The Verge

One of the Show 10's best features is its swiveling stand, which allows it to follow you as you move around the room. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Amazon may have announced a new soundbar, a third-gen Echo Show 8, and a slew of other devices during its recent fall hardware event, but one thing it didn't introduce is a successor to the Echo Show 10. That means the third-gen model introduced in 2021 remains the latest version, one that's on sale at Amazon for $184.99 ($65 off) when you redeem the on-page discount or use promo code ECHOSHOW10. (Note: at least one of our staffers could not see the optional, so just be aware that it may not be available in all instances.)Amazon's Alexa-equipped Echo Show 10 continues to be the best smart display you can get for video calls - especially given Google's Nest Hub Max is dropping support for Google Meet and Zoom. Overall, the Show is a... Continue reading...

The Razer Fujin. | Image: Razer I sit in a Herman Miller Aeron every single day - so my eyes absolutely popped when I saw the Razer Fujin for the first time.I know, lots of chairs have tried to duplicate the Aeron's legendary stretchy mesh ergonomics and iconic shape since its 1994 debut. What's so special about this one?Well, the company's $1,049 Fujin Pro model adds the two most desirable upgrades for the Aeron, IMHO: the twist-to-adjust lumbar support, and the adjustable matching headrest that launched an entire aftermarket company to do what Herman Miller wouldn't. I gush about the Atlas headrest on my chair to anyone who'll listen. Image: Razer The Razer Fujin Pro. Image: Razer The Fujin Pro's headrest goes... Continue reading...

You can put Lego Mario coins inside! | Image: Lego For the past few years, Lego has been releasing a collection of intricate, affordable sets for adults who want a touch of green in their lives without pruning or watering, like the Lego Bonsai Tree, Orchid, and Succulents. Now, there's a Mario set fit to join them.Lego's just introduced the Lego Super Mario Piranha Plant, a $60 540-piece set that looks absolutely fantastic without breaking the bank. It kinda-sorta is a bank, too: you can hide at least a couple coins inside! Two Mario coins come with the set. Image: Lego You can open up its chompers, pose its stem and leaves, and Lego says you can literally build it from the ground up - so the Piranha Plant emerges as if it's growing out of the pipe," reads the... Continue reading...

Hyundai's home charger install deal only works with residential properties. | Image: Hyundai If you were holding off on buying an EV because you didn't know where to start on getting a home charger installed, Hyundai's new deal might help you out. The automaker is now offering a free home electric vehicle charger plus up to $600 off the installation cost with the purchase or lease of select Hyundai EVs.Hyundai is offering up the ChargePoint Home Flex Level 2 charger on the Hyundai Home Marketplace. The charger is currently listed at $549 on the website and supports up to 50 amps, which could get you around 37 miles of driving range per hour of charging. The additional $600 installation credit applies only to services ordered through Hyundai's website.To qualify for the deal, you'll need to follow this process:

Image: Larian Studios The next Baldur's Gate 3 patch (launching tomorrow) is adding the No. 1 thing players have been asking for: a barbershop. Starting tomorrow, the Magic Mirror will be added with Patch 3, which will give players the ability to change the appearance of their characters.Finally.

Image: Microsoft Microsoft has revealed the Surface Hub 3, the latest version of the company's all-in-one collaborative touchscreen device. Unlike its predecessors, the Surface Hub 3 supports smart rotation and portrait mode, allowing users to physically rotate the screen to a vertical orientation while the layout updates automatically.The Surface Hub 3 comes in two sizes: 50 and 85 inches. As is the case with previous devices, the Surface Hub 3 is meant to live in conference rooms as a replacement for TVs and monitors. The device runs Microsoft Teams on Windows, which means the device will offer a consistent experience across all meeting spaces," allowing users to effortlessly transition from one room to another." Microsoft says the Surface Hub will... Continue reading...

Microsoft's Surface Laptop Studio 2. We've just had a chance to play with Microsoft's new Surface Studio Laptop 2 after it was announced at a special event" in New York City. Visually, it doesn't look a lot different than what came before it, but the trackpad is greatly improved, the specs inside upgraded, and there's a new AI-focused neural processing unit that's designed to light up some AI-powered experiences in Windows 11.The Surface Laptop Studio 2 retains the same unique fold-over design as its predecessor but makes the laptop all around more capable. It runs on one of Intel's 13th Gen i7 H-class processors and can be specced with an Nvidia GPU, including the RTX 4050 and 4060, between 16 and 64GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of storage. It still has a 14.4-inch... Continue reading...

Okay, but you just know there is an Apple fanboy somewhere who would love this. | Image: Google Google is revisiting the Get The Message" publicity campaign started last year to pressure Apple into adopting the Rich Communication Services, or RCS, messaging protocol. The latest installment includes new content and a cheesy video advertising a fake iPager" gadget - a jab at Apple for converting iMessages texted to Android devices into old-fashioned SMS and MMS.iPager isn't real, but the problems that Apple causes by using SMS are," said Google in the video description on YouTube. Let's make texting better for everyone and help Apple #GetTheMessage and upgrade to RCS."RCS offers several improvements to messaging, including end-to-end encryption, read receipts, and the ability to share high-resolution photos and videos.... Continue reading...

Copilot will be available when you need it and out of the way when you don't." | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Today, Microsoft announced a new unified Copilot experience in Windows 11, launching on September 26th. The new everyday AI companion," now called Microsoft Copilot in Windows, will be seamlessly available across all the apps and experiences you use most," including the Windows 11 desktop, Microsoft 365, Outlook, the Edge browser, and (uh) Bing.During the event, Yusuf Mehdi, consumer chief marketing officer, called Copilot a handshake between you and technology - available when you need it and out of the way when you don't."In a post announcing Copilot on Microsoft's website, Mehdi wrote:

Siri can now play your Spotify playlists on your HomePod. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge A new feature in iOS 17 finally sets Spotify free - allowing you to use the voice assistant to start your Spotify session directly on your HomePod, hands-free.The capability (spotted by 9to5Mac) allows you to start an AirPlay session from your phone using a Siri command. So now you can say, Hey Siri, play The National on Spotify" to your HomePod, and Siri will route the command through your phone and start streaming Spotify on the smart speaker.It's a workaround, but it works. When The Verge's Dan Seifert tried it, Siri on the HomePod responded, To use Spotify, I'll need to AirPlay from your iPhone," but it just proceeded to do so, no action needed. This prompt sometimes popped up; other times, Siri just responded with on it."Your... Continue reading...

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Microsoft has just wrapped up its September event, where it made several major announcements. Not only did we see some new Surface devices, but Microsoft also shared some updates about the new AI features coming to its products.You can check out all the news from Microsoft's event below.A more powerful Surface Laptop Studio 2 Image: Microsoft Microsoft has finally revealed its new Surface Laptop Studio 2. The company calls it the most powerful" Surface it has built to date, as it comes with Intel's 13th Gen i7 H class processor, Nvidia's RTX 4050 or 4060 GPU, and 64GB of RAM. It also features a more adaptive touchpad that Microsoft calls the most inclusive" yet.The Surface Laptop Studio 2 starts at $1,999. You... Continue reading...

New Surface Laptop Go 3. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Microsoft has revealed a new third-generation model of its Surface Laptop Go line during its Surface event today. The company's new notebook will launch on October 3rd, have up to 15 hours of battery," and command a starting price of $799.The new Surface Laptop Go 3 is not to be confused with the non-laptop Surface Go, a smaller and less performant version of the popular main Surface tablet line. The 12.4-inch Surface Laptop Go 3 is the company's latest cheap and light notebook offering for those who aren't looking for a powerhouse but like the Surface style.Just as the WinFuture leak suggested, Microsoft's latest Laptop Go release looks similar to the previous Surface Laptop Go 2 but has some new internal upgrades. The previous... Continue reading...

Image: Microsoft Microsoft announced it will soon add access to OpenAI's DALL-E 3 image generator for users to create images right in a chat.DALL-E 3, which will be released for ChatGPT's enterprise users in October, will allow people to type a couple of sentences to create a photo. Microsoft did not specify when DALL-E 3 on Bing will come out.The company also added new shopping features to Bing. Bing can ask users specific questions on how a product will be used or other more personalized questions so people can pinpoint the right product that suits their needs. Bing also lets people find and use discount codes. These more personalized answers work as Bing also now remembers previous chats.Bing was one of the first Microsoft products to take... Continue reading...

Photo by Axelle / Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic Conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chair of Fox and News Corp on Thursday, according to The Wall Street Journal. Murdoch will exit his roles at both companies in mid-November and will be appointed as chairman emeritus of both companies.For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change. But the time is right for me to take on different roles," Murdoch reportedly wrote in a staff memo Thursday. Our companies are in robust health, as am I."In true Succession style, Murdoch's eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, appears to be his heir apparent. Lachlan will be taking over as the sole chair of News Corp, the company that owns a vast number of newspapers, magazines,... Continue reading...

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is ready to talk more about its AI plans at a special event" in New York City today. We're expecting to hear about three new Surface devices, with the Surface Laptop Studio 2 the main flagship device that could be part of a bigger AI push for Windows.The event comes just days after former Surface and Windows chief Panos Panay announced his resignation from Microsoft. Panay won't be presenting at the event anymore, and we're expecting to see Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's head of consumer marketing, instead. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will also appear on stage.Microsoft won't be live streaming this event so you can follow along with the latest here. The event starts at 10AM ET / 7AM PT and should run for around an hour. Our own... Continue reading...

Amazon hardware exec Dave Limp during the company's 2023 devices showcase | Image: David Pierce Amazon's assistant now has its own Alexa LLM poised to improve the brains in your smart home thanks to its extensive knowledge of smart home APIs. Continue reading...

Sleep. | Image: TIFF This year is shaping up to be a good one for horror, particularly on the festival circuit. Things kicked off nice and early at Sundance with the impressive quartet of Birth/Rebirth, Talk To Me, In My Mother's Skin, and Infinity Pool. This month at TIFF, meanwhile, I watched another four movies that each add something interesting to the genre. What's most impressive about these films is how, when combined, they really show off the breadth of what's possible under the horror banner. You'll wince and cover your eyes, but you'll also laugh.SleepSleep is the first feature from director Jason Yu, and it really taps into a common fear: namely, that something absolutely awful is going to happen when you're sleepwalking. It follows a young... Continue reading...

The annual Code Conference is set to kick off next week, but one of our headline speakers won't be there: GM CEO Mary Barra and her new EVP of software, Mike Abbott, have dropped out of the show, citing the ongoing UAW strike and contract negotiations.Mary and Mike unfortunately needed to change their plans to be at Code," writes GM spokesperson Brandee Barker. They are staying focused on the ongoing labor negotiations and supporting internal operations through the strike. They have long been supporters of Code and want to return to a future conference."That's great and all, but we were very much planning to ask Barra about that strike and how negotiations are proceeding - she told CBS that things still have a ways to go" last week.... Continue reading...

You can purchase Pixel Fold parts separately or bundled with iFixit's repair tools. | Image: iFixit The prospect of having to repair your own Pixel Fold just became a lot less daunting thanks to Google's continuing partnership with device repair specialists iFixit. As spotted by 9to5Google, iFixit's website now provides multiple repair guides that instruct Pixel Fold owners on how to replace their broken phone components, in addition to stocking the genuine Pixel Fold parts needed to complete the job.Among the parts available is a kit to replace the Pixel Fold's flexible inner screen. It costs $899.99 (or $909.99 when bundled with iFixit's Fix Kit toolset) and includes the inner OLED display, a flexible glass panel, batteries, display bezels, side buttons, and fingerprint scanner. You can also buy some of these components separately,... Continue reading...

Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images Well-connected CNBC anchor David Faber cites people close to negotiations between the major Hollywood studio producers and striking writers, saying the sides hope" to finalize a new deal tomorrow. The WGA strike began in early May before the actors (SAG-AFTRA) also went on strike in mid-July, marking the first time that has happened in 63 years.They cited some similar issues in trying to protect members' livelihoods as streaming entertainment grows and as studios begin to use generative AI tools in the entertainment business.

Image: Fujifilm Polaroid recently tried pushing the envelope with the new Polaroid I-2 instant camera, and now Fujifilm's taking a stab at it, too. On Wednesday, the company announced it's releasing a new kind of instant film product geared for kids, the Instax Pal digital camera bundle, for $199.95 in late October.The Instax Pal is essentially a palm-sized, round digital camera that doesn't print any photos and lacks a built-in viewfinder. Instead, it outputs images using the companion app, and you can then print these photos via the included Instax Mini Link 2 smartphone printer. The price also includes a 10-pack of Instax Mini film, which is a nice extra that Fujifilm's instant cameras don't often come with.I'm not going to lie: my first thought... Continue reading...

Image: TSM Shopify is entering the League of Legends arena. On Wednesday, Shopify announced that its Rebellion esports brand will be acquiring TSM's spot in the League Championship Series (LCS), the pro circuit for US League of Legends esports.The move marks a major change of the guard in the LCS. TSM, one of the biggest esports organizations in the world, got its start as a scrappy League of Legends team; the TSM acronym stands for Team SoloMid, which references a solo League of Legends player occupying the middle lane of the game's multi-pronged map. In the mid 2010s, TSM was one of the most successful teams in the LCS, and the organization has entered other esports, signed Twitch streamers, and even bought an esports app.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon has officially halted its plans to extract a two percent fee from Prime sellers who don't use its in-house fulfillment. The company reportedly planned to start collecting the fee on October 1st, on top of the 8-to-15-percent commission it already gathers from merchants. After Bloomberg broke the story today based on information it had seen from inside Amazon, we reached out to the company to verify the decision.Amazon PR manager Jonathan Hillson told The Verge in an email that the 2% Seller Fulfilled Prime fee was intended to cover our costs," but added that the company decided not to move forward because it was afraid seller sentiment related to the fee" could affect participation in the program.Hillson went on to say Amazon... Continue reading...

Illustration by Lille Allen / The Verge Elon Musk said earlier this month that no monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant," but an alarming new report from Wired seems to contradict Musk's statement. Public documents obtained by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and seen by Wired indicate that Neuralink's macaque subjects were euthanized after suffering various complications, including bloody diarrhea, partial paralysis, and cerebral edema."Wired writes that the documents show a male monkey was euthanized in March 2020 after his cranial implant became loose," with the necropsy revealing the failure of this implant can be considered purely mechanical and not exacerbated by infection."On Tuesday, Neuralink announced it's starting in-human... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon executives were okay" with people being secretly signed up for its Amazon Prime membership program, the FTC said in an amended lawsuit on Wednesday (as reported by The Wall Street Journal).The original lawsuit, filed in June, claimed that Amazon had tricked millions into unwittingly subscribing to Prime through buttons that were presented prominently during checkout. The FTC added new details to back up its claims on Wednesday, including internal messages and the names of three senior Amazon leaders who allegedly played a key role" in the scheme.The executives include two of Amazon's most senior leaders at the time, Neil Lindsay - the senior vice president who oversaw Prime - and Russell Grandinetti, Amazon's senior vice... Continue reading...

The third-gen Echo Show 8 has a new look and some excellent changes under the hood. | Photo by Alex Cranz / The Verge And Echo Show 8 makes three! Amazon now has three smart home hubs, with the Echo Show 8 (third-gen) joining the newly announced Echo Hub and existing fourth-gen Echo smart speaker in sporting both Thread and Zigbee connectivity. These wireless radios, along with Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi, and Sidewalk, mean the new Show 8 can be used to set up and control almost any smart home device (sorry, Z-Wave).This also rounds out Amazon's Echo options that fully support the new smart home standard Matter (over both Thread and Wi-Fi) quite nicely, although one at a lower price point than $100 would be good.The third-gen Echo Show 8 ($149.99) also has Amazon's latest AZ2 processor, which makes it 40 percent faster, Amazon's Dave Limp said at the fall... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Climate change misinformation - including that which is funded by the fossil fuel industry - continues to thrive on social media. While Google, YouTube, Meta, and TikTok are all still lagging in their moderation of climate denial content, X (formerly Twitter) appears to have no clear policies on what to do with such content and is not transparent with what (if any) actions it is taking, according to an analysis published today by a coalition of environmental groups and researchers known as Climate Action Against Disinformation.Out of a possible 21 points, researchers scored platforms on how effectively they moderate factually incorrect information about the climate - using a combination of the company's community guidelines, terms of... Continue reading...

The Panasonic SoundSlayer (GNW10). | Image: Panasonic Companies keep trying to make neck speakers a thing. People must be buying them, though, because Panasonic is releasing a new one: the GNW10 SoundSlayer, a wireless neck speaker with AI voice isolation (which it confusingly calls AI voice control") for phone calls and in-game voice chat. The SoundSlayer is $299 and will be available in late October of this year.This is essentially an updated version of the wired SoundSlayer neck speaker that Panasonic released two years ago. The biggest change is that the new SoundSlayer employs a small transmitter that plugs into your console or PC and sends audio with a proprietary 2.4GHz wireless protocol that Panasonic says is good for under 20ms of latency. That's less than you'd typically see... Continue reading...

Among many iterative updates, some of Amazon's new devices include the Echo Hub and Fire TV Soundbar. | Image: Amazon During Amazon's fall hardware event, the company announced a batch of new smart home devices across its Echo, Fire, Eero, and Blink lines. While some of these Amazon product announcements have led to a deluge of Alexa-infused smart home tech, this year's event was slightly more subdued, with a lot of time dedicated to Amazon's new large language model developments. But Amazon still found the time to unveil a bunch of new devices, including a third-gen Echo Show 8, a smart home controller, a pair of kid-friendly tablets, Fire TV Sticks, a Fire TV Soundbar, and more.Some of these devices are coming as soon as October (with one exception that's already in stock today). And while we'll have to review them to see just how well they perform,... Continue reading...

Yes, you can play your docked Nintendo Switch on your iPad like it's a portable monitor. | Image: Lux The developer behind the popular iPhone pro camera app Halide has a new app that lets you use your iPad as an HDMI display you can use to play console games on, monitor your camera on a production set, and more. The app is called the Orion Video System, which is available today on the App Store and features a simple modern design" interface - but with it comes fun retro-themed fonts and menus that remind you of the times you've attempted to set the clock on your VCR.Orion works because Apple's just opened the floodgates for USB video class (UVC) support on the iPad with iPadOS 17. You can now connect compatible webcams and video capture cards to USB-C iPad models (sorry, iPads with Lightning ports), including the cheap sub-$20 ones you... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft-owned GitHub is rolling out its AI-powered coding chatbot to more people. The company launched its Copilot Chat tool in public beta for business users in July, and on Wednesday, GitHub announced that it's available in public beta for GitHub Copilot individual users in Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code.Copilot Chat lets users talk to an AI assistant to get help as they're writing code. Now, teams of developers and individuals alike can use GitHub Copilot Chat to learn new languages or frameworks, troubleshoot bugs, or get answers to coding questions in simple, natural language outputs - all without leaving the IDE," GitHub wrote in a blog post. If you aren't already a subscriber and want to check the feature... Continue reading...

This is not good. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Folks, what you've heard so far is true. Apple's new FineWoven iPhone cases and accessories are bad. Like, really bad. I've been puzzling over them for the past week, looking at them from different angles. Picking them up, setting them down, petting them. Seven days later, I still can't make sense of them and have no other choice but to say it out loud: FineWoven is very bad.FineWoven is a new fabric option you'll find on iPhone 15 cases, AirTag holders, and MagSafe wallets. Apple calls it a luxurious and durable microtwill." It's silky, almost slippery to the touch, and costs $59 for any of the phone cases, $35 for an AirTag holder, and $99 for one of the new watch bands - not the most expensive phone cases you can buy, but pretty... Continue reading...

Image: OpenAI OpenAI announced the third version of its generative AI visual art platform DALL-E, which now lets users use ChatGPT to create prompts and includes more safety options.DALL-E converts text prompts to images. But even DALL-E 2 got things wrong, often ignoring specific wording. The latest version, OpenAI researchers said, understands context much better.A new feature of DALL-E 3 is integration with ChatGPT. By using ChatGPT, someone doesn't have to come up with their own detailed prompt to guide DALL-E 3; they can just ask ChatGPT to come up with a prompt, and the chatbot will write out a paragraph (DALL-E works better with longer sentences) for DALL-E 3 to follow. Other users can still use their own prompts if they have specific ideas... Continue reading...

Yup, that's a soundbar. | Photo by Alex Cranz / The Verge Soundbars are tricky. They need to be big enough that they sound better than the dinky speakers on your TV, but they need to be cheap enough that you don't balk at upgrading your sound after just spending a lot of money on a TV. I didn't get to spend enough time with Amazon's $119.99 Fire TV Soundbar, but I can confirm it sounds bigger than it looks.What I didn't hear was a lot of detail. Voices rumble with appropriate amounts of bass - but in the very audio-unfriendly environment we listened to the soundbar in, dialogue was a little harder to track.Only people spending $120 on a soundbar don't necessarily want pristine detail. They want it to be loud and to have all the bass that TV speakers typically lack. With the garbled state of... Continue reading...

They look mostly like glasses, right? That's the idea. | Photo by David Pierce / The Verge As soon as I put on Amazon's new Echo Frames, I did the only thing you should do in that situation: I hit the button on the glasses' left stem to turn the volume all the way up, and I said, Alexa, play Taylor Swift." A couple of seconds later, Lavender Haze" was blaring out of the Frames' internal speakers, but only I could hear it.Okay: blaring might be a little much. The $269.99 Echo Frames, Amazon's latest smart glasses with the Alexa voice assistant built in, won't exactly blow your eardrums off with their booming sound. I'd describe it more like coffee-shop music - that ambient playlist meant to be heard but not the only thing you hear - but for your ears only. Amazon's trying to create the same kind of open-ear personal audio... Continue reading...

Photo by Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Waymo announced a tour across Los Angeles" that allows curious residents the opportunity to ride in fully autonomous vehicles as the Alphabet-owned company begins to lay the groundwork for the launch of a commercial robotaxi service.Waymo says it will make six multi-week tour stops" in LA neighborhoods where people can hail a self-driving car without anyone in the front seat. Interested Angelenos can snag early access tickets at several pop-up events throughout the city or sign up for a waitlist. Once they receive a ticket, riders can use Waymo's fully driverless vehicles for free within the service area for one week during the allotted time.The tour is as follows: Santa Monica and Venice Beach October 11th-November 18th; Century... Continue reading...

Amazon hardware exec Dave Limp on stage during the company's 2023 devices and services event. | Image: Amazon Amazon's big fall product event was all about AI, with upgrades for Alexa as well as new Fire TV, Echo, Ring, and Eero devices within its smart home platform. Continue reading...

The Eero Max 7 three-pack. | Image: Amazon Eero has announced a powerful new top-of-the-line router called the Eero Max 7. It's Eero's first router to support the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, and it includes more networking options than the typical Eero unit.The Max 7 has three wireless bands - 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz - and Eero says the router is capable of up to 4.3 Gbps" wireless throughput and up to 9.4 Gbps" when wired. The company says it can cover 2,500 square feet per router or up to 7,500 square feet with a three-pack. Eero didn't specify how much channel bandwidth the router can support, but the Wi-Fi 7 spec offers 320MHz channels.The biggest perk of the Max 7, besides that it supports Wi-Fi 7, is that there are more than two ethernet ports - a first for the company. The... Continue reading...

Colin Woodell as Winston Scott. | Image: Katalin Vermes / Starz Entertainment Despite its strong action choreography and solid conceit, Peacock's new John Wick prequel series shoots itself right in the foot with one inexplicable casting choice. Continue reading...