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Photo: Adrienn Szabo / Paramount Plus From the first trailer alone , I could tell Halo season 2 would go in a different direction than the first. Where season 1 was bogged down in strange storytelling choices that didn’t leave much room for its characters — namely, the Spartans — to do what they do best — namely, kick Covenant ass — season 2 feels more in line with what a Halo show should be about. According to Pablo Schreiber, the difference mostly comes down to tone. “The biggest place where we succeed on a level that we didn’t quite reach in season 1 is that I think the tone of this season feels darker,” he said in an interview with The Verge . Schreiber, who plays Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, thinks the action has gotten better, too — I agree — and attributes these... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3gE2GYi

Illustration: The Verge Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced Friday that his company has logged 100 million subscriptions to Google One, its all-in-one subscription service that opens up additional storage for free services like Gmail, Drive, and Photos, as well as access to more features. Hitting the milestone highlights the company’s efforts to move people away from its free plans, such as discontinuing unlimited Google Drive storage for photos. Google’s YouTube Premium service took nine years to get there, but it, too, recently hit 100 million subscribers , thanks to ad removal and extra features like music or high-quality streaming (and at the same time as YouTube made changes to crackdown on ad blockers ). We just crossed 100M Google One subscribers!... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/zaf9KlZ

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge You’ve no doubt allowed dozens (or even hundreds) of apps to live on your smartphone, and it’s important that you know what these apps are up to. Part of that is keeping tabs on how much communicating each app is doing with the outside world. We’ve previously written about how to check data usage on an Android device , and here, we’re going to focus on iPhones. There are a couple of reasons to watch how much data your phone is using. First, while unlimited data plans are much more widespread than they used to be, bear in mind that these plans often apply speed restrictions when you go over a certain point every month. And if you’re using a limited plan and apps go over your data allowance while you’re away from Wi-Fi, it could start... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/FWrg7HA

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft has started hinting at how it will further integrate AI features into Windows 11 ahead of a big update to the OS that focuses on AI. The software giant started testing a “new experience” for Copilot in Windows this week, which includes an animated Copilot in the taskbar that appears when you copy text or images. “The Copilot icon will change appearance and animate to indicate that Copilot can help,” explains Microsoft in a blog post . “When you hover your mouse over the Copilot icon, it will provide a menu of actions that you can take, such as summarizing or explaining the copied text.” I’ve tested the experience in the latest Windows 11 Canary builds, and it works well for text, summarizing anything you copy. While the icon... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Nt3T9se

What if the holy grail could be... even holier? | Screenshot from the Pilot Pen website Last night I discovered there’s a refillable version of my favorite pen available outside the US and I am heartbroken. Why can’t I have nice things? I have been writing with the Pilot Precise V5 and the Pilot Precise V7 for at least the last 25 years, possibly longer. They’re great pens! (I have also been assured by Alex Cranz that pens counts as gadgets. They are, at minimum, technology, albeit old technology.) Anyway, the Pilot Precise pens are available at most drugstores, cheap; I usually buy them by the dozen. They are very smooth, even on bad paper — I don’t have to press on them to write. That last part is crucial. See, there are days when I take extensive handwritten notes — many courtrooms do not allow electronic devices — and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0AtFnDZ

Anker’s space-saving magnetic charging stand is available at an all-time low. | Image: Anker Owning a gazillion gadgets is fun and all, but owning a gazillion chargers is a nuisance. Thankfully, Anker’s orb-like 637 Magnetic Charging Station (MagGo) functions as both a magnetic charging stand and an 8-in-1 power strip — one that’s currently on sale for an all-time low. Right now, the top-notch magnetic charger is available in white at Amazon and Anker (with code WSTD1GK4FM1G ) for $59.99 ($40 off) or from the latter retailer in black for $10 more. In addition to acting as a sturdy phone stand, Anker’s unique gadget features a magnetic Qi charger that supplies MagSafe-equipped iPhones with up to 7.5W of power. It also features two USB-C ports and four USB-A ports that output up to 65W of power combined, which is enough to charge... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3DwzXWt

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Disney, in an effort to work in a complicated new media era, is partnering with its competitors in the hopes of creating a single destination where viewers can watch everything they want. You’re shouting “Hulu!” at your screen, right? Well, Disney’s back at it again, launching a sports-specific streaming hub later this year that will combine all the channels and games of ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. On this episode of The Vergecast , we dig into why these companies need to band together, why sports still rule TV, and why it took so long to get the one-stop sports shop fans have been looking for for years. Then we get into the other Disney news, including the company’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/GyJWYNo