The Verge

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Image: Google Google has rolled out a new SafeSearch feature that automatically blurs explicit (meaning violent, sexual, etc.) images in its results. This will occur for all users by default - including those who don't have SafeSearch enabled. This setting was first announced back in February but was scheduled to roll out globally this month.The announcement is part of a larger Google Search initiative to, as the company puts it, help you stay in control of your personal information, privacy, and online safety." The company also recently announced updates to its results about you" dashboard, which make it easier to request the removal of your own personal information or explicit imagery from search results. It's also making it easier for families... Continue reading...

Lithium Americas Corp. is in the process of building a lithium mine in the remote Thacker Pass area of northern Nevada that has drawn impassioned protest from nearby tribes, ranchers, and environmentalists. | Image: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images The company constructing a controversial new lithium mine to supply GM's electric vehicles knows where it wants to drill next based on new research it published today.Lithium Americas broke ground on its mine at Thacker Pass in Nevada after facing fierce opposition from Native American tribes, environmental advocates, and local ranchers. But that mine is just one slice of the McDermitt Caldera, the remnants of a supervolcano that's now believed to hold one of the biggest lithium deposits in the world.There's lithium spread across the caldera's 600 square miles - split between Nevada and Oregon. Thacker Pass is near the southern rim, where especially high-grade materials have been found. What Lithium Americas is after is a clay mineral... Continue reading...

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge New York's OMNY subway pass system is supposed to make the lives of its riders easier, but as a 404 Media investigation highlights, it makes tracking your movement a little bit too easy - posing dangers for anyone at risk of stalking or harassment.If you tap a bank card to ride the subway, a trip history" feature on the OMNY website will reveal your past seven days' worth of trips - including the time and station of entry - to anyone with access to your card number and expiration date. Since it's not unusual for card numbers to be compromised either online or through someone (like a housemate or partner) briefly getting access to a wallet, that creates an easy-to-miss security hole for people facing things like intimate partner... Continue reading...

Image: Activision First-person shooters like Call of Duty are somewhat infamous for the toxicity of their lobbies and voice chats. Surveys have dubbed the franchise's fan base the most negative in all of gaming; a feud between two players once resulted in the summoning of a SWAT team. Activision has been trying to crack down on this behavior for years, and part of the solution might involve artificial intelligence.Activision has partnered with a company called Modulate to bring in-game voice chat moderation" to their titles. The new moderation system, using an AI technology called ToxMod, will work to identify behaviors like hate speech, discrimination, and harassment in real time.ToxMod's initial beta rollout in North America begins today. It's active... Continue reading...

Leaked by Google. | Image: Google They just... put it in the alt text. Continue reading...

The Huawei Mate 60 Pro supposedly comes with a 5G chip. | Image: Huawei Huawei released the Mate 60 Pro on Wednesday with little fanfare and some missing details - namely, the kind of chip it uses. Any mention of a chip is notably absent from the $960 phone's product pages despite mentioning better communication experience" and a more stable network connection."That information has only surfaced in unboxing videos and reviews posted online, including this one from the tech outlet Gizmochina, which says that the device comes with the Kirin 9000s to support 5G and satellite calls. This seems to be the latest version of the Kirin chipset that we last saw with the Mate 40 series devices in 2020. However, Gizmochina notes that there is very little information that can be confirmed" about whether the company... Continue reading...

Autopay with a debit card or be prepared to pay up. | Illustration: The Verge You gotta hand it to carriers: if there's a way to squeeze an extra few dollars out of their customers, they will find it. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the latest maneuver is requiring customers - current and new - to switch to a debit card or bank account withdrawal in order to receive the autopay discount on their plan. Verizon has included this requirement on plans for years, but in the past few months, AT&T and T-Mobile have quietly followed suit to cut back on how much they pay for credit card processing.The new rule goes into effect for AT&T customers on October 2nd, and as a gesture of goodwill, the company will only reduce your discount if you continue to pay with a credit card. Those who register for autopay with a... Continue reading...

The AirPods Max on one of Head Acoustics' dummy head microphones. | Image: Head Acoustics Active noise cancellation, or ANC, has come a long way since Bose launched the first consumer noise-canceling headphones - the QC1 - back in the year 2000. With ANC now firmly mainstream and available in headphones, from the ultra-budget to the high end, it's hard to know which ones make the most sense for your noise-canceling situation without going out and hearing them all.So that's what we did. The Verge hit the streets of New York City with a bunch of noise-canceling headphones, from the original Bose QC1 to the Apple AirPods Max, the Bose Noise Cancelling 700, the Bose QuietComfort 45, and the Sony WH-1000XM5 - not to mention a pair of $1,300 aviation headphones - to see how they compare and to see how far ANC has come in the past... Continue reading...

A July picture of a car dealership in Chicago, Illinois. | Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images Americans are now paying an average of $12,182 to own and operate a brand-new vehicle, or $1,015 per month, according to AAA.That's a big jump over 2022, when the average cost of owning a car was $10,728. The increase, AAA says, comes down to higher prices for new cars, increased depreciation after they're purchased, and falling used car values - as well as the auto industry's shift toward big, feature-laden vehicles at the expense of more utilitarian cars.When The Verge's Thomas Ricker covered a similar AAA report in his First Click newsletter discussing car sharing as an alternative in 2015, Americans spent just $8,698 annually for new cars.In 2015, Americans spent just $8,698 annually for new carsHalf-ton pickup trucks are the... Continue reading...

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Sony is raising the price of its PlayStation Plus subscription next month. The service's annual Essential plan will go from $60 to $80, the Extra plan from $100 to $135, and the Premium plan from $120 to $160. The new pricing goes into effect starting September 6th.If you're currently subscribed to PlayStation Plus, Sony says the price increase won't take effect until your next renewal date or after November 6th. However, if you make any changes to your subscription, such as upgrades, downgrades or buying additional time," you'll have to pay the new rate.Sony says the price hikes will go into effect globally and will allow the company to continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits" to the service. It adds that the... Continue reading...

Image: Rivian Rivian revealed the range for its new dual-motor R1T, and it surely does not disappoint.The Dual-Motor and Performance Dual-Motor R1T will have the best range in our lineup," Rivian said in a tweet, with an EPA estimated 410 miles when coupled with the company's Max battery pack and 352 miles with the large pack. That's all predicated on 21-inch wheels, which surely help propel the R1T to its full range. Range figures for the R1S SUV are still forthcoming, the company added.Rivian opened up reservations for the Dual-Motor and Performance Dual-Motor R1T back in April. Recently, the company invited a bunch of reporters out to its Normal, Illinois, factory for a test drive (which I sadly was unable to join) as well as to experience its... Continue reading...

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Hallmark is partnering with payments platform Venmo to let people send money with physical greeting cards securely.Hallmark launched Hallmark Plus Venmo Cards as a way for relatives to send each other birthday money, for example, among other reasons.Anyone who wants to send money can choose a card from the company's Hallmark Plus Venmo line to celebrate the occasion, scan a QR code, and set the amount they want to give. Once the recipient gets the card, they must scan the code to access the money in their Venmo account.The company said this method eliminates the need to send unsecured gift cards, checks, or cash because, as Newsweek reported in 2022, those tend to get stolen.While Venmo said 78 percent of its users send money as... Continue reading...

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge Instagram looks like it's working on a longer version of Instagram Reels, allowing users to record up to 10 minutes of videos. Leaker Alessandro Paluzzi shared screenshots of two side-by-side Reels pages, one to record for three minutes - the current standard for shortform videos - and another for 10 minutes.