The Verge

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge GoPro’s new flagship action camera — the Hero 9 Black — has arrived, bringing with it one of the most significant updates in years to the product lineup. In addition to a new design that features a front-facing color display, the Hero 9 Black improves on nearly every aspect of the device, with better resolution for stills and video, a larger battery, better video stabilization, and more. The downside: those changes also bring a bigger $449.99 price tag, $50 more than 2019’s Hero 8 Black.The new Hero 9 Black improves on nearly every aspect of the deviceGoPro has improved the overall resolution at which the Hero 9 Black can shoot, with up to 20-megapixel stills (up from 12 megapixels) and the option to shoot in 5K video for the first... Continue reading…

Sony is hosting another virtual showcase for its upcoming PlayStation 5 console. It’s airing later today, and we expect to hear the last precious drips of info: a release date and prices for both configurations of the PS5 (the discless version and the model that has the Blu-ray drive). It could have been that Sony planned September 16th as its big news day all along, but it seems to be in response to Microsoft, which basically divulged every last detail about its Xbox Series S / X consoles, including their price, release date, and specs, last week following a leak.Can Sony beat Microsoft’s $299 price point for the Xbox Series S, or match the Xbox Series X at $499? We’re probably going to find out.Additionally, Sony says that the... Continue reading…

If only I was as cool as this camera Continue reading…

The new Apple Watch Series 6 includes a sensor that allows the watch to measure blood oxygen levels. The device is a long-awaited addition to Apple’s suite of health tools, but it tracks oxygen levels at the wrist, which can be less accurate than measurements typically gathered at the fingertip.Most oxygen sensors, including Apple’s, measure the amount of oxygen in your blood using light. These devices are called pulse oximeters, and they typically clip on to your fingertip. A standard version sends both red and infrared light through the finger, where there’s lots of blood close to the surface. A protein in the blood absorbs more infrared light when it has oxygen and more red light when it’s doesn’t. A sensor on the other side of the... Continue reading…

At their core, 3D Super Mario games are all about the same thing: collecting shiny things. It could be stars, or moons, or whatever “shines” are. Sure, there’s lots of jumping and boss battles and navigating tricky puzzle-like spaces. But it’s all in service of gathering up lots of glittery objects, which in turn open up new areas to explore. What makes the series work so well are the creative ways Nintendo plays around with this premise. And that’s on full display in the new collection Super Mario 3D All-Stars on the Nintendo Switch.3D All-Stars is a sort of modern take on the original Super Mario All-Stars, which gathered the NES trilogy of Super Mario games together for the then-new SNES. In this case, the focus — obviously — is on... Continue reading…

4K for less than $1K Continue reading…

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge I didn’t think my current socially distant life was fun enough for an Instax camera when I received Fujifilm’s new Instax Square SQ1 a few weeks ago. There were no friends laughing on my couch or tables full of hard seltzer and chips. I was alone, with no Instagram-worthy moments that a Polaroid frame would make cute. Yet, as I began taking photos of my office-apartment-studio-hybrid space, one thing became clear: a simple camera that wraps images in an iconic frame can make even the mundane look Instagram-worthy. The Instax Square SQ1 comes in “terracotta orange,” “glacier blue,” and “chalk white.” The Instax Square SQ1 is a large, plastic, square box that captures and prints images onto Fujifilm’s square film. It... Continue reading…

Photo Illustration by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images Drones have been a problem for prisons for years now, where they’re often used to smuggle contraband behind bars. But could they also get inmates out of prison by airlifting them over the walls? That’s one worry expressed by federal prison officers in a new report on the topic from the Department of Justice (DOJ).The report is essentially an overview of how federal prisons track and mitigate the threat posed by drones. Much of it is given over to complaints about the bureaucracy involved in reporting drone incidents, and the difficulty in identifying and implementing effective drone countermeasures. The overall finding is that drones are only going to become a greater problem for prisons in future, and that the government isn’t doing... Continue reading…

Oculus The seventh annual Facebook Connect virtual and augmented reality conference, formerly known as Oculus Connect, is being streamed online today. Facebook is expected to announce a new Oculus Quest VR headset, which has been widely leaked over the past few months. But we could also see a slate of new virtual reality games, extra Spark AR features, updates on Facebook’s Horizon virtual world, and hints at the company’s long-term AR headset plans.And like many events during the pandemic, Connect 7 is being held fully online.Facebook Connect event start timeFacebook Connect 7 starts with a keynote at 10AM PT / 1PM ET, then continues with panels and developer sessions. It concludes at 7PM PT/ 10PM ET with an “afterparty” concert from Jaden... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge General Motors revealed new details about its Ultium battery platform for its upcoming lineup of electric vehicles. The automaker said the battery will power “a family of five interchangeable drive units and three motors” collectively known as “Ultium Drive,” which will aid GM in its transition to an “all-electric future.”“GM has built transmissions for many notable automakers,” said Ken Morris, GM vice president, Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Programs, in a statement. “Making motors, transmissions, driveline components and systems are among GM’s best-known competencies, and our manufacturing expertise is proving not only transferable but advantageous as we make the transition to EVs.” GM Ultium Drive The... Continue reading…

Apple Even though Apple didn’t announce new iPhones yesterday, the event was a jam-packed hour. Apple announced four new hardware products, a major new service, and a new bundle. By any objective standard, that’s a big day. As I’ll note below, the most important products might not be the hardware, but Fitness Plus and the ability to make an Apple Watch a kid tracker.Besides those announcements, the main thing that struck me is that Apple seems to be making a subtle but important shift in its product strategy this year. You may have heard of the “Good, Better, Best” pricing strategy — it’s been applied to Apple a bunch. I think what Apple is doing this year is making the “better” option ...better — and also a little more expensive. It’s the... Continue reading…

I. A dilemmaOn Sunday night, after being encouraged to by friends and family, I hit play on a new documentary about our digital lives. Directed by Jeff Orlowski, The Social Dilemma explores the effect of smartphones and social networks on human behavior. Blending talking-head interviews with some well known Silicon Valley apostates and fictional, after-school special-style dramatizations of what happens when Johnny and Janey scroll through feeds all day, the film presents itself as an urgent warning about our modern condition.I’m more than a little sympathetic to these concerns. I started writing this newsletter in 2017 after coming to the belated realization that social networks really did have an outsized impact on modern life, and... Continue reading…

VanMoof co-founder Ties Carlier on an S3 electric bike. | Image: VanMoof Brothers Ties and Taco Carlier have raised $53.5 million in funding since May Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple has responded to Epic’s demands that the iPhone-maker restore Fortnite to the App Store in new legal filings, arguing that the company’s injuries are “entirely self-inflicted” and that Fortnite can return to iOS at any time — just as soon as Epic removes the custom in-app payment system that triggered the game’s removal in the first place.“Epic started a fire, and poured gasoline on it, and now asks this Court for emergency assistance in putting it out,” writes Apple in the 37-page opposition brief. “[E]ven though Epic can do so itself in an instant by simply adhering to the contractual terms that have profitably governed its relationship with Apple for years.”“Epic could have avoided any further harm [...] with a simple... Continue reading…

Image: ABC 15 The backup safety driver who was behind the wheel when one of Uber’s self-driving cars struck and killed a pedestrian in 2018 has been charged with negligent homicide, the New York Times reports. Rafaela Vasquez, who investigators say was watching an episode of The Voice at the time of the crash, has pleaded not guilty.The crash, which happened on March 18th, 2018 and resulted in the death of Elaine Herzberg, is believed to be the first fatal collision involving a self-driving car. Investigators have said the car saw Herzberg, but did not automatically stop, and that Vasquez did not brake until it was too late. The case has raised important questions about how to safely test the new technology, and who should be held responsible when... Continue reading…

Nintendo has announced the next round of games to be added to the ever-growing Nintendo Switch Online retro library. The headliner is Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, the 1995 sequel to the original Donkey Kong Country that was added to Nintendo Switch Online back in July.I will be straight with you and admit that I am not a Donkey Kong Country fan. But I am a Picross fan, so I’m excited for the next addition: Mario’s Super Picross, a 1995 SNES game that has never been released in the US. (It did see release on the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console in PAL regions, though.)If you’re not a Picross player already, Nintendo has posted a tutorial for Mario’s Super Picross here:The other additions this month are Jaleco’s 1993 SNES... Continue reading…

Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images President Donald Trump has nominated longtime telecom lawyer Nathan Simington to be the Federal Communications Commission’s next commissioner, as reported by Law360.Last week, The Verge first reported that Simington had emerged as a leading candidate to replace current Republican Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. Simington, a senior adviser at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), played a significant role in drafting a petition required under the Trump administration’s social media executive order issued over the summer. The order instructs the FCC, after receiving NTIA’s petition, to reinterpret Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.The order was issued in May after Twitter fact-checked two of... Continue reading…

Apple made an American Sign Language translation of its “Time Flies” event available on its website on Tuesday (via AppleInsider). There are two screens in the ASL-translated event replay — the left one shows the event video, while the one on the right shows someone translating what’s being said in ASL.Apple is already well-known for its accessibility features in its products. iOS 14, the company’s next major iPhone update, gives users some significant improvements. It can alert you when your iPhone picks up certain sounds such as a dog’s bark, for example. Another new feature lets you double- or triple-tap the back of your phone to perform a custom task. And if you’re using sign language while on a group FaceTime call, iOS 14 can... Continue reading…

Image: Airbnb The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s first episode aired 30 years ago this month, and to celebrate the milestone, Airbnb is allowing people to spend the night in the same mansion used in the popular 90s sitcom — but only if you are a resident in Los Angeles County.Starting September 29th, residents will have the chance to spend $30 to spend one night in the freshest mansion in Los Angeles County with one additional person. Residents can select from one of five available dates: October 2nd, October 5th, October 8th, October 11th, and October 14th.In case you didn’t know already, I was born in the mid-90s, so even though I was very young when the show originally aired, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was syndicated on a ton of TV channels. There... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge AT&T is mulling offering wireless phone plans that would be subsidized in part by ads, CEO John Stankey said in an interview with Reuters.“I believe there’s a segment of our customer base where given a choice, they would take some load of advertising for a $5 or $10 reduction in their mobile bill,” Stankey said. The new plans could be offered beginning in “a year or two,” according to Stankey.Is this what healthy wireless industry competition looks like?AT&T has experimented with at least one form of brand-subsidized phone plan in the past, though it didn’t exactly pass along the savings to you. The “Sponsored Data” program, which was announced back in 2014, let brands pay AT&T so they could deliver their content without counting... Continue reading…

Artist: Alex Castro One way to avoid having your repetitive pro-Trump posts tagged as belonging to a bot is to hire teenagers in Arizona to behave like bots — and that’s exactly what The Washington Post reports conservative group Turning Point Action did.These kids posted messages such as “Don’t trust Dr. Fauci” to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, the Post reported. They echoed President Donald Trump’s disdain for mail-in ballots, and posted erroneous claims about voter fraud, using the repetitive posting behavior that is most common in bots or trolls.“In this election, the troll farm is in Phoenix.”The campaign occurred over the course of months, and the Post identified at least 4,500 tweets that came from the Turning Point Action effort. “In 2016,... Continue reading…

xCloud? Not so much Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple, the world’s most valuable company, is currently under assault by Fortnite developer Epic Games in an incredible legal and cultural fight, but Epic was hardly the first to accuse Apple of abusing monopolistic power.Today, Spotify — the music service whose complaints helped launch two official EU antitrust investigations into Apple’s App Store and Apple Pay practices — has taken offense at Apple’s announcement of an all-in-one subscription bundle that includes its rival Apple Music.Here’s Spotify’s statement:

Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images A viral phishing scheme is targeting people across the country with scammy text messages claiming to be from the United States Postal Service (USPS). Now, QAnon conspiracy theorists have jumped into the fray, falsely claiming the scheme is tied to human trafficking, as reported by Insider.There’s no evidence to suggest this is true. The rumor has spread on Facebook and Instagram, echoing the Wayfair conspiracy theory that went viral earlier this summer. Unlike the Wayfair conspiracy, however, the USPS myth is obfuscating a real phishing threat.The scam involves text messages that claim to have information about a USPS delivery. To find out more, people have to click a link. On Twitter, security researcher Eric Ellason said the link... Continue reading…

Apple’s new Solo Loop. | Image: Apple Apple launched new Apple Watch bands today that have no buckles or clasps, called the Solo Loop and the Braided Solo Loop. They look nice, but because you won’t be able to adjust the length of the band, you’ll have to measure your wrist in some way when you’re buying one to make sure you’re picking the right size. And that problem becomes trickier due to the fact that there are 12 total Loop sizes to pick from.Apple has a few solutions to help you pick a good fit, however. The company has a printable measuring cutout on its website that you can use to figure out which Loop band you should buy. Alternatively, if you’re able to measure your wrist in some other way (perhaps with measuring tape, for example), you can plug in your... Continue reading…

When does a model own her own image? Continue reading…

Image: Apple During today’s “Time Flies” event, Apple explained why it has decided to stop including a power adapter in the box with the latest Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, portraying the move as a big step toward meeting the company’s environmental goals. But it turns out this change doesn’t apply to every new Apple Watch; the most expensive models will still come with a 5-watt charger.Both the titanium Apple Watch Edition and high-fashion Apple Watch Hermès will include a power adapter in the box, according to Apple’s website. (Credit to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman for spotting this.)Apple sells far fewer Edition and Hermès Watches than it does the more mainstream models, so it follows that the reduced volume makes for less waste. But... Continue reading…

We already knew Rocket League was going free-to-play this summer, and today, the game’s developer, Psyonix, announced that the vehicular soccer game will go free-to-play on September 23rd.The transition to free-to-play also marks the debut of the game arriving on the Epic Games Store, a digital storefront owned by Psyonix’s parent company, Epic Games, which acquired the studio last year. After September 23rd, the game will be delisted from Steam; however, the studio explains that, regardless of which PC version you own, both versions will still receive “full support for future updates and features,” such as cross-platform play. But you can’t get it on Steam for free.‘Rocket League’ will no longer require PS4 and Switch players to have... Continue reading…

Image: Apple Apple favors simplicity, and nowhere is that more apparent — other than product design — than in the company’s product lineups. But the newly announced iPad Air, which now features a screen identical to that of the pricier Pro with the added benefit of being the only device so far to carry the new A14 Bionic processor, is further complicating what was once the company’s most elegant product lineup.The iPad lineup used to be simple: you wanted the big one or the little one, and then you had to choose how much storage and maybe pick a color. But starting with the introduction of the Smart Keyboard and the ill-fated 9.7-inch iPad Pro in 2016, the iPad lineup began to bloat.Apple’s iPad Pro is in a weird spot, thanks to the new powerful... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Today, Twitch announced a set of emote modifiers in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month — and then it ended up pulling them before the day’s end because they were incredibly insensitive.

Nanoracks’ Bishop airlock undergoing testing | Image: Nanoracks Later this year, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will take off from central Florida, carrying a large metal cup destined to be attached to the outside of the International Space Station. The hardware is a first-of-its-kind commercial airlock, designed to get payloads and other materials from inside the pressurized space station out into the vacuum of space.The airlock is the product of aerospace company Nanoracks, which helps private customers get access to space. Up until now, the company has created smaller space-bound hardware, such as standardized research boxes that customers can use to conduct experiments in the microgravity environment of the space station. It’s also developed its own satellite deployers that are used to shoot tiny... Continue reading…

Two hackers, one an Iranian teenager, have been indicted for allegedly vandalizing at least 51 websites with pro-Iran sentiments. The unsophisticated attacks were, essentially, a hacktivist response to the killing of Qassem Soleimani — one of Iran’s most important military operatives — by US forces in January.The people named in the indictment, made by a federal grand jury, are Behzad Mohammadzadeh, who is “believed to be approximately 19,” according to the indictment, and Marwan Abusrour, whose age is not given in the documents. The two are charged with conspiracy to commit intentional damage to a protected computer and two counts of committing intentional damage to a protected computer.Defacing small websites — as the two men are... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Oracle plans take an ownership stake in a newly formed TikTok corporation as part of the recently announced deal, the Financial Times reports. The new arrangement will not cleave off TikTok regionally, but it will create a separate corporate entity for the app, in which Oracle will take a minority stake. Oracle will also ensure that data from American users is stored and processed in the United States, per the recommendations of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).TikTok was already headquartered in California, with nominal independence from ByteDance’s China operation. The main change made by the deal is Oracle’s minority stake in the company, the size of which is still unclear. But while Oracle’s stake... Continue reading…

Kim Kardashian West — one of Instagram’s most popular users — won’t post to her account for 24 hours to protest Facebook. The reality TV star and mogul tweeted her plans to freeze both her Instagram and Facebook accounts tomorrow because she can’t “sit by and stay silent while these platforms continue to allow the spreading of hate, propaganda and misinformation.” She’s joining a planned week of action organized by Stop Hate For Profit, a coalition dedicated to holding social media companies “accountable for hate on their platforms.” Other celebrities, including Kate Hudson and Sacha Baron Cohen, will also participate.“Misinformation shared on social media has a serious impact on our elections and undermines our democracy,” Kardashian... Continue reading…

Photo by Sebastian Kahnert / picture alliance via Getty Images Just under 2 percent of people who donated blood to the American Red Cross this summer had coronavirus antibodies, showing that very few people in the United States have been exposed to the virus that’s ravaged the country. The organization started offering antibody tests to donors in early June, and it published the results of the program in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week.The Red Cross tested just under 1 million blood donations for antibodies over the course of the summer. When the antibody testing program started, about 1.18 percent of people who donated blood were positive. By the end of August, 2.58 percent of the people donating blood had antibodies.Tracking the number of people with antibodies gives... Continue reading…

Apple Apple has announced two new smartwatches: the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE. Usually, each new Apple Watch slots in at the top of the company’s lineup, making the older ones a little less expensive as a result, but this year’s cadence is different. The new Apple Watch SE looks very similar to the new $399 Series 6, but it lacks a few of its highlight features to reach a lower $279 price.So which one should you buy, and how do these smartwatches compare to each other? Should you spring for the Series 6 over the SE? What about the Series 5 that came out last year? And are you really missing out on much if you just get the cheapest Series 3 Watch? It’s getting complicated to suss out the differences, so we’re going to spell out... Continue reading…

In September 2019, Apple added a new feature to the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro without saying a single word onstage — and it did it again today with the Apple Watch Series 6.The feature is Apple’s U1 ultra-wideband locator chip, which could let these devices find each other, find other gadgets equipped with similar tech, and even securely unlock your car and your door without ever pulling an iPhone out of your pocket.The feature flashed by for a brief moment during today’s presentation, buried in this slide that we just barely managed to screencap: And perusing the official Apple Watch specs comparison page, we can see that it’s only the $399 Series 6 that’s getting the U1 chip, not the new Apple Watch SE. It’s not in... Continue reading…

Image: Apple Apple just finished its “Time Flies” event, its first fall event this year, and although we’re still waiting on new iPhones, the company took the wraps off new Apple Watches and iPads. And like this year’s WWDC, we got all of the news through a video streamed online; there was no in-person event to accompany the arrival of new products.Our live blog, with commentary by Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn, has the whole play-by-play of the event. But if you just want to learn about the biggest announcements from the show, read on. Image: Apple The new Apple Watch Series 6 has blood oxygen monitoringApple announced the Apple Watch Series 6, and it has a new health sensor on board: you can measure your blood oxygen saturation... Continue reading…

Sony is denying a report that on Tuesday said the company has cut its expectations for PlayStation 5 production by 4 million units and now expects to manufacture about 11 million units by the end of March.“While we do not release details related to manufacturing, the information provided by Bloomberg is false,” a Sony statement given to Gameindustry.biz reads. “We have not changed the production number for PlayStation 5 since the start of mass production.”The original report, published by Bloomberg, said the company was reducing its launch production by nearly half. Bloomberg had previously reported that Sony planned to boost production to around 10 million units by the end of December, but it reported on Tuesday that the company had... Continue reading…

Apple announced a new iteration of its popular baseline iPad, now in its eighth generation. It’s $329 and ships with the A12 Bionic processor. You can preorder that model today, and it will ship this Friday, September 18th.In terms of spec upgrades, the bump from the A10 with last year’s model to the A12 Bionic is a significant leap in speed. If you held out from buying the seventh-gen version, this new iPad seems fast considering its $329 price tag. It still ships with a minuscule 32GB of storage, and for $100 more, you can increase it to 128GB.You might also want to preorder the new Apple iPad Air. The one that looks more like an iPad Pro that features USB-C charging and is the first Apple product to ship with the A14 Bionic... Continue reading…

Apple announced two new Apple Watch models at its “Time Flies” online event today: the high-end $399 Series 6 and the more affordable $279 Apple Watch SE, which serves a step up from the $199 Series 3. Both will release this Friday, September 18th, and if you’re interested in buying one of them, you can place a preorder starting today.The Series 6 comes in a few new colorways and finishes, and it has more power with its S6 processor and an improved always-on display. Apple noted that this Watch is 20 percent faster than the Series 5 Watch, and it has more sensors than previous models. Notably, it can detect the blood oxygen levels in your body. The Apple Watch SE is a more affordable option that looks similar to the Series 6, but it... Continue reading…

Photo by Brennan King / The Verge Apple revealed that it has sold more than 500 million iPads over the last 10 years. The announcement was made by CEO Tim Cook during Apple’s “Time Flies” live stream event, in which the company revealed a pair of new Apple Watch devices and an updated base model iPad and new iPad Air.This is the first time Apple has disclosed how many iPads it’s sold after the company said in November 2018 it would no longer reveal unit sales of iPhones, iPads, and Macs in its quarterly earnings reports.The new eight-generation base model iPad announced today sports a 10.2-inch screen and an A12 chipset, first seen in the iPad Air and iPad mini models released last year. The new iPad Air announced today comes with the new A14 Bionic chip and design... Continue reading…

Apple’s next major software upgrades for the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV are almost ready. At today’s “Time Flies” event, the company announced that iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, along with the latest watchOS and tvOS updates, will start rolling out on Wednesday, September 16th. As of today’s event, app developers hadn’t yet received the completed golden master (GM) builds of these updates, so Apple’s software release schedule seems oddly rushed. But hey, new features are coming.iOS 14 brings widgets to the iPhone home screen for the first time, gathers all of your apps into a new App Library, and adds picture-in-picture mode (which had already been available on iPads). There’s also a new Translation app. iPadOS 14 won’t let you put... Continue reading…

Apple is unveiling a new iPad Air today that looks very similar to the company’s iPad Pro. It’s a significant design change from the current Air, which was brought back to life last year to sit in between the iPad and iPad Pro. Last year’s Air has thick top and bottom bezels and a button for Touch ID, but this new iPad Air has much thinner bezels all around the display.Apple’s new iPad Air looks like a refresh of the iPad Pro design, and it will be available next month priced from $599.Apple is using a bigger 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display (2360 x 1640) on this new iPad Air that’s fully laminated with True Tone support and anti-reflective coating. In order to squeeze this display in, Apple has moved the Touch ID fingerprint sensor to... Continue reading…

Illustration by Ana Kova There’s a lot of information coming and going about the coronavirus, and the next steps for vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 — The Verge even has a newsletter dedicated to it.But how do we assess all this information in a logical way, to prevent confusion, chaos, or something worse? The Verge’s Nilay Patel, Mary Beth Griggs and Nicole Wetsman talked to Dr. Natalie Dean, assistant professor of biostatistics at the University of Florida, about what we know so far about the timeline of a COVID-19 vaccine, and the best way to evaluate the flood of information coming in every day.“I think if you want reliable information, then let the dust settle a little bit,” Dr. Dean explains. “Because it’s not like the vaccine is going to be... Continue reading…

Apple has announced the eighth-generation version of its basic iPad: an update of its entry-level 10.2-inch tablet that upgrades the processor to a faster A12 chipset (last seen in the 2019 iPad Air and iPad mini models), while still maintaining the same $329 price point. Education customers will also be able to get the new iPad for a discounted $299.The A12 chip brings Apple’s “Neural Engine” processing capabilities to its entry-level iPad for the first time, with a promise of twice the graphics performance. Apple says that the new model will still fit existing cases, including its keyboard case and those made by Logitech. It’ll also still work with the first-gen Apple Pencil, like the previous model.The new iPad will also run iPadOS... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple on Tuesday announced it would no longer be shipping USB power adapters with Apple Watch devices, as part of an effort to reduce its environmental impact. The announcement was made by Lisa Jackson — Apple’s vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives — during the company’s “Time Flies” live stream event, in which it announced the new Apple Watch Series 6 and cheaper Apple Watch SE.Removing the power adapter means new Apple Watch customers won’t have access to the device that plugs into the wall, but should still be receiving Apple’s custom Apple Watch cable that recharges the device wirelessly.According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, this move won’t be restricted to Apple Watch devices, but it will also include... Continue reading…

During Apple’s “Time Flies” event, it shared a new Family Setup feature coming to iOS 14 on September 16th that will allow just one iPhone to both set up and manage several Apple Watch smartwatches in a family. Previously, each Apple Watch had to be tied to an iPhone, but now a parent or guardian can do it all from a single iPhone.The feature lets you adjust who each family member can call and message from their Apple Watch, and you can also set up location alerts so that you stay in the know of your family’s whereabouts. There’s a Schooltime feature that works similar to a Do Not Disturb setting, and the Family Setup function is also optimized for older adults.This feature will be available for iPhone 6S and later phones running iOS... Continue reading…

Apple has announced the Apple Watch Series 6, the latest in its line of popular smartwatches. The Series 6 model maintains the same overall design introduced with the Apple Watch Series 4 and continued with the Series 5, but it adds a variety of new sensors to allow for things like blood oxygen monitoring and better sleep tracking.Apple says the Series 6 can measure blood oxygen levels in about 15 seconds, using both red and infrared light. The company says it’s partnering with health networks to start large scale studies using the new blood oxygen measurement feature, including testing to see if it can detect if a person is infected with COVID-19. A Product (RED) version of the Apple Watch Series 6. The Series 6... Continue reading…

Jacopo Raule/WireImage Charli D’Amelio is TikTok’s most popular creator with 87 million followers, and now the Queen of TikTok is adding Triller to her roster of platforms.“We couldn’t be more proud to welcome the D’Amelio family to the Triller family with open arms,” Bobby Sarnevesht, executive chairman at Triller, said in a statement. “They are an incredibly multi-faceted and talented family who have already been invaluable to us.”Charli will be joined by her sister Dixie (34 million followers on TikTok), dad Marc (7 million followers) and mom Heidi (5.6 million followers). Charli isn’t joining Triller in an exclusive deal, meaning that she’ll continue to create content for other apps like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. (And while D’Amelio does earn... Continue reading…