The Verge

Assistive Touch is a new accessibility feature introduced in watchOS 8. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Starting with watchOS 8, Apple introduced a new accessibility feature called Assistive Touch. The cool thing about this feature is that it allows you to control the watch via gestures and your arm movements. Meaning, now you don't even need to touch the Apple Watch screen to use it.The tech behind it is pretty neat. Using on-device machine learning, the feature makes use of the watch's accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart rate sensor to read how your muscles and tendons move. The result is that the watch can tell when you're pinching your fingers or clenching your fists. You can also enable a motion-based cursor that works like a mini-mouse when you tilt your arm.To be clear, Apple developed Assistive Touch to make the Apple... Continue reading...

Cold medications on a shelf pictured in Miami, Florida, on September 12th, 2023. | Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images The FDA's 16-member advisory panel unanimously voted yesterday that oral phenylephrine, a common active ingredient in cold medications, is no better than a placebo for treating congestion. The call by the panel sets up potential FDA action that could force the removal of certain over-the-counter medications containing the ingredient - including certain formulations of Mucinex, Sudafed, Tylenol, and NyQuil - from store shelves.As noted by The New York Times, the panel's vote doesn't necessarily mean the FDA will take action, but it usually follows panel recommendations. That said, the FDA may hold off for many months, pending contested findings by drug makers and other considerations.The panel tossed out several older studies that... Continue reading...

The Links tab looks a lot like Instagram - but it's not pictures, it's links. (With pictures.) | Image: Artifact Artifact, the algorithmic news-reading app started by Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, was never really meant to just be a news-reading app. Systrom and Krieger have talked about their bigger idea being TikTok for text," but so far, all that has meant is a bunch of algorithmically ranked news articles with in-app comments sections. Artifact is a good news app, but that didn't feel as big as TikTok.With a new feature called Links, Artifact is getting a little closer to that vision. Links is a new section in the Artifact app, and it's for far more than news. It's for, well, links. You can post a link in Artifact to just about anything - an article, a video, a recipe, a real estate listing, a game where all you do is m... Continue reading...

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, which are now made of titanium chassis. | Photo by NIlay Patel / The Verge Apple finally got with the program and put USB-C on its new iPhones, but how do they compare to Android phones from the likes of Samsung and Google, where USB-C is nothing but old hat?The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro models Apple announced at its Wonderlust" keynote have various other updates and niceties aside from a new port - like new cameras, Dynamic Islands up and down the line, Roadside Assistance through the satellite function, and an Action Button and lighter titanium build on the Pros - but these still look quite like iPhones until you plug in a charger. And just like many years prior, USB-C represents yet another iPhone adoption that Android phones have had for years.So it's a good opportunity to look at how the iPhone 15 and... Continue reading...

Powerwall 3 could enable a much cleaner install for Tesla energy fans. | Image: Tesla Tesla introduced its newest home battery backup system, the Powerwall 3, which comes with more power throughput and its own built-in solar inverter. The setup makes for a more vertically integrated home solar power installation for new setups compared to the Powerwall 2, which is just a battery.Early details of the Powerwall 3 trickled out in April when we learned it'd come with an easier-to-install process. But the product is still similar to the existing Powerwall 2, starting with the squared-off slate design with a glossy white front. Battery capacity is still 13.5kWh, same as Powerwall 2. There's now a T" logo in the front instead of the spelled-out Tesla logo, and it seems to lack the more visually appealing black finishes on the... Continue reading...

Image: Microsoft Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold replacement, Xbox Game Pass Core, is launching tomorrow with 36 games in total. The Xbox maker originally announced Game Pass Core in July, promising more than 25 games. Microsoft is now revealing that the full list of 36 games includes Fallout 4, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Vampire Survivors, and more.Xbox Game Pass Core launches tomorrow, September 14th, and existing Xbox Live Gold members will be automatically transferred across to the new subscription, which is priced at the same rate of $9.99 per month (or $59.99 per year) as Xbox Live Gold.Microsoft has discontinued its Games with Gold perk in favor of these 36 games that come bundled with the subscription. The list will be updated two to three times... Continue reading...

Photo by Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty Images Stability AI, a company mostly known for AI-generated visuals, launched a text-to-audio generative AI platform called Stable Audio.Stable Audio uses a diffusion model, the same AI model that powers the company's more popular image platform, Stable Diffusion, but trained with audio rather than images. Users can use it to generate songs or background audio for any project.Audio diffusion models tend to generate a fixed length of audio, which is terrible for music production as songs can vary in length. Stability AI's new platform lets users make sounds at different lengths, requiring the company to train on music and add text metadata around a song's start and end time.Previously, audio taught on a 30-second clip can only generate 30... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Today, Nintendo announced a 40-minute fall Direct showcase focusing on games scheduled for release this winter, set to stream on September 14th at 7AM PT / 10AM ET.Ever since Nintendo had its Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct earlier this month, rumors circulated saying that a bigger, more general Direct would follow. Those rumors strengthened when the Gotham Knights ESRB rating page added Nintendo Switch as one of the game's platforms.Additionally, news circulated that Nintendo had a patent for new Joy-Cons that would attempt to address the current controller's problems with stick drift. But the biggest Nintendo rumor out now is the fact that several developers have claimed to see a Switch 2 out in the wild and that developer kits... Continue reading...

Larian Studios Lots of menus, controls, and buttons to parse, but fundamentally, the game is still the same and still very worth it. Continue reading...

The Pet Tag attaches to a collar. | Image: Ring Amazon-owned Ring is launching a $9.99 Pet Tag today to make it easier to bring lost pets back home. The Ring Pet Tag essentially puts a QR code on your dog or cat's collar, which links up to an app. If the unthinkable happens, someone can scan the QR code and help reunite the lost pet with its owner.The QR code is linked to a pet profile that can include information like health conditions and, most importantly, an optional contact me" feature that starts a two-way communication with the pet owner. While you could easily put a regular collar tag on your pet with your phone number, this QR code shields your number, ZIP code, or any other personal information that people frequently place on pet tags. Image: Ring Y... Continue reading...

Photoshop's Generative Fill tool is finally available outside of the beta app. | Image: Adobe Following several months of beta testing, Adobe has announced that its Firefly generative AI model is now commercially available across Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Express, and Adobe Experience Cloud.That means the Firefly-powered workflows that have so far been limited to the beta versions of Adobe's apps - like Illustrator's vector recoloring, Express text-to-image effects, and Photoshop's Generative Fill tools - are now generally available to most users (though there are some regional restrictions in countries with strict AI laws like China). Adobe is also launching a standalone Firefly web app that will allow users to explore some of its generative capabilities without subscribing to specific Adobe Creative Suite applications. Adobe... Continue reading...

Adobe is making it easier to improve and clean up the audio quality of your recorded footage in Premiere Pro. | Image: Adobe Adobe is introducing some new AI and 3D features in beta for Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Frame.io - its popular suite of video and audio editing applications that are designed to improve workflow and speed up time-intensive tasks.To start, Premiere Pro is adding an AI-powered Enhance Speech feature that Adobe claims can make poorly recorded dialogue sound like it was recorded in a professional studio." Enhance Speech automatically removes background noise and provides Premiere Pro users with a mix slider to customize how much of it they'd like to incorporate in their projects. A new Audio Category Tagging feature is also available that automatically flags clips that contain dialogue, music, and sound effects or ambient noise. ... Continue reading...

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony is rolling out a big new PS5 update today, just over a month after it first started testing the changes in a beta. The update adds Dolby Atmos, lets you mute that annoying bootup beep, and even supports pairing a second controller as an assist one to let you help friends or family complete a game. Sony is also expanding its PS Remote Play app to Google's Chromecast with Google TV (4K), allowing you to stream games from a PS5 or PS4 to Android TV OS 12 devices.The Dolby Atmos support comes in the form of Sony's 3D Audio implementation (Tempest 3D AudioTech). It's compatible with Dolby Atmos devices like sound bars, TVs, or home theater systems. Media apps like Netflix can also update their apps on PS5 soon to support Dolby Atmos... Continue reading...

Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge SpaceX said Tuesday evening that it fixed an outage with Starlink, the company's satellite internet service. The network issue has been fully resolved," the company wrote at 9:39PM ET.At 8:33PM ET, the company acknowledged the issue and said it was working on a fix. Starlink is currently in a network outage and we are actively implementing a solution," SpaceX wrote on X (formerly Twitter). We appreciate your patience, we'll share an update once this issue is resolved."

Women Plus Connect is a new feature in the Lyft app that lets women and nonbinary drivers and riders opt to prefer women and nonbinary drivers and riders. | Image: Lyft On Tuesday, rideshare service Lyft launched Women Plus Connect, an in-app feature that matches women and nonbinary drivers with more women and nonbinary riders." The move is an effort to improve safety and encourage more women and nonbinary drivers to work with the company. A report by The Verge found that female rideshare drivers frequently face harassment and sexual assault and feel unsupported by rideshare companies.The feature offers Lyft drivers an option to turn on a preference in the Lyft app to prioritize matches with other nearby women and nonbinary riders. It's not a guarantee, however, and if no riders that match that description are nearby, drivers will still be matched with men. Image: Lyft The... Continue reading...

The ringtones might be good enough to keep you from using that Action Button to turn off the ringer. | Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge Apple's iPhone is finally getting some new ringtones with iOS 17. As reported by 9to5Mac, the iOS 17 release candidate (RC) has a bunch of additional ringtones, and assuming nothing changes between the RC and the update's official release, you're going to have a few additional sounds to choose from very soon.iOS 17 includes more than 20 new ringtone options and sound alerts," 9to5Mac says. I've installed the RC and listened to many of the new sounds, and I'm a big fan. I'm particularly drawn to the new Journey" ringtone, which sounds like something out of a classic RPG. If you want to hear a few of the new tones, 9to5Mac has a short video you can check out.Some older sounds have been slightly remastered" as well, according to 9... Continue reading...

The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro phones will be the first to support the Qi2 open charging standard, but they aren't Qi2-certified yet. | Image: Apple The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro are the first phones to ship with the new Qi2 magnetic wireless charging standard. Well, sort of: it turns out they aren't Qi2-certified yet. But neither is anything else.Qi2 is an update to the Qi wireless charging standard that adds a ring of magnets to ensure proper alignment of the charging coils. You know, like MagSafe. Unlike MagSafe, Qi2 is an open standard - Apple even contributed its magnetic power profile" to it - and Android phone makers are expected to adopt it as well. That's great. Few things are more frustrating than waking up to a dead phone because you plopped it on the charger a few millimeters off-center, and magnetic alignment fixes that. (So does plugging it in, but bear with me.)Qi2 a... Continue reading...

Apple brings satellite-powered Roadside Assistance to the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 in a partnership with AAA. | Image: Apple During the iPhone 15 launch event in Cupertino, Apple announced it's adding satellite-powered Roadside Assistance to the iPhone in a partnership with AAA. Buying and activating a new iPhone 14 or iPhone 15 series device will include two years of Emergency SOS and Roadside Assistance access for free. The services they connect you to are covered under the AAA membership terms or available on a pay-per-use basis for non-AAA members.The Roadside Assistance service - which is US only - is an expansion of the Emergency SOS via satellite feature launched with iPhone 14 last year. If you have car trouble, you can text AAA for assistance for your emergencies, such as being locked out, running out of fuel, or a flat tire (you know, those times... Continue reading...

The noble Apple Polishing Cloth. | Image: Apple It's that time of year again - the time when millions around the world nail their eyeballs to the Apple Store website and wait, unblinking, to find out whether the new iPhones and Apple Watches are compatible with the $19 Polishing Cloth Apple launched in 2021. After all, you bought the cloth as soon as Apple announced it, and you know all about planned obsolescence. Did you waste 19 bucks two years ago?I did some digging, and I am pleased as punch to report that, no, you didn't. Even the brushed titanium-framed iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are supported. Apple updated its website this afternoon to add no less than six new devices to the cloth's diverse stable of compatible screen-having Apple products. That brings the grand total to... Continue reading...

Unity Popular video game engine Unity is making big changes to its pricing structure that's causing confusion and anger among developers. Today, Unity announced that on January 1st, 2024, it would be implementing a pay-per-download pricing scheme that would charge developers a flat fee any time a game using Unity software is installed.We are introducing a Unity Runtime Fee that is based upon each time a qualifying game is downloaded by an end user," the company shared on its blog. We chose this because each time a game is downloaded, the Unity Runtime is also installed. Also we believe that an initial install-based fee allows creators to keep the ongoing financial gains from player engagement, unlike a revenue share."Unity went on to... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge T-Mobile is buying airwaves from Comcast in a deal valued at up to $3.3 billion. In a blog post on Comcast's site, the company explains that it will sell spectrum in the 600MHz band as it is unlikely" to need it.Comcast announced plans to build out a 5G network for its Xfinity Mobile service last year using spectrum in the 600MHz band and CBRS - an unlicensed spectrum in the 3.5GHz range that companies can use for free. However, Comcast says 5G field tests with CBRS spectrum exceeded" its expectations and that it's found the band to be highly efficient and a significant part of a 5G network."That's why Comcast no longer sees a use for its 600MHz spectrum, which it says T-Mobile will lease to purchase. As part of the deal, T-Mobile... Continue reading...

Image: Apple During its iPhone 15 event, Apple announced that the second-generation AirPods Pro will soon ship with a USB-C case. But it turns out the company quietly made other upgrades that go beyond swapping the case's charging port. For one, the USB-C AirPods Pro have tacked dust resistance onto their existing water and sweat resistance: they're rated IP54 versus the IPX4 of last year's Lightning model. But perhaps more interesting is that these USB-C AirPods Pro will support lossless audio when used with Apple's upcoming Vision Pro headset.This marks the first time that Apple's wireless earbuds have offered lossless playback. The H2 chip in the latest AirPods Pro and Apple Vision Pro, combined with a groundbreaking wireless audio protocol,... Continue reading...

The Flic Twist is a new smart home controller that works with Apple Home, Amazon Alexa and, according to the company, will soon work with Matter. | Image: Flic Buttons are the best. They can make your smart home just work" and don't require wiring, remodeling your home, or shouting at a speaker to make magic happen. Want the lights to dim, your TV to turn on, your thermostat to adjust, and your front door to lock with one tap? Get a button.The newest button from smart home button maker Flic, launching today, adds an exciting twist to the button concept. The Flic Twist ($88.88) is a button that you can push, double-push, twist, and push and twist to control any connected device.The twist feature, in particular, is well suited to dimming lights, adjusting speaker volume or thermostat temperature, and controlling shades - all functions that are hard to achieve with just a button press.As a... Continue reading...

Image: Getty Images Ford, BMW, and Honda are joining forces to create a new vehicle-to-grid company that aims to help EV owners save money by sending energy back to the electrical grid.The new company, ChargeScape, will create a single, cost-effective platform connecting electric utilities, automakers and interested electric vehicle customers." Through that platform, EV owners earn financial benefits through a variety of managed charging and energy-sharing services never before possible with traditional gasoline-powered vehicles."The three automakers will each own an equal share of the new company, which is expected to ramp up operations starting next year, pending regulatory approval.EVs are unique in their ability to send energy back to the grid,... Continue reading...

Get used to seeing this dongle everywhere for a while. | Image: Apple Apple just made a lot of people's Lightning cables and accessories suddenly redundant by introducing the new iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max. Four phones, not a Lightning port in sight - Apple is all in on USB-C.To make the transition easier, Apple is now selling a bunch of predictably expensive new cables and dongles. Starting with the one you're almost certainly going to need to buy: the USB-C to Lightning Adapter, a $29.99 dongle into which you plug your Lightning device or cable and then plug the dongle into your new phone.If you're ready to live the USB-C life entirely, you can buy Apple's one-meter charging cable, which is $19 and will charge at up to 60 watts. Or, for $29, you can get a two-meter cable that supports... Continue reading...

Apple released its Apple Watch Series 9. | Image: Apple Apple announced its first-ever carbon-neutral products today, but don't get too excited about what that means for the planet. It's way more important to look at the company's environmental impact as a whole rather than fixate on any particular product it's selling as more sustainable.Some of Apple's new watches will be carbon neutral, but only based on select" combinations of cases and bands. Apple also said it plans to stop selling leather accessories like watch bands and phone cases to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.When it comes to climate commitments, boasts about a specific product's sustainability can distract from the far more important goal of reducing the company's overall environmental impact. Apple has a goal of becoming... Continue reading...

That there is an iPhone 15 Pro. We've just had our first chance to check out the new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, which Apple just announced at its annual fall event in Cupertino. There are lots of new things about the devices - camera upgrades, the new A17 Bionic chip - but there are three things about the phone you notice right away. The thing is made of titanium; there's an Action Button on the left side; and that's a USB-C port on the bottom. Oh, and a fourth thing: the sides of the phones on display were instantly and immediately covered in fingerprints.At first glance, the 15 Pro looks just like the iPhones Pro before it. But pick one up, and the lighter weight due to the titanium frame is obvious, as are the curved edges. It's just nicer to hold. Apple says the... Continue reading...

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Here's the latest from Apple's iPhone 15 event. Continue reading...

The switch is gone. | Image: Apple Apple revealed the new iPhone 15 Pro today, and there's a brand-new button on the side that can be customized to trigger a specific function. This new Action Button" is similar to the one introduced on the Apple Watch Ultra, which can activate workouts, among other abilities.The Action Button, which replaces the ring / vibrate switch, can be programmed to do things like activating the camera, starting a recording, opening a note, or running your own custom shortcuts. The button switches the iPhone between ring and vibrate by default, which is vital since it has replaced the ring / vibrate switch that Apple has included on the iPhone since its debut in 2007. You can feel a haptic feedback when it changes.Those who would like to make... Continue reading...

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge It'd be a little strange for Apple to transition the iPhone lineup over to USB-C only to leave its massively popular AirPods Pro stuck with Lightning charging ports. Predictably, that's not what's going to be happening: today, Apple announced that the AirPods Pro will now be shipping with a USB-C charging case. This will let buyers of the new iPhone 15 charge their earbuds using the same cable for both devices. You'll also be able to charge your AirPods from an iPhone, Apple said during the presentation.The AirPods' move to USB-C continues Apple's gradual embracing of the connector and follows the Mac, iPad, iPhone, and even accessories like the Apple TV 4K's remote control. During the presentation, Apple also announced a revised pair... Continue reading...

WatchOS 10 on the Apple Watch Series 9. | Screenshot: Wes Davis / The Verge Apple has announced that watchOS 10 will be ready to download starting on September 18th. The update may be the biggest change to watchOS since Apple released its massively popular smartwatch, overhauling the former honeycomb grid and adding widgets - er, glances, as Apple calls them - that you can swipe through and customize.The company also announced that, for the Apple Watch Series 9, Siri commands will be processed on-device. Apple says that the privacy-preserving nature of on-device processing means users can now ask questions related to personal health and fitness data from the Health app.The new watch will also get a new second-generation ultra wideband (UWB) chip that can detect when a HomePod is nearby so that when you come... Continue reading...

Apple has announced its newest flagship smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The Ultra 2's design looks quite similar to that of the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra, which means the most significant upgrade is on the inside.The Ultra 2, like the new Series 9, will be powered by Apple's S9 SiP, which has 5.6 billion transistors and a four-core neural engine as well as a U2 ultra wideband location chip. This will enable new advanced features, including on-device Siri processing and more precise location tracking.On the outside, the watch has an upgraded display from the previous Ultra model, rated for 3,000 nits, which Apple says is the brightest display an Apple Watch has ever had. Apple claims that users will get 72 hours to a... Continue reading...

The Dbrand Ghost case for the iPhone 15 Pro, exploded. | Image: Dbrand Dbrand has a new $50 clear case, called the Ghost Case, for several flagship phones - including the iPhone 15 Pro phones Apple will announce today. And Dbrand says it's literally impossible" for it to turn yellow. That's a tall claim, but Dbrand insists that the matte black that frames the case makes it so. The cases will start shipping in October, but you can preorder them now.Dbrand pins the anti-yellowing feature on the two-tone design. CEO Adam Ijaz told The Verge in an email that it's a blend of materials, post-processing, and - most importantly - deliberate industrial design choices." More on this later.Dbrand describes the cases as grippy and the buttons as clicky and tactile and claims it can withstand a 10-foot drop. The... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge We're on the ground in Cupertino for the launch of Apple's next phones and watches -and the big, long-awaited change from Lightning to USB-C. Continue reading...

Image: Bethesda Nvidia is rolling out an update that will improve Starfield performance for owners of RTX 30- and 40-series cards. Nvidia says its automatic over-the-air update will enable Resizable BAR and boost Starfield performance for its latest GPUs.Today, Nvidia is releasing a Resizable BAR profile for Starfield which increases performance on GeForce RTX 40 Series and GeForce RTX 30 Series desktop and laptop GPUs," explains Andrew Burnes, technical marketer at Nvidia, in a blog post. In our testing scenario, GeForce RTX 40-series desktop GPUs see on average a 5 percent increase in performance."The over-the-air update will be applied to the existing 537.17 drivers and the new 537.34 drivers Nvidia released today. The latest drivers also... Continue reading...

Executives hold shovels during a groundbreaking ceremony at the Occidental Petroleum and 1PointFive Direct Air Capture (DAC) plant in Ector County, Texas, on April 28th, 2023. | Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar / Bloomberg via Getty Images Amazon is the latest tech giant to buy into the idea of filtering carbon dioxide out of the air as a way to combat climate change. The company is backing an oil giant, Occidental Petroleum, to help it do just that. Amazon announced today that it plans to purchase 250,000 metric tons of carbon removal from Occidental subsidiary 1PointFive.This is the latest in a stream of announcements from Big Tech companies turning to emerging carbon removal technologies to help them meet their climate goals. Sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere is one way to try to undo the damage caused by pollution companies have already created. But much of the carbon removal industry has deep ties to oil and gas. And when companies like Amazon pay to deal with their... Continue reading...

Photo illustration by Alex Parkin / The Verge In the 1980s, NASA wanted space to become a booming business - and the first six women astronauts were meant to help get it off the ground. Continue reading...

Image: Netflix As has become a near-annual tradition, Mike Flanagan's next horror series is about to drop on Netflix just in time for spooky season. The latest is called The Fall of the House of Usher, and it's based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe - and if the first trailer is anything to go by, it could also be the darkest show yet from Flanagan. The eight-episode-long series starts streaming on October 12th.Flanagan's relationship with Netflix kicked off with The Haunting of Hill House in 2020 and has since expanded with series including The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and last year's Midnight Club. In addition to being thematically similar, the shows also feature a number of recurring cast members who appear in multiple series as... Continue reading...