The Verge

Image: Nintendo Kirby’s getting yet another Switch game; this time, it’s a four-player competition to see who can gobble up the most strawberries. The trailer for Kirby’s Dream Buffet has Kirby and friends rolling across food-themed obstacle courses while shapeshifting into desserts, like a cupcake or chocolate bar, that grant him different powers.Kirby’s Dream Buffet looks kind of like Super Monkey Ball, only Dream Buffet swaps bananas for strawberries and a plastic ball for, well... Kirby. As the four players consume more strawberries, they grow bigger to prepare for what Nintendo describes as a final “fruity fight atop a floating platform.” He big. At the end of the trailer, Kirby and his three blue, green, and yellow companions... Continue reading…

Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge With so much attention on Elon Musk’s bizarre Twitter adventures, it’s easy to forget how fast SpaceX’s Starlink project has been moving. In just the past six months, the service has rolled out to nine new countries and launched a new service for vehicles as well as a new premium tier. There’s even a spectrum fight quietly bubbling in the background. New satellites are launching regularly, and the dream of a low-orbit internet is only getting closer.That doesn’t mean the service is delivering everything it promised. Our 2021 review found huge problems with reliability — particularly if you’re anywhere near trees. A more recent review of the RV service was a little better, but it’s clear that many of the big reliability issues have yet... Continue reading…

Samsung says the software updates will arrive as part of One UI Watch 4.5 later this year. | Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge Samsung announced today that its forthcoming One UI Watch 4.5 update will add new accessibility features to its Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic smartwatches. The settings will essentially allow users to adjust audio and visual settings, including color adjustments and rebalancing stereo audio.For users who may have a hard time distinguishing colors, the update will allow them to tweak the display with various color filters. Samsung is also introducing settings so users can increase contrast to make fonts more readable, disable transparency and blur effects, and remove any animations. Image: Samsung One UI Watch 4.5 adds color filters to help people who have a hard time differentiating colors. People who... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Verizon’s new Welcome Unlimited plan comes with a slightly more attractive $65 / month price tag for one line but only offers access to 5G on the company’s low-band nationwide network. It’s also missing support for a 5GB hotspot that Verizon’s other entry-level 5G Start plan offers for an extra $5 per month.While Welcome Unlimited comes with unlimited text, talk, and data, Verizon notes that “your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic” whenever there’s more congestion on the network. The plan isn’t included with Verizon’s mix and match Unlimited plans, either — this means everyone on your plan must switch over to Welcome Unlimited if you decide to sign up.When compared to the 5G Start plan, Welcome Unlimited is virtually... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Last month, Apple announced that, with its iOS 16 update, it is finally adding built-in keyboard haptics to the iPhone — haptics that will allow you to feel vibrations as you type. Previously, haptics were available for other gestures like typing an incorrect passcode or pressing and holding your screen to reveal content, but not for the keyboard. In other words, the keyboard’s new upgrade, which is powered by Apple’s Taptic Engine technology, will finally give iPhone users an opportunity to access haptics without downloading another piece of third party software.Keyboard haptics are a good confirmation tool to indicate that what you’re typing is going through. If you’re someone who has to keep their phone silenced during the day, it... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Spotify announced Tuesday that it has purchased Heardle, one of the many themed trivia games that cropped up in the wake of Wordle’s blockbuster success. Heardle is Spotify’s first game acquisition, and the company hopes it will play a dual role: in addition to keeping music nerds engaged, it can act as a music discovery tool.“We are always looking for innovative and playful ways to enhance music discovery and help artists reach new fans,” said Jeremy Erlich, global head of music at Spotify. “Heardle has proven to be a really fun way to connect millions of fans with songs they know and love and with new songs and a way to compete with their friends as to who has the best musical knowledge.”The game remains a standalone website for now.... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A little more than 1 in 4 Americans live with a disability — that’s more than 60 million adults who are deaf, blind, neurodivergent, or physically disabled. Technology offers the utopian promise of a universally accessible society, but it only delivers part of the time.Assistive tech has been a life-changing advancement for many people with disabilities. But as technology changes, each innovation is accompanied by a host of access needs that are all too frequently ignored.This week, The Verge will explore technological advances in accessibility and the ongoing fights to expand access in software and hardware, as well as provide feature reviews of the accessibility options in Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A list of accessibility features in Windows 11, where to find each one, and what they can do Continue reading…

Image: Peloton Peloton has announced it will completely out-source the production of its bikes and treadmills to Taiwanese manufacturer Rexon. The fitness company currently builds some of its hardware in-house, but says out-sourcing will allow it to reduce costs and simplify its supply chain.It’s the latest move by recently-installed CEO Barry McCarthy to right Peloton’s troubled ship. As a fitness firm focused on delivering home workouts, the company was a natural pandemic darling. But founder and former CEO John Foley overestimated demand for its products, and saw sales, subscribers, and stock plunge as the company was left burdened with surplus inventory. Its most recent earnings showed losses of some $757 million.Peloton is increasingly focused... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge We thought technology would mediate between my disabled son and an ableist world. We got endless bureaucracy instead. Continue reading…

Blackpink on stage at Coachella in 2019. | Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for Coachella Mobile-based battle royale shooter PUBG Mobile will host its first ever virtual concert later this month featuring best-selling K-pop girl group Blackpink.It’s the latest example of a video game expanding into virtual events (which, yes, we could label as part of the “metaverse” if we really wanted to — but we don’t.) Compared to rivals like Fortnite, which has hosted various concerts by the likes of Travis Scott and Ariana Grande, PUBG isn’t exactly known for such activities. But in a press release from publisher Tencent Games, executive Vincent Wang said PUBG Mobile is “expanding” its “ever-evolving world.” So: make of that what you will.A number of concerts will take place in the game from July 23rd to 24th and then from July 30th... Continue reading…

The newest Kindle Paperwhite features a slightly larger backlit screen. | Photo by Chaim Gartenberg No matter what time of year it lands, Amazon Prime Day is always one of the best opportunities to buy Amazon’s own products. Now that Prime Day 2022 is upon us, last year’s excellent Kindle Paperwhite is selling for a new all-time low of $94.99. This is $45 below the usual starting price for the ad-supported model. If you’re in the market for a Kindle, this is maybe just the ideal model to get and the perfect price to buy it for. Unless, of course, you prefer the ad-free version — which is discounted by $50 to $109.99. Though, if you hate ads, embrace your inner child and consider the Kindle Paperwhite Kids Edition for $104.99 ($55 off), which is also ad-free and includes a case plus a protection plan.The latest Kindle Paperwhite may... Continue reading…

Amazon is selling Apple’s AirPods Pro for just $169.99. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge If you missed out on buying Apple’s AirPods Pro when they were on sale for $159 during Black Friday, you’ve got another chance at saving big thanks to Amazon’s excellent Prime Day deal. Regularly $249, you can buy the AirPods Pro — which we consider to be the best true wireless earbuds for iPhone owners — for just $169.99, a price that is only $10 shy of the all-time low we saw in November. It’s also the lowest price Amazon has offered this year on the outstanding noise-canceling earbuds, which come with a MagSafe-ready charging case, swappable silicon tips for a comfortable fit, and spatial audio support for a more immersive sound experience. Read our AirPods Pro review. Of course, $169.99 isn’t exactly cheap. If you prefer a great a... Continue reading…

The Hive View is among the cameras being discontinued. | Photo: Yves Béhar via DesignBoom Hive, the smart home company best known for its smart thermostats, is officially getting out of the home security market globally. In a support page posted on its website, the company says it’s no longer selling its Hive View security cameras, HomeShield security system, and Hive Leak water detection device. And soon, existing devices will cease to function.After September 1st 2023 Hive Leak will stop functioning, and by August 1st 2025 all its cameras and security system will have joined it. The sound detection feature of its Hub 360 will disappear at the end of 2022. Hive’s customers have begun receiving emails warning them of the shutdown.“We’ve made the tough decision to discontinue our smart security and leak detection products”T... Continue reading…

Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images BMW is now selling subscriptions for heated seats in a number of countries — the latest example of the company’s adoption of microtransactions for high-end car features.A monthly subscription to heat your BMW’s front seats costs roughly $18, with options to subscribe for a year ($180), three years ($300), or pay for “unlimited” access for $415.It’s not clear exactly when BMW started offering this feature as a subscription, or in which countries, but a number of outlets this week reported spotted its launch in South Korea.BMW has slowly been putting features behind subscriptions since 2020, and heated seats subs are now available in BMW’s digital stores in countries including the UK, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa. It doesn’t,... Continue reading…

The app is coming to iOS and Android. | Image: Linktree Linktree, a popular “link in bio” service, is launching a mobile app on iOS and Android, the company announced on Tuesday. Previously, you’ve had to log into Linktree through a browser on desktop or your phone to manage your profile, but if you prefer an app, that will now be an option. The “majority” of Linktree’s signups and logins from its more than 25 million users happen on a mobile device, according to a Linktree press release, so this new app could prove to be a popular choice for creators.Link in bio services, which generally let you make a simple page with a list of all the links you want to share with the world, have become more and more popular among creators in recent years. Social networks like Instagram and TikTok only let... Continue reading…

A Nikon DSLR camera on display at Paris Fashion Week in 2020. | Photo by Edward Berthelot/Getty Images Optics and imaging giant Nikon will stop making new single lens reflex cameras — once the technological mainstay of professional photography — according to a report from Nikkei.The death of SLR cameras has been coming for quite some time, as mirrorless alternatives have increased in image quality while offering consumers the option to use lighter and smaller products.According to Nikkei, Nikon will continue to produce and distribute its existing SLR models, but will focus development of new models entirely on mirrorless. Nikkei notes that Nikon’s SLR cameras were “widely used by professional cameramen for more than 60 years and have come to be seen as synonymous with the Japanese company.”Nikon will continue to sell existing DSLR... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge We’re on the cusp of a new generation of wireless headphones that are more power-efficient, sound better, and support novel new features like being able to connect an “unlimited” number of devices to a single source. That’s thanks to Bluetooth LE Audio, an umbrella term for a collection of new features for Bluetooth devices that the Bluetooth standards body is officially announcing the completion of today.Bluetooth LE Audio was announced way back at the beginning of 2020, and the Bluetooth SIG had originally hoped that supporting devices would be released before the end of that year. But, after a significant delay due to the pandemic, the completion of the specification today means that manufacturers can now start adding support for the... Continue reading…

Amazon has announced an updated version of its smart Dash Cart — a shopping cart that lets users scan and pay for their purchases as they shop to avoid waiting in checkout lines.The original Dash Cart launched in 2020 and Amazon has been slowly rolling them out (ho ho) to its Fresh grocery stores and Whole Foods Market stores. It’s clear they’re still a bit of an experiment, though, and Amazon says the new Dash Cart will only be available at its Westford, Massachusetts Whole Foods store some time “in the coming months,” before slowly heading to other Fresh and Whole Foods locations across the US.The cart’s main feature is a sensor array in the rim that uses AI-powered cameras and barcode scanners to identify whatever you put in (or... Continue reading…

HMD’s Nokia 5710 XpressAudio. | Image: HMD HMD has announced a trio of new Nokia feature phones including the Nokia 5710 XpressAudio, which has a built-in charging case for an included pair of true wireless earbuds. The company is far from the first to have had this idea (check out 2019’s Servo R25 as one recent example), but it’s notable to see the form factor attempted by a more established company with global reach.The Nokia 5710 XpressAudio looks like a regular candy bar-style feature phone from the front, with a 2.4-inch display and classic T9 keypad. But around back, there’s a charging compartment, revealed with the slide of a plastic cover. The device will retail for £74.99 (€69) and will be available in the UK in late July, though there’s no word on a US release. ... Continue reading…

Even the most recent models. | Image: Honda Security researchers and The Drive’s Rob Stumpf have recently posted videos of themselves unlocking and remotely starting several Honda vehicles using handheld radios, despite the company’s insistence that the cars have security protections meant to stop attackers from doing that very thing. According to the researchers, this hack is made possible because of a vulnerability in the keyless entry system in many Hondas made between 2012 and 2022. They’ve dubbed the vulnerability Rolling-PWN.The basic concept for Rolling-PWN is similar to attacks we’ve seen before used against VWs and Teslas, as well as other devices; using radio equipment, someone records a legitimate radio signal from a key fob, then broadcasts it back to the car. It’s... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Has there ever been a better day to get into Nerf? I’m having a hard time thinking of one. Two of the best, most competitive unmodded blasters cost half their normal price today — including the Dart Zone MK-3 and the Nerf Rival Perses — and I’m seeing huge discounts on a bunch of other actually-fun foam throwers as well.Just note that you won’t actually find most of these blasters at Amazon. Target and Walmart are holding the best blaster sales, likely in an attempt to draw focus from their competitor.

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge GameStop is seemingly ignoring that whole ”crypto winter” thing and moving ahead with the launch of its own NFT marketplace, which is now open in what the company calls a “public beta.”Right now, you can use the platform to buy, sell, and create NFTs. There are more than 200 collections you can peruse and more than 53,000 NFTs listed on the marketplace. The art I’ve seen seems to be pretty standard NFT fare — in just a few minutes of perusing, I’ve already spotted some some weird cat and monkey-themed collections, for example. Unsurprisingly, you can connect the newly-launched GameStop Wallet to manage your digital assets, though you can also use options like WalletConnect and MetaMask. And not just anyone can create an NFT on the... Continue reading…

Today and tomorrow, NASA is releasing the first full-color images taken by the agency’s mighty James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most powerful observatory ever sent into space. It’s a major moment for the telescope, signaling the beginning of scientific operations for the mission that could fundamentally transform astrophysics and our understanding of the Universe.The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, sports the largest mirror we’ve ever sent into space, spanning more than 21 feet across. Made out of gold-plated beryllium, the mirror is designed to gather infrared light — a type of light invisible to the human eye that can travel incredibly long distances across the Universe. Equipped with this impressive mirror, JWST... Continue reading…

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Today, NASA unveiled the first full-color image taken by the agency’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope, a pivotal moment for the deep-space observatory that marks the beginning of its first year of transformational science. The incredibly detailed image — a deep field of some of the most distant galaxies seen from Earth — showcases the mighty power of the telescope and serves as a teaser for even more awe-inspiring images of the Universe that are still to come.The picture is one of a handful of inaugural full-color images that NASA plans to release this week to celebrate the start of science operations for the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST. President Joe Biden and NASA administrator Bill Nelson unveiled the first picture this... Continue reading…

Floating YouTube videos, (maybe) coming to a screen near you. | Image: Google Google has announced that YouTube’s picture-in-picture mode for iOS and iPadOS, which lets you watch videos in a floating window while using other apps, is rolling out to more people. According to a community post on Monday, people running iOS 15 should start seeing the feature soon, though there is some fragmentation in its availability.YouTube Premium subscribers should be getting access to the feature no matter where in the world they live — as long as its an area where you can actually get YouTube Premium, of course — and they’ll be able to use it to watch any sort of content. For non-paying YouTube users, YouTube only mentions that picture-in-picture is available in the US. Within the US, though, the company says that “everyone... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge One day after an explosion of reports sourced from a massive “Uber Files” leak containing thousands of documents and messages between top executives, Mark MacGann, the company’s former chief of policy in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) has come forward as the source.In this video interview (embedded above), MacGann told The Guardian that “I was the one talking to governments; I was the one pushing this with the media; I was the one telling people that they should change the rules because drivers were going to benefit and people were going to get so much economic opportunity.” Accompanying reports on the interview are available from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), The Washington Post, and the... Continue reading…

Availability of PS5 consoles ebbs and flows. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge It may be Amazon Prime Day time, but a big sales event like that is just an invitation for other retailers to jump in and also take advantage. We’ve already seen Target and Best Buy running “anti-Prime Day” promotions, and Best Buy is adding some fuel to this fire by scheduling a restock of PlayStation 5 consoles for its paying subscribers.Beginning at 12PM ET / 9AM PT on Tuesday, July 12th, Best Buy Totaltech members will be able to digitally queue for a standard $499.99 PS5 with a disc drive. Totaltech costs a whopping $199.99 per year, though it does include other perks from the big box retailer, like added tech support and free delivery and installation for appliances from Best Buy.If all the prior Best Buy restocks have taught us... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter’s high-powered lawyers from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz are preparing for a court battle. After Elon Musk finally filed paperwork attempting to exit a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter last week, they filed a letter today saying Musk’s termination attempt is invalid because “Mr. Musk and the other Musk Parties have knowingly, intentionally, willfully, and materially breached the Agreement.”Twitter is being represented by Wachtell partner William Savitt, who has represented other big companies like Anthem and Sotheby’s in cases against activist shareholders.Musk says he wants out due to concerns Twitter has misrepresented the amount of bot activity on the platform — the same problem he promised to fix — and that Twitter... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says it will step up to protect the privacy of consumers in a post-Roe America, declaring the agency is “committed to fully enforcing the law” against illegal sharing of sensitive medical and location data.In a blog post published on Monday by Kristin Cohen, the FTC’s acting associate director in the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, the commission took particular aim at data brokers and third parties who share previously collected information. The post points to a wide range of sources that can potentially collect sensitive information about a user but highlights the combination of location data and health data as presenting a particular risk to consumers.“The conversation about... Continue reading…

If you’ve had your eye on a pricey Lego set, you may have a limited window of time before it gets pricier still. The price of some of the company’s most desirable plastic creations is going up by as much as $70. That Lego Tree House in the picture above that I’ve desired many a month? Originally $200, it’ll soon cost $250 — a 25 percent price jump.This won’t be a surprise to devout Lego fans. The company announced in June that it would be raising prices on “around a quarter” of the Lego sets currently in circulation. But this weekend, Barnes & Noble showed us the damage; it became the first major retailer to implement those price increases, revealing exactly how much we’ll be paying for adult-friendly sets like the awesome $250 Lego H... Continue reading…

Image: Loaded In the battle for gamers’ eyeballs, YouTube has struck another blow. Today, the video and streaming giant announced that Ali “Myth” Kabbani has signed an exclusive deal with YouTube Gaming.Kabbani, a popular Fortnite and Valorant player, announced his deal with a video saying that the move was “his decision.”

Apple’s public beta software program is now available on HomePod minis. | Photo by Jennifer Tuohy / The Verge The new HomePod Software 16 is available in Apple’s public beta software program for the first time, and you can download it today. However, at its June WWDC event, Apple didn’t reveal any new features coming to the HomePods with the software update, so it’s probably all about under-the-hood stuff.In fact, it’s likely that any updates are focused on preparations for the coming of the Matter smart home standard — due to arrive this fall — and support for Apple’s all-new Home app coming in iOS 16. Along with the Apple TV, the HomePod mini is a hub for Apple’s HomeKit smart home ecosystem, and a hub will be required for using Matter smart home accessories in HomeKit. So you probably only want to give this a whirl if you are trying out the... Continue reading…

Multiple Ubisoft games on Steam “will not be accessible” after September 1st, according to notices on the games’ Steam pages. But based on a statement from Ubisoft, the situation isn’t as bad as that message would make it seem.If you want to see an example of the new notice, check out the Steam page for Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD. It has two:

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A wide range of useful accessibility options Continue reading…

Pictured: a Windows 98 powerhouse. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge You know what’s cooler than playing modern games on an Xbox Series console? Using Microsoft’s current hardware to emulate Windows 98 and playing retro games on it. Thankfully, thanks to a combination of RetroArch (a program that’s also let some Xbox users play PlayStation 2 games), a plug-in for it called DOSBox Pure, and a copy of Windows 98, Digital Foundry has shown that it’s possible to do just that. A video released on Saturday shows games like Turok, RollerCoaster Tycoon, and Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun all running on an Xbox Series X. Digital Foundry even ran traditional apps like Microsoft Paint and Word 97 on the Xbox as well (for that genuine Clippy experience).Getting all this set up isn’t exactly easy. First, you have to... Continue reading…

A real IPL game featuring the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, two of the teams the farmers attempted to impersonate. | Photo by Robert Cianflone / Getty Images A group of Indian farmers set up a fake Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament so convincing that they managed to trick a Russian audience into making real bets. According to a report from the Times of India, the fake games took place on a farm in the village of Gujarat, with 21 farm laborers and unemployed teens who were each paid 400 rupees (~$5 USD) and tasked with impersonating “pro” cricket players from well-known Indian teams.The farmers reportedly livestreamed the tournament to YouTube over the course of two weeks and even set up a Telegram channel dedicated to the games. That’s where they took bets from Russian gamblers located in Tver, Voronezh, and Moscow, despite the fact that the actual IPL’s 2022 season closed out... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter is widely rolling out its “unmentioning” feature to all users, which allows you to remove yourself from a conversation that includes your Twitter handle. The platform first introduced the feature to a small group of users in April, but now it’s available to everyone.You might want to use this feature yourself if you’re stuck in a toxic conversation or simply don’t want to receive notifications for a thread you’re a part of. Unmentioning untags your username, stops notifications for the thread, and also prevents anyone in the thread from tagging you again.

Stage Manager is a major feature of macOS Ventura. | Image: Apple Apple is launching the public beta for macOS Ventura today. This is the next big update coming to Mac computers (the final version is expected later in 2022), and it brings several big changes. In this article, we’re going to walk you through how to get the beta onto your computer, should you want it. Once you install the beta, it will likely receive several updates between now and the final release.(Looking for steps to install the iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 public betas? We’ve got you covered here.)What’s new about macOS Ventura?Ventura’s standout feature is the Stage Manager, which is a way to organize your windows by grouping them and switching between sets of apps. Stage Manager should also do some automatic organization when you... Continue reading…

The Apple TV will get support for Matter with the tvOS16 update. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge The Apple TV, Apple’s excellent streaming box slash HomeKit smart home hub, has a few updates coming with tvOS 16. The update is due to launch this fall, but if you want to get a jump-start on the new features you can download the public beta today.What are the new features on tvOS 16?As my colleague Chris Welch noted following its announcement in June at Apple’s WWDC conference, the tvOS16 updates are relatively minor. Although that’s not to say some people won’t find them useful. Better cross-device connectivity between your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch could be a boon to Apple Fitness users, among others, and more game controller support — including Nintendo Joy-Cons — will make for some fun family game nights in my household.... Continue reading…

An iPad with iPadOS 16 is still an iPad, but it’s definitely also a computer. The iPad can do everything — too much sometimes Continue reading…

The Apple Watch Series 7 is one of the watches compatible with watchOS 9. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge After previewing its software roadmap at WWDC, Apple has released the public betas for iOS 16, iPad OS 16, macOS Ventura, and watchOS 9. If you’ve got a compatible Apple Watch and want to get a firsthand look at watchOS 9, here’s what to expect and how to get started. (Though you may have to wait for the release to fully roll out first.)WatchOS 9 introduces a slew of new health and fitness features, as well as new ways to personalize the watch to your tastes. Some of the marquee features include advanced running metrics, new workout views, triathlete support, and medication reminders. That said, this isn’t the final version of watchOS 9. That will come later this fall when Apple releases the Series 8 (and possibly a new SE and a new... Continue reading…

watchOS 9 adds a lunar calendar watchface. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge One of the most significant watchOS updates in a while Continue reading…

A lock screen for every occasion! There’s a tendency among the highly tech-literate (you know, us nerds) to approach new features with a jaded, seen-it-all-before sentiment. That’s especially true when Apple announces new iPhone features with lots of fanfare and self-congratulation. The Android faithful will then point out that this groundbreaking achievement existed on a Nexus phone seven years ago, and the first three versions of it sucked, but it’s great now.That attitude could certainly be applied to one of the centerpieces of iOS 16: new lock screens. On a high level, this update adds more customizability to the lock screen, with more wallpaper options and the ability to add widgets. Not groundbreaking stuff, considering that Android 12 lets you easily customize... Continue reading…

Aqara’s new $89 Curtain Driver E1 makes your curtains open and close on their own. | Image: Aqara Smart home company Aqara has released its retrofit curtain solution in the US and Europe. Previously available in China, the Aqara Curtain Driver E1 starts at $89.99 and mounts onto an existing curtain track or rod to automatically open and close your curtains. It works with Aqara’s own ecosystem as well as with Apple’s HomeKit, Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, and IFTTT. Aqara says it will also be compatible with Matter when the new smart home standard arrives later this fall.Automating shades, blinds, and curtains is one of the smart home’s coolest and most useful tricks. Smart window coverings can be set to open every morning and close every night based on a set time or at sunrise and sunset, controlled with a voice command, and... Continue reading…

Jamie Foxx as Bud Jablonski and Snoop Dogg as Big John in Day Shift. | Netflix In Netflix’s Day Shift from director J.J. Perry, vampire hunters are skilled laborers who understand the value of the work and the reality that they’re stronger as a collective — a union, to be specific. Day Shift’s first full trailer only gives you the slightest sense of what all a demon hunting union looks like exactly and puts much more emphasis on the movie’s action than its take on vampiric lore. But the trailer is a reminder of the power that comes from workers rallying together in moments of need.Day Shift tells the story of longtime vampire hunter Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx), a man whose relationship with his wife (Meagan Good) and daughter (Zion Broadnax) is somewhat strained because of his secret line of work. While Bud’s... Continue reading…

A Google Meet call. | Image: Google A trio of Google Meet features that were previously only available via Google’s business-focused Workspace plans are coming to Google One subscribers, the search giant is announcing today. These include the ability to have group calls lasting up to 24 hours in length (up from a previous limit of one hour), access to Google Meet’s background noise filtering feature, and support for recorded video calls.These features aren’t coming to every Google One plan. They’ll only be available to users who pay for 2TB of storage or more, which means paying at least $10 a month or $100 a year for a subscription. The features also aren’t rolling out to every 2TB Google One subscriber right away. Google’s announcement says they’ll be available in the... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple’s development of a self-driving car has proven arduous and massively challenging for the company. The Information today published an extensive chronology of the project so far. It covers some familiar ground for anyone who’s been following Project Titan over the years, like a revolving door of leadership, high turnover across the team, and shifting goalposts around what Apple is even trying to accomplish with the large effort. But the report goes beyond recounting the project’s history and stumbles.The Information also reveals some interesting new details. Craig Federighi, Apple’s software chief and a key executive at the company, is said to be “particularly skeptical” of Project Titan. Owing to all the setbacks and reset... Continue reading…

Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge Amazon Prime Day is inching ever closer, and there’s already some momentum building with early deals. Tomorrow, July 12th, is slated as the start of the two-day sales event, but you can already take advantage of some nice discounts ahead of the official launch at 3AM ET / 12AM PT. Other retailers are also getting into the mix, so keep on the lookout for sales from the likes of Best Buy and Target, the latter of which has already begun its “Deal Days” event. While Amazon is obviously the star of its own show, it also bears mentioning that Prime Day deals are exclusive to Prime members while competing sales from other retailers are open to all.Ahead of the main event, we’re compiling the best early Prime Day deals you can get on smart... Continue reading…

BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 02: China’s space station core module ‘Tianhe’ flies over the Bell Tower on May 2nd, 2021, in Beijing, China. A Long March 5B rocket carrying the core module of China’s space station blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on April 29th. | Photo by Lu Lin / VCG via Getty Images What are the odds a free-falling rocket will kill one person somewhere in the world? There’s about a 10 percent chance over the next decade if current practices in the space industry stay the same, according to the authors of a new paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy.While that’s not a huge risk, the threat is significantly bigger in some parts of the world than in others. In particular, many countries in the Global South are likely to deal with a larger share of space trash even though they’re not responsible for it, according to the analysis. And it could become a bigger issue as rockets launch into space more frequently to ferry up a growing number of satellites.The threat is significantly bigger in some parts of the... Continue reading…