Samsung’s recent foldable, the Z Flip 3, is more hamburger than hotdog. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge
Google appears to be internally testing a second foldable Pixel smartphone, according to 9to5Google’s sources. The device is said to be under development with the codename “Jumbojack,” that’s referenced in a future version of Android 12 which 9to5Google identifies as “Android 12.1.” This is the latest foldable codename we’ve heard about at Google, following reports of another device called “Passport.”
Not much is known about what form Jumbojack could take, but 9to5Google has a couple of key details. It seems to have two screens, with one that deactivates when the device is folded. That suggests we’re looking at a similar design to Samsung’s foldables, which combine a small external screen with a larger internal folding display. There’s...
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Ikea got in relatively early on selling furniture embedded with wireless charging coils, but what if you don’t have one of its powered-up desks or shelving units? If you want seamless Wireless Qi charging without redecorating, then next month, there will be a solution. Meet the Sjömärke, a $39.99 wireless charging pad made to work with furniture you already own.
This device isn’t like most Qi charging pads, where you’d put your phone or earbuds directly on the mat. Instead, the seven-inch by three-inch aluminum and plastic charger works through plastic or wood, so you can use its double-sided tape (or screws, not included) to put it on the underside of a table or shelf.
Image: Ikea
Image: Ikea ...
Kendall Roy, smiling because he is happy Succession is returning soon (probably) | HBO
OK so the latest _Ted Lasso_spends almost the entire episode on Coach Beard in its most unusual, dream-like episode ever. I didn’t hate it (and I know it’s one of the two episodes added to the mix after Apple said it wanted 12 episodes instead of the 10 the writers had already sketched out. The Christmas episode was the other), but I wish we had actually gotten to know Beard a little better. “I listen more than I talk” seems like a line that could be his mantra.
The Morning Show is back and honestly the first episode seemed rushed to get certain characters to do specific things we as the audience know they must do in order to have a show at all. I’ll stick with it for a bit, remembering that this was a show that took a little while to...
The 73rd Emmy Awards will be held on September 19th. | Getty Images
The 73rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony is tonight at 8PM ET (5PM PT), and streaming platforms like Apple TV Plus, Netflix and HBO Max are poised to win big. Cedric the Entertainer will host the show, which will be broadcast live from outside the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, to accommodate social distancing, which also means the audience will be limited to nominees and their guests.
This year, CBS will broadcast the Emmys, so you can watch on your local CBS affiliate. The show will also stream live on CBS’ Paramount Plus streaming app. You can sign up for a free trial of Paramount Plus to check it out if you’re not already a subscriber.
There are plenty of options...
NTSB chair says Tesla should address safety issues before expanding its so-called “full self-driving” mode. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, told the Wall Street Journalthat Tesla should address “basic safety issues” before the carmaker expands its so-called “full self-driving” (FSD) mode.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this month that the company was aiming for a wider release of FSD by the end of September, making a “public beta button” available to more Tesla customers. As the_WSJ_reports, an upgrade to the software— which was designed primarily for driving on highways— is expected, in order to make the vehicles ready for driving on city streets.
Homendy had harsh words for Tesla’s use of the term “full self-driving,” which she called “misleading and irresponsible,” adding that Tesla “has clearly...
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
General Motors plans to launch 30 new electric vehicles around the world by 2025, and aspires to sell only zero-emissions vehicles by 2035. But over the last few years, the United States’ biggest automaker has once again squandered the advantages it held in the still-burgeoning field of electric vehicles through bad politics, bad investments, and now most notably, a massive recall of the Bolt — currently its only all-electric vehicle — thanks to around a dozen reported fires.
On Thursday, GM announced that it is extending the Bolt’s production shutdown until mid-October, as it apparently hasn’t been able to get supplier LG to produce replacement batteries that are up to snuff. It will need a lot of them, too, as GM has recalled all...
A leaked image of the Surface Pro 8. | Image: Shadow_Leak (Twitter)
Microsoft is preparing to launch a new Surface Pro 8 model next week, and a leak appears to have revealed exactly what to expect. Twitter account Shadow_Leak has published a photo of the Surface Pro 8 from what appears to be a retail listing. The account claims the Surface Pro 8 will ship with a new 13-inch 120Hz display with narrow bezels and two Thunderbolt ports.
The Verge reported last week that the Surface Pro 8 would ship without USB-A ports, in favor of USB-C and Thunderbolt. We also reported that Microsoft has been testing 120Hz displays for the Surface Pro lineup. The leaked image and specs line up with what we’ve heard from sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans.
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Exposure ✅
- Intel's 11th-generation...
TikTok is branded under the name Douyin in China | Getty Images
The Chinese version of the popular short video app TikTok, known as Douyin, will limit users in China who are under 14 years old to 40 minutes a day, parent company ByteDance said in a blog post Saturday.
The app’s youth mode keeps it in line with the Chinese government’s new restrictions on access to video games for younger children. Teens under 14 will be able to access Douyin between 6AM and 10PM, but won’t be able to use the app outside of that window, the company said. The rules will apply to “real-name authenticated users” under 14, and the company encouraged parents to help their children complete the real-name authentication process, or activate youth mode when prompted by the app.
The Chinese government has been focused on...
SpaceX
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule carrying four private citizens plunged through Earth’s atmosphere Saturday night and splashed down off the east coast of Florida, closing out the company’s first all-civilian mission in space. The Inspiration4 crew — the mission’s billionaire funder Jared Isaacman, geoscientist Sian Proctor, physician assistant Haley Arceneaux, and data engineer Chris Sembroski — became the first crew to hang out in Earth orbit without any professionally trained astronauts.
“it was a heck of a ride”
The crew’s splashdown zone in the Atlantic Ocean was roughly 30 miles east of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where they launched to space atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday. Beginning at about 7:02PM ET, Crew Dragon deployed...
Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted Friday that the company’s Starlink satellite internet network would come out of its open beta phase next month. That’s two months later than the August date Musk gave at Mobile World Congress, when he also said he expected the service to have “possibly over 500,000 users within 12 months.”
The Starlink system calls for a constellation of nearly 12,000 satellites in low-Earth orbits that will beam continuous broadband internet service. A terminal costs $499 and there’s a $99 monthly fee for service. It opened its public beta test in October 2020, and Musk said in August that SpaceX had shipped 100,000 Starlink terminals, which includes a satellite dish and a Wi-Fi router, to users in 14 countries. As the beta...