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Updated 2025-07-10 04:46
Twitter’s employees await their fate under Elon Musk
Photo illustration by William Joel / The Verge, photo by Christian Marquardt / Getty Images On the eve of Elon Musk’s $44 billion, chaotic acquisition of Twitter, employees are wondering what their new “Chief Twit” has in store for them.Musk’s takeover is expected to close on Friday, with Twitter going private and delisting from the New York Stock Exchange. Despite a message from CMO Leslie Berland on Wednesday saying they’d “hear from him directly on Friday,” an employee all-hands with Musk has yet to be scheduled as of press time. Meanwhile, Twitter’s current CEO, Parag Argawal, hasn’t addressed employees in weeks.While employees wait for more from Musk, the reality of the acquisition is starting to set in. On Thursday afternoon, an internal memo seen by The Verge said that Twitter’s code would be frozen until Tuesday,... Continue reading…
Walmart stores are adding a Netflix section with gift cards and gear
Walmart and Netflix are expanding their partnership. | Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images Walmart and Netflix are expanding their digital Netflix merch shop to physical stores, the two companies announced on Thursday. The shop, called The Netflix Hub, will be coming to more than 2,400 Walmart locations.At the in-store Netflix zones, you’ll be able to buy things like “music, apparel, collectibles, games, and seasonal items” from big Netflix franchises like Stranger Things, Squid Game, and even the upcoming Knives Out sequel. Walmart and Netflix will also be selling “concession kits” of goodies like popcorn and candy to make watching Netflix at home feel like you’re at the movies. (Though in the case of the Knives Out sequel, you could just go see it at a theater.) Walmart will also be selling a $19.99 Netflix gift card, which... Continue reading…
Intel layoffs are coming in Q4 as it cuts billions in spending
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Intel has confirmed that it will lay off workers soon as part of its plan to cut billions of dollars in spending. The announcement comes after reports that Intel is planning on cutting thousands of jobs.As part of its Q3 earnings, the company announced plans to cut around $3 billion in costs over the course of next year, and CEO Pat Gelsinger told Reuters that part of that would come from “people costs.” He also confirmed the job cuts to Bloomberg and added that the company was reducing factory work hours for some employees. By the end of 2025, the company hopes to have cut its costs by $8 to $10 billion a year.Intel is faced with an industry-wide shift in semiconductor availability as the pandemic shortages give way to overproduction... Continue reading…
Apple reports another record quarter but shows signs of lukewarm iPhone 14 demand
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge Apple reported its fiscal fourth quarter earnings on Thursday, tallying $90.1 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $1.29 — both above Wall Street expectations — in a period when other tech giants aren’t faring so well. Practically all of Apple’s divisions, including iPhone, Mac, services, and wearables, were up year over year, with the exception of the iPad. But despite YOY growth, iPhone revenue came in beneath estimates.There’s been conjecture among analysts and other reports that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are underperforming Apple’s expectations for the “regular” lineup, with most upgraders favoring the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. The Pro phones include a faster processor, upgraded camera system, and the new Dynamic Island... Continue reading…
Amazon’s sales are up, but it’s expecting a tight holiday season
Amazon just reported its third quarter earnings for 2022. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon’s sales finally picked up in the third quarter following three consecutive quarters of single-digit growth, according to the company’s earnings released Thursday. But it’s expecting a tighter holiday season amid an uncertain economic environment, and the company’s stock fell more than 4 percent in after-hours trading.Sales hit $127.1 billion last quarter, up 15 percent year over year. That number was likely buoyed by Amazon’s successful Prime Day event in July, which it has called its “biggest Prime Day event ever.” Despite that growth, the company is predicting a slower holiday season. In its guidance, Amazon said net sales should grow between 2 and 8 percent year over year next quarter; last year, Amazon saw 9 percent growth in... Continue reading…
Valve’s new beta lets you use the Steam Deck UI on your desktop
The beta UI’s homescreen certainly looks more modern. Valve is officially letting users try out a new version of Steam’s Big Picture mode, which makes the game client look like its popular Steam Deck handheld. The long-awaited change (we were hearing rumblings about it in July 2021) is a big upgrade for the gamepad-friendly version of the Steam user interface.In a news post, the company warns that the new UI has “rough edges” but says it’s looking to gather feedback from the community on it. In addition to the updated look, the test also includes new features, including a universal search that’ll surface results from your library, friends list, and the store as well as updates to the quick access and system menus and controller configurator.It’s likely to be a welcome change for people... Continue reading…
Apple flexes its control over the App Store
Apple’s updated App Store rules could have a big impact on developers. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple’s most impactful changes this week weren’t new iPads or operating systems. The company also shook up the App Store with new rules and ad slots designed to wring more money out of its tight grip over the iOS ecosystem. The changes have big ramifications for developers, either forcing them to share more of their money with Apple or deal with ads they don’t like. And as developers have found in the past, they don’t have much room to push back.In its changes this week, Apple updated its App Store rules to give itself a cut of some advertising revenue in social media apps and purchase revenue from Web3 apps. The company also expanded the scope of its App Store advertising in ways that further intrude on the presentation of developers’... Continue reading…
Wendell & Wild is a classic Henry Selick joint about living with your personal demons
Kat introducing herself to her new classmates | Image: Netflix Netflix’s Wendell & Wild, starring Lyric Ross, Jordan Peele, and Kegan-Michael Key, feels like an instant classic tailor-made for all the young punks too cool for school Continue reading…
Here’s why your Uber driver is going to be taking fewer left turns in the future
Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images Who knew left-hand turns were so dangerous? Well, anyone who drives in a city, like an Uber driver, for example, has probably encountered their fair share of dangerous left turns. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 22 percent of crashes involve a vehicle making a left turn at an intersection. Uber has a novel solution to this problem: fewer left turns.Uber announced today that its in-app navigation system will now recommend fewer left turns in an effort to reduce crashes and make trips safer overall. The adjustments are expected to be “minor” with little impact on trip time, but the effect will hopefully make for a less stressful experience for drivers. Uber Video recording presents... Continue reading…
Netflix’s new multiverse Sonic show debuts in December
It seems like we’re getting a Sonic multiverse show. | Image: Netflix Netflix’s Sonic Prime, a new animated series starring Sega’s iconic blue hedgehog, will premiere on December 15th, Netflix announced on Thursday. The streaming company released some new plot details that indicate Sonic will have to deal with some major multiverse shenanigans.“It’s the Sonic you know and love until an incredible twist thrusts Sonic into a new adventure featuring a reinvented cast and Sonic like you’ve never seen him before, where the fate of the multiverse rests in his gloved hands,” according to the Sonic Prime synopsis. A new poster littered with shards (from Chaos Emeralds?) hints at some of the “reinvented” characters to come. In one, you can see a reflection of what appears to be a Metal Sonic-ized Amy. In another —... Continue reading…
There was a record-breaking increase in methane in Earth’s atmosphere last year
In an aerial view, some pumpjacks operate while others stand idle in the Belridge oil field on November 3rd, 2021, near McKittrick, California. | Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images Concentrations of a super potent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere — methane — grew tremendously in 2021. It’s still something of a mystery why the world saw such an “exceptional increase” last year, says the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which released the numbers yesterday.The reasons for the big leap last year are unclear because methane in the atmosphere can come from many different sources. But we do know who’s consistently responsible for huge amounts of methane pollution. Every year, the oil and gas industry leaks tremendous amounts of methane. There are also natural sources of methane emissions, and climate change can make that a bigger problem. So it’s no wonder methane is building up at astonishing levels in our... Continue reading…
Lenovo pinky-swears that it learned from the mistakes of the ThinkPad X1 Fold
It won’t just be another one of these, they claim. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Laptops are a mature category, and foldable screens are arguably one of the last frontiers. Several companies have attempted to bite that pie this year — notorious chaos agent Asus put out a surprisingly decent foldable Zenbook in August, and rumors of an HP model continue to swirl. But it’s easy to forget (and perhaps the company would like us to) that Lenovo was actually the first to the punch on this form factor, with the 2020 ThinkPad X1 Fold that had, shall we say, a number of problems.Lenovo is making its second attempt at an X1 Fold this year, with the second-gen model slated for release this quarter. And Brian Leonard, the company’s VP of design, would like us all to know that our complaints have been heard and addressed.“We... Continue reading…
The Tesla Cyberquad for kids has been recalled for not meeting safety standards
You can return a critical component for a $1,900 refund. | Image: Tesla The $1,900 Tesla Cyberquad for kids is being recalled after the Consumer Product Safety Commission determined that it doesn’t meet safety standards for youth ATVs. Although the vehicle is designed to look like the one Tesla announced alongside its Cybertruck and was sold on the automaker’s online store, it was actually made by Radio Flyer. That company, most famous for its classic red wagons, is the one handling the recall.The Cyberquad for kids features a “full steel frame” and electric powertrain and can go up to 10 miles per hour. According to the CPSC, it failed to meet federal standards for mechanical suspension and maximum tire pressure on ATVs for kids and doesn’t have a “CPSC-approved ATV action plan” meant to dictate things... Continue reading…
Tesla’s latest recall can’t be solved with a software update
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Tesla is issuing a safety recall on over 24,000 Model 3 vehicles that can’t be fixed with a software update this time. The affected cars may have an improperly fastened rear-left seat belt buckle and center seat belt anchor (via Electrek). All model years are affected (2017–2022) but it’s not an issue from the factory — it’s caused by a previous service visit where the seat belt anchor was removed for another repair.Tesla submitted a safety recall report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on October 21st. In the report, it says Tesla service technicians noticed that second-row center seat belt anchors weren’t being secured properly after previous repairs that require its disassembly and reassembly. Both... Continue reading…
DC sues Shipt for misclassifying drivers as independent contractors
DC Attorney General Karl Racine appears before the US Supreme Court. | Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images DC Attorney General Karl Racine sued Shipt, a gig delivery company, Thursday for misclassifying full-time workers as independent contractors in order to “cheat” them out of wages and avoid payroll taxes.In the Thursday complaint, Racine accuses Shipt of unlawfully denying full-time delivery workers basic employment benefits and protections by wrongfully classifying them as contractors. Specifically, the suit claims that Shipt misrepresents the nature of a delivery driver’s work, suggesting that the worker acts as their “own boss.” But in reality, drivers are required to sign up for hourly shifts, and the amount of money they make depends on the number of orders placed within that timeframe. If no orders are placed, drivers don’t turn a... Continue reading…
Ford thinks driver assist is a safer bet than driverless cars, but it’s fooling itself
This update is “just the beginning” for the driver assist system, Ford says. | Image: Ford When Ford announced yesterday that it was pulling its support for Argo AI, the autonomous driving startup it had financed since 2017, it cited as one of its reasons a belief that driver-assist technology will have more near-term payoffs.The automaker said it will be shifting its resources from the Level 4 autonomous technology that was under development at Argo to “internally developed L2+/L3 technology.”“So it’s taking that investment and putting it towards a business where we think we will have a sizable return in the near term relative to one that’s going to have a long arc,” said John Lawler, Ford’s chief financial officer, during a call with investors Wednesday.“So it’s taking that investment and putting it towards a business... Continue reading…
Spotify pulls audiobook purchases from iOS app after Apple blocks updates
Nick Barclay / The Verge An update for Spotify’s iOS app released Thursday had a big change for its audiobooks vertical — and not for the better. The app no longer indicates how you can buy any of the audiobooks in its store, posing a major roadblock for its new business.Now when you go to make a purchase, the app displays a mostly empty screen saying, “Want to listen? You can’t buy audiobooks in the app. We know, it’s not ideal.” There’s no indication of where you might be able to buy the book.The update follows a statement from Spotify on Tuesday in which the audio streamer accused Apple of “choking competition” with its app rules for audiobook purchasing. It is worth noting that Apple also sells individual audiobooks through its Books app, which can be... Continue reading…
Fujifilm Instax Square Link review: hip to print square
Minus a few gimmicky social features, the Square Link adds up to good nostalgic fun Continue reading…
The Twitter deal is all downside risk forElon Musk
Illustration by William Joel / The Verge Elon Musk has everything to lose and only retweets to gain Continue reading…
Microsoft: Xbox game streaming console is ‘years away’
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has revealed that the company’s Xbox game streaming console is now “years away.” Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference yesterday, Spencer discussed the Xbox game streaming device, Keystone, that we saw appear on his shelf recently.“Keystone was the codename of something we were incubating internally, which was ... a streaming console, so there’s no local gameplay, low-cost, plug it into a TV, and you’d be able to stream Xbox games,” said Spencer. “In the late spring, we pivoted to working with Samsung. We put an app on Samsung TVs that let you play Xbox games, and I still have the prototype; it sits on the shelf behind my computer.” Image: Phil Spencer (Twitter) ... Continue reading…
iPads made flight decks digital — now United is using them to confirm airplane maintenance
United lead line technician Mansur Zia observes the exterior of the plane and uses the iPad to create service tickets and perform a digital maintenance release sign-off. | Image: Apple / United It’s great that iPads can help pilots replace heavy paper flight plans and logbooks, but digitizing airplane maintenance could arguably be even more important. Apple and United announced today that the latter is now doable, after United received the first and only FAA approval to complete maintenance sign-off via iPads.If you’ve boarded a flight before, you might have noticed technicians on the ground checking around the plane for anything that could be a problem (and you silently thank them for it).United says that using iPads expedites the document release process by 10 minutesAt the end of their process, a lead technician would need to sign off on a physical Maintenance Release Document (MRD) that confirms the completion of... Continue reading…
Never pay the ransom — a cybersecurity CEO explains why
Illustration by Vincent Kilbride / The Verge Ransomware attacks still plague our healthcare system. Steve Cagle’s cybersecurity company is trying to prevent them. Continue reading…
YouTube will let doctors and nurses apply to be labeled as reliable
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Licensed healthcare professionals on YouTube can now apply to get panels added to their videos that mark them as reliable health information sources, the company said Thursday. They’ll also be able to have videos added to health content shelves, which compile information on specific medical conditions.Licensed doctors, nurses, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and social workers are eligible for the feature. YouTube will verify applicants’ licenses. They’ll have to agree to follow the best practices for health information sharing created by the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, the National Academy of Medicine, and the World Health Organization — which says information should be science-based, objective, transparent,... Continue reading…
You can save $200 on the 256GB Samsung Galaxy Flip 4 today
Samsung is currently matching the Prime Day pricing for the midtier Galaxy Z Flip 4. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge If you missed out on the lowest price ever for the Galaxy Z Flip 4 during Amazon’s Prime Day Early Access Sale, you’re in luck. Currently, you can find the unlocked 256GB configuration of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 matching its Prime Day price at Samsung. Normally $1,059.99, Samsung has discounted the midtier Flip 4 to $859.99, knocking $200 off the regular price of a phone that’s just incredibly fun to use. You can laugh if you want, but the fourth iteration of the Galaxy Z Flip is actually a pretty decent phone with solid battery life that easily compresses into a roughly 3 x 2-inch block that fits in your pocket. The Android phone’s photo capabilities are slightly lacking compared to the Z Fold 4, but the Flip 4 is an excellent... Continue reading…
Elon Musk tells advertisers he will not make Twitter a ‘free-for-all hellscape’
Laura Normand / The Verge In a tweet posted Thursday morning, Elon Musk dismissed speculation about why he’d buy Twitter and his thoughts on advertising, writing, “The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.”The thread appears to be a fairly direct response to a report published earlier in the day from The Wall Street Journal that said, “Advertisers are concerned about the billionaire’s plans to soften content moderation and what they say are potential conflicts of interest in auto advertising.”
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s disc is just 72MB of nothing
Image: Activision Physical copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II are starting to be delivered worldwide, and players have been stunned to find the discs only include 72MB of data. Instead, owners have had to download the entire game digitally, which Eurogamer reports could take up as much as 150GB of space on the PS5.Activision has effectively shipped a dummy disc, meaning physical copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will always have to connect up to the internet to get a copy of the game. It’s a process that has seen widespread criticism in the past, particularly because it can hinder game preservation, force firmware updates, and overall, push owners toward DRM versions of games that might not work properly years in the future.
Apple macOS 13 Ventura review: a bunch of good updates you can mostly ignore
Apple’s latest desktop software is familiar territory for the majority of Mac users, but it does have some new ideas about multitasking and a whole new Settings app. And of course, it ties into your iPhone more than ever. Continue reading…
Snapchat rolls out more advanced video editing tools with Director Mode
Image: Snapchat Snapchat is giving users more powerful video tools through a new feature called Director Mode. It’s available starting today globally for iOS and Android.Director Mode, first previewed in April, brings a handful of new features for filming and editing videos on Snapchat, including a few that are popular on other platforms. Green screen, for example, allows users to record videos with a background, similar to the TikTok filter of the same name. And dual camera, previously only available for iOS users, is a BeReal-esque feature that takes a front and back-facing photo or video simultaneously.Other tools include quick edit, which allows users to trim and splice multiple videos together, and a camera speed feature to speed up or slow down... Continue reading…
Boost Mobile’s new no-fee banking comes with a surprising number of fees
Why stop at wireless services when you can add a side of finance? | Image: Boost Mobile Dish Network-owned Boost Mobile is getting into financial services with the launch of OmniMoney, a basic banking service aimed at people who can’t access traditional bank accounts. It’s a service that Boost CEO Stephen Stokols hopes will make the brand “stickier to existing customers” and attract new ones. This comes at a time when the company very much needs to attract new customers, as the Boost brand continues to lose subscribers and Dish is struggling to get a viable 5G network off the ground. At least part of that plan includes offering “basic no-fee banking services” — except, well, there are fees.To be clear, Boost Mobile is not becoming a bank. It’s licensing the service from a company called Alviere, which handles the banking... Continue reading…
Microsoft’s new Xbox Home UI feels like a giant Game Pass ad
Microsoft started testing a new Xbox Home UI last month that will arrive in 2023. I’ve managed to try an early version of the Home UI this week, and while there are some much-needed improvements, the home section of the Xbox dashboard is starting to feel like one giant Xbox Game Pass ad.The main interface now replaces the larger tile for the most recent app or game, with six tiles that are now all the same size across the top row. These are the latest apps or games, and I’m glad to see that Microsoft has removed apps like Settings and the Microsoft Store from appearing in this recent list given you can easily access both from the new Xbox Home UI.While most Xbox users have been asking for a less cluttered UI on the home screen, this... Continue reading…
This tablet pairs an E Ink display with a... 16-megapixel rear camera?
The Boox Tab Ultra is a new $599.99 E Ink tablet from Onyx that pairs a 16-megapixel rear camera with a 10.3-inch paper-link display. It’s an odd combination. Tablets already have a bit of a rough reputation when it comes to photography, and E Ink displays aren’t exactly known for their color accuracy or high refresh rates — two features that are pretty important when it comes to taking good photos. So what’s going on here?The truth is a lot more sensible than it initially seems. Onyx is pitching the Boox Tab Ultra as a device for professional and business usage, where it thinks a rear camera might be helpful for scanning documents with support for OCR. “Turn on the rear camera to take a picture of your document and convert it to text... Continue reading…
Microsoft’s great OneNote merge begins with a single app in the Windows store
Image: Microsoft Microsoft has been unifying its OneNote and OneNote for Windows 10 apps into a single app over the past year, and now there’s only one version of OneNote in the Windows store. The great OneNote merge, as I call it, has seen some features from the UWP OneNote for Windows 10 app arrive in the traditional OneNote desktop app, alongside a visual refresh, too.Now, Microsoft wants to make sure you download the correct version of OneNote moving forward. “OneNote for Windows 10 will no longer be available in the Microsoft Store,” explains the OneNote team in a blog post. “It will continue to work, but it will not get new feature updates and will reach end-of-support in October 2025.” If you still need to download the OneNote UWP version to a... Continue reading…
Asus’ foldable laptop goes on sale for $3,499.99
The Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, more or less fully unfolded. | Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge Asus’ first foray into the world of folding-screen laptops, the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, is now on sale for $3,499.99, the company has announced. Asus says the laptop is being sold in the US via B&H and Newegg though as of this writing only Newegg seems to have the laptop available for immediate shipping, with B&H listing it as “coming soon.” That aligns with the Q4 target date given to us when we reviewed the laptop in August.At $3,499.99, Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is eye-wateringly expensive, but my colleague Monica Chin points out that it’s the first such device that starts to deliver on the promise of this new form factor. You can either use the laptop with its 17.3-inch 2560 x 1920 screen fully unfolded and paired with a bluetooth keyboard... Continue reading…
Grandson of Samsung’s founder takes control of empire as earnings fall
Jay Y. Lee speaking in May this year. | Photo by Kim Min-Hee - Pool/Getty Images Samsung Electronics has appointed Lee Jae-yong — who is known in the West as Jay Y. Lee — as its executive chairman, giving the grandson of the company’s founder formal control, the South Korean tech giant announced today. The announcement came on the same day that Samsung announced a series of disappointing earnings results, as profits fell 23 percent compared to the previous quarter.According to Samsung’s official announcement justifying the appointment, “the Board cited the current uncertain global business environment and the pressing need for stronger accountability and business stability in approving the recommendation.” Samsung is currently battling a slump in demand for several of its key businesses including memory chips,... Continue reading…
Apple pauses App Store gambling ads after developer outcry
Other unspecified categories of apps have also been paused. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple has “paused ads related to gambling and a few other categories on App Store product pages” after developers and commentators criticized the types of advertisements showing up in the iPhone’s App Store, according to a statement from spokesperson Trevor Kincaid.On Tuesday, Apple announced that companies could advertise their apps on the store pages for other apps, putting their icon in the “you might also like” section. Almost immediately, developers started showing examples of ads for gambling apps being recommended under their apps.Twitter is also full of screenshots of very inappropriate ad placements: one Twitter user shows a slot machine app being advertised alongside gambling addiction recovery apps, and there are examples of... Continue reading…
Everything you need to know about The Wire’s retracted reporting on Meta
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Update October 26th, 6:42PM ET: After retracting its story on Meta, The Wire posted an update stating it was subject to “deception” by a staff member. Here’s how the story unfolded previously.Meta — Facebook and Instagram’s parent company — is at the center of controversy in India, where a local publication claimed the company removed an Instagram post on behalf of an Indian politician. Meta pushed back on these claims and accused the outlet of using “fabricated” evidence.After Meta and several experts online found inconsistencies in The Wire’s reporting, the outlet decided to suspend access to its stories on October 18th and conduct an “internal review” of the documents it used as evidence. It later retracted its report on October... Continue reading…
Zuckerberg is all in on the metaverse whether you like it or not
Image: Getty Images Toward the end of Meta’s earnings call on Wednesday discussing the company’s results for Q3 2022, CEO Mark Zuckerberg took a moment to address his metaverse doubters.“Look, I get that a lot of people might disagree with this investment, but from what I can tell, I think this is going to be a very important thing,” he said. “People will look back a decade from now and talk about the importance of the work being done here.”“People will look back a decade from now and talk about the importance of the work being done here”The problem is that a decade is a long time from now. And as Zuckerberg experienced on today’s earnings call, he is losing faithful supporters quickly. “I think kind of summing up how investors are feeling right now is... Continue reading…
Disney wants to use your viewing history to personalize your park experience
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Disney could soon start using your Disney Plus viewing habits to influence your experience at its parks — and vice versa. In an interview at The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live event, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said the company’s working on a way to tailor both experiences based on how you interact with its physical and digital offerings.“If you’re on Disney Plus, we should be aware of what happened, what you experienced, what you liked, the last time you visited a park, and vice versa,” Chapek explained. “When you’re in a park, we should know what your viewing habits are on Disney Plus.”
Elon Musk seems to feel at home inside Twitter’s HQ as ‘Chief Twit’
Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge With about 48 hours to go in the judge-mandated timeline to close his deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion, Elon Musk has arrived at the company’s San Francisco base of operations and is certainly walking around like he owns the place, which gives off the vibe that, soon, he really will.As reported earlier by The Verge’s own Alex Heath, Twitter chief marketing officer Leslie Berland informed staffers in an email that they should expect to see Musk around HQ this week and hear from him directly on Friday.
The Wire blames retracted Meta story on ‘deception’ by staff member
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge The Wire, the Indian news outlet that published an explosive and now-retracted story on Meta earlier this month, says it was subject to “deception” by one of the members of its “Meta investigation team.” In an update posted on its site today, The Wire apologizes for running the retracted story, which originally accused Meta of granting an Indian politician special privileges on Instagram and Facebook.This latest admission indicates the outlet’s editorial team was somehow tricked by an employee, calling into question whether the employee (who The Wire does not name) fell victim to some kind of deceit or if it was done intentionally as a way to smear Meta. The Wire says it’s currently reviewing its editorial processes and that doing so... Continue reading…
Xbox’s Phil Spencer says the metaverse is a ‘poorly built video game’
“For me, building a metaverse that looks like a meeting room... I just find that’s not where I want to spend most of my time.” | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s CEO of gaming, is the latest tech exec to take a shot at Meta’s vision of the metaverse. When asked his definition of the metaverse, Spencer described it as “a poorly built video game” at the WSJ Tech Live conference today, as seen at about the 1:12 mark of this video (embedded above).Meta rebranded from Facebook last year as a testament to its focus on the metaverse, which it believes will become a place where you not only socialize with friends but also do serious work with colleagues. It seems as if Spencer doesn’t necessarily agree with the work aspect of the metaverse, at least in one form. “Video game creators have an amazing ability to build compelling worlds that we want to go spend time in,” he said at... Continue reading…
Tesla’s self-driving claims are reportedly under criminal investigation
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Tesla is facing a criminal probe over its claims about its driver assist technology, according to Reuters. The US Department of Justice launched an investigation late last year following more than a dozen crashes, some of which were fatal, involving the company’s Autopilot feature.Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been promising actual driverless cars are coming since 2016 — a promise he has yet to deliver. He’s gone from saying that Tesla will have 1 million robotaxis on the road by the end of the year to 1 million people in the FSD beta program, which are wildly different things.The US Department of Justice launched an investigation late last year following more than a dozen crashesTesla vehicles today come standard with a driver-assist... Continue reading…
Argo AI, driverless startup backed by Ford and VW, is shutting down
Drew Anthony Smith Argo AI, the self-driving startup backed by Ford and Volkswagen, is shutting down, The Verge has learned. Employees were notified during an all-hands meeting on Wednesday. (The news was first reported by TechCrunch.)The company, which was founded by veterans of Google and Uber’s self-driving car projects, has lost the financial support of Ford and VW, a source said. And according to TechCrunch, the company’s resources will be absorbed by both automakers. Argo is estimated to have around 2,000 employees, though it did announce a round of layoffs earlier this year.“The decision has been made that Argo AI will not continue on its mission as a company”“In coordination with our shareholders, the decision has been made that Argo AI will not... Continue reading…
How to use personalized spatial audio on your Apple AirPods
Samar Haddad / The Verge When it’s used well, spatial audio can lend extra immersion and depth to music, movies, and TV shows. Apple has offered the feature across its iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, and Beats products since 2020 for videos, and last year, the company brought spatial audio to Apple Music. Spatial audio is intended to make content sound more multidimensional compared to traditional stereo and leave you feeling like sound is coming at you from all directions.With the release of iOS 16, Apple rolled out a new tool for making the experience even better: personalized spatial audio. This process calibrates the sound profile based on your own specific ears and head, which can enhance the 360-degree sensation and lead to more convincing instrument and... Continue reading…
Microsoft says Xbox Game Pass is profitable as it sees subscription growth slow
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has revealed that the company’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service is already profitable. Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference, Spencer also revealed that Xbox Game Pass is around 15 percent of Microsoft’s overall Xbox content and services revenue.Spencer says he now expects Xbox Game Pass to stay at around 10–15 percent of Microsoft’s Xbox content and services revenue and that “it’s profitable for us.”“Game Pass as an overall part of our content and services revenue is probably 15 percent,” says Spencer. “I don’t think it gets bigger than that. I think the overall revenue grows so 15 percent of a bigger number, but we don’t have this future where I think 50–70 percent of our... Continue reading…
British hacker charged for allegedly running The Real Deal dark web market
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge A British hacker who brought the entire nation of Liberia offline more than seven years ago was arraigned before a US federal court today, facing new charges of access device fraud and money laundering conspiracy.The hacker, Daniel Kaye, has been accused of operating a dark web marketplace called The Real Deal for stolen login information for social media and bank accounts, US government devices, and a variety of illicit goods like drugs and unlawful hacking tools. The Real Deal allowed third-party vendors to set up online stores and purchasers to rate sellers based on their authenticity.“This case is an example of our persistent determination to work with our international partners to hold criminals accountable no matter how... Continue reading…
Peloton finally has a Wear OS 3 app
If you have a Wear OS 3 app, you can download the Peloton app from the Play Store. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge While Peloton has long supported the Apple Watch, Wear OS users were left in the cold. Not anymore. The Peloton app is now available for download in the Play Store for Wear OS 3 smartwatches.The app, which was first spotted by 9to5Google, doesn’t actually do much, though. I downloaded the app onto my Pixel Watch and started a walking workout in The Verge office. I was able to view my heart rate while meandering through cubicles, as well as which heart rate zone I was in. After I ended the workout, I was then able to view a workout summary detailing calories burned, average heart rate, “best” heart rate, and my Strive Score, a heart rate-based metric that Peloton uses to gauge effort. That’s about it.Also, while Peloton added Apple... Continue reading…
Hotline Miami’s ultra-violence has influenced games for a decade
Hotline Miami. | Image: Devolver Digital A look back on the impact of Dennaton’s indie classic 10 years later Continue reading…
CD Projekt Red reveals it’s working on a Witcher 1 remake
Image: CD Projekt Red The Witcher series is returning to its roots. CD Projekt Red announced that one of the many new Witcher projects it’s working on, which includes a brand-new trilogy, is actually a remake of the first game.Dubbed with the codename “Canis Majoris” — which is in line with CD Projekt Red’s astronomy-based naming convention and also means “big dog,” which is a hilarious and accurate way to describe Geralt of Rivia — The Witcher remake is being rebuilt from the ground up utilizing Unreal Engine 5.“The Witcher is where it all started for us, for CD Projekt Red,” said studio head Adam Badowski in the announcement. “It was the first game we made, ever, and it was a big moment for us then. Going back to this place and remaking the game for the... Continue reading…
How do cryptozoologists feel about cryptocurrency?
Photo illustration by William Joel / The Verge, Image CryptidCoin Ever since the word “crypto” became shorthand for cryptocurrency, NFTs, and Web3 stuff sold in Super Bowl ads or discussed in dinner table conversations, it has overshadowed another community living outside of the blockchain world.Cryptozoologists have been using the word “crypto” to talk about their field of expertise: legendary creatures like Sasquatch, the Loch Ness monster, Mothman, Chupacabra, and others. Cryptozoology, the study of hidden or unknown animals, originated in the early 1960s by author Ivan T. Sanderson in his book Abominable Snowmen, Legend Come to Life.Though other crypto-prefix fields of study like cryptography have also been around for decades, to some cryptozoologists, crypto is not only just disrupting the... Continue reading…
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