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by Ash Parrish on (#67JJ8)
Photo: Games Done Quick Mike Uyama, who launched the first GDQ in his mother’s basement in 2009, is stepping away due to health reasons. Continue reading…
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The Verge
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
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| Updated | 2025-07-08 05:32 |
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by Justine Calma on (#67JFN)
People walk along an overpass above the Cross Bronx Expressway, a notorious stretch of highway in New York City that is often choked with traffic and contributes to pollution and poor air quality on November 16th, 2021, in New York City. | Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images For the first time in over a decade, the Environmental Protection Agency could toughen its standard for how much soot is allowed in the air we breathe. Today, it proposed lowering the regulatory threshold for fine particulate matter, commonly called soot. Still, some major health and environmental groups say the EPA’s plan is too lenient on the pervasive pollutant that disproportionately burdens communities of color.“Today’s proposal from EPA to update the national annual limits on particulate matter pollution misses the mark and is inadequate to protect public health from this deadly pollutant,” Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, said in a statement.“Today’s proposal from EPA to update the national... Continue reading…
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by Barbara Krasnoff on (#5E8FB)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Back in February 2021, the LastPass password manager announced it was changing its free version so that it would only work on one type of device and that people who wanted to use it on both their computer and mobile devices would have to start paying for a subscription. More recently, LastPass members may have a more important reason to consider a change: two breaches in 2022 have resulted in user data being accessed by hackers.LastPass has stated that its info is still secure. However, if you’re currently using LastPass and are feeling a bit, well, nervous — or if you’re not happy with whatever your current app is — there are other password managers out there to try. So we’ve updated our 2021 listing of free password managers for you... Continue reading…
by Jay Peters on (#66VF5)
Image: Aniplex Nier: Automata, Yoko Taro’s quirky but heartfelt action RPG, is being adapted into an anime that will begin streaming on Crunchyroll on January 7th. The show was first announced in February 2022 and is officially titled Nier: Automata Ver1.1a.Based on the synopsis from Crunchyroll, it seems like Nier: Automata Ver1.1a’s story sticks relatively close to the game, though Taro said in a recent video that there will be some changes. Part of what’s interesting about the game is its 26 different endings and a narrative that takes place across a few different perspectives, and we’ll have to wait and see if and how the show ends up including those.If you’re curious, here’s the synopsis. I’ve left the punctuation exactly as it was provided.
by Monica Chin on (#67JFP)
I don’t really know, either. | Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge Okay, so. This is a pencil. You can draw with it on paper, the way you would with a pencil. Then, you can bring it up to your laptop screen and write on that, as you would with a stylus.This MSI Pen 2, announced earlier this week, actually seems like such a no-brainer product when I think about it. If you have a notebook or Post-its on your desk where you like to write notes but also sometimes like to navigate your laptop’s screen with a stylus, you now only need one pen to do both. You could also try sketching out a picture, chart, or graph on paper before diving into doing so on a computer without putting down your writing utensil. You could take physical notes on a text that you’re reading on your computer, then also reach up and... Continue reading…
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by Monica Chin on (#67HT4)
Image: Razer Including massive 18-inch screens, two screens, and E Ink displays. Continue reading…
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by Sean Hollister on (#67JFQ)
Poem’s end. | Image: Minecraft There is no question who wrote the poem at the end of Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time. Julian Gough is the one who gave the game’s unseen gods their voice, beautifully telling the player how the universe loves them — and how the player is the universe, dreaming of itself.We know it is Julian because he put his name in the poem, and because game studio Mojang put his name in the credits, and because Mojang founder Markus “Notch” Persson personally and very publicly recruited him for the task. What we did not suspect — not till we read Gough’s new Twitter thread and an epic 10,000-word blog post that is well worth a full read — is that Microsoft may not actually own the rights to the game’s ending.
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by Mitchell Clark on (#67JFR)
SE fans may have to go a long time between upgrades. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge We may not be getting a new iPhone SE in 2024, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who bases his predictions on sources in the supply chain. On Friday, Kuo wrote in a blog post that Apple had canceled production and shipment plans for the phone after his prediction last month that a fourth-gen iPhone SE could be canceled or delayed.Kuo thinks the reason the phone is getting axed could be that Apple’s lower-end phones were selling worse than the company hoped (in September, Bloomberg reported that there was more demand for iPhone 14 Pros than regular iPhone 14s) and due to concerns that another price increase for the lineup could make it less attractive to price-conscious buyers.
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by Sheena Vasani on (#67J9A)
Satechi’s new charger powering up a phone, laptop, and iPad. | Image: Satechi At CES 2023, Satechi announced what it calls its most powerful charger yet: a new GaN charging hub capable of delivering 200 watts of power. Basically, it can charge a lot of stuff at once and do it at high speeds, too.The GaN charger comes with six USB-C PD ports, so you can charge up to six devices at the same time. Weighing a little over a pound and measuring about 4.1 x 4.1 x 1.4 inches, it’s also small enough that you could fit into your backpack and pull it out while on the go.Unlike its predecessor — a 165-watt charger launched last year at CES — this new model also comes with two USB-C PD 3.1-compatible ports, which are capable of delivering more power than their predecessor. That’s in addition to four USB-C PD 3.0 ports, as... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#67J9B)
Man City fans will be able to hang out in this new metaverse. | Image: Sony Sony builds incredible virtual worlds for its PlayStation games, and now the company is starting to dabble more seriously with building metaverse worlds, too. At CES 2023, the company showed a brief look at a metaverse-y experience it’s building with the soccer club Manchester City. But so far, Sony seemingly isn’t bringing the same high-quality, must-play approach it’s known for to this soccer-focused hangout.The experience, which Sony and Manchester City are calling a “proof of concept,” will let fans participate in activities at a virtual version of the team’s Etihad Stadium with their own custom avatars. In clips from an official video, virtual avatars run around the stadium and on the field itself, occasionally dancing and... Continue reading…
by Jon Porter on (#67J4B)
Sennheiser’s IE 200. | Image: Sennheiser I mean, sure, if you’re wearing wired in-ear headphones in 2023, you could absolutely buy a pair with the cables going straight down. Or you could get a pair with wires that go up and swoops backward behind your ears like Sennheiser’s latest pair of earbuds, the IE 200, and pretend you’re a musician onstage at Glastonbury every time you’re wearing them.At $149.99, these in-ear headphones (or, I guess, in-ear monitors) sit at the bottom of Sennheiser’s IE range, which goes up to the eye-wateringly expensive $1,499.95 IE 900. But the fundamentals are (ostensibly) the same. They have that premium-looking cable-up form factor and are equipped with the same sized 7mm “extra-wide band” transducers. Sennheiser claims these offer “superbly... Continue reading…
by Alex Cranz on (#67J4C)
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge CES will continue through the weekend, but The Verge has already seen a whole lot of what the show has to offer. This week on The Vergecast, myself, our editor-in-chief, Nilay Patel, and our senior news editor, Richard Lawler, get together and talk about some of the weirdest stuff we’ve seen, the most absurd concepts, and all the genuinely cool tech coming out of the show.We start the show talking about some of the goofiest car concepts we saw, including the Sony and Honda collaboration dubbed Afeela and BMW’s new concept that has color-changing panels (courtesy of E Ink) and a digital assistant.We then moved on to talk about TVs, Lenovo’s dual-screen laptop, and plenty of smaller, fun gadgets like Withings’ new pee sensor. It’s a... Continue reading…
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by Dan Seifert on (#67J4D)
Samsung’s ViewFinity S9 5K monitor. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge A weird thing has happened at CES this year: display manufacturers not named Apple have announced true 5K and 6K monitors designed for creative work and productivity. These new monitors, which will appeal to Mac users for reasons other than “it’s white and doesn’t have RGB lights,” are providing some actual competition to Apple’s Studio Display and even an alternative to the staggeringly expensive pro-level Pro Display XDR.It’s hard to overstate how rare this actually is. Though there have been many monitors marketed toward MacBook owners over the years, with features such as USB-C connectivity, high-wattage charging, and nicer than average designs, they’ve typically all had traditional 4K panels and sub-par pixel densities, as opposed... Continue reading…
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by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#67J4E)
Photo by Owen Grove / The Verge The Always Home Cam, Ring’s autonomous indoor security drone, made its public debut at CES this week. But it was flying in an empty room behind a glass door and disappearing into a side room between flights, so we never saw it take off or land. The demo, while impressive, shows that it’s unlikely we’ll see Ring’s indoor security camera patrolling your living room anytime soon.Despite announcing preorders (by invitation only) for the security camera in 2021 and saying it would ship to customers’ homes that year, Ring still hasn’t committed to a new date. “We are looking forward to — in the next short future — shipping it out to customers at high volume,” founder Jamie Siminoff told The Verge in an interview. But he also said 2024 was... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#67J4F)
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images French automaker Peugeot revealed its Inception concept, a deadly looking electric car that’s all sharp angles and brutalist designs. The concept, which was announced at CES this week, will inspire a lineup of future EVs that will start making their way to customers in 2025.Stellantis, which owns Peugeot, had a heavy docket at this year’s CES, including a Chrysler cockpit concept and a battery-electric Ram 1500 truck that borrows a lot from the world of muscle cars. But the Peugeot Inception was arguably the most CES-y of all the announcements, with its rectangular steering wheel, hyper-minimal dashboard, and color-shifting interior. There’s even a device inside the car called “the Halo Cluster” with a 360-degree screen, for some... Continue reading…
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#67HZP)
M3gan reading a book to Cady, her best friend and primary user. | Image: Universal Pictures Universal and Blumhouse’s M3gan is exactly the right amount of ridiculous, which is why it can afford to be a little shaggy toward the end. Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#67HZQ)
Participants at Summer Games Done Quick 2022. | Photo by ICED / Games Done Quick It’s almost time for Games Done Quick’s first speedrunning extravaganza of the year. The 2023 edition of Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) kicks off on Sunday, and this year’s event looks to once again feature a week-long feast of incredible gaming feats.The first game on tap is an any-percent run of Splatoon 3, meaning the runner can use any means necessary to beat the game, and I can’t wait to see how an expert inks their way to the ending in just over an hour. That’s followed by a 29-minute run of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which will almost certainly feature a lot of ridiculous physics stunts; you can get a preview of what’s in store by watching this recent video from the AGDQ runner.From there, the schedule is c... Continue reading…
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by Sheena Vasani on (#67HZR)
The second-gen Apple TV 4K with 32GB of storage is on sale for $74.99 at Best Buy. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Getting back into the swing of things after New Year’s Day always feels like, well, a year in and of itself. Thankfully, if you’re feeling the need to unwind with your favorite show this weekend, the second-gen Apple TV 4K is currently on sale at Best Buy in the 32GB configuration for $99.74 ($80 off) and the 64GB configuration for $109.24 ($90 off).The 2021 Apple TV 4K may no longer be the latest and greatest set-top box in Apple’s lineup, but that doesn’t mean it’s a slouch when it comes to specs. Although it lacks HDR10 Plus and a Siri Remote that supports USB-C — two hallmarks of the third-gen model — it’s still plenty quick and supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi 6, and HDMI 2.1 for TVs that support faster refresh rates over... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#67HVY)
The Pixel 7 (left), and Pixel 7 Pro (right). | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Pixel 7 owners are taking to Twitter and Reddit to report that the glass covering the phone’s rear camera is shattering, despite the phone apparently not being knocked or dropped. PhoneArena and Android Police have pulled together photos from numerous owners showing the damage to their handsets, with reports stretching back at least as far as November — just a month after the phone went on general sale.Photos posted across social media show both $599 Pixel 7 and $899 Pixel 7 Pro phones suffering from the issue. Owners are reporting being quoted anywhere from $200 to over $400 to fix the damage, though others say Google has agreed to conduct repairs under warranty.
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by Thomas Ricker on (#67HVZ)
Image: Cake Cake, the Swedish maker of deliciously designed electric motorbikes, finally has an e-bike with actual pedals, not pegs. The Cake Äik comes in two street-legal variants: In the US, it ships with a throttle and mid-drive 500W motor (with a 1000W peak) with a 20mph (32km/h) top speed, while in Europe it’s pedal-assist only and you’re stuck with a 250W motor (500W peak) capable of just 16mph (25km/h) max.Like the Cake Ösa electric moped I reviewed last summer, Åik is positioned less for commuters, and more as a utility bike for people that rely upon two-wheeled transport for their livelihoods or rugged outdoor fun. Image: Cake Mount a fridge on the back and power it off one of your three 750kWh batteries. The... Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#67HW0)
Android 13 will soon support “uninterrupted listening” between multiple devices. | Image: Google / The Verge Google is introducing new features for Android 13 that should make it easier for users to transition between different audio devices when listening to music. Announced at CES 2023, media notifications will ask users if they want to switch over to a different listening device based on their proximity, allowing you to seamlessly transition between your phone, speakers, headphones, TV, car, and more.This feature uses the cross-device software development kit (SDK) released by Google last year. The tech uses Bluetooth Low Energy, Wi-Fi, and ultra-wideband to detect which audio devices are physically near the user, and then identifies which device a user may want to use based on their current activity — for example, switching audio playback... Continue reading…
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by Monica Chin on (#67HW2)
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge I will admit that I was skeptical when I first saw pictures of Lenovo’s new dual-screen Yoga Book 9i. I’ve tried foldables and dual-screens aplenty, and while many are usable, many also have serious limitations. But this is the first dual-screen laptop I’ve ever tried that I could see myself actually buying. And that’s because Lenovo has clearly done the software engineering necessary to make sure it can address many of the somewhat... obvious concerns that shoppers might have with such a device. Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge This butterfly flaps its wings when you open and close the laptop, by the way. The first objection is an obvious one: there’s no visible touchpad on the Yoga Book i9. That’s what first... Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#67HT5)
Good news for folks who dislike the yoke-only steering wheel on the Tesla Model S and Model X — you can now configure the vehicles with a round wheel option again. | Image: tesla Tesla has re-introduced a round steering wheel option for its Model S and Model X vehicles, following two years of criticism regarding the practicality and safety of the racing-style yoke steering. As noted by Electrek, the Tesla online configurator for the Model S/X was updated on Thursday, adding the option for a round steering wheel alongside the existing yoke. Selecting the rounded wheel option doesn’t impact the price or the estimated delivery timeline. Other Tesla models such as the Model 3 and Model Y are already available with a round steering wheel.A controversial redesign for both the Model S and Model X in 2021 ditched the traditional steering wheel (and control stalks) in favor of a singular yoke option with capacitive... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#67HT6)
Image: Getty Samsung has just released its earnings guidance for the three months ending December 31st 2022, and they don’t contain great news for the South Korean tech giant. The figures suggest Samsung may have just had its least profitable quarter in eight years, Reuters notes, as the global economic slowdown hits the company’s core chip making and consumer tech businesses.Operating profit is estimated to have fallen by over two thirds compared to the same period the previous year, down from 13.87 trillion Korean won (around $10.9 billion) to 4.3 trillion Korean won (around $3.4 billion). Sales were down by a smaller 9 percent to 70 trillion Korean won (around $55.1 billion).Competitor LG’s profits are also downMultiple areas of Samsung’s... Continue reading…
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by Monica Chin on (#67HFK)
Wait until you see the screen. Razer has given us a first look at the Razer Blade 16 and Razer Blade 18, which will be released in the next few months. And I will say right now: I am impressed.The Blade 18 is the biggest and most powerful Razer Blade that has ever been released, which is neat in itself. But I’m actually even more excited about the Blade 16, which is debuting some never-before-seen on a Razer Blade. That’s some COLOR. First, there’s a Mini LED screen. And it looks great. On the screen, some shades looked blindingly bright against black backdrops, where they might’ve looked washed out on other gaming displays. Black areas, speaking of, looked gorgeously black.Next to the Blade 16 model in its demo area, Razer actually had a... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#67HFM)
When you open the app, it shows an announcement saying it’ll no longer be available. On January 25th, Snap will be shutting down its camera app for Mac and PCs. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, you may remember it as the program that let you apply silly filters to your face while you were on Zoom or other video conference calls. It’s also, as Verge alum Billy Disney pointed out on Mastodon, the reason a boss accidentally showed up to a work meeting as a potato in 2020:
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by Sean Hollister on (#67HDK)
Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge I couldn’t justify keeping Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack because it didn’t stay firmly stuck to my phone without swiveling, and I’ve seen third-party attachments that are much, much worse. Thankfully, the next version of the Qi wireless charging standard, Qi2, will mandate magnet strength, size, and dimensions in addition to its electrical properties — even though that’s the opposite of what I reported yesterday.(The bigger news about Qi2: it should mean that future Android phones and Apple phones will be able to use the same wireless magnetic charger, effectively MagSafe for Android.)“Magnet strength testing” is anticipatedToday, I got an email from WPC spokesperson Paul Golden apologizing for passing along incorrect information... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#67HDM)
If your Wear OS watch has a cellular connection, you can get turn-by-turn directions. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Google Maps on Wear OS is getting a big navigation upgrade. On Thursday, Google announced that you can now get turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps on internet-connected Wear OS watches without a smartphone (via Droid Life). That means if you’re out and about with a cellular-connected watch (like, say, the cellular-enabled Pixel Watch) with an active LTE plan or your watch is connected via Wi-Fi, you can get directions right on your wrist even if you don’t have your phone.Wear OS fans have been waiting a little while for this update; Google and Samsung had said in August that phone-less Google Maps navigation for Wear OS watches was on the way. At the time, Samsung said the feature was “coming soon,” according to 9to5Google — turns... Continue reading…
by Sean Hollister on (#67HDN)
Image: Lenovo Last month, I spent 15 whole minutes hunched over an HP Spectre x360 in a drafty Best Buy store — agonizing over whether its amazing OLED screen would destroy the laptop’s battery life and repeatedly googling for the answer. When I found out the answer was “yes, substantially less battery,” I had to walk away.But why should I have to choose between a great screen and one I use all day? Why not both? That’s the idea behind the ThinkBook Plus Twist, a new laptop that Lenovo’s announcing at CES 2023.Not only does it have a 13.3-inch, 400-nit, 60Hz 2.8K OLED touchscreen that covers 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut, you can swivel its screen around to reveal another 12-inch, color E Ink touchscreen around back — one that refreshes 12... Continue reading…
by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#67HDP)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Just last month, Warner Bros. Discovery followed up on its decision to cancel Westworld by full-on yanking the show from HBO Max — a drastic, money-saving decision that was yet another part of CEO David Zaslav’s grand plan to get the company back in the black. Now, though, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels says the entertainment conglomerate is getting ready to shift gears and put more of its energies into creating new things rather than tearing apart what already exists.Speaking at Citibank’s annual Communications, Media & Entertainment Conference today, Wiedenfels was adamant about 2023 being a year of “relaunching and building,” Variety reports. Wiedenfels said that Warner Bros. Discovery felt the need to take “a little... Continue reading…
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by Ash Parrish on (#67HDQ)
Image: Blizzard When Blizzard teased the arrival of Overwatch 2’s Battle For Olympus event, I had hopes I would have another game mode like Junkenstein’s Revenge to sink my teeth into. The limited-time event / game mode is now live, and while it’s not quite what I was hoping for, I’m still encouraged that Overwatch 2 is finally on the right track with its content releases.Basically, Battle For Olympus is simply Overwatch 2’s Deathmatch mode with a very pretty coat of Olympian paint. Once again, the Overwatch 2 art team has killed it with these skin designs. Medusa Widowmaker is *chef’s kiss*. Players can choose from a handful of heroes, each with their own Olympian god theme, and battle it out with some major tweaks to heroes’ abilities.All the... Continue reading…
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by Patrick George on (#67HA5)
Image: Stellantis Ram’s late to the game with an EV truck, but this ‘open letter to the fanbase’ packs a ton of wild features. It even follows you around. Continue reading…
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by Justine Calma on (#67HA6)
The Golden Gate Bridge is seen through heavy rain on January 4th, 2023, in Sausalito, California. | Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images A deluge of storms is dumping serious amounts of rain across notoriously dry California. Even so, this week’s downpours are still nowhere near enough to pull the state out of its intense years-long drought.A bomb cyclone is working its way across the state today, flooding homes and roads and knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of residents. Officials warned it could be the worst storm to crash into California in years — even though it’s just one in a series of storms to pass through in the span of a couple weeks.It all comes on the heels of a long dry stretch for the Golden State. 2022 marked the end of the driest three-year period for the state on record. But in a dramatic shift, California rang in 2023 with wet weather —... Continue reading…
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by Thomas Ricker on (#67HA8)
From left to right: The EcoFlow Wave 2, Blade, and Glacier. | Image: EcoFlow EcoFlow announced three new devices today — a refrigerator / ice maker, an air conditioner / heater, and a robotic lawnmower / leaf collector — as part of its burgeoning ecosystem of portable, battery-powered solutions for residential homes, off-grid cabins, and RVs. They join the company’s new whole-home battery backup kits, also announced at the big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.The EcoFlow Glacier makes me feel seen as a budding vanlifer and cocktail enthusiast. The battery-powered portable fridge, freezer, and ice cube maker has a removable 297Wh battery that can power the device for up to 24 hours on a single charge and be topped up directly using solar panels, which EcoFlow will be happy to supply. It can produce exactly... Continue reading…
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by Thomas Ricker on (#67HA7)
This EcoFlow Smart Control Kit consists of a Smart Home Panel and two Delta Pros for up to 7200W of output. | Image: EcoFlow EcoFlow is now selling Whole-Home Backup Power Solutions that bundle together a variety of the company’s products that are already available a la carte. The kits are basically a more scalable version of Tesla’s Powerwall+ without the long installation wait times, that also remains portable so you can take some of that idle power with you for an off-grid getaway.The new EcoFlow kits make it easy to choose the right amount of backup power for your needs and budget. Prices start at $3,699 and approach $20,000 if you want unlimited emergency power. That’s a lot of money (even after a US tax credit) compared to noisy gas generators, but EcoFlow’s emission-free kits don't require maintenance and could also help reduce your day-to-day energy... Continue reading…
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by Victoria Song on (#67H8C)
The Eargo 7 are FDA-cleared self-fitting OTC hearing aids that can now be bought at 1,500 Victra Verizon dealerships. | Image: Eargo 2023 is going to be a big year for hearables. While the concept isn’t new, this is the first CES since the FDA established a new category of over-the-counter hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. OTC hearing aids began hitting shelves in mid-October, and they’re on the show floor in Vegas right now. But the best hearables are from brands you’ve likely never heard of.Take the Eargo 7.If you’re familiar with hearables, you’re probably not surprised to see Eargo with an FDA-cleared OTC self-fitting hearing aid at CES. The company has been a CES regular since 2015, and technologically speaking, its seventh-gen device isn’t so much a novel never-before-seen gadget as it is a refinement. (The Eargo 7 is technically... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#67H8D)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission is looking to ban noncompete clauses in employment contracts, which companies put in place to prevent employees from going to work for competitors or leaving to start similar businesses. On Thursday, the regulator issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, saying that the clauses hurt innovation and “decrease competition for workers,” which leads to lower wages overall.While the proposed rule, which you can read here, would benefit workers across industries, it’s especially relevant in tech.For years, we’ve seen big tech companies attempt to get workers at every level to sign noncompete contracts — Kickstarter’s union fought against them while it was bargaining with the company, Acer sued a former CEO... Continue reading…
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by Victoria Song on (#67H8E)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Peloton is starting off 2023 with a $19 million fine. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the company has agreed to pay the civil penalty to settle charges that the company knowingly failed to immediately report safety issues with its recalled Tread Plus. The fine will also resolve charges that Peloton continued to sell 38 Tread Plus units after the recall in violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act.As a refresher, Peloton recalled both of its treadmills — the Tread and Tread Plus — in 2021. While the Tread’s issue was a wobbly screen, the more premium Tread Plus caused multiple reports of injuries and, in one instance, the death of a small child. Because of the Tread Plus’ slatted belt and raised deck,... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#67H8F)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Android phones will soon be getting a feature similar to — and perhaps even more powerful than — Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite. Qualcomm has announced that its new processors and modems will allow phones to communicate with the Iridium satellite network, letting users send and receive messages even in areas without cell coverage.The feature, called Snapdragon Satellite, will be available in phones that have both Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and its X70 Modem system, along with some additional radios. Phones that support it should be “launched in select regions starting in the second half of 2023,” according to the company’s press release, and there are several manufacturers working on designs, according to Francesco... Continue reading…
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by Allison Johnson on (#67H3N)
Air travel is still a hellscape, but at least the Wi-Fi will be free. | Photo by Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images After hinting that it would be coming in 2023, Delta has confirmed that all SkyMiles members will get free in-flight Wi-Fi as part of a partnership with T-Mobile. The wireless carrier already offers free Wi-Fi on Delta flights to its subscribers, but starting on February 1st, that program will expand to any SkyMiles member, regardless of whether they’re a T-Mobile customer. But — as it so often does — this free service comes with a side of targeted advertising.Not every flight will include free Wi-Fi at first; Delta is starting domestic. According to today’s news release, “most” mainline domestic flights will be included at launch, and by the end of 2023, the service should be available on more than 700 planes. The company plans to add... Continue reading…
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by Cameron Faulkner on (#67GJV)
Sony and Honda’s new EV prototype: Afeela. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge CES rumbles on, and Apple sneaks out a new audiobook feature. Continue reading…
by Jess Weatherbed on (#67H3P)
Razer claims the Leviathan V2 Pro can envelop a user with “3D audio” thanks to a built-in IR camera that allows it to optimize audio based on the users location. | Image: Razer Soundbars might not be the audio system of choice for most desktop setups, but Razer is trying is offering a new one for people who don’t want to mess with headsets or finicky surround sound systems. The popular gaming tech company just announced the Leviathan V2 Pro at CES 2023, the latest addition to its existing range of soundbars designed to provide compact, low-profile audio for PC gamers.Created in partnership with THX and Audioscenic, Razer claims that the Leviathan V2 Pro can envelop a user with “3D audio” by combining beamforming surround sound with head-tracking AI technology. A built-in IR camera can detect the user’s position, allowing the soundbar to optimize sound by adapting the audio beams to the listener’s position in... Continue reading…
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by Cameron Faulkner on (#67H3Q)
The 5G version is coming very soon at a not-outlandish price. | Image: Razer Razer and Verizon co-announced the pricing for the 5G-enabled Edge gaming handheld during CES 2023. It’s launching on January 26th for $359.99 when you add it as a new tablet line to your account. With an installment plan, Verizon says the math works out to $10 per month for 36 months. This pricing is available for a limited time, but a timeframe wasn’t provided by Verizon, so we’ve followed up to find out. The retail price for the 5G model is $599.99, which is $200 more than the Wi-Fi-only model.We first heard about the Edge (Razer’s revival of the awkward 2013 tablet-handheld hybrid) in October 2022. It has a 6.8-inch OLED screen with a fast 144Hz refresh rate, and it sits snugly in between the Kishi V2 Pro, a modified version of the... Continue reading…
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by Richard Lawler on (#67H3R)
The new split-screen Android Auto UI. | Image: Google The Android Auto look and feel has evolved greatly since we reviewed it in 2015, but now its biggest update is starting to roll out to all users, introducing a split-screen UI that can let you see more things at once. Keeping the map on screen while also adding one or two other panes makes it a bit more like Apple’s current approach to CarPlay, and Google says its focus is on creating a “more personal, easy-to-use experience from behind the wheel.”Wherever the inspiration comes from, I appreciate it. Dubbed “Coolwalk” in testing over the last year or so, the new UI has been publicly available in beta form for several months after it was publicly announced in the spring, and as a longtime Android Auto user, I’ve had it in my car.While... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#67H3T)
Image: Volvo Google is rolling out a brand-new high-definition version of Google Maps for cars with the tech giant’s native Android Automotive operating system. The HD maps will provide granular details that were not previously available, like lane markings, road signs, and traffic barriers.The first vehicles to get the new HD maps will be the Volvo EX90, the Swedish automaker’s new flagship electric vehicle due out later this year, and the Polestar 3, the Volvo-backed performance marque’s first SUV. The Volvo EX90 and Polestar 3 will share the same platform, Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture (SPA2), and both use Android Automotive, which is Google’s native in-car operating system. Image: Polestar Both Volvo and Polestar... Continue reading…
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by Adi Robertson on (#67H3S)
The HTC Vive XR Elite. | Image: HTC HTC is opening preorders for a new virtual and augmented reality headset, the Vive XR Elite. The XR Elite is a $1,099 standalone headset that’s designed to compete with Meta’s Quest headsets and the rumored Apple AR / VR device. Shipping in late February worldwide, it supports the gamut of consumer games and software HTC has offered on past VR headsets, plus mixed reality experiences using full-color passthrough video.The Vive XR Elite is aimed at consumers who want games, passive media, and productivity tools in a relatively lightweight package. HTC promised a small and light design, and the XR Elite weighs in at 625 grams, making it heavier than the Meta Quest 2 but notably lighter than the 722-gram Quest Pro. It offers mixed reality... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#67H12)
Image: Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz, MN8, and ChargePoint are joining forces to install 400 fast electric vehicle charging hubs across the US in a major bid to boost EV sales and improve the nation’s struggling EV charging infrastructure. The project will cost approximately €1 billion ($1 billion), which will be split 50-50 between Mercedes and MN8.Starting this year, the companies will begin the work to construct hundreds of new hubs, which will include more than 2,500 DC fast charging plugs. MN8 Energy, an offshoot of Goldman Sachs Asset Management focused on solar power and energy storage, will help finance the project using ChargePoint’s EV charging hardware and software, the companies said.“This is for us a strategic decision to really put our... Continue reading…
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by James Vincent on (#67GXZ)
Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images One of the world’s most prestigious machine learning conferences has banned authors from using AI tools like ChatGPT to write scientific papers, triggering a debate about the role of AI-generated text in academia.The International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) announced the policy earlier this week, stating, “Papers that include text generated from a large-scale language model (LLM) such as ChatGPT are prohibited unless the produced text is presented as a part of the paper’s experimental analysis.” The news sparked widespread discussion on social media, with AI academics and researchers both defending and criticizing the policy. The conference’s organizers responded by publishing a longer statement explaining their thinking.... Continue reading…
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by Allison Johnson on (#67GY1)
Even high-end smartphone cameras are notoriously bad at capturing accurate skin tones. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge A Belgium-based company is looking beyond the visible light spectrum to put an end to a common problem for smartphone cameras: bad color reproduction. Spectricity is debuting its new S1 multispectral sensor at CES 2023, and it could be headed to smartphones on store shelves sooner than later.Standard camera sensors are limited to using certain bands of the visible spectrum — red, green, and blue. The S1, which is designed to complement the main camera system, can gather much more data, including in the near-infrared range. The company says this results in better color reproduction and more accurate skin tones, and it has big aspirations for this technology: CEO Vincent Mouret says he expects all smartphones to incorporate it “within the... Continue reading…
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by Sheena Vasani on (#67GY0)
Image: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Want the joys of analog audio but the convenience of wireless speakers? Victrola has an option for you: at CES, the company is introducing a new turntable called the Stream Onyx that’s capable of streaming records straight to a Sonos system.The Stream Onyx is certified for Works With Sonos, meaning it can wirelessly transmit audio to Sonos speakers. As a result, you can easily play vinyl records through your entire Sonos system without needing to install any extra equipment. Instead, you use the Victrola app to connect the turntable to your Wi-Fi and Sonos system.This is Victrola’s second Works with Sonos turntable, following last year’s $800 Stream Carbon. The Stream Onyx shaves that price down a touch — to $599 — by shaving off some... Continue reading…
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