by Sean Hollister on (#6QHRP)
A still image of Doom on a volumetric display. | Photo by James Brown (@ancientjames) In 2022, I introduced you to James Brown, the Weta Workshop graphics engineer whose hobby is building amazing displays. Now, he's built a crystal ball filled with shimmering, spinning volumetric light - and of course he's playing Doom on it.But not just any Doom. Voxel Doom, where every dot of the game's graphics lives in 3D space, just like the dots of the volumetric display he's created.As he explains on YouTube, the physical illusion is fairly simple: It's like a hologram fan, but instead of spinning a 1D strip to make a 2D image, it spins a 2D panel to make a 3D image." On his Mastodon, he breaks it down a bit more with visual aids:Brown's been working on this for over a year now: if I'm not mistaken, he introduced the... Continue reading...
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The Verge - All Posts
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Updated | 2024-11-22 22:45 |
by Wes Davis on (#6QHPZ)
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA's Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Harmony module's forward port on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. | Image: NASA The Starliner flew home empty after undocking autonomously, while the astronauts it took to the ISS will make a separate trip back to Earth in 2025. Continue reading...
by Emma Roth on (#6QHQ0)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Rumors about the Watch Series 10 have been relatively scant in the runup to Apple's event next week, where it's expected to debut alongside the iPhone 16. However, a report from 9to5Mac says it will have an upgraded ECG sensor capable of detecting sleep apnea.That backs up today's reporting from Bloomberg, which says the Watch Series 10 will be capable of identifying whether someone shows signs of sleep apnea - a condition that causes people to suddenly stop breathing during sleep. If the watch determines that the user may have sleep apnea, it will then recommend that they see a medical provider for more tests.Some other upgrades potentially coming to the Watch Series 10 include slightly larger displays and a thinner case, as well as... Continue reading...
by Emma Roth on (#6QHNC)
Illustration: The Verge Meta has finally pulled the curtain back on what its plans for third-party chats in WhatsApp and Messenger will look like. The change, which is coming for users in the European Union, introduces new options to put Messenger and WhatsApp messages in the same inbox as third-party chats or keep them separate.It's building new notifications into Messenger and WhatsApp as well, which will let users know when they can link chats from newly supported apps. Meta says it has gone above and beyond the basic' features required for interoperable messaging" and will offer rich messaging features, like reactions, direct replies, typing indicators, and read receipts. Image: Meta It will also start including the option to create... Continue reading...
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by Lauren Feiner on (#6QHND)
Illustration: The Verge The Justice Department wants to learn more about Google's AI strategy in order to determine what kinds of changes it will ask for to resolve Google's monopoly in search.The request came during a hearing on Friday in a federal court in Washington, DC, where Google and the DOJ met before Judge Amit Mehta, who recently ruled in favor of the DOJ and agreed that Google is an illegal monopolist. Mehta's decision officially ended the first phase of the trial, which focused on whether Google is liable under antitrust law. Now the parties are moving onto the remedies phase, where the government will propose solutions to correct the illegal behavior and restore competition to the market.DOJ attorney David Dahlquist told the court that the... Continue reading...
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by Sean Hollister on (#6QHNE)
The AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme is the chip inside the Asus ROG Ally X, Asus ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go - and in early 2025, AMD will announce its successor, the Z2 Extreme, for future PC gaming handhelds.That's the word from Digital Trends' Jacob Roach, who heard AMD computing and graphics boss Jack Huynh say it's targeting a 2025 release on an IFA stage in Berlin; I just confirmed with AMD spokesperson Stacy MacDiarmid that the company plans to announce it in early 2025, though AMD's declining to say any more about it today.The only other things we've heard: AMD says it's working with multiple partners, so the chip may already be in handheld makers' hands. And it's probably based on AMD's Strix Point; so say Jez Corden's sources over... Continue reading...
by Andrew Liszewski on (#6QHNF)
With just a single USB-C port, Anker's new Nano is its smallest and lightest 100W charger yet. | Image: Anker Anker's new 100W Nano Charger is about 60 grams lighter than the company's last ultracompact 100W wall charger, but it has a big tradeoff. To make its smallest 100W power adapter yet, Anker had to sacrifice a couple of USB ports.The new 100W Nano Charger is available for preorder for $44.99 and ships in mid-September. The new frame is about 26 percent smaller and 30 percent lighter than Anker's Prime 100W GaN charger, which is the smallest 100W power adapter the company previously sold with two USB-C ports and a single USB-A.To better put the Nano's size into perspective, with its prongs folded, it's only about 17 percent larger than the Apple AirPods Pro 2's charging case, so the Nano should fit in any pocket you can squeeze AirPods... Continue reading...
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by Elizabeth Lopatto on (#6QHJW)
Look out below! | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge It's been a minute since I checked in on our friends at Coinbase, and so when I saw Reuters noting that a class action suit would be going ahead, I thought perhaps we should all reflect together on Coinbase's cruel summer.The company's shares have fallen by more than a third in the last 6 months, to $147.95 as of this writing, from $238.55 on March 6th. On the company's first day of trading, in April 2021, its closing price was $328.28.Quite a turn of fortune! Certainly some price fluctuation can be chalked up to the vagaries of the cryptocurrency market - Coinbase was trading at $153.98 at the start of this year, before a Bitcoin ETF got approved. When Bitcoin began a run in February, Coinbase also started trading up. Still, there... Continue reading...
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by Allison Johnson on (#6QHJX)
The Pixel Fold's successor features an updated format that makes it a joy to use. Continue reading...
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by Alex Heath on (#6QHG8)
Illustration: The Verge As Roblox marches toward its ultimate goal of 1 billion users, the company is finding new ways to share revenue with the developers who have made millions of games on the platform.During the company's annual developers conference in San Francisco on Friday, CEO David Baszucki announced that creators of these games, which Roblox calls experiences, will be able to keep between 50 and 70 percent of revenue from their paid titles when they're purchased in real currency on desktop computers. That's significantly more than the roughly 30 percent revenue split Roblox gives developers for purchases made with its native Robux currency inside freemium experiences.The move could help incentivize the creation of more premium games as Roblox looks... Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6QHG9)
iPhone 15 Pro shoots 4K 60fps in ProRes. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple's iPhone 16 event is in three days, and today, there's a new leak (from reliable sources" speaking to 9to5Mac) that claims the Pro version will support the ability to record video in 4K at an impressively smooth 120fps. According to that same source, iPhone 16's rumored new camera trigger button will support changing from the default camera app to a third-party one.The article goes on to state that the 4K 120fps video can be shot up to ProRes quality when used with an external SSD. Apple is also reportedly improving its photo mode video recording shortcut QuickTake to shoot in 4K quality instead of 1080p. Other features like JPEG-XL image format support, the ability to pause a video recording, wind noise removal, new special... Continue reading...
by Emma Roth on (#6QHGA)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images In a post on Telegram Friday, founder and CEO Pavel Durov set out a new approach for the app and announced it's disabled some outdated" features. The first changes to the app following his arrest in France last month affect its built-in blog posts and a People Nearby" location-based feature.The changes come as Durov attempts to reverse Telegram's reputation as a hotspot for criminal activity that came as a result of lax moderation policies. In late August, French authorities arrested and charged Durov with enabling legal transactions and complicity in the distribution of child sexual abuse material.Durov's first post-arrest statement Thursday said, Telegram's abrupt increase in user count to 950M caused growing pains that made it... Continue reading...
by Justine Calma on (#6QHDG)
Spectators and cyclists during a heatwave coinciding with the Paris Olympics on August 4th, 2024. | Photo by Magali Cohen / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images The Northern Hemisphere just experienced the hottest summer on record since at least 1940, even topping last year's record-breaking season, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service.The temperature-related extreme events witnessed this summer will only become more intense."Scorching temperatures so far this year also put 2024 on track to be the hottest year since recordkeeping began in 1850, potentially unseating 2023 for the top spot. Temperatures have risen steadily since greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels soared with the Industrial Revolution, showing a clear trend in the data.The temperature-related extreme events witnessed this summer will only become more intense, with more... Continue reading...
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by David Pierce on (#6QHDH)
Image: The Verge Imagine an iPhone. But slightly bigger. And slightly faster. Okay, now add another button to the side. Make it gold. You in?Apple's next event is on Monday, and the rumors and reports have been swirling for months about what we will and won't see. New iPhones are a safe bet. New Apple Watches seem to be on the docket, and there's strong evidence we'll get some new AirPods, too. There's even some smoke suggesting a new Mac Mini is in the offing... but that's probably coming a bit later.On this episode of The Vergecast, we discuss all the rumors, reports, speculation, and blatant wishful thinking surrounding the event. We talk a lot about cameras because that's frankly mostly what iPhones are for now, and we talk a lot about AI because... Continue reading...
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by Mia Sato on (#6QHDJ)
Image: Instagram Instagram is adding a handful of new features to direct messages, including photo editing capabilities and stickers.Users will be able to edit photos by drawing on them or adding stickers before sending them via DM, similar to editing features that already exist for Instagram Stories. The company also said users will be able to make their own custom stickers from existing photos and use them in DMs. Put together, the photo editing tools in chats are expanding to be closer to Stories.Instagram is also adding new chat themes that change the look and design of DMs, like a fall theme or one promoting a new album by pop star Sabrina Carpenter. Users can also now add a birthday cake icon to Notes, the away status-like blurb that is visible... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6QHDK)
Image: Laura Normand / The Verge Former President Donald Trump says that if reelected, he'll create a government efficiency task force - and that Elon Musk has already agreed to lead it. During a speech in New York on Thursday, Trump said the new efficiency commission would conduct a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government" and make recommendations for drastic reforms."Musk's companies are recipients of government spending, with records showing Tesla has received nearly 13 percent of the EV charging awards granted as part of President Joe Biden's infrastructure law, according to Politico. Meanwhile, SpaceX has received billions in federal funding since its inception.As we noted after Musk endorsed Trump in July, that came despite... Continue reading...
by Andrew Liszewski on (#6QHA6)
Midea is delivering some of the first cordless kitchen appliances with its new Celestial Flex Series collection. | Image: Midea Days after the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) announced it had finalized its Ki wireless power transfer standard, Midea has debuted its first line of cordless kitchen appliances that wirelessly draw all the power they need using the Ki induction technology.Cooktops that use electromagnetic induction to heat pots and pans have been available in kitchens for years, but Midea is one of the first companies to leverage that technology to wirelessly deliver power to appliances. Its new Celestial Flex Series includes a blender, steamer, and kettle that simply need to be placed on top of an induction plate to run.Midea is a member of the WPC and participated in the development of the Ki standard, so it makes sense that it would be one of the... Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6QHA7)
Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge The cheaper option among our top picks for robovacs that can also mop your floors just got even cheaper. The Dreame L20 Ultra hybrid robot vacuum / mop is selling for a new low price of $699 ($700 off) at Wellbots until September 15th when you use checkout code VERGE100.Dreame may not be the household name that iRobot's Roomba line is, but it makes some of the best hybrid cleaning bots around for both vacuuming and mopping your floors. The pricier X40 Ultra is our top choice for best hybrid robovac, but the L20 Ultra makes for a much better value at this big discount. It features strong suction for picking up a sizable amount of dirt and getting down deep into carpets, obstacle avoidance, and the ability to automatically remove mop... Continue reading...
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by Lauren Feiner on (#6QHA8)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Google and the Justice Department are set for a rematch of sorts on Monday when they return to court to argue about Google's alleged monopolistic behavior over how ads are bought and sold on the internet.The DOJ is fresh off a win in its search antitrust case against Google, where a federal judge in Washington, DC, agreed that Google had illegally monopolized the online search market. This time, the two parties will argue before a different judge in Virginia about whether Google has also illegally monopolized markets for advertising technology.This is kind of a one-two punch," says Vanderbilt Law School antitrust professor Rebecca Haw Allensworth. Google is probably licking its wounds from having lost the last one. And it would be... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6QH4X)
Snap Groups is basically Snap Layouts for Chromebooks. | Illustration: The Verge Google is rolling out a new ChromeOS update that makes it easier to keep your on-screen apps organized, copy text from images, and adjust camera and microphone settings on Chromebook devices.One of the more notable features introduced in ChromeOS 128 is Snap Groups - a feature similar to Windows 11's Snap layouts that allows you to easily group apps together in a variety of fullscreen layouts. The feature is even triggered the same way as Microsoft does it, by hovering over the maximize app button.The ChromeOS camera app now supports Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract text from captured images of letters or other documents. It allows users to copy or search the text in images, more easily convert images into searchable... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Liszewski on (#6QH4Y)
The most welcome upgrade on the Xgimi Aura 2 is a retractable lens protector. | Image: Xgimi Xgimi has announced an upgraded version of its ultrashort throw projector. The new Aura 2 is smaller and lighter than its predecessor while delivering more brightness, but the most welcome improvement is an automatic sliding cover on top that protects the projector's lens and helps minimize dust buildup. Image: Xgimi The Aura 2 can project an image up to 150 inches in size while sitting close to a wall. Xgimi says the Aura 2 produces 2,300 ISO lumens of brightness from its Dual Light 2.0" light source that uses a combination of lasers and LEDs. That's up from 1,800 ISO lumens for the original Xgimi Aura, which should improve the Aura 2's performance when used in rooms where ambient light can't be completely... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Liszewski on (#6QH2Z)
A capacious battery allows the Reolink Altas PT Ultra to be easily installed anywhere without the need for access to power. | Image: Reolink Reolink's new Altas PT Ultra is the company's first battery-powered security camera that is capable of all-day continuous recording. It doesn't need power access, so it can be installed almost anywhere, and since it captures 4K video to a microSD card instead of the cloud, there are fewer security risks and no subscription fees.There are already many battery-powered security cameras that streamline installation, but they're limited by small batteries that can't record for more than a day before needing a charge. Reolink's Altas PT Ultra's solution to that problem is a built-in 20,000mAh battery the company says has enough power to record for 12 hours per day for up to eight days or four days when recording nonstop around the clock.H... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6QH1F)
If you have a Hisense TV, you'll be able to easily link up Yeelight's lighting - like these smart cubes. | Image: Yeelight Yeelight's array of smart lighting products will now automatically sync with Hisense VIDAA TVs. During the IFA tech conference in Berlin, Yeelight revealed that its app now integrates directly with Hisense TVs, allowing it to capture the audio and video on your screen while relaying matching effects across Yeelight's devices.That means you can quickly link up Yeelight's light strip and its stackable cube-shaped lights to your TV (given that you have a Hisense, of course). That makes it even simpler to set up when compared to some other ambient lighting options from brands like Philips, which requires you to either purchase a Hue Play HDMI sync box to sync your lighting or the Hue Sync TV app, which is only available on some Samsung TVs... Continue reading...
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by Mia Sato on (#6QGYH)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Telegram has quietly removed language from its FAQ saying private chats were protected and that "We do not process any requests related to them." The change comes nearly two weeks after its CEO, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France for allegedly allowing criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app."In response, Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn says the app's source code has not changed. "Private chats are still private too - although you could always report a new incoming chat to moderators by using Block > Report. Anyone can check Telegram's open source code and see there were no changes," writes Vaughn.Earlier on Thursday evening, Durov issued his first public statement since his arrest, promising to moderate content... Continue reading...
by Sean Hollister on (#6QGXA)
Pavel Durov. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Twelve days after he was arrested in France, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has broken his silence with a 600-word statement on his Telegram account that blames growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform."French authorities had charged Durov with enabling various forms of criminal activity on Telegram, including an unnamed person's distribution of child sexual abuse material on the platform. An unnamed statement from Telegram at the time of his arrest said Durov had nothing to hide."While the vast majority of his statement today paints his arrest as surprising and unfair, he also admits that policing Telegram has become harder. Durov says it's now his personal goal" to significantly improve things in this... Continue reading...
by Emma Roth on (#6QGT9)
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images The US, UK, and European Union have signed the first legally binding" treaty on AI, which is supposed to ensure its use aligns with human rights, democracy and the rule of law," according to the Council of Europe.The treaty, called the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, lays out key principles AI systems must follow, such as protecting user data, respecting the law, and keeping practices transparent. Each country that signs the treaty must adopt or maintain appropriate legislative, administrative or other measures" that reflect the framework.
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6QGTA)
Instead of a boring number or some dots of light to show battery level, you get a silly face. | Image: Ugreen Ugreen has a new collection of iPhone and USB accessories for IFA 2024 that really turn up the charm. The Uno line is a collection of GaN and Qi2 chargers, cables, a power bank, and a USB-C hub, each featuring a tiny screen solely for displaying robot-like emoji faces.The most endearing ones by far are the $60 Uno Charger 100W four-port USB and the $70 15W Qi2 magnetic power bank that sticks to MagSafe phones - each looks like a helpful little bot friend you've appointed to live on your desk and help with your charging duties. They're also the most expressive, with their TFT screens that show up to half a dozen different faces to give some idea of the actual charge levels / rates of your device.For example, the faces on the Qi2 power... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Liszewski on (#6QGR8)
The Osom OV1 smartphone was created by former Essential engineers and designers. | Image: Osom Osom Products Inc. - the mobile phone company founded by former employees of Essential, which shut down after releasing a single phone - is shutting down this week, having released a single phone.The news comes shortly after Osom's former chief privacy officer sued the company, claiming that it was out of money after its CEO used business funds to pay for personal trips and exotic cars.During an internal meeting on Tuesday, Osom executives announced their decision to shutter the company, according to multiple sources who spoke to Android Authority. The report said most of the company's employees will be laid off on Friday but will receive severance pay and be eligible for continued healthcare.After this article was published, we... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6QGR9)
Image: Sony Sony has started celebrating 30 years of PlayStation and seems to have confirmed a PS5 Pro design leak in the process. A blog post earlier today included a 30th anniversary image (above), and eagle-eyed observers have spotted a suspicious-looking PS5 design in the montage that looks identical to the PS5 Pro leak from a week ago.Dealabs reported last week that it had seen retail packaging for the PS5 Pro and created a sketch that showed three black stripes in the middle of the outer facades of the console. Those three black strips can be clearly seen in Sony's montage image, looking rather Adidas-like and unlike the stripe you can find on the PS5. In fact, the existing PS5 model is also in the montage, with a single stripe through the... Continue reading...
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by Lauren Feiner on (#6QGNB)
Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge A startup funded by the cofounder of Yahoo and CTO of Intel is suing Nvidia and Microsoft for allegedly infringing on its patent for a key innovation in AI chips and being part of a buying cartel that allegedly sought to artificially fix lower prices for the technology.In a new lawsuit, Texas-based Xockets says Nvidia has infringed on its patented data processing unit (DPU) technology, which helps make cloud infrastructure more efficient by accelerating data-intensive workloads. Xockets says the chip giant inherited the infringement through its 2020 acquisition of Mellanox. It claims Mellanox initially infringed on its patent after Xockets publicly demonstrated its DPU tech at a conference in 2015.Xockets alleges that three of... Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6QGNC)
Image: Umar Shakir / The Verge Tesla updated the roadmap today for its out-of-beta Full Self-Driving (FSD) advanced driver-assist system. The automaker says it will launch the feature in the Cybertruck later this month, roll out a more robust v13 update in October, and launch it in Europe and China within the first quarter of next year - pending regulatory approval.Tesla started delivering its polarizing Cybertruck to customers more than nine months ago, and one of the biggest omissions (and hype deflators) was not just the lack of FSD but also Autopilot features like lane-keeping. Now Cybertruck will get these features in September, starting with Autopark - which means that Cybertrucks can soon automatically pull into visible parking spots in lots and on streets.
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6QGND)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is developing new tools that aim to give creators on the platform more control over content that copies their voice or likeness using generative AI. In its announcement post, YouTube said the new likeness management tech will help to safeguard its creators and partners while enabling them to harness AI's creative potential" by promoting responsible AI development.The first tool, described as a synthetic-singing identification technology," will allow artists and creators to automatically detect and manage YouTube content that simulates their singing voices using generative AI. YouTube says the tool sits within its existing Content ID copyright identification system and that it's planning to test it under a pilot program next... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6QGNE)
Illustration: The Verge Google is testing its new Ask Photos" feature that lets you explore your library of pictures in new ways. The feature, which Google first previewed in May, is rolling out to select Google Labs users in the US and will let you ask things like, Where did we camp last time we went to Yosemite?" or What did we eat at the hotel in Stanley?"Using Google's Gemini AI models, the Photos app will then offer a response based on the content in your photos, as well as pull up images relevant to your question. GIF: Google Google is putting an AI assistant in Photos, too. Google says you can even use Ask Photos to complete tasks, such as summarizing things you did on a recent vacation or choosing the best pictures of your... Continue reading...
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by David Pierce on (#6QGJ4)
Apple Pay hasn't changed much since 2014, and maybe it hasn't needed to. | Image: The Verge When Apple launched Apple Pay in 2014, at an event 10 years to the day before this year's iPhone launch, Apple promised the feature would change the way you pay." The company didn't just let you save a credit card number on your phone; it let you pay for things with a single tap by transmitting information through an NFC chip. Apple was so bullish on mobile payments that Apple Pay was even one of the key selling points for the also-just-announced Apple Watch.A decade later, Apple Pay is everywhere. You can use it to buy groceries and coffee; you can use it to ride the New York City subway or rent a Lime scooter. You can use Apple Pay and skip the whole multipage checkout process on lots of online stores. You can use it on your phone,... Continue reading...
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by Lauren Feiner on (#6QGJ5)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Snapchat is the app of choice for criminals targeting kids for sextortion or child sexual abuse material (CSAM), New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez alleges in a new lawsuit filed against the app's owner, Snap.The suit accuses Snap of violating New Mexico law against unfair practices and public nuisance based on design elements like its disappearing" messages and alleged failure to police predators. Snap has misled users into believing that photos and videos sent on their platform will disappear," Torrez said in a statement. But predators can permanently capture this content and they have created a virtual yearbook of child sexual images that are traded, sold, and stored indefinitely."Torrez's office ran an undercover... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6QGJ6)
Image: Flic Shortcut Labs has been openly working toward the goal of turning its smart home hubs - the Flic Hub LR and the Flic Hub Mini - into Matter controllers for quite a while, and now the company tells The Verge it has done it. On Friday, Shortcut will release an update that, according to the company, lets its devices easily act as independent hubs for Matter devices without being part of the ecosystems from companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, or Samsung.It's a compelling idea: a way to build out a smart home without turning to one of the big tech companies and the privacy concerns and attempts at lock-in that come with that. Part of the promise of the Matter standard is that it gives users freedom of choice, but we've still mostly had to... Continue reading...
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by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#6QGJ7)
Nanoleaf's Blocks come in two sizes and can integrate with fabric panel covers, pegboards, and shelves. | Image: Nanoleaf Nanoleaf is giving its popular smart lighting panels a major refresh. The Nanoleaf Blocks (starting at $199.99) feature edge-to-edge lighting that the company says eliminates hot spots and dark corners, bringing a smoother, more even look. The new Blocks can also be customized with pegboards, shelves, and textured light panels to bring more function to your wall art. They're available for preorder now and ship in October.The company announced the new panels during its Nanoleaf Live event on YouTube and will show them off at the IFA tech show in Berlin this week. Nanoleaf is also adding two new features to its desktop app that work with the Blocks, as well as its entire line of smart lights, to offer more immersive lighting experiences.... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6QGJ9)
Image: SwitchBot Air purifiers are great and all, but they only really do one thing, and they usually don't look elegant doing it. SwitchBot is trying to change this by making an air purifier that also serves as a table, a wireless charger, and a light source.The device, aptly named the SwitchBot Air Purifier Table, costs $269.99 and puts a small platform atop the air purifier. You can place a Qi-compatible phone on the platform to charge it wirelessly or simply use it to set down your cup of coffee. Beneath the platform is a light that looks like it could come in handy for subtle nighttime illumination. You can choose from 10 different colors, with options for soft, moderate, and bright lighting; the light will also change color by itself - from green... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6QGJ8)
Image: Waymo How do you convince a skeptical public that your autonomous vehicles are not only safer than human drivers but also a better way to get around? If you're Waymo, the answer is data - and lots of it.The Alphabet-owned company revealed a new safety hub today, complete with glossy graphics and a multitude of charts that will be periodically updated, with the overarching message that its autonomous vehicles are not to be feared. The move comes as Waymo seeks to expand its footprint, win over new customers, and cement its lead in the race to deploy more driverless cars. It also comes as safety regulators have begun to take a harder look at the whole autonomous vehicle industry - including Waymo.This matters a lot to us"This matters a lot... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6QGJA)
Construction equipment during a groundbreaking ceremony at the Occidental direct air capture plant in Texas on April 28th, 2023. | Photo: Getty Images A major project to capture and store carbon dioxide pollution for companies including Microsoft and Amazon just took a significant step forward - the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued draft permits for wells that would store the CO2 underground. The EPA issued the permits to Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum that has landed big carbon removal deals with major tech companies.Oxy is building a massive industrial plant called Stratos to filter CO2 out of the air in Ector County, Texas, where the three proposed wells are located. This is the first time the EPA has issued draft permits in Texas for the Class VI wells used specifically to sequester carbon dioxide.These wells could be a key piece of... Continue reading...
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by Ash Parrish on (#6QGEF)
Image: Larian Studios The long-awaited Patch 7 for Baldur's Gate 3 is now live. The update adds new, gruesome cinematics for some of the game's evil endings, new legendary actions for Honor Mode encounters, and official in-game mod support.
by Joanna Nelius on (#6QGEG)
Welcome to the future of laptops. | Image: Lenovo Lenovo is back with another twisting laptop, and this time, it can twist itself. Today at IFA, the company showed off its Auto Twist AI PC concept, which has a motorized hinge. It can track your movements and rotate its display to face you as you walk around it and can transform itself into different modes in response to voice commands. The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy got a hands-on - well, hands-off - demonstration.
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by Tom Warren on (#6QGEH)
Image: Microsoft Microsoft is holding a OneDrive digital event on October 8th that will cover the latest innovations in AI across Microsoft 365 and OneDrive." It's the second annual event after Microsoft held a similar stream last year to introduce a big new design update for the cloud storage service, AI Copilot integration, and lots more.This year, Microsoft is promising to announce what's coming for Copilot in OneDrive," alongside enhancements to the OneDrive mobile app and an improved photos experience." The event will also cover OneDrive features across work and personal accounts.The OneDrive digital event will be hosted on Microsoft Teams and will include the ability to ask the OneDrive product team questions about the cloud storage service.... Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6QGEJ)
The Nest Cam with floodlight comes in just one color, so hopefully white goes well with your home's exterior. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge If you're looking for a nice discount on a great outdoor smart home camera right now (and you don't mind Google's ecosystem), look no further than the Google Nest Cam with floodlight. It's on sale for $209 ($70 off) at Amazon or $209.99 at Best Buy. It's possible that it may dip to an even lower price during Black Friday / Amazon Prime Day, but today's deal is a good value if you're currently sprucing up the homestead with a bit of security in mind.The Nest floodlight brightly illuminates your yard, driveway, or walk-up when it detects motion and syncs up with the Google Home app to show captured clips of the activity. It supports 1080p video with night vision, two-way audio for communicating with people outside, and IP54-rated weather... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6QGEK)
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The next generation of Bluetooth could make it easier to track down lost tech. On Tuesday, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced the release of Bluetooth 6.0, which includes a new precision tracking feature that could improve the Find My networks from companies like Apple, Google, and Tile.Bluetooth is the protocol that controls wireless communication between devices. The Bluetooth SIG, which oversees the standard, periodically releases updates with new capabilities. Bluetooth's last major update took place in 2016.Bluetooth 6.0 introduces a feature called Channel Sounding, which can determine the distance between two devices with centimeter-level accuracy," according to the Bluetooth SIG. To do this, it uses... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6QGBA)
Govee's chip-on-board strip light is just one of its many new colorful Matter lights coming soon. | Image: Govee At IFA 2024, Govee revealed launch dates for a veritable rat king of Matter-enabled decorative lighting. These include smart string lights, curtain lights, and Govee's first icicle-style smart lights. The company also has two sets of strip lights to follow up its M1 Matter strip, and... listen, it's a lot of lights.Tis (sort of, almost) the season, so let's start with Govee's new holiday lights. The company says all are IP65 waterproof-rated, so they should be good for indoor or outdoor installation, and they're all Matter-compatible, meaning you can use them with any smart home ecosystem that uses the one smart home standard to rule them all. All are coming to the US and the EU. Image: Govee Govee says its new... Continue reading...
by Nilay Patel on (#6QGBB)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge We've been talking a lot about the future of the web on Decoder and across The Verge lately, and one big problem keeps coming up: huge chunks of the web keep going offline. In a lot of meaningful ways, large portions of the web are dying. Servers go offline, software upgrades break links and pages, and companies go out of business - the web isn't static, and that means sometimes parts of it simply vanish.It's not just the really old" internet from the '90s or early 2000s that's at risk. A recent study from the Pew Research Center found that 38 percent of all links from 2013 are no longer accessible. That's more than a third of the collected media, knowledge, and online culture from just a decade ago - gone. Pew calls it digital... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6QGBC)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The partnership announced by Samsung, Qualcomm, and Google last year is developing a pair of mixed reality smart glasses that link to the wearer's smartphone, according to Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon. It's going to be a new product," Amon told CNBC in a recent interview.What I really expect to come out of this partnership, I want everyone that has a phone to go buy companion glasses to go along with it," said Amon. I think we need to get to the point that the glasses are going to be no different than wearing regular glasses or sunglasses. And then with that, we can get scale."Information about the project has been extremely slim since the XR partnership was announced back in February 2023. While the companies never specified what... Continue reading...
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by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#6QGBD)
Roborock's Q-Revo Curv is a complete redesign of the company's robot vacuum and dock. | Image: Roborock With the ability to lift itself up to get over room transitions as high as 40mm, fluffy rugs, and other possible obstacles, Roborock's new Qrevo Curve could be a sign that the stair-climbing robot vacuum is almost here.To be clear, Roborock hasn't said this, but based on how fast this company - and others - are innovating in this space, it feels like we're really not that far away. SharkNinja also announced a new robot vaccum with lifting capabilities this week, and the other companies are likely not far behind.Whether we need stair-climbing robovacs is a question I'm not sure I have the answer to yet. Image: Roborock the Qrevo Curv has a sleeker, curvier dock that can auto=empty the bin and clean and refill... Continue reading...
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by Thomas Ricker on (#6QGBF)
Neo can take off and land in the palm of your hand. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge Priced for mass adoption, you still get a surprisingly capable 4K 30FPS drone that can launch and land in the palm of your hand. Continue reading...
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