The Verge

The Verge / Photo Courtesy of Sony PlayStation's had an interesting year. The company ricocheted between the highs of launching new technology like the PlayStation Portal and a new PS5 Slim (now with a detachable disk drive!) and the lows of layoffs, game cancellations, massive data leaks, and the end of CEO Jim Ryan's 28-year tenure.And though 2023 was the year of the cross-platform blockbusters like Diablo IV and Baldur's Gate 3, PlayStation still had a number of exclusives not to be missed.Spider-Man 2When you start out with a game as good as the original Spider-Man, you don't have to change much. And thankfully that's exactly what the developers at Insomniac did for Spider-Man 2. The sequel has some new ideas - including web wings that let you glide across New... Continue reading...

Samar Haddad; Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Whether you want to go with Samsung, Google, or a different manufacturer, trading in your old Android phone - or selling it - is a smart way to do that, especially since there are those who will decide instead to buy a lightly used phone from an older generation that will suit their needs without breaking the bank.If you've got an older model and are ready for an upgrade, here are a few steps to take in order to get your device ready to sell, followed by how much cash you can expect to earn back. We're going to concentrate on Samsung and Google Pixel phones here, but you can probably expect similar results with phones from other vendors.Inspect your phoneIf your old device is in good condition, you shouldn't have much of a problem... Continue reading...

The Verge / Image courtesy of Amazon Prime Amazon Prime Video is the second-best perk that comes with a Prime subscription (aside from free two-day shipping, of course), and its library only continues to grow. While Prime Video is often overshadowed by the likes of Netflix and Max, it has surprising range, whether you're looking for a lighthearted comedy, psychological thriller, or a thrilling animated series.With that out of the way, here's our list of the best shows released on Amazon Prime Video this year.InvincibleIf you're looking for a fresh take on the superhero genre, you'll want to check out Invincible. The animated series first debuted in 2021, but its second season just came out this year - and it doesn't disappoint. Invincible follows 17-year-old Mark Grayson... Continue reading...

Image: Freewrite Astrohaus will be shipping the cheapest digital typewriter in its Freewright lineup, the Freewright Alpha, in mid-January for $349. You can preorder it now, however, in black or white from the company's website.The Freewrite Alpha is the follow-up to the original $649 Freewrite and the $499 portable Freewrite Traveler from 2020. Like its predecessors, the Wi-Fi-enabled typewriter is free of distractions like web browsers and emails to help you focus on writing. After you're finished, the gadget wirelessly syncs documents with software services like Google Drive and Dropbox so you can edit and share your documents.However, the Alpha drops the E Ink display in favor of a reflective monochromatic LCD screen, thus keeping costs down. It... Continue reading...

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge When it comes to apps that I've used for over a year or so - such as the Chrome browser -I can be very boring. I get into the habit of using the app in a particular way, and after that, when interesting new features pop up, I'll often put them aside to try out some other time." After all, if the app's working for me as it is, why bother?The problem is, I should bother - because sometimes those features can be very useful. For example, when I started using and saving tab groups in Chrome, it became much easier to find the tabs associated with a project, and to group them under a single tab temporarily when I didn't need them. (Not that Chrome is the only browser that groups tabs these days; Safari and Edge, among other browsers, have... Continue reading...

Kahhori, one of What If...?'s new characters. | Marvel Studios What If's second season is at its best when it's exploring the edges of Marvel's established cinematic canon. Continue reading...

The Verge / Image courtesy of Larian Studios 2023 is likely to go down in history as one of gaming's greats, and at times it's been challenging just to keep up. Baldur's Gate 3 brought the 20-year-old PC franchise back with a bang, and smaller releases like Slay the Princess were a reminder of the important role PCs still hold for indie games.Given how cross-platform the vast majority of games are these days, we're not going to primarily focus on PC exclusives. Instead, the aim is to highlight a great selection of games that show off PC gaming at its best in 2023. So alongside games like Slay the Princess, which are only available on computer platforms, there are also titles that work particularly well with a mouse and keyboard (Baldur's Gate 3) or which offer interesting... Continue reading...

Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, claiming the two companies built their AI models by copying and using millions" of the publication's articles and now directly compete" with its content as a result.As outlined in the lawsuit, the Times alleges OpenAI and Microsoft's large language models (LLMs), which power ChatGPT and Copilot, can generate output that recites Times content verbatim, closely summarizes it, and mimics its expressive style." This undermine[s] and damage[s]" the Times' relationship with readers, the outlet alleges, while also depriving it of subscription, licensing, advertising, and affiliate revenue."The complaint also argues that these AI models threaten high-quality... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Earlier this year, Amazon announced plans to start incorporating ads into movies and TV shows streamed from its Prime Video service, and now the company has revealed a specific date when you'll start seeing them: it's January 29th. This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time," the company said in an email to customers about the pending shift to limited advertisements."We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers. No action is required from you, and there is no change to the current price of your Prime membership," the company wrote. Customers have the option of paying an additional $2.99 per month to keep... Continue reading...

Image: Microsoft Microsoft has quietly launched a dedicated Copilot app for Android. The new app is available in the Google Play Store, offering access to Microsoft's AI-powered Copilot without the need for the Bing mobile app. Spotted by Neowin, Copilot on Android has been available for nearly a week, but an iOS version isn't available just yet.Microsoft's Copilot app on Android is very similar to ChatGPT, with access to chatbot capabilities, image generation through DALL-E 3, and the ability to draft text for emails and documents. It also includes free access to OpenAI's latest GPT-4 model, something you have to pay for if you're using ChatGPT. Image: Microsoft The Copilot interface on Android The launch of the Copilot app... Continue reading...

The Verge / Image courtesy of Nintendo It's been a fantastic year for the Nintendo Switch. We got new Super Mario games, some great remasters, ports of a few games that previously blew up on PC, and, of course, an absolutely massive sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.Even though the Nintendo Switch's successor is likely just around the corner, there's no shortage of great games to play on the Switch you might already own. Nintendo can take all the time it needs to launch its next console; whenever that comes out, I'll probably still be working through quests in Tears of the Kingdom.Here are some of the best Nintendo Switch games from 2023.Advance Wars 1 + 2 Re-Boot Camp Image: Nintendo Advance Wars 1 + 2 Re-Boot Camp packages up the... Continue reading...

The Verge / Photo courtesy of Bethesda Game Studios Xbox Game Pass might have had a rather slow 2022, but its value has really paid off in 2023. There are more than 400 games to choose from, and I've honestly struggled to pick just 10 to recommend this year. For a monthly subscription fee of between $10.99 and $16.99, you get to play a wide range of games like Starfield, Sea of Stars, Tunic, and Inside.If you've just got an Xbox, here's a list of 10 great Xbox Game Pass games that are well worth your time over the holidays.PentimentPentiment is a manuscript murder mystery set in the 16th century. In Pentiment, you play as Andreas Maler, a painter working on illustrated manuscripts in an abbey in Bavaria. The game plays out like a visual novel, where you'll make decisions throughout... Continue reading...

The Verge / Photo Courtesy of IMDB and Hulu Hulu got a big price hike this year, but it's getting increasingly harder to cancel (at least for me) thanks to the overwhelming number of shows and movies to watch on the Disney-owned service. While those of us in the US can currently access Hulu separately from Disney Plus, things are about to change very soon.Disney is planning to launch a combined Hulu and Disney Plus app for users who subscribe to both services, and it's set to come out next year after some initial testing. Keep in mind that this won't change the content available on either service, just how you access it. For now, though, here are some of the best shows released on Hulu this year.Only Murders in the Building (Season 3)Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin... Continue reading...

With superb ANC and dynamic, rich sound, Bose's latest pair of earbuds are a bonafide hit. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Happy Saturday, dear readers! It's been an extremely quiet week on the deals front, with the most notable discounts we've seen landing on Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air, GOTY contender Baldur's Gate 3, and Belkin's 3-in-1 MagSafe charger. Luckily, despite the lack of new deals, there are some solid holiday discounts still hanging around.For instance, you can still snag the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target starting at $249 ($50 off), which remains the best price we've seen on the wireless earbuds since they made their debut earlier in the fall. They're not all that different from last year's QC Earbuds II in fit and finish, yet they add a new immersive audio component and improved fins that allow for... Continue reading...

The Verge / Photo courtesy of Netflix and IMDB With shows like Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Blue Eye Samurai, and a wild new Castlevania spinoff, Netflix is still holding its own in the streaming wars. Continue reading...

The Verge People are really getting their podcast lawsuits in before the new year. Let's get to it.

Illustration: The Verge Apple is talking with some big news publishers about licensing their news archives and using that information to help train its generative AI systems, The New York Times reports. The company is apparently discussing multiyear deals worth at least $50 million," the NYT says, and has been in touch with publications like Conde Nast, NBC News, and IAC.The response from the publishers seems mixed. Apparently, the publishers might be potentially on the hook for any legal liabilities that could stem from Apple's use of their content," the NYT says, and Apple has apparently been vague" about its plans for news and generative AI. However, other news executives were reportedly more positive about the possibility of partnering with Apple.A... Continue reading...

Joe Biden visits the Cummins Power Generation Facility in Fridley, Minnesota, on Monday, April 3rd, 2023. Last year, Cummins announced Fridley would be the site of its first electrolyzer manufacturing facility in the US. | Photo by Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via Getty Images The Biden administration proposed new tax guidelines today aimed at making it cheaper to produce hydrogen as a less-polluting alternative to fossil fuels. The tax credit comes with strict stipulations around using newly constructed sources of clean energy to produce hydrogen, as opposed to more polluting sources.The guidelines elicited strong reactions from clean energy advocates and industry today, some celebrating, others outraged. Some experts said new guardrails are needed to ensure that the Biden administration's push to develop a domestic supply chain for hydrogen doesn't inadvertently increase pollution. Meanwhile, clean energy trade groups argued that the tax credit is now too restrictive to allow clean hydrogen production to... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge A Wisconsin family has agreed to sell 407 acres of their land, which includes a local pumpkin farm attraction, to Microsoft - for a total of $76 million, reported the Milwaukee Business Journal. The local government initially offered the Creuziger family in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin about a third of that sum in 2017 as a part of an agreement with the Foxconn Technology Group. But the family refused, opting to hold out for a better offer.The family wishes the village and Microsoft well, and they would appreciate people respecting their privacy," the family's attorney David Barnes told the Business Journal.Microsoft's payout is significantly larger than the land's current valuation. The Creuziger family's land was originally valued at... Continue reading...

Image: Humane Humane announced Friday that the AI Pin, its splashy AI-powered wearable, will start shipping in March 2024. People who placed priority orders will get their devices first, and Humane says it will ship orders based on the date of purchase, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter).While Humane didn't share a specific date for when orders would start shipping, the March timeframe is more specific than the early 2024 timeframe the company provided in November.

Diablo IV, Diablo IV, Diablo IV. | Image: Blizzard Entertainment If your holiday plans involve chillaxing and binging on a ton of video games, we have some great news for you. Now through January 4th at 1PM ET, thousands of great titles are on sale as part of Steam's annual winter sale, including many of our favorites from the past year.The ongoing promo offers a great chance to catch up on newer titles, including demon-slaying action RPG Diablo IV ($28 off), the terrific remake of Dead Space ($36 off), and Mortal Kombat 1 ($35 off). Other titles that aren't as discounted but still well worth a look include GOTY contender Baldur's Gate 3 ($6 off), Cocoon ($5 off), and the delightfully charming deep sea exploration game, Dave the Diver ($4 off).There are plenty of older titles on sale, too, just in... Continue reading...

Image: Insomniac Games Insomniac Games has released a statement few days after a ransomware attack exposed millions of files including sensitive employee information, confidential business information, and assets for in-development games.We're both saddened and angered about the recent criminal cyberattack on our studio and the emotional toll it's taken on our team," the statement posted on X read. We have focused inwardly for several days to support each other."

Photo Illustration by Adrien Fillon/NurPhoto via Getty Images Pornhub's parent company, Aylo, is facing a $1.8 million fine plus victim compensation after admitting it made money off of content showing victims of sex trafficking. The company was arraigned in a Brooklyn federal court on Thursday on a charge of engaging in unlawful money transactions involving sex trafficking proceeds."Aylo, formerly known as MindGeek, will resolve the charge by entering a deferred prosecution agreement with the US government. Under the terms of the agreement, Aylo must pay $1.8 million to the US government and compensate victims who appeared on its porn sites. It will also have an independent monitor for three years, which will evaluate Aylo's content screening and monitoring processes" and ensure it properly... Continue reading...

Image: Hugo Herrera / The Verge Earlier this month, Google announced the release of Gemini, what it considers its most powerful AI model yet. It integrated Gemini immediately into its flagship generative AI chatbot, Bard, in hopes of steering more users away from its biggest competitor, OpenAI's ChatGPT.ChatGPT and the new Gemini-powered Bard are similar products. Gemini Pro is most comparable to GPT-4, available in the subscription-based ChatGPT Plus. So we decided to test the two chatbots to see just how they stack up - in accuracy, speed, and overall helpfulness.Gemini versus ChatGPT: the basicsChatGPT Plus and Gemini Pro are both very advanced chatbots based on large language models. They're the latest and greatest options from their respective companies,... Continue reading...

The Verge / Photos courtesy of Microsoft and Getty Images 2023 has been a fairly uneventful year for laptops. Apple continues to dominate in both performance and battery life, while Microsoft only had incremental upgrades for its Surface line, and Intel has waited until the very end of the year to try to respond to Apple's dominance. But 2024 looks set to be one of the most interesting years for laptops since the Windows 8 days, thanks to a new version of Windows, a big AI push, and another attempt at making Windows on Arm a reality.Apple's iPad pushed Microsoft into creating Windows on Arm more than 10 years ago, and laptop manufacturers followed with some weird and wonderful designs to match Windows 8. While I'm not expecting a big design overhaul for Windows 12 (or whatever Microsoft calls... Continue reading...

The Verge / Photo from Getty Images In the podcasting world, the year 2019 may seem like it happened in a parallel universe. Vulture's Nicholas Quah deemed it the beginning of the big podcasting era," pointing to the millions of dollars that Spotify invested in building out its podcast operation - and the expected domino effect as other companies follow suit. There was podcasting before 2019, and there will be podcasting after 2019. What podcasting will look like in 2024 remains very much up for grabs," wrote Quah.And although 2024's outlook still isn't entirely certain, it's pretty obvious that the golden years are over. There were a staggering number of layoffs in podcasting and the audio world at large this year, hitting every entity from public radio to... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge Google's Safety Check feature for Chrome, which, among other things, checks the internet to see if any of your saved passwords have been compromised, will now run automatically in the background" on desktop, the company said in a blog post on Thursday. The constant checks could mean that you're alerted about a password that you should change sooner than you would have before.Safety Check also watches for bad extensions or site permissions you need to look at, and you can act on Safety Check alerts from Chrome's three-dot menu. In addition, Google says that Safety Check can revoke a site's permissions if you haven't visited it in a while.Google also announced an upcoming feature for Chrome's tab groups, also on desktop: Chrome will let... Continue reading...

The Verge Behold! Someone is investing in a podcast companyCould it be a sign that the tide is turning? Danish podcast and audiobook subscription service Podimo announced a new funding round worth 44 million ($48.4 million). Participants in the round include previous investors Augustinus Fabrikker and HighlandX, as well as the Danish Export and Investment Fund.This investment allows Podimo to continue our strong growth trajectory while orienting the company towards profitability," Morten Strunge, CEO of Podimo, said in a statement. This funding isn't solely about financial support. While profitability remains a key objective, our investment focus extends beyond financial milestones. We are resolutely committed to enhancing our product and... Continue reading...

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Not only has Apple halted online sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra Series 2 (with in-store sales to follow), but the company's ongoing patent rift with medical device maker Masimo has another ripple effect: out-of-warranty hardware repairs for several Apple Watch models are now unavailable to customers. That's according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who reports that Apple has informed customer service employees that out-of-warranty hardware repairs and whole unit replacements for the Apple Watch Series 6 onward (with the exception of the SE) will be unavailable for the duration of the ban imposed by the US International Trade Commission.If you own one of the models included in the ban and your device is out of... Continue reading...

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Discovery shows were set to be pulled from PlayStation libraries on December 31st, but that's not happening now, thanks to updated licensing arrangements," as reported by GamesIndustry.biz.The original plan was one of two recent reminders from PlayStation that digital ownership sucks - especially because there were a lot of shows that were set to be removed from video libraries. You can see the full list on Sony's website, which now contains the note about the changed policy. Due to updated licensing arrangements, the Discovery content removal planned for December 31, 2023 is no longer occurring," Sony says. We appreciate your ongoing support and feedback."However, while this is good news for people who have invested in Discovery... Continue reading...

Image: Hyperloop One Hyperloop One, the futuristic transportation startup that promised to whisk us through nearly airless tubes at airline speeds, is shutting down, according to Bloomberg.The company is selling off its assets, closing down its offices, and laying off employees. It will formally close at the end of the year, at which point all of its intellectual property will shift to its majority stakeholder, major Dubai port operator DP World. Whoever buys the test track in the Nevada desert will have one hell of a Slip N Slide if they want it.Since its founding in 2014, the company raised around $450 million in venture capital funds and other investments. While there is still a small smattering of startups trying to build hyperloops, the demise of... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google might finally start telling you when your Android phone has a degraded battery, Android expert Mishaal Rahman wrote in an article for Android Authority. Unlike iPhone users, who have been able to see their phone's battery health stats from their settings for a long time, Android owners currently need a third-party app or must enter special command codes in order to check out their battery health.This month's Pixel Feature Drop already added new battery information; currently, it shows the manufacture date of your battery and its cycle count. But the Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2 adds a hidden battery health" page, Rahman says, and although it doesn't yet include an actual battery health meter, code suggests that it could show... Continue reading...