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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#687YE)
Image: Noam Galai/Getty Images for Uber Eats In his State of the City speech Thursday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that Uber and Lyft will be required to be zero emission by 2030. The decision by one of the world’s largest markets for app-based ridehailing has the potential to affect an estimated 100,000 for-hire vehicles.Adams said the move will build on efforts his administration has made to electrify the city’s fleet of vehicles while installing charging infrastructure to power those vehicles throughout the five boroughs. The mayor will likely implement his plan through the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, which regulates the for-hire vehicle industry, including Uber and Lyft.Uber and Lyft, which normally chafe at new requirements and have been known to sue... 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 14:18 |
by Jay Peters on (#687YF)
You can now get back to your music. | Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge Spotify says it has recovered from an outage that took place on Thursday.While there were issues, the company said on its community forums that “We’ve received some reports that our website www.spotify.com is presenting some technical difficulties so some of our services like the web player are being affected.” In a later update to that page, the company confirmed that “the Spotify app on different platforms is also affected.”I was having some problems with the service even though I’m not a subscriber. Spotify.com wouldn’t load for me on Chrome, and I was running into a “something went wrong” error message when I try and open the Mac app. As of this writing, however, both are working for me.
by Mitchell Clark on (#687YG)
Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok has been letting users know about its expanded DM options, which include the ability to let anyone message you. According to The Information, the platform has been sending emails to some users to let them know about the relatively new options, which were added in November and include the ability to let anyone DM you, potentially signaling that the company’s trying to push its private messaging features.One of TikTok’s main competitors, YouTube, is closer to the pure entertainment side. While its comments system provides more interactivity than, say, Netflix, the site doesn’t have a system for private messaging (though it did at one point and recently added @name handles for easier tagging).Closer to the other end of the... Continue reading…
by Sean Hollister on (#687YH)
This is not a Samsung Galaxy S23, but rather a puck Corning uses to test its glass. | Image: Corning Samsung will officially announce its next Galaxy smartphones on February 1st, including a new Ultra — and Corning just revealed they’ll be the first phones to protect their screens with Gorilla Glass Victus 2.Like I told you in November, Corning says its new cover class should be able to survive a one-meter drop on concrete, one of the more difficult landings for a phone because of all those jagged bumps. (The original Gorilla Glass Victus from 2020 claimed to be able to survive two-meter drops, but only on smoother asphalt; Victus 2 can do that as well.)Now, we don’t know that Samsung’s phones will actually survive any of those drops. Yours might not! Corning’s latest press release with Samsung doesn’t tout the one-meter claim at... Continue reading…
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by Justine Calma on (#687T0)
Microsoft president Brad Smith speaks during a climate initiative event in Redmond, Washington, on Thursday, January 16th, 2020. | Image: David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images Microsoft just forged a strategic alliance with a major solar panel manufacturer to try to make good on its clean energy goals. The deal comes as supply chain woes and allegations of labor abuse are making it increasingly difficult to deploy solar energy across the US.The plan is for solar energy heavyweight Qcells to provide more than 2.5 gigawatts of solar panels and related services to developers working with Microsoft. That’s enough to power some 400,000 homes, according to Microsoft, which hailed the collaboration as a “first-of-its-kind.”Supply chain woes and allegations of labor abuse are making it increasingly difficult to deploy solar energy across the USThe company has a goal of cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by “more... Continue reading…
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#687T2)
Chiwetel Ejiofor. Rosalie Craig, and Emilia Clarke in The Pod Generation. | Image: MK2 In writer / director Sophie Barthes’ peculiar new sci-fi satire The Pod Generation, there’s little doubt or disagreement about how overworked, hyper-surveilled, and disconnected from nature many people are. Set in a near future where things like freshly 3D-printed toast have become the norm, most everyone understands how deeply messed up it is that their child-obsessed society’s given up on any semblance of a public educational system. People who have quality healthcare through their jobs know that they’re a privileged class, and it’s no secret how that kind of stratification can be harmful. It’s just that people are far, far too enamored with and preoccupied by the beautifully designed technology that controls most aspects of their... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#687T1)
Image: Audi Audi’s been on a run lately with some interesting concept cars, tackling everything from a giant urban people mover to a villainous sedan that drives itself. The latest is the Activesphere, an extremely sleek-looking electric luxury coupe that can transform into a pickup truck with off-roading capabilities.With some truly impressive ground clearance, big 22-inch wheels, and a hatchback that can transform into an open cargo bed at the touch of a button, the Activesphere is described as Audi’s most versatile concept. When you’re tired of cruising the mean streets of whatever city you live in, you can take this rugged spaceship of a car onto the open road without any concern about leaving the pavement behind.The Activesphere is the... Continue reading…
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by James Vincent on (#687T3)
BuzzFeed is the latest digital publisher to adopt the latest AI tools for producing content. | Image: Getty Images BuzzFeed says it’s going to use more AI tools to “enhance” and “personalize” its content, according to a memo sent this morning to staff by CEO Jonah Peretti. News of the memo was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which says BuzzFeed will specifically be working with tools made by OpenAI, creator of the AI chatbot ChatGPT.In the memo, Peretti says AI will be one of the two major trends defining the future of digital media (the other being “creators”). Peretti says that in 2023, BuzzFeed’s “AI inspired content” will launch on the site, “enhancing the quiz experience, informing our brainstorming, and personalizing our content for our audience.”“Our industry will expand beyond AI-powered curation (feeds), to AI-powered creation... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#687T4)
It’s not just you. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge As I was browsing Twitter.com this morning, I refreshed the page, and something jumped out at me: the font was different.The change was minor — Twitter hadn’t suddenly switched to a serif font or anything like that. But a quick Twitter search showed that I wasn’t the only one who noticed the shift, and my co-workers did, too.It’s unclear why Twitter changed the font, and the company didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. (It has dissolved its press office, so I’m not expecting one.) And the company hasn’t posted anything on @TwitterSupport, where it’s shared a lot of recent product updates.However, some have speculated that Twitter changed the font to make it easier to spot impersonators. Molly White, the author of Web3... Continue reading…
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#687T5)
Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin in Succession. | Image: HBO At the end of Succession’s third season, each of Logan Roy’s children had been reminded of just how conniving a strategist their father’s always been and how much stronger the three of them can be when they fight together rather than with one another. Tom might have ruined the Roy sibling’s plans for a calculated takeover of the family business, but in the first trailer for Succession’s quickly approaching upcoming fourth season, it’s clear that the fight’s far from over.It’s likely that Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin) all want to literally kill Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) for cluing Logan (Brian Cox) into their plot to wrest control of his company from him in season 3. Tom knows it, too, and the new... Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#687MJ)
Stock image platforms like Shutterstock and Adobe Stock may be content with AI while it generates cash for them, but they likely won’t be so keen on it being used to steal their assets. | Image: Shutterstock / Phonlamai Photo The already-contentious relationship between AI and the creative industry might soon get even more complicated thanks to a free-to-use service that can completely remove watermarks from images. Watermark Remover.io (as seen via Creative Bloq) is a tool offered by Pixelbin.io that removes identifiable watermarks with a single click and has sparked conversations surrounding copyright protections since being listed on Product Hunt last year.The functionality of Watermark Remover.io isn’t new — similar tools already exist, and you can also remove watermarks using things like Adobe Photoshop’s content-aware fill. However, these aren’t as accessible as Watermark Remover.io (they’re often paywalled), which is completely free, available on the... Continue reading…
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by Elizabeth Lopatto on (#687MK)
Why are so many people in tech getting laid off at once? | Image: The Verge Didn’t they just have record-breaking profits? Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#687MN)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Uber Eats is introducing a feature that will tell you how much of your personal information a courier has access to throughout the delivery process. The feature, called “View as Delivery Person,” is meant to “provide consumers with additional transparency and peace of mind,” especially after potentially awkward or uncomfortable encounters, according to Zach Singleton, Uber’s head of privacy and equity product.The idea is that the Uber Eats app will show you what information a delivery person has about you before they pick your food up, while they’re making the delivery, and afterward. The basic gist, according to Singleton, is that they’ll only have an approximate delivery location until they actually pick up your order. In most cases,... Continue reading…
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by Adi Robertson on (#687MM)
Isaac Clarke goes back to the USG Ishimura. | Image: EA The new shooter offers low-key but highly effective updates to a great game. Continue reading…
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by Umar Shakir on (#645MC)
The Blink Mini camera attached to the new Pan Tilt mount. | Image: Amazon Blink’s giving its blocky Mini security camera a new robot body. The new Mini Pan Tilt is a very literally named mounting accessory that converts your existing Blink Mini camera from a stationary device into a controllable camera that lets you look around the room.Setup sounds like it’ll be easy for the Pan Tilt: you connect the Mini camera to the mount, plug in the Micro USB cord, and the camera now has 360-degree movement from the Blink app. You can even install it on a tripod or wall mount (not included), or you can just place it on a table.You can preorder the Mini Pan Tilt mount today on Amazon for $29.99. There’s also a bundle that gets you the mount as well as a Blink Mini camera if you don’t have one already for $59.99. ... Continue reading…
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by James Vincent on (#687MP)
Over the past few years, a bunch of tools have been released that use AI to edit video calls in real time so that the caller is making eye contact with the camera. FaceTime can do it. Microsoft Teams can do it. And Nvidia Broadcast can do it, too. (Provided, in each case, you have the necessary hardware or software.)This tech comes with a bunch of interesting questions, of course. Like: is constant unbroken eye contact good or a bit creepy? Are these tools useful for people who don’t naturally like eye contact? Or is this all just the thin edge of a wedge labeled, for the sake of argument, “the increasing use of AI to create a more polished digital version of ourselves is contributing to an increased sense of alienation and loss of... Continue reading…
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by Andrew Webster on (#687MQ)
Season: A Letter to the Future. | Image: Scavengers Studio There’s no shortage of games — or any stories, for that matter — about the end of the world. But I can’t think of many that are as calm and soothing as biking around the end times in Season: A Letter to the Future. Instead of fighting for your life or searching for ways to survive an impending apocalypse, you’re documenting the world as it is so future generations have a chance to learn about it when it’s gone forever. It makes the apocalypse almost cozy.The game takes place in a world where the eras of humanity are split into seasons, which can last a few centuries, and when they end, they take almost everything with them. Season starts not long before the next season (sorry), and you play as a young explorer leaving their small town... Continue reading…
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by Cameron Faulkner on (#687H9)
If you care about pixel perfect scaling in macOS, the Studio Display is your best option. For everyone else, there are many other monitors to buy. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Apple’s 27-inch Studio Display provides amazing 5K picture quality and great pixel scaling for macOS computers, but it’s notorious in a few ways: its webcam isn’t best in class, its 60Hz refresh rate cap is a bummer, it comes with a tilt-only stand by default (the VESA mount is an added cost), and its usual $1,599 price is steep. However, it’s more sensibly priced right now at Amazon, costing $1,299.99. Costco is offering a similar deal, too (via Slickdeals). Head over to Apple’s refurbished online store if you want to peep discounts on other variations of the Studio Display.It’s good timing on this discount since January 26th marks the release day for Apple’s updated Mac Mini and MacBook Pro models with the M2 and M2 Pro chips.In our... Continue reading…
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#687HA)
That tiny touch panel at the keyboard’s front is what you use for arrow gestures. Angry Miao is at it again with another unique mechanical keyboard that costs a small fortune. This time it thought, “Hey, wouldn’t you love to use perfectly straight swipe gestures instead of physical arrow keys?”This new board is called the AM Compact Touch. Angry Miao calls it a 65 percent board, but it doesn’t have arrow keys. Instead, it has a small touchpad on the front for swiping your up, down, left, and right directions. If that sounds tedious and finicky, well, you’re right, though this keyboard is much more than that. It’s also a mixed bag of impeccable build quality, excellent typing feel, and some confounding design decisions. It’s set to launch February 2nd on Indiegogo, ranging in price from $398 to a hefty $615 depending... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#687HB)
Unofficial renders suggest the tablet will have an interesting camera bump. | Image: OnLeaks / MySmartPrice Unofficial renders from leaker OnLeaks and MySmartPrice have given us our best idea yet of what OnePlus’ debut tablet might look like when it’s announced alongside the OnePlus 11 next month. The Oppo subbrand has quietly confirmed that it’ll be launching the tablet at its February 7th event by listing the “OnePlus Pad” on the event’s landing page on its Indian website.However, given the same name isn’t present on the company’s US or UK landing pages, the tablet might be exclusive to India for the time being, much like the company’s lineup of TVs.Leaked renders of the OnePlus Pad suggest it’s going to have a similar black hole-inspired camera bump to the OnePlus 11. Interestingly, it seems to be positioned in the middle of the long... Continue reading…
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by James Vincent on (#687CN)
Photo by Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images Springer Nature, the world’s largest academic publisher, has clarified its policies on the use of AI writing tools in scientific papers. The company announced this week that software like ChatGPT can’t be credited as an author in papers published in its thousands of journals. However, Springer says it has no problem with scientists using AI to help write or generate ideas for research, as long as this contribution is properly disclosed by the authors.“We felt compelled to clarify our position: for our authors, for our editors, and for ourselves,” Magdalena Skipper, editor-in-chief of Springer Nature’s flagship publication, Nature, tells The Verge. “This new generation of LLM tools — including ChatGPT — has really exploded into the... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#687CP)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Smartphone shipments have dropped nearly 20 percent year-over-year during the recent holiday period, as consumer demand softens amid inflation and economic uncertainties. It’s the “largest-ever decline in a single quarter,” according to IDC, and it contributed to 2022 having the lowest annual shipment of smartphones since 2013.While there were still 1.21 billion smartphones shipped in 2022, shipments during the all-important holiday quarter were actually down from the previous quarter for the first time ever. “We have never seen shipments in the holiday quarter come in lower than the previous quarter,” says Nabila Popal, research director at IDC. “However, weakened demand and high inventory caused vendors to cut back drastically on... Continue reading…
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by Umar Shakir on (#686VH)
Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge Tesla’s long-anticipated Cybertruck won’t be seeing full volume production until 2024, Elon Musk said during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call today.During the call, Musk was asked whether the forthcoming vehicle would meet a mid-2023 production target that was set in Q2 last year. Musk cagily confirmed that Cybertruck manufacturing would start “sometime this summer,” but concluded that mass production of the polarizing pickup won’t start until next year. “I always try to downplay the start of production,” Musk said. “It increases exponentially, but it is very slow at first.”Cybertruck was originally announced in 2019 to widespread interest, but has seen its production delayed several times. Pre-production was originally... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#686VJ)
Laura Normand / The Verge This should come as no surprise, but Elon Musk doesn’t see a downside to being extremely online.Asked whether his recent tweets — spreading tawdry conspiracy theories about the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, embracing COVID misinformation, mocking trans people, making groan-inducing, jokes, and exposing himself as a right-wing troll — has harmed Tesla’s brand image, Musk responded with characteristic mocking defiance.Okay, so I’ve got 127 million followers and it continues to grow very rapidly“Let me check my Twitter account,” he said in a Tesla earnings call Wednesday evening. “Okay, so I’ve got 127 million followers and it continues to grow very rapidly.”Apparently the steady growth of his own Twitter presence is all the... Continue reading…
by Emma Roth on (#686VK)
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Photo: Getty Images Elon Musk is trying to cut back on costly unsecured loans tied to his $44 billion Twitter purchase by selling $3 billion worth of Twitter shares, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. But despite what Musk has said recently about his “track record” of raising money, the paper claims investors aren’t immediately getting in line to grab the pieces of Twitter he’s offering.Sources tell the WSJ that in December, the billionaire’s team sent out emails to potential investors trying to raise $3 billion to pay off “an unsecured portion” of Twitter’s $13 billion debt with the highest interest rate. The WSJ reports some backers “balked at the terms” due to the state of Twitter’s finances but also notes it couldn’t determine the... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6860F)
Illustration: The Verge Plus GoldenEye 007 is coming back. Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#686RZ)
Photo by: William B. Plowman / NBC via Getty Images West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D) introduced a new bill that would halt the current electric vehicle tax credit until strict new battery requirements are put in place. It’s the latest move by the conservative Democrat to limit the government’s ability to incentivize car buyers to shift to less polluting vehicles.Manchin, who had a hand last year in crafting the EV tax credit that was included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), placed the blame on the Internal Revenue Service for blowing past its December 31st, 2022 deadline to release guidance on the battery requirements.Under the IRA, only electric vehicles with battery materials sourced from the US and its approved trading partners would qualify for the $7,500 credit. The... Continue reading…
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by Makena Kelly on (#686S0)
Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images Meta announced Wednesday that it will allow former President Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram two years after his initial suspension.In a Wednesday blog post, Meta announced that it would reinstate Trump’s accounts sometime over the next few weeks. If Trump once again violates Meta’s content policies, the company said that his accounts would be subject to additional suspensions, ranging from one month to two years, “depending on the severity of the violation.”“As a general rule, we don’t want to get in the way of open, public and democratic debate on Meta’s platforms – especially in the context of elections in democratic societies like the United States,” Clegg said in Wednesday’s blog post. “The public should be able to... Continue reading…
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by Adi Robertson on (#686S1)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi | Getty Images Tech companies — including Twitter — are following the Indian government’s demands to suppress a BBC documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As reported by The Intercept and TechCrunch, Twitter and YouTube both locally blocked The Modi Question, which investigates claims of Modi’s involvement in India’s deadly 2002 Gujarat riots. It’s one of Twitter’s first tangles with India under the ownership of billionaire Elon Musk, but contrary to some writing, the documentary’s ban isn’t an example of Musk violating a vocal “free speech absolutist” ethos. It’s a reminder that Musk has always been fine with government censorship.Over the weekend, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting senior advisor Kanchan Gupta tweeted that both... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#686PT)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amid flagging demand, steep price cuts, and ongoing drama surrounding Elon Musk’s stewardship of Twitter, Tesla published its fourth quarter earnings report in which the company said it earned $3.7 billion in net income on $24.3 billion in revenue. That represents a 59 percent increase year over year compared to $2.8 billion in revenue in Q4 2021.It was also Tesla’s third year ending in the black, with $14.1 billion in net income for 2022, compared to $5.5 billion in profit in 2021 and a mere $721 million in 2020. Tesla turned that profit on over $81.5 billion in revenue.It was also Tesla’s third year ending in the blackThe earnings come on the heels of a production and delivery report in which Tesla said it delivered 405,278... Continue reading…
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by Sean Hollister on (#686PV)
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge IssueYour iPhone keeps disconnecting from your Windows PC or Mac when you’re trying to import photos or videos. You may see the error “A device attached to the system is not functioning.”Quick fixStop your iPhone from automatically converting the video to the legacy H.264 format by going to Settings > Photos > Transfer to Mac or PC and tapping Keep Originals. Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge I repeatedly got this “A device attached to the system is not functioning” error on my Windows PC. The iPhone didn’t say anything. The full storyMy iPhone 13 mini was running out of space, but I couldn’t just wipe it; I had important videos I needed to save. But every time I plugged my iPhone into my Windows PC,... Continue reading…
by Tom Warren on (#686PW)
Image: Bethesda Bethesda’s upcoming vampire shooter Redfall is now releasing on May 2nd. Redfall was originally delayed last year, alongside Starfield, to the first half of 2023. Microsoft and Bethesda are now committing to a May 2nd release date, and it will be available exclusively on Xbox Series S and X and PC.We got to see a good amount of gameplay footage for Redfall, from the team behind Dishonored, during the Xbox and Bethesda showcase last year, and today’s Developer Direct stream has offered up even more.We got to see a brief look at a lighthouse story mission, where you fight through enemies and vampires known as the shroud, which can shift through the floor to avoid damage. The gameplay included a moment where you have to defeat vampires... Continue reading…
by Jay Peters on (#686PX)
Art from Hi-Fi Rush, the new game from Tango Gameworks. | Image: Microsoft Tango Gameworks, a Bethesda studio known for The Evil Within series and last year’s Ghostwire: Tokyo, announced a new rhythm-action brawler during Wednesday’s Xbox Developer Direct called Hi-Fi Rush. And best of all, it will be available on Wednesday.In the game, you’ll explore a colorful animated world and smash baddies and robots in your way. Because of the rhythm-action focus, you’ll do better as you string hits in time with the music.And things around the world also pulse in time with the music, which looks like it will really add to the game. (Watching the video during the Developer Direct, I found myself regularly bobbing my head in time with the music.) Hi-Fi Rush will also include licensed music from real bands such as The... Continue reading…
by Andrew Webster on (#686PY)
Forza Motorsport. | Image: Xbox Game Studios The next Forza is called, well, Forza Motorsport. The next mainline game in the series is coming to the Xbox Series X / S and PC sometime in 2023. Microsoft made the announcement at a developer showcase today, while also showing off a fresh trailer.Developer Turn 10 Studios describes it as “the most technically advanced racing game ever made.” At launch, the game will include over 500 cars and will feature all kinds of nitty-gritty details, like realistic dirt accumulation and paint chipping. There will also be 20 environments, including five that are brand new to the series, like one set in South Africa and “fully dynamic” weather and day / night cycles. For graphics nerds, the game will be rendered at 4K at 60fps and will, of course,... Continue reading…
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by Umar Shakir on (#686PZ)
Image: Raymond Hall/GC Images Lauren Sánchez is best known for her TV and news appearances — and a relationship with Jeff Bezos (that had a few publicly dramatic turns) — but now, she could soon be known as the first person to lead an all-woman space mission on Blue Origin. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Sánchez reveals that she’s wanted to fly on earlier missions but Bezos is now encouraging her and thrilled to put together the female crew.Sánchez isn’t saying who the five women are who will be joining her, something that will be revealed closer to the planned early 2024 flight. “It’s going to be women who are making a difference in the world and who are impactful and have a message to send,” Sánchez tells the Journal. And Bezos won’t be getting an... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#686Q0)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge DoNotPay isn’t bringing its robot lawyer to the courtroom anytime soon. Joshua Browder, the creator and CEO of DoNotPay, announced on Twitter that the company is “postponing our court case and sticking to consumer rights” after receiving threats from “State Bar prosecutors” about the potential legality of the stunt.The company, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help people challenge parking tickets and sue people, had been planning to use the technology to fight a client’s speeding ticket in court this February. Browder says the AI would’ve “listened” to the case and generated responses using large language models (LLMs) and GPT-3, the same platform used by OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. The client would then hear these responses... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#686Q1)
Image: Microsoft One of the first third-party widgets for Windows 11 may end up being Meta’s Messenger. Microsoft announced on Wednesday that there’s now a preview version of the app in the Microsoft Store with support for the widget system, letting you see your latest messages right from the widget tray.The widget doesn’t appear to be available unless you’re running the latest Insider Preview build, so most people won’t be able to try it out just yet. If you are, it may be a bit of a spotty experience — Microsoft says the preview has a few known issues where “third-party widgets may occasionally disappear from the widgets board” or get unpinned.If you are running the preview, you can try the Messenger widget out by downloading or updating the app,... Continue reading…
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by Nilay Patel on (#5R9X1)
Apple’s new pro laptops right the wrongs of the past half decade Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#686JB)
The iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Pro Max | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple has reduced the trade-in values for some iPhones, as spotted by MacRumors, meaning you’ll now get less money when trading in affected older devices.The iPhone 13 Pro line looks to be hit the hardest, with trade-in values going down by $80. Trading in an iPhone 13 Pro Max will now net you up to $570, which is down from $650, while turning in an iPhone 13 Pro will get you up to $470, which is down from $550. (And note that you’ll only get that top trade-in value if Apple decides your device is in good enough condition.) Trade-in values for the iPhone 13 went down by $50 and, for the 13 Mini, by $30.Trade-in values for some other Apple devices were also adjusted. For Macs, some actually went up — you’ll get more for MacBook laptops... Continue reading…
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by Victoria Song on (#686JC)
Smartwatches often don’t work with tattoos, but there are alternatives and workarounds. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge If you’ve got tattoos and are interested in trying out wearable tech, there are a few things to consider before reaching for your wallet.The bad news is that tattoos and wearables aren’t always compatible. It’s a known issue among wearable makers but isn’t apparent to many consumers. You can still occasionally stumble upon social media posts where tattooed folks strap on a new smartwatch only to find that the device doesn’t work well — if it works at all. In the case of the Apple Watch, for example, tattoos can interfere with wrist detection, making the device unable to recognize that you’re actually wearing it.This is because the majority of wrist-based wearables rely on photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors. These optical sensors work... Continue reading…
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#685N5)
Justin Roiland at New York Comic Con in 2013. | Image: Getty Though Adult Swim initially had little to say about recent news reports that Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland is facing two felony charges for domestic battery and false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, or deceit, the channel now says it has cut ties with him.In a statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter, Adult Swim / Cartoon Network communications senior vice president Marie Moore announced that the network has “ended its association with Justin Roiland.”
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#686DH)
Fewer than five players are reported to have required medical attention while participating in a game of Red Light, Green Light. | Image: Netflix A handful of contestants for Netflix’s in-development reality show Squid Game: The Challenge needed medical attention on Monday after enduring freezing temperatures on set. The series is currently being filmed across two studios in the UK, where temperatures reportedly reached a low of 30 Fahrenheit (negative 1 Celsius) on Monday while filming a game of Red Light, Green Light and resulted in at least one contestant being stretchered off.A total of 456 global contestants have been cast for the reality spinoff to compete in various challenges inspired by the Netflix series in order to win a $4.56 million (£3.7 million) cash prize. The Red Light, Green Light game, as featured on the original Squid Game series, requires participants to... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#686DJ)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Rad Power Bikes’ new CEO, Phil Molyneux, said the company has “made mistakes” surrounding safety and reliability but vows to do better in the future.In a letter to customers, Molyneux said the e-bike company will have “a laser focus on safety and reliability” going forward in order to ensure its bikes are the best on the market. The letter appears to be a response to a recent recall of over 30,000 electric cargo bikes for misaligned tires, as well as several lawsuits related to the safety of its products.“Since its inception, Rad Power Bikes has set both the pace and the standard for the ebike revolution. This road hasn’t always been easy and we’ve faced numerous challenges,” Molyneux writes. “As a young company, we recognize that we... Continue reading…
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by Ash Parrish on (#686DK)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Twitch is sharing a road map for features it’s working on for 2023. Among them are changes to the way ads are run, new first-party tools to help with chat engagement, and tools to help streamers manage their brand deals. But the biggest is making pre-roll ads less annoying.For 2023, Twitch is working on changing how ads are displayed during a stream. As described in an open letter from chief product officer Tom Verrilli and chief monetization officer Mike Minton:
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by Emma Roth on (#686DM)
Illustration: The Verge Google will let Android users in India use third-party billing options starting next month as part of its compliance with a ruling from the country’s antitrust authority, the company announced in a blog post on Wednesday. The search giant will also give users the ability to choose their default search engine “via a choice screen” whenever they start setting up a new Android phone or tablet.In October of last year, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) hit Google with a $162 million fine for “abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android Mobile device ecosystem.” The CCI also imposed a series of directives, forcing Google to allow users to pick their own search engine as well as let users uninstall the Google-owned... Continue reading…
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by Verge Staff on (#686DN)
Image: Jay Peters / The Verge Most of us keep more on our desks than our laptops, monitors, and keyboards. Gamers will have a high-end microphone and / or camera, not to mention their various consoles and keyboards; tech enthusiasts will have video setups, Stream Decks, and multiple monitors; and many of our desktops are covered with a variety of stuff, anything from a bullet journal and a favorite mug to a cool windup toy.We asked the staff of The Verge what they keep on their desks. Here are some of the answers we got.Pen holder Photo by Barbara Krasnoff / The Verge Levenger pen holder Years ago (more than I care to remember), a freelance writer who was both excellent at her craft and one of the nicest people I’ve known gave me a... Continue reading…
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#686DP)
You could save $206 if you’re up for a dual DualUp setup and get two of them. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge Feeling up for a deal on a strange gadget? The LG DualUp monitor is currently on sale for $596.99 at Amazon and B&H Photo or $599.99 at Best Buy. That’s a little over $100 off this 27.6-inch monitor that’s particularly good at helping you get work done. It has an almost square vertical aspect ratio of 16:18 and QHD resolution of 2560 x 2880, letting you view and stack multiple windows with ease. It also supports USB-C video with 90W of charging support to keep your laptop battery full while plugged in.Computer monitors have been getting more interesting recently, especially in the gaming space with OLEDs. But I’d argue there isn’t a monitor more unique and interesting in the productivity or creative space than the DualUp. It comes with... Continue reading…
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6868Y)
A.J. Lister as Lila in Birth/Rebirth. | Image: Shudder There are multiple moments throughout director Laura Moss’ brilliant new psychological horror drama Birth/Rebirth that are so abjectly brutal that the festival goers who reportedly fell ill while watching the movie at this year’s Sundance could almost be forgiven for their theatrics. Birth/Rebirth’s story of two unlikely kindred spirits finding one another in the midst of tragedy is both disturbing and moving as it reworks pieces of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein into a modern-day myth about motherhood and mortality.Between its unflinching focus on the dangers of pregnancy and its depiction of the violence hidden throughout the US healthcare system, Birth/Rebirth might leave you feeling deeply unsettled. But as macabre as the movie gets,... Continue reading…
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by Jacob Kastrenakes on (#6868Z)
The Verge is excited to announce that Hot Pod Summit — our invite-only event for creators, decision-makers, and trendsetters in the audio industry — is returning to Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn. On February 23rd, we’ll be holding a day-long summit of panels, conversations, and interactive programming exploring the latest developments in podcasting, audiobooks, and more. The event will be led by Ariel Shapiro, Hot Pod’s lead writer, and feature appearances from Nicholas Quah, author of Vulture’s 1.5x Speed newsletter and the founder of Hot Pod, and Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge.We’re thrilled to once again be partnering with the incredible team at work x work to produce the event. Hot Pod Summit is part of work x work’s On Air... Continue reading…
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by Casey Newton on (#68690)
Illustration: The Verge Today let’s talk about a major new antitrust case against Google, and the increasing likelihood that something at the company is going to have to give.I.I’ll dive into some of the specifics of the case shortly. But the first thing to note is the growing consensus around the world that Google is too dominant, which has put more pressure on the United States to act.Since 2017, when the European Commission fined Google a then-record $2.73 billion for self-preferencing with its comparison shopping service, the company has faced a steady drumbeat of regulators accusing it of antitrust violations.In 2018, EU antitrust regulators fined Google $4.3 billion for requiring smartphone makers to bundle and include the company’s apps with Android.... Continue reading…
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