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Updated 2025-07-11 14:00
Acer’s Chromebook 516 GE is here to play — if you’ve got great internet
Pictured: me after flat-lining several Combine soldiers with a mounted turret. Also pictured: me kind of forgetting that I’m gaming on a Chromebook. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge A Chromebook needs more than just an RGB keyboard to be a gaming laptop. It also needs a high-refresh-rate screen and a solid port selection. Now we’re talking. I’ve been testing the $649.99 Acer Chromebook 516 GE, one of a trio of newly announced gaming Chromebooks that my colleague Monica wrote about this week, and I have good news: it does a convincing impression of a gaming laptop, as long as you have fast internet.I’ve been testing a preproduction unit of the 516 GE, and it’s very different from your typical gaming laptop on the inside. There isn’t a high-end processor or graphics card to run the latest games. Instead, it has the fittings of an ultrabook with the necessary connectivity — cutting-edge Wi-Fi 6E connectivity and a... Continue reading…
A meeting in Google’s 3D chat booth felt like real life science fiction
Here’s what a Starline booth looks like from a distance. | Image: Google Project Starline is the real deal. It makes a virtual call feel like a one-on-one conversation. But it’s unclear if it’s something most people will ever get to experience. Continue reading…
How to increase your personal safety with Pixel and Samsung phones
Vincent Kilbride / The Verge While there has — rightly — been a great deal written and broadcast about how to deal with attacks and privacy violations online and via social media, there is now increasing attention being paid to helping people stay safe in their homes and out in the world.Android phones have, over the last few years, added several personal safety features to their toolboxes. Because the apps and features that come with the phones can differ depending on the manufacturer, what follows are some of the ways you can use the tools offered by Pixel and Samsung phones. If you have an Android phone from a different manufacturer, your best bet is to see what you have that is similar to what comes with either of these phones.Pixel phones come with a Safety... Continue reading…
Microsoft’s AR glasses aren’t cutting it with US soldiers, says leaked report
Microsoft’s AR goggles are intended to provide soldiers with live information via a head-up display. | Image: US Army Microsoft’s augmented reality Hololens goggles are getting a rough ride in tests by the US Army, according to internal military evaluations seen by Bloomberg and Insider.Soldiers testing the headsets have complained about their “mission-affecting physical impairments,” and say that wearing the goggles can cause headaches, nausea, and eyestrain. Acceptance of the tech “remains low,” says a summary prepared for Army and Defense Department officials and seen by Bloomberg, with soldiers complaining that the headsets don’t “contribute to their ability to complete their mission.”One testimony reported by Insider was even blunter. “The devices would have gotten us killed,” said the tester — referring to the light emitted by the goggles’... Continue reading…
Microsoft has teased a Windows 11 floating taskbar
Image: Microsoft Microsoft has shown off a floating Windows 11 taskbar. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed what looks like a concept UI during his keynote presentation at Microsoft Ignite yesterday. Twitter users were quick to spot the unusual taskbar, with its system tray and widgets appearing at the top of the desktop.The floating Windows 11 taskbar was shown on a Surface Studio device, suggesting that it could be some form of concept that Microsoft is considering for touch devices. Microsoft already does some custom work with its new Surface Studio 2 Plus, which changes the size of the taskbar icons when you move the display. Image: Microsoft The UI changes look like a concept. Some Windows 11 testers previously claimed... Continue reading…
Smartwatches, not phones, are where the action is at this year
Apple’s Watch Ultra next to Google’s Pixel Watch Phones have become boring. Each year brings an incremental, iterative update, but the general idea of what a phone is hasn’t changed in ages. Even folding phones, which were heralded as bringing excitement back to the scene, are settling into the same year-over-year processor and camera upgrade cadence that standard smartphones have been in for years.That’s perhaps never been more true than this year, where each of the major phone releases this fall has been less than exciting. Samsung’s latest Galaxy Fold 4 and Flip 4 are effectively the same devices as last year’s versions but with newer processors and cameras. Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are nearly the same as the Pixel 6 models, just with, again, new processors and cameras.... Continue reading…
Firefox’s new service gives you a burner phone number to cut down on spam
Image: Firefox Firefox Relay, a Mozilla service designed to hide your “real” email address by giving you virtual ones to hand out, is expanding to offer virtual phone numbers. In a blog post Mozilla product manager Tony Amaral-Cinotto explains that the relay service generates a phone number for you to give out to companies if you suspect they might use it to send you spam messages in the future, or if you think they might share it with others who will.The idea is that handing out this alternative phone number makes it easier to block spam phone calls or texts in the future. You can either block all calls or texts sent to your relay number, or just block specific contacts. Importantly it lets you keep your “real” phone number private, which is... Continue reading…
Here’s an early look at Android’s app archiving feature
The feature should display how much storage space you can save by archiving an application instead of having to completely uninstall it. | Image: Google / @AssembleDebug While we’ve been waiting to hear more about Google’s upcoming tool that “archives” certain apps to help free up space on your device, @AssembleDebug has managed to activate the feature ahead of its release (via Android Police).Google first announced archiving earlier this year, claiming it can help users free up around 60 percent of their device’s storage for apps without having to completely delete them. In the screenshots shared by AssembleDebug, it appears that the tool will be built into the Google Play Store, allowing users to select between two options when they attempt to uninstall an application. The standard uninstall option is still present alongside a new ‘Archive’ option, which will whisk the app away into a separate... Continue reading…
Sony and Honda plan to start selling their electric cars in the US in 2026
Sony’s prototype Vision-S 02 SUV, unveiled at CES 2022 as a platform for developing Sony’s EV technology. | Image: Sony Sony and Honda have announced that they plan to start selling their jointly-developed electric vehicles in the US in early 2026.The US has been chosen as the first market because of its well-developed taste for EVs. The cars will then go on sale in Japan later the same year, and then, perhaps, in Europe. Preorders for the vehicles will open in 2025, with sales and vehicle customization pushed through online channels.The two Japanese companies announced they would be working together on a new 50-50 venture earlier this year, with the company later named Sony Honda Mobility. The alliance is intended to unite Honda’s expertise in car manufacture with Sony’s prowess in the fields of sensors, software, and entertainment. The companies hope... Continue reading…
Microsoft Office will become Microsoft 365 in major brand overhaul
Image: Microsoft Microsoft is making a major change to its Microsoft Office branding. After more than 30 years, Microsoft Office is being renamed “Microsoft 365” to mark the software giant’s collection of growing productivity apps. While Office apps like Excel, Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint aren’t going away, Microsoft will now mostly refer to these apps as part of Microsoft 365 instead of Microsoft Office.Microsoft has been pushing this new branding for years, after renaming Office 365 subscriptions to Microsoft 365 two years ago, but the changes go far deeper now. “In the coming months, Office.com, the Office mobile app, and the Office app for Windows will become the Microsoft 365 app, with a new icon, a new look, and even more features,” explains a F... Continue reading…
The best deals of Amazon’s fall Prime Day event
Nicholas Barclay / The Verge Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, its second Prime Day event of 2022, is drawing to a close. That means it’s the last chance to take advantage of many of these deals. Our entire team is continuing to scour Amazon’s catalog high and low to find the best tech deals for you, including the great ones, and even some of the “hey, that ain’t bad” variety.While it’s possible some of these deals may linger a little longer than the official end date, most of them are set to expire in less than a few hours, and may not return until Black Friday and Cyber Monday come around next month. So, get a head start on your holiday shopping, pick up that big-ticket item you’ve been patiently waiting for, or jump on a fun impulse purchase (we won’t tell... Continue reading…
The best tablet and phone deals from Amazon’s October Prime Day
It doesn’t get much better than the Pixel 6A selling for $329. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge You don’t want to sleep on Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale if you’re looking for deals on tech products, particularly phones or tablets. Now through the remainder of today, October 12th, you’ll be able to save a good amount of cash on some unlocked Pixel phones, a few of Apple’s latest iPads, and a bevy of Amazon-branded Fire tablets. It’s not a total who’s who of a deal event like Black Friday and Cyber Monday — there aren’t really any iPhone deals — but there are more than enough deals to make it worth putting together this post.If you’re looking for our main post on Prime Early Access Sale deals, we’ve got you covered here. And if you want to see all of our coverage, including posts on individual products we think are worth your... Continue reading…
The best Amazon Prime Day deals under $25
Amazon’s premium Fire Stick 4K Max and mid-range Fire Stick 4K streaming dongles look identical, though the latter is currently discounted to just $24.99. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Day two of Amazon’s Prime Early Access sale is under way, and while all the attention may be on big-ticket items like TVs, laptops, or wearables, we know not everyone can throw money around on that kind of stuff on a whim. There are also deals going on that can appeal to any tech fiend on a tight budget, so we’re pooling together all the best deals under $25 that we can find.But you’d be remiss to think of these deals as just “cheap stuff.” We carefully comb through the myriad sales to find budget-friendly items that are worth your time and dollars, even at these lower-stakes prices: like a 4K-capable Fire TV Stick or a small and lightweight wireless earbuds. Frankly, sometimes it’s these inexpensive buys that can be some of the... Continue reading…
The best TV deals from Amazon’s fall Prime Day event
LG’s C2 OLED is one of the many TVs available at a discount during Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale is providing yet another opportunity to get a fantastic discount on a 4K TV. If you’ve been scouting for deals in the lead-up to Black Friday, this is a week when you’ll want to be paying attention. Right now, we’re seeing some big price cuts on all sorts of smart TV models, ranging in size, streaming platform, and display (QLED, OLED, etc.). This roundup includes deals that are exclusive to Prime members as well as some that are available from Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and wherever else we find good discounts.The best Prime Day TV deals
The best gaming deals from fall Prime Day
The best deals on gaming accessories you can find during Prime Day Early Access | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge Amazon’s Prime Day Early Access Sale is here for another day, so let's scope out some sweet deals on gaming headsets, keyboards, and other cool accessories. Whether you’re gaming on a console or PC, there are plenty of awesome odds and ends to round out your setup at home. For a better view of what’s currently on sale make sure to check out our best deals from Amazon’s Prime Early Access sale.We’re not holding our breath for discounts on next-gen consoles like the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, but we’re already finding great deals on gaming keyboards from Razer, HyperX headsets, and Bluetooth controllers from 8BitDo. Of course, we’ll be looking out for deals on anything that can make your gaming experience just a little more awesome.... Continue reading…
The guy in charge of Dish wants to buy Boost from Dish
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Dish Network is considering selling its Boost Mobile arm to a company called CONX Corporation, according to a filing with the SEC, spotted by Light Reading. The rub is that CONX is a “company” founded by Charlie Ergen — co-founder and current chairman of Dish Network itself.The filing from CONX (no, I won’t get tired of typing that) says that its far from a done deal, informing investors that “no assurances can be made that the parties [it and Dish] will successfully negotiate and enter into a definitive agreement.” And while that’s true for most merger discussions, the fact that Ergen is a higher-up at both companies could help those negotiations go a bit more smoothly.Why start a new carrier when your other company has already... Continue reading…
The best headphone deals from Amazon’s fall Prime Day sale
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge We’ve entered day two of Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale at Amazon — or Prime Day 2.0, as we like to call it — and the company is offering a ton of hard-to-resist deals on headphones and earbuds from Apple, Beats, Sony, Google, Bose, and more.Whether you’re looking for a new pair of noise-canceling headphones, trying to save on something from our best wireless earbuds list, or just hoping to buy some inexpensive buds, Amazon’s got all the bases covered. And the discounts you’re seeing now could be a good indicator of what prices to expect for Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the coming weeks.The best Prime Day deals on noise-canceling headphones and earbuds
The best Prime Day deals on toys for grown-up children
Lego sets, Nerf blasters, and other fun goodies are all on sale right now. | Image: Lego The stuff you want isn’t always the stuff you need, and that’s okay. Now and again, it’s nice to treat yourself with something just for you, even if it has little to no practical value. Our collection of the best Prime Day deals on toys for grown-ups is all about filling that void in your soul with all the cool stuff you couldn’t afford as a kid. The bulk of our suggestions for spending that hard-earned disposable income come in the form of Lego sets and Nerf blasters, some of which are perfect for filling that empty space on your curio shelf.If you’re looking for an overview of all the best discounts to be had during Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, make sure to head over to our main collection of the best Prime Day deals, which... Continue reading…
The best Apple deals available for Amazon Prime Day 2022
Apple’s M1-equipped MacBook Air from 2020 is on sale right now for its lowest price to date. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Think you have to wait until Black Friday to score a good deal on Apple devices? Think again. Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale (aka Prime Day 2.0) has officially arrived, and with it comes some pretty solid Apple deals. Right now, there are stellar deals to be had on Apple’s first-gen AirPods and the latest AirPods Pro, which are on sale for their lowest price to date. If you’re looking for something else, however, there are also deals available on the latest entry-level iPad and iPad Pro, the M1-powered MacBook Air, and more.Below, we’ve listed some of the best Apple deals currently available, all of which are exclusive to Amazon Prime subscribers. To save on non-Apple devices and other kinds of tech, be sure to also check out our... Continue reading…
25 deals from Amazon’s fall Prime Day event that make for great gifts
Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite starts at $99.99 and makes for a good gift for book lovers. | Image: Chaim Gartenberg Looking to get a head start on your holiday shopping? Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale offers an excellent opportunity to do so ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There are currently a bunch of fun gifts you can buy that are on sale at record lows, whether you’re looking to gift a pair of the new AirPods Pro or an instant camera like Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 11. If you’re in need of ideas, we’ve curated a guide to some of the best deals on popular presents you can buy right now. What’s more, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart are matching Amazon’s prices in many instances, meaning you don’t need to be a Prime member to take advantage of the discounts elsewhere.Also, if you want to check out even more deals besides the ones we’ve listed... Continue reading…
The Verge Guide to Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale
Nicholas Barclay / The Verge Amazon Prime Day is no longer a once-per-year shopping event. This year, the company is hosting a second deal extravaganza for Prime members called the Prime Early Access Sale, which kicked off yesterday, October 11th, and runs through today, October 12th. Like the two-day shopping blitz that is Prime Day, it’s filled with some of the lowest prices we’ve seen on 4K TVs, Amazon Echo devices, noise-canceling headphones, gaming accessories, laptops, and more. We also expect to see competing deals at retailers like Target, Best Buy, and Walmart, all of which we’ll cover during the 48-hour window.Like we’ve done in the past with Prime Day, we’re rounding up all of the details regarding Amazon’s fall sales event here, including our ongoing... Continue reading…
The Apple Watch Series 8 is still available for $50 off for Prime Day
The Apple Watch Series 8 inherits design elements from last year’s Series 7, including the larger display. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge It’s almost time to ring the bell for the cows to come home on Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, but before that happens we want to note you can still get the Apple Watch Series 8 for $50 off. The best part? This one’s not just exclusive to Amazon or Prime members, as a couple of other major retailers are currently matching Amazon’s price and making it widely available.As for the configurations and colors available, you can get the 41mm Apple Watch Series 8 with GPS for $349 at Amazon (in midnight or red), at Best Buy (in all four colors), or at Walmart (also in all four colors). If you prefer a larger display, you can get the 45mm version of the Series 8 for $379 at Amazon (in red or midnight), at Walmart (in red, silver, or... Continue reading…
The best smart plug deals from Amazon’s fall Prime Day event
Smart plugs are handy gadgets that can help automate older appliances. | Image: iHome Smart plugs are a simple and inexpensive way to automate gadgets around your home that may be a little older or weren’t built with home automation in mind — just plug them into an available outlet and use their corresponding app to link them with your home network. Beyond just allowing you to toggle the power for a specific outlet using virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa, models like the iHome Flow Smart Plug are capable of monitoring the power usage of specific devices over time if you’re looking for ways to conserve energy.Here, we’ve gathered a number of smart outlets that are currently discounted as part of Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale (and competing sales elsewhere). If you’re looking for a broader picture of what discounts... Continue reading…
The best smart home deals from Amazon’s fall Prime Day sale
The Roborock S7 vacuum and mop is $270 off during the sale. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge While it’s relatively slim pickings in terms of smart home gear, there are still some good deals to be found during Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, which runs through October 12th.As always, there’s a slew of robot vacuums getting price drops; we’ve picked the best deals on the best bots we saw. There are also a number of older Echo devices seeing some substantial savings as well as some of our firm favorites, such as the Echo Show 8 and Echo fourth-gen smart speakers.We also found some decent deals on a few of our top picks for smart security cameras, plus savings on smart locks and garage door controllers. Remember, most of the deals on Prime Day are for Prime members only, but if you’re not a member, you can sign up for a free... Continue reading…
The best laptop deals from Amazon’s fall Prime Day event
The MacBook Air has hit a tempting low price. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Amazon is in its second and final day of its Prime Early Access Sale, and we’re here to help you make sense of which deals to buy and which deals to skip. While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still to come, they can sometimes be a hectic time to shop. If products you have your eye on show up in the Prime Day Early Access Sale, you can get them earlier and skip the line.We’ve combed through all the laptops that are discounted today, and we’ve picked out the ones that are worth your attention. The items below can make great purchases for yourself, a friend, or a family member this holiday season.The best Prime Day Apple laptop deals
Truth Social is now available on the Google Play Store
Truth Social has been available on iPhone since February. | Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images Truth Social, the social media app created by former President Donald Trump, is now available for download on the Google Play Store (via CNBC). In August, Google banned the app over “insufficient” content moderation policies.Truth Social, which offers a Twitter-like social experience, markets itself as a platform that “encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation.” It first launched on the Apple App Store in February before attempting to offer its app through the Google Play Store.Google said in a statement that it permits apps on the Google Play Store as long as they “comply with our developer guidelines, including the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts such as those... Continue reading…
The best smartwatch and fitness tracker deals for Amazon Prime Day
The Apple Watch Series 8 is $50 off. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Amazon’s back with yet another Prime-exclusive shopping bonanza. It’s day two of its Prime Early Access Sale, and it’s an opportunity to get a head start on your holiday shopping way before Black Friday. That includes some neat deals on smartwatches and fitness trackers if you, or a loved one, are keen on crushing some fitness and health goals (or if you want to spend less time looking at notifications on your phone).While you won’t find deals on some of the newest launches — like the Pixel Watch — just yet, there are great options from brands like Apple, Bose, Garmin, Amazfit, and Mobvoi. This is a smart way to dip your toe into a new category, especially if you’re unsure whether wearables are for you. Quick reminder: you need an... Continue reading…
The best PC accessory deals from Amazon’s fall Prime Day event
Monitors and other cool PC accessories are discounted during the Prime Early Access Sale. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge All of the deals on display during Amazon’s Prime Day Early Access Sale give us a chance to highlight some cool accessories that typically won’t find their way into our regular deals roundups. Yes, we know that we’ve already got a roundup of the best gaming deals of Prime’s Early Access Sale, but this one is explicitly for the best discounts we could find on PC accessories. That means we’re not just looking at mice and keyboards, but we’re diving into motherboards, water coolers, and graphics cards, too.While gaming accessories get all the glory, we’re looking at deals on PC gaming components specifically. Whether you’re looking for an ultra-fast external hard drive or a slick-looking PC case, our roundup of PC accessories has got you... Continue reading…
Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite is still on sale for $99.99
You can buy the latest Kindle Paperwhite with ads for $99.99. | Image: Chaim Gartenberg If you missed out on all the great Kindle Paperwhite deals we saw in July during the first Prime Day, you still have a chance to save. We’re quickly approaching the end of Amazon’s first Prime Early Access Sale, however, the retailer is still selling the latest ad-supported Kindle Paperwhite with 8GB of storage for $99.99 instead of $139.99 — the same goes for Target and Best Buy. If you prefer to read without distracting ads getting in the way, you can also buy the ad-free version at Amazon for $119.99 ($40 off).The latest Kindle Paperwhite is a terrific e-reader, one with a battery that can literally last months, so you will not need to worry about recharging it. It also offers IPX8 waterproofing so you can enjoy reading by the pool,... Continue reading…
The best Amazon Prime Day deals under $50
For a limited time, you can buy the fourth-gen Echo Dot with two smart bulbs for just $24.99. | Image: Dan Seifert / The Verge Amazon’s ongoing Prime Early Access Sale is a great opportunity to take advantage of steep discounts on a range of popular gadgets. These include items like Amazon’s Fire TV Omni and Apple’s new AirPods Pro, the latter of which launched less than two weeks ago. That said, many of us wouldn’t consider a $223.24 pair of earbuds to be affordable, even if they are discounted. Thankfully, there are plenty of products currently on sale on Amazon for less than $50, ranging from smart speakers and location trackers to gaming mice.Here, we’ve compiled a list of the top tech deals you can buy for less than $50 so you can truly save money in the run-up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And if you don’t mind spending a little extra — or if you want... Continue reading…
Amazon faces a wave of walkouts and strikes as it heads into the season of sales
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon is in the midst of its second Prime Day sale of the year, pitched as a way to get Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals early. But as it courts consumers, the workers who handle the mass amount of packages that flow through Amazon’s facilities, warehouses, and air hubs are demanding better pay and working conditions. The threat of strikes, walkouts, and potentially another unionized warehouse are all looming as Amazon’s about to enter one of its busiest seasons.On Wednesday, workers at Amazon’s ALB1 facility in Albany, New York, started voting on whether to organize with the Amazon Labor Union, the group that unionized Amazon’s JFK8 facility and which is currently negotiating with Amazon for a contract. Another fulfillment center... Continue reading…
Warner Bros. Discovery is effectively killing Cartoon Network
Craig and Kit expressing their displeasure with another Creek Kid | Image: Cartoon Network Along with making Warner Bros. Discovery a less-diverse place overall, CEO David Zaslav’s latest bit of corporate restructuring is probably going to gut Cartoon Network and turn it into a shadow of its former self.For understandable reasons, Warner Bros. Discovery’s move to fire 82 employees and eliminate 43 open positions from its Television division grabbed headlines when news of the decision broke earlier this week. But the implications of the company’s plan to merge Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios may be much larger than what Warner Bros. Television CEO Channing Dungey recently implied in a company-wide internal memo.According to Dungey’s memo, Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, Warner Bros. Animation, and Cartoon... Continue reading…
Warner Bros. Television’s massive job cuts worsen WBD’s diversity problem
Image: The Verge Warner Bros. Television is laying off 82 of its employees, making up around 19 percent of its workforce, according to reports from Deadline and Variety. The studio has also chosen not to fill 43 open positions — making up 125 (or 26 percent) of its jobs in total — with those in unscripted, scripted, and animation most affected.This most recent round of layoffs comes as Warner Bros. looks to cut costs following its megamerger with Discovery led by CEO David Zaslav. In August, Warner Bros. Discovery eliminated about 70 positions at HBO Max as part of a massive restructuring that also killed the nearly completed Batgirl film and shelved dozens of other shows and movies from the streaming service. As part of the merge, HBO Max and Discovery... Continue reading…
Meet the CO2 battery cozying up with a wind energy giant
Energy Dome’s CO2 battery. | Image: Energy Dome There’s a new CO2 battery in the energy game, and it just might be the assist turbines need to harness the full power of the wind. The technology uses carbon dioxide to store energy in the form of pressure and heat. It’s a relatively straightforward solution that gives the CO2 battery some more flexibility than more traditional alternatives, like lithium-ion batteries.Lithium-ion batteries have become ubiquitous companions to solar panels. But the new CO2 battery could have an edge when it comes to storing energy from winds, which can be even more temperamental than the sun. Energy Dome, the company that developed the CO2 battery, announced a new partnership with global wind giant Ørsted last month.The two companies plan to run a... Continue reading…
What does Mark Zuckerberg think ‘open’ means?
Laura Normand / The Verge Mark Zuckerberg wants to own the future of computing — but not alone. That’s the intended takeaway from this year’s Meta (formerly Facebook, formerlier Oculus) Connect, where the Meta CEO described his plans for a new computing platform. “In each generation of computing that I’ve seen so far — PCs, mobile — there’s basically an open ecosystem and there’s a closed ecosystem,” Zuckerberg said. “I strongly believe that an open, interoperable metaverse built by many different developers and companies is going to be better for everyone.”“Openness” is typically considered a good thing in computing. It can promote competition and let people use tech in creative ways the designers didn’t expect. But Zuckerberg’s definition of an “open... Continue reading…
The company that owns Shein will pay New York state $1.9 million for data breach
Illustration by Beatrice Sala The company behind ultra fast fashion brands Shein and Romwe will pay New York state $1.9 million over a data breach affecting millions of customers. The fine stems from charges that Zoetop failed to secure customers’ data, didn’t properly inform customers of a data breach, and tried to keep the extent of the leak quiet.The penalty comes after an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General into a 2018 hack in which credit card and personal information, like names, emails, and hashed passwords, was stolen. The data breach affected 39 million Shein and 7 million Romwe accounts, including more than 800,000 accounts belonging to New Yorkers.Romwe reset passwords more than a year after it was hacked and told customers they’d simply... Continue reading…
Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 is the latest major gadget to ditch the headphone jack
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Today marks another chapter in the slow demise of the headphone jack. Microsoft has quietly removed the 3.5mm connector from its brand-new Surface Pro 9. The change is confirmed on the tech specs page, which no longer lists a headphone jack among the device’s “connections.” But it’s very much present on the same page for the Surface Pro 8.This seems to be the direct result of Microsoft bringing the Intel and Arm versions of the Surface Pro 9 together in the same chassis. The Surface Pro X has never had a 3.5mm jack, so now, the Intel hardware is coming in line with that design direction.But I’d argue it’s a more controversial omission this time. Why? The new universal outer enclosure is essentially the same size as that of the Surface... Continue reading…
The Bose QuietComfort 45 at $229 is our pick for best headphone deal of Prime Day
The QuietComfort 45 headphones come with a handy carrying case that offers protection. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge We’ll be approaching the closing hours of Amazon’s Prime Day before you know it, but we wanted to highlight one standout deal. The Bose QuietComfort 45 are some of the best noise-canceling wireless headphones you can buy, and they’ve been comfortably sitting at an all-time low price of $229 ($100 off) at Amazon for the duration of the Prime Early Access Sale. One of the best parts of this deal is that anyone (not just Prime members) can buy these. They’re also $229 at Best Buy or $229.99 at Target. In fact, you even get more color options there — blue or gray — over Amazon’s offering of just black or white.What makes the QC45s particularly great at this price is their balance of sound quality and comfort combined with excellent noise... Continue reading…
Microsoft takes the gloves off as it battles Sony for its Activision acquisition
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft isn’t happy with Sony and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. The UK regulator signaled an in-depth review of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard last month, and the CMA has now published its full 76-page report (PDF) on its findings. The CMA says it has concerns that Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal could lessen competition in game consoles, subscriptions, and cloud gaming, but Microsoft thinks the regulator has simply been listening to Sony’s lawyers too much.Microsoft pleaded for its deal on the day of the Phase 2 decision last month, but now the gloves are well and truly off. Microsoft describes the CMA’s concerns as “misplaced” and says that the regulator “adopts Sony’s complaints... Continue reading…
Signal is ‘starting to phase out SMS support’ from its Android app
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Signal is beginning to phase out support for sending and receiving standard text messages from its Android app after years of supporting the ability to have them alongside your Signal messages, which are end-to-end encrypted and sent using data. The company says that if you have its app set as your default SMS and MMS client, you’ll have to pick a new app to handle those duties.According to a Wednesday blog post, users will have “several months to transition away from SMS in Signal” and to migrate their messages to a new app. Of course, the post also recommends trying to convert the people you were texting into Signal users. If you do use the feature (you can check by going to Signal’s settings screen, then to Chats > SMS and MMS and... Continue reading…
Two never-published NES games are up for auction on eBay
Photo by TENGKU BAHAR / AFP via Getty Images The Video Game History Foundation is raising money to win the auction and share these never-before-seen games with the public Continue reading…
Sen. Elizabeth Warren demands details on Texas crypto mining energy consumption
Getty Democrats are pressing Texas energy regulators to disclose how much energy crypto mining companies consume from the state’s vulnerable power grid nearly a year after it failed during an extreme winter storm.In the Wednesday letter, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and six other Democrats pressed Texas grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, for information detailing how much electricity crypto mining operations have consumed and how much carbon dioxide emissions they’ve released over the last six years.“I’ve been working for the last year to make sure the public understands the economic and climate risks from crypto,” Warren said in a statement to The Verge on Wednesday. “Cryptominers’ energy use rivals that of entire... Continue reading…
Samsung Knox Matrix plans ‘private blockchain’ security for appliances, phones, and TVs
Samsung’s Knox Matrix is supposed to secure your devices through “multi-layered monitoring.” | Image: Samsung Samsung’s rolling out a new way to keep smart devices secure, and it apparently involves putting them on the blockchain. At the Samsung Developer Conference today, the company announced the Samsung Knox Matrix, a not-yet-released security solution that will include a “private blockchain system” to protect Galaxy devices, TVs, appliances, and more.Samsung is vague about how it will all work but says Knox Matrix protects the smart home ecosystem with “multi-layered mutual monitoring.”The company also claims Knox Matrix can share credentials from one device to another while securing the information shared between them to make logins more convenient without reducing security. Samsung’s example suggests that, with Knox Matrix, your phone’s... Continue reading…
Google Pixel Watch review: it’s a smarter Fitbit
The Pixel Watch is a fair attempt at a first-gen smartwatch, but Google has quite a few growing pains to address Continue reading…
How cell carriers prepared for and responded to Hurricane Ian
Mobile cell towers, drones, and helicopters. | Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg / Universal Images Group via Getty Images On September 28th, Hurricane Ian hit southwest Florida, lashing the area with category four winds and proceeding to cross through the state and then into the Carolinas and Virginia. As someone with friends, family, and co-workers dotted throughout the sunshine state, I’m used to the fear that comes with seeing photos of familiar places inundated with water and the uncertainty of not knowing when you can expect to hear from the people you care about. Even relatively minor storms can temporarily knock out power and cell service; hurricanes can do so for days or weeks, extending the time spent waiting for the “I’m okay” texts or phone calls.Ian took out its fair share of towers in Florida; according to the Federal Communications... Continue reading…
Microsoft Edge’s Workspaces feature lets you share a group of tabs with a single link
Workspaces groups together tabs and lets you share them with a single link. | Image: Microsoft Workspaces is a new feature coming to Microsoft Edge designed to make it easier to organize and share the dozens of browser tabs that you use on a daily basis. The feature has been popping up in Edge’s early preview builds for over a year now, but Microsoft is offering more detail on it today as part of its Ignite conference alongside new security and shopping features for its browser.Screenshots of Workspaces in preview show how users can create groups of tabs by clicking an icon to the left of the tab row. They can add tabs and name and color-code each group. They can then access, edit, and open previously created groups from that same icon. If you’ve ever used a tab manager add-on like OneTab, then Workspaces seems like a neat,... Continue reading…
New Microsoft 365 app replaces Microsoft’s Office app with new features and design
Image: Microsoft Microsoft is rebranding its built-in Office apps on Windows to Microsoft 365. While the existing app is mainly used for quick access to Office apps, this new Microsoft 365 one is designed to really leverage Microsoft’s Graph network to provide additional apps, relevant documents, and a feed of meetings and information that might be useful to plan a day ahead.This new app won’t be limited to Microsoft’s commercial customers either, as consumers and students will also be able to take advantage of it. It will include the regular access to Office apps, a feed of recent documents and files, and the ability to browse by meetings.It also now includes all Microsoft apps, not just Office ones, and there’s even a section for third-party apps... Continue reading…
Microsoft Teams Premium arrives with meeting recaps and live translations
Microsoft Teams Premium. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft is launching Microsoft Teams Premium today, a new offering designed to boost its chat and collaboration app with some AI-powered smart features. The biggest addition is a new meeting recap feature that essentially adds an AI virtual assistant to each meeting to share highlights and automatically capture all of the important parts. It’s like having your own assistant to take notes for you, even if you’re not there.“Today you get a meeting recap, after a meeting you get a recording and the transcript so you can get all that information, but you spend a lot of time sorting through the information to find ‘what’s pertinent or relevant to me,’” explains Nicole Herskowitz, general manager for Microsoft Teams, in an interview with T... Continue reading…
Microsoft Places is a new app to keep track of your hybrid team
Image: Microsoft As part of today’s Ignite conference, Microsoft is launching a new workplace app specifically designed to help with the challenges of hybrid working. The app is called Microsoft Places, and the company says it’s launching “soon” in beta.A screenshot of the app published by Microsoft today shows a dashboard view that tracks what percentage of your team is due to be in the office on a given day and lets you list where you’re working in a given week. As well as tracking people’s locations, the app is also designed to help you organize your work around them by giving “insights and guidance” on travel time as well as helping people navigate to work locations within offices themselves. Image: Microsoft A dashboard... Continue reading…
The Verge’s favorite spooky Halloween entertainment
Scene from The Strangers (2008) | Image: Rogue Pictures It’s October, which means that all the Halloween lawn and store decorations are out, as are all the holiday TV specials, horror movies, and terrifying games. Which to choose for a really good scare?We asked The Verge staff members to tell us about their favorite ways to generate chills, and they came up with a wide variety of Halloween-ish entertainment. Some of their choices are subtly tension-building, some are truly frightening, some are really nasty, and some are just great camp horror.Whatever types of frights you’re into, you should find something here to help you celebrate what may be our favorite fall holiday.Novels and short stories“The Lottery” by Shirley JacksonI first encountered Shirley Jackson’s strange and... Continue reading…
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