The Verge

Gimbal, meet selfie stick. | Image: WinFuture DJI appears to have another smartphone gimbal on the way with a telescoping selfie stick built into its handle, according to WinFuture. The Osmo Mobile 5, which is an apparent successor to last year’s Osmo Mobile 4, is likely to make its first appearance at DJI’s September 8th launch event where it will reportedly earn a European price of €159, which roughly translates to a tax-inclusive price of $188.The Osmo Mobile 5 reportedly folds down to around 17cm (6.7 inches), but can be extended when you need to get closer to your subject, or further away from yourself. From the pictures, it doesn’t seem to extend quite as much as a traditional selfie stick, but it should be enough to give you a little extra flexibility with your shots. When... Continue reading…

Image: Telegram Telegram, the messaging app that’s becoming more and more like a fully-fledged social media network, is expanding support for video live streams with its latest update. Version 8.0 of the app, which is available now on both iOS and Android, allows live streams to be watched by an unlimited number of viewers, up from the previous limit of 1,000. Other new features include more options when forwarding messages, and a shortcut to switch between channels.Increasing the maximum number of viewers like this opens the door to Telegram becoming a full-on mobile live streaming platform, complete with the ability for as many as 30 users to broadcast at once. “The power to run your own TV station is here, right in your pocket,” is how Telegram puts... Continue reading…

VanMoof S3 e-bike in Amsterdam | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge VanMoof just raised another $128 million in funding, after announcing a $40 million investment round in September 2020. That brings Amsterdam-based VanMoof’s total haul to $182 million raised in the last two years, excluding crowdfunding rounds in 2018 and 2019, making it “the most funded e-bike company in the world,” according to VanMoof.The company claims to have almost 200,000 bikes on the road currently, with the goal of getting 10 million people on VanMoof e-bikes in the next five years. Such aggressive expansion goals require significant capital.Improve the quality and reliability of the bikeVanMoof’s new funding round has been earmarked to expand production and to “reinvent the way in which hardware and software components are... Continue reading…

Windows 11 is launching on October 5th. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft is starting to drop PCs from its Windows Insider testing program that are ineligible to upgrade to Windows 11. If you’ve been helping Microsoft test Windows 11 on a machine that doesn’t meet the minimum hardware requirements, you’ll likely see a message in Windows Update warning that you’ll need to reinstall Windows 10.“Your PC does not meet the minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11,” says Microsoft’s warning. “Your device is not eligible to join the Windows Insider Program on Windows 11. Please install Windows 10 to participate in the Windows Insider Program in the Release Preview Channel.”Windows 11 testers in both the Dev and Beta channels have started receiving the message on incompatible PCs this week, just as... Continue reading…

A render of the unannounced phone from the leaked manual. | Image: Samsung (via SamMobile) A user manual for Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE (aka “Fan Edition”) has been published online by SamMobile, giving us another look at the unannounced midrange counterpart to the company’s Galaxy S21 flagship. As you’d expect from a manual, the document spends more time outlining how to use the phone than it does describing its specs, but it’s a guide for what’s to come.For starters, images included in the manual appear to confirm that previously leaked renders are accurate. That means we’re looking at a similar design to the Galaxy S21, albeit seemingly with a less premium finish. Three cameras are shown on the S21 FE’s rear while on the front there’s an in-display fingerprint scanner and a hole-punch notch for a selfie camera. ... Continue reading…

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge The number of government-led internet shutdowns has exploded over the last decade as states seek to stifle dissent and protest by limiting citizens’ access to the web.Nearly 850 intentional shutdowns have been recorded over the past 10 years by nonprofit Access Now’s Shutdown Tracker Optimization Project (STOP), and although the group acknowledges that data on incidents before 2016 is “patchy,” some 768 of these shutdowns took place in the last five years. There were 213 shutdowns in 2019 alone, with this figure ticking down to 155 in 2020 as the world adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic (which delayed elections and led to lockdowns that kept populations at home more often). And already in the first five months of 2021 there have been 50... Continue reading…

Image: Signify If you’ve got a home full of Hue lights, there’s an easy new way to set the mood for your next party. Signify, which makes the Philips Hue line, is partnering with Spotify so that your lightbulbs can automatically sync up with whatever music you have playing, changing color and flashing along to the beat.There are already plenty of ways to sync your lights to music — including Signify’s own Hue Sync app — but those methods typically require letting an app or some external hardware listen in on everything you’re playing. This new partnership avoids that by letting the Hue Bridge tap directly into Spotify to see what’s playing once you’ve linked your accounts.A Hue Bridge and color bulbs are requiredThat close partnership is also... Continue reading…

The Hue light tube beneath a TV. | Image: Signify The Philips Hue line of smart bulbs is growing today with the addition of a bunch of new lights, strips, and lamps. There’s a bunch of stuff, so here’s a quick rundown:

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Earlier this week, I started a search on Amazon and mistyped, entering just two letters in: “iv.” Amazon then helpfully compiled a list of suggested search results, almost all of which were for the horse de-worming version of the drug ivermectin. That drug is at the center of one of the more recent and more mind-boggling parts of the anti-vaccine misinformation story, a false cure touted by hucksters and others out to make a quick buck.This evening, Amazon spokesperson Craig Andrews tells The Verge that “Amazon’s autocomplete responses are driven by customer activity. We are blocking certain autocomplete responses to address these concerns.”Like Facebook, TikTok, and Reddit, Amazon has not gotten a lid on limiting the spread of... Continue reading…

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Amazon is working to solve a frustration with smart home speakers by introducing a feature called Adaptive Volume, which will make Alexa respond louder if it detects that you’re in a noisy environment. According to the company, the mode is meant to make sure that you can still hear Alexa’s responses over any background noise (like the sound of a dishwasher, people talking, or music playing on another device). Amazon says that the feature is currently available to US customers, and that you can activate it by saying “Alexa, turn on adaptive volume.”Amazon doesn’t mention adaptive volume working in the opposite direction, becoming quieter if there’s no background noise, but there are other ways to reduce the volume dynamically. One of... Continue reading…

Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge Apple has pledged another $30 million to racial justice, on top of the $100 million it promised last year in the wake of George Floyd’s death.It includes funding for a wide array of causes, including a Global Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Equity Innovation Hub at California State University Northridge in Los Angeles, with the intent to create regional hubs at other universities, and an expansion of its work to bring community coding centers to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by adding 11 additional schools to the roster.Last August, we calculated just how small the donations from Big Tech were compared to their immense profits, and today’s $30 million doesn’t really change the calculus there. At the rate... Continue reading…

Image: Google Google may be working on a new wireless charging stand for its Pixel phones, according to a leaked image of a retail inventory backend mentioning a “Google Pixel 23W WL Stand” published by Android Police. The name suggests the charger could support 23W wireless charging, and if Google does end up releasing this stand, it seems likely that the upcoming Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro would support 23W charging as well. Image: Android Police Android Police’s image seemingly revealing the existence of a new Pixel Stand. That wireless charging speed, if accurate, would be more than the iPhone 12’s maximum 15W wireless charging with a MagSafe charger and surpass the 10W wireless charging offered by the original Pixel Stand... Continue reading…

This image showed up on Banksy’s site, was sold as an NFT, then was taken down. The artist’s team says it’s fake. | Image: Internet Archive The NFT space continues to be weird and occasionally wonderful, but today’s story is going for some sort of award: a collector paid over $300,000 in Ethereum for an NFT from someone claiming to be Banksy after the image appeared on the famed street artist’s website. Then, Banksy’s spokesperson said that the artist had no involvement with NFTs, and stories came out declaring it a fake. Finally, the NFT’s seller spontaneously refunded the collector, seemingly with no note. Oh, and to really muddy the waters, the collector who bought the NFT goes by the name of Pranksy.Pranksy told the BBC that he heard about the auction, which was being held on the NFT marketplace OpenSea, from someone in his Discord. (The BBC doesn’t identify Pranksy by... Continue reading…

When EA announced it was remaking Dead Space, it wasn’t really clear what “remake” meant. Would the company be completely rebooting the beloved space horror series? Or would it be more like a remaster that upgraded the original’s 13-year-old graphics for the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and modern PCs? Star Wars: Squadrons studio EA Motive offered a little bit more detail in interviews. But it was still hard to gauge what the remake was supposed to accomplish — since compared to remakes of ’90s games like System Shock, where designers are updating limited graphics and unfamiliar control schemes, Dead Space still feels eminently playable today.Now, the Dead Space remake’s developers have helped fill in some of the gaps. Motive held a l... Continue reading…

Image: Rivian Rivian’s R1T electric pickup truck is finally set to ship next month after a series of delays — roughly three years after it debuted at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. Ahead of the launch, though, MotorTrend got to spend a handful of days with the all-electric adventure truck, and the team there came away impressed by its performance. What’s more, they offer one of the best looks at the R1T’s interior, which borrows as much from Tesla as it does from other high-end off-road-focused vehicles.None of this is exactly surprising — Rivian has actually been quite open about the development of the R1T since its debut, regularly posting its own articles, photos, and videos along the way — but the truck features two large, crisp displays on the... Continue reading…

Photo by Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via Getty Images LinkedIn is shutting down its ephemeral Stories product, the company announced Tuesday. The company plans to “remove the current Stories experience by the end of September,” according to Liz Li, senior director of product. The Snapchat-style video Stories were first launched in February 2020 in internal testing.Part of the reason for the shutdown is that LinkedIn learned users just didn’t want disappearing video. “In developing Stories, we assumed people wouldn’t want informal videos attached to their profile, and that ephemerality would reduce barriers that people feel about posting,” Li said. “Turns out, you want to create lasting videos that tell your professional story in a more personal way and that showcase both your personality... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple has barred employees from creating a Slack channel to discuss pay equity. A member of the employee relations team, Apple’s version of HR, said that while the topic was “aligned with Apple’s commitment to pay equity,” it did not meet the company’s Slack Terms of Use.“Slack channels are provided to conduct Apple business and must advance the work, deliverables, or mission of Apple departments and teams,” the employee relations representative told employees.The company’s rules for the in-office chat app say that “Slack channels for activities and hobbies not recognized as Apple Employee clubs or Diversity Network Associations (DNAs) aren’t permitted and shouldn’t be created.”But that rule has not been evenly enforced. Currently,... Continue reading…

Illustraion by Alex Castro / The Verge As streamers prepare to walk off Twitch, hate raids and abuse are escalating to dangerous levels Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge In an email to employees today, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that even though “we are welcoming back tens of thousands of Googlers on a voluntary basis,” the company will extend its voluntary return to work policy until at least January 10th, 2022. After that date, the current plan is to have countries and locations make mandatory return to work decisions depending on local conditions.The most recent plan shared publicly would’ve pushed Google employees back to the office at some point in September, but that won’t happen. Whenever its offices expect to have employees there in-person, Pichai reiterated that there would be a 30-day heads up first.The letter didn’t directly cite the Delta variant, but waves of infection have again... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The next Apple Watch is experiencing manufacturing issues that could lead to the product being released later than expected, according to separate reports from Nikkei and Bloomberg. The potential delay is reportedly due to complexities in the smartwatch’s new design, which is rumored to include flat sides and bigger screens.Sources told Nikkei that small-scale production for the next Apple Watch had begun but that it encountered “critical challenges in reaching satisfactory production performance.” Bloomberg reported similar details. Production has now been “temporarily halted” while Apple and its suppliers work to solve the manufacturing issues ahead of eventual mass production, Nikkei says.The next Apple Watch is expected to be... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Samsung’s new Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 phones add a bunch of clever new features designed for foldable phones as part of its One UI 3.1.1 update, but if you already own a Fold 2, Z Flip, or even the original Galaxy Fold, you’ll still be able to get some of the new additions without shelling out for a new phone. Available on all five foldable models is the new Drag and Split feature, which — as the name implies — allows you to tap and drag on a link to open it side by side with the original webpage or message.Samsung’s larger Fold models will also be getting the adjustable app windows for its multitasking mode, allowing you to adjust the height and width of the individual apps when you have multiple apps open at once. The... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / Th Facebook is expanding an experiment in reducing political content in the News Feed. In an update to a February blog post, the company says it’s seen “positive results” in reducing this content for some users in a handful of countries. Now, it’s expanding a test of the strategy to Costa Rica, Sweden, Spain, and Ireland.Axios reported on Facebook’s plans before the announcement. As it notes, Facebook’s new test also involves changing the signals it favors when promoting content. “Some engagement signals can better indicate what posts people find more valuable than others,” product management director Aastha Gupta writes. “Based on that feedback, we’re gradually expanding some tests to put less emphasis on signals such as how likely... Continue reading…

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images Best Buy is cruising into the electric mobility space with the announcement that it intends to sell e-bikes, scooters, and mopeds, both in stores and online. The retailer is collecting some of the best known names in lightweight electric vehicles, including Unagi, Bird, Segway-Ninebot, Super73, and Swft.Customers interested in buying something right now can visit BestBuy.com to browse the company’s selection. And starting in October, 10 Best Buy stores in nine locations — Austin, Texas; Los Angeles; Miami; New York; Orlando, Florida; Puerto Rico; San Francisco; Seattle; and Tampa, Florida — will start carrying e-bikes and scooters in stock. Image: Best Buy E-bikes from Super73 (left) and mopeds from Swft... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is announcing some new experiments available in the latest Chrome beta intended to make it easier to find things on the web and share interesting text. If you want to jump onto the Chrome beta to give these features a shot, download it here for your computer or here for your Android device. (Though as with all betas, exercise caution, as things may not work perfectly.) And I’m going to mention enabling flags throughout — to do so, enter chrome://flags into your address bar, which is where you can turn on Chrome’s many available experiments.One cool new experiment in Chrome on Android lets you see some search results under the address bar after you’ve already navigated to a page. This one is best understood by watching this GIF: ... Continue reading…

Athletes can now share their live location using the free version of the Strava app. | Image: Strava Today Strava is making Beacon, its live location-sharing service for athletes, available to everyone, whether you pay for the popular cycle and run-tracking app or not. Beacon sharing from the Strava app was previously only available via subscription, which currently costs $59.99 annually or $5.00 per month. The change follows a massive privacy push by Strava introduced earlier this month.Beacon sharing can be used for safety and fun. The feature lets you share your live location with up to three people who can track your progress until you finish. They receive a text message with a unique URL that opens in a mobile browser to show your activity in real time (updated every 15 seconds). This can be a life-saving feature for bikers or... Continue reading…

Image: Moment Moment is launching another video-focused app for iPhone and iPad Tuesday that lets you edit and color footage as well as create video presets or “looks” for use on social media or Moment’s other video app, Rtro.The app is called Grain, and based on my experience with it in beta form, it seems to offer a lot of video settings to get lost in. Grain breaks its editing options into three categories: color, effects, and overlays. Color has a variety of preset filters to start with, like LoFi, 35mm, or Blockbuster, which you can then further customize with adjustments to color temperature, brightness, or saturation.Effects and overlay presets work similarly. You can add film grain, light bleeds, blurs, VHS effects, faux film stocks and... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge For games like Just Dance and EA Sports Active, QA is a tricky process Continue reading…

Image: Joby Joby has released a MagSafe mount for tripods that should simplify the process of attaching an iPhone 12 and any future iPhone models that support MagSafe. The new GripTight mount allows for quick attachment, letting the mount hold on to your phone either by just its MagSafe magnet or with a more secure option that tightly grips the edges of your phone like Joby’s previous smartphone mounts. With the latter use case, people may not know that you’re partially connected to the GripTight mount with MagSafe, but at least you’ll know it in your heart.This new mount is available now for $23.97 from Joby’s site, and it works on the company’s line of flexible GorillaPod tripods as well as any other tripods that support the industry standard... Continue reading…

Jarvis Landry in an LSU uniform in Madden NFL 22. | Image: EA While we still don’t know exactly when EA’s upcoming college football video game will be released, fans will be able to play college ball soon for a limited time thanks to a special “Campus Legends” event coming to Madden NFL 22’s arcade-y Superstar KO mode.The event, which begins Tuesday and runs until September 27th, will let you play as one of 10 schools: Clemson University, Louisiana State University, Michigan State University, University of Florida, University of Miami, University of Nebraska, University of Oklahoma, University of Oregon (UO), University of Southern California, and University of Texas. The teams will also feature alumni as players — for example, UO graduate Justin Herbert, who is currently the quarterback of the... Continue reading…

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / DC Comics Last year DC had an impressive showing at its virtual FanDome event, and today the company revealed it’s doing it again very soon. FanDome will return on October 16th, and will feature updates, trailers, and reveals covering what looks to be a big range of projects across film, television, comics, and video games.That includes: “an exclusive new trailer” for the Robert Pattinson-led The Batman; looks at movies Black Adam, The Flash, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom; more details on upcoming seasons of Harley Quinn, Batwoman, The Flash, Superman & Lois, and Sweet Tooth; reveals for games Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League; and a whole bunch of comic news, including the next chapter of the Fortnite / Batman c... Continue reading…

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge One thing Google really wants you to do is, well, stay in Google — because the more you do things the Google way, the more data the company can monetize. The result is that while it is possible to pull your emails, photos, and other material outside of the Googleverse, it’s just a little bit more difficult.For example, let’s say you want to show an album of family photos that are stored on Google Photos to your favorite grandparent. If they’re reasonably Google-savvy, it’s not a problem at all — you just share the album with them.Share a Photos album on the web

Image: Bose After they first surfaced in July in an FCC filing and again earlier this month, Bose is today introducing the QuietComfort 45 headphones. Priced at $329.95 and going on sale September 23rd, the QC45 headphones will offer improved active noise cancellation, a transparency / ambient sound feature that Bose calls “Aware Mode,” upgraded voice call performance, and longer battery life that can now hit 24 hours on a charge. Bose is making a big deal about this product release, claiming that it’s “updating the headphone that redefined headphones.” Preorders begin today.Available in black or “smoke white,” they look quite similar to their QC35 II predecessors, with a design that’s much more plasticky than Bose’s other premium headphones, the... Continue reading…

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge Harvard professor Willy Shih explains the existential problem affecting cars, phones, computers, and more Continue reading…

Now through September 12th, you can buy three Philips Hue bulbs for the price of two. | Image: Philips The upcoming Labor Day holiday signals the end of summer and the ramp-up of everything from the school year to new gadget season. While you can expect to get plenty of Labor Day-related deals from us coming very shortly, Philips has gotten a bit of a head start with their “Summer of Hue” savings promo, so you’re not stuck with having a single shade of lighting after Labor Day.Right now, Philips is offering three white and color smart bulbs for the price of two, shaving $35 off the cost of some of the most popular smart home lights through September 12th. The vibrant E26 Hue bulbs allow for funky lighting while offering a full spectrum of 16 million colors, as well the flexibility to stretch from a warm white to daylight-balanced cool... Continue reading…

TikTik is one of many Android apps coming to Windows 11. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft won’t ship support for Android apps on Windows 11 in time for the operating system’s launch on October 5th. While Android apps running on Windows 11 is one of the big new features of the OS, Microsoft will only start previewing this feature in the coming months.“We look forward to continuing our journey to bring Android apps to Windows 11 and the Microsoft Store through our collaboration with Amazon and Intel; this will start with a preview for Windows Insiders over the coming months,” says Aaron Woodman, general manager of Windows marketing at Microsoft. Image: Microsoft Android apps will appear in Windows 11 thanks to an Amazon partnership. This likely means Android apps won’t arrive on Windows 11... Continue reading…

The SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Security Camera features an integrated LED light for color night vision. | Image: SimpliSafe SimpliSafe has finally added an outdoor camera to one of our favorite build-it-yourself home security systems. The new Wireless Outdoor Security Camera, first leaked by Dave Zatz, features a magnetic mount and a rechargeable battery that powers its LED spotlight and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio for a period of three to six months, depending upon settings. SimpliSafe will sell an optional solar panel to keep the battery topped-up later this fall.The IP65 ruggedized camera offers a 1080p resolution with HDR, 140-degree field of view, and color “night vision” at a distance up to 10 feet thanks to that LED spotlight. Otherwise, there’s infrared night vision at a distance up to 30 feet. The camera is designed to integrate back into a SimpliSafe... Continue reading…

Microsoft is announcing that Windows 11 will be released on October 5th. The new operating system will be available as a free upgrade for eligible Windows 10 PCs, or on new hardware that ships with Windows 11 pre-loaded.The free upgrade to Windows 11 will start rolling out on October 5th, but like many Windows upgrades in the past, it will be available in phases. New eligible devices will be offered the upgrade first, and then Windows 11 will become available for more in-market devices in the weeks and months following October 5th.“Following the tremendous learnings from Windows 10, we want to make sure we’re providing you with the best possible experience,” explains Aaron Woodman, general manager of Windows marketing at Microsoft. “We... Continue reading…

Image: Jabra Jabra is today announcing a comprehensive makeover of its true wireless earbuds lineup. The company is introducing three new models and phasing out both the Elite 65t and 75t by the end of the year; the Elite 85t will remain part of the product family. Jabra says its latest devices — the Elite 7 Pro, Elite 7 Active, and Elite 3 — build upon “six generations worth of learnings” in the true wireless market.Each is made for specific scenarios: the $199 Elite 7 Pro buds promise “ultimate call clarity” thanks to a new “MultiSensor Voice” system that combines a bone conduction sensor, four mics, and algorithms for optimizing call quality. Active noise cancellation is included, and the redesigned earbuds are 16 percent smaller than the Elite... Continue reading…

The Time insights panel appears on the right of the interface. | Image: Google Google is adding a new “Time insights” panel to Calendar on the web, showing users how much of their working week is spent in meetings. According to Google’s blog post, the feature is rolling out gradually over the next month on select plans. It was first announced back in March as part of a raft of new features coming to Google Workspace.Time Insights arrives a couple of years after both Google and Apple added similar breakdowns into Android and iOS respectively to show the amount of time spent using different apps. But while these OS features included the ability to set per-app time limits, Google Calendar won’t let you set similar boundaries on meetings. Instead, it provides you with the information you need to hopefully curb any... Continue reading…

South Korea has passed a bill written to prevent major platform owners like Google and Apple from restricting app developers to built-in payment systems, The Wall Street Journal reports. The bill is now expected to be signed into law by President Moon Jae-in, whose party championed the legislation.The law comes as a blow to Google and Apple who both require in-app purchases to flow only through their systems, instead of outside payment processors, allowing the tech giants to collect a 30 percent cut. If tech companies fail to comply with the new law, they could face fines of up to 3 percent of their South Korea revenue.The law is an amendment to South Korea’s Telecommunications Business Act, and it could have a large impact on how... Continue reading…

Motional, the autonomous vehicle company that is a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv, revealed more details about its forthcoming robotaxi as well as some of the first images of the vehicle. The company is also working with Lyft and says that by 2023, customers in certain cities will be able to hail rides in this vehicle using the Lyft app.Motional first announced earlier this year that it would be using the Hyundai Ioniq 5, an all-electric crossover, as its inaugural vehicle. The company hasn’t said how many vehicles it would acquire, nor where it will eventually deploy them for its robotaxi service. It’s currently operating a fleet of Chrysler Pacifica minivans in Las Vegas in collaboration with Lyft.The Motional robotaxi will... Continue reading…

The Galaxy Watch 4. | Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge Samsung has released a new walkie talkie app for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic, which allows watch owners to have push-to-talk conversations with one another using the wearable. The app’s release was reported by XDA Developers, but its development was rumored in May by SamMobile prior to the watch’s official announcement. It’s available to download now via the Google Play Store.The app’s release comes after Apple added a similar feature to its Apple Watch back in 2018 with WatchOS 5. But while Apple’s push-to-talk walkie talkie feature only lets two people communicate at once, Samsung’s supports “two or more users” by setting up a Walkie-Talkie channel to chat in. That is, so long as you can find enough people using the Wear... Continue reading…

Photo by Sam Byford / The Verge VanMoof has released a firmware update for its S3 and X3 e-bikes that allows for manual gear shifting. If you’re thinking that sounds like a pretty basic feature for a bicycle, you’d be right. But Vanmoof’s latest bikes have fully automatic four-gear shifters, and until now, there was no way to change gears yourself.The automatic shifter is convenient and generally works well, but as with automatic gearboxes in cars, you do occasionally find yourself riding in a suboptimal gear. While this can normally be fixed by easing off the pedals or using the turbo boost button, it’s not always practical given factors such as terrain. VanMoof does offer settings for hilly and flat land, as well as the ability to customize at what speeds the gears... Continue reading…

The Z Flip 3. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge The Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 have inherited a battery protection that was previously exclusive to Samsung’s tablets, which when enabled is designed to maximize the lifespan of batteries, SamMobile reports. The “Protect battery” feature limits the devices’ charge level to 85 percent, preventing the full charge to 100 percent that’s believed to wear down batteries over years of use.The feature, which is available in the Settings app under Device Care > Battery > More battery settings, comes with the obvious trade-off of limiting the max battery life you’ll get out of either phone per charge. In our reviews we noted that both the Z Fold 3 and the Z Flip 3 average around a day of battery life by default, which means you might have to commit... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple plans to let you connect your iPhone to satellites so you can contact emergency services in areas that don’t have cellular coverage, according to a new Bloomberg report. Bloomberg’s article was published after Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Sunday that the iPhone 13 may be able to make satellite calls. Kuo often reveals details about Apple’s plans before the company officially announces them, but Bloomberg’s sources indicate that Apple’s approach for iPhone satellite connectivity may be more limited to start.One feature, called Emergency Message via Satellite, will let you text emergency services and emergency contacts when you don’t have a cell signal by harnessing a satellite network, according to Bloomberg. These messages will... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google’s Chrome Beta 94 announcement mentions that Google is implementing some new web standards that could make browser-based gaming experiences even better. The soon-to-be-released WebCodecs could help make cloud gaming easier and faster, while the experimental WebGPU could make it easier for developers of games that run in the browser to tap into your computer’s power.WebCodecs is an API designed to give developers better access to the video encoding/decoding codecs that are already bundled with your browser, which figure out what to do with video streams. While there are already methods of getting video to play in Chrome, they’re not necessarily designed for things like cloud gaming, which is best when it’s as low-latency as... Continue reading…

Image: Spectrum TV Two of the biggest players in streaming, HBO Max and YouTube, have officially arrived on Spectrum TV.It’s the first time the apps have been supported on Spectrum TV, Charter’s digital cable provider and live TV app, and users will be able to access content from both apps through the platform’s guide on channels 2004 for HBO Max and 2003 for YouTube. Users will also be able to find them by searching the guide or from the guide’s apps menu. (A subscription to HBO Max, which costs $10 per month with ads or $15 to go ad-free and unlock same-day theatrical releases, will still be required to access the content.)The two apps are huge additions to Spectrum’s platform. HBO Max, which launched well over a year ago, offers more than 13,000... Continue reading…

Image: Chevrolet General Motors is halting production of the Chevy Bolt EV after a number of battery fires prompted a massive recall that has already cost the company nearly $2 billion. The automaker won’t resume making the 2022 Bolt and Bolt EUV until at least mid-September. It had initially stopped production last week because of the global chip shortage.The recall repair process is also on hold, as GM is still waiting to get new battery modules from its supplier, South Korean conglomerate LG, that it is confident are free of defects. “We will not resume repairs or restart production until we are confident LG is producing defect free products for us,” GM spokesman Daniel Flores said in a statement to The Verge.It’s the latest blow to one of the most... Continue reading…

First responders prepare to launch rescue boats to transport residents out of floodwater left behind by Hurricane Ida in LaPlace, Louisiana, U.S., on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021 | Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images With less time to act as climate change churns up more rapidly intensifying storms like Hurricane Ida, coastal communities might have to rethink how they prepare for future storms. They could be forced to make tough decisions before a threat even fully materializes. Or they might take cues from how cities prepare for other types of disasters.Ida grew monstrous overnight. In less than a day, its wind speed jumped from 85 to 150 miles per hour, making it the fifth strongest storm to land in the mainland US. After Ida pummeled Louisiana for hours over the weekend, “virtually no one” had electricity in the state Monday morning, Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a video posted to Twitter. Some places are under boil water advisories with water... Continue reading…