The Verge

Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Joe Rogan has issued a response to the ongoing controversy that has seen artists including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell removing their music from Spotify because of not wanting to share a platform with his popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. In a nearly ten-minute video uploaded to Instagram, Rogan defends his decision to book contentious guests, apologizes to Spotify for the backlash, and details how the podcast may change in the future.“These podcasts are very strange because they’re just conversations,” Rogan says. “And oftentimes I have no idea what I’m going to talk about until I sit down and talk to people. And that’s why some of my ideas are not that prepared or fleshed out because I’m literally having them in real time,... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple will now let developers distribute unlisted apps through the App Store that only users with a direct link can access (via MacRumors). While unlisted apps aren’t discoverable by the general public through search results, App Store categories, charts, or recommendations, they’re available to administrators via the Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager.Unlisted apps are ideal for “limited audiences”Apple notes that unlisted apps are ideal for “limited audiences,” such as guests at a special event, members of an organization, research study participants, or a specific group of employees. To make an app unlisted and obtain a link, developers will first need to submit a request to Apple.Apps that have only been approved for... Continue reading…

Screenshot: Halo via Paramount Plus Paramount Plus debuted two new trailers for the long-awaited live-action Halo series, revealing its fast-approaching March 24th, 2022 release date.The first video is a one-minute teaser that previews the longer trailer originally set to debut during tonight’s AFC championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals — it flashes between clips of the live-action series and both teams on the field (via IGN). At around the 52-second mark, you can hear the announcer state the fast-approaching release date.

Image: Joe Rogan Update January 30th, 3:50PM ET: After this post was published, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced that Spotify is publicly posting its Platform Rules, and that it will “add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19.”Spotify employees are vocally upset inside the company over the streaming platform’s deal with Joe Rogan due to his views on COVID vaccines, but their executive leadership has mostly stayed quiet both inside and outside the firm. Today, however, Dustee Jenkins, Spotify’s head of global communications and public relations, posted a message to the company Slack addressing employee concerns about Joe Rogan’s presence on the platform after Neil Young removed his music in protest.In... Continue reading…

Spotify will now add COVID-19 content advisories to podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19 following criticism of the platform’s handling of the controversial content in the Joe Rogan Experience. The advisory will lead to Spotify’s COVID-19 hub, which contains credible and up-to-date information about the pandemic.To increase transparency around its treatment of the issue, Spotify is making its COVID-19 content policy and general platform rules publicly available on its site. Spotify says anyone who breaks the rules may have the content in question removed, with repeat offenders potentially having their accounts suspended or banned. The Verge obtained this policy ahead of the platform’s public release, and an internal memo revealed that... Continue reading…

Brené Brown is the host of popular podcasts Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead. | Photo by Rick Kern / WireImage Popular podcast host and author Brené Brown says she’s not going to release any new podcast episodes “until further notice” and didn’t offer a specific reason why. Brown’s pause on her podcasts comes shortly after both Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music off Spotify in protest of Joe Rogan’s controversial podcast series.Brown signed a multi-year deal with Spotify in 2020, and is the host of Spotify exclusive podcasts Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead. “I will not be releasing any podcasts until further notice,” Brown wrote on Twitter. “To our #UnlockingUs and #DaretoLead communities, I’m sorry and I’ll let you know if and when that changes.”

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge AT&T has a new Unlimited Max prepaid plan with 5G, and it’s available at Walmart for $45 / month. The plan comes with unlimited 5G data, unlimited talk and text, 100GB of cloud storage, HD streaming, and 10GB of available data when using your phone as a mobile hot spot.AT&T’s lowest-priced unlimited 5G plan available outside of Walmart (which doesn’t even come with HD streaming) will cost you $65 / month. While the Walmart-only Unlimited Max plan does allow for HD streaming, it streams in standard definition by default. You can stream in HD by turning off Stream Saver (a mode that plays video in 480p to save data) on AT&T’s prepaid site, or by calling 611. For comparison, several standard prepaid unlimited 5G plans, like Metro by... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced over $1.2 billion in funding through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to expand broadband service across 32 states. The FCC calls this “the largest funding round to date,” and notes 23 broadband companies will provide service to more than one million new areas.In addition, the FCC also introduced the Rural Broadband Accountability Plan, which will double the number of audits and verifications performed this year in comparison to 2021. It will also require the FCC to make the results of verifications, audits as well as speed and latency tests public on the Universal Service Administration Company’s (USAC) website.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge T-Mobile will fire corporate employees who aren’t fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by April 2nd, according to an internal email viewed by Bloomberg. T-Mobile’s head of human resources, Deeanne King, reportedly says employees who’ve only received one dose as of February 21st will be put on unpaid leave.There will be “limited” exceptions for certain employees“T-Mobile’s badge-controlled offices continue to be accessible only to those who are vaccinated against COVID-19,” T-Mobile said in a statement to The Verge, referencing the digital pass system the company uses to keep track of employees’ vaccination status. “We have shared with employees that we are requiring office workers to be fully vaccinated by April 2.” The mobile carrier... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are reportedly looking for alternatives to the controversial facial recognition software ID.me, according to a report by Bloomberg. As Bloomberg notes, the agencies didn’t cite a reason for the possible change, and also didn’t mention any privacy concerns about the service.The IRS can’t establish its own software due to a “lack of funding”“The IRS is consistently looking for ways to make the filing process more secure,” Treasury Department spokesperson Alexandra LaManna said in a statement to Bloomberg. “We believe in the importance of protecting the privacy of taxpayers, while also ensuring criminals are not able to gain access to taxpayer accounts.” LaManna also told B... Continue reading…

Logi’s popular, 1080p webcam is an ace when it comes to picture quality. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend deals! While some of us on the East Coast may be busy shoveling snow this Saturday morning, we hope many of you are having a restful weekend chock-full of deals and discounts.Kicking things off on the deals front is Logitech’s StreamCam, which is currently on sale in its graphite colorway at Amazon for $108. That’s about $62 off the regular price of this excellent webcam, one we consider to be the best webcam you can buy in terms of image quality. The StreamCam is Logitech’s flagship 1080p camera and is able to achieve 60 frames per second, allowing for a smooth, crisp look. The Capture software can also keep you centered in the frame, much like the Center Stage feature found on Apple’s newer iPads, and... Continue reading…

Joni Mitchell has decided to remove all of her music from Spotify, joining Neil Young in protest of Joe Rogan’s podcast that Young says spreads misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines (via The Wall Street Journal).“I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue”“I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify,” The Canadian singer-songwriter writes in a post on her website. “Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”Mitchell also includes a link to an open letter to Spotify, which was signed by dozens of medical and scientific professionals... Continue reading…

A USB-C power meter cable charging up a Skydio 2 drone. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge While I’m waiting for the adapter that’ll turn my DeWalt power tool batteries into a powerful laptop charger, I thought I might introduce you to another intriguing USB-C trend. You can now buy $20 USB-C cables that come complete with their own wattage meter, letting you see just how fast they’re charging your devices.I bought mine a month ago — it took its sweet time getting here — but so far, I’m impressed! For the past couple of days, I’ve been plugging it into everything to see how much it draws: 18W for my V2 Nintendo Switch, 30-31W for my DJI Mini 2 drone, 2.5-3W for one of my PS5’s DualSense controllers, 54-65W for my XPS 15, all the way up to 99W for a 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro or a Skydio 2 drone. Or, down to 0.5W while... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Epic Games may have largely lost its major lawsuit against Apple, but it’s not going out without a fight — and it has some major support in its corner. Soon after the Epic Games v. Apple ruling was issued, Epic appealed, and on January 27th, a large number of organizations filed amicus briefs in support of Epic’s battle, including a coalition of 35 state attorneys general, Microsoft, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).During the fight, Epic was trying to make the case that Apple has a monopoly over iOS apps, and was asking for changes that would effectively force Apple to take a smaller percentage of all the transactions that go through that store. If Epic were successful in pushing Apple to accept alternate payment... Continue reading…

Image: Google Life360, a safety and tracking service that helps its users to keep tabs on the whereabouts of family and friends who also use the app, is scaling back its user data sales business to just two partners: Allstate Arity and Placer.ai (via The Markup). This news comes after the company announced a deal to acquire the item tracker Tile in November and a December report from The Markup said Life360 was the source of precise location data to as many as a dozen data brokers. That report cited sources within the industry who called Life360 one of the largest sources of data.Life360 says Tile data will “never” be monetized or soldAt the time, CEO Chris Hulls pushed back on that assertion, saying that “with approximately 30 million active users,... Continue reading…

The Amazon Labor Union recently announced it would be holding an election. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a complaint against Amazon, alleging that the company illegally threatened, surveilled, and interrogated workers who were trying to start a union at its Staten Island, New York facilities. The company also reportedly hired a union avoidance consultant who told workers that the union organizers were “thugs,” according to Motherboard.The NLRB complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The Verge, details other alleged incidents between Amazon and union organizers, including multiple times when security guards kept organizers from distributing pamphlets that discussed unions. The company also allegedly “solicited grievances from employees with an express promise to remedy them if they... Continue reading…

California can enforce its net neutrality law | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that California’s net neutrality law can remain in place, upholding a lower court decision. California’s 2018 law is the toughest in the country, and was signed into law a year after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed the federal Open Internet Order. That 2015 order put into place strict net neutrality rules barring internet providers from blocking or throttling legal apps and websites. It also banned prioritization of paid content by ISPs.California’s law also bars throttling and speed lanes, and not long after the law was passed, the Department of Justice under former President Trump sued the state, arguing that the law was pre-empted by the FCC’s 2017 repeal of the federal... Continue reading…

One of Android’s co-founders is now working as CTO of Android Tablets. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge One of Android’s original founders, Rich Miner, is working on Android tablets, a fact that was recently revealed in a ComputerWorld report digging into Google’s history with tablets. Miner’s LinkedIn page appears to confirm it, listing his current title as “CTO Android Tablets,” and says he’s been in that role since March, 2021. Google told The Verge in an email that his specific role is “leading software development for Android for large screens” in the “Platforms and Ecosystems team.”Given that someone pivotal to Android’s history is now working on tablets, and some job listings Google has posted, it seems like the company may be doing something interesting with Android beyond phones and foldables. Miner worked on Android when it was... Continue reading…

Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK Inc./TV Tokyo While Pokémon Arceus is revealing all new things about the franchise’s past, artist Daniel Arsham’s next collaboration with The Pokémon Company is all about a ruined, fossilized future.Building on the larger themes of his previous two Pokémon projects, “Relics of Kanto Through Time” and “Time Dilation,” Arsham’s upcoming “A Ripple in Time” exhibition opening in Tokyo will feature a variety of Pokémon works of art meant to evoke the passage of time. In addition to paintings, drawings, and Arsham’s signature Pokémon statues inspired by architecture and the concept of fictional archaeology, “A Ripple in Time” will also feature an “animated work” produced by Arsham and Kunihiko Yuyama, former general director of the Pokémon anime who now... Continue reading…

Communications weren’t always solid, but they’re picking back up. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Regulators, carriers, and the airline industry seem to be figuring out the details surrounding the rollout of C-band 5G and its potential effects on air travel. According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s latest statement, “through continued technical collaboration, the FAA, Verizon, and AT&T have agreed on steps that will enable more aircraft to safely use key airports while also enabling more towers to deploy 5G service.”Carriers “have provided more precise data about the exact location of wireless transmitters and supported more thorough analysis of how 5G C-band signals interact with sensitive aircraft instruments,” according to an FAA statement released on Friday, which you can read in full below. Before AT&T and Verizon l... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge I’ve written many times that multipoint support has been a signature feature of Jabra earbuds for a long time now. So it was a little disappointing when the company’s Elite 7 Pro and Elite 7 Active buds were released last year without the ability to connect to two audio sources at once. Jabra had promised all along that it would eventually enable multipoint by way of a firmware update, and today’s the day that new software is making its way to customers.If you own either set of Jabra’s premium 2021 earbuds, you can now head into the Sound Plus app for Android or iOS and update the earbuds to gain multipoint support and a few other new features. Early indications are that multipoint is working as expected.Jabra says the latest firmware... Continue reading…

Photo by Chaim Gartenberg There have been some exciting features announced for the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 15.4, including the ability to use Face ID with a mask and to access some snazzy new emoji. If you can’t wait, you can test them in the first available public beta right now — assuming you’re willing to risk encountering possible bugs. Here, we walk you through the steps for installing the software.Before we get started, here’s the usual word of warning about installing unfinished beta software: these releases may seem stable for general use, but they could contain some bugs. Your experience may differ from others, depending on the apps you use. And finally, if you do decide to install, we suggest backing up your device’s data... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge WhatsApp’s chief has a message for those who have been clamoring for a native iPad app: don’t give up hope.“People have wanted an iPad app for a long time.” Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp at its parent company Meta, told The Verge during an interview this week tied to a new US marketing push for the messaging app. “We’d love to do it.”Like Instagram for the iPad, a version of WhatsApp for Apple’s tablet has long eluded users despite being a heavily requested feature. And while Cathcart wouldn’t go so far as to commit to the release of an iPad version, his comments suggest it’s possible that one will be built in the near future, especially now that WhatsApp has built the underlying technology needed for such a client to work.“If I... Continue reading…

Photo by Gary Miller/FilmMagic Even after departing the platform, Neil Young isn’t done criticizing Spotify yet. Today, the rock legend has published another letter on his website, describing Spotify as a purveyor of “more songs and less sound.” Young says that he “felt better” after pulling his music catalog from the leading streaming music service earlier this week while noting that he’s strongly opposed to censorship and that “private companies have the right to choose what they profit from, just as I can choose not to have my music support a platform that disseminates harmful information.”Throughout the latest post, Young — a longtime advocate of hi-fi sound — heavily criticizes Spotify for its lossy audio quality. “Amazon, Apple Music, and Qobuz deliver up to... Continue reading…

The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices’ case is closing its case. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A Singaporean employment watchdog has closed an investigation against Ubisoft Singapore that was opened following allegations of a toxic studio culture and says it will not be taking action against the company. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) investigation was opened last summer after Kotaku published an extensive article detailing alleged issues at the company based on interviews with more than 20 current and former employees. The claims included racial pay disparity, sexual harassment, and an HR department that allegedly took little action in response to reports.The TAFEP shared two key findings in a press release sent to The Verge. The first was that “Ubisoft Singapore has a structured... Continue reading…

Whinstone CEO Chad Harris poses for a portrait in a room with Bitcoin mining machines during a tour at the Whinstone US Bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, Texas, on October 10, 2021 | Photo by MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP via Getty Images Democratic lawmakers are pushing Bitcoin mining companies in the US to divulge how much electricity they use in an effort to assess how that will impact nearby residents and the environment. Eight members of Congress sent letters yesterday to six companies that mine Bitcoin in the US asking them about the energy and environmental impact of their operations.“Given the extraordinarily high energy usage and carbon emissions associated with Bitcoin mining, mining operations raise concerns about their impacts on the global environment, local ecosystems, and consumer electricity costs,” the letters say. The letters were signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Margaret Hassan (D-NH), and Ed... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Slack, the instant messaging app of choice for many companies, has probably become a bigger part of your life if you’re working from home. And while Slack is usually used for work, it’s also very useful for conversing with friends and family. Slack offers paid plans, but anyone can sign up for the free version and create a workspace, a virtual space where you can set up different conversations and projects.Each of those conversations and projects on Slack are called channels. These channels function like chat rooms or group chats. While there isn’t a limit to the number of channels you can make or private messages you can send in Slack, the free version will only let you see the last 10,000 messages sent in your workspace.Here’s an... Continue reading…

Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge Waymo filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles to keep driverless car crash data from being made public. The autonomous vehicle operator, which is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, claims that such data should be considered a trade secret. The news of the lawsuit was first reported by Business Insider and later by the Los Angles Times.California’s DMV oversees the largest autonomous vehicle testing program in the country, with over 60 companies permitted to operate test vehicles on public roads. Only a handful are approved to operate fully autonomous vehicles without safety drivers at the wheel, and even fewer have been approved to deploy vehicles for commercial purposes.Waymo is seeking to keep... Continue reading…

Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images China has released its plans for space exploration over the next five years, detailing ambitious goals that include strengthening its space infrastructure and developing a next-generation spacecraft for carrying people to space. The country is also researching how it could possibly land people on the Moon in the coming years.The roadmap, detailed in a new white paper released today, would continue China’s ambitious progress in the realm of aerospace. Over the last few decades, the country has placed significant emphasis on expanding its space capabilities, increasing the frequency and scope of its launches, and pushing into new areas such as the robotic exploration of Mars. China has also mounted a long-term campaign of lunar... Continue reading…

Last weekend, it felt like everyone I knew was sending me the same link. “The Problem With NFTs,” a long video essay by the Canadian media critic Dan Olson, ricocheted around all corners of the tech world since it was uploaded on Friday. (It now has 2.6 million views and climbing.) Over 138 meticulously researched minutes, Olson traces the history of the 2008 financial crisis, the creation of Bitcoin and Ethereum, and the rise of NFTs and DAOs, and reaches the conclusion that what we have taken to calling “Web3” is effectively beyond saving: the technology is too broken, and its creators too indifferent to its failures, for it to ever to live up to the promise of its most starry-eyed backers.Few of Olson’s criticisms are entirely new,... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Qubit Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, has become the latest victim of a high-value theft, with hackers stealing around $80 million in cryptocurrency on Thursday.The value of cryptocurrency stolen makes this the largest hack of 2022 so far.Qubit Finance acknowledge the hack in an incident report published through Medium. According to the report, the hack occurred at around 5PM ET on the evening of January 27th.Qubit provides a service known as a “bridge” between different blockchains, effectively meaning that deposits made in one cryptocurrency can be withdrawn in another. Qubit Finance operates a bridge between Ethereum and the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network.Analysis produced by CertiK, a blockchain auditing and... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge | Photo by Vivian Zink/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Every Friday, The Verge publishes our flagship podcast, The Vergecast, where we discuss the week in tech news with the reporters and editors covering the biggest stories.This week, it’s time for earnings reports again! The Verge’s Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and Tom Warren look at how profitable the big tech companies like Microsoft, Samsung, Intel, and Tesla were in Q4 of 2021. The crew discusses the surprises, the non-surprises, as well as upcoming plans for these companies for 2022 and beyond.Later in the show, Casey Newton, contributing editor and editor of Platformer, joins the show to discuss Spotify’s latest controversy regarding Joe Rogan’s podcast, leading to musician Neil Young removing his music from the platform. Will this... Continue reading…

The most important button on the original Xbox wasn’t the power button: it was the button to eject the disc tray.Conceptually, this doesn’t make sense. Of course the power button should be the most important button — it turns on (and off) the whole console. But that attitude is steeped in our understanding of modern devices, where our games and apps are far more self-contained than they were during the original Xbox’s heyday.The console’s design reflects the eject button’s priority. The disc eject button is bigger, higher up, and surrounded by an LED ring in the console’s iconic green glow, drawing even more attention to it.The reasoning here is simple: the original Xbox (like its contemporaries and predecessors) was useless without... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Now that we’re spending more time indoors, we’re finding new platforms — and new ways to use old platforms — to stay in touch, whether it’s for work or with friends. This is the case with Slack, an instant-messaging platform that functions somewhere in the space between email and text messages. Designed for quick communication, Slack became an important tool for a lot of workplaces well before everyone started working from home. But you can use it for pretty much anything: friends, group activities, clubs, or online communities.Slack has a free version and offers several paid plans. You start by setting up a workspace (which is your main area of operations and contains your network of contacts) on Slack. In your workspace, you create... Continue reading…

The game plays much better than I expected. Fortnite hasn’t been available on iOS since Apple yanked it from the App Store in August 2020, but I’ve been able to play it on my iPhone once again thanks to a closed beta on Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud gaming service. While it’s not quite as seamless an experience as using a native app, this GeForce Now loophole works a lot better than I expected.With this closed beta, you’ll be playing a mobile-optimized version of the game. If you’ve tried Fortnite on iOS or Android before, the layout should feel familiar — the experience is well-designed for touch, with easy-to-navigate menus and large (though finicky) onscreen controls. This GeForce Now version also supports controllers, and I’ve played most matches with my iPhone plugged into my... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge With more than 2 billion users, WhatsApp is already one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. But its largest markets are all outside of the US. Now, Facebook, the parent company of WhatsApp that recently rebranded to Meta, is hoping to change that.Starting this weekend, Meta is kicking off the first-ever US marketing push for WhatsApp, focusing on the privacy offered by the app’s encryption. The first TV ad will air Sunday during the AFC Championship Game, comparing unencrypted messages to a stranger opening your physical mail. Similar ads touting WhatsApp’s privacy will soon start appearing on billboards around the country and online.The goal of the marketing push is to get more people in the US to switch to WhatsApp by... Continue reading…

“We Love Neil” — subtle stuff. | Image: Apple Music / The Verge Earlier this week, Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify after falling out with the platform over its hosting of Joe Rogan and COVID misinformation. So now, of course, rival streamer Apple Music is courting Young and his fans, sending out tweets, playlists, and even push notifications to brand itself as “The home of Neil Young.”It’s all a bit of theatrical silliness, of course. Neil Young is a legendary songwriter, yes, but his presence or absence won’t decide the fate of this or that streaming platform. He’s no Kanye or Taylor Swift. Instead, Apple is simply indulging in the time-honored corporate tradition of inserting itself into a relevant news cycle while the going is good.The company’s not been subtle about it either. It even... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple made more money than ever during the holiday season, and its growth during 2021 has helped the company add 150 million more active devices. During an earnings call with investors last night, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple now has 1.8 billion active devices.That’s up from the 1.65 billion Apple reported a year ago, and the 1.5 billion active devices in January 2020. While Cook didn’t delve deeper into the device details, Apple crossed the 1 billion active iPhones milestone a year ago, after selling its billionth iPhone in 2016 and then hitting 900 million active iPhone users in 2019. Apple counts a device as active as long as it has engaged with an Apple service within the past 90 days, so the 1.8 billion number covers a... Continue reading…

Logitech’s G413 TKL. | Image: Logitech Logitech has announced a pair of new wired mechanical keyboards, G413 SE and G413 TKL. The first is a fullsize keyboard costing $79.99, and the second is a tenkeyless model, which omits the numpad for a more compact footprint and costs $69.99.The G413 SE and G413 TKL are interesting for a couple of reasons. First is that unlike many of Logitech’s other keyboards, these designs are relatively understated. The cases are a simple black-brushed aluminum-magnesium alloy with a plain Logitech G logo on the top right. Meanwhile, the keycaps use a simple black design and are made of durable PBT plastic with transparent lettering that lets the keyboard’s white backlighting shine through. Image: Logitech There’s all a... Continue reading…

A leaked render of the unannounced Pixel 6A. | Image: Steve Hemmerstoffer / 91Mobiles A Google-produced coloring book may have just offered the first official mention of the Pixel 6A, the rumored affordable followup to last year’s flagship Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, Droid-Life reports. The coloring book was sent out alongside a Nest Audio smart speaker to members of Google’s Pixel Superfans group, which was launched last year to provide a “VIP experience for Pixel lovers” including access to “limited-edition swag.”Images of the coloring book shared by Droid-Life show a variety of black and white sketches of Google devices like phones, smart displays, and security cameras in need of some color. A table-of-contents lists a “Pixel 6A,” a phone which Google has never publicly mentioned. Unfortunately, turning to pages 6 and 7... Continue reading…

Power tool batteries are some of the densest lithium-ion packs lying around your house (or construction site), but they rarely play nice with the kind of chargers and batteries that top up your laptop, phone and PC. That might be about to change — Ryobi and DeWalt are testing the waters with USB-C powered battery options, and one of them looks seriously neat.It’s easy to argue that Ryobi has taken the idea the furthest; as Gizmodo reports today, it’s the first major manufacturer to stick a USB-C charging port on the battery itself, letting you use the same charger to top up your power tool as you’d use on a laptop. Image by Ryobi But these 4V 2Ah batteries look a little bit weaksauce to me — they’re not compatible... Continue reading…

“About 53% of the regional fleet” is facing restrictions. | Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images In the lead-up to AT&T and Verizon’s rollout of their upgraded 5G C-band equipment, it seemed like the sky was falling.For years, the Federal Aviation Administration and airline organizations had voiced concerns that the upgraded cellular tech could interfere with vital safety equipment on planes, while the FCC and carriers insisted it was safe, pointing to similar rollouts in dozens of other countries. Even after several delays, there were still last-minute deals being made between carriers and regulators, with airlines banding together to warn that the activation could cause a “catastrophic disruption” to air travel and shipping. Several international airlines canceled flights to certain US airports.But just a few days after the... Continue reading…

Here it is. HP has overhauled its Elite Dragonfly with some significant changes, some of which will likely be welcome in consumer and business circles alike, and some of which may be... controversial. We got a chance to try out a prototype of the new Elite Dragonfly G3, which isn’t performance-ready but gives us an idea of what the new chassis will look and feel like.Put this next to the various Elite Dragonfly models we’ve reviewed in the past, and you won’t have trouble telling the difference. The main thing you’ll notice is the display. The Dragonfly line is finally going the way of the Spectre x360 and adopted the 3:2 aspect ratio. It’s taller than a 16:9 panel, giving you more room to multitask with less scrolling, and also leaves extra space... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple has made a regular trend of announcing record-breaking quarterly earnings, especially in the company’s fiscal Q1, which includes the holiday shopping season. And Q1 2022 has managed to top them all: Apple just reported the biggest revenue for any quarter in its history. Driven by sales of the iPhone 13 lineup and a continued rise of its services business, Apple posted $123.9 billion in revenue with earnings per share of $2.10, handily beating Wall Street expectations of $118.66 billion and $1.89, respectively. Apple recorded a profit of $34.6 billion — also a record.The iPhone enjoyed a supercharged sales quarter, no surprise given that it was a holiday period and the first full quarter of availability for the iPhone 13, 13 mini,... Continue reading…

Director’s Cut launches on March 30th. | Image: 505 Games Death Stranding Director’s Cut will be launching on PC on March 30th, publisher 505 Games announced Thursday, and people who already own the original version of the game will be able to upgrade for $9.99. The game will be available both on Steam and on the Epic Games Store, and to take advantage of the upgrade offer, you’ll have to have the original Death Stranding already installed on your PC.Director’s Cut will also be available for a $39.99 standalone purchase. If you want a cheaper way to get Director’s Cut, though, you might want to consider picking up the base version of Death Stranding during 505 Games’ current sale on Steam and the Epic Games Store and upgrading when Director’s Cut is available.Previously, the release timeline... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Comcast executives announced today that Peacock reached 24.5 million monthly active accounts in the US at the end of 2021, with more than 9 million of those being paid members. To continue growing that number, Peacock plans to double its content budget to around $3 billion in 2022 alone.This week’s figures were surprisingly transparent for a streamer that has recently held its subscriber data close to the chest — in the past, the company has declined to specify the number of its paid subscribers. Peacock’s monthly active accounts are up from the 20 million active the company last reported in July of 2021. Speaking during the earnings call for Peacock parent Comcast on Thursday, Comcast chief Brian Roberts said that the company also... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple appears to be testing a feature that will let you use Face ID to unlock the phone even when wearing a mask. The first developer beta for iOS 15.4 has a screen that asks if you want to be able to use Face ID while wearing a mask, at the cost of reduced security, according to photos from Brandon Butch on Twitter and MacRumors. Unfortunately, the feature will only be available if you’ve got a newer device according to 9to5Mac.According to pictures of the screen, Apple says that “iPhone can recognize the unique features around the eye area to authenticate” but warns that Face ID is going to be more accurate if you have it set to not work with a mask.

Commercial space company SpaceX plans to launch a whopping 52 flights in 2022, a NASA safety panel revealed today during a meeting. If successful, it would be the most launches the company has ever conducted in a single year, with its previous record last year at 31 launches.The impressive figure was given during a virtual meeting of NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, or ASAP, which gives guidance to the space agency on how to maintain safety within its biggest programs. “NASA and SpaceX will have to be watchful during 2022 that they’re not victims of their success,” Sandy Magnus, a former NASA astronaut and member of the panel, said during the meeting. “There’s an ambitious 52-launch manifest for SpaceX over the course of the... Continue reading…