The Verge

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Nvidia has become the second most valuable company in the world. On Wednesday afternoon, the chipmaking giant's market capitalization hit $3.01 trillion, putting it just ahead of Apple at $3 trillion.As Nvidia dominates the AI race with its flagship H100 chip, the company's market cap has only continued to rise. Nvidia became a $1 trillion company in May 2023, then skyrocketed past $2 trillion in February of this year, making it more valuable than both Amazon and Alphabet. Screenshot: The Verge In May, Nvidia reported making a whopping $14 billion in profit on account of all the chips it's selling. Nvidia now only trails behind Microsoft, which currently has a market cap of $3.15 trillion. The chipmaker's stock... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google Sheets now offers conditional notifications, a new feature that lets users set up rules to receive an email notification when certain spreadsheet cells change in any document where they have editing access.From now on, users can set rules in Google Sheets to receive notifications when certain criteria are met, like an updated column value or changes to a specific range of cells.Sheets recently snagged a few features Excel users have had for years, like letting users create easily formatted tables in Sheets and adding smooth scrolling. Now, with conditional notifications, Sheets adds a feature associated with project management tools like Airtable. It also seems pretty easy to set up compared to Excel, which also has more... Continue reading...

Internet for when your internet goes down. | Image: T-Mobile T-Mobile's big home internet push continues, now with a new way to sign up for the service: as a backup option.The company is offering a new Home Internet Backup plan starting at $30 per month (including an autopay discount) that's designed to supplement your cable or fiber internet connection in the event of an outage. Seems handy if your internet is down a lot! But it also seems like overkill for most people, especially considering that most of T-Mobile's phone plans already come with plenty of mobile hotspot data.Like T-Mobile's standard home internet service, the backup plan comes with a gateway router that connects to T-Mobile's cellular data network. The backup internet plan comes with up to 130GB of 5G data each month, which... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Google Maps is changing the way it handles your location data. Instead of backing up your data to the cloud, Google will soon store it locally on your device.In an email sent to users, Google says you have until December 1st to save all your travels to your mobile device before it starts deleting your old data. Timeline - previously known as Location History - is the feature that tracks your routes and trips based on your phone's location, allowing you to revisit all the places you've been in the past.But now, instead of tying all of this information to your Google account, the company will link it to the devices you use. Google first announced this change in December 2023 as part of its efforts to double down on privacy. The company... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge For parents, it can feel like a no-brainer to let their kids have an iPad thanks to its built-in parental control feature, Screen Time. But the system is also undeniably buggy, as most parents will attest. Now, Apple is fixing one of the software's worst bugs - an apparently obscure one that would let kids see the worst parts of the internet despite settings to stop that, reports Joanna Stern for The Wall Street Journal.The bug goes like this: kids can circumvent content restrictions by entering a specific string of characters into Safari's browser bar. Security researchers Andreas Jagersberger and Ro Achterberg reported this bug twice in 2021 and, both times, were told that it wasn't a security flaw, Stern writes. She also notes that... Continue reading...

Image: Google Google is acquiring software virtualization company Cameyo in a push to deeply integrate virtualized Windows app support into ChromeOS. Google was already working closely with Cameyo, and now it's bringing this key virtualization expertise and technology in-house.Google partnered with Cameyo last year to deliver a virtual application experience for legacy Windows desktop apps that was integrated into ChromeOS. This included local file system integration, virtual apps as progressive web apps, and even enhanced clipboard support.Cameyo's Virtual App Delivery (VAD) integration into ChromeOS is designed for businesses that are looking to move away from Windows or even add some ChromeOS devices into the mix. It allows businesses to continue... Continue reading...

Screenshot: NASA The third attempt at a crewed launch of the Boeing Starliner was a success. On Wednesday at 10:52AM ET, the spacecraft lifted off atop the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and now has reached a safe, stable orbit."The Starliner will bring NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams to the International Space Station about 24 hours from now, where they'll test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system, including launch, docking, and return to Earth." The two astronauts will stay at the ISS for about a week before parachuting down in the western portion of the US.

Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, speaks during a press conference at the UN Climate Change Conference COP28. | Photo: Getty Images The climate as we know it may be in the rear-view mirror, and there is precious little time to change course before careening past a dangerous threshold for global warming.That was the sentiment expressed by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during fiery remarks, which followed new data released today by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Commission's Copernicus Climate Change Service.Like the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, we're having an outsize impact. In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs. We are the meteor," Guterres said in the speech he delivered from American Museum of Natural History in New York City - where dinosaur skeletons tower above visitors in the lobby - on World... Continue reading...

Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images Boeing's Starliner will make its third attempt to launch two NASA astronauts into space on Wednesday. The spacecraft is scheduled to lift off at 10:52AM ET from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. You can watch the livestream from NASA's YouTube channel or in the video embedded below.With the help of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, the Starliner will send flight commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Sunita Williams to the International Space Station, where they'll dock for about a week to evaluate the spacecraft.Boeing's Starliner made its first launch attempt in May following several delays. But NASA scrubbed the launch due to a faulty oxygen relief valve on the ULA Atlas V rocket's second stage.The... Continue reading...

Image: Archer Archer Aviation, a leading electric aviation company based in San Jose, California, announced that it has received a Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, which the company will need to operate an on-demand air taxi service.That puts Archer on the cusp of launching a fully fledged commercial service using its electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL). The company has also received Part 145 certification, which authorizes it to conduct specialized aircraft repair services. The FAA also recently issued the final airworthiness criteria for the Midnight aircraft. Archer is only the second eVTOL company to receive Part 135 certification, after Joby Aviation in 2022.That puts Archer on the... Continue reading...

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images Asana's platform already helps teams lay out tasks and see who is assigned which responsibilities, and now it says AI teammates" will step in with advice and plans for who should work together to get things done.In a press release, Asana says its AI model can use stored information about the historical relationships and past projects of teams to assign work to the people with the best-matched skill sets, like tagging designers who know brand styles to work on creative projects. It can also look for missing information before responding to a request and proactively reach out to gather that data for the team.According to Asana co-founder and CEO Dustin Moskovitz, We're able to do this better than anyone else because we built Asana on... Continue reading...

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 in October 2025, but the company is now taking the unusual step of reopening its beta program for Windows 10 to test new features and improvements.Windows 10 already got the AI Copilot feature that was originally exclusive to Windows 11, and it may well get other features soon. To bring new features and more improvements to Windows 10 as needed, we need a place to do active feature development with Windows Insiders," explains Microsoft's Windows Insider team in a blog post. So today, we are opening the Beta Channel for Windows Insiders who are currently on Windows 10."Microsoft hasn't revealed what additional Windows 10 features it plans to test next, but Windows Insiders can opt into the... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge AT&T and Verizon have resolved an outage causing dropped phone calls across the US. The issue seemingly affected calls between customers of the two services.In the midst of the outage, AT&T spokesperson Jim Kimberly told The Verge, Our network is not experiencing a nationwide outage. There is a nationwide issue that is affecting the ability of some customers to complete calls between carriers. We are working closely with Verizon to determine the nature of the issue and what actions need to be taken."Verizon spokesperson Kevin H. King also said that the network was operating normally" but noted that customers primarily in the Northeast and Midwest were having issues when calling or texting with customers served by another carrier."

The Zotac Zone. | Image: Zotac It's handheld season, and the Asus ROG Ally X and MSI Claw 8 AI Plus aren't the only second-gen Windows gaming handhelds in town - GPU manufacturer Zotac has officially revealed its Zone at Computex, and it does a few things differently than the competition.Zotac already teased that the Zone would have an OLED screen, something that only the Steam Deck OLED has managed in PC handhelds before - as well as two-stage adjustable triggers like an Xbox Elite gamepad and drift resistant Hall effect joysticks. But did you know it'll also have symmetrical PlayStation-esque joysticks, programmable dials around each one, twin Steam Deck-like trackpads, a small built-in kickstand, a Windows Hello camera instead of a fingerprint reader, and both... Continue reading...

But first, here is an image of Jensen Huang not signing a women's chest. | Photo: Getty Images Well, here's Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, signing a woman's chest in a crowded booth at Computex. In the video below, you can see he asks whether this is a good idea before he eventually signs the woman's top. He then returns to signing more traditional fare.This isn't an unusual sight when it comes to actors or musicians. But can you imagine Tim Cook doing that after an iPhone event? Or Sundar Pichai after Google I/O?Yet those men also cultivate very different public images than Huang. Instead of hoodies, double polos, thousand-dollar T-shirts, or business suits, he's typically decked out in some kind of leather jacket. What he wants you to know from that sartorial choice is clear: he's not like regular CEOs. He's a cool CEO.... Continue reading...

Oprah is in shambles. | Photo by Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty Images Apple has announced that Reese's Book Club has found an official home within Apple Books. The Hollywood star has amassed a strong following of readers who vibe with her tastes, the likes of which can send featured titles into the stratosphere. It's the latest partnership her media company Hello Sunshine has inked with Apple, which also produces Apple TV Plus original series like The Last Thing He Told Me.You can follow Reese Witherspoon's monthly reading interests in audiobook format directly within the app, which now has a dedicated portal that makes it easy to find and purchase her latest recommendations.Reese's Book Club has proven wildly popular, with her influence quickly outpacing the likes of Oprah's. With more than 3 million... Continue reading...

If the Pixel 8A at $499 was a great value before, it's astronomically so at around $250. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge We're only a couple of weeks removed from Google I/O, where the tech giant gave us a glimpse of all the fun Gemini AI features coming to Android, Chrome, and its web products. Now, it's giving you a chance to save big money on the devices that are guaranteed to take full advantage of them. One of the biggest highlights from Google's summer sale saves you 50 percent on an unlocked Pixel 8A when you buy a Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, or Pixel Fold.That would bring the Pixel 8A down to just $249.50 for the 128GB model or $279.50 for the 512GB model from Google. Just add both devices to your cart, and the discount will apply automatically. As an added bonus, Google will throw in a $50 store credit with any Pixel 8A purchase. It's a great... Continue reading...

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge If you've tried smashing YouTube's like" button today, you might've noticed that the thumbs-up icon just... disappears. As spotted earlier by 9to5Google, the like counter still goes up when you press it, but what's left is just an empty gray space where the thumbs-up icon should be.It seems like this is a widespread issue. Several users, including myself and my colleagues, have spotted the vanishing like button across several YouTube videos and in different web browsers. Despite this, the dislike button still works fine. Image: The Verge In a support page published Tuesday afternoon, YouTube says the like button isn't working as intended" and that it's looking into the issue. It also confirms that the thumbs-up... Continue reading...

Image: Meta Netflix isn't updating its Meta Quest app, but Meta's doing the next best thing: adding web browser support. That means you can stream Netflix in high quality from the Quest's Browser app, allowing you to swap between a flat 2D screen or a curved view to feel like you're at the theater.There hasn't really been a good way to watch Netflix on the Quest. Netflix launched an app for the Quest in 2019, but the app caps video resolution at a paltry 480p and hasn't received any recent updates. Until now, the Quest's Browser app also blocked users from watching Netflix.To get around this, some users have tried sideloading Netflix's Android app, while others have opted to access Netflix through a browser on the Quest's Virtual Desktop mode. But... Continue reading...

Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge Woot is selling the Nintendo Switch OLED model for $314.99 ($35 off) for today (June 4th) only. The sale on Nintendo's fancier version of its long-in-the-tooth Switch console runs until tonight at midnight ET or once Woot sells out. And it's possible Woot will not run out of stock this time around because demand for a Switch is not what it used to be. Nintendo has sold so many Switch consoles that it feels like everyone who wants one - and their parents - surely must own one by now.It's true that the Switch came out over seven years ago, and a successor is confirmed by Nintendo to be announced by April 2025. But even though the Switch feels pretty dated, that doesn't mean it's not worth buying in 2024. There is a vast back catalog of... Continue reading...

Photo: David Pierce The single biggest reason to buy a Meta Quest 3 over its predecessors is how it lets you bring the real world into view - but the VR headset's still weird about your real-life hands, distorting the world around them. I always mess up the all-important look at your palm and pinch your fingers to access the menu" gesture, too.Now, Meta is fixing both of those issues. For starters, the new v66 update lets you tap a new button on your wrist to summon the menu! Image: Meta Wrist buttons" were already pioneered by a variety of VR games; now, you can use them for menus. Sure looks like the distortion is vastly reduced, too:Plus, Meta says it now has proper background audio for multitasking. Now you can launch... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge After an outage took down OpenAI's ChatGPT service for a few hours during Tuesday's early hours, the service experienced another major outage during the daytime in the US. ChatGPT is unavailable for some users," said OpenAI in its status message. We are currently investigating this issue." The second round of issues started at around 10:30AM ET, with thousands of reports of issues showing up on Downdetector.Many users of the ChatGPT mobile apps and the web service were not seeing replies; however, at about 1:17PM ET, OpenAI confirmed the issue was resolved.Around the same time that ChatGPT had its issues, some users reported problems with Google Gemini, Anthropic's Claude AI, and Perplexity AI web search. Google Gemini appears to be... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Several former OpenAI employees warned in an open letter that advanced AI companies like OpenAI stifle criticism and oversight, especially as concerns over AI safety have increased in the past few months.The open letter, signed by 13 former OpenAI employees (six of whom chose to remain anonymous) and endorsed by Godfather of AI" Geoffrey Hinton, formerly of Google, says that in the absence of any effective government oversight, AI companies should commit to open criticism principles. These principles include avoiding the creation and enforcement of non-disparagement clauses, facilitating a verifiably" anonymous process to report issues, allowing current and former employees to raise concerns to the public, and not retaliating against... Continue reading...

Image: 20th Century Studios It sure looks like the Alien franchise is making a return to its horror roots. After a brief teaser earlier in the year and some creepy behind-the-scenes footage, 20th Century Studios has released the first full trailer for Alien: Romulus, a standalone film from director Fede Alvarez. In short: it looks scary as hell. It also appears to really stick to the core tenets of the original film, with a small cast; dark, isolated setting; and only hints of the deadly alien itself.The story involves a group of scavengers scrounging around on an abandoned space station, before becoming the unfortunate prey of a xenomorph. It stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, and Archie Renaux. The film also has a very good new poster that hints at the... Continue reading...

Image: Lucasfilm Star Wars has a tendency to feel small. Even as the franchise has expanded with shows like The Mandalorian and Andor, the stories remain connected in some way to Luke and Vader, the Empire and the Rebel Alliance, and other elements introduced in 1977. A universe that once seemed vast and full has steadily narrowed its focus. But the latest show, The Acolyte, has a good solution for this: winding back the clock 100 years. You don't need to worry about the Skywalkers when they haven't been born yet.The show starts out as a whodunit, with a mysterious assassin targeting specific Jedi masters, killing them off one by one. Initially, all signs point to Osha (Amandla Stenberg), a former Jedi student who left the order because she was unable... Continue reading...

China's Chang'e 6 ascender carrying lunar samples took off from the far side of the Moon on June 4th. | Image: China National Space Administration China's Chang'e 6 spacecraft lifted off from the lunar surface today, bringing with it the first samples taken from the far side of the Moon.Chang'e 6's ascender launched from the back of the Moon, the side facing away from Earth, at 7:38AM Beijing time. The spacecraft had landed there, at the South Pole-Aitken Basin, around two days earlier. Its lander carried cameras, a soil structure detector, and a mineral spectrometer for analyzing geologic samples. The probe used its robotic arm and drilling tools to take samples. Chang'e 6 also carried payloads from the European Space Agency, France, and Italy for scientific exploration."Governments want to know if they can use lunar minerals to set up bases on the Moon to facilitate long-term... Continue reading...

Image: Sudhanshu Ambhore via X It looks like Samsung is planning a cheaper, FE version of its Galaxy Watch. A set of leaked renders shared by @Sudhanshu1414 on X shows what appears to be the 40mm device in blue, black, and pink.Along with the renders, the post also includes some leaked specs, including a 1.2-inch OLED display and a 30-hour battery life. The watch is rumored to feature the same Exynos W920 chip as the Galaxy Watch 4, in addition to 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. It's also expected to ship with Samsung's One UI Watch 5 system.

A rendering of Climeworks' Generation 3 direct air capture plant. | Image: Climeworks The next generation of industrial plants to filter CO2 out of the air is on the way, and it's getting closer to overcoming some of the biggest challenges of using this technology to fight climate change. Climeworks, one of the first startups to develop this tech, unveiled its Generation 3 plant today. It's supposed to use half as much energy as older designs and slash costs in half, too.It's supposed to use half as much energy as older designs and slash costs in halfIf Climeworks makes good on that promise, it could go a long way toward making this technology, called direct air capture (DAC), a viable way to reduce the amount of carbon pollution building up in the atmosphere. Right now, the technology is far too new and expensive to... Continue reading...

Photo: Cath Virginia / The Verge Max has announced a price increase on the streaming service's ad-free plans. The standard ad-free plan will cost $16.99 / month instead of $15.99, while the 4K ad-free plan will cost $20.99 / month instead of $19.99.The price increase will go into effect today for new subscribers. Existing subscribers can expect to see the increase from their next billing cycle on or after Thursday, July 4th. Max's price hike also affects the service's ad-free yearly plans, with the standard ad-free plan going up to $169.99 / year from $149.99 and the 4K ad-free plan going up to $209.99 / year from $199.99.The service's $9.99 / month (or $99.99 / year) ad-supported subscription will stay the same price. Warner Bros. Discovery raised the price of Max... Continue reading...

Photo: David Pierce / The Verge The M2 iPad Air doesn't come with the 10-core GPU that Apple originally advertised - it actually comes with a nine-core one. In a statement to 9to5Mac, an unnamed Apple spokesperson says it has updated its website to correct the core count for the M2 iPad Air" but that all performance claims for the M2 iPad Air are accurate and based on a 9-core GPU."The correction from Apple comes after a report from 9to5Mac revealed that the company had quietly changed the core count for its new M2 iPad Air from 10 cores to nine on the page outlining the product's specs. Apple has also changed the device's core count on its press release and support page. The Verge reached out to Apple with a request for comment but didn't immediately hear back.As... Continue reading...

Image: Joby Leading electric aviation company Joby Aviation said it has acquired the autonomy division from Xwing, an aviation startup that's been working on pilotless flight projects for several years. The terms of the deal, which involve an amount of Joby stock, were not disclosed.Joby's electric air taxis are still a couple years away from launch, but the company says it wants to position itself to take advantage of autonomous flight when the technology is ready for commercial application.Joby's electric air taxis are still a couple years away from launchXwing, which was founded in 2016, has conducted 250 autonomous test flights as well as 500 auto-landings. And, in April 2023, it was the first company to receive an official project... Continue reading...

Image: Andrew Marino / The Verge Say this for Sonos: the company is remarkably consistent. It has spent decades building audio products that look and sound great... and are almost always initially hampered by some kind of weird software and usability issue. When Sonos stuff works, there's nothing like it, but it doesn't always seem to work.The Sonos Ace headphones fit perfectly in that lineage. In The Verge's review, Chris Welch found them to be comfortable, attractive, well-made, great-sounding, and hampered by just a few too many bugs. Even still, the Ace is a strong first effort from Sonos.On this episode of The Vergecast, Chris joins to tell us all about his experiences with the Ace. He explains how he tests headphones, how these stack up to Bose, Sony, Apple,... Continue reading...

Image: Samsung Samsung has added some additional features to the new OLED G8 gaming monitor it announced back in January, including safeguards against OLED burn-in and AI-powered resolution upscaling for content and games.Preorders for the display are already available in regions like Australia and Singapore, suggesting that a US launch isn't far behind. Best Buy lists the 32-inch Odyssey OLED G8 (model G80SD) for $1,299.99 - making it a smidge cheaper than the first $1,499.99 OLED gaming monitor Samsung released last year - and Samsung currently has a countdown timer teasing its new 2024 monitors," which expires today at 9:59AM ET. We've asked Samsung to clarify the release dates for the Odyssey OLED G8 but haven't yet heard back.Samsung says the... Continue reading...

The third-gen Apple TV 4K is one of the best streaming devices you can get, even if you're not an Apple user. | Image: Chris Welch / The Verge From The Acolyte and House of the Dragon to the 2024 Paris Olympics, there's going to be plenty to stream this summer. Luckily, if you want to upgrade your setup in preparation for the busy entertainment slate, Verizon is currently selling the latest Apple TV 4K for $89.99 ($40 off), which is one of the lowest prices we've seen on the 64GB model.Despite having launched in 2022, the third-gen Apple TV 4K remains an exceptionally snappy streaming device that, unlike most of the competition, doesn't fully inundate you with ads. It offers a straightforward interface and an impressive feature set, too, with support for HDR10 Plus, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and Wi-Fi 6. It also comes with a Siri Remote that charges via USB-C as well as... Continue reading...

Image: Aptoide / The Verge Aptoide, the popular Google Play alternative for Android devices, is launching a third-party iOS app store in the European Union - the first focused entirely on gaming since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules came into effect.Aptoide's iOS game store is being released via a closed launch on Thursday, with access initially restricted to users with invitation-only access codes. Aptoide says it has a waiting list of 20,000 signups and plans to issue between 500 to 1,000 codes per day, with the limited launch enabling the platform to monitor feedback from early adopters.The Aptoide iOS store will launch with seven games - a fairly standard ensemble of popular activities like Solitaire, Charades, and Mahjong - but the company says... Continue reading...

This is not the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus but, rather, a Fallout edition of the original. (I used generative expand around the edge because the image was cropping poorly.) | Image: MSI Just three months after releasing its first gaming handheld PC to damning reviews - here's mine - MSI is already announcing a likely replacement. The MSI Claw 8 AI Plus swaps its lackluster Intel Meteor Lake chip for the brand-new Lunar Lake ones, while replacing its seven-inch, 1080p 120Hz variable resolution rate screen for a larger eight-inch one.Perhaps even more importantly, it will boast up to an 80 watt-hour battery, MSI tells The Verge - tying it with the recently announced Asus ROG Ally X for biggest battery in a PC gaming handheld. Despite the larger screen, it'll still offer a smooth 120Hz refresh rate with VRR, writes MSI marketing specialist Anne Lee.The Claw will also offer a second USB-C port with Thunderbolt 4... Continue reading...

Intel's Lunar Lake held aloft by Intel client chip boss Michelle Johnston Holthaus. | Image: Intel Last year, Intel boasted that its Meteor Lake processors, dubbed Core Ultra, represented the company's biggest architectural shift in 40 years. But Intel didn't settle down after that: today it's revealing how Lunar Lake, its next laptop chip coming this fall, will overhaul the formula yet again.Facing the existential threat of Arm and the opportunity of AI PCs, Intel has apparently ditched its famous tick-tock cadence for a whole new system-on-chip design, one that not only triples the size and more than quadruples the performance of its AI accelerator, but promises up to 14 percent faster CPU performance at the same clockspeed, 50 percent more graphics performance, and up to 60 percent better battery life than last year's model.... Continue reading...