The Verge - All Posts

It's hard to find a fitness watch that tracks as many workouts and metrics as the Fenix 7 Pro series. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Garmin makes some of the best traditional multisport fitness watches, and one of its top models still commands a spot on our list of the best fitness trackers: the Garmin Fenix 7S Pro. Now through Cyber Monday, you can get that watch for just $529.99 ($270 off) at Wellbots when using the Verge-exclusive code VERGEBF270. That code will also work on the base Fenix 7 Pro ($529.99 after the discount), the Fenix 7X Pro (down to $629.99), and the Garmin Tactix 7 ($829.99). These are some of the lowest prices recorded yet.Wellbots is also offering all-time low prices on other Garmin wearables and devices as part of its early Black Friday promotion. You can save $120 on the Garmin Forerunner 265 (now just $329.99) and Forerunner 965 ($479.99)... Continue reading...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images In the weeks leading up to the US presidential election, Kacey Smith was feeling hopeful. Smith, who supported Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign, says she knew it would be a close race between the Democratic nominee and Republican Donald Trump. But as she scrolled TikTok, she believed Harris would be victorious.But Election Day approached, and she started to sense red flags in that positivity. She recalls TikTok serving her enthusiasm for reproductive choice with videos encouraging women's rights over gas prices" - implying, falsely, she thought, the choice was either/or." The rhetoric fit well inside her feed filled with strangers, but as a campaign strategy, it felt limiting and risky. When I started seeing that messaging play... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge Microsoft has been trying to expand Xbox to multiple devices for more than five years now, and now it's launching a marketing campaign to make it very clear that it thinks every screen is an Xbox now. A new This is an Xbox" campaign is launching today to position the Xbox brand as a way to play games across multiple devices, instead of just an Xbox console.This Is an Xbox invites people to play with Xbox across multiple devices and screens," explains Craig McNary, senior director of Xbox marketing. It showcases the evolution of Xbox as a platform that extends across devices, with bold, iconic, fun visuals and a light-hearted tone." Image: Microsoft Microsoft's new Xbox marketing campaign. Microsoft has... Continue reading...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images How fake music targets real artists. Continue reading...

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Almost two years after EU regulators first accused Meta of abusive practices" that gave the tech giant unfair market advantages, the European Commission has fined Meta 797.7 million (around $840 million). The combination of forcing Facebook users to be exposed to Marketplace and imposing restrictions against third-party classified ads providers on the platform are the two main reasons cited for the fine.In a statement, the EU's competition head Margrethe Vestager accused Meta of abusing its dominant position in the social media market to benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace, thereby giving it advantages that other online classified ads service providers could not match. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules."The European... Continue reading...

Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Whether you're assembling a PC, planning an epic Etsy crafts store, or just fixing a squeaky old chair, we found some handy tools that anyone can appreciate. Continue reading...

Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge Disney made money off its streaming business for the second time in a row. During Q4 2024, profit from Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus soared to $321 million, up from $47 million last quarter.During an earnings call on Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said around 60 percent of all new subscribers are choosing Disney Plus's ad-supported plan. Meanwhile, 37 percent of total subscribers in the US are currently subscribed to the option, which has become a major revenue driver for streaming services.It's not just about raising pricing," Iger said. It's about moving consumers to the advertiser-supported side of the streaming platform... the pricing that we recently put into place, which is increased pricing, was actually designed to move... Continue reading...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Apple is facing a 3 billion (about $3.75 billion) lawsuit from a consumer group that alleges the iPhone maker violated UK competition law by forcing" customers to use its iCloud service.In its press release, UK consumer watchdog Which? says that Apple gave its iCloud storage service preferential treatment and encouraged users to use the service to store photos, videos, and other data while making it difficult to use alternative providers.We believe Apple customers are owed nearly 3 billion as a result of the tech giant forcing its iCloud services on customers and cutting off competition from rival services," Which? said in its announcement. The group alleges that Apple's monopoly allowed the company to overcharge users for iCloud... Continue reading...

Apple Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 with Quantec Room Simulator | Image: Apple Apple today announced some minor updates to Logic Pro for both the Mac and the iPad, including the ability to search for plug-ins and sources and the addition of more analog-simulating sounds.In Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 and Logic Pro for iPad 2.1, you can now reorder channel strips and plug-ins in the mixer and plug-in windows to make it easier to organize the layout of an audio mix.As for the new sounds, Apple added a library of analog synthesizer samples called Modular Melodies, akin to the Modular Rhythms pack already found in Logic.A more exciting sonic addition is the new Quantec Room Simulator (QRS) plug-in, which emulates the vintage digital reverb hardware of the same name, found in professional recording studios all over... Continue reading...

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Getty Images OpenAI is preparing to release an autonomous AI agent that can control computers and perform tasks independently, code-named Operator." The company plans to debut it as a research preview and developer tool in January, according to Bloomberg.This move intensifies the competition among tech giants developing AI agents: Anthropic recently introduced its computer use" capability, while Google is reportedly preparing its own version for a December release. The timing of Operator's eventual consumer release remains under wraps, but its development signals a pivotal shift toward AI systems that can actively engage with computer interfaces rather than just process text and images.All the leading AI companies have promised autonomous AI... Continue reading...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images If you want to preserve the existing version of Lil Jon's Get Low" in your brain, maybe don't listen to this cover T-Pain made with Mark Zuckerberg - excuse me, Z-Pain. Their version transforms the Get Low" I got down to at all my school dances into a song with a much slower tempo complete with an acoustic guitar.Trust me, I may be scarred for life after hearing Zuckerberg's autotuned voice serenade me with Til the sweat drop down my balls." If you get halfway through the song, you'll also hear a cameo from T-Pain.Apparently, Zuckerberg made the song for his wife, Priscilla. Get Low' was playing when I first met Priscilla at a college party, so every year we listen to it on our dating anniversary," Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram.... Continue reading...

Image: Reliant General Motors is teaming up with Reliant Energy to offer free nighttime charging to some Chevy electric vehicle owners in Texas.Chevy owners who enroll in Reliant's EV charging plan will receive free nighttime charging through monthly bill credits that offset charges incurred between 11PM. and 6AM, the companies said. Customers must also designate an EV to receive the charging credit through GM Energy's Smart Charging Portal. (GM Energy is the automaker's home energy subsidiary, and Reliant is a subsidiary of NRG Energy.)The new plan is the latest promotion to discount charging costs for EV owners, as automakers pile on perks in the hopes of winning over skeptical consumers. Ford recently announced a similar deal in Texas, partnering... Continue reading...

Blizzard just released Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest, which collects remasters of realtime strategy classics Warcraft I and II, as well as a 2.0 update for Warcraft III: Reforged. The company announced the collection, which is $39.99 on Battle.net, during today's Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct livestream.The first two games have been updated much the same way that Starcraft was in 2017, replacing the original game sprites and maps with more detailed, high-res artwork. Both games also have updated quality of life features for modern day gaming," according to the Battle.net store page for the collection. While the third game is supported on Macs, the first two are PC-only.Warcraft III: Reforged 2.0 looks like the company's attempt... Continue reading...

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Meta must face the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust lawsuit that accuses the company of dominating the social media industry through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, a DC District Court Judge ruled on Wednesday.The FTC filed a lawsuit against Meta in 2020, alleging the company bought up rivals - Instagram and WhatsApp - in an attempt to stifle competition. Judge James Boasberg initially dismissed the FTC's lawsuit in 2021, but the agency filed an amended complaint, which he ultimately let proceed.Meta once again asked the court to dismiss the FTC's case in April. Boasberg has now ruled largely in favor of the FTC, though he dismissed a claim that Meta acted anticompetitively by preventing developers from accessing its... Continue reading...

Arcane. | Image: Netflix Finding something to watch or play can sometimes feel like work - there's just so much out there vying for your free time. That's true whether you're heading to a theater, browsing the many streaming platforms, or looking for a new video game. It's easy to get overwhelmed with choice.So, as we've done in years past, we're collecting all of our favorite releases from 2024 in one place. The goal is to make your decision-making a little easier. That could mean highlighting anything from an anticipated movie that actually lives up to the hype to a surprise indie game that takes the world by storm.And we'll be updating this page all year long as we continue to check out the latest in film, television, and gaming - so stay tuned. Continue reading...

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images The password manager NordPass has once again released its annual list of the world's most popular passwords - and the lack of creativity is just a little disheartening. For the second year in a row, 123456" has been crowned the most common password.The same numbers topped the chart five out of the six times NordPass has compiled its lists, only to be usurped by the famed password" in 2022. But once you get past all the QWERTYs, ABCs, and 123s, we get a little insight into what humanity thinks about when creating the line of text that protects their most personal information. Image: NordPass There are those who choose iloveyou" and those who opt for fuckyou." Others have distinct interests, like pokemon,"... Continue reading...