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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6TJWV)
Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage Drake has withdrawn the petition he raised accusing Spotify and Universal Music Group (UMG) of illegally boosting Kendrick Lamars diss track Not Like Us." According to documents filed with the New York Supreme Court on Tuesday, the pre-action case is being discontinued with no financial cost to any of the parties involved.The petition, or pre-action case," isn't a full lawsuit - it refers to a stage of litigation that seeks information from each party and allows time for issues to be resolved before disputes are escalated to court.The legal petition filed by Drake (real name: Aubrey Graham) in November alleged that Spotify and UMG - the parent label that represents both him and Lamar - used bots," discounted licensing rates, and pay-to-play agreements to artificially inflate the streaming numbers for Lamar's song. The diss track, aimed at Drake, became a viral hit following a feud between the two artists last year that attracted significant attention.A second legal petition was also filed by Drake in November that accused UMG of funneling payments to iHeartRadio to promote Lamar's diss track. Drake's lawyers said that the song, which describes Drake as a certified pedophile," a predator," and someone who should be registered and placed on neighborhood watch," was defamatory, claiming that the damage to Drake's reputation should have prevented UMG from releasing it.While the initial pre-action case against Spotify and UMG is now resolved, the second petition against UMG and iHeartRadio is still active. Spotify had previously filed an opposition against the first petition and hasn't objected to Drake withdrawing the pre-action case. UMG - which hadn't filed an opposition - has reserved its position."
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The Verge
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
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| Updated | 2025-07-07 03:17 |
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by Tom Warren on (#6TJWW)
Illustration: The Verge Microsoft has quietly killed off its spoofed Google UI that it was using to trick Bing users into thinking they were using Google. Earlier this month you could search for Google" on Bing and get a page that looked a lot like Google, complete with a special search bar, an image resembling a Google Doodle, and even some small text under the search bar just like Google search.The misleading UI no longer appears on the Google search result of Bing this week, just days after it was originally discovered by posters on Reddit. Microsoft's spoofed Google UI even automatically scrolled down the page slightly to mask its own Bing search bar that appear at the top of search results, in a blatant attempt to trick Bing users into thinking they were on Google. Image: Tom Warren / The Verge The fake Google UI on Bing that has now been removed. Microsoft refused to comment on its fake Google UI, but Google was more than happy to offer up its opinion. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Microsoft spoofing the Google homepage is another tactic in its long history of tricks to confuse users & limit choice," said Google Chrome boss Parisa Tabriz in a post on X last week. New year; new low Microsoft."Microsoft has a habit of using a variety of tricks to convince people to keep using the defaults of Bing and Microsoft Edge in Windows, including modifying Chrome download sites and using malware-like popups to get people to ditch Google. Microsoft has even previously had to reverse pop-up ads inside Google Chrome to address unintended behavior."
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by Dominic Preston on (#6TJVJ)
Xiaomi was the fastest growing of the major manufacturers last year. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Worldwide smartphone sales grew in 2024 following two consecutive years of decline according to reports from Counterpoint, Canalys, and IDC. The bulk of the growth came from Chinese manufacturers including Xiaomi and Vivo, though Apple and Samsung are still holding strong as the undisputed market leaders.Counterpoint reports a 4 percent growth in phone sales across 2024, with IDC and Canalys each reporting 6-7 percent increases in global shipments, though that's relative to a 2023 that saw the lowest sales figures for a decade. That growth is predicted to continue through 2025.2024 was a year of recovery and normalization after a difficult 2023," says Counterpoint research director Tarun Pathak. The market started showing signs of recovery from Q4 2023 and has now grown for five consecutive quarters."There's a little disagreement about who sits on top, with Counterpoint reporting that Samsung led by market share for the year, while IDC and Canalys each claim that Apple took the crown. All three agree that Xiaomi is sitting solid in third though, with a 12 percent increase in unit sales according to Counterpoint, making it the fastest growing of the major players. Counterpoint pegs Xiaomi at 14 percent market share for the year, catching up to Apple's 18 percent. Image: Counterpoint Counterpoint puts Samsung as the leader for 2024, despite slightly reduced market share. Oppo (including OnePlus), Vivo, and the Transsion group - which includes brands Tecno and Infinix - take up the next few spots, helped by strong sales in Asia and growth across Europe, Africa, and Latin America.Both Counterpoint and IDC attribute some of 2024's relatively bullish performance to the introduction of phones positioned as AI devices, with AI replacing foldable screens as the hot new thing.We have seen a decreased demand for foldables in the market, despite intensified promotions and marketing," says IDC research director Anthony Scarsella. Manufacturers are now prioritizing new AI advancements at the expense of foldables," with Counterpoint predicting that by 2028 nine out of ten smartphones above $250 will include generative AI.
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by Tom Warren on (#6TJVK)
Ralf Groene inside Microsoft's Surface hardware labs. | Image: Getty Microsoft's former head of design for Windows and devices has started a new role at Amazon this week. Ralf Groene was responsible for the design of Microsoft's Surface tablet, and worked closely with former Windows and Surface chief Panos Panay on a line of Surface devices over the past decade. The pair are now reunited at Amazon, working on devices again.Groene - who left Microsoft in April 2024, less than a year after Panay departed for Amazon - will lead design for Amazon's devices and services business. Groene left Microsoft shortly after the company named Pavan Davuluri as its new Windows and Surface chief.Groene, alongside Panay, was instrumental in the creation of the Surface line of products. The original Surface tablet started off life in Groene's sketchbook, with a set of doodles about kickstands that formed the basis of months of 3D-printed prototypes that were held together with string. Microsoft went on to launch the Surface RT tablet in 2012, and the Surface Pro has had a lasting effect on hybrid laptop designs over the past 10 years.Amazon's hiring of Groene comes just months after Xbox cofounder J Allard joined Panay's devices and services team to work on new ideas." Allard departed Microsoft in 2010, following his work on the company's canceled Courier tablet.Groene and Allard aren't the only notable recent former Microsoft hires for Amazon, though. Former Windows Cloud executive Aidan Marcuss also joined Amazon this week, leading the Fire TV, ads, and AppStore teams.
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by Richard Lawler on (#6TJNH)
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter has resulted in a federal lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that he broke securities laws with a late disclosure, and saved $150 million in the process.Before Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion, before he tried to back out of that deal, before he was forced to go through with it, and before he changed its name to X, he started by acquiring a substantial stake in the company but didn't reveal that fact until weeks later.The only problem, as the SEC pointed out then, is that by the time he disclosed that stake, it was outside the agency's required 10-day window. They claim that he should've filed his paperwork by March 24th, 2022, instead of when he actually did, on April 4th (and then again on April 5th). During that period, they say he purchased more than $500 million in shares of the company.However, with only a few days left before the Trump administration takes over and installs a new head of the SEC (along with Elon Musk reportedly snagging an office in the White House complex), it's unclear how far the lawsuit will go.The SEC claims Musk cost investors at least $150 million due to the late disclosure and that he harmed any investors who sold stock between March 25th, 2022, and April 1st, 2022. Its lawsuit is seeking the money Elon made as a result of holding off on the disclosure, as well as a civil penalty and other punishments.
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by Sean Hollister on (#6TJNJ)
Photo by Anna Barclay/Getty Images For over a decade, you couldn't easily fly a DJI drone over restricted areas in the United States. DJI's software would automatically stop you from flying over runways, power plants, public emergencies like wildfires, and the White House.But confusingly, amidst the greatest US outpouring of drone distrust in years, and an incident of a DJI drone operator hindering LA wildfire fighting efforts, DJI is getting rid of its strong geofence. DJI will no longer enforce No-Fly Zones," instead only offering a dismissible warning - meaning only common sense, empathy, and the fear of getting caught by authorities will prevent people from flying where they shouldn't.In a blog post, DJI characterizes this as placing control back in the hands of the drone operators." DJI suggests that technologies like Remote ID, which publicly broadcasts the location of a drone and their operator during flight, are providing authorities with the tools needed to enforce existing rules," DJI global policy head Adam Welsh tells The Verge.But it turns out the DJI drone that damaged a Super Scooper airplane fighting the Los Angeles wildfires was a sub-250-gram model that may not require Remote ID to operate, and the FBI expects it will have to work backwards through investigative means" to figure out who flew it there.DJI voluntarily created its geofencing feature, so it makes a certain degree of sense that the company would get rid of it now that the US government no longer seems to appreciate its help, is blocking some of its drone imports, calls DJI a Chinese Military Company," and has started the countdown clock on a de facto import ban.The FAA does not require geofencing from drone manufacturers," FAA spokesperson Ian Gregor confirms to The Verge.But former DJI head of global policy, Brendan Schulman, doesn't seem to think this is a move for the better. Here are a few choice phrases he's posted to X:
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by Lauren Feiner on (#6TJNK)
Laura Normand / The Verge Chinese officials are reportedly exploring a backup plan for TikTok after the Supreme Court appeared unlikely to save it from a US ban. With TikTok's legal options nearly exhausted, multiple news outlets are reporting that China is considering an option it previously said it wouldn't: letting ByteDance sell the app.The kicker? China is reportedly mulling having President-elect Donald Trump's favorite tech billionaire, Elon Musk, act either as broker or buyer in the arrangement. Reports from the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg - all citing unnamed sources - indicate that Chinese officials are at least discussing the option of a sale. TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes has called the reports pure fiction." The Chinese embassy in the US and Musk's existing social media company, X, did not respond to requests for comment.Plenty of people have expressed interest in buying TikTok at this point, from "Shark Tank" celebrity Kevin O'Leary to YouTuber Mr. Beast. The problem has not been a lack of buyers - though obvious ones like Meta and Google would likely be barred by antirust authorities - but reluctant sellers. The new reporting suggests that the Chinese... Read the full story at The Verge.
by Emma Roth on (#6TJKR)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Instead of wallowing in misery about potentially losing access to their favorite short-form video app, many TikTokers are flocking to RedNote, a Chinese social media platform also called Xiaohongshu. I've decided to spend some time on the platform myself, and it looks like so-called TikTok refugees" are excited about interacting with a community mainly comprised of Chinese-speaking users - and vice versa.Launched in 2013 as a shopping platform, RedNote has grown into one of China's most popular social apps featuring photos, videos, and written content. Now it's seeing another spike in users from another part of the globe, with more than 700,000 users joining RedNote in just two days, according to a report from Reuters. The number is still small, at just a fraction of the 150 million Americans TikTok reported were already using the app in early 2023.As noted by CNN, the name Xiaohongshu translates to little red book," which could be seen as a tongue-in-cheek reference to a red-covered book of quotations from the founding father of Communist China, Mao Zedong." Many US users seem to be using the Chinese platform out of spite of the US government's plan to ban TikTok - but in a deeply unserious way. Screenshot: The Verge Amongst all the Chinese-language posts depicting sleek fit checks, mouthwatering food videos, and memes I don't quite understand yet, is content from TikTok expats. Many joke about their sudden appearance on the app, with one user wondering what Chinese users might think after seeing an influx of US-based users and another showing their gradual transformation from a gun-wielding, Buc-ee's merch-wearing American into a Chinese-speaking RedNote user. Others are simply saying hello" to their new community - some of whom have written captions in what I'd assume is machine-translated Chinese.Even more interesting though, are all the RedNote users welcoming TikTokers with open arms. Several RedNote users are eager to introduce the app while also sharing some tips and tricks on how to navigate it. One creator says, now's the perfect time to dive into Chinese culture" through RedNote with the Chinese New Year coming up, adding that users on the platform are obsessed with Luigi, Trump, and Squid Game." Some even offer to teach their new community members Chinese.But many TikTokers are equally curious about RedNote users in China, too. Chinese friends, post pictures of your meal or snacks for today! Curious to see what you typically eat," one user writes. Another asks, I'm American. Do y'all like us? We know y'all not the enemy. Can we all be friends?"The trend is actually kind of wholesome, and I'm here for it, but I'm not confident it will actually last. If these apps grow in popularity, they could potentially face a ban, too. But the migration to RedNote is likely just a trend - and trends only last as long as it takes for another to replace it.
by Wes Davis on (#6TJKS)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Some YouTubers say Honey's practices are stealing money from them. PayPal's Honey browser extension has been lauded for years as an easy way to find coupons online. But some are calling it a scam" after a deep dive from YouTuber MegaLag, who accused Honey of stealing money from influencers."The video shines a light on Honey's use of last-click attribution, an approach to online shopping referrals that gives credit for a sale to the owner of the last affiliate cookie in line before checkout. As MegaLag's video tells it, Honey takes that credit by swapping its tracking cookie in for others' when you interact with it.The company has issued statements saying that it follows industry rules and practices" like last-click attribution. But creators who may have missed out on money because of it aren't happy. Some YouTube channels Legal Eagle and GamersNexus are now suing.Below, you'll find all our coverage of the controversy.
by Alex Heath on (#6TJKT)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge TikTok's executives are planning for various scenarios" ahead of the Supreme Court likely upholding a US ban of the app.In an internal memo obtained by The Verge, employees were told that the company is continuing to plan the way forward" ahead of the court's imminent decision, which is expected as soon as Wednesday, January 15th.We know it's unsettling to not know exactly what happens next," reads the memo, which notes that TikTok's offices will stay open regardless of what happens to the app over the next several days. The bill is not written in a way that impacts the entities through which you are employed, only the US user experience [of TikTok]," according to the memo.Inside TikTok, the mood is grim. One source describes the situation as definitely stressful," while another notes that even the employees who survived the first US ban attempt now seem rattled."The Chinese government, which has the final say on any sale of TikTok, is reportedly considering allowing Elon Musk to buy the app. Frank McCourt, a billionaire real estate and former owned of the LA Dodgers, has also floated a proposal to buy the app's US operations. Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary... Read the full story at The Verge.
by Emma Roth on (#6TJKV)
Illustration: Nick Barclay / The Verge A major copyright lawsuit against Meta has revealed a trove of internal communications about the company's plans to develop its open-source AI models, Llama, which include discussions about avoiding media coverage suggesting we have used a dataset we know to be pirated."The messages, which were part of a series of exhibits unsealed by a California court, suggest Meta used copyrighted data when training its AI systems and worked to conceal it - as it raced to beat rivals like OpenAI and Mistral. Portions of the messages were first revealed last week.In an October 2023 email to Meta AI researcher Hugo Touvron, Ahmad Al-Dahle, Meta's vice president of generative AI, wrote that the company's goal needs to be GPT4," referring to the large language model OpenAI announced in March of 2023. Meta had to learn how to build frontier and win this race," Al-Dahle added. Those plans apparently involved the book piracy site Library Genesis (LibGen) to train its AI systems.An undated email from Meta director of product Sony Theakanath, sent to VP of AI research Joelle Pineau, weighed whether to use LibGen internally only, for benchmarks included in a blog post, or to create a model trained on the site. In the email, Theakanath writes that GenAI has been approved to use LibGen for Llama3... with a number of agreed upon mitigations" after escalating it to MZ" - presumably Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. As noted in the email, Theakanath believed Libgen is essential to meet SOTA [state-of-the-art] numbers," adding it is known that OpenAI and Mistral are using the library for their models (through word of mouth)." Mistral and OpenAI haven't stated whether or not they use LibGen. (The Verge reached out to both for more information). Screenshot: The Verge Meta's Theakanath writes that LibGen is essential" to reaching SOTA numbers across all categories." The court documents stem from a class action lawsuit that author Richard Kadrey, comedian Sarah Silverman, and others filed against Meta, accusing it of using illegally obtained copyrighted content to train its AI models in violation of intellectual property laws. Meta, like other AI companies, has argued that using copyrighted material in training data should constitute legal fair use. The Verge reached out to Meta with a request for comment but didn't immediately hear back.Some of the mitigations" for using LibGen included stipulations that Meta must remove data clearly marked as pirated/stolen," while avoiding externally citing the use of any training data" from the site. Theakanath's email also said the company would need to red team" the company's models for bioweapons and CBRNE [Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives]" risks.The email also went over some of the policy risks" posed by the use of LibGen as well, including how regulators might respond to media coverage suggesting Meta's use of pirated content. This may undermine our negotiating position with regulators on these issues," the email said. An April 2023 conversation between Meta researcher Nikolay Bashlykov and AI team member David Esiobu also showed Bashlykov admitting he's not sure we can use meta's IPs to load through torrents [of] pirate content."Other internal documents show the measures Meta took to obscure the copyright information in LibGen's training data. A document titled observations on LibGen-SciMag" shows comments left by employees about how to improve the dataset. One suggestion is to remove more copyright headers and document identifiers," which includes any lines containing ISBN," Copyright," All rights reserved," or the copyright symbol. Other notes mention taking out more metadata to avoid potential legal complications," as well as considering whether to remove a paper's list of authors to reduce liability." Screenshot: The Verge The document discusses removing copyright headers and document identifiers." Last June, The New York Times reported on the frantic race inside Meta after ChatGPT's debut, revealing the company had hit a wall: it had used up almost every available English book, article, and poem it could find online. Desperate for more data, executives reportedly discussed buying Simon & Schuster outright and considered hiring contractors in Africa to summarize books without permission.In the report, some executives justified their approach by pointing to OpenAI's market precedent" of using copyrighted works, while others argued Google's 2015 court victory establishing its right to scan books could provide legal cover. The only thing holding us back from being as good as ChatGPT is literally just data volume," one executive said in a meeting, per The New York Times.It's been reported that frontier labs like OpenAI and Anthropic have hit a data wall, which means they don't have sufficient new data to train their large language models. Many leaders have denied this, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said plainly: There is no wall." OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever, who left the company last May to start a new frontier lab, has been more straightforward about the potential of a data wall. At a premier AI conference last month, Sutskever said: We've achieved peak data and there'll be no more. We have to deal with the data that we have. There's only one internet."This data scarcity has led to a whole lot of weird, new ways to get unique data. Bloomberg reported that frontier labs like OpenAI and Google have been paying digital content creators between $1 and $4 per minute for their unused video footage through a third-party in order to train LLMs (both of those companies have competing AI video-generation products).With companies like Meta and OpenAI hoping to grow their AI systems as fast as possible, things are bound to get a bit messy. Though a judge partially dismissed Kadrey and Silverman's class action lawsuit last year, the evidence outlined here could strengthen parts of their case as it moves forward in court.
by Wes Davis on (#6TJHZ)
Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge Parallels has added support for x86 emulation in Parallels Desktop 20.2, product manager Mikhail Ushakov wrote in a blog post last week. The early technology preview" will let you emulate Intel-based hardware on an M1-or-greater Mac, a first for Parallels since Apple's Arm transition in 2020 - but don't expect stellar performance.Parallels says users will be able to:
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by Chris Welch on (#6TJJ0)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge A day after Sonos announced a CEO transition, the company is making more moves. Chief product officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin will also be leaving his position. Some employees have told me that Bouvat-Merlin shares a significant amount of blame for the brand damage that Sonos has endured over the last year after deciding to release an overhauled mobile app well before it was ready for customers. There have been reports that top executives at the company ignored warnings from engineers and app testers that the new software wasn't up to par ahead of its May rollout. Those alarms didn't stop it from shipping.In an email to staff, interim CEO Tom Conrad - who himself has plenty of product experience - said the CPO position is now redundant" and that Bouvat-Merlin's job is being eliminated. I know this is a lot of change to absorb in two days and I want to thank you for being resilient," Conrad wrote.Max's tenure represents an iconic era for Sonos products, including the award-winning Sonos One, Beam, Move, Ace, Arc, and Arc Ultra, establishing Sonos as the world leader in home theater audio and setting the foundation for our next chapter," Conrad's email reads.Bouvat-Merlin will serve as an adviser to Conrad before fully exiting the company. These major changes within Sonos' ranks suggest that the company is taking its effort to win back trust and right the wrongs of its previous leadership quite seriously.Conrad's full email follows below:
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6TJJ1)
Netflix Though the fourth season of Netflix's live-action Witcher series still doesn't have a concrete release date, Netflix has finally announced when we'll see yet another animated take on Geralt of Rivia.Originally, Netflix intended for The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep to debut some time late last year, but the steamer revealed today that the movie is now set to premiere on February 11th. Based on Andrzej Sapkowski's short story A Little Sacrifice" from Sword of Destiny, Sirens of the Deep tells the tale of how Geralt of Rivia (Doug Cockle) and Jaskier (Joey Batey) get caught up in an age-old conflict between humans and merpeople.In a new trailer for the movie, things seem simple enough to Geralt as he's first hired to put his special skills to good use. It makes sense that humans would want a witcher's help to deal with a deadly series of sea monster attacks. The gig's also easy money for Geralt and a solid way to keep his mind off Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra). There's something nefarious at the root of the interspecies war, though, and by the time Geralt realizes he might have gotten things wrong, he can only do but so much to stop the bloodshed.Compared to the live-action series, Sirens of the Deep looks like it's going for a more spectacular (in the sense that the action's big) depiction of Geralt's adventures. And while it might not connect directly to the events of Netflix's last animated Witcher movie or the live-action Witcher's fourth season, it should make the wait a little more bearable.
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by Quentyn Kennemer on (#6TJJ2)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Hackers in North Korea stole a total of $659 million in crypto across several heists in 2024, according to a joint statement issued today by the US, Japan, and South Korea. The report specified five such incidents, like the $235 million theft from the Indian crypto exchange WazirX that is being newly attributed to the Lazarus Group. That organization is estimated to have stolen billions across previous attacks over the last decade, including $625 million stolen from Axie Infinity in 2022.Of the 2024 incidents, Japan's DMM Bitcoin suffered the biggest loss, with $308 million stolen, ultimately resulting in the exchange's closure.
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by Umar Shakir on (#6TJFZ)
Image: Pixelfed Pixelfed, a decentralized and ad-free Instagram alternative, now has apps on iOS and Android, as reported by TechCrunch. The iOS app launched today, while the Android app launched on January 10th.The platform is seeing a surge in popularity following Meta's announcement last week that it would be drastically changing its content moderation policies; over the weekend, Pixelfed said that it's seeing unprecedented levels of traffic" to the pixelfed.social server and was working to increase resources.Pixelfed was also in the news this week because some users claimed that Meta randomly blocked links to the site they shared on Facebook. According to Engadget, Meta blocked the Pixelfed links by mistake and is now reinstating the posts.The creator of Pixelfed, Daniel Supernault, also launched a decentralized version of TikTok last October called Loops. With TikTok facing a ban in the US and the fallout from Meta's content moderation changes, Pixelfed and Loops offer other options for people to jump ship to.
by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6TJCX)
Stephanie Gonzaga / Boom! Studios Diamond Comics Distributors, one of the biggest companies involved in getting graphic novels into physical retailers for purchase, is filing for bankruptcy and scaling its business back as the industry braces itself for a new wave of economic challenges.In a letter sent to comics retailers and publishers today, Diamond president Chuck Parker announced that the company has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and plans to sell off its Alliance Game Distributors arm to Universal in order to protect the most vital aspects of our business."This decision was not made lightly, and I understand that this news may be as difficult to hear as it is for me to share," Parker explained. The Diamond leadership team and I have worked tirelessly to avoid this outcome but the financial challenges we face have left us with no other viable option."Founded in 1982 by Stephen A. Geppi (who still serves as CEO), Diamond became a heavyweight in the comics business by securing a number of exclusive distribution agreements with various publishing houses like DC, Marvel, and Image. For decades, Diamond - which also publishes its Previews magazine showcasing upcoming titles - was instrumental in bringing comics to market and played a huge role in determining a book's success because of how Previews influenced retailer orders.News about Diamond's bankruptcy comes weeks after the company suddenly shuttered its flagship fulfillment center in Plattsburgh, NY, which the company's VP of retailer services Chris Powell described as a necessary step to address longstanding operational issues that made its distribution process unsustainable.Ideally, changes would have been planned and tested while we continued to operate as we had been at Plattsburgh," Powell said. With that no longer an option, we must make changes and test them with live data and shipments while trying to minimize the impact on retailers."In recent years, many of Diamond's bigger name publishing partners have dropped them as the company failed to meet expected delivery deadlines to retailers, which left stores struggling to meet customer demand. Given the tough time Diamond has been having as of late, the announcement that it's filing for bankruptcy isn't entirely surprising. It sounds like the company's leadership very much wants to stay in the comics game as long as possible, but as it stands now, it seems like all Diamond can really do is to staunch the bleeding as much as it can.
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by Kylie Robison on (#6TJCY)
Illustration: The Verge OpenAI is launching a new beta feature in ChatGPT called Tasks that lets users schedule future actions and reminders.The feature, which is rolling out to Plus, Team, and Pro subscribers starting today, is an attempt to make the chatbot into something closer to a traditional digital assistant - think Google Assistant or Siri but with ChatGPT's more advanced language capabilities.Tasks works by letting users tell ChatGPT what they need and when they need it done. Want a daily weather report at 7AM? A reminder about your passport expiration? Or maybe just a knock-knock joke to tell your kids before bedtime? ChatGPT can now handle all of that through scheduled one-time or recurring tasks.To use the feature, subscribers need to select 4o with scheduled tasks" in ChatGPT's model picker. From there, it's as simple as typing out what you want ChatGPT to do and when you want it done. The system can also proactively suggest tasks based on your conversations, though users have to explicitly approve any suggestions before they're created. (Honestly, I feel like the suggestions have the potential to create annoying slop by accident).All tasks can be managed either directly in chat threads or through a new Tasks section (available only via the web) in the profile menu, so it's easy to modify or cancel any task you've set up. Upon completion of these tasks, notifications will alert users on web, desktop, and mobile. There's also a limit of 10 active tasks that can run simultaneously.OpenAI hasn't specified when (or if) the feature might come to free users, suggesting Tasks might remain a premium feature to help justify ChatGPT's subscription costs. The company has monthly $20 and $200 subscription tiers. {props.credit}
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6TJCZ)
For those moments when you don't have time to check your camera footage. | Image: Wyze Wyze's latest AI feature aims to reduce how often you need to manually check security footage by instead just describing what the camera has seen. The new Descriptive Alerts will send notifications that accurately summarize motion events" with more contextual detail than simply telling users that the camera has detected movement or an object, according to Wyze.An example alert provided by the company is a delivery driver wearing a blue hat leaves a package on the doorstep, then leaves. A green SUV is parked in the street." Rival smart home security companies like Ring, Google's Nest, and (to some extent) Arlo provide similar AI summarization features for their own cameras, but Wyze's video-to-text alerts seem to be the only service that specifies detail like color in its descriptions. Image: Wyze Here's an example showing the new alert alongside the footage that's being described. Wyze's Descriptive Alerts are available to Cam Unlimited Pro members - a new $19.99 per month (or $199.99 per year) subscription that bundles other features like facial recognition, searching videos using descriptive keywords, and simultaneously viewing live feeds from multiple Wyze cameras. The Cam Unlimited Pro subscription will also include 60 days of cloud storage, though Wyze says this won't be available until Spring 2025."Just remember, Wyze cameras have suffered from serious security and privacy issues in the past. Choose wisely.
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by Ash Parrish on (#6TJD0)
Image: Nintendo Though there were only a handful of Super Mario games showcased during Awesome Games Done Quick 2025, his brother Luigi was everywhere - and it's pretty clear why.In the gaming community, Mario's taller, greener brother is beloved in his own right, celebrated for his goofiness or memed because his genial nature apparently conceals something a bit darker. However, in light of the actions of Luigi Mangione, the man charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the gaming community's love for Luigi has taken on a different significance. That significance was on full display during AGDQ 2025 where his name popped up early and often.During the charity speedrunning marathon, there were frequent opportunities for viewers to have their donations fund bidding wars for things like the player completing a specific task during the run or for naming rights to a character. For example, during the Pokemon: Let's Go Eevee run, viewers could donate for the privilege of naming the trainer, and they picked Luigi. Throughout the marathon viewers submitted Luigi for almost every naming-based bid war, and it won quite often.Luigi was the character name in Fallout: New Vegas and Skyrim. He was the name for the warrior in Guantlet IV and it was the file name in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. And of the four named characters in Final Fantasy Legend 2, Lugi" was three of them (as the game only supports four-letter names). Overall, all of the bids for Luigi - not just those that ultimately won - earned over $18,000.Games Done Quick has a reputation for its inclusiveness and social consciousness - once cancelling a live event in Florida in 2023 over the state's Don't Say Gay" law and lax COVID-19 policies. So while it's impossible to know for sure whether or not the preponderance of Luigi was due to typical gamer memeing or if it represented some kind of tacit statement of support for Luigi Mangione's actions, it's probably easy to say it was a little bit of both.
by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6TJD1)
Image: Daniel Golson The Biden administration finalized a new rule that would effectively ban all Chinese vehicles from the US under the auspices of blocking the sale or import" of connected vehicle software from countries of concern." The rule could have wide-ranging effects on big automakers, like Ford and GM, as well as smaller manufacturers like Polestar - and even companies that don't produce cars, like Waymo.The rule covers everything that connects a vehicle to the outside world, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular, and satellite components. It also addresses concerns that technology like cameras, sensors, and onboard computers could be exploited by foreign adversaries to collect sensitive data about US citizens and infrastructure. And it would ban China from testing its self-driving cars on US soil.Cars today have cameras, microphones, GPS tracking, and other technologies connected to the internet," US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement. It doesn't take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of U.S. citizens. To address these national security concerns, the Commerce Department is taking targeted, proactive steps to keep [People's Republic of China] and Russian-manufactured technologies off American roads."A foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk"The rules for prohibited software go into effect for model year 2027 vehicles, while the ban on hardware from China waits until model year 2030 vehicles. According to Reuters, the rules were updated from the original proposal to exempt vehicles weighing over 10,000 pounds, which would allow companies like BYD to continue to assemble electric buses in California.The new rule is the latest escalation in the ongoing trade restrictions put in place on Chinese-made vehicles, including components like computers and batteries. It comes at a time when China is churning out more cars then ever before, earning its status as the No. 1 auto exporter in the world. The rule also covers vehicles and components made by Russia.China's access to vehicle software presents a significant threat" to the US in that it would grant an adversary unfettered access" to critical tech systems and the user data that they collect, the White House said.As [the People's Republic of China] automakers aggressively seek to increase their presence in American and global automotive markets, through this final rule, President Biden is delivering on his commitment to secure critical American supply chains and protect our national security," the administration adds.The new rule is the latest escalation in the ongoing trade restrictions put in place on Chinese-made vehiclesThe auto industry sought to delay the rule by a year, effectively delivering it to the incoming Trump administration to enforce but was unsuccessful. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents GM, Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, and others, said in comments submitted last April that it supports the goal of the proposed rules but warned that the global automotive supply chain is one of the world's largest and most complex" and that parts could not be simply swapped out without disruptions.Other automakers were more explicit in their criticisms. Polestar, an electric vehicle manufacturer owned by Geely, said in October that the rule would effectively prohibit Polestar from selling its cars in the United States, including the cars it manufactures in South Carolina."Indeed, the White House states in its fact sheet that the rule prevents the import or sale of connected vehicles by entities who are owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the PRC or Russia - even if those vehicles were made in the United States."Meanwhile, Waymo, which is planning on using vehicles manufactured by Geely's Zeekr for its next-gen robotaxi, said that it takes precautions to ensure that the vehicles it purchases for its fleet arrive without any manufacturer-installed telematics systems. Still, the rule could significantly disrupt the Alphabet-owned company's plans to expand if the government decides to ban the import of the Zeekr vehicle under the new rule.Waymo filed comments in support of the rule last fall," Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher said in an email. We're reviewing the final rule, and appreciate the Department's prompt rulemaking."A spokesperson for Polestar did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Update January 14th: Updated to include a comment from Waymo.
by Alex Heath on (#6TJD2)
Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge Meta will soon lay off more low-performers" across the company, according to an internal memo from CEO Mark Zuckerberg that was shared by a source at the company.I've decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster," Zuckerberg says in the memo, which you can read in full below. We typically manage out people who aren't meeting expectations over the course of a year, but now we're going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle - with the intention of backfilling these roles in 2025."While the exact number of job cuts is unclear, managers at Meta have been told that about 5 percent of employees will be let go starting February 10th. Bloomberg first reported on Zuckerberg's memo and the planned layoffs. Meta last laid off employees in October after cutting 21,000 workers between 2022 and 2023.Here's Zuckerberg's full memo to employees:
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by Quentyn Kennemer on (#6TJD3)
The Quest 3S doesn't look any less alien than the original Quest 3. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The Meta Quest 3S VR headset is a great alternative to the Meta Quest 3. The base 128GB version of the Quest 3S starts at $299.99 at Amazon, which is $200 less than the Quest 3 yet delivers essentially the same mixed reality experience. And now, you can step up to the 256GB version of the Quest 3S for just $349 ($50 off) from Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy.Now through the end of April, your purchase includes a copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow (one of the best VR games yet, if I say so myself) and three months of Meta Quest Plus. The service is normally $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year, and grants instant access to more than two dozen free games with new additions every month, plus exclusive discounts.Since the Quest 3S has the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor and Touch controllers as the base Quest 3, you'll have access to all of the same games and mixed reality features. But the displays are not as sharp: the Quest 3S has a lower per-eye resolution of 1832 x 1920 (compared to 2064 x 2208) with a narrower field of view. It also doesn't have a dedicated depth sensor to go along with its pair of triangular camera arrays, and it's a bit heavier than the Quest 3. That said, you do get some exclusive perks like a slightly longer 2.5-hour battery life and a dedicated button to switch between immersive and passthrough modes.Read our Meta Quest 3S review.More deals, discounts, and ways to save
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by Emma Roth on (#6TJ9B)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The FBI hacked about 4,200 computers across the US as part of an operation to find and delete PlugX, a malware used by state-backed hackers in China to steal information from victims, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.In an unsealed affidavit, the FBI says the China-based hacking group known by the monikers Mustang Panda" and Twill Typhoon" used PlugX to infect thousands of Windows computers in the US, Asia, and Europe since at least 2012. The malware, which infects computers through their USB ports, operates in the background while allowing hackers to remotely access and execute commands" on victims' computers.To do this, infected computers contact a command-and-control server run by the hackers, which has its IP address hard-coded into the malware. From there, hackers can remotely access users' files and obtain information about infected computers, such as their IP addresses. At least 45,000 IP addresses in the US have contacted the command-and-control server since September 2023, according to the FBI.The FBI used this very exploit to remove PlugX from infected computers. In collaboration with French law enforcement, which launched a PlugX deletion operation of its own, the FBI gained access to the command-and-control server and requested the IP addresses of infected computers. It then sent a native command to make PlugX delete the files it created on victims' computers, stop the PlugX application from running, and delete the malware after it's stopped.Last year, the FBI similarly dismantled a network of infected Quakbot computers by instructing devices to download software to uninstall the malware. The agency also remotely hacked hundreds of computers to protect them from the Hafnium hack in 2021.
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by Justine Calma on (#6TJ9C)
A CloudHQ data center under construction on Waxpool Road in Ashburn, Virginia, US, on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. | Photo: Getty Images President Biden issued an executive order today aimed at speeding the development of AI data centers in the US.It directs the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy (DOE) to lease federal sites to private companies building gigawatt-scale AI data centers and clean power facilities. It also tells federal agencies to prioritize" and speed up permitting of AI infrastructure. The measure could create categorial exclusions" to speed environmental review under the National Environmental Protection Act.Developing new AI tools is an increasingly energy-hungry endeavor. Nevertheless, the Biden administration seems to think it's worth the risk of further derailing US climate goals and putting additional pressure on already stressed power grids.Developing new AI tools is an increasingly energy-hungry endeavorWe will not let America be out-built when it comes to the technology that will define the future," Joe Biden said in a statement today.Prior to the announcement today - in response to reports that the White House was considering measures to fast track data center development - environmental and consumer advocacy groups as well as Democratic lawmakers had urged the White House to avoid exempting AI from typical permitting procedures and environmental standards.We urge you to reconsider any potential executive action that could lead to increased pollution and costs for consumers," says a letter sent by senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Peter Welch (D-VT) to the Biden administration on December 17th. We are the United States of America; there is no doubt that we can win the AI race while accelerating our decarbonization efforts," it reads.Electricity demand from data centers has tripled over the past decade, according to estimates published by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) on December 20th. It's likely to double or triple again by 2028, according to the report. Data centers used about 4.4 percent of US electricity in 2023, which could rise to as much as 12 percent by 2028.That rise in demand is the result of the tremendous compute power needed to train AI models. Utilities are already extending the lives of polluting coal and gas infrastructure to try to meet skyrocketing electricity demand. Customers also face rising electricity bills as a result.Developers building new AI data centers on federal land will be required to pay all costs of building and operating AI infrastructure so that this development does not raise electricity prices for consumers," according to the White House.That includes constructing the data center itself, as well as power facilities and transmission lines. Companies will be responsible for sourcing electricity that data centers use from new sources of clean" electricity. They'll also have to assess the security implications of AI models developed at federal sites and purchase an appropriate share" of American-made semiconductors.In the race to dominate AI, we can't lose sight of the very real race to stop the pollution that's warming our planet and harming our health," Johanna Neumann, a senior director at the Environment America Research & Policy Center, said in a December 19th statement.Neumann argued that the focus should be on making sure that new computing facilities are more efficient, and that they run on renewable electricity. Without those guardrails, AI's insatiable thirst for energy risks crashing America's efforts to get off dirty and dangerous fossil fuels," Neumann added.The government already leases federal lands for energy production, including fossil fuel exploration and renewable energy projects. Under the executive order, by February 28th, the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Energy are supposed to find at least three sites each to host new AI data centers on land that their departments manage.
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6TJ9D)
Illustration: The Verge WhatsApp is rolling out some new features and design improvements to help you become faster and more creative when messaging. Starting today, WhatsApp users can double-tap to react to messages in chats rather than tapping and holding, with their most-used emojis now being displayed in the scrolling pop-out menu instead of the generic selection that was previously provided.It's a similar quality-of-life feature that Discord provides: placing your favorite reactions within easy reach to prevent you from having to hunt through a massive wall of emojis. WhatsApp users can still easily access their other emoji options by clicking the plus symbol on the reaction bar. On the other hand, Meta's Messenger app still only displays the same five emojis as reactions for each message - I'd like to see this update carried over from WhatsApp in the future. Image: WhatsApp A few small, but welcome upgrades to personalize chats. The filters and virtual backgrounds that WhatsApp introduced for video calls last year are now coming to its messages, allowing users to edit shots using 30 different visual effects when they take a photo or video in chats. Sticker packs can now also be shared directly to chats, and users can turn their selfies into custom stickers by tapping on the sticker icon. The Sticker selfies feature is currently only available on Android, with iOS support coming soon," according to WhatsApp.
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by Wes Davis on (#6TJ9E)
Image: Netflix Popular YouTube toddler learning show Ms. Rachel is coming to Netflix. It will start with a four-episode season of curated compilation" videos on January 27th, the company announced today.Netflix says this first batch of research-backed" educational videos aimed at early child development will cover topics like learning to talk or read. Here's the list from Netflix's announcement:
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by Andrew Liszewski on (#6TJ9F)
The Multi-Drill incorporates three tools commonly used by DIYers. | Image: Dremel Dremel has announced a new multi-functional drill designed for DIYers working on smaller projects around their homes like attaching a TV mount to a wall. The Blueprint Multi-Drill can be used to drill holes or drive screws but also features an integrated stud sensor and a removable laser level.The Multi-Drill is available now through Dremel's online store for $99.99, but can also be found at retailers like Amazon and The Home Depot.Powered by a 12V brushless motor and an included rechargeable battery, the Multi-Drill has a top speed of 800 RPM and produces 175 inch-pounds of torque. For comparison, Amazon also sells a $100 18V Milwaukee drill (without a battery) with a top speed of 1,800 RPM and 500 inch-pounds of torque. You won't want to tackle building a shed or deck with Dremel's new tool, but it's powerful enough for lighter tasks like drilling into studs or driving screws while assembling Ikea furniture. Image: Dremel The Multi-Drill's integrated stud sensor detects the edges of hidden beams. The drill's knuckle guard includes an LED light targeted at the tip of its drill bit for extra illumination, as well as a stud sensor for finding the edges of a wooden beam hidden behind drywall. Its functionality is basic compared to dedicated stud sensors that can indicate the center of a beam and even warn when hidden electrical wires are detected. But this stud sensor will never be misplaced in the middle of a project.The Multi-Drill's integrated but removable leveling tool features two bubble levels ensuring it's properly positioned vertically and horizontally before projecting a level laser reference line. So as not to leave marks or holes behind when attached to a wall, Dremel's tiny laser level uses reusable mounting putty. It also features its own rechargeable battery that can be topped off with a standard USB-C cable.The multi-functional approach Dremel is taking here isn't going to appeal to professionals. The Multi-Drill is designed to give amateur renovators a basic set of tools and features for tackling smaller projects without the need for a toolbox to keep them all organized. In addition to a rechargeable battery and the laser level, Dremel also includes a set of nine driver bits of varying sizes and standards, plus three drill bits.
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by Lauren Feiner on (#6TJ6G)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images TikTok's luck might not run out just yet, if a new bill extending its January 19th deadline for a sale is approved by Congress.Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), announced on the Senate floor Monday that he plans to introduce the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act to give the company an extra 270 days to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance to avoid facing a ban in the US. The bill notably wouldn't overturn Congress' initial bill, but it would give the company more time to make a deal, as its legal options dry out. The Supreme Court is expected to decide this week whether the initial law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, violates the First Amendment, as applied to TikTok - but many court-watchers predict the ruling is unlikely to go in TikTok's favor.Markey voted to approve the initial law, which was included in a foreign aid package before the Senate. And in his remarks on the floor Monday, he acknowledged that TikTok has its problems." But, he said, a TikTok ban would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen."The Senator filed an amicus brief in late December - alongside Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) - with the Supreme Court in support of TikTok and its creators, arguing the law does not stand up to First Amendment scrutiny. Its principal justification-preventing covert content manipulation by the Chinese government- reflects a desire to control the content on the TikTok platform and in any event could be achieved through a less restrictive alternative," they argued in the brief. And its secondary justification of protecting users' data from the Chinese government could not sustain the ban on its own and also overlooks that Congress did not consider whether less drastic mitigation measures could address those concerns."Even if Congress takes up the deadline extension, ByteDance will face the same decision it does now in less than a year: whether it can or wants to sell TikTok. While prospective buyers have expressed interest, it's still unclear if the Chinese government would be willing to sell it - although some recent reporting suggests they're at least considering the option.
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by Justine Calma on (#6TJ6H)
A general view of destroyed houses in a neighborhood that was destroyed by the Eaton Fire which remains without electricity or water on January 12, 2025 in Altadena, California. | Photo by David McNew/Getty Images As wildfires across Los Angeles continued to burn, some residents are already starting to point fingers at the local power utility as the culprit. Southern California Edison is facing multiple lawsuits alleging the company is responsible for the deadly Eaton fire that nearly leveled Altadena.While officials continue to investigate the cause of the fire, at least four suits allege that SCE failed to de-energize power lines, the Los Angeles Times reports. A lawyer for one of the plaintiffs said they filed suit early in an effort to preserve evidence.We have video, we have photographs, we have eyewitness accounts."Utilities have faced a string of lawsuits in recent years in the wake of devastating wildfires, typically over power lines sparking blazes. SCE alone has had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements for at least seven previous blazes, according to NPR.We have video, we have photographs, we have eyewitness accounts, not just from our clients but other residents that were there and alleged to have seen sparking, to have seen arcing occurring on those lines that subsequently triggered a fire," Ali Moghaddas, an attorney representing an Altadena resident... Read the full story at The Verge.
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by Emma Roth on (#6TJ6J)
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images DirecTV is launching MySports, a sports-focused streaming package offering access to live NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL games across more than 40 channels, including ESPN, Fox Sports, TNT Sports, and USA Network, along with local ABC, Fox, and NBC stations. The service will cost $69.99 per month and is available to stream from DirecTV's app on mobile and smart TV platforms - no satellite TV subscription required.The announcement comes just days after the Disney-owned ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery called off their live sports streaming venture, Venu, after facing an antitrust lawsuit from Fubo. Though Fubo dropped its lawsuit after Disney agreed to merge Hulu + Live TV with the service, DirecTV and EchoStar weren't happy about the decision.DirecTV bills MySports as a cheaper alternative to competitors like YouTube TV, which starts at $82.99 per month, and Fubo, which costs $79.99 / month and up.Despite offering access to dozens of channels, MySports is still working to add local CBS content. Vince Torres, DirecTV's chief marketing officer, told Bloomberg the company is in early discussions" with the network about a potential deal. MySports should help fix the fractured sports streaming landscape, which currently scatters live NFL, NBA, and MLB games across different services like Prime Video, Netflix, Peacock, Apple TV Plus, and Paramount Plus.To start, a beta version of MySports will only be available in 24 metro areas, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, and others. The MySports app is supported by several smart TV platforms like Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV, and also offers unlimited DVR. DirecTV says it will add additional networks, local stations, and ESPN Plus to MySports at a later date for no extra cost."Along with this sports streaming package, DirecTV plans to launch similar streamlined bundles soon. This is the first of several genre-based options we plan to launch over the coming months on our path towards a brighter TV future for consumers." DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in the press release.
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by Ash Parrish on (#6TJ6K)
Image: Nintendo Break out your batons and call the King of Red Lions because The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker music has been added to the Nintendo Music app. The game's arrival adds 133 new tracks to the app along with three Wind Waker themed playlists: Makar, Tetra, and Medli. Wind Waker joins a growing list of Zelda soundtracks in the app, including Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, and Ocarina of Time.While its great that Wind Waker music is available for your study or work sessions, the announcement couldn't not have come at a busier time. With all eyes watching for the imminent reveal of the company's next console, getting a push notification - any push notification - from the Big Red Company is likely to cause a bit of a commotion. In fact, it seems like Nintendo's doing a bit of plate clearing ahead of its Switch 2 reveal, announcing Alarmo retail sales and the Lego Game Boy set.Stand down, this isn't The Announcement just yet, but it is coming. At least for now we can all chill out to Makar's Prayer" while we wait.
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by Dominic Preston on (#6TJ6P)
The 2025 Moto G Power is tougher than it looks. | Image: Motorola Motorola has announced the first 2025 updates to its Moto G line of budget phones, with new versions of the Moto G and Moto G Power. The latter is the standout, with an IP69 water-resistance rating that surpasses most flagship phones despite a price tag of just $299.99.The 2025 Moto G Power combines both IP68 and IP69 ratings, meaning it's rated for both submersion in water and exposure to high-pressure water jets and steam, in addition to full protection from dust. It's a level of protection that until recently was restricted to the bulkiest rugged phones, with last week's OnePlus 13 the first mainstream phone in the US to adopt the rating. At $899, that phone costs triple the new Motorola.Like 2023's ThinkPhone, co-branded with Lenovo, the G Power has also passed MIL-STD-810H certification for exposure to harsh environments. Motorola claims the phone has been tested to survive falls from nearly four feet, temperatures from -4 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and up to 95% humidity. This is all, to be clear, tougher than most people need their phones to be, but there's nothing wrong with a little peace of mind.At less than 9mm thick, the new G Power is surprisingly svelte for how tough it is, but it's by no means a small phone - the 6.8-inch LCD display, covered in Gorilla Glass 5, makes this about the same size as Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra. A large 5,000mAh battery and wireless charging make the most of the extra space, which Motorola has also used to squeeze in a 3.5mm headphone jack, a rare treat in 2025. Image: Motorola The 2025 Moto G is the spitting image of its tougher sibling. The G Power is joined by the $199.99 Moto G, which looks similar but with a 6.7-inch display runs just a little smaller, and is limited to IP52 protection and Gorilla Glass 3. However, both phones share the same MediaTek chipset and similar 50 megapixel rear cameras, so performance should be comparable if you don't need the Power's added durability.The big question for Motorola is on software. We were fans of the 2024 Moto G Power's hardware, but felt the phone was spoiled by excessive pre-installed bloatware. Here's hoping Motorola has reined that in a little this year.The unlocked Moto G will be available online at Motorola.com, Amazon, and Best Buy starting January 30th, with the Power following on February 6th. Both will be stocked by all the major carriers over the following months.
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by Andrew Webster on (#6TJ6N)
Image: Nintendo For a game about collecting bananas and throwing barrels, Donkey Kong Country Returns is surprisingly inventive. The game, which originally launched on the Wii in 2010, takes the classic SNES side-scroller and steadily infuses it with new ideas, creating an experience that's at times both tense and thrilling. You'll do everything from fly a rocket through bat-filled caves to avoid the tentacles of a giant squid. It gets intense. It's also a game that's known for being very hard. But a new port on the Switch makes it slightly easier to enjoy all of those thrills without getting too frustrated.It's called Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, and it's basically what it says right there in the title: the original game but with cleaned-up graphics. Fundamentally, there isn't a lot of difference. The premise, which involves an evil mask turning a bunch of animals against Kong, remains the same, as do the levels you'll explore; though, as a nice bonus, the port does include stages that were previously only available in the 3DS version of the game.And just like the 3DS version, the Switch game has two modes to play through. One, called Original," is exactly what it sounds like, a straight port of the Wii game. The other is called Modern Mode." It doesn't actually change the difficulty but instead offers a greater selection of helpful boosts, the option to carry nine of those items at once, and an extra heart by default. There's also a returning feature called the Super Guide." If you die a few times, this option will appear, and it lets you watch a playthrough of the level so you can see what you're doing wrong. It also lets you bypass the level altogether, so you can skip troublesome stages and come back to them later. Image: Nintendo That's important because, like I said, this game gets hard. There are precarious jumps to navigate, scenes where you have to fire yourself out of a barrel at just the right moment, and multistage boss battles that will test your patience. That hasn't changed here, but the game gives you more ways to deal with the frustration.And it's worth it because Donkey Kong Country Returns is a delightful game. It may not have the whimsy or playfulness of something like Super Mario Bros. Wonder, but that doesn't make it any less creative. While there are standard stages where you hop around, stomping on bad guys, the best parts of Returns have an almost cinematic feel. There are perilous minecart levels that force you to react quickly as the world crumbles around you. There are levels where you're avoiding destructive forces - like the aforementioned squid or devastating waves - as you inch your way to the goal. It can have the vibe of a high-stakes action movie, only, you know, you're playing a giant monkey wearing a tie.Sure, we're at the tail end of the Switch's life, but you could do a lot worse for the end of a console than ports of games like Returns and the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles X. The series has a sense of tension and scale that set Donkey Kong Country apart from other side-scrollers, and Returns might be the one that pushes it the furthest. Now, it's simply a little more approachable - without losing any of its original bite.Donkey Kong Country Returns HD launches on January 16th on the Nintendo Switch.
by Jay Peters on (#6TJ6M)
The Quest 3S has its flaws, but it's a great first VR headset. Read the full story at The Verge.
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by David Pierce on (#6TJ6Q)
Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge Goodbye to our personal Chinese spies. With five days left until the date by which TikTok is to be either sold or banned in the United States, millions of users are reckoning with what happens when one of the internet's most important media platforms just up and disappears. (Or, more likely, sticks around for a while, consistently gets worse, and then dies with a whimper.)On this episode of The Vergecast, we reckon with how we got here, and where we go next. The Verge's Lauren Feiner walks us through the years-long history of the fight over TikTok, and takes us inside last week's Supreme Court hearing, where the country's highest court appeared to be in favor of the ban. Even with a few days left, though, the story's not over: Donald Trump has said he wants to save the app, and he'll be inaugurated as president the day after the ban is set to go into effect. And now there are rumors Elon Musk might be involved with the app's future, too. If we've learned one thing about the TikTok ban, it's that it's always coming and seemingly never actually here. But it sure feels close now.After that, we chat with Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor about a different kind of creator platform.... Read the full story at The Verge.
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by Sean Hollister on (#6TJ3V)
At $439, the DJI Flip could be a good starting point for people who don't typically buy drones at all. You can unfold it, launch it from your hand with a single button, land it on your hand again, or optionally use joysticks, all while capturing higher quality photos and video than the immediate competition.In August, my colleague Thomas Ricker told you how DJI rival Hover had changed the game by selling a $349 flying camera that doesn't require people to learn joysticks; with the $199 DJI Neo, DJI looked poised to muscle in on that in a big way. But the $439 Flip not only lets you launch and film basic dronies, orbits, and follow-me shots from the drone itself, it dramatically increases camera quality, flight stability, battery life (a quoted 31 minutes), and lets you launch it faster. You just won't be able to fly it FPV like some of us were hoping.Not only is the Flip the first DJI drone to look like a Star Wars AT-AT walker or a penny-farthing bicycle when folded, it's also the first to automatically power on when you unfold it, saving two button presses. And when you flip out each of its four spoke-filled full-coverage propeller guards - which DJI says are a first for its folding drones - they join an auto-braking, forward-facing 3D infrared sensor to protect the camera from any front impacts as well.And while that camera isn't quite as impressive as the 1.0-inch type found on DJI's Osmo Pocket 3, I was impressed by my first results in good light! It's smaller 1/1.3-inch 4K60 sensor with 4:3 aspect ratio is capable of taking 2.7K vertical video or 48 megapixel stills behind a fast f/1.7 aperture lens. Here are a couple of my unedited early flights, a drone selfie, and a photo, to give you an idea: An aerial photo from the DJI Flip. Frankly, the DJI Neo - which costs less than half as much - can't come close to this level of performance; over the same lake and the same park, the Neo couldn't even maintain a smooth level shot as the breeze blew its lighter frame around, and its images were muddy and washed out by comparison. The Flip has a three-axis gimbal to help maintain that stability. Also, pros can record in 10-bit D-Log M.But other, pricier DJI drones could offer better performance still, plus true vertical shooting by rotating the gimbal - and it'd be hard to imagine a drone enthusiast picking the Flip instead of waiting to see what DJI's unannounced Mini 5 might bring to the table.There are currently no plans to retire the Mini Series. The DJI Flip is a new entry-level drone series that will be offered alongside the DJI Neo and DJI Mini. Each of these drones are designed to meet the needs of different types of beginners," DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong confirms to The Verge.I am continually surprised by how large the Flip is; while it stays under the 249-gram weight limit that typically triggers government compliance standards like publicly broadcasting your location. Despite its folding arms, it doesn't fold down smaller than a Mini so there's no way I'm fitting it into any but the biggest cargo pants pockets I own. It's also quite loud despite its ducted propellers - absolutely not among the quieter drones that the company sells.And despite costing more than the $199 DJI Neo, it doesn't support any FPV headsets to let you virtually soar like a bird.But the Flip does cost just $439 complete with a basic RC-N3 joystick controller that lets you use your phone as a screen, plus the launch-it-from-your-hand modes; a $779 kit comes with three batteries, a carrying case, and a more capable DJI RC 2 controller with a built-in daylight visible 700-nit screen. The DJI Mini 4 Pro versions of each of same kits cost $959 and $1,099 respectively, a $320 difference.The DJI Flip should be available to buy and ship today, from DJI's website.Photography and video by Sean Hollister / The Verge
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by Dominic Preston on (#6TJ1P)
The Galaxy S23 phones are the most recent in its flagship line currently eligible for trade-in. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Samsung has announced a change to its Galaxy Trade-In program that allows consumers to trade in select Galaxy smartphone models to the company year-round, without the need to make a new purchase at the same time.The new program is set to start today in South Korea and France, with other markets to follow later in 2025. The company says that its aim is to boost the value of Galaxy devices" in the long-term by providing amazing savings" through the trade-in process.There are two key changes to the program, which will be operated by insurance and repair company Likewize. The main change is the purchase requirement: before this policy shift, trade-ins to the company have required a new purchase from samsung.com or the company's app, with the option to start a trade-in only appearing during the checkout process.The second change is year-round" availability. Trade-ins are already available at any time in the US and most other Western markets, but in South Korea they've previously been locked to specific windows - usually just after major new product launches like next week's S25 reveal, for example.There's still one big limit to the scheme however: you can only trade in specific Samsung flagship phones. Right now, that's limited to the Galaxy S20 series through to the S23, and foldables from the Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 through to the Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5. Curiously, last year's Galaxy S24 and Z Flip/Fold 6 aren't included, so you can't sell anything too recent.
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6THSM)
The seventh-gen iPad is the cheapest tablet in Apple's current lineup to support Apple Intelligence. | Photo: David Pierce / The Verge If you're in the market for a highly portable tablet, Apple's smallest tablet has fallen to its lowest price to date at multiple retailers. Right now, the latest iPad Mini is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy with Wi-Fi and 128GB of storage starting at $399 ($100 off). If you need more storage, you can also buy the step-up model with 256GB of storage for $499 ($100 off) or the 512GB variant for $699 ($100 off).With its 8.3-inch screen and lightweight design, the latest iPad Mini is closer in size to the iPhone than any other tablet in Apple's lineup. As a result, it's easier to carry on the go and hold with one hand, making it an excellent option if you read a lot on your tablet. Its small size doesn't come at the expense of performance, though. In fact, the onboard A17 Pro chip is snappier than the A14 Bionic chip found in the entry-level iPad, even if it's not as speedy as the processors in the M4-powered iPad Pro or M2-powered Air.Unlike the base iPad, the seventh-gen Mini supports Apple Intelligence, so you can take advantage of a host of AI-based features - such as AI-assisted summaries, Genmoji, ChatGPT, and the ability to erase unwanted objects in photos. It also supports the newer Apple Pencil Pro, along with Wi-Fi 6E and faster USB-C performance. They're pretty iterative updates overall; however, they're also a lot more appealing at $399 than they are at the tablet's typical retail price of $499.Read our iPad Mini review.
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by Umar Shakir on (#6THSN)
Illustration: The Verge Google is adjusting the profile sharing" feature in its Google Messages app to allow users to set custom contact names and photos on their own devices for their stored contacts and others they send text messages. As reported by 9to5Google, a change rolled out late last year that overrode your custom names and photos with each individual's broadcasted profile, but now you can change it back to give friends, colleagues, and family members the names and avatars that you think they should have.The profile-sharing feature was announced in late 2023, as Google continued to push the rollout of RCS, and works similarly to Contact Posters on iPhones. Android Authority found a reference in Android code in October that Google was working to allow for customer profile photos yet again.Google's updated support page for profile sharing now outlines steps to set a local contact photo that replaces the one shared by your contact. To customize their name or appearance, tap on a contact name or picture of a person in a Google Messages chat, then tap their photo on the details page. From there, you can switch between their shared one or your own custom one for them.
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by Emma Roth on (#6THQW)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images TikTokers are coping with the app's potential ban with an unusual trend: by bidding farewell to their personal Chinese spy." The trend, which pokes fun at security concerns surrounding the app, has users thanking their spy" for surveilling them and filling their For You page with entertaining content, while others proclaim that they'd rather share their data directly with the Chinese government than switch to Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts.One post, which garnered more than 1.5 million likes, depicts an emotional scene from Squid Game with the caption, Me saying goodbye to my Chinese spy on the 19th (He perfected my algorithm)." Other TikTokers are speaking - and singing - in Chinese, while some pretend to be the spies" powering individual algorithms.
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by Jay Peters on (#6THQX)
Illustration: The Verge Meta announced last week that it would be ditching fact-checkers in favor of X-like Community Notes, and self-described leaker" Alessandro Paluzzi shared screenshots on Monday showing what the feature might look like in Threads.Based on the screenshots, it appears you'll be able to start the process of writing a Community Note from the three-dots menu on a post, which is where you can already access features like muting an account or reporting a post. Another screenshot shows that when you write a Community Note, your note will be anonymous.A third screenshot appears to show an Instagram help center page about Community Notes that has a button to join a waitlist for the program. However, the layout of the page looks different from other live help center pages I can see right now.Meta didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.Meta said last week that it plans to phase in Community Notes in the US first over the next couple of months" and then improve it over the course of the year," but it hasn't specified exactly when the feature might be available on Threads. My colleague Alex Heath reported Sunday that Community Notes was not on the product roadmap before this week."In addition to the move to Community Notes, Meta said it's also getting rid of a number of restrictions" on topics like immigration and gender, and phasing civil content" back into Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Instagram boss Adam Mosseri published a video today showing how to set the amount of political content you see on Threads.
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by Ash Parrish on (#6THNT)
Image: Games Done Quick Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 has concluded, raising just over $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Every Games Done Quick event is worth tuning in to either live or later via VODs, but this AGDQ was uniquely fantastic, filled with runs that'll go down as some of the best GDQ has to offer. Here are some of our favorites:New Super Mario Bros. WiiThe great thing about the speedrunning community is that it's often not enough to be the fastest runner of a particular game. That's boring. For Wes, simply running New Super Mario Bros. Wii wasn't enough to satisfy him. He had to get creative with it, deciding to master playing the game as fast as possible while playing the piano. But how can someone play a video game if both their hands are occupied, you ask? The answer is obvious: by controlling the game with your head and feet. I don't know what inspires a human to do this kind of thing, and I don't care. All that matters is that Wes put the depth of human ability (and multitasking) on display, and it was brain-breaking to watch.Elden Ring bonus showcaseSpeaking of incredible human talent, how about playing Elden Ring - a game known for its punishing difficulty - with a saxophone. I was looking forward to this run all week, and Dr. Doot did not disappoint, but not for the reason I expected. It's one thing to beat the likes of Malenia, Blade of Miquella with a specially programmed aerophone. But nothing could have prepared me for every input, from landing an attack to using consumables, sounding a hilarious doot" noise. I cried laughing it was so funny.Super MetroidSuper Metroid is a GDQ staple, often anchoring the event's last day in a week's worth of programming. But lately, GDQ has gotten away from featuring a mere run of the game to instead showcase all the work the Super Metroid modding community has put into keeping this game from 1994 fresh and interesting. This four-way race of Super Metroid included a map randomizer, meaning the game's normal layout had been shuffled around and put together in an all-new configuration.Map randomizers for a Metroid game are uniquely dangerous because all of the abilities you need to progress are no longer laid out in a logical fashion. Samus might run into the fiery pits of Lower Norfair long before finding the heat-shielding Varia suit. And with the map randomized, it's now way harder (and takes way longer) to find where the suit is. Now add an element of competition, and you've got one of the finest races in AGDQ history.Crazy Taxi with live backing bandIt used to be that if you wanted to avoid DMCA strikes for playing a game on Twitch with licensed music, you just turned the music off. But AGDQ has come up with a novel way to get around this old problem. For this run of Crazy Taxi, every song was played by a cover band that transformed AGDQ from a speedrunning video game event into an impromptu punk rock show - mini-mosh pit and all - and it ruled. I'm not gonna share any details. Just go watch it for yourself.GDQ is a uniquely special event for more reasons than featuring cool, creative, or crazy-ass runs. In a world where cowardly corporations have decided it's okay to call women and LGBTQ+ people slurs, and one where gamers have a unique reputation for being awful to each other for differences beyond our control, Games Done Quick has been very vocal in its support of marginalized people. Whether it be its diverse programming with Frame Fatales or Black in a Flash or the mere fact that every other donation featured a message of Trans Rights," which was enthusiastically read aloud and enthusiastically cheered by the live crowd.Games Done Quick has been a shining example of how intentionally curated communities can foster acceptance and be a source of joy and goodness in a climate that needs it, and AGDQ 2025 was one of the best.
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by Emma Roth on (#6THNV)
Photo Illustration by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images RedNote, the Chinese social media app also known as Xiaohongshu, rose to the number one spot on the Apple App Store as a US ban closes in on TikTok. The app offers a mix of pictures, short-form videos, and text posts across follow," explore," and nearby" feeds.A cursory scroll through RedNote's Explore page shows English-language posts scattered among those written in Chinese. Many American users call themselves TikTok refugees" in videos, while others write in text posts that they're in search of a new community because of the potential TikTok ban. Some are even asking questions to Chinese users, such as What are some popular memes in China?" Screenshot: The Verge RedNote, which launched in 2013 as a shopping-focused app, now has more than 300 million monthly active users and surpassed $1 billion in profit last year, according to Bloomberg.Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over whether to uphold the law that will ban TikTok or force its China-based owner, ByteDance, to sell it to an American company. The Supreme Court has until January 19th to issue a decision.TikTok users may be flocking to RedNote now, but the ban also implicates other Chinese-owned apps, including RedNote, WeChat, and the other apps run by ByteDance like Lemon8 and CapCut.
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by Andrew Webster on (#6THNW)
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Another day, another announcement from Nintendo that isn't the next Switch. Today the company revealed that its alarm clock, Alarmo, will be available at select retailers starting this March. The announcement includes the US, UK, and Europe.The $99 alarm clock launched late last year, but is currently only available to those with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Today's news opens that up to the larger public. The motion-controlled device lets users turn it off simply by getting up, though in my experience, that functionality wasn't much use if you share a bed. It also includes a number of sounds and themes based on Nintendo properties, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe through a recent update.The news comes the same week that Nintendo is widely expected to detail its next console, which could happen on January 16th. It also follows a series of other announcements in recent months from the company. Most recently, Nintendo announced that a Lego Game Boy was in the works, which was preceded by announcements covering a museum, music service, and a test for a mysterious MMO.
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by Umar Shakir on (#6THNX)
The Verge eBay has signed a definitive agreement" to buy online automotive transaction platform provider Caramel to help make buying and selling vehicles on the auction site more simple than ever."Caramel has a site and app that helps private parties and independent dealers sell cars by handling the paperwork, ownership transfer, financing, shipping, insurance, and more. The company has several marketplace and auction partners as well.Although eBay has hosted listings for used car sales and auctions on the site for years, it currently leaves it to the dealer to process payment and complete any paperwork. Fees such as titling charges are also handled through the seller, and you'd have to negotiate separately over things like dealer-installed accessories.Last month, online retail giant Amazon started its own Autos" website for people to buy new vehicles from dealers (only Hyundai models to start). However, Amazon advertises that you can complete the transaction (including a vehicle trade-in) to completion and only need to pick up the car at the dealership.How eBay's process will look is still to be determined. eBay says its agreement with Caramel was signed on January 11th, and the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.
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by Emma Roth on (#6THK6)
Image: Free Our Feeds Technology advocates and celebrities are backing the launch of Free Our Feeds, a campaign designed to save social media from billionaire capture." The project aims to raise $30 million over three years to support the development of a social media ecosystem powered by the AT Protocol, or the decentralized network powering Bluesky.The raised funds will go toward launching a public interest foundation to support the project, while creating an independently hosted infrastructure" giving Bluesky users, developers, and researchers access to the content and data posted no matter what the company decides to do in the future."After starting as a research project under former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky became an independent company in 2021 and went on to create the AT Protocol, an open-source infrastructure that aims to create a social ecosystem with interoperable apps. Bluesky built its own social network atop the framework, raising millions in funds and attracting a growing number of users.Despite these efforts, Free Our Feeds believes social infrastructure run in the public interest cannot be governed by a private social media company" forever.Bluesky's underlying technology, the AT Protocol, could offer a new pathway for the social web. Yet as it stands, it is still venture-capital backed," Sherif Elsayed-Ali, the executive director at the Future of Technology Institute, said in a statement. This important initiative aims to safeguard Bluesky's underlying technology and put it on an independent pathway, so that the future of social media can be freed from the whims of any one company or group of billionaires."Free Our Feeds will be led by nine custodians - including the Mozilla Foundation's Nabiha Syed and Mark Surman - who will oversee the project's major governance decisions."Mastodon is also moving away from the single ownership model used by social platforms like Mark Zuckerberg's Meta and Elon Musk's X. On Monday, Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko announced that he will transfer the ownership of the decentralized social network to a nonprofit organization because Mastodon should not be owned or controlled by a single individual."With Meta making drastic changes to its content moderation policy, and X's transformation under Musk's ownership, the Free Our Feeds project couldn't come at a better time - even if it might take some time for its efforts to come to fruition.Correction, January 13th: A previous version of the article misattributed a quote to Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales due to an error from Free Our Feeds. The quote is from Sherif Elsayed-Ali.
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by Wes Davis on (#6THK7)
Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Samsung is making the Galaxy Ring available to more people by adding size 14 and 15 rings to its options starting on January 22nd. With the expansion, which was rumored last month, the company says its ring sizes now run from five to 15, though it caveats that both size and color availability will vary by market.The new sizes bring the Galaxy Ring closer to competitor Oura, which already offers its smart ring in sizes four to 15. Samsung's announcement didn't include details about the ring's weight or battery life, but the current lineup's larger size 12 and 13 rings use bigger batteries and can last an extra day versus the others.The bigger options will be nice for those at the upper end of its size range, particularly if they're only a half-size up. As my colleague Victoria Song wrote in her smart ring sizing guide, even if you're able to slide the ring on, it could be hard to take it off again as your fingers swell in response to things like the food you've eaten or the environment you're in.Samsung also announced it's going to sell its smart ring in 16 more countries, including Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, Greece, and South Africa, starting on February 7th, though the exact date for each release will vary, it writes.
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by Umar Shakir on (#6THGP)
Mercedes-Benz's MBUX Virtual Assistant will use Google Gemini on the cloud. | Image: Mercedes-Benz / Google Google Cloud's new Automotive AI Agent platform promises to continue conversations and reference information" throughout users' drives, and the first car announced with it is the new Mercedes CLA. That car has the next-generation MB.OS operating system with an upgraded MBUX Virtual Assistant.When Mercedes revealed it at CES in 2024, it didn't say which company's LLM it was running on. Meanwhile, the existing MBUX Voice Assistant system that could handle about 20 commands triggered with Hey Mercedes" now includes results provided by OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft Bing, but it's not a conversational platform. According to Mercedes, there's a plan to roll out this upgraded system to further models" that run the older Voice Assistant, but it didn't specify which ones.The new MBUX Virtual Assistant will feature four personality traits," including natural, predictive, personal, and empathetic. It can also ask you questions for additional clarity to get you what you need.Google's new AI Agent is tailor-made to automotive uses, leveraging Google Maps data to find points of interest, look up restaurant reviews for you, give you recommendations, answer follow-up questions, and more. Google says MBUX Virtual Assistant users will get access to nearly real time" Google Maps updates. It also says it can handle complex, multi-turn dialog."The agent uses Gemini and runs on Google Cloud's Vertex AI development platform, designed to help companies build out AI experiences. This is just the beginning of how agentic capabilities can transform the automotive industry," Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated in a press release.
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by Quentyn Kennemer on (#6THGQ)
8BitDo's mobile controller offers a little more grip than others we recommend. | Image: 8BitDo While the cradle-style Backbone One is a great mobile controller we often recommend, it's not the right choice for everyone. Thankfully, 8BitDo's Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller is a cheaper alternative for Android users, one that's available at Amazon in black for $39.99 ($10 off) for the first time. That's well below the Backbone One's $100 MSRP and its typical sale price of $69.99.The 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile doesn't connect via a USB-C or Lightning port like other mobile options. Instead, it uses Bluetooth for wireless compatibility with most smartphones running Android 9.0 or later. (Sorry, iPhone users!) That does mean you'll need to recharge it occasionally, but 8BitDo says it only requires a 1.5-hour charge for 15 hours of gameplay. It can also accommodate any phone measuring between 100mm and 170mm in length.In terms of hardware, 8BitDo's mobile gamepad offers an Xbox-style button layout and ergonomics, with four face buttons, a clicky D-pad, dual bumpers, and drift-free Hall effect sticks and triggers that should be less prone to failure over time. It also features two rear buttons, a dedicated profile button, and turbo functionality, all of which are customizable with 8BitDo's excellent Ultimate Software.More Monday deals
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