The Verge

The Yale Smart Outdoor Camera looks on even as the Smart Video Doorbell records a delivery. | Image: Yale Yale has launched a new line of its home security products specifically for the European market. In addition to a new video doorbell, the company revealed the next-gen of its smart alarm system, plus new indoor and outdoor smart cameras - all of which integrate with its line of smart locks.Using the Yale Smart Video Doorbell, you can keep tabs on your doorstep with 1080p footage and a 154-degree field of view. The device comes in wired and wireless options, offering two-way audio talk, live viewing, and night vision. You'll receive a notification when the doorbell detects motion and when someone rings the doorbell. The Smart Video Doorbell itself costs 129.99 / 159.99. Image: Yale The Yale Smart Video Doorbell.... Continue reading...

Here I am, washing a...truck? Every company and its mother seems to be putting out handheld gaming PCs these days, and Lenovo is next to the plate. The company has announced the Legion Go, its first Windows-powered gaming handheld, which will be available for purchase in October. It's got an 8.8-inch QHD Plus screen, an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, and a 49.2Wh battery (which is bigger than those of the ROG Ally and the Steam Deck). Oh, and the controllers pop off, which is neat.While Valve's Steam Deck tends to be the first product that comes to mind when this category is discussed, the Legion Go seems more like a cross between the Nintendo Switch and Asus' ROG Ally. For one, with models starting at $699, the Ally is clearly what Lenovo is trying to match on... Continue reading...

For a meager $4,400, all this can be yours. | Image: Lenovo Lenovo has announced a new Legion 9i, and it might just be the wildest thing I've ever seen from the Legion line. It's coming in October, it starts at a whopping $4,399 (you know, a totally normal price to pay for things), and Lenovo is throwing in all kinds of eccentric stuff.The company is clearly most excited about the fact that the 9i is the first 16-inch gaming laptop with a self-contained liquid-cooling system. This is exactly what it sounds like. Most laptops use air cooling to transfer heat along heat pipes to a radiator; a fluid-cooled device instead does that with water and a pump which, as you might imagine, can handle much more thermal mass. Such a system could theoretically allow the 9i to pull truly massive amounts of... Continue reading...

A Skydio 2 drone. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge If there's a drone flying over your backyard party this Labor Day / J'Ouvert / West Indian Day Parade weekend in New York City, it might be the police - because the NYPD have apparently granted themselves the power to surveil the city that way.If a caller states there is a large crowd, a large party in the backyard, we're going to be utilizing our assets to go up, go check on the party," said assistant NYPD commissioner Kaz Daughtry, at a live press conference earlier today.Lest you think we're taking that out of context, here's the full quote I just transcribed:

PlayStation Portal. | Image: Sony Sony is officially launching its handheld remote player, the PlayStation Portal, on November 15th. The portable device will stream PS5 games over Wi-Fi and features an eight-inch LCD screen running at 1080p resolution at 60fps. Sony says the Portal will launch in the US, UK, and other regions for $199.99 and, on August 31st, made it available to preorder in select countries via Sony's official PlayStation Direct storefront.Preorders for other regions - and from other retailers - will follow on September 29th, according to an updated post on the PlayStation blog.PlayStation Portal will connect remotely to your PS5 over Wi-Fi, so you'll be able to swiftly jump from playing on your PS5 to your PlayStation Portal," says Hideaki Nishino,... Continue reading...

Notepad's getting autosave. Notepad! | Image: Microsoft Microsoft's testing some neat new features for the Windows 11 Snipping Tool and the one and only Notepad dot exe. They're only in the Windows Insider Program for now, but they're there.Anyone who's ever tried to shut down their PC or close Notepad in the past, I dunno, 40 years, will be relieved to know that soon Notepad will finally just close without popping up a dialog box for each text file asking if you want to save changes. Notepad is getting autosave. Tabs, dark mode, a little spinny gear thing, and now this? It's startin' to look mighty modern around here.In the Windows Insider Program blog post announcing the new features, Dave Grochocki writes:

Image: James Bareham / The Verge A federal judge has blocked a Texas law that would require age verification and health warnings for pornographic websites, calling it unconstitutional and poorly defined. In a preliminary injunction decision released today, Judge David Ezra ruled in favor of the Free Speech Coalition, an adult industry trade association. The ruling prevents Texas from enforcing HB 1181, one of multiple state-level bills that would require age verification for accessing adult content online.Ezra, a Ronald Reagan-appointed district judge, said HB 1181 had numerous problems that could limit internet users and adult content creators' First Amendment rights. The restriction is constitutionally problematic because it deters adults' access to legal sexually... Continue reading...

Samsung's new app, Samsung Food, is designed to be a personalized AI cooking assistant. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Wi-Fi-connected kitchen appliances have struggled to prove their worth, but Samsung's not entirely new app could help realize the potential of connected cooking. Continue reading...

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge New York's subway pass system has turned off a feature that could enable others to track your travels if they have access to your bank card number. In a statement to The Verge, Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesperson Eugene Resnick says the agency disabled the feature" as part of its ongoing commitment to customer privacy."The MTA's OMNY system is a contactless subway pass option that lets you pay for a fare by tapping your phone or bank card at a station. However, a report published by 404 Media on Wednesday found that anyone with your card number and expiration date can see your rides within the past seven days through OMNY's trip history" feature.This feature was meant to help our customers who want access to their... Continue reading...

Image: Larian Studios It brings me no joy to say this, but I can't play Baldur's Gate 3 for the foreseeable future. Is it because my plate of games is full and will remain so for the next eight years? That's true, but it's not the reason. Or is it because the game has taken over my life such that I ignore my personal and professional responsibilities? Also true - but still not the reason. It's bugs.Bugs in a huge game like Baldur's Gate 3 aren't uncommon, and more often than not, they're tolerable nuisances. My bug encounter rate in Act 1 and 2 was negligible, just minor graphical issues, texture pop-ins, and noticeable delays between when an NPC stops talking and my dialogue choices appear. Ignorable. But in Act 3, I've encountered an apparent bug so... Continue reading...

Image: Colin Young-Wolff Though The Guard won Valorant's Ascension tournament, earning them a promotion into the international league, the team will not compete in the 2024 season, and its roster has been dissolved. Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Nvidia and AMD say they face new restrictions in some Middle Eastern countries, Reuters reports. This widens the restrictions on these chips beyond China and Russia. The new licensing requirement applies to a subset" of Nvidia's top-end chips, the company said.In response, the Biden administration said it has not blocked" chip sales to the Middle East, Reuters reports. The Commerce Department declined to comment on whether it had imposed new requirements on specific U.S. companies," Reuters writes. The Commerce Department, Nvidia, and AMD didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.Nvidia announced the new licensing requirement in a regulatory filing. Its statement reads:

Belkin's convertible charger can either stand upright or be used like a traditional pad. | Image: Belkin Belkin is embracing the new magnet-enhanced Qi2 wireless charging standard with a pair of new products being announced at Berlin's IFA 2023 tech show. There's the BoostCharge Convertible Qi2 Wireless Pad to Stand (yes, that's the name), which can either work like a traditional Qi pad or hold a phone upright while it charges - great for the iPhone's new StandBy feature. There's also the BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad with Qi2, which is equipped with a pair of wireless charging pads (one 15W and one 5W) plus a USB-C port for charging a third device like an Apple Watch via an optional dongle.Announced at CES earlier this year, Qi2 is a new version of Qi wireless charging that effectively integrates the magnets from Apple's... Continue reading...

Image: Bethesda Softworks The latest release from Bethesda is reminiscent of games like Fallout and Skyrim, but with a new level of wonder and adventure - and a whole lot of polish. Continue reading...

Starfield, the new space RPG from Skyrim maker Bethesda Game Studios, is launching today without Nvidia's upscaling technology. AMD is Starfield's exclusive PC partner," with both Bethesda and AMD engineers working together to optimize the game for multithreaded code on Xbox and PC, Ryzen 7000 processors, and Radeon 7000 series graphics cards.It's still unclear what this exclusivity contract means for Bethesda, but AMD made it clear to The Verge last week that there's nothing stopping Bethesda from adding DLSS to Starfield. If they want to do DLSS, they have AMD's full support," said AMD gaming chief Frank Azor. That could mean there's a period of exclusivity where only AMD's FSR 2 technology is supported, or Bethesda could have... Continue reading...

Chinese giant Baidu officially launched its chatbot, Ernie Bot, after the government approved its application, alongside that of several other AI companies.Ernie Bot is now available for download from app stores or Baidu's website. Much like its main rival, ChatGPT, users can ask Ernie Bot questions or prompt it to help write market analysis, give marketing slogan ideas, and summarize documents. The company told The Verge Ernie Bot is available globally, but users need a Chinese number to register and log in. The Baidu app is available on US Android and iOS app stores but is only in Chinese.Baidu also opened a plug-in market for Ernie Bot.Company representatives said the Ernie Bot surpassed 1 million users in the first 19 hours... Continue reading...

Taylor Swift performing onstage. | Photo by Hector Vivas/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management While there are undoubtedly still Taylor Swift fans out there who are salty with Ticketmaster for causing them to miss out on seeing the Eras Tour live, AMC's getting ready to offer them a chance to see their idol in all her glory at movie theaters across the country.Variety reports that AMC is bringing Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour - a filmed recording of Swift's newest show - to every single one of its US theaters for multiple daily showings on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays beginning this October. Along with showings in regular theaters, AMC also plans for The Eras Tour to play in a number of its premium IMAX and Dolby locations. Here in the US, there are also plans in the works for the show to come to more theater chains,... Continue reading...

Nintendo As people eagerly await Starfield reviews and rev up their Xboxes for the game's early access opening, Nintendo decided that it would not be left out of today's video game news. During today's interestingly timed Mario Direct presentation, Nintendo shared roughly 15 minutes of gameplay from Super Mario Bros. Wonder and announced a new Mario-themed Switch OLED.Despite Nintendo's traditional wholesomeness, I cannot shake the feeling that the thesis of Super Mario Bros. Wonder is just, What if this time, Mario and all his friends just got super high?" In the gameplay presentation, the flowers talk now, the new Flower Kingdom seems a bit more wacky than other Mario locations, and with the power of the Wonder Flowers, Mario can get up to... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge Threads, the X (formerly Twitter) competitor created by Meta, is working on a way to search through posts using keywords, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced.You can see how Threads' new search feature might work in the image embedded below. While your search for a specific keyword will pull people up with that username (as it does now), pressing the search" button will expand your search to all the posts containing that keyword. This makes it seem like a simplified version of Instagram's search feature. You'll be able to sift through posts with a specific keyword by hitting the search" button. Keyword search isn't available in the US just yet. Instagram spokesperson Christine Pai tells The Verge that Threads is... Continue reading...

The Horizon Ultra is bright enough to overcome some ambient light. | Image: Xgimi Home projector upstart Xgimi just announced its new Horizon Ultra model, dubbed the world's first 4K long-throw projector with Dolby Vision." While I wouldn't hold out too much hope for the device to produce an image with jaw-dropping HDR, it's certainly a very bright all-in-one Android TV 11 projector for well below $2,000.The Horizon Ultra uses a new Dual Light" laser and LED hybrid light source to produce 2,300 ISO lumens. That's a 77 percent increase in brightness compared to the reasonably bright (1,760 ISO lumens) Xgimi Horizon Pro projector I reviewed a few years ago. Of course, that brightness is measured at the bulb, and the image brightness falls off considerably the farther away you move the unit in order to grow the... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge X, the platform previously known as Twitter, is expanding the amount of data it collects on users. The social network has updated its privacy policy to include carveouts for biometric information" and employment history," as spotted by Bloomberg.Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes," the privacy policy reads. It doesn't include any details on what kind of biometric information this includes - or how X plans to collect it - but it typically involves fingerprints, iris patterns, or facial features.X Corp. was named in a proposed class action lawsuit in July over claims that its data collection violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.... Continue reading...

Photo by Todd Owyoung / NBC via Getty Images Though some Ana de Armas fans have insisted that Universal tricked them into seeing Danny Boyle's 2019 musical Yesterday with trailers featuring the Blonde actor, a US district judge has found that not to be the case.It's unclear how serious Peter Michael Rosza and Conor Woulfe - two Ana de Armas fans from California and Maryland, respectively - were last year when they filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Universal, claiming that the studio misled the public with trailers that made it seem like de Armas played a substantial role in Yesterday. But on Monday, US District Judge Stephen Wilson dismissed the case due to its lack of standing and said that whatever injury the plaintiffs might have suffered from watching Yesterday was... Continue reading...

Even the lavender version of Samsung's Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are on sale right now. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Apple may release a new set of AirPods with support for USB-C in a matter of weeks, but if you're embedded in the Samsung ecosystem, there are more suitable pairs of earbuds on the market already. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are a great case in point and are on sale starting at $177.99 ($52 off) at Amazon, B&H Photo, and Best Buy.The Buds 2 Pro deliver some of the best sound you can get in a pair of wireless earbuds, along with effective noise cancellation and a worry-free IPX7 water resistance rating that makes them more durable than the second-gen AirPods Pro. The wireless earbuds work well with a variety of Android phones, too, though features like automatic device switching and higher bit rate audio are exclusive to Samsung... Continue reading...

People swarm around the S5 at its reveal in March 2022. VanMoof's future is less clear. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge Lavoie is buying bankrupt e-bike maker VanMoof. The e-mobility subsidiary of McLaren Applied announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the VanMoof e-bike business. The announcement gives new hope to the trailblazing brand and the roughly 200,000 people who bought its high-tech e-bikes made from proprietary components.Under the terms of the agreement, the acquisition will see Lavoie and McLaren Applied inject stability into the VanMoof operations," reads a press release, then combining and integrating their premium capabilities to create a next-generation e-mobility business and establish a world-leading premium e-mobility offering."Lavoie announced its first electric scooter in late 2022, with... Continue reading...

Image: Jabra With Apple and Samsung both offering earbuds that deliver excellent sound quality and compelling ecosystem tricks, it's getting increasingly harder for regular old earbud makers to stand out. Even mainstays in the category like Jabra can sometimes get lost in the mix - despite having an expansive product lineup. So today Jabra is announcing two new premium earbuds at the same time, with each targeted at very different use cases. The flagship Elite 10 ($249) is intended to be the company's best-sounding and most comfortable pair of earbuds yet, while the fitness-geared Elite 8 Active buds ($199) have reached a new level of durability (with the ratings and certifications to prove it). Both also mark Jabra's embracing of spatial audio.D... Continue reading...

A view showing the parts of the world covered by SATLAS using images from Sentinel-2 satellites. | Image: Allen Institute for AI A first-of-its-kind map of renewable energy projects and tree coverage around the world launched today, and it uses generative AI to essentially sharpen images taken from space. It's all part of a new tool called Satlas from the Allen Institute for AI, founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.The tool, shared first with The Verge, uses satellite imagery from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellites. But those images still give a pretty blurry view of the ground. The fix? A feature called Super-Resolution." Basically, it uses deep learning models to fill in details, like what buildings might look like, to generate high-resolution images.For now, Satlas focuses on renewable energy projects and tree cover around the world.... Continue reading...

The TV neatly folded down into its suitcase. | Photo by Jon Porter / The Verge LG's StanbyME Go, its bizarre $999.99 27-inch suitcase TV announced for the US earlier this month, is on show in Berlin at a corner of its booth at IFA 2023.We had a poke around the demo model being displayed on the show floor, and couldn't find any of the games that are apparently optimized for its touchscreen. But we were able to get acquainted with its robust articulating design. The TV can be swiveled from portrait into landscape, and set at any angle from straight upwards to straight forwards.The stand mechanism feels nice and sturdy, and you definitely need two hands to move it around. On the back there's a single HDMI port and USB input, as well as a power socket for its built-in battery (LG advertises around three hours of... Continue reading...

The Eve Play is AirPlay 2-ready. | Image: Eve Eve announced it's releasing a $149.95 AirPlay 2 receiver called the Eve Play - its first audio device - on November 14th. Though a little pricey, the receiver looks aimed at audiophiles: it's got optical, coaxial, and RCA audio outputs, 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, a built-in DAC, and an ethernet port.Eve says you can adjust latency between speakers automatically or manually using the Eve app's Audio Sync feature if you're finding multiroom audio isn't perfectly synchronized. Users will need an iPhone or iPad to use it, as well as a home network to connect it to either via Wi-Fi or ethernet. Image: Eve The Eve Play has a great set of outputs for a variety of setups, but no inputs. Wireless receivers like this with... Continue reading...

The JBL Authentics 200, the smallest of the three speakers. After JBL announced its new lineup of Authentics speakers at IFA 2023, we put the two built-in voice assistants that promise simultaneous usage to the test. Continue reading...

Anker MagGo Power Bank (10,000mAh, 15W) | Image: Anker Anker's newest batch of mobile power accessories includes new Qi2-equipped MagGo magnetic chargers, stations, and power banks, as well as new Nano USB-C chargers ready for any future iPhone 15 owners who might be tearing out old Lightning-equipped setups to go with their new phones and AirPods. Rumors suggest Qi2 support will be enabled with the launch of the iPhone 15 lineup, possibly enabling 15W charge speeds without Apple's MagSafe certification.However, Apple hasn't confirmed its plans on that front just yet, and we'll find out soon if other manufacturers will update their devices for Qi2 or support the spec on new phones launching later this year, like the Pixel 8 series.Supporting the next version of the Qi wireless charging... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Microsoft will start unbundling Teams from its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 productivity suites in EU markets in October. The move is designed to avoid further antitrust scrutiny, after the European Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation into Microsoft's bundling of its Teams software with the Office productivity suite last month.Today we are announcing proactive changes that we hope will start to address these concerns in a meaningful way, even while the European Commission's investigation continues and we cooperate with it," says Nanna-Louise Linde, VP of Microsoft european government affairs. These changes will impact our Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites for business customers in the European Economic Area and... Continue reading...

Philips Hue's new wired indoor/outdoor security camera comes in black or white and can work as a motion sensor for Hue's smart lighting and its new Hue Secure security system. Philips Hue is moving into the smart home security space with the launch of Philips Hue Secure, a DIY security system that leverages new cameras and new sensors that work alongside Philips Hue's smart lighting system to scare off potential burglars. When the system is triggered by a sensor, you can activate any compatible Hue lights to flash red or white and/or sound an alarm through the camera.Philips Hue Secure is launching this fall with a wired indoor/outdoor camera ($199.99), a battery-powered indoor/outdoor camera ($249.99), a full-color floodlight camera ($349.99), and new contact sensors ($39.99) to secure windows and doors.The Verge got an in-person preview of the new devices at IFA 2023 in Berlin this week. I was impressed... Continue reading...

The outer ring can create a gradient - or serve as a notification light. | Image: Aqara Aqara is adding a bunch of new products to its smart home lineup today, one of which includes a Matter-enabled ceiling light with a pretty unique perk. With a diameter of 50cm (~19.7 inches), Aqara's Ceiling Light T1M features a range of 16 million different colors, along with an independently addressable RGB ring on the outside.While you can use the ring to create a gradient lighting effect, Aqara notes that it can also serve as a status indicator when linked to other smart home products. That means you can program the outer light to show a specific color when one of your other smart devices detects an issue, such as a leak or an open door.Like some of the other Zigbee-supported products offered by Aqara, the company says the ceiling... Continue reading...

Photo by John MacDougall / AFP via Getty Images From the smart home to foldables, here's everything being announced in Berlin. Continue reading...

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge In October 2021, Google launched a new Pixel Pass subscription program alongside the Pixel 6 series of phones that promised three things for one monthly payment ($45 for a Pixel 6 or $55 for a 6 Pro): Google's best mobile services, device protection, and regular device upgrades."However, on Tuesday, Google emailed Pixel Pass customers to say: We are writing to you to inform you that starting today, we are no longer offering new Pixel Pass subscriptions or renewals."They're not losing out on special paid-for privileges (the fee covered the cost of the phone and a discounted rate for the bundled services over its two-year timeframe). Still, disappointed customers in the Google Pixel subreddit mention things like losing a... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is working on a feature that will allow Xbox owners to automatically upload their screenshots and clips to OneDrive. Xbox Insiders in the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead rings can now test this new feature, which also allows you to upload your existing clip and screenshot collection to OneDrive.A new wizard will help Xbox owners walk through the process of syncing clips to OneDrive, including the option to upload existing ones. You don't have to upload your entire existing collection, and you can choose the ones you want individually. Microsoft does warn that if you have a lot of clips, then the upload process could take a couple of days as it runs in the background.Switching on automatic uploads for future clips and screenshots... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Apple employees will soon stop providing assistance to customers via X - formerly Twitter - as well as YouTube and the Apple Support Community online forum, MacRumors reports, citing anonymous sources.Apple reportedly plans on getting rid of its social media support advisor roles, including the paid community specialist role for the Apple Support Community, later this year. Over 150 employees will be affected, though MacRumors reports that Apple will offer these workers an opportunity to switch to a phone-based support role.The changes are supposed to begin going into effect on October 1st. Starting then, users on X will receive automated messages directing them elsewhere for help. Apple will also stop offering assistance to... Continue reading...

Starz often picks up canceled shows like HBO Max's Minx. | Image: HBO Max Starz has lowered its annual subscription price from $74.99 a year to $69.99, Cord Cutters first reported and TechCrunch later confirmed. Starz emailed its subscribers the news on August 29th, explaining existing members will see the change in price on their next bill.It's not clear why Starz, which is home to TV shows like Outlander, The Serpent Queen, and Minx, made the move, but it's a welcome one. Alison Hoffman, president of domestic networks at Starz, only told TechCrunch via email that as one of the few streaming networks that is profitable, we are always looking for ways to drive success for the business while providing great value to our customers."Our annual plan subscribers are some of our most valuable customers, so we... Continue reading...