The Verge

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Here's all the news from Samsung's second Unpacked event of the year. Continue reading...

watchOS 10 is all about the widgets - and you can try them out for yourself by downloading the public beta. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge If you were intrigued by the idea of widgets on your Apple Watch at this year's WWDC, good news! The watchOS 10 public beta is live.That said, before I tell you how to install it, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First off, watchOS 10 is a substantial update. Not only does it reintroduce widgets to the platform, but it also completely redesigns Apple's native watch apps and reimagines how you interact with the device. The controls you're used to have changed. Pressing the side button, for instance, now brings up Control Center while swiping up is how you access widgets.I mention this because once you install the watchOS 10 beta, you cannot downgrade to watchOS 9. So if you're not keen on relearning how to use the watch... Continue reading...

The original data breach may date as far back as December 2020. | The Verge Sensitive information identifying thousands of Roblox creators has been exposed following a data breach impacting attendees at a conference for Roblox developers, which allegedly remained undisclosed by the company for at least two years. As reported by PC Gamer, the leak contains personal information from people who attended the Roblox Developer Conference between 2017-2020, including names, usernames, date of birth, physical addresses, email addresses, IP addresses, phone numbers, and even T-shirt sizes.Roblox is aware of a third-party security issue where there were indications of unauthorized access to limited personal information of a subset of our creator community," said a Roblox spokesperson to PC Gamer. We engaged... Continue reading...

Samuel L. Jackson in Marvel's Secret Invasion. | Image: Marvel Studios Ahead of the release of the sixth and final episode of Secret Invasion on Disney Plus, Marvel is bringing the first three episodes of the series to Hulu. The episodes, which star Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury as he attempts to fend off an invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls, is now available to stream on Disney's other US streaming service until August 17th. Any viewers wanting to watch the final three episodes will have to watch them on Disney Plus, where the season's final episode will be released on July 26th.Deadline notes that this isn't the first time an original Disney Plus series has streamed on Hulu. American Born Chinese and Star Wars spinoff Andor both saw select episodes appear for a limited time. The... Continue reading...

The White House is bringing in AI's top seven companies Friday to make a series of voluntary promises to protect users.The companies - Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI - have all agreed to a series of asks from the White House to address many of the risks posed by artificial intelligence. The promises consist of investments in cybersecurity, discrimination research, and a new watermarking system informing users when content is AI-generated.The companies have entered into these agreements voluntarily, so there are currently no consequences if they fail to live up to their promises. Many of these commitments are not expected to roll out on Friday, but the companies are expected to work on... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Reddit is now in charge of r/malefashionadvice, which for a time was the biggest subreddit still closed in protest of the platform's API pricing changes. The subreddit is now open, meaning Reddit users can browse content in the community once again, though in a restricted mode, meaning only certain users can make new posts.As we reported last week, the moderators of r/malefashionadvice, a subreddit with than 5 million subscribers, had taken the community private and were pushing its users toward Discord and Substack instead. At the time, the moderators expected to be removed after receiving a message from a Reddit admin (employee), ModCodeofConduct, telling them they would be replaced if they didn't reopen.Three former moderators of... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suspending its administrative challenge (PDF) seeking to block Microsoft from buying Activision Blizzard. The FTC had taken a two-pronged approach against the $68.7 billion deal, filing this case last December that was scheduled to go before its own administrative judge on August 2nd.The other part was its pursuit of a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that would have stopped Microsoft closing its deal while the FTC's administrative process continued. A US federal judge denied the injunction request earlier this month, and an appeals court also turned down its request to put an emergency hold on the deal. The FTC is still appealing the preliminary injunction denial, though.M... Continue reading...

The summer promos just keep coming. | Image: Epic Games If you were looking to stock up on some PC games, you might want to head on over to the Epic Games Store. That's because from now until August 3rd at 11AM ET, Epic Games is taking 75 percent off hundreds of titles as a part of its annual summer sale. What's more, you can earn 10 percent back - double the usual amount - from both game and app purchases, which you'll receive 14 days after making your purchase.The sale offers a fantastic opportunity to pick up some older games you may have been curious about but perhaps missed. This includes Alan Wake Remastered, the predecessor to the forthcoming Alan Wake 2, which is on sale for just $11.99 ($18 off). Other older titles worth considering include Far Cry 6 for $14.99 ($45 off) and Red... Continue reading...

We knew Peter Parker and Miles Morales would return to fight Kraven and Venom on October 20th, but we had very little hint as to the plot. Now, Sony and Insomniac have released the first full story trailer for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - and it's an epic one.You can watch it above.Also, Sony has revealed a limited-edition PS5 bundle you can buy alongside the game, which comes with its own controller, both featuring the symbiote consuming Spider-Man's shiny red and turning it pure black:If you've already got a PS5, Sony will sell the same console covers and controller separately, too, though it hasn't shared prices yet. (Previous console covers have cost between $55 and $65 for a set.)They'll all go up for preorder next Friday, July... Continue reading...

I've hosted this image on Imgur as well, but you can also get to the latest canvas from r/Place. | Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge Reddit officially launched the 2023 edition of its r/Place collaborative art project on Thursday morning, and it's littered with messages protesting Reddit and Reddit's CEO. You can see the current iteration of the canvas on the r/Place subreddit or by following the prompt at the top of the app. (Note that you can't access r/Place on Old Reddit; you'll need to be on New Reddit or one of the company's mobile apps.)In r/Place, individual users can drop a single pixel of color every five minutes on a huge canvas, including overriding other pixel placements if you want to try and claim some turf. In the utopian version of this idea, r/Place becomes an ever-changing piece of art where users work together to draw all sorts of pixelated images... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge No, getting seats in AMC Theaters will not be like booking tickets for flights, sporting events, or the theater. As previously reported by Bloomberg, the company is done testing ways to offer tiered pricing that would have customers paying extra for more desirable seats at the cinema and less for the ones no one wants.The now-canceled Sightline plan was being tested in three US markets, and AMC notes customer response clarified" things enough to end the pilot. The company stated that it saw little or no incremental lift in front-row attendance, even with a price reduction applied to those seats" in the testing markets.AMC notes, probably most importantly, that its competitors didn't try to match the scheme, and so it will go in... Continue reading...

A screenshot from Ocasio-Cortez's October 2020 Twitch stream. | The Verge Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is going to stream on Twitch again this weekend. On Thursday, she announced that she'll be streaming with Hasan HasanAbi" Piker and special guests" on Saturday, July 22nd at 7:30PM (presumably ET).Ocasio-Cortez's debut Twitch stream, which took place in October 2020, peaked at more than 426,000 viewers, according to TwitchTracker, instantly making it one of the highest-viewed streams on record at that time. Although some Twitch streams have since gone on to hit millions of peak simultaneous viewers, Ocasio-Cortez's stream still ranks highly in TwitchTracker's records.Ocasio-Cortez's first stream was packed with special guests, including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), HasanAbi, and Pokimane, who all... Continue reading...

Image: Federal Reserve via Flickr Your paycheck could arrive even sooner, thanks to the Federal Reserve's newly launched payment system. The system, called FedNow, is an instant-payment service that operates on a 24/7 basis - even on holidays.First announced in 2019, FedNow acts as a common network" between banks and credit unions, making it easier for them to route funds across different institutions. So far, there are only 35 participating banks and credit unions, along with the US Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service.Once it's widely adopted, though, it will let you transfer funds between different bank accounts instantly or even pay your credit card bill on a bank holiday without worrying about it being late. And, if you have direct deposit,... Continue reading...

TSMC is also predicting a 10 percent decline in revenue for 2023 amid falling demand for consumer electronics. | Photo by VCG via Getty Images The world's biggest chipmaker is pushing back the start of 4nm chip production at its new facility in Phoenix, Arizona, to 2025, blaming labor shortages. Apple has said that it intends to eventually source chips for its iPhones and MacBook models from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plant in the US, while Nvidia and AMD have also committed to using its production capacity.The chipmaker's first Phoenix-based fab, which began construction in 2021, was originally projected to start producing 4nm chips next year. A second fab that will produce smaller, more complex 3nm chips is scheduled to open in 2026.During the company's Q2 earnings call on Thursday, TSMC chairman Mark Liu said that the company was encountering... Continue reading...

Samsung Wallet can now be used to access things around campus without needing a physical card. | Image: Samsung Samsung's now offering new digital student ID support in its own Wallet app. Galaxy users, specifically those who have recent A, S, or Z series devices, will be able to pull up their campus card to access facilities and food at a tap around supported institutions just as easily as using Samsung Pay.The news comes as Samsung gets ready to announce new devices, including its latest foldable phones, at its yearly Unpacked event next Wednesday.Back in my day, we had to carry around ugly plastic student ID cards to tag ourselves into smelly weight rooms and grab dry burgers on a meal plan. Today, some students have gone through school and earned a four-year degree without ever needing to carry a physical card.Early on, Android phones... Continue reading...

Image: The Animation Guild A group of Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Animation production workers - the staff of different managers, assistants, IT specialists, and coordinators who play vital roles in bringing the studios' projects to fruition - have announced their intention to form a union with The Animation Guild.Per The Hollywood Reporter, 66 of the production workers behind Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Animation shows including Harley Quinn, Teen Titans Go!, Craig of the Creek, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, Batman: Caped Crusader, and We Baby Bears have filed a petition to the National Labor Relations Board asking for it to hold and oversee a union election. The staffers are also requesting that Warner Bros. Discovery voluntarily recognizes their... Continue reading...

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta's newest update for its Quest VR headsets, v56, will add a lot of welcome upgrades, including improved hand tracking, system-level live captions, and the return of livestreaming to Facebook.The improved hand tracking, which Meta is calling Hand Tracking 2.2, focuses on hands responsiveness" to bring the experience closer to controllers," and to help show it off, the company released the Move Fast demo app as part of its App Lab. Meta is also adding swipe typing on its virtual keyboard, which could be an easier way to spell things out than hunting and pecking on virtual keys midair.I tried out hand tracking and Meta's Direct Touch technology on the Quest 2 earlier this year, and while it was quite finicky, I thought it was still... Continue reading...

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 (right) offer improved noise cancellation and better comfort than the prior model (left). | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge With more people working from home than they used to, owning a good pair of noise-canceling headphones has become more appealing than ever. However, they can be expensive and difficult to shop for due to the range of available models, many of which cater to different lifestyles and priorities. Some are better suited for long-haul flights, for instance, while others are ideal for multitasking and marathon listening sessions.That's why we've curated this list of the best deals on noise-canceling headphones. Here, you'll find sales on all kinds of on-ear and over-ear headphones, all of which are designed to eliminate outside noise but come with their own strengths and weaknesses. And if you want to do even more research before making a... Continue reading...

This is what the Watch 6 Classic could look like. | Image: OnLeaks / MySmartPrice The upcoming Galaxy Watch 6 could come with a larger display thanks to its slimmed-down bezels. A specs list posted by leaker SnoopyTech (via 9to5Google) suggests that the 40mm Watch 6 will come with a 1.31-inch OLED display, while the 44mm version will feature a 1.47-inch OLED display.The specs sheet indicates that the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic will get a similar upgrade, featuring the same display sizes across its rumored 43mm and 47mm options. According to the specs sheet, the 1.2-inch display might come with a 432 x 432 resolution, while the 1.47-inch screen may have a 480 x 480 resolution. That's a slight upgrade from the 1.2-inch and 1.4-inch displays on its Galaxy Watch 5 predecessor.

Image: Dolphin Don't wait around for Dolphin to help bring Nintendo GameCube and Wii games to Steam - it's officially no longer happening. Nearly two months after postponing the release indefinitely," the Dolphin Emulator team now says it's completely given up on the idea. We are abandoning our efforts to release Dolphin on Steam," they write.Remember when we showed you the receipts where Valve torpedoed the launch, telling Dolphin it would have to get permission from Nintendo if it wanted a place in the store? Today's Nintendo was never going to give that permission, and Dolphin is now coming to terms with that:

Image: The Verge The newest feature of ChatGPT is designed to help you type a little less. It's called custom instructions," and it gives you a place to tell your chatbot the things it should always know about you and how you'd like it to respond to your questions. The feature is in beta, works everywhere ChatGPT does - it should be particularly helpful on mobile devices - and is available today on an opt-in basis to ChatGPT Plus subscribers everywhere but the UK and EU. (Those are hopefully coming soon.)Right now, if you open up ChatGPT," says Joanne Jang, who works on model behaviors and product at OpenAI, it doesn't know much about you. If you start a new thread, it forgets everything you've talked about in the past. But there are things that... Continue reading...

Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images Don't get it twisted: trees are a crucial lifeline during a severe heatwave like the one gripping the US right now. So the tree trimming controversy that unfolded this week during the screenwriters and actors strike is anything but trivial.In case you missed it, union members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) joined picket lines outside Universal Studios despite temperatures soaring above 90 degrees Fahrenheit this week. In a tweet that went viral, writer Chris Stephens pointed out on Monday that trees that would have shaded the protesters were suddenly quite bald.Trees are essential to providing Angelenos with significant environmental... Continue reading...

Image: Amazon Amazon is bringing its palm-scanning technology to even more Whole Foods stores. By the end of this year, Amazon says you'll be able to pay for your purchase using just the palm of your hand at the over 500 Whole Foods locations it has throughout the US.The palm-scanning tech is part of Amazon One, a service that lets you link your Amazon account and payment information to your palm print. Once your palm print is in Amazon's system, you can hover your palm over an Amazon One scanner, and it will charge the payment method that's tied to your Amazon account.After first rolling out the palm scanners to some of its Go stores, it later introduced the tech to over 200 Whole Foods locations in California, New York, Texas, and several other... Continue reading...

Lazarus' production logo. | Adult Swim Anime classics like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Space Dandy wouldn't be the beloved masterpieces they are were it not for the vision director Shinichir Watanabe brought to them, and the same is going to be very true of Lazarus, his new upcoming series set to premiere on Adult Swim.Variety reports that Adult Swim has ordered a full season of Lazarus, which will be produced by studio MAPPA - the Japanese production house behind anime like Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man - and feature a jazz and electronic score" from saxophonist Kamasi DJ Floating Points and producer Bonobo. The show will also reportedly feature a number of action sequences crafted by John Wick's Chad Stahelski.Set in the year 2052, Lazarus tells the story of... Continue reading...

Image: Hugo Herrera / The Verge A few months back, everyone wondered who would win the AI arms race. Microsoft aligned itself with OpenAI. Google launched Bard. Meta began working on its own large language model, LLaMA. Other companies began thinking of launching AI platforms, and curious users pitted the models against each other.But a recent deal suggests we may also see a growing number of partnerships, not just head-to-head competition. Earlier this week, Meta offered its LLaMA large language model for free under an open license and brought it to Microsoft's Azure platform. The decision highlighted the benefits of interoperability in AI - and as more companies join the field, it probably won't be the last of its kind.Well-known LLMs to date have been relatively... Continue reading...

Image: The Pokemon Company Pokemon Sleep, the app that aims to designate Pikachu as your certified sleep neurologist, is now available in the United States. The app was announced way back in 2019, suffered a four-year delay, and is now quietly rolling out all over the world. Earlier this week, Pokemon Sleep arrived in Canada, allowing my boss, Andrew Webster, to try it out before me (to my great envy, I might add). He'll have more words for you on the app soon.Sleep works by having you place your phone on your pillow after doing any of the fifty leven million Pokemon-themed activities you can do nowadays. (Back in my day, all we could do was catch em all - all 151 of them - and we liked it!) The app purports to track your sleeping habits via your phone, and... Continue reading...

Logitech's MX Mechanical Mini is all substance, some style. | Photo by Jon Porter / The Verge If you're a mechanical keyboard enthusiast who prefers the design of traditional laptop keyboards, then Amazon's deal on the Logitech MX Mechanical Mini might be right up your alley. Right now, you can pick up the excellent mechanical keyboard with a 75 percent layout for $133.81 (about $16 off) when you clip the on-page coupon for $10 off, which is a small discount but one we rarely see. Amazon is also throwing in a two-month trial to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography (valued at $20) or a monthlong trial to Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps (valued at $55), the latter of which offers access to Adobe's entire software suite.Logitech's discounted low-profile keyboard comes with clicky blue switches that are backlit with plain white LEDs -... Continue reading...

Oh, the apps you'll uninstall. Continue reading...

The enablement of Google's Privacy Toolbox will be gradual, with the company planning to start phasing out third-party cookies in 2024. | Image: The Verge The first phase of Google's long-standing plan to kill third-party cookies in Chrome is nearly complete. Following Chrome 115's public release on July 18th, Google says that it will gradually begin enabling the Privacy Sandbox toolkit for Chrome developers set to replace third-party tracking cookies with privacy-preserving API alternatives.There are still several stages to go until Google completes its Privacy Sandbox rollout, but shipping these APIs is a significant milestone toward the company's goal of phasing out third-party cookies entirely. Google is still aiming to enable an opt-in testing mode that will allow advertisers to experiment with the Sandbox tools without cookies by late 2023 and to turn off third-party cookies for 1... Continue reading...

The photo shared by Isaacson showing concept images of the Cybertruck, and the pop culture that inspired them. Click to see full-sized image. | Image: Walter Isaacson Elon Musk biographer Walter Isaacson has shared a photograph of the Tesla CEO during an early meeting about the Cybertruck that sheds interesting light on the alternative designs considered, as well as the pop culture that ultimately inspired it. On the left of the image we can see several concept images of Tesla's electric pickup truck, while on the right is a mood board showing images from various movies and video games, including many sci-fi and cyberpunk titles. In the foreground Musk can be seen in conversation with Tesla design chief Franz von Holzhausen.This isn't the first time we've seen an alternative design for Tesla's eye-catching pickup truck. During the company's launch event for the Tesla Semi in 2017, Musk teased the... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube Premium's price has increased to $13.99 a month in the US, a $2 increase compared to what it used to cost. That's according to Google's signup page for the service, which has been quietly updated to reflect the new pricing, which was first spotted by 9to5Google. Alongside the monthly price increase, the cost of an annual subscription to YouTube Premium is increasing by $20 to $139.99.YouTube Music - the music streaming service that's available standalone or as part of a Premium subscription - is also seeing a price increase in the US. It will now cost $10.99 a month, mirroring similar price increases we've seen for Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal. Spotify is a notable holdout for still charging $9.99 a month, but CEO Daniel... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge The New York Times cites anonymous sources in a report saying Google demonstrated Genesis for media execs from the Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp, presenting responsible" technology that takes in facts and spits out news copy. Two execs mentioned in the article said it seemed to take for granted the effort that went into producing accurate and artful news stories," while another saw it as more of a personal assistant / helper.Asked about the report, Google spokesperson Jenn Crider provided the following statement to The Verge:

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Changes to the Reddit API have forced beloved apps like Apollo to shut down, and following the protests, mods are feeling threatened by Reddit. Continue reading...

A Cybertruck being tested around the world" for final certification and validation. | Image: Tesla Tesla revealed new measurements for its long-delayed Cybertruck in its Q2 earnings report. The polarizing truck will be less than 19 feet long and will have a bed that's longer than six feet, which is shorter than Ford's best-selling F-150 Lighting, which is 19.25 feet long with a 5.5-foot bed.We continue to build release candidates of the Cybertruck on our final production line in Austin," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on an earnings call today. Musk claims it's the first four-door pickup that comes in that bed and length size combination and that there's a lot of new technology" in the vehicle.Tesla claims Cybertruck will break a lot of boundaries" technologically and architecturally in its earnings press release today. ... Continue reading...

Mom took away your favorite toy because she said you weren't playing fair. | Image: Blizzard Nothing brings together a community of gamers quite like a balancing patch to their favorite numbers-go-up game, does it? That's what Blizzard's new version 1.1.0 patch is doing for Diablo IV players, and the chorus being sung in unison by hardcore players is quite the tantrum.But here's the thing: Blizzard really has mucked things up at a very inopportune time.Diablo IV's patch 1.1.0 dropped yesterday, just two days before the start of the game's first seasonal content drop, the Season of the Malignant, which will have players start fresh characters to run through a new quest line and premium battle pass. But within the lengthy patch notes were a large swath of changes significantly shaking up the potency of many popular character... Continue reading...