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Updated 2026-05-22 20:33
The Apple Watch Series 10 may get an Ultra-sized screen
by
Wes Davis
on (#6P1S6)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Here's some potentially good news for Apple Watch owners who have Apple Watch Ultra screen envy: the Apple Watch Series 10 - may get the same size screen as the company's 49mm outdoorsy watch. That's in addition to other possible improvements, like a thinner case and a new chip that could lay the groundwork for some AI enhancements down the road," according to Mark Gurman's latest Power On newsletter for Bloomberg.The screen rumor seems to back up a CAD render from last month that showed a Series 10 watch with a two-inch display. Gurman says - and that render appears to show - that the watch won't otherwise feature any major design changes. If that means no magnetic watch strap attachments or whatever, I'm putting that part of the... Continue reading...
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What to expect at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event Wednesday
by
Wes Davis
on (#6P1P6)
Samsung's next Galaxy Unpacked event is coming up fast at 9AM ET on July 10th in Paris, France. The company isn't being coy about at least a couple of things it's talking about - the graphic in its announcement video clearly hints at foldables, and the video's description reads in part, Galaxy AI is here." You can watch the stream either on YouTube or its website.There'll be more to the event than just folding phones and pre-announcement device reservation discounts. Samsung does its regular Galaxy phone announcements at its other Galaxy Unpacked event early in the year, so that's out of the way, but we might also hear about other stuff, including a new Samsung Watch product and, of course, the Galaxy Ring.Galaxy Ring ... Continue reading...
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NASCAR shows off an EV prototype
by
Wes Davis
on (#6P1DJ)
Is now the right time to say ka-chow," or should I wait? | Image: NASCAR NASCAR showed off a new EV prototype stock car at the Chicago Street Race today as part of a presentation on its sustainability initiatives, which it has a new partner for in Swedish electrification firm ABB. The car, which looks more like a performance crossover like the Ford Mustang Mach-E, is in many ways a total departure from the traditional stock car. Don't expect the ABB NASCAR EV Prototype to replace the fuel-burning V8 anytime soon, though.NASCAR says the car has three electric motors - one in the front and two in the back - powered by a 78-kWh liquid-cooled battery that can generate 1,000kW at peak power," according to today's announcement. Image: NASCAR NASCAR writes that the EV sits on a modified... Continue reading...
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Epic says its EU iOS app store is approved but that Apple wants a change
by
Wes Davis
on (#6P1CC)
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge The Epic Games Store app for EU iPhones has passed Apple's notarization process, putting the alternative app store a step closer to selling apps directly to iOS users outside of the App Store. AppleInsider reports that while Apple confirmed the app had passed, it has asked Epic to fix the buttons" in a future submission to the company's app review process.But the approval is just temporary," posted Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, who puts Apple's request differently. He says the company is demanding we change the buttons in the next version," vowing that the company will fight this." The apparently conditional approval is just the latest part of the back-and-forth saga between Apple and Epic. Previously, Apple reinstated Epic Games Sweden's... Continue reading...
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Police pulled over a Waymo car for driving in the oncoming lane
by
Wes Davis
on (#6P194)
Photo: Andrej Sokolow / Picture Alliance via Getty Images On June 19th, a Phoenix police officer pulled over an autonomous Waymo vehicle that had been driving in an oncoming traffic lane. The car was apparently confused by some construction signs and reportedly ran a red light before pulling over in a parking lot to let the officer talk to one of Waymo's support representatives.In about two-and-a-half minutes of bodycam footage published by AZCentral, the officer told Waymo the car was driving in a construction zone when it went into opposing lanes of traffic, which is real bad." He then told a curious bystander what had happened, adding, so I light it up and it takes off in the intersection." A dispatch record reportedly said the car drove through a red light and FREAKED OUT' before it... Continue reading...
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This is the summer’s coolest new smart kitchen gadget — literally
by
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
on (#6P16D)
GE Profile's newest nugget ice maker is an expensive upgrade to your summer drinks, but, for some, it may be worth it. Some smart home gadgets could be considered essential. A smart thermostat can save you money, and a smart door lock can prevent you from getting locked out. But, unlike those gadgets, it's hard to argue you need the smart GE Profile Opal Ultra 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker ($579, or $629 with the side tank). However, you may want this gadget - because it makes The Good Ice.Nugget ice is a hill many will die on - my family includedYes, $630 is a lot of money for any countertop gadget, let alone one that just freezes water. Spending this much on a connected gadget whose smarts are largely limited to scheduling and asking Alexa to make more ice feels like an even bigger stretch. But nugget ice is a hill many will die on - my family included. It... Continue reading...
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Electric bikepacking: lessons learned over four days and 250 miles
by
Thomas Ricker
on (#6P12Q)
E-bikes open up cycling sports to more people, and not just the cheaters. Continue reading...
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Why Redbox has been powering down
by
Janko Roettgers
on (#6P0QE)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge. Getty Images The bankruptcy of Redbox's parent company came after months of chaos, cash crunch, and corporate upheaval. Continue reading...
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At just over $20, Half-Life: Alyx is essential playing for VR headset owners
by
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
on (#6P0QF)
I can hear the eerie, garbled radio chatter of the Combine soldiers just by looking at this. | Image: Valve The Steam Summer Sale is raging on, offering significant discounts on the Steam Deck and hundreds of PC games. While we rounded up a bunch of our top Summer Sale picks last week, one title that should definitely not fly under your radar is Valve's own Half-Life: Alyx - which is selling for its all-time low price of $20.39 (nearly $40 off) until the sale ends on July 11th at 10AM PT / 1PM ET.Now, Alyx is quite a unique game and experience. For starters, when it came out in 2020, it was the first time Valve returned to the world of Half-Life (the 26-year-old series that put it on the map) since 2007. It's a prequel to Half-Life 2, starring supporting-character-turned-protagonist Alyx Vance. And, notably, you take control of her through... Continue reading...
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YouTube’s improved eraser tool easily removes copyrighted music from videos
by
Gaby Del Valle
on (#6P0NA)
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge YouTube has launched an improved eraser tool that lets creators remove copyrighted music from their videos while keeping other audio intact. The revamped tool, which was released this week, was first reported by TechCrunch.The Erase Song feature lets creators silence copyrighted music in their content, the company announced in a video. The tool had previously been in place as a beta feature, but it wasn't always accurate.The updated Erase Song feature uses an AI-powered algorithm" to help it more precisely identify and remove copyrighted songs without affecting other audio in a particular clip. That's the goal, at least.But even the new and improved version might not always produce perfect results. So in cases where the tool fails... Continue reading...
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The Playdate makes a surprisingly good e-reader
by
Andrew Webster
on (#6P0NB)
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge From the Boox Palma to the Light Phone 2, it seems that everyone is looking for distraction-free reading, if only they had the right device. I don't blame them: every time I pull out my phone to mindlessly scroll, I know my time could be put to better use. But as the owner of many fine gadgets, I also don't really want another device in my life, so I was pretty excited to stumble upon a partial solution with a gadget I already have: the Playdate.Yes, I'm talking about that little yellow Game Boy from Panic and Teenage Engineering, the one with a crank jutting out of its side. Since the launch of its on-device store, Catalog, the handheld has become home to quite a range of experiences. I've been playing tiny city builders and dungeon... Continue reading...
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Here’s how Qualcomm’s new laptop chips really stack up to Apple, Intel, and AMD
by
Joanna Nelius
on (#6P0NC)
If all the benchmarks we did had a physical form, it'd look something like this. We tested every Snapdragon X chip against the Intel Core Ultra, AMD Ryzen 8000, and Apple M3. Continue reading...
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Meta’s Threads is thriving one year in, but X is still in the fight
by
Wes Davis
on (#6P0K6)
Image: The Verge Threads, Meta's X competitor, is officially one year old. While the site was rushed into existence with a bare-bones set of features, Meta has steadily improved upon the app to make it a decent place for people looking to post on a platform that isn't X.The site arrived at the right moment. By last summer, Elon Musk's takeover of X - which back then was still called Twitter - hadn't only seen him wantonly firing vast swaths of the company and shutting off servers but also making changes with real consequences for the site's user experience. That site had been very unstable and major advertisers fled, leaving in their wake cheap, garbage product and crypto ads. Chaotic changes to verification led first to high-profile impersonations and... Continue reading...
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The Polar Grit X2 Pro is a smartwatch that feels adrift
by
Victoria Song
on (#6P0GW)
You're not getting enough for the $750. This is meant to be the best Polar's got, but it has no business being this expensive. Continue reading...
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Google might fix its fingerprint scanner woes with the Pixel 9
by
Jess Weatherbed
on (#6P043)
It should be less of a farce to unlock the next generation of Google Pixel phones. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Google's upcoming Pixel 9 lineup will reportedly feature a faster, more reliable ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, according to Android Authority. It would replace the optical under-display fingerprint sensor that Google introduced on the Pixel 6 with the newer technology that's capable of reading even wet or oily fingerprints.The switch could also address some of the widespread issues that users have experienced when trying to unlock their Pixel devices, with some people saying that light levels and finger dryness can impact the reliability of the previous optical reader. Optical scanners are the oldest method of reading fingerprints. They work by flashing light against the user's finger and then visually detecting patterns and ridges... Continue reading...
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Amazon Kindle book downloads were broken, but now they’re back
by
Andrew Liszewski
on (#6P044)
Photo by Sheena Vasani / The Verge An outage was preventing Amazon Kindle users from downloading both new and previously purchased books to their e-readers, as noted on Amazon's support forums and Reddit, but the company says things should be resolved. Yesterday, some Kindle customers experienced an issue that impacted their ability to download e-books. The issue was quickly resolved," writes Amazon devices spokesperson Jackie Burke in an email sent to The Verge.Good e-Reader reported the problem on Wednesday, noting a response from Amazon support at the time that said it was the result of server issues" and that it would be at least 48 hours before ebooks started downloading again, but it could be longer."In a post today on Amazon's support forums, a staff member... Continue reading...
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Amazon’s Fire HD 10 tablet is nearly 50 percent off for Prime members
by
Brandon Widder
on (#6P045)
Just don't expect it to rival an iPad in terms of functionality. | Image: Amazon Let's face it: Apple's slates seem to get all the attention when talking tablets (and understandably so). However, you don't necessarily need to spend $1,000 on an iPad Pro or even $350 on an entry-level model if all you need is a cheap entertainment device for watching The Boys, reading, or burning through your latest audiobook. Amazon's latest Fire HD 10 tablet will get the job done for a lot less - especially since it's currently on sale for Amazon Prime subscribers for an all-time low of $74.99 ($65 off) in its ad-supported base configuration.The 2023 Fire HD 10 isn't going to blow you away with an OLED display or a laundry list of premium features, though it is a step up from some of Amazon's low-end models. The inexpensive tablet... Continue reading...
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Nike’s self-lacing Adapt BB sneakers are losing their remote control mobile app
by
Andrew Liszewski
on (#6P025)
After August 6, Nike Adapt owners won't be able to download the accompanying mobile app any longer. | Photo by Felicia Shivakumar / The Verge Despite the ongoing popularity of the Back to the Future trilogy that inspired the self-lacing tech found in the HyperAdapt 1.0 and Air Mags, Nike has announced that it's no longer creating new versions of Adapt shoes." Now, the Adapt BB mobile app used to control the $350 third iteration of Nike's self-lacing sneakers will disappear from Google Play and the iPhone App Store next month.Without the app, owners can use the physical buttons on the sneakers to power them on and off, check battery status, tighten or loosen the laces, and save a single preset, but there will be no way to adjust the shoe's lighting.The power laces on the Nike Adapt BB basketball shoes, which were worn by athletes like Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic, were... Continue reading...
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Microsoft’s Midnight Blizzard source code breach also impacted federal agencies
by
Jess Weatherbed
on (#6NZZN)
Illustration by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge In March, Microsoft notified the US Department of Veterans Affairs that it was impacted by the security breach that enabled the Russian hacking group known as Midnight Blizzard" to steal some of the company's source code, reports Bloomberg. Already assigned blame for the earlier SolarWinds attack, the group has been accused of spying on email accounts of Microsoft's senior leadership team and attempting to use the secrets obtained there to create additional security breaches.The VA department found that Midnight Blizzard used a single set of stolen credentials to access a Microsoft Cloud test environment around January. VA officials told Bloomberg that the account was accessed for just one second, presumably to see if the credentials... Continue reading...
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Dear Roku, you ruined my TV
by
William Joel
on (#6NZZP)
Image: Kristen Radtke / The Verge Roku has made my TV unusable.On June 6th, my TCL TV's Roku OS was updated to version 13.0.0. Ever since, on everything I watch, there is motion smoothing - a TV and film purists' deepest nightmare. There is no way to turn it off.In the updated OS, Roku added a feature called Roku Smart Picture, which, according to its release notes, automatically improves picture quality dynamically as users stream." While Roku doesn't explicitly mention motion smoothing, or what Roku calls action smoothing," the update has made it so that I and many others with Roku TVs see motion smoothing, regardless of whether the picture setting is Roku Smart Picture or not. My TV didn't even support motion smoothing before this. Now, I can't make it go away.If... Continue reading...
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It’s another busy summer of streaming sci-fi
by
Andrew Webster
on (#6NZZQ)
Sunny. | Image: Apple Just like last year, the hot summer months of 2024 are turning out to be an excellent time for science fiction fans. There are a number of sci-fi series that either just wrapped up, are in the middle of a season, or are set to premiere soon. Perfect for ignoring the heat of the outdoors for the substantially cooler worlds of space and the future. And this is a lineup that could potentially grow even more, as Apple has been teasing the return of both Severance and Silo sometime soon. In the meantime, plan your next few months of streaming time accordingly with this list.Scavengers ReignStreaming on Max and NetflixThis animated series actually premiered on Max last year but made its way to Netflix on May 31st. It's unlike anything else... Continue reading...
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Kobo’s great color e-readers are held back by lock-in
by
Alex Cranz
on (#6NZY0)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge They're more colorful than anything Amazon offers and have built-in support for Overdrive, but the UI feels more focused on selling books than reading them. Continue reading...
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WhatsApp is developing a personalized AI avatar generator
by
Jess Weatherbed
on (#6NZVW)
The upcoming feature will allow WhatsApp users to imagine' themselves in different settings. | Illustration: The Verge Whatsapp appears to be working on a new generative AI feature that should allow users to make personalized avatars of themselves for use in any imagined setting. The in-development feature, spotted in the new WhatsApp Beta for Android 2.24.14.7 by WABetaInfo, will seemingly use a combination of user-supplied images, text prompts, and Meta's AI Llama model to generate the images.A screenshot shared by WABetaInfo says that users can imagine themselves in any setting from the forest to outer space." The examples look fairly typical for those produced by AI generators, particularly if you've used apps like Lensa AI or Snapchat's Dreams" selfie feature. Image: Meta / WABetaInfo Screenshot shared by WABetaInfo. T... Continue reading...
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Leak: Basically every spec for Samsung’s Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6
by
Sean Hollister
on (#6NZMV)
Image: Evan Blass We're only one week away from Samsung's next Unpacked event on July 10th, where we're expecting the company's Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 folding phones - but leaker Evan Blass has just revealed the entire spec sheets and marketing materials with practically everything you'd want to know.For example, did you know both phones will be lighter, with longer battery life, despite being slightly thinner, and both have slight changes to their screens? Or that the Flip will now let you use Samsung's language-translating Interpreter Mode on its front cover screen as well, letting you point the text of one language at the person you're talking to while the other faces you? Image via Evan Blass The cover screen... Continue reading...
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The FTC’s ban against noncompete agreements may be under threat
by
Jay Peters
on (#6NZMW)
Illustration by The Verge | Photo via Getty Images A federal judge could block the Federal Trade Commission's impending ban on noncompete agreements from going into effect. Noncompete agreements are intended to make it difficult for employees to switch to similar positions at other companies or start businesses of their own, and they've been a contentious issue within tech companies in particular.The ban had been set to go into force on September 4th, but on Wednesday, Judge Ada Brown issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought against the FTC. For those plaintiffs, the FTC's ban will no longer go into effect on September 4th. Brown says she plans to rule on their entire challenge to the FCC on or before August 30, 2024," potentially stopping the FTC from blocking noncompetes... Continue reading...
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All thesmart homenews, reviews, and gadgets you need to know about
by
Sean Hollister
on (#6NZJ4)
Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Navigating the maze of platforms, ecosystems, protocols, and gadgets on your way to a smarter home is a full-time job. (I should know; it's mine.) Continue reading...
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The Game Boy Camera will soon get a second life as an awful webcam
by
Andrew Liszewski
on (#6NZJ5)
You won't have to worry about how your hair looks when using the Game Boy Camera as a webcam. It will always look bad. | Screenshot: Epilogue The 26-year-old Game Boy Camera is still embraced by some photographers seeking a lo-fi aesthetic, and soon, it could serve double duty as a webcam for anyone who wants to show up to a video call looking like a low-res pixelated mess.This is made possible using the GB Operator: a USB dock that allows Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges to be played on a computer (or the Steam Deck) through an app called Playback and the open-source mGBA emulator. The dock can also back up save game data or easily extract photos captured by the Game Boy Camera.Epilogue, the company behind it, shared a short video of the new feature on X and told Time Extension, We now have a live feed from the Game Boy Camera, but still need to... Continue reading...
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Twilio alerts Authy two-factor app users that ‘threat actors’ have their phone numbers
by
Emma Roth
on (#6NZJ6)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Twilio says someone has obtained phone numbers associated with its two-factor authentication service (2FA), Authy, as reported earlier by TechCrunch. In a security alert on Monday, Twilio warns that the threat actors" may try to use the stolen phone numbers to carry out phishing attacks and other scams.The incident follows a 2022 data breach that occurred after a phishing campaign tricked employees into disclosing their login credentials. The attackers accessed data from 163 Twilio accounts and managed to access and register additional devices on 93 Authy accounts.Twilio traced this leak back to an unauthenticated endpoint" that it has since secured. Last week, the threat actor ShinyHunters published a list of 33 million phone... Continue reading...
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Mark Zuckerberg experiments with six-window Quest VR multitasking
by
Quentyn Kennemer
on (#6NZG2)
The update brings mixed reality spatial computing to the mainstream on the Meta Quest 3. | Image: Meta Mark Zuckerberg announced on Wednesday that version 67 of Horizon OS is rolling out with an experimental feature allowing Quest owners to multitask with up to six virtual windows. Once enabled (by going to Settings, then Experimental, and toggling it on), you'll be able to dock three windows in what Meta is calling a hinged" layout while freely placing and resizing up to three more wherever you want.The feature is available on the Quest Pro, Quest 2, and Quest 3, but it's especially nice on the Quest 3 when you're using it in mixed reality mode. The augmented reality support is similar to the Apple Vision Pro's experience. With the additional windows, Quest owners now have more options and, according to reports, the ability to move... Continue reading...
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The FTC is investigating PC manufacturers who scare you away from your right to repair
by
Sean Hollister
on (#6NZG3)
A warranty void if seal broken" sticker covering a screw hole. | Image: Eirik Solheim (CC BY-SA 2.0) Ever seen one of those warranty void if removed" stickers covering the screw holes on a gadget? Today, the FTC is reminding ASRock, Gigabyte, and Zotac that they're illegal.In fact, the FTC sent letters to ASRock, Gigabyte, and Zotac that suggest the FTC's concerns aren't just skin sticker-deep. Each letter tells the manufacturer to change its warranty and review its customer support practices to make sure they aren't illegally threatening your warranty.Staff would be concerned if GIGABYTE, in practice, denied warranty coverage based on the warranty provisions quoted above or any similar provision," reads part of one of the letters.As of today, each of these companies' warranties does include such a threat. The very first line in A... Continue reading...
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Nothing’s first CMF phone could be customizable with dial and kickstand add-ons
by
Andrew Liszewski
on (#6NZG4)
Users will be able to swap the CMF Phone 1's rear case and attach accessories like a folding kickstand. | Image: Nothing Nothing plans to reveal the first smartphone from its affordable CMF subbrand on July 8th, but as part of a continuing series of teasers, it's revealed the CMF Phone 1's unique customizability, including a dial that can be used to attach accessories and a rear panel that can be easily swapped.The light-up glyphs on the Nothing Phone 1 and Phone 2 won't make it to this model, but a short video of a rotating dial on the back looks similar to the aluminum alloy dial on the CMF Buds that allows a lanyard to be attached to the earbuds' charging case.
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OpenAI’s ChatGPT Mac app was storing conversations in plain text
by
Jay Peters
on (#6NZG5)
Image: The Verge Until Friday, OpenAI's recently launched ChatGPT macOS app had a potentially worrying security issue: it wasn't hard to find your chats stored on your computer and read them in plain text. That meant that if a bad actor or malicious app had access to your machine, they could easily read your conversations with ChatGPT and the data contained within them.As demonstrated by Pedro Jose Pereira Vieito on Threads, the ease of access meant it was possible to have another app access those files and show you the text of your conversations right after they happened. Pereira Vieito shared the app he made with me, and I used it to make a video showing how the app can read my ChatGPT conversations with the click of a button. I was also able to find... Continue reading...
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Blumhouse’s Afraid brings AI terror to the smart home
by
Charles Pulliam-Moore
on (#6NZDB)
Sony Sony and Blumhouse's Afraid from director Chris Weitz might not go so far as to suggest that you shouldn't have so many smart devices watching and listening to everything you do in your home. But the movie's first trailer will probably leave you contemplating what the AI-powered Internet of Things could do to you if it decided to go rogue under the pretense of being helpful.Whereas M3gan was focused specifically on a future on the advent of humanoid consumer robots, Afraid tells the story of how the lives of an unsuspecting family are upended after installing a smart hub in their home. Neither Curtis (John Cho) nor his wife (Katherine Waterston) are sure what to expect from AIA - a HomePod / Ring / Siri-like device - when they're... Continue reading...
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Amazon is bricking its Astro business robots less than a year after launch
by
Sean Hollister
on (#6NZDC)
The Astro for Business robot is no more. | Image: Amazon For a moment there, it seemed like Amazon might pivot its Astro home robot to enterprise after giving it a better job as a camera-equipped patrol dog. But today, it's discontinuing the Astro for Business robot for good. On September 25th, every one of the 20-pound wheeled robots will stop working, and Amazon will automatically issue full refunds for the $2,349.99 bot, plus a $300 credit.Amazon isn't commenting on how many business bots it actually sold since the November 2023 launch, but the company's VP of hardware engineering, Lindo St. Angel, says he's increasingly convinced the progress we're making in home robotics is where we should focus our resources." We're sharing his full internal memo below.Amazon also provided this... Continue reading...
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Google will now generate disclosures for political ads that use AI
by
Emma Roth
on (#6NZDD)
Illustration: The Verge Google is making it easier for advertisers to disclose whether political ads contain AI-generated content. In an update spotted by Search Engine Land, Google says it will automatically generate disclosures whenever advertisers label election ads as containing synthetic or digitally altered content."Last year, Google started requiring political advertisers to insert their own clear and conspicuous" disclosures on ads containing AI content. But now, Google is simplifying the process, as it will automatically include an in-ad disclosure whenever advertisers select an altered or synthetic content" checkbox in their campaign settings.The disclosure will appear in feeds and YouTube Shorts on mobile devices as well as in-stream ads shown... Continue reading...
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You can save $200 on a refurbished second-gen Sonos Beam
by
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
on (#6NZDE)
The latest Beam isn't tiny, but it's far from the biggest soundbar around. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge While the world of deals is about to heat up with Fourth of July sales and Amazon's upcoming Prime Day event, there are some great discounts you can take advantage of right now. For starters, Sonos is selling refurbished models of its second-gen Beam in black or white for $299, which is $100 off its usual refurb price and $200 cheaper than buying the soundbar in new condition.That's as cheap as you're going to find the latest version of Sonos' midrange soundbar, which is a lot like its first-gen version but with small improvements like Dolby Atmos and low-latency eARC support. The Beam is a good all-around performer if you want a simple soundbar that sounds great for its size, doesn't clutter up your space with extra speakers or... Continue reading...
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Marvel’s What If…? series to end with third season
by
Charles Pulliam-Moore
on (#6NZAN)
Image: Marvel Studios The premise of Disney Plus' What If...? made it seem like the animated Marvel series might run indefinitely as the studio keeps putting out live-action projects, but it looks like this chapter of the big multiverse story is just about over.Though What If...? season 3 doesn't have a premiere date, Entertainment Weekly reports that it will be the final installment in the series that gave us Jeffrey Wright's Uatu the Watcher and Hayley Atwell as Captain Peggy Carter. Speaking on this week's episode of Marvel's new official podcast, What If...? executive producer Brad Winderbaum described the upcoming season as the completion of a trilogy" and teased that it will go beyond the first two seasons in its exploration of the multiverse."Notably,... Continue reading...
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A cheaper, weirder e-reader alternative to the Boox Palma
by
Andrew Liszewski
on (#6NZAP)
You can find the Xiaomi Moaan InkPalm Plus for around $125 online. | Image: Xiaomi It seems like everyone is enamored with the Boox Palma, including our own David Pierce, but at $280, it's expensive for an e-reader. For another option that mirrors larger e-readers but in a tiny and cheaper package, John Moltz has taken a look at the $125 Xiaomi Moaan InkPalm Plus over on Six Colors.There are some notable compromises, like a reflective screen that will potentially have users struggling to dodge glare, ordering off of AliExpress, and a dated Android 11 OS that isn't fully translated from Chinese to English.The display is also a few years behind the 300ppi e-paper panels you now get on Kindles, Kobos, and even the Boox Palma, featuring a 5.84-inch E Ink screen with just 276ppi of resolution. The InkPalm Plus also has... Continue reading...
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Alphabet is abandoning its Mineral robo-agriculture startup
by
Jess Weatherbed
on (#6NZAQ)
Mineral's autonomous plant buggies" could find a new home via licenses with former industry partnerships. | Image: Alphabet Alphabet is reportedly walking away from its Mineral robotic agriculture startup due to fierce industry competition and slim profit margins. According to Bloomberg, the Google parent company will license some of its farming technology to Driscoll's, a berry producer that's spent the last few years working with autonomous plant buggies" Mineral created to study crops, soil, and other environmental factors.Bloomberg says it's obtained a memo in which Mineral announced plans to transfer its technology out to the agriculture ecosystem to maximize the impact of bringing our AI to agriculture" and confirms that Mineral will no longer be an Alphabet company." Licensing discussions are reportedly taking place with companies that previously... Continue reading...
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Threads hits 175 million users after a year
by
Alex Heath
on (#6NZ7N)
Illustration: The Verge A year and a half ago, Threads was but a twinkle in Mark Zuckerberg's eye.Now, the rival to Elon Musk's X has reached more than 175 million monthly active users, the Meta CEO announced on Wednesday.His announcement comes as Threads is about to hit its one-year anniversary. Back when it arrived in the App Store on July 5th, 2023, Musk was taking a wrecking ball to the service formerly called Twitter and goading Zuckerberg into a literal cage match that never happened. A year later, Threads is still growing at a steady clip - albeit not as quickly as its huge launch - while Musk hasn't shared comparable metrics for X since he took over.As with any social network, and especially for Threads, monthly users only tell part of the growth... Continue reading...
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Perplexity’s ‘Pro Search’ AI upgrade makes it better at math and research
by
Emma Roth
on (#6NZ7P)
Illustration: The Verge Perplexity has launched a major upgrade to its Pro Search AI tool, which it says understands when a question requires planning, works through goals step-by-step, and synthesizes in-depth answers with greater efficiency."Examples on Perplexity's website of what Pro Search can do include a query asking the best time to see the northern lights in Iceland or Finland. It breaks down its research process into three searches: the best times to see the northern lights in Iceland and Finland; the top viewing locations in Iceland; and the top viewing locations in Finland. It then provides a detailed answer addressing all aspects of the question, including when to view the northern lights in either country and where. GIF:... Continue reading...
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The Verge’s favorite board and video games
by
Verge Staff
on (#6NZ7R)
Screenshot: Steam Play is important - in fact, it can be as important to a grown-up as it is to a child. If you've spent the day concentrating on work, doing your taxes, cleaning your home, or caring for others, it's not a bad idea to also take a little time for yourself to escape from your adult responsibilities.These days, play can take a lot of different forms - whether it's assembling the latest monster Lego project, getting together for a marathon board game, or staying up later than you should with your favorite virtual city builder. On a screen or on a tabletop, virtual or touchable, played alone or with friends - games are a way we can keep ourselves centered.We asked the staff of The Verge what games they play in order to give their busy... Continue reading...
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A24’s MaXXXine flips the script to give you something fresh to scream about
by
Charles Pulliam-Moore
on (#6NZ7Q)
Photo: A24 The latest installment of Ti West's X franchise is a glamorously cutthroat send-up of Ronald Reagan-era excess and moral panic. Continue reading...
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How a musical indie game went against the grain to explore the Deaf experience
by
Ash Parrish
on (#6NZ3P)
Image: That Odd Gentlemen Harmonium: The Musical took a lot of time and resources, but according to its developers, it was worth it. Continue reading...
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LG buys Homey in a very Samsung SmartThings move
by
Jess Weatherbed
on (#6NZ3Q)
LG is bringing Athom's Homey products and the third-party device support they provide under its wing. | Image: LG / Homey LG has acquired an 80 percent stake in Athom, a Dutch company best known for its Homey smart home platform. The deal, which LG says will see it acquire the remaining 20 percent of Athom within the next three years, has been forged to expand LG's smart home ecosystem and should position it to better compete against Samsung's rivaling SmartThings platform.LG plans to integrate Athom's existing Homey connectivity - which supports smart devices from Sonos, Ikea, Aqara, Philips Hue, and more - across its appliances through its ThinQ smart home platform. According to Homey, its users will soon be able to control ThinQ-enabled LG appliances via the platform. Homey has developed a significant user base since it was founded in 2014, with its f... Continue reading...
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I renewed my US passport in a single week with the government’s speedy online beta
by
Sean Hollister
on (#6NZ18)
Picking up my new passport at the post office. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge Perhaps you've heard you can now renew your US passport online. As long as you meet certain requirements, there's a beta website for that. The State Department tells me it's not necessarily faster - but anecdotally, my family just had two of the speediest, most painless experiences we've ever had with the US government.I applied from my phone, I shot my own digital photo at home - and one week later, I picked up my new passport at the post office. I submitted it on June 15th, my passport was issued on June 20th, and it was waiting for me on the 21st. That's just six days in total.Five business days eachWhen my wife tried it, her renewal went even quicker: she applied on June 24th, her application was approved on the 26th, her new... Continue reading...
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Meta ordered to stop training its AI on Brazilian personal data
by
Jess Weatherbed
on (#6NYZB)
Brazilian regulators say Meta's excessive and unjustified obstacles" make it difficult for users to opt out of AI training. | Illustration: Nick Barclay / The Verge Brazil's data protection authority (ANPD) has banned Meta from training its artificial intelligence models on Brazilian personal data, citing the risks of serious damage and difficulty to users." The decision follows an update to Meta's privacy policy in May in which the social media giant granted itself permission to use public Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram data from Brazil - including posts, images, and captions - for AI training.The decision follows a report published by Human Rights Watch last month which found that LAION-5B - one of the largest image-caption datasets used to train AI models - contains personal, identifiable photos of Brazilian children, placing them at risk of deepfakes and other exploitation.As reported by T... Continue reading...
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Proton just launched a privacy-focused alternative to Google Docs
by
David Pierce
on (#6NYZC)
Proton Docs does comments, collaboration, and a bunch of other Google Docs-y things. | Image: Proton Proton Docs looks a lot like Google Docs: white pages, formatting toolbar at the top, live indicators showing who's in the doc with their name attached to a cursor, the whole deal. That's not especially surprising, for a couple of reasons. First, Google Docs is hugely popular, and there are only so many ways to style a document editor anyway. Second, Proton Docs exists in large part to be all the things that are great about Google Docs - just without Google in the mix.Docs is launching today inside of Proton Drive, as the latest app in Proton's privacy-focused suite of work tools. The company that started as an email client now also includes a calendar, a file storage system, a password manager, and more. Adding Docs to the ecosystem... Continue reading...
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DJI expands into e-bikes and drive systems
by
Thomas Ricker
on (#6NYXK)
An exploded view of the Amflow PL e-bike showing the Avinox drive system. | Image: DJI DJI is expanding into electric bikes in a big way with its new Avinox drive system and Amflow e-bike brand. The company best known for its drones is launching its first e-bike - the carbon fiber Amflow PL electric mountain bike - before the end of the year, complete with the mid-drive Avinox motor and fast-charging battery. It has so many smart and powerful features packed into a relatively lightweight e-bike that it should catch the attention of competitors like Bosch and Specialized.As a showcase for DJI's new Avinox drive system, the Amflow PL e-bike features a very impressive 120Nm of max torque and 1000W of on-demand boost power to overcome even the steepest inclines. Otherwise, its remarkably quiet" mid-drive motor is rated for... Continue reading...
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Xbox Live is back after an outage lasting several hours
by
Emma Roth
on (#6NYJN)
Illustration: The Verge Xbox has resolved a widespread outage that prevented players from connecting to Xbox Live, playing online games, downloading games, or using other services for several hours. Users should no longer be encountering issues signing in to Xbox Live and services," Xbox says in a post on X. Thank you for your patience, game on!"Issues with Xbox Live seemed to have started around 2PM ET, with Downdetector reports beginning to rise around that time. At around 3PM ET, Xbox said it was aware that some users have been disconnected from Xbox Live" and that the company started investigating."
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