The Verge

Image: Valve Half-Life 2 is one of the last things that makes me feel like a fan, and that’s why I was afraid of Half-Life: Alyx.Writing about video games changed my relationship with the medium. I’m used to analyzing exactly why I like my favorite games. Meeting developers has helped me see their work as an idiosyncratic human creation, not a magical self-contained artifact. I’ve encountered the worst of fan culture, and it’s made me wary of deep, unconditional, inarticulable loyalty to media.Gordon and Alyx felt like old friendsFor some reason, though, Half-Life 2 and its follow-up episodes are special. They’re not my favorite games, or even my favorite Half-Life games. Like a robot short-circuiting while trying to articulate the concept of... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram spent much of the past eight years fighting to maintain its independence from Facebook. In 2020, the fight was over.Instagram has rolled out a series of features that are thoroughly Facebookian in nature. They’re largely focused around getting you to use the app for longer (and also tend to feel messy and incomplete). It’s hard not to see this as the moment that Instagram succumbed to Facebook’s worst tendency: a focus on growth at all costs, even if it means making a product that’s less enjoyable to use.The most telling change was one of the less explosiveThe changes are numerous. Facebook Messenger was integrated into Instagram DMs, a beat-for-beat TikTok clone was created and given its own section within the app, the... Continue reading…

Astra’s 3.2 rocket launching from Alaska | Image: Astra / John Kraus Astra, a California-based startup aimed at launching small satellites, successfully launched its rocket to space for the first time yesterday from Alaska, but the vehicle barely missed reaching the right speed to achieve orbit. Still, the company says the test flight was a major success and is preparing to fly its next rocket, this time with a payload on board.“This far exceeded our team’s expectations,” Chris Kemp, Astra’s CEO, said on a press call.“This far exceeded our team’s expectations.”Astra’s rocket, dubbed 3.2, took off from Alaska’s Pacific Spaceport Complex just before 4PM ET on Tuesday. The vehicle successfully climbed to space, performing all of its expected engine burns and separations. The rocket reached its target... Continue reading…

Apple’s over-ear headphones have tremendous build quality and sound, but there’s no denying they’re expensive Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge We’re all now broadcasting from our bedrooms Continue reading…

Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge TikTok on the clock but the party don’t stop Continue reading…

Microsoft is building a new password manager that syncs credentials across its Edge browser, Google Chrome, and mobile iOS or Android devices. A preview version of the password manager is now built into Microsoft Authenticator, a free mobile app that’s used for multi-factor authentication. Like many other password managers, it can autofill passwords in apps or websites on iOS or Android.Passwords are synced from the Microsoft Edge browser, and can be shared across multiple devices using a Microsoft Account. You can also sync these passwords to Google Chrome, using a new Microsoft Autofill extension. This will sync any passwords stored on your Microsoft Account. Microsoft The new autofill feature in Microsoft... Continue reading…

Amazon just launched its new Made for You custom clothing service in the US that requires users to upload their measurements and two photos to create a “virtual body double.” The first product is a $25 Made for You T-shirt available in a variety of colors, fabrics, necklines, and shirt / sleeve lengths.Amazon Made for You requires two head-to-toe photos taken by the Amazon app, showing the front and back of your torso. Then, after entering your height, weight, and body type, Amazon will create your custom avatar. From there you can build custom T-shirts complete with a personalized name tag.The Made for You product page is littered with zealous quotes from fashion influencers. Sai De Silva is especially enthusiastic about sending... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Two unlikely podcasting networks — NPR and Spotify — are teaming up. The companies announced a new distribution deal today that’ll bring select NPR programs, like Planet Money, TED Radio Hour, and Invisibilia to Spotify’s global audience. NPR first brought its shows to Spotify in 2018, but only for US audiences because of various regulations and country-specific licensing structures. Now it’s able to distribute those shows globally, although the details of the new arrangement remain unclear. The companies won’t be sharing revenue or jointly selling ads from this broader distribution deal, but they both have committed to respective marketing pushes.The new agreement speaks to Spotify’s reach around the world and simultaneous role as both... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge While Samsung’s mobile boss TM Roh has telegraphed plans to bring stylus support to more phones across its lineup, there may still be a new Galaxy Note in 2021. An anonymous Samsung official tells Yonhap that the company is “preparing to release the Galaxy Note series next year” and that “Roh’s message does not mean that the Galaxy Note series will be discontinued.”Samsung declined to comment on the specifics of Yonhap’s report when contacted by The Verge, but provided the following statement:

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook will send notifications directly to users who like, share, or comment on COVID-19 posts that violate the company’s terms of service, according to a report from Fast Company.This new feature works like this: if a user interacts with a post that’s later removed, Facebook sends a notification to the user telling them that the post was taken down. If the user clicks the notification, they’ll be taken to a landing page with a screenshot of the post and a short explanation for why it was removed. The landing page will also feature links to COVID-19 educational resources and actions, like unfollowing the group that posted it. Image: Facebook, Fast Company Facebook’s updated anti-misinformation notifications. ... Continue reading…

Facebook is moving its UK users out from under the strict privacy protections of the European Union, according to a report from Reuters. Users of the social media site, and of Instagram and WhatsApp, will have to sign a terms of service agreement in the coming months with Facebook’s headquarters in California, instead of its European branch based in the Republic of Ireland. Moving the user agreements to the US means that UK users will no longer be covered by data policies crafted to adhere to the EU’s stringent privacy regime.This change is similar to the one Google made earlier this year. It’s meant to avoid a situation where UK citizens are no longer citizens of the European Union, but have agreements based in an EU country, where... Continue reading…

Image: Amazon Amazon’s cloud gaming service, Luna, is now available on Android, Amazon announced on Tuesday. Like the iOS version of Luna, there’s no separate Luna app to download — instead, you’ll access the service through the Chrome web browser.Amazon launched Luna in early access in October, where it was initially available on PC, Mac, Fire TV, and on iPhone and iPad via web apps. The service works on a channels-based model, where you pay a monthly fee for each channel of games you want access to.Right now, there are two channels available. Amazon’s $5.99-per-month Luna Plus channel has games from many different publishers, and Ubisoft’s $14.99-per-month Ubisoft Plus channel offers Ubisoft games. (Paying that $14.99-per-month fee for the Ubisoft... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google says that a “significant subset” of Gmail users ran into errors with the service Tuesday afternoon.While users could access their inboxes, they may have encountered “error messages, high latency, and/or other unexpected behavior,” the company wrote in a message on its service status page. Google said the issues with Gmail were resolved at 6:51PM ET.The errors came just a day after many Google properties, including Gmail, YouTube, and Google Docs, were hit with a widespread outage.Downdetector, which monitors reports of website issues, showed a spike of problems impacting Gmail starting around 3PM ET. Users reported being unable to access their inboxes, while others have said they were receiving bounceback messages when trying... Continue reading…

Sunrise Movement organizer Sarah Duckett leads a chant with about 100 other activists as they assemble in front of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s office at the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Dec. 6, 2019. Students and activists stormed the State House Friday morning to demand action to reduce carbon emissions. | Photo by Erin Clark for The Boston Globe via Getty Images Activists working for the influential youth-led environmental group, Sunrise Movement, have voted to form a union, they announced today. Some 96 percent of Sunrise workers voted for the union.The group, which has pushed for a Green New Deal, will form a union with Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1180 in New York, CWA represents other big-name advocacy groups such as Amnesty International.“Sunrise Movement unequivocally supports, and fights for, the right of any and all workers to unionize.”“When we talk about creating millions of good jobs through a Green New Deal, we mean jobs where people get paid well, with the protections they deserve and that the labor movement fought for,” Sunrise Movement Executive Director... Continue reading…

Elon Musk’s tunneling venture, The Boring Company, is planning a massive citywide expansion of the currently modest underground transportation system it’s building in Las Vegas. The startup now wants to build a 10-mile sub-surface “loop” that serves the famous Las Vegas Strip of casino hotels and reaches the city’s downtown area as well as McCarran International Airport, all with Tesla vehicles. The Boring Company also wants to build an additional loop that connects properties owned by Caesars Entertainment.The proposed new tunnels would make it possible to go from the Las Vegas Convention Center to Mandalay Bay in just three minutes, as opposed to 30 minutes by surface roads during peak traffic hours, the company claims.The plans, f... Continue reading…

Hark! The blobs sing!Or at least, they do in Google’s latest machine learning experiment, the awe-inspiring Blob Opera, which will see a chorus of four adorable, colorful blobs serenade you with spine-tingling operatic music. Drag a blob up or down, and you’ll change what pitch they sing in; drag them from side to side, and you’ll change the vowel sound. Each blob will also harmonize with the others, in what can only be described as magical.The Blob Opera just sounds beautiful, with soaring harmonies ringing out from each blob. Four actual opera singers — Christian Joel (tenor), Frederick Tong (bass), Joanna Gamble (mezzo‑soprano), and Olivia Doutney (soprano) — recorded 16 hours of singing (Ingunn Gyda Hrafnkelsdottir and John... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Microsoft announced in a blog today that its dual screen phone, the Surface Duo, will be getting an “enhanced” TikTok app that takes advantage of its design. The company also announced the Duo will be available outside the US in early 2021.When The Verge reviewed the Surface Duo, we liked the hardware of the device, but had concerns with its modified Android software. The Duo was buggy at release and didn’t feature many non-Microsoft apps that took advantage of the dual screen setup. The Surface Duo can run normal Android phone apps on either screen, but using the split-screen features Microsoft designed requires specific tailoring.The group of apps that use Microsoft’s “postures” and multitasking features remains small, but TikTok is... Continue reading…

Photo: Oculus Oculus is resuming shipments of its Quest 2 Elite Strap accessory and extending the warranty after reports of defective straps. As UploadVR reported earlier, the Facebook-owned virtual reality company paused Elite Strap shipments in November, saying a small number of users had reported them snapping after use. Now, it tells Android Central that it’s pinpointed the issue as a “processing inconsistency with some early units,” and the product is going back on sale.Oculus maintains that the Elite Strap problems affect a “very small percentage” of customers. But it’s increasing the standard one-year warranty to a two-year period, during which Oculus will replace broken straps free of charge.The $49 Elite Strap (and a $129 version with an... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge With yesterday’s release of iOS 14.3, Siri got a new trick: the ability to play real-world sound samples on command. Ask “Hey Siri, what does _____ sound like?” and it will start playing the sound for you. If you ask on an iPhone or iPad, it will show you a picture as well. Google Assistant has been able to do this for a few years now, but now it’s available for the iPhone, iPad, and HomePod.Apple hasn’t announced how many sounds it’s added, but it’s been able to handle most of the animals I asked about (except for some obscure ones that I’m not sure have a real distinctive noise, like an anteater). At the moment, it seems like the sounds are limited to animals, vehicles, and musical instruments. I tried asking for some nature-y sounds,... Continue reading…

The majority of the doses of COVID-19 antibody drugs sent to states have not been used, Moncef Slaoui, head of Operation Warp Speed, the US government’s coronavirus vaccine effort, told CNBC. Around 65,000 doses of the drugs, which can help protect people at high risk of severe COVID-19 from developing serious cases of the disease, go out each week. Only 5 to 20 percent end up going to patients.It’s disappointing, Slaoui told CNBC, because the drugs could help keep COVID-19 patients out of the hospital.Doses are going unused because administering them is complicated. Ongoing surges in COVID-19 cases across the country mean states don’t have the resources to sort through those logistics. The Utah Department of Health told The Verge in... Continue reading…

Photo by Michele Doying / The Verge Facebook on Tuesday said it would make an exception to its political ad ban to let campaigns and other political organizations run advertising for the upcoming Georgia runoff elections.The Senate races, which will determine which US political party controls that chamber of Congress under President-elect Joe Biden, take place on January 5th. Facebook says advertisers authorized to run ads on social issues, elections, or politics will be allowed to run those ads starting tomorrow, December 16th at 12PM ET.Facebook initially faced pushback over the political ad ban and its implications for races as vital as the Georgia runoffs. Democratic campaign officials criticized the platform for hampering its efforts to fight misinformation about... Continue reading…

Twitter has announced that it’ll be shutting down Periscope as a service, with the company set to discontinue the Periscope applications by March 2021. Twitter will, however, continue to offer live video streaming through its integrated Twitter Live feature within the main Twitter app.“The Periscope app is in an unsustainable maintenance-mode state, and has been for a while,” the company explained in a blog post. “Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen declining usage and know that the cost to support the app will only continue to go up over time.”While Periscope won’t be fully shut down until March, the company is already blocking any new account signups starting in the latest update to the apps, which is rolling out today. Users... Continue reading…

The new Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) update is out, and as per usual it includes a bunch of changes and fixes that will make your streaming life just a little bit better. The biggest change in this version of OBS is support for the feature that Twitch debuted in Twitch Soundtrack — the ability to play music in a second track while you’re streaming to Twitch, so that it can be stripped out of your recorded broadcast, or VOD (video on demand).

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge If you missed the restock of the PS5 and Xbox Series X / S at Best Buy, you have another chance at Walmart. The retailer announced that at 3PM ET on December 15th, it will have both next-gen consoles available for purchase exclusively through its website.Visiting the retailer page for either the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X / S will display a message that reads, “Available online only, Dec 15 at 3:00 PM ET. While supplies last,” as seen in screenshots below.A Walmart spokesperson told The Verge that anyone successful in purchasing either a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X / S will have to wait until the end of the month to get their new console(s) as the items will be available for delivery only and will arrive “after December 25th.”... Continue reading…

Image: Epic Games Fortnite will now be able to run at 120 frames per second on the PS5 and Xbox Series X / S. The game already received next-gen features like 4K at 60fps and dynamic visuals when the new consoles launched, but now Epic is updating the free battle royale game to take even more advantage of the hardware.“120FPS Mode” can be enabled in Fortnite’s video settings, but like other performance modes in console games, it does come with some caveats. Turning on 120fps will cap the resolution of the PS5 and Xbox Series X at 1440p rather than the usual 4K, while also reducing some graphical settings like shadows, post-processing, and streaming distances.On the slightly less powerful Series S, enabling 120fps caps resolution at 1080p and reduces... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge If you’ve been using Microsoft Office on an M1 Mac, it’s about to get better — Microsoft is announcing an update today that brings native support for Apple’s new custom chip architecture to the Windows productivity suite. The apps getting the updates are Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Notably absent, however, is Teams.The updates are making the apps universal ones — meaning these versions will run on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, so any upcoming updates or features will be coming at the same time for both platforms.If you’re a heavy user of Teams, you may be disappointed to hear that it hasn’t been included in today’s rollout of updates. Microsoft promises they’re working on that platform in their blog post, but... Continue reading…

How do you want to be remembered after you die? A new documentary from Wall Street Journal tech reporter (and Verge alum) Joanna Stern examines the idea of what it means to pass on a digital legacy, and how we think about preserving our identities after death.She interviews Lucy, a young woman with a medical condition who is bound to a wheelchair and needs a feeding tube. Lucy is acutely aware of creating a digital footprint that will outlive her, but her mother Kate is not so certain about what may comfort her if Lucy passes on.Stern also spoke to James Vlahos, a man who recorded interviews with his terminally ill father and created a “Dadbot” to keep his father’s personality traits — as well as his jokes and his singing — alive... Continue reading…

At its latest indie showcase, Nintendo revealed a handful of intriguing titles coming to the Switch in 2021. The biggest reveal is that Among Us, one of 2020’s biggest games, isn’t just coming to the Switch, but it’ll be available later today.There were plenty of other cool announcements as well. One of the most notable reveals was that classic rouguelike series Spelunky is coming to the Switch next year. That includes both the original Spelunky as well as Spelunky 2, with local multiplayer for both (and online for the sequel) in summer 2021.Other reveals include:

Among Us, Innersloth’s breakout hit of 2020, is coming to the Nintendo Switch today. The news was announced during a special indie game-focused Nintendo Direct. The game will feature crossplay.Among Us is an online social deduction game, one in which players have to work together to complete tasks around the ship and figure out who the crew’s imposters are. Imposters, meanwhile, attempt to quietly kill as many other players as they can. Although the game first launched in 2018, it’s become a sensation, thanks to a newfound popularity on Twitch, played by streamers and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Among Us has become so popular, in fact, that Innersloth canceled the game’s sequel to focus on improving the original.The game picked up... Continue reading…

PC gamers subscribed to Xbox Game Pass for PC or the pricier Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier will need to wait just a little while longer until they have access to EA Play on Windows machines. Today, Microsoft announced that EA Play would arrive on PC as part of Xbox Game Pass sometime in 2021. Originally, the partnership was supposed to go into effect today.“We established this partnership with Electronic Arts because they are as passionate as we are about helping people and communities discover great games, and we knew we could provide a great experience for members by working together. In order to deliver on that, we need more time to provide the Xbox Game Pass experience,” reads a Microsoft blog post published Tuesday.EA Play is an... Continue reading…

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Google Photos will soon be able to take your 2D images and make them appear as if they’re 3D, the company announced in a blog post on Tuesday. Google is calling these types of images “Cinematic photos,” and they’re a new type of image the app can show as part of its Memories feature.Here’s a GIF from Google comparing a 2D image to a Cinematic photo. I think the feature looks pretty impressive: To make Cinematic photos, “we use machine learning to predict an image’s depth and produce a 3D representation of the scene—even if the original image doesn’t include depth information from the camera,” Jamie Aspinall, a Google Photos product manager, writes in Tuesday’s blog. “Then we animate a virtual camera for a smooth panning... Continue reading…

Accessory company Nomad is expanding its case lineup once again with its first MacBook Pro sleeves, available today. The cases might be the nicest that Nomad has made so far, but with a starting price of $229.95 (for the 13-inch model) and $249.95 (for 16-inch MacBook Pros), they’re also the most expensive.The MacBook Pro cases are made out of the same brown Horween leather that Nomad uses for most of its products. But instead of the plastic shell the company uses on its iPhone cases (which I’m less of a fan of), the new cases are just solid expanses of leather on the outside, backed by EVA foam to keep your computer safe, with a final layer of microfiber cloth for the interior. The USB-C charging cutout on the side... Continue reading…

Google Meet is adding live captions on the web in four languages to make meetings more inclusive, the company announced today. Live captions in Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese will be available across all versions of Meet starting today. Meet rolled out real-time captions in English last year.“We know from our work with teachers and parents over the years how essential caption tools can be for students with learning disabilities, as well as English-language learners in both K-12 and higher education,” Google Workspace project manager Philip Nelson wrote in a blog post announcing the update. “By expanding live captions to more languages, we can help more students feel empowered to participate, and help more teachers share a... Continue reading…

Image: CD Projekt Red Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has confirmed it has no special refund agreement with Microsoft or Sony, despite saying dissatisfied players should return their copies of the game in a statement. It means players are covered by both platforms’ standard refund policies, which, in the case of Sony, explicitly prohibits refunds if you’ve already started playing a game “unless the content is faulty.”The confirmation came from the company’s senior vice president of business development, Michał Nowakowski, on an investor call held on Monday evening. “Microsoft and Sony have refund policies for every product that is released digitally on their storefronts,” Nowakowski said. “Despite several articles I’ve seen that things are being set... Continue reading…

Walmart will use fully autonomous box trucks to make deliveries in Arkansas starting in 2021. The big-box retailer has been working with a startup called Gatik on a delivery pilot for 18 months. Next year, the two companies plan on taking their partnership to the next level by removing the safety driver from their autonomous box trucks.Gatik, which is based in Palo Alto and Toronto, outfitted several multitemperature box trucks with sensors and software to enable autonomous driving. Since last year, those trucks have been operating on a two-mile route between a “dark store” (a store that stocks items for fulfillment but isn’t open to the public) and a nearby Neighborhood Market in Bentonville, Arkansas. Since then, the vehicles have... Continue reading…

A neat product that is not ready Continue reading…

Photo illustration by William Joel / The Verge In February, a cab driver in Northern California was transporting a 92-year-old woman to the bank when she told him she was taking out $25,000 to send to the IRS. The driver, Raj Singh, thought this sounded suspicious. Perhaps it was an IRS scam? The woman didn’t believe him, but she agreed to stop by the police station just in case. There, a law enforcement officer convinced her Singh was right — scammers were trying to steal her money. The woman went home, Singh got a $50 gift card for his troubles, and that was the last time anything good happened in 2020.In the ensuing months, we’ve been through a pandemic, an economic crisis, senseless police shootings, nationwide protests, a tsunami of misinformation, and an extremely fraught... Continue reading…

Disney has announced that yet another new Marvel series is coming to Disney Plus: Marvel Studios: Legends. The new ongoing series will “showcase individual characters viewers have come to know and love over the years and revisit some of their most iconic moments.” In other words, it seems like Marvel Studios is making its own clip show to recap the franchise before its major new releases.Legends will kick off with two episodes focusing on the characters of Wanda Maximoff and Vision, respectively, to help refresh viewers’ memories of the two heroes’ history in the previous Marvel films. The episodes will unsurprisingly debut on Disney Plus on January 8th, 2021 — just a week before the first episode of WandaVision is due to be released... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge SolarWinds has removed a list of high-profile clients from its website in the wake of a massive breach. The list was hosted on “Customers” page of the company’s website and is easily accessible through its Google cache. But the page has been deleted from the site itself, suggesting the company may be trying to obscure its clients in an effort to protect them from bad publicity. Google’s cache shows that the page was still live as of Monday morning (roughly 11AM ET). SolarWinds did not respond to a request for clarification.SolarWinds is still reeling from an extensive Russia-linked hack reported on Sunday, which affected a range of government agencies and private corporations. The hack was reportedly executed by compromising SolarWinds’... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge With two and a half weeks until 2020 concludes, time is running out to get your items shipped before the holiday season ends. So if you are looking to have some gifts shipped to your home before the end of the month, it’s best to get that squared away within the next few days. Today’s best deals include a historically low price on Sony’s excellent WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds and $30 in savings on the Razer Kishi and the Apple Watch SE.Sony’s WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds are down to their lowest price yet You can grab a pair of Sony’s WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds for $72 off at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo. My colleague Chris Welch said Sony’s latest wireless earbuds are the best rivals to Apple’s AirPod Pro.Grab a pair of Bose’s... Continue reading…

Photo by Mark Cuthbert / UK Press via Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan, are the next big names to commit themselves to Spotify’s podcast empire. The two, along with Spotify, announced the podcasting deal today, along with the news that they’ve launched their own audio production company called Archewell Audio. Harry and Meghan will host their own podcasts and produce other shows, which haven’t been detailed. Their shows will launch next year, although a holiday special featuring the couple and other guests will be available this month. Harry’s podcast might focus on veteran issues while Meghan’s looks more at gender equality.This move closely mirrors another famous political couple: the Obamas. They launched their own production company, Higher Ground, and... Continue reading…

I’m not sure if anyone was really asking for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. I know I wasn’t. The series’s reputation had never been lower after Activision ran it into the ground, first through over-exposure and finally with the disastrous comeback attempt that was THPS 5. In fact, almost the exact same idea had been tried not so long ago with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, which blended levels from 1 and 2 into a clunky, unsatisfying whole.Turns out, it isn’t a bad idea if you nail it. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is an incredible remake that does virtually everything right and more. It might sound odd to call it the best game of 2020, but nothing else this year made me happier. It was certainly the best surprise. THPS 1 + 2... Continue reading…

In early April, I watched a clip of people crying, hollering, and clapping during a scene in Avengers: Endgame. It was the first time I remember missing physically sitting in a movie theater. I thought by May, when Black Widow was scheduled to be released, life would return to normal. I’d be back in a theater on Thursday night with friends, sitting among a packed room full of strangers chatting excitedly about the beginning of a new Marvel Cinematic Universe phase.That never happened.Instead, 2020 has become the first year since 2009 without a major addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s no big introduction of a new superhero, no highly anticipated sequel — there’s not even an entry in Marvel Studios’ MCU TV universe. W... Continue reading…

Image: Android Police Samsung’s president of mobile, TM Roh, dropped several hints about the company’s product roadmap in a blog post today. He confirmed Samsung will hold an event in January — presumably for the Galaxy S21. He also implied that S Pen support will come to more phones and that Samsung intends to broaden its line of folding phones with less expensive options.The hint that’s likely to have the biggest impact on the greatest number of customers is stylus support for Galaxy phones beyond the Note line. That’s been rumored for some time now, but Roh also claims that Samsung intends to “add some of its most well-loved features to other devices in our lineup.”It may mean that the other half of those rumors will also come to pass: that the Note... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) has fined Twitter €450,000 (around $546,000) over a data breach it disclosed back in January 2019, the regulator announced today. The security flaw exposed some supposedly private tweets from the service’s Android users for over four years. Twitter was found to have violated the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) because it failed to notify the regulator within 72 hours of discovering the breach, The Wall Street Journal reports.The fine is notable because it’s the first time a US tech giant has been hit with a GDPR fine in a cross-border case, meaning one in which the Irish regulator consulted its EU counterparts as part of the decision. The investigation was headed by Ireland’s DPC... Continue reading…

Cadillac’s CMO on how tech is reshaping advertising Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The endless march through an endless March Continue reading…

Animal Crossing: New Horizons. | Image; Nintendo This year, video games provided escapism for a lot of people. But for many, myself included, the games I remember most fondly in 2020 were the ones that became social spaces. The pandemic didn’t make me want to escape; it made me miss my friends and family.Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out amid the shutdowns, and it quickly became my virtual island paradise, even when I wasn’t playing. I couldn’t log in to Facebook or Twitter without seeing almost everyone on my feeds talking about Animal Crossing. People were sharing memes, asking for Dodo codes to visit their friends’ islands, and begging for specific fruit that they wanted to grow.Some turned to Nookazon, a third-party trading platform, to buy outfits they had a hard time... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge TikTok has unveiled a newly updated set of community guidelines and tools, which include new warning screens on graphic videos, a new text-to-voice accessibility feature, and updated health resources. The update brings new vaccine information which will be added to TikTok’s coronavirus resource hub as well as resources to be shown if people search for certain terms, like those related to self-harm.According to TikTok, the graphic content warning screens are meant to prevent the accidental viewing of content that some might find disturbing. The screen gives two options, letting users either view the clip or skip it entirely. More extreme content is removed from the service entirely, but the new warning labels cover clips that might be... Continue reading…