The Verge

Smoke rises over the mountains in Lytton, as firefighters battle the fires in British Columbia, July 6, 2021. | Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The devastating heatwave that struck the Northwest US and southwest Canada in June was “the most extreme summer heatwave” ever recorded in North America, according to a new analysis from nonprofit research group Berkeley Earth. That’s based on the magnitude of the heatwave, or how much warmer it was than normal. Record temperatures in the region reached roughly 20 degrees Celsius (or 36 °F) hotter than average in June.Canada recorded its hottest temperature ever on June 29th when the village of Lytton in British Columbia reached an astonishing 49.6 degrees Celsius (121 degrees Fahrenheit). Typical temperatures there in June are closer to 20 to 30 degrees Celsius (68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit).The consequences of that heat are... Continue reading…

The ridiculous sounds of social sites Continue reading…

Photo By: Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Elon Musk has had a busy Friday on Twitter. After flatly denying that he has ever spoken to Apple CEO Tim Cook in response to a wild story alleging he demanded to take over as the company’s CEO as part of an acquisition offer, Musk has now tweeted his support of Epic Games’ fight against Apple over App Store policies.“Apple app store fees are a de facto global tax on the Internet,” he said. “Epic is right.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly demanded to become Apple’s CEO in a 2016 phone call with current Apple CEO Tim Cook, according to an upcoming book about Tesla. The story, shared by the Los Angeles Times, comes from Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century by The Wall Street Journal reporter Tim Higgins.As the book tells it, Cook suggested to Musk that Apple acquire Tesla, and Musk said he wanted to be CEO. Cook reportedly agreed, but Musk clarified that he wanted to be the CEO of Apple. “According to a former aide who heard (Musk’s) retelling of the exchange,” Cook said “Fuck you” before hanging up the phone.But Musk and Apple have both suggested that the conversation couldn’t have happened because Musk and Cook have... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The sweeping federal antitrust case against Google has given rise to a significant fight over data held by Microsoft, and the company is now facing a subpoena for millions of documents that could shed light on its attempts to compete with Google’s search engine. Having initially cooperated with prosecutors in building an antitrust case against Google, Microsoft could be obligated to produce millions more documents at the request of Google’s defense team.At a status hearing on Friday morning, Judge Amit Mehta heard arguments from both Google and Microsoft on the issue, but ultimately found more information was required before the court could give guidance as to how much internal data Microsoft would be required to produce.“No third... Continue reading…

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images The Government Accountability Office squashed Blue Origin’s protest over NASA’s decision to pick a single lunar lander contractor, the agency said Friday, also denying a similar protest from Dynetics. The GAO’s decision keeps Blue Origin’s rival, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the sole winner of NASA’s lucrative Moon lander program and hands a loss to Jeff Bezos, whose space company waged a months-long fight to win the same funding.In formal protests filed in April, Bezos’ Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics accused NASA of running afoul of contracting law when the agency shelved their proposals and gave Musk’s SpaceX a lone $2.9 billion contract to build the country’s first human lunar lander in decades and land a crew on the Moon by... Continue reading…

Photo: Marvel Studios How the team at Digital Domain destroyed a world Continue reading…

Normally $50 a pop, BuyDig is offering a trio of Google Nest Minis for nearly 60 percent off. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Like Amazon’s Echo Dot, the Google Nest Mini is a miniature take on the larger smart speakers that came before it. The compact device doesn’t boast the same sound quality as the Nest Audio, but it's impressive for its size, especially when mounted to a wall or placed in a smaller room. What’s more, it packs backlit volume buttons and many of the same features that have come to define the category, including the ability to answer voice queries, control your smart home, and play music, adding to its overall versatility.If you’re already tapped into the Google ecosystem or are looking for an inexpensive way to strew audio throughout your home, BuyDig is currently offering a three-pack of Google Nest Minis on eBay for $64, significantly... Continue reading…

Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge Tesla agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company used a software update to reduce the maximum battery voltage for some of its Model S sedans, Reuters reports.The software update, which was released in 2019, resulted in slower charging speed and diminished range for around 1,743 vehicles, the plaintiffs alleged. As a result of the settlement, Tesla agreed to pay $625 to each of the affected vehicle owners.Tesla agreed to pay $625 to each of the affected vehicle owners“This amount is many times the prorated value of the temporarily reduced maximum voltage, and thus represents an excellent and efficient result for the Settlement Class,” the court document reads. “In return, the Settlement Class will release... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Lawmakers cling to flawed evidence while restricting care for trans youth Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge If you’re a TikTok creator, then you know how quickly those minutes of video can fly by. One of the ways you can move storytelling along is by using transitions between clips.While TikTok offers a handful of templates that resemble slideshow presentation transitions, these don’t seem to be very popular. Instead, many users opt for manual transitions that use video editing and recording tricks to make their video flow from one clip to the next. Some of these transitions are relatively simple and only require a couple of steps, while others need a little bit of planning.All the transitions serve a purpose, though, and that is to move the video along and keep pace with either the music or what the person is saying. Transitions can also... Continue reading…

Roscosmos Russia’s space agency blamed a “short-term software failure” for yesterday’s engine mishap with its new science module. The module’s thrusters unexpectedly fired hours after docking, shifting the International Space Station off its normal position. The software glitch caused the Nauka module to think it was supposed to back away from the station.The space station, a football field-sized research laboratory floating 270 miles up in low-Earth orbit, was shoved 45 degrees off track once Nauka’s thrusters started firing. NASA said it lost control of the station’s positioning minutes later, but it was eventually repositioned back to normal after thrusters from another Russian module counteracted Nauka’s errant firings.“Due to a short-term... Continue reading…

Fireside The Mark Cuban-funded and co-founded audio app Fireside has yet to publicly launch, but already it’s asking the limited creators on its platform for money. In an email sent to users late last night and viewed by The Verge, co-founder and CEO Falon Fatemi says she and the team are accepting investments through the month of August from anyone who’s interested.“If you believe in our vision, this is your chance to be part of it,” she writes. “Put your money where your mouth is :) (We did.)”The email says more details are to come and doesn’t disclose the deal terms, how the investments will work, what the app’s valuation is, or how much the team is hoping to raise. But the email does also make a couple other announcements about the future... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Now that Amazon’s Q2 earnings are in, it has submitted a 10-Q filing with the SEC that includes additional details like this eye-popping note about a fine imposed by Luxembourg’s National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) (via Bloomberg).

Illustration by Ari Liloan for The Verge ‘We are delivery boys who want to raise our voices’ Continue reading…

If it’s approved, the bipartisan infrastructure deal announced this week will make it easier for Americans to buy and own an electric car. But it won’t help meet President Joe Biden’s ambitious goal to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030.Experts in urban policy and electrification told The Verge that the money authorized for a nationwide network of EV chargers would have a measurable impact on Americans’ car-buying choices. The $1 trillion deal ($550 billion of which is new spending) includes $7.5 billion to fund Biden’s plan to build half a million EV chargers across the country, which will help mend the mostly fractured, occasionally broken system we currently have. A more dependable charging network will likely help juice EV sales... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge This week, the dam broke. With COVID-19 surging around the United States and vaccination rates stagnating, federal agencies and state governments started announcing vaccine mandates for their workers. The Department of Veterans Affairs was the first federal agency to introduce a mandate, and Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that all federal employees would have to be vaccinated or face testing and other protocols. New York City and Los Angeles will also require city workers to get vaccinated.Private companies are doing the same. Google said Wednesday that employees would have to be vaccinated to come to the office, and Facebook and Lyft followed with their own announcements hours later. Some New York City restaurants are... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple is a notoriously secretive company, and a cease and desist letter recently acquired by Motherboard sheds new light on exactly why, arguing that leaks harm accessory makers, consumers, and Apple itself.The C&D order reportedly sent to a Chinese citizen by Apple’s lawyers in China, says that leaks about Apple’s iPhone dimensions could mislead case manufacturers, who might make accessories that are incompatible with the final product. As Apple puts it, “third-party accessory manufacturers may develop and sell mobile phone cases and other accessories that are not actually compatible with the unreleased products.” Motherboard notes that the market for Apple accessories is estimated to be worth almost $20 billion worldwide.“The secret... Continue reading…

Photo credit should read JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images The Beatles seminal Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is set to receive another Dolby Atmos mix, after producer Giles Martin, son of the album’s original producer George Martin, admitted that the current version “doesn’t sound quite right.” The current mix, produced by the younger Martin in 2017, was made with Dolby Atmos theaters in mind, rather than personal listening via services like Apple Music. “I’m gonna replace it,” the said the two time Grammy winner to Rolling Stone. “It’s good. But it’s not right.”The current Atmos mix of the album was created to coincide with its 50th anniversary in 2017. At the time, it was designed to be played in Dolby Atmos cinemas at a series of live listening events. But now that it is available... Continue reading…

An AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT GPU from Asus | Image: AMD AMD has a new entry-level RX 6000-series GPU: the $379 RX 6600 XT, which is still based on the same RDNA 2 architecture as its beefier cousins, but it offers a more wallet-friendly price point. The new card promises the “ultimate 1080p gaming experience,” for customers who don’t necessarily need a next-gen 4K gaming setup.At a suggested retail price of $379 (AMD isn’t selling its own version of the card), the RX 6600 XT slots at an even cheaper price point than the $479 RX 6700 XT that the company released earlier this year, which targeted 1440p gaming.The RX 6600 XT features 32 compute units, 8GB of GDDR6 RAM, a 2359 MHz base clock, 2589 MHz boosted clock, and draws 160W of power. For comparison, the top-of-the-line RX 6900 XT 80... Continue reading…

Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Following a prolonged standoff between Dish Network and AT&T over licensing terms to carry HBO channels, Dish has reached an agreement with WarnerMedia to offer HBO, HBO Max, and Cinemax.Dish TV customers nationwide will be able to access both the HBO and Cinemax networks today, though they’ll need to subscribe to HBO Max to get linear HBO. To promote the deal, Dish will run a free 10-day preview of the premium networks for existing customers right around the time the Olympics Games will be wrapping up, from August 6 to August 15. Customers don’t have to do anything to take advantage of the preview; the networks will appear automatically.Users interested in subscribing to HBO Max can score a discounted subscription to the service’s... Continue reading…

Verizon’s hotspot plans offer mobile data that can be shared with other devices in your luxury camper van, er, house. | Image: Verizon Verizon has introduced new mobile hotspot plans, with four options to choose from starting at 15GB for $20 per month up to 150GB for $80 per month. They offer standalone and unlimited plan add-on mobile hotspot data that’s ready to be taken on the road. Maybe in a Class B Winnebago Solis with a pop-up sleeping compartment, as featured on Wheel of Fortune, south through the redwoods and along the coast and then on through the painted deserts of the Southwest. What? I said that out loud? I mean, hypothetically.Anyway, the most basic plan, Essential, offers low-band Nationwide 5G and 4G LTE connectivity. The three more expensive plans — creatively named Plus, Pro, and Premium — include Ultra Wideband 5G, which encompasses the very fast,... Continue reading…

A screenshot from Destiny 2. | Image: Bungie Destiny 2 developer Bungie revealed a whole lot of information about the game’s upcoming crossplay support in a blog post on Thursday afternoon. Let’s get this out of the way first: Bungie still doesn’t have an exact date for when you’ll be able to play with your friends on other platforms, but the studio promises the feature will launch “early” in Season 15, which is expected to kick off on August 24th.Season 15 will also bring an important change to ensure you have a persistent identity across platforms for crossplay: a new Bungie Name system. Your Bungie Name will be generated based on the name associated with the platform you play Season 15 on first, and will look something like PlayerName#1234. You can get a better idea of how it... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Snapchat experienced a massive issue Thursday evening, with more than 125,000 users reporting problems on Downdetector. I tried logging into the app on my iPhone 12 Mini, and the app just crashed every time I tried to open it. Two other Verge staffers weren’t able to open the app, either.Snap acknowledged the problem in a tweet at 6:51PM ET. “We’re aware of an issue preventing some Snapchatters from logging in,” the company said from Snapchat’s support account. “Hang tight, we are looking into it and working on a fix!” Snap reported the issue solved five hours later. Snapchat support advises users to manually update the app in the App Store if issues continue.The outage followed a nasty bug from June where a version of the iOS... Continue reading…

Photo: Turn 10 Studios Forza Motorsport 7 will no longer be available to purchase from the Microsoft Store or play on Xbox Game Pass after September 15th, 2021, as it’s reaching “end of life” status. The game won’t be completely going away — if you own it you’ll still be able to download and play it, and the multiplayer will still be accessible, but anyone without the game won’t be able to buy the digital version. According to the Forza Twitter account, this is happening because the game’s licenses to use real-world cars and tracks are starting to expire.If you’re a long-time Forza fan, you may have seen this happen before. Games in the series have historically been delisted around four years after their release. Horizon 3 was delisted in September 2020 after... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Robinhood started trading at $38, dropped about 10 percent, recovered, but still closed down 8 percent at $34.90 on its first day of trading. It’s the worst first day among 51 firms that raised as much as Robinhood or more, according to Bloomberg. It’s also bad news for Robinhood’s experiment at offering retail investors a chunk of the IPO.Robinhood’s shares priced at the bottom of the targeted price range of $38 to $42 a share, perhaps because of concerns about volatility or perhaps because Robinhood wanted to ensure a pop for its retail investors. And though Robinhood had said it would allocate up to 35 percent of its shares to retail, only 20 percent actually went to retail, which “indicated less interest than expected,” according to... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The first major system update for Sony’s PlayStation 5 is arriving in beta form today, finally letting you expand the console’s 667GB of usable storage by adding your own PCIe Gen 4 SSD as well as testing new UI options and expanding 3D Audio support. But the full changelog also includes a few features that Sony didn’t highlight to press — including a way to easily update your DualSense controller if you press the wrong button!You see, the PS5 currently has a very silly flaw: the only time you can update your controller is when you boot the console. And if you say no or accidentally press the O button instead of X, you can’t trigger that update until 24 hours have passed (or you tweak your PS5’s internal clock to cheat it).But in Beta... Continue reading…

Image: Marvel Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over the simultaneous streaming release of Black Widow, which debuted the same day in theaters and on Disney Plus through its Premier Access service.The suit was filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court and alleges that Johansson’s contract with Marvel Entertainment, which is owned by Disney, ensured a “wide theatrical release” of the film. The suit says it’s “well understood” that the agreement meant an exclusive release that would not include streaming. Johansson’s salary was in part based on the box office performance of the film, the suit says, meaning the streaming offer could meaningfully cut into her paycheck.“Disney knew that the cannibalization of [box office receipts] by Disney+ would... Continue reading…

The Motorola Edge 20 Pro, Edge 20, and Edge 20 Lite all support 5G and come with a 6.7-inch OLED. | Image: Motorola Motorola is keeping its return to flagship devices running for the second year in a row with today’s global announcement of the Edge 20 Pro, Edge 20, and Edge 20 Lite. The top-end 20 Pro includes a periscope-style telephoto lens for the first time in a Motorola device and includes a Snapdragon 870 processor.All three devices support sub-6GHz 5G, offer 108-megapixel rear-facing cameras, and include 6.7-inch OLED screens with fast refresh rates. They’re due to arrive in August in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. While Motorola doesn’t offer specifics, it says that it plans to bring a 5G Edge device to North America this fall. Image: Motorola The Edge 20 Pro comes in a handsome indigo vegan leather option. P... Continue reading…

Sunisa Lee of Team United States competes on the balance beam during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. | Photo by Amin Mohammad Jamali/Getty Images Figuring out how to watch the Olympics this year has been frustrating. NBC holds broadcasting rights to the Games in the US, so it naturally seized on the opportunity to boost subscribers to its streaming service, Peacock, by making it “the place to flock for the Games’ top moments.” Streaming the Olympics should’ve been as easy as signing up — except it wasn’t.Peacock’s coverage was a problem straight out of the gate. The opening ceremony wasn’t streamed live on the service at all (though the closing ceremony will be), even though it was streamed live on the NBC Olympics website. The service is paywalling men’s basketball, seemingly to boost Peacock’s paid plans. And while live broadcasts and on-demand coverage of most other games and... Continue reading…

Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images The NBA and iHeartMedia, which owns iHeartRadio, will be launching more than 20 new co-produced podcasts as part of a multiyear partnership, the two companies announced. The first show is scheduled to debut in the fall.“The new shows will be produced using a wide variety of content from the NBA archives to tell the backstories of some of the greatest moments in sports history, along with a mix of the latest league news, player commentary, insider analysis, and much more,” according to a press release.The lineup could include daily shows as well as limited series, and it may pull from the NBA’s archives of content, according to Bloomberg. “We’ve been looking for the right partner to help bring our archives to life,” David Denenberg,... Continue reading…

Amazon’s Kindle e-readers with built-in 3G will begin to lose the ability to connect to the internet on their own in the US in December, according to an email sent to customers on Wednesday. The change is due to mobile carriers transitioning from older 2G and 3G networking technology to newer 4G and 5G networks. For older Kindles without Wi-Fi, this change could mean not connecting to the internet at all.As Good e-Reader first noted in June, newer Kindle devices with 4G support should be fine, but for older devices that shipped with support for 3G and Wi-Fi like the Kindle Keyboard (3rd generation), Kindle Touch (4th generation), Kindle Paperwhite (4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th generation), Kindle Voyage (7th generation), and Kindle Oasis (8th... Continue reading…

Image: Amazon Amazon has announced that its second-gen Fire TV Cube is now able to participate in two-way Zoom video calls. The company rolled out support for videoconferencing between the Fire TV Cube and Alexa smart displays late last year, but Zoom opens up even more possibilities for hosting virtual chats or work calls on the biggest screen in your home. This really would’ve come in handy over the last year, but better late than never, I guess — and it should still prove convenient for anyone working a hybrid office / home schedule in the months ahead.The Zoom app for Fire TV is required to get started. So is a webcam, obviously, and the company has some minimum requirements to meet on that front:

Image: Marvel Studios Marvel’s Hawkeye spinoff show is officially debuting on Disney Plus on November 24th, the company announced today. The announcement comes with the first official image from the show, that sees Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton iteration of the archer superhero alongside the newly introduced Kate Bishop version of the character, played by Hailee Steinfeld in the upcoming show.

Images: Arc Electricity and water don’t mix — well, actually, they mix really well, which can be problematic for humans. So the thought of an electric boat may seem risky. A new California startup called Arc is going to try to shred that perception, starting with a limited edition 24-foot watersports boat that will cost around $300,000.That’s an incredible amount of money. But Arc — which is coming out of stealth mode today, boasts a handful of SpaceX expats, and is backed by Silicon Valley powerhouse firm Andreessen Horowitz — plans to work its way down from that price point once it’s producing and selling boats, just like Tesla once did for electric passenger cars with the Roadster, followed by the Model S and X, and then the Model 3 and Y.“We... Continue reading…

A new sports add-on from Hulu with Live TV. | Image: Hulu Hulu is adding two big channels for football coverage to its live TV service. The NFL Network will be included in Hulu’s live TV package beginning today at no extra cost, while NFL RedZone will now be offered as part of a new sports add-on. The add-on includes a half-dozen channels, but subscribers will have to pony up for access.The NFL Network joins the more than 75 live TV channels already available as part of Hulu’s live TV package, which starts at $65 per month. The channel includes studio coverage, original series, live NFL season games, as well as NFL preseason games.The NFL says broadening distribution is among its “top priorities”Hulu’s new sports add-on package can expand those channels with NFL RedZone in addition to MAVTV... Continue reading…

The Flex 5 is built for its price range Continue reading…

Airbnb is adding a new tool for hosts that will let them easily test and list their Wi-Fi speeds on listings. The new addition is in recognization of the fact that — particularly with the current remote work and school model — customers are renting Airbnb properties not just for vacations but for working trips that provide a change of scenery. In that vein, knowing that you’ll actually be able to have strong internet when you’re booking is a useful feature.While it’s been possible for hosts to list Wi-Fi speeds or share screenshots of speed tests before, the new tool is integrated directly into Airbnb’s app (using M-Lab’s open-source software) and allows for Wi-Fi speed to be displayed directly on a listing alongside other information... Continue reading…

Image: BBC The Thirteenth Doctor is set to step away. Today, the BBC announced that Jodie Whittaker, who took over as the first female lead in Doctor Who in 2017, will end her run on the show in 2022. Showrunner Chris Chibnall will also be leaving.“My heart is so full of love for this show, for the team who make it, for the fans who watch it and for what it has brought to my life,” Whittaker said in a statement. “And I cannot thank Chris enough for entrusting me with his incredible stories. We knew that we wanted to ride this wave side by side, and pass on the baton together. So here we are, weeks away from wrapping on the best job I have ever had. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express what this role has given me. I will carry the Doctor and... Continue reading…

Every summer, hundreds of diamondback terrapins crawl over to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to lay their eggs. In past years, the turtles have been so obstructive, they’ve caused flight delays. To manage situations like these, airports like JFK have entire departments dedicated to keeping wildlife and planes out of each other’s way.While keeping the tarmac clear of turtles allows airports to operate smoothly, the real danger looms in the skies. On average, over 10,000 wildlife strikes are reported each year to the Federal Aviation Administration, most of them birds. As more planes take to the skies the number of bird strikes has trended upward at an alarming rate, threatening to damage planes, or worse, cause... Continue reading…

The PS5 software beta now supports M.2 SSDs. | Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge Sony has started beta testing the first software update for the PS5 today, and it includes M.2 SSD expandable storage support. The long-awaited feature is available for testers right now and will launch on all PS5 consoles later this year. We’ll need to test a variety of drives with the PS5, but right now Sony requires at least a PCIe Gen4 SSD, with a minimum capacity of 250GB. Sony is also recommending a drive capable of 5,500MB/s, but slower Gen4 drives may still be supported.I’ve tested Corsair’s MP600 (2TB) with the PS5, and it’s very easy to get it all up and running in less than two minutes. Here’s how it all works:

In Southern District of New York federal court on Thursday, Nikola founder Trevor Milton was charged with securities fraud. The charges allege that Milton made a series of materially false claims which portrayed the electric vehicle company Nikola as far closer to releasing a functional product than it actually was, and raising more than $500 million of investment in the process.“Milton sold a version of Nikola not as it was – an early stage company with a novel idea to commercialize yet-to-be proven products and technology – but rather as a trail-blazing company that had already achieved many groundbreaking and game-changing milestones,” the indictment alleges.“Behold, the Nikola One in motion”Specifically, the indictment argues... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Uber is teaming up with popular language service Rosetta Stone to provide free classes to drivers and couriers, the company announced Thursday.The deal is being extended to drivers and delivery workers in select markets where Uber operates. Rosetta’s digital language learning programs, which cover 24 languages, will be fully integrated into the Uber app used by its workers. And the company is working with Rosetta on developing language skills directly related to their work as ride-share drivers and delivery workers.Drivers have previously been able to take English-language courses as part of Uber Pro, the company’s rewards program for drivers. The new language services are part of a broader effort by the ride-hailing company to... Continue reading…

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge This 8-liter desktop upgrades in a snap Continue reading…

Illustration by Ari Liloan for The Verge ‘Documented Dreamers’ have few good options after aging out of dependent visas Continue reading…

The Huawei P50 Pro. | Image: Huawei Huawei has announced its latest flagship phones for the Chinese market, the P50 and P50 Pro. They’re the company’s first major phones to launch with HarmonyOS, the company’s own branded mobile operating system, which pairs with Huawei’s typically well-specced cameras and hardware that includes Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 processor in some models.The launch of the P50 series has come a little later in the year than the P40 did in 2020, thanks to US sanctions which have seriously impacted Huawei’s ability to produce new phones and restricted its ability to buy chips and other components from companies using US tech. When he first teased the phones last month, Huawei’s consumer business CEO Richard Yu said that a launch date hadn’t... Continue reading…

Apple MacBook Air with the M1 processor | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple’s latest MacBook Air with the M1 processor is an excellent, lightweight productivity laptop for school or work. It has excellent performance, stellar battery life, and runs completely silently, thanks to its fanless design. At Best Buy, you can save up to $250 off the price of the 8GB RAM / 256GB storage model, bringing it down to just $750, the lowest price we’ve seen yet. Read our review.To get the best deal, you need to be signed into a My Best Buy account (free) and then toggle the option for the limited time student deal, which knocks another $100 off the discounted $850 price. If you need more storage, the 512GB version is getting the same discount, bringing its price down to $1,000.In 2019, Amazon claimed to have sold... Continue reading…

What exactly the glasses will look like or how they will function is unclear. Facebook’s next hardware launch will be its long-awaited Ray-Ban ‘smart glasses,’ CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed on an earnings call this week. When exactly the glasses will arrive is unclear. We least heard they were launching some time in 2021, but the pandemic has changed a lot of companies’ plans, and Zuckerberg did not comment on a time frame.“Looking ahead here, the next product release will be the launch of our first smart glasses from Ray-Ban in partnership with EssilorLuxottica,” said the Facebook CEO. “The glasses have their iconic form factor, and they let you do some pretty neat things.”We don’t know what those “neat things” are, though Facebook has previously confirmed that the glasses will not have an integrated display... Continue reading…

Looking back a year later at Intel’s worst summer, and how it’s been fighting its way back since Continue reading…