The Verge

David Sacks speaking at the 2024 Republican National Convention. | Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images President-elect Donald Trump says that VC and All-In podcast co-host David Sacks will be the White House A.I. & Crypto Czar."The appointment of Sacks, who hosted a $300,000-a-person dinner at his San Francisco mansion to fundraise for Trump's campaign, follows the appointment of fellow PayPal mafia member Elon Musk to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency." According to Bloomberg, like Musk, Sacks will be a special government employee" who can serve up to 130 days a year without divesting or publicly disclosing his assets.Here's what Sacks will be tasked with in his role, according to Trump:

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge iFixit now sells genuine Xbox parts you can use to repair your Xbox Series X or S and offers official guides to help with fixes. You can browse what's available from iFixit's Microsoft Repair Hub.We're excited to be working with Microsoft to keep Xboxes running longer and out of the waste heap," Elizabeth Chamberlain, iFixit's director of sustainability, says in a statement to The Verge. We now offer official Microsoft parts and step-by-step repair guides for Xbox Series S and Series X, including both the all-digital and disk drive editions."iFixit's Microsoft Repair Hub also features iFixit's parts for repairing Microsoft Surface devices, which it started selling in 2023. Since we launched our Surface parts collaboration with Microsoft last year, we've been helping our customers repair their own Microsoft laptops and tablets - and it's awesome to be able to offer Xbox owners the same opportunity," Chamberlain says.Microsoft isn't the only gaming company that iFixit has partnered with; iFixit sells nearly every part of the Steam Deck and offers a bunch of repair guides for Valve's handheld PC, too. Microsoft itself offers first-party parts for the standard and Elite Series 2 Xbox controllers.iFixit also offers genuine repair parts for Google's Pixel phones and the Pixel Tablet. The company had sold genuine parts from Samsung, but that partnership ended earlier this year.

Image: Riot Games The League of Legends universe is expanding once again - this time with a physical card game. Riot Games announced today that it's developing a physical trading card game set in the League universe. The game is currently known as Project K," and Riot says it's working with an unnamed partner in China to release the game there in early 2025. As for a global release, Riot says, We are taking our time to find the right publishing partners."There aren't a lot of details available about Project K. According to Riot, the game has unique gameplay and is best when played with friends and in person," and development is being led by director Dave Guskin and producer Chengran Chai. You can get a sense of the game in the images below:Of course, this is far from the first spinoff from League. So far, that has included mobile games like Teamfight Tactics and Wild Rift, the Netflix series Arcane, and the competitive fighting game 2XKO, which is expected to launch next year. Not all of these bets have paid off. In January, Riot announced that it was cutting more than 500 jobs, which included shutting down Riot Forge Games, a publishing label for indie games set inside of League. Also impacted was Legends of Runeterra, a mobile card game that launched in 2020, which Riot said hasn't performed as well as we need it to."The Project K news comes as card games are having another moment, led largely by the new smartphone version of the Pokemon Trading Card Game.

Image: Bethesda The game's most interesting bits are trapped in cutscenes while its boring bits are the stuff you actually have to play out. Read the full story at The Verge.

Two more OS upgrades are on the way for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Owners of Pixel 6-series, 7-series and Pixel Fold phones can look forward to a couple extra years of OS upgrades than initially expected, as discovered by Android expert Mishaal Rahman and confirmed by Google on X. When they were introduced, Google originally promised three years of OS upgrades and five years of security patches for each device, starting from the time they went on sale. But a quiet update to a support page confirms that these phones will get two additional OS upgrades, giving them a full five years of OS and security support that may also include new and upgraded features with Pixel Drops." That, my friends, rules.Google's three-and-five policy wasn't bad, but it wasn't the best either - after the Pixel 6 arrived in 2021, Samsung did one better by offering four years of OS updates for the Galaxy S22. Google got its act together with the Pixel 8, announcing a class-leading seven years of OS and security update support. Which is great! But you wouldn't blame a Pixel 6 or 7 owner for feeling like they were unfairly left behind. Google seems to be making up some of the shortfall by offering these additional OS upgrades, and it's a welcome change.

Illustration: The Verge Google is making it easier to switch off personalized search results thanks to an option that sometimes appears at the bottom of the results page, as reported by Search Engine Roundtable. After searching for something, scroll all the way down and look for a link to Try without personalization." Click or tap that and Google will load a new page without personalized results.The link might not be present for you in all searches. Some results for me include a message at the end of the results page that already says Results are not personalized." This might be user error - maybe I have other settings that prevent it from appearing or am not using the right queries. But I did get the option to turn off personalized results much more often for searches on my iPhone than on my Mac, for some reason.This change makes it easier for people to get an accurate understanding of whether their results have been personalized, while also providing them with the opportunity to explore non-personalized results," spokesperson Ned Adriance says in a statement. We also make it easy for people to adjust their personalization settings at any time." Adriance adds that while we previously showed this information in About this result on individual results, this display is more accessible and clear."Adriance also says that the link gives people the option to temporarily view results that aren't personalized" - so note that if you tap the link to try results without personalization, you're not permanently changing your personalization settings.You have already been able to get unpersonalized search results for a very long time; as Search Engine Roundtable reported in 2007, you can see unpersonalized results by appending a parameter, &pws=0," to the end of a Google search URL. You can also turn off personalized search from your Google account settings.Updates, December 5th: Added context from Google.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Following news that foreign hackers may still be in US telecom networks, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a new rule that would require telecom companies to secure their networks from unlawful access or interception of communications." It would also force providers to submit an annual certification to the FCC stating they have implemented a plan to counter cybersecurity threats.On Wednesday, US officials recommended Americans use encrypted apps to make phone calls and texts in response to the ongoing infiltration of telecom networks linked to the Chinese hacking group Salt Typhoon. Deputy national security advisor Anne Neuberger confirmed that at least eight telecom providers have been impacted by the hack, as reported by Bleeping Computer.We cannot say with certainty that the adversary has been evicted because we still don't know the scope of what they're doing," Neuberger said during a press briefing, Bleeping Computer reports. Neuberger added that the attack has been going on for likely one to two years" but doesn't believe any classified communications has been compromised."The Wall Street Journal reported in October that Chinese hackers had broken into AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen's networks and even targeted members of President-Elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaigns. In a letter on Wednesday, Senators Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) urged Department of Defense Inspector General Robert Storch to investigate the DOD's failure to secure its unclassified telephone communications from foreign espionage."If the FCC's proposed rule is adopted, it will go into effect immediately.While the Commission's counterparts in the intelligence community are determining the scope and impact of the Salt Typhoon attack, we need to put in place a modern framework to help companies secure their networks and better prevent and respond to cyberattacks in the future," FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in the press release.

MainFrames. | Image: The Arcade Crew Before we all settle in for The Game Awards next week, this year's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted had its own assortment of interesting reveals and excellent trailers. It was an indie-focused showcase, which means that there was quite a bit of inventiveness on display; everything from a unique take on TMNT to a platformer where you jump around computer windows. If you missed the show live - which also included some news updates, like PlayerUnknown's ambitious plans for the future - here's a curated list of some of the best stuff that was on display.Moonlighter 2: The Endless VaultThe original Moonlighter mixed action RPG gameplay with the mundanity of running a shop, and the sequel looks like much of the same: only this time, players are transported to another dimension they need to escape. The Endless Vault launches in 2025 on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical TakedownOne of the biggest surprises was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown, from indie studio Strange Scaffold. It's billed as a turn-based take on the turtles, which is billed as an experience designed in part for quick-play sessions that feel meaningful." It takes place in a timeline without icons Shredder and Splinter. Given the studio's history - see Clickolding and An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs - it will hopefully also be weird in a good way. Tactical Takedown launches on PC in 2025.CairnThis rock-climbing adventure / survival game has been looking good for a while now, and you can finally check it out for yourself: Cairn just got a free demo on Steam.Sol MatesThere can never be enough co-op games. This release from Daruma Games supports local and online co-op for up to four players, who are tasked with surviving in the great expanse of space by doing odd jobs through the galaxy." It's also pretty darn cute. Sol Mates launches in early access next year.The Legend of BabooBilled as a heartfelt nod to Middle Eastern fables," this game looks like a potentially great mix of adventure, action, and puzzle solving, with a great big fluffy dog to ride on. In fact, you play as both the boy and the dog, who form a bond over the course of the game. Let's hope it has a happier ending than The Last Guardian. The Legend of Baboo is launching in 2025 on both PC and Xbox.AbyssusThanks to this game, I've learned of a fictional genre called brinepunk," where tech is powered by sea brine. It sounds weird, but this co-op shooter does take place in the fascinating underwater ruins of a long-gone civilization. Developer DoubleMoose says Abyssus will go into alpha on December 6th, with a full release next year.MainFramesAll you really need to know is that this is a platformer where you're jumping across a desktop PC interface, rearranging icons to solve puzzles, and fighting bosses controlled by the OS. It launches on both PC and the Nintendo Switch on March 6th.Deepest FearDeveloped by Variable State, the indie studio behind games Virginia and Last Stop, Deepest Fear is an immersive sci-fi horror title with distinct shades of Alien and The Thing. The developers say that it combines Metroidvania level design in the context of a classic FPS immersive sim, where the game's setting is a puzzle to unravel and where creativity and improvisation are your greatest assets." There's no release date yet, but Deepest Fear will (obviously) be launching on PC whenever it's ready.Blue PrinceIt looks a bit like a more colorful take on Myst, and Blue Prince is described as a game that combines compelling mystery, strategy, and puzzle elements to create an unpredictable journey through Mt. Holly, a peculiar manor with ever-changing rooms." It doesn't have a release date yet, but according to the new trailer, it's due out next spring.

Prologue: Go Wayback. | Image: Krafton It's been a while since we heard from Brendan PlayerUnknown" Greene, best known as the creator of the global battle royale hit PUBG. But now, Greene's studio, PlayerUnknown Productions, is detailing what it's working on - and there are multiple games in the works, all pointing toward a big final project.First up is a game called Prologue: Go Wayback!, described as a single-player open-world emergent game within the survival genre," which was previously teased in 2021. The big hook, it seems, is technical, as the game is being built with machine-learning-driven terrain generation technology, allowing the instant creation of millions of maps." Prologue is expected to launch in early access on Steam in 2025, following a series of playtests. To showcase what players can expect, the studio is launching a free tech demo on Steam today called Preface: Undiscovered World. You can check it out right here.According to the studio, these games are building blocks on the way to a more ambitious game currently codenamed Artemis," which will be a massive multiplayer sandbox experience." Greene previously talked about Artemis back in 2022; it was originally billed as a game with NFT support, though today's announcement has no mention of NFTs. Here's Greene on what players can eventually expect as the studio builds toward its big game:

Anker's Soundcore Bluetooth Speaker was recalled due to a fire hazard. Anker is recalling its Soundcore and PowerConf Bluetooth Speakers after receiving 33 reports of the speakers' lithium-ion batteries overheating and, in some instances, emitting smoke or causing small fires.The affected models - A3102016, A3302011 and A3302031 - were sold exclusively on Amazon in 2023 and cost between $28 and $130, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Approximately 69,000 speakers were sold in the US, and an additional 9,764 were sold i Canada.Anker and Amazon have contacted all known purchasers, according to the CPSC. The affected speakers can be identified by an SN code that is printed on the underside of the speakers. To check whether your devices were affected, type the SN code on Anker's website. Anker said it will offer free replacement speakers to those affected.Consumers who own the recalled speakers are advised to stop using them immediately, power them off, and disconnect them from chargers or other external power sources.

Photo by GREGG NEWTON/AFP via Getty Images NASA has, once again, postponed the Artemis missions that will return humans to the Moon. The Artemis II mission, which will have astronauts orbiting the Moon, had already been pushed from 2024 to September 2025 but is now planned for April 2026. Artemis III, which will return astronauts to the surface of the Moon near its south pole, is now planned to launch the following year in mid-2027.The 10-day Artemis II mission will send four astronauts to the Moon, including Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen. The mission won't include a landing, but it will be the first time astronauts launch aboard NASA's Space Launch System rocket inside the Orion crew capsule that will orbit the Moon before returning to Earth with a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.It will follow the uncrewed Artemis I mission that finally launched in November 2022 after years of delays due to technical difficulties and even a few hurricanes. Although Artemis I was a success, investigations into unexpected charring on the Orion capsule's heat shield, critical to protecting astronauts when re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, have contributed to the additional delays.Following extensive analysis, NASA says it has determined that the Orion capsule's heat shield did not allow for enough of the gases generated inside a material called Avcoat to escape," causing some of it to unexpectedly crack and break off during the Artemis I mission, instead of wearing away gradually as it heats up. Despite the charring, temperature sensors indicated the interior of the Orion capsule remained comfortable and safe for astronauts.For Artemis II, NASA engineers have decided the capsule can keep the crew safe during the planned mission with changes to Orion's trajectory as it enters Earth's atmosphere" and are preparing the capsule using the heat shield already attached. The updates to our mission plans are a positive step toward ensuring we can safely accomplish our objectives at the Moon and develop the technologies and capabilities needed for crewed Mars missions," said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.However, for the more ambitious Artemis III mission, the agency says it is implementing enhancements to how heat shields for crewed returns from lunar landing missions are manufactured" based on what it learned from Artemis I.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images OpenAI is planning to launch new features, products, and demos for 12 days straight - starting with the full release of its o1 reasoning model. OpenAI's 12 days of ship-mas" have officially begun, with the company set to reveal some new features, products, and demos during all 12 days starting December 5th, just a few days shy of the second anniversary of ChatGPT's explosive launch in 2022. According to the company, ChatGPT now has over 300 million weekly users.The event started with the release of its improved OpenAI o1 reasoning model out of preview, along with a new $200 ChatGPT Pro subscription that offers unlimited access to GPT-4o, Advanced Voice Mode, and an exclusive version of o1 that Sam Altman says can think even harder for the hardest problems."Sources tell The Verge that OpenAI will also launch Sora, its text-to-video AI generator. There's likely a lot more to come, and we're keeping track of all the announcements from OpenAI.You can follow along below as we continue to report on all the latest updates.

Image: OpenAI OpenAI is creating a new, more expensive tier for its flagship chatbot ChatGPT, and is bringing its reasoning" model series out of preview with an update.The company is releasing the full version of its o1 model (replacing o1-preview), which was initially released as a limited preview in September (code-named Strawberry'). The new model will be available for ChatGPT Plus and Team users today, while Enterprise and Edu users will have access to it starting next week.The company is also introducing ChatGPT Pro, a new $200 monthly subscription tier that includes unlimited access to OpenAI o1, GPT-4o, and Advanced Voice mode. It also includes a version of o1, exclusive to Pro users, that uses more compute to provide the best possible answer to the hardest problems (called o1 pro mode). The company will continue to offer a Plus tier for $20 a month that includes early access to new features, access to all the company's models (except the more powerful o1 version), and more. OpenAI OpenAI compares the performance of o1 preview, o1, and o1 pro mode. The Verge previously reported on the startup's plans to kick off a shipmas" period of new features, products, and demos for 12 days, with announcements that'll include OpenAI's long-awaited text-to-video AI tool Sora and a new model.The company said that compared to o1-preview, users can expect a faster, more powerful, and more accurate model that is better at coding and math. It can also provide reasoning" responses to images. And OpenAI promises it's been trained to be more concise, which should result in faster response times than o1-preview.OpenAI plans to add support for web browsing, file uploads, and more in ChatGPT - though there's no timeline for these changes.It also announced a ChatGPT Pro Grant Program that awards 10 grants of ChatGPT Pro to medical researchers at leading institutions, with plans for additional grants across various disciplines.

More features are coming to Android and Pixel phones starting today. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge New features are on the way for Android phones and Pixel devices. The update includes more descriptive video captions, a Gemini-powered update to the Lookout app, and a Spotify extension for Gemini. Pixel owners are getting a few additional updates, including deeper integration of the Pixel Screenshots app for Pixel 9 phones.The enhanced captions - or Expressive Captions as Google calls them - add descriptive phrases to try and capture non-spoken moments in dialogue; think [gasp] or [applause]. They'll appear throughout the system wherever you can access video captions, including social media apps and video messages. Image: Google Descriptive Captions will capture more of what's going on in the audio track. Another accessibility-minded update targets Lookout, an app that provides audio descriptions of photos and objects for people with low vision or blindness. Google is bringing its Gemini 1.5 model to the Image Q&A portion of the app to offer better descriptions of photos taken or opened with the app. It's a continuation of an effort Google highlighted at I/O to bring more AI features to Lookout.On the AI front, Google is adding more extensions to Gemini Assistant. The Spotify extension allows you to play music from Spotify through Gemini. When Gemini Assistant debuted, it was missing basic features like this one - capabilities that the non-AI Assistant has been offering for the better part of a decade. This is one more step toward feature parity between Gemini and the standard Google Assistant. Gemini will also get access to the Utilities extension that's been rolling out, allowing it to take more actions on your behalf, like making phone calls, sending emails, and changing phone settings.Other highlights of this update include the ability to create stickers with Emoji Kitchen inside Gboard, share photos with a QR code in Quick Share, and an improved scanning mode for receipts and the like in Google Drive. Compatibility varies for all of the above features, so you can check Google's support website to see what's available on your device and the version of Android it's running.Pixel phones get a little more with the December feature drop, with several new features specifically for the Pixel 9 series. The call screening feature gets a potentially useful update with contextual reply suggestions. As the caller speaks to the assistant, you can tap on a response to answer questions without picking up the call. Image: Google Gboard will offer some suggested phrases based on things you add to Screenshots. The Pixel 9's Screenshots app also gets a few updates. Now, when you use Circle to Search you'll have an option to save that search in the Screenshots app, which feels like a logical place to keep tabs on your previous queries. You can also turn on a new feature to show suggested search phrases in Gboard based on things you save to Screenshots. And if you've added tickets or credit cards to Google Wallet with a screenshot, you'll be able to save those in the Screenshots app, too.There are a handful of other features in the feature drop for previous-gen Pixel phones, including Identity Check, which will require additional authentication if the phone detects it's in a new location and sensitive settings are being accessed. Pixel 6 and newer phones will receive the update starting today; other feature updates are rolling out through the Google Play Services framework.Correction, December 5th: A previous version of this article said that Android 15 was required for these updates; they are not linked to Android 15 and are supported by a range of previous Android versions, depending on the feature.

Image: The Verge Microsoft is starting to test its new Copilot Vision feature today. Originally unveiled in October, Copilot Vision allows Microsoft's AI companion to see what you see on an Edge webpage you're browsing. You can then ask it questions about the text, images, and content you're viewing or use it to assist you.When you choose to enable Copilot Vision, it sees the page you're on, it reads along with you, and you can talk through the problem you're facing together," says the Copilot team in a blog post. Browsing no longer needs to be a lonely experience with just you and all your tabs."It's an entirely optional experience, and you have to explicitly grant permission for Copilot Vision to be able to read webpages in Microsoft's Edge browser. Microsoft originally demonstrated the feature in October by showing how its AI assistant could read images from a collection on OneDrive on the web and even decipher hand-written recipes and offer up cooking tips. You could also use this feature while you're shopping on the web to find product recommendations.Copilot Vision is in limited testing right now, available only to Copilot Pro subscribers through Microsoft's Copilot Labs program. It's clear Microsoft is taking its time on this particular feature as it allows AI models to start reading things you're seeing onscreen in a web browser, which will naturally generate privacy concerns. I'm sure the security concerns around the new Recall feature, which finally entered testing last month, played a big part in Microsoft treading carefully here.As we roll this out, Vision will only interact with a select set of websites to start," says the Copilot team. Over time, we will cautiously expand this list. It's important to stress that Vision does not capture, store or use any data from publishers to train our models. In short, we're prioritizing copyright, creators, and our user's privacy and safety - and are putting them all first."A limited number of Copilot Pro subscribers will be able to get access to Copilot Vision today in the US as Microsoft works to listen to feedback and iterate on Copilot Vision. It plans to expand access to more Pro subscribers and websites over time."

Screenshot: NZXT.com After a long video published over the weekend by Gamers Nexus called NZXT's Flex PC rental program a scam," the company responded Tuesday with a statement titled Addressing Your Concerns About the Flex Subscription Program." I want to acknowledge that we messed up," said NZXT CEO Johnny Hou in a video, promising changes like making the names of PCs available for rent or purchase easier to tell apart.However, what it said has not satisfied Gamers Nexus, which posted its own response, saying NZXT's statement not only misrepresents facts, but distorts the reality of their predatory rental computer program. The statement ignores major points and introduces several new concerns." The post says GN is working on a new investigation into the program that will take weeks or months to finalize."The two main actions NZXT says it's taking are on the PC names, like switching the name of its Player: One" rental PC to Flex: One Subscription PC," and influencer campaigns where the statements did not accurately reflect the details of our NZXT Flex program." NZXT says it has pulled all of its influencer-led" advertising while it updates the language and process.NZXT says it is adjusting the language in its subscriber agreement as well and will make it clear that the company doesn't sell user data on customers' returned PCs. Every Flex PC that comes back is fully wiped," Hou said.Hou also addressed the rental PC specs that Gamers Nexus said fluctuated day-to-day," noting that the Flex program doesn't give you fixed specs" due to the changing availability of components. Sometimes we don't have more supply coming in, so in the midst of that we actually have to change the specs of our PCs."However, this still doesn't explain why NZXT displayed the same estimated frames per second across builds with different components. The Verge has contacted NZXT about the program, but the company has not responded.

Master & Dynamic is bringing back a pair of wired earbuds it first introduced in 2015. | Image: Master & Dynamic Master & Dynamic has announced an updated version of its ME05 wired earphones. First introduced in 2015, the ME05 were eventually discontinued in early 2022 but the company is reintroducing them with familiar design elements including precision-machined brass acoustic enclosures" while updating other components to improve their performance. Like the originals, the new ME05 are $199 and are available now through Master & Dynamic's website, and coming to Amazon this winter."Upgrades made to the new version of the ME05 include custom high-excursion 8mm bio-cellulose drivers" and a better microphone with with proprietary wind reduction" to improve the quality of your voice during calls, even while outside. Image: Master & Dynamic An included USB-C to 3.5mm adapter serves as a digital to audio converter. The new ME05 also offer improved compatibility, says Master & Dynamic, with the inclusion of a 3.5mm to USB-C adapter featuring a built-in digital to analog converter that supports hi-res audio up to 32-bit/384kHz resolutions. For comparison, Tidal's hi-res streaming audio maxes out at 24-bit / 192 kHz. Image: Master & Dynamic The new version of the ME05 come in four different color options. The earphones come with foam ear tips in two sizes and silicone tips in five different sizes, and are available in four color options including gold and black, gunmetal and black, palladium and black, and palladium and white.Although Master & Dynamic has focused on premium wireless headphone offerings in recent years (amongst other headphone makers), wired headphones, including Apple's iconic tethered EarPods, still remain popular. But while Apple still sells wired earphones for $19, Master & Dynamic's revived ME05 are priced more in line with wired offerings from companies like Shure and Sennheiser that are targeted at audiophiles or musicians.

Pac-Man. | Image: Amazon Ever since it was announced, there has been some confusion over just what Secret Level actually is. The video game-themed anthology streaming on Prime Video - helmed by Love, Death & Robots creator Tim Miller - is a collection of animated shorts, each based on a different gaming property. So there's a Mega Man episode that explores the character's origin and a Spelunky episode that attempts to create a metanarrative around the concept of a roguelike.It's an interesting idea let down by a lack of interesting ideas. The 15 shorts are almost universally dull and manage to neither make their source material seem compelling nor provide new insights for existing fans. The real confusion is who this is actually for.The main problem is how homogenous Secret Level is. Working directly with game publishers, the show pulls from an oddball but also impressively global list, with titles like Chinese megahit Honor of Kings and Korean shooter Crossfire. But despite featuring a large variety of video games, its episodes all feel very samey. It's kind of the opposite of Love, Death & Robots, which featured a number of different styles and tones as it explored horror and sci-fi. That's how we... Read the full story at The Verge.

Image: The Verge AI investment is massive even though AI profits are not. How are investors justifying this pricey gamble on the future? Read the full story at The Verge.

The Meross Matter Smart Thermostat is the company's first thermostat compatible with North American heating and cooling systems. | Image: Meross Smart home company Meross announced its first Matter-certified smart thermostat and its first to work with North American whole-home heating and cooling systems. The Meross Matter Smart Thermostat costs $99.99, works over Wi-Fi, and features a white glass panel with a touch screen, smart scheduling, and can track system usage through the Meross app.The thermostat requires a C-Wire, and Meross says it's compatible with 95 percent of heating and cooling systems. It also appears it will work with Meross' smart temperature and humidity sensors, which are Matter-compatible. They cost $30 each, although you'll need a Meross hub to use them.Matter compatibility means the thermostat can integrate with platforms such as Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings locally over your Wi-Fi network without requiring a cloud connection. You should also be able to set up and use the thermostat directly on those platforms without requiring the Meross app. Image: Meross The new smart thermostat from Meross can track the heating and cooling usage of your HVAC system. Surprisingly, despite the popularity of smart thermostats - which take a lot of the pain out of programming your heating and cooling system and can use their smarts to help save you energy - there are only two Matter-compatible smart thermostats for US HVAC systems. Those are the Nest Thermostat ($129.99) and the new Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen) ($279.99) - both from Google. Other popular brands in the space, such as Ecobee, Amazon, and Honeywell Home, have not added Matter support to their thermostats.This means that if you're interested in using a Matter device to control your HVAC, Meross' new thermostat is now your least expensive option. While it doesn't come with the Nest Thermostat's smarts that will automatically adjust your schedule, it is the only thermostat with Matter-compatible room sensors. The Nest Learning Thermostat has room sensors, but they're not compatible with Matter.One reason for the lack of support for more thermostats in Matter could be the limited controls Matter allows for. Currently, you can only adjust the temperature and change the mode on compatible platforms. However, the most recent spec release for Matter (1.4) added support for scheduling and preset modes such as home / away and vacation settings. This addition means that once a platform supports 1.4, it will be easier to set up and use a Matter smart thermostat directly in your smart home platform of choice and not need to use the manufacturer's app.The Meross Matter Smart Thermostat costs $99.99 and is available now, with a launch price of $69.99 from the Meross store.

Ikea has updated its smart home app to bring dynamic lighting to its smart lights. | Image: Ikea Ikea updated its Home smart mobile app this week with a new dynamic lighting feature that will automatically adjust the color temperature and brightness of its smart lights throughout the day. It's similar to the natural light scene that Philips Hue introduced in late 2022, and is designed to provide warmer illumination in the mornings and evenings, with cooler hues in the day time.The new feature is mentioned in the version history notes of a recent update to the iOS version of the Ikea Home smart app, and is described as a way to keep your home in balance" that's great for mind, body, and soul." The Android version of Ikea's app was updated on the same day, according to Notebookcheck, but there's no mention of the new adaptive lighting feature there, only bug fixes and minor improvements.Given the feature is specifically tied to Ikea's Home smart app, it's only compatible with lighting products that connect to Ikea's Matter-ready Dirigera smart home hub that launched in the latter half of 2022. That includes products like its Sonos-compatible Symfonisk speaker lamp. However, it's not known if the feature will work with third-party smart lights through Matter, and The Verge has reached out to Ikea to confirm if it's compatible with the Adaptive Lighting feature in Apple's Home app.

A perfect example of the good and bad of Twos AI: paper towel prices are helpful, eBay listings, less helpful. | Image: Twos A lot of AI tools promise something like magic. Just write down all the stuff you need to do, or better yet, just let the tool record every second of your life, and presto manifesto, it'll do... something. Buy plane tickets, maybe, or magically reorder your calendar to maximize your flow state. The idea is huge and enticing, that you could just live your life and your AI assistant will make everything happen on your behalf. But hardly any of it works.The developers of the app Twos are taking a much more cautious and, as a result, much more actually useful approach. Twos is an app for taking notes, managing to-dos, and generally making lists of any and every kind - Parker Klein, the app's creator, just calls it a place to write things down." Klein has been working on the app for nearly a decade, first as a tool just for himself and most recently as a true startup. I've been using Twos off and on for a couple of years, and there's a lot to like about the app.The Twos AI approach, which Klein and cofounder Joe Steilberg call smart suggestions," is to use AI to help you simply take the first step in getting something done. If you write down the name of a movie, Twos might offer you a link to a JustWatch search or the IMDb page for that movie. If you write a person's name and phone number, it can add them to your contacts with one tap. If you're making a grocery list, it'll send you to Amazon or Walmart or Instacart to buy it.The logic behind all these suggestions is really simple: Twos looks for certain words and phrases to determine what you're trying to do and which integration makes the most sense. (You can pick and choose, too - I never use Uber Eats, for instance, so I turned that off entirely.) All the smart suggestions really do is take the first step. They're definitely not perfect - when I type bake blueberry muffins," it offers me an Allrecipes link, which is helpful and relevant, and a Google Maps search for blueberry muffins around me," which is not. But even in the feature's early days, I've found it way more useful than almost every other, vastly more ambitious productivity tool. Image: Twos Like any to-do list app worth its valuation, Twos now has an AI chatbot. Twos also has a built-in chatbot, which you can use to ask questions about your notes. If you use your note-taking app like a journal, this can be really cool - what was the name of that Thai food place we went to a few weeks ago?" is a surprisingly common question in my life. Lots of apps have something like this, and they all suffer from the same problem: if you don't put everything in the app, the search isn't that useful. But whether it's Notion or Dropbox or Twos, the AI integrations reward the heaviest users.AI turns Twos into not just my to-do list but the jumping-off point for all my tasks. Since the app works across platforms - it's fundamentally a web app, but there are versions for Android and iOS, Windows and Mac, and more - it's easy to just dump information into. Then, when it's time to leave for the restaurant I wrote down and promptly forgot the name of, I open Twos, tap the sparkles that appear next to any item with a smart suggestion, and it opens Google Maps and directs me there. You can store and organize things inside of Twos, but I find myself using it transiently, just for the small things in day-to-day life. I need to make bread: click the sparkles, bread recipes appear. Remember to buy those Sesame Street bath toys for the kid: click the sparkles, Amazon search done. Ollie's birthday is December 7th: click the sparkles, in my contacts.For now, the Twos smart suggestions are only available in beta testing, and there's a waitlist for new users. (Though Klein did tell me that if you sign up and use the code Verge," you'll be able to skip the line.) Klein and Steilberg are working on more integrations and more ways to do even more with just a few words of your writing. They're obviously enticed by how far this might go. Why not automatically buy the toys or start the grocery delivery and take a cut for themselves? It's an age-old idea, that one. Any.do tried it years ago; there was even a frenzy of apps like Magic that would do it all via text message. Even the Alexa business model used to depend on you being willing to just shout buy toilet paper" at your speaker and trust it to do the rest.There's just one problem with the idea: it doesn't work. There are too many logistical questions, too many ways to screw it up, and too many consequences for getting it wrong that it's not going to work anytime soon. If ever.In the meantime, the best AI tools work the way Twos does: by just helping you get started. Some apps help you search for information even when you don't know exactly how to ask for it; others write the first draft of code or an email to get you started. AI as a complete solution to just about anything still feels like fiction. AI as a first step? Pretty useful.

Image: Rivian Rivian's latest EV charging station is the first to be open to other companies' vehicles.The new station located in California's Joshua Tree National Park will be the companies' first that's available to non-Rivian electric vehicles. The station features a new design, including larger displays with a tap-to-pay option, that can accommodate any car brands' EVs.Currently, the Rivian Adventure Network, which comprises 560 chargers at 92 sites across the country, are exclusive to owners of the company's R1T and R1S vehicles. This was a similar approach to Tesla, which initially built its own Supercharger network so it could offer exclusive charging to its own customers.But with billions of dollars in federal funding at stake, automakers are now reassessing this exclusivity. One of the requirements for receiving federal funding for EV charging installation is that chargers need to be available to all EVs, not just a single brand.Rivian Adventure Network comprises 560 chargers at 92 sites across the countryTesla began opening its network to non-Tesla EVs in 2023. Soon after, it open-sourced its charging plug, renaming it the North American Charging Standard (NACS), and began making a series of deals with the rest of the auto industry (including Rivian) to use it for their EVs.Rivian's EV chargers use the standard CCS connector for DC fast charging. But the stations are still exclusive to Rivian vehicles thanks to proprietary software. With today's announcement, the company is beginning the process of unwinding that exclusivity.Rivian has also said that it would adopt Tesla's NACS charging standard. Current Rivian customers can buy an adapter if they want to use the Supercharger network. In 2026, Rivian said it will begin producing vehicles with a native NACS port.Rivian spokesperson Evan Barbour said that the company's future EV charging sites will also be open to non-Rivian EVs. Rivian plans to open additional charging sites in Texas, Colorado, Illinois, Montana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York before the end of 2024.Meanwhile, current stations will be retrofitted with software updates to accommodate other brands, as well as hardware updates to add NACS charging plugs. In the meantime, the Joshua Tree location and others will be available to Tesla owners with NACS-to-CCS adapters.EV ownership is currently a tangle of competing standards, subpar software experiences, and dueling payment apps. And while some customers admit that the EV charging experience is slowly improving, this next phase of adapters and formerly proprietary chargers going universal has really only just begun.

Uber is getting into the holiday spirit with a new update that will enable customers to order on-demand Christmas trees, and even a troupe of carolers, to their front door. The company is also rebranding its same-day delivery service as Uber Courier and expanding its feature that allows parents of small children to book a vehicle with a car seat.Uber has offered limited Christmas tree delivery, off and on, since 2015 - usually through partnerships with local vendors. This year, the company is expanding the service nationwide. Customers can order a fresh-cut Christmas tree - or a selection of other holiday-themed decorations, including wreaths - through the Uber Eats app.Not available nationwide is the company's offer to send a group of singers to your home to serenade you with Christmas carols. That service will only be available to Uber customers in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, and Washington, DC, starting on December 7th. The carolers will also bring you a boozy treat, courtesy of a partnership with alcohol provider Diageo. Holiday gimmicks aside, Uber is rebranding its same-day delivery service, Uber Connect, as Uber Courier. Deliveries can be scheduled ahead of time, and Uber offers live trip tracking as well as a PIN verification system to confirm receipt of the package.And lastly, Uber is expanding its car seat offering to more cities, including Orlando, DC, Atlanta, Miami, and San Francisco. The service, which provides Nuna car seats to drivers, has been live in New York City and Los Angeles since 2023.

Image: Getty Vodafone and Three have been cleared to create the UK's biggest mobile operator after committing to address concerns around network upgrades and price hikes. The proposed 16.5 billion merger (about $20.9 billion) was approved by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Thursday following months of regulatory scrutiny, and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.Having carefully considered the evidence, as well as the extensive feedback we have received, we believe the merger is likely to boost competition in the UK mobile sector and should be allowed to proceed - but only if Vodafone and Three agree to implement our proposed measures," Stuart McIntosh, chair of the inquiry group leading the antitrust investigation, said in a statement.The approval was subject to both companies signing binding commitments to invest billions into expanding their combined 5G network over the next eight years. The agreement also requires the new entity to cap some mobile tariffs and offer preset contractual terms to mobile virtual network operators for three years, addressing previous CMA concerns that the merger could harm competition and lead to higher prices for customers.Today's approval releases the handbrake on the UK's telecoms industry, and the increased investment will power the UK to the forefront of European telecommunications," Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle said in a statement.The plan to combine two of the country's top four mobile operators was first announced in 2023, and will create a network with 27 million customers once complete. Vodafone will own 51 percent of the merged entity, and is expected to buy out the remaining 49 percent after three years. The deal follows similar large-scale mergers between companies like Orange and T-Mobile in 2010, and Virgin Mobile and O2 in 2021.

CNN is reporting that according to an unnamed source in law enforcement, the person who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan fled on an e-bike, but not a Citi Bike, as NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenney previously said during a press conference.Thompson had been scheduled to appear at the company's investor meeting, which was canceled a few hours later. Kenney said it looked like the killer specifically targeted" Thompson and that at this point, we do not know why." The CEO's wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that there had been some threats."In an email to The Verge, Lyft spokesperson Eric Smith had said previously that the company was ready to assist law enforcement." Had the shooter used one of the bikes owned by Lyft, it might have left a digital trail and GPS data while the shooter was renting or using the vehicle.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images US officials are urging Americans to make calls and send text messages over encrypted apps to minimize the risk of private information falling into the hands of foreign adversaries who might still be lurking in America's telecommunications networks, NBC News reports.Two officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) spoke with news outlets, including NBC News, Tuesday on the lasting effects of a recent attack on US telecommunications systems. The attack, which was tied to Chinese hacking group Salt Typhoon, impacted companies including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Lumen Technologies, The Wall Street Journal first reported in October. The Journal later reported that targets of the hack included phone numbers for people in the Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns.Two months after the initial report of the hack, malicious actors may still be able to gain access to sensitive information about Americans' communications from the telecom networks.An FBI official on the call, who was not identified in press reports, reportedly said hackers accessed information including call records showing phone numbers called and the times of the call, and in some cases actual live phone calls of certain targets. The Journal reported last month that hackers could have gained access to unencrypted texts as well.Jeff Greene, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA, told reporters on the call that the scale of the hack was so great that agencies could not possibly predict when there would be a full eviction" of malicious material, NBC News writes.Encryption is your friend, whether it's on text messaging or if you have the capacity to use encrypted voice communication," Greene said, according to NBC News. Even if the adversary is able to intercept the data, if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible." Services like Signal and WhatsApp offer end-to-end encrypted messaging that can obscure communications outside of the users involved in the call or text.Law enforcement's embrace of encrypted apps is particularly notable given that the FBI has previously railed against tech companies' protectiveness over the technology. Though the FBI publicly says it does not oppose encryption, it has strict parameters on its support. The agency's website states that it does not want encryption to be weakened or compromised so that it can be defeated by malicious actors," but wants companies that manage encrypted data to be able to decrypt that data and provide it to law enforcement only in response to U.S. legal process." That's something tech companies say could undermine the whole system.The bureau engaged in a long standoff with Apple following a shooting in San Bernadino, California in 2015, because the company refused to break the encryption on the shooter's iPhone to give investigators access, warning that to do so would endanger users' privacy across its products. The FBI eventually found a way to get into the phone without Apple.

Illustration: The Verge OpenAI, the AI model maker that used to describe its mission as saving the world, is partnering with Anduril, a military contractor, the two companies announced Wednesday.As part of the partnership, OpenAI will integrate its software into Anduril's counterdrone systems, which detect and take down drones. It's OpenAI's first partnership with a defense contractor - and a significant reversal of its earlier stance towards the military. OpenAI's terms of service once banned military and warfare" use of its technology, but it softened its position on military use earlier this year, changing its terms of service in January to remove the proscription.OpenAI builds AI to benefit as many people as possible, and supports U.S.-led efforts to ensure the technology upholds democratic values," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement. Our partnership with Anduril will help ensure OpenAI technology protects U.S. military personnel, and will help the national security community understand and responsibly use this technology to keep our citizens safe and free."As the Wall Street Journal notes, Anduril - currently valued at $14 billion - has a $200 million counterdrone systems contract with the Marine Corps. But OpenAI won't just benefit financially from its Anduril partnership; it also stands to gain political clout. Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey was an early supporter of president-elect Donald Trump, and also has ties to Elon Musk, one of the heads of the still-nebulous (and still nonexistent) Department of Government Efficiency. And the America First Policy Institute, a right-wing think-tank working closely with the Trump transition team, has proposed that Trump embrace AI to create a new Manhattan Project" for defense.

The fee creep is back. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Verizon customers will soon see yet another fee increase on their next bill, a game that wireless carriers love to play. As spotted by Android Police, Verizon customers on reddit noticed the small fee bump - just 20 cents extra per line. But it comes only a couple of years after a bigger increase to the Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge" the company tacks onto monthly bills, and Verizon's claim that it's just the cost of doing business seems dubious at best.Verizon spokesperson George Koroneos confirmed the fee hike to The Verge, saying that Starting December 18, the monthly Verizon wireless Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge will increase by $0.20 per line for mobile voice (basic phones, Second Number, smartphones, etc.) and data-only (hotspots, tablets, etc.) products. Verizon Home Internet services are not affected." That takes the fee from $3.30 to $3.50 for each voice line on a plan and $1.40 up to $1.60 per data line.According to a Verizon support page, the fee helps defray and recover certain direct and indirect costs we or our agents incur," including network operating and maintenance costs. AT&T and T-Mobile have slightly different names for the same fee, and all make basically the same claim about offsetting the costs of running a wireless network.A more cynical perspective is that these wireless companies separate this fee from their monthly rate plan charges so they can raise rates without saying they're raising rates. That was the basis for a class-action lawsuit against AT&T in 2022, which that company agreed to settle.It may just be 20 cents now, but that small increase adds up to a lot when you multiply it across millions of users. After all, Verizon only made $3.4 billion in net income the third quarter this year, down from $4.9 billion in the same quarter last year. And while the fee creep is nothing new, it's yet another reminder of of the levers these companies can pull in order to pad out their bottom line.

The Strength Plus app isn't Peloton's first attempt at capitalizing on strength training. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Peloton announced the launch of Strength Plus, a new standalone, audio-based strength training app. The app was introduced in a limited beta program earlier in September, but is now officially available.The Strength Plus app allows users to generate custom workouts by choosing workout length, equipment, experience level, and which muscle groups they want to focus on. It also includes multi-week programs curated by Peloton's strength coaches, though workouts can be done at a user's own pace. Strength Plus includes audio cues and tips from instructors, as well as a library of instructional videos demonstrating exercises and equipment setup. It's more like a strength training playlist than Peloton's typical classes, which have you follow an instructor as they do the workout in real time. It works with the Apple Watch and users can log weights and reps within the app. And, instead of being stuck with instructor-curated workout music, users can listen to their own music, audio books, or podcasts.This move isn't surprising. Over the years, Peloton has repeatedly mentioned that strength training is its second most popular exercise type, though the company has had mixed success in capitalizing on it. In 2022, Peloton launched its own Guide strength training hardware, but it hasn't taken off like its treadmills or bikes. When it revamped the Peloton app, it also added Peloton Gym workouts that catered to gym-goers with written workouts and video demos, though that wasn't its own app, didn't let you log reps, and didn't include multi-week programming. Image: Peloton Peloton really wants to make strength training work. On paper, Strength Plus looks similar to other apps, most notably Ladder. (So much so, that Ladder has already clapped back with an entire Mac vs PC-style ad campaign.) The main difference is that Strength Plus leverages Peloton's more widely known instructors. More broadly, this could be seen as an attempt to expand Peloton's appeal outside the home - something the company has struggled to do after many people began returning to in-person gyms and classes once covid-19 lockdowns were lifted.Existing Peloton All Access, Guide, and App Plus members can access the Strength Plus app for free. For everyone else, Peloton is offering a limited $1 monthly promotional subscription for the first six months, and then $9.99 monthly after. For now, the app will also be iOS only. The Verge asked Peloton whether it plans to expand further to Android, but didn't immediately receive a response.

Illustration: The Verge You can now follow fediverse accounts on Threads, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced. Threads rolled out fediverse users' likes and replies in a very limited way at first, and it's the same here - fediverse posts won't appear in your feeds, and you can only follow those accounts if they've interacted with a post on Threads.While fediverse posts won't show in feeds, Instagram head Adam Mosseri says their profile and posts do appear on Threads, and you have the option to get notifications when they publish. That's something, at least. Mosseri posted a video of what the process looks like:Zuckerberg says you can follow fediverse accounts when you see they've liked, followed, or replied" to a federated Threads profile, but there's one other way you might find them.On web and android today (and iOS soon), we'll start linkifying Fediverse usernames in posts," wrote Threads developer Peter Cottle among a series of posts about the new integration. Cottle added that your account will need to be federated and that the fediverse account must be eligible to be followed."Cottle also demonstrated that you can tag fediverse accounts, linking to Star Trek actor and activist George Takei's Mastodon account:Meta's Seine Kim tells The Verge in an email that the platform's goal remains to grow the fediverse responsibly, prioritizing the success of a safe, diverse, content-rich, and interoperable community." Kim added that the change is another step in Threads' plan to become fully interoperable with the fediverse in time.Notably though, new Threads features have picked up the pace in recent weeks. Maybe that's got something to do with all the attention Bluesky's been getting lately?

A new Nothing Community Widgets app has launched with a Snake game as its first offering. | Image: Nothing Nothing has released a new Android app called Nothing Community Widgets that will highlight home screen tools and games co-created by its users. The first widget it includes is a recreation of Snake which was the most memorable of the three games pre-installed on the Nokia 6110 when it launched 26 years ago.Although the original game was played by pressing buttons as cellphones lacked touchscreens, the snake in Nothing's version is steered using directional screen swipes, while a double tap pauses the action, according to Retro Dodo. But the gameplay is the same, with players scoring points by eating red dots while trying to avoid colliding with themselves as the snake grows longer and longer.

Image: Max / HBO Alison Schapker sees Dune: Prophecy as a story about the ebb and flow of institutional power. Read the full story at The Verge.

Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images President-Elect Donald Trump has nominated billionaire Jared Isaacman to head up NASA, he announced on Wednesday. Isaacman funded and partook in the Polaris Dawn mission, in which he and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis performed the first commercial spacewalk.Isaacman is set to replace former Florida Senator Bill Nelson as NASA Administrator, who President Joe Biden tapped to lead the agency when voted into office. Aside from Polaris Dawn, Isaacman also funded Inspiration 4, a mission that took him and three other non-professional astronauts to space atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in 2021.Most of Isaacman's fortune comes from Shift4, the payment-processing business he founded when he was 16. He still serves as CEO of the company, which recently acquired the Canadian gift card platform Givex and struck a payments deal with Elon Musk's Starlink in 2021.