The Verge

“Employees from all functions will be impacted.” | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Robinhood is letting go of nearly a quarter of its staff, CEO Vlad Tenev said in a message posted to the company’s blog.“As part of a broader company reorganization into a General Manager (GM) structure, I just announced that we are reducing our headcount by approximately 23%,” Tenev wrote. “While employees from all functions will be impacted, the changes are particularly concentrated in our operations, marketing, and program management functions.”Robinhood’s chief product officer Aparna Chennapragada is also stepping down from her post as part of the restructuring, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, though she’ll “remain employed in an advisory role to the CEO or his designee through January 2, 2023.”... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Robinhood’s transaction-based revenue in the second quarter of 2022 fell to $202 million from $451 million in the second quarter last year, a drop of more than half. The picture of the overall revenue isn’t much better: down 44 percent to $318 million from $565 million a year ago. Yes, about a quarter of the company is getting fired.The numbers are bad, and the vibes are offHilariously, in the text of their earnings press release, they give sequential figures, noting that this quarter was better than last quarter. True, but not the point!Robinhood was the figurehead of the meme stock trading revolution, which reached public consciousness through the GameStop debacle. But as interest rates have risen and pandemic restrictions have... Continue reading…

Apple’s redesigned Home app makes it easier to control your lights, locks, and other smart home devices. | Image: Apple A new Home View and a bit of ‘jiggle mode’ make the HomeKit app more usable, but there’s still a long way to go Continue reading…

There are more customization options in the new Home app, including putting your devices into jiggle mode to rearrange them. There’s a major redesign coming to Apple’s HomeKit Home app with iOS 16 this fall. I recently previewed all the new features arriving on the smart home platform, but I wanted to do a quick tutorial on one of my favorite new features: customization.In the new Home app, the options for customizing how your smart home devices, Rooms, and Favorites appear on the screen have vastly improved. You can rearrange your Home View to put your most-used Rooms right up top or designate that your Favorites or Camera feeds be the first thing you see when you open the app.You need to be running iOS 16 to use the new Home appYou can also rearrange the individual buttons for your devices, such as lights, door locks, and shades — just like arranging... Continue reading…

Image: Netflix Netflix’s gamble on Cowboy Bebop has paid off with dividends for fans. A tweet from Wario64 has revealed a limited-edition vinyl collection of the short-lived series’ soundtrack, featuring new music from Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts.

That’s some slam dunk branding. | Image: Microsoft On Tuesday and Wednesday, the New York Liberty Women’s National Basketball Association (or WNBA) team will be playing against the Los Angeles Sparks on a basketball court that’s covered in Xbox logos and console-inspired designs. Microsoft says that it’s the league’s “first gaming-inspired basketball court,” with the area under the net made to look a bit like the ventilation holes in the Xbox Series X.Of course, there’s also a “metaverse” tie-in as well — the court has been recreated in the Dunking Simulator Roblox experience. While the gameplay doesn’t look quite as realistic as something like NBA 2K, it could be fun for those of us who won’t be able to attend one of the actual games. Gif: Xbox Something tells... Continue reading…

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images In campaign ads and stump speeches, Blake Masters is playing Trump’s greatest hits. He complains about “wokeness,” talks openly about American decline, and demands that the government finish building the wall on the southern border. But unlike Trump, Masters’ political ambitions reimagine America in the eyes of Silicon Valley and one of its most powerful — and controversial — investors.On the heels of Trump’s endorsement, Masters is poised to win Tuesday’s primary and become the GOP’s next Senate nominee in Arizona. But his mentor Peter Thiel casts a long shadow over his candidacy and raises the stakes to something much larger than a single Senate seat. Over the last decade, Masters has studied under Thiel at Stanford, led Thiel’s... Continue reading…

Art for Jetpack Joyride 2 | Image: Apple Jetpack Joyride, one of my favorite iOS games of all time, is getting a sequel that will be available exclusively on Apple Arcade. You’ll be able to play Jetpack Joyride 2 on Apple’s $4.99-per-month games subscription service beginning August 19th.Jetpack Joyride 2 looks like it will carry over a lot of what you might know from the first; it’s a side-scrolling shooter where the goal is to dodge obstacles, survive as long as you can, and get a lot of coins. But Jetpack Joyride 2 will also be a “story-driven experience” with new mechanics, according to an Apple press email — which is honestly enough for me to want to play it immediately.If you want to get an idea of what you can expect, Apple has a trailer and some screenshots on the J... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and California declares a monkeypox state of emergency, TwitchCon San Diego released its health measures policy, indicating that there will be no testing, vaccination, or mask requirements.“In accordance with current local guidelines, there will be no COVID-19 vaccination or testing requirements at TwitchCon San Diego. Although masks are encouraged, they are not currently required to attend TwitchCon,” read the statement on the TwitchCon website.For TwitchCon Amsterdam, which took place last month, there was a similar policy in place. Twitch partner Nazih Fares told The Verge he left after four hours, concerned for his health despite being fully vaccinated.“It was as if the whole pandemic never... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Selena Gomez is reportedly developing a Working Girl reboot, and I don’t know how to feel about it. As the daughter of a Staten Island girl who worked on Wall Street in the ’80s, the original is just too close to my heart.Anyway, let the river run — Audacy and Snap try to be more like TikTok, TikTok tries to be more like Spotify, and Spotify tries to make you pay extra for a play button.Audacy’s new podcast discovery app takes a page out of TikTok’s playbookRadio giant Audacy has acquired podcast discovery app Moonbeam, according to the app’s founder, Paul English. Discovery has been a massive challenge for the industry, and Moonbeam addresses it by operating less like a traditional podcast player and more like a social platform.“We... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge We’re still waiting for Twitter to begin publicly testing its not-an-April-Fools’-joke edit feature, but thanks to some sleuthing from app researcher Jane Manchun Wong, we now have an idea of how edited tweets will look when they’re embedded on a website.Wong discovered how things could look in two different scenarios. If you’re embedding the most recently edited version of a tweet, you’ll see a “Last edited” message under the text of the tweet. But if the tweet has been edited since it was embedded, you’ll instead see a message indicating that there’s a new version of the tweet that you can see on Twitter proper.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A California judge says video service Rumble can proceed with the early stages of an antitrust suit against Google. Rumble sued Google in 2021, alleging that it favored its own YouTube video platform in search results and the Android operating system. Google urged the court to split the suit’s arguments and dismiss substantial parts of the reasoning as well as strike parts of the suit related to Android app preinstallation. Judge Haywood Gilliam declined to do so late last week, putting the case on track to proceed — although it could still be dismissed before it reaches trial.Rumble’s suit overlaps with several ongoing Big Tech controversies. The company takes aim at Google’s deals with Android phone makers, who typically agree to p... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Robinhood’s cryptocurrency division has been fined $30 million by the New York Department of Financial Services over alleged anti-money laundering and cybersecurity violations (via The Wall Street Journal). This marks the state’s first enforcement action related to cryptocurrency.The settlement resolves the investigation opened by the NYDFS last March, which Robinhood disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission before the company went public. While Robinhood initially estimated that the NYDFS would fine the company up to $15 million, it later amended its filing to reflect an estimated $30 million fee.According to the NYDFS, Robinhood Crypto’s cybersecurity program had “critical failures” that “did not fully... Continue reading…

Nintendo’s upgraded Switch model sports a larger OLED display and slight redesign. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge While much attention has been given to Valve’s Steam Deck in recent months, the Nintendo Switch remains the de facto handheld console for most people. Today, the premium version of Nintendo’s popular console with an OLED screen is discounted as part of a one-day deal from Woot. The Switch OLED version in white is down to $324.99 at Woot ($25 off). Be sure to snatch this one up quickly if you want some of the premium upgrades this Switch offers (that the standard version does not) — notably, a larger seven-inch OLED panel with much-improved color and contrast. It also has slightly improved build quality with a more useful kickstand. Note, however, that it isn’t more powerful than the other Switch models. Read our review.If you’re... Continue reading…

Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images Bolt Mobility electric scooters aren’t bolting around anymore. The dockless rental company co-founded by famed sprinter Usain Bolt has reportedly abruptly shuttered in cities across the US, even outright ghosting some city officials (via TechCrunch).According to the report, Bolt halted operations in US cities including Portland, Oregon, Burlington, Vermont, South Burlington, Vermont, Winooski, Vermont, Richmond, California, and Richmond, Virginia, with confirmation from city officials. The Verge reached out to Bolt through the company’s online contact form, but we have not received any response. The Bolt app shows no scooters in Portland. You’re not going to find any Bolts here either. The... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge After a few quiet months, it’s happened again: another blockchain bridge hack with losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.Nomad, a cryptocurrency bridge that lets users swap tokens between blockchains, is the latest to be hit after a frenzied attack on Monday, which left almost $200 million of its funds drained.The hack was acknowledged by the Nomad project’s official Twitter account on Monday, August 1st, initially as an “incident” that was being investigated. In a further statement released early Tuesday morning, Nomad said that the team was “working around the clock to address the situation” and had also notified law enforcement.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook’s parent company Meta and major US hospitals violated medical privacy laws with a tracking tool that sends health information to Facebook, two proposed class-action lawsuits allege.The lawsuits, filed in the Northern District of California in June and July, focus on the Meta Pixel tracking tool. The tool can be installed on websites to provide analytics on Facebook and Instagram ads. It also collects information about how people click around and input information into those websites.An investigation by The Markup in early June found that 33 of the top 100 hospitals in the United States use the Meta Pixel on their websites. At seven hospitals, it was installed on password-protected patient portals. The investigation found... Continue reading…

Outlook Lite for Android. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft is releasing a new smaller and faster Outlook Lite app for Android this week. The lightweight version of Outlook is designed to have a smaller app size, faster performance, and lower battery usage, all while including the core features of the regular Microsoft Outlook mobile app.Outlook Lite is around 5MB in download size, and Microsoft says it “uses extremely low storage on your phone.” It has been optimized to run quickly on all Android devices and even ones with just 1GB of RAM. As it’s a little more lightweight, it uses fewer phone resources and should save on battery usage. Most importantly, it’s designed to work well across all mobile networks, including 2G and 3G ones that are still in use in many countries worldwide.M... Continue reading…

The iPhone SE’s 4.7-inch screen is just too small. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge There’s a great phone under $500 that I’d recommend to just about anyone looking for the best midrange phone on the market. It uses the same chipset as the company’s much more expensive flagships, and it includes an IP67 rating, a very good 12-megapixel camera, and a long lifespan ahead of it with software support for many years to come. It’s not the iPhone SE, which I wish I could recommend as freely as the current category winner: the Pixel 6A. It’s a better phone, and it’s what the SE should have been. Here’s what Google got right — and what Apple should have done differently.The Pixel 6A’s 6.1-inch screen isn’t perfect. It’s not great outdoors, and it’s a 60Hz screen in a world where faster refresh rates are becoming the norm. But... Continue reading…

All the ways to make money as a creator Continue reading…

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images Uber reported $382 million in free cash flow for the first time ever, an indication that the rideshare company’s “hardcore” effort to rein in costs is starting to pay off, even in the midst of a cooling economy.Uber is still burning a lot of money but mostly in the realm of its investments in other startups. The company reported a record revenue of $8.1 billion in the second quarter of 2022, a 105 percent spike compared to the same quarter last year. And it said it lost $2.6 billion, which was mostly attributable to its equity stake in Aurora, Grab, and Zomato. Additionally, it lost $470 million in stock-based compensation. (Uber is considering selling its stake in India’s delivery startup Zomato, Reuters reports, in another move to... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft has acknowledged an issue where Outlook on Windows will stop responding or crash when you view Uber receipt emails. The issue started recently in what Microsoft calls the Current Channel Version of Outlook that’s available for Microsoft 365 subscribers. Microsoft is developing a fix, but it won’t be available until Patch Tuesday on August 9th.In a support note, spotted by BleepingComputer, Microsoft explains that opening, replying to, or forwarding an Uber receipt email will cause this issue. Uber uses “complex tables” in its emails, and it appears that Microsoft Word, which Outlook uses to view emails, is struggling to render these tables. Image: Microsoft Outlook crashing on Windows when reviewing an... Continue reading…

Daybridge is trying to be a smarter, more thoughtful take on time management. | Image: Daybridge Hypothetical question: would you send your date a calendar invite? You’ve been out, let’s say, twice, and you’re going to meet for dinner on Friday at 7:30PM. You’d text them that info — you might even tell them over the phone — but would you send them a calendar invite? Or, I’ll do you one better: if you haven’t picked a time yet, would you send them your Calendly link to find a time to meet? Kieran McHugh, the CEO of a new calendar app company called Daybridge, thinks it’s a “no” across the board. But he’d like to change that.Daybridge is launching officially today after almost two years of development. What McHugh and his team have built so far is… well, it’s a calendar app. It connects to Google Calendar (no Outlook yet, but that’s... Continue reading…

Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski. | Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images FIFA 23 isn’t even out yet, but Electronic Arts is already preparing for its post-FIFA future. Today, the publisher announced a new deal with Spain’s LaLiga — which is home to iconic clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona — for a “one of a kind, multi-year partnership” that kicks off with the 2023–2024 season and will make EA the title sponsor for the league. That also happens to be the season in which EA will be ditching its longtime partner FIFA for a new soccer franchise called EA Sports FC, making FIFA 23 the last EA game with FIFA branding.According to EA, the new deal will include:

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Indonesia has lifted its ban on Steam and Yahoo now that both companies complied with the country’s restrictive laws that regulate online activity (via @ZhugeEX). The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) announced the news in a translated update on Twitter, noting that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 are back online as well.Last week, Indonesia blocked access to Steam, PayPal, Yahoo, Epic Games, and Origin after the companies failed to meet a deadline to register with the country’s database. This requirement is bundled with a broader law, called MR5, that Indonesia first introduced in 2020. The law gives the Indonesian government the authority to order platforms to take down content considered... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge US consumer spending on video game products has fallen by $1.78 billion in Q2, according to market research firm NPD. Overall, spending in video gaming in the US totaled $12.35 billion in the recent quarter, down 13 percent year over year. The findings follow both Microsoft and Sony reporting revenue declines in gaming as the pandemic growth slows.Sony warned of a weaker PlayStation business earlier this week as it saw game software sales plummet 26 percent year over year. Sony blamed the slump on a lack of big PlayStation titles this year compared to 2021 and less time spent playing games in general. Microsoft’s Xbox hardware revenue dipped 11 percent year over year in its recent quarter alongside a 6 percent drop in Xbox content and... Continue reading…

A good option for people with slightly older phones. | Image: Samsung Samsung and Fixit have launched their repair program that lets Galaxy S20, S21, and Tab S7 Plus owners buy replacement parts for their devices and access guides on how to do DIY fixes. The program still has most of the caveats that my colleague Umar Shakir pointed out when it was announced in March — it’s not launching with parts for Samsung’s latest flagship devices and there’s a limited number of repairs you can do — but it’s good to see that at least some Galaxy owners will now be able to do their own repairs at home. Samsung also says it’s planning to expand the devices and types of repairs that are covered in the future.You’ll be able to buy the parts and tools for screen, back glass, and charging port replacements through iFixit... Continue reading…

Don’t look now, but the USB-C connector is evolving under your nose — soon, it’ll carry 240W of electricity, more than double its previous limit and enough to power all but the beefiest laptops. The PD 3.1 specification is finished, the cables are here, and now we’re just waiting for the first computers and chargers that’ll actually reach for that 240W peak. But there’s another brand-new 240W gadget you could nab in anticipation of that historic day: the Plugable USBC-VAMETER3.It’s the third generation of Plugable’s handy power meter, and it does pretty much exactly what you’d think. Stick it between your USB-C gadget and its source of USB-C power, and you can see how much power (volts, amps, and watts) is being transferred between... Continue reading…

Its gimbal and impressive software put it well ahead of the competition Continue reading…

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge It would be an interesting experiment to go back in time three or four years and inform your earlier self that — guess what? — you’re probably going to be working from home soon, and there’s a good chance that it may be a permanent change.Since the pandemic lockdowns of early 2020, many people have remained working from home. In the time since then, people have moved out of commuting distance from their offices or have not yet decided it was comfortable to return to a crowded office — or simply decided they liked working from home. And many businesses have changed their policies to accommodate their employees.But working from home, especially on a regular basis, means accommodating the needs of your workday. In this guide, we look at... Continue reading…

Well into the third year of this pandemic, it is very clear that everyone could use a refresher course in looking their best on camera. Nice lighting and perfectly decorated bookshelves were once the standard for video meetings, but now, it seems as though my co-workers couldn’t care less about hiding their messy living rooms, bedrooms, and offices. And long gone are the days of flattering lighting.As a Verge video producer and host, let me assure you: your messy background and poor lighting are still wildly distracting. So, let’s resolve to refresh our video chat setups: from knowing where to sit to get the best lighting and choosing the right microphone to just staying comfortable.Here are my tips and tricks to once again become a... Continue reading…

The Oura Ring Generation 3 smart ring | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge The Oura smart ring is now compatible with Natural Cycles digital birth control, the companies announced today. The partnership lets Natural Cycles users pull in temperature information from their Oura Ring rather than manually take a temperature for the app each morning.Natural Cycles uses daily temperature measurements and period cycle tracking information to predict the days of the month when someone is least likely to get pregnant. That daily temperature data originally came from a thermometer measurement done each morning. Last July, the company received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to use temperature data from wearables like the Oura.A few months after Natural Cycles received FDA clearance, Oura Ring a... Continue reading…

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge | Photography by Bloomberg / Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic has given us a sneak peek into how working from home changes electricity demand and what that might mean for Americans’ utility bills. The picture it’s painted so far isn’t very pretty, particularly for anyone who’s already struggling to meet their needs.The transition to remote work is changing our energy system in ways that could worsen racial and economic inequities in the US. Working from home shifts energy costs from employers to workers. That burden is bigger for people who live in older, less efficient homes.“I was either freezing in my house in the winter and trying to work from the kitchen or burning in my house in the summer,” Destenie Nock, an assistant professor of engineering and public policy at... Continue reading…

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge An internal Apple memo obtained by MacRumors suggests the company is aware of the audio issues that users have been experiencing when using its $1,599 Studio Display, but that it doesn’t have a permanent fix for the issue available. Instead, the memo, which was reportedly distributed to Apple’s network of authorized service providers, recommends that affected users unplug the Studio Display from its power source, disconnect accessories, and then connect the monitor back up and power it on after a 10-second wait.Apple released the Studio Display in March. Along with the screen itself, the display is also designed to integrate many of the other devices found on a typical desk, and includes built-in speakers, microphones, and a webcam. But... Continue reading…

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge The Pixel 6A may have only been released last Thursday, but Google is wasting no time in bringing the latest beta version of Android 13 to its new midrange device. 9to5Google reports that Android 13’s latest beta, version 4.1, is now available for the Pixel 6A. The software was first released last Monday, when it was initially available for the Pixel 4 through 6 Pro.Android 13 is shaping up to be a relatively minor update for Google’s mobile operating system. It builds on some of the design changes seen in last year’s Android 12 update with expanded support for theming app icons, and also adds support for the new Bluetooth LE Audio standard, as well as new privacy features.Previously available up to Pixel 6 devicesYou shouldn’t have... Continue reading…

Image: Logitech Logitech G is working with Tencent Games to launch a dedicated cloud gaming handheld later this year. The new hardware will be designed for cloud gaming services, offering a dedicated device with controls instead of the typical cases you attach to phones. The cloud gaming handheld will support Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia’s GeForce Now service, and Logitech and Tencent are both working with Microsoft and Nvidia on the hardware.Logitech and Tencent are simply teasing the device today, and there’s no mention of a release date, pricing, or even what the cloud gaming handheld looks like. Logitech will obviously be leaning on its experience building PC and console gaming accessories, while Tencent looks to be more of an operations partner.“... Continue reading…

“Wearing a face mask will no longer be required in most locations” | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple is dropping its mask mandates for corporate employees at “most locations,” according to an internal email from the COVID-19 response team, obtained by The Verge.“Don’t hesitate to continue wearing a face mask if you feel more comfortable doing so,” the email reads. “Also, please respect every individual’s decision to wear a mask or not.”The move comes amid a surge in the highly transmissible BA.5 variant of COVID-19. Earlier this week, the Bay Area transit system BART brought back its mask mandate.Apple started requiring some employees to return to the office in April, but stopped short of implementing its full hybrid model, which would mandate three days of in-person work for all employees, every week.Read Apple’s internal... Continue reading…

Pictured: a big reason Roku made less money than it expected from its players. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge No, you didn't suddenly forget how to read: Roku, the streaming box and service company, is worried about how much money its buttons are bringing in. Not because it suddenly started making clicky actuators for other companies to include in their products (what a pivot that would be), but because Roku’s really an advertising company in streamer’s clothing. And it absolutely has prime real estate to sell to streaming services: for a fee, it’ll plaster their logos onto buttons that customers will likely see every time they use a Roku. Even better, those buttons will only launch that service.Basically, Roku’s best ROI may be the Netflix-red and Disney-blue paint its suppliers buy.Near the bottom of each Roku remote, you’ll see four... Continue reading…

As far as we know, it’s not a Nest Audio. But it could be a new Nest product of some kind. | Photo: Dan Seifert / The Verge It’s officially August, which means we’re getting close to the fall hardware season, and two recent FCC filings from Amazon and Google could hint at a couple products the companies may — or may not — reveal.Google’s product is pretty mysterious; the product is described only as a “Wireless Device.” It appears to be battery-powered — there’s no AC connection — though it can be powered over a 5V USB connection, and one diagram shows it connected to a laptop for testing. As 9to5Google observed, the filing could indicate that this is some kind of Nest device — some Nest cameras have used 3.65V rechargeable batteries, for example.Google has already said the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel Watch will arrive this fall, so whatever this... Continue reading…

Yes, that is a CryptoPunk pendant. | Image: Tiffany & Co. For about $50,000 (30 Ethereum), CryptoPunk holders can get a handcrafted pendant modeled after their NFT (non-fungible token) from Tiffany & Co. — and no, this is not a joke (via Decrypt). The pendant, which will feature “at least” 30 diamonds or gemstones, will hang on an 18K gold chain with five pave diamonds on the clasp.The offer is exclusive only to people who own a CryptoPunk, aka the odd pixelated avatars you keep seeing on Twitter (no, not those ones, the other ones). But don’t let the overly simplistic art fool you — the average cost of these things is about $200,000, even after several months of declining sales activity for the market overall. There are only 10,000 CryptoPunk designs, and now you can get your very own... Continue reading…

A semi truck drives past an Amazon sort center under construction in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, California, on Wednesday, March 9th, 2022. | Image: Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images Amazon's greenhouse gas emissions ballooned big time last year despite the company's efforts to sell itself as a leader in climate action. Its carbon dioxide emissions grew an eye-popping 18 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, according to its latest sustainability report.Amazon generated 71.54 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent last year, about as much pollution as 180 gas-fired power plants might pump out annually. This is the second year in a row that Amazon's climate pollution has grown by double digits since it made a splashy climate pledge and started reporting its emissions publicly in 2019. Comparing that year to 2021, the company's CO2 pollution has actually grown a whopping 40 percent.This is the second year in... Continue reading…

Dude Perfect is just one of the "multiple" alternate streams that will be available. | Image: Amazon Beginning this season, Amazon Prime Video will be the exclusive home for the NFL's Thursday Night Football. But if you don't want to watch the main show featuring two of the biggest names in sports broadcasting, the company will be offering alternative streams, including ones starring the hugely popular YouTube channel Dude Perfect.The Dude Perfect creators built their giant YouTube channel — it has 58 million subscribers — on things like outlandish stunts and trick shot videos, and it seems like they'll be bringing that same energy to their Thursday Night Football broadcasts. “Watch the guys predict what happens in the next play and welcome an entertaining parade of dunk tanks, pudding cannons, special guests, and the occasional world... Continue reading…

Image: Pinterest Today, Pinterest has released a new app on iOS called Shuffles — a collage-style social app where users can create a digital mood board and collaborate with others on the platform, TechCrunch reports. As of today, Shuffles is available via invite, but you can request to be on the app’s wait list.In the standard Pinterest experience, users have the option to save their content, create photo libraries of their pins, and also browse. The app has a number of built-in photo editing features like Cut Out to isolate single objects in a particular photo, Collage to overlap photos and mesh your ideas together, and Animate to put visual effects on objects.According to TechCrunch, the app hails from Pinterest’s TwoTwenty incubator, which was... Continue reading…

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Once upon a time, phones such as the original Motorola Droid had interchangeable batteries. You could keep an extra charged battery on hand and swap them out when needed. It was a lot more convenient and lightweight than dragging around a heavy battery pack, and it kept the phone going strong over the course of the busiest workday.But as phone designs changed over the years, swappable batteries were abandoned by phone manufacturers to keep their phones sleeker and accommodate wraparound screens. Improved battery technology means that most phones will get you through at least a full day’s use — unless you are watching a lot of videos or your device is a year or two old.If your phone is running out of gas before you go to bed, you’ve... Continue reading…

The Xbox Series X is now fairly easy to get, the PS5 is not quite the same. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Back in June, Amazon began offering invite requests for an opportunity to buy the hard-to-get PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles — allowing anyone to try their luck without the stress of a live restock and all the F5 spamming. Now, nearly two months later, Amazon has confirmed via its Amazon Games Twitter account that invites are finally going out for both consoles. These invites will be sent in waves, with another round expected to go out next week.If you receive one of these invites, you will have 72 hours to make the purchase on Amazon’s site from the unique link in the email. Speaking from firsthand experience of the Xbox invite I received today, Amazon’s emails look a little generic — they’re simply from “Amazon.com,” and the... Continue reading…

Image: Netflix Netflix introduces us to Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' six title characters — David, Maine, Dorio, Kiwi, Pilar, and Rebecca — in a chaotic new trailer. The anime, which isn't expected until September, expands on the Cyberpunk universe in a new standalone story that takes place in Night City.While I don't set my expectations particularly high for anime involving Netflix, Edgerunners is different. It comes from Studio Trigger, the studio behind Kill la Kill, and whose co-founder created Gurren Lagann. These are two of some of the most popular and well-known anime series (and two of my personal favorites).In the trailer, you can clearly see Studio Trigger's bold and vibrant art style shine through, and I'm hoping it can provide a more creative... Continue reading…

Photo by BSIP / Universal Images Group via Getty Images The nonprofit that runs the organ transplant network in the United States has out-of-date technology and has never been fully audited by the federal government, according to a confidential report obtained by The Washington Post.The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has two responsibilities: running the logistical system powering organ transplants and deciding how to prioritize organ distribution. The draft report, which was compiled by the White House’s US Digital Service in January 2021, recommended separating out those two elements under two different contracts, The Washington Post says.UNOS gets around $6.5 million each year from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which oversees the transplant system.... Continue reading…

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge As the Russian war in Ukraine drags on, electronic warfare techniques may be giving Russian forces an edge, according to some intelligence analysts.In the latest phase of the war, which is now entering a sixth month of combat, various observers have noted that Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems are playing a greater role.The EW designation refers to a range of hardware and software systems that can jam, intercept, or locate enemy communications. In June, the Associated Press reported that these systems were starting to be used more in eastern Ukraine, where shorter supply lines allowed Russian troops to move the specialized EW equipment closer to the battlefield. Ukrainian officials told AP that GPS jamming of drone guidance... Continue reading…

Sennheiser Momentum 4. | Image: Canada Computers The comfy, classy, premium build of Sennheiser's third-gen Momentum Wireless headphones earned them a spot on our list of the very best noise-canceling cans — but a Canadian retailer leak has just revealed their next iteration will be quite different when they launch later this month.As you can see in the images above and below, the new Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless ditch the adjustable, foldable silver metal band and their whole "classic headphone look" for a swiveling earcup and rounded band design that makes them look a LOT more like competitors from Sony, Bose, Apple, and more. Seriously, just take a look at our list of the best headphones: pretty similar, no? Image: Canada Computers Box and what you get... Continue reading…