The Verge

Plug it in, and you’re good to go. Thunderbolt 4 is here, and so is the first fully powered Thunderbolt 4 docking station. Kensington’s SD5700T includes a whopping 11 ports, 90W of power delivery, and transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps. It provides either one 8K output at 30 Hz or two 4K outputs at 60 Hz.Make no mistake: This is a fancy dock. It’s listed for $289.99 on Kensington’s site. But if you’re the kind of person who uses an elaborate desk setup with multiple monitors and peripherals, and you have the money to spend, this could be a good choice.If you look at the most recent Thunderbolt 4 laptop releases, you’ll probably notice that some of them have... sparse port selections. That’s par for the course as laptops get thinner. The Dell XPS 13, for instance, only... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Roku has acquired defunct streaming service Quibi’s library of content, the company announced today. Content from the short-form service will appear on the Roku Channel for free at some point in 2021, though the company hasn’t announced an exact date for its arrival. Roku did not disclose how much it paid for the content in its announcement, but The Wall Street Journal reports it paid “significantly less” than $100 million for the shows. The deal was rumored earlier this month in a separate report from the WSJ.Despite Quibi’s failure, its content was star-studded. Roku’s announcement says the Quibi content it has licensed will feature stars including “Idris Elba, Kevin Hart, Liam Hemsworth, Anna Kendrick, Nicole Richie, Chrissy Teigen,... Continue reading…

Amazon has announced that it’s discontinued its Amazon Pantry (originally known as Prime Pantry) service, instead rolling those household goods and shelf-stable pantry items into the main Amazon website where they can be ordered alongside the rest of Amazon’s products.Originally launched back in 2014, Pantry worked differently from most Amazon orders. Instead of following the usual Amazon delivery rules, Pantry orders charged customers a flat $5.99 shipping fee per box of groceries, which could be filled with up to 45 pounds of products or up to four cubic feet of stuff (whichever limit customers reached first). The focus of the program was to make it easier to stock up on everyday products that would otherwise be bulky or expensive to... Continue reading…

Microsoft is updating its Teams service with a new Dynamic View in March. This new view allows Teams users to share content side by side with participants. It looks ideally positioned for meetings where someone is presenting a slide deck or if participants are watching a live event together.Dynamic content like earnings reports, slide decks, or videos can be displayed alongside other speakers. Currently in Teams, video feeds of other participants are tiny when people are screen sharing or presenting decks. Microsoft’s Gallery View for Teams will optimize itself automatically with this new view and allow participants to personalize the view.It will also more clearly highlight active speakers, people who have virtually raised their... Continue reading…

(Left to right) The Moto G Play, G Stylus, and G Power. | Image: Motorola Motorola is kicking off 2021 with refreshes for its midrange Moto G lineup of phones with new versions of the Moto G Power, Moto G Stylus, and Moto G Play that promise low prices and days of battery life across the board. There’s also a new member of the Motorola One family called the Motorola One 5G Ace, which, at $399, takes the crown as Motorola’s cheapest 5G phone yet.Once again, Motorola is set on offering an almost dizzying amount of low-priced phones that differ in price by just $30 to $50. The new Moto G Play will cost $169.99; the Moto G Power will offer $199.99 (for a 3GB of RAM / 32GB of storage model) $249.99 (for 4GB / 64GB) configurations; the Moto G Stylus will cost $299.99; and the Motorola One 5G Ace will cost $399.99.... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Roku says its Roku TV line was the top-selling smart TV OS in the US and Canada throughout all of 2020, using NPD data to illustrate the company’s powerful standing. “Roku TV held 38 percent of market share in the US and 31 percent in Canada, based on available data from January 5th through December 26th, 2020, maintaining the lead spot in both regions,” the company said in a press release today. That would signify that Samsung’s Tizen has fallen to second place. (Samsung is still the most popular individual TV maker, however, since Roku TV is divided among brands like TCL, Hisense, and others.)Roku attributes the success of Roku TV to its simple user interface, vast app catalog, and a wide range of TV sizes at appealing prices. TCL... Continue reading…

JLab is introducing a new Bluetooth audio gadget designed to be clipped onto your existing glasses or sunglasses. The JBuds Frames are two modules with downward-firing speakers you position right outside your ears. They are part of a resurgent trend of open-ear audio that has usually been the domain of Bluetooth-enabled sunglasses and bone-conducting bands.They’re retailing for just $50, which fits in with another trend: JLab’s history of offering surprisingly inexpensive headphones. Sometimes, those headphones outperform their price point and so the company is hoping it can pull that trick off again by undercutting Bose, Amazon, Aftershokz, and others. However, so far, there’s a fairly low ceiling on audio quality for open-ear... Continue reading…

Image: Kohler Kohler has revealed a new smart bath that lets you use an app, or your voice, to fill up the water. That by itself seems pretty handy to me, but depending on which model you buy, you can elevate your bathing experience by changing the color of lights around the tub or even adding some fog.You’ll also be able to establish preset routines to turn on features in a certain order so you can set your bath exactly the way you want it. For example, you can have the tub fill itself up to a specified level and a certain temperature, and once that’s done, add some fog or turn on some aromatherapy, all with a voice command to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant.Take look at the Stillness Bath for yourself in this footage provided by Kohler. I... Continue reading…

The new Standard Range model sits alongside the existing Long Range and Performance versions. | Screenshot: Tesla.com Tesla is now taking orders for a cheaper Standard Range version of the Model Y. The new variant, whose availability was reported by Electrek, has a cheaper starting price of $41,990 compared to $49,990 for the Long Range model. The discount comes with a lower EPA estimated range of 244 miles rather than 326 miles, and rear-wheel rather than all-wheel drive.Alongside the new cheaper Model Y version, Tesla is also selling a new 7-seat option for a $3,000 premium. The version has a third seating row, which can be folded flat along with the second row for cargo storage.The Standard Range option was originally announced with a 230-mile rangeTesla originally announced the Standard Range version of the Model Y back at the car’s announcement... Continue reading…

Overwhelmed by life? Shove your head in a Gengar. | Image: P-Bandai.jp Pokémon has an illustrious history of beautifully bizarre merch including a human-sized Metapod sleeping bag or a Ditto chair, but this giant Gengar plushie might be the best yet. It’s cute, sure, but it’s also incredibly practical. Just roll out its roughly 170cm-long tongue and you’ve got yourself a compact futon for sleeping on. There’s even a cozy little space in its open mouth for your head.But this Gengar isn’t just a novelty mattress replacement. No, it’s capable of so much more. Tired of reality? Shove your head in the Gengar’s mouth. Need an impromptu blanket? Use the Gengar’s tongue. When you’ve got a giant Gengar with a long-ass tongue, the sky’s the limit. Image: P-Bandai.jp Be not afraid. ... Continue reading…

Amazon’s Echo Studio speaker, which supports Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Sony has announced an expansion of its 360 Reality Audio platform, bringing the 360-degree music format to more devices and media as well as offering new creation tools. 360 Reality Audio uses object-based spatial audio technology to place instruments or vocals around the listener’s head in a virtual sound field.Now, Sony is expanding the audio tech into video. The company says it’s working with record labels and service providers to start streaming video content with 360 Reality Audio later this year, and the first example will be a live performance from Sony-signed artist Zara Larsson next week. You’ll be able to watch through Sony’s Artist Connection mobile app at 5pm ET on January 11th.Sony is releasing two new 360 Reality... Continue reading…

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Earlier this week, we reported that Google could be working on an updated Nest Hub that had Soli technology, and a report from 9to5Google now suggests that it could be for something unexpected: sleep tracking.If you aren’t familiar, Soli is Google’s radar technology used to detect gestures and human presence. It was first introduced in the Pixel 4 (which was discontinued in August), and while it isn’t in any of Google’s current Pixel devices, it’s now showing up in smart home devices, like the Nest Thermostat.So there is precedent for Google including the tech in its smart home devices. And the Nest Hub already looks a bit like an alarm clock, and because it doesn’t have a camera built-in, it may be more accepted into the bedroom for... Continue reading…

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images On October 15th, FCC chairman Ajit Pai promised that the FCC would “move forward with a rulemaking” to clarify the “meaning” of Section 230, the all-important internet law that protects free speech online.Apparently, Pai never got around to that — and less than three months later, he no longer plans to, either, explaining he’s short on time. “[T]here’s simply not sufficient time to complete the administrative steps necessary in order to resolve the rule-making. Given that reality, I do not believe it’s appropriate to move forward,” he tells Protocol.The reason he’s short on time is pretty simple: he’s stepping down on January 20th, when Joe Biden becomes President of the United States.But he might also be giving up because the idea... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge TikTok will remove videos of President Trump’s speech inciting supporters to mob the US Capitol on Wednesday, saying they violate the company’s misinformation policy. TikTok will still let people post “counter speech” videos that dispute incorrect claims, however, and will let videos remain on the platform if they condemn violence or if they’re posted by news organizations. TechCrunch was the first to report the news.“Hateful behavior and violence have no place on TikTok,” the company said in a statement. “Content or accounts that seek to incite, glorify, or promote violence violate our Community Guidelines and will be removed.”TikTok is also blocking certain hashtags related to the riots, such as #stormthecapitol and #patriotparty,... Continue reading…

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images Twitter has lifted its ban on President Donald Trump, and his latest tweet is very different than the ones we’ve seen for many months. Though he does not say he lost, his latest video feels like a concession speech. “Now that Congress has certified the results, a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20th,” he says. “My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power.” Trump had issued a similar statement about “an orderly transition” this morning through a surrogate account — that of White House social media director Dan Scavino.The president’s own account was locked on Wednesday after a mob of his supporters broke into the US Capitol, and Twitter said it would stay that way until he deleted... Continue reading…

Image: Intel Intel launched RealSense ID yesterday, a facial recognition solution that relies on its RealSense depth-sensing technology (via Gizmodo). RealSense started as a Kinect-style camera for touch-free interaction, but RealSense ID seems like Intel’s attempt to reposition its camera business towards secure, on-device facial recognition first, while also potentially putting the company in the crossfire of controversy.RealSense ID builds on Intel’s depth-sensing technology with a neural network for identifying faces, a dedicated system-on-a-chip, and a secure element that encrypts and processes user data. The device should learn and adapt to a face over time, working around facial hair, a variety of different skin tones, and face masks, Gizmodo... Continue reading…

While Monster Hunter World was a huge success, becoming one of Capcom’s bestselling games in history and exposing far more people to a series that had only ever been truly popular in Japan, it came at a cost. The move to modern console hardware meant Monster Hunter looked and played better than ever before, but it also meant leaving the series’s portable roots behind.Even in Japan, Monster Hunter only really took off when it came to the PSP, with people gathering in person to take down monsters together. It may not look like it, given its long, drawn-out combat system, but Monster Hunter is a perfect portable game. You can do simple grinding on a quick commute while listening to podcasts, then tackle the major challenges when you’re... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The list of companies and agencies discovering that they’ve been affected by the SolarWinds hack is still growing, and they’re working with a big unknown: how far the hackers got into their systems. The federal judiciary system is likely now one of them (via The Wall Street Journal), and it isn’t taking any chances. It’s worried enough that court workers will now have to physically deliver sensitive documents, despite the ongoing pandemic.The judiciary’s new procedures sound rather intense:

Photo by Lev Radin / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images For years, police have been warning about the dangers of crowdsourced detective work — but on Thursday morning, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of Washington, DC decided to do just that. In the wake of an unprecedented mob attack on the Capitol building, the MPD has released an open call for help identifying subjects. The department has circulated a digital booklet featuring 26 pages of faces from the attack, with a hotline number for anyone who can help identify them. The FBI has made a similar request, although neither agency has produced any arrests as a result of the photos.The alarming nature of the attack, combined with the failure of Capitol Police to detain or process the intruders, has led to a nationwide digital... Continue reading…

Image: Simple Online-only bank Simple is shutting down, its parent company announced in an email to customers Thursday. BBVA USA, which acquired Simple in 2014 for $117 million, said it would be transitioning Simple customers to BBVA accounts but did not provide details about when the change would occur. BBVA USA was acquired by Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank in November.In the email to users, which many shared with The Verge, BBVA said the decision to close Simple was a strategic one and said customers did not need to take any immediate action.

Tomb Raider: 10th Anniversary, a remake of the original Tomb Raider game for Sony’s PSP that was canceled in 2006, has recently resurfaced as a playable alpha, according to PC Gamer. The game was being developed by Core Design before it was shuttered in favor of Crystal Dynamics’ cross-platform Tomb Raider: Anniversary and Tomb Raider: Legend, a reimagining of the origin story of treasure-hunter Lara Croft.The playable alpha features the climbing, swimming, and general platforming of the original game minus dialogue and enemies. It’s a neat throwback to an older style of Tomb Raider in contrast to the more cinematic and realistic approach the newer games take. The alpha includes levels set in Greece, Peru, and Croft Manor. You can see a... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitch experienced a partial outage on Thursday afternoon. During the outage, I was able to navigate to the site’s homepage, but often, the carousel of featured streams didn’t load. In a few instances, when I clicked into a stream, it briefly loaded before the site showed an error message.While the outage was going on, the Twitch status page said that the company had “identified an issue causing Twitch to fail to load in some cases.” While the status page only noted “degraded performance” for the web, I was also seeing errors while navigating the iOS app, but I’m not seeing those errors anymore.Today’s issue was related to an earlier AWS disruption, a Twitch spokesperson tells The Verge. The Twitch status page now says that the... Continue reading…

Image: Studio Trigger HBO Max is continuing its strong anime streak with the addition of four new films, two documentaries, and an upcoming Studio Ghibli movie this month, courtesy of distributor GKIDS Films, which is best known for running the international distribution of works from legendary director Hayao Miyazaki. Some of these can be seen on Netflix, but only outside the US due to licensing restrictions as HBO parent company WarnerMedia secured the US rights to most (but not all) of Ghibli’s catalog and works closely with GKIDS for rights to non-Ghibli titles.Earwig and the Witch, the latest Ghibli movie and the third directorial work from Miyazaki’s son Gorō, will debut on HBO Max on February 5th, following a limited theatrical release two days... Continue reading…

Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images Boeing has been criminally charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States by the Department of Justice and will have to pay a $2.5 billion fine for lying to the Federal Aviation Administration before and after the fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.The Justice Department announced the charges and fine, which were part of a deferred prosecution agreement, on Thursday. The $2.5 billion fine includes a $243.6 million “criminal monetary penalty,” $1.77 billion that will be paid out to airlines that were customers of the plane, and $500 million that will go to a fund to help families and relatives of the people who died in the two crashes.Boeing previously announced a $100 million fund for families and loved ones of the 346... Continue reading…

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge “Xbox Controllers Still Use AA Batteries Due to ‘A Constant Agreement’ with Duracell,” Stealth Optional’s headline reads. The headline spotlights the outlet’s recent interview with Duracell’s UK marketing manager, Luke Anderson, who told Stealth Optional that there’s “always been this partnership with Duracell and Xbox... It’s a constant agreement that Duracell and Microsoft have in place.”After this interview was published, several outlets cited the article, theorizing that this could be the reason why Microsoft still uses AA batteries to power some of its wireless gaming controllers.This isn’t true. “We intentionally offer consumers choice in their battery solutions for our standard Xbox Wireless Controllers,” a Microsoft... Continue reading…

Up until this point, Google’s unlocked Pixel 4A 5G has only been available in black for those who want the unlocked phone. A white option was exclusive to Verizon’s more expensive version of the device — more expensive because it includes millimeter-wave 5G. But soon, Google will be releasing a white model of the standard $499 unlocked Pixel 4A 5G for people who don’t want to pay the mmWave tax.I was browsing B&H Photo earlier today when I noticed a listing for it, clearly labeled as a “new release.” Since there are photos of the phone, this didn’t seem to be a mistake — and Google has since confirmed to The Verge that the unlocked white Pixel 4A 5G will begin shipping on January 28th. Aesthetically, it’s identical to the Verizon... Continue reading…

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge “Don’t Build a High-End Gaming PC Right Now,” Tom’s Hardware declared in November. “This Is a Bad Time to Build a High-End Gaming PC,” ExtremeTech echoed last month. But it’s looking like the worst time to build a new gaming rig is still to come. That’s because a perfect storm is pushing the price of components like must-have Nvidia or AMD graphics cards even further skyward — and because Donald Trump is now part of that storm.The Trump administration is now imposing a 25 percent tax on graphics cards imported from China, and at least one PC component manufacturer has announced it’ll pass along part of that cost to consumers.We’ve known for two years that PC components were being swept up in Trump’s trade war on China. In 2018, G... Continue reading…

Image: Lenovo Every year at CES, we see devices meant to bridge the worlds of handheld and PC gaming. This year, it’s Lenovo and NEC that are still chasing that dream with the LaVie Mini. The device is a concept laptop-portable gaming console hybrid, and it includes a touchscreen, controller, and dock accessories.For those unfamiliar with the name, LaVie is a joint venture between Lenovo and NEC, and although most of its products don’t make it to the US, it’s had some hits at CES in the past focused on ultra-light laptops.By itself, the LaVie Mini seems to be a reasonably powerful and compact computer. The device, if it were real, would have an 8-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 and an 11th Gen Intel Processor with Xe graphics. Of... Continue reading…

Boxes line the sidewalk on Green Street in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston on February 28th, 2018. | Photo by Craig F. Walker / The Boston Globe via Getty Images The fate of cardboard boxes in the US rests in the hands of consumers more than it ever has been before. In the past, brick-and-mortar retailers handled much of the leftover packaging from shipments. Malls and grocery stores usually send big bales of used but relatively clean cardboard to recycling programs so that they can be made into new boxes. Now, the rise of e-commerce, which started before the pandemic, has shifted more responsibility onto shoppers to properly dispose of boxes so that they can be recycled. Boxes are piling up on residential curbsides instead of at retail stores.The pandemic has only accelerated this shiftThe pandemic has only accelerated this shift, which experts expect to continue even after COVID-19 is under... Continue reading…

Photo by Christoph Dernbach / picture alliance via Getty Images Encrypted messaging app Signal says it’s seeing a swell of new users signing up for the platform, so much so that the company is seeing delays in phone number verifications of new accounts across multiple cell providers.As for what or who is responsible for so many new users interested in trying the platform, which is operated by the nonprofit Signal Foundation, there are two likely culprits: Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Signal competitor WhatsApp.

Photo credit should read Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images Chinese search giant Baidu plans to make electric vehicles with help from Geely, the country’s largest private automaker, according to a new report from Reuters. It’s the latest Chinese conglomerate to venture into the flourishing electric vehicle market, following shopping giant Alibaba and ride-hailing behemoth Didi Chuxing.Making electric vehicles would also represent a broadening of Baidu’s ambition to branch into transportation. Baidu has already spent years working on self-driving technology and is the leading Chinese company in the autonomous vehicle space.Baidu will likely form a new joint venture with Geely for the EV effort, Reuters reports, and will develop software for the vehicle while Geely focuses on the hardware.... Continue reading…

Photo By Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Yesterday, a mob of Trump supporters overran the US Capitol, causing widespread chaos in an attempt to nullify the results of the 2020 presidential election. In the wake of the attacks, several Republican politicians have claimed the attackers were anti-fascist activists, in spite of the widespread Trump paraphernalia and triumphant social media posts by Trump supporters. But there’s no evidence antifa played a notable role in the riot, and one of the most widely cited examples has already fallen apart.In a widely heard House speech on Wednesday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (one of 147 Republican Congress members who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results) claimed that the mob had been infiltrated by antifa. But Gaetz cited... Continue reading…

Image: Sony Last year’s TV lineup from Sony took a bit of criticism since several sets were unable to take advantage of next-gen gaming features on the PlayStation 5 that shipped in November. Even if you look right now, the spread of HDMI 2.1 features is pretty sad. Sony never really acknowledged this as a mistake, believing that customers purchase its TVs for different reasons and not everyone needs every box checked off.What a difference a year makes.In 2021, Sony is correcting course: all of its premium “Bravia XR” 4K (and yes, 8K) TVs support 4K at 120Hz, VRR (variable refresh rate), ALLM (auto low latency mode), and eARC. No asterisks or gotchas or promises to add stuff later with firmware updates.Beyond getting on board with 4K120, Sony is... Continue reading…

Acer CES is just days away, but plenty of laptop companies are already unveiling their 2021 lineups. One of Acer’s first new releases is the Chromebook Spin 514, powered by AMD’s Ryzen 3000 mobile processors.You can spec the Spin 514 up to 16GB of DDR4 DRAM and 256GB of storage. Acer claims you’ll get up to 10 hours of battery life. The 14-inch FHD touch display has a 78 percent screen-to-body ratio, and all models have two USB-C ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and a microSD card reader. Some configurations include an HDMI port as well.It’s not the lightest Chromebook around, at 3.42 pounds (1.55 kg) and 0.68 inches (17.35 mm) thick. But Acer says it delivers “military-grade durability” and can withstand up to 132 pounds of downward force.... Continue reading…

The Nitro XV28 is Acer’s first monitor with HDMI 2.1 | Acer As the first part of Acer’s CES 2021 announcements, the company shared that it has three new gaming monitors releasing in May. In terms of specs, the standout product is the new Nitro XV28, a 28-inch 4K monitor with an IPS display and a 144Hz refresh rate with FreeSync Premium. It’s Acer’s first gaming monitor to use HDMI 2.1 ports, giving it the spec (assuming you’re using an HDMI 2.1-compliant cable) to support up to 4K gaming at 120 frames per second with variable refresh rate (VRR).So, not only is this a solid option for PC gamers hoping to squeeze the most out of their Nvidia RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, it’s an option about which PS5 and Xbox Series X owners can be equally excited. In terms of port selection, this one has... Continue reading…

Photo by Bill O’Leary / The Washington Post via Getty Images Keep up with all the developments here Continue reading…

Photo by Joshua Roberts / Getty Images YouTube will temporarily restrict channels that post videos containing widespread misinformation about 2020 election results — including the channel of President Donald Trump.Instead of simply removing videos that spread misinformation, any channel that post videos with false claims about the election will now receive a strike, temporarily preventing them from uploading videos. This includes Trump’s channel. A YouTube spokesperson did not say how long the suspension would last.In December, YouTube issued a new policy prohibiting any content designed to spread misinformation about the outcome of the 2020 election by promoting false theories about fraudulent votes or other unverified claims. Since then, the company has removed... Continue reading…

Shopify has taken down e-commerce sites from the Trump Organization and Trump campaign in response to Wednesday’s violence at the US Capitol building, The Wall Street Journal reported.Both TrumpStore.com and the Trump campaign’s Shop.DonaldJTrump.com, which sold Make America Great Again hats and other merchandise, were both offline Thursday morning. Shopify didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from The Verge, but a spokesperson told the WSJ that the company’s trust and safety team had determined the president had violated company policy against promoting or supporting violence in his Wednesday comments.“Shopify does not tolerate actions that incite violence,” the company said in a statement. Actions by the president... Continue reading…

On January 4th, 2021, Google workers and contractors announced they were forming a union with the Communications Workers of America. It’s the latest move in an ongoing fight between Google workers and management, and it could have big implications for the future of the tech industry.But we didn’t get here overnight. Google workers have been standing up against executives for years. They’ve protested Google’s decision to work with the Pentagon on targeted drone strikes, build a censored search engine for China, and pay Android founder Andy Rubin $90 million in severance after he was accused of sexual harassment.Now, the union hopes to create a structure for all of those demonstrations. Crucially, it wants to unite the interests of... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge In a blog post Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would ban President Donald Trump from its platforms “indefinitely” following a pro-Trump attack on the US Capitol this week. The ban will not be lifted before Inauguration Day, according to Zuckerberg.“The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden,” said Zuckerberg. “We are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”

Photo by Britta Pedersen / Pool / Getty Images Elon Musk has become the wealthiest person on the planet, surpassing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, thanks to the continued rise in Tesla’s stock price. Musk is now worth around $188 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.“How strange,” Musk tweeted Thursday. “Well, back to work ...”Musk eclipsing Bezos’ own extravagant personal wealth of around $187 billion marks the latest development in a years-long rivalry between the two tech magnates — one that often centers on the accomplishments of their respective businesses.Bezos was reportedly so envious of Musk’s success in securing a $1.3 billion incentive package for Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada that it served as the genesis for Amazon’s beauty pageant-style search for its... Continue reading…

The Bar 5.0 Multibeam comes a year after JBL’s first Atmos soundbar. | Image: JBL JBL’s Bar 5.0 Multibeam is a new soundbar which is its first to offer Virtual Dolby Atmos thanks to its Multibeam technology. It will be available for $399.95 (£349.99) starting later this spring.The announcement of the JBL Bar 5.0 comes a year after the company announced its first Dolby Atmos soundbar, the JBL Bar 9.1. The previous Atmos soundbar used upward-firing drivers to bounce sound off the ceiling to give the impression of it coming from above. In contrast, the new JBL Bar 5.0, which costs less than half the price of its predecessor, uses virtualization to achieve what JBL claims is a similar effect. It’s unlikely to sound as convincing, but the result is a much more affordable soundbar. Image: JBL The... Continue reading…

The SA750 looks straight out of the 70s. | Image: JBL The JBL SA750 is a new stereo amplifier pairing modern streaming technologies like Airplay 2 and Google Chromecast with a design that wouldn’t look out of place in a hi-fi rack from the ‘60s or ‘70s. It’s got a set of reassuringly chunky-looking dials and switches as physical controls, an understated display, and its sides are covered with wood veneers. The amplifier, whose release coincides with JBL’s 75th anniversary, will cost $3,000 when it goes on sale beginning this May.Alongside its wireless connectivity, which includes support for UPnP alongside Apple and Google’s protocols, the JBL SA750 has all the wired inputs you’d expect. There are six pairs of analog RCA inputs, a 3.5mm aux in, and two optical and two coaxial digital... Continue reading…

IO Interactive released a trailer that shows off what the VR mode in Hitman 3 actually looks like. In short, it’s probably like what you imagined if you’ve played the recent games — which means it looks like a lot of fun. The hands-on look shows Agent 47 doing a lot of shooting and trap-setting, as well as an array of mundane tasks used to stay disguised during missions. There appear to be a few immersive moments created just for the virtual reality component, like tapping an enemy on the shoulder and quickly getting out of sight to fool them. And just like the base game, there seems to be a load of interactable objects, which should translate well to virtual reality.One thing I’m curious about with this VR mode is its difficulty. H... Continue reading…

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Amazon is offering a good deal on the 44mm-sized Apple Watch SE (GPS). Normally $309, it’s $270 for the model built with space gray aluminum that comes with a black sport band. For now, this puts both the 40mm and larger 44mm Apple Watch SE at the same price. If you’re wondering where the SE sits among all of Apple’s recent smartwatches in terms of specs, it has the same processor as the Apple Watch 5, but it notably lacks its ECG capability and the ability to have an always-on display. No other retailers are currently offering this deal.If you bought a PS5 or received one as a gift over the holidays, you can add Godfall to your lineup of games today for less than it usually costs. The third-person game normally costs a full $70, but... Continue reading…

The Yoga AIO 7 in its rotated configuration | Image: Lenovo Lenovo has a new Yoga computer out, but it’s not a laptop — it’s the new Yoga AIO 7 desktop. But while it may look like a standard all-in-one desktop, like its more portable cousins, the Yoga AIO 7 does have a display trick up its sleeve: the entire screen can rotate around, transforming the 27-inch landscape monitor into a vertical form factor.Of course, the ability to rotate a display isn’t a wholly new idea. Standalone desktop monitors have offered the feature for years, making it easier for users to display content that’s better suited to a taller panel like Twitter feeds, long documents, or TikTok videos. But it’s far rarer to see the concept on an all-in-one computer. Image: Lenovo The Yoga AIO 7 in its... Continue reading…

It’s a regular-ass Chromebook Continue reading…

Lenovo Lenovo has announced a new lineup of IdeaPad laptops for 2021. But American readers should note that only one of them is coming to the US: the 16-inch IdeaPad 5 Pro.Lenovo says that the IdeaPad 5 Pro is one of the most powerful IdeaPad laptops the company has ever made. The device can be configured with up to an H-Series AMD Ryzen mobile processor and “next-gen” Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs. You can also get up to 32GB of DDR4 memory and 1TB of SSD PCIe M.2 storage. Image: Lenovo One thing I’m excited about: the 5 Pro is the first IdeaPad laptop to offer a 16:10 display. Coupled with a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio, that should provide extra space for productivity and multitasking over a 16:9 device. The display also... Continue reading…

There are big infotainment displays. And then there’s Mercedes-Benz’s “Hyperscreen.”The German automaker just unveiled a mammoth, pillar-to-pillar, 56-inch touchscreen that will debut in the upcoming EQS luxury electric sedan. The Hyperscreen is the centerpiece of the automaker’s second generation MBUX infotainment system that eschews physical buttons in favor of a completely digital (and voice-controlled) in-car user experience.To be sure, the Hyperscreen isn’t one screen, but several displays embedded in one solid piece of curved glass that spans the entire dash. Based on early images, there appear to be at least three screens embedded in the display: an instrument cluster behind the steering column, a central infotainment screen,... Continue reading…

Illustrator by Alex Castro / The Verge Wi-Fi is about to get a lot better. Many of this year’s new phones, laptops, TVs, routers, and more will come with support for Wi-Fi 6E, a new upgrade to Wi-Fi that’s essentially like expanding your wireless connection from a two-lane road to an eight-lane highway. It’s the biggest upgrade to Wi-Fi in 20 years, and connections should be faster and a lot more reliable because of it.The Wi-Fi Alliance, the industry-wide group that oversees Wi-Fi, is now starting to certify the first wave of products with support for Wi-Fi 6E. Phones, PCs, and laptops with support should start hitting the market in the first months of 2021, according to the IDC research group, and TVs and VR devices with support are expected to arrive by the middle of the... Continue reading…