The Verge

Wood and furnishings lie outside a private seaside residence January 17, 2013 damaged during Hurricane Sandy in the Rockaways January 17, 2013 in the Queens borough of New York. | Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images Just a few inches of human-driven sea level rise contributed to Hurricane Sandy’s devastation of the Northeastern US in 2012. Tens of thousands more people were affected, and more than $8 billion in damages incurred during the storm were a result of climate-induced sea level rise, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications.That’s about 13 percent of the more than $62.5 billion total in damage that the superstorm created in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Because climate change pushed sea levels higher, floodwaters were able to creep further inland — bringing more destruction with them.“Sea level rise raises the launchpad for every single coastal storm.”This is the first study to put a dollar sign... Continue reading…

One of the bestselling games of all time is coming to next-gen consoles at the end of the year. Today, Rockstar announced that Grand Theft Auto V and its online spinoff will both be launching on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X on November 11th; the new version was previously announced at the PS5’s reveal event last year.We don’t yet know what exactly will be changed for the next-gen iterations, but Rockstar says they will be “expanded and enhanced.” It’s also not clear what the upgrade path will look like for current owners of the game. GTA Online, meanwhile, will be available as a standalone title, and Sony previously said that it would be free for all PS5 owners during its first three months of availability.Despite launching in... Continue reading…

What exactly is lost in translation when TV shows and films are subbed or dubbed into a new language? It’s a hard question to answer, but for the team at AI startup Flawless, it may be one we don’t have to think about in the future. The company claims it has the solution to this particular language barrier; a technical innovation that could help TV shows and films effortlessly reach new markets around the world: deepfake dubs.We often think of deepfakes as manipulating the entire image of a person or scene, but Flawless’ technology focuses on just a single element: the mouth. Customers feed the company’s software with video from a film or TV show along with dubbed dialogue recorded by humans. Flawless’ machine learning models then... Continue reading…

Spotify says it plans to generate transcripts for all podcasts on its app. | Image: Spotify Spotify announced multiple updates to make its app more accessible across iOS and Android today, including a beta version of a podcast transcription feature. The company says it’ll start auto-transcribing certain exclusive and original shows over the coming weeks as part of a beta rollout. People will be able to read the transcript with or without audio and can tap on text to jump to that point in the audio. The company says the goal is to eventually “enable transcripts across all podcasts on Spotify.”This is an especially helpful feature for people who want to scan and move around a podcast, possibly to hear a specific segment, and for people who would rather read than listen to a show. Spotify is one of the first major podcast apps to... Continue reading…

Ford is set to unveil its next major electric vehicle, the F-150 Lightning, at 9:30PM ET on Wednesday, May 19th. But this isn’t just another EV event. An electric version of the automaker’s iconic F-series pickup truck is a very big deal for Ford, for the auto world, for car buyers, and even for the US economy.Ford is very proud of its F-series trucks, and for good reason. It’s the bestselling truck in the US for 44 years. It’s also the bestselling vehicle in the country, period. According to Edmunds, F-series trucks are the most popular vehicle in 30 out of 50 states in the US.That means the F-Series trucks create a huge windfall for Ford. The Detroit automaker netted around $42 billion in revenue in 2019 from nearly 900,000... Continue reading…

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge Nvidia is extending its cryptocurrency mining limits to newly manufactured GeForce RTX 3080, RTX 3070, and RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards. After nerfing the hash rates of the RTX 3060 for its launch in February, Nvidia is now starting to label new cards with a “Lite Hash Rate” or “LHR” identifier to let potential customers know the cards will be restricted for mining.“This reduced hash rate only applies to newly manufactured cards with the LHR identifier and not to cards already purchased,” says Matt Wuebbling, Nvidia’s head GeForce marketing. “We believe this additional step will get more GeForce cards at better prices into the hands of gamers everywhere.”These new RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3070, and RTX 3080 cards will start shipping later this... Continue reading…

Apple’s first computer with its new M1 in-house chip, the 2021 MacBook Air, exceeded our expectations. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The performance of Apple’s M1 chips exceeded our expectations and made the 2020 MacBook Air the most impressive laptop we’ve used in years (it’s also done wonders for the redesigned iMac). So it’s not too surprising, as per Bloomberg News this morning, that Apple is readying a whole slate of Macs using next-gen versions of the company’s in-house chips. The details sound very promising.The story, from reliable Apple-watcher Mark Gurman, says the company is preparing to unveil redesigned MacBook Pros in 14-inch and 16-inch screen sizes “as early as this summer.” Not only will the machines have a redesigned chassis, but they’ll also bring back the beloved magnetic MagSafe charger (though it’s not clear in what form) and previously excised... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Woot is hosting a good deal on the iPhone 11 Pro, 2019’s high-end iPhone model. It debuted for $1,000, but Prime members can get one new and unlocked for $770. At this price, you’ll get a 64GB phone in either midnight green or silver. If you want more storage, the 256GB model costs $890, which is 23 percent off its original price. All the way at the top sits the 512GB iPhone 11 Pro for $1,000, a $350 discount.Google I/O 2021 kicks off later today, and we expect to see more on its upcoming Android 12 software. One such phone that’ll be among the first to be able to run it is the Google Pixel 3, and you can get that device for just $160 new at Woot. We covered this deal recently, but it’s still happening and it’s still very good if you... Continue reading…

The event kicks off at 1PM ET / 10AM PT today Continue reading…

Echo Frames with Classic sunglass lenses. | Image: Amazon Amazon is launching new lens options today for its Echo Frames smart audio glasses: two types of polarized sunglass lenses for use outside, and blue light-filtering lenses for staring at bright screens. The blue light and blue mirror sunglass options will ship on May 18th, and the “Classic” dark sunglass lenses will arrive later on June 9th. All three varieties will be available in the black version of the Echo Frames for $269.99.Echo Frames are far simpler in comparison to other smart glasses, like Google Glass. Essentially, they’re a glasses frame with Amazon’s Alexa assistant built-in, along with some microphones and downward firing speakers. In our review of the Frames, we found Alexa’s abilities to be pretty limited (especially on... Continue reading…

A new design, new processor, and new screen make for a winning combination Continue reading…

Even though the iPhone arrived as a harbinger of doom for phones with physical keyboards well over a decade ago, the fanatical enthusiasm for BlackBerry isn’t something that just goes away completely. People loved their BlackBerry keyboards, and their relative efficiency when compared to touchscreens wasn’t really the point.Still, the niche gets tinier by the year, and it falls on similarly tiny companies to serve it. Now we have the Titan Pocket, a new Android phone launching today on Kickstarter from Unihertz, which previously released the miniature Jelly phones and, more pertinently, another BlackBerry-esque device called the Titan back in 2019.The Titan was like a rugged take on the BlackBerry Passport, which was a weird phone even... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge It’s been over a year since Google last held I/O thanks to the pandemic, but with the COVID-19 outlook slightly more positive in 2021, the company is making its triumphant return to the (virtual) stage with an entirely online Google I/O developer conference. And with a year and some change between I/O 2019 and now, there’s plenty of room for interesting announcements when everything kicks off at 10AM PT (1PM ET) today.Android 12 is expected to make its official debut, with rumors swirling that the new update will shake up the visual style of the mobile operating system, among other improvements. We’re also hoping to hear more about a less expensive version of the Pixel Buds and maybe more information about the Pixel 5A, after both... Continue reading…

Electric scooter company Gogoro continues to expand outside its home country of Taiwan in a big way, as it just announced new partnerships with a pair of China’s leading two-wheel manufacturers.DCJ, the top gas-powered motorcycle company in China, and Yadea, one of the biggest makers of electric scooters, motorcycles, bikes and mopeds, have each agreed to develop new two-wheelers that will use Gogoro’s swappable batteries and electric drivetrains.Gogoro CEO Horace Luke tells The Verge the deals with DCJ and Yadea have been in the works for around two years and that the Chinese companies dug deep into Gogoro’s technology before deciding to partner up. The three companies are announcing the deals just as the Chinese government has begun... Continue reading…

Image: Anita Maric / SWNS In March this year, Nintendo opened its Super Nintendo World theme park in Osaka, Japan. Now, just a few short months later, the Birmingham Mail reports that over a dozen giant green plant pots have been installed in Walsall, UK’s town center, prompting immediate comparisons to the Super Mario franchise. I’m not saying the two events are related, but the dots connect themselves.“It makes the place [look] more like something from Super Mario Brothers,” florist Andrea Loveridge told the Mail. “They look like those warp pipes Mario jumps down.” This is apparently a bad thing.According to local councillor Adrian Andrew, the pots are part of improvement works designed to “promote a feeling of wellbeing and safety and enhance the town centre... Continue reading…

The first all-electric Lamborghini is on the horizon.The Italian automaker finally unveiled its electrification plans, which will proceed in two distinct phases over the next decade. By the end of 2024, the company plans to roll out gas-electric hybrid versions of its entire lineup. Following that, Lamborghini will debut its first all-electric model sometime before the end of the decade.That means plug-in hybrid versions of Aventador, Huracán, and Urus models will be arriving within the next three years, as well as limited production Sián roadsters. And sometime before 2030, Lamborghini will unveil a completely new all-electric fourth model.“For sure, it’s the torque and the acceleration”Like other sports car companies, Lamborghini... Continue reading…

James Bond, The Handmaid’s Tale, Rocky, Stargate, Robocop, Legally Blonde, Vikings, a historic catalog of films dating back many decades, an array of production and distribution companies, and the content network Epix — these are the things that Amazon might own if it buys storied film giant MGM for billions of dollars in the very near future.Amazon has reportedly offered $9 billion for the company, according to Variety, following a scoop from The Information earlier in the day that suggested a range of $7-10 billion for a potential deal, and Variety suggests that $9 billion was also the amount that MGM was reportedly hoping to get.Between those factors, the fact that MGM has been up for sale since December 2020, and the jealousy that... Continue reading…

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Today, we learned that Apple’s ultra-premium $550 AirPods Max headphones aren’t ready for the new lossless audio catalog coming to Apple Music next month — and they’re not alone. Apple confirms to The Verge that the HomePod and HomePod mini won’t support lossless audio, either. (MacRumors confirmed the same thing with sources earlier this afternoon.)The good news is that the HomePod and HomePod mini will indeed support the company’s new spatial audio experiences, which are supposed to provide more immersive audio than a standard stereo or virtual surround mix — we were fairly intrigued trying spatial audio on the AirPods Pro, and it’s also coming to Apple Music next month in a bigger way.And, Apple says, it’s not like any of these... Continue reading…

What does ‘locked in’ mean, though? Continue reading…

Oculus Oculus will soon roll out its v29 software for Quest and Quest 2 headsets, and this one adds more features and functionality to the lineup. The most exciting one is a new Live Overlay casting feature that will give you an easy way to capture a view of you using VR superimposed over the content displayed in first-person within your headset. Any VR app that supports casting and recording will work with this feature, according to Oculus.All you’ll need is at least an iPhone XS or newer, a Quest headset, and the Oculus app for iOS updated to a new version that’s coming to “a subset of users.” Then you turn on the feature and have someone aim the camera at you (or aim it at yourself).If this sounds familiar, you might be thinking of O... Continue reading…

Electric scooters have become a common sight on London’s roads, even while their use has remained illegal. | Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images London’s long-awaited electric scooter trials will begin next month on June 7th, the city’s transport authority and local councils announced today. Three scooter companies have been selected to offer rentals for up to 12 months as part of the pilot program: Dott, Lime, and Tier. Privately owned electric scooters will continue to be illegal to ride on streets.The selected companies will initially offer scooters to rent across six boroughs and local authorities in London: Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Richmond upon Thames, the City of London, and Canary Wharf. While rentals will not be available in Tower Hamlets, Londoners will be able to ride their rented scooters through the borough. Lambeth and Southwark... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Fox has announced its upcoming animated comedy Krapopolis, from Rick and Morty creator Dan Harmon, will be “the first-ever animated series curated entirely on the Blockchain.” The company plans to try to generate buzz for the show with its own brand-new NFT company dubbed Blockchain Creative Labs, THR reports.Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier told advertisers during its upfronts presentation on Monday that “as an advertiser-focused, artist-first and animation-obsessed company, Fox is going to take advertisers into the world of Blockchain-powered tokens, including NFTs.” It will launch a dedicated marketplace for Krapopolis, a show set in mythical ancient Greece “centered on a flawed family of humans, gods, and monsters that tries... Continue reading…

Fossil A new tweet from the official Wear OS Twitter account is teasing an update tomorrow at I/O 2021 to Google’s frequently forgotten smartwatch operating system. Google has even suggested that the developer conference will feature an entirely new version of Wear OS on the I/O Adventure page, the “virtual sandbox” for trying the products Google will announce at the conference, 9to5Google writes.Wear OS has been on a long and bumpy journey up until this point — with new features, but not the dramatic rethinking of the platform that it may need. In the last year, Google has added a new keyboard, support for third-party Tiles (Wear OS’s answer to glanceable widget-like information), and improvements to performance. But the last major design... Continue reading…

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Facebook’s vice president of AR and VR Hugo Barra is leaving the company, he announced (where else) on Facebook Monday.“Today is my last day at Facebook Reality Labs, after 4 years working on projects that have been more exciting and more challenging than anything I’ve encountered in my career, with some of the brightest minds and kindest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet,” Barra wrote in the post. He said he planned to “explore the healthcare technology space,” so he could apply what he had learned in consumer tech to solve problems in health care. “I believe society is still poorly equipped with the tools people need to really understand our health and gain control over our health outcomes,” he wrote.After serving as G... Continue reading…

Image: Canoo The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into newly public electric vehicle startup Canoo, CEO Tony Aquila shared on a conference call on Monday.The probe is broad, though the startup said in a regulatory filing that the SEC has characterized it as a “fact-finding inquiry,” and that the agency has not yet concluded whether anyone violated the law. It covers Canoo’s merger with a special purpose acquisition company (or SPAC), plus its “operations, business model, revenues, revenue strategy, customer agreements, earnings and other related topics, along with the recent departures of certain of the Company’s officers.”Canoo says it plans to provide all requested material and fully cooperate. Aquila declined to... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Streaming music might be entering a new era of hi-fi audio, but Apple’s AirPods Max aren’t technically ready to go along for the ride. The company has confirmed to The Verge that its premium noise-canceling headphones do not natively support playback of lossless music files.“Lossless audio is not supported on AirPods, any model,” an Apple spokesperson said by email. “AirPods Max wired listening mode accepts analog output sources only. AirPods Max currently does not support digital audio formats in wired mode.”It makes complete sense that the AirPods and AirPods Pro have no way of playing lossless audio. They’re totally wireless, and Apple supports the AAC codec over Bluetooth. AAC sounds plenty good, but it’s nowhere near the bit... Continue reading…

Nelson on his first few days on the job: ‘I’m drinking from a firehose’ Continue reading…

Apple is trying to convince a judge that it’s not milking the App Store for all it’s worth, and today the company dropped some big numbers to help make its case. Apple claims that its App Store drove $400 billion worth of physical purchases in a single year in 2019, and that — unlike digital purchases and subscriptions — Apple doesn’t take a cent of that money.That’s according to App Store boss and longtime Apple marketing exec Phil Schiller, who also testified that the company spends a staggering $50 million a year to throw its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) event. The company’s also building a new developer center at its Apple Loop headquarters in Cupertino, he says, though I didn’t catch how much the company’s investing in... Continue reading…

Samsung’s display division is working on a bi-folding OLED panel suitable for folding phones. | Image: Samsung Display This year has seen no shortage of rollable display demos from manufacturers, and now Samsung Display is the latest company to show off new concepts for folding and sliding screens. SamMobile spotted the concepts being showcased as part of a virtual Display Week exhibition (if you forgot to mail out your Happy Display Week cards, there’s still time since it runs through Friday) including a “multi-foldable” mobile display and a large 17-inch folding screen.The company calls its first concept S-foldable, with a bi-fold design that opens up to a maximum screen size of 7.2 inches. It’s similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 2 except, well, plus one fold. There’s also a sliding mobile display similar to the ill-fated rollable concept LG showed off... Continue reading…

Photo by Robert Paul / Blizzard Entertainment Professional Valorant player Jay “Sinatraa” Won has been suspended for six months by Riot Games for “failing to fully cooperate” with an ongoing investigation into an allegation of sexual assault. The investigation stems from an allegation dating back to March of this year, when Won was accused of sexual abuse by a former girlfriend, which was supported by recordings and screenshots of messages. At the time, Won was indefinitely suspended by both Riot, which develops Valorant and organizes most online competitions, and Sentinels, the team for which he plays.According to Riot, this latest suspension is related to Won’s behavior during the investigation. In a statement, the company said:

Image: Amazon Amazon is launching a new series of health programs called WorkingWell designed to prevent workplace injuries in the company’s expansive system of warehouses and distribution centers in the US. While the new health program is an attempt to address the 40 percent of work-related injuries Amazon has identified as musculoskeletal disorders (think carpal tunnel syndrome or back pain), it doesn’t come with any changes to the long shifts and demanding working conditions that might cause them.As part of WorkingWell, workers will have dedicated meetings to watch videos covering health and safety topics, and designated spaces for stretching and meditating at work. Depending on the station and job, some workers will also receive timed video... Continue reading…

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, who was appointed to the role in April 2020, is negotiating his departure from the company following AT&T’s announcement that it would be merging WarnerMedia with Discovery, according to The New York Times. Kilar was “kept in the dark about the deal until recent days,” sources told The New York Times.Kilar has been overseeing all of WarnerMedia, including Warner Bros., Turner, and HBO. But it was unclear how he would slot into the new company given that Discovery’s president and CEO David Zaslav is set to head it up. Kilar joined AT&T just a month before HBO Max launched in May 2020, and he orchestrated a major reorganization in August that gave HBO Max even more of a priority at the company. He previously... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Aside from churning out some limited edition colors, Beats has been in a bit of a quiet period since the release of the Beats Flex last October. But it seems that the Apple-owned brand is preparing to launch some new, high-end earbuds. As spotted by MacRumors, there are images of “Beats Studio Buds” in the latest beta releases of iOS and tvOS. 9to5Mac also uncovered images of the charging case and some system animations of the earbuds.The unannounced earbuds look much different than the Powerbeats Pro, which have become a popular pick among the fitness crowd. These don’t have any ear hooks whatsoever, and they seem to have a diagonal steam that extends slightly upward. Image: MacRumors These images being included... Continue reading…

A nurse administers a COVID-19 vaccine on May 17, 2021 in Rajasthan, India | Photo by Rebecca Conway/Getty Images But they might help Continue reading…

Eufy’s home security camera | Image: Anker / Eufy Last night, a number of Eufy home security camera owners discovered they were able to access smart camera feeds and saved videos from users they had never met, due to an apparent security glitch. First reported by 9to5Mac, the issue came to light in an extended Reddit thread, in which users from around the world detailed their experiences.“Basically I could see every camera, their front door and backdoor bells, master bedroom, living room, garage, kitchen, their motion recordings, everything,” one Eufy owner noted. “I was wondering what was going on as it still had my email and name as signed in and noticed that some unknown email, I’m guessing of the Hawaii owner, was in my shared guest account.”“For a security product to become... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Google is rolling out a new feature for the Google Phone app that announces who’s calling when the phone rings, according to 9to5Google. If it’s rolled out to you, you can set whether you want the app to announce caller ID every time the phone rings, only when you’re wearing a headset, or never, 9to5Google says.iOS has had a feature like this for some time, and it seems like Google’s version for the Phone app works similarly to Apple’s implementation. On my iPhone, I find caller ID announcements to be really useful — it’s very handy to know who’s calling before I even look at my phone. Caller ID announcements are also a great accessibility feature, allowing people with visual disabilities to more easily know who is calling them.Sadly,... Continue reading…

Consumers lost over $2 million in cryptocurrency to scammers impersonating Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk over the last six months, the Federal Trade Commission reported Monday.“Promises of guaranteed huge returns or claims that your cryptocurrency will be multiplied are always scams,” the commission said in its Monday report.“Promises of guaranteed huge returns or claims that your cryptocurrency will be multiplied are always scams”For years, scammers have posed as Musk in order to fraud social media users out of cryptocurrency. They use deceptive tactics on sites like Twitter, often using the same avatar images as Musk’s own account and slightly misspelling his username. Pretending to be Musk, the scammers will ask victims to send... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Public health experts and communities around the country are still struggling to make sense of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new mask guidelines. Last week, the CDC said it no longer thinks people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 need to wear masks in most situations. But cases of COVID-19 are still high in many places, and less than 40 percent of people in the United States are fully vaccinated.In efforts to clarify and explain the agency’s thinking, CDC director Rochelle Walensky focused on the risk COVID-19 poses to each individual person who decides to wear a mask or not wear a mask. People who are vaccinated can decide to skip a mask knowing that they’re safer, and people who aren’t vaccinated should... Continue reading…

California EV startup Canoo has finally announced pricing for the electric van it announced back in 2019. The “lifestyle” van, as Canoo calls it, will start at $34,750 and cost as much as $49,950 for the most capable model, before additional equipment or tax incentives.Canoo has also started accepting $100 deposits for the van as well as for the electric pickup truck it revealed in March and the delivery van it debuted late last year. Pricing was not given for the pickup, though Canoo has said the base price for the delivery van will be $33,000. Canoo’s lifestyle van is slated to go into production sometime in 2022, though it won’t start production on the other two vehicles until at least 2023.All three vehicles are built on the same... Continue reading…

Nreal Epic Games has sued smart glasses maker Nreal for infringing on its Unreal Engine trademark. Epic, which filed the case late last week, claims it’s “no coincidence” that Nreal’s name “looks and sounds virtually identical” to Unreal’s branding. As Nreal plans a US launch later this year, Epic wants to recoup damages and scuttle its application for a trademark.Epic argues that on top of “Nreal” sounding a lot like “Unreal,” both companies are competing in the same space. The China-based Nreal makes an augmented reality headset known as the Nreal Light, which projects 3D objects into real space, and it’s developed a demo game called Nreal Tower. Its glasses shipped in Korea last year, and Nreal has gradually expanded their availability,... Continue reading…

Hank being a good boy with an AirTag sleeve fitted to his existing dog collar. One seemingly obvious use for Apple’s new $29 AirTag tracker is for pets. As a new dog owner, I wanted to add an AirTag to my dog’s existing leather collar, but the options currently available are lousy.AirTags are small, but they’re not that small. Most AirTag holders currently available from Apple and its partners assume I’m okay with dangling a 0.39-ounce (11-gram) pendant off my medium-sized beagle’s neck. I’m not, which is how I came up with the idea for a DIY neoprene sleeve that keeps the IP67 water- and dust-resistant AirTag snuggly attached to Hank’s existing collar.I’m not going to suggest that AirTags are the best way to track your pets — they’re not. But they’re relatively cheap, unlike dedicated GPS / GSM pet trackers... Continue reading…

For the next two weeks, the virtual realm of Roblox is getting a dose of high fashion. Currently, fashion house Gucci is hosting an artsy garden space, which will be available for Roblox users to explore starting today through to May 31st. The space was conceived as a virtual counterpart to a real-world installation called the Gucci Garden Archetypes, which is taking place in Florence, Italy.Both the virtual and IRL spaces are described as multimedia experiences, which are divided into a series of themed rooms with names like “urban romanticism” and “Tokyo tribe.” It all sounds pretty surreal. Here’s the official description of what you’ll be doing in the digital version:

If you live in a major metropolitan area with great high-speed internet, you will be forgiven for forgetting Redbox exists. But the company that rents new releases from big red kiosks at grocery stores is still alive and kicking, and Variety is reporting it intends to go public after it was acquired by the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Seaport Global Acquisition Corp. The new company is reportedly valued at $693 million.Redbox has had success operating completely counter to Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, and all the other behemoth streamers that rely on set-top boxes, new TVs, and solid internet to function. According to Redbox, around 70 percent of its customers would be classified as “late adopters.” They’re people who... Continue reading…

The Razer Viper comes included in the Power Up bundle. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge At Walmart, the Power Up Bundle from Razer, which contains its Viper ambidextrous mouse, the Kraken X Lite headset, and Cynosa Lite keyboard, is $69 (via Slickdeals). This kit was originally priced at $160 but usually sells for around $100. This could be a great gift for anyone looking for affordable accessories to complement their PC build. You can spend a lot on the best gaming mice, gaming headsets, and on a keyboard. But if you or the recipient of this kit isn’t picky, this should be a good fit.Mesh Wi-Fi routers from Amazon’s Eero 6 lineup are discounted both at Amazon and at Best Buy. Just one router is $103 instead of $129, but if you want a Wi-Fi router and an extender to cover more space with Wi-Fi signal, that’s $159, down... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Faced with new competition from Apple, Amazon today announced that it will no longer charge an added fee for the “HD” tier of Amazon Music that lets customers stream audio at CD quality and above. From now on, lossless audio will be available to all Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers at no extra charge. Billboard was first to report the development.This makes Amazon the first company to offer lossless music at the industry’s standard $9.99 subscription rate. Amazon Music Unlimited is even cheaper ($7.99 per month) for Prime customers. And yes, the high-quality audio will also now be available for customers paying that price. Family plans are eligible for Amazon Music HD at no added cost, but student plans are exempt. Before Amazon... Continue reading…

Apple Apple Music is getting two big updates next month: support for high-quality, lossless audio and for spatial audio through Dolby Atmos. But even more surprising, the features will be available for free to all subscribers, including those on family and student plans. The company says it’ll have 75 million lossless audio songs in its catalog by the end of the year and 20 million to start.Apple has confirmed to The Verge that lossless audio is exclusive to Apple Music and thus subscription-only. The company won’t offer music purchases in lossless quality, nor will there be any way to upgrade owned tracks to lossless with the paid iTunes Match service.To turn on lossless audio, subscribers must run the latest version of Apple Music and can... Continue reading…

Photo Illustration by Thiago Prudêncio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The iOS app for conservative-leaning social media platform Parler is back in the Apple App Store today, after what the company says were “months of productive dialogue with Apple.”“The entire Parler team has worked hard to address Apple’s concerns without compromising our core mission,” Parler interim CEO Mark Meckler said in a statement emailed to The Verge on Monday. “Anything allowed on the Parler network but not in the iOS app will remain accessible through our web-based and Android versions. This is a win-win for Parler, its users, and free speech.”Parler, which bills itself as a free speech alternative to Facebook or Twitter, was banned by Apple, Google, and Amazon following the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol. The... Continue reading…

Microsoft is launching the personal version of Microsoft Teams today. After previewing the service nearly a year ago, Microsoft Teams is now available for free personal use amongst friends and families. The service itself is almost identical to the Microsoft Teams that businesses use, and it will allow people to chat, video call, and share calendars, locations, and files easily.Microsoft is also continuing to offer everyone free 24-hour video calls that it introduced in the preview version in November. You’ll be able to meet up with up to 300 people in video calls that can last for 24 hours. Microsoft will eventually enforce limits of 60 minutes for group calls of up to 100 people after the pandemic, but keep 24 hours for 1:1 calls. ... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitch is announcing a big change to subscription prices — but not for users in the US. Most countries outside of the US will be getting lower prices that will be localized to their specific country, starting with Turkey and Mexico on May 20th. Those lower prices will mean less money for streamers, but Twitch believes they’ll translate to more subscribers and higher earnings in the long run.Right now, the most affordable Twitch subscription, which lets fans pay streamers and get perks like custom emotes, currently costs $4.99, a price that is currently translated into local currencies around the world. That translated price can be prohibitively expensive to some Twitch users, however, Mike Minton, Twitch’s VP of monetization, told The... Continue reading…

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 3 from last year. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Samsung seems ready to ditch its own Tizen operating system in favor of Google’s Wear OS for its upcoming smartwatches, according to a new report from SamMobile. The company reportedly has as many as three smartwatches on the way soon, including one with a rotating bezel, and two others with sportier designs.Although Samsung’s smartwatches are often recommended as the best options for Android phone users, the company has opted for its own Tizen operating system over Google’s Wear OS. But rumors of the company’s upcoming switch to Wear OS have been circulating for a couple of months now. Back in February, leaker IceUniverse said its new watch would make the switch from Tizen, and in March, XDA Developers reported on mentions of “WearOS”... Continue reading…