The Verge

Samsung’s anticipated Unpacked 2020 event is all packed up. The Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra are now real things, as are the Galaxy Tab S7 tablet, the Galaxy Watch 3, and the Galaxy Buds Live (FKA “Beans”). Also, it announced the new Galaxy Z Fold 2. In case you missed out on the presentation or just want to see the main highlights of the show without having to watch through the live stream yourself, we’ve distilled them all into bite-size bits below. Becca Farsace / The Verge Samsung launches the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra, available August 21stSamsung’s Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra are loaded with powerful specs, starting at $1,000 for the Note 20 and $1,300 for the Note 20 Ultra. Both models have the... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is updating its office software on mobile devices for G Suite users, adding new features to the Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps that should make it easier to get work done from your smartphone. The changes are mostly visual and include a link preview feature and new comment interface. Google is also bundling in the news that Dark Mode is available for Docs, Sheets, and Slides, though it announced that last month.The full changes are as follows:

Google Google has injected a new cinematic slideshow above the top row of apps in the Android TV interface to make it easier to find content you might like. It will contain curated TV show, movie, and app recommendations from Google as well as sponsored content. Google says that “each source will be clearly labeled on the content, giving users transparency,” so that users can differentiate between curated recommendations and paid advertisements, and it will contain only media and entertainment-related content. If you pause on one of the items, it’ll start playing a preview, like how Netflix’s TV app does.Recommending popular, relevant content and apps will probably be useful for most people, but some likely won’t be too thrilled to see giant... Continue reading…

The latest craze on Twitch is Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, a game about squeaky little critters who compete in a series of challenges to be the last bean standing. It’s an adorable, madcap little game that feels like a mashup of battle royale and Nickelodeon Guts.Each “show” begins with 60 players who have to beat various challenges to qualify for the next round and keep playing. It only took me a day to sample all of the game’s challenges, but there’s enough variety on day one to keep things interesting, and most of the challenges are pretty light and entertaining. There are a bunch of obstacle courses and mini-games, including memory-matching, football, and an egg-hoarding challenge that’s basically just Hungry Hungry Hippos. The... Continue reading…

Fortnite has finally added cars to the game with its latest update: Joy Ride.The battle royale title has had plenty of vehicles come and go over past updates, including planes, helicopters, boats, golf carts, driftboards, and ATVs, but plain old cars are a new addition. Their introduction was teased back in the trailer for the Chapter 2: Season 3 launch that flooded the map, but are now available with the game’s latest update.So far there seem to be just four types of car available. There’s the middle-of-the-road Islander Prevalent, the sporty Victory Motors Whiplash, the OG Bear pickup, and the Titano Mudflap big rig. They’re easy enough to find around the map, though you will have to keep them topped up with gas (which you can find... Continue reading…

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Google is returning to having humans analyze and rate anonymized audio snippets from its users. However, it’s also taken the major step of automatically opting every single user out of the setting that allows Google to store their audio. That’s why you might be getting an email today: Google would like you to opt back in to the program, and it’s trying to provide clearer information detailing what it’s all about.Those are very big moves that affect a huge number of people — though Google says the precise number of users getting the email is confidential. It should land in the inbox of anybody who has interacted with a product that uses Google’s voice AI, including apps like Google Maps and services like Google Assistant.Here’s a PDF... Continue reading…

Pikmin 3 is launching for Nintendo Switch on October 30th. Dubbed Pikmin 3 Deluxe, the upgraded version of the game adds difficulty modes, new missions, and includes all of the DLC released for the original game.Pikmin 3 was originally released in 2013 for Wii U. The game is about three space explorers using tiny local creatures known as Pikmin to scout out a planet. Since the Switch’s launch, Nintendo has slowly been moving some of its best titles from that era onto its new console; fans have been holding out for a Pikmin 3 port for years.In addition to new content and quality of life updates, you’ll also be able to play the game’s story mode in co-op with a friend. Continue reading…

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 on the left, Tab S7 Plus on the right | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Android tablets may not be nearly as popular as Apple’s iPad, but that hasn’t stopped Samsung from continuing to dish out new models on a fairly regular basis. Today, the company is announcing its latest high-end Android tablets: the Galaxy Tab S7 and Tab S7 Plus. Both models will be available in silver, black, or bronze this fall for $649.99 and $849.99, respectively.Like the Tab S6 from last year, the Tab S7 and S7 Plus are meant to pull double duty as both content consumption devices and productivity machines. As a result, they both have optional keyboard cases available ($199.99 for the S7, $229.99 for the S7 Plus) that allow you to use them like a traditional laptop. Both models also come with Samsung’s S Pen stylus in the box,... Continue reading…

Samsung is unveiling its new Galaxy Note 20 handset today, and with it, a unique Xbox Game Pass partnership. Microsoft is partnering with Samsung to include a special version of the Xbox Game Pass app in Samsung’s Galaxy Store. This version will allow Xbox players to redeem tokens and make in-app purchases like buying skins or DLC items in the Xbox Store.The Xbox Game Pass app available on the Google Play Store will not support these types of in-app purchases. It’s clear Microsoft and Samsung have struck a special deal, that likely undercuts the 30 percent Google asks for, to enable them exclusively for the Galaxy Store version. The deal comes just as rumors suggest Google is trying to convince Samsung to promote its own Play Store over... Continue reading…

Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy Z Fold 2 at its Unpacked event, the successor to last year’s Galaxy Fold, with a new camera system, larger external display, and hole-punch cameras that give the new model a far more elegant and cohesive look than the original.The new Galaxy Z Fold 2 — renamed to match the Galaxy Z Flip and Z Flip 5G released earlier this year — marks Samsung’s first major refresh for its flagship foldable phone and looks to improve on nearly every shortcoming of the original model. Instead of an awkward, tiny external display, the Z Fold 2 has a full-size 6.2-inch screen that covers the entire front of the phone, making it far more usable without having to unfold the larger display. The main... Continue reading…

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Samsung has just announced the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra, the two latest phones in its stylus-equipped lineup. The specs of Samsung’s Note phones are always top-of-the line, with big high-resolution screens, fast processors, and big batteries. So how do they compare to Samsung’s previous flagship phones, as well as the best its competitors currently have to offer?We’ve rounded up the most important specs for both the Galaxy Note 20 and the Note 20 Ultra below, and compared them directly against Samsung’s previous flagships (including those from its recent Galaxy S20 series, as well as last year’s Note 10 lineup), as well as competing devices from the likes of Google, OnePlus, and of course, Apple.Of course, the specs never tell... Continue reading…

Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 45mm and 41mm | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Samsung has just announced the latest model in its long line of smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch 3. The Watch 3 succeeds the Galaxy Watch that was first released in 2018 and joins the Galaxy Watch Active and Watch Active 2 in Samsung’s current lineup. It will be available for purchase starting on August 6th for $399.99 and up.The Galaxy Watch 3 (no, you’re not imagining things, there isn’t a Galaxy Watch 2, Samsung decided to skip a number to make it appear newer than the Galaxy Watch Active 2 that’s been out since last year) looks similar to the prior model, with a physical rotating dial, two buttons on the side, and a chunkier design compared to the sleeker and simpler Active models. But Samsung says it’s 14 percent thinner and 15... Continue reading…

Image: Samsung Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live, the bean-shaped true wireless earbuds that have leaked extensively over the past couple months, are now official. Priced at $169.99, they’ll be sold alongside the more traditional $149.99 Galaxy Buds Plus as a step-up option with larger audio drivers and the addition of active noise cancellation. They’ll be available starting August 6th in black, bronze (which looks more rose gold in certain light), and white.But with the unconventional design of the Galaxy Buds Live and their lack of in-ear tips or an actual seal, Samsung’s noise canceling works a bit differently here compared to what you’d experience from the AirPods Pro or Sony 1000XM3 earbuds. The company says that the Galaxy Buds Live are designed to cut... Continue reading…

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge But the regular Note 20 isn’t as powerful as it could be Continue reading…

Wind turbines, of the Block Island Wind Farm, tower above the water off the shores of Rhode Island. | Photo by Don Emmert / AFP via Getty Images GE plans to harness the power of one of the world’s fastest supercomputers to propel offshore wind power development in the US. IBM’s Summit supercomputer at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory will allow GE to simulate air currents in a way the company’s never been able to before.The research could influence the design, control, and operations of future wind turbinesUltimately, the research could influence the design, control, and operations of future wind turbines. It’s also intended to advance the growth of wind power off the East Coast of the US by giving researchers a better grasp of the available wind resources in the Atlantic. The simulations Summit will run can fill in some of the gaps in the historical... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Quibi is beginning to offer a completely free tier to subscribers in Australia and New Zealand as the struggling streaming company tries to build its subscriber base.An email sent to customers in Australia, shared with The Verge, notes that for subscribers in both Australia and New Zealand, Quibi is “now offering an ad-supported free plan so you can choose the right option for you.” The company is also rolling out a cheaper subscription tier — going from $12.99 to $6.99 AUD (roughly $9 to $5 in USD). The company calls it a “significantly reduced” price and is rolling existing customers into the plan. It’s unclear if Quibi has plans to launch a free, ad-supported tier in other countries, but The Verge has reached out for more... Continue reading…

There are going to be a lot of devices Continue reading…

Ninja is back on Twitch — for the moment, at least. Tyler “Ninja” Blevins started streaming Fortnite on his Twitch account Wednesday morning, nearly a year to the day after he left the service for an exclusivity deal with Mixer. It’s the first time that Blevins has streamed on Twitch since leaving.With Mixer shutting down last month, Ninja has been released from his contract and is free to stream where he’d like. So far, he seems to be testing the waters and showing streaming services that he’s still capable of pulling in impressive numbers. His Twitch stream neared 100,000 viewers just 15 minutes after it went live. His debut stream on YouTube last month now has more than 4 million views.There’s no indication that Blevins has an... Continue reading…

Photo by Bill Ingalls / NASA As NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley careened to Earth inside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule on Sunday, the two said that the vehicle truly came “alive” when it plunged through Earth’s atmosphere. The capsule vibrated, jolted, and roared while the surrounding air heated up and scorched the outside of the vehicle — and the astronauts got it all on tape.“I did record some audio of it, but it doesn’t sound like a machine. It sounds like an animal coming through the atmosphere with all the puffs that are happening from the thrusters and the atmospheric noise,” Behnken said during a press conference following the landing. “It just continues to gain magnitude as you descend down through the atmosphere.”“It doesn’t sound like a... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge TikTok is establishing new moderation policies today to better protect its platform against misinformation, election interference, and other forms of manipulative content ahead of the 2020 election. The company, which is currently embroiled in an unprecedented acquisition negotiation with Microsoft following threats of a US ban, says it now explicitly bans deepfakes. Deepfakes are artificial intelligence-powered manipulations of audio and video designed to mislead people about something someone may have done or said.“We’re adding a policy which prohibits synthetic or manipulated content that misleads users by distorting the truth of events in a way that could cause harm,” Vanessa Pappas, the general manager of TikTok’s US operation,... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Password management service LastPass can now proactively tell you if your logins have been compromised in data breaches — but only if you’re a paid LastPass subscriber. The tool comes as part of a new security dashboard designed to give you a better understanding of the strength of all of your passwords.The new “dark web monitoring” tool actively checks your logins against Enzoic’s database (previously PasswordPing, who LastPass started partnering with in 2017). If the monitoring tool finds one of your logins in the database, LastPass will alert you in the new security dashboard and by sending you an email. That alert will show you which site was breached and will link out to that website so you can change your password.The new... Continue reading…

Unagi, which makes one of the most stylish electric scooters on the market today, is the latest company to try its hand at a subscription service.Unagi has always operated under the belief that people who are sick of wonky scooter-sharing services, with their broken vehicles and unreliability, would rather own a scooter than rent one. Not only that, but Unagi figures there are enough people in the world willing to shell out $1,000 for a really fancy-looking electric scooter that’s been endorsed by famous musicians like Chance the Rapper and Billie Eilish.But now, with COVID-19 turning some people off to sharing scooters altogether and even more people strapped for cash, the company realized it needed an alternative to personal... Continue reading…

The Galaxy Z Fold 2, from a leak | Evan Blass Today, Samsung is going to announce a giant pile of new gadgets. Here’s what to expect: Two Note 20 phones, a couple of Tab S7 Android tablets, a new Galaxy Watch, and Galaxy Ear Buds Live. I am on record that Samsung should have the guts to call those earbuds Ear Beans because tech needs to have a little more fun but also look at them.The event kicks off at 10AM ET and although it’s an online-only affair, we’ll be doing a liveblog with real-time commentary — so you can find it all in one place instead of trawling for takes on Twitter.If you ‘d rather just get the highlights, here’s a story stream that will have all the big news: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 event: all the latest rumors, news, and more.When Samsung first announced the... Continue reading…

Image: Evan Blass Samsung’s entire rumored device lineup for today’s upcoming Unpacked event has been spoiled by a series of videos from leaker Evan Blass. Most interesting is the hands-on footage of Samsung’s unannounced Galaxy Z Fold 2 foldable (most previous leaks have only been press renders), but the videos also include footage of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, the Galaxy Tab S7 tablet, the Galaxy Buds true wireless earbuds, and the Galaxy Watch 3 smartwatch.The sheer quantity of leaks that have preceeded today’s event mean we already had a good idea of what to expect from the five devices, but in some cases this is the first time we’ve seen them outside of perfectly composed press renders. For the Galaxy Z Fold 2 that means seeing how its two displays... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge As with most recent product introductions, Samsung’s latest product launch is going to be entirely virtual this year, but it still promises to be a really big show. The event will start at 10AM ET / 7AM PT on Wednesday, August 5th.While the spotlight is certainly going to be on Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 20 phone, the company is promising to present us with five new products at this event. The latest rumors are that, besides the Note 20, the new devices include a tablet, smartwatch, true wireless earbuds, and (you guessed it) a foldable smartphone.Want to know more? To find out, watch the keynote and follow our reporters as they contribute their expert commentary on the proceedings.WHEN DOES THE EVENT START?It starts at 10AM ET / 7AM... Continue reading…

Lime is adding Jump e-bikes to its app for the first time since the the company acquired the former Uber division in May, the company tells The Verge. The Jump e-bikes will be exclusively available in the Lime app while the company irons out any software kinks, at which point Jump e-bikes will continue to appear inside Uber’s app as well.Uber handed the money-losing Jump bike and scooter sharing service to Lime in May as part of a $170 million investment, which Google’s parent company Alphabet was involved in as well. But Uber quickly caused a stir as, weeks later, the company started scrapping tens of thousands of the bright red e-bikes around the United States because it apparently couldn’t find a way to donate them. An Uber... Continue reading…

Photo by David McNew/Getty Images Airlines around the world are facing a difficult juggling act: how do you reduce the risks posed by COVID-19 while keeping costs down in a notoriously low-margin industry? As flight schedules begin to increase once more, Southwest Airlines is taking the decision to reduce its pandemic cleaning routines to minimize turnaround times and financial losses.The news comes from an internal memo sent to Southwest staff and obtained by USA Today, which says that armrests and seat belts will no longer be cleaned between each flights, and that attendants are to instead focus on high-touch areas like toilets and tray tables. “These are the most important areas to clean between each flight as they are prone to contamination from Customer use and... Continue reading…

The new Safe folder appears under Collections in the Files by Google app. | Image: Google The Files by Google app, which primarily gives Android users an easy way to manage files and free up space on their phone, is getting a new PIN-protected “Safe Folder” feature. After setting up a four-digit PIN, you can store any of your sensitive files in this encrypted folder. The folder is locked the moment you switch away to another app, and its contents are only accessible through Files by Google.According to Google, the feature is mainly designed to help people who share Android devices, which it says is common for women in many parts of the world. Safe Folders keep important files like identity documents safe and secure from accidental deletion or sharing by kids, for example. And yes, it could also help anyone who wants to keep... Continue reading…

Logitech G923 racing wheel | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Logitech is announcing its first new racing wheel in five years: the G923 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox, and PC. The G923 succeeds the G29 and G920 and will be available in August for $399.99.Though the G923 looks very similar to the G29 and G920, it features an all-new force feedback system the company is calling “TrueForce.” The system is designed to provide more realistic feedback through the wheel, thanks to integration with a game’s physics and audio engines. The wheel can then take those inputs, such as the level of noise coming from a car’s engine or the surface the wheels are traveling over, and translate them into vibrations that can be felt through the wheel. The company says the electronics inside the wheel are able to sample... Continue reading…

Look Around, the Apple Maps feature that provides 360-degree views of locations at ground level, is starting to expand outside the US. Unusually for Apple, it’s coming to Japan before anywhere else, and is now live in four cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Kyoto. The update was spotted by Ata Distance.Look Around is essentially Apple’s answer to Google’s Street View. You can bring it up in supported areas by tapping the binoculars icon, which initially displays the Look Around view in an expandable pop-up window. The transitions between photos are smoother than in Street View, which helps make it feel more like you’re actually exploring the area.Still, Apple has been very slow with the rollout. Look Around first came to the US as part... Continue reading…

Shelly Yang/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images Decision Desk is projecting that Rep. Roger Marshall will win the Republican primary for Senate in Kansas, a huge blow to contender Kris Kobach. It’s also a blow to the political ambitions of billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, who had enthusiastically supported Kobach, offering public support and significant PAC funding to the candidate’s primary bid.Much of Thiel’s support came through the Free Forever Political Action Committee, which received the overwhelming majority of its funding from Thiel and purchased ads exclusively in support of Kobach and in opposition to Marshall. One recent Free Forever PAC mailing accused Marshall of funding “global warming musicals” and “transgender plays” because of his votes in support of the... Continue reading…

Alto’s Adventure and Alto’s Odyssey, two mobile games we at The Verge love because of their beautiful art style and polished gameplay, are finally coming to PS4, Xbox One, and the Epic Games Store as The Alto Collection on August 13th. This will also be the first time Alto’s Odyssey comes to Windows. A Nintendo Switch port is “coming soon,” with no firm release date announced yet.Originally released on iOS in 2015 and both Android and Linux in 2016, Alto’s Adventure is an endless runner snowboarding game. You play as Alto or one of his friends as they traverse the snowy landscape while being chased by village elders; you control your character by tapping the screen, which lets you jump over obstacles and perform tricks. Alto’s Adventure... Continue reading…

SpaceX’s Starship prototype during the test hop, recorded by LabPadre’s livestream | Image: Screenshot from LabPadre livestream Just two days after returning its first astronauts back to Earth, SpaceX successfully flew a prototype of its next-generation, deep-space rocket in south Texas, sending the vehicle up to 500 feet and then landing it back down on Earth. It’s the largest test version of the massive spaceship to see some air.The prototype is that of SpaceX’s Starship, a spacecraft the company wants to build to transport people to deep-space worlds like the Moon and Mars. The final version of the spaceship would stand at nearly 400 feet high and 30 feet wide, and be capable of sending more than 100 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit, according to SpaceX. Starship is designed to fly to space mounted on top of a giant rocket booster, known as Super Heavy, and... Continue reading…

Photo by Angelo Merendino / AFP / Getty Images Controversial engineer Anthony Levandowski, who worked for the Google division that would become Waymo before founding trucking company Otto and selling it to Uber, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for trade secret theft during his various stints in the self-driving industry. His sentencing closes the book on a multi-year legal saga stemming from Levandowski’s high-rising and equally fast-falling career in Silicon Valley spanning much of the past decade.Levandowski was initially sentenced back in March, when the US District Attorney’s office recommended a 27-month sentence. Judge William Alsup on Wednesday sentenced Levandowski to 18 months in prison, to be served at a later date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to T... Continue reading…

Disney plans to launch a new general entertainment streaming platform overseas in 2021 under the Star brand name, CEO Bob Chapek announced today. Chapek didn’t give too many details about the platform, including in which countries Star would launch or pricing, but he noted that it would include content from ABC, FX, Freeform, Searchlight, and 20th Century Studios.Star will not carry licensed content, which is different from Disney’s other general entertainment streaming service, Hulu. More information is expected to be announced at an upcoming investors day that will focus on plans for Disney Plus, Hulu, ESPN Plus, and Star. The announcement comes as Disney hits major streaming milestones, including surpassing 60 million Disney Plus... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends and Valorant, will be giving employees the week of August 10th off to “disconnect, recharge, and reboot,” the studio announced in a blog post published Tuesday.Riot has recently expanded beyond its global smash hit League of Legends, including releasing auto battler Teamfight Tactics, Hearthstone-like card game Legends of Runeterra (which are both set in the League of Legends universe), and Valorant, a brand-new tactical shooter that takes cues from Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch. But in an industry known for overwork and enforced overtime, referred to as “crunch,” to ship and maintain games, Riot is giving employees a break to help with their health.“As game developers,... Continue reading…

Image: Disney Disney’s live-action adaptation of Mulan will be released on Disney Plus on September 4th for $29.99, the company announced today.Disney executives walked through the new plan for Mulan’s release during an earnings call with analysts today. The $30 fee will be on top of the $6.99 subscriber fee for Disney Plus customers. Chapek also made it seem like non-subscribers can pay $30 for the film as well, but The Verge has emailed Disney to confirm.“We thought it was important to find alternative ways to bring [Mulan] in a timely manner,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek said. In countries where Disney Plus is not available, Disney is releasing Mulan in theaters on the same date. The new release date follows Warner Bros.’ announcement that... Continue reading…

Image: Samsung Russia Samsung’s Unpacked event tomorrow will be the official showcase for the heavily rumored and much-leaked Galaxy Note 20. For those who wanted yet another look at the phone in full before it’s unveiling, an AT&T promotional video pretty much shows off every inch of the device and even details its most important specs and new features.The video, which popped up on Twitter courtesy of South American tech blogger Karlos Peru, appears to have been prepped as a piece of marketing material to promote the new phone and its larger Ultra variant. It doesn’t tell us anything groundbreaking that we didn’t already know or suspect about Samsung’s upcoming extra-large phones, but it is pretty staggering that a video with this much information and... Continue reading…

Photo: Film Frame / Marvel Studios Disney continues to face financial woes in just about every part of its business, but one year after Avengers: Endgame came out, it’s clear just how much the pandemic has affected its studios division.Disney didn’t release any major films last quarter, and the third quarter earnings report shows how much that impacted the company. Overall, revenue hit $11.78 billion, down from $20.2 billion the year before, but most of that came from streaming. Studio revenues decreased 55 percent in the quarter to $1.7 billion, the company announced. That means Disney made $1.7 billion this quarter, and $3.8 billion in the same time frame last year. What it shows is there’s a big Avengers: Endgame hole in the calendar, and it’s a perfect example of... Continue reading…

Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images Virgin Atlantic Airways has filed for bankruptcy protection for its United States business, as it tries to nail down a £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) rescue plan announced last month. It’s the second of Richard Branson’s airlines to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic, after Virgin Australia filed for “administration” — a form of bankruptcy in countries like Australia and England — earlier this year.Virgin Atlantic filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday. Chapter 15 is a way for foreign companies to let US bankruptcy courts recognize restructuring efforts happening abroad. The company is not yet going out of business or liquidating its operations, which is what Chapter 7 bankruptcy... Continue reading…

Photo by Blake Nissen for The Boston Globe via Getty Images The pharmaceutical company Moderna started the last, longest step in the process of testing its COVID-19 vaccine candidate at the end of July — a Phase 3 clinical trial. It’s an enormous undertaking: their goal is to recruit 30,000 people, inject some of them with an experimental vaccine and then follow each and every one of them to see how many contract the coronavirus and how many do not. This will take months, even with the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed compressing the timeline whenever possible. Those months may seem endless when over a thousand people are dying from COVID-19 each day in the United States.The process is long and intensive for a reason, though. Just because a vaccine exists doesn’t mean it’s reasonable... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Samsung’s next midrange phone to get 5G connectivity is the Galaxy A51. Originally launched back in April, the A51 costs $400 normally and sits comfortably in the zone occupied by the now-discounted Pixel 3A and newly announced Pixel 4A (of which there is also a 5G version coming). But the new 5G version of the A51 will go for $500 and work on T-Mobile and Verizon’s 5G networks, Samsung says.Samsung originally announced that its Galaxy A-series lineup would get 5G back in April, and the A51 is the second device after the A71, which costs $600, to get the faster network treatment. Sporting slightly less impressive specs compared with the A71, the A51 has a 6.5-inch FHD+ OLED Infinity-O display with a hole-punch camera in the screen, a... Continue reading…

Photo by SUSAN WALSH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images The White House forced out commissioner with free speech concerns about social media rules Continue reading…

Image: Samsung It’s all kicking off on August 5th at 10AM ET Continue reading…

Image: T-Mobile T-Mobile says that it has officially switched on “the world’s first standalone 5G network,” allowing the company to maximize the use of its 600MHz 5G spectrum. Previously, that 600MHz footprint was directly tied to the carrier’s LTE coverage map and thus limited in reach. “With today’s launch, 600MHz 5G can go beyond the mid-band signal, covering hundreds of square miles from a single tower and going deeper into buildings than before,” T-Mobile wrote in a press release.It celebrated this expanded 5G availability — T-Mobile claims standalone 5G immediately increases its 5G footprint by 30 percent — by putting on a drone show in Lisbon, North Dakota, an example of one of the small towns that’s now getting 5G for the first time. In all,... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple says it’s not interested in acquiring TikTok, despite an Axios report that named the company as a potential buyer for the embattled social network. The company tells The Verge that there are no talks at present to acquire TikTok, and it has no plans to pursue such a deal.Notably, Axios sourced the information to figures outside of Apple, who reportedly had knowledge of ongoing talks.Microsoft announced on Sunday that it was in talks to buy TikTok’s operations in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as guided by President Trump. There has been heated speculation about other potential buyers for the app in the days since. Axios also said there was significant private equity interest in the purchase, and Microsoft has stated... Continue reading…

The new Family Bell feature on Google Assistant smart displays and speakers. | Image: Google Google is expanding the capabilities of its Assistant on smart displays and speakers today to make it easier for families that are homeschooling their children during the pandemic.Leading the way is the new Family Bell feature, an alarm-like reminder that can be broadcast from a Nest Home smart display or speaker at a set time. Google is pitching the Family Bell as a way for families to announce when it’s time to start schooling or get ready for bed. A parent can program a Family Bell through the Assistant app on a phone, set when it will go off and repeat on specific days, and choose which smart display or smart speaker it will chime from. Family Bell alerts can also be programmed through Hey Google voice commands, but any management... Continue reading…

Image: Apple Apple is announcing updates for both the 27-inch and 21.5-inch iMacs. It’s updating the processors inside to Intel’s 10th Gen Comet Lake processors and also switching out the webcam to a higher-resolution 1080p HD sensor instead of the low-res 720p found in other Macs. SSDs are now standard across the line, and there will be a bunch of new configuration options — including a “nano-texture” version with less reflective matte glass.The 27-inch iMac starts at $1,799, is available to order today, and will ship this week. The 21.5-inch iMac starts at $1,099 and will ship next week. Apple is also giving the iMac Pro a small spec bump, making the 10-core Intel chips the new baseline for $4,999 — also shipping next week. (Oddly, the iMac Pro is... Continue reading…

Fitbit’s health-tracking business was losing money when Google swooped in to buy it. The European Commission is launching a full investigation into Google’s acquisition of Fitbit. EU regulators are worried that the deal will entrench Google’s position as a market leader in online advertising by giving the search giant access to data collected from Fitbit’s health tracking hardware that can be used for personalized advertisements.“The data collected via wrist-worn wearable devices appears ... to be an important advantage in the online advertising markets,” wrote the commission in a press release. “By increasing the data advantage of Google in the personalization of the ads it serves via its search engine and displays on other internet pages, it would be more difficult for rivals to match Google’s online advertising... Continue reading…

Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge Ford CEO Jim Hackett is retiring, the company announced on Tuesday, and he will be replaced by current chief operating officer Jim Farley. Hackett will stay with Ford until October to help with the transition and remain a “special advisor” through March 2021.Farley, who has been with Ford for more than a decade and came over from Toyota, said in a conference call that he wants to “swing for the fences” while in charge of Ford. “We know our competition today is Amazon, Baidu, Tesla, Apple, Toyota, and others,” he said. “They’re well-financed and voracious companies.”Hackett was installed as CEO in 2017 after previously running Ford Smart Mobility, the company’s new technologies wing. He replaced Mark Fields, who was pushed out after... Continue reading…