The Verge

CFBP Director Rohit Chopra The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a series of information-gathering orders on the business practices of major digital payments systems. Orders were issued to Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, PayPal, and Square, the bureau said in an announcement on Thursday morning. Chinese pay systems operated by WeChat and AliPay will also be studied but are not subject to any CFBP orders.Issued as part of the CFPB’s investigative authority, the orders are not an indication of specific wrongdoing, but they suggest the CFBP will be taking a more active role in regulating tech companies’ consumer products in the future. In particular, they are meant to root out any data collection or anti-competitive conduct that may have not yet come... Continue reading…

Image: Google Google’s Work Profile tool for Android, which lets you hide your work apps and data with the flip of a switch and keeps your personal phone use safe from your company, will be coming to more users next year. According to a blog post from the company, currently, the feature is limited to phones that your organization manages, but Google says it’ll start to become available to people using Google Workspace in 2022. After that, it’ll branch out with the ultimate goal of letting anyone using Android for work flip a switch to make their business apps disappear.The ability to turn off work, especially when many of us are working remotely, is sorely needed. My colleague Monica Chin recently wrote a great argument for why you should have a... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge As regulatory pressure on the Play Store for Android increases, Google is once again making changes to its business structure. It has announced that more categories of apps will be eligible to pay significantly less than the usual 30 percent fee. The company is announcing that all subscription-based apps will now pay a fee of 15 percent. It’s also says that “ebooks and on-demand music streaming services” will be “eligible” for a fee “as low as 10%.”Google’s stated reason for the cheaper prices on ebooks and music streaming apps is that “content costs account for the majority of sales” and that the rates “recognize industry economics of media content verticals.” It’s unstated but also surely true that regulatory pressure and public... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge In an effort to strengthen its Communities, Twitter has acquired Sphere, a group chat app founded in 2016 that aims to make conversations more interactive and organized. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Sphere’s website describes the app as a place that “transforms groups into vibrant communities.”Sphere was co-founded in 2016 by Nick D’Aloisio, a British computer programmer turned serial entrepreneur. Initially, it was an app for real-time questions and answers but later evolved into a hub for group chats (via CNBC). During Sphere’s standalone existence, it aimed to bring organization to group conversations on mobile. As shown on Sphere’s website, some of its features included self-clearing feeds, auto-archiving, and call-outs... Continue reading…

SpaceX stacking its Starship spacecraft on top of a Super Heavy booster at the company’s launch site in Boca Chica, Texas. | Image: SpaceX This week, a vibrant mixture of supporters and critics voiced their opinions about SpaceX’s launch operations in Boca Chica, Texas during virtual town halls — input that will be considered as the government decides the company’s future in the state. More than one hundred people took the time to give their thoughts during the meetings on Monday and Wednesday, with opinions ranging from effusive praise of the company to concerns over SpaceX’s impact on the region’s communities and environment.The lengthy town halls were hosted by the Federal Aviation Administration, which is currently evaluating whether to give SpaceX a license to launch the company’s massive new Starship rocket out of Boca Chica. SpaceX has been building and testing... Continue reading…

Razer products offer a lot for those that love RGB accent lighting, with software to sync it all together. | Image: Razer Best Buy’s deal of the day for today features a range of Razer products worth considering for any of your gaming or streaming needs, and Amazon is matching or beating some of these prices. If retailers are competing, you’re probably winning.There are multiple options of keyboards and mice, as well as the top-range webcam from Razer and its compact microphone. For your mechanical keyboard fix, you can go big or small. If you prefer compact, you can pick between black or white versions of Razer’s Huntsman Mini 60-percent boards with clicky optical switches for just $95 at Best Buy or $94 at Amazon. A small-format keyboard might be intimidating at first, with its omission of a number pad and F-keys, but it allows you to keep your hands... Continue reading…

Dieter Bohn / The Verge Apple is tightening its COVID-19 policies, requiring that unvaccinated employees (or employees who refuse to disclose their vaccination status) get daily COVID-19 tests to enter its offices, although the company still has yet to require workers to get vaccinated. Vaccinated employees will also have to do regular tests, but only once a week, Bloomberg reports.Retail workers at Apple Stores will also have to regularly test, although at a lower rate than other Apple employees: unvaccinated store workers will have to take tests twice per week, with vaccinated workers getting tested once a week.Google, Microsoft, and Facebook all require in-person employees to be vaccinatedAccording to Bloomberg, Apple has asked its employees to submit... Continue reading…

NASA’s first electric plane is getting ready for takeoff.For the last five years, a small team of NASA engineers has been working to convert an Italian Tecnam P2006T aircraft so that it runs only on battery power. The X-57 Maxwell, named after 19th-century Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, recently began high-voltage functional ground testing at the Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., and is set to take its inaugural flight in the spring of 2022.That flight, when it happens, will signal a crucial milestone for NASA, which has been tasked by President Joe Biden to focus more of its resources on lessening the impact of climate change.NASA Administrator Bill Nelson toured Armstrong last week, where he got an... Continue reading…

Huawei’s Nova 9. | Image: Huawei Huawei’s Nova 9 is getting a global launch just under a month after the phone was announced for the Chinese market, the company said today. Huawei characterizes the Nova 9 as a “flagship smartphone for the younger generation,” compared to its Mate series (high-tech and premium) and P-series (photography) lineups. Pre-orders open today with pricing starting at €499, and Huawei says the phone will be on sale from November 2nd.The company also gave an update on the global release status of the P50, the flagship phone Huawei announced for the domestic Chinese market in July. The company says the P50 will release outside of China in 2022, which will come roughly two years after the release of its predecessor, the P40.Thanks to Huawei’s o... Continue reading…

Photo by Michele Doying / The Verge The Facebook Oversight Board says it will review Facebook’s “cross-check” program for high-profile users and criticized it for not disclosing enough information about the program.In a new transparency report, the Oversight Board — a semi-independent body that reviews Facebook’s moderation process — publicly accepted a Facebook request to review cross-check (sometimes called “XCheck”) and recommend changes. Facebook will also share documents related to reporting from The Wall Street Journal, which described cross-check as a system that “shields millions of VIP users from the company’s normal enforcement process.” The board previously raised concerns about cross-check following the Journal’s report.“In the board’s view, the team within... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Tensions between Roku and Google spilled over to customers in a new blog posted by the streaming service on Thursday. After months of failed negotiations for Roku to maintain the YouTube app, the company is accusing Google of anti-competitive demands.Responding to the deadlocked negotiations, Google said that it would end all distribution of YouTube on new Roku devices after December 9th.In its Thursday blog post, Roku accused Google of making anti-competitive demands in carriage agreements, like requiring Roku to implement a dedicated YouTube search results row in the Roku interface. Roku also alleged that Google overrides music voice search and blocks relevant searches outside of YouTube’s own results while users are in the YouTube... Continue reading…

New 2TB and 512GB storage expansion cards for Xbox Series X / S. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft is announcing new storage expansion card options for the Xbox Series X / S today. Made by Seagate, there will now be a smaller 512GB card priced at $139.99 and a larger 2TB card priced at $399.99. These expandable storage cards slot into the rear of both the Xbox Series X / S to match the internal SSD speed and provide extra storage for games.The first storage expansion card launched alongside the next-gen Xbox consoles, priced at $219.99 for 1TB of space. That pricing meant the $299 Xbox Series S jumped to nearly $520 if you wanted to add more storage and bring it up to 1.5TB overall. Now there are a variety of options for Xbox Series S owners who want to expand beyond the 512GB of space the console offers. P... Continue reading…

After over a decade of development (and seven directors), it seems that Sony’s Uncharted movie is finally, really, truly going to actually come out — and it has the trailer to prove it.Starring Tom Holland as an incongruously young version of fortune hunter / adventurer / general human punching bag Nathan Drake, Uncharted is set long before the popular video game series, winding the clock back before Drake was a seasoned Indiana Jones knockoff to the start of his career.It is kind of hard to shake how young Holland looks here compared to his more grizzled video game counterpart, along with what appears to be an identical American accent to his Spider-Man voice in the Marvel films. But Sony will have plenty of time to convince fans to... Continue reading…

Image: Microsoft Microsoft has selected AMD as its exclusive PC partner for Halo Infinite. While this means plenty of marketing opportunities, it’s also fostered a closer engineering partnership with AMD that Microsoft says will improve frame rates in the campaign mode and eventually bring ray tracing to the game.“We’re looking forward to working closely with AMD to bring raytracing to Halo Infinite,” says Noah Benesch, a product marketing manager at Xbox. “Raytracing is one our top development priorities post-launch and look forward to sharing more soon.”It’s not clear if this rules out Microsoft using Nvidia’s DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) technology, but Microsoft does note that AMD is “exceptionally open to us bringing new rendering features... Continue reading…

TCL, the company best known for its affordable Roku-equipped 4K TVs, has a new budget-oriented $399.99 5G tablet — the Tab Pro 5G. The device is available to order via Verizon’s online “Buy More, Save More” promo, which takes $100 off if purchased with a qualifying Android device on a Verizon plan.Similar to its newer TVs that now offer Google TV in the US, TCL’s Tab Pro 5G continues the company’s trend with a standard set of Google apps... alongside the expected mass of Verizon bloatware. Image: TCL The tablet is meant to be held in widescreen. Tablets with 5G have not entered this price point yet. Verizon also sells the $669.99 Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G and the $649 iPad Mini with 5G. However, if you want... Continue reading…

Microsoft’s second attempt at a folding phone rights a lot of the original’s wrongs, but doesn’t fix everything Continue reading…

Facebook Messenger is adding “group effects” that allow everyone on a video call to participate in the same augmented reality experience at the same time. The effects are available now across Messenger video calls as well as Messenger Rooms, the service’s Zoom-like videoconferencing feature, and are coming soon to Instagram, the company says.There are over 70 group effects available at launch, including a game where players compete to build a virtual burger, and another where a virtual orange cat photobombs the call. It’s a shift from the service’s existing augmented reality features, which tend to only apply to one participant at a time. Facebook says developers will be able to build more group effects using its Spark AR API from the... Continue reading…

Photo: Warner Bros / Legendary Pictures Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation wows with scale and scope but is missing an ending Continue reading…

Get ready for Gran Turismo 7 Continue reading…

The Raspberry Pi 4. | Image: Raspberry Pi Foundation In response to supply chain issues, particularly around semiconductors, Raspberry Pi is increasing the price of the version of the Raspberry Pi 4 sold with 2GB of RAM. The increase, which CEO Eben Upton says is the company’s first ever, will see the Pi 4 2GB’s price rise by $10 from $35 to $45. To serve the needs of customers on tighter budgets, the company is reintroducing the 1GB Pi 4 for $35, which was discontinued last year.“These changes in pricing are not here to stay,” Upton writes. “As global supply chain issues moderate, we’ll keep revisiting this issue, and we want to get pricing back to where it was as fast as we can.” Upton said supply chain challenges are likely to continue through next year, echoing the predictions of... Continue reading…

Leaks indicate the Pixel Fold may resemble the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. | Image: Dan Seifert / The Verge During the “Pixel Fall Launch” event, Google formally launched the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro as well as its Pixel Pass. Beyond that, however, the tech giant didn’t divulge much more about other new products — like Google’s first folding phone. Google previously confirmed in 2019 it’s working on prototyping foldable device technology, has applied for patents on foldable screens, and we’ve since reported on a number of leaks suggesting the Pixel Fold might arrive as soon as this year.For example, Korean industry site TheElec suggested Samsung was going to produce folding OLED panels for the device this very month — and that’s just one of many recent leaks. Here’s a catch-up on everything else we think we know about the Pixel Fold.The... Continue reading…

After numerous delays — and considerable vitriol from director Denis Villeneuve himself — Dune is finally about to stream on HBO Max. In fact, it’s arriving a day early: October 21st at 6PM ET / 3PM PT, a rep confirms to The Verge.Hope you’re hearing soon enough to schedule your watch party! Note that you’ll need to be paying for HBO Max’s $15-a-month ad-free plan, since the $10 plan doesn’t come with day-and-date Warner Bros. movie releases.We’ve had multiple Dune trailers at this point if you want to know what you’re in for, and you can find two of them embedded below. The Verge’s staff weighed in on the first trailer, and we’ll have a review soon as well.And if you’d rather watch a 4K restoration of the original cult-classic... Continue reading…

Cryptocurrency thief pleads guilty in SIM swapping scheme | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twenty-year-old Kyell Bryan of Pennsylvania has pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft for a SIM swapping and cryptocurrency theft scheme, according to the United States Attorney’s Office of the District of Maryland.According to the initial indictment statement, in June 2019, Bryan, who was 19, conspired with Jordan K. Milleson, then 21, and others. The group engaged in phishing and vishing (voice phishing) to trick employees at an unnamed wireless operator into coughing up their login credentials.As Brian Krebs reported when Bryan and Milleson were indicted, they were active participants of the OGUsers trading forum, which has spawned similar phishing attacks against Twitter and others, usually with the intent of stealing and... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge One of the appeals of Twitch is watching things unfold live, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve wished I could scrub back to see something again or a moment I might have missed. Soon, though, Twitch may have a solution to that problem, as it’s currently testing a new Rewind the Stream button with some users.When you hit the button, you’ll be rewinded two minutes back in the stream, Twitch tells The Verge. From there, you can scrub through what’s been streamed so far and even watch what you missed at different speeds, like you would with any other Twitch VOD (video on demand).If you hit the rewind button, you’ll still be able to see what’s happening in the live stream, thanks to a picture-in-picture window that will appear above... Continue reading…

A resident splashes water onto their face during a heatwave in Sacramento, California, U.S., on Thursday, July 8, 2021. | David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Extreme heat is a huge worry for doctors and public health experts around the world, and it’s steadily become a bigger problem over time, according to a sweeping new climate report published today in the leading medical journal, The Lancet.The analysis, from 43 academic institutions and United Nations agencies, focuses on the threats the climate crisis poses to human health. While the group has published similar reports over the past five years, this is the first time it includes warnings on the impact hotter days have on mental health and physical activity. It follows an increase in devastating heatwaves around the world.“I saw far too many patients die in the ED as a result of their heat exposure”“I saw paramedics who had burns on... Continue reading…

Photo by Segway-Ninebot If you ever wanted to transform your self-balancing scooter into a mobile mini mech, now you can with Segway-Ninebot’s Mecha Kit add-on. The kit is compatible with the Ninebot S and Ninebot S Kids and puts you in the pilot seat of your scooter-turned-turret. Photo by Segway-Ninebot Once fitted onto your vehicle, you no longer have to stand up to drive. You can stay seated while you control your movement with dual joysticks and take aim at targets with beads of gel. And yes, it acts just like a mech — you’re able to shoot the semi-evaporating bullets while driving, spinning and drifting around. If that still doesn’t sound awesome enough, you can even customize the Mecha Kit’s RGB underglow lighting, as well as switch... Continue reading…

Elon Musk’s Boring Company just won approval from local officials to move forward with building a network of vehicle tunnels underneath Las Vegas. Dubbed the “Vegas Loop,” the system will allow passengers to hitch rides in Teslas to and from places like the hotel casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, the city’s new football stadium, the Las Vegas Convention Center, and McCarran International Airport.The Boring Company already operates a small version of this “Teslas in Tunnels” system underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center, which opened earlier this year and involves two 0.8-mile tunnels. But Musk’s startup proposed a massive city-wide expansion in December 2020 that largely lines up with what Clark County officials approved Wednesday.T... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Food and Drug Administration authorized booster doses for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, following its authorization of a third Pfizer / BioNTech shot in September.The agency also said today that it will allow “mix-and-match” boosters — eligible people who are already fully vaccinated can get a booster dose of any of the three vaccines, regardless of which they started with.As with the Pfizer / BioNTech booster, the FDA cleared third Moderna shots for vulnerable groups, including people 65 years of age and older, those who are at high risk of severe disease, and people at high risk of exposure to COVID-19 at work.The booster for the Moderna vaccine, though, will be a half-dose. Both vaccines are mRNA... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon has announced a tool that will give sellers access to information about what shoppers are currently looking for and help make it easier to choose which products to create next. Amazon calls it the Product Opportunity Explorer and says that it’ll give sellers access to data and trends that will help them “identify opportunities to launch new, high-potential products to serve unmet customer demand.”With Amazon’s track record of copying popular products and selling them under its Amazon Basics brand, an obvious concern with this tool is where the data is coming from and how granular it is. While Amazon quotes a seller saying that they’re excited to get “recommendations specifically relevant” to their business, it’s easy to imagine... Continue reading…

Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images After Activision Blizzard requested a stay in the discrimination case brought against it by the state of California, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has filed its response.Activision Blizzard’s request for a stay asserts that lawyers with the DFEH engaged in misconduct arising from a conflict of interest. According to the filing, some of the lawyers working on the case had previously worked on a separate case against the company when they were employed by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (or EEOC). Such an arrangement, Activision Blizzard argues, is in violation of a California state bar conflict of interest rule. As a result, the discrimination case should be put on hold until the... Continue reading…

Image: Amazon Amazon announced today that it’s doubling the number of local stations it supports through its news app on Fire TV, meaning more users will be able to easily find local news coverage for free.The company said in a blog post that this week’s coverage expansion will make local news available in 158 total US cities. That’s up from coverage in 88 cities following a previous expansion in March. As of today, the number of local stations available through the news app has hiked from 126 to 259.An Amazon spokesperson clarified that some metro areas offer more than one local station in the Amazon news app on Fire TV. The company said that more than 50 metro areas now offer more than one local news source.The news app is free and supported on... Continue reading…

A cargo ship carrying containers are seen covered in thick smog in Near of Kolkata City on January 25.2021. | Photo by Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto via Getty Images Major retailers, including Amazon and Ikea, are beginning to clean up their shipping pollution. A group of companies pledged yesterday that by 2040, they’ll only contract ships using zero-carbon fuels to move their goods. Both Ikea and Amazon were among the 15 companies responsible for the most maritime import pollution in 2019, according to one recent analysis.Joining Amazon and Ikea in the commitment are Unilever, Michelin, and clothing retailer Inditex, which owns Zara and other brands. German retailer Tchibo, Patagonia, sports gear company Brooks Running, and FrogBikes are part of the deal, too.The aim is to leave behind heavy fuel oil in favor of alternatives that don’t release planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions. But there... Continue reading…

Despite Acer’s branding, this isn’t the most environmentally friendly laptop you can buy Continue reading…

Image: Epic Games Epic Games launched its battle royale hit Fortnite on Android devices in 2018 with a big catch: it was exclusive to Samsung-made phones for a few days as a way to help market the then-new Samsung Galaxy Note 9.At the time, would-be players had to deal with a waiting list and / or a restrictive list of qualified Android phones. These days, it’s a lot easier — but you still need to download it directly from Epic. (Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said this is basically to avoid paying Google’s 30 percent cut on in-app purchases.) Epic is using its own website and a Fortnite Installer program to distribute the game more widely on all compatible Android devices.Here’s a step-by-step breakdown to make sure you’re prepared and understand the best way... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are the company’s most interesting devices in years. They might actually succeed at the Pixel’s ultimate goal of being the shining example of what Android phones can and should be capable of.It’s high time that Google followed that example with a Pixel Watch that does the same thing for Wear OS. It’s pretty likely that Google is already working on something along those lines: When we asked, Rick Osterloh told The Verge’s Dieter Bohn that its own Wear OS wearable is just a matter of time. He noted that Google’s acquisition of Fitbit is still “pretty early in the integration” since the purchase only went through a few months ago — it takes time to develop a product, after all, especially one with a new... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine is adding Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to a lawsuit over the Cambridge Analytica data-mining scandal. Racine announced the addition on Twitter this morning, saying his investigation had revealed that Zuckerberg was “personally involved in decisions related to Cambridge Analytica and Facebook’s failure to protect user data.”The 2018 lawsuit accuses Facebook (and now Zuckerberg) of misrepresenting its policies around third-party data access and compromising user privacy with lax protections. The attorney general’s office alleges that Facebook violated the Consumer Protection Procedures Act and seeks civil damages for the offense. A judge allowed the case to proceed despite Facebook’s... Continue reading…

Microsoft and Adidas’ Adidas-themed sneakers. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft and Adidas revealed a slick-looking pair of limited-edition Xbox sneakers earlier this month to celebrate Xbox’s 20th anniversary, and now, we know what you need to do to actually try to win a pair for yourself.From October 21st at 12PM ET through October 23rd at 11:59AM ET, you can donate $10 on StockX, an online collectibles marketplace, to be entered to win one of 20 pairs. Donations will benefit Gamers Outreach, a charity that helps children in hospitals by bringing them video games. Image: Microsoft A closer look at the Xbox-themed shoes. The cool shoes are just one piece of Microsoft’s 20th anniversary celebration for Xbox. The company is releasing a translucent controller and headset that... Continue reading…

Photo by Michele Doying / The Verge Facebook will start demoting all Groups content from people who have violated its policies elsewhere across the platform. The move is supposed to limit rulebreakers from reaching other people in a community, and it builds on existing policies that prevent them from posting, commenting, or inviting others.In a blog post, Facebook says it will also add a new “Flagged by Facebook” feature that shows group administrators content that’s been flagged for removal. The admins can choose to remove the content or to ask for a review if they believe it’s appropriate, with the goal of getting administrators involved before Facebook steps in and issues a strike that could affect the group itself.Facebook has paid increasing attention to groups... Continue reading…

Microsoft is now allowing Windows 11 testers to try out Android apps. A preview version of the Windows Subsystem for Android will be available to beta testers of Windows 11 today, providing access to apps from the Amazon Appstore. Testers with Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm processors will all be able to try out Android apps on Windows 11.Apps can be loaded through the Microsoft Store, which will list a variety of apps that then point toward the Amazon Appstore to load and install. Android apps can run side by side with other Windows apps, and they’re also integrated into Alt + Tab and Task view, and you can pin them to the Start menu or the taskbar. Image: Microsoft Android apps are available in the Microsoft Store on... Continue reading…

Image: Sony One of Sony’s best PlayStation games, God of War, is headed to PC. The game will be available on January 14th, 2022, and you can preorder it now on Steam and the Epic Games Store for $49.99.If you opt to pick up the game on PC, you’ll be able to play it at 4K and unlocked frame rates, as well as in a 21:9 ultra widescreen aspect ratio (assuming you have the right hardware to support those features). The game will also support Nvidia’s DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) and its Reflex low-latency technology for “a more responsive experience.” Image: Sony A screenshot from God of War. Sony promises that the game will have “robust controller support and keyboard mapping customization,” and you can of course... Continue reading…

Azubuike “Zuby” Onwuta flashes “Hook ‘em Horns” for the camera aboard the Zero G flight. | Image: Al Powers for Zero Gravity Corporation When Sina Bahram shifted into weightlessness for the first time on Sunday, he could feel the air brushing past his skin as his body began to float into the air. As someone who’d longed to be an astronaut since he was four years old, he’d been waiting many years to have this exact feeling.“I knew it would be a joyous experience just because I looked forward to it for many decades of my life, but the visceral nature of that joy wasn’t brought home until you actually experience it,” Bahram, a computer scientist who runs Prime Access Consulting, tells The Verge. “It is truly indescribable.”Bahram got to perceive free fall for the first time onboard a specially outfitted plane operated by the Zero-G Corporation, a company that provides... Continue reading…

Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images For the first time, surgeons successfully attached a kidney from a genetically modified pig to a human patient — a major scientific breakthrough, and one that could open up a new way to provide organs to sick people.Scientists got the kidney from a pig genetically engineered so that it wouldn’t produce a sugar called alpha-gal, which the human immune system attacks and would trigger the body to reject the organ. Surgeons at NYU attached the organ to a brain-dead patient on a ventilator whose family agreed to the experimental procedure. It was connected outside of her body to blood vessels on her leg, and observed over a period of 54 hours.The recipient’s body didn’t immediately reject the kidney, and the kidney functioned normally... Continue reading…

Photo illustration by Chesnot/Getty Images A UK watchdog has fined Facebook £50 million ($70 million USD) for purposely concealing information about its Giphy acquisition (via TechCrunch). Facebook began its $400 million acquisition of Giphy in 2020, and even members of Congress thought it was a bad idea.The company’s dealings with the massive GIF-making hub were called out by UK regulators in August, leading the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to launch an antitrust probe. As part of the investigation, the CMA issued an initial enforcement order (IEO) that prohibits any further integration between Facebook and Giphy, which is supposed to allow the companies to continue competing as if there was no acquisition at all.“No decision has yet been reached in relation to the... Continue reading…

Image: DJI Drone-maker DJI has announced a cinema camera that comes with a built-in gimbal, can shoot at up to 8K resolution, and uses a LIDAR rangefinder that promises a “sharper, faster, and more reliable focusing experience,” even in low light. It’s called the Ronin 4D, and while it’s aimed squarely at professionals, it’s loaded with interesting features and shows that DJI is continuing to develop its camera tech outside of drones.The Ronin 4D’s camera is called the Zenmuse X9, and it’s full-frame, has interchangeable lens mounts for DJI’s DL and Leica’s M systems, and includes nine (nine!) built-in ND filters for controlling your exposure in the sun. The 6K model can do 6K at 60fps and 4K120, and the 8K model can do 75fps at its max... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Got a moral quandary you don’t know how to solve? Fancy making it worse? Why not turn to the wisdom of artificial intelligence, aka Ask Delphi: an intriguing research project from the Allen Institute for AI that offers answers to ethical dilemmas while demonstrating in wonderfully clear terms why we shouldn’t trust software with questions of morality.Ask Delphi was launched on October 14th, along with a research paper describing how it was made. From a user’s point of view, though, the system is beguilingly simple to use. Just head to the website, outline pretty much any situation you can think of, and Delphi will come up with a moral judgement. “It’s bad,” or “it’s acceptable,” or “it’s good,” and so on.Each answer from the AI oracle... Continue reading…

Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge Samsung is bringing some new features to its Galaxy Watch 4 smartwatches in a new update, the company announced Wednesday. Perhaps the most significant change is four new watchfaces, which include a basic dashboard and a weather-focused one. You can see them in the GIF below from Samsung. New faces aren’t the only updates headed to the new watches; you’ll also be able to use a “knock-knock” motion in the air to launch a preset app or feature. Fall detection has also been improved so that if you’re standing still and you fall, the watch will still detect it.The update adding the new features will roll out starting Wednesday for Bluetooth versions of the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, while the LTE versions... Continue reading…

Drones will soon be buzzing overhead in Dallas-Fort Worth, bearing small containers filled with Tylenol and Band-Aids. Wing, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, is bringing its drone delivery service to the Texas city, its first densely populated market.Wing is starting small, making deliveries from just one Walgreens to the city of Frisco and town of Little Elm. The company says it will be utilizing its new operational model, in which small shipping containers parked next to the store act as tiny hangers from which Wing’s drones will be deployed. Walgreens employees, rather than Wing technicians, will be trained in how to attach the packages to the company’s drones.Drone deliveries were supposed to revolutionize the... Continue reading…

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 Bespoke Edition. | Image: Samsung Samsung released the Galaxy Z Flip 3 in August, but if none of the colorways were exactly what you wanted, the company will let you make your own design with the new Z Flip 3 Bespoke Edition. The new phone was announced at the company’s Unpacked Part 2 event on Wednesday.You won’t be able to customize the Bespoke Edition with any color you want, but Samsung is offering a lot of options. You’ll be able to choose a black or silver phone frame and front and back colors (aka the top and bottom, if the phone is open) of blue, yellow, pink, white, or black.If you get tired of your color combination, you’ll be able to make a slight change down the line by swapping out the colors on the back glass panel of the phone for a fee with the Bespoke... Continue reading…