular connection to send real-time footage, images, and data to a coach anywhere in the world" who can give tips to improve your track time. I can see this being helpful to racing amateurs who... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6HQAA)
Satechi's 3-in-1 Qi2 charging stand will net you 15 watts of charging power. | Image: Satechi Our universal, wireless, magnetic, and fast-charging future is here as the first Qi2 chargers start to arrive, and Satechi is showing off its first two compatible products today at CES.Both devices are folding stands designed to charge a pair of earbuds and a phone - using MagSafe or Qi2 - at the same time, while the higher-end of the devices adds an Apple Watch charger to the back. The company said in its announcement that they'll be available in the second quarter of the year, costing $79.99 for the 2-in-1 stand and $129.99 for the 3-in-1 version.Satechi's new stands fold flat and come with a 45W power supply and two travel adapters for foreign plugs. Satechi even says the 3-in-1 model supports fast charging for the Apple Watches... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6HQAD)
Image: Samsung Microsoft and Samsung's Android partnership will continue in 2024, with new Copilot integration and the ability to use a Galaxy smartphone camera as a webcam on a PC. Samsung revealed both new features during its CES keynote this week, with Copilot set to arrive in March and the webcam feature for Microsoft Teams later this year.Starting with our latest flagship smartphones later this year, people will be able to use the fantastic clarity and resolution of their Galaxy smartphone cameras to enhance a meeting on services like Microsoft Teams," explains Jonathan Gabrio, head of the connected experience center at Samsung. The webcam support will include both the front- and rear-facing cameras, and the ability to apply background blur and... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6HQ61)
Samples of the new solid electrolyte discovered by Microsoft AI and HPC tools. | Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft. Artificial intelligence (AI) and large-scale cloud computing is speeding up the search for new battery materials. An AI-enhanced collaboration between Microsoft and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has already produced one promising new material, which the two are sharing publicly today.They discovered a new kind of solid-state electrolyte, the kind of material that could lead to a battery that's less likely to burst into flames than today's lithium-ion batteries. It also uses less lithium, which is getting harder to come by as demand soars for rechargeable EV batteries.There's still a long road ahead to see how viable this material is as an alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries. What scientists are most... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6HQ62)
Crowds of people swimming at Jinshan City Beach in Shanghai, China, on August 13th, 2023, during a heatwave after the government issued an orange alarm to warn people to take precautions against the heat. | Photo by Ying Tang / NurPhoto via Getty Image 2023 was a record-breaking scorcher, final numbers now show. While many of us felt the heat last year, it's still mind-blowing to see the data. And it's about to get hotter.Officially, last year was the hottest in the books since record-keeping began in 1850. Looking farther back, last year's temperatures likely exceed those of any period in at least the last 100,000 years," according to deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service Samantha Burgess.The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service released data today that confirmed earlier predictions that the heat would be off the charts in 2023. It also made a worrying forecast for the new year, predicting that the world could soon surpass a critical threshold for... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6HQ63)
Image: Microsoft Microsoft is holding a second Xbox Developer_Direct event on January 18th. Much like last year's initial event, Microsoft will detail some of its plans for Xbox this year and provide updates on games that are planned for release. The developers of the Indiana Jones game, MachinesGames, are going to reveal how the title is progressing with more than 10 minutes of game and developer insights."Indiana Jones will be exclusive to Xbox and PC, according to testimony during the FTC v. Microsoft case last year. The game was originally announced in 2021, just months before Microsoft finalized its $7.5 billion deal to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Doom and Fallout studio Bethesda Softworks. The Indiana Jones game is being... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6HQ66)
You can use the NFC chip on your iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock the DL130. | Image: TP-Link TP-Link announced a new video door lock, the Tapo DL130, at CES today. The DL130 is HomeKit-compatible, supports seven unlocking methods, and can be controlled through Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri. TP-Link hasn't announced pricing or a specific release date yet but says more info is coming soon.The seven unlock methods include a fingerprint scanner, a built-in keypad, and Apple Home Key on the iPhone or Apple Watch. TP-Link says the fingerprint scanner can unlock the device in less than a second and that it also includes a built-in door sensor so you can check if it's open or not.The Tapo DL130's camera films at 2K resolution with a 180-degree field of view. It has a built-in spotlight for color night vision and a speaker that... Continue reading...
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by Nilay Patel on (#6HQ65)
Photo illustration: The Verge | Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Adobe's top lawyer discusses the future of copyright, why the Figma acquisition fell through, and why he's optimistic AI won't put creatives out of work. Continue reading...
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6HQ64)
Nanoleaf's new Smart Multicolor Permanent Outdoor Lights will be available in the spring. | Image: Nanoleaf Nanoleaf introduced its first dedicated outdoor lights during CES 2024 in a move that should help the company catch up with rivals like Hue, Govee, and Twinkly. The Smart Multicolor Outdoor String Lights and Smart Multicolor Permanent Outdoor Lights are the latest additions to the company's Matter Essentials line and will be available this spring.The new color-changing, addressable outdoor lights make Nanoleaf a more competitive player in the smart lighting world. Last year, Nanoleaf's Essentials Matter Smart Holiday String Lights made it to our list of the best holiday smart string lights, but the Philips Hue Festavia string lights were ultimately our top choice. That's in part because of how limited Nanoleaf's ecosystem was when it... Continue reading...
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by Victoria Song on (#6HQ67)
The Evie Ring's charging case comes with 10 full charges. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge There's always a certain degree of vaporware at CES. It comes with the territory - especially when we're talking about ambitious health tech that requires regulatory clearance. So it was really neat that after two years, I got to actually hold Movano's Evie smart ring in my hands ahead of the first wave of units shipping out to customers later this month.The Evie Ring's approach to health tracking has a twist. With wearables, women often feel like an afterthought in design. Just look at smartwatches. Usually, companies prioritize bigger sizes to extend battery life at the expense of those with smaller wrists. The Evie Ring, however, is one of the few woman-first wearables, and that clearly shows up in the design.Holding the ring in... Continue reading...
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by Emilia David on (#6HQ68)
Illustration: The Verge Grok, the AI bot built into the platform formerly known as Twitter, wasn't supposed to be like other chatbots. Grok was pitched as fun. It was pitched as funny. And it had all of Twitter - errr, X - to tap into for relevant answers. So it was supposed to be useful and responsive, too. But after trying Grok out, I'm left with one basic question: why does it exist?Technically, of course, Grok exists because Elon Musk wanted an answer to ChatGPT. The service is a paid add-on to X; it rolled out in beta last month to Premium Plus subscribers, who spend $16 a month for it and other perks. For X, it's supposed to ease a transition away from advertising. For users, it's supposed to offer the kind of up-to-the-minute information with which... Continue reading...
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by Mia Sato on (#6HQ39)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Meta is restricting teens from viewing content that deals with topics like suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders, the company announced today. The content, which Meta says may not be age appropriate" for young people, will not be visible even if it's shared by someone a teen follows.If a teen searches for this type of content on Facebook and Instagram, they'll instead be directed toward expert resources for help" like the National Alliance on Mental Illness, according to Meta. Teen users also may not know if content in these categories is shared and that they can't see it. This change is rolling out to users under 18 over the coming months.In addition to hiding content in sensitive categories, teen accounts will also be defaulted... Continue reading...
by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#6HQ38)
Amazon is the first to implement Matter casting. | Image: The Verge Amazon, one of the founders of Matter, is the first to add support for Matter casting, a feature of the Matter smart home standard that allows you to control TVs and streaming devices straight from a connected app. At CES this week, Amazon announced that Matter casting support is coming to its Prime Video app so that you can cast content to Amazon hardware devices.The feature is available now for the Echo Show 15 - Amazon's largest smart display that's also a Fire TV - and Amazon says support is coming soon to Fire TVs, including smart TVs from Panasonic with Fire TV built in. Just open the Prime Video app on your phone or tablet, tap the cast button, and alongside other casting options, you will now see the choice to cast to an Echo... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6HPXP)
The Mega 95 is a new gaming handheld from Hyperkin that's designed to play original Sega Genesis and Mega Drive cartridges. It's equipped with a five-inch display that has a toggle to switch between 4:3 and 16:9 modes, and a battery that Hyperkin says should last 10 hours per charge. Think of it like a modern take on the Genesis Nomad with roughly three times the battery life and other modern conveniences.The handheld looks to be a portable version of Hyperkin's MegaRetroN HD Gaming Console, the existing Genesis-compatible retro console released in 2018 and which now sells for $59.99. Hyperkin's press release doesn't go into detail about how the Mega 95 runs its classic Genesis titles, but the MegaRetroN HD reportedly uses a hardware... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6HPXN)
An in-development DuchesS, whose design might change before it's eventually released. | Image: Hyperkin Accessory maker Hyperkin is bringing back Microsoft's original Xbox Controller S as a modern gamepad, complete with Hall effect joysticks and triggers. The original Controller S came with the Japanese version of the console, while other markets got the massive Duke" controller. Eventually, the more compact controller became the default and superseded the Duke. Hyperkin is calling its take on the more compact gamepad the DuchesS."This will be the third retro Xbox controller design that Hyperkin has resurrected. It released its take on the Duke in 2018 and followed it up with a new version of the Xbox 360's controller called the Xenon last year. Image: Hyperkin The controller in white. Like its previous retro... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6HPXM)
The $1,999 Huion Kamvas Pro 27 positions itself as a more affordable alternative to the $3,500 Wacom Cintiq Pro 27. | Image: Huion Huion has showcased the two latest additions to its Kamvas Pro range of display drawing tablets at CES, targeting budget-conscious creatives with professional features like high color accuracy and touchscreen support.The Huion Kamvas Pro 27 and Kamvas Pro 19 are now available to buy in the US for $1,999 and $1,099, respectively, following their initial launch in China on December 15th, and share some similarities with Wacom's much pricier Cintiq Pro lineup. The product range from both companies features a 4K resolution and paper-like anti-glare glass display, which has been specially bonded to reduce parallax (that gap between the stylus nib and the cursor), for example. Image: Huion Both versions of the new... Continue reading...
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by Nathan Edwards on (#6HPRW)
Three of Anker's new Qi2 chargers: A folding power bank, 8-in-1 charging orb, and 3-in-1 folding charger. Anker was one of the first companies to announce Qi2 chargers, in August 2023, and while everyone in the world seems to be launching them now, Anker's are the first I've gotten my hands on.For iPhone users, Qi2 is an easy sell already: with a compatible iPhone, it's less expensive than certified MagSafe chargers and just as fast. It's less compelling so far for Android users or mixed-platform households, though - it's slower than regular Qi charging on non-certified devices.I have spent a couple weeks with three Anker Qi2 devices, all of which are available today: the $109.99 MagGo Wireless Charging Station (Foldable 3-in-1), the $69.99 MagGo Power Bank (6,600mAh capacity), and the $99.99 MagGo Magnetic Charging Station (8-in-1),... Continue reading...
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by Thomas Ricker on (#6HPRV)
Charge your EV at 6,000W/240V for a dozen or so extra miles of range in an emergency - or more with expansion packs. | Image: Anker Anker's flagship power station, the Solix F3800, is now shipping after raising almost $6 million on Kickstarter. It can be used independently to power a weekend away or scaled for whole-home backup. Prices start at $3,999 with general sales set to begin on January 9th.The 3.84kWh Solix F3800 power station itself can be expanded to 26.9kWh of energy capacity after adding six of Anker's 3.84kWh BP3800 LFP expansion batteries. It's capable of producing up to 6,000W of dual-voltage (120V / 240V) AC output across oodles of jacks - enough to easily power just about any home device, including the air conditioner and water pump. You can even connect two F3800 together for 12,000W of total AC output and up to 53.8kWh of capacity, but now you're... Continue reading...
by Amrita Khalid on (#6HPRX)
Image: JBL The JBL Clip 5 that's launching at CES 2024 adds a slightly wider carabiner to clip onto more items and an updated sound system that makes it up to 15 percent louder with 10 percent more bass compared to the previous model. This lightweight, portable speaker will go on sale this year for $79.95 and also supports Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio and Auracast, along with the rest of a 2024 lineup that includes the new $379.95 Xtreme 4 that can run for up to 24 hours on a charge and the cheaper $49.95 Go 4.Auracast is one of the features of LE Audio, which we've described as Bluetooth audio's biggest upgrade in years." Adding the ability to connect multiple audio devices to a single source makes them more capable than many other lightweight,... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6HPRY)
Screenshot by Emma Roth / The Verge Sony is previewing a new spatial content creation" system designed to let users edit and shape 3D models while wearing a virtual reality headset. The company showed off the headset along with a unique pair of controllers today during a presentation at CES 2024.The headset, which is powered by the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 platform and outfitted with 4K OLED displays, isn't primarily for gamers like PlayStation VR. Instead, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said that this new headset is made for professionals who work with 3D, allowing wearers to expand the creation space by overlaying virtual objects into physical spaces,"The demo showed users manipulating virtual objects while using two controllers: a ring and a pointer that fits into your... Continue reading...
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by Nathan Edwards on (#6HPRZ)
The Aether Monitor Light Bar is a desk lamp and RGB bias light in one. And it supports Matter, for some reason. | Image: Razer Razer has already announced a bunch of stuff at CES 2024, including spec upgrades to its Blade gaming laptops, a USB-C dock, an upgraded gaming chair, and so forth. Very happy for them. Personally, I'm psyched about this business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back Aether Monitor Light Bar.On the front, the Aether has a businesslike CRI 95 temperature-adjustable white light that goes up to 500 lux. By day, it illuminates your desk in high CRI light without creating glare on your monitor or cluttering your desk. It has capacitive touch controls. It's tasteful. Practical. Utilitarian.And once you're off the clock? The back of the light bar is RGB city, baby. Bathe your walls in 16.8 million colors! Chroma RGB integration! Sync it to your... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6HPS0)
Image: Apple Apple just released the first ad for its Vision Pro headset, and if you're a longtime follower of Apple, you might notice that it has some similarities to the original commercial for the iPhone.The Vision Pro ad, titled Get Ready," features a bunch of clips from movies and TV shows of characters putting on things like goggles, helmets, and masks. I spotted clips from Up!, an Ant-Man movie, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, and an Iron Man movie, to name a few. These clips all make it seem cool to put something on over your eyes, which is something Apple is going to have to do to make the Vision Pro a hit.The general structure harkens back to the first iPhone ad, titled Hello," which features a bunch of clips from movies and TV... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6HPQ4)
Asus' already announced PG32UCDM OLED monitor. | Image: Asus OLED monitors are getting exciting at CES this year. Asus has just announced three new OLED monitors, and two of them are capable of hitting 480Hz refresh rates. Much like LG, Asus has a dual-mode 32-inch OLED monitor that can offer 240Hz refresh rates at 4K resolution, or 480Hz at 1080p. Asus is also announcing a 27-inch 1440p OLED monitor that's capable of 480Hz natively.The ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP dual-mode gaming monitor can switch between 4K 240Hz and 1080p 480Hz at any time," according to Asus. That means if you want to play something like Overwatch 2 or Valorant at high refresh rates you can switch to the 1080p mode, and keep the 4K 240Hz mode for ray-traced single player titles. Image: Asus Asus' latest... Continue reading...
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by Sean Hollister on (#6HPQ5)
MSI just announced the Claw, a handheld Windows gaming PC following the Steam Deck's lead. It's destined to challenge the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go at the same starting price of $699 - only this one has an Intel Core Ultra inside, which MSI claims is the clear winner over AMD in performance and battery life.I just got hands-on at CES 2024, and I can confidently tell you that as of right now, it's impossible to say whether it's any good - that depends on performance and battery life, which are not final. MSI is showing off engineering samples here at CES, ones that feel like they need the months of tuning they'll hopefully get before a first-half 2024 launch.Here's the good news: if you like the Asus ROG Ally and wish it were... Continue reading...
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by Richard Lawler on (#6HPQ6)
Illustration by The Verge Just a couple of weeks after Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie defended the company's decision to continue allowing Nazi content, Platformer reports that Substack will now remove some" publications that express support for Nazis.McKenzie's December post was responding to a letter from over 200 Substack authors who cited, among other things, a recent report in The Atlantic that pointed out over a dozen newsletters with overt Nazi imagery, as well as many more with evidence of extremist views. Some newsletters have left Substack over the last couple of weeks for other platforms like Ghost or Beehiiv, and Platformer notes that it has seen many paying customers quit, saying they do not want to contribute to a platform that they see... Continue reading...
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