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by Jay Peters on (#5QY3E)
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…
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The Verge
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
| Feed | http://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml |
| Updated | 2025-07-27 20:03 |
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by Barbara Krasnoff on (#5QY3H)
Virtual desktops aren’t new to Windows. In Windows 10, it was a simple matter to create a separate desktop so that, for example, you could have one desktop for one project and a second for another, or one for your work and a second for your personal apps.However, in Windows 11, there has been an upgrade. Now, you can also have a different wallpaper for each desktop, making it easier to distinguish one from another (and offering you a different mood, depending on what you’re using it for). And there are a number of other features that make the use of virtual desktops easy and efficient. Note that some of these were actually introduced in Windows 10, but together with the new features of Windows 11, they make a handy toolbox.Create a... Continue reading…
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by Sheena Vasani on (#5QXZY)
You can save $200 on the 2021 iPad Pro today. | Photo by Kayla Murkison / The Verge If you can’t wait to get your hands on Apple’s new MacBook Pros, check out this great iPad Pro deal, which will certainly keep you distracted in the meantime. Today at Amazon, you can save $200 on this upgraded 12.9-inch model that has 256GB of storage. Typically $1,199, the retailer is offering the Wi-Fi-only version in space gray for $999 instead, which is an appealing price since it’s the current cost of the 128GB version.In our review, we praised the iPad Pro’s beautiful Mini LED screen, the fast M1 processor, and the Center Stage camera, which follows faces while you make video calls. The iPad also offers good dual rear cameras that are paired with lidar, excellent microphones, support for the second-gen Apple Pencil, and more. R... Continue reading…
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by Ash Parrish on (#5QXZZ)
No Man’s Sky is getting its fourth seasonal update with a new expedition called Emergence. Just in time for spooky season (and, coincidentally, the theatrical release of Dune) Emergence focuses on discovering, taming, and battling giant sandworms.The trailer for Emergence features some of the wormy updates coming to No Man’s Sky. Existing sandworms will come in more varieties, players can obtain a grotesque Sarlacc pit-looking helmet, and, perhaps most importantly, players will be able to tame and ride giant flying sandworms.Since expeditions launched in March of this year, Hello Games says Emergence is the first one to feature a dedicated narrative. Starting on the sand-blighted planet of Wasan, explorers will unravel the mysteries... Continue reading…
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by Adi Robertson on (#5QXW7)
Oculus I didn’t have stellar hopes going into Resident Evil 4’s virtual reality adaptation.VR versions of non-VR games are often at best superfluous and at worst painful — sometimes literally if you’re prone to motion sickness. Resident Evil 7 supported VR to questionable effect in 2017. And Resident Evil 4 in VR, an Oculus Quest 2 version of Capcom’s 2005 GameCube game, makes a lot of tradeoffs that sound compromising on paper. But the weirdest part by far? It mostly works. Resident Evil 4’s VR version retools a horror classic with VR combat satisfying enough to make up for its myriad rough edges, producing something surprisingly fun.Unlike Capcom’s recent Resident Evil 2 and 3 console remakes, which were heavily reimagined versions of their... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#5QXT0)
Brave Search launched in beta earlier this year. | Image: Brave Brave, the privacy-focused browser that blocks third-party ads and trackers by default, is switching to using its own search engine by default, the company has announced. The change will be applied for new users, and will affect which search engine is used via the browser’s address bar. Brave Search will replace Google in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, Qwant in France, and DuckDuckGo in Germany. More countries will be switched over in the coming months.It’s a significant step for Brave’s fledgling search engine, which launched in public beta earlier this year, since most people just take what they’re given. The search engine set as the browser default is a valuable promotion tactic, and so important that the practice has... Continue reading…
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by Casey Newton on (#5QXT1)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Today, let’s talk about a fault line that’s beginning to open up in the gaming world, one I suspect will soon be coming to most platforms and app stores. It’s a divide that begins with a simple question: will your platform allow NFTs? Crypto payments? You know … blockchain stuff?Like it or not, the rise of non-fungible tokens as an engine for fun and profit has been one of the tech world’s big stories in 2021. Using the blockchain to create unique digital objects with verifiable, transferrable ownership has opened up new possibilities in art, digital trading cards, and gaming. At least for the moment, it seems likely that other forms of media will follow.Recently I’ve written about ways in which NFTs are challenging the current... Continue reading…
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by Catie Keck on (#5QXGE)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Mere hours before a planned walkout from Netflix’s trans and allied workers over comments made by Dave Chappelle in a recent special, co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said he “screwed up” over his response to employees over outrage from within the company.Chappelle’s special The Closer debuted on the streaming service earlier this month and immediately came under fire from members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community as well as Netflix employees who criticized the special as being transphobic. Sarandos, for his part, has stood by the special, telling employees that Netflix doesn’t allow titles on its service “that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line.”In an interview with Variety published on... Continue reading…
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by Sam Byford on (#5QXGF)
Oppo’s current Find X3 Pro flagship phone. | Photo by Sam Byford / The Verge Oppo is developing its own high-end chips for flagship mobile phones, according to a report in Nikkei. Two people who spoke to the newspaper said that the plan was to release custom SoCs in 2023 or 2024 “depending on the speed of development.” Oppo reportedly wants to use TSMC’s advanced 3nm process technology for the chips.If plans come to pass, Oppo would be the latest major smartphone manufacturer to take control of its own SoC design. Yesterday Google launched the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, its first phones with a custom SoC called Tensor. Apple and Samsung also design their own smartphone chips, as did Huawei before US sanctions decimated its mobile business.Oppo currently uses chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek, like all other Chinese... Continue reading…
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by Catie Keck on (#5QXF7)
Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Streaming services may pay up to 30 percent more to production workers as part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees’ (IATSE) deal with major Hollywood studios to avert a strike.The union tweeted a document that specifically outlined the new streaming terms of the tentative Basic Agreement. According to the one-sheet, the new agreement would secure higher wages for episodic streaming productions, including longform miniseries with runtimes longer than 66 minutes.Payouts on some miniseries could increase up to 30 percent, which will depend on how the project is classified. Longform productions that cost between $20 and $32 million, meanwhile, will no longer get a discount on account of the production heading to a... Continue reading…
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by Alex Heath on (#5QXE8)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Facebook is planning to change its company name next week to reflect its focus on building the metaverse, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.The coming name change, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to talk about at the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28th, but could unveil sooner, is meant to signal the tech giant’s ambition to be known for more than social media and all the ills that entail. The rebrand would likely position the blue Facebook app as one of many products under a parent company overseeing groups like Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and more. A spokesperson for Facebook declined to comment for this story.Facebook intends to transition to “being a metaverse company”Facebook already has... Continue reading…
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by Ash Parrish on (#5QXAY)
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Activision Blizzard, facing a discrimination lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (or DFEH), has filed an application to stay that lawsuit so it can investigate claims that DFEH lawyers engaged in ethical misconduct.The application claims that the DFEH is represented in the case by lawyers who previously worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (or EEOC) — a federal agency that investigates claims of workplace abuse. The application additionally claims such an arrangement is in violation of a California State Bar conflict of interest rule that says, “a lawyer who has formerly served as a public official or employee of the government [...] shall not otherwise represent a client in... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#5QXAZ)
Image: Apple If you’re looking at buying the $1,999 base model MacBook Pro 14-inch, there’s one upgrade that you may really want to make — the $20 one that gets you the 96W power adapter instead of the 67W included power adapter. That’s because, according to some wording on Apple’s MacBook Pro configuration page (spotted by MacRumors), you’ll need the more powerful charger if you want to take advantage of the computer’s fast charging feature, which can charge the laptop up to 50 percent in half an hour.Is it ridiculous that Apple is basically taxing the people who want to buy its least expensive (but still very pricey!) new MacBook Pro? Yes, absolutely — but you should still probably pay it if you want to charge your laptop up quickly. The... Continue reading…
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by Sean Hollister on (#5QXB0)
For the first time ever, Google’s new phones are powered by a Google-designed chip, giving the company an Apple-like level of control over the inner workings of the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. But if you were hoping that meant they’d also get an Apple-like level of new OS updates, the company is throwing a bit of cold water on that. Google’s support page shows it’s only promising to offer Android updates through October 2024 (via Android Police), a total of three years after release.“Users will still get at least 3 years of OS updates, after which we’re committing to ensure that Pixels will stay up-to-date and secure,” Google tells The Verge. “The frequency and categories of updates will depend on the capabilities and needs of the... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#5QX9K)
Facebook is delivering an update to Portal devices that will make it possible to turn off the Watch Together feature during calls in Household Mode. The update comes shortly after a BuzzFeed News article criticized Facebook’s blatant oversight of not including an “off” switch for the feature.Watch Together lets you watch shows, music videos, or funny clips with distant friends or family members. Choose a video from Facebook’s selection, and it’ll be simultaneously presented to you on your Portal and on your friend’s device, whether that may be a phone, tablet, or Portal.Watch Together may sound like a great idea, but it obviously isn’t ideal for parents who want to keep their kids away from videos on the internet. When a Portal device... Continue reading…
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by Adi Robertson on (#5QX9M)
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Activision Blizzard says more than 20 employees have “exited” the company, and more than 20 other employees have been reprimanded following complaints about misconduct. The Financial Times reported that the company sent a letter to staff on Tuesday with the details, and chief compliance officer Frances Townsend told the outlet that the list included game developers and “a few” supervisors but no members of the board. Activision Blizzard later posted the letter online.The letter outlines a company attempt to “earn our team’s confidence that, when they speak up, they will be heard” — following a series of lawsuits accusing Activision Blizzard employees of systematic discrimination and gender-based harassment. It says the disciplinary... Continue reading…
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by Richard Lawler on (#5QX13)
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Pre-orders for Google’s new line of phones started at the same time as their launch event, but for most of us, trying to buy a Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro has meant seeing nothing but error screens. Some unsteadiness is to be expected given the sudden demand, but at 1PM ET, the doors opened, and Google’s store seemed to fall flat.As of 5:40PM ET, Google says the store is operational again, and many of us have been able to put orders through. According to a spokesperson, “The Google Store was temporarily down but is now back up. We apologize for the inconvenience.”However, as 9to5Google points out, being able to submit an order is only part of it. Availability of different devices and projected delivery dates have continued to move around,... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#5QX9N)
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge At its fall event on Tuesday, Google announced the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, which feature its custom Tensor processor and the first big camera upgrade for Google’s phones since the Pixel 3. Since the Pixel 6s are available to preorder now, let’s take a look at how Google’s new phones compare on paper to their Android and iPhone competition.At this point, how Google’s Tensor custom chip will perform is the biggest question mark — Google says it’s comparable to the Snapdragon 888, but that’s not even Qualcomm’s most powerful chip today, and Qualcomm is holding an event in November, potentially to show off even newer chips. Stay tuned to The Verge, though, as we’re working on putting the Tensor through its paces to see how it performs in... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#5QX80)
Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge Microsoft is testing a feature that automatically mutes your speakers when you plug in headphones, fixing one of my biggest pet peeves with playing games on Xbox. The feature is rolling out to Xbox Insiders on the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring, which means it will very likely be available more broadly in the coming months.Right now, when you plug in headphones to your controller on Xbox, your speakers stay on, too, which means if you want to have the audio just play in your headphones, you have to separately turn down the volume on your speakers. The PS5, on the other hand, handily mutes speaker audio when you plug in headphones, and I’m glad Microsoft is following suit by working on a similar feature for Xbox. The option to atuomatically mute... Continue reading…
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by Catie Keck on (#5QX81)
An image from Netflix’s popular title Squid Game. | Image: Netflix Netflix will change the public-facing metrics it uses to rank the most popular titles on its streaming service, the company announced Tuesday.In the past, the company has ranked titles based on the completion of at least the first two minutes of a film or TV show in its first 28 days on the service. More recently, however, the company has released rankings based on the total number of hours a movie or series is viewed — a metric it will shift to moving forward beginning later this year, the company said in a letter to shareholders.“There is some difference in rankings [...] but we think engagement as measured by hours viewed is a slightly better indicator of the overall success of our titles and member satisfaction,” the company... Continue reading…
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by Loren Grush on (#5QX82)
Boeing’s Starliner seen rolling out to its launchpad, ahead of the August delay | Photo by /NASA via Getty Images Boeing says it is narrowing down the source of the issue that delayed the launch of its new Starliner spacecraft this summer, blaming the problem on excess water and humidity causing the vehicle’s valves to stick ahead of the flight. The company plans to extensively study the problematic valves over the months ahead and implement design changes, with the hope of launching Starliner again in mid-2022.Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is a new passenger spacecraft, designed to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Before Starliner can carry a crew, however, NASA wants Boeing to launch a successful flight of the vehicle without people on board, to prove the spacecraft can safely go... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#5QX83)
Image: Epic Games Epic Games is once again proving that no brand is safe from Fortnite by adding two playable characters from Dune to its hit battle royale shooter. Starting Tuesday at 8PM ET, you’ll be able to buy virtual Fortnite avatars of Paul Atreides and Chani modeled after Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, the actors who play them in the upcoming movie. There are a handful of other Dune-themed items you can pick up as well, including an ornithopter glider and a Sand Walk emote that mimics how the characters walk to avoid detection by gigantic sandworms.The tie-up arrives just a few days before Dune’s premiere in theaters and on HBO Max on Friday. While it doesn’t seem as if sandworms will actually be making an appearance in the game (to my great... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#5QX5S)
Ports, ports, glorious ports. | Image: Apple There’s plenty to be excited about when it comes to Apple’s new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros. As well as souped-up Pro and Max versions of the already capable M1 chip that Apple debuted last year, they also include numerous quality of life improvements like the return of MagSafe, a row of function keys rather than an OLED Touch Bar, and of course, a full selection of ports that won’t have users reaching for a dongle if they just want to import some photos from an SD card.In fact, Apple was so enthusiastic about these “new” features, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that it was the one that killed most of them off in 2016.“Users value the full-height function row on the standalone Magic Keyboard, and we’ve brought it to the MacBook... Continue reading…
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by Sheena Vasani on (#5QX5T)
The AirPods Pro still sells for $249. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge In addition to new MacBooks on October 18th, Apple finally also introduced its third-generation AirPods, which are set to ship on October 26th for $179 and are available for preorder now. Apple also lowered the cost of the now-entry-level AirPods 2 from $159 to $129 and will now only sell the version that comes with a wired charging case. As a result, the AirPods lineup now consists of four models of AirPods: the $129 AirPods 2, the $179 AirPods 3, the $249 AirPods Pro, and the $549 AirPods Max.With such a wide range of AirPods available at various price points, it can be overwhelming to try to figure out which one you should purchase. That’s why we’ve put together this guide comparing the models to each other — so you can find the... Continue reading…
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by Makena Kelly on (#5QX5V)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Senate Democrats called on Facebook to end its digital wallet and cryptocurrency project in a letter to chief executive Mark Zuckerberg Tuesday, saying that the company “cannot be trusted to manage cryptocurrency.”The letter comes hours after Facebook launched Novi, a new digital wallet, as part of a “small” pilot program in the US and Guatemala. Facebook first announced its plans to enter the cryptocurrency industry over two years ago, but the digital currency project, called Libra, was halted after heavy criticism from lawmakers and regulators. The Libra currency was later rebranded as “Diem,” which has yet to be released alongside the new wallet product.The letter comes hours after Facebook launched NoviIn their letter, Sens. Brian... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#5QX3Y)
Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Sinclair, the broadcast group that runs some of the most popular local channels across the US, experienced a nationwide outage during a ransomware attack on October 16th (via The Record). Viewers initially were informed technical difficulties caused the disruption, but the US Securities and Exchange Commission published a filing from Sinclair two days later, identifying ransomware as the source of the outage.“Certain servers and workstations in its environment were encrypted with ransomware, and that certain office and operational networks were disrupted,” the report reads. “Data also was taken from the Company’s network. The Company is working to determine what information the data contained and will take other actions as appropriate... Continue reading…
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by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#5QX3Z)
Screenshot The typical sell for a video doorbell is: “You need to see what’s going on at your front door from your phone so no one steals your Amazon packages.” Smart home company Wyze has gone a step further, warning its prospective users: “You need a video doorbell so your neighborhood kids don’t put flaming bags of poop on your doormat.”In a frankly hilarious video promoting the new Wyze Video Doorbell Pro, the company invites you to purchase its newest doorbell so you can keep a watchful eye over the bonafide war zone that is the classic suburban neighborhood.The video opens with a soothing James Earl Jones-style voiceover discussing the magnificence of the American “Front Porch” as a young boy runs joyfully along the path to his front door.... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#5QX40)
Photo by Snapchat At today’s Pixel event, Google dove into the details about the Pixel 6 series devices and outlined a brand new feature that will make sending Snaps even faster. The new feature, called Quick Tap to Snap, adds a camera-only version of Snapchat directly to the lock screen of the Pixel.
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by Mitchell Clark on (#5QX11)
Google just wrapped up its Pixel 6 Fall Launch event, where it announced two new phones as well as a wealth of features that are supported by its new Tensor processor. Here are the biggest things Google announced during its live stream. Image: Google Google finally shows off the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 ProAfter months of leaks, we got the full details on Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones — the Pixel 6 will sell for $599 and the Pixel 6 Pro for $899. Both will feature Google’s Tensor processor and a 50-megapixel camera (which bins images down to 12.5-megapixels during processing). The phones also feature an ultra-wide camera, and the Pro adds a telephoto camera and gives the selfie camera an upgrade with a wider... Continue reading…
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by Cameron Faulkner on (#5QX12)
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge There’s a lot that we already knew about the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro ahead of their debut at Google’s October 2021 event. Some of the key specs, including the Tensor processor and the camera details, were made publicly available by Google itself. But of course, we know a lot more now than we did before.Check out my colleague Dan Seifert’s big hands-on with both phones right here. It dives into the design, features, and he talks about how this is a big moment both for Google to prove that its Tensor processor is as good as it claims to be and that it knows how to make flagship phones that people want.If all that you’re curious about is raw specs, we’ve got that below. Given that the design differences between the Pixel 6 Pro and... Continue reading…
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by Sean O'Kane on (#5QX14)
Image: Nikola Hydrogen trucking startup Nikola is being allowed to continue its three-year-old $2 billion patent lawsuit against Tesla. A federal judge shelved the suit earlier this month after the two companies stopped responding to the court’s orders.The case against Tesla will still remain “administratively closed” but won’t be dismissed, Judge James Donato said in a new order on Tuesday. He assigned Nikola two new January deadlines: one to walk the court through the technologies in question and one for a hearing about the scope of the patents Nikola claims were infringed.Donato closed the case on October 1st after neither Nikola nor Tesla responded to orders in July and September to prep and schedule these meetings. He gave Nikola an October 6th... Continue reading…
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by Ash Parrish on (#5QX15)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is delighted to announce the long-awaited nuptials between Mr. Doom Slayer Ripandtearington III and Ms. Isabelle née Shizue. The wedding ceremony took place during Smash Ultimate’s final content update.Mr. Doom Slayer and Ms. Isabelle are a match made in Final Destination. The two met back in March 2020 when their respective games Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched on the same day. With the vast differences between their two lines of work, the pairing was regarded as little more than an accidental meeting of polar opposites. But what started as a joke quickly became serious as memes of the two spread throughout the internet, sparking rumors that there was more to this unlikely couple —... Continue reading…
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by Dieter Bohn on (#5QX16)
Sundar Pichai (left) and Rick Osterloh (right). | Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge ‘We acknowledge we’re a challenger’ Continue reading…
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by Richard Lawler on (#5QX17)
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge The Pixel 6 is Google’s first phone with a custom-designed SoC, and the appeal of the Tensor chip isn’t in raw power, it’s what the combination of hardware and software can do. Speech and image processing that happens on device are great for Google Assistant or improving photographs, but a feature many owners will appreciate at launch is an improved Phone app that’s built to manage annoying calls to customer service lines. Image: Google According to Google, the app can tell you the current hold time for a business’s 1-800 number before you even dial, as well as the projected wait times for later in the day or week. These projections are “inferred from call length data that is not linked to user identifier.” Google... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#5QX18)
Google’s new Pixel Stand wireless charger. | Image: Google Google revealed a new second-generation Pixel Stand wireless charger on Tuesday. The new charger offers charging speeds of up to 23W with “compatible Pixel phones” and up to 15W with other Qi-certified devices. To keep the stand cool while it’s charging at those higher speeds, the new Pixel Stand has a “nearly silent built-in fan,” which could be similar to the fans inside recent OnePlus chargers. We haven’t used the stand ourselves, though, so we’ll have to wait and see if the fan is as quiet as Google claims it will be.Like Google’s first Pixel Stand, the second-generation version is designed to let your phone sit in portrait mode. That could make it easier to keep up with texts and notifications as they come in.The new Pixel Stand... Continue reading…
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by Cameron Faulkner on (#5QWYB)
Google The final version of Android 12 has been available to developers and eager fans for a few weeks on AOSP, but today, it officially launched for people who want to easily pick up the update over the air. It’s available to install right now on Pixel 3 and up, including the Pixel 3A, Pixel 4, Pixel 4A, Pixel 4A 5G, the Pixel 5, and the Pixel 5A. It’ll launch on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, as well. Android 12 will be coming later this year to Samsung Galaxy, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Tecno, Vivo, and Xiaomi devices.The most noticeable feature in Android 12 is the new Material You design, which lets you go a little deeper to tweak the look of the homescreen to your liking. It’s more expressive than previous versions of Android, with tools to... Continue reading…
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#5QWYC)
The rear bar of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro house new cameras. | Image: Google Today at its Pixel Fall Launch event, after many pre-announcements and leaks, Google finally announced all the details of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Some of the biggest changes to these new flagship phones from Google are updated camera modules. Pixel phones were long the champions of smartphone photography, but Google has been resting on its laurels for a while, using the same 12.2-megapixel Sony IMX363 sensor from Pixel 3 through Pixels 5 and 5A.Now, the main cameras of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro house a 50-megapixel sensor that is larger than its predecessors and bins the images down to a 12.5-megapixel output. Google claims it can capture 150 percent more light than the Pixel 5. Following the iPhone playbook, both Pixels feature... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#5QWYE)
The Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Google Pixel Pass is a new subscription bundle designed to let US customers pay for a Pixel phone in monthly installments while also getting access to Google’s premium subscription services like 200GB of Google One cloud storage, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium, and Google Play Pass.Prices start at $45 a month for Pixel 6 or $55 for a Pixel 6 Pro, and Google says they’re available unlocked and should work with all major carriers. Pixel Pass subscribers are eligible for an upgrade after two years, Google says, and the subscription also includes an extra year of warranty coverage over the standard one-year manufacturer warranty (aka Preferred Care).Starting at $45 a monthPixel Pass, which is being announced today alongside the... Continue reading…
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by Dan Seifert on (#5QWYD)
The Google Pixel 6 Pro (left) and Pixel 6 | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Google claims to finally be ready to take on Apple and Samsung Continue reading…
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by Dieter Bohn on (#5QWTP)
Image: Google The biggest Pixel in years — literally Continue reading…
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by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#5QWTQ)
Wyze’s Video Doorbell Pro promises up to 6 months of battery life | Image: Wyze Smart home company Wyze has revealed its latest category-breaking device, and this time, it’s going straight for Ring’s lunch with an impressive-sounding video doorbell that checks pretty much all the right boxes. Except maybe the “cool style and nice design” one.Available for preorders on October 19th and shipping in December, the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro costs $65 (plus shipping), can be installed fully wired or wire-free, has up to six months of battery life, and a 1:1 aspect ratio that can take in your entire front porch. It records and streams video in 1440 x 1440 HD and offers 12-second clip playback for motion and sound events for free. The recordings are stored in Wyze’s cloud; there is no local storage option.The doorbell comes... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#5QWTR)
Image: Apple Apple’s new MacBook Pros are here, and they may actually live up to the “Pro” moniker. But there’s one big question that comes with the new sizes and processors: how’s the battery life? To hear Apple tell it, it’s going to be great — the company even said onstage that the 16-inch had the best battery life ever, besting last year’s M1 Macs (which it also boasted would have the longest-lived batteries). But the metric Apple used to back up that claim is a bit suspect, and its other numbers tell a very different story.In its keynote and press release, Apple says the 14-inch MacBook Pro will provide 17 hours of video playback and estimates that the 16-inch model can last for an unprecedented-for-Macs 21 hours. But using video playback as a... Continue reading…
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by Nicole Froio on (#5QWTS)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Facebook outage shut down an entire economy of informal work Continue reading…
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by Chaim Gartenberg on (#5QWTT)
The day that many have been dreading has finally arrived. Apple has added a notch to its new MacBook Pros. And somehow, Apple — notch pros at this point — managed to utterly botch the notch. Because the new MacBook Pros completely missed out on the most important part of the notch: adding Face ID.I’ve been on the record of being extremely pro-MacBook notch: back in 2018, I argued that Apple should do exactly what it’s done here: add a notch to its MacBook laptops, taking up the exact width of the persistent menu bar that already permanently lives on the top of its macOS software (barring the occasional dip into a full-screen app).And to be fair, Apple has actualized most of the benefits of a notch: smaller bezels, particularly at the... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#5QWTV)
Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images You may soon be able to watch your local teams’ home games without cable TV, as the MLB is considering launching a web-based streaming service that will do exactly that (via New York Post). Shrinking viewership rates may be the main factor behind the potential streaming service. As the New York Post points out, the MLB viewership has dropped 12 percent this year in comparison to 2019.The MLB already offers MLB.TV, a streaming service for out-for-market games. Unlike MLB.TV, the planned streaming service will only focus on local games that you can currently only view via regional cable. MLB.TV would still be available if and when the new streaming service launches.A subscription could cost anywhere from $10 to $20 per monthHaving both... Continue reading…
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by Alice Newcome-Beill on (#5QWQQ)
For the next 48 hours, NZXT is giving 10 percent off all of its pre-built BLD systems. This includes its pre-fab configurations, as well as any custom-tailored builds. With PC parts at something of a premium right now, a sale like this is fantastic for anyone that’s been biding their time on investing in a new PC.Pre-builts are the easiest way to currently get your hands on a new GPU without having to spend an absolute mint, and with NZXT’s BLD service, you also get the added benefit of a two-year warranty on parts and labor, as well as guaranteed performance right out of the box.While NZXT has been in the pre-built PC game for a while now, a new service it’s offering is the NZXT BLD kit. This is the first time a major PC manufacturer... Continue reading…
by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#5QWQR)
Apple Music Voice relies entirely on your dulcet tones to play music from any Siri-enabled device | Image: Apple The new Apple Music Voice plan that Apple announced at its “Unleashed” event on Monday is causing some confusion. I’m here to help you understand this new, cheaper option, which capitalizes on the power of Apple’s smart voice assistant, Siri (don’t laugh).Put simply, the Apple Music Voice plan is a voice control-only access to the service’s catalog of 90 million songs. It arrives later this year, and with it, you can play everything — full albums, individual songs, Apple’s playlists; it’s all-you-can-eat Apple Music. The caveat is you have to use your voice to control it, and you have to play it through a Siri-enabled device, such as a HomePod Mini (now in some spiffy new colors), AirPods, or an iPhone.What it is not is a fee to use... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#5QWQS)
Users will have to accept an invite to be co-author of a post. | Image: Instagram Instagram is kicking off a week of product reveals with the announcement of “Collabs,” a new feature that lets two users jointly share ownership of a single feed post or Reel. Tomorrow, it’s following this up by testing a new way to add a nonprofit fundraiser to a post, and finally on Thursday it’s rolling out the ability to create photo and video posts on desktop, as well as launching new music-focused effects for Reels.The new Collabs feature effectively allows two accounts to co-author a post or Reel. The post or Reel will appear jointly to each user’s followers and will share the same comment thread, as well as view and like counts. Collabs are enabled from the tagging screen, after which the second account will have to accept the... Continue reading…
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by Sam Byford on (#5QWQT)
A shock to the ecosystem Continue reading…
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by Chaim Gartenberg on (#5QWKT)
Image: Facebook Facebook is finally starting to roll out a “small pilot” of its Novi digital wallet today in the US and Guatemala, more than two years after it was first announced. The pilot program will let users send and receive money “instantly, securely, and with no fees” using the Paxos stablecoin, in partnership with Coinbase (which will be serving as the custody partner that holds the actual funds for the pilot).According to Facebook’s David Marcus, the head of F2 (Facebook Financial), the pilot is meant to “test core feature functions, and operational capabilities in customer care and compliance,” in addition to trying to demonstrate a viable use of stablecoins for payments.
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