The Verge

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has fined Meta €405 million (about $402 million) after an investigation into how it handled teenagers’ data. The decision and fine were finalized last Friday, DPC spokesperson Caolmhe McGuire tells The Verge, and “full details of the decision will publish next week.”The DPC’s deadline for making a final decision on this matter was the end of this week. The investigation leading started almost two years ago, and focused on two ways in which the company allegedly breached GDPR rules. The first was Instagram allowing young users, ages 13-17, to set up business accounts on the platform, which made those users’ contact information publicly available. (Users sometimes switch to business accounts because... Continue reading…

Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok is denying reports that it was breached after a hacking group posted images of what they claim is a TikTok database that contains the platform’s source code and user information (via Bleeping Computer). In response to these allegations, TikTok said its team “found no evidence of a security breach.”According to Bleeping Computer, hackers shared images of TikTok’s alleged database to a hacking forum, saying they obtained the data on a server used by TikTok. The hackers claim the server stores over 2 billion records and 790GB worth of user data, platform statistics, code, and more.“We have confirmed that the data samples in question are all publicly accessible and are not due to any compromise of TikTok systems, networks, or... Continue reading…

Imagine this, but with an 11 on the side. That’s the Hero11 Black, apparently. | Image: Becca Farsace / The Verge GoPro is reportedly getting ready to launch its next camera, but don’t hold your breath for a big redesign. Instead, according to images and specs first spotted by WinFuture, it appears the GoPro Hero11 Black will look virtually identical to the Hero10, and all the important tweaks will be on the inside.The biggest upgrade sounds like a new sensor offering the “widest ever field of view on any GoPro,” which WinFuture says will be capable of 27-megapixel still images and 24.7-megapixel stills grabbed from videos. (The current Hero10 Black, for comparison, shoots 23-megapixel photos.) Video resolution doesn’t sound like it’s changing, though: the new model will reportedly still cap out at 5.3K at 60 frames per second, or 4K at 120 fps.... Continue reading…

The sun sets behind electric power lines as the California Independent System Operator urged conservation to avoid blackouts in Redondo Beach, California on August 31, 2022. | Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images Thousands of Colorado residents found themselves locked out of their smart thermostats during sweltering temperatures last week in an effort to prevent power demand from overwhelming the grid.About 22,000 Xcel customers lost control of their smart thermostats for hours on August 30th, Denver7 News reports. That led to backlash on social media as some people said the temperatures inside their homes reached as high as 88 degrees Fahrenheit. Outdoor temperatures climbed into the 90s that day across parts of Colorado as much of the western US grappled with sweltering heat.All of the customers affected had enrolled in an energy-saving program, called AC Rewards, that’s meant to ease the strain on the power grid during heatwaves. Xcel can... Continue reading…

Nick Barclay / The Verge Gadgets galore Continue reading…

Image: Netflix Arcane, the popular Netflix animated series based on the League of Legends video game has won the award for Outstanding Animated Program at the Emmys’ Creative Arts ceremony, on top of the three other animation-related trophies it earned earlier this year.This marks the first time that a streaming-exclusive show has won the award, despite growing competition in recent years. Arcane beat another streaming exclusive, Marvel’s What If…? (available to watch on Disney Plus), as well as non-streaming offerings from Bob’s Burgers, The Simpsons, and Rick and Morty to the punch. Previous years have seen entries from other Netflix animated shows, such as Big Mouth and BoJack Horseman, nominated for the award.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating Amazon’s plans to acquire robot vacuum maker iRobot and the 1Life healthcare company behind One Medical, according to reports from Politico and The Wall Street Journal. Amazon announced a $3.9 billion deal to buy One Medical in July and said it would acquire iRobot for $1.7 billion just weeks later.One Medical serves as a sort of Netflix-for-healthcare subscription service that gives customers access to in-person and virtual appointments at 125 clinics across the US for $199 per year. Meanwhile, iRobot’s known for its line of Roomba robot vacuums that have only grown more adept at understanding users’ homes and their habits with the rollout of iRobot OS.The acquisitions of both... Continue reading…

HBO is tempting new subscribers to its streaming service with a free sample of House of the Dragon. | Image: HBO Max HBO has made the first episode of its Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon available to watch for free on YouTube, a marketing move that amusingly coincides with the release of Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Friday last week.Life is good for fans of epic fantasy right now, with House of the Dragon drawing in the largest audience ever for a new HBO series (and seemingly bricking the streaming service in the process). At the same time, The Rings of Power attracted 25 million global viewers the day it premiered, which also happens to be Amazon Prime’s biggest debut.10 million people tuned in for the House of the Dragon premiere.The success of Amazon’s Tolkien adaptation is likely at least... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google Chrome users on Windows, Mac, and Linux need to install the latest update to the browser to protect themselves from a serious security vulnerability that hackers are actively exploiting.“Google is aware of reports that an exploit for CVE-2022-3075 exists in the wild,” the company said in a September 2nd blog post. An anonymous tipster reported the problem on August 30th, and Google says it expects the update to roll out to all users in the coming days or weeks.A serious security vulnerability that hackers are actively exploitingThe company hasn’t released much information yet on the nature of the bug. What we know so far is that it has to do with “Insufficient data validation” in Mojo, a collection of runtime libraries used by... Continue reading…

Apple’s ‘Far Out’ event is being held on Wednesday, September 7th | Image: Apple Apple’s next big product event is set for September 7th. It’s the company’s third live event of the year, and we’re expecting to see quite a few big announcements, from the iPhone 14 lineup to a new “Pro” Apple Watch model to the next generation of AirPods Pro — plus a bunch more.The event is being held in person for select members of the media, but it’s also going to be streaming online for everyone else. Here are the details for you to watch the event from wherever you are.When does the Apple event start? The Apple event is set to begin September 7th at 10AM PT / 1PM ET.Where can I watch the Apple event?A livestream for the Apple event will be available on Apple.com, Apple’s YouTube channel, and the Apple TV app. We’ve also... Continue reading…

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge If you’re an Xbox owner in the UK or Europe it might be time to look at what energy mode your console is using. Rising energy costs across the UK and Europe mean the consoles’ Instant On standby mode could cost up to £5 per month next month for many households, as the energy cap on prices jumps a massive 80 percent in the UK alone.Microsoft offers two power modes on its Xbox consoles. Instant On keeps Xbox One S and Xbox Series S / X consoles in a standby mode that consumes between 11-13 watts (depending on the model) and lets players instantly resume games. Energy Saver mode, by comparison, only consumes around 0.5 watts, but means you have to fully boot up the Xbox before resuming play. Photo by Tom Warren / The... Continue reading…

OpenAI has added a new “outpointing” function to its text-to-image AI model DALL-E that lets the system generate new visuals that expand the borders of any given picture.In the example above, you can see how DALL-E, with the help of human prompting, “imagines” what’s outside the frame of Johannes Vermeer’s portrait “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Note, how, even from the limited information provided by the portrait, the system is able to match Vermeer’s style, mimicking the shadows and highlights of the original.In the timelapse below, you can also see how the artist responsible, August Kamp, had to expand the image in small sections at a time, often redoing DALL-E’s generations in order to get the outcome she wanted. Not seen in this... Continue reading…

Apple Watch Pro CAD drawings showing protected Digital Crown and new button on left. | Image: 91mobiles Images of purported third-party accessories and CAD drawings for the rumored Apple Watch Pro are making the rounds this morning, and boy do I hope they’re legit. The cases show cutouts for another physical button added to the left of the watch face, while CAD drawings released separately by 91mobiles align with the cutouts. The drawings also show a completely flat display and a new button on the left side below a redesigned speaker vent, with a new protrusion on the right that houses the mic, button, and Digital Crown which looks to be better protected from accidental presses.Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman later chimed in on the authenticity of the Apple Watch Pro renders published by 91mobiles. “This is indeed it,” he wrote on Twitter.If... Continue reading…

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 is getting some Z Flip 4 features. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Older generations of Samsung foldable phones and smartwatches will soon be eligible to update to the latest versions of One UI, granting new features such as multitasking gestures, optimizations for large-screened devices, first-party app enhancements and a PC-like taskbar for phones, and new watch faces and customizations for Galaxy smartwatches.Samsung’s One UI 4.1.1 is based on Android 12L and first appeared on devices such as the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4. Samsung has already started to roll out the UI 4.1.1 update globally today to the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 devices, which should reach all users within the next few days. The Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Z Flip, and Galaxy Z Fold have also been confirmed to receive the... Continue reading…

Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images Instagram has removed the official account for PornHub as pressure from campaigners against the site grows.The news was first reported by Variety, which notes that at the time of its removal, PornHub’s Instagram account had some 13.1 million followers and 6,200 posts. The account posted safe-for-work content that promoted PornHub’s various videos and performers. PornHub still operates popular accounts on other social media platforms like Twitter.It’s not clear exactly why Instagram’s parent company Meta removed the account, though screenshots shared by anti-PornHub campaigner Laila Mickelwait suggest the account was taken down for violating Instagram’s community guidelines. The Verge has reached out to Meta for confirmation and... Continue reading…

Image: LG Just months after Samsung announced that it’s bringing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to its TVs, now LG’s doing the same. The company’s new NFT marketplace, called LG Art Lab, lets you “buy, sell and enjoy high-quality digital artwork” from your TV.For now, only users in the US with an LG TV that runs webOS 5.0 or later can access the app, which is available to download from the TV’s home screen. Through the portal, you can buy and sell digital works made available through LG’s NFT drops. The first one of these drops is set to occur on September 22nd and features a set of metallic-looking NFTs from sculptor Barry X Ball.Since I just so happen to own a compatible LG TV, I downloaded and tried out the app for myself... and there’s not much... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Cloudflare, a website security and hosting provider, announced on Saturday that it had blocked Kiwi Farms, an online forum known for hateful content. In a post on Cloudflare’s blog, the company said Kiwi Farms posed an “immediate threat to human life,” citing an increase of “targeted threats” over the past two days.Concerns about Kiwi Farms grew after transgender YouTuber and Twitch streamer, Clara Sorrenti (Keffals), had been targeted by a dangerous harassment campaign by users from the site. Last month, Kiwi Farms users waged a swatting attack against Sorrenti, otherwise known as the act of providing a false tip to police that someone’s planning on carrying out a violent crime, resulting in police swarming the victim’s home.Sorrenti... Continue reading…

Image: Amazon Studios Amazon is reportedly putting a three-day delay on user reviews for all of its content on Prime Video, including the newly-released The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. According to reports from Variety and Deadline, the delay is supposed to help stave off review bombing, or the act of flooding a particular show, movie, game, or book with negative remarks.An Amazon representative told Variety that it put the policy in place to give the service time to evaluate whether a user review comes from an actual viewer — not a bot or troll looking to hijack the reviews section. Amazon introduced the policy earlier this summer, starting with its reboot of A League of Their Own, which contended with review bombers who opposed the show’s... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Apple is getting ready to reveal the second generation of the AirPods Pro at its “Far Out” event on Wednesday, according to a report from Apple tracker Mark Gurman. While we’ve been expecting the AirPods Pro 2 sometime this year, this is the first solid rumor indicating that they could launch this week.“The new AirPods Pro will update a model that first went on sale in October 2019,” Gurman’s Power On newsletter reads. “I reported last year that new AirPods Pro would arrive in 2022, and now I’m told that Wednesday will be their big unveiling.”The AirPods Pro 2 is rumored to come with a number of upgrades, including the next generation of Apple’s H1 processor. There’s also the potential for higher quality sound using either Apple’s... Continue reading…

The device shows the faint Google logo on its rear. | Image: Gadgetfull BD What appears to be the upcoming Google Pixel 7 Pro surfaced in a brief unboxing video posted on Facebook by Gadgetfull BD, a technology shop based in Bangladesh. The video shows someone taking the device out of a Google-branded box and showing off its sleek black exterior, which features Google’s “G” logo stamped on the back.Google first teased the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro at I/O in May, and will likely launch the device next month alongside the Pixel Watch. The phone in the video posted to Facebook matches up with Google’s official renders, complete with the aluminum camera bar with two cutouts for the sensors. It even features what looks like Google Pixel’s official animation sequence when it’s booted up, followed by a device setup screen. ... Continue reading…

NASA’s SLS rocket rolling out to the launchpad from the Vehicle Assembly Building in March. | Photo by Loren Grush / The Verge NASA will not attempt to launch its Space Launch System in the coming days, the agency announced today, skipping potential launch windows on Monday and Tuesday. The announcement comes after two scrubbed launch attempts of the massive rocket, and will likely result in a delay of several weeks.August 29th, 2022 was supposed to be the debut launch of the Space Launch System (SLS). That launch attempt was scrubbed after engineers noticed an issue with the temperature of one of the rocket’s four engines. Today, a second launch attempt was foiled by a persistent hydrogen leak that Artemis mission manager Michael Sarafin described as “large,” in a press conference after the scrub. A small hydrogen leak was also noticed during the attempt on... Continue reading…

Hackers sent taxis to the same location at the same time. | Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images Hackers caused a major traffic jam in Moscow after exploiting the Russian ride-hailing app, Yandex Taxi, to summon dozens of taxis to the same location at the same time (via Vice). The attack occurred on September 1st and had traffic heading towards Kutuzovsky Prospect — an already busy boulevard — stuck at a standstill.A video showing lines of taxis seemingly trying to get to the same destination was shared widely on Twitter and Reddit on Thursday. While Moscow is known for its heavy traffic — it ranked number two as the world’s most congested city in the world last year — this incident wasn’t related to the capital city’s typical traffic patterns.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter seems to have handled adding an edit button about as well as possible. The edit button biases toward transparency, adding an edit history for every tweet and a big notice saying a tweet has been edited. Users will only have 30 minutes to edit their tweet, and will only be able to do so “a few times.” Twitter’s surely going to be looking closely at those numbers in its testing to see exactly how editable tweets should really be. It’s only coming to paying subscribers of Twitter Blue, and the test is going to start out small. Twitter is being as careful as can be on this one, and seems to have landed in the right place.Whether Twitter should have an edit button is still a fun and controversial debate. Will some users abuse the... Continue reading…

The battery icon and percentage shown on the iPhone 8. | Photo by James Bareham / The Verge The iPhone 14 Pro is rumored to revive the classic battery percentage indicator (yes, the one with the percentage and the battery level icon side-by-side), according to an alleged mockup of the device’s interface shared with MacRumors. This means Pro users may not get stuck with the hideous, and sometimes unreadable, indicator that Apple’s testing in the iOS 16 beta, which shows the percentage inside the battery icon.But Apple’s current version of the indicator on newer devices takes the form of a battery icon (without a percentage) that shows a visual representation of how much power your phone has left. This was first introduced in the iPhone X due to a lack of space caused by the notch, and forces you to swipe down to the Control... Continue reading…

Photo by Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images NASA has once again scrubbed the debut launch of its Space Launch System (or SLS) rocket after engineers failed to fix a persistent hydrogen leak.The hydrogen leak was first noticed this morning, soon after the rocket began being fueled with liquid hydrogen. NASA said the leak “developed in the supply side of the 8-inch quick disconnect while attempting to transfer fuel to the rocket.” The team made three troubleshooting attempts, but a leak was detected after each effort to fix the problem. After the third time, engineers recommended that the launch be a ‘no go.’ Soon after, the mission’s launch director, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, decided to scrub the launch attempt.The SLS is meant to be one of the workhorses of NASA’s Artemis... Continue reading…

A Google Nest Hub (2nd-gen) controlling an Eve Energy smart plug. Matter, the upcoming standard that’s attempting to give the smart home a single unifying language, is almost here — and I was just treated to an early demonstration of the kinds of cross-platform compatibility that it should enable in the future. The demonstration was given by Eve, which produces a range of smart plugs, radiator valves, lighting, and security devices.Historically, Eve has only ever worked with Apple’s HomeKit smart home platform. This is because it didn’t want to use cloud-to-cloud platforms, preferring to keep its devices on locally-controlled platforms for privacy and security. Eve has had an iOS app but no Android app, and it didn’t support Samsung’s SmartThings, Amazon’s Alexa, or Google Home. So it was notable to... Continue reading…

The heat may be hitting Meta’s big bet. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Qualcomm and Meta have signed a multi-year agreement promising to team up on custom versions of Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR chips for the "future roadmap of Quest products" and "other devices," as Mark Zuckerberg put it.While, in some ways, the move is business as usual — the Quest 2 is powered by the Snapdragon XR2 chipset — it could provide insight into Meta's compromises as it faces declines in revenue and tries to keep the spiraling expenses of Mark's metaverse project in check.

As long as it keeps up moderation. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google has allowed Parler back onto the Google Play Store, according to a tweet from the social media platform, after it removed the app in January 2021, citing the platform’s lack of moderation on posts inciting violence at the US Capitol. Apple re-instated Parler to its App Store in May 2021, after temporarily removing it around the same time Google did.Parler, which advertises itself as a platform for free speech, agreed to moderate posts that show up in the Play Store app, according to a Bloomberg report. The company previously told The Verge that it has a similar deal that allows it to remain on the App Store — “Anything allowed on the Parler network but not in the iOS app will remain accessible through our web-based and Android... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is committing to keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation for “several more years” beyond the existing marketing deal Sony has with Activision. Microsoft Gaming CEO and Xbox chief Phil Spencer made the commitment in a written letter to PlayStation head Jim Ryan earlier this year, and it’s the clearest sign yet that Call of Duty won’t suddenly disappear from PlayStation platforms if Microsoft’s $68.7 billion deal is approved by regulators.“In January, we provided a signed agreement to Sony to guarantee Call of Duty on PlayStation, with feature and content parity, for at least several more years beyond the current Sony contract, an offer that goes well beyond typical gaming industry agreements,” says Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Samsung is warning customers about a cybersecurity incident in July, where “an unauthorized third party acquired information from some of Samsung’s U.S. systems,” including things like names, birthdays, contact info, and product registration information. The company says it discovered the breach on August 4th, and is currently investigating it with “a leading outside cybersecurity firm.”According to the company’s FAQ about the incident, it’s sending emails to customers who were specifically affected, and it will continue doing so as its investigation progresses. Samsung says that not everybody will have had the same info leaked. The company didn’t immediately reply to The Verge’s request for comment on which of its systems were... Continue reading…

Leaked Sonos Sub Mini image | Image: WinFuture.de Sonos customers have been waiting for a cheaper subwoofer since the first signs of one popped up late last year, and now WinFuture.de is giving us a few pics for a better look at the device.The Sub Mini’s design was first revealed by The Verge several months ago, and these marketing images closely resemble our original rendering. As seen in the pictures above has a large cutout that appears to more closely resemble the port in Sonos’ larger, $749 Sub, along with an overall height that’s closer to the Sonos One speakers. Product render by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge The pictures don’t come with much in the way of details, specifications, or release date; however, as WinFuture points out, these marketing pics... Continue reading…

Time to buy some jams. | Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images Bandcamp is bringing back its Bandcamp Fridays promotion where it waives its cut of any money you spend buying music from artists or their labels on its marketplace. Historically, the company ran the promotion on the first Friday of every month, and that appears to be the case this time around, too. According to its update page, it has Bandcamp Fridays scheduled for September 2nd, October 7th, November 4th, and December 2nd.Bandcamp says that when you buy music during a Bandcamp Friday, 93 percent of that money goes to the artist or label on average (with the rest going to payment processing fees). That’s compared to an average of 82 percent the rest of the time. It started the promotion in 2020 in response to the pandemic’s impact on... Continue reading…

All the best backpacks, laptops, tablets, and wearables for the new school year. | The Verge Our favorite laptops, bags, and gadgets for students Continue reading…

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images The company had an ambitious plan to fight extremism on the platform. So what happened to it? Continue reading…

George Zhao announcing Honor’s first foldable, the Magic V, in early 2021 | Image: Honor Honor is planning to release its second foldable next year, and unlike the Honor Magic V, the company hopes to actually release the device outside of China. Honor’s CEO, George Zhao, confirmed the plans in an interview with The Verge ahead of this year’s IFA trade show in Berlin and said the company expects to launch its next foldable device in the first quarter of next year.“We’ve made the decision that next year, in Q1, we’ll bring our latest foldable smartphone to international markets,” including Europe, Zhao said. The CEO didn’t confirm any specifics or details for the new device but indicated that Honor’s major areas of focus for its foldables are making them thinner, lighter, and more affordable.A release in the first quarter... Continue reading…

There’s nothing to hate but nothing to truly love about Honor’s latest midrange device Continue reading…

The Beats Fit Pro are one of the many excellent pairs of true wireless earbuds on sale this weekend. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Labor Day weekend marks the bittersweet end of summer, but in the midst of kids heading back to school and the world of tech about to pop off with new stuff, there are deals and sales to take advantage of. Yes, Labor Day is meant to honor the American worker — and of course, the only way we really know how to celebrate is by spending. But to help your dollars go further in our gadget-filled world, we’re compiling some of the best tech deals happening from the lead-up to Labor Day and through the holiday weekend.Many deals and discounts are already available, and some run through Monday, September 5th. While some may not be explicitly labeled as Labor Day promotions, they’re just good deals regardless and worthy of your attention —... Continue reading…

Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter’s lawyers argued David Sacks’ main reason for trying to fight a subpoena filed in their case against Elon Musk is because he said he would on a podcast, and in a ruling issued Friday, the judge agreed.Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick (pdf):

Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images Every fan of every band has, at some point, been there. You spotted them performing at the Grammys, working out with James Corden, taking over Grand Central, or hanging out with Joe Biden. You heard Butter on the radio, and you were like, “Hey, that’s catchy.” You’re intrigued — you like their music, and they seem like cool guys. You’re ready to be a fan. So what’s the next step? How do you get into the band?I have good news for you: Army (the name of BTS’s fans) is a welcoming group. The prospect of joining an established fandom can be intimidating at times — but in general, we here in Army-land are very, very accustomed to being inundated by new, curious fans after every big award show, hit single, or other event that puts BTS all... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge It’s getting there, slowly but surely Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge In a move that feels a little late, coming years after Chromebooks got access to Android apps and games, Google says that ChromeOS users will get access to an “early Alpha” of game controls optimized for certain touchscreen-only games. Mobile games are obviously made for use on phones with touchscreens, which many computers don’t have. To bridge the gap, starting with ChromeOS 105, Google’s operating system can turn key presses into simulated touches.According to Google, “We see game controls as a way to overcome initial challenges with the ChromeOS gaming experience while users wait for developers to fully optimize their apps for ChromeOS,” even as it pushes for game developers to include input support that works across phones,... Continue reading…

The LG MoodUp can flash in time with music streamed to its built-in Bluetooth speaker. In case anyone is needing extra RGB lighting in their lives, LG’s new MoodUp fridge has you covered. The refrigerator, which the South Korean electronics giant announced this week at IFA in Berlin, has LED light panels on its front that can illuminate in over a dozen different colors (22 for the upper panel, 19 for the lower). There’s also a built-in Bluetooth speaker (I know).You control the light panels through LG’s app, where there are a series of preset color schemes to match different seasons and moods. But of course, you can also take full control to create a gloriously ugly kitchen color scheme of your own devising. I was helpfully shown such an abomination during an in-person demonstration on the show floor, and it was quite... Continue reading…

Third-party billing options to Google’s Play Store roll out globally. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google has quietly expanded its “User Choice Billing” pilot to let more developers of non-gaming Android apps offer third-party payment options as alternatives to Google Play’s. Developers will see their service fees of 15 to 30 percent reduced by 4 percent when users select a new third-party billing option, which the developer — not Google — must support in case of customer issues. The news was first reported by 9to5Google.Now, as of September 1st, registered developers from the European Economic Area (EEA), India, Japan, Indonesia, and Australia can participate in User Choice Billing, according to this enrollment page. Google contends that 99 percent of developers using the company’s own Play Store billing qualify for the 15 percent... Continue reading…

Nick Barclay / The Verge Workers at the Penn Square Apple Store in Oklahoma City have filed with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union election, becoming the third US location to have done so. According to a press release, over 70 percent of the store’s salespeople, genius admins, technicians, creatives, and operations specialists, have signed cards to say they’re interested in being represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA).The NLRB’s bar for a sufficient showing of interest for an election is 30 percent of workers signing union cards.The filing was reported previously by Bloomberg, and the outlet writes that Michael Forsythe, an employee and organizer at the Oklahoma City store, said workers are looking for “more transparency... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Developer and App Store critic Kosta Eleftheriou has settled his lawsuit with Apple, according to a report from TechCrunch. The suit, filed in March 2021, argued that Apple made it difficult for him to sell his app, Flicktype, on the App Store, after it seemingly lost interest in acquiring the tech.The lawsuit alleged that Apple used its monopoly power as maker of the iPhone and as the company in charge of the App Store to “crush” developers competing with it through “exploitive fees and selective application of opaque and unreasonable constraints.” Eleftheriou also accused Apple of doing little to stem the tide of copycat scam apps that tricked potential users of his app, a swipe-based keyboard for the Apple Watch. (This was, by the... Continue reading…

The service will cost around €21.99 a month. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge After a leak revealed Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family branding over the weekend, Microsoft has gone official with its new plan and revealed its pricing in Ireland and Colombia. The new subscription will allow Xbox Game Pass members to share with up to four other friends or family members at €21.99 per month in Ireland, and 49,900 COP in Colombia.Microsoft isn’t restricting this new Game Pass plan to just family members, and the only restriction is that people who are added to the Friends & Family plan need to be in the same country. Microsoft is currently testing this new Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan in Ireland and Colombia, with pricing at €21.99 per month instead of the regular €12.99 per month for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.... Continue reading…

Outside of 3D, curved TVs are probably one of the industry’s most ill-advised gimmicks. Unless you sat at a very specific point in front of them, they resulted in a warped image, harsh reflections, and a generally unpleasant viewing experience, for close to no benefit. Seriously, they were terrible. It felt like curved TVs happened because companies could make them, rather than because they should.It took me a little while to realize it, but LG’s new 42-inch OLED Flex, which it’s announced this week at IFA and hopes to bring to market this fall, effectively marks the return of curved TVs. It may have a monitor-style stand featuring some gamer-styled RGB lighting, and LG may have confused things slightly by placing the OLED Flex on top... Continue reading…

T-Mobile has promised that the merger would be “jobs-positive.” | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Wall Street Journal reports T-Mobile’s engineering and network operations teams are experiencing waves of layoffs, which have included managers and executives, on top of thousands of jobs eliminated by restructuring after the company merged with Sprint in 2020. T-Mobile execs promised then that the merger was “all about creating new, high-quality, high-paying jobs, and the new T-Mobile will be jobs-positive from Day One and every day thereafter.”In April 2020, the companies had about 80,000 workers combined; however, as the Journal points out, T-Mobile’s most recent annual report (pdf) said it ended 2021 with 75,000 full- and part-time employees.

It’s still a large soundbar, but it’s more compact that Sennheiser’s first. | Photo by Jon Porter / The Verge Sennheiser’s debut soundbar, released in 2019, was a niche product for a couple of reasons. The first was the price. At $2,499.95, it rivaled the cost of many traditional surround sound systems comprised of AV receivers and multiple speakers. But perhaps more important was its size. I say this with love, but the original Ambeo Soundbar (which has now been renamed the Ambeo Soundbar Max) was a chunky boy, which hardly made it an easy sell for anyone looking to tuck it discreetly in front of their TV.So although it’s $1,000 cheaper, I think price might only be the second most important change with Sennheiser’s second soundbar, the $1,499.95 Ambeo Soundbar Plus, which the company launched today at an event in Berlin. Instead, I think its... Continue reading…