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by Emma Roth on (#6AGRY)
Image: Lego This is the third time we’ve seen the T-65 X-Wing Starfighter in brick form, and it’s Lego’s most detailed yet. The 1,949-piece X-Wing costs $239.99 and joins the other sets in the Lego Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series, which include the behemoths that are the 7,541-piece UCS Millennium Falcon and the 6,785-piece UCS AT-AT.Equipped with 4L4 fusil thrust engines and the KX9 laser cannons, the design of Lego’s latest UCS X-Wing kit doesn’t deviate much from its previous iterations. However, it does feature several hundred more pieces when compared to the 1,304-piece X-Wing set released in 2000 and the 1,559-piece one from 2013. The new X-Wing measures 10.5 inches in height and 21.5 inches in length once complete. I... Continue reading…
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The Verge - All Posts
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| Updated | 2024-11-26 19:15 |
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6AGRZ)
The M512a-H6 doesn’t offer a ton of features, but it comes with a subwoofer and a pair of low-profile rear speakers. | Image: Vizio Want to level up your TV experience without paying a couple thousand for a premium surround sound system? Well then, a competent soundbar like Vizio’s M-Series 5.1.2 is probably your best bet. Vizio’s Atmos-ready model can likely deliver better sound than your TV’s built-in speakers for less than $500 — which is why it remains one of our favorite models. What’s more, it’s currently on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $399.99 ($100 off), which is one of its better prices to date.Along with the soundbar itself, that price includes a six-inch wireless subwoofer, the kind you’d normally have to buy separately. That’s in addition to two upfiring rear speakers that support Dolby Atmos, allowing for a more immersive experience when watching... Continue reading…
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by Andrew Webster on (#6AGS1)
Image: Nintendo There was a period of time when my Game Boy Advance was used almost exclusively for turn-based strategy games. Many, many hours were lost to Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, but the game that sucked me in the most was Advance Wars and its sequel. There was something about its cartoonish take on warfare that made it feel like you were playing a tabletop game, moving little pieces around a board, and its small scale was a perfect fit for playing on the go. Advance Wars is also one of those Nintendo franchises that’s been largely dormant for a long time — and it turns out, I really missed it.I realized this while playing through the opening missions of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, an awkwardly titled remake that bundles together... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#6AGS2)
Vogue Singapore’s Metaverse Fashion Week booth. That portal took you to another metaverse on an entirely different platform. | Screenshot: Jay Peters / The Verge Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week featured virtual clothes and exhibits from some major names in fashion, but it was lonely, difficult to navigate, and pretty boring. Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#6AGS3)
Sony’s last gaming handheld, the PlayStation Vita. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge A new report from Tom Henderson at Insider Gaming claims Sony is developing a new PlayStation gaming handheld. But if you’re hoping for a successor to the PlayStation Vita then you might be disappointed.Henderson reports that rather than developing a portable console that lets you play games natively, Sony’s “Q Lite” handheld is designed primarily to work with the Remote Play feature on the PlayStation 5 and stream games from the console over the internet. While Remote Play can be used outside of the home, Insider Gaming specifically notes the handheld is not meant for cloud streaming, so it sounds like it could be pitched primarily as a peripheral for PS4 and PS5 owners.In terms of hardware, the Q Lite will reportedly come equipped... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6AGS4)
Image: The Verge Microsoft Edge is getting a block feature for autoplay videos. Microsoft has started testing the new block addition with Edge testers in the Canary channel, providing a this new option alongside existing allow and limit options for auto playing web videos.The Microsoft Edge team says it has “heard your requests for strict blocking of media autoplay” after previously only offering a “limit” option that lets media autoplay depending on whether you’ve visited the page in the past and how you’ve interacted with it. The more restrictive block option is currently being rolled out. “We have started making the feature available to some of our Canary users and will continue to make it available to more customers over the coming weeks,” says... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#6AGD7)
Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge Kobo is bringing its Kobo Plus service, which lets you read unlimited ebooks and audiobooks for a flat monthly fee, to the US. There are three different plans available; for $7.99 a month, you can get access to ebooks or audiobooks with the “Read” and “Listen” plans, or you can get both for $9.99 a month.You can access the books through Kobo’s e-readers (though do note that not all of them support audiobooks) or the company’s iOS, Android, and desktop apps. You also don’t have to be constantly connected to Wi-Fi to read them — a Kobo FAQ says that “you can read a maximum of 15 Kobo Plus books while offline over a 30-day period.”Kobo Plus has been around for a while in a few countries, including Canada, New Zealand, and Portugal, but... Continue reading…
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6AGD6)
Image: Kobo Kobo’s launching a new 10.3-inch E Ink e-reader and writing device, the Kobo Elipsa 2E, on April 19th. The new Kindle Scribe and Onyx Boox Nova Air C rival will retail for $399.99 and comes with an upgraded stylus that you can use to write directly on the pages of ebooks and documents.Those eager to get their hands on Kobo’s latest e-reader can preorder it from Kobo starting today. As an added incentive, the Rakuten-owned Kobo’s throwing in a $25 Kobo e-gift card for customers preordering the device in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.On paper, the Kobo Elipsa 2E appears to be a minor upgrade from its predecessor, the Kobo Elipsa. They both sell for $399 bundled with a stylus, though only the original Elipsa throws in an included... Continue reading…
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by Ariel Shapiro on (#6AG46)
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge This is Hot Pod, The Verge’s newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Sign up here for more.Lots of news to start off the week. Let’s get right into it: Spotify Live gets the ax, the Obamas land another podcast deal, and iHeart signs a top wellness podcast.Spotify Live is shutting down, and what remains of live audio is sparseIn the latest sign that live audio is well and truly on its way out, Music Ally reports that Spotify is shutting down its Spotify Live app. On the app, which still has a handful of chat rooms going, users get a notification saying that the service will go away at the end of the month.“After a period of experimentation and learnings around how Spotify users interact with live audio, we’ve made the... Continue reading…
by Tom Warren on (#6AFK9)
Image: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple’s Weather app on iPhone was down for many users on Tuesday. The issues started at around midnight ET and persisted throughout the morning in many locations. iPhone owners have reported opening the Weather app and finding no data or old cached weather information.9to5Mac noted that while the main Weather app was broken for many, the Apple Watch version kept working fine for.For most of this morning, Apple’s support note said that “next-hour precipitation may be unavailable for Alaska due to a data provider outage,” despite an issue that was clearly more widespread. It has since been updated to note an unspecified generally ongoing issue with some users affected starting at 11PM last night.Eventually, the app started to refresh... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#6AG47)
Screenshot: Tom Warren / The Verge Naughty Dog and Nvidia have released more hotfixes for The Last of Us Part I’s PC port in an attempt to fix various crashes and other bugs that have plagued the game since it launched a week ago. Nvidia says its hotfix driver Version 531.58 is meant to make the game more stable when running on RTX 30-series graphics cards, and in the patch notes for v1.0.1.7 of the game, Naughty Dog says it and co-developer Iron Galaxy are “closely watching player reports to support future improvements and patches.”The changelog also mentions improvements beyond just fixing various crashes. Resetting the graphics options to default should now work, an issue where the game wouldn’t read Xbox controller stick inputs properly has been fixed, and there are... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#6AG48)
Asus’ ROG Ally video made the device look pretty real. Turns out, it was! | Image: Asus Asus’ ROG Ally, a Steam Deck-like handheld gaming PC, is actually real. But because of the messy and ill-informed communications about the device that, of course, involved April Fools’ Day, you’d be forgiven for not knowing that. Companies, take note: please don’t follow Asus’ lead next year.The confusion started with an announcement at midnight on April 1st “revealing” the handheld. The video felt somewhat tongue-in-cheek, especially during one moment when someone is locked out of their house and happily remembers they have the Ally in their jacket pocket. The tagline felt April Fools’-y — “you’ll never have to stop gaming again” — and the video concluded with somebody using the Ally on a roller coaster and a go-kart.
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6AG0D)
Mario is his cat form. | Image: Universal From its cheesy nostalgia plays to its breathtaking and imaginative visuals, Universal’s new Mario movie is everything a video game adaptation should be. Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6AG0E)
Image: Activision Activision is cracking down on third-party hardware cheating in Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Devices like XIM, Cronus Zen, and ReaSnow S1 have been widely used in Call of Duty to allow mouse and keyboard users to get the benefits of aim assist and reduced recoil from controller mixed with the benefits of movement from mouse and keyboard. Activision has now updated its Ricochet anti-cheat system to detect and eventually suspend or ban players using this third-party hardware.“These devices act as a passthrough for controllers on PC and console and, when used improperly or maliciously, can provide a player with the ability to gain an unfair gameplay advantage, such as reducing or eliminating recoil,” explains... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6AG0F)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Online alcohol recovery services Monument and Tempest admitted to sharing private patient information with advertisers for years, as reported earlier by TechCrunch. In a disclosure filed with the California Attorney General, Monument (which acquired Temple in 2022) says the tracking tools used on both services “may have shared” names, birthdates, email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, insurance information, and more to advertisers.Monument and Tempest, which both provide resources for patients struggling with alcohol addiction, say the leak might have also included patients’ responses to self-evaluations about their drinking habits, something Monument clearly says are “protected” and used only by its care teams. The companies... Continue reading…
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by Ash Parrish on (#6AG0G)
Blizzard Overwatch 2 has been releasing new heroes at a pretty good clip, and with the pending arrival of season 4 comes the latest hero: Lifeweaver. Lifeweaver’s addition to the game had been teased by the Overwatch developers in the last few weeks, with them calling the new hero “cute,” leading some in the Overwatch community to speculate that we’d be getting another animal-based hero like the much-desired “jetpack cat.”But thanks to an unfortunate leak and the slow drip of information ahead of his official launch, we now know the developers should have used “sexy” instead of “cute” because Lifeweaver is a stone-cold fox.
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by Andrew Webster on (#6AG0H)
Owen Wilson in Paint. | Image: IFC Films Bob Ross has become one of those inescapable facets of the internet. The longtime The Joy of Painting host is firmly entrenched in the realm of online kitsch, featured everywhere from Twitch streams and Marvel ads to Magic: The Gathering sets. His distinct and goofy persona makes him a logical subject for a similarly silly biopic — which is exactly what director Brit McAdams tries to do in Paint. Unfortunately, the film never finds enough of a hook to justify being a feature-length movie; you can get the entire joke mostly from watching the trailer. The result is a 90-minute feature that would’ve been better served as a Saturday Night Live sketch.Now, to be clear, Paint isn’t exactly about Bob Ross. Instead, it centers on a PBS host... Continue reading…
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by Brandon Widder on (#6AFWP)
Apple’s entry-level wearable now starts at just $219 ($30 off). | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge As far as entry-level smartwatches go, few can match the experience offered by the latest Apple Watch SE, which is currently matching its all-time low of $219 ($30 off) at Amazon and Best Buy in the 40mm configuration with GPS.Apple’s second-gen wearable supports most watchOS 9 features — including medication reminders and Apple’s handy low-power mode — as well as newer Apple Watch features like Crash Detection, Apple Pay, and heart-rate monitoring. What you don’t get are an always-on display and some of the more advanced sensors that can be found on the Apple Watch Series 8, though if you can live without a SpO2 sensor and things like cycle tracking, you can pick up the 2022 Apple Watch SE for more than $100 less than the starting... Continue reading…
by Andrew Webster on (#6AFWQ)
Image: Warner Bros. Pictures Once you’re done choosing which Barbie character you are, it’s time to watch the film’s latest trailer.Following a brief teaser that aped 2001: A Space Odyssey and gave very little away, we now have a second clip that seems to show what Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie movie is actually about. According to the YouTube description, Barbie herself may be going through a “full-on existential crisis,” which may or may not convince her to head out into the real world. Whatever the actual premise is, the movie looks extremely fun, and in less than two minutes, the new teaser manages to pack in quite a bit of innuendo. I’ll never look at a beach the same way again.It also has a stacked cast. Alongside Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie... Continue reading…
by Jay Peters on (#6AFWR)
Chilling. | Image: Nintendo Pokémon Stadium will join Nintendo’s growing roster of Nintendo 64 classics you can play through Nintendo Switch Online starting April 12th. First released in 2000, Stadium is a battle-focused Pokémon game featuring the original 151 pocket monsters.The thing is, this version of Stadium has a very big catch (no pun intended): you can’t transfer any of your own pokémon to the game. When I was a kid, part of the appeal of the game was bringing over my well-trained Pokémon Red with the N64 Transfer Pak so they could duke it out in glorious N64-era 3D. Without the transfer feature, it seems you’ll have to instead rely on the game’s rental teams, which probably won’t be as satisfying as coaching my own beloved Butterfree to victory.Nintendo... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6AFWS)
Image: Ryder BrightDrop, the electric van company owned by General Motors, will provide 4,000 delivery vans to Ryder’s rental fleet through 2025. That includes BrightDrop’s upcoming Zevo 400 model and the Zevo 600 vans, 200 of which Ryder will order this year.According to Ryder, the company plans on adding the 2023 Zevo 600 vans to its rental fleet in California, Texas, and New York later this year and also expects to deploy the 2024 Zevo 600 and 400 models “as early as summer 2023 and into the first quarter of 2024.” While BrightDrop’s Zevo 600 and Zevo 400 vans both offer up to 250 miles of range on a full charge, the 600 is the larger of the two, supporting a cargo capacity of over 600 cubic feet as opposed to 400 cubic feet.In addition to... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6AFWT)
The new Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft has just officially unveiled a Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock hours after the device leaked. Priced at $299.99, the new Surface dock will connect over USB-C instead of the proprietary Surface Connect port. Microsoft is planning to keep selling its Surface Dock 2, complete with the Surface Connect port that’s designed for Surface devices that don’t have USB-C or Thunderbolt 4.This new Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock will support devices other than Surface for the first time. You can connect to it via USB-C, and it supports data transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps and 96W charging thanks to Thunderbolt 4. At the front, there is a single USB-C port alongside a USB-A port but sadly no SD card slot. The rear of the Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock... Continue reading…
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by Andrew Webster on (#6AFWV)
John Leguizamo and Bob Hoskins in Super Mario Bros. | Image: SMB Movie Archive Nintendo’s first stab at a Super Mario movie was a strange and oh-so-’90s time capsule, a far cry from the safe new animated feature releasing in 2023. Continue reading…
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by Makena Kelly on (#6AFR1)
Image: Scott Olson/Getty Images On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ordered an investigation into a recent move by Walt Disney World’s special planning and tax district to maintain corporate power over the land housing its popular theme parks.In a Monday letter, DeSantis called on Florida’s chief inspector general to investigate whether Disney and its closely aligned special district broke the law by approving new rules undermining the Republican governor’s proposed takeover. The takeover is widely viewed as retaliation after Disney opposed Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law — one of multiple DeSantis-signed bills limiting speech in both the public and private sectors.“These collusive and self-dealing arrangements aim to nullify the recently passed legislation,... Continue reading…
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by Patrick George on (#6AFR2)
Image: Amelia Krales Who should own the screen in your car? Continue reading…
by Nilay Patel on (#6AFR3)
Photo illustration by William Joel / The Verge Everybody hates Concur. Brex wants to replace it. Continue reading…
by James Vincent on (#6AFR4)
The clock uses ChatGPT to generate rhymes to tell the times. | Image: Matt Webb ChatGPT has been one of the internet’s favorite toys for months now, but people are still finding novel and fun ways to use the AI chatbot. Case in point is this rhyming E Ink clock created by designer and blogger Matt Webb. It uses ChatGPT to create a short two-line rhyme that also tells the time for every minute of the day. It’s incredible and we want one.Speaking to The Verge over DM, Webb explained that the clock is powered by an old Inky wHAT screen and a Raspberry Pi that he previously had set up as a regular text clock. He’s been playing around with OpenAI’s language models for a while and had the idea of connecting the two.
by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6AFR5)
A scene from Jiangshi: Funky Kung Fu Grandma. | Image: Aaron Anderson Animation house Titmouse’s artists open up about participating in the studio’s 5 Second Night showcase. Continue reading…
by Victoria Song on (#6AFR6)
The Peloton app integration lets you broadcast your heart rate from the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 or 5 lineups. | Image: Victoria Song / The Verge Samsung announced today that its Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 smartwatches now automatically integrate with Peloton machines. That includes not only Peloton’s bikes and treadmill but also its rower and Guide strength training system.The integration rolls out today as part of an update to the Peloton app. Basically, once you open a workout on a Peloton machine, you’ll be prompted to pair your Galaxy Watch 4 or 5 to the device. After you tap the connect button, you’ll then be able to use the smartwatch as a heart rate monitor.The major benefits here are that you won’t have to shell out for an extra Bluetooth heart rate monitor to use Peloton’s heart rate-based features like its Strive Score. Peloton sells a $90 heart rate band that you strap to... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6AFPP)
Image: Walmart Walmart’s website and app have a new look, and I have to admit that it looks a lot cleaner than Amazon’s. The retail giant swapped out a more cluttered interface for one with bubbly blocks displaying various departments and deals across the store.When you scroll down on the homepage, you’ll see even more shopping categories, along with specific items tailored to upcoming holidays, events, or the current season. Meanwhile, searching for a product yields several rows of products matching your search that you can scroll through horizontally.Walmart executive vice president Tom Ward describes the change as “a more engaging way to browse” through Walmart’s inventory, noting that it surfaces “items that matter most to [customers] at any... Continue reading…
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by The Verge Staff on (#6AFR7)
Image: Mengxin Li / The Verge There’s a funny conflict to the idea of user interfaces: a good one tends to go unnoticed, the thoughtful design decisions too subtle to notice; a bad UX or UI is one that makes you want to scream. It’s a tension that designers have to think about every time they conceive a new website, app, or device.In this special series from The Verge, we explore the small design decisions that have had an outsize impact on our lives. From simple card game browser UIs to deliberately complicated video game setups, all-too-forgotten accessibility options for colorblindness to the curious incentive-driven histories of the shuffle and log out buttons, these stories delve into the ways that user interfaces have driven us forward, or failed, or found an... Continue reading…
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by s.e. smith on (#6AFKA)
Image: Mengxin Li / The Verge Nobody wants them. Nobody likes them. Why is the worst UI element of all time ubiquitous again? Continue reading…
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by Scott Meslow on (#6AFKB)
Image: Mengxin Li / The Verge Sites designed to exploit users’ gambling addictions are going to be a little predatory. Poker Now somehow turned out to be different. Continue reading…
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by Elizabeth Lopatto on (#6AFKC)
Illustration: Laura Normand / The Verge “Elon [Musk]’s Twitter deal certainly must also rank as the most time-adjusted value-destructive leveraged buyout of all time,” says William Cohan, writing for Puck. While Musk has estimated Twitter’s value as $20 billion in a March 31st email to employees — meaning its value dropped by more than half after the $44 billion acquisition — Twitter’s actual value is even lower than that. The banks still own $13 billion of Twitter’s debt and can’t sell it for more than 50 cents on the dollar, Cohan says. “The destruction of $37.5 billion in value in less than six months must have set some sort of Wall Street record.”Musk already biffed it with advertisers: revenue has fallen by half since October, Bloomberg reports. Historically, ads were... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#6AFKD)
Daniel Radcliffe in the original series of Harry Potter movies. | Image: Harry Potter/Warner Brothers A new TV series based on the original seven Harry Potter books could be on the way, according to a report from Bloomberg citing two individuals with knowledge of the as-yet-unsigned deal. It’s reportedly hoped that the series will be a cornerstone of Warner Bros. Discovery’s new streaming strategy, which will involve replacing its existing HBO Max and Discovery Plus platforms with a new combined service.Warner Bros. originally adapted the Harry Potter books into a series of eight films starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint between 2001 and 2011. But according to Bloomberg, turning each book into a whole season of TV will “allow the writers to delve further” into the original stories.One TV season per bookBut since... Continue reading…
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by Allison Johnson on (#6AFFH)
The Edge 40 Pro will be sold in lunar blue and regular ol’ black. | Image: Motorola Motorola hasn’t had much of a presence in the flagship phone space in the past couple of years, but that might be about to change. The company is unveiling the Edge 40 Pro, which is a global version of the X40 it released in China at the end of last year. It comes with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a 6.67-inch display with up to 165Hz refresh rate, and an IP68 rating for weather and dust resistance.In short, it looks like a serious challenger on the Android flagship landscape — at least on paper. It’s coming to European markets “in the coming days” for €899.99 (about $980) and Latin American markets soon after. Image: Motorola The Edge 40 Pro features Gorilla Glass on the front and back along with aluminum... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#6AFFJ)
The rear I/O is similar, but the leaked dock seems to use USB-C to connector a laptop. | Image: eBay A new leak suggests the next Surface Dock might use Thunderbolt 4 over USB-C to connect to Microsoft’s laptop lineup, rather than the company’s proprietary Surface connector. Windows Central reports that the device is codenamed Bergamo, and says pictures of it have leaked via this eBay listing.While other accessory manufacturers have embraced USB-C as the single connector of choice, Microsoft still prefers to use its own Surface connector to dock its laptops with external monitors and other accessories. It’s meant that devices like the $259.99 Surface Dock 2 only work with Microsoft’s own gear, an unfortunate limitation given the cost. Image: eBay One of the Surface Dock 2’s USB-C ports appears to have been... Continue reading…
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6AFC3)
Miles Morales swinging by to grab a hot dog. There may come a day when the trailer-based hype around Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) no longer feels warranted, but that day is categorically not today.Across the Spider-Verse’s new trailer finds Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) doing just fine in his home universe as he balances life between doing fine in school and dealing with friendly neighborhood villains like the Spot (Jason Schwartzman). As always, all Miles’ mother Rio (Luna Lauren Vélez) and father Jefferson (Brian Tyree Henry) want is for their son to be happy and open up to them. But rather than telling his parents about his double life, whatever Miles is dealing with brings him face to face with his good friend Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) from another... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6AEMV)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google introduced a limit on the number of files that you can create and save in Drive, as reported earlier by Ars Technica and CNET. The company confirmed to The Verge that the change would have allowed you to can create a maximum of 5 million files in Drive even if you pay for extra storage. But Google rolled the change back soon after, saying it would “explore alternate approaches to ensure a great experience for all.”“We recently rolled out a system update to Drive item limits to preserve stability and optimize performance,” said Google in a tweet. “While this impacted only a small number of people, we are rolling back this change as we explore alternate approaches to ensure a great experience for all.”The 5 million file cap only... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#6AF3F)
The Verge Apple is reportedly laying off a small number of people from one of its retail teams, according to reports from Bloomberg and Business Insider. It’s currently not clear how many people will be affected, but Bloomberg says the number is “likely very small,” and both outlets say that, internally, the company is pitching it as a way to improve its operations rather than as a cost cutting measure.Still, until now, Apple’s lack of layoffs has set it apart from many big tech companies that have announced major cuts. Those include:
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by Richard Lawler on (#6AEFJ)
Asus ROG Ally | Image: Asus Considering the date on the calendar and the lack of a price or other details, my first response to Asus ROG (Republic of Gamers) surprise-announcing a handheld gaming machine was that this must be an April Fools’ Day prank.Still, this Asus ROG Ally launch video was just a little too good to simply shake off — the link to Best Buy and the use of real games like High on Life, Moving Out, and WRC Generations seemed unusual for a prank, and now we know why. After waiting a couple of days, Asus has confirmed it is a real device (well, as real as a product can be without a launch date, detailed specs, or price) and says gamers can sign up with Best Buy for details on when preorders will start.According to Asus, the Windows 11-powered ROG... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#6AESB)
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Update, 6:30PM ET: The retweet labels are back on the web (it may take clearing your browser cache along with a refresh to see them again, which you can do in Chrome by pressing the Shift button plus clicking refresh). Twitter PR did not comment on the labels’ disappearance or their return. The original article follows below.Looks like it’s going to be another normal week on the bird site: people’s “Following” timelines are seemingly being flooded with unlabeled retweets from people they don’t follow, and a lot of people are seeing a Doge icon where the company’s bird logo used to be.Regarding the first one, no, your Following timeline isn’t suddenly being run by the algorithm behind the “For You” one. Twitter has simply stopped... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#6AF02)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Late last week, Hulu started rolling out a redesign for its TV apps, which changes how you navigate through the interface. The previous version (which some people still have) had the search, Home, TV, Movies, News, My Stuff, and Hubs buttons across the top of the screen. Now, those navigational buttons will live on the left.Hulu’s top-bar design has always stood out from the crowd in a bad way. Even my wife, who isn’t that into tech and doesn’t generally comment on UIs, has complained about it. The problem with the old UI is that, in general, using a streaming app these days involves scrolling up and down through a massive list of content, realizing you don’t want to watch any of it, and then jumping to another section.Unfortunately,... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#6AEX0)
Illustration: The Verge Google is testing out a price guarantee program for Google Flights that will pay you money if the price of a flight goes down after you booked it through the service. The feature is currently available as a “pilot program” in the US (get it?) for specific flights, according to a Monday blog post, but it could be a compelling reason to use Google’s tool the next time you’re searching for a flight.When you’re using Google’s tool, some flights will have a little shield icon with a dollar sign. If you book that particular flight through Google Flights, the company says it’ll “monitor the price every day until departure.” If it drops, you’ll get the difference back. GIF: Google It’ll only show up on flights that... Continue reading…
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by Ash Parrish on (#6AEX1)
Image: Alex Castro / The Verge The US Department of Justice is suing Activision Blizzard because of claims the publisher instituted an anti-competitive soft salary cap for players in its Call of Duty and Overwatch esports leagues. The publisher has agreed to settle the suit.The complaint details what the two leagues called a Competitive Balance Tax. Under the tax, if one of the franchised teams paid its players over a limit imposed by Activision Blizzard, the teams would be fined and have the fee distributed to the other non-offending teams. In theory, the Competitive Balance Tax was to prevent richer, better resourced teams from gobbling up the best talent with high salaries (i.e., what I’d call the “2023 Boston Uprising rule”). But it seems that, in practice, this... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6AEX2)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Spotify is shuttering its live audio app Spotify Live, as first reported by Music Ally (via TechCrunch). In a statement to The Verge, company spokesperson Gayle Gaviola Moreau confirmed that Spotify is going to “sunset the Spotify Live app,” as it believes “it no longer makes sense as a standalone app.”Spotify instead indicates that it will continue to offer live audio in limited ways on the main Spotify app, such as listening parties, which lets paid users listen to music with friends even if they’re not in the same room.The Verge reached out to Spotify for more information on whether Spotify Live features will still exist in the main audio app, but the company declined to elaborate. “While the Spotify Live app is shutting down... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#6AEX3)
Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony is introducing new tags in the PlayStation Store that provide an overview of accessibility features you can use in a game. The new “Accessibility Tags” will start to roll out globally this week in the store on PS5, Sony’s Hideaki Nishino says in a post on the PlayStation blog.The tags will provide information on accessibility options for things like visual, audio, control, and gameplay features. They could be quite useful if you want to make sure a certain game is able to accommodate your specific needs. You can get an idea of what the Accessibility Tags look like in this video from Sony.The tags will “gradually” roll out this week, and Nishino says they’ll launch with games like Days Gone, Death Stranding Director’s Cut, Ghost... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#6AESC)
Image: Disney Moana, which was first released in 2016, is already being adapted for a live-action film. Disney revealed the new project with a video featuring Dwayne Johnson, who plays Maui in the animated movie.“Like its animated predecessor, the film will celebrate the islands, communities and traditions of Pacific Islanders as seen through the eyes of a young woman eager to pave her own path,” Disney wrote in a press release. “Moana’s journey of self-discovery and reflection on the lives of her ancestors won hearts worldwide, as did her newfound friendship with an exiled demigod named Maui.” Disney didn’t say when the new film might be released.The new Moana will join Disney’s growing slate of live-action remakes, including The Lion King, Beauty... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#6AESD)
Image: Jaime Nogales/ Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images Coachella kicks off next week, and if you want to watch it at home, you can pick from one of six streams at once on YouTube throughout both weekends, YouTube announced on Monday. That’s double the three simultaneous live streams you could catch last year.This year’s Coachella lineup is pretty good, so I bet there will be a lot of good shows to watch on YouTube throughout the weekend. I’m personally interested in performances from Gorillaz, Wet Leg, Boygenius, Björk, and the ever-elusive Frank Ocean, and I’ll be doing my best to tune in throughout the weekend. That said, if you want to see a show, you should do your best to catch it live — YouTube is only promising that “highlights” from “many of the weekend’s performances” will be... Continue reading…
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by Sara Merican on (#6AEMW)
Lee Yeon and Jeon Do-yeon in Kill Boksoon. | Image: No Ju-han / Netflix A John Wick-style action film about an assassin balancing her bloody career with being a single parent. Continue reading…
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