The Verge

A plenary meeting during the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Quebec, on December 19th, 2022. | Photo by LARS HAGBERG/AFP via Getty Images More than 190 countries agreed to protect 30 percent of Earth’s lands and waters by the end of the decade at the UN Biodiversity Conference. The historic deal was struck before sunrise today following nearly two weeks of negotiations in Montreal.Each country adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which commits them to achieving over 20 environmental targets by 2030. Altogether, the framework is supposed to stop human beings from driving species to extinction, preserve the planet’s genetic diversity, and ensure that the benefits of that biodiversity are used sustainably and equitably.One of the biggest and most controversial parts of the deal is the provision to “protect” at least 30 percent of land, inland water,... Continue reading…

Sony’s DualSense controllers come in seven color options, and they’re all on sale. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge Attention, fellow deal hunters and cheapskates: it’s the Monday before Christmas, so if you still have gifts to buy, you’d best hurry. Let us help you do that without overspending. Starting things off, Sony’s DualSense controller for the PlayStation 5 and PC is once again on sale for around $49.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. The best part of this deal, aside from the fact that you’re getting up to $25 off, is that every color of the DualSense is discounted.You can choose from the stock white, midnight black, cosmic red, galactic purple, nova pink, starlight blue, and even the most recent gray camouflage. Whether you’re going for a controller in a hue that vividly stands out or one that tactically blends in, you get all the... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Two former Tesla employees are saying they were illegally fired from the company after taking part in an organized effort to publicly criticize Elon Musk, according to Bloomberg.The two employees, both of whom are based in California, have filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board. The firings may have violated federal law protecting employee speech related to working conditions.The employees say they were involved in drafting two letters, one of which asked Tesla to reconsider its return-to-the-office policies and the other highlighting a tweet by Musk that they argue violates the company’s anti-harassment policies. The draft letters were never sent to Tesla executives, according to Bloomberg.“Tesla’s failure to... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Supreme Court has scheduled arguments for two major internet moderation cases in February of 2023. As noted by Bloomberg reporter Greg Stohr, hearings for Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh have been respectively scheduled for February 21st and February 22nd, respectively.The two cases could result in a fundamental change to how platforms can recommend content, particularly material produced by terrorist organizations. Both stem from lawsuits claiming that YouTube, Twitter, and other platforms provided support for Islamic State attacks by failing to remove — and, in some cases, recommending — accounts and posts by terrorists. Gonzalez v. Google’s plaintiffs claim these recommendations shouldn’t be covered by Section 230 of... Continue reading…

Ubisoft games originally purchased on Google Stadia have started to appear on users’ Ubisoft Connect accounts. | Image: Ubisoft Ubisoft has started handing out PC versions of games originally purchased on Google Stadia in preparation for Stadia’s shutdown on January 18th, 2023.Ubisoft previously announced back in September that any Ubisoft titles purchased on the cloud gaming platform would be eligible to transfer over to PC, promising to share “specific details as well as the impact for Ubisoft+ subscribers at a later date.” 9to5Google now reports that this migration process quietly started on Friday, December 16th.Games that support cloud cross-save may have saved game data ported over to a user’s Ubisoft Connect accountUsers have seen the game licenses transfer automatically to PC via Ubisoft Connect (as opposed to individual game codes being manually... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Epic Games and the Federal Trade Commission reached a $520 million settlement over claims the Fortnite developer broke online privacy protection laws for kids and tricked players into buying in-game items (via The Wall Street Journal). The settlement includes a record $275 million penalty to settle alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) and $245 million over a purchasing setup that could trick players and allow them to buy things by accident.Fortnite made over $9 billion during its first two years in existence.In its complaint, the FTC alleges Epic collected personal information from Fortnite players under the age of 13 without their parent’s knowledge or consent. The agency also claims Epic harmed... Continue reading…

The OnePlus 11 5G and OnePlus Buds Pro 2 will debut in New Delhi come early February. | Image: OnePlus Got your 2023 planner in hand? Good, because OnePlus wants you to save the date for its global flagship phone launch on February 7th. Dubbed Cloud 11, the event will take place in New Delhi and will debut the OnePlus 11 5G and OnePlus Buds Pro 2.A teaser image accompanying Monday’s news lines up with previously leaked renders, showing a redesigned camera bump. Separately, company spokesperson Spenser Blank confirmed that a Hasselblad-branded camera system and the much-beloved alert slider will return on the OnePlus 11 — both features omitted from the OnePlus 10T.Per usual, there’s not much in the way of concrete details at this point. A tagline for the event teaser reads “Witness the Shape of Power,” which probably has something to... Continue reading…

You won’t need a nightlight in the bathroom with this toilet. | Image: Kohler Have you ever sat on the toilet, pondering your day, using your phone even though that’s kind of gross to do on the john, avoiding everyone in the house, and thought, “I wish Alexa was in here with me?” That is, what I assume, the designers of the Kohler Numi 2.0 Smart Toilet were thinking when they made this $11,500 toilet that has Alexa inside.Kohler first showed off the Numi 2.0 at CES way back in 2019, and not a whole lot has changed from that initial announcement. It still has Alexa built-in, and it still has lots of LED lights and speakers, so any guests who come over will know you appreciate the techier things in life. There doesn’t appear to be a warning built into the toilet telling users Alexa is listening to their bowel... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Nvidia is planning to remove GameStream, a feature for streaming PC games, from its Shield TVs and tablets. GameStream has been a feature of Nvidia Shield devices ever since they were portable, allowing Shield owners to stream games to their TV from a PC at up to 60fps in 4K resolution.Shield owners will be disappointed to hear that Nvidia isn’t just discontinuing its GameStream feature, but it’s actually going to remove it from devices. An update due in mid-February will totally remove the GameStream feature, in a bizarre move after nearly 10 years.Nvidia recommends Steam Link insteadNvidia is recommending that Shield users switch to Steam Link, which is a similar way of streaming PC games to a Shield device. You’ll need the Steam... Continue reading…

Meeting organizers can apply a sensitivity label to meeting invites from Outlook or Teams to set meeting protection defaults, such as preventing chat and setting encryption for meeting video and audio. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft Teams Premium is now available for public preview, enabling users to test AI-powered smart features such as live translations, custom meeting branding, and advanced meeting protections.Microsoft Teams Premium is an add-on for the Microsoft Teams conferencing service that introduces a host of new features that make meetings on the platform “more personalized, intelligent, and secure,” according to a new Microsoft blog post. The preview is available as a 30-day free trial via the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.Features available to try out include live translation of 40 languages into captions, custom meeting templates, and advanced webinar experiences (which includes registration of up to one thousand attendees, interactivity... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Update December 19th, 2:45AM ET: Twitter has deleted @TwitterSafety’s tweets and a webpage detailing its new policy after Elon Musk apologized and said major policy changes would be put to a vote. The story that follows reflects the policy as of Sunday evening.Twitter will no longer allow users to promote their presence on certain social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr, and Post. In a post outlining these changes, Twitter says it will take action against users that violate this policy “at both the Tweet level and the account level.”This means users can no longer include links to their profiles on other social networks in their Twitter bio, nor can they send out tweets directing users to... Continue reading…

The 2019 Pro Display XDR alongside the Mac Pro. | Photo by Avery White for The Verge Apple’s working on “multiple new” external monitors outfitted with the company’s in-house silicon, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. This lineup’s expected to include an updated version of the Pro Display XDR, which was last released in 2019.Gurman says the addition of Apple’s own chips should help the displays “rely less on resources from the attached computer.” Apple similarly incorporated the iPhone 11’s A13 Bionic chip into the Studio Display it launched back in March, allowing the monitor to support certain features like Center Stage, spatial audio, and “Hey Siri” voice commands.Besides the rumored Pro Display XDR, it’s still not entirely clear what other kinds of monitors Apple has planned. Supply chain analyst... Continue reading…

Ford’s raising the price of its F-150 Lightning pickup yet again — this time, by about $4,000 (via CNBC). The increase affects both the entry-level Pro model for business customers and the consumer-focused XLT trim with no added options, which now start at $55,974 and $63,474, respectively.For comparison, the Pro work truck initially started at $39,974 when it launched back in April, but subsequent price hikes brought the price up to $46,974 in August and $51,974 in October. The base XLT, on the other hand, launched with a sticker price of $52,974 before that increased to $59,474 several months later. Screenshot: Emma Roth / The Verge The price increase only affects the Pro and XLT models. “Pricing adjustments... Continue reading…

Pornhub’s channel had nearly 900,000 subscribers before YouTube removed it. | Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images YouTube has removed Pornhub’s channel over “multiple” community guideline violations, as first reported by Variety. According to Google, Pornhub’s account violated YouTube’s external link policy, which prohibits users from linking to content that’s not allowed on the platform, such as pornography.“Upon review, we terminated the channel Pornhub Official following multiple violations of our Community Guidelines,” YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon tells The Verge. “We enforce our policies equally for everyone, and channels that repeatedly violate or are dedicated to violative content are terminated.”Pornhub’s YouTube channel, which had nearly 900,000 subscribers before it was taken down, posted safe-for-work content promoting the site and... Continue reading…

Apple’s exit leaves Amazon and Google as potential Sunday Ticket candidates. | Photo by Christopher Mast/Getty Images Apple has exited talks to secure the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, according to a report from Puck’s Dylan Byers (via 9to5Mac). Sources tell Byers that Apple backed out of the deal because it doesn’t “see the logic,” not because it can’t afford the NFL’s rumored $3.5 billion asking price.The Athletic’s Daniel Kaplan backs up Byers’ reporting, saying on Twitter that he’s told, “Apple has indeed bowed out.” While Apple was once considered the front-runner in Sunday Ticket negotiations, talks between the iPhone maker and the NFL dragged on over the past several months, with a November report from The Athletic indicating that Apple’s expectations didn’t align with that of the NFL.

Bumper frames, stands, and grips abound for the case averse among us. Grips, wallets, skins — and even a few cases — for people who can’t stand putting a case on their phone. Continue reading…

Logitech’s Streamcam, one of our favorite webcams, is down to just $99.99. | Image: Logitech Tis the weekend before Christmas, and if you’re now starting to panic because you’ve yet to decide what you want to gift, we’ve got your back. True, the clock is ticking, but you still have a few days left to order and receive a gift on time. What’s more, we’re currently seeing some great deals on popular presents for all budgets, so you can save, too.If your giftee is a content creator who produces videos, or just want to look good on video calls, Logitech’s Streamcam is currently on sale for $99.99 ($70 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is a new all-time low. It’s one of the best webcams available thanks to its sharp picture quality and a slew of extra features, making it a great choice for those who need a high-quality webcam.The... Continue reading…

John Carmack onstage. | GABRIELLE LURIE/AFP via Getty Images John Carmack, a titan of the technology industry known for his work on virtual reality as well as classic games like Doom and Quake, is stepping down from his role as a consulting CTO at Meta, as reported by Business Insider and The New York Times.Carmack originally joined Oculus as CTO in 2013, after helping to promote the original Oculus Rift prototypes that he received from Palmer Luckey, and got pulled into Meta when the company (then Facebook) acquired Oculus in 2014. However, in 2019, he took a reduced role at the company, stepping down as the CTO of Oculus to move into a new consulting CTO role.At the time, he said he was going to go work on artificial general intelligence — and this August, we learned that work would not be... Continue reading…

Get a new game every day until January 5th. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Epic Games is once again giving away a bunch of free games over the course of the holiday season. Technically, the company will be giving 15 free games on the Epic Games Store, but since the sale kicked off on Thursday, if you missed the first freebie (Bloons TD 6), you won’t be able to claim it.As I write this on Friday, the current free game is Horizon Chase Turbo, which typically costs $19.99. Epic isn’t revealing what the next game is until it’s available at 11AM ET Saturday. If you want to grab the rest of the free games over the course of the promotion, you might want to set a daily reminder to visit the Store’s homepage at that time.The freebies are part of the Epic Games Store’s annual holiday sale. In a blog post, Epic says... Continue reading…

Silver Surfer stars in the game’s current season. | Image: Second Dinner Marvel Snap is finally getting a way to battle against your friends sometime soon. In a roadmap for the game shared Friday, developers Second Dinner provided details about the mode, titled Battle Mode vs. Friends, and said it aims to launch it in “the next month or two.”Currently, Marvel Snap pits you against a random opponent every time you press the play button. But in Battle Mode, you’ll play a series of games with a friend to see who can outlast the other. Both players will start a match with 10 health, and whoever wins a game does damage to the other based on the number in the glowy cube at the top of the screen you typically hit when you want to Snap and up the stakes. To pair up with a friend, you’ll either create a match or join... Continue reading…

As cars add more and more automated driving features, how can car companies be certain these systems won’t be misused to wreak havoc on our roads?They can’t, actually. That’s why more and more cars with driving-assistance systems are keeping an eye on the human behind the wheel, as well as what’s ahead on the road.Volvo and Geely’s electric car venture Polestar has announced that audiences at CES will get a taste of the newest driver-monitoring system from Swedish technology company Smart Eye. That technology will be found on the upcoming Polestar 3, the company’s upcoming mass-market electric crossover and ostensibly its most important vehicle to date.More importantly, driver-monitoring Smart Eye technology will be a standard... Continue reading…

A Eufy camera in the rain. | Image: Eufy It’s been two weeks since we reported that Anker’s Eufy lied to us about the security of its security cameras, and we’ve been pushing the company for answers ever since. But the company hasn’t answered a single one of our questions — in fact, I haven’t gotten a single reply since December 1st.Today, on a whim, I thought I’d take a peek at Eufy’s website... maybe find some answers there? Instead, I found that Anker has quietly scrubbed all of its most promising privacy promises from its “privacy commitment” page. It got nerfed — hard.Here are 10 things that were written on Eufy’s privacy commitment page as of December 8th, 2022, that are no longer there today:

I can’t wait to take on some robot dinos with my friends. | Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment Horizon Zero Dawn developer Guerrilla Games is working on a new Horizon online multiplayer game, according to a tweet about jobs at the studio (via Kotaku).“A new internal team is developing a separate Online Project set in Horizon’s universe,” an image in the tweet reads. “Featuring a new cast of characters and a unique stylized look, friends will be able to explore the majestic wilds of Horizon together.”

Seems like we’ll be waiting a little bit longer to hear about the next home for NFL Sunday Ticket. | Photo by Christopher Mast / Getty Images Apple’s long-rumored deal for NFL Sunday Ticket may not happen this year after all. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this summer that the NFL expected to pick where the lucrative broadcasting rights would land by the fall. But with less than a week until winter and a little over two weeks left in the year, it seems increasingly unlikely that an NFL Sunday Ticket deal will be done before 2023.A new report from Sportico has some updates about the status of the next deal. Negotiations are at “a very critical point” for the NFL, Goodell apparently said Wednesday, though he also noted that “our decisions are not based on timelines.” Apple is still expected to get the rights, but one of its requests would be a giant ask: the company... Continue reading…

Lenovo’s Smart Clock 2 with its wireless charging dock has fallen to $24.99, which is a screaming deal that saves you $65. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy Once December gets going, it starts to feel like time quickly accelerates, and before you know it, your remaining holiday gift shopping starts bumping up against shipping deadlines. But if you’re in need of some simple and easy gift recommendations that don’t cost too many pennies, you’re in luck. In addition to our extensive collection of holiday gift guides, we’re also keeping a watchful eye out for great gifts that are currently on sale.So to help you “win” this year’s holiday gift exchange, we’ve hand-picked a collection of gadgets and tech-adjacent deals under $25 that may make a great present for all types of people in your life. Some of these discounts may even make it seem like you spent more than you actually did, but we’ll... Continue reading…

Image: Getty The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation into General Motors’ Cruise, citing incidents in which the company’s autonomous vehicles have blocked the road or caused rear-end collisions.NHTSA is examining incidents in which Cruise’s vehicles “engage in inappropriately hard braking or become immobilized.” There are three incidents that the agency is probing in which Cruise vehicles were struck from behind after braking suddenly. In each incident, a safety driver was present in the vehicle.“Although the two types of incidents appear to be distinct, they each result in the Cruise vehicles becoming unexpected roadway obstacles,” NHTSA states in its report. “This may introduce multiple potential hazards... Continue reading…