The Verge

tl;dr papers shows AI’s potential to condense research Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service now has 25 million subscribers. That’s up from the 18 million Microsoft previously reported in January last year. The Xbox Game Pass all-you-can-eat catalog of downloadable games — or the “Netflix for video games” as it’s often described — continues to attract new subscribers as Microsoft looks to extend the service.As Microsoft’s subscriber numbers grow, so does the amount of titles available on Xbox Game Pass. In 2021, Xbox Game Pass added iconic Bethesda games, with 20 in total on the service, including Dishonored, Doom, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Wolfenstein.Microsoft announced the milestone while revealing its planned $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which will have... Continue reading…

Image: Microsoft Microsoft’s Chrome OS competitor, Windows 11 SE, is making its way onto a handful of laptops. After detailing Windows 11 SE in November, Microsoft’s OEM partners are now starting to make devices available globally for schools and students. Acer, Asus, Dell, Dynabook, Lenovo, HP, and JP.IK have all created Windows 11 SE laptops, with devices from Fujitsu and Positivo arriving later this year.Windows 11 SE will only be available on new low-cost devices and only for schools and education customers. It’s designed to really take on Chromebooks in education, and is optimized for Microsoft Edge, Office, and Microsoft’s cloud-based services. Windows 11 SE isn’t limited to just Microsoft apps though, with both Zoom and Chrome part of an... Continue reading…

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge Two dozen women drivers speak out about their experiences with sexual assault and harassment Continue reading…

Microsoft is acquiring Activision, the troubled publisher of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Diablo. The deal will value Activision at $68.7 billion, far in excess of the $26 billion Microsoft paid to acquire LinkedIn in 2016. It’s Microsoft’s biggest push into gaming, and the company says it will be the “third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony” once the deal closes.Microsoft plans to add many of Activision’s games to Xbox Game Pass once the deal closes. With the acquisition of Activision, Microsoft will soon publish franchises like Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Candy Crush. “Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both... Continue reading…

Garmin’s new Fenix 7 series | Image: Garmin Despite being leaked to hell and back, the Garmin Fenix 7 series was a no-show at CES 2022. That’s because Garmin decided to wait until today to separately announce its revamped multisport GPS smartwatches. On top of an updated flagship Fenix 7 lineup, Garmin is also launching the Epix — a rugged outdoors smartwatch with an always-on color display.Some things with the new Fenix 7 smartwatches will be familiar to Garmin fans. There are still three sizes: the 42mm Fenix 7S, the 47mm Fenix 7, and the whopping 51mm Fenix 7X. The Fenix 7S and 7 will come in “regular” versions made of fiber-reinforced polymer, but there are also Solar Editions and Sapphire Solar Editions for all three models. Additionally, the Sapphire Solar Editions upgrade... Continue reading…

The next big update for Fortnite brings back something old and adds something new. As fans have long expected, the snow on the battle royale island has slowly melted, revealing the return of Tilted Towers, an iconic urban area that dates back to Fortnite’s first island.Elsewhere in the v19.10 update is the addition of a new kind of creature: a giant, adorable monster called a Klombo. It looks like something ripped out of How to Train Your Dragon, and developer Epic says that they’re mostly gentle and they appear to add a new way of getting around the map. “Ascend their tails to get to the blowhole on their heads, then get launched a great distance upwards to escape a tricky situation,” Epic wrote in a blog post. There’s also a new item,... Continue reading…

United Airlines was among those to issue a warning. | Photo by Daniel Karmann/picture alliance via Getty Images CEOs from major US airlines including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines have warned that the impending deployment of new 5G spectrum on Wednesday could cause “catastrophic disruption” for flights across the country starting tomorrow. The warning, which was also signed by shipping companies including UPS Airlines and FedEx Express, was issued in a letter from the CEOs seen by Reuters, which said that both commercial and cargo flights could be affected.The letter was sent to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, and White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese, Reuters... Continue reading…

The Logitech Pen doesn’t requiring pairing, thanks to its USI support. But, it won’t work on every Chromebook released. | Logitech Logitech has announced a new stylus called Pen, and it’s aimed at being the best option available for classrooms full of Chromebooks. Unlike many rubber-tipped styli, the Pen is an active stylus that supports the Universal Stylus Initiative (USI) standard, effectively guaranteeing one thing: it’ll work out of the box on a number of recent Chromebooks — no pairing required.If a Chromebook is mentioned on this list, the Pen will work with it. Logitech says that more Chromebook manufacturers have been moving forward with the USI standard, so expect to see more models added to it.The Pen can recharge via a USB-C port located where you’d find the eraser on a traditional pencil, and Logitech says it can last for up to 15 days of regular... Continue reading…

Samsung has announced the Exynos 2200, its new in-house mobile processor for smartphones. It’s the first mobile system-on-a-chip to include a GPU with AMD’s RDNA 2 graphics architecture, enabling features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing.The collaboration with AMD has been long in the making. The two companies first announced a licensing deal in 2019, then AMD confirmed last year that Samsung’s “next flagship mobile SoC” would use RDNA 2. Samsung recently teased an announcement event for the Exynos 2200 that was supposed to take place on January 11th, but it was mysteriously delayed.The Exynos 2200 is manufactured on Samsung’s 4nm EUV process. Samsung is branding this GPU as “Xclipse,” and AMD’s SVP of Radeon GPU tech David Wang... Continue reading…

In this game you put events from Wikipedia in a timeline. If you’re a history buff, or are looking for a new web game to play, Wikitrivia may be worth your time. The game’s creator, Tom Watson, describes it on his site as “Wikidata as a trivia card game,” and the tweet that brought it to our attention called it an “online clone of the card game Timeline.”Playing it is simple: it gives you a card that represents something that has a date, which is pulled from Wikidata; some examples I saw asked me to pin down when the Bastille was built, when the Foo Fighters were formed, and when the October Revolution ended (unfortunately, it was looking for a year, not a month). You then have to put the card on the correct place in the timeline. You’re allowed three mistakes, which are represented by hearts,... Continue reading…

Kushner acted as a presidential advisor in the Trump administration. | Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law who acted as a senior advisor during Trump’s time in the White House, was apparently interested in the idea of whether the federal government should make a cryptocurrency in 2018. In an email to then-US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Kushner asked if he could have a group of people “brainstorm” about the government creating its own digital currency, as revealed by a Freedom Of Information Act request from CoinDesk.While we haven’t seen the idea come to fruition, it’s interesting that someone who had a lot of status in the White House (and also acted as the director for the Office of American Innovation) was thinking about it years ago.Here’s the email in full:

Spice DAO Last year, a collective of cryptocurrency fans pooled millions of dollars to buy a copy of the story bible for director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s legendary never-made adaptation of the novel Dune. After winning a November auction, the group voted last week on a direction for the project and got promptly roasted online for allegedly not understanding what they’d bought. Their plans included an animated series inspired by Jodorowsky’s Dune, and as any good collector likely knows, buying a commemorative copy of a script or storyboard doesn’t give you the right to shoot your own version.The actual situation seems more ambiguous than some critics are suggesting. The Dune story bible’s owners, known as Spice DAO (short for “decentralized... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge 37 Activision Blizzard employees have reportedly “exited” the company since July of last year as part of the company’s attempt to crack down on issues surrounding sexual harassment, according to internal documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Activision Blizzard spokesperson Helaine Klasky also told the WSJ that 44 individuals were disciplined in connection with workplace misconduct allegations.Kotick reportedly didn’t want to release this information for fear of making the situation seem worseThese numbers likely include the more than 20 workers that exited the company in October, along with around 20 workers who the company reprimanded at the time. The WSJ also notes that Activision Blizzard collected around 700... Continue reading…

Mitchriz speedruns Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice while blindfolded at AGDQ 2022. | Screenshot: Games Done Quick via YouTube Games Done Quick has raised $3.4 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation at its annual video game speedrunning event, Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ), the most money ever raised at a single Games Done Quick event (via IGN).The organization, which holds two flagship speedrunning events for charity every year, announced its success on Twitter. It’s the most money Games Done Quick has ever raised, and also the fastest the organization has ever reached $1 million in donations. As noted on AGDQ’s tracker, the event showcased a total of 149 speedruns and received 49,482 donations from 28,073 different people.AGDQ 2022 was livestreamed on Twitch from January 9th to January 16th and featured some of the world’s most talented speedrunners who... Continue reading…

Illustration by James Bareham / The Verge Spain has announced new rules for how social media influencers and others can advertise cryptocurrency assets, Reuters reports. Starting next month, the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) will require people and companies to notify it at least 10 days before running campaigns for crypto assets. The rules apply to influencers with more than 100,000 subscribers who are paid to promote cryptocurrency — a practice that’s drawn criticism and even lawsuits worldwide.According to Reuters, crypto advertisers will need to release the content of their upcoming campaigns to the CNMV, and they must include warnings about the risks of what they’re selling. The rules are designed to let the CNMV monitor the marketing ecosystem... Continue reading…

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker signifies the end of an era. One story, started nine years ago, has ended with a stunning and heartwarming conclusion, while the promise of a new adventure awaits on the horizon. But Endwalker doesn’t merely mark the end of the Hydaelyn / Zodiark saga. For a few diehard players, Endwalker also provides a final coda for the game Final Fantasy XIV was before it was rebooted into A Realm Reborn.The original Final Fantasy XIV Online — colloquially known as “1.0” — had a rough release. Reviews at the time said the game “lacked character, cohesion, and joy” and lamented its every feature from the UI to the storytelling. The one thing Tatjana Vejnovic remembers of 1.0 was “[h]ow un-fucking-playable it was.”“... Continue reading…

Home robots are getting smarter Continue reading…

Illustration by Samar Haddad / Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales You now interact with coworkers through a flat rectangle — let’s get you a larger, better one Continue reading…

Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images Amazon says it will continue to accept payment in the UK from Visa credit cards, reversing a decision to ban the cards that was announced last November and due to kick in this week on Wednesday, January 19th.In an email to customers, Amazon said it was “working closely on a potential solution that will enable customers to continue using their Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk.” The company did not say what the solution was or how long it might be in place, but added that “should we make any changes related to Visa credit cards, we will give you advance notice.”Visa raised interchange fees five-fold after the UK left the EUThe original decision to ban Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk arose from a dispute over payment fees levied by... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft has started testing some deeper YouTube integration in its Edge browser. The latest Canary developer builds of Edge include a new “followable web” feature that lets you easily follow your favorite content creators on YouTube.Reddit user Leopeva64 spotted a new YouTube follow button that appears in the address bar of YouTube pages. Following creators will add them to a feed that’s part of the Collections feature in Edge. The feature is clearly in the early preview stages, and it doesn’t support all YouTube content creators just yet. The feed that’s created in Collections lets you see recent posts from creators that you follow. Image: Reddit (Leopeva64) The new web following feature in Edge. This... Continue reading…

Hyundai’s Genesis cars could soon get access to the feature. | Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images Hyundai and its Genesis brand are reportedly close to adding support for Apple’s digital car key feature, which lets you unlock and start compatible vehicles using the iPhone’s Wallet app, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. According to Gurman, the so-called “CarKey” feature is set to come to Hyundai’s Genesis lineup this summer.Hyundai already offers proprietary iOS apps, including MyHyundai with Bluelink and the Genesis Intelligent Assistant, which include the ability to remotely start, or unlock the doors of compatible vehicles. But adding support for Apple’s implementation of the digital key feature should make the functionality more seamless, and benefit from system-level Apple Wallet shortcuts. Hyundai’s site notes that its... Continue reading…

Details on Oppo’s upcoming flagship phone are starting to come together. Multiple leaks are suggesting it’ll be called the Find X5 Pro, with a similar design to last year’s Find X3 Pro and specs broadly in line with the new OnePlus 10 Pro, which is already available in China. (OnePlus, of course, is now treated as a sub-brand of Oppo.)The Find X3 Pro wasn’t sold in the US, but it did make its way to Europe and was one of the best phones of 2021. Renders recently released by OnLeaks show a device with a camera bump that flows into the rest of the back panel in a similar fashion to the Find X3 Pro, although the camera configuration has changed and doesn’t appear to include the previous phone’s unique ring light-equipped “microscope”... Continue reading…

Walmart’s recent trademark applications suggest that it wants to break into the metaverse. | Photo by Yichuan Cao / NurPhoto via Getty Images Walmart appears to be getting ready for a leap into the metaverse. Recent trademark applications indicate the company is looking to establish its own NFTs and cryptocurrency, according to a report from CNBC.The retail giant filed for several trademarks on December 30th, suggesting plans to start selling virtual goods, including electronics, toys, appliances, sporting equipment, apparel, home decor, and more, as noted by CNBC. There’s mention of offering customers a digital currency, as well as the opportunity to buy and sell NFTs. Meanwhile, another application details possible “physical fitness training services” and “classes in the field of health and nutrition” that could take place in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A bug in Safari 15 can leak your browsing activity, and can also reveal some of the personal information attached to your Google account, according to findings from FingerprintJS, a browser fingerprinting and fraud detection service (via 9to5Mac). The vulnerability stems from an issue with Apple’s implementation of IndexedDB, an application programming interface (API) that stores data on your browser.As explained by FingerprintJS, IndexedDB abides by the same-origin policy, which restricts one origin from interacting with data that was collected on other origins — essentially, only the website that generates data can access it. For example, if you open your email account in one tab and then open a malicious webpage in another, the... Continue reading…

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra may have a 14.6-inch display with a notch. | Image by WinFuture Samsung might be adding its first-ever “Ultra” model to its upcoming Galaxy Tab S8 lineup, which will also include a Tab S8 and S8 Plus, as rumored by WinFuture.According to WinFuture, the flagship Ultra model could sport a 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2960 x 1848px resolution, a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, as well as a notch with two 12-megapixel (MP) cameras. It may also come with the option of up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, along with a 11200mAh battery. Image by WinFuture The Galaxy Tab S8 Plus is rumored to have a 12.7-inch display with no notch. When compared to the Tab S8 Ultra, the Super AMOLED display on the Tab S8 Plus is a bit smaller, potentially measuring at 12.7 inches with a... Continue reading…

Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images Wordle is a free browser game, and a browser game only — it has no accompanying apps, something that some people (myself included, regrettably) might not realize during a time when nearly everything has an app.This leaves plenty of room for fake Wordle apps to crowd app stores in an attempt to leech off of the word puzzle game’s sudden rise in popularity. But there’s one app coincidentally called Wordle! that’s not a clone — it actually existed before the browser game itself. That’s why its developer is teaming up with the mind behind the browser-based Wordle, Josh Wardle, to use its accidental success as an opportunity to give back, according to a report from GameSpot.The story unraveled in a thread on Twitter, with Wordle! app... Continue reading…

This is not a Sony A7 III, but it will do. | Illustration by Samar Haddad A mirrorless camera should just work; it did not Continue reading…

Photo by George Frey/AFP via Getty Images AT&T, Dish, and T-Mobile dropped billions of dollars in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction to acquire more 5G spectrum licenses in the midrange 3.45GHz to 3.55GHz band, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).While AT&T was the biggest spender at $9 billion, Dish spent $7.3 billion, and T-Mobile followed behind at $2.9 billion. Verizon was notably absent from the auction. A number of smaller players also made the list, like Three Forty-Five Spectrum, which you can view on Light Reading’s site.This is the third-largest FCC auction yet, with total bids reaching about $22.5 billionThe auction officially ended in November, but the FCC hasn’t publicly disclosed the winning bidders until now (PDF). Total bids... Continue reading…

Apple now requires store and corporate employees to get a COVID-19 booster shot, the company announced in an internal email seen by The Verge.Once an employee is eligible to get a booster shot, they will have four weeks to comply, otherwise, they will need to take frequent tests to enter a retail store, partner store, or Apple office starting on February 15th. Apple will require unvaccinated employees — or those who haven’t yet submitted proof of vaccination — to provide negative COVID-19 rapid antigen tests before entering the workplace beginning on January 24th, although it’s unclear whether this applies to both corporate and retail employees.Apple boosts safety protocols as the omicron variant spreads“Due to waning efficacy of the... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple will let dating app developers offer alternate payment options in the Netherlands in compliance with the Dutch regulator’s ruling, according to a report from Bloomberg. This will allow dating apps — and only dating apps — distributed in the country to avoid Apple’s 15 to 30 percent commission on in-app purchases.In a message to developers on its site, Apple explains that it’s introducing two new optional “entitlements,” or specific app capabilities, that will let developers add third-party payment processors for dating apps in the Netherlands. Dating app developers can either direct customers to a website to complete their purchase or add a third-party payment service within the app. However, if developers choose to snub Apple’s... Continue reading…

Image: Showtime For the last few weeks, my mind has been filled with questions that, out of context, make little sense. I’ve thought long and hard about why a high school girl would start eating dirt and which middle-aged man might be covered in glitter. I’ve pondered the significance of everything from psychedelic mushrooms to a high school soccer coach’s pep talk to a missing bullet in a police officer’s gun. I’ve even rewatched video to see if a state championship-winning goal was offside — and don’t get me started on how much I’ve thought about cannibalism. What I’m saying is: Yellowjackets has completely taken over my brain. I haven’t been this obsessed with theorizing about events in a television show since the cast of Lost discovered the hatch.O... Continue reading…

Šatochin. Late last year, the Slovak Design Museum released a translated collection of ’80s text adventures from the region. The games, often programmed by teenagers, capture a moment in history when the first generation of Slovak developers were learning their craft to share among their friends.The museum didn’t always cover games. Maroš Brojo, the general manager of the Slovak Game Developers Association, pitched the multimedia collection that he now curates. “When you get the patronage of a museum… it gives you much more credibility,” he says. “Suddenly, people start to have a very different view of this actually being part of something important. Our culture and our heritage.”The 10 games that make up this first batch of translations and... Continue reading…

Razer’s Basilisk V3 is on sale at Amazon today for just $59.99. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge We’re starting the weekend with some exciting news for gamers: our pick for the best wired gaming mouse is now available for its lowest price to date. For only the third time, Amazon is selling Razer’s Basilisk V3 for just $59.99 instead of $69.99. The comfortable mouse delivers notable improvements over its predecessor, particularly in regards to its scroll wheel. Depending upon how hard your scroll, the mouse can switch between ridged scrolling and free-spin modes, which make it easier to scroll down the page more freely — a perk that comes in handy even if you’re not using the mouse for gaming. It also touts a 26K DPI sensor, RGB lighting, and 11 programmable buttons, so you can adjust the controls to your liking within Razer’s... Continue reading…

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge When we were all at the office, many of us were connected to the office network. We didn’t need to give sharing files much thought. But now that we’re scattered across the landscape, securely sharing important files can take careful planning. Here’s why you might want to use powerful file-sharing services to share sensitive files safely, so you can collaborate better no matter where you’re working.Probably the easiest way to share a file is to just attach a document to an email, or to a Slack or other instant message. But either way invites trouble on several fronts. If you rely too much on your email or messaging system, your poorly archived files could become available to prying hackers with phishing lures. If you’re sharing... Continue reading…

Microsoft is making its Walkie Talkie feature of Microsoft Teams generally available to all users of its communications app today. Walkie Talkie lets Microsoft Teams users turn smartphones or tablets into a walkie-talkie that works over cellular data or Wi-FI. It was originally announced two years ago and has been available mostly in preview ever since. The feature launched widely on Android in September of 2020, but now Microsoft says it’s available for Zebra mobile devices as well as iPhones and iPads.Microsoft has primarily pitched this at frontline workers, employees who are customer-facing and run day-to-day operations inside companies. The software maker’s collaboration with Zebra Technologies makes it work with a dedicated... Continue reading…

The company is implementing new policies as COVID-19 cases rise across the US. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google will require anyone going to one of its US offices or facilities to have received a negative molecular test for COVID-19, the company informed employees Thursday in a memo obtained by CNBC. Workers going to the office regularly will have to get tested weekly, chief health officer Karen DeSalvo said in the memo, and employees have been asked to report their vaccination status and wear surgical-grade masks indoors.Google spokesperson Lora Lee Erickson confirmed to The Verge that a new temporary COVID-19 policy is now being implemented, one where “anyone accessing our sites in the US are expected to obtain a recent negative COVID-19 molecular test before coming onsite” and that it’s offering various kinds of tests at no cost.G... Continue reading…

The January update promises to fix numerous bugs reported by Pixel 6 owners. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales Google is in the process of releasing a much-anticipated update for Pixel 6 phones. Earlier today, Android expert Mishaal Rahman noted that Google posted OTA and factory images to its developer site for the January 2022 patch. That means anyone can sideload the update to their Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro now, and the official over-the-air update has already arrived on some devices (including some owned by Verge staff).In an email, Google confirmed the rollout has begun, and that the software will automatically roll out over the next week, depending on your device and wireless carrier.Using the phones’ built-in checker may start the process now, and if it doesn’t, sideloading is still an option. However, waiting for the regular rollout... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The US Federal Trade Commission and at least three states are investigating Meta for antitrust violations in its virtual reality division, according to Bloomberg. The report says the FTC and attorneys general from New York, Tennessee, and North Carolina began speaking last year with third-party VR developers who have concerns about Meta’s business practices. It’s one of multiple probes into Meta’s dominance in the small but growing market of VR.The Bloomberg report references well-known controversies around Meta (formerly Facebook) and its VR division (formerly Oculus). Regulators have reportedly asked developers if the Oculus app store discriminates against third-party apps whose features overlap with its own offerings, and they’ve... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Netflix is raising prices across all of its plans in the US today. The company’s standard plan will rise to $15.50 per month from $14, while the 4K plan will rise to $20 per month from $18. The basic plan, which doesn’t include HD, is also rising to $10 per month from $9. Prices are rising in Canada as well.The price hikes go into effect immediately for new subscribers. For existing subscribers, the changes will be rolled out “gradually,” with Netflix promising to email members 30 days before the price hike goes into effect.Prices for a Netflix plan have steadily gone up in recent years. The standard plan went to $14 per month from $13 in late 2020, after previously rising to $13 from from $11 in 2019. Prior to that, Netflix raised... Continue reading…

Eero might be upgrading its Pro line to support Wi-Fi 6E. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Amazon-owned Eero seems to be close to announcing new routers sometime soon, as new FCC filings appeared this week for devices that appear to be called the Eero 6 Plus and the Eero Pro 6E. That 6E branding for the Pro could indicate it will support Wi-Fi 6E, meaning it can take advantage of 6GHz spectrum for faster connections.Router makers have slowly been introducing Wi-Fi 6E-capable mesh routers, though some have been quite expensive, such as this $1,500 Orbi system from Netgear and Linksys’ $1,200 option. While we don’t know how much Eero’s 6E-capable system could cost, it could be more affordable than those options, given that a 3-pack for the Eero 6 Pro launched at $599.The new router names show up on labels Eero included in the... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge You might think a Google phone would be the best choice to control your Google-branded speakers, but that’s not necessarily true: Google’s actions have potentially opened the door for other manufacturers to do what the Pixel legally cannot, writes Android sleuth Mishaal Rahman at Esper.Last week, we wrote how “Your Google home speakers are about to get slightly worse because Sonos sued and won.” If you’re using a Google Pixel, that’s true — among other things, you won’t be able to control the volume of a multi-zone Google Cast speaker group. That’s because the US International Trade Commission ruled that Google copied Sonos’ technology and threatened to block imports unless Google implemented five specific software tweaks. One of the... Continue reading…

Starfield, Bethesda’s upcoming space-themed game, may feature an in-game smartwatch that you’ll be able to get and wear in real life, based on an early copy of a manual found by Reddit user SquiddyVonn. The manual details the real-life watch’s functions, which include showing the weather and step tracking, and it even includes pictures that give us a good look at the interface. It also shows us that the watch is being made by a well-known replica company that’s worked with Bethesda in the past.According to “The Wand Company LPV6 Chronomark Smartwatch User Manual,” the watch will be able to receive forecast information from a phone, display notifications, and show various sets of information on a series of watch faces. It also shows the... Continue reading…

Warner Bros, Warner Bros. went out of its way to make sure that James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad wasn’t exactly looked at as a direct sequel to David Ayer’s Suicide Squad even though that’s what it was. In the case of HBO Max’s new Peacemaker spinoff series, though, the studio’s taking a much different approach to addressing the connections between its rather messy cinematic universe.It’s become commonplace for spinoff superhero series informed by the events of big superhero movies — Marvel’s latest batch of Disney Plus series all come to mind — to dance around the specific details of how they fit into the larger picture until about halfway through the season. Though you can usually infer that these sorts of shows are set after the events of the... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Rumors have swirled for years about Apple releasing some kind of virtual reality / augmented reality headset. While reports had pegged a possible 2022 release for the company’s first mixed reality headset, the device is hitting some development snags and may not release until 2023, according to Bloomberg.Apple planned to reveal the headset at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, but “development challenges related to overheating, cameras and software have made it harder to stay on track,” Bloomberg reports. The issues mean the reveal may happen at the end of the year — or even later — with the headset going on sale in 2023. And Apple had apparently, at one point, planned to reveal the device even earlier; Bloomberg reports the... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Russia’s domestic security service, the FSB, has arrested numerous members of the REvil hacking group at the request of the US government, the FSB said on Friday. The move, which marks an unusual degree of cooperation between Russian and US agencies, comes amid increasingly aggressive Russian military activity on the Ukrainian border and tense diplomacy as the United States attempts to prevent armed conflict.Reporting by the Russian Interfax news agency claimed that the FSB seized 426 million rubles ($5.6 million) in a raid against 14 members of the group, along with more than $600,000 worth of cryptocurrency and 20 luxury cars. The FSB told Interfax that it was acting at the request of US authorities and had informed them of the... Continue reading…

Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images Companies like Apple and Samsung aren’t the only ones making high-tech devices that are hard to take apart and recycle. So are the manufacturers of critical clean energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicle (EV) batteries — and unlike the consumer tech industry, which is slowly starting to reverse some of its unsustainable design practices, there isn’t much being done about it.Batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines are all essential tools for combating climate change. However, these technologies take considerable energy and resources to make, and the best way to ensure we can keep making more of them sustainably is to recycle those resources at end of life. But today, clean energy recycling is limited... Continue reading…

Every Friday, The Verge publishes our flagship podcast, The Vergecast, where we discuss the week in tech news with the reporters and editors covering the biggest stories.This week on The Vergecast, Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and Russell Brandom start the show with news of federal judge James Boasberg allowing the FTC to proceed with an antitrust lawsuit against Meta. The crew explains why the case can go forward after a dismissal last year and what can happen next.The next topic of discussion focuses on the viral success of the web-based puzzle game Wordle and the race to clone it. The Vergecast walks you through the drama, resulting in a bunch of Wordle clones being removed from Apple’s App Store.Later in the show, Verge deputy... Continue reading…