The Verge

Photo by Matt Thomas / San Diego Padres / Getty Images Guy Beahm, better known by his streamer persona Dr Disrespect, said he was banned from Twitch four years ago due to private messages he sent to a minor that sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate."Beahm shared details of the ban in a lengthy post to X, marking the first time he's directly addressed the reason for his removal.Everyone has been wanting to know why I was banned from Twitch, but for reasons outside of my control, I was not allowed to say anything for the last several years," Beahm posted on X. Now that two former twitch employees have publicly disclosed the accusations, I can now tell you my side of the story regarding the ban."I should have never entertained these conversations to begin... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge The latest feature headed to the Google graveyard is continuous scrolling on search results, according to a report from Search Engine Land. The user experience, which mirrored the endless scrolling behavior of social media feeds, was originally introduced for search results on mobile devices in October of 2021 and then brought over to desktop search results in late 2022.A Google spokesperson reportedly told Search Engine Land that continuous scroll is being removed today from desktop search results, while the feature will be removed from mobile results in the coming months."In its place on desktop will be Google's classic pagination bar, allowing users to jump to a specific page of search results or simply click Next" to see the next... Continue reading...

A huge panel becomes an AR projector powered by data from eye tracking sensors in this prototype. | Image: Adi Robertson / The Verge Car infotainment systems are getting ever bigger, but a startup's new prototype takes things further than even something like Ford's pillar-to-pillar touchscreen - by turning your windshield into a full-color 3D heads-up display.Distance Technologies, established by the co-founders of enterprise headset maker Varjo, showed off its design last week at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. The company's goal is to push heads-up displays beyond flat and simple overlays. Its early efforts are impressive but also illuminate how tough (and risky) putting it into a real car could be.The Distance Technologies prototype uses an LCD panel pointed up at a windshield with a reflective coating, projecting a transparent image onto it. It's... Continue reading...

The return capsule of the Chang'e 6 probe lands at the designated landing area on June 25th, 2024, in Inner Mongolia. | Photo by VCG / VCG via Getty Images The first soil samples ever taken from the far side of the Moon arrived on Earth today. China's Chang'e 6 spacecraft landed with the precious cargo in Inner Mongolia today at 2:07PM Beijing time, according to state media.The feat is expected to help scientists better understand the unfamiliar terrain of the Moon's far side and perhaps shed some light on the early history of the Moon and Earth. It's also a significant milestone in the escalating global space race to establish a presence on the Moon.A significant milestone in the escalating global space racePresident Xi Jinping congratulated the China National Space Administration, calling it a landmark achievement in our country's efforts at becoming a space and technological... Continue reading...

Photo: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge If you're waiting to see the Pixel 9, Pixel Watch 3, or other new Google hardware, then August 13th could be a big day for you because look what just hit our inboxes:

Image: Elgato The Elgato Stream Deck XL is once again selling for $199.99 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo. The jumbo-sized macro pad has 32 customizable LCD keys for controlling various functions on a Windows PC or Mac. It's a staple among enthusiast and high-level Twitch streamers, but its customizability makes it incredibly handy for all sorts of desktop and laptop users.Want a button for quickly muting yourself on a Zoom call or to promptly summon Spotify? No problem. How about a series of buttons for controlling audio functions or emotes in your favorite game? With 32 keys, you have enough for a whole bunch of helpful tools at your disposal, or you can fill some with silly and superfluous things like popping fake bubble wrap. (We're... Continue reading...

Blokus, Tumblin' Monkeys, and Uno are just three of the games Mattel is making colorblind accessible. | Image: Mattel In an effort to make its games accessible to a wider audience and create more inclusive play experiences," Mattel has announced that 80 percent of its gaming portfolio - including iconic titles like Uno - will be made accessible for those with a color vision deficiency by the end of the year, with a push to 90 percent by the end of 2025, as spotted by Polygon.For Uno and its many variants, the four colors used in the game will be distinguished by simple symbols added to each card: a circle for red, a square for blue, a triangle for green, and a star for yellow. For Blokus, a game that has players arranging Tetris-like shapes on a game board, each color will be distinguished by a unique three-dimensional pattern added to the plastic... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Threads will now let people like and see replies to their Threads posts that appear on other federated social media platforms, the company announced on Tuesday.Previously, if you made a post on Threads that was syndicated to another platform - like Mastodon, for example - you wouldn't be able to see responses to that post while still inside Threads. That meant you'd have to bounce back and forth between the platforms to stay up-to-date on replies. Thanks to this upgrade, you'll probably do less of that, though you'll still have to be on the other platform to actually reply to the replies.In a screenshot, Meta notes that you can't reply to replies yet," so it sounds like that feature will arrive in the future. Image:... Continue reading...

Image: Nomad Your outfit has been missing a little blurple, and The Verge is here to fix that. Continue reading...

Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge Since its launch in 2005, Etsy has become well-known as the place to go for handcrafted, one-of-a-kind items from a wide variety of creators. Unfortunately, over the last few years, that rosy reputation has changed a bit. A couple of years ago, buyers began noticing an influx of mass-market goods that were noticeably not handmade. I talked to more than one person who felt that Etsy had become less about selling handmade crafts and more about drop shipping - enterprises that advertise and sell a product and then pass the order on to a third party, which ships it.There was discontent online from sellers as well, due to both the increased number of manufactured goods and increased expenses such as mandatory market plans. Then, in April... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge The archives of the MTV News website, which had remained accessible online after the unit was shut down last year by parent company Paramount Global, have now been completely taken offline. As Variety reported yesterday, both mtvnews.com and mtv.com/news now redirect visitors to the MTV website's front page.In May of last year, Showtime / MTV Entertainment Studios president and Paramount Media Networks groups CEO Chris McCarthy announced layoffs for 25 percent of its employees and said that MTV News, whose staff had already been reduced by previous layoffs, would be shutting down entirely.Although the MTV News website was no longer publishing new stories, its extensive archive, dating back over two decades to its launch in 1996,... Continue reading...

Photo by Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images The wait(list) is over.Waymo is opening up its robotaxi service to anyone who wants to ride in San Francisco. Previously, customers interested in taking a ride in one of the company's driverless cars needed to sign up for a waitlist, which could take weeks or months to open up.Waymo began its commercial test service in the city in August 2021 with a rollout to trusted testers" - preapproved riders, some of whom were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements. In March 2022, Waymo began offering driverless rides for its staff. Since then its been giving rides to regular people who sign up for its waitlist, which the company says approximately 300,000 people have done since it first launched.Now, Waymo's driverless ridehail service will... Continue reading...

Image: Beats After several months of leaks and public sightings, the Beats Pill speaker has returned. Available to order beginning today for $149.99, this portable Bluetooth speaker looks very similar to past versions, but it now offers IP67 dust and water resistance and USB-C wired audio and supports native software features like Find My / Find My Device across both iOS and Android.The new Pill - available in black, red, or gold - will be in stores as of June 27th. Like many speakers in its price category, it's a mono speaker, though Beats claims the redesigned tweeter and woofer combo is sonically superior to the very old Beats Pill Plus. Other specs include battery life up to 24 hours," speakerphone functionality, and the ability to pair two... Continue reading...

More than just a lazy remaster, the new Pill includes unexpected features like lossless audio over USB-C. And like recent Beats products, it equally appeals to the iOS and Android crowds. Continue reading...

Imagine the exact middle between an iPhone and a Kindle. That's the Palma. | Image: Boox There are really only three things you need to know about the Boox Palma. One: it's about the size of a smartphone. Two: it runs Android, with the Play Store. Three: it has an E Ink screen. There are other specs and features I'll get to, but that combination - smartphone, Android, E Ink - is the Palma's whole reason for existence.In a couple of months of using the Palma, a $280 device that has been on sale since last fall, that combination has turned out to be exactly what I needed. Because it's smartphone-sized, with a 6.1-inch screen and an overall footprint just a smidge larger than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus, I can hold it in one hand and fit in my pocket. Because it runs Android, I can download any app I need. And because it's E... Continue reading...

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge This year's Surface Pro and Surface Laptop really only needed to do one thing in order to be a success: work. After more than a decade of overpromising and underdelivering on all things Windows on Arm, Microsoft needed these new Qualcomm-powered devices to at least prove they could compete with the Intel- and AMD-powered chips on the market.So far, it looks like good news. On this episode of The Vergecast, we catch up with The Verge's Tom Warren and Nathan Edwards while they're mid-review on the new devices. We talk about processor performance, emulation issues, battery life, AI features, and much more. The overall takeaway? These new devices may not have changed the PC game just yet, but they can hang. And that's a start.Before we... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge Patreon is gearing up to allow gifting on its subscription platform, alongside a host of new features to help content creators build their communities. Artists, writers, podcasters, and other content creators will also soon be able to sell individual posts and even set a countdown clock for the release of new work.Gifting is one of the all-time most requested tools for creators on Patreon - and now it's in the works," says the Patreon team in a blog post. We're testing the ability to gift membership to fans for a set amount of time." The gifting feature will be available in a new promotions tab on the subscription-focused creator platform and will be part of other new tools for discounted products and automated offers.Creators will... Continue reading...

The Cybertruck is suffering from real-world issues. | The Verge / Photo by Bloomberg, Getty Images Tesla is again issuing a physical recall of its Cybertruck. This time it's recalling 11,688 of its electric pickups due to a faulty windshield wiper that could reduce visibility for the driver, and 11,383 Cybertrucks due to trim in the truck bed that could come loose and create a road hazard for others.These new recalls follow a recall in April affecting 3,878 Cybertrucks over the risk of a jammed accelerator pedal.Issues with the gigantic wiper had surfaced in owner forums in recent weeks and reportedly delayed Cybertruck deliveries on short notice. The NHTSA recall notice for the wiper says that excessive electrical current can cause the front windshield wiper motor controller to fail." Tesla service will replace the wiper motor,... Continue reading...

Photo: Aurora Uber's freight hauling business will use Aurora's driverless trucks on routes between Dallas and Houston as part of a new long-term" deal that builds on a three-year-old commercial pilot.Uber Freight will be one of Aurora's first customers on the Texas route launching later this year. Launched in 2017, Uber Freight connects truck drivers with shippers, much in the same way the company's ridehailing app pairs drivers with those looking for a ride.Aurora, which was founded by former executives from Google, Uber, and Tesla, has said it plans to deploy 20 fully autonomous trucks this year. When it does, those trucks will be hauling goods for Uber Freight customers.Uber Freight will be one of Aurora's first customersThe two companies... Continue reading...

The Logitech G G515 Lightspeed TKL wireless keyboard is just 22mm thick and features upgraded MX-compatible keycaps. | Image: Logitech Logitech has announced a new low-profile gaming keyboard, the G515 Lightspeed TKL Wireless, featuring upgraded low-profile switches that are now compatible with Cherry MX-style keycaps, improving the keyboard's customizability.The G515 is a welcome upgrade to Logitech's G915 Lightspeed Wireless keyboard, which debuted in 2019. The new G515 features a TKL (tenkeyless) design that's similar to the smaller Logitech G915 TKL update from 2020; this one completely eliminates not only the G915's number pad but also the wide volume wheel that sat above it.Saying goodbye to that physical volume wheel leaves the G515 keyboard, which should be available today, with a $139 price tag that's significantly cheaper than both the $249.99 G915 and the... Continue reading...

You can even charge your EV in a pinch. | Image: EcoFlow EcoFlow just released its new Delta Pro 3 portable solar generator that can scale to power your entire home during a blackout, a van or RV's electrical system, or a party at the beach. It can even add a few extra miles to your EV in a pinch.The Delta Pro 3 improves upon the very capable Delta Pro I reviewed in 2022 with even more storage capacity, more powerful inputs and outputs, reduced noise, and a wider wheelbase that should make moving this 115 pound (52Kg) battery a little bit easier.As a home backup solution, a single Delta Pro 3 (DP3) battery can scale from 4kWh of LFP capacity to 12kWh when stacking two 4kWh expansion batteries. Notably, it can power both 120V and 240V appliances with up to 4000W of output (8000W peak). That's... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Gmail is getting more AI features that could make it easier to stay on top of your email.On the web, Google is beginning to roll out a new Gemini side panel that can do things like summarize email threads and draft new emails. The tool will offer proactive prompts" but you can also ask freeform questions," Google writes in a blog post, and it's built to leverage Google's most capable models," such as Gemini 1.5 Pro. In the Gmail mobile apps, Google will also give you the ability to have Gemini summarize threads.These improvements could be useful, but they'll only be available to paid Gemini users: you'll need to be a Google Workspace customer with a Gemini Business or Enterprise add-on, a Gemini Education or Education Premium... Continue reading...

Photo by Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images Midnight Society, the game studio co-founded by Dr Disrespect, has terminated its relationship with the streamer. In a post on X, the studio wrote, On Friday evening, we became aware of an allegation against one of our co-founder's Guy Beahm aka Dr Disrespect."That is the day and time that former Twitch employee Cody Conners posted a tweet about the alleged reason for Beahm's permanent ban, saying it was for sexting a minor in the then existing Twitch whispers product." Robert Bowling, a former Infinity Ward developer and fellow Midnight Society co-founder, posted shortly after, saying, I'm now aware and I'm dealing with it... I landed from Stockholm, reconnected, saw the tweet and immediately began an investigation to learn... Continue reading...

The original Steam Deck is still a great handheld, and right now, it's as affordable as it gets in new condition. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Summer has various official and unofficial starts to kick off the season, but the real one for many of us gamers is Steam's annual Summer Sale - which Valve recently announced will begin on Thursday, June 27th, at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. And as an added treat, Valve's entry-level Steam Decks are already on sale for an all-time low in the run-up to the event.Valve is discounting the base Steam Decks sold through Steam's online storefront by 15 percent through 10AM PT / 1PM ET on July 11th, dropping the price of the LCD-equipped handheld to $296.95 (about $52 off) in the 64GB configuration and $381.65 (about $67 off) in its 512GB variant. In addition to the storage upgrade, the 512GB model features an antiglare etched glass cover on its... Continue reading...

Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images The auto industry's main lobbying group is requesting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reconsider" its recent rule requiring all vehicles sold in the US to have robust automatic emergency braking (AEB), calling the current technology insufficient to meet the high standards outlined by the government.In letters sent to NHTSA as well as members of Congress, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most of the major automakers, argues that the rules finalized earlier this year are practically impossible with available technology." The group claims that the auto industry's suggestions were rejected during the rulemaking process. And it's requesting that regulators reconsider several key aspects in order... Continue reading...

Image: Paramount Just like it did last summer, Paramount Plus is getting ready to hike the prices on some of its streaming service subscriptions.Paramount announced today that, beginning August 20th, the monthly costs for its Paramount Plus with Showtime, Paramount Plus Essential, and Paramount Plus with limited commercials plans will increase for all new subscribers. Paramount Plus with Showtime will now cost $12.99 a month ($1 more expensive), Paramount Plus with limited commercials will now cost $7.99 a month, and Paramount Plus Essential will now cost $7.99 a month ($2 more expensive).Prices for annual Paramount Plus Essential and Paramount Plus with Showtime aren't changing, and people already subscribed to Paramount Plus Essential on a monthly... Continue reading...

Less than a year after its iPhone debut, Blackmagic's robust camera app is now available for select Android devices. | Image: Blackmagic Design After launching on the iPhone last September, the robust Blackmagic Camera app is available on Android devices today, with the same professional-grade shooting features and compatibility with Blackmagic Design's other video production pipeline tools.The Blackmagic Camera app for iPhone has been incredibly popular since it was launched last year," says Grant Petty, the company's CEO. We are excited to be able to give customers with Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel phones the same controls for shooting digital film as our professional cameras."A Blackmagic Design spokesperson, Terry Frechette, confirmed to The Verge that there is one unfortunate limitation to the Blackmagic Camera app on Android. The app can be used on phones running... Continue reading...

Image: Apple Apple released new developer betas for iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia on Monday, and spokesperson Fred Sainz confirmed on Friday that the company planned to introduce the ability for users to mirror their iPhone on their Mac. Sainz also said the iOS 18 beta would include new SharePlay screen sharing capabilities.The new feature, which Apple first announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, lets you interact with your iPhone right from your Mac, meaning you can browse apps and even drag and drop files from your Mac to your phone. Your Mac will even show notifications from your iPhone, and when you click on them, your Mac can open them in the mirrored iPhone interface. Image: Apple While mirroring... Continue reading...

I've tried dozens of gaming headsets and still haven't found one I like more than the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge I've run through an alarming number of gaming headsets over the years from almost every brand you can think of - including Razer, Turtle Beach, HyperX, Logitech, and Corsair - but none impressed me more than SteelSeries'. Its latest high-end set is the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, and while not cheap, you can get a refurbished model at Woot until the end of June with a 90-day warranty for $179.99 ($170 off the MSRP).SteelSeries headsets are widely lauded for their comfort, well-balanced audio, great mic quality, and sleek design. You can get most of these benefits from the brand's more affordable options since they typically use similar drivers and microphones, but the Nova Pro Wireless is ideal for multiplatform gamers. Its dual USB base... Continue reading...

Our ideas about vampires have evolved significantly since F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror debuted on the silver screen, but the first teaser trailer for Robert Eggers' remake makes it seem like it's going to be a moody, haunting return to the undead basics.Set in 19th-century Germany, Nosferatu tells the tale of how an unsuspecting woman named Ellen Hutter (Lily Rose-Depp) becomes the latest obsession and target of Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard) - a Transylvanian nobleman and legendary vampire. It's clear that Orlok already has some degree of influence over Ellen in the teaser as she wonders whether the menacing longing she feels is a sign of evil living within her. But while Ellen is somewhat certain that she's being... Continue reading...

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images A group of record labels including the big three - Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Records - are suing two of the top names in generative AI music making, alleging the companies violated their copyright en masse."The two AI companies, Suno and Udio, use text prompts to churn out original songs. Both companies have enjoyed a level of success: Suno is available for use in Microsoft Copilot though a partnership with the tech giant. Udio was used to create BBL Drizzy," one of the more notable examples of AI music going viral.The case against Suno was filed in Boston federal court, and the Udio case was filed in New York. The labels say artists across genres and eras had their work used without consent.T... Continue reading...

The SwitchBot Universal Remote can control infrared, Bluetooth, and even Matter-compatible smart home devices. | Image: SwitchBot SwitchBot's new screen-equipped universal remote can take control of more than just your home entertainment center. With support for Bluetooth and Matter, the remote should also operate smart home devices without users having to reach for their smartphones.For those who struggle to keep tabs on the myriad remotes now included with everything from ceiling fans to light bulbs, the SwitchBot Universal Remote currently supports up to 83,934 remote control models" over infrared, with a code library that gets updated every six months.The remote is also compatible with SwitchBot's other smart home devices, including its robovacs and curtain controllers and Bluetooth-controlled devices, which is what many standalone smart light bulbs opt for.... Continue reading...

Photo illustration by The Verge / Photo: Netflix The co-CEO who replaced co-founder Reed Hastings details the company's new culture memo, its ad ambitions, and what's next for Netflix. Continue reading...

A promotional image for Shopify's Sidekick chatbot. | Image: Shopify Shopify's new AI Sidekick" chatbot is officially launching in early access, the company said as part of its Summer 24 Edition" updates announced on Monday.Sidekick, which the company first revealed last year, functions as a support chatbot for merchants, helping them do things like make discount codes, generate reports about your store, or suggest blog post ideas. Sure, it sounds like pretty typical AI chatbot stuff, but it seems like it could be a useful way to get help or assistance, especially if Shopify continues to tailor the chatbot to fit merchant needs.Sidekick is live across thousands of Shopify stores, but it's currently limited to merchants who have English stores in North America, Vanessa Lee, Shopify's vice president... Continue reading...

Enso's eco-friendly tire. | Image: Enso Congratulations, world. We've done it. Since passing the Clean Air Act in the 1970s, we've reduced cancer-causing particulate emissions from our cars and other sources dramatically, a change that has added years to our lives.That's the good news. The bad news is that we can now spend more time focusing on the remaining sources, including some unexpected ones. In an EV era, tires are becoming the greatest emitters of particulate matter, and as we've seen, whether it's the microplastics in our shrimp or the preservatives in our salmon, they're having a disturbing impact on our environment.In an EV era, tires are becoming the greatest emitters of particulate matterGunnlaugur Erlendsson wants to do something about that. The affable... Continue reading...

Apple is once again the focus of the EU's competition policy. | Cath Virginia / The Verge Apple's App Store steering" policies violate the EU's Digital Markets Act meant to encourage competition, said regulators in their preliminary ruling Monday. The European Commission has also opened a new investigation into Apple's support for alternative iOS marketplaces in Europe, including the core technology fee it charges developers.Our preliminary position is that Apple does not fully allow steering," said Margrethe Vestager who heads up competition policy in Europe. Steering is key to ensure that app developers are less dependent on gatekeepers' app stores and for consumers to be aware of better offers."Under the DMA, Apple and other so-called gatekeepers must allow app developers to steer consumers to offers outside their app... Continue reading...

Dr Disrespect at a golf tournament in January 2024. | Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images Twitch abruptly banned one of its biggest stars - Herschel Guy" Beahm, better known by his persona Dr Disrespect - in 2020 without a word of explanation. Now, four years after Beahm's permanent ban, two former Twitch employees have come forward to describe events they say contributed to his removal from the platform.One former Twitch employee, who asked to remain anonymous citing the potential risk to their career, told The Verge that Beahm had used Whispers, Twitch's now-defunct messaging system, to exchange messages with a minor and initiate a conversation about meeting up at TwitchCon. The employee worked on Twitch's trust and safety team at the time of the ban in 2020.Their comments corroborate a post from Cody Conners, a former... Continue reading...