The Verge

That’s not water you see above in those circular windows, but this bicycle garage is definitely under the water. Click here for a larger image. The four-year, $65 million project has everything — and nothing — to do with the automobile. Continue reading…

Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images Announced in 2019, the truck now won’t enter mass production until 2024. Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge It seems like Samsung’s planning on charging more for the upcoming Galaxy S23 than it did for the S22, at least in some parts of Europe. Reliable leaker Roland Quandt has been posting prospective prices for the phones at European retailers, and for some models it seems like there will be price jumps of 100 euros or more.As an example, Quandt says the Galaxy S23 will start at €959 in Spain with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while an Ultra with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage will cost €1,589. Compare that to the S22, whose versions of those phones cost €859 and €1,459 respectively when they’re not on sale, according to Samsung’s Spanish site. It’s apparently a similar situation in Germany, and 9to5Google has reported that the phones... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge Google isn’t just useful for helping research your next car; it can also help you shop for one while you search. SearchLab initially reported that the search giant has opened up access to a vehicle listings feature that lets dealerships advertise inventory right beside search results (via 9to5Google and Search Engine Land).The listings have been appearing as part of a beta, but SearchLab notes that now all dealerships in the US with a Google Business Profile can add any motor vehicle to their inventory as long as it has a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). That includes cars, trucks, motorcycles, RVs, and more. A support page for dealers shows activity from last year, as well as more recent updates earlier this month. ... Continue reading…

Image: Rare GoldenEye 007 has finally landed on Xbox and Nintendo Switch in a simultaneous dual-release of two titles with some important differences.On Xbox, GoldenEye 007 is a remastered version of the legendary Nintendo 64 title that first launched in 1997. The remaster includes 4K resolution, smoother frame rates, and split-screen local multiplayer, similar to a 2008-era bound-for-Xbox 360 version that was canceled amid licensing and rights issues but leaked out in 2021.Meanwhile, Nintendo has released GoldenEye 007 as part of its Nintendo Switch Online service. N64 games were added to the service in 2021, though you have to splurge on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier to get access.

“Me at the Zoo” is still the oldest video. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is setting the record straight: “Me at the zoo” is still the oldest YouTube video.“Me at the zoo,” uploaded on April 23rd, 2005 and featuring YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of elephants at the San Diego Zoo, is an important piece of internet history, as it marks the oldest video on one of the most influential video services on the planet. But earlier on Thursday, a video started circulating that, somehow, had an even earlier upload date: April 5th, 2005.Titled “Welcome to YouTube!!!”, the 48-second video definitely looks like something that could have been used to test out a mid-aughts video website. The video has just one image: a low-res graphic with a YouTube logo with the text “Welcome to YouTube!!!!”... Continue reading…

Keep your Incognito tabs away from prying eyes. | Illustration: The Verge Google is rolling out access to a feature that lets you lock your Chrome Incognito sessions behind biometric authentication, making it so someone using your phone won’t be able to open your browser and see what you were looking at privately, according to a Thursday blog post. The feature has been available in the iOS version of Chrome for a while now, but now it’s becoming more widely available on Android (read: won’t require activating via a flag).The Lock Incognito tabs when you close Chrome feature does what its name suggests — you can open Incognito tabs normally, but if you switch to another app, you’ll have to unlock Chrome when you return to get at the hidden tabs. You can do that via your phone’s unlock pin or through biometrics... Continue reading…

A Ford owner getting service at home — and looking ecstatic to not need to drive to the dealership they probably hate. | Image: Ford Ford is ramping up its remote service offerings to save customers a trip to their dealership for things like oil changes and recall repairs. The updated program promises that more Ford owners nationwide can get access to complimentary pickup and delivery of their vehicles, as well as mobile repair options.Mobile services from Ford won’t operate from a central location, though. It will still be up to dealerships to offer remote services and to choose what services to provide at a customer’s home or business. Ford is, however, lending dealers a hand to get the services up and running. “We’ve been working with multiple teams at Ford to offer our customers more ways to personalize vehicle service,” stated Ford National Dealer Council... Continue reading…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Illustration: The Verge Plus GoldenEye 007 is coming back. Continue reading…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Apple’s new pro laptops right the wrongs of the past half decade Continue reading…

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…

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…

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.”