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by Emma Roth on (#68M6V)
Image: Meta Meta’s planning to open up Horizon Worlds to users aged 13 to 17, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. In an internal memo viewed by the outlet, Meta says it wants to make the virtual reality-based social platform available to younger users as early as next month.The company first opened Horizon Worlds to users 18 and up in 2021 but has since been struggling to keep users coming back to the platform. Last October, the WSJ reported that Meta lowered its goal of reaching 500,000 monthly active users by the end of the year to just 280,000 and that most users don’t return after one month of using it. Even the employees working on the service don’t find themselves using it very much, as reported by The Verge’s Alex Heath last... Continue reading…
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The Verge
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
| Feed | http://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml |
| Updated | 2025-12-23 10:49 |
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by Jon Porter on (#68M6W)
The keyboard features an Eye of Sauron illustration above its arrow keys. | Image: Drop Drop is back with a third Lord of the Rings-themed keyboard. But unlike its first two, which drew their language and iconography from the good guy Elves and Dwarves, the third is all about celebrating darkness. The keyboard pairs the Black Speech keycap set — a black-on-grey twist on the Elven set that evokes the language of Mordor (which I will not utter here) — with a special version of Drop’s ENTR keyboard. It’s available to preorder now, with shipping expected mid-April.Tolkien’s Black Speech didn’t have a written form, and the one example in the Lord of the Rings — the inscription on the One Ring, found here on the space bar — used an Elven script. The Black Speech keycaps use the same Tengwar lettering and Sindarin modifiers as... Continue reading…
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by Justine Calma on (#68M6X)
Mill’s waste bin turns food scraps into food grounds. | Image: Mill Industries The numbers on food waste are staggering. Globally, about a third of the world’s food production is lost or wasted — roughly 1.3 billion tons each year — and most of it ends up rotting in landfills leaking methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide when it first enters the atmosphere.One way to tackle those problems is to reuse that food waste, turning it into more food. It’s an option that’s even more effective than composting when it comes to tackling climate change, but it’s not always so easy to do at home. So a newly launched startup called Mill Industries wants to change that.“I just started getting obsessed”“I just started getting obsessed with waste. It’s like this problem that once you start thinking... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#68M6Y)
Image: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Volkswagen issued a recall notice for nearly 21,000 of its ID.4 electric SUVs, citing faulty battery software that could lead to a “loss of propulsion” without warning. The recall affects model year 2021 vehicles that were produced between May 26th, 2020, and January 20th, 2022.The automaker said it first received reports from Europe of a potential “software issue” with its high-voltage battery management system back in July 2021. Some owners in the US alleged that the battery software issue could lead to the vehicle stalling out.After an analysis, VW determined that the software’s programming “may cause the high voltage (HV) battery management control module to reset or the pulse inverter to deactivate.”A potential reset of the... Continue reading…
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by Nilay Patel on (#68M6Z)
Photo by Carter Mathisen; Photo illustration by Will Joel / The Verge Authors Felix Gillette and John Koblin explain how your favorite shows kept HBO afloat. Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#68M3W)
Image: Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz announced that it would start producing an all-electric version of its popular Sprinter van in North America and Europe starting in the second half of 2023.The Mercedes eSprinter will have a large 113kWh battery resting under the floor between its axel, which is estimated to propel the van to a range of 248.5 miles (400 km) on highways and 311 miles (500 km) in the city, based on Europe’s WLTP standard. (The US Environmental Protection Agency is more conservative in projecting EV range.) No word yet on a suggested retail price for the van.The van will start production at Mercedes’ Charleston, South Carolina plant later this year, which could make the eSprinter eligible for the $7,500 EV tax credit. The van will also go... Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#68M41)
Image: Google Google is introducing a new online safety feature to help users avoid inadvertently seeing graphically violent or pornographic images while using its search engine. Announced as part of the company’s Safer Internet Day event on Tuesday, the new default setting enabled for everyone will automatically blur explicit images that appear in search results, even for users that don’t have SafeSearch enabled. Google has confirmed to The Verge that, should they wish, signed-in users over 18 will be able to disable the blur setting entirely after it launches in “the coming months.”SafeSearch is already the default for signed-in users under the age of 18, as it helps to filter out explicit content such as pornography, violence, and gore when using... Continue reading…
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by Sean Hollister on (#68M40)
Image: Lego Frodo, Samwise, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Aragon, plus Elrond, Arwen, Bilbo, and more — there’s room in Lego’s just-announced 6,167-piece elven sanctuary Rivendell for the entire Fellowship to debate The One Ring, and the shards of a particularly noteworthy sword. Image: Lego Click here for a nearly 5K-resolution image. Not a lot of room, mind you. The $500 set obviously has nothing on the legendary 200,000-piece recreation of Rivendell by Alice Finch and David Frank that’s been the centerpiece at multiple fan conventions.But back in 2013, the best Council of Elrond you could get from Lego was this: Image: Lego In 2013, four characters fought for three seats. It... Continue reading…
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by Monica Chin on (#68M3Z)
Here’s what you get when you throw out any idea of a reasonable budget for a gaming laptop in 2023. Continue reading…
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by Victoria Song on (#68M3Y)
At their core, smartwatches and fitness trackers are ways to measure progress. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge No one is denying that fitness trackers and smartwatches can be helpful tools for building healthy habits. However, if you’re not careful, they can also become a major source of anxiety.You might be inclined to think that wearable-induced anxiety is something that happens to other people. However, it’s surprisingly easy to fall into toxic wearable habits. I’m a wearables reviewer, and although I should know better, even I have had to grapple with anxiety-inducing fitness tracking habits. A couple of years ago, I got so caught up chasing running streaks that I ignored body signals telling me to ease up. It landed me with a nasty case of shin splints. Not only was I unable to run for nearly eight weeks, but it also meant missing a 10K... Continue reading…
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by Alexis Ong on (#68M3X)
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The tiny handheld was manufactured in Southeast Asia, but the realities of global shipping have kept it out of the hands of local gamers. Continue reading…
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by Justine Calma on (#68KZH)
Mining units at a Bitcoin mining facility while under construction in Fort Stockton, Texas, on Friday, April 29th, 2022. | Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar / Bloomberg via Getty Images Federal agencies have the authority to force crypto mining companies to divulge how much energy they use and greenhouse gas emissions they create, according to letters between the agencies and Democratic lawmakers shared exclusively with The Verge.Bitcoin miners have flocked to the US over the past couple years, triggering concerns about electricity usage and greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the proliferation of crypto mines across the US, there hasn’t been solid data on what impact they each have on the power grid and national climate goals.That could soon change as Democratic lawmakers pressure federal agencies to speed up plans to require crypto mining companies to report their emissions and energy consumption. That kind of... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#68KZJ)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge After six years of peace, the two tech giants are on course to butt heads again over the future of artificial intelligence. Continue reading…
by Emma Roth on (#68KEK)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Microsoft Authenticator is ending support for the Apple Watch. Unfortunately, this means you’ll no longer be able to conveniently log in to your connected accounts using just the wearable, as reported earlier by MacRumors.While the app’s 6.7.3 iOS update states that it “removes Microsoft Authenticator from Apple Watch,” it also notes that you can still mirror any Microsoft Authenticator notifications you receive on your iPhone to your Apple Watch.Microsoft first introduced Authenticator for the Apple Watch in 2018, and it’s proven useful for anyone looking to streamline their multi-factor authentication (MFA) sign-ins. Instead of having to open the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone to verify your identity, you could instead... Continue reading…
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by Umar Shakir on (#68KBQ)
Photo by Dylan Buell / Getty Images Last year, Super Bowl LVI was effectively the crypto bowl for companies like FTX, Crypto.com, Coinbase, and others. Now, with only a week to go until the Eagles versus Chiefs matchup, Sports Business Journal reports that while FTX and other crypto businesses bought Super Bowl LVII ad spots from Fox, they’ve all backed out.As LA faced off with Cincinnati for the NFL’s championship trophy, big-name celebrities like Matt Damon and LeBron James greeted TV viewers and attempted to convince them all to join the movement and invest in crypto. At the time, Bitcoin was valued at over $42,197.52 — but even after a rally in recent weeks, its price is down to $23,013.87.Coinbase ran a “Less talk, more Bitcoin” ad that crashed its servers because... Continue reading…
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by Makena Kelly on (#68KBR)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission will not appeal a recent federal court order allowing Meta to purchase VR startup Within, an agency official told reporters on Monday.The FTC sued to stop Meta’s acquisition of Within, the company behind the popular fitness app Supernatural, last July. The agency argued that the purchase would expand Meta’s dominance in the VR market, pointing to the Oculus maker’s previous 2019 merger with the company behind Beat Saber. Meta fought the suit but later agreed to delay closing the deal until January 31st.Shortly after the court greenlit the impending merger on Friday, Meta spokesperson Stephen Peters told The Verge the company is looking “forward to closing the transaction soon.” Meta declined to comment on... Continue reading…
by Jay Peters on (#68KBS)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Twitch is rolling out a new chat history feature that should make it a lot easier to catch up on what’s been going on in a streamer’s chat.When you jump into a stream, you’ll be able to see either the last 50 messages or the last hour of what’s been said in chat, depending on which option has fewer messages. That may sound like a potentially large gulf between options, but I think it serves both large and small streams well.For many larger streams, chat flies at a mile a minute, with discussions happening and changing at a rapid rate. Fifty messages is probably enough to get you up to speed ahead of chat moving on to something else. Smaller streams may have just a few dedicated chatters that may not post enough to hit that 50-message... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#68KBT)
Image: The Verge Luna, Amazon’s cloud game streaming service, is set to lose 53 games this month, including titles like Bridge Constructor Portal, No More Heroes, and classics like Pong and Missile Command, according to 9to5Google. It’s just the latest mass removal from the service.Amazon previously told 9to5Google that its goal for Luna “has always been to keep our selection as fresh as possible and to offer a wide array of high-quality, immersive games for our customers” and that it’s “refreshing” the service’s content with that in mind.It does seem like the number of games on Luna can fluctuate a lot — it also dropped over 40 games in December, according to Cloud Dosage.Currently, the Luna Plus subscription offers around 200 games, though the... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#68K7J)
Image: Meta Last week, Meta announced that it would be shutting down the widely praised VR game Echo VR in August. Since then, Meta CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth has shared some further details about the shutdown, and former Meta consulting CTO John Carmack has weighed in about the decision.In an Instagram AMA, Bosworth said that Echo VR’s playerbase, while “loyal as all get out,” had fallen into the “low ten thousands,” as transcribed by UploadVR. “Unfortunately, keeping things alive takes work,” Bosworth said. “This is not like a return on investment money standpoint; it’s just those resources could be put to other uses that I think will be useful to the now tens of millions of people who are in VR.” He also said Meta has some “regulatory... Continue reading…
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by Chris Welch on (#68K7K)
A 3D product rendering of the upcoming Sonos speaker, codenamed Optimo 2, as created by The Verge | Product render by Alex Castro / The Verge Sonos is preparing a new generation of smart speakers, known as the Era 300 and Era 100, that will debut in the coming months, The Verge has learned. The speakers, which The Verge previously detailed under the codename Optimo, will be pitted against Apple’s $299 HomePod and other smart home speakers from Google and Amazon. The flagship Era 300 is designed to showcase spatial audio music tracks and Dolby Atmos content. Both speakers have a completely new design compared to existing Sonos products.The Verge can exclusively report the consumer-facing names as Sonos finalizes plans for the Era 300 and 100. As further evidence of the new Sonos product family, a document from Sanus, a manufacturer of TV mounts and speaker accessories,... Continue reading…
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by Richard Lawler on (#68K7M)
Overwatch 2 | Image: Blizzard Other than a new map, a dating sim, and a tie-in with One Punch Man, Blizzard is also touching up practically every aspect of Overwatch 2 with the introduction of the game’s third season. A blog post provided an overview of the big changes players will see when the game is updated tomorrow, February 7th, but now the patch notes have all the details.Major changes include a health reduction for tank characters during non-role queue modes, the return of the Workshop Editor, and an update to the game’s ping system so you can tell your allies if an ability like Immortality Field or Resurrection is on cooldown and for how long and allows players to choose any Ping to place on their Ping wheel menu. It’s a small change, but it should make it... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#68K7N)
Illustration: The Verge Microsoft is holding a major news event tomorrow on February 7th. The software giant first mailed out invites to an in-person event at the company’s Redmond headquarters last week and is now officially announcing the event minutes after Google made its ChatGPT rival official.Microsoft’s event starts at 10AM PT / 1PM ET on February 7th, and the company isn’t teasing much ahead of time. But it’s likely the company will focus on its rumored ChatGPT integration into Bing and its broader partnership with OpenAI.The invite says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will “share some progress on a few exciting projects,” so expect a number of important announcements. The invite comes just days after Microsoft extended its OpenAI partnership in a $10... Continue reading…
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#68K54)
Nicole Kidman in AMC’s “We Make Movies Better” ad. | Image: AMC Theatres Starting pretty soon, some tickets at AMC locations are going to be getting cheaper and more expensive depending on where you sit as the movie theater chain introduces a new tiered pricing scheme called Sightline.Today, AMC announced its plans to roll out Sightline at AMC, a new pricing structure that will split auditorium seats into three differently priced tiers in theaters across the country beginning this Friday. In a statement about the new program, Eliot Hamlisch, AMC’s chief marketing officer, described Sightline as an effort to get consumers thinking about buying movie tickets the same way they might events at “many other entertainment venues.” Hamlisch also said that the new pricing structure is meant to give people who have... Continue reading…
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by Allison Johnson on (#68GQT)
Indie studio Cyan is bringing its latest Myst remaster to iOS. | Image: Cyan The classic puzzle game Myst is celebrating its 30th birthday this year with a new way to play: on your iOS device. Myst Mobile is based on the remastered version of the original that’s been released for Oculus headsets and PCs over the past few years. It hits mobile devices on February 9th.The new iOS port will support iPhones and iPads with A12 bionic chipsets and newer, so you can experience the mind-numbing frustration of turning dials and locating switches wherever you take your phone. Compatible iPhones include the XS, XS Max, XR, and newer; the eighth-gen iPad, third-gen iPad Air, and fifth-gen iPad Mini and newer will all be compatible, too.Mobile ports of Myst have existed for quite a while. The Masterpiece edition with... Continue reading…
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by Ash Parrish on (#68K55)
Image: Blizzard A long whispered prayer has finally been answered: Overwatch 2 is getting a dating sim. Stealthily announced as a part of Overwatch 2’s season 3 battle pass, starting on February 13th, players can go to https://www.Loverwatch.gg to play a text-based dating sim in which they can choose to pursue either Genji or Mercy with the help of a Cupid-ified Hanzo. Check out the season 3 trailer below.It sounds like players will choose a hero and go through the criminally short 30-minute game to woo either the ninja or the angel. The Overwatch 2 developers were swift to mark in big, bold letters that anything contained within the dating sim was not canon. But when has anything as inconsequential as canon stopped the Overwatch shipping community? I... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#68K56)
We’re just a couple weeks away from the launch of the new headset. | Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony has posted an extensive FAQ about the PlayStation VR2 ahead of the imminent launch of the next-generation virtual reality headset. Though a lot of the questions cover what we already know, the FAQ page includes a handful of interesting tidbits about what you can expect from the headset when it launches on February 22nd.Personally, I was most happy to see Sony confirm that there are more than 100 games in development for the platform. The headset will have an impressive launch window lineup that includes games like Tetris Effect, Rez Infinite, and, after a free update available on launch day, Gran Turismo 7, but now we know for certain that there will be a lot of games to look forward to down the line. The folks at Resetera c... Continue reading…
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by James Vincent on (#68K57)
An illustration from Getty Images’ lawsuit, showing an original photograph and a similar image (complete with Getty Images watermark) generated by Stable Diffusion. | Image: Getty Images Getty Images has filed a lawsuit in the US against Stability AI, creators of open-source AI art generator Stable Diffusion, escalating its legal battle against the firm.The stock photography company is accusing Stability AI of “brazen infringement of Getty Images’ intellectual property on a staggering scale.” It claims that Stability AI copied more than 12 million images from its database “without permission ... or compensation ... as part of its efforts to build a competing business,” and that the startup has infringed on both the company’s copyright and trademark protections.The lawsuit is the latest volley in the ongoing legal struggle between the creators of AI art generators and rights-holders. AI art tools require illustrations,... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#68K0A)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge According to a report from The New York Times, child sexual abuse imagery (CSAM) still persists on Twitter, despite Elon Musk stating that cracking down on child exploitation content is “priority #1” for the company.While working with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, which helped match abusive images to its CSAM database, the Times says it uncovered content across Twitter that was previously flagged as exploitative, as well as accounts saying they could sell more.During its search, the Times says it found images containing 10 child abuse victims in 150 instances “across multiple accounts” on Twitter. Meanwhile, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection had similarly disturbing results, uncovering 260 of the “most explicit... Continue reading…
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by Victoria Song on (#68K0B)
Image: Fitbit No, it’s not you — Fitbit is currently experiencing a major outage.According to Downdetector, the outage started at about 8AM ET, with most reports indicating the problem was with the Fitbit mobile app. However, some users are also reporting issues with the Fitbit website.The main problem appears to be that users can’t sync their data, set up devices, or view updates. Essentially, anything related to using the Fitbit app appears to be borked. Other users on Twitter have said that uninstalling and reinstalling the app effectively locks them out, as the app will not let them log in or re-pair their devices.
by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#68K0C)
It’s hard to beat the Apple Watch for versatility and value if you own an iPhone and you can get one on sale. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge I don’t know if there’s something in the water or if it’s all somehow linked to the buildup to the Super Bowl, but man, there are a lot of deals going on right now.Starting off with arguably the best one on offer today, all configurations of the Apple Watch Series 8 are discounted by $70 at multiple retailers. The base 41mm model with GPS is selling for $329 at Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. And the larger 45mm version is equally discounted, making it $359 at Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. Both sizes have the standard aluminum case and come in four colors (midnight, starlight, white, and red).The Series 8 is not the most exciting upgrade over the Series 7 from 2021. But in addition to its table stakes of iPhone-accompanying features,... Continue reading…
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by Ash Parrish on (#68K0D)
Image: Nothing, Forever / Twitch Transphobia ruins everything, from your favorite wizarding franchise to, now, your favorite AI show about nothing. Nothing, Forever, the 24/7/365 AI-generated Seinfeld spoof that has exploded in popularity on Twitch, is going dark for two weeks, as the channel’s been hit with a suspension. As reported by Vice, the suspension stems from Larry (totally not Jerry), making transphobic remarks in his standup routine, wondering aloud if trans people are mentally ill and are ruining the fabric of society.In a statement to The Verge, Skyler Hartle, co-creator of Nothing, Forever, wrote, “We are embarrassed, and this doesn’t reflect our values or opinions at all. This was the result of a mistake on our side that resulted in a technical issue.”I... Continue reading…
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by Sheena Vasani on (#68K0E)
The latest pair of Apple’s water-resistant AirPods Pro are $199 ($50) at multiple retailers. | Image: Chris Welch / The Verge Good news if you were contemplating gifting Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro as a Valentine’s Day present: they’ve returned to their lowest price yet. Regularly $249.99, the popular buds are available for around $199 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target.If you’re unfamiliar with Apple’s latest pair of premium earbuds, here’s a brief summary: they offer significantly better noise cancellation and improved sound quality alongside a few new unique perks over their predecessor. Volume is much easier to adjust now that you can turn it up or down by simply swiping the stem, for example, while the new extra-small fourth ear tip should more securely fit smaller ears. Apple even improved the included MagSafe charging case, adding a new lanyard loop and... Continue reading…
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by Andrew Webster on (#68K0F)
Agent Elvis. | Image: Netflix Netflix’s lineup of adult animation just got a little weirder. The streamer just revealed the first trailer for Agent Elvis and, with it, the news that Matthew McConaughey will voice the iconic signer. It’s a combination that makes a certain amount of sense, especially when you see the description of the show:
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by Justine Calma on (#68K0G)
Heirloom’s direct air capture facility in Brisbane, California | Image: Heirloom A trio of companies says they’ve taken carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and used it to make concrete for construction projects across California’s Bay Area.This is the first time this has been done anywhere in the world, according to the announcement Friday. And if the effort takes off, there’s potential for it to become a useful strategy for slashing the tremendous amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from concrete.Cleaning up concrete’s mess has become one of the trickiest climate challenges and a magnet for funding from Big Tech. Concrete is responsible for about three times as much carbon dioxide pollution as aviation. And it’s no wonder the stuff has a huge impact on climate change, given that it’s the most consumed... Continue reading…
by Jess Weatherbed on (#68JJT)
Last year’s iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple is reportedly thinking about introducing a higher tier iPhone this year Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#68JM2)
The layoffs will reduce the number of global Dell employees to its lowest point in six years. | Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images Computer manufacturer Dell is set to cut about 6,650 jobs representing 5 percent of its global workforce, according to a report from Bloomberg. Announced in a memo on Monday, Dell Co-Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said that the company’s previous cost-cutting measures, such as a pause on hiring and limitations on travel, have proved insufficient, and that the company is experiencing market conditions that “continue to erode with an uncertain future.”The layoffs were announced in the face of falling demand for PCs and laptops. Following a surge in PC sales during the global covid pandemic, most major computing manufacturers are now seeing a sharp drop in demand. Industry analyst IDC reported a 37 percent decline in Dell’s computer... Continue reading…
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by Thomas Ricker on (#68JJS)
Would you buy a Rivian e-bike? | Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge Electric automaker Rivian is developing an electric bike, according to sources speaking to Bloomberg. CEO RJ Scaringe apparently told staff about the e-bike effort during a company meeting on Friday, noting that a small team is currently working on it.Bloomberg says it’s unclear if Scaringe was talking about a battery-assisted bicycle (aka an e-bike) or an electric motorcycle. However, Scaringe has teased an entry into micromobility in the past and the company has patents for e-bike designs and components.Despite all the hype behind EVs, electric bikes have actually outsold electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the US since 2021. And in Europe, e-bike sales are on track to overtake the number of all cars sold, electric or not. That’s a... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#68J53)
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Elon Musk says Twitter will let bots providing “good content” access the Twitter API for free. As noted in a post on Twitter, Musk announced that the platform will enable a “light, write-only” API for eligible bots — a partial reversal of his policy that puts API access behind a paywall.After shutting down third-party clients, like Tweetbot and Twitterrific, Twitter announced last week that developers will need to sign up for a “paid basic tier” to access Twitter’s API starting on February 9th. At the time, Musk justified the move by saying that the free API is “being abused” by bot scammers and spammers, adding that an around $100 per month subscription “with ID verification” can “clean things up greatly.”
by Emma Roth on (#68HZ5)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple’s exploring the possibility of launching a more expensive iPhone “Ultra” above the iPhone Pro and Pro Max models, according to Apple tracker Mark Gurman. The high-end device could arrive as soon as 2024 with the iPhone 16 lineup.Last September, Gurman predicted that an “Ultra” model could replace the Pro Max branding with this year’s iPhone 15, but his latest theory suggests that Apple wants to establish a more powerful — and more expensive — tier of iPhones. That means the device could have an even higher price tag than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which starts at $1,099.During Apple’s earnings call last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook didn’t rule out the possibility of a future price increase on iPhones. He instead indicated that customers... Continue reading…
by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#68HZ6)
The newest SmartThings hub can also charge your smartphone and find your keys — plus it’s a Matter controller and Thread border router. But there’s no support for Z-Wave, and too many features are only for Galaxy phones. Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#68HJG)
The Model Y just got more expensive. | Image: Getty Images Tesla raised the price of its Model Y electric vehicle (EV) just hours after the US Treasury Department adjusted its EV tax credit rules, as first reported by Bloomberg. While the Tesla Model Y Long Range now costs $1,500 more at $54,990, the Model Y Performance went up by $1,000 to $57,990, excluding shipping fees.On Friday, the Treasury Department updated the way it classifies vehicles that qualify for its $7,500 EV tax credit as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The change should allow more vehicles — including the Model Y — to qualify for the credit, as it no longer puts certain SUV crossovers in the same category as sedans.Previously, some models of the Model Y, alongside the Cadillac Lyriq, weren’t eligible for the EV... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#68HGD)
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek (left) and Neko Health co-founder Hjalmar Nilsonne (right). | Image: Neko Health Spotify founder Daniel Ek is getting into the healthcare industry. A post shared on LinkedIn names Ek as the co-founder of a startup, called Neko Health, which specializes in providing body scans powered by artificial intelligence (AI), as reported earlier by European news outlets Sifter and Tech.eu.“After four years of intense research and product development, we are officially launching Neko Health today,” the post reads. “The company was founded by Hjalmar Nilsonne and Daniel Ek with the vision to create a healthcare system that can help people stay healthy through preventive measures and early detection.”According to a translated version of Neko Health’s website, the Swedish company’s non-invasive full-body scanner can detect and... Continue reading…
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by Makena Kelly on (#68HEH)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge A California judge is allowing Meta to close its acquisition of virtual reality fitness startup Within despite an ongoing antitrust case by the Federal Trade Commission, according to an unsealed ruling. On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the court denied the FTC’s request to block the deal but with a one-week delay that will give the FTC time to appeal. The orders were posted on Tuesday, and a status hearing on the case is set for February 7th.The FTC sued in July of 2022 to stop Meta’s acquisition of Within, which makes the popular VR app Supernatural. The agency argued that Meta’s purchase would expand its dominance in the consumer VR market, where Meta has staked many of its resources in recent years. The commission highlighted... Continue reading…
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by Brandon Widder on (#68HBZ)
The midrange Galaxy Chromebook 2 packs plenty of bang for just $499. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Happy Saturday, readers! During its Unpacked event on Wednesday, Samsung introduced a new line of Galaxy Book3 laptops with better displays and Intel’s 13th Gen Core processors. However, if you don’t need an ultraportable laptop or a high-end machine squarely aimed at the MacBook Pro 16, Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook 2 is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy in its fiery, “fiesta red” colorway for $499 ($200 off), its lowest price to date.The midrange Chromebook 2 certainly isn’t the most powerful Chromebook you can get — blame it on the 10th Gen Intel Core i3-10110U processor — but it should suffice for everyday work use and multitasking, especially with the machine’s 8GB of RAM. Moreover, it touts decent battery life (when compared to the o... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#68HC0)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter wants to cash in on businesses on the platform by charging them $1,000 per month to keep their gold checkmarks, according to a report from The Information. As noted by The Information, brands who don’t pay the $1,000 per month fee will lose their gold badges, although it’s unclear when that will happen.Internal messages viewed by the outlet also reveal that Twitter’s looking to tack on an extra $50 per month charge to add badges to each account affiliated with the business. This aligns with a screenshot posted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, which shows what appears to be an email between Twitter product manager Evan Jones and an unnamed business.“As an early access subscriber, you’ll get a gold checkmark for your... Continue reading…
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by Andrew Webster on (#68HC1)
Priya Kansara in Polite Society. | Image: Sundance Institute It was a busy festival filled with gruesome horror, inventive sci-fi, and plenty more films that will be coming to theaters and streaming services in the coming months. Continue reading…
by Victoria Song on (#68H8Z)
Hydration doesn’t have to be this high-tech or complicated, but nerdy endurance athletes might find the data worth the price. Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#68GXZ)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Over 40 contractors for YouTube Music are going on strike — a first at Google, according to the Alphabet Workers Union (or AWU). The action is in response to an order to return to in-person work next week, something that many of the workers say they can’t do. They’re demanding a return-to-work policy that’s “fair, flexible, and does not threaten the safety and livelihoods of workers,” according to an AWU press release.The workers are part of the YouTube Music Content Operations team via Cognizant, a subcontractor for Alphabet, Google and YouTube’s parent company. Their jobs are to “ensure music content is available and approved” for the platform, according to a prior press release from the AWU.The objections to the return to office... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#68GQX)
Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images A jury deliberated for about an hour, then found Tesla CEO Elon Musk is “not liable” for losses incurred by investors who accused him of fraud based on his tweets in August 2018 that he was thinking of taking the company private, adding “funding secured,” according to reports from The New York Times and CNBC.The deliberation was exceptionally quick. While cases can be difficult to compare directly, juries took days to deliberate on verdicts for Elizabeth Holmes and Martin Shkreli, both of whom were on trial for fraud. The decision for Musk took a fraction of that time.“We are still considering next steps,” Nicholas Porritt, an attorney for the plaintiffs said in an emailWith Musk in attendance, the jury in the billionaire’s... Continue reading…
by Jay Peters on (#68G5X)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Plus fresh details on Meta’s next AI headset, and another smart home company begins its Matter transition. Continue reading…