Join us for On The Verge: our exciting 10-year birthday party in New York City

Ten years ago, a handful of friends who wanted to build the next generation of tech coverage launched _The Verge._Now, thanks to you, we’re the front page of the future with a massive audience around the world. In October, we’ll gather to look back on 10 years of _The Verge_while also looking ahead to the next decade.

So we’re throwing a huge birthday bash in New York City this October 22nd and 23rd, and we hope you’ll join us. Seriously: you’ve never seen _The Verge_like this before.

We’re throwing this party at Spring Studios, which has a long history of creative people coming together to show off the future of technology, art, and culture. We’re going to take over the whole space for two days and turn _The Verge_up to the max with digital...

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TCL announces new 6-series and 5-series TVs that come with Google TV instead of Roku

TCL has long been the flag bearer of Roku TVs. The company’s 6-series is one of the best-performing sets you can buy for under $1,000. It features a fantastic picture with the help of Mini LED backlighting — TCL beat Samsung and LG to implementing that technology — and quantum dot HDR color. The 5-series and 4-series Roku TVs are no slouches either in their respective pricing tiers.

But now TCL is taking a step that could dramatically shake up the US TV market: it’s expanding beyond Roku and will release updated versions of its most popular TVs that come with Google TV on board. The software that debuted on Google’s 2020 Chromecast (and also runs on recent TVs from Sony) will now be offered on the latest 5-series and 6-series TVs.

I...

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The new Beats Studio Buds are already $20 off at Amazon and Walmart

Typically $150, Amazon and Walmart are both taking $20 off the recently-released earbuds. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

The Beats name carries quite a bit of clout, which is perhaps the reason Apple is able to sell headphones and earbuds that fall under the Beats umbrella for a premium, regardless of their performance. The Beat Studio Buds are a great case in point. The fitness-focused earbuds lack wireless charging and suffer from lackluster noise cancellation, however, they typically command a higher price than some of the like-minded competition.

Thankfully, they’re currently on sale at Amazon and Walmart for $20 off, the first discount the colorful earbuds have received since making their debut in June. Noted flaws aside, the Beats Studio Buds still tout a comfortable, stem-less design and satisfying sound for the price, along with USB-C charging and...

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Xiaomi announces Mix 4 with under-display camera

Xiaomi has announced the Mix 4, the first phone in the Mi Mix series to be announced in nearly three years. The Mix phones have always been about bezel-less designs with seamless screens, and the Mix 4 carries on that idea by commercializing a technology that Xiaomi has been working on for a long time: a selfie camera that’s located directly under the screen.

Xiaomi calls this CUP (Camera Under Panel) technology, though it’s similar to the under-display selfie cameras we’ve seen from other companies. Like Oppo and ZTE’s latest efforts, the Mix 4’s screen has a 400ppi area that lets light pass through to the selfie camera, which Xiaomi describes as “virtually invisible.” The camera is 20 megapixels and the display is a 6.67-inch 120Hz...

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Blue’s $50 Icepop mic brings subtle improvements to some Logitech headsets

The Icepop is compatible with the G Pro X Wireless, the G Pro X, G Pro, and Astro A40. | Image: Logitech

Not content with cornering the market with its USB microphones, the latest product from Logitech-owned Blue is a detachable mic called the Icepop. It’s a $49.99 upgrade that can replace the default mics included with Logitech’s G Pro X Wireless gaming headset, the G Pro X, the G Pro, as well as Astro’s A40 headsets.

Logitech is promising that the Icepop will deliver enhanced “broadcast-quality” performance with its 10mm electret condenser mic. It has a built-in pop filter that aims to eliminate those hard “b” or “p” sounds that can be a giveaway that you’re using a lesser mic, and its unidirectional cardioid pickup is said to eliminate background noise and focus more on your voice.

Installing the Icepop is as simple as plugging it into...

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HP announces new detachable and all-in-one Chrome OS computers

The HP Chromebase AiO (left) and Chromebook x2 11 (right) Chrome OS computers. | Photo: HP

HP is announcing two new Chrome OS computers for its consumer-focused lineup. The first is the Chromebase AiO, an all-in-one desktop computer with a screen that can rotate from landscape to portrait. The second is the Chromebook x2 11, a lightweight detachable that can easily shift from laptop to tablet modes. The company is also announcing a new Works With Chromebook-certified 24-inch USB-C monitor.

All three new products are designed for students, families, and general consumers. The Chromebase AiO will be available at HP, Amazon, and Best Buy this month, while the Chromebook x2 11 will be available from Best Buy this month and from HP’s website in October. Both computers start at $599.99 for base configurations. The M24fd USB-C...

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AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT review: built for 1080p

AMD can now compete with Nvidia at the entry level

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HP’s new Chromebase AiO has a screen that rotates from portrait to landscape

The HP Chromebase AiO all-in-one computer.

HP has just announced three new Chrome OS-focused products: a detachable tablet, a new all-in-one, and a Works With Chromebook-certified monitor. All of them are designed to capitalize on the explosive growth Chrome OS devices have seen over the past year and a half, as many students and families have had to adopt remote schooling. I’ve had a chance to try out a pre-production version of the new Chromebase AiO ahead of the announcement, read on for some first impressions.

The Chromebase AiO is the first all-in-one Chrome OS desktop with the ability to rotate its screen from landscape to portrait. You can switch modes with just a light push on the corner — the content on the screen will automatically rotate to match the new orientation...

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Google is bringing Samsung to the Apple Watch fight

Rumored Galaxy Watches | Image: Android Headlines

On Wednesday, August 11th Samsung is expected to announce a couple new smartwatches: the widely rumored Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. The company that has the most to gain — or lose — from the success of these watches isn’t Samsung, however, it’s Google.

For many years now, I have decried the lack of good smartwatch options for Android phones. There’s nothing in the Android ecosystem that matches the quality and utility of the Apple Watch. As the pace of development in phones seems to slow, the pace of development on wearables still has a chance of growing. And without a viable alternative for Android users, it’s ever more likely that Apple will peel off users (or keep iPhone owners from ever trying Android).

At long last,...

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Google restricts ad targeting of minors and will delist photos of kids at their request

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google will no longer allow ad targeting of children based on their age, gender, or interests as part of a new series of measures designed to protect kids under 18 using its services, the company announced today. Other changes include a new option for anyone under the age of 18 to ask for their images to be removed from Google’s image results, while YouTube uploads from children will also gradually default to the most private setting.

The changes are similar to what Facebook introduced last month when it said Instagram accounts for kids under 16 will be set to private by default, meaning users have to choose to make their profiles public. It also banned ads targeted at children based on their interests or their activity, although it...

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Dell Latitude 9420 review: pricey performance

A dream for workers and IT departments alike

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GameMaker Studio 2 will now let you publish on desktop, mobile, and the web for $9.99 per month

Image: YoYo Games

GameMaker Studio 2, the game development software used to create indie darlings like Hyper Light Drifter and Undertale, is introducing new pricing options today that should make it even more affordable to develop independent games. GameMaker Studio’s developer YoYo Games is now offering an updated “unlimited” free version of the software for hobbyists, a new “Indie” price tier that bundles all non-console platform licenses together for $9.99 per month, and cheaper licenses for studios publishing games on consoles.

Prior to today, GameMaker Studio 2 had a free price tier mostly intended for learning how to use the software. It had a monthlong time limit and required you to pony up for a subscription (starting at $39 per year to develop...

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Apple’s 2021 iPhones will reportedly have a video portrait mode

Last year’s iPhone 12. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Apple’s upcoming flagship iPhones, likely to be called the iPhone 13 line, will be able to automatically blur the backgrounds of footage as part of a new video portrait mode, according to a new report from Bloomberg. This “Cinematic Video” feature is said to be one of three major new camera features coming to this year’s iPhones. The other two are support for ProRes video recording, and new editing options for photographs.

The improvements join another camera upgrade that’s believed to be on the way for this year’s phones. Last November, reliable Apple analyst Min-Chi Kuo said that the phones’ ultrawide cameras would be improved, with a larger aperture for better low-light photography.

A new filters-style photo editing feature is also...

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Starship Technologies’ delivery robots are coming to more college campuses this fall

Photo: Sean O’Kane / The Verge

Starship Technologies is expanding its footprint, deploying dozens of its pint-sized six-wheeled delivery robots on college campuses this fall.

Starship is adding four new schools to its operational domain: University of Illinois Chicago; University of Kentucky; University of Nevada, Reno; and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Daytona Beach, Florida, campus. The company, which originated in Estonia but is now based in San Francisco, also has robots in George Mason University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Purdue University.

Currently, the company operates on 20 college campuses in 15 states with a global fleet that totals 1,000 robots. This expansion would add 85 more robots to that fleet. Starship...

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Twitter’s photo-cropping algorithm prefers young, beautiful, and light-skinned faces

Twitter has announced the results of an open competition to find algorithmic bias in its photo-cropping system. The company disabled automatic photo-cropping in March after experiments by Twitter users last year suggested it favored white faces over Black faces. It then launched an algorithmic bug bounty to try and analyze the problem more closely.

The competition has confirmed these earlier findings. The top-placed entry showed that Twitter’s cropping algorithm favors faces that are “slim, young, of light or warm skin color and smooth skin texture, and with stereotypically feminine facial traits.” The second and third-placed entries showed that the system was biased against people with white or grey hair, suggesting age discrimination,...

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Samsung details new smartwatch chip ahead of Galaxy Watch 4 launch

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Samsung has announced the Exynos W920, a new processor designed for smartwatches and other wearables. The company says it’s the world’s first wearable-specific chip to be built on a 5nm process, helping improve performance and efficiency.

The Exynos 920 has two Cortex-A55 cores and a Mali-G68 GPU. (For context, Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon 888 has four Cortex-A55 cores that are used for low-power tasks.) Samsung is claiming 20 percent better CPU performance and ten times better GPU performance than its previous wearable chip. The W920 also includes a Cortex-M55 processor that’s dedicated to driving an always-on display, further reducing power consumption.

We likely won’t have to wait too long to see this chip used in a commercial...

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The new Parallels 17 officially lets you run Windows 11 on your Mac

Windows 11 is coming to Macs, even those without Boot Camp. Parallels Desktop 17 will allow Mac users to experience Microsoft’s next version of Windows in a window on their Mac desktop. Parallels supports both Intel and M1 Macs (though there’s a catch for those running Arm-based machines), and can even be used to run the Windows 11 preview for those who can’t wait.

The catch for M1 users is the same as when Parallels first added support for Apple’s latest machines — you’ll only be able to emulate Arm-based operating systems, which means you’ll be limited to Windows on Arm. While it does seem possible to install a Windows 11 preview for Arm machines, you’ll probably want to proceed with caution. Windows on Arm’s x86 emulation has been a...

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Jack Dorsey says Bitcoin will unite the world, but doesn’t say how

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey, a noted superfan of Bitcoin, claimed on Monday that the cryptocurrency will eventually unite the world. Yes, really.

On Monday afternoon, an amendment to the Senate’s infrastructure package that would have expanded the government’s involvement in cryptocurrency was blocked. Shortly after that, Dorsey tweeted that “#Bitcoin will unite a deeply divided country. (and eventually: world).”

#Bitcoin will unite a deeply divided country.

(and eventually: world)

— jack⚡️ (@jack) August 9, 2021

Dorsey didn’t specify which country, but given that he’s been tweetingalot about the amendment since it failed, it seems likely he’s talking about the US. He hasn’t yet explained further.

This isn’t the first time...

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A new Lamborghini Countach is coming, and it might be a hybrid

Countach LP 5000 S | Image: Remi Dargegen / Lamborghini

The official announcement that “the new Lamborghini Countach is coming” aims directly at anyone who had a picture of the iconic sports car on their wall as a kid. With a body covered in angles and show-stopping gull-wing doors, it was the perfect dream car for anyone who didn’t have a driver’s license or plans to back out of a parking space.

Image: Lamborghini

Lamborghini Countach teaser

And now the Countach is back, or at least it will be at some point in the future. On its website and in a teaser video, Lamborghini says “the future is our legacy” — whatever that means. While we’re not anticipating a full EV from Lamborghini until after 2025, Roadshow points out leaks revealing that this revived model will...

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More than 20 free Roku Originals will premiere Friday

Roku is putting much of its massive Quibi content haul to work beginning Friday.

On August 13th, nearly two dozen Roku Originals will debut on the Roku Channel. Many have not previously premiered elsewhere, including a Josh Groban-hosted series called Eye Candy that’s based on the Japanese show Sokkuri Sweets, cleaning competition show Squeaky Clean, the second season of pay-it-forward series Thanks a Million, and 10-part docuseries What Happens in Hollywoodabout power dynamics in the entertainment industry.

Additionally, Emmy-nominated Quibi comedy the Mapleworth Murders will also debut on the service this week. The full list of 23 Roku Originals hitting the service on Friday include:

• &Music
• The Andy Cohen Diaries
• Benedict Men
• Elba...

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Twitch will give streamers a bit more info on why they were banned

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Twitch’s suspensions are about to get a little clearer for streamers: starting on Monday, the company announced that it will include the name and date of the content that violated platform rules when it issues a ban.

It’s not quite a clear and simple explanation of what precisely a streamer might have done to get a suspension — Twitch doesn’t seem to be willing to provide that level of detail on any violations of its policies — but it could potentially help streamers figure out what they did wrong and what to avoid in the future.

️ As of today, enforcement notifications sent to suspended users will include the name of the content and the date of the violation to ensure they have better clarity about what content is being actioned...

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With the Olympics over, Peacock needs to figure out what’s next

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

It’s been a rocky couple of weeks for Peacock. NBC positioned its streaming service as the place to go if you wanted to stream the Olympics without a cable subscription — something that should have been an easy win for the upstart platform.Instead, Peacock’s coverage was wonky and confusing, and the service hasn’t given viewers much of a reason to stick around after the Games. With its biggest draw behind it and little in the way of internet-breaking titles headed to the platform anytime soon, it’s unclear what comes next for NBCUniversal’s biggest streaming bet.

Peacock had 54 million sign-ups and 20 million-plus active accounts as of the end of July, just over a year after launch, parent company Comcast said during its second-quarter...

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Google’s new Titan security key lineup won’t make you choose between USB-C and NFC

Image: Google

Google announced updates to its Titan security key lineup on Monday, simplifying it by removing a product and bringing NFC to all its keys. The company will now offer two options: one has a USB-A connector, one has USB-C, and both have NFC for connecting to “most mobile devices.” The USB-A key will cost $30, and the USB-C key will cost $35 when they go on sale on August 10th.

One of the biggest changes in Google’s new lineup is an updated USB-C key, which has added NFC support. Google’s previous USB-C option, made in collaboration with Yubico, didn’t support the wireless standard. Now, the choice between USB-C and A is easy, as there aren’t features that one has that the other doesn’t. It’s simply a matter of what ports your computer...

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The next season of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is premiering on Netflix in December

Image: Netflix

The next season of the hit anime _JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure_will premiere exclusively on Netflix in December, the company announced on Monday. The premiere month announcement arrives alongside a new trailer for the season, which is officially titled JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stone Ocean.

The season follows a woman named Jolyne Cujoh, who is sentenced to 15 years at a maximum security prison for a crime she claims she is innocent of. I won’t try to summarize everything else that happens in the wild-looking trailer — I’ve never seen the show or read the manga myself, so I just can’t do it justice.

Stone Ocean is the latest in Netflix’s growing anime slate. Sailor Moon’s latest movie hit the streaming service in June, and that same month, the...

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Sony completes acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T

Sony officially owns AT&T’s Crunchyroll.

Sony’s deal to acquire Crunchyroll was first announced in December 2020 and sees Crunchyroll join Funimation, Sony’s existing anime streaming property, under one roof. The ultimate goal of the unification of the two anime properties under a single roof is to develop “a unified anime subscription experience as soon as possible,” said Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, in a statement.

The deal is priced at $1.175 billion, and AT&T — which had been reported by The Information to be shopping the service around for $1.5 billion — will use the funds to help pay down the debt it amassed from its spending on streaming. In a radical shift away from its streaming strategy,...

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Apple keeps shutting down employee-run surveys on pay equity — and labor lawyers say it’s illegal

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The company bans surveys that include diversity data

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SpaceX to acquire small satellite startup Swarm Technologies

36 SpaceBee smallsats launch to space aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in January 2021, during SpaceX’s Transporter-1 mission with 107 other satellites on board. | Photo by Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is acquiring the small-satellite data provider Swarm Technologies, scooping up the startup’s roughly 30 employees and its network of 120 tiny satellites. The deal, struck last month, is extremely rare for SpaceX, which normally manufactures its rocket and satellite hardware in-house or hires subcontractors.

Swarm revealed the acquisition plans in an August 6th filing with the Federal Communications Commission that requested approval to shift ownership of its satellite and antenna licenses to SpaceX. The merger agreement, in which Swarm will become a direct and wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX, was inked on July 16th, the filing said.

SpaceX benefits from “access to the intellectual property and expertise developed by...

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Netflix is working on a bunch of new reality shows, and you’re invited

Netflix is tripling down on its reality TV programming by renewing its most popular shows and opening up casting for future programming to anyone over the age of 18 in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, or Ireland, the company announced Monday.

Anyone interested who meets that criteria can submit a one-minute video on Netflix’s new dedicated reality TV site. The application can be used for multiple shows on Netflix’s current slate, from baking competitions like Nailed It! to saucier romantic options like Love is Blind.(Netflix also offers the option to apply to all of its shows at once if you prefer a more “spaghetti meets wall” approach.)

Image: Netflix

Netflix will let you apply for shows across a broad spectrum...

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Amazon and GoPro are suing Chinese sellers over counterfeit tripods and grips

The camera is not a counterfeit. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Last June, Amazon created a Counterfeit Crimes Unit to fight the knockoffs plaguing its gigantic storefront, and today, it’s announcing its first action against purveyors of fake gadgets.

Amazon and GoPro have sued seven Chinese nationals and a pair of businesses for distributing hard-to-detect knockoffs of its “Handler” floating camera hand grip and “3-Way” tripod grip, ones that blatantly use GoPro’s own logo, in an April 2021 lawsuit that’s just now being unsealed — because there’s a parallel criminal investigation in China against these same sellers, the complaint reveals.

While the lawsuit doesn’t say how many people actually bought these counterfeit GoPro accessories, it suggests at least some buyers were fooled by the fake...

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Dish says its will launch wireless 5G service in beta at the end of September

Dish aims to cover 70% of the US population by mid-2023 with wireless service. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

On an earnings call today, Dish Network execs said that its Las Vegas 5G wireless service is in the final phase of construction and will launch in beta by the end of September. That keeps it just in line with the Q3 deployment goal it gave earlier this year.

The beta launch is an important first step toward its commitment to covering 70 percent of the US population by June 2023, a target that’s looking more ambitious by the day as the company continues to lose wireless customers. It lost 161,000 subscribers in Q1 of this year, and it just reported a net loss of 201,000 wireless subscribers in Q2. The company stands to lose even more of its remaining 8.9 million wireless subscribers as T-Mobile has unveiled a generous promotion aimed at...

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