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Updated 2025-04-21 12:03
Fortnite creators can now make first-person shooters
Image: Epic Games Developers that build Fortnite experiences can now try out a new first-person camera mode. The feature will first be available as an experimental release in the Unreal Editor for Fortnite. Later this year, the feature will launch in beta, and at that time, creators will be able to publish their experiences with first-person modes, Epic Games says.The company first revealed the first-person perspective at its State of Unreal show in March, though it's not planned for Fortnite's Battle Royale mode, Epic confirmed to Rock Paper Shotgun. You can get a brief look at the mode in Epic's State of Unreal replay at 1:06:26 and in a post on X shared today.
How to watch the vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) and Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) will meet on the debate stage on Tuesday night, representing their parties' tickets in hopes of becoming the next vice president.The former school teacher and the Hillbilly Elegy author have each taken some significant stances on tech. Walz, for example, navigated a power struggle between ridehailing apps and their drivers, vetoing a state bill to raise minimum pay for Uber and Lyft drivers after the companies threatened to leave the state, then signing a different bill to raise driver pay an estimated 20 percent without losing what he saw as a key mode of transportation for many Minnesotans.Vance has ruffled feathers in his own party with his stance on tech competition... Continue reading...
Microsoft is using AI to improve Windows search
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is using AI models to greatly improve Windows search on its new Copilot Plus PCs, including the addition of a new Click to Do feature that's very similar to Google's Circle to Search. These search improvements will make it easier to find and interact with images, emails, documents, and even videos and are just a few of the AI-based features coming to Copilot Plus PCs starting in November.The improved Windows search will first show up in File Explorer on Copilot Plus PCs next month, allowing you to search for pictures using words, even if the search word isn't found in the photo or file name.AI-powered search makes it dramatically easier to find virtually anything," says Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and consumer... Continue reading...
Chromebooks are getting a new button dedicated to Google’s AI
The Quick Insert button replaces the search or launcher key that's usually where the caps lock key would be on a Chromebook. | Image: Google Google is announcing a pair of new Chromebooks today - Samsung's Galaxy Chromebook Plus and Lenovo's Chromebook Duet 11 - and along with them, a brand-new button. Dubbed the Quick Insert button, it's designed to give immediate access to some of Google's latest AI features.The new Quick Insert button will replace the search / launcher button on some Chromebooks going forward, starting with the Galaxy Chromebook Plus. Quick Insert is your one-stop shop for a host of new AI features: press it, and a menu pops up giving you quick access to features like Help me write," which can lend a helping hand with memos, emails, and eventually, AI image generation, according to John Maletis, VP of ChromeOS product, engineering, and UX.The button is... Continue reading...
How Google tried to unravel the DOJ’s ad tech case
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images To wrap up its case, Google tried to fit it into a Supreme Court precedent that could undermine the government's argument. Continue reading...
Samsung is partnering with Ashley Furniture to sell you on the smart home
Samsung is selling the benefits of the smart home with a store-within-a-store concept at Ashley Furniture. | Image: Samsung Explaining the benefits of the smart home isn't always easy - it's more of an if you know, you know" deal. But that aha" moment - when someone finally gets what's so great about home automation - often comes when they see it in action. At least, that's the theory Samsung is testing with its new partnership with Ashley Furniture.The electronics giant has teamed up with North America's No. 1 furniture retailer to debut a new in-store experience that pairs furniture with smart connected devices controlled by Samsung's SmartThings, the company's smart home platform.According to a press release from Samsung, The Connected Home Experience powered by SmartThings is launching at Ashley Furniture's flagship store in Brentwood, Tennessee,... Continue reading...
Sonos has a plan to earn back your trust, and here it is
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge The Sonos app debacle will go down as an all-time tech industry blunder, but now the company is taking steps to turn the page. Continue reading...
Parents can now set Fortnite time limits
Image: Epic Games Fortnite is getting controls that let parents set time limits for how much their children play the game. Parents will be able to pick how much their child can play Fortnite per day, select windows for when they can play, and choose if their child has the ability to ask for more time.If parents turn time limits on, their children will see an in-game notification when they have 30 minutes left on the clock. Their time is tracked when they play Epic Games-made Fortnite modes like Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite as well as when they play creator-made experiences built with the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN). Image: Epic Games Parents will also be able to see how much time their child is playing the game with a Time... Continue reading...
Serve is partnering with Wing to expand the range of its robot deliveries
Serve's robots will bring packages to a Wing drone AutoLoader,which will make the final delivery. | Image: Serve Robotics Serve Robotics has announced a pilot partnership with Wing Aviation to expand the range of its autonomous food delivery without requiring restaurants to install new equipment to accommodate drone pickups.Serve, which was spun out of the app-based delivery company Postmates in 2021, has been making Uber Eats food deliveries in Los Angeles for a few years now, using robots that look like autonomous shopping carts. Serve says its delivery robots can be a safer alternative to cars and help reduce traffic congestion as they operate primarily on sidewalks. Since they have a top speed of around six miles per hour, there should be little to no risk to pedestrians. But that approach also limits the robot's ability to deliver food in a timely... Continue reading...
eBay is off the hook for selling harmful products
eBay was shielded from liability in the civil lawsuit by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. | The Verge A US government lawsuit accusing eBay of selling almost 350,000 polluting and environmentally harmful products - including pesticides and defeat" devices that let motor vehicles evade emission controls - has been dismissed by a federal judge. On Monday, District Judge Orelia Merchant ruled that eBay isn't liable for items that users sell on the digital marketplace due to civil protections that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides for online platforms.Under Section 230, online platforms cannot be held responsible for hosted content unless it assisted in the development of what made the content unlawful." The lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice last year alleged that eBay had violated the Clean Air Act (CAA)... Continue reading...
PlayStation Network is back online following a lengthy outage
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 console users are now able to play online games again following a massive outage on Sony's gaming network that started on Monday night. The official PSN Service Status page confirms that all services are up and running" now, after previously warning users that they might have difficulty launching games, apps, or network features."This problem has now been resolved," said a message posted by the Japanese Ask PlayStation customer support account. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience caused."The outage lasted for around eight hours, and impacted effectively every PlayStation system across Other, PS Vita, PS3, PS4, PS5, Web." While the problem seems largely resolved, some gamers on X are... Continue reading...
T-Mobile promises to try not to get hacked again
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge T-Mobile is investing millions of dollars into revamping its cybersecurity practices as part of a settlement with the US Federal Communications Commission. The company will also need to pay the US Treasury $15.75 million in civil penalties - the same amount as its internal cybersecurity investment. The commission says this groundbreaking" settlement will serve as a model for the industry.Data breaches at T-Mobile in the last few years have leaked social security numbers, addresses, and driver's license numbers for millions of people.The settlement clears up several T-Mobile investigations involving cybersecurity incidents in 2021, 2022, and 2023. The FCC press release says, ...these investigations developed evidence that the breaches... Continue reading...
A PS5 update that screwed up game backgrounds was just a bug
News posts appearing in the PS5 dashboard are the result of a bug. | Screenshot: PlayStation 5 dashboard An apparent bug was causing game art backgrounds to be replaced by promotional messages and news posts on the PlayStation 5 dashboard for some people on Monday. The images they saw featured promotions for long-expired discounts and ads for new games.People lamented the change in forums and on social media, saying the game art that previously showed up when they highlighted a game was gone. Instead, the image that would ordinarily show up as a news post in a separate section of the PS5 UI was splashed across the screen behind games like Miles Morales, Hi-Fi Rush, and Final Fantasy VII Remake.In a since-deleted post, Daniel Hiatt, product lead for Game Hub and Activity Suggestions with PlayStation, wrote Monday afternoon that the change... Continue reading...
Trump’s crypto platform is now open to the public — kind of
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Brandon Bell, Getty Images The people behind World Liberty Financial - former President Donald Trump, his sons, and his business associates - have made a lot of promises about the cryptocurrency platform's revolutionary potential. It will liberate the average American" from the big banks and financial elites," Trump posted on Truth Social. It will help unbanked and debanked people, Donald Trump Jr. said in an X Space. What no one involved with the project has said is how this will happen or what, exactly, World Liberty Financial does. Now, the mystery service is accepting signups - but not from everyone.Despite scant details about World Liberty Financial, its whitelists are now open, the company announced on X and Truth Social on Monday. The platform is now... Continue reading...
Is this Anker’s first 140W wall charger with a screen?
An unboxing video reveals what appears to be the first Anker wall charger with a status screen. | Screenshot: YouTube An unboxing video shared on YouTube last week has our first hands-on look at a new 140W wall charger from Anker. It appears to be the first from the company to feature an integrated display that shows how much power is being drawn from each of its four USB ports.Earlier this month, leaked details and an image of the charger were shared to the Anker subreddit by user joshuadwx. The Zolo wall charger will reportedly offer a maximum output of 140W shared across three USB-C ports and a single USB-A port. Two of its USB-C ports will be able to charge devices at up to 140W speeds if nothing else is plugged in, while the remaining USB-C and USB-A ports can deliver 40W and 33W of power, respectively.At 350 grams, the added screen results in a... Continue reading...
How Hurricane Helene became a monster storm
This aerial picture taken on September 27th, 2024, shows a flooded street after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Steinhatchee, Florida. | Photo by Ricardo Arduengo / AFP via Getty Images The Southeastern United States is reeling from Hurricane Helene, a monstrous storm that made landfall in Florida on Thursday before cutting a terrifying path all the way up to Tennessee. How did it get this bad?The storm has killed more than 100 people, and hundreds more are still missing. Power is out for millions of people. Residents around Asheville, North Carolina - one of the hardest-hit areas - are reportedly struggling to find food, water, and cellphone service. We don't yet know what the full impact of the storm is; search and rescue missions are still underway, and scientists are finalizing data on how powerful the storm was.But it's clear that the storm was disastrous because of its unusual size, intensity, and speed. The... Continue reading...
YouTube’s missing hits will come back now that it has a deal with SESAC
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube has reached a deal with the music licensing organization SESAC that will bring back songs that were removed over the weekend. Many hit songs from artists such as Adele, Nirvana, and others disappeared, which YouTube blamed on the lack of an agreement to renew its existing deal.In an email to The Verge, SESAC confirmed the new deal but noted that YouTube unilaterally removed" the songs before their old agreement expired as of October 1st.Scott Jungmichel, SESAC performing rights president and COO:
The Echo Hub smart home controller is down to a new all-time low price
The Echo Hub offers an intuitive interface, making it easy for the whole household to control the smart home. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Amazon offered some pretty good deals ahead of its Prime Big Deal Days sale last week and continues to do so, but admittedly, we've seen most of these discounted prices before. Today's deal on the Echo Hub is the exception, though, as Amazon is now selling it at a new all-time low price of $124.99 ($55 off). That's a deal available only to Prime members, but other retailers like Best Buy and Target are also matching this deal in case you're not signed up for Prime.As a refresher, the Echo Hub is a smart home controller housed in a small, Fire tablet-like device you can choose to mount up on the wall. It makes controlling a smart home incredibly simple; all you need to do is tap its eight-inch touchscreen, and you can adjust smart... Continue reading...
Leaked Google Pixel 9A renders reveal a visor-free look
The Pixel 9A looks a lot like the Pixel 9, only with its sunglasses removed. | Image: OnLeaks / Android Headlines Google's first leak of the fall is here, with new renders of its upcoming Pixel 9A posted online for the world to see. As with the Pixel 8A leak earlier this year, Android Headlines has yet again acquired images of Google's next budget A-series release, this time by way of OnLeaks, which was responsible for spoiling the recent Pixel 9 lineup.The big change coming on the Pixel 9A, according to the leak, is that it won't feature Google's now-signature visor look for its camera housing. Instead, it seems like there are two cameras in a pill-shaped module that sits almost flush with the rear of the phone. A camera flash is set to the right, making it look like the rear of an iPhone 7 Plus but magnified. The rest of the body looks similar to... Continue reading...
This smart front door can go from clear to opaque with a voice command
The Home Depot's newest smart door features smart glass that can turn from opaque to clear with the press of a button or a smart home command. | Image: The Home Depot Glass front doors are great for letting light in during the day but not so great when you want privacy at night. The Home Depot has a smart solution for this problem - a glass front door that can switch from clear to opaque on a schedule, with a voice command, or by pressing a button.The smart glass Feather River door is a prehung fiberglass front door with built-in smart glass. A button on the door lets you change the glass from clear to opaque, and it works with The Home Depot's Hubspace smart home app to control it from your phone. You can also set the glass on a schedule and have it be clear during the day and opaque at night. The door costs $798 for a three-quarters lite, $899 for a half lite, and $998 for a full lite, similar to... Continue reading...
Cruise hit with $1.5 million fine for failing to report robotaxi crash involving pedestrian
Cruise's failure to disclose the fact that a pedestrian was seriously injured by one of its driverless vehicles in San Francisco last year has now resulted in a $1.5 million fine to the federal government.Last October, a Cruise vehicle hit a pedestrian and then dragged her 20 feet after she was initially struck by a human driver in a hit-and-run incident. In the aftermath, Cruise disclosed that its vehicle had struck a pedestrian but omitted details about the victim being dragged. As a result, the California Department of Motor Vehicles pulled the GM-backed company's permit to operate self-driving cars in the state, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into the incident.Today, NHTSA... Continue reading...
Hurricane Helene barreled through a crucial chip mining area in North Carolina
Flooding in Boone, North Carolina, about an hour northeast of Spruce Pine. | Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits / Getty Images Hurricane Helene brought historic rainfall and flooding to western North Carolina last week, leaving dozens dead and catastrophic damage stretching across the state's mountain towns. The devastation also reached the small town of Spruce Pine, which is home to the purest quartz on Earth.Spruce Pine's high-quality quartz is an essential ingredient in the chipmaking process, as it's the only naturally occurring source of the ultrapure mineral. The quartz mined from this area is used as a crucible to melt polysilicon, which is then used to produce silicon wafers - the base of a semiconductor.Even though it's possible to produce pure silicon from the quartz found in abundance elsewhere in the world, it takes a considerable amount of time... Continue reading...
California governor signs one driverless vehicle bill, vetoes two others
Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Amid the hullabaloo around California Gavin Newsom vetoing a closely watched artificial intelligence bill, three other bills that would regulate a different type of AI - autonomous vehicles - landed on his desk with less fanfare. The governor signed one and vetoed two others.For the second time in two years, Newsom vetoed legislation (AB 2286) that would have banned autonomous trucks from operating on public roads. He also vetoed another (AB 3061) that would set up new data reporting requirements for AV companies. And he signed a third bill into law (AB 1777) that would create guidelines for when an autonomous vehicle gets in a crash or encounters first responders.Labor groups have been pushing the state legislature to adopt an AV... Continue reading...
Reddit is making sitewide protests basically impossible
Illustration: The Verge Reddit is giving its staff a lot more power over the communities on its platform. Starting today, Reddit moderators will not be able to change if their subreddit is public or private without first submitting a request to a Reddit admin. The policy applies to adjusting all community types, meaning moderators will have to request to make a switch from safe for work to not safe for work, too.By requiring admin approval for the changes, Reddit is taking away a lever many communities used to protest the company's API pricing changes last year. By going private, the community becomes inaccessible to the public, making the platform less usable for the average visitor. And that's part of the reason behind the change.The ability to instantly... Continue reading...
Amazon is launching its own Shark Tank where winners get to be Amazon sellers
Screenshot: YouTube Amazon Prime has released a trailer for its spin on the Shark Tank concept: Buy It Now, a JB Smoove-hosted show where people put their product ideas before a panel of investors. The twist is that they'll also be judged by The 100," which Amazon says is an audience of potential customers" (otherwise known as people"), and if their products are picked, Amazon will sell them in a special section of the store.The company announced the show earlier this year but has now released a trailer showing what it will look like. Contestants pitch their ideas to the audience. If the crowd votes for them, then the panelists pick which ones will show up on Amazon's Buy It Now Store: a new storefront launching alongside the show that viewers can reach... Continue reading...
Verizon’s mobile services are down across the country
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Verizon is experiencing a huge outage affecting its mobile services across the country.During the incident we received reports from Birmingham, Foley, Montgomery, Benton, Brookland, Des Arc, Fayetteville, Hot Springs Village, Washington, Dover, Apopka, Brandon, Cape Coral, Clermont, Crestview, Fort Pierce, Hollywood, Miami, Naples, Ocala and 652 other cities," according to a website tracking the outage.There are also more than 100,000 user reports of problems on Downdetector. Downdetector's outage map shows hotspots in many places, including New York and Atlanta. Based on that map, it appears as though the outages are more prevalent on the East Coast.We are aware of an issue impacting service for some customers," Verizon... Continue reading...
NBCU’s streaming chief isn’t worried about you canceling cable
Matt Strauss, head of Peacock and global streaming, has plans to keep you watching. Continue reading...
Tesla starts pushing Full Self-Driving access for some Cybertrucks
Image: Parker Ortolani / The Verge Some Tesla Cybertruck owners are starting to get Full Self-Driving (FSD) access on their vehicles. The company's polarizing electric pickup truck has lacked the driver-assistance software feature since its launch in November 2023. Now, members of the Cybertruck Owners Club (as reported by Electrek) are reporting that the update has been installed on their vehicles.Tesla had promised that FSD would come to the Cybertruck in September, after the launch of the Autopark feature - and with today's news, it would appear that it just hit that deadline. It's the latest version of FSD (12.5.5), and to start, it's coming to Cybertrucks set up for the early access program. The update includes a promised vision-based attention monitoring system for... Continue reading...
Oasis won’t use Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing for North America tour
Photo: Getty Images Oasis announced the North America leg of its 2025 reunion tour this morning, and the band's management also shared a decision that will be welcome news to fans: they won't have to worry about inflated dynamic pricing" rates when ticket sales kick off on October 4th. Dynamic pricing allows for ticket costs to fluctuate based on demand, but all too often, the end result is that prices surge far beyond face value for high-profile performances. This has led many people to bemoan the feature in recent years.It is widely accepted that dynamic pricing remains a useful tool to combat ticket touting and keep prices for a significant proportion of fans lower than the market rate and thus more affordable," the statement reads.But, when... Continue reading...
Death Stranding 2’s photo mode looks wild
Image: Kojima Productions The 2024 edition of the Tokyo Game Show took place over the weekend, and one of the highlights was a presentation from Death Stranding 2 studio Kojima Productions. It included a few interesting details about the weird-as-hell sequel, which the developer has helpfully split up into a series of clips in lieu of a traditional trailer. They feature some of the new characters joining the cast, some dialogue that makes little sense out of context, and what looks like a completely ridiculous photo mode to play around with.The first includes some returning faces played by Norman Reedus and Lea Seydoux and also provides a proper introduction to one of the stranger elements of Death Stranding 2: a physic medium who has been turned into a... Continue reading...
AMD improves Zen 5 CPU latency and performance with BIOS updates
Image: AMD AMD is releasing new BIOS updates that will boost performance for its Ryzen 9600X / 9700X processors and address some latency issues. The performance improvements and latency reductions arrive around a month after disappointing Zen 5 desktop CPU reviews and appear alongside updates to Windows 11 that include optimized AMD-specific branch prediction for both Zen 4 and Zen 5 chips.CPU reviewers have been reporting a higher-than-expected core-to-core latency across the Ryzen 9000-series of desktop processors, and now AMD has addressed this with a new BIOS optimization.The latest AMD updates for AM5 motherboards include AGESA PI 1.2.0.2 firmware, which AMD says will address some corner cases" where it takes two transactions to read and... Continue reading...
How to order free rapid covid tests from the US government — again
Image: Samar Haddad / The Verge Autumn is here, and once again, warnings are going up about the spread of the covid-19 virus - along with the flu and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus. To try to minimize the upsurge, the US government is once again offering free home rapid antigen tests to each US household. According to the government website, orders will start shipping this week.As before, it's extremely simple to put in your order. You will not need to submit a credit card or any other financial information.
DirecTV and Dish are merging
If successful, the merger would create a combined satellite streaming business with around 20 million US subscribers. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge DirecTV has reached an agreement to acquire Dish TV, Sling TV, and the rest of Dish parent company EchoStar's wider TV business, a move that would combine Dish's roughly 8.1 million subscribers with DirecTV's 11 million US subscribers, The New York Times reports. The deal is a complicated debt transfer - the transaction price is a single dollar, but DirecTV will assume $9.75 billion of Dish's debt. The deal serves as a lifeline for EchoStar, which has no means to pay the $2 billion of its overall $20 billion debt due by November 14th.In a statement, DirecTV chief executive Bill Morrow said a merger between the two companies will be better able to work with programmers to realize our vision for the future of TV, which is to aggregate,... Continue reading...
Ford targets EV ‘fence-sitters’ with offer of free home charger and installation
Image: Ford For customers still unsure whether they're ready to make the switch to an all-electric vehicle, Ford is sweetening the pot.Today, the company launched a new initiative called the Ford Power Promise," in which it will provide a suite of benefits to customers who buy or lease a new EV. And chief among them is a complimentary home charger for all new customers, as well as the costs of standard installation.The charger that's being offered is the company's Ford Charge Station Pro, a $1,310 Level 2 charger that comes with a standard CCS1 connector. Ford declined to put a monetary value on the installation but said it would cover costs up to 60 amps of power and 80 feet of wire run. Customers who need to upgrade their home electrical... Continue reading...
Epic is suing Google — again — and now Samsung, too
Photo illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Philip Pacheco, Getty Images Four years after Epic sued Google for running an illegal app store monopoly - a case it won this past December - Epic is suing again. The Fortnite game developer has filed a second antitrust lawsuit against Google, and now additionally Samsung, accusing them of illegally conspiring to undermine third-party app stores.The lawsuit revolves around Samsung's Auto Blocker" feature, which now comes turned-on-by-default on new Samsung phones. While it's turned on, it automatically keeps users from installing apps unless they come from authorized sources" - namely, Google and Samsung's app stores. Epic claims there's no process for any rival store to become authorized."When Epic filed its original lawsuits against Google and Apple in... Continue reading...
Raspberry Pi and Sony made an AI-powered camera module
The new Raspberry Pi AI Camera uses Sony's IMX500 image sensor to handle the AI processing. | Image: Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi and Sony have co-developed a Raspberry Pi AI Camera module that's launching today for $70. It comes with onboard AI processing that can help Raspberry Pi users develop edge AI solutions that process visual data" with ease, according to the tiny computer maker.The new camera builds on Raspberry Pi's plans to offer chips and add-ons for AI developers, having previously released several non-AI camera modules since its first 5-megapixel offering in 2013. AI-based image processing is becoming an attractive tool for developers around the world," Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton said in a press release. We look forward to seeing what our community members are able to achieve using the power of the Raspberry Pi AI Camera."The AI... Continue reading...
California governor vetoes major AI safety bill
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act (SB 1047) today. In his veto message, Governor Newsom cited multiple factors in his decision, including the burden the bill would have placed on AI companies, California's lead in the space, and a critique that the bill may be too broad.
Marvel and DC lose ‘Super Hero’ trademarks
Photo: John Carl D'Annibale / Albany Times Union via Getty Images You know how Marvel and DC have held joint ownership over trademarks for Super Hero" for decades? That time is apparently mostly over, as the US Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the companies' claim to several of their trademarks, reports Reuters.The cancellation comes as the result of a challenge from Superbabies Limited, a small company that produces a series of Superbabies comics about, well, superhero babies. Superbabies creator S.J. Richold decided to challenge the two comic giants' claim to the trademarks after DC attempted to block Richold's efforts to promote The Super Babies," wrote the law firm that represented Richold in a release.Marvel and DC didn't respond to the challenge by a July 24th, 2024 due date,... Continue reading...
Razer leans into haptics with a new gaming cushion and vibrating headphones
The Razer Freyja can turn most computer chairs into haptic gaming accessories. | Image: Razer Razer has released the Freyja gaming cushion, a haptic cushion that you can attach to your gaming chair, the company announced. The cushion is $299.99, and it's available to buy now.The Freyja is an extension of the vibration you get from gaming controllers - except instead of just jolting your hands, it buzzes several panels positioned behind and beneath you in response to things happening in a game.
Spotify is back after a Sunday morning outage
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Spotify was down earlier on Sunda, with users across social media reporting that the app and website weren't working, and for those of us at The Verge who tried we saw the same issues.Downdetector showed a spike in the number of reports about problems with the music streaming service that started at about 10:40AM ET. Spotify said it was working on the issue, and now it appears to be resolved, with the number of reports falling off sharply and a new messages from @SpotifyStatus saying Everything's looking much better now!"
Apple may release an iPad-like smart home display next year
The StandBy feature of iPhones offers a hint of how an Apple smart home display could work. | Image: David Pierce / The Verge Apple is preparing to take a fresh run at the smart home that starts with a rumored smart display that it may release next year. That's according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who writes in his Power On newsletter today that the display will use a new operating system, called homeOS, that's based on the Apple TV's tvOS (much like the software that drives HomePods now.)Gurman reports that the display will run Apple apps like Calendar, Notes, and Home, and that Apple has tested prototypes with magnets for wall-mounting. And it will support Apple Intelligence - something Apple's HomePods don't currently do.Rumors of such a device have been going around for some time now, with form factors ranging from a HomePod with a screen to a display a... Continue reading...
The future of AI might look a lot like Twitter
The Verge Roughly a month ago, Michael Sayman realized he could finally build the app he'd been thinking about for years: a social network where everyone but you is an AI bot. Large language models are finally good enough and cheap enough that the experience might actually feel social and useful, and not like a gimmick or a game. And so, after years of waiting and months of testing the latest models, Sayman got to work.The app he built is called SocialAI, and it has become something of a viral phenomenon since it launched. (All he'd tell me is that it was downloaded 20,000 times in the first couple of days - but says the number has gone up substantially since then.) Some people thought it seemed fun and useful; other people thought it felt deeply... Continue reading...
The AR and VR headsets you’ll actually wear
Image: David Pierce / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 54, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)This week, I've been reading about AI slop and sports betting and Jony Ive, clearing my schedule for the new season of The Great British Bake Off, watching Sicario and Pirates of the Caribbean and A Quiet Place: Day One on plane-seat screens like their directors intended, insta-subscribing to Hasan Minhaj's new YouTube show, and just relentlessly trolling people with Vergecast clips through Pocket Casts' new feature.I also have for you a couple of new Meta gadgets, the mobile game that will eat up all your free... Continue reading...
YouTube pulls songs from Adele, Nirvana, and others due to SESAC dispute
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Some of the most watched and listened to music on YouTube and YouTube Music disappeared on Saturday, replaced by a short message:
Amazon may tap Brian Williams to host an election night special
Brian Williams during a Meet the Press taping in 2008. | Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images for Meet the Press Former news anchor Brian Williams is in talks to host an Amazon Prime election night special, reports Variety. The show would apparently be a non-partisan discussion" as election night news comes in and could include multiple guests.Williams has been out of the news game for a while. He lost his role as anchor of NBC's Nightly News after some of his reporting was found to have been repeatedly embellished. He went on to host MSNBC's 11th Hour until he resigned from the network in 2021.If the deal goes through, Williams would begin the November 5th presidential election night broadcast as early as 5PM ET and continue for up to eight hours - or longer if the election is too close to call, writes Variety, citing unnamed sources familiar... Continue reading...
Meta blocks links to the hacked JD Vance dossier on Threads, Instagram, and Facebook
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images Meta is restricting links on Threads, Instagram, and Facebook that lead to Ken Klippenstein's newsletter containing a JD Vance dossier that was allegedly nabbed in an Iranian hack of the Trump campaign. The company has apparently removed posts containing the link and is seemingly blocking links to PDFs of the dossier being hosted elsewhere.Meta spokesperson Dave Arnold emailed Meta's statement to The Verge:
Trailers of the week: Thunderbolts, Rumors, and Disclaimer
So full. So filled." | Image: Disney This week, I've been slowly catching up on Dark Matter; I'm about 20 hours into Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on the Switch; and I'm still trying to work a trip to the movie theater into my schedule to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.I'm behind, in other words! And this week's trailers shoveled so much more onto my need-to-watch pile, from the next Marvel MCU film, Thunderbolts, to the amusingly bizarre black comedy Rumours, to Disclaimer, Alfonso Cuaron's new Apple TV Plus series. That's to say nothing of all the game trailers from Sony's State of Play event this week.Check out some of my favorite trailers from this week below.ThunderboltsMarvel hasn't said much about Thunderbolts, which sees David Harbour's Red Guardian and... Continue reading...
Apple’s homework is due Monday no matter what, says judge
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Apple, the most valuable company in the world, will have to work this weekend to meet a legal deadline on Monday. That's after Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson on Friday denied the company's request for more time to produce 1.3 million documents related to App Store changes it made in January to comply with a 2021 court order.Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who presided over the Epic lawsuit that resulted in those changes, told Apple's legal team on May 31st it would need to produce all documents related to how it decided the new App Store rules after Epic challenged them. Document discovery was then referred to Hixson, who quoted part of a transcript from the hearing when he set Monday's deadline back in August:
Samsung’s gorgeous Galaxy Book4 Edge has fallen to its lowest price to date
Samsung's Galaxy Book4 Edge offer a vibrant OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. | Photo: Joanna Nelius / The Verge The portability of a laptop is nice and all, but oftentimes, the tradeoff is a smaller screen that can feel cramped if you've got a lot of tabs open. Thankfully, there are laptops like Samsung's Galaxy Book4 Edge, which offers a 16-inch display in a thin and lightweight package. It typically starts at $1,499.99, but right now, Best Buy is selling it with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for just $999.99 ($450 off), which is a new all-time low price. If you prefer a slightly smaller display, the 14-inch model is also on sale for $899.99 ($450 off).We were struck by how stunning the Galaxy Book4 Edge is. Along with being spacious, the laptop boasts a lovely OLED display that makes colors pop, while its chassis is beautiful. The screen... Continue reading...
Now that Balatro’s on mobile, here are some tips to get started
Playstack Now that Balatro is out on mobile, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And while it's a great game, its tutorial doesn't do the best job of setting you up for the kind of success necessary to hook you. In my first few hours, though I was completing the objectives laid out, it felt like I was stumbling my way to success instead of achieving it through strategy. Onboarding was a bit too abrupt, focused on the barebones of how to play instead of blending that with tips on how to play effectively. With that in mind, here's some useful info and tips on how to get started.I was told there would be no mathIn Balatro, the main gameplay loop is amassing enough poker chips to beat a set chip total called a blind. To do that, you must... Continue reading...
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