Latest Technology

The LG MyView Smart Monitor. | Image: LG LG will show off a new series of 32-inch 4K computer monitor / TV hybrids called the ‘MyView’ at CES this year. The company announced they’ll come “in a variety of colors, including essence white, mild beige, cotton pink and cotton green.” They’ll be offered in three variants at two price levels — $599.99 and $499.99, and LG says it will announce availability in the US “at a later date.” The specs and design language of LG’s new smart LED displays are very similar to the Samsung M8. They both come in multiple colors and have a whiff of modern iMac design, though with more adjustable stands (both support tweaks to height, tilt, and rotation). Each can be used as a smart TV with the included remote and all of the new MyView monitors will... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/EWPBrTL

The Verge / Image courtesy of Sunblink Apple Arcade remains one of the best deals in gaming — even after getting a price bump . Since launch, the service has steadily grown with a mix of original mobile releases and App Store classics, none of which are burdened with the ads or in-app purchases that so often plague smartphone games. 2023 was a particularly strong year for new additions, with everything from daily word games for the Wordle -obsessed to cozy adventures to relax with. If you just picked up a new Apple device, or are using the subscription service for the very first time, here are some great places to start. Knotwords Zach Gage and Jack Schlesinger have partnered on a number of great mobile puzzle games — including Good Sudoku and SpellTower , both of which are... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/McblO7Q

Illustration: William Joel / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 19, 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 .) It’s the last Installer of the year, so we’re going to do something a little different! We’re going to talk about all our favorite things of 2023. Some ground rules / disclaimers: this list is not exhaustive, not everything in here is new this year it’s just new to us, this is not an Official List of Every Single Good Thing That Exists, and most importantly, if there’s something missing that you find outrageous and unacceptable you know where to find me: installer@theverge.com and (203) 570-8663 on all the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/CiGSU0W

The LG Qube is so tiny, so boxy, so handle-y. | Image: LG LG announced the CineBeam Qube (model HU710PB ) laser projector yesterday: It’s got a minimalist look and stature, weighing 3.28 pounds and measuring 135mm square on one side and just 80mm wide at the front. (For comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro is just shy of 147mm tall.) It also has an unspecified number of HDMI eARC and USB-C ports, and a 3W built-in mono speaker. Impressively, LG says it can project an up-to-120-inch image at full 4K resolution with a pretty standard 1.2 throw ratio. Oh, and it has a handle! There are some apparent drawbacks to this itty bitty projector. For starters, it pushes out a relatively dim 500 ANSI lumens (compared to 2200 ANSI lumens of the larger Xgimi Horizon Pro we reviewed two years ago). That means that,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/8Zcx562

A lawsuit alleged that Vizio’s claims about refresh rates can be misleading. | Image: Vizio If you bought a Vizio TV in California after April 30th, 2014, Vizio may owe you some money. The company has agreed to pay out $3 million after a 2018 class action lawsuit alleged that its marketing of 120Hz and 240Hz “effective” refresh rates was “false and deceptive.” Vizio denies that it did anything wrong, according to the agreement . The deadline for filing claims is March 30th next year, and requires some sort of evidence of ownership, including proof of purchase or the serial number, to qualify. In addition to paying out for verified claims, Vizio would “stop the advertising practices” and “provide enhanced services and a limited one-year warranty to all Settlement Class Members,” according to details from the website set up for... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/g7IwTEX

The Verge / Photos via Getty Images Layoffs are an unfortunate reality of any industry , but the scope and scale of video game layoffs in 2023 are far beyond a typical year. More than any specific video game or piece of news, layoffs defined the past 12 months. Companies large and small have felt their impact. Unofficial figures estimate 9,000 workers have been affected, and at the heart of it all are corporations that valued growth at all costs — including people. In September, Epic Games laid off 830 employees . In a statement, CEO Tim Sweeney wrote , “We’ve been spending way more money than we earn. [...] I had long been optimistic that we could power through this transition without layoffs, but in retrospect I see that this was unrealistic.” Some of that spending was on... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/l7cWTBy

Amazon’s new Echo Show 8 brings a faster chip, better speakers, and the most important update of all: widgets. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Happy Friday, folks! Well, now that Christmas is officially behind us, the deals are quickly drying up. Nonetheless, there are still a few deals worth busting out those newly minted gift cards for. Amazon’s latest Echo Show 8 has dropped to a new low, for example, while the Tile Mate has returned to its best price to date. There’s also a bunch of other stuff on sale right now, including a terrific pair of noise-canceling earbuds and OnePlus’ first mechanical keyboard , so let’s begin. First off, Amazon has apparently decided to save some of its best deals for after the holiday season, or at least until after Christmas. Right now, the third-gen Echo Show 8 is on sale at Amazon for Prime members for $89.99 ($60 off). That’s a new all-time... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Mhpcm34

The Verge / Image courtesy of Apple TV We’re four years into the existence of Apple TV Plus, and the network still feels like it’s punching above its weight class. It doesn’t have nearly the expansive library of its competitors, but the shows (and occasional film) it does have are really, really good —usually. I’ve heard friends compare it to HBO in the 2000s, and that feels like an apt comparison. There are plenty of great movies, but there’s also an astonishingly well-programmed group of TV shows that seem to speak to a very wide audience, from its core group of science fiction shows like For All Mankind and Foundation to its more outlandish fair like Schmigadoon! and The Morning Show. Apple TV Plus has found a way to reach a wide audience with a small array of... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/HyorIaj

The Verge / Photo courtesy of HBO The streaming service formerly known as HBO Max completed its magical girl transformation this year, dropping arguably the most recognizable part of its name to just become Max . The questionable rename came at the conclusion of the merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery and, according to WarnerDiscovery executives, was meant to signal to subscribers that the new Max has content for the whole family to enjoy. Immediately post-merger, Max lost 1.8 million subscribers (that WarnerMedia attributes to simple attrition). But the great mushing together of libraries means that highly polished dramas like The Sopranos and Oz appear alongside the highly popular (what’s a polite way to say ‘schlock’?) like 90 Day Fiance and Property Brothers t... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/LRtMzXq

The Verge / Photo Courtesy of Sony PlayStation’s had an interesting year. The company ricocheted between the highs of launching new technology like the PlayStation Portal and a new PS5 Slim (now with a detachable disk drive!) and the lows of layoffs , game cancellations , massive data leaks , and the end of CEO Jim Ryan’s 28-year tenure . And though 2023 was the year of the cross-platform blockbusters like Diablo IV and Baldur’s Gate 3 , PlayStation still had a number of exclusives not to be missed. Spider-Man 2 When you start out with a game as good as the original Spider-Man , you don’t have to change much. And thankfully that’s exactly what the developers at Insomniac did for Spider-Man 2 . The sequel has some new ideas — including web wings that let you glide across New... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/R7qa26n

The Verge / Image courtesy of Amazon Prime Amazon Prime Video is the second-best perk that comes with a Prime subscription (aside from free two-day shipping, of course), and its library only continues to grow. While Prime Video is often overshadowed by the likes of Netflix and Max, it has surprising range, whether you’re looking for a lighthearted comedy, psychological thriller, or a thrilling animated series. With that out of the way, here’s our list of the best shows released on Amazon Prime Video this year. Invincible If you’re looking for a fresh take on the superhero genre, you’ll want to check out Invincible . The animated series first debuted in 2021, but its second season just came out this year — and it doesn’t disappoint. Invincible follows 17-year-old Mark Grayson... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/cBjDFH4

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple has won a temporary pause of the Apple Watch ban that went into effect on Tuesday. A federal appeals court ordered a halt on the import and sales bans today, after Apple requested that they be paused at least until US Customs can determine if changes it’s making to the Apple Watch would be enough to avoid the patent dispute that led to the ban. Customs is expected to issue its decision on January 12th. The court’s order means that Apple can resume selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 for the moment. Both watches were pulled from its website last week and off of store shelves this week, as the ban went into effect. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would resume sales. Apple... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/nkIMBoG

Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, claiming the two companies built their AI models by “copying and using millions” of the publication’s articles and now “directly compete” with its content as a result. As outlined in the lawsuit , the Times alleges OpenAI and Microsoft’s large language models (LLMs), which power ChatGPT and Copilot, “can generate output that recites Times content verbatim, closely summarizes it, and mimics its expressive style.” This “undermine[s] and damage[s]” the Times ’ relationship with readers, the outlet alleges, while also depriving it of “subscription, licensing, advertising, and affiliate revenue.” The complaint also argues that these AI models “threaten high-quality... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jpMJB3O

Image: Microsoft Microsoft has quietly launched a dedicated Copilot app for Android. The new app is available in the Google Play Store , offering access to Microsoft’s AI-powered Copilot without the need for the Bing mobile app. Spotted by Neowin , Copilot on Android has been available for nearly a week, but an iOS version isn’t available just yet. Microsoft’s Copilot app on Android is very similar to ChatGPT, with access to chatbot capabilities, image generation through DALL-E 3, and the ability to draft text for emails and documents. It also includes free access to OpenAI’s latest GPT-4 model, something you have to pay for if you’re using ChatGPT. Image: Microsoft The Copilot interface on Android The launch of the Copilot app... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/8x5SDsd

The Verge / Photo courtesy of Paramount Plus and IMDB I am a Paramount Plus apologist. I know — going by subscription numbers alone — that I have to be because people do not subscribe to the streaming service at the same rate as Netflix or Amazon Prime, but I spend more time in the Paramount Plus app than the other two. It’s got older shows like Star Trek , Frasier , and Avatar: The Last Airbender , and newer splashy shows like... everything Taylor Sheridan produces and Frasier . It has a whole mess of football (American) and football (the rest of the world), and while bigger brands like Netflix are only now experimenting with live TV, Paramount Plus has been doing it from the get-go and doing it really well. It is, I think, my desert island streaming service. A lot of new shows aired on the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0UsC4Gj

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple can no longer sell the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in the US after President Joe Biden’s administration declined to veto the ban today. Apple pulled both devices from its website on December 21st and from its store shelves after December 24th. A statement ( via CNBC ) from the Office of US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the agency “decided not to reverse the ITC’s [International Trade Commission] determination” after “careful consideration.” The ITC issued the ban after finding that Apple infringed on blood oxygen saturation technology patented by a company called Masimo. It also ordered Apple to stop selling any previously-imported devices with the infringed-upon tech. While Apple attempted to block the decision while... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/FzlPiNs

The Verge / Photo courtesy of Bethesda Game Studios Xbox Game Pass might have had a rather slow 2022, but its value has really paid off in 2023. There are more than 400 games to choose from, and I’ve honestly struggled to pick just 10 to recommend this year. For a monthly subscription fee of between $10.99 and $16.99, you get to play a wide range of games like Starfield , Sea of Stars , Tunic , and Inside . If you’ve just got an Xbox, here’s a list of 10 great Xbox Game Pass games that are well worth your time over the holidays. Pentiment Pentiment is a manuscript murder mystery set in the 16th century. In Pentiment, you play as Andreas Maler, a painter working on illustrated manuscripts in an abbey in Bavaria. The game plays out like a visual novel, where you’ll make decisions throughout... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/YC0lxK8

A Disney Plus subscription provides access to the full catalog of Star Wars , including recent series like Ahsoka . | Image: Suzanne Tenner / Lucasfilm Ltd. Yes, Christmas is tomorrow — and yes, we know you have yet to buy a gift. We understand that life gets busy, though, and sometimes it feels like the holidays creep up on you out of nowhere. But before you spiral into a full-blown panic attack, take a deep breath. Luckily for you, the internet is filled with a treasure trove of gift cards, subscriptions, and other great digital gifts you can buy as late as Christmas Day itself. To help make your life a little easier, we’ve curated a list of some of the best digital gifts we’ve either used ourselves or gifted to our friends and family. We’ve organized the list by interests, too, so you can find the perfect present whether your loved one is into the arts, exercise, or something else... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/J4o5mz8

It does one thing well, and yet there are other multi-use devices that are arguably better, but dammit sometimes I’m lazy. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/knebO2H

The Verge / Photo Courtesy of IMDB and Hulu Hulu got a big price hike this year , but it’s getting increasingly harder to cancel (at least for me) thanks to the overwhelming number of shows and movies to watch on the Disney-owned service. While those of us in the US can currently access Hulu separately from Disney Plus, things are about to change very soon. Disney is planning to launch a combined Hulu and Disney Plus app for users who subscribe to both services, and it’s set to come out next year after some initial testing. Keep in mind that this won’t change the content available on either service, just how you access it. For now, though, here are some of the best shows released on Hulu this year. Only Murders in the Building (Season 3) Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/UZxoHkP

With superb ANC and dynamic, rich sound, Bose’s latest pair of earbuds are a bonafide hit. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Happy Saturday, dear readers! It’s been an extremely quiet week on the deals front, with the most notable discounts we’ve seen landing on Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air , GOTY contender Baldur’s Gate 3 , and Belkin’s 3-in-1 MagSafe charger . Luckily, despite the lack of new deals, there are some solid holiday discounts still hanging around. For instance, you can still snag the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds on sale at Amazon , Best Buy , and Target starting at $249 ($50 off), which remains the best price we’ve seen on the wireless earbuds since they made their debut earlier in the fall. They’re not all that different from last year’s QC Earbuds II in fit and finish, yet they add a new immersive audio component and improved fins that allow for... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/WgG2a48

The Verge / Photo courtesy of Netflix and IMDB With shows like Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Blue Eye Samurai, and a wild new Castlevania spinoff, Netflix is still holding its own in the streaming wars. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/BqSRIrv

Only the Pixel 8 Pro gets Video Boost, one of the AI camera features announced at its launch. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge When Google introduced Night Sight on the Pixel 3, it was a revelation. It was as if someone had literally turned on the lights in your low-light photos. Previously impossible shots became possible — no tripod or deer-in-the-headlights flash needed. Five years later and taking photos in the dark is old hat — just about every phone up and down the price spectrum comes with some kind of night mode. Video, though, is a different story. Night modes for still photos capture multiple frames to create one brighter image, and it’s just not possible to copy and paste the mechanics of that feature to video which, by its nature, is already a series of images. The answer, as it seems to be lately, is to call on AI. When the Pixel 8 Pro launched... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Vjkmf39

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge This week, Axios broke the news that Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount were looking into some sort of merger . It would make sense: Warner Bros. Discovery is trying to become a content behemoth, and Paramount would give the company even more content plus a grouping of popular (as they can be in this age) broadcast and cable channels. It would further secure Warner Bros. Discovery’s control over tentpole IP and allow it to serve as an even more potent rival to Disney and Netflix. It would also be very bad for all of us who just want to watch some shows after work or school. In 2023, we finally saw the future envisioned by the companies behind the streaming services we all use. It was not a world where shows and movies are readily... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/SJEu2VZ

The Verge / Photo from Getty Images In the podcasting world, the year 2019 may seem like it happened in a parallel universe. Vulture ’s Nicholas Quah deemed it the beginning of the “big podcasting era,” pointing to the millions of dollars that Spotify invested in building out its podcast operation — and the expected domino effect as other companies follow suit. “There was podcasting before 2019, and there will be podcasting after 2019. What podcasting will look like in 2024 remains very much up for grabs,” wrote Quah. And although 2024’s outlook still isn’t entirely certain, it’s pretty obvious that the golden years are over. There were a staggering number of layoffs in podcasting and the audio world at large this year, hitting every entity from public radio to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/PRpVaOd

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge It’s over for Windows Mixed Reality. In an update to a list of deprecated Windows features, Microsoft added Windows Mixed Reality, along with the accompanying Mixed Reality Portal app and Windows Mixed Reality for Steam VR. The company says Windows Mixed Reality is “deprecated and will be removed in a future release of Windows.” Microsoft first introduced Windows Mixed Reality in 2017 as part of its bid to compete with virtual reality rivals like HTC and Oculus (now owned by Meta). Windows Mixed Reality served as a portal to games, apps, and other experiences within the VR space. In addition to the Microsoft HoloLens, other companies, including Acer, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, HP, and Samsung, made mixed reality headsets compatible with... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/bSDMtxw

The Verge / Photos by Chris Welch A lot happened in the headphone world this year. 2023 gave us the usual serving of big new products, but it also continued that story of earbuds and headphones growing smarter and more advanced — while audio quality keeps reaching new heights. And for better or worse, the trend helped to strengthen ecosystem lock-in for brands like Apple, Samsung, and Google. Bose overhauled its hardware lineup and released the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and Headphones , which are the latest flexes of the company’s best-in-class active noise cancellation. Sony launched the hotly anticipated WF-1000XM5 earbuds . Jabra tried to keep pace with larger competitors with a pair of new premium earbuds , the Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active. Other companies produced buds... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/lyYLJ7f

From left to right, the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Ultra, and Galaxy S24 Plus. | Image: Samsung / @MysteryLupin If rumors are to be believed, we’re less than a month away from the launch of Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S24 range. Over on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, leaker Evan Blass has shared what appears to be an early look at a countdown to the next Galaxy Unpacked that says “Galaxy AI is coming” on January 18th at 3AM KST. That translates to 1PM ET on January 17th, in line with a previously reported date for the launch . Blass also shared a leaked spec sheet for the three devices which confirms many of their previously rumored features. According to the spec sheet , Samsung is once again planning to offer three models as part of the range. There’s the standard Galaxy S24, with a 6.2-inch screen, the S24 Plus... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/kuMpKC5

Nomad’s upcoming stand Qi2 charger will help make charging rates more consistent across devices. | Image: Nomad Nomad, a reputable producer of phone cases and accessories, has announced its first stand charger based on the new magnet-enhanced Qi2 standard. The $100 Stand Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Charger is capable of charging MagSafe and Qi2-enabled devices at up to 15W, and features a metal and glass design that’ll be available in black or white. You’ll have to supply your own 20W USB-C power adapter, but Nomad has at least included a two-meter USB-C to USB-C cable alongside the product. Much like other Qi2-based chargers that have been announced — such as Belkin’s new BoostCharge offerings , Anker’s latest MagGo accessories , and Mophie’s upcoming trio — the Nomad Stand Qi2 charger isn’t available to purchase yet. Nomad’s marketing director Chuck... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/6ij9mWc

A PornHub banner from the 2023 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo. | Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images Porn sites Pornhub, XVideos, and Stripchat face stricter requirements to verify the ages of their users after being officially designated as “Very Large Online Platforms” (VLOPs) under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). In a press release today , the European Commission said the three sites “fulfil the threshold of 45 million average monthly users in the EU.” The sites will have to comply with the DSA obligations by February 2024. Being designated as a VLOP means the sites will also have to conduct risk assessments and mitigate the spread of illegal content like child sexual abuse material and deepfake pornography. There are also transparency requirements like being subject to external audits, publishing transparency reports... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/9HvFmOJ

Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge The electric bike company’s new leadership outlines its post-bankruptcy plan to relaunch and expand into more areas of e-mobility. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/MB0chHs

The Apple Watch Series 9 is pretty similar to the last-gen Series 8, though it does come in a new pink shade. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge In case you haven’t heard, Apple is halting Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 sales in the US due to a patent dispute . Starting on December 21st at 3PM ET, you won’t be able to buy the wearables from Apple, nor will third-party retailers like Amazon restock inventory after it sells out. Thankfully, both wearables are still in stock and on sale as of right now, with the Apple Watch Series 9 starting at around $329 ($70 off) in the 41mm GPS configuration at Amazon , Target , and Walmart . The Ultra 2 , meanwhile, is currently on sale at Amazon with select bands for as low as $699 ($100 off) when you clip the on-page coupon. Overall, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Ultra 2 are great fitness trackers for iPhone users. They both feature a... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Aw1yjkX

The Verge There’s this picture from more than a decade ago that still goes viral on the web every once in a while. You’ve probably seen it: it was created by the venture capitalist Andrew Parker, and it compares a few dozen startups with subsections of Craigslist. Back then, Craigslist was all things to all people online, and a generation of startups figured they could do part of the job a lot better. Some of those companies failed — sometimes because of Craigslist! — but some also became gigantically successful. Airbnb worked because it was more searchable, reliable, and trustworthy than a random Craigslist listing; StubHub sold you secondhand tickets without the 50 percent chance those tickets were fake; Etsy offered a much more fun shopping and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/BNYX2aE

The CMA has a deadline of February 25th to make a final decision. | Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge Adobe is, unsurprisingly, standing its ground after the UK’s competition watchdog slammed the brakes on its $20 billion plan to purchase the cloud-based product design platform Figma. Last month, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally determined that the deal would harm the product design software market should it go ahead — effectively blocking the acquisition until Adobe addressed the regulator’s concerns, which involves the divestiture of “overlapping operations” like Figma Design and the company’s competing Adobe XD app. A response to the CMA’s request for remediations, dated December 14th, was published on the Authority’s website on Monday . In short, Adobe is refusing to make any of the suggested compromises to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/SkFKvig

Image: The Verge X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, may have broken the European Union’s tough new Digital Service Act rules, regulators said as they announced the opening of a formal investigation today . A key concern of the investigation is “the dissemination of illegal content in the context of Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel,” the European Commission says. In a press release, the Commission said it will look at X’s attempts to counter the spread of illegal content on its platform and will examine X’s efforts to stop “information manipulation” via its Community Notes system and other policies. It’s also looking into matters beyond content moderation, including “deceptive design” relating to “the so-called Blue checks,” advertising... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/alQxI1F

Image: May Mobility You probably haven’t heard of autonomous vehicle operator May Mobility because the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company is exceptionally good at avoiding the types of headlines generated by other AV companies. In its six years in operation, there haven’t been any injuries, crashes, blocked intersections, or mass layoffs. While there have been some struggles, the company has proven to be an outlier among AV operators by continuing to raise money while others have seen their funding dry up . And now, May Mobility is ready to go fully driverless, a milestone that has the company taking stock of its successes — and looking ahead to the future. “The most capital-efficient AV company that the world has ever seen” “It’s not robotaxis,” May... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/S6aHyGo

Blue Origin will stream the launch on its site. | Screenshot: The Verge Space tourism company Blue Origin has set its sights on a New Shepard launch window that starts tomorrow at 9:30AM ET, its first attempt since the rocket booster failed during its September 2022 launch. The company says its New Shepard rocket will launch from its Launch Site One in West Texas. Blue Origin will livestream the launch on its website 20 minutes before the countdown. This will be the 24th launch of the reusable New Shepard rocket, and will carry 33 science payloads. Most of its launches have been uncrewed, but as Engadget noted , six of them have had human beings on board, including William Shatner . Last year, Blue Origin’s uncrewed NS-23 launch failed , prompting a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigation. The FAA... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/UxTWzKY

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Peloton is opening up its app to third-party treadmills for running, walking, or Tread Bootcamp classes. Pelo Buddy spotted a new support page on Peloton’s site announcing that the app can now record and display metrics on any treadmill that uses Bluetooth FTMS. The offer is only open to subscribers of the company’s most expensive subscription workout plan , Peloton App Plus. To pair, you’ll start a Tread class in the Peloton app, then tap the “Connect a Bluetooth Device” option. Pick your treadmill from the list, and a green check mark lets you know when it’s connected. Peloton says users can check their incline, speed, pace, and distance via the app during a class session. After the class is over, the app will also show estimated... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/U01YHPS

Illustration: William Joel / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 18, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, hello, happy holidays, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I’ve been combing this list for new board games to try , reading about the NFL’s obsession with ping pong and the rise of chess influencers and the wacky history of Yahoo Pipes, watching Lupe Fiasco thoroughly explain how rap works , testing Anytype as a Notion alternative, trying to figure out how to justify buying myself a Lego Polaroid , and adding Us to all my words on Threads to welcome my European friends. I also have for you a new way to play Grand Theft Auto, some new AI-powered note-taking and journaling... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/fP156Uv

Image: Epic Games Apple rules the iPhone’s App Store with an iron fist — sideloading outside it is not allowed. Google lets anyone install any app on an Android phone. But guess which one of these two companies has an illegal monopoly, according to the courts? As you probably already know, Google is the one that lost its fight against Epic Games this week . It’s a fight that Apple previously (mostly) won in a similar trial in 2021 , beating claims that it had violated antitrust laws by charging mandatory in-app transaction fees and kicking Epic’s game Fortnite off the App Store. Google tried a similar move, but in its case, a jury found it had maintained an unlawful monopoly with the Play store; a judge is scheduled to consider remedies next month. L... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0oCzjlV

The two women are the stars of one of the most watches shows on Netflix this year. | Image Amanda Matlovich/Netflix Stop me if you’ve heard this one. You’re at a holiday gathering and some very offline family member starts chatting about the show Yellowstone . Pretty soon after a very online family member looks up in confusion and asks either what the show is or why they keep hearing about it when no one they know seems to watch it. But maybe it’s not Yellowstone . Maybe its La Reina Del Sur , or The Glory , or maybe its Ginny & Georgia . What those three shows all have in common is they’re three of the most watched shows on Netflix between January and June 2023, and if you haven’t heard of them it’s probably because you’re part of the increasing gulf between the shows people talk about online and the ones everyone is actually watching. These new Netflix... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Fg6XG5j

Image: Max Though there are a handful of human survivors at the core of its story, the real star of Scavengers Reign isn’t a person; it’s a planet. The animated series features a group of astronauts stranded on a bizarre alien world and follows them as they contend with the harsh, confusing, and downright odd environment around them. There are flying creatures that can double as gas masks and giant monkey-frogs that use psychic powers to lure in victims. Things only get weirder from there. But the fun of the show is seeing how the characters are able to use the strange plants and animals to their advantage. “I think it’s a universally satisfying process to watch people try to survive with limitations,” says supervising director Benjy Brooke. Based... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/OI8vQtJ

Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Google will soon store Maps users’ location history locally on their devices instead of in the cloud, a big change that will make it more difficult for law enforcement to access the data. Controversial “geofence warrants” allow law enforcement to gather tech companies’ data on mobile phones that have passed through a certain area during a specific time period. The FBI has used the warrant to collect information about a Black Lives Matters protest in Seattle as part of an investigation into attempted arson, for instance. With privacy concerns and the potential for geofence warrants to turn anyone at the scene of an alleged crime a potential suspect , Google has faced pressure for years to change the way it stores users’ location history.... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/l42mKUp

Nanoleaf’s smart holiday string lights are compatible with Matter, so they can work with a wide range of smart home platforms. | Image: Nanoleaf If you’ve got a holiday party or gathering coming up, Nanoleaf’s Essentials Matter Smart Holiday String Lights will help set the mood without putting a dent in your wallet. Typically $119.99, right now, the 65-foot string lights are only $44.99 at Best Buy , which is significantly cheaper than they were on Black Friday and a new all-time low. If you’re looking for a piece of decor that’ll get everybody in the Christmas spirit, these twinkly string lights are it. With 250 addressable LEDs capable of displaying more than 16 million colors and an IP44 rating, they’ll make any tree, fireplace, or porch pop. The lights also come with festive preset scenes and will even dance along to the beat of holiday tunes. Plus, the Wi-Fi string lights... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/P0ERrOS

Marc Corfmat was a teenager when he began to compete for Lego’s ultimate prize: the chance to design an official set. He and his brother Nick had been building custom Lego creations ever since they were kids, sometimes in California, sometimes during vacations at their grandparents’ home in La Rochelle, France. They shared their models on YouTube and posted their creations to Lego’s website, but interest from the Lego world came slowly, if it came at all. Then, in 2020, the brothers started having some luck. The Lego Ideas program gives fans the chance to turn their designs into reality, offering both fame and a small fortune — 1 percent of net sales — to anyone who can convince 10,000 peers and The Lego Group that their set deserves to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/meuRqPZ

Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Tax prep company H&R Block released a new conversational AI chatbot that answers taxpayer questions. AI Tax Assist, accessed through paid versions of H&R Block’s DIY tax software, lets users ask questions on tax rules, possible exemptions, and other tax-related issues. It also points people to a human tax expert for more personalized advice, though the company said it is working on supporting AI-powered personalized advice as well. In a demo, the company showed how users with complicated tax filing statuses — say a gig worker — can start their tax returns. They can then ask AI Tax Assist for information like, “What can I deduct as business expenses as an Uber driver?” The AI will provide a list of allowed deductions, and the user can... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/H4ZcF2C

Image: Opera Opera GX now includes a button you can hit when your embarrassing browsing session risks exposure to prying eyes. It’s designed to quickly mute playback from all tabs and switch to a new window of safe content during an, ahem, unexpected drop-in or when your boss catches you watching too much Twitch when you should be glued to Excel. The new panic mode can be activated using the F12 button on a keyboard, so all you 60 percent keyboard lovers will need to bind the one function key nobody (apart from developers) uses right now. Opera lets you pick a website to designate as your safe tab, with pre-installed options for YouTube, Twitch, and Wikipedia. You can press F12 again once the coast is clear to bring back your tabs. I... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/esQgNUS

Because Autopilot is a standard feature on new Tesla models, almost every X, S, 3, and Y (pictured) model sold within the US is impacted. | Image: Tesla Tesla is pushing software updates to over 2 million vehicles in the US — or almost every Model S, Y, X, and 3 ever sold in the country — to address a defect in the company’s Autopilot system. On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a recall notice for the vehicles following a two-year investigation into a series of collisions that occurred involving Tesla vehicles using Autopilot, which comes as standard on every new Tesla. “In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, the prominence and scope of the feature’s controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse,” the agency said in the recall statement, noting that this could lead to an “increased risk of a collision.” The notice applies to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/1UNwS0r

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft currently offers free access to Fortnite on its Xbox Cloud Gaming service (xCloud), but there are signs the company may offer free game streaming in exchange for ads. Microsoft Gaming CFO Tim Stuart hinted at this prospect in a Wells Fargo TMT Summit interview late last month, spotted by TweakTown . “The vision I like to talk about is we have xCloud game streaming, so you can subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate and you can stream hundreds of games to really any endpoint that has a browser experience,” explained Stuart. “For models like Africa, or India, Southeast Asia, maybe places that aren’t console-first, you can say, ‘hey, do you want to watch 30 seconds of an ad and then get two hours of game streaming?’” Stuart’s spitballing... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/LAP7CUm

The Creator Micro is designed to be used alongside traditional peripherals like a mouse and keyboard. | Image: Figma Design software company Figma is launching its first dedicated piece of hardware. The Figma Creator Micro is effectively a small mechanical keyboard (aka, a macro pad) equipped with 12 keys and two dials for quick access to your most commonly used Figma tools and shortcuts. It’s up for preorder for $139 starting today , with shipping expected in the first half of next year. The Creator Micro isn’t an entirely original Figma creation. The design company has collaborated with Work Louder on the peripheral, which is a rebranded version of the existing Creator Micro . But this isn’t just a Creator Micro with a Figma-branded coat of paint. Figma product manager Rob Bye tells me the company has worked to preconfigure its version of the Creator... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Szx5e1G

Illustration by Erik Carter for The Verge Here is a very dumb truth: for a decade, the default answer to nearly every problem in mass media communication involved Twitter. Breaking news? Twitter. Live sports commentary? Twitter. Politics? Twitter. A celebrity has behaved badly? Twitter. A celebrity has issued a Notes app apology for bad behavior? Twitter. For a good while, the most reliable way to find out what a loud noise in New York City was involved asking Twitter. Was there an earthquake in San Francisco? Twitter. Is some website down? Twitter. The sense that Twitter was a real-time news feed worked in both directions: people went on Twitter to find out what was going on, and reporters, seeing a real-time audience of people paying attention to news, started talking directly... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/g9kDYWp