The Verge - All Posts

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge A post on the PlayStation blog lists “over 30” titles for the PlayStation VR2’s monthlong launch window (you can scroll down to see the full list here) that starts when the hardware ships starting February 22nd.While the new additions consist mostly of ports from the first PS VR or PC headsets, that list does include two popular puzzle games made by Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s Enhance studio, Tetris Effect and Rez Infinite.Both titles earned stellar remarks from us in their previous VR iterations, so it’s good to see them here (since PS VR games won’t work on the new headset), but it does mean paying a little extra.People who own PS4 / PS VR versions of the game can upgrade each title to its PS5 / PS VR2 edition for $9.99 USD, where they... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Ahead of the Game Developers Conference in March, the organizers of the event have released its annual State of the Industry survey results. Surveying 2,300 respondents, the questionnaire covered developer sentiment on a wide range of topics, including NFTs, unionization, the metaverse, and more.As overall sentiment on NFTs cools amid continuous stories of fraud and scandal, the GDC survey reports only 23 percent of developers say that their studios are interested in Web3 technology — a slight decline from 27 percent last year. There does seem to be a marked decrease in NFTs and crypto in video games, as anytime a studio announces a Web3-based project, consumer backlash usually causes it to reverse course. Of the 2,300 respondents to... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram’s adding a way to temporarily silence push notifications whenever you want to take a break from the app. The feature, called Quiet Mode, will send automatic replies to users who try to message you on the platform, letting them know you weren’t notified.Instagram will specifically prompt teen users to toggle on Quiet Mode “when they spend a specific amount of time on Instagram late at night.” However, the platform doesn’t specify how much time teens have to spend on the app to see the prompt and also doesn’t say what timeframe it considers “late at night.” Meta spokesperson Liza Crenshaw tells The Verge the notification will appear after “several minutes.” Image: Instagram Instagram will automatically... Continue reading…

Twitter Blue is currently only available to users in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, regardless of what system you use to subscribe. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter has rolled out Twitter Blue to Android users a month after the service was relaunched on the platform’s iOS app. As seen in Twitter’s updated help page for Twitter Blue, Android users can now purchase a monthly subscription for $11 — the same price as iOS users. The service is currently still limited to users within the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.Along with providing users with a blue “verified” checkmark, a subscription to Twitter Blue currently grants users access to the ability to edit tweets, upload longer 1080p videos, and access reader mode. Additional features like seeing fewer ads than nonsubscribers and prioritizing Tweets from verified users are listed as “coming soon.” Image:... Continue reading…

Spoiler alert: this is one of them. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge It’s going to be an interesting year for laptops. We’re coming out of CES 2023, the annual trade show where the tech industry shows off the products we’ll be seeing hit shelves throughout the upcoming year. Big players, from Dell and HP to Razer and MSI, unveiled their weirdest and wackiest new products. There’s a lot to look forward to this year when it comes to display technology, chip capability, AI features, build, and more. But a few products really stood out from the rest.In no particular order, here are the laptops that I’m most excited about testing in 2023.Lenovo Yoga Book 9i Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The Yoga Book 9i’s kickstand is included! Various companies have been trying to do funky... Continue reading…

The US Treasury Department has identified Bitzlato as a “primary money laundering concern” in connection with the Russian government. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge US authorities announced on Wednesday that the Russian co-founder of Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Bitzlato had been arrested in Miami for allegedly processing $700 million in illicit funds. Bitzlato’s crypto assets were seized and its digital infrastructure was dismantled by French authorities working alongside the US (in addition to other international authorities).The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has since identified Bitzlato as a “primary money laundering concern” in connection with the Russian government.In a statement coinciding with the arrest, FinCEN accused Bitzlato of “repeatedly facilitated transactions for Russian-affiliated ransomware groups, including Conti, a... Continue reading…

You can currently get a $35 Dell Gift Card when you buy a Nintendo Switch from Dell | Photo by James Bareham / The Verge Discounts on the Nintendo Switch are pretty rare, but today, picking up the standard, non-OLED model from Dell at full price will get you a free $35 gift card. Nintendo’s handheld needs little introduction at this point; it’s a marvelous console to play at home or on the go, and its two Joy-Con controllers allow for two-player gaming right out of the box. And it’s the only place to experience exclusive and very fun titles like Splatoon 3 and Fire Emblem Engage. There are also ports of big open-world games, like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and it’s one of the best consoles to get if you like role-playing games (RPGs).Something to note is that Dell’s gift card can only be applied to future purchases at its online store, not to this one,... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Whenever I come across a sales campaign that boasts, “if you buy our product, we’re going to give part of our profit to this deserving charity,” I’m often tempted to call a doctor and consult them about all the grains of (to me) forbidden salt I’ve just eaten. I’m very well aware that the amount of money that is going to be moved to that charity is probably very small, that the tax advantages to the company will be worth more than what it may lose in immediate profit, and that I’d be better off just sending some cash to the organizations I support.All that being said, I must admit that I made an exception (practically and emotionally) for the AmazonSmile program. This decade-old program let me, as an Amazon customer, choose among a... Continue reading…

Kim Hyun-joo in Jung_E. | Image: Netflix With 2016’s Train to Busan, director Yeon Sang-ho managed to do something surprising: offer a fresh take on a zombie story, one of the most well-trod genres around. Now, he’s tackling yet another oversaturated space with Jung_E, a sci-fi tale about how humanity will adapt to living alongside AI. The new film introduces some fascinating ideas about class and technology, along with some very fun action sequences. But it manages to stand out mostly thanks to its extremely personal take on our AI future.The movie is also notable for being the final on-screen performance from Kang Soo-yeon, a Korean star who died suddenly last May. Jung_E represents not only her last role but also a return to the screen after nearly a decade away.Jung_E... Continue reading…

Once the Stadia service goes down on January 18th, 2023, this controller is useless. That is, unless you turn on its Bluetooth mode before the end of the year. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Google has turned off its Stadia cloud game streaming service, but it’s giving the wireless Stadia controller a second chance as a Bluetooth controller that can be connected to PCs, Macs, phones, and presumably other devices, too. The change won’t happen automatically; it’s a manual process that can’t be reversed. What’s more, you only have until December 31st, 2023, to do the switch to enable Bluetooth wireless. After that date, any unconverted Stadia controller will still work as a wired USB gamepad, but it’ll be locked out of playing games wirelessly.I’m going to walk you through the process for converting your Stadia controller by using Google’s browser-based tool.Charge your controller, plug it in, and open the tool

I’m making a note here: huge success. Continue reading…

Google Stadia is survived by its gamepad, fans, and its Nvidia and Amazon rivals. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Google made a few mistakes with its Stadia cloud gaming service. Maybe more than a few. Okay, it made a lot of promises it didn’t keep and said a lot of things that look pretty laughable in hindsight and totally pulled the rug out from under its indie developers. We did our best to warn you!And yet, I don’t think Stadia will be remembered poorly now it’s gone — because in the end, Google did right by its customers. Pay attention, rival companies: this is how you shut down a service right.I can’t remember a company ever trying so hard to erase its mistakes: Stadia users got full hardware and software refunds, save game transfers, even a final celebratory test game they could play on the eve of the shutdown. They were warned over three... Continue reading…

The announcement of AmazonSmile’s closure comes as Amazon begins another round of job cuts. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon is shutting down its AmazonSmile charity program next month. The closure coincides with a variety of cost-cutting efforts announced by the e-commerce giant that includes laying off thousands of employees.The AmazonSmile program functioned like an overlay for the standard Amazon site, allowing users to shop as normal, but select a charity to which the e-retailer donated 0.5 percent of the cost of all eligible products. Amazon claims that over $377 million has been donated through the scheme since it launched in 2013, but in its closure notice suggested this was not sufficient to keep the scheme running.AmazonSmile will shut down on February 20th“After almost a decade, the program has not grown to create the impact that we had... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, has issued a citation against Amazon, alleging that the company violated safety laws and failed to keep workers in three warehouses safe. The regulator has also proposed $60,269 in penalties related to the violations — a drop in the bucket for a company that recorded over $127 billion in sales during the third quarter of 2022 alone but a relatively high penalty compared to many of the ones it faced from OSHA before.According to a press release, the citation stems from inspections at three warehouses located in Deltona, Florida, Waukegan, Illinois, and New Windsor, New York. OSHA says that Amazon “exposed workers to ergonomic, struck-by hazards” in the location, putting them at... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge Plus good news if you want to repair a Galaxy S22, but bad news if you’re counting down the days to Apple’s AR glasses. Continue reading…

Illustration by Lille Allen / The Verge Elon Musk tweets, and “regular people” watch their fortunes evaporate.That was the argument put before a jury by lawyers representing a class of Tesla investors in opening arguments in Musk’s securities fraud trial, which kicked off today in a courtroom in San Francisco. The plaintiffs are arguing that Musk’s 2018 tweets about taking Tesla private, in which he said he had “funding secured,” led them to lose millions of dollars.“His lies caused regular people, like Glen Littleton, to lose millions and millions of dollars,” attorney Nicholas Porritt said Wednesday, referring to the lead plaintiff in the class-action case. In order for markets to operate normally and fairly, it’s “critical that he is held — and the company is held —... Continue reading…

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Apple is working on a brand-new slew of smart home devices, at least according to a report by Bloomberg.In addition to the very similar but Matter-equipped relaunch of the original HomePod, Apple appears to be pushing deeper into the home space with a smaller display akin to a Google Nest Hub or Amazon’s Echo Show. According to sources close to the discussions, the device would be similar to an iPad but less expensive, oriented toward home use, and would include a magnet for mounting. The device would appear to be more limited in scope than an iPad and would mainly be used for FaceTime chats, as well as controlling other smart home devices. Here’s hoping it can solve the multi-user problem that makes current iPads unpleasant for home... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon has started notifying employees affected by its new round of layoffs, part of its plan to reduce its headcount by around 18,000 people, according to a report from Bloomberg and memos released by CNBC. The move, which comes after a previous round of layoffs, is part of what’s a very painful day for tech workers; Microsoft also announced on Wednesday that it’s cutting around 10,000 jobs, and its CEO has predicted that the tech industry has two difficult years ahead of it.In November, Amazon started its first round of layoffs. At the time, there were reports that around 10,000 people would be affected, including members of its hardware and services, human resources, and retail teams.In January, Amazon confirmed the layoffs and... Continue reading…

View of a lenticular cloud over the Iztaccihuatl volcano, also known as Mujer Dormida, at dawn in Mexico City. | Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images Mexico says it will prohibit experiments with solar geoengineering, a strategy that purports to reverse global warming by reflecting sunlight but is still fraught with concern over other potential consequences that could come with altering Earth’s atmosphere. The move follows controversial attempts by a geoengineering startup to deploy reflective particles into the stratosphere.The company, called Make Sunsets, conducted the field tests without prior notice or consent from the Mexican government, according to the ban announced late last week by the country’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources. The ban is meant to protect communities and the environment in the absence of any international agreements for how to regulate this... Continue reading…

Adobe’s terms of service circulated earlier this month amidst concerns over a policy that opts users into allowing their content to be analyzed by machine learning. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Adobe’s chief product officer, Scott Belsky, has responded to concerns regarding the company’s policies on artificial intelligence, claiming that Adobe has never used content created by its customers to train generative AI. “We have never, ever used anything in our storage to train a generative AI model,” Belsky said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday. “Not once.”Earlier this month, the Krita Foundation (a group building open-source graphics software) posted a screenshot of Adobe’s terms of service to Twitter, which reads, “Adobe may analyze your content using techniques such as machine learning (e.g., for pattern recognition) to develop and improve our products and services.” Some users interpreted this as Adobe using content... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Microsoft announced 10,000 layoffs today and hinted at some changes to its hardware lineup in an internal memo. The software giant is writing down $1.2 billion in its Q2 earnings next week related to severance costs, building leases, and “changes to our hardware portfolio.”Here’s exactly what Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said:

Image: Sony We have a date — Returnal, one of the first compelling PS5 exclusives, is making the jump to PC on February 15th. Sony announced the date today in an official blog post that also reveals the haunting alien 3D bullet hell’s full PC system requirements — and lists a remarkable number of flagship PC gaming features.The biggest surprise is probably this: the game no longer recommends 32GB of RAM. In December, we reported that Returnal would be one of the very first games to ask for that much memory, but it’s no longer part of the “recommended” spec. Now, Sony suggests you’ll be able to hit 1080p 60fps at “high” levels of detail with just 16GB of RAM, an RTX 2070 Super or RX 6700 XT, and a 3.7GHz Intel i7-8700, Ryzen 7 2700X, or better.All... Continue reading…

The HomePod Mini has been hiding a secret sensor that can detect the temperature and humidity at home. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Apple debuted an updated HomePod speaker today, and one of the new features is its ability to track temperature and humidity with a built-in sensor. As it turns out, those are things that the smaller, cheaper HomePod Mini can do, too — even the ones that may already be in your home.The company quietly added a feature overview to its website, indicating that Apple plans to switch on a latent temperature and humidity sensor that has been in the devices since launch but couldn’t previously be used. Having this sensor means you won’t need to buy a separate gadget to measure temperature or humidity and run Apple Home automations to, say, turn on a fan when it gets above 70 degrees Fahrenheit or adjust a compatible smart thermostat.The... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A French union is urging Ubisoft’s Paris employees to go on strike.Solidaires Informatique, a French union that covers the video game sector, published a call to action tweet on January 17th asking Ubisoft Paris employees to go on strike. The tweet came after Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, sent an email to employees discussing the recent news that Ubisoft was canceling more unannounced titles and delaying Skull and Bones again in response to poor financial performance.The internal email, whose contents were reviewed and reported on by Kotaku, stated, “Today more than ever, I need your full energy and commitment to ensure we get back on the path to success.”Guillemot also wrote, “The ball is in your court to deliver this line-up on... Continue reading…

Image: Umar Shakir / The Verge Shell USA, best known for its gasoline fill-up stations, is acquiring electric vehicle charging network Volta through a full cash purchase of all its common stock. The transaction, worth $169 million, is set to close in the first half of 2023.Volta is the second US EV charging company to come under the Shell brand since Greenlots was acquired by Royal Dutch Shell in 2019. Volta currently operates 3,050 destination chargers across 31 states and Europe. According to the press release, the company is already planning to install another 3,400 stalls over an undisclosed period of time.Volta operates 3,050 EV chargers in the US and Europe and has another 3,400 in the pipelineLast year, Volta was ranked second after Tesla in customer... Continue reading…

Both the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro will be configurable with either Apple’s M2 Pro or M2 Max chip. | Image: Apple Apple recently announced some new additions to its Mac lineup — specifically a new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro as well as a revamped Mac Mini. The new Mac laptops can be configured with either an M2 Pro or M2 Max CPU, which Apple says should provide significant performance gains when stacked against the standard M2 processors employed by the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.Both models are already available for preorder online, with units shipping on January 24th. The latest 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999, with configurations of the 16-inch version capable of reaching up to $3,499. However, this price range is a far cry from the starting price of the M2-equipped MacBook Air ($1,199) as well as that of the most recent... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Spotify and a group of European companies are calling on the European Commission to take “swift and decisive action” against Apple over what they describe as anti-competitive practices that have hampered their businesses.The letter, which is also signed by Basecamp, Deezer, and five others, mostly focuses on the App Store. It says Apple places “artificial obstacles” in their way, charges “excessive” fees, and makes “capricious changes” to the rules along the way.“[The European Union] must act fast as every day that passes is a loss for innovation and for the welfare of European consumers,” the companies write.Nearly two years on, the Commission has yet to finish its investigationSpotify has been pushing back against Apple’s... Continue reading…

OpenAI is the creator of AI chatbot ChatGPT. | Image: OpenAI OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has addressed rumors regarding GPT-4 — the company’s as yet unreleased language model and latest in the GPT-series that forms the foundation of AI chatbot ChatGPT — saying that “people are begging to be disappointed and they will be.”During an interview with StrictlyVC, Altman was asked if GPT-4 will come out in the first quarter or half of the year, as many expect. He responded by offering no certain timeframe. “It’ll come out at some point, when we are confident we can do it safely and responsibly,” he said.GPT-3 came out in 2020, and an improved version, GPT 3.5, was used to create ChatGPT. The launch of GPT-4 is much anticipated, with more excitable members of the AI community and Silicon Valley world already... Continue reading…

The Verge Update January 18th, 9:45AM ET: In a memo issued Wednesday morning, Microsoft confirmed plans to fire over 10,000 employees by the end of March. The original story continues below.Microsoft is preparing to announce job cuts tomorrow. Sky News reports that thousands of roles will be cut, with the software giant said to be looking at cutting around 5 percent of its workforce. With more than 220,000 employees at Microsoft, that could mean more than 10,000 layoffs.While Sky News doesn’t name an exact date for the expected cuts, a source familiar with Microsoft’s plans tells The Verge that the company will likely announce layoffs on Wednesday, ahead of its quarterly earnings next week.Bloomberg is also reporting that a number of layoffs... Continue reading…

Idris Elba as John Luther. | John Wilson/Netflix Every year, Netflix puts together a slate of new movies meant to get subscribers excited about what’s coming and convince those who aren’t yet signed up for the streamer that they need to be. While this year’s looking like it’ll be an interesting one for Netflix, a new teaser for all the platform’s upcoming features also makes it seem like the platform’s cooling off a bit in 2023. Here are some highlights: Image: John Wilson / Netflix Luther: The Fallen SunWhen a new string of murders points to there being a serial killer on the loose, the whole of London is set on edge for fear that no one will be able to stop the murderous rampage. But the spate of gruesome killings are exactly the inspiration disgraced detective... Continue reading…

The refreshed live TV guide has a condensed grid and now shows episode descriptions. | Image: YouTube YouTube TV subscribers will notice some refinements and tweaks to the service’s “library” section starting today. The new interface lets viewers see more programming and recommendations at once and includes simplified filters for drilling down into the type of shows you actually want to find. It’s not a wholesale reinvention of the TV guide — but so far, it looks like a quicker way of finding something to watch.“This UI model is almost like the hybrid, I would say, of a grid and a feed. We’re continually thinking about how to reinvent television so that we don’t have to just rely on one model,” Esther Ahn, the head of design for YouTube TV, told me in a call last week.YouTube says its design philosophy is centered around “TV made for... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge Microsoft is announcing big job cuts today, affecting 10,000 employees. In a memo, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says the company will be “making changes that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce by 10,000 jobs through the end of FY23 Q3.”Some employees will be notified today, but the entire 10,000 layoffs should be completed by the end of March. While Microsoft is making cuts, Nadella says the company “will continue to hire in key strategic areas.” Affected US employees will receive “above-market severance pay,” healthcare coverage for six months, continued vesting of stocks for six months, career transition services, and 60 days notice prior to termination.Microsoft currently has more than 220,000 employeesMicrosoft... Continue reading…

The new HomePod in white and gray. | Image: Apple Apple has announced a new $299 HomePod smart speaker with a similar form factor to the original HomePod released in 2018. New features available with this second-generation model include support for the smart home standard Matter, allowing the speaker to control compatible accessories, and an upgraded S7 chip first seen in the Apple Watch Series 7. It will be sold alongside the HomePod Mini, the smaller version of the speaker introduced in 2020. The new HomePod is available to order starting today, and will begin shipping February 3rd.The second-generation HomePod has a single 4-inch woofer paired with five tweeters, (down from seven in the original model) and a total of five microphones (down from seven). Apple says the speaker can... Continue reading…

The Verge If you’re tired of seeing the same profiles in your dating app, you might be tempted to try a different one. After all, there are a lot of them out there: Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, The League — apps that are all marketed differently and are supposed to provide distinct experiences. But have you ever wondered why using them feels the same?In episode two of Land of the Giants: Dating Games, we’re diving into the backstory of Match Group, the company that helped start online dating in the ‘90s and now owns most of the dating app market. Match became a giant under the leadership of a billionaire entertainment mogul, whose directive was to aggressively eat the competition: it bought OkCupid and Plenty of Fish in the 2010s, incubated Tinder,... Continue reading…