HP Elite Dragonfly Max review: pretty fly for a steep buy
This laptop is flying business class.
The next pro iPhone might finally ditch the notch
Image: Apple
The iPhone 13 isn’t even here yet, but speculation about Apple’s future phones never slows down. While some rumors about Apple’s event last week didn’t pan out, certain leaks were right on, including analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s information about a smaller notch and high refresh rate screens.
Now Kuo reports (via 9to5Mac and MacRumors) that plans for next year’s iPhones point to high-end Pro and Pro Max models that ditch the notch entirely in favor of hole-punch front cameras, with 48MP wide cameras on the back. However, Kuo expects that in-screen fingerprint scanning for Touch ID is off until 2023, despite his earlier reporting that it could happen as soon as this year.
A possible foldable iPhone is even further off, slipping from its p...
Scammers allegedly earned $195,000 referring fake drivers to delivery apps
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
The Justice Department has charged over a dozen people with running a scam on ride hailing and delivery apps. Prosecutors say the alleged scam ring created fake accounts using stolen personal information, then sold those accounts to otherwise unqualified drivers — while also collecting referral bonuses and building software to trick the apps.
The indictment was revealed on Friday and adds to wire fraud claims first revealed in May. It accuses 14 people — all Brazilian nationals and most living in Massachusetts — with identity theft against five unnamed companies. (Prosecutors filed the wire fraud charges against 19 people in total, and 16 have been arrested.) The wire fraud charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while...
US agencies reportedly split over blacklisting Huawei hardware spinoff
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Federal agencies like the Pentagon and Commerce Departments can’t decide whether to place Huawei’s former smartphone company, Honor, on the US’s export blacklist, according to a _Washington Post_report on Sunday.
According to The Post, top officials at the Commerce, State, and Energy departments, along with the Pentagon, met last week to decide whether to place the smartphone manufacturer on the US’s entity list. Pentagon and Energy staffers supported placing the company on the list while Commerce and State Department officials opposed the idea. If blacklisted, Honor would be unable to receive US tech exports without a license.
Huawei launched Honor in China in 2013 to compete against other popular smartphone companies like Xiaomi. Nearly...
iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 review: foundational fixes
Apple’s latest updates lay good groundwork, but don’t add many big new features
Twitter wants to settle with angry investors for $809 million
Twitter has settled a class action suit for $809.5 million | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Twitter said Monday it is proposing an $809.5 million settlement for a 2016 securities class action lawsuit that alleged the company misled investors about its user engagement figures. The complaint alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, according to a news release. Twitter said it expects to use cash on hand to pay the settlement amount likely in its fourth quarter.
The lawsuit alleged that Twitter provided misleading information to investors about growth metrics to make the company appear financially healthier than it was. The complaint points to a 2014 event Twitter held with financial analysts where the company provided “unrealistic” growth projections that called for its monthly active users (MAU) “to double to...
Extreme heat prompts new rules to protect US workers
A contractor uses a saw to cut siding for a house under construction in Walnut Creek, California, U.S., on Thursday, June 17, 2021. | David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Extreme heat is becoming such a big threat to workers in the US that the federal government plans to craft a new federal standard for workplaces, the Biden administration announced today. It’s part of a broader initiative to protect workers and people living in the places most vulnerable to heat-related illness and death.
“Over the past few weeks, I have traveled across the country to see firsthand the devastating human and economic toll of extreme weather exacerbated by climate change,” Joe Biden said in a statement today. “And while we have all seen the graphic and heart-wrenching images of super-storms, wildfires, and floods in recent weeks, another climate disaster is lurking just below the radar: extreme heat.”
“Another climate...
iOS 15 will give doctors a window into Apple Health app data
Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images
With the iOS 15 launch today, some iPhone users will have the option to share data from their Health app directly with their doctors through their electronic medical records. Six health record companies are participating in the initial launch, and some of those companies say that doctors and medical practices on their systems are eager to start using the feature.
People who use the option can use the new sharing function on the Health app to let their doctor see data like their heart rate and time spent exercising, as collected through the Health app. It could help physicians keep a closer eye on metrics that might be relevant to a patient’s health without the patient having to take an extra step to manually share the information.
E...
Netflix’s Midnight Mass is more slow-burning horror from the creator of Hill House
Photo: Netflix
Throughout the Haunting anthology, creator Mike Flanagan has carved out a very particular brand of horror. Both Hill House and Bly Manor are slow and methodical, with intricate stories that carefully weave together ghostly scares with family drama. Their small scope keeps them focused. Flanagan’s latest, Midnight Mass, isn’t part of that anthology, though in many ways it feels like it is. It has the same patient build-up, the intense focus on family dynamics, and even some of the same cast. But Midnight Mass also increases the scope — and the scares. Instead of a single family home, its story encompasses a small fishing village, and instead of ghosts it’s more about monsters. It takes a bit to get going, but by the end it descends into...
Epic’s high-fashion collaboration with Balenciaga in Fortnite includes a hoodie for a walking dog
It’s Doggo in a hoodie. | Image: Epic Games
Epic Games is partnering with fashion house Balenciaga to bring the first-ever high-fashion Fortnite skins into the game. But the two companies aren’t just working on virtual clothes. They’re also partnering on an in-game Balenciaga-themed hub and a real-world clothing line that you’ll be able to buy.
There will be four new skins, which you can see in the below photo, and each will have alternate styles. Epic is also planning to sell other Balenciaga-themed accessories, including a pickaxe based on the Speed Sneaker and Balenciaga backpack back blings.
Image: Epic Games
The new Balenciaga-themed skins coming to_Fortnite._
The new gear will be available both in in Fortnite’s usual in-game storefront and in the...