by Victoria Song on (#6SBYE)
As an entry-level device, the FE doesn't quite nail the right mix of price, features, and hardware. Continue reading...
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| Updated | 2026-09-01 19:07 |
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by Lauren Feiner on (#6SBYD)
Illustration: The Verge Google employees met with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division last month to share workers' perspectives ahead of the government's expected proposal to break up the company. Their message? That as the DOJ attempts to end Google's search monopoly, any effective remedy must make sure workers are protected and empowered to speak out.Three members of the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) met virtually with staff from the DOJ Antitrust Division on October 23rd, workers who attended the meeting told The Verge exclusively. During the hour-long conversation, the Google employees urged the government to consider how any remedies imposed by the court could impact workers and to make sure workers are protected and aware of their rights to share... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6SBW9)
Illustration: The Verge Google Meet is making it easier for everyone to position themselves in video calls without having to move the camera or mess around with the webcam's frame adjustment settings. The automatic framing feature that was launched for Google Workspace accounts in 2022 is now rolling out for all Google Meet users, centering users in the middle of the screen to correct weird camera angles.The toggle is enabled by default, but can be switched off by clicking the three-dot menu before you join a call, selecting Apply visual effects," and clicking Appearance." It's similar to Apple's Center Stage feature, but Google's version doesn't track users as they move to keep them in frame - which can help reduce distractions in meetings. G... Continue reading...
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by Quentyn Kennemer on (#6SBWA)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Uber has launched a new airport-only fare option in its ride-sharing app called UberXXL. It surpasses UberXL's single X by guaranteeing rides with trunk space that can handle large families with lots of big bags - no more sitting at the curb trying to figure out what to do next. Screenshot: Uber The new option is available today at more than 60 airports worldwide, with more coming down the road. In terms of pricing, UberXXL will sit somewhere between UberXL and Uber Black, the company says. XXL also adds a stopgap before Uber Shuttle, the charter-style option it launched in New York last month that lets you book up to five seats for a trip to the airport with discounted rates and protection against surge pricing.T... Continue reading...
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by Richard Lawler on (#6SBNS)
Image: Strava Strava recently informed its users and partners that new terms for its API restrict the data that third-party apps can show, refrain from replicating Strava's look, and place a ban on using data for any model training related to artificial intelligence, machine learning or similar applications."The policy is effective as of November 11th, even though Strava's own post about the change is dated November 15th.
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by Wes Davis on (#6SBKT)
Photo by Sam Byford / The Verge Niantic has announced that it's building a new Large Geospatial Model" (LGM) that combines millions of scans taken from the smartphones of players of Pokemon Go and other Niantic products. This AI model could allow computers and robots to understand and interact with the world in new ways, the company said in a blog post spotted by Garbage Day.The LGM's spatial intelligence" is built on the neural networks developed as part of Niantic's Visual Positioning System. The blog post explains that Over the past five years, Niantic has focused on building our Visual Positioning System (VPS), which uses a single image from a phone to determine its position and orientation using a 3D map built from people scanning interesting locations in our... Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6SBJ3)
People loved uploading videos from their iPhone Camera Roll directly to YouTube. | Image: The Verge The IMG_0001" website features a frame with an old TV static effect and a floating retro Panasonic remote that you can click to start watching random YouTube videos from over a decade ago that were recorded and uploaded from devices such as 2010's iPhone 4.Riley Walz, a tech worker who helped stage a fake steakhouse restaurant in Manhattan last year, built the site. He credits this blog by Ben Wallace for the idea and says the iPhone is the reason the project is possible.As described on the site, there was a novel (at the time) Send to YouTube" feature on iPhones between 2009 and 2012 that let you upload recordings directly from your iPhone for anyone to see - which often aren't accompanied by any text descriptions.
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by Emma Roth on (#6SBFW)
Illustration: The Verge Just one day after 404 Media revealed that HarperCollins struck a three-year AI training deal with an unnamed company, Bloomberg now says Microsoft will use the publisher's content to train a not-yet-announced AI model.HarperCollins said in a statement to 404 Media that its deal will include select nonfiction backlist titles" and that authors will have to opt into the training program.One author, Daniel Kibblesmith, posted screenshots a few days ago showing that he was offered $2,500 per book for a three-year AI licensing contract. Asked what would be an offer he'd consider taking, Kibblesmith said in a post on Tuesday, I'd probably do it for a billion dollars. I'd do it for an amount of money that wouldn't require me to work... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6SBCM)
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for Netflix (C) 2024 Despite widespread issues with video quality and buffering, Netflix's live-streamed Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing match brought in an average of 108 million viewers, based on TVision data in the US and first-party data in global markets. With 65 million concurrent streams, Netflix says the fight was the most-streamed global sporting event ever."Of those simultaneous streams, 38 million were from households in the US, and the TVision data says it accounted for 56 percent of TV viewing between midnight and 1AM that day.Meanwhile, the match between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano broke the record for the most-watched professional women's sports event in US history," with 47 million average viewers nationwide, according to Netflix.... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6SBCN)
Image: Aqara Aqara's Smart Valve Controller T1 is now available, bringing an interoperable Matter-compatible valve controller option to the smart home for the first time. The $69.99 T1 connects to your water shutoff valve so you can operate it remotely or shut it off automatically when a leak is detected.The Aqara hub lets this T1 integrate with any of the major smart home platforms, unlike some pricier options from companies like Moen, Kohler, and Belkin. Right now, only Samsung and Home Assistant support smart valve controllers like this, but that will change as others expand their Matter device support.The T1 attaches to the lever or butterfly handle of most household valves. Aqara says it's DIY-friendly as it requires no major modifications... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6SBCP)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google has given us a glimpse at what's coming in the next major version of Android. The first preview release for Android 16 is available for developers starting today, which expands the photo library and medical data-sharing capabilities in apps. A change moving Android's release timeline forward was announced last month, which could help third-party Android phones released in 2025 avoid waiting months to receive the latest major updates.Android Developer head Matthew McCullough says, This is the start of Android having more frequent API releases as part of our effort to drive faster innovation in apps and devices."The preview available today allows developers to embed Android's photo picker - the menu that lets users select... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6SB9Y)
Illustration: The Verge Google Gemini can now remember" certain things about you, such as your interests and personal preferences. The change is rolling out to subscribers with access to Gemini Advanced, and it will allow the AI chatbot to tailor its responses based on your needs, according to Gemini's most recent release notes.As noted by Google, you can share your interests, as well as details about your work, hobbies, or aspirations, while chatting with Gemini. You can also enter relevant details about yourself within the bot's Saved Info" page, such as telling it to only suggest vegetarian recipes, or that you work as an accountant.
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by Ash Parrish on (#6SB9Z)
Minecraft could soon be coming to a theme park near you. UK theme park company Merlin Entertainments has announced the completion of a $110 million deal with developer Mojang to open Minecraft-themed attractions in the US and the UK. The attractions are planned to open in 2026 and 2027 and will either be new additions to existing parks or a wholly new experience. The game seems well-suited for the theme park treatment with in-game activities like mine cart rides, fighting creepers, taking trips to the The Nether, and more.Minecraft joins a number of video game franchises and companies making the jump into theme parks and other forms of entertainment. Nintendo opened its theme park Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan in 2021.... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6SBA0)
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Bose has acquired the high-end audio brand McIntosh - a move that Bose says will significantly" expand its product lineup. The acquisition, which also includes McIntosh subsidiary Sonus faber, also opens new opportunities in the automotive sector," as both companies plan to work together to expand their in-car audio offerings:
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by Justine Calma on (#6SB66)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Image Brazil and the United Nations launched a new international effort to combat disinformation on climate change. They announced the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change during the G20 Leaders' Summit taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.It's a collaboration between governments and international organizations to boost research on misinformation swirling online and around the globe that they fear could slow action on climate change. There isn't much information available yet, but they say they'll fund nonprofit efforts to counter that spread of lies.Countries cannot tackle this problem individually," President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a press release.Countries cannot tackle this problem... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6SB68)
Image: Microsoft Microsoft is creating a new companions experience for the Windows 11 taskbar that will surface important data with just a click. Microsoft 365 Companions will include contacts and people, files, or calendar appointments integrated into the taskbar of Windows 11.We will bring Microsoft 365 People, Files, and Calendar to your taskbar so your Graph data is just a click away," said Windows chief Pavan Davuluri on stage at Microsoft Ignite 2024 today.Microsoft hasn't detailed this new Companions experience fully, but it looks very similar to what exists for the Phone Link app on Windows 11. Microsoft introduced a similar companion experience at the side of the Start menu for Phone Link with the Windows 11 24H2 update, allowing you to... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6SB6B)
Illustration: The Verge Right now, text highlighting is broken for anyone using recent Chromium-based browsers on some websites. The cause appears to be a change to selection styling that doesn't play nicely with Tailwind CSS. We've noticed it on our site, and so have several people posting about the issue in threads on Github and Chromium.For affected sites, you may still be able to select, copy, and paste text on websites but there's no visual indicator that you did so. Or you may not be able to copy and paste text at all or have other unexpected behaviors when you try to select specific text. Tailwind has updated its CSS tools and offered a workaround, but not every site has implemented the fix. That includes The Verge (we're working on it!), Bloomberg, and... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6SB35)
Image: Amazon Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers can now get one free audiobook per month - similar to the freebie Spotify started tossing Premium listeners last year. The perk is available to Music Unlimited subscribers in the US, Canada, and the UK, offering access to Audible's library of more than 1 million audiobooks.Amazon says individual subscribers and the primary account holder for family plans can listen to one audiobook at a time - of any length - per month." If a user doesn't finish the audiobook during the month, they can continue listening to the same audiobook the following month, or choose a new title. Subscribers will lose access to the audiobook at the end of their billing cycle if they cancel or pause their Amazon Music... Continue reading...
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by David Pierce on (#6SB37)
Image by: The Verge; Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for Netflix The Paul / Tyson fight on Friday was very popular. Netflix streamed it into more than 60 million households, which is a huge number for any TV event, much less a streaming-only one. Whether the whole thing went well, though, is another matter. The fight itself wasn't very exciting, and for a large portion of the audience it wouldn't have mattered if it was - all they could see was laggy, pixelated nothingness. Netflix is clearly bought in to live programming and sports, but is it ready to do it big?On this episode of The Vergecast, The Verge's Richard Lawler joins the show to talk through the state of sports streaming. We talk about the ups and downs of the Netflix live-streaming experiments so far, what's at stake for the company's... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6SB3A)
Image: Google Google is introducing a new feature to Google Lens that aims to give users more information about products when they're shopping in physical stores. Starting today for Android and iOS users in the US, using the Google app to snap a picture of an item on store shelves will bring up detailed information about the product, customer reviews, stock and price comparisons for online and nearby retailers, and similar products that are available in the same store.Google says the feature was developed thanks to major advancements in our AI image recognition technology," and requires users to share their location data with the Google app, as it appears to work out which store the user is in based on proximity. Beauty products, toys, and... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6SB39)
Image: Nuro In the wake of pivoting its business strategy to include robotaxis and driver assist, Nuro is taking its fully autonomous vehicles to new geographic areas.The California-based company, which currently operates a small fleet of driverless vehicles in California and Texas, said it would grow its operational design domain and expand the deployment of its zero-occupant, Level 4 vehicles.In Mountain View and Palo Alto, Nuro says it will see an 83 percent increase in the deployment area, while Houston will see a 70 percent increase. Its vehicles will also take on new, more complex driving environments, such as multi-lane roads at speeds of up to 35mph, driving around emergency vehicles, buses, and construction sites, and driving at night.... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6SAZZ)
Image: The Verge Ignite is Microsoft's big event to sell the future of Windows, AI, and Office to its biggest customers. Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6SAZY)
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images Microsoft is creating an in-person hacking event, Zero Day Quest, which it says will be the largest of its kind. The event will build upon Microsoft's existing bug bounty program, and incentivize research into high-impact security flaws that can affect the software powering cloud and AI workloads.This new hacking event will be the largest of its kind, with an additional $4 million in potential awards for research into high-impact areas, specifically cloud and AI," explains Tom Gallagher, VP of engineering at Microsoft's security response center. Zero Day Quest will provide new opportunities for the security community to work hand in hand with Microsoft engineers and security researchers - bringing together the best minds in security... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6SAZW)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The CrowdStrike catastrophe that took down 8.5 million Windows PCs and servers in July has left many of Microsoft's biggest customers looking for answers to make sure that such an event never happens again. Now, Microsoft has some answers in the form of a new Windows Resiliency Initiative that's designed to improve Windows security and reliability.The Windows Resiliency Initiative includes core changes to Windows that will make it easier for Microsoft's customers to recover Windows-based machines if there's ever another CrowdStrike-like incident. There are also some new Windows platform improvements to provider stronger controls over what apps and drivers are allowed to run, and to help allow anti-virus processing outside of kernel... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6SB01)
Instagram users can soon clear and make a fresh start on the content that's recommended to them. | Image: Meta Instagram is testing a new feature that will let users completely refresh the content that's recommended to them on the platform. The recommendations reset feature will soon roll out globally," according to Meta's announcement, and can be used to clear the algorithmic content that currently appears in Feeds, Explore, and Reels.The new feature will be available to users of all ages, including Teen accounts. We want to make sure everyone on Instagram - especially teens - has safe, positive, age-appropriate experiences and feels the time they're spending on Instagram is valuable," Meta said. We want to give teens new ways to shape their Instagram experience, so it can continue to reflect their passions and interests as they evolve." ... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6SAMZ)
Google now lets you manage Nest Cam IQ indoor and outdoor cameras - which were both released in 2017 - through a public preview in the Google Home app, meaning that you can now technically manage all Nest cams from as early as 2015 from the Home app instead of the Nest app.Google has been slowly making it possible to bring Nest cams into Home over the past year and change. When you transfer your Nest Cam IQ cameras over to Home, you'll be able to review video history in event and timeline views, access camera settings, and more without switching between the Nest and Google Home apps," Google says. From Home, Google also lets you view live streams from cameras in your favorites tab and set up automations.You can join the public preview... Continue reading...
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by Lauren Feiner on (#6SAJV)
Photo by ANDREA RENAULT/AFP via Getty Images Amazon and SpaceX are seeking to hamstring the National Labor Relations Board, asking a court to declare its processes for upholding labor law unconstitutional. But judges on a three-person panel appeared skeptical when the companies presented their arguments Monday.In two separate cases before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the two companies argued that the NLRB is unlawfully forcing them to participate in administrative law proceedings over alleged anti-labor actions. The Amazon case centers around whether it's required to bargain with the union at its JFK 8 fulfillment center on Staten Island, while the SpaceX case involves a charge by former employees who claimed they were fired after being critical of CEO Elon Musk.A ruling... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6SAJW)
Screenshot: Razzlekhan A federal judge has sentenced Heather Morgan to 18 months in prison for her role in helping husband Ilya Dutch" Lichtenstein launder stolen Bitcoin, CoinDesk reports. Lichtenstein has admitted to hacking the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016 and stealing 120,000 Bitcoin, worth $71 million at the time (and almost $11 billion as of this writing).Before she was arrested, Morgan was a Forbes and Inc. blogger. When the Department of Justice announced her arrest, the internet found out she also made crypto-themed rap videos under the name Razzlekhan." The whole story is expected to be immortalized in a Netflix documentary series and a film called Dutch & Razzlekhan.Morgan issued a statement on X, saying she will soon be telling my... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Liszewski on (#6SAGP)
Corsair has upgraded its K65 Plus wireless keyboard and M75 wireless mouse so they're Mac compatible with new colorways. | Image: Corsair Corsair has announced an updated version of the K65 Plus wireless keyboard it debuted earlier this year that's now compatible with the Mac. It's joined by a new version of Corsair's M75 wireless mouse, and both peripherals are available in Mac-exclusive colors including glacier blue and a white version the company calls frost.The frost versions of the K65 Plus wireless keyboard and M75 wireless mouse are available now from Apple's online and retail stores for $179.95 and $129.95, respectively. The glacier blue versions will be available for the same price, but at a later date. Image: Corsair The Mac version of the Corsair K65 Plus wireless keyboard is exclusively available in glacier blue and frost (white)... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6SAGQ)
Image: Hugo Herrera / The Verge HarperCollins has agreed with an unnamed AI tech company to let the company use some nonfiction titles to train its models, 404 Media reports, but only if authors opt-in to having their books be used for training. Some authors are currently suing companies like OpenAI, accusing them of copyright infringement for training AI models on their works without permission.According to a statement HarperCollins gave to 404 Media, the agreement protects authors' underlying value of their works and our shared revenue and royalty streams." Author Daniel Kibblesmith posted screenshots of an email showing that he would be paid $2,500 if he allowed one of his books to be licensed.
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by Umar Shakir on (#6SAGR)
The liquid hydrogen-powered GR Corolla H2 Concept. | Image: Toyota Toyota is pushing hydrogen-powered vehicle technology forward with a liquid hydrogen system design that includes a self-pressurizer to save escaping gas and reuse it as fuel to increase engine efficiency.Toyota introduced a liquid system in the GR Corolla H2 Concept in 2023, which keeps hydrogen at -253 degrees Celsius during filling and storing in the tank. Hydrogen exists as a gas at room temperature, so the pumps have to operate cold to prevent the liquid from boiling. Inherently, the system still has boil-off gas that gets wasted. Image: Toyota Boil-off gas chart for the system. So what's the solution? Toyota exhibited a self-pressurizer" at the Super Taikyu Series 2024 race this past weekend that uses the... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6SAGS)
The US Department of Energy headquarters building on February 9th, 2024, in Washington, DC. | Photo by J. David Ake / Getty Images President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Energy is fossil fuel executive Chris Wright - who has misleadingly claimed on LinkedIn that there is no climate crisis, and we're not in the midst of an energy transition either."Hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, and other disasters exacerbated by climate change are already hitting the US. And renewable energy capacity is on course to more than double globally by the end of the decade.Nevertheless, Wright is a staunch evangelist for fossil fuels who consistently rejects mainstream climate science. While Wright also has ties to the nuclear energy industry, clean energy advocates say that with Trump's cabinet picks, the US is losing ground in the race to deploy renewable... Continue reading...
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